END OF YEAR REVIEW 2015
The wait is over, as – ta-dah! – we unveil our 2015 top 100 albums, top 20 compilations and top 20 reissues / collections charts, along with staff reviews and artist / label comments. Julia Holter’s ‘Have You In My Wilderness’ was an autumnal arrival out of the blue. We’d been intrigued by Holter’s previous offerings, but got stuck in their sometimes opaque artiness. Her new album, however, has the “wow” factor, combining pop melodies with sumptuous strings and avantgarde ideas. We fell in love with its beauty rather quickly and know you will too. The good folks at Domino have made us an exclusive companion 8 track Julia Holter CD ‘Selected Tracks 2011–2014’ that we’re giving away with all purchases (LP or CD) of our number one LP. Looking down the list at our favourite albums it’s clear we were well served with exceptional amounts of music in 2015. In our top 20 alone we get dreamy indie (Horsebeach), psychedelic rock (Thee Oh Sees, Tess Parks & Anton Newcome, Föllakzoid), 70s / 80s influenced alt-pop (Outfit, Dutch Uncles, Toro Y Moi), punk-influenced rock & roll (Courtney Barnett, Blank Realm), punk-funk (Lonelady), psychedelic synth-pop (Gwenno), singersongwriter intimacy (Sufjan Stevens, Ryley Walker), indie (the Charlatans), house (Linkwood), downbeat (Romare), electronica / jazz (Floating Points), synthetic boogie (Ruf Dug) and Balearica (Bambi Davidson). On the comps front, the ‘Liverpool International Festival Of Psychedelia Presents PZYK Vol.1’ album features many of our favourite bands and artists from the past few years, and is an outstanding exploration of underground sounds – you’ll love it. As for the reissue of the year, we couldn’t fail with Michael Head And The Strands’ ‘The Magical World Of The Strands’, a gentle indie-folk classic from one of the UK’s best songwriters. Recent years at the shop have had a familiar ebb and flow about them; we get Christmas out the way, have a breather in January, then start organising for Record Store Day (which, despite the usual bunch of naysayers, proved to be the best yet in 2015! As ever, thanks to everyone involved — DJs, screen printers, tea makers — and especially all our patient customers). When the hubbub of RSD dies down, we compile our Mid Year Review, when that’s fading away,
it’s time for Liverpool Psych Fest, and we’ve only just caught our breath after that when it’s End Of Year Review time and Christmas again. This year, however, saw one of the biggest shake ups in the music industry since the arrival of the shellac disc, with the release date for records switching from Monday to Friday. This may not seem like much of an event to you, but to us it’s made a whole world of difference. As well as having to reorganise our entire working week and re-program our website, we no longer have to sell records to regulars “under the counter” on a Saturday and Sunday (not that we ever did that of course...) Now that we’re allowed to sell new records at the weekend, we have more customers wanting to buy them, and consequently took on new counter staff member Barry. He’s the one in the woolly hat trying to make you buy some obscure drone LP. With humour as quirky as the music he likes, Barry has proved to be an entertaining and welcome addition to the Piccadilly fold. As a newcomer, Barry didn’t make it into the Piccadilly Records photography book (handily titled ‘The Piccadilly Records Book’), but the rest of us did, along with some (but by no means all!) of our favourite customers and previous staff members. Before you get the chance to say *cough* vanity project *cough*, the book was the brainchild and production of photographer Gwen Riley Jones and husband (and Piccadilly staffer) Michael, who thought it would be fun to document Picc Recs in a photo book. We think they’ve made rather a good job of it – the perfect stocking filler in fact (c’mon, there’s only so many editions of ‘Crap Towns’ you can buy, surely?) As ever, thanks to all the distributors and record labels who advertised in the booklet, and designer Mark Brown who’s come up with the goods once again, don’t you agree? Thanks also to all the bands and artists who made our favourite records – it never ceases to amaze us that there’s still so much brilliant music out there. Lastly, thanks to Republic Of Music Distribution who’ve made us another great CD sampler (see tracklisting below) which comes FREE (while stocks last) with any LP / CD purchase from our Top 20 Albums, Top 20 Compilations or Top 20 Reissues / Collections charts.
2015 SAMPLER TRACKLISTING 1. BARRY FORGIE: EVERGLADES 2. F LOATING POINTS: NESPOLE 3. N AYTRONIX: MISTER DIVINE 4. SEAN NICHOLAS SAVAGE: 1 MORE CHANCE 5. JENNY HVAL: SABBATH 6. NILS FRAHM: “4.33” 7. THE HOLYDRUG COUPLE: FRENCH MOVIE THEME 8. T HE CHARLATANS: SO OH (RADIO EDIT) 9. CALEXICO: CUMBIA DE DONDE
10. F ÖLLAKZOID: FEUERZEUG 11. JOHN CARPENTER: VORTEX 12. JANE WEAVER: ARGENT (EUROPIUM ALUMINATE VERSION) 13. SPAGHETTI HEAD: FUNKY VOODOO (MANG DYNASTY EDIT) 14. BLACK DEVIL: “H” FRIEND 15. BLANCK MASS: DEAD FORMAT 16. MOON DUO: ANIMAL 17. DESTRUCTION UNIT: IF DEATH EVER SLEPT
P I C C A D I L LY R E C O R D S A L B U M O F T H E Y E A R 2 0 1 5
JULIA HOLTER HAVE YOU IN MY WILDERNESS
Dave: ‘Have You In My Wilderness’ is Julia Holter’s fourth and most accessible album to date, but given that previous records have looked to Greek Philosophers and French novelists for their inspiration, this perhaps isn’t the boldest of statements. Holter, a music and composition graduate, approaches her craft in a cerebral, conceptual way that is still very much apparent on the album’s arrangements and time signatures. However, on ‘Have You In My Wilderness’, her more exotic tendencies have been tamed by producer M Cole Grief-Neill. He’s convinced Holter to shake off the shackles of reverb in which her otherworldly voice has always been chained and let it take centre stage on the record. It’s a master stroke that’s culminated in a sonically direct, shimmering, leftfield pop classic that everyone at Piccadilly Records has been willing her to make since first hearing 2013’s ‘Loud City Song’.
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Dark and lovely, exploring pop’s universalities of love and relationships, ‘Have You In My Wilderness’ is the perfect soundtrack to winter’s long nights. Where previously Holter could be accused of being cold and aloof, she now revels in a new found warmth and intimacy. It’s like the girl on the bus that’s been ignoring you for months suddenly walking over and saying “hi, fancy going for a drink later?” Completely unexpected and all the more wonderful for it. But wait, don’t go! I know what you’re thinking. ‘Love and relationships? Surely ballads are the end credit to a thousand, desperate Saturday nights; certainly nothing new in pop music?’ BUT, and it’s a big but, Holter’s take on this, the most clichéd of pop clichés, is brilliantly oblique. Flitting from orchestral chamber music to Laurel Canyon introspection, it’s a schizophrenic record, whose many competing voices have combined to make ‘Have You In My Wilderness’ Piccadilly’s favourite album of 2015.
PICCADILLY RECORDS Q&A WITH JULIA HOLTER Firstly, congratulations on being #1 in the Piccadilly Records End Of Year Chart. Has the positive response to ‘Have You In My Wilderness’ surprised you? JH: Yes, responses always surprise me. I never know what to expect. What were your earliest musical influences? JH: Joni Mitchell maybe, Fiona Apple, the Beatles, Billie Holiday, the Smiths, nothing too surprising haha. Coming from an avant-garde compositional background, what is your song writing process? Where do you get the inspiration for the lyrics — each one seems like an individual vignette, rather than the whole album having a single theme.
PICCADILLY RECORDS EXCLUSIVE
For a limited period only, buy either the vinyl or CD of ‘Have You In My Wilderness’ and get a free Julia Holter ‘Selected Tracks 2011–2014’ CD bonus disc.
JH: I sit down at the piano and chords come out of fingers and then fragments of words come out of mouth and it all just happens. But then I let all the gibberish congeal and see what form it takes and start moulding it a bit, based on the direction the initial impulsive stuff took me in.
A SONICALLY DIRECT, SHIMMERING, LEFTFIELD POP CLASSIC THAT EVERYONE AT PICCADILLY RECORDS HAS BEEN WILLING HER TO MAKE SINCE FIRST HEARING 2013’S ‘LOUD CITY SONG’.
Recording demos for ‘Have You In My Wilderness ‘, did you consciously set out to make a more “commercial“ album, or did this happen organically? JH: I will never set out to make anything “commercial” musically — to try to make something that is successful is besides the point, because you never can predict what it is that people will want. Better to do what you want to do, because I honestly believe people will be more drawn to something that has personal conviction. I think one of the reasons this album may sound more familiar to people is that it is the first record I’ve made that I feel is in a “musical tradition”— it’s inspired by ballads, especially of the 60s. How difficult is it to then hand the demos over to producer / collaborator Cole M. Greif-Neill? How much push and pull was there between you both in the direction the sound of the album should take? JH: Not difficult. We did this for the last record and the idea of it scared me, but the execution was not at all like I anticipated — Cole gets me and gets the sound that I was going for in my demos I make at home. He just makes it sound so much better. There wasn’t much push and pull between us. There were many points at which both of us were confused about what direction to take the songs — mainly the older songs were difficult to work with, because we were so used to them in their original form and it was hard to try to reinvent them. But we eventually found it.
At the end of the process, when all the tracks were finished, did you feel that you had made something different from your previous albums? JH: Yes. All my projects/albums feel different from each other to me. You grew up and still live in Los Angeles, how do you feel that environment has shaped your sound? JH: I don’t know. I get this question a lot and I have no idea. LA is not really definable in any way. It’s not like New York, where it has a signature look. I guess the only thing that you could say about it is that it has a million different looks at once. Likewise, there is no particular “LA sound” I believe. I think the only thing I can say is that LA has a lot of space and diversity, and it encourages people to really dig inside themselves to find their own idiosyncratic voice. And we’ll end with the Smash Hits (1980s UK pop magazine) question: What’s the name of the cute dog in the ‘Feel You’ video? JH: Francis.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: ALBUM OF THE YEAR
HORSEBEACH II INCORPORATING A WIDER PALETTE OF SOUNDS INTO THE RAIN-SOAKED JANGLE HE MASTERED ON HIS DEBUT WITH EFFORTLESS BRILLIANCE. Patrick: After notching up our number three spot last year, Ryan Kennedy’s Horsebeach go one place better this time round with the sublime frequencies of ‘II’. Shrugging off any hint of the ‘difficult second album’ Kennedy showcases a growing maturity as a songwriter, incorporating a wider palette of sounds into the rain-soaked jangle he mastered on his debut with effortless brilliance. Opening with the subtle rumble of early morning Chinatown, a hazy instrumental sharpens into focus with languid guitars, gently welcoming us into a dream of Kennedy’s creation. Over the next 40 minutes we’re treated to a journey through summery grooves and marbled melodies, rippling through waves of sepia-tinged beauty on the way to unabashed pop majesty. Nostalgic but not stuck in the past, ‘II’ teases apart the threads of the popular music tapestry and weaves them into something fresh, new and exciting.
“Let You Down” treats us to a heady fusion of redolent Thai-funk and Mancunian baggy while “Disappear” finds Kennedy and drummer Matt Booth drinking in the cosmic vintage of Düsseldorf ‘72. There’s a hint of stadium synth euphoria in “Midnight Part 2” and the X-Files inspired “Dana” while “Andy” delivers a yearning tale of forbidden love packed with homoerotic overtones so full blooded they’d make Morrissey blush like a young Caligula. Kennedy’s vocals sound stronger than ever on ‘II’, especially on “It’s Alright”, a lush duet with Beth De Cent which showcases his broadened range. Alive with lyrical depth, melodic intricacy and rich production, ‘II’ is the work of a confident and mature multi-instrumentalist and songwriter.
A lot has happened since the release of the first album. We’ve played in some lovely places & I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on the things I learnt from recording and releasing the first album. The songwriting process was slightly different this time round as I already had the studio set up at home and I had a date I wanted to get it out for. The studio has come a long way from when I wrote the first LP, I’m no longer recording certain bass parts on tuned down guitars (Dull). With much better equipment available I was also able to use the recording process as part of my songwriting, taking mic choices/placement, signal chains etc into consideration right from the beginning. All these things have come together to make a record I’m very proud of and I hope any listeners will feel the same way. Ryan Kennedy ORDER ONLINE AT PICCADILLYRECORDS.COM
THEE OH SEES
MUTILATOR DEFEATED AT LAST
AN UNINHIBITED ORGY OF HALLUCINOGENIC CAROUSING THAT COULDN’T FAIL TO FLAIL THE MOST PIOUS OF CONGREGATIONS INTO AN ECSTATIC, WHIRLING MESS.
Martin: This is the fourteenth album to be spawned by the prodigious imagination of John Dwyer. Finally, we thought, he will do the considerate thing and make room for another hopeful in our end of year chart. It just isn’t natural, in any field of life, to be so productive and at the same time maintain quality of output. This, surely, was destined to be shit. We were wrong. ‘Mutilator Defeated At Last’ is a riot of joyous depravity, an uninhibited orgy of hallucinogenic carousing that couldn’t fail to flail the most pious of congregations into an ecstatic, whirling mess. Its centre returns to the formula that made ‘Floating Coffin’ such a wonder; psych spiced bludgeoning as if Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix had decided to get together at a mushroom party
and do a set of Sex Pistols covers. “Withered Hand” takes an ember of irradiated guitar to ignite a supernova, and the party continues through the camp boogie of “Turned Out light” until “Sticky Hulks” catches its breath, hushed vocals snaking over a thread of ungodly organ. The possible highlight is the instrumental “Holy Smoke”, where gorgeous, picked guitar is spun over a softly propulsive beat and exquisite keyboards. Where THE HELL does it come from? If Mr. Dwyer has a pact with something infernal, it is a fun-loving demon, a mischievous sprite with its forked tongue stuck firmly in its cheek. My advice? Take it by its leathery hand and be led a merry dance. So, another classic from John Dwyer. Sigh.
I came late to John Dwyer’s wiry, gnarly beast. I can’t remember how I first heard of them, all I know is when I did they knocked my block off and set themselves on the road to being my favourite band in the world. 2011’s ‘Castlemania’ album was the record in question. Since then I’ve bought most of John’s records on vinyl. From Piccadilly Records. Naturally. For my money the best of them all is ‘Mutilator Defeated At Last’. It’s riddled with the taut, wiry, intense sounds that makes John the ‘guv’nor’ of a scene which houses other brilliant artists like Ty Segall, White Fence and Mikal Cronin. The first song I heard off ‘Mutilator’ was “Web” which is so brilliant it gives me a headache… and convinced me never to pick up a guitar again. Fearless music. Brilliant. Marc Riley, BBC 6 Music presenter, retired guitarist.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 5
COURTNEY BARNETT SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT BUOYANT, PUNKY, POST-GRUNGE GUITAR BLASTS, BACK TO BASICS BLUESY ROCK & ROLL AND MORE INTIMATE AMERICANA-ESQUE BALLADRY. HOOKY AND MELODIOUS EARWORMS. Philippa: Like you, we’d already fallen in love with Courtney Barnett’s songs after hearing the 2013 collection ‘A Sea Of Split Peas’ and instant classics like “Avant Gardener”, so the arrival of ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit’ was the cause of much excitement here at Piccadilly Records. Barnett and band members Bones Sloane and Dave Mudie’s combination of buoyant, punky, post-grunge guitar blasts, back to basics bluesy rock & roll and more intimate Americana-esque balladry is so hooky and melodious that the tunes will worm their way into your head after only a few listens. Ebullient guitar music alone, however, would not bring the kind of rave reviews, record sales and sold out gigs that Barnett has been getting for the past couple of years. It’s her meandering, conversational stream
of consciousness lyricism that makes these songs stand out from the crowd, turning the mundane into compelling narratives, as stories of everyday life unfold with hidden depths and in unexpected directions (who else could keep us interested in a song about staring at the ceiling during a bout of tour-induced insomniacal loneliness?) (and who else would furnish said song with the line “All the dinner plates are kitsch with Irish wolfhounds, French baguettes wrapped loose around their necks”?) At once playful and insightful, Barnett’s endearingly self-deprecating meditations on life are deceptively simple, but we all know it takes real talent to make them sound this effortless. A joy from start to finish, ‘Sometimes I Sit...’ will turn your frown upside down!
Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit, a quotation that Courtney took from a poster at her grandmother’s house. ‘When I was doing the record I had tea with her and was like “That’s the album title!” It seemed to make sense because I spend so much time trying to make decisions about anything.’Recorded in an intense 10 day session at Head Gap Studios in Melbourne ‘Sometimes…’ brings Barnett’s incisive vision into stark unflinching focus; her wit sharpened to a knife edge, her melodies more infectious and addictive than ever. Indeed since its release Courtney has undeniably consolidated her position as one of the best and brightest new stars on the musical landscape with critics and fans alike declaring it one of the most accomplished debuts of the year. Marathon Artists.
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LONELADY HINTERLAND
CAMPBELL’S TOUCHSTONES OF PUNK-FUNK, DISCO-NOT-DISCO, INDUSTRIAL, MUSIQUE CONCRÈTE BRING BRIGHTNESS TO THE MANCUNIAN GLOOM. Philippa: Audenshaw native Julie Campbell has Mancunian blood running through her veins, the city in her soul. Far removed from the crowded bars and luxury flats of the town centre, however, she inhabits a world at Manchester’s margins and in its slowly disappearing ruinscapes. Seeking out derelict warehouses and abandoned Victorian architecture, Campbell has immersed herself in the city’s post-industrial landscapes; haunted by the fabric of these crumbling buildings and bleak spaces, the harsh environments inspiring and giving impetus to her work as Lonelady. And if these decaying spaces speak to her, so does Manchester’s musical past, especially that of the post-punk era and Factory Records. The scratchy guitar funk of A Certain Ratio, the synth textures of Section 25, the doom-laden drones of Joy Division (Campbell says she hears them “spiralling through empty buildings, along patches of scrubland”), the snap and clatter of machine snares, the fluidity of live bass, urgent, agitated vocals. Punk-funk, disco-not-disco, industrial, musique concrète — while these sounds are Campbell’s touchstones, her music transcends the desolation of environment and era-specific pastiche, instead using the past as a framework to create something new, more intriguing, more accessible and much more pop. With hooks aplenty, we’re offered a way into Julie’s world of urban decay. The masterstroke that Campbell has pulled off with ‘Hinterland’ is to make an album that could possibly have been weighty, dour and challenging, but actually brings brightness to the Mancunian gloom.
A kind of psychogeograpical behaviour has driven this record..my habit of walking round the outskirts and wastelands of Manchester..this becoming a kind of ritual; gradually discovering treasures in these unremarkable and dilapidated landscapes, finding a communication and connection there; all this fed into making Hinterland. Every song on the record is about a landscape of one kind or another, Mancunian haunts, childhood playspaces, the landscapes of the mind. Julie Campbell AKA Lonelady
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 5
6. GWENNO: Y DYDD OLAF
A RETRO-FUTURIST SYNTH-POP CLASSIC WITH LANGUID GROOVES, DREAM-LIKE TEXTURES, SCI-FI SOUNDS AND THE BREEZIEST, SWEETEST VOCALS.
Andy: If you liked last year’s Jane Weaver album then you’re gonna love this year’s, except that it’s actually by somebody else, and it’s sung almost entirely in Welsh! Gwenno Saunders was the singer of kitsch popsters The Pipettes, but that will not prepare you for the wonderment found in the grooves of this, her debut solo album. It is a magical record. Using the same touchstones as Weaver (Stereolab, Broadcast) and adding some of her own (St.Etienne, Air) she has crafted a retro-futurist synth-pop classic with languid grooves (often motorik) dream-like textures, sci-fi sounds and the breeziest, sweetest vocals. Field recordings (choirs, vinyl crackles, aeroplanes) are peppered throughout and the tranquil vibe feels as if it’s beaming strange, sad news from a distant, troubled star (pssst! It’s a “concept album”). Don’t be afraid though. These sublime, space-age lullabies will make everything alright. Forever.
7. SUFJAN STEVENS: CARRIE & LOWELL
AN UNCOMFORTABLE, BEAUTIFUL AND REDEMPTIVE LISTEN THAT WILL HAVE YOU RUBBING IMAGINARY DUST FROM YOUR EYES THROUGHOUT.
Dave: ‘Carrie & Lowell’ is a eulogy to Sufjan’s mother who died in 2012, after a life scarred by schizophrenia and alcoholism. Haunting Sufjan’s music for years, Carrie made hefty cameos on both ‘Seven Swans’ and ‘Michigan’ so it’s befitting that on this, his seventh and most personal album, the songwriting echoes the restraint of those earlier records. It’s an album that, like sleeping in your childhood bedroom, is thick with memory. Exploring grief, faith and renewal in the most direct of ways, it’s an uncomfortable, beautiful and redemptive listen that will have you rubbing imaginary dust from your eyes throughout. The faint hearted among you may be discouraged by the subject matter. Don’t be. Despite being an album drowning in loss, ‘Carrie & Lowell’ is a declaration of love, the brightest of lights in the darkest of hours and, above all else, a rapturous reconciliation.
8. OUTFIT: SLOWNESS ELEGANT PIANO AND SYNTH WASHES AND A SWAGGERING WIDESCREEN DYNAMIC JUST THE RIGHT SIDE OF DRAMATIC, ON TOP OF A TWITCHY AND FRACTURED GROOVE.
Andy: Outfit make beautiful art-pop reminiscent of mid-80s magicians like Japan, Blue Nile and Talk Talk: expansive, symphonic even and with a posh-funk electro undercarriage, their sound is lushly produced but nowhere near the mainstream. The pleasure is in the sound which has elegant piano and synth washes and a swaggering wide-screen dynamic just the right side of dramatic, on top of a twitchy and fractured groove, like Hot Chip gone rock but with way better songs. These songs are liquid gold. Dark, dreamy, ghostly at times but amongst all the cleverness and superb musicianship, there’s a real heart beating, a (lonely?) soul amidst the sheen. Apart from Dutch Uncles, who are label-mates on the excellent Memphis Industries, this band seem to be out on their own, and you can only marvel at their song-writing talent, level of sophistication, but above all bravery. It’s a beautiful record.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 20
9. TESS PARKS & ANTON NEWCOMBE: I DECLARE NOTHING Philippa: Elsewhere in our Top 100 you’ll find music that crosses boundaries and meshes disparate genres to create hitherto unheard musical combinations. Not so ‘I Declare Nothing’ by Canadian singer-songwriter Tess Parks and Anton Newcombe from prolific Californian rockers The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Drawing a line back through Mazzy Star and the Jesus And Mary Chain to the Velvet Underground, ‘I Declare Nothing’ is an album that feels comfortingly familiar, while offering a new interpretation of an old favourite. Built on a framework of repetitive acoustic guitar chord sequences and languid rhythms, loping bass lines and shimmering tambourine, the pair’s gauzy, fuzzy, drone-rock is enhanced by the striking vocals of Parks. Husky, cracked and drawling, Parks distinctive growl draws the listener into a dreamy, blissed-out, cotton wool-wrapped world.
DRAWING A LINE BACK THROUGH MAZZY STAR AND THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN TO THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. A FUZZED-UP, DREAMY, BLISSED-OUT, COTTON WOOLWRAPPED WORLD.
10. LINKWOOD: EXPRESSIONS Matt: Elusive DJ and producer Linkwood was responsible for the very first release on house imprint Firecracker Recordings. A decade later he’s made one of the standout albums for the label, and one that has had innumerable spins on the Piccadilly shop player. Beginning with the liquid and languid textures and atmospheres of “Sonrise”, the record drops into the infectious bass-driven groove of “Off Kilter”, littered with completely unique percussion and juicy with analogue goodness. After a lovely underwater refrain (“Coral”), “Tier 5” allows us to drift momentarily into outer space as Linkwood deploys a celestial floatation device of the highest order. The title track and “Ignorance Is Bliss” are powerful, soulful house cuts full of intricate nuances and peppered with emotion — undisputedly Linkwood through and through. While much of today’s deep house is an empty shell, Linkwood redresses the balance with an album of warmth and depth. Sublime.
WHILE MUCH OF TODAY’S DEEP HOUSE IS AN EMPTY SHELL, LINKWOOD REDRESSES THE BALANCE WITH AN ALBUM OF WARMTH AND DEPTH.
11. ROMARE: PROJECTIONS Michael: In ‘Projections’, Romare, or Archie Fairhurst to his friends and family, has made a joyous collage that celebrates all of the wonders of jazz, soul, afro, house, funk and everything in between. If Kendrick Lamar has articulated the African American experience this year, then Romare has surely curated the sounds, scope and variety of the African American musical journey. The emotion of blues and invention of jazz are incorporated into a richly textured journey through afro rhythms, funk grooves and gospel harmonies, before the whole piece is filtered through a very British disco/house sound. The dancefloor brilliance of “Roots” and “Rainbow” stand alone as mainroom attractions amid an abundance of jazzy beatdown, relaxed footwork and future soul riches which sound as good on headphones or in the living room as they do over a soundsystem.
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CELEBRATES ALL OF THE WONDERS OF JAZZ, SOUL, AFRO, HOUSE, FUNK AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
12. THE CHARLATANS: MODERN NATURE
AN OPTIMISTIC FORWARD LOOKING ALBUM AND THEIR BEST IN A DECADE.
Laura: Following the death of drummer Jon Brookes in 2014, The Charlatans regrouped and set to work on their twelfth album. As always, they’ve drawn on the past as well as the present to create their musical melting pot. “Talking In Tones” and “In The Tall Grass” have an early morning post-rave melancholy, there’s Mayfield-esque soul in “Keep Enough”, “Emilie” and “Come Home Baby” are pure pop, and “So Oh” with its sun dappled West Coast vibes is an absolute gem. The anthemic “Let The Good Times Be Never Ending” is prime Charlatans with wah-wah guitars and swirling Hammond keys over driving bass lines and skittering drums. And throughout it all, Tim’s vocals are sublime. Yes, there is melancholy here, but this is by no means a maudlin elegy to a lost friend, instead there’s love and real warmth. It’s an optimistic, forward looking album and their best in a decade.
13. BLANK REALM: ILLEGALS IN HEAVEN
CRYSTALLINE GUITARS, FUZZY ART-ROCK, WOOZY BLUES, SMOULDERING SYNTHS, DRAWLING VOCALS AND ANTHEMIC MELODIES.
Darryl: Hailing from Brisbane in Australia, Blank Realm are siblings, Daniel, Luke and Sarah Spencer, and “spiritual brother” Luke Walsh. They have been making off-kilter, lo-fi indie-rock together since 2004. Although ‘Illegals In Heaven’ is their fifth album it’s the first that they’ve recorded in a studio with a producer, and the results are startling; a fuller and richer sound than ever before and a perfect balance between noise and pop. It’s a sound drawn from prime ‘Daydream Nation’ period Sonic Youth, the white light glow of the Velvet Underground, the jangle of New Zealand’s Flying Nun Records and the epic guitar-scapes of 80s icons like The Bunnymen and The Cure. Kicking off with the urgent rush of “No Views” the album chimes along with crystalline guitars, fuzzy art-rock, woozy blues, smouldering synths, drawling vocals and anthemic melodies until the closing majesty of “Too Late Now”.
14. FLOATING POINTS: ELAENIA
A MASTERFUL ELECTRONIC OPUS PACKED WITH EMOTION AND SOUL.
Patrick: Right from his earliest 12”s in 2009, Sam Shepherd’s music has evaded easy categorisation. The fluid combination of jazzy keyboard licks, lithe bass and scattershot drum programming always seemed to skirt around the fringes of the genres du jour. More leftfield than his UK bass contemporaries, less retrospective than the boogie crowd and not quite 4/4 enough to slot neatly into a house set, the producer rose above trend and fashion to create his own scene. Now after half a decade of dancing to the beat of his own drum machine, Floating Points delivers a debut LP which draws together the diverse span of his musical progression into one sublime whole. By turns symphonic and subtle, arresting and hypnotic, intimate and cosmic, ‘Elaenia’ sees the producer refract his classical training, club savvy and jazz obsession into a masterful electronic opus packed with emotion and soul.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 20
15. RUF DUG: ISLAND Patrick: Early in 2014, Copenhagen’s Kenneth Bager asked Ruf Dug if he could find time in his hectic DJ schedule to produce an album for his acclaimed Balearic imprint Music For Dreams. As luck would have it that summer saw Manchester’s vape-toting tape obsessive take a three month hiatus from the everyday, dropping out to the tropical playground of Guadeloupe for a healthy dose of R&R. Seizing the chance to live out his wildest Compass Point fantasies, Ruf Dug condensed his studio into a suitcase and set about producing the ideal soundtrack to a life of coastal walks, morning stone-overs, humid undergrowth and waterfront drug busts. Lush textures and naïve melodies dance around dubwise rhythms as the producer sends us a stunning postcard from paradise. The perfect realisation of an alluring concept, ‘Island’ sees Ruffy combine his signature smoked out aesthetic with touches of zouk, digidub and island disco without ever disturbing the mirage.
LUSH TEXTURES AND NAÏVE MELODIES DANCE AROUND DUBWISE RHYTHMS AS THE PRODUCER SENDS US A STUNNING POSTCARD FROM PARADISE.
16. DUTCH UNCLES: O SHUDDER Patrick: If 2013’s ‘Out Of Touch In The Wild’ saw Dutch Uncles confidently comingof-age, ‘O Shudder’ finds the group coming to terms with the responsibilities, headaches and heartaches which follow. Fast approaching the twilight of his twenties, and vocally richer and stronger than ever, Duncan reflects on the serious matters of pregnancy, unemployment, divorce and sexual dysfunction, without ever coming close to a conclusion. Far from frustrating, this bewilderment reveals an honest introspection which leaves us right on the same page as our protagonist; who actually has answers to any of that stuff? Under the measured baton of composer Robin Housman, the group flesh out the orchestral flourish and off kilter pop of previous albums with sleek synth work inspired by Blue Nile, Talk Talk and Tears For Fears. More direct, engaging, emotive and focussed than ever, Marple’s finest have delivered a career best that deserves a place in anyone’s record collection.
MORE DIRECT, ENGAGING, EMOTIVE AND FOCUSSED THAN EVER, MARPLE’S FINEST HAVE DELIVERED A CAREER BEST.
17. BAMBI DAVIDSON: BRUNSWICK Silvestre: Bambi Davidson are a four-piece German combo offering an eclectic combination of Balearic and krautrock with doses of disco, dub and folk — genres that encapsulate Claremont 56’s perfectly curated catalogue. Each track is multi layered, yet the layers do not easily weave into a whole, making the compositions complex and fascinating, hypnotic and relaxing. Repeated listening will help you discover the depth of beauty and creativity which runs through 13 minute long centrepiece “Brunswick” and beyond. “Cattle” transports you to the African savannah with its drumming arrangement and animalistic sounds, whilst “Fox Hunting” takes you to the melodic dripping water and bird song of the rainforest. “Onto The Retina” is mysterious and enigmatic with its intermittent sax and “Artist” would make the perfect soundtrack to a 70s getaway movie. If you enjoy Bison, Holger Czukay, or Neu! this is an essential addition to your record collection.
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AN ECLECTIC COMBINATION OF BALEARIC AND KRAUTROCK WITH DOSES OF DISCO, DUB AND FOLK.
18. TORO Y MOI: WHAT FOR?
EFFORTLESSLY EXCHANGING FUTURE R & B/CHILLWAVE FOR SHIMMERING DISCO, PSYCHE POP AND 70S STYLE SOFT ROCK TO SINGULAR AND GORGEOUS EFFECT.
Martin: The reason why nature follows the path of least resistance is that it is the path of least resistance, and its power as a process is that it tends to be ever more so. In people one manifestation is habit, that tendency to repeat behaviour in response to repeated stimulus; and, by extension, to crave whatever we have been wired to find pleasant. An audience tends to want an artist to repeat themselves, just as the artist will tend to comply, before familiarity breeds boredom. Bucking such a deeply ingrained impulse takes willfulness and courage; making a triumph of it takes rare talent. Fortunately Chaz Bundick has all three in abundance. While it retains a good nature, ‘What For?’ has strayed from previous output, effortlessly exchanging future R & B/chillwave for shimmering disco, psyche pop and 70s style soft rock to singular and gorgeous effect — and it is sublime.
19. RYLEY WALKER: PRIMROSE GREEN
A MODERN DAY “SOLID AIR”; FINDS WALKER ROAMING THROUGH LANGUID FOLKJAZZ WITH RICH INSTRUMENTATION AND DEFT IMPROVISATION.
Matt: Timeless songwriters like Ryley Walker don’t come around much nowadays. Artists who channel that fusion of sonic adventure, blending rock, jazz and folk effortlessly whilst still coming up with a killer tune and inspiring words. Like his influences, Van Morrison or John Martyn, he surrounds himself with the best of the local (Rockfort, Chicago) musos. Unlike them, Walker used to skateboard and play in noise punk bands. His second album, and for me a modern day ‘Solid Air’ (John Martyn), ‘Primrose Green’ finds Walker roaming through languid folk-jazz with rich instrumentation and deft improvisation. When Ryley sings there’s absolutely no doubt that it’s from the very pit of his heart, bruised by the roller-coaster ride of life and aptly represented through the album’s title; a cocktail of morning glory seeds and whiskey which offers euphoric highs and crushing lows. Album highlight? “Same Minds” — capable of raising a mountain range of goosebumps.
20. FÖLLAKZOID: III PART PSYCHEDELIA, PART POST-ROCK, PART SLOW-BURNING OPIUM-DEN JAM SESSION, BUT FULLY IMMERSIVE AND RIDICULOUSLY ADDICTIVE.
Barry: Chilean psych-rockers Föllakzoid have never failed to come up with the goods, and the concisely titled ‘III’ is no exception. Though repetitive on the face of things, this collection of decidedly lengthy songs holds your interest through a slowly-spun web of delay, drone and cosmic synths. Opener “Electric” starts with a single repeated guitar line before bringing in the (ever-present) groove, while swaying drums pull the piece along, without restraining the piece to any set feel. This itself is one of the more impressive attributes of this album. It remains cohesive and absorbing despite sounding disorganised (it definitely is not), making it all the more astounding when, ten minutes later you realise you are in full groove mode. Head bobbing, fists slowly pulsing. Each piece on offer here grows and builds, gradually bringing in elements atop a foundation of guitar and shimmering drones. Part psychedelia, part post-rock, part slow-burning opium-den jam session, but fully immersive and ridiculously addictive.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 20
FIRM
HORSEBEACH ‘II’
WAND ‘Golem’ In The Red 2LP/CD
THEE OH SEES ‘Mutilator Defeated At Last’ Castle Face LP/CD
ÓLAFUR ARNALDS & NILS FRAHM ‘Collaborative Works’ Erased Tapes 2CD
NILS FRAHM ‘Solo’ Erased Tapes LP/CD
THE ICARUS LINE ‘All THings Under Heaven’ Agitated 2LP/CD
RIVAL CONSOLES ‘Howl’ Erased Tapes LP/CD
PROTOMARTYR ‘The Agent Intellect’ Hardly Art LP/CD
CARLTON MELTON ‘Out To Sea’ Agitated 2LP/CD
V/A ‘Brown Acid - The First Trip’ Riding Easy LP/CD
CHASTITY BELT ‘Time To Go Home’ Hardly Art LP/CD
info@fortedistribution.co.uk
FAVES OF 2015 FROM PICC ADILLY
Alone Together LP/CD
FUZZ ‘II’ In The Red 2LP/CD
21. DUCKTAILS: ST. CATHERINE Matt Mondanile’s fifth outing, ‘St. Catherine’, emerges from the roots of his previous work as Ducktails. From the free-form, ambient bedroom experiments of seminal underground release ‘Landscapes’ (2009), to 2013’s eighties pop re-imagination ‘The Flower Lane’, ‘St. Catherine’ ultimately moves Ducktails on to a more refined, personal and sincere place. Lush and dreamy sounds and Anglophile jangles from the moonlighting Real Estate man. Gorgeous, as ever.
22. BOOF: THE HYDRANGEAS WHISPER ‘The Hydrangeas Whisper’ is Maurice Fulton’s first Boof material since 2011’s ‘Shhh, Dandelions At Play’. Like previous excursions under the long-running pseudonym, ‘The Hydrangeas Whisper’ presents the more flowery, melodious and, on occasions, smoother side of the producer’s work; warm, often organic deep house littered with live instrumentation, drenched in dub delay and touched by his usual rich, dancefloor-friendly disco influences.
23. COLLEEN: CAPTAIN OF NONE Colleen is French multi-instrumentalist Cecile Schott, who uses her voice and the treble viola da gamba (a baroque instrument with gut strings), to weave intricate stories about the human mind and heart. ‘Captain Of None’ is the most melodic album in her repertoire, featuring ethereal, drifting vocals, Penguin Cafe Orchestra style string plucking, reggae bass lines and dub efx. A delightful, dreamy downbeat album.
24. BEACH HOUSE: DEPRESSION CHERRY Beach House’s fifth album sees Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally distil things right down to their essence and create their best record so far. This is dream-pop in excelsis. Using the most minimal ingredients of organ, guitar, drum-machine and voice, but creating a spangly, fuzzy, graceful sound that could never be considered lo-fi, the duo have made an album that totally envelops the listener. Mesmerising.
25. KURT VILE: B’LIEVE I’M GOIN DOWN... With a late night / early hours ruminative glow, Kurt Vile brings more songs from his couch, and his mellowest, and most considered collection so far. As long time fan Kim Gordon wrote in her bio for the album: “Kurt does his own myth-making; a boy/man with an old soul voice in the age of digital everything becoming something else, which is why this focused, brilliantly clear and seemingly candid record is a breath of fresh air.“
LUSH AND DREAMY SOUNDS AND ANGLOPHILE JANGLES FROM THE MOONLIGHTING REAL ESTATE MAN.
WARM, ORGANIC DEEP HOUSE DRENCHED IN DUB DELAY, TOUCHED BY HIS DANCEFLOOR-FRIENDLY DISCO INFLUENCES.
ETHEREAL DRIFTING VOCALS, STRING PLUCKING, REGGAE BASS LINES AND DUB EFX. A DELIGHTFUL DOWNBEAT ALBUM. THIS IS DREAMPOP IN EXCELSIS. A SPANGLY, FUZZY, GRACEFUL SOUND. MESMERISING.
WITH A LATE NIGHT / EARLY HOURS RUMINATIVE GLOW IT’S HIS MELLOWEST, AND MOST CONSIDERED COLLECTION SO FAR.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 50
26. MOON DUO: SHADOW OF THE SUN The highest apex of psychedelia, be it art, music, drugs or literature, is to induce a prolonged consciousness shift that affects the consumer far beyond the time they were privy to the act. Moon Duo‘s third full-length LP, ‘Shadow of the Sun’, was written entirely during one of these evolving phases — the results are off-kilter dance rhythms, repetitive, grinding riffs, cosmic trucker boogies and even an ecstatically pretty moment.
27. D’ANGELO AND THE VANGUARD: BLACK MESSIAH After a 15 year break between albums D’Angelo is back, reborn, refreshed and sounding as wonderful as ever. The album cooks up a gumbo of the greats — a dash of Marvin, a sprinkle of Minneapolis, some P-funk pepper and Sly salt, all simmered together to make ‘Black Messiah’ the tastiest real-soul stew around right now.
28. CHASTITY BELT: TIME TO GO HOME Seattle post-punk female four piece return with their second album and first for Sub Pop offshoot, Hardly Art. ‘Time to Go Home’ sees Chastity Belt take the nights out and bad parties of their past to their stretching points, watch the world around them break apart in anticipatory haze, and rebuild it in their own image with stunning clarity before anyone gets hung over. Cool, twangy and languid guitars meet vocals dripping in melancholy.
29. BE (GARTH BE): H I P N O T O N Y Garth Be, MPC-wizard and dusty-digitted-digger forges more timeless grooves and encourages further mindscape exploration on this second Sweetsticky full-length. Toying with rhythm and synthesis more than ever, ‘H I P N O T O N Y’s ten new cuts delve deeper into our man’s inner workings and self-perpetuating sonic sequences. It’s been another beauty, as cohesive and expansive as his last effort and dripping with the same radiance throughout.
30. UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA: MULTI-LOVE ‘Multi-Love’ adds dimensions to the band’s already kaleidoscopic approach, with Ruban Nielson exploring a newfound appreciation for synthesizers. The new songs channel the spirit of psych innovators without ignoring the last 40 years of music, forming a flowing, cohesive whole that reflects restless creativity. Cosmic escapes and disco rhythms speak to developing new vocabulary, while Nielson’s vocals reach powerful new heights.
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OFF-KILTER DANCE RHYTHMS, REPETITIVE, GRINDING RIFFS, COSMIC TRUCKER BOOGIES & EVEN AN ECSTATICALLY PRETTY MOMENT.
A GUMBO OF THE GREATS — A DASH OF MARVIN, A SPRINKLE OF MINNEAPOLIS, SOME P-FUNK PEPPER AND SLY SALT.
COOL, TWANGY AND LANGUID GUITARS MEET VOCALS DRIPPING IN MELANCHOLY.
AS COHESIVE AND EXPANSIVE AS HIS LAST EFFORT AND DRIPPING WITH THE SAME RADIANCE THROUGHOUT.
CHANNELLING THE SPIRIT OF PSYCH INNOVATORS; ADDING SYNTHS, AND DISCO RHYTHMS.
31. KENDRICK LAMAR: TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY Lyrically the album walks in the footsteps of the socio-political commentary of Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, but in the postFerguson era of continued police brutality towards African-Americans, Lamar’s anger burns bright. Less ‘What’s Going On’, more ‘The Predator’. A thoughtful and thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be a black man in America today, often introspective, but never naval-gazing. An album that can be added to the essential hip hop list.
32. TAME IMPALA: CURRENTS Again operating as a one man studio band, Kevin Parker’s resultant record calls to mind contemporary hip hop production, ‘Thriller’, fried 70s funk, the irreverent playground Daft Punk presented on ‘Discovery’, swathes of future pop and emotional 80s balladry, all filtered through a thoroughly modern psychedelic third eye. Chunky dream-pop with melodies galore.
33. ROZI PLAIN: FRIEND A spellbinding reaffirmation of the London-based, Winchester-born singer-songwriter as one of the most unique and original voices in UK alt-folk. Partly a breakup album, partly a beacon of bad times got through if never forgotten, ‘Friend’ is a deeply meaningful and wonderfully measured ode to memory, place, companionship and music’s remarkable power as an emotional salve.
34. OTHER LIVES: RITUALS Third full length from Oklahoma-turned-Portland trio Other Lives, and their most lush, layered and striking musical creation to date. ‘Rituals’ reflects their change in location, the spontaneity of travel and feelings of isolation. Wonderfully soulful pop for fans of The Antlers, The War On Drugs, Interpol, Grizzly Bear.
35. BADBADNOTGOOD & GHOSTFACE KILLAH: SOUR SOUL ‘Sour Soul’ is the collaborative album from Toronto jazz / hip-hop band BadBadNotGood and Staten Island rap champ Ghostface Killah. Inspired by and taking inspiration from 1960s and 70s music and the recording techniques and production of that era, and eschewing sampling in favour of live instrumentation, BBNG with producer Frank Dukes have created a dramatic, cinematic musical staging for Ghostface’s vivid storytelling.
OFTEN INTROSPECTIVE, BUT NEVER NAVAL-GAZING. AN ALBUM THAT CAN BE ADDED TO THE ESSENTIAL HIP HOP LIST.
FUTURE POP AND EMOTIONAL 80S BALLADRY, ALL FILTERED THROUGH A MODERN PSYCHEDELIC THIRD EYE. ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL VOICES IN UK ALT-FOLK.
THEIR MOST LUSH, LAYERED AND STRIKING MUSICAL CREATION TO DATE.
A DRAMATIC, CINEMATIC MUSICAL STAGING FOR GHOSTFACE’S VIVID STORYTELLING.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 50
2015 on...
Thank Your Lucky Stars
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36. THE HOLYDRUG COUPLE: MOONLUST The third full length from Chilean two-piece The Holydrug Couple, ‘Moonlust’ falls well outside the boundaries of the prevailing psych-rock idiom. In addition to French soundtrack and Gainsbourg influences, they cite inspiration from the soul ballads of Aretha Franklin, 80s South American synthpop acts like Los Encargados, Virus, and Los Prisioneros, and the contemporary French electro of Air. A shimmering and languid psych delight.
37. JAMIE XX: IN COLOUR ‘In Colour’ comes on the back of an incredible six year creative period for Jamie Smith, which has seen him alternate effortlessly between his role as founding member and producer of the xx, and creator of more electronic and club orientated music as Jamie xx. On ‘In Colour’, a bold, celebratory, and emotional record, the producer delivers an album that combines a soundsystem and home-listening experience.
38. GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR: ASUNDER, SWEET AND OTHER DISTRESS Drawn-out ambient passages coalesce into crushing instrumentation, strangled strings gradually soar to the heavens, grounded with slow distorted bass. Ambient passages accentuate the eventual release. Impeccably conceptual yet comfortingly familiar. Essential.
39. MAC DEMARCO: ANOTHER ONE ‘Another One’ features eight, freshly written songs, expanding the arsenal of Mac’s already impressive catalogue. There’s a bittersweet, romantic sensibility present. The overall feeling is lost love, or perhaps love never found, yet Mac embraces this without making it an overly sombre experience for the listener. It’s at times haunting and warm, and a bit more refined and sophisticated, but still plenty playful, retaining the guts and soul of classic Mac.
40. JOHN GRANT: GREY TICKLES, BLACK PRESSURE It’s been the most spectacular of journeys, from a place in time when John Grant feared he’d never make music again, to winning awards, accolades and Top 20 chart positions. ‘Grey Tickles, Black Pressure’ offers a lush, deep production bringing throbbing electronics further to the fore, which when married to Grant’s enormous ballads and hilarious lyrics, make this John’s most complete album yet.
WELL OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PREVAILING PSYCH-ROCK IDIOM. A SHIMMERING AND LANGUID DELIGHT. A BOLD, CELEBRATORY, AND EMOTIONAL RECORD; COMBINING A SOUNDSYSTEM AND HOMELISTENING EXPERIENCE. IMPECCABLY CONCEPTUAL YET COMFORTINGLY FAMILIAR. ESSENTIAL.
HAUNTING AND WARM, RETAINING THE GUTS AND SOUL OF CLASSIC MAC.
LUSH PRODUCTION, ENORMOUS BALLADS, & THROBBING ELECTRONICS TO THE FORE. HIS MOST COMPLETE ALBUM YET.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 50
41. MOON B: LIFEWORLD On ‘Lifeworld’ Atlanta producer Wes Gray offers an intoxicating listening experience which pulls you into its distinct universe from start to finish, while sounding like a slightly heat-warped tape discovered on a Jamaican beach. Joining the dots between the psychedelia of Daniele Baldelli’s cosmic club and the dranked out slank of his hometown’s chopped & screwed scene, Moon B’s delivered one of the freshest albums of recent memory.
SOUNDING LIKE A SLIGHTLY HEAT-WARPED TAPE DISCOVERED ON A JAMAICAN BEACH.
42. PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING: THE RACE FOR SPACE
ECCENTRIC MIX OF GUITAR-DRIVEN The eagerly anticipated second album from Public Service ELECTRONICA, Broadcasting. Once again working with exclusive archive footage from PROPULSIVE the British Film Institute, this record tells the story of the American DRUMMING AND and Soviet space race from 1957–1972 via the duo’s eccentric mix of SPOKEN WORD guitar-driven electronica, propulsive drumming and spoken word SAMPLES. samples culled from this uniquely rich period of modern history.
43. A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS: TRANSFIXIATION Rather than fixate on the minute details like they may have done in the past, the group, rounded out by drummer Robi Gonzalez, trust their instincts and try to keep things as pure as possible. Music is much more exhilarating when it’s unpredictable — even on repeat plays — and this is very much an unpredictable record. Beyond loud, it comes with a warning — this stunning earth shattering noise is likely to reduce your house to rubble.
44. THE FALL: SUB-LINGUAL TABLET The Fall’s 31st studio album. Featuring all the trademarks of a great Fall record, ‘Sub-Lingual Tablet’ comprises of 11 tracks of snarling rockabilly punk, chugging bass lines, buzzing synths, kosmische inspired experimentalism, and visceral “state of the nation” rants from the irrepressible Mark E. Smith. To quote a great man, “The Fall, always different, always the same”.
45. STEALING SHEEP: NOT REAL A change of direction from the Wirral trio’s gently psychedelic folk album ‘Into The Diamond Sun’, ‘Not Real’ sees band members Becky Hawley, Emily Lansley and Lucy Mercer explore experimental pop forms, built, as ever, on their beguiling vocal harmonies. The unifying theme of ‘Not Real’ is an interplay of fact and fiction; the edge of dreams and limits of reality.
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A STUNNING EARTH SHATTERING NOISE.
SNARLING ROCKABILLY PUNK, CHUGGING BASS LINES, BUZZING SYNTHS, AND KOSMISCHE INSPIRED EXPERIMENTALISM.
EXPERIMENTAL POP FORMS BUILT ON THEIR BEGUILING VOCAL HARMONIES.
46. ULTIMATE PAINTING: GREEN LANES The sophomore release from London-based band Ultimate Painting. Formed as a loose collaboration by Jack Cooper (Mazes) and James Hoare (Veronica Falls) the project quickly turned into a full-fledged band in 2014 with the release of their self-titled debut album. Continuing with the warm 60s influenced pastoral gems that characterized their impressive debut, ‘Green Lanes’ sees the duo conjure up another collection of super cool dreamy pop.
47. VIET CONG: VIET CONG The repetition throughout ‘Viet Cong’ hypnotizes but also softens, leaving a space that is deceptively personal. “Continental Shelf” orbits a thousand watt hook with a thick crackle and a battering-ram drum line. “Silhouettes” is a tripwire of a song, opening with an almost Joy Division-esque exposition and moving at breakneck speed — frantic and pitch-black at a thousand miles an hour — until, before you know it, they are howling. Actually howling. Maybe you are too.
48. KAMASI WASHINGTON: THE EPIC ‘The Epic’ is unlike anything jazz has already seen; a 172-minute, triple album set with music that includes a 32-piece orchestra, a 20-person choir, and 17 songs overlaid with a compositional score written by Washington himself. Pulsing underneath is an otherworldly 10-piece band, each member of which is individually regarded as among the best young musicians on the jazz scene right now.
49. JOSÉ PADILLA: SO MANY COLOURS It would have been incredibly easy for him to make a chill-out album, but instead the Spaniard has worked together with a quartet of forward-thinking producers (Mark Barrott, Telephones, Wolf Müller and Tornado Wallace) to create a diverse modern album. A true musical journey covering all angles of the Balearic scene and reminiscent of one of the classic Café Del Mar compilations but in one artist album, and that artist is José Padilla.
50. LOW: ONES AND SIXES The eleventh studio album from the Duluth-based minimal rock trio of Alan Sparhawk, Mimi Parker and Steve Garrington, ‘Ones And Sixes’ sees Low acquire a more rhythmical undercarriage bringing an even greater dynamic dimension to their sound. As we’ve come to expect from this exceptional band this is a brooding, intimate and intense experience, and one of their best works to date.
WARM 60S INFLUENCED PASTORAL GEMS, ANOTHER COLLECTION OF SUPER COOL DREAMY POP.
THE REPETITION HYPNOTIZES BUT ALSO SOFTENS, LEAVING A SPACE THAT IS DECEPTIVELY PERSONAL.
‘THE EPIC’ IS UNLIKE ANYTHING JAZZ HAS ALREADY SEEN.
A TRUE MUSICAL JOURNEY COVERING ALL ANGLES OF THE BALEARIC SCENE.
A BROODING, INTIMATE AND INTENSE EXPERIENCE, AND ONE OF THEIR BEST WORKS TO DATE.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 50
DUKE GARWOOD HEAVY LOVE OUT NOW
H. HAWKLINE IN THE PINK OF CONDITION OUT NOW
STEALING SHEEP NOT REAL OUT NOW
KID WAVE WONDERLUST OUT NOW
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD QUARTERS! OUT NOW
GWENNO Y DYDD OLAF OUT NOW
HOOTON TENNIS CLUB HIGHEST POINT IN CLIFF TOWN OUT NOW
DRINKS HERMITS ON HOLIDAY OUT NOW
FEVER THE GHOST ZIRCONIUM MECONIUM OUT NOW
EAVES WHAT GREEN FEELS LIKE DELUXE EDITION 16/10/15
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD PAPER MÂCHÉ DREAM BALLOON OUT 13/11/16
NOTS WE ARE NOTS OUT 20/11/15
JOCK SCOT MY PERSONAL CULLODEN OUT NOW
THE NECTARINE NO. 9 SAINT JACK OUT 27/11/15
ROUGH TRADE SHOPS PRESENTS HEAVENLY 25 2 X CD, OUT NOW
51. RÓISÍN MURPHY: HAIRLESS TOYS
Murphy takes us on a catwalk stroll through a kaleidoscopic range of influences and styles without ever missing that crucial turn. Disco, house, alt-pop, synthwave...
52. NAYTRONIX: MISTER DIVINE
The product of a unique songwriter spending too many nights under the stars in Arthur Russell’s Sleeping Bag, ‘Mister Divine’ is the best off kilter pop album we’ve heard in years.
53. NILS FRAHM: SOLO
Through the first key strokes on ‘Solo’, Nils Frahm is coaxing this piano to pour undying beauty. Oozing, reverberated key strokes and almost filmic walking basslines cement this as one of the greatest modernclassical albums of its time.
54. SEAN NICHOLAS SAVAGE: OTHER DEATH
In contrast to his usual introspection, ‘Other Death’ is immediately more upbeat, up-tempo, confident, inspired and delivers more consistent pop singles than any of his previous records.
55. ECCENTRONIC RESEARCH COUNCIL: JOHNNY ROCKET...
The ERC treat us to more analogue synth invention and twisted exotica, while Maxine Peake’s increasingly dark, yet hilarious dialogue is as spot on as previous ERC albums.
56. EARL SWEATSHIRT: I DON’T LIKE S**T, I DON’T GO OUTSIDE
An introspective set of rhymes from Sweatshirt which eschew the wide scope of Kendrick or bombast of Kanye in favour of something smaller, more intimate.
57. TOBIAS JESSO JR: GOON
Massive piano-led ballads, in the style of John Lennon or Harry Nilsson. Great songs.
58. STEVE HAUSCHILDT: WHERE ALL IS FLED
A continuation of, and simultaneous cementing of Haushildt as a master of the celestial / synth / Kosmische scene. Haunting, euphoric, and stunningly beautiful.
59. MBONGWANA STAR: FROM KINSHASA
Tired of pre-conceptions around African music, Mbongwana Star are creating their own identity, fusing traditional Congolese rhythms with post punk and electronics.
60. DEATH AND VANILLA: TO WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Deliciously enticing soundscapes, full of moody moogs, swirling melodies and breathless vocals.
61. MILD HIGH CLUB: TIMELINE Gentle West Coast US hazy psychedelia for fans of Mac DeMarco, Real Estate, and Ariel Pink, who collaborates on the album.
62. SLEAFORD MODS: KEY MARKETS
This Nottingham duo display the quintessential punk spirit in bursts of vitriolic lyricism. Fuses the aggression of modern-day hip-hop with the understated wit and driven cynicism of modernday city living.
63. FUZZ: II
Album number two from this psych-rock trio featuring the indomitable Ty Segall on drums, offers 14 tracks of powerful riff-laden fuzzball frenzies.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 100
64. BATTLES: LA DI DA DI
71. WAND: GOLEM
65. FATHER JOHN MISTY: I LOVE YOU, HONEYBEAR
72. NEW ORDER: MUSIC COMPLETE
A bold opus of post rock and virtuosic instrumentals, cementing Battles firmly amongst the most influential alternative bands of the 21st century.
Americana’s answer to Jarvis Cocker, Josh Tillman uses his FJM persona to tease and torment whilst behind the guise casually writing some of this year’s greatest songs.
The prolific LA neo-psych warriors Wand summon the dark and heavy power of the riff, a cascade of raucous hi-fi noises for everyone’s ear lobes.
‘Music Complete’ finds the group revitalised, refreshed and razor sharp, looking to their past while forging forward.
66. JAAKKO EINO KALEVI: JAAKKO EINO KALEVI
73. BLANCK MASS: DUMB FLESH
67. THE WAVE PICTURES: GREAT BIG FLAMINGO BURNING MOON
74. FENSTER: EMOCEAN
Vivid, sensual and technicolour, ‘Jaakko Eino Kalevi’ melds elements of disco, new wave, R&B, house, dub, pop and prog into a record that’s adventurous, original and full of charm.
Bursting with energy and ignited with a garage-rock spark, the album rings loud and bold, co-written and produced by one of their all time heroes Billy Childish.
68. DESTRUCTION UNIT: NEGATIVE FEEDBACK RESISTOR Sludgy stoner bass, walls of distortion, driving distorted hardcore guitars. Get in the mosh pit, this one is raucous!
69. RICHARD HAWLEY: HOLLOW MEADOWS
Hollow Meadows’ sees Hawley return to the classic, sophisticated songwriting and subtle arrangements that made him so widely loved and revered in the first place.
70. STEVE COBBY: EVERLIVING
An album which entirely envelops you within its own sonic world, beguiling your senses with hypnotic keys, lilting rhythms, gentle guitars and pan global sounds.
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The solo project of Fuck Buttons’ Benjamin John Power. A shifting soundscape of thunderous drums, processed vocals and walls of heavy synth noises. A huge sound.
A soundtrack to an adventure sci-fi film created by and starring the band. A swirling cosmos of richly varied post-psychedelia, transcending the boundaries of reality and traditional pop records.
75. DISCLOSURE: CARACAL
The brothers Lawrence are back with more pop-house delights, this time featuring a leaning towards R&B and soul as well.
76. DBH: MOOD
Warm, welcoming and full of character; it’s not unreasonable to say that dbh is our generation’s John Fahey / Robbie Basho.
77. THE PHANTOM BAND: FEARS TRENDING
The dark twin to last year’s ‘Strange Friend’ album, with seven tracks cut largely from the same recording sessions.
78. JOHN CARPENTER: LOST THEMES
As is Carpenter’s style, repetition is the key to the thundering power of these tracks, their energy swirling with shredding chords, soaring organs, unnerving pianos and captivating percussion.
79. CALEXICO: EDGE OF THE SUN
Calexico have been honing their Latin-American infused dusty desert blues for the best part of 20 years, and here, they’ve got it bang on.
80. MAX RICHTER: FROM SLEEP ‘From Sleep’ is an exploration of music, consciousness and human connectivity, intended to send the listener to sleep. Played on piano, strings, with subtle electronic touches and vocals – but no words.
81. LIGHTNING BOLT: FANTASY EMPIRE
Over the course of their two-decade existence, Lightning Bolt have revolutionized underground rock in immeasurable ways. Their first album to be recorded in a proper studio.
82. METZ: II
The guitars are titanic, the drums ill-tempered, the vocals chilling and the volume worrisome. ‘II’ is the sound of an already monstrous band improving in both subtle and terrifying ways.
83. GHOSTPOET: SHEDDING SKIN
10 songs that embrace, unite and narrate observations that are designed to sit beside each other through bright peaks and dark shallows.
84. MEG BAIRD: DON’T WEIGH DOWN THE LIGHT The Espers co-founder releases her third solo studio album, beautiful and delicate melancholic folkiness with shimmering guitars and radiant vocals.
85. PANDA BEAR: PANDA BEAR MEETS THE GRIM REAPER
Old school hip hop textures and production techniques meld with the intuitive, cyclical melodies he has become known for, resulting in a sound that is at once both dense and playful.
86. SLEATER-KINNEY: NO CITIES TO LOVE
This new record is the first in 10 years from the acclaimed group who came crashing out of the 90s Pacific Northwest riot grrrl scene, setting a new bar for punk’s political insight and emotional impact.
87. IDJUT BOYS: VERSIONS
Idjut Boys Dan and Con rework some of their back catalogue in a dubbed-out style. Cosmic rubs shoulders with psychedelic house and down-tempo vibes.
88. GONNO: REMEMBER THE LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
Japanese house stalwart Gonno drops a killer second full length, marshalling his hardware army for an immersive trip into cosmic techno, celestial ambience and rainbow house.
89. SAUNA YOUTH: DISTRACTIONS
An evolving band of future humans making truly irregular punk, not quite comparable to anything else. “Art punk” is a classifier that shouldn’t be required.
THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 100
90. ETERNAL TAPESTRY: WILD STRAWBERRIES
95. JEFRE CANTU-LEDESM: A YEAR WITH 13 MOONS
91. BEIRUT: NO NO NO
96. SOAK: BEFORE WE FORGOT HOW TO DREAM
Portland, Oregon’s sonic explorers Eternal Tapestry set sail on another cosmic trip. Recorded in a remote cabin, ‘Wild Strawberries’ is a tour de force of free-psych and drone.
The songwriter within Condon has always been there, albeit sonically veiled on past records. It’s never been presented so prominently, and finds Beirut on its most stable and convincing footing yet.
92. JENNY HVAL: APOCALYPSE, GIRL
‘Apocalypse, Girl’ is a very intimate, very visual beast. It dreams of an old science fiction movie where gospel choir girls are punks and run the world with auto-erotic impulses.
93. POLE: WALD
Eight years on from his last release under the Pole moniker, Stefan Betke returns with an album of dub-techno and ambient electronica inspired by the landscape of the forests he had spent time walking through.
94. $HIT AND $HINE: 54 SYNTH-BRASS, 38 METAL GUITAR, 65 CATHEDRAL
Like a robot Can-Hawkwind hybrid in a Phillip K. Dick future, reassembling disco, abstract electronica and noise-rock into elegant new shapes, $hit And $hine furrow brows and fry synapses in equal measure.
Using a friend’s reel to reel tape player, Cantu employed electric guitar, modular synthesizer, drum machine and concrète sounds. The result is gorgeous, haunting and sprawling.
Compared with the likes of Laura Marling and Beach House, SOAK AKA Bridie Monds-Watson’s debut album brilliantly showcases her husky and delicate vocal stylings. A star for the future.
97. HOOTON TENNIS CLUB: HIGHEST POINT IN CLIFFTOWN
Musically melodic, fragile, wonky, witty, poetic and pop (definitely, defiantly pop) the skewed melodies and oddball narratives combine in perfect symbiotic musical harmony.
98. MATTHEW E. WHITE: FRESH BLOOD
The follow-up to the wonderful debut ‘Big Inner’; a bracing, beguiling record and a bold advance for White. It’s a record that feels like the brilliant bloom to ‘Big Inner’s striking bud.
99. THEESATISFACTION: EARTHEE
This sophomore album features the duo rapping and singing over sublime soul-jazz, Sa-Ra style wonkiness and spacious psych-funk textures, creating a seductive album that draws you in.
100. NATALIE PRASS: NATALIE PRASS
Swoonsome, soul-tinted singer-songwriter offering from Natalie Prass. Think Muscle Shoals reborn for the 21st Century.
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THE TOP 100 ALBUMS: TOP 100
John Carpenter Lost Themes
Moon Duo Shadow of the Sun
sacred bones records a . d . 2 0 15
The Holydrug Couple Moonlust
Fรถllakzoid III
Blanck Mass Dumb Flesh
Jenny Hval Apocalypse, girl
Destruction Unit Negative Feedback Resistor
Todo muere
PICCADILLY RECORDS COMPILATION OF THE YEAR 2015
LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA PRESENTS
PZYK VOL.1 Just as ownership of a wah-wah pedal and a phalanx of effects doesn’t mean you’ve got a psychedelic band, neither does a grouping of such acts make for a psychedelic festival. Similarly, a fetishisation of the 1960s and a retro outlook through rose-tinted headphones isn’t a statement of what’s happening in the here and now of the 21st century. No, what’s needed is an understanding of the form; how it’s developed and mutated into something new while retaining the all-important ability to startle the listener from accepted forms of reality into an altered state. And this is where the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia truly succeeds. Over a short space of time, the annual Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia has grown from relatively humble and tentative origins to become the UK’s premier celebration of music that dares to navigate the politics of consciousness. It’s been said that you can never replicate the breathtaking thrill of that first trip yet this is an event that builds and grows on each subsequent festival. What started as a one-day event for 1000 hearty souls has now expanded to a two-day experience while doubling its capacity and activities many times over. Where else can you enjoy psychedelic installations, symposiums and films under one roof?
Of course, it’s apt that this festival is held in Liverpool. Without doubt the most psychedelic of Britain’s cities, its history of influential bands in thrall to the cleansing of the third eye is unparalleled and one that continues to this very day. And then there are the fans: a finer and friendlier collection of freaks and heads that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else, all gathered in one place as they turn and face the strange. This, then, is a festival in its truest sense. But it’s the music that beats at the very heart of the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia. As evidenced by the epic artifact that you’re holding in your hands right now, this is a broad church and one not limited to orthodoxy or limited structures. Over these six sides of vinyl you’ll find contained the bands that have come to define the well-deserved reputation of this incredible annual event. And as the music flows from your speakers, you’ll come to realise that contributions have come from all over the globe. We’re not alone; this is happening the world over and for one very special weekend at the end of September in the north west of England, the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia crystalizes this movement into something quite beautiful. There are many levels of experience to unravel and this is the place to start. Enjoy the trip. Julian Marszalek, The Quietus.
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TRACKLISTING: 1. MUGSTAR: GOAT HEAD 2. TAU: VENADO AZUL (CEREMONY VERSION) * 3. T HE HOLYDRUG COUPLE: DREAMY 4. WOLF PEOPLE: ALL RETURNS PART II 5. KLAUS JOHANNE GROBE: TRAUMHAFT 6. MASAHIKO SATO: TAKE IT EASY * 7. THE VACANT LOTS: 6AM 8. CHRISTIAN BLAND: FLASHING SIGNS 9. FUMAÇA PRETA: EU ERA UM CÃO
MUSIC BEATS AT THE VERY HEART OF THE LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA
10. LUCID DREAM: DEVIL RIDES OUT (TIME AND SPACE MACHINE 12” REMIX) * 11. NIGHT BEATS: MESSIAH
Ok, so first off we’re utterly, totally and wildly PSYCHED that the tip-top cats at Piccadilly Records decided to select PZYK Vol.1 as their compilation of the year for 2015. The shop is everything a truly great record shop should be; a treasure trove of wax treats procured by a bunch of wildly passionate musos. Folks just like us. PZYK is the label we run out of our annual soiree, the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia and PZYK Vol.1 is in fact the first full ‘proper’ release we’ve put out. With the festival we set out to celebrate the bleeding, weeping edge of neo-psychedelia, a pan-continental movement, a genuine international subculture that we’re humbly privileged to be a part of. The festival draws on an idea of what festivals were originally meant to be: a platform to celebrate a particular sub-culture, steeped in the pagan tradition of collective revelry, but in a thoroughly modern and future focussed context.
The label is an extension of this, an opportunity to commit the PZYK movement to wax. And we had to do a compilation to get things started. We had this idea of a whacked-out audio atlas of the PZYK diaspora, a record featuring artists from across PZYK’s geographic and audio spectrum. Mexico City is 8,631km from Carlisle, yet sub-culturally they embrace via the brutal sonic slew of their PZYK disciples, Lorelle Meets The Obsolete and The Lucid Dream respectably. And a deluxe triple gatefold vinyl also gave us the opportunity to indulge in the visual world we’d been developing for this year’s festival. We’re vinyl nuts after all. We’d like to finish with a huge thank you to Mark, Dave and the team at Republic Of Music. Without you this record would not exist. Welcome to the motorik metropoliz. Yours in drone. PZYK
12. LORELLE MEETS THE OBSOLETE: SEALED SCENE (PART TIME PUNKS SESSION) * 13. WHITE MANNA: KIEF MOUNTAIN 14. GNOD: BREAKING THE HEX 15. K-X-P: SPACE PRECIOUS TIME * 16. CLINIC: THE WIZARD * 17. FEVER THE GHOST: A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS DETERMINES THE FATES OF GREATER MEN NO LESS THAN 5 STORIES ABOVE US IN A DREAM (NO 9 BUS) 18. LIMINANAS: SALVATION 19. STRANGE COLLECTIVE: SUN 20. POW!: 4 R E A L 21. LUCERN RAZE: CHEEP SPEED * 22. JIBOIA DVAPARA: YUGA 23. MAI MAI MAI: Κουσμα* 24. LES BIG BYRD: WHITE WEEK 25. GOAT: RUN TO YOUR MAMA (CAGE & AVIARY RE-REMIX) * 26. GALA DROP: LET IT GO (EXTENDED VERSION) * 27. DESTRUCTION UNIT: IF DEATH EVER SLEPT 28. BLANCK MASS: DETRITUS (KONX-OM-PAX RMX) * 29. FOLLAKZOID: FEUERZEUG 30. BONNACONS OF DOOM: EXTERIORITY 31. JANE WEAVER: ARGENT (EUROPIUM ALLUMINATE EDIT) * (CD BONUS TRACK) * DENOTES EXCLUSIVE TRACK
THE TOP 20 COMPILATIONS: COMPILATION OF THE YEAR
2. SHERWOOD AT THE CONTROLS VOLUME 1: 1979 – 1984 Adrian Sherwood is a name most commonly associated with dub reggae, particularly his own leftfield version of the sound that he developed over the 80s and 90s, having been mentored by the likes of Prince Far I, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Dennis Bovell. This compilation, however, seeks to highlight another side of his musical story: in his capacity as a DJ and live sound engineer Sherwood also connected with the likes of the Clash and Public Image Limited, making links between punk-funk (the Pop Group, Medium Medium, Maximum Joy, Shriekback), post-punk (the Slits, the Fall, Annie Anxiety) and dub / reggae (Prince Far I, Singers & Players, African Head Charge).
3. PRINS THOMAS PRESENTS PARADISE GOULASH Balearic, afro-cosmic, electronica, techno, house, psych, ambient... This is a bit special! “The music contained within is a willfully diverse collection of music that I hope you’ll find pleasing to your ears. Much like a bowl of goulash, not all the ingredients might be to your liking. It is undeniably more rustic roadside tavern than refined dining but I hope you already trust me behind the pots and pans. I have been spoilt for choice by the many fine ingredients available to me and have become somewhat blinded in compiling the final tracklist. However, the end result has now been tested on my nearest and dearest to approval. I present to you, my own special “Paradise Goulash” Prins Thomas.
4. TREVOR JACKSON PRESENTS SCIENCE FICTION DANCEHALL CLASSICS A longtime fan of the label, Trevor Jackson comments: “Not only did On-U sound and Adrian Sherwood’s early production work introduce me to dimensions of sound I’d never experienced, inspire me to start making music and start my own record label, his live mixing at a notoriously loud Mark Stewart and the Maffia gig during the mid-80s also gave me lifelong tinnitus. On-U’s timeless releases portray a savage disregard for conformity, representative of an era where attitude and ethos spoke volumes. An uncontrived mix of cultures, minds and powerful personalities combined to produce revolutionary sonic adventures that sound as unique and vital today as they did over 30 years ago. Putting this compilation together is nothing short of an honour.”
5. PSYCHEMAGIK PRESENT MAGIK SUNSET (PART ONE) Psychemagik slip on their technicolour dreamcoats, step into their cowboy boots and casually stroll into the party with the final chapter in their sublime ‘Magik’ series. This compilation may have been a year in the making on paper, but in reality it marks the culmination of a lifetime of exploration, excavation and expedition into the deep and distant musical landscape of limited releases, private presses and long lost curios. Due to an incredible response from the artists contacted, Danny and Tom got all their Christmas wishes, and enough material for two compilations instead of one. So here’s the first volume of ‘Magik Sunset’.
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THE TOP 20 COMPILATIONS
6. LATE NIGHT TALES – JON HOPKINS The story arc with which Hopkins succeeded on ‘Immunity’ makes its appearance on Late Night Tales too with a perfectly sculpted excursion on this widescreen selection. Includes cuts by Darkstar, Holy Other, Teebs, Nils Frahm, David Holmes, Four Tet, Bibio, A Winged Victory For The Sullen and many more.
7. PSYCHEMAGIK PRESENT MAGIK SUNSET (PART TWO) So here it is, after three years, three albums and all manner of musical incantations, we’re ready to embark on the final leg of this ‘Magik’ journey. Since 2012 Danny and Tom have led us around the globe, through different seasons and feelings, be it the deep calm of ‘Magik Sunrise’ or the atmospheric beauty of the opening chapter of their ‘Magik Sunset’. Now we stand poised on the edge of forever, ready for these sonic shamen to turn day into night through thirteen otherworldly, unheard and deeply obscure selections.
8. BALEARIC Chris Coco and Jim Breese curate this album, the first in a new compilation series, exploring the lush, atmospheric, modern-day Balearic sound. 13 radiant, sunset inspired recordings, are meticulously selected and beautifully assembled. It begins with a gentle, dreamy classic, by Spanish guitarist Joan Bibiloni and ends with a deceptively simple piano piece by Nils Frahm that captures that mesmerizing moment of a legendary sunset in Ibiza.
9. RASTAFARI – THE DREADS ENTER BABYLON 1955–83 From the earliest proto-rasta beginnings on vinyl, Lord Lebby’s 1955 mento recording “Ethiopia”, through to the raw, afro-jazz roots sounds of Count Ossie to the deep and heavy roots reggae of the 1970s (Johnny Clarke, Earth & Sound, Roy Ashanti of the Congos and others), this album covers nearly 30 years of revolutionary, rootical reggae music.
10. PUNKY REGGAE SELECTA With very few punk records available to play, Roxy resident DJ Don Letts instead dipped into his extensive reggae collection for his playlist. This Trojan compilation takes its inspiration from Letts’ punky reggae party, and hits us with 20 of the best roots reggae tracks from the era — and all for under a fiver!.
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11. LATE NIGHT TALES – NILS FRAHM Composer, musician and producer Nils Frahm steers us through another batch of ‘Late Night Tales’. A hypnotic voyage through modern and classical composition, experimental electronics, jazz, dub techno, soundtracks and soul; Frahm’s ‘Late Night Tales’ haunts and beguiles. It’s not mixing, so much as gently layering, like a particularly fluffy goose-down duvet folding in on itself, the folds part of the attraction, the layers part of the overall picture being painted. Many of the tracks have been edited, effected and re-made.
12. BEACH DIGGIN’ VOLUME 3 – HAND PICKED BY MAMBO & GUTS Guts - a French producer exiled in Ibiza, and Mambo - a cult Los Angeles-based painter, present their third helping of their widely acclaimed ‘Beach Diggin’ series, a scintillating summery selection of obscure but wonderful soul, funk, disco, Latin, reggae and tropical beats. This time round vibes arrive from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Saint Thomas, the USA and Canada.
13. A MONSTROUS PSYCHEDELIC BUBBLE... COMPILED & MIXED BY THE AMORPHOUS ANDROGYNOUS ‘A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble (Exploding In Your Mind) — The Wizards Of Oz’ is devoted exclusively to the rich heritage of cosmic space music of our Antipodean brothers and sisters and in common with previous volumes traces the lineage from the sixties to the present day with sonic delights from every decade in between.
14. TOO SLOW TO DISCO 2 It took How Do You Are and DJ Supermarket one year to finally come back with volume 2 of ‘Too Slow To Disco’. This time they’ve dug even deeper into the sun-drenched, relaxed, funky, smooth and megalomaniac west coast sound of the late 70s / early 80s: From singer / songwriter-funk, yacht-pop, blue-eyed soul to AOR-disco.
15. TOM FURSE DIGS Horrors’ synth wizard Tom Furse takes a small vacation here, leaving the glam and gloom of his day job for a stay in the tropical climes of the Southern Music Library. Although lesser known than the KPMs and Brutons of the world, the Southern Library Of Recorded Music is remarkable for a breezy and surreal sound, which, much like a Rousseau painting delivers a strong sense of the exotic and the ‘other’.
THE TOP 20 COMPILATIONS
16. GREATER MANCHESTER PUNK 1977–1981 14 rare and previously unreleased punk and post-punk tracks from the more obscure original Manchester bands of the time. The majority supported established acts such as Buzzcocks and Joy Division and some went on to form legendary bands in later eras (Mike Joyce, The Hoax.) In the spirit of the DIY ethos of the punk era, most were recorded in small studios and released in limited pressings and have become a must have for the discerning punk collector.
17. PERFECT MOTION – JON SAVAGE’S SECRET HISTORY OF SECOND-WAVE PSYCHEDELIA 1988–93 Following both last year’s Matt Sewell-curated comp “A Crushing Glow” and 2012’s very highly regarded “Fame”, a definitive UK / US post-punk release, Jon Savage and CTR decided to tackle a seemingly seriously under-documented musical moment; the “Baggy” era of the late 80s / early 90s. Caroline True are very proud to present a musical return-trip to these fondly remembered years spanning 1988-93.
18. (CEASE & DESIST) DIY! (CULT CLASSICS FROM THE POST-PUNK ERA 1978–1982) Essential post-punk singles collection from JD Twitch of Optimo fame. The double LP brings together 16 obscure 45s ranging from the punky thrash of the Prats via the shambolic avant-funk of the Tesco Bombers and punk-funk Dorothy to the sublime YMG-like People In Motion and Fatal Microbes haunting ‘Violence Grows’. John Peel show favourites one and all.
19. THE REVERB CONSPIRACY VOLUME 3 The 15 outfits taking part in the third volume in this series – including Goat (mixed by Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre), Mugstar, The Oscillation, Camera - are representative of the impressive diversity and quality of a scene that is much broader than its definition. While all of them are certainly inspired by psychedelia, each one of them incorporates different elements of blues, folk, rock’n’roll, stoner, krautrock, electronica, noise, ambient and more.
20. LATE NIGHT TALES PRESENTS AFTER DARK – NOCTURNE The Italians call it “notturna”, the French “nocturne”, in Spanish it’s “nocturno”. A nocturne is a term to describe a musical composition that is inspired by or evocative of the night. For the latest in his ‘After Dark’ series, Bill Brewster takes us on another trip into the music of the witching hour: twisted disco, cosmic house, slo-mo synth-pop, psychedelic Balearica and more.
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THE TOP 20 COMPILATIONS
WARP.NET LONELADY HINTERLAND
OUT NOW
BATTLES LA DI DA DI
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WARP RECORDS 2015
P I C C A D I L LY R E C O R D S R E I S S U E / C O L L E C T I O N O F T H E Y E A R 2 0 1 5
MICHAEL HEAD AND THE STRANDS THE MAGICAL WORLD OF THE STRANDS
Andy: Hate to but have to start off with two quotes from erstwhile pop bible NME: “Like Nick Drake strumming along with The Stone Roses”. How good is that!? “Lost genius and most gifted songwriter of his generation”. Amen to that! The star that never was, Mick Head is the Liverpool legend signed by Virgin as a teenager, dropped, disappeared, adrift on drugs but always, ALWAYS the artist. A craftsman of the highest calibre, he consistently managed to put out brilliant records. It’s just that nobody bought them! Pale Fountains, Shack, Red Elastic Band; all brilliant, all on different labels, but one, released in 1997 by a fan, on the tiniest imprint of all, has gone on to finally be acknowledged as one of the greatest records ever made.
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‘The Magical World Of The Strands’ was recorded in Liverpool in 1993 and followed a real stars-intheir-eyes moment for Mick (and brother John, who plays guitar) when the year before they toured Europe with their spiritual talisman and biggest influence: Arthur Lee of Love. Swapping the Pacific Ocean for the River Mersey, Mick used acoustic guitars and strings just like his hero, to craft his own baroque pop masterpiece. With opiated mysticism, jazzy eddys, finger-picked stylings, psych meanderings and, naturally, a flute, Head managed to pre-date the trendy nufolk revival of the mid noughties by seven years and as for the braces’n’banjos goons of today: forget about it! This is the real deal. Just feel it! The whole record flows exactly like a classic should and though it bombed commercially, its reputation amongst all those who KNEW simply grew and grew. It became a classic, through genuine word of mouth. 18 years later you can finally own a copy. Magical indeed!
THE ALBUM’S TITLE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANYTHING ELSE. MAGICAL. The Strands evolved one beautiful summer of 1993. I was label-less at the time, I wouldn’t quite say penniless but there was no more lobster. Shack, the mothership in a way, had disbanded and we went our separate ways, which was still only about ten minutes from each other on foot. I was living at my girlfriend Sarah’s then and me Ma, who was ill, lived just down the street on Kenny. So most of the day, I’d go between the two. We’d all congregate at me Ma’s. Me, John, my sister Joanne and a host of other acquaintances coming and going. There were always two or three guitars knockin’ round the house so a lot of the time, me and John would end up in one of the rooms playing each other our new ideas for songs, such as Queen Matilda and Something Like You. At the time Liverpool was like a big mop top of creativity and the idea that we were just Strands plucked from it.
We were to record in Steve Powell’s studio, at the corner of Mount Pleasant and Clarence Street. It wasn’t like any other studio I had worked in. You got the feel of the place immediately. It had a great atmosphere primarily because it had lots of windows. It was like being in someone’s flat. The album’s title could not have been called anything else. Magical. The best way I can describe the whole period is like what John portrays on one of his later songs. You’re sitting on the platform of a railway station in the middle of nowhere. The next train’s gonna be hours. It’s a blistering hot summer’s day and as you look down at the train track you see these vapours shimmering on the tracks. Colours. Movement. And it grabs hold of you and you can’t take your eyes out of it. Like when you were a kid sitting on the kerb, putting your fingers on the tar bubbles. A parked car pulls away and the residue of oil makes little oceans of wonder. And for that moment you don’t have a care in the world. Or even if you do, for that moment you’re somewhere else. That’s what making Magical was like. Mick Head.
THE TOP 20 REISSUES AND COLLECTIONS: REISSUE / COLLECTION OF THE YEAR
2. ATA KAK: OBAA SIMA Ata Kak’s cassette ‘Obaa Sima’ fell on deaf ears when it was self-released in Ghana and Canada in 1994. The music on the recording - an amalgam of highlife, Twilanguage rap, electro-funk and disco — is presented with the passion of a Prince record and the DIY-bedroom-recording lo-fi charm of early Chicago house music. The astute self-taught song craft and visionary blend of sounds and rhythms has made the album a left-field cult favourite among adventurous listeners worldwide. Awesome Tapes From Africa founder Brian Shimkovitz found the tape in 2002 in Cape Coast, Ghana resulting in this remastered vinyl and CD reissue.
3. GILLES PETERSON PRESENTS SUN RA AND HIS ARKESTRA: TO THOSE OF EARTH AND OTHER WORLDS Following up on last year’s collection ‘In The Orbit Of Ra’ we’re diving headfirst back into the vast universe of Sun Ra with a newly curated set from the Ra’s immense 125 album back catalogue, compiled by Gilles Peterson. The BBC 6Music / Worldwide DJ is a long-time champion of Ra’s music and the UK’s leading tastemaker for jazz-based sounds. It serves as perhaps the best introduction yet to the music of Sun Ra for a whole new generation of converts.
4. SAVANT: ARTIFICIAL DANCE The story of electronic music pioneer K. Leimer continues with a focus on his auteurist studio project Savant. Compiling the standalone album, 1983’s ‘The Neo Realist (At Risk)’, with Savant’s debut 12” and a grip of compilation and unreleased tracks, ‘Artificial Dance’ tonally operates in a space between This Heat’s dark primitivism and the found sound collage of Brian Eno & David Byrne’s ‘My Life in the Bush of Ghosts’. Far from a provisional stab at avant-garde sensibilities, Savant represents Leimer’s repudiation of ambient music’s passive side.
5. MOGWAI: CENTRAL BELTERS ‘Central Belters’ is a 20 year career spanning retrospective of Scottish avant-rockers Mogwai, featuring album tracks, singles and rarities which includes tracks from their debut album to their recent Top 10 album ‘Rave Tapes’. To those new to the band or who have been introduced via their soundtrack work on Channel 4’s ‘Les Revenants’ this is a must own collection of some of the best and most well known of the band’s music, available as a fantastic 3CD edition or a very limited 6LP box set.
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6. BEAT HAPPENING: LOOK AROUND 30 years since the release of their self-titled debut album, ‘Look Around’ is a remastered, career-spanning double album anthology, handpicked by the band. It’s a great starting point for the uninitiated as well a refreshing reminder to those who caught the wave the first time around.
7. LETTA MBULU: IN THE MUSIC... THE VILLAGE NEVER ENDS Originally released in South Africa in 1983, ‘In The Music... The Village Never Ends’ is one of those holy grail African records that barely needs any introduction. Featuring the enormous “Nomalizo”, it’s a record that aficionados around the world have been waiting many years to get hold of. Now, Be With Records proudly presents the hugely anticipated vinyl reissue of this bonafide classic.
8. BLACK DEVIL: DISCO CLUB Lo Recordings hook up a total score for all the disco heads with this complete reissue of Bernard Fevre’s seminal 1978 electronic disco masterwork, remastered by the man himself. When Rephlex reissued selected cuts from this LP back in 2004, no one was willing to believe that something this mindblowingly good, brainmeltingly ahead of its time and earth-shatteringly rare could actually exist. Lovingly packaged with the original iconic artwork and released in strictly limited quantities, this is one of the best purchases you’ll make all lifetime.
9. LED ZEPPELIN: PHYSICAL GRAFFITI – REMASTERED EDITION The Led Zeppelin reissue campaign continued in 2015, turning the spotlight on the classic double album ‘Physical Graffiti’. An old shop favourite, this remastered edition of the group’s sixth studio album arrived 40 years to the day after the original debuted in February, 1975. Available as standard editions, deluxe editions with unreleased companion audio and an “all singing all dancing” super deluxe box set edition.
10. CHRIS BELL: I AM THE COSMOS – DELUXE EDITION Compiled with full involvement from Ardent founder and Big Star producer John Fry, who expressed his excitement for the forthcoming reissues and commented, “The reissue is in my opinion the definitive collection of Chris’ solo work. We took great pains to use original analog sources and to master the CDs much as we would have done vinyl in the 70s. Enjoy the music and the story.”
THE TOP 20 REISSUES AND COLLECTIONS
11. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: LOADED: RE-LOADED — 45TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION The VU’s final album gets the box set treatment and what a delight it is. You could get lost in here for days. Remastered stereo and mono versions of the album fill out the first two discs, along with various outtakes. The third disc explores the creative process behind many of the songs on the album with more than 20 demos, early versions and alternate mixes, and fans will be excited to hear the unreleased club performance featured on the fifth disc.
12. DAVID BOWIE: FIVE YEARS 1969 – 1973 David Bowie ‘Five Years 1969–1973’ is the first in a series of box sets spanning his career. The ten album / twelve CD box, ten album / thirteen-piece vinyl set featuring all of the material officially released by Bowie during the nascent stage of his career from 1969 to 1973. All of the formats include tracks that have never before appeared on CD as well as new remasters.
13. SUPER FURRY ANIMALS: MWNG –15TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Originally released in 2000 on the band’s own Placid Casual label (between deals with Creation and Sony), the Super Furries career-defining fourth album Mwng was the band’s only Welsh language long player. It reached Number 11 in the UK album charts and was their highest selling record globally up to that point. It remains the biggest selling Welsh language album of all time.
14. CANTOMA: CANTOMA Thanks to the superb Music For Dreams, Cantoma’s genre defining first LP makes an appearance on vinyl for the first time ever! This triple LP package features all the downtempo beauty and coastal bliss of the original release, alongside a third disc featuring unreleased tracks and remixes.
15. AIR: THE VIRGIN SUICIDES –15TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Released in 2000, The Virgin Suicides was director Sofia Coppola’s first feature film, Kirsten Dunst’s first major screen role, and Air’s first foray into film scoring. Featuring enormous swathes of beautiful melancholia with the saddest synths and grooviest bass-lines. Mainly instrumental but still absolutely essential.
ORDER ONLINE AT PICCADILLYRECORDS.COM
16. PATRICK COWLEY: MUSCLE UP Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem Records have teamed up again to release another volume of gay porn soundtracks by San Francisco-based musician and producer, Patrick Cowley. Perhaps one of the most revolutionary and influential people in the canon of disco music, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music, “The San Francisco Sound.”
17. W. BARTHEL / M. BÖHM / R. BAUER: TIMELESS HORIZONS German musicologist, deep sonic archivist and expert record dealer Basso presents the third release on his essential Growing Bin imprint, a sublime retrospective of German trio Barthel, Böhm and Bauer. Basso delivers an immersive collection which carries you on a far flung journey through time and space. The unique amalgamation of oriental folk, percussive rock and good old blues will let you drift away, dream and dance into a storm.
18. THE REPLACEMENTS: THE TWIN/TONE YEARS Limited edition of 8000 copies worldwide, individually numbered, four LP box set collection of The Replacements early years recording for the legendary Minneapolis record label Twin/Tone Records. This collection features: ‘Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash’ (1981), ‘The Stink’ EP (1982), ‘Hootenanny’ (1983) and ‘Let It Be’ (1984) pressed on vinyl for the first time in over two decades.
19. THE MOTHMEN: PAY ATTENTION! Lost post-punk classic from 1980. A unique mixture of noisy riffs, angular pop melodies and dubwise production aesthetic. Second ever album release on On-U Sound, never issued before on CD. Features former members of Durutti Column and future members of Simply Red. Can be filed alongside early work by Wire, Gang Of Four and Public Image Limited.
20. MCCARTHY: I AM A WALLET — VINYL EDITION Now recognised as an indiepop masterpiece McCarthy’s debut album has gone on to achieve cult status, receiving praise from the likes of Nicky Wire (Manic Street Preachers) as one of the most important albums of the 80s. This limited edition double album set contains the original LP plus 13 bonus tracks taken from their first four singles and the re-recorded version of “In Purgatory”.
THE TOP 20 REISSUES AND COLLECTIONS
LAURA As we celebrate 25 years of owning the shop, it seems fitting that the band that played our launch party, should produce my album of the year. Fortunately the album is ace and so justifies its position! In some ways it seems like only yesterday that we nervously took control of things, but then I think about how both Manchester and the music industry have changed since and it all seems so long ago. I don’t think at the time any of us thought we’d be here 25 years on! We’ve survived recessions, a bomb, the rise of the chain stores, the death of the chain stores. We’ve seen lots of other indies call it a day, for various reasons, and new ones spring up, and we’ve seen how the ever evolving World Wide Web has changed how music is both made and consumed. And of course, despite (or because of) all the changes, in our little world vinyl and CD still rule! Throughout it all, the musicians, all our staff and the customers who’ve shopped with us, (some right from the start and others, who’ve joined the fold along the way) have made it all worthwhile. Thank you all!
PHILIPPA Soooo, after Courtney Barnett’s ‘A Sea Of Split Peas’ missing out on my 2013 chart because, let’s be honest, I didn’t even hear it until the start of 2014 (yeah, I know; LATE!), I was determined that ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think...’ would make up for the omission. Phew, just as well it’s an absolute cracker then! It’s the record that put a smile on my face, had me pogoing (if only for about 15 seconds) at the CB Gorilla gig, shouting “make some origami honey” with Lala & Euan (the Kids) on a long car journey, and reminded me of being young. I heard a Gwenno track on Lauren Laverne’s 6 Music show, and fell in love. So much so that I went to see her at the Band On The Wall Heavenly Records showcase night, and then was blown away by headliners Stealing Sheep, whose ‘Not Real’ album became another favourite. Punk-funk songs about derelict buildings and urban decay? How could I not love Lonelady’s ‘Hinterland’? It’s just SO 1979. Julia Holter’s ‘Have You In My Wilderness’ is my current favourite thing as I write this (late October) – alt-pop from a classical / avant-garde perspective. Amazing.
THE CHARLATANS: MODERN NATURE HORSEBEACH: II BLANK REALM: ILLEGALS IN HEAVEN THEE OH SEES: MUTILATOR DEFEATED AT LAST 5. TESS PARKS & ANTON NEWCOMBE: I DECLARE NOTHING 6. FÖLLAKZOID: III 7. OTHER LIVES: RITUALS 8. CHASTITY BELT: TIME TO GO HOME 9. THE PHANTOM BAND: FEARS TRENDING 10. SUFJAN STEVENS: CARRIE & LOWELL 11. BAMBI DAVIDSON: BRUNSWICK 12. WAND: GOLEM 13. RICHARD HAWLEY: HOLLOW MEADOWS 14. ULTIMATE PAINTING: GREEN LANES 15. MILD HIGH CLUB: TIMELINE 16. COURTNEY BARNETT: SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT 17. CALEXICO: EDGE OF THE SUN 18. MOON DUO: SHADOW OF THE SUN 19. JIM O’ROURKE: SIMPLE SONGS 20. THE WAVE PICTURES: GREAT BIG FLAMINGO BURNING MOON
1. 2. 3. 4.
1. COURTNEY BARNETT: SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT 2. GWENNO: Y DYDD OLAF 3. STEALING SHEEP: NOT REAL 4. JULIA HOLTER: HAVE YOU IN MY WILDERNESS 5. LONELADY: HINTERLAND 6. VARIOUS ARTISTS: SHERWOOD AT THE CONTROLS VOLUME 1: 1979–1984 7. JAMIE XX: IN COLOUR 8. RÓISÍN MURPHY: HAIRLESS TOYS 9. ROMARE: PROJECTIONS 10. LINKWOOD: EXPRESSIONS 11. SEXWITCH: SEXWITCH 12. TESS PARKS & ANTON NEWCOMBE: I DECLARE NOTHING 13. CHASTITY BELT: TIME TO GO HOME 14. BOOF: THE HYDRANGEAS WHISPER 15. COLLEEN: CAPTAIN OF NONE 16. JOSÉ PADILLA: SO MANY COLOURS 17. ATA KAK: OBAA SIMA 18. FLOATING POINTS: ELAENIA 19. DISCLOSURE: CARACAL 20. NATALIE PRASS: NATALIE PRASS
STAFF CHARTS
S AVAG E S
ADORE LIFE
DARRYL So 25 years as a co-owner of the shop! Who’d have thought I’d still be here when I started at Piccadilly back in the heady days of 1989? Certainly not me! Things have changed massively here over the years – but the one constant is the supply of superb music from around the world, and this year is no different. Top of my pile are the ever dependable Thee Oh Sees from San Francisco; ‘Mutilator Defeated At Last’ is the fully realised garage rock pinnacle of their prolific output. Australia’s Blank Realm came a close second with their wonderful anthemic fuzzy art-rock, and Chile’s Föllakzoid provided another master class of kosmische grooves and repetition. Closer to home, the PZYK Vol.1 compilation is an amazing scene defining round-up of all things psych (or PZYK!) that the lovely folks from the Liverpool International Festival Of Psychedelia have helped to showcase over the past few years. Let’s hope the festival continues to go from strength to strength! And finally, a quick thanks to all the artists, labels and distributors who’ve contributed to this booklet and remain supportive of independent record shops like ourselves.
PATRICK After enjoying a brief spell of Mediterranean relaxation in January, my year settled into a fairly relentless pace. Records seemed to come and go faster than ever in the shop, and I’ve had plenty of fun trying to chase down all your tips for obscure international releases. Despite the extra exertion involved, working directly with some amazing labels has been very rewarding so keep your requests coming in! In addition to my description duties at Piccadilly, my creative services have been in high demand this year, allowing me the opportunity to wax lyrical for Vinyl Factory, Aficionado and disco idol Todd Terje amongst others. If you come across some painfully overwritten sales notes over the coming months, you know where to send your hate mail. The second half of the year saw my faltering DJ career revitalised when Soup Kitchen invited me to join their excellent DJ roster for a monthly session of paradise music I like to call Coastin’. A night playing music I love surrounded by people I love? It doesn’t get much better than that. Who knows, by this time next year I might even try and make people dance...you have been warned.
1. THEE OH SEES: MUTILATOR DEFEATED AT LAST 2. BLANK REALM: ILLEGALS IN HEAVEN 3. VARIOUS ARTISTS: LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA PRESENTS PZYK VOL.1 4. FÖLLAKZOID: III 5. TESS PARKS & ANTON NEWCOMBE: I DECLARE NOTHING 6. SUFJAN STEVENS: CARRIE & LOWELL 7. BEACH HOUSE: DEPRESSION CHERRY 8. LONELADY: HINTERLAND 9. MOON DUO: SHADOW OF THE SUN 10. BLANCK MASS: DUMB FLESH 11. RYLEY WALKER: PRIMROSE GREEN 12. THE HOLYDRUG COUPLE: MOONLUST 13. JULIA HOLTER: HAVE YOU IN MY WILDERNESS 14. BEAT HAPPENING: LOOK AROUND 15. CHASTITY BELT: TIME TO GO HOME 16. ETERNAL TAPESTRY: WILD STRAWBERRIES 17. JOHN CARPENTER: LOST THEMES 18. COURTNEY BARNETT: SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT 19. GWENNO: Y DYDD OLAF 20. FUZZ: II
1. MOON B: LIFEWORLD 2. LEN LEISE: LINGUA FRANCA 3. DUTCH UNCLES: O SHUDDER 4. RUF DUG: ISLAND 5. NAYTRONIX: MISTER DIVINE 6. VARIOUS ARTISTS: PRINS THOMAS PRESENTS PARADISE GOULASH 7. HORSEBEACH: II 8. FLOATING POINTS: ELAENIA 9. BAMBI DAVIDSON: BRUNSWICK 10. BE (GARTH BE): H I P N O T O N Y 11. RYLEY WALKER: PRIMROSE GREEN 12. BRIAN ELLIS & BRIAN GRAINGER: AT DUSK 13. FENSTER: EMOCEAN 14. FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO: DANCA DOS TEMPOS 15. W. BARTHEL / M. BÖHM / R. BAUER: TIMELESS HORIZONS 16. KHRUANGBIN: THE UNIVERSE SMILES UPON YOU 17. ROMARE: PROJECTIONS 18. CANTOMA: CANTOMA 19. COLLEEN: CAPTAIN OF NONE 20. STEVE COBBY: EVERLIVING
STAFF CHARTS
DAVE Here we are again. Another year nearly over, a new one about to begin. After completely forgetting to mention that I screamed like a teenager at Prince in last year’s review, it’s probably best I get the good gigs out of the way early this time. So, live highlight of 2015 was Manuel Gottsching’s performance of ‘E2-E4’ (no screaming this year though) with silver and bronze going to Courtney Barnett and Jane Weaver respectively. I went to the ballet for the first (and if I’m being honest, probably last time) to see the Jamie xx sound tracked, Tree Of Codes. I’d like to be able to say I knew what was going on but... It’s always good to do new things, so, this year I got a tattoo of my wife on my shoulder which took 5 hours and didn’t hurt. At all.* And that dear reader is that, I went on holiday a couple of times, I did a lot of decorating and I spent an unhealthy amount of time exercising but I’ll spare you the details. I’ve probably forgotten to mention something life changing but I can always tell you in 2016. *That’s a lie by the way.
SARA Hmmmm, 2015, well I must say it hasn’t been the most exciting of years but then again nothing dreadful has happened so I think I shall say it has been pleasantly uneventful. That’s not to say it’s been a tiresome plod through the months, we had some work done on the house (a big new kitchen with an oven that actually works!), I’ve had a relaxing beach holiday, taken my regular annual trip to see Sue in France where we hiked up another mountain amongst other things. The other half had a milestone birthday this year too so a surprise knees up was in order and I’m pleased to say he had no idea at all. A jolly old time was had by all and I can honestly say the hangovers reflected that. It’s been another corking year music wise, my top 4 are so wildly different but all absolutely incredible. Noisy, hectic, intense and a bit odd sometimes, some might say a bit like me (I suppose you can add a bit of a wally to that list too then). I’m hoping that by the time you read this there will be the pitter-patter of tiny paws at home, it’s time to give another rescue dog a home and I can’t wait!
1. SUFJAN STEVENS: CARRIE & LOWELL 2. LONELADY: HINTERLAND 3. BADBADNOTGOOD & GHOSTFACE KILLAH: SOUR SOUL 4. JULIA HOLTER: HAVE YOU IN MY WILDERNESS 5. COURTNEY BARNETT: SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT 6. GWENNO: Y DYDD OLAF 7. LINKWOOD: EXPRESSIONS 8. LETTA MBULU: IN THE MUSIC... 9. ROMARE: PROJECTIONS 10. THE HOLYDRUG COUPLE: MOONLUST 11. HORSEBEACH: II 12. VARIOUS ARTISTS: SHERWOOD AT THE CONTROLS VOLUME 1: 1979–1984 13. RUF DUG: ISLAND 14. JEEN BASSA: ALL MY PEOPLE 15. D’ANGELO AND THE VANGUARD: BLACK MESSIAH 16. BAMBI DAVIDSON: BRUNSWICK 17. BLANK REALM: ILLEGALS IN HEAVEN 18. GUILTY SIMPSON: DETROIT’S SON 19. BE (GARTH BE): H I P N O T O N Y 20. VARIOUS ARTISTS: PSYCHEMAGIK PRESENT MAGIK SUNSET (PART ONE)
1. A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS: TRANSFIXATION 2. CAUSTIC WINDOW: CAUSTIC WINDOW 3. TESS PARKS & ANTON NEWCOMBE: I DECLARE NOTHING 4: ECCENTRONIC RESEARCH COUNCIL: JOHNNY ROCKET... 5: THEE OH SEES: MUTILATOR DEFEATED AT LAST 6: HORSEBEACH: II 7. SEXWITCH: SEXWITCH 8. VARIOUS: SHERWOOD AT THE CONTROLS... 9 THE WAVE PICTURES: GREAT BIG FLAMINGO BURNING MOON 10. GOATSNAKE: BLACK AGE BLUES 11. BAMBI DAVIDSON: BRUNSWICK 12. WHITE MANNA: PAN 13. ATA KAK: OBAA SIMA 14. PASCAL COMELADE & LES LIMINANAS: TRAITE DE GUITARRES TRICOLECTIQUES 15. THE FALL: SUB-LINGUAL TABLET 16. LONELADY: HINTERLAND 17. MOON DUO: SHADOW OF THE SUN 18. FOLLAKZOID: III 19. COURTNEY BARNETT: SOMETIMES I SIT... 20. FUZZ: II STAFF CHARTS
In 2015 wE
cElEbRATED ouR 15TH AnnIVERSARY wITH muSIc fRom THESE muSIcIAnS THAT wE loVE…
WAXAHATCHEE
TOTAL BABES
girLpOOL
OSCAr
MEg BAirD
FrAnkiE & THE HEArTSTringS
FiDLAr
CHEATAHS
OSCAr
IVY TRIPP
bEAuTIful woRDS EP
Too
HEYDAYS
Don’T wEIgH Down THE lIgHT
mYTHologIES
bEfoRE THE woRlD wAS bIg
DEcEncY
bREAkIng mY PHonE
A big thank you to all the Piccadilly staff and customers for your support!
WWW.WiCHiTA-rECOrDingS.COM
ANDY One of the best things about getting old is that a year comes round really quickly! You’re never bored as the months fly by, filled as they are with glorious new releases. Also, the long wait between albums by your favourite artists, just doesn’t seem as long anymore! On the downside, a whole year whizzes by and you can’t particularly remember too much about it! I don’t care though, immersed in music and family (and not much else!) the specifics pale, but the dream goes on forever! There were two big Piccadilly things this year, that even I can remember: we had the shop decorated (first time since 97) and we had somebody (the lovely Michael Riley’s lovely wife Gwen) create a photo book all about it. The shop looks amazing, and the book is a celebration of us and you, our regular customers and friends in music: the perfect ending to another great year. Thanks to all of you. Onwards and upwards!
MATT What’s going on in clubland in Manchester in 2015? This year saw the eruption of the temporary events notice, with savvy promoters clocking how much disused and empty warehouse space there was to use on the outskirts of the city. Now, the coolest club nights and parties seem to move around the city quicker than a pack of hipsters on the hunt for a new craft beer house. IRL: Mine and Andy’s twitching habits reached new heights as shop regular Leon kept us abreast (cough cough) of ornithological developments around Longford park and the ‘burbs; greater spotted woodpecker the most joyful discovery. 2015 saw us complete our triptych of Wet Play 12”s on Red Laser. Tension’s “Your Sunshine” off #3 my personal favourite of the entire series and a mini-anthem of our short-lived Summer. Props to everyone who provided us with a solid stream of bangers for the label — Metrodome, Loge, Benny Badge, the aforementioned Tension and of course our in-house alchemist, Ste Spandex. We’re not done yet, and what with all this space to throw a party it’d be rude not to see off 2015 without one final dock off rave somewhere. Keep those peepers peeled folks!
1. OUTFIT: SLOWNESS 2. TAME IMPALA: CURRENTS 3. THE CHARLATANS: MODERN NATURE 4. KURT VILE: B’LIEVE I’M GOIN DOWN... 5. UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA: MULTI-LOVE 6. TOBIAS JESSO JR.: GOON 7. FATHER JOHN MISTY: I LOVE YOU, HONEYBEAR 8. GWENNO: Y DYDD OLAF 9. JULIA HOLTER: HAVE YOU IN MY WILDERNESS 10. HORSEBEACH: II 11. LONELADY: HINTERLAND 12. TORO Y MOI: WHAT FOR? 13. COURTNEY BARNETT: SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK… 14. BEACH HOUSE: DEPRESSION CHERRY 15. HOLYDRUG COUPLE: MOONLUST 16. STEALING SHEEP: NOT REAL 17. DEERHUNTER: FADING FRONTIER 18. NATALIE PRASS: NATALIE PRASS 19. DUTCH UNCLES: O SHUDDER 20. BLANK REALM: ILLEGALS IN HEAVEN
1. RYLEY WALKER: PRIMROSE GREEN 2. BE (GARTH BE): H I P N O T O N Y 3. RUF DUG: ISLAND 4. HORSEBEACH: II 5. SHINICHI ATOBE: BUTTERFLY EFFECT 6. VARIOUS ARTISTS: DJ KICKS — ACTRESS 7. EARL SWEATSHIRT: I DON’T LIKE S**T, I DON’T GO OUTSIDE 8. DBH: MOOD 9. THE FALL: SUB-LINGUAL TABLET 10. $HIT AND $HINE: 54 SYNTH-BRASS, 38 METAL GUITAR, 65 CATHEDRAL 11. LINKWOOD: EXPRESSIONS 12. JOSÉ PADILLA: SO MANY COLOURS 13. ALBOROSIE MEETS KING JAMMY: DUB OF THRONES 14. VAKULA: VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS 15. LNRDCROY: MUCH LESS NORMAL 16. VARIOUS ARTISTS: PRINS THOMAS PRESENTS PARADISE GOULASH 17. DJ SOTOFETT: DRIPPIN’ FOR A TRIPP 18. MOON B: LIFEWORLD 19. ETERNAL TAPESTRY: WILD STRAWBERRIES 20. LEVON VINCENT: LEVON VINCENT
STAFF CHARTS
FABRICLIVE 79 Jimmy Edgar
FABRICLIVE 80 Mumdance
FABRICLIVE 81 Monki
FABRICLIVE 82 Ed Rush & Optical
FABRICLIVE 83 Logan Sama
FABRICLIVE 84 Dub Phizix
fabric 80 Joseph Capriati
fabric 81 Matt Tolfrey
fabric 82 Art Department
fabric 83 Joris Voorn
fabric 84 Mathew Jonson
fabric 85 Baby Ford
Snow Ghosts A Wrecking
∆kkord HTH035
Aïsha Devi Of Matter And Spirit
FABRICLIVE Series 2015
fabric Series 2015
Houndstooth 2015
www.fabriclondon.com / www.houndstoothlabel.com
RYAN It was a clear winner for me this year with Julia Holter. This was an album I was originally unsure about but soon became an obsession. Three or four songs stood out to me immediately and the rest, the ones I doubted, slowly became the parts I loved the most. I mentioned last time how I seem to move house every year and how mine and Beth’s latest place might break the trend and be a little more permanent. Well.. I was wrong, it looks like I’ll be sticking to tradition and moving again just before Christmas, buying this time, if all goes well. Which means I won’t be renting so I can adopt cats again. How I long to have all my clothes and furniture covered in cat hair again.
MARTIN January concluded with a flight to São Paulo via Paris, taking off again a week later with my girlfriend Luiza for Santiago and Iqique, before, not yet satisfied with the size of our carbon footprint, flying on into the thin air of La Paz’s aptly named 4km high El Alto airport. A day in Bolivia’s ramshackle, unhinged, spectacularly located and singularly Inca flavoured capital was followed by a night crossing the empty Altiplano to a little mining town at the edge of the salt plains. A heavenly trip through celestial whiteness, rendered into an endless, sky-reversing mirror by flooding, set the scene for the jaw-dropping beauty of the northern Atacama; a landscape of snow-capped volcanoes, flamingo flecked kaleidoscopic lagoons, variegated deserts and brooding storms, dotted with llamas. Chile, and a breathtaking (literally), coca leaf enhanced bike ride in the highest, driest, most lifeless desert on earth, before an oxygen starved climb up a 5,600m recently erupted volcano, with a view across it’s sulphur belching crater into Argentina, Bolivia and Chile that wouldn’t have been out of place in a Tolkien novel. How do you follow that!? With a proposal. The day before I left. I said yes, by the way.
1. JULIA HOLTER: HAVE YOU IN MY WILDERNESS 2. TORO Y MOI: WHAT FOR? 3. DUCKTAILS: ST. CATHERINE 4. MAC DEMARCO: ANOTHER ONE 5. SEAN NICHOLAS SAVAGE: OTHER DEATH 6. WHYTE HORSES: POP OR NOT 7. SEXWITCH: SEXWITCH 8. MILD HIGH CLUB: TIMELINE 9. FENSTER: EMOCEAN 10. ULTIMATE PAINTING: GREEN LANES 11. RUF DUG: ISLAND 12. FUZZ: II 13. WIDOWSPEAK: ALL YOURS 14. WALTER TV: BLESSED 15. ROMARE: PROJECTIONS 16. BADBADNOTGOOD & GHOSTFACE KILLAH: SOUR SOUL 17. TAME IMPALA: CURRENTS 18. HELEN: THE ORIGINAL FACES 19. JULY SKIES: DREAMING OF SPIRES 20. J. FERNANDEZ: MANY LEVELS OF LAUGHTER
1. ROZI PLAIN: FRIEND 2. OTHER LIVES: RITUALS 3. JULIA HOLTER: HAVE YOU IN MY WILDERNESS 4. THEE OH SEES: MUTILATOR DEFEATED AT LAST 5. LINKWOOD: EXPRESSIONS 6. DUTCH UNCLES: O SHUDDER 7. JAAKKO EINO KALEVI : JAAKKO EINO KALEVI 8. DESTRUCTION UNIT: NEGATIVE FEEDBACK RESISTOR 9. OUTFIT: SLOWNESS 10. TORO Y MOI: WHAT FOR? 11. JOHN GRANT: GREY TICKLES, BLACK PRESSURE 12. NILS FRAHM: SOLO 13. LIGHTNING BOLT: FANTASY EMPIRE 14. BADBADNOTGOOD & GHOSTFACE KILLAH: SOUR SOUL 15. CHASTITY BELT: TIME TO GO HOME 16. BAMBI DAVIDSON: BRUNSWICK 17. THEESATISFACTION: EARTHEE 18. LNRDCROY: MUCH LESS NORMAL 19. RIVAL CONSOLES: HOWL 20. DEERHUNTER: FADING FRONTIER STAFF CHARTS
SILVESTRE It has been another exciting year in the shop, with generous amounts of great releases coming to us every week. But it is not about quantity, it is the quality that matters. My favourite twenty releases give you a glimpse of the variety that we have seen this year. Once again we have a female artist in the top spot, Julia Holter, a beautiful and intricate album exuding craftmanship of the highest calibre. For me, ‘Have You In My Wilderness’ sits comfortably with timeless albums such as Massive Attack’s ‘Blue Lines’. My other mention goes to Outfit, a mix of Japan, Colder and our local Dutch Uncles which up until Julia Holter hit the CD player at the shop, was my personal favourite. We had the International Psychedelia Music Festival in Liverpool which was very exciting but hard work for everyone involved and the Piccadilly Records book launch which is a celebration of the dedication, love and daily work that is invested by staff, owners, and most importantly the loyalty of its customers which is what keeps us going. Looking forward to a strong 2016 and more music filled with soul and creativity.
BARRY This year has been an interesting one for sure! On my second to last day of our holiday in Santorini (boo) I got an email asking to come into the shop to chat about a job! (yay). I was offered one, and obviously accepted. After working in Spillers Records in Cardiff, and now here, I can safely say I DEFINITELY enjoy working in record shops. Finding chance to write this list was not a problem, but narrowing down the list to these few releases proved slightly more challenging! When I’m not hunched in front of a modular synthesiser (another great 2015 acquisition – not great for the back though), I listen to a lot of synth music and post-rock. This may become clear with my number one being one third of seminal synth-drone trio Emeralds, Steve Hauschildt. This album really blew me away, as did Bersarin Quartett’s newest. The modern-classical output has been mind-blowing as well, with the hugely anticipated new album from my all-time faves GY!BE. And a cheeky ‘Piano Day’ release from Frahm. All in all, an incredible year, even more so for violins and oscillators.
1. JULIA HOLTER: HAVE YOU IN MY WILDERNESS 2. OUTFIT: SLOWNESS 3. GWENNO: Y DYDD OLAF 4. DUCKTAILS: ST. CATHERINE 5. DUTCH UNCLES: O SHUDDER 6. LINKWOOD: EXPRESSIONS 7. HORSEBEACH: II 8. COLLEEN: CAPTAIN OF NONE 9. RÓISÍN MURPHY: HAIRLESS TOYS 10. BE (GARTH BE): H I P N O T O N Y 11. POLE: WALD 12. NICOLAS GODIN: CONTREPOINT 13. BRIAN ELLIS & BRIAN GRAINGER: AT DUSK 14. MOON DUO: SHADOW OF THE SUN 15. ROMARE: PROJECTIONS 16. BAMBI DAVIDSON: BRUNSWICK 17. THEE OH SEES: MUTILATOR DEFEATED AT LAST 18. BOOF: THE HYDRANGEAS WHISPER 19. ATA KAK: OBAA SIMA 20. COURTNEY BARNETT: SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT
1. STEVE HAUSCHILDT: WHERE ALL IS FLED 2. NILS FRAHM: SOLO 3. BERSARIN QUARTETT: III 4. GONNO: REMEMBER THE LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 5. ESMERINE: LOST VOICES 6. GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR: ASUNDER, SWEET AND OTHER DISTRESS 7. RIVAL CONSOLES: HOWL 8. SISKIYOU: KEEP AWAY THE DEAD 9. INVENTIONS: BLANKET WAVES 10. MAX RICHTER: FROM SLEEP 11. HELENA HAUFF: DISCREET DESIRES 12. LOW: ONES AND SIXES 13. BEACH HOUSE: DEPRESSION CHERRY 14. HORSEBEACH: II 15. KEN CAMDEN: DREAM MEMORY 16. LILACS & CHAMPAGNE: MIDNIGHT FEATURES VOL. 2: MADE FLESH 17. COSMIC GROUND: COSMIC GROUND II 18. RACHEL GRIMES: THE CLEARING 19. PANABRITE: PAVILION 20. FOUR TET: MORNING / EVENING STAFF CHARTS
eSSential new releaSeS from:
neon indian
hippo CampuS
Ltd. 2x12” / CD
CD
12”
Out Now
‘South’ and ‘Bashful Creatures’ available on 2 x 12”
Out Now
VEGA INTL. Night School
The Halocline EPs
Blaenavon Miss World EP
Out Now
SonGhoy BlueS Music In Exile
SonGhoy BlueS Re-Covered EP
Deluxe CD
12”
Contains Re-Covered EP
Out Now
S t a r G a z e and deerhoof preSent Chamber Variations EP 12”
Out Now
Out 4th December
Alvvays
A Dream Outside
GenGahr
CoSmo Sheldrake
Ltd. 12” / CD
Ltd. 12” / CD
Ltd. 12” / CD
Out Now
Out Now
Out Now
alvvayS
Pelicans We EP
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MICHAEL 2015 has been a busy year, with a quite a few highlights and of course there’s the matter of The Piccadilly Records Book, more of which later. With regards to my chart, despite not quite getting it initially, ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ eventually won my heart and mind, followed closely by Viet Cong. Honourable mentions go to Walter TV, Lnrdcroy, Deerhunter, UMO, Dam Funk, Thom Yorke, Helen, Dutch Uncles, Garth Be, William Basinski, Knxledge, and THEESatisfaction to name a few. Shop highlights have been any exchange with Kenneth, meeting Chaz Bundick (Toro Y Moi), new boy Barry introducing me to loads of good new music, and surviving another Record Store Day. Finishing my MA has been a personal highlight, alongside producing The Piccadilly Records Book with my wife Gwen. We love the shop, just like all our customers do, and we wanted to reflect that love in some way, and so Gwen suggested a book. The book is a brief snapshot of what makes the shop so great. It captures some of the faces so integral to the shop from both sides of the counter, alongside their thoughts on the shop, and of course music. We hope you enjoy it.
1. KENDRICK LAMAR: TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY 2. VIET CONG: VIET CONG 3. JEFRE CANTU-LEDESM: A YEAR WITH 13 MOONS 4. DELE SOSIMI: YOU NO FIT TOUCH AM 5. ROMARE: PROJECTIONS 6. D’ANGELO AND THE VANGUARD: BLACK MESSIAH 7. BATTLES: LA DI DA DI 8. BOOF: THE HYDRANGEAS WHISPER 9. MAC DEMARCO: ANOTHER ONE 10. COLLEEN: CAPTAIN OF NONE 11. DUCKTAILS: ST. CATHERINE 12. ROZI PLAIN: FRIEND 13. HORSEBEACH: II 14. KAMASI WASHINGTON: THE EPIC 15. LIGHTNING BOLT: FANTASY EMPIRE 16. JOEY BADA$$: B4.DA.$$ 17. TUXEDO: TUXEDO 18. CHASTITY BELT: TIME TO GO HOME 19. METZ: II 20. SAUN & STARR: LOOK CLOSER
SOME LATE ARRIVALS
In order to get this booklet back from the printers and into our shop by the end of November we compile the chart in early October. Inevitably that means some fantastic albums miss out on our charts because they haven’t been released by the time our booklet goes to press. Here are 10 albums, listed in alphabetical order, that would definitely have featured prominently in our top 100 or other charts if they had been released earlier in the year.
BEACH HOUSE: THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS
Beach House wowed us once this year with ‘Depression Cherry’ and then two months later they did something fairly unique in pop by releasing a second, brand new collection. A brilliant sister record, totally beautiful in its own right. Time to swoon again.
GUY GARVEY: COURTING THE SQUALL
Shot through with warmth and emotional intelligence, content and comfortable in its own skin, ‘Courting the Squall’ is that most unique thing; a record made without preconditions, an album of songs made purely for the joy of its making.
GRIMES: ART ANGELS
Featuring more live instrumentation and showcasing a slightly poppier sound than previous albums, Claire Boucher continues her evolution as a musician and a producer with her most ambitious album to date.
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD: PAPER MÂCHÉ DREAM BALLOON
An album recorded with nothing but acoustic instruments. The result is a lovely, lilting pop masterpiece that still evokes the same intoxicating exuberance as KGATLW’s most recent work, but with a more pastoral, communal feel to it.
LEN LEISE: LINGUA FRANCA
Australia’s master sound-sculptor returns with this sublime collection of organic tones, earthy textures and Balearic beats. Already doing the business for the inner circle of the Balearic mafia it should dominate your listening habits for years to come.
PROTOMARTYR: THE AGENT INTELLECT
Detroit’s post-punk four-piece return with their third and finest work to date. An elegant and often devastating display of intense noise-pop.
RINGO DEATHSTARR: PURE MOOD
A complex thrill-ride that’s seeped in fervent shoegaze and lingering lyricism, proving Ringo Deathstarr are the torch-bearers of the movement and continue to contort and mutate into something beautiful.
RIVAL CONSOLES: HOWL
Electronic producer Ryan Lee West explores a wide range of emotions; from the dissonance eruptions and primal rhythms in ‘Howl’, to the mournful improvisations of ‘3 Laments’. A perfect balance between club and home listening.
GLORIA ANN TAYLOR: LOVE IS A HURTIN’ THING
Compiled from Gloria Ann Taylor’s musical output on Selector Sound and highly anticipated from collectors, record stores, DJs and producers alike. Deeply shaded by gospel roots, her haunting sound clearly comes from the gut. Gloria did not fake the funk.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: BOBBY GILLESPIE PRESENTS SUNDAY MORNIN’ COMIN’ DOWN
A great mellow mix of old tunes, named after the Kris Kristofferson song, also perfectly fitting the description of a Sunday morning come-down album. “When David Holmes asked me if I wanted to compile an album of some of my favourite songs for Ace Records I jumped at the chance. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. I hope you have as much fun listening to it as I had putting it together.” Bobby Gillespie. Booklet design: www.markbrownstudio.co.uk
PICCADILLY BEST OF THE YEAR 2015 PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING THE RACE FOR SPACE TEST CARD RECORDINGS LP / CD
GODSPEED YOU! BLACk EmPEROR ASUNDER, SwEET AND OTHER DISTRESS
SLEAFORD mODS kEY mARkETS HARBINGER SOUND LP / CD
JOANNA GRUESOmE PEANUT BUTTER FORTUNA POP! LP / CD
CONSTELLATION LP / CD
DEATH AND VANILLA TO wHERE THE wILD THINGS ARE FIRE RECORDS LP / CD
ULTImATE PAINTING GREEN LANES TROUBLE IN mIND LP / CD
wIRE
BLANk REALm
wIRE
ILLEGALS IN HEAVEN
PINk FLAG LP / CD
FIRE RECORDS LP / CD
THE BRIAN JONESTOwN mASSACRE
TESS PARkS AND ANTON NEwCOmBE
mINI ALBUm THINGY wINGY ‘A’ RECORDINGS LP / CD
ATA kAk OBAA SImA AwESOmE TAPES FROm AFRICA LP / CD
I DECLARE NOTHING ‘A’ RECORDINGS LP / CD
PUBLIC ImAGE Ltd (PiL) wHAT THE wORLD NEEDS NOw... PiL OFFICIAL LP / CD
SHIT AND SHINE kODE9
54 SYNTH-BRASS, 38 mETAL GUITAR, 65 CATHEDRAL
NOTHING HYPERDUB LP / CD
ROCkET RECORDINGS LP / CD
CARGORECORDS.CO.Uk
GREAT LABELS GREAT ALBUMS
Piccadilly Picks of 2015
V/A - LIVERPOOL
JON HOPKINS
V/A
NILS FRAHM
INTERNATIONAL LATE NIGHT TALES BALEARIC LATE NIGHT TALES FESTIVAL OF Late Night Tales Balearic / INgrooves Late Night Tales PSYCHEDELIA Piccadilly Comp Chart: #6 Piccadilly Comp Chart: #8 Piccadilly Comp Chart: PRESENTS PZYK VOL. 1 #11 PZYK Piccadilly Comp Chart: #1
FLOATING POINTS ELAENIA Pluto Piccadilly Chart: #14
NAYTRONIX MISTER DIVINE
City Slang Piccadilly Chart: #52
CALEXICO EDGE OF THE SUN City Slang Piccadilly Chart: #79
GILLES PETERSON PRESENTS SUN RA AND HIS ARKESTRA: TO THOSE OF EARTH…AND OTHER WORLDS
THE CHARLATANS MODERN NATURE BMG Rights Piccadilly Chart: #12
BLACK DEVIL DISCO CLUB
Lo Recordings Piccadilly Reissue Chart: #8
Strut Piccadilly Reissue Chart: #3
Buy any of these albums and get a free Piccadilly Records sampler CD featuring tracks from all these great albums* Support your local independent record store - a record store isn’t just for Record Store Day! * Whilst stocks last