Tracklist:
1. SAVANNE
2. LOBBO
3. DIARABI
4. TONGO BARRA
5. TAMALLA
6. MAHINE ME
7. ALI HALA ABADA
8. ALAKARRA
Ali Farka Touré trekked the world, bringing his beloved Malian music to the masses. Dubbed "the African John Lee Hooker," one could hear strong connections between the two; both employed a bluesy style of play with gritty textures that elicit calm and fury in equal measure. While the influence of Black blues music prevailed, Touré created a West African blend of 'desert blues' that garnered Grammy awards and widespread reverence. Though he transcended in 2006, Ali's musical legacy lives on through his son, Vieux aka "the Hendrix of the Sahara," an accomplished guitarist and champion of Malian music in his own right. On Ali, his collaborative album with Khruangbin, Vieux pays homage to his father by recreating some of his most resonant work, putting new twists on it while maintaining the original's integrity. The result is a rightful ode to a legend. Ali isn't just a greatest hits compilation. It's a lullaby, a remembrance of Ali's life through known highlights and B-sides from his catalog. It is a testament to what happens when creativity is approached through open arms and open hearts. "To me, music is magic, it is spontaneous, it is the energy between people," Vieux says. "I think Khruangbin understands this very well." The genesis of the album dates back to 2019, when Khruangbin, coming off their breakthrough album Con Todo el Mundo, was beginning to playto bigger crowds. The record was finished in 2021, as a global pandemic shuttered businesses and forced us to take stock of what Earth was becoming. Indirectly, Ali captures this as a moment of peace within a raging storm, a conversation between past and present without allegiance to suffering. Now, given Khruangbin's reach as a unit with legions of fans (including the likes of Jay-Z and Paul McCartney), they're poised to bring Malian music to broader groups of listeners. Ali is a masterful work in which the love surrounding it is just as vital as the music itself, driving it to unforeseen places; Vieux and Khruangbin are spreading the good word to a completely new generation. "I hope it takes them somewhere new, or puts them in a place they haven't felt or heard," Lee says. "It is about the love of new friendship and making something beautiful together," Vieux continues. "It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again. In the end and in a word it is love, that's all." More
1. SAVANNE
2. LOBBO
3. DIARABI
4. TONGO BARRA
5. TAMALLA
6. MAHINE ME
7. ALI HALA ABADA
8. ALAKARRA
Ali Farka Touré trekked the world, bringing his beloved Malian music to the masses. Dubbed "the African John Lee Hooker," one could hear strong connections between the two; both employed a bluesy style of play with gritty textures that elicit calm and fury in equal measure. While the influence of Black blues music prevailed, Touré created a West African blend of 'desert blues' that garnered Grammy awards and widespread reverence. Though he transcended in 2006, Ali's musical legacy lives on through his son, Vieux aka "the Hendrix of the Sahara," an accomplished guitarist and champion of Malian music in his own right. On Ali, his collaborative album with Khruangbin, Vieux pays homage to his father by recreating some of his most resonant work, putting new twists on it while maintaining the original's integrity. The result is a rightful ode to a legend. Ali isn't just a greatest hits compilation. It's a lullaby, a remembrance of Ali's life through known highlights and B-sides from his catalog. It is a testament to what happens when creativity is approached through open arms and open hearts. "To me, music is magic, it is spontaneous, it is the energy between people," Vieux says. "I think Khruangbin understands this very well." The genesis of the album dates back to 2019, when Khruangbin, coming off their breakthrough album Con Todo el Mundo, was beginning to playto bigger crowds. The record was finished in 2021, as a global pandemic shuttered businesses and forced us to take stock of what Earth was becoming. Indirectly, Ali captures this as a moment of peace within a raging storm, a conversation between past and present without allegiance to suffering. Now, given Khruangbin's reach as a unit with legions of fans (including the likes of Jay-Z and Paul McCartney), they're poised to bring Malian music to broader groups of listeners. Ali is a masterful work in which the love surrounding it is just as vital as the music itself, driving it to unforeseen places; Vieux and Khruangbin are spreading the good word to a completely new generation. "I hope it takes them somewhere new, or puts them in a place they haven't felt or heard," Lee says. "It is about the love of new friendship and making something beautiful together," Vieux continues. "It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again. In the end and in a word it is love, that's all." More
More records from Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin
Limited Jade Vinyl!
Tracklist:
1. SAVANNE
2. LOBBO
3. DIARABI
4. TONGO BARRA
5. TAMALLA
6. MAHINE ME
7. ALI HALA ABADA
8. ALAKARRA
Ali Farka Touré trekked the world, bringing his beloved Malian music to the masses. Dubbed "the African John Lee Hooker," one could hear strong connections between the two; both employed a bluesy style of play with gritty textures that elicit calm and fury in equal measure. While the influence of Black blues music prevailed, Touré created a West African blend of 'desert blues' that garnered Grammy awards and widespread reverence. Though he transcended in 2006, Ali's musical legacy lives on through his son, Vieux aka "the Hendrix of the Sahara," an accomplished guitarist and champion of Malian music in his own right. On Ali, his collaborative album with Khruangbin, Vieux pays homage to his father by recreating some of his most resonant work, putting new twists on it while maintaining the original's integrity. The result is a rightful ode to a legend. Ali isn't just a greatest hits compilation. It's a lullaby, a remembrance of Ali's life through known highlights and B-sides from his catalog. It is a testament to what happens when creativity is approached through open arms and open hearts. "To me, music is magic, it is spontaneous, it is the energy between people," Vieux says. "I think Khruangbin understands this very well." The genesis of the album dates back to 2019, when Khruangbin, coming off their breakthrough album Con Todo el Mundo, was beginning to playto bigger crowds. The record was finished in 2021, as a global pandemic shuttered businesses and forced us to take stock of what Earth was becoming. Indirectly, Ali captures this as a moment of peace within a raging storm, a conversation between past and present without allegiance to suffering. Now, given Khruangbin's reach as a unit with legions of fans (including the likes of Jay-Z and Paul McCartney), they're poised to bring Malian music to broader groups of listeners. Ali is a masterful work in which the love surrounding it is just as vital as the music itself, driving it to unforeseen places; Vieux and Khruangbin are spreading the good word to a completely new generation. "I hope it takes them somewhere new, or puts them in a place they haven't felt or heard," Lee says. "It is about the love of new friendship and making something beautiful together," Vieux continues. "It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again. In the end and in a word it is love, that's all." More
Tracklist:
1. SAVANNE
2. LOBBO
3. DIARABI
4. TONGO BARRA
5. TAMALLA
6. MAHINE ME
7. ALI HALA ABADA
8. ALAKARRA
Ali Farka Touré trekked the world, bringing his beloved Malian music to the masses. Dubbed "the African John Lee Hooker," one could hear strong connections between the two; both employed a bluesy style of play with gritty textures that elicit calm and fury in equal measure. While the influence of Black blues music prevailed, Touré created a West African blend of 'desert blues' that garnered Grammy awards and widespread reverence. Though he transcended in 2006, Ali's musical legacy lives on through his son, Vieux aka "the Hendrix of the Sahara," an accomplished guitarist and champion of Malian music in his own right. On Ali, his collaborative album with Khruangbin, Vieux pays homage to his father by recreating some of his most resonant work, putting new twists on it while maintaining the original's integrity. The result is a rightful ode to a legend. Ali isn't just a greatest hits compilation. It's a lullaby, a remembrance of Ali's life through known highlights and B-sides from his catalog. It is a testament to what happens when creativity is approached through open arms and open hearts. "To me, music is magic, it is spontaneous, it is the energy between people," Vieux says. "I think Khruangbin understands this very well." The genesis of the album dates back to 2019, when Khruangbin, coming off their breakthrough album Con Todo el Mundo, was beginning to playto bigger crowds. The record was finished in 2021, as a global pandemic shuttered businesses and forced us to take stock of what Earth was becoming. Indirectly, Ali captures this as a moment of peace within a raging storm, a conversation between past and present without allegiance to suffering. Now, given Khruangbin's reach as a unit with legions of fans (including the likes of Jay-Z and Paul McCartney), they're poised to bring Malian music to broader groups of listeners. Ali is a masterful work in which the love surrounding it is just as vital as the music itself, driving it to unforeseen places; Vieux and Khruangbin are spreading the good word to a completely new generation. "I hope it takes them somewhere new, or puts them in a place they haven't felt or heard," Lee says. "It is about the love of new friendship and making something beautiful together," Vieux continues. "It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again. In the end and in a word it is love, that's all." More
More records from Dead Oceans
Label:Dead Oceans
Cat-No:DOCLPV1355
Release-Date:06.09.2024
Genre:Indie Rock/Alternative
Configuration:LP
Label:Dead Oceans
Cat-No:DOCLPV1355
Release-Date:06.09.2024
Genre:Indie Rock/Alternative
Configuration:LP
1
Toro Y Moi - Walking In The Rain
2
Toro Y Moi - CD-R
3
Toro Y Moi - HOV
4
Toro Y Moi - Tuesday
5
Toro Y Moi - Hollywood
6
Toro Y Moi - Reseda
7
Toro Y Moi - Babydaddy
8
Toro Y Moi - Madonna
9
Toro Y Moi - Undercurrent
10
Toro Y Moi - Off Road
11
Toro Y Moi - Smoke
12
Toro Y Moi - Heaven
13
Toro Y Moi - Starlink
Hole Erth, Chaz Bear’s eighth full-length studio record as Toro y Moi, is the genre shapeshifter’s most unexpected and bold move to date, with Bear diving headlong into rap-rock, Soundcloud rap and Y2K emo. The album blitzes anthemic pop-punk next to autotuned, melancholic rap – two genres that inform one another now more than ever before — and packs in the most features ever on a Toro y Moi album. We get Don Toliver’s moody crooning on the anti-love song “Madonna.” We get Kevin Abstract and Lev’s breathy reflections on “Heaven.” We get emo king Benjamin Gibbard, the beating heart of millennial indie for crying out loud. Recorded in the span of a few months across late 2023 and early 2024, Hole Erth’s features built naturally over that short span, with Bear simply reaching out to long-time friends. The sum of Hole Erth’s parts is massive, and demonstrates Bear’s deft abilities as a producer, especially in hip-hop; his role in the culture has long been solidified from previous collaborations with some of rap's biggest trailblazers. It’s a daring left turn for Bear, but the feel is effortless, the make-it-look-easy of a master at work. All told, Bear pushes himself into new sonic ground for the TyM oeuvre while embracing the project’s celebrated, well-known electronic beginnings. Hole Erth is brand new, but somehow perfectly at home.
The album’s title is an homage to Whole Earth, Stewart Brand’s DIY periodical from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the central purpose of which was to empower people to be holistically self-sufficient. From product reviews of carpentry tools, to how-to guides for growing your own food, to techno-optimistic analyses that’d go on to inspire Silicon Valley startup culture, parallels of the catalog’s DIY ethos can be found all throughout Hole Erth. Bear cites gorpcore, a new-age fashion trend of functional, outdoorsy outerwear worn as streetwear, as influencing the album’s aesthetic. This also ties back to Brand’s influential counterculture catalog. Bear notes: “Things have gone in a more gorp-y direction. Humans are tapping into this more tribal, earthier aesthetic. The Whole Earth catalog is this encyclopedic, self-sustaining guide. With the album title alone, that’s something I wanted to spark as a conversation. We can be off the grid, and also be on the internet, and try out all of these different lifestyles at the same time.” This sense of duality exists within Hole Erth: it’s seeped in the technological world while embracing real-world human connection.
The sounds that make up Hole Erth might feel like new territory for Bear, but in reality it’s a return to form for Toro y Moi – a project that has always orbited electronic music. “Toro is not a rock band,” Bear assures. “To me, my folk records and psych rock records are the side quests. What I fell in love with with the Toro project were the electronic productions – the samples. There’s always more to be done in the electronic world.” His experimentation with electronic production is most obvious on tracks like album opener “Walking In The Rain,” an immediate immersion into the brooding pulse of Hole Erth. Given Bear’s work with some of modern rap’s most influential acts, it’s no surprise that his autotuned cadence and cheeky play-on-words calls to mind the moody braggadocio of today’s popular hip-hop. “Hollywood,” featuring Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service fame, places warped vocals and ephemeral sound bites of internet dial-up beneath watery ruminations on celebrity and the delusions prevalent in Tinseltown. The track’s nostalgic nods in combination with Bear’s genre fluidity is a Toro y Moi trademark that can be heard throughout his discography. From the twangy, laidback reflections that comprised his most recent Sandhills EP, to the retro-futuristic grooves of 2019’s Outer Peace, Bear is no stranger to flexing his muscles as a forward-thinking musical chameleon, while still managing to make music that feels eternally familiar yet compelling.
A sense of nostalgia sneaks its way into almost every Toro y Moi release, but angst is an emotion that Bear has never intentionally explored the way he does here. Tracks like “Tuesday'' channel a specific, yet forever-relatable sense of adolescent unease. A distorted guitar riff leads into a repeating chorus that conjures misunderstood teenagers singing aloud, maybe too loud, while riding bikes through American suburbs. This foreboding can also be heard on “HOV,” though not without poking some fun with lines like “Romance is so cold / My advice? To bring a coat.”
A sense of playful ambition and experimentation sits at the core of Hole Erth. Bear has the energy, but is acutely aware that his energy isn’t forever. At a time when the internet is blending multiple genres into one at an increasingly rapid pace, Bear accomplishes the rare feat of keeping up with the contemporary alternative listener. Constantly changing, evolving and experimenting is the heart of Toro y Moi, and on Hole Erth Bear challenges but also reclaims himself, embracing the myriad sounds and eras that formed him, while crashing new worlds together. More
The album’s title is an homage to Whole Earth, Stewart Brand’s DIY periodical from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the central purpose of which was to empower people to be holistically self-sufficient. From product reviews of carpentry tools, to how-to guides for growing your own food, to techno-optimistic analyses that’d go on to inspire Silicon Valley startup culture, parallels of the catalog’s DIY ethos can be found all throughout Hole Erth. Bear cites gorpcore, a new-age fashion trend of functional, outdoorsy outerwear worn as streetwear, as influencing the album’s aesthetic. This also ties back to Brand’s influential counterculture catalog. Bear notes: “Things have gone in a more gorp-y direction. Humans are tapping into this more tribal, earthier aesthetic. The Whole Earth catalog is this encyclopedic, self-sustaining guide. With the album title alone, that’s something I wanted to spark as a conversation. We can be off the grid, and also be on the internet, and try out all of these different lifestyles at the same time.” This sense of duality exists within Hole Erth: it’s seeped in the technological world while embracing real-world human connection.
The sounds that make up Hole Erth might feel like new territory for Bear, but in reality it’s a return to form for Toro y Moi – a project that has always orbited electronic music. “Toro is not a rock band,” Bear assures. “To me, my folk records and psych rock records are the side quests. What I fell in love with with the Toro project were the electronic productions – the samples. There’s always more to be done in the electronic world.” His experimentation with electronic production is most obvious on tracks like album opener “Walking In The Rain,” an immediate immersion into the brooding pulse of Hole Erth. Given Bear’s work with some of modern rap’s most influential acts, it’s no surprise that his autotuned cadence and cheeky play-on-words calls to mind the moody braggadocio of today’s popular hip-hop. “Hollywood,” featuring Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service fame, places warped vocals and ephemeral sound bites of internet dial-up beneath watery ruminations on celebrity and the delusions prevalent in Tinseltown. The track’s nostalgic nods in combination with Bear’s genre fluidity is a Toro y Moi trademark that can be heard throughout his discography. From the twangy, laidback reflections that comprised his most recent Sandhills EP, to the retro-futuristic grooves of 2019’s Outer Peace, Bear is no stranger to flexing his muscles as a forward-thinking musical chameleon, while still managing to make music that feels eternally familiar yet compelling.
A sense of nostalgia sneaks its way into almost every Toro y Moi release, but angst is an emotion that Bear has never intentionally explored the way he does here. Tracks like “Tuesday'' channel a specific, yet forever-relatable sense of adolescent unease. A distorted guitar riff leads into a repeating chorus that conjures misunderstood teenagers singing aloud, maybe too loud, while riding bikes through American suburbs. This foreboding can also be heard on “HOV,” though not without poking some fun with lines like “Romance is so cold / My advice? To bring a coat.”
A sense of playful ambition and experimentation sits at the core of Hole Erth. Bear has the energy, but is acutely aware that his energy isn’t forever. At a time when the internet is blending multiple genres into one at an increasingly rapid pace, Bear accomplishes the rare feat of keeping up with the contemporary alternative listener. Constantly changing, evolving and experimenting is the heart of Toro y Moi, and on Hole Erth Bear challenges but also reclaims himself, embracing the myriad sounds and eras that formed him, while crashing new worlds together. More
“‘A La Sala,’ I used to scream it around my house when I was a little girl, to get everybody in the living room; to get my family together. That’s kind of what recording the new album felt like. Emotionally there was a desire to get back to square-one between the three of us, to where we came from–in sonics and in feeling. Let’s get back there.” - Laura Lee Ochoa
The title makes it clear. A La Sala (“To the Room” in Spanish), the fourth studio album by Khruangbin, is an exercise in returning in order to go further, and do so on your own terms. It extends the air of mystery and sanctity that’s key to how bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson, Jr. and guitarist Mark “Marko” Speer approach music. Yet if 2020’s Mordechai, the last studio album Khruangbin made without collaborators, was a party record whose ensuing post-lockdown tour enhanced the band’s musical reputation far and wide, A La Sala is the measured morning after. It’s a gorgeously airy album made only in the company of the group’s longtime engineer Steve Christensen, with minimal overdubs. It is a porthole onto the bounties powering Khruangbin’s vision, a reimagining and refueling for the long haul ahead. A La Sala scales Khruangbin down to scale up, a creative strategy with the future in mind.
It is also a response to the unique moment Khruangbin finds itself in now: following a decade spent cultivating extraordinary music paths, beginning a year when they'll perform for more people, in more iconic spaces, staging a live show that pushes a creative envelope peculiar to them alone. (Look for the band at major festivals and venues near you.) 2024 feels like both marker and pivot, cementing Khruangbin’s stature as a commercially and critically successful group that continues to be guided by creative possibilities.
Such crossroads are familiar for iconic artists throughout the rock era — your Dylans, Stevies and Bowies, up thru turn-of-the-century Radiohead, all have navigated these straits. On A La Sala, Khruangbin also pulls exploration inward, spurning the din of the crowd’s expectations, mapping a personal direction home. The trio’s collective musical DNA and the years spent constructing it in Houston’s local-meets-global cultural stew ensure the band carries on sounding like no one but itself. A La Sala may in fact be Khruangbin’s purest distillation. A cascade of crisp melodies still emanates from Marko’s reverb-heavy electric, dancing gently around Laura Lee’s minimalist almost-dub bass triangles, while DJ’s drums serve as the tightened-up pocket and unwavering dance-floor on which all this movement takes place.
Where prior album-by-album growth seemed to point the narratives towards music’s polyglot edges, such inquiries now sound like known intimacies. What once seemed like sonic invocations — spaghetti-western film scores, found-sounds, dancing moments more living room than rooftop disco — are ingrained characteristics. This is who they are! And there’s a freshness to the instrumental interactivity on A La Sala that’s less concerned with getting further out than going deeper in. That depth is not about therapeutic self-reflection, but a profound desire to celebrate the world’s external wonders.
A La Sala invites intimate intercontinental partying. The first single is, after all, called “A Love International.” “Pon Pón” holds the band’s table at the West African discotheque; yet the joy now moves to the corner left of the dancefloor, where the back-and-forth between Laura Lee’s bass, DJ’s hi-hat, and Marko’s tuneful rhythm scratches, is a marvel of knowing head-nods. There’s “Hold Me Up (Thank You),” a familial sweetness in its spare lyrics, feeding off the rhythm section’s sturdy funk shuffle, and a chorus on which Marko’s guitar evokes both sides of the Atlantic in confident unshowy rhythms. They’re on “Todavía Viva” too, next to DJ’s noir-soul rim-shots, synth strings and a pregnant pause that is Laura Lee’s favorite moment on the album, the mood kin to the band’s glorious live interpretations of G-funk fantasias. And the rocked-up miniature, “Juegos y Nubes,” demonstrates Khruangbin’s Houston-born superpower to culture-mix, a dancing mood less concerned with worldly glamor than communal grooving.
“I read something long ago, attributed to Miles Davis. He said, ‘When they play fast, you play slow. When they play slow, you play fast.’ And it's definitely how I've approached looking at music: Don't follow the trends. And if the trend is this, then do something else.” - Marko
From the get-go, Khruangbin’s journey has been emphatically its own: a sound and visual representation with few precedents, ignoring pop expectations, relying only on internal inspirations, and a multitude of visions. It’s a mindset of penetrating the self, connecting to the surrounding world, modeling your own life experiences. This ethos is threaded throughout A La Sala, audible in the album’s form and function. (It’s even visible in the vinyl version’s physical package, which will be released as a set of seven distinctive covers and color-sets — more on which in a sec.)
The building blocks for the album’s 12 songs were jigsaw pieces found in Khruangbin’s creative past. Having stockpiled ideas originally set down as off-the-cuff recordings (voice-memos made at sound-checks, on long voyages, as absentminded epiphanies), they began fitting those pieces together in the studio. Which parts were apt? Which could be massaged and stretched out? Which inspired new sections or rhythms or musical interactions? Once more, Khruangbin’s familial DNA kicked in. Layer-by-layer, the intimate work, rework and re-rework bore new fruit. They also brought back a strategy once foundational to their records: seeding an album with field recordings.
Some results fold directly into A La Sala’s down-home feel. “Three From Two” and “May Ninth” are wistful mid-tempo numbers, with guitar melodies that reside somewhere between Bakersfield and by-the-riverside, cues that, for all its borderless inclusivity, another core Khruangbin value is being steeped in American roots. And in the landscape that music comes from. Like all albums prior to Mordechai, Marko made sure environmental sounds — natural and man-made — appeared as textures. (At times philosophically: the group recorded while cricket chirps played in their headphones, presumably for terroir.) It’s how A La Sala achieves such interconnected set-and-setting-ness.
Other results are more metaphorical, especially in Khruangbin’s flirtation with ambient spaces. The dramatically beatless “Farolim de Felgueiras” and “Caja de la Sala” both feature only Marko’s unmistakable guitar dueting with Laura Lee’s Moog, lightly layered with sounds of shoes on stone steps, and cicadas in an open field. The closing “Les Petits Gris” more fully reduces and fleshes out the ambiance, with a piano and a simple single-note bass pattern, Marko’s plaintive spare guitar echoing the melody of a ballerina-turning music box. It feels an apt way of ending — as a passing of this particular moment, preparation for the next one, soon-come.
Even the seven different covers that adorn A La Sala’s various vinyl editions offer a throughline from the music into Khruangbin’s current frame. Designed by the band using Marko’s multitude of travelog photos, they are windows from the band’s living room onto a set of daydreams, scenes of impossible skies, external glances illuminating what is going on inside. These are also directly related to David Black’s images of DJ, Laura Lee and Marko which accompany A La Sala, and to Khruangbin’s live staging reinvention. It’s all about looking out and looking back, in order to better look ahead.
“All the little moments you capture. You don't see how impactful they are until you hear what eventually comes of them. A lot of those scraps end up being the thing — and you don't realize it until it's ‘The Thing.’” - DJ
credits
releases April 5, 2024
Produced by Mark Speer & Steve Christensen
Written, Arranged & Performed by Khruangbin
Art Direction: Tiny Frees
Mixing: Steve Christensen
Mastering: Chris Longwood More
The title makes it clear. A La Sala (“To the Room” in Spanish), the fourth studio album by Khruangbin, is an exercise in returning in order to go further, and do so on your own terms. It extends the air of mystery and sanctity that’s key to how bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson, Jr. and guitarist Mark “Marko” Speer approach music. Yet if 2020’s Mordechai, the last studio album Khruangbin made without collaborators, was a party record whose ensuing post-lockdown tour enhanced the band’s musical reputation far and wide, A La Sala is the measured morning after. It’s a gorgeously airy album made only in the company of the group’s longtime engineer Steve Christensen, with minimal overdubs. It is a porthole onto the bounties powering Khruangbin’s vision, a reimagining and refueling for the long haul ahead. A La Sala scales Khruangbin down to scale up, a creative strategy with the future in mind.
It is also a response to the unique moment Khruangbin finds itself in now: following a decade spent cultivating extraordinary music paths, beginning a year when they'll perform for more people, in more iconic spaces, staging a live show that pushes a creative envelope peculiar to them alone. (Look for the band at major festivals and venues near you.) 2024 feels like both marker and pivot, cementing Khruangbin’s stature as a commercially and critically successful group that continues to be guided by creative possibilities.
Such crossroads are familiar for iconic artists throughout the rock era — your Dylans, Stevies and Bowies, up thru turn-of-the-century Radiohead, all have navigated these straits. On A La Sala, Khruangbin also pulls exploration inward, spurning the din of the crowd’s expectations, mapping a personal direction home. The trio’s collective musical DNA and the years spent constructing it in Houston’s local-meets-global cultural stew ensure the band carries on sounding like no one but itself. A La Sala may in fact be Khruangbin’s purest distillation. A cascade of crisp melodies still emanates from Marko’s reverb-heavy electric, dancing gently around Laura Lee’s minimalist almost-dub bass triangles, while DJ’s drums serve as the tightened-up pocket and unwavering dance-floor on which all this movement takes place.
Where prior album-by-album growth seemed to point the narratives towards music’s polyglot edges, such inquiries now sound like known intimacies. What once seemed like sonic invocations — spaghetti-western film scores, found-sounds, dancing moments more living room than rooftop disco — are ingrained characteristics. This is who they are! And there’s a freshness to the instrumental interactivity on A La Sala that’s less concerned with getting further out than going deeper in. That depth is not about therapeutic self-reflection, but a profound desire to celebrate the world’s external wonders.
A La Sala invites intimate intercontinental partying. The first single is, after all, called “A Love International.” “Pon Pón” holds the band’s table at the West African discotheque; yet the joy now moves to the corner left of the dancefloor, where the back-and-forth between Laura Lee’s bass, DJ’s hi-hat, and Marko’s tuneful rhythm scratches, is a marvel of knowing head-nods. There’s “Hold Me Up (Thank You),” a familial sweetness in its spare lyrics, feeding off the rhythm section’s sturdy funk shuffle, and a chorus on which Marko’s guitar evokes both sides of the Atlantic in confident unshowy rhythms. They’re on “Todavía Viva” too, next to DJ’s noir-soul rim-shots, synth strings and a pregnant pause that is Laura Lee’s favorite moment on the album, the mood kin to the band’s glorious live interpretations of G-funk fantasias. And the rocked-up miniature, “Juegos y Nubes,” demonstrates Khruangbin’s Houston-born superpower to culture-mix, a dancing mood less concerned with worldly glamor than communal grooving.
“I read something long ago, attributed to Miles Davis. He said, ‘When they play fast, you play slow. When they play slow, you play fast.’ And it's definitely how I've approached looking at music: Don't follow the trends. And if the trend is this, then do something else.” - Marko
From the get-go, Khruangbin’s journey has been emphatically its own: a sound and visual representation with few precedents, ignoring pop expectations, relying only on internal inspirations, and a multitude of visions. It’s a mindset of penetrating the self, connecting to the surrounding world, modeling your own life experiences. This ethos is threaded throughout A La Sala, audible in the album’s form and function. (It’s even visible in the vinyl version’s physical package, which will be released as a set of seven distinctive covers and color-sets — more on which in a sec.)
The building blocks for the album’s 12 songs were jigsaw pieces found in Khruangbin’s creative past. Having stockpiled ideas originally set down as off-the-cuff recordings (voice-memos made at sound-checks, on long voyages, as absentminded epiphanies), they began fitting those pieces together in the studio. Which parts were apt? Which could be massaged and stretched out? Which inspired new sections or rhythms or musical interactions? Once more, Khruangbin’s familial DNA kicked in. Layer-by-layer, the intimate work, rework and re-rework bore new fruit. They also brought back a strategy once foundational to their records: seeding an album with field recordings.
Some results fold directly into A La Sala’s down-home feel. “Three From Two” and “May Ninth” are wistful mid-tempo numbers, with guitar melodies that reside somewhere between Bakersfield and by-the-riverside, cues that, for all its borderless inclusivity, another core Khruangbin value is being steeped in American roots. And in the landscape that music comes from. Like all albums prior to Mordechai, Marko made sure environmental sounds — natural and man-made — appeared as textures. (At times philosophically: the group recorded while cricket chirps played in their headphones, presumably for terroir.) It’s how A La Sala achieves such interconnected set-and-setting-ness.
Other results are more metaphorical, especially in Khruangbin’s flirtation with ambient spaces. The dramatically beatless “Farolim de Felgueiras” and “Caja de la Sala” both feature only Marko’s unmistakable guitar dueting with Laura Lee’s Moog, lightly layered with sounds of shoes on stone steps, and cicadas in an open field. The closing “Les Petits Gris” more fully reduces and fleshes out the ambiance, with a piano and a simple single-note bass pattern, Marko’s plaintive spare guitar echoing the melody of a ballerina-turning music box. It feels an apt way of ending — as a passing of this particular moment, preparation for the next one, soon-come.
Even the seven different covers that adorn A La Sala’s various vinyl editions offer a throughline from the music into Khruangbin’s current frame. Designed by the band using Marko’s multitude of travelog photos, they are windows from the band’s living room onto a set of daydreams, scenes of impossible skies, external glances illuminating what is going on inside. These are also directly related to David Black’s images of DJ, Laura Lee and Marko which accompany A La Sala, and to Khruangbin’s live staging reinvention. It’s all about looking out and looking back, in order to better look ahead.
“All the little moments you capture. You don't see how impactful they are until you hear what eventually comes of them. A lot of those scraps end up being the thing — and you don't realize it until it's ‘The Thing.’” - DJ
credits
releases April 5, 2024
Produced by Mark Speer & Steve Christensen
Written, Arranged & Performed by Khruangbin
Art Direction: Tiny Frees
Mixing: Steve Christensen
Mastering: Chris Longwood More
1
Khruangbin - The Number 3
2
Khruangbin - The Number 4
3
Khruangbin - August 10 / Master Of Life
4
Khruangbin - Two Fish And An Elephant
5
Khruangbin - White Gloves
6
Khruangbin - First Class
7
Khruangbin - So We Won't Forget
8
Khruangbin - Shida
9
Khruangbin - Friday Morning
10
Khruangbin - Lady And Man
11
Khruangbin - Pelota
12
Khruangbin - Evan Finds The Third Room
13
Khruangbin - Maria Tambien
14
Khruangbin - Time (You And I)
15
Khruangbin - People Everywhere (Shifting Sands Remix)
16
Khruangbin - A Calf Born In Winter
17
Khruangbin - Zionsville
"Live at Sydney Opera House" ist der letzte Teil der Live-Alben Serie von Khruangbin, dem weltumreisenden, genreübergreifenden Trio aus Houston, Texas. Das Album ist eine Doppel-LP, die ausschließlich aus Khruangbin-Kompositionen besteht und den Abschluss eines ehrgeizigen einjährigen Projekts für die Band bildet, das eine Hommage an ihre Live-Shows ist und ihre Improvisationskünste und kultigen Setlists feiert. Hier kommen karriereübergreifende Songs wie "A Calf Born in Winter", "Maria También", "So We Won't Forget", "Shida" und "Friday Morning" in ihrer vollen interplanetarischen Pracht zur Geltung, aufgenommen an einem der berühmtesten Veranstaltungsorte der Welt, dem Opernhaus Sydney. Der erste Solo-Auftritt der Band im berühmten Opernhaus fand im November 2022 statt und war an drei Abenden ausverkauft, womit sie sich in die Reihe der unzähligen Stars einreihten, die dort ebenfalls auf der Bühne standen. Die Doppel-LP folgt auf vier Live-Alben der Band, die seit Anfang des Jahres veröffentlicht wurden und mit Gästen wie Kelly Doyle, Ruben Moreno, The Suffers und Robert Ellis im Stubb's in Austin, Nubya Garcia im Radio City in New York, Men I Trust im RBC Echo Beach in Toronto und Toro y Moi im Fillmore in Miami aufwarten. Khruangbin sind bekannt für ihre Verbindung von Klängen aus aller Welt - darunter "eine Mischung aus R&B, Reggae, Surf-Rock, Melodien aus dem Nahen Osten, persischen Phrasierungen, lateinamerikanischen Rhythmen, Hip-Hop der 90er Jahre, westafrikanischer Instrumentierung, ätherischen Harmonien, psychedelischen Effekten und rumpeliger Disco" (Vanity Fair). Das Trio war mit zahllosen Welttourneen unterwegs und stand auf fast allen großen Festivalbühnen der Welt, darunter Glastonbury, Primavera und Coachella.
More
TRACKLIST:
1. SOURCE (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
2. THE MESSAGE CONTINUES (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
3. LA CUMBIA ME ESTá LLAMANDO (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
4. SO WE WON'T FORGET (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
5. THE INFAMOUS BILL (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
6. PELOTA (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
7. TIME (YOU AND I) [LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL]
It's only fitting that Khruangbin's first-ever official live releases would be albums paired with their tourmates: artists whose music they love and admire, friends who've become family along the way. Khruangbin's 'Live At' series of live LPs traces just one small slice of the band's flight plan through the years: it's a taste of some of their most beloved cities, stages and nights. Most of all, Khruangbin's 'Live at' series ignites both sides of the band's magic: the warm, prismatic feeling of their albums and the bewitching energy of their performances. 'Live at Radio City Music Hall' features performances by Nubya Garcia and Khruangbin. More
1. SOURCE (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
2. THE MESSAGE CONTINUES (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
3. LA CUMBIA ME ESTá LLAMANDO (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
4. SO WE WON'T FORGET (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
5. THE INFAMOUS BILL (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
6. PELOTA (LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL)
7. TIME (YOU AND I) [LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL]
It's only fitting that Khruangbin's first-ever official live releases would be albums paired with their tourmates: artists whose music they love and admire, friends who've become family along the way. Khruangbin's 'Live At' series of live LPs traces just one small slice of the band's flight plan through the years: it's a taste of some of their most beloved cities, stages and nights. Most of all, Khruangbin's 'Live at' series ignites both sides of the band's magic: the warm, prismatic feeling of their albums and the bewitching energy of their performances. 'Live at Radio City Music Hall' features performances by Nubya Garcia and Khruangbin. More
It's only fitting that Khruangbin's first-ever official live releases would be albums paired with their tourmates: artists whose music they love and admire, friends who've become family along the way. Khruangbin's 'Live At' series of live LP straces just one small slice of the band's flight plan through the years: it's a taste of some of their most beloved cities, stages and nights. Most of all, Khruangbin's 'Live at' series ignites both sides of the band's magic: the warm, prismatic feeling of their albums and the bewitching energy of their performances. 'Live at Stubbs' features performances by Kelly Doyle, Ruben Moreno, The Suffers, Robert Ellis, and Khruangbin.
Tracklist:
1.1WOMAN TROUBLE
1.2AT THE TRAILRIDE
1.3DON'T BOTHER ME
1.4NOBODY SMOKES ANYMORE
1.5BLIND MAN CAN SEE IT / (IT'S NOT THE EXPRESS) IT'S THE MONAURAIL
1.6BIN BIN
1.7FRIDAY MORNING
1.8NUMBER 4
1.9PEOPLE EVERYWHERE (STILL ALIVE) More
Tracklist:
1.1WOMAN TROUBLE
1.2AT THE TRAILRIDE
1.3DON'T BOTHER ME
1.4NOBODY SMOKES ANYMORE
1.5BLIND MAN CAN SEE IT / (IT'S NOT THE EXPRESS) IT'S THE MONAURAIL
1.6BIN BIN
1.7FRIDAY MORNING
1.8NUMBER 4
1.9PEOPLE EVERYWHERE (STILL ALIVE) More
Limited Jade Vinyl!
Tracklist:
1. SAVANNE
2. LOBBO
3. DIARABI
4. TONGO BARRA
5. TAMALLA
6. MAHINE ME
7. ALI HALA ABADA
8. ALAKARRA
Ali Farka Touré trekked the world, bringing his beloved Malian music to the masses. Dubbed "the African John Lee Hooker," one could hear strong connections between the two; both employed a bluesy style of play with gritty textures that elicit calm and fury in equal measure. While the influence of Black blues music prevailed, Touré created a West African blend of 'desert blues' that garnered Grammy awards and widespread reverence. Though he transcended in 2006, Ali's musical legacy lives on through his son, Vieux aka "the Hendrix of the Sahara," an accomplished guitarist and champion of Malian music in his own right. On Ali, his collaborative album with Khruangbin, Vieux pays homage to his father by recreating some of his most resonant work, putting new twists on it while maintaining the original's integrity. The result is a rightful ode to a legend. Ali isn't just a greatest hits compilation. It's a lullaby, a remembrance of Ali's life through known highlights and B-sides from his catalog. It is a testament to what happens when creativity is approached through open arms and open hearts. "To me, music is magic, it is spontaneous, it is the energy between people," Vieux says. "I think Khruangbin understands this very well." The genesis of the album dates back to 2019, when Khruangbin, coming off their breakthrough album Con Todo el Mundo, was beginning to playto bigger crowds. The record was finished in 2021, as a global pandemic shuttered businesses and forced us to take stock of what Earth was becoming. Indirectly, Ali captures this as a moment of peace within a raging storm, a conversation between past and present without allegiance to suffering. Now, given Khruangbin's reach as a unit with legions of fans (including the likes of Jay-Z and Paul McCartney), they're poised to bring Malian music to broader groups of listeners. Ali is a masterful work in which the love surrounding it is just as vital as the music itself, driving it to unforeseen places; Vieux and Khruangbin are spreading the good word to a completely new generation. "I hope it takes them somewhere new, or puts them in a place they haven't felt or heard," Lee says. "It is about the love of new friendship and making something beautiful together," Vieux continues. "It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again. In the end and in a word it is love, that's all." More
Tracklist:
1. SAVANNE
2. LOBBO
3. DIARABI
4. TONGO BARRA
5. TAMALLA
6. MAHINE ME
7. ALI HALA ABADA
8. ALAKARRA
Ali Farka Touré trekked the world, bringing his beloved Malian music to the masses. Dubbed "the African John Lee Hooker," one could hear strong connections between the two; both employed a bluesy style of play with gritty textures that elicit calm and fury in equal measure. While the influence of Black blues music prevailed, Touré created a West African blend of 'desert blues' that garnered Grammy awards and widespread reverence. Though he transcended in 2006, Ali's musical legacy lives on through his son, Vieux aka "the Hendrix of the Sahara," an accomplished guitarist and champion of Malian music in his own right. On Ali, his collaborative album with Khruangbin, Vieux pays homage to his father by recreating some of his most resonant work, putting new twists on it while maintaining the original's integrity. The result is a rightful ode to a legend. Ali isn't just a greatest hits compilation. It's a lullaby, a remembrance of Ali's life through known highlights and B-sides from his catalog. It is a testament to what happens when creativity is approached through open arms and open hearts. "To me, music is magic, it is spontaneous, it is the energy between people," Vieux says. "I think Khruangbin understands this very well." The genesis of the album dates back to 2019, when Khruangbin, coming off their breakthrough album Con Todo el Mundo, was beginning to playto bigger crowds. The record was finished in 2021, as a global pandemic shuttered businesses and forced us to take stock of what Earth was becoming. Indirectly, Ali captures this as a moment of peace within a raging storm, a conversation between past and present without allegiance to suffering. Now, given Khruangbin's reach as a unit with legions of fans (including the likes of Jay-Z and Paul McCartney), they're poised to bring Malian music to broader groups of listeners. Ali is a masterful work in which the love surrounding it is just as vital as the music itself, driving it to unforeseen places; Vieux and Khruangbin are spreading the good word to a completely new generation. "I hope it takes them somewhere new, or puts them in a place they haven't felt or heard," Lee says. "It is about the love of new friendship and making something beautiful together," Vieux continues. "It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again. In the end and in a word it is love, that's all." More
Tracklist:
1. The Medium
2. Goes By So Fast
3. Magazine (Feat. Salami Rose Joe Louis) https://youtu.be/qSKlCWGaaao
4. Postman https://youtu.be/xI0alDWn2tM
5. THe Loop
6. Last Year
7. Mississippi
8. Clarity (Feat. Sofie)
9. Foreplay
10. Déjà Vu
11. Way Too Hot
12. Millennium (Feat. The Mattson 2)
13. Days In Love
Toro y Moi's seventh studio album, MAHAL, is the boldest and most fascinating journey yet from musical mastermind Chaz Bear. The record spans genre and sound_encompassing the shaggy psychedelic rock of the 1960s and `70s, and the airy sounds of 1990s mod-post-rock_taking listeners on an auditory expedition, as if they're riding in the back of Bear's Filipino jeepney that adorns the album's cover. But MAHAL is also an unmistakably Toro y Moi experience, calling back to previous works while charting a new path forward in a way that only Bear can do. MAHAL is the latest in an accomplished career for Bear, who's undoubtedly one of the decade's most influential musicians. Since the release of the electronic pop landmark Causers of This in 2009, subsequent records as Toro y Moi have repeatedly shifted the idea of what his sound can be. But there's little in Bear's catalog that will prepare you for the deep-groove excursions on MAHAL, his most eclectic record to date. The second the album begins we're immediately transported into the passenger seat, jeep sounds and all, ready for the ride Chaz and company have concocted for us. Seeds of some of MAHAL's 13 songs date back to the more explicitly rock-oriented What For? from 2015. MAHAL was mostly completed last year in Bear's Oakland studio with the involvement of a host of collaborators, Sofie Royer and Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Ruban Neilson to Neon Indian's Alan Palomo and the Mattson 2. "I wanted to make a record that featured more musicians on it than any other record of mine," he explains. "To have them live on that record feels grounded, bringing a communal perspective to the table." As a result, MAHAL is lush and surprising at every turn, from the cool-handed "The Loop," which recalls Sly and the Family Stones, to the elastic psych rock of "Foreplay" and the dizzying Mulatu Astatke-recalling of "Last Year." Lyrically, the album zooms in on generational concerns, picking up where the Outer Peace standout "Freelance" effectively left off. Bear seems to be surveying the ways in which we connect with technology, media, each other, and what disappears as a result. Cuts like the squishy "Postman" and the "Magazine" take a deep dive into our relationship with media in a changing digital world. "It's interesting to see how we adapt to this new age. We're so connected, but we're still missing out on things," Bear ruminates while discussing the album's themes. It's not all introspection. Bear cools things down near the album's end with the Mattson 2-featuring "Millennium," a laid-back jam with tricky guitar licks about ringing in new times even when everything else seems upside down. "It's about enjoying the new year, even when it's been shitty," Bear explains. "There's nothing else to do." Finding a sense of joy in the face of adversity is embedded in MAHAL's DNA, right down to the jeepney that literally and figuratively brings the music out into the community. "We know that touring is messed up for now, and large gatherings are a fluke," he explains. "It's about the notion of us going out to the people and bringing the record to them." And with the wide-open atmosphere of MAHAL, Toro y Moi stands to connect with more listeners than ever before.
More
1. The Medium
2. Goes By So Fast
3. Magazine (Feat. Salami Rose Joe Louis) https://youtu.be/qSKlCWGaaao
4. Postman https://youtu.be/xI0alDWn2tM
5. THe Loop
6. Last Year
7. Mississippi
8. Clarity (Feat. Sofie)
9. Foreplay
10. Déjà Vu
11. Way Too Hot
12. Millennium (Feat. The Mattson 2)
13. Days In Love
Toro y Moi's seventh studio album, MAHAL, is the boldest and most fascinating journey yet from musical mastermind Chaz Bear. The record spans genre and sound_encompassing the shaggy psychedelic rock of the 1960s and `70s, and the airy sounds of 1990s mod-post-rock_taking listeners on an auditory expedition, as if they're riding in the back of Bear's Filipino jeepney that adorns the album's cover. But MAHAL is also an unmistakably Toro y Moi experience, calling back to previous works while charting a new path forward in a way that only Bear can do. MAHAL is the latest in an accomplished career for Bear, who's undoubtedly one of the decade's most influential musicians. Since the release of the electronic pop landmark Causers of This in 2009, subsequent records as Toro y Moi have repeatedly shifted the idea of what his sound can be. But there's little in Bear's catalog that will prepare you for the deep-groove excursions on MAHAL, his most eclectic record to date. The second the album begins we're immediately transported into the passenger seat, jeep sounds and all, ready for the ride Chaz and company have concocted for us. Seeds of some of MAHAL's 13 songs date back to the more explicitly rock-oriented What For? from 2015. MAHAL was mostly completed last year in Bear's Oakland studio with the involvement of a host of collaborators, Sofie Royer and Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Ruban Neilson to Neon Indian's Alan Palomo and the Mattson 2. "I wanted to make a record that featured more musicians on it than any other record of mine," he explains. "To have them live on that record feels grounded, bringing a communal perspective to the table." As a result, MAHAL is lush and surprising at every turn, from the cool-handed "The Loop," which recalls Sly and the Family Stones, to the elastic psych rock of "Foreplay" and the dizzying Mulatu Astatke-recalling of "Last Year." Lyrically, the album zooms in on generational concerns, picking up where the Outer Peace standout "Freelance" effectively left off. Bear seems to be surveying the ways in which we connect with technology, media, each other, and what disappears as a result. Cuts like the squishy "Postman" and the "Magazine" take a deep dive into our relationship with media in a changing digital world. "It's interesting to see how we adapt to this new age. We're so connected, but we're still missing out on things," Bear ruminates while discussing the album's themes. It's not all introspection. Bear cools things down near the album's end with the Mattson 2-featuring "Millennium," a laid-back jam with tricky guitar licks about ringing in new times even when everything else seems upside down. "It's about enjoying the new year, even when it's been shitty," Bear explains. "There's nothing else to do." Finding a sense of joy in the face of adversity is embedded in MAHAL's DNA, right down to the jeepney that literally and figuratively brings the music out into the community. "We know that touring is messed up for now, and large gatherings are a fluke," he explains. "It's about the notion of us going out to the people and bringing the record to them." And with the wide-open atmosphere of MAHAL, Toro y Moi stands to connect with more listeners than ever before.
More
Tracklist:
1.DORIS
2.B SIDE
3.CHOCOLATE HILLS
4.FATHER FATHER
5.MARIELLA
Two of the acts boldly leading Texas music into the future have now delivered a second chapter of their groundbreaking collaboration, further extending the region's sonic possibilities. Singer/songwriter Leon Bridges, from Ft. Worth, and trailblazing Houston trio Khruangbin have joined forces for the Texas Moon EP, a follow-up to 2020's acclaimed Texas Sun project. While the five new songs are clearly a continuation of the first EP, they also have an identity all their own _ Bridges calls it "more introspective," while Khruangbin bassist Laura Lee says it "feels more night time." When Texas Sun was released, AllMusic called the results "intoxicating" and Paste noted that "their talents and character go together so well." Now comes the next stage _ a set of songs that touch on themes like love, faith, and death while exploring new dimensions of inventive, hypnotic grooves. Significantly, both parties' musical directions were clearly affected by their time working together. Khruangbin's most recent album, Mordechai, moved their own vocals much further forward, a change they readily admit was a direct result of working with Bridges. Meanwhile, since these recordings began, in addition to his genre-defying album Gold-Digger's Sound, Bridges has put out several other challenging, shared tracks, including work with John Mayer, Lucky Daye, and Jazmine Sullivan. Texas Moon represents a genuine and rare achievement, with two of the most respected and innovative acts of their generation truly collaborating to create something new. "As far as an essentially instrumental band, these guys are kind of the top for me," says Bridges. "I'm honored to have been the first singer that they've incorporated in their music." "It feels really special to me," says Lee. "It's not Khruangbin, it's not Leon, it's this world we created together."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgugkEB-q_Q More
1.DORIS
2.B SIDE
3.CHOCOLATE HILLS
4.FATHER FATHER
5.MARIELLA
Two of the acts boldly leading Texas music into the future have now delivered a second chapter of their groundbreaking collaboration, further extending the region's sonic possibilities. Singer/songwriter Leon Bridges, from Ft. Worth, and trailblazing Houston trio Khruangbin have joined forces for the Texas Moon EP, a follow-up to 2020's acclaimed Texas Sun project. While the five new songs are clearly a continuation of the first EP, they also have an identity all their own _ Bridges calls it "more introspective," while Khruangbin bassist Laura Lee says it "feels more night time." When Texas Sun was released, AllMusic called the results "intoxicating" and Paste noted that "their talents and character go together so well." Now comes the next stage _ a set of songs that touch on themes like love, faith, and death while exploring new dimensions of inventive, hypnotic grooves. Significantly, both parties' musical directions were clearly affected by their time working together. Khruangbin's most recent album, Mordechai, moved their own vocals much further forward, a change they readily admit was a direct result of working with Bridges. Meanwhile, since these recordings began, in addition to his genre-defying album Gold-Digger's Sound, Bridges has put out several other challenging, shared tracks, including work with John Mayer, Lucky Daye, and Jazmine Sullivan. Texas Moon represents a genuine and rare achievement, with two of the most respected and innovative acts of their generation truly collaborating to create something new. "As far as an essentially instrumental band, these guys are kind of the top for me," says Bridges. "I'm honored to have been the first singer that they've incorporated in their music." "It feels really special to me," says Lee. "It's not Khruangbin, it's not Leon, it's this world we created together."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgugkEB-q_Q More
CD!
Tracklist:
1.DORIS
2.B SIDE
3.CHOCOLATE HILLS
4.FATHER FATHER
5.MARIELLA
Two of the acts boldly leading Texas music into the future have now delivered a second chapter of their groundbreaking collaboration, further extending the region's sonic possibilities. Singer/songwriter Leon Bridges, from Ft. Worth, and trailblazing Houston trio Khruangbin have joined forces for the Texas Moon EP, a follow-up to 2020's acclaimed Texas Sun project. While the five new songs are clearly a continuation of the first EP, they also have an identity all their own _ Bridges calls it "more introspective," while Khruangbin bassist Laura Lee says it "feels more night time." When Texas Sun was released, AllMusic called the results "intoxicating" and Paste noted that "their talents and character go together so well." Now comes the next stage _ a set of songs that touch on themes like love, faith, and death while exploring new dimensions of inventive, hypnotic grooves. Significantly, both parties' musical directions were clearly affected by their time working together. Khruangbin's most recent album, Mordechai, moved their own vocals much further forward, a change they readily admit was a direct result of working with Bridges. Meanwhile, since these recordings began, in addition to his genre-defying album Gold-Digger's Sound, Bridges has put out several other challenging, shared tracks, including work with John Mayer, Lucky Daye, and Jazmine Sullivan. Texas Moon represents a genuine and rare achievement, with two of the most respected and innovative acts of their generation truly collaborating to create something new. "As far as an essentially instrumental band, these guys are kind of the top for me," says Bridges. "I'm honored to have been the first singer that they've incorporated in their music." "It feels really special to me," says Lee. "It's not Khruangbin, it's not Leon, it's this world we created together."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgugkEB-q_Q More
Tracklist:
1.DORIS
2.B SIDE
3.CHOCOLATE HILLS
4.FATHER FATHER
5.MARIELLA
Two of the acts boldly leading Texas music into the future have now delivered a second chapter of their groundbreaking collaboration, further extending the region's sonic possibilities. Singer/songwriter Leon Bridges, from Ft. Worth, and trailblazing Houston trio Khruangbin have joined forces for the Texas Moon EP, a follow-up to 2020's acclaimed Texas Sun project. While the five new songs are clearly a continuation of the first EP, they also have an identity all their own _ Bridges calls it "more introspective," while Khruangbin bassist Laura Lee says it "feels more night time." When Texas Sun was released, AllMusic called the results "intoxicating" and Paste noted that "their talents and character go together so well." Now comes the next stage _ a set of songs that touch on themes like love, faith, and death while exploring new dimensions of inventive, hypnotic grooves. Significantly, both parties' musical directions were clearly affected by their time working together. Khruangbin's most recent album, Mordechai, moved their own vocals much further forward, a change they readily admit was a direct result of working with Bridges. Meanwhile, since these recordings began, in addition to his genre-defying album Gold-Digger's Sound, Bridges has put out several other challenging, shared tracks, including work with John Mayer, Lucky Daye, and Jazmine Sullivan. Texas Moon represents a genuine and rare achievement, with two of the most respected and innovative acts of their generation truly collaborating to create something new. "As far as an essentially instrumental band, these guys are kind of the top for me," says Bridges. "I'm honored to have been the first singer that they've incorporated in their music." "It feels really special to me," says Lee. "It's not Khruangbin, it's not Leon, it's this world we created together."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgugkEB-q_Q More
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Label:Definitive Recordings
Cat-No:DEFCLAS005
Release-Date:19.04.2024
Genre:House
Configuration:12" Excl
Label:Definitive Recordings
Cat-No:DEFCLAS005
Release-Date:19.04.2024
Genre:House
Configuration:12" Excl
1
Nick Holder - A1 Fruit Loops - Dance Dance Dance
2
Nick Holder - A2 Fruit Loops - Keep on Running
3
Nick Holder - B1 Fruit Loops - The Message of Love
4
Nick Holder - B2 Fruit Loops - Clap Ya Hands
12" - Fully Authorised Reissue on Original Release Label!
GENRE/S:
House
TRACKLISTS:
A1 Fruit Loops - Dance Dance Dance
A2 Fruit Loops - Keep on Running
B1 Fruit Loops - The Message of Love
B2 Fruit Loops - Clap Ya Hands
SHORT INFO:
Canadian deep house don Nick Holder's Fruit Loops EP is next to get the remaster and reissue treatment from Definitive Recordings. This label, now overseen by Get Physical Music, first released the EP back in 1995 when Toronto-based Holder had already become one of house music's most tasteful operators. He went on to release over 125 EPs and singles under countless aliases, in various groups, and on his labels DNH Records and Treehouse Records, as well as !K7 Records and NRK. His style spans house, disco loops and minimal Chicago grooves and is always high on immersive atmosphere. Opener 'Dance Dance Dance' brings together all those aspects of the Holder sound with its funky guitar riffs looping beneath raw drums and disco basslines. Classic Chic samples burst out of the mix to bring an air of celebration and party, and it makes for an irresistibly feel-good sound. 'Keep on Running' is a steamy and sweaty house jam with loopy drums and bass and more smartly chosen samples, this time from Roy Ayers, that bring the funk and never let up. It has long been a go-to anthem for house DJs, and the realness and rawness of the emotions in Holder's work also shine through with the filtered synths and jazzy keys of 'The Message of Love', which is complete with bumpy and irresistible drums. Last of all is the unfettered party spirit and diva vocals of the brilliantly lo-fi funk-house pumper that is 'Clap Ya Hands'. This EP hasn't aged one bit and remains a definitive piece of early Deep House history.
More
GENRE/S:
House
TRACKLISTS:
A1 Fruit Loops - Dance Dance Dance
A2 Fruit Loops - Keep on Running
B1 Fruit Loops - The Message of Love
B2 Fruit Loops - Clap Ya Hands
SHORT INFO:
Canadian deep house don Nick Holder's Fruit Loops EP is next to get the remaster and reissue treatment from Definitive Recordings. This label, now overseen by Get Physical Music, first released the EP back in 1995 when Toronto-based Holder had already become one of house music's most tasteful operators. He went on to release over 125 EPs and singles under countless aliases, in various groups, and on his labels DNH Records and Treehouse Records, as well as !K7 Records and NRK. His style spans house, disco loops and minimal Chicago grooves and is always high on immersive atmosphere. Opener 'Dance Dance Dance' brings together all those aspects of the Holder sound with its funky guitar riffs looping beneath raw drums and disco basslines. Classic Chic samples burst out of the mix to bring an air of celebration and party, and it makes for an irresistibly feel-good sound. 'Keep on Running' is a steamy and sweaty house jam with loopy drums and bass and more smartly chosen samples, this time from Roy Ayers, that bring the funk and never let up. It has long been a go-to anthem for house DJs, and the realness and rawness of the emotions in Holder's work also shine through with the filtered synths and jazzy keys of 'The Message of Love', which is complete with bumpy and irresistible drums. Last of all is the unfettered party spirit and diva vocals of the brilliantly lo-fi funk-house pumper that is 'Clap Ya Hands'. This EP hasn't aged one bit and remains a definitive piece of early Deep House history.
More
1
Grauzone - A1. Film 2
2
Grauzone - A2. Schlachtet!
3
Grauzone - A3. Hinter Den Bergen
4
Grauzone - A4. Maikäfer Flieg
5
Grauzone - A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
6
Grauzone - B1. Wütendes Glas
7
Grauzone - B2. Kälte Kriecht
8
Grauzone - B3. Kunstgewerbe
9
Grauzone - B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
10
Grauzone - B5. In Der Nacht
11
Grauzone - C1. Eisbär
12
Grauzone - C2. Ich Lieb Sie
13
Grauzone - C3. Moskau
14
Grauzone - C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
15
Grauzone - D1. Träume Mit Mir
16
Grauzone - D2. Ich Und Du
17
Grauzone - D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
18
Grauzone - D4. Raum
19
Grauzone - D5. Film 1
Double LP: Heavy 350gsm Sleeve, Liner Notes, Sticker
- Official reissue of Grauzone's album with 9 bonus songs including the megahit "Eisbär" and more, straight from the original reels!
Genre: Post-Punk, Electronic, New Wave, Cold Wave, Pop, Synth, Industrial, Experimental
Tracklisting Double LP Album
A1. Film 2
A2. Schlachtet!
A3. Hinter Den Bergen
A4. Maikäfer Flieg
A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
B1. Wütendes Glas
B2. Kälte Kriecht
B3. Kunstgewerbe
B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
B5. In Der Nacht
C1. Eisbär
C2. Ich Lieb Sie
C3. Moskau
C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
D1. Traüme Mit Mir
D2. Ich Und Du
D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
D4. Raum
D5. Film 1
WRWTFWW Records is very happy to reissue Swiss cult band Grauzone's self-titled album in an expanded 40 Years Anniversary Edition packed with the original 1981 album plus 9 extra songs, as well as extensive liner notes by Swiss music historian Lurker Grand. The 19-track album is available as a double LP vinyl in heavy 350gsm sleeve and a digipack CD, both sourced from the original reels and put together under the supervision of band member and all around legend Stephan Eicher.
The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".
Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.
This extended version of their debut (and only) album beautifully crystallizes the Grauzone miracle/accident - where pop and youthful experimentation meet at (new/cold/no) wave and industrial crossroads, and where classic hits ("Eisbär", "FILM 2", "Raum", "Träume Mit Mir", "Der Weg Zu Zweit"…) flawlessly mesh with unconventional deep cuts ("In Der Nacht", "Film 1", "Maikäfer Flieg"…). Very simply put: GOOD timeless music with an edge.
Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, post-punk, new wave, cold wave, Swiss wave, no wave, Neue Deutsche Welle (Welle means wave!), synth, pop, industrial, proto-techno, 80s, Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Liaisons Dangereuses, Tristesse Contemporaine, Young Marble Giants, The Cure but weirder, Switzerland, romance, mountains, polar bears, contemporary art, wearing nice (white) shoes in dirty basement squats, and xerox machines.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Grauzone's Eisbär and Raum, Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai's Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, John Carpenter's Dark Star Soundtrack, Ryo Fukui's Scenery, Dominique Guiot's L'Univers de la Mer, Bernard Parmegiani soundtracks and more).
More
- Official reissue of Grauzone's album with 9 bonus songs including the megahit "Eisbär" and more, straight from the original reels!
Genre: Post-Punk, Electronic, New Wave, Cold Wave, Pop, Synth, Industrial, Experimental
Tracklisting Double LP Album
A1. Film 2
A2. Schlachtet!
A3. Hinter Den Bergen
A4. Maikäfer Flieg
A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
B1. Wütendes Glas
B2. Kälte Kriecht
B3. Kunstgewerbe
B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
B5. In Der Nacht
C1. Eisbär
C2. Ich Lieb Sie
C3. Moskau
C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
D1. Traüme Mit Mir
D2. Ich Und Du
D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
D4. Raum
D5. Film 1
WRWTFWW Records is very happy to reissue Swiss cult band Grauzone's self-titled album in an expanded 40 Years Anniversary Edition packed with the original 1981 album plus 9 extra songs, as well as extensive liner notes by Swiss music historian Lurker Grand. The 19-track album is available as a double LP vinyl in heavy 350gsm sleeve and a digipack CD, both sourced from the original reels and put together under the supervision of band member and all around legend Stephan Eicher.
The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".
Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.
This extended version of their debut (and only) album beautifully crystallizes the Grauzone miracle/accident - where pop and youthful experimentation meet at (new/cold/no) wave and industrial crossroads, and where classic hits ("Eisbär", "FILM 2", "Raum", "Träume Mit Mir", "Der Weg Zu Zweit"…) flawlessly mesh with unconventional deep cuts ("In Der Nacht", "Film 1", "Maikäfer Flieg"…). Very simply put: GOOD timeless music with an edge.
Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, post-punk, new wave, cold wave, Swiss wave, no wave, Neue Deutsche Welle (Welle means wave!), synth, pop, industrial, proto-techno, 80s, Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Liaisons Dangereuses, Tristesse Contemporaine, Young Marble Giants, The Cure but weirder, Switzerland, romance, mountains, polar bears, contemporary art, wearing nice (white) shoes in dirty basement squats, and xerox machines.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Grauzone's Eisbär and Raum, Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai's Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, John Carpenter's Dark Star Soundtrack, Ryo Fukui's Scenery, Dominique Guiot's L'Univers de la Mer, Bernard Parmegiani soundtracks and more).
More
1
Fireground - Never Sleep 05:17
2
Fireground - Gaze 05:31
3
Fireground - Obsession 04:32
4
Fireground - Driving Stars 04:49
5
Fireground - Into A Diamond 05:17
6
Fireground - Wedding (Digital Bonus) 04:52
Territories: World excl. UK + North America
FORMAT: 12" 180g vinyl, generic sleeve, dl card
TRACKLIST:
1. / A1 Never Sleep 05:17
2. / A2 Gaze 05:31
3. / B1 Obsession 04:32
4. / B2 Driving Stars 04:49
5. / B3 Into A Diamond 05:17
6. Wedding (Digital Bonus) 04:52
RELEASE INFO:
The phrase “concept album” brings to mind long and complicated works by 60s rock bands or rap magna opera destined to be
pored over by Dissect podcast. But what if the concept is based on a simple conceit? With Refreshing Part 1, their third EP and
first vinyl release on Tresor, Fireground soundtrack an imaginary night spent at the Kraftwerk building on Köpenicker Straße,
moving between the smoke-filled basement of Tresor and the bass-heavy loft of Globus.
Opening piece, Never Sleep, has long been a feature of the Fireground live set and evolved over many months before reaching
its final form in something of a “eureka” moment during a performance in Tresor. The track kicks o the EP with a hint to
techno classic Knights of the Jaguar before quickly carving its own path through the foliage. The tribal leitmotif continues on
second track, Gaze, which again has subtle nods to classics whilst showcasing the duo’s ability to bring new life to 90s house
and techno tropes.
Obsession dispenses with any pretence and gets right down to business from the opening second: Inspired by the Tresor
dancefloor “when it reaches its peak; the strobe lights together with the smoke become so intense that for a few moments
you can't see anything and completely abandon yourself to your sense of hearing.”
A counterpoint to the finessed Never Sleep, Obsession was recorded live with minimal post-production this track finds
Fireground at their rawest and most uncompromising.
As if needing a spot of fresh air after the ferocity of Obsession, the second half of the EP leaves the dense and smoky
atmosphere behind and ascends towards the sky beginning with Driving Stars; lighter though this may be there’s no loss of
drive. Penultimate track Into a Diamond finds Fireground floating ever-upwards propelled by elements of jazz including a
gorgeous electric piano solo that recall the airy mid-90s UK house of labels like Nuphonic, Heavenly, Faze Action, and Soma.
Digital-only track, Wedding, closes the EP with the perfect end-of-night feeling, leaving us joyful, as if we are stepping out
into the morning sun surrounded by close friends, the sounds of the evening orbiting our minds. More
FORMAT: 12" 180g vinyl, generic sleeve, dl card
TRACKLIST:
1. / A1 Never Sleep 05:17
2. / A2 Gaze 05:31
3. / B1 Obsession 04:32
4. / B2 Driving Stars 04:49
5. / B3 Into A Diamond 05:17
6. Wedding (Digital Bonus) 04:52
RELEASE INFO:
The phrase “concept album” brings to mind long and complicated works by 60s rock bands or rap magna opera destined to be
pored over by Dissect podcast. But what if the concept is based on a simple conceit? With Refreshing Part 1, their third EP and
first vinyl release on Tresor, Fireground soundtrack an imaginary night spent at the Kraftwerk building on Köpenicker Straße,
moving between the smoke-filled basement of Tresor and the bass-heavy loft of Globus.
Opening piece, Never Sleep, has long been a feature of the Fireground live set and evolved over many months before reaching
its final form in something of a “eureka” moment during a performance in Tresor. The track kicks o the EP with a hint to
techno classic Knights of the Jaguar before quickly carving its own path through the foliage. The tribal leitmotif continues on
second track, Gaze, which again has subtle nods to classics whilst showcasing the duo’s ability to bring new life to 90s house
and techno tropes.
Obsession dispenses with any pretence and gets right down to business from the opening second: Inspired by the Tresor
dancefloor “when it reaches its peak; the strobe lights together with the smoke become so intense that for a few moments
you can't see anything and completely abandon yourself to your sense of hearing.”
A counterpoint to the finessed Never Sleep, Obsession was recorded live with minimal post-production this track finds
Fireground at their rawest and most uncompromising.
As if needing a spot of fresh air after the ferocity of Obsession, the second half of the EP leaves the dense and smoky
atmosphere behind and ascends towards the sky beginning with Driving Stars; lighter though this may be there’s no loss of
drive. Penultimate track Into a Diamond finds Fireground floating ever-upwards propelled by elements of jazz including a
gorgeous electric piano solo that recall the airy mid-90s UK house of labels like Nuphonic, Heavenly, Faze Action, and Soma.
Digital-only track, Wedding, closes the EP with the perfect end-of-night feeling, leaving us joyful, as if we are stepping out
into the morning sun surrounded by close friends, the sounds of the evening orbiting our minds. More
Label:Because Music
Cat-No:BEC5611046
Release-Date:25.11.2022
Genre:Indie Rock/Alternative
Configuration:2LP Excl
Label:Because Music
Cat-No:BEC5611046
Release-Date:25.11.2022
Genre:Indie Rock/Alternative
Configuration:2LP Excl
DANIEL VANGARDE –
DANIEL VANGARDE THE VAULTS OF ZAGORA RECORDS MASTERMIND (1971-1984)
Territorial Rights: World excluding France
2x Black LP, 5mm printed sleeve, 2x heavy weight printed inner sleeve, marketing sticker.
BIOG
Born Bangalter in 1947, Daniel Vangarde is a French songwriter and producer. In 1967, he met Jean Kluger who became his publisher. In the 1970s, their tandem stood out in those fields, for a plethora of popular French artists such as Petula Clark, Claude François, Joe Dassin, Dalida, Régine, Sheila and Ringo. 1975 saw the birth of Vangarde’s label, Zagora, and his first and only solo LP. Later on, Vangarde and Kluger were responsible for a number of hit songs by The Gibson Brothers, Ottawan and La Compagnie Créole. With or without Kluger, Vangarde also wrote and produced songs that remained underground, under several monikers (Starbow, Who’s Who, Soul Iberica Band, Yamasuki, Rocky & Vandella…) and for various artists. Let’s open these incredible cosmic disco funk vaults! Available on Double Vinyl (featuring 2 exclusive tracks) & CD .
TRACKLIST LP
FACE A
1. Starbow « Voyager Il (12" version) » (1978)
2. The Electronic System « Moog jealousy » (1973)
3. Daniel Vangarde « La poursuite » (1977)
4. Who's Who « Dancin' machine » (1979)
5. Starbow « Intersidereal message (12" version) » (1978)
FACE B
1. Soul Iberica Band « I'm looking for Jeremy » (1977)
2. La Boca « Laugh (the longest laugh in the disco history) » (1977)
3. The Lovelets « Midemman (theme Midem 74) » (1974)
4. Yamasuki « Kono samourai » (1971)
5. Ami Stewart « Rocky woman (12" version) » (1981)
FACE C
1. Who's Who « Palace palace (12" version) » (1979)
2. The Great Disco Bouzouki Band « Greek girls » (1978)
3. Vicky Edimo « Let me love you tonight » (1980)
4. Gibson Brothers « Come to America (instrumental disco version) » (1976)
5. Black Blood « A.l.E. (a mwana) » (1975)
FACE D
1. La Compagnie Créole « La nuit des requins » (1984)
2. Ottawan « Qui va garder mon crocodile cet été? (extended) » (1981)
3. Rocky & Vandella « Dès que t'as dit disco t'as tout dit (extended) » (1979)
4. François Patrice « Le contrat » (1973)
5. Daniel Vangarde « Une comète va rencontrer la Terre » (1975)
More
DANIEL VANGARDE THE VAULTS OF ZAGORA RECORDS MASTERMIND (1971-1984)
Territorial Rights: World excluding France
2x Black LP, 5mm printed sleeve, 2x heavy weight printed inner sleeve, marketing sticker.
BIOG
Born Bangalter in 1947, Daniel Vangarde is a French songwriter and producer. In 1967, he met Jean Kluger who became his publisher. In the 1970s, their tandem stood out in those fields, for a plethora of popular French artists such as Petula Clark, Claude François, Joe Dassin, Dalida, Régine, Sheila and Ringo. 1975 saw the birth of Vangarde’s label, Zagora, and his first and only solo LP. Later on, Vangarde and Kluger were responsible for a number of hit songs by The Gibson Brothers, Ottawan and La Compagnie Créole. With or without Kluger, Vangarde also wrote and produced songs that remained underground, under several monikers (Starbow, Who’s Who, Soul Iberica Band, Yamasuki, Rocky & Vandella…) and for various artists. Let’s open these incredible cosmic disco funk vaults! Available on Double Vinyl (featuring 2 exclusive tracks) & CD .
TRACKLIST LP
FACE A
1. Starbow « Voyager Il (12" version) » (1978)
2. The Electronic System « Moog jealousy » (1973)
3. Daniel Vangarde « La poursuite » (1977)
4. Who's Who « Dancin' machine » (1979)
5. Starbow « Intersidereal message (12" version) » (1978)
FACE B
1. Soul Iberica Band « I'm looking for Jeremy » (1977)
2. La Boca « Laugh (the longest laugh in the disco history) » (1977)
3. The Lovelets « Midemman (theme Midem 74) » (1974)
4. Yamasuki « Kono samourai » (1971)
5. Ami Stewart « Rocky woman (12" version) » (1981)
FACE C
1. Who's Who « Palace palace (12" version) » (1979)
2. The Great Disco Bouzouki Band « Greek girls » (1978)
3. Vicky Edimo « Let me love you tonight » (1980)
4. Gibson Brothers « Come to America (instrumental disco version) » (1976)
5. Black Blood « A.l.E. (a mwana) » (1975)
FACE D
1. La Compagnie Créole « La nuit des requins » (1984)
2. Ottawan « Qui va garder mon crocodile cet été? (extended) » (1981)
3. Rocky & Vandella « Dès que t'as dit disco t'as tout dit (extended) » (1979)
4. François Patrice « Le contrat » (1973)
5. Daniel Vangarde « Une comète va rencontrer la Terre » (1975)
More
1
Bicep, - Stash
2
Bicep, - Courtside Drama
3
Bicep, - Rise
4
Bicep, - The Game
2022 Repress
UPC: 827170486263
Tracklist EP: A1: Stash A2: Courtside Drama B1:Rise B2: The Game
Release Info:
Aus Music non-stop. Not quite content with already chalking up two of the biggest EPs of 2013 so far from Midland and Dusky, Aus return once again with yet another release you’ve been waiting for - the return of Belfast’s biggest sons, Bicep. The London-based duo of Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar had a breakthrough year in 2012, four years after the pair's Feel My Bicep blog first began. The past year has seen them play in more than a dozen countries, including major gigs across the US, China and, more recently, Australia, with particular highlights including a peak time set at Berlin’s haloed Panorama Bar and capacity crowds at both Sub Club and Trouw. In addition to the release of “You/ Don’t” on Aus, the boys also inaugurated their own imprint With the Visions Of Love EP, whilst "$tripper", which was released through Love Fever, came in at number 35 on RA's top 50 tracks of 2012 poll. Further to that they scooped the award for DJ Mag’s Best Breakthrough DJ, supplied Tim Sweeney’s Beats In Space show with an exclusive mix of unreleased material, remixed Ripperton’s “Let’s Hope,” and all the while maintaining the DJ treasure trove that is their blog. Across the EP they take things a little deeper, delving into a different area of their own personal taste. What's presented is an overall more lo-fi style and broader approach, drawing from a wide range of influences including King Street Sounds, HBO's The Wire and Aphex Twin. More
UPC: 827170486263
Tracklist EP: A1: Stash A2: Courtside Drama B1:Rise B2: The Game
Release Info:
Aus Music non-stop. Not quite content with already chalking up two of the biggest EPs of 2013 so far from Midland and Dusky, Aus return once again with yet another release you’ve been waiting for - the return of Belfast’s biggest sons, Bicep. The London-based duo of Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar had a breakthrough year in 2012, four years after the pair's Feel My Bicep blog first began. The past year has seen them play in more than a dozen countries, including major gigs across the US, China and, more recently, Australia, with particular highlights including a peak time set at Berlin’s haloed Panorama Bar and capacity crowds at both Sub Club and Trouw. In addition to the release of “You/ Don’t” on Aus, the boys also inaugurated their own imprint With the Visions Of Love EP, whilst "$tripper", which was released through Love Fever, came in at number 35 on RA's top 50 tracks of 2012 poll. Further to that they scooped the award for DJ Mag’s Best Breakthrough DJ, supplied Tim Sweeney’s Beats In Space show with an exclusive mix of unreleased material, remixed Ripperton’s “Let’s Hope,” and all the while maintaining the DJ treasure trove that is their blog. Across the EP they take things a little deeper, delving into a different area of their own personal taste. What's presented is an overall more lo-fi style and broader approach, drawing from a wide range of influences including King Street Sounds, HBO's The Wire and Aphex Twin. More
1
NTFO - UNM
2
NTFO - Evbody
3
NTFO - Neptunes (Vinyl Only)
4
NTFO - Breach Surge (Vinyl Only)
Special remarks: 2 VINYL ONLY TRACKS // 180G VINYL // LIMITED COPIES // CRYSTAL CLEAR VINYL // PRINTED KRAFTPACK SLEEVE
Tracklist 12":
A1 UNM
A2 Evbody
B1 Neptunes (Vinyl Only)
B2 Breach Surge (Vinyl Only)
Release Info:
Romanian duo Dani and Robert aka NTFO delivering a fresh four track EP on Bondage-Music, a minimal house banger release. The vinyl comes as 180g limited crystal-clear vinyl and includes 2 vinyl only tracks on the B-side.
More
Tracklist 12":
A1 UNM
A2 Evbody
B1 Neptunes (Vinyl Only)
B2 Breach Surge (Vinyl Only)
Release Info:
Romanian duo Dani and Robert aka NTFO delivering a fresh four track EP on Bondage-Music, a minimal house banger release. The vinyl comes as 180g limited crystal-clear vinyl and includes 2 vinyl only tracks on the B-side.
More
1
Sipho Gumede - Uthinina
2
Sipho Gumede - Bayabizana
3
Sipho Gumede - Something to Say
4
Sipho Gumede - City of Gold
Vive La Musique brings us yet another magical release, compiling four stunning tracks from South African bass player - Sipho Gumede. Taken from two rare albums originally released in the 80s, the music blends South African roots with Boogie influences and is the follow-up to the hugely successful "Jika Jika" reissue.
The release was born through label founder Aroop Roy's relentless search for a copy of the 1983 Peace album, which led to him tracking down the original producer - Greg Cutler - a key figure in South African music from that period and regular collaborator with Sipho. Aroop was blown away by "Uthinina" and "Bayabizana" - two unique tracks, featuring haunting Zulu vocals, African jazz flavours, and epic changes over hypnotic grooves.
"Something to Say" and "City of Gold" were recorded a few years later in the world-renowned Battery Mobile Studio. Sipho had been working there with Caiphus Semenya and Letta Mbulu and their influences can be heard, with drum machines and American Boogie instrumentation laying the foundation for powerful vocal lines sung in English, with soul and gospel sensibility.
The 12" comes with extensive liner notes from Greg Cutler, talking about his time in South Africa. He recalls his experience as a White producer, working with Black musicians under the challenges of apartheid and describes his musical journey with Sipho Gumede, with intriguing details on how the music and production evolved.
Feedback
"The music of Sipho is so good - wow! Uthininia def worth the 3 year search, but even more wonderful to then stumble over a tune like "Something To Say"!"
Hunee
"Chunky, soulful and deep. Thanks for unearthing these beauties!"
Mr Scruff
"Brilliant tracks! Thank you so much"
Gilles Peterson
"This is fucking amazing!!!!"
Eli Soul Clap
"Sipho's Music is great!"
Antal
"Amazing music that is perfect for today's music environment, a lovely blend of South African and boogie flavours."
Patrick Forge
"OMFG! Deep sublime organic futurism! Beautiful!"
Luke Una
"MIND-BLOWING find by Aroop. This music lives a new life and so it should, boogie from RSA that should have been heard the world over 1st time around."
Atjazz
Tracklist:
A1. Uthinina
A2. Bayabizana
B1. Something to Say
B2. City of Gold
More
The release was born through label founder Aroop Roy's relentless search for a copy of the 1983 Peace album, which led to him tracking down the original producer - Greg Cutler - a key figure in South African music from that period and regular collaborator with Sipho. Aroop was blown away by "Uthinina" and "Bayabizana" - two unique tracks, featuring haunting Zulu vocals, African jazz flavours, and epic changes over hypnotic grooves.
"Something to Say" and "City of Gold" were recorded a few years later in the world-renowned Battery Mobile Studio. Sipho had been working there with Caiphus Semenya and Letta Mbulu and their influences can be heard, with drum machines and American Boogie instrumentation laying the foundation for powerful vocal lines sung in English, with soul and gospel sensibility.
The 12" comes with extensive liner notes from Greg Cutler, talking about his time in South Africa. He recalls his experience as a White producer, working with Black musicians under the challenges of apartheid and describes his musical journey with Sipho Gumede, with intriguing details on how the music and production evolved.
Feedback
"The music of Sipho is so good - wow! Uthininia def worth the 3 year search, but even more wonderful to then stumble over a tune like "Something To Say"!"
Hunee
"Chunky, soulful and deep. Thanks for unearthing these beauties!"
Mr Scruff
"Brilliant tracks! Thank you so much"
Gilles Peterson
"This is fucking amazing!!!!"
Eli Soul Clap
"Sipho's Music is great!"
Antal
"Amazing music that is perfect for today's music environment, a lovely blend of South African and boogie flavours."
Patrick Forge
"OMFG! Deep sublime organic futurism! Beautiful!"
Luke Una
"MIND-BLOWING find by Aroop. This music lives a new life and so it should, boogie from RSA that should have been heard the world over 1st time around."
Atjazz
Tracklist:
A1. Uthinina
A2. Bayabizana
B1. Something to Say
B2. City of Gold
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Limited Jade Vinyl!
Tracklist:
1. SAVANNE
2. LOBBO
3. DIARABI
4. TONGO BARRA
5. TAMALLA
6. MAHINE ME
7. ALI HALA ABADA
8. ALAKARRA
Ali Farka Touré trekked the world, bringing his beloved Malian music to the masses. Dubbed "the African John Lee Hooker," one could hear strong connections between the two; both employed a bluesy style of play with gritty textures that elicit calm and fury in equal measure. While the influence of Black blues music prevailed, Touré created a West African blend of 'desert blues' that garnered Grammy awards and widespread reverence. Though he transcended in 2006, Ali's musical legacy lives on through his son, Vieux aka "the Hendrix of the Sahara," an accomplished guitarist and champion of Malian music in his own right. On Ali, his collaborative album with Khruangbin, Vieux pays homage to his father by recreating some of his most resonant work, putting new twists on it while maintaining the original's integrity. The result is a rightful ode to a legend. Ali isn't just a greatest hits compilation. It's a lullaby, a remembrance of Ali's life through known highlights and B-sides from his catalog. It is a testament to what happens when creativity is approached through open arms and open hearts. "To me, music is magic, it is spontaneous, it is the energy between people," Vieux says. "I think Khruangbin understands this very well." The genesis of the album dates back to 2019, when Khruangbin, coming off their breakthrough album Con Todo el Mundo, was beginning to playto bigger crowds. The record was finished in 2021, as a global pandemic shuttered businesses and forced us to take stock of what Earth was becoming. Indirectly, Ali captures this as a moment of peace within a raging storm, a conversation between past and present without allegiance to suffering. Now, given Khruangbin's reach as a unit with legions of fans (including the likes of Jay-Z and Paul McCartney), they're poised to bring Malian music to broader groups of listeners. Ali is a masterful work in which the love surrounding it is just as vital as the music itself, driving it to unforeseen places; Vieux and Khruangbin are spreading the good word to a completely new generation. "I hope it takes them somewhere new, or puts them in a place they haven't felt or heard," Lee says. "It is about the love of new friendship and making something beautiful together," Vieux continues. "It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again. In the end and in a word it is love, that's all." More
Tracklist:
1. SAVANNE
2. LOBBO
3. DIARABI
4. TONGO BARRA
5. TAMALLA
6. MAHINE ME
7. ALI HALA ABADA
8. ALAKARRA
Ali Farka Touré trekked the world, bringing his beloved Malian music to the masses. Dubbed "the African John Lee Hooker," one could hear strong connections between the two; both employed a bluesy style of play with gritty textures that elicit calm and fury in equal measure. While the influence of Black blues music prevailed, Touré created a West African blend of 'desert blues' that garnered Grammy awards and widespread reverence. Though he transcended in 2006, Ali's musical legacy lives on through his son, Vieux aka "the Hendrix of the Sahara," an accomplished guitarist and champion of Malian music in his own right. On Ali, his collaborative album with Khruangbin, Vieux pays homage to his father by recreating some of his most resonant work, putting new twists on it while maintaining the original's integrity. The result is a rightful ode to a legend. Ali isn't just a greatest hits compilation. It's a lullaby, a remembrance of Ali's life through known highlights and B-sides from his catalog. It is a testament to what happens when creativity is approached through open arms and open hearts. "To me, music is magic, it is spontaneous, it is the energy between people," Vieux says. "I think Khruangbin understands this very well." The genesis of the album dates back to 2019, when Khruangbin, coming off their breakthrough album Con Todo el Mundo, was beginning to playto bigger crowds. The record was finished in 2021, as a global pandemic shuttered businesses and forced us to take stock of what Earth was becoming. Indirectly, Ali captures this as a moment of peace within a raging storm, a conversation between past and present without allegiance to suffering. Now, given Khruangbin's reach as a unit with legions of fans (including the likes of Jay-Z and Paul McCartney), they're poised to bring Malian music to broader groups of listeners. Ali is a masterful work in which the love surrounding it is just as vital as the music itself, driving it to unforeseen places; Vieux and Khruangbin are spreading the good word to a completely new generation. "I hope it takes them somewhere new, or puts them in a place they haven't felt or heard," Lee says. "It is about the love of new friendship and making something beautiful together," Vieux continues. "It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again. In the end and in a word it is love, that's all." More