OH SEES - 'ORC'

Formats

• CF093YV - 2xLP (COLOURED)

  814867024709

Details

**ON NEON YELLOW VINYL** The newly shorn Oh Sees waste no time in racing headlong into nightmarish battle with the mighty Orc, clawing even farther up the ghastly peak stormed so satisfyingly by last year’s A Weird Exits. The band is in tour-greased, anvil-on-a-balance beam, gut-pleasingly heavy form, nimbly braining—with equal dashes of abandon and menace—on this fresh batch of bruisers and brooders, hypnotically stirred into to the cauldron of chaos you’ve come to expect. Fresh blood Paul Quattrone joins Dan Rincon to form a phalanx of interlocking double drums, alternately propelling and fleet-footing shifting ground to pinion John Dwyer’s cliff-face guitars to the boogie. Tim Hellman keeps it swinging like a battle-axe to the eyebrows. The tunes veer toward the violence of their live shows, with a few tasty swerves into other lanes: heavy to lush, groovy to stately. Throughout, it remains sinister in its swaggering skulk, manic in its fuzz-fried fugues. They hit all the sweet spots the heads foggily remember, and there’s plenty to sweat over if you just hopped into the sauna. More evil…more complex…more narcotic…more screech… more blare…more whisper…there’s even more Brigid. Less “Thee,” but more of everything else. 

Tracks

1. The Static God 2. Nite Expo 3. Animated Violence 4. Keys To The Castle 5. Jettisoned 6. Cadaver Dog 7. Paranoise 8. Cooling Tower 9. Drowned Beast 10. Raw Optics

Press

Audio & Video

THE MICRONAUT - 'SUMMER GAMES'

Formats

• KI030 - LP

  195081224961

• KI030CD - CD

  195081225210

Details

German multi-instrumentalist and producer, The Micronaut has made a name for himself through his richly textured and enthusiastic compositions. His 2016 album, “Forms” has been described as a true melting pot of sounds and it caught the attention of the electronic music scene with its very playful and original amalgamation of rhythms and samples. This year, The Micronaut releases Summer Games – an album which continues to draw on his elaborate production style and is coincided to be released with the Tokyo Olympic Games. Summer Games’ tracks are named after Olympic sports - pole vault, archery and swimming are just some examples of the 12 modalities chosen by the artist. “For this album I chose Olympia as theme, because apart from competition, it's also about a movement of peace, where the focus is on people, no matter what nation. The Summer Games are coming now, the Winter Games will follow,” says the producer. In the spirit of games, the music is generally high-spirited and upbeat, with many tracks being perfectly fitted for the dance floor. The compositions move from broken bass rhythms to catchy melodies to vocal samples and guitars in just a few bars, making the overall listening experience seem like a fantastic rollercoaster ride, “I would always describe my music as very lively, expressive, dramatic, sometimes calm, sometimes powerful,” says The Micronaut, “I think it is music that fires the imagination.” The ride is eclectic, but far from chaotic; transitions are fluid, the momentum uninterrupted and the direction cohesive. Behind the music’s energetic flow are sophisticated arrangements and quasiscientific constructions which crush stylistic boundaries and give birth to a new collage-based genre of music. The music is all the more impressive considering that every sound contained therein is crafted by The Micronaut himself, who has been called a one-man-orchestra for exactly that reason. At times, Summer Games veers towards electro-pop, at other times it is inspired by old-school hip-hop, and at other times still, it climaxes and explodes in IDM, but through all the commotion what is clear is that The Micronaut is an avid music lover, collecting ideas and inspirations far and wide, and translating them through his own prism of emotions, “Music must always be a journey, with ups and downs, with fears and with happiness. Making music is always an expression and somehow also a processing of experiences.

Tracks

01. Uneven
02. Tabletennis
03. Discustrowing
04. Judo
05. Archery
06. Weightlifting
07. Fencing
08. Polevault
09. Swimming
10. Rowing
11. Trampolin
12. Sailing

Press

Audio & Video

NILS FRAHM - 'EMPTY'

Formats

• ERATP134LP - LP

  3700551783229

• ERATP134CD - CD

  3700551783236

Details

To mark this year’s Piano Day and as an acknowledgement to these unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in, Nils Frahm surprised the world with a collection of eight solo piano pieces, titled Empty, made available digitally on March 28. The highly anticipated physical editions on vinyl and CD are set for release via Erased Tapes on October 23, 2020. Conceived of just before Nils broke his thumb and composed the similarly intimate solo piano album Screws, Empty is a soothing vessel of eight simple and serene pieces originally recorded as the music to a short art film he shot with his friend and film director Benoît Toulemonde. Drifting through emotions from the stark and sobering opener ‘First Defeat’, to the gently euphoric ‘No Step On Wing’ and the contemplative but hopeful closer ‘Black Notes’, with its poignant minute of silence, Empty is a comforting score for these turbulent times. “When I came back from the hospital with a broken thumb and listened to the recordings, I felt they were unfinished. I decided to put them aside and started to work on my small album, Screws. Many many other notes of the piano have been struck since these days, and before we all forget about this, I thought it would be a good moment to share these lullabies with you. I hope they help you stay all strong and calm in these days of solitude – despite the hardship, we can discover introspection and reflection unexpectedly. Who knows what it is good for. Much love, Nils”

Tracks

1. First Defeat
2. A Shine
3. No Step On A Wing
4. The Big O
5. Second Defeat
6. A Shimmer
7. Sonar
8. Black Notes

Press

Audio & Video

BIG RIG - 'EXPANSIVE HEART'

Formats

• GO76 - 7"

  767870665479

Details

Big Rig was a very short lived project from Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy, Common Rider, Classics of Love), Doug Sangalang (Screw 32, Limp, One Time Angels), Kevin Cross (The Nerve Agents, Pitch Black), Jeremy Goody (Pitch Black) and Brandon Riggen. The band rose and fell in 1993. They played a single show and left behind a demo and this EP which was originally on Lookout Records in 1994. 1-2-3-4 Go is extremely proud to be able to reissue this EP. This is a vastly under appreciated piece of East Bay punk and a hidden gem of the Lookout catalog. Includes a faithful reproduction of the original 8 panel booklet / sleeve.

Tracks

1. Expansive Heart
2. Will Alone
3. New Fist
4. Persistence

Press

Reissue of lone 1994 EP of brief East Bay
punk band featuring Jesse Michaels
(Operation Ivy, Common Rider, Classics Of
Love)

Audio & Video

BONS - 'READY RECKONER'

Formats

• F&F013 - 7"

Details

After a year off, Fruits & Flowers is back with something new and a little different. Bons is weirder than the unpopular pop music we usually cover but just as infectious and amazing. Hailing from the UK the members of Bons have been active in various noisy but gentle freeform acts over the years. Here they’ve given us their most “pop” release yet, and there’s nothing quite like it. Some of these wild sounds could slip into the Catsup Plate, Fonal or Geographic catalogs of the ’00s. There’s also a thread through this music via UK art rock, Eno’s pop moments, Woo, even the calmer bits of Camberwell Now. It’s refreshingly mysterious and transports you to the outer buds of dewy branches where a Praying Mantis is lounging with a pair of bright green Beats headphones.

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

RICHARD NORRIS - 'MUSIC FOR HEALING'

Formats

• GM004CD - CD

  5060446129913

Details

*ONLY 250 COPIES AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE, FEATURES AN AUGMENTED REALITY 3D SLEEVE*  Richard Norris started the Music For Healing series in lockdown, releasing one calming, anxiety relieving track each week for three months. The response was very positive, with numerous people getting in contact to say how much the music had helped in this challenging situation. The work is also part diary - the moods evoked range from pure deep listening drone relaxation, through reflective synthesis through to more hopeful piano led pieces. "This music was created as a kind of safe space", he says. "It helped me through lockdown and I'm glad it helped others too."

Tracks

Press

Features an augmented reality sleeve download the Artivive app point at the cover with volume turned up.

Audio & Video

FARATUBEN - 'SIRA KURA'

Formats

• SOSLP199 - 2xLPs

  4260016921997

Details

Between Aarhus and Bamako lie 6,593 kilometers - and a deep socio-economic divide. This is why people have long been drawn from Africa to Europe. Unfortunately, the opposite is rarely the case. "Sira Kura", the debut album from the Danish-Malian band Faratuben, shows what is possible when musicians move out of their comfort zones and meet at eye level. The music from this Bamako-based band is not just another variation of Afrobeat, nor a retrospective reminiscence of Fela Kuti. It is an electrified version of the centuries-old Bwa and Bobo music, and differs from the traditional Kora sounds of a Toumani Diabaté and Salif Keïta with its increased pressure and tempo. The three Danes, Mikas Bogh Olesen, Jakob de Place and Mads Voxen, came to Mali as part of an exchange program of the Conservatoire de Arts et Metiers Multimédia (CAMM), where they heard traditional Bobo music for the first time. Bobo is what the French colonizers called the Bwa people, an oppressed minority living in Burkina Faso and northern Mali. The percussive music of the Bwa is driven by various percussion instruments and the sound of the balofon, a type of xylophone with calabashes suspended below. The three Danish music students were completely enthralled with this dynamic sound that accompanies religious ceremonies as well as weddings and parties in Mali. Guitarist and studio owner Dieudonne Koita, vocalist Sory Dao and balofon virtuoso Kassim Koita, formed a band that was originally intended to perform only once: at the Bamako Jazz Festival. The name Bobo Jazz Experience was used on the posters at the time. But the performance was too grandiose not to continue. At the Bogolan Studio in downtown Bamako, the musicians recorded the songs "Terete" and "Pari" a short time later, which rapidly went into heavy rotation at the TV station ORTM and on various Malian radio stations. In the meantime the band had decided on the name Faratuben, a combination of the words "farafin" (black) and "toubabou" (white). The musicians often live and rehearse together in the mountains outside Bamako, in a village called Kati, which the Koita family calls home. The Koita family is a large clan that has produced many important musicians. "Electrification is quite new in our tradition, and the first person to play Bwa music on an electric guitar was our father, Pakuene Koita", says Dieudonne. His brother Kassim has been voted best balofon player in Mali four times. Faratuben are also becoming more and more successful in Mali, playing at weddings, parties and increasingly at big festivals like "Spot on Mali Music". In short, it was high time for a debut album! "Sira Kura" is extremely varied fusion, in which the pulsating polyrhythms of Bwa music are organically combined with elements of jazz and art pop - played at a dreamlike higher level. "A modern mix of 10CC and Osibisa", as keyboarder Mikas calls it. And indeed, such overwhelming melodiousness and such complex songwriting is rarely found in Afrobeat. In Bambara, one of the many languages spoken in Mali, "Sira Kura" means "new direction". But Faratuben is about more than parties and good moods. The rousingly combative "Mi Njan Mure Mure" tells of days when Mali was a French colony: "You took our land, you took our space, you torture us, you treated us with barbarity." The musicians see their band as living anti-racism. As Dieudonne says: "I never thought before that I could meet white people on an equal footing and on one level. That white people live, eat and sleep in my house and live together with my family, just like I do. Such a thing is very rare in Mali. We are happy and proud that through Faratuben we can show that it is possible to create a community beyond race and skin color." Meanwhile, the band has also gained a loyal fan base in Scandinavia. In Denmark, where the album was released last year, "Sira Kura" was awarded the Danish Music Award for the best "globalpop" album. And in August, the musicians also received a nomination for the DMA Roots Award. Faratuben are now back again after being stuck in Aarhus from March to August due to Corona, and could only return to Mali at the end of the month. In their luggage, they carry the songs for their second album, which were written during their quarantine. But, until then, "Sira Kura" will ensure that autumn in Germany sizzles. Bwa music rules!

Tracks

TRACKLISTING:
DISC #1: 01. MI NIAN MURE 02. DIMIGNAN 03. NABWO 04. PARI 05. MAMA 06. SINA MAMI BOBA
DISC #2: 01. HAGNAN 02. YORI YORI 03. O YA FANI 04. ZATIE 05. EH YAHO 06. LA ORI

Press

Audio & Video

100 FLOWERS - 'DRAWING FIRE (EXPANDED)'

Formats

• ITR100F - LP

  759718510010

Details

*U.S. WAREHOUSE FIND* Reissue of 100 Flowers’ 1984 12” EP that’s been expanded to include all the band’s early single sides and compilation tracks. 12 songs in all. Limited edition of 500 on clear vinyl housed in numbered gatefold chipboard card sleeve printed by Independent Project Press.

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video