Mute North America regretfully encountered problems with the production of Diamanda Galás' new album La Serpenta Canta. If you purchased one of these copies, Mute North America would like to replace this copy with a proper version of the release. If you're unsure if you own one of these tainted copies, please check the following points, and please refer to the visuals posted on this site:

http://www.diamandagalas.com/tainted_design.htm


• The numbers in the barcode on the back of the tainted CD should read: 724596925522. If this is not the barcode on the back of your copy, you've purchased an import piece which contains the correct artwork.
• The track listing located on the back of the CD is in a simple, thin Helvetica font.
• The front cover and back cover photos look bit-mapped.

Please send your tainted copy to:

Mute Records
attention: Jeanne Klafin
140 West 22nd Street, Suite 10A
New York, NY 10011

and it will be replaced immediately upon receipt.

Mute North America apologizes for any inconvenience this situation has caused to the artist, her team and her fans.

It was made public this week that Low have signed a new recording deal with Sub Pop. Kranky has issued the following statement:

"Low gave kranky five great recordings and contributed immeasurably to the label. It has been an honor and a pleasure working with one of the best bands in the world. We can't wait to hear the new album."

A new recording from Jessica Bailiff has popped up on the Low tribute, We Could Live In Hope. Jessica's version of "Down" is in respectable company along with other contributions from other friends and fans of Low, including Ida, Red House Painters, Kid Dakota, A Northern Chorus, and His Name Is Alive. The compilation is now available through Fractured Discs.

In the wake of the WSD closure, we have some updates on a few of the artists involved.

• On Durtro.com, David Tibet has announced that United Dairies and Durtro releases will be re-pressed and distributed by Revolver.
• Chris and Cosey have announced that their catalogue will be picked up and distributed by Cargo worldwide. Their latest releases can be obtained at www.chrisandcosey.com
• Tony Wakeford has announced "Tursa will now be distributed by Dark Vinyl in Germany. This includes the forthcoming The Angel CD and the Tursa back catalog."

No word has been given for any of the other artists and labels.

World Serpent Distribution have ceased operations as far as we can tell. Soleilmoon have issued the following statement:

We first heard the news on August 11, but not wanting to spread false rumors we held off saying anything until we could verify what we were told. Our attempts to contact and elicit comment from WSD failed, and additional sources have since confirmed the sad demise of the company. World Serpent were for a long time one of our most important suppliers. During the '90s their fortunes flew high, but messy personal politics lead to the departure of several important acts, including Boyd Rice, Death In June, Lustmord and Der Blutharsh. The company survived, but with the general downturn in music sales over the last few years their fortunes began to decline, and many more bands found themselves released and unexpectedly homeless. Nearly all of the artists complained privately of non-payment of royalties. The Legendary Pink Dots aired their grievances on their website in March, announcing the severing of ties with WSD because there hadn't been any accounting of sales in more than a year, and no payment had reached them since August, and then only under great pressure. In recent months several key acts released albums through other labels, and WSD let many crucial titles go out of print. Their last release, Cabal, by Carter Tutti, was due to be made available in June, but copies were never delivered, and the CD languishes in a distribution limbo. We mourn the passing of such a pivotal supplier, but we regret even more the situation their bands find themselves in. Coil in particular must find it ironic to have given World Serpent reissued versions their earliest releases, two of which bore the words "Stevo, Pay Us What You Owe Us", a reference to the Some Bizzare label founder who they claimed went out of business owing them thousands of pounds.

World Serpent have not provided any comment at this time.

Futon, a campy electropop foursome based in Bangkok, Thailand, featuring Bee (from Psychic TV and Coil), have just released a CD version of their dancefloor single cover of The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog." The single on Rehab Records also includes a remix of the track by Coil. www.rehabisfab.com is Rehab's website, but there's no online ordering available yet.

Important Records announces two new releases: the debut from Barbez and O Si Amos A Essere Duas Umbras? from Kawabata Makoto of Acid Mothers Temple. From the Important press sheet: "Not too long ago, Barbez and Boston's Dresden Dolls were sister groups treading similar musical waters, but with each group maintaining unique and distinctive sounds. In fact, before Important Records signed the Dresden Dolls for their live album A Is For Accident, the Dolls and Barbez were conspiring to set up their own label called Black Freighter. Well, you may well know how the story went from there. The Dresden Dolls have moved on to a well deserved fame which is growing every moment. The next chapter in this musical story is the this brilliant, eccentric full length from Barbez." As for Makoto, "Kawabata has created O Si Amos A Essere Duas Umbras? in tribute to Sardegna where his creative life recently achieved a highly influential spiritual climax. According to Kawabata, these recordings represent one of the most important moments in his life. While in Sardegna he found his 'cosmos.' At some point on his trip, a new cosmos opened for him and he received 'many wonderful vibrations.' These are the very first of his works created after this transcendental experience."

Beta-Lactam Ring Records has announced the plans to release Angry Eelectric Finger by Nurse With Wound, previously due on World Serpent. This is to be the full collaborational releases with Cyclobe, Jim O'Rourke and irr.app.(ext.) and will be initially available as three LPs and be followed by the release on three separate CDs (both editions with the same music). A limited art edition is being planned and prepared by Steven Stapleton for the vinyl release. How I Loved the Moon is a double LP from Current 93 due for a fall/winter release. It features new mixes of the In Menstrual Night album, originally by Current 93 and remixed by Steven Stapleton with one of the mixes surfacing on A Little Menstrual Night Music in 2003. A special edition is planned of 200 numbered copies on colored vinyl with a 7" picture disc and a "single edit" of the tracks. For more details see www.blrrecords.com.

A music video for "Disease" by The New Year is now available online at Touch & Go at http://www.tgrec.com/movies/disease.mov.

A double CD of Vacant Lights/Rara Avis by Organum has been released on Die Stadt. Vacant Lights was originally released on cassette in 1987 and features Steven Stapleton of Nurse With Wound while Rara Avis is a collection of rare single tracks and unreleased recordings featuring Robert Hampson (of Main), Christoph Heemann (of HNAS, Mimir, and Mirror), Alan Jones, Jim O'Rourke, and Eddie Prévost (of AMM). The core trio of Organum as David Jackman, Peter McGhee, and Dinah Jane Rowe appears on both discs.

A DVD of Doublevision Presents Cabaret Voltaire is due for release on Mute in September. The original VHS cassette contains 19 music videos from 1980-1982. Contents of the DVD are unknown at this time.

From Durtro.com:

Current 93 will be releasing a 2CD retrospective compilation album in the USA entitled Judas as Black Moth on our new United States of Durtro label. There will also be a simultaneous release of a yet-to-be-titled US 2CD Nurse With Wound retrospective. We hope these albums will be available in December 2004. To celebrate their release, Current 93 and Nurse With Wound will play San Francisco in January 2005; we are just waiting for final confirmation of venue and dates. I also hope to release news of the forthcoming new Current 93 album very soon. The website for the US label will be www.unitedstatesofdurtro.com and will be active soon."

Baby Dee, Simon Finn, and Six Organs of Admittance will open for Current 93 at Teatro Iberico in Lisbon on Friday and Saturday, September 10 and 11.

After years, we have finally obtained a video of the fantastic song "Tender Magic" by Signs of Chaos (aka GTO/Technohead/etc...) Like The Eye, you may watch the 3+ minute video using Quicktime by clicking here. Enjoy!

Mute and Diamanda Galás have agreed to release the two latest releases in North America. Both double albums Malediction and Prayer and La Serpenta Canta will be out through Mute America on July 27th. Additionally, two live dates have been confirmed for Diamanda in Portland, Oregon in September (see below).

A very brief new interview of Richard H. Kirk is now available at The Milk Factory. Kirk talks about his latest three releases, the past, and the future, and actually drops some hints of possible forthcoming Cabaret Voltaire happenings.

Brand new releases are now available at Important Records: Fe-Mail is a female Norwegian duo from members of Spunk and Kimya Dawson people should already know from her role in The Moldy Peaches. For more information see Important's site.

Images and sound samples are now at the !!! site for the forthcoming album, Louden Up Now. Additionally, some new concert dates have been posted and the site got a minor facelift.

On the heels of a Cabaret Voltaire reissue campaign, Mute has announced the first releases of Richard H. Kirk in over a decade. Two archival recordings are due out on May 18th. Earlier/Later is a 2xCD collection of recordings from 1974-1989, described as "committed to cassette then forgotten," while Digital Lifeforms Redux is an expanded release from the 1993 release by Kirk as Sandoz. These will be preceeded one week earlier by two 12" EPs: Detonate/Reworks by Kirk and Return to the Heart of Darkness/Reworks by Sandoz. These releases are not scheduled to be released on Mute outside of the UK.

A plethora of new LPD and Edward Ka-Spel solo releases and an assortment of t-shirts and buttons are now available for pre-order from Terminal Kaleidoscope. Those of on dial-up who need to skip the kaleidoscope animation can click here: http://www.terminalkaleidoscope.com/preorder.html Also please take notice the LPDs are about to embark on a massive tour of North America. It's the biggest tour they've done in years and they are encouraging fans to get involved in street-level promotions. Visit the website for printable fliers and other things that can be done to assist the group in promotional efforts.

Tortoise has found a new home at www.trts.com. While the discography doesn't include all those pesky Japanese tracks, the rest of the site is pretty comprehensive, with exclusive photos, news, tour dates, and a forum! The brainwashed site will most likely remain as a discography only site.