Forced Exposure New Releases for the Week of 7/17/2023

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: AKENAT 002LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Limited 2023 repress. Before the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, unleashing a horrifying genocide, Cambodia had one of the most vibrant and exciting music scenes in Asia. With a mixture of traditional Khmer music and a myriad of western genres (from French and Latin music, to rock-and-roll, rhythm-and-blues, surf, psychedelia, soul, and many more) the few pre 75 Cambodian recordings that survived -- most of them were destroyed -- are enough to make anyone with a taste for good music shocked by the amazing quality of the sounds created during those golden years. Gathered on Cambodian Nuggets are some of the most talented and unique musicians from that amazing era with an explosive collection of tracks sure to blow the mind of the listener. A celebration of some of the best music ever made. Features Ros Serey Sothea, Yol Aularong, Pan Ron, Tet Somnang & Meas Samon, Houy Meas & Dara Chom Chan, Choun Malai, Sinn Sisamouth, Liev Tuk, Thra Kha Band, Yol Aularong & Liev Tuk, Eng Nary, and Baksey Cham Krong + Mol Kamach. Edition of 500.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: TES 169LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Limited restock. Alga Marghen's third installment of Smegma's original "Suburban Primitive Avant-folk music" period (1973-1975) based in Pasadena, featuring three previously unreleased tracks from the deep vault of their home recordings. In the beginning, the band Smegma had only one rule. No musicians. Starting from scratch, they took the road much less traveled. They were inspired by outsider musical artists of the time such as John Cage, Sun Ra, Captain Beefheart, Wild Man Fisher, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, etc. and they recorded every experiment with youthful enthusiasm. Mostly they only succeeded in tormenting their own friends and neighbors (except for the few who joined the band) but somehow, they never chose imitation, but stumbles on a path that allowed past (shamanistic) and future (space) sounds to lead the way. The titled track gently pulls you in and carries you off with a way-out inner-mind group jamming/not-jamming trip, featuring prepared piano, modular synthesizer, human mouth sounds, pan pipes, tabla, and electric bass guitar. "Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow" (defiantly not the 1960s pop hit) rips you straight into a high energy New Years Eve Party jam, in a romping free jazz style with stream of consciousness vocals and exuberant alto sax solos. Side B starts with Beatnik finger popping and wild dogs barking from a record player, while breathless flute playing leads you down the rabbit hole of mysterious group vocalizing, including imitating the cry of the wild tropical parrots that lived in the palm trees in the front yard of the house in Pasadena that they had lived in. Always out of sync with their own time, 49 years later these tracks still throb and pulsate Beautifully with their own inner logic. Edition of 230.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: AMT 032EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

For their third release San Francisco based Indian duo Baalti bring the heat and delve into what they say is their most personally authentic release to date, disclosing the record reflects the various club sounds they've been enjoying and discovering over the past year. The five-track EP which they've titled Better Together, stays true to their signature sampling of nostalgic South Asian flavors derived from classic Indian, Pakistani, and Bangaldeshi music but on this occasion fused with a backdrop of breaks and euphoric club music which perfectly aligns with Seb Wildblood's All My Thoughts imprint to which the EP will be released on. The duo has kept a consistent emotive element to the music throughout the EP combined with the leftfield dancefloor sounds they've been vouching for more recently. About the release which will be their biggest yet, Baalti go on to explain: "With this record, we wanted to lean into clubbier energy that's been inspiring, enriching and energizing us. We're trying to connect where we come from to where we are right now, bringing sounds we grew up with to dancefloors and spaces we're part of today. It's our most sincere and complete expression yet, and we've tried to capture all of the feelings we had from a year of touring, living with our bffs, being in love, finding amazing communities through music, and getting more connected with each other as a duo." For fans of: Overmono, Kareem Ali, Dauwd, Nikki Nair.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: ARMA 482CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

As some may recall, there used to be a time when trance music was stylistically boxed in. Either it fit the predominant view of high-energy uplifting to a tee, or a barrage of "this is not trance" comments would be imminent. But over time, even the most headstrong purists came to realize that trance music can't, won't and shouldn't be pigeonholed. It's about breaking the mold instead, to capture that particular feeling no matter the tempo or the sound. And that notion is echoed by the twentieth installment of his A State of Trance mix album series: A State of Trance 2023 (mixed by Armin van Buuren). Brandishing tracks from artists such as Ahmed Helmy, Ben Gold, Bryan Kearney, Eelke Kleijn, Ferry Corsten, Luke Bond, Maarten de Jong, and Maddix across three sides rather than the usual two, A State Of Trance 2023 shows that the essence of trance music reaches far, wide and beyond the once-imposed borders. From the slower, melodic house, and techno-tinged tracks you hear on the beach to the crossbreed bangers played in the club to the highly energetic "Who's Afraid Of 138?!" tunes that tears the dance floor apart, the mix album imparts that the genre's diversity is a major strength rather than a flaw. And if you could just take that view and apply it to the grand scheme of things, the world may just become a much better place. Also features HRRTZ, Julia Church, BetweenUs, KASIA, Sonicvibe & Tachyean, Hel:sløwed & That Girl, The Blizzard, ChangedFaces & Harry Diamond, Émilie Rachel, UUFO, Matt Fax, Cubicore, Jonas Saalbach, Super8 & Tab and Crowd+Ctrl, Jess Ball, Laura van Dam, Giuseppe Ottaviani & Ilan Bluestone, DIM3NSION, JODA, Myon, Norni, D72, Luca Morris, M6, Whiteout, Daxson, Stuart Crichton, Solarstone Vini Vici, ALBA, Doppenberg, Mhammed El Alami, Justine Suissa, Vanessa Campagna, Bogdan Vix & UUFO, Driftmoon, Artento Divini x XiJaro & Pitch, Ben Gold, John Askew, Miditekk, Inoblivion, Steve Dekay, and David Forbes.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: AUS 186EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Amy Dabbs and Athlete Whippet deliver a perfectly crafted journey through house music with Into You on Aus Music. The duo's different yet wholly complementary musical backgrounds -- Amy Dabbs bringing her extensive experience as a DJ & electronic music producer, and Athlete Whippet with his background as an instrumentalist & live band musician -- have created a winning combination on Into You EP. The product of which is an intricately composed, highly musical suite of tracks produced to perfection for the dancefloor. Having met for the first time at Cinthie's Elevate store in early 2021 for her DJ Kicks launch party, the compilation featuring one of Dabbs' earlier tracks, Amy Dabbs & Athlete Whippet stayed in touch, which culminated in the decision to start working together in the studio in their shared hometown of Berlin. Amy Dabbs has released a string of lauded 12"s since her 2020 debut, including her latest highly acclaimed EP on Shall Not Fade, in addition to collaborating with Coco Bryce, launching her own imprint Dabbs Traxx last year, and featuring regularly on BBC Radio1 Dance. Athlete Whippet, headed up by Robin Braum, have delivered a myriad of esteemed releases across Toy Tonics, Rhythm Section and Tartelet, which have earned heavy support from Pete Tong, Jamz Supernova and Tom Ravenscroft, to name a few. Teaming up for the first time here, Amy Dabbs & Robin Braum deliver a fiery three-tracker for Will Saul's Aus Music, covering a variety of moods across the versatile EP. Kicking off the A-side is 'Deep In Your Love', with swirling pads and emotive strings tangling around a tear-jerking vocal refrain, which make for a highly moving opener. A2, 'Into You,' continues the emotional journey with lively percussion, subby basslines, and sensuous vocal samples overlaid with luscious analogue chords played out on the Juno 106. On the flip, 'Milkshake' closes out proceedings with a glorious blend of anthemic hands-in-the-air piano riffs and deep acid grooves. This track is a surefire summer hit, set to ignite airwaves and the dancefloor in equal measure.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: BW 012CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

First collaboration between Massimo Amato (also known for his acclaimed La Centrale Elettrica (2016) album), and Fabio Orsi, born from a mutual esteem that later became a solid friendship. The collaboration was born from an exchange of material, which immediately creates a synergy and an understanding between them. The six tracks of Inerte draw inspiration from the composition of noble gases, creating the perfect synthesis between the sidereal and electronic sounds created by Fabio Orsi and the warm improvisations of Massimo Amato. Ambient textures with punctual rhythms, abstract, and melodic electronic that create dreamy atmospheres for a journey that you might wish would never end... Fabio Orsi and Massimo Amato play: synths, sequencers, effects. Artwork: Nicola Giunta. Edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $66.00

CAT #: BLUME 019-20LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Limited repress! Blume Editions announce the long-awaited first-time vinyl pressing of the New York based composer Phill Niblock's seminal Four Full Flutes, restoring the album to the format for which it was originally conceived. Created in collaboration with the flutists Petr Kotik, Susan Stenger, and Eberhard Blum toward the end of the 1970s, the album's four compositions belong to Niblock's radical rethinking of the possibilities and terms of tape music and microtonalism, the effects of which continue to ripple across the field of experimental to this day. Created in full collaboration with the composer with newly commissioned liner notes by Bradford Bailey, David First, few artifacts of minimalism's second wave have proven to have had such an enduring effect. Niblock's third full-length dates from the same era of compositions as its predecessors, but found Niblock's attitude toward the potential activated by home playback moderately changed. Four Full Flutes comprises four works, roughly 20 minutes each, composed for flute by Niblock toward the end of the '70s and early '80s. Each deploys the compositional system within which he has worked for the better part of his career; combining sustained tones of specific durations, rigorously produced at microtonal intervals by the respective musicians, before arriving at their final form through meticulous work with magnetic tape on the part of the composer. Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi. Deluxe wooden box with velvet lining; red vinyl, audiophile pressing, housed in Nagaoka anti-static record sleeves; includes an original LP-sized extensive booklet and a 60x90cm iconic poster designed by Bruno Stucchi/Dinamomilano; edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: BORNBAD 167CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

"... Watching a movie by Tati is a surprising experience; in his films, sound and music speak more than do words, overtaking the conventional discourse -- and boredom -- of adulthood. Hulot remains silent, or mumbles. Tati knows all about the noises of the modern world: beeps, rings, crackles, pneumatic drill, cars, mechanical, electrical and rubbery sounds, the high heels of secretaries and typewriters, factory noises, creaking doors, sighing chairs, machines and technical machines, franglais, vacuum cleaners and the whole range of small appliances... With all of that urban and domestic jumble, plastics of all sorts, linoleum and formica, he composes a virtuoso partition. Signs and signals, warning sounds and sirens mislead us in the urban space. Tati maliciously disorients us. Maximalist, he records on five tracks in skillful, tasteful rhythms -- a pleasure for the senses. Hearing Mon Oncle, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot, Play Time changes one's outlook onto the world -- never again will you perceive the noises of towns and villages in the same way. The modern city is Hulot's playground -- with it he invents a totally new soundscape. Then there's the organic, the countryside, the barking dogs, the wasp bothering François on his bicycle, all the way to the mailman's fall into the river . . . Tati masters the art of tempo -- there's not one sound, one note, one silence too many in the scenario. Pure sophistication. So try it tonight; put the record on, lie down, close your eyes and listen . . . Should you not ever have seen one Tati's brilliant films, nor his footwork and melancholy jokes, nor Hulot's poetic, funny perdition and all of his other meticulously sketched characters, then you're in for a trip . . . The world's noises concern and amuse him; they say just as much as the image does, take it into modernity, tell of our shortcomings, maladjustment and bewilderment. From music hall he kept a liking for Foley and the art of recreating sounds in a poetic otherworld. From the villages he brought back the funfair and the accordion; from the modern town: music the American way, jazz, some very Parisian tunes, and other merry-go-round melodies... Even without the images, it's still cinema! What's more: for his last scenario, Confusion, Tati had planned to collaborate with the Sparks, the talented band behind the soundtrack for Annette, Léos Carax's surprising film..." --Macha Makeieff Includes English and French liner notes.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BORNBAD 167LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Double-LP version. Comes with printed undersleeve; includes download code. "... Watching a movie by Tati is a surprising experience; in his films, sound and music speak more than do words, overtaking the conventional discourse -- and boredom -- of adulthood. Hulot remains silent, or mumbles. Tati knows all about the noises of the modern world: beeps, rings, crackles, pneumatic drill, cars, mechanical, electrical and rubbery sounds, the high heels of secretaries and typewriters, factory noises, creaking doors, sighing chairs, machines and technical machines, franglais, vacuum cleaners and the whole range of small appliances... With all of that urban and domestic jumble, plastics of all sorts, linoleum and formica, he composes a virtuoso partition. Signs and signals, warning sounds and sirens mislead us in the urban space. Tati maliciously disorients us. Maximalist, he records on five tracks in skillful, tasteful rhythms -- a pleasure for the senses. Hearing Mon Oncle, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot, Play Time changes one's outlook onto the world -- never again will you perceive the noises of towns and villages in the same way. The modern city is Hulot's playground -- with it he invents a totally new soundscape. Then there's the organic, the countryside, the barking dogs, the wasp bothering François on his bicycle, all the way to the mailman's fall into the river . . . Tati masters the art of tempo -- there's not one sound, one note, one silence too many in the scenario. Pure sophistication. So try it tonight; put the record on, lie down, close your eyes and listen . . . Should you not ever have seen one Tati's brilliant films, nor his footwork and melancholy jokes, nor Hulot's poetic, funny perdition and all of his other meticulously sketched characters, then you're in for a trip . . . The world's noises concern and amuse him; they say just as much as the image does, take it into modernity, tell of our shortcomings, maladjustment and bewilderment. From music hall he kept a liking for Foley and the art of recreating sounds in a poetic otherworld. From the villages he brought back the funfair and the accordion; from the modern town: music the American way, jazz, some very Parisian tunes, and other merry-go-round melodies... Even without the images, it's still cinema! What's more: for his last scenario, Confusion, Tati had planned to collaborate with the Sparks, the talented band behind the soundtrack for Annette, Léos Carax's surprising film..." --Macha Makeieff Includes English and French liner notes.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: BPX 024EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Berlin-based artist ASEC steps up for the latest release from BPitch Control. A creative force who is driven by the dancefloor, while also maintaining his own personal perspective, ASEC delivers four distinct cuts. Swathed in universally relatable emotion, the inspiration for this release came from "the idea of making decisions that are irreversible and the weight that can come with that. The indecision, the fear and the finality of making difficult choices." "Crossing The Rubicon" sets the EP off to a galloping start with a contagious rhythm and an unsettling melody. It's dark, yet utterly danceable, striking a delicate balance between beats and atmospherics. The title track follows, with ASEC's penchant for modular synths giving the cut plenty of flavor and character. Propelled by snub-nosed kicks and shifting percussion, this is a deep dive into the mind of a considered artist. Next up it's "Our Light In Momentary Troubles", a dense composition with thick solid low end frequencies dancing side by side with a gnarly analogue riff. Finally, "Bleep Test (Tool Mix)" closes the EP, utilizing the power of repetition to ensnare the listener. An utterly hypnotic cut that will keep you hooked to the very end...

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: BPX 027EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Ellen Allien joins forces with Italian synth wave band Ash Code for a formidable collaborative project. Across three tracks they merge their creative energy to produce the fearsome EP -- Dance And Kill. The three track EP represents a perfect marriage of two potent and distinctive sounds, with both acts firing on all cylinders. Across the EP eerie vocal clips, vigorous percussion, stomping bass, distorted vocals, and ominous instrumentation demonstrate the parallels between these sounds. Opening track "Dance And Kill" embodies this melding of techno and cold wave elements. "Shining On You" features Ellen's vocals and thunderous drum programming, for a somber yet irresistibly danceable track. Finally, "Everything Collapses" unleashes vigorous percussion and a snarling low end, lifted by a chorus of supernatural voices.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: BPX 028EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Matasism follows on from his acclaimed BPitch Control debut with four new deep cuts of underground rave heat. The Music Is Control Of Your Acid Mind finds the Rome-born, USA-based artist subverting aspects of trance, industrial, and EBM into unrelenting techno bangers grounded by an authentic rave spirit.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BUBBLES 005LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; LP version. Erlend Øye is a skinny nerd, but maybe that's what makes him a pop star. His huge thick spectacle-lenses act as an interface between his inner life and his numerous collaborators and fans. Erlend Øye is a travelling singer-songwriter who has been making music in various constellations since the late '90s. He sang for Röyksopp, while his own bands are Kings Of Convenience and The Whitest Boy Alive, who recently split up. A laid-back, everyday vibe runs through Erlend Øye's music. Erlend is not larger than life, at the most his songs may be. The pop star from next-door doesn't make any drama, but leaves that to life itself. His relaxed, laid back sound opens your eyes and ears for places, situations and encounters. A certain mournfulness runs through the songs, although they deal with a longing for self-fulfillment. Erlend sings of loneliness, and in doing so, he creates a "we." Until now, Erlend's projects have often been based on simple concepts -- two guitars and two vocals with Kings Of Convenience, and four instruments with The Whitest Boy Alive. With his new solo album he frees himself of these parameters; for the first time, everything is possible, for the first time Erlend Øye stands alone. The songs on Legao were arranged and recorded with the Icelandic reggae band Hjálmar. The magic of Legao lies in the fact that Erlend's vulnerable vocals and his sincere lyrics are supported by the elegance and consistency of the band. Today, roughness is often used to counterbalance roughness, whereas on Legao, equilibrium is sought -- and found. A simplicity, clarity and minimalism is created that is rarely found in pop music. Erlend Øye has grown up. He accomplishes nothing less than the step towards an independent, free-standing solo musician, who can perform in any constellation -- with a band, orchestra or alone with a guitar.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BB 432LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. "Taking inspiration from deep in the mediaeval mists of times long past, CV Vision comes riding over the hills like a knight to the rescue, and his new album Im Tal Der Stutzer is packed full of galloping drums, feudal prog riffs and poetic lyrics harking back to a golden age. You might've caught CV Vision in Berlin, either on stage or behind the mixer at some of his favorite clubs like Arkaoda, Heiners or O Tannenbaum. He could be accompanied by synths, or drum kit, or even full band -- channeling his love of Bo Hansson and Claude Larson, or Soft Machine and Picchio dal Pozzo. Always heavy on the backbeat, the songs awash with heady synths and expansive psych inversions. For this record, CV Vision recruited two wayfaring collaborators in the form of songwriter and musician Martha Rose, and drummer Uno Bruniusson. They started the project at the dawn of the Covid outbreak, and it quickly became a coping mechanism against the lockdown. During those months of uncertainty, the collaboration blossomed into a sanctuary of psychedelic prog, acid folk, and warped feudal weirdness, a refuge built on layered synth lines and reel-to-reel delays. Im Tal Der Stutzer invites you into its kaleidoscopic reality from the get-go -- from the pulsating swing of 'Die Frommen Wanderer' and frenetic synth arpeggios of 'Die Nachricht Schneller als der Wind', to the misty-eyed folk of 'Lichtermond'. The whole record is punctuated with field recordings of ironmongers and cowherds and campfires, adding to the theatre. It's a testament to the wide-ranging world that CV Vision has created, that he can at once invoke the 'Hildebrandslied' while sounding like a library record that DJ Shadow might've sampled. In CV Vision verse, it all makes perfect sense." --Max Cole

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: BB 433CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

With Attack Time by sound tinkerer Zeus B. Held, Bureau B is re-releasing one of the most exciting records of the original experimental kraut-pop period. After various stints, including prog band Birth Control and underground dance tipple Gina X Performance, he also put out a string of solo releases. Attack Time, originally released on Aladin in 1981, gave Zeus B. Held the opportunity to experiment sonically outside the mainstream and subversively undermine the hegemonic MTV sound of the early 1980s. Unfortunately, the album was a commercial failure at the time. So, it's all the nicer that it's now being brought out into the world again with all its supposed contradictions between enraptured new wave, cosmic electronics and weird rock grooves."Zeus B. Held's origin story begins behind the keyboards of progressive powerhouse Birth Control, a six-year stint which saw his technique toughened in the crucible of hundreds of all night performances. After a brief pause in Paris to session for those space-age cyborgs Rockets, he came back to Köln in '78 and swapped commune living for a spot in the city. Soon he was picking up session work at the local Sound Experience studio and indulging his electronic obsession on a couple of solo LPs, Zeus' Amusement and Europium. In league with like-minded studio owner Martin Hömberg and art scene savant Gina Kikoine, Zeus took his new sound even further with a trio of icy electropop LPs as Gina X Performance. Their combination of queer culture, disco rhythms, and synthesizer sleaze captured the underground dancefloor, influencing Human League and Martin Gore, and making a splash at Arista, who were looking for someone to handle production duties on Fashion's sophomore album. Relocating to London in '82, Zeus spent a decade behind the desk for the likes of John Foxx, Dead Or Alive, and Pete Wylie, cementing his position among the pantheon of studio greats, where he's remained ever since . . . Recorded in '80 and '81 after the third GXP album wrapped, Attack Time is Zeus on the loose in Sound Experience, spending late nights alone learning how to play the studio as an instrument. Pre-MIDI and prior to the sampling revolution of the Fairlight, the ten tracks are awash with analogue techniques -- snip tapes and Revox time dilation, the pulsing PPG modular, groan tubes and eerie collages from the studio dustbin..." --Patrick Ryder

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BB 433LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. With Attack Time by sound tinkerer Zeus B. Held, Bureau B is re-releasing one of the most exciting records of the original experimental kraut-pop period. After various stints, including prog band Birth Control and underground dance tipple Gina X Performance, he also put out a string of solo releases. Attack Time, originally released on Aladin in 1981, gave Zeus B. Held the opportunity to experiment sonically outside the mainstream and subversively undermine the hegemonic MTV sound of the early 1980s. Unfortunately, the album was a commercial failure at the time. So, it's all the nicer that it's now being brought out into the world again with all its supposed contradictions between enraptured new wave, cosmic electronics and weird rock grooves."Zeus B. Held's origin story begins behind the keyboards of progressive powerhouse Birth Control, a six-year stint which saw his technique toughened in the crucible of hundreds of all night performances. After a brief pause in Paris to session for those space-age cyborgs Rockets, he came back to Köln in '78 and swapped commune living for a spot in the city. Soon he was picking up session work at the local Sound Experience studio and indulging his electronic obsession on a couple of solo LPs, Zeus' Amusement and Europium. In league with like-minded studio owner Martin Hömberg and art scene savant Gina Kikoine, Zeus took his new sound even further with a trio of icy electropop LPs as Gina X Performance. Their combination of queer culture, disco rhythms, and synthesizer sleaze captured the underground dancefloor, influencing Human League and Martin Gore, and making a splash at Arista, who were looking for someone to handle production duties on Fashion's sophomore album. Relocating to London in '82, Zeus spent a decade behind the desk for the likes of John Foxx, Dead Or Alive, and Pete Wylie, cementing his position among the pantheon of studio greats, where he's remained ever since . . . Recorded in '80 and '81 after the third GXP album wrapped, Attack Time is Zeus on the loose in Sound Experience, spending late nights alone learning how to play the studio as an instrument. Pre-MIDI and prior to the sampling revolution of the Fairlight, the ten tracks are awash with analogue techniques -- snip tapes and Revox time dilation, the pulsing PPG modular, groan tubes and eerie collages from the studio dustbin..." --Patrick Ryder

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: BB 435CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Klar!80: a label with no program This compilation represents an initial -- and long overdue -- foray into the years 1980-82, when Klar!80 was a cassette label, paired with a shop of the same name in Düsseldorf. Founded by Rainer Rabowski, Klar!80 released 18 cassettes of varying length and a box set containing three 12" vinyl EPs which fetch handsome prices among collectors nowadays. The Klar!80 - Ein Kassettenlabel aus Düsseldorf 1980-1982 collection reaches even further back in time than the Sammlung: Düsseldorfer Kassettenmusik 1982-1989 (BB 236CD/LP, 2017) collection, similarly curated by Stefan Schneider, which focused on the mid-1980s Düsseldorf cassette scene. It captures the brief period between the end of punk and the looming capitalization and digitalization of so many aspects of life."Spontaneity and understatement characterized the brief creative period of Klar!80, which lasted from April 1980 until October 1982 . . . The DIY ethos of punk saw the emergence of a new type of producer: an instrumentalist, arranger, author, publisher, manufacturer and retailer all in one. Cassettes pre-empted the influence of personal computers to the extent that they enabled a single person to cover multiple steps in the production process which had hitherto been the remit of specialists. The musicians who release their works on Klar!80 are, at once, distinctly individual spirits and yet related, familiar and yet unfamiliar, like-minded and yet, and yet not... the personal is mixed with adjacent art. New forms of collaboration are explored, sometimes lasting only as long as a single recording session: from a band to a project. So it was that Klar!80 introduced the early experiments of Christo Haas and Beate Bartel, performing here as CHBB, to the world. Before long, they would enter the international dance charts with their pulsating sequencer sounds as Liaisons Dangereuses. Eva Gössling imported no wave from New York to Düsseldorf, grafting electronic and motoric elements into the sound. Strafe für Rebellion, who opened the record with a sculptural sonic collage, would later release numerous albums on the prestigious Touch label in London. Today, the Aachener Strasse shop in the Bilk district of Düsseldorf survives in a few Polaroid pictures and video recordings made by Agi Yuzuru and Mamoru Shibuya, two journalists visiting from Osaka. The label shut down in October 1982 and, in the years that followed, the original cassettes, master tapes and artwork were either given away or misplaced. The recordings you can listen to here have been gleaned from private collections of well-preserved cassettes, painstakingly restored and digitalized..." --Rainer Rabowski and Stefan Schneider, Düsseldorf March 2023Features Strafe für Rebellion, Roter Stern Belgrad, Und Piloten, Europa, Ralph & Ernie, Xao Seffcheque und der Rest, Rara, Axel & Ralph, Eraserhead, P.Projekta / G.Ranzz, CHBB, and BLÄSSE.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BB 435LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Klar!80: a label with no program This compilation represents an initial -- and long overdue -- foray into the years 1980-82, when Klar!80 was a cassette label, paired with a shop of the same name in Düsseldorf. Founded by Rainer Rabowski, Klar!80 released 18 cassettes of varying length and a box set containing three 12" vinyl EPs which fetch handsome prices among collectors nowadays. The Klar!80 - Ein Kassettenlabel aus Düsseldorf 1980-1982 collection reaches even further back in time than the Sammlung: Düsseldorfer Kassettenmusik 1982-1989 (BB 236CD/LP, 2017) collection, similarly curated by Stefan Schneider, which focused on the mid-1980s Düsseldorf cassette scene. It captures the brief period between the end of punk and the looming capitalization and digitalization of so many aspects of life."Spontaneity and understatement characterized the brief creative period of Klar!80, which lasted from April 1980 until October 1982 . . . The DIY ethos of punk saw the emergence of a new type of producer: an instrumentalist, arranger, author, publisher, manufacturer and retailer all in one. Cassettes pre-empted the influence of personal computers to the extent that they enabled a single person to cover multiple steps in the production process which had hitherto been the remit of specialists. The musicians who release their works on Klar!80 are, at once, distinctly individual spirits and yet related, familiar and yet unfamiliar, like-minded and yet, and yet not... the personal is mixed with adjacent art. New forms of collaboration are explored, sometimes lasting only as long as a single recording session: from a band to a project. So it was that Klar!80 introduced the early experiments of Christo Haas and Beate Bartel, performing here as CHBB, to the world. Before long, they would enter the international dance charts with their pulsating sequencer sounds as Liaisons Dangereuses. Eva Gössling imported no wave from New York to Düsseldorf, grafting electronic and motoric elements into the sound. Strafe für Rebellion, who opened the record with a sculptural sonic collage, would later release numerous albums on the prestigious Touch label in London. Today, the Aachener Strasse shop in the Bilk district of Düsseldorf survives in a few Polaroid pictures and video recordings made by Agi Yuzuru and Mamoru Shibuya, two journalists visiting from Osaka. The label shut down in October 1982 and, in the years that followed, the original cassettes, master tapes and artwork were either given away or misplaced. The recordings you can listen to here have been gleaned from private collections of well-preserved cassettes, painstakingly restored and digitalized..." --Rainer Rabowski and Stefan Schneider, Düsseldorf March 2023Features Strafe für Rebellion, Roter Stern Belgrad, Und Piloten, Europa, Ralph & Ernie, Xao Seffcheque und der Rest, Rara, Axel & Ralph, Eraserhead, P.Projekta / G.Ranzz, CHBB, and BLÄSSE.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: BSR 863LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Long out of print reggae soul album from 1978 now back in vinyl."

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: CPT 615EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Super bitter-sweet ballad. Like 70% cacao chocolate. Tomasz Guiddo teams up with legendary Vienna crooner Louie Austen (remember all his hits on Cheap, KittyYo, Tirk, G-Stone, Klein Records, Etage Noir). On the flip side of this 7" the Columbian superdons Meridian Brothers turn this into real mambo madness, which gives the ballad a joyful twist.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: CVSD 096CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Raining Spiderlings is a text and sound art project by Nikolai Galen and Sarmen Almond. Galen is a singer, actor, and writer living in Istanbul; also known as Nick Hobbs, he was the singer in the incredible 1980s post-punk band The Shrubs, for a period roadie'd for Captain Beefheart and managed Henry Cow, Pere Ubu, and Laibach, and has worked in many other contexts from free-improvised music to experimental theater. Almond is a musician, voice performer, and intermedia artist based in Mexico City; she identifies the human voice as a focal point of her work. Superstition, Raining Spiderlings' maiden voyage, features voice and electronics and occasional instruments. Voice with words, sometimes without. The twosome mine a rich zone of comprovisation, an area between composition and improvisation, each track coming together intuitively, iteratively, as files are sent back and forth between the artists from their respective cities, worked and reworked to achieve an optimal level of intrigue. For Superstition, Galen wrote fourteen (let's call it 13 + 1, for evident reasons) texts around the title's loose theme, recording them as performed poems. Some of the poetry ("1492," for instance) started life many years ago and was later revised for the album and some was written after Galen and Almond started work on the project. All the words were rigorously scrutinized and recast before being recorded a dozen or so times, then edited into composites. Galen's recitations include poetical rhythms but no strict, musical rhythms, and they're dramatically recited rather than sung. In the mode of a theatrical or cinematic sound-designer, Almond freely reworked the vocal recordings electronically, carefully editing and placing Galen's voice according to what she calls creative mixing. Initiated organically, this process of recording, editing, and interweaving led to the resulting album. The title Superstition is borrowed from Panthéâtre's 2021 live-streamed Myth & Theatre Festival of the same name. Deep points of reference for Galen include Firesign Theatre and early Zappa, bold pioneers of the riddles of the larynx. An ominous, atmospheric, sometimes claustrophobic mix of sound and word. Galen's recordings were made at The Attic in Cihangir, Istanbul. Almond's recordings and the mixing were made at Alquimia Vocal in Mexico City. The texts were mostly written during 2021-22; some have their origins in texts written years ago. Mastering: Zlaya Hadzich (LOUD). Includes 40-page, full-color booklet; includes original photographs by Galen.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: CVSD 097CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

First-ever reissue. 11th Street Fire Suite is a post-BAG (Black Artists Group) classic. An emotionally ranging set of blues-drenched duets by alto saxophonist Luther Thomas and flutist Luther C. Petty, it's one of the great documents of the St. Louis creative music diaspora, a wild ride through turbulent and beautiful terrain on a slab of vinyl that's as rare as hen's teeth in its original form. Relocated from their midwestern hometown to New York City, Thomas and Petty entered the studio in 1978 with a fellow musician, clarinetist Peter Kuhn, sympathetically recording and ultimately mixing their LP. The sound is extremely direct and penetrating, Thomas's keening, braying horn sending the proverbial needle popping, his brusque ballads captured in all their hoarse glory. Thomas was the loose cannon of the BAG gang. His debut record, Funky Donkey, which was released a year before 11th Street Fire Suite (1977), also on his own Creative Consciousness label, sewed together elements of free jazz, unbridled funk, and gutbucket blues in a garment with all its seams showing. In New York, his raw approach was somehow perfectly timely, a free jazz suited to no wave listeners. This was the pinnacle period for Thomas. His ongoing partnership with drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw resulted in the 1978 Black Saint LP, Junk Trap; Jef Gilson recorded a Thomas-led throwdown at PALM studios in Paris that was issued as I Can't Figure Out (Whatcha Doin' to Me) on the German Moers label in 1979, and Thomas formed his expressly funky band Dizazz in the early '80s, also recording for Moers. Back in NYC, Thomas was a regular at the Squat Theatre on West 23rd Street, working with James Chance and Defunkt, among others. Petty was hot, too, for a brief moment in these years, playing with Lester Bowie's Sho Nuff Orchestra and gigging actively around New York. A decade later, with a heroin addiction on his shoulder, Petty would make his living busking as "The Flute Man" outside Yankee Stadium. But here, midstride, in an intimate, often explosive woodwind suite, he and Thomas marshal all the forces of creative music, from the openness of the midwestern AACM-style space-play, replete with little instruments, to the ferocity and unforgivingness of the Big Apple and its competitive loft scene. Thomas spent his latter years living in Copenhagen. He died at the untimely age of 59 in 2009. 11th Street Fire Suite stands as one of Thomas's master strokes, a perfect encapsulation of the dark energy of its era and the brightness of its shooting star. Remastered from the original tapes. Features facsimile reproduction of the original cover.

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: CVSDLP 009LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

At the beginning of 2017, Chicago vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz brought a quintet into the hallowed halls of Electrical Audio, Steve Albini's legendary studio. The project was intended as a session to wax music for a new film, Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago, a documentary by Rob Christopher based on the Roy's World series of short stories by Barry Gifford. With Christopher producing and providing guidance in terms of imagery, but without a film to cut to, Adasiewicz wrote music aimed at creating a specific set of atmospheres, basically making a record before any footage was chosen. "In a way, it was always a record, since I didn't have anything to look at or to hamper me," says Adasiewicz. "I had to write the tunes, that was it." For the session, he brought together a crack team to bring the charts to life, a task they more than accomplished. Hamid Drake is one of the most storied drummers in creative music, here alloying with bassist Joshua Abrams (Natural Information Society once included Adasiewicz in its ranks). Together, the rhythm section's momentum is unstoppable, and when they stretch out or dig into a sizzling swing, as on "Rudy's Basement," their thirst is unquenchable. Adasiewicz switches to balafon on "Blue People" and the groove bubbles and pops with the force of a Fela Kuti burner. On the front line, saxophonist Jonathan Doyle brings a slinky joy to Jason's tunes, and cornetist Josh Berman adds his own tart inventions to the mix. Doyle, Berman, and Adasiewicz have worked together since the late '90s when they started An Diamo, a band that never released a proper record. Adasiewicz hangs back a bit in terms of soloing -- it's really an ensemble effort, the spotlight on the gorgeous compositions and spacious sensibility, a perfect complement to Christopher's fascinating, beautiful film, which has a noir vibe set in a fifties version of the Windy City conjured by means of vintage found footage, narration by Willam Dafoe, Matt Dillon, and Lilli Taylor, and Adasiewicz's score. Bluesy, swing-ful charts with elements that might recall the post-hard-bop Blue Note records of folks like Andrew Hill, Sam Rivers, and Grachan Moncur III, Roy's World is more than a great soundtrack record, it's a killer program of new tunes played by a monstrously strong band recorded and mixed at one of the world's finest facilities. Includes "The Recital," a never-published story by Gifford printed in the LP gatefold.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: DC 862LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Critically-acclaimed, criminally-overachieving Glasgow-based singer and guitarist Alasdair Roberts is known as a superlative original songwriter as well as an interpreter of traditional songs from Scotland and beyond. For the past twenty years, his recordings have alternated between these two complimentary poles, with 'pop' records such as The Amber Gatherers and A Wonder Working Stone nestling in his expansive back catalogue alongside 'folk' albums such as No Earthly Man and What News (with Amble Skuse and David McGuinness). Additionally, all of these records possess a further dimension, derived from their collation of songs together into one album-length statement. This is part of Alasdair's great achievement in his career -- for him, this thing of music and song hasn't come the eons it's travelled to simply entertain. These impulses fully present and well honed, Alasdair returns to his roots with Grief in the Kitchen and Mirth in the Hall, his fifth full-length collection of traditional song. Recorded live in the studio, it is an entirely solo collection of twelve traditional ballads and songs sparsely arranged for acoustic guitar, piano and voice. The majority of the songs originate in Alasdair's homeland of Scotland, with a couple from Ireland and one from Prince Edward Island on Canada's eastern seaboard too . . . Collectively the songs treat of various conflicts and tensions -- those of gender; of class, status and position; and of geography and tribal belonging ? and the roles and responsibilities expected at the various intersections of these constructs . . . As with many of Alasdair's recordings, Grief in the Kitchen and Mirth in the Hall contains ballads aplenty: tragic ('Bob Norris'), supernatural ('The Holland Handkerchief') and dramatic ('Eppie Morrie'). There are love songs ('The Lichtbob's Lassie') and anti-love songs ('Kilbogie'). There are rare, seldom-heard pieces ('Young Airly') and much more well-known ones ('Mary Mild,' a version of 'The Queen's Four Maries'). Woven through all of this -- a thread of levity, perhaps -- is a triptych of zoological allegories -- a panegyric to a mystical steed ('The Wonderful Grey Horse'), a lament for a lost cow ('Drimindown') and a paean to a regal waterbird ('The Bonny Moorhen'), which serves to highlight the intersection of the mythic, the eternal and the mundane at which we all find ourselves in every day of our life on Earth. Grief In the Kitchen and Mirth in the Hall was masterfully recorded by Sam Smith at Green Door Studios, Glasgow over an economical two days, and mixed in one day..."

 

PRICE: $38.50

CAT #: ES 006LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

Introducing Beats on Boat Vol. 2, the highly anticipated compilation album featuring some of the most talented and respected names in the lo-fi hip-hop scene. This project promises to deliver a unique blend of chill beats and groovy rhythms that will transport listeners to a world of laid-back vibes. One of the standout features of this album is how each artist brings their own unique style to the table. From FloFilz's jazzy beats to Made in M's dreamy soundscapes, listeners can expect a diverse range of sounds and textures that will keep them hooked like fish on a rod. Another thing that sets Beats on Boat Vol. 2 apart from other compilations is the focus on both lo-fi hip-hop and lo-fi house. While these two genres may seem vastly different at first glance, they actually share a lot of common ground -- both are built on a foundation of warm textures, and infectious grooves. A must-listen for anyone who loves l-fi music, chill beats, or just wants to experience something truly unique. Mastered by digitalluc. Cover design by Otto Stobbe. Features BREAKING NEWS, Made in M, Tom Doolie, FloFilz, Ellosophy, digitalluc, Rick Flair, imaginary friend, and Klaus Layer.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: EREC 002EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Two classics ballads cover versions from the '80s on 7". Levin Goes Lightly from Stuttgart cover the Iggy/Bowie gem with chutzpah and sentience. And the British punk rock band The Members (active between 1976 and 1983 and reunited in 2007) best known for their song "The Sound Of The Suburbs" with their great reggae tinged obeisance to Kraftwerk.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: XBITX 003EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Rico Puestel is back on Exhibition with a surprise three-track EP from the dub realms! Something not necessarily to expect from him right here, right now... Inspired by the music playing in the record stores on his childhood day visits, Rico zen-likely crafted these special dub tunes that feel like an endless BR Space Night episode from his teenager days...

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: FTR 690LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Fantastic debut LP by this severely talented instrumental duo, currently based around Hampshire College unless I am much mistaken. Living Window is comprised of drummer Cameron Mitchell and guitarist Mila Dorji, who have created an album of pile-driving avant-garde hunch reminiscent of pre-Mahavishnu McLaughlin's slow-hand recordings with Tony Williams or Billy Cox. Mitchell drumming mixes rock and jazz attacks in equal measure, either drawing out rhythms or pounding them straight into pumice. And Dorji collects his amped notes into a huge mass before he releases them, displaying far more taste and patience than most of his contemporaries. This kind of jazz/rock guitar/drum dueling can be traced back (more or less) to Doug Snyder & Bob Thompson's Daily Dance LP from '73. Whether or not they've heard it, Living Window are fully in sync with that amazing record. They also hint at the early duo improvisations of the Alex/Nels Cline Duo, and combos such as Manas (led by Mila's dad, Tashi), Chris Guttmacher's Louis Farakhan! and other nimble purveyors of stripped-down excess. Living Window have chosen a hybridized aesthetic route, which presents opportunities to bring jazz to rock masses and vice versa. But it's also a path that can lead to playing concerned with mere 'chops' rather than invention. At this stage of their trajectory, Living Window are bursting with so many ideas they display no weakness in that area. At times their moves almost evoke a one guitar version of 'Randga', which is about as high a praise as I can imagine. Astralturfing is the first blast of music from a duo with amazing potential. Towers open fire." --Byron Coley, 2023

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: FM 12042EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Sharing a mutual love for dance music in all its shapes and forms please welcome Philipp Lauer & Johannes Albert for the first time together. These bucketheads overcame the franko-hessian border and give us a three-tracker on the A side that is "Based On Boss". The title track swims in 909 drums, vocal samples shine through, and organ chords lead the way. You will be moving your feet with "Four 44", still all about a basement, a red light and lots of feeling. Rounding things up with the loopy powers of "Posh-O-Rama", if you are in need of soft breaks with a lovely twist. Now who's the boss? Speaking B sides: Hamburg-Moenchengladbach-London? Probably not your everyday route. Three pillars in their own leagues team up for "Survivor": Boris Dlugosch, Marc Romboy and C.A.R. on vocal duties. Created in times of lockdowns and standstills "Survivor" is a midtempo stomper, slightly dark yet extra moving. Clocking in at 110BPM a percussive beat is haunted by C.A.R.'s voice and a hypnotic robot bassline. Occurring melodies and pads do the rest. Remix time? Oh yes! Spicing and speeding things up a little the Johannes Albert remix arrives with additional chords, gated snare drums and maybe even happiness.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: FS 4481LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reissue, originally released in 1976. Letta Mbulu was lucky when she emigrated from South Africa, where blacks were troubled and ridiculed by the Apartheid system. She was lucky to rescue a recording deal with A&M Records, and even the label's founder, Herb Albert, produced the record, Johnny Mandel did the orchestrations, and Quincy Jones wrote the liner notes. However, it wasn't only luck -- Letta Mbulu's talents as a singer are such that they couldn't be overheard. Her husband, Caiphus Semenya, also from South Africa and a musician, helped her throughout. There's Music In The Air from 1976 features songs varying in tempos and moods and languages, and there's a mellow aura of purity and peace, almost innocence, that captures the listener.

 

PRICE: $37.00

CAT #: GET 51475G-LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"Just over 25 years ago Common released his third studio album, One Day It'll All Make Sense, with production handled mostly by fellow Chicago native and previous collaborator No I.D. Out of print on vinyl for the past 15 years, Get On Down is proud to present this reissue pressed on double caramel swirl colored vinyl with a commemorative 25 Year Anniversary Numbered OBI. Limited to 1997 copies."

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: GR 006LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"The '90s punk classic returns! Includes 'Satan', 'Speed Demon', 'Dairy Queen', 'Lucky Tonight'. Reissue expanded to include bonus tracks and new art."

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: GBVI 118CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Robert Pollard has a very strong work ethic. With most of their touring canceled due to the pandemic and then a fractured kneecap, Guided By Voices ran up an extremely prolific streak in the studio, recording and releasing eight albums in the past three years and garnering piles of rave four star and five star reviews in the process. In case one were snoozing, the last album, La La Land was Uncut magazine's 'Best Of The Month.' The pandemic records were particularly notable and unique that the band members recorded most of their instruments individually in separate cities. Welshpool Frillies finds the gang back together, in a Brooklyn basement with producer Travis Harrison. Much of it was recorded live to tape. The catchy ear worms in these new songs are undeniable, as the kinetic energy of the band is captured in its most raw and pure form. The album is brash, no-frills, and punky, inspired by the wiliness of 90s-era GBV, specifically the Scalping The Guru compilation that Pollard put together in 2022. 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of GBV's start in Dayton, Ohio. Robert Pollard was an elementary school teacher with no formal music training, and his unlikely success has been an odds-defying adventure. It's never too late to discover this vital rock band and join the GBV cult."

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: GBVI 118LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Robert Pollard has a very strong work ethic. With most of their touring canceled due to the pandemic and then a fractured kneecap, Guided By Voices ran up an extremely prolific streak in the studio, recording and releasing eight albums in the past three years and garnering piles of rave four star and five star reviews in the process. In case one were snoozing, the last album, La La Land was Uncut magazine's 'Best Of The Month.' The pandemic records were particularly notable and unique that the band members recorded most of their instruments individually in separate cities. Welshpool Frillies finds the gang back together, in a Brooklyn basement with producer Travis Harrison. Much of it was recorded live to tape. The catchy ear worms in these new songs are undeniable, as the kinetic energy of the band is captured in its most raw and pure form. The album is brash, no-frills, and punky, inspired by the wiliness of 90s-era GBV, specifically the Scalping The Guru compilation that Pollard put together in 2022. 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of GBV's start in Dayton, Ohio. Robert Pollard was an elementary school teacher with no formal music training, and his unlikely success has been an odds-defying adventure. It's never too late to discover this vital rock band and join the GBV cult."

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: HPS 204CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

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: $22.50

CAT #: HPS 204LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. 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: $29.50

CAT #: HPS 204LTD-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Gold 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: $16.50

CAT #: HPS 274CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Dab City is an ode to the purest form of THC and Bongzilla's beloved hometown of Madison Wisconsin. For the recording of Dab City, the band we procured 10 g plus of the finest concentrates and somewhere north of 120 g of cannabis flower. And recorded it on two-inch analog tape over two sessions at Future Apple Tree Studio in Rock Island Illinois. The record is a continuation of their journey into ultra-stoned, sludge-y psychedelia. 60 minutes of brand-new stoned sludge heavy doomy riffs.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HPS 274LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Dab City is an ode to the purest form of THC and Bongzilla's beloved hometown of Madison Wisconsin. For the recording of Dab City, the band we procured 10 g plus of the finest concentrates and somewhere north of 120 g of cannabis flower. And recorded it on two-inch analog tape over two sessions at Future Apple Tree Studio in Rock Island Illinois. The record is a continuation of their journey into ultra-stoned, sludge-y psychedelia. 60 minutes of brand-new stoned sludge heavy doomy riffs.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: HPS 274LTD-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Deep purple transparent vinyl. Dab City is an ode to the purest form of THC and Bongzilla's beloved hometown of Madison Wisconsin. For the recording of Dab City, the band we procured 10 g plus of the finest concentrates and somewhere north of 120 g of cannabis flower. And recorded it on two-inch analog tape over two sessions at Future Apple Tree Studio in Rock Island Illinois. The record is a continuation of their journey into ultra-stoned, sludge-y psychedelia. 60 minutes of brand-new stoned sludge heavy doomy riffs.

 

PRICE: $38.50

CAT #: HPS 274ULTRA-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Three-color striped, violet/white/green vinyl. Dab City is an ode to the purest form of THC and Bongzilla's beloved hometown of Madison Wisconsin. For the recording of Dab City, the band we procured 10 g plus of the finest concentrates and somewhere north of 120 g of cannabis flower. And recorded it on two-inch analog tape over two sessions at Future Apple Tree Studio in Rock Island Illinois. The record is a continuation of their journey into ultra-stoned, sludge-y psychedelia. 60 minutes of brand-new stoned sludge heavy doomy riffs.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: HEIST 072EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Cinthie joins the Heist fam with an EP full of lush, epic house music with three originals and a St. David remix. Cinthie is the kind of artist who seems to be everywhere all at once. In the past years, you've seen her compile a lush DJ Kicks compilation, release numerous EPs on labels such as Aus music, run one of Berlin's finest record stores (Elevate Records), tour the world fiercely, and create an all-new live show. Her EP for Heist has been in the works for a long, long time and it's an absolute pleasure to finally present the Music for Discotheques EP. Spoiler alert: It's a no holds-back, "all killers, no fillers" record. In classic Cinthie fashion, this EP has the Berlin-based artist explore various sides of house music, starting with the vocal cut "Won't U Take Me". Lush pads, shuffling snares and a dreamy female vocal work together to bring a warm and classy house track with a clear nod to '90s US house, but with its feet firmly rooted in the present. Piano heaven takes you on an Italo-meets-deephouse excursion straight into: Piano heaven. A driving 909 groove and a deceptively simple bass form the foundation of the track, but it's the keys (and strings) that bring this track to its full peak-time potential. The energy in this track is of the "hands-in-the-air/screaming-out-loud" type and it has already become one of the biggest tracks in Cinthie's live-show. On the flip, Cinthie explores the pacier electronic side of the dance spectrum, with the footwork inspired jam "Masterplan". Think classic 808's, loopy synths and a cheeky spoken word piece that lifts the song to a level where it's extremely danceable and quite simply put; really fun. The final track of the EP is the expertly crafted remix by Italian house maestro St. David; an artist Cinthie has always been a big fan of. He's made a dazzling rework of "Piano Heaven": A deep and driving deephouse version that's layered in sweeps, fx and bleeps for an altogether mesmerizing effect.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: HBR 016LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Following the release of Lee Selmoco's Mosaico, we continue our journey with Vedette Records to bring back to life part of their incredible catalog, with the reissue of the first instalment of the High Tension series by Lesiman. Born in Florence in 1935, Paolo Renosto, the man behind the moniker Lesiman, was an incredible composer, experimenter, music teacher and piano player whose amazing skills and sound research brought him to work with Luigi Dallapiccola and Bruno Maderna, as well as being a member of the Associazione Nuova Consonanza of Roma. He obviously joined, for some time, the renowned Gruppo d'Improvvisazione, with Franco Evangelisti and Domenico Guaccero. Released exactly 50 years ago and packed with dramatic tension, obscure drums and asphyxiating atmospheres revolving around the theme of war, composed with the additional input of Romolo Grano, Sandro Brugnolini and Guido Baggiani, this first volume in the series is a holy grail in Italian libraries as well as a prime example of 'music especially crafted for films, television, radio, publicity and industrial use'. Now available on vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 500 copies."

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: HJR 111LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; double LP version. A stunning survey of the 1970s heyday of great Japanese singer and countercultural icon Maki Asakawa (1942-2010). Deep-indigo, dead-of-night enka, folk, and blues, inhaling Billie Holiday and Nina Simone down to the bone. A traditional waltz abuts Nico-style incantation; defamiliarized versions of Oscar Brown Jr. and Bessie Smith collide with big-band experiments alongside poet Sh?ji Terayama; a sitar-led psychedelic wig-out runs into a killer excursion in modal, spiritual jazz. Existentialism and noir, mystery and allure, hurt and hauteur. With excellent notes by Alan Cummings and the fabulous photographs of Hitoshi Jin Tamura. "Japan's answer to Scott Walker, with a visual aesthetic and a death-decadent appeal that is straight out of the Keiji Haino songbook." --Volcanic Tongue

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: HJR 203LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 restock; Honest Jon's Records present a reissue of Derek Bailey's Lot 74, originally released by Incus in 1974. Recorded at a private house in West London, the side-long title track is a masterwork: a twenty-two-minute, starkly personal, freely expressive, itchily searching re-casting of orders of rhythm and sound into a new, quicksilver kind of affective and musical polyphony. Never mind the guitarist's championing of "non-idiomatic improvisation", the poet Peter Riley gets the ball rolling in his identification of the various hauntings of Bailey's playing at this time: "mandolins & balalaikas strumming in the distance, George Forby's banjo, Leadbelly's steel 12-string, koto, lute, classical guitar... and others quite outside the field of the plucked string." The five pieces on side two were recorded back home in Hackney around the same time -- with the exception of "Improvisation 104(b)", from the year before (and issued by Incus in its TAPS series of mini reel-to-reel tapes) -- opening with ventriloquized guitar feedback, and taking in some cod banter about colleagues like Mervyn Parker, Siegfried Brotzmann, and Harry Bentink. Crucial.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: HJR 206LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2022 restock. Honest Jon's Records present a reissue of Jamie Muir and Derek Bailey's 1981 duo album, Dart Drug, originally released on Bailey's Incus label. Percussionist Jamie Muir was a member of King Crimson during the recording of Larks' Tongues In Aspic, in 1973. Staying less than a year with Robert Fripp, the Scot had already cut his teeth with another master guitarist, Derek Bailey, as part of the Music Improvisation Company, along with Evan Parker, Hugh Davies and Christine Jeffrey. There's no shortage of great percussionists in the brief history of free improvised music but on the strength of Dart Drug alone Jamie Muir deserves among them. Unlike for example Han Bennink and John Stevens, though, you can't hear echoes of any particular jazz drummer in Muir's playing, even if he has expressed appreciation for Milford Graves. What on earth did Muir's kit consist of? Some instruments are clearly identifiable (bells, gongs, chimes, woodblocks), while others could be anything. Old suitcases thwacked with rolled up newspapers? Tin cans and hubcaps inside a washing machine? Who cares? It sounds terrific, but if you're the kind of person who faints at the sound of nails scraping a blackboard, you might want to nip out and put the kettle on towards the end of the title track. Dart Drug is consistently thrilling, and often amusing, but it's certainly not easy listening. In music we talk about playing with other musicians, whereas in sport you play against another opponent (or with your team against another team). Why not play against in music, too? That's often precisely what happens in improvised music, and Bailey was particularly good at it. How can a humble acoustic guitar hope to compete with Muir in full flight? Sometimes Bailey's content to sit on those open strings, teasing out yet another exquisite Webernian constellation of ringing harmonics and wait for the dust to settle in Muir's junkyard, but elsewhere he sets off into uncharted territory himself. "The way to discover the undiscovered in performing terms is to immediately reject all situations as you identify them (the cloud of unknowing) which is to give music a future," Bailey evidently concurred with this spoken statement by Muir, including it in his book Improvisation (1980). Derek Bailey is no longer with us, of course, and Muir gave up performing music back in 1989; all the more reason for seeking out this magnificent, wild album.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: IFEEL 083EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Marco Vella and Anth Wendt step up to International Feel with a five-track EP of Balearic-tinged bliss for their first collaborative release as Other Mother. There's definitely something in the air round the Adelaide Hills. Longtime friends Marco (aka Body Corp) and Anth (aka Oisima) finally got together in Anth's studio after the pandemic and the result is Numero Uno an EP of laidback synth guitar and drum machine workouts mixing 303 riffs and sunsets for a supremely low-slung vibe. After cruising around the Hills in the day the pair worked on tracks by night and their carefree days soaking up the sun shines through. Opening track "About Time" sets a steady pace with its lush delayed guitars slow-rising acid melody and hefty sub perfect for Sunday pub garden appreciation. A side closer "Zwang!" drops the tempo but brings the percussion into focus for another masterclass in tension and release with interwoven 303s and dub feedback. Side B keeps the beach-side atmos flowing with guitar licks working around sumptuous synth chords for "Anyway, Music" -- a song that's the ultimate soundtrack understated parts fitting together seamlessly in service to the feeling and belying the technique required. "Lost In The Forest" makes use of expansive ambient pads synth riffs and shakers to evoke a sense of wonder sunlight coming through the trees. The EP concludes with "Where's The Fifty" a dreamy piece of drum synth phrases and 303 interplay that perfectly characterizes Marco and Anth's collaboration -- two musicians and producers playing to serve the song. They write elements that combine for a harmonious whole greater than the sum of its parts.

 

PRICE: $49.00

CAT #: IR 031LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. 100% analog mastered from the original analog master tapes; mastered by Kevin Gray at CoHEARent Audio; ultra-quiet 180-gram vinyl pressed at Gotta Groove Records; beautiful old-style "tip-on" jacket printed by Stoughton. "What a time 1968 was for the burgeoning country rock scene! Gene Clark and Gram Parsons had introduced rock fans to some country flair with The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo. After Sweetheart, Parsons broke auspicious new ground with The International Submarine Band (just a year before he'd make The Flying Burrito Brothers' The Gilded Palace of Sin), while Gene Clark teamed with banjo genius Doug Dillard for this bluegrass classic, The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark. The picking virtuosity of Dillard, Bernie Leadon and others on this LP meshes beautifully with Gene Clark's soulful vocal presence and guitar. The repertoire is endlessly fun and engaging but punctuated with somewhat somber Clark offerings like 'She Darked the Sun' and 'Something's Wrong'. Country rock is familiar ground to Intervention fans, as we've already tackled greats from The Flying Burrito Bros., and Gene Clark's amazing solo effort White Light. This is the roots of the music that paved the way for the Eagles and countless others. The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark is Mastered Direct-to-DSD from the 1/4'' 15-ips Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray at CoHEARent Audio. The tapes sound beautifully dynamic and alive, with tuneful bass, extended highs and three-dimensional imaging. The IR cut has better separation and punch than ANY previous version of this amazing record." "Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark is one of the first, inarguable classics of country-rock ... a work rooted in tradition while reveling in freedom and new ideas and making the most of them all." --Mark Deming, AllMusic

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: KSLP 057LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress; LP version. Rocksteady took over Orange Street, Kingston, Jamaica around 1966, the same time that an extreme heat wave hit the Jamaican Island. Some say the previous jerky ska rhythms proved too strenuous of an activity to partake in during the all night sound systems, so it proved a winning formula to slow the beat down to a more leisurely pace. Whatever the reasons were, this two-year period that ran until 1968 would see some of the power escape from the big three producers -- Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, Prince Buster, and Duke Reid -- who up to that period ruled the airwaves. It was time to make room for a new wave of up-and-coming producers who also had something to offer the people. So sit back and enjoy some rocksteady straight from the dances of Jamaica. Includes tracks by Roy Shirley, Glen Adams, Lester Sterling, Uniques, Errol Dunkley, George Dekker, Don T. Lee, Webber Sisters, Alva Lewis.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: LPS PS002-LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress, originally released in 2005, Tryshasla is the second "Perennial" series release and was the second studio album by Dutch producer Secede. This classic album is one of Lapsus Records' favorites and they reissue it here on vinyl for the first time. Lennard van der Last, better known in electronic music circles as Secede, has always remained an elusive character, preferring to prioritize to his work in the studio. Although Tryshasla is unanimously heralded as his finest work, throughout his career Lennard has continually demonstrated his unique ability in producing venerated musical pieces. Upon its original release on CD by Dutch label Sending Orbs, Tryshasla immediately became a benchmark album and featured in many independent lists of that year. Tryshasla continues to sound as current and relevant as ever. It is an album with a powerful ambient spirit, replete with micro-passages in which field recordings and piano phrasing form its core sound, but which also include styles such as IDM, drum and bass, and even trip-hop. As if this were not enough, Reimer Eising -- aka Lapsus Records' beloved label contributor Kettel -- collaborates on one of the albums integral tracks, "Leraine". Lithographic original art print from illustrator Jeroen Advocaat. Remastered by Xavier Alarcón. Tricolor double-LP vinyl (transparent green, clear, and black).

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: LION 194LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Lion's second volume of the Black Sun Ensemble's recordings for their classic first album contains an alternate version of that album, including the tracks from the Camera Obscura label CD (2000) version of that album -- well, sort of. When sifting through the masters while preparing the Lion reissue of the real, actual first Black Sun Ensemble album -- as issued in 1985 on Pyknotic -- it became clear that many of the original LP tracks were also on the Camera Obscura CD release, but under the wrong names. Others were present, but in versions which differed from the Pyknotic LP versions -- and again, under the wrong names. So, for example, 'Mayan Dance' on the CD is actually the same theme as the Pyknotic LP 'Heart of the Sky', but not the same take. Here's the kicker: some of the tracks on the Camera Obscura CD share a name with a track from the Pyknotic LP, but are in fact completely new recordings, with no comparable on that original LP. 'Blue Thunder', 'Red Ocean,' and 'Mandolin Winds' are three such compositions. This means that there are basically two quite different 'Blue Thunder's written by Jesus Acedo; two utterly different 'Red Ocean's; and two absolutely not-the-same 'Mandolin Winds' too. As a result, there are two separate Lion LP releases of Black Sun Ensemble's debut recordings: volume one (LION LP-193) with a black cover, as per the original, is just that: the original 1985 Pyknotic LP reissued for the first time. This second LP (LION LP-194), with a white cover, contains alternates and new tracks, as released on the CD reissue of BSE's debut. Lion Productions felt it was important to keep the Pyknotic LP separate, to do justice to the original vision Jesus had when he self-released that music, and (eventually) found a segment of the world very willing to embrace it. But the other variations of that music are equally excellent and important, thus this second, separate LP for those gems. This release comes with an 8-page booklet, with notes by Byron Coley, BSE bassist Mike Glidewell, Rich Hopkins, and a reproduction of a poetry volume by BSE's Jesus Acedo. Lion exclusive edition -- 150x hand-numbered copies on Transparent Seagrass Blue vinyl."

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LMS 5521631

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; LP version. Includes printed inner sleeve. London Music present a standard edition reissue of Bronski Beat's The Age Of Consent, originally released in 1984. Bronski Beat's cult debut era-defining, pop classic includes debut single "Small Town Boy", a huge global hit, which continues to resonate with today's LGBT+ generation and remains a dancefloor staple.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: LMS 5521642

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Timeless is regularly cited as one of the greatest dance music albums ever made, a Dark Side of the Moon for the rave generation. As Tony Marcus, writing in Mixmag back in 1995, concluded: "Timeless is a record that couldn't have been made if it wasn't for the party, the MDMA, the noise and the rage. Timeless tells you that you can't ignore or erase this history because to Goldie, and to so many others, it holds their lives, dreams and feelings." Timeless went on to become a landmark release not just for drum 'n' bass but for electronic music as a whole. Within a year of its release (1995), it had racked up more than 100,000 sales. Now sees the release of Timeless (The Remixes), featuring hand-picked remixes by Goldie from the likes of Break, Doc Scott, Teebee, 4 Hero, Trevino, and many more. Also features Grey Code, Searchlight, Scar, Nookie, J Kenzo, Searchlight, OneMind. Double-CD version also features Peshay, TeeBee, Doc Scott, and Photek

 

PRICE: $66.50

CAT #: LMS 5521643

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Triple LP version. Trifold sleeve. Timeless is regularly cited as one of the greatest dance music albums ever made, a Dark Side of the Moon for the rave generation. As Tony Marcus, writing in Mixmag back in 1995, concluded: "Timeless is a record that couldn't have been made if it wasn't for the party, the MDMA, the noise and the rage. Timeless tells you that you can't ignore or erase this history because to Goldie, and to so many others, it holds their lives, dreams and feelings." Timeless went on to become a landmark release not just for drum 'n' bass but for electronic music as a whole. Within a year of its release (1995), it had racked up more than 100,000 sales. Now sees the release of Timeless (The Remixes), featuring hand-picked remixes by Goldie from the likes of Break, Doc Scott, Teebee, 4 Hero, Trevino, and many more. Also features Grey Code, Searchlight, Scar, Nookie, J Kenzo, Searchlight, OneMind.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: MTB 007EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Handstamped whitelabel with four dubby techno grooves from Jancen. Mastering and lacquer cut by Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering Berlin.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MT 062LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Crocodiles return with a new album of infectious power-punk-pop. Ten direct three-minute blasts of rock n' roll, from straight-up punk-pop anthems ("Love Beyond The Grave") to mutant garage-rock ("Surfing With Death"), infectious fuzz-pop ("Forever Walk Alone"), dancefloor ready bangers ("Deadbeat") and even hardcore death-rock ("Rock'n'Roll Graveyard"), Crocodiles, the nucleus of Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell, return with a new album of infectious power-punk-pop. Over the years, the band have shifted and transformed, but they always kept their ear for pure pop abandon, great hooks, and harmonies, wrapped up in the crunch and verve of garage-punk. Like the surging power-pop scene that is coming out of the USA these days, they are indebted to The Ramones, Buzzcocks, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, all filtered through shoegaze, noisy pop and the '90s California sound.

 

PRICE: $47.00

CAT #: MOV 2947COL-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. Orange and black vinyl. "Renowned agent and jazz pioneer Wim Wigt founded Timeless Records in 1975. This Dutch record label has specialized in bebop, although it also did a sub-series of releases of Dixieland, swing and classical recordings. As of today, Timeless Records has, together with its three sub-labels, released over 900 albums. Notable releases include Dizzy Gillespie Meets Phil Woods Quintet, McCoy Tyner's Bon Voyage, Lou Donaldson's Forgotten Man, Eastern Rebellion and albums by the George Adams-Don Pullen Quartet, Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and many more. To celebrate the legacy of Wim Wigt's Timeless Records, Music On Vinyl is releasing a 45th anniversary jazz series. The series features albums that are part of the Timeless Records legacy and will be released throughout 2021/2022. Pharoah Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz, which has earned him royal status amongst free jazz players, critics and collectors. Harmonically rich and heavy with overtones, his sound can be as raw and abrasive as it is possible for a saxophonist to produce. His 1987 album Africa is soulful but also searching for a strong groove at the same time. The album is recorded with John Hicks, Curtis Lundy and Idris Muhammad and was an explicit tribute to his late mentor John Coltrane, another giant of jazz. Africa by Pharoah Sanders is available on black vinyl. The album includes an insert with upcoming Timeless Records titles from the Timeless Records 45th Anniversary Jazz series. The sleeve contains liner notes by Kevin Whitehead. 180 gram black audiophile vinyl, two bonus tracks, insert, sleeve notes."

 

PRICE: $38.00

CAT #: MOV 2949COL-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. Gold and orange marbled vinyl. Restocked. "To celebrate the 45th anniversary of iconic Dutch jazz label Timeless Records, Music On Vinyl is releasing a series that features albums that are part of the Timeless Records legacy and will be released mainly throughout 2022. Part of this series is Pharoah Sanders' Moon Child from 1990, which bookended a decade of musical soul searching for Sanders. The acclaimed free jazz player is known to have a raw and abrasive sound, but reinvented himself on this album as a more traditional improviser capable of thoughtful deliberations. Moon Child is a grand old time throughout, and Sanders has never been more eminently sing-along-able as he is on its title track. The record was co-written with Horace Silver, George Gershwin and Abdullah Ibrahim and recorded with William Henderson, Stafford James, Eddie Moore and Cheikh Tidiane Fall. Moon Child is available on black vinyl."

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: MOV 3357LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Terry Callier was an American soul, blues, folk and jazz guitarist, and singer songwriter born in Chicago. His debut album was recorded in 1964 but due to problems it was eventually released in 1968 as The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier. His soul, jazz, folk influences were prominently featured on the albums in the following years, which were released on different major labels. Callier continued to perform and tour until 1983, when he gained custody of his daughter and retired from recording music, working for the University of Chicago and obtained a degree in sociology. In the late 1980s British DJs discovered his old recordings and the famous rare-groove/jazz label Acid Jazz released his unknown track 'I Don't Want To See Myself (Without You)' in 1983. Timepeace was recorded in 1998 after a 15 year long career break and won the United Nations's Time For Peace award for outstanding artistic achievement contributing to world peace. The album features 'People Get Ready/Brotherly Love' composed by Curtis Mayfield, the title song 'Timepeace' featuring Pharoah Sanders on tenor-saxophone and seven more tracks. Timepeace includes an insert with lyrics and liner-notes by Tom Terrell."

 

PRICE: $38.00

CAT #: MOV 3408COL-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Orange and black vinyl. "Founded in 1971, Matumbi was among the earliest and best British reggae bands. They did, however, also record under different guises, including 4th Street Orchestra. In their acclaimed Rough Guide to Reggae, Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton rate this album (and its counterpart Ah Who She? Go Deh!) as 'the best showcases for Matumbi's talents'. This release marks the first LP reissue of this genuine UK roots monument since 1976. Original member Dennis ''Blackbeard'' Bovell (of LKJ and Dub Band fame) knew the local sound system scene like the back of his hand, and most tracks on Leggo! Ah-Fi-We-Dis were initially cut as exclusive 'specials' for his own Jah Sufferer sound system and for fellow soundmen. Hardly anyone hearing these tunes at reggae parties would have guessed they didn't originate in Kingston but were recorded in London. And neither did many who bought the records when they were released a few years later. That's hardly surprising, as the material Bovell & Co churned out could easily compete with the toughest output of their Jamaican counterparts. The solid interpretation of Junior Delgado's 'Tichion' and a scorching, melodica-led version of Ras Michael's 'None-Ah Jah-Children' are the most familiar tunes here. And a militant update of Max Steiner's 'Theme From A Summer Place' displays good fun as well as guts. But the band's outstanding originals will give many '70s Jamaican classics a good run for their money. Leggo! Ah-Fi-We-Dis is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on orange colored vinyl."

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: NSR 005LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Sunna Margrét releases Five Songs for Swimming out on No Salad Records. It is the first release since her award-winning EP Art of History that won the annual Kraumur award in 2019 and was twice nominated at the Iceland Music Awards for best song and best album of the year. Five Songs for Swimming includes five original songs and a cover. They follow a continuous thread of water and flow and yet Sunna Margrét keeps close to her influences of bizarre human interactions, present in her lyrics throughout the EP and borrowing the words of New York legends the Feelies on the last song "When To Go" cover. It is safe to say that the new release comes to life after loss occurs. This composition of music and lyrics is written in memory of Sunna Margrét's grandmother, Unnur Ágústsdóttir, who passed away in February 2021. She was a swimmer in her early life, a champion in Iceland in the '40s, as well as a soprano singer, teacher, bird lover and lifelong inspiration.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: NOTON 059CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Alva Noto's award-winning score for the 2022 German documentary film This Stolen Country of Mine directed by German filmmaker Marc Wiese features nineteen compositions to be released on Noton. The documentary film explores the question of a state's sovereignty in the face of foreign powers. The film portrays Ecuadorian resistance fighters and journalists who oppose the sell-off of an extensive part of the country's resources to Chinese investors. Alva Noto's music subtly accompanies the struggle of a mountain village, immersing you into the film's narrative and pathos. Across nineteen compositions, the music exposes and holds back when the images and statements of the protagonists speak for themselves, reflecting the dark shadows and the glares of hope of communal resistance. The documentary was the recipient of the German Documentary Film Music Award 2022.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: NOTON 059LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Double LP version. Alva Noto's award-winning score for the 2022 German documentary film This Stolen Country of Mine directed by German filmmaker Marc Wiese features nineteen compositions to be released on Noton. The documentary film explores the question of a state's sovereignty in the face of foreign powers. The film portrays Ecuadorian resistance fighters and journalists who oppose the sell-off of an extensive part of the country's resources to Chinese investors. Alva Noto's music subtly accompanies the struggle of a mountain village, immersing you into the film's narrative and pathos. Across nineteen compositions, the music exposes and holds back when the images and statements of the protagonists speak for themselves, reflecting the dark shadows and the glares of hope of communal resistance. The documentary was the recipient of the German Documentary Film Music Award 2022.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: NA 5192C-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin's music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin's recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7" singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia's 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums -- the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin's uber-rare 7" single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Che Belew gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7" single releases. Contains an oversized 11" x 11" 16-page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin's role within it."

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: NA 5211C-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"The Tribe co-founder's debut, lacquered directly from his master tapes in an all-analog transfer by Bernie Grundman. The definitive reissue of this spiritual jazz album which set the stage for his Vibes from the Tribe. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America's 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, 'Music is the healing force of the universe.' Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff 'Chairman' Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe's mid-1970s heyday."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: NA 5241LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Restocked. "The first time since 1971 that this album has been pressed from the original master tapes, recently discovered in Italy. Lacquered directly from tape in an all-analog transfer by Bernie Grundman. This is the single LP version that we issued after the Now-Again Reserve Edition sold out. Mark Fry was 19 -- recently graduated from high school and in Italy studying painting -- when he walked barefooted into RCA's Italian subsidiary, played some songs he'd written on his guitar and was signed to record the album that would become legend. The first recordings he made proved stuff, so he was paired with members of the Scottish band Middle of the Road, who were in Rome while under contract to RCA Italiana. Convening in a basement home studio with two 4-track reel-to-reel recorders, Mark's visions coalesced in a dreamy, airy manner -- 'Nick Drake meets Dr. Strangely Strange with a touch of Lewis Carroll' The Word Magazine would later write. Pressed in small amounts for Vincenzo Micocci's RCA sub-label It, Alice remained an out of reach masterpiece for many but its creator, who returned to England in 1971 and subsequently traveled the world, playing music, sometimes recording and painting. By the time of its rediscovery, its master tapes were assumed lost. Their rediscovery allows this pristine transfer to reveal nuances not heard on anything but original It pressings."

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: ORN 054LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Ornaments presents the latest LP Tizinabi from the skilled trio Wareika, a 45-minute cohesive album that effortlessly blends electronic and organic sounds. Despite its roots in dub and house music, the album offers a unique experience by including classical instruments such as guitar and piano flawlessly integrated. The result is a captivating and harmonious sonic landscape that stands on its own. Each part flows into the next, creating a dynamic that holds the listener's attention from start to finish. Throughout the LP, Wareika masterfully combines intricate layers of sound, weaving together hypnotic melodies and smooth percussion to create a tapestry of sound that is both complex and accessible. For fans of deeper electronic music with funk and soul, Tizinabi is a must-hear that showcases Wareika's dedication to pushing boundaries in the genre. With previous releases on esteemed labels such as Perlon and Mule Musiq, Wareika's distinctive style and musical character are fully showcased on this album. So sit back, relax, and let the beautiful sounds of Tizinabi transport you to new and exciting places. exciting places.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: PAL 075LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Few sounds in music are as instantly recognizable as the searching sting of guitarist Bill Orcutt and the cyclical propulsion of drummer Chris Corsano. At the same time, every single performance or recording I've heard by the duo has been markedly different, discovering new paths with a given set of tools. For more than a decade now they've been meeting up to instigate visceral sonic journeys without a map, engaging in elliptical dialogues with one another, but more often conjuring twinned excursions that occur with a kind of telepathic independence. They don't need to plan or discuss what will happen when they get together. They simply jump in and see where things go, pushing and pulling when necessary, yet more often letting each other roam freely with the knowledge that they've a rapport that can weather all storms. The performance captured on Play at Duke was taped at the von der Heyden Studio Theater in the Rubenstein Arts Center on the campus of Duke University. The set closed out a three-day festival celebrating the 21st anniversary of Three Lobed Records, and the music they made feels utterly galvanic, a fitting conclusion by turns triumphant and bloodied. The set clocks in at just under 26 minutes but there's nothing lacking, nothing slight. The best performances fuck with time, as this sublime encounter does. The duo was in an obvious flow straight out the gate, with Orcutt unleashing fat, fragmented arpeggios that morph from anthemic chords to flickering long tones -- tense moments of repose that anticipate some new digression a la Hendrix. In the first of the three 'Play at Duke' the duo packs in so many discrete ideas and dialogues that it's hard to believe they only needed eight minutes to get it done. Orcutt and Corsano sets are thrilling, in part, because we don't know what will happen. Will they gel, butt heads, or get cranky. The guitarist sometimes delves into his Harry Pussy roots and unleashes a post-hardcore sally to shake things up, whether it seems necessary or not, but with this particular set there's no doubt that the pair is sync. Ideas, motifs, needling lines (shadowed, of course, by Orcutt's wordless falsetto screamed out into the air) pile up with pure compositional logic, each new melodic theme or textural divot flowing out of the previous one with remarkable ease and fluidity. Both musicians can access all sorts of traditions at the blink of an eye. The second piece opens explosively, with Corsano delivering a singular kind of flailing energy that's nevertheless completely liquid, while Orcutt jerks between post-no wave skree, ominously prescient chords that channel the aggression of AC/DC and Hound Dog Taylor, and upper register stabs that that both tap into some primordial wellspring of the blues and fling clusters of sound at gravity, seeking to be free of our planet's limitations. The album's final piece begins with repose, a breath-catching reset of contemplative tenderness that gradually opens up, the duo teetering at the edge of an explosion that never really arises, as a lyric quality manages to ride the cresting wave of energy, cutting back-and-forth into a sudden, crystal-clear denouement that feels like destiny."

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: PAL 076LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Since exploding on the improvised music scene a couple of years ago Tennessee native Zoh Amba has found herself engaging with an ever-widening group of collaborators as she tours across the US and Europe. She's forged some enduring partnerships, working regularly with drummer Chris Corsano, bassist Thomas Morgan, and pianist Micah Thomas, among others, but one of the deep pleasures of improvised music is when a first-time meeting produces sparks. Indeed, that's certainly the case with The Flower School, which bottles some serious lightning. In March of 2023, Amba and Corsano had finished up a duo tour of the west coast with an explosive performance in San Francisco. The next day the duo entered the studio with guitarist Bill Orcutt -- a trusted collaborator of the drummer stretching back a decade. It was the first time Orcutt and Amba had ever played together, but it sure doesn't seem that way. Although Amba has often recorded a bunch of tune-oriented albums for Tzadik, she's a free improviser at heart, and this trio arguably provides the most effective, elastic context for her playing yet. Yet what's most astonishing about The Flower School is how it elevates and transforms the playing of all three participants. It appears that there was more than enough trust in the room to allow each player to push-and-pull. Anyone who pays attention already knows that Orcutt and Corsano are mercurial figures, perpetually adapting, adjusting, and challenging one another. Inviting a third person to the party could threaten a slowly cultivated balance, but in this case the addition only heightened various dichotomies: soft vs. loud, bruising vs. tender, furious vs. lyric. Much has been made of Amba's debt to the free jazz of 1960s, particularly the way her vibrato-drenched tone dips into valley of sacred music, but here she carves out a space that's entirely hers. On tracks like "The Morning Light Has Flooded My Eyes" and "What Emptiness Do You Gaze Upon!" she reveals a meticulously sharpened gift for motific improvisation, taking a single phrase and chiseling away it until she's discovered every possible permutation, all the while driven by the feverish energy and empathy of her cohorts. This group also displays Orcutt's masterful support skills, as he often takes a single chord or two, letting them float in mutate in the background or splintering them into patient, reserved arpeggios that ripple alongside Corsano's circular sculptures and the saxophonist's edgy blowing. Two of the album's five tracks are duets between Orcutt and Amba. The collection is bisected by "Sweet One," a delicate lattice formed by Orcutt's tremulous electric guitar arpeggios and Amba's spike acoustic pointillism that basks in its own leisurely beauty for a couple of restorative minutes, while the album closer "Moon Showed But No You" is a searingly beautiful ballad where the guitarist unspools clusters of notes somewhere between vintage Loren Mazzacane Connor and a distorted kalimba, while Amba puts an upwardly arcing melodic line through its paces, finding new wrinkles at every turn.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: PERMVAC 089LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress; LP version. While staying true to his sound, John Talabot has nevertheless shown a constant evolution as a producer since his first release. He has traced a solid musical path that has turned him into one of the big references of European house and has made him also a highly in-demand remixer. This progression now crystallizes in Fin, his first full-length album for Permanent Vacation -- a record in which the Barcelona mastermind sets aside danceable immediacy to expand his stylistic palette more than ever. For that purpose, Talabot melts all the elements that have constructed his distinctive sound until now and makes them emerge from a new perspective in which the construction of complex song structures, intricate rhythms and super-positions of ever-evolving melodies and atmospheres pick up the baton of the "a kick-drum and a sampler" philosophy of his initial productions. The result brings us 11 tracks dominated by dark ambiances, gaseous textures and bittersweet moods that, above all, reveal a kind of vivacity that's really hard to find in contemporary electronics. Fin is far from being a track collection. From the majestic opener "Depak Ine" to its solemn ending with "So Will Be Now," one of the two tracks that features Talabot's soul- and label- mate Pional, each song traces an overall dialogue with the rest, culminating in a highly emotional journey through Talabot's always compelling and unique musical vision. "Talabot has become an exemplar of a new breed of producers working at the intersection of deep house, disco, and indie pop, and he has carved out his own niche somewhere between the slow-motion theatrics of artists such as Mark E and Tensnake, the globe-trotting jewel tones of Four Tet and Caribou, and the psych-pop rush of Animal Collective and Delorean." --Pitchfork (8.5; "Best New Music")

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: POCOCHIN 003LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Outboard magician Porn Sword Tobacco ends a string of great releases with a mini-album on Pocochin, displaying the full spectrum of his artistry. Seventh album from Porn Sword Tobacco. Releases on Workshop, SUED, Acido, Recording, Kontra Musik, Shot Of T. Hand-printed cover.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: PP 090LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

When he's not writing or recording, Baba Stiltz immerses in fearless fiction by the likes of Denis Johnson and Dodie Bellamy; prose where pedestrian details become transcendent in aggregate and the inner lives of marginal characters are examined as though they were kings. A similar thesis runs through Paid Testimony, the essential second tape of minimalist guitar music from the Filipino-American-Swedish artist. In recent years, Stiltz has made like Lee Hazelwood's Cowboy In Sweden in reverse, making annual pilgrimages from Stockholm to California and reconnecting with his roots via a guitar and a Fostex 4-track. He's drawn to the less glamorous corners of the golden state, an observant habitué of unkempt streets and dive bars stretching from LA to Vacaville. It's a long stretch from the jet-set techno clubs where Baba originally plied his musical trade, but it's where he finds characters and ideas worth writing about. The characters on Paid Testimony are on the edge and on the run. Surrounded by flawed men with big schemes since childhood, he extrapolates characters who plot bank heists and order milk and vodka in AM hours, the type of confrontation- prone characters who "say some shit, make everyone uncomfortable and then just split." To focus on the rawness of this document would discount the humor and sympathy with which he treats his characters, not to mention the subtly-psychedelic songwriting recalling David Berman, early Smog, the original indie rock minimalist poets. On the final song, Stiltz looks back on the city that raised him, "Stockholm," referencing "young professionals carelessly living" before adding "I can't say I'm not jealous even though I live my life just like they do." There's an honesty in the small details revealed on Paid Testimony, and a defined sense of place, be it Stockholm, Sacramento, or some dim barroom across from the Bank of America. Baba doesn't quite fit in anywhere. This outsider quality has often been used as a marketing tool, yet here, it lends a writerly aspect to the proceedings, an unreality to the everyday.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RURI 007LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Forty years after the demise of the legendary band from Venice, this collection gathers all the studio recordings of the Wops, who only released four songs and two self-produced demo tapes in 1981 and 1983. Great punk rock with California hardcore influence. Remastered version, the album comes with a booklet containing photos, flyers, and biographical notes. A long-awaited release.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RS 053EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. Session Victim debut on Rhythm Section International with an EP of understated but highly effective jazzy house rollers. Having cemented themselves as firm favorites on the Rhythm Section dancefloor over the years, the German duo step forward to present their debut EP on the South London label: Basic Instinct. Known for their unparalleled energy when performing live or DJing, Hauke and Matthias fly the flag for sample based, soulful house music and a commitment to the art of vinyl DJing. With the never-ending search for the perfect beat at the core of what they do, it was no surprise they found a deep affinity with Rhythm Section International over years of playing for each other, jamming in the studio and crossing paths at festivals and airports around the world. In short, this record was an inevitable culmination of two passionate, like-minded groups, a match made in Heaven and a long time coming. Despite hailing from the techno meccas of Berlin and Hamburg, Session Victim are direct descendants of the German jazzy housemasters, tracing inspiration from the likes of Jazzanova, Soulphiction, and Compost Records -- the likes of which have gone onto inspire a renaissance of this more soulful sound in German clubs, spearheaded by labels like Tartelet and Toy Tonics -- the latter of which the duo recently released an EP with. This latest effort on Rhythm Section International is a masterclass in restraint, demonstrating a deep understanding of dancefloor dynamics, putting the maxim "less is more" to great effect. The opening track, "Trying To Make it Home" is the most immediately engaging cut: a double bass riff drives along a Kerri Chandler-esque filtered piano pattern which gives way to a soaring gospel vocal, allowing the groove to take control as flutes, strings and occasional guitar licks meander in and out of the mix to create areal "heads down, arms up" moment for the dancefloor.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RB 117X-EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

An acid house always leaks! Redshape's visits to Running Back are a welcome recurrence and a soothing reminder that techno and house can still come in several shapes and sizes. Related and referring to earlier acid studies on Release Me and to a certain extend on Rise, the masked man continues to find new approaches to the 303 canon with "Acid Leak". True to form, the seasoned producer choses groove over governance, lets batteries leak and strikes a chord or two with old lovers and new votaries of the classic club techno titans of the '90s -- strings included. "Wing Wing" is an exemplary excursion into the special and unmatched Redshape zone that rejoins rock and dental drillers, while "Acid Flow" counterpoints the titles track's opulence with a dub version -- both hit like a streak. The curveball and icing on the cake is "Frantic". Hi-tech-jazz in technique and -soul in attitude, it feels like a late contender to the quintessential Deepest Shade of Techno compilations. Four to the floor!

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RB 121EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Magically delicious: Lucky Charm completes Roman Flügel's personal-feel-good-tetralogy on Running Back. Joining Garden Party, D.I.S.C.O. and Mega for a quadrophony of fun, it is piano house at the core of the matter. Of course, Roman Flügel wouldn't be himself, if he would work carelessly. Imagine it prepared through the disciplines of molecular gastronomy. In a dystopian world on the edge of information overkill, this is exactly what one needs to relish temporary relaxation and the joys of life again. Simply put: harps, bass lines, tribal drums, brief melodies and pizzicato illuminate the topic from different sides and in different versions. Its correspondent "Luv Armour" is a piece of jewelry that's doing the splits: house, new wave, synth pop and some melancholy for the finishing touches. If you are looking for less action "Whatever That Is" offers you a slow dance. Looking for unheard and unconscionable connections, it twists and turns between can-like sequences, what Underground Resistance dubbed Afrogermanic and some unexpected tunnel, before it ends where it started out finally, "Film 4" is the final dish of this lush meal. Referring to the other "Film" tracks on the Mega 12" and created during the hard and dark times of closed amusement party parks, it is full of yearning. Music for your inner cinema.

 

PRICE: $47.00

CAT #: RBL 088-3LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

"Coinciding with Suspiria's 45th anniversary, Claudio Simonetti's Goblin celebrates this anniversary with a new prog rock version of the famous soundtrack. The terrifying and atmospheric experience of Dario Argento's films comes from the merging of gorgeously crafted visuals with a soul tingling auditory experience. Once heard, Goblin's scores are never quite forgotten. Suspiria is no exception, characterized by its synth heavy sound, carillons, yells and sighs. Suspiria is perhaps Argento's most celebrated film and a classic of horror subgenre in its own right. A surreal masterpiece from Dario Argento with a pounding score from cult prog rockers Goblin, Suspiria will leave you battered and breathless. Deluxe gatefold colored vinyl. Limited 199 copies! Transparent marble green vinyl plus insert."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: SCAT 089LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"The Electric Eels were the first punk band, full stop. They may not have 'started' the genre, but they were the first to tick all the boxes. The eels rejected every 1970s rock convention -- professionalism, virtuosity, subject matter, image. Dave E.'s caustic vocals, complete with an aggressive lisp and a head full of snot, would become de rigeur a few years after the group disbanded. Meanwhile, the songs' focus on car crashes, suicide, neuroses, and generally hating people were as far out of the mainstream as possible. The two eels tracks that do approach the subject of romance couch it in terms of not really caring that much about it ('Jaguar Ride') or placing it in the context of a grisly murder ('Silver Daggers'). Also consider John Morton's signature guitar sound, a nails-on-chalkboard tone with brutally free soloing inspired more by Albert Ayler than the blues or aspirations to technical facility. Ditto Dave E.'s clarinet playing and affection for lawnmowers and vacuums during live performance. They were notoriously violent not only among themselves, but towards audiences, police, and anyone unfortunate enough to be around them when things went south. Then of course there are the leather jackets, the clothing festooned with rat traps or safety pins. And no bass player, why bother. There is simply no other 'proto' band to have had all these pieces in place circa 1973-1975. Yet it is a mistake to consider the eels exclusively in such a context. Yes, the eels could and did shock anyone who encountered them, but they also had great songs. While both Dave and John were visionary writers, they also had rhythm guitarist Brian McMahon, a melody and riff machine who wrote many of the band's signature songs. And they were no one-trick pony. Although much of the band's material is appropriately high-energy, there is also the downer eels -- morbid, harmonically risky, and in full existential crisis. Although it's not a focus of this compilation, the eels also had a penchant for completely free improvisation. Over the last forty plus years, there have been several Electric Eels compilations. Spin Age Blasters is quite simply the best one ever assembled, every single key track is here in its best version, properly mastered by John Golden, and sequenced with an eye towards both flow between tracks as well as individuation between sides. A true monster of an album."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: SCAT 089X-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Clear vinyl with black swirls. "The Electric Eels were the first punk band, full stop. They may not have 'started' the genre, but they were the first to tick all the boxes. The eels rejected every 1970s rock convention -- professionalism, virtuosity, subject matter, image. Dave E.'s caustic vocals, complete with an aggressive lisp and a head full of snot, would become de rigeur a few years after the group disbanded. Meanwhile, the songs' focus on car crashes, suicide, neuroses, and generally hating people were as far out of the mainstream as possible. The two eels tracks that do approach the subject of romance couch it in terms of not really caring that much about it ('Jaguar Ride') or placing it in the context of a grisly murder ('Silver Daggers'). Also consider John Morton's signature guitar sound, a nails-on-chalkboard tone with brutally free soloing inspired more by Albert Ayler than the blues or aspirations to technical facility. Ditto Dave E.'s clarinet playing and affection for lawnmowers and vacuums during live performance. They were notoriously violent not only among themselves, but towards audiences, police, and anyone unfortunate enough to be around them when things went south. Then of course there are the leather jackets, the clothing festooned with rat traps or safety pins. And no bass player, why bother. There is simply no other 'proto' band to have had all these pieces in place circa 1973-1975. Yet it is a mistake to consider the eels exclusively in such a context. Yes, the eels could and did shock anyone who encountered them, but they also had great songs. While both Dave and John were visionary writers, they also had rhythm guitarist Brian McMahon, a melody and riff machine who wrote many of the band's signature songs. And they were no one-trick pony. Although much of the band's material is appropriately high-energy, there is also the downer eels -- morbid, harmonically risky, and in full existential crisis. Although it's not a focus of this compilation, the eels also had a penchant for completely free improvisation. Over the last forty plus years, there have been several Electric Eels compilations. Spin Age Blasters is quite simply the best one ever assembled, every single key track is here in its best version, properly mastered by John Golden, and sequenced with an eye towards both flow between tracks as well as individuation between sides. A true monster of an album."

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: 7V 150EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Seven Villas are absolute fans of Powel's work, no doubt, but what he has done for his first vinyl in Seven Villas is something else -- he goes beyond boundaries. These four original tracks have no gender, and this is something really special. Powel always delivers the finest electronica. Please take your time to listen to these excellent songs, and discover all the hidden details and messages they have; this is pure magic.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: SPITTLE 2001LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

With the 391 project, Spittle Records shed light on the most recondite and peculiar realities of the Italian underground. The Belpaese illustrated in imaginative regional postcards, with all the legacies of off culture: the do-it yourself ethos and the local gestation of phenomena from across the Channel -- above all -- such as new wave, post-punk and electronic nouvelle vague. Phenomenal little contributions collected on the periphery of the New World, with future stars of the alternative scene to come and authentic artisans who remained such for life. With the second vinyl volume of 391, Spittle Records line up some of the highlights of this brave and punctilious roundup. Features Marginal Note, Cauchemaur, Alphaville, Angelo Vaggi, JFK, Mr. Andrew, Modelliprodotti, East Wall, Lynx Avenue, Opium Club, and La Cosa. White vinyl.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: SUX 292LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The Weirdos... the most influential punk band from the original Hollywood scene (X, Flesh Eaters, Black Randy, Alley Cats, Screamers, Skulls, Bags, Deadbeats, etc.) This was their first in a multiple-night stand at the Whisky a Go Go 1977. A legend indeed!

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: SVVRCH 076LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1963. Unorthodox saxophonist Albert Ayler straddled different jazz streams during his brief career. After playing with Stanley Turrentine and Harold Budd in the late 1950s, a move to Sweden brought him into the limelight, fronting his own trio. Debut album Something Different!!! comprised four dissonant songs delivered live with bassist Torbjörn Hultcrantz and drummer Sune Spångberg, with a barely recognizable rendition of showtune "I'll Remember April," an off-kilter take of Sonny Rollins's "The Stopper" (retitled "Rollins' Tune") and a wobbly cut of Miles Davis's "Tune Up," along with the original "Free." An exceptional musical experience.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: SVVRCH 078LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1988. Legendary Texan psychedelic innovator Roky Erickson formed the 13th Floor Elevators in the mid-1960s, shaking up the local and national music scenes with his astounding debut LP. After spells at psychiatric facilities, Erickson formed the Bleib Alien which became the Aliens, but by the early 1980s was fixated with junk mail. In the convoluted aftermath, 1988's Openers, released in limited numbers by London's 5 Hours Back, had Erickson solo on six of the tracks, his anguished, meandering lyrics backed by disjointed acoustic guitar chords, and here contrasted by the swampy power-pop backing of The Explosives on the rest.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: TR 538CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

With Radio Sessions (Marc Riley BBC 6 Music 2011-2022) Tapete Records revive the great tradition of releasing radio sessions of great (independent) acts. And what could be more natural than starting our series with The Monochrome Set, a band that represents the indie ethos like few others in following their own unique artistic vision without compromise. The most unique thing about the radio session recordings is that they encompass a mixture of concert and studio. The bands are freer than in studio recordings at the same time more focused than in live performances -- gems from the bands repertoire which might not have been played live are often preserved only in the radio sessions. Radio Sessions contains all the BBC 6 sessions recorded for and hosted by the great Marc Riley from the years 2011-2022. 32 songs in total including well-known hits like "Eine Symphonie des Grauens", "Jet Set Junta", and "Alphaville", as well as fantastic versions of seldom heard or not so well-known songs like "Rain Check" or "Hip Kitten Spinning Chrome". With the kind support of the BBC, you are now able to release these recordings of the most demonstrably intelligent, dark, witty, and British of all guitar pop bands on record for the first time.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: TR 538LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version. With Radio Sessions (Marc Riley BBC 6 Music 2011-2022) Tapete Records revive the great tradition of releasing radio sessions of great (independent) acts. And what could be more natural than starting our series with The Monochrome Set, a band that represents the indie ethos like few others in following their own unique artistic vision without compromise. The most unique thing about the radio session recordings is that they encompass a mixture of concert and studio. The bands are freer than in studio recordings at the same time more focused than in live performances -- gems from the bands repertoire which might not have been played live are often preserved only in the radio sessions. Radio Sessions contains all the BBC 6 sessions recorded for and hosted by the great Marc Riley from the years 2011-2022. 32 songs in total including well-known hits like "Eine Symphonie des Grauens", "Jet Set Junta", and "Alphaville", as well as fantastic versions of seldom heard or not so well-known songs like "Rain Check" or "Hip Kitten Spinning Chrome". With the kind support of the BBC, you are now able to release these recordings of the most demonstrably intelligent, dark, witty, and British of all guitar pop bands on record for the first time.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: TR 540LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Since 1992, the collective around David Christian has been stoically producing unique noise pop. Comet Gain are Comet Gain, a band in which the Swell Maps and the Undertones shake hands in the Wigan Casino. Admittedly, a skewed picture. But as with every outstanding band, one fails to describe the sound of Comet Gain. You just have to hear it. When the Corona shit hit the fan in 2020, David Christian, who now lives in the beautiful south of France, had the leisure to dig through the considerable Comet Gain archive and presented the astonished Comet Gain community with new compilations of outtakes, demos, live recordings, and simply forgotten and never released hits every Bandcamp Friday. The Misfit Jukebox is now a compilation of these compilations, the topper-most of the popper-most from a hitherto unseen or unheard part of the CG universe. First time on CD and LP."... So here I am with a new Comet Gain, old friends like Jon Slade Darren Smith making demos in a London living room for whatever comes next. 'Post USA' 'Skinny Wolves' both sung by Rachel Evans are more spiky elbowed little skeletons, sometime after the jagged rock opera of a third album pop over to Phil's Highgateish flat near the shadow of suicide bridge to do some gentler songs among covers of John Cale we do 'My Time Tunnel' promptly forget it exists... when the genial sound stack Woodie Taylor arrives we embark on an expedition of EPs, LPs, 45s in a non linear gibbering slow/rush of an almost career... 'Never Die' was a Réa listes LP outtake now home on Beautiful Despair 12" EP for Kevin Pedersen. 'No Spotlite On Sometimes', 'Herbert Huncke Part 3' we somehow did in an airless east end dungeon while visiting punk guitarists stole some of the band for local pup crawls. This Herbert H was the first we did, meant for the Germs Of Youth 45 but a typical CG error meant the muckering about jam version ended up for the disc. 'Fists In The Pocket' was a softer demo I lost before the band heard and 'Weekend Dreams' was on Kiko Amat's La Doble Vida split 45 with Hello Cuca. We did this in a feral one take before the neighbors got back from work. I like it that way. By the time we got to the almost professional 'Paperback Ghosts' and 'Howl Of The Lonely Crowd' we'd lost Jon Kay Ishikawa but found Ben Phillpson, James Hornsey, Anne Laure Guillain. "Your Just Lonely" are B Sides from the records featuring friends Alasdair MacLean, Lupe Nunez on vocals. This particular tale ends with the most recent song which is about the group I've just wrote of 'Even This Could Be Beautiful' because yes even this erratic, warped, mumbling, innocent things can be. It's been fun so far. Enjoy the LP." --David

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: TAC 020EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

However, let's take a moment to imagine what might have happened had the recording been released as a vinyl 12" back in 1983. Could it have been a game changer? No one will never know for sure. Nevertheless, one thing is certain: with its punchy Roland 808 rhythms, and catchy synth lines and vocoder, it undoubtedly qualifies as a classic German electro track, and one of the earliest techno/proto-techno recordings. At almost eight minutes in length, this track includes one of the most exhilarating breaks in electro music of that era, showcasing extensive drum editing and effects. It strongly resembles the sound that Detroit would become famous for in the years to come, but make no mistake -- this record was produced straight out of Bremen, a relatively small city in Northern Germany. For the flip side of the single, The Outer Edge enlisted Alexander Arpeggio, the owner of Mond Musik und Eine Welt label, to edit the track while preserving its original spirit. As a member of the acid techno project Aufgang B and the synth-pop minimal duo OTTO, he not only has a deep understanding for this kind of music but also possesses the ability to give the song a different feel with greater dancefloor appeal. He has slightly reduced the tempo of the track and emphasized the instrumental and break parts, resulting in an exciting remix that is DJ-friendly and has everything you could ask for. The 12" release comes with the original Art Programming logo in a vintage style, packaged in a generic black sleeve with hype sticker. This is a serious gem that you won't want to miss out on. Edition of 200.

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: WIRE 474

FILE UNDER: Misc

"In the magazine: Annea Lockwood, Kramer, Anarchy in Maida Vale, Svitlana Nianio, Coffin Prick, Ellen Zweig, Goat (JP), Ziúr; Invisible Jukebox: Gerald Cleaver; Global Ear: DIY electronics in Bucharest; The Inner Sleeve: Abdullah Miniawy on Fela Kuti; Epiphanies: Sunik Kim on Conlon Nancarrow; Unlimited Editions: Guruguru Brain; Unofficial Channels: Radio Amnion; and in the review sections: Pat Thomas, Dorothy Ashby, Black composers, Harry Smith, Derek Jarman restaged, Suzanne Ciani, and more. On the Wire Tapper 62 CD: 16 new tracks by Oxbow, Coffin Prick, Blanco Teta, Faizal Mostrixx, Boris & Uniform, Kris Kuldkepp, and more."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: TDP 54094LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; reissue, originally released in 1992. The ups and downs of the high-ranking British heavy metal/prog act UFO are many and varied since their formation in London in 1969. The 1992 release High Stakes & Dangerous Men was a return to form that saw founding bassist Pete Way re-connect with lead singer Phil Mogg, this time with Electric Sun drummer Clive Edwards and guitarist Laurence Archer of Phil Lynott's Grand Slam also in the ranks. Mogg, Way, and Archer were a great songwriting team that worked in shades of southern rock and blues, drawing from noteworthy acts like Bad Company, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Seger. UFO fans will not be disappointed! Licensed from Cherry Red.

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: TROST 226CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Album 2 is the second album by the Turkish synthwave duo Zack Zack Zack (Yigit Bakkalbasi and Cemgil Demirtas) based in Vienna, Austria. Their name is an artistic manifesto; a wordplay referring to the Austrian political disaster ("Ibiza A?air") from May 2019, which revealed the corrupted system of politics and lead to the government's fall. Their debut EP 1 from 2021 immediately caught international attention and Zack Zack Zack got invited to gothic/postpunk festivals in Germany and Sweden.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: TROST 226LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. Album 2 is the second album by the Turkish synthwave duo Zack Zack Zack (Yigit Bakkalbasi and Cemgil Demirtas) based in Vienna, Austria. Their name is an artistic manifesto; a wordplay referring to the Austrian political disaster ("Ibiza A?air") from May 2019, which revealed the corrupted system of politics and lead to the government's fall. Their debut EP 1 from 2021 immediately caught international attention and Zack Zack Zack got invited to gothic/postpunk festivals in Germany and Sweden.

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: TROST 227CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Two grand pianos, quasi two orchestras, driven by two of the most distinguished personalities of contemporary jazz: Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach -- they are having a conversation within the medium of sound. But they complement one another in a way that makes any stylistic differentiation irrelevant. With all the transparency in the course of their playing the dialogical principle opens out into a holistic piano language. What counts is freedom and the responsibility to create something new, driven by the awareness of continuous change." --Bert NoglikLiner notes by Alexander von Schlippenbach: "During the first attempts to improvise with four hands on the piano, it soon became clear that playing together without any conceptual guidelines -- of whatever kind -- can quickly lead to unwanted tautologies or even pleonasms. On the other hand, it is quite possible that with longer experience in practice, something useful will emerge. The present pieces, which were composed over a period of thirty years meet these criteria in different ways." Recording by Olaf Rupp at AA Studio on September 1-3 2021. Edited, mixed by Olaf Rupp on March 6, 2022. Photos by Manfred Rinderspacher and Georg Tuskany.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: TROST 227LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

LP version. "Two grand pianos, quasi two orchestras, driven by two of the most distinguished personalities of contemporary jazz: Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach -- they are having a conversation within the medium of sound. But they complement one another in a way that makes any stylistic differentiation irrelevant. With all the transparency in the course of their playing the dialogical principle opens out into a holistic piano language. What counts is freedom and the responsibility to create something new, driven by the awareness of continuous change." --Bert NoglikLiner notes by Alexander von Schlippenbach: "During the first attempts to improvise with four hands on the piano, it soon became clear that playing together without any conceptual guidelines -- of whatever kind -- can quickly lead to unwanted tautologies or even pleonasms. On the other hand, it is quite possible that with longer experience in practice, something useful will emerge. The present pieces, which were composed over a period of thirty years meet these criteria in different ways." Recording by Olaf Rupp at AA Studio on September 1-3 2021. Edited, mixed by Olaf Rupp on March 6, 2022. Photos by Manfred Rinderspacher and Georg Tuskany.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: TROST 234LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. The End is near -- after two albums on the now defunct UK label Rare Noise, the powerful project of Sofia Jernberg (vocals), Kjetil Møster (clarinet and tenor saxophone), Mats Gustafsson (flutes, baritone saxophone and electronics), Anders Hana (baritone and bass guitar), and Børge Fjordheim (drums) releases their third album on Trost. They combine avant-rock, jazz, and a haunting beautiful voice to a seethe mix of emotions, noise, music -- a sonic landscape, dynamic, and captivating. This album is a true testament to the power of experimental music that continues to push boundaries and explore new sonic territories. Sofia Jernberg's voice is a central element -- her timbre and diverse vocal techniques set new accents and give the tracks an extraordinary emotional depth.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: TROST 235CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

24 years after Hermann Nitsch's first realization of the six-day play (1998), his Gesamtkunstwerk once again took place in July 2022, shortly after the artist passed away in April. "The six-day play of the Orgien Mysterien Theater, is to become the greatest and most important festival of mankind (it is an aesthetic ritual of the glorification of existence). It is at the same time a popular festival and a mystery of existence brought to consciousness. The festival of the orgien mysterien theatre has no other pretext than the mystical glorification of our being here." --Hermann Nitsch. The Orgien Mysterien Theatre is an artistic endeavor. In addition to the visual idea of form, music plays an essential role. The basic concept of the play is based on a symphonic idea, performed by the Orgien Mysterien Theater Orchestra. The setting for the action was taking place in the castle complex in Prinzendorf with all its rooms, as well as the surrounding landscape of the Lower Austrian Weinviertel. Liner notes by the musical director of the o.m. theatre Andrea Cusumano (German and English). Concept: Hermann Nitsch. Recorded on July 30, 2022, Schloss Prinzendorf, Austria.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: TYPE 110LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Restocked, last copies. Since upsetting the techno multiverse with Man With Potential, ex-Yellow Swan Pete Swanson has tirelessly continued his exploration of the form, quickly breaking it down and molding it in his image. Pro Style is the result of those experiments, and finds Swanson at his most explosive, with his archetypal searing synthesizer blasts directed over warehouse kicks worthy of the Downwards catalog. This is possibly Swanson's most technoid investigation to date, but any "mainstream" form is peppered with more than enough failure to put a smile on the faces of unconvinced Yellow Swans fans. Pro Style is far from Berlin's precise minimalism, instead taking a raw, hands-on direction that we haven't heard in the genre for many years. Whether you're in the club or in the basement, Swanson's pounding kicks and (surprisingly) booming basses should keep the apocalypse at bay, for now at least. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: 9783955751821

FILE UNDER: Misc

Pop music and comic culture -- somehow they have always been siblings. So, what could be more natural than to have the great songs of one of the most legendary bands transformed into comic strips by fantastic illustrators and cartoonists? So here it is: The Go-Betweens songcomic -- Thank You For A Lovely Day. Eleven songs from the entire creative period of the legendary Australian band interpreted by eleven international cartoonists and artists. As diverse, colorful and complex as the band's nine studio albums. In 1977, friends Robert Forster and Grant McLennan founded The Go-Betweens in Brisbane, Australian and within a few years their folky indie rock, songs such as "Right Here", "Love Goes On", and "Streets of Your Town" helped make them an international force in the indie world. In 1989, the band disbanded after six successful albums, only to return in 2000 with a new album The Friends of Rachel Worth -- recorded together with the members of Sleater-Kinney -- followed by Bright Yellow Bright Orange in 2003 and Oceans Apart in 2005 after which the sudden death of Grant McLennan in May 2006 put an end to recording activity. Since then, Robert Forster has been nurturing the band's legacy; helping re-release and present their early works in the form of two box sets by Domino Records, telling the story of the Go-Betweens, as a story of true friendship, in his autobiography Grant and I as well as releasing numerous solo albums and touring them around the world. Liner notes by Robert Forster.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: WRJ 008LTD-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress; LP version. 180 gram vinyl; Half speed mastered; Heavy sleeve and obi. We Release Jazz announce the official reissue of Ryo Fukui's final album, the very personal contemporary jazz offering, A Letter from Slowboat, sourced from the original masters. Known for his miraculous albums 1976's Scenery (WRJ 001CD/LP) and 1977's Mellow Dream (WRJ 002CD/LP), legendary Hokkaido pianist Ryo Fukui, with the help of his wife Yasuko, opened his very own jazz club in Sapporo in 1995, Slowboat. This is where Ryo Fukui spent the latter half of his career, playing again and again, welcoming peers for unforgettable sessions, and perfecting the craft he lived for: jazz. A Letter from Slowboat is a poetic, soulful, and honest love letter to Hokkaido, to Fukui's jazz club, and to endless hours of practicing artistry in a place called home. Backed by longtime collaborators Takumi Awaya on bass, and Ittetsu Takemura on drums, Ryo Fukui flows through classics and originals with natural class, fluidity, and absolute precision, expressing a smooth balance between skills and heart. Slowboat, full of breathtaking solos and exquisite moments of clarity, is another crucial piece in the career of one of the most fascinating jazzmen to ever grace the piano. It was released in 2016, sadly the year Ryo Fukui passed away, leaving behind a legacy of works that is sure to captivate jazz lovers for generations to come, and Slowboat, where the magic still happens to this day. Reissued in conjunction with 1999's Ryo Fukui in New York (WRJ 009CD/LTD-LP), also available via We Release Jazz.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: WNCL 042EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

WNCL Recordings is back with a series of two-track 10" vinyl battle weapons for your record box. Cementing his reputation as a modern-day legend in the underground scene, LMajor gifts WNCL Recordings with this previously dubplate-only pair of future classics.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: YORE 046EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Chicago house producer Andrew Emil (aka Change Request) joins Andy Vaz's Yore label. House music that comes directly from the source -- that is Chicago, IL. The Nite Dreams release features remixes (called here "Dreamixes") by Emil of one of his own Change Request productions and two by other artists. The three lustrous "Dreamixes" on Emil's Nite Dreams are, put simply, irresistible. Chicago-based music collective Artispure (featuring The Remedy) opens the release with the enticingly swinging "Chicago Underground," its dynamic house groove sprinkled with claps, chunky synth chords, slick hi-hat accents, and soulful vocal interjections. Made over by Emil, the tune's straight-up fabulous. The snappy Change Request production "Sunday's Best" glides breezily on a tropical wave of claps, a skipping house groove, and gentle melodic figures that give the music a nostalgic, even plaintive quality. The closing cut, Emil's soulful treatment of "Sunlight" by native Chicagoan Elbert Phillips and singer Andre Espeut, shows no drop-off. With a snare-popping groove driving the tune and Espeut laying a beautiful vocal across the percolating backdrop, "Sunlight" rivals the other two tracks for quality and appeal. Vaz keeps bringing them strong.