Skyy
Start Of A Romance

Paul Hardcastle is marking the 30th anniversary of his 1985 anti-war hit "19" with a celebratory vinyl release that collects 14 versions of the career-defining single. 19: The 30th Anniversary Mixes includes remastered versions of the original mixes: the full length version (from the original 12-inch), the popular Destruction Mix and The Final Story version - the latter actually being the 'requiem' element which is the second part of that remix. Also, issued for the first time commercially is Hardcastle's demo of "19" that he recorded in his mom's front room! These originals are combined with a number of contemporary, creative reworkings (mostly by Hardcastle himself), some of which date from 2010 when he revisited the track to create variations such as History Keeps Repeating Itself and Welcome to Hell. The Inner Changes Mix is actually Victims of War (Pt 1) from 2010 and the Cryogenic Freeze Mix dates from 2012 when 19 Below Zero was issued.In April 1985 Paul Hardcastle’s seminal track "19" entered the UK top 40 singles chart at #4. A week later it went to #1 where it remained for 5 consecutive weeks. Not even Duran Duran, on the back of the blockbuster movie A View To A Kill, could shift it! "19" was subsequently released worldwide, achieving overall sales in excess of 6,000,000 copies and hitting the #1 spot in 13 different countries as well as #1 on the US dance charts and #15 on the main Billboard Hot 100.Paul Hardcastle said: “The message of 19 is as poignant today as it is was 30 years ago. Soldiers are coming back from the frontline of battle and are not being supported on their return to Civvy Street. Statistics recently showed more soldiers are committing suicide than died in battle."

1993 album, their last On-U produced LP for 12 years. African Head Charge blend dub, trance, electronica and world music throughout with Bonjo I at the helm and typically skilful production from Adrian Sherwood.Double LP that adds 8 bonus tracks to the original vinyl edition, including 2 that have never been released before. Includes a download card for the full audio plus a double-sided poster insert with excerpts from a new interview with band leader Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah.

Produced entirely using iPhone and iPad apps, the latest LP from future-soul mainstay Steve Spacek is a quirky and inventive exploration of his musical roots, which run deep within the storied dance music scenes of Chicago, Detroit, and London.The album opens with “Rawl Aredo,” a sleek, grooving deep house jam guided by Spacek’s whispery vocals and electric piano chords that are twisted and warped by an envelope filter. “Waiting 4 You” pairs soft, jazzy organ chords with a lo-fi synth bass, placing it firmly within the same sonic sphere as Larry Heard circa Sceneries Not Songs. “Where We Go,” a high-energy vocal anthem, is a gorgeous reboot of the early ’00s broken beat sound, melding a bouncing kick-clap-rimshot pattern with synths and a devastating bassline. “Tell Me” is slightly darker; Spacek’s longing vocals are set dead-center, and the synths and effects that swirl around them create a haunting atmosphere. “African Dream” lays a joyful, minimal vocal over a backing track where bass and percussion are constantly warped with panning and filtering effects. The end result is less a “song” and more of an ever-changing sonic environment.Bonus track “Child Insperation” distills all of the influences Spacek draws upon throughout Houses. With its driving, 4/4 kick drum, electronic handclaps, deep bassline, and Spacek’s own heavily reverberating voice, the song feels like a winking callback to house music’s past—and a reminder of the liberating, revelatory feeling it can generate on the dancefloor.

WRWTFWW Records and MEG Museum (Geneva) are honored to present the first new solo album by renowned Japanese percussionist Midori Takada (Through The Looking Glass) in 23 years, Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter, available on vinyl LP, housed in a 350gsm sleeve, with OBI.Recorded in a live setting and played with instruments conserved in the collections of the MEG Museum, Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter is Midori Takada’s very own rendition of "Nhemamusasa", a traditional work emblematic of the musical repertoire for mbira of the Shona of Zimbabwe, well known worldwide, thanks notably to its version by Paul F. Berliner included on the famed 1973 album The Soul of Mbira. The choice of this title by Midori Takada evokes the links between traditional African and contemporary music which are the foundation of this work, and it also translates the resolutely multicultural vision of the artist. Midori Takada explains: "African music is remarkable for its polyrhythms. Not only are there simultaneously several rhythmic motifs, sometimes as many as ten, but furthermore it may be that the part played by each musician has its own starting point and its own pace, all combining to form a cycle. All the cycles progress at the same time according to a single metrical structure which functions as a reference point, but which is not played by any one person from beginning to end. The structure emerges out of the multi-level parts, all different. With the Shona, the musical system is based on the polymelody: one performs simultaneously several melodic lines which are superimposed, each having its own rhythmic organization. It is truly captivating. In Western classical music, one four-beat rhythm induces some precise temporal framework and regular reference points, which come on the strong beats 1 and 3. But in the logic of the Shona musical system, and in other African music, the melody can begin in the very middle of the cycle and be continued up to some other place in an autonomous manner, as if it had its own personality. It’s very rich." The album comes with in-depth liner notes that include an interview with Midori Takada, a point of view by Zimbabwean scholar, musician and activist Forward Mazuruse, and background information on the project by Isabel Garcia Gomez and Madeleine Leclair from MEG Museum. The sleeve features an artwork by celebrated Zimbabwean painter Portia Zvavahera.

'Based On A True Story' aka BOATS is the debut studio album from Fat Freddy's Drop unleashed ten years ago in May 2005. The album debuted at #1 and went Gold on its first release day in New Zealand, and won the band a stash of NZ Music Awards and a legion of fans worldwide. BOATS album features 10 fresh slices of future funk, with surprises, fakes & freaky sidesteps throughout. There are new versions of previously released singles like 'This Room', 'Hope' & 'Ernie' [also known as 'Willow Tree'], alongside the recent 12 inch 'Flashback' & six completely new tracks, all mystic supernovas of soul.