Post Mark Eps

A group whose distinctly ethereal and gossamer sound virtually defined the enigmatic image of the record label 4AD, Cocteau Twins were founded in Grangemouth, Scotland, in 1979. Taking their name from an obscure song from fellow Scots Simple Minds, the Cocteaus were originally formed by guitarist Robin Guthrie and bassist Will Heggie and later rounded out by Guthrie's girlfriend Elizabeth Fraser, an utterly unique performer whose swooping, operatic vocals relied less on any recognizable language than on the subjective sounds and textures of verbalized emotions.

As part of The Stranglers' celebration of their Ruby Anniversary, the definitive collection of the B-side recordings they made whilst signed to Epic is released for the first time, via their own label. Appropriately, as befits a band marking forty years together, Here & There: The Epic B-sides Collection 1983-1991 gathers 40 tracks across 2 CDs and is also released as a 40 track digital package. The Stranglers released no less than 13 singles in the UK during this period, which saw them produce five albums: four studio and one live. The Stranglers signed to Epic Records in 1982 having been with United Artists / Liberty since 1977. The change of label coincided with changes in marketing policy across the UK industry - often dubbed "the Frankie Goes to Hollywood effect". Previously, The Stranglers' had released only one 12" single - an extended version of Bear Cage in 1980 - but from 2nd Epic single, Midnight Summer Dream until 1990, each release had a 12" version which required extra studio or, increasingly, live tracks to "add value" to the package.

Isis plays metal. But it's no stretch to consider the group alongside devotees to drone, sludge, noise, or blip - all those artistic sublevels spill out on the papery fringe, anyway. And that's why Oceanic: Remixes/Reinterpretations is such a powerful project. The collaborators here are continuing Oceanic's restless evolutionary cycle, so their results are free to be loud, soft, or somewhere in the foggy between. Of the 13 tracks featured on this two-disc set, 12 originally appeared on a series of 12" EPs; disc two's second version of Tim Hecker's "Carry" interpretation is exclusive. Hecker's "Carry [First Version]" elongates the seesaw notes in Isis' original, stretching them with ropes of warping electric guitar and letting a soft ambient texture sift in toward the end…

Austrian musician B. Fleischmann is best known for releasing glitchy, emotion-rich indie electronic music on labels like Morr Music and Fuzzy Box. His work often combines digital sophistication with post-rock guitars and wide-eyed, sometimes melancholy melodies. Born in Vienna in 1975, Bernhard Fleischmann got his musical start on the piano at age eight before turning to drums five years later as a student at the Hinterbrühl music school. He drummed in live bands for a seven-year stretch, from 1988 to 1995, playing with Speed Is Essential and Sore! In 1998, the electronic music of the Vienna scene started catching his ear, and he switched over to the digital realm and began creating music on his laptop. Well-versed in the art of rhythm at this point, it seemed a natural process to make beats based on complex time signatures and wild syncopated fills.

The original Who's Better, Who's Best: The Videos was a handy laserdisc consisting of 17 videos, an inordinate number of them overlapping at least in part with material from the movie The Kids Are Alright – which was OK, as the latter was never widely available as a laserdisc…

1979 was an amazing time for UK post-punk pop. t the end of March, a fresh new sound entered the British top 20. 'Sultans of Swing', a very wordy song with lots of driving guitar, a tight rhythm section and some killer musicianship. Dire Straits, unlikely pop stars led by a balding 29-year-old Geordie who could play guitar brilliantly, had finally arrived. …

Chaos and the Calm is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter James Bay. It was released on 23 March 2015 through Republic Records. The Official Charts Company reported that Chaos and the Calm debuted at number one in the UK chart on Sunday 29 March 2015, having sold over 64,000 copies in the first week of release.