1
Sven Wunder - Sundown
2
Sven Wunder - Pop-Jazz Structures
3
Sven Wunder - Take A Break
4
Sven Wunder - Stars Align
5
Sven Wunder - Lunar Distance
6
Sven Wunder - Jazz At Night
7
Sven Wunder - Snowdrops
8
Sven Wunder - Stellar Plates
9
Sven Wunder - Asterism Waltz
10
Sven Wunder - Late Again
When the sun hovers near the horizon, the rays of white sunlight are scattered out of the beam by small particles and molecules in the atmosphere that sprinkle the sky with brilliant hues indicating that the day starts to fade. As night begins to fall, tree-tops redden and begin to glow. Darkness closes in and falls like a blanket covering the sky. It is late again and all is in shadow below. It is when stars align and dreams come true.
Sven Wunder thrives at nightfall and welcomes the horizon of beginnings on Late Again, a collection of nocturnal jazz pieces that depict shooting stars and scattered beams from the setting sun, with an emphasis on gentle compositions for piano and orchestral pop-jazz arrangements for flute, brass, and strings.
A1 - Sundown
A2 - Pop-Jazz Structures
A3 - Take A Break
A4 - Stars Align
A5 - Lunar Distance
B1 - Jazz At Night
B2 - Snowdrops
B3 - Stellar Plates
B4 - Asterism Waltz
B5 - Late Again
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Sven Wunder thrives at nightfall and welcomes the horizon of beginnings on Late Again, a collection of nocturnal jazz pieces that depict shooting stars and scattered beams from the setting sun, with an emphasis on gentle compositions for piano and orchestral pop-jazz arrangements for flute, brass, and strings.
A1 - Sundown
A2 - Pop-Jazz Structures
A3 - Take A Break
A4 - Stars Align
A5 - Lunar Distance
B1 - Jazz At Night
B2 - Snowdrops
B3 - Stellar Plates
B4 - Asterism Waltz
B5 - Late Again
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
More records from Sven Wunder
1
Sven Wunder - Setting Off
2
Sven Wunder - Misty Shore
3
Sven Wunder - Take A Seat
4
Sven Wunder - Daybreak
5
Sven Wunder - Still Moorings
6
Sven Wunder - Scenic Byway
7
Sven Wunder - Leeward
8
Sven Wunder - Windward
9
Sven Wunder - Resting Place
10
Sven Wunder - Warmer Air
11
Sven Wunder - Deep Sea
12
Sven Wunder - Turning Tides
13
Sven Wunder - Liquid Mountains
At daybreak, as sunlight travels through the atmosphere and begins to reach Earth’s surface, daylight gradually emerges. This marks the transition from night to the beginning of a brand-new day. As the temperature rises—especially after clear, calm nights—relative humidity decreases, and mist, formed of tiny suspended droplets, begins to evaporate. Warm air rises and cool air sinks, creating an interplay of temperature, humidity and sunlight that gives way to a soft, diffuse glow. The sea breeze slowly clears the morning mist, setting life in motion once again as the world wakes up.
‘Daybreak’ is Sven Wunder’s fifth full-length album, seamlessly continuing the progression of his musical oeuvre. It takes the listener on a vivid maritime expedition, beginning the moment the first rays of light break the darkness of the night and embarking on a lush journey through the early hours of the day and far beyond, until the light slowly fades and night falls once again. True to Wunder’s now-distinctive artistry, ‘Daybreak’ is marked by elaborately crafted compositions and elegant pop-jazz arrangements for flute, percussion, brass and strings—supported by a decisive rhythm section, all of which add depth and build on his body of work, continuing to unfold his creative path.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
‘Daybreak’ is Sven Wunder’s fifth full-length album, seamlessly continuing the progression of his musical oeuvre. It takes the listener on a vivid maritime expedition, beginning the moment the first rays of light break the darkness of the night and embarking on a lush journey through the early hours of the day and far beyond, until the light slowly fades and night falls once again. True to Wunder’s now-distinctive artistry, ‘Daybreak’ is marked by elaborately crafted compositions and elegant pop-jazz arrangements for flute, percussion, brass and strings—supported by a decisive rhythm section, all of which add depth and build on his body of work, continuing to unfold his creative path.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Sven Wunder - En Plein Air
2
Sven Wunder - Impasto
3
Sven Wunder - Prussian Blue
4
Sven Wunder - Natura Morta
5
Sven Wunder - Panorama
6
Sven Wunder - Alla Prima
7
Sven Wunder - Umber
8
Sven Wunder - Barocco, Ma Non Troppo
9
Sven Wunder - Memento Mori
10
Sven Wunder - Pentimento
11
Sven Wunder - Natura Morta (reprise)
Throughout human history, we have depicted the world we live in through art. By reworking what we see in the world, the
simplest things have helped us understand the beauty of nature and to evaluate the material world that we have created
around us, as a window to a constantly changing reality, through our own perception. It is that absolute reality that appears
in the seam of human and nature and that can be revealed through art.
Still life painting, also referred to as natura morta (”dead nature”) in Italian, stretches back to ancient times. Some of the
earliest works, found in Pompeii, depict commonplace objects such as fresh autumn fruits alongside man-made objects
such as a small amphora and a small terracotta heap with dried fruits. These two thousand year old paintings give a
snapshot of Roman life, and also creates a link to time and space. A slice of life has been created by binding the earth’s
pigments with extracts of oil, made from nuts and seeds, painted with brushes, made from a variety of fibers, such as trees
and hair from animals. While life wanes with each brush stroke, by shifting reality into past, art exists to make us come alive,
being a living image of a dead thing, a surface and a symbol with symbolic powers of its own. Still life works celebrate
material and ephemeral pleasures by returning to nature as the ultimate source for our standards in art as well as in life
itself.
Natura Morta collects pieces from a continuous variety of melodies — supported by a decisive rhythm section — creating
a musical kaleidoscope of ever-changing colors. Sven Wunder brings life into this rich assortment of musical implications
by fusing and combining melodic instruments with each other in a setting that spans from a classical to a modern idiom.
The author evokes this panoramic portrait by articulating an instrumental dialog between a chamber orchestra and a jazz
ensemble. The result is a musical celebration of material pleasures that also serves as a reminder of the brevity of human
life.
A1. En Plein Air
A2. Impasto
A3. Prussian Blue
A4. Natura Morta
A5. Panorama
B1. Alla Prima
B2. Umber
B3. Barocco, Ma Non Troppo
B4. Memento Mori
B5. Pentimento
B6. Natura Morta (reprise)
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
simplest things have helped us understand the beauty of nature and to evaluate the material world that we have created
around us, as a window to a constantly changing reality, through our own perception. It is that absolute reality that appears
in the seam of human and nature and that can be revealed through art.
Still life painting, also referred to as natura morta (”dead nature”) in Italian, stretches back to ancient times. Some of the
earliest works, found in Pompeii, depict commonplace objects such as fresh autumn fruits alongside man-made objects
such as a small amphora and a small terracotta heap with dried fruits. These two thousand year old paintings give a
snapshot of Roman life, and also creates a link to time and space. A slice of life has been created by binding the earth’s
pigments with extracts of oil, made from nuts and seeds, painted with brushes, made from a variety of fibers, such as trees
and hair from animals. While life wanes with each brush stroke, by shifting reality into past, art exists to make us come alive,
being a living image of a dead thing, a surface and a symbol with symbolic powers of its own. Still life works celebrate
material and ephemeral pleasures by returning to nature as the ultimate source for our standards in art as well as in life
itself.
Natura Morta collects pieces from a continuous variety of melodies — supported by a decisive rhythm section — creating
a musical kaleidoscope of ever-changing colors. Sven Wunder brings life into this rich assortment of musical implications
by fusing and combining melodic instruments with each other in a setting that spans from a classical to a modern idiom.
The author evokes this panoramic portrait by articulating an instrumental dialog between a chamber orchestra and a jazz
ensemble. The result is a musical celebration of material pleasures that also serves as a reminder of the brevity of human
life.
A1. En Plein Air
A2. Impasto
A3. Prussian Blue
A4. Natura Morta
A5. Panorama
B1. Alla Prima
B2. Umber
B3. Barocco, Ma Non Troppo
B4. Memento Mori
B5. Pentimento
B6. Natura Morta (reprise)
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Sven Wunder - Yugen
2
Sven Wunder - Shinrinyoku
3
Sven Wunder - Hot Winds Arrive
4
Sven Wunder - Hanami
5
Sven Wunder - Komorebi
6
Sven Wunder - Blanket Fog Descends
7
Sven Wunder - Wabi Sabi
8
Sven Wunder - Bamboo And Rocks
9
Sven Wunder - Kachofugetsu
10
Sven Wunder - Onsen
11
Sven Wunder - North Wind Rattles the Leaves
By welcoming the beauty of imperfection and simplicity, Sven Wunder applies the timeless wisdom of wabi sabi on this
musical journey. What you can hear is filtered through Ukiyo-e (which translates as “pictures of the floating world”), which
illustrates everyday life, as well as through Japonism, the study of Japanese art, and more specifically its influence on
European works. The result is a surface that creates an illusion by sound. The infusion of Min’yo with jazz rock, this hazy
scene evokes the landscape of Monet’s ”The Water Lily Pond”, which depicts the painter’s Giverny garden, with a
Japanese bridge, bamboo, ginkgo trees and the reflection of the sky in the pond. This illusion constructs both time and
space.
The surface of the music, like the canvas of the painting, invents a journey between now and then by interpreting the idiom
of folkloric and western art instruments. In this composition, the sound of the Western concert flute, which stretches back
to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, evokes the sound of the bamboo-flute (”shakuchachi”), which reached its peak
during the Edo period. The guzheng, also known as the Chinese zither, with a more than 2,500 year history, joins traditional
Japanese folk melodies with modern pop percussion and 20th century electronic instruments such as the Moog synthesizer,
Wurlitzer electric piano and electric bass.
This is the illusion that celebrates the fleeting nature of all things. A journey. A deep inhale and a slow exhale. It has a mix
of jazz (both funky and progressive), East Asian and South Asian sounds. The idea of fusing these styles and reframing them
with the aesthetic of wabi sabi is to reconnect with nature and concentrate on asymmetries and emphasize ornamentation
to generate new ways of looking at the world, here and now.
A1. Yugen
A2. Shinrinyoku
A3. Hot Winds Arrive
A4. Hanami
A5. Komorebi
A6. Blanket Fog Descends
B1. Wabi Sabi
B2. Bamboo And Rocks
B3. Kachofugetsu
B4. Onsen
B5. North Wind Rattles the Leaves
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
musical journey. What you can hear is filtered through Ukiyo-e (which translates as “pictures of the floating world”), which
illustrates everyday life, as well as through Japonism, the study of Japanese art, and more specifically its influence on
European works. The result is a surface that creates an illusion by sound. The infusion of Min’yo with jazz rock, this hazy
scene evokes the landscape of Monet’s ”The Water Lily Pond”, which depicts the painter’s Giverny garden, with a
Japanese bridge, bamboo, ginkgo trees and the reflection of the sky in the pond. This illusion constructs both time and
space.
The surface of the music, like the canvas of the painting, invents a journey between now and then by interpreting the idiom
of folkloric and western art instruments. In this composition, the sound of the Western concert flute, which stretches back
to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, evokes the sound of the bamboo-flute (”shakuchachi”), which reached its peak
during the Edo period. The guzheng, also known as the Chinese zither, with a more than 2,500 year history, joins traditional
Japanese folk melodies with modern pop percussion and 20th century electronic instruments such as the Moog synthesizer,
Wurlitzer electric piano and electric bass.
This is the illusion that celebrates the fleeting nature of all things. A journey. A deep inhale and a slow exhale. It has a mix
of jazz (both funky and progressive), East Asian and South Asian sounds. The idea of fusing these styles and reframing them
with the aesthetic of wabi sabi is to reconnect with nature and concentrate on asymmetries and emphasize ornamentation
to generate new ways of looking at the world, here and now.
A1. Yugen
A2. Shinrinyoku
A3. Hot Winds Arrive
A4. Hanami
A5. Komorebi
A6. Blanket Fog Descends
B1. Wabi Sabi
B2. Bamboo And Rocks
B3. Kachofugetsu
B4. Onsen
B5. North Wind Rattles the Leaves
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Sven Wunder - Black Iris
2
Sven Wunder - Tulip
3
Sven Wunder - Magnolia
4
Sven Wunder - Lotus
5
Sven Wunder - Lily
6
Sven Wunder - Red Rose
7
Sven Wunder - Hibiscus
8
Sven Wunder - Magnolia (reprise)
9
Sven Wunder - Morning Glory
10
Sven Wunder - Chamomile
11
Sven Wunder - Hyacinth
12
Sven Wunder - Daisy
13
Sven Wunder - Gilboa Iris
This is the first stop on Sven Wunder’s musical journey. Wunder takes the listener somewhere around the easternmost part
of the Mediterranean Sea, around the Levantine Sea, where he paints a colourful portrait and illustrates the regions flora
through sound.
The fruitage is a vivid bouquet where Wunder fuses colours and pigments by using traditional and modern instruments
merged with arrangements and melodies that stretches from popular to folk music by portraying tulips, red roses, hibiscus,
hyacinths, chamomile, magnolia, daisies etcetera. With both fine and thick brushes are these flowers being pictured in a
both modern and classic idiom.
The outcome is prismatic. It stands between Anatolian rock and European jazz-funk with ponderous drum patterns, groovy
organs, far-out synthesizers, enchanting Saz and impetuous bass lines. Eastern Flowers sweeps through time and space
and points towards the future. It could appeal both psych and prog listeners, folk or jazz aficionados and as well the gourmet
hip hop connoisseurs.
A1. Black Iris
A2. Tulip
A3. Magnolia
A4. Lotus
A5. Lily
A6. Red Rose
B1. Hibiscus
B2. Magnolia (reprise)
B3. Morning Glory
B4. Chamomile
B5. Hyacinth
B6. Daisy
B7. Gilboa Iris
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
of the Mediterranean Sea, around the Levantine Sea, where he paints a colourful portrait and illustrates the regions flora
through sound.
The fruitage is a vivid bouquet where Wunder fuses colours and pigments by using traditional and modern instruments
merged with arrangements and melodies that stretches from popular to folk music by portraying tulips, red roses, hibiscus,
hyacinths, chamomile, magnolia, daisies etcetera. With both fine and thick brushes are these flowers being pictured in a
both modern and classic idiom.
The outcome is prismatic. It stands between Anatolian rock and European jazz-funk with ponderous drum patterns, groovy
organs, far-out synthesizers, enchanting Saz and impetuous bass lines. Eastern Flowers sweeps through time and space
and points towards the future. It could appeal both psych and prog listeners, folk or jazz aficionados and as well the gourmet
hip hop connoisseurs.
A1. Black Iris
A2. Tulip
A3. Magnolia
A4. Lotus
A5. Lily
A6. Red Rose
B1. Hibiscus
B2. Magnolia (reprise)
B3. Morning Glory
B4. Chamomile
B5. Hyacinth
B6. Daisy
B7. Gilboa Iris
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Sven Wunder - Impasto
2
Sven Wunder - Prussian Blue
Tracklist:
A. Impasto
B. Prussian Blue
In collaboration with Piano Piano Records, Mr Bongo is thrilled to present a taster 7” single, ‘Impasto’ / 'Prussian Blue’. The single showcases the colourful palette of Sven Wunder's fabulous forthcoming third album 'Natura Morta’. The album is set to be released on Piano Piano Records later in 2021 with this 7” acting as the perfect prelude.
Sven's 2019 album 'Eastern Flowers' took us into the world of Anatolian rock, European jazz, library, funk, psychedelia, and traditional folk melodies. The 2020 follow up, 'Wabi Sabi’, mixed jazz and Eastern and Southern Asian sounds to present an aural aesthetic of the Japanese ancient wisdom. 'Natura Morta’, "still life" in Italian, owes its inspiration to art. Sven Wunder explores it as a bridge between nature and the human ability to judge and observe through eleven unique musical compositions, each one brightly coloured and textured with an emphasis on vibrant melodies.
As with previous Sven Wunder material the tracks here on this 7" are covered in lush orchestration, evoking the rich musical soundscapes of a previous era (think library music or the film scores of Morricone). First up is the beautiful ‘Impasto’ which refers to the technique used in painting where the paint is laid in very thick layers on a surface. With its lavish sweeping strings and melodies there are echoes of the arrangements of Arthur Verocai, but it then takes a turn into 60s detective movie territory. You can imagine it being the score to a scene in a Harry Palmer film which breaks for a romantic interlude in between the action and suspense.
'Prussian Blue’, is built on Sven’s ‘Shinrinyoku' from the 'Wabi Sabi’ album, sharing the same melody but here with an uptempo beat and another arrangement. It begins with a moment of calm with its soothing piano intro before it bursts into a percussive breakbeat workout. It skates and glides with the influences of Italian library music and Eastern melodies, yet at the same time it retains a unique element that can only be Sven Wunder. 'Prussian Blue' refers to the pigment that was imported to Japan.
Once again, we are indebted to Sven Wunder and John Henriksson at Piano Piano Records for letting us share this melodious vision from one of our favourite contemporary musicians. The compositions on this 7" were produced with financial support from the Swedish Arts Council.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
A. Impasto
B. Prussian Blue
In collaboration with Piano Piano Records, Mr Bongo is thrilled to present a taster 7” single, ‘Impasto’ / 'Prussian Blue’. The single showcases the colourful palette of Sven Wunder's fabulous forthcoming third album 'Natura Morta’. The album is set to be released on Piano Piano Records later in 2021 with this 7” acting as the perfect prelude.
Sven's 2019 album 'Eastern Flowers' took us into the world of Anatolian rock, European jazz, library, funk, psychedelia, and traditional folk melodies. The 2020 follow up, 'Wabi Sabi’, mixed jazz and Eastern and Southern Asian sounds to present an aural aesthetic of the Japanese ancient wisdom. 'Natura Morta’, "still life" in Italian, owes its inspiration to art. Sven Wunder explores it as a bridge between nature and the human ability to judge and observe through eleven unique musical compositions, each one brightly coloured and textured with an emphasis on vibrant melodies.
As with previous Sven Wunder material the tracks here on this 7" are covered in lush orchestration, evoking the rich musical soundscapes of a previous era (think library music or the film scores of Morricone). First up is the beautiful ‘Impasto’ which refers to the technique used in painting where the paint is laid in very thick layers on a surface. With its lavish sweeping strings and melodies there are echoes of the arrangements of Arthur Verocai, but it then takes a turn into 60s detective movie territory. You can imagine it being the score to a scene in a Harry Palmer film which breaks for a romantic interlude in between the action and suspense.
'Prussian Blue’, is built on Sven’s ‘Shinrinyoku' from the 'Wabi Sabi’ album, sharing the same melody but here with an uptempo beat and another arrangement. It begins with a moment of calm with its soothing piano intro before it bursts into a percussive breakbeat workout. It skates and glides with the influences of Italian library music and Eastern melodies, yet at the same time it retains a unique element that can only be Sven Wunder. 'Prussian Blue' refers to the pigment that was imported to Japan.
Once again, we are indebted to Sven Wunder and John Henriksson at Piano Piano Records for letting us share this melodious vision from one of our favourite contemporary musicians. The compositions on this 7" were produced with financial support from the Swedish Arts Council.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
More records from Piano Piano
1
Sven Wunder - Setting Off
2
Sven Wunder - Misty Shore
3
Sven Wunder - Take A Seat
4
Sven Wunder - Daybreak
5
Sven Wunder - Still Moorings
6
Sven Wunder - Scenic Byway
7
Sven Wunder - Leeward
8
Sven Wunder - Windward
9
Sven Wunder - Resting Place
10
Sven Wunder - Warmer Air
11
Sven Wunder - Deep Sea
12
Sven Wunder - Turning Tides
13
Sven Wunder - Liquid Mountains
At daybreak, as sunlight travels through the atmosphere and begins to reach Earth’s surface, daylight gradually emerges. This marks the transition from night to the beginning of a brand-new day. As the temperature rises—especially after clear, calm nights—relative humidity decreases, and mist, formed of tiny suspended droplets, begins to evaporate. Warm air rises and cool air sinks, creating an interplay of temperature, humidity and sunlight that gives way to a soft, diffuse glow. The sea breeze slowly clears the morning mist, setting life in motion once again as the world wakes up.
‘Daybreak’ is Sven Wunder’s fifth full-length album, seamlessly continuing the progression of his musical oeuvre. It takes the listener on a vivid maritime expedition, beginning the moment the first rays of light break the darkness of the night and embarking on a lush journey through the early hours of the day and far beyond, until the light slowly fades and night falls once again. True to Wunder’s now-distinctive artistry, ‘Daybreak’ is marked by elaborately crafted compositions and elegant pop-jazz arrangements for flute, percussion, brass and strings—supported by a decisive rhythm section, all of which add depth and build on his body of work, continuing to unfold his creative path.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
‘Daybreak’ is Sven Wunder’s fifth full-length album, seamlessly continuing the progression of his musical oeuvre. It takes the listener on a vivid maritime expedition, beginning the moment the first rays of light break the darkness of the night and embarking on a lush journey through the early hours of the day and far beyond, until the light slowly fades and night falls once again. True to Wunder’s now-distinctive artistry, ‘Daybreak’ is marked by elaborately crafted compositions and elegant pop-jazz arrangements for flute, percussion, brass and strings—supported by a decisive rhythm section, all of which add depth and build on his body of work, continuing to unfold his creative path.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Sven Wunder - En Plein Air
2
Sven Wunder - Impasto
3
Sven Wunder - Prussian Blue
4
Sven Wunder - Natura Morta
5
Sven Wunder - Panorama
6
Sven Wunder - Alla Prima
7
Sven Wunder - Umber
8
Sven Wunder - Barocco, Ma Non Troppo
9
Sven Wunder - Memento Mori
10
Sven Wunder - Pentimento
11
Sven Wunder - Natura Morta (reprise)
Throughout human history, we have depicted the world we live in through art. By reworking what we see in the world, the
simplest things have helped us understand the beauty of nature and to evaluate the material world that we have created
around us, as a window to a constantly changing reality, through our own perception. It is that absolute reality that appears
in the seam of human and nature and that can be revealed through art.
Still life painting, also referred to as natura morta (”dead nature”) in Italian, stretches back to ancient times. Some of the
earliest works, found in Pompeii, depict commonplace objects such as fresh autumn fruits alongside man-made objects
such as a small amphora and a small terracotta heap with dried fruits. These two thousand year old paintings give a
snapshot of Roman life, and also creates a link to time and space. A slice of life has been created by binding the earth’s
pigments with extracts of oil, made from nuts and seeds, painted with brushes, made from a variety of fibers, such as trees
and hair from animals. While life wanes with each brush stroke, by shifting reality into past, art exists to make us come alive,
being a living image of a dead thing, a surface and a symbol with symbolic powers of its own. Still life works celebrate
material and ephemeral pleasures by returning to nature as the ultimate source for our standards in art as well as in life
itself.
Natura Morta collects pieces from a continuous variety of melodies — supported by a decisive rhythm section — creating
a musical kaleidoscope of ever-changing colors. Sven Wunder brings life into this rich assortment of musical implications
by fusing and combining melodic instruments with each other in a setting that spans from a classical to a modern idiom.
The author evokes this panoramic portrait by articulating an instrumental dialog between a chamber orchestra and a jazz
ensemble. The result is a musical celebration of material pleasures that also serves as a reminder of the brevity of human
life.
A1. En Plein Air
A2. Impasto
A3. Prussian Blue
A4. Natura Morta
A5. Panorama
B1. Alla Prima
B2. Umber
B3. Barocco, Ma Non Troppo
B4. Memento Mori
B5. Pentimento
B6. Natura Morta (reprise)
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
simplest things have helped us understand the beauty of nature and to evaluate the material world that we have created
around us, as a window to a constantly changing reality, through our own perception. It is that absolute reality that appears
in the seam of human and nature and that can be revealed through art.
Still life painting, also referred to as natura morta (”dead nature”) in Italian, stretches back to ancient times. Some of the
earliest works, found in Pompeii, depict commonplace objects such as fresh autumn fruits alongside man-made objects
such as a small amphora and a small terracotta heap with dried fruits. These two thousand year old paintings give a
snapshot of Roman life, and also creates a link to time and space. A slice of life has been created by binding the earth’s
pigments with extracts of oil, made from nuts and seeds, painted with brushes, made from a variety of fibers, such as trees
and hair from animals. While life wanes with each brush stroke, by shifting reality into past, art exists to make us come alive,
being a living image of a dead thing, a surface and a symbol with symbolic powers of its own. Still life works celebrate
material and ephemeral pleasures by returning to nature as the ultimate source for our standards in art as well as in life
itself.
Natura Morta collects pieces from a continuous variety of melodies — supported by a decisive rhythm section — creating
a musical kaleidoscope of ever-changing colors. Sven Wunder brings life into this rich assortment of musical implications
by fusing and combining melodic instruments with each other in a setting that spans from a classical to a modern idiom.
The author evokes this panoramic portrait by articulating an instrumental dialog between a chamber orchestra and a jazz
ensemble. The result is a musical celebration of material pleasures that also serves as a reminder of the brevity of human
life.
A1. En Plein Air
A2. Impasto
A3. Prussian Blue
A4. Natura Morta
A5. Panorama
B1. Alla Prima
B2. Umber
B3. Barocco, Ma Non Troppo
B4. Memento Mori
B5. Pentimento
B6. Natura Morta (reprise)
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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Germany
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1
Sven Wunder - Yugen
2
Sven Wunder - Shinrinyoku
3
Sven Wunder - Hot Winds Arrive
4
Sven Wunder - Hanami
5
Sven Wunder - Komorebi
6
Sven Wunder - Blanket Fog Descends
7
Sven Wunder - Wabi Sabi
8
Sven Wunder - Bamboo And Rocks
9
Sven Wunder - Kachofugetsu
10
Sven Wunder - Onsen
11
Sven Wunder - North Wind Rattles the Leaves
By welcoming the beauty of imperfection and simplicity, Sven Wunder applies the timeless wisdom of wabi sabi on this
musical journey. What you can hear is filtered through Ukiyo-e (which translates as “pictures of the floating world”), which
illustrates everyday life, as well as through Japonism, the study of Japanese art, and more specifically its influence on
European works. The result is a surface that creates an illusion by sound. The infusion of Min’yo with jazz rock, this hazy
scene evokes the landscape of Monet’s ”The Water Lily Pond”, which depicts the painter’s Giverny garden, with a
Japanese bridge, bamboo, ginkgo trees and the reflection of the sky in the pond. This illusion constructs both time and
space.
The surface of the music, like the canvas of the painting, invents a journey between now and then by interpreting the idiom
of folkloric and western art instruments. In this composition, the sound of the Western concert flute, which stretches back
to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, evokes the sound of the bamboo-flute (”shakuchachi”), which reached its peak
during the Edo period. The guzheng, also known as the Chinese zither, with a more than 2,500 year history, joins traditional
Japanese folk melodies with modern pop percussion and 20th century electronic instruments such as the Moog synthesizer,
Wurlitzer electric piano and electric bass.
This is the illusion that celebrates the fleeting nature of all things. A journey. A deep inhale and a slow exhale. It has a mix
of jazz (both funky and progressive), East Asian and South Asian sounds. The idea of fusing these styles and reframing them
with the aesthetic of wabi sabi is to reconnect with nature and concentrate on asymmetries and emphasize ornamentation
to generate new ways of looking at the world, here and now.
A1. Yugen
A2. Shinrinyoku
A3. Hot Winds Arrive
A4. Hanami
A5. Komorebi
A6. Blanket Fog Descends
B1. Wabi Sabi
B2. Bamboo And Rocks
B3. Kachofugetsu
B4. Onsen
B5. North Wind Rattles the Leaves
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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
musical journey. What you can hear is filtered through Ukiyo-e (which translates as “pictures of the floating world”), which
illustrates everyday life, as well as through Japonism, the study of Japanese art, and more specifically its influence on
European works. The result is a surface that creates an illusion by sound. The infusion of Min’yo with jazz rock, this hazy
scene evokes the landscape of Monet’s ”The Water Lily Pond”, which depicts the painter’s Giverny garden, with a
Japanese bridge, bamboo, ginkgo trees and the reflection of the sky in the pond. This illusion constructs both time and
space.
The surface of the music, like the canvas of the painting, invents a journey between now and then by interpreting the idiom
of folkloric and western art instruments. In this composition, the sound of the Western concert flute, which stretches back
to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, evokes the sound of the bamboo-flute (”shakuchachi”), which reached its peak
during the Edo period. The guzheng, also known as the Chinese zither, with a more than 2,500 year history, joins traditional
Japanese folk melodies with modern pop percussion and 20th century electronic instruments such as the Moog synthesizer,
Wurlitzer electric piano and electric bass.
This is the illusion that celebrates the fleeting nature of all things. A journey. A deep inhale and a slow exhale. It has a mix
of jazz (both funky and progressive), East Asian and South Asian sounds. The idea of fusing these styles and reframing them
with the aesthetic of wabi sabi is to reconnect with nature and concentrate on asymmetries and emphasize ornamentation
to generate new ways of looking at the world, here and now.
A1. Yugen
A2. Shinrinyoku
A3. Hot Winds Arrive
A4. Hanami
A5. Komorebi
A6. Blanket Fog Descends
B1. Wabi Sabi
B2. Bamboo And Rocks
B3. Kachofugetsu
B4. Onsen
B5. North Wind Rattles the Leaves
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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Sven Wunder - Black Iris
2
Sven Wunder - Tulip
3
Sven Wunder - Magnolia
4
Sven Wunder - Lotus
5
Sven Wunder - Lily
6
Sven Wunder - Red Rose
7
Sven Wunder - Hibiscus
8
Sven Wunder - Magnolia (reprise)
9
Sven Wunder - Morning Glory
10
Sven Wunder - Chamomile
11
Sven Wunder - Hyacinth
12
Sven Wunder - Daisy
13
Sven Wunder - Gilboa Iris
This is the first stop on Sven Wunder’s musical journey. Wunder takes the listener somewhere around the easternmost part
of the Mediterranean Sea, around the Levantine Sea, where he paints a colourful portrait and illustrates the regions flora
through sound.
The fruitage is a vivid bouquet where Wunder fuses colours and pigments by using traditional and modern instruments
merged with arrangements and melodies that stretches from popular to folk music by portraying tulips, red roses, hibiscus,
hyacinths, chamomile, magnolia, daisies etcetera. With both fine and thick brushes are these flowers being pictured in a
both modern and classic idiom.
The outcome is prismatic. It stands between Anatolian rock and European jazz-funk with ponderous drum patterns, groovy
organs, far-out synthesizers, enchanting Saz and impetuous bass lines. Eastern Flowers sweeps through time and space
and points towards the future. It could appeal both psych and prog listeners, folk or jazz aficionados and as well the gourmet
hip hop connoisseurs.
A1. Black Iris
A2. Tulip
A3. Magnolia
A4. Lotus
A5. Lily
A6. Red Rose
B1. Hibiscus
B2. Magnolia (reprise)
B3. Morning Glory
B4. Chamomile
B5. Hyacinth
B6. Daisy
B7. Gilboa Iris
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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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of the Mediterranean Sea, around the Levantine Sea, where he paints a colourful portrait and illustrates the regions flora
through sound.
The fruitage is a vivid bouquet where Wunder fuses colours and pigments by using traditional and modern instruments
merged with arrangements and melodies that stretches from popular to folk music by portraying tulips, red roses, hibiscus,
hyacinths, chamomile, magnolia, daisies etcetera. With both fine and thick brushes are these flowers being pictured in a
both modern and classic idiom.
The outcome is prismatic. It stands between Anatolian rock and European jazz-funk with ponderous drum patterns, groovy
organs, far-out synthesizers, enchanting Saz and impetuous bass lines. Eastern Flowers sweeps through time and space
and points towards the future. It could appeal both psych and prog listeners, folk or jazz aficionados and as well the gourmet
hip hop connoisseurs.
A1. Black Iris
A2. Tulip
A3. Magnolia
A4. Lotus
A5. Lily
A6. Red Rose
B1. Hibiscus
B2. Magnolia (reprise)
B3. Morning Glory
B4. Chamomile
B5. Hyacinth
B6. Daisy
B7. Gilboa Iris
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
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Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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1000 Limited Edition Vinyl LPs
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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
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1
Sven Wunder - Setting Off
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Sven Wunder - Misty Shore
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Sven Wunder - Take A Seat
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Sven Wunder - Daybreak
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Sven Wunder - Still Moorings
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Sven Wunder - Scenic Byway
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At daybreak, as sunlight travels through the atmosphere and begins to reach Earth’s surface, daylight gradually emerges. This marks the transition from night to the beginning of a brand-new day. As the temperature rises—especially after clear, calm nights—relative humidity decreases, and mist, formed of tiny suspended droplets, begins to evaporate. Warm air rises and cool air sinks, creating an interplay of temperature, humidity and sunlight that gives way to a soft, diffuse glow. The sea breeze slowly clears the morning mist, setting life in motion once again as the world wakes up.
‘Daybreak’ is Sven Wunder’s fifth full-length album, seamlessly continuing the progression of his musical oeuvre. It takes the listener on a vivid maritime expedition, beginning the moment the first rays of light break the darkness of the night and embarking on a lush journey through the early hours of the day and far beyond, until the light slowly fades and night falls once again. True to Wunder’s now-distinctive artistry, ‘Daybreak’ is marked by elaborately crafted compositions and elegant pop-jazz arrangements for flute, percussion, brass and strings—supported by a decisive rhythm section, all of which add depth and build on his body of work, continuing to unfold his creative path.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
‘Daybreak’ is Sven Wunder’s fifth full-length album, seamlessly continuing the progression of his musical oeuvre. It takes the listener on a vivid maritime expedition, beginning the moment the first rays of light break the darkness of the night and embarking on a lush journey through the early hours of the day and far beyond, until the light slowly fades and night falls once again. True to Wunder’s now-distinctive artistry, ‘Daybreak’ is marked by elaborately crafted compositions and elegant pop-jazz arrangements for flute, percussion, brass and strings—supported by a decisive rhythm section, all of which add depth and build on his body of work, continuing to unfold his creative path.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Label:Forever Living Originals
Cat-No:FLO0002LP
Release-Date:11.11.2024
Genre:Soul/Funk
Configuration:LP
Label:Forever Living Originals
Cat-No:FLO0002LP
Release-Date:11.11.2024
Genre:Soul/Funk
Configuration:LP
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Germany
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Kenji Kawai - 01 - Making of Cyborg
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Kenji Kawai - 02 - Ghost Hacker
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Kenji Kawai - 04 - Virtual Crime
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Kenji Kawai - 09 - Ghost Dive
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Kenji Kawai - 11 - Bonus Track
2024 Repress
- NO SALES TO JAPAN -
Regular Offcial Authorised Vinyl Version, Original Soundtrack, 350g Sleeve, Black Inner, Sticker, 12" 140g Vinyl
- The first ever OFFICIAL vinyl release of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's legendary science fiction anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995).
- LP cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios, official Ghost in the Shell artwork
Tracklisting LP :
A1 ?I - Making Of Cyborg
A2 Ghosthack
A3 Puppetmaster
A4 Virtual Crime
A5 ?II - Ghost City
B1 Access
B2 Nightstalker
B3 Floating Museum
B4 Ghostdive
B5 ?III - Reincarnation
We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records is thrilled and honored to announce the first ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's critically acclaimed and all around legendary science fiction anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow's groundbreaking manga series of the same name.
Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon), the album comes as a LP accompanied by a bonus one-sided 7" housed in official Ghost in the Shell artwork sleeve with silver gilt printing and a Japanese obi, and contains extensive 24-page liner notes.
The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan's most celebrated soundtrack composers, alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ry?ichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong films Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai's compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme "Making of Cyborg", Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a timeless and unparalleled soundtrack that admirably echoes the film's musings on the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world.
Ghost in the Shell is widely considered one of the best anime films of all time and its influence has been felt in the work of numerous movie directors, including James Cameron (Avatar), the Wachowskis (The Matrix), and Steven Spielberg (AI: Artificial Intelligence).
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
- NO SALES TO JAPAN -
Regular Offcial Authorised Vinyl Version, Original Soundtrack, 350g Sleeve, Black Inner, Sticker, 12" 140g Vinyl
- The first ever OFFICIAL vinyl release of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's legendary science fiction anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995).
- LP cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios, official Ghost in the Shell artwork
Tracklisting LP :
A1 ?I - Making Of Cyborg
A2 Ghosthack
A3 Puppetmaster
A4 Virtual Crime
A5 ?II - Ghost City
B1 Access
B2 Nightstalker
B3 Floating Museum
B4 Ghostdive
B5 ?III - Reincarnation
We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records is thrilled and honored to announce the first ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's critically acclaimed and all around legendary science fiction anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow's groundbreaking manga series of the same name.
Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon), the album comes as a LP accompanied by a bonus one-sided 7" housed in official Ghost in the Shell artwork sleeve with silver gilt printing and a Japanese obi, and contains extensive 24-page liner notes.
The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan's most celebrated soundtrack composers, alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ry?ichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong films Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai's compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme "Making of Cyborg", Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a timeless and unparalleled soundtrack that admirably echoes the film's musings on the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world.
Ghost in the Shell is widely considered one of the best anime films of all time and its influence has been felt in the work of numerous movie directors, including James Cameron (Avatar), the Wachowskis (The Matrix), and Steven Spielberg (AI: Artificial Intelligence).
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
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Sabor de Amor is the fourth album from Brazilian soulman Hyldon, singer and instrumentalist, who formed, alongside Tim Maia and Cassiano, the legendary triad of Brazilian soul music in the 1970s. Sabor de Amor (Continental, 1981) is perhaps his most consistent work. On it, Hyldon is back once again by his trusted buddies Azymuth with a stellar lineup of musicians, including Alexandre Malheiros (bass), Ivan "Mamao" Conti (drums), Sérgio Carvalho (Hammond organ and Fender piano), Zé Roberto Bertrami (synthesizers), Antonio Adolfo (Yamaha piano), Marcio Montarroyos (flugelhorn), Renato Piau (guitar), Mario Monteiro "Picolé" (drums) and the Grupo Alma Brasileira (percussion).
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Liebigstrasse 2-20
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Germany
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Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
2xLP, Gatefold Jacket, Black Vinyl
The Great Escape is the debut collaborative album from San Francisco Legend, Larry June & prolific super producer, The Alchemist. Through a process that felt very organic, the two churned out an extra healthy amount of music that resulted in what may be their magnum opus. At 15 tracks, the album includes tasteful features from some of Hip-Hop's most celebrated figures; Action Bronson, Big Sean, Ty Dolla $ign, Slum Village, Boldy James, Evidence, Wiz Khalifa, Jay Worthy, Curren$y & Joey Bada$$. Like a fine wine, sit back, let it breathe, and enjoy the neat yet exquisitely rich complexities of two of Hip-Hop's smoothest figures.
Key Marketing/Selling:
- Larry June & The Alchemist are each extremely respected and notable individual artists in the Hip-Hop community
- Album activations in LA, SF, CDMX and NY during release week, with multiple exclusive merch drops planned alongside each release
- The Alchemist routinely sells out of physical product on each drop - CD/CS/LP
- Larry June's previous releases, Orange Print & Spaceships On The Blade, have done exceptionally well at retail
- The Alchemist has put together some of the most sought after physical releases over the last 3+ years
- All production is handled by The Alchemist, with additional production on Track 6 by frequent Griselda collaborator, Beat Butcha
- Features include notable rap luminaries Action Bronson, Big Sean, Slum Village, Ty Dolla $ign, Boldly James, Evidence, Wiz Khalifa, Jay Worthy, Joey Bada$$, & Curren$y
- Extensive press write ups published throughout album rollout such as Rolling Stone, HipHopDX, Billboard, Okayplayer, The Source, BrooklynVegan, Yahoo, Vibe
- Extensive outdoor campaign with multiple billboards secured from all major DSPs
- Each single has been featured and placed on numerous playlists and obtained multiple playlist covers across all DSPs
- Multiple videos released with more on the way
- "Making of" Documentary released in support of album rollout
- 89 Earthquake has over 2.3M streams on Spotify alone since release on 3/1/23 (3/29/23)
- 47 date nationwide tour planned in support of the album, with multiple dates already sold out and additional shows already added. European dates are expected to follow shortly
- Larry June has over 3.3M monthly listeners on Spotify
- The Alchemist has over 6.8M monthly listeners on Spotify
Tracklist:
A1/1. Turkish Cotton
A2/2. 89 Earthquake
A3/3. Solid Plan (feat. Action Bronson)
A4/4. Palisades, CA (feat.Big Sean)
B1/5. Summer Reign (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)
B2/6. Orange Village (feat. Slum Village)
B3/7. Porsches in Spanish
B4/8. Art Talk (feat. Boldy James)
C1/9. Ocean Sounds
C2/10. Left No Evidence (feat. Evidence)
C3/11. What Happened To The World? (feat. Wiz Khalifa)
C4/12. Éxito (feat. Jay Worthy)
D1/13. 60 Days
D2/14. Barragán Lighting (feat. Joey Bada$$ & Curren$y)
D3/15. Margie's Candy House
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
The Great Escape is the debut collaborative album from San Francisco Legend, Larry June & prolific super producer, The Alchemist. Through a process that felt very organic, the two churned out an extra healthy amount of music that resulted in what may be their magnum opus. At 15 tracks, the album includes tasteful features from some of Hip-Hop's most celebrated figures; Action Bronson, Big Sean, Ty Dolla $ign, Slum Village, Boldy James, Evidence, Wiz Khalifa, Jay Worthy, Curren$y & Joey Bada$$. Like a fine wine, sit back, let it breathe, and enjoy the neat yet exquisitely rich complexities of two of Hip-Hop's smoothest figures.
Key Marketing/Selling:
- Larry June & The Alchemist are each extremely respected and notable individual artists in the Hip-Hop community
- Album activations in LA, SF, CDMX and NY during release week, with multiple exclusive merch drops planned alongside each release
- The Alchemist routinely sells out of physical product on each drop - CD/CS/LP
- Larry June's previous releases, Orange Print & Spaceships On The Blade, have done exceptionally well at retail
- The Alchemist has put together some of the most sought after physical releases over the last 3+ years
- All production is handled by The Alchemist, with additional production on Track 6 by frequent Griselda collaborator, Beat Butcha
- Features include notable rap luminaries Action Bronson, Big Sean, Slum Village, Ty Dolla $ign, Boldly James, Evidence, Wiz Khalifa, Jay Worthy, Joey Bada$$, & Curren$y
- Extensive press write ups published throughout album rollout such as Rolling Stone, HipHopDX, Billboard, Okayplayer, The Source, BrooklynVegan, Yahoo, Vibe
- Extensive outdoor campaign with multiple billboards secured from all major DSPs
- Each single has been featured and placed on numerous playlists and obtained multiple playlist covers across all DSPs
- Multiple videos released with more on the way
- "Making of" Documentary released in support of album rollout
- 89 Earthquake has over 2.3M streams on Spotify alone since release on 3/1/23 (3/29/23)
- 47 date nationwide tour planned in support of the album, with multiple dates already sold out and additional shows already added. European dates are expected to follow shortly
- Larry June has over 3.3M monthly listeners on Spotify
- The Alchemist has over 6.8M monthly listeners on Spotify
Tracklist:
A1/1. Turkish Cotton
A2/2. 89 Earthquake
A3/3. Solid Plan (feat. Action Bronson)
A4/4. Palisades, CA (feat.Big Sean)
B1/5. Summer Reign (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)
B2/6. Orange Village (feat. Slum Village)
B3/7. Porsches in Spanish
B4/8. Art Talk (feat. Boldy James)
C1/9. Ocean Sounds
C2/10. Left No Evidence (feat. Evidence)
C3/11. What Happened To The World? (feat. Wiz Khalifa)
C4/12. Éxito (feat. Jay Worthy)
D1/13. 60 Days
D2/14. Barragán Lighting (feat. Joey Bada$$ & Curren$y)
D3/15. Margie's Candy House
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
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Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
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nu guinea - No Title
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nu guinea - No Title
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nu guinea - No Title
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nu guinea - No Title
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nu guinea - No Title
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My Mine - Hypnotic Tango (Original 12” Version)
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My Mine - Hypnotic Tango (Instrumental Version)
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My Mine - Hypnotic Tango (1987 Powerhouse Mix)
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My Mine - Hypnotic Tango (Hypnotic Mix)
Repress!
We are honored to announce the next 12" in Dark Entries Editions is one of the all time Italo Disco club classics: My Mine - ‘Hypnotic Tango’. My Mine were the trio of Stefano Micheli (vocals, keyboards), Carlo Malatesta (vocals, keyboards), and Danilo Rosati (drums, keyboards) formed from the ashes of Italian New Wave group Ipnotico Tango in 1982. They shifted focus from the experimental post punk sounds towards something more commercial with which to try and enter the market, namely to make a record. At that time Carlo was studying in Bologna and he had heard about producer and arranger Mauro Malavasi famous at that time for the many hits produced for Macho, Peter Jacques Band, Change, Luther Vandross, Ritchie Family. The group handed Malavasi a demo tape and four days later they were invited to Fonoprint Studios to record their first single, “Hypnotic Tango”.
Utilizing new electronic instruments like the now legendary Roland TB-303, Danilo improvised a simple but effective synthesizer bass line and passed it through the Roland Echo until something magical came out. “Hypnotic Tango” was released on Progress Record in 1983 and became an international hit across Europe and US dance clubs in New York, Detroit and Chicago, capturing the imagination of House and Techno producers. In 1987 the legendary Frankie Knuckles remixed “Hypnotic Tango” at Seagrape Studios in Chicago, with assistance from studio engineers Tommy White and Brett Wilcotts. Originally released on Danica Records as the “Powerhouse Mix” paying tribute to the Windy City club atmosphere and adding his own "sighs" in the track as well. The Hypnotic Remix This reissue presents 4 mixes of “Hypnotic Tango” including the “Hypnotic Mix” only appearing together once before in 1990 on Rams Horn Records. All songs are remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in a jacket with original artwork and includes an insert with photos and liner notes by Stefano Micheli. “Look on the floor and all is spinning round, Someone told me this was just a dance And take a chance I ain't met before..Do you think I really have a chance??"
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
We are honored to announce the next 12" in Dark Entries Editions is one of the all time Italo Disco club classics: My Mine - ‘Hypnotic Tango’. My Mine were the trio of Stefano Micheli (vocals, keyboards), Carlo Malatesta (vocals, keyboards), and Danilo Rosati (drums, keyboards) formed from the ashes of Italian New Wave group Ipnotico Tango in 1982. They shifted focus from the experimental post punk sounds towards something more commercial with which to try and enter the market, namely to make a record. At that time Carlo was studying in Bologna and he had heard about producer and arranger Mauro Malavasi famous at that time for the many hits produced for Macho, Peter Jacques Band, Change, Luther Vandross, Ritchie Family. The group handed Malavasi a demo tape and four days later they were invited to Fonoprint Studios to record their first single, “Hypnotic Tango”.
Utilizing new electronic instruments like the now legendary Roland TB-303, Danilo improvised a simple but effective synthesizer bass line and passed it through the Roland Echo until something magical came out. “Hypnotic Tango” was released on Progress Record in 1983 and became an international hit across Europe and US dance clubs in New York, Detroit and Chicago, capturing the imagination of House and Techno producers. In 1987 the legendary Frankie Knuckles remixed “Hypnotic Tango” at Seagrape Studios in Chicago, with assistance from studio engineers Tommy White and Brett Wilcotts. Originally released on Danica Records as the “Powerhouse Mix” paying tribute to the Windy City club atmosphere and adding his own "sighs" in the track as well. The Hypnotic Remix This reissue presents 4 mixes of “Hypnotic Tango” including the “Hypnotic Mix” only appearing together once before in 1990 on Rams Horn Records. All songs are remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in a jacket with original artwork and includes an insert with photos and liner notes by Stefano Micheli. “Look on the floor and all is spinning round, Someone told me this was just a dance And take a chance I ain't met before..Do you think I really have a chance??"
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Flammer Dance Band - Båndet Går
2
Flammer Dance Band - Trenger Ikke Dra
3
Flammer Dance Band - Nå Nå
4
Flammer Dance Band - Ekko Av Degb Selv
5
Flammer Dance Band - Glad
6
Flammer Dance Band - Gynger
Hot off a crazy year of constant touring from January to December, which included a two-week stint as the backing band for Ghanaian Legend Funky Rob, Flammer Dance Band returned to the studio, buzzing with spontaneous energy and inspiration.
Seven musicians squeezed into a hot and sweaty soul shack, in pursuit of the funk.
Five days later, they emerged with 'Gynger', an album that captures the raw, dynamic spirit of their well-oiled, psychedelic funk machine.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Seven musicians squeezed into a hot and sweaty soul shack, in pursuit of the funk.
Five days later, they emerged with 'Gynger', an album that captures the raw, dynamic spirit of their well-oiled, psychedelic funk machine.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Travelling Through The Stars To Gaia
2
Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Whales Of Sirius
3
Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Cassiopeia's Lady
4
Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - A Calm & Elegant Utopia
5
Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Gaia's Love Theme
6
Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Valley Of Wind In A Cosmic Garden
7
Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Melting Clocks
8
Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Lights Of Alpha Centauri
Worldwide
Genre: Ambient, Environmental, Electronic, Experimental
Tracklisting DLP
A1. Travelling Through The Stars To Gaia
A2. Whales Of Sirius
B1. Cassiopeia's Lady
B2. A Calm & Elegant Utopia
C1. Gaia's Love Theme
C2. Valley Of Wind In A Cosmic Garden
D1. Melting Clocks
D2. Lights Of Alpha Centauri
Info
WRWTFWW Records is very excited to present a new full-length collaborative project by Japanese ambient/environmental legend Takashi Kokubo (Ion Series) and Italian/Swiss trombonist Andrea Esperti (Esperti Project): Music for a Cosmic Garden.
Recorded during the heights of the pandemic and completed in February 2021, the majestic 8-track ethereal/botanical soundscape created by Kokubo and Esperti is available as a limited edition double LP, a digipack CD, as well as in digital format.
Takashi KOKUBO, environmental music figure, celebrated sound designer, and founder of Studio Ion, has released over 20 albums, including the genre-defining and highly sought-after Ion Series. He's also played a major role in the sonic identity of Japan, creating the country’s mobile phone earthquake alert sound, credit card payment validation jingles, and much more. In 2020, Takashi Kokubo received a Grammy nomination for his track "A Dream Sails Out to Sea, Scene 3" off Light in the Attic’s Kankyo Ongaku compilation. He is known for recording “sound scenes from nature” around the world using a binaural CyberPhonic microphone of his own invention and for his very unique brand of healing music.
Andrea ESPERTI is a Swiss trombonist and composer originally from Puglia (Italy). He plays in multiple genres (classical, pop, world, electro, jazz) with a globe-trotting approach: encounters with peers, rhythmic exchanges, and unplanned music projects; this is where lies the foundation of his work.
Music for a Cosmic Garden is an ode to celestial botanics, a contemporary and hallucinogenic take on the soothing ambient genre immortalized by artists such as Midori Takada and Satoshi Ashikawa, a beautiful pairing of synthesizers and the mighty trombone, taking you to a meditative galaxy far, far away, where other-worldly is just another word for cozy.
Recommended track for maximum pleasure: "Gaia’s Love Theme".
Points of interests
- For fans of environmental, chill-out, ambient, Satoshi Ashikawa, Midori Takada, Hiroshi Yoshimura, the Ion Series, parallel universes, music for space traveling but also music for gardening, and music for gardening in space.
- New full-length collaborative project by Japanese ambient/environmental legend Takashi Kokubo (Ion Series) and Italian/Swiss trombonist Andrea Esperti.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
Genre: Ambient, Environmental, Electronic, Experimental
Tracklisting DLP
A1. Travelling Through The Stars To Gaia
A2. Whales Of Sirius
B1. Cassiopeia's Lady
B2. A Calm & Elegant Utopia
C1. Gaia's Love Theme
C2. Valley Of Wind In A Cosmic Garden
D1. Melting Clocks
D2. Lights Of Alpha Centauri
Info
WRWTFWW Records is very excited to present a new full-length collaborative project by Japanese ambient/environmental legend Takashi Kokubo (Ion Series) and Italian/Swiss trombonist Andrea Esperti (Esperti Project): Music for a Cosmic Garden.
Recorded during the heights of the pandemic and completed in February 2021, the majestic 8-track ethereal/botanical soundscape created by Kokubo and Esperti is available as a limited edition double LP, a digipack CD, as well as in digital format.
Takashi KOKUBO, environmental music figure, celebrated sound designer, and founder of Studio Ion, has released over 20 albums, including the genre-defining and highly sought-after Ion Series. He's also played a major role in the sonic identity of Japan, creating the country’s mobile phone earthquake alert sound, credit card payment validation jingles, and much more. In 2020, Takashi Kokubo received a Grammy nomination for his track "A Dream Sails Out to Sea, Scene 3" off Light in the Attic’s Kankyo Ongaku compilation. He is known for recording “sound scenes from nature” around the world using a binaural CyberPhonic microphone of his own invention and for his very unique brand of healing music.
Andrea ESPERTI is a Swiss trombonist and composer originally from Puglia (Italy). He plays in multiple genres (classical, pop, world, electro, jazz) with a globe-trotting approach: encounters with peers, rhythmic exchanges, and unplanned music projects; this is where lies the foundation of his work.
Music for a Cosmic Garden is an ode to celestial botanics, a contemporary and hallucinogenic take on the soothing ambient genre immortalized by artists such as Midori Takada and Satoshi Ashikawa, a beautiful pairing of synthesizers and the mighty trombone, taking you to a meditative galaxy far, far away, where other-worldly is just another word for cozy.
Recommended track for maximum pleasure: "Gaia’s Love Theme".
Points of interests
- For fans of environmental, chill-out, ambient, Satoshi Ashikawa, Midori Takada, Hiroshi Yoshimura, the Ion Series, parallel universes, music for space traveling but also music for gardening, and music for gardening in space.
- New full-length collaborative project by Japanese ambient/environmental legend Takashi Kokubo (Ion Series) and Italian/Swiss trombonist Andrea Esperti.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
1
Rhythm & Sound - King Version
2
Rhythm & Sound - Queen Version
3
Rhythm & Sound - Jah Version
4
Rhythm & Sound - Toddin Version
5
Rhythm & Sound - Mash Down Version
6
Rhythm & Sound - Hit You Version
7
Rhythm & Sound - Friend Version
8
Rhythm & Sound - History Version
Repress!
collection of all the instrumental versions of BMD-2. An essential dub album!
Tracklist:
01. King Version
02. Queen Version
03. Jah Version
04. Troddin Version
05. Mash Down Version
06. Hit You Version
07. Friend Version
08. History Version
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
collection of all the instrumental versions of BMD-2. An essential dub album!
Tracklist:
01. King Version
02. Queen Version
03. Jah Version
04. Troddin Version
05. Mash Down Version
06. Hit You Version
07. Friend Version
08. History Version
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
“‘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
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore
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
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore