Label Review.

13 tracks. First time on CD.

Our Overview.

In 1978, legendary San Francisco Punk Rock Band The Dead Kennedys were formed and the rest is history. They became one of the iconic bands of the US Punk Rock revolution and recorded seminal punk classics “Holiday In Cambodia” and “California Uber Alles,” as well as many others that have become synonymous with Punk Rock itself.

Manifesto Records is proud to announce that on September 27, they will release a CD of the Iguana Studios Rehearsal Tape- San Francisco 1978. This is the beginnings of the Dead Kennedys, the original recordings from their early rehearsals that would lead to their classic recordings.

This collection was previously only available as a limited edition, Record Store Day only LP. It was very successful and actually charted on the Billboard top sellers list, but the demand from fans was overwhelming to release this on CD. The Dead Kennedys were and still are one of the most influential bands in the history of punk rock. They sold a lot of records, but even more importantly, they helped inspire a million people to start punk rock bands, they were the leaders in the revolution!

Label Review. 

2019 album. Rock. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Whether you call it power pop, folk rock or alt-country (at times all of these terms apply) GospelbeacH are a group forever bursting with melody and terrific harmonies to boot. Their approach to producing music is straight-up genius song writing: honest, brilliantly played and superbly produced and ‘Let It Burn’ is no exception to this rule.

Cultivated from the melodious mind of founding member Brent Rademaker and evolved from the kaleidoscopic California music scene, GospelbeacH blends country folk with modern rock ’n’ roll to produce inviting melodies and harmonies. Steeped in the golden sounds of Buffalo Springfield, and particularly Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman’s contributions to The Byrds, the band are far beyond mere revivalists and the pool of influences runs wider than rock’s fulcrum year. 

Brent Rademaker wanted to "make some rock n' roll" with ‘Let It Burn’, the third album from his band GospelbeacH - whose "Dark Angel" is premiering exclusively below. But there was also a certain kind of rock n' roll Rademaker wanted to create, whose philosophy dovetailed with the lush, Laurel Canyon-inspired vibe of the 11-track album.

"I really wanted to do what my heroes do," Rademaker, also a co-founder of Beachwood Sparks and Further, tells Billboard. "I wanted to marry what was happening in my life in the last year with the craft of songwriting. When you talk about (Tom) Petty and Jackson Browne and Joni (Mitchell) and (David Crosby) - I'm not comparing myself to them at all, but they wanted to make rock n' roll records that reflected their life and also make some nice little songs and make it sound as good as you can without overdubbing the shit out of it." In Rademaker's case that meant dealing with the death of his father and the end of his marriage, as well as external concerns such as the California wildfires and the 2018 shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

‘Let It Burn’  marks the return of guitarist and Beachwood Sparks bandmate Neal Casal, also of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, to the ranks, along with keyboardist Jonny Niemann, bassist Ben Reddell and backing vocalist Nelson Bragg. Noting that GospelbeacH has yet to tour the U.S., Rademaker is hoping to change that situation later this year or early next. And he also hopes to fast-track some more music from the band -- which Rademaker predicts will come from a happier place as well. "We're going to set out to make something that's not so much about my life but just celebrates rock n' roll and California and the West Coast and all of that -- music that's unfashionable right now, like guitar rock from the '70s," Rademaker says with a laugh. "But, y'know, it seems like people still look to the past, so maybe it's not doomed, y'know? Maybe when people hear (Let It Burn) they'll go 'This is not bad' and come back for what we do next."

Label Review.

2019 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Singer-songwriter Oscar Sheller is back with a spectacular new release ‘HTTP404’. However the musician is not calling it an album but the latest full-length project from London’s Oscar Scheller is ‘HTTP404’. Despite the obscure title the album this release is characterised by the incisive and witty lyrics we have come to know and love from Scheller and backed by melodies that will be jammed in your head all day long, ‘HTTP404’ is a honest to goodness 100% rush of smart, pop magic.

Since his debut full-length, ‘Cut & Paste’, Oscar has been very busy working as a writer and producer for other pop acts (Mae Muller, Lily Allen…). And as ably demonstrated by the two singles (‘1UP’ with Sarah Bonito and ‘Runaway’ with Tiffi) that have come since that debut, he has very clearly made a huge leap as both a songwriter and producer.

'HTTP404’ is a collection of 11 jaw-dropping pop songs, all bar one produced or co-produced by Oscar himself and all bar one collaborations with other musicians he has been working with or who he has been excited by on the scene (including Lily Allen, PAWWS, Vera Hotsauce, Jevon and Havelock, amongst others). The set of songs focuses on the importance of searching for something that no longer exists, not finding what you’re looking for. It’s philosophical and existential in places but there’s an underlying message across the board to stop thinking about things so much and just start living. Gone are the guitars that characterized his earlier sound and now in their place we find synths, samples and programming that pull the work of Oscar Scheller right into the zeitgeist.

Characterised by the incisive and witty lyrics we have come to know and love from Scheller and backed by melodies that will be jammed in your head all day long, ‘HTTP404’ is a rush of smart, pop magic.

Label Review. 

2019 album also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

American indie band Big Thief had only just finished work on their third album, ‘U.F.O.F.’ - “the celestial twin” - days before in a cabin studio in the woods of Washington State. Now it was time to birth ‘U.F.O.F.’s sister album - “the earth twin” - ‘Two Hands’. With raw power and intimacy, ‘Two Hands’ folds itself gracefully into Big Thief’s impressive discography. This body of work grows deeper and more inspiring with each new album.

30 miles west of El Paso, surrounded by 3,000 acres of pecan orchards and only a stone’s throw from the Mexican border, Big Thief (aka Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik and James Krivchenia) set up their instruments as close together as possible to capture their most important collection of songs yet.

Where ‘U.F.O.F.’ layered mysterious sounds and effects for levitation, ‘Two Hands’ grounds itself on dried-out, cracked desert dirt. In sharp contrast to the wet environment of the ‘U.F.O.F.’ session, the southwestern Sonic Ranch studio was chosen for its vast desert location. The 105-degree weather boiled away any clinging memories of the green trees and wet air of the previous session.

‘Two Hands’ had to be completely different - an album about the Earth and the bones beneath it. The songs were recorded live with almost no overdubs. All but two songs feature entirely live vocal takes, leaving Adrianne’s voice suspended above the mix in dry air, raw and vulnerable as ever.

Label Review.

2019 album. Rock.

Our Overview.

Molly Drag, the solo project of Michael Charles Hansford, started in Autumn of 2014. Encouraged by dear friends and driven by a desire for expression through music and the hope to create emotionally connecting and healing art, Hansford began releasing music online as Molly Drag. And now has just announced his forthcoming new studio album ’Touchstone’.

Each release is self-created, recorded and produced and is an act of honest, and often raw expression; a true catharsis for artist themself and listener alike. The music of Molly Drag creates a sense of wistful longing, heartache and noble beauty; like exploring the rooms of your childhood home, long since abandoned, light timidly filtering through dust-covered windows, illuminating all the memories that once filled its walls.

Molly Drag on ’Touchstone’: “While I was recording this album I started thinking about my hometown a lot, the small places within, the parks where I would smoke with my friends after school, the water that surrounded us always. I then contacted my high-school art teacher Ila who was an immense mentor for me, we rekindled our friendship.

"She said that I was always one of her “touchstone” students, immediately I asked her if I could use one of her paintings as the album cover. She said yes, and I also knew that it needed to be called touchstone. This album really is about growing up and how my great role models and teachers were the 3 women that taught me love, but also strength. This album is for my Mother, My Grandmother, and Ila... my art teacher.” Molly Drag

Label Review. 

2019 album. Reggae / Dub. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

By day Mike Pelanconi is a sought after recording engineer and by night the British record producer becomes ‘Prince Fatty”. Renowned for flexing his studio muscle with some of the freshest and versatile dub sounds around, Prince Fatty’s blending old-school reggae with his own eccentric, futuristic twist, have turned industry heads for decades and ‘In the Viper’s Shadow’ is no exception. This album is 10 tracks of reggae goodness, produced to perfection in a melting pot of influences that span from multiple eras and stretch to just about every corner of the planet. 

After dropping ‘The Clone Theory’ in 2015 production connoisseur Prince Fatty has been paving the way for something very special ever since. 2019 sees him release his second solo album ‘In the Viper’s Shadow’. Featuring a whole host of reggae and dub royalty, this project boasts a who’s who of global talent including the likes of Cornell Campbell, Tippa Irie, Big Youth, George Dekker, Shniece McMenamin, Earl 16, Winston Francis, Marcia Griffith and Horseman.

Prince Fatty has worked with everyone from Lily Allen, Hollie Cook, Graham Coxon (Blur), Mungo’s HiFi, The Last Poets, The Skints, Gregory Isaacs to name a few. After moving from Brighton to live in Sao Paulo, Los Angeles and Thailand, he’s taken inspirational sounds from across the globe and has built up a reputation of being one of the go-to producers of recent times. With a knack for selecting the perfect collaborators, whether it’s an up and coming artist or a genre-defining hero, his ability to showcase foundation laying percussion skills, mesmerising vocalists, bass-heavy triumphs and everything in between has resulted in some of the most expressive sounds around, and ‘In The Viper’s Shadow’ is the perfect example of his commitment to the cause.

Blending old-school reggae with his own eccentric, futuristic twist, Prince Fatty hasn’t taken his foot off the gas this year. He produced an exclusive Record Store Day release with Earl 16 and gave The Last Poets’ ‘Understand What Black Is’ a complete dub overhaul; the latter received praise from Record Collector, Uncut, The Arts Desk, DJ Mag, Long Live Vinyl and many more. Kickstarting the summer, he released the first single from this album ‘Get Ready Ft Big Youth & George Dekker.’ The Smokey Robinson cover received spins from David Rodigan (BBC 1 XTRA), Ed Adoo (BBC Three Counties) and was described as the “gold standard of dub production” from Rootfire.

Label Review.

2019 album. Jazz.

Our Overview.

Nearing 25 years as an ensemble, Los Guachos is Argentine pianist and composer Guillermo Klein’s favoured vehicle for presenting his unique compositional and arranging style.

The group’s roster remains unchanged and represents an astounding aggregation of the very best musicians in jazz, including saxophonists Miguel Zenon, Bill McHenry and Chris Cheek, trumpeters Diego Urcola and Taylor Haskins, trombonist Sandro Tomasi, guitarist Ben Monder, electric bassist Fernando Huergo, drummer Jeff Ballard, percussionist/trumpeter Richard Nant and Klein, himself, on piano and vocals.

Klein’s musical intent for ‘Cristal’ was to provide compositions that had clear melodic statements while implying forward motion using scattered melodic cells. The pieces should also feel good to play, something that Los Guachos can do with its ability to make Klein’s rhythmic puzzles really groove. Along with his own tunes, Klein referred to a number of pieces that were heard regularly around his home as he grew up, namely the strident melodies of tango composers Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera. The recording has an over-arching design, akin to a suite.

Label Review.

2019 album. Acoustic Soul-Folk and electronic R&B. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Mariama was born in Sierra Leone but raised in Germany. ‘Love, Sweat And Tears’ is her second album and is inspired by her travels throughout Europe and Africa. Part of an ongoing search for artistic freedom and independence, the record’s fourteen songs create a beautiful sonic excursion, shifting from soft and melancholic melodies to vibrant, danceable songs that encompass acoustic Soul-Folk and electronic R&B.

Mariama is currently based in Paris and met most of the musicians who play on the album in the city, including drummer Georges Diémé (also a master of percussion instruments such as cajon, congas and udu), Abdoulaye Kouyaté (kora and guitar), Jean-Baptiste Soulard (keyboards and synthesizer), Wendy Milton (piano) and bassist Hilaire Penda (who has played on albums by Susheela Raman, Tony Allen, Salif Keita, Youssou N’dour and more). Additional contributing musicians include guitarist Sékou Bembeya (a living legend of Guinean musical heritage and also known as Diamond Fingers), Ballaké Sissoko (kora), Vincent Ségal (cello), German singer Soufian Tsunami (featured on the song ‘Never Mind’) and Berlin based beatmaker and pianist Jim Dunloop, who worked on two songs.

Label Review.

2019 album. Indie. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Eddie Johnston, better known by his stage name Lontalius, is a New Zealander born singer/songwriter and for his latest record he moved to LA to work on his second album ‘All I Have’ with Grammy award winning producer Om’Mas Keith (Frank Ocean, John Legend, Jay-Z) and Jim Fairchild (Modest Mouse and Grandaddy).

“We started in an Om’Mas Keith world but I realised I love live bands and that I didn’t want to make a completely electronic R&B album,” Johnston says of his decisive moment in Los Angeles. “I wanted drums and energy.” Having spent a week in the studio with Keith, a rarity for an artist whose bedroom recordings took him from his family home to international success, Johnston then began working with Jim Fairchild, a member of legendary bands Grandaddy and Modest Mouse. “I’d tell him I’d want things to sound like U2 but not like U2 and he’d understand,” he says of his like-minded relationship with Fairchild.

“My ideal listener is the same kind of person I was at 15,” he says. “Hearing Drake in my bedroom was very affecting for me as a teenager. I want someone to hear my music at 3am and feel something. I’ve grown so much as a songwriter and producer. This album serves as proof of where I am now.

”Eddie has released music since he was 13 and he started publishing covers on SoundCloud with the stage name of Lontalius (the name of a butterfly that can be found in the Borneo and Philippines) He was noticed by the producer Ryan Hemsworthwith whom he collaborated in 2014. In 2016 he released his first album ‘I’ll Forget 17’.

Label Review. 

2019 debut solo album from Sonic Youth co-founder. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

With a career spanning nearly four decades and an exhaustive CV, Kim Gordon is one ofthe most prolific and visionary artists working today and now releases her new studio album ‘No Home Record’. Front to back, ‘No Home Record’ is an expert operation in the uncanny. You don’t just listen to Gordon’s music; you experience it.

A co-founder of the legendary Sonic Youth, Gordon has performed all over the world, collaborating with many of music’s most exciting figures including Tony Conrad, Ikue Mori, Julie Cafritz and Stephen Malkmus. Most recently, Gordon has been hitting the road with Body/Head, her spellbinding partnership with artist and musician Bill Nace.

The most reliable aspect of Gordon’s music may be its resistance to formula. Songs discover themselves as they unspool, each one performing a test of the medium’s possibilities and limits. Her command is astonishing but Gordon’s artistic curiosity remains the guiding force behind her music.

It makes sense that this “American idea” (as Gordon says on the agitated rock track ‘Air BnB’) of purchasing utopia permeates the record, as no place is this phenomenon more apparent than Los Angeles, where Gordon was born and recently returned to after several lifetimes on the east coast. It was a move precipitated by a number of seismic shifts in her personal life and undoubtedly plays a role in ‘No Home Record’s fascination with transience.The album opens with the restless ‘Sketch Artist’, where Gordon sings about “dreaming in a tent” as the music shutters and skips like scenery through a car window. ‘Even Earthquake’, perhaps the record’s most straightforward track embodies this mood; Gordon’s voice wavering like watercolor: “If I could cry and shake for you / I’d lay awake for you / I got sand in my heart for you,” guitar strokes blending into one another as they bleed out across an unstable page.

Label Review.

2019 album. Electronic.

Our Overview.

‘Your Psyche’s Rainbow Panorama’ is the new album from producer, singer, avant-pop auteur and artist Tony Njoku. The album finds Tony at a creative apex, able to communicate and interpret the entire spectrum of human emotion through music, with each track embodying a different feeling or emotion being laid out as the pathway for a journey through playfulness, pain, elation, insanity, empathy, anger andacceptance.

Taking inspiration from a work of Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson; a 150 metre -long, circular glass walkway in Aarhus entitled ‘Your rainbow panorama’. ‘Your Psyche’s Rainbow Panorama’ transposes its impressive magnitude and ambition of the work into a visceral, living album that is crafted to be felt as much as heard. This is by far Tony’s most diverse, expansive and wholistic work to date. The motto for this album is “feelings are facts”, derived from the title of another popular art piece by Olafur Eliasson. The purpose of the piece is to heighten your sense of disorientation whilst experiencing it, which triggers a more visceral/instinctive reaction rather than an intellectual response to the work.

“Exciting blends of African percussion, falsetto croons and dark synths” - Fact

“A world of swirling synths that float on top of Njoku’s buried but distinctive vocals” - DIY

“Fusing abstract beats with his angelic tones” - Mojo

“He’s a very quizzical performer, which I think in the live scene is pretty rare. He’s an amazing talent” - Drowned In Sound

“The Deptford musician likes to pull down the barriers, with his expansive electronics flirting with psych and soul” - Clash

Label Review.

2019 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

The bard of Newcastle, singer-songwriter Richard Dawson’s records always challenge the listener. His spin on British folk has spanned 6 solo albums, each delightfully unique with a heady mix of Richards own brand of shambolic psych-folk and experimental rock. And now the black humoured musician returns to release his sixth solo album ‘2020’, his first since the critically acclaimed, ‘Peasant’.‘2020’ is an utterlycontemporary state-of-the-nation study, that uncovers a tumultuous and bleak time.

Here is an island country in a state of flux; a society on the edge of mental meltdown. On 2020, dawson introduces us to grand themes through small lives. His are portraits of human beings struggling with recognisable (and dare we say it, relatable) concerns, conflicts and desires, each reminding us that tragedy and gallows humour are not mutually exclusive, and that the magical can sit next to the mundane. Lyrically it is by far dawson’s hardest-hitting and unflinchingly honest album to date. It is his poetic masterwork. within, we find disgruntled civil servants dreaming of better days, anxiety-addled joggers listlessly searching zoopla for houses they cannot afford in their spare time, amateur footballers who think they’re lionel messi and beleaguered pub landlords battling rising floodwaters. Here is life, in all its strange and wonderful ways.

Having released the album ‘Mogic’ with his band Hen Ogledd (‘the Old North’) in 2018, Dawson decamped to Blank Studio, Newcastle with Sam Grant of Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs and recorded all the instrumentation for 2020 himself. Nuanced and challenging, the ten songs also conversely feature Dawson’s most melodic moments yet.

Label Review.

2019 album. Original vocalist in Santana and Journey.

Our Overview.

When you’re a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, you don’t have a lot to prove. But legendary singer-songwriter and keyboardist Gregg Rolie , who holds that rare distinction as a founding member and original lead vocalist of both Santana and Journey , and who has also been a mainstay of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band since 2012, demonstrates that he’s at the top of his game with the release of Sonic Ranch (Megaforce Records), his first feature-length studio album in 18 years.

A wide range of Rolie’s illustrious musician friends contributed to Sonic Ranch - among them are his onetime Santana mate Michael Shrieve on drums, as well as bass extraordinaire Alphonso Johnson. And he features not one, but two guitar heroes: Steve Lukather, who plays on the gutsy blues rocker “They Want It All” and the stunning album opener, Give Me Tomorrow,” and fellow Journey alum Neal Schon, who appears on the soulful ballad “Breaking My Heart” and the sinuous groover “Lift Me Up."

Sonic Ranch’s first single is “ What About Love.” The thunderous sing-along epic sees Sean Rolie displaying his own formidable guitar chops. “The song inspired by Ringo Starr and his message of peace and love,” Rolie explains. “I had started writing it, and I would and play around with it at soundchecks with Ringo. It sounded really good, so I took it home, found the bassline, and Sean produced and engineered it. Rolie wrote all of the 13 tracks on the album, with the exception of “They Want It All,” which he penned with Andre Pessis and Kevin Chalfont, and the piano-driven show stopper “Look into the Future,” which he co-wrote with Diane Valory and Neal Schon - the song originally appeared on Journey’s album of the same name in 1976.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Post-punk world-beat, New Orleans jazz, afro-pop, electronic and gospel. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Bedouin Soundclash - the Canadian group that immerse the listener into their sonic concoction of rock, reggae, afro pop and funk - return, almost a decade since their last release, for their next thrilling soundtrip experience, in the form of their new album ‘Mass’. While pulling from their old catalogue of eclectic post-punk world-beat tendencies, the band journeys further into New Orleans jazz, afro-pop,electronic and gospel on their latest offering, reflecting a creative rebirth influenced by the cities and musicians that surrounded them.

“The coming together of many forces to create something greater,” says Jay Malinowski lead singer, writer, and one half of duo Bedouin Soundclash when describing their fifth studio album ‘Mass’) which sees the band coming back after a nine-year hiatus. “It was a long time since our last record,” he pauses, “So we decided we would start by going down to New Orleans and make ourselves new.” 

And so, in late July, Eon Sinclair (bassist) and Jay Malinowski (vocals/guitar) better known as duo Bedouin Soundclash headed down to the cradle of American music to find rebirth. When they arrived, they found themselves baptized in the hottest, stickiest Louisiana weather of late summer. “It’s the kind of heat where you’re dripping with sweat, even at two in the morning.” Eon Sinclair remembers.

The band set up shop in an old speak-easy jazz club converted into a studio and filled it with musicians for three weeks. “It was a huge gathering——hard to manage at times. There was agony. There was ecstasy. We literally sweat ourselves to the bone” Jay laughs, “and the result was something bigger than ourselves. Something we could never have done alone. That was MASS—both physical and spiritual, the coming together of so many disparate forces of people and energies, distilled into something new.”Their musical comrades-in-energy included Preservation Hall Jazz Band on horns, Mike Dillon (Les Claypool) on vibes/marimba, Rick Nelson (Afghan Whigs, Polyphonic Spree) on strings, Chuck Treece on drums (Bad Brains, McRad), The Asylum Chorus Choir, and Vancouver’s St. James Music Academy Children’s Choir. The album was co-produced by Bedouin Soundclash and legendary Philadelphia House DJ King Britt and recorded at Marigny Studio’s in New Orleans with additional vocal tracking done later in the St. James Church in the downtown East Side of Vancouver. ‘Mass’ is a dense sonic journey. From the jangling Big Band swing-pop of Clock-work, the post-punk-soca of Salt-Water, the New Orleans second-line inspired Full Bloom, the apocalyptic Brian Wilson-esc Born Into Bad Times, the Talking Heads-channeling of When We’re Gone and the dubbing afro-pop gospel of Holy that features Mike Dillon distorting his marimbas into another sonic dimension, MASS shows not only the eclectic post-punk-world-beat tendencies of Bedouin Soundclash but also the city that surrounded them.

Label Review.

2019 album. Americana.

Our Overview.

If living through hard times has any merit in creating authenticity in art and writing, then Lizanne Knott has a mother load. Coming out of a troubled childhood, she found herself living alone by the age of fifteen. Working mostly on farms and ranches to make ends meet, she also developed an affinity for playing the guitar and writing.

That got her through those early years, including two failed marriages, single motherhood and a pretty constant struggle to just get by. It wasn’t until years later, when Grammy Award winning producer and engineer, Glenn Barratt, walked into a folk club where she was playing, that her life took a drastic change. Five critically acclaimed records later, she is releasing her best work yet, one that delves into the conflict and sometimes painful fires that burn inside our very souls.

Together, along with a host of friends (who happen to be some of the best session players on the east coast), she revisits her roots and delivers a healing dose of love and redemption amidst heartbreak and the human condition. From the stark beauty of the title track, “Bones and Gravity”, to the rootsy stomp of “Lay Him Down” and the raw emotion of “Keep Me Alive”, this record will keep you listening over and over again. Masterfully recorded and produced by Glenn Barratt, it is sure to be a favorite among fans of Americana and Folk Rock.

Label Review. 

In early September 1969 Buckley played five sets over two days at LA club The Troubadour, all of which were recorded and a set was released in 1994. Two new packages have been put together from the unreleased performances. Edsel. 

Our Overview.

‘Greetings From West Hollywood’ is a beautiful live performance of the legendary Tim Buckley in 1969, in concert with never before released performances to delight fans worldwide. 

Tim Buckley is one of the most influential singer/songwriters in history, with an angelic voice, folk-rock's most adventurous figure ranged from psychedelia to progressive jazz to blue-eyed soul before his tragic death. ‘Greetings From West Hollywood’ has been Re-Mixed and Re-Mastered from the original tapes Includes high quality packaging and 20 page booklet with extensive liner notes, archival photos and rare promotional material.

These performances captured Buckley’s improvisational raw energy of songs that stretch toward or past the 10-minute mark, the combinations of acoustic & electric guitars, Fender Rhodes piano & electric bass, drum set & congas - throbbing and brewing in a dynamic jazz-folk stew! Tim Buckley ‘s career and life were shockingly short, but his influence has only grown stronger as the years go by and even though these performances are nearly 50 years old, they are truly timeless

CD 1: Buzzin’ Fly / Chase The Blues Away / I Had A Talk With My Woman / BlueMelody / Nobody Walkin’

CD 2: Venice Mating Call / I Don’t Need It To Rain / Driftin’ / Gypsy Woman

Label Review. 

2019 album. Jazz duo. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

This stand-out, intimate jazz duo recording features the haunting vocals of Siril Malmedal Hauge - a 25-year-old sensation from the small island, Sula, on the Norwegian North-West peninsula. And the guitar artistry of Jacob Young, internationally known and critically acclaimed for his work with his groups on three releases for ECM Records.

If you like Melody Gardot, Eva Cassidy, Ella Fitzgerald or Chet Baker - chances are you will dig this too. “Last Things” is an album with a mix of original songs, covers and standards - all from different popular music areas and different times in music history. Songs from genres as diverse as the epic 1970’s rock ballad “Little Wing” - a cover of Jimi Hendrix’ tune - to the Cole Porter masterpiece “So In Love” from the 1950 musical “Kiss me Kate”.

Two original song written by Jacob Young “Bounce With Me” and the title track of the album “Last Things” - a song that features Jacob Young’s voice in duet with Siril Malmedal Hauge, as well as multiple acoustic and electric guitars. The production of the album is sober and transparent, showcasing the strength of Siril’s phrasing and delivery of intertextual meaning - or storytelling. The songs are centred around the lyrical arrangements of Jacob Young’s guitar work. He is not afraid of using multiple layers and textures to elevate certain moments in the arrangements. Siril Malmedal Hauge’s sensual voice floats on top and in-between the musical lines of the songs. The duo impresses both as interpreters and improvisers.

Label Review.

2019 album. Blues.

Our Overview.

Canadian blues guitarist is a veteran performer, whose work has had an influence on many western Canadian blues musicians and now Big Dave’s newest songs, on ‘Pocket Full Of Nothin’’ joyously communicate several musical flavours while keeping the integrity and continuity of the recording intact. Plus he is finally getting his recognition, at an age when the rest of us are getting around to contemplating retirement because the release of ‘Pocket Full Of Nothin’’ coincides with the thrilling announcement that Big Dave will receive an appointment to the Order of Canada award for his contributions to the nation’s cultural life.

The first thing Big Dave McLean will tell you about ‘Pocket Full Of Nothin’’, is that it isn’t a straight-ahead blues album. For, even though Dave has been playing the blues since he first heard John Hammond perform at the Mariposa Folk Festival fifty years ago, he’s always been open to a variety of musical styles and approaches to presenting a song.  As Dave puts it, ‘Music is just music and when it’s good, you forget about the genre or whatever label you want to put on it, and just appreciate the beauty of what you’re hearing.’ Truer words were never spoken. It doesn’t matter if he’s playing country, folk, rock, R&B or blues. It all sounds right and true when Big Dave sings it. 

 ‘Pocket Full Of Nothin’’ was never envisioned as a simple blues album. With an assembled group of Black Hen regulars including Steve Dawson on multiple stringed instruments, Jeremy Holmes and Gary Craig handling bass and drums, and Chris Gestrin on piano and organ making up the nucleus of the band, what sets this recording apart from his previous efforts is the addition of a fully realized horn section. It was then a thrill and a pleasure when Steve brought in Jerry Cook on Baritone sax, Dominic Conway on tenor sax and Malcolm Aiken on trumpet. This truly made Big Dave’s sound complete as the ensemble dug right in and recorded the album mostly live off of the floor in just a few days.

A few well-chosen cover songs are included to complement Big Dave’s original compositions, but on every track, Big Dave’s bellowing, prairie storm of a voice conjures smoke and fire as he delivers the most impassioned performances of his career. Big Dave explains, ‘you just have to be open. The Blues is a feeling, and you should play it the way you feel it.’ 

 

Label Review.

2019 debut album. Rock.

Our Overview.

On the heels of 2015 independent releases ‘Parting Gifts’ and ‘Seasonal Depression’ Florida five-piece rockers Capstan have confirmed their new album, ‘Restless Heart, Keep Running’.

The title ‘Restless Heart, Keep Running’ is not only one of their favourite lyrics from the final track on the album, but its meaning has countless layers pertaining to the major theme(s) of the record, with that Final song being a major point where many of the themes intersect. Says the band of the new album “For those who know Capstan these songs represent us finally cementing ourselves dynamically within the boundaries of a full-length record (this being our first).

“This is us stretching our sound to the corners of what we are - and beyond - and a step towards what we feel real fans have imagined from us as weve grown over the years. It is everything Capstan was, is, and is going to be. The title plays into the push or inspiration found throughout the record (even in the trying times) and coincides with the broad and open, flowing nature of each song. There are many different styles and feelings from song to song, but all the while we have the human heart as a central role in every theme connecting them to become one full and flowing work of art.”

Label Review.

2019 release. The first ever collection of remixes from the UK's leading jazz groove band.

Our Overview.

Contemporary smooth jazz, funk, and groove group out of the U.K Down To The Bone are releasing ‘Funkin’ Around: A Collection Of Remixes And Reworks’ which is the first ever collection of remixes from the UK's leading jazz groove band Down To The Bone.

Down To The Bone is Stuart Wade as producer , writer and mastermind behind the whole groove project .Set up at the tail end of 1993 when Wade decided to take a track from the soul band he was in at the time , Think Twice , and remix it to give it a more rawer and stripped down feel . The result was the Down To The Bone remix of the track ‘Joy Is Free’ which was in the top 10 playlist of Kiss FM for weeks on end and resulted in widescale DJ support in the U.K and Europe.The name also came about from a London club that Stuart went to at the time called ‘To The Bone’ at the Villa Stefano in Holborn, London, run by DJ’s Simon Dunmore , Bob Jones , Mark Webster , Bob Masters and a whole host of others playing funky grooves . The groups career took off in the US with the release of "From Manhattan To Staten", which went to No 2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

This album of dancefloor and Latin-oriented remixes and reworks opens with DJ Spinna's take on "Electric Vibes" with guest Roy Ayers, while the Agent K (alias Kaidi Tatham) mix of "The Flow" features Brazilian jazz vocalist Flora Purim.

Other key cuts include Speedometer's rework of "Funkin' Around", the Afro Elements remix of "Wildfire Woman" and Daz-I-Kue's remixes of "Angel Baby" with Mark de Clive Lowe and US vocalist N'Dambi, the remix of "Right On Baby Yeah" by Hoops Havona (alias Ceri Evans, former Brand New Heavies keyboardist) and German act Beanfield's rework of "Black Choice".

CD 1: Electric Vibes (DJ Spinna Remix) Feat Roy Ayers / Electric Vibes (Harry Coade’s Dancefloor Mix) / Electric Vibes (DJ Spinna Dub) (feat Roy Ayers) / The Flow (Agent K Vocal Mix) (feat Flora Purim) / The Flow (Agent K Instrumental) (feat Flora Purim) / The Flow (Mr Gone’s Samba De Sueco Remix) (feat Flora Purim) / Right On Baby Yeah (Aim Mix) / Right On Baby Yeah (Hoops HavonaMix)

CD 2: Funkin Around (Speedometer Rework) / Angel Baby (Dax-I-Kue Vox Remix) (feat N’Dambi) / Angel Baby (Dax-I-Kue Dub Vox Remix) (feat N’Dambi) / Wildfire Woman (Afro Elements Jazzin Bossa Remix) (feat Jeremy Steig) / Black Choice (Beanfield Rework) / Watch Me Fly (Earth Sold Remix) (feat Imanni) / Brooklyn Heights (Kaidi Tatham Reinterpretation)

Label Review.

2019 album. Electrifying Japanese pianist/composer.

Our Overview.

Electrifying Japanese pianist/composer Hiromi reflects on a decade of musical growth and evolution on her dazzling second solo piano album. ‘Spectrum’, presents the vibrant panorama of colours in Hiromi’s music. “I see colours when I play music, and I find it interesting that limitless colours emerge from simple black and white keys," Hiromi says of the album. "The concept of this album is ‘colour’ and the idea of the title track ‘Spectrum’ is the following: various colours connect and expand, just like the musical notes.”

When she recorded her solo piano debut, ‘Place to Be’, in 2009, Hiromi was on the eve of her 30th birthday. She realised that the album would offer a snapshot of the chapter just ending, the ways in which her experiences and personal growth had shaped her sound over the course of her 20s. She decided then that she would revisit the solo format at least once a decade, building a sonic portrait of her evolution and artistry.

’Spectrum’ celebrates the maturity and depth that have enriched Hiromi’s composing and playing over the course of her 30s, years in which she’s crisscrossed the globe thrilling audiences and embarked on collaborations with some of jazz’s most inventive artists, including Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Michel Camilo, Anthony Jackson, Simon Phillips, Steve Smith, Akiko Yano and Edmar Castañeda.

As a whole, ‘Spectrum’ is a vibrant tour of the rainbow panorama of Hiromi’s sound; in contrast with ‘Place to Be’ it’s an enthralling encapsulation of her musical maturity. “I feel I’m a little closer to the piano,” Hiromi concludes. “All the pianists that I really respect not only love but are loved by the piano, and that’s the relationship that I would love to build through my life.”

Label Review.

2019 album. Rock.

Our Overview.

Boston rockers Kal Marks see life as an adventure It’s an admirable view, particularly for a band that called their first record ‘Life Is Murder’’ and now the Boston noise trio’s latest ‘Let The Shit House Burn Down’ adds to their discography of all out apocalyptic noise rock.

Kai Marks are probably what Pixies would have sounded like in their heyday, had they missed their shot at commercial success and instead slogged through the anxieties and poverty of reducing their passion to a mere moonlighting gig. Infused with a little more than a passing interest in pivoting to metal, the Boston trio have been honing their craft over the course of a decade, with last year’s highly acclaimed ‘Universal Care’.

They’ve spent the past six years playing throughout the country, decimating one audience at a time, and were recently dubbed as ‘loudest band in Boston’ by NPR. ‘Let The Shit House Burn Down’ builds upon their expert ability to tuck beautiful moments within the massive cacophonous hammering they’ve become known for. The latest effort doesn’t only get by on sheer intensity but instead shows a clearer, more focused side to the band. Kal Marks has never sounded so confident.

Formed as a solo project over a decade ago, the band has been evolving ever since, weathering the darkness with a sense of humour and one of Boston’s most explosive live shows. Having released three critically praised albums, Life Is Murder (2013), Life Is Alright, Everybody Dies (2015), and Universal Care (2018) which saw them take a brilliant step forward, darting between their most accessible and chaotic moments with natural grace and fury.

Label Review.

2019 album. Country.

Our Overview.

More than 40 years after first penning the award-winning bluegrass classic, “Steel Rails,” songwriter Louisa Branscomb is releasing a new interpretation of the song. Co-produced by Branscomb and fellow Compass award-winner Missy Raines, the song will appear on Branscomb’s twelfth album, ‘Gonna Love Anyway’.

The collection features a phenomenal group of singers and instrumentalists all performing their versions of Branscomb’s songs, including Tina Adair, Dale Ann Bradley, Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Stuart Duncan, Jenni Lyn Gardner, Steve Gulley, Sierra Hull, Kimber Ludiker, Bryan McDowell, Missy Raines, Molly Tuttle, Jeanette Williams, and Celia Woodsmith, as well as Branscomb herself.

Co-producer Missy Raines explains, “We took a designer approach to thinking of who we felt best matched each song.” Thus listeners find singer Dave Peterson powering out a Monroe-style bluegrass traditional (“Blue Moon Blues”), veteran Claire Lynch on the plaintive, elegant “Freight Train for a Song,” and new sensation Molly Tuttle on the poignant gem of the album, “Gonna Love Anyway.”

With the new recording of “Steel Rails” being released just ahead of the 30th anniversary of Alison Krauss’s chart-topping version, Branscomb brings it all home again with this contemporary version of the timeless hit that has inspired many of the singers and players that are making a name for themselves today.

Label Review. 

An 18-disc set (5xCDs, 6xBlu-Rays, 5xDVDs, 2x7 plus exclusive photo book and memorabilia) covering the material created by David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright from 1987 onwards. 5CDs, contained in their own 60 page, hardback book, containing a guide to all content, tracklistings, exhaustive content detail and credits. CD1: 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' Remixed & Updated. CD2&3 'Delicate Sound Of Thunder Remixed. CD4: Live Recordings 1987 & 1994 Unreleased Studio Recordings. CD5: Knebworth Concert 1990. 6 x Blu-rays, each contained in a gatefold wallet with dedicated cover art, including tracklistings and music publishing credits. Discs contained in protective plastic sleeves inside wallet. BR1: Surround & Hi-res Audio Mixes. BR2: 'Delicate Sound Of Thunder' Restored & Remixed. BR3: 'Pulse' Restored & Re-edited. BR4: Venice Concert 1989 & Knebworth Concert 1990. BR5: Unreleased Live Films Music Videos & Concert Screen Films. BR6: Documentaries & Unreleased Material. 5 x DVDs (duplicating the content of Blu-rays 2-6 above), each contained in a gatefold wallet with dedicated cover art, including tracklistings and music publishing credits.

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.

The bands first album post-Waters was ‘A Momentary Lapse Of Reason’ (1987) which receives a makeover in this set. The original album saw Mason leaving some of the drums to seasoned session players Jim Keltner and Carmine Appice whilst Wright who was still out of the group at the start of the project was drafted in late in the day to contribute and subsequently his presence wasn’t really felt on the album. This has been rectified with the albums new sonic look - Mason has recorded new drum tracks whilst Wright’s overdubs have been pulled into the mix to create an album which has more input from the primary members of the group.

The tour which accompanied this comeback album commenced in September 1987 and ran around the world until the following Summer. The live album ‘Delicate Sound Of Thunder’ (1988) covered this tour and it has not only been remixed for this set but 6 bonus tracks have been added. Three tracks recorded in Atlanta in 1987 which appeared as b-sides are also included on Disc 4. The film to accompany the album is finally issued on DVD/Blu-ray for the first time and it has been restored and remixed for this release. Additional films of their Venice 1989 and Knebworth 1990 shows are also included. The audio for the full Knebworth show also appears for the first time.

The band reformed in 1993 to prepare a new album ‘The Division Bell’ (1994) and several outtakes from the sessions are in the box. The live film Pulse (1995) has been re-edited for this release with a restored picture. The other main event is the bands final album ‘The Endless River’ (2014) which is accompanied by a film by the bands original animator Ian Emes. There is much more besides in this overflowing box of delights!

Label Review.

James Brown, Desmond Dekker, Little Eva, Mel Torme , Booker T & The M.G.'s, Chris Farlowe and more.

Our Overview.

Club Soul ‘Go Mod!’ is a wonderful collection of remastered timeless tracks and iconic artists exclusively on vinyl from Charly Records. Celebrate the decade that defined the sound of mod with an exclusive all-star line-up feat. James Brown, Desmond Dekker, Little Eva, Mel Torme , Booker T & The M.G.’S, Chris Farlowe and more. “You had to have good shoes and dance like a madman” Pete Townsend

The MOD lifestyle enjoyed its heyday in Britain in the early 1960’s when short haircuts, button-down collars, motor scooters, pep pills and good music all combined to keep the aspiring followers of fashion one step ahead of the crowd. And the good music that the MOD’s danced to - featured here - was an infectious cocktail of American Rhythm & Blues, Jamaican Ska and the very best that the British combos had to offer. The original Mod cult faded away as quickly as it arrived, but it would reinvent itself in the late Seventies as Mod Revival and Two-Tone and today it is as relevant as ever before... Go Mod!

This new 180gm heavyweight audiophile vinyl Go Mod! compilation features 32 authentic Mod anthems remastered from analogue tape and original vinyl, stunning artwork featuring original Mod memorabilia and is packaging in a lavish gatefold sleeve.

‘Go Mod!’ joins a growing catalogue of premium music on Charly Records imprint Club Soul - including the 16-track crossover and modern soul LP ‘Shades of Soul’ and newly compiled records that celebrate the clubs of the original Northern Soul Scene - ‘The Scene Club’, ‘The Twisted Wheel’, ‘Wigan Casino Soul Club’, ‘The Catacombs’ and ‘The Golden Torch’.

LP 1: Ray Charles “Hit The Road Jack” / James Brown & The Famous Flames “Night Train” / The Rinkydinks “Hot Potato - Part 1” / Titus Turner “Soulville” / Little Eva “The Loco-motion” / The Isley Brothers “Twist And Shout” / Wilbert Harrison “Let’s Stick Together” / Richard Berry & The Pharaoahs “Louie, Louie” / Ike & Tine Turner “A Fool In Love” / Mel Torme “Comin’ Home Baby” / Chris Kenner “Land Of 1000 Dances” / Derrick Morgan “Forward March” / Booker T & The MG’s “Green Onions” / John Lee Hooker “Dimples” / Slim Harpo “I Got Love If You Want” / Gene Chandler “Duke Of Earl”

LP 2: The C.O.D.’s “Michael” / Alvin Cash & The Crawlers “Twine Time” / The Ad Libs “The Boy From New York City” / Alvin Robinson “Searchin’“ / The Crystals “He’s A Rebel” / Desmond Dekker & The Aces “007 (Shanty Town)” / The Folkes Brothers “Oh Carolina” / Derrick & Patsy “Housewife’s Choice” / Robert Parker “Barefootin’“ / The Peels “Time Marches On” / Lee Dorsey “Ride Your Pony” / Little Hank “Mister Bang Bang Man (2018 Remaster)” / Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds “Buzz With The Fuzz” / The Mar-kays “Last Night” / The Dixie Cups “Iko, Iko” / Dr Horse “Jack, That Cat Was Clean”

Label Review.

2019 album. Folk roots. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Show of Hands fans can rejoice as the duo Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, two undisputed and most prized kings of the folk, roots and acoustic scene reunite with long-term collaborator Miranda Sykes for a brand-new album - and their first release in 3 years - ‘Battlefield Dance Floor’ and tour for 2019. Bass and vocal queen Sykes was much-missed during her recent sabbatical, and excitement is building around her return to the fold. And there’s more, because the trio is expanding to include master percussionist Cormac Byrne who returns with his blistering additions by popular demand. There’s no doubt that Show of Hands the four-piece, now something of a supergroup, and their combined musicianship is guaranteed to sound nothing short of magical.

‘Battlefield Dance Floor’ is the bands 18th studio album and the 13-track album brings eight keenly awaited new songs (and a co-write) from the pen of Steve Knightley , widely acknowledged as one of the country’s most inspired and original songwriters.

Possibly their most commercial release to date, ‘Battlefield Dance Floor’ is an exuberant, lush, full-blooded album co-produced by the in-demand Mark Tucker and Knightley - Show of Hands’ first release since 2016’s ‘The Long Way Home’.

A classy cornucopia, it’s an album that successfully melds vintage Show of Hands and brand new material, infusing influences old and new and this time - as a four strong band - with even greater depth and panache. Says Steve: ”With the heartbeat and harmonies that Cormac and Miranda add, we are at last creating a sound we’ve dreamed of making for twenty five years!”

Show of Hands was formed by Steve Knightley, acclaimed as one of Britain’s greatest songwriters and Phil Beer, widely celebrated for his dazzling multi-instrumental virtuosity, after a chance meeting in 1986. Their songs whilst firmly rooted in folk tradition have timeless relevance. Nuanced, thoughtful and often witty, they can nail social issues whilst delivering beautiful harmonies and rousing sing-along choruses. Their track “Arrogance Ignorance and Greed”, voicing public outrage with the banking crisis lobbed them into the mainstream media including a feature on The Andrew Marr Show. Knightley had previously been labelled “The gravel voiced spokesman of the rural poor” for their album ‘Country Life’. Performing as a duo and since 2004 as a trio with Miranda Sykes, (double bass/vocals) they’ve sold-out London’s Royal Albert Hall five times, (unprecedented for a folk act) and draw audiences across the world.

Absorbing influences from their international tours and from collaborations with fellow musicians, their music is shot through by American, Latin, Celtic, Indian and Asian influences. Given its deep local roots they call it ‘world music from the West Country.’

Label Review.

1966 debut album in mono and stereo mixes.

Our Overview.

13th Floor Elevators ‘The Psychedelic Sounds Of…’ this edition is presented in brilliant jewel case packaging with a detailed 16-page booklet written by band expert Paul Drummond. Featuring : Remastered Audio From 2008/09, the Original Mono Mix, the 1966 Stereo Mix In The Band’s Intended Running Order and 5 Alternate ‘Cold Desk’ Mixes from Bob Sullivan.

“The fearless trailblazers of psychedelia and one of the most kick-ass rock bands ever... For two or so years they burned with a flame so fierce that 40 years on they still remain an inspiration” - MOJO

‘The Psychedelic Sounds of...’, the Elevators’ ground-breaking debut from 1966 lays claim to be the first psychedelic rock album and is certainly the first to use the word ‘psychedelic’. Known for founder Tommy Hall’s use of the electric jug and Roky Erickson’s emotive singing of Hall’s poetic lyrics, the band influenced music as we know it, including material from legends such as the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. As well as influencing a genre, the Elevators developed a culture based on mind-expansion through experimentation with psychoactive drugs in a US state that had particularly harsh laws on their recreational use, effectively making the band members psychedelic outlaws.

Following a 49-year hiatus, the cult psych band returned in 2015 for a performance at the annual psychedelic festival in their home city of Austin, Texas, which changed its name in commemoration: from Austin Psych Fest to Levitation, a song from their second album ‘Easter Everywhere’. The event was recorded and will be released in 2019 by Charly Records in conjunction with International Artists.

This mid-price 2CD edition of ‘The Psychedelic Sounds of...’ is the ultimate deluxe edition of the album. Disc 1 is the original mono audio remastered in 2008 from the original vinyl. Disc 2 is the 1966 stereo audio remastered from the original 2-track master in 2009 by Paul Drummond and Andrew Thompson at Sound Performance and features the tracks in the band’s intended running order. Also included on the second disc are 5 ‘cold desk’ mixes made by Bob Sullivan during the band’s recording session, which provides a rare glimpse of the raw recordings before the band added echo and reverb.

CD 1: You’re Gonna Miss Me / Roller Coaster / Splash 1 / Reveberation / Don’t Fall Down / Fire Engine / Thru The Rhythm / You Don’t Know / Kingdom Of Heaven / Monkey Island / Tried To Hide

CD 2: You Don’t Know ( How Young You Are ) (Mono Version) / Thru The Rhythm (Mono Version) / Monkey Island (Mono Version) / Roller Coaster (Stereo Version) / Fire Engine (Mono Version) / Reveberation (Mono Version) / Tried To Hide (Stereo Version) / You’re Gonna Miss Me (Stereo Version) / Splash 1 (Mono Version) / Don’t Fall Down (Mono Version) / Kingdom Of Heaven (Mono Version) / Fire Engine (Original Stereo Version) / Monkey Island (Original Stereo Version) / Roller Coaster (Original Stereo Version) / Thru The Rhythm (Original Stereo Version) / Tried To Hide (Original Stereo Version).

Label Review. 

40 track singles compilation - the first one to include their more recent tracks since reforming. CD3: 22 unreleased tracks 1980-1990. CD4: Live at the Mermaid Theatre, London (03/02/2011). CD5: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon (10/05/1983). DVD1: 23 BBC TV Performances. DVD2: Live at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (04/12/1981) / Live at Sheffield City Hall (14/06/1985) / Crush - The Movie. Housed in a 10 inch box set, together with a hardback book, a poster and a series of 10 inch prints. Also available on 2CD, and 3LP. 

Our Overview. 

In a career stretching over 40 years, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark are being blessed with a new all encompassing compilation which is the first to include material from since they reformed in 2006. Formed in the 1970s by school friends Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys in The Wirral, UK, they shared a distaste for “macho” guitar rock and inspired by groups like Kraftwerk who only operated synthesizers and electronics forged ahead with their synthpop vision and by the late 70s they were counted among a slew of like minded young groups who also had put guitars to one side.

They signed with Virgin Records and immediately starting clocking up hits in their native UK which are all included here: “Enola Gay”, “Souvenir”, “Joan Of Arc”, and “Maid Of Orleans” all went Top 10 with success arriving in Australia and throughout Europe too. By the mid-80s the group moved towards more straight forward pop arrangements and production and although the first album in this new direction continued their early success with hits like “Locomotion” and “Talking Loud And Clear”, subsequent albums saw their star fade in Europe but ironically they were getting more popular in the US with these records.

Their first best of released in 1988 was a huge seller and they seemed primed for a breakthrough in the world’s biggest music market. However, the band splinted leaving Andy as the only member of the group. He got some new members and returned in 1991 with the album ‘Sugar Tax’ and the hit singles “Sailing On The Seven Seas” and “Pandora’s Box”. Diminishing returns with their next two albums led to Andy bring OMD to a halt in 1996 and moved into management and production finding big success with the pop group Atomic Kitten.

In 2006 most of the classic line up got back together to firstly tour and then start writing and recording new material. In the 2010s they issued three brand new albums and the singles from these records are included in this latest package. A fantastic deluxe edition has plenty of unreleased material for the diehard fan whilst if you have a passing interest in OMD or 1980s pop music in general you will definitely not go wrong adding this set to your collection!

Label Review.

2019 album. Americana.

Our Overview.

The Orphan Brigade - a community of artists and musicians based in Nashville - was founded by Ben Glover, Neilson Hubbard and Joshua Britt originally for what they assumed was a one off project for their first album ’Soundtrack To A Ghost Story’ but after touring Italy in 2016 this side project evolved into a solid band. And now The Orphan Brigade are releasing ‘To The Edge Of The World’ their third studio album.

The raw, windswept beauty of the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland has inspired adventurers and artists, alike, for centuries. Because the land, itself, is wild and rugged, the telling of its tales must harness that same power, so it’s no wonder that the Orphan Brigade’s ‘To the Edge of the World’ echoes and pulses with the freedom and daring, howls and hope that so many have felt where the lushly pastoral land meets the rocky, unforgiving sea.

Having tapped into the gothic madness of a haunted house in southern Kentucky and the mystical heart of the Templar caves underneath Osimo, Italy, the Orphan Brigade’s Joshua Britt, Ben Glover, and Neilson Hubbard returned to Glover’s Irish homeland for their latest collaborative exploration of the spirit and history, fact and fiction that make up a place.

In keeping with their previous album exploits, the trio grabbed their gear and spent a week writing the songs on various coastal locations, cliff edges, castle ruins and even at sea aboard a fishing boat.

What they wrote in the wild, they recorded in St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland in Glenarm, a site of worship since a Franciscan friary was established there in 1465. With a handful of masterful Irish musicians joining the ever evolving creative fray, the Orphan Brigade have returned with a doggedly untamed, yet deeply compassionate testament to County Antrim in 'To the Edge of the World.'

The album features a special guest appearance by John Prine on ‘Captain’s Song (Sorley Boy)’. Neilson Hubbard got his start as a singer/songwriter in the mid --’90s, releasing six solo albums. However, it’s his more than two decades as a producer that have not only put Hubbard on the musical map, but also landed him a 2019 Grammy nomination thanks to his work on Mary Gauthier’s Rifles and Rosary Beads.

Moving to Nashville in 2009 allowed Ben Glover to not only become steeped in the American roots music and culture he’d studied as a kid, but to also become part of the town’s deeply creative community, which lead to co writing with artists such as Kim Richey, Mary Gauthier, and Gretchen Peters. His collaborative work with Peters along with his most recent solo release, Shorebound have earned him top song and album awards, respectively, from the Americana Music Association UK.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Jazz. Also available on CD.

Our Overview.

Jazz Flutist Malik Mezzadri aka Magic Malik was born 1969 and grew up in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe - where he started recorder (fipple flute) and transverse flute at the age of 6 - Malik is best known for his work on 2007s ‘’This Is My Body’ 2008s ’Paris’ and ‘What Happened’. What differentiates Malik from others, besides his unique know how, is his exuberant stage game and the fact that he uses various shouts and hummings flute called growl. Therefore he can be considered as an indirect heir of Roland Kirk.

And now he is setting his sights to Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk… For the first time in a busy and eclectic career that has taken him from M-Base to Afrobeat, the unclassifiable flutist is now concentrating on the modern jazz repertoire and following in the footsteps of the giants he admires. At the head of a Jazz Association that includes the brilliant trumpet player Olivier Laisney (Slugged, Oxyd, Gil Evans Paris Workshop…) and the dynamo pianist Maxime Sanchez (a recent finalist of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition), Magic Malik reworks in his own style the music that has long inspired him, without nostalgia or duplication, and with the memory of Eric Dolphy and Booker Little in the back of his mind.

Label Review.

2019 album. Rap/Hip hop. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

It has been quite a few busy years for the hip hop/rap trio Jungle Brown since their debut album ‘Flight 314’ and now the groups highly anticipated second full-length LP from Jungle Brown, ‘Full Circle’, drops on Mr Bongo and features collaborations with Sampa The Great, Fliptrix (High Focus) and Terri Walker amongst other super-talents and sees the guys going from strength to strength.

Bridging the sounds of grime, boom-bap and soul, Jungle Brown are a collective consisting of Maear, Ric Flo and Tony Bones. Despite not having major label backing, Jungle Brown has spent the last few years carving a considerable name for themselves through steady grinding. They have appeared at Glastonbury and Boomtown and shared the stage with De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane and Ghostface Killah.

The trio have spent the last two years redefining soulful hip-hop - the sound is bigger, more thought-provoking, and it has matured with a rich soulful underpinning. They have also entered territories fans are yet to hear as they glide effortlessly over Tony Bones’ productions that introduce trap and house into their repertoire. The project is an eclectic array of their influences, twisted and blended together to create a ground-breaking release for UK music.

Jungle Brown’s debut album ‘Flight 314’ has achieved more than a million streams without any budget for marketing or promotion. They spent much of 2016 in Apple Music’s ‘Best of 2016 category, featuring on Spotify and SB.TV, were requested to curate an exclusive playlist for Tidal and attracted attention from New York with Beats 1’s very own, Ebro.

They’ve shared the stage with the likes of De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, Lowkey, Akala and Donaeo, played major festivals including Glastonbury, Boomtown and Lovebox as well as a huge number of clubs shows across the UK.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

‘Return To Us is the new album by The Lilac Time, the country folk band fronted by Stephen Duffy. The collection is their tenth so far and Stephen’s twentieth long-player in a career that has spanned four decades. Coming off the back of five-star rave reviews for the reissue of Stephen’s album ‘I Love My Friends’, ‘Return To Us’ was recorded by the three-piece of Nick Duffy, Claire Duffy and Stephen who have been the core of The Lilac Time since 1999.

The nine-track album was recorded in Stephen and Claire’s home and covers topics as diverse as The D-Day Landings (“March To The Docks”), auditory processing disorder and the difficulties in recognising and interpreting sounds (“King Kopetsky”), Italian Neorealism (“A River That Runs Both Ways”), life before the Internet (“The Simple Things”), not getting dragged back to a fictitious golden age (“Return To Us”), a Christmas song of sorts (“The Needles”) and needing ‘reassurance because the world went stupid’ (“(I’m) A Believer”).

Stephen Duffy: “This our first release on a major label since 1990. After a calamitous time with RCA around the recently reissued ‘I Love My Friends’ album I never considered it an option. But then after our last performance at Port Eliot in 2017, we were approached by BMG’s senior scout who suggested we send our new record to them after some time we did and here it is”.

Label Review.

2019 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Striking a balance between eloquent songcraft, sparse instrumentation, and the voices of the woods, wind, sea, and flames, the Tunisia-born and New York-based singer heralds revolution by trumpeting creative experimentation and now singer Emel Mathlouthi releases her new album ‘Everywhere We Looked Was Burning’ via Partisan Records.

“I had a clear vision for this,” she exclaims. “I wanted an army of furious nature sounds. There’s a menacing apocalypse on the horizon, nature is taking vengeance on the ones who destroyed it. It’s the goddess Kali that comes to burn everything to the ground. Deconstruction is a major theme, yet there’s hope, rebuilding, and resurrection. I went deep inside myself to find true spirituality after getting lost in the atrocities we see all over the world and the superficiality we see on our social media feeds.”

Emel quietly attained the confidence to do so throughout her lifelong musical journey. As the story goes, she offset an oppressive upbringing in the North African country of Tunisia by turning to music. Inspired by everything from Joan Baez, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, and Bob Dylan to Sinéad O’Connor, The Cranberries, and Alanis Morissette, she went from performing in a high school heavy metal band to composing protest songs that spurned a fervent social media following for her artful amalgam of heartfelt melodies and off-kilter electronic production.

Among those, “Kelmti Horra (My Word is Free)” generated millions of views throughout the 2011 Tunisian Revolution. Not to mention, the song served as the anthem for the Arab Spring, gave its name to her debut album Kelmti Horra, and took her to the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Concert where she performed it to thunderous applause. 2017’s Ensen illuminated her creative strides as produced with Valgeir Sigurðsson (Sigur Ros) and Johannes Berglund (The Knife, Shout Out Louds, Ane Brun). Along the way, Pitchfork declared, “The world needs Emel Mathlouthi’s anthems against the dictatorship machine,” and NPR christened her, “The 21st century’s catalyst for change.” As early as 2017, she started to envision what would become 'Everywhere We Looked Was Burning'.

For the first time, Emel chose to sing the majority of an album in English after only recording a handful of tracks prior in the language. The choice would be informed by settling in New York with her family, discovering the “essential imagery” of poets Rainer Maria Rilke, T.S. Elliot, and John Ashbury, and “thinking back to how music in English was so important growing up.” She initially rented a house in Woodstock, NY and set off to “write about nature as well as the beauty and struggle of these times.”

In the end, Emel realizes her own power for change. “When you listen to this, I hope you feel strong and hopeful, but I want you to be conscious of it and the universal stakes,” she leaves off. “We’re going through some bad times. However, we’re all here. Let’s fight together. See the darkness. Then, make it brighter by connecting back to nature and truth within.”“The Tunisian protest singer wields her commanding, gothic voice over grave beats and starkly forbidding strings, creating an atmosphere of suspense and peril” - The Guardian

Headline European tour (October to November), including a headline show at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen in London.

Label Review.

'Welcome To The Vault' is a blinding collection of 52 audio tracks and 22 performances on DVD. With 38 previously unreleased recordings, including 5 compositions that have never been heard before, and featuring alternate versions of classic songs, live performances and more. 70 page hard bound book of Steve's personal photos with a 7,000 word essay by David Fricke. DVD contains 22 performances including rare footage from the Monterey Pop Festival 1967, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert 1973, ABC In Concert 1974, Pine Knob Michigan-1982, Steve and Les Paul at Fat Tuesdays-1990 and Austin City Limits 2011. 10 Guitar picks with Steve's Pegasus logo.

Also available ‘Selections From The Vault’ on CD and Clear Vinyl.

Our Overview.

The exceptional Steve Miller has been one of rock and roll’s constants and now is opening up his voluminous archive of recordings for the first time ever. Steve has been a influential presence on the American music scene more than half a century. To begin with, he was a mainstay of the San Francisco music scene that upended American culture in the late '60s. With albums like ‘Children of the Future’, ‘Sailor’ and ‘Brave New World’, Miller perfected a psychedelic blues sound that drew on the deepest sources of American roots music and simultaneously articulated a compelling vision of what music - and, indeed, society - could be in the years to come.

Then, in the '70s, Miller crafted a brand of pure pop that was smart, polished, exciting and irresistible - and that dominated radio in a way that few artists have ever managed. Hit followed hit in what seemed like an endless flow: “The Joker,” "Take the Money and Run," "Rock'n Me," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Jet Airliner" and "Jungle Love," among them. To this day, those songs are instantly recognisable when they stream on the radio - and impossible not to sing along with. Their hooks are the very definition of indelible.

Running through Miller’s distinctive catalog is a combination of virtuosity and song craft. And that’s no accident. His parents were jazz aficionados, not to mention close friends of Les Paul and Mary Ford, so, as a budding guitarist, Miller absorbed valuable lessons from that musical tradition. When the family moved to Texas, Miller deepened his education in the blues with family friend T-Bone Walker. Miller then moved to Chicago, where he played with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, James Cotton and Paul Butterfield. That range of sources informs his music to this day.

In recent years, Miller has fully immersed himself in the blues and its many byways. As he has always done, he continues to find creative outlets for the full panoply of his musical passions.

In the course of his long, full career, Miller has sold tens of millions of records and his music has been streamed well over 2 billion times. With each listen the beauty and immediacy of his work, whether at its most playful or most serious, is palpable. As always, whether he was riding the top of the charts or traveling the endless blue highways of American music, you can hear him playing and singing with conviction and precision, passion and eloquence, making music that is at once immediately accessible, thrillingly alive in the present, and more than able to stand the test of time.

Also available is 'Selections From The Vault’ an album which spotlights key tracks from the deluxe 3 CD + DVD box set, ‘Welcome To The Vault’. Issued as both a 13 track CD, and 8 track clear vinyl LP, both featuring previously unreleased material direct from Steve’s archives,

Label Review. 

2019 album also available on CD and Vinyl.

Our Overview. 

Penguin Cafe was founded by Arthur Jeffes in 2009, after bringing together a talented and disparate group of musicians including members of Suede and Gorillaz, to perform his father Simon Jeffes’ legacy of world-renowned Penguin Cafe Orchestra music, ten years after his untimely death in 1997. 2019 sees Erased Tapes present ‘Handfuls of Night’ - the highly anticipated follow-up to British avant-pop band Penguin Cafe’s much applauded 2017 album ‘The Imperfect Sea’ - inspired by the Antarctic, Arthur Jeffes’ journey following in Scott’s footsteps and our penguin friends that reside there. 

Using gut-stringed violins, viola, cello, bass, percussion, upright and grand pianos, synthesiser, harmonium and more, Arthur Jeffes and his cohorts have crafted a vivid series of panoramic sonic landscapes, that are as rich in cerebral poignancy as they are in emotional depth. Bookended by the atmospheric ambient piano pieces ‘Winter Sun’ and ‘Midnight Sun’, the album traverses glacial minimalism with ease, combining their signature contemporary classical panoramas, such as the melancholic yet upbeat lead track ‘At the Top of the Hill, They Stood...’ and the colossal cinematic piece ‘Chapter’, with the crystalline folktronica on ‘Pythagorus on the Line Again’ — a re-visiting and continuation of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s 1993 Union Cafe song on the principles of harmonics.

‘Handfuls of Night’ began life after Greenpeace commissioned Jeffes to write four pieces of music corresponding to four breeds of penguins, to help raise awareness for the endangered Antarctic seas. A fundraising evening at EartH in Hackney followed, where Penguin Cafe premiered the four songs named after their feathered counterparts to a sold out audience; the rousing contemporary folk inflected “Chinstrap“, the mournful and minimalistic “Adelie“, stoic and rhythmic “The Life of an Emperor“ and the wistful, string-laden “Gentoo Origin“. 

“This record started with a core of pieces I wrote specifically about penguins in the Antarctic for a project with Greenpeace in autumn 2018. There are four native Antarctic penguin species – each with their own individual characteristics and natures. I carried on from there to envisage a whole anthropomorphised world, where these penguins had narratives and adventures that we soundtracked”, says Jeffes. But both the album and Penguin Cafe as a project have origins that reach further back. 

“In 2005 I was asked to join an expedition re-creating Scott’s last Antarctic trip in 1911 for the BBC, using the same Edwardian equipment. I’m no explorer but I was keen, especially as there’s a family link – Scott was married to my great grandmother before she married my great grandfather. Antarctica by this stage being a protected environment, we swapped to the Arctic circle where we spent 3 months on the Greenland ice sheet, first dog-sledding and then man-hauling just short of 1000 km at 10,000 feet, across ice fields and glaciers. I had lots of time to ponder my life back home. It was then that I decided to get my Master of Music degree and focus on composing music, and also then that I realised that even in the most remote silent places, music can still be a huge part of one’s internal world and imagination. Whilst on the expedition. I spent days playing things back in my head and also writing new things, which I would then try and write down at the end of the day.”

‘Handfuls of Night’s’ tones, textures and melodies evoke otherworldly expanses, which at different junctures are either foreboding, awe inspiring or peaceful. There’s subtly morphing rhythmic repetition throughout, somewhere between minimalism, krautrock and the piano-cascades of label peer Lubomyr Melnyk. Jeffes creates a kinetic, circling motion, which drives the album forward in the form of a musical trip that mirrors the physical journey it was inspired by.

‘Handfuls of Night’ is released amid a string of Penguin Cafe UK live dates, before taking the album on a worldwide tour in 2020 with more dates to be announced.

Label Review.

2019 debut album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

‘Rachael & Vilray’ is the debut album by Lake Street Dive singer-songwriter Rachael Price and composer, singer, and guitarist Vilray. Their duo grew from their shared reverence for the pop music of the 1930s and 40s and its breadth of emotions. Playing original songs and forgotten treasures, their sound recalls both the warmth of radio's golden age and the intimacy of parlour concerts in a time before recordings. The twelve-song set features ten originals by Vilray, along with two covers from the era that inspired him: Cuban composer Pedro Junco Jr.’s 1943 ‘Nosotros’ and Milton Drake/Louis Atler’s ‘I Love the Way You’re Breaking My Heart’, first popularised by Peggy Lee.

Price and Vilray, who began performing together in 2015, recorded the album with Lake Street Dive pianist Akie Bermiss, a rhythm section, and a small complement of horns, plus a guest performance from pianist Jon Batiste on ‘Go On Shining’. The duo first met in 2003 as students at the New England Conservatory of Music. Vilray formed a couple of bands with Price’s soon-to-be bandmates in Lake Street Dive, Mike Calabrese and Mike “McDuck” Olson. Even then, Price recalls, he had a nimble mind and quick wit when it came to lyrics: “They would do random clicks on Wikipedia and when they found something interesting, they would write a song about it — say, the cold-blooded rat of Somalia. Vilray was able to take any subject and write excellent poetry about it, funny rhymes, and he would sing the songs. I thought he was so good — he could just apply himself to anything.”

But at school, says Price, “I didn’t know that Vilray and I shared a love of this particular time period of jazz. It was all I liked to listen to before I got there and everyone at school was listening to more avant garde, free stuff that I had yet to be exposed to. So I hid my love of traditional jazz music. I didn’t know then that he played it perfectly.”

It was more than a decade later that Price and Vilray began to collaborate. He had been on the road much of each year with Lake Street Dive and he had been developing his own solo act, just voice and guitar. Though Vilray had kept up with his composing after graduating from the conservatory, he had fallen out of performing and playing his guitar. But when he broke a finger at his day job he realised what had been lacking in his creative life:

“That slapped me awake and made me realise I only had so long on planet Earth with ten fingers. A friend ran into me on the street when I was in the cast and said to me, ‘You seem really bummed.’ I talked to him a little bit about not playing guitar. He said, ‘I’m going to book you for a show a month or two after you are out of the cast so start thinking about the music now. Once you are out of the cast, you can reclaim that part of your life.’ So I played a couple of shows at this series he was running at Bar Below Rye in Williamsburg, and Rachael came to one of them.”

Price remembers that night vividly: “It was a very moving show. There was dead silence while Vilray was playing. It really tugged at my heart because I missed singing this style of music. I had never really even performed it, even though I was a jazz singer. My repertoire was from a bit later. But I was obsessed with the big band singers of the thirties and forties. I asked Vilray if he would let me do that gig with him, and then he gave me one of his songs to learn. No one knew it wasn’t a standard. That got the ball rolling for him on the writing. He started sending me songs constantly. We quickly went from peppering in his songs with obscure ones from the thirties and forties to all Vilray songs.”

Label Review.

1972 album. Light In The Attic. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

American singer songwriter may not be a name you have heard of before, he was always just on the edge of success. Sullivan released his debut album, ‘U.F.O.’ in 1969 and played to devoted crowds at a regular gig in Malibu, California, in the early '70s. Despite hanging out with movie stars, fame eluded him. In 1975, he left Los Angeles, and his wife and son, to head to Nashville; he thought he could catch a break there. But Sullivan never made it to Tennessee - somewhere in the New Mexico desert, he disappeared, never to be seen again. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost. Some think the mafia bumped him. Some even think he was abducted by aliens.

‘U.F.O’ was originally released in tiny numbers on a private label, it too was truly lost until 2010 Light In The Attic Records began a years-long quest to solve the mystery of Sullivan’s disappearance and to re-release the album and introduce the world to an overlooked masterwork - which won Jim posthumously (presumably) legions of new fans. Only one of those things happened, and you can guess which…

Forward to 2019 and Light In The Attic Records are releasing a lavish reissue of Jim’s 1972 sophomore album ‘Jim Sullivan’ plus for the first time a release of previously unheard 1969 studio session ‘If The Evening Were Dawn’.

The self-titled LP was originally released on Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner’s short-lived Playboy imprint. Horns sweeten this funky and bombastic session driven by Jim’s unmistakably larger-than-life voice and exceptional song-writing chops, alongside a cast of legendary session musicians including Jim Hughart.This is another LP you’ll rarely see in the wild, it is by no means the poor relation of ‘U.F.O.’, but rather a big stride into country, folk rock, and swampy blues, mesmerically finger-picked, brass-bedecked, and with that uniqueness of phrasing–part crooner, part jazz singer–that makes Sullivan such a rare performer.Each song could have been a bonafide radio hit, but with spotty promotion and negative connotations surrounding the Playboy name, the self-titled album suffered a fate known all too well and fizzled out. While Sullivan’s disappearance remains unsolved, his music endures and is finally gaining him the recognition he deserves, albeit long overdue.

Label Review. 

Wally (1974) and Valley Gardens (1975) remastered.

Our Overview. 

Wally were a band from Harrogate, UK and formed in 1971 initially featuring Roy Webber (guitar, lead vocals), Paul Middleton (steel guitar, bass), Pete Sage (violin, bass, mandolin), Paul Gerrett (keyboards), Pete Cosker (bass, guitars, vocals) and Roger Narraway (drums). The band’s sound was unique for the era, being a fusion of progressive and US West Coast rock influences, which combined to give Wally an identity that made them stand out from their contemporaries. A support spot for Cockney Rebel in London in 1974 brought them to the attention of Rick Wakeman who was impressed by the band’s performance. Participation in a talent contest run by the magazine Melody Maker soon after led to them meeting legendary radio and TV music presenter Bob Harris and a recording contract with Atlantic Records soon followed.

The band’s debut album, ‘Wally’, issued in 1974, was produced by Rick Wakeman and Bob Harris and featured excellent material, including the epic “To the Urban Man”. Its release led to the band developing a loyal following on the live circuit assisted by extensive touring in Europe and the USA. Prior to the recording of Wally’s next album keyboard player Paul Gerrett departed and he was replaced by Nick Glennie-Smith. This change in line-up saw the band move further in a progressive direction for the album ‘Valley Gardens’, issued in 1975. The album was dominated by the excellent side-long piece “The Reason Why” and also included the track “Nez Perc’e” which was issued as a single and gained some considerable airplay.

With changing musical fashions Wally disbanded in 1976 (although they would reform in 2009). This anthology is newly re-mastered and gathers together all the tracks from both albums issued by Atlantic Records along with two rare B-sides of singles (“The Life You’re Living” and “Right by Me”) both appearing on CD for the first time. ‘Martyrs And Cowboys’ also includes an illustrated booklet with a new essay by Malcolm Dome featuring exclusive interviews with band members Roy Webber and Paul Middleton.

Label Review.

1969 studio session. 10 acoustic solo recordings. Light In The Attic. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

American singer songwriter may not be a name you have heard of before, he was always just on the edge of success. Sullivan released his debut album, ‘U.F.O.’ in 1969 and played to devoted crowds at a regular gig in Malibu, California, in the early '70s. Despite hanging out with movie stars, fame eluded him. In 1975, he left Los Angeles, and his wife and son, to head to Nashville; he thought he could catch a break there. But Sullivan never made it to Tennessee - somewhere in the New Mexico desert, he disappeared, never to be seen again. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost. Some think the mafia bumped him. Some even think he was abducted by aliens.

‘U.F.O’ was originally released in tiny numbers on a private label, it too was truly lost until 2010 Light In The Attic Records began a years-long quest to solve the mystery of Sullivan’s disappearance and to re-release the album and introduce the world to an overlooked masterwork - which won Jim posthumously (presumably) legions of new fans. Only one of those things happened, and you can guess which…

Forward to 2019 and Light In The Attic Records are releasing for the first time a release of previously unheard 1969 studio session ‘If The Evening Were Dawn’ plus a lavish reissue of Jim’s 1972 sophomore album ‘Jim Sullivan’.

If The Evening Were Dawn contains 10 acoustic solo recordings that have never seen the light of day. Whereas U.F.O. was bolstered by legendary sessioneers The Wrecking Crew, this is Jim Sullivan on his own terms, stripped down and soulful as ever. Recorded at a Los Angeles studio circa 1969, the session contains acoustic versions of a handful of ‘U.F.O.’ tracks alongside a half dozen previously unheard songs. This, then, is the closest thing to those fabled Malibu bar performances at which Sullivan was first noticed.

According to his widow, Barbara, this was the album Jim always hoped to record. It serves as an unprecedented glimpse into the mysterious, larger-than-life figure who’s become the stuff of legends. While Sullivan’s disappearance remains unsolved, his music endures and is finally gaining him the recognition he deserves, albeit long overdue. This recording serves as an unexpected missing piece of the puzzle; this is Jim Sullivan’s true swan song.

Label Review. 

1991 album remastered and expanded with 11 bonus tracks. Also available on 2CD.

Our Overview. 

American proto-grunge rock band Dinosaur Jr. are having an epic album reissue and a remastered campaign coming this September: The four Warner period '90s albums 'Green Mind', 'Where You Been', 'Without A Sound' and 'Hand It Over' have been lovingly remastered, expanded and reissued on coloured double vinyl and double CD editions, with related singles, b-sides and previously unreleased material.

The band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, 1983, after the break up of the hardcore band Deep Wound, of which Lou Barlow and J Mascis were members. Dinosaur Jr carved a singular path through the latter half of the 1980s, issuing three highly influential albums in the process before finding a home with Sire Records, who issued ‘Green Mind’ in 1991 as the alternative American rock scene the band had long been part of exploded globally. 

Critically lauded on release, ‘Green Mind’ remains one of the band’s strongest collections, and a firm fan favourite. Produced by a stripped down line-up of the group (in fact, J Mascis himself plays almost everything), the album and Sire’s international reach took Dinosaur Jr’s reputation to a new level, aided by the singles ‘The Wagon’ and ‘Whatever’s Cool With Me’, a non-album EP of new material and live recordings, all of which are included here alongside a previously unreleased live recording capturing the group at the Hollywood Palladium in June 1991.

Collected together with related singles, B-sides and a complete live recording, and accompanied by in-depth sleevenotes from Mojo’s Keith Cameron (based on recent and exclusive interviews with J Mascis), this 2CD edition provides a thorough snapshot of the band at a period when all eyes were on American guitar groups, many of whom owed their existence to Dinosaur Jr.

Remastered and expanded edition of the classic 4th album and major label debut. Includes related singles, B-sides, and a previously unreleased live show. Liner notes by Mojo Magazine’s Keith Cameron, based on exclusive new interviews with J Mascis. Produced in conjunction with the artist.

Label Review. 

Graham Gouldman of 10cc and Andrew Gold. Recorded and filmed in Harrogate, UK.

Our Overview. 

Wax was a collaboration between two highly respected song writers and musicians, namely American Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman. Both Gold and Gouldman had enjoyed successful careers before coming together. Andrew Gold had recorded four acclaimed albums for Asylum Records and had enjoyed hits with such classic songs as “Lonely Boy”, “Never Let Her Slip Away”, “Thank You For Being a Friend” and “Kiss This One Goodbye”. Graham Gouldman had been a successful songwriter in the 1960s and was a member of 10CC from their formation in the early 1970s, being a co-writer of many of their hit singles and acclaimed albums.

Wax issued their debut album, ‘Magnetic Heaven’, in 1986 and followed this in 1987 with the album ‘American English’ (which spawned the hit single “Bridge to Your Heart”). In November of 1987 Wax undertook a UK tour with a line-up featuring Andrew Gold, Graham Gouldman and Rick Fenn (lead guitar, vocals), Roger Jackson (keyboards) and Mike Richardson (drums). A concert in Harrogate on November 27th was captured both on audio and video tape, but has languished in the vaults until now. The set performed that evening featured Wax material, including the hit “Bridge to Your Heart”, alongside the aforementioned Andrew Gold classics and Graham Gouldman’s “Bus Stop” and “For Your Love” and the 10CC track “Dreadlock Holiday”.

Label Review. 

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

Our Overview. 

Beth Hart is as real as it gets. In a music industry full of glossy production and airbrushed photoshoots, this is one artist who throws down her cards, shares her darkest secrets and invites you to join her for the ride. With ‘War In My Mind’, this Grammy-nominated talent has never served herself up so raw on a record, one that embraces her merits and flaws, channels her bittersweet headspace and spins gold from her demons.

2018 was an exceptional year for Beth Hart. She played the biggest headline shows of her career so far, including to 12,000 screaming fans in the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, a sold-out Royal Albert Hall in London and her first solo tour in the USA, which completely sold out. Riding high on this success, she’s back with a stunning brand new studio album, ‘War In My Mind’, on which she has collaborated with Rob Cavallo (Dave Matthews Band, Phil Collins, Green Day, etc).

The sleeve shot of Beth pounding a piano below her own personal stormcloud is a fitting representation of new material that hits like a force of nature. Having followed the fascinating career of Beth Hart for a quarter-century, we’ve learned not to rule anything out - so long as it’s real. And now, with ‘War In My Mind’, this songwriter has made a record that bares her soul, wears her heart on her sleeve, and makes no apology for it.

Label Review. 

2019 live album. Deluxe edition containing the triple CD, and both the DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Nuclear Blast. Also available on  5LP, Box, 3DVD and 2BR. 

Our Overview. 

German power metal veterans Helloween are releasing ‘United Alive’ a live sound bending feast of an album featuring returning members, guitarist and founder Kai Hansen and singer Michael Kiske for the first time in nearly three decades.

During the “Hellbook” production for Helloween’s 30th anniversary, the contributors came to realise mainly one thing: The chemistry in this band has always been unique – and that what belongs together needs to be together again. However, the birth of Pumpkins United wasn’t just an original line-up reunion, but the real deal. The ultimate cast consisting of all seven metal heroes: former vocalist Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen alongside current singer Andi Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Dani Löble. What followed was a cry of joy from North Germany's river Elbe to Rio's Sugar Loaf Mountain and the "Pumpkins United" world tour, with 69 shows in front of more than one million people in 32 countries acoss three continents in fall 2017. The band's headline slots at Wacken Open Air, Rock Fest and Masters Of Rock, as well as their shows with IRON MAIDEN at the Sweden Rock Festival and Firenze Rocks, the revival was received enthusiastically, stages were set on fire, and tears were shed. After dates in the U.S. and additional shows in Latin America, this tour for the ages ended in December 2018 with a highly emotional finale in Hamburg, where it all began in 1984.

“This amazing journey was one of those ‘magic moments’ words can’t describe – it simply was what we all love most: meet great people, go back in time with our memories, and celebrate the ultimate Helloween party together,” states Andi Deris, singer. 

With the release of "United Alive" and "United Alive In Madrid", we can transport ourselves to that tour at any time, and dive into every detail with hellish tracking shots, breathless close-ups, and intimate interviews. The artwork was created by Martin Hausler once again and offers plenty of unreleased live images.

Said Kiske: "It wasn't easy to condense this unbelievable tour adequately and capture how it felt for us. That's why we had the idea to film the biggest festival gig, the most massive arena show, and the hottest club date."

The DVD/Blu-ray nails the tour with recordings from Wacken in front of 75,000 metalheads and 14,000 fans in the Madrid arena — and as a bonus, the show in the Espaço das Américas, gathering 8,000 in São Paulo. Altogether it offers over three hours of live material in stereo and premium 5.1 Surround Sound, plus backstage material, tons of surprises, and a very personal band interview about the past, present, and future. The live CD/vinyl presents a whopping two hours and 20 minutes of pure audio material from the concert in Madrid plus four bonus tracks from the shows in Prague, São Paulo, Wacken, and Santiago de Chile.

Label Review. 

1977 debut solo album remastered. Produced by and featuring Roy Wood.

Our Overview. 

Annie Haslam joined prog folk rock group Renaissance in 1971 as lead singer and has remained their lead singer ever since. Following a string of well received but poor selling albums, in 1977 Haslam tried a solo record and Roy Wood (of The Move and Wizzard fame) jumped in to produce her debut album. Not only that, he wrote some of the tunes, played on most of the record and designed the front cover!

As with Renaissance sales of this effort were limited despite the input of Wood. Allmusic called the record “whimsical, fanciful, and verging on precious”. The album also featured two compositions by Jon Camp of Renaissance and three cover versions, including a stunning rendition of the spiritual ‘Going Home’.

After this diversion, Renaissance returned the following year with the single “Northern Lights” and the album ‘Song For All Seasons’ and finally the group received a long overdue hit!

Label Review. 

Curated by Steve Hillage and released with the full involvement of original members. Flying Teapot / Angel’s Egg / You / Shamal / BBC Radio 1 Sessions And Edinburgh Live / Paris Bataclan Live, 20th May 1973 / Roanne - Club Arc En Ciel Live, 17th Aug 1973 / London - Hyde Park Live, 28th June 1974 / London - The Marquee Club Live, 9th & 10th Sept 1975 / You (Quad mix).

Our Overview. 

Under the visionary guidance of Daevid Allen, Gong raised the bar for psychedelic rock in the 1970s. The first three albums Gong recorded for the Virgin label ‘Flying Teapot’, ‘Angel’s Egg’ & ‘You’ - introduced the listener to the invisible mythological universe of Pot Head Pixies, Zero The Hero, The Octave Doctors and The Good Witch Yoni. Featuring sublime virtuoso guitar from Steve Hillage, Gong’s intoxicating, space-rock inflected compositions such as “Radio Gnome Invisible” “The Isle Of Everywhere”, “Master Builder”, “Inner Temple/Outer Temple”, “Shamal”, “Flying Teapot” and “Oily Way” are all an absolute joy to experience, re-mastered by original engineer Simon Heyworth and sounding as crisp and inventive as ever.

Released to coincide with Gong’s 50th Anniversary, the Box Set covers the band’s classic years in a stunning package that includes: their seminal first four Virgin studio albums plus bonus tracks; previously unreleased, multi-tracked full gigs, the complete John Peel Sessions from 1973 and 1974; previously unreleased quad Pye and Westlake mixes of ‘You’ re-formatted to 5.1 surround-sound, and artwork including rare and previously unseen work by the late Daevid Allen.

Notes by Gong archivist Jonny Greene of the Gong Appreciation Society and artwork including rare and previously unseen artwork by Daevid Allen. Also contains 64-page illustrated lyric booklet that includes Angel’s Egg’s famously quirky and informative ‘Blue Book’ and a new companion to Flying Teapot ‘Green Book’.

Label Review. 

1969 album. New 2019 stereo mix by Giles Martin and Sam Okell. Also available on CD, 2CD, 3CD+Blu-ray+Book, and Triple Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Just as famous as its cover photograph of the Fab Four crossing the road which gave the album its name, thus bestowing the studio where The Beatles recorded most of their output with legendary status, ‘Abbey Road’ is at the top of many fans ‘Best Beatles Album’ lists. It was the last album they started although not the last to be released and has a smoothness missing from their previous record, ‘The Beatles’ aka ‘The White Album’. The collection contains some of the band’s best loved tracks from John’s “Come Together” to Ringo Starr’s “Octopus’s Garden” and to two of George Harrison’s most popular songs: “Something” and “Here Comes To Sun”. Most of Paul McCartney’s work went into the medley on side two with four movements of “You Never Give Me Your Money” the highlight of his tracks.

The story goes that after the bad tempered and rudderless ‘Get Back’ sessions, the band approached their famed producer George Martin to request his guidance in making a new ‘proper’ album with no mucking around. Commencing work on 22nd February with John Lennon’s moody latin flavoured rocker “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” the band in relaxed mode worked on seven tracks over the next couple of months, two of which became their new single: “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” / “Old Brown Shoe”.

Following a two month break, the band got underway again on 1st July 1969 to continue work on the other five songs and blast their way through the rest of the album. The centre point of the record was “The Long One”, Paul McCartney and Martin’s vision of a side long medley or suite of tracks. In the end it wasn’t a whole side but still eight songs and 16 minutes long. Aside from this, the individual numbers, were some of the groups best - a classic case of “saving the best ‘til last”. Another novelty on this album was George’s Moog Synthesizer which was utilised on several tracks adding some early electronica to the proceedings!

As the group were approaching the home straight there was still the question of the front cover. After the idea of flying to the Himalayas for a photo shoot and calling the album ‘Everest’ was rejected someone said “why not just go outside?”. McCartney got his sketchbook out and then the four crossed the zebra crossing outside the studio with photographer Iain Macmillan shooting just six images of which Macca selected the one which would go on to become one of the most identifiable album cover photos ever. Thousands of fans still flock to the crossing every year for photo opportunities and to scribble on the wall outside the studio!

Label Review. 

1979 live album remastered and expanded.

Our Overview. 

The Ramones are today heralded as the probably the best of the New York punk band’s to emerge in the mid-70s. Following their classic four album run in two and half years (‘The Ramones’, ‘Leave Home’, ‘Rocket To Russia’, and ‘Road To Ruin’) all of which have received deluxe 40th Anniversary editions, it is now the turn of their first live album, ‘It’s Alive’ to get the expanded treatment.

‘It’s Alive’ delivered a blistering barrage of live takes on classic tracks from the band’s first three albums. Originally recorded in London on New Year’s Eve 1977 and eventually released as a double album in 1979. This set features all four concerts that were professionally recorded during the Ramones’ UK tour in December 1977, three making their debut release: Top Rank, Birmingham (December 28, 1977); Victoria Hall, Stoke-On-Trent (December 29, 1977); Friars, Aylesbury (December 30, 1977); and The Rainbow Theatre, London (December 31, 1977). All remastered with 12x12 hardback book. Ltd to 8000 copies.

Label Review. 

2019 compilation. Featuring choice tracks from the major albums, singles and B-sides. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Corduroy legend holds that having recorded the three ‘classic’ albums for Acid Jazz Records, our illustrious heroes parted with said company and released a further two albums on a ‘major’ record label, investigating themes, techniques and technologies previously unexplored; this period of the band’s brave journey became known as the ‘psy-fi -years’. Exhausted, Corduroy disbanded shortly after. Prophecy foretold that, two decades later, the group would reform and reunite with Acid Jazz; and furthermore that the fabled ‘psy-fi’ recordings would be compiled by the sister label, Well Suspect Records, into a twelve track, sky-blue-vinyl collection, featuring choice tracks from the major albums, singles and B-sides. This limited edition selection is entitled Winky Wagon.

Experimenting with exotic eastern flavours, easy-soul, yacht-pop, Brit-beats and amped-up funk, the compilation captures Corduroy expanding their signature thematic instrumental palette with melodic, irresistible and beautifully crafted songs.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

At the end of the 70s, The Monochrome Set were part of the first wave of ‘post punk’ bands. Right from the beginning, the band earned a solid reputation as purveyors of fine pop, gaining praise from 80s contemporaries such as Morrissey and Edwyn Collins. Importantly, in later years this praise has continued with artists such as Franz Ferdinand, The Divine Comedy and Graham Coxon, all citing the band as a key influence on their own work. The Monochrome Set sound has often been described as ‘timeless’, and that alone explains why, over the years, the band has continued gaining admirers.

‘Fabula Mendax’ is based on manuscripts written in the 15th Century by Armande de Pange, a companion of Jehanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc). Follow Armande as she flees her unhinged family, only to be caught up in the chaos of The Hundred Years’ War. She encounters and trails the enigmatic Joan, later becoming a part of her expanding group of followers. As they travel west into the war zone of Northern France, they meet a motley medley of scheming noblewomen, bellicose knights, nefarious bishops, and assorted rotters, rogues and renegades.

This is The Monochrome Set at its most ornate, and, much like Joan of Arc’s ensemble, features a myriad of fiddlers, pluckers, beaters, tinklers and wailers, surrounding a central core of notorious crackpots. The hauntingly melodic pop harks back to the early TMS period of “Eine Symphonie Des Grauens”, but is now complemented by a (periodically unemployed) vampire’s orchestra, whose cha-cha-charnel chiming careens into carnal rhyming chanting, while saints and demons trip lightly across the slick red fields of liberty. As with all TMS albums, “Fabula Mendax” is at once accessible and arcane, upbeat and dark, lush and spare, and with lyrics that as ever remain tantalisingly opaque.

Label Review.

16 tracks on white vinyl. Demon. Also available on 4CD.

Our Overview.

Dance floor, chill out superstars Groove Armada, have always produced music that is a jazz-tinted collection of disco, funk and house nuances that glitter like the contents of a treasure chest, in fact Groove Armada prove that the gritty can shine and now they are releasing ’GA21’ to celebrate the London duo’s - Andy Cato and Tom Findlay - 21st anniversary. ’GA21’ is their eighth studio album and a career-spanning release including some new music, which is guaranteed to be subtly uplifting, encapsulating Groove Armadas’ introspectively groovy style that pleads with the summer season to stay a bit longer.

The pair have included two new songs, “I Can Only Miss You” and “I'll Be Searching.” That is paired with some of their biggest hits like “Superstylin,” “My Friend” and “I See You Baby.” The album is split up into four parts – Club, Balearic, Live and Radio. 

Groove Armada was one of the first electronic acts to bring in a full live band to pump up their concerts, becoming one of the top electronic artists in the world. Groove Armada perfected the art of the live show, blending booming electronics with live instrumentation and overpowering visuals to create one of the most innovative live music experiences of all time. Their dense yet accessible sound won them critical acclaim and a legion of fans ever since their big breakthrough single “I See You Baby” in 1999.

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. Also available on triple CD. 

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”.