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DJ KENTARO ENTER NINJA TUNE CD 2007 Kentaro, phenomenal turntablist and former DMC World Champion, debut's his 1st LP on Ninja, while flexing his muscle as a music producer. Enter goes from funk ("Free" ) to dubby downtempo soul ("Tasogare Highway"), through drum & bass attack ("Rainy Day"), a live reggae feel ("Handmade Gift"), squelching dance vibe "(Space Jungle") on into tribal space-jazz ("Harvest Dance"), epic turntable cut-up ("One Hand Blizzard") and, finally, cosmic hip hop ("Let It Go"). 40 minutes of beautifully structured beats, musical smarts and occasional smattering of turntable magic, the LP also features guest turns from Pharcyde (not on promo), Spank Rock, New Flesh, Little Tempo, Hifana and Fat Jon. All clean except: trks 1, 3, 5, 8, 9.   THE HEAVY THAT KIND OF MAN COUNTER CD 2007 Kings of a kind of (West) Country voodoo soul which mixes and matches Curtis Mayfield, Rza, H.P.Lovecraft, Stax, Led Zeppelin and Screamin¹ Jay Hawkins into the kind of cauldron-melting potion which is utterly original, haunting, weird, sexy and unsettling all at once. Hailing from the poor, insular and dark countryside which surrounds Bath, England, the Heavy sound both possessed and insinuating, a kind of stealthy wickedness which overflows from their debut album, "Great Vengeance & Furious Fire". First, though, comes their single, "That Kind of Man". LIMITED EDITION! All clean.     KAMIKAZE GROUND CREW POSTCARDS FROM THE HIGHWIRE BUSMEAT CD 2007 Kamikaze Ground Crew has for just over twenty years served as an instrumental oasis for some of the most well-regarded and accomplished players on the downtown New York music scene. Originally formed on the west coast as a seven-piece ³circus-turkish-cartoon jazz²-playing horn band, Kamikaze Ground Crew soon evolved from its circus roots into a vehicle for original composition, made up entirely of band leaders in their own rights. Original members Doug Wieselman (clarinet, saxes, guitar), Gina Leishman (saxes, keyboards, vocals), Steven Bernstein (trumpet) and Peter Apfelbaum (tenor sax) were joined by Kenny Wollesen (drums), Marcus Rojas (tuba), and Art Baron (trombone) once the west coast founders had all resituated in NYC. From that time until now, the band re-forms itself whenever their respective recording and touring schedules allow them the time. The core of the band's repertoire is made up of original compositions, most of them coming from co-leaders Leishman and Wieselman, but also complemented by others from Steven Bernstein and Peter Apfelbaum. The common thread can be found both in their construction of adventurous and original works and in their unique take on unlikely jazz and rock classics. ³Postcards From The Highwire², their new recording, offers a set of skewed habaneras, extended widescreen compositions, covers of Robert Johnson and Sly Stone, and a Shakespeare song. To listen to these tracks is to ride an acoustic express train as it crosses a broad and diverse terrain of enticing possibilities. The members¹ past credits are long and varied, from Carla Bley to the Lounge Lizards to Lou Reed. Today's listeners can hear Kamikaze members live, leading or supporting such groups as Sex Mob (Bernstein, Wollesen), the Millennial Territory Orchestra (Bernstein, Apfelbaum, Wieselman), Hieroglyphic Ensemble (Apfelbaum), Bill Frisell's Trio (Wollesen), Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions Band (Baron), the Metropolitan Opera (Rojas), on movie and television soundtracks (Weiselman, Bernstein, Rojas, Leishman), and in opera and theatre scores (Leishman, Wieselman). Members of the band have worked with John Zorn, Tom Waits, Lester Bowie, Rufus Wainwright, Henry Threadgill, Antony and the Johnsons, Don Cherry and Hal Willner, among many others. All clean.     ARCLAB ARCLAB N5MD CD 2007 Arc Lab's sophomore LP "No Spectre" finds n5MD returning to its roots. Medard Fischer (a.k.a Arc Lab) uses almost 99.9% the digital realm to create his sonic tapestries. Those familiar with Fischer will hear unparalleled growth in his production & songwriting since 2005's "the nineteen floors" (MMBP). "No Spectre" features cascading rhythms reminiscent of some of Telefon Tel Aviv's beat-work, the melodious cadence of early Arovane and some of the warm yet slightly sinister elements of label-mate Proem. It highlights a delicate balance of tension and emotion, harnessing errant melodies, fractured percussion and granular synthesis experiments to make that all-important musical connection with the listener. All clean.     AMANDINE SOLSTACE IN SORE HANDS FATCAT CD 2007 Amandine's sophomore LP, 'Solace In Sore Hands', features 11 new bitter-sweet songs, that nevertheless purvey a more extensive sonic palette, and display a further-refined take on their already poignant lyrical content. Lyrically influenced by the harsh and slightly absurd imagery of Swedish contemporary authors Sara Lidman, Torgny Lindgren and Lotta Lotass among others, major themes include forgiveness, redemption and moving on in the wake of hardship. The title is a reference to the labour and hardship often portrayed by those authors. Still based on an axis of alt country / Americana, Amandine's songs have broadened in both scope and depth. Aside from their inclination towards the likes of Songs:Ohia, The Band, early R.E.M. or Crosby Stills Nash & Young, this fresh batch of recordings highlight a leaning towards Swedish folk music and the minimalist, heart-rending composition of Erik Satie. All clean.

AMON TOBIN FOLEY ROOM NINJA TUNE CD 2007 This is Amon Tobin's most conceptually satisfying & beautiful LP to date. He discovered work of foley artists - a foley room is where the sound effects are recorded for films. Foley artists use their imagination & ingenuity to make the right noise for the situation they are presented with. With this in mind, Amon headed out into the streets with high sensitivity microphones and recorded found sounds from tigers roaring to cats eating rats, from wasps to falling chickpeas, kitchen utensils to motorbikes to water dripping from a tap. Added to this were the sounds of musicians like the Kronos Quartet, Stefan Schneider and Sarah Pagé. He then took this wealth of source material and twisted it round into the haunting, muscular music you can hear on this remarkable album. All clean.   POP LEVI THE RETURN TO FORM BLACK MAGICK PARTY COUNTER CD 2007 Pop Levi is one strange cat. Born in London, with musical roots in Liverpool, a stint playing with Ladytron and a home in LA, Pop likes to describe what's good about pop music as "astral". His debut LP is, fittingly, worthy of the term. Although the most obvious precursor of his sound might be Mark Bolan, listen carefully and you¹ll hear touches of everyone from Jack White, Prince and Hendrix to Dylan, Lennon and Beefheart in there. But rather than being any kind of eyebrow-raised pastiche, this is what Pop describes as "channelling" ­ an LP of such complete conviction, flair and energy (plus a truckload of hooks) that it is utterly irresistible, a stack heel pushed right down on the accelerator. All clean.     JAGGERY POLYHYMNIA JAGGERY CD 2007 At times Jaggery makes you wonder, "what if Dave Brubeck and Diamanda Galas jammed?" The band's singer/pianist, Mali Sastri, conjures up emotion and atmosphere which can only be weighed on a global scale. Her voice can be leaf floating in the wind, and then become an Earth-shaking Everest-sized volcano. Yet delicate or explosive, it's always magnificent, captivating, and sustained by a gorgeous tapestry woven by her brilliantly talented band. Jaggery features dream-like harp, soulful stand-up bass and rich, organic percussion. This debut album has the warmth of Blue Bell Knoll-era Cocteau Twins with a modern avant-jazz sensibility, wrapped in an ethereal, spiritual, blue velvet haze, full of mystery and intrigue. Try trks 2, 9, 8, 4. All clean.     LADYFINGERS MY PROM LADYFINGERS CD 2007 Ladyfingers is Adam Weiner (accompanied on this recording by a 3 piece combo) whose vocal range bends wildly to suit the occassion, at times wailing, then crooning, sometimes yelping. The band covers the ground between a hopped up Sun Studios sound and dark, seedy NYC rock. Most of the songs come from a dark, American Gothic perspective with an undercurrent of black humor and smartass camp (trk 6). There are elements of vaudville saloon mayhem (trk 1), dirty southern/country rock (trk 2 & 4) and cabaret crooning (trks 5 & 9). Weaved throughout is a theme of disillusionment with modern urban/suburban social trappings, lending poetic weight to the proceedings. Bass clarinetist Colin Stetson (Tom Waits, Antibalas) plays on trk9. All clean except trks 7 ("shit" 1:34 & 1:36), 8 & 9 ("fuckin'" @4:07).     WELCOME SIRS FATCAT CD 2007 The FatCat debut from Seattle fixture Welcome is impulsively absorbing. Welcome's sound is melodic and rhythmically ambitious, subverting and recontextualizing an alternative pop lineage peculiar to them, their music sitting somewhere between the fractured, exploratory idealism of 60s psych pop (The Creation, Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, Revolver-era Beatles) and such non-conformist US alt-rock luminaries as Unwound, The Breeders, Lilys or Deerhoof. In fact, this is barely the tip of the iceberg - their inspirations run from Kook Keith to Harry Pussy and beyond. At times cracked and claustrophobic, at others open, inviting and euphoric. Welcom cram more ideas into Sirs' brief time-span than many bands manage in an entire career. All clean.     SUBTRACTIVELAD NO MAN'S LAND N5MD CD 2007 Canadian electronic musician Stephen HummelŒs debut as SubtractiveLAD "Giving Up The Ghost" (2005) was touted as an amalgam of n5md's emotional experiments in music credo. His 2nd LP "Suture" (2006) toughened things up a bit, getting darker and emotionally weighted. His new 3rd full-length for n5MD has out shined his previous work by creating an introspective and focused actualization of his emotions. This new more open aesthetic has seemingly given Hummel a newer confidence in his sound, adding elements such as guitar, field recordings and even hints of vocal texture to his signature style of self-made synth melodies and compressed beats. Songs of defiance, love, exasperation, hope, loss and even pleasure lead you through a journey of great musical rewards. All clean.     TTC TTC BIG DADA CD 2007 The most innovative, risk-taking and outrageous hip hop act to come out of France in the last decade, TTC are back. With Cuiziner established as a heartthrob in the US, Teki Latex set to release a pop-rave album and Tido Berman concentrating on advanced, heavy-lidded sativation, the trio are taking things higher with their 3rd album. With production from the group's flying helmet-wearing DJ, Orgasmic, the mighty Para One, Tacteel, Modeselektor and Tido himself, this is the band¹s most consistent, distinctive effort. Brearthtakingly clever, silly, profound, shallow and beautiful, ³3615² is that rare thing, an album which sounds like no other. All in French.     DAVID KARSTEN DANIELS SHARP TEETH FATCAT CD 2007 David Karsten Daniels is a North Carloina-based songwriter, with a background of diverse musical experiences. In the last two years David¹s music has come increasingly into focus, and his more experimental leanings have taken their place in a more melodic and lyrical context.This LP is a compelling exploration of moral ambiguity and perhaps unavoidable human disconnection, that suggests some kind of modern American folk music in the Southern tradition ­ often deathly slow, like life in the South, and haunted by religion, but unable to find answers in its Bible. The sounds of the South are there as well ­ Nashville¹s slide guitars, nods to Dixieland Jazz, drums, horns and choirs, take their place alongside epic string arrangements, amidst songs that despite their grand scale, manage to be concise and immediate, conveying a distinct love of pop music. All clean.     TOBIAS LILJA TIME IS ON MY SIDE N5MD CD 2007 This is Swedish experimental composer Tobias Lilja¹s 2nd LP and 1st on n5MD, following his debut "Ex-leper" (nonresponse) & has all the controlled visions of decay as its predecessor with the addition of Tobias¹ desperate yet controlled vocals. His vocals bring a humanistic layer of melody to the tonal blizzard of Tobias¹ music. Loosely inspired by some of David Sylvian¹s recent work, this comparison though is almost a moot point due to Tobias¹ originality in his instrumental composition and his vocal delivery, melody and cadence. Frigid yet in some way invitingly warm, desperate with a false sense of hope, other-worldly yet somehow familiar, this balance is where Lilja excels. A rare work of art that comes along to help you through those dark, hopeless momentsŠ All clean.     YPPAH YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AT ALL TIMES NINJA TUNE CD 2007 Joe Corrales is from Texas, a place synonymous with country and western, slide guitar, classic rock and good ol' boys. Yet his debut as Yppah (pronounced "Yippah") draws on a cultural heritage that took in My Bloody Valentine alongside hip hop and has resulted in a unique sensibility. Corrales early teen years were spent playing guitar and bass in rock bands, his later ones as a scratch DJ who mixed hip hop and house in club sets, produced weird mashups (Outkast v Ted Nugent anybody?) and was part of a turnttablist group called The Truth. However, when he sat down to write this LP his aim was to combine all these influences and it's an aim he has achieved with some aplomb. Mixing in guitars shoved through massive delays, keyboards and loops sampled from real drums, Corrales has created intricate, multi-layered soundscapes of real beauty. All clean.     HAUSCHKA ROOM TO EXPAND FATCAT CD 2007 Hauschka is the alias of Dusseldorf-based pianist/composer Volker Bertelmann, whose work is based upon an exploration of the possibilities of the "prepared" piano - a playfully disruptive intervention into the preconceived idea of piano as a pure-toned, perfected instrument waiting for a gifted vituoso to play it. In addition to his work as Hauschka, Volker is a member of Musi A.M., a collaboration whith Stefan Schneider (To Rococo Rot) and Luke Sutherland (Long Fin Killie), and of the electronic duo Tonetraeger, with Torsten Mauss. With a growing emergence over the past couple of years of pianists working between the cracks in modern/classical/electronic genres - the likes of Kenneth Kirschner, Max Richter, Julien Neto, Sylvain Chauveau, Goldmund, Library Tapes, etc. - this LP is certainly timely and should place its author up there among the best of them. All clean instrumental.