2017 Blog
Latest Releases Manufactured by Key Production_November Round-up
Watch the video for a selection or scroll down to see all pics.
MALK Death From A Love LP, [Home Assembly Music]
Fresh new beats from MALK, the man behind Mahatma X ‘A Mobtown Suite Vol. 1’…. Philadelphia native MALK (aka Will Becker) is the man behind the 2017 surprise hit Mahatma X ‘A Mobtown Suite Vol.1’. Death From A Love utilises the same cut and paste Hip Hop sampling techniques but this time around they are morphed to delirious effect in shaping a febrile, cyberpunk take on Vaporwave - perhaps we should call it Darkvapor. If Oneohtrix Point Never’s ‘Garden Of Delete’ were to be re-imagined by Zomby with a little Jam City thrown into the mix for good measure, it may sound something like Death From A Love.
Karl Blau Out Her Space red vinyl LP, [Bella Union]
Out Her Space, released 17th November on Bella Union, features all Blau’s own material, production and multi-instrumental skills, and forges a gorgeous, languid and hook-infested gumbo of soul, funk, some jazzy blowing and Afro-pop, to arrive somewhere else entirely. Out Her Space also testifies to Blau’s studio skills, as he captures the glimmering, humid depths of those sweltering southern influences, despite his north-western heritage.
Lanterns On The Lake Live With Royal Northern Sinfonia double LP, [Bella Union]
Earlier this year Newcastle quintet Lanterns On The Lake played a very special homecoming show with the Royal Northern Sinfonia.
The 40 piece ensemble, guided by the arrangements of composer Fiona Brice, add a wealth of texture to a band already very familiar with expansive and beautiful sounds. The outcome is a sublime 10 track live recording released by Bella Union.
Lost Horizons Ojala Sunburst / transparent vinyl 2LP, [Bella Union]
Currently celebrating 20 years piloting his revered record label Bella Union, Simon Raymonde has scaled another personal peak, a new collaboration with drummer Richie Thomas. They’re called Lost Horizons, and their stunning debut album, Ojalá, released 3rd November on Bella Union, is a rare sighting of two gifted musicians who, for different reasons, have been largely absent from music-making for the last 20 years. Yet the record is proof of a telepathic relationship through music, established when the pair first became collaborators and friends in the eighties.
Matt Berry Night Terrors heavy-weight vinyl LP, [Acid Jazz]
Following last year’s ‘The Small Hours’ album, Matt Berry presents ‘Night Terrors’, a collection of various remixes, outtakes and alternate versions of tracks culled from ‘The Small Hours’ sessions.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Holy Mountain maxi single picture disc, coloured orange vinyl and standard black vinyl, [Sour Mash]
The 12” vinyl release features Holy Mountain accompanied by an exclusive, instrumental version of the track, while the B-Side features Dead In The Water (Live at RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin). Also offered as an album bonus track, Dead In The Water catches Gallagher and keyboard player, Mike Rowe in between takes at a Dublin radio station. Such moments are destined to go unrepeated, with Gallagher vowing never to re-record it any other way.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Who Built The Moon? picture disc, [Sour Mash]
Philip Selway Let Me Go vinyl LP, [Bella Union]
Radiohead drummer PHILIP SELWAY’s new album is a departure from its two preceding albums (Familial and Weatherhouse). It’s the soundtrack to the film drama Let Me Go, a story about mothers and daughters; about loss and mistrust; about the ramifications of a World War II crime; about secrets, trauma and lingering ghosts.
Saint Etienne Various Vinyl Reissues, [Heavenly Recordings]
Shed Seven Instant Pleasures limited red coloured vinyl LP, black vinyl LP, CD & cassette tape, [Infectious Music]
'Instant Pleasures' is the most fitting title for this, their fifth album and their first since 2001's 'Truth Be Told'. Frontman Rick Witter remarks that it works in two ways. Not only is it a comment on our tech-obsessed, social media crazy, instantaneous world, it's also a literal tongue-in-cheek reference to the tracks themselves.
The Cornshed Sisters Honey & Tar vinyl LP, [Memphis Industries]
Drawing on a palette of solo and harmony vocals and a blend of acoustic and electronic instruments, they convey their stories with sensitivity and humour. Their subject matter is love, motherhood, fake happiness, friendship, family, feminism and the increasing complexities of life as you get older but no wiser. The band are proud to write about their experiences as women and their song writing always has a stark realism to it - as Marie puts it when discussing the track We Have Said This Is Impossible: “True love is buggering off together in a Ford Focus”.
Adrian Crowley Dark Eyed Messenger LP, [Chemikal Underground]
Recorded in four days in May 2016 in Bartlett’s New York studio, the record captures not merely Crowley at the apex of his song-writing powers but also the creative lava that can flow when two perfectly aligned musical minds come together. “Thomas’s instinct and my vision seemed to work in synergy,” says Crowley. “It was moving to see him conjure these spectral sounds seemingly out of the air between us.”
Catholic Action In Memory Of vinyl LP, [Modern Sky]
Lucinda Williams This Sweet Old World CD, [Highway 20]
Three-time Grammy Award winner Lucinda Williams will release This Sweet Old World (Highway 20/ThirtyTigers), a re-recording of her beloved 1992 album Sweet Old World to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its release.
Novo Amor & Ed Tullet Heiress LP
Recorded around the release of their two widely lauded collaborative singles (“Faux”, 2014 and “Alps”, 2016), the pair worked sporadically in intense week-long sessions in Cardiff spilling over Lacey’s old and new home-studios, tearing songs down and building them back up again. “Heiress” is noticeably the product of nearly 4 years work. The record swings between delicate, poetic falsetto and vast walls of towering beauty – something “Cavalry” does all on its own. “Silvery” is a vital, grandiose inauguration, and the magical “Terraform” a celebratory realisation that you’re back on your own Earth again.
Yalla Yallas Medusa green vinyl LP
The Buff Medways 1914, Steady The Buffs, Medway Wheelers vinyl LP reissues, [Damaged Goods]
Billy Childish formed The Buff Medways in 2000. Their full name was Wild Billy Childish & The Friends of the Buff Medway Fanciers Association. During the 19th century a breed a chicken was developed peculiar to the Medway area. The breed, now extinct, was a table bird for the London hotel market. The BUFF MEDWAY project, based at Fort Amherst, Chatham, attempted to recreate that ancient fowl through a selective breeding project.
Call Super Arpo, [Houndstooth]
Following his acclaimed debut album Suzi Ecto, Call Super returns with LP number two, the equally arresting Arpo. Another mesmerising environment of restless beauty that refuses to conform to much else beyond his own work, it affirms Call Super's place as one of the most remarkable electronic musicians working today.
Various Multi CD Compilations by Le Chant Du Monde
George Martin The Film Scores and Original Orchestral Compositions CD, [Atlas Realisations]
An eagerly-anticipated recording that showcases – for the very first time – the major works of the iconic composer, arranger and producer, George Martin.
The album features Martin’s original music from the films Yellow Submarine, Live and Let Dieand the previously unrecorded choral and orchestral score for The Mission together with the Overture to Under Milk Wood, the suite Three American Sketches for violin and chamber orchestra and other previously unreleased original compositions.
Olivier Mellano with Brendan Perry No Land CD, [World Village]
In terms of Olivier Mellano’s highly eclectic career, which has already taken him down various different tracks (violinist, rock then avant-garde guitarist, composer, producer and even random project designer), the new ‘No Land’ project is a particularly innovative step for an artist who ceaselessly zips back and forth between the worlds of pop, multimedia and a certain kind of contemporary music.
SALAD - The Lost Album Vol I CD, [Pledge Music]
In the late 90s SALAD recorded over 30 new songs, with a third studio album in mind. Sadly, that never got made. However, the songs have stood the test of time. They are a mix of glossy productions done in “proper” studios and lively rehearsal studio 4-track recordings. Here, on Volume 1 are 14 of them. The reformed and revitalized SALAD will be playing a couple of these hidden gems at their upcoming shows.
Shezekiel Catch The Boat CD
Formerly of the successful vocal trio Brown Sugar, Pauline Catlin now known as Shezekiel, along with Caron Wheeler and Carol Simms during the 70’s and 80’s were the first British Reggae music trio with a succession of hits and pioneers of the popular genre known today as ‘Lovers Rock’, produced by Dennis Bovell. Now after a 27 year absence Shezekiel has been working with Jazz musician and Producer Wayne Brown on her debut album ‘Catch the Boat’.
Swedish Death Candy Swedish Death Candy CD, [Hassle]
You need this band and you need this album in your life. Swedish Death Candy are psychedelic, yes, but not many bands can boast to be able to combine that with crunching heaviness, melodic power and mind-bending dynamics. They surpass their peers and they are about to prove this with the announcement of their self-titled debut album.
Erol Alkan Reworks Volume 1, [Phantasy Sound]
Phantasy is proud to announce the release of Reworks Volume 1, a comprehensive collection of remixes from prodigious DJ and producer Erol Alkan, out now. Reworks Volume 1 is a musical overview of what makes Erol Alkan one of his generation's most iconic remixers. This collection of reworks illustrates that his distinct style of remixing is just another layer in what makes Erol Alkanunique to dance music.
Morrissey Low In High School Spanish version LP, coloured yellow vinyl, clear 7" vinyl, [BMG]
Ray Gelato The Italian Song Collection 12" vinyl album with CD included
Superb 13 track collection of Italian themed songs on coloured 12" vinyl in an incredible sleeve design - if you have a record player, play the record, if you don't, just put the cover on the wall !! PLUS inside the package a free CD of all the songs - an essential purchase for all Ray Gelato fans.
Ut Ut + Confidential vinyl LP, [Out Records]
The UT reissue series. The band is reissuing its remastered catalogue on Out Records through Forte Distribution in 2017 and 2018. The UT reissue campaign starts with the Ut EP and the Confidential EP, remastered by Dominique Brethes at Wolf Studios and repackaged as a double 12” (both cut at 45rpm for maximum sound fidelity) and a CD version. The double 12” has both 12”’s in a PVC outer bag (with DL code), and the CD is a 3-fold digifile. There will be 500 only of the double-pack 12” set.