Rainbird - Maiden Flight - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

2014 back-to-roots fourth album by Swedish husband and wife duo Mariam Wallentin and Andreas Werliin. In stripping back to their roots-drums and voice- they have discovered an unblinking directness, a taut muscularity honed from years of intensive live performance. Wild birds & Peacedrums have turned the screw. RHYTHM is the duo's unflinching vision, written, recorded and produced by the pair in their Stockholm studio. Unshakeable confidence in it's execution could only have been achieved by working in this way. The results prove that intuitive and primal interplay between voice and drums still has the power to leave one breathless, the power to make one move.

After celebrating 20 years since the inception of Author & Punisher in 2024, founding composer, vocalist and mechanical engineer Tristan Shone embraces the project's broadest scope to-date with Nocturnal Birding. In addition to the strong and poignant messaging contained throughout the music, lyrics and artwork, Nocturnal Birding sees Tristan Shone synergizing with an array of artists from across the globe like never before in his career. From the artwork, meticulously designed by French artist Lucile Lejoly (Chat Pile, Roadburn Festival) to the mixing and mastering by Will Putney (Knocked Loose, Heriot, Body Count, Machine Head) to the musical guest appearances from France's Fange, Indonesia's Kuntari, and New York City's Megan Oztrosits of Couch Slut, these outer creative inputs shine throughout the work. Shone has welcomed collaborators in the past, but guitarist Doug Sabolick (Ecstatic Vision, Plaque Marks, A Life Once Lost, etc.) is the first genuine bandmate in Author & Punisher contributing creatively on guitar in ways that shape the persona of Nocturnal Birding, complementing Shone in melody and wrought tonal heft. Removing himself from an artistic comfort zone proved fruitful inspiration. There is literal birdsong all over Nocturnal Birding, and transposing those melodies and rhythms to guitar became the root of the material, representing a rare coming together of the natural world and mechanized sounds.

Three CD set. In the wake of punk's seismic and well recounted impact on the UK music scene, countless hitherto unavailable influences suddenly became available and de rigueur for the nation's would-be pop stars. Enabled by a new kind of record shop that began to appear across the country in Rough Trade's image, and encouraged by an absolute disregard for 'the rules', interested young people were quickly exposed to a broad spectrum of music from beyond the realm of three chord rock 'n roll. Nowhere was the outcome more notable than on the dancefloors of the day. 'Shake The Foundations' captures that after dark revolution, showcasing an era when disco, dub, electronica, funk and - whisper it - pop sensibilities - began to flood into the alternative, post-punk landscape. Running parallel with Ze Records and the no-wave movement in the US, clubs such as Marc Almond's Digital Disco and legendary nights at The Garage in Nottingham, The State in Liverpool, the Blue Note in Derby and across London at nights like the Batcave became fast moving, democratic melting pots. Across 3CDs, Bill Brewster selects highlights from his own extensive DJing career, each disc individually curated. As he himself puts it, InchThe important thing was not to impress James Brown, emulate the Fatback Band or wear Kraftwerk's game-face. The point was to have a go. 'Shake The Foundations' is not a comprehensive look at post-punk, so much as a shakily hand-drawn map of a particular area. It's what happened when the post-punk fallout collided with the dancefloor, and forty years later we're still feeling it's effectsInch.