BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE, THE: Third World Pyramid CD (AUK 036CD)
Third World Pyramid is the 15th full length release from The Brian Jonestown Massacre recorded in early 2016. It is the first album that was fully recorded & produced at Anton Newcombe's new Cobra Studio in Berlin. Third World Pyramid encapsulates the old and new sounds of the band, with the nine tracks starting from the melancholic "Good Mourning" going through to "Assignment Song" - which is a cover of Nina Simone from her 1971 album Gifted & Black - and the latter tracks show the ever-changing dynamic of the band, acknowledging their past but also looking to their future. Featuring Ricky Maymi, Dan Allaire, Joel Gion, Collin Hegna and Ryan Van Kriedt. Also, Emil Nikolaisen from the Norwegian band Serena-Maneesh joins the band on this album, plus vocal performance Tess Parks and Katy Lane. Anton Newcombe has been a very busy man these past two years, kicking off with the critically acclaimed Brian Jonestown Massacre album Revelation in 2014 (AUK 030CD/LP). After a successful UK and European tour, the BJM followed this up with the +- EP (AUK 031EP, 2014). 2015 saw the release of Musique de film imaginé (AUK 032CD/LP); an imaginary film soundtrack album featuring the track "Bonbon" which has, ironically, been used in Dheepan, the Palme D'or winner at Cannes film festival 2015. In June, Anton and Tess Parks embarked on a well-received tour of the UK and Europe to support the release of I Declare Nothing (AUK 120CD/LP, 2015). Anton finished 2015 with a BJM mini-album release entitled Mini Album Thingy Wingy (AUK 033CD/LP).
HOUND DOG TAYLOR'S HAND: Hound Dog Taylor's Hand LP (ABDT 057LP)
Abduction Records present the first vinyl LP release of Hound Dog Taylor's Hand. The trio consists of Jeffery Taylor (Climax Golden Twins/AFCGT/Spider Trio) on electric guitar, Mark Ostrowski (Monktail/Wally Shoup Quartet) on drums and John Seman (Monktail/Ask The Ages) on contrabass. The music is a heavy dose of jazz, blues, and improvisation. Sharp and destructive yet cerebral and clever, these tracks finally expose one of Seattle's best-kept secret treasures to the world as the only way you could have heard them, before would have been at one of their extremely rare live shows in the Puget Sound area or from their locally produced cassette from a few years back. The second track on side one titled "Beatrice", features Climax Golden Twins and Beatrice Harrison. Edition of 500. "Hound Dog Taylor's Hand bring a highbrow brutalism and cranky chaos to jazz rock. [They] sound like Hound Dog Taylor's actual hand looks: scary and slightly off - Fans of Sonny Sharrock and Billy Cobham's Spectrum, take note." -- Dave Segal, The Stranger. "A new trio from Seattle, led by the guitar work of Jeffery Taylor of Climax Golden Twins. The material is blues based instrumental improvisation over a jazzoid rhythm section. Something like a cross between Taste and Rangda, I guess. With all traces of Sri Chinmoy wiped clean." -- Byron Coley, Wire Magazine.
$13.79 UPC: 769791963641 ROCK
A1. Fake Accent
A2. Beatrice
A3. Sun Rock
A4. Relax, It's Okay
B1. Dog Bite Lady
B2. Freeway Park Waltz
B3. The Right Way
B4. Duwamish Song
Joan Baez, live from the S.N.A.C.K. Benefit at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, on March 23rd, 1975. 1975 would herald Joan Baez's greatest commercial success, with the April release of her Diamonds & Rust album. By that time she was firmly established as one of America's leading folk singers, and one of its most conscientious campaigners. On March 23rd, she joined a bill including Bob Dylan, Neil Young and The Band at a benefit for the S.N.A.C.K. charity ("Students Need Activities, Culture and Kicks") in San Francisco. Presented here is her entire set, originally broadcasted on K101-FM. Professionally re-mastered with background notes and images.
Aera is back on his own Aleph Music imprint with three unique tracks. "Two Planets" is an exercise in outsider trance. A pulsating, polyrhythmic synth propels the track forward - the intricate 707 pattern keeping a steady pace - while background strings provide all the drama. Reminiscent of Aera's first releases on Aleph Music, "Black Glitz" floats on a cloud of dreamy pads and voices. "Maskull" is a rather ambiguous little tune. Somewhat rough around the edges, sparkling in the darkness of late nights, dwelling in voices and fog - this is the one for the heads.
LP version. Includes download code. It's a well-known fact that millipedes, though frequently referred to as "thousand leggers," actually have no more than 750 legs, usually way less. Accordingly, it should come as no surprise that the band Le Millipede is actually just one guy -- who happens to play a whole lot of different instruments with his own two hands. He goes by the name Mathias Götz. Arranging various layers of piano, xylophone, glockenspiel, Stylophone, Moog, and harmonium, Le Millipede creates minimalist, instrumental pop gems, tracks with an immediate quality that seem rather simple at first listen. In fact, Götz's recordings are somewhat comparable to the work of France-born, Barcelona-based composer Pascal Comelade, known for his use of toy instruments. In both cases, there's a certain childlike quality at work, a disarming naïveté. While Comelade often uses toy piano, Götz is particularly fond of the Casio VL Tone mini-keyboard; and even though most people will associate said instrument with Trio's "Da Da Da" single, Götz actually considers it a nod to artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Arvo Pärt, and Moondog. In order to create the intricate beats of Le Millipede, Götz used a vast range of percussion instruments, including maracas, claves, darbuka, seashells, mbira (thumb piano), davul, zils/finger cymbals, small bells, caxixi, and even mules' teeth, occasionally joined by layers of tom-tom drums, snare, bass drum, and cymbals. Another key element of Le Millipede's sound is certainly the way Götz employs his voice; instead of foregrounding it and focusing on literal messages, he merely adds his vocal layers as yet another instrument. Last but not least, there's the trombone, an instrument that's probably the most obvious hint at Mathias Götz's background; he actually studied jazz trombone and composition (after learning how to build brass instruments as an apprentice). And yet, his musical approach, tastes, and skills are so wide-ranging and eclectic that, apart from recording as Le Millipede, he also plays in bands as diverse as Micha Acher's Alien Ensemble, the Münchner Hochzeitskapelle, the Unterbiberger Hofmusik, and various big bands. Following a 2007 EP with Robert Alonso as RoBErT GoEtZ, Le Millipede is Mathias Götz's full-length debut.
Over the course of a staggering 78 minutes, big things happen on Jams, Urban Homes's monumental sophomore album. The 13 songs on Jams go back to recordings of years of communal, MIDI- and hardware-based jam sessions which, over three years, were painstakingly discarded, condensed, reconstructed and provided with occasional guest vocals by Hanitra Wagner (Oracles, Die Heiterkeit). On Jams, Benjamin Riedl, Stephan Weinand and Oliver Bersin explore a history of dance music that is retraced in the 13 tracks. The seemingly clear cut references in titles such as "Verdub Lang Her (Stripped Down Killer Dub Jam)", "Blue Note Jam" or "As High Acid Can Get (Acid Jam)", however, are not to be taken as letters of intent, but - despite the playful handling of genre conventions and clichés - as homages to the immaterial architecture of the club: the atmosphere, the vibe, the jam. In its rich texture, the dramatic composition of Jams reconstructs the resonance space of an excessive, foggy, and steamy night at the club, thereby approaching its point of interest. Despite the clear club compatibility (each of the 13 tracks will work on a dancefloor worth its salt), Urban Homes do not shy away from sticky harmonic arrangements and melodies that are bound to be called "pop". They do however, and this is one of the points of this great album, avoid any overarching narrative of organic-ness or authenticity which might refer the record to a context of "indie" music. Unlike the acclaimed and award-winning debut Centres (2013), which wore the socialization of the (previously four) Urban Homes on its sleeve, this is rootless, nomadic music that is in the most beautiful sense "out there". So far out there, in fact, that gurus such as Pharaoh Sanders or Sun Ra can be made out through the ever-present fog (see titles such as "4/20 Jam" or "Summer Rolls (Midnight Munchies Jam)" for reference). What seems so effortless, casual and relaxed over the entire run time, is in fact merely evidence of the band's musical mastery and precision. Mixed by Jan-Philipp Janzen (Von Spar) at Dumbo Studios. Mastered by Cem Oral at Jammin Masters. Sonja Deffner (Die Heiterkeit, Jason & Theodor) is responsible for the stunning artwork.
The Berlin-based trio Soft Grid capture the explosive energy of its celebrated live shows with their debut LP Corolla for Antime. Soft Grid was started in 2014 in an abandoned hospital ward by Jana Sotzko (Dropout Patrol) and Theresa Stroetges (Golden Diskó Ship), who had previously been working together in the improvisation project Epiphany Now. After their spontaneously composed and recorded tape release Stingrays was issued through Berlin's Twaague Records in the summer of 2015, the British drummer and producer Sam Slater was recruited more or less directly from a Berlin dancefloor to join the band for live shows. He became a full member in no time. Since then, the three-piece have shared stages around Germany with such diverse acts as Des Ark, Milemarker, Messer, or even Tolouse Low Trax. Corolla is as much of an improvisational effort as their live shows: not really. Just like their gigs - which have all members wandering around to take over duties on synthesizers, bass, guitar, viola, and microphones - Corolla is a carefully mapped out, compositional whole, recorded live over two days in Salon Berlin by Sylvain Livache. It showcases the trio's taste for ventures into the realms of extreme acoustic sounds and electronic textures as well as their knack for catchy hooks and driving rhythms. Even amidst the heaviest synth breakdowns, there's something joyful to cling to. Soft Grid make music that is continuously twisting and shifting, which immerses itself in the steady flow of sonic events without losing focus. Anything goes on Corolla, and when it does, the three head in exactly the same direction. From the massive opening chords of "Herzog On A Bus" to the subtle Chicago-style post-rock influences on "Hospital Floor" and the erratic finale which is the title track, Soft Grid create a musical narrative throughout their debut LP which reflects its lyrical themes. While the lyrics of Corolla, themselves a collaborative effort, sample everything from a Werner Herzog documentary to the eerie atmosphere of that hospital ward where the band was born, there is at least one leitmotiv which ties them together: Soft Grid are first and foremost concerned with moving forward. And they will.
TEJADA & ARIAN LEVISTE, JOHN: Hysteresis 12" (AREAL 087EP)
John Tejada and Arian Leviste are back on Areal after their much celebrated release Reactance (AREAL 077EP, 2015). These guys have been working for 25 years together, meeting up weekly in the studio to try new things. They say that it is their longest and most special collaboration. They use mainly hardware with an old school mindset that comes more from the early '80s NYC hip hop culture than anything else. Early pioneers misusing gear and making the best of their limitations. Hysteresis is strongly functional for the club.
MISS NELSON & BRUCE HAACK: Dance Sing And Listen CD (AR 3001CD)
Aurora Rising present a reissue of Miss Nelson & Bruce Haack's Dance Sing And Listen, originally released in 1963. This album is somewhat of a curiosity for it was actually conceived as an educational, open-minded children's music. The sound is a mash up of story-telling for kids and simple, happy sing-along music mixed with loads of electronic effects making it an utterly spacey affair. This reissue makes sure this cult album can be enjoyed by people crazy for early '60s electronic music. Let go of all spiritual chains and float away with the tape looped rhythms and all the hissing and buzzing and chirping upon which Esther Nelson, actually a children's dance teacher, and Bruce Haack, a composer and pioneer of electronic music, recite poems, give dance instructions or play melodies on primitive synthesizers. Dance Sing And Listen is meant to fire the imagination of children and due to its musical quality and weird mood, it may do the same with adults. From this pioneering piece came the sound bands like Kraftwerk and Neu! would head for about ten years later. Enjoyable children's music that's far out enough to make souls travel.
PEACOCK & PAUL BLEY, ANNETTE: Dual Unity CD (BAM 7018CD)
Bamboo present a reissue of the debut album by Annette Peacock & Paul Bley, Dual Unity, originally released in 1972. Annette Peacock's legacy may only just be courting recognition proper with the recent retrospective release of her solo debut I'm The One (1972). Hailed as a pioneer and artistic genius by many, her debut album and predecessor to I'm The One captures Peacock in her element alongside husband; Canadian jazz genius Paul Bley. Dual Unity is a landscape of aural vision captured on tape in 1970 during their first European tour. For 33 minutes and 21 seconds, the listener is absorbed by other spirits. Using Robert Moog's earliest synthesizers, Bley and Peacock apply the strategic use of silence to indicate its reflective nature with captivating results. Originally released in 1971, it is a statement of immensity through synthetic minimalism and a milestone in the avant-garde, free jazz movement. Personnel (in addition to Peacock and Bley performing on all tracks): Han Bennink - Drums on "M.J." and "Gargantuan Encounter"; Mario Pavone - Bass and Laurence Cook - Drums on "Richter Scale" and "Dual Unity". Professionally re-mastered original sound recording with expansive liners, interviews and rare archival photos.
LE TOUT-PUISSANT ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO: Madjafalao CD (BEC 5156646)
With half a century of existence, Beninese band Poly-Rythmo can easily be considered a legend of African music, alongside Fela Kuti and Tinariwen. Drawing their name from the extensive mix of influences that forged their sound (American soul and funk, Nigerian Afro-beat, French chanson, Congolese rumba, etc.), they have been impressively productive, releasing hundreds of EPs and dozens of albums from 1969 to 1980 alone. In 2014, orchestra conductor Florent Mazzoleni visited the band and decided to produce Madjafalao, recorded in the legendary African studio Satel. With its warm tone and mastery of rhythm variations, Madjafalao ("Watch Out") will instantly become a classic of Afro-beat and Poly-Rythmo will share their warm joie de vivre with thousands of people. CD version comes in a digipack with a 12 page poster booklet.
Double LP version. Includes CD. Joy is Brandt Brauer Frick's fourth album and the first one to be truly vocalist-focused and song-centric. With the help of Canadian poet-singer Beaver Sheppard who played a prominent role the composition, BBF explores what the band-members describe as "post-religious" themes, such as struggling to find joy in times of uncertainty and instability. This makes it without any doubt BBF's "Nietzsche album". Following on from their latest album Miami (2013) Brandt Brauer Frick keeps moving away from the dark mood of their early releases and the image of a "classical new music ensemble" to resemble more closely an "experimental rock band". With much more grit and growl than before, they draw upon genres and styles that are not conventionally associated with joy: krautrock, punk, drum'n'bass, indie rock, new wave, and pretty much every other "-wave" from the '80s. With each track offering a contrasting combination of styles and genres, BBF succeed in devoting a whole album to a single feeling without making it either monotone or cliché. Instead, they build on euphoria to expand and enrich electronic music's emotional range with new textures. Joy is more than an album, it is an emotional journey.
FORNO, CARLA DAL: You Know What It's Like LP (BLACKEST 015LP)
LP version. Carla dal Forno presents her debut solo album You Know What It's Like, following time in cult Melbourne group Mole House and an earlier association with Blackest Ever Black as a member of F ingers and Tarcar. Her voice is an extraordinary instrument: both disarmingly conversational and glacially detached. It has something of the bedsit urbanity of Anna Domino, Marine Girls, Antena, or Helen Johnstone - stoned and deadpan - but it can also summon a gothic intensity that Nico or Kendra Smith would approve of. This voice is the perfect embodiment of dal Forno's emotionally ambiguous songs: their lyrics rooted in the everyday, observing and exposing a series of uncomfortable truths. "Fast Moving Cars" and "What You Gonna Do Now?" weigh up claustrophobia against loneliness, inertia against acceleration, doubling-down versus taking-off; the title track acknowledges the provisional nature of love and "real" intimacy, then decides to brave it anyway. By the time the startlingly sparse "The Same Reply" arrives, the sense of dejection is absolute. The vocal-led pieces are interspersed with richly evocative instrumentals. Smothered in tape-hiss and reverb, the seasick synthesizer miniatures "Italian Cinema" and "Dragon Breath" channel the twilit DIY whimsy of Flaming Tunes and Call Back The Giants. The drum machine and bassline of "DB Rip" are pure Chicago house, but then its dark choral drones nod to Dalis Car's dreams of blood-spattered Cornwall stone. "Dry The Rain" drinks from a stream of moon-musick that runs through Coil, In Gowan Ring, Third Ear Band, even the Raincoats's Odyshape (1981).
D DOUBLE E: Street Fighter Riddim 12" (BLUKU 003EP)
Veteran grime MC D Double E reissues his classic "Street Fighter Riddim" on his Bluku Music label for the first time since its 2010 release. This 12" also features the well-known instrumental, which has never before been released, as well as the revamped 2015 "VIP." The latter is guaranteed to return "Street Fighter" to dancefloors everywhere.
$10.39 EAN: 5055300387639 ELECTRONIC
01. Street Fighter Riddim - Original
02. Instrumental
03. VIP
Josh Wink ties techno in knots with Shoelaces. Josh Wink, a master at acid techno, is right in his wheelhouse on the acid mix of "Shoelaces". Throbbing electro rhythms and acid squelches define this mix. Finnish producer Mono Junk offers a more stripped down take on "Shoelaces". The remix is raw yet no less intense, providing the EP with its dark corner. Los Angeles's Truncate follows with a mix for the all-out banging, hammering techno fans.
2015 repress. Gatefold LP version. This is the highly-anticipated debut full-length release by Moderat, the collaborative conjoining of Modeselektor and Apparat. A twist of fate at the Stadtbad Mitte (Berlin-Mitte City Pool) united them in the spring of 2008, and Moderat was reformed. Recorded at the legendary Berlin Hansa Studios (where David Bowie recorded Heroes) in analog with the help of the studio's vintage tube technology and an old EMI console from 1972, restored especially for Moderat. Moderat's self-titled debut makes it sound like these fellas have been working closely together for years -- and the analog production gives these tracks a steady, glowing warmth that pulses and breathes organically. Totally seductive, dark dance tunes that possess an almost tribal disposition for the most intense peak moments. This is a massive debut that unites two of techno's most celebrated acts.
Bureau B presents a reissue of Sven Grünberg's Hingus, originally released in 1981. Sven Grünberg is a famous musician for film and theatre in Estonia - an old hand in the field of electronic ambient music. In 1974, whilst still a music student, he and Härmo Härm founded Mess, a progressive rock band. Grünberg was the first musician in Estonia to use a synthesizer. The ambient electronica of Hingus (Breath), recorded between 1978 and 1980, was spiced up with prog rock and a nod to the space age - not to mention a pronounced Asian influence on the title track. Grünberg had been interested in Asian music and instruments, particularly Tibetan music, since his youth, as can be heard in his work from that time. The 23 minute title track invites us into a fascinating, futuristic world of sound, laced with far eastern tonality, embellished with a church organ, extremely rare synthesizers and extraordinary percussion effects. Organs from the church in Rapla and the cathedral in Tallinn can be heard on "Hingus I" to "Hingus IV". The religious tones are interspersed with synthesizer sounds and orchestral percussion or effects, ascending fleetingly into ecstasy. Tubular bells, cymbals (piatti), a ratchet (raganella), tambourine, gongs (an east Asian tam-tam, for example), glockenspiel and castanets are all featured. Grünberg also used various electronic instruments: the HH Synthesizer, HH Percussion Synth and a KS Synthesizer. Not surprisingly, little information can be found on these machines as they were created by Härmo Härm and Koit Saarmäe themselves, the only two people building synths in Estonia in those days. The exotic assemblage also included a Selmer Clavioline from France, an ARP Omni and a Logan String Melody. The other two tracks, no less superb, are more in the stylistic tradition of the Berliner Schule/Berlin School (Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream). Hingus merits a special place in the history of ambient electronica thanks to its remarkable combination of church organs, synthesizers, orchestral percussion and echoes of Asian instrumentation. An underrated classic of the genre, there are moments when its extraterrestrial beauty transports the listener into the higher realms of psychedelia.
Bureau B present Filmmusik 1, a selection from Conrad Schnitzler's archive. In Conrad Schnitzler's sprawling archive, there are two tapes marked Filmmusik 1975 A and Filmmusik 1980 B. It is hard to say which videos this music belongs to, particularly as the pieces have been left untitled. Perhaps there isn't really any film material at all. The dates are of no great help either, since the tapes feature the same tracks, albeit in varying degrees of quality. Filmmusik 1 presents an initial selection of these finds, presented to Bureau B by Schnitzler's musical partner for many years and guardian of the archive, Wolfgang Seidel (Populäre Mechanik, Ton Steine Scherben). The tracks reveal much about how Schnitzler worked. He recorded individual tracks on cassettes and then combined them, also using them live in his so-called cassette concerts. Thus, there are recognizable recurring "melodies", sometimes fragmented, in different places. Some tracks have the same bass loop and rhythm, only the sounds and effects have changed. The music on the Filmmusik tapes is extraordinarily accessible for Schnitzler: hypnotic bass lines, stoic drum rhythms, dark drones, crystalline shards of melody. Wolfgang Seidel talks more about Schnitzler's life and work in the liner notes.
LP version. Includes CD. From Detroit techno and hip-hop's early sampling experiments to Terre Thaemlitz, electronic music has long proven its political potential, even in instrumental form. With OstWest, Berlin-based electronic-kraut-dub trio Automat complete their trilogy with a deep and entrancing take on the failures of neoliberalism. Recorded in 2015 at Candy Bomber Studios in Berlin's former Tempelhof Airport at the height of the European refugee crisis, the band found itself neighbors of thousands of refugees from across the Middle East and Africa who were being provided temporary housing in the airport's former hangars directly below the studio. With the first two parts of the Automat trilogy centering on Berlin's airports, 2014's self-titled album (BB 161CD/LP), and dubs hardware of sonic space travel, 2015's Plusminus (BB 205 CD/LP), OstWest stands as a musical interpretation of the impact of these thousands of new arrivals within Germany and the EU, as well as the rise of xenophobic political movements spurned on by the Brexit. The result is a series of atmospheric and rhythmic meditations that provide the foundation for swirling electronics and the bass-heavy sounds of a changing Europe - from the musical perspective of longtime Berlin residents who have already experienced the destruction of post-Cold War optimism shortly after the fall of the wall. More driving than previous recordings, OstWest is made up of a series of first takes. While the opener "Ost" features a melange of samples, meandering organ and synth stabs that recall both Count Ossie and Basic Channel, it's with the second track "Fabrik Der Welt" that the band's kraut-y push - also featured later on "Europa" - charges forward. Where historically Europe has been used by the likes of Kraftwerk and Cluster as a metaphor for space and freedom of travel, Automat recast it as a dark rain ride to refuge, shaped by the sounds of claps and samples that race past the listener on the way to an uncertain future. The feeling of stylistic exploration remains throughout OstWest in the loping riddims and acid-jazz-like "Tränenpalast" and "Tempelhof", with the former ("Palace of Tears") named after a border crossing between East and West Germany, and the latter a shelter for new immigrants to Germany. The band's continued collaboration with Max Loderbauer is reflected in touches of modular synthesis, which augment the melding of acoustic drums and electronics. Automat is: Jochen Arbeit, Achim Färber, and Zeitblom.
Swindle's second in a trilogy of EP for Butterz in 2016 leans on his grime roots, featuring veteran MCs D Double E and Ghetts. "Lemon Trees", featuring D Double E, sees the two venture to LA, on a g-funk tip and "Works Haffi Run", featuring Ghetts, has him going in a rare gritty direction. The EP is accompanied by a remix from Flava D of the biggest track from his 2015 album, Peace, Love & Music (AIRMILES 002LP). The "Mad Ting" Remix featured on her recent FabricLive mix (FABRIC 176CD, 2016), and features JME.
White and yellow splatter vinyl version. Beacon is the fourth album for the Silver Apples, the "come back album", produced by Steve Albini and originally released in 1997 on CD only. Eight of the tracks were new songs that former exile and Silver Apples leader Simeon had composed with recent additions Xian Hawkins and Michael Lerner. The remaining three tunes are remakes from the Silver Apples's past. A reworking of "I Have Known Love" opens the record. "You and I" is given an appropriate chaotic reading; a wall of cacophonous keyboards forms in the instrumental breaks, like the video game Stargate on tilt. Of the originals, the vocal-less "Cosmic String" is the standout, developing a Trans Am groove with sounds recalling the moment the beloved Pac-Man is caught by his nemesis, Speedy. Beacon is full of the influence of '80s video games, no doubt incorporated by the twenty-something Hawkins.
Double LP version. Beacon is the fourth album for the Silver Apples, the "come back album", produced by Steve Albini and originally released in 1997 on CD only. Eight of the tracks were new songs that former exile and Silver Apples leader Simeon had composed with recent additions Xian Hawkins and Michael Lerner. The remaining three tunes are remakes from the Silver Apples's past. A reworking of "I Have Known Love" opens the record. "You and I" is given an appropriate chaotic reading; a wall of cacophonous keyboards forms in the instrumental breaks, like the video game Stargate on tilt. Of the originals, the vocal-less "Cosmic String" is the standout, developing a Trans Am groove with sounds recalling the moment the beloved Pac-Man is caught by his nemesis, Speedy. Beacon is full of the influence of '80s video games, no doubt incorporated by the twenty-something Hawkins.
DELL'ORSO, GIACOMO: A Me Stesso Con Simpatia LP (CNLP 048LP)
Cinedelic Records present a reissue of Giacomo Dell'Orso's A Me Stesso Con Simpatia, originally released in 1975. This 1975 album is a studio session organized by Maestro Giacomo Dell'Orso (the husband of Edda) is released here under his given name and not the Oscar Lindok pseudonym under which he made a number of recordings including The Fine Machine. A Me Stesso Con Simpatia had the simple purpose of a fun and playful session without preconceived models. The result is a carefree album, from the friendly cover (Orso means "Bear") to the music that is interwoven with bossa nova, samba, jazz and funk in a style that recalls in many ways the work of Maestro Piero Piccioni. Dell'Orso plays organ, electric piano and Bulisacchio (a synth with metal slats that simulate bass). Features Nino Rapicavoli on flute and sax, Jimmy Tamborelli on guitars and Ciro Cocozza on percussion. Limited LP edition includes a download card.
Cinedelic Records present a reissue of Franco Chiari's Al Sint, originally released in 1973. Franco Chiari, born in 1927 in Naples, was an eclectic artist who is considered a bit of a wildcard of keyboard instruments: he played the piano, accordion, synthesizer, vibraphone and marimba in both jazz and symphony. For three consecutive years (1957-59) he won the National Jazz referendum, was vibraphonist in the national TV Orchestra and participated in numerous important broadcasts. He received many awards in his career, and numerous are the artists who have wanted to play live alongside him, including Lionel Hampton, Stéphane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt, Piero Piccioni, Armando Trovajoli, Lelio Luttazzi, and more. On this album, the most groovy in his career, he rearranges the compositions of Mario Bertolazzi electronically with the use of synthesizer, with rhythms ranging from Latin beats to funk. Amazing cover with splashes of paint, making each copy unique and unrepeatable. Numbered limited edition with a digital download included.
ORLANDI, NORA: Il Dolce Corpo Di Deborah LP (CNLP 050LP)
Cinedelic Records present a reissue of Nora Orlandi's soundtrack for the 1968 film Il Dolce Corpo Di Deborah. Il Dolce Corpo Di Deborah (The Sweet Body Of Deborah) is an early giallo movie with sexual coloring dated 1968 and the wonderful soundtrack is by Nora Orlandi, composer, violinist, pianist and singer born in Voghera (North Italy). The style of the giallo/thriller soundtracks of Orlandi is unmistakable, with a compositional use of semitone intervals accentuated by vocalizing and a sound carpet of piano or distorted Hammond organ, all seasoned with rhythmic jazz. The orchestration is by Robby Poitevin and voices, as well as that of Nora herself, are of by Nora's sisters, Paola and Tony. The album is presented graphically as the original release on CAM but with four additional bonus tracks. Audio from the original master tapes in full stereo. Three years later, Nora Orlandi, in 1971, would carry out his other masterpiece Lo Strano Vizio Della Signora Wardh (The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh) of which a song is featured in Kill Bill 2 (2004) by Quentin Tarantino. Limited edition of 500 in a glossy sleeve.
$22.39 EAN: 8055323520348 SOUNDTRACK
A1. Marcel - Deborah (Canta Nora Orlandi)
A2. Night Story
A3. Intimita'
A4. Ossessione
A5. Il Valico
A6. Molto Tempo Fa (Canta Paola Orlandi)
A7. Il Valico*
A8. Ossessione*
B1. Musica Bionda
B2. I Robot (Canta Tony Orlandi)
B3. L'imprevisto
B4. Ginevra (Canta Nora Orlandi)
B5. La Bandita
B6. Croisette
B7. Ginevra*
B8. Croisette*
Cinedelic Records present a reissue of The Physicians's self-titled release, originally released in 1973. Behind this incredibly rare 1973 album lurks Campo Di Marte, the highly regarded Italian progressive rock band, in their second incarnation. After the release of their debut album, the group performed at numerous concerts but only released this one album under the pseudonym of The Physicians. They were called by the producer Giuseppe Cassia in Rome to record this album, which was produced in a day. It's amazing to feel the harmony between the band members, all from Livorno and led by the excellent guitarist Enrico Rosa, who would be transferred abroad in Denmark in order to better express his art the following year. There are many memorable jazz-rock tracks on the album that recall the British band Nucleus, such as "Jazz In The Cellar", "My Girl From Harlem", and "East Side Rhythm" but with a unique and personal style. The band, besides the aforementioned Enrico Rosa, included Loriano Berti (nicknamed "Whistle") coming from Capitolo 6 on sax and flute, Andrea Colli on drums (who in the future would also collaborate with Demetrio Stratos), and Sergio Ducilli on electric bass. Limited edition LP includes a download card.
Cinedelic Records present a reissue of Sandro Brugnolini's Overground, originally released in 1970. This 1970 Italian obscure psychedelic jazz-rock masterpiece composed by Sandro Brugnolini and recorded in Rome at Dirmaphon Studio. Performed by Silvano Chimenti on guitar, Giorgio Carnini on organ, Giovanni Tommaso on bass, and Enzo Restuccia on drums. Includes two bonus tracks not included on the original album. Limited edition of 300 numbered copies on multi-color vinyl with a download card.
BOHLENDER, LUKAS: Compost Black Label 136 12" (COMP 486EP)
Lukas Bohlender presents the next 12" in Compost's Black Label series. "The Sublime" is based on a strong polyphonic bassline, topped by heavenly keys and organs. "Curly Bun", with its beat-less intro and broken beat structure, starts out a bit more laid-back. It's backed by a strong bassline and topped by a dedicated synth programming and two very nice piano gimmicks. Beanfield & Thomas Herb contribute a remix of "The Sublime". The duo strip the original to its essence, adding a rougher SP1200 twist in their beat programming and taking a more repetitive/Detroit inspired route in their arrangement.
Aaaron presents Entropy EP on Connected. Aaaron is closely associated with Rampa, Kalyma and Florian Busse, among other minimal deep/tech house explorer. "Entrop" is a gleaming dark R'n'B house track featuring Hazel & Carolina Meleán. Metal-ish percussion and a hypnotic brass sounds make this a great warm-up or after-hours track. "War Chant" has a drone-ish string sound and a lead sound that brings the right amount of trance. "Yuggoth" is a warehouse inspired, tool room techno with hypnotic vocals and an old school feeling "Stomp" is Afro-house, original Aaaron track.
Correspondant present a release of remixes for Man Power's self-titled debut LP (CORR 001LP, 2015), featuring artists and friends hand-picked by both Jennifer Cardini and Man Power himself. Moscoman remixes the baggy splendor of "Beilsteiner", creating a rolling and belching extended opus more focused toward the peak time dancefloor. Suade replaces the Balearic leanings "TEN" with an IDM sensibility, yet still retains the optimism of the original track. JMII takes "Hunting Swan" and turns it inside-out, exploring space with a cerebral, schizophrenic quality. Alternatively, Pale Blue (Mike Simonetti) takes "Boys Beware" and re-imagines it as an aggressive drum workout.
UMILIANI, PIERO: La Legge dei Gangsters (Gangster's Law) 2LP (RED 228C-LP)
Limited warehouse find of this thought-to-be-out-of-print RSD 2016 release. Colored vinyl. Numbered limited edition of 1000. First complete vinyl edition of the great Piero Umiliani's jazz score for La legge dei gangsters (Gangster's Law), an obscure 1969 Italian crime film starring the mighty Klaus Kinski. Featuring a large ensemble of the country's strongest players (including Oscar Valdambrini on trumpet), the score is full of sophisticated, groovy, and romantic tunes.
$25.79 EAN: 8013252732287 SOUNDTRACK
A1. Genova P.zza de Ferrari Dalle 2 Alle 7
A2. Epilogo
A3. La Legge dei Gangsters
B1. Episodio
B2. Very Fast
B3. Alba sul Mare
B4. Crepuscolo sul Mare
B5. Tema dell'Addio
B6. Lui e Lei
C1. Epilogo (II)
C2. Sei Ottavi in Blues
C3. Apertura in Jazz
C4. Disgelo
C5. Gangster's Song
C6. Swing come Sempre
D1. Sequenze Ritmiche
D2. Spiaggia Deserta
D3. Cosa Mai Sarà
D4. Vieni a Dirmi Ciao
D5. Inutili Parole
MICHELINI, LUCIANO: Anna, Quel Particolare Piacere LP (RED 232LP)
Dagored present an expanded reissue of Luciano Michelini's soundtrack for Anna Quel Particolare Piacere, originally released in 1974. A really interesting soundtrack, composed by the cult author Luciano Michelini for the 1973 erotic thriller Anna Quel Particolare Piacere, directed by Giuliano Carnimeo. Alternates romantic moments with the voice of the great Edda Dell'Orso and easy listening - funky tunes. This limited vinyl edition with comes with extra tracks. Edition of 500 in double colored vinyl.
$20.39 EAN: 8013252732324 SOUNDTRACK
A1. Il Mestiere Di Uccidere
A2. Anna, Quel Particolare Piacere
A3. Occhi Di Bimbo
A4. Quell'Amaro Tormento
A5. Anna, Quel Particolare Piacere (# 2 - Bossa)
A6. La Giostra Dei Pensieri
A7. Ritratto Di Un Boss
A8. E Poi Fuggire...
A9. Due Gocce Di Felicita'
A10. Tema Anna
A11. Operazione Droga
B1. Il Mestiere Di Uccidere (# 2)
B2. E Poi Fuggire... (# 2)
B3. La Cruda Realta' 4. E Poi Fuggire... (# 3)
B5. Il Mestiere Di Uccidere (# 3)
B6. Anna, Quel Particolare
B7. Piacere (# 3 - Bossa)
B8. E Poi Fuggire... (# 4)
B9. Un Passo Dal Buio
B10. Finche' Trema Il Cuore
B11. Due Gocce Di Felicita' (# 2)
B12. Il Mestiere Di Uccidere (# 4)
B13. Una Voce, Una Speranza
PICCIONI, PIERO: Le Mani Sulla Citta LP (RED 233LP)
Dagored present for the first on vinyl Piero Piccioni's complete score for Le Mani Sulla Città (1963). A racy and doomy soundtrack filled with incredibly dark jazz tunes composed by the great Piccioni for the Italian cinema masterpiece Le Mani Sulla Città, directed by Francesco Rosi. The film was the winner of the Leone d'Oro at the Venice Film Festival of 1963. Piero Piccioni has composed more than 300 scores for film, television, radio, ballet and orchestra, working with legendary directors as Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica and Dino Risi. Edition of 500.
$18.39 EAN: 8013252732331 SOUNDTRACK
A1. Notte Di Rod
A2. Lounge Music
A3. Notte Di Rod #2
A4. Lounge Music #2
A5. Le Mani Sulla Città
A6. Banda
A7. Le Mani Sullacittà #2
A8. Lounge Music #3
A9. Notte Di Rod #3
B1. Lounge Music #4
B2. Notte Di Rod #4
B3. Lounge Music #5
B4. Le Mani Sulla Città #3
B5. Lounge Music #6
B6. Notte Di Rod #5
B7. Lounge Music #7
B8. Le Mani Sulla Città #4
NACHTBRAKER: Really Ties The Room Together EP 12" (DIRT 101EP)
Amsterdam deep house juggernaut Nachtbraker presents Really Ties The Room Together EP. The title track twists and turns over an unconventional but irresistible groove. Shimmying shakers, brass stabs and a serpentine riff work together, creating a super tight dancefloor cut. "Rew" begins somewhere in deeper territory - a rumbling bass rolls in from over the horizon before a funk guitar blows the whole thing wide open, letting that familiar Nachtbraker good time energy shine in. The rerub of "Rew" is something altogether new from Nachtbraker, a break beat and casual groove guide gently towards an ever intensifying acid trip.
CONTRASTATE: True Believer / The 10/40 Window 7" (DPROM 115EP)
Contrastate follow up their studio album A Breeding Ground for Flies (DPROM 091CD, 2012) for Dirter Promotions with two brand new tracks. A sonic soundtrack to an apocalyptic world that is hypnotic, yet full of dynamic sounds and shifts. Their sound insinuates itself somewhere inside the dark ritual ambiance of the electronic avant-garde shot through with a vein of experimental noise and sarcophagic vocals strewn among industrial surrealism. Edition of 500.
GERMAN ARMY AND OLD KOMM: Disquiet LP (CREP 033LP)
Disquiet is the imaginary soundtrack to the lost 1976 Russian-American dystopian classic. Russian occultists Old Komm collaborate with the south Californian dons of austere electronics, German Army, bringing to life the made-up soundtrack to a film that never was. Disquiet tells the story of a child born to a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, war-torn and fractured by greed. Organ tones and broken exoteric bumps coexist with dark ambient themes and cavernous beats. Remnants of wry memories, smothered dreams, dim visions of a world that never was.
$14.99 EAN: 5055869501149 ELECTRONIC
A1. Old Komm - Gorky's Theme
A2. German Army - Arka
A3. Old Komm - Sky Scrap
A4. German Army - No Roles
A5. Old Komm - Sea Reaks
A6. Old Komm - Gorky's Theme (Ascending)
B1. German Army - The Bonobo Sect
B2. German Army - Okapi
B3. Old Komm - Dialogue (Excerpt)
B4. German Army - Ulundi
B5. Old Komm - Abuna
B6. Old Komm - The Freak Of Algiers
B7. German Army - Caledonian River
B8. Old Komm - St.Kenelm's Dream
ARTIST UNKNOWN: Undead/Control Remixes 12" (DB 175EP)
Artist Unknown have landed home. Over a decade ago they delivered their very own odd take on electronic pop music, delivering anthems for a twisted generation. And then, after two EPs and a ground-breaking album on Disko B (and an underappreciated album on Datapunk a few years later), they just disappeared. The new EP on Disko B not only delivers three exceptional remixes of the classic Artist Unknown tracks "Control" and "Behind Your Eyes" by The Hacker, Housemeister and Ferenc, but it also features a new track, "Undead".
Warehouse find of this 2013 EP. This is a taste of what to expect from Orlando Voorn in 2013 as he returns with an incredibly strong EP. "One Day" features soul legend Marvin Gaye on the vocals and is a funky, jazzy, and soulful house track with the perfect groove. "Won't Be Long" is soulful Detroit house at its best. "Takadakadina" is a hypnotic, super-funky house track, sounding something like Derrick Carter just moved to Detroit. "Soul Survivor" is a deep journey into Theo Parrish-territory with mind-blowing elements of soul and Detroit.
With Footwork Or Die, Chicago's own DJ Diamond returns to the spotlight with a strongly infectious and deep masterpiece, a worthy successor to his debut album Flight Muzik (2011). 2013 saw the release of a reloaded extended version of Flight Muzik, titled First Class Flight Mix, and now in 2016, Duck N' Cover Records bring more of DJ Diamond's outstanding music to the ears of a wide audience. With his first album, DJ Diamond, aka Karlis Griffin, made clear that he is one of the footwork scene's most original producers, with a very distinctive style of his own that is not replicable. The epic quality and deepness of some of the brightest moments on Flight Muzik are back and, in some cases, even topped on Footwork Or Die. An important factor that made DJ Diamond a local legend, long before the debut album was available, is the apparent musicality of his productions. The style lends itself to outsiders, but doesn't compromise on the frenzy that is needed to bring the footworkers the necessary heat. A hybrid, only a genius mind can fabricate. Experience once again, a beautifully sequenced album featuring Duck N' Cover Records notoriously stylish artwork. A perfectly well-balanced compilation of deep and hard hitting material, bearing the mark of a classic album that will stand the test of time.
DUB SPENCER & TRANCE HILL: Deep Dive Dub CD (EB 119CD)
The Swiss musicians, Dub Spencer & Trance Hill, bow down low before space rock, but without bypassing pure dub. Deep Dive Dub shines with a precision that demands they be named in the same breath as the famous Swiss watches. Swiss timepieces are renowned for their precision, and they tick along nicely even under water - The mechanics, the cogs, the striking mechanism, the chronograph movements, the repeaters, the speed-up. Thank Dub Spencer & Trance Hill for the fact that the cantons of this maximum-precision country should produce ultra-chilled slo-mo dub like this, a style that has avid fans all over the world. The band are known for the formidable interior dynamism of their composition skills, their classic riddim craftsmanship, the psychedelic sound of their guitars, the pounding bass lines that approach infrasound levels, the space sounds and their grandiose sound dimensions. Like few other electronically influenced styles, over the years dub has shown itself impervious and resistant to all manner of short-lived trends. There are probably few people who - regardless of which music ghetto they inhabit - have not encountered dub at some point. On Deep Dive Dub, the band dives deeper than Jaques Piccard's team during their record-breaking dive in Trieste in the sixties. The focus of this repetition is the fusion of reggae, even though, instead of the lightness that is usually inherent in reggae, the album focuses on heavy grooves, grooves that drift off into fat, dark, mature places. With a hypnotic power, the musicians - all of whom are trained jazz instrumentalists - dive into a world of space-rock-dub-electro. On a couple of the tracks the band invited the Lucerne-based experimental vocalist Bruno Amstad (who has previously worked with John Zorn and Phil Minton) to contribute. Neither a slave to the great Jamaican heroes of the seventies nor lost in the great wide world of electronic dub, Dub Spencer & Trance Hill tread their own path, reducing and abstracting as they dive deeper and deeper.
"Hubris continues the exploration of relentless, driving rhythms heard on Oren Ambarchi's Sagittarian Domain (EMEGO 144CD/LP, 2012) and Quixotism (EMEGO 202CD/LP, 2014). Where those records looked to krautrock and techno for their starting points, the side-long opening track on Hubris begins from the perhaps unlikely inspirations of disco and new wave, drawing particularly from Ambarchi's love of Wang Chung's soundtrack to William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). Leaving behind the song-forms of these reference points, Ambarchi weaves a sustained and pulsating web of layered palm-muted guitars from which individual voices rise up and recede, eventually setting the stage for some lush guitar synth from Jim O'Rourke. Arnold Dreyblatt collaborator Konrad Sprenger contributes overtone-rich motorized guitar, pushing the piece into a satisfying intersection of shimmering minimalism and rhythmic drive that smoothly builds up until the entrance of Mark Fell's electronic percussion in its final section. After a short second part, in which Ambarchi, O'Rourke and Crys Cole pay tribute to the skewed harmonic sense of Albert Marcoeur with a track built from layered bass guitar figures and abstracted speech, the long final piece pushes the concept of the first side into darker and denser areas. Joined by electronic rhythms from Ricardo Villalobos and the twin drums of Joe Talia and Will Guthrie, the layered guitars of the first piece are transformed into a raw and tumbling fusion-funk groove that calls to mind early Weather Report or even the first Golden Palominos LP (1983). As this stellar rhythm section rides a single repeated chord change into oblivion, a series of spectacular events emerge in the foreground: first, aleatoric synthesizer burbles from Keith Fullerton Whitman, then slashing skronk guitar from Arto Lindsay, until finally Ambarchi's own fuzzed-out guitar harmonics take center stage as the piece builds to an ecstatic frenzy. Few artists could hope to include such an incredible variety of collaborators on one record and still hope for it to have a unique identity, but Ambarchi manages to do just that, crafting three pieces that emerge directly out of his previous work while also pushing ahead into new dimensions." -- Francis Plagne. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin, April 2016. Photography by Estelle Hanania. Sculptures by Daniel Druet. Design by Stephen O'Malley.
LP version. "Hubris continues the exploration of relentless, driving rhythms heard on Oren Ambarchi's Sagittarian Domain (EMEGO 144CD/LP, 2012) and Quixotism (EMEGO 202CD/LP, 2014). Where those records looked to krautrock and techno for their starting points, the side-long opening track on Hubris begins from the perhaps unlikely inspirations of disco and new wave, drawing particularly from Ambarchi's love of Wang Chung's soundtrack to William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). Leaving behind the song-forms of these reference points, Ambarchi weaves a sustained and pulsating web of layered palm-muted guitars from which individual voices rise up and recede, eventually setting the stage for some lush guitar synth from Jim O'Rourke. Arnold Dreyblatt collaborator Konrad Sprenger contributes overtone-rich motorized guitar, pushing the piece into a satisfying intersection of shimmering minimalism and rhythmic drive that smoothly builds up until the entrance of Mark Fell's electronic percussion in its final section. After a short second part, in which Ambarchi, O'Rourke and Crys Cole pay tribute to the skewed harmonic sense of Albert Marcoeur with a track built from layered bass guitar figures and abstracted speech, the long final piece pushes the concept of the first side into darker and denser areas. Joined by electronic rhythms from Ricardo Villalobos and the twin drums of Joe Talia and Will Guthrie, the layered guitars of the first piece are transformed into a raw and tumbling fusion-funk groove that calls to mind early Weather Report or even the first Golden Palominos LP (1983). As this stellar rhythm section rides a single repeated chord change into oblivion, a series of spectacular events emerge in the foreground: first, aleatoric synthesizer burbles from Keith Fullerton Whitman, then slashing skronk guitar from Arto Lindsay, until finally Ambarchi's own fuzzed-out guitar harmonics take center stage as the piece builds to an ecstatic frenzy. Few artists could hope to include such an incredible variety of collaborators on one record and still hope for it to have a unique identity, but Ambarchi manages to do just that, crafting three pieces that emerge directly out of his previous work while also pushing ahead into new dimensions." -- Francis Plagne. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin, April 2016. Photography by Estelle Hanania. Sculptures by Daniel Druet. Design by Stephen O'Malley.
The talented Jérôme Sklorz, aka Jeremy Liar from Hamburg, brings a well-balanced EP, which seamlessly builds the bridge between a deep house and melodic techno. "Annapurna" will set fire to the dancefloor during peak-time hours - Straight forward techno with a nice arpeggio and pads creating a trancy atmosphere. Avidus & Christoph Vogel deliver a remix. "Semikolon" is a deeper take on house music with the certain dreamy "Jeremy Liar"-vibe. In addition Zaun Recordings founder ZK Bucket delivers a more techy version, a more four-to-the-floor-ish alternative besides the original.
Etruria Beat welcomes Diego Amura for its 33rd release. The Italian prodigy delivers four pure techno cuts. "Peruana" has a distorted bass and unmissable 909, while "Lost" is a classic techno tool with a hypnotic synth. On the remix duties, Label boss Luca Agnelli reworks "Peruna", bringing the music to another side of the dancefloor with an explosive restart and "Lost" gets a reinterpretation from the Dutch TWR72 creating an intense and strong groove.
Faitiche welcomes back Andrew Pekler, the musical director of the 2011 album Sonne = Blackbox (FAITICHE 005CD) featuring Ursula Bogner. Andrew Pekler's Tristes Tropiques is an album of synthetic exotica, pseudo-ethnographic music and unreal field recordings. Jan Jelinek interviews Andrew Pekler about Tristes Tropiques: JJ: You've titled your album Tristes Tropiques - a reference to Claude Lévi-Strauss's famous account of his travels among native peoples in the Mato Grosso. If I remember correctly, the book can be read in two ways: as an ethnographic study of indigenous Brazilian tribes, and as a critique of anthropological methods. What exactly about Tristes Tropiques inspired you? The melancholy travelogue, or the formation of a new, critical school of thought? AP: Both. Lévi-Strauss's constant reflection on the purpose of his work and the often melancholy tone of his writing constitute an internal tension which runs throughout the whole book. Tristes Tropiques is many things; autobiography, traveler's tale, ethnographic report, philosophical treatise, colonial history. But ultimately, it's the author's attempt to synthesize meaning from fragments of his own and other cultures that resonated most strongly with me - and led me to a new perspective on how I hear and make music. JJ: Listening to Tristes Tropiques I noticed a certain oscillation between references, which is what I really like about it. Obviously, your music alludes to the beloved fairytale kitsch of exotica, but it also repeatedly shifts to a mode of ethno-poetic meditation music that seems to have no beginning or end. Where do you yourself locate the tracks gathered here? AP: As a listener and as a musician, exotica music of the 1950s and '60s has always been a constant reference point and inspiration. And perhaps my listening has been "ruined" by exotica, but as I have dug deeper into ethnographic archives of "traditional" music, I've come to the realization that all recordings that evoke, allude to, or ostensibly document other musical forms have a similar effect on my imagination: I am most intrigued when I perceive some coincidentally familiar element within the foreign (a tuned percussion recital from Malawi that immediately brings to mind Steve Reichian minimalism, or the Burundian female vocal duet that sounds uncannily like a cut-up tape experiment, etc.). I suppose this album is an attempt to recreate the same kind of listening experience as what I've described, just with the electronic means that I have at hand.
Steffen Laschinski's project Rising Sun, makes a welcome return to Fauxpas Musik after the album The Lamentations Of Rising Sun (FAUXPAS 019LP, 2016). Presented here is the first single in the series of three including four brand new full-length tracks from the EP series Trilogy.
MAURICE, CHARLES: French Disco Boogie Sounds Vol. 2, 1978-1985: Selected by Charles Maurice CD (FVR 122CD)
After an internationally acclaimed first edition (FVR 101CD/LP, 2015), Favorite Recordings and Charles Maurice follow-up their French Disco Boogie Sounds compilation with this second volume. Pursuing his fine work at digging rare music from around the world, DJ and collector Charles Maurice presents another brilliant selection of great music linked to France and French West-Indies: 12 hidden and forgotten titles, all produced between 1978 and 1985, in France, or by French artists abroad. Again, he perfectly browses and defines the great energy and quality of this specific disco/funk scene at that time, both in the underground market, or through bigger labels. On one hand, tracks by Crystal, Jackie Esam, Ideku Dynasty or Marc Ashy, were produced by small artists and labels from the French Caribbean and African community and are filled with a raw spirit and some tropical influences. On the other hand, tracks by Claude Morgan, Greg Smaha, Roots, or Black Bells Group, were released by major labels such as Phonogram, RCA, Derby, or Carrere, thanks to confirmed independent producers, acting not only in France, but also in Canada and the US. Favorite Recordings and Charles Maurice unearth these 12 gems, amongst them some very hard to find and almost unknown titles. Also features: Charms, Neilo Feel,Nel Oliver and Messan.
"An overview of the vector, thus far anyway, of this bracing post-core duo/trio/whatever who were once based in western Mass., and are now scattered between Mass., L.A. and Montreal. The hub of the band is vocalist, Jackieboy, and guitarist, Dick Riddick. According to Jackie, the initial idea was to do 'a knuckle-dragging hardcore Chrome kinda mash up with drum machine. My concept as vocalist was to front the band as a Jewish New Yorker stand-up comedian whose found himself fronting a punk band and is trying to roll with the punches. Originally I wanted the live performances to be half stand-up and half music but dropped this and just put occasional zingers in between songs.' Initially, they were based in a farmhouse in Hadley, MA and decided to use a drum-box, both because it was a Chrome-like thing to do, and also since they couldn't find a drummer who shared their twisted vision. This album includes portions of their debut show, at Florence MA's 13th Floor, in December 2014. Still a duo, they then recorded the eight tracks that comprise the Get In Line With Mental Decline EP in February 2015 at Dead Air Studios. The demo version of Confront Ya/Dickies was recorded in March 2016. The live NY show from January 2016 was recorded at Betaville, and features special guest drummer Denny McDermott. The last bit is from Greenfield's John Doe Jr., recorded in March 2016. And there's no way a mere recording can convey the very special brand of chaos these menches conjure up. But if close your eyes and crank this up, you'll get close enough for jazz." --Byron Coley, 2016. Edition of 413.
The Berlin based imprint deliver a remix package of Grandbrothers's Dilation (FILM 001CD/LP, 2015). Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel craft dense, rousing music with nods to IDM, ambient and techno, from the sounds of the grand piano and a set of 20 self-built hammers hitting the piano on different parts. NYC native FaltyDL takes on "Newtons Cradle", turning in a psychedelic slice of half time proto-footwork while both Phillip Otterbach (as Grand Optimist) and Djrum offer their own tripping, ambient reinterpretations. Portable Sunsets reimagines "Neon" as fuzzy beach house jam, with driven drum machine hits and a soothing Vox line.
NDF (BRUNO PRONSATO & BENJ OF BENOIT & SERGIO): Cruel Is The Color 12" (FOOM 008EP)
Bruno Pronsato and Benjamin Myers return as NDF, with Cruel Is The Color. Six years after Since We Last Met (2010) whose title track was heralded as a "10-minute dance track you don't ever want to end" by Pitchfork, who also included it in their "My Decade in Music So Far". Recording Cruel Is The Color took about 30 minutes, with Pronsato on percussion and synths, and Myers on vocals, synths, and acoustic guitar. The following winter they recorded "Certain Corners" (with Israeli bassist Yonatan Levi), and "Another Year". Includes re-workings by Matthew Herbert, and Foom label head Ben Freeney.
MOORE W/ TOM SURGAL, THURSTON: Not Me CD (FD 096CD)
Reissue of Thurston Moore and Tom Surgal's long out-of-print 1996 Not Me (originally released as both CD and 10" on Fourth Dimension). Two pieces of improvisational electronics, guitar, and drums, 11 minutes each. Includes 2016 liner notes by Moore. Packaged in gatefold CD sleeve. Limited edition of 500.
2013 release. Glistening Examples present Leave/Trace, the vinyl debut of Grisha Shakhnes. Formerly operating under the name of Mites, Shakhnes has been recording and performing in Tel Aviv, Israel since 2008. His work has been issued both privately in limited handmade CD-R editions, and internationally through Alamut Records (Jerusalem), Mystery Sea (Belgium), and Copy For Your Records (NYC). Consider Leave/Trace a graduation ceremony, as Shakhnes steps away from pseudonyms and into the spotlight of his own exceptional music. Leave/Trace offers a compelling display of musical abstraction, blending field recordings from peculiar and mundane origins into sumptuously detailed and surreally original new forms. Shakhnes is deftly able to capture and juxtapose otherwise overlooked details of commonplace events, placing his work at the fulcrum of contemporary tape music. Never overly literal, Leave/Trace instead allows the listener to find their own way through its compositions, granting rich reward for those willing to make the journey. Recorded, edited, and mixed by Grisha Shakhnes. Mastered by Jason Lescalleet at Glistening Labs, USA. Artwork by Yael Skidelsky. Layout by Matthew Revert. "This is unquestionably Grisha's most convincing statement to date, and one which cements him in the frontline of artists to watch. A fabulous LP." --Graham Lambkin, Kye Records.
$13.79 UPC: 769791964372 ELECTRONIC
01. A Man Asleep
02. -
03. A Man Aflame
04. Leaving Traces In A Living Light
BEATTY, ROBERT: Soundtracks For Takeshi Murata CD (GLEX 1302CD)
2013 release. Soundtracks For Takeshi Murata is the debut album of Kentucky-based electronic musician Robert Beatty under his given name. Beatty has long been a presence in the experimental underground as a member of Hair Police and more recently performing and recording solo under his Three Legged Race moniker. He is also well known for his visual art, which encompasses installation, drawing, video, and album artwork design for countless artists including Neon Indian, Tame Impala, Oneohtrix Point Never, Thee Oh Sees, Vybz Kartel, and Peaking Lights. Soundtracks For Takeshi Murata collects Beatty's compositions for digital video glitch pioneer Takeshi Murata, produced between 2004-2007. Beatty's collaborative relationship with Murata has spawned some of his strongest work to date, and Glistening Examples present this music to the public for the first time outside of screenings, museums, and galleries. Beatty has performed alongside Murata's work in New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Beijing, where he performed several shows, including at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art during the 2008 exhibition, "Stray Alchemists". The formative elements of the recent Three Legged Race full length Persuasive Barrier (SP 022LP, 2013) are apparent in the rubbery pulsations of "Escape Spirit Videoslime" and the ghostly buzzing harmonics of "Untitled (Silver)". Moving between hypnotic minimalism, dense processed atmospheres, and spacious drones, often in the same track, these pieces are the perfect corollary to Murata's fractured and viscous visuals. While the video and audio are linked in the same fluid time space, the soundtracks are presented now as stand-alone works, powerful compositions drawn from the same underlying chaos apparent in Murata's ever-shifting psychedelic environments. This is exciting electronic music that invites the listener to imagine their own video-scapes with or without having viewed Murata's work. Soundtracks For Takeshi Murata is published with a six-page booklet of Takeshi Murata's artwork, design by Beatty, and digital mastering by Jason Lescalleet at Glistening Labs, USA. This CD also includes a bonus track not found on the original LP.
MARCANO & LIGHTDREAMS, PAUL: 10,001 Dreams CD (GKL 006CD)
A thematic sequel of sorts to the sci-fi psych odyssey exploring cosmic ideology that was the British Columbians 1981 debut, LightDreams's Islands in Space (GKL 005CD/LP 2015), 10,001 Dreams from 1982 finds its leader, Paul Marcano, edging closer lyrically to the utopian outer space colonization he'd previously conjured while under the sway of physicist/space activist/author Gerard K. O'Neill. The ever-present percussive acoustic layers from Islands in Space remain, while the new age-like keyboard washes are nearly totally supplanted by mellow, wickedly fuzzed, floating layers of dreamy, treated, atmospheric electric guitar. As scribe Jack D. Fleischer says, at the time of the recording the group had reached, "a certain kind of psychedelic revelation that had become completely frontal," and that is emphasized by this increased use of soaring electric coloring. Originally issued solely on cassette, Marcano and LightDreams's home-recorded (yet hi-fi) lysergic creations give nod to the original British psychedelic and progressive eras, while maintaining a firm foot in hook-based, melodic folk'n'pop and are a guaranteed treasure for those searching for unheard and otherworldly joys. First time reissue with remastered sound. In-depth liner notes from collector Jack D. Fleischer and rare photos. Includes download coupon of the 90-minute unexpurgated 1982 cassette release. RIYL: Dreamies, Simones, late '60s Donovan, Robert Lester Folsom's more psych-leaning moments, McDonald & Giles, Rick Saucedo, Bobb Trimble, Tyrannosaurus Rex. "10,001 Dreams is a perfect distillation of Paul Marcano's musical essence: thoughtful, psychedelic, pop-oriented music but with a deeply progressive ear for song structure and the intuitive glow of a well-crafted lyrical refrain." -- Jack D. Fleischer, from the liner notes of 10,001 Dreams.
OLIVERI'S MONDO GENERATOR, NICK: Best Of CD (HPS 042CD)
2017 marks two decades of existence for the instrument of sonic chaos known as Mondo Generator. The project, formed by then-soon-to-be-Queens of the Stone Age bassist/vocalist Nick Oliveri (Dwarves, Bl'ast, Kyuss), released their first album, Cocaine Rodeo, in 2000 via a nascent Southern Lord Recordings and never looked back through a whirlwind of intense punk, speed metal and heavy rock. Across four studio full-lengths and more tours than one could count, Mondo Generator has never been nothing less than completely in your face, so that even Oliveri's acoustic work arrives dripping with attitude. With Best Of, Mondo Generator compile tracks from their albums and numerous EPs. Topped with artwork by Branca Studio the collection spans the career of the band, with guest appearances throughout from Josh Homme, Dave Catching, Dave Grohl, Alain Johannes, John Garcia, Brant Bjork, Alfredo Hernandez, Mark Lanegan, Chris Goss and many more. As of the fall 2015, Mondo Generator have been working as the trio of Oliveri, guitarist Mike Pygmie and drummer Jeff Bowman. "I'm stoked that somebody wants to put out the Best Of record and the songs on the album are the best songs over the years, 1997 to the present," says Oliveri. "I feel that those records slipped through the cracks and now this is a chance for people to get a better presentation of the band. Only the best songs off the records!"
OLIVERI'S MONDO GENERATOR, NICK: Best Of 2LP (HPS 042LP)
Double LP version. Gatefold cover. 2017 marks two decades of existence for the instrument of sonic chaos known as Mondo Generator. The project, formed by then-soon-to-be-Queens of the Stone Age bassist/vocalist Nick Oliveri (Dwarves, Bl'ast, Kyuss), released their first album, Cocaine Rodeo, in 2000 via a nascent Southern Lord Recordings and never looked back through a whirlwind of intense punk, speed metal and heavy rock. Across four studio full-lengths and more tours than one could count, Mondo Generator has never been nothing less than completely in your face, so that even Oliveri's acoustic work arrives dripping with attitude. With Best Of, Mondo Generator compile tracks from their albums and numerous EPs. Topped with artwork by Branca Studio the collection spans the career of the band, with guest appearances throughout from Josh Homme, Dave Catching, Dave Grohl, Alain Johannes, John Garcia, Brant Bjork, Alfredo Hernandez, Mark Lanegan, Chris Goss and many more. As of the fall 2015, Mondo Generator have been working as the trio of Oliveri, guitarist Mike Pygmie and drummer Jeff Bowman. "I'm stoked that somebody wants to put out the Best Of record and the songs on the album are the best songs over the years, 1997 to the present," says Oliveri. "I feel that those records slipped through the cracks and now this is a chance for people to get a better presentation of the band. Only the best songs off the records!"
Monsternaut is a straight up stoner rock group from Kerava Finland. An unpretentious trio that delivers simple rock'n'roll in the spirit of Fu Manchu and alike. Formed in the winter of 2012 by Tuomas Heiskanen and Perttu Härkönen, they shuffled around a few drummers before making Jani Kuusela a permanent member in 2014. Boasted a sound born out of heavy Fu Manchu influence, with a tonal touch of Queens Of The Stone Age bounce and desert-bred groove. The trio of vocalist/guitarist Heiskanen, bassist Härkönen and drummer Kuusela thicken up nodding, momentum-rich riffs and offer a return to '90s stoner heavy purity without sounding retro or like they're 20 years behind the times - at least not any more than they want to be. The songs on their two offerings to date offer catchy, The Action Is Go-style stomp, where a slower lurch maximizes the groove at play. This release is a combination of two older recordings. The first session was back in 2012 and the second in 2014. "We're happy to have Heavy Psych Sounds release them as one bundle, but are also more or less ready to record more if the stars keep aligned."
LP version. Monsternaut is a straight up stoner rock group from Kerava Finland. An unpretentious trio that delivers simple rock'n'roll in the spirit of Fu Manchu and alike. Formed in the winter of 2012 by Tuomas Heiskanen and Perttu Härkönen, they shuffled around a few drummers before making Jani Kuusela a permanent member in 2014. Boasted a sound born out of heavy Fu Manchu influence, with a tonal touch of Queens Of The Stone Age bounce and desert-bred groove. The trio of vocalist/guitarist Heiskanen, bassist Härkönen and drummer Kuusela thicken up nodding, momentum-rich riffs and offer a return to '90s stoner heavy purity without sounding retro or like they're 20 years behind the times - at least not any more than they want to be. The songs on their two offerings to date offer catchy, The Action Is Go-style stomp, where a slower lurch maximizes the groove at play. This release is a combination of two older recordings. The first session was back in 2012 and the second in 2014. "We're happy to have Heavy Psych Sounds release them as one bundle, but are also more or less ready to record more if the stars keep aligned."
LP version. Californian desert rock progenitors Fatso Jetson present their first proper full-length since 2010, Idle Hands. Their last release, 2010's Archaic Volumes, answered the go-anywhere-at-any-time intensity of earlier records like 1995's Stinky Little Gods and 1997's Power Of Three with a refined sense of groove, always bringing in a sense of experimentalism to their foundation of heavy, punk-infused rock. Since that album came out, Fatso Jetson have hardly been idle. They've toured Europe multiple times over, including with Yawning Man, in which Fatso honcho Mario Lalli also plays, and released splits with Yawning Man, and one with Farflung that marked their first collaboration with Heavy Psych Sounds. Mario Lalli says this about the new album: "This record represents one of the toughest years in my life. To be honest, I barely got it done. It's a very important record because I'm in a way coming out of a long troubled period in my life, and with lots of love and help from my friends and family I got to a place where I could get back to music and express some of this stuff. The band spent three days at Rancho de la Luna with Mathias Schneeberger recording and co-producing and writing on some pretty rough ideas. Dino, my son, wrote a lot of the heavier, more angular, intense music, and I was coming from a more melodic, dark vibe... seemed to all come together. Larry and Tony both wrote music on the album and one of my life-saving buddies, Sean Wheeler, collaborated on two songs I'm very proud of. Also was awesome having my daughter, Olive Lalli, singing on half the tracks. The title of the album is straightforward and the record, the contrary action, to faith without works is dead. We are stoked to do the record with Gabriele [Fiori] from Heavy Psych Sounds. He's been so supportive of us for years now, a good friend. That's how this should be."
Jimi Tenor presents Saxentric, a compiled selection of Afro jazz tracks that he has written and performed over the years. Jimi Tenor, born Lassi Osmo Tapio Lehto in Lahti, Finland, has been releasing recorded music for 30 years, plays several instruments as is his usual practice. Saxentric features many musicians including: Icelandic drummer, Helgi Svavar Helgason, Helsinki based guitarist/bassist and journalist Ilkka Mattila, legendary drummer Tony Allen, Cuban & Berlin based trumpeter Daniel Allen Oberto, Ethiopian/Finnish & Helsinki based percussionist Abdissa "Mamba" Assefa of Itetune (2011), Nigerian/German & Berlin based percussionist Akinola Famson, Helsinki based percussionist Mongo Aaltonen, American & Paris based spoken word artist/singer & painter Allonymous, Helsinki based flügel hornist Tero Lindberg, Finnish & Berlin based guitarist Kalle Kalima, Polish & Berlin based bassist Patrick Frankowski, British trombonist Hilary Jeffery and Ghanaian/German & Berlin based drummer Ekow Alabi Savage. Tenor is credited for playing these instruments on Saxentric: acoustic guitar, acoustic piano, background vocals, bass kalimba, drums, drum programming, electric guitar, electric piano, flute, Hammond organ, Korg MS-20, Korg PolySix, Log-o-phone, Moog, organ, percussion, photophone, plastic bongos, programming, shaker, synthesizers, tambourine, tenor saxophone, vocals and Walton organ.
LP version. Jimi Tenor presents Saxentric, a compiled selection of Afro jazz tracks that he has written and performed over the years. Jimi Tenor, born Lassi Osmo Tapio Lehto in Lahti, Finland, has been releasing recorded music for 30 years, plays several instruments as is his usual practice. Saxentric features many musicians including: Icelandic drummer, Helgi Svavar Helgason, Helsinki based guitarist/bassist and journalist Ilkka Mattila, legendary drummer Tony Allen, Cuban & Berlin based trumpeter Daniel Allen Oberto, Ethiopian/Finnish & Helsinki based percussionist Abdissa "Mamba" Assefa of Itetune (2011), Nigerian/German & Berlin based percussionist Akinola Famson, Helsinki based percussionist Mongo Aaltonen, American & Paris based spoken word artist/singer & painter Allonymous, Helsinki based flügel hornist Tero Lindberg, Finnish & Berlin based guitarist Kalle Kalima, Polish & Berlin based bassist Patrick Frankowski, British trombonist Hilary Jeffery and Ghanaian/German & Berlin based drummer Ekow Alabi Savage. Tenor is credited for playing these instruments on Saxentric: acoustic guitar, acoustic piano, background vocals, bass kalimba, drums, drum programming, electric guitar, electric piano, flute, Hammond organ, Korg MS-20, Korg PolySix, Log-o-phone, Moog, organ, percussion, photophone, plastic bongos, programming, shaker, synthesizers, tambourine, tenor saxophone, vocals and Walton organ.
Leeds finest, Antony Beardsley - A lone gunman producing analog, slow-paced dance music influenced by pioneers like Andrew Weatherall, Timothy J Fairplay, Aphex Twin, and Sean Johnston.
$12.99 EAN: 7071245217747 ELECTRONIC
01. The Last Ride
02. We Own The Night
03. Black Dog
Guy Alexander Brewer, aka Shifted, is involved in several projects taking in techno, noise and experimental electronics overlaying a once-hidden past in drum'n'bass. Having shunned his previous work in Commix, more recently Brewer has learned to look back, even making sideways stabs into breakbeat territory with his Covered In Sand alias. The process grows more intricate and subtle on Appropriation Stories for the Hospital Productions imprint helmed by Dominick Fernow (aka Prurient, Vatican Shadow, et al.). On Appropriation Stories, rigorous processing and studio treatments transform classic breaks into deeply hidden components that add new layers of character to his highly-developed techno sound. At first presenting itself as a dense wall-of-sound underpinned by an incessant pulse, Appropriation Stories at length reveals itself to be a much more complex work. In place of the stark minimalism, razor-sharp digital textures and smeared analog surfaces of his previous output, Brewer offers layered tracks with intricate mixes that reveal themselves gradually over time. For long stretches - opener "This Passage", "For Closure", "In Respect of Tactics" - the rhythm steps back from insistent to implied, further exposing the careful arrangements of pure sound. As his origins in purist techno grow ever-more distant, Shifted's sound has progressed from digital clarity to the murky-but-hard middle ground of his sophomore full length on Bed Of Nails, Under A Single Banner (NAIL 007CD/LP, 2013), and through a clear evolution on Brewer's own Avian imprint. Integrating his more searching work as Alexander Lewis and his increasingly introspective work as Shifted while eloquently addressing his past, Appropriation Stories is a comprehensive statement of intent and Brewer's finest, most mature work to-date. Mastered by Matt Colton at Alchemy.
Concentric Rhythms is the new extended player from DJ Guy, the Cardiff born producer. Despite being heavily involved in the electronic music scene since the early '90s, he has only really begun to open up his vast archive of productions to the masses, notably with Unearthed Tracks 1992-1995 released in 2014. With releases to date on the likes of All Caps, NORD Records and Organic Analogue, he makes his Hypercolour debut with Concentric Rhythms. It is a record that clearly demonstrates his deep rooted interest in the realms of jungle, acid house and early UK techno. His productions are a compliment to his extensive and ambitious collection of varied influences that he so effortlessly practices and combines. With a colossal treasure trove of archived and unreleased music, DJ Guy has been able to dig deep into his collection of music for Concentric Rhythms, continuing to unlock this vault of timeless electronic music.
Entering center stage is Fred P, the undisputed master of subtle four-to-the-floor soul and tech infused house. This is his Ibadan debut single featuring "Energy Soul" and "Visions". The New York connoisseur delivers the two tracks with a futuristic conviction, his fire burning bright.
Jambalaya present 14 tracks from the American outsider and legend, Hasil Adkins, titled Chicken Walk. Hasil Adkins was a true American original. Raised in Boone County, West Virginia, the son of a coal miner, Adkins grew up in poverty in a tarpaper shack on coal company property, where he taught himself to play after hearing Hank Williams on the radio. The legend goes that he didn't realize Hank had a band backing him up, and that's why Hasil learned to play guitar and drums at the same time. Adkins wrote tons of amazing original material beginning in the 1950s, which "explored an affinity for chicken, sexual intercourse, and decapitation." (Wikipedia). A great collection of those original recordings is presented here.
$14.39 EAN: 8592735004719 ROCK
A1. Shake That Thing
A2. Ugly Woman
A3. Let's Slop Tonight
A4. Chicken Walk
A5. She's Mine
A6. Tell Me Baby
A7. If You Want To Be My Baby
B1. Big Fat Mama
B2. Get Out Of My Car
B3. Donnio Boogie
B4. Walk And Talk With Me
B5. I Need Your Head
B6. Roll Roll Train
B7. I Don't Want Nobody The Way I Want You
ERIKSEN, TORUN: Grand White Silk CD (JL 3779175CD)
Torun Eriksen presents Grand White Silk. Few songwriters can perform their material with such unobtrusive self-awareness as Torun Eriksen: she possesses many strengths as a lyricist, as a composer, as a singer. On Grand White Silk, she has pulled off the rare feat of playing to all of these enviable strengths with equal vitality and conviction. When you have set standards as high as Torun already has, all that remains to be done is aim higher: her aim has proven true, with a set of songs and performances that crown her work to date. Lyrically, the album draws on the place of the everyday amid the universal - those "little things we begin not to notice, that are important to us, yet we are blind to them through familiarity." Love; shame; self-acceptance; connections physical, emotional and electronic; contradictory feelings common to the modern world; the ability to simply breathe and accept a passing moment for what it is without question; the brief and frail existence of any individual within a universe without a visible, tangible beginning or end; all of this informs Grand White Silk, and it is delivered with images rich, poignant, sometimes seeming quotidian, at other times fragile and ethereal. Whether amid a lush arrangement with vast dynamic sweep, or against a sparse solo piano accompaniment, or against a juggernaut beat that seems close to unstoppable, Torun's sensitivity to her lyrical content is revealed time and time again by measured performances that are emotionally charged without melodrama, philosophical without cold intellectualism, meditative without haziness. Her distinctive tone, perfect phrasing and sensual delivery has few peers. Grand White Silk sets a new high-water mark for an already impressive career. Features: David Wallumrød on keys, André Berg on guitar, Kjetil Dalland on bass and Andreas Bye on drums.
Southpole by Hamburg based brother duo Deo & Z-Man features some funky, deep disco house. Zombies In Miami and Eddie C provide remixes. "Relentless Wilderness" has acid lines, dark grumbling atmospheres and pads, and the best German accent vocals you have ever listened to. Eddie C delivers an extraordinary raw remix. His long time experience and knowledge of electronic music are in full effect. "Bocko Schons" is raw and is proof that steel drums don't have to sound cheesy. Zombies In Miami give the track a little more room to breathe with their typical techno influenced dark attitude.
The Berlin-based Jolly Jams label presents the debut of British electronic duo Slaves of Love (Dean Meredith (Mind Fair, Chicken Lips) and Ben Shenton (Mind Fair)). The flipside features a killer remix by LA's finest, TK Disko (Split Secs)
Landside is the collaboration between Italian producers Hunter/Game and the Icelandic band Kúra. Signs Of Change EP is the fourth chapter of Landside's journey through diverse sound researches that cross over to industrial ambience, basslines and a whirling melody accompanied by a crescendo of sonorities. "Distance" is a throwback voyage in a melodic orchestra of ethnic sonorities. Luke Hess provides a remix, turning "Signs Of Change" into dub techno. Kelpe's remix of "Signs Of Change" is a deep and dream-like hazy trip, accompanied by trippy melodies.
Triple LP version. Mare is the second studio album for German electronic musician, artist and producer, Christian Löffler. Located on the Darss peninsular, overlooking the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, is Christian Löffler's log cabin, nestled among birch and willow trees where he locks himself up to work on both his visual art and his music. In the center of the room is a huge oak table, splotched with multi-colored oil paints, surrounded by canvases, cameras tripods, tools, brushes. There's a great view of the sea, and the wide patio windows allow the light to flood inside. It's these modest and in some ways rudimentary parameters that allow Löffler to make sincere and honest music. Mare follows in a similar vein to his debut, 2012's A Forest. However a key difference is Mare is much more organic, nearly every sound and every instrument being self-recorded. Many of the album's ideas are based on field recordings taken from the surroundings. On top of this, several microphones were set up in the room and left to run on for whole sessions. The microphones collected everything, from tapping, singing, playing, footsteps, as well as percussive elements added on the fly such as bottles, sticks, keys, or anything lying around. Sometimes he would open the sliding patio doors, where sounds from outside would blend into the mix. Among the instruments placed around the table were an old marimba, a mandolin zither, some self-modified synthesizers, and various other sound tools accumulated from his travels. For Löffler, another interesting aspect of the album is that it's the first time he himself sings on a record. "where the first album [A Forest] felt to just be on the surface of what I can say with this project, it now feels like that I've come closer to the core of what I want to express." The instrumentation, the setting, and the process, make Mare a highly individual body of work that sees him expanding the limits of his set-up. The LP features the highly emotive sound that Löffler's become known for, using deep house as a stylistic framework with which to base his tracks. Exploring spaces of emotional and physical loss, he blends wistful melodies, drum machines, and found sound into a wandering, melancholic mélange. Four tracks that feature the vocals of previous collaborator Mohna.
LOFFLER, CHRISTIAN: Mare (Clear Vinyl Edition) 3LP+CD (KI 011LTD-LP)
Triple LP version. Clear vinyl edition. Includes poster and CD. Mare is the second studio album for German electronic musician, artist and producer, Christian Löffler. Located on the Darss peninsular, overlooking the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, is Christian Löffler's log cabin, nestled among birch and willow trees where he locks himself up to work on both his visual art and his music. In the center of the room is a huge oak table, splotched with multi-colored oil paints, surrounded by canvases, cameras tripods, tools, brushes. There's a great view of the sea, and the wide patio windows allow the light to flood inside. It's these modest and in some ways rudimentary parameters that allow Löffler to make sincere and honest music. Mare follows in a similar vein to his debut, 2012's A Forest. However a key difference is Mare is much more organic, nearly every sound and every instrument being self-recorded. Many of the album's ideas are based on field recordings taken from the surroundings. On top of this, several microphones were set up in the room and left to run on for whole sessions. The microphones collected everything, from tapping, singing, playing, footsteps, as well as percussive elements added on the fly such as bottles, sticks, keys, or anything lying around. Sometimes he would open the sliding patio doors, where sounds from outside would blend into the mix. Among the instruments placed around the table were an old marimba, a mandolin zither, some self-modified synthesizers, and various other sound tools accumulated from his travels. For Löffler, another interesting aspect of the album is that it's the first time he himself sings on a record. "where the first album [A Forest] felt to just be on the surface of what I can say with this project, it now feels like that I've come closer to the core of what I want to express." The instrumentation, the setting, and the process, make Mare a highly individual body of work that sees him expanding the limits of his set-up. The LP features the highly emotive sound that Löffler's become known for, using deep house as a stylistic framework with which to base his tracks. Exploring spaces of emotional and physical loss, he blends wistful melodies, drum machines, and found sound into a wandering, melancholic mélange. Four tracks that feature the vocals of previous collaborator Mohna.
Kingston Sounds present Skinhead Reggae 1969, a compilation focusing on the Jamaican reggae sounds tied to the skinhead movement. "The sound of now..." mentioned in "The Return of Jack Slade" by Derrick Morgan was the sound of 1969/1970, the sound of Jamaican reggae. The look at the time was the skinhead fashion borrowed heavily from the Jamaican rude boy style. The skinhead movement started around 1968 and by the following year of 1969 became the style and fashion of many British teenagers. The uniform of the skinheads consisted of boots, braces and jeans and the upbeat Reggae sound seemed to match the style perfectly. Never before has a music matched a look more perfectly than the pairing of skinhead/rude boy look with the Jamaican reggae sound. So stand up and move your feet one more time to the skinhead reggae sound. Features: Bunny Lee All Stars, Derrick Morgan, SS Binns, King Horror, The Prophets, Max Romeo, The Hippy Boys, The Des All Stars and Lloyd Charmers. CD version includes three bonus tracks featuring: Roland Alphonso and The Des All Stars.
Golden Bug's first solo EP, Barbie's Back out on Gomma, was a huge success for the ghetto-disco wiz-kid. His first album, Hot Robot, was released in 2008. Erol Alkan, Jori Hulkonnen, Prins Thomas, Digitalism and Shit Robot play his tracks all around the world. Thought, recorded and produced in his studio in Gracia, Barcelona, V.I.C.T.O.R features a number of collaborations: Julienne Dessagne (Saschienne), Yan Wagner, Fabrizio Mammarella, Moscoman, Guillaume Atlan, In Fields, Pajaro Sunrise.
Marbod shows up with Faces, an adventure into wonderful, sound designed, house music. These four pieces of deeply grooving structures might be influenced by early works of Marbod himself. Faces proves once more how modern house music should sound like: deep, groovy and always surprising. Includes a remix by Johannes Beck.
IN GOWAN RING: Visions Of Shadows That Shine LP (LUNE 008LP)
LP version. Includes insert. Edition of 300. Visions Of Shadows That Shine is a collection in extempore arrangements, and in ways a "bonus" album for In Gowan Ring's The Serpent And The Dove (2015). These songs accompanied Bobin Eirth (aka B'ee) throughout these seasons - playing with friends in the open air or in private chambers, in the sun or around the fire - while working with the original material on The Serpent And The Dove. Certain pieces are considered intrinsically related to this album, having attended the entire process, while others are rather spontaneously included in these late hours. Originally self-released in 2015, Lune Music present a reissue here.
DUBYSHKIN, VLADIMIR: For Various Reasons EP 1 12" (MACROM 051EP)
Vladimir Dubyshkin, from Tambov a city southeast of Moscow, presents his sweepingly effective de-centered vision of techno with his first fully fledged vinyl release. Dubyshkin has contributed tracks to two compilations on Nina Kraviz's Trip label. The For Various Reasons EP coming in two separate installments - 1 and 2 (MACROM 052EP) - shows the full picture of Dubyshkin's special talents. Highly energetic, rave-infested analog techno with de-tuned melodies rubbing against take-no-prisoners basslines. There is an intense emotional component present at all times, typically missing in Western grayscale techno.
VA: Cologne Curiosities: The Unknown Krautrock Underground 1972-1976 CD (MENT 005CD)
The Nuggets (1972) of krautrock, Cologne Curiosities collects for the first time on vinyl, all the otherwise unpublished/un-reissued material that originally appeared on the three Unknown Deutschland - The Krautrock Archive CDs released on Virgin in 1996. These CD only releases were originally compiled by Trevor Manwaring (Paratactile, Impetus, Virgin, Harmonia Mundi) from tapes supplied to him by Toby Robinson. Toby, aka The Mad Twiddler, aka Genius P. Orridge, is well-known to krautrock collectors as one of a number of engineers working at Stockhausen's WDR and Dierks Studio in Cologne in the mid-1970s, where he assisted on recordings by many famous kraut bands such as Can, Birth Control, Mythos and Dzyan. The recordings included here were made between 1972 and 1976 using studios in and around Cologne, produced by Toby Robinson for his own amusement. Bands would come in for practice sessions, to record demos, and during slack periods, impromptu jams would happen. Most of these sessions were recorded by Toby, and they feature Toby himself plus a revolving cast of friends and musicians (some of them apparently big kraut names under pseudonym). Including lost-in-time bands/studio projects like Astral Army, Fuerrote, Spirulina and Baal among others, the music here ranges from killer proto-new wave kraut psych to wild space rock, proto-ambient electronic, dark psychedelia and raw kosmische sounds with lots of analog synths/Moog. It was during that time in Cologne, that Toby, along with Fluxus artist Robin Page, gave birth to the mysterious and controversial Pyramid label, for which these tracks were originally made for. 24-bit domain remaster from the original master tapes. Insert with detailed liner notes by Alan Freeman (Ultima Thule, The Crack In The Cosmic Egg (2007)). Also features: Chronos, Neil Andersen and Ten To Zen. RIYL: Pink Floyd, Gila, Cluster, Hawkwind, Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Düül II, Popol Vuh, Cosmic Jokers.
Milnormodern present Morning Machine EP by Berlin's Arsy. This is the 26th record from Milnormodern and as always, it's really nice and deep. Three tracks for the morning, the noon and the club. Edition of 200, rare-stamped and numbered.
2016 repress. LP version, originally released in 2007. This record started with a simple idea: what if houses had memories? What if, when we lived in them, our stories bled into the walls and became a part of the house? What if our ghosts were always going to haunt the places we've lived, a long with everyone else who's lived there? Some of these songs are from the point of view of people still living their lives in one of these houses; some are from the point of view of those dead and gone, watching over the living or haunting them; some are from people visiting home, after being away for along time, and the familiar ghosts of childhood all coming back to remind you of the way things used to be. This is a quintessential singer/songwriter album, or, rather a songwriting album, with tracks as carefully arranged interiors, chamber folk, pocket symphonies, passionate melodies. Ben Cooper recorded this album almost entirely alone, in a small shed in Jacksonville Beach, Florida: another one of those houses full of stories. He recorded the guitars and drum patterns, the banjos, organs and keyboards and sang in chorus with himself. He let the instruments take a deep breath and created a breathing record, a lively, warm Ghost. Includes a free download coupon.
Hamid delivers micro house and minimal funk madness on Intristic Randomness. Spooky waves, fragmented funk sessions and heavy drums for the dancefloors. Perfectly balanced double 12 inch - five original tracks framed by two incredible remixes from Craig Richards and G76. "Spooky Action At A Distance" features Volkan Akin. Printed sleeve with artwork by Igor Skaletsky.
Taken from the acclaimed Migration album (NUP 004LP, 2016), Kypoli sees Poirier sharing production duties with fellow Ninja Tune alumni Machinedrum. Taking vocal samples from Aleisha Lee and twisting, chopping and manipulating them into a completely new composition, the pair create a brooding post-dancehall/soul fusion. Bukem-esque pads and deep dub elegance give way to pounding kicks and floating harmonies. Remixes come from France's dub scientist Moresounds, who ups the jungle influence with a classic Reese-style bassline and rolling snare chops. Montreal-based newcomer Thomas White who flips the vibe completely for a slo-mo, soul, style builder.
"Fiesta" opens this 10" release - the raucous carnival side to Spooky's sound. Air-horns, loads of sub, syncopated soca pressure. The B side takes a more languid approach, lilting reggae guitars and horns, Spooky's signature "Heys". The EP encapsulates Spooky's soundsystem approach and heritage in one 10" release. Presented on colored vinyl.
SPOOKY & BOYLAN: Low Rider/All Black Winter 10" (OILGANG 014EP)
It was only natural that Boylan and Spooky found themselves in the studio together. "Low Rider" is a malevolent take on the west coast walking bassline style - a 4am eight-bar loop, haze and sub. After listening to that sparse 20 seconds on repeat for a while, they brought muscle to the skeleton - DJ Quik in Peckham. "All Black Winter" takes their sound in a much harsher direction. Growling saws, guttural strings and a brief Morse code arpeggio meet violent gunshot snares and Boylan's bass science - one for the 2am ride-outs. Presented on colored vinyl.
Boot & Tax are back with their first new music of 2016. Four tracks of spangled, idiosyncratic, woozily spacious and slightly off-kilter music that could only have been made by these two Milanese maestros.
2x12" version. Includes download code. Sam Barker and Andreas Baumecker's lives have always revolved around different kinds of music. That's partly why their productions as Barker & Baumecker are more unpredictable, harder to pin down than what you might expect from a label borne out of a techno club. And while their music is clearly built for dancing, listening to it reveals a deep love and respect for many forms of electronic music. Their second album, Turns, is an amalgamation of their unique musical minds, transcending electronic music genres and styles, while further developing and refining the Barker & Baumecker sound aesthetic. With two EPs, an album, and almost 20 remixes under their belt, Barker & Baumecker continue to steadily explore and reshape their shared electronic musical interests, especially in techno, bass, breaks, and experimental terrain. Talking about the title of the album, Barker explains, "the two of us have had quite a lot of ups and downs since the last record, and when you're in a collaboration where you only work together in real-time, in person, both people need to be in the right frame of mind." Baumecker adds, "Turns also had something to do with the tracks - almost every one turns towards the middle." While none of the tracks on Turns are merely functional, Barker & Baumecker do, of course, envision them in the club. There's nothing typical about any of these tracks, but they each share a clean aesthetic and sound palette with a sense of depth and compositional purpose. The ambient intro of album opener "Senden" morphs into a Reichian flow. The low-end drums of "Encipher & Decipher" weigh down the dreamy melodic synths. "Club Entropicana" reduces rhythm and sound to machine signals, akin to Raster-Noton's starkness. Both "Turnhalle" and "Nocturnal" incorporate trance euphoria with break-beats but in different ways, while closer "Statik" has a deliciously slippery garage pulse guiding it through a journey towards house bliss. Never knowing where they'll draw from next, Turns feels like Barker & Baumecker are expanding and refining their own musical dialect. Like most of the music they're both drawn to, it's thoughtful, rich, and ever evolving, but always and completely committed to the club.
ORCUTT/CHRIS CORSANO, BILL: Live At Various / Various Live 2LP (PAL 044LP)
"That guitarist Bill Orcutt & drummer Chris Corsano would play as a duo should come as a surprise to no one. As artists, both of them have bent sonic boundaries to the breaking point, especially as regards rock-based music, and they have long flowed through the same international sub-underground arteries. It was only a matter of time. The first fruit of their union was a brain melting LP called The Raw & The Cooked (2013), recorded on tour in 2012. Live at Various / Various Live is made up of the two Palilalia cassettes that followed it. The tracks were recorded between a couple of tours, one in 2013 and one the following year, in Northampton, Mexico City, Brooklyn, Montreal, Cleveland and Rochester. And they demonstrate the ferocity of Orcutt's return to the electric guitar. Twinned-up with Corsano, Bill goes for the most distorted and bleeding tones available, whether pouring out frenzied clusters, or slow-bending blue-notes in the tradition of Loren Connors, the raunch of the proceedings is a physical presence. And Corsano goes deep into rolls and splashes with an almost perverted intensity. There ain't much space here for sweetness or subtlety. The music is driven home with mallets, achieving a near-Beefheartian density in spots. Heard as a whole, this album provides a gush of relentless thug-beauty of a sort that has never been in long supply. Grasp it now or hold your sad peace for now and ever." -- Byron Coley. Double LP with gatefold cover. Recorded by Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt on tour in 2013 and 2014. Reissue of two cassettes originally released on Palilalia as Live At Various and Various Live. Edition of 500.
VA: Beatfreak! Vol. 3: Rare and Obscure British Beat 1966-1969 CD (PART 4062CD)
From the minds behind Piccadilly Sunshine, Mixed Up Minds, Upside Down, Electric Sound Show and Cornflake Zoo, Beatfreak! is the bruised torso of British pop music. Rare, obscure and virtually extinct, Volume Three offers an intoxicating marriage of fuzz, flute and flare, delivered with disgraceful adolescent abandon. Particles proudly presents a sonic showdown of rare British beat pop pleasures delivered with a whiff of R&B. Professionally re-mastered original sound recordings with comprehensive background liners and rare color, archival photos in a 20-page booklet. Features: Boston Show Band, The Guards, Isle Of Wight Cherokees, Good Vibrations, The Four Pennies, Mick And Malcolm, The Ivy League, Evil Eyes, Steve Darbishire, Chris Andrews, Loudwater Tern, Wishful Thinking, Danny Diaz And The Checkmates, The Tremors, John Deen And The Trakk, Mike Raynor And Sky, The Times, Five's Company and The Cymbaline.
VA: Dustin E Presents... Cornflake Zoo: Episode Four CD (PART 4070CD)
From the minds behind Piccadilly Sunshine, Mixed Up Minds, Electric Asylum, Upside Down, Curiosity Shop and Electric Sound Show, Particles present the fourth volume in the Cornflake Zoo series. An esteemed selection of the most delightful, juvenile absurdity to reach the auditory senses in a captivating collection. Twenty songs, all recorded between 1966-1973. Replete with archival rare color photographs, comprehensive liner notes and a loving touch of restoration. Features: Annaabee Nox, Names And Faces, The Coopers, The Bintangs, Los Brincos, Mashiya, Los Walkers, Blues Section & Jim Pembroke, Serpentine, Zen, Los Shakers, Popera, The Lords, Short 66, Slam Creepers, Beautiful Garden, Chosen Few, Standells and The Sauterelles.
Sweet Addiction is Yuksek's great studio comeback - these five elegant tracks signal his return as a main player. "Make It Easy" features the Greek singer Monika and the duo Her are featured on "Sweet Addiction". Yuksek's characteristic sound, midway between post-disco, house and pop, shines through on its various tracks. Even more than on his last album, Living On The Edge Of Time (2011), Yuksek shows his talent as a singer. His new melodies are sunnier than before; his beats and production more subtle. Airy, but still conveying a touch of hedonism in its most club-friendly sounds, this EP is a foretaste of a sparkling new opus. At the start of the 2000s, Yuksek released a series of EPs and then two albums: Away From The Sea (2009) and Living On The Edge Of Time. Those records laid the foundations of a sound that uncompromisingly combined pop, disco and electro. Then in 2013, he set up his own label Partyfine, working from his studio at the French National Drama Center in Reims. The label is now home to artists such as Clarens, Weekend Affair, Get A Room!, Jean Tonique, Tepr and Villa. Since 2013, he has collaborated with Chassol, Keren Ann, Yaya Herman Dune, JD Samson, Boston Bun, The Magician (Peter & The Magician) and Alex Metric (The Alexanders), and continued to make remixes (Lana Del Rey, Phoenix, M83, Gorillaz, Empire Of The Sun). Yuksek has also devoted a lot of time to writing for cinema, television and the stage. He composed the philharmonic orchestral music for the original sound track of the Valérie Donzelli movie Marguerite Et Julien (2015), which was in competition at the 2015 Cannes Festival, and music for an Ingmar Bergman play performed by Sophie Marceau on the Arte TV channel. He also wrote the instrumental arrangements for director Ludovic Lagarde's adaptation of L'Avare (The Miser) in 2014 and has composed music for documentaries.
Double LP version. Includes MP3 code. Gerd Janson and Phillip Lauer, aka Tuff City Kids, are creatures of habit. Every week, the two club veterans meet up at Phillip's studio and spend an entire day making tunes. And while Gerd often likes to joke that his role in the arrangement is limited to making coffee and looking at his cell phone, it's clear that the two men have forged a potent partnership, one that's been responsible for an astonishing amount of dancefloor heat over the past few years. Incredibly, this German pair has managed to maintain a relatively low profile, despite the steady stream of music they've released via well-respected labels like Unterton, Delsin, Internasjonal, Permanent Vacation and Live At Robert Johnson. And then there are the remixes - Azari & III, Scuba, The Juan Maclean, Fort Romeau, Avalon Emerson, Massimiliano Pagliara and Sinkane are just a small sampling of the artists who've enlisted Tuff City Kids to work their studio magic. Throughout it all, there have been whispers of a proper Tuff City Kids album, and now that Adoldesscent has arrived, it will be all but impossible for the duo to linger in the background. After all, the LP is anything but shy, thanks in part to hooky vocal turns from the likes of Annie, Joe Goddard, Kelley Polar and Jasnau, and even the album's instrumental cuts, featuring some clear nods to various eras of dance-pop, from the boogie-inflected funk of "Wake People" to the breakbeat techno of "Boilered" and the tweaky rave nostalgia of "Nordo." Elsewhere, first single "Labyrinth" is an infectious bit of new wave, while the guitar-driven "Scared" recalls the gloomier side of '80s pop and "Tell Me" is perhaps the record's most playfully soulful moment. DJs will likely gravitate toward the darting strings of "Aska" and breezy vibes of "Farewell House," yet Adoldesscent isn't entirely focused on the dancefloor. Dreamy opener "Ophmar" evokes the legacy of John Carpenter, while the crunchy "R-Mancer" offers up a sort of psychedelic synth freak-out. Much like the Tuff City Kids themselves, Adoldesscent isn't about any one style or sound in particular. It is, however, a cohesive effort, along with proof that the different corners of the electronic spectrum have a lot more in common than we'd all like to admit. More importantly, it's a whole lot of fun, and isn't that what dance music is supposed to be about anyways?
THORSTEINSSON: Academy Of Heroes Remixes 12" (PETS 071EP)
With Thorsteinssøn's Academy Of Heroes (PETS 072LP) album on the horizon, Pets Recordings precede the release with a trio of remixes. First up is London's Ashworth. "Sixtrak Blues" is the track of choice with Ashworth harnessing the originals dreamy vibe and adding a punchy guitar driven groove. Gerd steps up under his Geeeman guise, with a rework of "Sammy". Keeping the acidic melody, the Dutchman replaces the original's loose drums with a raw, kickass rhythm of his own. Berlin's Cab Drivers add a driving drum pattern turns the original slo-mo groover "Midnight At Taffey's", into a stellar swinging workout.
An ode to the endless research of the life apart - Sensed and produced by Edanticonf in Amsterdam. Endless Research is the first release by Edanticonf on Phorma. Artwork by New York artist and designer Sebastian Lemm.
BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE: Bohren For Beginners 2CD (PIAS 39223072CD)
The perfect introduction into the world of Germany's doom jazz cult band Bohren & Der Club Of Gore highlights the group's catalog from 1994 onwards. Includes rare tracks from deleted albums, some newly mixed versions and one complete new song. For fans of SunnO, OM, Max Richter, Fennesz. "The substance we are seeking here lies beyond the bare bones of fact, the when and the where (founded in 1988, Mülheim an der Ruhr) or personnel and instruments. The story is more than the sum of its facts. Mysteries may very well lurk here or there along the way. What keeps the final two founder members going after all this time? Do Morten Gass and Robin Rodenberg have skeletons locked in their closets? How dearly we would we love to know the answer to that one, alas the most beautiful puzzles tend to remain unsolved. Including their debut Gore Motel (1994), Bohren & Der Club Of Gore have amassed an impressive eight long players... Strange as it may seem, there is a uniform consistency to their reception. Whatever the band does, critiques are unfailingly positive, yet repetitious. Consider the arrival of Christoph Clöser in 1997, by way of illustration. When he joined the group, his saxophone replaced the departing Reiner Henseleit's guitar as one of the defining instruments in the band. This was arguably the sharpest break in their sound to this day and a significant marker in terms of the band's reverence for Dutch instrumentalists Gore (the clue is in the name), whose repetitive riffs paved the way for how the guitar would be deployed in a post-everything future... Similarly conspicuous by their absence in the Bohren chronicles are the numerous instruments which they added to the mix. The introduction of choirs at least had a clear visual impact. Since Thorsten Benning left at the end of 2015, the band has continued as a trio, sharing shifts on the drums. A decrease in personnel was conversely accompanied by quantum leaps forward in the group's musical development - or more precisely, minor adjustments triggered major effects. The music of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore opens up remarkable rooms of association, from a warm burrow to a pristine secret lodge, from a dusky woodland tavern to a smoky quayside dive... These sinister crackling songs are invitations to secrete oneself in darkness." --Lars Brinkman.
Rhythm master Klaus Weiss knew he had a good thing going with Niagara (1970). The first album was a gathering of every outstanding drummer and percussionist he could get hold of and despite the fact that there were only rhythm instruments, it became quite a memorable and unique record. Now for the second album S.U.B. (1972) he felt he had to go other ways. He recorded with a complete rock outfit plus a few brass instruments. S.U.B. has a tightly woven web of rhythms from drums and percussions, as the solid and ever pulsating base with a laid-back but really present bass guitar adding more depth and power to the beats. Clean rhythm guitars with a nifty wah-wah effect add an extra kick. From time to time the guitars fire off a memorable steaming riff on top of the rhythm pulse and the horns answer the call for arms. You really have to look at the back cover to find out that this is a German outfit instead of one of these utterly hot-and-hip U.S. funk rock cult bands of the '70s. Niagara aka Klaus Weiss, waive the vocals so it is an instrumental record you face with S.U.B., but this band goes so wild in some of the compositions, that you will be left breathless and on your knees by all these simmering performances. Each musician participating in this project is a professional, but they all let the music erupt into a climax of sound you can only achieve, when you put your whole heart and soul into it. S.U.B. is a masterpiece of funky and utterly unleashed rock music from the early '70s.
MOSCO, HARRY: Country Boy (Mr. Funkees) CD (PMG 024CD)
PMG present a reissue of Harry Mosco's Country Boy (Mr. Funkees), originally released in 1978. Don't let the floppy hat and rolling English countryside on the cover fool you. Harry Mosco's Country Boy is a certified floor-filler, bursting with Studio 54 era disco-funk. It also contains a token reggae monster, complete with its own dub version. Harry Mosco always had swagger. A founding member of The Funkees, he'd stride out on stage in tight pants and dark sunglasses, commanding the attention of a population distracted by war. When The Funkees split in London, it was clear that his star would rise the fastest. Released in 1978 by Nigeria's fledgling Taretone label, Country Boy became one of the best-selling Nigerian records of all time. The first few bars of "It's Too Late" are guaranteed to get you on the dance floor and Sam El'Salahi's slinky bassline on "I Feel Funky" will keep you there. "Harry's Party" is a celebration you never want to end. The title track, and its dub doppelganger, are a reggae-tinged chance to catch your breath, before "The Wanderer" drags you back on the dancefloor until the house lights come on.
MOSCO, HARRY: Country Boy (Mr. Funkees) LP (PMG 024LP)
LP version. PMG present a reissue of Harry Mosco's Country Boy (Mr. Funkees), originally released in 1978. Don't let the floppy hat and rolling English countryside on the cover fool you. Harry Mosco's Country Boy is a certified floor-filler, bursting with Studio 54 era disco-funk. It also contains a token reggae monster, complete with its own dub version. Harry Mosco always had swagger. A founding member of The Funkees, he'd stride out on stage in tight pants and dark sunglasses, commanding the attention of a population distracted by war. When The Funkees split in London, it was clear that his star would rise the fastest. Released in 1978 by Nigeria's fledgling Taretone label, Country Boy became one of the best-selling Nigerian records of all time. The first few bars of "It's Too Late" are guaranteed to get you on the dance floor and Sam El'Salahi's slinky bassline on "I Feel Funky" will keep you there. "Harry's Party" is a celebration you never want to end. The title track, and its dub doppelganger, are a reggae-tinged chance to catch your breath, before "The Wanderer" drags you back on the dancefloor until the house lights come on.
LP version. PMG present a reissue of Elcados's last record, What Ever You Need, originally released in 1979. "By the 1979 release of What Ever You Need, the Elcados were ready to party. 'We got rhythm, we got sound,' they declare on 'Funky Music'. Starting out as The Moonrakers in Kanu in 1968, Steve Black, Rocky Mustapha, Tony Nosika and Frank Martins spent the next decade gigging their way out of the north, including a surreal set with Khalifa Baba-Ahmed at the Miss New Nigeria contest. They released two rock-oriented albums in the mid '70s before hitting a disco/reggae groove on What Ever You Need. The album starts with the title track, a bouncy reggae number guaranteed to fill the dance floor. 'Cross Over Reggae' keeps the mood light before 'The World Is Full Of Injustice' delivers a bit of Rasta indignation. Funk monsters 'Marry The Poor' and 'Funky Music' bring it all home, reminding listeners that the guys didn't drag out their best shiny suits just to smoke spliffs. Sadly, What Ever You Need, was the last record the Elcados released. But they went out with the glitter ball burning brightly, dimmed but a little by the fug of the righteous herb." --Peter Moore.
SAHARA ALL STAR BAND JOS: Sahara All Stars Of Jos CD (PMG 026CD)
PMG present a reissue of Sahara All Star Band Jos's Sahara All Stars Of Jos, originally released in 1976. Based in the Havana Nightclub, in the central plateau town of Jos, the Sahara All Stars Of Jos weren't part of the Lagos scene or the one in the east. Their leader, Dan Satch Ayo, had played with Dr Sir Warrior in The Orientals. He'd jammed with Mohammed Ahidjo and Sonny Akpan from The Funkees. Together with the All Stars he took the best of both scenes and created his own tight, hypnotic groove. First released in 1978, Sahara All Stars Of Jos is a musical journey through all of those influences. "Freedom For Africa" is a potent rallying cry sugarcoated with a sweet reggae vibe. "World People" is an Afro-beat gem that condenses a night out at The Shrine into just under eleven minutes. You can almost feel the steam coming out of New York manholes on "Take Your Soul". And the highlife-tinged "Alikali Adajo" brings it back, full-circle, to the Jos Hotel, just off the roundabout, where it all began. Engineered by Fela Kuti's regular knob twiddler, Emmanuel A. Odunesu, Sahara All Stars Of Jos is a tight, funky sonic gem and a timely reminder that, in the '70s, the groove was strong all over Nigeria.
SAHARA ALL STAR BAND JOS: Sahara All Stars Of Jos LP (PMG 026LP)
LP version. PMG present a reissue of Sahara All Star Band Jos's Sahara All Stars Of Jos, originally released in 1976. Based in the Havana Nightclub, in the central plateau town of Jos, the Sahara All Stars Of Jos weren't part of the Lagos scene or the one in the east. Their leader, Dan Satch Ayo, had played with Dr Sir Warrior in The Orientals. He'd jammed with Mohammed Ahidjo and Sonny Akpan from The Funkees. Together with the All Stars he took the best of both scenes and created his own tight, hypnotic groove. First released in 1978, Sahara All Stars Of Jos is a musical journey through all of those influences. "Freedom For Africa" is a potent rallying cry sugarcoated with a sweet reggae vibe. "World People" is an Afro-beat gem that condenses a night out at The Shrine into just under eleven minutes. You can almost feel the steam coming out of New York manholes on "Take Your Soul". And the highlife-tinged "Alikali Adajo" brings it back, full-circle, to the Jos Hotel, just off the roundabout, where it all began. Engineered by Fela Kuti's regular knob twiddler, Emmanuel A. Odunesu, Sahara All Stars Of Jos is a tight, funky sonic gem and a timely reminder that, in the '70s, the groove was strong all over Nigeria.
S. JOB ORGANIZATION: Freedom Anthem LP (PMG 027LP)
LP version. PMG present a reissue of S. Job Organization's Freedom Anthem, originally released in 1978. "S. Job Organization (also known as SJOB Movement) was a rarity in the Nigerian music scene - a collective of equals in a world where band 'leaders' ruled the roost and 'band boys' had to make do with the crumbs. The name was an acronym representing each of the members - Samuel 'Spark' Abiloye, Johnnie Woode Olimah, Ehima 'Blackie' Ottah and Prince Bolarinwa Agba. They were music scene veterans and the nucleus of Sonny Okosuns's group, Ozziddi. Unshackled, their undeniable chemistry fizzed. Listen to a SJOB record and you can almost hear band members nodding their heads in appreciation of each others's mad skills. On Freedom Anthem, the music is deep, dark and funky. It took inspiration from the new sounds coming out of black America with a focus that was increasingly political. 'Ayamoto' calls for Africans to stand up for their rights. 'Freedom Anthem' is another funky call to arms. 'Oya' and 'Wombiliki' incorporate local folk sounds and a tinge of reggae for a distinctly African burnish. The egalitarian structure of SJOB eventually led to its demise. Without a dominant personality to galvanize the band, they lost direction. Johnnie Woode rejoined Ozziddi. Prince Bola joined King Sunny Ade. The great social experiment was over. But in Freedom Anthem, the magic it created lives on." --Peter Moore.
LP version. PMG present a reissue of Aigbe Lebarty's Unity, originally released in 1979. "In 1979, long-time highlife veteran Aigbe Lebarty decided to try his hand at high-energy disco funk. Checking the Lebartone Aces at the door, he borrowed the Sex Bombers from Prince Omo Lawal-Osula and created Unity, a sure-fire dance floor stomper that channels 'Ring My Bell' into a clarion cry for, well, unity ... and a good time. The title track is the undisputed highlight of the album. It rattles along in a wonky, skittish fashion, with the high-pitched toms dueling with the Sex Bombers in a musical game of Space Invaders. 'His Highness Erediauwa 1 Oba Of Benin' sees Aigbe slip back into highlife like a comfortable pair of slippers. The tracks were a gift to Erediauwa, who had just been crowned the 38th ruler of the Edo people in Benin City. Like eastern Nigeria, Benin City had remained a haven for highlife, so no surprises there. Spookily, the reissue of this album by PMG coincides with the passing of his Highness Erediauwa 1 and the coronation of his successor." --Peter Moore.
"Bringing together the undisputed talents of Nigerian percussionist Aleke Kanonu and soul legend from Alabama, O.C. Tolbert, this 12" created quite the buzz when it was released in New York in 1982. 'Happiness' is an uptown style gospel ballad where Tolbert's gravelly, soulful voice channels years of hurt and pain. 'Nwanne, Nwanne, Nwanne' is an Afro-beat disco monster that rattles along on the back of Kanonu's awesome percussion skills. Both tracks were written and produced by Jack Taylor, a producer, songwriter and purported gangster from Harlem and released on his own label." --Peter Moore.
"We're talking early '80s sophistication here, with a killer groove designed to let you show off all your moves and still look as classy as hell. By the late '70s and early '80s, disco was king in Nigeria and BLO were under pressure to follow the trend. Typically, they did it their own way, with slinky bass lines, Nile Rodgers guitar licks and a beat guaranteed to make you move. The Afro-beat and psyche rock stylings were gone, but the tightness and funkiness that comes from laying down rock hard grooves for over a decade remains." --Peter Moore.
Prog Temple present a reissue of Glencoe's self-titled debut album, originally released in 1972. Formed in 1972, this funky British prog band featured John Turnbull (guitar, vocals), Graham Maitland (keyboards, vocals), Norman Watt-Roy (bass, vocals) and Stewart Francis (drums, vocals). Between them they played in Skip Bifferty, Greatest Show On Earth, Forever More and several other well-regarded acts. Their pedigree shines through on this classic debut. Originally issued in December 1972, it makes its long-overdue return to CD here. Includes background notes and images.
Prog Temple present a reissue of Lighthouse's Good Day, originally released in 1974. Having been named "Vocal/Instrumental Group of the Year" for the third time at Canada's prestigious Juno Awards in 1973, Lighthouse entered Thunder Sound in Toronto the following year to record their final album. Downplaying the horn-heavy sound that had previously defined them, it's a taut set of progressive rock with prominent synth and it sees founder member and drummer Skip Prokop switching to lead guitar. It makes its long-overdue CD debut here. Includes background notes and images.
Round three of the Quartet Series. Rising talent Tell from Paris confirms that Paris is rapidly reclaiming its former status as a hotbed for raw and moody house music, offering up a delectable blend of lavish chords, distorted sounds and melancholic vocals. The Croation beat-smith Darko Kustura throws in some additional punches, treating the crowd to a wobbling groovy baseline and sugary sweet chords. Loz Goddard steps out of his comfort zone and delivers a sonic uppercut with a mad piece of swinging acid. Hungary's BAL 5000 flexes his acid muscle to disorientate and a dubby bass to sedate.
GODDARD, LOZ: Sunset Vista EP 12" (QUINTESSE 051EP)
Loz Goddard is back with this four-tracker of slightly deeper and more synth-driven cuts than would be expected from the man. "Slap Dancer" sets the tone with punchy drum and sample hits, easily the most club oriented of the bunch. "Duplicity" sees Loz back on that slightly funkier sound, but with a little added dustiness. "Flavour" adds a little extra sprinkling of dust with its rolling drums and chords - proper chillin' basement tackle. "Sunset Vista" is a slow, machine-driven and synthed-out acid jam.
MEDICINE HEAD: New Bottles Old Medicine LP (RAD 7009LP)
Radiation present a reissue of New Bottles Old Medicine, the 1970 debut from British group Medicine Head. A duo at the time, they had recently been discovered by the legendary John Peel who immediately signed them to his Dandelion record label, following with the release of this album. One of the more enigmatic and inventive groups of the British folk-rock scene, the duo's leader, John Fiddler would simultaneously sing, play guitar and operate a bass drum and hi-hat cymbal with his foot, while bandmate Peter Hope-Evans would play harmonica, jew's harp, and various percussion instruments. Creating a sound that was simultaneously ethereal and earthy, and with a voice that touched on the heartbroken vibes of Nick Drake and John Martyn, Medicine Head were truly one of the most brilliant groups of early '70s UK scene and rarely get the attention they deserve. This reissue comes as a deluxe 180 gram vinyl.
$16.99 EAN: 8592735005211 ROCK
A1. When Night Falls
A2. Ooee Baby
A3. Next Time The Sun Comes Round
A4. This Love Of Old
A5. Home's Odyssey
A6. Oh My Heart To Peace
A7. Do It Now
A8. Be It As We Are
B1. Fire Under Mountain
B2. Two Men Now
B3. Crazy Bout You Baby
B4. Goin' Home
B5. His Guiding Hand
B6. Walkin' Blues
Retrograde marks its fifth release with a various artists release, In Reverse Pt.1. Matteo Luis's "Out Here" sets the tone with ethereal pad swells, organic rhythms and choppy bass hits. Natureboy Gold's "Eternal" follows and employs a similarly airy synth feel while introducing a robust tom-driven rhythmic approach to create an understated dancefloor focused contribution. Terron's contribution drops the tempo to a low-slung feel with dubbed-out bass licks, bumpy percussion and spiraling bass drones to create something idiosyncratic and psychedelic. Marlon Hoffstadt delivers a raw energetic workout with soaring '80s tinged leads, snaking bass grooves and frenetic percussion.
Double LP version. Keita Sano was born in 1989 in Okayama. He has released music on more labels than forests have trees (1080p, Rett I Fletta, Let's Play House, Mister Saturday Night, Crue-L etc.). He makes a technoid yet lo-fi version of music for discotheques that's uniquely his own. Rett I Fletta label head Prins Thomas on meeting Keita Sano: "A little over a year ago I spent a day off in the lovely seaside town Enoshima. There is a really nice club, cafe and concert venue there called Oppa-La which I had played the previous night. So my dear friend and Japanese promoter Hagi tells me we should go back there the following night as there will be local bands playing followed by a live-set from Keita Sano. I was only vaguely familiar with his music but had noticed his name crop up more and more frequently so off we went. A couple of beers later and around the third track in, he somehow manages to merge the playfulness of disco with the physical impact of techno, I'm sold there and then. Over a friendly chat and more beers, I clumsily present an offer to release his music and hopefully even all the things he played that night. A few days later the album as you hold in front of you and more or less a replica of that live-set arrives in my inbox."
RAMONES, THE: My Father's Place, NY, 20 July 1982 2CD (RV 2063CD)
The Ramones, live at My Father's Place, New York on July 20th, 1982. The Ramones did not release an album in 1982, but continued to gig prolifically, despite problems within their ranks. Joey and Marky were battling alcoholism, while Dee Dee was in the grip of cocaine addiction, meaning that Johnny was taking more musical control. They were still a formidable live force, as this superb performance attests. This double CD presents the full original WLIR 92.7 FM broadcast. Includes background notes and images.
In times where a compilation of 12-inch bangers passes as an album, Telephones's debut album Vibe Telemetry opts for a different approach. Without being a departure from his 12-inches for Sex Tags UFO, Full Pupp and Running Back or his brilliant remix work for José Padilla and Vangelis Katsoulis, the Norwegian producer from Bergen who calls Berlin his home, hones sound, skills and aesthetics on his debut long-player. Vibe Telemetry is inspired by the pure feeling of listening to house, disco and techno, prior to knowing what it actually was: ambiguous, euphoric, mystical and melancholic, sonic and physical experiences, which names and origins were yet to be discovered. Sleeve designed by DJ Fettburger.
KRYSS HYPNOWAVE: Endosphora EP 12" (SEANCE 1201EP)
Seance is a new London based techno and electronica label owned by Warren of The Clairvoyants, who many will recognize from their former show on Rinse FM. The label's first release is provided by Italian producer Kryss Hypnowave, the production alias of Christian Scalas. The main remix comes from Edit Select, who is the producer Tony Scott from Glasgow, UK. He has a big reputation and doesn't disappoint with his remix here.
KOPKE, ALFRED: Jack Have A Art EP 12" (SEANCE 1202EP)
Original material from Alfred Kopke, aka Ivo Polónia. Based in Portugal, he also makes up one half of Quantic Spectroscopy and has had releases on Relapso and his own Reaktivate label. The release also features Subjected who, for most techno fans, needs no introduction as a purveyor of quality audio. His dark and distinctly individual sound has helped him build an impressive back catalog of releases, where his music has been featured on Electric Deluxe, Perc Trax, Sleaze Records, Affin and PoleGroup and releases much of his material through his own well-known Vault Series label. 180 gram vinyl.
Roman Lindau takes the listener on a ride through a multitude of sounds and emotions with Strange Brew. "With My Hands" opens things up with grinding percussion and a massive call-and-response of warm industrial synths while a soulful vocal teases and shimmers of resonant acid. The title track "Strange Brew" combines chugging organic percussion with classic Detroit house stabs. The burner titled "Move" with rapid fire percussion, vintage acid lines and a super slick vocal hook. "After Dark" follows up with huge melodic stabs and rising strings building pressure while speedy percussion fuels a feverish endeavor.
DUBFIRE & OLIVER HUNTEMANN: Retrospectivo 2008-2016 2CD (SENSO 019CD)
Oliver Huntemann's Senso Sounds label provides a comprehensive retrospective of the seminal Dubfire & Oliver Huntemann collaboration project with this double CD package. CD One, titled The Spirits, is dedicated to the Diablo (2008), Dios (2008), Humano (SENSO 018EP, 2016) trilogy and includes all mixes of the brand new track "Humano". CD 2 sums up the Elements series consisting of Fuego (IDEAL 011EP, 2010), Terra (2011), Aire (2013) and Agua (2014). The pair's output, since debuting with the epic Diablo in 2008, has now spanned eight years, and Retrospectivo provides a timely reminder of how two of the most influential statesmen of the techno continuum have constantly pushed the boundaries of electronic dance music, and each other, forward. Retrospectivo contains each of their original releases, complemented by a host of exceptional remixes from other key figures in the scene. The CDs were preceded by warmly welcomed new reissues of Terra and Fuego, stretching out over a luxurious 2+ hours of prime techno. "Diablo" kicks things off, sounding as fresh as the day it was unleashed in 2008, and is accompanied by the Carlo Lio remix that pushes its muscular driving vibe into a new territory. "Dios" also appears with the rework from Jon Gaiser, via his Atheists Anonymous Remix, crystallizing the original's ten minute form into a taut, powerful six minutes of dance floor gold. The new track "Humano" appears here in four glorious versions from the original via newer interpretations from Hatzler, Shaded's Summer Skin Remix and the Victor Ruiz mix. Kicking off CD 2, "Fuego" burns as brightly as ever with additional heat added by Julian Jeweil's masterful remix, while "Terra" gets the treatment by the ever dependable Joseph Capriati. Three different mixes each of "Aire" and "Agua" complete the package, with the combined talents of Matador, Peter Dundov and Detroit's own Carl Craig rounding off the compilation in particularly fine style. Both Dubfire and Oliver Huntemann have pursued their own paths that have seen them reach dizzying heights within the techno world, but these recordings and their expertly curated reworks will remain a benchmark for many. As a special bonus, the double CD (via a download code) include an hour-long Retrospectivo-mix by Dubfire & Oliver Huntemann.
When people talk about summertime vibes, it's most often associated with the obvious: good weather, sweet drinks, waterside locales, and a much-needed departure from the daily grinds. But it's the smell of summer that really infects the spirit: suntan lotions, watermelon, piña colada mixes, BBQ grill emanations, and perhaps most importantly, sweat. Dripping, oozing, sticky buckets of lovely sweat. This three-tracker of party bombs, on the dance floor - a slick power wash of classic French disco, a rollicking jazz piano-led jam. Let these sweaty numbers melt your worries. No top hat and gator shoes required...just shake that ass!
ADRIATIQUE: Patterns Of Eternity EP 12" (SIAMESE 001EP)
Adriatique present the first release on Siamese, Patterns Of Eternity EP. The title track is an almost 11 minute trip, which tries to put the dance floor into a hypnotic state. The layers and synth lines create a special vibe while the bass line pushes the track forward. "Womb" has made its cycle around the clubs and festivals. While the title track may be complex, "Womb" focuses on keeping it simple. "Quadrivia" is reminiscent of the mid-2000s, starting with a wobbly melody before breaking down and coming back in full effect.
LP version. Skiz Fernando aka Spectre tha Ill Saint ranks as an OG in the world of abstract beats. Forged in the fires of frustration over the corporate music industry, alter ego Spectre was an antidote to the commercial bullshit -- a ghost rising from a rotting corpse, holding up a mirror to our diseased and disaffected society. Through his WordSound imprint, Fernando has worked tirelessly to document some of the greats of the underground scene. Simultaneously he has become a master in his own right, constantly upping the ante on experimentation and innovation. For the 2016 20th anniversary of his 1996 entry to the game, he presents The Last Shall Be First, another cutting-edge amalgam of styles, flavors, and influences with a spiritual heft to match.
Following the release of The Early Years's long-awaited album II (SCR 110CD/LP, 2016), Sonic Cathedral reissue their self-titled debut album, originally released in 2006. The album includes the singles "All Ones And Zeros" and "So Far Gone". On its release, it received glowing reviews. It's an underrated classic that will appeal to fans of Cluster's Sowiesoso (BB 039CD/LP) and Spiritualized alike. It also comes with the seal of approval of Brian Eno, The Horrors and Damo Suzuki. A brand new vinyl cut by Noel Summerville, who has previously worked on a number of My Bloody Valentine and Warp reissues. Edition of 300 on transparent orange wax.
$18.99 EAN: 5055300390820 ROCK
A1. All Ones And Zeros
A2. Things
A3. Simple Solution
A4. Brown Hearts
A5. Song For Elizabeth
B1. Musik Der Fruhen Jahre
B2. So Far Gone
B3. High Times And Low Lives
B4. Harmonic Interlude
B5. This Ain't Happiness
Natural Selections is the second EP from Brisbane native Sampology. An exquisite six track EP that delves into Sampology's Afro-percussive and organic influences which he has masterfully produced and laced with lush, live elements. Renowned composer and conductor, Gordon Hamilton, arranged strings on "Thicker Than Water". Closer to home, Sampology's family lay the true building blocks of Natural Selections. His father Ken Poggioli playing upright bass, his Aunt Helen Poggioli playing viola and his mother Sue Poggioli creating the artwork. Also features contributions from Tiana KhasiLaneous and Noah Slee.
Efialtis present four feral tracks of stripped down, high-energy, mid-tempo punk, with despotic vocals and ominous Greek lyrics. The sharp guitar and buzzing bass wade through combative drumming, all tough as nails, perfectly enhancing the nightmarish unease underlying their sound. Ten minutes of '80s-inspired, rudimentary jaggedness, complete with catchy songwriting, tight delivery and a production that's appropriately massive and the right amount of shambolic. Limited to 500 copies.
INUIT: 55 Historical Recordings Of Traditional Music From Greenland 1905-1987 CD (SR 115CD)
2016 repress. 55 Historical Recordings Of Traditional Music From Greenland 1905-1987 features historical recordings of traditional Greenlandic music recorded between 1905 (by the British ethnologist William Thalbitzer) to 1987 and collected by the Danish ethnomusicologist Michael Hauser. It was published in Greenland by Ulo. Sub Rosa took the decision to enlarge the distribution of this tribute to traditions and roots of the Inuit culture. This is more than an hour of ultra-rare documents, the testimony of a century of Inuit recordings. As a guide through this abundant material, included is a 24-page booklet with notes, comments and photos. Voices recorded in Greenland almost hundred years ago on wax glader cylinders, a lost shamanic story, a duel-song, a mournful melody and a unique collection of drum dance and songs. Hope, happiness and mournings - all of humanity is right here.
LP version. Book Of Air present Vvolk. Inspired by the slow tempo and invisible motion of nature; how the seasons pace without sudden turns, slow and gentle. Seemingly still, yet always in motion. Book Of Air is a series of bundled compositions, this being the second chapter. Opposed to the first quintet release Fieldtone (SR 412LP), the music out of the Vvolk series is played by a group of 18 improvisers with roots in jazz and classical music. The group investigates performing and improvising music, in close relation to present time; what are the possibilities in playing music, when changes in this music pass by unnoticed? How do we as musicians relate to the running time of a performance? How does our hearing and memory react to these slow changes? As a result, Vvolk lets the listener experience music which is less perceived in the present time, but rather occurs in our memory of the past. This clearly challenges the improvising musicians, and makes audience and performers discover new territories in collective improvisation. Vvolk is performed by Stijn Cools - drums; Indre Jurgeleviciuté - kankles; Benjamin Sauzereau - electric guitar; Bert Cools - electric guitar; Nathan Wouters - double bass; Laurens Smet - double bass; Hendrik Vanattenhoven - double bass; Ruben Machtelinckx - electric guitar; Fruz Tonteling - harmonium; Wout Gooris - Rhodes; Niels Van Heertum - euphonium; Thomas Jillings - tenor saxophone; Viktor Perdieus - tenor saxophone; Erik Bogaerts - alto saxophone; Frans van Isacker - alto saxophone; Mathieu Robert - soprano saxophone; Stefan Bracaval - flute; Sep François - drums and melodic percussion.
Limited gold vinyl version. This is the volume one of Unworks & Rarities, a new series compiling unreleased and miscellaneous pieces by Oiseaux-Tempête. Following their two acclaimed first albums on Sub Rosa (Ütopiya?, 2015 (SR 396CD, SR 396LP) & Oiseaux-Tempête, 2013 (SR 381CD, SR 381LP)), Unworks & Rarities is putting up more than a collection of outtakes. Since 2012, French "free-rockers" Oiseaux-Tempête have been making instrumental and experimental rock that's heavy, provocative, and in no way intended for just a casual listen. The band, formed in Paris, is the core duo Frédéric D. Oberland & Stéphane Pigneul beside drummers Sylvain Joasson, Ben McConnell & Jean-Michel Pirès. Their music was initially made alongside photographer Stéphane C. in order to document the existential conflict caused by the political and economic upheavals in Greece. For Ütopiya? the travels moved to Istanbul and Sicily, the group expanded with the addition of G.W. Sok (The Ex's former vocalist) narrating Nazim Hikmet's poems and Gareth Davis on bass clarinet, providing the food for its urgent energy and indomitable drive; still free, more punk, pursuing their sonic odyssey around the Mediterranean Sea. Including the same previous guests, Unworks & Rarities features also unreleased cosmic sessions with ondes martenot's virtuoso Christine Ott. More than mere music, the heft behind this project translates directly into the sound. It's not always dark and brooding, but it's definitely always potent. The landscapes they create through their soundscapes are always rich, stirring, full of color and texture, and entirely cinematic. What's more, and what's most important, is that it feels so human. Using, at times, audio realia from the times of turmoil, the sounds and the music work together to shine a light and lift heads towards it. Commanding more than just your ears, from guts to gray matter, Oiseaux-Tempête will hijack your insides. Pushing new boundaries, this opus crystallizes precious moments of sonic bloom, from ambient soundscapes to free-noise and krautrock inflected improvisation.
Anima Ardens is a new soundtrack creation by Francisco López. Eleven men, eleven dancers in constant nudity, throw themselves, body and soul into Anima Ardens or "Burning Breath", highlighting the diversity of their bodies and origins. Trance rituals or being in shamanic trance, takes anyone to the source of their emotions. All surrounded by the organic sound environments of Francisco López. Comes in a digipack sleeve.
Tardis Records label owners Eli Verveine and Oscar Schubaq present two tracks from the personal archives of Peter Kremeier, aka Losoul, a man who has been rocking dancefloors and enchanting listeners with his abstract and tripped-out take on minimal house for two decades. "Soda Island" hangs cut-up vocal stabs over the last word in bone-dry, bass-heavy grooves. "Sparkling Please" starts out cheerfully but then subtly mutates into spooked insectoid psychedelia anchored by crisp percussion and bass. Drop either of these cuts at the right moment and watch the dancers lose their minds. Mastered and cut by Stefan Betke.
Electronic music producer and DJ Greg Sanders, AKA Distance, presents his third album Dynamis. Alongside recording Dynamis over the past four years, Distance has been writing and producing for other artists which veered him away from his 140bpm roots. The productions of A$AP Ferg, Drake, Schoolboy Q and earlier Arca and FKA Twigs were a big influence, alongside the soundtracks of Hans Zimmer and Cliff Martinez. "I get inspiration from everywhere and deliberately try to ignore what is happening in the scene I'm most involved in. Dynamis is influenced a lot by film scores. I have geeked out massively to create great dynamics in all of the tracks, sounds are heavily automated and processed to really give the music life." Even the structure of the tracks ditches the typical DJ friendly layouts and is programmed in an order that best helps to deliver the story. As producer, DJ and label owner of Chestplate Records, Distance has been instigating change in music since emerging in 2003. His first two albums My Demons (2007) and Repercussions (2008) were released through Planet Mu. "I feel very privileged to have released two albums on Planet Mu and they are still referenced by many as key albums in dubstep's history. Tectonic has been releasing my music for almost a decade, so it felt right for me to produce an album for the label. Pinch is a good friend and one of the few people whose opinion I trust." Dynamis is the first Distance album to feature vocalists; helping to portray emotions, tell a story and aid the overall narrative of the album. "When recording 'Badman' with Killa P I got him to stand as far away from the mic as possible and shout the lyric across the studio, as though he was shouting at someone across the street. We were cracking up at the time. I then used these recordings to create multiple layers and textures to his vocals. This gave the impression of there being a huge crowd of people chanting the chorus. Beezy was also a great artist to work with. We were done recording in about 20 minutes, he's so professional and knows exactly how to deliver the vocals the way I need them."
COMMUNITY RADIO: Look Now You're Cursed LP (TEN 104LP)
Sydney-based, skewed pop outfit Community Radio present Look Now You're Cursed, the follow-up to their highly regarded 2012 debut Serious Magic. Community Radio are led by former Youth Group and Songs member Cameron Emerson-Elliott, and also feature Patrick Matthews (The Vines, Youth Group), Jen Kevin and Mal McKernan. Early in 2014, as the band was preparing to commence work on the follow-up to their debut record (with cheap mics and ad-hoc gear they'd amassed through eBay), drummer Mal fell seriously ill. During a window of good health for Mal at the start of 2015, the band decided to abandon their plans to record themselves and to get Look Now You're Cursed done as rapidly as possible with the best help going. They headed into Alberts Studios in Neutral Bay with producer Wayne Connolly for four days of tracking, capturing Community Radio's run down, buzzing gear and stripped back elemental pop in the highest fidelity. With Look Now You're Cursed the band has matured and developed, deepening their sound and sharpening their songwriting to a unique singular point. The album delivers eleven tracks of literate guitar pop that brim with melody and mood. "Warm, witty, and whip-smart, Community Radio restore chiming guitar pop to the golden days of Teenage Fanclub and The Go-Betweens. This is timeless, versatile songwriting shot through with up-to-the-minute anxieties." -- Doug Wallen, The Big Issue.
I'm Alright Mate sees the Bristol-based producer shift full throttle into far more menacing territory. Fueled by the distaste for ignorance, blind condescension and amphetamine fueled brawls, Bruce delivers two cuts of floor destroying workouts. "I'm Alright Mate" has been dazing dancefloors for over a year, recently being a highlight of Joy O's Dekmantel mix. Tenacious kick drums set the tone, before screaming feedback obliterate any sense of predictability. It is as mischievous as it is hostile. "Post Rave Wrestle" utilizes a similar sound palette, but with a low-slung, surly rhythm punctuated by splinters of feedback.
FUCHS, CAMILA: Singing From Fixed Rung 12" (TOTEM 001EP)
Camila Fuchs are the London based experimental electronic duo of Camila de Laborde and Daniel Hermann-Collini. Taking inspiration from Oskar Schlemmer's Bauhaus style, they utilize its rejection of gender stereotypes. Collini brings expertise from the experimental techno and krautrock scene in his native Germany - also pulling from the likes of Aphex Twin, Oneohtrix Point Never, The Knife and Kraftwerk. The tender delivery of Camila de Laborde's introverted and esoteric lyricism takes cues from Lhasa de Sela and other South American songwriters. Singing From Fixed Rung is an emotional and thought-provoking response to world events.
Rhode & Brown are back with a new EP full of their very special, funk-influenced, analog sounding dance tracks. Snabsnus EP shows a great range of their musical inspirations: funky acid basslines, hazy breakbeats, rare soul-samples - and a very special, nasty atmosphere that is becoming their trademark sound. Rhode & Brown have made this EP in a little house in L'estrechure - in the south of France. You can feel the chilled vibe of the Provence here. It has that positive, soulful atmosphere.
NIKAKOI: Raise Your Head And Smell The Air 12" (TT 004EP)
Following Bakradze's Before Time Altered Them (TT 003EP, 2015), Transfigured Time returns with their fourth release, yet again from a Georgian artist Nika Machaidze, aka Nikakoi aka Erast. Tbilisi based musician who started his career in late 1990s/early 2000s. Nika is a member of electronic art group Goslab alongside Tusia Beridze, Gogi Dzodzuashvili and others. Raise Your Head and Smell The Air EP includes five original tracks and one remix from another Georgian producer, HVL. Cover photo by Georgian photographer, David Meskhi.
$8.99 UPC: N/A ELECTRONIC
A1. Raise Your Head
A2. Smell The Air
A3. Raise Your Head And Smell The Air (HVL Remix)
B1. How Is She There In The Fog
B2. I Can't Even See My Paw
B3. Stars To The Left
Dominik Eulberg has chosen three jewels that carry animal names. "Taubenblut" starts off with an excursion into massive deep baseline spheres, all dubby and minimalistic by nature. A seductive melody shines like a turning crystal while delivering simultaneously fine and deep cuts to your skin. "Falkenauge" expresses an explicit feeling of wanderlust, advocacy and longing. It is a walk through nature all picturesque and colorful and if you listen closely, the sequences seem to "talk" to you. "Katzengold" describes an atmosphere of perfect harmony with nature, no hardship, no self-destruction. Artwork by Miri D'Oro.
100 years of dada and a half-century of Embryo - Two good reasons for Embryo to celebrate and a perfectly good reason for a new record. "Do It", one of the slogans of the beatniks and hippies of the sixties, has been and still is a statement enormously important to Embryo. Inspired by dada, the group has changed the slogan to "It Do" and has named their new album accordingly. The Embyro collective has been active for almost fifty years, always led by their musical leader and visionary Christian Burchard. That Burchard energy has doubled now, as his daughter Marja, who stood on stage with the group the first time when she was only 11 years old, has now stepped into the spotlight. The multi-instrumentalist lives and breathes the "Do It" concept with the same conviction as her father Christian. On It Do the group for the first time has recorded songs composed by her. Embryo played right after Jimi Hendrix at his last live show at the Fehmarn Open Air in 1970. They founded the first artist-run independent label in Germany, Schneeball. They played with international musical legends such as Charlie Mariano and Mal Waldron. Embyro were one of the first European bands to combine jazz and rock music. Later they became pioneers of the then still un-named world music genre, with countless travels through Africa and Asia where they were joined by local musicians. Always on the move, always incorporating new players, the band has been a force in the music scene for almost 50 years now. "Embryo - real krautrock based in Germany, connected worldwide." -- John Peel. "Embryo is not so much a musical style, but an attitude. It's about the serious study of traditional music. And it's the wish to bring the world together via music." -- Nick McCarthy, Franz Ferdinand (with Embryo from 1999-2002). "Embryo - they are these crazy creative musicians playing really weird stuff." -- Miles Davis.
The 50th anniversary reissue of Bobby Hebb's Sunny, originally released in 1966. No soul singer of the 1960s boasted the singular array of contrasting influences that Bobby Hebb brought to the table. Hebb came up primarily country in his hometown of Nashville, proceeded to immerse himself in the hip New York jazz and R&B scenes, and had his biggest hit in 1966 with the self-penned "Sunny", a pop classic, a world hit and one of the most recorded songs of the century. Before 1961 was over, Hebb set out for New York and landed a booking at a nightspot called the Blue Morocco that lasted for more than a year. Hebb was soon ready to try out a solo singer-songwriter act on the big apple circuit. Bobby Hebb's brother Harald was murdered on the day after President Kennedy's assassination in November of 1963, but contrary to legend, those tragedies weren't the primary catalysts for Hebb to write "Sunny". They may have figured into it somehow, along with the civil rights struggle then in full swing. In one interview, he mentioned being lyrically inspired by a purple New York sunrise after a long night out on the town. Producer Jerry Ross conducted his Mercury sessions at New York's Bell Sound with a coterie of top session men that included guitarists Vinnie Bell and Eric Gale. Ross recruited Joe Renzetti, a former Philly session guitarist, as his arranger for Hebb's first Philips session. Surprisingly, "Sunny" was the last song waxed on February 21, 1966 at Bell Sound. First up was "Bread", a surging soul number about filthy lucre written by Hebb. Then came the Jimmy Roach-penned rocker "I Am Your Man" (featuring one of Bobby's fieriest vocal performances) and a relentless "Love Love Love", the work of Ross and Renzetti. Finally, they got around to laying "Sunny" on tape. Bobby's inspiring lyrics and riveting vocal were exquisitely supported by Renzetti's modulating arrangement, steadily building excitement from start to finish. "Sunny" broke out during the spring of '66, catapulting to #2 pop and #3 R&B in Billboard as it went gold. Suddenly Bobby was in high demand, appearing as one of the preliminary acts on The Beatles's last American tour. CD version comes as a digipak and with a booklet.
VA: The 50th Anniversary Collection Of Sunny CD (TR 20682CD)
Trocadero present a "one song" compilation celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bobby Hebb's 1966 hit, "Sunny". Bobby Hebb was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2000 when Rüdiger Ladwig found him. The pair subsequently worked together on compiling two volumes of A Collection Of Various Interpretations Of Sunny for the Trocadero label, released in 2002. The two CD anthologies contained 33 vintage versions of "Sunny", including Bobby's own, that underscored the incredible wealth of contrasting renditions of Hebb's signature theme. The 50th Anniversary Collection Of Sunny collects highlights of those long-gone and much sought after original compilations. After the release of those two compilations, Hebb and Ladwig became friends and worked together on several projects, including Hebb's 2005 studio album That´s All I Wanna Know (TR 20691LP/TR 20692CD). Hebb had his biggest hit in 1966 with the self-penned "Sunny," a pop classic, a worldwide hit and one of the most recorded songs of the century, too. Hebb´s brother Harold was murdered on the day after President Kennedy's assassination in November of 1963, but contrary to legend, those tragedies weren't the primary catalysts for Bobby Hebb to write "Sunny." They may have figured into it somehow, along with some sad times he´d experienced and the civil rights struggle then in full swing. In one interview, he mentioned being lyrically inspired by a purple New York sunrise after a long night out on the town. "Sunny" broke out during the spring of '66, topping Cash Box's pop charts and catapulting to #2 pop and #3 R&B in Billboard as it went gold. Suddenly Bobby was in high demand, appearing as one of the preliminary acts on The Beatles's last American tour. CD version comes as a digipak and with a booklet. The 50th Anniversary Collection Of Sunny features covers by: James Brown & Dee Felice Trio (feat. Marva Whitney), Shirley Bassey, Robert Mitchum, Dusty Springfield, The Head Shop, The John Schroeder Orchestra, Georgie Fame, Cher, Wilson Pickett, Herbie Mann & Tamiko Jones, Booker T. & The MG´s, Trini Lopez, Ella Fitzgerald and Jose Feliciano.
HEBB, BOBBY: That's All I Wanna Know CD (TR 20692CD)
Trocadero present a reissue of the third and final Bobby Hebb album That's All I Wanna Know, originally released in 2005. Bobby was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2000 when Rüdiger Ladwig found him. The pair subsequently worked together on compiling two volumes of A Collection Of Various Interpretations Of Sunny for the Trocadero label, released in 2012. The two CD anthologies contained 33 vintage versions of "Sunny", including Bobby's own, that underscored the incredible wealth of contrasting renditions of Hebb's signature theme. Soul (James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops), jazz (Stan Kenton, Herbie Mann, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Smith), pop (Dusty Springfield, Jose Feliciano, Shirley Bassey), rock (Gary Lewis & The Playboys, The Ventures) -"Sunny" was truly universal. Hebb recorded his third and final studio album, That's All I Wanna Know with the producer team Konstantin Wienstroer, Veit Lange and Jürgen Dahmen with Rüdiger Ladwig as executive producer at Black Sheep Studio in Düsseldorf, Germany, proving conclusively that his unique sound was as relevant and bracing as ever. Released in 2005, the disc contained soul-steeped revivals of Syl Johnson's "Different Strokes", Little Milton's "We're Gonna Make It", and James Carr's title cut as well as remakes of gems from Bobby's heyday ("Love Love Love", "Bound By Love", and "Cold Cold Night" a Hebb/Phil Medley composition that Philips never issued). Bobby tipped his hat to Hank Williams with a brisk "Cold Cold Heart", and the set featured a lovely treatment of "Sunny" that paired Bobby with Astrid North, former lead singer of the German band Cultured Pearls. It marked the only time Hebb cut his trademark theme as a duet. Bobby Hebb passed away August 3, 2010 in his hometown of Nashville. Although he'll always be remembered for "Sunny", his recorded legacy is a lot richer and fuller than one certified 20th Century classic. CD version comes as a digipak.
DERBYSHIRE AND ELSA STANSFIELD, DELIA: Circle Of Light LP (JBH 061LP)
Gold vinyl repress! A highly important previously unreleased soundtrack for Circle Of Life, created in 1972 by musician Delia Derbyshire and artist Elsa Stansfield. The soundtrack is a mix of concrete ideas, sound design, tape manipulation, natural environmental sounds and birdsong. The recording was originally commissioned by director, producer and art collector Anthony Roland for his 1972 film about the slides of radical stills photographer Pamela Bone. The film has been rarely seen and the soundtrack has never been released until now. This is the longest known work by Delia Derbyshire - either alone or in association with anyone else - and has been licensed by Trunk Records exclusively worldwide from the Anthony Roland archive/collection. Mastered by Jon Brooks, AKA The Advisory Circle. Full color single LP sleeve.
GALIBARD, GILMER: A Bakers Shit Ton 12" (TURBO 182EP)
Turbo debut from Gilmer Galibard. Galibard: "By now you will have heard the demo in its entirety and are still dancing whether you want to or not. For my purposes, you will use the Search Engine Optimization terms 'Dark', 'Visceral', 'Techno', 'Floor-Destroyers' and 'Paranoid Machine-Driven Warehouse Terror' to ensure that it finds its way to the 83 people who need to hear the release through this specific channel. You may tell people I am 26 years old and from the Canary Islands; both facts are true and sound comforting enough but as you now know this does not matter."
Matt Preston, aka Phaeleh, reprises the sounds of his 2014 album Somnus with Illusion Of The Tale, a long player of ambient deviation. Intended as a soundtrack to explore the perception of self-importance, Illusion Of The Tale operates with a reduced sonic palette of effected live synthesizer workouts and experimental recording techniques infused with worldwide field recordings. The majority of Illusion Of The Tale is based heavily on live synth recordings, recorded live with inherent human mistakes and imperfections kept in to avoid the heavily repetitive process of working "in the box". A selection of tracks are recordings using Phaeleh's live show setup, which resamples and manipulates existing material. Some are constructed using more traditional composition - "In The Emerald" is a live piano recording and live doubling of that part with classical guitar - whereas others are strongly experimental - "Origins" is made from his thumb holding the end of a cable running through a pedal board, then looped and pitched down. Layers of field recordings were added to the tracks to create a sense of noise or the real world. Recorded over a few years, collecting these sounds took Phaeleh from Bristol cemeteries, libraries in Wiltshire and Welsh rock pools to getting lost in the Costa Rican rainforest, riding the Hong Kong MTR underground, walking through cicadas in Colorado and watching Melbourne skateboarders. Ideas for the album's cartographic artwork, evocative of the minimalism movement, started flowing after the music was mostly finished; informed from the idea of recordings from around the world and the travels that accompanied them. Since his debut release in 2008, Phaeleh has developed an inimitable style of electronic music, cementing his position as one of the most consistently exciting producers to emerge from his hometown of Bristol. Illusion Of The Tale satisfies the demand for new music from his incredibly dedicated fan base and cleans the palate for a new full artist album currently in development. Phaeleh on the album: "The album title is my polite way of saying we live in a world of bullshit and bullshitters... I feel that the music provides a chance to pause and escape the illusion of the everyday lie we present not only to the world but also ourselves... I want the album to be an escape from everyday lives. I want it to be a soundtrack for people to let go."
GIULIANI/LUCIANO BIONDINI/ENZO PIETROPAOLI/MICHELE RABBIA, ROSARIO: Cinema Italia CD (VVJ 110CD)
What would film be without music? Music conveys all that which images cannot. The importance of a soundtrack can sometimes even transcend that of images and stories, and great directors often build the entire structure of their masterpiece around a score - the themes in Cinema Italia are evidence of this. There have been numerous masterpieces in Italian cinema that have influenced filmmakers around the world and film composers continue to distinguish themselves in this art. Cinema Italia is a tribute to the great Italian cinema which has contributed to raising global awareness of the country and has maintained a tradition of excellence. Equally distinct is the cast of musicians on this album: Rosario Giuliani on sax, Luciano Biondini on the accordion, Enzo Pietropaoli on the double bass and Michele Rabbia on acoustic and electronic drums. The contemporary music point of view on Cinema Italia never betrays the melodies of these unforgettable themes and presents them with a new force and vitality, demonstrating their immortality and constantly surprising the listener with the fresh innovativeness of the proposed versions. Unforgettable themes from unforgettable movies, such as 8 ½ (1962), Once Upon A Time In America (1984) and Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988), by the iconic composers Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone. On top of these themes, two original tracks by Rosario Giuliani and Luciano Biondini, from Bianco E Nero (2008) and What Is There What Is Not (2011), confirm the narrative force of these two incredible musicians and composers.
RUNAWAYS, THE: Live At The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland July 19, 1976 LP (VL 901479LP)
2016 repress. Here are The Runaways, recorded live on the 19th July 1976, at The Agora, Cleveland, USA. Why have there never been more all girl rock'n'roll bands? I guess by virtue of when The Runaways formed, and their style of music, they are often linked with the new wave / punk scene, whatever category you feel obliged to stick then in, they play a pretty nifty show.
$15.79 UPC: 889397901479 ROCK
SIDE A: 1. california paradise 2. cherry bomb 3. take it or leave it 4. secrets 5. you drive me wild 6. c’mon 7. blackmail 8. wild thing SIDE B: 1. don’t use me 2. rock & roll 3. it’s day or night 4. johnny guitar 5. dead end justice
Klorin is a collaboration between Kenton Slash Demon and Norin. Their debut EP Noncompliance floats in between industrial hypnotic techno and dark ambient. The slow and groovy opener "Noncompliance" creates a soundscape of distorted pads and icy strings that mold in and out. "Cashflow" picks up tempo with a percussive 808 driven beat, swelling pads and alien-like ambient sounds. The beat-less "IOC Corruption Scandal" works as a transient to the EP's closing track "Nauru" which is build up around an intense and soaring synth line with distant robotic voices and haunting melodies.
VA: Japanese Traditional Music: Songs of People at Work and Play - Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai 1941 CD (WA 2019CD)
The fifth and final volume of World Arbiter's Japanese Traditional Music marks the completion of the label's excavation and restoration of 60 10" 78RPM discs of Japanese traditional music, bringing a great body of lost music to light and offering in full a legacy that has been almost entirely unavailable until now, even in Japan. The original set was manufactured in 1941 by a company now called the Japan Foundation, and was intended to be presented exclusively to libraries (though the Japan Foundation now has no record of having produced it). There are only two known sets of these discs, both missing the same final 10". World Arbiter acquired one original set of 59 from Beate Sirota Gordon (daughter of pianist Leo Sirota) in the 1990s, and, after a ten-year search, finally located a test pressing of the 60th disc in a theater museum in Japan. Upon first hearing these recordings, World Arbiter's Allan Evans was shocked to hear that the discs contained every species of traditional music, from the court's origins in shamanic rites, Buddhist chant, Noh plays, kabuki, and blind biwa players' haunting songs of chilling epics, to the recordings presented here: a final volume full of folk songs that captures rice planters, weavers, tuna and herring fishers, and children, all funkier than one could imagine and with the presence of eternity in their every sound and breath. The sounds and intensity of Volume Five's folk music surpass anything heard in the classical music of Japan. With Japan's ongoing modernization and loss of its traditional music, World Arbiter's audio restoration removes artifacts from chronological chains to resonate in the eternal flow of sound that defies time and space, remaining vital and always in the present. Includes 24 tracks of performances by anonymous Japanese singers.
POP, IGGY: The Idiot (Colored Vinyl) LP (4M 5241LP)
"Originally released in 1977, this was the first album Iggy Pop made after the dissolution of the Stooges, several jailings and a self-imposed stay in a mental institution. Produced by David Bowie, and including music written almost entirely by him, this is Iggy's most introspective and heavy work. Much more mechanical than the sleazy proto-punk of the Stooges, The Idiot was a huge influence on the post-punk sound of folks like Joy Division and Magazine. An absolute classic on white - clear vinyl."
"Welcome back for your next installment of early Hawai'ian Music recordings. For this volume, we've decided to branch outwards and allow more continental recordings as well as English sung lyrics. On this volume, you will find Hawai'ian soloist playing in more conventional jazz idioms as well as Hawai'ian vocalists working with American/European bands. This part of the series is mean to show the seamless integration of the native folk music of the islands deeper into the cultural exchange of American music genres. Bandleader and instrumentalists such as Sol Hoopi, featured here in a way to accurately represent his robust influence, became very popular and in-demand the world over. Of course, as if often the case, this sound eventually became gentrified and diluted as the original melange of traditional Hawai'ian folk, hapa haole and jazz was tempered to fit more commercial standards. Still, the sound of authentic Hawai'ian music returned to the islands where traditional artists such as slack-key genius Gabby Pahinui and traditional songstress Genoa Keawe kept the spirit of true Hawai'ian music alive after the Post-War era to this day. While efforts were made in the mastering process to attain the highest possible audio quality, the limitations of the source 78s are evident. Do not, however, let that disturb your listening enjoyment or regard for their historical significance."
CRUDUP, ARTHUR "BIG BOY": A Music Man Like Nobody Ever Saw 5CD BOX (BCD 17352CD)
"His complete recordings 1941-1962! Songs include the original versions of 'Rock Me Mamma', 'That's All Right', 'My Baby Left Me', 'Mean Ol' Frisco', 'So Glad You're Mine', and many more! Newly researched biography by award-winning blues journalist Bill Dahl. Rare and exclusive photos! In the world of music, there was never anyone quite like Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup. Rooted in the Mississippi Delta, his style was propulsive, melodic, original, and profoundly soulful. If he wasn't 'The Father of Rock 'n' Roll', as one LP proclaimed, there's no doubt that rock 'n' roll owes a debt to his songs, including 'That's All Right Mama', 'My Baby Left Me', 'Rock Me Mamma', 'So Glad You're Mine', and 'Mean Ol' Frisco Blues', as much as to his tight, swinging brand of rural blues. Arthur Crudup was in his thirties when he made his first recordings in 1941 and recorded prolifically until his death in 1974. This set includes his complete recordings from 1941 until 1962, including every extant song from RCA and its associated labels, as well as his sides for Trumpet, Checker, Ace, and Fire. Over one hundred recordings in all. An expressive singer and a true poet of the blues, Arthur Crudup certainly deserves to be known as the guy who wrote three songs that Elvis Presley recorded during the fifties, but he was a towering musician in his own right. His influence didn't end at Elvis Presley. In addition to all those that Elvis influenced, countless other blues and rock musicians adapted his songs and his sweet, lyrical style. These 124 songs on 5 CDs are complemented by a 68-page book by Bill Dahl, rare photos, and a newly researched discography."
"'Baby Whale' doses a cross between classic Chicago house and E2-E4 with a no-prisoners boogie bassline and piano chords glistering in from Rimini. JV's signature spaced-out production assures a head-turning dancefloor banger for the 4am crew. 'Adam & Eve' is an intriguing mix of exotica and Arthur Russell. 'The sound of Matisse,' says the label."
"The recording debut of a collaboration between Jordan 'Jordache' Czamanski and Ilya Ziblat Shay. Three freestyling chunks of hallucinatory electronica and freaking jazz; plus a sublime remix by Parisian maestro I:Cube, with MT's wild keyboard lines, distant bells and general insobriety threading a tactile, sunrise-friendly house groove. Tropical jazz-funk for the synthesizer generation. Call it Balearic and die."
FIELDS & THE EXPRESSIONS, LEE: Make The World 7" (BC 050-7)
"Mr. Fields is back with a funk burner sure to light up every dance floor it plays to. There couldn't be a better time for an optimistic anthem from the seasoned wisdom of Lee. The Expressions tearing this track apart with driving horns and guitars over monster drums and the slick arrangements we have all come to love them for. Leon Michels & Tommy Brenneck's production bringing together some of the finest players doing it today with Lee's inimitable voice reminding and encouraging us to get together and make some changes, changes that are ours to make."
"Hot on the heels of the label's gqom scorcher, this compelling cabinet of oddities bundles together four different artists, both familiars and newcomers. Blank Mind founder Sam Purcell kicks off, with some orchestral music flanged to giddy abstraction, heralding the return of Alan Johnson, to test its weighty dynamism in freer, surreal mutations. On the flip, a two-drum-kit jam blazes with propulsive yet disintegrating energy. And, to close, the recording debut of Variete, put down on a Scandinavian Christmas Eve morning: a gently purposeful, reflective ascent."
Repressed. Two killer dub cuts from The Aggrovators - A band who were named by the legendary Bunny Striker Lee who produced these two rare dubs of Johnny Clarke and Delroy Wilson.
"From Steve Hauschildt: 'Strands is a song cycle that is about cosmogony and creation/destruction myths. The title alludes to the structural constitution of ropes as I wanted to approach the compositions so that they consisted of strands and fibers which form a unified whole. This was so the songs could have the appearance of being either taut or slack without being fundamentally locked to a grid. So the sounds/tones have a certain malleability to them and sound like they're bending through time. It's also grittier and more distorted than my previous albums. I wanted to try and capture that moment in nature and society where life slowly reemerges through desolation, so it has a layer of optimism looming underneath. The music represents this by seemingly decaying at times but then reforms and morphs in a fluid way back to its original state. I was also inspired by the movement of rivers, particularly their transformative aspect and how they're in a state of flux and change, in particular the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland where I live, which notoriously caught on fire thirteen times because of industrial pollution in the 1960s and before. I was very interested in the dichotomy of oil and water and the resulting, unnatural symptoms of human industry. It's a very personal record for me as it is a reflection of my hometown where I grew up and where it was mostly recorded. ' From Kranky: 'Graceful compositions flow throughout Steve Hauschildt's fourth release for Kranky following his Where All Is Fled full length from late summer 2015. The songs fluctuate from the serene calm of album opener 'Horizon of Appearances,' to the pulsing hypnosis of 'Ketracel,' and on to the searing grandeur of album closer 'Die in Fascination,' throughout, Steve remains restrained and in complete control of his sound.' "
LP version. "From Steve Hauschildt: 'Strands is a song cycle that is about cosmogony and creation/destruction myths. The title alludes to the structural constitution of ropes as I wanted to approach the compositions so that they consisted of strands and fibers which form a unified whole. This was so the songs could have the appearance of being either taut or slack without being fundamentally locked to a grid. So the sounds/tones have a certain malleability to them and sound like they're bending through time. It's also grittier and more distorted than my previous albums. I wanted to try and capture that moment in nature and society where life slowly reemerges through desolation, so it has a layer of optimism looming underneath. The music represents this by seemingly decaying at times but then reforms and morphs in a fluid way back to its original state. I was also inspired by the movement of rivers, particularly their transformative aspect and how they're in a state of flux and change, in particular the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland where I live, which notoriously caught on fire thirteen times because of industrial pollution in the 1960s and before. I was very interested in the dichotomy of oil and water and the resulting, unnatural symptoms of human industry. It's a very personal record for me as it is a reflection of my hometown where I grew up and where it was mostly recorded. ' From Kranky: 'Graceful compositions flow throughout Steve Hauschildt's fourth release for Kranky following his Where All Is Fled full length from late summer 2015. The songs fluctuate from the serene calm of album opener 'Horizon of Appearances,' to the pulsing hypnosis of 'Ketracel,' and on to the searing grandeur of album closer 'Die in Fascination,' throughout, Steve remains restrained and in complete control of his sound.' "
"Born out of the instant high of first hearing the Ramones' 'Blitzkrieg Bop' and the Sex Pistols, Dan Personne and Klas Björkman threw out their hard rock records and formed a band together with creative/doer Anders Sjölander in suburban Stockholm. Taking advantage of Sweden's close proximity to London, they shuttled back and forth to explore punk and new wave and scoured Rough Trade for the latest sounds. This eventually gave birth to Hörförståelse including new members Mats Wigerdal (formerly of minimal synth legends Kitchen & the Plastic Spoons), Örjan Magnusson and Olle Öfverberg in 1980. 'Förläst Jävel' (which roughly translates as 'overeducated bastard') is one of the keystone DIY punk 45s of the era. Casual ranting over a dizzying bassline and a scrappy keyboard which sounds like it was recorded in the apartment next door, Hörförståelse channels bands like The Fall or The Desperate Bicycles but through an intangible yet somehow distinctly Swedish filter. The band moved a bunch of copies of the record through its own distribution network, which included donating 50 copies to the aforementioned Rough Trade shop in London, but as the story usually goes, the record garnered little attention even domestically. With the punk era starting to wane and Swedish labels increasingly prioritizing English-language bands, there was no one willing to take a chance on Hörförståelse. Thankfully for us, the band went into the studio again in 1982 to record 8 hitherto unreleased songs, making up the backbone of this collection."
TINSLEY, JOHN E.: Country Blues Roots Revived CD (MFG 048CD)
"John E. Tinsley was born in 1920 in Chestnut Mountain, Virginia and later moved to Henry County in an area just outside of Martinsville. According to the liner notes of Smithsonian Folkways Compilation Virginia Traditions: West Piedmont Blues, which featured two John Tinsley recordings, Tinsley began playing guitar at the age of 15, at the behest of his neighbor. He would go on to be influenced by other Piedmont and East Coast bluesmen such as Blind Boy Fuller, Josh White and Buddy Moss. However, it wasn't until 1952 that Tinsley and friend, Fred Holland, first recorded any of Tinsley's repertoire. Bassett, Virginia's Mutual Records released 'Truble Blues' and 'Keep Your Hands Off Her' as a 78 that year. Following the poor sales of the 'Truble Blues' 78, a discouraged Tinsley briefly left the world of secular music behind, playing religious music exclusively in the mid-1950s and 60s. Yet, flash forward to 1978 to find Tinsley recording the session featured on this reissue of Country Blues Roots Revived for the primarily Bluegrass label Outlet Recordings, accompanied on most cuts by his son William on piano and J.P. Young on harmonica. This recording has not been available since the '70s and is a rarity treasured by lovers of the Piedmont blues style."
TINSLEY, JOHN E.: Country Blues Roots Revived LP + 7" (MFG 048LP)
"John E. Tinsley was born in 1920 in Chestnut Mountain, Virginia and later moved to Henry County in an area just outside of Martinsville. According to the liner notes of Smithsonian Folkways Compilation Virginia Traditions: West Piedmont Blues, which featured two John Tinsley recordings, Tinsley began playing guitar at the age of 15, at the behest of his neighbor. He would go on to be influenced by other Piedmont and East Coast bluesmen such as Blind Boy Fuller, Josh White and Buddy Moss. However, it wasn't until 1952 that Tinsley and friend, Fred Holland, first recorded any of Tinsley's repertoire. Bassett, Virginia's Mutual Records released 'Truble Blues' and 'Keep Your Hands Off Her' as a 78 that year. Following the poor sales of the 'Truble Blues' 78, a discouraged Tinsley briefly left the world of secular music behind, playing religious music exclusively in the mid-1950s and 60s. Yet, flash forward to 1978 to find Tinsley recording the session featured on this reissue of Country Blues Roots Revived for the primarily Bluegrass label Outlet Recordings, accompanied on most cuts by his son William on piano and J.P. Young on harmonica. This recording has not been available since the '70s and is a rarity treasured by lovers of the Piedmont blues style.This co-release by Manufactured Recordings and Steady Sounds also includes his lone 78 release on Mutual as a bonus 7"."
MOON POOL AND DEAD BAND: Humanizer LP (MIDWICH 007LP)
"The duo of Nate Young (Wolf Eyes, Regression) and David Shettler (Viands, SSM) return with their highly-anticipated full-length follow-up to MEQ 2LP remixes, released by Midwich in 2015. Humanizer is sonically diverse featuring varied modes of production throughout. Humanizer jettisons with their live staple 'New British Blues', the 10-minute track recalling Shettler's long-form work in Viands, putting synthesizers in space, as live drums invigorate the track with an earthbound brashness. 'Cycloid' is the album's most concise, bracing and dare-we-say catchy number -- a real ear-worm. 'Sea Dust' is a blasting electronic collage also featuring live drums (we think). The title track 'Humanizer' is classic Moon Pool, creepy and menacing with an off-kilter bass thump. 'A Gray Glow' continues in classic mode with thumping bass and queasy synths. 'Hospital Quiet' features pleasing, sunward-facing ambience to reassure listeners that all is good. Moon Pool and Dead Band have been a Detroit cult techno favorite since Shettler and Young joined forces in 2011. Uninitiated listeners are caught off-guard by the funkiness of the group, shaking assumptions about the group's perceived roots. We've all heard bad noise-techno records -- this isn't one of them. The danceable style is one that grows organically from the duo's life experience. Moon Pool and Dead Band approach the music with respect, knowledge and humor. Humanizer is a party-starter that could have only come from Detroit."
2016 repress. "After the success of Slum's 1997 studio debut, Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 1, the group went to work on their follow up. Though the project was completed in '98, label turmoil kept the project on ice until 2000. By the time Fantastic Volume II hit Dilla was well on his way to his status as a hip hop legend having produced cuts for Common, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest and many more. Later works from Slum Village may have had more of an impact sales-wise (in the immediate) but Fantastic Vol. 2 had fans and many critics saying that Slum Village, and Dilla in particular, may 'single-handedly save rap music.' Perhaps that statement is hyperbole but many consider Fantastic Volume II to be Slum Village's finest work ever to this day. Ne'Astra Media Group now presents the album reissued on vinyl, for the first time in several years. Every wobbling bass note of J Dilla's production has been preserved to maintain the legacy of this hip hop rap classic and maintain the legend of one of hip-hop's greatest beatsmiths."
"Ween's fourth album, originally released in 1994, is perhaps their finest moment, a brilliant mix of twisted humor and pure pop genius. Ween draw influence from smooth 70s soul, psych, soft rock, spaghetti westerns, country, funk, indie-rock and more to the point where each song is a spot-on take on a different genre with their silliness being the uniting element. An outsider-pop classic reissued on one brown & one yellow vinyl."
2016 repress. "1996's 12 Golden Country Greats is the Pennsylvania duo's 5th full-length but the first to stick to just one style which was, surprisingly enough, country music. That said, the title of the album is only half-correct as there's actually only 10 songs here, why? You'll have to ask Dean and Gene that one. Featuring some of Nashville's greatest session musicians (including 'Pig' Robbins, Charlie McCoy, and the Jordanaires), this is one of Ween's finest records to date, with that classic Ween sense of humor filtered through a distinct countrypolitan sound." On 180 gram horse poop-swirl colored vinyl with full color inner sleeve.
2016 repress. "Originally released in 2000, White Pepper, is one of the Pennsylvania duo's finest recordings. Gene and Dean Ween are outsider pop geniuses in the greatest sense of the term, brilliant musicians with a firm grasp on just about every popular genre in the last 50 years (brit-pop, prog, country, soul, new wave, and beyond) and a quirk streak a mile wide." 180 gram white vinyl with a full color inner sleeve.
ORTON, BETH: Trailer Park (Red Vinyl) LP (PLAIN 1491LP)
180 gram red vinyl."Beth Orton's debut album is one of the most innovative and impressive records of the 90s. It is a beautifully inspired mix of folk and electronica, which may sound like a cliché today but this is the album responsible for that cliché. Absolutely cutting edge and with killer songwriting to boot, a pop album like no other before or since. The 180 gram black vinyl version has been out of print for 3 years, this limited edition red vinyl will be the last we will be pressing of this title."
"Deep, storming Salegy sounds from Madagascar. Salegy is the electrified updating of the traditional Antsa style from the north-west of the island -- 6/8 rhythms, layered with percussion and call-and-response vocals -- and the Vetson' Androy group one of its most popular proponents. From 1978, 'Mavandeza' has the heady urgency of killer Fela -- with two women singers out front, psychedelic organ and prowling-lion bass. The flip is from a decade later, by Malagasy superstar Eusebe Jaojaby -- rough and tough dancefloor worries, with a mazy string-line, mash-it-down percussion and lilting flute. Another sizzler from Sofrito."
2016 repress. "'Sensations' Fix guitarist, keyboardist and occasional vocalist Franco Falsini cut his teeth with Italian groups in the '60s before assimilating the heady guitar virtuosity of English rock. In 1969, he moved to Virginia and built a recording studio in his girlfriend's basement, employing little more than his guitar, the newly available Minimoog synthesizer and a 4-track machine. These raw tracks, intended to be simple demos, formed the base of Fragments of Light, the debut album by Sensations' Fix. Originally released on Polydor in 1974, Fragments of Light does not bend to mid-'70s genre-classism. Fluid, meditative guitar leads and innovative use of synthesizers, combined with a noted lack of percussion (and vocals) on all but a few songs, have drawn comparisons to Kosmische legends Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh. 'Space Closure,' the only track with live drums, resembles the kinetic progressive rock of fellow Italian Franco Battiato, while the shimmering bliss of 'Do You Love Me?' rivals the American power pop that Falsini surely absorbed during his time in the States. A certain airy, homespun feel lends Fragments of Light its unique character. While other Sensations' Fix records may sound more cohesive and polished, Fragments of Light remains the most personal. The album is sadly not well known outside of Italy, but Superior Viaduct hopes to rectify that situation with this first-time vinyl reissue.
The American duo The Vacant Lots, release their first four track EP on A Recordings. This release takes the monochrome sound of the Vacant Lots and adds a layer of Berlin chill to the mix of all four tracks: "Promise Me" features lyrics from Jeffery Lee Pierce, "Verschwinden" features the disconnected vocals of Astrid Carter, then the shoe-gazing "Land" comes before the finishing, throbbing beats of "Funeral Rites". The key element of The Vacant Lots's minimalist, primitive rock'n'roll songs is their boundless energy, which tears up the psych template with a genuine punk spirit. Poetic, but with a streetwise swagger; psych, but with a punk attitude.
$10.39 EAN: 5055869507745 ROCK
A1. Promise Me
A2. Verschwinden
B1. Land
B2. Funeral Rites
Robert Millis is known for many things - co-founder of Climax Golden Twins, Messenger Girl's Trio, and AFCGT; filmmaker and producer for the Sublime Frequencies label; co-producer of the Victrola Favorites book and cassette series. Now, thanks to The Lonesome High, he'll be known as a singer/songwriter. After listening to his stunning debut album, you'll be wondering where the fuck this side of Millis has been lurking all along. He's been performing some of these tracks live for the past few years crafting them to where they are now - tilted perspectives lodged somewhere between the grittier climate zones of the the Rain Dogs (1985) plateau and a more psychotic trailer park way out on the Death Of A Lady's Man (1977) peninsula. Millis really delivers the goods here. The songwriting has depth, stinging clarity and vaporizing ambiguity. The more upbeat tracks like "The Run Around", "Down In The Hold" and "Tricky" have an immediate classic familiarity - hear them once and you're hooked. But The Lonesome High becomes a monster statement thanks to "Marvelous Fool", "Charming Chisel", "Notes On A Scandal", and "Drowsy Sleeper". It's the stark cryptic beauty and detached awareness of these four ballads that define the heart and soul of this record. So if you're looking for a contemporary troubadour who can actually deliver a solid 40 minutes of listening pleasure (not an easy task these days), you'll find it right here in spades. Features percussion by Dave Abramson (Diminished Men/Master Musicians Of Bukkake), backing vocals by Alan Bishop (Alvarius B/Sun City Girls). Front cover art by Jesse Paul Miller; Includes a download card.
Give In is The Ape's second album, following the acclaimed self-titled album (BANG 076LP, 2013). The Ape is Tex Perkins's (The Beasts of Bourbon, The Butcher Shop, The Cruel Sea, The Dark Horses, etc.) new project. On this occasion, Mr. Perkins delivers six long tracks with darker sounds and more anxious atmospheres, taking this project into a new stage of music. The Ape has the unique stamp and signature of Tex Perkins and features members of Magic Dirt, among other Australian recognized musicians. 150 gram vinyl; Edition of 500.
Sascha Rydell, of Fachwerk fame, has produced two powerful tracks for his debut release on Baum. "A Day Ward" has dubby elements, and a modulating groove perfect for the dancefloor. "Crack Willow" is a more deep and atmospheric track, close to a deep house vibe, which also gets some dirty raw treatment from Resoe on his "Morning Reshape" remix. This release comes on white vinyl with grey splatter.
JUNIOR, LUIS: Don't Give Up On Me EP 12" (BWR 017EP)
Madrid-based Luis Junior presents Don't Give Up On Me EP. Luis Junior has been a DJ and music producer for more than 20 years. "Don't Give Up On Me" features singer Sobi Thurairatnam, with sultry vocals and a strong pop-appeal. D-Nox and Beckers transform the same track into a club burner for the early hours. "Floidos" is more of a techno-orientated banger. On "Pasion", Luis Junior manages to integrate some Spanish flamenco sounds.
Oren Ambarchi's Editions Mego release, Hubris (EMEGO 227CD/LP, 2016), gets the remix treatment courtesy of electronic music legend Ricardo Villalobos. Villalobos expertly transforms Ambarchi's layered web of countless sustained and pulsating palm-muted guitars into a funky, mesmerizing and propulsive long-form piece. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin March 2016. Photograph by Estelle Hanania. Sculptures by Daniel Druet. Design by Stephen O'Malley.
Blackest Ever Black marked its fifth anniversary in 2015 with events at the ICA in London and Berghain in Berlin. The former featured an unforgettable performance from Mick Hobbs's Officer!, the shape-shifting group's first performance in twenty-odd years. For this show Hobbs - surely the UK DIY underground's greatest living songwriter - was joined by longtime collaborators Mary Currie of Flaming Tunes (voice, shruti, theremin, glock) and Joey Stack (keyboards, voice), with Tilly Bean on bass, Ed Bernez on drums and Lydia Fischer contributing flute, trumpet and baritone horn. The set list comprised songs from Dead Unique (BLACKEST 006CD/LP), the "lost" 1995 album by Officer! which Blackest Ever Black released in 2014, a smattering of earlier classics from the '70s-'80s (including "Life At The Water's Edge" and "Dogface") and heart-rending covers of "Beguiling The Hours" and "The Best Weapon" from Mary Currie and the late Gareth Williams's peerless Flaming Tunes album. The show was recorded, and has been beautifully mixed for release by Deerhoof's John Dieterich. A co-release from Blackest Ever Black and Hobbs's own Life & Living Records. Printed insert artwork by Li Williams; Edition of 300.
$14.99 EAN: 5055869544511 ROCK
01. Pebble
02. Life At The Water's Edge
03. Shrug
04. Go Back
05. The Best Weapon
06. Good Citizen's Car
07. Dogface
08. Coma
09. Probe Miguel
10. Elephant Flowers
11. Beguiling The Hours
PEOPLE SKILLS: Gunshots At Crestridge LP (BLACKEST 055LP)
Gunshots At Crestridge is the second full-length album from Philadelphia's Jesse Dewlow, recording under the moniker People Skills. The follow-up to 2014's Siltbreeze set, Tricephalic Head. Ten sunken songs, derisively adorned with rhythm and rudimentary dub effects. Bedroom elegies for the lost and irretrievable, last-ditch spells for transformation and renewal. Thurston Moore and Byron Coley likened the previous record to "South Island New Zealand pop played inside of an armored car," and that description holds here: underneath the hoods of these wracked and weather-beaten recordings are melodies of disarming beauty and optimism, bordering on the (willfully) mawkish, bubblegum ground underfoot. Whether speaking through stately keyboard pastorals ("Mint Julep"), rat-arsed rock 'n roll slur ("89¢ Public Render") or sulphurous aggro-electronics (the two-part title track), Gunshots At Crestridge exposes, then seeks to redeem, all of our tiny acts of self-sabotage, all of our sins against time.
$14.99 EAN: 5055869544498 ELECTRONIC
01. Obstinate Truss
02. Gunshots At Crestridge
03. In The Mulch And Trimming
04. A Chain Undressed
05. Mint Julep
06. Town Of Diana
07. Gunshots At Crestridge II
08. 89¢ Public Render
09. Dust In The Old House
10. The Clock Player
ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS: To Make A Fool Ask, And You Are The First LP (BLACKEST 056LP)
Ashtray Navigations's To Make A Fool picks up where the nerve-damaged exotica of 2015's A Shimmering Replica left off - acerbic "surf" guitar and synthetic salt-breeze fit for the Tropic of Yorkshire. Instant immersion in a potent, pungent psychedelia that feels equal parts cosmic and aquatic. What Phil Todd wrenches out of his instrument these days is a language unto itself - a helical, grieving howl, a (super)natural efflorescence, beyond earthly description - ur-rock and post-everything. Equal emphasis is given here to pulsating machine rhythms and lush keyboard textures, with contributions by Mel O'Dubhshlaine. There were pre-echoes of all this in the recent Fluctuants (2015) and Aero Infinite (2014), but To Make A Fool feels like the fullest expression of something which was only glimpsed in those earlier works. The side-long "Spray Two" - gently eddying string-pads gradually slashed with fraught piano improvisations - is a masterpiece in its own right. At its delirious peak, the whole thing boils over into brooding, arpeggiated noir-techno - Michael Mann's steadicam roaming Leeds's B-roads, some kind of tangerine nightmare - before finally cooling into a bleary starfield of pure and sumptuous hypno-tone. This is a trip, in the most skull-splitting, soul-crinkling sense of the word, but it soothes and heals as well. A circular and transformative journey to the other side of the underneath, and a landmark recording from one of the most adept and visionary nodes in Britain's freak-out underground.
Leather & Feather is the result of troubled times. Features a remix by Fabrizio Lapiana. Because the music can speak by itself, attached is the ending part of "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg: "Visions! Omens! Hallucinations! Miracles! Ecstasies! Gone down the American river! Dreams! Adorations! Illuminations! Religions! The whole boatload of sensitive bullshit! Breakthroughs! Over the river! Flips and crucifixions! Gone down the flood! Highs! Epiphanies! Despairs! Ten years' animal screams and suicides! Minds! New loves! Mad generation! Down on the rocks of Time! Real holy laughter in the river! They saw it all! The wild eyes! The holy yells!"
Frustration, the caring big brothers of the French indie scene, are closely intertwined with Born Bad's rise to fame. Their pathway in itself is symbolic: hailing from the garage closed circuit from the '90s, they gave up the tattoos and brilliantine rock to try something different - at the crossroads of punk and cold wave, of Métal Urbain, Killing Joke and Joy Division. The five fellows, not particularly renowned for their technical skills, found themselves invested with a peculiar grace, becoming avant-gardist just as they were entering their forties, and showing the way to a whole generation of bands that suddenly became aware that it was possible. Empires Of Shames is the third album by Frustration. They crushed mountain chains on Relax (BORNBAD 008LP, 2008), uncovered new continents and rainforests with Uncivilized (BORNBAD 046CD/LP, 2012), so it's only logical they now project to terraform Mars planet with this album that celebrates their return to a cold hostility that echoes the one of punks going by the name of a Polish capital city (Warsaw). "Dreams, Law, Rights And Duties", "Just Wanna Hide" and "Excess" are punches in the knees as signs of welcome from Fabrice, whose voice wanders from a Curtis-like spleen to a cockney spit. If "Arrows Of Love" sounds like the album's break, this mesmerizing Smiths-like ballad turns into a proletarian anthem, one of the peaks on the album. "Mother Earth In Rags" will undoubtedly be a hit, given its harangue as baroque and dramatic as a speech from Lenin; "Cause You Runaway" shows that the lads have also listened to James Murphy; and "No Place" is a synth-punk-noise gem that will generate one hell of a pogo at the end of their next concert. Frustration is now this fully grown-up lion that has no intention of ending up as a bedside rug. This is the only reason why we agree to give in to music, this intrusive thing that never asks for our advice. The rest is just a background noise of conceited babbling saturating the feed of our souls.
$8.99 EAN: 3521383439135 ROCK
01. Dreams, Laws, Rights And Duties
02. Just Wanna Hide
03. Excess
04. Empires Of Shame
05. Arrows Of Arrogance
06. Mother Earth In Rags
07. Cause You Ran Away
08. Even With The Pills
09. Minimal Wife
10. No Place
GASC, JULIEN: Kiss Me, You Fool! CD (BORNBAD 088CD)
Following the inenarrable Cerf, Biche et Faon (BORNBAD 060LP), Julien Gasc (Aquaserge, Stereolab) delivers Kiss Me, You Fool!. Kiss Me, You Fool! leads the listener far away, into swarms of sound and sentimental, twisted tales, on a quest for illumination that traverses the rich palette of human passions. The title was taken from a graffiti discovered in the ladies toilets of a London pub. It is through this peephole that you can consider, like a voyeur, the paradoxical complexity of this album: At once witty, noble and degenerate, Julien struts his way through it with all the nonchalance of a night-owl dandy. A troubadour of modern times, he sings of unresolved love, self-mockery, the trivialities of daily life and the search for the absolute. The fruit of an exceptional artistic collaboration - featuring Laëtitia Sadier (Stereolab), John Linger (Neils Children), Cathy Lucas (The Oscillation, Vanishing Twin) and Joe Watson - this contrasting, emotional and heterogeneous album nonetheless forms a whole. Here, mirror plays, surrealistic songs and decadent poems unfold elegantly, seductive in their effortlessness. Countering the current norms, Kiss Me, You Fool! cultivates its powerful identity far from today's musical cliques and fads.
$8.99 EAN: 3521383438923 ROCK
01. Fait Divers
02. Mandrax
03. Pas
04. La Cure
05. Circle Bar
06. Les Pages Anonymes
07. Luke Howard
08. Kiss Me You Fool
09. L'Été Anglais
10. Le Débussé
11. L'Oeil
IN FLAGRANTI FEAT. AYAKAMAY: Kachi Kachi EP 12" (CRE 049EP)
In Flagranti presents a collaboration project with Ayakamay, a contemporary conceptual artist living in New York City. Including mixes by Das Komplex and Mytron.
Following the sulphureous sting of 2015's Thus Avici (CSR 206CD), Tunnels Of Āh's third album, Surgical Fires, is a dense, fermentative working. Asemic vocals are sunk beneath an alienated electronic landscape of seismic drones and paranormal frequencies. Loss, gain, conflict, resolution, decay and transformation as an initiatory path is the current running through Surgical Fires; the surgery alluded to in the title being psychic surgery. Surgical Fires is another singular Tunnels Of Āh release evasive of categorization. Vocal contributions from London-based ritual artist, Soror Anji Cheung. Original album artwork by Stephen Ah Burroughs (Head Of David).
$10.99 UPC: 641871744800 ROCK
01. Demonic Forms
02. Purging Process
03. One Hundred Gates + Eight
04. Mind As Corpse Bearer
05. Release Of The Burning Mouths
06. Black Air (Exhale)
07. My Love To The Lordly Cobras
08. Emission Through A Hole In The Head
A third volume of the essential reissue series featuring rare and out-of-print vinyl releases from horror electronics maestro, Burial Hex. This collection goes further back in time to a more raw and singular vision, whilst still infused with passionate vocals and eire religious allusions that would eventually lead to a development of increasingly more compositional elements in the Burial Hex cycle. Collecting his sides from the split 7" with Sylvester Anfang on Aurora Borealis (2008), the split 12" with Iron First Of The Sun on Cold Spring (CSR 153LP, 2011), and taking a side each from Bagirwa Hymn on VON Archives (2009) and From The Rites Of Lazarus on Urashima (2010), Throne provides focuses on the death industrial roots of this expansive project. Without as much focus on otherworldly hybrids, yet still organically eclectic, this offering will bring the grinding grey atmospherics and the nauseating aggression of early horror electronics into focus. Artwork by Nathaniel Ritter (Kinit Her).
$10.99 UPC: 641871744848 ELECTRONIC
01. Throne (6:47)
02. The Coming Of War (11:27)
03. Actaeon (8:55)
04. The Feast Of Saints Peter And Paul (18:43)
05. Armagiddion (21:54)
British producer Bnjmn heads even further into harder techno territory with the heavyweight four tracker, MDCCLXXII. Tipping his cap to '90s industrial techno, the A side delivers two uncompromising cuts. "MDCCLXXII" is tough - brash drums merging with metallic, tonal signals and searing hats. "Tor" is similarly up-tempo, however more stripped in comparison, Bnjmn continuing his inventive and challenging sound design in this Beltram-esque bassline killer. "T.E.N.S" is a short collage of buzzing, cerebral electronics, leading into "Where The Wild Berries Grow" - a fuzzy, hypnotic trip of lo-fi ambience and post-club psychedelia, stretching out over eight minutes.
CASIO LOVE FEAT. BIONIC SINGER: Tribute To Maddo - Hear Mi Name Call EP 12" (CR 12008EP)
Cubiculo Records got in touch with Osbert Maddo (aka The Bionic Singer) in 2015 to voice a "Smuggel Riddim" by Casio Love. Maddo instantly fell in love with it and agreed to work with Cubiculo and Casio Love to make his comeback tune. After sending vocals, Maddo was asking for the final mix every day as he was feeling the tune a lot and he wanted to start pushing it on the US. Osbert passed away the day before Cubiculo sent him the final mix. This is a tribute to the great singer and also his ever last recording.
$9.79 UPC: N/A ELECTRONIC
A1. Bionic Singer (aka Osbert Maddo) - Hear Me Name Call
A2. Casio Love - Smuggel Riddim
B1. Casio Love - Smuggel Riddim (feat. Bionic Singer) (Extended Dub)
The dynamic duo Hiver return with their third EP for Curle Recordings, Soundescence EP. The title track displays the melodic, psychedelic sound Hiver have been praised for previously. Delicate synth patterns perfectly bled with the understated drums and percussive elements. This ethereal approach to techno continues on the following deep-groover, "One More Snooze". "Phonotis" immediately breaks the silence with a steady 4/4 rhythm, seeing a squelchy synth bassline, warm pads and floating atmospheric textures scattered throughout the six-minute number. "Floor Diving" once again showcases Hiver's sleek and seductive style of dance music that is made for dark, underground clubs.
Rock and roll's evolution is unavoidably indebted to its past - a past that has been recovered in unlikely ways that ends up something different, in something harmonious and new. Melange belongs to a small group of privileged few that has been able to salvage from the past and convert it into the present. They have leapt forward and transformed the spirit of the future. Melange acknowledges it's debt to folk, Can, British progressive folk, flamenco, medieval music, renaissance, Canterbury sound, Coltrane, Popol Vuh, Moondog, Ali Farka Toure, Morricone and Henry Cow. Echoes of Spanish folk, Canovas, Rodrigo, Adolfo y Guzman, Vainica Doble and the progressive side of Triana can also be found within their musical compositions. Melange is neo folk, street hippy, the sound of estrangement, explorative rock. It is music that walks the line between restraint and limitless energy, between tradition and vanguard, between loyalty to its origins and the destruction of them to create something of their own. Melange is a significant debut, not only due to the quality and importance that they are proposing it is also something evolved. Saturated with discoveries and nuances this is a wise sound that, only with time, will manifest itself. Interpreted by four musicians that know what they want and have set out to find it. They get lost along the way only to emerge with something unexpected in tow. They combine subtle arrangements, the talent to explore, together with the very essence of rock and roll.
MANCINI, HENRY: Breakfast at Tiffany's PIC. DISC (DOP 8007LP)
Doxy present a picture disc reissue of Henry Mancini's soundtrack for Breakfast at Tiffany's, originally released in 1961. In a career spanning over four decades, composer, conductor and arranger Enrico "Henry" Mancini (1924-1994) won numerous Academy and Grammy awards for his scores to well-known films and television series, including The Pink Panther, Hatari! (1962), Two For The Road (1967), Wait Until Dark (1967), Peter Gunn (1967), and of course, 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's (which alone won five Grammys and two Oscars). The Breakfast at Tiffany's soundtrack is probably best remembered for Audrey Hepburn's legendary performance of Mancini's "Moon River" (lyrics by Johnny Mercer), which won an Academy Award for Best Song that year. "Moon River" went on to become one of the best loved songs of all time, but it first made its appearance here, in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Edition of 500.
$14.99 UPC: 889397680077 SOUNDTRACK
A1. Moon River
A2. Something For Cat
A3. Sally's Tomato
A4. Mr. Yunioshi
A5. The Big Blow Out
A6. Hub Caps And Tail Lights
B1. Breakfast At Tiffany's
B2. Latin Golightly
B3. Holly
B4. Loose Caboose
B5. The Big Heist
B6. Moon River Cha Cha
Doxy present a picture disc reissue of Bernard Herrmann's soundtrack for Psycho (1960). A classic soundtrack to one of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpieces, scored by one of the greatest composers to ever grace the silver screen, Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane (1941), Taxi Driver (1976), Cape Fear (1991), etc.). Herrmann began writing scores for Alfred Hitchcock in 1955, but the apex of this collaboration came undoubtedly with the scoring of 1960's Psycho, where Herrmann's amazing ability to set the mood made the soundtrack to Psycho perhaps the most memorable in the history of cinema. Who can recall the shower scene without recalling the sound of shrieking violins?
$14.99 UPC: 889397680084 SOUNDTRACK
A1. Prelude The City Marion and Sam Temptation
A2. Flight/The Patrol Car/The Car Lot/The Package/The Rainstorm
A3. Hotel Room/The Window/The Parlour/The Madhouse/The Peephole
B1. The Bathroom/The Murder/The Body/The Office/The Curtain/The Water/The Car/The Swamp
B2. The Search/The Shadow/Phone Booth/The Porch/The Stairs/The Knife
B3. The Search/The First Floor/Cabin 10/Cabin 1
B4. The Hill/The Bedroom/The Toys/The Cellar/Discovery/Finale
Doxy present a picture disc reissue of Bernard Herrmann's soundtrack for Vertigo, originally released in 1958. Herrmann wrote the bulk of the score for Vertigo, considered by many critics and by Herrmann himself to be his finest film score, in a little over a month. Hitchcock places Herrmann's background music in direct opposition to music that is played deliberately as part of the action of the film. While Herrmann's score represents the forces of destiny and the mysterious dream world inhabited by Madeleine, music that Midge plays on her radio and record player represents her world and the norms and strictures of conventional society. Herrmann scored the swirling harps and strings that imbue most of the pivotal action sequences in the film to mirror the vertigo that dogs the protagonist. Essential.
$14.99 UPC: 889397680091 SOUNDTRACK
A1. Prelude And Rooftop
A2. Scotty Trails Madeline
A3. Carlotta's Portrait
A4. The Bay/The Beach
A5. Farewell And The Tower
B1. The Nightmare And Dawn
B2. The Past And The Girl
B3. The Letter
B4. Goodnight & The Park
B5. Scene D'amour
B6. The Necklace, The Return And Finale
STEVENS, LEITH: Jazz Themes From The Wild One PIC. DISC (DOP 8010LP)
Doxy present a picture disc reissue of Leith Stevens's Jazz Themes From The Wild One, his soundtrack for The Wild One, originally released in 1953. The Wild One is an iconic piece of American cinema, the original outlaw biker film featuring one of Marlon Brando's most immortal roles as Johnny Strabler, a character whose look and style was hugely influential throughout the rest of the decade. The jazz score is a perfect complement to the film, frantic and swinging, composed and performed by Leith Stevens, a child prodigy pianist who wrote countless scores for television and film.
$14.99 UPC: 889397680107 SOUNDTRACK
A1. The Wild One
A2. Lonely Way
A3. Black Rebels' Ride
A4. Prelude To A Rumble
A5. Beetle
A6. Blues For Brando
B1. Hotshoe
B2. Drag For Beers
B3. Windswept
B4. Scramble
B5. Bewildered
B6. Chino
SUN RA & THE BLUES PROJECT: Batman And Robin PIC. DISC (DOP 8011LP)
Doxy present a picture disc reissue of Sun Ra & The Blues Project's Batman And Robin, originally released in 1966. This novelty album, released during the height of the Batman And Robin craze, was initially credited to the "The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale" and featured an album full of tracks based on the popular TV show like "The Batman Theme Song", "The Penguin Chase", and "The Batcave". The album is entirely instrumental, except for someone singing "Batmaaaan!" in the theme song. But the interesting thing about this album, and what makes it an absolute cult gem, are the musicians who are behind it all: basically a joint collaboration between Sun Ra's Arkestra and Danny Kalb's Blues Project (one of the first psychedelic rock bands as well as one of the world's first jam bands). "Dan and Dale" were actually blues guitarist Danny Kalb and Steve Katz (later of Blood, Sweat And Tears) on dueling guitars, while Sun Ra and Al Kooper take over organ duties (a Hammond B-3) and members of Ra's Arkestra play sax.
$14.99 UPC: 889397680114 SOUNDTRACK
A1. Batman Theme
A2. Batman's Batmorang
A3. Batman And Robin Over The Roofs
A4. The Penguin Chase
A5. Flight Of The Batman
A6. Joker Is Wild
B1. Robin's Theme
B2. Penguin's Umbrella
B3. Batman And Robin Swing
B4. Batmobile Wheels
B5. The Riddler's Retreat
B6. The Bat Cave
Doxy present a picture disc reissue of John Coltrane's Blue Train, originally released in 1957. Blue Train is Coltrane's third session as a leader and one of the most iconic jazz albums of all-time. Featuring Curtis Fuller, Lee Morgan, Paul Chambers, Kenny Drew, and Philly "Joe" Jones, this is an absolutely essential jazz album and the title track is one of the most celebrated in jazz history, maybe matched only in recognition by Miles Davis's "So What" or Dave Brubeck's "Take Five".
$14.99 UPC: 889397680121 JAZZ
A1. Blue Train
A2. Moment's Notice
B1. Locomotion
B2. I'm Old Fashioned
B3. Lazy Bird
PRESLEY, ELVIS: Elvis Presley PIC. DISC (DOP 8013LP)
Doxy present a picture disc reissue of Elvis Presley's self-titled debut album, originally released in 1956. The very first rock and roll album to reach #1 on the charts and sell over a million copies, Elvis's debut LP is a classic piece of American music history, from the iconic cover to the unforgettable track listing. Recorded in Nashville, New York, and at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, this is the king's most famous moment. A debut LP that changed the course of music history.
$14.99 UPC: 889397680138 ROCK
A1. Blue Suede Shoes
A2. I'm Counting On You
A3. I Got A Woman
A4. One-Sided Love Affair
A5. I Love You Because
A6. Just Because
B1. Tutti Frutti
B2. Tryin' To Get To You
B3. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)
B4. I'll Never Let You Go
B5. Blue Moon
B6. Money Honey
BEACH BOYS, THE: Surfin' USA PIC. DISC (DOP 8014LP)
Doxy present a picture disc reissue of The Beach Boys's Surfin' USA, originally released in 1963. Surfin' USA is the second studio album from The Beach Boys. Though not yet fully formed, the genius that Brian Wilson had on display on 1965's Pet Sounds was beginning to show through here, as he began experimenting with double tracked vocals and took a stronger production role overall. Featuring the classic title track, as well as "Shut Down", their version of "Misirlou", and the timeless cover photo of surfing legend Les Williams riding a monster wave, Surfin' USA is a stone surf classic.
$14.99 UPC: 889397680145 ROCK
A1. Surfin' U.S.A.
A2. Farmer's Daughter
A3. Misirlou
A4. Stoked
A5. Lonely Sea
A6. Shut Down
B1. Noble Surfer
B2. Honky Tonk
B3. Lana
B4. Surf Jam
B5. Let's Go Trippin'
B6. Finders Keepers
Echocord Colour welcome back Scott Monteith, aka Deadbeat. Scott originally comes from Canada but he has lived in Berlin for a while now. Scott is mostly known for his own BLKRTZ label, but he has released on many other labels over the years. The track "Put On Your Red Shoes And Trance" is a peak time bomb - a dubby, deep, powerful and melodic track. The B-side, "Just Jackin Around Man" is a techno bomb full of dubby chords and build-up madness.
$10.39 UPC: 880319793615 ELECTRONIC
A1. Put On Your Red Shoes And Trance
B1. Just Jackin Around Man
PINKCOURTESYPHONE: Taking Into Account Only A Portion Of Your Emotions CD (EMEGO 236CD)
Pinkcourtesyphone, the ongoing project by Los Angeles-based sound artist Richard Chartier (b.1971), sends a new coded message of sumptuous distant drones and glacial orchestral heart-rendings. Poised and polished - slow motion pulsations tug at your emotions (but only a portion of them). For those listeners desirous of the output of The Caretaker, Angelo Badalamenti, William Basinski, and other such dark wistful wonderment. Pinkcourtesyphone is dark but not arch, with a slight hint of humor - amorphous, changing, and slipping in and out of consciousness, operating like a syrup-y dream, striving to be both elegant and detached. Please don't hang up. This call is important. You're coming with Pinkcourtesyphone? Leave everything? It's getting late. Formed from places, plastics, and particulars between 2014-2016. Mastered at D&M, Berlin, September 2016. Design by Richard Chartier.
$10.99 EAN: 5050580662407 ELECTRONIC
01. New Domestic Landscape (10:06)
02. Reference Point Intermission 1 (8:57)
03. High End Smalls (10:06)
04. Reference Point Intermission 2 (13:41)
05. Horizontal Format (for D. Marti) (11:00)
06. Schlaflied (für PvK) (16:34)
Portland based producer Strategy is back on Endless Flight. Strategy has released on Kranky, 100% Silk and Further Record among others. Endless Flight have always enjoyed his unique house music and ambient stuff. Tuff Life contains four killer low-fi house tracks. It's probably his most club friendly record.
MCDONAS & MAD KING EDMUND, THOLLEM: Happening: A Movement In 12 Acts CD (ESPDISK 5012CD)
Happening: A Movement In 12 Acts is a treatise with spoken and sung libretto by various artists about the current state of the U.S. and the impact the Occupy movement has had on our psyche. However, it is not about Occupy but rather the 99%. Personnel: Fay Victor, Walter Egan, Charles Walker, Suzy Bogguss, Freedy Johnston, Mary Gauthier, Cooper-Moore, Carmina Escobar, Matthew Ryan, Jennie Knaggs, Ed Pettersen, Thollem McDonas - vocals; Thollem McDonas - piano; Ed Pettersen - guitar and effects; Pete Abbott - drums; Jeff Lederer - saxophone. Libretto written by Ed Pettersen, arranged by Thollem McDonas. Liner notes by Janet Reno, 78th Attorney General of the United States of America. Artwork by Runar Drønen. "It is an important work that needs to be heard." --Bernard Stollman, ESP-Disk founder.
$8.99 UPC: 825481501224 JAZZ
01. Act 1 - Opening
02. Act 2 - The Common Man
03. Act 3 - Wall Street Executive
04. Act 4 - The Politician
05. Act 5 - The Middle Class
06. Interlude 1
07. Act 6 - Occupy Park
08. Interlude 2
09. Act 7 - Homeless Person
10. Act 8 - Female Love Interest
11. Act 9 - Male Protagonist
12. Interlude 3
13. Act 10 - History
14. Interlude 4
15. Act 11 - Protest
16. Act 12 - Resolution
Remixed, remade, remodeled vinylization of Palberta's Hot On The Beach (2015). The four brutarian tracks on the A-side are shards of songs reductive enough to have earned their 'no wave' deal of approval. Ug-thrust co-existing with a whacked-out feel more in line with late '70s UK scribblers like the Raincoats or Big In Japan. They do a single extended track called 'Prolly For The Best' - something like a dance 12" released by 99 Records, recorded anonymously and very drunkenly by the Y Pants after a show at Experimedia. Edition of 360. 45 RPM.
"The Portuguese guitar is a kind of weird instrument. It has a teardrop shaped body, twelve strings, an odd tuning scheme, and is generally associated with the mournful Portuguese musical style called fado. It's not often used as an improv instrument, especially in avant-garde settings, but that was before Victor Herrero got his hands on one. Probably best known for his work with Josephine Foster, Victor is a Spanish guitarist and composer, whose work ranges from very traditional to beyond contemporary. On a trip to Lisbon a decade or so ago, he and Ms. Foster became enthralled by the glittering tone qualities of the Portuguese guitar, and decided to go halves on one. A lot of wood-shedding and investigating various musical forms ensued, as the guitar traveled around Spain and then the rest of the world with the pair. It was used as part of a show with Keiji Haino in Japan. It figured into a recording session with some of the Master Musicians Of Jojouka. It was noted performing duets with saxophonist Sonny Simmons. And so on. Removed from its parochial context, the instrument showed itself to be an incredibly limber and adaptable axe. Astrolabio is an album of solo compositions and improvisations for Portuguese guitar that defies easy classification. Its tone is so bright and folky it almost sounds like a hammered dulcimer in spots, but Jean Ritchie would probably keel over if she heard this record. At times, Victor's playing emphasizes the ethereal beauty of the strings' natural vibrations, but he can also create insane rafts of sound with Northern African rhythms crossing swords with chunks of string sound as mysteriously fried as anything ever done by Loren Connors. Totally boss, and unlike anything we've ever heard before. Prepare thyself to deal..." --Byron Coley, 2016. Edition of 500.
SPIRES THAT IN THE SUNSET RISE & MICHAEL ZERANG: Illinois Glossolalia LP (FTR 285LP)
Beginning in January of 2011, composer, percussionist and improviser Michael Zerang joined Spires That In The Sunset Rise for a year-long collaboration to explore a broad range of sonic and textural improvisations, in a series of live concerts throughout the year. The collaboration culminated in residency at the Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago, as a part of their Artist Residence Program, where the trio was able to perform and record a massive amount of material. The partial result of this effort is the Illinois Glossolalia LP. Since 2001, Spires That in the Sunset Rise have been unsettling and thrilling audiences with their brand of sonic alchemy. Described by Jack Rose as a "female Sun City Girls," they contributed a different slant to the new folk movement by incorporating various avant-garde and world music influences into their sound. They have been compared to artists ranging from The Raincoats to Meredith Monk to Comus to Harry Partch. Their most recent album, Beasts In The Garden (2015), was described by Marc Masters as "some kind of long-lost Terry Riley/Angus MacLise collaboration, equally devoted to divine repetition and center-seeking ritual." They have eight full length albums, a few side releases, and several solo efforts. The band is now the duo of multi-instrumentalists Kathleen Baird and Taralie Peterson. They have collaborated with musicians in the realm of pure improv, worked with dancers, and been involved in various theatrical productions. Michael Zerang was born in Chicago, Illinois, and has been a professional musician, composer, and producer since 1976, focusing extensively on improvised music, free jazz, contemporary composition, puppet theater, experimental theater, and international musical forms. As a percussionist and composer, Michael has over 90 titles in his discography and has toured nationally and internationally to 35 countries since 1981, and works with and ever-widening pool of collaborators. He has performed with Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet, Joe McPhee's Survival Unit III, Liof Munimula, Musica Menta, Johannes Bauer Berlin Quintet as well as countless other projects with musicians from around the world. Michael has collaborated extensively with contemporary theater, dance, and other multidisciplinary forms and has received three Joseph Jefferson Awards for Original Music Composition in Theater, in collaboration with Redmoon Theater, in 1996, 1998, and 2000. Edition of 400.
"One of the highlights of early Devo live shows was a song Booji Boy sang called, 'The Words Get Stuck in My Throat.' It was kind of a sappy tune, about little hidden microphones and View-Masters and shit, but it made a huge impression on Angela Sawyer when, still in swaddling clothes, she heard it on a bootleg tape recorded it at Max's Kansas City. She would sit in front of the family Walkman all day and play that song over and over again. It became, what she calls, 'the theme song of my youth.' In the years between that epiphany and this LP, Ms. Sawyer has worn many bonnets. She has been in 'bands' like Preggy Peggy & The Lazy Babymakers, Duck That, Exusamwa, and Negative One. She has run a bizarro-world CDR label (Being Weird Isn't Enough). She has championed crazy music for many zines, sites like Perfect Sound Forever, and as a writer of liner notes. She ran the legendary Weirdo Record Store out of a Harvard Square bomb site. And throughout this she has maintained a bad attitude and propensity for ear-damage that always makes her the first person strange foreigners think of when they want someone to play with. She has made her presence felt as a supremely subterranean force on the New England landscape. Anyway, back to the LP at hand. As a result of Angela wondering about what might happen if words actually got stuck in your throat, she began doing sound poetry vocal exercises designed to answer this age old question. Endless hours of such stuff were recorded and studied, with the final determination being that words can't really get stuck. They always come out eventually. And when they do, they're either croaks or they're honks. In order to show the difference between these two schools of sound, Sawyer assembled this album from hundreds of hours of recordings. And we think you'll agree the results are both startling and revelatory. Science, dear friends, marches on." --Byron Coley, 2016. Edition of 300. For fans of Weirdo Records, Negative One, Duck That.
The new Emmanuel Top label, Fokalm, present Fred Hush's Berlin Vs Leipzig EP. Comes with early support from Len Faki, Charlotte de Witte and Dave Clarke.
Anterior Space may strike some listeners of a certain age as an echo of the gilded age of "armchair techno" exemplified by Warp Records's Artificial Intelligence comps. The convergence of the cerebral and the blissful in the four epic compositions HOLOVR (aka Jimmy Billingham) finesses from his analog and digital synths are similar to early-'90s pieces by Black Dog, B12, and others. Discussing the creation of Anterior Space, which is the first HOLOVR release to not feature beats, Billingham reveals, "Dropping drums gave me a bit more freedom in terms of tempo and rhythm, and it was actually really liberating. Having fewer elements in a track also meant it was possible to record live, which is my preferred way of working, as you can capture an actual snapshot of time and a natural, in-the-moment negotiation of the different elements of a track. I'd know a track was ready if I could sit there and listen to it looping round for long periods of time and really get lost in it, and then I'd try and capture a nice section of that in the space of 10 minutes or whatever." You can hear this on Anterior Space's opening 11-minute track, "Into Light". Its subtle gradations of warped tones and implied rhythms teem with hyperactive elegance. The slow, mobile-like rotation of synth baubles over a foundation of yearning, icy drones on "Apparent Motion" creates the illusion of a shimmering stasis, but there's actually a great deal happening here. "There's lots of subtle variation in the tracks, with pattern length differences and parameter tweaks," Billingham says. "I'm really into the hypnotic effect that you can get from this; the feeling of constant change within something that is otherwise staying the same." Thankfully, all these elements on "Apparent Motion" coalesce into a celestial chill-out zone and serve as an aural icepack for your overworked mind. On "Temporary, Autonomous", the lightest of acidic squelches prod this track into a similar rarefied ether as the less propulsive cuts on Plastikman's Sheet One (1993). Eleven-minute closer "Involution" is a gradual procession of globular ambience that seems always to be changing and yet also emitting a steady-state glow. Billingham also records under the aliases Tidal, Venn Rain, Journey Of Mind and Holographic Mind. Mastered by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering; Artwork by Chloe Harris; 180 gram vinyl in reverse board jacket.
The original soundtrack of Gomorrah, the acclaimed Italian television crime drama inspired by Roberto Saviano's 2008 best-selling book Gomorrah. Gomorrah received unprecedented critical acclaim all over the world. The Guardian (UK) called it "The unmissable, ultimate mafia show" and German magazine Spiegel-Online says, "Forget the Sopranos, here they are the Savastanos!" The music from both seasons of Gomorrah is composed and performed by Mokadelic, a Rome based psychedelic-post-rock collective, specializing in music for film. The music of Mokadelic is influenced by the contemporary sounds of such names as Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and Godspeed You Black Emperor, without forgetting the lessons from the great Italian soundtrack composers of the sixties and seventies. The soundtrack has an eclectic sound palette that alternates from spacious, melancholic atmospheres to extremely dense climaxes. It's an emotionally intense musical narrative, deeply inspired by Gomorrah's haunting realism. Presented here for the first time on picture disc.
$16.99 EAN: 8033706216149 SOUNDTRACK
01. Dust Ring
02. Right To the Edge
03. Doomed To Live
04. Stoke the Baptism of Fire
05. Nothing To Be Gained
06. Kickback
07. Drug Crash
08. Black Patrol
09. Vacuum
10. Easy Father
11. We Will Vote
12. Showdown
13. Newlywed
14. Ray of Hope
15. Wild and Savage
16. Tragic Vodka
17. Nuje vulimme 'na speranza (feat. Lucariello)
Goodfellas present Mokadelic's new album, Chronicles. Mokadelic is considered the best Italian psychedelic-post-rock collective, a powerful band influenced by both the great Italian soundtrack composers of the '60s and '70s, and by bands such as Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Explosions In The Sky. After years of experience in the field of film music, including collaborations with directors such as Gabriele Salvatores and Stefano Sollima, Mokadelic became world famous thanks to their original soundtrack to the Italian TV series, Gomorrah (GDM 2101CD/LP, GDM 6650LP, 2016). That soundtrack was an emotionally intense musical narrative, including both spacious, melancholic atmospheres and extremely dense climaxes, all inspired by the haunting realism of the TV series. Chronicles appears to be their first stand-alone album since 2006; the first piece of work with no connections to film soundtracks or other special projects. A highly dense double set of music including a first volume (tracks 1-8) of post-rock oriented soundscapes, strategically followed by a heavy, electronics inspired second chapter (tracks 9-16). "Sleep One Eyed" features Nicolò Fabi.
$14.39 EAN: 8033706217955 ROCK
01. Sleep One Eyed (feat. Nicolò Fabi)
02. Engel
03. Nest Memories
04. Funerary Flute
05. Stepchild
06. Dust Devil
07. Demos Cityzen
08. Star Creatures
09. Human Circuit
10. Raw Modules
11. Koenji
12. Plastic Child
13. Jelly Beans
14. Sonder
15. Food Computers
16. Waste
GQOM OH! X CRUDO ZINE: Woza: Gqom Oh! x Crudo Volta Zine MAG (GQOM ZINE)
A collection of behind-the-scenes photos from Gqom Oh! and Crudo Volta's Woza Taxi documentary (2016). This documentary from Italian music label Gqom Oh! and Rome-based radio station Crudo Volta sheds light on the artists behind gqom, an electronic dance movement born in the townships outside Durban. Woza Taxi, which premiered on The Fader in July, follows director Tommaso Cassinis and label head Nan Kolè as they visit the homes and studios of core gqom artists. Alongside the film release, Gqom Oh! and Crudo Volta have produced a 32-page traditional mini newspaper to showcase the best photographs from the trip. It's a beautiful publication filled with raw, poignant images - a rare look behind the scenes of an emerging music culture. "It was really an amazing experience," Kolè told The Fader about the project. "To see how they produce gqom, and how they live, and the whole creative process. How this music brings them closer together with their friends and crews, not only just to create a track, but also to dance together."
Joris Voorn returns home to Green Records with his second solo release of 2016 with The Great Esquape. "Esquape" finds that perfect sweet spot between house and techno. Dreamy, delayed techy stabs slowly pull into focus over punchy kicks as shimmering hi-hat patterns rise into the mix, before a nagging re-sampled vocal hook and warm bass drop. "Orange" is a deeper but equally stunning composition, centering around a sparkling synth arpeggio that filters up and down to provide moments of intensity and calm. Deft percussion drives the track along as melancholic pads are drafted in atop a succinct bassline.
P Jam is back with his third installment on Hardrive. "Pepper Pot" is a grime dancehall infused track. It feels like P Jam took himself to King Jammy's studio and turned out this absolute banger - already getting a lot of pirate and underground club rotation. P Jam called upon Champion for "Chalice", which leans more towards the Studio One sound, and is also reminiscent of the early days of DMZ and FWD.
Hospital Productions collect some of the strongest cold-wave pop dirges of a generation with Contrepoison's Discography 2010-2012 survey, wrapping up both his self-released tapes and releases for Dominick Fernow's cherished imprint. Since the late '90s, Québécois musician and noise artist Pierre Marc-Tremblay has been recognized as a vital force in nether musical realms with a palette ranging from hermetic black metal (Akitsa) to the bitterest rhythmic noise (Âmes Sanglantes), and, more recently, the nerve-bitingly melodic pop of Contrepoison, whose I Keep On Searching 12" (2012) - included here - is a firm fixture. Arriving at the vanguard of a new slew of cold-wave revisionists and fetishists in 2010, his music stood, and still stands, head and shoulders above the rest thanks to an incessant drive and directness that can't be ignored by anyone into the original stuff, or who has arrived via the sound's prevailing, contemporary winds. Vacillating belting vocal pop arrangements with howling, stygian instrumentals of synth, guitar and enslaved drum machines, Discography 2010-2012 drags a perfectly malformed body of work, cycling chronologically from the pounding mix of industrial kicks and neo-folk cadence of ...Until Next Morning's amazing title cut (2010), to the blank-eyed dirge of "To Never, Forever", before taking in the stomping "Deserted Story" from his 2011 split with Vatican Shadow, and committing the fucking addictive hits of "I Keep On Searching", best summed up in that raging, glam title tune and sandwiched with aces from the compilation Around The Dragon's Broken Neck Hangs The Medal Of Saint Lazarus (2010). It only gets more wonderfully bombed out and crestfallen from therein, from the plangent siren call of "Nectar Of Destiny" to the exclusive instrumental, "The Moon Has Mad The Eclipse", and a grip of killers off The Thunders Which Collide tape (2011), including the raging banger "The Thunders Which Collide" and another cut exclusive to this set in the instrumental, "As The Blazing Sun Enters Scorpio". Basically, it's riddled with memorable hooks and rages like a wounded beast trapped down a well. RIYL: Cold Cave, Prurient. Edition of 500.
Jammz started to make a name for himself on London's radio circuit in 2014 and 2015. His Hit Then Run EP (2015) became a cult classic. Subsequent singles Final Warning (2015) and London Living (2015) further established Jammz as one of grime's best new hit-makers. Warrior EP is the second EP on Jammz's I Am Grime label. Intense and frustrated, it encapsulates life in London in 2016 and marks Jammz's most complete and considered release to date. Features Shemzy, Scott Garcia and P Money.
$9.79 EAN: 5055300391445 ELECTRONIC
01. Right Now (feat. Shemzy)
02. It's A London Thing (feat. Scott Garcia)
03. What's Man Saying? (feat. P Money)
04. Warrior
05. Danger
THIAM, MOR: Dini Safarrar (Drums Of Fire) CD (JMAN 091CD)
Jazzman Records present the first reissue of Mor Thiam's Dini Safarrar (Drums Of Fire), originally released in small numbers as a custom pressing in 1973. The compelling Dini Safarrar by Senegalese drummer Mor Thiam has gained cult status around the world amongst enthusiasts of jazz, funk, hip hop and African music, and has achieved grail status among LP collectors. Faithful to the original and made with the blessing and cooperation of Mor Thiam himself, as well as his son Aliaume Thiam, otherwise known as hip hop and R&B superstar Akon. Mor Dogo Thiam (pronounced "Chahm") is a cultural historian, dedicated philanthropist and genius on the djembe. He began his career as a drummer while a young boy in his native Senegal before moving to St. Louis, Missouri in the early 1970s, where his unique musical skills earned him the respect of the local jazz community. A fusion of the traditions of his Senegalese upbringing and the funk and jazz sounds of his new environs, Dini Safarrar was entirely self-funded and was also conceived as a benefit album, with all the proceeds donated to famine relief in Africa. The subtitle and translation of Dini Safarrar is "Drums Of Fire", though it may be more aptly described as "Drums Of Krakatoa", such is the explosive intensity captured within the grooves. The multitude of pulsating percussive elements throughout each track creates an intense rhythmic dissonance, the musical equivalent of an erupting volcano. It can be no coincidence that the energy and passion of Akon's music was duly ignited by his father's very same Drums Of Fire. May the legacy continue, God bless Akon.
$10.39 EAN: 5036468200916 WORLD
01. Ayo Ayo Nene (5:46)
02. Sindiely (5:55)
03. Kele Mubana (3:47)
04. Kanfera (7:47)
05. Africa (7:21)
SHEPP & BILL DIXON QUARTET, THE ARCHIE: The Archie Shepp-Bill Dixon Quartet LP (JD 117LP)
Jeanne Dielman present a reissue of The Archie Shepp & Bill Dixon Quartet, originally released in 1962. The debut as a leader for both Archie Shepp and Bill Dixon, two formidable members of the free jazz and avant-garde elite. Rounding out the quartet are bassists Reggie Workman and Don Moore, and drummers Paul Cohen and Howard McRae, each on various tracks. While the album undoubtedly swings, this piano-less quartet definitely prefigures the trailblazing free jazz work the two leaders would be involved in for the remainder of the decade, and beyond. An essential piece of early free jazz.
CAGE/CHRISTIAN WOLFF, JOHN: John Cage / Christian Wolff LP (JD 118LP)
Jeanne Dielman present a reissue John Cage and Christian Wolff's self-titled album, originally released in 1963. This album was an early showcase of both 20th century composers's experimental chops, and is highly regarded as some of their finest work. Cage's piece, which spans the whole of the first side, was originally composed in 1960, and like many of his pieces, would never be performed the same way twice. It involves the overlaying of transparencies to create the "score", while performers manipulate phonographic cartridges in a variety of ways to create amplified sound. To add to the effect, this particular performance is actually the superimposition of four performances. In all, it is a truly groundbreaking piece of 20th century classical. Wolff's side, while less extreme, is equally innovative, and a window into his particular pointillist vision of music.
$15.79 EAN: 8033706211380 CLASSICAL
A1. John Cage - Cartridge Music
B1. Christian Wolff - Duo For Violinist And Pianist
B2. Christian Wolff - Summer
B3. Christian Wolff - Duet II
Jeanne Dielman present a reissue of John Coltrane's My Favorite Things, originally released in 1961. Credit for this album is partially due to Miles Davis, who had somewhat recently purchased Coltrane's first soprano saxophone. Previously, the soprano saxophone had been little used in jazz. This 1961 album also seems to fully mark Coltrane's transformation into modal jazz, another Davis influence, and his modal take on the classic standard, "My Favorite Things", from The Sound Of Music soundtrack (1965), remains one of the more iconic jazz songs in history. Rounded out by three more standards, performed in modal interpretations that completely redefined the meaning of a "standards" album, My Favorite Things is one of the many transcendent jazz albums the legendary John Coltrane is responsible for.
$15.79 EAN: 8033706211397 JAZZ
A1. My Favorite Things
A2. Everytime We Say Goodbye
B1. Summertime
B2. But Not For Me
JACKSON WITH JOHN LEWIS, PERCY HEATH, KENNY CLARKE, LOU DONALDSON AND THE THELONIOUS MONK QUINTET, MILT: Milt Jackson With John Lewis, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, Lou Donaldson And The Thelonious Monk Quintet LP (JD 120LP)
Jeanne Dielman present a reissue of a compilation of recordings Milt Jackson made with The Modern Jazz Quartet (with Lou Donaldson on saxophone) and The Thelonious Monk Quartet from 1948-1952, originally released in 1955. This release highlights the bebop brilliance of vibraphonist master Jackson. Inspired by Lionel Hampton, Jackson took up the vibes at age 16 and was performing in Dizzy Gillespie's group by age 22. It was in Gillespie's group that the foundations of one of the most well-known and best-selling jazz groups, The Modern Jazz Quartet, were laid in the ground. That group, who recorded countless albums, first recorded in 1952, and these are some of their earliest recordings. Essential music from a jazz master, accompanied by some of the brightest artists in jazz history.
$15.79 EAN: 8056099000089 JAZZ
A1. Lillie
A2. Tahiti
A3. What's New
A4. Bag's Groove
A5. On The Scene
A6. Willow Weep For Me
B1. Criss Cross
B2. Eronel
B3. Misterioso (Alternate Master)
B4. Evidence
B5. Lillie (Alternate Master)
B6. Four In One (Alternate Master)
LOFFLER, CHRISTIAN: Young Alaska 12"+7" (KI 012-2EP)
Originally released in 2014. Christian Löffler presents a musical statement and autobiographical journey named Young Alaska, on Ki Records. The German producer unveils his unique soundscapes by delivering seven tracks which are deeply rooted, once again, in harmony and emotion. Löffler's unique sound, based on an intense melancholic feel, brought him a busy touring schedule performing at clubs and festivals all over the world. He sticks to his calm approach to electronic music and proves, through his live sets, that emotions control the dancefloor, creating a real sense of euphoria. His experiences on the road are reflected on Young Alaska, which is largely inspired by these journeys and places he has visited. From the peaceful landscapes of the title track to the melodramatic heights of "Mt. Grace", he took "Notes" back home to transfer the impressions into his music. Songs like "Beirut", "Veiled Grey" and "Alpine Sketch" are very diverse but come together harmoniously on this release. As on his debut album, A Forest (2012) he once again collaborates with Me Succeeds lead-singer Mohna, on "Beirut". During the course of Young Alaska, Christian tells the story of his journey over the course of the past two years. Ki Records stroke its roots deep into Cologne soil since 2009, building a solid stem of international artists that grew along the way since the label's start. Sometimes techno-ish, melancholic or playful electro pop infused with vocals, the Ki releases are diverse in sound and genre, but relate in quality. Most of the labels musicians are somewhat involved in many disciplines of art. From the smallest detail in production to the whole package - each release is a piece of art throughout.
$13.79 EAN: 4050486973035 ELECTRONIC
7":
A1. Young Alaska
B1. Mt. Grace
12":
C1. Notes
C2. Roman
D1. Beirut
D2. Veiled Grey
D3. Alpine Sketch
CAGE, DAVID TUDOR & CHRISTIAN WOLFF, JOHN: San Francisco Museum Of Art, January 16th, 1965 2LP (OI 014LP)
Modern Silence present a live recording, originally broadcast by KPFA Radio from the sculpture court of the San Francisco Museum of Art on January 16, 1965. Coinciding with the 39th birthday of fellow pianist and longtime associate David Tudor, this historic concert with John Cage opens with a duet for cymbal with contact microphones agitated by a wide gamut of objects, and concludes with Variations IV in which loudspeakers outside the performance space interacted with speakers next to the audience. Includes a performance of Christian Wolff's For 1, 2 or 3 People. First vinyl release of this historic performance of minimalist music.
$26.39 UPC: 889397610142 CLASSICAL
A1. John Cage, David Tudor - Duet For Cymbal
B1. For 1, 2 Or 3 People (Christian Wolff)
C1. John Cage - Variations IV Part 1
D1. John Cage - Variations IV Part 2
ARTEMIEV, YURI BOGDANOV, VLADIMIR MARTYNOV, EDWARD: Metamorphoses: Electronic Interpretations Of Classic And Modern Musical Works LP (OI 015LP)
Modern Silence present a reissue of Metamorphoses, originally released in 1980. A Russian album of electronic interpretations of "classical" pieces by Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi along with John Bull, Vladimir Martynov, Sergei Prokofiev, J. S. Bach, Edward Artemiev and Yuri Bogdanov. Yuri Bogdanov is featured on every track, on some tracks together with Edward Artemiev, composer for Andrei Tarkovsky, and others. Other tracks feature Vladimir Martynov. From the original liner notes: "The record is made on the basis of a kaleidoscope: it is interspersed with pieces of various styles, genres and eras. For example, with these pieces, the authors wanted to show a variety of ways to use a synthesizer, starting with the direct simulation of now or once existing instruments, to the establishment of new not yet known sound systems. Thus, the record is like a small musical walk through time (...)"
$17.79 UPC: 889397610159 ELECTRONIC
A1. Le Vent Dans Le Plaine (Claude Debussy)
A2. Io Mi Son Giovinetta (Claudio Monteverdi)
A3. Why Ask You? (John Bull)
A4. Spring Etude (Vladimir Martynov)
A5. Sarcasms (Sergei Prokofiev)
A6. Canope (Claude Debussy)
B1. Summer Canon [Unknown Artist]
B2. Morning In The Mountains (Vladimir Martynov)
B3. Goldberg Variations Nos. 5 And 8 (J. S. Bach)
B4. Voiles (Claude Debussy)
B5. Motion (Edward Artemiev, Yuri Bogdanov)
Modern Silence present a reissue of Musical Offering, originally released in 1990. Features works by Oleg Buloshkin, Sofia Gubaidulina, Edward Artemiev, Edison Denisov and Alfred Schnittke. From the original liner notes: "(...) Please, try to imagine a score sounding by itself without a conductor, an orchestra even without musical instruments. This magic is possible by using the musical synthesizer, ANS. ANS is an instrument with which a composer can not only create but even draw his music without notes and orchestra. A Soviet scientist Evgeny Murzin spent about 20 years creating this apparatus which can join together three processes: music creation, recording and performing. All these processes are rather complicated. You can see the twinkling of different lamps, the rotation of grooved discs made of glass - notes are cut on a glass disc covered with a special layer; The drawings on the glass are 'sounding notes'. To listen to the drawn picture you should press the button and a wonderful transformation will begin. Murzin dedicated his apparatus to Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, that's why he called it ANS. Scriabin, the creator of the 'Poem of Ecstasy', used in his works a highly chromatic, new type of harmonic style designed to express his beliefs, views and wishes. Soviet music lovers already know some recordings made on ANS from the films Into Space, Solaris (1972), Mirror (1975), Siberiade (1979) and others. Works of well-known Soviet composers E. Artemiev, O. Buloshkin, E. Denisov, S. Gubaidulina, A. Schnittke featured on this LP were recorded at the Electronic Music Studio (...)"
$17.79 UPC: 889397610166 ELECTRONIC
A1. Sacrament (O. Buloshkin) (3:36)
A2. Vivente-Non Vivente (Alive And Dead) (S. Cubaidulina) (10:46)
A3. Mosaic (E. Artemiev) (4:06)
B1. Twelve Looks At The World Of Sound (E. Artemiev) (12:55)
B2. Birds' Singing (E. Denisov) (5:07)
B3. Stream (A. Schnittke) (5:55)
Modern Silence present Information, Transmission, Modulation And Noise, a set of recordings featuring works by Steve Reich and Philip Glass. During an interview recorded at the KPFA radio station, Steve Reich and Jon Gibson introduced an east coast performance of Steve Reich's masterpiece, Four Organs, as well as an exciting recording of Ghanian drumming which the artist recorded in Ghana. They also introduced the music of Philip Glass, playing a tape of his historical Music In Similar Motion. Personnel: Four Organs by Steve Reich, was performed live in NYC in November of 1969 by Steve Chambers, Art Murphy, Philip Glass on electric organs and Jon Gibson on maracas; Drumming by Steve Reich, was performed by percussionists from Ghana and recorded by Steve Reich; Music In Similar Motion, by Philip Glass, was performed live In NYC in November of 1969 by Steve Chambers and Philip Glass on electric organs, Jon Gibson and Richard Landry on soprano sax, Steve Reich on electric harpsichord.
$17.79 UPC: 889397610173 CLASSICAL
A1. Four Organs (Steve Reich) (Live In NYC, November 1969)
A2. Drumming (Steve Reich)
B1. Music In Similar Motion (Philip Glass) (Live In NYC, November 1969)
LES RALLIZES DENUDES: Live 77 Tachikawa 2LP (MT 023LP)
Mono-Tone Records present a reissue of Les Rallizes Dénudés's historic performance from 1977 in Tachikawa. This double LP has everything Les Rallizes Dénudés are known for - ear piercing feedback, languid guitar strumming, wild reverberated solos, lurid volume, blasé vocals, and unbelievable intensity, combined for a total sensory assault. Revolutionary and psychedelic, the unlikely meeting of The Velvet Underground and the Japanese Red Army, Les Rallizes Dénudés are among the earliest and most outer Japanese psyche/noise rock'n'roll bands who existed.
OFFERMANN, OSKAR: Le Grand To Do Remixed 12" (MUSIQ 207EP)
After an excellent debut album on Mule Musiq (MUSIQ 050CD/191LP, 2015), Oskar Offermann is back with four remixed tracks. Legendary Osunlade (Yoruba Soul) remixed the most club friendly track on the album, turning it into more of a DJ tool - jazzy deep house. Oskar's buddy Edward's remix is simply epic - a very imaginative breakbeats track. Frankfurt's Bodin&Jacob's remix is kind of mash up of some tracks on the album. It's kind of early electro stuff. Metamatics, who provides a remix, is well-known from the end of '90s.
After years of experimentation and musical research, the artist manages to find its way, creating something new in terms of music approach and very personal. Ver Sacrum was created from the idea that in such a strange time, it is possible to create something genuine, overcoming musical barriers and playing with these. The former background is definitely linked to techno, religiously respected and on this basis, the EP wants to experience how the influence of distant voices and conflicting times may lead to an unexpected result.
$10.99 UPC: N/A ELECTRONIC
A1. Ver Sacrum
A2. TNT
B1. Machine Love
B2. Magnificat
B3. Equinozio
In December 2016, Psyk's imprint Non Series will reach its fifth anniversary and to celebrate the Spanish label will be releasing a compilation series. Five brings together artists from the label family as well as some new faces to deliver various artists EPs according to the Non Series sound. Five III features Tadeo, Eduardo De La Calle, Mark Broom, and Aiken.
$9.79 UPC: N/A ELECTRONIC
A1. Tadeo - The Perseus Fight
A2. Eduardo De La Calle - RDAS
B1. Mark Broom - Sipan
B2. Aiken - Diffracted
HOWARD, JOHN: Across The Door Sill CD (LEDA7E 047CD)
When John Howard's 1975 album Kid In A Big World was reissued to wide acclaim in 2003, it marked his return to writing and recording after twenty years of silence. Recorded over a twelve-month period, Across The Door Sill features many layered pianos and vocals. Whereas John Howard & The Night Mail (TR 317CD/LP, 2015) was a "band album", Door Sill is very much a solo work. With five brand new songs investigating the process of dreams and how one can imagine crossing previously unseen thresholds; embarking on new adventures and challenges, through differing timelines, the album was inspired by 13th century poet Rumi's quatrains. One can hear the influence of John's own songwriter heroes - Laura Nyro and Roy Harper in particular - with its long-form, languidly organic compositions and eschewal of the usual verse/chorus/middle-eight song structure. "An album that will take a few listens, I think," says John.
$10.99 EAN: 5038622136727 ROCK
01. Who Cares?
02. Outward
03. Preservation
04. Pigs 'n' Pies
05. Stretching Out
VA: Beatfreak! Vol. 4: Rare and Obscure British Beat 1964-1969 CD (PART 4064CD)
From the minds behind Piccadilly Sunshine, Mixed Up Minds, Upside Down, Electric Sound Show and Cornflake Zoo, Beatfreak! is the bruised torso of British pop music. Rare, obscure and virtually extinct, Volume Four offers an intoxicating marriage of bongo, brass and fuzz for the hip, beat modernist. Particles presents 20 shots of Soho cool delivered with a nervous twitch and a whiff of sophistication, all recorded between 1964-1969. Professionally re-mastered original sound recordings with comprehensive background liners and rare color, archival photos in a 24-page booklet. Features: Ivans Meads, Barron Knights, Kevin 'King' Lear, John Smith And The New Sound, The Blues Council, Jimmy Nicol, Sandy Sarjeant, George Bean, The Sound Of Jimmy Nicol, The Peddlers, Anita Harris, Liverpool Five, Mark Leeman Five, West Five, Billy Fury, The Nocturns, The Anglians, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, Paddy, Klaus & Gibson and The Kingbees.
$11.99 EAN: 8690116406418 ROCK
01. Ivans Meads - A Little Sympathy (1965)
02. Barron Knights - Comin' Home Baby (1964)
03. Kevin 'King' Lear - Mr. Pearly (1968)
04. John Smith And The New Sound - Girls In Love (1968)
05. The Blues Council - Baby Don't Look Down (1965)
06. Jimmy Nicol - Don't Come Back (1964)
07. Sandy Sarjeant - Can't Stop The Want (I Got For You Babe) (1967)
08. George Bean - Er-Um-Er (1964)
09. The Sound Of Jimmy Nicol - Clementine (1965)
10. The Peddlers - Song For The Blues (1965)
11. Anita Harris - Lies (1964)
12. Liverpool Five - The Snake (1966)
13. Mark Leeman Five - Portland Town (1965)
14. West Five - She's Mine (1965)
15. Billy Fury - Bye, Bye (1969)
16. The Nocturns - Carryin' On (1964)
17. The Anglians - Daytime Lover (1967)
18. Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas - We're Doing Fine (1966)
19. Paddy, Klaus & Gibson - I Tried (1965)
20. The Kingbees - My Little Red Book (1966)
VA: Dustin E Presents... Cornflake Zoo: Episode Five CD (PART 4072CD)
From the minds behind Piccadilly Sunshine, Mixed Up Minds, Electric Asylum, Upside Down, Curiosity Shop and Electric Sound Show, Particles present Dustin E's... Cornflake Zoo: Episode Five. As always, rules are broken, but standards are observed as Particles assemble a selection of the most delightful, juvenile absurdity to reach the auditory senses. A captivating collection of twenty tracks, all recorded between 1966-1972. Replete with archival imagery, a loving touch of restoration and a simple (minded) narrative. Includes a 20-page full color booklet, comprehensive liner notes and rare color photographs. Features: Los Shakers, The Lords, The Whiskers, Ro-D-Ys, Slam Creepers, The Coopers, Stoke Sect, The Newcomers, The Lollipops, Test, Happie, Los Pasos, After Tea, Les Baroques, Les Sinners, Bojoura, The Shoes, The Rivets and John Philipp.
$11.99 EAN: 8690116407217 ROCK
01. Los Shakers - Higher Than A Tower (1968)
02. The Lords - The World Is Falling Down (1969)
03. The Whiskers - Morning Dew (1968)
04. Ro-D-Ys - Easy Come, Easy Go (1968)
05. Slam Creepers - Living With Lies (1968)
06. The Coopers - Leave This Man Alone (1968)
07. Stoke Sect - Flower Children (1967)
08. The Newcomers - Have You Seen My Baby Comin' (1968)
09. The Lollipops - On My Way (1969)
10. Test - If I Were A King (1968)
11. Happie - Mary-Ann (1968)
12. Los Pasos - I Was The Best (1968)
13. After Tea - Lemon Coloured Honey Tree (1967)
14. Les Baroques - Love Is The Sun (1967)
15. Les Sinners - Devoir Partir (1968)
16. Bojoura - Looking For The Land (1968)
17. The Lollipops - Naked When You Come (1966)
18. The Shoes - Listen To The Lyrics Of This Song (1967)
19. The Rivets - Wade In The Water (1966)
20. John Philipp - Living In Our Part Of Time (1972)
BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE: Black Earth CD (PIAS 39223302CD)
Pias present a reissue of Black Earth by the German doom jazz cult band, Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, originally released in 2002. Black Earth is a masterpiece and the perfect soundtrack for an imaginary movie experiencing the nights in a dangerous city. For fans of SunnO, OM, Max Richter, Fennesz. "The substance we are seeking here lies beyond the bare bones of fact, the when and the where (founded in 1988, Mülheim an der Ruhr) or personnel and instruments. Mysteries may very well lurk here or there along the way. What keeps the final two founder members going after all this time? Do Morten Gass and Robin Rodenberg have skeletons locked in their closets? How dearly we would we love to know the answer to that one, alas the most beautiful puzzles tend to remain unsolved. Including their debut Gore Motel (1994), Bohren & Der Club Of Gore have amassed an impressive eight long players... Strange as it may seem, there is a uniform consistency to their reception. Whatever the band does, critiques are unfailingly positive, yet repetitious. Consider the arrival of Christoph Clöser in 1997, by way of illustration. When he joined the group, his saxophone replaced the departing Reiner Henseleit's guitar as one of the defining instruments in the band. This was arguably the sharpest break in their sound to this day and a significant marker in terms of the band's reverence for Dutch instrumentalists Gore (the clue is in the name), whose repetitive riffs paved the way for how the guitar would be deployed in a post-everything future... Similarly conspicuous by their absence in the Bohren chronicles are the numerous instruments which they added to the mix. The introduction of choirs at least had a clear visual impact. Since Thorsten Benning left at the end of 2015, the band has continued as a trio, sharing shifts on the drums. A decrease in personnel was conversely accompanied by quantum leaps forward in the group's musical development - or more precisely, minor adjustments triggered major effects. The music of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore opens up remarkable rooms of association, from a warm burrow to a pristine secret lodge, from a dusky woodland tavern to a smoky quayside dive... These sinister crackling songs are invitations to secrete oneself in darkness." --Lars Brinkman.
$10.99 EAN: 5414939943997 ROCK
01. Midnight Black Earth
02. Crimson Ways
03. Maximum Black
04. Vigilante Crusade
05. Destroying Angels
06. Grave Wisdom
07. Constant Fear
08. Skeletal Remains
09. The Art Of Coffins
One more top mysterious trace from the Little Skull legacy: Dean Brown's album Ubique (i.e. "everywhere" in Latin) marks the passing of time and people. This sense of loss is very present though the whole record; not getting around to saying the things we meant to say and making sense of the leftovers. Screaming calmly, Dean Brown's Little Skull has shrunk, even more, until his head is almost just sore meat - this music sounds like it was made to soothe that inflammation. Currently living in the UK, Little Skull is Dean's long running solo project. He plays all of instruments, even if it sounds like he is barely touching them and yet, his obscure personal fingerprints are all over the place. His instinctive spontaneous playing finds ways to make them glow and fizz and ripple. The very complicated hand-made cover is astonishing. It incorporates religious imagery and patron saints expanding in space and creating a three-dimensional architecture filled with mysterious presences. Dean Brown is a New Zealander from Hamilton. A joke city to much of the rest of New Zealand, but its feral mongrel out-of-it-ness is well known to those that have lived there. Dean coped with Hamilton through his bands Negative Eh and Nova Scotia and then buggered off to other cities and other countries. After several privately produced lathe-cut editions and a sold-out LP on Elica, Ubique is reissued here on LP in a one-time-only pressing limited to 250 copies.
"Rob Noyes has been on the Eastern Massachusetts scene for a while, but what we've heard him play is music from within the context of electric bands, most of whom are loud as hell and exist somewhere along the rim of the post-core continuum. More recently, Rob has taken to displaying his solo acoustic guitar chops and they are massive. The Feudal Spirit is the first vinyl evidence of their 'shoulders.' Like Western Mass's Tony Pasquarosa, who mines the same widely-variant style-pits, Rob's approach to acoustic playing resembles his electric work only through shared-belief-in-a-strong-downstroke. On the way to developing his own compositional/performance approach, Noyes sometimes seems to have absorbed an almost infinite reservoir of influences. Apart from some superb Basho-like 12-string tunneling, most momentary fragments tend to recall legendary Limeys like John Renbourn (and through him, Davey Graham), because Rob's overt melodic structures tend towards the non-bluesoid. But then you'll maybe hear a note-sequence spiced like something dropped from the hot strings of Michael Chapman or even a powerful throng that makes you think of Wizz Jones. When that happens, you realize there's more of a blues base to some of the songs than you'd been able to untangle. Mr. Noyes hits a vast array of sub-genres on this album, and he hits them all pretty damn hard. Rob's playing carries the weight of many possibly-imaginary forebears, but the way he smears them all together shows a holistic mastery of touch and imagination that defies a lot of today's players, who tend to shine in short bursts, then allow their dreams to outrun their technique. Rob Noyes has no such apparent limitations. Like Raymond Pettibon, whose artwork graces The Feudal Spirit's cover, Rob's able to create a true form-gobble, making some real beautiful noise in the process. Around the world, licensed Hodologists whisper, 'Make mine Noyes.' Why don't you join them?" --Byron Coley, October 23rd, 2016, South Deerfield, MA. Jackets are hand-painted, screenprinted, hand-glued, and hand-cut; Cover art by Raymond Pettibon. 180 gram vinyl pressed at RTI; Lacquers cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service; Edition of 330.
Black Manual was formed by Jan St. Werner in 2012, following with Mordendo (2013) which intertwined the dynamics of speaker compositions with Afro-Brazilian sound patterns. Portals Editions present four new distillations of "Mordendo". Cut Hands draws the spirit out of "Mordendo" in his signature glorious ritualistic fashion. James Ginzburg (Bleed Turquoise) of Emptyset, summons the soul and amplifies it with cathartic synth stabs in unison with martial percussive bursts. Africaine 808's Dirk Leyers (Format01) mechanizes the chaos in to a rhythmic spell. Ketev carries the listener off into the great unknown with his amniotic drones and hypnotic inward movements.
Prog Temple present a reissue of the sole album by Oliver Chaplin, Standing Stone, originally released 1974. Recorded on a farm in rural Wales without a thought to commercial considerations, Standing Stone melds Delta blues with biting psychedelic guitar, acid folk and a range of production effects (by Oliver's brother Chris, an engineer who'd worked on Jimi Hendrix's BBC sessions). The result is a unique blast of counter-cultural energy - a work of peculiar genius. Ultra-rare in its original vinyl incarnation, it makes its long overdue return to CD here.
$11.99 EAN: 4753314806313 ROCK
01. Off On A Trek
02. Trance
03. Flowers On A Hill
04. Freezing Cold Like An Iceberg
05. Royal Flush
06. Cat And The Rat
07. Instamatic
08. Telephone
09. Getting Fruity
10. Tricycle
11. Motorway
12. Primrose
13. In Vain
14. Multiplex
15. Orbit Your Factory
16. Tok Tic
17. Where's My Motorbike
Prog Temple present a reissue of Out Of Darkness's self-titled album, originally released in 1970. Initially formed as a trio in 1967, by the spring of 1969, Out Of Darkness had become a powerful quartet, fueled by the Hendrix-inspired guitar heroics of Wray Powell. Featuring both black and white members, and conveying their Christian message through the medium of loud post-psychedelic rock'n'roll, they amazed and confounded audiences in equal measure. This long-awaited reissue of their classic album, comes with background notes and images.
$11.99 EAN: 4753314806412 ROCK
01. Us
02. Thank You Lord
03. On Solid Rock
04. Wings Of The Morning
05. Moses
06. Lemonade And Peanuts
07. Closing In On Me
08. Who Is To Blame
09. Hustle Bustle
10. Dreamaway
11. There You See A Stranger
12. Homeland
13. Light
14. Walk On The Water
15. Love To Love
16. Worldpool
17. Cocaine
18. Valley
SPUNK: Still Eating Ginger Bread For Breakfast CD (RCD 2188CD)
Formed in 1995, Spunk comprises four of Norway's most innovative musicians: Kristin Andersen - trumpet and recorders; Hild Sofie Tafjord - french horn, toys, live processing and sampling; Maja S. K. Ratkje - voice, theremin, oscillators, live processing and sampling; Lene Grenager - cello. For their 20th anniversary concert in December 2015, they moved to the exotic concert sites of Oslo's Nasjonal Jazzscene, home of the most interesting local and international jazz and improvisation concerts in the capital. Still Eating Ginger Bread For Breakfast is a recording of that concert - divided into two sets - as on the evening. It is also Spunk's ninth album since their 1999 debut Det Eneste Jeg Vet Er At Det Ikke Er En Støvsuger, all on Rune Grammofon. "Last time I heard Spunk was phenomenal! They are among the most exciting improvising groups in the world right now." --Fred Frith.
ROCK'N'ROLL JACKIE & PAIN JERK: Super Relaxed CD (SLR 009CD)
2010 release. Super Relaxed, over a year in the making, is the first collaboration between Pain Jerk (Kohei Gomi) and Rock'n'Roll Jackie (Jackie Stewart, aka Jackie Oblivia, of Smegma, Tenses, Los Angeles Free Music Society). The source sounds were provided by Jackie and then Kohei obsessively worked these into the two long tracks. The influence of the musique concrete masters are heavily heard throughout these tracks but they maintain the playfulness and non-purism found throughout LAFMS recordings. Old sound effect record samples, TV recordings, Flower Travellin' Band's guitar riffs and J-pop drum beats are all included in the mix alongside Kohei's synth sounds. All music composed, mixed and produced by Jackie Oblivia and Pain Jerk in Portland and Tokyo, 2008-2010. Comes in a six-panel digipack with full-color artwork/collages from Jackie Stewart; Edition of 500.
$10.99 EAN: 5055300391254 ROCK
01. Love Yourself (28:45)
02. Keep Your Temper (21:31)
FENCKLER, CHARLES: Diving From The Void CD (SOMA 112CD)
Soma present the debut album from one of the most exiting techno artists to spring out of the French scene in recent years, Charles Fenckler. A chance happening across Fenckler's Soundcloud heralded some fine results for the Soma camp back in 2014. The 20 year old exploded onto the label with the finely produced Anklam in that same year. Sporting such a mature sound for someone so young, his profile has been creeping up since the release of Anklam, quickly gaining fans throughout the techno community such as Jeff Mills, Marcel Dettmann, Josh Wink and Alan Fitzpatrick. Frozen Room (2015) saw him return to form after a short hiatus with the title track taking the scene by storm. With his debut album, Diving From The Void, Fenckler looks to continue his meteoric rise through electronic music.
$8.99 UPC: 502485611226 ELECTRONIC
01. Voices In Your Head
02. Immersion
03. Stellar Acid
04. Frozen Room
05. Estrange
06. Flirting With Disaster
07. Subject X103
08. District 2 (909 Drums)
09. The Unknown
10. Anxiety
11. Raven
BERTOIA, HARRY: Clear Sounds/Perfetta CD (FW 1033CD)
After nearly 40 years of silence, Harry Bertoia's Sonambient label has been resurrected in order to release the best of Bertoia's unheard recordings from his recently preserved archive of 1/4" tapes. "Clear Sounds" b/w "Perfetta" was cut straight from the original reels and is a true analog pressing. These two pieces were selected for their minimal, meditative and lush harmonic qualities; lacking in the abundance of dynamics and contrasts found on the original Sonambient records, these pieces show another approach to performance. Slow washes of shimmering metallic sculpture rustle thickly like the leaves of a white birch or tall grass in the summer sun. Gorgeous harmonics hover overhead, making audible measurements of the length and purity of Bertoia's metal rod sculptures. Both Harry Bertoia and his brother Oreste composed extensively in the Sonambient barn deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania where Harry kept over 100 Sonambient sculptures and gongs. The first Sonambient LP Bellissima Bellissima Bellissima / Nova, released in 1970, contains a Harry Bertoia composition on side A and an Oreste Bertoia composition on side B. As an homage to the original Sonambient LP, "Clear Sounds" is a Harry Bertoia piece from June 30, 1973 and "Perfetta" is an Oreste Bertoia piece from June 28, 1971. Harry Bertoia first came into artistic prominence in the late 1930s and his sculptural, ergomonic chairs were soon modernist furniture classics. Inspired by the resonant sounds emanating from metals as he worked them and encouraged by his brother Oreste, whose passion was music, Harry restored a fieldstone "Pennsylvania Dutch" barn as the home for this experiment in sounding sculptures which he had begun in the 1950s. Bertoia was an obsessive composer and relentless experimenter, often working late into the night and accumulating hundreds of tapes of his best performances; Oreste, too, would explore and record the sculptures's sounds during his annual visits to his brother's home in rural Pennsylvania. Over nearly twenty years, adding, culling and rearranging, Bertoia carefully selected nearly 100 harmonious pieces ranging in height from under a foot to more than fifteen feet. Learning by experimentation was common for Bertoia and he mastered the art of tape recording, turning the Sonambient barn into a sound studio with four overhead microphones hanging from the rafters in a square formation. He would experiment with overdubbing by performing along to previous recordings, constantly improving his methods while also honing his performance skills.
Spittle Records present an expanded reissue of Massacre's Killing Time, originally released in 1981. Following the breakup of Cambridge's avant-rock legends, Henry Cow, guitarist Fred Frith moved to NYC in 1979, and soon found himself deep in the heart of the city's robust post-punk and free-jazz scenes. He performed with Bill Laswell and Fred Maher, from the group Material, as a power trio of sorts under the moniker of Massacre. The group quickly garnered a reputation around town, and around the world for that matter, as a heavy and heady band that experimented greatly with rhythm, time signatures, and tone. As Frith himself put it, "the group was a direct response to New York. It was a very aggressive group, kind of my reaction to the whole New York rock club scene." Massacre released one album, Killing Time, before disbanding for nearly 20 years. Their first wave as a group crashed fast and furiously and this one album, recorded in part live in Paris, and in part at Brooklyn's OAO Studio, is a perfect encapsulation of early '80s NYC. In addition to the original album, first released on Celluloid in 1981, this deluxe three-sided double LP includes eight bonus tracks recorded live between '80 and '81 at The Stone in San Francisco, and Inroads and CBGB in NYC. Avant-jazz-post-punk-noise of the highest order from several legends and one of the most important projects Frith and Laswell were ever involved in.
$18.99 EAN: 8033706210673 ROCK
A1. Legs
A2. Aging With Dignity
A3. Subway Heart
A4. Killing Time
A5. Corridor
A6. Lost Causes
A7. Not The Person We Knew
B1. Bones
B2. Tourism
B3. Surfing
B4. As Is
B5. After
B6. Gate
C1. You Said
C2. Know
C3. Conversations With White Arc
C4. Carrying
C5. Bait
C6. Third Street
C7. 3 O'Clock, June 21st, Get Down There And Do It
C8. F.B.I.
RINF + ADRIAN SHERWOOD: Der Westen Ist Am Ende: The Complete Sessions LP (SPITTLE 072LP)
In the summer of 1986, Adrian Sherwood (On-U Sound) went to Florence, Italy for a different kind of vacation: to make a record with noise-funk band Rinf. The sweaty sessions stretched for weeks, resuming in London - to whip these loose tracks into shape. The record label Lacerba released the final mixes on two 12" EPs, Bang Bang (1987) and Rubber On Rider (1988), that have long been out of print. For the first time, Der Westen Ist Am Ende compiles the fully remastered complete sessions in a new package that cheekily references the testosterone-driven porn-obsessed lyrics. Comes in a beautiful three-color silkscreen and custom die-cut jacket.
$20.39 EAN: 8033706210727 ELECTRONIC
A1. Little Bondage
A2. Bang Bang
A3. British Bulldog
A4. The Short Rubber
B1. Bang Reaction
B2. Big Bondage (Kinky Sex Wet Mix)
B3. Rubber On Rider (Der Westen Ist Am Ende)
AMBROSINI, MARCELLO: Post-Industriale: La Scena Italiana Anni '80 CD/BOOK (SPITTLE 977001)
The Italian post-industrial scene, born in the early '80s, was one of the most creative and vibrant in the whole of Europe. Officine Schwartz, CCC CNC NCN, F:A.R, Giardini Di Marzo, Mauthausen Orchestra, Rosemary's Baby, Thelema and T.A.C. are just some of the Italian protagonists cited by Marcello Ambrosini in his work, Post-Industriale: La Scena Italiana Anni '80 ("Post-Industrial: The Italian Scene Of '80"). Italian post-industrial was an underground movement that sparked a whole generation of musicians and artists and has represented the Italian independent scene as one of the most varied and interesting in history. This volume of Marcello Ambrosini's writing will be accompanied by an original compilation on CD with nine tracks featuring, among others, Ain Soph, F: A.R., Mauthausen Orchestra, Sigillum S, T.A.C. and Tasaday. The choice of the artists included in the CD has been inspired by the chapters collected in the book, tracing the large part of the industrial sub-genre. 45 minutes of true Italian post-industrial music. Much room has been given to the first chapter "Prima Generazione Post-Industriale" ("First Post-Industrial Generation") due to the presence of absolutely influential names and side-projects inclined to the "do it yourself" aesthetics, like Luke X's Ah Nahm Inc. - featured in the CD compilation. As for the "Power Noise" chapter the choice has been easily afforded with Mauthausen Orchestra. This category is probably the one that left the most traces in past and present decades with many artists and labels influenced by the sounds. Back to the book the "Esoteric Way" is represented by masters, Ain Soph and Sigillum S, with a rare effort form Thee Tree Rings as well. A different matter with the bonus track, an exclusive performance from white noise maestro M.B., a contemporary signal recorded only a few years ago. Numerous names should have been picked up, but more than a manifesto, this compilation is meant as a tool for contemporary followers of "grey areas" and "extreme culture". NB: The book's text is in Italian.
$23.79 EAN: 9788899770013 ELECTRONIC
01. Mauthausen Orchestra - Untitled
02. Sigillum S - The Monstrous Crack
03. Thee Tree Rings - The Inevitable Collapse
04. T.A.C. - I Think About You All The Time
05. Tasaday - Le Porte Dell'equilibrio
06. Luke X's Ah Nahm Inc. - Science Just Married
07. Ain Soph - Kshatriya
08. F: A.R. - Possibilita Sfinite
09. M.B. - Erasedbrain (Excerpt)
Tapete present a reissue of Slapp Happy's Sort Of, originally released in 1972. Left-wing intellectual film critic Uwe Nettelbeck, who had good connections to Polydor, had set up his own studio in rural Wümme, disrupting the mainstream with pioneering sounds by the likes of Faust, inventively engineered by the "boffin's boffin", Kurt Graupner. By the time Anthony Moore, one of Nettelbeck's charges, approached his third album in 1972, Polydor's accounting department was fast losing patience with all that experimentalism. So Nettelbeck suggested to Moore that he might write some straight songs (relatively speaking), which in turn prompted Moore to invite his old school friend Peter Blegvad over to Hamburg to form the band Slapp Happy. Dagmar Krause, a young singer from Hamburg and Moore's girlfriend, joined them both on their trip to Wümme to record what was to become Sort Of, using Faust as a backing band. A second album emerged, eschewing, even more clearly than the Sort Of, the heavy rock idioms of the era for an anti-macho playfulness that presaged the sparseness of post punk and the dry jangle of early indie. Nonetheless, Polydor pulled the plug, and Uwe Nettelbeck signed Faust and Slapp Happy over to Richard Branson's nascent Virgin imprint. At the Manor, they would rerecord their second album with UK musicians, bells and whistles for a 1974 release as Slapp Happy, burying the original version in the vaults not to reemerge until 1980 as Acnalbasac Noom (TR 356CD/LP). After being asked which version they prefer today, the band does not take long to choose: "For the more direct approach it would have to be Acnalbasac Noom. It had a naïve spontaneity to it. Naïve in the nicest sense of the word." CD version includes one bonus track and comes in an edition of 500.
$14.39 EAN: 4015698008470 ROCK
01. Just A Conversation
02. Paradise Express
03. I Got Evil
04. Little Girl's World
05. Tutankhamun
06. Mono Plane
07. Blue Flower
08. I'm All Alone
09. Who's Gonna Help Me Now
10. Small Hands Of Stone
11. Sort Of
12. Heading For Kyoto
13. Jumping Jonah*
SLAPP HAPPY (WITH FAUST): Acnalbasac Noom CD (TR 356CD)
Tapete present a reissue of Slapp Happy's Acnalbasac Noom, originally released in 1980. Left-wing intellectual film critic Uwe Nettelbeck, who had good connections to Polydor, had set up his own studio in rural Wümme, disrupting the mainstream with pioneering sounds by the likes of Faust, inventively engineered by the "boffin's boffin", Kurt Graupner. By the time Anthony Moore, one of Nettelbeck's charges, approached his third album in 1972, Polydor's accounting department was fast losing patience with all that experimentalism. So Nettelbeck suggested to Moore that he might write some straight songs (relatively speaking), which in turn prompted Moore to invite his old school friend Peter Blegvad over to Hamburg to form the band Slapp Happy. Dagmar Krause, a young singer from Hamburg and Moore's girlfriend, joined them both on their trip to Wümme to record what was to become Sort Of (TR 355CD/LP), using Faust as a backing band. A second album emerged, eschewing, even more clearly than the Sort Of, the heavy rock idioms of the era for an anti-macho playfulness that presaged the sparseness of post punk and the dry jangle of early indie. Nonetheless, Polydor pulled the plug, and Uwe Nettelbeck signed Faust and Slapp Happy over to Richard Branson's nascent Virgin imprint. At the Manor, they would rerecord their second album with UK musicians, bells and whistles for a 1974 release as Slapp Happy, burying the original version in the vaults not to reemerge until 1980 as Acnalbasac Noom. After being asked which version they prefer today, the band does not take long to choose: "For the more direct approach it would have to be Acnalbasac Noom. It had a naïve spontaneity to it. Naïve in the nicest sense of the word." CD version includes four bonus tracks and comes in an edition of 500.
$14.39 EAN: 4015698008494 ROCK
01. Casablanca Moon
02. Me And Paravati
03. Mr. Rainbow
04. Michelangelo
05. The Drum
06. A Little Something
07. The Secret
08. Dawn
09. Half-Way There
10. Charlie 'N Charlie
11. Slow Moon's Rose
12. Everybody's Slimmin'*
13. Blue Eyed William*
14. Karen*
15. Messages*
The Bunker New York present the second full-length album on their label: Valere Aude, the debut album from Romans, a collaborative project between New York techno producer Gunnar Haslam and Vienna-based acid evangelist Johannes Auvinen (aka Tin Man). Featuring 12 tracks of hallucinogenic, psychedelic techno, Valere Aude is an acid-etched trip to the outer reaches of the mind. "I just really like listening to albums. I think the popular notion of techno not lending itself to the album format is just a myth," says Haslam. Both Haslam and Auvinen are no strangers to the album format - Haslam has released three under his own name, and Tin Man has released no fewer than six. "The album format allows for more cohesive artistic statements than other formats - it feels like more of an achievement and delivers a filled-out narrative," explains Auvinen. That's a perfect summation of Valere Aude. Building on the blueprint they sketched with Ambulare Aude EP (BK 012EP 2015), their first 12" for The Bunker New York, Valere Aude presents a fleshed-out vision of another world where acid techno falls like rain upon a forgotten civilization. "The album connects to a fantastic fictional history in which we are imagining attitudes lost to the waters of time," Auvinen says. The track titles, in fact, allude to geographic designations in the greater Roman empire, adds Haslam. Although both Haslam and Auvinen are fully established artists in their own right, Romans is more than a meeting of the minds. "We are discovering a third entity as Romans, within Romans, which is neither he [Haslam] nor I," explains Auvinen, cryptically. "Our decisions as producers become simpler as we get closer to discovering Romans' sound." Haslam concurs: "Our production process is pretty quick - our compositional style is similar. We give each jam all that we have, then, later, sort 'em out and let providence decide whether it's any good." The finished product is a steamy, moody record, experimenting with atmospheres, tempos, and sounds, designed for blistering hot days and cold, rainy nights.
Mark Fell on Focal Music: "This series of works on this cassette began in 2011 when I attended a workshop/residency program led by the British sound artist, composer and performer Jan Hendrickse. During a workshop session I played a pattern generating system via headphones to a drummer, Patrik Jarlestam, who played a single snare drum. The basic premise of the work was that the performer should follow the pattern as accurately as possible, and to see what happened at the moments when the pattern changed - i.e. to foreground the performer's attempts to follow the pattern and their ability to cope with the subtle yet unusual changes. The pattern itself consists of a single percussive sound. The timing of the sound is determined by a list of five values ranging from one to 11 that represent timing intervals... Although the patterns are relatively simple, and as a listener one can assimilate their form quite easily, it can be quite difficult to play along to them especially at those moments of change. So the piece can be thought of as a kind of intervention into the musical training and embedded musical vocabularies that the performer brings to the work. The point of the piece is not a perfect recital, but the difficulties that the performer encounters and the musical moments that these difficulties produce. Unfortunately I believe there is no recording of Jarlestam's first performance of this piece - 'Focal Music #1'. The piece was performed a second time by Okkyung Lee during her residency at Cafe Oto, London 2015. 'Focal Music #3' was performed with Laura Cannell at Baltic 39 (Newcastle, 2015) for Broken Telephone, an event which formed part of Peter J. Evans's exhibition Across Islands, Divides. 'Focal Music #4' was performed with Aby Vulliamy at The Leeds Library (Leeds, 2015). 'Focal Music #5a' and 'Focal Music #5b' were recorded with Sandro Mussida at Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (Karlsruhe, 2016) in the Kubus studio. The piece, performed on piano, takes two forms: the first based upon a six note pitch set of which any two notes are played at the same time; the second is formed of five discreet layers each with a single note. These were played in isolation following the same guide pattern and then later overlaid to form a single pseudo chord." Tracks mastered for this release by Phil Julian; Edition of 150.
$4.99 UPC: N/A ELECTRONIC
A1. Focal Music #4 with Aby Vulliamy, Viola, Leeds 2015
A2. Focal Music #3 with Laura Cannell, Overbowed Violin, Newcastle 2015
B1. Focal Music #5a with Sandro Mussida, Piano, Karlsruhe 2016
B2. Focal Music #5b with Sandro Mussida, Piano, Karlsruhe 2016
BITING TONGUES: Still On Hawaiian Time Cassette (TTW 091CS)
Biting Tongues were formed in 1978 to improvise a soundtrack to the screening of a 16mm experimental film of the same name at Tony Wilson's original Factory Club in Manchester. A core membership was soon established that was to last until 1984: Howard Walmsley - sax; Ken Hollings - texts; Eddie Sherwood - drums; Colin Seddon - bass; and Graham Massey - guitar and noise. Their performances, an unpredictable "post-punk avant-funk" mix of spoken word, percussion, random tapes, films and free-form soloing, were mostly confined at this time to clubs in Manchester and London. The release of their first three albums Don't Heal (1981), Live It (1981) and Libreville (1984) widened their audience, and Biting Tongues found themselves performing more in theatres, arts venues and galleries. Still On Hawaiian Time captures two Biting Tongues performances from this later period. The Library Theatre in the center of Manchester was a large seated venue with an even larger stage, meaning that the group members could spread out more and incorporate additional percussion, tapes and electronic devices. It also shows Biting Tongues cutting up and rearranging themes from different recordings - the performance also anticipates their work on Feverhouse: their full-length experimental feature film released in 1984 by Factory Records's video offshoot IKON The improved facilities available in a theatre venue, including greater space, better acoustics and more time for a sound check, meant that Biting Tongues could concentrate on the performance, producing some of their most aggressive and demanding work. During the early 1980s, Biting Tongues excelled as a live band, always seeking to challenge both themselves and their audiences. These two recordings are fascinating documents that convey some of the immediacy and commitment of their performances - something that can still be felt in these old tapes some thirty years after they were first recorded. Personnel: "Library Theatre, Manchester 16.6.1983": Colin Seddon - bass guitar, drums, percussion; Eddie Sherwood - drums; Ken Hollings - voice, clarinet, percussion, tapes; Graham Massey - guitar, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, drums, Astroban, iguarglaphon, voice, percussion; Howard Walmsley- tenor and soprano sax, glockenspiel, percussion, voice; Barry Seddon - pick-axe handle. "Riverside Studios, London 5.6.1982": Colin Seddon - bass guitar; Eddie Sherwood - drums; Ken Hollings - vocals, Hohner Pianet, percussion; Graham Massey - guitar, clarinet, reed cornet, trumpet, iguarglaphon, Morello loop, diary, percussion; Howard Walmsley - tenor sax, voice, percussion, Hohner Pianet. Edition of 150.
$4.99 UPC: N/A ROCK
A1. Library Theatre, Manchester 16.6.1983 (43:40)
B1. Riverside Studios, London 5.6.1982 (44:02)
KENNEDY, INIGO: Surrender/Castles In The Air 12" (TOKEN 067EP)
Inigo Kennedy is back with Surrender/Castles In The Air. "Surrender" begins with a textured awakening. The inter-mixture of slow swells and attentively-dashed accents in a range of timbres guides the listener blindly towards a shocking, strident interruption when the percussion is suddenly introduced with full and resolute force. "Castles In The Air" retains a similar theme. Gloomy, lingering chords begin and then pause with more than a moment lingering in reverb. When the full arrangement appears, it kicks at least twice as hard as the introduction could ever have prepared the listener for.
Camila De Laborde (Camila Fuchs) created Opuntia while involving herself in circuit bending for the first time. The songs developed and grew over small, raw, noises or bizarre melodies from her self-built sequencers. Submerged in building DIY circuitry, she was hypnotized by its relations to nature. Chemical elements, multi-colored stones, material states rapidly changing into others. Each track on this EP presents her connections to these encounters, showing rough, odd, movements, sudden jumps of color, and bizarre, deliberate rhythms. It's noisy. It makes use of bright analog melodies, and it contains vocals. Edition of 300.
Vampisoul present this 7" to complement the release of Yo Amaneci (VAMPI 171CD/LP), an anthology of Colombia's Andrés Landero. Known as the King of Cumbia, Landero's work represents a creative pinnacle of tropical music and was essential in bringing cumbia to the world. Yo Amaneci features tracks from 1966 to 1982, taken from his albums on Discos Fuentes and other labels, all extraordinary masterpieces of Colombian popular music. To celebrate that release, Vampisoul also present this 7" featuring Landero's 1972 classic "La Pava Congona", backed with a brilliant 2010 remix of said track by Señor Sabor, aka Will Sabatini.
Soft Kill is the brainchild of Tobias Grave and acts as a follow up to his previous band, Blessure Grave. In fall 2010, the project started demoing their first tracks, showing a devotion to goth pop and post punk acts of the early '80s. Indeed, the band's debut full-length, An Open Door (2011), is haunted by the ghosts of The Cure, Killing Joke and Magazine. Soft Kill are back with their third record, Heresy, a collection that confirms the band's great sense and ability in composing moody and sensitive, but straight-to-the-bones tunes that won't leave you heartless.
$20.99 EAN: 5055869544443 ROCK
A1. Grandview
A2. Violent Mind
A3. Hit The Floor
B1. Selfish Love
B2. Current
B3. Heresy
After their critically acclaimed first LP Endless Party (2015), Whispering Sons return with a two-track EP that sees the quintet digging into an already very distinctive sound. Fenne Kuppens's stark and warm vocals and lyrics are giving the finest polish to the bands's cold sonic darkness. The two songs are giving a very strong idea of what the quintet is the best at. While "Performance" has this quite lyrical and impetuous swirl, "Strange Identities" sounds and evolves in a more obscure and humble place.
Since 2006, Terrakota have forged their own pan-African and trans-Atlantic roots-world-kota sound, a style that has travelled the world, always looking for musical fusions within the multi-ethnic cauldron: Afro-Brazilian rhythms, soukouss, reggae, Afro-beat, gnawa, with influences from India and beyond. On their sixth studio album Oxalá, the band embrace their Portuguese roots while diving more deeply into their rock influences. Terrakota's first albums were inspired by travels to Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, while also incorporating influences from Latin America. The fourth album is clearly marked by their trip to India. Oxalá is inspired by an internal travel, giving light to Portuguese songs built on top of their Afro-explosive melting pot. Africa remains the main source, the starting point from where the band looks for the perfect alchemy to get to their trademark modern roots sound, where all borders, distances and barriers are wiped out. The darkest pages of human history somehow fascinate Terrakota, following the ancient trade routes, but turned upside-down, from the new world back to Africa, drinking from the fantastic musical diversity that has been spread around the world through slavery. On this sixth album, the leaders of the Portuguese Afro/world/fusion scene have again invited guests to make the music even richer, special people with whom the band has a privileged relationship: traditional Alentejo singer Vitorino, Indian singer Mahesh Vinayakram, French rapper Florian Doucet, beat-maker and producer Beat Laden, Kumpania Algazzara's horn section, and backing vocals by the Lisbon-based Selma Uamusse (Mozambique) and Anastácia Carvalho (Angola), without forgetting a brilliant text by the Angolan rapper Luaty Ikonoklasta. After parting ways with vocalist Romi and two sabbaticals, Terrakota has added fresh blood with the young and talented singer/multi-instrumentalist Gonçalo Sarmento, the gracious performer/dancer Diana Rego, as well as new drummer Márcio Pinto and percussionist Paulo das Cavernas. These new elements and the extra years of travelling for the veterans have brought Terrakota to an even more mature sound, with concise lyrics and the guts to do some songwriting in addition to their explosive Afro-world sound. The Portuguese globetrotters have reached new highs with Oxalá. Comes in a four-panel digipak sleeve and includes a 28-page booklet.
LADY WRAY: Queen Alone Instrumentals LP (BC 029LP)
"Lady Wray's newest full-length, Queen Alone is a showcase of Nicole Wray's inarguable vocal talent. Behind that talent is a musical force deserving of its own recognition. And that's where the spotlight shines on this release, Queen Alone Instrumentals. The record was written and recorded in ten days at the legendary Diamond Mine Studios, in Queens NY with Leon Michels and Thomas Brenneck handling production. Michels and Brenneck are both multi-instrumentalist. Leon Michels contributes his talents on keys, guitar, sax, flute as well as drums and percussion throughout the project. Brenneck handles guitars and bass as well as percussion. Additional contributions from Nick Movshon, Homer Steinweiss, Dave Guy, Max Shrager, and more help to create a sonic landscape that's a perfect complement to Wray's vocal prowess... and also stand as a monumental work all its own. Almost echoing her new record, Nicole says, 'You have to go through something for it to be real.' She has been living with one foot in fame and the other in real life. The result is clear: she's feeling something real in her music again. In no small part due to the incomparable talent and musicianship assembled by Michels and Brenneck for the Queen Alone sessions."
$15.50 UPC: 349223002911 ROCK
GET ON DOWN (UNITED STATES):
UGK: Super Tight... 2LP (GET 51313LP)
"Super Tight... is the second album from hip hop legends UGK, originally released in 1994. The title of the album is taken from its stand out single 'Front, Back & Side To Side'. Bun B and Pimp C (R.I.P.) were already on fire from their debut album a few years prior but they perfected the southern playa sound with this record. At the time of its release Super Tight... was only issued on cassette and CD, so it's a must for fans and collectors to grab the vinyl now that it's available for the very first time. The album kicks off with 'Return', which after a few snare hits and the bluster of Pimp C's voice it is clear to the world - the underground kings are back. Countless tracks like 'Three Sixteens' (featuring DJ DMD), 'Stoned Junkee', 'It's Supposed To Bubble', 'I Left It Wet For You' and the previously mentioned 'Front, Back, & Side To Side' all perfectly showcase the chemistry between Bun B & Pimp C, over deep southern funk grooves. The production on this album is stellar, all bass heavy and features Meters lead guitarist Leo Nocentelli. Like their debut album Too Hard To Swallow, Bun B and Pimp C were ahead of the game, and with Super Tight... they perfected it."
$21.50 UPC: 664425131314 HIPHOP
D.O.C., THE: No One Can Do It Better LP (GET 52725LP)
"Get On Down is very proud to announce a reissue of one of the West Coast's most revered, yet underrated, hip-hop classics: The D.O.C.'s No One Can Do It Better. Produced entirely by Dr. Dre and out of print on vinyl in the U.S. for 25 years, this limited edition on black vinyl features original album artwork and thirteen tracks of rap heaven. When his debut album hit in mid-1989, The D.O.C. was in the vortex of the biggest hip-hop happening on the planet: the rise and rule of N.W.A. The group's breakout album Straight Outta Compton had hit one year prior and had created both controversy and worldwide critical acclaim. As rap history buffs and industry insiders know, the D.O.C. was a crucial behind-the-scenes member of the N.W.A. inner circle -- his most important role in the early days of the group, besides his close working relationship with Dr. Dre, was writing many of Eazy-E's rhymes, including his hit 1988 single 'We Want Eazy.' But The D.O.C. wasn't in N.W.A. and never wanted to be -- he was his own man, with his own vision. And after Compton proceeded to blow up (much like Eazy's 1988 LP, Eazy-Duz-It), the next crew album was No One Can Do It Better. Significantly, it was the first album where Dr. Dre showed his greatness as a solo producer for one MC. And the Dallas-born D.O.C. lived up to the challenge of Dre's funky, expertly-produced tracks by bringing his A-game on the mic. Boasting four singles -- 'The D.O.C. and the Doctor'; 'Mind Blowin''; the smash 'It's Funky Enough'; and 'The Formula' -- the album is flawless from beginning to end. Of particular note beyond the singles is 'The Grand Finale,' which was the last time that Ice Cube, M.C. Ren and Eazy-E would rhyme on a track together. Skillfully rhyming over both fast and slow tracks, The D.O.C. showed on this amazing record that he was one of hip-hop's most talented MCs, especially on the West Coast scene. He nearly died in a horrific car crash as the album was catching fire in the late summer of 1989, but he survived and continues to make new music and act as a sounding board for Dr. Dre to this day."
$18.00 UPC: 664425272512 HIPHOP
VA: James Brown's Funky People (Part 1) LP (GET 54083LP)
"Some have made the claim that Get On Down may love James Brown just a little too much. To which the label replies, it's not possible to love James Brown too much. The label's welcome obsession with Mr. Brown and the incredible line up of talent found on his People Record imprint continues with the reissue of Funky People Part 1. Long out of print on vinyl, Funky People Part 1 features the top tier of artists from Brown's People Records label, including The J.B.'s, Lyn Collins, Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker. Some of the James Brown organizations all-time best material is collected here, including The J.B.'s 'Pass The Peas' and 'Hot Pants Road', Fred Wesley's in your face politics through funk statement 'Damn Right, I Am Somebody', Lyn Collins smash hit 'Think (About It)' and many more. Newcomers and diehard fans alike continue to dig into the James Brown and People Records vaults, and the more they do so, the more they realize that it's a nearly never ending source of truly next-level funk and soul music. And you can be sure this aural goodness will keep flowing to the public, thanks to the exhaustive efforts of Get On Down."
$23.00 UPC: 664425408317 ROCK
GUIDED BY VOICES INC. (UNITED STATES):
ESP OHIO: Starting Point Of The Royal Cyclopean CD (GBVI 070CD)
"Like a long-lost artifact from some golden age of rock that never existed, ESP Ohio's debut album grabs the ear-holes and demands immediate and undivided attention. Robert Pollard says it's a band, rather than a collaboration -- a distinction which may seem like splitting hairs, but rather than putting melodies and lyrics on top of other people's instrumentals, Pollard wrote these songs and sent them off to Brooklyn-based bandmates Doug Gillard, Mark Shue, and Travis Harrison to be fleshed out and then returned to him for vocal recording and mixing in the Buckeye State. Instead of fitting words and melodies around someone else's musical structure, he created the musical structure to fit his words and melodies. Also, there's a band photo. It makes a difference -- Starting Point harkens back to Isolation Drills-era Guided By Voices, perhaps inevitably because Doug Gillard is playing guitar and contributing arrangements the way he did in that era of GBV, but this debut has its own unique characteristics as well. The result is some of the most joyful noise Pollard has made in recent memory: melodic, playful, upbeat, and... what's the word... sparkly? Sure -- call it sparkle rock -- a mix of bold-faced rock with weirdo proggy-psych elements and textures. Pollard won't say whether this is a one-off or the first of a series, but he's keeping the door open."
$12.00 UPC: 655035087023 ROCK
ESP OHIO: Starting Point Of The Royal Cyclopean LP (GBVI 070LP)
LP version.
$13.50 UPC: 655035087016 ROCK
METAL FACE RECORDS (UNITED STATES):
MF DOOM: Operation: Doomsday CD (MF 093CD)
"Underneath his mysterious metal mask, MF DOOM hides the cachet underground legends are made of. After KMD (his first group)'s 1994 sophomore album Bl_ck B_st_rds was shelved by Elektra in 1994 and his blood brother Subroc (one half of the sibling rap duo) passed away, surviving frontman Zev Love X mutated into the MC Avenger known as MF DOOM and the Rap world is better for it. This 19-cut deep album is ridiculously dope, in a bizarro Ol' Dirty Bastard kind of way. Doom sounds either high or drunk on most of the tracks, his self-produced beats are gritty, and his rhyme styles are almost indecipherable. On arguably the best track, 'Rhymes Like Dimes,' Doom weaves some pointed lyrics through his abstract wordplay, spitting 'only in America could you find a way to earn a healthy buck / And still keep your attitude on self-destruct. 'Who You Think I Am?' features DOOM's crew M.onster I.sland C.zars, while on '?' he trades hot verses with former Columbia artist Kurious Jorge. Doom's avant-garde ghetto-rhyme philosophies take even more intentionally weird twists on 'Tick, Tick...' where he and guest MC MF Grimm's flows warble over a rhythm track whose tempo speeds up and slows down continually. The comic-book themed skits, will help take you deep into the mind of an MC who is as otherworldly as they come. And in today's bland commercial Rap universe, Operation: Doomsday's left-of-center beats and rhymes are the perfect remedy."
$10.75 UPC: 829357009326 HIPHOP
MINIMAL WAVE (UNITED STATES):
IN AETERNAM VALE + ANNEQ: Je Ai Dissous EP 12" (MW 063EP)
"We're happy to announce a unique collaboration between one of our long-time favorite artists, In Aeternam Vale and Anneq, a stunning young Madrid-based vocalist originally from Minsk, Belarus. In Aeternam Vale and Anneq met in 2011 and began to collaborate in 2015. In Aeternam Vale, originally from Lyon, has been making synthesizer based electronic music since the early '80s, when he began to self-release many of his recordings on cassette. As the years went on his cold and caustic synth-punk sound, often primitive and hypnotic evolved into rhythmic, throbbing music for the dancefloor, his own unique style of techno. On this record, In Aeternam Vale and Anneq come together to create two very different versions of the same track, one fit for the club and the other a more intimate version, for quiet listening at home. 'Je Ai Dissous', the opener, is a dark smoky track with a hypnotic, cyclical underlay reminiscent of early industrial music while the 'Page R Version' of the same track transcends the floor and becomes completely filmic. Anneq's seductive vocal is suspended in a beat-less, cavernous void. Side B opens with 'Tendencia', a very classic catchy minimal wave style track, sung in Spanish. The 'V6' version of 'Tendencia' again focuses on Anneq's voice set in a darker, slower more atmospheric melody. The four tracks culminate in an elegant and thoughtful collaboration from these two strong talents that complement one another so well. The Je Ai Dissous EP is pressed on 160 gram deep purple 'spilled' inside electric blue transparent vinyl, limited to 999 copies and housed in a gloss printed sleeve."
$16.00 UPC: N/A ELECTRONIC
NEW WORLD RECORDS:
GIBSON, JON: Relative Calm CD (NW 80783CD)
"Jon Gibson (b. 1940) is one of the less frequently mentioned pioneering composers of minimal music and is probably best known as a founding member of the Philip Glass Ensemble. Gibson also holds the unique distinction of having performed with Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and La Monte Young (as a member of the Theatre of Eternal Music), in addition to Glass, the four composers widely regarded as the founding fathers of minimal music. Gibson also has a track record of composing for modern and post-modern dance and Relative Calm (1981) is the fruit of one of his numerous collaborations with well-known choreographers, in this case Lucinda Childs, who commissioned the work. The rediscovery of Relative Calm, one of Gibson's major works, is cause for rejoicing among aficionados of minimalist music."
$10.75 UPC: 093228078326 CLASSICAL
NOW-AGAIN (UNITED STATES):
MARK III, THE: Marvin Whoremonger CD (NA 5129CD)
"One of the [most] sought-after funk albums: a concept-piece executed by a Las Vegas hustler, pairing the troubled musings of a transient vocalist with the exuberant funk of a teenage trio. Embellished by session musicians in Hollywood with synthesizers and a large horn section, Marvin Whoremonger lurked behind a garish, anonymous jacket and failed immediately, despite producer Cholly Williams exhortations in his liner notes that the album would lead to international stardom for all involved. Forty years later it has aged well, and stands as an immediately accessible - yet bizarre - exercise in late-period, real funk music. Custom made, 'mini-LP', tip-on CD packaged with perfect-bound booklet packaged in O card."
$15.50 UPC: 659457512927 ROCK
MARK III, THE: Marvin Whoremonger LP (NA 5129LP)
LP version. Custom made, thick-cardboard, tip-on gatefold jacket. 160 gram vinyl. OBI strip and re-sealable "Japanese-style" plastic sleeve. Contains booklet with the story of this band, told for the first time, and many unpublished photos. Includes download card. Edition of 1000.
$37.50 UPC: 659457512910 ROCK
JOHNNY!: Ago/Ago (Instrumental) 7" (NA 7037EP)
"Introducing: Johnny! Ghanaian Afro-Rock from German producer/composer JJ Whitefield and an international cast of top shelf musicians. Whitefield, who in the early '90s revived the gritty, analogue funk sounds of the '60s and '70s with his Poets Of Rhythm, has been working with Now-Again Records for almost a decade, releasing a flock of acclaimed projects with Karl Hector & The Malcouns, Whitefield Brothers, Rodinia and the Original Raw Soul anthology. He first started exploring African rhythms with the Whitefield Brothers in the late '90s, continuing in the '00s with Karl Hector & The Malcouns. He's been instrumental in launching Ghanaian Afro beat/funk legend Ebo Taylor´s international career, decades after the maestro recorded the landmark albums that have inspired thousands. Whitefield recorded two new studio albums with Taylor and toured in his band between 2009 and 2013, where he met Taylor's son Henry and percussionist/singer Eric Owusu. The trio now front the Johnny! band and find inspiration not only in Ghana's hypnotic grooves, but also the full frontal fuzz guitar assault heard on the legion of '70s Zambian Zamrock albums recently reissued by Now-Again. Indeed, Whitefield credits his tours with Zamrock godfathers Rikki Ililonga and Witch's Jagari Chanda as instrumental in creating the Johnny's sonic backdrop. The band is rounded out by Turkish drummer Bernd Oezsevim (Woima Collective, Rodinia) and Indonesian bassist/multi-instrumentalist Tomi Simatupang (Whitefield Brothers). This is dance rock at the core with the possibilities to stretch out and go into psychedelic realms. The results, spread out over three 7" singles and pressed in a run of 1000 units each, speak for themselves. Every record comes with a download card for WAV files of all six tracks (vocals and instrumentals from each release) and point at a new direction for the music inspired by the great continent."
$6.75 UPC: 659457703776 ROCK
ROTTERS GOLF CLUB (UK):
WEATHERALL, ANDREW: Consolamentum CD (RGC 023CD)
"If Convenanza, released in February, was a distillation of all of Andrew Weatherall's influences into one place, then Consolamentum takes that instinct a step further -- here he invites friends old and new to rework the tracks from that album in their own style. On board are redoubtable musical architects such as David Holmes (under his new 'Unloved' guise), Justin Robertson (wearing his 'Deadstock 33s' hat), and the legendary Bernard Fevre of Black Devil Disco Club notoriety. Leading the charge of the new guard are tracks by Heretic, Red Axes, Solar Bears and Vox Low."
$13.50 UPC: 809651402320 ELECTRONIC
WEATHERALL, ANDREW: Consolamentum 2LP (RGC 023LP)
Double LP version.
$18.50 UPC: 809651402313 ELECTRONIC
WOODSIST (UNITED STATES):
HAND HABITS: Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void) CD (WOODSIST 088CD)
" 'Singer, songwriter and guitarist from Upstate New York Meg Duffy, aka Hand Habits, has been putting in her time on the road and in the studio over the past two years with Pacific Northwest band Mega Bog, and the Kevin Morby Band, making an impression on everyone she comes across with her natural charisma and uncharted talent as a multi-instrumentalist. But let Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void) be her open invitation to the world to step inside and take a much deeper look into who Duffy actually is. Tracked in an Upstate New York living room, then finished in her current home in Los Angeles, this album was recorded by Meg herself; she has an acute ear for detail, has touched every corner, has seen every vision 'til its end. Because of this, Wildly Idle feels incredibly intimate, like a secret between her and the listener. It hits soft, like warm water all around you, a bath, and before you know it Meg's whisper has made its way inside you. Meg has music in her touch, and this, like many bedroom-debuts (Microphones, Jessica Pratt, Little Wings, Grouper) is only the beginning. But let us not look to the future now, and instead stand alongside her, our trust in her will, both humble before the void, with her first chorus as the mission statement: Hold you like a flower, hold you like an hour glass.' --Kevin Morby."
$10.75 UPC: 655035048826 ROCK
HAND HABITS: Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void) LP (WOODSIST 088LP)
