Pop 7837 Items

Limited to 1000 copies on curacao colored vinyl. Exclusive to HHV customers.

Vacation. Not only in Italy.

A backpack trip through Australia, a campfire in the allotment.

In the car with friends through the Lunenburg Heath or just a short holiday in your head, during the rainy lunch break or with a glass of spritzer on the balcony. And that includes music, music, music! Grooves that roll into the distance like an Intercity, Rhodes chords soft as the sand on the beach and synthesizers that sparkle like the reflections on the ocean. Music as colorful as a Hawaiian shirt and as warming as the morning sun. Welcome to Erobique's second album: "Erobique No.2"

Here, even the song titles are in holiday mood:

"Ahoj!" greets the young "Springinsfeld". The "Mantas" glide elegantly around the "Acquamarina". "Salut les Copines!" we call to the neighboring boat. "Come along to the 'Ravedave!'" it echoes back happily. "Riding Low" is the motto, and the "Arpeggiator" condenses the "Synaesthesia" of the foggy senses in a wonderful way. The "Italotape" in the cassette deck plays the "Hit Song of Both of Us".

That's all so nice "Verkackt", that sounds like "Future Music"!

Carsten Meyer released his debut album "Erosound" in 1998 under the name "Erobique". Exactly 25 years later, the now 50-year-old releases his second Erobique album on his own label A-sexy.

Thirteen varied tracks and songs between holiday disco and rhythm box rave, recorded and produced with many of his friends and companions.

25 years, that's pretty much how long it took disco to go from the legendary loft parties of pioneer David Mancuso to the awe-inspiring mass spectacles of Daft Punk performances.

Or from Meyer's birth to his first long-playing record. So why only now a second album as “Erobique”?

Meyer has been improvising performances in front of a dancing audience for years. Even his hits "Easy Mobeasy" and "Urlaub in Italien" aren't actually pop songs, but rather arose from spontaneous inspiration, in an adrenaline rush, in the middle of the party, right in the moment! Sang along and faded away again. Recorded live and released as is. Just don't repeat! Every Erobique concert is an attempt to turn the unforeseen, the unexpected and accidents into a unique moment of being there. "Mistakes are king" said the witty Knarf Rellöm once - and Carsten Meyer is the king of mistakes!

How are you supposed to conjure up such moments in the studio, without a party, without the energy that spills back onto the stage at a children's birthday party for adults?

Meyer remembered another Erobique hit and changed his title accordingly:

He collaborated with an overdose of joy!

Drummer Lucas Kochbeck (The KBCs, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band) who now also supports Carsten at his live gigs as well as neighbor and buddy Christoph M. Kaiser (former bassist with the Jeremy Days, now film music and pop strategist) layed down the Groove foundation with glowing tiles, like at the Trinity, Hamburg's legendary 80s disco.

Sophia Kennedy came over from the neighboring studio to sing and Lieven Brunckhorst dragged the entire wind section of Jan Delay's big band Disco No1 in front of the microphone.

Meyer recorded harps, xylophones and violins in his music room at the Hamburger Fischmarkt or with Tobias Levin in his Electric Avenue studio with a view of the Fleet.

Carsten went to Berlin where he met his hero Siriusmo to put some ideas through the electronic grinder. Nicola Rost of Laing stopped by and left incredibly dense choirs and wonderful songs.

Finally, all tracks were brought to Swabian Ludwigsburg where the Freundskreis DJ and disco expert Martin Welzer aka DJ Friction screwed the whole madness into an incredibly warm and dancefloor-friendly overall sound.

Back to the drawing board, like all A-sexy releases, the cover art is painted and designed by Meyer himself, after all his original career aspiration was to be a school book illustrator.

In the course of one summer, a musical chocolate box was created that will not only enrich the holiday playlist of his fans and listeners, but also made his archive of ideas and sketches, which is several quantum bytes deep, a little bit thinner. Outside of his disco fairs up and down the country, Meyer has not remained idle in the last quarter of a century:

Between 1998 and 2006 he developed hypermodern electronic soul with DJ Koze and Cosmic DJ as an international pony. Together with Jacques Palminger and Chris Dietermann, he supervised amateur songwriters in the project "Songs for Joy" at the Maxim-Gorki-Theater Berlin when they made pop music, which is how the secret hit "Wann Strahlst Du?" was created in 2007 with the great text by Barbara Stützel. In general, theatre: For the theater director Herbert Fritsch he arranged the hits by Gino Paoli and Hugo Wolff for crazy evenings at the Schauspielhaus Zurich (2016) and at the Residenztheater Munich (2015), for Stefan Pucher he shot the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen through the home organ wolf ( 2010). For the colleagues from Studio Braun, he brought the "Dorfpunks" to life at the Hamburg Schauspielhaus, and immediately afterwards he developed the authentic Neue-Welle sound for their mockumentary "Fraktus", which was released in cinemas in 2012.

So there we are with film and television music. Here, too, Meyer had a lot to do in recent years. The soundtrack for the popular TV series "Der Tatortreinigung" with Bjarne Mädel in the title role was the best. Incidentally, the "jack of all trades" (quote Peter Bursch) also released a few albums on his own label A-sexy: Rumpel-Funk as "Babyman", the finest chanson pop with Palminger and Yvon Janssen for "Yvon im Kreis der Liebe" and warm, modern Hammond jazz with the "Hamburg Spinners".

And now finally his anniversary album, the silver wedding with himself.
25 years Carsten and Erobique, together forever and happier than ever!

To the next… stop no. We don't want to wait that long!

Alison Goldfrapp has set a towering bar for British synth-pop in the 21st century and she’s only just getting started. The magnetic London-born singer, songwriter and producer’s seven albums with Goldfrapp were fuelled by an unfailing modernity and a sixth sense for sounds that were more timeless than any trend. With the release of her debut solo album The Love Invention—an electrifying dance-pop suite—her multi-faceted musicianship reaches a new peak.

The Love Invention marks Alison’s reawakening as a dancefloor priestess, in an intoxicating showcase of the disco and house influences that have always been at the heart of her musical DNA. “So Hard So Hot” bottles the ephemeral joy of a dancefloor with its anthemic house beat, disco handclaps, and an exquisitely alluring vocal from Alison. The sense of uninhibited liberation courses through album highlights like “In Electric Blue,” a yearning synth-pop confection with a chorus as blissful as love’s first butterflies. On “Never Stop,” she is flooded with the rush of an all-encompassing love over a buoyant, rubberised beat; the sublime synth-pop of “Fever” is an ode to the intoxicating majesty of the dancefloor, with a chorus that explodes as if setting off a glitter cannon.

On June 23, 2023, Madonna will release a new rainbow-vinyl version of her sold-out 6-LP collection, Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones. Like the original, FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE: THE RAINBOW EDITION spans Madonna’s entire dance club chart reign with dozens of remixes by the world’s top producers. Along with fan favourites, the set also features several rare remix recordings that debuted commercially last year. Boasting more than 220 minutes of remixes, FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE: THE RAINBOW EDITION flows in mostly chronological order. It showcases the many musical reinventions that made Madonna an international icon, from 1983’s “Holiday” to 2019’s “I Don’t Search I Find,” with remixes by some of the biggest and most influential DJs of all time, including Peter Rauhofer, William Orbit, Honey Dijon, and Avicii.

Madonna is the first and only recording artist to have 50 #1 hits on any single Billboard chart. To celebrate this historic milestone, Madonna curated a 50-track collection titled FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE: 50 NUMBER ONES which includes her favourite remixes of those chart-topping dance hits that have filled clubs worldwide for four decades as well as an abridged 16-track version, titled FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE.

Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd ist das neunte Studioalbum der renommierten Singer-Songwriterin Lana Del Rey. Es enthält 16 Tracks und musikalische Zwischenspiele von Father John Misty, Tommy Genesis, Jon Batiste, Bleachers und weiteren. Das Album folgt auf die 2021 erschienenen Alben Chemtrails Over The Country Club und Blue Banisters der Ausnahmekünstlerin.

The HHV Records universe in 14 high quality screen print stickers black-and-white on an A4 format sheet. It can be so easy.
Good Stuff Carefully Composed in 14 stickers.

On the sheet:
• HHV Logo Sticker, square
• KEATS Logo Sticker, square
• Beat Jazz International Logo Sticker, square
• For the RECORD Logo Sticker, round
• PMC Lettering Sticker, round
• PMC Logo Sticker, round
• HHV Mag Logo Sticker, round
• HHV Boombap 45's Logo Sticker, round
• 90's Tapes Logo Sticker, round
• For The CULTURE Logo Sticker, round
• Vinyl Diggers Logo Sticker, round
• DIGGIN IS A SCIENCE Logo Sticker, round
• 20 Years HHV Logo Sticker, round

We are excited to present Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes’ “What Kinda Music” – an astonishing collaboration between two artists of very different disciplines, and one of the most unique and seamlessly original projects of its ilk to date.

Moving fluidly through sleek electronica, avant-garde jazz, vintage hip hop and so much more, Misch and Dayes take you on a journey that is by turns surprising and spontaneous, heady and head spinning, and nothing less than compelling – a singular vision which fuses the DNA of both musicians with spectacular results, as can be seen in the title track, which comes backed by a gorgeously atmospheric video by XX.

Even though the fundamental bones of this project came together very quickly, its actual provenance stretches back much, much farther back, with the pair not only growing up in the same area of South East London, but Misch actually seeing Dayes play on drums in the school talent show for the first time when he was roughly 8 or 9. They both kept tabs on each other – Misch becoming a fan of Dayes’ act Yussef Kamaal, Dayes clocking his videos in 2014 – but it was only when they met at a launch party for Misch’s debut LP “Geography” in 2018 that the proverbial creative sparks began to fly. “As a musician you’re always looking for contemporaries who can push you and challenge you and make you better”, says Dayes. “I instantly felt that with Tom – he was such a gifted musician, and so prolific”. That summer they decided to go into the studio together, jam a little, and see what happens, with no other expectation placed upon it.

As it turns out, the music came fast and furiously. Two initial tracks were suddenly followed by a handful of others, and the pair found themselves contemplating what to do next. “Pretty soon, we knew that something was gelling”, Dayes says. “It didn’t feel like a one-off collaboration, it felt like a body of work”. What made the pair click, according to Misch and Dayes, were the exact same factors that meant it shouldn’t, by all rights, work. Misch says, “Yussef comes from a more experimental background, and he has a lot of loose, crazy ideas. I know how to write a catchy melody, but with interesting chords and have a good understanding of popular song forms, so I think I streamlined those ideas and made them accessible”. And certainly, in “What Kinda Music” you can sense the DNA of both musicians, but fusing so effortlessly and beautifully that it creates something else entirely, the appropriately named “Lift Off” sending goosebumps with its jazz flecked crescendo, and “Night Rider” hynotising with its deeply mesmeric grooves. “I have a love for harmony and chords”, Misch adds. “Working with someone like Yussef, who has such a gifted sense of rhythm allowed a perfect balance”.

Throughout the record, there is an utterly joyful feel of two musicians at the top of their game sparking off one another, picking up ideas and running with them – zigging where the other zags, ebbing where the other flows, with Misch producing the majority of the record and both having a hand in the overall sound and feel of the record.

“Working with Yussef has actually changed the way I work as a musician”, Misch muses. “He’s pushed me and unlocked a more experimental part of me that I hadn’t really allowed myself to explore before. I think we really did impact each other in a fundamental way”. Dayes is similarly effusive in his praise for Misch. “A musician like him, who’s at the top of his game, he doesn’t need to do this”, he raves. “He can just keep doing the same thing and why not? He’s killing it. The fact that he’s so humble, that he’s so curious about everything and open to collaboration, speaks a lot to him as an artist, because it’s not easy finding musicians who want to collaborate. Something always gets in the way, whether it’s ego or their team or whatever. But with Tom it felt like the intention was purely creative, and that’s what made it exciting”. In fact, Dayes says that the intentions of the record go even deeper than just music. “Both our parents who’d never met each other before, are now best friends as a result of this, they now see each other more than we do! I’d like to think, in some small way, that this album has a similar impact for people too – everything feels so divided these days, it would be nice for people to hear the record and hear two very different musicians coming together and realise it doesn’t have to be that way”.

Attn.: We did not receive this record in time for RSD, but we will get it this week.

Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, drums by Max Whitefield!

Deluxe Vinyl Edition includes 3 bonus tracks.

6LP Box

The seeds of the collaboration were planted in 2017 when Anderson. Paak and Bruno Mars toured together on the European leg of his 24K Magic World Tour. One late-night jam session on the road unlocked immediate chemistry. Just before the world slipped into quarantine, Bruno called Anderson: "Remember that idea we had back in 2017? Let's do it. " One studio session grew into to a months-long collaboration, culminating the "setlist of doom. " Legendary Bootsy Collins christened Silk Sonic and came in as the "special guest host" for An Evening With Silk Sonic, their debut album. Silk Sonic was finally set free on March 5th, 2021. Within less than a month, their debut single "Leave The Door Open" cracked over 230 million streams, and currently sits at 1. 2 billion streams with over 346 million official video views. It reeled in rave reviews, including Variety who noted it "could be a Best R&B Song Grammy winner from 1974."

Finally Taylor Swift’s self-titled album from 2006 gets a vinyl issue as a 180g 2LP.

2022 Official Reissue

Latest mash up masterpiece from AMERIGO GAZAWAY, the man behind BIZARRE TRIBE, YASIIN GAYE, and FELA SOUL. On this new SOUL MATES project he brings to life an imagined studio session between the high priestess of soul NINA SIMONE and hip hop legend LAURYN HILL. 17 track two LP set in pic sleeve.

"Memento Mori" represents Depeche Mode's 15th studio album overall, while Gahan and Gore present the first long player with a two-piece lineup following the tragic death of band co-founder Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher in 2022. Produced by James Ford, with assistance from Marta Salogni, "Memento Mori" matured during the early stages of the worldwide Covid pandemic; a period that also had a thematic influence on the songs. The 12 album tracks bridge a variety of moods and musical textures - starting with the ominous opener and ending with the denouement at the end, the emotional spectrum spans from paranoia and obsession to psychic liberation and joy, as well as countless emotional interjections.

The single "Ghosts Again" precedes the album release of "Memento Mori" with an impressive harbinger. The song already represents nothing less than a flawless Depeche Mode classic: Dave Gahan's imagery-rich lyrics like "wasted feelings, broken meanings... a place to hide the tears we cry" combine over an uplifting, optimistic groove with a hypnotic guitar figure from Martin Gore.

"For me, `Ghosts Again` captures the perfect balance between melancholy and joy," Gahan says. "It`s not too often that we record a song that I can not only listen to over and over again - I`m also super excited to share it with the world," adds Gore.

Fat Freddy"s Drop"s legendary performance at London"s Roundhouse from 2008 is finally available on vinyl for the first time ever to celebrate its15th anniversary.

Exclusive live performance straight from the ‘Construction Time Again Tour’.

Limited to 200 copies for the European market. Exclusively available at HHV.

Pressed on 2x 140g blue vinyl, comes in gatefold sleeve.

To celebrate Record Store Day 2023, American-British soul singer, Celeste, will release a limited edition pink vinyl, 6 track EP, titled "Lately". Featuring her latest single ‘To Love A Man’ for the first time on vinyl, as well as the extended version of her break through track, ‘Strange’; cut at 45rpm by Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios. This EP is an adaptation of the highly sought after 2019LatelyEP, which was only released as a limited run promo in North America.

„Glas“ ist ein beeindruckendes Album. Weil es von einer jungen Frau stammt, die nach dem Erscheinen völlig zurecht als Stimme einer neuen Generation bezeichnet werden dürfte. Eine Stimme, die manchmal laut ist und genau weiß, was sie will. Die keine Angst hat, die Dinge zu sagen, wie sie sind oder wie sie auf keinen Fall mehr sein dürfen. Die aber auch mal leise sein kann. Unsicher und verletzlich. Kein Widerspruch, sondern ganz genau richtig, wie sie ist. „Glas“ ist der eindrucksvolle Beweis.

Regular black version of this timeless masterpiece!

Avalon Emerson & the Charm is an evolution. Created during an extended break from the hectic blur of her life as a touring DJ, the album is a personal statement of intent from an artist who’s long looked beyond the club for inspiration. It’s also the first time that Emerson has put herself, her emotions and, most notably, her voice fully into the spotlight.

Having spent her entire career working more or less alone, Emerson purposely sought out a small cast of like-minded artists to help bring the album to life. A Chief among them was UK avant-pop savant Bullion, who executive produced the record and, most importantly, shares both Emerson’s predilection for shimmering pop melodies and her boundary- less approach to music-making.

Working together, they cracked open her head and heart alike, creating a space where she could intimately reflect on the people and places she’s loved and left behind.

Limited to 4000 copies worldwide. RSD first release.
2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Elton John’s sixth studio album Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player featuring lead single Crocodile Rock and major hit Daniel. Exclusive to Record Store Day 2023, the album will be repackaged on splatter /propeller 2LP Vinyl, with an expansive bonus disc of the album’s session demos recorded at the infamous Château d’Hérouville.

An edition of 200 copies with insert signed by Nick Waterhouse himself, only available at HHV.

The title of the sixth album from Californian singer-songwriter Nick Waterhouse is more than just the name of one of its tracks. The Fooler is both a clue and a red herring. The Fooler is the observed and the observer, narrator and subject, truth and lie. The Fooler is the shadow and reflection of a city the artist knows sufficiently well to wander with his eyes closed, and a place which very possibly never even existed. The Fooler is not so much an unreliable narrator as a constantly shifting perspective.

The Fooler is the new album by Nick Waterhouse, and it’s a lot. Recorded by Mark Neill (Black Keys; Los Straightjackets; Dave Cobb) in Valdosta, Georgia, it’s a song-cycle of sorts, the arc of the album telling a tale of a city and its denizens.

The result is a record that offers up new riches and fresh perspectives with every spin. From the hidden corners of ‘Hide & Seek’ and the roadhouse soul of 'Play To Win' to the primitive, attitudinal, chugging two-chord thrill of ‘Late In The Garden’, it builds inexorably to the drama of the title track and pulsing roll-and-rock of the final pay-off, ‘Unreal, Immaterial’. Play it once, and it sounds immediately like a collection of great songs. Play it again – and you will – and it feels like a novel or film slowly unveiling its secrets, kaleidoscopic in its narrative complexity. “Especially during this record, I started just becoming what Allen Ginsberg called a pure breath,” says the artist. “I was becoming pure breath with my ideas.”

When Light In The Attic released _Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1976-1986_ in 2019, it was the first collection of its kind to be released outside Japan. It proved to be just what music fans had been waiting for—a compilation of sought-after tracks that had been nearly impossible to obtain unless you were well-connected with dealers and collectors, or traveled regularly to the countless record stores in Japan. _Pacific Breeze_ included Minako Yoshida, Taeko Ohnuki, Hiroshi Sato and Haruomi Hosono among other key players of ‘70s-’80s Japanese City Pop, the nebulous genre that encompassed an “amalgam of AOR, R&B, jazz fusion, funk, boogie and disco, all a touch dizzy with tropical euphoria,” as we described it the first time around.
With _Pacific Breeze 2: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1972-1986_ we dig deeper into those sounds of bubble-era Japan. From the proto-City Pop funk of Bread & Butter and Eiichi Ohtaki to the crate-digger favorites Eri Ohno and Piper, the latest entry in Light In The Attic’s Japan Archival Series brings another set of sought-after tunes, most of which have never before been available outside of Japan. Tomoko Aran and Anri, also included in this compilation, are just a few of the artists who have gained popularity in recent years thanks to Vaporwave, the meme-genre that heavily samples Japanese City Pop to create its particular aesthetic.

_Pacific Breeze 2_ once again feature the artwork of renowned Tokyo-based illustrator Hiroshi Nagai, whose iconic images of resort living have become synonymous with City Pop. Nagai’s urban tropical imagery is a perfect match for the expertly curated tunes, evoking a certain sense of nostalgia for the leisure lifestyles of ‘70s-’80s Tokyo, while simultaneously being perfectly in tune with the current zeitgeist.

Na also, doch auf Vinyl!!!

Limited to 500 copies, worldwide, exclusively available at HHV. The latest chapter in the acclaimed Pacific Breeze series!

Artwork by renowned illustrator Hiroshi Nagai

Compiled by Yosuke Kitazawa and Mark “Frosty” McNeill (dublab)

Newly remastered audio

2xLP housed in a deluxe wide spine jacket with full color inner sleeves and custom die-cut OBI

Extensive artist bios by Yosuke Kitazawa

Digital mockups are not an exact representation of colors

Light in the Attic’s Pacific Breeze series has supplied the world’s growing legions of Japanese music fans with an expertly curated selection of the most sought-after City Pop recordings—the mesmerizing and nebulous genre of Japanese bubble-era music of the ‘70s-’80s that encompasses AOR, R&B, jazz fusion, funk, boogie and disco. These familiar sounds are spun through the unique lens of optimistic, cosmopolitan fantasy colored by Japan’s affluence at the time. Much of the music has previously been nearly impossible to acquire outside of Japan and continues to captivate listeners with its unique blend of groove-laden escapism, even birthing wholly new genres such as Vaporwave.

Pacific Breeze 3: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1975-1987 marks the latest chapter in the famed series and features holy grails plus under-the-radar rarities. The collection bursts at the seams to reveal some of the greatest Japanese tracks ever laid to tape, pushing towards the edge of City Pop to reveal glimmers of the next waves of styles to spring forth from the country’s creative minds. The appearance of Pizzicato Five hint at the emergence of Shibuya-kei while the influence of hip hop and electro as an emerging global trend are also evident here through the prevalence of heavier programmed drum beats on tracks such as “Heartbeat” by Miho Fujiwara.

This volume of Pacific Breeze, like its predecessors, is a female-forward offering, with many tracks being voiced by women who would become household names in Japan as actresses and pop idols. Their songs here subvert the norm and brim with an innovative spirit that shatters gender roles in favor of sonic transcendence. Techno-pop classics from Susan, Miharu Koshi and Chiemi Manabe sit alongside sublime funk from Atsuko Nina and Naomi Akimoto, while Teresa Noda slides into the mix with a sultry reggae jam. The genre span is stretched wider with hypnotic jazz fusion by Parachute and Hiroyuki Namba, a synthesizer fantasy from Osamu Shoji, and magnetic pop by Makoto Matsushita and Chu Kosaka.

Although not front and center, the visionary members of Yellow Magic Orchestra are still very present on Pacific Breeze 3, with Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yukihiro Takahashi taking up producer and musician roles on many of these tracks. Pacific Breeze 3 serves up a captivating musical journey that adds an essential chapter to the iconic compilation series.

Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd ist das neunte Studioalbum der renommierten Singer-Songwriterin Lana Del Rey. Es enthält 16 Tracks und musikalische Zwischenspiele von Father John Misty, Tommy Genesis, Jon Batiste, Bleachers und weiteren. Das Album folgt auf die 2021 erschienenen Alben Chemtrails Over The Country Club und Blue Banisters der Ausnahmekünstlerin.

Where to place Yīn Yīn on the map ? Maybe somewhere between Netherlands and South-East Asia, on an imaginary tropical island. That’s where they brew a strange cocktail made of disco grooves, powerful “thaï beat” tunes and experimental tropi-synths. After two mind blowing singles on Les Disques Bongo Joe, they’re back with «The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers ». Yīn Yīn passed last months burning scenes and make people dance around Europe, so they’re ready to blow the world with this awaited Sirst album. Made of groovy tunes and danceSloor killers, this album could be the crazy soundtrack of a 60s hippie village on the South China Sea. Due for fall 2019, still on Les Disques Bongo Joe, this twelve songs gem will warm you up during the cold season.

Chet Faker, Melbourne, Australia … some laid back stuff straight from the sun! Includes the genius 'No Diggity' cover version!

Tracklisting: A - Free Yourself / B: Free Yourself (Paul Woolford remix) (new track from upcoming album!)

„V I N C E N T“ ist FKJs zweites Album. Es markiert den Beginn eines neuen Kapitels für FKJ, der damit nach seinen Arbeiten als gefragter Produzent und zentrale Remix-Adresse für andere Künstler:innen wie PinkPantheress und Moses Sumney das nächste künstlerische Solo-Statement macht – nachdem er zuletzt schon ausverkaufte Konzerte in aller Welt mit seinen gefeierten „One-man-Shows“ verbuchen konnte. Kombiniert liegt auch die Zahl seiner Streams inzwischen im Milliardenbereich.

Das Konzept des „V I N C E N T“-Albums entstand während eines Soloabstechers nach Los Angeles, den er schon vor dem Jahr 2020 antrat. „Ich wohnte dort dann ganz allein in so einem Haus … und schaltete auch mein Telefon ab, um wirklich runterzukommen. Ich brauchte einfach etwas Abstand und Zeit für mich, weil ich herausfinden wollte, was ich eigentlich als nächstes machen wollte.“ Schon bald wurde ihm klar, dass er demjenigen Freiheitsgefühl nachspüren wollte, das man als Teenager hin und wieder spürt. „Damals habe ich einfach nur gespielt, es ging beim Musikmachen um nichts anderes. Ich hab über nichts nachgedacht“, so FKJ. Genau dieses Gefühl kommt schon im Eröffnungs- und dem Abschlusstitel der neuen LP durch: einerseits der Future Jazz von „Way Out“ – eigentlich ein verspielter Mini-Soundtrack: eine anmutige Pianomelodie, unterfüttert mit wilden Trap-Beats und ruhigen Streichern – und das fast wie ein Schlaflied wirkende „Stay A Child“. „Ich wollte einen Teil von dieser verlorenen Unschuld zurückholen … diesen Augenblick, wenn man einfach nur aus purem Vergnügen Musik macht.“

Wieder zurück im eigenen Home Studio auf den Philippinen angekommen, dort sogar ohne Wlan und zunehmend abgeriegelt durch internationale Lockdown-Maßnahmen, war FKJ nun tatsächlich abgeschnitten vom Rest der Welt. Was auch bedeutete: noch weniger Ablenkungen. Es war die ideale Gelegenheit, um ganz allein die endlosen Möglichkeiten der Musik zu erkunden. „Manchmal habe ich die ganze Nacht durch an den Songs gesessen und bin erst ins Bett gegangen, als schon wieder die Sonne aufging.“ Dieser unbefangene Ansatz war entscheidend: Basierend auf dieser Freiheit ist ein expressionistisches, wirklich berührendes Album entstanden, das man unmöglich einordnen kann. Auch versteckt sich FKJ nicht mehr hinter irgendwelchen grünen Zweigen, wie er es auf dem Cover seines Solodebüts getan hatte: Mit „V I N C E N T“ tritt FKJ heraus aus dem Schatten und zeigt sich, seine Stimme als Musiker, seinen Sound. Indem er Saxophon und Klavier aus Late Night Jazz-Sessions mit geerdetem Flüstergesang (à la Bon Ivers Frühwerk) und Gitarren à la Santana zusammenbringt, gibt er sogar dem schwierigen Begriff Chillout Music eine ganz neue Bedeutung.

Während weite Teile von „V I N C E N T“ vor allem romantisch klingen, geht’s ab und zu auch richtig sexy zu, dann wieder verträumt, den Kopf hoch oben in den Wolken – wie etwa bei „Us“, den er seiner Frau June widmet. „ihm“ kommt mit Nineties-Hip-Hop-Einschlag daher, wobei er jedoch immer weiter das Tempo drosselt und das Licht dimmt. Genau genommen doch nicht 100% solo eingespielt, hilft ((( O ))) schließlich beim Song „Brass Necklace“ aus – was ähnlich eindringlich klingt wie The Internet oder die Keys, wenn Stevie Wonder sie spielt. Zusammen mit Toro Y Moi setzt er für die Leadsingle „A Moment of Mystery“ auf astreine Space-Trip-Vibes, die tatsächlich aus nicht ganz nüchternen Parallelwelten stammen: Während der Arbeit in San Francisco tranken FKJ, Toro und dessen Keyboarder Tony eine Flüssigkeit, die Tony als „heiliges Wässerchen“ bezeichnete … „Wir teilten uns dann die ganze Flasche, was in einen ziemlichen Trip mündete“, erzählt FKJ und lacht. Zurück in der Realität, ist das Ergebnis dieses Trips eine sanfte Electro-Ode auf dauerhaftes Liebesglück. Vor allem ist es ein Track, der in Sachen Eingängigkeit und dezentem Prog-Faktor selbst Tame Impala in nichts nachsteht.

Auch Yukimi Nagano (Little Dragon) ist am Mikrofon zu hören – auf dem umwerfenden „Can’t Stop“ –, und mit „Let’s Live“, einem treibenden Technopop-Song, in dem Handclaps, Klavier und Vocals perfekt miteinander verschmelzen, besinnt sich FKJ noch einmal auf seine Anfangstage zurück, als seine Produktionen noch größtenteils ins Dance-Genre passten. Obwohl er immer wieder Kategorien aufsprengt und seine Stücke kontinuierlich mit neuen Ideen erweitert, wirken die Tracks nie aufgeblasen, nie zu dick aufgetragen. Trotz der Vielschichtigkeit wird einem nie schwindelig.

Insgesamt ist „V I N C E N T“ ein kleines Wunder. Es ist der Beweis, welche Magie entstehen kann, wenn man nur tief genug gräbt, Inspirationen lange genug reifen lässt. „Das war schon eine echte Herausforderung, diese Platte aufzunehmen“, sagt er abschließend. „Ich bin nun mal eigentlich ein Perfektionist – und das kann man nicht einfach so abschalten. Als ich es dann jedoch geschafft hatte und die Musik selbst tonangebend war, fühlte ich mich mit einem Mal vollkommen frei.“

HHV Exclusive limited to 250 copies. No poster included!

Unavailable on vinyl since its original release in Japan and Hong Kong circa 1986, Ship to Shore PhonoCo. is very proud to present Momoko Kikuchi’s J-Pop masterpiece Adventure back on wax where it belongs!

Momoko Kikuchi - already a bonafide pop idol in her native Japan - released Adventure a mere two months after her eighteenth birthday, her smooth vocals complimenting the electronic music like caramel sauce over vanilla ice cream. When people talk about the sound of 80’s Japanese City Pop, this is what they’re referring to.

Newly remastered from original archival material and pressed onto limited edition purple vinyl, this is a must-have for collectors and music aficionados alike!

The biggest selling 12” single of all time in the UK, reissued and remastered from the original master tapes at Abbey Road Studios. Originally released on Factory Records in March 1983, the single has become the band’s most recognisable track

Repress 2023

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce an extensive reissue program of Meiko Kaji's first five album released in Japan between 1972 and 1974 on Teichiku Records. The program, in partnership with Teichiku and Meiko Kaji, will see her first five albums reissued on vinyl for the first time ever in their original Japanese artwork and remastered audio. Famous for her early 70s exploitation movies ('Lady Snowblood', the 'Female Prisoner Scorpion' and 'Stray Cat Rock' series) revered by Tarantino, Meiko Kaji was also a singer releasing albums to tie in with her movie career. These albums are a fascinating mix of Japanese Pop and Groove with superb funky cinematic orchestrations as displayed in "Hajiki Uta". The album is reissued with original artwork on deluxe Gatefold sleeve LP, OBI strip and a 2-p insert featuring new liner notes by by Hashim Kotaro Bharoocha who has interviewed Meiko for the occasion. It features "Urami Bushi" the theme song for the Female Prisoner Scorpion series which was used in Kill Bill Vol 2 and also "Onna No Jumon" the theme song for the film "Female Prisoner Scorpion - Jailhouse 41."

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• DELUXE GATEFOLD SLEEVE WITH LEATHER
LAMINATE
• INCLUDES FULL SIZE POSTER + INSERT
• EMMY & GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNING HBO
SERIES, PRODUCED BY STEVEN SPIELBERG &
TOM HANKS
• MUSIC COMPOSED BY THE LATE MICHAEL KAMEN
• SCORE PRODUCED BY TOM HANKS
• LIMITED EDITION OF 1500 INDIVIDUALLY
NUMBERED COPIES ON SMOKE COLOURED VINYL

After more than 20 years, Band Of Brothers is still considered one of HBO's most important series. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the series has won major awards such as the Golden Globe for Best Miniseries and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries. The series is a war drama miniseries based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 non-fiction same titled book. It follows the story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.

The score, composed by the late Michael Kamen, is credited as one of the essential elements in creating the realistic atmosphere of the series. Kamen was best known for scoring movies such as Die Hard, Lethal Weapon and X-Men and received an Academy Award nomination for both Don Juan DeMarco and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

Revisit the Band Of Brothers score with this deluxe reissue on smoke-coloured vinyl, available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies. The 2LP is housed in a gatefold with a cast picture on the inside, and includes a large poster and insert.

Obscure Italo disco from back in the Wbmx HOT MIX 5 days. This rare and in demand vinyl originally pressed in '84 finally gets an official reissue via Turin Dancefloor Express featuring original versions along with a new mix

Limited edition of 500 copies on clear vinyl only available at HHV.

Until recently, it was thought that we had heard all there was to hear from Saâda Bonaire. The German studio project's 1980s recordings had been compiled on the now cult-classic double LP Saâda Bonaire, released by Captured Tracks in 2013. Though the group had continued working until 1994, founder Ralph "von" Richtoven had firmly stated that all of their post-1986 work was lost. Released now for the first time ever, 1992 compiles the band's long-lost early nineties material. Produced between Bremen and New York City, the 12 songs presented here capture the group's attempts at steering their trademark fusion sound (reggae, afro-funk, Eastern music, and sultry German female vocals) into uncharted nu jazz, trip-hop, and house territories. It's no surprise, given both the time lapse and the fluid nature of the project, that these recordings differ sonically from the 1980s material. 1992 finds Saâda Bonaire folding new influences from the time (house, hip-hop, rap) into their eclectic sonic universe. Vocalist Andrea Ebert's soulful voice -the result of a church choir background and an early love of American soul and jazz music- offset Stephanie Lange's laid-back, more German-sounding vocals. This unique interplay bolstered the band's new direction - evident in their inspired takes on James Brown's "Woman" and Syreeta Wright and Stevie Wonder's "To Know You Is To Love You". The American influence was also made literal via contributions by renowned DJ Matthias Heillbronn and rapper Jimmy Lee Patterson, both of whom lent some stardust to the tracks at François Kevorkian's Axis Studios in NYC. Unfortunately, the demo recordings were considered too bizarre for 1990s record label standards, and as a result were never published. As with all things Saâda Bonaire, the discovery of these discarded recordings feels like a sort of magical impossibility. It's been nearly ten years since the release of the last compilation, and thirty since the recordings were originally captured. That they still manage to sound fresh and avant garde is a testament to Saâda Bonaire's flair for creating pop music for past, present, and future outsiders.

“We present our first ‘Untitled’ album to mark a moment in time where we as Black People, and of Black Origin are fighting for our lives. RIP George Floyd and all those who have suffered from police brutality and systemic racism. Change is happening… We are focused.”

Pressed at Optimal.

Iranian-American singer-songwriter Rahill announces a deeply personal solo project ‘Flowers At Your Feet’ on Ninja Tune imprint Big Dada, her new label home in which she sits comfortably alongside labelmates Yaya Bey and Lyzza.

The album – which across its 14 tracks features collaborations with Beck and Jasper Marsalis (Slauson Malone) – follows Rahill’s nostalgic 2022 covers EP ‘Sun Songs’ and sees her moving along a journey of self-acceptance and self-love; reflecting on childhood and family while honouring the people and moments that defined her. The project draws on elements of trip-hop, jazz and alt-rock music, all underpinned by Rahill’s reverent and thoughtful lyricism. Recorded in phases during the lockdown, the album was created in close collaboration between Rahill and producer Alex Epton (fka Twigs, Arca) who immediately identified the strength and potential of Rahill’s pre-existing solo compositions, some of which she’d written years earlier.

Vier Jahre nach der Veröffentlichung seines letzten Albums „Starboy“ kündigt The Weeknd sein neues Album „After Hours“ an, welches am 20. März erscheinen wird. Nach den zuletzt veröffentlichten Hitsingles „Blinding Lights“ (#1 der Singlecharts) und „Heartless“ war es nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis das neue Album in den Startlöchern steht. „After Hours“ ist sowohl digital als auch physisch als Standard CD, Vinyl und als MC erhältlich.

Originally released in April 2016 it now gets a double vinyl edition in yellow. The album features Kendrikc Lamar, Jack White, The Weeknd and James Blake. It includes audio and video downloads.

A Compilation of Minimal Wave from Around the World ‘79-‘85. The Hidden Tapes features rare, un­released, and licensed tracks from as far as Japan and the former Yugoslavia. Most of the bands on this compilation recorded on 4-track tape in their bedroom studios while two of them went further to col­laborate by sending tapes through the mail. The sounds on this record range from raw proto-industrial to naive danceable Belgradian new wave, to filmic synthesizer music to more complex, vocal-driven melodic synthpop.

Official reissue of the Belgian synth-pop evergreen ‘Love In Motion’ (1984) by 1000 Ohm. The band kicked-off in 1979 with their successful debut A.G.N.E.S. / Look Around and later on developed their style from New Wave to Italo-Disco influenced Synth-Pop (‘The Claim’) and a decade later even touches of New Beat (‘You’re The One’). ‘Love In Motion’ is a beautiful mixture of 1000 Ohm’s repertoire. The release comes with remastered versions of the original 12″ version, instrumental and on top a DJ friendly ‘Vanzetti & Sacco’ edit.

Ed Sheeran is set to release his new album ‘-‘ (Subtract) - the last in his decade-spanning mathematical album era - on 5 May 2023 through Asylum/Atlantic on vinyl, cassette and CD. An album that revisits Ed’s singer/songwriter roots, and one that was written against a backdrop of personal grief and hope, ‘-’ (Subtract) presents one of the biggest stars on the planet at his most vulnerable and honest.

In Ed’s own words - “I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.

Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.

Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety.

I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.

As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life.

This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”

Since he first learnt ‘Layla’ by Eric Clapton on guitar at the age of 12-years-old, Sheeran’s love of the singer/songwriter began. Growing up with the likes of Damian Rice, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan playing on repeat in his parents’ house – artists that his dad, John, introduced him to – ‘-‘was always on Ed’s horizon. Yet as the songs and writing process took on a whole new meaning and direction after a series of hard-hitting events impacted Ed’s world in 2022, one thing that remained untouched was his strong desire to make a record anchored in his love of singer/songwriter compositions. And now, as he gears-up for the release of his most soul-baring work to date, ‘-‘ serves as a timely reminder for why Sheeran remains one of the most gifted lyricists of his generation; an artist who breaks down his own experiences for fans to seek comfort and belonging.

‘-‘ is the result of Sheeran pushing the boundaries of his songcraft, as he delivers the most profound songwriting of his career. Teaming-up with Aaron Dessner (The National) on writing and production after the pair joined forces following an introduction from mutual friend Taylor Swift, Ed and Aaron began crafting the album in February last year. Writing over 30 songs during their month-long studio stint, the album’s fourteen tracks are seamlessly tied together by exquisite production from paired back, folk-leaning textures to bolder, full-band/orchestral arrangements.

Ed Sheeran burst onto the UK music scene in 2011 with his debut album ‘+’. Rapidly establishing himself as a history-making artist, he followed with ‘x’, ‘÷’, ‘No.6 Collaborations Project’ and ‘=’ - a catalogue that has seen Sheeran become one of the world’s biggest musical success stories of the 21st century.

Opaque White Vinyl Jonathan Bree's fifth studio album Pre-Code Hollywood is described as a "dark disco" album full of "sad bangers". Jonathan Bree has been called a "master craftsman" by Allmusic and on his fifth solo album he has synthesized his concept into refined and focused pop songs that bring a sense of immediate nostalgia one might get when listening to a John Hughes movie soundtrack or classic pop of a bygone era. Bree sent a brave email to David Bowie's Lets Dance and China Girl producer "The Hitmaker" Nile Rodgers. Whether through good fortune, fate or sheer luck - this resulted in the two collaborating on title track Pre-Code Hollywood and superb single Miss You with Nile Rodgers producing and performing guitar.

The 2013 action-adventure game The Last Of Us was originally published in 2013 by Sony Computer Entertainment and was developed by Naughty Dog. The game is played in a third-person perspective and its player controls Joel, a smuggler who is escorting the teenager Ellie across a post-apocalyptic America. The game received critical acclaim, with praise for its narrative, gameplay, visuals, sound design, characterization, depiction of female characters. The Last Of Us became one of the best-selling video games, selling over 1.3 million units in its first week. The game won multiple Game of the Year awards and has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. The Last Of Us also received acclaim for its score, which was made by composer Gustavo Santaolalla. Santaolalla is also known for his work on Brokeback Mountain and Babel, for which he both won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. The Argentinian composer also created the music for the series Jane The Virgin and Netflix’ Making A Murderer. His soundtrack to The Last Of Us was his first in the video game industry. In 2020, he also returned to compose the music to the sequel, The Last Of Us Part II. The Last Of Us is available on black vinyl. This 2LP is housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve, includes printed innersleeves and an 8-page booklet with liner notes by writer and creative director Neil Druckmann.

Clearing is the elemental debut album from multifaceted PC Music originator Hyd. The record, a tactile masterpiece, cycles through a reckoning following a fiery period of fear, loss and destruction where Hyd chooses softness and a gentle touch to come to terms with the chaos. Clearing embodies a restoration that mirrors the emergence of a Garden - through seed-like vulnerability, the album combines glitching pop-heights with glistening intimacy, exploring the cyclical nature of growth, both personal, in community and in all nature. Featuring contributions from close friends and longtime collaborators Sophie, A. G. Cook and Caroline Polachek, Hyd’s highly anticipated debut is a chrisalyssed amalgamation of healing, nourishment, and a haven for all. Featuring single “Afar”, produced by Caroline Polachek and launched to critical acclaim in July, with support from Mary Anne Hobbs and Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 6Music, Pitchfork, Notion, Paper Magazine and more.