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LP
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SQM 031LP
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Jonathan Bockelmann is a classical guitarist and composer based in Munich who first made waves in 2023 with his debut album Childish Mind (SQM 020CD). His entry into composing were arrangements he had made of pieces by Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. Some of these have been released digitally in three editions and are now available on vinyl for the first time. The record comes in high quality packaging with an embossed art print and features both some of Sakamoto's lesser-known works like the "Suite for Krug" as well as iconic pieces like "Bibo No Aozora."
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SQM 027LP
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Berlin-based duo Training team up with bassist Ruth Goller for their new album Threads to Knot. Frenetic free-jazz is sitting next to post-rock riffs and looming microtonal atmospheres. The record was written in a truly collaborative effort, adapting the concept of "cadavre exquis," the popular drawing game: One person would start writing a few notes before passing it on to the next, revealing only the very last note, with which the composition continues. Training is comprised of drummer Max Andrzejewski and sax player Johannes Schleiermacher, whose last album Three Seconds saw them collaborate with Deerhoof guitarist John Dieterich. Ruth Goller, who has been hailed by the Guardian for her "thunderous bass-guitar hooks" has made waves with the release of her second album Skyllumina. She's also known as a live performer with Kit Downes, Alabaster de Plume, and Melt Yourself Down, among others.
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SQM 030LP
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Munich-based quintet Fazer return to Squama with their fourth studio album, Yamaha, a record that melds indie jazz and psychedelic rock with humor and depth. The band recorded the album in their own studio for the first time, taking time to experiment with sound and overdubs, while retaining the vigor of a live performance. Suspenseful two-voiced themes and tickling solo interplay by Matthias Lindermayr on trumpet and Paul Brändle on guitar is still at the core of Fazer's music, as well as the meticulous work of their two drummers Simon Popp and Sebastian Wolfgruber, whose grooves are more rooted in the rock vernacular compared to previous records. The restrained playing of bassist and producer Martin Brugger remains a grounding force that rounds out the sound of the group.
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SQM 026LP
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After his debut album Happy Floating in 2022 (SQM 013LP), Leipzig-based producer Damian Dalla Torre returns to Squama with I Can Feel My Dreams. Developed during a residency in Santiago, Chile, it incorporates electronic, jazz and ambient influences utilizing Andean quena flutes, synthesizers and field recordings and again centering on collaborations with fellow artists like Ruth Goller, Miriam Adefris, and Christian Balvig. A wistful haze runs throughout the album, coming out at the end, there's both light and darkness and no need to choose.
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SQM 024LP
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Squama regulars Enji and Popp join forces on Nant, the debut LP by their newly minted duo Poeji, exploring the confines of post-dub and downtempo. 2022's three-track EP 031921 5.24 5.53, released as a limited run of dubplates, was the first testament to their open approach to writing, which takes only very basic ideas and relies on non-verbal communication to define form and pace. Enji's vocals are less center-stage than on her solo endeavors, piercing through reverb plates and guitar pedals while Simon inked his signature set of wooden and metal percussions with chains of tape echoes and analog delay. Listening to Nant as a snapshot of Poeji's artistry at a certain time and place can instill a sense of gratitude within the listener that something so fleeting can be captured.
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CD
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SQM 025CD
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Contemporary classical composer Sophia Jani and violinist Teresa Allgaier present their new collaborative work Six Pieces for Solo Violin on Squama Recordings. Characterized by its calmness and poise, each movement focuses on a particular technical aspect, bending the boundaries of the instrument while maintaining the illusion of simplicity.
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SQM 025LP
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Contemporary classical composer Sophia Jani and violinist Teresa Allgaier announce their new collaborative work Six Pieces for Solo Violin on Squama Recordings. Characterized by its calmness and poise, each movement focuses on a particular technical aspect, bending the boundaries of the instrument while maintaining the illusion of simplicity.
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SQMX 003EP
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"I'm not anti-hippie. I'm anti-unrealistic utopianism. Hell, I'm basically an anarchist." The realm of the hippies extends from "Nature Boy," Eden Ahbez's international hit song from 1948, to Charles Manson's "Trial Testimony" from 1970. Nature Boy by Raymond Pettibon and Oliver Augst is a romantic-anarchistic search for the sources of punk. A must-have for all Pettibon fans.
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SQM 002CD
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With seemingly effortless precision and a sense for the imperfect, Popp merges ambient, third stream and minimal music on his debut album Laya. The title derives from the Sanskrit language and signifies a place of rest and mental inactivity. In the spring of 2019 Popp created these eight tracks from hours of improvisation in his own studio. The moments thus captured were then enriched with more sounds and effects to add layers and shed the manually played percussion of all its earthliness. The result is an album of concealed complexity and unadorned beauty. Raised on an old farm in rural Bavaria, Simon Popp started playing the drums at the age of nine. During his studies at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Munich, he extensively studied African music from countries like Togo, Ghana and Benin where rhythm is central to culture. On his quest for this world's sounds, Popp collected and recorded a wide variety of drums and other instruments, adding to the placelessness of Laya.
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SQM 002C-LP
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With seemingly effortless precision and a sense for the imperfect, Popp merges ambient, third stream and minimal music on his debut album Laya. The title derives from the Sanskrit language and signifies a place of rest and mental inactivity. In the spring of 2019, Popp created these eight tracks from hours of improvisation in his own studio. The moments thus captured were then enriched with more sounds and effects to add layers and shed the manually played percussion of all its earthliness. The result is an album of concealed complexity and unadorned beauty. Raised on an old farm in rural Bavaria, Simon Popp started playing the drums at the age of nine. During his studies at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Munich, he extensively studied African music from countries like Togo, Ghana, and Benin where rhythm is central to culture. On his quest for this world's sounds, Popp collected and recorded a wide variety of drums and other instruments, adding to the placelessness of Laya. 2023 reissue. Transparent vinyl.
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SQM 022LP
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Roots run deep on Candid, the first LP by Munich-based producer Polygonia and drummer Simon Popp. The record is a perfect blend of their distinct voices, with Popp's drumset and his signature percussion sounds buzzing around Polygonia's bold and blooming productions. Comprised of live material recorded at Munich's ZIRKA in late 2022 and over several studio sessions in-between touring duties, Candid is a meadow of herbal electronic, mystic at times, but joyful nonetheless.
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SQM 023LP
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Paul, Rick and River is a programmatic title for the new album from Munich-based Paul Brändle Trio, a modern jazz group led by the eponymous 31-year-old guitar player and band leader. Playing together for years and across continents, this recording manifests the trio's current state of matter, focusing on a no-gimmicks approach and a classic, melodic style of musical world-building.
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CD
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SQM 017CD
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After the success of 2021's Ursgal, Mongolian jazz singer Enji returns with her third album Ulaan. The line-up has grown in size with drummer Mariá Portugal and clarinettist Joana Queiroz from Brazil joining the band to create an invigorating blend of grounded folk and brooding jazz.
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SQM 017LP
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LP version. 180 gram vinyl. After the success of 2021's Ursgal, Mongolian jazz singer Enji returns with her third album Ulaan. The line-up has grown in size with drummer Mariá Portugal and clarinettist Joana Queiroz from Brazil joining the band to create an invigorating blend of grounded folk and brooding jazz.
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SQMX 002EP
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"Almost all the trains I do are steam engines from the 1900s." Like the lyricism of surfing and the grace of baseball, the romance of trains is an integral part in Raymond Pettibon's imagination. "TO-DAY" is a wild roller coaster ride on the "A" Train with Pettibon's favorite writers John Ruskin and Charles Manson. Pettibon at his best with terrific sound collage by Oliver Augst.
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SQM 021LP
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For Zylva, creating is a form of healing. In 2020, the producer, illustrator, and poet found herself struggling with her mental wellbeing: a fresh arrival in locked-down Berlin, and newly heartbroken in a city known for its harsh winters and fleeting connections, Zylva imagined a place for hope, creating her debut album Poems from the Dark. Drifting somewhere between avant pop, lo-fi and celestial R&B, Poems from the Dark sets out on an emotional journey that unfolds over the course of twelve deeply personal tracks. 180 gram vinyl.
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SQM 019LP
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On his debut LP, Impromptu, Julian Klaas presents a stunning work of sonic ambivalence inspired by the beauty and potential of the Wurlitzer piano. "I didn't attempt to pursue grand feelings like ultimate happiness or deep sadness, I'm much more fascinated in the in-between: the moments you might not otherwise write down, and that you might have forgotten if you hadn't recorded them." With Impromptu, Klaas has found a way to honor these moments, revealing the depth and richness that underpins the present.
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SQM 020LP
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LP version. 180 gram vinyl. On his debut album, Childish Mind, guitarist Jonathan Bockelmann presents a series of light, serene acoustic guitar vignettes. The Munich-born musician has studied classical guitar for about two decades, perfecting his technique and gaining mastery of the instrument. Childish Mind sees him explore a new compositional path by crafting delicately interwoven melodies for the acoustic guitar. From the gentle webs and patterns Jonathan creates, there's a sense of meditativeness throughout the album -- his music radiates out, filling moments with a sense of ease and calmness.
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CD
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SQM 020CD
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On his debut album, Childish Mind, guitarist Jonathan Bockelmann presents a series of light, serene acoustic guitar vignettes. The Munich-born musician has studied classical guitar for about two decades, perfecting his technique and gaining mastery of the instrument. Childish Mind sees him explore a new compositional path by crafting delicately interwoven melodies for the acoustic guitar. From the gentle webs and patterns Jonathan creates, there's a sense of meditativeness throughout the album -- his music radiates out, filling moments with a sense of ease and calmness.
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SQM 001G-LP
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Green vinyl. Munich quintet Fazer release their second album, Nadi. Nadi follows the underground success of their self-released debut Mara (2018), which quickly sold out and became one of the most-streamed jazz records of the year. Moving freely between composition and improvisation, the band's spacious, organic sound pitches lyrical melodies from guitar and trumpet over double-drummer polyrhythmic grooves and dub-like basslines. The album title Nadi references a term rooted in traditional Indian medicine. Nadis are channels that connect points of intensity within the body. This reflects the band's feeling while playing of moving as one body. Contrary to the creation of Mara, both the writing and recording sessions for Nadi were completed in relatively short periods of time.
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SQM 016LP
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On his third album, Blizz, Munich-based drummer and producer Simon Popp further blurs the line between electronic and organic sounds. In carefully crafted, slow-growing tracks tuned metal percussions cut through searing synth pads, sucking the listener into a sonic vortex. Informed by personal and spiritual themes, Popp's debut album Laya (SQM 002LP), as well as his 2021 follow-up Devi (SQM 010LP) make use of rhythms as storytelling mechanisms. Contrasting light and dark, organic and synthetic sounds, his compositions engage in a dance of subtle complexities, enticing the listener into the practice of close listening. Throughout Blizz, a panopticon of metallophones takes flight, floating freely over earth-bound counter rhythms, conjuring up call-and-response techniques inherent in polyrhythmic music. This technique favors experimentation over perfectionism, leaving space for happy accidents to unlock new melodic possibilities. According to Popp, "it's much more interesting to try to push the boundaries of an instrument to see what's possible."
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LP
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SQMRE 001LP
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Tempo Sem Tempo is the fifth studio album by São Paulo based clarinet player, singer, and composer Joana Queiroz, now available on vinyl for the first time outside of Brazil. It is indeed a timeless record. A cocooning blend of looped reeds and low-key electronics holding melodies and lyrics. When Joana sings, it's with noble restraint and grace, as can be heard on four songs including Gilberto Gil's "Seu Olhar" and "Dois Litorais" by her friend and Quartabê band mate Mariá Portugal. Standing out on Tempo Sem Tempo is a wistful beauty that makes it easy to immerse oneself in the intimate vastness of this album.
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CD
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SQM 018CD
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Pianist Masako Ohta and trumpet player Matthias Lindermayr's music flows in gentle waves, moving with ease between every theme they imagine. Their music is largely improvised, embracing chance and following sound down winding paths. Their debut collaborative album, MMMMH, highlights this loose process through its relaxed pace, surprising turns, and drifting style. The album presents small vignettes that each encapsulate their free-flowing motion and tranquil melodies, drawing from simple ideas to create a fully bloomed, radiant sound.
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SQM 006RE-LP
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2022 repress. On his debut, album producer and Squama co-founder Martin Brugger hovers through ambient, (upbeat) downbeat, and unfulfilled build-ups. Conceptualized as a blank soundtrack, the music was sent to fellow artists who shared their visual and verbal associations which became the source for the artwork and track titles, effectively making the album a collective effort. Evident in all of his recent projects is Brugger's passion for working and thriving within closely set limits. The only audio sources in the process of making the album were his record player and a Dave Smith Prophet 08 synthesizer. In an antithesis to most sample-based music, Brugger takes the more ephemeral moments of recorded music and uses pitching tools as a magnifying glass to dive deeper into the sound and bare layers that normally remain unheard. 180 gram viny; includes printed inlay.
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SQM 018LP
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Pianist Masako Ohta and trumpet player Matthias Lindermayr's music flows in gentle waves, moving with ease between every theme they imagine. Their music is largely improvised, embracing chance and following sound down winding paths. Their debut collaborative album, MMMMH, highlights this loose process through its relaxed pace, surprising turns, and drifting style. The album presents small vignettes that each encapsulate their free-flowing motion and tranquil melodies, drawing from simple ideas to create a fully bloomed, radiant sound. 180 gram vinyl.
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