Forced Exposure New Releases for the Week of 6/10/2024

 

PRICE: $172.00

CAT #: ALGA 000-5LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

New volume of the Avant Marghen series issued in a numbered edition of 80 copies only. This luxury black boxset edition actually includes the fifth group of seven LPs previously issued for the VocSon series and now sold out. Each individual LP record includes a numbered Avant Marghen inner-sleeves. LP 1 features Jean-Louis Brau's Instrumentations verbales. Jean-Louis Brau (1930-1985) approached everything in an explosive way, sometimes achieving some major results, like his sound poetry, as demonstrated by "Turn back nightingale" (1972). Also included on this one-sided LP are "El?gie El?mentaire" and "Ataloche Roche," both recorded in 1961, as well as "Instrumentation Verbale" and "Cantate pour l'interdiction de Mandrake," both recorded in 1963. LP 2 features Maurice Lemaitre's Poemes et musiques lettristes et hyperphonie. An exceptionally wild sonic art and poetry document, Poemes et musiques lettristes et hyperphonie was recorded between 1952 and 1968. Also included on this LP is a previously unreleased torrid "concerto" titled "L'alcove" for a lettrist male chorus and female solo orgasms, followed by "L'ascension du Phenix M.B." a sound collage from 1967. LP 3 features Ulises Carrion The Poet's Tongue LP. All pieces from this LP, recorded at the Instituut voor Sonologie in Utrecht between September and October 1977, have in common their refusal of discursiveness. LP 4 features Anton Bruhin's 11 Heldenges?nge und 3 Gedichte with four-page insert. 11 Heldenges?nge und 3 Gedichte is a sound poem which takes listeners into a medieval world of minstrels and errant knights. LP 5 features Gil J Wolman's Wolman et son double. Wolman et son double, a previously unreleased recording probably from the late '70s, is Wolman's most theatrical -- as well as musical and lyrical -- piece. LP 6 features Eduardo Kac and Porn Art Movement's Porn?ia, also including an LP-size 40-page full-color book. These previously unissued recordings from the Porn Art Movement (1980-1982) include five performances recorded live on Ipanema Beach in 1982, as well as a selection of previously unheard studio recordings of Eduardo Kac yell-poems. The LP also includes the Manifesto Porn? (1980) and four recordings of Flatographic Poems from 1982 LP 7 features Jose Luis Castillejo TLALAATALA with a dark-grey sleeve, only available with this boxset edition. A killer reading of Jose Luis Castillejo TLALAATALA book by Fernando Millan, recorded in Madrid in 2001.

 

PRICE: $40.00

CAT #: ALGA 045LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2024 restock; remastered -- includes standard jacket and new 4 page insert with texts and photos which were not present in the previous edition. Alga Marghen very proudly presents Opus 17, a major turning-point in the sonic oeuvre of Eliane Radigue. Finished in 1970, it was the last work composed with feedback materials. From that experimental period, Opus 17 preserves a plastic character: a music made of rough sonic phenomena, at once harsh and granular, possessing a quality of materiality and tactility. Its vibrations structure the air surrounding the listener with densities, thicknesses, indeed with palpable movement. Her compositions are frames which let us hear these phenomena, open frameworks from the sonic installations of her Endless Musics and here reinserted in the five scenes making up Opus 17. In 1970, in her studio of very rudimentary means, she developed a completely unique body of work centered on sounds produced by feedback. Opus 17 has the quality of showing off the sum of the achieved techniques and methods. Eliane Radigue's music has never been rooted in ideas but in practice, the intimate experience of things in the wild which she has known how to tame. This dialog both intense and poetic which she keeps up with the solid matter of sound finds a remarkable concretization in Opus 17. It is to be underlined that with Opus 17 Eliane Radigue inaugurates a technique of composition which will be her footprint, her trademark: imperceptible transformations. For that she has developed a technique of meticulous mixings, based on the slow passage from one section to the next. Imperceptible all during the piece, we pass, ceaselessly and without noticing the changes, from one frequency flux to another. Time is suspended, smoothed out, stretched. It is this technique which Eliane Radigue will be essentially using for all the electronic works to come and which she will never cease to refine and render always more subtle. Opus 17 is the great panoramic voyage through material sound, its electronic phenomena detailed as if in a microscope. As Rhys Chatham recalls: "Eliane Radigue (...) had just moved to New York and had the idea of acquiring an analog modular synthesizer, which is why she worked at NYU in order to try out the possibilities of the Buchla 100 series which we had there. One day, while gossiping, she invited me to her loft, which was just on the corner. She had me listen to a piece composed in France; the piece called 'Opus 17'. (...) What I heard changed to course of my life as a composer. (...) That piece, impressive source of inspiration, gave the impression of being in a grand cathedral, both for the sensation of immensity of being in such a large cathedral, as for the effect of being so close to God." Opus 17 was created at the artistic center of Verderonne on May 23, 1970, for the F?te en blanc (i.e. White Festival) organized by the visual artists Antoni Miralda, Joan Rabascall, Doroth?e Selz and Jaume Xifra. Previously unreleased,

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: NMN 175CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Boston/Tenor/Index presents for the first time some of the earliest works by the American composer Phil Niblock, including the three never before released "Index" (1969), "Tenor" and "Boston III" (both from 1972), thus making it possible to discover Niblock's starting point as a composer. Until now, it's been impossible to encounter Niblock's compositions from earlier than the '80s, a reality thankfully rectified by the long overdue publication of this Boston/Tenor/Index, now on CD from Alga Marghen. "Tenor" (1972) represents the first evolution of Niblock's musical thought towards the aesthetics of microtones, overtones, and drones which the composer would develop in following decades. The piece was recorded by the photographer Martin Bough on tenor saxophone and gradually dubbed back and forth by the composer in his New York studio. The audio materials activated in "Tenor" through technologically de- and re-composed sounding textures, became a vehicle for those sound anomalies that would determine Niblock's audio poetics. Performing gestures are deconstructed though disseminating and editing processes by the imperceptible gestures of the composer. With its smooth flowing structure, "Boston III" (1972) stands at the very beginning of this illusion. It was recorded at the Intermedia Sound studio in Boston with Rhys Chatham (flute, voice), Martin Bough (tenor saxophone), and Gregory Reeve (viola, voice); the composer himself also contributed with his voice. "Index" (1969) is an improvised sound performance by the composer himself. The listener is lucky to listen to the movements of the artist's fingers hitting a guitar string and the soundboard in breathtaking tempo. The piece itself represents early minimalism in its virgin state, untouched by distancing technology. Guitar (both its body and strings), fingers and fingering fuse in a vehement action around which barely listenable sounds and resonances vibrate. This CD also includes "Boston I" (1972), or the first chapter of the "Boston" series. This 25-minute bonus track is less massive than "Boston III," but this version is much richer in dynamics and presents a more recognizable voice of each instrument. The music changes according to the loudness of playback. The interaction of the upper harmonics changes especially, with much richer overtone patterns being produced at louder levels. Edition of 300 copies in digipak sleeve, including an eight-page booklet with photos and liner notes.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VOCSON 174LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Hemann Damen is a Dutch artist and language designer who, among other things, has created visual poems, performance works and "verbosonies" -- a genre that Damen developed where vocalized morphomic elements are assembled in different ways. In his works, he has been exploring "kinetic language" and the spatial aspects of language. Damen's manifesto Semiotic Theatre states that his work "places itself outside official literature and wants to fascinate, shock or activate people by combining and replacing writing and articulation with extra-linguistic signs and techniques like pictures, drawings, graphics, photos, montages, collages, de-collages, projects, objects, light, darkness, signals, symbols, gestures, happenings, noise, silence, smells, tastes, situations, states, properties, streets, landscapes, etc." The first side of this LP presents five verbosonies recorded between 1966 and 1970. The second side presents three phonographies recorded between 1967 and 1973. Hermann Damen was also the founder and editor of the AH! Magazine, a magazine for "verbal plasticism." Somehow parallel in contents with the legendary Revue OU, Damen's AH! occasionally also included vinyl records and represented an ante-litteram multi-media. This edition includes eleven inserts. Because of its specific contents, this edition was issued in a limited run of just 220 copies.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: AUS 003EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Super-rare, highly sought-after EP from 1983 Adelaide, Australia -- a raw blend of post-punk and new-wave under a heavy blanket of dub and Afro-pop experimentation from Toyland.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BANG 178LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The fourth album by Love Battery, Straight Freak Ticket (1994), now out for the first time on vinyl. Remastered by Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc.) Straight Freak Ticket is the fourth album by Seattle alternative rock band Love Battery. It was originally recorded in 1994 and released only in USA and on CD format -- now it is being released on vinyl for the first time. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer called the album "a solid, well-produced album of guitar-based rock with catchy hooks and a strong dose of psychedelia." USA Today labeled the album "a psychedelic tour de force and dramatic leap forward," writing that "the antigrunge guitar riff-o-rama of Ron Nine and Kevin Whitworth propels the Seattle quartet's most adventurous and listenable tunes to date." The band, featuring members of Mother Love Bone, Green River, Skin Yard, The Presidents of the USA, is: Ron Nine (vocals, guitar), Kevin Whitworth (guitar), Jason Finn (drums), and Bruce Fairweather (bass).

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BANG 180LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The Hydromatics feature a genuine Detroit legend in the form of Scott Morgan, from Sonic's Rendezvous Band (alongside the MC5's Fred "Sonic" Smith). Morgan formed the Hydromatics alongside Nicke Royale (The Hellacopters) and guitarist Tony Slug (Loveslug) in 1998 and released an awesome debut album in '99 called Parts Unknown that revisited the Motor City rock sounds of yesteryear in the form of a modern-day power punk rawk outfit, which is now finally being reissued. The album starts out with a burning remake of "Earthy" from the Sonic?s Rendezvous Band and it continues to smoke all the way thru. No ballads. Morgan sings his ass off and the band provides much sonic firepower to back up his massive vocal gusto, switching gears effortlessly between kick ass hard rock and smoky soul. It's a potent cocktail for sure and one that fans of this genre would be foolish to pass up on. Not for diehard punk or metal fans, this is a treat best enjoyed by cats who like to rock n' roll and dig the swingin' sounds of the '60s -- albeit as pounded through walls of Marshals and a thick curtain of horns and noise. Absolutely necessary for fans of Sonic?s Rendezvous Band, MC5, Stooges, The Hellacopters, Bored!, and Tony Slug (Loveslug).

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: BS 069CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

The explorer Walter Maioli makes his most amazing adventure, the journey to the center of the Earth. Retracing the exploits of the Platonic demiurge, he identifies in the cave the deepest meaning of myth. Primordial sounds, not shadows, are at the center of this magical path straddling geology and Paleolithic polyphony. The recordings between 1985 and 2002 capture the sonic imperceptibility of the great subterranean womb, investigate the secret dialogue between the trickling of pond waters and the faint percussive reverberation of stalactites and stalagmites. Rocky sediments are played as tubular organs, glockenspiels, xylophones or stone marimbas. Crystalline timbral variations and subtle microtonal passages recall the chimes of Tibetan gongs and bells, of the scales of Java and Bali. Amidst muffled pauses and silences, trills and rings, echoes and tremolos, hisses and pops of vibration, Maioli builds his most imaginative niche of sound, a magnetic and telluric chant that is pure symphony and archetypal synesthesia. Co-produced with Holidays Records.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BS 069LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

LP version. The explorer Walter Maioli makes his most amazing adventure, the journey to the center of the Earth. Retracing the exploits of the Platonic demiurge, he identifies in the cave the deepest meaning of myth. Primordial sounds, not shadows, are at the center of this magical path straddling geology and Paleolithic polyphony. The recordings between 1985 and 2002 capture the sonic imperceptibility of the great subterranean womb, investigate the secret dialogue between the trickling of pond waters and the faint percussive reverberation of stalactites and stalagmites. Rocky sediments are played as tubular organs, glockenspiels, xylophones or stone marimbas. Crystalline timbral variations and subtle microtonal passages recall the chimes of Tibetan gongs and bells, of the scales of Java and Bali. Amidst muffled pauses and silences, trills and rings, echoes and tremolos, hisses and pops of vibration, Maioli builds his most imaginative niche of sound, a magnetic and telluric chant that is pure symphony and archetypal synesthesia. Co-produced with Holidays Records.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BS 083LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

A floating drift toward a mysterious reality, between nature and cosmos, poised between sleep and wakefulness, temporal co-presences and impossible spatial ubiquities. In this phantasmagorical saga, inspired by TV science-fiction as well as '60s and '70s horror movies, Nicola Giunta/Lay Llamas creates a miraculous balance between original inserts and retrievals of freely chosen fragments from old audio documentaries on vinyl, perfecting the art of sound collage in an absolutely psychedelic way. Nonlinear dream textures become labyrinths of sudden openings, empty rooms, interstellar platforms, narrating voices from other worlds or ghostly churches from beyond the grave. A piercing electronica of cosmic synths, dense with the mists and dusts of distant times, past and future at the same time, where lysergic percussions merge with echoes of flutes vibrating in endless tropical forests and natures. Until the final awakening, in the reality of the first light of dawn.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BS 085LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

After their debut album, the most multifaceted and unpredictable musical collective in Italy -- Addict Ameba -- come back with their sophomore album, Caosmosi. Faithful to the aim of bringing together different paths, traditions and horizons in their music, the band moves between desert-blues and Afrobeat landscapes, with Latin rock rides and Ethio-jazz parentheses. The vision of the album is further enriched by two absolutely valuable features: Joshua Idehen, Anglo-Nigerian poet and singer and pen of Sons Of Kemet and The Comet is Coming, is the author and lead voice in "Look At Us," a poem -- or perhaps it would be more correct to say a prayer; Rabii Brahim, Tunisian actor and musician, who in "Ya Bled" gives birth to a love song for his land, telling the nostalgia and disorientation of migrant, even when he returns to his homeland. To approach listening to this album, you should project that state of melancholy euphoria that you would experience when taking part in the last great party before the disappearance of the human race. Caosmosi!

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: 9781953691194

FILE UNDER: Misc

"Steve Cannon's cult classic novel returns to print. Despite decades of notoriety as one of the 'filthiest books in the world,' Steve Cannon's first and only piece of longform fiction, Groove, Bang and Jive Around, has hardly been read since first being published in 1969. In the words of American poet Ishmael Reed, Cannon's debut work inspired a generation by breaking with staid literary modernism. Its publication 'signaled a resurfacing of the irreverent, underground trickster tradition of Black orature.' This erotic farce follows Annette, a teenage runaway, from the outhouse of a New Orleans juke joint to the psychedelic paradise of Oo-bla-dee -- an idyllic country possibly founded by Dizzy Gillespie -- by way of bacchanalian voodoo ritual. As Ophelia Press, its original publisher, wrote, Groove, Bang and Jive Around is an absolute necessity 'for everyone who wants to know where and how the action takes place in sex and soul.' Steve Cannon (1935-2019) moved to New York City in 1962 and joined the Umbra Workshop. He worked with and was a mentor to many artists and writers. In 1990 he founded the magazine and gallery A Gathering of the Tribes in New York City's East Village." 4.3 x 0.7 x 7 inches; 244 pages; 7.2 ounces.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: BOND 12074EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

German label Bondage Music delivers the tenth instalment of its Bondage Games series. Another vinyl only release, this time with four fresh tracks from Dachshund, Sascha Dive, Pornbugs, Markus Homm, and Alex Ranerro.

 

PRICE: $43.00

CAT #: BR 181LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

The work of Bolivian composer Cergio Prudencio (La Paz, 1955) is indissolubly linked to the project of the Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos (Experimental Orchestra of Native Instruments, OEIN), which he co-founded in 1980 and of which he is the emeritus director. It constitutes one of the most challenging adventures in the music that has emerged in Bolivia and Latin America. The OEIN is the result of the incorporation of Aymara musical traditions into the realm of contemporary music to produce a new sonic world. This incorporation is not only based on using native instruments but also involves integrating their socio-historical context and philosophies from the Andean indigenous world. The release of Cergio Prudencio's Antolog?a 1: Obras para la Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos allows listeners to delve into this wealth of thought and sounds, into the work of a fundamental and radical artist, for whom decolonization is also an opening to experimentation and the new. These compositions project a historical memory into the present, constructing new horizons. This is evident in the works included in this album, such as "La ciudad" (1980), which marks the beginning of an understanding of highland urban soundscapes, a geography that cannot be understood without the groups of sikus and led to the formation of the OEIN. On the other hand, there is a piece like "Cantos insurgentes" (2012), composed from materials used for the soundtrack of the film Insurgentes by Jorge Sanjin?s, a Bolivian director and founder of Grupo Ukamau, with whom Prudencio has had a long collaboration as the creator of music for his films. Prudencio's work has followed multiple musical paths, including music for conventional Western instruments, music for film and video, electroacoustic music, chamber opera and more. The album is completed with compositions such as "Tr?ptica" (1985), "Otra ciudad" (2005), and "Cantos funerales" (2015), offering an artistic and vital journey in Prudencio's trajectory as well as that of the OEIN. Limited edition of 300 copies. Includes a booklet with notes written by Cergio Prudencio. The recording, editing, and mastering were done by Gustavo Navarrete. Art and design by Gonzalo de Montreuil.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: CLV 006CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Locked down and furloughed, Vitalic went back to his synths and beatboxes, resulting in his fifth album Dissid?nce -- the title of which is a whole story in itself -- destined to be released in two volumes. He describes it as a return to the roots of his sonic identity, a kind of reinterpretation of the rock energy of his early albums. "More than anything, it was a question of timing. While composing I realized that eight tracks felt like too little for an album, and sixteen was really over the top, so I decided to cut the whole thing in half! The main reason though is that I felt I hadn't been able to express everything I wanted to on the first volume -- like something had been left unfinished." The two episodes of Dissid?nce -- navigating between pop and hardcore, sweat and tenderness, melancholia and anger -- are a sort of boiling down of what the artist knows how to do best, after twenty years of creating, from filthy whirlwinds that make your mind explode on the dancefloor to bubblegum pop songs about love that transport us elsewhere. On these two volumes of Dissid?nce that now form one, the powerful beats and galloping sequencers translate the social and political anger of the global pandemic, and Vitalic looks into the past, channeling his love for off-kilter synth sounds, skew-whiff pads, heady refrains, distorted vocals, and heavy beats. Above all, this dancefloor marathon expresses his obsessional passion for dance music and the primal need to dance. Dissid?nce should be taken as both a celebration of celebration and a journey back in time to an era that maybe does not exist right now, but which will -- and this album is the dazzling proof -- be reborn from its ashes to burn bright once more, its BPM let loose and rage still blazing, because more than ever, to dance is to live. "Rave Against The System" features Kiddy Smile. Slipcase with two digipacks including Dissid?nce Episode 1 and Dissid?nce Episode 2; includes eight-page booklet.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: COR 175EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Cocoon Recordings' next 12" vinyl comes from a well-known face. No introduction needed as nobody less than Gregor Tresher once again delivers a superb and surprising pair of tracks. Black Halo is down-the-line and perhaps one of the catchiest tracks by Gregor Tresher. The wobbling driving bassline builds up a rising tension that increases through the vast, detuned, and powerful string parts appearing to extend out to light years, reaching far beyond. Zaps drive the rhythm forward while rushing cymbals push the groove and weld everything together to absolute unity. For Gregor, techno and club culture have certain transcendental qualities, "Black Halo" is concerned with these sentiments and tells an ambivalent story. The onset of bliss oscillates between melancholy and hope, making it an exuberant roller coaster of emotions. A classic Gregor Tresher track, which perfectly represents Gregor's signature sound! "Phantom Dancer" literally pulls you onto the dance floor. Discharging beats, which hit you heavily but pleasant. The atmosphere violently evolves with a twisted noise-like signal sound and gets even more brute through the low-pitched filter vocals. An exceptionally deep techno production by Gregor Tresher, which will definitely come to full fruition in the clubs at peak time.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: COSMJA 001LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Certainly one of the most obscure and perhaps one of the most fascinating work of the English jazz revolution. Master of ceremonies is cellist Paul Buckmaster, known for his work with the Third Ear Band and for his (later) collaborations with Miles Davis, David Bowie, and Elton John. Chitinous is his only album as leader, and it was recorded between 31 March and 13 April 1970, by an orchestra of no less than 51 players, with violins, violas and cellos. In this enormous line-up is the cream of English musicians, starting with trumpeter Ian Carr and ending with drummer John Marshall. The leader is on cello, his main instrument, but also on keyboards, which he shares with the excellent Pete Robinson. The music is organized in suites, with very broad suggestions that draw from classical and contemporary music and then move back into jazz territory.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: JACK 052Y-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The Cure's live performance at De Melkweg in Amsterdam on December 12th, 1979, was a pivotal moment in the band's early career. This concert marked a significant step in solidifying their reputation as one of the most innovative and influential bands emerging from the post-punk scene. With their distinct blend of moody atmospheres, haunting melodies, and Robert Smith's mesmerizing vocals, The Cure captivated the audience, delivering a raw and electrifying performance.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: DS 045LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

The Italian early electronic music scene has been at the core of Die Schachtel's activity since their very beginnings in the early 2000s. The Milanese label now returns with a new chapter in their celebrated Silver Series, a long-due first-time reissue of Musica Elettronica/Computer Music 1966-1972 by SMET (Studio di Musica Elettronica di Torino). Augmented with three previously unreleased bonus tracks, this is early '70s Italian electronic avant-garde music at its best. The SMET was born in Turin in 1964, from an idea by Enore Zaffiri. In the beginning the Studio worked with rudimentary equipment, aiming to disseminate knowledge of this avant-garde musical sector through conferences and auditions and, at the same time, developing its own sound experiences. The year of this (nowadays super rare) vinyl's publication was a turning point in the evolution of electronic music in Italy. 1972 saw the publication of Introduction to Electronic Music by Armando Gentilucci, the first volume written by an Italian, in Italian, to examine technological advancements, by the renowned publishing house Feltrinelli. During this period, Pietro Grossi, Enore Zaffiri, and Teresa Rampazzi had the opportunity to develop their most significant compositional experiences. They engaged in a variety of activities, and this vinyl release marked a turning point in the evolution of electronic music in Italy, such as exchanging works, collaborating with each other, participating in itinerant exhibitions, traveling, writing, and organizing broadcasts. Zaffiri and SMET's shared ideology is clearly summed up on Musica Elettronica/Computer Music 1966-1972: electronic music, with its meticulous control over sound and form, is the only way to break free from the constraints of traditional compositional methods and instrumental mastery. It is an experimental endeavor that can only be achieved through a spirit of exploration and collaboration. Originally issued in 1972, and featuring the unmistakable sound of the iconic EMS VCS3 synthesizer along with tones generated on an IBM 360 computer, Musica Elettronica/Computer Music was privately pressed in a handful of copies at the Fonit Cetra studios. Carefully remastered, this collection now features three previously unreleased extra tracks. Pressed on black vinyl in an edition of 210 copies, the album comes packaged in a deluxe cover with handmade silver foil printed on 450g paper, and also includes a 30x30cm double-sided insert with detailed notes and a SMET/Enore Zaffiri exhaustive chronology.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: DIRT 151EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

It's exactly ten years now since the last Ben La Desh release on Dirt Crew. After a longer break from releasing music he is back and stronger as ever, with analogue gear and well curated sampling and live field recording, Fine Rise. The opener "Heel Goed" is an amazing track with that distinctive 909 beat and DX bass driven "La Desh" flavor and a truly wonderful vocal sample from a '90s TV commercial, hilariously funny and brilliant at the same time! Second A side track is the super funky "Lift Adrift" that flanges itself to outer space, etherical with chopped break beats and various percussive and rhythmic Pearl Syncussion layers running through effect pedals, Lift Adrift! On the other side is the deep title track "Fine Rise". Followed by the break beat gem that is "Asanti", cautiously cut up breaks and layered machine drums with bubbly Syncussion sounds, rain drops falling down on different surfaces recorded in a garden in the French Dr?me and processed African Kalimba. Closing out this great new record is the ambient piece "Expanding Signal", an analogue tune that consists of field recordings and deep dubby chords, a building Juno pulse, swooshes and again a profound DX bassline, think of Sun Electric or The Orb. Enjoy this one and play it loud on the dance floors or silently in your bedroom, it works everywhere!

 

PRICE: $17.00

CAT #: DIS 197LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Bed Maker's origins date back to summer 2019, when bassist Arthur Noll (Light Beams, Kid Congo Powers) and drummer Vin Novara (The Crownhate Ruin, 1.6 Band), each having played in Alarms & Controls, invited guitarist Jeff Barsky (Insect Factory, Time Is Fire) to collaborate and see what might happen. By autumn, they invited Amanda MacKaye (Desiderata, Routineers) to join them, and the chemistry was immediate. In February 2020 at DC's Rhizome, Bed Maker played their first show and then paused their activities the following month, as did most people. Due to the state of the world in 2020 and 2021, they continued writing music through sharing recordings. Mike Schleibaum assisted by assembling home recordings of their individual parts into working demos. This allowed them to keep momentum, and by the time in-person rehearsals resumed, a handful of songs and new ideas were close to fruition. Bed Maker resumed playing shows in November 2022. Following a self-released digital single ('Miss Dickens') and an EP (Three on the Tree) -- each recorded with Schleibaum and Matt Michel at Viva Studios -- Bed Maker began work on their self-titled LP in May 2023 with Ian MacKaye and Don Zientara at the original Inner Ear Studio in his basement in Arlington, VA, and with Mike Schleibaum at his home studio in Maryland. That their debut LP even exists is only possible thanks to the support of family and many friends, and also serves as an act of defiance to the horrors of the last four-plus years."

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 187LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 repress, LP version, originally released 2001. "Making a trip to see an old friend and all they can talk about is how they never see you because you never come to where they are although you are there right then and then you talk to them after you've left and they tell you they wish they'd just enjoyed themselves while you were there and when are you coming again? You'll notice in the text of this LP that Smog is now (Smog). Note to self."

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 385LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 repress; LP version, originally released 2009. "Unfolding like a first view of paradise, then a slightly less ecstatic second view of paradise and then finally a glance back over your shoulder at that stupid paradise bullshit, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle surveys a landscape that grows organically, like the time two people spend together -- or the time one person spends alone (with another). One way or another, it's awfully pretty -- something's clearly making Bill feel like a natural man. And high in the saddle, with a pouch of Big League Chew and nine sweet new tunes in tow, he's riding herd over a diverse bunch of sounds by top-notch players."

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: ECKECHO 008LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Ngwaka Son Syst?me is led by musicians Love Lokombe and Bom's Bomolo, having previously founded the band KOKOKO!. This new project continues the contemporary Congolese tradition of reinventing electronic music by shaping and crafting music instruments made of household objects. "Iboto Ngenge" means "power struggle" or "seizing the opportunity" but while words can only be roughly translated, the music reaches listeners unambiguously. A potent mixture of techno, rumba, soukous, zagu? and dancehall with the unique "Kinoise" brand -- the city that never stops innovating in the music landscape worldwide. As a means to continue strengthening the links between Africa and Latin America, Eck Echo has tasked Colombian dub engineer Diego Gomez with the analog mixing of the stems, originally recorded by Levy David at Timbela Ba Studio in Kinshasa. With the aim to bring the lexicon of shared Colombian and Congolese music into the next chapter, Eck Echo presents to the world the magnificent music of Ngwaka Son Syst?me. The inadvertently techno-oriented "Lakala," a trance-inducing experience where listeners can quickly relish to the lyrics even without speaking Lingala, for the shapes of the words are already inviting listeners to dance, sing and smile, all the while virtuoso percussionist Steroy operates the DIY-drum kit at high-tempo. The call-and-response effect, where each musician lends their voice to the choir, is particularly felt in "Bo Lobi Pe," where the vocals guide listeners ever so playfully to the tune of an acoustic guitar that invites them to take off their shoes, kick back and relax. "Zanga Mbongo" (translated as "there is no money") is lyrically a proud anthem to celebrating life in spite of economic scarcity, and musically it is a triumphant renewal to the legendary soukous genre of the 1970s, championed by worldwide renowned stars such as Pepe Kall? and Sam Mangwana.

 

PRICE: $12.00

CAT #: ESPDISK 5099CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Frank London writes in his liner notes: "Spirit Stronger Than Blood pays homage to some of the recordings that shaped my musical-spiritual aesthetic: Charles Mingus's Changes 1&2, Booker Little's Strength and Sanity, Pharaoh Sanders's Peace and Love, Clifford Thornton's Gardens of Harlem, Alice Coltrane's Ptah, The El Daoud. Each of these artists, as different as they are from each other, shared a commonality of intention that set me on my life and career path. Their music is spiritual, political, romantic, at turns angry and peaceful, and inspires us to transcend and challenge the inequities of quotidian existence in order to make the world a better place, to heal the broken world (tikkun olam). Some of the songs are inspired by Jewish texts -- 'Let There Be Peace' from the prayer Oseh Shalom, asking the Almighty to bring us peace; 'Abundant Love' is in the Jewish prayer mode, Ahava Raba, acknowledging God's infinite love for all of us. 'Poem for a Blue Voice' is a poem by Davida Singer, whose partner Isabel Deconinck never let her blood cancer quash her indominable spirit. 'Resilience and Resistance' are attributes that we need to get through the trials, tribulations, and indignities life can throw at us. Healing of course from disease, but also from trauma, from blind obeisance to dogma. I was recently diagnosed with myelofibrosis, an extremely rare and fatal blood cancer, and dedicate this recording to my dear friends and colleagues who have passed away from blood diseases and other cancers -- Lester Bowie, Thomas Chapin, Adrienne Cooper, Isabelle Deconinck, Jewlia Eisenberg, Ron Miles, and my namesake, Frank London Brown. Check out all of their work and be inspired." --Frank London, April 2024The Elders are: Frank London, trumpet; Marilyn Lerner, piano; Hilliard Greene, bass; Newman Taylor Baker, drums; Greg Wall, sax (tracks 2,3, and 4). Produced by Frank London. Recorded and mixed by Andy Taub at Brooklyn Recording in July, 2023. Cover photo by Anna London.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: XBITGOLD 002EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Le Tseu Pocir (read it backwards) brings back the groove, some true soul and a right feeling -- sampling his own work and bringing back the beauty of French house!

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: FP 1695LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 restock. "'Musically, Los Angeles is almost infallible. 'Your Phone's Off the Hook, But You're Not' kicks off with relentless immediacy as if you've jumped into a speeding car on a midnight tour. Doe and Cervenka trade lead vocals and occasionally Cervenka veers stunningly off course in vivid and blistering wails, a Siouxsie Sioux in Southern California. On top of Bonebrake's motoring drums, the songs are dark and doom-laden, fiery and mordant. X sings about drugs and violence and cruising and ennui, conjuring a mood that prefigures H?sker D?'s 'Diane' and Sonic Youth's Bad Moon Rising. They stick it to the upper class with 'Sex and Dying in High Society' and they finish with one of the best punk love songs of all time, 'The World's a Mess, It's in My Kiss.' 'Go to hell, see if you like it/Then come home with me' -- the musical equivalent of cigarette ashes and red lipstick -- the end to a wild ride through Los Angeles' underworld.' --Rebecca Bengal, Pitchfork"

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: FKSP 019EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 repress. From the same continental cosmic egg that hatched Marc Moulin, Marc Hollander, and Belgian synth fusion combo Placebo comes your favorite new Franco-Flemmish pop discovery. COS, where have you been all my life? Compact in name but wide-eyed in nature, it's understandable how the '70s band known simply as COS has remained trapped in the tight cracks between pop stardom and prog indulgence where other like-minded names like CAN, Zao, Neu!, and Egg have managed to squeeze into gaps of your record collection. In presenting one of the band's most infectious and potentially crossover legible tracks on this exclusive user-friendly 45, COS mastermind Daniel Schell not only breaks an unlikely new format for this lesser-known femme-fronted, electro/jazz fusion/prog pop opera/would-be disco cinematic six-piece but also sends a sonic telegram to a new generation of futurist pop aficionados ready to explore the deep realms of his band's dense, expansive and consistently rewarding catalogue. Placing the microscope over the central motif of the band's onomatopoeic 1978 triptych known as Mein Maschine Ist Sch?n (My Machine Is Beautiful) this very rare proposed single edit from the group's third album combines the type of warm, brooding, discoid funk and nymphish Morse code vocals that unite fans of Stereolab, Curved Air, Jan Hammer, Emerald Web, and Ursula Dudziak not to mention Schell's own close friends, the aforementioned, Hollander, Moulin, and Placebo. A prog rock 45 might sound like a contradiction in terms but with a band like COS you can only expect them to defy convention. Backed here with another deeply conceptual sliced of deep orchestral symphonic psych from Schell's short-lived FF Boom project from the previous year this suitably compact introduction to your new favorite COSmonauts provide digestible versions of some of Schell's finest moments and clears the decks for future explorations of a wider musical universe waiting to be explored. Turn on this beautiful machine and let yourself melt into the COSmix.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: GR 2160CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The legend continues. After recording an album of the amazing new project ASA together with Uwe Schmidt/ATOM TM, the pioneer cult band Esplendor Geom?trico presents their new album, Strepitus Rhythmicus, of machine-like and futuristic post-industrial music. Electric pulse of mechanical rhythms, hidden voices, and factory noises. E.G. reinvent themselves again and again without losing their unique essence. Based now in Islamabad and Rome, Arturo Lanz and Saverio Evangelista have not stopped their live performances all over the world in the last years with great success. Born in 1980 as a trio, and currently a duo formed by Arturo Lanz (founding member) and Saverio Evangelista (member since 1991), Esplendor Geom?trico is an influential and international electronic cult band and also a rare case in the Spanish music scene, as they have developed their own independent path aside from tags, fashion or trends, in spite of being often classified as industrial music. Their career during this four decades hasn't had interruptions. They haven't stopped composing, releasing albums, or playing live (with more intensity since the nineties), and they have continued for the simple pleasure of making music. Esplendor Geom?trico has achieved a personal and distinct style that can be appreciated from their '80s albums, when they used analog synthesizers and primitive electronic percussion, to the present time with new digital tools. Their influence has marked many later artists, usually classified in the so-called industrial music or rhythm and noise, as well as artists from current techno and certain types of experimental noise music.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: GET 51465LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 repress, metallic silver vinyl. "Well before Shuggie Otis cut his debut album, musicianship and performance had long been a part of his life. The son of rhythm and blues legend Johnny Otis, Shuggie learned to play guitar as early as the age of two, and performed professionally with his father's band at eleven. Throughout his long and illustrious career, he performed on records for the likes of Frank Zappa, Al Kooper, Etta James, and George Duke, to name a few. Despite only moderate success upon its initial release, Shuggie Otis' third album Inspiration Information turned into underground smash decades later and has since maintained a level of cult status normally reserved for mysterious, unearthed legends like Sixto Rodriguez or Lee Fields. Inspiration Information is also noteworthy among Shuggie's other releases, as it was entirely self-produced, as opposed to being overseen by his father Johnny Otis. Shuggie's signature blend of baroque funk is on full display, but with a heavy dosage of psychedelic soul blended in, resulting in an album that's equally swarthy, lush, funky, and emotional; gathering all the best bits of Marvin Gaye, Love, Miles Davis, and even Os Mutantes. Inspiration Information is more than worthy of all acclaim awarded to it, despite the delayed reverence."

 

PRICE: $39.00

CAT #: GET 51512LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop and Get On Down continues to honor the artists and albums that had a significant impact on the culture. The label now presents a long overdue reissue of KRS-One's 1995 self-titled album, KRS-One. Two years after the release of Return of the Boom Bap, KRS-One got back in the studio and behind the boards and enlisted for additional production DJ Premier, Showbiz, Diamond D, Norty Cotto, and Big French Production. In August of '95 KRS-One dropped the Preemo-produced lead single 'MC's Act Like They Don't Know' with 'Represent The Real Hip-Hop' featuring Das EFX on the B-side of the 12-inch, boasting KRS-One's lyrical skills and backing up his status as one of the best live performers in the game. KRS-One knocked it out of the park on his second solo effort with another Premier single about the current state of hip-hop on 'Rappers R, N. Dainja' and straight-up Boom Bap rap on the Fat Joe assisted track 'De Automatic.' He offers political and social commentary on 'R.E.A.L.I.T.Y.,' 'Hold,' and 'Free Mumia' with Channel Live and continues to diss sucker MCs on 'Wannabemceez' with Mad Lion. Get On Down presents this deluxe reissue packaged in a gatefold jacket with a new interview by Check The Technique author Brian Coleman, complete with a foldout lyrics sheet."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: GPM 760EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Roland Leesker has kept the legendary Get Physical label right at the forefront of the scene in his years at the helm. His music has been a small but vital part of that: he doesn't release often, but when he does it is timeless house music that always makes its mark. As well as a steady stream of singles, he also curated and mixed the crucial 20 x Get Physical compilation back in 2022. He has collaborated with greats of the scene like DJ Pierre, Roland Clark, and Terrence Parker. The brilliant Respect is a spritely and serene deep techno journey. The shimmering chords echo early Detroit techno and the supple drums are packed with warmth and bounce. Together they make for a cut that subtly uplifts as it unfolds in an engaging fashion over seven fantastic minutes. Remixer Robert Hood is one of the foundational figures of techno. The Motor City innovator works under his own name and as Floorplan and has mastered the art of seductive loops, whether making stripped-back minimal or gospel-laced house. Here, he flips "Respect" into a thumping and emotionally intense cut with faster drums than the original but just as much machine soul and a little extra texture in the percussion.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: GLOSSY 019LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Glossy Mistakes announces the upcoming release of Momento Claro, the latest full-length album by Portuguese artist funcion?rio. Momento Claro, inviting listeners to embark on a profound auditory exploration. Following the success of his previous work Cavalcante, released on Hozulam, funcion?rio returns delving deep into the realms of ambient and Fourth World, inspired by the likes of Jon Hassel, Brian Eno, and Japanese environmental artist such as Hiroshi Yoshimura and Takashi Kokubo. Momento Claro offers a sonic tapestry rich with textures and layers, evoking a sense of spirituality and introspection. A split second. At the heart of the album lies a collection of eight tracks, each a testament to funcion?rio's craft. The journey begins with "Esperan?a," a mesmerizing nine-minute meditation adorned with the soothing sounds of the ocean, setting the tone for the ethereal voyage ahead. From the tranquil atmospheres of "Retrato" to the contemplative depths of "Momento Claro," each composition invites listeners to immerse themselves fully in the sonic, dream-like landscape crafted with care and depth. Here a glimpse into the intricacies of day-to-day experiences and interactions collide throughout a collage of organic layers, atmospheres and approaches, Momento Claro serves as a poignant reflection on the contemporary working society, where "the power of sound as a bridge between memory and the imagination that interprets it." Mastered by Damian Schwartz, Momento Claro achieves a sonic clarity that enhances the album's immersive qualities, ensuring that each note resonates with precision and depth. Prepare to be transported to a realm where time stands still and the boundaries between reality and reverie blur. A deep journey that promises to captivate the mind and nourish the soul.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: GOO 019LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 repress; LP version, includes free download code. "The third studio album by Sonic Youth, originally released in May 1986 on SST Records, shows the first signs that the band was ready to transform their no wave past into a greater alternative rock sensibility. 'EVOL ... mark[s] the true departure point of Sonic Youth's musical evolution,' says Pitchfork, who place the album in the #31 slot of their Top 100 Albums of The 1980s. 'In measured increments, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo ... bring form to the formless, tune to the tuneless, and with the help of Steve Shelley's drums..., [impose] melody and composition on their trademark dissonance.' Stereogum likewise praises the album as one that is 'full of suspense..., the cornerstone [of] the Sonic Youth sound..., ground zero for the combination of chiming guitars and atonal skronk... [and] muggy delirium.... The virile "Tom Violence" sounds less written than coaxed from a cauldron, the sort of song that fogs windows. The offkilter [droning love song] "Starpower" ... is sung [by Kim Gordon] in a frosty [Nico-evoking] monotone. "In The Kingdom #19," featuring Mike Watt on bass and ... vocals [by Ranaldo]..., is a harrowing story of a highway wreck over a suitably edgy instrumental backing punctuated by ... live firecrackers into the vocal booth.' 'EVOL slithers into the unconscious,' notes Popstache. 'Once the [detuned melodies and haunting riffs and] final whispers of feedback [of "Expressway to Yr. Skull"] depart from the speakers..., the music [leaves] a faded footprint, forever reeling the listener back for another strange trip.'"

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: HAB 024CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Habibi Funk is digging deep to present the songs of Ibrahim Hesnawi, otherwise known as 'The Father of Libyan Reggae.' Kingston meets Tripoli in this incendiary collection of Arabized roots, dub, dancehall and more. Featured on Habibi Funk's last compilation with his track 'Tendme,' Hesnawi crafts restless funk with evident buttressing from a reggae foundation. Highlighted across the LP is how Hesnawi essentially pioneered such an effortless synthesis between traditional Libyan music and Jamaican reggae stylings, plus the endlessly disparate funk, jazz, and disco accents which firmly situate Hesnawi in a league of his own."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: HNROZART 021LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"So excited and honored to finally release the vinyl document of my realization of John Cage's Rozart Mix. Back in the extremely strange year of 2020, I was approached by Wave Farm and John Cage Trust to stage a performance of this seldomly performed piece that Cage wrote for Alvin Lucier. The piece is comprised of 88 tape loops (one for each key of a piano), spliced together with multiple non-musical sounds played back on 12 reel to reel machines. In January of 2021 I spent a wonderful and intense week researching Rozart Mix at John Cage Trust at Bard College. It was the first place I had visited during the pandemic. On October 23, 2021, with the assistance of Rose Actor-Engel, Twig Harper, C. Lavender, Quintron, Robert Turman, and John Wiese, I presented a six-hour performance of Rozart Mix at the John Cage Trust. Six hours of 12 individually amplified reel to reel tape machines, placed around multiple floors of a house, playing 88 tape loops spliced together by 5 to 175 splices, created an overwhelming and joyous environment of cacophonous sound. The performance culminated with John Wiese touching a frog for the first time as the final sound croaked through the speakers. The frog contact was just one of many magical moments that occurred during the preparation and presentation of the piece. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed performing it. Special thanks to Galen Joseph-Hunter of Wave Farm and Laura Kuhn & Emy Martin of John Cage Trust for trusting me with this material." --Aaron Dilloway, May 2024

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: HPS 204ULTRA-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Red/yellow/pink vinyl. Long Walk Of The Navajo features Gary Arce (guitar), Bill Stinson (drums), and the return of Billy Cordell (bass). The Long Walk Sessions were inspired by a desert storm that hit the Joshua Tree landscape that created a dark and gloomy backdrop for the band's creativity and improvisations. "Blood Sand" was recorded at Gary's house by Steve Kille of Dead Meadow in October 2022. It was a complete improvisation. "Long Walk Of The Navajo" and "Respiratory Pause" were recorded at Gatos Trail Recording Studio by Dan Joeright in January 2023. Mixed and mastered by Steve Kille.

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: HPS 299ULTRA-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Green splatter color vinyl. Acid Mammoth presents this brand-new full-length album, Supersonic Megafauna Collision. Get ready to be overtaken by a storm of pachyderm guitar riffs, wooly bass, explosive drumming, and witchy vocals! Supersonic Megafauna Collision is an unholy celebration of all things heavy, and as the album progresses it just keeps getting doomier! It is an evil and explosive album, with 666% fuzz! Recorded, mixed and mastered at Descent Studio. Drums recorded at Ritual Studios. Artwork by Branca Studio.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: HHLTS 002LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Jules Archive is a project founded by Marco Marzuoli and Marco Mazzei in 2016. By employing various technologies, instruments, and approaches, the duo strives to craft a mysterious and fantastical persona named Jules. Through this persona, they aim to immerse listeners in a dreamlike atmosphere, transcending reality and dwelling in imaginary spatiotemporal dimensions. Platonic Tales is the second chapter of Jules' journeys, more anthropocentric than the first album Adventures & Explorations (Volume 1), but equally exotic and dreamlike. The musical intention of this record was to rework a set of five (plus one) melodic tape loops, already structured in "song form", through detailed arrangements. The treatment followed an experimental-pop-oriented production approach. Recorded entirely at home by the artists, the music on the album features analog cassettes containing loops dating back to around 2016. The remaining arrangements were composed during the 2020 pandemic lockdown. Several international guests collaborated on the album: Lino Capra Vaccina, the legendary Italian percussionist/minimalist composer, and Jefre Cantu Ledesma engaged in a musical dialogue on "An Ontological Novel." Andrew Weathers contributed his voice to the tracks "A Superior Truth" and "Exodus." Christina Vantouz participated in "Exodus" and concluded the album with a string composition arranged and conducted by Minna Choi, performed by Magik*Magik Orchestra. 12" 180-gram vinyl record in poly lined inner sleeves, 33RPM, black vinyl. Limited to 400 copies.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: HOL 136CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Born Herman Poole Blount in Alabama during 1914, Sun Ra first emerged on the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s. One of the great avant-garde composers of his generation -- leading the way on piano, organ, and (eventually) synthesizer -- beginning in the mid-1950s and lasting until his death in 1993, led the Arkestra, a band through which a near countless number of important artists passed and collaborated with, and many remained for the duration of their careers, notably Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, and June Tyson. Known for their wild costumes and theatrics, Ra's eccentric image and claims that he was from Saturn was deeply political, imagining an alternate social order, history, and future for African Americans that rests as a pioneering force in the Afro-Futurist movement. Recorded live at Teatro Giulio Cesare on March 28, 1980, comprising an astounding 27 compositions, including the highly celebrated "Astro Black," "Mr. Mystery," "Romance of Two Planets," "Space Is the Place," "We Travel the Spaceways," and "Calling Planet Earth." High among the greatest live gigs by the Arkestra captured on tape, carefully mastered by Matt Bordin at Outside Inside Studio, Live in Rome 1980 is a near perfect snapshot of the band's versatility and range, including many of their most notably and famous songs, as well as striking renditions of the Horace Henderson penned Benny Goodman number "Big John's Special," Fletcher Henderson's "Yeah Man!," and "Limehouse Blues," displaying Ra's willingness to address and rework the entire, diverse history of jazz in a single go. Heard in its totality, perhaps what makes Live in Rome 1980 most striking is the way in which the concert plays out. Roughly the first half encounters the band locked in some of the most out-there, free jazz fire that can be imagined, weaving a startling sense of interplay and furious energy into a brilliant tapestry of writhing sonority, the likes of which were only really achieved by this band. The second half, with only moments of exception that return to the furious energy of the first, is a very different affair, easy toward the vocal standards, led by June Tyson's vocals and the joyous collective chanting of the band, for which they have become so widely celebrated, threading the sounds of off-kilter big band swing with heavy grooves and imagines of outer space.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 094LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Recorded live in Sweden in September 1961, the Uppsala Concert is an important document from Dolphy's first Swedish tour as leader of an obscure but talented local quartet featuring Rony Johansson (piano), Kurt Lindgren (bass), and Rune Carlsson (drums). Master Dolphy shines, as always, on all his instruments alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute, while the track list consists of a rare mix of standards such as Milt Jackson's "Bags Groove," Monk's "52nd Street Theme," Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?" and the famous unaccompanied alto sax version of "Laura," all this plus a 20-minutes-long version of Dolphy's blues "245" where every single note played by Dolphy sounds as pure gold.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 095LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Often taken as inspiration by the likes of Miles Davis and Gil Evans, Ahmad Jamal is definitely one of the greatest artists in jazz history. Recorded in 1955 and originally released on the short-lived Parrot label, Chamber Music of the New Jazz is a stunning example of the creative, elegant, and precious music played by Ahmad Jamal's early trio. The fruit of the magical interplay between Jamal's sophisticated pianism, Ray Crawford's highly rhythmic guitar playing, and Israel Cosby's fine double bass. Three musicians whose individual roles are fully expressed through the collective approach to a new form of "chamber" jazz.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 096LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Back to the roots of one of the most influential South American songwriter and composer. A pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s, Joao Gilberto was often called "father of bossa," while in his native Brazil he was referred to as "O Mito" ("The Legend"). This compilation investigates his early career, showing the many sides of his sophisticated art.

 

PRICE: $35.50

CAT #: IF 1089LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

43?C, the debut LP by French electronic producer Basile3, is the result of a decade of cultivating a musical identity that focuses on hybridization, sonic recycling, and playfulness. The enigmatic title 43?C signifies a haze of bliss (4+3=7, the producer's lucky number) backdropped by the ecological state of a world that's grown slightly but surely warmer. In this anticipation fiction, Basile3 offers a soundtrack that is an exploration of club music, electronica infused with R&B and ambient synths. The French producer warmly invites listeners to his state of mind, blooming with genre-bending floating soundscapes. Featuring Telma Cappelo, Daisy Ray, Loydfears, Lucy Sissi Miller, and Minor Science.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: JAKARTA 190LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Introducing Psyche Gems, the Jakarta Records debut LP from LA based Rapper JUICEBOX and Norwegian producer duo Myeye. Debut LP Psyche Gems, a collaborative musical venture sparked by an impromptu Instagram jam session in 2021, is poised to mesmerize audiences. The brainchild of JUICEBOX, a versatile artist known for his roles as a singer, songwriter, rapper, and one half of the acclaimed group Figmore, Psyche Gems emerged from JUICEBOX's admiration for Simen Hallset's psych-pop band Gold Celeste (over 20 million Streams on Spotify). After reaching out to Simen, they swiftly connected with Henrik Norbakk, the other half of Myeye, igniting the genesis of the collaborative project. An Instagram jam session in 2021 gave sonic birth to LP Psyche Gems. Buttery vocals meet funky, soul-driven beats, meticulously recorded live, then chopped and repurposed to create an experience that transcends sonic definition. From vibrant head-nodding energy to lush beats seamlessly melded with an inimitable vocal delivery, Psyche Gems captures the essence of past and present, offering a kaleidoscope snapshot of life reflected through timeless grooves. The album's distinctive sound is characterized by meticulous layering, where each element is meticulously played, chopped, looped, and jammed over until achieving sonic perfection. United by their shared passion for old soul and jazz records, '90's + '00's hip hop, lo-fi indie, and psychedelic music, JUICEBOX and Myeye seamlessly fuse their diverse influences to craft a musical experience that resonates with listeners on a profound level."

 

PRICE: $36.00

CAT #: KRANK 154LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2024 repress; gatefold 2LP version. "...approaches a form of secular musical transcendentalism from within the battered temple of spirituality. Recorded in a church in Reykjavik, Iceland and using a pipe organ as the primary sound source, this new piece is essentially a live recording. In reality, it exists in a nether world between captured live performance and meticulous studio work, melding the two approaches to sonic artifice as a unity. It is in parts a document of air circulating within a wooden room, and also a pagan work of physical resonance within a space once reserved for the hallowed breath of the divine. While the title of the piece 'Hatred of Music' might be a clue, the album is also partly an attempt to confront a pervasive negativity surrounding music. Historical rituals of destroying pianos, mountains of pirated CDRs pushed by bulldozers in Eastern Europe, or the melancholy of the digital music era began as sideline motifs which quickly informed the work on this record. They also really didn't at all. Despite that the context is wide open in such a form of musical abstraction, the substance of these immersive compositions showcases Hecker's continued mastery of organizing sound into a visceral near entity. It is an almost physical presence that the listener feels as much as hears."

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: LMR 009LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Funky Kromong is a compilation from the multitalented legendary Betawi artist Benyamin Suaeb. Consisting of ten tracks from the '70s, this compilation is rich with Benyamin Suaeb's eccentric vocals with tongue-in-cheek lyrics and walled with funk and psychedelic and traditional sounds. He made his own humorous style of psychedelic music that everyone could relate.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: LANRH 005LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Leading a dynamic trio with virtuoso bass player Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Donald Bailey, piano player Hampton Hawes released one of his best efforts in 1970, focusing on an original blend of post-bop and rare groove. The record opens with a rendition of Bacharach "The Look Of Love" and offers a deep soulful voyage with the 11-minute title track.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: LES 007LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

The History of Unheard Music hail from lower Manhattan and were founded at the absolute dawn of the 1980s. The founders, Books Williams, Charlie Mendoza, and Beo Morales combined their individual and common interests in music from all periods of all cultures, active analytic listening, state-of-the-art music technology and low-tech devices. These interests were applied to highly developed composition and raw free-form improvisation. Access to the then-nascent computer aided compositional tools of sampling and synthesis, pre-and-post MIDI sequencing and a fearless appetite for sound-as-event, synthesizing historical styles, formats, sonic triggers, and traditions allowed them to strike a nerve in the listener resulting in responses ranging from confusion and bewilderment to appreciation and inspiration and beyond. A neutral response to the music or the live performances was not an option. Here is an unheard selection of some works of that mind-boggling New York band. All tracks selected from the '84-'85 hidden tapes and LPs: History of Unheard Music on Staatplat, Drop it on Harmonic Ranch, and Chapter One on Rockgarage Records. Music that ranges exclusively in the absurd. Art-rock, grotesque comedian pop, bouncing sounds from post-world influences and electronic proto dance music, pure avant-garde. Here Us Again for Whatever Reason touches hidden chords in a decomposed and critical message towards a dimensional state of total disorientation against the established order.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: LBR 111LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Canciones de amor contains a selection of songs from the recital recorded live at the Teatro Solis in Montevideo in November 1992. The Uruguayan singer Eduardo Darnauchans was, by then, already recognized as an artist of singular sensitivity and had established himself as a lyricist and composer. What is of interest here is the exceptional expressive capacity of the performer, accompanied by a band which brings technique but also an understanding of style. In Darnauchans's privileged voice there is a palpitation of interpretative finesse and technical rarities, some of which are unique in Uruguayan popular music: the work on vowels and consonants, the use of vibrato, the musical handling of breathing. Certain versions are true gems, with real intimacy, that mystery of the interpreter that connects directly with the listener: "?pica", "Cuando escucho una canci?n de los Beatles" (an example of an arrangement that differentiates it from studio versions), and "Luna del ciempi?s", with dark but magnificent poetics, music that brings together multiple influences, and a vocal interpretation that ranges from the finest emission, with the resources mentioned above -- and others -- to the synthesis of anguish and calm of the final recitative.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: LBR 112LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

La Suite de Raymundo is the latest album from Mandrake y los Druidas, Uruguayan experimental power rock band. An immersive, no-shortcuts-allowed experience. Following the powerful essence of their previous releases, the band now explores playful and experimental territories with classical reminiscences. Recorded live in the studio with the four members playing together at barely a few steps in between, this record captures the band's energy at top performance. The result is a consolidated, energetic and powerful LP, which includes a 16'30" musical suite as the centerpiece that gives name to the album. La Suite de Raymundo is a conceptual work that challenges listeners to travel through the experience and immerse themselves into the essential. Born in Montevideo in 1962, Alberto "Mandrake" Wolf is an iconic composer and fundamental piece of Uruguayan popular music since the early 1980s. After three decades leading his former band Los Terapeutas, in 2017 he shocked the local musical scene with Mandrake y los Druidas, a supergroup formed next to younger musicians with a powerful and high-energy classic rock n' roll sound. Their debut album, Mandrake y los Druidas (2017), was pleasantly received by specialized critics and the fans, winning Graffiti Awards for Uruguayan Music in main categories: "Band of the Year", "Album of the Year", and "Best Rock and Blues Album". In 2020, they released Sortilegio, their second album, which definitely delved deeper into the band's sound and expanded its spirit. Three years later, they release La Suite de Raymundo, their third and definitive album. Gatefold.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LL 1232LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Switching seaside ambience for a sound shaped by inner-city living, Atelier's second full-length studio album, Lights Towards The Exit, channels the mood of a sleepless cityscape. After the release of Varsam Court at the end of 2019 on Lossless, run by mentors and friends Mathias Schober and Thomas Herb, the duo experimented with different ideas in the studio, and at the start of 2020 a common thread began to appear between a few of the tracks which laid the foundation for the sound of their second album. Lights Towards The Exit was written and recorded in different spaces in Berlin -- from bedrooms in apartment blocks to three different studios across the city. The final details and edits were completed in Atelier's current studio. Swapping the mountains, sea and seclusion for tall buildings, backyards and a new community, Lights Towards The Exit channels the sensation of being surrounded by people, but still feeling like you're on your own. The album was written through three years of cold winters, sweaty summers and a period where the world stood still during the pandemic. Frustrated with the cease of momentum, but still optimistic, Atelier disappeared from public view, abandoning social media to focus on recording, songwriting and experimentation. It was a difficult time: the duo longed to perform and continue producing music, and the imposed limitations sometimes felt like an impossible obstacle. Ultimately, though, this would provide unexpected inspiration and influence the sound and direction of the new album. The sound of Lights Towards The Exit is not a departure from their first album, but a progression: influenced by the new surroundings in the duo's adoptive city, Atelier's second album is an ode to first-time experiences, new languages, challenges, club culture and the shift from youth to maturity, as well as a balm to those stuck somewhere in between. The overall sound is a lift not in tempo, but in energy, matching the openness needed to make a new start in a new place. Mastered by Mathias Schober. Artwork by David Kochs. Cover photography by Alexander Inggs.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: MILS 012LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series Entry #12: DJ Muggs takes the Soul Assassins approach to source music -- deep, dark, dank. The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series was created by Madlib and Egon to give their creative friends a chance to stretch out and indulge in whatever type of music they wanted. This music was created for easy, one-stop clearance in film and television synchronization usage and for sampling. You can also enjoy these albums in the way that many do with the best of the best vintage library catalogs -- listen, ponder, repeat."

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: MFM 011EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Maximum vocal power and prime time dramatics by Chrissy and Carrie Wilds. The San Francisco based DJ and producer shows his stylistic versatility and technical capability to work with vocals, melodies and sound sources. Like a facsimile of the late 1980s house/freestyle record that you never owned, Things Can't Go On Like This Forever ticks all the right boxes. Heartfelt vocals (by the great Carrie Wilds: check! Timely social message: check! Melodic euphoria: check! Old school house and true school freestyle flavor: check! Comes in various mixes and with a freestyle bonus beat special. Additional airtime is given to the now classic Chrissy production "So I Go Dancing." Done in a traditional remix fashion by Gerd Janson it highlights all the features of the original and again Carrie's enchanting voice, extends the included hysteria and adds a few snare rolls.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MR 451LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Disper? is the first independent record label in Peru and South America that was founded and run by a woman. In the space of five years Rebeca Llave turned not only Disper? into a successful company but also transformed it into an amplifier and showcase for unique Peruvian popular music projects including the raw, wild and visceral sound of Los Saicos, '60s punk pioneers. This compilation comprises 14 amazing tracks, ranging from cumbia or boogaloo to beat and garage, to celebrate the music legacy of this unique pioneer woman. Disper? was founded at a key moment for Peruvian popular music. In 1965 young Peruvians were gaining prominence in society and the entertainment industry. The hangover of the "new wave," with its balladeers, persisted on the radio and television, but rock bands were also emerging, inspired by what was happening musically in Liverpool and on the beaches of California. Guided by her ability to spot talent and target what she perceived as commercial prospects, Rebeca signed up an impressive lineup of artists. Several of which would move on to bigger labels, after "the girl with the charming smile" had set them on the recording road to fame. Besides gathering young rockers (Los Saicos, Jean Paul El Troglodita) and new wave bands (Los 4 Brillantes, Golden Boys) under its umbrella, Disper? also ventured into coastal and Andean music from Peru and tropical music (Chano Scotty y su Combo Latino, To?o y sus Sicod?licos). This compilation celebrates the music legacy of this unique pioneer woman. Also featuring Gloria Traves? Y Sus Hijos Cantan, Claudio Fabbri, Los Peruvian Brass, Los Guajiros Del Ritmo, and Alicia Estrada Y Su Orquesta.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MR 455C-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Splatter color vinyl version. The Loons of Southern California have been playing their uniquely original brand of psychedelic garage and freakbeat for more than 25 years. With Memories Have Faces they've created their most impressive batch of songs to date, along with an intense version of the Pretty Things' "Cries from the Midnight Circus." The Loons keep growing, learning, creating, evolving but never compromising. Formed in San Diego, The Loons have recorded and released five albums along with a slew of singles, and played gigs in more cities around the world than they can keep count of. They've collaborated with original '60s music icons like Glenn Ross Campbell of The Misunderstood, Dick Taylor of The Pretty Things, Randy Holden of The Sons of Adam and Blue Cheer, and Michael Stuart-Ware of Love. Mike Stax, who also publishes Ugly Things magazine, is the lead singer. Anja Stax plays bass and sings backing vocals. Marc Schroeder and Chris Marsteller play guitars, and Chris Cancelliere is on drums. Mike Stax was already a veteran of several other San Diego bands, including The Crawdaddys and The Tell-Tale Hearts, when he first formed the Loons in 1997. Ebbot Lundberg of The Soundtrack of Our Lives produced the group's debut album, Love's Dead Leaves, released by Get Hip Records in 1998. Anja joined on bass after relocating to California from London, where she'd been playing with The Diaboliks, and Marc Schroeder and Chris Marsteller joined soon afterwards. Chris Cancelliere became the group's new drummer at the end of 2018.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MR 455LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The Loons of Southern California have been playing their uniquely original brand of psychedelic garage and freakbeat for more than 25 years. With Memories Have Faces they've created their most impressive batch of songs to date, along with an intense version of the Pretty Things' "Cries from the Midnight Circus." The Loons keep growing, learning, creating, evolving but never compromising. Formed in San Diego, The Loons have recorded and released five albums along with a slew of singles, and played gigs in more cities around the world than they can keep count of. They've collaborated with original '60s music icons like Glenn Ross Campbell of The Misunderstood, Dick Taylor of The Pretty Things, Randy Holden of The Sons of Adam and Blue Cheer, and Michael Stuart-Ware of Love. Mike Stax, who also publishes Ugly Things magazine, is the lead singer. Anja Stax plays bass and sings backing vocals. Marc Schroeder and Chris Marsteller play guitars, and Chris Cancelliere is on drums. Mike Stax was already a veteran of several other San Diego bands, including The Crawdaddys and The Tell-Tale Hearts, when he first formed the Loons in 1997. Ebbot Lundberg of The Soundtrack of Our Lives produced the group's debut album, Love's Dead Leaves, released by Get Hip Records in 1998. Anja joined on bass after relocating to California from London, where she'd been playing with The Diaboliks, and Marc Schroeder and Chris Marsteller joined soon afterwards. Chris Cancelliere became the group's new drummer at the end of 2018.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MR 457LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Rare debut LP by the eccentric Peruvian singer Jean Paul "El Troglodita", known for his wild performances and extreme way of life. Often labeled as a nueva ola artist, he rather saw his performance style as a solo artist as following in the footsteps of Los Saicos, also signed to Disper?. This album includes Spanish sung versions of British beat songs and covers of the American songbook as well as various international hits. Enrique Roberto Teller?a made his Peruvian television debut in 1965 under the stage name Jean Paul "El Troglodita" and wearing an imitation leopard skin suit. He would switch from melodic calm to shouting wildly or suddenly drop to the floor on his knees and smash the furniture like crazy. At the age of 19, DisPer? signed him to the label on the strength of these early performances. His first single included a freely translated version of "Secret Agent Man" in Spanish. He began to work on the eleven cover versions that would feature on his first LP immediately, writing all his own lyrics and accompanied by the beat band Los Steivos. Despite the predominance of English beat music in Peru, the album only included three songs directly related to the British invasion: "Bus Stop" by The Hollies, also played in raga rock style; "Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones; and "The House of the Rising Sun," which follows the arrangement recorded by The Animals. El Troglodita's association with the so-called nueva ola, indicated on the back cover, needs clarification. In Peru, nueva ola was a mixed bag rather than a specific musical style and encompassed slow rock, twist, bossa nova and all the styles that the record industry produced to tame the wild rock 'n' roll impulses of teenagers in the early sixties. Jean Paul's "hippie" lifestyle got him arrested by the new de facto military government in 1968, who accused him of promoting drug consumption and corrupting the Peruvian youth. The charges were soon dropped but his reputation was tarnished, and he ended up emigrating to Central America.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: MR 7367EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

After the Dead Boys, Stiv Bators embarked on a musical journey that saw him touch upon power pop during a brief solo career. This is the first Bators single to emerge from Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records (1979) and includes a stunning version of The Choir's original "It's Cold Outside" and the original "The Last Year" on the B-side. This is the first time the single gets an official reissue in its original format. This is an essential power pop classic! As the frontman for the Dead Boys, Stiv Bators terrorized audiences with his snotty, in-your-face punk rock style. This is an essential power pop classic!

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: MR 7368EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Los York's became the epitome of Peruvian garage sound. Abr?zame features a beat-influenced go-go twang guitar garage psych tone throughout and the unique voice of the iconic frontman of the band resulting an irresistible Latin garage hipshaker! Set the dance floor on fire with this first time 45 reissue of the Latin garage anthem "Abr?zame." The group was in tune with the youth from popular districts who were gradually turning morning concerts into dynamic gigs as the fashion for solo rock-ballads waned and garage sounds by bands like Los Shain's, Los Derbys, Los Juniors, Los Flyers and, of course, Los York's took over. Their supportive fans would follow them to every gig. After releasing their three first singles on MAG, featuring covers of popular hits, it took them a year to turn their ideas into songs for their first LP that was successfully released at Christmas in 1967. The original version of "Abr?zame" was included in this album and also released as a single. Although clearly based on Don Covay & The Goodtimers' R&B classic "Mercy Mercy," the recording features a beat influenced go-go twang guitar garage psych tone throughout and the unique voice of the iconic frontman of the band, Pablo Luna. A rawer, fuzzier version of the same song was released one year later and renamed as "Abr?zame Baby."

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: MR 7369EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

A chaotic and intense Craig Leon-produced hybrid of Dolls, Stooges, and most of the Nuggets bands by Jeff 'Mono Mann' Conolly's pre-Lyres group DMZ. Unavailable for over three decades, Munster is happy to reissue this garage rock's essential gem, originally released in the early days of Greg Shaw's Bomp! label. DMZ was a predictable proposition, sporting obvious glam roots and an eccentric but dedicated rock and roll fan in lead singer, Jeff 'Mono Mann' Conolly. With killer cuts like "Busy Man" and "When I Get Off," their 1977 EP captured the DMZ zeitgeist considerably better than the album they would later record for Sire.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: NSD 816LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"The Doors Of Perception is presented in a unique blue swirl colored vinyl pressing. The Doors Of Perception is among the most experimental and innovative releases by famed jazz vibraphonist Dave Pike. Recorded in 1966 and released in 1970, the album finds Pike indulging in full-fledged psychedelic jazz, with trippy grooves and a new sound. Produced by Herbie Mann, The Doors Of Perception features an all-star cast of musicians, including Eddie Daniels, Lee Konitz, Don Friedman, and Chuck Israel. Their talents are complemented by a wide range of sound effects, from echo chambers to piped-in applause to thunderstorms to fuzzy distortion, making for a dynamic and unique listening experience."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: NA 5254LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Now-Again Records is completing the trilogy started with Forge Your Own Chains and followed by Tickets for Doomsday with Pale Shades Of Grey -- another batch of rare, largely uncompiled -- and sometimes barely heard -- heavy psych-rock. Pounding drums, scathing fuzz guitar and morose, contemplative lyrics will bring you up on a downer. Pale Shades Of Grey, as the title hints, is perhaps the most contemplative of the series, heavy on ruminations of dark themes of love, death, pain and triumph, as performed by high school and college bands, Brasilian intellectuals, Nigerian rockers and even an Irish pub band from Michigan. A unique and compelling listen, and surely a worthy companion for these times. Featuring Ant Trip Ceremony, Heaven, Christophe, WITCH, Pat's People, 5 Revolutions, David Lee Jr., Joe Lano and Ed Whiting, Jose Mauro, Ton E Sergio, Ofege, and Image."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: NA 5279LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Anthology of Zamrock musician Mike Nyoni's funky, psych-rock and folkloric 1970s recordings. Zambian guitarist and singer/songwriter Mike Nyoni's music is Zamrock only because he came of age during the country's rock revolution. He preferred wah-wah to fuzz guitar, James Brown to Jimi Hendrix. His '70s recordings -- often politically charged, and ranging from despondent to exuberant -- are amongst the funkiest on the African continent. He was also one of the only Zamrock musicians to see his music contemporaneously issued in Europe. This anthology collates works from his three '70s LPs -- his first, with the Born Free band, and his two solo albums Kawalala and I Can't Understand You -- and presents a singular Zambian musician on par with celebrated artists Rikki Ililonga, Keith Mlevhu, and Paul Ngozi."

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: OB 001X-LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Launching into the early, wintering months of the new year, the brand-new imprint Oblio -- the latest adventure in the Die Schachtel/Blume family -- delivers their debut LP, the first ever fully remastered vinyl reissue of Maurizio Bianchi's seminal 1982 album Regel. A startling bridge between 1950s and '60s avant-garde electronic music and the legacies of punk, originally released on Bianchi's own Mectpyo Sounds imprint under the moniker M.B., for decades it has been hotly pursued as one of the great cornerstones of early '80s Italian experimentalism and industrial music. In 1979, Maurizio Bianchi turned his focus to making music of his own, initially self-releasing four cassettes under the moniker Sacher-Pelz, before beginning to work under his own name or the abbreviation M.B. in 1980. He was regarded as a foundational project in the movements of Italian industrial music and noise, as well as a crucial link between the Milan scene and similar artists working in other parts of the world. Of these, M.B.'s 1982 album Regel, originally released in a tiny edition of 300 copies by Bianchi's own Mectpyo Sounds imprint, remains one of the most celebrated and sought-after. Comprising two, untitled, side-long compositions, M.B.'s Regel stands among the best illuminations of the tangible links between the early electronic avant-garde and certain forms of music that blossomed from the cultural revolution of punk. The first piece draws upon manipulated sound sources, threaded with synthesizer or theremin, which collectively gather an almost post-apocalyptic sensibility. Using a similar sound palette, the album's second side delves toward a more markedly tonal realm, utilizing deconstructed melodic elements, striking harmonic collisions and pulses, placed within a cavernous sense of space and texture that achieves thrilling seductiveness. Regel is made up of two sprawling, long-form sides standing in stark contrast to M.B.'s more aggressive, industrial-oriented works. Instead, what unfolds is a classic of austere musical hypnotism. A high-water mark of early '80s Italian experimentalism. Fully remastered by Andrea Marutti and issued in collaboration with the artist. Limited edition of 300 copies on black vinyl.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: OKNR 008EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

A tempest of intimacy. It's part of the nature of man to start with romance and build to a reality and this is what System Olympia has done with this new four-track EP. Love, longing, and the restlessness of the heart and body are the foundation forces of this record. "Luce Rossa" presents itself as an emblem of a credo, an irreverent manifesto delivered via daring melodies and empowering vocals. System Olympia inhabits a world in which human senses are mightier than religion and "Sanctified" (featuring Working Men's Club) is an ecstatic and highly articulated fusion of passion and redemption -- a new truth about reality, whispered to your ear with infinite sweetness. Poetic desire as a force of beauty and vitality is all over "Lenzuola Di Raso." Fantasizing in between satin sheets on the hottest day of the year because art and imagination mean freedom from the solitude of the mind. "Mi Dimentico" makes beauty out of melancholy, and nostalgia out of the oscillation between resignation and demand. Sanctified EP is naked skin over a sunken heart, and a soaring mind.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: OTHER 016LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 restock. "Wooden Bag is 75 Dollar Bill's debut record on the Other Music Recording Company label. Originally released in January of 2015, our limited vinyl debut, Wooden Bag, followed various cassette and digital EPs, and quickly sold out. Now back in print from new lacquers cut at Chicago Mastering and manufactured at Memphis Record Pressing, this re-release sounds and looks fantastic. A must-have for fans both old and new, the LP comes packaged in a custom 'disco sleeve,' which reproduces the original's hand-stamped art, and includes a download card." "The album's seven gyrating, hypnotic dances feature maracas, shakers and homemade-horn -- accented guitarscapes; imagine Yo La Tengo but with Indian music rather than the Velvets as prime inspiration." --Brad Cohan / Time Out New York

 

PRICE: $30.00

CAT #: PONE 9025LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"Criminal Minded is now available as a double LP in a gatefold jacket with extensive liner notes. In listing the greatest albums in hip-hop history, one title never seems to stray from the upper echelons, no matter how many years pass: Boogie Down Productions' undisputed classic from 1986, Criminal Minded. Released amidst a battle between BDP and MC Shan that would redefine the New York rap landscape as it was then known, the album, which features the songs 'South Bronx,' 'Criminal Minded' and 'The Bridge is Over,' captures the excitement, urgency and raw power that embodies hip-hop culture as we know it, with KRS-One's aggressive yet intelligent lyricism backed by Scott La Rock's hard-hitting, stripped-down beats. A true classic, Criminal Minded has been recognized by Vibe Magazine, The Source, and Rolling Stone as one of the most important albums of all time."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: PLANAM 049LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Almost a decade on from his last full length for the label, the religiously themed Teopatia, Marco Papiro returns to Planam with Con un occhio aperto, his most challenging and ambitious work to date. Known as one of the most dedicated contemporary investigators of the potential of analogue synthesizers, the musicality and personal touch of Papiro's work stand apart from a field dominated by gear fetishism and nostalgia. In recent years, one of the unique ingredients of Papiro's music has been his use of synthesized human voices, often lending his productions a dimension of uncanniness. Here, he pushes this aspect of his work much further, presenting a suite of four pieces where most listeners would be hard pressed to trace the sounds they hear back to electronic sources. The opening title piece, "Con un occhio aperto" (i.e. "With One Eye Open"), begins with metallic textures, similar to bowed cymbals or gongs, which are soon joined by waves of percussive sound, both drum-like and metallic. Irregularly rising to the surface and receding into the background, at times reminiscent of natural rhythms of rain, wind, or sea, these percussive textures are accompanied by haunting voice-like tones, at once strikingly realistic and disorienting in their non-human patterns of articulation and attack. Perhaps the closest parallel to these overlapping waves of rattling, pulsating percussive sounds and eerie extended tones is Jon Gibson's classic "Visitations," where the line between instrumental, electronic, and natural sound is blurred in a mesmerizing drift. Threaded through this hypnotic arrangement are recognizable synthesizer figures, alongside long tones performed on alto flute and bass clarinet by Christoph B?sch and Toshiko Sakakibara (members of Basel's Ensemble Phoenix). Like Teopatia, Con un occhio aperto arrives in a sleeve bearing beautiful and comical self-portrait photographs of his father. While on the earlier release, he styles himself as a saint, here he appears as a fur-clad hunter: a fitting image for this singular, exploratory music, which, like the photographs, is at once playful and primal. Edition of 300 copies.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: PLANAM 050LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Lorenzo Abattoir's work has focused on researching various breathing and amplification techniques to create a sort of non-verbal language through which to express the sounds of an "inhuman" being. The first act of this transformation takes place in Disincarnazione; the artist frees himself from his own corporeal state and the cultural structures sedimented over millennia of evolution to explore the sonic possibilities of the animal body as a medium and instrument of his work. Continuing to explore these possibilities in Second Act and then Third Act, Lorenzo Abattoir's new work succeeds in giving shape to this creature. The artist assumes the form of this new beast, delineating its field of action and incorporating movement into his practice. With Mess (Akt IV), the fourth act of his research issued now on PLANAM, Abattoir consecrates a new being in a state of sonic confusion, no longer human but not entirely beast, taking its first steps in his sonic and performative universe. The amplification delivers to the listener the sonic image of a hybrid primate amidst the entirety of the noises of its body, from breaths to movements, in a non-place that allows listeners to explore the depths of the animal body. All the material of Mess (Akt IV) was recorded at Nub Project Space, Pistoia Italy. Very limited LP edition including an insert with drawings, score and notes. Only 150 copies made available for international distribution.

 

PRICE: $52.50

CAT #: PETRONELL 001CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Italian composer Angelo Petronella reemerges after nearly a decade and a half of silence with Habitat, a stunning five-CD career spanning box set of works composed between 1981 and 2022. Comprising 27 tracks at the borders of radical musique concr?te and electro-acoustic invention, guided by deft and subtle hand over the decades into total, immersive sound environments. Petronella has worked at a quiet and steady pace, until now he's only released two full-lengths, 2006's Sintesi da un Diario and 2010's Rimandi e Scoperte, both issued by Die Schachtel to great critical acclaim. Now, after nearly a decade-and-a-half, Habitat offers an unprecedented immersion in Petronella's singular universe of electroacoustic practice. Petronella states of Habitat: "The tracks in this collection represent a synthesis of a significant part of the environment in which I have lived -- sound environment, made up mostly of temporality, but also spatiality. I was inspired by both concrete and studio generated electronic sounds. I made targeted recordings of concrete material and intervened with numerous modifications, both on this and electronic material. The result was a quantity of sounds (which I prefer to call sound microforms) that I combined in stereophonic space." As Keith Fullerton Whitman previously stated about Petronella's work, there are direct connections between the composer's work and the 1970s INA-GRM-grm sound world, especially the "the big three, Fran?ois Bayle's mutating upper-register textures, Luc Ferrari's distant field-events, and Bernard Parmegiani's metallic drones,," but every step of the way Petronella manages to infuse his work with the depth of those reference points, while creating something singular. An absolute must that can't be missed by any fan of the many incredible realms of experimental electronic unfolding today. Essential for any fan of the outer limits of the electronic and electroacoustic realm. Includes a fantastic booklet.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: PP 103EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Tubbs & Burns go on and on. The highly anticipated Volume III of their collaboration is out. 2024 Balearic big room sounds with a lot of class, that will surely end up in a lot of D.J. bags. It's deep, it's uplifting, it's fast and furious. It's -- Tubbs & Burns. Featuring Nathan Haines.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: RADK 7035CS

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The Damned's debut album, Damned Damned Damned, released in 1977, captured the raw energy of punk. With its frenetic pace and rebellious spirit, this cassette edition allows fans to experience the brilliance of tracks like "Neat Neat Neat" and "New Rose" on the go. An iconic punk record, a cherished relic.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: RADK 7038CS

FILE UNDER: ROCK

First time ever cassette edition for Nikki & the Corvettes' self-titled debut album originally released on Bomp Records in 1980. Led by Nikki Corvette, the group brought a fresh burst of energy to the punk and power pop scene of the late '70s and early '80s. Fueled by catchy melodies, infectious hooks, and Nikki's charismatic vocals, the album delivers a rollicking ride through a blend of punk, rock, and retro pop influences. Tracks like "Back Seat Love" and "Let's Go" capture the carefree spirit of youth and rebellion, making this LP a cult favorite among fans of vintage punk and power pop. With its raw energy and unabashed fun, Nikki & the Corvettes remains a timeless gem in the annals of underground rock and roll.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RM 4151CD

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

On Stone, Suzuki expounds his approach of "throwing and following," casting out sounds and gestures into space and catching their returns. Each of the pieces explores the materiality of his chosen objects and the space within which each is activated. The recordings catch this process of sonic offering, and receiving, that characterizes the generosity of his relationship with sound, space and time. Originally recorded in 1994 in Berlin, this 30th anniversary edition features a new booklet with text by David Toop and photo documentation, some of which has not previously been published. The edition is also entirely remastered from the original recordings. From David Toop (excerpt from the Stone booklet): "With concentration, or elevated tension as he has called it, Akio Suzuki enters completely into the substance of sound, its emergence and its passing. What he does with sound may propose a rarefied world to many people, and yet it possesses a persuasive quality of rightness. One of the most difficult aspects of music and soundwork to explain is the concept of 'right action.' How is that music can be evaluated almost immediately, just as quickly as a fire alarm or a baby's cry? When Akio performs, certain qualities (grace, warmth, a quiet authority of mind and action, an engagement with the vessel of nothingness through which sound can emerge) are evident as presences, as soon as he begins. He begins from a state we call silence, by listening, yet at the same time raises questions about our ideas of what this silence might be. Time passes; fixity gives way to destruction; visual perfection is relinquished within the faintest of sound fields. As for the work, this ceremony returns us to nothing, 'to the feeling of not knowing exactly what is before us,' so to the uncanny, to the shell-like ear found by the sea, the 'ungraspable phantom of life,' the record of a haunting, time regained. The sound is a parabola, a finger tracing on skin, a brush point, bird in flight." Recorded in K?nstlerhaus Bethanien, Studio I on 11, 12, 13, and 17 October 1994. Mixed by Hans Peter Kuhn. Recorded by Junko Wada. Mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RB 128EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

New Krystal Klear on Running Back. No re-inventing of the wheel here. Sometimes it is what it is. But let's hear it from the artist himself: "No notes or real inspiration behind this EP. RB128 consists of four tracks that I made to keep gigs coming and the calendar full. In a time where artists are being forced to DJ like maniacs to keep the electricity running to make more quickfire records (except for Gerd who loves it). These pure dance tracks try to mix the cocktail between the trendy trance that people like now and the good house records they liked yesterday. Standard procedure: Melancholic chords over processed drums and breakdowns that make waiting for a train to pull in more bearable." But yes, it is still and will always be pretty damn good dance music.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: 7V10YEARS-1

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

It is incredible, but yes, Seven Villas turns 10 years old in 2024. In April 2014, Pablo started this exciting music adventure, since then the label has been delivering our best quality, music, photos and DJ mixes, introducing new talented artists and collaborating with well-known creators. Now it's time to celebrate; during this year Seven Villas will release three compilations with some of its favorite tracks from the catalogue, and three vinyl EPs with the best songs that have never been released in wax. Featuring Agatha Pher, Yarosslav, Krissky, In2Deep, Iron Curtis, Anton Lanski, and Powel.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SB 200LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Omit's inSec is 'new,' but not new. Recorded in 2013, the masters lost in the label's murky somewheresville that always shows up when moving. For those who don't know, Omit is an experimental electronics artist from New Zealand's south island who, since 1990, has released thirty-some xerographed cassettes and CDs in the Dead C orbit for those who do. It's not enough to say that inSec is an ambient masterpiece bringing to mind a John Carpenter soundtrack performed by the Hub because listening to it engineers new species. The infectious and corrupting sounds synthesize new life forms in your brain's enzymes. If you specialize in a niche too much, you are prey to predators outside, but Omit never goes for low-hanging fruit and isn't simulating anything. Besides the xenobiological effects, Omit constructs your sentiment through timbral concepts that repeat and shift with minimal reference to harmony, melody, key, or mode. Streams jump and skitter, knitting tightly high and low in a dense rattling driven to the long and most plaintive tones amongst the countless gizmos. This one is for big fans of Anode/Cathode, Ikue Mori, Papa Srapa, Fronte Violeta, and Insignia refrigerators."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: SOULG 014LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reissued for the first time on vinyl, here's Jamaican reggae singer George Faith's second album, originally released on Hollywood Records in 1979. Amazing soulful reggae melodies backed by the likes of Sly & Robbie, Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Tommy McCook, Earl "Chinna" Smith, and more. Produced by the one and only Bunny Lee at Harry J Studios, and mixed by Scientist at King's Tubby's Studios!

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: SOW 048LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Hank Mobley With Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan, also known as "Hank Mobley Sextet," is an album by American jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on November 25, 1956 and released on Blue Note the following year. The sextet features trumpeters Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan, backed by rhythm section Horace Silver, Paul Chambers, and Charli Persip.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: SOW 049LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

All of soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy's early recordings are quite fascinating, for during 1957-1964, aspects of his style at times hinted at Dixieland, swing, Monk, and Cecil Taylor, sometimes at the same time. Here, Lacy teams up with pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Buell Neidlinger, and drummer Elvin Jones for seven Thelonious Monk compositions. The typical standbys (such as "Round Midnight," "Straight No Chaser," and "Blue Monk") are avoided in favor of more complex works such as "Four in One," "Bye-Ya," and "Skippy"; the sweet ballad "Ask Me Now" is a highpoint.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: BARN 097EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Veteran producer Blende debuts on Studio Barnhus, the Athens-based Swede delivering three cuts full of force and rich in detail, perfectly straddling that line between weirdo pop and freaky dance that the Stockholm label loves to explore. Vocal contributions from Belgian rock experimentalist Mickael Karkousse and Los Angeles-based singer-DJ sensation Smiles Davis complete the package, along with a trippy and menacing cover by graphic wizard Stefan F?lt. An essential Studio Barnhus dance record! Johan Blende is a Swedish music producer, song writer and DJ. For the biggest part of this side of the millennium he's been weaving together modern dance music elements with retro sounds of the '70s and '80s.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 024LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 repress. "Few moments in pop music history can match the grinding, pent-up energy of 'Mongoloid' and the spastic bounce and sputter of 'Jocko Homo' (two anthems presented in their earlier and superior versions here). Cult favorites like 'Mechanical Man' and 'Auto-Modown' make Volume 1 essential listening."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: SV 162LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2024 repress. LP version. "For five decades, Harold Budd stood on the forefront of the West Coast avant-garde. Born in Los Angeles, he studied with Schoenberg-pupil Gerald Strang and began teaching at CalArts in 1970. While searching for his own voice, he was influenced as much by abstract expressionist painters as by John Cage and Morton Feldman. In his work, Budd brought delicate, slowing-moving melodies to the foreground -- creating a new musical language based on 'eternally pretty music' and smooth surfaces. In the early '70s, Budd started an extended cycle of compositions that would comprise The Pavilion Of Dreams. For Budd, the album was a signpost for a new direction in thinking about music: 'The Pavilion Of Dreams erased my past. I consider that to be the birth of myself as a serious artist. It was like my Magna Carta.' Produced by Brian Eno in 1978, The Pavilion Of Dreams stands toe-to-toe with another minimalist masterpiece also released that year, Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians. Budd's gorgeous pieces reveal a lightness of touch that draws the listener in, while sublime voices float in and out as if in a recurring dream. Featuring saxophonist Marion Brown and multi-instrumentalists Gavin Bryars and Michael Nyman, The Pavilion Of Dreams remains a master class in exquisite timbre and shimmering texture. The Pavilion Of Dreams was both the final release on Eno's Obscure imprint and a transition point towards his seminal ambient series. This first-time reissue is recommended for fans of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jon Hassell and Mark Hollis."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: SYST 139EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Arne and Wayan of Extrawelt hardly need an introduction, yet their latest release is notably special as it marks their debut on Marc Romboy's Systematic Recordings imprint. Renowned for their releases on Cocoon, Kompakt/Speicher, and Border Community, they masterfully blend techno with rich sound structures, harmonies, and intricate arrangements. Their new track "Riverrun" features a captivating bass line that twists and transforms throughout the piece, showcasing their skills as sound architects. Alongside, "Midi Waters" delves into a darker, deeper soundscape that commands respect from Detroit techno enthusiasts with its powerful, dystopian narrative. Experience the sound for yourself with this unique two tracker.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: TO 083LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited 2024 restock. Gatefold double LP version. On Audience Of One, Oren Ambarchi presents a four-part suite which moves from throbbing minimalism to expansive song-craft to ecstatic free-rock. His previous solo albums for Touch exhibited a clear progression towards augmenting and embellishing his signature bass-heavy guitar tones with fragile acoustic instrumentation. Audience Of One, while also existing in clear continuity with these recordings, opens the next chapter. Remarkable in its confidence and breadth, but also in the sensuous immediacy of its details, this is the first time a single record has come close to encapsulating Ambarchi's musical personality in its full range and singularity. The techniques and strategies developed in his refined improvisational work with Keith Rowe and his explorations of the outer limits of rock with Sunn O))) and Keiji Haino are both in evidence, alongside the meticulous attention to detail and composition of his solo works. And on the cover of Ace Frehley's "Fractured Mirror" which closes the record, Ambarchi even points to his roots as a classic rock fanatic, in an epic yet faithful version which extends the shimmering guitar patters of the original into a rich field of phase patters reminiscent of the classic American minimalism of Reich and Riley. The album features a multitude of collaborators, who, far from appearing in incidental roles, are integral to the pieces on which they perform: on "Salt," Ambarchi paints a hypnotic, chiming backdrop for Paul Duncan's (Warm Ghost) vocals, and Joe Talia's virtuoso drumming and driving cymbals are at the core of the epic "Knots," in which Ambarchi, alongside a chamber arrangement by Eyvind Kang, weaves a net of frequencies and textures with the organic push and pull of a '70s psych jam, the bass response of a doom metal ritual and the psycho-acoustic precision of an Alvin Lucier composition. On his previous records, Ambarchi's signature guitar tone was the ever-present bedrock over which other elements sounded. At moments on Audience Of One, this disappears entirely, as on the beautiful "Passage," which, recalling the '70s Italian non-academic minimalism of Roberto Cacciapaglia and Giusto Pio, is composed of overlapping tones from Hammond organ and wine glasses, Jessika Kenney's voice, various acoustic instruments, and the delicate amplified textures of Canadian sound-artist Crys Cole. Rather than being provided by any particular sound, the unified feel of Audience Of One stems simply from the unique, patient sensibility Ambarchi has developed over the last 20 years; abstracting musical forms into their barest forms, while somehow always managing to leave their emotive power intact.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: TO 099CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Limited restock. stator (?ste?t?)n1. (Electrical Engineering) the stationary part of a rotary machine or device, esp of a motor or generator2. (Aeronautics) a system of nonrotating radially arranged parts within a rotating assembly, esp the fixed blades of an axial flow compressor in a gas turbine[C20: from Latin: one who stands (by), from sta?re to stand]Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen, a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalog of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his "ambient techno" and "arctic ambient" styles and his use of loops and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His 1997 album Substrata is generally seen as one of the all-time classic ambient albums. Deathprod is a pseudonym used by Norwegian artist Helge Sten. Sten began creating music under this name in 1991, and in 2004 a self-titled retrospective box set collecting most of his recorded work was released. Sten uses homemade electronics, old tape echo machines, ring modulators, filters, theremins, samplers, and other devices to craft his sound. Jenssen and Sten previously collaborated on Nordheim Transformed (RCD 2005CD), a 1998 collection of reworked Arne Nordheim compositions. Stator is a split release, with three tracks by Jenssen and four by Sten. Mastered by Sten at Audio Virus Lab, Oslo. Commissioned by Tape to Zero.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: TRESOR 365EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

As with their three previous releases on Tresor (Dualism, Refreshing Part 1, and Dreams) for Love Letter, Fireground have created a heady melange of styles of techno synonymous with the turn of the century with such outrageous elan and jubilation that they practically embody the musical term giocoso: "We had the 'summer' concept in mind from the beginning, this pushed us to create a message in our sound making it uplifting and engaging, capable of conveying a positive, romantic and warm vibe. In our productions we always give priority to the harmonic parts such as melodies, pads, piano and guitar riffs, the peculiarity of this EP is that all the tracks were born first from these elements, and only at the end the groove was crafted, not due to a difference in importance, rather to ensure that the rhythmic part paid as much respect as possible to the harmonic part." This decision to build upwards from the harmonics has paid dividends: the entrance of a string section provokes visions of a rapt club crowd cheering with exultation; a looped groove stimulates a connection to such gleeful nostalgia that is almost certain to be heard at many festivals in coming months; a blissful pad sweeps over a track like the first rays of sun in the morning; a filtered synth rises to be met with a xylophone-like countermelody -- every track has a moment where the music overflows with some form of happiness. Together the collection promises, and perhaps even delivers, a summer both ecstatic and joyful.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: DPROM 164LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2024 restock. It could be argued that Brained and Cooloorta are the definitive Nurse With Wound EPs. Both classic and timeless fan favorites appear for the first time together on one single album. Both EPs marked a distinctive change in the NWW sound. Brained from 1984 showcases NWW at their mid-80s finest. The relentless churning and uncompromising music of "Brained by Falling Masonry" is complimented by the eccentric mania of JG Thirlwell's vocals. "A Short Dip in Glory Hole" takes you into the murky depths of a David Lynch influenced nightmare, a lysergic unhinged movie for the ears, which greatly influenced the Peter Strickland film Berberian Sound Studio. "Cooloorta Moon" from 1989 takes you in a whimsical direction and further highlights the boundless originality of NWW. The evolution of NWW utilizing more traditional instrumentation and bordering on the verge of song structures started coming to the fore on this EP. In addition to all the original songs from the Cooloorta and Brained EPs, the 2010 track, "Sarah's Beloved Aunt" perfectly closes this collection. Lovingly remastered by Andrew Liles. Again, this arrives in a beautiful die-cut sleeve with Babs Santini artwork.

 

PRICE: $38.50

CAT #: UNROCK 026LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Saginaw Racket, the new double album by Sir Richard Bishop, features the first new recordings from the former Sun City Girls guitarist in over five years. It is a singular work for electric guitar in four parts with each part being a full side. Each of the four parts were recorded in one take and they are presented in the order they were originally recorded. But this is also a circular work with no fixed beginning or end. One can start the record with any of the four sides, with the remaining sides then played in order. Known for his interpretations of Spanish, North African, Middle and Far Eastern guitar and string compositions, Richard Bishop never remains long in any one musical territory. There are no Eastern or exotic touches here. It is more reminiscent of early '70s underground rock (unrock). The entire work is improvised, with recurring motifs and melodies. It is similar in approach to Neil Young's Dead Man Soundtrack, but Saginaw Racket is louder, more energetic and more complex, while retaining its cinematic quality. The tone of the guitar is the voice of the record. It is noisy at times but it is not "noise." It definitely is a racket, though, and it unleashes all the pent-up energy of the last few years, during much of which, SRB never even picked up a guitar. So in a sense Richard Bishop is returning to his roots in the form of a spontaneous soundtrack to old Saginaw where he grew up and first learned to play the guitar -- a Saginaw that certainly doesn't exist anymore. Saginaw Racket is limited to 400 copies pressed on 140g black vinyl.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: UMA 181LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Emerging from the vibrant tapestry of Japan's experimental music scene in the late '80s, Incapacitants had beginnings as Toshiji Mikawa's solo project in 1981. The original epicenter of their creative endeavors was Osaka, where Mikawa collaborated with luminaries such as Yamatsuka Eye, JOJO and others. However, the trajectory of Incapacitants evolved with a move to Tokyo, where Fumio Kosakai joined forces with Mikawa, solidifying the current duo that continues to shape the landscape of experimental music. The dynamic twain have spent decades challenging preconceived notions of sound, weaving a complex tapestry of auditory exploration. Their avant-garde approach and relentless commitment to pushing boundaries have solidified Incapacitants as a cornerstone in the global noise music phenomenon. Their ability to seamlessly blend raw energy with the sheer beauty of their noise is a testament to their unique artistry. Originally released in 1999 on CD by legendary Alchemy Records, Default Standard is a testament to Incapacitants' relentless pursuit of pure noise. Carefully remastered under the skillful guidance of the highly respected engineer, producer as well as sound artist Lasse Marhaug, this reissue invites listeners to rediscover the sonic intricacies that define Incapacitants' artistry. The five tracks on Default Standard immerse listeners in a sonic landscape marked by tumultuous chaos. The album showcases an extensive incorporation of feedback, distortions, and electronic manipulations, creating an avant-garde and experimental auditory experience is at the core of Incapacitants' artistic approach. Each piece is a testament to the band's commitment to pushing the limits of conventional musical structures. Incapacitants often employs dissonant tones, unconventional time signatures, and unpredictable arrangements, inviting listeners to engage with the music on a level that goes beyond traditional notions of melody and harmony. Available in only 199 copies. Beyond the auditory experience, delve into a big poster and inserts featuring unpublished photos by Yuichi Jibiki, offering a glimpse into the era of the original CD release. And then explore a four-page A3 folded insert with previously unpublished photos with extensive notes from both Lasse Marhaug and Toshiji Mikawa, alongside a 1999 interview translated into English, from Japanese music magazine EATER.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: UMA 182LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Atrax Morgue, the artistic moniker of the Italian musician Marco Corbelli, stands as an enigmatic figure within the realm of industrial and noise music. Revered for his gloomy sonic explorations, Corbelli forged a distinctive path through the auditory landscape, leaving an indelible mark on the Italian (and worldwide) underground music scene. Employing very minimal electronic instrumentation, Corbelli sculpted an auditory experience that transcends the conventional confines of music. Corbelli's compositions, characterized by their sick nature, evoke a sense of otherworldly melancholia, challenging the listener to confront the boundaries of their auditory comfort zone. Negative Frequencies is a profound musical testament that emerged from the visionary mind of the Italian artist Marco Corbelli, released in February 2006. The album encapsulates the diseased and bleak essence for which Corbelli's project, Atrax Morgue, is renowned. Corbelli, through his meticulous approach, manipulates synth and analog tape to craft a sonic landscape that challenges conventional notions of music, inviting introspection into the darker recesses of the human psyche. In a poignant turn of events, this seminal work is now set to be reissued for the first time on vinyl, marking a significant moment in Atrax Morgue's discography. This reissue not only amplifies the significance of Negative Frequencies within the avant-garde canon but also serves as a poignant reminder of Marco Corbelli's enduring artistic legacy. Tragically, shortly after the album's CD release in 2006, Corbelli took his own life, rendering this album one of the last tangible echoes of his creative brilliance. This vinyl reissue feature also a meticulously crafted four-page A3 folded booklet, containing the original notes and drawings by the talented Marco Corbelli from the CD edition. Additionally, this booklet is enriched with a collection of new annotations and previously unreleased photographs, graciously provided by Andrea Marutti. Edition of 199.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: UMA 183LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Merzbow's impact transcends the confines of traditional music, embodying an ethos of constant innovation and fearless exploration into uncharted realms of sound. Navigating through the annals of Merzbow's extensive career reveals an artist who, for over 40 years, has remained dedicated to reshaping understanding of music and pushing the boundaries of sonic expression. Now, Urashima unveils the highly anticipated vinyl reissue of Merzbow's groundbreaking album Oersted. This album, originally released on CD in 1996, marked a significant milestone in the experimental noise music scene, showcasing the unparalleled sonic explorations of the legendary Masami Akita, known as Merzbow. Oersted is a sonic journey through realms of noise, texture, and intensity that have solidified Merzbow's status as a pioneer in the realm of noise music. The album features a collection of meticulously crafted tracks that push the boundaries of sound manipulation and composition, creating an immersive experience for listeners daring enough to delve into its sonic landscapes. The vinyl reissue, masterfully remastered for the first time by the esteemed James Plotkin, renowned for his unparalleled expertise, breathes fresh life and depth into the album's already rich and intricate sonic landscape, unveiling new detail within its reverberant dense tapestry and complex noise palette. Features four untitled tracks originally on CD, each occupying an entire side of the vinyl, except for the track on side D, which shares the side with two bonus tracks. These tracks epitomize a profound and multifaceted sonic odyssey, harnessing various tapes and the raw power of analog instruments and tools such as EMS Synthia, metallic electronics, various filters, and processed audio mixer. The original artwork for the 1996 CD digipack, curated by Masami Akita, stands out for its minimalism and visual impact. The vinyl reissue faithfully replicates the graphics with a gatefold cover, enhancing the visual impact of the original artwork. The blending of pink and green colors creates a striking visual effect, highlighting the beauty of simplicity in Akita's graphic design. This limited vinyl reissue, expertly remastered by the wizard of mastering, James Plotkin, with 299 copies available on black vinyl, is a must-have for collectors, audiophiles, and fans of avant-garde music alike. Immerse yourself in the mesmerizing world of Merzbow's Oersted and experience the raw power and beauty of noise in its purest form.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: USE 002BOX

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Prepare to embark on a sonic odyssey as Urashima unveils the official reissue of Grim's groundbreaking Amaterasu 7". A visionary one-man project, crafted by Jun Konagaya, Grim transcends the conventional boundaries of industrial music, power electronics, and noise. Emerging from the ashes of the legendary White Hospital, Konagaya's artistic trajectory spans nearly three decades, with a unique ability to draw inspiration from a diverse array of influences, ranging from the abrasive sounds of Whitehouse and SPK to the haunting traditional folk music of Tibet. The Amaterasu 7" represents a pivotal moment in Grim's discography, a concise yet profoundly impactful exploration into the avant-garde realms of noise. In this meticulous reissue by Urashima, every nuance of the original release is faithfully preserved. The 14-page booklet, an integral part of the initial release, is reproduced with utmost precision, allowing enthusiasts to delve into the visual and thematic richness that accompanies Grim's sonic tapestries. The vinyl itself is housed in an exquisite wooden box, adorned with an intricately designed color-printed artwork by the artist, adding a tangible and aesthetic dimension to the overall presentation. As if the faithful reissue weren't enticing enough, this edition includes a tantalizing bonus -- a second 7" titled Tsukuyomi. Featuring three previously unreleased tracks, meticulously recorded during the same period as Amaterasu, this additional record serves as a portal to the creative process that defined Grim's sonic landscape during that specific epoch. Additionally, the box set includes a digital download, ensuring that enthusiasts can enjoy the avant-garde journey of Grim's Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi anytime, anywhere.

 

PRICE: $45.50

CAT #: USHI 020CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Akifumi Nakajima, renowned for his prolific and captivating work under the alias Aube, stands as one of Japan's most intriguing noise artists. His artistic prowess extends beyond the sonic realm, encompassing an impeccable sense of design and a deep appreciation for materials. Under his unique label G.R.O.S.S., dedicated to experimental music and noise, Nakajima's creativity flourished. His innovative approach to packaging, transcending conventional paper mediums, became a hallmark of his artistic identity. Discover Aube's sonic mastery in Sensory Symphonies, a meticulously curated box set featuring four iconic titles released in the '90s by Praxis Dr. Bearmann: Pulse Resonator, originally on red 12" vinyl with a transparent 7"; Throb In Manic Red, vibrant on red 12" vinyl; Sigh In Depressive Blue, profound on deep blue 12" vinyl; and Vas In Euthymic Violet, regal on royal purple 12" vinyl. Encased in a charming wooden box adorned with colorful artwork, this set not only captures the essence of Aube's visual and auditory creativity but also pays homage to each vinyl's unique aesthetics. The CD reissues within Sensory Symphonies faithfully reproduce the original artwork, making this box set a collector's treasure -- an invitation to explore the essential and fundamental elements of Nakajima's sonic landscape. Embarking on this sonic odyssey through Aube's captivating world, every CD within Sensory Symphonies has been masterfully remastered by Andrea Marutti, utilizing the DAT masters meticulously preserved in the G.R.O.S.S. archive. This ensures an unparalleled sonic experience that faithfully retains the intricacies of Nakajima's original artistic vision. The enchantment doesn't stop there -- nestled within the charming wooden box, you'll discover an insert featuring Cristiano Renzoni notes, offering insights into the contextual tapestry of Aube's sonic landscape. To further enhance your experience, each box set comes with a download code, providing access to digital copies of these timeless sonic explorations. Sensory Symphonies is more than a collection; it's an invitation to immerse yourself in the essence of Aube's artistry, beautifully preserved and thoughtfully presented.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: VAM 006X-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reinhold Molitor's self-titled LP (1969) offers a captivating journey through the rich tapestry of late 1960s Mexican music, yet it resonates deeply with the raw, organic sounds reminiscent of the early 1960s American underground folk scene. Each track on the album is a testament to Reinhold's musical prowess, with his English vocals weaving intricate narratives that transport listeners to distant realms. Accompanied by his trusty acoustic guitar, Reinhold's melodies evoke a sense of nostalgia and introspection, drawing listeners into a world where time seems to stand still. The music possesses a mesmerizing, almost hypnotic quality, with layers of depth and complexity that reveal themselves with each listen. The album's cover art, adorned with its whimsical imagery of the cosmos, serves as a fitting visual representation of the ethereal sounds contained within. It's as if Reinhold invites listeners to embark on a cosmic journey, exploring the mysteries of the universe through his music. Despite the album's seemingly tranquil surface, there's an underlying darkness that lurks beneath, adding a layer of intrigue and intensity to the listening experience. Reinhold's vocals, at times haunting and introspective, further enhance this atmospheric depth, drawing listeners into his world of introspection and contemplation. Hailing from Germany, Reinhold Molitor's musical journey took him to Mexico at the tender age of 19, where he collaborated with his brother Bodo Molitor, a fellow musician known for his own release Hits Internacionales from 1969. Together, they crafted an album that stands as a testament to the power of music to transcend boundaries and evoke profound emotions in listeners.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 297LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Brooklyn Sounds legendary 1971 debut album, full of heavy Nuyorican underground salsa dura propelled by raw trombones and in-your-face percussion, born of the barrio streets and the band's Caribbean heritage. Fully authorized by producer Bobby Marin, with liner notes detailing the Brooklyn Sounds story, featuring never-before seen photos and pressed on 180g vinyl. In the bustling rhythm-filled streets of 1970s New York, where the Latin music scene pulsated with energy, one clandestine project emerged from the shadows to become a hidden gem of raw, unfiltered musical brilliance -- the legendary Brooklyn Sounds! album. Crafted by the audacious Bobby Marin, a maestro with an appetite for risk, this masterpiece is not just an album; it's a sonic rebellion that echoes the untamed spirit of the city. The iconic album cover, a creation of the visionary Charlie Rosario, is a testament to the band's urban roots. A stark, black-and-white photograph of a snow-clad fire escape, rendered with high contrast, encapsulates the hard realities of the city that birthed Brooklyn Sounds' unmistakable sound. It's not just an album cover; it's a visual manifesto, a slice of New York's gritty soul frozen in time. As the reels rolled in the studio, capturing the essence of guaguanc?, son montuno, bomba, and Latin soul, the band's music spoke to the streets, telling tales of broken romance, Santer?a, Puerto Rican roots, and the unbridled revelry of the city that never sleeps. The recording exuded a savage, smoggy vibe, full of heavy Nuyorican underground salsa dura propelled by raw trombones and in-your-face percussion. Released under the audacious Salsa Records -- a name that turned heads and raised eyebrows -- Brooklyn Sounds! broke free from the mold, refusing to be confined by mainstream expectations. The LP became a sought-after treasure, transcending its low-budget origins. This hidden jewel, with its relentless rhythms and untamed spirit, never succumbed to the airwaves controlled by the big labels. It's a rebellion against the establishment, a testament to the band's refusal to conform. While Brooklyn Sounds may not have soared to mainstream heights, its impact echoes through collector circles worldwide, from Toronto to Tokyo, where enthusiasts crave the rare, the raw, and the rebellious. So, dive into the infectious beats, feel the authenticity pulsating through every track, and let Brooklyn Sounds! take you on a journey back to the untamed streets of 1970s New York.

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: VAMPI 298LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

A selection of 28 Colombian cumbia bangers for the dance floor from the deep vaults of Codiscos and associated labels Coste?o, Zeida and Famoso, all of them originally released between 1962 and 1983. Cumbia Cumbia Cumbia!!! combines well-known classics and rarities that are difficult to find in their original formats. An invitation to enjoy and be amazed, above and beyond ethnographic and academic concerns. The historical origins of cumbia in Colombia are nebulous and imprecise. The mythology surrounding it suggests an ancient past when Amerindian, African and European musical sounds were mixed together. The main record companies in Colombia such as Discos Fuentes, Discos Tropical, Sonolux, Zeida-Codiscos, Silver, Ondina, Discos Atlantic, Vergara and Curro were created between Barranquilla, Medell?n, Cartagena and Bogot? from 1936 to 1954. All of them, without exception, recorded Colombian tropical music that over the years was given different names such as porro, gaita, fandango, paseaito, merecumb?, mapal?, bullerengue or, of course, cumbia. After digging deep into the overwhelming archive of Discos Fuentes in the previous volume, this second instalment in the series Cumbia Cumbia Cumbia!!! comprises 28 Colombian cumbia bangers for the dance floor from the deep vaults of Codiscos and associated labels Coste?o, Zeida and Famoso, all of them originally released between 1962 and 1983. Legally established on July 1, 1950, Zeida (later Codiscos) was one of the companies that consolidated Medell?n as the epicenter of the Colombian recording industry in the central decade of the last century. Cumbia Cumbia Cumbia!!! combines well-known classics and rarities that are difficult to find in their original formats. An invitation to enjoy and be amazed, above and beyond ethnographic and academic concerns. Featuring Los Hermanos Martelo, Los Trotamundos, Antonio Le?n Y Su Conjunto, Antol?n Y Su Combo Orense, Francisco Zapata, Crescencio Salcedo, Sonidos De Gamero, Los Teen Agers, Miguel Villalba Y Su Conjunto, Calixto Ochoa, Alfredo Guti?rrez Y Los Caporales Del Magdalena, El Michi Y Su Combo Bravo, Los Graduados, Gabriel Mesa, Adolfo Pacheco Y Su Conjunto, El Conjunto Miramar, El Combo Cienaguero, La Sonora Universitaria, Orquesta De Marcial Marchena, Rita Fern?ndez, Jaime Llano Gonz?lez, Los Arko, Aniceto Molina Y Su Conjunto, Los Bobby Soxers, Catalino Y Su Combo Negro, La Cumbia Moderna De Soledad, Alejandro Bernal, and Grupo La Droga.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 299LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Guaracheros was released on MAG, in Peru, at the end of 1961 and includes six versions, four of them are of Cuban origin, and also original compositions masterfully performed by Nelson Ferreyra's Sonora. Nelson Ferreyra's career went from strength to strength, and was publicly recognized as an international figure of tropical music. This album is a brilliant reflection of MAG's tagline: "Si su fiesta le fracasa, discos MAG faltan en casa" ("If your party flops, you're missing MAG records at home"). First time reissue. The records Nelson Ferreya recorded at the MAG studios display his passion for Cuban music and particularly for guaracha, accompanied by the pianist Cano Romero, a personal friend who had played with him from the early days of his career, and would go on to find his own orchestra some years later. Kiko Hern?ndez, the lead singer, joined Ferreyra in almost all his future projects, until his early death in the seventies. Few countries outside Cuba embraced Guaracha as enthusiastically as Peru. Pancho Acosta, Kr?ffer Jim?nez, Oswaldo Barreto, and Nelson Ferreyra himself kept the genre alive with their compositions in the sixties and, in the following decade, several of the classics of the Peruvian cumbia movement are really guarachas composed in different parts of the country. "Guaracheros" (Kiko Hern?ndez and Pablo Villanueva) opens the LP, a highly crafted composition by Cano Romero. Maintaining the dance level, two songs by Nelson Ferreyra follow: "Con cencerro y timbal" and "Fiesta en el aire." The references to Venezuela in the lyrics are not accidental, as the LP was also distributed there, where it sold very well. Nelson Ferreyra's career went from strength to strength, and he went on to tour Panama, Chile and Ecuador. In the latter, he was publicly recognized as an international figure of tropical music.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: VAMPI 45103EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

This 7" single features two outstanding cumbias published on MAG in the '60s that have never been available on a 45 release before. Dance floor oriented tropical music at its best! MAG has been, since its foundation in 1953, a pivotal label in Peruvian music, allowing the development of the careers of both tropical artists and musicians of other genres such as rock, pop and jazz. At the head was Don Manuel Antonio Guerrero, its founder, and the name of the record company is nothing more than an acronym formed from its own name. (M.A.G.). Carlos Pickling was a legendary MAG artist who led the orchestra that accompanied Benny del Solar, Lita Branda, and Melcochitain the tropicalized version of Spanish rumba, when the beats of Iberian rumba were still exotic in South America, and he also played countless cumbias, mambos and guarachas. The distinctive sound of his Hammond organ can be heard on this recording, "Cumbia Morena," as it became his signature sound. Los Demonios de Corocochay were one of the first Andean cumbia bands in Peru and sported a unique sound spiced up with the textures of a playful organ, as can be heard on this superb "Cumbia en Dominante."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: VP 4252LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Freddie McKay's Creation album, expertly produced by Ossie Hibbert showcases a well-chosen blend of original, soon-to-be classics 'longside a selection of inspired anthemic do-overs. It's a measure of the quality of this release that these inspired interpretations stand up as equal to the Burning Spear and Dennis Brown originals. The selection of subtle dub versions of the songs included serve to highlight the brilliance of the musicians playing in the classical 'rockers' style that dominated the latter half of the seventies."

 

PRICE: $17.00

CAT #: VPRD 6359EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2024 repress. "J.D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun stated, 'For all the roughneck aggression meted out by most dancehall stars, it's worth noting that Jamaican pop still has its sweet side, and few singers can put that point across as convincingly as Dawn Penn does on 'No, No, No'.' He also noted the way her 'languid, drawling delivery plays off the slow, hypnotic pulse' of the track. Larry Flick from Billboard felt that Penn's 'sultry vocal presence on this sailing, instantly memorable dancehall jam belies the pensive nature of the song's story of lost love. An easy-paced groove chugs along with a hip-hop-ish vibe that could prove accessible to crossover and urban formats.'"

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: WG 084EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2024 repress. Adana Twins return to Watergate Records with a magnificent three-tracker that begs for a summer dancefloor (but the tracks are that good, they'll be played for a while to come). Since their label debut in 2017 with Flower of Cane, Adana Twins have become firm favorites of the Oberbaumbr?cke crew. From handling mix duties on Watergate 25 to holding down regular gigs at the club prior to 2020, the Hamburg duo always deliver. The Curve is their first release on WG since 2019's cracking remixes of Josh Wink's Higher State of Consciousness. The title track is a big bouncy electro cut packed with plenty of groove. A super fun production sure to bring a smile to your face. "Cyrus" belongs in a motion picture and is epic in composition. It traverses cyborg breaks before moving into a retro keyladen riff, all the while driven by a powerful "Silence/Violence" vocal. This was made for a big festival moment. "Alone" is the emotional final. At first propelled by an '80s synth and airy pads before a shimmering lead takes control and pushes the track into celestial terrain.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: WV 007CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"A long overdue reissue of the classic debut Plush album, More You Becomes You. Originally released in 1998. Described by Uncut magazine as 'One of the most charismatic and eccentric pop craftsmen of the past twenty years,' Liam Hayes has been making critically acclaimed records since the '90s. His first single 'Three-Quarters Blind Eyes b/w Found a Little Baby' released under the moniker Plush, was cited by the NME as being '..one of those rare records -- and incredibly rare debuts -- that instantly seems a classic.' Although he emerged from the Chicago indie-rock scene, Hayes is often compared with artists such as Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Laura Nyro, and Harry Nilsson. Like some of the best folk-pop or soft soul from the 1960s and 1970s there is a timeless quality to his music. This reissue of More You Becomes You was remastered from the original analog tapes by Jason Hillier and recut for vinyl by Bob Weston, who also remastered the CD and streaming formats. Includes a 20-page booklet put together by Liam and Jason Harvey, with sleeve notes by John Mulvey."