EXCLUSIVE.  With her lunging rhythms and deliciously retro melodies, Akane Hosaka catapults us into a world of gleeful wallabies and drummer-boy monkeys. Her discovery of music came through song, and only later led to instrumental experimentation. References to her early influences, the 60s and 70s precursors of electropop, are deliberate, there for all to see: Raymond Scott, Perrey & Kingsley or Yellow Magic Orchestra. Nevertheless her true inspiration is from the visual world and lies in graphic forms and architectural fantasy: Keiji Ito, Archigram or Bruno Munari. For her, these images evoke music that she then sets about transcribing. Naturally reserved, she’s a perfectionist in her work. Seeing her in the studio is like watching a blacksmith in the smithy, as she bends her music into the required shapes. Her compositions are like pastel-coloured soap bubbles in extra-bright Super 8.
Reviews: Chipple

The music astrïd rooted at the crossroads of various pathways, but this is rooting for her a starting point. Formed in 1997 around Cyril Secq and Yvan Ros, the group has stabilized the following year with the arrival of Vanina Andréani. It is a familiar repertoire of baroque and classical guitarist Cyril Secq a passion for music and improvised contemporary music (Fred Frith), while drummer Yvan Ros rather just rock: it should speak of "convergence" rather than "influences" to describe the musical alchemy that is now at work in the trio. More orchestrated, more electric, the first album Music for containing empty promises, but moving within a relatively circumscribed: accompanied by Guillaume Pervieux (piano, Rhodes, keyboards, harmonium), the music was approaching astrïd territories before it crushed by Rachel's or Town & Country, for example. & With this new (double) opus, the group marks its territory by opening paradoxically all its borders. Listening to last two songs on the CD 2 could incite shortcuts easy: it would be here somewhere between the folk of a John Fahey and Talk Talk Colour of Spring. But left to be paid in common places, we will convene the metaphor of "open spaces" to describe this music minimalism Basic: flowing generally improvisations, the compositions astrïd stretch into a kaleidoscope of climates, where grounds instrumental vibratiles associate and désolidarisent as clouds. As with some discs label ECM, here there is sometimes a very eloquent dilate the time and live in the silence - when other passages reminiscent of the more hypnotic repetitive krautrockers American or German. The music astrïd is a chamber music by the musical intimacy, but it reveals this room is wide open. By the grace of their votes and their apparent simplicity same, the trio compositions show a sense of space, attention to sound that seems inherited composers' classic '. Thus, although very cinematic (astrïd has also worked with video artists, choreographers, and three shorts Paturel Guillaume), these two discs are a great consistency above all timeless. Beyond influences, they place in these astrïd lineage of musicians "folk" whose music s'abreuve all folklore, tradition elizabéthaine in Americana, via remote. This is an album that ends with an improvisation on a psalm of the seventeenth century, and which the clarinet Guillaume Wickel often infuses color Oriental. As Colleen, Clogs or Thee Stranded Horse, astrïd dials a syncretic folk, and therefore somewhere utopian: music that is a natural convergence of many traditions in which it takes its source. Since 2007, the group lives and works in Nantes and Marseille.

File under psychedelic folk/pop. Luke Wyland is a classically trained musician building orchestrated psychedelic masterpieces under the moniker Au. Somewhere along the lines of Van Dyke Parks writing music for Animal Collective Luke focuses on the future and the past of American songwriting.
Reviews: Pitchfork | Willamette Week | Pop Matters | Treblezine | Pampelmoose | Prefix

Track Listing: Plumerai “Vacant Eyes”. The Brother Kite “We Can Never Be Friends”. LIMITED to 500 copies. Clear vinyl in see-thru package. An idea hatched during the recording of Plumerai’s “Without Number” CD out on Silber Records. The thought was to strip away the pedals and even electricity and release a record that would simultaneously draw upon the band’s ability to evoke emotions and utilize one of the band’s noted strengths; the intimacy and power of Elizabeth Ezell’s voice. After consideration they sought out The Brother Kite to record a track for the flipside. A Clairecords staple and another top-notch New England band known for their shoegaze influences, they seemed like a perfect match for the concept of stripping down their sound and writing an acoustic track.. Plumerai’s “Vacant Eyes” relies more heavily on orchestration and layering of instruments such as acoustic guitar, reed organ, violin (arranged and performed by Clara Kebabian) and bells to accompany Ezell. While The Brother Kite’s “We Can Never Be Friends” is a more basic track with acoustic guitars and a catchy vocal melody carrying the song. This stunning and beautiful record comes on coke bottle-clear vinyl and is limited to 500 copies. "Do credit (Plumerai's) Elizabeth Ezell for killing herself softly with this song. Her voice breaks gently on each syllable, creating a strange and soulful vibrato that communicates her anguish easily and gracefully, not unlike Karen O ripping her heart out, ballad-style." - Pitchforkmedia.com “The Brother Kite slip right past the sky on their guitars and into low orbit here, and it's a pleasure to join them there.” – Pitchforkmedia.com, Rating 7.6

The music of Charles Ives is a cultural sourcebook of America at the beginning of the twentieth century. He took the evangelical hymns, the college songs, melodies of the dance hall, the tunes of small town bands and the sounds of village life and shaped them into musical works that are at one familiar and of startling originality. Long considered to be unplayable, his musical juxtapositions would prove to be enormously influential inform such kaleidoscopic inventions as Van Dyke Parks' Song Cycle and the Beach Boys' Smile.

EXCLUSIVE.  'nine lives causeway' is the much awaited follow up to last years ‘Galtrim’ CD. More lush Ambient tracks from one of Ireland's finest exponents of electronic music. Over the past year Ciaran has been gathering rave reviews from the likes of grand nubian, Mixmaster Morris and Irish synth pioneer, Roger Doyle. This promises to be another superb release on the prolific Psychonavigation label.

EXCLUSIVE.  5 tracks. Club 8’s critically acclaimed album ”The boy who couldn’t stop dreaming” is pop music at it’s most profound - and the most personal, honest and beloved song in the whole collection spells “Jesus, walk with me”. On this new 5-track EP the title track is backed up by four brilliant, exclusive tracks - two brand new songs and remixes by Jimahl and The Sound of Arrows. The first new song, “What I’m dreaming of is something I could have”, perfectly highlights what everyone loved about their latest album. Gentle, warm pop music as loveable as it gets. The other new track, “Take me home”, shows a new side of Club 8. It’s minimalistic psychedelia and colorfully mind-altering and hypnotic gospel pop! The first remix is signed by The Sound of Arrows - Sweden’s most promising new act with an approach to music that bare some similarity to Saint Etienne around “Foxbase Alpha” or The Avalanches. Their take on ”Jesus, walk with me” is just as surprising as it’s genius. One of the most interesting ambient dub acts today, Jimahl, rounds up the EP perfectly with an extreme make over of Jesus. ”Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to”? Possibly, yes… ”Jimahl’s 8-minute remix settles into chill-out mode at the start... more percussion and melodic snippets join as the song heads into the chorus, then settles back into a wistful, spacious groove, with just a few phrases shining out of the hypnotic mists.” PITCHFORK. ”This is just perfect simple clever dreamy indie pop. Beautiful, you really need to go find it.” (Organ) “Focused on the melancholy pop that is their forte, Karolina Komstedt’s breathy vocals are very much to the fore on these ravishingly pretty melodies. These songs about love and the fleeting nature of existence pack an emotional punch. (**** Q) “…it throbs to the pulse of deliciously bittersweet guitar melodies, a lifelong passion for The Smiths and even a shaking of Latin percussion" (**** Metro) “…. dreamiest dreampop imaginable, with Karolina Komstedt’s feather-light voice placed delicately over Johan Angergard’s gently evolving backing tracks.” (4 Stars, The Sunday Times) ”Themes of loss and death are beautifully rendered, as melancholic as the pale winter sunlight.” (NARC) “An absolute bundle of Scandinavian indie-pop brilliance from start to finish… (The Beat Surrender) “They do this well, the Swedes. Clean guitars, vocals like water over ice, frictionless.” (Plan B) "exquisite pop" (Pitchfork Media) “The sixth album by this Swedish duo is a collection of delicate indie pop.” (Under The Radar) “The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Dreaming presents a masterclass in how to craft lovely and affecting songs, without ever veering into preciousness or pretension. (Baeble Music) “The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Dreaming is the perfect record to keep the days sunny and long, and make us long for dressing up and riding in a Vespa.” (The Tripwire) “Exceptional stuff, recommended.” (5 Stars, Babysue) “Club 8 have reached new heights with their sixth outing” (9/10 It’s A Trap!).
Reviews: Pitchfork (video) | Pitchfork (mp3 stream)

EXCLUSIVE.  Previously know for his electronic work with Miami's Schematic label and his experimental records on his own and with others: Old Bombs, Fukktron, etc. This time Dino stares right at the ghost of his MTV dreams childhood years and comes out of it with the most beautiful record of well put together songs you'll hear this year. A full instrumented record of pop rock, ballads, psychedelia, no-wave, rock noise and total mutations injected with Dino's own unique approach. This is the pop music of the present, and a recording shooting to change the future.
Reviews: Brainwashed | Paper Thin Walls

Powerful cosmic energy using the simplest tools available: 4 Nintendo Gameboys & mixer. Not a noisy release by any means, instead a fully activated set of lean muscular gabber pop music that stares boldly into the sun with the jihad of a suicide vest full of gummi bears. Drumized takes cues from older trad jazz, Earache era gabber & some of your better ringtones.

Dominique Leone wears many hats, only a few faces & has a hundred songs that you haven’t heard. And yes, he's a him. He’s a songwriter, producer, singer, lover, fighter... scratch that, he's one of a growing number of college-educated musical auteurs with more than a slight command of pop history & theory chops, and writing songs for joyous, infatuated people. Perhaps some of them are a bit over stimulated. Perhaps some of them just like good melodies & strange chord progressions that still seem vaguely familiar. The music is catchy but ambitious; crafted but not sterile; interesting but not pretentious. It’s just a lot of fucking fun.

After several years of writing & recording, Donovan Quinn (SKYGREEN LEOPARDS) recently completed work on his proper debut, working as Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month. Before we get too far into the LP's hows & whys, we've got this single to serve as a taste of what will soon be. Sister Alchemy appears on the forthcoming LP. The Rabbits Tracks, wherein DQ channels Kris Kristofferson & Nikki Sudden with equal prejudice, is exclusive to this release. NO UPC

EXCLUSIVE.  Digitally re-mastered from vinyl, this is a limited re-release of the hard to find import Amigos Em Portugal. ‘Amigos..’ was released first time around in 1983 is a pre-cursor to one of the great Durutti Column albums Without Mercy although ironically it was supposed to be something more along the lines of something shorter. Recorded over a matter of only a couple of days – such is always the case with Vini Reilly - the album allegedly was supposed to be a single or extended play and Vini was just enjoying the tape time playing many of the current work in progress pieces which later became part of the classical experiment with Music degree students Without Mercy. The newly-formed Portuguese label had the tapes and different a idea! Having heard several versions of events it is safe to at least say it was not quite as expected by either Factory or the band at the time. Most of the tracks here have a beautiful fragility whether just solo guitar instrumentals ‘Estoril a Noire’ or piano pieces such as ‘Wheels Turning’ or the piano loop from Without Mercy ‘Favourite descending intervals’. Yes... the times when Vini played piano... the years before he believed he was ‘an awful and discombobulated pianist’ in his own words. It is the second release in a series of limited re-issues from the band on the imprint durutticolumn.com, the first of which Live At The Venue sold out on pre-sale. Three or four other albums of rare or previously unreleased material are planned over the next eighteen months. All will be 1000 copy only pressings.

EXCLUSIVE.  “Sunlight to blue … Blue to blackness” - This was one of the more upbeat title suggestions for the very bare, back to basics, reflective new album from The Durutti Column. Vini Reilly has recorded under the name The Durutti Column since 1978 and has a rich portfolio of work, releasing over 15 albums in this time, but Reilly has been through some dark times the past year. In a conscious response to his last two polished and studio-based releases he has created some sparse, simply beautiful 'sketches' as he once called them, more reminiscent of his work from the early eighties. Many of the pieces are simply instrumentals played on his Juan Montero flamenco guitar, and he returns to 'Without Mercy' for the last track 'Grief' and reinvents 'Never Known' from LC. This release also sees the debut of a talented young pianist and singer, Poppy Morgan, who co-wrote the melancholy Ananda as a duet with what Reilly dryly calls 'intrusive guitar'. For the uninitiated, Vini was the first artist signed to Manchester’s influential Factory Records, co-wrote and played on Morrissey’s first solo album ‘Viva Hate’, and was heavily featured in the film about Manchester music culture, ’24 Hour Party People’. Ever critical of Vini’s voice, but ever a fierce champion of his talent, the late Tony Wilson would surely appreciate this return of The Durutti Column. Track listing: 1. Glimpse 2. Contact 3. Messages 4. So Many Crumbs And Monkeys! 5. Ged 6. Never Known Version 7. Anada 8. Head Glue 9. Demo For Gathering Dust 10. Wordless 11. Grief

EXCLUSIVE.  tracklisting: interruption 4, black light, retaliation, of view. fear, black light [scorn remix], stillness (re-edit), chaos (re-edit). info: end.user is one of the cornerstones of the modern eclectic electronic music. releases across many platforms have built him into a juggernaut. a usually prolific artist, having recorded for hymen, ad noiseam, sublight, cargo, and many others, he took 2007 off, working on something very special: his debut on ohm resistance and the 2x12'' vinyl version on hymen records. having relocated to san francisco, a new lease on his creative power is demonstrated adroitly over the entire album. left shows the most range of end.users album making career. intensely personal, intensely musical, and just plain intense at points, the album showcases a spectacular array of skills across the board. from radio play material (black light) with australian vocalist sol thomas, to collaborations with and remixes by influential electronic acts like scorn, to absolutely stunning, no boundaries drum n bass, the album is diverse and full of powerful compositions. compelling from start to finish, left is the culmination of more than a year's work. this vinyl version contains six tracks that can be found on the cd release, including the black light remix by scorn. furthermore there are two re-edits on side d which are vinyl-only tracks!

From defining Subway Sect to first & last word in garage punk Rob Symmons is back with The Fallen Leaves. London’s very own group THE FALLEN LEAVES was formed in 2004 by Rob Green (Rob built himself a reputation singing at Bernie Rhodes’ “Club Left” and by performing with Vic Godard’s Subway Sect, notably supporting Siouxsie & The Banshees at the Music Machine in ’80), and by original ’76-’78 Subway Sect guitarist/founding member Rob Symmons whose distinctive discordant, stinging guitar sound was one of the defining features of the original Subway Sect which he formed with best friend Godard. Memorably Subway Sect’s debut gig was at the now historic “100 Club Punk Rock Festival” in Sept ‘76 where they kicked off the first night, followed by their heroes the Sex Pistols, and The Clash. Subway Sect turned out to be one of the most original and innovative bands to emerge from the festival. Their first single “Nobody’s Scared” was released in Mar ’78, but unfortunately for Symmons by the time second single “Ambition” came out (Dec ’78) Bernie Rhodes (manager of both Subway Sect and The Clash) had persuaded Vic Godard to sack the rest of band, and then somehow lost the band’s original album recordings. “Ambition” went straight to the top of the indie charts selling 20,000 copies in a week and stayed there for nine weeks. Symmons’ amazingly didn’t play guitar again until he and long time friend Green formed The Fallen Leaves. Symmons & Green share a love of 60’s garage music, and ever-so stylish vintage suits. THE FALLEN LEAVES’ recordings are alive, heated and humming - preferring as they do to use vintage valve amps & mics, and recording live with no overdubs and minimal technology. They hark back to DIY punk days and concentrate on delivering impressive songs and performances. “Rob Symmons, The Fallen Leaves guitarist looks impossibly sharp. Thirty years ago he held a Fender Jaguar high on his chest and helped Subway Sect become one of the few groups from the Punk era to make good on the promise of artistically challenging the Rock hegemony. Now, after so long away from the stage, he again wields his guitar like Jimmy Cagney shooting off his Tommy Gun. He’s mesmerising; particularly so since the sound he creates is just as it once was; a confrontational cacophony of clashing rock’n’roll destroyed and reassembled with strange and awkward angles. The same, but different.” Plan B

EXCLUSIVE.  Kieran, Diego, Jordi and Rubén used to be part of Migala, probably one of the best Spanish bands ever. It’s something they won’t try to hide. Now they are Fantasy Bar, whose debut album, Friday Afternoon Car, takes their music –and influences ranging from American Music Club to Nick Drake, Arab Strap to Neil Young…- into enchanting new territories. Friday Afternoon Car is an album of nostalgia and yearning for a brighter dawn; of harshness and tender feeling; of hopes and of fears. Its 14 stately, slow-paced rock songs are suffused with the beauty that lies just beneath the surface of existence. The careworn yet compassionate vocals of Scottish songwriter Kieran Stephen (ex-bassist with Los Planetas and Migala, bass guitar on El Hijo’s album “Las otras vidas”, live musician with QZIOS) speak of the emotions these four friends know so well: the persistence of memories; friendship and wasted love; the knowledge, throughout it all, that the good times can prevail. It’s there from the first moments of “Spiders”, which opens Friday Afternoon Car: the story of a bad dream called solitude, wrapped in gentle guitars and upbeat but delicate drums. The album was recorded at Rock Soul Studios in Madrid with the assistance of Carlos Torero, and features keyboards and guitar by Abel Hernández (El Hijo, former singer and guitarist of Migala) and electric guitar by Chris Bathgate (Sans Trauma, ex-Ganger, who also used to play bass with Arab Strap). It takes its name from an old British phrase that alludes to the belief that car-factory workers lose interest toward the end of the week: as the brief liberation of the weekend looms, everyday cares cease to matter. Friday Afternoon Car invites the listener to enter the universe of these songs: to discover a place to reflect and, above all, to feel. Fantasy Bar are: Kieran Stephen (vocals, guitars, bass), Diego Yturriga (keyboards, accordion and melodica), Jordi Sancho (bass, fender rhodes) and Rubén Moreno (drums).

EXCLUSIVE.  'if i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter.' in the case of ginormous’ third album on hymen records, bryan konietzko did take more time and produced his most direct and potent musical message to date. 'at night' is even more emotive and personal than ginormous’ previous work, all while resisting self-indulgence. these eleven tracks were objectively beaten and honed until they each became the most condensed and vivid versions of themselves. bryan konietzko shines his bright, 'artificial light' on the elements that hoards of electronic music composers fear the most: melody, song structure and brevity. the album is an intense and addictive experience, charging forward with the nervous energy of urban, nighttime cityscapes, speeding subways and foreboding factories. there is an organic, human element at the center of this unrelenting journey, in the form of symphonic and acoustic instruments and warm bass lines, balancing the bold compositions. the album starts with 'punches to carefully coax,' a proud peacock of a track where thick, jagged planes of ice collide with razor sharp synth strings. 'melted circadian' bristles with a chromatically-fractal melody that spins like a neon helix in vertigo. konietzko parades a passionate assortment of prepared guitars with a muscular beat in the sweeping 'coiled so tightly.' the title track confidently trudges like a phalanx of tungsten-clad shadows pursuing a cloud of glittering insects. 'from deep bore holes' hypnotizes with an unsettlingly lingual snare drum that tries and fails to speak, possibly warning of the molten, rubberized synth melody that waits in the depths, poised to scald. finally, 'awakening the magpie in all of us' sails on a slow bonham-esque dream-beat while dozens of chimes and metallophones pull the 43-minute album to its inevitable, timely conclusion.

EXCLUSIVE.  Digipak with 16 page booklet featuring the artist's illustrations. Darla Records is proud to present the debut from Argentinian singer/songwriter/illustrator Isol and her brother Zypce. Isol is a singer, composer, ex-vocalist of the electronic pop band Entre Ríos who released three records on Elefant and Darla, singer with the baroque group The Excuse and member of the synthpop American band Alsace Lorraine. She’s also an internationally renowned illustrator of books and printed media. For the first time here on Sima, she composes melodies and lyrics. Zypce is a musician and composer. In 1994 he released his CD Nuevo Muerto (New Dead) on which he and his ensemble play his own works of contemporary classical music tainted with industrial reminiscences, although these are very dubious labels. He has also composed music for film, dance and theatre in Argentina and abroad and has performed his experimental compositions with pianist Adriana de los Santos, among others, in concert. He builds his own musical instruments and has an extremely elaborate approach to the stage. On Sima he composes and arranges songs, clearly faithful to his peculiar aesthetics as he works within the pop song format, always with very experimental results. Isol and Zypce are siblings, born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. About Sima: 11 tracks. Voice: Isol. Instrumental arrangements: Zypce. Lyrics: Isol. Music: Isol / Zypce (except “La primera vez” and “Vos me llamás”, by Dani Umpi / Adrián Soiza). Artistic production: Zypce (in “Vos me llamás”: Zypce-Cecinini). Mastering: Nicolás Cecinini. Sima: f. abyss, precipice, crag, depth, chasm. Tracklist: 1. La Primera Vez, 2. Romance Fatal, 3. La Culpa, 4. Mi Formula Para Llorar, 5. Tal Vez Mejor, 6. La Calandria, 7. Palabritas Flojas, 8. Si De Verdad, 9. Doppelganger, 10. Vos Me Llamas, 11. El Dia Llego.
Reviews: Babysue | NPR | Barcodezine | Popmatters | Leonard's Lair

LIMITED EDITION 600. LINE is proud to release the latest audio work from British composer and installation artist Janek Schaefer based on his installation of the same title. Installation Reviews: "a piece to return to again and again... haunting and lulling" [The Wire, UK] "so inspirational, and in many ways very spiritual" [Gerry Turvey] "I was so deeply touched by your piece" [Mandeep Kaur Samra] Red is the colour of Life, of Death, and of Love. Scarlett, my first child, was born in 2005, and since then I have been very aware of how lucky we all are. have been constantly comparing this to the fact that my mother was born in Warsaw in 1942 - the epicenter of World War II. How opposite can two beginnings be? This inspired me to produce the Extended Play installation, which continuously and positively celebrates hope and new beginnings, for child survivors in all situations around the world. The original idea for the composition, came from learning about the 'Jodoform' system of secret musical messages, that were broadcast by the BBC Service, during music they played was given a particular meaning, which was interpreted by Polish Underground. discovered from the original Jodoform log book, that the lovely Polish folk song 'Tango Łyczakowskie', was broadcast on the day my mother was born. song describes how children in 1918, had been forced to take up arms, in defense of their town. From this tune, chose a short rising musical phrase, and with my arranger Michael Jennings, developed a ten minute score. Each of the three solo parts was then recorded separately, edited, and cut onto vinyl. In the gallery, 3 x Cello EP's, 3 x Piano EP's, and 3 x Violin EP'’s are played at either 33, 45, or 78rpm using nine retro record players. These play continuously, and each was modified to stop playing briefly in response to the audience moving around the exhibition. This has the effect of changing and extending the composition, so that it is never the same again.

EXCLUSIVE.  with (f)light jérôme chassagnard, a member of the french project ab ovo, presents his first solo work. he is accompanied by befriended artists like flaque and guillaume eluerd (nimp). what can we expect from an artist whose influences and preferences range from electronica and ambient to pop, ethnic music and drum'n'bass? whose preferred authors are a. de st. exupery, and andré gide, e.a. poe and ray bradbury? whose favorite movie directors are stanley kubrick, david lynch and steven spielberg - just to name a few? what looks like an eclectic puzzle at first glance makes perfect sense after listening to this outstanding album... each track is carried by intense, emotional moods that take the listener from warm and soothing tranquillity to disturbing and yet unknown places with proficient subtlety. flowing ambient landscapes based upon varied rhythms include beautiful, sometimes slightly sad melodies - only a glimpse of the darkness behind the mirror of technology. all of this accented with sampled acoustic instruments and the appropriate use of voices and guitars - this album holds a perfect balance between beat and drift. a captivating piece of work - essential listening to all those who wish to enter an abstract parallel world - yet, not so abstract that they'll get lost.
Reviews: Brainwashed | Gothtronic

EXCLUSIVE.  Julien Ribot has always loved both music and image. At the end of the nineties he was a professional illustrator. He had always composed from his early years on for his own pleasure and out of a natural need related to his being a man of many ideas… The triggering event was the meeting with a Japanese pop star seeking new songs for her new LP. He wrote her two songs and met a few people in the small French pop world. As the buzz around his mysterious personality increased, Julien Ribot gave up his job in order to devote himself entirely to music. He released his first LP Hôtel Bocchi at the end of 2001. On top of having Françoiz Breut’s participation, he was surrounded on some tracks by Dionysos or Katrine, who helped him enjoy a pleasant succès d’estime. As a pianist and a singer he has been influenced (among others) by Mike Garson (one of Bowie’s musicians) and Gérard Jouannest (who worked with French singer Jacques Brel). He also drew his inspiration for his second LP from graphic worlds belonging to David Lynch, Roland Topor or Tim Burton. It was called La Métamorphose de Caspar Dix and came out in 2004. This album proved his ability to build a rich and sophisticated world around a dreamlike story served by sensitive and creative pop music. He is back today with VEGA, a record he wrote between Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Rome and Florence. Without being a concept album, this new release is fully coherent and builds up again a subtle and captivating atmosphere. The artist describes a quest for identity and inner peace throughout the fourteen tracks of the LP which stand for joyful or sad – but always edifying - personal experiences. His most personal record was made with a new team of musicians and here Ribot stands out as a solo artist able to create a world of his own. The recording of this album provoked some enriching experiences like the recording of the strings in London or the meeting with Mieko Miyazaki, who has fallen in love with Julien’s project. She is one of the most popular koto players worldwide and her instrument enlightens Le rêve de Tokyo. To finish, the presence of Julien Ribot’s partner in life, Annabelle, should also be underlined. She cosigns two titles (La nuit and Les jardins de Boboli) and sings them in duet. First single : LA CHAMBRE RENVERSEE No one is as talented as Julien Ribot is when it comes to creating original worlds, yet he uses very simple ideas. La chambre renversée is a good example of his inspiration. An artist (Daniel Spoerri) who covers tables with every day objects before sticking them on the wall pleased Julien to the utmost. He saw in it an inversion of perspective which can be summed up as follows: everything is possible in the imagination! A rather naïve idea that the artist claims. Julien Ribot is a cunning composer who wrote a heady gimmick of flute creating something close to the sound of fanfare in the listener’s ear and which plays a major role in making this first single a charming and efficient one. As far as the lyrics are concerned, without getting into any of the details of the simple poetry of La chambre renversée, it must be said that the “top of the great alphabet” where the bedroom happens to land on is directly inspired by The Alphabet, David Lynch’s first short length film, which is a sort of painting that comes to life that fascinates Julien Ribot. By the way, he is currently using his own talent as a graphic artist in order to illustrate this song with an animated video clip made with his own drawings. It will soon enable us to see Julien Ribot’s special talent for twisting ideas and perspectives so as to create a matchless universe.
Reviews: Daily Motion (video)

Rutger and Stephen sort of accidentally met through e-mail. A simple note regarding an ordering question for a CD led to an enthusiastic e-mail conversation and climaxed in a musical collaboration. This all happened in a very short period, both musicians being very inspired by the concept of “exchange,” as a means to cross space and time -- Rutger living in the Netherlands and Stephen in Virginia. Most of the time, when (electronic) musicians work together it’s a matter of swapping digital files. In this case they decided to do something different and sent each other a box full of (mostly non-musical, or musically non-functional) objects and recordings, with the “assignment” to make music with those objects and all as source materials. As the titles tell, we’re talking about an egg cutter, thumb piano, a broken kraakle box, rice, chocolate sprinkles, old cassette tapes, a broken 7” record, etcetera, etcetera. Both musicians made two of their own solo tracks with the box they received, and the last track was done together by Rutger adding sounds and processing to a piece started by Stephen. For Rutger/ Machinefabriek this is part of his most delicate work. For Stephen, it was a new and extremely enjoyable form of long-distance collaboration. Machinefabriek: Rutger Zuydervelt, better known as Machinefabriek, lives in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Started as Machinefabriek in 2004, he released 40+ small run home-made cdr’s as well as work for Type Records, Lampse, Digitalis, Staalplaat (Mort Aux Vaches) and now 12K. A double remix cd was released in 2007, with interpetations by Alva Noto, Pita, Mitchell Akiyama, Xela, Gert-Jan Prins and many more. Collaborations (live or recording) include Steinbrüchel, Jasper TX, Wouter van Veldhoven, Simon Nabatov, Frans de Waard, Aaron Martin and Peter Broderick. Stephen Vitiello: Stephen Vitiello is a sound and media artist based in Richmond, VA. CD releases include Bright and Dusty Things (New Albion), Listening to Donald Judd (Sub Rosa) and Untitled/Exchange, a collaborative CD with Michael J. Schumacher (A Question of Re-Entry). Solo exhibitions of Vitiello’s sound installations, photographs and drawings have been presented at The Project, NY, Museum 52, London, the Texas Gallery, Houston, TX and Diapason, NYC. Group exhibitions include the 2002 Whitney Biennial and the 2006 Biennial of Sydney. Over the last 18 years, Stephen has collaborated with numerous musicians and artists including Scanner, Pauline Oliveros, Andrew Deutsch, Julie Mehretu and Tony Oursler.

EXCLUSIVE.  Repress. Matt Elliott has rather an atypical course... He used to work under the pseudo third eye foundation - emblematic figure of the English electronic scene recognized for his atypical electro tinted by drum' N bass. Since his first albums: “the mess we made” (domino records) and “drinking song” (Ici d’ailleurs…), Matt Elliott turns to compositions much more folk, forsaking the laptop and the machines - which go until disappearing on “failing songs”, to return to more traditional instruments (guitar, piano, violin...). To succeed to “drinking songs”, because it’s really about songs, “failing songs” turns Matt Elliott into a true songwriter. He assumes completely his voice and sings very personal and dark texts.Songs whose subtle melodies contrast with the hardness of the words because "Failing songs" is a hard failure report. Between despair and cold anger, the texts talk about the liberal military evolution of the world that the author rejects. The Titles are as sublime as melancholic, bitter and sad, impressed by Slavic music, Greek, and besides, sometimes punctuated of Spanish guitars, sometimes close to Dimitri Chostakovitch or Pascal Comelade’s sonorities at his beginnings an artist that Matt however reveals not to know).

Now, with "My Mind is falling to pieces" on arbouse recordings, it lets us glimpse a world quite singular. Folk Much more than usual, much more organic and acoustic (guitar, piano), Melodium offers us listen compositions melancholy, nostalgic ditties where the melodies are furnish a few clicks and relents beep ... We discover his voice and his talented songwriter. It is finally a unique, a meeting between Folk and Electronica.

EXCLUSIVE.  Merzbow's fourth full length CD album for the VIVO RECORDS label.

EXCLUSIVE.  Acuarela releases the original soundtrack of “Bajo las estrellas” [Under the stars] Félix Viscarret’s debut film (2008 Goya* for best Adapted Screenplay), starring Alberto San Juan (2008 Goya for best Actor) and nominated for best Soundtrack music by Mikel Salas with twilight western instrumentation. Surprising bonus track by Flamenco big star, Enrique Morente, who sings the standard classic "Stella by Starlight." *Goya is the equivalent of the Oscars for films in Spanish language. “Bajo las estrellas” starts, and we hear an ukelele, a xylophone; suddenly it bursts a fun rogue melody, with an ubiquitous banjo and a persistent rhythm, as if we were travelling in a ramshackle bus. We are entering the impossible city of Estella (in Navarra, Spain), more imaginary than real, a world fraught with losers who cling to any chance of leading a more ‘normal’ life. Mikel Salas’ music is that of iron, scrap metal and abandoned caravans, rusting, with twilight western instrumentation and lo-fi sound, a succession of instrumental landscapes, almost borderline abstractions that travel along with Benito Lacunza (actor Alberto San Juan) in his journey towards happiness, to the possibility of a remote happiness. In previous conversations between the director and the musician, it was much discussed Daniel Lanois, and, above all, his album "Shine". Félix Viscarret says that Mikel Salas likes to get into a project before even shooting. But the proper ‘revelation’ came when “Mikel faced the first editing of the film. That’s when we started talking about road music for our peculiar road movie à la navarra, an industrial western, the redemption story of an embarrassment guy, Benito Lacunza, who’s going to show us that behind his dirty appearance lies someone with a huge heart.” This is Acuarela’s first published soundtrack. But it’s also almost like any other release this label has got us used to. Almost folk, dark but flooded by rare cracks of light, intimate, warm, sometimes funny and sometimes bleak. Mikel Salas has written and recorded (by himself) the sound of how is traveling on roads filled with dust, deep into the mists of the north, or bordering small towns. And to conclude the record, a surprise: the voice of Enrique Morente and his amazing, magical version of Victor Young’s standard “Stella by Starlight, filling the sky with stars.

An extraordinary, acid, counterculture take on The Wizard of Oz created under the auspices of electronic producer, Bernard Krause and combining Jacques Wilson s inventive lyrics with the moog synthesisers of the legendary Mort Garson. Even in the heady, drug-fuelled atmosphere of sonic exploration that ruled the late Sixties, there was never another album quite like The Wozard of Iz; a psychedelic masterpiece both of and ahead of its time. A psychedelic concept album of estimable mind: funny, crazed, beautiful and thought provoking.

EXCLUSIVE.  24 tracks. NTSC Region 0 multi-region format. LTM is pleased to present a live DVD by cult Factory Records band The Names, including their December 2007 homecoming concert at legendary Brussels (Belgium) venue Plan K. Shot in High Definition with five cameras and a digital stereo soundtrack, the Plan K section of the DVD features 11 songs, including the classic singles Nightshift, Calcutta and The Astronaut, as well as new tracks including I Am the Rain and Zeroes (a tribute to their former producer Martin Hannett), and an encore cover of the Magazine song The Light Pours Out of Me. These tracks were taped at the memorable A Factory Night (Once Again) event at Plan K staged on 15 December 2007, which also featured performances by Section 25, Peter Hook, Crispy Ambulance and Kevin Hewick. The 120 minute DVD also features several vintage promo clips from 1980-82, including shorts for Nightshift, Light and The Astronaut. An intimate extra bonus feature is provided by Celebration, 9 songs recorded live at a 2005 birthday party for singer/writer Michel Sordinia, at which the band run through versions of a number of Names originals as well as songs by Joy Division and Neil Young. Also available: Swimming & Singles (LTMCD 2324), Spectators of Life (LTMCD 2320). Live Au Plan K (Brussels) 15 December 2007: 1. Light 2. I Am The Rain 3. Calcutta 4. Zeroes 5. The Astronaut 6. I Liked You Better When You Were Dead 7. Nightshift 8. I Wish I Could Speak Your Language 9. Discovery 10. Friendly Fire 11. The Light Pours Out Of Me When We Were Kids: 12. Nightshift #1 13. Light 14. The Astronaut 15. Nightshift #2 Celebration (2005): 16. My Funny Valentine 17. Nightshift 18. The Astronaut 19. Calcutta 20. The Call Of Trains 21. Swimming 22. New Dawn Fades 23. Luka 24. Cortez The Killer

For King Vidor's 1956 filming of Tolstoy s epic, Nino Rota, already revered for his work on the films of Federico Fellini and who would go on to compose the Oscar-winning music for the first two parts of The Godfather trilogy, provides a suitably dramatic and romantic score that pays homage to the music of Tchaikovsky. The film is a truly sumptuous spectacle, thanks to the radiance of the young Audrey Hepburn (who plays Natasha) and the contribution of veteran cinematographer Jack Cardiff - widely hailed as a genius in the field after his work on the Powell and Pressburger masterpieces A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes. Nino Rota s score is long deleted in digital form and much sought after by the composer s acolytes in America, Japan and Italy especially. Audrey Hepburn is collectable in all mediums and naturally enough she graces the front cover of our edition. Prelude / The Orgy / Andrei Leaving For The War – Pierre And Natasha / The Battle Of Austerlitz / Moment Musical - Andrei Andnatasha - The Hunt / War And Peace (Natasha's Waltz) / Anatole And Natasha / Winter And The Remembrance Of Andrei / The Charge Of The Cavalry And The Wounded / Exodus From Moscow / Napoleon's Retreat / The Homecoming At Moscow

The new album, their first for over 4 years, 'Huffin' Rag Blues' is the inevitable conclusion of Steven Stapleton and Andrew Liles' passion for easy listening and lounge jazz. Contorted and carved into a distinctly Nurse With Wound sound 'Huffin' Rag Blues' is a greasy amalgam of uneasy listening, shaken and stirred Molotov cocktails and quixotica. Full to the brim with squeals, screams, smokey vocals, drunken double basses, melting vibraphones and internal organs from outer space this album is an unlikely and unique excursion from beginning to end. As with all Nurse With Wound recordings it goes without saying... expect the unexpected.

EXCLUSIVE.  The sado-booty ring-master is back again, that’s right, Cock Rock Disco is proud to present the new full length album by Otto Von Schirach: “Oozing Bass Spasms”. With enough porn and horror samples to satiate the most demented programmer, and enough juicy bass to placate the most voracious bass-head, Oozing Bass Spasms is a masterwork by one of the world’s most original artists. By far his most approachable and even refined album, it’s still pretty fucking crazy in a way that only Otto von Schirach can provide. This time the overall feeling of the album is more dance sounding; elements of Booty, Electro, Breakcore, and Rave music all find a place in his bizarre universe. From the first track “Subatomic Disco Divas” to the last “Satanic Unicorn Orgy”, we are spoon-fed outstanding beats of all types, fractured and welded into ghettoized forms never seen. “Magnetic Rave Headache” will probably be one of the hardest breakcore tracks you’ve ever heard, and then the next song, “GELIATIN FIXATION” is built around a dubstep bassline that would make Scorn wet himself. His ballad “Her Blood Is Like Poison” gets the ladies horny and the boys start the mosh-pit during “DJ Hepatitis Tofuburger”. But the party gets rowdy with his collaboration with Liquido -“Romance in the Club”- a electro-club banger like we rarely get anymore- it’s positively soaked in party. Otto Von Schirach (half Cuban / half German) was born in 1978 in the ghetto in Miami. In 1995 he bought his first drum machine from a crack-head just 2 blocks from his mom’s house, and in 1998 Otto released his first demo, which got him signed to a 4 album deal with Schematic Records. In 2003 Otto worked on the Skinny Puppy album "The Greater Wrong of the Right" and then tour with them now 3 times. In 2004 Miss Kitten had Otto remix her "Professional Distortion" track for Nova Mute UK. Otto’s last album, "Maxipad Detention", was released by Mike Patton’s Ipecac Recordings in 2006 to vast critical and fan accolades world-wide. Otto is currently touring in Europe with Einstürzende Neubauten (May), in the USA with Venetian Snares (June), and will be back for a massive tour in collaboration with porn-rap legend Blowfly (August-Sept).

EXCLUSIVE.  Ponies In The Surf are quietly one of a kind. Siblings and indie music aficionados Alex & Camile live in Cambridge, MA though they’re originally from Bogota, Colombia. The Ponies make pan-American pop songs with elements Samba, Beatles and the more sophisticated folk set. They're Pop Vocal traditionalists and very much akin to The Violent Femmes and Johnathan Richman in terms of song craft, subtle humor and vulnerability. The Ponies' work is uniquely comforting and highly addictive. It is served with a rare passion and grace. It evokes nostalgia while remaining firmly planted in its own special, almost timeless place. These are simply great songs. The first 1000 copies of See You Happy CD come with a limited edition bonus CD, entitled Noche Noche, featuring Ponies in The Surf covering six favorite all-time classics Ponies style plus two demos. "After playing in rock bands for some time, Alexander McGregor decided at some point that he simply wanted to make some music that could even appeal to his grandmother. Joined by his sister Camille, the duo plays stripped-down folkish type music that sounds like it could have been created at any point in the past 40 years yet still feels fresh." --ALMOST COOL. "These powerfully quiet traditionalists perform folk songs with a pan-American touch. It's only a shame that music this delicate and warm doesn't garner more notice." --POPMATTERS. Track list: 1. 16a 2. Walkin' In The City 3. Sweet & Low 4. My Crack-Up 5. Another Mind 6. Bad Crowd 7. What's In a Smile 8. See You Happy 9. Holes In The Walls 10. Ventricle 11. Out-There Friends 12. Once In A While 13. Johnny Rebel 14. Joao Bonus disc track list: 1. Te Extraño Tanto (Palito Ortega) 2. Nothing to Lose (Henry Mancini/Don Black) 3. Poor Jenny (F. & B. Bryant) 4. Heaven (Byrne/Harrison) 5. Te Extraño Tanto #2 (Palito Ortega) 6. A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes (L.Cohen) 7. Another Mind (Demo) 8. Holes in the Walls #2
Reviews: Boston's Weekly Dig | Erasing Clouds | The Yellow Stereo | Boston Phoenix | Almost Cool | Leonard's Lair

As the title self-effacingly implies, Quo proffers a triumphant, primo slice of past Pumiceisms: uncertain progressions, anomalous structure, inimitable guitar buzz, sublime melancholy & distorted vocals (crooned, spoken & moaned). Quo once more finds Pumice cruising the convergence of pop, folk & noise strains with bona fide inner mystique. Sputtering sub-underground skiffle aims for outer zones, diamond cuts of nervous guitar with pesky hooks that sting & tickle tread rough hewn punk turf, pop tangents charm with echoes of the Kilgours or Chris Knox, and woozy synth blurts & drones thread the patchwork patterns with Hulk-like grace.

EXCLUSIVE.  "It’s time – once again and more clearly than before – to show our standpoint. ’Freddie and the Trojan Horse’ is about the untruthfulness of the Swedish right-wing government and how the leading party seized power by portraying itself as supportive of the workers.” --THE RADIO DEPT. In the beginning of 2007 people started talking about new material from The Radio Dept. There was even a rumour going on that they were working on two albums simultaneously and that both would be released in May the same year. In other words; two albums merely one year after the release of the previous album ”Pet Grief”. Those who had followed the band for a few years and know how they work probably suspected this would not happen. "Freddie and the Trojan Horse" is a first taste of their upcoming album ”Clinging to a scheme” due to be released on September 10. The new songs are said to be influenced by minimalistic post-punk, krautrock, repetitive "motorik" beat and ambient noise. Maybe "Freddie and the Trojan Horse" doesn’t represent the upcoming album very well. But what do we know!? If the truth’s to be told we haven’t heard that much more of their, almost mythical, new recordings than anyone else. Still, we’re have no worries whatsoever. We’re only full of expectation and belief in the songs. Whatever they sound like, we’re confident that they’ll be of the same amazing quality as ”Freddie…” The Radio Dept. ”Freddie and the Trojan horse” is right now at #1 at Elbo.ws which compiles more than 2800 blogs. TRACK LIST: 1. Freddie and the Trojan horse 2. Closing scene 3. The room, Tarzana 4. Closing scene pt. 2
Reviews: The Cool Hunter | The Yellow Stereo | Pitchfork (mp3 stream) | Sound Bites | Exclaim!

In RE:UP Issue 15, we are proud to feature a cover story on the boys whose music is a giant homage to the Jheri curl - Chromeo. Do they love or hate Los Angeles? Find out inside! We have in-depth interviews with Brooklyn’s answer to M.I.A. - the super hot Santogold, the #1 band in college radio Hot Chip, the cosmic disco rocker Prins Thomas, the King of Horror himself Danzig, and Staten Island Afro-funksters known as The Budos Band. RE:UP #15 also sets up a Q&A session with comedic writer and actor David Wain, picks the minds behind the popular FABRICLIVE DJ mix series, takes a look back on the New Jack Swing era (Teddy Riley 4-EVA!), and showcases original artwork by Freegums, Acamonchi, and Gangsta Rap Coloring Book author Aye Jay Morano. In addition, there are exclusive articles on edIT & The Glitch Mob, reggae top rankin’ deejay Ranking Joe, math rocker Caribou, Norway’s Datarock, Zeb the Pleb, Tortoise’s drum breaks project Bumps, techno breakbeat’s old farts The Chemical Brothers, and Persian psych-punk doctor DJ Mahssa. Plus, you get more Baby’s First Thrash Bands, the Manual #11 Rewwwind, peculiar vinyl album cover art collected by Anticon’s Odd Nosdam, and of course more music, movie, gear, game and book reviews.

Robin is half of ISAN. Lugubrious and minimal. Melodic and otherworldly. Hot on the blistering heels of his debut solo single (VAN 145) comes this full-length outing from the social worker turned gardener. Double digging over unlikely boundaries is something of a habit for Robin, and this record characteristically lurches between moods; from elegiac to wistful, and from meditative to bouncy, this record runs the full gamut. Creaking synths, loping bass and a succession of chimes seep from the nimble textures pressed tightly together. Lush and filmic, the nine tracks here cultivate and harvest a twinkling yet intense arc, with strange and alien sounds nestling snugly next to crumpled rhythms and gurgles, all peppered with tinges of acoustic guitar and eerie tones. ‘Peasgood Nonsuch’ works over nutrient-rich electronica soil, germinating an earthy hybrid of intricately woven melodies and pulses, stewed and heated to perfection. An organic journey from the pesticide-free plot to the kitchen table, it’s a recipe full of beat-tastic ingredients ripe for picking from the orchard. As one of half of the duo which comprises isan, Robin Saville has long been part of that seminal act - masters of slow flow electronica, bridging the gap between different boundaries and atmospheres, not to mention untangling messy knots of wires and cables all around the world. With its roots closer in feel to isan’s earlier, more sprightly offerings, ‘Peasgood Nonsuch’ is light and warm but with an underlying dark centre, so the audible tranquillity is imbued with an altogether tougher edge. Next to using a digital pipette to suck up the leaked new Portishead album this gunk of electronic DNA is ripe for unspooling and analysing in the Petri dish of your own home laboratories. A must for fans of isan, Inch-Time, Harold Budd, and all things Type Records ; Morr Music and Eno’s Obscure label. Edition of 1000 copies in card gatefold.

EXCLUSIVE.  Only some weeks after letting you know about this amazing new band from Cardiff and their wonderful debut single, “All I wanna do”, now it’s time to confirm the commotion and clamour their songs are creating amongst the music press and 50s girl-group fans. Rough Trade compares them to Kirsty McColl and CAMERA OBSCURA, Hipersonica to BELLE & SEBASTIAN and THE BEACH BOYS, New York newspaper The Village Voice turns them into a magical daydream of THE RONETTES, weblog Parallax View makes them single of the week and Pitchfork considers them relatives to Phil Spector‘s wall of sound. And let’s not forget about the two radio sessions the band has recorded for British BBC: the first one, last February, for Bethan Elfyn‘s show on Radio 1, and their second appearance live on the BBC by mid-March, this time for Marc Riley. After such enthusiastic reactions, we cannot do other than euphorically announce that their second single, “Let it slip”, has been released. Born from the same sessions that resulted in “All I wanna do”, and with Ian Catt (SAINT ETIENNE, TREMBLING BLUE STARS, NOSOTRÄSH, THE FIELD MICE, SHAMPOO, THE BOO RADLEYS, Kahimi Karie) on production duties, this new single holds four delightful songs: “Let it slip” (which gives the single its name), “I don’t believe in love”, “I want you back” y “Shoulder”. But the best thing about this release is the way it reaffirms our already strong belief in the single format’s grandeur, especially when a band such as THE SCHOOL is able to record four songs that could very well be earth-shaking hits.
Reviews: Let it Slip (video) | Pitchfork (mp3 stream) | Eardrums