Out Of/Into – Motion I (Blue Note)

Motion I is the debut album from Out Of/Into, the collective formerly known as The Blue Note Quintet, featuring pianist Gerald Clayton, alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, drummer Kendrick Scott, and bassist Matt Brewer. The band was formed in celebration of Blue Note Records’ 85th Anniversary and embarked on an extensive U.S. tour earlier this year during which they honed a distinctive, progressive sound that is the perfect embodiment of the Blue Note ethos. “Blue Note has been such a wonderful home for the community, for incredible musicians, for creativity, for all these years,” says Clayton. “You can’t help but think about all those masters, all those heroes that you’ve grown up listening to. To get a chance to pay tribute and try to carry some of that essence forward is truly just an honor.”

Johnny Coley – Mister Sweet Whisper (Mississippi Records)

Surreal, layered, Lynchian landscapes by Birmingham, Alabama poet, Johnny Coley.

On his Mississippi Records debut, Coley takes a completely improvised and semi-hallucinatory journey down decrepit southern trucking routes, gaslit Victorian alleys, past “a small frame house / transparent with fire,” and by women arguing on the cobblestones outside a dark club in Rome (“you could only see their lips”). It’s a world of flesh vehicles, supernatural waiters, and a poet trying to hitch a ride from a Chattanooga Dunkin’ at 2 am, headed south.

There’s humor and sadness in Johnny’s thick drawling voice and laconic style – warped front porch yarns made up on the spot, whispered close to the mic. Always on the outside, even when he’s the one telling the story, Coley melds the hyper-specifics of a life lived on the road with a deep, dark pool of American collective imagery. These are dreams within dreams, waves of darkness, wisdom, and plain spoken Southern humor from a brilliant, overlooked artist. “When the God of Fire / comes looking for fire / that’s a bad sign.”

Jonathan Bockelmann – Sakamoto on Guitar (Squama)

Jonathan Bockelmann is a classical guitarist and composer based in Munich who first made waves in 2023 with his debut album ‘Childish Mind’. His entry into composing were arrangements he had made of pieces by Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. Some of these have been released digitally in three editions and are now available on vinyl for the first time. The record comes in high quality packaging with an embossed art print and features both some of Sakamoto’s lesser-known works like the ‘Suite for Krug’ as well as iconic pieces like ‘Bibo No Aozora’.

„I have always been fascinated with the music of Sakamoto. He manages to communicate his musical ideas with only a few notes – something that merely a handful of composers are capable of doing. And no matter what instruments he writes for, you can always hear an underlying constant, a signature in his sound. It was a revelation to me when I finished my first transcriptions of his music and realized how incredibly well they actually work on the guitar. Somehow this instrument is suitable for capturing the spirit of his compositions and I think it’s because of the unique and colorful tone of the instrument. It even f e e l s great to play those pieces. Sometimes I spend so much time studying them that they start to sound to me as if they were originally written for guitar.

During the transcription process I had to take on different challenges. When the original score was available it was much easier to transcribe a composition because I had different instrument sections separately – like the string section of ‚Blu’, for example. This way I could figure out how and where to play it on the guitar. For some pieces though, like ‚Dream‘, there was no score available and I had to figure out the notes by ear.

In the end the whole process gave me so much joy and inspiration, not least because I felt that I have created a whole new repertoire for the classical guitar, one that is wonderful to listen to and a joy to play.“

– Jonathan Bockelmann

Giorgos Katsaros – Giorgos Katsaros (Mississippi Records)

Steel-string guitar and vocals by the great Giorgos Katsaros, a mythic figure of Greek rembetiko.

Our obsession with underground Greek music continues with 10 ultra-rare recordings of heartbreak and vice from rembetiko legend Giorgos Katsaros. Katsaros, who by some accounts lived to be over 100 years old, carried the old songs of Greece to the Diaspora in the United States, bridging centuries of music in one storied lifetime.

Born in 1901 on the Greek island of Amorgos, Katsaros’ was enchanted with the songs he picked up as a kid in the streets of Piraeus and Athens. Encouraged by his grandfather, an amateur singer, Katsaros developed a style that mirrored his upbringing – centuries-old Asia Minor songs, island rhythms of his homeland, well-known Athenian songs of the time, and anonymous ‘rebetiko’ songs. Katsaros’ songbook was vast, but he was most drawn to the street life and music of the manges of early 20th-century Greece: outcasts who dealt with the indignities of an unstable economy and an inauspicious future with the old standbys: wine, hash, and dancing.

These ten tracks are remastered from Katsaros’s 64 surviving early recordings, many rarely heard since their original release. Hypnotic melodies plucked over repeating thumbed basslines back his deep, mournful voice.

Quartabê – Repescagem (Fun in the Church)

Coinciding with their 10th anniversary, the quartet Quartabê – made up of Joana Queiroz, Maria Beraldo, Mariá Portugal and Chicão – will release their fourth album, the EP ‘Repescagem’ (RISCO label), in 2024. The work is a new dive by the band into the work of Dorival Caymmi, following their acclaimed ‘Lição #2: Dorival’, released in 2018, and features special guest appearances by Ná Ozzetti and Mart’nália.

The disc has seven tracks in all. The group’s characteristic sound is present in almost all of them, with its unmistakable line-up of two clarinets, drums, synthesisers and voice. The exceptions are the three variations of ‘Quem Vem pra Beira do Mar’, characterised by the arrangement of four nylon guitars and four voices, played by the members of the group – a direct reference to the typical ‘guitar and voice’ format used by Dorival Caymmi throughout his career, which became a hallmark of Brazilian popular music.

Some flirt with more specific genres, such as reggae, in the band’s version of ‘Eu cheguei lá’ with Mart’Nália, eurodance, in an instrumental interpretation of ‘Não Tem Solução’, and samba jazz, in the disc’s other instrumental, ‘João Valentão’. ‘Maricotinha’, featuring the voice of Ná Ozzetti, is more unclassifiable.

Oren Ambarchi – Quixotism (Black Truffle)

Recorded with a multitude of collaborators in Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA, Quixotism presents the fruit of two years of work in the form of a single, LP-length piece in five parts. Ambarchi’s work in recent years has evinced an increasing fascination with the possibilities of combining abstract sonic textures with rhythm and pulse, whether in his drumming with Keiji Haino, the subtly driving ride cymbals provided by drummer Joe Talia in their work together, or the motorik grooves of Sagittarian Domain (Editions Mego, 2012). Quixotism takes this aspect of Ambarchi’s recent work to the next level: the entirety of this long-form work is built on a foundation of pulsing double-time electronic percussion provided by Thomas Brinkmann. Beginning as almost subliminal propulsion behind cavernous orchestral textures and John Tilbury’s delicate piano interjections, the percussive elements (elaborated on by Ambarchi and Matt Chamberlain) slowly inch into the foreground of the piece before suddenly breaking out into a polyrhythmic shuffle around the halfway mark, being joined by master Japanese tabla player U-zhaan for the piece’s final, beautiful, passages.

The pulse acts as thread leading the listener though a heterogeneous variety of acoustic spaces, from the concert hall in which the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra were recorded to the intimacy of Crys Cole’s contact-mic textures. Ambarchi’s guitar itself ranges over this wide variety of acoustic spaces, from airless, clipped tones to swirling, reverberated fog. Within the complex web Ambarchi spins over the piece’s steadily pulsing foundation, elements approach and recede, appear and reappear, in a non-linear fashion, even as the piece plots an overall course from the grey, almost Nono-esque reverberated space of its opening section to the crisp foreground presence of Jim O’Rourke’s synth and Evyind Kang’s strings in its final moments. Formally indebted to the side-long workouts of classic Cologne techno, the long-form works of composers such as Eliane Radigue, and the organic push and pull of improvised performance, Quixotism is constantly in motion, yet its transitions happen slowly and steadily, so that they are often nearly imperceptible, the diverse elements which make up the piece succeeding one another with the logic of a dream.

Anyone who follows Ambarchi’s work knows that it has many facets: explorations of the outer limits of rock with Keiji Haino, psychoacoustic interference and sizzling harmonics in his solo performances, delicate improvisations with Keith Rowe or John Tilbury. To all these projects, Ambarchi brings his particular sensibility, patiently allowing sounds to develop on their own terms without forsaking their intrinsic physical and emotional power. Similarly, although Quixotism is shaped by its many contributors, the resulting sound world is unmistakably Ambarchi’s own. His most substantial solo release since Audience of One (Touch, 2012), Quixotism represents the summation of Ambarchi’s work over the last few years while also pointing to the future.

Moondog – Moondog (Columbia)

TRAINING with Ruth Goller – threads to knot (Squama)

Berlin-based duo TRAINING team up with bassist Ruth Goller for their new album ‘threads to knot’. Frenetic free-jazz is sitting next to post-rock riffs and looming microtonal atmospheres.

The record was written in a truly collaborative effort, adapting the concept of ‘cadavre exquis’, the popular drawing game: One person would start writing a few notes before passing it on to the next, revealing only the very last note, with which the composition continues.

TRAINING is comprised of drummer Max Andrzejewski and sax player Johannes Schleiermacher, whose last album ‘Three Seconds’ saw them collaborate with Deerhoof guitarist John Dieterich.

Ruth Goller, who has been hailed by the Guardian for her ‚thunderous bass-guitar hooks‘ and has made waves this year with the release of her second album ‚Skyllumina‘. She’s also known as a live performer with Kit Downes, Alabaster de Plume, Melt Yourself Down among others.

Seu Jorge – Cru (Diggers Factory)

Erweiterte Reissue des Brazil-Klassikers und zweitem Soloalbum des brasilianischen Sängers und Schauspielers Seu Jorge von 2004 zum 20-jährigen Jubiläum. Der internationale Erfolg von CRU machte Seu Jorge zum neuen König der brasilianischen Musik. Kurz nach Veröffentlichung erschien der brasilianische Kultfilm »City of God«, der ihn zusätzlich als weltweit gefeierter Filmstar etablierte. Die neue Reissue enthält mit »Carolina Carol Bela« einen bislang unveröffentlichten Bonustrack aus den Originalsessions.

Floating Points – Cascade (Ninja Tune)

Cascade is an eruption of unfinished business. In late 2022, Shepherd – renowned for drifting between genres as freely as his stage name implies – found himself in the Californian desert working on something new. Mere Mortals, his first ballet score, created with the San Francisco Ballet, was to be a collision of sound and dance exploring the ancient parable of Pandora through the prism of technology. „It was one of quite a few left turns I was taking around that time“, recalls Shepherd. You can say that again: Promises, his multiple end-of-year-list-topping previous record, released in 2021, had seen him swap his typical modular synth tapestries and intricate drum patterns for airy dreamscapes, crafted with late legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra. It was a collaboration so popular, a Mercury Prize nomination and sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl in September 2023 followed.

Between these projects and an upcoming anime score for Adult Swim – from the outside it might have seemed as though Shepherd was departing the dance floor for good. But as he wrote his ballet score by day, at night he found himself longing for the sweaty communion of a dance floor. For the pulse-racing abandon of electronic music.

Thurston Moore – Flow Critical Lucidity (Daydream Library)

Das 2024 erscheinende Album von Thurston Moore ist sein neuntes Soloalbum. Einige der Songs wurden in Europa und Großbritannien geschrieben und arrangiert und enthalten lyrische Verweise auf ihre Umgebung und sind von der Natur, luzidem Träumen und modernem Tanz beeinflusst. Im Jahr 2023 wurden zwei Singles veröffentlicht: das energiegeladene, Non-Album, von Isadora Duncan inspirierte »Isadora« mit einem Musikvideo mit Sky Ferreira in der Hauptrolle. Und »Hypnogram«, welches die Presse als eines der intensivsten Stücke bezeichnete, die Moore je veröffentlicht hat, verbindet die melodischeren Momente seiner früheren Band Sonic Youth mit den vielschichtigen, berauschenden Schnörkeln der Hauptband seiner Bassistin Deb Googe, My Bloody Valentine.

Das neue Material vermittelt eindringlich das Gefühl von Träumen und lässt die Fans gespannt sein, was der Amerikaner mit seinem Album vorhat. 2024 dann die mitreißende Earth-Day-Hymne »Rewilding«: Der Musiker lieferte erschütternde Zeilen, als er über die Entfernung der menschlichen Hand aus der Natur nachdachte: »…Don’t stir anything…«. Moore sang über Erneuerung und eine Zeit für Freunde der Erde, um zu schlafen und einen natürlichen Weg zu verwirklichen, indem man »Korallenmorphologisch träumt«. Der Musiker sagte, die britische Rewilding-Bewegung strebe danach, den menschlichen Einfluss auf Ökosysteme zu reduzieren.

Die Texte sind größtenteils wieder vom Künstler Radieux Radio verfasst. Der Name »Flow Critical Lucidity« stammt aus dem Text von »Sans Limites«, und auf dem Cover des Albums ist Jamie Nares‘ »Samurai Walkman« zu sehen – ein Helm, der mit Stimmgabeln ausgestattet ist. Jamie Nares (geboren in Großbritannien) ist ein lebenslanger Freund von Thurston Moore aus dessen New Yorker No-Wave-Tagen und die beiden haben schon oft zusammengearbeitet. Mit dabei sind außerdem Jon Leidecker, James Sedwar, Jem Doulton sowie als Backing Vocals-Gast Laetitia Sadier von Stereolab.

Dell-Lillinger-Westergaard – DLW: Extended Beats (bastille musique)

bastille musique presents its twenty-eighth release »DLW: Extended Beats« featuring world premiere recordings by Dell-Lillinger-Westergaard, Klangforum Wien, Sonar Quartett, Tamara Stefanovich (piano), Martin Adámek (clarinets) and Johannes Brecht (electronics). Together with the guests, Dell-Lillinger-Westergaard extend their beats in terms of co-composition and form as well as instrumentation. In addition to the recordings produced at the Paul-Robeson-Studio, the set also contains a 48-page bilingual booklet (EN, DE) with an essay by Gregor Dotzauer and an interview with Dell-Lillinger-Westergaard, as well as three concertina-fold inserts featuring photos of the composers and performers.

Nala Sinephro – Endlessness (Warp)

Endlessness is a deep dive into the cycle of existence. The 45-minute album delicately spans 10 tracks with a continuous arpeggio playing throughout, creating an expansive, mesmerising celebration of life cycles and rebirth. Following Sinephro’s critically acclaimed 2021 debut album Space 1.8, Endlessness further elevates her as a transcendent and multi-dimensional composer, beautifully morphing jazz, orchestral, and electronic music.

The album was composed, produced, arranged, and engineered by Sinephro. Performing on the album are Sheila Maurice-Grey, Morgan Simpson, James Mollison, Lyle Barton, Nubya Garcia, Natcyet Wakili, and Dwayne Kilvington, joined by Orchestrate’s 21 string players.

Melissa Carper – Borned in Ya (Mae Music)

Borned In Ya showcases Carper’s long-standing influences as well as her artistic growth and sense of adventure. The old-time jazz sounds we came to know on Daddy’s Country Gold are back in full force along with the R&B and Soul of Ramblin’ Soul. In addition to her familiar blend of country with jazz, blues, soul, and R&B, the new album sees Carper exploring a more subtle and expert crossing of these genres and with a matured lyrical depth. The title track kicks things off with a gospel-style vocal chorus before settling into an impeccably funky groove. “Evil Eva” recalls the classic R&B of the 50s and 60s, and “Let’s Stay Single Together” puts Carper’s crooning vocal to a delightful jazz-tinged country soul feel. “There’ll Be Another One” sounds like classic Roy Orbison with Carper floating atop the bed of ever growing emotion, fueled by the stunning string arrangement from fiddler, Rebecca Patek. “Somewhere Between Texas and Tennessee” is straight out of the honky tonk and “Lucky Five” is reminiscent of an old Frank Sinatra swinger. Carper rounds out this album with covers of two classics, “That’s My Desire,” crossover jazz/country tune from the 30s, and a beautiful rendition of Cole Porter’s “Everytime We Say Goodbye“.

Minhwi Lee – Hometown to Come (Alien Transistor)

Hometown to Come, the second full-length album by Minhwi Lee, is set to be released in November 2023. The eight tracks were written over a period of seven years after Lee’s first album and loosely form a single story, contemplating how people who have lost their hometown can return.

“What I had imagined from the title, Hometown to Come, was something forever delayed yet constantly approaching; however, upon repeated listens, it takes on a different meaning—a promise of hospitality being realized every day. Even if our places to meet disappear, ‘the song we sing today’ will remain. We will continue to grow, cross paths again, venture far away, and encounter more faces. And when time has passed and you, having forgotten me, ask about my smile or sadness, I will hum ‘the same song,’ cherishing it as a keepsake.” (morceau j. woo, sound designer)

JJ Whitefield & Forced Meditation – The Infinity of Nothingness (Jazzman)

Having plied his trade around the world for more than three decades, German guitarist, bandleader and musical explorer JJ Whitefield has always instilled in his craft a natural aesthetic of authenticity, a key component which has seen him amass a sizeable and varied catalogue of material which has remained timeless where some of his contemporaries have faded away.

In the early 90s, as various UK bands were signed up by sizeable labels and enjoyed even mainstream chart success in the Acid Jazz and rare groove boom, Whitefield was a founding member of the Poets Of Rhythm, self-releasing their own uncompromisingly hard-edged take on 70s street funk on the then completely unfashionable 7” single format, forerunning the Deep Funk scene by almost a decade. 30 years on, in spite of a legion of retro-focused bands having followed in their wake, few have yet to come close to matching the energy and spirit of those early Poets 45s.

Since then, Whitefield has applied himself to all manner of new incarnations and innovative side-projects, releasing further funk surveys with his own band under the pseudonym Karl Hector, with releases on labels such as Stones Throw, Daptone, Ninja Tune, Mo’Wax, Strut and more. An avid music lover, explorer and record collector extraordinaire, Whitefield’s music has effortlessly absorbed his expanding interests along the way, particularly drawing influence from Ethiopian Jazz and West African funk and highlife, as well as Kraut-rock and ambient via his Rodinia alter-ego.

Farhot – Stealing from Cats (Kabul Fire Records)

Like a thief in the night, and almost 4 for years after his critically acclaimed full-length album Kabul Fire Vol 2, beat virtuoso Farhot has returned to the (crime) scene with his latest all-instrumental record „stealing from cats“.

While on his last LP, he took listeners on a journey to his birthplace Kabul, he is now taking them along as he goes out stealing sounds from fellow musicians (label mates) and dusty Jazz archives and. Reminiscent of that time when Blue Note invited Madlib into their catacombs to create the seminal „Shades of Blue“ LP, this slow-paced record sees Farhot eclectically fusing Jazz samples with downtempo, instrumental hip-hop art. From the hazy, chopped vocal samples of the intro tune „selfish“ to the dreamy closer „they need me“, this 12-song masterpiece is as much an homage to the virtuosity of Jazz cats like Silvan Strauss as it is to the fine art of sampling that Farhot cheekily calls stealing.

Still House Plants – If I don’t make it, I love u (Bison Records)

‘If I don’t make it, I love u’ is Still House Plants’ third LP and the fullest embodiment of their sound to date. Where ‘Fast Edit’ formed with quick attachment and jump cuts, ‘If I don’t make it’ is shaped by persistence – a commitment to the songs that makes the music solid, warmer and accepted.

Marking the trio’s decade of friendship, this is the first record written whilst all living in the same city since 2017’s ‘Assemblages’. The band rehearsed it relentlessly, playing for nobody except themselves, consistently building support for one another and growing the way they play. Jess’ voice is deeper. Fin’s guitar is full size, richer. David drums harder. Focused on one point together, everyone gets bigger and nothing falls apart. The guitar and the drums blend, raise the voice, make room for what is being said, what is felt.

When able to finally record, production allowed layers, gave elasticity, a chance to fully stretch. Playing with length and connections, the band brought in analogue techniques – a Lesley cabinet on ‘Headlight’, sidechaining the snare with the guitar, pushing vocals through cheap DJ software – each process an attempt to bring one instrument closer to another, to give bass, body, backup.

‘If I don’t make it, I love u’ seeks beauty, holds feeling maximum and builds surety with its sound. The most generous SHP record to date, the music is wide open, demands less. Play it again, it will come clear.

Contours – Elevations (Music from Memory)

Music From Memory is delighted to present ‘Elevations’, a new album from Manchester based artist Tom Burford, aka Contours.

Drawing heavily on his background as a drummer and percussionist, ‘Elevations’ began as an exploration of the Balafon, a Malian tuned percussion instrument, before organically growing into its final form; a delicate suite of compositions centred around rhythmical interactions of percussion, synthesizer and strings.

Recorded during the pandemic and the period following, the album reflects a desire to lose oneself in the expanse of nature – the title ‘Elevations’ being a direct nod to the mountainous area of Cumbria where Tom grew up. The album also represents the joy of creating with friends; it features performances from several of his musical contemporaries, many of which were recorded at his home in Manchester. Slowly taking shape, the final result is a record that seamlessly blends electronic and acoustic, operating at the intersection of Minimalism, Jazz, Fourth World and Contemporary Classical music.

Meridian Brothers – Mi Latinoam​é​rica Sufre (Ansonia & Bongo Joe Records)

„Mi Latinoamérica Sufre“ is a concept album whose sonic footprint was born from the desire to explore the untapped potential of the electric guitar in a tropical Latin context. The record draws inspiration from the chiming, clear-toned and intricately rhythmic traditions of African highlife and soukous guitar band music, sounds that are as popular at coastal Colombian picó sound system dances as they are on their home turf in Africa.

On this album, the Meridian Brothers sound eschews distortion and typical prog or psych rock clichés, opting for a pure, clean approach. „Mi Latinoamérica Sufre“ pays homage to the golden era of ’70s Congolese rumba, Ghanian highlife and Nigerian afrobeat, blending these influences with an array of fresh sonic contexts anchored by various Latin rhythms, all played by Álvarez. The result is a collection of intricate compositions weaving elements of cumbia, champeta, soukous, Brazilian tropicalia, and underground psychedelic rock all contained within the Afro-Latino guitar band format.

„Mi Latinoamérica Sufre“ delves into the ego trip, presenting a humorous yet introspective journey of self-discovery and identity. The central character, Junior Maximiliano the Third, navigates through the complexities of self-discovery using psychedelic substances, political philosophy, and folklore. As he grapples with nostalgia, paranoia, and shared suffering, Álvarez showcases his vocal prowess, creating a sonic theater of the mind. Accompanied by visual narratives from Colombian artist Mateo Rivano, the album portrays various psychological states of disorientation, self-pity, enlightenment, and optimism. „Mi Latinoamérica Sufre“ emerges as a worthy and innovative addition to the concept album tradition, offering a distinctive blend of bitter-sweet flavors inspired by Latinoamérica.

This release is a collaboration between Ansonia Records and Bongo Joe !

The Zawose Queens – Maisha (Real World Records)

There is spirit and fire in the music of The Zawose Queens. There’s the vibrations of the ancestors, coming through on traditional instruments — soaring chizeze fiddle, buzzing illimba thumb piano, ngoma drums that chatter and thunder — and voices that go deep, high and out there.

There’s the connection to nature, to ceremony and ritual, in their dance-inspired fusion, their blend of the organic, harmonic and modern-day electronic. There are lyrics that tell, in their native kigogo, of the passion for music, the wonders of life. Of pride in environment, in tradition. In their [East] African roots.

Maisha, the duo’s stunning debut album, heralds a new era.

Bow down. The Zawose Queens are in the house.

“This is our heritage, performed our way,” say Leah and Pendo Zawose, each Queen a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of enormous, hitherto uncelebrated, talent. “The time has come for the women of the Zawose family to take their rightful place.”

Helmed by UK-based producers Oli Barton-Wood (Jordan Rakei, Obongjayar, Nilufer Yanya) and Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Onipa), recorded on a hotel rooftop in Zanzibar and beachside and hearthside in Bagamoyo, the historic Tanzanian port town that has been home to the extended Zawose family since the 1970s, Maisha presents The Zawose Queens in ways powerful, inventive and fiercely, liberatingly danceable.

The Revolutionaries – Meditation in Dub (Death Is Not The End)

Death Is Not The End’s 333 series is back with another dig into the catalogue of the NYC-based Flames label on this reissue of a highly coveted Revolutionaries LP, Meditation in Dub.

One of reggae music’s most famed session bands, The Revolutionaries were an often r/evolving cast of some of the finest session musicians on the island during the roots and early dancehall periods of the mid/late 1970s and early 1980s. These would include Earl ‚Wire‘ Lindo, Radcliffe ‚Dougie‘ Bryan, Ansell Collins, Bobby Kalphat, Lloyd Parks, Uziah ‚Sticky‘ Thompson, Bongo Herman, Stanley Bryan, Bo Peep, Eric ‚Bingy Bunny‘ Lamont, Errol ‚Tarzan‘ Nelson, Skully Simms, Robbie Lyn, Mikey ‚Mao‘ Chung amongst many others. The enduring core of the group, however, was undoubtedly in the coming together of the legendary rhythm section of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare – with the formation of The Revolutionaries marking the first time that this often unparalleled duo worked together.

The group laid down these rhythm tracks at their base at the storied Channel One recording studio, Maxfield Avenue, Kingston sometime in the mid 1970s – under the arrangement of one of reggae music’s great undersung figures, Ossie Hibbert. Early in 1975 Ossie was to move to Maxfield Avenue just as Jo Jo & Ernest Hookim’s studio was starting up. A well-respected session musician himself through the late 1960s and early 70s (he played keys for Bunny ‚Striker‘ Lee and Keith Hudson and would also form part of another foundational session band, The Soul Syndicate) he was initially summoned by Jo Jo to be a band member for The Revolutationaries but quickly assumed the role of producer, engineer and talent scout for the studio, responsible for selecting the artists to bring into the studio.

These tracks were recorded by Hibbert around this time for Winston Jones, the original singer and composer of Stop That Train (later made world-famous by Keith & Tex’s version) with his Spanishtonians for Prince Buster’s label in the early 1960s. Jones had moved from JA to NYC in the early 1970s where he established and ran the Flames label. The imprint would go on to form a core part of Brooklyn’s reggae scene from the mid-1970s until the early 1990s, though Jones often employed the use of Channel One, Hibbert and The Revolutionaries back home in the recording of rhythm tracks for his productions. Thus the Meditation in Dub LP is essentially formed of stellar dub versions to many of the early Flames labels 45s, produced and released by Jones throughout the mid to late 1970s, including crucial takes on a great many popular rhythms of that period. One of any self-respecting dub LP collectors‘ holy grails, with originals going for up to £400, it is issued here under license from the now Texas-based Jones with the kind assistance of RB at DKR in sourcing the audio for this new cut.

SML – Small Medium Large (International Anthem)

SML is the quintet of bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann.

Their debut album ‚Small Medium Large‘ began as a collection of long form improvisations recorded during two separate two-night stands at beloved Highland Park, Los Angeles venue ETA. Unfortunately, this major development site for the burgeoning new West Coast jazz & improvised music sound closed its doors permanently at the end of 2023.

The venue, perhaps best known outside of LA for Jeff Parker’s 2022 album ‚Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy‘, was the perfect location for the start of SML, especially given that both bassist Anna Butterss and saxophonist Josh Johnson are part of Parker’s quartet that held down a regular gig at ETA since the venue’s early days (and hence thoroughly documented, heard on Parker’s album). ‚Small Medium Large‘ was engineered and recorded in stereo direct to Nagra by Bryce Gonzales and compiled, arranged, and edited with additional production, recording, and studio composition by SML across their various home studios.

While editing, chopping, and rearranging stereo mixed improvisations is hardly a new idea (for a modern and relevant example we can look to Makaya McCraven’s output on IARC) these results are a stunning expansion of the Teo Macero / Miles Davis editing concept explored on classics like ‚In a Silent Way‘, ‚On The Corner‘, and ‚Get Up With It‘. Stylistically though, these recordings have more in common with the proto-trance repetitions of Harmonia, and with Holgar Czukay’s re-assembly technique used in his work with Can. Throw in a supremely intuitive utilization of polyrhythmic floating patterns (a la Susumu Yokota), and the result is a truly innovative take on time-clocked electronic rhythms augmented with live instrumentation that never loses that elusive human sway.

‚Small Medium Large‘ is a sublime assemblage of circulatory grooves and textural anomalies, at different moments recalling the synth-laced improvisations of Herbie Hancock’s Sextant, the jagged dance punk of Essential Logic, the rhythmic revelry of Fela Kuti, the low-end elasticity of Parliament/Funkadelic, or the glitchy dub techno of Pole. Taken in totality, the album captures a euphoric creative synchronicity between some of today’s most exciting musicians.

Skee Mask – Resort (Ilian Tape)

SUN – I can see our House from here (Alien Transistor)

A home, a house, has countless frequencies. Each room, each corner feels different. Swings differently. And as you grow older, you realize which corner is yours. But yeah, it takes time…

It certainly marks the end of an era when the house one called home as a kid no longer exists. This home, it was the starting point of so many journeys. Of one big, ongoing journey. And so it feels good, soothing, reassuring to at least return to a spot nearby – to that (proverbial) hill from where you can see it. Feel the vibe that made you.

Andi Haberl’s debut solo album as Sun is sort of dedicated to that house. It’s a journey leading to that hill overlooking everything that made him. It’s not about nostalgia, not about actually returning to a specific place. Instead, it’s about finding a personal frequency, an overlapping of sounds and samples, an open space that mirrors and extends whatever frequencies felt right at different points in time.

“To me, the results feel like Gold Panda/Four Tet meets Steve Reich meets Krautrock meets film scores. I just really wanted to create moods that touch me – and ideally others, too.”

Talking about his first solo album, Haberl recalls many stages: early compositions that ended up on Alien Ensemble’s albums, early DIY/home studio/multi-instrumentalist inspirations (Le Millipede), new technologies that came and went, even a set of wildly convincing arrangements (done with Cico Beck’s crucial input) that ultimately became stepping stones for yet another round of DIY takes. “It was a long, recurring process, and the songs went through so many different versions,” he says, talking about phases of growth (“I added more and more equipment over time”) and pruning, “cleaning up my music a bit.” Tending towards instruments that open up space, and slowly falling in love with sampling, he certainly didn’t rush things once it was time for interior design decisions ;)

Nduduzo Makhathini – uNomkhubulwane (Blue Note)

uNomkhubulwane travels beyond any existing notion of music-making to offer his most profound vision of creative mysticism yet. Here the pianist seeks inspiration on a wholly metaphysical plane — using sound as a way to commune with, as he puts it, “supernatural voices.” To say it another way, rather than relying on the celebrated work of his American and African jazz heroes, or even on the probing research in his academic fields of study, Makhathini opts here to tap into the pure essence of being — an otherworldly effort that involved “listening-hearing-sensing and establishing a relationship with an ‘elsewhere’ through some guidedness.” Throughout uNomkhubulwane, Makhathini acts as both a futurist and an ancient, venturing into the unknown by exploring concepts that return him to the dawn of time.

Remarkably, he has crafted an inviting, immersive listen that should once again impress devotees of John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, classic South African jazz, Makhathini’s friend and collaborator Shabaka Hutchings and other intrepid musical voyagers. uNomkhubulwane features the pianist’s trio—an intuitive unit whose extensive touring has spanned the globe over the past year—with Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere, a bassist of South African descent who was born and raised in the U.S.; and the Cuban-born drummer Francisco Mela, a best-of-generation musician recognized for his work with Joe Lovano, Kenny Barron, McCoy Tyner and other lions, and for his own culture-merging work as a bandleader. The rhythm section adds passionate vocal backing, accenting and lifting up Makhathini’s sacred lead-vocal offerings.

Collectively, their touch is precise in its technique yet ethereal in its purpose — and astoundingly clairvoyant in its cohesion. On “Omnyama,” a gracefully hypnotic repeated figure bolsters the leader’s spoken-word — filled with rhythmically compelling contours and bluffs — and rousing sung incantations. The click sounds that Makhathini deploys here and elsewhere in his suite, especially the qa sound common to the Bantu languages, evoke the aural sensation of water droplets; water, at the core of the African creation story, invokes essence, which in turn invokes God.

Swamp Dogg – Blackgrass (Ohboy Records)

“Not a lot of people talk about the true origins of bluegrass music, but it came from Black people. The banjo, the washtub, all that stuff started with African Americans. We were playing it before it even had a name.” – Swamp Dogg

Produced by Ryan Olson (Bon Iver, Poliça) and recorded with an all-star band including Noam Pikelny, Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas, Chris Scruggs, Billy Contreras, and Kenny Vaughan, the collection is a riotous blend of past and present, mixing the sacred and the profane in typical Swamp Dogg fashion as it blurs the lines between folk, roots, country, blues, and soul. The tracklist is an eclectic one—brand new originals and vintage Swamp Dogg classics sit side by side with reimaginings of ’70s R&B hits and timeless ’50s pop tunes—but the performances here are thoroughly cohesive, filtering everything through a progressive Appalachian lens that nods to tradition without ever being bound by it. Special guests like Margo Price, Vernon Reid, Jenny Lewis, Justin Vernon, and The Cactus Blossoms all add to the excitement, but it’s ultimately the 81-year-old Swamp Dogg’s delivery—sly and playful and full of genuine joy and ache—that steals the show. The result is a record that’s as reverent as it is raunchy, a collection that challenges conventional notions of genre and race while at the same time celebrating the music that helped make Swamp Dogg the beloved iconoclast he’s known as today.

Sophia Jani & Teresa Allgaier- Six Pieces for Violin (Squama)

Contemporary classical composer Sophia Jani and violinist Teresa Allgaier announce their new collaborative work Six Pieces for Solo Violin on Squama Recordings. Characterized by its calmness and poise, each movement focuses on a particular technical aspect, bending the boundaries of the instrument while maintaining the illusion of simplicity.

Sometimes the most complicated thing anyone can do is to try to create something that feels uncomplicated. Arvo Pärt, ballet, a delicious meal we didn’t cook ourselves, Ella Fitzgerald, a safe place to lay our heads at night, a quiet pine forest – […] In all these things, it takes a lot of effort to make us feel as if something is effortless.

– David Lang (from the liner notes)

Nichtseattle – HAUS (Staatsakt)

HAUS heisst das dritte Album von Katharina Kollmann aka Nichtseattle. 12 Lieder über Behausungsfragen. Über ein emotionales Zuhause. Aber auch um die Frage nach den Besitzverhältnissen von Häusern. Nach der Bezahlung von Zelt und Schloss. Lieder über die unterschiedlichsten Wohnräume und nicht zuletzt über das Personal in diesen Räumen.

Über Lebenskonzepte. Über Liebe und Freundschaft. Über Sippen und Paare. Über Vereinzelung und Gruppendynamik. In einer Band z.B. Oder in einem Chor.

Tom Skinner – Voices of Bishara Live at „mu“ (International Anthem)

In January 2023, Tom Skinner and his ensemble performed material from his recently-released album ‚Voices of Bishara‘ (Brownswood, IARC & Nonesuch, 2022) at London club “mu”— a venue founded by the curators at Brilliant Corners and named after the seminal Don Cherry live album. Their performance was augmented by three pieces by Abdul Wadud, whose 1977 self-released solo cello album, By Myself, was a primary inspiration for Voices of Bishara.

The woodwinds featured on Skinner’s original Voices of Bishara album — Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia — had already been replaced in Skinner’s live ensemble with Robert Stillman (who also plays with Skinner in The Smile) and Chelsea Carmichael; with the extended rhythm section of Tom Herbert (double bass) and Kareem Dayes (cello) still rounding out the lineup with Skinner on drums.

From the opening moments of Voices of Bishara Live at „mu“, which was recorded on that legendary January 2023 night, it’s clear that this band’s aim is to excavate the deep corners of the repertoire, kicking things off with an extended rendition of Skinner’s own composition “Bishara” that employs the same relationship to rhythmic and tonal freedom found in the Abdul Wadud cello work that inspired it. That aesthetic connection is even more clear by the time the group moves into their 20-minute exploration of Wadud’s “Oasis,” the stunning centerpiece of the set that culminates with a scorching 5+ minute sax solo by Carmichael.

Hearing Skinner’s compositions – flexed and stretched with extended improvisation, and in context with works by Wadud – both places them and this band firmly in the creative music continuum they honor, and provides us with an unobstructed view of where that continuum is leading us.

Garth Erasmus – Threnody for the KhoiSan (TAL)

Garth Erasmus is an artist and musician based in Cape Town, South Africa. ‚Threnody for the KhoiSan‘ is his first album under his own name. Since 1985 his artistic interests have broadened to include music-making, designing and making his own instruments based on indigenous KhoiSan knowledge. From 1999 to 2012 he was a member of the South African First Nation activist group Khoi Khonnexion. In the past couple of years Garth Erasmus has also been a pivotal part of various international performance pieces and exhibition projects which brought him regularly to Europe. Most of these activities were developed and performed in collaboration with the Hamburg based band Kante and his band Khoi Khonnexion. In April 2024 Garth Erasmus will be part of the group exhibtion ‚Oscillations‘ at Akademie der Künste, Berlin.

Bruno Berle – No Reino Dos Afetos 2 (Far Out Recordings)

Bruno Berle, the young songwriter and poet originally hailing from Maceió, the capital of Brazil’s Alagoas state, crafts songs that are simple, direct, and full of tender nuance. With his first album No Reino Dos Afetos (which translates to „In the Realm of Affections” and was released in 2022), Berle firmly established himself as a unique and important voice in the burgeoning scene of new Brazilian artists making a global impact, including peers like Ana Frango Elétrico, Tim Bernardes, Bala Desejo, Sessa and more. Now back with his second album, No Reino Dos Afetos 2, he stretches that further.

Bruno Berle’s music lives between two worlds – a traditional Brazilian folk talent steeped in history, and a contemporary, dreamy electronic pop; the result is songwriting that’s genre-bending, intentional, iconoclastic and consuming, spacious and sinewy and singular, a striking reflection of its composer while leaving space for the listener to settle in. The album follows Bruno’s relocation to São Paulo, and the songs are a reflection of his past and present. A rebuke of former categorizations of his work in Brazilian music scenes, and an idea of where his music can move, unfettered.

Shabaka – Perceive its Beauty, acknowledge its Grace (Impulse)

Shabaka Hutchings recently announced that he would give his bands Sons Of Kemet, Shabaka And The Ancestors and The Comet Is Coming, as well as his saxophone, a break for an unspecified period of time. His first solo album is a moving suite of primarily instrumental, meditative music that features Shabaka playing a variety of flutes. He invited artists such as Andre 3000, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Floating Points and others as guests. Shabaka plays Flutes, Clarinet and Shakuhachi.

Jards Macalé – Jards Macalé (Week-End Records)

Jards Macalé’s biography is a testament to the electrifying energy of music and the unwavering spirit of artistic rebellion. Macalé has remained true to his vision, unapologetically embracing the unconventional and challenging the status quo. His music, a conduit of emotion and a mirror to society, continues to weave a sonic tapestry that resonates with the souls of listeners.

In 2022, Macalé celebrated the momentous 50th anniversary of his debut solo album, a groundbreaking masterpiece released by Philips in 1972. This iconic record gifted us timeless tracks such as “Vapor Barato”, “Mal Secreto”, “Farinha do Desprezo”, “Revendo Amigos”, and “Hotel das Estrelas”. Its sheer brilliance united the realms of Brazilian music, infusing samba and bossa nova with the fiery essence of rock, classical harmonies, and the improvisational spirit of jazz. As the years passed, a new generation of musicians and fans discovered this gem, fueling its resurgent popularity and inspiring fresh collaborations.

Last year, Jards Macalé assembled a formidable new band, igniting stages across Brazil with a tour that now sets its sights on Europe. Together with Gui Held on guitar, the Paulo Emmery on bass, and Thomas Harres on drums, Macalé conjures an exhilarating homage to his illustrious body of work. This live performance embodies the untamed spirit and boundless musical freedom that define this visionary artist, transporting audiences to a realm where the past intertwines with the present in a breathtaking display of artistic prowess.

Meril Wubslin – Faire Ça (Bongo Joe)

Embarking on an unprecedented musical odyssey, Meril Wubslin unveils their highly anticipated fourth album, „Faire Ça,“ a sonic journey recorded in Kwake Bass‘ South London studio. This nine-track masterpiece defies genre boundaries, seamlessly merging blues, folk, post-rock, and dub, resulting in a distinctive and unparalleled palette born from all-night sessions and a shared love for avant-garde composers.

Collaborating with Kwake Bass, celebrated for groundbreaking work with Sampha and Kae Tempest, the trio fearlessly navigates unfamiliar soundscapes. From the intimate blues and folk-inspired „Grands Espaces“ to the experimental fusion of „La Main,“ and the electro-blues percussion of „Famille Phare,“ „Faire Ça“ showcases the band’s ability to craft a bold new shade that transcends its musical ingredients.

Breaking free from norms, „Faire Ça“ promises enduring musical rewards and solidifies the band’s dedication to continuous evolution and exploration beyond the confines of conventional expectations.

Jlin – Akoma (Planet Mu)

Jlin’s detailed and meticulous exploration of rhythm’s inner and outer reaches has made her one of the most distinctive and recognisable voices within both the electronic and new music worlds. Her compositions are consistently appealing and have an accessibility to them, yet often defy expectations. She exists within her own locus solus – no matter the collaborator, no matter where sounds ultimately lead her. Whatever the situation – from composing the Pulitzer Prize shortlisted ‘Perspective’ for Third Coast Percussion, to ‘Godmother’ her AI-powered collaboration with Holly Herndon, Jlin always expresses her outlook to the fullest.

Her new album ‘Akoma’ sets a new benchmark in her personal road map, not only since the album features guest appearances from Björk, Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet but for her continued sonic persistence and resistance. Jlin does what Jlin does and it’s beloved across genres, across scenes and across generations. ‘Akoma’ is a new entry point into her sound and a new approach for both those who have been following diligently and those who are just now entering her world.

Su Yono – Wellen (Trikont)

Su Yono ist ein Trio aus München. Nun präsentieren sie ihr Debütalbum „Wellen“ auf Trikont.

Hier schweben hypnotische Harmonien, Avant-Folk und Indie nebeneinander gedankenverloren durch ihren ganz eigenen Pop Kosmos.

Pola Dobler (Witches of Westend), Marcus Grassl (Aloa Input) und Chris Hofbauer (Micro Circus) sind Su Yono.

Synths, Bass, Drums und Vox bilden live das musikalische Konstrukt. Sie lassen sich von Outsider Pop, Electronica, Psychedelia, Kraut & No-Wave inspirieren und entlehnen Elemente aus diesen Genres, um die losen Stränge dieser Fäden zu einem mystischen, dunkelgrün geflügelten Umhang zu verweben der in blauem Honig tropft.

Cleo Sol – Heaven (Forever Living Originals)

Unter den besten 50 Alben von 2023 bei NPR Music.

Erhältlich auf CD und LP.

Kim Gordon – The Collective (Matador Records)

Legendary musician and multi-disciplinary artist Kim Gordon returns with her second solo album, The Collective, which will be released March 8th on Matador. Recorded in her native Los Angeles, The Collective follows Gordon’s 2019 full-length debut No Home Record and continues her collaboration with producer Justin Raisen (Lil Yachty, John Cale, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Charli XCX, Yves Tumor), with additional production from Anthony Paul Lopez. The album advances their joint world building, with Raisin’s damaged, blown out dub and trap constructions playing the foil to Gordon’s intuitive word collages and hooky mantras, which conjure communication, commercial sublimation and sensory overload.

“On this record, I wanted to express the absolute craziness I feel around me right now,” says Gordon. “This is a moment when nobody really knows what truth is, when facts don’t necessarily sway people, when everyone has their own side, creating a general sense of paranoia. To soothe, to dream, escape with drugs, TV shows, shopping, the internet, everything is easy, smooth, convenient, branded. It made me want to disrupt, to follow something unknown, maybe even to fail.”

Joel Ross – nublues (Blue Note)

Acclaimed vibraphonist Joel Ross returns with his remarkable fourth Blue Note release nublues, an album of blues and ballads as refracted through the prism of one of the most creative modern jazz groups of our time. Communication is a key element of the album; both the communication between the musicians and the listener with an emphasis on singable melodies, as well as the profound and intuitive musical conversation that occurs within this tight-knit band featuring Immanuel Wilkins on alto saxophone, Jeremy Corren on piano, Kanoa Mendenhall on bass, Jeremy Dutton on drums, and special guest Gabrielle Garo on flute. The 10 tracks here include 7 new Ross originals as well as pieces by John Coltrane (“equinox” & “central park west”) and Thelonious Monk (“evidence”) many of which are performed as spontaneous suites with the band moving seamlessly across the blues-imbued musical terrain.

Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru – Souvenirs (Mississippi Records)

The first vocal album by beloved Ethiopian nun, composer, and pianist Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru – profound and deeply moving home cassette recordings made amidst political upheaval and turmoil.

These are songs of wisdom, loss, mourning, and exile, sung directly into a boombox and accompanied by Emahoy’s unmistakable piano. Though written and recorded while still living at her family’s home in Addis Ababa, Emahoy sings of the heartache of leaving her beloved Ethiopia, a reflection on the 1974 revolution and ensuing Red Terror in her homeland, and a presentiment of her future exile in Jerusalem.

In the 21st century, Emahoy has become known worldwide for her utterly unique melodic and rhythmic style. Commonly misinterpreted as “jazzy” or “honky tonk,” Emahoy’s music actually comes from a deep engagement with the Western classical tradition, mixed with her background in Ethiopian traditional and Orthodox music. These songs, recorded between 1977-1985, are different from anything previously released by the artist. Rich with the sound of birds outside the window, the creak of the piano bench, the thump of Emahoy’s finger on the record button, they create a sense of place, of being near the artist while she records. Emahoy’s lyrics, sung in Amharic, are poetic and heavy with the weight of exile. “When I looked out / past the clouds / I couldn’t see my country’s sky / Have I really gone so far?” she asks in “Is It Sunny or Cloudy in the Land You Live?” Her vocals are delicate and heartfelt, tracing the melodic contours of her piano on songs like “Where Is the Highway of Thought?”

Ippio Payo – Talking Birds (Echokammer)

Ippio Payo’s music matures until it emerges its way into the light of day all by itself. Like a chick that, as soon as the time is right, after days and weeks of maturing in the egg, pecks its way through the fragile shell into the light under its own steam and timidly unfolds for the first time what will one day help it to soar. Some ideas then become swallows, which make the summer for people who listen carefully, and others become condors, whose mighty wings sound like the mountain ranges of the Andes. Ippio Payo’s music feels its way forward, like fledglings taking flight: sometimes it flicks hooks like a hummingbird, sometimes it sails majestically like an albatross. The songs cross every border – migratory birds that fly over the Himalayas and navigate biotopes over thousands of kilometers with pinpoint accuracy – and find their listeners in Croatia, Spain, France, and Australia. They populate every habitat – from the proverbial desert island to the harsh metropolis, from the Arctic to mythology: Eagle, Sparrow, Phoenix, Griffin, Roc, Peng, Garuda. Birds are considered to be messengers between humans and the spiritual world – in some bars you can hear that too. Otherwise, Ippio Payo, like the bird, stands for freedom itself: because Ippio Payo are always just themselves at every moment. The music is free – let it fly.

„Birds were like dinosaurs‘ better selves. They had short lives and long summers. We all should be so lucky as to leave behind such heirs.“

(Jonathan Franzen, „The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History”, 2010)

Danny Brown – Quaranta (Warp)

Danny’s vanguard status as an artist allows him to school the youngins of the rap game while unpacking his own downfalls. In that way, Quaranta becomes a case study of the rapper, reckoning with the realities of his dream career. ‘Y.B.P.’ is as much an admonishment of destitute living situations as it is a celebration of Detroit’s ingenuity, leading into an abstract thesis on gentrification in ‘Jenn’s Terrific Vacation’, where musical structures are knocked down and rebuilt just as quickly as the architectural ones are, while freezing tones depict stagnation in the midst of immense change.

Terry Adams – Terrible (Omnivore)

The NRBQ founder’s first solo album returns with four bonus tracks.

Terry Adams’ first solo album Terrible is exactly the opposite—it’s a thing of beauty!

In 1995, at the request of New World Records, Terry wrote and recorded an all-original jazz album. The NRBQ founder/pianist invited friends Marshall Allen and other Sun Ra members, Roswell Rudd (Archie Shepp and Carla Bley), the rhythm section of Greg Cohen and Bobby Previte that he met working on Robert Altman’s Short Cuts movie, as well as the members of NRBQ.

On this terribly impressive Terrible reissue, the 12 originals, now augmented by four previously unissued bonus tracks, range from beautiful ballads to swinging romps, all expertly and brilliantly played. Adams and company freely explore his compositions’ whims, ideas and notions, and express them utilizing a unique and varied palette of instrumentation.

Thankfully, this solo outing wasn’t a one-time occurance. Terrible set the table for other terribly wonderful solo projects to follow, but it took nearly 30 years for that album to return. Now sporting new cover art and carefully remastered audio with bonus tracks on CD, Digital and for the first time, a 2-LP set, Terrible has never looked or sounded better.

KRATZEN – KRATZEN zwei (Krautwave)

Etwas nicht zu tun, ist ein zentrales Merkmal von Kratzen. Das Wesen von Kratzen besteht aus der Limitation.

Das Debütalbum von 2020 zeigte bereits, was Kratzen vorhat. Nun also KRATZEN zwei, das die Sound-Idee der Band vollkommen klarmacht. Da ist das zumeist blechlose Schlagzeug, da ist der drückende Bass, da sind die geschichteten Gitarren, untermauert von einer durchlaufenden Orgel.

Kratzen glaubt an die Energie, die entsteht, wenn sich plötzlich kleine Dinge verändern. Repetitiv – motorisch – stoisch – reduziert – Kratzen verbindet Krautrock und New Wave.und nennt es Krautwave.

Die Quittung – Einfrieren (Staatsakt)

Das ist nicht die Reinkarnation von Ton Steine Scherben, respektive Rio Reiser. Hat aber was davon. Hört mal rein!

In Zeiten, in denen alle Mainstream sind, ist es nicht leicht ein Underground-Musiker zu sein. Vor allem, wenn man davon leben wollen muss.

Der Leipziger Musiker Josen Bach ist so einer. Seit Jahren erfolgreich unter dem Radar!

Er verdient seine Brötchen als Schlagzeuger, als Theatermusiker und jetzt neu: Als Bandleader seiner eigenen Band DIE QUITTUNG.

„Einfrieren“, so lautet der Titel des am 24.11. erscheinenden Albums, ist bereits das zweite Album von DIE QUITTUNG, allerdings das erste auf dem Berliner Label staatsakt.

Die Produktion für „Einfrieren“ ging während der Pandemie los und ist nun endlich pfannenfertig gemischt und gemastert. Selbstverständlich wird sein neues Label nun alles dafür tun, DIE QUITTUNG so breit wie möglich im Mainstream zu etablieren! Bald ist es vorbei mit dem Untergrundlegendenstatus. Nur noch mit Sonnenbrille zum Bäcker.

Pozi – Smiling Pools (PRAH)

Pozi are the sort of band to tackle the creative cycle of deconstruction and rebuilding with relish. Second album ‚Smiling Pools‘ is testament to that. An LP that sees them at their most expansive yet, it follows a gradual swelling of their sound across two EPs preceding the urgent, self-enforced minimalism of their debut album PZ1 in 2019.

The trio of Toby Burroughs, Rosa Brook, and Tom Jones quickly established something of a foundational template on that first album: a hyper-skeletal sound palette of drums, bass and three distinct vocals disrupted by Rosa’s churning violins, from which emerged biting social observations and political angst.

These hallmarks haven’t fully gone away over time, but from that urgent energy there has emerged greater confidence and a playful desire to push further out from the loose genre tag of post-punk they were initially saddled with.

“It’s not our goal to totally embrace and restrict ourselves within a genre.” Tom says. “I feel that the tracks on Smiling Pools demonstrate that we’re taking our music to a different place and we want to bring the listener along on that journey.”

The Sorcerers – The Sorcerers (ATA)

„Who’s this? The Sorcerers? It’s cool! This is great. Give me the cd man!“ – Mulatu Astatke

Taking influences from Ethiopiques ethiojazz as well as the soundtracks to the European horror films of the 60s and 70s, The Sorcerers seamlessly blend these disparate elements into one cohesive package. Based in ATA Records‘ home of Leeds, The Sorcerers are made up of the cream of the city’s jazz and world scene. Forming the backbone of the ATA Records house band they incorporate bass clarinets, flutes, and vibraphone alongside bass, guitar organ and drums, providing Ellingtonian textures on top of a solid rhythmic foundation.

After featuring on the „Funk, Soul & Afro rarities: An Introduction to ATA Records“ compilation from Here and Now records last year, they set to work recording a full length LP at the studios of record label ATA Records.

„The Sorcerers are the Ethiopiques of the modern age“

– Jazzman Gerald.

Jon Savage’s Ambient 90s (CTR)

Following on from 2012’s acclaimed “Fame” Post-Punk , 2015’s „Perfect Motion“ Psychedelic-Baggy 1988-93 compilations & 2020’s “Do You have The Force ?” Electronic 1978-82, all critically acclaimed. Jon Savage decided to focus upon Electronic music from the 1990s & has compiled an album that trips through a futuristic & musically fertile era highlighting both lesser-known gems & genre-defining cuts ..

” This music is a new way of looking at the world, a new language” (Jon Savage -Jockey Slut Magazine 1992 )

This compilation is selected and curated by renowned cultural commentator, writer and film-maker Jon Savage. Amongst many highly revered projects Jon has produced the definitive work on Punk Rock in “England’s Dreaming” and the documentary & book “Teenage” The Creation of Youth, 1875 – 1945. He is also the biographer of Joy Division & author of the top 10 Sunday Times best seller „This Searing Light, The Sun & Everything Else“ The Oral History Of Joy Division in 2019.

The Düsseldort Düsterboys – Trommel EP (Staatsakt)

Die neue EP der Essener inklusive Single-Hit Sommer.

Khavn and the Kontra-Kino Orchestra – The Woman who went mad (I.S.T.) (Rheinschallplatten)

Moritz von Oswald – Silencio (Tresor)

Mike Reed – The Separatist Party (We Jazz)