The Berlin project Sprung Aus Den Wolken was part of the "Geniale Dilletanten" movement in the early 1980s, along with Einstürzende Neubauten and Mechanik Destrüktiw Komandöh. The band first released an EP on ZickZack in 1981, followed by further releases on the band's own record label Faux Pas in 1982 and 1983, then on the French outlet Les Disques Du Soleil Et De L'Acier until 1991. The track Pas Attendre was part of the soundtrack of Wim Wender's movie Der Himmel Über Berlin and thus became an underground hit. Bureau B is thrilled to now re-release the debut EP under the title "1981 West Berlin" including additional songs from the band's early days, which have been carefully remastered from the original cassettes.

Dumbo Tracks returns with a second album Move With Intention - the anticipated follow up to 2022’s eponymous debut. Philipp Janzen and collaborators deliver a varied collection of nine zoned-out grooves direct from Dumbo Studio in Cologne, with vocal contributions from Portable, Ada, Marker Starling, Rubee Fegan and nothhingspecial. Looking back to his musical upbringing, Philipp Janzen switched up the recording process from the first record to incorporate more of a live band element. The result is a more eclectic sound which allowed more freedom to experiment, while keeping the collaborative spirit that is a vital Dumbo Tracks trademark. The genesis of the record began in Italy, where Philipp and co-producer Julian Stetter traveled to jam out ideas on modular synths over the course of a few days. These ideas served as the basis for more instrumental tracks back at Dumbo Studio, where Philipp invited friends to develop the tracks further within a live dynamic. For the final phase of the record, Philipp enlisted the artistry of five vocalists: spoken word frontwoman Rubee Fegan, Canadian singer songwriter Marker Starling, house romantic Portable, Bonn-based haunted pop artist nothhingspecial and Hamburg’s techno visionary Ada. Rubee Fegan contributes her anecdotal observations to four songs, not least on the opening track “Daughter Of Flood” with her poetic remark “sip on the wave of her.” It’s a vocal style that Philipp had been looking for for ages, and finally found after hearing Rubee’s band Smile. Long-time collaborator Christopher Cummings aka Marker Starling lends his lilting tenor to “Slow Despair”, an uplifting drum machine and organ workout. Track three “What If” shifts the goal posts, as an acid bassline rises over a swung groove that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Manchester warehouse, before we emerge into a clearing of heartbreak and expectation, courtesy of singer producer nothhingspecial. The title track sees Philipp and crew slow the tempo down to a molasses dreamscape, a beatdown groove that’s joined by Paris-residing artist Portable. Portable’s emotive voice is the perfect foil for the tracks’ invocation to mindfulness, aided by filtered hi-hats and widescreen sequencers. “Mica” takes the synths and drum machines out to the countryside, and finds producer and singer Ada supplying the most sensitive of vocals and flutes to a song that carries the kosmisch torch. Organs spill over rolling drums and dub reverb, underneath Rubee’s cosmic voiceover on “A Naked Star”, and the album concludes with “My Eyes Won’t Close” a chromatic modular descent into despair, vividly described by nothhingspecial. It all makes for a gloriously eclectic album, an anarchic pop record that follows its own rules. Move With Intention is both electronic yet alive, motorik and pastoral, filled with dancefloor grooves and a krautrock swagger. In this sense the intention is clear: to respectfully rip up the rule book and keep moving forward.

On the red album, Conrad Schnitzler laid down the direction his musical artistry would take. The blue album (“Blau”) offered confirmation of his intent. Maybe the “Rot” and “Blau” tracks were recorded in the same session. Structure, sound and timbre of both LPs are so similar as to suggest that this was the case (an unverified assumption nevertheless!). Far more important than this historical pedantry is the fact that Schnitzler included two brand new compositions on “Blau” which followed on seamlessly from the previous album. Quite simply, he had found his way, a course from which he would not stray as long as he lived. The so-called Berlin School (Berliner Schule) – with Conrad Schnitzler one of their number – had developed its own style of minimalist music. Clearly distinct from Anglo-American pop music, and no less removed from the minimalist art music of Steve Reich or Philip Glass, the focus here was on electronics and elementary rhythmics. The Berlin musicians showed no great interest in instrumental or vocal virtuosity, nor were they in thrall to exuberant interleaving of rhythm. With the aid of synthesizers and studio technology, they were bent on breaking into territory hitherto considered the province of a privileged elite, clouded in mystery and secrecy, resonating with uncharted sounds and noise. “Blau” is an archetypal example of this very phenomenon. Courage, the pioneering spirit and artistic brilliance can be detected in each part of the album’s two infinite sequences. Inspired by Joseph Beuys, Schnitzler propagated those very tones beyond the musical realm, detached from tradition, the only tones capable of catalyzing the utterly stagnant pop music and new music scene of the day, injecting them with fresh impulses. Questions of harmony, melody and strict form were well and truly rejected by Schnitzler. His aural crystals shine like pearls on a string. Schnitzler uses his ropes of pearls to weave new, fantastic patterns which constantly shift like kaleidoscopes to reveal unexpected facets; they are signposts to spatial and temporal infinity. Schnitzler’s style was really too idiosyncratic ever to set a precedent, but he was, and still is, one of the most significant inspirations for pop music in more recent times. Already a figure of prominence, perhaps he will one day be elevated to the status of a legend.

Limited Anniversary Edition: 180g vinyl, hand numbered, 1000 copies available! In 1974, Cluster entered the sugar era. This doesn’t mean that they had finally arrived in their promised land, but they had simply moved from Berlin to the country, to a small place called Forst on the river Weser. Many a thing had changed for band members Moebius and Roedelius since Cluster II: They had moved from boisterous Berlin to this calm rural village, they had founded the band Harmonia, had set up their own studio and had bought new equipment. As a result of this and many other things, new impulses were noticeably spurring the evolution of their music. The album Zuckerzeit (“sugar era”) launched a revolution for Cluster. Strictly speaking, Zuckerzeit is not ­ really an album by Cluster. More pre­cisely, the LP contains two mini solo al­bums by Moebius and Roedelius. Those who were familiar with the stylistic pe­culiarities of the two musicians could easily relate the solo pieces to either one of them. As Roedelius and Moebius had not yet released any solo works by the time, it was actually not possible to draw up any comparisons yet. What could be clearly heard, though, was that there were two different musical atti­tudes to be found on one album. One thing they did have in common was the consistent use of the analogue rhythm machine. This was something new for Cluster inasmuch as on their last al­bum Cluster II, they had still focussed on completely different methods that were to give structure to the pieces. Zuckerzeit, on the contrary, is designed in a clearly rhythmical way: a rhythm machine, triggered synths and harmon­ ic patterns played by hand inspired life and imagination on the melody lines: This was different as well. Once again, Roedelius and Moebius took on work in such a remarkably light-hearted and down-to-earth manner as was typical of Cluster. Zuckerzeit is light and cheerful, freed from the Germanic gravity and the mystic incense fumes that were so fashionable at the time. Cluster man­ aged to keep both feet on the ground without becoming plain or even sterile. The friendliness of the music is clear­ ly due to the two personalities of Roe­delius and Moebius; its down-to-earth character possibly comes from Mi­chael Rother, the album’s co-producer. Michael Rother had already performed with Kraftwerk and had founded the band NEU! together with Klaus Dinger before moving to idyllic Forst himself in 1973. The same year, the band Harmo­nia (Roedelius, Moebius, Rother) was born. The music might also have been influenced by the lovely environment of the hilly countryside surrounding them. We are told that some of the visitors to Forst had believed themselves in Tol­kien’s Shire, although nobody had ever seen hobbits in the area. Maybe this im­pression was an all too romantic one. Yet, those who have experienced this peaceful atmosphere for themselves may at least be able to understand what we are talking about. By then, Cluster could finally call themselves lucky owners of their own recording equipment consisting of a multi-track recording machine, a mixer and peripherals. This gave them the possibility to develop and record their Zuckerzeit material without precipitat­ing things or having to depend on other people. So they did everything on their own except for the finishing which took place in the studio of Conny Plank, the sonic magician of their early days, something which vitally accounted for a successful outcome by the way. One has to admit that technical equipment at Forst was not quite up to the stan­dards even of that time. Moebius and Roedelius, however, knew how to make use of the devices they had in such a skilful way that it almost seemed ob­ solete to consider working in large and professional studios in the future. So, many years were yet to go by until Clus­ter set foot in a studio other than their own again, this time not only to do the finishing but also the recordings. When comparing Zuckerzeit to the works of other electronic combos pro­duced at the same time, it is first of all the shortness of the tracks that seems most striking (2’20” to 6’10”). Listeners who were expecting long and booming pieces were badly advised with this al­bum—what kind of trip is this that lasts for six minutes only? Those who loved listening closely and who were fond of sophisticated, varied and elaborate mu­sic could not be more satisfied though, because every single one of the ten pieces is far from being boring. The fact that Cluster worked in such a calm and collected way, that they concentrated on their musical ideas instead of ­ losing themselves in long-windedness, that they took their time working on the al­bum and not least that they could rely on the ideas of their co-producer Mi­chael Rother—all this taken together gave way to the creation of electronic miniatures that sounded as extraordinary in the 1970s as they still do to­day. Nothing reminds us of psychedelic music that was common at the time. Instead, we find transparency, a hint of utopia and above all new sounds and noises, something which was unheard-of in popular music until then. Even thir­ty years after its first release, Zucker­zeit might easily figure as a reverberat­ing chapter in the latest edition of the imaginary handbook “The Golden Rules of Electronic Music”.

The Telescopes Radio Sessions collects together the essence of three live session recordings in 3 different countries over a three year period between 2016-2019. This is the third in a series of radio session releases from Tapete Records that have so far included The Monochrome Set and Comet Gain. More session releases are being lined up for the rest of the year and beyond - enjoy the sonics and stay tuned.

The Ar-Kaics are back with See the World on Fire, their first new album in six years. Expect eight new tunes of dark, moody, rollicking garage psych not altogether dissimilar from their previous output (across two LPs and a mess of singles). What you get here is the next chapter. All written and recorded in singer-guitarist Johnny’s bedroom / garage (pictured on the album cover), it’s a concept album based on the concept of making an album—on their own, from the brink. But don’t just take our word for it…

The Tours were an English new wave/power pop band from Poole, Dorset, founded in the late 70's during the punk era. The band consisted of Richard Mazda, Ronnie Mayor, Steve Jeff and Mark Spiers. They were unusual because there were two songwriters and two lead singers, Richard Mazda singing his own songs and Ronnie Mayor singing his. Virgin, Polydor/Fiction, EMI, Sire and other record labels were interested in signing them and the band ultimately signed to Virgin, but in 1980, there was a dispute between the group, the record label and the band themselves, before the ensemble split and members went there own way.

Hood Rats exist somewhere in the land between French Oi and Dwarves-esq garage rock and I'm extremely here for it.

A year before they took over the world with their debut LP, Super Gremlin, Woodstock ‘99 self-released a four-song EP in a microscopic edition of 100 copies. As one might expect, that record came and went in a matter of days, snatched up by collector scum who live with their ear to the ground and their finger on the “buy” button. Sorry State is pleased to bring this title back into a print in a slightly larger edition with revised artwork and packaging. While these four tracks only hint at the psychedelic depths the band would plumb onSuper Gremlin (much less the follow-up album, coming later this year on Sorry State), their idiosyncrasies were already in full flower, whether it’s an odd lyrical preoccupation with fermentation and pickling, their way of stumbling nonchalantly between disparate punk styles, or their decision to reappropriate Poison Idea lyrics as an entry into the Great Chicken Sandwich Debates of the early 2020s. No one does cracked-up, half-digested punk and pop culture slurry like Woodstock 99, and these four tracks prove they had it dialed from the jump.

A year before they took over the world with their debut LP, Super Gremlin, Woodstock ‘99 self-released a four-song EP in a microscopic edition of 100 copies. As one might expect, that record came and went in a matter of days, snatched up by collector scum who live with their ear to the ground and their finger on the “buy” button. Sorry State is pleased to bring this title back into a print in a slightly larger edition with revised artwork and packaging. While these four tracks only hint at the psychedelic depths the band would plumb onSuper Gremlin (much less the follow-up album, coming later this year on Sorry State), their idiosyncrasies were already in full flower, whether it’s an odd lyrical preoccupation with fermentation and pickling, their way of stumbling nonchalantly between disparate punk styles, or their decision to reappropriate Poison Idea lyrics as an entry into the Great Chicken Sandwich Debates of the early 2020s. No one does cracked-up, half-digested punk and pop culture slurry like Woodstock 99, and these four tracks prove they had it dialed from the jump.

Woodstock 99 follows up 2022’s Super Gremlin with another deep dive into Cleveland’s hallucinogen-soaked hardcore underbelly. While Woodstock 99 typically delights in obliterating your expectations, you could get through almost the whole A side of 99 Ta Life thinking they’ve made a conventional (for them, at least) hardcore punk record. And their hardcore chops have only sharpened since Super Gremlin, with brilliant, memorable riffs, powerful and confident playing, and uniquely demented vocals. However, even at their most straightforward, you never know where Woodstock 99’s songs will go, darting between parts in ways that surprise you on the first listen, but sound perfectly natural once you’ve acclimated to the group’s cracked logic. While that logic colors the hardcore tracks on the A side, on the B side, Woodstock 99 charges headlong into the void. “99 Problems” is a psychedelic ramble that wanders through a succession of modes before a sudden explosion brings the track to an abrupt end. Closer “Za Rat King” is the masterpiece, though, an eight-minute journey composed and performed with the assistance of artificial intelligence where a hooky four-bar phrase haunts a glitched-out universe encompassing a dizzying parade of genres and musical traditions. Like a lot of Woodstock 99’s music, it really interrogates the boundary between genius and idiocy. So strap in, grab Woodstock 99’s hand, and follow as they lead us even further down the rabbit hole.

Following up their Lukko cassette from 2021, Sorry State presents the debut vinyl from Joensuu, Finland’s Valtatyhjiö. While Valtatyhjiö takes inspiration from furious 80s Finnish hardcore punk, they don’t allow reverence for the classics to box in their sound, crafting a unique and instantly identifiable blend of hardcore, punk, metal, and rock and roll. The title track leads off Kuristusleikki by going straight for the jugular, but by the second song, “Petoksen Messias,” the scope widens, bringing in black metal touches and double bass drumming, the creative and tasteful deployment of which is a hallmark of Valtatyhjiö’s sound. On the b-side, “Viilto Kerrallaan” has a big riff and a rock-and-roll swing, while “Riite” closes the EP on an ominous note, sounding like a more hateful version of label-mates Zorn. Like Zorn, Valtatyhjiö’s music floats between hardcore, punk, and metal seamlessly and organically. While those genres can feel like they’ve been done to death, Valtatyhjiö finds their voice in the spaces between and across them, their originality granting them direct access to the intensity at this music’s core.

Violent Ritual is the third EP from Los Angeles’s Personal Damage, originally released on a small run of self-released cassettes in 2022 and now upgraded to vinyl courtesy of Sorry State. Violent Ritual offers five tracks of Personal Damage’s trademark snot-fueled, short-fast-and-loud hardcore punk, the longest track clocking in at a mere 80 seconds. While the songs are short, they’re hardly insubstantial, packing albums worth of excitement into each delicately constructed and tightly wound composition. Pedal-to-the-floor fast parts are punctuated by Lucky Lehrer-style rhythmic inventions, each song building toward a climactic guitar solo and/or call-and-response chorus. While so many contemporary hardcore bands de-emphasize the vocals, they’re Personal Damage’s most potent weapon, with all three members contributing to the dynamic vocal arrangements and every track offering a chance to shout along. While the first four tracks blazes at early Gang Green velocities, the closing “Banned from Society” stretches things out ever so slightly with a classic SoCal rhythm and the record’s most anthemic vocal. Violent Ritual is the most potent dose yet from one of the 2020s’ most exciting hardcore punk bands.

Sorry State presents the first release from Chaos OK, a new band featuring Nick Goode (from Logic Problem, Brain Flannel, and Joint D?) on guitar and vocals, another Sorry State alumnus in Corey Long (drummer of the almighty Bukkake Boys,) and Eric from Atlanta's mysterious and elusive Loverman project. Nick’s expressionistic guitar style, informed equally by Hendrix, Kawakami, and the guy from Tampax, warmly returns to the label throughout these five tracks. The torrent of feedback and treble on the opener, “a rithm,” instantly recalls Joint D? at their most explosive; now fused with Corey & Eric's crushing rhythms, we're gifted an acutely weaponized bombast. While the tape starts with a hailstorm of chaotic energy, the latter three tracks brood, swerve, surge, and seethe, the cycles of tension and release as powerful and inevitable as the weather (the leather). Songs about seeing the trees for the forest—the brutally xeroxed repetition of the dissolving future, templated expression, grotesque oversaturation, when what used to excite you does not. Lamentations of the modern dance, the sounds of smuggling punk with you into your late 30s. As in their past projects, these guys continue to machete their way through the thickets, hungrily stumbling onto weird and new directions in raging, articulate hardcore.

Lange hat es gedauert. Aber endlich kann das bisher komplett unveröffentlichte Album von Neu Rot, einer der einflussreichsten Bands der Leipziger DDR Szene, für alle zugänglich und hörbar gemacht werden. Aufgenommen illegal in einem Privatstudio im Januar 1987, verschwanden die Aufnahmen bis jetzt in den Schubladen der Bandmitglieder und waren seitdem nur für sehr wenige zugänglich. Die Lieder wurden nie wieder gespielt und fasst vergessen. Es handelt sich um die einzigen Aufnahmen, welche aus der gemeinsamen, ungefähr ein Jahr andauernden Zusammenarbeit mit Klaus-Peter John am Gesang existieren. Ein besonderes Stück Zeitgeschichte, welches die immense musikalische Leistung der Bandmitglieder offenbart und textlich zeitlos- bis aktueller denn je wirkt. Alles wurde von den Originalbändern aufwendig gemastert und kommt in Top Soundqualität. Die Doppel-LP welche in enger Zusammenarbeit mit den Bandmitgliedern entstand, kommt in schickem Gathefoldcover mit 24-seitigem Vollfarbbeiheft im LP Format mit bisher ungesehenen Bildern, den Lyriks und Begleittexten sowie Downloadcode. Limitiert auf 222 Stück davon 100 in farbigem Vinyl. Ein Stück „Andere“ Musikgeschichte.

Sound, as a concept, is a really misleading way to understand what's actually occurring. To think of it as the noises made by air molecules bumping into each other is also not that helpful. The end result of pressure sensed with the aid of perilymph in your ears approaches usefulness: the sound isn't out there, it's in here. On “Progressions Imaginaires”, Perilymph gives you an unfolding expanse in which to experience this biological quirk. Instantly, the door opens and you are invited to descend upwards to your new home. A fire crackles gently (or perhaps a robot purrs, limbs lovingly outstretched in anticipation of your embrace), beckoning and safe. Here, you are welcome to be set adrift inside yourself. A jaunty energy strikes and with a "hyep!" your departure fully initiates. Mesmerized and curious you drive forward in ecstasy. If there's any melancholy in the joy, it derives from how hauntingly familiar the unknown can appear. You know this place, do you not? Why did you forget? Cognition unravels as waves of illumination bathe your awareness. Understanding, now ignited, sparkles just enough to guide you onward. Hark the madman at the helm, flipping switches and intent on disassembly. He is groovy. Despair not, the intensity gives way to jubilation. As demolition creates space for the beating heart to be heard again, forces immense and powerful, deeply locked away, are rekindled. They surge forth, shocked to have been forgotten. You stumble, ashamed, wearily reflecting, drifting untethered, attempting to collect yourself. It is gloomy and uncertain and incredible that it could conclude in shimmering dawn. Heavens crash and herald the android angel choir. The breaking sky crackles. You are thrust beyond the firmament to witness the mechanics and architects toiling magnanimously for all you surf and traverse. The bittersweet realization finds you swooning free. Your thoughts trail your movements, suspense pounding between the breaths. Spinning, you see time stretch. Focus flickers, fading you back to familiarity reborn as the adventure lingers, buoyant and jovial. You promise to remember the liquid warmth's lush and expansive enfoldment. You've thought this before.

Furious garage punk from Indonesia! Heavily influenced by Teengenerate and the 90's Tokyo scene.

Overloaded with buzzy guitars, explosive drums and snotty vocals, National Threat, the debut full-length from Detroit street rockers FEN FEN, is guaranteed to melt the needle off your Crosley Cruiser and mysteriously empty out your parents' beer cooler.

Hailing from a place of ancient mariners' secret coves and vast moors beaten by the wind and rain, Backwater Collage is James Hoare's first solo album under the name of Penny Arcade. Despite leaving London for the West country he grew up in, the Englishman is no stranger to the scene. He has been wandering around as if awakened from a long, not-so-peaceful sleep for some time now. You have most probably come across his washed-out blue eyes several times, in projects including Veronica Falls, The Proper Ornaments and Ultimate Painting. For this dreamy, hand-stitched record, Hoare has taken his time. Maybe because he had to rescue his songs from various recording sessions tinged with a number of mishaps he amusedly admits he is accustomed to: broken multitracks, failing tape machines, rarely available drummers living in the capital. The eleven intimate and solitary songs which make up the album, delivered in the greatest home recording tradition, are nonetheless cautiously produced. James unfurls pure, uncluttered melodies in which his gentle, melancholic voice mingles with smooth, warm vocals by Nathalia Bruno. Barely saturated guitar solos sometimes disrupt the clear, unpolished musical line. Hopping onboard, longtime friend Max Claps has added keyboard parts which manage to embrace the minimal nostalgia of the tracks while preventing any teary pathos. Similar to Jack Name or Syd Barrett – only less psychedelic – in terms of songwriting and stripped back atmosphere, Hoare is sitting on the Velvet Underground's black-and-white sofa and gives his album a subter- ranean feel. At times restless but light-footed, deprived of any unnecessary effects, the record follows in the steps of a less noisy but just as raw and unadorned Jesus and Mary Chain. With Backwater Collage, alone at the helm under a stormy sky, James Hoare invites his listeners to settle in the sheltered comfort of a cup of tea.

All manner of trailblazers shaped the soundscape of the era. Conrad Schnitzler (born 1937) and Karl Horst Hödicke (born 1938) – longstanding members of the official artistic canon – were multifunctional artists who painted, performed, sculptured, made films and music. They were always to be found on the edge of the “permissible” and invariably went beyond “modern” perceptions of art. Schnitzler, Hödicke and many of their contemporaries arrived at a completely new definition of the avant-garde. The circumstances of Schnitzler and Hödicke’s first meeting are unknown, but it should come as no surprise that it was Schnitzler who composed the soundtrack for Hödicke’s film entitled “Slow Motion” in 1976. The two artists were cut from the same cloth, routinely crossing any boundaries they happened to encounter. Schnitzler wrote music for each of the film’s 14 sequences, linking them together in a logical progression of minimalist imagery. Each piece of music quite brilliantly accentuated the preceding one. Schnitzler’s musical sensibility was wholly compatible with Hödicke’s approach to film. Not that Schnitzler was ever a film composer. “Slow Motion” worked because Schnitzler and Hödicke were on the same wavelength, daring to experiment with sound and vision in such a way that auditory and visual components were interdependent. Nevertheless, it still makes sense to release the soundtrack without the images. Schnitzler undoubtedly responded to the pictures as he composed, but his customarily uncompromising style is very much in evidence: rhythmically structured electronic cascades, intermittent impulse chains and manual improvisations alternate with planar clouds of sound. Analogue sequencers and an analogue rhythm machine played a crucial role. The tracks on “Slow Motion” vary in length (the shortest is only 58 seconds long) and mood, but the listener never has to leave Schnitzler’s sonic universe, even without the pictures for which the music was composed. “Slow Motion” is an important document in Schnitzler’s oeuvre, seamlessly taking its place alongside his many other releases, whilst also highlighting his constructive input as an equal partner in an experimental film production. What makes “Slow Motion” particularly worth listening to is the fact that Schnitzler surrenders none of his aesthetic independence at any point in the project. It is an enduring document of its time. Asmus Tietchens, 2024

KRIEGSHÖG is back. Five years after their last single and 14 since their debut album, the Tokyo Hardcore band finally delivers a new release. Love and Revenge is a record of consummate savagery and monster riffs. Picking up where Paint It Black 7” left, and moving forward as a heavy toned hardcore record that finds the band in its own realm. While following the Japanese tradition of long running bands operating at their own pace and mastering their sound along the way. The band leave behind their speedier sound, moving now at a slower tempo but still pummelling their riffing sound. The incorporation of a new drummer, adds much more than a steady beat, amplifying the KRIEGSHÖG sonic experience. Their sound is bass-driven to the point of near hypnosis, becoming quasi-psychedelic at times. The guitar tone is a nasty crunch and the vocal delivery has only got more brutal, with a glass eating demon on the mic conjuring the darkest side of your soul. Perfect for night rides into the abyss.

20 Jahre nach ihrem letzten Longplayer “the juice“ bringen die Sissies ein “neues“, sechsundzwanzig Jahre umfassendes Album heraus. Der Wunsch DAS Album zu machen, welches man auch als Nachfolger von “FIXED“ hätte betrachten können war ein Anliegen, welches die Band aus dem hohen Norden schon lange verfolgte. Auf das Wesentliche und die eigenen Stärken konzentrieren, sprich griffige Riffs, schleppende Doom Anleihen, "Auf ´s Maul Rock" mit prägnantem Gesang und IMMER mit einem zwinkernden Auge (z.B.: BRUCE LEE IHM SEIN GRAB), Liebe fürs Detail (NICHT LANG FACKELN IM STURM), bewahrten Kindheitsbegeisterungen/Erinnerungen (NORDSEE). Bewusst wurden diese drei Songs mit deutschen Texten versehen, um den authentischen Inhalt möglichst greifbar zu machen. Die Liebe der Band zum Rock der 70er-90er spiegelt sich in jeder Note wieder, die Nähe zu anderen Schubladenvermeidern a la Melvins, Faith No More, Life of Agony wird aufrecht erhalten (BLOODLUST, BLACK, COCKROACH SWING, NO PREGUNTAS, PROTEST), aber die Band möchte auch zeigen, dass Black Sabbath, Pentagram…weiterhin verehrt werden (5 REASONS, SHE JUNK OF THE WEAK). Die SISSIES fassen mit diesem Album 26 Jahre Platten hören, Platten erleben, Platten lieben zusammen und machen das Album, welches perfekt in ihre Plattensammlung passt. Laut, kompromisslos, catchy und absolut unabhängig. Genau so überrumpeln sie das Publikum, welches sie zum ersten Mal sieht und genau so haben sie sich über 4 Dekaden Leute vor die Bühnen gezogen , die Tanzen und Schreien und friedlich die Fäuste ballen, bis der der letzte Ton von “ROCKER“ (Album: FIXED) verklungen ist. Die auf dem Album erhaltenen Songs wurden zwischen 1997, also direkt nach dem Einstieg von Tiffy, und 2022 geschrieben und bei Thomas Götz (Beatsteaks) Tomatenplatten Studio in Berlin live aufgenommen, gemixt hat der langjährige Begleiter Max Power und das Artwork stammt von Daniel Gerhard Holc ( Askii Disco/ Satans Fun Brigade).

"There have already been some monster LPs released in 2023, and the sophomore album from The Unknowns just might be the best of the lot. The Brisbane-based then-trio released one of the greatest punk albums of the roaring twenties (so far) with Nothing Will Ever Stop back in late 2020. Now a foursome following the addition of The Chats' Eamon Sandwith on guitar, The Unknowns have returned with an even better follow-up. East Coast Low manages to take most of the musical genres I hold dear and mash them together in the most delightful way. Basically the sound is classic punk rock with a ton of energy and catchy tunes (what else would you expect from Australia?). Yet at the same time, this album aligns beautifully with modern-day garage punk, power pop, and straight-up rock n' roll. East Coast Low packs ten tracks of punchy sing-along punk rock into 23 and a half minutes of pure fun. Songs like "Dianne," "Rid of You," "Thinking About You," and "I Don't Know" prove once again that there's a certain kind of itch that only old school punk rock n' roll can scratch. These guys are doing nothing new. But man, they do it so freaking well! If we're talking about the cream of the contemporary Aussie punk crop, The Unknowns have earned a place in the conversation." Josh/ Faster and Louder

Following their four-song demo from 2022, FUERA DE SEKTOR are back with their debut LP. Sharing members with BARRERA and ALGARA, the Barcelona-based band have carved their own sound, mixing the amphetamine edge of 80’s punk with the angular post punk sensibility. The extremely isolated guitar work takes centre stage, navigating a sea of mid-tempo riffs, and backed by an extremely solid rhythm section to perfectly seal the recording. Think the pop side of LOS ILEGALES or LOS TRAIDORES, the sexuality of DESECHABLES, and the uniqueness of LA’s X. FUERA DE SEKTOR lyrics look at the world from an existentialist angle with a dark and poetic approach to complement their music perfectly. Full of desire, lust, loss and confusion, each song unravels as a very modern anxious tale. It’s an album that stands on its own in the current DIY landscape.