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Review: Numero Group has another of their superb soul gems here from former Mind & Matter bandmates James "Jimmy Jam" Harris and Michael Dixon. The duo teamed up in 1978 for this gospel-boogie banger which first came on the private Mad label, so is now mad hard to find. 'You're Everything' is a classy dancer with a big heart and those Good worshipping vocals taking things to new heights. The flip is no slouch either and keeps the grooves coming with 'You're All I Need' another timeless classic that will improve any set and record collection no end.

Review: This hard-hitting EP of tough-as-you-like roots was dropped to great acclaim in 1981. The deep and heavy dubs were mixed by the one and only Scientist at the legendary King Tubby's studio with great mic work from Michael Prophet, Patrick Andy and Alric Forbes. The original has been fully remastered for this reissue which comes on both CD and vinyl formats. It is music drenched in island vibes with dark soul and plenty of great horns. The mixing is of course next level, as always with Scientist, so you can be sure of a real trip when listening to this one front to back.

Review: Brooklyn-based psychedelic soul group Say She She have exploded onto the scene since their debut in 2019. Receiving critical acclaim for their two albums to date, and multiple TV performances, the Nile Rodgers-inspired female trio even got a video message of approval from the legend himself. Organic and authentic are two words that fit the classically trained troupe to a tea and, in the great soul tradition, covers are a necessity. Jim Spencer's 1979 track 'Wrap Myself Up in Your Love' didn't get much attention at the time - his attempt at doing disco wasn't well received - but thanks to the adoration of archive label The Numero Group, the song has seen a resurgence in covers and fans. The original vocal is expressive and powerful against some jangly funk guitars, whilst Say She She's rendition hones in on the sultry aspect of the track. Guitars are muted down to transform the song into a lovemaking slow jam, wind passages are introduced and the vocal is subtly powerful and sexy. This single has both Say She She's cover - as well as the original - on a 7" disc.

Review: Say She She is the psychedelic soul group from Brooklyn that's exploded onto the scene since their debut in 2019. Receiving critical acclaim for their two albums to date, and the pleasure of touring Europe and North America, the Nile Rodgers-inspired female trio even got a video message of approval from the legend himself. Authentic and organic are two words that fit the classically trained troupe to a tea and, in the great soul tradition, covers are a necessity. Jim Spencer's 1979 attempt at foraying into disco 'Wrap Myself Up in Your Love' wasn't received amazingly at the time, but thanks to the adoration of archive label The Numero Group, the song has seen a resurgence in covers and fans. The original vocal is zany and expressive against some jangly funk guitars, whilst Say She She's rendition hones in on the sultry aspect of the track. Guitars are muted down to transform the song into a lovemaking slow jam, wind passages are introduced and the vocal is subtly powerful and sexy. This 7" contains both Spencer's original track and the interpretation by the trio, pressed on white vinyl.

Review: Neon Indian main brain Alan Palomo returns under his own name for World Of Hassle, the latest full-length project and exploration of a completely different sound altogether. His first album under his own name, it's something of a departure from his previous synthpop/chillwave oeuvre, homing in on a brighter, kookier disco, funk, and house verve. Thematically, the album is adventurous and playful, having been inspired by Palomo's travels around the world, ups-and-downs in the music industry, and personal relationships.

Notes: Inside this brand new issue:

Releases of the Year: Wire asked their contributors to vote for their top ten records, CDs, streams and more, then added up the votes

Critics' Reflections: Wire's writers discuss their memorable cultural experiences of the year

Columnists' Charts: Wire's specialist critics delve deep into their musical niches from noise to modern composition

Archive Releases of the Year: Wire asked their contributors to vote for their top ten archive records, CDs, streams and more, then added up the votes.

Engineered Phantoms: AI for the masses. By Abi Bliss

Back to the Land: Strange as folk. By Louis Pattison

Rival Camps: Crossing the streams. By Britt Brown

Weapons of Mass Distraction: Artists and Gaza. By GAIKA

Invisible Jukebox: Linton Kwesi Johnson: The veteran reggae poet faces down The Wire's mystery record selection. Tested by Gabriel Bristow

Laetitia Sadier: The Stereolab founder promotes community and healing with her new solo work. By Claire Biddles

Fred Frith: The Henry Cow co-founder returns to his groundbreaking 1974 album Guitar Solos with a reissue and a new album. By Clive Bell

Unlimited Editions: Bead Records

Unofficial Channels: Lanner Chronicle

Phil Geraldi: Road head music. By Emily Bick

HUUUM: Viennese whirl. By Ilia Rogatchevski

Lisa Ullen: Piano magic. By Peter Margasak

Thomas Ignatius: Medieval synthpop. By Leah Kardos

Global Ear: Chicago Democracy and improv in the Midwest. By Levi Dayan

The Inner Sleeve: Vince Clarke on The Human League's Travelogue

Epiphanies: Mariam Rezaei on Persian pitch-shifting

Print Run: Dancehall: The Rise Of Jamaican Dance Culture by Beth Lesser; Lost In Room: Mark Perry, Alternative TV And Related, 1977-1981 by Richard Johnson; Deep Blues 1960-1988 by Val Wilmer; Ukrainian Field Notes edited by Gianmarco Del Re; At The Vanguard Of Vinyl by Darren Mueller; Too Much Too Young: Rude Boys, Racism And The Soundtrack Of A Generation - The 2 Tone Records Story by Daniel Rachel; NOTHING IS POSSIBLE NERVOUSNESS, OR IMMORALITY DON'T WAIT TO BE HUNTED TO HIDE/ SPOILT HEALTH by TRS: The Fucking Terrible Receding Shapes, Trading As TRIPLE NEGATIVE

On Screen: Midori Takada: Japan On Film; Robert Fantinatto Subotnick Portrait Of An Electronic Music Pioneer

On Location: Recombinant Festival, San Francisco, US; Sir Richard Bishop, Edinburgh, UK; Week-End Fest, Cologne, Germany; Black Industrial | Noise Event 4: Ain Bailey, London, UK; Out.Fest, Barreiro, Portugal; Gonerfest 20, Memphis, US; Sonica Surge, Glasgow, UK; People Like Us, London, UK; Loraine James, San Francisco, US; Usurper: That's That Then, Edinburgh, UK; Easter Margins Road 2 Redline Tour with OverMyBody Taipei, Taiwan; Donaueschinger Musiktage 2023, Donaueschingen, Germany

On Site: Val Wilmer Blue Moments, Black Sounds, London, UK; Meredith Monk: Calling, Munich, Germany; Barbara Ess Archives, New York, US

Soundcheck: Aesop Rock, Agitation Free, All Men Unto Me, Alternative TV, Chino Amobi, Andre 3000, Erlend Apneseth Trio & Maja SK Ratkje, Anenon, Daniel Bachman, BEAM SPLITTER + Eivind Lonning & Espen Reinertsen, Beans, Lea Bertucci, Better Corners, Galya Bisengalieva, Black To Comm, Andy Blade & Buddies, Danny Brown, Conflux Coldwell, Amelia Cuni/Werner Durand/Uli Hohmann, CZN, Angharad Davies & Phil Julian, Eartheater, Max Eastley/Terry Day/John Butcher, Carlos Ferreira, Peter Gabriel, Gruzja, Holy Tongue, Robert Hood & Femi Kuti, Idea Fire Company, Ed Jones/Dominic Lash/Mark Wastell, KAVARI, Kid Acne, Klein, Anysia Kym & Jadasea, Dominic Lash/Rachel Musson/Phil Durrant/Steve Noble, Joelle Leandre & Rodolphe Loubatiere, George Lewis/ICE, DJ Manny, Trevor Mathison, Myra Melford's Fire & Water Quintet, MHYSA, Moin, Maggie Nicols/Matilda Rolfsson/Mark Wastell, Steve Noble, Aki Onda, Ordeal, Aruan Ortiz, Tony Oxley, Eddie Prevost/NO Moore/James O'Sullivan/Ross Lambert, Janneke van der Putten, Lucy Railton, Maja SK Ratkje & Nordic Affect, Mike Reed, Marc Richter, Raphael Rogi?ski, Patrick Shiroishi, Timelash, David Toop & Tania Caroline Chen, Universal Harmonies & Frequencies, V/Z, Alex Ward Items 6 & 7, Teresa Winter, Various C-01 Compilation, Various Flux Gourmet: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The Boomerang:

Barry Bermange/Delia Derbyshire/The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Earth, Khanate, Meat Puppets, Meshuggah, Het Pandorra Ensemble, Penny Rimbaud/Mikado Koko, Rudimentary Peni, Archie Shepp, Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit, War, Frank Zappa, Various The Complete Obscure Records Collection, Various One Mile From Heaven, Various Spectra Ex Machina: A Sound Anthology Of Occult Phenomena 1920-2017 Vol 2

Review: Here comes Red Greg with a joyous edit from his coffers, presented on the run of Magic Touch reissues currently surfacing on Numero. Magic Touch was a cult label in Chicago which carried some incredible, rare tracks from the city and nearby up until 1984. The finest of these have been out of reach of the average Joe for a long time, and finally now cuts like Andy Brown's swooning, string-laden disco stomper 'Why Do I Love You' are getting back out there. For this particular release Greg was called on to offer his edit services and of course he does right by the original, bringing the best out of the track to ensure it lands the best it can when you take it for a spin.

Review: Why Do I Love You? Good question! Chicago's Magic Touch label gets the Numero treatment, hearing rare groove selector & DJ, Red Greg, edit the disco holy grail 'Why Do I Love You' by Magic Touch. Now available on 7" for the first time, we hear both Red Greg's full version and its instrumental edit, providing ample choice for selectors hoping to build versatile sets out of the Numero catalogue.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record is warped, otherwise in excellent condition***


PJ Harvey's ongoing vinyl reissue series has finally arrived at 2007's White Chalk, an album that at the time was thought of as something of a curveball from the West Country singer-songwriter. Unlike its predecessors, which were celebrated for their raw, fuzzy, stripped-back alt-rock sound, White Chalk emerged after Harvey decided to write an album of "piano songs" - despite having no experience playing the instrument herself. With Flood and John Parish handling production duties, the set's tracks were generally lighter and breezier sonically, with a little more polish and much more restricted use of electric guitar. Harvey's lyrics are as distinctive as ever, though, offering a clear contrast to the pastoral and oddly traditional feel of the music.

Review: On his debut 45, Junior Scaife shows us he's a vocal heavyweight, whose prowess on the mic is tantamount to the pen. Backed by house band The Penrose Scholars and co-written by producer Anthony Masino, 'When My Heart Breaks' is a bouncy stepper with feel-good vibes and groove in equal measure, serving up a Brenton Wood-esque blast of sunshine and soul. On the flip is 'Moment To Moment', a gorgeous, bluesy ballad with a vocal performance that transcends the trappings of lesser tunes, giving it a depth and seriousness that takes you by the heart and mind to a place where longing and love reign supreme.

Review: Bobby Ozra was on tour back in 2019 and the final date was in New York City. He had some time before returning home to Finland so hooked up with El Michel's Affair and Diamond Mine to record some music. The pair hit it off immediately, and Bobby used the chance to write about more esoteric subjects with the pair soon deciding to work on a full length album together. They are now well on with that process but in the meantime offer up two new gems. 'Losing It' is sun in Spanish and English and is a dramatic and moving tune while 'Watcha Know' explores death with some philosophical ponderings.