An expressionist poem from 1911 at the head of a press release in 2023? Did some ChatGPT make that up? Hardly. Jakob van Hoddis' poetry moved YELKA guitarist Daniel Meteo a lot as a young person and came to mind during the recording of "Krieg & Ferien", that briefly translates into "War & Ease", the third YELKA album this year. And so the poem became the title for the ten-minute closing piece: an improvised one-take funk jam with an uncertain outcome. YELKA's new album may have so much in common with Tolstoy's novel "War & Peace", to which the album title quite obviously alludes, that it was created in a time in which we all - for well-known reasons - have to deal with Russian society more than we have in a long time. But the Berlin trio - besides Meteo it's Christian Obermaier on drums and Yelka Wehmeier on bass and vocals - was more concerned with other questions in the reflection of pop music: Is this lived escapism (i.e. ease?) or subculture, i.e. is the fight against mainstream declared here (i.e. war)? Or does one only condition the other? Does subculture in the end also only offer ease from the mainstream? Or does it automatically become mainstream in case of success?
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Recommended equipment and accessories
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Nagaoka MP-110H Cartridge
Features a high-quality elliptical stylus that provides excellent tracking and minimizes distortion, delivering a detailed sound reproduction with an output voltage of 5.0 mV
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Technics SL-1500C Turntable
Features a direct-drive motor, a high-precision tonearm, and a premium MM cartridge, delivering exceptional sound quality
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Vevor Ultrasonic Cleaner
Thoroughly clean and restore your vinyl records, removing dust, dirt, and grime from every groove without damaging the surface
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Pro-Ject Phono Box DC Pre-Amp
Compact, high-performance phono preamplifier for both MM and MC cartridges, delivering a clean, detailed signal with minimal noise.
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Ortofon 2M Blue Premounted
Mounted on the SH-4 Black Headshell, this setup delivers exceptional clarity, dynamic range, and accurate sound reproduction.
Featured Upcoming Vinyl
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Black Honey Soak
Black Honey
August 15, 2025 -
Francis Rossi The Way We Were Vol. 1 [2xLP]
Earmusic
July 18, 2025 -
John Fogerty Legacy: the Creedence Clearwater Revival years [2xLP]
Concord Records
August 22, 2025 -
Good Charlotte Motel Du Cap (Amazon Exclusive)
Atlantic
August 8, 2025 -
Sinsaenum IN DEVASTATION
Earmusic
August 8, 2025 -
Sarah McLachlan Better Broken
Concord Records
September 19, 2025 -
Firstborne Lucky
M-Theory Audio
August 8, 2025 -
Mono Inc Darkness
No Cut
August 15, 2025 -
CORAL GRIEF Air Between Us
Suicide Squeeze
July 18, 2025 -
Tom Odell A Wonderful Life
Urok
September 5, 2025 -
KAROL G Tropicoqueta (Tropical Blue) [2xLP]
Bichota Records/Interscope
September 26, 2025 -
Split Chain Motionblur
Epitaph
July 11, 2025 -
ReneƩ Rapp BITE ME (Apple) (Amazon Exclusive)
Interscope
August 1, 2025 -
Cate Le Bon Michelangelo Dying
Mexican Summer
September 26, 2025