OLAFUR ARNALDS & NILS FRAHM - 'TRANCE FRENDZ'

Formats

• ERATP081LP - LP

  4050486110539

Details

2025 BLACK VINYL REPRESS NOW INSTOCK AND SHIPPING!! Having been available exclusively as the second disc to 2015's 'Collaborative Works', Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm's improvised audio recordings 'Trance Frendz', taken from their 45-minute studio film of the same name, have been given their own vinyl release – out March 4th, 2016. Prior to a string of collaborative Erased Tapes releases, which include 2012's 'Stare' 10” and last year’s 'Life Story Love and Glory' 7” and 'Loon' 12” – compiled on the 'Collaborative Works' 2-CD set, Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm spent many hours together in their studios across Berlin and Reykjavik. Both have carved out genre-defying musical careers and formed unique live shows, creating a fan base loyal to their prolific output. During a session at Durton Studio in Berlin last summer, Nils and Ólafur invited Alexander Schneider and his camera to document it. The recording continued long after the first take, stretching out into the next day until, eventually, several new improvisations had been recorded in 8 hours with no overdubs or edits. The unexpected nature in which these pieces had been created was reminiscent of their first on-stage improvisation many years ago. It became immediately clear how special these songs were. "At the end of the night we had all this music that sounded unfamiliar even to us, loudly asking to be included in this collection.” Originally made available as a 45-minute film on their joint website (www.arnaldsfrahm.com) last September, 'Trance Frendz' will be available to own on vinyl from March 4th, 2016. Press for their 'Collaborative Works': 'A particularly joyous wash of slinky percussion and juddering layers' (8/10) – Clash 'An enchanting listen. The bar for a Lads' Night In has just been raised a few notches' (7/10) – Drowned In Sound ‘This is music for slowing down the pace of modern life... An immersive listening experience is guaranteed, while we must hope Frahm and Arnalds go on ‘holiday’ together more in future, and don’t forget to take their musical instruments.’ ★★★★ – MusicOMH 'A collection of gorgeously intimate piano compositions and eye-opening synth pieces, each never aggressive but always powerfully poignant' (8/10) – Under The Radar 'What Collaborative Works offers is something strange: a shared world created by two mad geniuses. Long may Arnalds and Frahm tinker' (8/10) – PopMatters 'Collaborative Works further proves just how natural a fit Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm are together' – Resident Advisor

Tracks

A1. 20:17
A2. 21:05
A3. 23:17
B1. 23:52
B2. 00:26
B3. 01:41
B4. 03:06

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MOTORPSYCHO - 'MOTORPSYCHO'

Formats

• NFGS0125Y - 2xLP (COLOURED)

  9008798703104

• NFGS0125CD - 2xCDs

  9502866741864

Details

LIMITED EDITION YELLOW VINYL REPRESS AND CD RESTOCK After two pandemically conditioned ‘reaction’ albums - Yay! (2023) and Neigh!! (2024) - a few non-album singles and a compilation album, a downsized and sleek Motorpsycho is back where we all know and love them, with an epic, sprawling double album, filled to the brim with inventive, organic and ecstatic rock-based music. Rejoyce Psychonaut! This eponymously titled, 11 song work, has exactly as much variety & diversity, accord and discord, as one expects from a band that has released a few albums before, and that these days must be regarded as an institution in European rock. From concise 3min-something pop-rockers, to 20mins plus progressive epics, via acoustic intimacies and psychedelic wig-outs, this is concentrated Motorpsychosis: commenced Rebis, countdown initiated. Ever closer. Ever sharper... Since the traditional 3 or 4 piece rock band seems to be a dying breed these days, and MP always was a band in flux anyway, a new pragmatic era has begun in the Psychoverse. The band has, in what one might call alchemical terms, been ‘dissolved and purified’, and is by now again reduced to the core two founding members HMR & BS. This is nothing new, it has happened a few times before, but these days they are also the owners and creators of the record company NFGS, which is now the hub of all recorded band activity, and Motorpsycho marks the final severance of existing ties to other labels for the first time in 35 years. If ‘freedom is free of the need to be free’, this is it. Yikes! The minimalist title of the album is then not just easy to remember, it’s also a statement: a new era has begun in the Psychoverse, a state of affairs reflected in execution and details as well as title, if not perhaps, in ambition or size: “Senex psittacus negligit ferulam” *. This is a time of new beginnings for a band that has spent two years consolidating and reseting before charging ahead anew on a new path, trumpets blaring (...and trumpets don’t come much more blaring in the Psychoverse than with this grandiloquent hyperbole. Good fun! ). New day rising indeed. The core band was adroitly helped by a gaggle of greats from all over the Scandinavian musical landscape on these recordings: drummers Ingvald Vassbø and Olaf Olsen, string arranger/violinist Mari Persen, vocalist Thea Grant, and - as usual - honorary psycho, brother Reine Fiske, were all fellow travellers on this musical journey. Motorpsycho was co-produced by the band and Deathprod, and mixed by Andrew Scheps. Motorpsycho are not the best at what they do, they’re the only ones that do what they do. NFGS2025 *: [ “Senex psittacus negligit ferulam,” or “An old parrot doesn’t mind the stick.” ]

Tracks

1. Lucifer, Bringer Of Light
2. Laird Of Heimly
3. Stanley (Tonight's The Night)
4. The Comeback
5. Kip Satie
6. Balthazaar
7. Bed Of Roses
8. Neotzar (The Second Coming)
9. Core Memory Corrupt
10. Three Frightened Monkeys
11. Dead Of Winter

Press

Audio & Video

F.S.BLUMM & NILS FRAHM - 'HANDLING'

Formats

• LTR053 - LP

  4066004773056

Details

NILS FRAHM and F.S.BLUMM have confirmed the release of their fifth collaborative album, Handling. Containing three tracks but 40 minutes long, it finds the duo advancing from 2021’s dub-influenced 2X1=4, deploying its lessons in ambitious new territory that also nods to earlier collections. Recorded at his studio in Berlin’s Funkhaus, the album will be released by LEITER on vinyl and via all digital platforms on September 19, 2025. Handling’s three exquisitely detailed pieces are each entitled ‘Leuchter,’ German for ‘candlestick,’ encapsulating the LP’s luminescent glow and rising inner energy. Its scrupulous arrangements exploit a magic cabinet of instruments, among them pianos, celestas and cristal baschets, glockenspiels, guitars and multiple forms of percussion. Their painstakingly engineered improvisations were equally meticulously reassembled in a series of intense editing sessions. That the duo’s collaboration is built on a friendship and mutual admiration dating back to the early 2000s enables an unusual level of trust, despite both operating in their own distinct manner. “It’s not Frank, it’s not Nils,” they reflect. “We’ve become a new persona.” Handling blends Blumm’s organic chaos with Frahm’s structured intuition, offering a distinct and luminous experience that doesn’t just sound different, but feels like its own evolving world.

Tracks

1. LEUCHTER 2. 1 LEUCHTER 2 3. LEUCHTER 3

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Audio & Video

THE PRIZE - 'IN THE RED'

Formats

• 208GONE - LP

  657628455165

Details

Melbourne’s fave three-guitar rock’n’roll power poppers The Prize have at long last announced the imminent release of their debut album In The Red on September 19 via Anti Fade Records in Australia and Goner Records in the USA. The announcement and the new track follow the album’s previous two singles, “First Sight” which was released August 2023 ahead of their first European tour (with King Gizzard) and “Had it Made” which was released last October ahead of the band’s second European tour (with The Chats) late 2024. The Prize made their debut for Anti Fade in 2022 with the EP Wrong Side Of Town which prompted global interest in the band. They began recording the album in 2023 but the international tours caused delays, as did the departure of original bass player Jack Kong in early 2024. New bass player Ethan Stahl (formerly of UK band Chubby and the Gang) came on board a year ago after Kong helped the band finish the tracking process. Initial album sessions took place with Paul Maybury of Rocket Science at his A Secret Location studio, with subsequent tracks recorded with Matt Blach of the Murlocs at Gizz Studios (following The Prize’s European run with King Gizzard late in 2023) and, in January of this year, with Robin Mukerjee of TV Colours. The band, which features drummer Nadine Muller sharing lead vocals with guitarist Carey Paterson together with guitarists Joseph Imfeld and Austin Haire as well as new bass player Stahl, is known for its powerful three-guitar frontline and melodic twin lead guitar. It combines punk and classic hard rock with power pop and new wave and cites its influences as Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, Pretenders, Blondie, Rolling Stones, Faces, Flamin’ Groovies, Tom Petty, Dwight Twilley, Phil Seymour, The Toms, The Nerves and The Motors. As a premium live act with the tunes to back it up, The Prize have regularly found themselves playing with legendary groups like the Sunnyboys, Pavement, The Stems and Guitar Wolf in addition to their pals in King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The Murlocs and The Chats. Band members have recently started spreading themselves out into other bands as well, with Muller and Stahl joining Josh Hardy of The Chats and The Unknowns in Loose Lips, Imfeld in The States and Haire in The Judges and his own solo venture, Ozzie Hair.

Tracks

1. Connie 2. Static Love Affair 3. Don?t Need ?Em 4. From The Night 5. Had It Made 6. First Sight 7. Down The Street 8. Looking For A Reason 9. Say You?re Mine 10. Reaction 11. Silver Bullet

Press

Audio & Video

HEATMISER - 'MIC CITY SONS'

Formats

• TMR1057 - 2xLPs

  810074424509

Details

Third Man Records is proud to announce a very special 30th anniversary edition of Heatmiser’s landmark 1996 third and final album, Mic City Sons. Remastered and reimagined as a two-LP opus containing a set of rare demos and unreleased tracks, the expanded new version of Mic City Sons will be available via Third Man on standard black vinyl and limited-edition Sunset Pink Transparent & Starry Night Blue Glitter vinyl. Mic City Sons was the band's only recording for a major label; Caroline Records / Virgin Records via EMI. Mic City Sons Review by Michael Frey: Heatmiser was an indie rock supergroup of sorts, featuring songwriters Elliott Smith and Neil Gust (No. 2), as well as Sam Coomes (Quasi) and the multitalented Tony Lash. The quartet's finest and final album, Mic City Sons features a decidedly more pop feel than its predecessors and marks Smith's maturation into the role of the band's visionary. From the opening notes of the swaggering, bass-heavy "Get Lucky" to conclusion of the album with a soothingly soft hidden track, Mic City Sons is an outstanding collection of diverse and invigorating tracks. Songs like "Plain Clothes Man" and "You Gotta Move" exhibit the interplay of soulful, smooth vocals over gentle guitar strumming that has been so evident in Smith's solo work. The Gust-penned tunes, like "Cruel Reminder" and "Eagle Eye" are more rugged and aggressive, but complement Smith's songs brilliantly. There are no weak tracks here - in fact, "Pop In G" and "See You Later" are two of the best indie rock songs of the '90s - and the album flows incredibly well. Despite the success Heatmiser's members have achieved since their disbanding, it's unfortunate that this collective decided to split up just when they had reached such a creative peak. (credit allmusic.com)

Tracks

Tracklist: 1. Get Lucky 2. Plainclothes Man 3. Low-Flying Jets 4. Rest My Head Against The Wall 5. The Fix Is In 6. Eagle Eye 6. Cruel Reminder 7. You Gotta Move 8. Pop In G 9. Blue Highway 10. See You Later 11. Half Right 12. Cocksucker?s Blues * 13. I?m Over That Now * 14. Silent Treatment * 15. Burned Out, Still Glowing * 16. Rocker In C * 17. Get Lucky (Demo) * 18. Everybody Has It* 19. Dark Cloud* 20. Dirty Dream* 21. You Gotta Move (Demo) * 22. Christian Brothers (Rock Version) * 23. Untitled Instrumental * (* Bonus Tracks)

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