Label Review.

2020 album also availble on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Synth electro-pop pairing Pet Shop Boys are releasing their new album entitled 'Hotspot'. The bands 14th studio album 'Hotspot' was mostly recorded in Hansa Studios, Berlin, and mixed in The Record Plant, Los Angeles. It was produced and mixed by Stuart Price and features ten brand new Tennant/Lowe tracks including the single “Dreamland” featuring Years & Years, which was released in September. ‘Hotspot’ follows Pet Shop Boys’ 2016 album ’Super’, which featured single “The Pop Kids” and appeared on Rolling Stone‘s 20 Best Pop Albums of 2016 list.

One of the songs, “Burning the heather”, features Bernard Butler on guitar and was recorded at RAK Studios in London. Pet Shop Boys say: “We’ve written much of our music over the last ten years in Berlin and it was an exciting experience to work on this album in the legendary Hansa studios there and add a new dimension to our sound.” The album is the last instalment of the trilogy of PSB albums produced by Stuart Price, following “Electric” in 2013 and “Super” in 2016.

The band have also announced a tour of the U.K. and Europe for May and June 2020. The tour, dubbed Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live, kicks off May 1st at Berlin’s Mercedes Benz Arena and includes stops in London, Glasgow and Stockholm. More worldwide dates will be announced soon.

Trackisting: Will-O-The-Wisp / You Are The One / Happy People / Dreamland (Featuring Years & Years) / Hoping For A Miracle / I Don’t Wanna / Monkey Business / Only The Dark / Burning The Heather / Wedding In Berlin.

Label Review. 

Massive career retrospective with 13 CDs, 52pp book, and 7 inch single. All six albums (on CD and vinyl picture discs) with 4 discs of live material including radio sessions and acoustic sets. 2 discs of b-sides, remixes and rarities and one disc of demos, out-takes and oddities. Also available as a 'best of' on CD and vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Formed in 1993 in Oxford, UK, originally comprising Gaz Coombes (vocals, guitar, sideburns), Danny Goffey (drums) and Mick Quinn (bass), within two years they had a contract with EMI and took the pop world by storm with their debut album ‘I Should Coco’ and their big hit “Alright”. They gained credibility with their stunning musicianship coupled with songwriting and arranging chops that far belied their age (Gaz was still a teenager when they hit big in 1995). They had racked up 5 consecutive UK Top 10 hits by the time of their acclaimed second album ‘In It For Money’ released in 1997. With this record they continued to find the balance between classic pop/rock songwriting and excellent musicianship whilst still selling huge amounts of records.

They were largely a British phenomenon although they gained a big following in Australia and New Zealand and were able to tour Europe to sizable audiences too. The USA sadly remained out of reach probably due their fairly rigid ‘English’ sound. As their career continued into the 2000s they started to experiment with different sounds while still writing great pop songs. Their audience was becoming more selective and after a cool response to their sixth album ‘Diamond Hoo-Ha’ in 2008 they called a break and Gaz went solo maintaining critical respect with his output which blended electronic sounds into his musical palette.

Now in control of their back catalogue the band have reformed and this ‘best of’ is a fantastic reminder of their classic tunes! For the dedicated fan they have produced a very deluxe box set which contains a trunk load of rarities.

CD/LP1 'I Should Coco': I’d Like To Know / Caught By The Fuzz / Mansize Rooster / Alright / Lose It / Lenny / Strange Ones / Sitting Up Straight / She’s So Loose / We’re Not Supposed To / Time / Sofa (Of My Lethargy) / Time To Go

CD/LP2 'In It For The Money': In It For The Money / Richard III / Tonight / Late In The Day / G-Song / Sun Hits The Sky / Going Out / It’s Not Me / Cheapskate / You Can See Me / Hollow Little Reign / Sometimes I Make You Sad

CD/LP3 'Supergrass': 'Moving / Your Love / What Went Wrong (In Your Head) / Beautiful People / Shotover Hill / Eon / Mary / Jesus Came From Outta Space / Pumping On Your Stereo / Born Again / Faraway / Mama & Papa

CD/LP4 'Life On Other Planets': Za / Rush Hour Soul / Seen The Light / Brecon Beacons / Can’t Get Up / Evening Of The Day / Never Done Nothing Like That Before / Funniest Thing / Grace / La Song / Prophet 15 / Run

CD/LP5 'Road To Rouen': Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4, 5, & 6) / St. Petersburg / Sad Girl / Roxy / Coffee In The Pot / Road To Rouen / Kick In The Teeth / Low C / Fin

CD/LP6 'Diamond Hoo Ha': Diamond Hoo Ha Man / Bad Blood / Rebel In You / When I Needed You / 345 / The Return Of... / Rough Knuckles / Ghost Of A Friend / Whiskey & Green Tea / Outside / Butterfly

Extras (Tracks to be announced)

4CD set: Live (5 hours of previously unreleased, career-spanning performances: radio sessions, full live shows and acoustic sets).

2CD set: Remixes, B-sides, acoustic versions and other rarities.

1CD set: Demos, out-takes and oddities (all previously unreleased).

7" single: Caught By The Fuzz / Richard III 2020 Remixes.

Label Review. 

CD1: Sam Cooke (mono) (1958) / CD2: Encore (mono) (1958) / CD3: Tribute To The Lady (mono & stereo) (1959) / CD4: Hit Kit (mono) (1959) / CD5: The Wonderful World Of Sam Cooke (mono) (1960)

Finally, the first official collection of his early years, 'The Complete Keen Years' collects Sam Cooke’s early body of work as a secular artist after a glorious six-year run fronting the Soul Stirrers. His voice had become the dominant force in the gospel sales prior to the release of "You Send Me" and "Summertime". He was destined to become a major force in pop just as he had been in gospel. While this newly re-mastered collection includes standards and hits that had been associated with artists who came before Sam Cooke, Sam’s fresh approach made the repertoire his own and helped shape his own song-writing skills in a very tangible way. Within this period, Sam Cooke defined himself as a voice ahead of his time.

His album debut 'Sam Cooke' (self-titled, also known as 'Songs by Sam Cooke') was released in 1958, 'Encore' followed quickly. They were absent of any Sam Cooke originals and the cover of 'Encore' depicted Sam swinging with jazz musicians behind him, an honest depiction of what was in the grooves of the LP within. Cooke’s 1959 album 'Tribute To The Lady' is just that, a tribute to Billie Holiday, a/k/a ‘Lady Day.’ This session was recorded in stereo and reimagines Billie Holiday’s catalogue as Sam’s own. 'Hit Kit', also released in 1959, is a collection of his hits from this period, most of which were originals. Cooke’s fifth album from this prolific time, 'The Wonderful World of Sam Cooke' contains the original hit recording of "(What A) Wonderful World", from his last session for Keen.

Sam Cooke found his voice not by imitating popular singers but, rather, by his own singular interpretations of songs made notable by others. The thoughtful essay by Michael Corcoran that is included with this collection underscores this fact and suggests that 'Tribute To The Lady' specifically offers an essential look at how Sam Cooke found his voice: "Like Lady Day, Sam had a pretty voice too honest to be cute, sending the words on paper through a spiritual journey before coming out of a mouth fluent in both sorrow and triumph. But he didn’t sing songs her way. Sam Cooke put every note in a place all his own."

Tracklisting. 

Disc 2: Encore: Oh, Look At Me Now / Someday / Along The Navajo Trail / Running Wild / Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive / Mary, Mary Lou / When I Fall In Love / I Cover The Waterfront / My Foolish Heart / Today I Sing The Blues / The Gypsy / It's The Talk Of The Town

Disc 3: Tribute To The Lady [Mono & Stereo]: God Bless The Child / She's Funny That Way / I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues / Good Morning Heartache / T'aint Nobody’s Business (If I Do) / Comes Love / Lover Girl (Man) / Let's Call The Whole Thing Off / Lover Come Back To Me / Solitude / They Can't Take That Away From Me / Crazy She Calls Me

Disc 4: Hit Kit: Only Sixteen / All Of My Life / Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha / Blue Moon / Win Your Love For Me / Lonely Island / You Send Me  / Love You Most Of All / (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons / Little Things You Do / Let's Go Steady Again / You Were Made For Me / Lonely Island (single version) / Win Your Love For Me (stereo) / Almost In Your Arms (Love Song From "Houseboat") (stereo) / Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha (stereo) / Little Things You Do (stereo) / Only Sixteen (stereo) / Let's Go Steady Again (stereo) / With You (stereo) / Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh aka Ee-Yi-Ee-Yi-Oh (stereo)

Disc 5: The Wonderful World Of Sam Cooke: (What A) Wonderful World / Desire Me / Summertime (Part 2) / Almost In Your Arms (Love Song From “Houseboat”) / That's Heaven To Me / No One (Can Ever Take Your Place) / With You / Blue Moon / Stealing Kisses / You Were Made For Me / There I've Said It Again / I Thank God / Steal Away (album version) / Deep River / One Hour Ahead Of The Posse / Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh aka Ee-Yi-Ee-Yi-Oh / So Glamorous / Steal Away (single version)

Label Review. 

2020 album. Doom jazz. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

German darkjazz cult band Bohren & Der Club of Gore have announced their new album ‘Patchouli Blue’ It’s the group’s first new album in six years and their ninth overall. The band have built a loyal international fanbase on the back of their trademark ‘Doom Jazz’ sound and count musical icons such as Mike Patton and Stephen O’Malley among their fans. Strictly instrumental, this band and their sound have the healing power to survive these hectic modern times.

In a statement the band said “Dear friends of music where hardly anything happens, BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE is happy and proud, to announce their new album. You may have already given up hope, but miracles happen: PATCHOULI BLUE - instrumental, slow, uneventful - as always. Love it, hate it, listen to it.”

The current roster of band members in Bohren & der Club of Gore’s German outfit include Christoph Clöser (saxophone/piano/Fender Rhodes electric piano/vibraphone), Robin Rodenberg (bass guitar/double bass) and Morten Gass (synthesizer/mellotron/organ/Fender Rhodes electric piano/8-string bass/vocoder). Bohren & der Club of Gore’s Patchouli Blue, released courtesy of IpecacRecordings and it’s the band’s follow-up to 2014’s Piano Nights, and the outfit’s fifth album to arrive via the San Francisco-based label.

The band played two sold out shows in London’s Round Chapel recently (2019) and will tour the UK again in 2020.

Tracklisting: Total falsch / Verwirrung am Strand / Glaub mir kein Wort / Patchouli Blue / Deine Kusine / Vergessen & Vorbei / Sollen es doch alle wissen / Tief gesunken / Zwei Herzen aus Gold / Sag mir, wie lang / Meine Welt Ist schön

Label Review. 

2020 album. Singer songwriter. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

‘Skeleton At The Banquet’ is the new album from two-time Grammy award winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Gill Landry. Landry was originally from Louisiana and started out as a busker on the streets of New Orleans before becoming a contributing member of the band Old Crow Medicine Show with whom he recorded 4 albums and toured from 2004 to 2014. He’s released 4 solo albums to critical acclaim, featuring such artists as Laura Marling, Brandi Carlile, Klara Soderberg (First Aid Kit) and Karen Elson among many others. Landry has toured extensively internationally in his own right, and has also supported Mumford & Sons, Brandi Carlile, Ben Harper, Laura Marling, Ben Howard and Bruce Hornsby.

‘Skeleton At The Banquet’ is Gill Landry’s fifth studio album and the follow-up to 2017’s Love Rides A Dark Horse (Loose/ATO). “This album is a series of reflections and thoughts on the collective hallucination that is America,” he says. “With a love song or two thrown in for good measure. I wrote it from within the refuge of a small flat, in a small village in western France where I spent last summer. I found it to be a good place for seeing the forest through the trees, so to speak.” The album was recorded and produced in Los Angeles by Gill and Seth Ford-Young (Tom Waits, Edward Sharpe). It features Landry on vocals, guitars, pedal steel, keys & harmonica, Seth Ford-Young on bass, Josh Collazo on drums, Stewart Cole on trumpet and Odessa Jorgensen on violin.

Tracklisting: I Love You Too / The Wolf / A Different Tune / Nobody’s Coming / The Refuge Of Your Arms / The Place They Call Home / Angeline / Trouble Town / Portrait Of Astrid (A Nocturne)

Label Review. 

28 tracks. This new compilation has identical tracklist to the last one from 2008. New artwork. BMG. Also available on vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

The Dave Clark Five for a brief period in early 1964 were seen as genuine competitors to The Beatles when their single “Glad All Over” knocked the Mop-tops “I Want To Hold Your Hand” off the top spot in the UK. The follow-up “Bits And Pieces” just fell short of the No.1 spot but after this the band from Tottenham didn’t trouble the upper echelons of the chart until “Everybody Knows” in 1967. However, the “DC5” were chart regulars throughout the 1960s not only in the UK but in the USA too where the band were undoubtably bigger.

Although the group were signed to EMI Columbia in the UK and Epic in the USA, bandleader and drummer Clark was a shrewd businessman as well who negotiated not only production credits but also ownership of the band master recordings. Since the band split up in the early 1970s, their tracks have only been available on a handful of occasions and in the CD age only in 1993 and 2008 has a greatest hits album been briefly available, licensed to major labels. And now they are available again, hopefully the rest of the DC5’s output will finally get reissued on CD and vinyl.

Tracklisting: Do You Love Me / Glad All Over / Bits And Pieces / Can’t You See That She’s Mine / Everybody Knows (I Still Love You) / Don’t Let Me Down / Any Way You Want It / Wild Weekend / Catch Us If You Can / Because / I Like It Like That / Reelin’ And Rockin’ / Over And Over / Come Home / You Got What It Takes / Try Too Hard / Everybody Knows / I’ll Be Yours My Love / Nineteen Days / Look Before You Leap / ‘Til The Right One Comes Along / All Night Long / Good Old Rock ‘N’ Roll (Medley) / Sha-Na-Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye / Here Comes Summer / Put A Little Love In Your Heart / Everybody Get Together / Universal Love

Label Review. 

The show in Moscow on 28th May 1979 with Ray Cooper was broadcast on BBC radio in the UK. This release is taken from the original broadcast masters, which have been remastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. Official. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Heavily bootlegged over the years, this show from 1979 is finally getting an official release from the master tapes. The tour came two years after Elton John announced his retirement from the road citing burnout and exhaustion. It was a stripped-down show in support of his new album ‘A Single Man’; he was backed only by percussionist Ray Cooper. It was a commercially disappointing release, but it became the first Western pop album officially released inside the Soviet Union. This came at a time when the Soviet government was slowly lifting cultural restrictions and it led to John becoming one of first major Western pop stars, following Cliff Richard, to tour the country.

The set featured a cross-section of songs from John’s entire career, including “Daniel,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Skyline Pigeon” and “Take Me to the Pilot.” Russian authorities made the mistake of telling him not to cover the Beatles’ “Back In The U.S.S.R.,” so of course he played it at every show!

Tracklisting.

Disc 1: Daniel / Skyline Pigeon / Take Me To The Pilot / Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time) / Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me / Goodbye Yellow Brick Road / Candle In The Wind / I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Disc 2: Funeral For A Friend / Tonight / Better Off Dead / Bennie And The Jets / Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word / Crazy Water / Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)-Pinball Wizard / Crocodile Rock-Get Back-Back In The U.S.S.R.

Label Review.

2020 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Yorkston / Thorne / Khan - James Yorkston (guitar/nyckelharpa/vocals), Jon Thorne (doublebass/ vocals) and Suhail Yusuf Khan (sarangi/vocals) - release their third album, ‘Navarasa: Nine Emotions’.

At the heart of YTK’s transporting new album is the subcontinent’s navarasa; the nine (nava) emotions or sentiments (rasa) of the arts, and each song on YTK’s new album is connected to one of these emotions.

A bricolage of diverse cross-cultural elements is apparent across the trio’s creations. James Yorkston weaves in Scottish folk, sangster and literary strands. Jon Thorne is grounded in jazz and groove. What the New Delhi-based, eighth-generation hereditary musician Suhail Yusuf Khan brings to this feast of pulses and cycles is northern Indian classical, light classical (thumri, for example) and Sufi devotional musical and literary forms. What binds these diverse musical strands together is, in James’ phrase, “a dark happiness.”

Tracklisting: Sukhe Phool / The Shearing’s Not for You / Thumri Bhairavi / Westlin’ Winds / Song for Oddur / The North Carr / Twa Brothers / Waliyan Da Raja / Darbari

Label Review.

2020 album. Jazz.

Our Overview.

For his new record, Pierre Genisson honours the legacy of the one known as the ‘King Of Swing’ and his worldwide successes: Benny Goodman, the incomparable jazz clarinetist who rose to become the pre-eminent swing bandleader of the 1930s, with an empire that launched many an act.

Both composer and conductor, born in Chicago, Illinois, the clarinettist shared his musical life between jazz and classical music: He was the first to perform jazz music with black musicians in the famous Carnegie Hall in 1938.

Though we know most of his jazz standards, he also contributed a lot to the development of the classic clarinet repertoire: for instance he distinguished himself performing Aaron Copland’s Concerto, Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue and Riffs or Bartók’s Contrasts.

Bringing together these emblematic works with unforgettable hits like ‘Sweet Georgia Browne or the irresistible ‘Sing, sing, sing’, Pierre Genisson makes Benny Goodman’s star shine brighter and, alongside the brilliant musicians of the BBC Concert Orchestra, proves once again the extent of his talent.

Tracklisting: Sing, sing, sing (with a swing) / Concerto for clarinet, strings and harp: I. Slowly and expressively / Concerto for clarinet, strings and harp: II. Rather fast / Chicago / Prelude, Fugue and Riffs: I. Prelude / Prelude, Fugue and Riffs: II. Fugue / Prelude, Fugue and Riffs: III. Riffs / Sweet Lorraine / Ebony Concerto: I. Allegro moderato / Ebony Concerto: II. Andante / Ebony Concerto: III. / Moderato con moto /Stompin’ at the Savoy /Sweet Georgia Brown

Label Review. 

2020 album also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Canadian indie rockers Wolf Parade - Dan Boeckner, (Handsome Furs) Spencer Krug (Frog Eyes) and Arlen Thompson - release ‘Thin Mind’, the group’s fifth album for Sub Pop. ‘Thin Mind’ has sci-fi, post-apocalyptic and dystopian narratives interwoven throughout. These themes emerged while working at Risque Disque, which Boeckner jokingly describes as a Dutchman’s failed utopia, a problematic structure with a post-apocalyptic vibe: the studio is housed in a stone barn hand-built by the Dutchman in the middle of the woods, using local materials and based on his memory of a building he loved growing up in the Netherlands

.‘Thin Mind’ finds the core members of Wolf Parade working as a trio, as they did on past albums ‘Apologies to the Queen Mary’ and ‘At Mount Zoomer’, with songwriting duties evenly split between singers Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug.

Every moment spent gazing at our screens is oversaturated with content, an ever-accelerated news cycle conditioning our ever-decreasing attention spans. The struggle to stay present, and to foresee a clear, sustainable future, feels very real. Wolf Parade address this phenomenon head-on with Thin Mind, the band’s 5th full-length and second to be produced by John Goodmanson (Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Unwound). 

“Thin Mind refers to the way that being around too much tech has made our focus thin,” says keyboardist Spencer Krug. “It’s opening one more page, scrolling one more thing,” adds guitarist Dan Boeckner, “and the weird, sort-of hollow automaton feeling that you get from it.”

“This record is very personal, but at the same time, we’re all coming from the same place of a general sense of anxiety,” says drummer Arlen Thompson. “How do you deal with the constant barrage of having your opinions swayed by all these different actors when you don’t know who they are or what their purpose is? There is no normal anymore.” 

'Thin Mind' marks a return to the original power trio of Dan, Spencer, and Arlen, following multi-instrumentalist Dante DeCaro’s amicable departure from the group in 2018, after the conclusion of their world tour supporting Cry Cry Cry. 

The album includes ‘Forest Green’, ‘Julia, Take Your Man Home’ and ‘Against the Day’, which features a rare co-vocal performance from Boeckner and Krug.

The 10-track release was recorded by John Goodmanson at Risque Disque on Vancouver Island, BC, mixed by Goodmanson at Bogroll Studios in Seattle, WA and mastered by Noah Mintz at Lacquer Channel Mastering in Toronto, ON.

Vinyl format includes digital download card.

Tracklisting: Under Glass / Julia Take Your Man / Home / Forest Green / Out of Control / The Static Age / As Kind as You Can / Fall Into the Future / Wandering Son / Against the Day / Town Square

Label Review.

2020 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Iconic and iconoclastic Texan songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen’s heartbreaking, hilarious new album ‘Just Like Moby Dick’, his first set of new songs since 2013’s’ Bottom of the World’, features the full Panhandle Mystery Band, including co-producer Charlie Sexton (Dylan, Bowie, Blaze), Shannon McNally, and Jo Harvey Allen; mainstays Bukka Allen, Richard Bowden, and Lloyd Maines; and co-writes with Joe Ely and Dave Alvin. The connections to Melville’s masterpiece are metaphorical and allusive, as elusive as the ‘White Whale’. The masterly spiritual successor to Lubbock (on everything), ‘Just Like Moby Dick’ casts its net wide for wild stories, depicting, among other monstrous things, Houdini in existential crisis, the death of the last stripper in town, bloodthirsty pirates (in a pseudo-sequel to Brecht and Weill’s “Pirate Jenny”), the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (in the “American Childhood” suite), a vampire-infested circus, mudslides and burning mobile homes, and all manner of tragicomic disasters, abandonments, betrayals, bad memories, failures, and fare-thee-wells.

The deluxe tip-on gatefold 2×LP package features lyrics, color labels, high-res Bandcamp download code, three sides of music, and a fourth-side vinyl etching artwork by Allen. The gatefold CD edition includes a six-panel lyrics insert with different artwork by Allen.

Tracklisting: Houdini Didn’t Like the Spiritualists / Abandonitis / Death of the Last Stripper / All That’s Left Is Fare-Thee-Well / Pirate Jenny / American Childhood I: Civil Defense / American Childhood II: Bad Kiss / American Childhood III: Little Puppet Thing / All These Blues Go Walkin’ By / City of the Vampires / Harmony Two /Sailin’ On Through

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Long-running cinematic rock band Caspian don’t want you to call their fifth album ‘On Circles’ a “redemption,” a “comeback,” a “rise from the ashes,” or any of the other sentiments that emerge when bands return from nearly five years of silence. Instead, this majestic collision of post-rock, metal, shoegaze, electronics, noise and ambient music is an existential meditation, an acceptance of the cyclical nature of both life and career.

Produced by Will Yip (Code Orange, Defeater, Quicksand, Turnstile), ‘On Circles’ marks the most organic writing and recording sessions in Caspian’s 15-year history. Together for four weeklong songwriting sessions, the band (joined by propulsive new drummer Justin Forrest), opted for music gleaming with visceral impact instead of over-thought tangles, over-arching concepts and drawn-out crescendos ‘On Circles’ is an art-rock record swirling with fourth-world saxophones, dubby textures and 7/8 rhythms. The albums two epics, “Division Blues” and “Ishmael,” feature apocalyptic cello from Jo Quail (Myrkyr, Winterfylleth, Poppy Ackroyd). The wistful “Nostalgist” features vocals from Pianos Become The Teeth vocalist Kyle Durfey.

For the first time, each track is meant to stand alone. “They’re just songs that we got together and wrote over the course of a year while trying to have a good time and reclaim whatever it is that’s simple about all of this,” says Jamieson. “Don’t get me wrong, we kicked our own asses constantly and stayed up staring at the ceiling thinking about song structures all night for a year … but being free from the yolk of having our music relentlessly try to answer the un-answerable was emancipating and humbling.”

Tracklisting: Wildblood / Flowers of Light / Nostalgist (feat. Kyle Durfey) / Division Blues / Onsra / Collapser / Ishmael / Circles on Circles

Label Review. 

The set includes both studio LPs The Honeycombs (1964) and All Systems Go (1965), presented here in their original mono versions produced by Joe Meek. Also on these discs are the non LP b-sides and more. Also includes their third LP In Tokyo (1966), a live recording. Also the Japan only singles recorded at Nippon Columbia Studios and the solo singles from guitarist Martin Murray and lead singer Denny D’ell. RPM.

Our Overview. 

Originally called The Sheratons, The Honeycombs were formed in late 1963 and they were spotted only a few months later by aspiring songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley who would go on to become prolific and successful hit makers for the likes of The Herd, Petula Clark, Sacha Distel, Frankie Howerd (the theme song for his film Up Pompeii), Engelbert Humperdinck, Horst Jankowski, Eartha Kitt, Little Eva, Lulu and Matthews Southern Comfort.

Their song “Have I The Right” was recorded by indie producer Joe Meek who accentuated the stomping drums on the track and it was released by Pye Records. Helped along by the fact that The Honeycombs drummer Honey Lantree was a woman, which in 1964 was news, the song sped to No.1 in the Summer of that year. Further hits were hard to come by but the group recorded two albums and a brace of singles before the group finally called it a day in 1967. This new package is the most comprehensive collection of this mid 60s British Beat group yet issued. Definitely worth snapping up!

Tracklisting.

Disc 1: Please Don't Pretend Again / Colour Slide / Once You Know / Without You It Is Night / That's The Way / I Want To Be Free / How The Mighty Have Fallen / Have I The Right? / Just A Face In The Crowd / Nice While It Lasted / Me From You / Leslie Anne / She's Too Way Out / It Ain't Necessarily So / This Too Shall Pass Away / Hab’ ich das Recht? (Have I The Right?) / Du Sollst Nicht Traurig Sein / (Please Don't Pretend Again) / Is It Because? / I'll Cry Tomorrow / Eyes / If You've Got To Pick A Baby / I Can't Stop (45 version) / Something Better Beginning / I'll See You Tomorrow / Can't Get Through To You / That's The Way (Live)* / Colour Slide (Live)* / Hab'ich Das Recht? (Have I The Right?) (instrumental)*

Disc 2: This Year, Next Year… / Not Sleeping Too Well Lately / I Can't Stop / I Don't Love Her No More / All Systems Go / Totem Pole (Instrumental) / Emptiness / Ooee Train / She Ain't Coming Back / Something I Gotta Tell You / Our Day Will Come / Nobody But Me / There's Always Me / Love In Tokyo / If You Should / My Prayer / Who Is Sylvia? / How WIll I Know? / It's So Hard / I Fell In Love / That Loving Feeling / Should A Man Cry / I Don't Love You No More* / I Can Tell (Something's Up)* / Tell Me Baby* / Somewhere Along The Way*

Disc 3: Colour Slide (Live) / I'll Go Crazy (Live) / She's About A Mover (Live) / There's Always Me (Live) / Wipe Out (Live) / Lucille (Live) / If You Should (Live) / Have I The Right? (Live) / Goldfinger (Live) / Kansas City (Live) / My Prayer (Live) / What'd I Say (Live) / Goldfinger (Instrumental) / Santa Claus Is Backin’ To Town / Silent Night Holy Night / Hurricane (Instrumental) / Music Train (Instrumental) / Time* / White Sands From The Ocean* / I Know What I Want (Martin Murray solo) / Goodbye My Baby (Martin Murray solo) / It Breaks My Heart (Denny D’Ell solo) / Better Use Your Head (Denny D’Ell solo) / A Woman Called Sorrow (Denny D’Ell solo) / The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (Denny D’Ell solo)

*Previously unreleased

Label Review. 

2020 album. With Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), Tracyanne Campbell (Camera Obscura), Kris Drever (Lau), Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian), Pictish Trail, Emma Pollock (Delgados), Karine Polwart, Rick Redbeard (Phantom Band), James Yorkston, Phyllis King (Ivor Cutler's longtime companion and collaborator) and Robert Wyatt. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Citizen Bravo - AKA Matt Brennan music artist and researcher from Nova Scotia, Canada - and Raymond MacDonald - Scottish saxophonist and composer - and a host of friends from the crème de la crème of Scotland’s music scene present ‘Return To Y’Hup: The World of Ivor Cutler’, a celebration of the life and work of an artist of unrivalled musical and poetic vision.

The underlying concept of the album was to resurrect the mythical island of Y’Hup - a territory which Ivor Cutler dreamt up and described throughout his early recordings. Here, theisland has been populated with distinct Scottish voices alongside new arrangements of Cutler’s music.

Featuring a large number of high-profile guest artists including Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), Tracyanne Campbell (Camera Obscura), Kris Drever (Lau), Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand),Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian), Pictish Trail, Emma Pollock (Delgados), Karine Polwart, Rick Redbeard (Phantom Band) and James Yorkston. Visiting the island as distinguished guests aretwo English vocalists, Phyllis King (Ivor Cutler’s longtime companion and collaborator) and living legend Robert Wyatt.

‘Return To Y’Hup’ is therefore an effort to summon Cutler’s imagined world and populate it with inhabitants, an ensemble who reflected the richness and diversity of Scotland’s contemporary musical landscape. Since all the featured artists on this album are self-avowed fans, they arguably also represent Cutler’s cultural descendants.

As well as the artists previously mentioned, the album also includes Sarah Hayes (Admiral Fallow, You Tell Me), Rachel Sermanni, Zoe Graham, Duglas Stewart (BMX Bandits), Heather Leigh, Adam Stafford, Future Pilot AKA, Megan Airlie, Limelight Ensemble, Chris Thomson, Kapil Seshasayee, Jo Mango and Anna Miles.

The vinyl format is pressed on ‘blue marble’ effect vinyl.

Tracklisting: Here’s A Health For Simon / Latitude And Longitude (ft Phyllis King) / Size Nine And A Half (ft Emma Pollock) / Mary’s A Cow (ft Malcolm Benzie) / Instance The Yam (ft Alex Kapranos) / Pickle Your Knees (ft Karine Polwart) / Gravity Begins At Home (ft Rick Redbeard) / A Cowpuncher And A Bird (ft Zoe Graham) / Boo Boo Bird (ft Heather Leigh) / Vitamin P (ft Duglas T. Stewart) / Green Rain (ft Sarah Hayes) / A Tooth Song (ft Adam Stafford) / Sh Chi (ft Stuart Murdoch) / Women Of The World (ft Tracyanne Campbell) / A Real Man (ft James Yorkston) / Yellow Fly (ft Kris Drever) / Shoplifters (ft Future Pilot AKA vs. Stranded Astronaut) / The Path (ft Stuart Braithwaite) / Muscular Tree (ft Megan Airlie and Limelight Ensemble) / Who Tore Your Trousers James (ft Rachel Sermanni & Chris Thomson) / I Got No Common Sense When I Stand On An Open Cart (ft Kapil Seshasayee) / I Believe In Bugs (ft Jo Mango) / Good Morning! How Are You? / Shut Up! (ft Pictish Trail) / Out Of Decency (ft Robert Wyatt) / Beautiful Cosmos (ft Anna Miles)

Label Review.

2020 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Atlanta-based underground rock provocateurs Black Lips are releasing their new album ’Sing In A World That is Falling Apart’ a record full of their signature sound of deceptively soulful, intelligent songwriting.

’Sing In A World That is Falling Apart’ is country music but not as we know it which begs the question: Have these Bad Kids of 21st Century rock ’n’ roll finally grown up on their ninth studio album? Are they at peace with themselves? Have they made a record their parents could listen to? Boasting an unapologetic southern-fried twang, the twelve track collection marks the quintet's most pronounced dalliance with country music yet, with a clang and harmony that is unmistakably the inimitable sound and feel of the Black Lips. While the songcraft and playing is more sophisticated, Black Lips were determined to return to the raw sound that marked their early efforts.

The Black Lips new album ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ and new single ‘Gentleman’ both continue to flick the middle finger to one and all. This ain’t another gaggle of bearded southern sons fleeing their collective suburban upbringings and collegiate music education. There aren’t the usual clichés about drinking, honkytonks, and heartbreak. These are, after all, the same Black Lips who rescued the waning garage punk subgenre by not sounding or dressing their musical predecessors. They also dug contemporary hip-hop and punk and actualised themselves.

Like so many dramatic moments in the Black Lips career, ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ was born out of crisis. The band’s stylistic evolution through decades of prolific touring and recording took them where no garage punk band had gone before – huge venues, network television shows, and major music festivals.

Here Black Lips are at their grimiest, most dangerous and equipped with the best collection of songs since the aughts. Skidding onto the asphalt in a shower of sparks, they roll on with an unapologetic southern-fried twang, pacing the beast, every now and then dropping a psycho howl into the rubber room madness lurking underneath the truckstop fireworks.

This ain’t your granny’s country album. And conversely this ain’t your mama’s Black Lips.

Tracklisting: Hooker Jon / Chainsaw / Rumbler / Holding Me Holding You / Gentleman / Get It On Time / Angola Rodeo / Georgia / Odelia /Dishonest Men / Locust / Live Fast Die Slow

Label Review. 

2020 album also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Wire have announced details of a new album ‘Mind Hive’ via the band’s own label pinkflag. The band’s seventeenth studio album sees the definitive post-punk group continue a run of stellar releases, showcasing a band on peak form 40 years into their hugely influential career.

The first glimpse of Mind Hive comes with lead single “Cactused,” one of Mind Hive’s resoundingly pop moments, which premiered today at Pitchfork. Colin Newman’s vocal is wide eyed and wired, with Lewis’ smooth backing vocals thickening the plot. Matthew Simms’ effects-heavy guitar work creates a bright web of noise, with the song’s stop/start moments providing a series of precise energy bursts.

Since their inception Wire have maintained a reputation for creating music that stretches the rock form whilst simultaneously editing it down to its essence. With their gift for crafting songs that perfectly balance experimentation and accessibility, Wire were recently hailed by the Quietus as “one of the most consistent British bands of all time." Yet Wire exhibit little inclination to look back or trade on past glories, rather they remain resolutely focused on producing music which is smart, vital and defiantly modern. 

‘Mind Hive’ is the group’s first newly recorded material since 2017’s stellar Silver/Lead. That album garnered rave reviews (“Some of the best tunes they’ve done” – The Guardian) and career best sales. Yet, if Silver/Lead set the bar pretty high, ‘Mind Hive’ seems to have no problem vaulting over it – a supremely confident album featuring some of the band’s most upbeat moments of recent years. 

Wire’s back catalogue is of course studded with influential epoch defining works. Last year saw the reissue of their ground-breaking first three albums: ‘Pink Flag’, ‘Chairs Missing’ and ‘154’. These were voted amongst the top reissues of the year (Rolling Stone at no.10, Uncut at no.12 and Select at no.3). And now ‘Mind Hive’ arrives at a time when Wire are being cited as an influence by yet another generation of bands. They are also the subjects of a career spanning feature documentary called People in a Film due for release late 2020 (details here). 

Quite how a group that has been operating for such a long period is still able to produce such exciting and essential work is difficult to understand. And yet here we are; ‘Mind Hive’ is the most masterful 35 minutes of post-punk you will hear this year.  

Tracklisting: Be Like Them / Cactused / Primed and Ready / Off The Beach / Unrepentant / Shadows / Oklahoma / Hung / Humming

Label Review. 

2020 album. Real World. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Les Amazones d’Afrique the all-female collective of West African musicians, is a creative force that embraces international voices; sweet, strong harmonies that summon the rights of women and girls; and a meltdown of heritage and new gen talent. They were formed in Bamako, Mali, in 2014 by three renowned Malian music stars and social change activists - Mamani Keïta, Oumou Sangaré and Mariam Doumbia - and the collective has since expanded to involve many female artists from across Africa and the diaspora.

While their cause - campaigning for gender equality and eradicating ancestral violence - is worthy enough in itself, their musical creative expression is equally powerful. Richly melodic and far-ranging, it blends pan-African styles and collaborative harmonies withgritty, contemporary pop and the Congotronix-style production of legendary producer Doctor L (aka Liam Farrell).

Their debut album, ‘République Amazone’, featured guest contributions from the likes of Angélique Kidjo and Nigerian singer-songwriter Nneka and caught the attention of President Obama, who included one of the songs in his 20 favourite tracks of 2017. In 2020 they release their follow-up album ‘Amazones Power’, on which familiar voices like Mamani Keïta and Rokia Koné appear alongside a younger generation of singers who represent the exciting new sound of modern Africa.

Tracklisting: Heavy (Niariu, Boy-Fall, Jon Grace) / Love (Mamani Keita) / Smile (Niariu & Ami Yerewolo) / Queens (Rokia Kon.) / Smooth (Mamani Keita) / Dreams (Rokia Kon.) / Timbuktu (Mamani Keita & Amadou Demb.l.) / Red (Rokia Kon.) / Rebels (Nacera Ouali Mesbah) / Dogon (Mamani Keita & Amadou Demb.l.) / Fights (Fafa Ruffino) / Sisters (Kandy Guira) / Power

Label Review. 

2020 album. Astral folk. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Astral folk outfit Bonny Light Horseman - comprised of Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, and Josh Kaufman - are releasing their debut self titled album. The timeless qualities of traditional tunes can carry us across oceans and eons, linking us not only to the past but to each other as well. It was under the banner of those eternal connections that the trio of Bonny Light Horseman came together. From Wisconsin festival fields and a German art hub to a snowy upstate studio and everywhere in between. On the album the band are mixing the ancient, mystical medium of transatlantic traditional folk music with a contemporary, collective brush. The resulting album, Bonny Light Horseman, is an elusive kind of sonic event: a bottled blend of lightning and synergy that will excite fans of multiple genres, eras, and ages.

“This record is about timeless humanity,” Johnson says. “These 500-year-old lyrics are so deeply applicable. ‘The Roving’ could be the plot of an ’80s teen movie: ‘I had a wild summer with this awesome girl then she broke my heart!’ How incredible is it that as humans we still just want to love and have sex and feel sad and fight? It’s ancient music that feels, emotionally, right now. It’s thoroughly modern.”

Each musician brought their own musical ideas to the rehearsals and the direction toward traditional songs from the British Isles emerged quickly. “I think it’s fair to say we are all inspired by traditional music in different ways,” Mitchell says. “We wanted to rework old songs but not in a ‘research project’ way. The emotions, the feeling of momentousness, the openness—even the chords being in open tuning—we wanted everything to be wide open. It was very healing to delve into these old stories and images that have existed for so long that you can rest in them.”

From the first chords of the eponymous song “Bonny Light Horseman,” the band’s desire to create emotional intensity in open spaces is clear. Mitchell’s voice rises with a fevered energy over a mournful strum, and the song comes off as a lament that’s at once sad-eyed and hopeful. “Deep in Love” began as a Fruit Bats sketch, but after Kaufman recognized its uncanny (and unplanned) similarity to a certain traditional tune, the song took on new life at the hands of the band. Other numbers like “The Roving” and “Black Waterside” feature newly-written choruses sung in harmony—a fresh take on the typically chorus-less ancient ballad form. “Jane Jane” chimes along with a Johnson/Mitchell call-and-response refrain like some forgotten nursery rhyme; “Lowlands” sees Mitchell’s silvery verses cutting through the instrumental’s understated dynamics; and the record-closing duet “10,000 Miles” balances the sadness of leaving with the warmth of requited love.

Nowhere on Bonny Light Horseman does the music feel staid, or burdened from the too-tight fit of a stuffy Renaissance collar. This is colorful, textured work: a lush and loving ode to the past with one eye fixed on the present. Not once did the band feel burdened by the errand of a too-faithful homage, instead reveling in a sense of freedom to take leaps and liberties as they saw fit.

“The folk singer Martin Carthy once said, ‘You can’t break these songs that are hundreds if not thousands of years old; you’re not gonna hurt them by messing with them,’” Mitchell says. “The songs feel like ours, but they’re not ours. We worked on them and they feel like an authentic expression of us, but we’re also reenacting ritual.”

Tracklisting: Bonny Light Horseman / Deep In Love / The Roving / Jane Jane / Blackwaterside / Magpie’s Nest / Lowlands / Mountain Rain / Bright Morning Stars / 10,000 Miles

Label Review.

2020 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

The Norwegian-born Kaya Wilkins—under her artist moniker Okay Kaya is releasing her sophomore album ‘Watch This Liquid Pour Itself’. In Okay Kaya songs, her world looks a lot like ours - Netflix, jetlag, vegan peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, lonely bowls of ramen, diet trends. But unlike ours, each of these vibrates and shimmers with deeper, darker meaning, with existential dread and desire for understanding.

Through Norwegian-raised New Yorker Kaya’s dreamy soft-focus lens, the language of Twitter memes becomes modernist poetry as her breathy contralto voice sings lines like, “If you don’t love me at my guttural sound, you don’t deserve me at my guttural sound.” This is Sade for nihilists.

On the opening track of her new record, ‘Watch This Liquid Pour Itself’, from Jagjaguwar, she sings, “I used to fight the feeling, always let it win.” As she transforms these feelings, defeats, and victories into songs, the lyrics often involve pools of sweat, oceans and other forms of wetness - but Okay Kaya’s world is not one of renewal andrebirth… it’s not water at all, actually. “It’s more like bile,” Kaya says, “It’s what comes out in the purge.” In these songs, Kaya swims through her melancholy and anxiety - not as a way of cleansing herself but as an understanding of their depths.

Initial LP pressing on Coke Bottle Clear coloured vinyl.

Tracklisting: Baby Little Tween / Ascend and Try Again / Insert Generic Name / Overstimulated / Psych Ward / Gutteral Sounds / Asexual Wellbeing / Popcorn Heart / Mother Nature’s Bitch / Hallelu Ya Hallelu Me / Symbiosis / Givenupitis / Helsevesen / Stonethrow / Zero Interaction Ramen Bar

Label Review.

2020 album. Singer songwriter. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Shauf is becoming one of the most important songwriters of his generation. His songs are tuneful vignettes of small moments and big hearts. Few artists are storytellers as deft and disarmingly observational as Andy Shauf. The Toronto-based, Saskatchewan-raised musician's songs unfold like short fiction: they're densely layered with colourful characters and a rich emotional depth.

On his latest, ‘The Neon Skyline’, Shauf intertwines stories of a group of friends who frequent a local dive bar, and through them, makes poignant observations about human nature with a novelist’s detail and melancholic humour. The songwriting is down to earth, yet sophisticated and inventively melodic. ‘The Neon Skyline’ is a creative leap for this already acclaimed artist.

For ‘The Neon Skyline’, Shauf chose to start each composition on guitar instead of his usual piano. He says, "I wanted to be able to sit down and play each song with just a guitar without having to rely on some sort of a clever arrangement to make it whole." The resulting album finds its immediacy in simplicity. Like he's done throughout his career, Shauf wrote, performed, arranged, and produced every song on ‘The Neon Skyline’, this time at his new studio space in the west end of Toronto. Over the course of a year-and-a-half, Shauf ended up with almost 50 songs all about the same night at the bar. Though paring down his massive body of work to a single album's worth of material was a challenge for Shauf, the final tracklist is seamless and fully-formed.

Tracklisting: Neon Skyline / Where Are You Judy / Clove Cigarette / Thirteen Hours / Things I Do / Living Room / Dust Kids / The Moon / Try Again / Fire Truck / Changer

Label Review.

1994 album. Rock.

Our Overview.

British group East Village are one of the great lost bands. Along with other legendary bands like Big Star and The Action, who also failed to fully stamp their mark whilst active, East Village made pop music that was timeless, but out-of-step with the musical environment around them. And now are re-releasing “Hotrod Hotel’ their 1994 singles collection.

Originally named Episode Four, the band was formed in the mid-1980s by brothers Martin and Paul Kelly in the sleepy Buckinghamshire market town of Princes Risborough just forty miles to the west of London. They were soon joined by Johnny Wood (guitar/vocals) and Spencer Smith (drums) and by 1986 they had forged their brilliant, classic pop sound and recorded their first release, the "Strike Up Matches" EP, which has gone on to become one of the most sought after releases of the C86 era.

By 1987 they had renamed themselves East Village and relocated to London where they recorded two EPs for Jeff Barrett's Sub Aqua label. The band gigged extensively through 1988 and 1989, including tours with The House Of Love and McCarthy. The 1989 collapse of Sub Aqua left the band without a label, but they recorded their debut album using money loaned by Bob Stanley, and were soon re-united with Jeff Barrett on his new Heavenly label, releasing their classic single "Circles." Just as interest in the band was building East Village played a sold out show at the New Cross Venue in South London only to end the set by splitting up on stage.

The album that followed, "Drop Out" (1993), was mixed and released posthumously on Heavenly and has gone on to be hailed as a classic of its genre. The years that followed saw East Village gain a cult status amongst fans of indie music and prices of original pressings rose rapidly as demand outweighed supply. A singles compilation, "Hotrod Hotel," was released to great acclaim by Summershine in 1994, and now we're very happy to facilitate its first, long overdue, vinyl release. 12” Vinyl Packaged in a classic 60s-style heavy tip-on jacket & includes a fold-out insert with note.

Tracklisting: Her Fathers Son / Precious Diamond Tears / Cubans In The Bluefields / Strawberry Window / Break Your Neck / Kathleen / Back Between Places / Vibrato / Here It Comes (original version) / Freeze Out (original version) / Violin / Go And See Him

Label Review.

German electronic music composer.

Our Overview.

Highly respected German electronic music composer Ulrich Schnauss, the Berlin producer who merges the textural layering of shoegaze with rhythm-savvy U.K. techno beat mining is releasing a career spanning retrospective seven CD box set ‘Now is a Timeless Present’ encompassing key works from the past two decades. The German electronic composer will be selecting fundamental music from his back catalogue.

At once uplifting and otherworldly, the music of Ulrich Schnauss utilizes multi-layered synthesizers to map out an aural escape route from the trappings of a reality limiting our imagination. Born in Kiel in 1977, Schnauss developed a love of electronic music from a young age. He explains, ‘I’ve always used making and listening to music as a way to escape – putting on headphones is a way to leave reality behind for a while, reminding oneself of the 'possibility of the possible' - regardless of how hopeless or dystopian the current state of things may appear to be.' Inspired by the alternative guitar bands of the late 80s and early 90s as well as Acid House and early electronica, Schnauss began developing his own distinct sonic palette. Melding delicate dream-pop sensibilities with ecstatic electronic excess and defying the constraints of music genre boundaries.

After a move to Berlin in the late 90s, Schnauss felt confident enough to begin releasing ‘little electronica pieces’ under his own name - 2001s 'Far Away Trains Passing By'. Four further studio albums have followed since then: ‘A Strangely Isolated Place’ (2003), ‘Goodbye’ (2007), ‘A Long Way to Fall’ (2013) and ‘No Further Ahead Than Today’ (2016). In addition, Schnauss has continuously produced and released music under various pseudonyms and in collaboration with other artists. He’s a prolific remixer and a member of the last Tangerine Dream Line Up picked by the late Edgar Froese.

Ulrich has taken the opportunity to remaster his entire back catalogue to be released on his own Scripted Realities label. The two most recent of the albums, ‘A Long Way To Fall’ and ‘No Further Ahead Than Today’ have both been extensively reworked.

The set also contains an 18-track compilation of outtakes, demos and fragments, including a cover version of Scott Walker’s ‘It’s Raining Today’ and Ulrich’s version of Bach’s ‘Prelude And Fugue No1 in C Major’, with 14 of the 18 tracks being unreleased. Each album’s artwork has also been refreshed.

This release makes Ulrich’s music available again after an 18-month period. These seminal electronic albums still sound contemporary and fresh.

Contains the albums ‘Far Away Trains Passing By’, ‘A Strangely Isolated Place’, ‘Goodbye’, ‘A Long Way To Fall - Rebound’, ‘No Further Ahead Than Tomorrow’ and ‘Now Is A Timeless Present (Outtakes, Demos & Fragments)’, with a total of 73tracks across seven CDs.

Tracklisting: Knuddelmaus / Between Us And Them / Passing By / Blumenwiese Neben Autobahn / Nobody’s Home / Molfsee /Brooks Was here / Sunday Evening In Your Street / Suddenly The Trees Are Giving Way / A Lie For Breakfast / Nothing Happens In June / As If You’ve Never Been Away / A Million Miles Away / Crazy For You / Wherever You Are / Gone Forever / On My Own / A Letter From Home / Monday - Paracetamol / Clear Day / Blumenthal / In All The Wrong Places / A Strangely Isolated Place / Never Be The Same / Shine / Stars / Einfeld / Here Today Gone Tomorrow / A Song About Hope / Medusa / Goodbye / In Between The Years / Love Forever / Look At The Sky / For Good / Her And The Sea / Broken Homes / Like A Ghost In Your Own Life / A Long Way To Fall / I Take Comfort In Your Ignorance / A Forgotten Birthday / The Weight Of Darkening Skies / Borrowed Time / Ten Years / A Ritual In Time And Death / Melts Into Air / Love Grows Out Of Thin Air / The Magic In You / Thoughtless Motion / No Further Ahead Than Today / Wait For Me / New Day Starts At Dawn /Water Under The Bridge / Negative Sunrise / Illusory Sun / First Bridge (2003) / Attraktor 1 (2000) /Attraktor 2 (2000) / Attraktor 3 (2000) / Stars Demo (2004) / Memory Lane (2003) / Einfeld (Demo 2005) / Second Bridge (2003) / It’s Raining Today (2008) / Third Bridge (2003) / Today’s Hopes Gone Tomorrow (2019) / Ein Feld Fur Ecki (2017) /Fourth Bridge (2003) / Shine (Longview Version 2008) / Fifth Bridge (2003) / Prelude And Fugue No 1 in C Major (2016) /Last Bridge (2003) /Surrender Bittersweet (2018)

Label Review.

2020 debut album. Shoegaze / Dream Pop.

Our Overview.

ThunderStars are releasing ’Number Stations’. The shoegaze/dream pop band from Austin TX formed in the fall of 2018, and marks the return of longtime Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos multi-instrumentalist, Erik Kang (vocals, guitar, keys). The group’s sound is dreamy and psychedelic, blending the blissful drift of Slowdive with the more spacious elements of Low and the shimmering euphoria of Cocteau Twins, which earned them some airplay on DKFM shoegaze radio early on. Their new album runs the gamut from driving, post-punk influenced numbers to more open dirges and daydreams. It’s a gorgeously engaging way to begin a year of music.

ThunderStars came together when Steven Bednarski (drums) posted a random thought about creating a band to use a phrase that was coined by his toddler during a traumatic trip to the hospital. This “art out of chaos” theme has hung over the band since its inception...After their second live show, ThunderStars bassist, Omar Richardson, was assaulted outside the venue, which resulted in a concussion and subsequent trip to the ER. This incident was covered extensively in Austin news.

On the eve of a week-long recording session, the primary studio engineer had a family emergency and had to cancel the project. Rather than scrap the time, lodging and airfare that was already committed, ThunderStars made the decision to track the album in a storage unit. The whole album was recorded by the band and longtime Kang collaborator, Sean Gardner (through an interface borrowed from a big box music retailer). Gardner, who was initially brought in to track auxiliary guitars on the record, became the key producer/engineer on the project. The end product of this recording session is Number Stations, a hazy mix of 90’s Creation bands with clear artifacts from Kang’s time on the road and Gardner’s keen ear for production.

Tracklisting: Appalachian Spring Break / Oceans / Not That Far / Ride / Sleepyhead / Riptide / Oscar

Label Review. 

1967 album. Sundazed. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

The hits kept on coming from heroic Dallas five piece rock band The Five Americans with their third longplayer, 1967’s ‘Progressions’. The members of Five Americans first met in Durant, Oklahoma at South-eastern Oklahoma State University in 1962. Under the leadership of lead guitarist, Mike Rabon, they formed a group called the Mutineers. The band played local beer joints and frat dances until the summer of 1964, when Mike suggested that they go to Dallas to try and make enough money to pay for tuition for the following fall semester. With the onslaught of the "British Invasion" by bands with strange sounding names, the group also took on a new handle. They were not bugs or beasts of any kind, they were simply, Five Americans.

Both ‘Zip Code’ and ‘Evol-Not Love’ careened up the charts as The Five Americans squared off on live stages throughout the Deep South with artists such as the Doors and Jefferson Airplane and more than held their own against the best American rock ‘n’ roll had to offer! Pressed on Limited Edition Gold Vinyl.

‘Progressions’. is an exciting combination of sunshine pop, bubblegum and folk rock with psychedelic undertones makes Progressiosns by The Five Americans a true time capsule of those special 60s sunshine days. Similar in style to their previous two albums, but with noticeably more psych influences. The Five Americans' third release, is their most well crafted album reminding us on the Monkees. Fans of sunshine pop interested in something more “matured” by this groovy Dallas garage combo should definitely start with Progressions.

The Five Americans were most famous for their song, "Western Union", which reached number five in the U.S. Billboard chart and was their only single to chart in the Top 20. In five short years the Five Americans sold millions of singles and albums. "Western Union" still gets airplay on oldies radio on average of 5000 times per month in the U.S. and Canada, and as of January of 1998, Western Union achieved the one million mark in airplay according to BMI, Broadcast Music INC.

Tracklisting: Stop-Light / Con Man / Black Is White - Day Is Night / (But Not) Today / Come On Up / Zip Code / Rain Maker / Sweet Bird Of Youth / Evol-Not Love / Somebody Help Me / Call On Me

Label Review. 

2020 debut album. Also available on vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

October Drift’s debut album, ‘Forever Whatever’ is a cathartic collection of tracks encompassing themes of loneliness, fear and ultimate positivity, and builds on the solid foundation that they have built over years of touring and writing to cement themselves as an important and powerful new presence. Their label, Physical Education’s Justin Lockey says of their signing; “October Drift are one of those bands... there’s maybe a handful at best in every generation of guitar bands. They’re the band who will put their entire soul into every show, every time. They’re the band that just go their own route regardless of what every fucker else is listening to, or name dropping that they’re listening to. An unashamed British guitar band who just do their own thing outside of whatever scene is cool at the moment. I fucking love bands who do that, which is why I made their record and wanted them on Phys Ed Recs. It seemed like the perfect place for this.”

An immersive wall of distortion envelopes the powerful fragility of frontman Kiran Roy’s vocals, while he paints a verbal landscape of introspection, despair and hope amid a sonic palette that evokes both the driving, spacious absorptivity of My Bloody Valentine and the poetic, visceral honesty of Nick Cave’s lyricism. “It’s a song about trying to keep your head above the water,” says Kiran of the song “Losing My Touch”. “It was written at a time when everyone around me seemed to be moving on with their lives and I was stuck in the same place. Its basically about the fears of getting older and underachieving, but trying not to let it get to you and even staying optimistic in spite of those fears”. With influences as varied as The National, Radiohead, Interpol and Nick Drake, their heavy, pop-inflected rock is delivering a rejuvenating injection of fresh blood to the genre.

Tracklisting: Milky Blue / Losing My Touch / Oh The Silence / Cinnamon Girl / Naked / Cherry Red / Forever Whatever / Don’t Give Me Hope / The Past / Just Got Caught

Label Review.

2020 album. Rock.

Our Overview.

Bristol based post-punk four-piece with noise-rock, no-wave and free-jazz elements Repo Man are releasing their latest album ‘I Can Live With It If You Can, Son’. The noiseniks comprising of Bojak (vocals/ sax/violin), Ant Brown (bass), Liam McConaghy (guitar) and Jesse Webb (drums). ‘I Can Live With It If You Can, Son’ is their third album, following 2015’s ‘Minesweeping’ and the first recording to feature new recruit Webb (also of GNOD/The Final Age./Anthroprophh).

It represents the band both at their rawest and most expansive. Rep Man are reshaping 'rock groop' sturm-und-clang into subnormal forms, son-of-Oldham vocal slurries, oozing Free sax splatter and shards of punishing guitar bliss. From the clanging fuzzed out sonic whirl of ‘Low Pursuit’ dissolving into the death waltz jig of ‘May I Interject’, to the lyrical puzzles and bubbling synth rotor of ‘Asexual and Spineless’ and the languid menace of the title track, “I Can Live With It If You Can, Son” shows Repo Man hurtling further into respective streams of noise and compositional acuity. This culminates in ‘Moaty’ - free-form ambient jazz smashed open by the band at their heaviest. Building on their fierce live reputation - ‘I Can Live With It If You Can, Son’ displays an uncompromising clarity.

“This is real free form rock n roll...a must have album; an LP of sonic aural dyslexia. A true gem.” - Monolith Cocktail

Tracklisting: Low Pursuit / May I Interject / Asexual & Spineless / Shallow Matthews / Evan The Runt / Paid For Hands / I Can Live With It If You Can, Son / Moaty / Bozo Pretension (Bonus Track) / Repo Pop (Bonus Track)

Label Review.

2020 album. Folk/blues.

Our Overview.

Fatboy Wilson and Old Viejo Bones is a new project from acclaimed Brooklyn folk and blues musicians Samoa Wilson and Ernesto Gomez. Their self titled debut album features five brand new original songs as well as inventive interpretations of a wide range of folk songs.

Samoa Wilson is widely regarded as one of the best blues, jazz, and folk singers in New York City. The New York Times calls her singing “sweet, effortless, old-timey” and Nat Hentoff has called her style “the essence of unaffected musical storytelling.” Wilson grew up with music in her family, and began singing jug band music, early jazz and blues with her uncle Jim Kweskin at a young age. Ernesto Gomez, originally from Union City, NJ, has been writing songs and playing blues harmonica and guitar for a number of years with his band the Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues. His influences are broad and include Cuban, Mexican, and rap music along side classic blues sources. Gomez was schooled by the late blues great Carolina Slim and Down Home Radio has called him “an authentic blues man”.

Fatboy Wilson and Old Viejo Bones seamlessly blends the original and the traditional. The down home traditional songs speak easily to the listener, and their original songs present a strong realisation of contemporary songwriting in a traditional style.

Tracklisting: I’ve Been Treated Wrong / It Don’t Hurt Nobody / Black Snake / Single Girl, Married Girl / Don’t You Make Me High / Show Me The Way To Go Home / Ballad Of Luis Reyes / Ridgewood Blues / Hand Me Down My Walking Cane / Floating Bridge / Tell Me That You Love Me Baby / Epitaph

Label Review.

2020 album. Rock. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Four piece Scottish acclaimed experimental rockers Vukovi have come racing out of the blocks since getting together in September 2010 and now Vukovi are back with heir new album ‘Fall Better’. Although they’ve been keeping themselves busy since the release of their widely-praised self-titled debut album in 2017 with storming sets at 2000 Trees, The Pit stage at Reading and Leeds, Y Not Festival, Slam Dunk, TRNSMT and more, plus support tours that include PVRIS, Set It Off and ONE OK ROCK, Vukovi focused their energy throughout 2018 on writing and recording their second full length studio album - ‘Fall Better’. The new album is full of the Riotous and energetic rock jams the band are notorious for.

The band say about the album “This album is our therapy and we hope it’s gonna help a lot of people as well. I wanted to do a concept album, but actually pulling one off is another thing, so we sort of met in the middle for this album using the intro and interlude to stamp out a solid futuristic theme. Album three might be the one to take the leap and actually do a full concept.”

With a fun and quirky introduction, ‘Fall Better’ sets us up for a fast and crazy ride with a cheeky parody of a radio recording. After which You are greeted with a mixture of dirty bass and guitar riffs, strong and fierce vocals courtesy of lead vocalist Janine Shilstone, and powerful and upbeat tracks, reminiscent of a pop/punk/rock fusion, that at times echoes influences of Paramore, Evanescence and even Sia. ‘Violent Minds’ throws you in at the deep end, it’s  a song that grips you tightly and pulls you in. ’Play With Me’ injects an electro-pop melody into a cool dancetrack I can easily see being popular in clubs. Whereas ‘ White Lies’ has a steadier tempo that builds into a softer paced number in comparison. The album is an exciting mix that we are more than sure fans and future fans will adore.

"Their songs are bundling balls of energy, swathed in assured songwriting and deep "production that belies their age – just six months together as a band. And, sure to aid them to no end, there’s so much melody filling up their tracks that they bulge like Augustus Gloop’s waistband." Chris Cope The Scotmans On the Radar

"They're a four piece kicking out some powerful riffs and some equally heart felt lyrics. They are a phenominal band live". Ally McCrae Radio 1 BBC

Tracklisting: 17359 / Violet Minds / Aura / C.L.A.U.D.I.A. / Behave / Play With Me Cos I Can Take Me / Verify Your Worth / All That Candy / I’m Sorry / Where Are You / White Lies / Run/Hide

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on vinyl, and deluxe vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

“Everything Else Has Gone Wrong” is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the British band’s acclaimed number 1 charting, Mercury Music Prize nominated fourth album, ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’ released back in 2014.

The new album was largely recorded out in the US alongside Grammy Award winning producer John Congleton (St. Vincent/Sharon Van Etten/War on Drugs). It features the band’s euphoric new single, “Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)”. The video was directed by Louis Bhose, the band’s old touring keyboardist who has quickly become the go-to director for countless artists in recent years (Michael Kiwanuka & Tom Misch, Lewis Capaldi, The Big Moon, Loyle Carner). It was shot out in Ukraine.

Speaking of the record’s title, vocalist/guitarist Jack Steadman explains: “This is an album for anyone who’s ever turned to music in a time of need. It’s about the solace one can get from listening to music or playing music. For me personally it’s about the frustration of not being able to express myself to others, of leaving conversations feeling dissatisfied and misunderstood. Music’s the way I’m able to truly express myself”.

Bombay Bicycle Club have continued to grow, develop and evolve since the release of their debut album, “I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose”, back in 2009 when they signalled their arrival as young teenagers. Rarely in recent years has there been a British guitar band who have the craft and ability to avoid categorisation whilst uniting hundreds of thousands of fans across the globe. With an innate ear for melody and invention, the four-piece are a very welcome return to the fold just as British guitar music makes a timely renaissance.

Tracklisting: Get Up / Is It Real / Everything Else Has Gone Wrong / I Can Hardly Speak / Good Day / Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) / I Worry Bout You / People People / Do You Feel Loved / Let You Go / Racing Stripes

Label Review. 

2020 album with 7 bonus tracks. Also available on Vinyl, and Double vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Fay returns with the third album in the celebrated second phase of his recording career. A prime Fay song is a deceptively simple thing which carries more emotional weight than its concision and brevity might imply. There are ten of these musical haikus on ‘Countless Branches’, as pointed and as poignant as anything he’s ever recorded.

For decades now (it’s almost 50 years since he cut his classic albums ‘Bill Fay’ and ‘Time Of The Last Persecution’), songs like these have been Fay’s ambassadors helping rave reviews and endorsements from the likes of Jim O’Rourke (Tortoise) and Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) which led to a huge revival of interest in his music. He had continued to make music almost every day in the intervening decades. For ‘Countless Branches’ Bill Fay has completed new toplines over some of his cache of backing tracks, most of them 20 to 40 years old.

Tracklisting.

Disc 1: In Human Hands / How Long, How Long / Your Little Face / Salt Of The Earth / I Will Remain Here / Filled With Wonder Once Again / Time’s Going Nowhere / Love Will Remain / Countless Branches / One Life

Disc 2: Tiny / Don’t Let My Marigolds Die / The Rooster / Your Little Face (Acoustic Version) / Filled With Wonder Once Again (Band Version) / How Long, How Long (Band Version) / Love Will Remain (Band Version)

Label Review. 

1990 debut album remastered with 15 bonus tracks: Unreleased demos and their one Peel Session from 1989. Also available on Vinyl and Double Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

On the eve of a post-Thatcherite Britain, the Pale Saints, alongside the likes of Lush, Ride and Slowdive, were ushering in a new wave of British indie. They found in 4AD a perfect home for their music - an exciting and undeniable meld of noise and dream-pop.

Their debut album, ‘The Comforts Of Madness’, didn’t disappoint, now standing as one of the best of its era. Pitchfork placed it in their Best 50 Shoegaze Albums Of All Time, saying, “There’s a restless urgency, particularly when the volume swells and the rhythms intensify. That energy not only keeps [it] vital, it emphasizes Pale Saints’ inventiveness, how they channelled softness and rage into something distinctive.”

Tracklisting.

Disc 1: Way The World Is / You Tear The World In Two / Sea of Sound / True Coming Dream / Little Hammer / Insubstantial / A Deep Sleep For Steven / Language of Flowers / Fell From The Sun / Sight Of You / Time Thief

Disc 2: Sight Of You (Original Woodhouse Studio Version) / Way The World Is (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / Language of Flowers (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / You Tear The World In Two (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / Fell From The Sun (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / A Deep Sleep For Steven (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / Time Thief (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / Sea of Sound (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / Insubstantial (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / Little Hammer (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / True Coming Dream (Woodhouse Studio LP Demo) / She Rides The Waves (John Peel Show Version) / You Tear The World In Two (John Peel Show Version) / Way The World Is (John Peel Show Version) / Time Thief (John Peel Show Version)

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Recorded in Nashville with a slew of special guests including Robert Randolph, Marcus King, and Roosevelt Collier, the new album from G Love and Special Sauce, ‘The Juice’ is diploma-worthy. “I’ve been in the game a long time, but I’ve always considered myself a student,” says G. Love. “Finishing this album with Keb Mo’ felt like graduation”.

Co-produced and co-written with Grammy-winning icon Keb Mo’, it’s an electrifying collection, one that tips its cap to more than a century of blues greats even as it offers its own distinctly modern pop spin on the genre and solidifies his place in music history as a genre-bending pioneer with a sound The New York Times described as “a new and urgent hybrid” and NPR called a “musical melting pot”.

G. Love’s lyrics are both personal and political here, artfully balancing his appreciation for the simple joys in life with his obligation to speak out for justice and equality, and his performances are suitably riotous and rousing to match, with infectious call-and-response hooks and funky sing-along choruses at every turn.

Easy as it is to succumb to cynicism these days, the songs on ‘The Juice’ refuse, insisting instead on hope and determination in the face of doubt and despair. “I’ve never been the kind of guy who thinks he’s going to change the world with his guitar,” reflects G. Love. “But maybe I can write the kind of songs that give strength and encouragement to the people who are out there doing the work to make this planet a better place. Those are the people I want to lift up with my music”.

Tracklisting: The Juice (feat. Marcus King) / Soulbque (feat. Roosevelt Collier) / Go Crazy (feat. Keb’ Mo’) / Shake Your Hair / Fix Your Face / She’s the Rock / Diggin’ Roots (feat. Ron Artis II) / Shine on Moon (feat. Keb’ Mo’) / Birmingham (feat. Robert Randolph & Keb’ Mo’) / Drinkin’ Wine / The Juice (Reprise)

Label Review. 

2020 album. With CD insert. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Five years on from the release of their previous record, Austin’s beloved art-rock heroes And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead return with their tenth album: 'X: The Godless Void and Other Stories'. Expansive yet concise, this album nods to the band’s traditional touchstones – the feral scree of Sonic Youth, Rush’s symphonic anthems, the textured bliss of My Bloody Valentine – while morphing effortlessly into newer forms.

The synth-orchestral swell of curtain-raiser “Opening Crescendoes” recalls Hans Zimmer and Tangerine Dream, before “All Who Wander” descends from guitar-soaked high drama into simmering, murky psych. “Something Like This” offers nods to the ethereal songcraft that defined the sound of the legendary 4AD label, before everything kicks in at full pelt with “Into The Godless Void”, as noisy and thrilling an existential anthem as the band have ever put their name to. And this is just the first four songs.

Work on “X: The Godless Void and Other Stories” began in earnest in 2018, after vocalist/guitarist Conrad Keely returned to the band’s hometown of Austin following five years in Cambodia. With a new line-up having recently toured the 20th anniversary of their Madonna album, they’re also reverted to the live format of their earlier years, with Jason Reece and Keely alternating between drums and frontman duties – a musical partnership that dates back to their high school days. Appropriately, it all feels fresh.

Tracklisting: The Opening Crescendo / All Who Wander / Something Like This / Into the Godless Void / Don’t Look Down / Gone / Children of the Sky / Who Haunts the Haunter / Eyes of the Overworld / Gravity / Blade of Wind / Through the Sunlit Door

Label Review.

2020 album. Ripley Johnson of Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo. Also available on Coloured Vinyl.

Our Overview.

The Rose City Band release their eponymous album which was produced and recorded by Ripley Johnson (Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo), and mixed by Chris Cohen (Captured Tracks, Deerhoof), the album finds its niche in the hazy sonic landscape of private press country and psych records, and alongside artists like Relatively Clean Rivers, Jim Sullivan, Kenny Knight, and countless other explorers of the pastoral underground.

Says the band in a statement “The band was aiming to capture a timeless, natural sound, not quite of the present, past, or future, but phasing in between the consciousness of now and the stoned dream-state of the eternal. Sort of a back porch jam just as the shrooms are starting to kick in. Handmade and human, but also cosmic and transcendental. The goal is to let the music speak for itself and hopefully find a weird and wonderful audience somewhere out there.”

Tracklisting: Rip City / Wide Roll / Me and WIllie / Wandering Feeling / Rivers of Mind / Fear Song / Fog of Love

Label Review.

2020 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Producer and club-informed forward thinker Londoner Georgia Barnes’ sophomore album, ‘Seeking Thrills’, is a musically daring story of hedonism, self-discovery and, above all, the transcendental power of the dancefloor. ‘Seeking Thrills’ is a sharply paced and fascinating album, packed with injections of lightness and fun, pared with rich, bubbling melodies that makes listening to it an experience that takes you into the party, through electro-pop into R&B, and back again. Her deep, brooding reflections carry us through euphoria, heartache and melancholy but always with the memory of the good times. Georgia is reminding you of the altitude of your last real thrill, and when we turn the record on, we’re there again, aching for more.

Heavily inspired by Chicago House and Detroit Techno of the early 80s, Seeking Thrills fuses analogue club sounds with solid pop songwriting and showcases Georgia's lifelong love affair with the drums.

The North West Londoner has been on a long, dazzling journey since the release of her critically acclaimed debut album in 2015. Her first self-titled collection of percussive, punk-inflected pop songs was lauded by The Guardian, Vice, The FADER and others - but nobody predicted the about turn she would make when she returned with two rough-hewn diamonds of house music in 2019.

Tracklisting: Started Out / About Work The / Dancefloor / Never Let You Go / 24 Hours * / Mellow (ft Shygirl) / Til I Own It / I Can’t Wait / Feel It / Ultimate Sailor / Ray Guns / / The Thrill (ft Maurice) / Honey Dripping Sky / * = CD / LP digital download card only

Label Review. 

2020 album also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Sunderland, UK based indie/art rock trio Field Music’s new release is ‘Making A New World’, a 19 track song cycle about the after-effects of the First World War. But this is not an album about war and it is not, in any traditional sense, an album about remembrance. There are songs here about air traffic control and gender reassignment surgery. There are songs about Tiananmen Square and about ultrasound. There are even songs about Becontree Housing Estate and about sanitary towels.

The songs grew from a project for the Imperial War Museum and were first performed at their sites in Salford and London in January 2019. The starting point was an image from a 1919 publication on munitions by the US War Department, made using ‘sound ranging’, a technique that utilised an array of transducers to capture the vibrations of gunfire at the front. These vibrations were displayed on a graph, similar to a seismograph, where the distances between peaks on different lines could be used to pinpoint the location of enemy armaments. This particular image showed the minute leading up to 11am on 11th November 1918 and the minute immediately after. One minute of oppressive, juddering noise and one minute of near silence. “We imagined the lines from that image continuing across the next hundred years,” says the band’s David Brewis, “and we looked for stories which tied back to specific events from the war or the immediate aftermath.” If the original intention might have been to create a mostly instrumental piece, this research forced and inspired a different approach. These were stories itching to be told.

The songs are in a kind of chronological order, starting with the end of the war itself; the uncertainty of heading home in a profoundly altered world (‘Coffee Or Wine’). Later we hear a song about the work of Dr Harold Gillies (the shimmering ballad, ‘A Change Of Heir’), whose pioneering work on skin grafts for injured servicemen led him, in the 1940s, to perform some of the very first gender reassignment surgeries. We see how the horrors of the war led to the Dada movement and how that artistic reaction was echoed in the extreme performance art of the 60s and 70s (the mathematical head-spin of ‘A Shot To The Arm). Then, in the funk stomp of ‘Money Is A Memory’, we picture an office worker in the German Treasury preparing documents for the final instalment on reparation debts - a payment made in 2010, 91 years after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. A defining, blood-spattered element of 20th Century history becomes a humdrum administrative task in a 21st Century bureaucracy.

LP format pressed on 180g transparent red vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with digital download code. Field Music will tour ‘Making A New World’ throughout 2020.

Tracklisting; Sound Ranging / Silence / Coffee Or Wine / Best Kept Garden / I Thought You Were Something Else / Between Nations / A Change Of Heir / Do You Read Me? / From a Dream, Into My Arms / Beyond That Of Courtesy / A Shot To The Arm / A Common Language Pt 1 / A Common Language Pt 2 / Nikon Pt 1 / Nikon Pt 2 / If The Wind Blows / Towards The Hospital / Only In A Man’s World / Money Is A Memory / An Independent State

Label Review.

Rosemary Clooney, James Darren, Charlie Byrd Trio, George Benson & Al Jarreau, Curtis Stigers, Rita Coolidge and more. Also available on CD+.

Our Overview.

Founded by Carl Jefferson in 1973 following the success of his hugely popular Jazz Festival, Concord Jazz has established itself as one of the finest jazz imprints in the world, home to legends the likes of Art Blakey, Ray Brown, Charlie Byrd, Rosemary Clooney, Stan Getz and Mel Torme, and more.

Over the years since, the label has witnessed development of jazz music from classic to contemporary, joined by acclaimed vocalists and instrumentalists from big band to swing, blues to R&B, Bossa-Nova to soul - ‘Concord Jazz: Rhythm Along The Years’ hopes to capture a glimpse of this shiny page of musical history with a selection of its extraordinary recordings.

UHQCD - Playable on any CD player. Also available on 24-Karat Gold-Edition and 180 Gr. Audiophile LP (17th Janusry 2020).

Tracklisting: The Days Of Wine And Roses / A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square / It’s A Wonderful World / Let It Rain ( with Patti Austin ) / No More Blues / All The Things You Are / Carinhoso / We’re All Alone / Ain’t Misbehavin’ / Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) / In A Mellotone / Falling In Love With Love / Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing / Route 66 / The Shadow Of Your Smile / Every Time We Say Goodbye

Label Review. 

Two shows issued for the first time. Recorded 12th January & 3rd October. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

The legendary folk/jazz/roots performer Leon Redbone was a “Wanderer between the worlds”. No other words can describe the musical work of the 1949 in Cyprus born Leon Redborne. Best known for his interpretations of music from the depression times, Blues, Ragtime, Folk and the Tin Pan Alley era and on top his remarkable singing style. His music is a reminder of how novel a figure he cut at the time: a sly anachronism singing ragtime, country and Delta blues in dark glasses and a Panama hat.

‘Live In Bremen’ features both concerts which took place in the same year, 1977 in Bremen in Northern Germany and show two different kinds of Leon Redbone. Whilst at his first concert at the “Glocke” he was accompanied by tuba player Jonathan Dorn, the other concert at the “Post-Aula” was a solo concert, pure and simple. Both concerts are electrifying through his unique performance, the combination of Blues and influences from Folk-Jazz. 

Strange in the first place the music develops into charming recordings from a special entertainer that he was. He sings, yodels, murmurs and hums and knows to fascinate his fans with his warm and outstanding voice. A must have for every fan of traditional and not commonplace music. Now both concerts are now officially released on CD for the first time.

Tracklisting:

LP 1 - Bremen, Glocke, 12th Jan. 1977: Champagne Charlie / I Ain’t Got Nobody / Ain’t Misbehavin’ (I’m Saving My Love For You) / Has Anybody Seen My Gal / Big Time Woman / My Walkin’ Stick / Diddie Wa Diddie / Polly Wolly Doodle 

LP 2 - Bremen, Post-Aula, 3rd Oct. 1977: Nobody Knows But Me / Diddie Wa Diddie / When I Take My Sugar To Tea / I Ain’t Got Nobody / Champaign Charlie / Ain’t Misbehavin’ (I’m Saving My Love For You) / Polly Wolly Doodle / Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone

Label Review. 

Compiling the 2 vinyl releases (Electronic Musik EARS165LP & Pictures of Purple People EARS166LP). For the very first time the most complete collection of Marc Bolan’s mid-1960s recordings. Easy Action.

Our Overview. 

For the very first time the most complete collection of Marc Bolan’s incredible early 1960s years. Compiled from tapes originally stolen from Marc & Gloria’s home and recently repatriated. Features some tracks with legendary John’s Children (the band Marc joined for about 3 months) plus solo outtakes of material used for singles in 1965. “Jasper C Debussy” features top session musicians of the time Nicky Hopkins & John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). This was due to be the follow up to the 1965 single “Hippy Gumbo” but failed to get a release at the time. Includes the complete acoustic demos from 1966 remastered. Includes the very rare tracks recorded as Toby Tyler early in 1965. “Reality” & “A Soldiers Song” are included on an album for the very first time ever, having only ever been released for the very first time on 7” single in 2016. Many of the later acoustic demos give more than a nod towards the sound of the Tyrannosaurus Rex material that would be recorded and produced by Tony Visconti a year or so later.

Tracklisting. 

1. The Wizard (unused stereo mix) 19th November 1965
2. Beyond the Rising Sun (unused stereo mix) 19th November 1965
3. The Third-Degree 3rd June 1966
4. Hippy Gumbo 25th November 1966
5. Misfit 25th November 1966
6. Jasper C. Debussy
7. The Lilac Hand Of Menthol Dan (Dan The Sniff)
8. Misfit #2 (different drum mix)
9. Jasper C. Debussy #2 (Echo on voice)
10. Hippy Gumbo #3 (different vocals /mix)
11. Desdemona #1 single mix (2.27)
12. Midsummer Night’s Scene #1 single mix (2.35)
13. Sarah Crazy Child (2.29)
14. Sally Was An Angel (instrumental) (3.11)
15. Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith (instrumental) (2.43)
16. Desdemona #2 (alternate lyrics) (2.27)
17. Hippy Gumbo (2.38) (Bolan vocal)
18. San Francisco Poet (1.43)
19. Gloria (The Road I’m On) (2.47) as Toby Tyler
20. Blowin’ In The Wind (Take 6) (2.41) as Toby Tyler
21. Reality (1.48)
22. Song For A Soldier (1.18)
23. Observations (Basic Track) (2.17)
24. Black and White Incident (1.43)
25. Jasmine 49 (2.25)
26. Cat Black (1.20)
27. You Got The Power (1.48)
28. Eastern Spell (1.27)
29. Charlie (1.54)
30. I’m Weird (1.18)
31. Pictures Of Purple People (2.19)
32. Horrible Breath (1.44)
33. Mustang Ford (1.39)
34. Hot Rod Mama (2.35)
35. Observations #2 (2 pianos) (2.13)
36. The Perfumed Garden of Gulliver Smith (1.53)
37. Hippy Gumbo #2 (1.53)

Label Review. 

12 track highlights from the box set. Includes 3 new mixes from A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, 3 new mixes from Delicate Sound Of Thunder, 3 tracks from Knebworth 1990, 2 unreleased studio recordings from The Division Bell and a 1994 tour rehearsal track. Also available on vinyl.

Our Overview. 

Following on from 2016’s ‘The Early Years 1965-1972’ mega box set, comes a second collection of unreleased and cleaned up material from Pink Floyd, one the world’s biggest bands. This box covers the underrated final act of the bands long and storied career when guitarist David Gilmour assumed the helm following the departure of founder member Roger Waters. This period also saw the return of keyboardist Richard Wright who had left the band in 1981 while drummer Nick Mason remained the only member to have been in the group from the very beginning. For some, the outlay required for the big box may be too much - however the band have prepared a special single CD / double LP compilation featuring highlights from the set.

Tracklist.

1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5) [Live at Knebworth 1990] [2019 Mix] (new 2019 mix)
2. Marooned Jam (Unreleased 1994 Recording) (previously unreleased)
3. One Slip (2019 Remix) (new A Momentary lapse of Reason 2019 mix)
4. Lost For Words (Tour Rehearsal 1994) (previously unreleased)
5. Us And Them (Live, Delicate Sound Of Thunder) [2019 Remix] (new 2019 mix)
6. Comfortably Numb (Live at Knebworth 1990) [2019 Mix] (previously unreleased)
7. Sorrow (2019 Remix) (new A Momentary lapse of Reason 2019 mix)
8. Learning To Fly (Live, Delicate Sound Of Thunder) [2019 Remix] (new 2019 mix)
9. High Hopes (Early Version) [Unreleased 1994 Recording] (previously unreleased)
10. On The Turning Away (2019 Remix) (new A Momentary lapse of Reason 2019 mix)
11. Wish You Were Here (Live at Knebworth 1990) [2019 Mix] (previously unreleased)
12. Run Like Hell (Live, Delicate Sound Of Thunder) [2019 Remix] (new 2019 mix)

Label Review.

2019 album. Rock.

Our Overview.

With ‘Coma To Coma’, United Waters, the Brooklyn, New York based band continues even further down the road of the perfect melded song. Fronted by Brian Sullivan, of 2000s noisemongers Mouthus, the bands fourth album is a sonic experience where chords drip and flow into each other at a pace equal to honey at 35 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s this viscosity that sets United Waters apart from any other band that engages in the song-form.

Achievement obtained not by the newest pedals or computer effects, but by playing slightly out of this dimension. It’s a sound completely unique yet a sound you knew existed without ever having heard it before. The song-form transfigures into a new body that reveals new energies with subtle lines of force. ‘Coma To Coma’ takes that new body and refines it even further than their previous records. Imagine the painter Francis Bacon sonically slicing and transmogrifying the songs on Lindsey Buckingham’s Law And Order and you will begin to orient yourself to the sound of ‘Coma to Coma.’

Track Listing: Summer Your Eyes Out / Harbor And Rail / See No Globe / Who Will Sing Your Name / Arrowheads / Hydras Again / Isotopes / Home Fires / Snow Days

Label Review.

2019 album with The SWR Big Band And Strings.

Our Overview.

Paul Carrack has enjoyed a lengthy career - as a member of bands Ace, Squeeze and Mike & The Mechanics and is probably one of Britain's most enduringly successful singer/musicians, working with stars such as Sting, Elton John, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Simply Red and B.B King to name a few on his musical CV - Paul Carrack's voice is probably recognised by many who don't know his name.

’Christmas With Paul Carrack, the SWR Big Band And Strings’ is a selection of Christmas songs which have been recorded over the years, the most recent being at The London Playhouse 2018. Includes original orchestrations by some of Europe’s finest musicians and includes many Christmas favourites.

Track Listing: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas / Christmas Opening (Medley) / Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer / Thinking About You (This Christmas) / White Christmas / Let There Be Peace On Earth / Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! / What A Wonderful World / Silent Night / Winter Wonderland / Jingle Bells / Sleigh Ride / Santa Claus Is Coming to Town / Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree / The Man With The Bag (Everybody’s Waitin’ For) / Go Tell It On The Mountain / This Christmas (Hang Up The Mistletoe) / The Christmas Song / Silver Bells / When A Child is Born (Soleado) / Dimensions In Blue

Label Review.

Tribute to Buddy Holly featuring Marty Wilde, Tommy Steele and Duffy Power and more. Second disc includes alternative takes from Buddy himself.

Our Overview.

Special issue to commemorate the 60th anniversary of “The Day The Music Died” This first limited pressing includes the already sold out “Alternatively” LP on black vinyl and printed sleeve. 3rd February 1959: A hugely important, dark and poignant date in music history. In order to mark the 60th anniversary of the tragedy that really rocked the rock ‘n’ roll era, here is the music of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson as interpreted by their friends, peers and fans: from contemporary covers of the songs they made famous by the likes of Rusty York and The Ravens; posthumous but heart-felt versions of their hits by such as Sam Butera, Bobby Vee and Jerry Paul; Buddy Holly successes performed by the original composers Sonny West and Ben Hall, and a handful of tributes by British rock ‘n’ roll stars like Marty Wilde, Tommy Steele and Duffy Power, topped off with the original version of that most touching posthumous tribute of all, “Three Stars” by Californian D.J., Tommy Dee.

“Look up in the sky - up toward the north, There are three new stars brightly shining forth. They’re shining so bright, from heaven above, Gee, we’re gonna miss you, everybody sends their love!”

Track Listing:

LP 1: Rave On - Sonny West / Come On Let’s Go - Tommy Steele / Chantilly Lace - Sam Butera / Oh Boy - Jerry Paul / Donna - Marty Wilde / White Lightnin’ - George Jones / That’ll Be The Day - The Ravens / Peggy Sue - Rusty York / That’s My Little Suzie - Duffy Power / Beggar to a King - Hank Snow / Well All Right - Bobby Vee / Blue Days, Black Nights - Ben Hall / It Doesn’t Matter Anymore - Rob & Roy / Three Stars - Tonny Dee

LP 2: Midnight Shift (alternative take - 26th January 1956) / Don’t Come Back Knockin’ (alternative take - 26th January 1956) / Moonlight Baby (demo cut - 7th December 1955) / Down The Line (alternative demo take - Mid 1955) / I’m Gonna Set My Foot Down (demo cut - Early 1956) / Love Me (demo cut - 7th December 1955) / Not Fade Away (alternative overdub - 29th May 1957) / Maybe Baby (alternative version - 1st March 1957) / Oh Boy (undubbed version - 1st July 1957) / Peggy Sue (alternative take - 1st July 1957) / Think It Over (undubbed alternative take - 13th February 1958) / Reminiscing (undubbed version - 10th September 1958)

Label Review. 

Analog Africa. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Brand new release on the Analog Africa Label - MOGADISCO - Dancing Mogadishu (Somalia 1972 - 1991) 2xLP in Gatefold - comes with a full color 16 pages booklet containing 50 pictures.The CD comes with a full color 40 pages booklet containing 50 pictures. 

After being blown away by a few tunes - probably just as you will be after listening to this - Samy Ben Redjeb travelled to the infamous capital city of Somalia in November of 2016, making Analog Africa the first music label to set foot in Mogadishu.

On his arrival in Somalia Samy began rifling through piles of cassettes and listening to reel-to-reel tapes in the dusty archives of Radio Mogadishu, looking for music that ‘swam against the current’. The stars were aligned: an uncovered and unmarked pile of discarded recordings was discovered in a cluttered corner of the building. Colonel Abshir - the senior employee and protector of Radio Mogadishu’s archives - clarified that the pile consisted mostly of music nobody had manage to identify, or music he described as being ‘mainly instrumental and strange music’. At the words ‘strange music’ Samy was hooked, the return flight to Tunisia was cancelled.

The pile turned out to be a cornucopia of different sounds: radio jingles, background music and interludes for radio programmes, television shows and theatre plays. There were also a good number of disco tunes, some had been stripped of their lyrics, the interesting parts had been recorded multiple times then cut, taped together and spliced into a long groovy instrumental loop. Like everywhere in Africa during the 1970s, both men and women sported huge afros, bell-bottom trousers and platform shoes. James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and The Temptations’ funk were the talk of the town. In 1977, Iftin Band were invited to perform at the Festac festival in Lagos where theyrepresented Somalia at the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture. Not only did they come back with an award but they also returned with Afrobeat. While Fela Kuti’s ‘Shakara’ had taken over the continent and was spreading like wildfire throughout Latin America, it was the track ‘Lady’ that would become the hit in Mogadishu.

Mogadisco was not Analog Africa’s easiest project. Tracking down the musicians - often in exile in the diaspora - to interview them and gather anecdotes of golden-era Mogadishu has been an undertaking that took three years. Tales of Dur-Dur Band’s kidnapping, movie soundtracks recorded in the basements of hotels, musicians getting electrocuted on stage, others jumping from one bandto another under dramatic circumstances, and soul singers competing against each other, are all stories included in the massive booklet that accompanies the compilation - adorned with no less then 50 pictures from the ‘70s and ‘80s. As Colonel Abshir Hashi Ali, chief don at the Radio Mogadishu archive - someone who once wrestled a bomber wielding an unpinned hand-grenade to the floor - put it: ‘I have dedicated my life to this place. I’m doing this so it can get to the next generation; so that the culture, the heritage and the songs of Somalia don’t disappear.’

Label Review. 

2019 debut album. Americana. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Regardless of the many bands Birnbaum has played, recorded, and toured with, it's good to know that there's a solid solo artist in there as well. And American musician, Gabriel Birnbaum does not disappoint on his debut solo album ‘Not Alone’. For a guy whose credits include saxophone in an Ethiopian pop ensemble (Debo Band) and vocal and guitar duties in an acclaimed indie rock band (Wilder Maker), Gabriel Birnbaum can pretty much do whatever he wants on a solo album.

Birnbaum’s press release for ‘Not Alone’ states: “Birnbaum, a working musician since his teens, began as a jazz and avant-garde saxophonist, with stints playing everything from throwback soul music to harsh noise everywhere from the grungiest DIY venues to Lincoln Center and festivals like Bonnaroo and Le Guess Who. At 30, when he began to write the nine songs that make up ‘Not Alone’, he had arrived at one of these moments where everything seems to be ending.”

Accompanying Birnbaum (who handles vocals, guitar, piano, and saxophone) are Adam Brisbin (Sam Evian, Jolie Holland) and Will Graefe (Okkervil River, Star Rover) on guitars and bass as well as Jason Nazary (Bear In Heaven, Anteloper) on drums, percussion, and synths. Going into the recording process with very little preparation apart from Birnbaum's songs, the album was tracked in a couple of days with just a few overdubs. As a result, ‘Not Alone’ has a loose feel that recalls the musically rich texture of classic Neil Young or mid-1970s Dylan albums. Birnbaum's deep, soulful drawl invites comparisons to Craig Finn and Joe Henry, a burnished instrument that serves the songs extremely well.

On ‘Not Alone’, Gabriel Birnbaum’s musicality and poetry shine through a deceptively complex listen where seemingly simple tunes provide avenues to greater depth upon each listen as Birnbaum’s mundane observations take on a sliver of the sacred. Birnbaum sites Jim Sullivan’s UFO as an influence for this record - After recording UFO, Sullivan disappeared into the desert and never recorded again – some say he was abducted. ‘Not Alone’ is a masterfully conceived album, as Birnbaum clearly achieves the aesthetic he sought instrumentally, thematically and lyrically, and without compromising.

"Member of Wilder Maker and Debo Band ‘Gabriel Birnbaum’s vocals are clear and at the centre of the proceedings, invested with a grinning Tom Waits-like delivery and an effusive vocal cadence recalling Dylan at his turn-of-goingelectric phrase." - Spin 

‘‘Gabriel Birnbaum’s urban Americana project intersperses grit and gloom with alluring glimpses of deliverance’ - Pitchfork

Track Listing: Not Alone / Stack The Miles / Mistakes / I Got Friends / Archives / Blue Kentucky Mile / Comeback Song / Lose My Head / Oh Jesus

Label Review.

The official CD reissue of the classic 1990s Capitol Records album featuring performances by Lucinda Williams, P. F. Sloan, Susan Cowsill, Richie Furay, Percy Sledge, Gene Clark and more.

Our Overview.

‘True Voices’ is an album of songs by iconoclastic songwriters performed by iconoclastic artists. The official CD reissue of the classic ‘90s Capitol Records album featuring performances by Lucinda Williams, P. F. Sloan, Susan Cowsill, Richie Furay, Percy Sledge, Gene Clark and more. This edition adds 6 performances including the newly recorded Ode To L.A. While Thinking Of Brian Jones, Deceased by Johnny Indovina of Human Drama.

This was originally a poem that Jim Morrison wrote shortly after Brian Jones died. Carla Olson was given permission by the Morrison estate to compose the music. Quite a few of the artists who contributed to the album have also since departed and a trio of songs they have written were added: Percy Sledge’s take on Jackie Lomax’s Fall Inside Your Eyes from Jackie’s Apple album debut, John York’s version of P.F. Sloan’s Upon A Painted Ocean and Richie Furay’s cover of Gene Clark’s classic She Don’t Care About Time. In all 12 of the 17 recordings are not available elsewhere and were recorded exclusively for 'True Voices'.

Among some of the standouts: ‘Surrender,’ the Tom Petty song, by Phil Seymour backed by 20/20. ‘Are You Lonely For Me Baby,’ the Freddie Scott hit written by Bert Berns and delivered here by Paul Jones of Manfred Mann. ‘Changes,’ written by Phil Ochs, covered by Gene Clark. ‘(Thank You) For Being Here.’ The only existing Brian Jones song! The vocal is by Krysia Kristianneaka Krysia Kocjan of the Natural Acoustic Band with all instruments played by Robin Williamson of the Incredible String Band. ‘At The End Of The Day,’ Sandy Denny’s gorgeous ballad, is performed by Susan Cowsill with Eric Johnson on guitar and piano. A portion of the proceeds from the recording will be donated to Music Mends Minds.

Track Listing: Ode To L.A. While Thinking Of Brian Jones, Deceased (Jim Morrison) Johnny Indovina / Fall Inside Your Eyes (Jackie Lomax) Percy Sledge / Upon A Painted Ocean (P.f. Sloan) John York / She Don’t Care About Time (Gene Clark) Richie Furay / Surrender (Tom Petty) Phil Seymour / Are You Lonely For Me Baby (Bert Berns) Paul Jones / Changes (Phil Ochs) Gene Clark / Devil Eyes (Tim Buckley) Jackie Lomax / Lady Came From Baltimore (Tim Hardin) JohnStewart / (Thank You) For Being There (Brian Jones) Krysia Kristianne / Simple Song Of Freedom (Bobby Darin) P.f. Sloan / Which Will (Nick Drake) Lucinda Williams / To Love Someone (Del Shannon) Pat Robinson / At The End Of The Day (Sandy Denny) Susan Cowsill / Loving Arms (Tom Jans) Stephen Mccarthy And Carla Olson / Across The Great Divide (Kate Wolf) Michael Noid / The Dreamer (Sonny Criss) Brian Barnett, Ed Black, Ken Kubernik

Label Review.

Recorded in 1974 and unreleased until almost thirty years later.

Our Overview.

Far Out Recordings proudly presents Milton Nascimento’s ‘Maria Maria’. Recorded in 1974 and unreleased until almost thirty years later, the album was written as the soundtrack to a ballet which dealt with the legacy ofslavery in Brazil. Raw, atmospheric and emotionally charged, ‘Maria Maria’ reveals one of Brazil’s greatest ever songwriters at his creative peak.

Featuring an all-star cast of fellow Brazilian legends including Nana Vasconcelos, Joao Donato, Paulinho Jobim, and members of Som Imaginario, ‘Maria Maria’ holds what Milton considers to be the definitive versions of someof his classic songs, including ‘Os Escravos De Jó‘ and ‘Maria Maria’.

Originally released in 2003 as a double CD package, with Milton Nascimento’s 1984 follow up ballet soundtrack Ultimo Trem, Maria Maria will be available on vinyl for the very first time from December 2019, with Ultimo Trem set for vinyl release early 2020. Milton Nascimento possesses one of the most immediately recognisable voices in Brazilian music: high and sweet and as breathtakingly sublime as that of any soul singer. It was this voice that the legendary Brazilian singer Elis Regina fell in love with back in 1964, having heard Milton perform his song ‘Can o do Sal (Sultry Song)’ at a private party in Sao Paulo. Ellis went on to record the song in 1967 -giving Milton his first hit in Brazil and beginning a career that has spanned over 50 years.

Born in Rio on the 26th October 1942, Milton moved with his adoptive parents at the age of 18 months to Tres Pontas, a rural town in the state of Minas Gerais, 500 miles north of Rio. Milton became part of a local network of musicians, film makers, dancers, theatre directors and writers that included the journalist and song writer Fernando Brant as well as lyricist Marcio Borges and his younger brother Lo Borges. Milton’s religious upbringing as an Afro-Brazilian Catholic saw him exposed to church choral music from an early age. His love of this genre of music is apparent in both his celestial falsetto and vocal choral arrangements. This collection also displays his early fascination with evocative, non-verbal, scat-style singing, spare, harmonic guitar work and local folk music, jazz and rock.

In 1976, Milton and Fernando Brant teamed up with a new contemporary dance company called Grupo Corpo, whose Argentinian choreographer Oscar Araiz, would become a collaborator with the two musicians. Together, they conceived a show based on the composite life story of the daughter of a black slave called Maria. Nascimento wrote music to Brant’s lyrics and “Maria Maria” was premiered in the main theatre of the Belo Horizonte Palacio das Artes that year. The music on ‘Maria Maria’ was performed by an impressive group of young musicians who are today household names in Brazilian music, including Nana Vasconcelos (percussion and effects), Toninho Horta (guitars) and Paulo Moura (sax). Several vocalist including Naná Caymmi, Fafá de Belém, Beto Guedes, and Milton himself, had hits in years to come with reworkings of these songs.

Track Listing:

LP 1: Maria Maria / Cozinha / Pilar (Do Pila) / Trabalhos (Essa Voz) / Lilia / A Chamada / Era Rei E Sou Escravo / Os Escravos De Jo / Tema Dos Deuses

LP 2: Santos Catholicos X Candomble / Pai Grande / Sedu o / Francisco / Maria Solid ria / De Repente Maria Sumiu / Eu Sou Uma Preta Velha Aqui Sentada No Sol / Boca A Boca / Maria Maria

Label Review.

GRAPPA.

Our Overview.

After serving up a pack of great singles, Norwegian rocker, Age Sten Nilsens fifth new album “Crossing The Rubicon” is finally released. Best known for his melodic hard rocking bands Ammunition, and years ago Wig Wam, these tracks vary from what Age makes with his rock band and the album is properly titled – the expression means a risky step ahead – as Nilsen goes here for his love of Classic Rock, happy-pop with the ’60s spirit, campfire-like songs with non traditional instruments, and some rock tunes, of course. Personal, organic, classic rock oriented, ‘Crossing The Rubicon’ shows the other side of Åge Sten Nilsen, a much more wider and interesting artist than just a melodic hard rock pony.

With tracks “Baby Don’t Be Leave”, “Ghost On The Wall”, “Jupiter & Venus” and “Fire Meets Fire”, Age Sten Nilsen of Wig Wam fame has once again proved that he is able to create quality music regardless of genres. As with his previous solo efforts, Age has had a goal that the music on “Crossing The Rubicon” should not be bound by genre. Rather each song has been arranged based on their unique premises.

On “Crossing The Rubicon” you get music without programmed instruments, auto-tune and sampling. In its essence it is recorded live, and every song and lyric are incredibly personal. In other words, Age makes sure that you guilt free can enjoy country, rock, pop and more with songs about love and intimacy.

Artists: Freddy Holm, Atle Rakvag, Eivind Kloverod, Ola Aanje

Track Listing: Ease My Closure / Crossing The Rubicon / Ghost On The Wall / A Love Like Ours / Into The Great Unknown / Baby Don’t Leave / Need Him Now / Four Meets Fire / Jupiter And Venus / House On Fire / What’s My Name / One Of Your Own

Label Review.

1996 debut album.

Our Overview.

The dark 1996 debut album of atmospheric Black Metal from Katatonia mastermind Anders Blackheim Nystrom presented on special blood red 180 gm vinyl for the first time on Peaceville. ‘Ravendusk in my Heart’ is presented in single sleeve packaging complete with a printed inner bag featuring lyrics.

“A work of considerable depth and power” - Metal Archives Diabolical Masquerade, which launched onto the scene in 1996 with the release of ‘Ravendusk in My Heart’. Three further albums were subsequently released in a prolific period of creativity before the project was finally laid to rest after the release of ‘Death’s Design’ in 2001.

‘Ravendusk in my Heart’ stands as a startling debut of fantastic imagery, shaped by accomplished atmospherics mixed with cold black metal, recalling the early works of Emperor, all brought to life with deeply imaginative tales of fantasy from Blackheim’s realm. The album was recorded at the famous Unisound Studio in September 1995. It was produced by Dan Swan & Blackheim and mixed by Swan (familiar for his work with Opeth, Dissection, Marduk).

Track Listing: The Castle Of Blackheim / Blackheim’s Quest To Bring Back The Stolen Autumn / Behind The Spiritual Moon / The Sphere In Blackheim’s Shrine / Under The Banner Of The Sentinel / Blackheim’s Forest Kept The Seasons Forever / The Darkblue Seajourneys Of The Sentinel / Blackheim’s Hunt For Nocturnal Grace / Ravendusk In My Heart

Label Review.

2019 album. Acoustic re-recordings.

Our Overview.

English rock band, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin - the band who took their name from an episode of radio comedy programmeThe Goon Show - formed in Stourbridge, West Midlands 32 years ago and became the third wave of successful Stourbridge bands following in the footsteps of Pop Will Eat Itself and The Wonder Stuff serving up their own brand of urgent, aggressive sub-hardcore rock.

Fast forward to September 2017 and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin were about to announce their first UK tour for 28 years with Stourbridge mates The Wonder Stuff. Miles and Erica from The Wonder Stuff were ready to play acoustically for a live Facebook broadcast to make the announcement, so Miles suggested that Neds play a couple of their songs acoustically too. “We don’t do acoustic” says Jonn. “We don’t do acoustic” says Rat. “I’ll play guitar for you Jonn” says Miles, cunningly. “No, I’ll play guitar!” says Rat. Ned’s Acoustic Dustbin was born.

The band continue “Jonn hates to hear his voice laid bare, Rat was never a fan of playing acoustic guitar - he’s the noise monger, the guy with infinite delay, chunky distortion and a wrist that does 200rpm. How on earth do you squeeze the essence out of songs written with Alex and Mat’s two bass guitars and Rat’s effect-laden sound? Take away Dan’s drums too? Rat likes a challenge. He has got the acoustic bug - you can hear it in spades through these masterful interpretations. Rat says “I soon realised that acoustics don’t go to 11 but at least it spared the neighbours the initial butchery of the tunes.

“Of course, it did give me justification for buying a new guitar and, while selecting said acoustic, I discovered that playing Stairway To Heaven is still frowned upon in guitar stores!” Jonn says “I just do what I’ve always done and bawl it out the same as I do with the full band behind me - I’m lucky enough to have my parts already written 30 years ago! It’s terrifying but I’m loving the intimacy of playing this way - almost nose to nose with the fans”. Now Miles has bullied them into recording 14 songs in 4 days at the foot of the Long Mynd and somehow, he’s captured this Ned’s Acoustic vitality with aplomb.”

Track Listing: All I Ask Of Myself Is That I Hold Together / Capital Letters / Cut Up / Grey Cell Green / Happy / Intact / A Leg-End In His Own Boots / Song 11 Could Take Forever / Spring / Stuck / To Be Right... / Trust / You Don’t Want to do That / 23hr Toothache

Label Review.

Reference Sound Edition. Jeff Buckley, Otis Taylor, Macy Gray, Rickie Lee Jones, and more.

Our Overview.

Welcome to the world of impeccable sound, the IN-AKUSTIK REFERENCE SOUND EDITION. This remarkable sound carrier from in-akustik has been assembled with a love of musical detail. 16 tracks featuring Great Cover Versions are forming a seamless and exceptional sound and listening experience.

Listen to marvelous versions of well-known songs and hits like “Hey Joe”, “Vincent, One”, “Wicked Game”, “Nothing Else Matters”, “Because You Loved Me”, or probablythe best cover version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, sung by Jeff Buckley a.o. RESO Mastering, the high definition mastering procedure, provides significant acoustic improvements in transparency, dynamics, bass reproduction and depth differentiation. The music is gaining more atmosphere and emotion.

To best transmit this musical experience, the Direct Metal Mastercut (DMM) technique is employed and 180 gram pure Vinyl (Virgin Vinyl) is used for the sound carrier. Also available on UHQ-CD (Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc) and HQCD (High Quality Compact Disc).

Track Listing:

LP 1: Ain’t No Sunshine / Hey Joe / I Love You / Super Freak / Kothbiro / Vincent / One / Wicked Game

LP 2: Nothing Else Matters / Wild World / One More Day / Book Of Liars / Because You Loved Me / Only Love Can Break Your Heart / 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover / Hallelujah

Label Review. 

Not The Nine O’Clock News (1980), Hedgehog Sandwich (1981) and The Memory Kinda Lingers (2LP) (1982). All remastered. Demon. Also available on 4LP. 

Our Overview. 

“Not The Nine O’Clock News gave the world alternative comedy and made the media scene we have today.” Mark Lewisohn, Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy

Celebrating 40 years since the ground breaking comedy series arrived on BBC TV, this CD box set presents all three original albums on CD (‘Not The Nine O’Clock News’ appearing on CD for the first time, plus ‘Hedgehog Sandwich’ and the double CD ‘The Memory Kinda Lingers’ lovingly remastered from the original tapes. The first two albums made the UK Top Ten chart on their original release.

Let the famous signature tune take you back to the heady days of 1979, when Labour gave way to the Conservatives, striking workers created the Winter of Discontent, and Not The Nine O’Clock News inherited the BBC2 time slot vacated by Fawlty Towers. It quickly became a trailblazing smash hit, running for four series and making stars of Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones.

Among the many famous, and much loved, sketches included on the LPs are David Bloody Attenborough (aka Gerald the Gorilla), Points of View, General Synod’s “Life of Python”, Constable Savage, University Challenge, Hi Fi Shop, That’s Lies, Not The Parrot Sketch, Open Marriage, Question Time, Game For A Laugh, Two Ninnies, McEnroe’s Breakfast, What A Load of Willies, The Pope’s Visit, Simon and Garfunkel and yes The Return of Constable Savage. Produced and devised by John Lloyd and Sean Hardie.

Not The Nine O’Clock News won a Silver Rose at the Montreux Festival and a BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Programme. Its large writing team included such future luminaries of TV comedy as Richard Curtis, David Renwick, Andrew Marshall, Guy Jenkin, Laurie Rowley, John Lloyd and Andy Hamilton.

Label Review.

Featuring Martin Carthy, Peter Bellamy, Frankie Armstrong and many more.

Our Overview.

This collection of songs ’Songs Of Witchcraft And Magic’ by various artists, reflects the significant part that magic has played in our culture. They connect with myths and folktales that take us back to the distant past; but they also represent a living and evolving tradition. The magic of these songs still exerts power over us today. Featuring Martin Carthy, Peter Bellamy, Frankie Armstrong and many more.

They are a striking demonstration of the breadth and variety of magic - from the brutal revenge of The Brown Girl, through the bizarre transformations of The Two Magicians, to the haunting mysticism of The Bells of Paradise. Magic inhabits the borderland where the psychological and the spiritual meet. It can be severely pragmatic, but may also involve the mysterious depths of the mind and the liberation of the spirit.

Track Listing: Bob Fox & Stu Luckley - The Two Magicians / Ruth Barrett - BroomfieldHill / Tom Brown - The Bitter Withy / Alva - The Bells Of Paradise / Martin Carthy - Willie’s Lady / Frankie Armstrong - Young Orphy / Magpie Lane - Juniper Gentle & Rosemary / Keith Kendrick & Sylivia Needham - The Bold Astrologer / Ron Taylor & Jeff Gillett - Thomas The Rhymer / Gill Berry - The Brown Girl / Craig, Morgan, Robson - The Laily Worm, Hector Gilchrist & Liz Thompson - The Selkie / Malinky - Alison Cross / Peter Bellamy - Nostradamus / Graham & Kerriann - The Chase Song

Label Review.

2018 album.

Our Overview.

Sunset Rollercoaster is one of the largest independent rock bands in Asia. In preparation for their upcoming USA tour, the band is excited to share their catalogue to the United States and Europe for the first time via Redeye distribution.

A 6-piece band from Taiwan, Sunset Rollercoaster is responsible for introducing a new psychedelic/soul sound to Asia. Because of their 80s style of breezy and chilled out music with a modern spin and their incredibly romantic live performances, fans have nicknamed the band’s genre as ‘pregnant rock.

The Taiwan-based group's breezy, chilled out tunes perfectly accompany sunny strolls along the riverside or lazy mornings in bed with your love. Check out the incredible performance and let the colourful sounds of Sunset Rollercoaster transport you to a brighter mental state.

‘Cassa Nova’ followed their 2011 release, ‘Bossa Nova’, but this album bares little resemblance to their original style. The gap between albums was bridged with the ‘Jinji Kikko EP’, which evolved their sound from fuzzy jangle-pop to a cleaner, 80’s inspired jazz-funk style. ‘Cassa Nova’ carries this sound to new heights, refining and perfecting the experimental sound with more intricate instrumentation and an abstract story. The modern take on an exhausted era’s music makes this album stand out far above the rest.

Track Listing: Almost Mature ‘87 / Greedy / Cool of Lullaby / Angel Disco Love / Slow / Oriental / Summum Bonnum / Libidram / 10 Year Taipei (Matured ‘17)

Label Review.

The theme for this issue is "Vision" and features artists like Jeff Buckley, Yola, Scott Avett, Rebecca Loebe, The Mountain Goats, North Mississippi Allstars, Andrew Combs, Orville Peck, Elvis Presley, Kaia Kater, Mary Gauthier, Lillie Mae, and more!

Our Overview.

'No Depression’ takes a more visual approach to understanding roots music in the Winter 2019 issue. Even though music is primarily an auditory experience, there are so many visual elements that go into presenting, performing, consuming, and engaging with this particular art form. Through No Depression’s exceptional print medium, the issue highlights the photos, comics, graphics, non-traditional band merchandise, and more that help both musicians and fans see new ideas through the sounds.

Photos/Art and original design by Marcus Amaker; Original cover art by Nicole Atkins; Original illustrations by Dylan Goldberger. ‘No Depression’ takes a more visual approach to understanding roots music in the Winter 2019 issue. Even though music is primarily an auditory experience, there are so many visual elements that go into presenting, performing, consuming, and engaging with this particular art form.

Through 'No Depression’s' exceptional print medium, the issue highlights the photos, comics, graphics, non-traditional band merchandise, and more that help both musicians and fans see new ideas through the sounds.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Also available on Deluxe CD, and Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

The Who has one of the greatest rock legacies in music history, they’re one of the all-time great live bands, have sold over 100 million records world including 9 US & 10 UK top ten albums and 14 UK top ten singles in a career spanning six decades. Now 55 years after they made their first recordings, The Who is back with their first new album in thirteen years entitled ‘WHO’. The eleven-track album was mostly recorded in London and Los Angeles during Spring and Summer 2019 and was co-produced by Pete Townshend & D. Sardy (who has worked with Noel Gallagher, Oasis, LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz) with vocal production by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Roger Daltrey, Wilko Johnson).

Singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend are joined on the album by long-time Who drummer Zak Starkey, bassist Pino Palladino along with contributions from Simon Townshend, Benmont Tench, Carla Azar, Joey Waronker and Gordon Giltrap. The album cover has been created by famed pop artist, Sir Peter Blake who first met the band in 1964 at a taping of the legendary TV show Ready Steady Go. Sir Peter designed and contributed a painting to the sleeve of The Who’s album ‘Face Dances’ in 1981.

The songs on ‘WHO’ cover a myriad of subjects including the Grenfell Tower fire, musical theft, spirituality, reincarnation, the power of memory and “an old rock star that has lost his marbles”. Daltrey rates it amongst their strongest “I think we’ve made our best album since ‘Quadrophenia’ in 1973, Pete hasn’t lost it, he’s still a fabulous songwriter, and he’s still got that cutting edge”.

Pete Townshend: “This album is almost all new songs written last year, with just two exceptions. There is no theme, no concept, no story, just a set of songs that I (and my brother Simon) wrote to give Roger Daltrey some inspiration, challenges and scope for his newly revived singing voice. Roger and I are both old men now, by any measure, so I’ve tried to stay away from romance, but also from nostalgia if I can. I didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Memories are OK, and some of the songs refer to the explosive state of things today. I made new home studio demos of all these songs in the summer of 2018 using a wide collection of instruments old and new.“

Label Review.

Selections From The 2004 2007 2010 & 2013 Crossroads Guitar Festivals on Vinyl for the first time. Also available on CD.

Our Overview.

‘Crossroads Revisted’ is an exceptional collection of nearly four hours of live performances from Eric Clapton's acclaimed Crossroads Guitar Festival. The English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter - and the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame : once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and of Cream - founded the festival in 2004 and it has given fans an opportunity to witness truly historic performances by some of the world's greatest guitarists. While fans have been able to relive those magical moments since 2016 thanks to a series of successful CD, DVD and Blu-ray compilations this is it’s first release on Vinyl.

A veritable "Who's Who" of guitar music can be heard on this set, including Clapton, Jeff Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Robert Cray, Billy F Gibbons, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, John Mayer, Carlos Santana, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, and Jimmie Vaughn, just to name a few. Naturally, the all-star jams deliver some of the collection s most unforgettable moments.

Held every three years since 2004, the Crossroads Guitar Festival raises funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility that Clapton founded in 1998 to help people suffering from chemical dependency.

LP 1. Sweet Home Chicago”- Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin & Jimmie Vaughan / Rock Me Baby” - Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, B.B. King & Jimmie Vaughan / Steamroller - James Taylor with Joe Walsh  / What The Cowgirls Do - Vince Gill with Jerry Douglas  / After Midnight - J.J. Cale with Eric Clapton / Green Light Girl - Doyle Bramhall II  / Hell At Home - Sonny Landreth with Eric Clapton / City Love - John Mayer                                                

LP 3. Little By Little – Susan Tedeschi with The Derek Trucks Band / Poor Johnny - The Robert Cray Band / Paying The Cost To Be The Boss - B.B. King with The Robert Cray Band, Jimmie   Vaughan & Hubert Sumlin / Tulsa Time - Sheryl Crow with Eric Clapton, Vince Gill & Albert Lee / On The Road Again - Willie Nelson with Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill & Albert Lee / Isn’t It A Pity - Eric Clapton / Belief - John Mayer  / Mas Y Mas - Los Lobos                                                  

LP 4. Big Block - Jeff Beck / Presence Of The Lord - Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton / Cocaine - Eric Clapton / Waiting For The Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago – ZZ Top / Don’t Owe You A Thang – Gary Clark Jr.  / Bright Lights – Gary Clark Jr.                                         

LP 5. Our Love Is Fading - Sheryl Crow with Eric Clapton, Doyle Bramhall II & Gary Clark Jr.  / Lay Down Sally - Vince Gill with Sheryl Crow, Keb’ Mo’, Albert Lee, James Burton & Earl Klugh / Space Captain - Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band with Warren Haynes, David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas & Chris Stainton / Hammerhead – Jeff Beck / Five Long Years - Buddy Guy with Jonny Lang & Ronnie Wood / Hear My Train A Comin - Doyle Bramhall II / Dear Mr. Fantasy - Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton                        

LP 6. Born Under A Bad Sign - Booker T. with Steve Cropper, Keb’ Mo’, Blake Mills, Matt “Guitar” Murphy & Albert Lee / Everyday I Have The Blues - The Robert Cray Band with B.B. King, Eric Clapton & Jimmie Vaughan / Please Come Home - Gary Clark Jr. / Tumbling Dice - Vince Gill with Keith Urban & Albert Lee / Shot The Sheriff - Eric Clapton / Crossroads - Eric Clapton 

Label Review. 

2019 album. Rap / Hip Hop. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

The New York, Brooklyn, hip-hop duo of DJ Premier and MC Guru aka Gang Star, were one of the most influential MC and DJ tandem of the 1990s, and set new standards for East Coast rap, mixing their poetic hip-hop with adventurous jazzy beats with laid back rhymes. Over the course of their distinguished career, they became a cultural institution and a brand you could ultimately trust. With a handful of indelible classic albums on their resume, DJ Premier and Guru’s catalogue has not only persevered but mastered the test of time. Simply, Gang Starr did not follow trends, they created them. 

And now the dynamic duo are back with their first album in 16 years ‘One Of The Best Yet’ released into a very different hip hop landscape to their last album 2003’s ‘The Ownerz’. Though rapper Guru died in 2010 DJ Premier avoids the usual pitfalls of posthumous releases, deploying neat verses and brilliant production tricks.

Though they never “officially” disbanded after the release of their last project (The Ownerz 2003), Premier and Guru still remained infinitely connected to each other even as they embarked on solo paths.Premier won three Grammy’s along the way and assisted in turning fast rising artists such as Nas, Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G. and many others into rap royalty; and his imprint included work with artists such as Drake, Christina Aguilera, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Mac Miller, The Game, Ludacris, Maroon 5, Common, Mos Def, Rakim, KRS-One, Janet Jackson, D’Angelo, DJ Khaled, Joey Bada$$, Royce 5’9, Twenty One Pilots , and Miley Cyrus ; all of which spoke to his diversity and ability to traverse genres

.In turn, Guru would go on to release his own quartet of highly influential Jazzmatazz projects.

In the interim, fans always clamored for another Gang Starr album. Though there were whispers and murmurs over the years, nothing ever panned out and the possibilities of that project being willed into existence seemingly grew more remote as the years passed by. After Guru tragically passed away in 2010 the hope seemed to vanish altogether. The one person who refused to give hope was DJ Premier.

In September 2019, Premier announced the return of Gang Starr with the group’s first song since 2003, “Family and Loyalty” featuring J. Cole. DJ Premier began crafting ‘One of the Best Yet’ in 2017, and he said in a statement he always believed the project would come to fruition, even after Guru’s death in 2010. “I never lost faith, or wavered,” he said. “I still felt it inside of me, it just happened to be nine years later [after Guru’s passing]. We all want the things we want right now, but I am a patient guy. I hung in there and I just kept believing.”

'One Of The Best Yet' is many things. Yes, it’s the first new Gang Starr album in sixteen years and it is a historic event to be celebrated and rejoiced, but it symbolises much more than that. 

'One Of The Best Yet' further cements Gang Starr’s legacy. This literal gift of an album not only harkens you back to Gang Starr’s seminal work of the past, but it re-establishes their impact in a modern-day perspective.

Tracks Listing: ‘The Sure Shot’ (Intro) / ‘Lights Out” feat. M.O.P. / ‘Bad Name’ / ‘Hit Man’ feat. Q-Tip / What’s Real’ feat. Group Home & Royce Da 5’9” / ‘Keith Casim Elam’ (Interlude) / ‘From A Distance’ feat. Jeru The Damaja / ‘Family and Loyalty” feat. J. Cole / ‘Get Together’ feat. Ne-Yo & Nitty Scott / ‘NYGz/ GS 183rd’ (Interlude) / ‘So Many Rappers’ / ‘Business Or Art’ feat. Talib Kweli / ‘Bring It Back Here’ / ‘One Of The Best Yet’ (Big Shug Interlude) / Take Flight’ (Militia Pt. 4) feat. Big Shug & Freddie Foxxx / ‘Bless The Mic’

Label Review.

1968 debut album. Sundazed.

Our Overview.

Canadian-American jazz rock group Blood, Sweat and Tears’ classic debut album! Although the band - whose are noted for their combination of brass and rock band instrumentation- would later achieve mainstream pop success and burst on to the pop playlists with three million sellers in 1969, Blood, Sweat and Tears’ seminal 1968 debut ‘Child Is Father To The Man’ is generally acknowledged as the band’s greatest and most adventurous work.

‘Child Is Father To The Man’ is a concept album with very eclectic material and the group’s only album under the leadership of founding keyboardist/singer Al Kooper, this one-of-a-kind classic features a unique psychedelic/jazz/blues/ classical fusion, with the FM radio hits ‘I Can’t Quit Her’ and ‘I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know,’ along with unique interpretations of songs by Tim Buckley, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson and Carole King. Cut by Kevin Gray and pressed at RTI on red vinyl!

Track Listing: Overture / I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know / Morning Glory / My Days Are Numbered / Without Her / Just One Smile / I Can’t Quit Her / Meagan’s Gypsy Eyes / Something’ Goin’ On / House In The Country / The Modern Adventures Of Plato, Diogenes And Freud / So Much Love/Underture

Label Review.

2019 album. Jazz.

Our Overview.

When three of the best jazz musicians of their generation get in the studio to record an album of some of their favourite tunes you know the outcome is going to be something pretty special. For their second album on Jellymould, British jazz heavyweights Stan Sulzmann and Nikki Iles arejoined by a very special guest - their friend and legendary double bass player Dave Holland.

It is over 20 years since Stan Sulzmann and Nikki Iles recorded their first album together. Since then these two outstanding musicians have become stalwarts of the British jazz scene. They have composed original, critically acclaimed music for various ensembles both live and on record and played with some of the biggest names in the jazz world including John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler,Vince Mendoza and Anthony Braxton.

Double bass legend Dave Holland needs no introduction. Plucked from the house band at Ronnie’s to join Miles Davis’ band at the tender age of 22 he has an international career leading his own all-star bands and working with a who’s who of artists including Thelonious Monk, Stan Getz and Joe Henderson.The nine tracks on ‘Lush Life’ are a beautiful collection of unusual “standards” and four originals, two each from Stan and Nikki, who have contributed short liner notes to the tunes explaining why they were included on the album. From the opening track “You Don’t Know What Love Is” - included because of Stan’s love of Billie Holiday’s rendition - to “Between Moons” by John Taylor, an influential friend to all the artists on the record, to the final title track “Lush Life” you can hear in the recording how much these three stellar musicians enjoy making music.

Personnel: Stan Sulzmann - Tenor Saxophone, Nikki Iles - Piano, Dave Holland - Double Bass.

Track Listing: You Don’t Know What Love Is / Who Can I Turn To / Between Moons / Pip / Iris / The Night We Called It A Day / Odonata / Moontide / Lush Life

Label Review.

2019 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Will Samson is releasing ‘Paralanguage’ his fifth album Across his previous releases Will has experimented with electronica, folktronica, ambient and a more guitar-friendly aesthetic - Paralanguage finds him exploring and assuredly consolidating these various styles on a album inspired by his experiences over the preceding years. Will Samson still remembers his first - and only - experiments with psilocybin. For some time, following the death of his father in 2012, the British musician had suffered from mild PTSD, unable to process the grief provoked by the sudden nature of his passing. It took him several years, however, before he feltconfident enough to explore the possibilities this popular compound was said to offer.

Finally, he and his girlfriend retreated to the countryside for a day.Samson’s fifth album, ‘Paralanguage’ - his first for Wichita Recordings - was in many ways inspired by his subsequent experiences and seeks to emulate them too. Indeed, vocals for two tracks, ‘Ochre Alps’ and ‘Flowerbed’, which he’d been struggling to finish for a number of months, were written and recorded over two subsequent afternoons spent micro-dosing.

Perhaps not surprisingly, ‘Paralanguage’ - the title chosen because the album’s central themes address the way “our bodies, not just our minds, hold memories and emotions” - is Samson’s most cohesive album to date. There’s a conspicuously tender thread running through its eight songs, from ‘Calescent’, itseloquently poignant opener, to ‘Lacuna’’s fuzzy nostalgia, from ‘Beyond The Dust’’s sweet serenity to ‘The Smallest Sliver’’s redemptive fragility. Samson’s voice, too, has never sounded more moving, committed or confident, his yearning falsetto as touching as his gentle tenor - comparisons to Sufjan Stevens and Patrick Watson are not inappropriate - while his arrangements are intricate yet never ostentatious, with precisely detailed programming inseparable from the warmth of his analogue instrumentation. “Perhaps,” Samson observes, “it's a reflection of feeling more centred and grounded.”

Recorded largely in his home studio in Brussels - the first time he’s had a space exclusively devoted to his music - ‘Paralanguage’ finds Samson reunited with regular collaborator Beatrijs De Klerck, a violinist who also plays with A Winged Victory For The Sullen and Christina Vantzou. Ben Lester, who’s worked with S. Carey and Sufjan Stevens, added pedal steel to ‘Beyond The Dust’ and Jeremy Boettcher (who also performs with S. Carey) added double bass to ‘The Human Mosaic’, while Canadian songwriter Michael Feuerstack added backing vocals to ‘The Smallest Sliver’.

Otherwise, the album is all Samson’s own work, a testament to his desire to seek peace not just on record but in his life. A tribute to his inquisitive nature, ‘Paralanguage’ is also, ultimately, a memorial to his father, whose life shaped Samson’s own and whose tragic passing has now inadvertently yielded a source of magical consolation for us all. As the 30-year-old sings on ‘The Smallest Sliver’, “Sometimes my love feels too big for my body / So I have to let it go.” In doing so, Will Samson has allowed us all to share it.

Track Listing: Calescent / Beyond The Dust / Flowerbed / Triplet / Lacuna / The Human Mosaic / Ochre Alps / The Smallest Sliver

Label Review. 

2019 debut album. Rock. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Alt-Rock Chicago based musician Fran - aka Maria Jacobson - is releasing her debut album ‘A Private Picture’ and it is a journey that began when Fran taught herself guitar as a way to process change. Following a disillusioning season as a theatre actor and a few failed relationships, Jacobson took a job teaching English in Mexico, which afforded her the downtime to write. Returning to Chicaco, she formed a band—vulnerable, honest indie rock—which Buffablog recommends "for fans of Alvvays, Hop Along, or Jay Som."

The trick is to make a confession entertaining. ‘A Private Picture’ delivers a collection of extremely personal experiences that have been distilled and abstracted to the point that you can see yourself in their imagery, find analogs to your own emotional history in their scenarios ‘when you hear them, it’s a conversation.

It’s therapy, if therapy was allowed to turn you on and make you shake what you got. At its core, Fran’s music is about sharing a truth -’telling it, confessing it, yelling it’in the service of human connection. Or, as Jacobson puts it, ‘I feel that I am a songwriter for the same reason I wanted to be an actor. I want to tell the truth. I want to challenge myself to get closer and closer to the core of an experience, an emotion- I want to say it, sing it, in a way that says exactly what it is. I cry when I write songs because I am constantly making discoveries, about myself, about the world, about the best way to convey and connect and get closer.’

Track Listing: Now / Company / So Surreal / Time and Place / In My Own Time / (I Don’t Want You to Think) I’ve Moved On / A Private Picture / Desert Wanderer

Label Review.

2019 album. Jazz.

Our Overview.

Baltimorean pianist Lafayette Harris Jr. is known for an energetic sense of rhythmic vitality, a tasty, full bodied musical approach to the keyboard, and a sensibility drenched in the blues.

A staple at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem for a number of years as well as a member of various aggregations led by Max Roach, Harris’ new recording reflects this experience as well as a myriad of influences, from boogie-woogie legend Sammy Price to Kenny Barron and Barry Harris, all of whom encouraged Lafayette as an up-and-coming player.

Bassist Peter Washington brings a forceful sense of rhythm and lyrically rounded solos to the date, and drummer Lewis Nash keeps the rhythms swinging strongly and as steady as a Swiss watch. A thoughtful setlist and sound from the Van Gelder Studio makes this a self-recommending album.

Personnel: Lafayette Harris Jr. (piano), Peter Washington (bass), Lewis Nash (drums)

Track Listing: He’s My Guy / I Love You Yes I Do / Blues for Barry Harris / Don’t Letthe Sun Catch You Crying / Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye / Things Ain’t WhatThey Used to Be / Love Me in a Special Way / Bloomdido / You Can’t Lose withthe Blues / Wonder Why / Please Send Me Someone to Love / The Juicy Blues

Label Review.

Selected by the guitarist from his story so far, featuring tracks from a previously unreleased session. Sundazed.

Our Overview.

New York roots rock guitarist Jim Campilongo is releasing ‘The Best Of Jim Campilongo’ a thrilling attack & luminous melodic invention! Jim is a guitarist who is fluent in so many styles ranging from western swing, rock, and atmospheric jazz and whose legacy includes being a member of The Little Willies with Nora Jones a musician who employs a hybrid of right hand finger technique that involves the use of both a plectrum and his fingers. And on this release he does not disappoint his fans.

‘The Best Of Jim Campilongo’ is a riveting six-string slinging from Jim Campilongo, who flexes the extremes of his instrument and amplification in jubilant trips through explosive technique and free-rock verve. Selected by the guitarist from his story so far, featuring tracks from a previously unreleased session, and pressed at RTI!

Track Listing: Jim’s Blues / The Prettiest Girl in New York / Jimi Jam / Coal / Lola, My Baby’s Coming Home / Twister / Orange / I’m Helen Keller and You’re a Waffle Iron / Awful Pretty, Pretty Awful / In a Sentimental Mood

Label Review.

2019 album. Folk.

Our Overview.

Hailing from Glendora, California American alternative singer-songwriter Ann Nalick is celebrated for her poignant lyrics and candid live performances and now she is releasing her anticipated new album ‘The Blackest Crow’.

Born and raised listening to the sounds of Broadway, Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin, Nalick’s draws her greatest influence from more contemporary acts including John Mayer, Fiona Apple and Blind Melon. Whilst studying at college the singer produced a DIY six-song demo, which resulted in Nalick meeting Christopher Thorn and Brad Smith of Blind Melon, and producer Eric Rosse. In 2003 Nalick signed with Columbia Records and began work on her debut album.

On ‘The Blackest Crow’ Anna Nalick (of “Breathe” fame) explores the passage of time and the music of the past hundred years. Travel back in time and hear Anna Nalick perform your favourite 1940s Jazz ballad or iconic 60s Folk song. Whether you grew up on the music of the 1940s big band era, or the 1990s Alternative Rock scene, Anna revisits material from your childhood and makes those songs her own.

Recorded in a single day in a decommissioned Brooklyn church, ‘The Blackest Crow’ pairs Anna with Jack Morer (guitar), Doug Hinrichs (Percussion), J eff Allen (bass), and Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf (Cello) on a timeless recording destined for audiophile superstardom.

Los Angeles native, Anna Nalick, rose to national prominence on the back of her debut album, ‘Wreck of the Day’, which featured hit singles “Breathe (2AM)” and “Wreck of the Day”, and would go on to be certified Gold in addition to “Breathe” reaching multi-platinum single status. She’s since released ‘Shine’ (2007), ‘Broken Doll & Odds & Ends’ (2011) and ‘At Now’ (2017). Her new album, ‘The Blackest Crow’ marks her Chesky Records debut.

Track Listing: As Time Draws Near / My Rough And Rowdy Ways / Some Of These Days / Don’t Get Around Much Anymore / Waterloo Sunset / Helplessly Hoping / I’ll Be Seeing You / True Love Ways / My Back Pages / That’s All / Right Here, Right Now / As Time Goes By

Label Review.

1998 album.

Our Overview.

Twenty-one years after its initial release, the Scottish alternative rock band Arab Strap’s second album ‘Philophobia’ is reissued on vinyl, having been out of print for twenty years. The 2LP heavyweight vinyl comes in a wide-spined sleeve and includes a digital download card.

‘Philophobia’ was recorded on the outskirts of Glasgow in the early incarnation of CHEM19 Studios with engineer/producer Paul Savage and at Cava Studios in Glasgow with engineer Geoff Allan. Initially released in 1998, it was the follow up to the band’s 1996 debut ‘The Week Never Starts Round Here’.

From the band who created raw,folk-edged tinged indie music, instrumentally ambitious, ‘Philophobia’ is adorned with sepulchral guitar, trumpet, cello and Scottish rainfall, providing a most beautiful backdrop to Aidan Moffat’s bold lyrical presentation as he articulates experiences most of us are too embarrassed to even think about; confessional, intimate, insightful and hilarious, ‘Philophobia’ remains a literate & musical revelation.

‘Philophobia’ - (from Greek: "φιλέω-φιλώ" - love - and "φοβία" - phobia), is the fear of falling in love / emotional attachment.

Label Review.

Three Jazz piano duo performances, one in 2005 and two from 2011.

Our Overview.

The works of true artistic masters are things to cherish. When two such masters come together to create, it is truly a moment to behold. Pianists Kenny Barron and Mulgrew Miller have cemented themselves as two of the foremost pianists and song interpreters of the 21st century.

In an inspired conception, Barron and Miller were paired in duo performances, one in 2005 and two in 2011, that are presented here as ‘The Art of Piano Duo - Live’ 3CD-set.

Personnel: Kernny Barron (piano), Mulgrew Miller (piano)

CD 1: Stars Fell On Alabama / When Lights Are Low / Recorda Me / Intro By Mulgrew Miller / Song For Abdullah / Intro By Kenny Barron / It Never Entered My Mind / I Mean You / Blue Monk

CD 2: It Could Happen To You / You Stepped Out Of A Dream / Intro By Kenny Barron / Never Let Me Go / Intro By Mulgrew Miller / Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most / Intro By Mulgrew Miller / I Mean You / Have You Met Miss Jones

CD 3: Yardbird Suite / Intro By Kenny Barron / When Lights Are Low / The Very Thought Of You / Intro By Kenny Barron / I Got It Bad And That Aint Good 7. Intro By Mulgrew & Kenny / Memories Of You / Joy Spring

Label Review.

1971 debut album. Folk.

Our Overview.

Spectacular debut re-release of Anne Briggs eponymous album in limited edition gold Vinyl. Singer-songwriter Anne Briggs was a highly influential figure in the history of the British folk-rock movement in the 1960s and ‘70s, inspiring other female singers such as Sandy Denny, Jacqui McShee, and Maddy Prior. And few legends loom larger the Anne Briggs: she was a dazzling gifted young prodigy who was discovered by Ewan MacColl in 1962 and sporadically performed and recorded until 1973 - appearing at folk clubs and venues in England and Ireland , she never aspired to commercial success or to achieve widespread public acknowledgment of her music - when she decided she didn't care for the sound of her voice on record and walked away from her career, presumably for good.

This eponymous 1971 debut album by Anne Briggs, largely unavailable for 48 years, is widely regarded as a pillar of any folk collection. Re-issued here in limited edition gold vinyl, as part of the Topic Treasures series - the label’s classic and notable albums expanded in deluxe format with rare images, new liner notes (by esteemed journalist, Ken Hunt) - ‘Anne Briggs’ heralds a huge resurgence of interest in this most reclusive of folk doyennes.

This debut album contains some of Briggs’ most notable songs, including ‘Blackwater Slide,’ which she famously taught to Bert Jansch, (who recorded it on his ‘Jack Orion’ album) and ‘Go Your Way,’ co-written with Jansch. As with the 1971 original, the sleeve here contains song notes by the highly-regarded English folk singer and collector of folk songs, A.L. Lloyd.

Anne Briggs began singing in local folk clubs in her teens. In 1962, she became part of the Centre 42 - a leftist group of artists, writers, actors and musicians whose aim was to make arts and culture accessible to the masses. Ewan MacColl first heard Briggs’ remarkable voice and persuaded her to join the group and tour. There Briggs met MacColl’s comrade, A.L. ‘Bert’ Lloyd who became her mentor, producing her debut EP, ‘The Hazards Of Love,’ and recording Briggs for Topic landmark albums, ‘The Iron Muse’ and ‘The Bird In The Bush.’

Briggs went on to record a follow-up album, ‘The Time Has Come,’ for CBS which, at the time, sold poorly and was rapidly deleted. Two years later, she recorded again but blocked the subsequent album’s release, disheartened as she was by her singing. She retired from the limelight only to resurface in the mid 90’s to perform only momentarily with Bert Jansch for a TV documentary.

Track Listing: Blackwater Side / The Snow It Melts The Soonest / Willie O’ Winsbury / Go Your Way (My Love) / Thorneymoor Woods / The Cuckoo / Reynardine / Young Tambling / Living By The Water / Maa Bonny Lad

Label Review. 

2019 album. Guitar pop. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

If Somos was a pop punk band when it formed in 2012, then the Boston based trio is now a full-blown guitar pop band by comparison. For singer and bassist Michael Fiorentino, guitarist Phil Haggerty, and guitarist Justin Hahn, that evolution came naturally. On their third album, 'Prison On A Hill', Somos sound like the mellifluous intersection of The 1975 and Alkaline Trio.

Gleaming synths and ‘80s-style percussion steer songs like ‘Absent and Lost’ and ‘Young Believers.’ Yet despite that, the album still carries the energetic spirit of their breakout debut full-length, 2014’s Temple of Plenty. Just listen to the blissfully anthemic ‘Untraceable Past.’ Fundamentally, Somos are writing pop songs; they just happen to be intertwining guitar-driven rock as they do so.

Recorded with Jay Maas (Defeater, Bane, Title Fight) in Boston this past winter, the tracks seem to come effortlessly, as if Somos fused the youthful energy of Temple of Plenty with the pop creativity of 2016’s First Day Back. It should come as no surprise that Somos were influenced by The 1975, Churches, The Japanese House, and the Rock Against Racism movement. Beneath the lushmusical scope Somos created are lyrics hoping for political reform.

In "Mediterranean," the band tackles the rise of the far-right movement in Europe. In "Iron Heel,’"they examine authoritarian rule a post-fascism world, Mad Max-style. Even the album’s title’a riff on the phrase ‘city on a hill,’ an idealised term used to describe Massachusetts Bay Colony and later adapted by Ronald Reagan as a warped American Dream for the U.S. at large ’has political roots. As Somos return to Tiny Engines with Prison on a Hill, the trio has a similar eager-eyed look as it did during their breakthrough year. Somos are back to having fun again, though they’re plenty serious about what they’re singing about, too.

Track Listing: The Granite Face / Farewell To Exile / Untraceable Past / Iron Hell / Mediterranean / Absent And Lost / Ammunition / Young Believers / Temporary Hope / My Way To You

Label Review.

2019 album. Rock.

Our Overview.

Sometimes we can only come to know ourselves best when we let others in. Such can certainly be said of NYC multi-instrumentalist and artist Andrya Ambro, and her band Gold Dime, on the eve of their second full length ‘My House’. See, she’s played these instruments and crafted these songs her entire life, having honed her decisive sit/stand style of transfixing drumming and provocative singing to a degree of perfectionism.

Coming from her previous, highly acclaimed noisy rock duo Talk Normal, Gold Dime’s first release, 2017’s Nerves, was the first time Ambro has had no one to answer to but herself. My House sees a new, more collective effort being made, with Ian Douglas-Moore on bass and John Bohannon (Ancient Ocean || J.R.Bohannon) on guitar. And it very much shows. Walking a tightrope between unapologetic art rock and disarming intimacy, she integrates triumphant doubled guitars whose distorted fuzz winks at the mayhem of Les Rallizes Denudes, deep floor toms that quick pivot to galvanizing beats on a bed of dead spinning cymbals, to sometimes spoken, sometimes sung Laurie Anderson-esque words that uplift into a many voiced choir. And the warm bass lines, well they would make Holger Czukay from CAN very proud

.‘My House’, according to Ambro, is intended to be something of a gruff father’sdeclaration at dinner, fist slamming on the table, but rather than the stubborn, undying manners that would come with ‘living under my roof,’ she only demands that everything be done with the same degree of tireless dedication and authenticity. ‘I want every beat to be played with intention. ‘Cause why play if you don’t mean it?’ Every moment of this album acts as just that’a demand to own something, whether it be self or art or place in this world. We have no choice but to listen, to respect it.

Track Listing: Hindisight II / My House / La Isla De Vaso / ABC Wendy / Boomerang / Peggy / The Normal / Revolution / Goose

Label Review. 

1969 album. Originally on EMI Columbia. Jazz prog.

Our Overview. 

Starting out in the mid 1960’s English keyboardist Don Shinn recorded and performed with British Beat groups The MeddyEVILS, The Echoes (backing Dusty Springfield), and The Soul Agents (featuring Rod Stewart). In 1967 he formed his own band The Shinn, which also featured future Uriah Heep bassist Paul Newton, future drummer for The Nice, Brian Davison, and vocalist Eddie Lamb.

In 1969 he released two instrumental albums for EMI Columbia: ‘Temples With Prophets’ and ‘Departures’ which are both reissued here. Keith Emerson said: “Don Shinn got a fantastic sound from the L-100… He and Jimi Hendrix were controlling influences over the way I developed…”

After these two records he joined English band Dada (featuring Elkie Brooks) and appeared on their eponymous album released in 1970. He has also worked with Kiki Dee, James Taylor, Engelbert Humperdinck, Stan Tracey, Persian vocalist Parvaneh Farid, Iguana, and Renaissance.

Tracklisting. 

1. Space-Wards (Space Odyssey)
2. Bossa-Wards (Bossa)
3. H.VIII-Wards
4. Departure IV

BONUS TRACKS

5. Heaven Was Made To Be
6. Waltz For P
7. Mountain Music 

Label Review.

2005 album. Real World Records.

Our Overview.

Highly acclaimed Bangladesh born, Indian classical sarod player Amjad Ali Khan was born in 1945 in Gwalior, one of the great cities of Madhya Pradesh, India. There are no musicians in India with a lineage as long and illustrious as Amjad Ali Khan - he’s the sixth generation sarod player in his family and his ancestors have developed and shaped the instrument over two hundred years. Amjad Ali Khan is revered by an astonishing number of people and he has received a huge number of awards but, unlike many of the other Indian musicians who’ve become famous in the West, he has stayed true to pure Indian classical music. For Amjad Ali Khan, his music is a serious art that deserves time and respect. He has taught his two sons Amaan and Ayaan, born in 1977 and 1979 respectively, who are starting out on solo careers.

In the West, the sitar has become better-known than the sarod but in India both string instruments are held in the highest regard. For this Real World recording, ‘Moksha’, Amjad Ali Khan tried something quite new for him and very unusual in the Indian classical music tradition. Instead of the usual lengthy slow introduction which explores the raga (scale pattern) before heading off into faster compositions, Amjad Ali Khan presents eight different ragas in relatively short compositions. This album gives the listener a variety of ragas, including some folk music. Amjad Ali Khan has named each piece according to its mood but stresses that they are just guides according to his (or his sons’) vision while performing the piece. “I just want listeners to enjoy the music and the feelings it creates without knowing any technical background.”

Label Review. 

16 track best of. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

The honoury queen of hip-hop soul, the multi platinum singer-songwriter and record producer, Mary J Blige is releasing ‘HERstory Volume 1’ Singles Collection, featuring her classic 1990s singles, the new set tells the story of Blige as she first established herself as a tour de force of ‘90s R&B and is a definitive look at her early days, one not to be missed.

Born in the Bronx and raised between Savannah, Georgia and Yonkers, New York, Blige caught the attention of Andre Harrell, co-founder of Uptown Records in 1988 when she recorded a cover of Anita Baker’s 1986 ballad “Caught Up in the Rapture” at the Galleria Mall in Westchester, New York. After a few years as a backing singer for Uptown artists like Father MC, she launched from the projects to stardom, Influenced at an early age by the music of Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight, Blige brought her own gritty, urban-rooted style—fusing hip-hop, soul and honest, frank lyrics—to the forefront on her 1992 debut album What’s the 411? The multi-platinum set, executive produced by Sean “Diddy” Combs, quickly spun off several hits, including two #1 singles “You Remind Me” and “Real Love.”

From her debut, which established her as the Queen Of Hip-Hop soul, Mary J. Blige has remained a global symbol of female empowerment and perseverance. “HERstory Vol. 1” is a collection of 16 hits and rare remixes, it’s a highly curated look into the multifaceted sounds of an unforgettable era in music. Featuring hits like “You Remind Me”, to the remix of “What’s The 411” featuring Notorious B.I.G and KCi. Plus “Everyday It Rains” and Jay-Z‘s “Can’t Knock The Hustle” with Mary on the hook. Check out the full tracklist below.

2LP Tracklist: You Remind Me / Real Love (Hip-Hop Remix) / Reminisce (Bad Boy Remix) / Love No Limit (Puff Daddy Mix) / You Don’t Have to Worry (Remix Main With Rap) / What’s the 411 (Puba Mix) / What’s the 411 (Notorious BIG and K-Ci) / Be Happy / Mary Jane (All Night Long)’ (Remix feat. LL Cool J) / I Love You (Remix feat. Smif n Wesson) / I’m Goin’ Down / You Bring Me Joy’ (LP Version) / I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By (Puff Daddy Mix feat. Method Man) / Everyday It Rains / Love Is All We Need / Can’t Knock The Hustle [Jay-Z] (** Available on physical versions only)

Label Review. 

Official release of three live performances. Paradiso in Amsterdam 1982, Alabama Halle in Munich 1982 and The Farm in San Francisco 1985. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview.

In 1979, one of the definite punk rock bands of the period, the Dead Kennedys released their first single, “California Uber Alles,” which started a punk rock revolution in San Francisco and means that 2019 is the 40th Anniversary year of this legendary pioneering punk band.

In April, Manifesto Records released DK40, a 3CD set of 3 legendary Dead Kennedys performances; Paradiso in Amsterdam 1982, Alabama Halle in Munich 1982 and The Farm in San Francisco 1985. By popular demand, Manifesto will release DK40 on vinyl!

This 4 LP Box Set was re-mastered for vinyl and comes in high quality packaging in a beautiful box and amazing album artwork. The Dead Kennedys were and still are one of the most influential bands in the history of punk rock and were definitely one of the leaders in the “Punk Rock Evolution.” Their lyrics were political in nature, anti-establishment and anti-authority and they always took a stance for First Amendment Rights.

The Dead Kennedys live shows were legendary, high energy and powerful and that power is evident in the 3 performances included in “DK40,” which features all of their classic songs, including “Holiday In Cambodia.” It had been 15 years since a Dead Kennedys release, but the 40th Anniversary campaign has been a huge success and the best was definitely saved for last with this epic 4LP Box Set.

4 LP Set contains 3 often bootlegged, but never released legendary shows. Tapes have been digitally re-mastered for vinyl, providing highest sound quality.

4 LP Set comes in a beautiful high quality box with amazing album artwork.

Track Listing:

LP 1: Moral Majority / I Am the Owl / Life Sentence / Police Truck / Riot / Bleed for Me / Holiday in Cambodia / Let’s Lynch the Landlord / Chemical Warfare / Nazi Punks Fuck Off / Kill the Poor / We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now / Too Drunk to Fuck

LP 2: Skateboard Talk+Intro Noise / Man With the Dogs / Forward to Death / Kepone Factory / Life Sentence / Trust Your Mechanic / Moral Majority / Forest Fire / Winnebago Warrior / Police Truck / Bleed for Me / Holiday in Cambodia / Let’s Lynch the Landlord / Chemical Warfare / Nazi Punks / We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now / Too Drunk to Fuck / Kill the Poor

LP 3: Darren’s Mom / Goons of Hazard / Hellnation / This Coule Be Anywhere / Soup Is Good Food / Chemical Warfare / Macho Insecurity / A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch

LP 4: Forest Fire / Moon Over Marin / Jock-O-Rama / Encore / Stars and Stripes of Corruption / Second Encore / MTV Get Off the Air / Holiday in Cambodia

Label Review. 

2019 debut album also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Hailing from a small town near Stockholm in Sweden, and gifted with an amazing soulful voice, guitarist/pianist/songwriter Jesper Lindell delivers an intimate album that could have been recorded in the late sixties. This is modern classic rock music, and hearts full of soul will fall in love.

Engineered by Zach Anderson, of the American/Swedish band Blues Pills, Jesper Lindell’s enticing debut album ‘Everyday Dreams’ is a clever mixture of rock, folk, blues and soul, performed by a 26 year old musician in love with classic pop, Stax-Volt R&B, and that old time rock & roll.

Jesper Lindell was the breakout star of 2017 on the Swedish music scene, when he released his debut EP. Produced by Benkt Söderberg, father and former producer of the world-renowned sister duo First Aid Kit, Little Less Blue presented a collection of songs that were equal parts soul, Americana and rock. The praise from Swedish music journalists was immediate: the notable rock guru Jan Gradvall likened Jesper Lindell to a “young, agile and karate-kicking Van Morrison”, and well-respected music magazine GAFFA noted that Lindell was a “shooting star” who seemed too talented to be a product of a such a small country like Sweden.

Track Listing: Whatever Happens / So Long / Stormy Waters / Cheers / France / Good Sides of Me / Even If It Ain’t True / Just Holler / Sweet As Yesterday / Momentary Love / If I Wake Up in the Morning / Burn

Label Review. 

It contains six albums of music drawn from across his entire career from the very beginning, through the folk/rock combo Brown's Home Brew, right up to the present day. Many of the numbers will be little known while hitherto unreleased material also features. 12 box set including: Personalised, hand-written journal entry from Joe / 48 page hardback book of photos / 6 CDs + 1 DVD / Joe Brown 60th Anniversary plectrum / Joe Brown 60th Anniversary cloth patch / 1962 Joe Brown Cambridge Hall, Southport show poster card with The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers as support acts / 1964 Joe Brown South Pier Blackpool show poster card with Johnny Kidd & The Pirates + Tornados as support acts / Contains new single All I Want For Christmas Is Peace, outtakes, 9 previously unreleased home demos & 4 Nashville demos plus 15 previously long term unavailable Brown's Home Brew tracks.

Our Overview. 

Joe Brown was one of the original rock ’n’ roll stars to come out of the UK and one of the first UK session men. He topped the charts with his own records - even had The Beatles open shows for him - and his early career highlights include playing guitar with Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Cash and other US stars when they came over to Europe.

‘60th Anniversary Collection’ is Joe Brown’s first ever box set, which celebrates his prolific 60-year career playing music. It contains six albums of music drawn from across his entire career from the very beginning, through the folk/rock combo Brown’s Home Brew, right up to the present day. Many of the numbers will be little known while hitherto unreleased material also features. The package also contains a live DVD, three card inserts of early posters, a multi-coloured patch and a Joe Brown plectrum.

The very special collection pays tribute to a musician’s life well lived. It demonstrates both Joe’s versatility (he plays many instruments) and the range of his music. He is equally at home with Leadbelly standards, Golden Gate Quartet gospel songs,1930s’ classics and instrumentals, real hoe down country music and country blues. Not to mention klezmer, pop and absolutely authentic rock ‘n’ roll… Joe Brown’s skill set is diverse and his appeal all-embracing. He truly deserved his recent Mojo Lifetime Achievement award (as well as his MBE) and this box set shows exactly why Joe Brown has survived and prospered across the decades.

Label Review. 

2019 album. One disc of old numbers and one of new songs.  Available on Deluxe 2CD, and Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Robbie Williams releases his first ever Christmas album, ‘The Christmas Present’, features two discs - ‘Christmas Past’ and ‘Christmas Future’ - both including a brilliant mixture of original songs and special festive covers with some star guest appearances.

‘Christmas Past’ includes the wintry classics “Winter Wonderland” (with backing vocals from the LMA choir), “Santa Baby” featuring German singer Helene Fischer, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”, a cover of “The Christmas Song” (made famous by the Nat King Cole Trio), Slade’s “Merry Xmas Everybody” featuring Jamie Cullum, and “It’s A Wonderful Life”, a duet with Robbie’s father Peter Conway.

‘Christmas Future’, meanwhile, includes the original tracks “Time For Change”, “Home”, “Fairytales” featuring Rod Stewart and “Bad Sharon” with boxing champ Tyson Fury, plus the covers “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” featuring Canadian singer/songwriter Bryan Adams and “I Believe In Father Christmas” The deluxe CD version of the album features another four bonus tracks including the duet “It Takes Two” with Rod Stewart.

Written and recorded in a variety of locations including London, Stoke-on-Trent, Los Angeles and Vancouver, the album sees Robbie working once more with long-time collaborator Guy Chambers, who produced the majority of the record with Richard Flack. Robbie says: “I’m beyond excited to announce my first ever Christmas album. I’ve done a lot in my career and releasing this record is another dream come true. Making this album has been so much fun and I can’t wait for you all to hear it.”

Label Review. 

Both albums ‘Slaughter On 10th Avenue’ and Play Don’t Worry’ plus 1976 Sessions, singles, unreleased stuff and more. 60 tracks in total. 

Our Overview. 

When David Bowie announced at the Hammersmith Odeon on 3rd July 1973 that he (or, as it subsequently turned out, alter-ego Ziggy Stardust) was breaking up the band, manager Tony Defries glimpsed a golden opportunity rather than the end of an era. With the MainMan agency’s main man coming off the road for at least a while, there was, Defries reasoned, space in the rock star firmament for a new Bowie, particularly one who would also be under MainMan’s management…

Thus it was that Bowie’s faithful right-hand man, Mick Ronson, was thrust into the spotlight. Possibly the most reluctant solo performer ever, ‘Ronno’ was given three weeks to write and record a debut solo album. With Bowie’s help (he contributed three songs to the set), ‘Slaughter On 10th Avenue’ was quickly pieced together after the conclusion of Bowie’s ‘Pin Ups’ sessions. Despite its rushed nature it was a strong effort, and the LP reached the UK album charts Top Ten.

Buoyed by this success, Ronson then recorded a second album, ‘Play Don’t Worry’ - although before it could appear, he’d accepted Ian Hunter’s invitation to join Mott The Hoople. As a result, Mick’s sophomore solo set was largely overlooked, and his lukewarm attempts to promote it were further scuppered by his and Ian Hunter’s decision to leave Mott and relocate to America.

Sadly ‘Slaughter On 10th Avenue’ and ‘Play Don’t Worry’ would be the only solo albums released during Mick’s lifetime: after his departure from MainMan in mid-1976, he largely preferred to work in a group context rather than as a solo performer.

Nevertheless, he did continue to record sporadically as a solo act. A 4-CD set, ‘Only After Dark’ chronicles his solo work during the rest of the seventies after his split with Bowie, with those two official albums joined by B-sides, alternative versions, outtakes and a plethora of unissued-at-the-time studio recordings (including a handful with Guam, the backing band for Bob Dylan’s legendary 1975 Rolling Thunder tour) and various highlights from his live shows. Featuring some rare photos and a lengthy new essay on his Seventies career, ‘Only After Dark’ is the most comprehensive anthology to date of a major talent.

Label Review.

1966 album. Sundazed.

Our Overview.

‘Fred Neil’ is a magnificent moody and influential NYC masterpiece from Greenwich Village circa ‘66, pressed on clear vinyl at RTI! Influential New York folk artist Fred Neil’s eponymous second album may not have been a sales smash, but it inspired countless contemporaries, from Jefferson Airplane to Crosby, Stills and Nash, to Harry Nilsson.

Fred Neil was an important figure in the NY Greenwich Village folk scene and the singer-songwriter was active in the 1960s and early 1970s and if he's known for anything today, it's for his songwriting. It was the latter’s cover of “Everybody’s Talkin”,’ featured in the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack, that garnered Neil his greatest notoriety, but the album is full of shimmering, surreal gems, like “The Dolphins” and the stunning ‘Faretheewell.’ Neil's songs are remarkable, the sort of ponderous, moody, complex music reminiscent of the best of Nick Drake, Richard Thompson and Leonard Cohen. His sound was characterized by nimble 12-string guitar playing; the ability to blend Indian, gospel, rock, and blues into folk music; and an impossibly deep, reverberant baritone voice, sort of like Johnny Cash with a midrange, control, and chops. Neil disappeared into reclusiveness not long after, but his legacy as a thoughtful, complex songwriter lives on.

Track Listing: The Dolphins / I’ve Got A Secret (Didn’t We Shake Sugaree) / That’sThe Bag I’m In / Badi-da / Faretheewell (Fred’s Tune) / Everybody’s Talkin’ / Everything Happens / Sweet Cocaine / Green Rocky Road / Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga

Label Review.

2019 album. Indie.

Our Overview.

‘’I Entered The Void’ is a stunning foray into Tuva Hellum Marschhäuser’s beautifully haunting sound, both delicate and raw, aching and triumphant. Tuvaband is the solo project of singer, songwriter and producer Tuva Hellum Marschhäuser. She captures a strange magic in her songs through her songwriting and distinctive sound production, together with her feather-light vocal.

‘I Entered The Void’ is no exception. On the new album this magic is reinforced by a heavier, more full sound, which emphasize this quality even more. The album is a melancholic, personal and atmospheric indie pop/rock album. Tuvaband, playing with a band for the first time, is capable of building musical storms out of the songs on “I Entered The Void”.

Track Listing: I Entered The Void / He Said Me Too / Genuine / Ambiguous Flies / Young Adults And Old Grown Ups / Submerged / Arthur / Poisoned / I Don’t Feel Much Wiser / The Void

Label Review. 

2019 album. With bonus 7 inch. Cosmic Americana. Also available on CD.

Our Overview.

‘Mapache’ is the new album from American duo Mapache, Youngn’s Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci, the Mapache boys, are barely in their 20s and are already rising to the top of the new wave of West Coast Cosmic Americana. Close your eyes and imagine the Everly Brothers wearing tie-dyed Nudie Suits. Okay, now open them. There’s Mapache. 

Born and raised in Glendale, California, their breathtaking harmonies and heartfelt yet heady sound, was honed by surfing the beaches and exploring the deserts and canyons of their native California. Dan Horne of Beachwood Sparks produced the album at the vintage analog halls of Valentine Recording Studios, where the tape rolled and captured the live spirited harmony, skillful strumming and genuinely well-crafted songs that everyone from Chris Robinson to Jonathan Richman have fallen in love with.

The real charm lies in the simplicity of their voices and the songs that recall a young Gene Clark, The Louvin Brothers, Crosby, Stills and Townes...it’s all there and more. Mapache was originally released in 2017 on a limited run that sold out instantly and is now available again on LP. As an added bonus, Mapache’s 2018 Lonesome LA Cowboy 3-song EP is included with the CD as bonus tracks. This marks the first time the songs from Lonesome LA Cowboy are available on CD.

The lineage of Mapache has blood running back to the first wave of psychedelic country revivalists Beachwood Sparks. Clay is a cousin of Beachwood main man Chris Gunst. Chris and GospelbeacH’s Brent Rademaker went to bat for Mapache by helping them score their first club shows and recording sessions with Dan Horne. Since then they’ve made fans of no less than Chris Robinson, Neal Casal, Jonathan Richman and the Allah Las among numerous others on the California music scene.

“One memorable night they showed up to our gig with deep surfer tans and big white circles around their eyes just like raccoons—Mapache is Spanish for Raccoon,” remembers Rademaker. “The boys set up on stage, sang and played their timeless and soon to be classic songs into a single microphone. Time stood still, and the normally chatty LA crowd closed their mouths and opened their ears and their hearts to Mapache. At that very moment I knew they were on their way.”

Track Listing: Mountain Song / Like a Stone / Aquellos Ojos Verdes / In the Morning Light / Broken Down Cadillac / Chico River / Follow You Down / Saltillo / Blue Marble / Songs to a Seagull / Nellie / Katie Dear (Bonus Track) / Last Thing On My Mind (Bonus Track) / Lonesome LA Cowboy (Bonus Track)

Label Review.

53 tracks. Includes CD debut of the 8 tracks he recorded with Chicago pianist Erwin Helfer in 1957. Jasmine.

Our Overview.

American Delta blues pioneer Big Joe Williams was the epitome of the rambling, wandering itinerant bluesman so romanticised in the early days of blues discovery and record collecting. The guitarist, singer-songwriter rambled across the United States from coast to coast in the 1920s and ‘30s and was notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar.

This 2CD collection features many of his most famous recordings in the post war years. His most famous composition was “Baby Please Don’t Go” eventually a major pop hit for Belfast’s blues rockers, Them in the UK and later for Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes in America.

The really exciting attraction of this compilation is the CD debut of the 8 tracks he recorded with Chicago pianist Erwin Helfer in 1957. These 8 tracks only ever appeared on two very rare UK Eps on the Collector label. This overview of Joe’s career goes on to embrace his career in the 60s when he became a popular performer on the global blues network. Fully detailed liner notes.

Track Listing:

CD 1: His Spirit Lives On / Baby Please Don’t Go / Stack Of Dollars / Mellow Apples / Wild Cow Moan / P Vine Blues / Bad And Weak Hearted Blues / King Biscuit Stomp / I’m A Highway Man / Banta Rooster Blues / Mean Stepfather Blues / House Lady Blues / Don’t You Leave Me Here / Jivin’ Woman / She’s A Married Woman / Mama Don’t Allow Me / Delta Blues / Over Hauling Blues / Whistling Pines / Friends And Pals / Juanita / She Left Me A Mule / Bad Heart Blues / Baby Please Don’t Go / Ride In My New Car With Me / Rather Be Sloppy Drunk / Cottage Grove Blues

CD 2: Goin’ Back / My Baby Left / King’s Highway / Lula Mae / All I Want Is My Train Fare Home / I’m Talkin’ About You / Joe Williams’ Blues / Don’t Leave Me Here / Cow Cow Blues / Crawlin’ King Snake / I May Be Wrong / Keep AKnockin’ / Cottage Grove / Meet Me In The Bottom / Bessemer Baby / Baby Please Don’t Go (Highway 49) / Shake Your Boogie / Jump Baby Jump / Mean Mistreater / Prison Bound / Whistlin’ Pines / Bluebird Blues / Elevate Me Baby / T.B. Blues / King Biscuit Stomp No 2 / Rootin’ Ground Hog

Label Review.

56 tracks. Complete recordings. Jasmine.

Our Overview.

Session musician, record label founder/owner, talent scout and singer Bonnie Guitar enjoyed a career in music that few of today’s artists will ever match in terms of duration. She started singing as a teenager in the late 1930s and was still active in music when she died in January of this year (2019) - just a few weeks short of her 96th birthday!

Success first came to Bonnie as an artist in the mid-late 50s, when she scored a big pop and country hit with her original version of Ned Miller’s much covered (now) country standard ‘Dark Moon’. She followed up with several other Hot 100 hits, including 1959’s ‘Candy Apple Red’ which was one of the first releasedon her own Dolton label - also home to her discoveries the Fleetwoods and the Ventures. In this collection you will find every one of Bonnie’s recordings from 1955 to 1962 inclusive. All are of the highest quality, and many deserved to be more successful than they actually were. If you enjoy the vocals of the likes of Patti Page and Doris Day, and you are not yet familiar with Bonnie, you will find much to admire here.

Bonnie was a much admired individual who worked tirelessly on behalf of new talent, yet somehow she managed to sustain her own career - a career that also brought her almost a dozen more country hits from the mid-60s onwards. This superb 2CD collection - remastered, as always, from the finest available sources - will hopefully bring about the serious reappraisal of an artist who has been neglected for far too long.

Track Listing:

CD 1: Hello, Hello, Please Answer The Phone / If You See My Love Dancing (Original Version) / Clinging Vine - Bonnie Guitar And Lee Gotch / Dream Dreamers / Dark Moon / Big Mike / If You See My Love Dancing (Remake) / Half Your Heart / Mister Fire Eyes (Single Version) / There’s A New Moon Over My Shoulder / Making Believe / I Saw Your Face In The Moon / A Very Precious Love / Johnny Vagabond / Love Is Over, Love Is Done / Please My Love / Shanty Boat / Only The Moon Man Knows / I Found You Out / If You’ll Be The Teacher / Whispering Hope / Rocky Mountain Moon / Candy Apple Red / Come To Me I Love You (Akaka Falls) / Baby Moon / Solitude / Tell Her Bye / I’ll Step Down / Broken Hearted Girl / Who Is She?

CD 2: Moonlight And Shadows / Carolina Moon / Get Out And Get Under The Moon / By The Light Of The Silvery Moon / Moonlight On The Colorado / Shine On Harvest Moon / Moonlight And Roses / It’s Only A Paper Moon / The Moon Is Low / Roll Along Prairie Moon / Roll Along Kentucky Moon / In The Sweet Bye And Bye / Bringing In The Sheaves / Softly And Tenderly / Peace In The Valley / In The Garden / Lord, I Want To Find My Way / Let The Lower Lights Be Burning / The Old Rugged Cross / Just A Closer Walk With Thee / Rock Of Ages / God’s Tomorrow / Open The Door / Mister Fire Eyes (Album Version) / Down Where The Trade Winds Blow / Letter From Jenny

Label Review.

2019 album. Blues. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview.

‘White Crow’ is the the new and fourth album from American singer-songwriter Tim Scott - aka Ledfoot, the creator of the Gothic Blues. Once again, we’re diving into this dark gothic blues world where most things go sincerely wrong, but where the music somehow sets you free.

As always with his 12 string guitar fitted with extremely heavy strings, played with a brass slide and brass pick and steel finger picks, kicking his stomp box! Sometimes it’s best to just keep it simple and state the facts... ‘There’s a black crow I follow every night With a pack of wolves a running by my side. Through a darkness as dark as any mind. With a full moon hanging dead up in the sky. There’s no undoing all that I’ve done. There’s no forgiving this wayward son."

Tim has been touring and releasing music since the late 1970’s as a solo artist and as a member of ‘The Rockats’ in the early 1980’s and ‘The Havalinas’ in the early 1990’s, at which time Bob Dylan personally asked Tim if the band would open for him on the ‘Oh Mercy’ tour of France and England.

As a songwriter, Tim has written for artists as varied as ‘ Highasakite’ and ‘TnT’ to ‘Sheena Easton’. In 2014, Bruce Springsteen released his album ‘High Hopes’, the title track written by Tim. It debuted as No.1 in over 10 countries including the U.S. and the U.K..

LEDFOOT came into existence in 2006, when Tim put together the different techniques from over 30 years of playing and combined a 12-string guitar with steel fingerpicks, a brass slide, open-tunings, very heavy strings and a stomp box. Mixing this with a dark lyrical and melodic sense, he dubbed it ‘Gothic Blues’. Since than Ledfoot has released 4 albums and has toured England, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Holland and the U.S. “Exit” have already won the prize for Best Series in the International Panorama program at the Series Mania Festival 2019!

Track Listing:

Dead Man Can Do / Right Down The Whole / This Wayward Son / Nobody/ You’ve Gone Astray / Where I Lost Hope / The Wrong Road / Little Dog / Ain’t Yet Been / When An Angel Falls

Label Review.

Recorded 1972-75.

Our Overview.

Re-Launch of Klaus Schulze’s successful “La Vie Electronique series (Vol. 1 to 16). “La Vie Electronique” first was published as a strictly limited 50 CDBox and later it was released in chronological order in 3CD-sets including some material never released before. This second set contains pieces, which have been recorded between 1972 and 1975 “North of the Yukon” and “Study for Philip K. Dick” are from another historic tape with no date or other markings, with no real start and no end.

lt was probably recorded in 1972 or 73 and what you hear is mostly the heavy sound of Klaus’ old electric Teisco organ to which he added some strange sounds. More of these strange sounds he used on “Electric Love-Affair”. Is it wrong if I state that Klaus was the first who dared to use noise (as in “ElectricLove-Affair”: a lot of noise and buzz) as stylistic device? The four tracks “Nightwind”, “Minuet”, “Signs of Dawn”, and “Land der leeren H user” are from a collaboration in the year 1973 between Klaus and a friend at this time, Hans- Jorg Stahlschmidt. These titles were played and recorded at ‘delta acustic” studio in 1973. The proposed group name for Klaus’ and Hans-J rgs collaboration changed between “Tau”, “Tao”, and “Timewind” (!)

Also, a deal with a German record company had already been made, but for reasons unknown today, the album never came out. The music sounds like early ‘New Age’, but of course this definition wasn’t known then. Klaus very own keyboard playing style is already identifiable. Klaus mostly plays the organ, and both played also guitars and bass guitar. The whispering voice on “Signs of Dawn” is Klaus. The singing voice on “Land der leeren H user” is not Klaus. The three shorter titles are the original titles as given on the tape box. In 1973, same more “avant-garde” music was done by Klaus, for the radio play “Das Gro e ldentifikationsspiel (The Big Garne of ldentification)”, a Science-Fiction thriller by Alfred Behrens, it won the award: “Preis der Kriegsblinden Deutschlands”, and since then it has been regularly repeated on German radio.

“Studies for Organ, Keyboard and Drumset”: recorded 1974 in Berlin, this music was then stored away in another of those dusty tape boxes, where I unearthed it 22 years later, under exactly this title. We hear Klaus play a drum set, a pair of bongos, the Farfisa ‘Professional Duo” organ (which I have just mentioned above), and a second keyboard which could be the ‘Solina String Ensemble”(?). Reverb, echo, phasing and stereo panning were also used by Klaus in his now established way. “Memento Mori” and “Blaue Stunde” belongtogether. Not that the music is the same, but they both mark a change in Klaus’ music. The era of “Timewind” and “Moondawn” is coming. I can still see Klaus, sitting night after night in front of his equipment in the cellar of the house that we had rented in Hamb hren, after our move away from Berlin in August 1975. The recording was probably done in autumn or winter 1975 .

Track Listing:

CD 1: North Of The Yukon / Nightwind / Minuet / Signs Of Dawn / Study For Phillip K. Dick

CD 2: Geburt Der Moderne / Devil May Care / Les 7 Boules De Cristal / On A March Sur La Lune / Der Schrecken Vom Amazonas / Schier Unendlich / Chaos / Gaia / Uranos / Electric Love Affair

CD 3: Land Der Leeren H user / Studies For Organ, Keyboards And Drumset / Memento Mori / Tooth Of Time / Every Inch A King / Chronique Scandaleuse / Con Amore / Last Not Least

Label Review. 

1959 album with 2 bonus tracks. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

“First Lady of Song’s” - Ella Fitzgerald - new release of ‘Hello Love’ with bonus tracks. By 1957, Ella Fitzgerald, one off the greatest female interpreters of the American songbook, was already a star with over twenty years experience as a professional singer. She had performed in countless venues and settings and recorded numerous sides. She was also the inspiration behind Norman Granz’s “Songbook” concept, which had become possible with the recently developed technology of “long play” LPs. The “Songbook” albums consisted of carefully designed multiple-LP box sets devoted to Ella singing the works of some of the best jazz composers, many of which resulted in best-selling albums.

Granz also presented Ella in an entirely different context. As a concert promoter with his Jazz at the Philharmonic, he recorded many performances and was one of the first record producers to issue live recordings. At forty-years old, Ella was reaching the peak of her abilities. Between 1957 and 1959, Ella recorded a series of sessions with the Frank DeVol Orchestra from which several albums were culled, among them Hello Love, presented here, and the better known Like Someone in Love. Ella and DeVol would record together on many other occasions. Other albums they collaborated on consist of Ella Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers (recorded on November 28, 1958), Ella Wishes You a Merry Christmas (from July 15-16, 1960), and Hello Dolly (March 3-4, 1964).

Presented here is the complete original LP ‘Hello Love’ (Verve MGVS- 6100), featuring the legendary Ella Fitzgerald backed by an all-star orchestra conducted and arranged by Frank DeVol. Among the band members are Harry “Sweets” Edison, Pete Candoli, Ben Webster, and Barney Kessel. Nine tracks from the same session which weren’t issued on the original LP (among them a rare vocal guitar duet with Herb Ellis on “Detour Ahead”) have been added as a bonus. ELLA FITZGERALD, vocals on all tracks Orchestra arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol Los Angeles, July 1957-March 1959.

Track Listing:

Label Review.

2019 album. World music.

Our Overview.

‘Tsuumi Sound System is a critically acclaimed and widely respected world music band known for its crossover sound with jazz and modern pop influences. Blinking Light, their fourth studio album, represents an even stronger cross-genre style with hints of folk/rock and free jazz.

The sonic landscape is even more diverse than before. Tsuumi Sound System has gained a strong fan base among world music fans beyond it’s traditional Finnish audience. In recent years the band has performed regularly in Europe and at festivals in North America and Asia. “Blinking Light” refers to a lighthouse and a homeward journey, blinks of light in a middle of a busy life and the past as stars shining in the sky.

Three of the songs, Luotsi (The Port Pilot), The Blink and Wild Grasses form a title trilogy which was born out of thoughts of parenthood. Luotsi (The Port Pilot) tells about the choices of a travelling man and The Blink about returning home which, after all, is the best of everything. Wild Grasses is about free souls, who still have the world and life open before them. Composer Joakim Bergh ll, who lives on an island, whose lighthouse guides him home from his travels, sets all of this in a naval perspective.

Tsuumi Sound System regularly perform at world music festivals and tours. They have performed at the renowned Womex World Music Expo, at the acclaimed Malta World Music Festival, Shetland Folk Festival in Great Britain and at the San Antonio International Accordion Festival in Texas and many other prestigious festivals around Europe and the world.”

Track Listing: The Amazing Race / Luotsi / The Blink / Wild Grasses / Triolipolska / And Then There Were Three / Peut-Etre / Vekkula in Memoriam / Ball and Yarn / Ordinary Monday / Mimas

Label Review. 

1992 album also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Re-release of ‘Main Offender’, the second studio album by the invincible and legendary, guitarist Keith Richards, first released in 1992, in between his day job commitments with the Rolling Stones. On this record Richards teamed with Talk Is Cheap collaborator Steve Jordan and added Waddy Wachtel to the mix both in composing and producing Main Offender. Sessions with Richards’ group of musician friends known as “The X-Pensive Winos” took place in California and New York City from March to September 1992, with touring in Europe’s autumn and early 1993 in North America.

When Richards reunited with Mick Jagger in mid-1993 to start work on ‘Voodoo Lounge’, Jagger complimented him on ‘Main Offender’, and used the single "Wicked as It Seems" as inspiration for The Rolling Stones' next single, "Love Is Strong".

‘Main Offender’ was released in October 1992 to generally positive reviews. However, it failed to match the commercial success of ‘Talk Is Cheap’, reaching No. 45 in the UK, and No. 99 in the US. After the Main Offender tour, Richards returned to recording exclusively with the Rolling Stones and put his solo career on hold for the next 23 years, when he would record Crosseyed Heart.

Features the X-Pensive Winos including Steve Jordan, Waddy Wachtel & Ivan Neville

Label Review. 

25 tracks. Cilla Black, The Liverbirds, Beryl Marsden, Jeannie & The Big Guys, Tiffany with The Thoughts, The Three Bells, Vernons Girls, The Breakaways, Glenda Collins, Nola York, Samantha Jones, Tiffany, Jacki Martin, Lyn Cornell, The De Laine Sisters, The Sharades, Cindy Cole, The Satin Bells, Sandy Edmonds. Ace.

Our Overview. 

With this latest compilation, from Ace Records, the focus is on a location: the music hotbed of Merseyside. While male beat groups ruled the Merseyside roost in the 60s, the area was also home to its fair share of female talent. To illustrate the point, here are 25 hand-picked girl-pop artefacts from thereabouts.

Liverpool’s pop queen Cilla Black is featured with her two most Merseybeat-oriented tracks, including a terrific version of “A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues”, the first song she ever recorded at Abbey Road. Guitar-toting cover girls the Liverbirds, who released no records in the UK but were stars in Germany – where their repertoire of Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry numbers made them favourites at the Star-Club – also appear twice.

The Breakaways, the Vernons Girls and Beryl Marsden – three other acts intrinsically associated with Liverpool – are also featured. Along with a selection of proven fan favourites, the collection contains many lesser-known gems, among them new-to-CD tracks by the Three Bells, Nola York, Tiffany, Lyn Cornell, Cindy Cole and, not least, Samantha Jones, whose hitherto-unreleased-in-any-format ‘I Don’t Want To Lose Him’ was recorded with visiting American producer Teddy Randazzo. A fantastic addition to the collection of any fan of 1960s Beat Group fare.

Label Review. 

1979 album 

Our Overview. 

By early 1979, Fleetwood Mac were high on the hog - ‘Rumours’ their current album had been out for two years and already racked up worldwide sales of 10 million and their label Warner Brothers were ready for a new album from their hot ticket. Mick Fleetwood had already said their new album would be a double and the bands three songwriters: Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie had plenty of material to create such a beast.

Buckingham in particular wanted to remain relevant to New Wave audiences and was adamant that the new album would be a departure from the sound cultivated with ‘Rumours’ and its predecessor ‘Fleetwood Mac’ (1975). He had the lion share of the songs and became obsessive in the studio - one of the albums producers Ken Caillat labelled Buckingham a “maniac” regarding his unorthodox methods to achieve new sounds.

Nicks and McVie’s contributions counter-balanced Buckingham’s off-kilter productions retaining the Mac’s usual lushness. The whole band were also afflicted by a “cocaine blizzard” which gave the whole album its anything goes atmosphere. The title track featured the most number of musicians performing on a single by inviting the USC Trojan Marching Band to play. The band had to book the LA Dodgers Stadium to record them!

Despite the effort that went into the record, ‘Tusk’ was ultimately a failure compared to the wild sales of ‘Rumours’ but today stands as perhaps Fleetwood Mac’s “coolest” album due to the sheer audacity of the production. The Mac reined it in with their next album, 1982’s ‘Mirage’ which saw them return to their trademark soft rock sound.

Label Review.

2019 album. Blues.

Our Overview.

Minnesota native and NBC’s The Voice finalist, Nicholas David, is releasing his album ‘Yesterday’s Gone’. The pull of American heartland has been ever increasing in recent years, bringing this gifted, soulful pianist/singer/songwriter to the point where he can deliver, as he likes to say, “music from the heart for the heart”.

David headed to New Orleans to commence work on ‘Yesterday’s Gone’, with Samantha Fish in the producer’s chair. That week in January resulted in 13 tracks, to be trimmed to 11 for the record, and a collection of songs that displays beautifully both the heartland tug and Crescent City yearning possessing David’s musical mind, body and soul. It’s a naturally keyboard driven showcase for David’s songs, and he’s accompanied by some terrific studio contributors such as guitarists Duane Betts, and the recent Wild Heart Records artist Jonathan Long. Other musicians include Fish’s drummer Scott Graves and renowned Crescent City bassist Charlie Wooton.

David grew up studying piano and singing and listening to classical and jazz music before delving into pop songwriting as an adult. He released several independent solo albums under the name Nicholas Mrozinski, including 2008's Oak Chase Way, 2009's Together We're Stronger, and 2011's In Formation. In 2012, David was accepted onto The Voice and performed for Cee Lo Green's team. During his time on the show, David became a fan favorite for his emotional, soul-inflected style and his image as a caring father to his young son.

Track Listing:

Hole In The Bottom / Heavy Heart / With Or Without / I’m Interested / Peel Back The Leaves / Curious / Okay / Let U Go / Times Turning / Stars / Little By Little

Label Review. 

2019 album. Electronic. Also available on CD.

Our Overview.

‘Dead Air’ is the tenth studio album from British ambient group Marconi Union, following a career that began in 2002 in Manchester UK. Starting with the following year’s ‘Under Wires And Searchlights’, they’ve created an explorative body of instrumental work that’s shifted between electronica, dub, minimalism, avant-jazz and ambient music. Along the way they’ve collaborated with the likes of Jah Wobble, remixed Max Richter and Vök and provided soundtracks for art installations and other visual media. They’ve also had their own music remixed by Biosphere and Japan’s Steve Jansen, among others.

The new album offers ample evidence of a band in its prime. Marconi Union still sound vital and original, enthused by the possibilities that music has to offer. “We’ve never wanted to repeat ourselves,” states Talbot. “We’ve made ten albums and have been going for 17 years, but it still feels fresh. That’s been so important for us all the way through. We’re looking to do new things all the time” co-founder Richard Talbot says.

Indeed, the exquisite Dead Air bears only a passing resemblance to its 2016 forerunner, Ghost Stations. The trio have dispensed with beats, brass and guest musicians this time around, opting instead for a more intimate and textural approach, a constantly evolving soundworld of tones and sensory impressions.

Dead Air also bears little resemblance to the trio’s initial vision for it. “The album we set out to make had far more of a rhythmic element,” explains Talbot, “but fairly late in the process, we decided to completely change direction.” This is entirely in keeping with Marconi Union’s guiding methodology. Ideas remain fluid throughout the writing process, until Talbot and bandmates Jamie Crossley and Duncan Meadows ultimately settle on what feels right to them.

As such, Dead Air is a sublime testament to their collective instinct.

Marconi Union’s most successful album to date is Weightless (Ambient Transmissions Vol. 2). ‘Weightless is widely considered to be ‘the most relaxing track in the world’“

Marconi Union are amongst today’s most talented musicians” - Sunday Times

“Marconi Union have steadily released albums of pristine, clinical electronic music...continuing to refine their art in minimalist fashion and placing them firmly in the vanguard of acts making atmospheric, ambient music” - Music OMH

“Marconi Union have always excelled at the creation of a sonic space in which to shelter” - The Quietus

“Marconi Union always find beauty in the bleakest places “ - Uncut

Track listing: A.M.I.D. / Mossfield / Imbalance / Permafrost / Fractured / Dead Air / Burned

Label Review.

2019 album. Indie.

Our Overview.

Hotly-tipped Norwegian newcomers Konradsen release their highly anticipated debut album ‘Saints and Sebastian Stories’. Konradsen, formed by life long friends; the duo of vocalist and pianist Jenny Marie Sabel and multi-instrumentalist Eirik Vildgren, trace their roots to the far north of Norway, where the black night of winter is backlit by the neon glow of the Northern Lights.

It’s a fitting metaphor for the music the pair crafts - tradition meets innovation, and the natural world expressing its astral filament. Inspired by the traditional songs and hymns Sabel sang with her family as a child, and the modern pop music she and Vildgren collectively admire - the work of Sufjan Stevens, Frank Ocean and composer Christophe Chassol, among others - debut album ‘Saints and Sebastian Stories’ weaves Sabel’s soulful and transportive vocals with field recordings and samples of ambient sounds.

These voices of past and present dance over minimalist piano, atmospheric electronics, programmed beats and organic horns, forming a delicate sonic narrativecentred on family and community that reflects the arc of their musical journey.

Recorded with lauded Norwegian producer K re Vestrheim at Propeller Recordings,and at Vildgren’s home studio in Oslo, ‘Saints and Sebastian Stories’ is a tender andhomespun thread between past and present elevating our underlying interconnectedness through a journey in friendship and quiet reflection.

Track Listing: Never Say A / Big Bruce / Television / Dice / Cosmic Kid Vibration / BabyHallelujah / Warm Wine / No One Ever Told Us / Odd Mistake / Red To Rhyme / Roasted / Give / Written To The Others

Label Review.

2019 album. Americana.

Our Overview.

‘Trio’ is the new album from Carter Sampson, an Oklahoma born and raised, award winning singer songwriter with a big voice. The Oklahoma City-based artist is blessed by a musical family legacy that includes talents like Roy Orbison.  Her journey as a naturally independent, free-spirited musician has seemed almost predestined at times. At age 15 she began experimenting with sound as a way to pass the time; now her creativity has matured into the dedicated and passionate performance that makes her a favorite female vocalist.

Carter Sampson burst onto the European Americana scene in 2016 with the release of her album “Wilder Side”. Both the general public and the media lauded the singer and her CD with all the praise one can imagine. As a result, in the first year after the release, the Queen of Oklahoma (as she is lovingly titled by both her fans and her colleague Okie songwriters) spent almost as much time in Europe as in her beloved Queendom: the Great State of Oklahoma.

Holland, Belgium, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy: no matter where she went and how little she would understand of the local language (or how little the locals would understand hers for that matter): Carter’s charismatic and openhearted performances won over every single punter in the audience and media critics alike. 2018 saw the release of “Lucky”, a highly anticipated new album by this Oklahoma songstress.

After an absence of 18 months, Carter sets sail for another European tour, this time with 2 band members: Kyle Reid and Jason Scott. For the occasion, the Trio recorded 5 audience favorites in the touring set up. 4 originals and one well chosen cover now available on CD EP.

Track Listing:

Highway Rider / Since I Fell For You / Wilder Side / Queen Of Oklahoma / Rattlesnake Kate

Label Review. 

2019 album. Also availbale on CD.

Our Overview. 

Jack Peñate announces the release of his third album ‘After You’. Over a decade in the making, the album was produced in collaboration with Paul Epworth, Inflo and Alex Epton.

Lead track ‘Prayer’ features Peñate playing several instruments, as well as the production credit he set out to achieve. It carries more than a nod to gospel, all set around a glorious pop hook, played on a Farfisa organ. Its musical and lyrical complexities belie the fact it was written in twenty minutes. “Once we had written it, all the pieces of the past ten years fell into place. It was like a puzzle coming together.”

Former Spankrock member turned producer and jazz drummer Alex Epton came on board and set to bring together 10 years’ worth of work into a cohesive album in XL’s New York studio, adding in additional programming and production as well as drums and percussion. Paul Epworth, with whom he created ‘Everything Is New’, came back in and worked on several tracks.

The album doesn’t just draw on Jack Peñate’s musical journey of the past ten years, it brings in influences from the music he heard as a child. ‘Loaded Gun’ has a pre-chorus that Lennon and McCartney would surely have liked to have written. As a child his brother would play him jungle and here’s elements of that too. His dad ran acid house raves - that’s in there. But perhaps the most poignant track is ‘Gemini’. With nothing more than piano, vibraphone and drum beat, the words of Peñate’s grandfather, the writer and artist Mervyn Peake, are read by his uncle Fabian.

That’s not the only family tie. The artwork for the album and the first video has been done by Peñate’s cousin, the acclaimed artist Eddie Peake. “We both grew up with an uncanny focus on what we wanted to do, but had never worked together,” says Jack. “His work is both incredibly joyous and melancholy, and it does something to me that music does to me too.”

If Peñate’s ambition was to be able to make a sound that sounded like a feeling felt and to be able to master studio production and to be able to have longevity in his career, then it’s safe to say that with ‘After You’ that ambition has been realised.

Label Review.

1971 & 1972 albums.

Our Overview.

Los Panchos, also known as Trios Los Panchos, were a ground-breaking balladic group comprising Mexicans, Alfredo Gil and Chucho Navarro, and Puerto Rican, Hernando Aviles . Their high-pitched guitars and heartbreakingly beautiful vocal harmonies established the standard for the trio’s romantic form across the Spanish-speaking world.

They have sold hundreds of millions of records since forming in the mid-’40s and are best known for their interpretations of classic folk songs such as “Besame Mucho,” “Quizas, Quizas, Quizas,” “Como un Rayito de Luna,” and “Sin Ti.” They have appeared in more than 50 films and sold out concerts across the globe for more than 70 years. Their influence is unmatched in Latin America, where they are rightfully regarded as one of the top musical trios of all time.

Track Listing: Basura / Cari O Muerto / Hora Tras Hora / En Tu Camino / Cuando Llora El Mar / Hasta La Pregunta Es Tonta / No Corras / Por Dentro Y Por Fuera / Imploraci N / Rosario / Juntos A Morir / La Ltima Copa / Herida De Amor / Llam Ndote / Mar Y Cielo / Ya Me Voy / Ladrona De Besos / Cien A Os / Lo Dudo / Mil Besos / El Reloj / Piel Canela

Label Review. 

1959-1962

Our Overview. 

Joan Baez, who recently announced her retirement from live performance is best known as a “Protest” singer from the 1960s who for a short time was indelibly linked with the name Bob Dylan. However, unlike Bob who used the protest scene to launch his career, Joan put her money her mouth was and stuck to the cause - the list of movements and rallies she has supported over the years (see on Wikipedia) is nothing short of astonishing. To reward her decades of dedicated activism, Baez was honoured with the Spirit of Americana/Free Speech award at the 2008 Americana Music Honors & Awards.

However, before anyone knew who Dylan was, Baez was already an established star in the US Folk scene and this double CD collects the entire contents of her first two albums for the Vanguard label along with some others tracks that didn’t make the cut at the time plus some even earlier recordings from 1959.

Tracklisting. 

CD1

O what a beautiful city (Traditional) 1959
Black is the color (Traditional, arr. John Jacob Niles) 1959
Sail away ladies (Traditional) 1959
Lowlands (Traditional) 1959
What you gonna call your pretty little baby (Traditional) 1959
Silver dagger (Traditional) 1960
East Virginia (Traditional) 1960
Fare thee well (10.000 Miles) (Traditional, arr. David Gude) 1960
House of the rising sun (Traditional) 1960
John Riley (Traditional) 1960
Mary Hamilton (Traditional) 1960
Henry Martin (Traditional) 1960
Girl of constant sorrow (Traditional) 1960
All my trials (Traditional) 1960
Wildwood flowers (Traditional) 1960
Donna Donna (Sholom Secunda, Aaron Zeitlin, Arthur Kevess, Teddi Schwartz) 1960
Rake and rambling boy (Traditional) 1960
Little Moses (Traditional) 1960
El preso número nueve (Roberto Cantoral) 1960
I know you rider (Traditional) 1960

CD2

Wagoner’s lad (Traditional) 1961
The trees they do grow high (Traditional) 1961
Lily of the west (Traditional) 1961
Silkie (Traditional) 1961
Engine 143 (Traditional) 1961
Once I knew a pretty girl (Traditional) 1961
Lonesome road (Traditional) 1961
Banks of Ohio (Traditional) 1961
Pal of mine (Traditional) 1961
Barbara Allen (Traditional) 1961
The Cherry Tree Carol (Traditional) 1961
Old blue (Traditional) 1961
Railroad boy (Traditional)
Plaisir d’amour [The Joy of love] (Traditional) 1961
Poor boy (Traditional) 1961
Longest train I ever saw (Traditional) 1961
I once loved a boy (Traditional) 1961
What have they done to the rain (Malvina Reynolds) 1962
The House Carpenter (Traditional) 1962
Railroad Bill (Traditional) 1962

Label Review. 

28 tracks. Soul, country, folk-rock, psychedelia, adult contemporary and much more. Ace.

Our Overview. 

By the mid-60s, while it was no longer the only outlet for the release of hot new American hits, London was still a name that commanded maximum respect among record buyers all over the UK, and the label was still bringing some of the most interesting (and very best) of what was currently happening in the USA over to our side of the Atlantic.

1967 was a watershed year in popular music, and the eclectically enjoyable nature of previous volumes is upheld by the 28 tracks in this latest volume, which – just as the US Hot 100 charts of the time did – embraces soul, country, folk-rock, psychedelia, adult contemporary and much more besides.

Legendary names – many of them with lengthy London American associations – rub shoulders here with terminally obscure one-record wonders, just as they had always done from the label’s earliest days. All tracks have been mastered from original mono sources, just as they appeared on London, with many coming to you from the original tapes used to manufacture those London 45s. Many of these tracks are on UK CD for the first time, and one that all aficionados of the London American label will be delighted to file next to the previous volumes in this series.

Label Review.

20 best of from the CBS years.

Our Overview.

In celebration of the legendary band’s 50th Anniversary, featuring a peerless collection of classics, including Uncut’s No.1 Glam single of all time “All The Young Dudes”.

Mott the Hoople occupies a unique place in the annals of international rock music. Oozing style, attitude and unpredictability, the band recorded a peerless legacy of songs combining homage, honesty and killer hooks. As Mott’s focal point, lead singer Ian Hunter was also one of the toughest and most inventive writers of the early Seventies.

Over the years, Mott the Hoople have been cited as an inspiration by Queen, The Clash, Kiss, Primal Scream, Motley Crue, Cheap Trick and Def Leppard, whose frontman Joe Elliott remains a devoted fan. Mott reunited for several live appearances in 2009 and 2013 and toured the UK and America in 2019. The band are also releasing ‘Live at Hammersmith 1973’ via Madfish, which features their legendary riotous set as a double LP with six tracks appearing on vinyl for the first time.

‘The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ showcases Mott the Hoople’s amazing CBS Records repertoire including the Bowie penned No.3 anthem ‘All the Young Dudes’ which gave the band their mainstream break before they released the masterly Mott. The new 2LP set also includes the hit singles ‘Honaloochie Boogie’ (No.12), ‘All The Way From Memphis’ (No.10), ‘Roll Away The Stone’ (No.8) and ‘The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, as well as the superb ‘Marionette’ - a pre-Bohemian Rhapsody mini-opera described by Ian Hunter as a nervous breakdown on record.

This essential 50th-anniversary double vinyl album is presented in gatefold packaging complete with printed inner bags featuring original artwork for the classic LP’s ‘All The Young Dudes’, ‘Mott’ and ‘The Hoople’, plus liner notes written by Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter biographer Campbell Devine.

“Mott the Hoople was the greatest rock’n’roll band ever.” - JOE ELLIOTT (DEF LEPPARD)

“Raw, fun, angry, glorious and jagged... Mott was everything.” - BRIAN MAY (QUEEN)

“If it hadn’t been for Mott, there would be no us” - MICK JONES (THE CLASH)

Label Review.

Official live collection consisting of tracks recorded 1992-95, none of which have ever been released as studio recordings. Curated by David Lemieux, the band's archivist, this is the nearest we'll get to what the Dead's next studio album, following 'Built To Last' in 1989, might have been like had Jerry Garcia not passed in 1995. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

The legendary Haight-Ashbury sextet - that formed in 1965 and who took a long strange trip from acid-testing jugband to worldwide countercultural institution - the Grateful Dead are proud to announce the release of ‘Ready Or Not’. This album is an unprecedented collection, curated by David Lemieux, the band’s archivist, which is a stirring conclusion to the Grateful Dead's three-decade career, music filled with adventure and possibility, big questions, big punchlines, and cosmic wisdom...  featuring nine unreleased live versions of late-period Grateful Dead songs that debuted in 1992 and 1993, a reflection of what could have been the band's next official studio album.

Maybe you were lucky enough and caught a glimpse of what might have been. You swayed to the unfamiliar, floating along with an unknown melody, joining in for a chorus when you felt confident you had it down. Maybe you jotted a fat question mark in your meticulous setlist, certain you'd figure it out before the next show, anticipating a formal introduction in due time.As if their repertoire wasn't tall enough to reach the endless sky, the band began adding new tunes to their sets in 1992, working them into "quintessential Grateful Dead romps," with the intention of a new studio album. By the mid-90s, they set out recording with the wisdom of Willie Dixon's blues, Neil Young's fuzzed-out guitar, newcomer Vince Welnick's tried-and-true sketches, and Bobby reunited with Robert Hunter on a duo that had quickly become fan-favorites. Alas, it was not meant to be. Until now.

The Grateful Dead were known for their unique and eclectic songwriting style which fused elements of rock, folk music, bluegrass, blues, country and jazz and also for live performances of long modal jams. This stunning album consist of tracks debuted in 1992-93, none of which have ever been released as studio recordings. Including tracks such as ‘Days Between’, ‘Easy Answers’ and ‘So Many Roads’, this album includes some of their best live performances, all mastered from the original digital soundboard tapes. The album track list mirrors what would have been the Grateful Dead’s next studio album, following ‘Built To Last’ in 1989, had Jerry Garcia not passed in 1995.

Label Review. 

From 1962 to 1970, The Beatles released 22 UK singles; of those 44 A and B-side tracks, 29 were not included on the group’s British albums at that time. These singles, plus an exclusive new double A-side single for the mid-1990s-issued tracks Free As A Bird and Real Love, are newly cut for vinyl from their original mono and stereo master tapes by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios for a new limited edition boxed set. The Beatles: The Singles Collection presents 46 tracks on 23 180-gram seven-inch vinyl singles in faithfully reproduced international picture sleeves, accompanied by a 40-page booklet with photos, ephemera, and detailed essays by Beatles historian Kevin Howlett.

Our Overview. 

There have been seven inch singles collections of The Beatles before but this one beats all! Containing just the officially sanctioned singles the Beatles released during their lifespan plus the two mid-1990s ‘reunion’ tracks as a bonus double A side, all in glorious colour picture sleeves from around the world, this definitely the one to have.

Every single the Fab Four released had something new to offer and in some cases broke new ground. Wailing harmonicas on the first three: “Love Me Do”, Please Please Me” and “From Me To You” to the “Yeah Yeah Yeahs” of “She Loves You” - all uttered a new vibrancy to pop couched in the vocal prowess of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. By the time of “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, four track recording had entered Abbey Road and the band began to spend more time workshopping their songs, honing them for new angles. Less obvious chord changes and massed vocals classified their breakthrough US hit. Was it “I can’t hide” or “I get high” they were singing? Hard to tell with Lennon’s lo-fi rhythm guitar chopping underneath the recording.

1964 saw more advancements - acoustic guitars began to come into mix and they began to make their song intros distinctive too with the massive unclassifiable chord at the start of “A Hard Day’s Night” and the squeal of feedback that brings in “I Feel Fine” which then tumbles into a latin beat from Ringo after Lennon’s cracking riff. The following year saw them break the three minute mark for the first time with the dense and clanging “Ticket To Ride” whilst “Help!” - Lennon’s fourth consecutive A-side saw perhaps his most personal lyric yet married to a happy go lucky backing. Their first double A side was a cracker: “Day Tripper” had a riff to die for as well as it’s early drug allusion. “We Can Work It Out” saw Lennon and McCartney merge two completely different songs together for the greater good with its pumping harmonium and juxtaposing lyrics.

The end of their Beatlemania period saw the group rip roaring through “Paperback Writer” with its saturated guitar tone and electronic echo effects. It’s B-side “Rain” saw them meddling with backward tapes for the first time. They also played it fast and then slowed the tape down for the mixdown giving the song a draggy, murky feel. Another double A side pulled from their ‘Revolver’ album saw “Yellow Submarine” with all its sound effects and perfect vocal from Ringo coupled with Macca’s dark “Eleanor Rigby” punctuated with its staccato string backing arranged by their producer George Martin.

Retiring from touring their first studio bound single was another double A side. Acclaimed by many to be the greatest two sided single released ever: “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” saw Lennon and McCartney at their best, recorded at the beginning of the sessions which then produced the little known (!) ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ album. Their next single, Lennon’s “All You Need Is Love” was written for and performed during the worlds first satellite TV broadcast in June 1967. “Hello Goodbye” saw out 1967 in a simple, catchy style from McCartney’s pen. Paul was in command for four in row as he also wrote “Lady Madonna”, “Hey Jude” and “Get Back” during the period when The Beatles began to unravel. By 1969 they were still scoring big hits from “The Ballad Of John & Yoko” to George’s first A-side “Something” before they wrapped things up with the appropriate “Let It Be”.

That would be it until 1995 when McCartney, Harrison and Starr reunited to work on a couple of Lennon demos and turn them into proper songs under the name The Beatles. Produced by ELO’s Jeff Lynne, the two songs were a fine epilogue to the biggest band the world had ever seen.

Label Review.

2019 album. Blues rock.

Our Overview.

’Flesh And Bones’ is the new album from 24 PESOS, contemporary blues band based in London, UK, who are a simply a unique and powerful live band that play great music. The sound they create together is a blistering energetic and joyous experience always musically enthralling and deeply personal. Established in 2009 , The band have been Nominated 10 times at the British blues awards and have released 4 critically acclaimed albums.

This new album features 12 tracks about life and death, love and pain and the simple comedy of plain ordinary people. It also features some very special guest appearances from the likes of Geno Washington , Marcus Malone , Giles Robson, Jj Milteau , Danny Del Toro and Katie Hector who all leave their prestigious mark. “Flesh & Bones” has got no filler tracks and will leave a large joyous musical footprint in anyones playlist “24 Pesos” comes at you full Throttle with a foot to the floor take no prisoners kind of attitude... kicking biting and snapping like a piranha fish on steroids infecting you withthey’re soulful Stax laced funky Blues.!! simply an oblix of a band , With 5 albums under their belt and many miles covered on the road, 24 Pesos are once again , ready to roll!!!

Label Review. 

2019 album. Leonard’s son, Adam Cohen, produced and masterminded the project, enlisting a huge cast of musicians including Damien Rice and Leslie Feist (vocals), Arcade Fire bassist Richard Reed Parry, the National’s Bryce Dessner on guitar, Dustin O’Halloran on piano, and Leonard’s bandmate Javier Mas playing the man’s own guitar. Plus Beck (on guitar and Jew’s harp), Daniel Lanois, Jennifer Warnes, the s t a r g a z e orchestra, and others. Also available on vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Seven months after his father passed, Adam Cohen retreated to a converted garage in his backyard down the street from Leonard’s house, to work with his father again, to stay in the company of his voice. From their previous collaboration on ‘You Want It Darker’ there remained bare musical sketches, at times little more than vocals. Leonard had asked his son to bring these works to completion.

This remarkable new album was made in many places. Javier Mas, the great Spanish laud player who accompanied Leonard on stage for the last eight years of touring, flew from Barcelona to Los Angeles to capture the artist’s spirit on Leonard’s own guitar. In Berlin, at a musical event called People Festival, Adam invited friends and comrades to lend their ears and talents. Damien Rice and Leslie Feist sang. Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire played bass. Bryce Dessner of The National played guitar, the composer Dustin O’Halloran played piano. The Berlin-based choir Cantus Domus sang, and the s t a r g a z e orchestra played. In Montrealthe famed producer Daniel Lanois dropped in, beautifully enriching sparse arrangements. The Shaar Hashomayim choir, who played such important part of the sound of the last album, contributed to a song, and Patrick Watson brought his inimitable talent as co-producer to a song. Back in Los Angeles Jennifer Warnes, one of the keepers of Leonard’s flame, sang background vocals, and Beck contributed on guitar and Jew’s harp. Michael Chaves, who elegantly recorded and mixed ‘You Want It Darker’, did the engineering and mixing.

And so was born ‘Thanks For The Dance’, a brand new Leonard Cohen album that uncannily recalls the essence of his sound.“In composing and arranging the music for his words, we chose his most characteristic musical signatures, in this way keeping him with us,” said Adam Cohen. “What moves me most about the album is the startled response of those who have heard it. ‘Leonard lives’! they say, one after the other.”‘Thanks for the Dance’ is an unexpected blessing, a gift of beauty and strength. Leonard Cohen’s voice has not been stilled. The dance goes on.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Double album presented in two halves: Sunrise and Sunset. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Coldplay are releasing their eighth studio album ‘Everyday Life’ and this one is a biggie to delight fans worldwide. The album, containing 16 tracks is a double album, inclusive of two parts with the first half titled ‘Sunrise’ and the other ‘Sunset’. So it seems to be a conceptual double-LP, a la the Smashing Pumpkins’ sprawling 1995 effort “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” (which was divided into “Dawn to Dusk” and “Twilight to Starlight” discs). 

Coldplay announced the news of the imminent album in a letter sent to fans, calling the album "sort of how we feel about things” and frontman Chris Martin spoke with BBC Radio 1 about the concept behind the album; “there is a lot of trouble, but there’s also so much positivity and so much great life happening…Sunset and Sunrise could mean the same thing. Because after every sunset, there is a sunrise.”

Alongside their marketing activities to promote the album - following a social media teaser campaign - the Brit pop-rock group started teasing its upcoming album with a series of vintage-looking posters which appeared in Berlin and Hong Kong. The announcement, styled like an old, typed postcard, reads:

“dear friends, my typing isn’t very good, i’m sorry i and we hope wherever you are you’re ok for the last 100 years or thereabouts we have been working on a thing called Everyday Life in the classifieds you might write “double album for sale, one very careful owner” one half is called “sunrise,” the other “sunset”
it comes out 22 november. it is sort of how we feel about things
we send much love to you from hibernation chris, jonny, guy and Will Champion esq.”

The ‘Everyday Life’ album cover features the band in an old-fashioned black and white photo which fans may recognize from the picture they previously shared on their social media earlier in the week. The cover art is actually based on a photo from 1919 featuring Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland's great-grandfather's band (music runs in the family!).

Among various world cities and unveiled the track list of its highly anticipated new double album, 'Everyday Life', in classified advertisements Wednesday in newspapers on opposite sides of the world, one in Wales and two in Australia. The ads in the North Wales Daily Post, Sydney Morning Herald and The West Australian are the latest in a string of hints from the band to build buzz around their new album. Coldplay certainly has a connection with North Wales: Lead guitarist Jonny Buckland hails from Pantymwyn, near Mold, and has been active in the community. Buckland also previously said that he had a holiday job working at the North Wales Daily Post.

Label Review. 

Assembles all four complete concerts from New Year’s Eve 1969 and New Year’s Day 1970 presented in their original performance sequence. These tracks were selected for the album ‘Band Of Gypsys’. Official.

Our Overview. 

Over the course of four extraordinary years, Jimi Hendrix placed his indelible stamp upon popular music with breathtaking velocity. Measured alongside his triumphs at Monterey Pop and Woodstock, Hendrix’s legendary Fillmore East concerts illustrated a critical turning point in a radiant career filled with indefinite possibilities.

The revolutionary impact Jimi Hendrix, Billy Cox and Buddy Miles had upon the boundaries and definitions of rock, R&B, and funk can be traced to four concerts over the course of two captivating evenings. These performances were first celebrated by Band of Gypsys, which featured six songs from the two January 1, 1970 concerts, including “Machine Gun,” the album’s dramatic centerpiece. Issued in April 1970, ‘Band of Gypsys’ challenged and surprised the wide following of Jimi Hendrix with its extended arrangements and vibrant mix of rock and soul.

Their debut live performances were a series of four concerts at the Fillmore East in Manhattan – two on New Year’s Eve 1969 and two on New Year’s Day 1970, each of which were professionally recorded. Hendrix had sold out Madison Square Garden just nine months prior, but the Fillmore East was chosen as the setting for a live recording. Long before his fame, Hendrix had signed what he thought was a release for appearing as a studio musician in October 1965. Unfortunately, the one page artist agreement drafted by PPX Industries bound his services for a period of three years. Unwilling to live hands tied, Hendrix agreed to a 1968 legal settlement whereby Capitol Records would be granted the distribution rights for his next album. By the autumn of 1969, Capitol and PPX were pushing hard for the album delivery and Hendrix decided to give them a live album.

However stressful this legal obligation had been for the guitarist, the end result proved to be an artistic triumph. True to his unpredictability, Hendrix opened his four-show stint with a masterful, eleven song set that did not feature a single song he had commercially released. Exciting new songs such as “Izabella,” “Ezy Ryder” and “Burning Desire” thrilled the sold-out house. Hendrix would pepper the remaining three shows with supercharged reworkings of favorites such as “Stone Free,” “Purple Haze,” and “Fire” but these were presented alongside such devastating, newly developed fare as “Machine Gun.” In his review of the second New Year’s Eve concert, Down Beat critic Chris Albertson wrote, “That ability of his to utilize fully the technical possibilities of his instrument, combined with his fertile musical imagination, makes him an outstanding performer.”

The original 1970 Band of Gypsys album was edited and sequenced from songs performed during the two Fillmore sets on January 1, 1970. Subsequent collections mined more material from each of the performances with significant chunks of these phenomenal recordings from those nights sitting unreleased for almost half a century. Newly mixed and restored in sequence without edits, fans can finally hear Hendrix, Cox and Miles blast through their genre-defying sets that included freshly written songs like “Earth Blues” and “Stepping Stone,” as well as Experience favorites inclusive of “Foxey Lady,” “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” “Wild Thing,” “Hey Joe” and “Purple Haze.” Additionally, exciting new versions of Howard Tate’s “Stop,” “Steal Away,” by Jimmy Hughes and a searing “Bleeding Heart” by Elmore James highlighted the command that the trio had over blues & R&B music.

Label Review. 

2019 album also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

After years as a struggling outsider musician, American singer-songwriter Beck came to prominence in the mid-90s with his hit “Loser” (1994) and has been a mainstay of popular culture ever since. And now the artist known for his pop-junk culture collage of musical styles, ironic lyrics, samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and heady sound effects is releasing his new album “Hyperspaces’ - along with a cryptic message: “In hyperspace electric life is in my brain.” The new release, which follows the Grammy-winning ‘Colours’ from 2017, features collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Chris Martin, Sky Ferreira, Greg Kurstin and more.

The albums artwork featuring Beck standing in front of a vintage car, with the album title spelt out in Japanese above him, the artwork has a ‘Back To The Future’ vibe that suggests Beck will once again take listeners on a wild journey through myriad styles in the way that only he can. As he explained the album was inspired by the 80s video game Asteroids: “It had a button where you were about to get destroyed called Hyperspace, that would save your life,” he said, adding that, on the album, “Each song has kind of a different way that different people hyperspace, or deal with the world.”

Despite its intergalactic title, Beck recently told attendees of a London album playback that ‘Hyperspace’ is “not really anything about outer space. It’s more of an interior space… The meditation of the record is finding peace in moment. I was thinking about music as a kind of escape… It sort of alters the room, alters a state of mind… every song does something different — it can be an escape from the moment.”

Beck has recently treated eager fans to the record’s first single, “Saw Lightning”. The new track sees Beck teaming up with Pharrell Williams, who provided songwriting and production assistance, as well as contributions on drums, keyboards, and mumbled vocals. The new tune bridges Beck's older folksier material and his more dancy tracks by blending jangly guitar riffs with percussive beats while he oscillates between bluesy and more hip-hop inspired vocal phrasing. As to be expected from the minds of these two genre-bending musicians, “Saw Lightning” is a quirky fusion of rock, synths, and even folk pop.

In an interview with NME, Beck said that he had always wanted to make a record with Williams, but the opportunity didn’t arise until after his tour in support of ‘Colors’. The duo originally planned on recording an EP before the sessions proved fruitful enough to lay the foundation of an album; Williams worked on seven of ‘Hyperspace‘s’ 11 tracks.

“I was not expecting the songs to come out how they did. I was going in thinking of songs like ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’, y’know?” Beck told NME. “He felt very strongly that spending a little time with me, that ‘You need to be doing singer-songwriter type of songs’. So that was more of the direction we went in. I really tried to be less ambitious on the production on these songs, like to let them be simple and let them breathe. Pharrell is a master minimalist.”

Label Review. 

2019 album. Grand Slam was Phil Lynott’s post Thin Lizzy band. Original member Laurence Archer has formed a new line-up. This contains 6 numbers co-written with Lynott plus some new tunes. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Back in the post Thin Lizzy days, Laurence Archer wrote and performed with Phil Lynott as Grand Slam. Sadly, Grand Slam was cut short in its prime, with Phil Lynott’s untimely death leaving a hole in the fabric of rock music to this day. Laurence went on to make his name playing with UFO but always nurtured a long-term plan to rebuild the Grand Slam machine. And here it is - primed and ready.

The new band (Laurence alongside Mike Dyer, Benjy Reid and Dave Boyce) honours the traditions of the band’s history whilst also looking to the future - classic tracks co-written by Lynott and Archer sit alongside a set of brand new songs that embody the same ethos of freedom, positivity and adrenalin that ran through Grand Slam in 1984. As such fans will get to hear Lynott co-writes alongside brand new material from a very special band steeped in rock history.

Label Review.

1973 album. 2015 remaster. Also availble on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

“This is their holy grail, uncarved block and philosopher’s stone rolled into one” - Classic Rock

Gong’s - the sensational anglo-french psychedelic prog rock band - quintessential trilogy comprised of the albums ‘Flying Teapot’, ‘Angel’s Egg’ and ‘You’ are reissued worldwide by BYG / Charly Records, remastered in 2015 from the original tapes by Nick Robbins at Soundmastering Studios. featuring remastered audio and 8-page booklets or on 180g heavyweight audiophile “invisible” vinyl featuring remastered audio in gatefold packaging and 16- page booklets.

‘Angel’s Egg’ is not your usual progressive rock album. Very quirky, with many, mostly brief compositions, the album is a tad less spacy than ‘Flying Teapot’, with just a few psychedelic-inspired lyrics, and is very technically adept. This eclectic composition travels through several movements and time changes and comes across as a perpetually progressing piece. The album sees the classic Gong line-up in full swing with primo Daevid Allen vocals and lyrics, and Steve Hillage’s first full inclusion to the band bearing fruit with musical quality akin to his solo work.

The current line-up, which features Kavus Torabi (Knifeworld) following the passing of founder Daevid Allen, is enjoying the success and worldwide tour of 2016 album ‘Rejoice! I’m Dead!’ and have revealed the first of their 2019 festival appearances at the UK’s HRH Prog.

Track Listing: Other Side Of The Sky / Sold To The Highest Buddha / Castle In The Clouds / Prostitute Poem / Givin’ My Luv To You / Selene / Flute Salad / Oily Way / Outer Temple / Inner Temple / Percolations / Love Is How You Make It / I Never Glid Before / Eat That Phonebook Coda

Label Review. 

2019 album. French shoegaze band produced by Mark Gardener out of Ride. Also available on CD and Black Vinyl.

Our Overview. 

Mark Gardener produced third album by the best french shoegaze band Dead Horse One, who hail from Valence in the south of France. While recording their first album in 2014, they reached out to RIDE’s Mark Gardener.

After listening to their material, Gardener then decided to produce their first LP ‘Without Love We Perish’. Following the release of the album, the band hit it hard and played over a hundred gigs all over Europe for the next 3 years, which included an appearance at the Liverpool Psych Fest. In 2017, the band collaborated with producer John Loring (Fleeting Joys), who produced their second album, ‘Season of Mist’.

While on tour that year, they supported RIDE for a handful of shows during their European tour. The next year proved to be another momentous year for the band. Dead Horse One shared the stage with the legendary Brian Jonestown Massacre as wells with the Philadelphia based band, NOTHING for an epic gig in Paris.

For their third LP ‘The West Is The Best’ to be released November 2019, the band returned to the studio with the producer John Loring. The album marks a second collaboration with Mark Gardner, who mixed this release. When commenting on the new album’s title and album cover, the band’s lead singer/ songwriter, Olivier Debard, stated that ‘The West is The Best’ concerns a variety of complex contemporary and cultural themes and is therefore intentionally ambiguous. Debard continues that the album thematically is “a collection of thwarted love songs in the spirit of Sparklehorse and other such 90’s bands”.

“Clearly influenced by My Bloody Valentine, Dead Horse One also inject elements of Swervedriver, and, of course, Ride into their swirly concoctions. Despite the obvious reference points, they retain cred by using familiar sounds to create otherworldly sonic vistas that speak volumes whether you’re in France or Florida” - Bandcamp

Label Review.

1979 album. World music.

Our Overview.

‘China Williams & His African Percussions’ is the first official reissue of hidden-gem album by Lagos-based bandleader Shina Williams.

Shina Williams ‘Agboju Logun’ was a ground-breaking fusion of afrobeat, electronics, boogie and disco. First released on Phonodisk in 1979 as part of the ‘African Dances’ album, then in 1984 as an alternative version on Rough Trade’s Earthwork off-shoot, it has gone on to attain cult-like status. So it remains a bit of a mystery how so little has been documented about the followup. Shina’s self-titled album was originally released on Help Records in 1980. It differs from the upfront afro-disco-funk of ‘African Dances’ as it diverts into deeper, hypnotic, afro-beat territory.

Though listed as a six-track album, each side (composing of 3 tracks) is built upon one continuous groove with call and response female & male vocals and instrumental solos coming and going as each side progresses. The results are raw, hypnotic, locked-in grooves, which sit perfectly on forward-thinking contemporary dance floors.

Official Mr Bongo reissue. Replica original artwork. LP only. Licensed from the family of Shina Wiliams.

Label Review. 

1999 album. Deluxe edition with The Secret Psychedelic Mixes, B-Sides & Remixes, DVD with promo videos and Live At Glastonbury 2000. Also available 2CD and 4LP+DVD. 

Our Overview. 

‘Surrender’ is the first Chemical Brothers album to receive the deluxe album treatment, the twentieth anniversary deluxe edition of their 1999 classic album, enhances the original eleven track album with two additional discs of rare and unreleased music and a DVD of remastered promos and footage filmed for the BBC live at Glastonbury Festival 2000 that hasn’t been seen since original broadcast. It also comes with a set of exclusive Kate Gibb prints of original sleeve artwork and an exclusive colour book featuring testimonials from key collaborators and guest musicians as well as new liner notes from Jon Savage, the band’s longtime visual collaborator Adam Smith and Alexis Petridis, who describes Surrender as‘a snapshot of a moment in time that could’ve been released yesterday’.

By the time ‘Surrender’ arrived in shops in the summer of 1999, The Chemical Brothers had already created their own mythology. The single that preceded it - “Hey Boy Hey Girl” - was built around a fiercely addictive mantra that was both a ballsy calling card for the record’s creators and readymade chant for the legions of hedonists consumed by a club scene that had finally gone global.

‘Surrender’, though, offered the listener so much more than soundbites. It was truly the moment that everything around The Chemical Brothers went full colour, whether through Kate Gibb’s hallucinatory artwork or the wild and propulsive psychedelia of tracks like album centrepiece “The Sunshine Underground.” Elsewhere, singular talents Bernard Sumner, Hope Sandoval, Jonathan Donahue and Noel Gallagher were filtered into the band’s sound, less like guest vocalists and more like moving parts of a bigger machine designed to make the listener… well… surrender.

‘Surrender’ went on to win Album of the Year at the 1999 Q Awards, and The Chemical Brothers won Best Dance Act at the 2000 Brit Awards. One year on from release, they headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, playing to the biggest crowd the festival had ever seen (this was prior to the fence going up when the festival had a massively exploded capacity).

The deluxe versions will be available as 3CDs or 4LP box sets – each with a DVD, book and 4 art prints. It’s released on UMC Virgin on November 22nd 2019. Two previously unreleased mixes of “Hey Boy Hey Girl” from the set- a new mix by KiNK and a recently unearthed alternate Chemical Brothers ‘Secret Psychedelic’ mix - are released today online (on streaming platforms everywhere and available as instant downloads with preorders).

Label Review. 

2019 covers album also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Sydney-born/Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Ben Lee releases ‘Quarter Century Classix’ an album of the indie bands that have influenced him for the past 25 years. “Sonic Youth were my Grateful Dead,” declares Ben Lee. “J Mascis was my Jimmy Page. ‘Web in Front’ by Archers of Loaf was ‘Be My Baby.’”

When he recorded an album of songs by these and other indie rock favorites approached it both as a fan who long ago memorised every lyric and as an artist who was an active participant in that scene, who saw these bands up close, who even opened for a few of them. As a result, ‘Quarter Century Classix’ carries a lot more weight than your typical covers album. It’s an overview of a particularly vibrant era in indie rock, but it’s also an endeavour of personal archaeology. Lee burrows deep into these classix not only to see what makes them tick, but also to see how they make him tick.

The project started out of boredom and necessity. In January 2019, while touring with his duo Radnor & Lee (featuring the actor Josh Radnor of How I Met Your Mother fame), he found himself snowed in, trapped by the polar vortex in a lonely Chicago hotel room. Nothing to do, nowhere to go. To pass the time, Lee thought about his first trip to the city twenty-five years earlier: What was indie rock like at that time? 

While Ben and his collaborators were experiencing the joy of working very much in the present tense, at heart ‘Quarter Century Classix’ is closer to a musical memoir: a mixtape as statement of self, a means of connecting with his younger self. “Within the course of these 13 songs, I discovered that the entire template for what I would explore musically was laid out at that time in my life.” Of course, these songs mean very different things to the forty-something husband and father than they did to the teenage kid. All those years have given him a new perspective on these bands and their music. “Speeding Motorcycle” took on immense new significance after Lee played a handful of shows with Daniel Johnston in 2017; getting some first-hand experience of the troubled mind of an outsider-art hero behind one of your favourite songs will do that.

Recording and releasing ‘Quarter Century Classix’ doesn’t mean he’s done with these songs, or that he’s finally figured them out—or that he’s figured himself out. Rather, Lee understands that these songs will be playing in his brain for years to come, that he’ll be trying to puzzle them out for the next quarter century and beyond. “These songs truly touched me in the most profound way, but their narratives continue to unfold over the years for me.”

Label Review. 

2019 live album. An expanded set of 'Magic Nights'. Also available on 2CD, and 3LP. 

Our Overview. 

Christy Moore first made his name in the early 1970s in the Irish folk band Planxty who were a big hit in their native Ireland and toured extensively throughout Europe. After they broke up in 1975, Moore went solo and he has traded under his own name ever since (barring the odd Planxty reunion and his 80s ‘Celtic rock’ band Moving Hearts) attracting his first major label deal with Warners in the early 1980s.

Moore hasn’t shied away from expressing from political commentary in his songs with numerous numbers reflecting Irish Republican ideologies and he was once taken into questioning at the Welsh port of Holyhead in 2004 about his songs. Mainly though, Christy has spent his career promoting traditional Irish tunes but with a modern slant and injecting pop and rock flavours into the mix.

Of this new live collection Christy says: “We have recorded all our gigs in recent years. Producer Jimmy Higgins and Sound Engineer David Meade selected these takes from hundreds of gigs. It has been an enjoyable process. Listening back and discovering special moments, riffs that went unnoticed, choruses long forgotten. I have deep gratitude for the mystery of it all. At work I’m surrounded by a great team of comrades. Their talents and vital contributions keep the show on the road. Each night at 8.05 we stand side stage, breathe in the air of expectancy, the intoxicating waft of perfume and after shave. The crew complete their final checks, the lights go down and out we go once more to face the music.”

Label Review.

2019 album. Americana. Also availble on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

‘County Seat ‘is a guitar-fueled Americana record, caught somewhere between the worlds of country and electrified rock. The songs are roomy and lush, the result of an inspired led by Will Stewart, - American, songwriter, frontman, and lead guitarist - who handles singing and guitar-playing duties, whose members recorded all nine tracks in two short days. There are swirls of swooning pedal steel, layers of vocal harmony, and the pastoral punch of a songwriter looking to turn the landscape of his home state into music.

Co-produced with Les Nuby (who also engineered and mixed the album) and recorded in a series of live takes, County Seat nods to a number of songwriters who sing about the beauty of their homeland without glossing over its imperfections. There are electrified moments influenced by Neil Young, guitar arpeggios suited for R.E.M., turns-of-phrase worthy of Bob Dylan, and the modern-day folksy charm of Hiss Golden Messenger. On an album that evokes some heavy starpower, though, Will Stewart shines the brightest. This is his first full-length release as a solo artist: a rallying cry from a Son of the South who, having returned home after a long trip, looks at his birthplace with renewed eyes.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Nuclear Blast. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Hearts will be enlightened by the fourth studio album ‘The Fire I Long For’ from Sweden’s globally praised Avatarium. The band have no musical boundaries and that plays a vital part in ensuring they have a signature sound. This open-minded, yet doom-laden collective draws elements of folk, jazz and psychedelic brilliance into a grandiose amalgamation that manages to maintain an almost pop-like elegance. After previous album ‘Hurricanes And Halos’ (2017) the band toured the world with their now significant and utterly unique repertoire. Another successful EU headline tour took place in autumn 2017. Next, they focused on crafting the next installment in their catalogue which is titled ‘The Fire I Long For’.

Avatarium was founded in 2012 by Leif Edling, a prominent member of CANDLEMASS. The project soon saw the arrival of Marcus Jidell (producer CANDLEMASS) and Jennie-Ann Smith who brought an air of charisma with her soulful grace. Their eclectic approach resulted in the widely celebrated EP ‘Moonhorse’ (2013), but the real impact came when the band released their eponymous debut album in the very same year. Their first live appearance outside Sweden happened at the legendary Roadburn festival in 2014 – resulting in another EP called ‘All I Want’. Since then they have expanded their touring to all over the world thanks to subsequent full lengths ‘The Girl With The Raven Mask’ (2015) and ‘Hurricanes And Halos’ (2017).

In the meantime, Avatarium has become an entity on its own. While Leif Edling still contributed three songs for the new album, the band’s current nucleus consists of Marcus Jidell and Jennie-Ann Smith, who are accompanied on this record by organist Rickard Nilsson and new drummer Andreas ‘Habo’ Johansson (THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM). They crafted the new ideas into songs with Jidell as producer at Deep Well Studios in Stockholm. Says Jidell: “This is really a band effort. We have all been very involved in the arrangements of the songs on ‘The Fire I Long For’”. We move with ultimate dynamics between heaviness and fragility. It is emotional and it will always have those dark elements in it, it is all about light and shadow”.

Adds Jennie-Ann: “Leif’s artistry, willfulness and supreme songwriting is a great inspiration.”

"We have a heritage to take care of but also a responsibility to propone growth and development for our music.” Jidell concludes: ‘We were able to define the Avatarium sound better than ever. Leif and I keep on working together a lot - just think of THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM or CANDLEMASS - but it does not restrict us from adding new elements to the Avatarium sound."

This record showcases the essence of a band who has found its signature sound, no matter what happens.‘The Fire I Long For’ includes nine genuine songs of exceptional purity. This fire they are yearning for is reflected in every single song on this album. Starting with the chunky sound of bombastic opener ‘Voices’, Avatarium also offers intimate beauty, represented by first single ‘Rubicon’ and the relaxed, sensitive ‘Lay Me Down’ with its smooth Americana feel. The wealth of variation on the Swede’s fourth statement is enriched with the doom-rooted heaviness of ‘Porcelain Skull’ and ‘Epitaph Of Heroes’, which the band describes as a rather idiosyncratic Avatarium song. The record is topped off with the bare intensity of the jazz-inspired piano ballad ‘Stars They Move’, bringing ‘The Fire I Long For’ to close.

Label Review. 

2019 album

Our Overview. 

‘American Utopia’ began as an album, which received a Grammy nomination and was the first by Byrne to reach the Top Five on the Billboard 200 chart. The concert tour in support of ‘American Utopia’, which inspired the Broadway show, included songs from the new album along with music from Talking Heads and Byrne’s solo career. Byrne and the ensemble performed more than 150 dates in twenty-seven countries over nine months. The NME said it "may just be the best live show of all time."

David Byrne’s ‘American Utopia’ features David Byrne with Jacquelene Acevedo, Gustavo Di Dalva, Daniel Freedman, Chris Giarmo, Tim Keiper, Tendayi Kuumba, Karl Mansfield, Mauro Refosco, Stéphane San Juan, Angie Swan, and Bobby Wooten III; Davi Viera also performs on the album. The show’s design team includes Rob Sinclair (lighting) and Pete Keppler (sound). Karl Mansfield and Mauro Refosco are Musical Directors. Choreography and Musical Staging is by Annie-B Parson. Alex Timbers serves as Production Consultant.

David Byrne’s recent works include the launch of Reasons to be Cheerful, an online magazine focused on solutions-oriented stories about problems being solved all over the world (2019); Joan of Arc: Into the Fire, a theatrical exploration of the historical heroine that premiered at the Public Theater in New York (2017); The Institute Presents: NEUROSOCIETY, a series of interactive environments created in conjunction with PACE Arts + Technology that question human perception and bias (2016); Contemporary Color, an event inspired by the American folk tradition of color guard and performed at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and Toronto’s Air Canada Centre (2015); Here Lies Love, a twenty-two-song theatrical production about the life of Imelda Marcos, authored in collaboration with Fatboy Slim that premiered at The Public Theater in New York (2013), travelled to London’s National Theater for a sold-out run (2014–15), and was remounted at the Seattle Repertory Theater (2017); Love This Giant, a studio album and worldwide tour created with St. Vincent (2012); and How Music Works, a book about the history, experience, and social aspects of music (2012).

Byrne curated Southbank Centre’s annual Meltdown festival in London in 2015. A co-founder of the group Talking Heads (1976–88), he has released eight studio albums as a solo artist and worked on multiple other projects, including collaborations with Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson, and Jonathan Demme, among others. He also founded the highly respected record label Luaka Bop. Recognition of Byrne’s various works include Obies, Drama Desk, Lortel, and Evening Standard awards for Here Lies Love; an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe for the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor; and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Talking Heads. Byrne’s work as a visual artist has been published and exhibited since his college days, including photography, filmmaking, and writing.

Label Review.

1991 album. Acapella.

Our Overview.

Originally released on Crammed in 1991, Zap Mama’s acapella debut album ‘Zap Mama’ has become a classic, and influenced hosts of vocalists and musicians around the world. And now it’s appearing here on vinyl for the first time.

Formed in the early 1990’s Zap Mama was the brainchild of founder and leader Marie Daulne, Zap Mama consisted at the time of five young women who, inspired by their mixed African/European origins and by the cosmopolitan environment of their hometown Brussels, created a wonderful acapella body of work incorporating influences drawn from Congolese pop, Arabic tunes, Pygmy polyphonics & more (including a touch of gospel and of medieval Spanish chants), guided above all by their wild imagination.

The beauty and freshness of their vocal harmonies, coupled with an entertaining and humorous live show generated tremendous enthusiasm worldwide. Audiences were conquered by their sound and personalities, by their formidable demonstration of the quasi-magical powers of the human voice, but also by the message which was implicitly conveyed: Zap Mama seemed to embody and glorify the virtues of joyful, creative and unfettered cultural blending. Zap Mama/Adventures in Afropea became one of Crammed’s all-time best-selling records. It was nominated for a Grammy and topped the Billboard’s world music chart.

Label Review. 

Official release of previously unreleased rare live and demo sessions. It is unknown where and when they were exactly recorded but they have been authorised for release by the band. The complete 1968-1970 set on 3CD. 

Our Overview. 

Two live recordings from 1968 and 1970 have recently been discovered of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and will be released as a 3CD Boxset that will include rare band images and a brand new essay plus additional previously unreleased demos. Not much is known about the live recordings. Discovered unlabelled and by pure luck in the US, their era has been authenticated by experts of the bands blues origins. The recordings were discovered in incredibly good condition considering they have been untouched for over 40 years. They have been restored and provide a vital insight into the very earliest incarnation of one of the worlds biggest bands.

Fleetwood Mac has given their full approval for the release of these tapes. Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac had a short but hugely prolific career, Volume One, the 1968 recording, contains early incarnations of some of the bands most loved and famous songs including “Madison Blues”, “I Need Your Love So Bad”, “Long Tall Sally”, and “Willie And The Hand Jive” from the Rock ‘n’ Roll College of Music. Volume Two will feature the 1970 recording and will also feature demos and rarities of classic tracks including “Oh Well”, “Green Manalishi” and the bands first UK number one “Albatross”.