[engl] C. S. Lewis once said that he believed in a God as he believed that the Sun had risen. Not only because he had seen the literal light, but because of it, he was able to see everything else. Seeing is believing, and so is hearing, “Glory is Coming!” Brothers and Sisters no matter what your faith or belief is, Dog House and Bone Records in France has issued another rare LP pressing of original 45rpm records from the vast archives of Bayourod. Chicago again plays a prominent role in musical history, as the foundation of organized gospel music is born here under the tutelage of Thomas Andrew Dorsey. Dorsey is widely known as the Father of gospel music, as he composed and performed many of our most celebrated gospel songs including, “(There’ll be) Peace in the Valley (for me).” Arriving in Chicago in 1919, in the midst of the great migration of Southern Blacks, Dorsey coined the phrase “gospel songs” in the early 1920’s. He assembled the first gospel choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church on South Indiana Ave in 1931 which still stands to this day. Bo Diddley and many others learned music here. Again, Black Americans give us a uniquely American style of religious song, with its roots in the tradition of Folk music and early blues and jazz. So many of our great singers started in the Church before turning to secular music, learning to play and sing beautifully in the only venue that mattered to so many; the house of God. For those of you who may not have had experienced the absolute harmony and joy of a full gospel Church, you may walk out with your faith and or belief in a God somewhere- regardless of how you walked in. Believe me, you will be moved to tears by a choir of voices like you may never hear at any professional concert. You will hear multiple instrumentalists on piano, Hammond B3, organ and drums. You will hear joy. You will hear love. You will be told by a stranger that, yes, everything will be alright. By the grace of the other worshipers you will be hugged and feel the joy of being with your fellow man. You will brush away pain, sorrow and doubt in this moment. You will indeed believe that love and music really is the answer. In this instant you will not worry about anything. You will not worry about anyone. You are free with body and soul. You are free to thank Jesus. You are free to believe. Music heals broken hearts. Hearing it can make you want to live. Whatever it is, God’s got it. Two of the sides on this uplifting compilation come from the Reverend Charlie Jackson. Born in McComb, Mississippi Jackson preached his brand of guitar evangelism, a genre born in the late 1920’s. Others spreading the Lords word with the guitar at the time were Arkansas born Sister Rosetta Tharpe and New Orleans own Elder Utah Smith. Smith’s style of preaching, singing, and guitar playing is widely influential and incredibly moving. Reverend Jackson was a protégé of Smiths. Smiths’ spectacle of playing and preaching was so influential in fact, that young players like Guitar Slim and Ernie K-Doe emulated it. Both those amazing pioneers of the blues and rock and roll saw Smith perform in tent revivals across the South. Smith inspired Reverend Jackson to “sit down on the guitar,” playing it above his head and with his teeth at times. They frequently traveled, preached, and performed together giving sermons in rural churches, many with no electricity having to power the voice of God, their guitars, with a portable generator. Also, in addition to sides by the Sunset Travelers formed on the streets of Memphis in 1950 featuring O.V. Right, and the Gospelaires from Dayton, Ohio who preached the word with rollicking harmonies, we present a side by what may be Chicago’s most famous and “God’s greatest hit makers,” the Staple Singers. This record was recorded for Epic records in 1967, “It’s Been a Change,” features Pops Staples profound guitar playing on this “protest” record. The Staple Singers cut a slew of these kinds of message songs in the late 1960’s. Pops Staples was born in 1915 in Winona, Mississippi and was playing the blues at an early age. By 1937 he was featured in the spiritual group the Golden Trumpets. In 1941 Pops and his wife moved to Chicago, started a family and by 1953 cut their first side, “These are They,” for his own Royal Record Company. Another single led to a recording contract with Vee-Jay records which lasted from 1956 to 1962. “Uncloudy Day,” released on Vee-Jay would be the Staple Singers breakthrough. Mavis Staples is still very much a force as a singer and is still performing live. Gospel music and this collection can be best summed up by Pops Staples himself who said, “This music was born from soulful voices, social activism, religious conviction and carries a message that moves you.”

[engl] „A really wonderful compilation of some of the hardest, most pounding a righteous soul ever recorded, geared to be a sort of unofficial soundtrack to the Black Panther movement of the late 60s and early 70s! It’s a proud mix of both longstanding hard soul and funk favorites and more obscure cuts alike, including “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” by Gil Scott-Heron, “Heritage Of A Black Man” by Sam Dees, “Panther” by the Last Poets, “Right On” by Sons Of Slum, “Be Black” by Grady Tate, “You’re The Man” by Marvin Gaye, “Ghetto Reality” by James Brown, “Ghetto Child” by Curtis Mayfield, “Won’t Bleed Me” by Melvin Van Peebles, “Do You Remember Malcolm” by Miriam Makeeba” and lots more. 19 cuts in all — with a really nice booklet of photos, notes, an essay, biographical details and more, complete in both English and German. A really hard, really tight batch of great songs — and a huge treat to have rounded up on one set!“

[engl] The meaning of “Kanawa” is so simple. We see our children trying to cross the ocean all the time. I said that many of our children die in the ocean and some of them while crossing the Sahara. Some climb over the wires across the borders and they have gotten shot. We have asked them not to leave and instead stay home. But I ask them why do they leave their country? Why do they decide to go? They said that they leave because of the family situation or problems, poverty, and unemployment. We told them if ever they are to leave, they should privilege legal ways. They should abide by laws vigorously when they are to emigrate. That’s better than hiding in boats or adopting other illegal means. I ask them to stay and work in their country. So that we can help each other find a solution to this problem. I call on the UN and African leaders so that we can coordinate our efforts to find a solution, to create jobs for them so that young people stop leaving. This song is about that message and I chose it as the title of my album because I like it. My choice is because it is very meaningful and it is something we see on a daily basis. I chose it in order to alert and sensitize everybody about this question of illegal immigration. To sensitize our brothers and sisters. It is a message. That’s why I chose it as the title of my album so that everybody can learn from it and also so that there is a reduction in the number of people emigrating. To sensitize them so that some can stay home and grow the land. Leaving is not the only solution. That’s my message.

[engl] Nahawa Doumbia is one of Mali's defining vocalists of the last four decades. Her work journeys through progressive stages of musical evolution and sonic vogues, making it hard to summarize or even comprehend. She's played a part in popular music since the late ‘70s, as her version of Wassoulou music developed from vocals-and-guitar duo into full-scale touring bands packing a bombastic, electrified punch. As Doumbia puts it, "My music has changed multiple times to this day…The more I progressed in my musical career, the more instruments I have had accompany my songs." ?La Grande Cantatrice Malienne Vol 1 looks back to the beginning of Doumbia’s long career, when her voice was remarkably strong yet still developing. This was before she added bass and percussion, and finally the electric guitar and synths for which she became known in recent years.? She'd been singing traditional music since her early teens in Bougouni. Doumbia performed with cultural troupes throughout her youth and gained the notice of Radio Mali officials who entered her in a Radio France International contest, Découverte 81 á Dakar, which she won. Whether she knew it or not, as a young lady from a town many hours from Mali’s capital Bamako, she was destined for a worldwide touring career at the vanguard of Malian popular music. ?Released in 1981 by the excellent Côte d’Ivoire-based AS Records, the singer was barely 20 years old when it was recorded. She was accompanied by her future husband N’Gou Bagayoko on acoustic guitar, whose style echoes the nimble runs of traditional kamele n’goni players. The stark simplicity of this highly intimate recording—the audible room acoustics, the occasionally in-the-red vocals—do not obscure the mature strength of her voice. On Vol 1 Doumbia performs her songs with the tenacity and hunger of a young artist on the cusp. "When I think about it, first, I am reminded of how long ago it was. It's one of the albums that I love most because it reminds me of my youth. I was so young and my voice was light and joyful. I still listen to some of those songs today. I am really proud of that first album because that’s where it all began. It shows me how far I’ve come in my personal and artistic life; it gives me the courage I need to keep going forward, and makes me appreciate all the years of dedication and hard work I put into my musical career. "?These early songs are rhythmically built around Bagayoko's sensitive guitar, as his fingers brush the fretboard and gently outline the melodies. Although this record predates the singer’s use of percussion, the driving skeletal didadi rhythm is apparent in the songs. Later albums like Vol 3 further prioritize her hometown didadi beat and the result made her famous.

[engl] We are always sitting on a handful of unreleased songs that didn’t make their way to albums. Listening back to these gems we decided to launch a new series entitled Big Crown Vaults and the first volume features the music of Lee Fields & the Expressions. These tunes were cut during the Special Night & It Rains Love sessions. When you hear these tracks you can imagine how difficult some of these decisions were in the first place to leave them off the albums. An absolute standout is “Regenerate,” a song that finds Lee in the country soul realm, a style that Mr Fields, a North Carolina native, flourishes in. A drum break starts the song and then drops into a chorus where El Michels, Paul & Big Bill Schalda belt out the earworm chorus. Lee sings an encouraging tune about finding your way out of a low point in a relationship while The Expressions lay down an airtight groove. “Thinking About You” takes it back to the dance floors with what will surely be a hit at Soul parties around the globe. An uptempo drum break opens the song and Lee launches into a tale about the unbreakable bond with his significant other and how they keep each strong through moments of hardship and pain. People who have seen Lee perform live in the last decade might have been lucky enough to hear his rendition of Little Carl Carlton’s “Two Timer”. For those of you who haven’t heard it, Big Crown Vaults has got you covered. A faithful version of the song showcases Lee’s gorgeous voice and the Expression's unwavering groove. Another treat on here is the fuzzed out funk banger “Do You Know” where Fields uses his platform to address some of our societal woes in a “Make The World” style. A deeper from the vaults number is “Out To Get You”, an instrumental that Lee never laid down vocals to. Even as just a rhythm track it stands as a testament to The Expressions musical prowess, the band that created 5 studio albums with Lee Fields which will go down in history as stone classics.

[engl] While a stunning debut - the introduction to Good Looking Son feels more like a timely reacquaintance with an old friend. "Fantasy Weekend" is the latest from Keith Harman, whose lead vocals and songwriting abilities have long anchored The Cowboys and their prolific run that spans more than 70 original songs over five albums and change. There's a certain familiar, but ever-so-finessed element to Harman's songwriting that really hits the bullseye across this six track EP. "Fantasy Weekend" gazes into the dark, heavily glazed garage-pop of the late 60's/early 70's as Keith's calm, cool cadence balances between baritone sentimentality and ghostly thrum. A release both far from predictable and electrifying as the tempo cranks up along quirky keyboard lines that segue into classic powerpop territory. Whatever Midwestern time warp these songs crept out of is truly serene. Created in Cincinnati with Jerri Queen (Vacation) both producing and playing alongside Cowboys drummer Jordan Tarantino and longtime Queen City rocker Andrew Jody on bass, wrapped up with a vibrant mastering job courtesy of Caufield Schnug (Sweeping Promises). "Fantasy Weekend" is as immediate as it is entrancing - a rare one that can hold court at both first and last call.

[engl] It's all over town. In 2021 it's time again for a new The Monsters (official) album and thus also for a new Sounds of Subterrania Special Edition. It's time to rewrite the history of the record cover. 2021 is about nothing more and nothing less than giving back Punk the Do It Yourself. Are you ready for the greatest adventure of your life? Are you ready to face the most difficult task of your record collecting life and to turn a phrase into a creed, stitch by stitch? Your set consists "You're Class, I'm Trash" as an English and a Swiss version, canvas, 5,500 cm of thread and a needle. Everything is wrapped in an XL poster with a velvet sleeve and peppered with the irrefutable certainty that you will have to fight this battle alone. It's up to you to bring the artwork to perfection and to prove what only a true fan is capable of. The sets (Janosh, Swan-Lee or the Beat-Man himself) are strictly limited and only available directly from Sounds of Subterrania.

[engl] Released in 2011, Chain & The Gang's second album, like its predecessor, was once again produced by Calvin Johnson at Dub Narcotic Studio. The lineup is also mostly the same, with the small difference that there are now five background singers who answer (in different songs) the calls of Ian Svenonius: Tara Jane O'Neil, Veronica Ortuño, Susanna Patten, Sarah Pedal and Katy Davidson. "Why Not" challenges everyday common sense and the established rules to an energetic blues shuffle. "Detroit Music" sounds like dirty jabs and the Dirtbombs, "Detroit Music II" plays the ball on, towards a heavy monster jam. Brilliant! The title track is then again in a class of its own: to psychedelic laments familiar from the Stooges' "We Will Fail," Svenonius mocks the tastes of the naïve "I actually listen to everything" consumer: "I know you wanna share. But don't!" he spits contemptuously at their feet. In the era of Spotify & Co., Svenonius accepts the accusation of snobbery: "Does a moth know a flame, just because it's drawn to it? "Svenonius sells it all with conviction and a devilish twinkle in his eye. He means what he says, and also knows how absurd it all is. These 12 tracks serve as a bombastic backdrop for Svenonius' treatises on living the life of an anti-capitalist svengali; they're a guerrilla garage rock manifesto imbued with fever, fervour and soul." - The Quietus

[engl] The 2009 debut album from the chain gang led by Ian Svenonius (Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Weird War) is a masterpiece of primitivism. From dazzling set pieces of R&B and rock'n'roll, the band forms highly melodic songs full of call-and-response chants ("What Is A Dollar"), or invites you to take a walk through the cemetery ("Cemetry Map"), which sounds so spooky as if voodoo master Dr. John had thought it up. Sometimes Svenonius just grabs a wooden guitar to make fun of conspiracy theories like in "Deathbed Confessions": "I faked the moon landing, I saved Hitler's brain. Yeah, it's in Argentina but it controls the USA." Calvin Johnson produced the album at his Dub Narcotic studio and also did a bit of background vocals. The beat lurches and sways as confidently and surely as an old sea dog's gait in a breeze of doppelkorn. The somewhat odd album title is explained by the always conceptually thinking singer as follows: "Everywhere freedom goes, it leaves a path of destruction. Fast food, bad architecture, materialism, unbridled greed, destroyed environment, imperial conquests, class struggle; combined, these phenomena are seemingly synonymous with freedom." When big words often hide only capitalist greed and imperialist war, Svenonius & Co. prefer to slip into the role of dissidents. "Ian Svenonius is an inadvertent pioneer. His career has been a studied attempt to advance the history of punk rock, using influences as tools to build with rather than styles to flaunt and discard." - The Wire

[engl] If you think carefully about why Turbonegro, Guitar Wolf, The Dirtbombs, or even the entire Crypt Band catalog are of such authoritative relevance, it can all be traced back to two simple facts. Fact one. They understood their style of playing rock’n’roll. This realization sounds succinct at first, after all, any band would claim this. Only in reality most of them fail miserably. First copying others and then copying themselves is no innovation and just adds another copy to the meter records, no “most authentic” or original equipment helps, because it fails because of the songs. Fact two, and maybe this is the most underestimated factor, is the lack of humor. Without humor, you can’t play good rock’n’roll. Why am I writing this? I have seen the light, THE 50 KAITENZ from Osaka play 60s Punk as I wish it and that in a perfection that makes me dizzy. Alone the transitions from the chorus to the verse are so cleverly placed that you slap your thighs with joy, without being able to speak a single word of Japanese, you catch yourself intoning the songs loudly at an inappropriate room volume and even start to play the obligatory air guitar with pleasure. THE 50 KAITENZ, of course, don’t play pure 60s punk. Similar to Turbonegro, they have devoured 70 years of rock’n’roll history and, not to use the more appropriate word, use it shamelessly for their purposes. Punk, country, garage or beat – everything is scrutinized, distilled, stirred, shaken and stirred again to be unleashed on your auditory canals in irreverent perfection. I’m thrilled by all the tongue-in-cheek quotes, because what comes out of it is probably the most independent thing I’ve heard in the last few years in this hard-working field.

[engl] all 3 records for a special price. Anyone who has already pre-ordered a record can also fall back on the offer. Just send an email.

[engl] Debut record of this post punk band from Vienna, Austria. Tracks taken from the self-released tape, recorded on 4-track, mastered to perfection by Eric Brady. Limited to 500 copies. Post-Punk to dance to, touching the body at the very right places, mostly german lyrics you will know by heart soon even if you are from…

[engl] Los Angeles, CA based PowerPop combo with two new cuts on 45rpm. This double A side banger is another testament of their unique upbeat Undertones & Buzzcocks tinged teenage frustration rock n roll in 2 and a half minutes. More exciting news from the Reflectors will follow soon…. day by day, week by week… stay tuned!

[engl] From the first few riffs of “Fuck Death!”, you can tell that you are in for a special treat. This is not your typical 3-chord punk rock wasteland - this is a very well written post hardcore/punk album. And it took those 4 guys only 6 years to record it... These 12 songs show that When There Is None perfected their sound & songwriting over the past years. The album has more melodies than power chords and more sing-alongs than boredom. Sounding like a hybrid somewhere between the Sainte Catherines, Leatherface and Hot Water Music - this album keeps on growing with every spin. Also, finally a concept we all can agree on. Fuck Death!

[engl] After "Demo Demo Demo" and "Single Single", this is finally the first full length album by one-man-wonder Doug out of Lorient. You may know the man behind the mask from his other exquisite projects SORDID SHIP or COUPE GORGE, in which, above all, he extensively expresses his preference for Oi! On the debut LP, as on the previous singles, he rather shows his passion for synthpunk and then simply combines both preferences into a pretty great and awesome style of Punk. Super melodic synth parts mix with angry Oi Punk and Roll sound. Voilà: CUIR. This LP comes on beautiful rose marbled vinyl!

[engl] With the debut album "Parents + FBI = Cahoots", Shrinkwrap Killers out of Oakland bring a load of paranoia and conspiracies to the picnic table. The sun may be shining, but the melodies in the guise of 80s Dark Wave / Synth Punk are eerily beautiful enough to darken the sky. Yes, you can dance to this, cry, drink and smash the goddamn State to this. All at the same time. A perfect mixture of The Spits, Wipers & Brat Farrar. "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you!"

[engl] IconAclass is a passion project from MC/producer Will Brooks. Best known as MC dälek, the front person and co-producer in experimental Hip Hop group Dälek. He has explored the left of center/ wall of noise world ala My Bloody Valentine meets Public Enemy on 8 studio albums and numerous collaborations. Their sophomore full length album Changing Culture with Revolvers features MC dälek back on production and Emcee duties, and recruits long time deadverse massive & Labteksmember, Dev-One on vocals as well. The contrast in voice and rhyme style provides the album with a brand new take on hard hitting gritty East Coast Hip Hop. As always, cuts are provided by Mixmaster Motiv. Changing Culture with Revolvers is poised to open eyes and in?ltrate eardrums. Pure hip-hop, hypnotic, heavy beats serve as more than just a backdrop. They focus a spotlight squarely on the lyrics, and iconAclass has a lot on their mind! 12 tracks with a heady blend of lyrics and grimy East Coast Boom-Bap beats skewed through the Deadverse prism.

[engl] An extract from the novel “Bovver Birds Rool” (…continued) “That must hurt”, said Dave. He hovered over Sue as she shakily tried to return to her feet. “Well help me, then”, barked Sue with a pained expression, “don’t just flippin’ stand there”. “I think this fell off”, said Dave as he handed Sue back her bloodied Marc Bolan rosette. “Great”, snapped Sue, “Steve’s only just given me that… Which way did they go?” “Don’t be daft”, said Dave, “you’re in no fit state.” At Tuesday night’s Stall Street Disco, Dawn and Jane were busy victory dancing to their anthem, Hector’s “Wired Up”, darting hard-faced Knuckle Girl glares at any boy daring enough to comment on their togetherness with an ill-advised wink and a nudge to his immediate neighbour. Meanwhile, Sue had invested her last 2p in a phone call to her best mate “Sand”, short for Sandra. “Sand” was the self-elected leader of the Bovver Birds, the female contingent of The Larkhall Legion, who were beginning to assemble around the entrance to the disco. “Tired of living?” were the last words Dawn heard as her face hit the floor. “You cow!,” Dawn screamed, as she pulled out the remnants of her own front tooth and threw it in the face her towering tormentor. “The Knuckle Girls buckle and the Bovver Birds win. Again!,” announced Sand in a loud but deadpan voice over the continuing Hector music. “We’ll leave you alone now to bury your dead. … “Birds” is still the word, and you’ve should been shat on from a great height. Next time, bitches!” A bow-tied bouncer strong-armed “Sand” from the hall, dragging her by the arms as she still tried to pitch a globule of carefully-harvested spittle over her agitator. “And there’s a greeny for you,” she shrieked with delight as it landed successfully. (to be continued…)

[engl] Somewhere in a remote place called Hawkfield, not far from the city of Stockholm, Sweden, music, dreams, visions, goblins & robots, come to life. There are stories to tell, signs and paths to follow, towards the horizon and beyond. Beyond Louie (Love Jonasson) is a singer and an artist who creates tunes and melodies on synths and guitars. On this recording he’s joined by Frank E. Male (Henry Fiats Open Sore), guitar and bass, Staffan Zeroboy Fagerberg (Vidro), drums and Li Jonasson, backing vocals, the daughter of the artist. Beyond Louie has been an active musician since the 90s as a singer in the Stockholm based garage band Sons of Cyrus, the Berlin band Ray Omega and different music projects like Last Crusade. Beyond Louie is the artists new solo project. This single is the first release, two songs that show two sides of music.