Various Peace Cities

In the late 60s jazz was at a turning point. Soul music had taken much of its black audience and rock’s intellectualisation was eating up its support amongst college students. The usual story told is that jazz split between those who went out and those who tried to make people dance. The story is more nuanced, and ‘If You’re Not Part Of The Solution’ tries to tell that story.

68 track 3CD box set celebrating the Leeds’ independent scene of the 1980s. Featuring Soft Cell, Sisters Of Mercy, Gang Of Four, The Wedding Present, Scritti Politti, The Mission, and many more. Including The Mekons, CUD, Delta 5, The Pale Saints, Girls At Our Best, Age Of Chance, The Bridewell Taxis who all stamped their mark on the indie charts and were regulars/favourites on John Peel’s radio show. Like many Northern cities, Leeds enjoyed an explosion of music triggered by the big bang of punk rock in 1977. Indie labels sprung up to cater for a new wave of bands, who carved their own identity as the 80s dawned. ‘Where Were You’ is the first comprehensive anthology of Leeds’ independent music from that period, through to the end of the 1980s. From punk to goth, indie pop to industrial dancefloor, out-and-out pop to underground psychedelia, the four hours’ worth of recordings here are a celebration of the musical diversity emanating from the city’s studios and clubs.

The Top 100 '60s Rock Albums represent the moment when popular music came of age. In the earliest part of the decade, bands were still regularly referencing earlier sounds and themes. By the middle, something powerful and distinct was happening, which is why the latter part of the '60s weighs so heavily on our list. A number of bands evolved alongside fast-emerging trends of blues rock, folk rock, psychedelia and hard rock, adding new complexities to the music even as the songs themselves became more topical. If there's a thread running through the Top 100 '60s Rock Albums and this period of intense change, it has to do with the forward-thinking artists who managed to echo and, in some cases, advance the zeitgeist. Along the way, legends were made.

This essential four disc collection contains nearly four and a half hours of music, with three hours of previously unreleased material, including demos, live track and one brand new song with vocals recorded by Jim Morrison in 1970…

Inspired by the idea of finding inner peace, Soord’s latest solo release explores the difficulty of living in the metropolis of the modern world. Born from days exploring various cities whilst on tour, tracks from the album feature recordings from Soord’s various wanderings captured on his field recorder.