[engl] RED DONS return with their first record since their 2017 GENOCIDE 7". 4 new songs of their trademark moody PDX melodic punk greatness. Cuing a "The Cast Of Thousands“ era Adverts feel, they continue their path of more matured songwriting in our post pandemic, late stage capitalist nuthouse of a society.

[engl] The AddisababaBand is a 13 piece orchestra from Aarhus that has been rocking dance floors for over a decade with their mix of afrobeat, funk, jazz, a little psychedelic rock and fusion. Of course, they take inspiration from African masters like Ebo Taylor, Fela Kuti and Mulatu Astatke, but as improvisation is the driving force behind the band, they create a whole new world of Ethio jazz. Remastered version limited on 150 copies.

[engl] The AddisababaBand is a 13 piece orchestra from Aarhus that has been rocking dance floors for over a decade with their mix of afrobeat, funk, jazz, a little psychedelic rock and fusion. Of course, they take inspiration from African masters like Ebo Taylor, Fela Kuti and Mulatu Astatke, but as improvisation is the driving force behind the band, they create a whole new world of Ethio jazz. limited on 150 copies.

[engl] Ah, the joy of sadness. Who invented it? The power pop punk rockers from Umeå! This is where this unique combination of melancholy, joy, too much snow and danceable melodies was born after all. It first arrives unsuspiciously and disguised as a simple band from the garage from around the block, but then it's more fun than a buttery croissant in the morning and it is more substantial than a freshly grated cereal. But simple my ass. 6 new songs. I love them all. If you like your punk rock poppy and your sadness hidden behind too much melody, if you like to carry your beer and your heart in cans, Sekunderna's second release on Rockstar Records is more than a rich breakfast. I guess I was hungry when I wrote this.

[engl] Supercrush are back to administer another dose of impossibly infectious guitar pop with their new EP, Melody Maker. The Seattle-based group–led by guitarist/vocalist Mark Palm along with bassist Phil Jones and drummer Allen Trainer–named their latest batch of songs after a simple student model electric guitar and a weekly rock mag of yesteryear. It’s a winking tribute to the rock n roll continuum that the band so lovingly embraces, but also a fitting nod to the band members themselves and the amount of genuine songcraft that goes into making music that sounds so effortlessly catchy. Recorded during the same sessions as Supercrush’s 2020 debut album, SODO Pop, the five songs on Melody Maker are far from throwaway leftovers. Engineered by Jones and longtime collaborator Jackson Long and then mixed by Justin Pizzoferrato, the music on Melody Maker highlights Supercrush’s split personality: equal parts soft sentimentality and loud rock bravado. “When I started doing Supercrush it was a return to my earliest musical interests,” says Palm. “I got into catchy melodic stuff and grunge bands before I even got into punk and extreme music. There was a big alt rock thing happening in eastern Canada when I was growing up, with bands like Sloan and the Doughboys getting played on MuchMusic all the time, so I was exposed to all of that. In my mind any band that’s melodic and guitar-based is fair game to be an influence on Supercrush–from The Beatles, to My Bloody Valentine, to Boston. The closing track, 'Rewind’, especially demonstrates this different approach as it forgoes percussion altogether and utilizes mantra-like lyrical repetition and the juxtaposition of layers of chaotic noise, static, and feedback over a cyclical chord progression to bring this collection to it's cathartic conclusion. Although, upon reaching that conclusion it's likely that the listener will find themselves echoing the lyrical sentiment of the final song: "I just want to start again from the beginning.” Luckily, in this case starting again is as simple as flipping the record and dropping the needle. While not a carbon copy of any one band or scene, the sounds of Supercrush will likely appeal to those with a taste for much of the "alternative" music of the early 1990's, from both North America and the UK. From Brits Swervedriver and Teenage Fanclub, to American counterparts like Sugar and Smashing Pumpkins, and even often overlooked Canadians like The Doughboys and Sloan, the common denominator is meticulously crafted pop gems, something that Supercrush also strives to achieve. Ten blissful, hook-filled, syrupy-fuzz-pop anthems; so classically '90s, yet so now.

[engl] Jaqee's last album with the promising title "Fly High" leads the inclined listener into a sometimes idiosyncratic fermentation of street-ready R'n'B, pop aesthetics, jazz intellect, world music earthiness, chanting Afro soul and sensitivity and softness of classical music and orchestral warmth, which is defined by Jaqee's voice throughout all tracks, but never overridden. Thilo "Teka" Jacks, who produced "Fly High", is looking for musical salvation and the courage to change things up in order to illustrate unity, also in busy, heated, African sub-currents like High Life, but also in European dancefloor stereotypes and even traces of soca and merengue, all of course always only thought of, because the real main actor is and remains Jaqee's sustained singing, her unique intonation and her voice, which sometimes sounds clear and angry, other times fragile and sensitive - that's the way it should be. Despite or precisely because of this immensely expressive character of the album, it is advisable to listen to the work several times: Jaqee makes music with sophistication and expression and a look that also allows for sheer black music entertainment, "Fly High" proves this with lasting effect. "Fly High" is now available on vinyl for the first time. This is a limited advance art edition.Screenprinted by Philipp Janta.

[engl] Berlin City Riot Punk vs London based HC/Streetpunk. 10 Song 10", 300er Auflage.

[engl] The Love is the lovechild of Bob Belmans who after a lifetime in the dark finally takes his place in the spotlight. Like a Shaggy Roy Orbison he seduces you with his silky voice to take you then with him to the dark caverns of nasty garage-rock and deranged 60s soul. Bob Belmans was writing songs anonymously for years in his garden house, just keeping them to himself, until he felt like the time had come out and let the world hear about it. He gathered experienced forces of the Belgian underground around him with a history in bands like El Guapo Stuntteam, The Sha-la-lees, The Sore Losers and JFJ. They went to the mountains and came back two days later with ten songs about love and life, all recorded in one tumultuous weekend. No overdubs, no backing tracks, just catching the honesty and raw energy of the songs, as real as it gets. Being influenced by all things Motown, 70’s New York cool and that classic early rock and roll sound, it all comes together in a guitar driven, straightforward modern day garagerock record. Expect excitement, expect a mess, expect realness, but it won’t be boring and that’s a promise.

[engl] The Sha-La-Lee’s are a belgian/dutch Proto punk/ Garage rock and roll band with former members of El Guapo Stuntteam, the Sore Losers, the Kik and Powervice. Way beyond their teens, close to being deaf, backpains and receding hairlines they are still too dumb to quit... A new album will be released end of May '23 containing 13 songs about the usual shit , love, frustation ,tragedy and lies. Link Wray, The Sonics, Oblivians, Roky Erickson, The Deadly Snakes,Chuck Berry MC5 and Reigning Sound are some of the bands the Sha-La-Lee’s have stolen from. Everything would be said in a nutshell if there wasn't more to it than that. The Sha- La-Lee’s is the logical step after 30 years of experience in the music business. Everyone knows these kitsch films, man/woman from the village goes out into the big world, does business, feels empty, comes back and finds happiness. Even if this image conveyed is wrong, there is an important narrative in it. Happiness needs direct contact. And that's how it is in rock 'n' roll. Big stages help the ego, but they never convey the real idea of rock 'n' roll. Perhaps this thought was the inspiration behind the founding of the Sha-La-Lee’s. The smell of cigarette smoke at the concert, a beer bottle to your lips instead of a half-crushed plastic cup. Conversations after the show with like-minded people instead of the same small business talks in the locked backstage area. It's a guess, but one that's suggested by the sound of the album. This rough form of writing songs, paired with 30 years of band, stage and whatever experience, makes old garage punk hearts swarm. "Garbage Dreams" has something timeless about it, a sound that doesn't pander to anyone, that's what it is - garage punk the way I love it.

[engl] Cancer’ is a rough, melodic rock album emanating the member’s background in hardcore and metal while the band treads new paths towards a more vulnerable expression. An approach that is a natural consequence of the dissolvement, illness and struggle that have marked the band these last years - a struggle which has now resulted in a strong and honest record about survival ‘Cancer’ is produced by Jacob Bredahl and Riverhead, recorded by Tommy Hansen, Tue Madsen and Jacob Bredahl, mastered by Brad Boatright with artwork by Liz Curso. ‘Cancer’ is released on LP/CS/Digital via Sounds of Subterrania April 28th 2023.

[engl] Special Version handmade limited on 50 copies!

[engl] Johnny Notebook is back. In tow the 28th Century Mates. Having emerged from the remnants of the bands Dean Dirg, Toyotas, Metric Eyes and Tetallica, the synth-punk duo Johnny Notebook, rooted in Düsseldorf, Wuppertal and Madrid, releases all their pent-up energy onto society after almost three years. The result is the energetic, driving sound of the new long player Johnny Notebook and the 28th Century Mates. It is played with the proven mixture of the danceable beats of the Roland TR505 drum composer, the catchy cadences of the PolyKorg800 synthesizer, recurring hooklines and a ruthlessly nasal, but no less melodious voice. Influences from genre gods like Devo, Screamers and Aviador Dro are still the unmistakable foundation of Johnny Notebook. 28th Century Mates is also enriched by repeated Italo-Disco elements, for example in the form of overlaying synthesizer melodies through to shorter keyboard solos, which makes the sound a bit more positive and light-lived than on previous Johnny Notebook releases. Lyrically, many of the songs address the sometimes absurd interactions between digital and analog reality and oscillate between nostalgia, sarcasm and fatalism, without sounding even remotely melancholy

[engl] Have you ever wondered what would happen if you start mixing the catchy melodies of ABBA and the sex appeal of Roxette with the heavenly guitar playing of the Marked Men and the attitude of Pippi Longstocking? Well, you should have done that once. Because now Sekunderna's debut album comes as a complete surprise and hits you unprepared in the pit of your stomach and in your heart. This can be dangerous, you are not that young anymore! 12 Power Pop Punk Rock songs with the very best sing-along recipe from Umeå.

[engl] The Tacks‘ self-titled album immediately shines with the band‘s inherent wonderful sound of melancholic joy in darkness in general. The mix of goth, dark wave, post punk and the best of 80s college radio can confidently be subsumed under Dark Punk - if you need something like pigeonholes for it. Glassy guitars, an enchanting voice, bubbling basses and driving melodies to a catchy beat - that‘s The Tacks from Christchurch, NZ.

[engl] Two new garage punk killers from your favorite Danish punk band. In the old fashioned way, two monsters of songs smash everything that gets in their way.

[engl] What do the new Dun Field Three record and a trip to the open sea have in common? You never know what’s coming next. And that’s exactly how you want it. “His Royal Fishness” drives you into post-punky-rocky waters, whips you through, only to glide along again clearly and gently, almost melancholically. Always with a wise feeling that the next abyss is already opening up beneath you. So “Supersurprise” is not only the name of the first song, with this EP you are surprised throughout. And that’s great!

[engl] In Germany, there is a word called Gram, which is not so common anymore and describes a persistent, gnawing sorrow. In my quest to put into words the music of "Undreams," the second album from the Stockholm-based three-piece band, this word kept coming to mind. Fascinatingly frozen by the fragile beauty in which the songs are written, the minimalist, unfiltered rawness captivates me and yet always reflects the sound of this brokenness on one's own being like a mirror. "Undreams" comes seven years after the debut album "Cradle of Snake". These seven years have done the band more than good. The dark sound of their songs has nothing in common with the adolescent melancholy of some contemporaries. It is not egocentric or even narcissistic, but and forgive me this word, because it is equally uncommon in this context, caring. He wraps you gently like your favorite blanket on a gray autumn day, gives you soft, flickering light on a nightly walk, he comforts quietly, knowing full well that danger is not banished by a hum, he says the world is not a good place, but we have it in our hands, as long as we stick together, to change that. It may sound presumptuous, but "Undreams" showcases all the skills Mia, Tess and Frankie have acquired over the years in their bands and solo projects. It is an album drawn by life experience, dark, but also powerful, thunderous, energetic. "Undreams" is an album of three women who face life in all its facets. It was recorded, like the previous one, by Stefan Brändström at The Dustward Studio in Stockholm. Snake wanted to get as close as possible to the atmosphere of the rehearsal room and make the album a reflection of what the band heard and felt during rehearsals. "With the power of 'Me Too' in our hearts, we've been working through the album process since the wave in 2017. We think it's a darker album, but also with a glimmer of hope. We've found that we can be strong together, share difficult experiences and use them to make ourselves heard. We address teenage angst, the fear of getting older, love, grief, and the struggle to put the shame and guilt where it belongs."

[engl] SAVAK is a Brooklyn-based post-punk band formed in 2015 by singers/guitarists/songwriters Sohrab Habibion and Michael Jaworski. Drummer Matt Schulz has been the other constant member over the course of 5 LPs, an EP, and multiple 7” singles. To round out their recordings and live performances, SAVAK has welcomed a variety of bass players and other musician-friends on horns, strings and keyboards. From the onset, Habibion and Jaworski's intent has been to give each other space to bring in ideas and to support the other songwriter in the process. Setting aside any notion or formality of there being one “lead singer,” they’ve taken a shared approach, setting aside their egos for the benefit of the song. The band extends this ethos to everything it does, typically taking turns singing songs at shows and sharing an equal number of contributions to each recording. SAVAK’s 5th full-length album, Human Error / Human Delight, will be out April 15th, 2022 on the band’s newly-minted record label, Peculiar Works Music. Like more than a few albums coming out these days, this is the band’s “pandemic record,” which happened to suit the dual-songwriter approach quite well, as Habibion and Jaworski wrote and recorded separately, isolated in quarantine, sharing files back and forth. Whenever the coast seemed clear, they met up with Schulz to add drums and various overdubs. The completed tracks were then handed off to long-time SAVAK producer, and occasional bass player, Geoff Sanoff, for mixing. The album was initially conceived as two separate EP releases, with songs falling under one thematic umbrella or another. Human Error tracks deal with frailty, shared struggles, humility, and self improvement. Human Delight celebrates togetherness, understanding, joy and even hints at transcendence.

[engl] Antigen: Fast anarcho/crust punk from Prague (Czech Republic). This is their follow up to the critically acclaimed debut album Dust and ashes (2020). Think La Fraction and Burning kitchen! Socialstyrelsen: The most promising band from Sweden right now. The harsh vocals, the piercing guitars and the thundering d-beat drumming combined makes this release stand out from the rest. Think Protestera and Massmord and you have sort of an idea on what to expect.

[engl] The rags-to-riches chronicle of Penny Penny’s life would be remarkable if he had only released his smash debut Shaka Bundu and packed houses for a few years. But the inimitable South African singer and dancer known for his trademark top ponytail and emphatic anthems was no one-hit wonder. In the aftermath of Shaka Bundu’s nationwide explosion, far beyond his country the album resonated with ever bigger audiences. He performed up and down the continent, building fanbases in more than a dozen countries. So his sophomore album Yogo Yogo—released in 1996—solidified Penny Penny’s standing in pop music nationally and provided new energy to his pan-African stadium-filling adventures. “I was very busy between Shaka Bundu and Yogo Yogo. Shows every week, local and outside the country. There was no relaxing from 1995 until 1999.” The album also reflects the era in which it emerged. If Shaka Bundu arrived triumphantly amid newfound political freedom in South Africa with the end of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s election, Yogo Yogo was a next level expression for the maturing artist. He wanted to get a message out. Composed with Joe Shirimani, who also produced the album, the sound and compositional style echoes the earlier recording but the topical nature of the lyrics became more deliberate, more didactic. In the song “Ingani” Penny proclaims, we are all one people even though we may speak different languages, we are all Nguni—a larger historical grouping that includes many of the ethnic groups in modern South Africa. “Kulani Kulani,” which means grow up, urges young people to say no to drugs and yes to education. Ama Owners, referring to the public transport drivers involved in violent rumbles, asks the nation’s drivers to relax because we need them for our safe arrival. Penny’s success as a Xitsonga artist should not be under-estimated in the context of popular music at the time in South Africa. “When I started with my own style and image, first time in Shangaan we had artist like me,” Penny explains. “Our music was traditional before. But I brought a mix of rock and disco and it became the bomb. Every star won’t be popular without your own style.” It took them eight days to finish album, writing the songs in the studio. Penny says, “The songs just happened. Joe is very good at listening and producing, he has lots of patience. When he played the keyboard I would sing, standing behind him once he finished the rhythm, I would sing it all in one take, non-stop. We were not using computers to record, we were singing live. And we pressed the music on cassette and vinyl—not CD—back then." Fast-forward to 2020, Penny Penny is deep in the political game and appears on television 6 times a week as the star of his own reality TV show, “Papa Penny Ahee!”. He is setting up an avocado farm and provides fifty families in his region with food every month via his charitable foundation. Penny still plays huge shows around South Africa and will appear at some Europe’s biggest festivals in 2021.

[engl] “Please Mr. Playboy” a new pressing of fantastic original rhythm and blues, blues, and rock and roll sides from the deep vaults. As you well know by now with the success and praise from collectors the world over on “Have Mercy Uncle Sam,” these pristine rhythm and vocal accompaniment sides will certainly shake the chill off any cool night. This is the music that “made you” if you know what we mean… Please Mr. Playboy starts off with a mystery that must be a well known singer, (can you recognize her?) She starts us off with a one-off advertisement plea from 1965 for Tabs Pants. Buy a few pairs of Tab trousers, and get this hot platter on the house. Hot Breath Hannah is the name of our illustrious singer, but do we dare giver up her identity?…this is a fun and well produced side from the National Recording Company. Dog House takes you down to New Orleans for a rare Boogie number by Archibald, otherwise known as pianist Leon T. Gross. Leon treats us to his beautiful right hand piano work on this very rare side for Imperial records. We have a side by the sultry voiced Varetta Dillard on Savoy Records out of NYC. Varetta was there as history was made as she was on the bill at very first Rock and Roll show ever, the Moondog Coronation Hour put on by Alan Freed in Cleveland. However, she never got to perform that night as the show was shut down after the first song by Paul “hucklebuck” Williams. On this record she gives us her classic, “Send Me Some Money.” A musical force to be reckoned with and one of my favorite female singers, Big Maybelle is on this platter giving us some of her finest work on, “Pretty Good Love.” Guitar from the fantastic Mickey Baker cracks on this record from the Savoy label recorded in the Spring of 1956. Gut punching horn work from Dave McRae (alto), Buddy Lucas, Warren Lucky (tenor), and Leslie Johnakins (baritone saxophone) all deserve to be credited on this rare side of rock and roll perfection. The gals keep rocking us with a side from Lavern Baker on Atlantic, and we travel back down the Mississippi to New Orleans for Guitar Slim’s, “Done got over it” with Lloyd Lambert on the bass. More beautiful guitar work on a rare side from Guitar Jr., otherwise known as Lonnie Baker Brooks. I was fortunate enough to be there one night while Lonnie regaled us with stories as he held court at the bar of Buddy Guy’s in Chicago. He was thrilled that we got giddy over his telling of the Guitar Jr. sessions on Goldband. Here we offer a rare side from Mercury. Lucky Millinders’ singer Annisteen Allen greets us with the stomper “Rough Lover” recorded on Decca, as well as the hell of piano player and alluring vocalist Camille Howard with, “Excite me Daddy” This is another amazing seat lifting side with guitar work from Jonny Rodgers of Solid Sender’s fame. There are more rare sides on this record found in the dust bins and basements of from Texas to Paris and we get the feeling that the ladies can rock it and roll it with the fellas any day of the week!

[engl] The Queen of the Ahoko It makes sense that Antoinette Konan’s eponymous album features nothing more than her ahoko on the cover. The deceptively simple traditional percussion instrument transformed Ivory Coast’s Baoulé music scene when Konan deployed it against a roaring electrified backdrop of synth, bass guitar and drum machines. Released in 1986, the album is a veritable UFO of instrumental force and contemporary pop sensibility landing in a boiling pot of diverse, creative characters inhabiting Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire). Known as the “Queen of the Ahoko” among Ivorians, Konan single-handedly put the central-Ivorian instrument on the map when she gave it a 20th-century re-introduction. The three-piece wooden idiophone is handmade from a thin, ribbed, flexible stick, against which a smaller chunk of wood is rhythmically scraped. A hollow nutshell held in the non-scraping hand amplifies and manipulates the resulting overtones. Despite the ahoko's diminutive appearance, Konan and her powerful voice have remained at the forefront of Ivorian music for decades now, in an extremely diverse country—approximately 70 indigenous languages—with a competitive, internationally-recognized music industry. Music plays an important role in Baoulé cultural life, heard and seen in festivities, funerals and more. They are the largest ethnic group in Côte d’Ivoire and descend from Akan peoples who migrated from present-day central Ghana. Baoulé vocal music is characterized by polyphony, melodies built on parallel thirds and call-and-response. All of this can be heard in Konan’s music. In 1976, she got her start with Ivory Coast’s National Television Orchestra (ORTI), backing major Ivorian stars on Podium, a program featuring youth culture hero Roger Fulgence Kassy. By 1980 she was playing in Musicaria, visionary Ivorian bandleader Boncana Maïga’s group. With Maïga, she expanded her creative horizons and learned new approaches. She also worked with influential producer Jimmy Hyacinthe’s band. His artistic agency in Treichville—Abidjan’s music industry epicenter at the time—further inspired Konan. She would hang out there after school. Konan had a difficult time balancing school and music but enrolled in a music program at INA (National Institute of Arts, where she later also taught classes) and was able to both travel for concerts overseas and study music. Meanwhile, she managed to work with some of Abidjan’s key arrangers and music-makers. Music manager Amedé Koko Tanoh, who was also involved in the agency where Konan socialized, provided the original impetus for her to learn the ahoko in 1981 as a way to distinguish herself from other artists. He took her to study with a professional ahoko player, an old woman who began to teach Konan. But she soon brushed the young lady off and wouldn’t teach her any more. Konan continued on her own until her mother asked where she got the instrument. It turned out her mother knew how to play also, so Konan began to study with her mom. She taped her mom’s ahoko playing so she could practice back at university. During this early period, Konan borrowed clothes because she could not afford performance attire. Despite some ridicule she persevered. Music impresario George Tahi Benson, one of her key mentors, told her, “It’s good to dress the way you do. But what if you instead make the difference by promoting the local cloth, the Baoulé cloth.” She again got some negative feedback when she changed to traditional gowns. But it became her trademark look and gradually became trendy among Ivorians all over the country. Konan’s fingerprints are all over Antoinette Konan, she says, as it was meant to be a highly personal recording. She wanted to portray the suffering, injustice, frustrations, humiliations, personal career struggles, experience of child birth and poverty she sees in society. Taking on the producer role for the first time, Konan was the architect of her dancefloor-ready neo-traditional sound. But crucial to the recording was arranger Bamba Moussa Yang. A creative and versatile musical mind who was known for his work with legendary Ivorian singer Ernesto Djedje, Konan met him in 1986 after she had already released two albums. Yang brought a touch that matched Konan’s expectations, she says, because he knew her work so well. As she reflects on her long career today, Konan remembers Yang as her favorite arranger. Over the years Konan’s popularity grew to the upper echelons of Ivorian society: Ivory Coast’s first president Felix Houphouet Boigny’s would regularly invite Konan to perform at official ceremonies with foreign dignitaries. Through her charity and advocacy work on behalf of female musicians, Konan is still a force in the country’s music community. You can see her performing or speaking on television and around the country all the time—yet she still maintains several entrepreneurial projects in the farming sector. Konan has recorded more than 15 albums so far and plans more recordings soon.