4AD Pop 26 Items

With "PHASOR", Roberto Carlos Lange aka Helado Negro delivers the follow-up to his critically acclaimed album "Far In" (2021). The first single "LFO", which is accompanied by a hallucinatory, self-made official video, will be released at the same time. "PHASOR" began in 2019 on Lange's 39th birthday after a five-hour visit to Salvatore Matirano's SAL MAR project at the University of Illinois. This machine is a complex synthesizer that uses an old supercomputer brain and analog oscillators to generatively create music. It can generate an infinite number of sound sequences. This SAL MAR experience became the foundation for PHASOR. It taught Lange more about himself and became a central factor in his creative process. "PHASOR" is Lange's densest collection of songs - profound, atmospheric, meticulously executed. It joins Lange's longstanding body of work and the 2019 album "This Is How You Smile", on which he used more drums and bass and focused grooves. His 2021 album "Far In" dealt with the theme of "quarantine". "PHASOR", on the other hand, is a return to life, a reminder of what the sun feels like and how you can let it warm you.

Heaven or Las Vegas followed in 1990 and is recognised as their most commercially successful release, reaching number seven in the UK album charts. Numerous publications have since declared it one of the best albums of the 90s, Pitchfork calling it “a core of ungodly gorgeous songs that is every bit as moving and relevant today as it ever was.” Label founder Ivo Watts-Russell goes further, candidly revealing in the recent 4AD biography, Facing The Other Way, that this album wasn’t just his favourite Cocteaus album but also his favourite all-time 4AD album, and “by a long shot”, calling it “the perfect record.”

LP+CD+7"

Tkay Maidza, the first female rapper signed to 4AD, announces details of her highly anticipated new album, Sweet Justice. The follow-up to her 2016 self-titled debut will be released on 3 November and includes the recent Flume-produced earth-shuddering single ‘Silent Assassin’. Today, Tkay shares a blistering new track, ‘Ring-A-Ling’ and official video directed by Jocelyn Anquetil.

“I’m never choosing compliance,” a defiant Maidza utters ‘Ring-A-Ling’; a warning from the Zimbabwean-born, Australian-raised, Los Angeles-based rapper, singer and producer and a mantra for Sweet Justice. Produced by Two Fresh, Tkay says of ‘Ring-A-Ling’, “I wanted to make an empowering song that tells others that my biggest focus are my goals.”

The result of a dark night of the soul—and ensuing epiphany—that led to a series of professional and personal reckonings, Sweet Justice isn’t a revenge album, but it does stem from a profound sense of karma. In a traditional sense, it’s a breakup record: about Tkay splitting off from her self-doubt and warped sense of self; the toxic figures that populated the last chapter of her life; and the idea that she should stick to any one lane.

After severing ties with old friends, she found some new ones on the same creative wavelength: Canadian producers Stint and Kaytranada, and fellow Australian Flume, all of whom contribute production. Sweet Justice is an album that embodies the beautiful contradictions of Tkay’s art: it’s a coming-of-age record by someone who’s mastered the game; an album about karmic justice and accountability that’s bright, breezy and incredibly fun. In Tkay’s mind, it’s a rebirth album, a record about harnessing the feminine power that was innate in her the whole time.

Tkay Maidza says, “Sweet Justice was a way for me to channel my emotions from what I’ve experienced in the last two years. It’s a diary of things and thoughts I’ve kept to myself. Making the record was a healing experience and I’m grateful to have worked with producers who have inspired me throughout my career.” Sweet Justice follows the 3-year-long, 24 song-strong genre-bending Last Year Was Weird trilogy exploring Maidza’s own African-Australian experience. The project earned her a 2021 ARIA Awards win for Best Soul/R&B Release and an NME Award for Best Solo Act From Australia in 2022. Following on from tours with Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa, Tkay is currently in the southern hemisphere for arena shows with Lizzo with her own headline shows to be announced soon.

Over the last year, Vienna-based producer SOHN has collaborated with the likes of Disclosure, Angel Haze, Rhye, and Banks.

Now it's time for his debut Tremors on UK's 4AD.

80g vinyl including download code.

Spanning over 14 tracks, the new album features collaborations with Janelle Monáe and newcomer, Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes. It was recorded primarily in her home studio in Los Angeles, CA, where she relocated to in 2014. Like all of her previous albums, ‘Art Angels’ was written and recorded entirely as a solo endeavor. The new album features more live instrumentation than ever before on a Grimes record. She plays piano, guitar and violin, continuing her evolution as a musician and a producer for her most ambitious album to date.

Tkay Maidza, the first female rapper signed to 4AD, releases her highly anticipated new album "Sweet Justice." The follow-up to her 2016 self-titled debut features production from Flume and Kaytranada. It's a shimmering and zeitgeisty kaleidoscope of current pop from an artist reaching for the stars to become one herself. The second album from Los Angeles-based, Zimbabwe-born, Australia-raised Tkay Maidza, is radiant, soulful and seductive, showcasing all facets of the irrepressible Tkay: her mordant wit and infectiousness, her unwavering belief in herself and her refusal to compromise. Maidza switches between styles, effortlessly overcoming genre boundaries - music without constraints, rules and guidelines

Previously only available on vinyl as a small run pressed by Jóhann himself on his NTOV label, this new pressing comes spread across two 180g pieces of black vinyl and is housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve. This pressing has been mastered by Bo Kondren at Calyx and the artwork has been adapted from his original design by Chris Bigg.

Elena Tonra of Daughter goes Solo and says:

„Although the record is written for someone, a lot of the time it’s about the space without that person in it. In every scenario, there’s either the person in memory or the noticeable absence of that person in the present moment. I suppose it is a break-up record, however I do not talk about the relationship at all, and he hardly features in the scenes. He is only felt as a ghostly presence."

The follow-up to 2014’s Singles. The Far Field has string and horn arrangements by Patrick McMinn and is the first Future Islands record to feature live drums from member Michael Lowry. Blondie’s Debbie Harry makes a guest appearance on “Shadows.”

The band began writing the album last January, and later in the year, performed the songs at a series of secret shows under fake names. They recorded the album with producer John Congleton (Sleater-Kinney, David Byrne, St. Vincent, Cloud Nothings) in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound (where artists like the Beach Boys and Prince have recorded).

The work of Illinois-born, Toronto-based artist Meg Remy, U.S. Girls has evolved in recent years from the coarse 4-track fidelity found on her early recordings to more luscious and unabashed works, packed with fiery pop sensibilities. Half Free is the next step in this impressive progression, an honest and lyrically jarring exploration of emotions, drenched in a bath of raw beats and loops that have become the hallmark of her work with producer and frequent collaborator Onakabazien. Other album guests include Slim Twig (DFA), Ben Cook (Fucked Up, Young Guv), Amanda Crist (Ice Cream) and Tony Price.

Released in 1988, Blue Bell Knoll is the Cocteau Twins’ fifth studio album. Delivered after a slightly longer period between records than fans had been used to, this was the first they recorded in their own studio. Freed to now make music how they wanted and with no clock to beat, they rose to the challenge of producing it themselves with real aplomb, introducing a new pop sensibility to their sound, expressed through shorter, 'hookier' songs with occasionally intelligible lyrics. Sound On Sound magazine praised them for showing “an uncanny feel for contemporary sound possibilities without making even the slightest concessions towards the mainstream.” A beautiful record that showed the band’s continued maturity, it also included one of their most enduring songs, ‘Carolyn’s Fingers’, which was reflected on the album’s cover - a close-up of their friend Carolyn’s hand as shot by Juergen Teller.