Niels de Vries

July 23, 2021

Let this week’s lengthy playlist start a summer holiday of sorts, or at least launch a trip into an imaginary festival without any restrictions, as the current state of affairs is still way too to difficult to navigate, and we really need a brief escape. Enjoy!

If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

Cave In – Youth Overrided (Sony Music)

Illudium – Soma Sema (Prophecy Productions)

Mono – Riptide (Pelagic Records)

Eskina – We Were the Moon (Challenge Records)

Horte – Pelko karistaa järjen (Pelagic Records)

Midwife – Colorado (The Flenser)

Low – Disappearing (Sub Pop)

Alexis Marshall – Drink from the Oceans . Nothing Can… (Sargent House)

Desire Marea, Gyre – Studies in Black Trauma (Izimakade Records)

Moor Mother, lojii – Shekere (Self-Release)

Dame Area – La Doble Luna (Mannequin Records)

Alessandro Cortini – Lo Specchio (Mute Artists)

Hooveriii – We’re Both Lawyers (The Reverberation Appreciation Society)

Restive Plaggona – Swimming In The Rain (Fleisch Records)

Elektro Hafız – Ali Rodrigez (Ironhand Records)

Kutiman – Guruji (Siyal Music)

The Holy Family – Chasm Second Part (Rocket Recordings)

Drott – The Marauders (By Norse Music)

Ghorot – Charioteer of Fire (Self-Release)

God’s Bastard – To the Last Standing Village (I, Voidhanger Records)

July 16, 2021

“Sometimes, on a Thursday night (or a Friday morning, or a Saturday afternoon), it turns out that a new track from Iron Maiden is just what’s needed to get your blood pumping. ‘Is the Roadburn Essential Sounds playlist the place for Iron Maiden?’, I pondered. As you’ll see – the conclusion was definitely yes.

“If the mighty Maiden aren’t your bag, there’s plenty more to tickle your fancy this Friday. Enjoy!”

— Becky Laverty

If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

Iron Maiden – The Writing On The Wall (Parlophone Records)

Spirit Adrift – Forge Your Future (Century Media)

Fawn Limbs – Noose Gestures (Roman Numeral Records)

Chat Pile – Roots Bloody Roots (The Flenser)

Four Stroke Baron – Friday Knight (Prosthetic Records)

La Femme – Paradigme (Disque Pointu)

Crippled Black Phoenix – Dead is Dead (Season of Mist)

King Woman – Boghz (Relapse Records)

Deathsomnia – Katabasis (Ft. Kyle Kimball) (Isolation Rec)

Howlin Rain – Dharma Wheel (Silver Current)

Kurt Vile – Run Run Run (UMG recordings) (Header image)

Midwife – Enemy (The Flenser)

Lingua Ignota – Perpetual Flame Of Centralia (Sargent House)

July 2, 2021

Dive in to our newly updated Essential Sounds playlist below…

If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

King Woman – Psychic Wound (Relapse Records)

Outlander – Sundowning (Church Road Records)

Year of no Light – Alètheia (Pelagic Records) (header image)

White Ward – Debemur Morti (Eitrin Editions)

Amenra – Het Gloren (Relapse Records)

Cloud Rat – Mother Tongue / Glitter Belly (Artoffact Records)

Hellish Form – Another World (Translation Loss Records)

Duma KE – Cannis (Sub Pop)

Perturbator, INVSN – Excess (Blood Music)

Zetra – Life Melts Away Pt.2 (Children of the Vortex)

Hail Spirit Noir – Mannequins (Agonia Records)

Hante. – Two-Faced Angel (Synth Religion)

Dana Dentata – Do U Like Me Now? (Roadrunner Records)

June 25, 2021

Who’d guess that one day Sir Tom Jones would kick off our weekly playlist, let alone with a 9 minute spiritual psych exploration? Well… he’s doing exactly that with “Lazarus Man,” and we couldn’t be more excited. This week’s playlist is full of other surprises, too! Enjoy.

If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

Tom Jones – Lazarus Man (Universal Music)

Spellling – Boys at School (Sacred Bones (header image)

Low – Days Like These (Sub Pop Records)

Tropical Fuck Storm – G.A.F.F. (Joyful Noise Recordings)

Zahn – Tseudo (Crazysane Records)

Delving – Delving (Stickman Records)

Zement – Soil (Crazysane Records)

Polypores – Exopheromones (Behind The Sky)

Thief – Apple Eaters (Prophecy Productions)

Otay:onii – Child No.22 (WV Sorcerer Productions)

Nuha Ruby Ra – Cruel (Brace Yourself Records)

Backxwash, Michael Go – Burn To Ashes (Ugly Hag Records)

Sugar Horse – Fat Dracula (Small Pond Recordings)

Splinter – Brand New Future (Robotor Records)

Cobra Man – Powered Up (Cool, Nice)

Green Lung – Leaders of the Blind (Svart Records)

Comet Control – Secret Life (Tee Pee records)

Yagow – Getting Through… Is The Where The Magic Happens (Crazysane Records)

June 18, 2021

Thanks to every one of you who ‘likes’ our playlist on Spotify and joins us weekly for the latest offering of Essential Sounds. If you don’t already follow the playlist, please do – it would mean the world! Click through to a freshly picked bunch of new and inspiring tracks!

If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

Lingua Ignota – Pennsylvania Furnace (Sargent House)

MJ Guider – Gloria: Small Dance of Gratitude (Modemain)

Senyawa – Gendang Kiamat (Dekoder)

The Body x Big ‡ Brave – Oh Sinner (Thrill Jockey)

Botanist – Antirrhinum (Prophecy Productions)

Health x Tyler Bates x Chino Moreno – Anti-Life (Loma Vista Recordings)

Filth is Eternal – On The Rake (Church Road Records)

Knoll – Gored Veil (Self-Release)

Wormwitch – Abracadabra (Prosthetic Records)

Hangman’s Chair – Cold & Distant (Nuclear Blast)

Unreqvited – Funeral Pyre (Prophecy Productions)

Greg Puciato x Tyler Bates x Gil Sharone – Now You’ve Really Done It (Loma Vista Recordings)

Unto Others – When Will Gods Work Be Done (Roadrunner Records)

Whispering Sons – Vision (PIAS)

Sven Wunder – Pentimento (Piano Piano Records)

June 11, 2021

This week’s playlist is straddling the line between hope and fear – hope that the world will open up even further (and that we can fully enjoy the summer); fear that these unprecedented times will keep things restrained. Either way, we have these artists to provide the soundtrack as we navigate forward.

If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

Alasdair Roberts, Völvur – The Green Chapel (Drag City) (Header image)

Esther Ann Gove – Dead God (Self-Release)

Martha Skye Murphy – Found Out (Self-Release)

Jorja Chalmers – Bring Me Down (Italians Do It Better)

Deathsomnia, Selofan – Self Sabotage – Apocalypse Version (Isolation Rec.)

Deafheaven – Great Mass of Color (Sargent House)

Amenra – Voor Immer (Relapse Records)

Odraza – Acedia (Godz Ov War Productions)

Wolves In The Throne Room – Mountain Magick (Relapse Records)

Inferno – Stars Within and Stars Without Pr… (Eitrin Editions)

Den Sorte Død – Den Sorte Død (Cyclic Law)

Daniel Davies – Out of the Night (Not Not Fun)

Lustmord, Karin Park – Song of Sol

Acid Twilight – Midnight Sun

Wyatt E., Tomer Damsky – Kol Badai (Self-Release)

Five The Hierophant – The Black Waves (Self-Release)

Slow Fire Pistol – Who Decides (Tripple B Records)

Lantlôs – Magnolia (Prophecy Productions)

June 4, 2021

The sun is shining (at least, it is here!) and a slew of great artists have announced new albums coming this summer! There’s plenty to look forward to, but also plenty to get stuck into already here on your favourite weekly playlist!

If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

King Woman – Morning Star (Relapse Records)

Midwife – God is a Cop (The Flenser)

Kælan Mikla – Ósýnileg (Artoffact Records)

Hante. – Apnée (Synth Religion)

Cold Cave – Psalm 23 (Heartworm Press)

Microcorps – UVU (Alter)

Zeal & Ardor – Run (Redacted GmbH)

Alexis Marshall – Hounds In The Abyss (Sargent House)

Pus – Oscuras Intenciones (Self-Release)

Sordide – Je n’ai nul pays (LADLO)

At The Gates – The Paradox (Century Media)

Cirith Ungol – Route 666 (Metal Blade)

Twin Temple – Babalon (Self-Release)

Dead Can Dance – Mushin (Holy Tongue Records)

May 28, 2021

If you’re still floating in space by way of last week’s playlist – fear not, as this week you can either keep on trippin’ or enjoy some more earthly delights without crashing the mothership.

If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

Annie Hart – Sun in the Dark (Ordinal Records) (header image)

Trees Speak – Scheinwelt (Soul Jazz Records)

Pictureplane – Blade Addict (Crimson Mist) (100% Electronica)

Curses – Discipline (Eskimo Recordings / N.E.W.S.)

Alicia Breton Ferrer – Red Alert (Self-Release)

Aaron Dilloway, Lucrecia Dalt – Demands of Ordinary Devotion (Hanson Records)

Chelsea Wolfe – Diana (Loma Vista Recordings)

Facs – Alone Without (Trouble In Mind)

Year Of No Light – Alètheia (Pelagic Records)

Hangman’s Chair – Cold & Distant (Nuclear Blast)

White Ward – Debemur Morti (Eitrin Editions)

Black Midi – Ascending Forth (Rough Trade)

The Holy Family – St Anthony’s Fire – Edit (Rocket Recordings)

Shannon Lay – Rare To Wake (Sub Pop Records)

Donovan, David Lynch – I Am The Shaman (Donovan Discs)

Dust Mountain – Village on Fire (Svart Records)

May 27, 2021

With Dust Mountain’s extraordinary international live debut at Roadburn Redux in mind, we’re beyond excited to premiere “Village On Fire,” the first single taken from the band’s forthcoming debut album, ‘Hymns For Wilderness,’ which will be released through Svart Records on Oct. 8.

Emerging from the darkened Wastement in Tampere, Finland, Dust Mountain was founded in 2016 by siblings Toni Hietamäki (Oranssi Pazuzu, Waste of Space Orchestra) and Henna Hietamäki (Cats of Transnistria), accompanied by a stunning band: drummer Jukka Rämänen (Hexvessel, Dark Buddha Rising) bassist Riku Pirttiniemi (Death Hawks) and guitarist/backing vocalist Pauliina Lindell (Vuono).

Equally inspired by ’60s and ’70s acts such as Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Linda Perhacs and Coven, the mandolin-driven “Village On Fire” celebrates the connection between nature and ancient rituals, moving between fictional fantasies and true, close-to-heart beliefs, making Dust Mountain a joyous, occult-soaked, psychedelic folk rock affair.

Now it’s time to get (re-)acquainted below…

May 22, 2021

This week’s playlist is a double whammy – it’s practically two playlists in one. We couldn’t resist adding Neptunian Maximalism‘s Solar Drone Ceremony in there. So you can get stuck into some of the music that we’ve uncovered in recent weeks, and then float away on another plane for fifty two minutes, thirty eight seconds… where you go after that is up to you!

If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

Iosonouncane – Jabal (RCA Numero Uno)

Otay:onii – From Me II to Me (WV Sorcerer Productions)

Clipping. – Wriggle (Sub Pop)

Gost – Coven (Century Media)

Victory Over The Sun – Nowherer (Coarse Air Records)

Sunrot – 1312 (Self-Release)

Filth is Eternal – ZED (Church Road Records)

Colonial Wound – I (New Morality Zine)

Mastodon – Forged By Neron (Loma Vista Recordings)

Panopticon – Know Hope (Bindrune Recordings)

Psychonaut – The Great Realisation (Pelagic Records)

Neptunian Maximalism – Solar Drone Ceremony (I, Voidhanger Records)