Caribou
Up In Flames

Maxx Mann were the gay New Wave duo of Frank Oldham Jr (vocals, lyrics) and Paul Hamman (music) from New York City formed in 1981. Frank studied voice and acting at the Herbert Bergdorf School idolizing Eartha Kitt, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis and Shirley Bassey. Paul was playing piano for a cabaret singer at a bar in Greenwich Village where Frank met him and their friendship began. Paul and Frank worked together 3 to 4 times a week recording their debut self-titled album released in 1982, limited to 500 copies.Songs provide interesting insights into the homosexual experience before the AIDS crisis: cruising backroom bars, BDSM and one-night stands. The music is "Neo-realistic rock" heavily influenced by punk, titillating, synthesized body and soul with Frank’s dramatized vocal stylings. The original press release sent to radio stations stated, "Because this is a completely innovative sound, we hope you will give it several listenings. It is adventurous, daring, and certain to cause reactions from your listeners.” For this first time vinyl/CD reissue we’ve added two bonus instrumental tracks, so the album now contains all four original vocal cuts and their corresponding instrumental versions. Paul sadly passed away in 1986 aged 33 from AIDS-related illness and we dedicate this reissue to him. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each copy is housed in an exact replica of the 1982 jacket and includes a fold-post poster with photos, lyrics and notes by Frank Oldham Jr.

Like trudging through viscous air, I Lost All My Data is a blissed-out barrage of sub-bass that nods to a long-lasting passion for sound system culture.Uploading turbo-charged wubs with molten glass melodies, the debut EP of Giovanni Bonelli (aka Notte Infinita) is a welcomed update for UK style broken-techno conventions. Booting-up with its title track, the record quadrisects the fabric of digital music, each cut a sonic reprogramming of its predecessor. ‘Slippery Tuff’ references off-kilter club, while on the flip, ‘Ecstatic Dub (Roller Mix)’ climaxes in an ultra-sensory faux-organic whorl. Unplugging the whole thang, ‘Oxygen’ manipulates post-dubstep textures, into a data-roused jungle tunnel.Deciphering glitched-out signal processing and harmonic warps, I Lost All My Data is the software upgrade that every system needs – do not choose Later; Install Now.This record has been played out/supported by...Bambounou, Madam X, Special Guest DJ, Opium Hum/Michail Stangl (Boiler Room), Lurka, Bruce, orson (version)

Raï is the music of a youth hungover from Algeria's recent independence. It became a space for a liberated, transgressive dialogue that told the social truths of its time -- an up-front yet poetic voice that covers the taboos and frustrations of daily life, expressing emotion without detour. This voice is heard at weddings, cabarets, in the nightclubs of the Oranese coast, and casually on the street... With the boom of the audio cassette, an avalanche of raï tapes were produced in Oran and diffused all over the world. Both women and men sang and listened to the new sound, as raï is intimately tied to parties, alcohol and the night. With the spontaneous improvisation of its singers as the main part of each song, raï keeps reinventing itself. In this style, Cheb Hasni, along with Cheb Nasro, incarnates a second generation of musicians. With the "love raï", or sentimental raï, Hasni sings about love, passion and its setbacks -- moving away from the bittersweet daily chronicles of the first chebs and chebates. Having recorded nearly 150 cassettes, Cheb Hasni remains one of the most prolific and talented raï singers of his generation. Almost thirty years after his death, this three-volume compilation of rare tracks from his cassette releases on the Oriental Music Production label is a tribute to the lasting legacy of Cheb Hasni -- ya raï! The second volume of three is presented here.CHEB HASNIVol 1Outre National

Hell Yeah! Recordings has released all sorts of music over the years, but in recent times its' catalogue has becoming increasingly Balearic in tone. Here they further their nu-Balearic credentials via a four-track EP of tracks tailor-made for summer. If you're looking for well-known faces, Balearic legend Chris Coco joins forces with Micko Roche on the utterly gorgeous 'What is Love' (B2), while Max Essa predictably does a terrific job in turning The Vendetta Suite's 'Neon Secrets' into a saucer-eyed downtempo classic that draws much influence from late '80s New Order records. Elsewhere, Jaspar Robinson and Kayroy's 'Satellite' is a slow-motion affair where glistening guitars and hazy vocals tumble down across a slow-motion electro beat, while Feel Fly's 'Esperanto' would have sounded great on a Mediterranean beach in the mid 1980s.

I feel it starts again,Why does it go on?Aujourd’hui les choses se sont accélérées, et, parodie de la vitesse, il se mit à pleuvoir.Par-là la perte d'un peu de soi, c'est la dérive progressive vers d'autres rivages.Mais le temps manque à celle dont la course, commencée il y a bien longtemps, ne sait plus comment s’arrêter.Déconstruis !C’est ce que la morale lui criait fût un temps, c’est ce que les principes bien ancrés ont connus dans l’esprit des indolents.Une fois les miettes éparpillées au sol et les habits maculés d’histoires, les folies sèchent et collent à la peau, puis font scintiller -sable sous le soleil d’été- de nouveaux fondements à la droite du cœur.Car contradictoire, la morale d’hier ne trouve plus sa place 𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘶𝘯𝘤 dans l’esprit des protagonistes,les promenades ont épuisé le vieux gardien du principe et de l’éthique : alité la journée, la nuit il fuit les regards de ceux qui penchent la tête par sa fenêtre pour le solliciter.« 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 ? » propose un vendeur de souvenir à sa porte en présentant un panneau avec différentes offres.C’est ainsi que se trafique l’image et l’espoir, que se justifie le gagne-pain de celui que certains nomment « vendu ».Mais,celui qui le nomme ainsi,Peut-il vraiment dire « j’ai les yeux ouverts » ?Rêve-t-il même ou n’a-t-il pas au moins peur de ce que ce « vendu » lui fît, ne lui fît pas, en ou en deçà de ce qu’il estime être « la valeur des choses » ?De mauvaise foi en mauvaise foi, -nonchalance ? -déni ? et du haut de sa tour, il observe. Il prend sa lunette pour mieux juger mais tarde à comprendre… son point de vue est altéré et lui donne à voir un drôle de paradigme : miroir de sa considération, il se voit minuscule et la tête en bas. Il sursaute :- Ce n’est que moi. Je m’effraie dans ma condescendance, la jumelle à l’enversme rend rabougri : si près pourtant je semble si loin et colérique.Il n’est pas rare pour lui de se retrouver dans ce qu’il condamne.Mais voilà, muable, il accepte la condition du temps, et, tentant de comprendre l’éventualité d’un fait présent, englobant ici et là, impalpable imperceptible, affirme :- Rien ne sert de précipiter ce qui sera ou de ranimer ce qui était, il importe decomprendre son époque.𝘈𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘪, 𝘭𝘶𝘪 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵.

Another classic from the vault, this time with the deepnessvibes from the S-Man!