Rock & Indie CD 518 Items

"Into The Blue is the clearest portrait of who I am as an artist. It's me through and through," says multi-instrumentalist Aaron Frazer. A daring blend of soul, psychedelia, spaghetti western, disco, gospel and hip-hop, Into the Blue represents the impressive range of Frazer's sonic talents. Frazer maintains the unmistakable falsetto and classic songwriting he's known for, but plants Into the Blue firmly in the now with a hip-hop mentality at its core, weaving together genres and production techniques to form something new. Into The Blue was conceived, like so many classic records, out of actual heartbreak. Frazer moved cross-country from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and embarked on a journey that's reflected in the album's themes of grief, loneliness, and searching for healing. "Into The Blue really means heading into the unknown. That has been the last year of my life and I'm still in the blue," Frazer explains. "But there are also songs here that celebrate love and the giddiness of a new relationship and all that. That's part of a breakup to me, processing the whole thing, remembering the things that were right as much as the things that were wrong." Frazer wrote on every track and played several live instruments on the album. The title track, "Into The Blue", is a haunting, resolute anthem, combining cinematic strings and tough-as-nails breakbeats as Frazer heads west. "Here I go, to a place where the broken heart knows," he sings. "It's all I can do. Back into the blue." "Payback" is an explosive dancefloor heater, featuring shimmering tambourines and driving bass lines. Northern soul drums meet snarling fuzz guitar, hurdling towards its epic conclusion. The album features moments of towering arrangements, recalling David Axelrod and Ennio Merricone, balanced by rawness, incorporating iPhone recordings and one-take vocals. For Into the Blue, Frazer enlisted Grammy-winner Alex Goose as coproducer, known for his crate-digging samples and collaborations with hip-hop artists like Freddie Gibbs, Madlib and Brockhampton. Frazer also experimented with samples for the first time on a record, drawing from unexpected sources like 90s R&B group Hi-Five. Though Into the Blue is born out of heartbreak, Frazer hopes it leaves listeners with a sense of optimism. "You know, you can still laugh on a day when you're grieving," he says, "there's no peaks without valleys," he says, but Into The Blue sees Aaron Frazer at new heights.

Born in 1866 BC, Abraham lived a peaceful life near the town of Sodome, NC. He married his half-sister who gave birth to some 14 kids while already aged far over a hundred years. those golden days are gone, but the virile power of Abraham's beard survived and he was reborn in 2007 as a rock band near Lausanne, Switzerland. Committed rehearsals and songwriting eventually led the band to record their first full-length, 'An Eye on the Universe', which was released in early 2011 on Pelagic Records. The critically acclaimed album was presented live all over Europe, with the likes of bands like Red Fang, Intronaut, Khoma, EF, Celan, Birds In Row, Mumakil or Kruger. Abraham's second album "The Prophet, The Serpent and The Whore" was inspired by a novel by J.G. Rawls. In case you're not familiar with this writer, well, shame on you! A bit of Wikipedia research will tell you that Rawls lived at the beginning of the 20th century and died in an motel room somewhere on the East Coast. It is not exactly clear whether his works are authentic or not; they might have been written by college students trying to pull a prank. The title of his most well-known book is The Chronoception. Abraham found this book on a flee market and used it as an inspiration for their second album. The lyrics were freely adaptated from the story, not wanting the record to become a literary illustration of the book. The story of an unnamed man falling from the sky to crawl through this world's lowest spheres; and the prevalent themes of falling from grace, primal fear, physical pain, loneliness and mystical visions resonated perfectly within Abraham's continuous state of mind. The music to this exploration of the human soul and consciousness was composed with these themes in mind and thus emerged darker and more tortured than what the band had done before. Magnus Lindberg from Cult Of Luna mixed the album and drove the contemplative aspects of their sound to even bleaker aural landscapes, while pushing its violent side further towards armageddon... Expect to see the band live on stage in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy soon.

Adele's "30" comes this year.

The respected Japanese jazz drummer Akira Ishikawa was not messing around when he recorded the 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' album with his band the Count Buffaloes. For this offering, originally released in 1972 on Toshiba Records, Akira Ishikawa takes us on a deep tripped-out journey. 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' is a fusion of progressive and psych rock with African percussion workouts, dergy-wah wah blues-funk, and jazzy sensibilities; with different genres morphing and uniting as they progress. A long way from his funk and afrobeat album 'Back To Rhythm’, re-issued on Mr Bongo in 2019, this record has a darker, deeper, abstract and experimental stoned tone with the listener being pulled into its vortex for the ride. This record doesn’t pull any punches. For this album, Akira is joined by Hideaki Chihara on bass, guitarist Kimio Mizutani, sounding at times like an early 70s Peter Green, percussionist Larry Sunaga and composer Takeru Muraoka. The album has become highly sought-after amongst psych, prog and acid rock collectors and due to the rare nature of original copies they come at a hefty price tag. We are delighted to present an officially licensed re-issue of this underground Japanese rock rarity.

Alto Fuero are a duo from France currently residing in Brussels, cartoonesque sounds and spasmodic rhythms intertwined with traditional folk-inspired spellbinding chants, their trance-inducing music could be read as post-folk; their energetic and mind-melting live performances are experienced as the soundtrack to near-future gatherings in the ruins of our modern world. "Live Rec" is a compilation of lives excerpts between 2022 and 2023.

"I still remember back in the early 80's, one of the rst local bands I followed on a regular basis were The Stompers. Sal Baglio was a fantastic frontman who wrote great songs and he's still at it. His new band The Ampli er Heads have a release coming out called SaturnaliensS. I've heard some of it, Sal brings the same great sound he always has, this release is a must have !!" - Skybar Rising, Wmfo SaturnalienS is the third full length record from The Amplifier Heads. Their first for Rum Bar Records. A rock n’ roll rocket ride into space, madness, fantasy and the vinyl frontier. A graphic novel for the ears and head. 12 tracks full of distortion, feedback, groovy swinging beats and pure pop melodies. The first single “GlamOrama” is a glam-rocket memory ride that takes a three minute time warp back to the days of platform shoes, shag haircuts, and Circus magazine. Amplifiers lose their heads, young dolls get turned out to the street, rock n’ roll is the pain reliever used intravenously via a phonograph stylus while fueled up rocket boys go wild and earth girls wreak havoc. Sullivan, Shindig, Hullabaloo are back in black and white, peppermint Candi in GlamOramic gold lamé dances to The Satellite Stars and in some basement room a drummer counts to 4. The past is always present and no one down below can bother you when you are on the moon.

Released via RCA Records - If its a triple album of instrumental flute music you've been waiting for, then wait no longer - Andre Benjamin - best known as Andre 3000 - is one of the most celebrated artists of the last three decades, an auteur whose work in music, film, fine arts, and fashion, continues to influence the cultural landscape on a global scale. As one half of Outkast, Andre established a brand new voice within rap that had never been experienced before when the pair emerged in the early '90s. ''This album is the most honest and interesting offering I can give today. I never could have imagined in high school, when I started rapping and doing music that I would be here right now playing wind instruments. Ha. This life ride always surprises me. I'm here for it.' - Andre 3000. Stock is very limited & will be allocated.

Andrea, frontman of punk rock band The Manges along with guitarist and music producer Alex Bounty (I Divi Di Beverly, Supermarket) started The Veterans in 2006. The first s/t album from 2008 is now reissued on yellow vinyl, coming with a CD that also includes extra tracks from singles and digital releases.

Arctic Monkeys and War Child UK are proud to announce the release of ‘Arctic Monkeys - Live At The Royal Albert Hall’ on December 4th 2020. All proceeds from the album will go to War Child UK to help fill what could be up to a £2 million deficit they are facing in 2021, caused by the devastating impact of Covid-19 on their fundraising. These funds are urgently needed to support those who are worst hit by the virus.

Recorded at the start of the band’s ‘Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino’ tour, ‘Arctic Monkeys -Live At The Royal Albert Hall’, features 20 of the band’s finest moments to date.

Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell’s music to be released after his death in 1992. Released on CD by Point Music in 1993 it marked the beginning of nearly 30 years of work to let the world hear the enormous archive of unreleased recordings Arthur left behind. Be With revisits this first compilation for a new gatefold double vinyl version and a triple-fold digipak CD re-issue. This is the only place where you can hear some of Arthur’s most recognisable music, like the title track Another Thought, A Little Lost, This Is How We Walk On The Moon, Keeping Up and the woozy disco of In The Light Of The Miracle and My Tiger, My Timing. Though technically a compilation, the whole of Another Thought comes together as a consistent, coherent, wonderful album. Thanks to Janette Beckman for helping reproduce her iconic photograph of Arthur in his newspaper boat hat for the new vinyl sleeve. And thanks also to Tom Lee for giving permission to include his liner notes from the original CD booklet, together with Arthur’s lyrics. Another Thought is absolutely essential for even the most casual Arthur Russell collection. In fact it’s essential for any fan of non-obvious pop music.

Aspidistrafly, the Singaporean duo comprising April Lee and producer Ricks Ang, return with Altar of Dreams, their first studio album in a decade.

While their last album A Little Fable introduced the world to their bucolic and wispy brand of folk songwriting, Altar of Dreams sees the duo – also the founders of Kitchen. Label – harness their experiences over the past decade to create a wholly new and inspired vision. In this new and third album, they drew upon a rich palette of shapes, sounds and movement: straddling between the visionary photography of Serge Lutens and Dora Maar, 80s Japanese ambient pop, musique concrète and the mournful strings of Béla Bartók.

The world in which Aspidistrafly once inhabited was foggy and awash in faded memory. A feeling of being suspended in time felt inescapable with each listen. In Altar of Dreams, the fog is clearing up. At nine songs under 35 minutes, the album possesses all the defining hallmarks of Aspidistrafly – poetic lyricism, cosmic introspection, lush strings, surrealism, tenderness and texture. But what was once seemingly inscrutable has now been explored with astounding clarity, the duo maneuvering through a space-time continuum with delicate leaps.

‘How To Find A Marblewing’, the opening track, is a heady sound collage of early internet sounds, film, anime, and chopped-and-screwed 90s J-pop. It’s a presence deeply embedded throughout the record, a method Lee describes as “a form of environmental/tape treatment”.

The compositions glimmer with sincerity, addressing all at once destruction, mystery, uncertainty, hopes and dreams. The resulting music is backed by an opulence only possible with a line-up of guest musicians. ‘The Voice of Flowers’ is stirring in its balance of flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone and piano, bolstered by a string quartet. Kitchen. Label artist haruka nakamura features on the track alongside Kyo Ichinose (who arranged the strings for the album) and wind instrumentalist Araki Shin.

‘Interlude: Chrysalises and Larvae’ takes the heavy path downward, adopting its name from the 1973 surrealist odyssey The Hourglass Sanatorium. It leads into ‘Companion to Owls’, a gothic pop paean to mortality inspired by the Book of Job.

Before the namesake centrepiece of the album, another interlude arrives in ‘A Ceremonial Ode’, both of which were stirred by a series of regal Shiseido ads from the 1980s starring model Sayoko Yamaguchi. ‘Altar of Dreams’ is haunted by the lucid dreams that once provided escapism for Lee. Its tranquility belies a simmering tension, just as how a lucid dream would offer control in the face of the unknown. “In one of them, I was floating in a vast darkness safe and secure, and then I fell into a turbulent mirage where I willingly allowed myself to be swept away further and further from reality, hoping that I would never wake up,” she says. “Needless to say I did, and ended up writing this song on one of these dead nights.”

If the title track replicates the feeling of falling deep into that spiral, ‘Silk and Satins’ is a direct analysis of the phenomenon. Warped frequencies collide with nature and television sound effects – the latter sourced from 80s Singaporean horror series Mystery – within an inter-dimensional music world. The track was made with featured artist Sugai KEN, whose own work is an endless scroll of intoxicating found sounds.

‘Quintessence’, the sweeping closing track, distills all the elements scattered across the album into a coda that beautifully refuses to resolve. At first an exercise in guitar looping, the song was then written without a beginning and end in mind. “I’d like to think of it as poetry that’s sung,” says Lee.

In Altar of Dreams, Aspidistrafly are renewed and hopeful. They’ve emerged from a decade spent reframing the world they see through vivid dreams and memories. Now, it’s all yours to experience.

Augenwasser represents the alter ego of multi-instrumentalist Elias Raschle from Biel. The project was born in 2014 with a first 7“ record produced by La Suisse Primitive and a self-produced cassette entitled 'Fireworks', under Augenwasser's own label Hot Dogma.

In December 2015, Augenwasser's first album 'Drones & Love Songs' was released on Bongo Joe Records. Intimate compositions, solitary writings and raw melodies come together to create a personal and genuine project. He recorded it solo in the secrecy of his home studio. However, Elias Raschle asks for reinforcements for his stage shows. Trustworthy musicians agree to jump on board with him: Elias Gamma (Martin Savage Gang / ex-GOU, Shady & the Vamp), Juliette Rosset (zayk), Levent Pinarci (ex-GOU, Levent, Uht). Amongst others, the group performs at the notorious Bad Bonn Kilbi Festival, and also tours abroad: Belgium, Greece, United Kingdom, France.

After joining forces with the American musician Kelley Stoltz in 2017, the duo gives birth to a collaborative album that got released on the 'Transnational Serie' by the label La Suisse Primitive. On stage, Augenwasser becomes a solitary project. Elias Raschle now performs alone on the guitar for a more intimate experience. In 2018, he produces a collection of recordings entitled “The Last Campfire Smokeout“, that he put out on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. For his upcoming project, Elias immersed himself in the composition of 'Sleepdancer', to be released in 2020 on Les Disques Bongo Joe.

Our favorite nerd bird punk rockers from Ontario, Canada are back with with 4 new songs about birds and various bird happenings. Don’t let the unusual premise fool you, this is pop punk at its finest. Fast and punky yet super melodic, if you like Blink 182, Green Day and Teenage Bottlerocket, then Avem will scratch your itch

Look no further than the forest and wetlands of southern Ontario to find Avem. A bubblegum punk rock band with songs about birds and human lived experiences as told through the perspective of birds. The subject matter may seem as crazy as a loon, but their infectious sound will have you bopping along instantly.

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