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Alexander Hacke became obsessed with classical music at an early age, but ended up dropping out of school and hanging out with punks, squatters, and bohemians in the West Berlin underground scene. After his first music projects under the pseudonym Alexander von Borsig, he joined the newly formed Einsturzende Neubauten in 1980. While the Neubauten became a groundbreaking and hugely successful band, Hacke not only experimented with all kinds of stimulants, but also continued to develop musically: whether as an internationally successful solo artist, collaborating with Crime & the City Solution, as a film composer, or together with his wife, the artist Danielle de Picciotto, with whom he has been roaming the world since 2010. 'Blast' is a dazzling testimony to the wild West Berlin before the fall of the Wall, the rise of Einsturzende Neubauten, and the thrilling life story of a jack-of-all-trades. Hacke recounts international tours and surprising collaborations, as well as his cinematic soundscapes, and offers personal reflections on art and society. He looks back on an artistic career that uniquely combines avant-garde art, pop success, and creative freedom.

In A Dysfunctional Success (Wreckless) Eric Goulden writes with an acute eye for detail about growing up in the 60s and 70s in suburban South East England, discovering music and girls; life as an art student in the frozen north eastern town of Hull; the formation and dissolution of bands with desperate equipment, a homemade ethos and not much idea; his move to London in 1976 and subsequent recording debut on the newly formed Stiff Record label. 'I didn't actually want to write a music biography. There was a story to be told, but it wasn't the tale of the meteoric rise and demise of Wreckless Eric. I was more concerned with my upbringing, the social background that shaped me and lead to this meteoric rise and demise. And I wanted to write about what happens after the firework fizzles out.' This is an honest coming of age story from both sides of instant pop success: bands, squalid flats, menial jobs, making records, the rise to the point of fame and falling off into poverty and alcoholism in Thatcher's Britain, where Goulden ultimately survived the 1980's to achieve his own kind of success. Twenty-one years after its original publication, in a time when pop stars telling their own hard stories was a comparative rarity, A Dysfunctional Success rings truer than ever, reminding readers how we all come from somewhere, pay a high price for our dreams, and enjoy modest glories in return for staying the course.

Krautrock as an escape from post-war Germany. Krautrock Eruption is a rousing counter-narrative to the usual depictions of Krautrock, written by Wolfgang Seidel, member of Conrad Schnitzler's band Eruption and co-founder of Ton Steine Scherben. His groundbreaking book, which includes unique historical photographs, paints a vivid picture of the old Federal Republic of Germany, with all of its contradictions and struggles. What is now celebrated as Krautrock emerged in this environment, and at the time was an attempt to contribute the soundtrack to the revolution. As a fly on the wall, Seidel recounts the squats, demos and first concerts of bands such as Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel. Just as precisely and vividly, he recapitulates the influence of minimal music composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, the origins of many Krautrock musicians in jazz and the role of the synthesiser. Wolfgang Seidel delivers a captivating account on Krautrock that dispels many of the founding myths of the first genuinely German pop culture, which above all did not want to be German. In addition, the book is supplemented by a discography of the 50 most important Krautrock records, written by music journalist and Krautrock expert Holger Adam. Translated from German by Alexander Paulick (member of influential Dðsseldorf based avant-garde band Kreidler).

el records was created in 1984 by Mike Alway. Alway was A&R man for Cherry Red signing artists such as Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set and Felt. Alway left Cherry Red to help run Blanco Y Negro (an offshoot of WEA) but soon felt constrained but the conservativism of the commercial music sector and left to set up his own label. el was once described as 'the most innately English record label there has ever been' and yet had a global appeal. Alway must be the only record label boss to have had four songs written about him... Alway's mercurial approach was to take complete control of the repertoire, the philosophy of the label's releases and even the titles of songs in the manner of pop impresarios of the past. Alway became a curator, selecting, shaping and overseeing the records issued on el. He employed songwriters proficient in classical pop techniques such as Nicholas Currie (AKA Momus) and Philippe Auclair (AKA Louis Philippe) who in addition to issuing their own records wrote, arranged and performed for other el artistes and used creative talents such as photographer Nick Wesolowski and designer Jim Phelan to create the el 'look'. el had a unique flavour eschewing the traditions of rock and indie music of the mid 1980s, exhibiting instead a taste for 1960s bubbelgum and chamber pop, the European chanson tradition, Latin rhythms and film scores (one of el's key players was child prodigy Simon Turner who wrote music for the films of Derek Jarman). The ethos of the label was decidedly un-macho and many of el's key artists were female. El's first single 'I, Bloodbrother Be' by Shock Headed Peters was an uncompromising gay anthem. Alway saw el as a celebration of elegance and beauty, in his own words, 'a pop world beyond leather jackets and jeans'. While record sales were disappointing, this unique blend was critically acclaimed in the UK and popular in America and mainland Europe while in Japan el had a profound effect, directly influencing the Shibuya-kei phenomenon that included Pizzicato Five, Cornelius and Kahimi Karie. Bright Young Things is the first book to tell the fascinating story of el, one of the most influential indie labels of all time.

So here it is: The Go-Betweens Song Comic - Thank You For A Lovely Day. Eleven songs from the entire creative period of the legendary Australian band interpreted by eleven international cartoonists and artists. As diverse, colourful and complex as the band's nine studio albums. In 1977, friends Robert Forster and Grant McLennan founded The Go-Betweens in Brisbane, Australian and within a few years their folky indie rock, songs such as 'Right Here', 'Love Goes On' and 'Streets of Your Town' helped make them an international force in the indie world. In 1989, the band disbanded after six successful albums, only to return in 2000 with a new album 'The Friends of Rachel Worth - recorded together with the members of Sleater-Kinney - followed by 'Bright Yellow Bright Orange in 2003 and 'Oceans Apart' in 2005 after which the sudden death of Grant McLennan in May 2006 put an end to recording activity. Since then, Robert Forster has been nurturing the band's legacy; helping re-release and present their early works in the form of two box sets by Domino Records, telling the story of The Go-Betweens, as a story of true friendship, in his autobiography 'Grant and I' as well as releasing numerous solo albums and touring them around the world. Liner Notes by Robert Forster.

Experience the unique collaboration of Indian & Chinese tastes with this collection of recipes inspired by 10 journeys across the Indian subcontinent. Enjoy delicious soups, fantastic appetizers, mouthwatering noodles, bombastic rice dishes, saucy vegetables, sweet treats & other delights you can easily make in your own kitchen. For adventurers, cooks & food lovers of all kinds! Justin's newest cookbook, The Lotus and the Artichoke - INDOCHINESE is his second book to focus on adventures in India. Justin has been to India 10 times and spent over 2 years on the subcontinent. This book is dedicated to the delightful, delicious fusion of Indian & Chinese cooking, a tradition which began over 250 years ago. The exact origins are debated, the combinations and creations are often surprising - but the exceptional art and incredible tastes of Indo-Chinese is undeniably legendary! Indo-Chinese food is loved around the world - primarily by South Asians and generations of folks that have built thriving communities (and culinary traditions) far beyond the borders India. Restaurants across India (and abroad) cook up bold interpretations of Chinese dishes - and many unique innovations you'd struggle to find in China! Although Indo-Chinese food remains under-represented in the global mainstream, this is changing rapidly. Major cities around the world have opened dedicated Indo-Chinese restaurants. Others are expanding menus as love for the cuisine grows and culinary horizons expand. Most restaurants in India feature several classic Indo-Chinese dishes, such as Vegetable Manchurian, Hakka Noodles, and Sezchuan Fried Rice. 'Chinese' restaurants in India generally serve food adapted to Indian flavours and palates, including spices and ingredients more common to South Asian cuisine. In recent decades, cooks - as well as foodies and families - in India have gradually focused more on origins and 'authenticity'. Many hotel and restaurant kitchens now proudly employ chefs specially trained in the art of Indo-Chinese cuisine. You probably already know that India is a paradise for vegetable lovers & spice addicts. Indo-Chinese is an exciting side journey into a world of bombastic soups, noodles, rice dishes, dumplings, pancakes - and so much more!

It's not often that a songwriter will deny being the author of his own lyrics, even less so when writing the introduction to a whole book of them. But, without giving too much away, that's exactly what Bid, the man of words both behind and in front of unashamedly literate UK post-punk psych sophisticates the Monochrome Set, sets out to do in STRANGE YOUNG ALIEN. If you have followed the past five decades or so of his band's career, you may well have asked yourself what might possess anyone to write lines such as 'Every night at sleepy time / I hang my skin out on the line', from 'Eine Symphonie des Grauens'. You will find a very definite, highly intriguing answer to this question in Bid's book, though most certainly no literal interpretation. There are background stories, to be sure. Amusing and disturbing ones. Like the disfiguring haircut that set off events to inspire 'Letter from Viola'. Or the supermarket worker immortalised as 'The Cosmonaut'. Or the curious cases of the stalker and the spy, relating to 'Reach for Your Gun' and 'Hello, Save Me' respectively. But essentially, the more you learn about Bid's writing process, the more mysterious it gets. Part I of the book is technically a memoir, from his childhood experience in India and the Himalayas via his adventures in the music business to the near-fatal aneurysm that physically rearranged Bid's brain in 2010. Part II is a helpful compendium of some of the most fundamentally misheard lyrics in pop, from 'He's Frank', 'Jet Set Junta' and 'The Lighter Side of Dating' all the way to 'The Ruling Class'. Most centrally though, STRANGE YOUNG ALIEN is a book about the human brain, specifically its being inhabited by 'the Creature', as Bid likes to call his artistic other self that was revealed to him after his stroke. Getting to know the Creature through his description of this revelation may fundamentally change not just the way you understand Bid's lyrics, but the artistic mind as such. Contrary to appearances, then, this book isn't just one for fans of The Monochrome Set, though they'll doubtless be pleased. This is not just a lyric book - as well as containing many song lyrics it has a short biographical story charting the bands lifespan and Bid's special relationship with his uncontrolled inner artistic demon.