KARAOKE KALK - Forced Exposure

$16.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 3/19/2021

2021 repress. Tolouse Low Trax aka Detlef Weinrich presents four tracks on Karaoke Kalk, two of which are remixes by befriended artists. His friend Miles, also known as one-half of the experimental industrial techno and dark ambient duo Demdike Stare, puts hand on the track "Sussing", originally released on Tolouse Low Trax's album Jeidem Fall in 2012 (KK 066CD/LP). He covers it with an enigmatic, shadowy veil in terms of sounds, space, and obscure driving arpeggios in order to give the track a "brighter haze" feeling. A subliminal hypnotic transformation that swings with a unique dark and demanding drive. The second remix was done by Wolf Müller, a Düsseldorf based musician that released two highly acclaimed EPs on the German DIY label Themes for Great Cities. His profession as a percussionist calls the tune as he mutates the original track "Jeidem Fall" into a tribal celestial dance tune that jacks with an Afro-Baroque elegance. Also, the two EP contributions of Tolouse Low Trax himself move on very different terrains but seem to come out of the same experimental laboratory. With "Vindeland" he delivers a track full of dark synth lines and drunken shuffled patterns that morphs into a nervous soigné sensation. In contrast his arrangement "Eisenbahnzunge" starts with a celestial arpeggio until a strange alienated voice appears and everything melts layer by layer into an elliptical ambient experiment beyond the usual definition. Both tracks are deeply rooted in Tolouse Low Trax's very own spontaneous minimal hardware approach of producing bold, hypnotic dance-not-dance music that shall not only illuminate the so-called freaks.

$21.00 IN STOCK

2020 repress. 2012 release. The Düsseldorfer Detlef Weinrich is a man who is constantly listening to future winds through rushes of the past. He loves the night for its free will. And his music tells stories about it. You might know him as a member of the band Kreidler. As a solo artist he goes under the name Tolouse Low Trax. His first solo album Mask Talk (KK 052CD/056LP, 2010) thrives on a feathery beat frequency and cool new-wave-strength. Corridor Plateau (2011), which appeared as a limited edition to accompany the exhibition, contains percussive electronics and Industrial sounding like it's from the second industrial revolution. His third album Jeidem Fall, is also not from here. It sounds like music brought down to earth from the heavens. But it's a dark cosmos in which there are only fleeting glimpses of light. All eight tracks were composed in a short space of time over the period of just a few months and fit together perfectly atmospherically. With a musical expressiveness that undoubtedly twists your emotions, Jeidem Fall attacks the subconscious and clouds the mind. The drums have more movement than on Mask Talk. Along with the constant tapping of drumsticks goes melodical arpeggios dancing dark and dirty. At times longing vocals drift abstractly through the room, as on "Sa Seline" or "Geo Scan", without telling any obvious story. You could compare the dark minimal timbre of the drum computer aesthetic with Craig Leon's first reductive album Nommos (1981). There is also a hint of the minimalist industrial of the Spanish band Esplendor Geometrico in the bubbly textures. But Tolouse Low Trax is still looking from the present into the future and filter and filters all his personal preferences through his MPC and his small synth setup to make them come alive here and now in a new way. Again, Tolouse Low Trax has created a truly mysteriously vibrating drum computer music which offers hypnotic magic for the shadowy dance floor. Only a little light should illuminate the whole thing and the bodies that move above them should have no fear from threatening percussion which are displaced into a misty trance. A dark swaying shadowy mass, ideal for a journey at the end of the night and all those non-places where longing sleeps and the last romantics dance while getting drunk.

$15.50 IN STOCK

Ant Orange returns to Karaoke Kalk with the album You're Super In Diagonal. Following up on three EPs between 2015 and 2018 for the Berlin-based label as well as a 12" single with drum'n'bass derivatives last year, the British producer again operates at the crossroads of laid-back house, experimental hip-hop, and a bass-heavy, abstract minimalism that hints at his background in UK garage and other strains of the hardcore continuum. Both physically moving and intellectually challenging, Ant Orange's music has always found a comfortable niche between different genres and styles. Working with short vocal snippets, jazz elements and a diverse array of rhythms, his tracks open up small worlds full of endearing details and thrilling dynamics. Nine of those worlds -- seven on the vinyl version of the album -- form the sonic cosmos that is You're Super In Diagonal. Even in Ant Orange's unique and multi-faceted discography, it is an extraordinarily lush and welcoming album. The opener already sets the mood with shimmering ambient textures, the feverish shivers of a hi-hat and a broken beat that serves as the perfect foundation for the warm and minimalistic bass line that enters the picture around the two-minute mark. The aptly named "Flutter" already encapsulates everything that makes You're Super In Diagonal the marvelous record it is: Ant Orange's sound is based on the playful interplay of discrete elements. From the jungle echoes on "Monogome" to the throbbing bass on tracks like "Cracker" or "All In" and the slick deep house grooves of "We'll Call You," the producer's choices thus lead to odd and unusual, but always cordial and inviting end results. They refer to a variety of genres from jazz to grime and IDM, but always retain their specificity. You're Super In Diagonal is a bottomless grab bag of ideas and influences, an album to get lost in, whether it's on rainy days spent on the couch or under a shining sun with a drink in hand.

$21.00 NOT IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download code; edition of 300. Ant Orange returns to Karaoke Kalk with the album You're Super In Diagonal. Following up on three EPs between 2015 and 2018 for the Berlin-based label as well as a 12" single with drum'n'bass derivatives last year, the British producer again operates at the crossroads of laid-back house, experimental hip-hop, and a bass-heavy, abstract minimalism that hints at his background in UK garage and other strains of the hardcore continuum. Both physically moving and intellectually challenging, Ant Orange's music has always found a comfortable niche between different genres and styles. Working with short vocal snippets, jazz elements and a diverse array of rhythms, his tracks open up small worlds full of endearing details and thrilling dynamics. Nine of those worlds -- seven on the vinyl version of the album -- form the sonic cosmos that is You're Super In Diagonal. Even in Ant Orange's unique and multi-faceted discography, it is an extraordinarily lush and welcoming album. The opener already sets the mood with shimmering ambient textures, the feverish shivers of a hi-hat and a broken beat that serves as the perfect foundation for the warm and minimalistic bass line that enters the picture around the two-minute mark. The aptly named "Flutter" already encapsulates everything that makes You're Super In Diagonal the marvelous record it is: Ant Orange's sound is based on the playful interplay of discrete elements. From the jungle echoes on "Monogome" to the throbbing bass on tracks like "Cracker" or "All In" and the slick deep house grooves of "We'll Call You," the producer's choices thus lead to odd and unusual, but always cordial and inviting end results. They refer to a variety of genres from jazz to grime and IDM, but always retain their specificity. You're Super In Diagonal is a bottomless grab bag of ideas and influences, an album to get lost in, whether it's on rainy days spent on the couch or under a shining sun with a drink in hand.

$15.50 IN STOCK

Theresa Stroetges has and always will be a traveler. Under the name Golden Diskó Ship or as a member of bands like Soft Grid or the improv collective Epiphany Now!, the Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist has continuously been moving through the fringes of experimental music, but also extensively explored the possibilities of tried and tested formulas -- whether folk, rock, techno, or pop. With her fourth solo album, her first for the Karaoke Kalk label, the Golden Diskó Ship is yet again venturing into unknown territory. Araceae is inspired by environmental changes and the eerie feelings that arise when faced with natural beauty -- when everything seems perfect on the surface but something feels off underneath it all. As a whole, it is notably more focused on electronic grooves that provide the foundation for Stroetges's poetic long-form storytelling. Partially conceived during a residency in India, Araceae is the first Golden Diskó Ship record to feature two guest musicians. For "Wildly Floral, Slightly Damp", Stroetges collaborated with percussionist Dripta Samajder who with his Sri Khol contributes complex rhythms to a driving beat that wouldn't be out of place in the record bags of daring DJs. Sophia Trollmann takes over saxophone duties for "Ortolan", a riveting coming-together of intricate, IDM-flavored techno and jazz-inspired improvisation. Both are integral standout tracks on an album that clearly follows a holistic plan. Already the opener "Clouds of Neon Limelight" dips into anthemic synth pop territory, but unfolds into a great saga full of ominous undertones and Stroetges's trademark: layered vocals that at once evoke feelings of uncanniness and intimacy. It's a juxtaposition that runs throughout Araceae, thus enforcing the album's overall themes of sensual experience and alienation. "Game of Biryani" for example lends some of its musical structures from pop music, calling into question traditional songwriting conventions which here reappear as irritating echo effects rather than recycled old tropes. With the lush "Limping Over The Prairies" and the adventurous "Glow-in-the-Dark Gloves", Stroetges further challenges her audience by applying noise and a heavy dose of autotune respectively to disorientating effect. The couple makes for an impressive finale of an album that scrutinizes our ideas of what is natural -- whether in music or the world around us. Araceae was inspired by the travels of its creator, but also sets out to ascertain what lies beyond everything that eyes or ears can perceive.

$20.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

LP version. Includes download code; edition of 300. Theresa Stroetges has and always will be a traveler. Under the name Golden Diskó Ship or as a member of bands like Soft Grid or the improv collective Epiphany Now!, the Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist has continuously been moving through the fringes of experimental music, but also extensively explored the possibilities of tried and tested formulas -- whether folk, rock, techno, or pop. With her fourth solo album, her first for the Karaoke Kalk label, the Golden Diskó Ship is yet again venturing into unknown territory. Araceae is inspired by environmental changes and the eerie feelings that arise when faced with natural beauty -- when everything seems perfect on the surface but something feels off underneath it all. As a whole, it is notably more focused on electronic grooves that provide the foundation for Stroetges's poetic long-form storytelling. Partially conceived during a residency in India, Araceae is the first Golden Diskó Ship record to feature two guest musicians. For "Wildly Floral, Slightly Damp", Stroetges collaborated with percussionist Dripta Samajder who with his Sri Khol contributes complex rhythms to a driving beat that wouldn't be out of place in the record bags of daring DJs. Sophia Trollmann takes over saxophone duties for "Ortolan", a riveting coming-together of intricate, IDM-flavored techno and jazz-inspired improvisation. Both are integral standout tracks on an album that clearly follows a holistic plan. Already the opener "Clouds of Neon Limelight" dips into anthemic synth pop territory, but unfolds into a great saga full of ominous undertones and Stroetges's trademark: layered vocals that at once evoke feelings of uncanniness and intimacy. It's a juxtaposition that runs throughout Araceae, thus enforcing the album's overall themes of sensual experience and alienation. "Game of Biryani" for example lends some of its musical structures from pop music, calling into question traditional songwriting conventions which here reappear as irritating echo effects rather than recycled old tropes. With the lush "Limping Over The Prairies" and the adventurous "Glow-in-the-Dark Gloves", Stroetges further challenges her audience by applying noise and a heavy dose of autotune respectively to disorientating effect. The couple makes for an impressive finale of an album that scrutinizes our ideas of what is natural -- whether in music or the world around us. Araceae was inspired by the travels of its creator, but also sets out to ascertain what lies beyond everything that eyes or ears can perceive.

$15.50 IN STOCK

Working as a creative collaborator can be a triple-edged sword: Helping others explore the jungle of ideas inside their heads can be both inspiring and challenging -- but making time for your own creative projects as well is often a delicate balance. The years as side-woman for the likes of Sufjan Stevens, The National, and My Brightest Diamond have made Marla Hansen's journey from 2007's Wedding Day to her new album Dust a faraway honeymoon: time spent recording and touring the world with others before settling in Berlin to focus on her own follow-up, a multi-faceted gem which wears the lines of its lengthy travels like a hard-earned medal. The slow-burn of Dust's inception can be felt as the album plays. The tracks have weight and wisdom like hand-me-down folk songs, but also sparkle with the confidence and the excitement of an artist with new colors on her palette. Wedding Day's breezy innocence has graduated into grown-up chamber music; Hansen's classical background comes into wide focus as solo plucked viola evolves into techni-colour Americana dreamscapes, courtesy of Berlin's Oriel Quartett. The influence of Hansen's new hometown is all over this record, nowhere felt more than with the swashbuckling contributions of Berlin synth pioneer Barbara Morgenstern, crackling under the fireside songs like shards of electric glass. Andi Haberl (The Notwist) lurks under every track, his drums simmering like an approaching army of wooden horses. Taylor Savvy (Peaches, Bonaparte), Knox Chandler (Cyndi Lauper, R.E.M.), and Christian Biegai (Antony and the Johnsons) are all present at this banquet. A transatlantic tapestry sewn together by producer Robbie Moore (L.A. Salami, Jesper Munk) at his Berlin studio complex Impression Recordings. It is this tangled underbelly which allows Dust such an infectious friction. Hansen's iridescent, aching vocal delivery continuously breaks the gloom like a golden thread, effortlessly gliding above the thunderclouds -- a front-row seat in the safety of her silver-lined spy plane with a view of the neon jungle below. Dust falls from an age-old story and lands in a whole new world. CD version includes eight-page booklet; edition of 500.

$20.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes insert and download code; edition of 300. Working as a creative collaborator can be a triple-edged sword: Helping others explore the jungle of ideas inside their heads can be both inspiring and challenging -- but making time for your own creative projects as well is often a delicate balance. The years as side-woman for the likes of Sufjan Stevens, The National, and My Brightest Diamond have made Marla Hansen's journey from 2007's Wedding Day to her new album Dust a faraway honeymoon: time spent recording and touring the world with others before settling in Berlin to focus on her own follow-up, a multi-faceted gem which wears the lines of its lengthy travels like a hard-earned medal. The slow-burn of Dust's inception can be felt as the album plays. The tracks have weight and wisdom like hand-me-down folk songs, but also sparkle with the confidence and the excitement of an artist with new colors on her palette. Wedding Day's breezy innocence has graduated into grown-up chamber music; Hansen's classical background comes into wide focus as solo plucked viola evolves into techni-colour Americana dreamscapes, courtesy of Berlin's Oriel Quartett. The influence of Hansen's new hometown is all over this record, nowhere felt more than with the swashbuckling contributions of Berlin synth pioneer Barbara Morgenstern, crackling under the fireside songs like shards of electric glass. Andi Haberl (The Notwist) lurks under every track, his drums simmering like an approaching army of wooden horses. Taylor Savvy (Peaches, Bonaparte), Knox Chandler (Cyndi Lauper, R.E.M.), and Christian Biegai (Antony and the Johnsons) are all present at this banquet. A transatlantic tapestry sewn together by producer Robbie Moore (L.A. Salami, Jesper Munk) at his Berlin studio complex Impression Recordings. It is this tangled underbelly which allows Dust such an infectious friction. Hansen's iridescent, aching vocal delivery continuously breaks the gloom like a golden thread, effortlessly gliding above the thunderclouds -- a front-row seat in the safety of her silver-lined spy plane with a view of the neon jungle below. Dust falls from an age-old story and lands in a whole new world.

$20.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Ema By The Sea is Joseph Carvell's debut album under his Pink Shabab moniker. It is the first and long overdue solo record by one of the most trusted bassists in the world of adventurous pop and rock music. When he is not playing with Marker Starling, the former Batsch member can be heard on upright and double bass on a slew of Baby Dee albums like her 2012 collaboration LP with Little Annie or Laetitia Sadier's Find Me Finding You (2017), amongst others. When Carvell is not busy as an active member of the cumbia band Malphino and the Moondog tribute I'm This I'm That, or playing improvised jazz with various friends, he writes Pink Shabab songs at night. With Ema By The Sea, he presents his idiosyncratic approach to subtle disco music for the first time. These nine songs sound as heartbroken as they are uplifting. Ema By The Sea was written in a South London bedroom, but recorded in Southern France. After hearing Carvell perform live as Pink Shabab, Emmanuel Mario, whose album L'infini, L'Univers Et Les Mondes under his Astrobal moniker was released earlier in 2019 on the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk (KK 112CD/LP), invited the British songwriter into his home studio. It is easy to see -- or rather: hear -- why the two hit it off immediately: drawing on funk, soul, new wave, jazz, and dance music, Carvell's songs meander as effortlessly through different musical worlds as Mario's own productions. Groovy and laid-back, danceable and intimate, the minimalist structures of Carvell's songwriting open up a lot of space and make room for plenty of surprises along the way. Carvell builds his songs around his instrument of choice, the bass. From the driving opener "If Only I Could Hold You One More Time" to the disco and funk influenced "Let Me Explain", "Tried To Tell You", or "Last Of The Boys" and the somber rhythms of the final song "You Can't Go Back", his cunning playing seamlessly oscillates between different styles. In combination with his almost coy singing style and the juxtaposition of an airtight drum programming with colorful synthesizer melodies, Ema By The Sea thus provides a wide-ranging palette of moods -- spooky, lively, cosmic, romantic, you name it. Where in one moment pensive sentimentality prevails, the next song will call you to the dancefloor. Ema By The Sea offers both melancholy and exuberant bliss.

$14.50 IN STOCK

Ema By The Sea is Joseph Carvell's debut album under his Pink Shabab moniker. It is the first and long overdue solo record by one of the most trusted bassists in the world of adventurous pop and rock music. When he is not playing with Marker Starling, the former Batsch member can be heard on upright and double bass on a slew of Baby Dee albums like her 2012 collaboration LP with Little Annie or Laetitia Sadier's Find Me Finding You (2017), amongst others. When Carvell is not busy as an active member of the cumbia band Malphino and the Moondog tribute I'm This I'm That, or playing improvised jazz with various friends, he writes Pink Shabab songs at night. With Ema By The Sea, he presents his idiosyncratic approach to subtle disco music for the first time. These nine songs sound as heartbroken as they are uplifting. Ema By The Sea was written in a South London bedroom, but recorded in Southern France. After hearing Carvell perform live as Pink Shabab, Emmanuel Mario, whose album L'infini, L'Univers Et Les Mondes under his Astrobal moniker was released earlier in 2019 on the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk (KK 112CD/LP), invited the British songwriter into his home studio. It is easy to see -- or rather: hear -- why the two hit it off immediately: drawing on funk, soul, new wave, jazz, and dance music, Carvell's songs meander as effortlessly through different musical worlds as Mario's own productions. Groovy and laid-back, danceable and intimate, the minimalist structures of Carvell's songwriting open up a lot of space and make room for plenty of surprises along the way. Carvell builds his songs around his instrument of choice, the bass. From the driving opener "If Only I Could Hold You One More Time" to the disco and funk influenced "Let Me Explain", "Tried To Tell You", or "Last Of The Boys" and the somber rhythms of the final song "You Can't Go Back", his cunning playing seamlessly oscillates between different styles. In combination with his almost coy singing style and the juxtaposition of an airtight drum programming with colorful synthesizer melodies, Ema By The Sea thus provides a wide-ranging palette of moods -- spooky, lively, cosmic, romantic, you name it. Where in one moment pensive sentimentality prevails, the next song will call you to the dancefloor. Ema By The Sea offers both melancholy and exuberant bliss.

$19.50 LOW STOCK LEVEL

LP version. Includes postcard; edition of 300. Rolf Hansen, who as a guitarist is originally rooted in jazz, has been one of the most in-demand studio and session musician in the Danish rock, pop, and folk scene. Between 2010 and 2017, he toured under the name Il Tempo Gigante as a solo artist and released two albums: Lost Something Good (Speed of Sound, 2010) and Watch It Watch (Resonans, 2014). With subsequent tours throughout Europe, he made a name for himself in the alternative folk scene. After a phase of reorientation, he now releases his first purely instrumental record under his real name through the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk label. On his third album, Elektrisk Guitar, the many different influences Hansen has gathered as a composer, solo performer, session musician, and producer shine through. The concept of limitation -- an album composed for and played with solo guitar -- is being mirrored in the conception of the album itself. Not only does Hansen resolutely constrain himself to a sole instrument, he also eschews traditional composition techniques and follows an experimental approach. Elektrisk Guitar is an album that enters into a dialogue with its conscious and attentive listener. Pieces whose melancholy is carefully weighed meet complex musical structures that again and again provide new challenges. In just 43 minutes, Elektrisk Guitar offers a plethora of ideas, impressions, details, and inspiration. And even more so, it opens up a room for its listeners to explore, precisely because its minimalistic compositions create a lot of space in which to get accommodated in. Apart from his solo projects, Rolf Hansen has for several years been connected to Donna Regina as well as Anders Mathiasen (formerly Murder, now Vessel, DK) and Henriette Sennenvaldt (formerly Under Byen, DK) through close collaborations.

$14.50 IN STOCK

Rolf Hansen, who as a guitarist is originally rooted in jazz, has been one of the most in-demand studio and session musician in the Danish rock, pop, and folk scene. Between 2010 and 2017, he toured under the name Il Tempo Gigante as a solo artist and released two albums: Lost Something Good (Speed of Sound, 2010) and Watch It Watch (Resonans, 2014). With subsequent tours throughout Europe, he made a name for himself in the alternative folk scene. After a phase of reorientation, he now releases his first purely instrumental record under his real name through the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk label. On his third album, Elektrisk Guitar, the many different influences Hansen has gathered as a composer, solo performer, session musician, and producer shine through. The concept of limitation -- an album composed for and played with solo guitar -- is being mirrored in the conception of the album itself. Not only does Hansen resolutely constrain himself to a sole instrument, he also eschews traditional composition techniques and follows an experimental approach. Elektrisk Guitar is an album that enters into a dialogue with its conscious and attentive listener. Pieces whose melancholy is carefully weighed meet complex musical structures that again and again provide new challenges. In just 43 minutes, Elektrisk Guitar offers a plethora of ideas, impressions, details, and inspiration. And even more so, it opens up a room for its listeners to explore, precisely because its minimalistic compositions create a lot of space in which to get accommodated in. Apart from his solo projects, Rolf Hansen has for several years been connected to Donna Regina as well as Anders Mathiasen (formerly Murder, now Vessel, DK) and Henriette Sennenvaldt (formerly Under Byen, DK) through close collaborations.

$14.50 IN STOCK

A masterclass in nuance, interpretation and the purifying power of the human voice, Standards Vol. V represents another captivating chapter in the career of a singular figure in contemporary music, Bill Wells. For his fifth album as the mischievously named National Jazz Trio Of Scotland, prolific jazz outsider Wells posits yet another collaborator in the diffuse light cast by his tender chord shifts and understated arrangements. Where Standards Vol. IV (KK 106CD/LP, 2018) spun around the vocal talents of Kate Sugden with contributions from Gerard Black and Aby Vulliamy, the voice on Standards Vol. V is that of Black, whose other musical activities include the band Babe, François And The Atlas Mountains, Rozi Plain, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. For much of Standards Vol. V, Black's unstained tenor is the paint with which Wells fills the canvas on songs including four originals -- among them the beatific wordless chorale "Gradual Inclination" and the contrasting "So Much Power," an energetic stomp propelled by keyboard brass and drum machine -- and versions of songs from the musical Fiddler On The Roof and George and Ira Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing ("Sunrise, Sunset" and "Of Thee I Sing" respectively). As ever with Wells' work, whether under the NJTOS moniker or his own name (which typically appears alongside those of collaborators including Yo La Tengo, Jim O'Rourke, and Annette Peacock), the melodic and lyrical elements are embellished with jazz-accented piano, samples and keyboards, with minimal rhythmic accompaniment other than electronic percussion. Adding to the intrigue on Standards Vol. V are a new arrangement of the Scots/Irish ballad "I Know Where I'm Going" (from which Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger took the title of their 1945 film of the same name), an entirely new musical interpretation of "Sigh No More Ladies" from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and the album's appropriately named finale, "A Quiet Goodbye," with words by Aidan Moffat, Wells' partner on Everything's Getting Older (2011) -- winner of the inaugural Scottish Album Of The Year award -- and follow-up The Most Important Place In The World (2015).

$19.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download code; Edition of 300. A masterclass in nuance, interpretation and the purifying power of the human voice, Standards Vol. V represents another captivating chapter in the career of a singular figure in contemporary music, Bill Wells. For his fifth album as the mischievously named National Jazz Trio Of Scotland, prolific jazz outsider Wells posits yet another collaborator in the diffuse light cast by his tender chord shifts and understated arrangements. Where Standards Vol. IV (KK 106CD/LP, 2018) spun around the vocal talents of Kate Sugden with contributions from Gerard Black and Aby Vulliamy, the voice on Standards Vol. V is that of Black, whose other musical activities include the band Babe, François And The Atlas Mountains, Rozi Plain, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. For much of Standards Vol. V, Black's unstained tenor is the paint with which Wells fills the canvas on songs including four originals -- among them the beatific wordless chorale "Gradual Inclination" and the contrasting "So Much Power," an energetic stomp propelled by keyboard brass and drum machine -- and versions of songs from the musical Fiddler On The Roof and George and Ira Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing ("Sunrise, Sunset" and "Of Thee I Sing" respectively). As ever with Wells' work, whether under the NJTOS moniker or his own name (which typically appears alongside those of collaborators including Yo La Tengo, Jim O'Rourke, and Annette Peacock), the melodic and lyrical elements are embellished with jazz-accented piano, samples and keyboards, with minimal rhythmic accompaniment other than electronic percussion. Adding to the intrigue on Standards Vol. V are a new arrangement of the Scots/Irish ballad "I Know Where I'm Going" (from which Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger took the title of their 1945 film of the same name), an entirely new musical interpretation of "Sigh No More Ladies" from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and the album's appropriately named finale, "A Quiet Goodbye," with words by Aidan Moffat, Wells' partner on Everything's Getting Older (2011) -- winner of the inaugural Scottish Album Of The Year award -- and follow-up The Most Important Place In The World (2015).

$14.50 IN STOCK

Emmanuel Mario keeps moving. The further he travels, the more he sounds like someone who has finally arrived where he has always been supposed to be. After collaborations with artists like Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier or the group Holden, his last album as Astrobal took the French composer and drummer to Australasie in 2016 (KK 092LP). On his second album for the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk, he ventures even further, eventually heading for L'Infini, l'Univers Et Les Mondes ("infinity, the universe and the worlds"). Leaving behind the more krautrock-inspired approach he followed on Australasie, Astrobal focuses on a way of storytelling that takes conventional pop songwriting as a point of departure, yet arrives in previously unknown places. Over the course of eleven songs, the multi-instrumentalist further perfects his craft of life-affirming, funk-infused synth pop. Drawing on the work of pioneers like Brian Eno or Yellow Magic Orchestra, '80s electronic funk music and blue-eyed soul, shoegaze, and the rich tradition of progressive music and kosmische in his native France, L'infini, l'univers Et Les Mondes indicates a major development in Mario's futuristic and decidedly cosmic approach to songwriting. At the heart of the "French psychedelic new age pop for the world", as he himself has dubbed his sound, always sits a rhythmic idea -- an irresistible groove that is being complemented with intricate synthesizer harmonies and bouncing bass lines. In the meanwhile, Mario's voice is drifting over the tightly woven compositions as if in zero gravity. Not quite lonely, intimate yet far away, occasionally in conversation with robots and other inhabitants of outer space he comes across on his journey. As a coherent narrative, L'infini, l'Univers Et Les Mondes tells a story of extraterrestrial excursions. As a musical statement however, it sees Astrobal coming home after more than two decades in the world of music, finding a niche for himself with a style that is as adventurous as it is thrilling.

$19.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes printed inner sleeve; includes download code. Emmanuel Mario keeps moving. The further he travels, the more he sounds like someone who has finally arrived where he has always been supposed to be. After collaborations with artists like Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier or the group Holden, his last album as Astrobal took the French composer and drummer to Australasie in 2016 (KK 092LP). On his second album for the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk, he ventures even further, eventually heading for L'Infini, l'Univers Et Les Mondes ("infinity, the universe and the worlds"). Leaving behind the more krautrock-inspired approach he followed on Australasie, Astrobal focuses on a way of storytelling that takes conventional pop songwriting as a point of departure, yet arrives in previously unknown places. Over the course of eleven songs, the multi-instrumentalist further perfects his craft of life-affirming, funk-infused synth pop. Drawing on the work of pioneers like Brian Eno or Yellow Magic Orchestra, '80s electronic funk music and blue-eyed soul, shoegaze, and the rich tradition of progressive music and kosmische in his native France, L'infini, l'univers Et Les Mondes indicates a major development in Mario's futuristic and decidedly cosmic approach to songwriting. At the heart of the "French psychedelic new age pop for the world", as he himself has dubbed his sound, always sits a rhythmic idea -- an irresistible groove that is being complemented with intricate synthesizer harmonies and bouncing bass lines. In the meanwhile, Mario's voice is drifting over the tightly woven compositions as if in zero gravity. Not quite lonely, intimate yet far away, occasionally in conversation with robots and other inhabitants of outer space he comes across on his journey. As a coherent narrative, L'infini, l'Univers Et Les Mondes tells a story of extraterrestrial excursions. As a musical statement however, it sees Astrobal coming home after more than two decades in the world of music, finding a niche for himself with a style that is as adventurous as it is thrilling.

$14.50 IN STOCK

As Donna Regina, Regina and Günther Janssen have been a fixture in the German indie pop and electronic scene ever since their first release in 1990. From 1999 on, they have released seven LPs and a slew of EPs on Karaoke Kalk. After a collection of cover versions of their songs by fellow artists and bands called Dis Cover - Donna Regina as Recorded By in 2015 (KK 085CD/LP), Transient sees the wife and husband duo both musically and lyrically pick up where they left off with 2014's Holding the Mirror for Sophia Loren (KK 078CD/LP). Even after 28 years and 13 full-length releases, Donna Regina still have much to say and on their first proper studio album since 2015 express it in more languages than ever. Between the English-language opener "Royal Blue" and the final German track "Lass Uns So Tun", Regina Janssen also explores French ("Quatre Septembres", written by Bertrand Burgalat's lyricist Pascal Mounet), Spanish ("Mí Globo De Nieve") and, newly so, Japanese (the Ayako Akashiba-penned "Melancholy Dragon") as languages to convey complex truths with only few and simple words. Simple would be one word with which to describe the music on Transient, although maybe that would be a premature judgement. Even though the Janssens' music, on this album only supported by the Danish guitarist Rolf Hansen on "Quatre Septembres", seems more minimalistic or perhaps even quieter than before, it is still brimming with details and the occasional moment of ecstasy. Transient isn't one of those records that will start slowly, peak in the middle and then fade out, but between songs like the opener "Royal Blue" and the beat-driven "Blitze" or the ambiguous up-beat track "Komm Lass Uns Heiraten" and "Melancholy Dragon" with its elegiac synthesizer harmonies draws on the sharp contrasts in mood and style. As such, Transient may just be the perfect title for this album that lyrically is more at home in the entire world than ever before in Donna Regina's history and also makes it abundantly clear that nothing, neither happiness nor sadness, will be forever. After 28 years and 13 full-length releases, Donna Regina stay in motion because the world does, too.

$19.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download code. As Donna Regina, Regina and Günther Janssen have been a fixture in the German indie pop and electronic scene ever since their first release in 1990. From 1999 on, they have released seven LPs and a slew of EPs on Karaoke Kalk. After a collection of cover versions of their songs by fellow artists and bands called Dis Cover - Donna Regina as Recorded By in 2015 (KK 085CD/LP), Transient sees the wife and husband duo both musically and lyrically pick up where they left off with 2014's Holding the Mirror for Sophia Loren (KK 078CD/LP). Even after 28 years and 13 full-length releases, Donna Regina still have much to say and on their first proper studio album since 2015 express it in more languages than ever. Between the English-language opener "Royal Blue" and the final German track "Lass Uns So Tun", Regina Janssen also explores French ("Quatre Septembres", written by Bertrand Burgalat's lyricist Pascal Mounet), Spanish ("Mí Globo De Nieve") and, newly so, Japanese (the Ayako Akashiba-penned "Melancholy Dragon") as languages to convey complex truths with only few and simple words. Simple would be one word with which to describe the music on Transient, although maybe that would be a premature judgement. Even though the Janssens' music, on this album only supported by the Danish guitarist Rolf Hansen on "Quatre Septembres", seems more minimalistic or perhaps even quieter than before, it is still brimming with details and the occasional moment of ecstasy. Transient isn't one of those records that will start slowly, peak in the middle and then fade out, but between songs like the opener "Royal Blue" and the beat-driven "Blitze" or the ambiguous up-beat track "Komm Lass Uns Heiraten" and "Melancholy Dragon" with its elegiac synthesizer harmonies draws on the sharp contrasts in mood and style. As such, Transient may just be the perfect title for this album that lyrically is more at home in the entire world than ever before in Donna Regina's history and also makes it abundantly clear that nothing, neither happiness nor sadness, will be forever. After 28 years and 13 full-length releases, Donna Regina stay in motion because the world does, too.

$14.50 IN STOCK

Scottish composer and multi-instrumentalist Bill Wells returns with The Sensory Illusions, the eponymous debut album from his duo with virtuoso tuba player Danielle Price. Featuring Wells on electric guitar, the album has all the warmth, melancholy, and playfulness of his finest work, with timeless melodies that touch on jazz, pop, bossa nova, soundtracks, and folk. Wells has used the tuba in several of his projects. Bassist Lindsay Cooper doubled up on tuba in his Octet, while 2011's Lemondale (2011) features the renowned Japanese tuba player Sekijima Takero. In 2014, Wells was looking for tuba player to play on his second album with Aidan Moffat, The Most Important Place In The World. Price came recommended and subsequently joined their touring band. "A couple of weeks later I discovered that she and I were neighbors!" Wells adds. As a result, they would occasionally get together to practice standards. The Sensory Illusions emerged after Wells secured a Glasgow support slot with Anna Meredith in April 2016. Wells notes that these tunes came to him in dreams, as did the band name. He states: "In some ways it's a continuation of the more jazz-based line-ups such as the trio and the octet," says Wells, "but for me the focus is as much on the guitar playing as the writing. I'm interested in playing over standard type (chord) sequences but hopefully not sounding too much like a 'jazz guitarist'." Wells has nothing but praise for his musical partner. "Danielle is one of the best musicians I've ever worked with. She's extremely versatile, from playing in trad jazz bands or with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, to playing with the likes of Ashley Paul, Mats Gustafson, and Ntshuks Bonga. She functions as both bass player and drummer in the Sensory Illusions, combing percussive sounds with melodic patterns/riffs." That rhythmic quality can be heard on tracks such as "Tango", which she underpins with strutting riff, and "Theme From Flint", where she transforms Jerry Goldsmith's lounge-jazz groove into a cantering brass figure. Yet the tuba is also the vehicle for some of Wells's loveliest melodies, from the wistful "Brass Alley Dream" to closing track "An August Ballad".

$19.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Heavy cardboard, die-cut cover; Includes printed inner sleeves and download code; Edition of 500. Scottish composer and multi-instrumentalist Bill Wells returns with The Sensory Illusions, the eponymous debut album from his duo with virtuoso tuba player Danielle Price. Featuring Wells on electric guitar, the album has all the warmth, melancholy, and playfulness of his finest work, with timeless melodies that touch on jazz, pop, bossa nova, soundtracks, and folk. Wells has used the tuba in several of his projects. Bassist Lindsay Cooper doubled up on tuba in his Octet, while 2011's Lemondale (2011) features the renowned Japanese tuba player Sekijima Takero. In 2014, Wells was looking for tuba player to play on his second album with Aidan Moffat, The Most Important Place In The World. Price came recommended and subsequently joined their touring band. "A couple of weeks later I discovered that she and I were neighbors!" Wells adds. As a result, they would occasionally get together to practice standards. The Sensory Illusions emerged after Wells secured a Glasgow support slot with Anna Meredith in April 2016. Wells notes that these tunes came to him in dreams, as did the band name. He states: "In some ways it's a continuation of the more jazz-based line-ups such as the trio and the octet," says Wells, "but for me the focus is as much on the guitar playing as the writing. I'm interested in playing over standard type (chord) sequences but hopefully not sounding too much like a 'jazz guitarist'." Wells has nothing but praise for his musical partner. "Danielle is one of the best musicians I've ever worked with. She's extremely versatile, from playing in trad jazz bands or with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, to playing with the likes of Ashley Paul, Mats Gustafson, and Ntshuks Bonga. She functions as both bass player and drummer in the Sensory Illusions, combing percussive sounds with melodic patterns/riffs." That rhythmic quality can be heard on tracks such as "Tango", which she underpins with strutting riff, and "Theme From Flint", where she transforms Jerry Goldsmith's lounge-jazz groove into a cantering brass figure. Yet the tuba is also the vehicle for some of Wells's loveliest melodies, from the wistful "Brass Alley Dream" to closing track "An August Ballad".

$14.50 IN STOCK

Ever since his widely-acclaimed debut Migrations was released in 2006, tone color has always been an important aspect of Emanuele Errante's music. Drawing from both electronic and acoustic sources, his compositions paint impressionistic vignettes with sonic intensities. His fourth album, The Evanescence Of A Thousand Colors, his second solo release on the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk label, deals more explicitly with color than before. The album's title plays with the double meaning of term and was inspired by a TEDx Talk by the American scientist Pratyusha Pilla on the subject of colorism, i.e. discrimination based solely on skin tone. "I felt like I wanted to say something about the shameful racist regurgitation that we are experiencing in almost all the countries that claim to be the champions of civilization," says the Italian composer about the topic that informed his new album. "Pratyusha lit a light in me." In fact, a passage of her lecture is sampled on the album's centerpiece "Beauty", making Pitta a protagonist of the album on which voice can be heard loud and clearly. Errante's music feeds on gentle guitar sounds, classical instrumentation, field recordings, and electronic elements that range from rhythmic ambient to granular noise. The eight tracks at times recall the early works of Oval and Fennesz or even Aphex Twin while showcasing the Italian's trademark approach to electroacoustic minimalism. As a follow-up to Errante's recent collaboration album with Dakota Suite and Dag Rosenqvist (KK 107CD/LP, 2018) on the sonically rich soundscapes of The Evanescence Of A Thousand Colors again highlight the importance of listening to one another; they are an almost wordless appeal for a more colorful world.

$19.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download. Ever since his widely-acclaimed debut Migrations was released in 2006, tone color has always been an important aspect of Emanuele Errante's music. Drawing from both electronic and acoustic sources, his compositions paint impressionistic vignettes with sonic intensities. His fourth album, The Evanescence Of A Thousand Colors, his second solo release on the Berlin-based Karaoke Kalk label, deals more explicitly with color than before. The album's title plays with the double meaning of term and was inspired by a TEDx Talk by the American scientist Pratyusha Pilla on the subject of colorism, i.e. discrimination based solely on skin tone. "I felt like I wanted to say something about the shameful racist regurgitation that we are experiencing in almost all the countries that claim to be the champions of civilization," says the Italian composer about the topic that informed his new album. "Pratyusha lit a light in me." In fact, a passage of her lecture is sampled on the album's centerpiece "Beauty", making Pitta a protagonist of the album on which voice can be heard loud and clearly. Errante's music feeds on gentle guitar sounds, classical instrumentation, field recordings, and electronic elements that range from rhythmic ambient to granular noise. The eight tracks at times recall the early works of Oval and Fennesz or even Aphex Twin while showcasing the Italian's trademark approach to electroacoustic minimalism. As a follow-up to Errante's recent collaboration album with Dakota Suite and Dag Rosenqvist (KK 107CD/LP, 2018) on the sonically rich soundscapes of The Evanescence Of A Thousand Colors again highlight the importance of listening to one another; they are an almost wordless appeal for a more colorful world.

$14.50 IN STOCK

"'I find it tedious that, in music, we usually only see one type of love represented,' says Yorkshire composer, musician, and music therapist Aby Vulliamy. 'I'm not interested in writing about that.' Spin Cycle, Vulliamy's debut album, is indeed an album about love: love at its most transformative, love at its most dreary, love at its most challenging, love at its most desperate. It is, to quote the writer who has found her voice in these songs, an album about 'love, life and the reality of parenthood -- not just the pink and fluffy bits.' 'For years, I thought of myself as a purely social musician who couldn't self-generate -- that my strength was in taking what someone else had put out there, and adding to it,' explains Vulliamy. 'That's the role of the viola: you don't notice that we're there until we screw up.' 'It's only since having had my daughters that I've been able to put words to music. Motherhood turned my life upside down and suddenly, sitting there in the dark, the words just flowed.' The result is both intimate and visceral, full of snatched moments and vivid imagery. Opening track 'Spin Cycle' effectively captures domestic drudgery in four lines, performed in the round. 'Rock Me Tender' is an evocative portrayal of the lonely, quiet, sleep-deprived terror of a breastfeeding mother. The frantic, furious 'Good Enough' delivers a jarring, atonal riposte to society's judgment of women, mothers or not, once they reach childbearing age while 'This Precious Time' acts as the album's heart as Vulliamy's layered vocals, backed by rich, mournful trombone and double bass, at once lament and celebrate the inevitable growth of her children from infants to little women. Vulliamy credits long-time collaborator Stevie Jones (Sound of Yell) with 'making the album happen' -- by encouraging her to properly document material she had only ever considered performing live, but also in the more practical sense of engineering, producing and mixing the tracks over a period of four years at Glasgow's Chem19 and Kinning Park Complex studios. Work and child-rearing made recording time scattered and precious, making Vulliamy keen to acknowledge the roles played by her musician partner George Murray, whose trombone contributions appear on the album, and Jones' partner Jill Wilson in giving the album space to come together. Bill Wells (melodica), Fritz Welsh (percussion) and Christina Rhys (harp) also appear." --Lisa-Marie Ferla

$19.50 IN STOCK

LP version. "'I find it tedious that, in music, we usually only see one type of love represented,' says Yorkshire composer, musician, and music therapist Aby Vulliamy. 'I'm not interested in writing about that.' Spin Cycle, Vulliamy's debut album, is indeed an album about love: love at its most transformative, love at its most dreary, love at its most challenging, love at its most desperate. It is, to quote the writer who has found her voice in these songs, an album about 'love, life and the reality of parenthood -- not just the pink and fluffy bits.' 'For years, I thought of myself as a purely social musician who couldn't self-generate -- that my strength was in taking what someone else had put out there, and adding to it,' explains Vulliamy. 'That's the role of the viola: you don't notice that we're there until we screw up.' 'It's only since having had my daughters that I've been able to put words to music. Motherhood turned my life upside down and suddenly, sitting there in the dark, the words just flowed.' The result is both intimate and visceral, full of snatched moments and vivid imagery. Opening track 'Spin Cycle' effectively captures domestic drudgery in four lines, performed in the round. 'Rock Me Tender' is an evocative portrayal of the lonely, quiet, sleep-deprived terror of a breastfeeding mother. The frantic, furious 'Good Enough' delivers a jarring, atonal riposte to society's judgment of women, mothers or not, once they reach childbearing age while 'This Precious Time' acts as the album's heart as Vulliamy's layered vocals, backed by rich, mournful trombone and double bass, at once lament and celebrate the inevitable growth of her children from infants to little women. Vulliamy credits long-time collaborator Stevie Jones (Sound of Yell) with 'making the album happen' -- by encouraging her to properly document material she had only ever considered performing live, but also in the more practical sense of engineering, producing and mixing the tracks over a period of four years at Glasgow's Chem19 and Kinning Park Complex studios. Work and child-rearing made recording time scattered and precious, making Vulliamy keen to acknowledge the roles played by her musician partner George Murray, whose trombone contributions appear on the album, and Jones' partner Jill Wilson in giving the album space to come together. Bill Wells (melodica), Fritz Welsh (percussion) and Christina Rhys (harp) also appear." --Lisa-Marie Ferla

$21.00 IN STOCK

LP version. 180 gram, transparent vinyl; Includes postcard and download code. With What Matters Most, Chris Hooson has likely delivered the most personal and, in his own words, complicated Dakota Suite album of his career. After previous collaborations with artists such as Quentin Sirjacq and Vampillia, this ten-track LP combines the Brit's songwriting qualities with contributions by Dag Rosenqvist -- formerly known as Jasper TX and currently working with Aaron Martin under the From The Mouth Of The Sun guise -- and Elem member Emanuele Errante, with whom Hooson had released The North Green Down on Karaoke Kalk in 2011 (KK 089LP). From the first piano chords in the album's opening track "Constanta, 1992" to the last shimmering drones of "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You", What Matters Most follows an abstract narrative that is as autobiographical as it is universal. "The focus of this record is about being thankful for those that you love and remembering the start of what has saved you from being less than you otherwise would have been. In my case that is one person, Johanna," says Hooson in regards to his wife, whom he met at a Romanian train station 26 years ago and who is again featured on What Matters Most on clarinet. Just like Hooson's lyrics, the musical framework for What Matters Most aims for emotional complexity, exploring a broad variety of sonic palettes and drawing heavily on the dynamic interplay between the three musicians. Composed with the help of Rosenqvist and completed over the course of three years, the record sees Hooson's collaborators adding subtle textures and rich soundscapes to his unconventional, jazz-inspired songwriting approach. With its dedication to risk-taking and vulnerability, What Matters Most is not only an album about love -- but also a work of love by itself.