VARIOUS ARTISTS '12" Dance: The Definitive Collection 1978 - 1995' [Release Date 05/10/2009]
The creatives behind the enormous success of Ministry of Sound's 'Anthems' series, and Universal's '12" 80's', come together on Rhino to present a megalithic album of the biggest, best and most iconic dance anthems of all time in the form of '12" Dance'. Straddling 3 decades of Dance and Club culture, CD1 focuses on the explosion of the iconic 12" single mix onto the embryonic club-scene of New York and Chicago in the 70's and its eventual take over of the world's dance-floors with timeless, powerhouse disco anthems from Chic 'Good Times', Sugarhill Gang 'Rappers Delight', Sister Sledge 'He's The Greatest Dancer', The Trammps 'Disco Inferno' and Earth Wind And Fire 'Boogie Wonderland' and tipping us into the next great dance movement with Blondie 'Rapture' and Donna Summer 'I Feel Love'. CD2 leads us into the 80's, evoking neon blooded rebellion and the rise of Pop, Rap and Techno/House featuring classic mixes of Miami Sound Machine 'Dr Beat', Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five 'White Lines', S' Express 'The Theme... ', Inner City 'Big Fun', Womack and Womack 'Teardrops', Marshall Jefferson 'Move Your Body', Farley Jackmaster Funk 'Love Can't Turn Around' and of course the biggest selling 12" single of all time New Order's seminal 'Blue Monday'. Pushing on into the hedonistic electro-dance fuelled 90's with a momentum that will leave you breathless for the next installation, CD3 features club classics from Adamski 'Killer', Beats International 'Dub Be Good To Me', Jamiroquai 'Space Cowboy', Deee-lite 'Groove Is In The Heart', C&C Music Factory 'Everybody Dance Now', Snap! 'Rhythm Is A Dancer', Crystal Waters 'Gypsy Woman', Utah Saints 'Something Good', Happy Mondays 'Step On', Jamiroquai 'Space Cowboy', and that all time favourite No 1, Everything But The Girl 'Missing'.
With the ultimate 24 carat track-list, crossing a plethora of genres from disco, soul, new wave, pop, rap, house, techno and beyond, stretching across 3 decades and numerous generations of youth & club cultures, '12" Dance' cannot fail to pull the heartstrings and evoke dance-floor moments for people of every age in every community, and looks set to become a huge force in the compilations market. Providing the rare full 12" versions of all tracks featured on the album, '12" Dance' will appeal directly to dance/club music lovers and collectors alike, with the credible collector's angle further emphasised with high end glossy packaging.
THE RAVEONETTES 'In And Out Of Control' [Release Date 05/10/2009]
The Raveonettes still very much consist of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo, both Danish-born and now residents in New York and Los Angeles respectively. 'In And Out Of Control' is their fourth album. It features eleven brand new songs, lasts for 37 minutes and eleven seconds and was recorded in Denmark in a proper studio with a top producer because - get this - The Raveonettes wanted to make a pop record. Whatever the madness in their methods the end result is startlingly clear: 'In And Out Of Control' is a wilfully perverse and heroically diverse collection of pop nuggets which delivers a slew of soon-to-be Raveonettes classics. And 'pop' is once again the key word here, as the lush production at times harks back to the early 80's when Trevor Horn sprinkled sugary sonic sweetness over everything he touched. It isn't alone either, as the giddy opener 'Bang!' and the frankly terrific 'Breaking Into Cars' take The Raveonettes' penchant for three minute thrillers up to a whole new level. True, it's unlikely that many of Mr Horn's pet pop projects would make lyrical reference to "Every time you overdose" or "I rush to intensive care". Nor indeed would they have song titles like 'Suicide', 'D.R.U.G.S' and 'Boys Who Rape (Should Be Destroyed)'. But this is where we find The Raveonettes in 2009, creating a strange mix of modern and old, dark and happy. Long term Ravers can rest assured therefore that the duo's creative heart remains as delightfully black as ever, as evinced by the solemn ambience of 'Oh I Buried You Today' and weary album closer 'Wine'. And if anyone was thinking that The Raveonettes have abandoned their scuzzed-up crown to the new generation of Pains Of Being At Heart, Glasvegas etc on the retro block then the coolly berserk 'Break Up Girls' will teach a few of those Marychaining young tykes a thing or two about a feedback blitzkrieg.
SCREAMING LIGHTS 'Like Angels' [Release Date 05/10/2009]
"Majestic and full of English grit" - Artrocker "This Scouse five-piece somehow manages to both rave and rock" - NME "Liverpool's synth-rock trailblazers prepare for their big push" - BBC For fans of: Radiohead, Kasabian, Editors, White Lies and Coldplay. Gloriously out-of-step and isolated from many of their contemporaries, Screaming Lights are very much a product of their home-town. Steeped in that time-honoured Scouse tradition of forward-thinking, bloody-minded psychedelia, 'Like Angels' shares a fair bit with the likes of fellow Mersey pop-pranksters such as The Teardrops or The Bunnymen. Very adventurous yet still anchored in that classic Liverpudlian song-writing tradition, the 11-tracks of the album sound far more accomplished then one would expect on a debut album from band just out of school. A truly innovative and exciting debut. The band was picked for BBC introducing stage for Reading and Leeds 09 and has impressed audiences with their, according to the BBC, "Tarrantino-esque" live shows.
VIC CHESNUTT 'Skitter On Take-Off' [Release Date 05/10/2009]
Vic Chesnutt has recorded with many different people for all kinds of labels, but he's never made an album like his debut on Vapor Records. Chesnutt's first two releases were produced by REM's Michael Stipe, and from there he was featured in the PBS documentary Speed Racer and his songs were recorded for 'Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation'. A wide range of artists including Garbage, Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins, REM and Live all covered Chesnutt originals. He has recorded with other groups like Widespread Panic and Lambchop and musicians as varied as Bill Frisell and Fugazi's Guy Picciotto. Chesnutt recently performed on Cowboy Junkie's Trinity Revisited, with others and over a dozen different releases of his own. 'Skitter On Take-Off' allows Vic Chesnutt to create his most dramatic album yet; recording devastating songs like 'Rips In The Fabric' and 'Dick Cheney' live with no overdubs. This album becomes a unique addition to his history, and allows the singer-songwriter the chance to collaborate with an important influence. "I'm honoured to work with Jonathan Richman. Over the years he's taken me under his wing and mentored me in a very meaningful way, truly shaping me into the songwriter and performer I am today. And it is an ongoing process". Chesnutt and Richman's work together is one for the ages. 'Skitter On Take-Off' features Vic Chesnutt, Jonathan Richman & Tommy Larkins. Produced by Jonathan Richman & Tommy Larkins. The Vic Chesnutt album and why me and Tommy wanted to do it - By Jonathan Richman: "My drummer Tommy Larkins and I were driving in the van across the United States as we do two or three times a year on our tours of clubs and I said, "Y'know, we should produce Vic's next record!" And he said he thought so too. We both were thinking that the way to get the feeling for Vic as a listener was to hear just Vic - no arrangements, no guest guitar solo guys, no "ironic" touches or anything else to cloud his voice or his poetry. His guitar playing is also the guitar playing on this recording because we think no help is needed. Tommy and I have toured with Vic several times and he's long been one of our favourites. So we're both proud of this record and glad for the chance to make it our way. A lot of it was brand new stuff, a few hours old or becoming a song right there as he sang".
NIC DAWSON KELLY 'Old Valentine' [Release Date 05/10/2009]
On 5th October 2009 young singer/songwriter Nic Dawson Kelly is to release his debut album on new label Runners Club Records. Called 'Old Valentine', the album showcases a classic, almost beat-like songwriting style of an emerging talent, and features a host of guest musicians such as Jim Barr (Portishead), Mick Talbot (Style Council, Dexy's), Tom Mansi (Donovan) and Marco Nelson (Primal Scream, Young Disciples) who lend a country/rock/soul sound to the album.
DEAD MAN'S BONES 'Dead Man's Bones' [Release Date 05/10/2009]
When Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields met in Toronto in 2005, they discovered their mutual obsession with the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. Once they realised their shared affinity for the eerie, it was only natural for them to start work on a theatrical-monster-ghost-love story for the stage. They decided that this story should have music, so they began learning how to play various instruments. Eventually, they decided to continue with the music and put the play aside. Their band, Dead Man's Bones, began recording, and quickly decided that the songs needed the special creepiness and longing of massed children's voices to complete the sound - LA's Silverlake Conservatory Childrens Choir [a non-profit educational organization formed in California. Founded by Keith Barry and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers] was brought in to the studio, and Dead Man's Bones, the album, was born. Some of their songs reflect the music they listened to - a little bit of doo-wop, and artists such as the Shangri-Las, The Shags, Company Flow, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Bobby Vinton, Joy Division, The Andrew Sisters and Daniel Johnston, to name a few. In addition, the artistic aesthetic of old Universal horror films, vaudeville music-hall numbers, and silent-screen melodramas infest the music. Zach and Ryan wrote all the music and played all the instruments. The result is a striking collection of doo-wop songs about werewolves, haunting melodies telling tales of zombies with broken hearts, and children singing the joys and pains of being alive, or being dead. Album was produced by Tim Anderson of I'm A Robot. For fans of Grizzly Bear, Daniel Johnston, Beirut, Nick Cave, and Arcade Fire.
JODY WATLEY 'The Makeover' [Release Date 05/10/2009]
Grammy Award winning artist Jody Watley returns with 'The Makeover' on 5th October 2009, via a new deal between Watley's Avitone Recordings and ADA Global. 'The Makeover' is Watley's first full scale release since the critically acclaimed 'Flower' in 1998 and much sought after import 'Midnight Lounge' in 2003. She's an innovative music maker and a style-forging pioneer: since the mid-90's, the multi-talented Jody Watley has led the way as an entrepreneur working in the independent music world. She is one of the few already established best-selling female artists to produce, create and own her recordings, and scored an amazing 32 US Top Ten Singles and 13 #1 Singles in the Pop, R&B and Dance/Electronic genres over the past three decades. 'The Makeover' is a stunning collection of soulful electronica that has woven timeless and treasured songs together with contemporary production and soulful nuances. It's preceded by double A-side single 'Borderline' / 'A Beautiful Life' which features a melancholic take on Madonna's classic plus an uptempo original with a message of self-empowerment that went Top 5 on the US Billboard Dance Chart. Anchoring the release is the bass-led groove of the #1 UK / US Dance Smash 'I Want Your Love' produced by New York's DJ Spinna. Other highlights include an enchanting bossa-soul take on Bob Marley's 'Waiting In Vain', Erasure's revered anthem 'A Little Respect' and Diana Ross' 'Love Hangover', the latter being a ten minute opus that incorporates the original prelude written and provided by legendary songwriter Pam Sawyer. Watley's depth as a diverse songwriter and performer are showcased in the poignant 'Bed of Roses', co-written and produced by Mercury Music Prize nominees 4Hero. Watley also casts a nod to her past with two newly produced versions of her breakthrough singles 'Looking For A New Love' & 'Don't You Want Me' (Mixed by King Britt).
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