SHIT AND SHINE - 'CHAKIN''

Formats

• RIP64 - 2xLPs

Details

**Forte is pleased to be working out some UK distro for the Rock Is Hell label, we have limited copies of these beautifully packaged / produced releases coming in late August, with the view to distribute more of the new releases as they come out. white/clear/red mixed vinyl limited to 400 copies, silkscreened gatefold covers, all covers are handprinted and all are different (1 of a kind). **Originally released on Astral Spirits as a limited cassette. This is THE Shit & Shine with a brand new release “Chakin”. We couldn’t be more excited about it. Craig Clouse has gained notoriety over the years for wide arrays of stylistic moves from long­form repetition & noise rock to his more recent dance/disco output on labels like Diagonal, Gangsigns, Rocket Recordings, Load, Rock is Hell, Riot Season and more. He’s worked throughout the years with many different collaborators but the list on “Chakin’” is stunning, here Clouse is joined by Ingebrigt Haker­Flaten (The Thing, Atomic, Icepick, etc), Pete Simonelli (The Enablers), King Coffey (Butthole Surfers) & Nate Cross (Marriage). The music on “Chakin’” is true to the spirit of Shit & Shine as we see repetitive loops but with a focus on improvisation overlayed onto the grooves…layers of Wurlizter and Rhodes electric pianos, assorted percussion, acoustic bass and more permeate throughout. Half the album was recorded live in the “Chak” and some may even recognize bits from the amazing Shit & Shine Tuesday Jazz Chat series on YouTube. “Denim Do’s and Don’ts” is the real masterpiece here though. A 17 minute free jazz meets krautrock and all zones in between journey complete with narration from Pete Simonelli & bass playing from Ingebrigt Haker­Flaten. A truly epic Shit & Shine track that builds off past accomplishments but also looks toward the future, as Clouse always tends to do.

Tracks

A1 Denim Do's And Don'ts
B1 TJC 16
B2 TJC 13
B3 TJC 17
B4 TJC 7
C1 TJC 19
C2 Jump On The Feeder
C3 TJC 15
D-side is blank

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Audio & Video

BULBUL - '6'

Formats

• RIP16 - LP

Details

**Forte is pleased to be working out some UK distro for the Rock Is Hell label, we have limited copies of these beautifully packaged / produced releases coming in late August, with the view to distribute more of the new releases as they come out. 4th and final pressing, this time with offset printed cover, artwork by kati heck. white vinyl. limited to 165 copies / DL.** We want to introduce you to one of the best bands around! If you belong to that unique population of true music lovers you´ll understand why this band needs to be loved. Their musical approach is a unique blend of the unexpected and the unpredictable throwing monolithic rhythms down your throat that make you dance. Once your legs start moving, they´ve already left your body, crossed the motorway, crashed straight into the roadside trees, and started cutting wood or maybe searching for small furry animals. Bulbul incorporate pop music´s´ superficiality as well as the structure beneath – they can annihilate the cheapest rhythm and morph it into the most virtuous and complex arrangement, all within the blink of the eye. As monstrous walls of sound channel into introspective patterns you just stand there, mouth agape while you ask yourself “how the hell this is possible and why does it feel so good?”. You´ll find yourself searching to categorize bulbul with familiar band names such as MELVINS, TAR, SLINT, THE JESUS LIZARD coming to mind – these names kind of come close, but then refuse to arrive. Welcome to the world of bulbul “bulbul 6″ was produced by Austrian electronic music stalwart Patrick Pulsinger. The album also features guest appearances by the one and only PHILIPP QUEHENBERGER and the mighty CARLA BOZULICH. Limited vinyl version on ROCK IS HELL.

Tracks

When Sun Comes Out
Lack Of The Key
Where The Hell Is DJ Fett
Shuguang
Shenzhou
Tighter
Tighten
Changzheng
Fremder Hingepisst
Daddy Was A Girl I Liked
The Song's Name
Steve Le Postla
Loss Mei Hen In Ruah
Dust In My Zimmer
Das St?ck

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Audio & Video

BULBUL - 'HIRN FEIN HACKEN'

Formats

• RIP55 - 2xLPs

Details

Forte is pleased to be working out some UK distro for the Rock Is Hell label, we have limited copies of these beautifully packaged / produced releases coming in late August, with the view to distribute more of the new releases as they come out. And here we are: entering a universe consisting of antagonisms such as accessibility and denial, degeneration and full bloom, similarity and dichotomy. And vegetables. A lot of bands and music are described to be eclectic these days but truth be told, Bulbul again come across like a band for whom this term must have been invented. But while the Austrians do not shop pop history they chase through it, sometimes gently ripping parts out and incorporating in their own sound, sometimes they pillage through the leftovers of inspiration that might have driven pop music in years past and don’t even wait for until they are back at the parking lot. They smash it right there, in the museum and create something new, unbelievably vital, haunting and unbearable. Bulbul are taking contemporary music to a meta level by not only turning the upside down, they change perspective from every angle, the unimportant becomes important, the blurry focussed, straight ends up curvy and squared becomes round – quoting the concept of Auto Destructive Art by Gustav Metzger. This all sounds academic to you? Well, in that case, screw the writer of these lines and put the record on! Become sucked into the maelstrom-like groove, jump on the sled and ride down this slope of quotation and hunt down the references ranging from Kinks through Cpt. Beefheart, Rhys Chatham, Django Reinhart, Abner Jay, Fats Domino, Bob Dylan into the glorious climax of Bulbul themselves who fear not even a rape chase of their own copyrights. Get your brain chopped into pieces (that’s what the German title of the record means). The album was recorded in an old farmhouse in the Austrian wilderness breathing in the specific sonority of its hayloft. Responsible for tracking was the longtime acolyte of the band, Oliver “Ollmann” Brunbauer. Aside from the usual guitars, drums and bass an armada of hand-crafted instruments such as umbrellas, tennis rackets, bicycle wheels, cooking lids and mattocks were used. The tracks then have been digitally revised and bludgeoned. 7th album by BULBUL, vinyl repress with silkscreend slip-in cover + inlay yellow vinyl. 

Tracks

01 Fire
02 Uhu
03 I hea eh scho l?ng nix mea
04 Kanzla
05 Fisole
06 Quicksand
07 Gurdy
08 Genderman Can
09 Bomb
10 A To Beans

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Audio & Video

OCS - 'LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO'

Formats

• RIP79 - 2xLPs

Details

*BACK INSTOCK!*Here we have OCS - recorded Live, at The Chapel, San Francisco, CA in December 2017 to be exact. OCS played four shows in California last December, raising funds for charity, and also enabling OCS to play out the tracks from the (then) recently released album "Memory of a Cut off head". Bandleader John Dwyer assembled his ensemble for these shows with players from the album and current Oh Sees members also, including Brigid Dawson, Emily Elkin, Eric Clark, Heather Lockie, Heidi Maureen Alexander, Paul Quattrone, Tim Hellman, and Tomas Dolas. The shows sold out in a trice, and thankfully one of the San Francisco shows were recorded by Eric Bauer, Dwyer mixed the record and it was passed onto old friends the Austrian Label ROCK IS HELL (Oh Sees fans will note early releases by Thee Oh Sees appeared on Rock is Hell a whiles back). Initially released (and long sold out) as a silk screened 4 LP set with some incredible artworks by Elzo Durt (he did the art for the Carrion Crawler / The Dream EP ).. Dwyer /Rock is Hell decided to make a more widely available 2LP version. And this is it, released on November 2nd 2018, via Rock is Hell / Forte in the UK / Rock is Hell in Eu and Rock is Hell / Midheaven in the USA.. Theres 500 copies for the UK, no CD, no promos... it’s a beautiful artefact / wonderful recording of a great show. pressing will be heavy weight black vinyl offset printed thick cardboard slip-in cover offset printed thick cardboard innersleeves download codes included shrinkwrapped

Tracks

1. Memory Of A Cut Off Head (Live) 05:12
2. Cannibal Planet (Live) 04:19
3. Remote Viewer (Live) 05:55
4. The Baron Sleeps (Live) 02:23
5. On & On Cooridor (Live) 05:25
6. Neighbor Ton None (Live) 03:33
7. The Fool (Live) 06:03
8. The Chopping Block (Live) 03:51
9. Time Tuner (Live) 08:08
10. Lift A Finger (Live) 04:32
11. Dreadful Day (Live) 04:27
12. Iceburg (Live) 02:51
13. Block Of Ice (Live) 24:55

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Audio & Video

THE C.I.A. - 'S/T'

Formats

• ITR328 - LP

  759718532814

• ITR328CD - CD

  759718532821

Details

This record is an encapsulation. The omnipresent fear and anger. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? And what is really going on? Consternation…today… There is difficulty, frustration, strain and a large snake. You can feel the pressure of it breathing on the streets, in media, and in your lunch. This s/t, by The C.I.A., is an urgent musical notice. I feel it immediately. The pointed vocal cadence and lyrics of Denée Segal is a sharp scythe, and the actual time is…now. “I feel the same distress call and disposition from Crass records like Penis Envy or DIRT. In fact, if you took that, mixed in “Black Silk Stocking” by Chrisma and a touch of early Nic Endo (Atari Teenage Riot) and even Dinah Cancer (45 Grave) Autopsy era, you can get a feeling. And, similarly to those mentioned, Denée is putting a time stamp on this time. The spirit and her viability is strong in many a corner, and in many a heart. The alarm is ringing. “This is survival sound, put on record well backed by Ty Segall and Emmett Kelly, who have added anything-musthappen, mercurial, constantly moving instrumentation. The sounds, consistent with unique monochrome, move like an engine, made gas-tight by piston rings. Sonic rings moving in tight machine patterns. And at the vocal helm is Denée, steering this machine in vocal directions across an exclamation point motorway. No salt, all salt. Traction and reaction. They built a sound machine with, and for each other. Survival sound lifts its head up when it needs to. Thankfully it gets put on record and released when it needs to.” —Tim Presley

Tracks

1. Fear
2. Reputation
3. Pleasure Seeker
4. Gutted
5. Sedition
6. Power
7. Harm Joy
8. Oblivion
9. S.O.S.
10. Gunslinger

Press

Visual artist Denise Segall backed by
Ty Segall and Emmett Kelly (Cairo Gang.)For fans of Crasss Penis Envy, DIRT (Death
Is Reality Today), Chrismas Black Silk
Stalkings?, early Nic Endo (Atari Teenage
Riot), and 45 Grave?s Autopsy

Audio & Video

NILS FRAHM - 'ENCORES 2'

Formats

• ERATP117LP - 12"

  4050486115619

Details

Following the release of Encores 1 on June 1st, Nils Frahm releases of Encores 2, the second in a series of EPs following the release of the universally acclaimed album, All Melody, released in January of this year. While Encores 1 focused on an acoustic pallet of sounds with just a solo piano and harmonium, Encores 2 explores a more ambient landscape from the All Melody sessions, the pinnacle of which is the astral 12 minute showpiece Spells. Recorded through an amplified stone well Frahm found on Mallorca, Encores 2 is at once unique but familiar; orbiting the universe of All Melody while inhabiting its own world. “The idea behind Encores is one we had from before All Melody; to separate releases each with their own distinct musical style and theme, perhaps even as a triple album. But All Melody became larger than itself and took over any initial concepts. I think the idea of Encores is like musical islands that compliment All Melody” Nils Frahm wraps up an exultant year with two shows at London’s Hammersmith Apollo on December 4th and 5th, followed by a sold out four night residency where it all began at Funkhaus Berlin, December 11th-14th. The All Melody world tour continues apace in 2019 across Europe and the US, for all dates and tickets: http://www.nilsfrahm.com/concerts

Tracks

A1. Sweet Little Lie
A2. A Walking Embrace
A3. Talisman
B1. Spells

Press

Audio & Video

MATTHEW SHAW - 'AMONG THE NEVER SETTING STARS'

Formats

• BRR334 - LP

Details

**SHIPPING NOW**Among the Never Setting Stars is the debut LP from Dorset based artist Matthew Shaw. Following a series of cd & cdr releases on various labels as well as home made art editions and a 7" ep on Sonic Oyster Records. The album contains six ambient pieces with each title being a lead into the mood the music takes on. Each title forming a poem across the lp. The artwork is a painting By Brian Catling (RA) titled Transi. The painting deals with some of the same themes, life, death, and renewal moving in cycles. “His music delves deep in Hidden Reverse traditions, incorporating specific environmental soundings of occult landscapes into beautiful drone works that advance the oracular/hallucinogenic English underground tradition.” David Keenan These warm, melancholy undulations interfere with each chord’s gravitational pull, creating tonal fata morgana and melodies that may or may not not be there: a state similar to meditation where she is neither asleep nor awake. All said, it will take you places.” Charlie Frame, The Quietus Limited to 250 copies pressed on 180 gram Galaxite Stone coloured vinyl. The album includes a download code featuring three additional tracks not featured on the LP.

Tracks

Press

"Dorset-based artist Matthew Shaw has filtered loss and the Cornish landscape into one of the ambient releases of the year." - The Quietus

Audio & Video

MDOU MOCTAR - 'BLUE STAGE SESSIONS'

Formats

• TMR565 - LP

  813547027146

Details

The Third Man Records Cass Corridor space in Detroit had the distinct pleasure of hosting and recording one of the most compelling new guitarists of the 21st century, Mdou Moctar. Mdou is a member of the Tuareg music community gestating in the remote desert city of Agadez, Niger, “where guitars are king.” His music fi rst came to the attention of Western music-lovers through the essential fi eld recording work being done by the good folks at Sahel Sounds, fi rst on their 2010 compilation Music From Saharan Cellphones. While much of Tuareg music has become more distorted, faster and bombastic as of late, Mdou’s soundscapes are more traditionally sparse, polyrhythmic and deeply psychedelic, with lyrics sung in the style of Tuareg nomadic poets. His show on the Blue Stage at Third Man Records Cass Corridor was proof of how special all of this feels, especially in front of a Western audience, most of whom were seeing Mdou live for the fi rst time. When Mdou took the stage with guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane and drummer Mahmoud Ahmed Jabra — only their faces exposed in their tunics and turbans — and began to play, there was a meditative intrigue that loomed heavy and thick in the room. Though hard to see clearly Mdou’s precise and rapid-fi re fi ngerwork on his Fender, the audience was quickly and thoroughly transfi xed by his left-handed virtuosity. By the end of the psychedelic-guitar-rock-groove-explosion that was their set, it was clear that this was a show that would be talked about for a very long time. LP packaging: Direct-to-board LP jacket,

Tracks

A1. Tarha
A2. Kamane Tarhanine
A3. Ibitilan
A4. Taliat
B1. Adounia
B2. Tarhatazed
B3. Chet Boghassa

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