One of the most innovative and influential bands of all time add 12 bold tracks to their repertoire. Don’t be fooled, Johnny Lydon may be the oldest teenager in the world; this certainly isn’t a joke. Watch them shouts, This is PiL!

‘’Lyrics and music that do more than their constituent parts could possibly hint at.’’ - 5/5 MUSIC OMH

“It’s such a perfect return.” - 9/10, THE QUIETUS
 
’’An artist who has spent years lucratively exploiting his past with the Sex Pistols suddenly sounds like he has a future: a victory for contrarianism.’’ - 4/5, THE GUARDIAN

“It’s simply a joy to hear Lydon in fine voice.” - 4/5, MOJO

Get This is PiL for $20 (CD)/$30 (2LP) from TITLE.

I thought he would be, but after seeing him at VIVID last night I’m a 100% certain: the Egyptian Lover is a relic of the past. One of the pioneers of early hiphop and electro, the man’s pompous appearance and his sexy lyrics have gone a little out of synch in recent years. Really, the best part was to see him lick his fingers for enhanced control over his wax.

That said, my spins this morning were heavily influenced by this dude from Los Angeles. First up was Mantronix’ King of the Beats: Anthology 1985-1988, a body-shaking comp loaded with synthesized snares and bass lines. Then came Andrea Parker’s 1998 DJ Kicks volume: a mix that once introduced me to the classic treasures of 80s electro. COD’s version of ‘In the Bottle’, Man Parrish’ ‘Hip Hop Be Bop (Don’t Stop)’ and Afrika Bambaataa’s ‘Renegades Chant’ are all on there. Round midday, it was time for the poppy side of breakdance and with Rufus & Chaka Khan, Fire Fox and Ollie and Jerry all featured, Breakin’ OST reminded me of the things I heard before enjoying my first ever roller coaster ride some 25 years ago..sweet memories.

If the Egyptian Lover taught me one thing last night, it’s that you should never underestimate the power of hard-hitting electro-boogie. And that headspins between the bins of TITLE Surry Hills can be quite painful. What a morning!

Christiaan de Wit, TITLE Surry Hills.

Grab Mantronix - King of the Beats. Anthology 1985-1988 (2CD, $30), Andrea Parker - DJ-Kicks ($25) and Breakin’ OST ($25) from your local TITLE store.

My knowledge in terms of photography can be summarized in the following sentence by photographer Claudio Perna from Venezuela (where I was born): “My field is the ignorance itself and from there I formulate an art of questions”.

Keeping distances between the professional and this spectator, the only resemblance these two Venezuelans share is “the field of ignorance”. This photographer and non-conventional mediums artist developed conceptual works that stood out in the late seventies. He experimented with different photographic mediums; the inverted angle Polaroid was one of them.

I remember the first time I held a Polaroid camera in my hands and the first photo slide show (actual reel projector) of family trips with a childish smile in my face.

Like some other sense catalysts, when I put my hands on this book days ago it took me into a lovely trip of amazing and most-needed memories; just like random smells that bring back my grandmother’s cooking coming from the patio (my mother doesn’t cook and thank you God for that, sorry mum!)

You can get this amazing book for just $25! Where else can you get over 300 pages of a good variety of photos these days? Portraits, landscapes, creative, quirky, oldies, indoor, kinky and 15 pages on the evolution of the iconic Polaroid (the first commercially successful instant picture camera), printed in high quality paper by TASCHEN. Grab a copy from your local TITLE store, go to your favourite place, get comfy and enjoy the trip!

(Jose Serrano, TITLE Surry Hills).

It’s no secret that the UK is blessed with the world’s most exciting and innovative producers of leftfield club music. We vaguely remember Aphex Twin, Hudson Mohawke, A Guy Called Gerald, 4Hero and Zomby doing stuff that kind of blew our minds. Relatively new on the scene are Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland, also known as Hype Williams. With their blend of industrial rhythms, repetitive vocals samples and post-dubstep soundscapes, you might as well call them the Throbbing Gristle of the 21st century.

And guess what? Hype Williams are bringing their sound art to Sydney (Good God Small Club, June 14th) and Melbourne (Roxanne Parlour, June 17th). 

Be wise and grab Blunt and Copeland’s brand new album Black is Beautiful for $25 - Gilles Peterson’s feature album this week - from your local TITLE store well before you head to this dance/not dance gig. To make things easier, the duo’s decided to have the word EBONY rather than the actual title printed on the album cover. Smart thinking…

Hope, positivity and good vibes are the central messages present in the music of Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars. Behind the music lies an interesting and inspiring story. Formed in neighbouring Guinea during the Sierra Leone civil war, their journey was documented by American film makers Zach Niles and Banker White. Once the civil war ended and the band returned to their native home the film was released, subsequently reaching global audiences and becoming a critical success. This helped develop global interest in the band, their stories and most importantly their sound.

Two well received studio albums Living Like a Refugee and Rise and Shine cemented the bands world reputation and solidified their brand of uplifting classic African music. Appearances on US television networks and contributions to major film soundtracks added to a rapidly growing list of achievements.

For their third studio album the band recorded in Brooklyn under the guidance of Victor Axelrod aka Ticklah of Daptone Records fame. Axelrod has lent his production skills to such artists as Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Antibalas and the Easy Star All Stars.  Their latest album Radio Salone expands on their African musical roots with the added flavour of classic world, reggae and funk flavours.

What they’re saying -

“A superb album, full of fun and listenable to from every angle imaginable. Treat yourself”– Music News 

“These are the songs of a fabulous, gifted band: down to earth, full of life and absolutely going in the right direction” – Song Line

“This is a killer record, and you need it.” – Incendiary Magazine

Get the album Radio Salone for $25 from your local TITLE store.

Wicked freebie everyone: Grab Temper Trap’s self titled, second studio album on CD and get the Need Your Love/Rabbit Hole bonus 7” picture disc single for free! This is as collectable as vinyl gets. So be quick and go to your local TITLE store while stock lasts!

Loved Prince last night? Found it a bit disappointing? There’s a few things that will help you get into your preferred state of mind.

1.Grab a classic Prince record like Controversy, Dirty Mind or The Hits, The B-Sides (he was great, gimme more)

2.Go for Toeachizown, a killer album by post-Prince boogie-funk producer Dām-Funk (the show was a little disappointing, but hey, there is life after Prince!).

3.Look forward to the Egyptian Lover’s performance at Sydney Opera House on June 2nd. This is Prince looking a wee bit tougher (it’s the jewellery) and adding some vintage electro snares.

Get it from your local TITLE store. Remember we can get you the obscurest Prince titles, as long as they’re not out of print.

Trembling Bells meets Will Oldham aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy on what is, for our money, one of the finer releases either act has put their name to. On The Marble Downs, the ‘Bells mostly trade in their ghostly, none-more-British folk style for something more American in flavour, summoning all those lavishly orchestrated country-soul albums cut in LA and Nashville in the 1970s - think Mickey Newbury, Jimmy Webb, Glen Campbell, et al.

We’ve got an sweet deal for all of you TITLE 10 members on this one: already at an excellent price, the debut album by this brand new super group comes with a FREE copy of Trembling Bells’ 2011 album The Constant Pageant.

About The Marble Downs:
“Featuring the posh-damsel-gone-bad vocals of Lavinia Blackwall and Alex Neilson’s psych-jazz take on medieval music, Scotland’sTrembling Bells provide a genre-bending backdrop for Will Oldham’s mischief.” - The Guardian

Get The Marble Downs for $20 (CD) or $30 (2LP) from your local TITLE store.

Greater Surry Hills has only got 4 hours left to find real good deals on artists like Miles Davis, John Cale, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Bill Laswell, Terror Danjah and Bob Dylan. Plus labels like Drag City, 4 Men With Beards, Now Again, Honest Jon’s, ECM, Smithsonian Folkways and TASCHEN.

So that’s $5 CDs, $10 box sets, $10 DVDs, 20% off all vinyl, and books as (cheaply!) priced. 

Find us at 501 Crown Street, Surry Hills, right next to our regular store at 499. Today will be the last day.

With his Stones Throw podcast, Quakers’ Sydney-based member Katalyst shows what inspired him to make the group’s stunning self titled album that came out the other day and guess what? He’s left us a big challenge by not providing a track list. Cheeky, cheeky…

Come to think of it, we’ve still got some copies of the mind blowing end product on our shelves.

Get Quakers for just $20 from your local TITLE store.