2025 REPRESS.
2 x LP 180gm Heavyweight Vinyl.
Gatefold Sleeve.
Black Poly-lined Inner.
A1 Angel Echoes 4:00 A2 Love Cry 9:13 B1 Circling 5:15 B2 Pablo's Heart 0:11 B3 Sing 6:48 C1 The Unfolds 7:47 C2 Reversing 2:40 D1 Plastic People 6:33 D2 She Just Likes To Fight 4:34


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2025 REPRESS.
2 x LP 180gm Heavyweight Vinyl.
Gatefold Sleeve.
Black Poly-lined Inner.
A1 Angel Echoes 4:00 A2 Love Cry 9:13 B1 Circling 5:15 B2 Pablo's Heart 0:11 B3 Sing 6:48 C1 The Unfolds 7:47 C2 Reversing 2:40 D1 Plastic People 6:33 D2 She Just Likes To Fight 4:34


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Rights : World excluding FR,UK,Spain, Argentina, Uruguay,Chili,Bolivia

Product Informations: Black Vinyl, gatefold sleeve, 4 page 12'' booklet. "Viva Tu", Manu Chao's new album. Includes " Viva Tu ", "Sao Paulo Motoboy " and collaborations such as "Heaven's Bad Day" with Willie Nelson & "Tu Te Vas" with Laeti.

SHORT BIOG
For years, Manu Chao has been travelling the world to meet his fans in unusual venues, villages and small festivals. Elusive, but always accessible to those who cross his path, Manu now presents his new studio album 'Viva Tu', a collection of songs written at the heart of daily lives and struggles, and a fresh take on the state of the world, singing sunny, universal songs in Spanish, French, English and Portuguese, painting an unforgiving picture of social imbalances.
The lead song 'Viva Tu', a heartfelt rumba dedicated to the daily life heroes, has already made its mark. The second single, 'São Paulo Motoboy', is a colorful, sunny ode to the two-wheeled delivery people venturing the Latin American metropoles every day.
The album, to be released September 20th, also features some memorable collaborations, including 'Heaven's Bad Day' with country legend Willie Nelson and 'Tu Te Vas' with rising French rapper Laeti.
Available now in preorder (CD/Vinyls/Digital).

Vinyls Tracklisting:

SIDE A
1.Vecinos En El Mar
2.La Couleur du Temps
3.River Why
4.Viva Tu
5.Heaven's Bad Day (feat. Willie Nelson)
6.Tu Te Vas (feat. Laeti)
7.Coraçao No Mar
SIDE B
1.Cuatro Calles
2.La Colilla
3.São Paulo Motoboy
4.Tom et Lola
5.Lonely Night
6.Tantas Tierras






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Territory: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland only

Format: LP, limited red vinyl, insert

Genre: Alternative

Tracklist

A1 - And i Try
A2 - No Idea
A3 - Problem Is
A4 - Bag im In
A5 - Blinded

B1 - More Serious Acts
B2 - Heavy Fines, Loss Of Licence
B3 - Bear the Brunt
B4 - Time
B5 - Pigs dont Read

Hailing from Naarm/Melbourne, punk trio CLAMM—comprising Jack Summers, Miles Harding, and Stella Rennex—delve into the tumultuous experience of youth striving to lead an authentic and principled life in an increasingly chaotic world. Their music confronts the challenges of navigating entrenched systems of power and oppression while striving to preserve mental well-being and a strong sense of self. Through their raw and visceral sound, CLAMM aspires to foster community, ignite creativity, and provide a channel for catharsis.



Serious Acts continues the band’s signature raw intensity, with frontman Summer’s commanding vocals and incisive lyricism delving deep into the highs and lows of human existence.

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LP. 180G BioVinyl, 2 LP + Sticker , includes Download to 3/12 h Radio Play "Archivos De Radio Piedras"

2. GENRE/S: Electronic

3. TRACKLISTS:

> A1 / 1. Cangilón
> A2 / 2. Piedras
> A3 / 3. Aquí
> A4 / 4. Agua pa fantasmas
> B1 / 5. Rio de las tumbas
> B2 / 6. Viento
> B3 / 7. Mi viejita
> B4 / 8. No Hope> C1 / 1. Radio Chomio (con Eli Wewentxu)
> C2 / 2. Rio radio correspondencia anfibia
> C3 / 3. 3eee
> C4 / 4. F Collect
> C5 / 5. Even heaven is uneven
> C6 / 6. El azar
> D1 / 7. I, you
> D2 / 8. Heterodina
> D3 / 9. Sin Conexión
> D4 / 10. SSS1
> D5 / 11. SSS2
> D6 / 12. SSS3
4. SHORT INFO:

The initial seed for this project was planted in 2020 when Nicolás Jaar wrote the song “Piedras” for a
concert at the Museum of Memory & Human Rights in Santiago, Chile, which commemorates the
victims of human rights violations during the military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet between
1973 and 1990. Between 2022-2023 it took on a new form as a radio play entitled 'Archivos de Radio
Piedras', which was shared on a dedicated Telegram channel. In 2024, the play was converted into a
24 channel installation at the University Museum of Mexico City (MUAC), where it was exhibited for 5
months.

Piedras 1 and 2 is a collection of the tracks featured within the play, all new music by Jaar, but partly
presented within the play as the music of Salinas Hasbún (the name a composite homage to Jaar's
grandmothers, Graciela Salinas and Miriam Hasbún).

The play follows two friends mourning the disappearance of Salinas Hasbún, a musician and writer
who vanished in the early 2020s. Although they live in a future where technology is advanced, they
resort to DIY radio methods because the anonymous group “Las 0cho” has launched a worldwide
attack on undersea internet cables, causing a global internet blackout.

The play's central theme revolves around the idea that truths, memories and identities speak from the
cracks (“rasgaduras”), or the "in-between" spaces ("en el entre"). This concept is supported by the
way much of the narration unfolds - in the liminal spaces between radio frequencies. The instability
and transitory nature of a constantly shifting radio dial becomes not just a metaphor but the structure
of the play itself. It’s in these moments of noise, static and interference that the deeper revelations of
the story emerge. This disjointed, ever-changing medium mirrors the way memory and trauma
operate within the play - non-linear, slipping through the gaps, found in fragments or ordinary
moments, rather than direct transmissions of “official” historical accounts.

This notion reaches its climax at the end of the narrative, when a text is discovered in which Salinas
speaks of finding a new number in a small pond in a cave mentioned in the first episodes of the radio
play. This pond, inside the “cochlea of the world”, is seen as a way to introduce real-life randomness
to computation. Embodied in the salt lakes of northern Chile, home to the world’s oldest bacteria, this
randomness disrupts the rigid order of binary code, paving the way for a transformation of digital life.
5. VITAL SALES POINTS:
First solo release by Nicolás Jaar since 2020’s Telas and Cenizas.

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Format Notes: 2025 repress, 140g vinyl, remastered for this edition by Simon Francis

Territories: Worldwide no restrictions

Track List:

A1 Can You Feel It (Part 1)
A2 You Better Believe It
A3 Soul On Your Side
A4 Zone

B1 Funk-N-You
B2 Street Dreamin'
B3 You're My Last Girl
B4 Monterey
B5 Can You Feel It (Part 2)

Release Notes:

The Rhythm Makers's Soul On Your Side is flawless proto-disco funk. The Bronx-based band - that later went on to form heavyweight disco outfit GQ - originally released this treasure in 1976 and it's long been a hard to find record. It's also rare to find a record this hard. Captivating funk at its rawest, no doubt.

Storming out the gate with the rollicking Loft/Garage staple "Can You Feel It (Part 1)", the listener is immediately put on notice that this LP is just a little bit special. The title track, "Soul On Your Side", is a classic dancer and the basis of GQ's future hit "Disco Nights". But it's perhaps "Zone", a huge Baldelli track, that the record is best known for. Hypnotic psyched-out cosmic-disco / cosmic funk, it's an unrelenting groove that really thrusts the party into hyperdrive. With doses of scintillating Latin and pulsating African rhythms driving the pumping tune, atop an unstoppable bassline and imaginative, soul-slathered keyboard figures, it's basically a full-on funk assault. You might need a lie-down after this.

But there's no let-up on the B-Side, immediately grooving thanks to "Funk-N-You", a laidback glider that just rolls in the sleek style. Gorgeous harmony skills are displayed on "Street Dreamin'". Beautiful and gritty funk, by turns. "You're My Last Girl" is an airy ballad with two leads before the legendary "Monterey" enters the fray. A much-sampled instrumental and heavy disco-funk nugget, it contains an amazing B-Boy drum break making the whole LP worth the price of admission. "Can You Feel It (Part 2)" closes out this spectacular set.

The Rhythm Makers had been gigging around New York City since the late ’60s, having initially come together as Sabu and the Survivors, named after bassist Keith “Sabu” Crier. They eventually - for this album at least! - settled on The Rhythm Makers and cut one record for the small De-Lite subsidiary Vigor. The core lineup featured Crier, keyboardist Herb Lane, drummer Kenny Banks and rhythm guitarist Rahiem Leblanc.

Mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis, cut by Cicely Balston for Alchemy at AIR Studios with artwork restored at Be With HQ, this new edition should hopefully bring this album into the homes and record boxes of many more people.


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Format Notes: Originally a 2020 digital-only release, 140g vinyl, remastered for vinyl under Steve Moore’s supervision


Track List:

A1 - It Means Love (3:12)
A2 - Washington Park (4:52)
A3 - We’ll See (2:40)

B1 - Seduction (2:11)
B2 - Center Square (3:25)
B3 - Rhythm 77 (4:31)

Release Notes:

Steve Moore's Lovelock is back with Washington Park, a gorgeous suite of instrumental lounge music that can only be described as synth exotica. A real departure for Steve, this is a more mellow, soothing sound and can be regarded as Lovelock's response to these dystopian times.

New York-based multi-instrumentalist/producer/film composer Steve Moore is probably best known for his synthesizer and bass guitar work as Zombi, together with Anthony Paterra. Yet his Lovelock alias has been quietly blowing minds and warming hearts for a decade plus now. His latest effort, Washington Park, was not initially meant to be a Lovelock album. But Steve was posting little snippets of his work on Instagram and people started asking him: "is this new Lovelock?" It was at this point that Steve had an epiphany, of sorts. "It occurred to me that Lovelock can be whatever I want it to be. So yeah, maybe this new lounge/exotica record is, in fact, Lovelock."

Washington Park creeped out in a very low-key, early lockdown fashion and there wasn't much of a reaction. Says Steve, "I just self-released it and all my usual suspects were down with it, but it didn't really make it outside of my own circle." Yet many of the Balearic heads in Europe were indeed on it and Be With were most certainly listening. So, when we struck a deal to do the vinyl version of Burning Feeling, we couldn't resist asking about Washington Park.

Gentle opener "It Means Love" grooves along in the laconic style, conjuring carousel innocence and complimented by dreamy, spiritual sax and syrupy synth strings over a digi-soul beats. Title-track "Washington Park" glides smoothly in much the same vein, almost like a slightly more acidic, squelchier version of the preceding track with more insistent organ. Swoon. Closing out Side A, steady ambient gem "We'll See" is all gorgeous, soft pads with plaintive guitar and organ giving way to soaring digital strings over that metronomic drum machine soul.

Flip for the eerily brilliant "Seduction", a track which starts like a minimalist slice of Tommy Guerrero-esque guitar and drum machine soul but soon takes on a more menacing bent as Steve leans into his long-held predilection for horror by creating a slow-mo haunted house jam. The tempo (and temperature) rises with "Center Square", a Latin rhythm section and a sensual sax rubbing up against hot and heavy organ and string action. Steamy! To round things off, the ominous creeping groove of "Rhythm 77" feels like exotica-in-excelsis.

Washington Park was recorded over the first few months of the pandemic, during the spring of 2020, against the backdrop of his kids being out of school which meant daily walks and bike rides through Washington Park in Albany. It was during these moments of family activity and gentle movements, trying to make sense of the chaos engulfing his world, that Steve formed the ideas that led to this album. To make it manifest, he used all his old Roland beat boxes (CR-78, Rhythm 77 and Rhythm 330, Rhythm Arranger) plus a Chamberlin Rhythmate for all the percussion. Basslines were usually performed with his Moog Source or Minitaur and for pads and brass he used his Sequential Prophet 600 and Roland Juno 60. Strings came via a variety of old stringers - Korg Polysix, Elka Rhapsody, Crumar Orchestrator and Solina String Ensemble - and he also used his Fender Strat and Yamaha Custom saxophone.

Steve is a huge fan of exotica and that's clearly where this album is coming from. The likes of Martin Denny, Les Baxter and Henry Mancini can all be discerned here. As Steve explained, "I spent a lot of time listening to that stuff in the 90s and I figured it was time to let those influences show." You're going to be glad he did.

Mastering for the Washington Park vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis before being cut by Cicely Blaston of Alchemy Mastering at AIR Studios and pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry.

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Format Notes:

2025 first time vinyl release, limited to 500 copies, 140g vinyl

Track List:


A1 Business & Pleasure 5:50
A2 Last Call 6:57
A3 Slinky Strut 4:37
A4 First Class 6:59

B1 Stank 49 6:26
B2 Dangerous Man 4:15
B3 Stinkbug 5:00
B4 Win Or Lose 4:04

Release Notes:


Steve Moore reprises his beloved Lovelock guise by presenting his unique riff on the library breaks genre. Business And Pleasure contains grimy groove and sleazy, funk-laden lounge music.

This vinyl release is hyper-limited, with just 500 pressed for the world.

The LP is ushered in by the spacey synth-funk of the sleazy, woozy title track. This is that serious slo-mo cosmic-balearic head-nod shit. Laidback bass, heavy funk with dreamy synth and electric guitars. An outstanding opener. Up next, the dynamic, swaggering "Last Call" is a sophisticated, elegant stroll - sweeping, mellow strings, a smooth bassline and gorgeous percussion with urgent keys and swelling synths.

"Slinky Strut" is another spaced-out, sleazy funk groove with jazz rock by way of a heavy, heavy guitar riff, mellotron and bass breakdowns which build to brass crescendos. Gigantic. "First Class" closes out the side, and, like classic Hawkshaw / Bennett noir, it's got that mysterious and murky stretched out sleuth / detective soul with a great bassline and percussive elements, with swelling strings, ace synths and smooth Rhodes piano melodies entering the mix halfway through. Dramatic guitars and groovy percussion add extra intrigue. It's 7 minutes of funk!

Side B opens with the stretched-out psychedelic funk and jazz groove of "Stank 49". It takes its sweet time to unfurl, creating enormous - almost sensual - anticipation for the ensuing beauty but, as it does, we're left beguiled and straight-up hypnotised. Heaven-sent synth flourishes and a laidback bassline over smooth drums cement its simple, vivacious grace. "Dangerous Man" is that creeping crime funk we all love; heavy bass and fuzzy guitar riffs, mellow strings and sumptuous piano/synths. It's irresistible, it's ominous and it's pretty gargantuan. It's basically like an El-P hip-hop instrumental. We need to get some rappers over this stuff, stat!

"Stinkbug" is a dazzling and funky groove-fuelled jazz-rock workout with fizzing synth riffs joined by full percussion and drum breaks, building with strings to a strong swagger. Vigour! To close out this remarkable set, the breezy "Win Or Lose" is laidback soul-inflected funk, utilising urgent, skipping drums and galloping basslines. Just stunning.

This collection was written and recorded in Spring and Summer of ’24. Everything was tracked at Steve's home studio in Albany, NY except the drums and percussion, which were recorded by Jeff Gretz at his space in NYC. The whole collection is basically a rhythm section feature, so Steve's Rickenbacker 4003 and Fender Jazz Bass play very prominently. The bass guitar serves as lead instrument in a lot of these tracks. Also, lots of Rhodes and stringers (Solina, Logan etc) and guitar (Strat and Les Paul). He even dusted off my sax for this one, which he doesn’t do as often as he’d like!

This type of groove-oriented library music has been a steady part of Steve's diet since the late 90’s. In heavy rotation while writing this collection were the following classics: “Time Signals” by Klaus Weiss, “Tilsley Orchestral No. 10” by Reg Tilsley, and “Heavy Truckin’” by Simon Haseley. “Voyage” by Brian Bennett was also a big one.

Lovelock started as a dedicated Italo-disco project, but over the years Steve expanded it to include anything directly informed by the commercial/pop side of the music of his childhood (70s/80s). Writing and recording this album was, like a lot of Steve's music these days, basically a test to see whether or not he could do it.

The song titles, like the music, are meant to be evocative yet vague. But there is a bit of a travel theme. Steve imagined this record being the soundtrack to a sleazy salesman’s business trip. The kind of guy who, when asked if he’s traveling for business or pleasure, responds “both.” Beyond the traveling salesman comparison, the title directly relates to the creation of this album. This was something he wanted to do just for his own enjoyment. Yet, like our sleazy salesman, he still found a way to get paid.

The album’s cover was designed by Chris Stevenson, with no little direction from Steve. He knew that he wanted to go with something photography-based for this cover so, in true DIY/cheapskate spirit, Steve started by looking through his own photos. He found the cover image on his phone, taken through an almost empty bottle of beer, and it clicked. The whole album has a very boozy vibe (especially with titles like “Last Call”) so this shot seemed appropriate. We, hic, agree.

Mastering for this vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis, and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry.








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2025 REPRESS, Black BIO vinyl, LP Insert, Poly PVC Outer, Sticker
LP - Territory: WW Minus UK/Eire,Usa

- Limited Edition (300 copies worldwide)
- Black vinyl
- Printed on heavyweight reverse board outer sleeve
- Double sided printed vinyl insert featuring illustrations by Blue Lake
- Vinyl comes in black poly-lined protective bag
- Housed in a heavyweight PVC protective outer sleeve
- Hype front sticker
- Vinyl pressed at Optimal media GmbH
- Printed at Delga in the UK

GENRE/S: Ambient / Experimental / Alternative / Jazz

TRACKLISTS:

Side A
01. Dallas
02. Green-Yellow Field
03. Bloom
04. Rain Cycle
Side B
01. Writing
02. Fur
03. Sun Arcs
04. Wavelength

4. SHORT INFO:

Weaving between self-built zithers, drones, clarinets, slide guitars and drum machines, ‘Sun Arcs’ is a beautifully
unique sound offering with inventive, free spirited and DIY sensibility.

Blue Lake is the musical moniker of American born, Copenhagen based multidisciplinary artist and musician
Jason Dungan, who signs to the Tonal Union imprint for the release of his new longform album ‘Sun Arcs’. It
follows 2022’s release ‘Stikling’, earning a nomination for ‘Album of the Year’ at the Danish Music Awards plus
warm praise from The Hum blog and musicians and DJs alike including Jack Rollo (Time is Away/NTS) and Carla
dal Forno. A self taught player, Dungan began freely experimenting with self-built multi-string instruments,
preferring to build his own hybrid 48-string zither and working in the realms of left-field ambient music, off kilter
folk and improvised acoustic minimalism.

Musically it portrays a form of double life led by an American-identifying person living in Scandinavia, and a new
found presence in Denmark, seeking out underdeveloped marshlands and barren stretches of beach adrift from
other rhythms and distractions. Highlighting their individual and potent importance Dungan concludes: “Both
places feel like “me”, I think on some level the music is always some kind of self-portrait.” ‘Sun Arcs’ depicts
the intricate balance of nature’s cycles and the paths outlined by the seasons, from a winter dormancy to a warm
sun drenched scene. The album scales new glorying heights and further defines Dungan’s musical narrative,
inhabiting a unique space in left-field, improvised and experimental music, borning his most accomplished
compositions to date. A singular and visionary expression, drawing on an array of instruments and sound worlds
with a renewed sense of joy and discovery.

The album's rich tapestry was mixed by Jeff Zeigler (Laraaji, Mary Lattimore, Kurt Vile / Steve Gunn) and mastered
by Stephan Mathieu (Kali Malone, KMRU, Félicia Atkinson)

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Format Notes: 2024 repress, 140g vinyl, can be played at 33rpm or 45rpm


Track List:

A1 : Swans (01:56)
A2 : New Danger (01:57)
A3 : Old Habits (02:02)
A4 : Chase Theme No. 1 (01:49)
A5 : Infinite Bliss (01:34)
A6 : Evening (01:41)

B1 : Rain Dance (02:54)
B2 : Sure Thing (02:12)
B3 : Garçon Manqué (02:00)
B4 : Turning In (02:49)
B5 : Chase Theme No. 2 (01:05)
B6 : Hues (02:00)

Release Notes:

Frank Maston’s Tulips is a sample-ready film score to the best 70s movie never made. Originally a super-limited self-release on his Phonoscope label in late 2017, Tulips has already become incredibly sought-after. Be With were introduced to Maston by mutual friends Aquarium Drunkard and it didn’t take long before we decided this modern classic deserved a reissue.

Inspired by the deep-grooving soundtracks of Italian cinema - think Morricone, Umiliani and Alessandroni - Maston conceived the entire Tulips project as a continuation of these revered works. Frank designed the artwork and made two 16mm films to accompany the music: “It wasn’t just the LP… it was kind of a whole vibe I was trying to create. Not really trying to emulate the things that influenced me but more trying to make something that could sit alongside those records on a shelf. I’m still very proud of the project.”

There’s a distinct library music feel too, with wiry organ, spacey keyboards and loping 60s guitar hinting at KPM and DeWolfe. Like the best library music, Tulips creates a cinematic universe through sound alone, evoking moving images in the listener’s technicolour imagination. It turns out that was accidentally on purpose: “I was discovering a lot of library music for the first time… listening to a composer’s entire catalog or finding all this obscure stuff. I wasn’t entirely conscious of the influence until I started making this music and realized I was channeling the vibe. That’s when I began focusing more on weaving melodic themes throughout the record to make it function more like a soundtrack”.

Tulips was recorded between 2015 and 2017 in a small studio in a village called Zwaag in Holland, during downtime from Frank’s touring duties with Jacco Gardner’s band. “Tulips” comes from the title of the very first demo he made in Holland, it was the first thing that came to mind. Makes sense.

Recording in Europe with some very European influences in mind, Frank wanted to eschew any American influences. But we can still feel the studio wizardry of the likes of Brian Wilson and Harry Nilsson in there somewhere. A psychedelic bedroom-pop song-cycle, full of hypnotic hooks and dusty drums, Tulips manages to sound charmingly homemade yet wholly widescreen.

Dreamy opener “Swans” is an exquisite soul instrumental and recalls the soft-psych of Koushik, which Be With loves of course. Tropicalia influences abound in the cool and breezy “New Danger” and the KPM-references are loud and proud on the lush organ pop of “Old Habits”. Fast-paced “Chase Theme No. 1” manages to be both tense and laid back, decorated by acid-drenched spaghetti Western guitars. The glorious Gainsbourg-esque melancholia of “Infinite Bliss” is all gauzy flutes and happy-sad vocalizing and the title is almost perfect: it’s bliss, no question; *if only* it went on forever. Side A closes with “Evening”, a subtle bossa nova beat thing. Gorgeous.

Side B opens with the heat-shimmer guitars of “Rain Dance”, evoking an unreleased Byrds or Buffalo Springfield backing track. Yes, it’s that good. “Sure Thing” is music to accompany an elevator ride you never want to end, but in a good way! The ornate “Garçon Manqué” is as beautiful as the instrumentals on Pet Sounds (think “Let’s Go Away For A While”) and the wistful “Turning In” starts like a stroll in the park before Maston introduces a scorched-Earth guitar solo that would startle if it wasn’t so pitch-perfect. “Chase Theme No. 2” is a briefer, more keening counterpart to what we hear on side A. The head-nod bass-drums-keys funk of “Hues” rounds out this staggeringly assured set; still opening each phrase with a plaintive strum, but using vibrato and heavy reverb to accent the electric organ melody. Sublime.

All these top drawer musical references might sound like just more of the usual release notes hyperbole, but there’s a reason that this still-young LP already changes hands for big money. It really is that good. Of course that first pressing didn’t hang around for long and Frank’s regularly been asked about a re-press pretty much ever since.

Re-issuing Tulips on Be With made sense to Frank “because the record would fit in so well with the catalogue”. Having already delved into the archives of KPM and Themes, and beginning to do the same with Coloursound and Selected Sounds, the collaboration “just makes sense and seems inevitable”. We agree.

Frank wasn’t sure a record of instrumentals with obscure soundtrack references would be an easy sell when it was originally released, and was surprised when Tulips turned out to be exactly what some people wanted to hear. We reckon its timeless beauty ensures that it’ll *always* have an audience.

The record was originally cut to be played at 45rpm, a technical quirk that grants the home listener the opportunity to go deeper, for longer. Played at 33rpm, the more languid unfurling of the tracks proves just as wonderful a trip. As a psilocybin-soaked case study from Aquarium Drunkard back in January of 2019 describes, some of the songs sound as if they were intended to be heard that way. The slower speed allowing the listener to step inside and perhaps even “crack the code” of the music’s meaning.

Mastered for this vinyl reissue by Simon Francis and featuring alternative burnt orange artwork from Maston himself, this Be With pressing is limited to just 500 copies. Hypnagogic it may be, but please don’t sleep.



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Format Notes: 2024 repress, 140g inyl release of the digital collection of left-over material from the Tulips sessions

Track List:

A1 : Darkland (00:39)
A2 : Tulips (02:55)
A3 : Immaculate Conception (00:46)
A4 : Love Theme No 3 (01:23)
A5 : The Owl In Daylight (00:51)
A6 : Innovative Patterns (02:24)
A7 : Osiris (00:58)
A8 : Groove Experiment No 3 (01:49)

B1 : Raincloud (03:57)
B2 : Phonic (00:48)
B3 : Love Theme No 2 (01:58)
B4 : Italian Summer (00:52)
B5 : Endless (02:11)
B6 : Wonder Theme (01:09)
B7 : Willow (01:06)

Release Notes:

Maston’s Darkland is a breezy collection of the material from the Tulips sessions that didn’t make it on to the original LP. Originally a digital-only release for those in the know in the autumn of 2018, after re-issuing Tulips in 2020 it made too much sense for Be With to give Darkland a vinyl release.

Like Tulips, Darkland was recorded mostly in Hoorn, in the Netherlands, between 2015-2017 during downtime from Frank’s touring duties with Jacco Gardner’s band. Bits were also done in Los Angeles on some extended trips back home.

The collection plays like an alternate view of Maston’s instant modern classic Tulips; a companion piece to the LP proper with similar mixture of shorter themes and more full length tracks. As Frank Maston explains: “I think Darkland is the shadow of Tulips in a way… what it might’ve been in a different universe. But the heart of Tulips beats in these songs as well and they evoke the same memories and feelings for me. I see my process playing out across these songs - lots of experimentation and trying out new techniques and sounds and just sort of going for it.”

Frank goes on: “It was all from the same pool of material, like 30+ ideas. I was making a lot of little demos… some would be more fleshed out and become songs and others would just be a cool riff and not go anywhere. When I started trying to form it all into an LP I went through all the sessions and ideas and collected the ones I thought were the most fleshed out and cohesive together as a whole. There were a fair amount of songs that were finished and in hindsight really should have been on Tulips (like what would’ve been the title track). And the rest of these songs are either very early versions of tunes that ended up on Tulips or some cool ideas that just ended up being dead ends. It definitely shows how wide my net was in the beginning before I narrowed the record down stylistically.”

Darkland opens with its ornate 39 second title-track before striding into “Tulips”, that full-length title-track that never was. It’s a real head-nod, percussive-rich electric piano stunner that would’ve been a comfortable standout on the album proper. But now this “downlifting” gem is given ample room to shine on this record.

The funky organ-led bass and drums workout “Immaculate Conception” will keep your neck gently snapping while MPC fiends go reaching for their sampler. And that’s gospel. “Love Theme No 3” cuts a breathtakingly stylish vibra-slapped swathe through the middle of the opening side before we’re startled by the pronounced bass and twinkling percussion of “The Owl In Daylight”. Charming digi-drums underpin the wonky synth (quiet-)banger “Innovative Patterns” which has a lovely melodic switch-up in the final third before the tempo (and hairs on your neck) rise on the faintly creepy yet imminently groovy “Osiris”. The gorgeously soft-focus “Groove Experiment No 3” closes out the first half in slow-mo wonderment.

The lushly melancholic “Raincloud” ushers in side B before the emotionally-stirring “Phonic” taps at the door, coming on like the long lost sister to Pet Sounds’ “Let’s Go Away For A While”. Next up, the swooning beauty “Love Theme No 2” keenly sways in front of you, growing ever more insistent and hypnotic. The too-short “Italian Summer” conjures the same flirtatious imagery as the title hints at whilst “Endless” is a fascinating “piano-pella” alternative version to “Rain Dance” from Tulips. “Wonder Theme” has a nostalgic, exotic 60s swing and album closer “Willow” is a hushed, campfire folk gem. The gently circular strumming is just magical.

Speaking to Aquarium Drunkard back in 2019 about the sessions that became Tulips, Frank noted: “I was really surprised by the lack of sunlight during my first winter in Holland, so I would call it Darkland which then became the name of the first demo I wrote during that time. It was also the working title of the record when I first started writing. Some are full songs that didn’t make the cut (including what would have been the title track), some are just ideas that I never finished.”

Whilst we were working on Darkland’s vinyl release Frank explained more specifically about the music that didn’t make it on to Tulips: “When I was putting together the tracklisting for Tulips I was already thinking that whatever didn’t make it onto the LP would be cool to release eventually somehow. The response to Tulips has been so passionate over the years that it’s nice to be able to offer another piece of that world. And for me personally it’s amazing to have more of my work out there in the world. Most common bit of feedback was that many of these songs should have been on Tulips. The odd friend says it’s much better than Tulips.”

Just like Tulips before it, Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering for Darkland has been cut at 45rpm so you can trip out to this as well at a woozy 33 1/3. The artwork too has been designed by Frank himself as a literal visual continuation of the Tulips cover.

We couldn’t possibly say whether Darkland is better than Tulips, and luckily we don’t have to decide.







Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

2025 REPRESS.
2 x LP 180gm Heavyweight Vinyl.
Gatefold Sleeve.
Black Poly-lined Inner.
A1 Angel Echoes 4:00 A2 Love Cry 9:13 B1 Circling 5:15 B2 Pablo's Heart 0:11 B3 Sing 6:48 C1 The Unfolds 7:47 C2 Reversing 2:40 D1 Plastic People 6:33 D2 She Just Likes To Fight 4:34


Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More