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Writing on label.

CD comes in a soft case, instead of the original crystal case.
All booklets included.

dogeared cover

Tear on cover.

Berlin producer Robot Koch is back for his third full length release, “The Other Side”.

Although Robot Koch has an international reputation as being “One of Europe's finest producers of the beat generation“ (Low End Theory), he is much more than just a beatmaker… “(Post)-dubstep infused Electronic Hip Hop“ is far too constrained a label to understand what this producer is all about. Instead of following the sound of his previous albums “Death Star Droid” (“Essential listening” – Bobby Friction BBC) and “Songs For Trees and Cyborgs“ (“Music for a modern age that has rarely sounded so good” – Boomkat), Koch takes the genre defying ingredients from these previous records to another level. There still are some of those “Galactic ten ton beats and space age melodies“ (Dazed and Confused) that made the previous albums staple drops in the playlists of Mary Anne Hobbs, Starkey, Daedelus and Gaslamp Killer to name a few, but there is a new dimension to Koch's production and songwriting that didn’t show on his previous records.

The cinematic vibe of tracks like “Nitesky”, the quirky and moody feel of “Bugs” and the electricity of “Tapedeck” show how Koch more than ever manages to create intimate and timeless pieces of music that are soulful, deep, mysterious and that will appeal to fans of cutting edge Electronica and modern pop music alike. This is the most personal record of Robot Koch to date. Instead of going for big name features Koch teamed up with lesser know artists like Kansas based vocal talent John LaMonica, long time friend and theatre composer Nielson and mexican singer/songwriter Graciela Maria to find the right voices for his compositions. John LaMonica infuses his whimsical and heartfelt melodies that breathe an air of darkness and nostalgia with Koch's fresh and forward thinking instrumentals to create something that fans of Radiohead, The XX and Jamie Lidell should not sleep on.

After the release of the John Robinson collaboration album (“Robot Robinson” – Project Mooncircle) earlier this year, it seems surprising how extensive Robert’s output is, but don’t be mistaken, this album is a longer term project than just releasing the songs Koch made in the last year. Some of the songs found on “The Other Side” were made seven years ago.

Still sealed with hype sticker.

Cover with seam split.
Includes original insert.

Pinnell Is All Shine And Sparkle On The Forthcoming Goodbye La. Produced By Texan Jonathan Tyler, The Tunes Buff The Wax And Polish The Chrome On Country Music's Deeper Roots. Rooted In His Steady Acoustic Guitar, Pinnell's Songs Are Shot Through With Honest And Classic Elements. The Rhythm Section, All Snap And Shuffle, Finds Purpose In Well-Worn Paths. The Pedal Steel And Telecaster Stingers Arrive Perfectly On Cue, Winking At Jp's World-Wise Couplets . Here Slippery Organ Insinuates Gospel Into The Conversation. You Can Feel The Room Breathe And Get A Sense Of These Musicians Eyeballing Each Other As Their Performances Are Committed To Tape. And Through It All Comes This Oaken Identity, The Devastating Centerpiece Of His Work. Honest And Careworn, Jeremy's Voice Can Touch On Wry, Jubilant, And Debauched - All In A Single Line. At His Best, Jeremy Pinnell Chronicles The Joy And Sorrow Of Being Human, Which Is The Best That Anyone Could Do.

In the native tongue of the South American tribe Mapuche, there exists the word ‘MENOKO’. Deep within the Andean Forests there are sacred places, springs of purity known as Menokos. Hidden and untouched by man or animal, they are whispered, home of virgin water. Womb of the natural cycle from which plants and herbs of extraordinary medicinal abilities are nurtured.

Barrio Lindo feels a strong bond to the native tribes of his Argentinian home. Ancestral cultures are of great importance, providing a wealth of inspiration. An instrument maker by trade, using his bare hands he constructs many ethnical instruments like Andean flutes, African harps, string instruments from India and so on. This fascination with indigenous sounds is reflected within his music and themes with the use of samples and tribal instrumentation. While understanding his work is far from that of the native cultures, he finds ways to incorporate these influences through fusions of sounds. Drawing a parallel, worlds both old and new align.

‘Menoko’ comes on limited purple double vinyl (including download code) as well as a limited handmade and handpainted purple cassette edition (including download code).

Berlin producer Robot Koch is back for his third full length release, “The Other Side”.

Although Robot Koch has an international reputation as being “One of Europe's finest producers of the beat generation“ (Low End Theory), he is much more than just a beatmaker… “(Post)-dubstep infused Electronic Hip Hop“ is far too constrained a label to understand what this producer is all about. Instead of following the sound of his previous albums “Death Star Droid” (“Essential listening” – Bobby Friction BBC) and “Songs For Trees and Cyborgs“ (“Music for a modern age that has rarely sounded so good” – Boomkat), Koch takes the genre defying ingredients from these previous records to another level. There still are some of those “Galactic ten ton beats and space age melodies“ (Dazed and Confused) that made the previous albums staple drops in the playlists of Mary Anne Hobbs, Starkey, Daedelus and Gaslamp Killer to name a few, but there is a new dimension to Koch's production and songwriting that didn’t show on his previous records.

The cinematic vibe of tracks like “Nitesky”, the quirky and moody feel of “Bugs” and the electricity of “Tapedeck” show how Koch more than ever manages to create intimate and timeless pieces of music that are soulful, deep, mysterious and that will appeal to fans of cutting edge Electronica and modern pop music alike. This is the most personal record of Robot Koch to date. Instead of going for big name features Koch teamed up with lesser know artists like Kansas based vocal talent John LaMonica, long time friend and theatre composer Nielson and mexican singer/songwriter Graciela Maria to find the right voices for his compositions. John LaMonica infuses his whimsical and heartfelt melodies that breathe an air of darkness and nostalgia with Koch's fresh and forward thinking instrumentals to create something that fans of Radiohead, The XX and Jamie Lidell should not sleep on.

After the release of the John Robinson collaboration album (“Robot Robinson” – Project Mooncircle) earlier this year, it seems surprising how extensive Robert’s output is, but don’t be mistaken, this album is a longer term project than just releasing the songs Koch made in the last year. Some of the songs found on “The Other Side” were made seven years ago.

Deep Purple Vinyl Edition.
Records are slightly warped but still enjoyable.
Cover as new with faintly worn corners.
Includes original inner sleeves.

From Asmara, Eritrea (formerly Ethiopia) Tewolde Redda revolutionized the sounds of traditional Eritrean music by amplifying his kirar, playing his Eko electric guitar, and recording six singles in the first part of the 1970s. Including the first Eritrean songs to use a horn section, traditional songs reworked into his new sound, and originals influenced by radio broadcasts from the United States military base in Asmara, Kagnew Station, these ten songs originally released on the Philips, Amha, and Yared labels show off his talents with stringed instruments, a talented back up band, and often the hand clapped beat shifting into double time near the song’s end. Tewolde’s thick, deep voice sings songs of love over somber and joyous tunes. Comes in a tip-on sleeve with extensive liner notes, lyrical translations, and unpublished photos. A co-release with Mitmitta Musika of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

Karen Dalton’s 1971 album, In My Own Time, stands as a true masterpiece by one of music’s most mysterious, enigmatic, and enduringly influential artists. Celebrating the album’s 50th anniversary, Light in the Attic is honored to present a newly remastered (2021) edition of the album on LP, CD, cassette, and 8-Track.

Both the CD and cassette editions feature 9 bonus tracks, including 3 alternate takes from the In My Own Time album sessions, along with 6 previously unreleased tracks captured during Karen’s 1971 European tour, including live at The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival and Germany’s Beat Club.

All audio has been newly remastered by Dave Cooley, while lacquers were cut by Phil Rodriguez at Elysian Masters.

The Oklahoma-raised Karen Dalton (1937-1993) brought a range of influences to her work. As Lenny Kaye writes in the liner notes, one can hear “the jazz of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, the immersion of Nina Simone, the Appalachian keen of Jean Ritchie, [and] the R&B and country that had to seep in as she made her way to New York."

Armed with a long-necked banjo and a 12-stringed guitar, Dalton set herself apart from her peers with her distinctive, world-weary vocals. In the early ‘60s, she became a fixture in the Greenwich Village folk scene, interpreting traditional material, blues standards, and the songs of her contemporaries, including Tim Hardin, Fred Neil, and Richard Tucker, whom she later married. Bob Dylan, meanwhile, was instantly taken with her artistry. “My favorite singer in the place was Karen Dalton,” he recalled in Chronicles: Volume One (Simon & Schuster, 2004). “Karen had a voice like Billie Holiday and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed.”

Those who knew Dalton understood that she was not interested in bowing to the whims of the record industry. On stage, she rarely interacted with audience members. In the studio, she was equally as uncomfortable with the recording process. Her 1969 debut, It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best, reissued by Light in the Attic in 2009, was captured on the sly when Dalton assumed that she was rehearsing songs. When Woodstock co-promoter Michael Lang approached Dalton about recording a follow-up for his new imprint, Just Sunshine, she was dubious, to say the least. The album would have to be made on her own terms, in her own time. That turned out to be a six-month period at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, NY.

Producing the album was bassist Harvey Brooks, who played alongside Dalton on It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best. Brooks, who prided himself on being “simple, solid and supportive,” understood Dalton’s process, but was also willing to offer gentle encouragement, and challenge the artist to push her creative bounds. “I tried to present her with a flexible situation,” he told Kaye. “I left the decisions to her, to determine the tempo, feel. She was very quiet, and I brought all of it to her; if she needed more, I’d present options. Everyone was sensitive to her. She was the leader.”

Dalton, who rarely performed her own compositions, selected a range of material to interpret—from traditionals like “Katie Cruel” and “Same Old Man” to Paul Butterfield’s “In My Own Dream” and Richard Tucker’s “Are You Leaving For The Country.” She also expanded upon her typical repertoire, peppering in such R&B hits as “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “How Sweet It Is.” In a departure from her previous LP, Dalton’s new recording offered fuller, more pop-forward arrangements, featuring a slew of talented studio musicians.

While ‘70s audiences may not have been ready for Dalton’s music, a new generation was about to discover her work. In the decades following her death, a slew of artists would name Karen Dalton as an influence, including Lucinda Williams, Joanna Newsom, Nick Cave, Angel Olsen, Devendra Banhart, Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, and Adele. In the recent acclaimed film documentary Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, Cave muses on Dalton’s unique appeal: “There’s a sort of demand made upon the listener,” he explains. “Whether you like it or not, you have to enter her world. And it’s a despairing world.” Peter Walker, who also appears in the film, elaborates on this idea: “If she can feel a certain way in her music and play it in such a way that you feel that way, then that’s really the most magical thing [one] can do.” He adds, “She had a deep and profound and loving soul…you can hear it in her music.”

1–10: Originally released as Just Sunshine – PAS 6008, 1971 11–13: Alternate Takes from album sessions, 1970/71 14–15: Recorded live at Beat Club, Germany, April 21, 1971 16–19: Recorded live at The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1972

Record Store Day 2020 Release.
Limitation: 5000 copies.

7″ single of Cat Stevens songBut I Might Die Tonightfrom the album Tea For The Tillerman. Side A will feature the alternative version of the song from the film Deep End. The A-side was reworked specifically for the film (which starred Jane Asher and somewhat a UK cult classic) and is a previously unreleased in any form! Colour of the 7″ Single is Light Blue.

Following on from Soundway’s 2022 compilation, Padang Moonrise, are two late 1960s tracks from Java, Indonesia. one instrumental psychedelic organ version of Classic Indonesian track ‘Bubuj Bulan’ and the other a raw funk cut sung in Arabic. Rully Djohan recorded this unique, psychedelic instrumental version of Benny Corda’s classic ‘Bubuj Bulan’ for his album of instrumental organ versions of popular Indonesian songs recorded in 1971-72. With echoes of Indian, Ethiopian and Egyptian jazz melded with traditional Javanese music this version is a shimmering, dubbed-out take on a song that has been recorded by many Indonesian vocalists. Djohan is backed by The Galaxies Band, and led by one of Indonesia’s most original band leaders and arrangers Jopie Item, who also plays sitar and guitar alongside Djohan’s electric organ. On the flip-side, Munif Bahasuan delivers a deep funk track sung in Arabic. Munif was a Jakarta-based vocalist who sung mostly in Arabic and English. Jakarta has a small population of Arabic, ethnically Middle Eastern people who settled in Indonesia via connections with Islam and Islamic culture, the dominant religion in Java, Sumatra and many other of the main islands in the Indonesian archipelago.

Aspidistrafly, the Singaporean duo comprising April Lee and producer Ricks Ang, return with Altar of Dreams, their first studio album in a decade.

While their last album A Little Fable introduced the world to their bucolic and wispy brand of folk songwriting, Altar of Dreams sees the duo – also the founders of Kitchen. Label – harness their experiences over the past decade to create a wholly new and inspired vision. In this new and third album, they drew upon a rich palette of shapes, sounds and movement: straddling between the visionary photography of Serge Lutens and Dora Maar, 80s Japanese ambient pop, musique concrète and the mournful strings of Béla Bartók.

The world in which Aspidistrafly once inhabited was foggy and awash in faded memory. A feeling of being suspended in time felt inescapable with each listen. In Altar of Dreams, the fog is clearing up. At nine songs under 35 minutes, the album possesses all the defining hallmarks of Aspidistrafly – poetic lyricism, cosmic introspection, lush strings, surrealism, tenderness and texture. But what was once seemingly inscrutable has now been explored with astounding clarity, the duo maneuvering through a space-time continuum with delicate leaps.

‘How To Find A Marblewing’, the opening track, is a heady sound collage of early internet sounds, film, anime, and chopped-and-screwed 90s J-pop. It’s a presence deeply embedded throughout the record, a method Lee describes as “a form of environmental/tape treatment”.

The compositions glimmer with sincerity, addressing all at once destruction, mystery, uncertainty, hopes and dreams. The resulting music is backed by an opulence only possible with a line-up of guest musicians. ‘The Voice of Flowers’ is stirring in its balance of flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone and piano, bolstered by a string quartet. Kitchen. Label artist haruka nakamura features on the track alongside Kyo Ichinose (who arranged the strings for the album) and wind instrumentalist Araki Shin.

‘Interlude: Chrysalises and Larvae’ takes the heavy path downward, adopting its name from the 1973 surrealist odyssey The Hourglass Sanatorium. It leads into ‘Companion to Owls’, a gothic pop paean to mortality inspired by the Book of Job.

Before the namesake centrepiece of the album, another interlude arrives in ‘A Ceremonial Ode’, both of which were stirred by a series of regal Shiseido ads from the 1980s starring model Sayoko Yamaguchi. ‘Altar of Dreams’ is haunted by the lucid dreams that once provided escapism for Lee. Its tranquility belies a simmering tension, just as how a lucid dream would offer control in the face of the unknown. “In one of them, I was floating in a vast darkness safe and secure, and then I fell into a turbulent mirage where I willingly allowed myself to be swept away further and further from reality, hoping that I would never wake up,” she says. “Needless to say I did, and ended up writing this song on one of these dead nights.”

If the title track replicates the feeling of falling deep into that spiral, ‘Silk and Satins’ is a direct analysis of the phenomenon. Warped frequencies collide with nature and television sound effects – the latter sourced from 80s Singaporean horror series Mystery – within an inter-dimensional music world. The track was made with featured artist Sugai KEN, whose own work is an endless scroll of intoxicating found sounds.

‘Quintessence’, the sweeping closing track, distills all the elements scattered across the album into a coda that beautifully refuses to resolve. At first an exercise in guitar looping, the song was then written without a beginning and end in mind. “I’d like to think of it as poetry that’s sung,” says Lee.

In Altar of Dreams, Aspidistrafly are renewed and hopeful. They’ve emerged from a decade spent reframing the world they see through vivid dreams and memories. Now, it’s all yours to experience.

Recorded between Lausanne and Brussels during summer 2019, this new series of songs by Meril Wubslin dig deeper into this tribal, rustic and minimal tendency that they had in the two previous albums. It is the desire to search for sounds, to manipulate matter: sound matter, rhythmic matter, to knead it to its hottest point, that guided the work of composition. All vintage guitars were recorded without amps. Tambourines and other maracas were approached as a drum kit. But the harmonies and melodies are still present and sometimes event enhanced by the occasional participation of a choir of female voices or a minimal synth line. Always with this desire to use French, their mother tongue, while trying to avoid the trap of « variété française ».

With this new album, we wanted to try something slightly different with the sound. Explore new ways to record our instruments and voices. Thus we decided to put away the amplifiers that we used for rockier moods. And we tried the acoustic option. We were surprised by the wide range of possibilities, much more direct and much more emotional actually. About the texts, we still insist on this open way of writing, a mixture of abstract and concrete which offers several understandings. With this liberty in the structure, we avoid the predominance of the message, to go towards a more sensitive and open meaning.

Two years after the success of „Nem Kaldı“, outernational psych-pop sensation Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek deliver their debut album, „Kar Yağar“ - and it was worth the wait! Over the course of it’s 12 tracks, the powerful sound of the Bağlama [Turkish lute] and Derya Yıldırım’s stunning vocals, builds and unravels stories together with the guitars, organs, drums, flute and bass.

Kar Yağar (which translates as „Snow Falls“) has the dynamics of an epic journey through the Anatolian highlands where deep-rooted folk effortlessly switches to sparkly improvisation or dancy pop tracks.

The album was self produced at their studio in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and the band's tour de force resides in their ability to develop their personal sound and approach whilst keeping their heart tuned to Derya Yıldırım's Anatolian roots.

The album opens with „Üç Kız Bir Ana“ (three daughters, one mother), a smooth, yet epic 5/4 track that introduces the live and psychedelic sound of the band with influences ranging from Anatolian music to 70’s jazz and early prog rock.

The title-song „Kar Yağar“ [written by Derya Yıldırım] is a fresh pop track melodically rooted in the Turkish folk music tradition. The song's lyrics, referring to snow falling in the summer, are an extended metaphor which tells a strong and emotionally charged personal story.
Here, Grup Şimşek bring out their unmistakable signature sound - light and movement inducing tempo, elegant wah wah guitars and magical quartertoned synth licks.

Original songs and instrumentals - all composed and arranged by the band - are scattered throughout the album. Notably - „Seni Hala“, a tear-drawing ballad with stripped-down acoustic arrangement and haunting choir… And Graham Mushnik’s dreamy instrumental „Çocuklar“, in which the band chose to feature a poem by one of Turkey's most renowned 20th century poet Nâzım Hikmet Ran whose title translates as „give the world to our children“. The poem is meaningfully read by Derya’s father Mustafa Yıldırım.

The LP also contains a string of Turkish folk songs, that the band entirely re-arranged whilst preserving their original spirit and soul. In „Ey Şahin Bakışlım“ Grup Şimşek pay tribute to the Alevi culture, a minority community in Turkey for which music - and particularly the Bağlama instrument - has a sacred value. A powerful and majestic version of Mahzuni Şerif’s „Dom Dom Kurşunu“ - one of Grup Şimşek fans’ favourites at live shows - is also featured.

Recorded and Mixed by Grup Şimşek
Mastered by Tim Stollenwerk at Stereophonic
Vinyl Cut by Adi Flück at Centraldubs

The first new release exclusively via TAD from Boomarm Nation, who welcomes Tunisian producer Lokal Affair to their family. His debut Seremunia EP, 3 tracks of deep percussive jams, is inspired by life in the Sahara desert, evening fire rituals, and ecstatic drumming styles from across the globe. Lush, mid-tempo spiritual sounds for your sound system. Lokal Affair AKA Malek Midouni is a Tunisian born musician currently living in Lyon, France. As a bonus the label commissioned an incredible thundering remix of the percussion heavy tune “Goumari” from good brother Alter Echo

Berlin producer Robot Koch is back for his third full length release, “The Other Side”.

Although Robot Koch has an international reputation as being “One of Europe's finest producers of the beat generation“ (Low End Theory), he is much more than just a beatmaker… “(Post)-dubstep infused Electronic Hip Hop“ is far too constrained a label to understand what this producer is all about. Instead of following the sound of his previous albums “Death Star Droid” (“Essential listening” – Bobby Friction BBC) and “Songs For Trees and Cyborgs“ (“Music for a modern age that has rarely sounded so good” – Boomkat), Koch takes the genre defying ingredients from these previous records to another level. There still are some of those “Galactic ten ton beats and space age melodies“ (Dazed and Confused) that made the previous albums staple drops in the playlists of Mary Anne Hobbs, Starkey, Daedelus and Gaslamp Killer to name a few, but there is a new dimension to Koch's production and songwriting that didn’t show on his previous records.

The cinematic vibe of tracks like “Nitesky”, the quirky and moody feel of “Bugs” and the electricity of “Tapedeck” show how Koch more than ever manages to create intimate and timeless pieces of music that are soulful, deep, mysterious and that will appeal to fans of cutting edge Electronica and modern pop music alike. This is the most personal record of Robot Koch to date. Instead of going for big name features Koch teamed up with lesser know artists like Kansas based vocal talent John LaMonica, long time friend and theatre composer Nielson and mexican singer/songwriter Graciela Maria to find the right voices for his compositions. John LaMonica infuses his whimsical and heartfelt melodies that breathe an air of darkness and nostalgia with Koch's fresh and forward thinking instrumentals to create something that fans of Radiohead, The XX and Jamie Lidell should not sleep on.

After the release of the John Robinson collaboration album (“Robot Robinson” – Project Mooncircle) earlier this year, it seems surprising how extensive Robert’s output is, but don’t be mistaken, this album is a longer term project than just releasing the songs Koch made in the last year. Some of the songs found on “The Other Side” were made seven years ago.

Mr Bongo proudly presents an official reissue of an iconic, exploratory album by Indian maestro of the sitar, Ananda Shankar, aptly titled 'Ananda Shankar And His Music'.

Released on His Master's Voice in 1976, the album is a sublime collage of sitar-funk, traditional Indian classical music and psychedelic grooves, from the Indian sitarist, composer and musician. Nephew to India’s legendary sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, Ananda’s musical family and upbringing led to a deep respect and love of the wealth of music that emanated from his birthplace. His travels to the west coast of America in the late ‘60s though, saw Shankar immersed in the full swing of psychedelic rock. The collision of these two musical worlds with a whole range of other Eastern and Western influences on 'Ananda Shankar And His Music', is a truly entrancing combination.

First big in the UK in the mid-‘90s jazz/rare groove club scene, when it was unearthed by adventurous DJs and crate diggers, the sensational Indian-funk tracks 'Streets Of Calcutta' and 'Dancing Drums' became firm dancefloor favourites. The mixture of drum-heavy funk with Indian music and psychedelia is the perfect melting pot. Flavourful and balanced, it still feels fresh and exciting 40 years on.

Like a fine wine, this album keeps getting better with age and once-overlooked tracks are now seen in a new light. Aside from the main 'club' cuts that many have praised and loved, 'The River' is a part blissed-out, Balearic gem, part cosmic wild west soundtrack, that would provide the perfect complement to any sunset session. Elsewhere, 'Dawn' is a spiritual and meditative journey into Indian classical music, with ‘Cyrus’ floating you away to heavenly heights. On a different tip, 'Back Home' fuses styles and themes via an organ and Moog-infused, tripped-out excursion, whilst 'Renunciation' hits with a psych-rock sentiment to its sitar-soaked grooves.

A beautiful time capsule of Eastern culture meets Western influence, where experimentation and intrigue produced a fusion of sounds that still sound as vibrant and alluring as they have ever been.

Strange Power!, the fifth record from Durham, NC-based songwriter and poet Anne Malin Ringwalt, emerges from the darkest waters of the self into a world remade. Releasing inconjunction with her second book of poetry, What Floods (Inside the Castle, Oct. 2024), Strange Power! overflows with Ringwalt's teeming and sensuous personal symbolry: glowing lilacs andgentle queens, dolphins wild and girls who grew up brave _ T.S. Eliot sung by Cat Power, backedby Mount Eerie. She sings: "I rose up from water."Ringwalt writes and performs with the authority of a lifetime spent harnessing the alchemy of storytelling; her belief in the power of words to heal and transform is palpable in each achingly- delivered lyric. Made amidst profound inner and outer change, Strange Power! also sees Ringwalttaking up the role of self-producer for the first time, mirroring and supporting the record's Orphic quest by gathering contributions from a coterie of friends wielding an electric range ofAmerican instruments. Violins, vibraphones, drum machines, electric guitars dappled with springreverb, wind-blown shells, and a host of other numinous sounds form an unfurling and shadowy world which was then carefully honed during the mixing process (shepherded by MichaelCormier-O'Leary and Lucas Knapp) _ settling the final record in an eerie meridian betweenspareness and verdancy.The result is a beguiling and darkly blooming realm: the sound of a personal cosmos beingremade, piece by piece. Ringwalt is at the height of her spirit as both songwriter-poet and singer, her willowy voice by turns conjuring and keening as she reckons with her deep past and thestories told since. Opening track "The Pines" sets the stage for a record of truly life-long scope: "I was a child, now Ihold her / I was asleep for many years." Some songs, like the gorgeous "North Carolina" and "TheSaint," were written as early as 2013 but, Ringwalt says, "insisted upon being remembered" as therecord took shape; in its final form, they serve as inc...

Saigon Supersound Continues… to present more interesting tunes of a musical era that has long been obscured. With the well-received Volume 1, we are very delighted to dig deeper and share with you the beautiful music of a short but significant period in Vietnam‘s history.
Much like the country itself, the music of Vietnam has endured many twists. As the result of the Geneva Accords in 1954, Vietnam was divided into two. From the North, the Nationalist forces fought to reunite Vietnam as a Communist State, while the American troops backed the government of the South. This caused a mass migration of Northerners to the South, which includes many Tân Nhạc (Modern Music) singers and songwriters. Often characterized by its emotive, poetic and prolific personality, Tân Nhạc continued to freely develop in the South and progressively vacating from the influences of its main inspiration, French music. In the North, the Resistance music, or the so-called Nhạc Đỏ (Red Music), which promoted socialism, patriotism and anti-capitalism was the only genre allowed on national radio. Tân Nhạc was something new to the South Vietnamese repertoire. Between 1954–1960, the theme of hometown (quê hương) was a main inspiration for many songwriters such as Hoàng Thi Thơ, Lam Phương and Nguyễn Hữu Thiết. The 9th title of the compilation, “Thôn Trăng Mở Hội Trăng Tròn” showcases a variety of images that were often described in this genre: the harvest moon, playful children, old mother…
Every recording made in this era is then an organic combination of human experiences, communications and uniqueness. In 1965, the first American troop landed in Vietnam, bringing with them the musical influences of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley… The Vietnamese people quickly integrated it into the repertoire with hope to further diversify the music of Vietnam. Constantly changing and learning from different cultures, the modern music of Vietnam cuts a window into the soul of a Vietnamese person and the country’s history as a whole. With that, we hope that Saigon Supersound Volume 2 would take you on a trip back to the unique atmosphere of Saigon through the many different palettes of music that this beautiful place offers.

Like A Long Drag Of Hashish In The Morning When The Alarm Clock Rings In The Open Air, The Synthesis That Works In This Album Is Aromatic, Hypnotic, Luminescent_ Somewhere Between Hispalis And The Catalan Mediterranean. Spanish Guitar And Flamenco Metonymies Flourish On This Transitional Instrumental Work That Ablutions In Flamenco Waters, Scented With Folk-Blues Salts. This 1973 Album Is Seminal In Creating Flamenco Fusion. The Arid But Magnetic Notes Of The First Track On The Album, 'Sardana Flamenca' Delve Deeper Into The Subconscious, Which Soler Recorded On His Own With His Spanish Guitar, Except The Electric Pieces Where Members Of The Band Om Helped Out. Reissued On Vinyl For The First Time. Includes An Insert With Notes And A Rare Toti Soler Photo. * * * Detailed Description:Toti Soler's Self-Titled Second Album Together With Sabicas, Smash From 1971-72 And The Recording Paco De Lucía Made With Jazzman Pedro Iturralde, Were Seminal In Creating Flamenco Fusion, A Blend That Has Travelled Far. They Altered The Perception Of Said Music Redefining Its Limits And Possibilities. Soler's Syncretism Between Hispalis And The Catalan Mediterranean, Another Form Of Fusion, Was Released Perhaps Paradoxically By Edigsa, The Label That The Guitarist Worked With The Most, The Founding Spirit Of Which Was To Safeguard The Local Language, Catalan. In 1972, The Ancient Call Of Flamenco Took Soler To Andalusia, Where He Studied Under The Renowned Guitarist Diego Del Gastor. When He Returned To Barcelona, He Commenced A Long Parallel Chapter As Acoustic Accompanist For The Singer-Songwriter Ovidi Montllor From Alcoy, Leaving Rock And The Electric Guitar Behind. However, Watts And Rock Still Pulse Through In His Second Lp (Self-Titled But Also Referred To As "El Gat Blanc"), 1973, But Play A Minor Role. Spanish Guitar And Flamenco Metonymies Flourish On This Theoretically Transitional Instrumental Work, Which Would Become One The Most Popular Of His Discography. The Arid But Mag...

Singer-songwriter with deep roots in hip hop culture.' Gea Russell presents his latest album One Last Dance, an album that fuses elements of blues, soul, reggae, jazz and hip hop. Whist his music has been likened to Tindersticks, Ben Harper and Michael Kiwanuka we are faced with a truly unique voice. The Result, an honest, spacious and heartfelt dance, and hopefully not his last.

In the native tongue of the South American tribe Mapuche, there exists the word ‘MENOKO’. Deep within the Andean Forests there are sacred places, springs of purity known as Menokos. Hidden and untouched by man or animal, they are whispered, home of virgin water. Womb of the natural cycle from which plants and herbs of extraordinary medicinal abilities are nurtured.

Barrio Lindo feels a strong bond to the native tribes of his Argentinian home. Ancestral cultures are of great importance, providing a wealth of inspiration. An instrument maker by trade, using his bare hands he constructs many ethnical instruments like Andean flutes, African harps, string instruments from India and so on. This fascination with indigenous sounds is reflected within his music and themes with the use of samples and tribal instrumentation. While understanding his work is far from that of the native cultures, he finds ways to incorporate these influences through fusions of sounds. Drawing a parallel, worlds both old and new align.

‘Menoko’ comes on limited purple double vinyl (including download code).

Berlin producer Robot Koch is back for his third full length release, “The Other Side”.

Although Robot Koch has an international reputation as being “One of Europe's finest producers of the beat generation“ (Low End Theory), he is much more than just a beatmaker… “(Post)-dubstep infused Electronic Hip Hop“ is far too constrained a label to understand what this producer is all about. Instead of following the sound of his previous albums “Death Star Droid” (“Essential listening” – Bobby Friction BBC) and “Songs For Trees and Cyborgs“ (“Music for a modern age that has rarely sounded so good” – Boomkat), Koch takes the genre defying ingredients from these previous records to another level. There still are some of those “Galactic ten ton beats and space age melodies“ (Dazed and Confused) that made the previous albums staple drops in the playlists of Mary Anne Hobbs, Starkey, Daedelus and Gaslamp Killer to name a few, but there is a new dimension to Koch's production and songwriting that didn’t show on his previous records.

The cinematic vibe of tracks like “Nitesky”, the quirky and moody feel of “Bugs” and the electricity of “Tapedeck” show how Koch more than ever manages to create intimate and timeless pieces of music that are soulful, deep, mysterious and that will appeal to fans of cutting edge Electronica and modern pop music alike. This is the most personal record of Robot Koch to date. Instead of going for big name features Koch teamed up with lesser know artists like Kansas based vocal talent John LaMonica, long time friend and theatre composer Nielson and mexican singer/songwriter Graciela Maria to find the right voices for his compositions. John LaMonica infuses his whimsical and heartfelt melodies that breathe an air of darkness and nostalgia with Koch's fresh and forward thinking instrumentals to create something that fans of Radiohead, The XX and Jamie Lidell should not sleep on.

After the release of the John Robinson collaboration album (“Robot Robinson” – Project Mooncircle) earlier this year, it seems surprising how extensive Robert’s output is, but don’t be mistaken, this album is a longer term project than just releasing the songs Koch made in the last year. Some of the songs found on “The Other Side” were made seven years ago.

What Sophie Michalitsianos has created, using barely more than her voice, piano, and cello, is magical, defying labels. Originally released as a private-press CD for her fans, I.A.A.Y.A, or I Am As You Are, is sublime, intimate, weightless, and comforting. The album takes its time yet feels urgent, like you need this music, this moment. This is the first time it's been available on vinyl. If the name Sol Seppy sounds familiar, it's because Michalitsianos had one groundbreaking album in 2006, The Bells of 1 2, which for those that heard it became one of the most important albums of the 00s. From it came the track Enter One, which has been used on numerous high-profile TV shows and has a silly number of views on YouTube. Most of I.A.A.Y.A was recorded and mixed in Knoxville, United States. Now, though, Michalitsianos lives in a small Greek village, hoping to make it her home while she works on the next two records. Yes, this is just the first part of a trilogy. In Sophie's own words: "Deep within these songs is a meeting place. It's an old home of everyone's and I hope for it to be an anchor whilst we bob up and down in chop." This is rare, this is real, this is true.

Kassa belongs to the long tradition of melancholy raconteurs with a decided gift of gab. And the unique embrace of his deep voice heightens the emotion generated by the hum of his lyrics. For Ethiopians he is, along with the other great traditional voices of the post-war period such as Assèfa Abatè, Fréw Haylou, Asnaqètch Wèrqu or Kètèma Mèkonnen, a perfect example of the culture of the word: poetry and freedom of expression, with an impressive verve that hits the mark, quiet vehemence and merciless loquacity, lovelorn despair and self-deprecation. It must be underscored – to invoke some notion of a virtual scale of values – without exaggerating that there is a certain similarity between Ethiopians’ perception of Kassa Tèssèma’s “music” and the rapture Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou’s piano playing inspires in non-Ethiopian audiences. Each in his own way, both these artists are able to captivate their listeners. Music that demands to be listened to.

Nearly five years on from their acclaimed debut, Bennett Wilson Poole reveal the follow up. It's been a long time coming, but... That eponymous first album was only ever intended as a one-off collaborative project — a serendipitous series of events which began with a late evening session where the trio wrote ‘Hate Won't Win’. A response to the murder of MP Jo Cox, it was something of a fresh take on Crosby Stills Nash and Young’s classic protest song ‘Ohio’. The release saw Bennett Wilson Poole embraced by the Americana community, playing live on the Andrew Marr show and crowned as ‘UK Artist of the Year’ at the 2019 UK Americana Awards, in front of a watching crowd including Graham Nash himself. The new album came together in similar fashion; Robin (Bennett) and Danny (Wilson) started writing new songs late into the night whilst on tour to promote the first record — a tour which unfolded from a three-night residency in a London pub into a year-long odyssey culminating in a headline show in Hall One at King’s Place — and before they knew it, there were enough songs to begin recording an unplanned second album. Where the first record drank deep from 70s US west coast folk-rock, the second has been heavily spiked with 1960s British psychedelia, even featuring a cover by legendary counterculture artist John Hurford (whose credits include 60s artwork for Oz Magazine and International Times).* Tony Poole’s meticulous and inspired production has spun Robin and Danny’s fresh batch of songs into a delicate web of musical delight. Fans of the ‘spot the reference’ game Tony started on the first record won’t be disappointed this time either, as there are plenty more to be found here. As with the first album, the lyrics don’t shy away from current affairs – by the end of that year of touring, the band were already playing “I Wanna Love You (But I Can’t Right Now)”, reflecting on the state of US politics, yet optimistic that the problems are only temporary. Many of the tracks on the new album feature live rhythm section Fin Kenny (drums) and Joe Bennett

(bass) for the first time on a BWP record.

The title of the album comes from the lyrics of ‘Help Me See My Way’, the first single, a prayer for strength in difficult times, the trippy animated video for which was originally issued during lockdown. The dreamy positivity of the line "I saw a star behind your eyes" is tempered with the plea "don't let it die away", a message which feels as important as ever two years on.

All three collaborators have had critical acclaim in their own right. Danny Wilson’s credentials go back to his days in Grand Drive with brother Julian, and his consistent high calibre output with his Champions of the World led them to sweeping the board at the first UK Americana Awards with Album, Artist and Song of the year awards richly deserved; Tony Poole’s Starry Eyed and Laughing were hailed as “the English Byrds” on the back of their two CBS-released albums in the mid-seventies and he has since built an enviable reputation as producer and engineer; Robin Bennett has been relentlessly turning out timeless songs from his Oxfordshire base in bands from Goldrush to The Dreaming Spires

Legendary Italian musician Sergio Messina serves up his 13 track Sensual Musicology on Hell Yeah this March. It comes a couple of years after he first released on the label's Buena Onda compilation and takes in everything from demented waltz to grown-up jazz, groovy beach music to heart-aching melancholia with artwork by virtuoso Italian AD DeeMo. Now based in Lombardy, Sergio was there at the birth of pirate radio in the mid-seventies and eventually produced Radio art for national broadcaster Rai. At the same time, his DJ career took off and he helped establish Hip hop in Rome before taking his own live show to the stage with a mix of PCs, samplers and tape recorders as early as 1989. Frank Zappa declared himself a fan and in the years since Sergio has done everything from radio art to producing Neapolitan reggae and hip hop band 99 Posse, producing his own solo albums and writing for monthly music magazine Rumore.

On top of this, he has both written books about and delivered lectures on the digital porno revolution, as well as teaching History of Pop Culture at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan. All this makes him a truly original creative thinking who has long been immersed in many niche facets of popular culture. Sensual Musicology took several years and four different locations to happen. Its release has been delayed by the pandemic, during which Sergio lost many friends and relatives close to him. As a result, the album is dedicated to all of them. It is a record that addresses many topics from economic migration to jazz piano, 60s blues motifs to corruption, pollution and racism via Michael Jackson covers, odes to West Coast guitar albums and spaced-out pieces of electronica. Opening with the beautifully delicate Mingus melodies of 'Goodbye Porkpie Hat' the album roams through the bluesy Italo-American-Jamaican groove of 'Amara,' slow melancholy of 'Sometimes Remember' with classy vocals from chanteuse Valeria Rossi and 'The Way You Make Me Feel', an acoustic rebuild of Michael Jackson's hit song. Then comes the serenade that is 'Just Because You're Dead,' and ‘Sono Stufa di Tutto’ which is based around a protest speech recorded from the radio in the 1980s. Jon Hassell Beach Bar' is a musical hybridisation for dancing pleasure. The second half of the album takes in 'Ouana Di lambo' which is the Four Twenties taking you to a cocktail bar in the tropics, 'Benjamino Placido' which is a melody for a man who inspired Sergio to start writing his columns, and 'Nowhere Special' which is a tribute to West Coast guitar albums. Closer ‘Switchblade Bolero' has a Zappaesque theme. Sensual Musicology is a rich and diverse musical world that is as thought-provoking and deep as it is emotionally rewarding.

Earthly Measures are very excited to bring to you 'Doroja', an album by Santiago Córdoba & The Bauls of Bengal. Different to past releases, EM explores another part of the world, introducing you to the traditional sounds of Bengal & its talented musicians. Doroja, is the third album by Argentinian musician Santiago Córdoba, this time in collaboration with The Bauls of Bengal. Recorded at the Hansadhwani Studio in Calcutta, India, where Santiago arrived with only a synthesiser, some effects, and a Legüero Bass Drum (an Argentine percussive instrument used mostly in local folklore) - this album was first conceived in December 2017 during a residency in this mythical city, together with The Bauls of Bengal. The Bauls believe the body and mind are the sources of all truths and that the expression of freedom cannot be restrained by the labelling of genres or religions, something which is evidently expressed in their music. This provides the perfect foundations for this album to develop without limitations and too effortlessly flow to whichever realms both Santiago and the Bauls of Bengal wish to take us too. The album combines traditional songs of the Bauls, rhythmic Jhumar instrumental improvisations with the Argentinian legüero bass drum, and other compositions created together in the studio. The result is a melodic mixture/dialogue of cultures, folklore and ancestral sounds with modern influences that help create an experimental and addictive sound full of electronic textures. Participating in these first recordings: Arpita Chakraborty (vocals), Chandan Ray (dotara), Pijush Baul (Vocals, Dubki) and Tanmoy Pan (percussion), who later, are joined by other artists from different latitudes to achieve a captivating fusion: Matías Romero on strings (Formosa, Argentina), Guilherme Peluci from Mineiro on winds and Daniel Guedes on percussion (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), Porteños Walter Broide on tabla and Cobra Rod on bass (both members of Poseidotica), and the Spanish Ángel Calvo on trumpet.

The album was mixed by Rodrigo Cursach at Delta Uno Estudio, mastered by Daniel Ovie, and the fascinating cover art is by Alejandro Sordi. It will be released on vinyl by the UK based label Earthly Measures, in addition to being available on all digital platforms. ‘Doroja’ means portal, and this album is indeed a magical portal to music, song and dance. Santiago's only means of communication with Bengali colleagues functioned as an astral portal to build the sounds of this journey through strange and unfathomable landscapes that captivate and surprise by building bridges between different cultures of our planet. Santiago Córdoba is a multi-instrumentalist musician born in the city of Buenos Aires who has been developing his unique sound both with his solo project and with prominent bands from the Argentinian independent music scene. He has been developing his solo career through deep musical and spiritual searching, with the infinite journey as a primary objective. In recent years, he has lived in places such as Madrid, Beirut and Berlin and has released two albums: ‘Corso’ (2015) and ‘En Other Places’ (2019).

Recorded between Lausanne and Brussels during summer 2019, this new series of songs by Meril Wubslin dig deeper into this tribal, rustic and minimal tendency that they had in the two previous albums. It is the desire to search for sounds, to manipulate matter: sound matter, rhythmic matter, to knead it to its hottest point, that guided the work of composition. All vintage guitars were recorded without amps. Tambourines and other maracas were approached as a drum kit. But the harmonies and melodies are still present and sometimes event enhanced by the occasional participation of a choir of female voices or a minimal synth line. Always with this desire to use French, their mother tongue, while trying to avoid the trap of « variété française ».

With this new album, we wanted to try something slightly different with the sound. Explore new ways to record our instruments and voices. Thus we decided to put away the amplifiers that we used for rockier moods. And we tried the acoustic option. We were surprised by the wide range of possibilities, much more direct and much more emotional actually. About the texts, we still insist on this open way of writing, a mixture of abstract and concrete which offers several understandings. With this liberty in the structure, we avoid the predominance of the message, to go towards a more sensitive and open meaning.

After his groundbreaking album 'Opa Hey!' and the raw and groovy 'Demoni', Kottarashky's third album takes us deep into the NYC district called Sofia and introduces us to its street corners brimming with rock, blues, Balkan-style funk and the jazz-flavoured rhythms of late summer. On this album The Rain Dogs are much more than just the back-up band of a lone sonic wizard. This time around the crew comprises some of the most sought-after musicians drawn from the contemporary Bulgarian scene.

close to NM

Record is close to VG+.
OBI not included.

The group Tigadrine - which carries the soul of the desert where it goes - releases its first album Tizana, in the continuity of its EP Dahamis. The group deals through its songs with various universal subjects, such as love, loyalty, attachment to the customs and deep traditions of the desert and history.Musically, this album is a sublime blend of the musical heritage of southern Morocco, with its traditional rhythms and melodies, and modern Rock/funk techniques and rhythms.Tazana is, to conclude, a rich and eclectic work, both in terms of texts and music.

Every person we meet, every moment we live through, all the love we feel, and the losses we endure, add another layer to the intricate pattern of our lives. Like multicolored threads, these layers twist together to form a complex, vibrant tapestry — a reflection of our life journey until this point. On his new album Layers, Khalab acknowledges and celebrates the encounters that have shaped his ever-evolving musical vision. The record, out on August 25th with his own Hyperjazz Records, represents the culmination of a creative journey that began with his Eunoto EP (Black Acre Records, 2015), evolved with the Afro-Futuristic soundscapes of 2018’s highly acclaimed album Black Noise 2084 (On The Corner Records/!K7), and has since developed further through a series of experiences and deep musical collaborations. Layers summons all the alchemy of Khalab’s live performances, and embodies the transcendental power of music making as a collective art form. Over the past five years, Khalab has shared the stage at Italian and International festivals with many exceptional musicians, an experience which has sharpened the musicality of his compositions and enhanced the depth and complexity of his sound. “Since the release of Black Noise 2084 I’ve increasingly developed the stage and band dynamic, focusing on arranging with the musicians in mind, and this album was almost entirely conceived together with musicians I’ve collaborated with” says Khalab. In a testament to the label’s close-knit and highly collaborative nature, Khalab's live band includes a cadre of musicians from the Hyperjazz family, including David Paulis and Enrico Truzzi of Phresoul, as well Pietro Santangelo, Fabio Sasso, and longstanding creative-partner Nicola Guida. The album’s nine tracks feature an impressive lineup of collaborators old and new, including UK drummer and producer Emanative, Burkinabe singer, guitarist, and m’bira player Gabin Dabiré (passed away a few weeks ago), Italian producer Clap! Clap!, multi-wind instrumentalist Tamar Osborn, drummer and producer Tommaso Cappellato, British-Bahraini trumpeter Yazz Ahmed, Bristol’s vocalist and producer Grove, multi-instrumentalist Tenderlonious, Italian jazz singer Alessia Obino and British-born Nigerian spoken-word artist Joshua Idehen. Layers still revolves around the key components of Khalab’s sound — dark and trancey electronics and his research into Black music and all its evolutions — but with a bigger emphasis on harmonic arrangements. Across the album, Khalab’s productions twist and pulsate into mesmerizing motifs, as the interplay between different instruments coalesce into focused melodies and rich, complex textures. Khalab and his collaborators masterfully blend gloomy and radiant tones, eliciting feelings of both doom and hope. The album will be preceded by three lead singles: “Layers” feat. Joshua idehen, “Tunnel Of Jealousy” feat. Lady Blue Eyes, and “Female Side” feat. Tommaso Cappellato.

For Khalab, Layers represents the end point of a journey that began with the synthesis of ancestral rhythms and electronic experimentation on Black Noise 2084, and has taken him on a meandering route through a Mauritanian refugee camp (M’berra, Real World Recordings, 2021), and deep into the catalogs of legendary Italian labels Soul Note and Black Saint (for the Hyperituals compilations, released on his own Hyperjazz label). In Khalab’s own words: “For me this feels like coming full circle, because everything will be more experimental going forward”. Credits All tracks written & arranged by Khalab Produced by Khalab & DJ Knuf With the vital contribution of these amazing musicians: A1. Yazz Ahmed (flugelhorn, trumpet), Alessia Obino (voice), Nicola Guida (synths), Fabio Sasso (drums) A2. Emanative (drums), Tamar Osborn (baritone saxophone), Grove (lyrics, voice) A3. Lady Blue Eyes (voice) A4. Cristiano Crisci (synths), Pietro Santangelo (tenor saxophone) A5. Joshua Idehen (lyrics, voice), Cristiano Crisci (additional synths) B1. Tommaso Cappellato (synths), Enrico Truzzi (drums), David Paulis (electric bass), Cristiano Crisci (additional synths) B2. Gabin Dabiré (voice, m’bira) B3. Tenderlonious (flute) B4. Magnus PI (percussion), Alessia Obino (voice), Pietro Santangelo (tenor saxophone), Enrico Truzzi (drums) Mix by DJ Knuf at Studio 33, Rome Remix by Khalab at Studio 33, Rome Megamix by Satori Stereo Saiyan Mastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, London Visual project design by Marco Klefisch

The 2017 groundbreaking debut EP for Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad, Tamino in short. The grandson of Egyptian actor/musician Moharam Fouad stormed the charts with the brilliant single 'Habibi', a song that envelops itself in a mist of melancholy and gloom. Tamino's phenomenal voice, ranging from a deep croon to a towering falsetto, goes right to the bone. He combines the tradition of the greatest singer-songwriters with his own Arabic roots. Belpop history was made right there.

Mòlo Sâyat is the meeting of souls of Lebanese singer Pl Seif and some European instrumentalists. Their repertoire has established its base camp around the Mediterranean Sea without renouncing their sporadic visits deep inland. Led by an ear cravingthe beauty of contradictions, the band composes songs in Arabic, Italian and Romani language. Voices and instruments rise up together to invoke a chimeric and colourful folklore and to transport the listeners into a voluptuous inner-world.

Shapes of Rhythm is proud to present the self-titled debut LP of Turkish psychedelic pop from Mldva & Çınar Timur. This record is a celebration of the classic music and culture typically of the 70s and 80s, but which also leans into western jazz funk and soul jazz moments. If you're into the Turkish music legends of the 70s and 80s such as Barış Manço and more recently Altın Gün or Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, you've come to the right place.
Mldva were formed in Krakow, Poland in 2013 as a DJ and production outfit. Under the influence of Greek and Turkish folk and psych-rock music they began to transform into a band, taking up instruments including the Saz which is one of the most recognisable trademarks of the Turkish sound. Two years later in 2015 they invited Turkish instrumentalist Çınar Timur to join them and this completes the line up on their debut. This electric album is packed with excellently-recorded expansive tracks which are full of energy, psychedelic deep grooves, hard-hitting breakbeats and everything else you'd expect with classic Turkish sounds.
The instrumental double-header of Neşat Erkaş' Zülüf Dökülmüş Yüze, moving into the time-honoured traditional Kozan Dağıis the perfect opening track. The introduction is an overture of sorts with two minutes of Çınar Timur's pondering guitar. This tees up the record perfectly before heading into a break-beat driven workout with the band matching Çınar's evocative and energetic riffing. The result is a tight sound and a heavy groove that sets the tone for what's to come.
With the band unveiled, Sarı Çizmeli Mehmet Ağa, written by Barış Manço (a legend in Turkish popular music), hits a relaxed, deeper and more psychedelic groove, dominated by Wojciech Długosz's dreamy Rhodes piano, set against choppy wah-wah guitar licks that characterize that classic electric Turkish pop sound. We're introduced to Ulaş Çıbuk's vocals for the first time, telling the historic tale of a charitable village lord Mehmet Ağa from 19c Anatolia known for his generosity. He shared his fortune with people inneed and as a result, died penniless. This track also features the unique sound of Çınar's Mictrotonal electric guitar.
Bir Adım Öte is Mldva & Çınar Timur's magnificent mellow moment, marking the halfway point in their debut. The group shows that it's not all about the frenetic in a nod to western Soul-Jazz constructs. They showcase restraint, emotion and that joy in repetition of a wonderful guitar refrain. Not content with holding this down, Wojciech Długosz's Rhodes solo steps into a world that's US-influenced Soul jazzand is a lesson in reduction and feeling. Çınar Timur then takes a solo turn, keeping it western-influenced with an on the spot improvisation. When the three minutes of solos are over, we're brought back out of thedream and towards the East again.
Adımız Miskindir Bizim kicks off like a hip hop/funk crossover tune, until the chord changes muscle in, to remind you where you are in the world. As with other tracks on the debut, the tune is marked by recurring motifs, this time from Çınar's microtonal electric guitar. We've more solo Rhodes action, thist ime busier and more urgent. The lyrics–originally written by Yunus Emre – criticizevalues such as holding grudges that destroy ideas of love, friendship and peace among people which causes hostility. Adımız Miskindir Bizim concludes with an uplifting vocal vamp which switches it up unlike any of thetracks on the LP.
In Fesupanallah– made most popular by Erkin Koray – Ulaş Çıbuk sings about the simple subject ofbeing patient with never ending problems in life, and trying to find a solution for them. This cut takes a rhythmical side-step to the rest of the album. The kick drum maps out a solid four-four, but the vocals and guitar lines move around it to impose Fesupanallah as being the record's most traditionally Turkish-sounding cut.
The album's closing track Ölüm Allah'ın Emri (another Manço classic) was recorded live in the band's more familiar surroundings of Krakow's Cheder Cafe during 2020's Jewish Culture Festival. The lyrics tell the tale of someone who has accepted death but cannot accept the separation that comes with it. We open with a dreamy, psychedelic mood before progressing into a heavy-riffing rock feeling with probing synths. Ulaş delivers his vocals over the top of a stripped back, shuffling groove. As the track progresses towards a frenetic conclusion, drummer Szymon Piotrowski cuts loose, combining with Grzegorz Dąbek's synth lines.
Mldva & Çınar Timur's debut LP is not the sound of a band starting out. Taking time to hone their craft and let influences across the global spectrum of music mature, this is the result of years of jamming, gigging and collaborating. Now, after prestigious festival appearances and their place on Saz Power – an essential modern Turkish music compilation – they're making a lasting contribution to a rich, time-honored culture. Mldva & Çınar Timur releases Friday 30 June 2023 on limited edition vinyl LP and digital download/streaming services on Shapes of Rhythm. Global distribution by Kudos Records.

Amsterdam’s Altın Gün have built a strong reputation for melding past and present to make brilliantly catchy, psychedelic pop music, as seen with their Grammy-nominated second album, Gece. They are also a renowned live band with strings of sold-out shows on three continents, who have consistently brought a muscular groove to their recordings.Yol, their third album in as many years, excitedly continues these trends; while also digging in deep to unveil a new palette of sonic surprises. Though it draws from the rich and incredibly diverse traditions of Anatolian and Turkish folk music,Yol is not just a record that reframes traditional sounds for a contemporary audience. The album often presents a textured, avant-pop sound as evidenced by the debut single "Ordunun Dereleri.” Mysterious and atmospheric, the track is a thrilling evolution for the band. It patiently coaxes the listener into a resonant soundworld of down-tempo electro beats, majestic synths and Erdinç Ecevit's yearning vocal of unrequited love. The album also signals a very different approach in making and recording for the band. Singer Merve Dasdemir takes up the story: “We were basically stuck at home for three months making home demos, with everybody adding their parts. The transnational feeling maybe comes from that process of swapping demos over the internet, some of the music we did in the studio, but lockdown meant we had to follow a different approach.”

With Yol, Altın Gün have maybe patented their own magical process of reimagining and sonic path-finding, one probably not heard since the late 1960s and early 1970s British folk- rock boom. Less of a reworking than a seduction, their recordings transport the listener to a world where the original songs never previously inhabited. Merve Dasdemir again: “After we worked on them, they got a whole new life of their own. Maybe we went a little bit too far (laughs).”

In the late 1960s, Antonio Infantino linked his name to the Beat world and to italian performance and gestural music circles (Bussotti, Chiari, Curran). A poet and singer, a tireless devotee of the musical traditions of Southern Italy, he focuses his research mainly on the mysterious phenomenon of Tarantismo, a cultural syndrome of hysterical type found in the Mediterranean air and made famous by the studies of Ernesto De Martino. With his group, Infantino twists and reinvents the traditional repertoire of Basilicata, creating an entirely new and original songbook. The music reflects the states of Trance induced by the bite of the spider tarantula, with obsessive and hypnotic rhythms characteristic of the incandescent blood of the peasant world. A deep and universal human sound, it also takes its cues from Dylan's folk revolution and the frenetic drums of North Africa.

Maalem Houssam Guinia Dead of Night

Hmrlp035 LP £12 Allah Allah Daym Molana Jangari Jahwari Bouri Bouriama Ya Jowadi Samaoui Matinba Mosawiyin (Souiri)

"Raw, deep and spiritual Gnawa music from Morocco to carry you through the night...

Recorded in a single late night session in a house in Casablanca, using a Tascam field recorder and 2 microphones, Dead of Night is the incredible new solo album from Maalem Houssam Guinia, the son of Maalem Mahmoud Guinia, and one of Morocco's most exciting young Gnawa masters.

The album was recorded live on the night of 3rd January 2022 in a relaxed session that lasted into the early hours of the next morning, and it captures Houssam at his most natural, singing and playing the Gnawa songs that have been with him since his birth, completely solo and free without percussion or backing vocals. Houssam described the album as containing the songs he knows best as these were the pieces his father would play and sing late into the night in their home when he was an infant.

What you'll hear on Dead of Night is raw, deep Gnawa music in its purest form played by a young Maalem who has been immersed in the culture his whole life and is a master of his craft. The whole performance has been beautifully and sympathetically captured by bassist and producer Karl-Erik Enkelman."

Voice & Guimbri by Maalem Houssam Guinia. Recording & Production by Karl-Erik Enkelmann. Mastering by Julian Tardo. Photography by Bader Naggay. Design by Marc Teare.

With thanks to Hamza Guinia, Khalil Mounji, Karl-Erik Enkelmann & Karl Jonas Winqvist.

Rural legend and outsider folk artist H.C Slim had amassed quite a catalog of original songs he's demoed on a tape recorder, deep in the Eastern Finnish countryside. Over the years cassettes and CDRs began to circulate with original copies selling for high prices, before Svart Records drove out to his remote cabin to offer Slim a deal for his debut album.

Compiled by Zaf Chowdry also responsible for Suss'd amazing 'P&P' and 'Deep Disco Culture' series. Co-compiled with music enthusiast and broadcaster Mark Taylor. A great genre of music given an arguably absurd title. A collecton of predominately white singer/songwriters from America's west coast influenced by African-americans R & B artists as much as soft rock, country, disco and jazz.