Here you go, a jam-packed newsletter. And a "New Style" newsletter. From now on, we'll refer you to our relatively new website and we'll pay more attention to the ins and outs of Velvet Music Leiden. Starting with the news below.

	On Saturday, April 12th, it's finally Record Store Day again. The best day of the year—for us, that is. Every record store will have exclusive (re)releases (more on that later), and artists will be performing. Velvet Leiden is no exception. Between 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM, there will be live music from Antje Krook, De Kraaien, Marta Arpini, Kalima , and Pommelien Thijs .
	At Rushmere Mumford may be doing well with one son less, but Mumford & Sons hasn't become a lesser band. Want to judge for yourself? The new album is released next Friday, but we can already play it in stores on Tuesday, March 25th. You're welcome. We'll press play at 5:00 PM.
	On March 22nd (that's tomorrow already!), Peel Slowly and See , Leiden's most adventurous music festival, will take place again.  Tickets are still available. Between performances by James Holden, Arp Frique, and Atol Atol Atol, you can visit the Velvet Playground for a record, a game of cornhole or dancing to the eclectic hits of Geert, our DJ on duty

Album of the Week

Lonnie Holley (75) has been through a lot. He was one of 27 children, grew up when Jim Crow laws still dictated life for African Americans in Alabama, moved from foster home to foster home and spent time at the 'Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children' - which was not a school but a notorious labor camp. Holley has been making music about these experiences for several years now, sometimes with a healthy dose of sadness and despondency (as on Oh Me Oh My ) and sometimes, as on the new album Tonky , with equal parts anger and defiance.

The high tension palpable from the opening track, "Seeds," lasts for over fifty minutes. Meanwhile, a host of guest musicians appear, taking Holley's avant-garde blues in all sorts of exciting directions, including saxophonist Alabaster DePlume, harpist Mary Lattimore, rappers Open Mike Eagle and Billy Woods, and Modest Mouse singer Isaach Brock. It's a blockbuster neo-soul album and a thrilling cross-section of the last three-quarters of a century in America.

Lonnie Holley - Tonky (LP) €41.99	Lonnie Holley - Tonky (CD) €17.99	Lonnie Holley - Tonky (ed) (LP) €47.99
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New in

S10 - My Hair Smells Like Fire
"The nicest people are weird, " S10 begins her long-awaited new album, "My Hair Smells Like Fire ." The singer/rapper from Hoorn preaches self-acceptance and does so with gusto. While her music might previously have been quite introverted and melancholic, here she regularly brushes against hyperpop. It's a strikingly colorful record—made possible in part by producer Jordan Fish of Bring Me to the Horizon, her favorite band. A sparkling collaboration, it turns out.

S10 - My Hair Smells Like Fire (Solid White Vinyl LP)	S10 - My Hair Smells Like Fire (ALT ARTWORK LP)	S10 - My Hair Smells Like Fire (CD)	S10 - My Hair Smells Like Fire (Deluxe Edition Pink)
€29.99	€29.99	€19.99	€49.99

Japanese Breakfast - For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
Michelle Zauner wrote a massive bestseller ( Crying in H Mart ) and suddenly her musical project Japanese Breakfast was a major band. For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) is her first album since that enormous success, and as the title suggests, Zauner is retreating somewhat into her shell. The bombast of her previous album, Jubilee gives way to flowery rococo. This is a record to immerse yourself in, thanks in part to the orchestral arrangements by producer Blake Mills (Bob Dylan, Fiona Apple).

Japanese Breakfast - For melancholy brunettes (& sad women) (LP)	Japanese Breakfast - For melancholy brunettes (& sad women) (CD)
€32.99	€17.99

Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal
Doechii switches like no other Between razor-sharp and avant-garde on the one hand, and syrupy and soulful on the other. All her talents converge on the mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal , where the rapper from Tampa, Florida (hence her nickname "Swamp Princes") lays out her extravagant personality in neon letters, but also shines a spotlight on her soul. She sounds dominant yet insecure, ambitious yet nonchalant. A tape full of paradoxes.

Doechii - Alligator bites never heal (LP)

€29.99

Tamino - Every Dawn's A Mountain
With three brilliant albums under his belt, Tamino 's star continues to rise steadily. Every Dawn's a Mountain will undoubtedly continue that trend. The Flemish-Egyptian singer is spreading his wings a bit (he recorded the album in New Orleans and his current hometown of New York, among other places; indie queen Mitski makes an appearance on "Sanctuary"), but the recipe for success remains the same. Tamino plays his oud and never sings harshly. Come closer yourself.

Tamino - Every Dawn's A Mountain | Black and Silver Marble (LP)	Tamino - Every dawn's a mountain (CD)
€26.99	€14.99

Greentea Peng - TELL DEM IT'S SUNNY
Greentea Peng disrupts and then smooths out again. Her latest album, TELL DEM IT'S SUNNY , constantly opens and closes the curtains. Dark, light, sun, shadow. The South London rapper enriches her psychedelic sound with a generous dose of grunge. If the message is optimistic, she can't resist adding an alienating twist. And if she's in a grim mood, she quickly throws in an Erykah Badu sample.

Greentea Peng - Tell dem it's sunny (LP)	Greentea Peng - Tell dem it's sunny (CD)
€32.99	€17.99

There are more new releases today: Dawn Brothers , the virtuoso blues rock band from Rotterdam, plays with the darkness on I Cry Alone ; indie rock veterans My Morning Jacket make with is a major comeback; and The Horrors live up to their name on the intense Night Life .

Dawn Brothers - Cry alone (LP)	My Morning Jacket - Is (LP)	The Horrors - Nightlife (LP)
€28.99	€40.99	€27.99

Pre-orders

Matt Berninger The National digs deep into his soul on his second solo album Get Sunk (May 30).	Damiano David takes a break from Maneskin on Funny Little Fears (May 16) and tries out a bunch of new genres.
Matt Berninger - Get sunk (LP)	Damiano David - Funny little fears (LP)
€33.99	€27.99