VALLAY
Uno

Portico Quartet have defied categorisation over the course of six studio albums. From their 2007 Mercury Music Prize nominated breakthrough ‘Knee-Deep in the North Sea’ through to the longform minimalist inspired ‘Terrain’ in 2021.Their new electronic driven album Monument shows the band at their most direct, with a streamlined, rhythmic sound. Full of precisely sculpted ideas combining human touch with electronic efficiency, ‘Monument’ displays the acclaimed widescreen minimalists at their best.

Salutations features twelve pieces of new music from artists near and dear to RVNG’s sphere, including Isik Kural, Satomimagae, vhvl, Visible Cloaks, Sign Libra, Dialect, Batu, Anna Homler, Diatom Deli, Emily A. Sprague, Rachika Nayar and Nina Keith, and Wayne Phoenix. The vinyl edition expands on the spirit of correspondence with poetry readings by Zoe Brezsny, Ivanna Baranova, Tessa Bolsover, Jessica Rae Elsaesser, and Luciá Hinojosa Gaxiola, assembled by Breszny and RVNG.Salutations signals a series of meetings, greetings, group assemblies and exercises along the invisible plane created through correspondence. This is the inaugural compilation of new music from RVNG, inspired in part by a collaboration with Adult Swim. The question of how similar we are arises in the simple form of contact, and how we choose to embrace the potential of that moment and one another. Through correspondence, we connect, communicate, and form community. At first, correspondents with one another, and through the processes of collaboration and transmission, we correspond to parallel and intersecting collective cores.This eternal network, perhaps informed (consciously or subconsciously) by some celestial or spiritual force, becomes a portal to practice social responsibility and an access point to a wider, inclusive universe of information. In turn, the network becomes a human phenomenon, as well as a potent demonstration of art and collectivism. As the world heals, and evolves through future changes, having t his network in place provides a vessel to and grow / glow beyond our corporeal state.On behalf of Salutations, a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit A.B.O. Comix, a collective of creators and activists who work to amplify the voices of LGBTQ prisoners through art, and link them with freeworld penpal

The 12” starts with the euphoric rave anthem “Members of Warning 2021” by Giraffi Dog & Erik Jäähalli. A track title some of you might recognize which will bring peace and harmony to It’s followed by the heartwarming Hip Hop cut “Shout Outs” which is dedicated to da family and our sweet raver posse. The B side hits different as Henry 3000 is a G when it comes to baba Electro bombs while DJ Hummer understands to cool it down in trancy Westcoast Funk manner. A well balanced pack of diverse tunes wrapped once again in beautiful design by Guillaume de Ubeda.

"At the start of 2021 I realized I hadn't paid much attention to my own productions lately, rather spending time doing remixesor mixdowns for others or like many others, worrying over what the future will bring.I started going through tracks and ideas I had started on but not completed and now as another annus horribilis nears the endI have 2 albums ready for release, entitled "8" and "9".Although I promised myself to never say it I personally think they're my best work so far and I hope someone else will get thefeeling of "a light at the end of the tunnel" when listening to these tracks just like I feel when listening back to them.There are contributions from the very capable hands of Bugge Wesseltoft("8") and John Carroll Kirby(on both "8" and "9"), besides that it's just me."Prins Thomas December 2021

First Word Records is very pleased to present a brand new full-length album from Sarah Williams White! Emanating from the "hilly fields of Lewisham" in South London, Sarah Williams White is a singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Her sound is a unique blend of psych-soul, folktronica and experimental synth-pop.Sarah released her acclaimed debut album 'Of The New World' on First Word in 2015, which was written, produced and performed by Sarah from her home studio, with the assistance of drummer, engineer & husband, Timmy Rickard. Her projects have seen support from the likes of Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Nemone & Chris Hawkins (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), FIP Radio, Clash & The Guardian, to name a few, and she's toured the UK with Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Golden Rules (Lex). There have been additional collaborations with label-mate Quiet Dawn (on the 2021 compilation / EP 'A Family Affair') and with her brother, Paul White - a revered producer in his own right, with credits including Danny Brown and Sudan Archives.