Forbidden Cove

US cinematic outfit Whatitdo Archive Group unleashes "Forbidden Cove", the first single taken from their upcoming new album Palace of a Thousand Sounds.

Nearly 2 years after the release of their coveted Italo-western soundtrack The Black Stone Affair, we were anxious to know which direction the cryptic Whatitdo Archive Group was going to take us for the next record. With "Forbidden Cove", the first single from their upcoming new album Palace Of A Thousand Sounds, we finally get a first glimpse. We are immediately greeted with top-notch production that feels like we stumbled upon yet another lost rarity, but this time from the heyday of American "exotica" music from the mid-century movement of the early '60s (think Martin Denny and Les Baxter) the twist here is that the underlying tone is dark, heavy and cinematic. WAG flexes their compositional chops and maturity with clever arrangements, a tight rhythm section and dreamy vibraphone that lead us to dense Arthur Verocai-esque orchestral arrangements and hypnotizing eastern flavors. The new single "Forbidden Cove" is scheduled for release on February 24th on all digital platforms.

The new album Palace Of A Thousand Sounds is WAG's most recent foray into the realms of the esoteric and arcane, and their most adventurous album to date. Its release is scheduled on May 5th, 2023 on Record Kicks on limited edition LP, CD and digital platforms. Palace Of A Thousand Sounds finds Whatitdo Archive Group entrenched deeper in the worlds of mid-century exotica and library music—from the Tropicalia-steeped Amazon to the minor key tonalities of the far-out Near East.

Steeped in obscurity, a cult following of crate-diggers and musical oddity collectors has been brewing over the mysterious releases of the Whatitdo Archive Group. Surfacing in 2009 from the high deserts of Reno, NV USA, this three-piece recording collective (Alexander Korostinsky, Mark Sexton and Aaron Chiazza) focuses solely on curating, performing and preserving esoteric soundtrack, library and deep-groove collections. As an onlooker, it's hard to tell whether the music they are procuring is actually archival, music of their own creation, or both. Their debut LP The Black Stone Affair, the formerly lost soundtrack music of a once-shelved Italian cinematic masterpiece, was released in 2021 and received praise from the likes of Wall Street Journal, Mojo Magazine, Uncut, Shindig and Blues & Soul Magazine, BBC 6 (UK), FIP (FR), KCRW (US), JazzFM (UK) and more. Two years later, the Whatitdo Archive Group is back. Get ready for an exotic adventure with their sophomore full-length effort: Palace of a Thousand Sounds.