14th December 2009 Releases

JOKER
A. City Hopper
AA. Output 1-2
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 036)





'It's been an incredible year for the 20 year old Bristolian, responsible for igniting a worldwide passion in what's become known as the 'Purple Wow' mutation of dubstep. If you've yet to hear Joker's unique take on things - his melodic synth-funk lines, grimey basslines and all round sense of fun-injected-back-into-music... Then get out from under your stone and check it out!

With releases on his own Kapsize imprint earlier this year - tracks like 'Do It' and 'Purple City' (w/ Ginz), Joker has sent shock waves from the underground that has rippled from Skream or Kode 9's record box to the likes of Scratch Perverts, Zane Lowe - to major label record companies even, hounding for Joker remixes... Just over the last 6 months he's handed in killer remixes for Simian Mobile Disco, Basement Jaxx, Sean Paul and many more - he's taken Sonar by storm single handedly and is now booked up with gigs every weekend until 2017. Well maybe not quite on the last bit, but it fits with the momentum building here.

In an inspired follow up to 'Untitled_rsn' released by Tectonic earlier this year as part three of the Tectonic Plates Volume 2 vinyl series (backed with Flying Lotus's 'Glendale Galleria'), Tectonic is very proud to welcome his return to the label, rounding off a heavy year of releases in fine style with 2 excellent cuts. 'City Hopper' once again shows us Joker's unequalled ability to make party flavoured melodies that keep well away from the Stinking Bishop territory of some of his jump-up peers. It'll make you want to dance but you won't feel guilty the morning after. Match his luminous, catchy melodies with bass weight grimey b-lines and his Timbaland quality crunked production skills - you really have here, a heavy piece of kit to smash up any dancefloor. Flip too for 'Output 1-2' - a personal favourite with label boss Pinch as Joker goes for a more stripped down affair that steams ahead with mangled synth production lines that will bend your brain to snapping point!'


PCB
The Deft EP :
a1: Delay Offset
a2: Wallflower
b1: Jewel In The Crown
Meanwhile 12"
(MEAN 016)



'The culmination of a stellar year for Miles Whittaker. Now a happy father and central catalytic figure in a pivotal crew out of frontline Burnley, Lancashire. Beginning the year with a long awaited Pendle Coven debut album in collaboration with Gary Howell, continuing still at album level on Demdike Stare's 'Symbiosis' in congress with local disco don DJ and all round record hound Sean Canty. Miles has been shredding music this year - check last month's smouldering remix for Kevin Gorman on Mikrowave, 'One Cycle' for Modern Love + various Hate and Daphne twelves - more besides we don't even suspect yet - ferocious live and DJ sets across many different styles - all somehow still indisputably Miles.

For this artist debut on Meanwhile Pendle Coven Breakers have made a three tracker shaking off any opaque guises - revelling in a deep intimacy with the music of early Prescription or original Harmony Park vibrations. Long term mutual admiration and artistic relations with pioneers such as Anthony Shake Shakir, Mike Huckaby, David Moufang / Move D and contemporaries DJ Woody, Andy Stott, Claro Intelecto have all bounced off and resonated with this guy's boundless invention and spirit of generosity. PCB we salute you - respect always.'

7th December 2009 Releases

PINCH
Get Up :
A1. Original Vocal Mix
A2. Guido Mix
AA1. RSD Mix
Tectonic 12"
(TEC 035)



PETER BRODERICK
& MACHINEFABRIEK
Blank Grey Canvas Sky
Fang Bomb CD
(FB 012)




PETER BRODERICK
& MACHINEFABRIEK
Blank Grey Canvas Sky
Limited White Vinyl LP
(FB 012LP)





'This beautiful collaboration features two of the most prolific talents from the current experimental scene, both with reputations of leviathan proportions. For this release, Machinefabriek, based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Peter Broderick, based in Berlin, Germany (although constantly on the road) set out to push each others limits, and to explore new areas within their own creativity.

'The resulting album is a delicately crafted one, with Machinefabriek and Broderick virtuosically combining instrumental compositions, drone, and heartfelt soundscapes with song structures and vocals. Or as Peter Broderick himself put it: "We tried a lot of different things on this album, pushing ourselves to explore new areas... And for me the result is the collection of music I feel most proud of so far."'

ORIGAMI PRODUCTIONS
Laidbook 02: Transit
Origami CD/10x Art Cards
(OPCA 1003)







OLD TIME RADIO
Sketches For Another Christmas Songbook
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0907)





'Old Time Radio is a polish band, formed in Gdansk in 2001, their line-up is Tomasz Garstkowiak (vocals, guitars), Magda Szkudlarek (vocals, synthesizers) and Piotr Salewski (bass guitar). Combining lo-fi songwriting with discrete electronica Old Time Radio released their critically acclaimed debut album in 2004 on Sissy Records (an independent division of BMG Poland). Follow-ups came in the shape of "Downtown" on Kafe Delfin in 2006 which contained a number of electro-pop tunes with the sounds of analogue synthesisers and drum machines and "Just Because We Were Wrong" on Gusstaff Records in 2008 - a set of beautifully crafted songs with a touch of folk, avant-pop and bossa nova. The latest "Sketches For Another Christmas Songbook" is a collection of eleven Christmas songs written by the band. It's their most intimate and quiet record so far. Based on the sounds of acoustic guitars and piano, full of vocal harmonies and catchy tunes. Sometimes sentimental and melancholic, sometimes humorous and ironic "Sketches…" sounds unlike any other Christmas album, but ultimately it's more filled with Christmas spirit than the whole wall of holiday hits. The single "Christmas With You" features guest vocals from a singer-songwriter Julia Marcell.'


PAUL BARAN
Panoptic
Fang Bomb CD (FB 013CD)






'Partially inspired by the writings of the theorist Jeremy Bentham and the concept of globalization, and assisted by Werner Dafeldecker, Ekkehard Ehlers, Keith Rowe, Andrea Belfi and a list of other fine collaborators, Paul Baran has created "Panoptic" - an attempt to soundtrack the lives of creative people affected by such concepts as underclass, surveillance and the dangers of mass consensus. Baran intends "Panoptic" to be a collection of electro-acoustic atmospheres that underscore these concepts, without resorting to blind polemic. And as for the sound of it all - think electro-acoustic, minimalist, idea based, experimental fusion, conceptual improvisation with contemporary song structures.

'Born in 1975, Paul Baran is a composer, electro-acoustic sound designer and improviser based in Glasgow, Scotland. Baran will undertake an artistic residency at the prestigeous STEIM facility in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 2009.'


LAWRENCE ENGLISH
It's Up To Us To Live
Sirr CD
(SIRR 0032)






'It's Up To Us To Live has seen a prolonged birth. It's commencement in 2004 began around the same moments as the final touches were being put to the album Happiness Will Befall (issued originally by Cronica). In some ways these two records pair one another - they form a spiraling coil of echo location and feedback. Whereas 'Happiness...' might be considered a lush and evocatively melodic affair, It's Up To Us To Live is profoundly more dense and compressed, only offering the occasionally moment to surface for air. Much of this LPs sound textures emanate from distant calls of guitar, sharply cracked electronics, alien field recordings and a variety of other less identifiable sources. The cover art by renowned Australian photographer Marian Drew, from her 'Still Lives' series is a telling indication of exactly where this album draws breath. Following time spent in Tasmania and other locations within Australia where human habitation often breeds a bleak graveyard for native inhabitants along many highways (and also via increasingly intrusive housing projects), as well as the concerning demise of the Baiji (amongst so many others), It's Up To Us To Live is a distorted sonic distress beacon. It suggests a possible mapping of the increasingly cluttered sound spaces that find themselves associated with human habitation and expansion.'


THE BEAUTIFUL SCHIZOPHONIC
Erotikon
Cronica CD
(CRONICA 044)

30th November 2009 Releases

HELIXIR
A: Convultions
B: Let Me Drive Now
7EVEN 12"
(7EVEN 011)





'Second release on the bounce by HELIXIR on 7even Recordings after his last digital dubby experience ‘XP Dub / Peace Dub’ in June! Recognized as one of the most versatile of the new breed of French electronic music producers, the man from Strasbourg is back this time with two bass-heavy productions in his own percussive style. ‘CONVULTIONS’ is a real dancefloor weapon, the robotic riddim subtly brings a deep sub-bass becoming more and more insistent, the beats never stop evolving along the journey, the breaks hit your senses, pure badness from this ultra precise producer! ‘LET ME DRIVE NOW’ brings you to a beautifully produced track through magical percussion, galactic synths and smoky atmospheres, somewhat akin to 2562's latest directions . A beautiful piece of music, tightly produced by HELIXIR, who shows again his mastery of the studio and modern bass music.'

CRAYON FIELDS
All The Pleasures Of The World
Chapter Music CD
(CH 066)






'This is the long-awaited second album by Melbourne's minor-key pop magicians, The Crayon Fields. In 2006, their airy, chiming debut Animal Bells (CH 056CD) was one of the year's most acclaimed releases, earning a 7.8 review on Pitchfork and voted #2 in Australia's Mess+Noise end-of-year critics poll (#4 in the general readers poll). They released a sneak preview of the new album in the form of a limited edition vinyl single, featuring the majestic pop ballad "Mirror Ball," which sold out immediately. "All The Pleasures Of The World" was also released as a single, earning another Pitchfork rave and "Single Of The Week" in magazines around Australia. The album is delirious, UK rainy-day melancholy psychedelic indie, with some Blue Oyster Cult, Stone Roses, Belle and Sebastian and Zombies thrown in for good measure, with its loping bass lines, swooning strings and eerie, hypnotic harmonies. Basic tracks were recorded at Head Gap studios in Melbourne with Neil Thomason (The Slits, My Disco, Ned Collette), and the album was then finished at home. Mixing and mastering was done with Lachlan Carrick (The Necks, Gotye, Architecture In Helsinki) at Moose Mastering. The album is a beyond-stunning development on Animal Bells, both poised and precocious. There's a newfound confidence and lyrical openness from vocalist Geoff O'Connor, and some of the most luscious backing ever heard on an Australian pop record from bassist Brett Hudson, guitarist Chris Hung and drummer Neil Erenstrom. Strings come courtesy of rising pop star Jessica Venables, aka Jessica Says, on cello, and her brother Nick on viola and violin. Crayon Fields have toured basically everywhere and have become a favored support band of choice in Australia, playing with the likes of Cornelius, Stereolab, Built To Spill, New Pornographers, Deerhoof, Mount Eerie, Electrelane, Unicorns and many more.'


THE RAAH PROJECT
Score
Summer Dawn CD
(SD 001CD)





"There was a project out of Melbourne called the RAah Project. They gave me a CD, I checked it out on the way home, I couldn't believe how good it was - it was definitely up there and beyond. It was a bit of Matthew Herbert, a little bit of Sa-Ra Creative Partners, but with its own melodic Australian vibe going on" (Gilles Peterson, The Independent)

"It's the best sounding recording I have heard this year. Everything about it screams quality" (Rob, Faze Action)

"A brilliant LP that will definitely be in my top five at the end of the year" (Kevin Beadle, Solar Radio)

'Spawned from an idea by Ryan Ritchie and Tamil Rogeon of True Live, The RAah Project stands out immediately as the most credible alternative to the European sound of Cinematic Orchestra , Matthew Herbert's Big Band or the eccentric dub of Fat Freddy's Drop. RAah take a whole new shot at the established ideas of electronic hip hop, pop, contemporary, dance and soul music. It is an original contemporary music project embracing both traditional and new principles of jazz improvisation and arrangement, 20th century composition, song, verse and flow.

'Ritchie and Rogeon share a love of diverse musical formats and gain equal enjoyment. From pounding modern electronic beats and traditional orchestral music, the two work and tour as part of the critically acclaimed ensemble, True Live, as well as on various individual projects as producers, arrangers and performers. 'Score' was created with a 17 piece string section, a full big band - the Australian Show Band - and a selection of jazz/funk players from Melbourne's multi-faceted vibrant music scenes. The thirteen tracks combine big band vocals and orchestration, soaring cinematic string arrangements, hip hop beats, soul motifs and simple yet entirely catching pop melodies with surprising and absorbing results.'


MOSS PROJECT
Vision
Apsara CD
(APSARA 001)






"Vision is a fascinating and hypnotically satisfying album which demands repeated plays" (All About Jazz)

"There's a freshness, a spaciousness to this band and Freed's essentially lyrical writing, that is very attractive" (Jazzwise)

"Offering something easily understandable to the untrained ear, while never diluting the genuine love of jazz at the music's heart" (Chris Long, BBC)

"A record of endless fascination and immediate accessibility" (Al Brownlee, M.E.N.)

"Freed's phrasing and melodies are at times just achingly beautiful. This is a truly accomplished musician but his skills as a composer are really exceptional" (The Sound of Now)

'Fresh as you like, Manchester jazz sextet The Moss Project explore the more contemporary end of progressive jazz rock, with fiery electric guitar and saxophone led improvisation and compositions. The Moss Project play contemporary jazz but not quite like any jazz you might have heard before. The sextet's debut album 'Vision', is an intense and emotional musical experience. 'Vision' will appeal to listeners from all backgrounds, from diehard jazz fans through to those who have perhaps never even seen or experienced live jazz before.

The music on 'Vision' is testament to bandleader Moss Freed's inspirational and eclectic range of influences. Within the space of a single tune, it's as likely to combine heavy grooves and folk melodies, with group improvisation, classical arrangements and complex counterpoint. The end result is as much The Bad Plus as Stravinsky, in equal measures Pat Metheny, Massive Attack, Bach or Radiohead, all moulded into the Sextet's personal and highly singular version of progressive jazz. Alongside the compositions, the beauty of the group lies in the ability of its musicians to blend their individual styles into a single cohesive entity throughout large sections of free playing, whilst still retaining a precious core of approachability.

After studying composition and performance at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, under Jon Damian - the teacher of Bill Frisell, Moss formed the group to provide a platform for new, progressive and exciting music. Based in Manchester, the sextet features some of the city's top players, each bringing their own distinctive flavour and backgrounds into the mix. With a line-up of guitar, violin, saxophones, drums, bass and keyboards, the Moss Project proves to be essential listening for anyone into innovative new jazz. The Moss Project have already completed a series of very successful dates in Germany and the UK.'

23rd November 2009 Releases

DUSK + BLACKDOWN
v GRIEVOUS ANGEL
Margins Music : Redux
Keysound CD
(LDN 014)





"The album is part remix LP, part DJ set part dub rework. In late 2007 and early 08 we became enthralled by Grievous Angel’s Ableton mixes that blurred the lines between DJing and remixing. We offered him the parts to every track on “Margins Music” and told him to mutate its DNA." Martin Clark (Blackdown)

"For me Blackdown and Dusk were always crucial dubstep artists. They deliver tunes that simultaneously hit you in the chest, the feet and the head and I listened to Margins Music for months; I loved the way that it was smart, supple music that had real depth, but which would also go off in a club. It fused dubstep with many of London's newly-indigenous musics, without being mere cultural tourism, venturing into London's marginal communities and working with other artists. Including, of course, rebuilding the bridge between dubstep and grime - and not just with any old MC, but with the most vital figures on the scene. And then I got the call. They wanted me to remix the entire album. They were fans of the Dubstep Sufferah series of mixes, where I re-edited and dubbed-up all different kinds of dubstep tunes with extra FX and vocals. The Sufferah series was popular because it provided a widescreen listening experience that most standard DJ mixes didn't offer. Plus, my first album, Belief is the Enemy, was a double CD, with a mix CD called 'Believe in Dub' that was more popular than the main album. I love rough, fast, live DJ mixing, but I wanted to do something different, with a lot of depth and replay value. I was influenced by albums that gave you a whole sonic world to get lost in, such as the classic dub albums of the 70s, like [Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson's) African Dub Chapter Three , the cut and paste techniques of Coldcut's Journeys By DJ CD, Bill Laswell's dub remixes of Miles Davis on the Panthalassa album and the symphonic, endless soul of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. I see Margins Music as a travelogue through London's postcodes and timezones and I wanted to bring out the mythical, narrative element of the songs. Blackdown and Dusk captured London's genius loci almost perfectly; my job was to amplify and concentrate it. London is a universal city, both concrete and symbolic, whose accretions of psycho-geography constrain and liberate the multiple diaspora that comprise its population. I grew up in London and happily exiled myself, but it is impossible to ever truly leave; London is a state of mind and an addictive stimulant. As Trim quotes so eloquently, "it's a London ting". I hope that you are as transported by the Dusk and Blackdown's vision of London as I was." Paul Meme (Grievous Angel)


PINCH Get Up
1. Original Vocal Mix
2. RSD Mix
3. Guido Mix
4. Jack Sparrow Mix
5. L.V. Mix
6. Original Full Length Instrumental Version
Tectonic CD EP (TECCD 007EP)

'Pinch does the right thing, as 2009 reaches a resounding conclusion for Tectonic. Ever since 'Underwater Dancehall' appeared, we have been inundated with requests for the Yolanda vocal version of "Get Up" to come out on wax. This year has seen dubstep endlessly reinvent and reflect ten years and more of UK bass culture - the anthemic quality of the original still stands more relevant than ever. Never one to do things by halves, Pinch has used the interim period wisely, securing the remix services of the finest producers out there. 'RSD has had a fantastic 2009 - rocking shores stateside to Japan and at long last receiving due acclaim for his central role in shaping the Bristol sound. With his latest album for Peverelist's excellent Punch Drunk still fresh in the racks - Rob Smith delivers a production master class, which has already been ruining audiences on dubplate - 2562 for one has been closing every set with this surefire killer. Also originating from pastures Punch Drunk, Guido has been readily grouped with Joker and Gemmy as one of the Purple wow new breed, here he brings an astonishing version and shows himself to be his own man - by turns luxuriant and yet pared back to its limber essentials - incorporating deep synth-funk and garage styles whilst still revealing a sizeable low-end all underpinning a show stopping arrangement of futuristic soul. Jack Sparrow warms up with an early taste of the recent production form which has prompted Pinch to request a full Tectonic album from him in 2010 - fabulous-low slung killer vibes, a subtle and deeply meditative, thoughtful version primed for deeper dancefloors with a huge deep funk coda to explore on the boards. Hyperdub / 2nd Drop / Hemlock / Ramp operative L.V. brings the soulful vibes to an apex - his easy moving, open form disco mix is reminiscent of classic Sly & Robbie Compass Point sides with Grace Jones - in a word, timeless. An indisputable classic tune in optimum versions - treasure them and play loud!!'


UNKNOWN
A. The Dawn
AA. Dawn Dub
Seth 12"
(SETH 01)






'Wonderful steppers versions from a shy and unnamed producer. We suspect, going on the considerable production chops on display here, that this is the moonlight work of a rather well known producer. Maximum rollidge with a sustained bass surge to warm up the biggest speaker sets, make no mistake this is a roving percussive beauty, blessed with discrete angelic vocals, flip for a precision dub of considerable restraint and singular power - fiercely limited so do not hang around!'


ORIGAMI PRODUCTIONS
Laidbook 01: Beginning
Origami CD/10x Art Cards
(OPCA 1002)

16th November 2009 Releases

RAFAEL ANTON IRISARRI
Daydreaming
Miasmah LP (MIALP004)

Limited edition coloured vinyl edition

'Championed by the likes of David Sylvian and Thom Yorke, 'Daydreaming' is the stunning debut album from Seattle's Rafael Anton Irisarri. Originally released in 2007 on Erik Skodvin's Miasmah label, to great critical acclaim, 'Daydreaming' is a collection of piano led instrumental compositions of astonishing beauty. 'Daydreaming' sounds like a record written for piano, but it also incorporates an array of modern sound sources in its production. As the drifting synthesizers lap around the feet of a majestic piano part in the album's opening track 'Waking Expectations ' it is startlingly clear that there is more to Irisarri than mere stereotyping. This is a carefully constructed soundtrack to your most intriguing dreams, the dreams you might remember for a split second upon waking, only to have images creep up on you some time later. Those of you left spellbound by Deaf Center's haunting and beautiful 'Pale Ravine' album will be pleased to know that 'Daydreaming' continues in the tradition of murky, theatrical and deeply imaginative music. Lines of comparison can be drawn between Irisarri's compositional approach and the work of artists as varied as Machinefabriek, Peter Broderick and Mogwai. For more recent fans discovering the Miasmah label, which boasts a roster of incredible acts including Jacaszek, Kreng, Greg Haines, Jasper TX and Elegi, 'Daydreaming' offers another chance to discover a highlight release from the label's earlier days. Irisarri has just returned from a seven week tour of Europe under the guise of his other project 'The Sight Below', touring and performing with Simon Scott (who's debut album 'Navigare' due October, Irisarri guests on), Svarte Griener, and more. '


KEVIN GORMAN
A1 Cyclic (Peter Van Hoesen Remix)
A2 Shakey Stripped
B1 Nearly (MLZ Remix)
B2 Shakey Metallic Beats
Mikrowave 12" (MWAVE 12)

'Mikrowave returns with a new release for the groovers, DJs and vinyl purists. 2009 has seen fellow Mancunian Kevin Gorman mainly concerned with his innovative Elements series of DJ and production tools. And so it seems fitting to end the year in this way - simply putting out a splendid record. It enlists two of the world's hottest, most forward-thinking and respected electronic music producers around right now, Peter Van Hoesen and MLZ, who should really need no further introduction or recommendation - essential twelve - fierce limited to 300 copies for the world.'

9th November 2009 Releases

KATH BLOOM & LOREN CONNORS
Restless Faithful Desperate/Moonlight
Chapter Music 2CD
(CH 065)

'Restless Faithful Desperate / Moonlight is the second of Chapter Music's double disc reissues by extraordinary early-'80s folk duo Kath Bloom and Loren Connors. Meeting in 1976 in their hometown of New Haven, CT, Kath Bloom and Loren Connors formed a creative partnership that has haunted psych-folk fans ever since, releasing six albums of fragile, avant-garde folk-blues in miniscule quantities, all of which now change hands for huge sums. At first, Kath would act out monologues while Loren played his free-form guitar, extrapolated from Mississippi Delta and Chicago blues, but gradually he and Kath's performances became more song-based. Kath began
practicing guitar among the headstones of New Haven's Grove Street cemetery, while Loren's idiosyncratic style had been developing since the 1960s. After self-releasing two limited edition live albums, the duo recorded Sing The Children Over for tiny Boston label Ambiguous Records in 1982, and then in 1983, self-released fourth album Sand In My Shoe. Early on, their albums mixed traditional folk and blues songs with a handful of Kath's vulnerable, moving originals. But by the later albums, the songs were all Kath's -- her fragile voice and subdued finger-picked guitar set against Loren's abstract playing: skittering, sometimes atonal but always intuitively supportive.

Together the duo created a sound almost impossibly emotional and haunting, unlike anything created before or since. Their last two albums Restless Faithful Desperate and Moonlight both emerged in 1984, in editions of 200-300 copies on Loren's St. Joan label. As her creativity accelerated, so Kath's songs became looser, more intuitive, with a darkening of tone and an eventual abandonment of intent to shape the music. The songs were still there, however -- Restless... contains one of her most gorgeous compositions, "Look At Me," while Moonlight includes an early version of Kath's signature tune "Come Here." After a quarter of a century, Kath Bloom and Loren Connors' incredible recordings are finally available again. The reissue includes extensive liner notes, original photos and artwork, and six bonus tracks taken from a rare 1982 compilation and an unreleased 1984 live session.'


GDX/AURA ANTHROPICA
Want You/Drummondii
Phlox 12"
(PHLOX 001)

'Austria and in particular Vienna finds itself the focus for new and creative sounds - Phlox is a fascinating imprint promising dubstep, plentiful low-end and an intoxicating blend we can only describe as neuro-garage. A new label, a new identity - and a refreshing music policy - simply that they don't actually have a music policy. Aura Anthropica is a new dubwise guise for Hans Platzgumer, sometimes known as Spezial Material's H.P.Stonji and now flourishing within the terrain of heavy low-end sounds - the bass weight and palette of 'Drummondii' prove enticing and forbidding. It's a dark and brooding bass monster - almost a scene score with synth colour touches and some edgy paint to add to the tension and the hostility. Mysterious, mystifying and very heavy, the tune is deliberately deliciously slow and deep as...GDX is Gerhard Potuznik aka GD Luxxe, an undercover exponent of the true European underground for many years, you only need to check his classic Cheap productions for ample evidence of his considerable talents. He takes control for a bubbling freestyle-friendly 2-stepper 'Want You', incorporating some tasty '99 style UKG moves - trimmed back with precision production skills and ample bouyant boogie. Shoes only admitted: no tracksuits, no trainers. Very neat indeed.'


BOY WONDER
Almighty Warrior
Project Funk 12"
(PFR 001)

'Back in the late 80s Kevin 'Boy Wonder' Harper helped launch a whole new sound and a whole new scene in UK dance music with his involvement in the original Nightmares On Wax line-up. On this new 12" it's like he's been holed-up in a studio since the release of classic 'Bleep' techno tune "Dextrous" (the second ever release on Sheffield's Warp imprint), emerging to absorb a few influences from dubstep and the like along the way. With Warp celebrating their 20th birthday, and all things 'rave' having a major impact on the dancefloor right now, this EP has arrived at just the right time - check it out!'

HUGO RACE
Between Hemispheres
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0905CD)

'Setting aside Hugo's past with the Melbourne post-punk scene and the Bad Seeds in the eighties, and his solo work in the nineties with the True Spirit collective, over the last decade he has continued to release a steady stream of his songs internationally as well as releasing collaborative projects such as Dirtmusic, Sepiatone, Merola Matrix and Transfargo to an expanding global audience.

Taking its cue from the instrumental electronica of We Create Tomorrow (Reprise), the closing track of 2007's '53rd State' album, comes the new Hugo Race release 'Between Hemispheres'. This instrumental album contains no human voices - instead, raw acoustic instruments are pitted against sculpted analogue sounds in a vast organic space both dramatic and meditative, brutal yet beautiful. Here the delta blues remains - but distantly, like background radiation.

Recorded in Africa, Europe and Australia, Between Hemispheres carries references to Hugo's work with Transfargo (the instrumental 'Mil Transit' album from 2004), and the experimentalism of the True Spirit's 'Wet Dream' and 'Ambuscado'. Using the African string instruments ngoni and kora against a stark background of analogue synth, digital pulses, deep space radio signals and widescreen guitar, Race composes a dreamlike experience that echoes his own songwriting.

A trip into the glacial interstices between quantum and digital, these inter- dimensional meditations traverse the synapses between left and right sides of the brain, between thought and expression, between two oscillating magnetic poles - between hemispheres.'

10

Ten years ago today Baked Goods Distribution dispatched its first order. Watch out for a large number of different tenth birthday celebrations we have planned for the course of the next twelve months - we're incredibly excited, to say the least. It's been an interesting decade, both for Baked and for music in general, and despite all the apocalyptic predictions for the imminent collapse of the 'music industry' and the death of physical formats, we're still here and still selling great music that we like. Ten years on, that continues to be a huge privilege. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all the customers, shops, distributors, cutting engineers, manufacturers, agents, promoters, DJs, labels and artists, - in fact a list so lengthy, it might take the next ten years to compile.

November 2nd 2009 Releases

NAPHTA
Fully Loaded / Soundclash 1 (Ghost Relick VIP)
Ruff Revival 12"
(RR 002)

'Naphta's 'Fully Loaded' side restores muscular memories of Jet Star B-sides, Shut Up and Dance , Production House, Ibiza ...Spin Inn, blues... Potential BadBoy, Genaside II, G Double E and so many more spring to mind during this simply irresistible rinseing. Jungle was indeed so much more than we've all been told. Building on the fantastic reactions thus far on his 'Long Time Burning' full length CD album, and next to the heavily delayed, but eagerly awaited Keysound rerub from Grievous Angel himself (out soon we promise, hold tight) Naphta looks well placed to triumph under the disarming righteous cause of jump up jungle. How can you say no?'

GRIEVOUS ANGEL
NAPHTA Soundclash (GRIEVOUS ANGEL VIP Mix)/
GRIEVOUS ANGEL Harpy
Keysound 12"
(LDN 011)




"Absolutely love it!" Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC Radio 1
"Mosh pits materialise when I play this!" Jamie VEX'D


MACHINEFABRIEK
Loops For Voerman
Machinefabriek CD EP
(MF 003)

'Loops For Voerman is a dark, impressionistic composition, just over fifteen minutes in length, its bowed metal, atonal strings and cold harmonic overtones continually realigning, bringing to life the imposing nature of Voerman's sculpture. The silence within the piece, between the scraping and sustained resonance of the sounds, evokes an unsettling presence, a claustrophobic feeling of imposing, collapsing structures, abandoned and lost. Machinefabriek's contribution to the installation, presented here as a stand alone piece, is a master class in sound sculpture, and an essential addition to the ever expanding back catalogue of Rutger Zyudervelt. '

DEAN MCPHEE
Brown Bear
Hood Faire 12" EP
(HDFR 002V)






"A really beautiful sound" - The Wire Magazine
"He's an absolutely extraordinary player who builds up these soundscapes. It's amazingly clever, I don't know how he does it with two hands to be honest" - Tom Ravenscroft, NME
"It's a beguiling and soothing listen" - Diskant

'From the opening bars of first track 'Sky Burial' Dean Mcphee's expressive solo electric guitar playing is a joy to behold. A guitarist from West Yorkshire, McPhee performs using only guitar and effects, and the three compositions which make up 'Brown Bear' were recorded live with no edits or overdubs. 'Brown Bear' is a masterful excursion into solo performance, incorporating folk picking styles, subtle shifts of background ambience and sorrowful melodies, all seemingly executed with ease. At times the compositions are reminiscent of Richard Thompson's emotive and melancholic playing, with shades of the Australian trio The Hungry Ghosts' ear for a beautifully sparse melody, in other places brushing up against the more minimal spectral pieces of Loren Connors. 'Brown Bear' has a rich, warm tonal quality, and McPhee's expansive playing style clearly requires no additional accompaniment to colour the tracks. Using slow delays and open tunings Dean creates textural plains over which his melodies soar. Clocking in at just over twenty one minutes, 'Brown Bear' is an astonishingly beautiful EP from a natural player.'

EMITER
Microsillon
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0906)

'Emiter is a solo project by Marcin Dymiter (electronics, guitar, generator, loops, tape) who previously played in such bands as : Ewa Braun, Mapa, Mordy. He has collaborated with musicians engaged with jazz, electronics and avant- garde music: Rob Mazurek, Paul Wirkus, Rosa Arruti, Le Quan Ninh, John Butcher, Axel Dorner, Andrew Sharpley, Mikolaj Trzaska, the poet Marcin Swietlicki, Raphael Roginski, Marek Choloniewski, Tomasz Choloniewski, Dagna Sadkowska, Michal Górczynski and as a band voice_electronic duo, Linie Pólnocne. He cooperated and composed for off's theaters, he plays on live to silent films and cooperates with visual artists. Marcin Dymiter is also a musical producent. He played in many countries in Europe. As Emiter he has released ten CDs. He experiments with sound design - unlocking tones and transformations which accompany our life and searches for inspiration in the world around us. He believes that music is everywhere. Composing it is a never ending process. "Microsillon" is Marcin's first album on Gusstaff Records. Field-recordings, acoustic sounds, electronica, guitar and improvisations are the most important features of this record. It was recorded in many places in Gdansk, sometimes in public rooms of historic importance. In these recordings excellent polish musicians participated : Tomasz Choloniewski (percussion), Wojciech Jachna (trumpet), Tomasz Gadomski (hang).'

October 26th 2009 Releases

DANNY SAUL
Harsh, Final.
White Box CD
(WHITEBOX 004CD)

“Yesterday I was standing in the rain waiting for the bus, listening to that first song in my headphones, and I just lost it. My eyes completely filled with water, and my body just froze. Then later on in the evening I was on my way home on the bus, listening to the album again, and I missed my bus stop...it is deeply affecting music…I remember that day… It was intense and amazing.” - Peter Broderick

“I´ve been listening to it constantly since I got it, brilliant in every aspect...it's been a long time since I heard something this beautiful. It feels so complete as an album” - Jasper TX

“Really really beautiful … dark and moving” - Machinefabriek

MATTHEW HALSALL
Colour Yes
Gondwana CD
(GONDCD 003)

'Last year Matthew Halsall's debut album 'Sending My Love' planted him firmly on the UK jazz map, with a release which earned him praise across the board. Solid airplay from Radio 1's Gilles Peterson (the album figured in his top 40 albums of 2008), Stuart Maconie (BBC 6 Music), Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) and Mike Chadwick (Jazz FM) amongst others, culminated in a Maida Vale session for 6 Music. Halsall's expressive playing style and compositions, rooted deep in the spiritual jazz tradition, combined with subtle arrangements and respectful production, led to the release becoming something far greater than just the sum of its parts - more than simply a debut from a skilled, young player - 'Sending My Love' offered a welcome return to form for UK jazz - it even grabbed the attention of Nitin Sawhney, and led to the pair collaborating in a week long session.

As a trumpeter, composer, DJ and label head for Gondwana, both Matthew and the label continue to go from strength to strength - June saw Gondwana release Manchester saxophonist Nat Birchall's 'Akhenaten' album, which also featured Matthew's playing, and was hailed by critics as "Truly transcendental" (Mojo, Disc Of The Day), "A quite remarkable album" (Jazz UK), "Beautifully stately performance" (The Wire), "Outstanding and most enthralling" (Jazzwise Magazine), among many others. Following the success of both the label's releases so far, Matthew has secured prized gigs at Ronnie Scotts and the Jazz Cafe in London with the likes of Quantic, Gilles Peterson and Nostalgia 77.

A committed performer and restless musician, Halsall now returns with his second full length album 'Colour Yes' delivering six brand new compositions. This time around Matthew recruited the talents of Nat Birchall (sax), Adam Fairhall (piano), Gavin Barras (bass), Gaz Hughes (drums), Marek Dorcik (drums) and Rachael Gladwin (harp) - the groups impeccable performances under Halsall's direction, deliver yet another consistent and often brilliant release, authentic in every which way. The effortless swing of title track and album opener 'Colour Yes', really defines what it is about Halsall's vision of jazz that gives him the upper hand; this is timeless music, it owes nothing to the past - sure, there are comparison points, but all lead to music which is indeed, already classic. An undeniable clarity is present throughout, themes are balanced and already sounding fully road-tested.

'Together' is a transcendental modal ballad which fuels the spirit of Stan Tracey's 'Starless and Bible Black' and Neil Ardley's 'Shades Of Blue' as performed by Don Rendell and Ian Carr's Quintet. Utterly beautiful. 'Mudita' is the jazz dance feature that will be a hit with the Sleepwalker and Soil & Pimp crowd; the spacial rhythm section play like Bill Evan's classic trios, where the space between the notes almost mean as much as the notes themselves. This not only shows a great respect for the past masters of modal exploration but makes a bold step forward to re-establish 'British jazz' as a vital music as much in 2009 as it was in the mid 1960's. The addition of Rachael Gladwin's harp brings a sense of liquidity to the band, take it as read that Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane are honoured forebears. By the close of this fine second Matthew Halsall album, the authoritative drive of this band truly seems to have transmitted to a whole new astral plane.'


EMPTYSET
(emptyset)
Caravan CD CVANCD 002
Caravan 2LP (CVAN 010)

'An empty set is an empty box or an empty bag. It's not the same as nothingness. Aesthetically it implies structure without content; absolute potential without manifestation. This works as a template for listening to the record: it sounds like dance music with the guts ripped out; the vengeful ghost of a techno future generated entirely from noise and sine waves. There are no melodic lines on which to hitch a free ride; your attention is required at all times to safeguard against total disorientation. emptyset is a Brutalist structure, a foreign universe born out of a void, becoming sentient and condemned to await demolition. You need not have studied Jung or harbour any particular psycho-geographical leanings to recognize that a drawn out process of smashing a city's urban heart to pieces might influence its art. With the extensive reconstruction of its city centre, at one point the biggest building site in Europe, Bristol has been a site of dereliction and mass demolition for the last decade. This upheaval, which has seen tonnes of girders, beams and aggregates destroyed, is just another episode in the city's tradition of lo-frequency exploration. Bristol's ley-lines are as much aural and temporal as they are geographical, running backwards through history. Mass Slavery, Bass culture, Tape hiss in the Lo-Fi Bedsit tradition, Georgian splendour bombed to human smithereens in WWII; All these dehumanized visions subsequently informed everything from the building of an extensive network of underground slave tunnels to the creation of tower block living rooms; lo-frequencies shook the earth and noise filled the air. Bass is the tool, the machine head used to explore cracks, find spaces, open them up and fill them with noise. This is not an analogy; this is happening right now, all over the city. For the wayward musical explorer, living in contemporary Bristol is akin to being lost in a room full of maps, or on a construction site with an incredibly beautiful though constantly shifting view.

As a direct consequence, Bristol is the only city that could produce this album. With its dialogues in play between techno, dubstep, drone and avant-garde electronics, the environment of grassroots cultural cooperation serves to destabilize the boundaries between the grammars of individual genres. Recorded at Multiverse, birthplace of the labels Tectonic, Kapsize and (of course) Caravan, and home to artists such as Joker, Pinch, Vex'd, 2562 and Caravan label boss October, emptyset has emerged from a rich lineage of forward thinking experimental music.

Artist Information : 'emptyset' is a Bristol based production duo exploring techno music's broad influences and compiling them to a studio template focused on tight production and detailed sound design. Inspired by the city's culture of bass lead production the sound has been described as techno meets dubstep folded back onto techno again, a description which is perhaps the most insightful to date. The project owes credit to the classic releases of M-Plant, Sähkö and Chain Reaction as well as more recent producers such as Alva Noto, Deathprod and Burial. 'emptyset' acts as a research project connecting the ideas of a modern dancefloor with experimental approaches to music and its design.'

October 19th 2009 Releases

2562
Unbalance
Tectonic CD (TECCD 006)
Tectonic 3LP (TEC 034)

'2562 follows up his groundbreaking debut album 'Aerial', and pushes both his creative talents, and the boundaries of dubstep, to another level entirely. 'Unbalance' is an exceptional body of electronic music, and fully demonstrates 2562's adept ability to move through engaging soundscapes with both pin-point precision drum programming and innovative sample regeneration. 2562, real name Dave Huismans, is named after the postcode in The Hague, Netherlands where he lives, a city detached from the main epicentres of dubstep, and thus brings both cultural distance and a uniquely diverse sound to the project. During the course of a brief but faultless discography, he's dropped four killer twelve inches for Tectonic, as well as 'Aerial' - one of the defining albums of 2008 - not to mention a similar number of singles under his A Made Up Sound guise, and, in the process, has blown wide open a number of scenes, allowing a welcome and long overdue cross pollination within DJ set lists.

'Unbalance' sees 2562's vision of dubstep moving forward into previously unexplored areas. Warmer than its predecessor, innovation and experimentation is still as evident as ever, as the influence of Theo Parrish and Flying Lotus meet with the deep end of Bristol bass music. With productions drawing inspiration from garage, dubstep, house, techno and broken beats - affiliations and collaborations have proliferated - killer remixes and one-offs have cemented the Dutchman firmly in the 'A' list of contemporary production talent. 'Unbalance' is impeccably built, and accessibly disposed: sheer dancefloor carnage is guaranteed. Tectonic label boss Pinch says: "I've worked closely with 2562 over the last few years and I can honestly say that 'Unbalance' is an incredible album - it's one of the most exciting releases that Tectonic has seen to date - it vastly exceeds the already high standard he set himself with 'Aerial'." With this new LP for Tectonic, 2562 breaks new ground - in moving away from the dub-techno associations of his earlier works, he creates a whole new world.

It's with some major excitement then that we present his second full length album: 'Unbalance' on Tectonic - right on time for an end of year carve up. Where 2009 was ushered in by fellow lowland compatriot and close friend Martyn smashing it with 'Great Lengths', Huismans, in true competitive spirit, delivers a dancehall crasher of an album, to round out a year of even more pronounced genre exchanges and hybrid sounds. From the outset, 'Intro' and 'Flashback' let fly some of the face cards in Huismans' deck - the ample swell of swung garage informed by a new school sensibility, all grounded by that trademark giant bass presence. 'Lost' reprises a familiar broken refrain in refixed mode, landing with a delightful low-end almost junglist descent and a huge mid range melodic sustain, absolutely killer stuff. With 'Like A Dream' the album is really motoring by now - squashed Mr Fingers style acid machinations inside a wildout bass and drums swing, if anything typifying the sheer sense of progression and development this music brings with it. In many ways this is an album for playing out, but also about playing out - each tune seeming to recombine on second and third listens, just as the DJ's selection is never the same twice, even when playing the same records. Tear up the form book - the diversity and breathtaking momentum of this fine album moves fleet of foot - like Usain Bolt over Berlin - inspirational.'

KOWTON
Stasis (Gmix) / Countryman
Keysound 12"
(LDN 013)

'Big tings from Joe Kowton, sometimes known as Narcossist ....this new Keysound plate epitomises the sheer vibrant energy emanating from this label right now, as funKeysounds have materialised - insurgent and resurgent moments, Blackdown has been on the case since day. 'Stasis' and 'Countryman'. both Transition specials, land at a level which is guaranteed many many spins. Hype twelve for the autumn, believe - and with all due deference to dons El-B / Gurley / Edwards - this is big beeline dub garage made for party - call it whatyalike, big with Ben UFO, Oneman, Brackles and Shortstuff .. Running on a deep 33 cut, throwing a dummy punch of motive dubbed keys, nearly in stasis like the title, topped with a crackling vocal but what an abandoned freeing swing and full funked bounce there is to this tune as it lands - massive - i for one personally can't wait to hear mixes into related stuff : Hyph Mango, Hyperdubs - the low end simply ((( k-i-l-l-e-r ))) mids are crisped and ripped, like the wires of the machine itself are frying under the sheer heat running off this deepest tune, the vocal stabs luxuriant and urgent simultaneously, a chorded dub basement vibe stays very much in the shade, all melded to the full frequency range garage subs - the bass unlocked on this plate is out of control and will take centre stage at peak times.

'Countryman' is a dedicated relative - revolving around a central trodding steppers motif, the groove intensifies with the dread vocal as centrepoint, its fabric is assailed by more crispy bits, the dub builds and the full sub pressure reveals itself, a chesty rattler with ghostly vocals delaying into the mix, a soundbwoy classic for a lost and distant future - fantastic. Narcossist productions have been showing up on radars of scenesters for the past two or three years even, a shelf of unreleased bare dubs, raw and exciting - even his fine-tuned prior 'Sunblind' twelve for Indigo's Mindset, for all its guttural metallic garage skank gave scarce hints at this two sided monster. '

OYARRSS versus CLOAKS
A La Holeage
Abractions 12"
(ABSTRACTIONS 001)

'The excellent Creative Space label from Greece takes an away day for this extra-special release on their Abstractions imprint. Oyaarss are as broadly agreeable as their name may suggest, hailing from Latvia, and found their original of 'A la Holeage' becoming a firm unreleased favourite of Mary Ann Hobbs, and rapidly becoming notorious amongst noise and experimental fans, not to mention the more sonically adventurous dubsteppers. Cloaks take the opportunity to put down their most sonically extreme material to date, as downright nasty certainly as anything yet emitted from their studios. A matching of like minds offers stunning and yet differing results - where Oyaarss occupy an obliterated post-hardcore landscape, Cloaks almost allow you to experience the very elapsing moments of obliteration.'

SIMON SCOTT
Navigare
Miasmah LP
(MIALP 011)
features vinyl-only track 'Dissolving Memories'
(CD features CD-only track 'The Night And The Artificial Light')


LIQUID WICKED ft JOSEPH COTTON / TWISTED
The Governor / The Superpowers
Scrub-A-Dub 12"
(SCRUB 004)

October 31st 2009 : Halloween Greetings From Baked Goods

A contribution from The Sheabot, one of our younger Baked Goods staff members - Happy Halloween!

(normal weekly updates plus catchup resumes 3rd November)

October 5th & 12th 2009 Releases

SIMON SCOTT
Navigare
Miasmah CD
(MIACD 011)

'Simon Scott has a notable musical past: in the early 90's he was the drummer for the renowned shoegaze band Slowdive, whose acclaimed 'Souvlaki' album is still considered by many to be one of a handful of landmark releases from that scene. Upon leaving Slowdive he formed the experimental, and more electronic-based group Televise. He also set up his own label, Kesh Recordings, and has so far released titles by the likes of Hannu, Sebastian Roux, Aus and Mark Templeton. More recently Scott has been involved in several diverse projects, including his work as a member of Seavault (with Antony Ryan from Isan), and collaborations with Machinefabriek, Jasper TX and Emmanuele Errante, offering live guitar treatments, providing remix work and in turn being remixed himself. Regular appearances alongside Rafael Anton Irisarri as the live incarnation of The Sight Below (Ghostly International), have seen the duo enthralling audiences with their submerged post-Chain Reaction guitar/techno ambience. With 'Navigare', his debut solo release for Miasmah, there are shades of Scott's previous output and musical interests, but as a whole the album marks a bold new direction, taking his music into new uncharted territory.

What really devastates here is Scott's ability to merge ambient passages with such memorable melodic cycles, taking at times the simplest of ideas and building on them, generating murky hooks and submerged 'riffs' - melodies are initially buried beneath a haze of sound, and then over time are lifted to the forefront. Scott explores textures using a variety of instruments including sitar, violin, cello, and flute, merging them with excerpts of field recordings; it all sounds so effortless. The looping rhythms and slow guitars rise and grow, at times approaching something oppressive; select pieces such as 'Flood Inn' house an underlying weight, comparable to Justin K. Broderick's Jesu and Final projects. Perhaps the hazy drums, bass and guitar drift of 'The ACC' presents the most recognizable of stylistic qualities from Scott's back catalogue; a groove that recalls the 'Souvlaki' era sound in all its glory, reimagined in a new, darker and more expansive form.

Simon Scott's 'Navigare' marks a new chapter in the development of Erik Skodvin's impeccable imprint; a sound at once in keeping with the label's identity, but equally something of a shift in style and approach. Its harrowing beauty opens up the possibilities of new sonic landscapes created by Scott, in what seems to be a deeply personal instrumental journey. '

MIDAIRCONDO
Curtain Call
Twin Seed CD/LP
(TWINS 001CD/001LP)

'The Swedish duo Midaircondo return with Curtain Call, the follow-up to their celebrated debut album 'Shopping For Images', which received overwhelming reactions from both critics and audiences worldwide. Curtain Call is an exceptional pop record - and make no mistake, this is a pop record; a heady mix of unexpected arrangements, acoustic and electronic sound sources, experimental music fused with the pair's undeniable pop sensibilities, makes for an album which draws the listener in instantly.

Reborn as a duo, Midaircondo's wonderful, original improvisation skills and innovative compositions have been developed into a new and more solemn sound. Classical instruments and delicate deliveries of poetic lyrics marry in Midaircondo's electronic world. Quirky field recordings from the band's travels around the world create backdrops of sounds that invite you to enter Midaircondo's unique musical sphere.

From the shimmering opening moments of its title track, Curtain Call has such a peculiar pull, familiar in the most unique of ways. It's hard to categorize these songs - equal measures of dark and light haunt the listener throughout. Delicate passages of recognizable instruments are suddenly thrown into unexpected territories, often revealing the duo at their most catchy. Within these songs are qualities seldom heard in much modern music; music which doesn't comfortably fit into one single category. Midaircondo's marrying of songs with evocative arrangements, plus their ability to gel the compositional and the improvisational, result in an album of incredibly forward thinking music - challenging but accessible to all.

A guest appearance from The Soundtrack Of Our Lives' frontman Ebbot Lundberg, sharing vocal duties on 'Silk, Silver And Stone' is something of a standout track; as lush in production as Blonde Redhead's Misery Is A Butterfly album, this is a dark, layered song cycle, its hazy descending vocal layers and strings combine with an arrangement reminiscent of Bjork's 'All Is Full Of Love', making for a beautifully uplifting and melancholic refrain. At times the electro allure of Bat For Lashes comes to mind; hook-laden throughout, Midaircondo's dark vision of electronic pop makes Curtain Call an album to return to time and time again.

Curtain Call is the first release on Midaircondo's own label Twin Seed Recordings. The album was produced by Midaircondo, mixed: Christoffer Berg, mastered: Andreas Tilliander, additional mixing: Paul Bothén and Johan Forsman.'

NILS FRAHM
Wintermusik [Second Edition]
Sonicpieces CD
(SONICPIECES 004)

'Nils Frahm, born in 1982, had an early approach to music. During the younger years of his life he was taught piano by Nahum Brodski, and through this he began to immerse himself in the stylings of the classical pianists before him as well as the ECM-influenced modern composition. Nils is an accomplished pianist, composer and studio engineer – these qualities are entirely apparent on 'Wintermusik'.

The three instrumentals which make up 'Wintermusik' are piano led pieces, coloured with occasional celeste and reed organ parts. Perhaps the most stunning aspect of what appears on the surface to be an entirely pre-planned, composed and realized body of work, comes with the discovery that these pieces were in fact improvised. Frahm's fragile, haunting motifs rise and develop in ways reminiscent at times of the piano compositions of Rachel Grimes, in particular the stripped down Rachel's score for 'Music For Egon Schiele'. Wintermusik's equal measures of sorrowful refrains and uplifting passages, combined with an awesome production, make for an album that you'll want to return to again and again.

Peter Broderick requested Nils to record an album of solo piano recently – the result was 'The Bells', which was recently released on Kning disk, as part of a series of solo piano releases being curated by Broderick. These two friends share a common affinity in that they both possess an absolute mastery of melody, composition and performance, able to deliver with devastating effect.

For a musician this early in his career, Frahm displays an incredibly developed sense of control and restraint in his work. As the praise continues to grow for 'The Bells', we are please to be able to offer a very limited number of copies of its predecessor 'Wintermusik', an equally incredible album, and one which will likely be much sought after in years to come.'

WOODY ALIEN
Microgod
Gusstaff CD
(GRAM 0904CD)

'Woody Alien is a storm, Woody Alien is the essence of noise and rock'n'roll, Woody Alien is a band, Woody Alien is a duo: Marcin Piekoszewski, who's rocking the bass and vocals and Daniel Szwed, who's constantly going wild with the drums. The band was established roughly 10 years ago and has released two albums: "Piss and Shit and a Diamond of Perception" on the Every Color label and "Pee and Poo in My Favorite Loo" for Gustaff Rec. Since the release of the last album, Woody Alien has played nearly a hundred shows across Poland and Europe, supporting such bands as Lightning Bolt, Today is the Day, or Jucifer. They have also been very busy creating new material, which is now forming their newest release, called "Microgod". "Microgod" presents some more melodious songs for us, but with an edge to it. The songs are dynamic, but still manage to encompass the dirty, noisy sound of the band. Crazy drum sections are accompanied by massive, droning bass, with the addition of suggestive lyrics. In simple words: Woody Alien is a full-sized noise band compressed to two and landing with a sizeable punch.'