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PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: RANDB 114LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

This rare performance features fifteen tracks recorded live for German TV by the five-piece band, augmented on selected tracks by a brass section. The song selection encompasses the band's history, going from early singles "You Really Got Me" and "All Day And All Of The Night" through to four tracks from Muswell Hillbillies, their most recent LP. Sound quality is excellent throughout and the release comes with full credits and extensive sleeve notes.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: RANDB 119LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band are showcased over 12 tracks recorded live for radio and TV. The material is sourced from two 1968 sessions for John Peel plus a 1972 appearance on Beat Club and features tracks from four different Beefheart LPs. Beat Club tracks are excellent sound quality. BBC tracks are recorded off air but are still thoroughly listenable. Comes with full credits and comprehensive sleeve notes.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: RANDB 121LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

This LP arrived back from the pressing plant the day after the sad news of Jeff Beck's death was announced. It is now a tribute to an influential and well-respected musician. The Jeff Beck Group that recorded these eight tracks in the BBC Paris Studio in June 1972 was a jazzier, more instrumental group than in its previous incarnation. More emphasis is placed on Beck's solo ability, balanced by Max Middleton's elegant keyboard flourishes and Bobby Tench's soulful vocals. Tracks are taken from throughout Beck's career to this point and there is an otherwise-unreleased version of Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine" as well as a definitive "Definitely Maybe". Sound quality is excellent throughout and the release comes with full credits and extensive sleeve notes.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: AES 005CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Italian audio/visual artist Camilla Pisani joins Aesthetical with her new album Phant[as]. Imagined as a lucid nightmare, fueled by her various inner struggles, it is a trip into the depths of imagination. The project is inspired by phantasmagoria, a form of theater that was most popular in Paris in the 18th century, in which images of skeletons, demons, and ghosts were projected onto walls and/or sheets. During these performances, there was a rapid succession of lights, smoke, illusions, ghosts, and specters that deceived and amazed the audience. The album then, revolves around the concept of "illusion" to be understood as a succession of images, sounds, colors, objects, actions that vividly affect the senses and imagination showing unreal and intangible figures, but still visible and paralyzing, just like our fears are. In fact, each track deals with my different turmoils, negative thoughts that have conditioned the last few years of her life and describe uneasy conditions shared by most of my peers (toxic relationships; job insecurity and exploitation; immateriality of the future, translated into frustration, exhaustion/desperation, claustrophobia and a desire to escape; anguish, panic and a sense of powerlessness towards nature and disease). The project is presented as a cathartic experience in which she exorcises her mental ghosts and confronts, challenges with the powerful and persuasive weapon that is sound, composed of obsessive rhythms and evanescent atmospheres. Finally, the reference to the Magic Lanterns is linked to her research in the field of audiovisuals, since they were the first performances in which an attempt was made, through the combination of motion graphics, light games and sound, to obtain greater sensorial and emotional involvement with the public. "Your Refusal is My Comfort Zone" features Vera di Lecce and Serena Dibiase.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: AI 033LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Berlin based sound artist Sa Pa delivers AI-33, titled Atmospheric Fragments. Originally intended as a soundtrack to accompany ten short experimental films as part of a physical exhibition in 2020 curated by Manon Bernard, Atmospheric Fragments was alternatively premiered online as a digital showroom -- with its music performed and recorded both live and independently in 2021. Atmospheric Fragments was conceived as a collaborative audio-visual project, positing the viewer inside a sonic boom of introspective parenthesis and offering a place for internal dialogues under the circumstances of a largely unknown and rapidly changing modern world. Sa Pa's work presents a fresh sonic reinterpretation of urban landscapes, skylines, and modern environments, procuring from its source material a whole new kaleidoscopic world of its own. The record consists of two mixes -- "Studio" and "Live" -- which demonstrate a deep explorational study of our everyday surroundings, plunging the listener into a realm of heightened sense experience and microscopic detail. Where the "Studio" mix embodies the precision and management of the studio workspace and is more ambient in nature, such intricacies are exchanged for a larger, livelier sound stage and alternative sonic material in the "Live" mix. A nebulous ocean of shifting spaces and effervescent textures, Sa Pa augments and modulates field recordings into a fluid and ever-evolving narrative. Seen through a viewfinder of deep and immersive observation, new transients, momentary artefacts and poetry in motion begin to reveal itself. In a world caught in momentary stasis, Atmospheric Fragments is a forensic inquiry into our perceptive environment, with its augmented lens placing us on the cusp of the ungraspable.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: AX 058CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Metropolis Metropolis album is an abbreviated version of the most recent electronic music soundtrack for Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) by the techno music producer and cultural icon, Jeff Mills. Unlike his first soundtrack where tracks addressed specific segments of the film in a track listing form, which was created and released in 2001, this version is more a symbiotic mix of compositions that proposes a nuanced representation of the plot and storyline. As an electronic symphonic music creation, Mills proposes a few interesting points in the schematics of this album: 1. the positioning and role of the listener as the soundtrack is based on the environment of the scenes, rather than pure transcription; 2. as a storyline that takes place in the year 2000, the choice of sound elements refer to some future commonality and foresight between the genres of classical and electronic music -- between man and machine; and 3., in many parts of the soundtrack where sounds are played in unison. This is symbolic of the hopefulness the storyline works towards.From the back cover of the album: "Creating music for Fritz Lang's masterpiece film Metropolis over the many years has been and continues to be a great experience. The film is a story about 'man vs man' with the help of a machine. Its dramatic theme is as relevant now as it was when the filmed debuted in 1927. A film to enjoyed, but also noted and examined." --Jeff Mills

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: BT 018LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 repress! First vinyl reissue of the landmark 1967 debut album by AMM, AMMMusic. Remastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Exact replica sleeve by Stephen O'Malley. "Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its recording in 1966, this reissue makes one of the cornerstones of the experimental music tradition available again in its original form, replete with Keith Rowe's beautiful pop art cover and the terse aphorisms by the group that served as its original liner notes. A testament to the interaction between the experimental avant-garde and the countercultural underground, the album was originally released on Elektra, recorded by Jac Holzman (the label's founder, responsible for signing The Doors, Love, and The Stooges) and produced by DNA, a group that included Pink Floyd's first manager, Peter Jenner (the title of Pink Floyd's 'Flaming' is a tribute to AMM's 'Later During a Flaming Riviera Sunset'). Formed in 1965 by three players from the emerging British jazz avant-garde -- Keith Rowe and Lou Gare had played with the great progressive big band leader Mike Westbrook and Eddie Prévost played in a post-bop group with Gare -- AMM quickly evolved from a free jazz group into something decidedly more difficult to categorise. By the time these recordings were made, two more members had joined the group: another Westbrook associate, Lawrence Sheaff, and the radical composer Cornelius Cardew. Then at work on his masterpiece of graphic notation Treatise, Cardew brought with him extensive experience of the post-serialist and Cageian currents in contemporary composition. Using a combination of conventional instruments and unconventional methods of sound production (most famously Keith Rowe's prepared tabletop guitar, but also prepared piano and transistor radio), the group performed improvised pieces often running for over two hours and ranging from extended periods of silence to terrifying cacophonies. On AMMMusic, long tones sit next to abrasive thuds, the howl of uncontrolled feedback accompanies Cardew's purposeful piano chords, radios beam in snatches of orchestral music. AMM's clearest break with jazz-based improvisation concerned the idea of individuality. Initially through an engagement with eastern philosophy and mysticism and later though a politicized communitarianism, AMM sought to develop a collective sonic identity in which individual contributions could barely be discerned. In the performances captured on AMMMusic the use of numerous auxiliary instruments and devices, including radios played by three members of the group, contribute to the sensation that the music is composed as a single monolithic object with multiple facets, rather than as an interaction between five distinct voices." --Francis Plagne

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BT 024EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. Oren Ambarchi's Editions Mego release, Hubris (EMEGO 227CD/LP, 2016), gets the remix treatment courtesy of electronic music legend Ricardo Villalobos. Villalobos expertly transforms Ambarchi's layered web of countless sustained and pulsating palm-muted guitars into a funky, mesmerizing and propulsive long-form piece. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin March 2016. Photograph by Estelle Hanania. Sculptures by Daniel Druet. Design by Stephen O'Malley.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: BT 078LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 repress. Black Truffle announce the first-ever vinyl reissue of Alvin Curran's classic Fiori Chiari, Fiori Oscuri, originally issued in 1978 on Ananda, the cooperative label run by Curran, Roberto Laneri, and Giacinto Scelsi. Fiori Chiari, Fiori Oscuri (Light Flowers Dark Flowers) -- its title inspired by an intersection in Milan -- is the second in the series of four solo recordings Alvin Curran issued in the 1970s and early 1980s, preceded by Songs and Views from the Magnetic Garden (1975), followed by The Works (1980) and Canti Illuminati (1982). Each of these solo works combines field recordings with performances on synthesizer, various acoustic instruments, and voice, arranged in languorously paced, dreamy sequences. Far from the bracing pointillism of much musique concrete, the elements encountered on the meandering course followed by Fiori Chiari, Fiori Oscuri -- whether a frenetic piano improvisation, dense layers of Serge synthesizer and ocarina, or a monologue from Frederic Rzewski's five-year old son, Alexis -- often occupy the foreground of our attention for minutes at a time. As Curran explains, his approach is like that of a filmmaker in the editing process, working with "whole blocks of recorded time." The purring of a cat, toy piano, a child counting, plaintive synthesizer tones, the cacophony of exotic birds at the London Zoo -- each disappears into the next, until, on the LP's second side, a solo piano performance takes center stage, moving unexpectedly from percussive minimalist permutations to a halting rendition of "Georgia on My Mind". A subtle yet stunning work that more than forty years on still seems charged with possibility, Fiori Chiari, Fiori Oscuri arrives in a loving reproduction of the original sleeve, featuring Edith Schloss' beautiful cover painting, remastered audio and with new liner notes by Alvin Curran and Francis Plagne.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: BT 084LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 repress. Black Truffle announce For McCoy, a new work by Eiko Ishibashi dedicated to the widely loved character of Jack McCoy, portrayed by Sam Waterston in Law & Order. Following on from Hyakki Yagy? (BT 064LP), For McCoy finds Ishibashi further exploring the unique space she has carved out in recent years, bringing together musique concrète techniques, ECM-inspired jazz, lush layers of synths and hints of pop into immersive and affecting structures crafted in her home studio, aided by a group of close collaborators. Beginning with overlapping layers of descending flute lines, the expansive "I Can Feel Guilty About Anything" (whose two parts stretch out over more than thirty minutes) unfolds with a free-associative logic, embracing dreamlike transitions and unexpected cinematic cuts. As a hovering cloud of synthetic tones and multi-tracked voices fans out from the spare opening moments, Joe Talia's skittering cymbals settle into a gently propulsive groove, soon joined by melodic fragments performed by Daisuke Fujiwara on multi-tracked saxophone. As the drums cede to field recordings and ominous synth figures, the uncommon meeting of saxophone and electroacoustic techniques call to mind the more spacious moments of Michel Redolfi and André Jaume's Synclavier-propelled oddity Hardscore or the early work of Gilbert Artman's Urban Sax. As the piece continues on the LP's second side, distant dialogue rumbles beneath a surface of processed flutes, blurring into a cavernously reverberant backdrop for stark ascending lines performed by MIO.O on violin. Eventually, the piece settles into a gorgeous passage of abstracted dream pop, where Ishibashi's multitracked vocal harmonies glide atop synth chords, errant pings and snatches of outdoor sound. Fragments of melodic material reappear throughout the spacious opening piece, finally stepping to the forefront on the closing track, "Ask Me How I Sleep at Night". Here, over a shuffling groove supplied by Jim O'Rourke on double bass and Tatsuhisa Yamamoto on drums, layers of flutes, saxophones and guitars sound out melodies whose combination of twisting irregularity and soulful immediacy calls up prime Keith Jarrett, while their closely voiced harmonies suggest Kenny Wheeler or even Wayne Shorter's Atlantis. In a classical gesture of closure, the web of melodic lines eventually leads back to the descending flute figures with which the record began. Presented in an immersive, impeccably detailed mix by Jim O'Rourke and arriving in a sleeve featuring Ishibashi's beautiful drawings of Jack McCoy, For McCoy is an essential release for anyone following the enchanted and unique path being forged by Eiko Ishibashi.

 

PRICE: $46.50

CAT #: CVSD 124BK

FILE UNDER: Misc

Corbett vs. Dempsey present Roscoe Mitchell, Keeper of the Code: Paintings 1963-2022. This is Mitchell's first exhibition with CvsD. Roscoe Mitchell (b. 1940) has been a leading figure in the performing arts for over 50 years. Keeper of the Code is the first solo exhibition to spotlight his work in the visual arts. Born and raised in Chicago, Mitchell formed the Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble in 1966, featuring Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors. Three years later, adding Joseph Jarman, upon their departure to Paris for a two-year sojourn the group transformed into the collective interdisciplinary troupe called the Art Ensemble of Chicago. By that time Mitchell had already recorded the first LP of music affiliated with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Sound (Delmark, 1966), and he had joined forces with St. Louis trumpeter Bowie for Numbers 1 & 2 (Nessa, 1967). Indeed, Mitchell had been painting since 1963, and he continued on and off into the heyday of the Art Ensemble and through a hyper-productive sequence of decades of solo music, improvised encounters, and music for Mitchell-led ensembles. The pandemic afforded Mitchell time off-road in which he began painting very avidly again. This exhibition surveys his work from the most recent canvases -- including a series of compositionally complex four-by-four foot works -- all the way back to the beginning, when Mitchell was a promising young saxophonist and ambitious autodidact painter. A large selection of recent works, executed since 2018, includes the painting "The Code 3," its diamond-mosaic pattern surrounded by hip glyphic figures including the titular keeper. These delightfully playful, jubilantly colorful canvases sport various repeated motifs and themes -- custodians of codes and keys, time keepers and ticket takers, figures known as "floaters" and "wavers," and another persona called "the watcher." Alongside these imagistic works, interpenetrating them as well, are all sorts of approaches to abstraction, from organic masses of circles that might recall Aboriginal art and warped checkerboards to more rigidly structured geometry and color sequences. In the gallery's north space, CvsD has gathered Mitchell's historical works dating back to 1963, including the cover painting from Numbers 1 & 2, and the riveting piece that graced the Art Ensemble's 1985 LP The Third Decade. In addition to the paintings, Mitchell is installing a new incarnation of his legendary percussion set-up known as "The Cage," which directly bridges the musical and visual in his capacious artistic imagination. 140-page full-color catalog reproducing over 100 of Mitchell's paintings, with an interview by John Corbett. First printing, edition of 1000; printed on 100# classic crest eggshell solar white and 70# starbright smooth white opaque text; 8.00x11.00x0.75 inches; 0.2 oz.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: DAMGOOD 589CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Debut LP from the Guy Hamper Trio! Groovy Hammond garage rock instrumentals from Billy Childish (Thee Headcoats/CTMF, etc.) and featuring James Taylor (Prisoners/JTQ). Who's in the band sunshine? Mainly myself on guitar, Julie on bass, Wolf on drums, and of course Jamie on Hammond. A great bonus is Thee Headcoats with Bruce and Tub guest as rhythm section on a track or two. You and James Taylor go back a long way. Do you remember how you first met? The Prisoners were a young group who played with us (the Milkshakes) in the early 1980s. One day they turned up with an organ player, Jamie. Jamie used to then borrow my Selmer guitar amp to play through. You've revisited a few old classics on this album, and given them a true makeover. How would you describe The Guy Hamper Trio's sound? I guess there must be a derogatory term for it but I might need some help finding it. In the very early days of The James Taylor Quartet (Wolf was their drummer back then), I was in the Natural Born Lovers (a blues group with Big Russ and Sexton Ming). We used to be the support for them. I really liked their sound and I guess The Guy Hamper Trio is not a million miles from that blues-influenced, film soundtrack vibe, man. There you made me say 'man'. Next thing you know I will be saying 'cool!' Let's just say it's a wizard sound, Jamie is such a great player. Prior to this album The Guy Hamper Trio's sole release was the 'Polygraph Test' 7" from 2009. Why such a big gap? It takes time for all of us to get all our solders in line. 'Get on with it mush! And trifle not, your time is but short!' What inspired the album's title track All The Poisons In The Mud? It's actually the title of a novel I've been writing, and rewriting, over the past 12 years, and is taken from a quote from I Claudius by Robert Graves -- a formative influence on me as a 15 year old."

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: DTW 072LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

New York City's tape_hiss makes his debut on Darker Than Wax with A Linear Progression, a deep and meditative dance record born out of the pandemic's paradigm shift. tape_hiss is an accomplished producer by any measure, with early releases on Love Notes from Brooklyn making his hardware-driven sound known worldwide, and a string of follow up releases on Axe on Wax, Just Jack, Lost Palms, and Echocentric Records, solidifying his reputation as one of the deepest in the game. With A Linear Progression, the artist has approached his craft from new angles with stunning results. While tape_hiss's previous work had all found its genesis in a kitted-out studio, driven by melodies and chord progressions, the tracks making up A Linear Progression were all built around one tool: the MPC 1000. On weekend trips out of the city to visit family during 2020, the producer would bring only his MPC and put together these tunes, finding inspiration in its limitations and delving deep into '90s sampling techniques. After getting back to the studio, he would record what was created -- sometimes nearly fully formed tracks, and other times core ideas to expand upon. The cumulation of this process was an entirely new take on the tape_hiss sound -- dubby, euphoric, and exploring a wide range of tempos and beat patterns. First single "W 4th Street [ACE]" exemplifies this -- a spacey roller that's not a club track, but would work equally well in that environment. Other standouts include "Energy Transfer" with its heavily '90s-inspired electro-not-electro vibe, and the genre-less "Heartbreaking", constantly moving its momentum upward, yet remaining an introspective cut. More of a mixtape than a club 12", A Linear Progression marks a step forward in the producer's musical growth. For fans of: Space Ghost, Laza, Rudolf C, Chaos In The CDB.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: EDDA 052CD

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

All Welcome on Planet Ree-Vo could only really have been made in one city steeped as it is in Bristol's decades of less conventional hip-hop and bass music. Tweaked and fine-tuned during the summer of 2020 the record punches with a mix of red eyed paranoia to a playful future funk. The album was all recorded, produced and mixed by Andy Spaceland at Christchurch Studios, Bristol (home of Mezzanine era Massive Attack) with all vocals written and performed by T. Relly. During 2021 the first two singles from the LP were released. The first was the juggernaut that is "Groove With It". T. Relly growling out polemic against the relentless cacophony spun by Andy, the brutality of the bass and horns is temporarily smoothed with Relly's soulful, swaggering placation of "Turn your speakers on/ Till ya speakers blown baby/ If you're feeling strong baby/ We can keep it going baby". This was followed in April by the 12" release of "Combat" featuring a thumping remix by Surgeon and an extended electro remix by Ree-Vo themselves. "Spacebox" which will be the last single to be released in time with the album is their hookiest, a party throwing chorus spinning tipsy visitors around the intergalactic control booth of mission control. "Lift off, blast off, shirt off, dance off! Naked in the dancehall SPACE BOX!" is the beamed mantra, Relly transmitting to all occupants of the galaxy. "We wanted to make a hedonistic and colorful dancehall track, a bold response to the suppressive circumstances of the last two years."

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 134LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Tilt was originally issued in the glory days of '95-97. "It must be stressed that even those familiar with Walker's career -- the sublime mid-60s Walker Brothers hits, the dramatic maturation of The Voice and Inimitable Presence on the not-to-be-missed first four solo LPs -- were shocked by Tilt. Yes, Tilt astonishes. The bleak, gothic theatre that Walker's oblique lyrics and operatic vocals convey is bolstered every step of the way by dark string arrangements, reverbed guitars, the whirring of synthesizers and the rattle of percussion. It furthers by an astonishing margin the already singular breadth of Scott Walker's 30-year career, finding him at still another and different peak of his ability as a vocalist and lyricist. And God what a barren and unfamiliar summit it is!"

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 253LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Flow on, silver juice, flow on... into the vein-streams of the nu generation via 90s classics like American Water and Starlite Walker and thence to the new century. They say time has no meaning, but we know otherwise. The pages of history condense eons and epochs into the stuff of mere chapters -- sometimes as little as paragraphs -- but how many lifetimes have we lived since the salad days and nightz of the original Silver Jews, when they walked the back-alleys of the earth just a scant couple decades ago... Since we're asking pseudo-rhetorical questions, who knows how many fans of the arena-rock Silver Jews (circa Tanglewood Numbers and Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea) even know of the humble-yet-powerful origins of the band captured in the hiss-laden boombox mics of 1990-91. The songs lodged here are the tracks from the original 7" EP Dime Map of the Reef and the 12"EP The Arizona Record, documenting the telepathic counter-intuition between these singers who went into such specific different directions later in life."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: DC 263LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Drag City takes great pleasure in introducing to you a remarkable new musical singer, songwriter and all-around talent, Joanna Newsom. Joanna's music has more of an affinity with the folk revival of the 60s, or the bluegrass movement at present, than with most contemporary 'folk' (or 'anti-folk') scenes. Affinities aside, her style could hardly be called bluegrass; nor does it evoke the pastoral tonalities of 60s folk: she sings about whalebones, sleep, grammar, mollusks, accumulation, automobiles, owls, burning boats, string collections, milk, teeth, bridges, balloons, cake, colors, and kin, all in an otherworldly, ragged-sweet voice that defies convention. Her harp arrangements are at times ethereal and delicate, at others galloping and ornate, but never overwrought -- presenting not so much a mere fusion of influences, as an inquiry into the places where those influences naturally intersect. She considers the late composer Ruth Crawford Seeger (who was one of American folk music's earliest advocates, as well as a vanguardist composer) to be a major influence, because of Seeger's ability and desire to reconcile the tenets of experimentalism with her love for a beautiful melody."

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 620LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Yes, Simple Songs is an album of songs sung by Jim O'Rourke all the way through! It has been ten years since Jim's voice rang out from a new album. Ah, when James Michael was just a wee lad, he sang all the time, with a lovely little lilt to his voice, like all the children do. But the songs he sang gave his parents no end of consternation: 'Great Decei-verrr! Cigarettes, ice cream, figurines... of the Vir-gin Mar-eeee!' Aye, if only we'd-a been there -- little Jimmy's career would have started much sooner. Child labor laws be damned! It's hard to believe it has been nearly fourteen years since Insignificance. When that album hit in late 2001, we heard once or twice how it was too bad that it wasn't Eureka Part 2. Sissies! Then in 2009, when The Visitor returned Jim to the orchestrated instrumental feel of Bad Timing, people wondered when we'd have another album like Insignificance! Grrrr.... now, has the world caught up with Jim? Maybe -- but only because he let us. What Simple Songs sounds like.... At this point, the range of sounds and songs that have turned Jim's head are numerous enough to have crushed together into something that is unmistakably his -- the vast, glossy and glittering O'Rourkian (yes, like Kervorkian) wall of sound. The music's got OCD quality, played so immaculately by so many instruments, and most of them by the creator's hand. This time's really the widest screen yet for Jim's popular song-style, truly breathtaking! As for the songs themselves, one may have to resist the urge to skim the lyrics to try and guess who the target of each ditty might be -- but this ain't 'You're So Vain,' okay kids? And you're definitely NOT Warren Beatty. Simple Songs was worked over, from source material to finished mix, for five years or more now. Jim's writing is kinda rooted in the approach of Insignificance -- frosted pop tarts that leave a darkly bitter aftertaste. So bilious not even Jim can listen to it all the way through! Fine, it's not for him to listen to anymore -- WE can't stop from listening. It's like a beautiful car wreck we can't look away from or stop feeling AMAZING about. Super fun stuff."

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: EMK 1204EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Hypnotic and seductive, Emika crafts Earthy melodic techno track "Breath Cuts" using her breathy vocals, kick, and devilish sub bass. Pleasure and pain, the euphoria Emika knows how to create sonically in order for her to lose her mind through the music and escape reality, composed and produced during the darkest chapter in her life, she mixes in the inevitable pain of a once locked-down Berlin. "Breath Cuts" is a journey-style dance track, for song-lovers or DJs that like to tell stories on their dance-floors. Emika reveals a poem in the middle of the song, a dream about being free again; "I like to look out the window. I like to imagine the clouds." Norman Nodge, Berghain resident by night and lawyer by day, pulls out and enhances the lush ethereal vocal elements, remixing them further into an angel-like chorus, one can imagine the dancefloor in Berghain -- people rushing from the sound while spirits float above them looking down. The two producers decided to provide listeners and DJs with a functional kick-less mix for advanced mixing pleasure.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: ESPDISK 5081CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Bára Gísladóttir is an Icelandic composer and double bassist based in Copenhagen. She is an active performer and regularly plays her own music, mostly solo or with her long-time collaborator Skúli Sverrisson. Additionally, she is the double bassist of Elja Ensemble. Occasionally, she performs as a soloist with ensembles or orchestras, most recently in her own double bass concert, "Hringla," with the Copenhagen Philharmonic. Every sound on SILVA is of the double bass, processed to various degrees (with MAX/Live) and layered into a mass of noise. Gísladóttir describes SILVA as "a work for processed double bass built on the idea of a downward growing forest, living its own secret life of underground raves and meditative cohesiveness." She continues: "I like to think of different movement and direction in the musical form and was intrigued by the thought of something that would otherwise naturally grow upwards, in reach for light and surrounded by air, rather being drawn in the opposite direction where darkness and solid form serve as the source of gleaming luminosity and breezy surroundings. Both in my compositional and instrumentalist work, in every nook and cranny I've been driven to dig as deep as I've been able, with SILVA perhaps quite literally so. Although growing up in classical music and predominantly working and living in an environment of classical contemporary/avant-garde music, I've been very much into other genres as well; alternative, experimental, heavy metal, noise, drone, techno, and electronica, and I believe SILVA is the byproduct of all of that." SILVA is a joint release by Sono Luminus and ESP Disk'. Personnel: Bára Gísladóttir - double bass, effects, composition.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: FAITICHE 030LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Faitiche presents the album Exq I by Berlin underground techno legends Muellie Messiah & Punk not Punk, mainly known under their 100Records moniker. Weighing in at 36 minutes, the track was recorded in 2010, effortlessly intermingling dub, drone, and collage, a blend achieved thanks to the duo's jazz-inspired approach to improvisation. 100records is one of the last undiscovered treasures of the Berlin underground of the 1990s and 2000s. Like Elektro Music Department, 100records is unthinkable without techno and the club scene, but with a few exceptions the duo's tracks are not aimed at the dancefloor. With a claim to universality and a broader frame of reference, 100records developed a more extensive understanding of sound that rests on three pillars: the understated analogue drums of the Roland TR-808, a blurred, dubby sound, and improvisation. On first hearing, Exq I has little in common with the groovy, detailed, variation-rich sound usually associated with 100records. Recorded at the end of a highly productive decade, it is an echo speaking of exhaustion in which dub, drone and collage converge to form something whose jazz sensibility makes it readily identifiable as the work of 100records. 100records was founded in 1994 by Muellie Messiah (Dirk Budde) and Ekki 808 (Ekkehard Rau), who were joined in 1999 by Punk not Punk (Martin Osti). Around 2002, Ekki departed, leaving Budde and Osti to continue as a duo. Since then, their relationship has shaped 100records: Budde is the driven lone genius doggedly pursuing sounds, Osti the pragmatist who turns ideas into music. As well as making music, Budde is also a musicologist. In 1997 he published his PhD thesis entitled "Take Three Chords... Punk Rock and the Development to American Hardcore." As well as being his specialization, punk is also part of his identity: in the 1980s he sang and played keyboards in various punk bands in Kassel, the best-known being Haunted Henschel. After the fall of the Wall, attracted by the freedom of the newly reunited Berlin, Budde packed his bags and drove to the formerly divided city, having already become acquainted with techno at Kassel's influential Stammheim club. Includes download code.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: FTR 656LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Tennessee-based string bender, Joseph Allred likes to change things up from album to album. But usually, he does this one element or instrument at a time. On What Strange Flowers Grow in the Shade, Joseph adds a whole heck of a lot of elements. And he does so without ever really disguising the identity of his music. The six tracks here were all recorded with different line-ups. 'The Valley' features Chris Davis (Cherry Blossoms) and the Magic Tuber Stringband. 'The Ruins' is a Basho-esque solo piece created with large varieties of instrumental glisten. 'A Long Winter' features previous collusionists, Mikey Allred on trombone and Matt Johnson on synth. 'Lake Erie' features Jen Powers on dulcimer and Matthew J. Rolin on electric guitar. 'Sunburst' features Michael Pierce (Sweeteartflying) on synth. 'The Flood' features Anthony Ford (of Hellbender and Holy Mountaintop Removers) on drums and Patrick Shiroishi on sax. This may seem like wild and wooly selection of players (which it is), as might Joseph's decision to play electric guitar (amongst many other instruments), but it's really just another step along Allred's long and winding road. He had recorded on electric earlier, with both Hellbender and Graceless, but, as he wrote, 'I got a Fender Jaguar guitar at the beginning of the pandemic lock down and that really influenced the album too. I've been big into shoegaze and no wave kind of stuff for >20 years but didn't ever have a guitar like that for some reason until now. Fenders in general and especially a guitar like the Jaguar with all the chrome on it feels more like a contraption than a musical instrument in a lot of ways. Leo Fender was an inventor/tinkerer who wasn't a musician at all and was more influenced by car manufacturing than traditional instrument making. That guitar really encouraged me to use the volume knob and whammy bar a lot and I ended up with a kind of ethereal bowed string section sound by doing that and recording a lot of layers. That became the basis for all the tracks except for one where I started with an open tuned autoharp and a bunch of bass clarinet tracks for some reason.' The music on What Strange Flowers... was also influenced by the work of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, Glenn Branca, My Bloody Valentine, Loren Connors, Sonic Youth, and a variety of other folks, but as always, Allred's sound has signature spiritual components that are uniquely his own. And no matter how wide he opts to cast his stylistic net, there is a core depth to his music you can always recognize, even if you can't quite describe it. As ever, it's a real pleasure to have a new Joseph Allred LP to dig in to. So get diggin'." --Byron Coley, 2022

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: HPS 252CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue. Arch Stanton is the sixth studio album released by the instrumental stoner rock band Karma to Burn, released in 2014. Unlike their previous release V, this album returns to their exclusively instrumental roots, although the final track features dialogue snippets from the classic spaghetti western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: HPS 253CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Live in Brussels is a Karma To Burn's live album, recorded in Brussels in 2012. After ten years, Heavy Psych Sounds is now reissuing this epic live performance.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: HPS 256CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 2012. Also known as Karma To Burn: Slight Reprise, the release has nine tracks. Stoner legend John Garcia sings on the song "Two Times". After ten years, Heavy Psych Sounds reissue this stoner gem.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HOS 750CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Cult Of Youth began as a bedroom project in 2006 when founder Sean Ragon took a broken acoustic guitar, a $20 Mackie mixer, and a Roland rack synth and tried to recreate the atmosphere of the post-industrial and neo folk records he had been obsessed with since childhood. The project eventually evolved into a fully-fledged band and for the better part of a decade released a string of genre-bending albums that made perfect sense to some people and absolutely no sense to others. In 2015, after years of relentless touring, the band packed up a studio's worth of equipment and drove up to the mountains in Vermont with no plan, no songs, and enough psychedelics to brainwash an entire state. By day two, they had cleared out a derelict barn and built an entire studio running off a gas-powered generator rented from the local hardware store. That studio included a wall of gongs, a 9' marimba, a weapons grade arsenal of analog synthesizers, a 24-channel mixing console, and a full-blown PA system and not to mention some truly unusual instruments, ranging from a human thigh bone and a champagne cork. Over the following weeks they lived completely off the grid, spending most of their time doing farm chores, shooting guns, hiking, and recording with a clandestine cast of collaborators. Every harebrained idea that passed through their minds was exercised -- nothing was off the table. At some point, reality set in so everyone begrudgingly returned home to the reality of their regular lives. Over the next five years, these skeletons of songs would be cut up, arranged, sampled, reversed, and otherwise deciphered in various studios throughout Queens, Berlin, and Brooklyn. Jeff Berner (whom Sean met during his tenure as a touring member of Psychic TV) was enlisted in late 2020 to put the finishing touches on what seemed like an insurmountable task -- turning this trove of raw material into a cohesive work of art. Which brings us to now, the fruits of their labor presented for your pleasure: a 62-minute long double album that serves as a sonic effigy of all the pain and suffering collectively experienced over the past seven past years, a psychic exorcism, and a triumphant rebirth. A "pagan post punk" epic.

 

PRICE: $53.50

CAT #: HOS 750LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Double LP version. Deluxe linen wrapped, embossed, foil stamped, tip on gatefold jacket; includes download.Cult Of Youth began as a bedroom project in 2006 when founder Sean Ragon took a broken acoustic guitar, a $20 Mackie mixer, and a Roland rack synth and tried to recreate the atmosphere of the post-industrial and neo folk records he had been obsessed with since childhood. The project eventually evolved into a fully-fledged band and for the better part of a decade released a string of genre-bending albums that made perfect sense to some people and absolutely no sense to others. In 2015, after years of relentless touring, the band packed up a studio's worth of equipment and drove up to the mountains in Vermont with no plan, no songs, and enough psychedelics to brainwash an entire state. By day two, they had cleared out a derelict barn and built an entire studio running off a gas-powered generator rented from the local hardware store. That studio included a wall of gongs, a 9' marimba, a weapons grade arsenal of analog synthesizers, a 24-channel mixing console, and a full-blown PA system and not to mention some truly unusual instruments, ranging from a human thigh bone and a champagne cork. Over the following weeks they lived completely off the grid, spending most of their time doing farm chores, shooting guns, hiking, and recording with a clandestine cast of collaborators. Every harebrained idea that passed through their minds was exercised -- nothing was off the table. At some point, reality set in so everyone begrudgingly returned home to the reality of their regular lives. Over the next five years, these skeletons of songs would be cut up, arranged, sampled, reversed, and otherwise deciphered in various studios throughout Queens, Berlin, and Brooklyn. Jeff Berner (whom Sean met during his tenure as a touring member of Psychic TV) was enlisted in late 2020 to put the finishing touches on what seemed like an insurmountable task -- turning this trove of raw material into a cohesive work of art. Which brings us to now, the fruits of their labor presented for your pleasure: a 62-minute long double album that serves as a sonic effigy of all the pain and suffering collectively experienced over the past seven past years, a psychic exorcism, and a triumphant rebirth. A "pagan post punk" epic.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: JMAN 130LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The third in a new series from Jazzman Records featuring selections from Greasy Mike, the notoriously shady Super Spiv from the dark underworld of super rare records. After many years in hiding, Jazzman Records finally persuaded Greasy Mike to open up his vinyl dungeon, and the label were first to raid it. They have left no box untouched, no crate unrummaged, no pile unpilfered! Just the greasiest and grimiest, the most shocking and sordid 45s have made it onto Jazzman's black wax long player vinyl editions. In this adventure, Greasy Mike finds himself lost in the wilderness; hot, thirsty, and alone under the unforgiving desert sun. He's been days without food and water; the heat of the day stifling almost beyond endurance, the cold of night a trial of torment. Survival seems impossible -- or does it? Staggering across the sandy plains, the eerie yet unmistakable sound of a snake charmer's reed curiously winds its way into his ears. Instinctively he turns his head towards the sound -- and lo! An oasis just ahead! Music, laughter -- and belly dancers! Features The Cotillions, The Boys, The Embers, The Checker Board Squares, The Kasuals, Arabian Knights, The Torrents, The Wild Men of Marrakesh, The Versatones, The Sand Steppers, The Vaqueros, The Royce McAfee Combo, Roger King Mozian, Vasilas & his Slaves, Al Castelanos, Griz Green, Jol Coyes Boys, and Ilo Kay & his Trio.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: JMAN 132CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Welsh harpist Amanda Whiting returns on Jazzman Records following on from her successful debut album After Dark (JMAN 125CD/LP, 2021). New explorations and global changing events have led Whiting to Lost in Abstraction. The Reynolds/Thorne/Whiting trio is joined again by the mesmerizing lines of flautist Chip Wickham, resuming their conversation reminiscent of Dorothy Ashby and Frank Wess. Lost in Abstraction was written during a period of the unknown when Whiting, like most, explored her own sense of self. The world paused, with no timeframe, and the fragility of life was laid bare. A time when humanity was left searching for purpose. Freedom and the dependable structures of familiarity were dissolved in most aspects of life. But music stayed constant. Creativity kept weaving its thread, connecting music and its makers in an indissoluble bond. The album explores the questions and realizations whilst confined. The spiritual findings, the playful curiousness and the reflective moments of loss. Whiting's writing indulges the listener with the spiritual ethereal washes of sound demanded of the harp, whilst also embracing her influences across many genres. Classically trained, her roots are evident. But with an emotionally charged energy and spiritual questioning, a new soundscape of modernity has emerged. So often associated with Ashby and Coltrane, the harp finds itself in the hands of a new voice which tells the story of a period of time where the world was unified in reflection. So, what is that feeling when you resonate? When your breath steadies and you let go. Lines no longer restrict or choke. Energies envelop, yet set you free. Are you lost or found? Personnel: Amanda Whiting - harp; Chip Wickham - flute; Aidan Thorne - bass; Jon Reynolds - drums; Baldo Verdú - percussion.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: JMAN 133CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

For the past 20 years Nostalgia 77 has become a catch all for the musical life of Benedic Lamdin. His schizophrenic offerings range from songwriting sessions, soundtracks, excursions into soul, and in this case, jazz. The Loneliest Flower in the Village is an album that sees Lamdin reunited with longtime collaborator and arranger Riaan Vosloo and experienced veterans from a host of Nostalgia 77 projects. "It had been a long time since we'd gigged or recorded so the idea was as much a little reunion in the studio as any grand plan to record an album," says Lamdin. "The idea wasn't to do anything new (the material is both a few originals and a few covers), more just hear these players and their easy familiarity with each other after the disruption of Covid." Playing a clutch of originals by Riaan Vosloo and James Allsopp and covers by long-term influences from South Africa such as Chris McGregor and Abdullah Ibrahim, the emphasis is on strong melodies and open reaches for the soloists. The title track draws upon the song written by South African bassist Johnny Dyani and the result is spectacular; British jazz at heart but awash with references to South Africa and its strong jazz heritage. "I'm pleased to say that I think this record is the best account of how the band (playing in this lineup since about 2010) sounds live. Full of energy and ranging from serene to firing on all cylinders." CD version includes three bonus tracks.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: JMAN 133LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. 180 gram vinyl; flip-back sleeve. For the past 20 years Nostalgia 77 has become a catch all for the musical life of Benedic Lamdin. His schizophrenic offerings range from songwriting sessions, soundtracks, excursions into soul, and in this case, jazz. The Loneliest Flower in the Village is an album that sees Lamdin reunited with longtime collaborator and arranger Riaan Vosloo and experienced veterans from a host of Nostalgia 77 projects. "It had been a long time since we'd gigged or recorded so the idea was as much a little reunion in the studio as any grand plan to record an album," says Lamdin. "The idea wasn't to do anything new (the material is both a few originals and a few covers), more just hear these players and their easy familiarity with each other after the disruption of Covid." Playing a clutch of originals by Riaan Vosloo and James Allsopp and covers by long-term influences from South Africa such as Chris McGregor and Abdullah Ibrahim, the emphasis is on strong melodies and open reaches for the soloists. The title track draws upon the song written by South African bassist Johnny Dyani and the result is spectacular; British jazz at heart but awash with references to South Africa and its strong jazz heritage. "I'm pleased to say that I think this record is the best account of how the band (playing in this lineup since about 2010) sounds live. Full of energy and ranging from serene to firing on all cylinders."

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: JMAN 136LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Double LP version. Gatefold. Ten years after our initial survey of Afro-Latin accented rhythm & blues from the mid-century, Jazzman Records presents a fourth installment, packed with as many musical surprises as the first. With music plucked from an era spanning the late 1940s into the early '60s, Jukebox Mambo Volume IV highlights yet again the unparalleled musical creativity of the post war era, and shows how the infusion of Afro-Latin rhythms was key to these revolutions. Lovingly and painstakingly researched and curated, the album boasts 23 tracks, many previously uncompiled, touching on jazz, blues, doo wop, calypso, rock n' roll, gospel, and more. Featuring individual track notes for every song along with some never seen before photographs of the artists, Jukebox Mambo Vol IV maintains the same high production values of each previous volume, and indeed the wider Jazzman catalog. Features Marie Knight and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Dundees, The Heartbreakers, Helene Polite, Oscar Pettiford, Bixie Crawford, Preston Love, Mamie Ree, Monchito, Betty Mattson, Effie Smith & Johnny Criner, Titus Turner, The Blasts, The Royals, Eunice Davis, Frank Butler, Mr Bo, Otis Smith, The Dukes Of Rhythm, Innocentay, Lawrence Stone, Lawrence Peel and The Filatones, and Kiki Williams.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: JIAOLONG 025EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Back in 2010 Caribou's Dan Snaith hosted a remix competition for his track "Sun" from his then-new album Swim. The winner was an unknown producer called altrice. Hailing from Tucson, Arizona of Iranian/Mexican descent, altrice took the bright euphoric highs of the original and crumbled them into rumbling lows, the crystalline edges becoming rough and undefined. Along with a bursting goody-bag of prizes, Snaith also provided altrice with the stems for the rest of Swim and the offer to remix the whole album track-by-track, creating "stem". Aside from a dream remix of Radiohead, this is largely the last from altrice in the past 12 years. A year and a half ago, altrice began sending new material. With encouragement from Snaith he eventually wound up with an EP which has since become essential DJ material for Snaith and the cohort of friends he's shared it with, as well as appearing on a few mixes. Compciter EP is a collection of music that for the first time is entirely altrice's own sound, alluring and off-kilter, a wealth of sounds and styles that are tied together by an irresistible warmth. Speaking of the EP, altrice says: "This EP is the result of allowing my stylistic boundaries to be nudged in a new direction, putting away a self-inflicted notion that I'm only fluent in certain subgenres of electronic music. I made some production choices that, for better or worse, will make this project stand out. I've been overwhelmed by the reactions in clubs and at festivals, and individuals reaching out with kind words about the music. It's surreal." From the huddled and obscured yet comforting vocal samples of "bda creature" to the swinging '90s Eurodance drums of "places faces" and the way the welcoming guitar melody and soulful vocals of "eyes" gives way to a full-on bass pummel, the tracks that have been released so far from the EP are already causing a stir both on and off the dancefloor. Today, the chopped up vocals and vast roomy sound of "yoni" along with "1609km" -- which would almost be straightforward house if it didn't pull the rug out to make way for delicate piano and harmonica flourishes -- complete a set that fulfils a promise 12 years in the making.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: KEPLARREV 013LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Debut album by Kiln (Ghostly International) on vinyl for the first time. Holo by the US-American three-piece Kiln, first released in 1998, is one of those rare records that managed to carve out a niche of its own while also building bridges to variety of genres like Chicago-style post-rock, the ambient mysticism of projects like Rapoon or the music made at the intersection of shoegaze, and electronic music in the late 1990s. Lush textures, subtle rhythms, jazzy inflections, and electronic experimentation seamlessly blend into each other over the course of the eleven tracks. This reissue through the German label Keplar makes the fully revised version, self-released by the group in 2007 under the name Holo [re/lux], available on vinyl for the very first time. Clark Rehberg III had embarked on this mission together with Kevin Hayes and Kirk Marrison in 1993. They had first worked together under the name Fibreforms as a live trio that used treated guitars, kit drums, and tapes of found sound to explore the balance between band composition and recording experiments, while Marrison made heavy use of the Akai S612 sampler as a fabricating strategy with the project Waterwheel. Holo followed up on the trio's debut self-titled EP that had been recorded in the summer of 1996. "That same year, during a lull in our collabs, Kirk began building pieces on a low-memory Mac using an early 8-channel DAW," explains Rehberg. Enchanted by the unprecedented fidelity and energy of those recordings, the three reconvened to build upon them and make more music in that manner. The group worked individually and in pairs for about 18 months while being spread across the United States. Rehberg says that he still hears "a time-stamp of those efforts and the belief that we were creating a special audio experience" when listening back to Holo, a record the band itself chose to revise almost a decade after its initial release. "Ultimately we just felt those pieces needed more impact and we had the tools and ability to make that happen," he explains. 16 years after that and a quarter of a century after it first introduced Kiln as a force to be reckoned with, the remastered version feels indeed timeless. It is both a snapshot of the first extensive album project by a group whose bond is still "diamond strong," as Rehberg puts it, and a record that continues to sound fresh, if not visionary also today. Remaster by Stephan Mathieu. Vinyl cut by LUPO. Cover art by Kirk Marrison and Clark Rehberg III. Poly-lined inners; includes download code; edition of 500.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: KRXN 032LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

After 15 years and more than 700 shows in all continents, the Spanish experimental duet ZA! present their most populated project: ZA! & la TransMegaCobla. The new ensemble is composed by: La MegaCobla: an experienced traditional Catalan cobla wind quartet, born after an improvisation workshop with ZA! two years ago. Pep Moliner, Jordi Casas, Xavi Molina, and Xavi Torrent are four of the most reputable and innovative cobla musicians, experts in hacking tradition and using their folk instruments in any modern musical genre. Tarta Relena, young acapella trans-folk duet that have shook up their scene. With their use of polyphony and voice FX, Helena Ros and Marta Torrella are digging in the deepest Mediterranean folk repertoire and placing it in the 21st century with aesthetic renewal. ZA!: Papadupau and Spazzfrica Ehd are European benchmarks of the underground DIY music community. Their uniquely intense shows, as well as their collective/collaborative work (workshops, benefit shows, do-it-together cooperation) have allowed them to tour the whole world, from Tokyo to Maputo, from Tasmania to Sao Paulo, from New York to Saint Petersburg. Under the premise that avant-garde art is not incompatible with collective horizontal creation, ZA! mix cult, underground and popular music without asking permission. These three elements come together with the purpose of portraying their own vision of Mediterranean music, filtered by distortion (so current in cognitive, social and identity terms) and psychedelia (so inevitable in an increasingly accelerated and saturated reality). A retro-futuristic journey from folk to free exploring the shores of the Mediterranean, claiming its power as a living core, never as a deadly border. The TransMegaCobla fuses traditional Mediterranean culture -- from bulería to kopanitsa, from gnaoua to sardana -- with contemporary culture to create a fictional but deeply human and festive universe. Resurrecting the Phoenician language, the octet seeks common roots to fuse and remake them with contemporary molds such as rock, punk, free jazz, and conducted improvisation. A timeless orchestra ready to invent, with real elements, a science-fiction Mediterranean in a parallel reality.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: KOM 231LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress; gatefold 2LP version. Includes download code. Iceland's GusGus graces Kompakt with a second album, after their enigmatic debut for the label 24/7, which earned the trio much acclaim thanks to its conceptual rigidity and pure glamour. Conceived solely with the help of two precious Doepfer modular systems and Daniel August's all-pervasive vocals, it could easily have been characterized as GusGus' unofficial live album. For Arabian Horse, their seventh studio album, President Bongo, Biggi Veira and Daniel August set up a makeshift studio in a summer cottage in the depths of the lava field. Secluded in silence and beauty, they produced something that really showcases GusGus' versatility and stunning songwriting ability. A vast array of illustrious guest musicians and singers abound on these powerful new songs. Most prominently, this album features the long-awaited return of former band member and gifted vocalist Urður "Earth" Hákonardóttir, who appears on three songs. Högni Elisson of the band Hjaltalin lends his voice to some of the album's most memorable and deepest moments. Samúel Jón Samúelsson contributes the elevating, goosebump-inducing string arrangements and David Thor Jonsson contributes accordion and the banjo. Even an un-named gypsy combo leaves their mark here. Compared to GusGus' stripped-down predecessor for Kompakt, this album is much more in-your-face -- the songs brim with big gestures, enthralling hooks, pop and soul. Take the powerful schaffel anthem "Deep Inside," which makes use of big room chords, a ferocious bass line and a vocal duel, or "Within You," where strings converge with breathtaking vocals and an addictive techno bass kick. GusGus retrace their original influences, creating an album that recalls a forgotten period of early '90s dance pop (think The Beloved), classic house music and urban soul à la Massive Attack. But make no mistake, Arabian Horse does not sound like pure retro in any way. It's deeply rooted in the sound of today, backed by one of the most state-of-the-art quality productions Kompakt has released to date. Still need a tag? Why not: Icelandic hi-tech soul.

 

PRICE: $69.00

CAT #: KOM 371LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 restock; Triple LP version. Includes CD. Comes with a 24-page booklet in a hardcover book. In the body of work of Cologne artist Wolfgang Voigt - who, like few others, has informed, shaped and influenced the world of electronic music with countless different projects since the early 1990s - Gas stands out in particular, a saturnine sound cosmos based on heavily condensed classic sequences. Even after nearly 20 years, the sound of Gas doesn't seem to have lost any of its luster, as shown by the commanding success of Kompakt's fall 2016 re-release of the essential back catalogue as a box set (KOM 370LP). The overwhelming feedback from a loyal international fan community and worldwide media outlets attests once again to the sheer timelessness of Gas. Which is why it will feel like hardly a day has passed since the release of the last official album Pop nearly two decades ago in 2000, when Wolfgang Voigt resumes this specific creative path with the upcoming new full-length Narkopop. Even in the here and now, the unmistakable vibe of Gas immediately hits home, taking the listener on an otherworldly journey with the very first sounds, drawing them into an impervious sonic thicket, down to the depths of rapture and reverie. From wafts of dense symphonic mist emerges a floating and whirling feeling of weightlessness, before the listener steps into an eerily beautiful forest of fantasy, pulled in by the allure of a narcotic bass drum. While earlier Gas tracks were often based on the hypnotic effects of looping techniques, the ten new pieces on Narkopop unfold their magic in a more entwined manner, sometimes with the sonic might of an entire philharmonic orchestra, at times subtle and fragile. A main characteristic of Voigt's oeuvre, the coalescence of seemingly contradictory stylistic aspects such as harmonious and atonal, concrete and abstract, light and heavy, near and far is also a decisive feature of Narkopop. In accordance with the transgressive spirit of his collective work, Voigt carries the aesthetic conceptions of his music over to the realm of the visual. Based on his abstract forest pictures, the Gas artwork addresses Voigt's artistic affinity to romanticism and the forest as a place of yearning. For the first time, a closer look at the cover of Narkopop reveals signs of architectural fragments which hint at another, maybe parallel world behind Voigt's forest. Truth is the prettiest illusion.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: KOM 457EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Hardt Antoine is a London based DJ producer of French and West Indian descent, who continuously combines his hugely colorful and eclectic taste in music. He has also made a name for himself with his Reculture label and club nights. His Kompakt debut clearly shows why he's one to watch in the years to come. "Nobody's Watching" is a dark grooving beast with bending synth lines and a haunting vocal; counterbalanced with uplifting Eastern analog pads. It's from this rare breed of tracks that shine in a frantic peak time set and sexy, late-night moments alike. "All We See" follows a similar path. Its mandatory bassline and dark melody evolve into something uplifting, as if to say -- "We always see light at the end of our tunnel." "Radial" takes a more cinematic approach and largely neglects the dancefloor in a classic Kompakt three-track EP fashion, following a lovely tradition that began with Dettinger's Blond and later on spawned the Pop Ambient movement. Hardt Antoine proves himself a jack of all trades... Keep an eye on him!

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: LAPSUS 034LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Bartosz Kruczy?ski, also known as artist Earth Trax, is arguably among the leading names in Poland's current electronic music scene. Based in Warsaw, his music is deeply emotive and explores a wide-ranging sonic palette that is complemented by well-defined artistic concepts. He has already featured on labels including Phonica Records, Growing Bin, Into The Light, and Shall Not Fade, with whom he released his acclaimed debut album in 2020. His Lapsus release Closer Now, takes a different trajectory to his previous album The Sensual World (Shall Not Fade, 2022), fundamentally an energetic and high tempo club record. In contrast, Closer Now focuses on fresh and disparate ideas, with tracks that could typically be classified as more unrestrained B-sides that deconstruct sounds aimed at the dancefloor. Closer Now is influenced by liminal spaces and cultivates surreal and dreamlike qualities. Conversely, it also possesses a sense of strength and grit, highlighted by moments where electronic distortion bares its teeth. It is an album that both refers both to IDM and chill out rooms.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: BJR 078LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. With his third album, The Big Swim, on Les Disque Bongo Joe, Augenwasser ventures once again into the paths of synth wave exploration with a pop feel. Still laced with the folk textures of his early days, he nevertheless develops a dance approach that can at times be akin to melancholic drone. His music takes you to an imaginary, dark club, lulled by a haunting rhythm, surrounded by the fumes of the night, where it is possible to indulge in that quiet voice that has already confessed that it is too late but will never stop repeating its soft, cold poetry. "You'll realize one sad morning/some things change without a warning." In the same way that we realize as a child that things are bigger than they seem, so we discover the music of Augenwasser. A simple and disturbing melody, beautiful and sincere, declined to excess, which grows with each track, as a stream turns into a lake, a music that builds a world of broken papers and enchanted ideas.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: BJR 084CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

La Te?ne's long, hypnotic, wordless pieces are built from traditional folk instrumentation, wild percussion and blurred, subtle electronic embellishments, and feel as ancient and earthy as those millennia-old artifacts -- with all the metal, wood, dedication and craftsmanship they entailed. As on their previous release Abandonne?e/Maleja, a double set running to over 80 minutes, Cyril Bondi, Alexis Degrenier, and Laurent Peter expand to seven members in total. Cohorts Jacques Puech (cabrette -- a small bagpipe associated with the Auvergne region of France), Louis Jacques (cabrette, 23" bagpipe), Guilhem Lacroux (12-string guitar), and Je?re?mie Sauvage (bass) each return to add color, layers, and intrigue. Ecorcha/Taille?e was recorded in a barn converted into a ballroom and cultural center which exists to promote the folk music of region Auvergne. Both "L'Ecorcha" (eighteen and a half minutes long) and "La Taille?e" (just under a quarter of an hour, brevity by this group's standards) were recorded live and what you hear is a single take, with no editing after the fact. "L'Ecorcha" goes into space with simple, minimal tools. Beginning with a single, doomy chord circling in perpetuity and a metallic shaker by way of rhythm, a drone of unspecified provenance is joined a little under halfway through by Alexis's hurdy-gurdy, adding bucolic buoyancy while Laurent uses the wooden surface of his harmonium as an extra percussive source. "La Taille?e" is spikier, danceable even thanks to Cyril's insistent drumming and the harmonium and hurdy-gurdy moving in a glorious lockstep. If you were to think of the relationship between Lou Reed's guitar and John Cale's violin while taking in "La Taille?e", you wouldn't be OTT by any means. Inspirations, soundalikes and kindred spirits are elusive and fleeting in the case of La Te?ne. There are a couple specific to Ecorcha/Taille?e, both brought to the table by Alexis: a Christian song titled "La Passion", collected in 1883 by French folklorist Fe?lix Arnaudin, and a reggaeton hit single from 2022, "Saoko" by Spanish star Rosali?a. "Taille?e" adapts its crunchy central riff in La Te?ne's own image. It's that link between the past and the future that also rings out in the music of La Tène.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: LIB 5049LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

"Yellow vinyl. Eldee Young and Redd Holt were former members of the Ramsey Lewis Trio. In 1966 they started up the Young-Holt Unlimited establishing themselves as one of the best-known instrumental groups mixing jazz and R&B into songs that captured the essence of the late '60s and early '70s music. The group are best known for their 1968 top 10 hit 'Soulful Strut' and recorded nine albums over their career with this 1973 album capturing many the soul hits of the moments. This nine-track set is a crate digger and DJ's delight with classic period packaging capturing the Blaxploitation film sounds and style of the time."

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LR 130LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. The undisputed leaders of the early gothic scene, and a seminal band that contributed to the rise of British post-punk, The Cure recorded their debut album Three Imaginary Boys at London's Morgan Studios and released it in May 1979. After touring for almost all of 1977, the band changed their name to The Cure and rearranged their line-up with the sacking of Porl Thompson, giving birth to an unusual power trio. This line-up lasted only for their first album, making it unique in its essentially minimal sound. The year was now 1978, and the three (imaginary?) boys soon signed to Chris Parry's Fiction Label.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LR 130P-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. The undisputed leaders of the early gothic scene, and a seminal band that contributed to the rise of British post-punk, The Cure recorded their debut album Three Imaginary Boys at London's Morgan Studios and released it in May 1979. After touring for almost all of 1977, the band changed their name to The Cure and rearranged their line-up with the sacking of Porl Thompson, giving birth to an unusual power trio. This line-up lasted only for their first album, making it unique in its essentially minimal sound. The year was now 1978, and the three (imaginary?) boys soon signed to Chris Parry's Fiction Label.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: PLAYRJC 085EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Let's go back to Italy with the dynamic duo Marvin & Guy aka Alessandro Parlatore and Marcello Giordani. On their first release for Live At Robert Johnson they team up with another dynamic duo: Hard Ton -- and you guessed right, they're Italian too. So, what else to expect than some real cool contemporary Italo Disco just in time for summer? "Save Me" comes in two different mixes: The "Disco Mix" and the "Club Mix" -- both featuring the marvelous falsetto voice of Hard Ton's singer Max -- himself quite a passionate singer in the field of heavy metal -- and disco -- yes, you heard right. But fear not, the heavy metal part isn't audible at all. We're talking Hi-NRG sounds galore and of course D.I.S.C.O. -- the Munich style disco of someone like Giorgio Moroder doing his thing with Donna Summer or Harvey Fuqua's and Patrick Cowley's work with LGBT legend Sylvester -- yes, the "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" Sylvester. Not a bad company to get name-dropped, right? Especially the "Disco Mix" of "Save Me" features many of those typical sounds of said producers and is a beautiful tribute to the golden disco era. The slightly darker "Club Mix" does a great job too by pulling all dancers straight onto the floor with its drum machine generated bass drum and its euphoric claps. Marvin & Guy's solo track, the aptly named "Supported By Your Favourite DJ" will surely be supported by everyone of our favorite DJs: It's a happy and positive track which definitely will not fail as a secret weapon in everybody's DJ bag. Now let's get saved by Marvin & Guy -- and let's support the Italian scene -- it's mighty real!

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: LVY 527LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Before there was Joy Division, there was Warsaw. The group was founded after a 1976 Sex Pistols gig, and the late great Ian Curtis joined the group soon after. By their first official gig, in 1977, they were already the talk of NME and a rush to sign and record led the group to RCA. Recording in Manchester's Arrow Studios in May 1978 brought a full album's worth of songs but the band ultimately didn't like the direction of the production and asked to be released from their contract. Here is that mythical unreleased album along with the earliest demos from the group, recorded in 1977. Essential stuff for any fan of UK post-punk.

 

PRICE: $21.50

CAT #: LUMB 032LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The idea of a release by the founder of The Legendary Pink Dots on Lumberton Trading Company had been mooted for a number of years. In fact, they were close to issuing a 7" around 2010, but this fell through due to the usual problems often facing small, more or less homespun, labels. The idea of still doing something with this prolific stalwart of music cut from those many folds where avant-garde abstraction locks horns with molten psychedelia, kosmische sounds, electronica and an approach to songwriting never afraid to go wherever the mood takes, however, never left. Attached to all of this, as always, are Edward's words, where wry everyday observations can mutate or be twisted into new forms given a distinctive surrealist slant. Collected on this limited 10" are five songs adding up to the length of a mini-album. Edward may well be one of the most active artists to have first emanated from the early 1980s cassette network, but Lumberton Trading Company is more than happy to play a small part in this continually unfolding, and always interesting, story. Edition of 500.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: MUSIQ 267LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. DJ, producer, and Dial Records co-owner Lawrence produced his fourth album for Mule Musiq. The Berlin-based artist wrote nine new arrangements specifically for Studio Mule, the new audiophile listening bar that Mule Musiq's head-honcho Toshiya Kawasaki recently opened in Shibuya, Tokyo. "Toshiya's wine and listening bar was the inspiration for the project. I followed the idea of listening to music in this (for me imaginary) place on a magic vintage sound system, slightly drunk with an always special drink in my hand! The music is therefore also very eccentric and 'tipsy', improvised on acoustic instruments, synthesizers and computer, combined with recordings I did in Berlin's Central Tiergarten Park." Lawrence acknowledges the imaginative superstructure above his new album and his mode of operating during the recordings. Birds On The Playground features deep pulsating music that unfolds its true absorbing character when the auditor listens carefully to the detailed storytelling of Lawrence. Like always, his tunes have a special, radiant pulse, that somehow is a signature sign of most of his productions. Playful cosmic grooves, light-hearted, crafted with love and yet freshly unsettling in some moments. His arpeggiated melodies remind partly on the music of Hans-Joachim Roedelius. In other seconds, they display a jazzy spiritual character and drift into meditative areas, that sound to a degree like long forgotten Japanese folk music spheres. As Birds On The Playground isn't aimed straight for the dancefloor, the overall coating of the music is a relaxed, cautious one, that goes beyond the average definition of ambient music. Each track builds up gracefully, in order to present a mesmerizing musical architecture, that offers new sound dimensions with any fresh listening turn. As the record is made for Mule Musiq's latest public space enterprise, everyone who is closely connected to the label was involved. Mule Musiq's core artist Kuniyuki was in charge for the mastering. And the labels visual artist Stefan Marx painted the cover artwork.

 

PRICE: $57.00

CAT #: MYDEAR 1001LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Triple LP version. Exclusive dance hits by your favorite artists for the most intense club moments in the early morning hours. Compiled by Denis Stockhausen (Kompakt) for the 11th anniversary of his renowned party series, My Dear, at Gewölbe, Cologne. "Hello My Dear, Thank you so much for your visit and this unforgettable night at my favorite club. Dancing with you and losing not only all sense of time but also all disturbing thoughts was very refreshing and precious for my soul and mind! I still carry the beautiful memories in my head and so many tracks I cannot forget -- they are playing on repeat! The peak of the night was fun, but once the end of the rave loomed and the morning slowly dawned, the music and atmosphere became even more wonderful. Everything seemed so liberated and true to me and I had the impression that the people around us felt the same way. We were all immersed in this mad rush of music with our longing to finally sink into it unconditionally. Rarely have I had such intense moments of happiness on a dance floor. Pure magic! Good thing a club night also has an end, otherwise my heart would have been lost forever that morning. That's the soundtrack of my life and I'm dying to listen to it again! See you soon and don't forget: after the rave comes sun! Much love from Cologne." My Dear is a party series at the infamous Gewölbe club in Cologne, brought to life in 2012 by Kompakt's very own Denis Stockhausen. His favorite live-acts and DJs are invited to play or perform the best music in this intimate venue for a passionate audience. It's only about love for the music and the wide-open space of romantic pop techno and dream dance. To celebrate the 11th anniversary of the party series, a compilation with exclusive dance hits by your favorite artists for the most intense club moments in the early morning hours will be released on the new record label My Dear. Features Rising Sun, DJ Koze, Wassermann, Fantastic Twins, Pom Pom, Robag Wruhme aka Bogdan Marx, Samo / Kamo, Sascha Funke, Jürgen Paape, Damh, and Superpitcher. Triple LP version features one vinyl only bonus track by Pom Pom, "Delta".

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: MOTD 008LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

What is the sound of feeling? In physics, we conceive of sound as waves. Vibrations, undulations, physical manifestations: heard but not seen. Borne by the body but interpreted in the brain. Within ourselves, we perceive emotion as waves, too. Rolling in, rolling out: tidal, even. In moments of violet intensity, the depth of our feeling crashes upon us like surf, rip currents on a corporeal beach. Worlds apart, but waves in kind. For musician and composer Jo Johnson, the veil between is diaphanous indeed. What you hear is what you feel. Listen and uncover. Jo Johnson has releases on Further Records, Going In (a sub-label of The Bunker), Verdant, and Apartment.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: NIGHT 012LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Keyboard player and pianist Charlie Stacey fuses jazz-piano virtuosity with dark synth textures and grooves on his first solo project -- a direct-to-disc, one take recording for Night Dreamer Records. One of the UK's leading keys players, Charlie Stacey improvisational skills are unmatched. Known for his work with Yussef Dayes and fellow Tomorrow Warrio's alumni such as Moses Boyd, Stacey's technical prowess and ability to jump between genres has quietly gained the young pianist a reputation as one of the most advanced players around. Fronting a band for his debut recording under his own name, Stacey had to bring that knack for improvisation to the fore. Alongside his regular band of Oscar Ogden (drums), Tom Driessler (bass), and Jay Phelps (trumpet), Stacey was joined in the studio for the first time by vocalist Vula Malinga -- who has performed with Basement Jaxx and Incognito -- and Holland-based Senegalese percussionist, Mamour Seck. Together, the group forged four sprawling jams from the white heat of the direct-to-disc recording process. As an agile and highly adaptive performer and composer, Stacey allowed the new line-up to shape the sound in unexpected ways. What began as a Headhunters-era Herbie Hancock instrumental tip erred instead towards old school jazz scat in places, ethereal RnB and Kamasi Washington-esque lyrical space-ballads in others. From the soulful acid jazz sound that Malinga brings to opening track "Music is Healing", to the Afro-Cuban twist on Stacey's signature "Charlie's Tune", there is a spontaneity to the recordings that give them a collective urgency true to the essence of the jazz tradition. Drawing on the sounds of classic jazz-funk keyboard players like Chick Corea and George Duke, "Rivers of Gondor" pays tribute to what Stacey calls "the imaginative world of JRR Tolkien", with all its dark and wistful folk-inspired turns. A staple of Stacey's live sets, it is joined on the B-Side by "Mamour's Tune", which was written and recorded on the day and foregrounds the astonishing rhythmic and melodic character of Marmour Seck's playing. As a touring live musician, Stacey relished the opportunity to record with the same levels of jeopardy. A riot of collaborative improvisation and acrobatic syncopation, Stacey's Night Dreamer Session captures a singular coming together of musicians from across the jazz world, performing at the peak of their creative powers.

 

PRICE: $64.00

CAT #: OPT4 049LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

A triple-LP release of the double-CD released by Cherry Red in 2021. Among the first crop of Creation Records bands in the mid-1980s, The Loft seemed the most likely to break through. Following the success of The Smiths, guitar-based independent pop was in vogue, Alan McGee's Creation label was turning heads -- its bands blending '60s psychedelia, the melodic end of punk, and a new sound which would soon be immortalized on NME's C86 cassette. And in this London quartet, Creation had their answer to bands like Television, The Only Ones, or early Modern Lovers, offering taut, off-kilter songs with an irresistibly deadpan cool. Sadly, after just two singles, 1984's downbeat debut "Why Does The Rain" and the punchier sequel, "Up The Hill And Down The Slope" -- an indie hit which the band performed live on TV show The Oxford Road Show, The Loft dissolved, with various members founding new bands The Weather Prophets, The Caretaker Race, and The Wishing Stones. They left behind seven studio tracks, a BBC Radio 1 session for Janice Long and one track from a Creation LP documenting the scene's roots in small club, The Living Room. However, The Loft's legend endured, eventually prompting a reunion in the early 2000s with all four original members -- singer/songwriter/guitarist Pete Astor, guitarist Andy Strickland, bassist Bill Prince, and drummer Dave Morgan. Alongside various well-received live shows, that led to a new single, "Model Village" (2006) and more recently a session for Gideon Coe on BBC 6 Music (2015). The Loft's reputation as founding fathers of a new breed of mid-80s indie pop continues to grow to this day, with the band often cited as an influence. Compiled and coordinated by the band, Ghost Trains & Country Lanes expands on previous retrospectives of The Loft, adding those reunion recordings (including three previously unissued tracks), the Gideon Coe session and several live recordings from that historic performance at The Living Room back in 1984. Includes many exclusive songs which were never recorded in the studio. With new sleeve-notes by Danny Kelly, this is the definite tribute to The Loft. Color vinyl - each disc is a different color; tri-fold gatefold sleeve; includes 16-page 12x12 color booklet, poster, and photograph; edition of 350.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: OH 036CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Tears are in the eyes of Xabiib Sharaabi, nicknamed the "Somali King of Pop" when he entered the stage of Berlin's HKW. It is a mix of nostalgia, pain, and joy. Like many Somalis he had been deprived overnight of both glamor and friends, the war in his homeland had sent him into exile. The glamorous discos and beachfront stages Mogadishu had once been famous for, had disappeared as the city was bombed to the ground. The King of Somali pop found himself stranded in Sweden, others like the members of Dur-Dur Band Int. ended up in London which until today has the largest Somali diaspora in Europe. In the last decade many early recordings of Somalia's funk, soul and disco era have been reissued. This record is not a reissue. The Berlin Session -- is the first studio album of its kind since the golden days of Mogadishu came to a halt three decades ago. It is the living proof that Somali music is hot, funky, and well alive. The record captures a historic reunion which took place in 2019 in Germany's capital Berlin. London-based Dur-Dur Band Int. an eight-piece powerhouse of Somali live music unites with three legendary Somali singers: Xabiib Sharaabi, Faduumina Hilowle, and Cabdinur Allaale for a concert at Berlin's HKW. Fueled with a restored sense of pride, the freshly reunited musicians decided to get together in a Neuko?lln studio for two amazing days of recording. Female vocalist Faduumina Hilowle opens the album with an invitation to kickass. Grooving with such a strong accent on the off-beat, any non-Somali listener may think of reggae but the musicians will tell it's Dhaanto. Originating from the Ogaden region (now in neighboring Ethiopia's borders), Dhaanto dates back to the era of "clap and chant". Some say it is an imitation of the camel's bounce. Xabiib Sharaabi was once nick-named Somalia's King of Pop for the body language and magnetizing voice with which he incorporated the latest global musical trends -- even recording two disco albums entirely in English. On the album, Xabiib chooses to sing his Somali adaptation of "Lady" originally by Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Not unlike the Motown Sound of Detroit and Kingston's Studio One: a small scene of musicians was fueling that new Somali disco scene in Mogadishu. Cabdinur Allaale, the third vocalist on the album comes from neighboring Djibouti. In the heydays the leader of the then famous Sharaf Band was a frequent visitor, flying back and forth between Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Kismayo, and Djibouti entertaining his fans on the Horn of Africa. The Berlin Session brings the spirit, joy and hope of this era back: In the last decades Somalis stars have lived among us, spread all over the world, it is time to see them step into the limelight again.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: OH 036LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Includes printed inner sleeve and download code. Tears are in the eyes of Xabiib Sharaabi, nicknamed the "Somali King of Pop" when he entered the stage of Berlin's HKW. It is a mix of nostalgia, pain, and joy. Like many Somalis he had been deprived overnight of both glamor and friends, the war in his homeland had sent him into exile. The glamorous discos and beachfront stages Mogadishu had once been famous for, had disappeared as the city was bombed to the ground. The King of Somali pop found himself stranded in Sweden, others like the members of Dur-Dur Band Int. ended up in London which until today has the largest Somali diaspora in Europe. In the last decade many early recordings of Somalia's funk, soul and disco era have been reissued. This record is not a reissue. The Berlin Session -- is the first studio album of its kind since the golden days of Mogadishu came to a halt three decades ago. It is the living proof that Somali music is hot, funky, and well alive. The record captures a historic reunion which took place in 2019 in Germany's capital Berlin. London-based Dur-Dur Band Int. an eight-piece powerhouse of Somali live music unites with three legendary Somali singers: Xabiib Sharaabi, Faduumina Hilowle, and Cabdinur Allaale for a concert at Berlin's HKW. Fueled with a restored sense of pride, the freshly reunited musicians decided to get together in a Neuko?lln studio for two amazing days of recording. Female vocalist Faduumina Hilowle opens the album with an invitation to kickass. Grooving with such a strong accent on the off-beat, any non-Somali listener may think of reggae but the musicians will tell it's Dhaanto. Originating from the Ogaden region (now in neighboring Ethiopia's borders), Dhaanto dates back to the era of "clap and chant". Some say it is an imitation of the camel's bounce. Xabiib Sharaabi was once nick-named Somalia's King of Pop for the body language and magnetizing voice with which he incorporated the latest global musical trends -- even recording two disco albums entirely in English. On the album, Xabiib chooses to sing his Somali adaptation of "Lady" originally by Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Not unlike the Motown Sound of Detroit and Kingston's Studio One: a small scene of musicians was fueling that new Somali disco scene in Mogadishu. Cabdinur Allaale, the third vocalist on the album comes from neighboring Djibouti. In the heydays the leader of the then famous Sharaf Band was a frequent visitor, flying back and forth between Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Kismayo, and Djibouti entertaining his fans on the Horn of Africa. The Berlin Session brings the spirit, joy and hope of this era back: In the last decades Somalis stars have lived among us, spread all over the world, it is time to see them step into the limelight again.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: PAL 026LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Twelve songs, dealing lovingly with adultery and vivisection, with the bold ignorance of weakness, and with keeping verse-chorus-funnypart respected in the grand order of things. Plus kids, unborn and unconceived even, and perversity of humanity and harmony. For the record, it was David Pajo and Will Oldham that roped everybody in, and they added all their parts to the mix too."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: PRTL 018LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

King General's follow-up to the classic Money Run Tings (1996) arrives in the shape of Broke Again, originally emerging in 2009 on CD only. On vinyl for the first time: six vocals from the General with six dubs from The Bush Chemists. Includes the singles "Them Wrong" and the title track "Broke Again".

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: PRTL 12016EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

In-demand slab of revolutionary dub that was originally released on the Boom-Shacka-Lacka label in 1994, featuring three mixes of an instrumental sound system shaker in the shape of "Dub Revolution". Highly regarded for their custom built dubplate cuts for Jah Shaka. The Disciples have a sizable following worldwide, particularly in the UK, France, Germany, and Japan.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: PRTL 7076EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Vocals courtesy of the late great Jamaican singer Bim Sherman, whose unique haunting voice made him a firm favorite throughout the '70s/80s/90s with the roots reggae crowd as well as On-U Sounds taking Bim to other worldly realms. Originally released on Youth and Alex Patterson's WAU! Mr Modo label in 1989 and produced by Sound Iration (Nick Manasseh and Scruff). Originally recorded as "It Must Be a Dream" in the '70s, on this cut, Bim revisits the track in '89 with a meditative part-digital rhythm from Sound Iration backed with a phased-out dub version on the flipside.

 

PRICE: $47.50

CAT #: PCVOL3

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Volume 3. Personal Computer Music for the Third Millennium. A compilation of hits from 2018-2021 alongside upcoming, unreleased, and unreleasable music. Features EASYFUN, Hannah Diamond, Tommy Cash, felicita, Caroline Polachek, Danny L Harle, Clairo, umru & Laura Les, Lil Data, Planet 1999, Namasenda, A. G. Cook, Charli XCX, Oklou, caro?, Hyd, umru, Tommy Cash & 645AR, Ö, Kero Kero Bonito, and Planet 1999. Clear vinyl.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: PP 053CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Penultimate Press releases one of the most audacious and unrelenting entries in the entire minimal cannon. A collection of recordings from a true American eccentric maverick pioneer, Sam Esh. Originally available as double-cassette in tiny editions on Mike Rep Hummel's OldAge/NoAge label these are now bound together on a double-CD set which does not interrupt the unrelenting creativity of Mr. Esh. Picture Moondog taking a turn for the far worse morphing into a way further crazed Legendary Stardust Cowboy who eschews any song tradition for an unrelenting hypnotic acoustic hurricane complete with glossolalia vocals. This is raw primitive repetitive street blues, an acoustic freight train barreling through your brain."It was Ron House that first steered me to the music of Sam Esh circa 1990. Sammy would bring his self-made cassettes to Usedkids Records and Ron thought it would be something that would interest me, which indeed it did. I had a cassette-only label I started in 1985 called OldAge/NoAge which had just started to garner interest in the outside world thanks to a RARE cassette review in Byron Coley's Underground column for Spin Magazine . . . Sam often sang and played in drug induced states hence this unique lingual hodgepodge streams direct from his altered temporal reality. A large part of it has to do with a tragic event in Sam's life 50+ years ago. He and his wife were in San Francisco during the late '60s and imbibed in most of the indulgences that time and place was known for. They 'took a trip' to a remote area of Baja Mexico, and during an extended acid trip Sam caught dysentery, a bacterial disease that results from contaminated food or water. Being he was in a rural undeveloped area at the time, and under the influence of said drugs Sam very nearly died from lack of proper medical attention, and was severely affected cognitively by this near-death experience. The result of this trauma was a cognitive state that has ever since required medications psychotropic medications that do not mesh well with alcohol which Sam has been on and off for decades. Regardless Sam liked to drink, and when he did he developed something of a 'Jeckyl-Hyde' personality as a result. Sam was never violent or antisocial, but often quite difficult to relate to for most people . . . Through six months of amazing shows (I drummed for the band he recruited to back him up called Hard Black Thing) Sam was quite charismatic on stage. We recorded the Incendiary release 'Sam Esh & Hard Black Thing / Montezuma Baby Duck' released on Siltbreeze Records from '92..." --Mike "Rep" Hummel

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: PP 054CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Compendium coffin closer from Pat Klassen's Barn Sour project. A project where the batshit crazy defies the beautiful whilst relishing in unease. Animals appear as phantasms, humans expel intense emotional states. Borderline music and borderline funny this is not for the faint of heart. Soap & Glue collages material from all six Barn Sour releases on a variety of labels, Staighre, Careful Catalog, 72 Fold Mane, etc. alongside a small sprinkling of exclusive material. The final Barn Sour release is the ultimate Barn Sour release and all you need to engage with one of the most twisted outfits to emerge from the underground in recent years.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: PING 065LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. Anadol is a psychedelic synth folk project by Gözen Atila, a Turkish sound artist and photographer based in Berlin. Her third album, Uzun Havalar, is based on collective improvisations of middle eastern folk songs called "uzun hava". They turn out as rich, atmospheric synth ballads. A diverse roster of improvising musicians creates their fascinating complexity. Anadol recorded them during extensive sessions in Istanbul. You can hear drummers laughing and playing guitars, composers howling, announcements in French and screams in no language, record collectors playing oscillators, and trumpets through spacious echoes. Anadol represents Gözen Atila's liberation from a rather academic approach to electronic composition which she pursued during her music technology studies in Istanbul. She calls her education the "darkness of serious music" where she first tried to belong, then to break free with the help of lo-fi synth pop. As a producer of radio plays and an expert field recording artist she has developed a distinct sense of timing, editing and sound design. Her Anadol project walks in the footsteps of lone synth experimentalists like Bruce Haack and The Space Lady with their childlike curiosity for electronic sounds, pushing the boundaries of minimal equipment. On Uzun Havalar she translates her experimental background into these floating folk ballads. The album was originally released on tape via Kinship in 2018.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: PXC 032LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Reissue of a founding classic of the French Touch sound. Released in 1996, Super Discount is the debut album by Étienne de Crécy, one of the most influential figures on the electronic music scene and one of the most inspired producers. Over time, this record has become one of the pioneering records of the French Touch and a founding classic of electronic music, both in France and abroad. It was a critical and commercial success from the start, an icon of its time. Features Minos, AIR, EDC, La Chatte Rouge, Mr. Lean, Mooloodjee, Alex Gopher, and DJ Tall. Gatefold sleeve.

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: 9780991558513

FILE UNDER: Misc

2023 reprint. "Essential writings from the downtown New York legend and polymath, pioneer of both structural film and drone music. Tony Conrad (1940-2016) was a legendary multidisciplinary artist known for his groundbreaking contributions in experimental film, music, and video. Upon moving to New York City in 1962, he began making music with John Cale, La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela in the Theatre of Eternal Music, a group that helped shape what would come to be known as minimalist music. He later went on to perform with Lou Reed in a pre-Velvet Underground band called The Primitives and cut a classic 1972 record with the German krautrock band Faust that set a new standard for drone music. In the 1960s and 1970s, Conrad was perhaps best known for his contribution to film, where he helped to redefine structural filmmaking with The Flicker and Yellow Movies. Conrad went on to create an extensive body of work in a variety of media such as installation, photography, and performance until his death in 2016. Throughout his life, Conrad also wrote prolifically on topics including his own work (and that of his peers), music, art, media theory and activism. Writings is the first book devoted solely to Conrad's writing, collecting 57 hard-to-find or previously unpublished texts from 1961 to 2012. These writings provide a critical lens into the artist's multitudinous identities and wide-ranging creative pursuits and, as with his diverse artistic output, consistently challenge and dismantle authoritarian notions of culture." 1.4" H x 7.4" L x 5.0" W (1.15 lbs) 576 pages.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 090CV-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Radiation Records present a reissue of Discharge's Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, originally released in 1982. Often claimed as the most important punk album of all time, this was the first full-length by UK hardcore prime movers Discharge and rightly considered the manifesto for what would be later defined as "d-beat". Originally released on the Clay Records label in 1982, this masterpiece gave inspiration to literally hundreds in the extreme metal and hardcore punk areas for the subsequent four decades and its legacy remains invaluable to this day. White vinyl; gatefold sleeve.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: RPUT 040CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The sixth album from Californian psych-pop artist. Lionel "Vinyl" Williams is an American multimedia artist based in Los Angeles. Vinyl Williams' music is deeply intertwined with his other media of expression (graphic design, interactive website, and videos) with whom he shapes a consistent immersive new-age-infused psychedelic universe. Vinyl Williams' celestial pop is part of the construction of his own Cosmopolis, an ideal city, where the skyline is drawn by marvelous organic architecture and monumental ancient structures, where while walking on twisted paths, you can hear indistinctly lush vocals, iridescent gauzy keyboard harmonies, and rolling rhythms. Without acknowledging it, you are floating, your soul can ramble, free to imagine. Musically, Cosmopolis is a synthesis of Williams' craze, his contemporary dream-pop production, '60s sunshine pop influences, Brazilian Tropicália hints, jazz chords, and complex arrangement. With this sixth album, Cosmopolis, Vinyl Williams continues to dig deep into his parallel universe, which he has developed with a rare consistency. From chaos emerges harmony and incredible pop songs. For fans of Triptides, Gold Celeste, Toro y Moi, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, GUM, Tame Impala, Chris Cohen, Morgan Delt, Dungen, Dumbo Gets Mad, Pond, Maston, Holy Wave, Arthur Verocai, The Free Design, The Association, Once And Future Band...

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: RPUT 040LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. The sixth album from Californian psych-pop artist. Lionel "Vinyl" Williams is an American multimedia artist based in Los Angeles. Vinyl Williams' music is deeply intertwined with his other media of expression (graphic design, interactive website, and videos) with whom he shapes a consistent immersive new-age-infused psychedelic universe. Vinyl Williams' celestial pop is part of the construction of his own Cosmopolis, an ideal city, where the skyline is drawn by marvelous organic architecture and monumental ancient structures, where while walking on twisted paths, you can hear indistinctly lush vocals, iridescent gauzy keyboard harmonies, and rolling rhythms. Without acknowledging it, you are floating, your soul can ramble, free to imagine. Musically, Cosmopolis is a synthesis of Williams' craze, his contemporary dream-pop production, '60s sunshine pop influences, Brazilian Tropicália hints, jazz chords, and complex arrangement. With this sixth album, Cosmopolis, Vinyl Williams continues to dig deep into his parallel universe, which he has developed with a rare consistency. From chaos emerges harmony and incredible pop songs. For fans of Triptides, Gold Celeste, Toro y Moi, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, GUM, Tame Impala, Chris Cohen, Morgan Delt, Dungen, Dumbo Gets Mad, Pond, Maston, Holy Wave, Arthur Verocai, The Free Design, The Association, Once And Future Band...

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: RS 052LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Rhythm Section International are back with another release from Saul, Mutualism. Saul is Jack Stephenson-Oliver (keys player of fellow Rhythm Section signee, Vels Trio) and producer Barney Whittaker, aka Footshooter. Their newest project is a feel good, summer-ready soundtrack, bursting with uplifting synths and groove-heavy broken beats. When the two of them get together, their jam sessions result in a fusion of alternative future jazz. Collaboration is a key element to the creative output of Saul, shining a light over individual talents such as Allysha Joy, Natty Wylah, Lex Amor, James Mollison, and Aden. For fans of: 30/70, Vels Trio, Kaidi Tatham, Ben Hauke, Dego, Floating Points, Kyle Hall, K15, Bugz In The Attic, Jay Daniel, Moodymann, Atjazz, St Germain, IG Culture, EVM128, Joe Armon Jones, Andrew Ashong, Pinty.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: RS 055LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Gayance joins forces with Rhythm Section International for her debut album Mascarade. A swaying dance that moves between poetic, soulful odes to the past, accounts of the Afro-diasporic feminine experience and playfully energetic dancefloor grooves. Mascarade is a collection of dancey, broken rhythms, interwoven with heartfelt stories and bright, unapologetic outpours of joy. In her own words, "It's the story of my 20s. I wanted to pay homage to this kid everybody knew, but not deeply. It's about taking back a power that is mine and was always in my hands -- It's about making peace with the past and moving forward." Gayance (real name Aïsha Vertus) takes her alias from the Haitian creole word for joyfulness. Based in Amsterdam, born and raised in Montreal-Nord, she started as a DJ in 2013, and has toured the world with shows in Paris, Brooklyn, Marrakech, Berlin, Sao Paulo, and more, bringing electrifying and contagious energy wherever she goes. Her own production is influenced by underground UKG and the respective house scenes of Detroit and New York, with nods to the vivid, sun-soaked colors of Latin America. Shades of blues, jazz, and gospel can also be heard in her newest project, pulling together styles from each corner of the world. Following her catalog of entirely self-released projects, Gayance announces her full-length debut album on Rhythm Section, bringing some fellow Montrealers along for the ride. Features Janet King, Hua Li, Sarah MK, Judith Little D, and Raveen. For fans of: Laroi, Pierre Kwenders, Hua Li, Dego, Jitwam, Neue Grafik, Tenderlonious, Steve Spacek, Kaidi Tatham, Andrew Ashong.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: EZRDR 119LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; LP version. "Here it is, the tenth edition of Brown Acid in just half as many years! As always, Riding Easy has packed in the highest highs of the dankest hard rock, heavy psych, and protometal tracks previously lost to the sands of time. Like throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. It's hard to believe it's up to ten volumes of this lysergic Neanderthal wail, but the long-lost jams just keep-a-coming like Texas crude to fuel the rock 'n' roll engine and melt one's metal mind."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: REPOSE 114LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Bruxa Maria are back on their third full-length; be grateful. Build Yourself A Shrine And Pray is 45 minutes of pummeling, punishing fury as unrelenting and all-consuming as your anger at coming up short for the rent. The new record finds the band just as enraged as their 2016 debut, while continuing to evolve artistically. Bruxa Maria's huge bass and guitar, frantic drums, and banshee shrieking vocals build tension with few moments of release, the frenzy sometimes dissolving into feedback, static, and synth drones. Often the riffs have a swagger that makes you want to dance, and in a few places there are flashes of some genuinely pretty melodies and hooks. Those moments all shine through for just an instant before being shredded by the noise and wrath, torn apart flower petals under a line of razor wire. This is dark music about and against a darkening world, where anger and art are crucial to how we keep on keeping on. You can call it now, this is going to be the best record of 2023. Bruxa Maria are: G. Dread - guitar, vocals; Dave Cochrane - bass (Head of David, God, Terminal Cheesecake); Paul Antony - Drums (Ghold, Test Dept); Robbie Judkins - Synth noise (Left Hand Cuts off The Right). Dread black vinyl. Includes three double-sided A4 inserts and download code; printed outer sleeve with poly-lined inner.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RM 4197CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"In the half-light stillness, the old piano rattles. Vibrations set forth into the expanse, at first empty, then expanding, set free then collapsing. This one note, appearing in a fleeting moment, an analog for the beginning of time, but really what is time? Some human construct to interpret chaos, to put some shape to what is happening around us, to associate memory and distance?"West Australian artist Matt Rösner was amongst the first artists to be released by Room40. His Alluvial album of the mid '00s set out a methodology, guided by a deep interest in spatiality and texture, that still haunts much of his work to this day. Empty, Expanding, Collapsing his latest album, sees Rösner refine the working methods and approaches recently tested on his 2021 edition, No Lasting Form. Being led by a series of improvised melodies and movements, recorded on a borrowed upright piano, this album is simultaneously freeform and highly directed. It documents and tests the tensions that sit at the nexus of creation and composition. Mixed by Taylor Deupree. Mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space. Cover Image by Traianos Pakioufakis.From Matt Rösner: "Empty, Expanding, Collapsing was recorded in the months after the release of 2021's No Lasting Form. Whilst No Lasting Form documented a return to the creative process after a long period away, Empty, Expanding, Collapsing comes from a more confident and assured place. At the heart of this record is an upright piano, loaned from a dear friend for safe keeping. Built in the 1898, the piano is heavy, laden with time, a resonant lead sound board and the carefully restored hammers and strings. These pieces started as loose piano improvisations played in the early morning light to be later assembled alongside an array of guitars, electronics, synthesizers, and percussion. Whilst the basis of the tracks started as tentative improvisations, the overdubbed parts were very much painstakingly written, rewritten and aged with sounds of the surrounding dune systems seeping through the wafer thin studio walls."

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: SOAVE 001LP

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

2023 restock. Soave present the first vinyl reissue of Giusto Pio's Motore Immobile, originally released in 1979. One of the most striking documents of Italy's minimalist movement, Giusto Pio's Motore Immobile is a masterwork with few equivalents. Produced by Franco Battiato in 1979, at the outset of a long and fruitful period of collaboration between the two composers, and issued by the legendary Cramps Records, its triumphs were met by silence, before falling from view. Emerging on vinyl for the first time since its original pressing, Motore Immobile now sits within a reappraisal of a large neglected body of efforts made by the Italian avant-garde during the second half of the 1970s and early '80s. It is singular, but not alone. It resonates within a collective world of shimmering sound, one familiar to fans of Battiato, Lino Capra Vaccina, Luciano Cilio, Roberto Cacciapaglia, Francesco Messina, and Raul Lovisoni. An exercise in elegant restraint - note and resonance held to the most implicit need. Everything between root and embellishment has been stripped away. A sublime organ drone, against interventions of deceptively simple structural complexity - executed by piano, violin, and voice. A sonic sculpture reaching heights which few have touched. A thing of beauty and an album as perfect as they come. The reemergence of Motore Immobile heralds what is unquestionably one of the most important reissues of 2017.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 130LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. "Of all the releases on Italy's legendary Cramps Records, Raul Lovisoni and Francesco Messina's seminal LP from 1979 has long remained among the most beloved. Prati Bagnati Del Monte Analogo not only introduced the world to the work of two gifted composers, but also is notable for being produced by electronic pioneer Franco Battiato. A sister album to Prati Bagnati would be Giusto Pio's breathtaking Motore Immobile, likewise graced with the maestro's gentle hand around the same time. Lovisoni and Messina are both central figures within the Italian avant-garde. Part of a generation of artists who contributed to a radical rethinking of musical practices and composition, they reveal Minimalism as it's rarely known: delicate melodies, subtle harmonic interplay, incorporating diverse creative traditions and slowly giving way to an ever-expanding open space. Prati Bagnati Del Monte Analogo's meditative title track, inspired by René Daumal's surrealist novel Le Mont Analogue, features Messina on synthesizer and Michele Fedrigotti's impressionistic piano, while on Lovisoni's 'Hula Om' and 'Amon Ra,' solo harp, crystal glasses and Juri Camisasca's radiant vocal drones further ascend into the stratosphere. Skirting the outer edges of ambient, new age and experimental music, Prati Bagnati has a transformative beauty unlike anything else. Superior Viaduct's edition reproduces the original sleeve design and is recommended for fans of Jon Hassell, Luciano Cilio and Popol Vuh."

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: SVVRCH 063LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress; reissue, originally released in 1973. An icon of Brazilian popular music, Tim Maia was a musical polymath and prolific recording artist best known for introducing American soul to the Brazilian music scene, pioneering the sambalanço style by blending elements of soul, funk, rock, and samba. Maia recorded four self-titled albums for Polydor Brazil, this fourth release from 1973 is arguably the best, with its outstanding hits "Réu Confesso" and "Gostava Tanto de Você"; "Do Your Thing, Behave Yourself" shows how the soul form fitted him perfectly and "O Balanço" full to bursting with Brazilian flavor. A superb set from start to finish, it's a must for all Tim Maia fans.

 

PRICE: $10.00

CAT #: WIRE 469

FILE UNDER: Misc

"On the cover: The Necks - For the last 25 years, the Australian trio have created a radical new open form for musical improvisation with hour-long performances that touch upon motorik rock, minimalist composition, drone and more. They talk to Daniel Spicer about their new album Travel; Inside the issue... ?irom - The Slovenian group reactivate archaic folk musics to create a new cosmic vision of Balkan sound through their longform performances. By Milo? Hroch; Marc Hollander - From fourth world 1980s art pop to creating a new hub for global music via the Crammed Discs label to a brand new album with Aksak Maboul, this Belgian polymath has created multiple visions of a better music world. By Julian Cowley; Invisible Jukebox: James Brandon Lewis - New York's hottest free and spiritual jazz reedsman takes our mystery music test to celebrate his new album Eye Of I. Global Ear - Giannis Kotsonis on the thriving experimental tape music scene in Athens; Unlimited Editions - Kehinde Alonge on essential East Coast jazz imprint 577 Records; Unofficial Channels; Inner Sleeve - Mark Wastell on The Specials; Epiphanies - Pat Gubler aka PG Six is mesmerized by the possibilities contained in a single note of a piano; Plus full page interviews with Avalanche Kaito, Debby Friday, Gamut Inc, and El Khat. With this March issue we will be making a few changes to the magazine, including shapeshifting its format to A4, and introducing a new logo and design layout courtesy of our new art director Guillaume Chuard."

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: TA 169LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

85 minutes collection of previously unpublished recordings made at the Friedrichshof commune between 1982 and 1990. Performed by Otto Muehl and members of the commune. Includes actionist group-music, improvised conceptual pieces, and barpianist-songs. This double-LP includes two songs as well as several artworks not included in the previous CD version (TA 169CD). Full color gatefold sleeve and full color printed inner sleeves.

 

PRICE: $47.50

CAT #: TA 171LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

SIGNA is a Copenhagen based artistic collective founded by Signa and Arthur Köstler. Developed since 2001 from performances by Signa Sørensen (now Köstler), the fundamental concept of their projects is best described as performance installation. Each project is a devised site-specific performance played in non-traditional art spaces. In collaboration with an ensemble of international participants, the founding members of SIGNA conceptualize and perform in wholly immersive endurance installations which engage with archetype, improvisation and highly curated visual landscapes, to indulge and investigate structures of power and degradation, fate, identity and desire. The length of SIGNA's performances range from six hours to 250 hours non-stop. The extreme duration of the work allows the improvisations to develop complex and intricately detailed stories, as well as provide ample time for audience members to acclimate to, and become insinuated in, the machinations of the world being portrayed. With rare exception, there is no physical boundary between performer and audience in SIGNA performances. The audience is invited to engage with the project as an individual might in daily life- absorbing all visual, aural, and tactile cues in the environment. The recordings on this publication stem from the 2019 performance "Det Åbne Hjerte (The Open Heart)" and were selected and edited by Daniel Löwenbrück from hours and hours of sound from the (covert) video-documentation of the performance. The 12-hour performance (from 7pm to 7am) "Det Åbne Hjerte" featured a cast of more than 50 Danish and international performers, and explored the pendulum swings of power in the borderland between compassion and complacency. 60 people per evening were invited for a "seminar in empathy" run by the fictional association "The Open Heart", founded by "The Compassionates" -- these are individuals who accommodate and study human beings surviving on the fringes of society, known as "The Sufferers". As a seminar participant, each audience member was assigned a bed, a locker, and a personal mentor from the ranks of "The Sufferers", respectively. During the performance, the audience adopted their mentor's name and clothes and experienced their world from inside their embodied experience. Full color gatefold sleeve; includes full color printed inner sleeves and a double-sided A2 poster; edition of 400.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: TMK 011LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. A declaration of love to the original country music for which Theo Lawrence is the representative of the new generation. After leaving BMG, Theo Lawrence returns to independence with the launch of his own label Tomika in 2020 and a busy year in 2022: opening acts for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss and Charley Crockett, Americana Fest (Nashville), SXSW and a European tour, Theo Lawrence unveils a new album entitled Chérie. A 12-track jewel recorded in Nashville and sailing between ultra-romantic and thrilling ballads, Louisiana Cajun sounds, silky string arrangements, and epic vocal flights taking you back to the pop music heyday of Roy Orbison and Frank Sinatra. Theo Lawrence is a young French-Canadian songwriter based in Bordeaux. His music is rooted in the country music of the '50s and '60s, while borrowing elements from soul, pop, and rock n' roll of the same era. A mixture of styles and sounds, with a deep love of tradition, while bearing the stamp of modern times. Theo brings a new sound to traditional American music, and with this new album confirms that he is part of the prolific new North American country scene.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: TRESOR 167LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Reissue of DJ Shufflemaster's album EXP, first released by Tresor in 2001. This expanded reissue comes as a triple-LP with new artwork by Japanese designer Sk8thing and combines the original CD release tracks with three tracks from the Angel Gate 12" from the same year, including a remix by Surgeon. Also present is a previously unreleased version of "Innervisions", which replaces the assonant synths of the original with a looped vocal sample upfront. Tatsuya Kanamori remains a critical component of the Tokyo techno underground scene, initially coming to the fore through the Subvoice label before releases with Tresor, Theory Recordings, and Japanese record labels such as Disq and Reel Musiq. At the moment of the original release, DJ Shufflemaster considered the record to draw in disparate and latent ideas into a fully encompassing mesh. "I would like to show my thoughts and everything that I am through the album. If it doesn't reflect my ideas and the reasons that I live for, there is no meaning for me to create an album. Therefore, EXP doesn't contain just one theme or concept." EXP represents an uncompromising and psychedelic slant on techno, with a purist's focus on the dancefloor. It bridges many avenues within the techno genre, from the minimalist, dubby terrains of tracks like "P.F.L.P." and "Opaqueness", to more fierce percussive works that share a kinship with the sonic movements in Berlin, Detroit, and the UK. Beyond the technical, pared-down techno found in tracks such as "EXP" and "Onto The Body", the album leaps into unpredictable territories frequently. "Angel Exit" carries mystical UK steppers moods as if it were a long-lost dubplate of The Rootsman. Kanamori delves deep into looping digital grunge in "Flowers Of Cantarella" and "Dawn Purple", these synthetic worlds enveloping and deforming at will. Bold and as fresh as ever, EXP is an unearthed jewel from Tresor's past for new ears. Full printed sleeve.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: TRESOR 270X-CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Following the re-release of Drexciya's essentials Neptune's Lair, Hydro Doorways, Harnessed The Storm, and Digital Tsunami, the reissue series continues with Transllusion's Opening Of The Cerebral Gate and the Mind Over Positive And Negative Dimensional Matter 12". Produced by the late James Marcel Stinson and released in 2001 via Supremat, a short-lived sub-label Tresor dedicated to a more abstract and experimental electro sound, Opening Of The Cerebral Gate was conceived as the second part of the so-called "Drexciyan Storms" -- a whopping stack of seven albums by the Detroit pair released under different monikers within a single year. This phase marks a groundbreaking time for the duo, their cosmos breaking wide open, right at the dawn of a new technological era in electronic music production. All this is deeply reflected in Transllusion's first album. This phase marks a groundbreaking time for the duo, their cosmos breaking wide open, right at the dawn of a new technological era in electronic music production. All this is deeply reflected in Transllusion's first album.2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of James Stinson and the releases of the Transllusion and Shifted Phases albums. In recognition, the rightsholders, their families, and the label have commissioned Detroit-based contemporary artist Matthew Angelo Harrison to re-conceptualize the covers of Tresor's Drexciya-related catalog. These editions will be released sequentially, bimonthly, and started in early-September 2022.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: TRESOR 270X-LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Triple LP version. 180 gram vinyl. Following the re-release of Drexciya's essentials Neptune's Lair, Hydro Doorways, Harnessed The Storm, and Digital Tsunami, the reissue series continues with Transllusion's Opening Of The Cerebral Gate and the Mind Over Positive And Negative Dimensional Matter 12". Produced by the late James Marcel Stinson and released in 2001 via Supremat, a short-lived sub-label Tresor dedicated to a more abstract and experimental electro sound, Opening Of The Cerebral Gate was conceived as the second part of the so-called "Drexciyan Storms" -- a whopping stack of seven albums by the Detroit pair released under different monikers within a single year. This phase marks a groundbreaking time for the duo, their cosmos breaking wide open, right at the dawn of a new technological era in electronic music production. All this is deeply reflected in Transllusion's first album. This phase marks a groundbreaking time for the duo, their cosmos breaking wide open, right at the dawn of a new technological era in electronic music production. All this is deeply reflected in Transllusion's first album.2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of James Stinson and the releases of the Transllusion and Shifted Phases albums. In recognition, the rightsholders, their families, and the label have commissioned Detroit-based contemporary artist Matthew Angelo Harrison to re-conceptualize the covers of Tresor's Drexciya-related catalog. These editions will be released sequentially, bimonthly, and started in early-September 2022.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: TRESOR 271X-EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Following the re-release of Drexciya's essentials Neptune's Lair, Hydro Doorways, Harnessed The Storm, and Digital Tsunami, the reissue series continues with Transllusion's Opening Of The Cerebral Gate and the Mind Over Positive And Negative Dimensional Matter 12". Produced by the late James Marcel Stinson and released in 2001 via Supremat, a short-lived sub-label Tresor dedicated to a more abstract and experimental electro sound, Opening Of The Cerebral Gate was conceived as the second part of the so-called "Drexciyan Storms" -- a whopping stack of seven albums by the Detroit pair released under different monikers within a single year. This phase marks a groundbreaking time for the duo, their cosmos breaking wide open, right at the dawn of a new technological era in electronic music production. All this is deeply reflected in Transllusion's first album. This phase marks a groundbreaking time for the duo, their cosmos breaking wide open, right at the dawn of a new technological era in electronic music production. All this is deeply reflected in Transllusion's first album.

 

PRICE: $21.50

CAT #: UTR 150LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Historically Fucked is a four-way entanglement made to create short, eruptive songs and then set about obliterating them from the inside, like improvising a barrel to encase themselves in and then proceeding to lick their way out of it. It is about playing and laughing at playing, and it is about not doing either of those things sometimes. Sometimes it is to do with talking, howling or grunting, and sometimes it is to do with hitting and rubbing. Historically Fucked contains four people, who each share the same duties, and whose names in sequence are Otto Willberg, David Birchall, Greta Buitkuté, and Alecs Pierce. They are from Manchester and often other places. Guitar, bass, drums, and voices keenly jostle amid the group's frenzy of spontaneous rock throttles. Some of these rampant exercises in avant are collected on The Mule Peasants' Revolt of 12,067, the band's new album, released by Upset The Rhythm. This is the group's first release since 2018's mantlepiece staple Aliven Wool (Heavy Petting). This is Rock and/or Roll as fertilizer, uncivilized and free, as if one were to imagine what the Plastic Ono Band would've hit upon if they had read Riddley Walker (1980), the sound of an entire timeline of expression put back together back-to-front, misshapen and irradiated. The Mule Peasants' Revolt of 12,067 is not mere sedentary rock but blasted basalt, frog worshipping cave-funk, harmolodic hullabaloo-wop, a musical game of "badger in the bag". It is the sound of sacks crammed full of aggregate, a chimerical mind-meld, a seductive din that is to a hound dog in blue suede shoes what a raking of the dorsal fin with a fat marrow pinecone is to a pelican in the midst of being fired from the academy. The Mule Peasants' Revolt of 12,067 by Historically Fucked was recorded by Rory Salter, mixed by Otto Willberg, and mastered by Mikey Young. Artwork painted by John Cobweaver. "They say these days that History is Fucked. Nothing ever dies but continues to rule the earth as an undead tyrant that cannot accept its own decomposition, look earwardly upon the dance of the proudly dead and decrepit!" --Vymethoxy Redspiders, Leeds 2022

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: VL 900181LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Riding fairly high on the success of their singles, the band, whose members included Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood, and Dave Mason, released its 1967 debut LP, which also soon shot up to the number 16 slot on the UK albums chart. Aided by their use of unusual instruments (Winwood played the organ, Wood played flute and Mason the sitar) they created a hybrid of pop / blues rock with a sound that was somewhat unique for the time and which soon made them international superstars. This deluxe reissue includes 5 bonus tracks and a poster.

 

PRICE: $12.00

CAT #: VIO 007EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

A very rare jewel in the Michael Head canon of work. A two-song project recorded in 2014, pressed in France and packaged in a hand-made sleeve. This is a unique and original artifact, not a repress. With no band name on the sleeve, this was a personal project exquisitely packaged. The songs are pure and quintessential Michael Head. "Velvets In The Dark" was written in the wake of the death of Lou Reed and centers around being on the outside of those things most important in your life. "Koala Bears" is a remarkable song with a structure like no other featuring two young fugitives, fixated and so in love who when caught have their code word for "we say nothing".

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: WWSLP 066LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Funk and soul in the early '70s were mutating to a new sound spearheaded by such labels as Philadelphia International Records (PIR), Scepter, and Salsoul: Early disco was taking off and Its sound was earthier and more urban, mixing the nascent disco beat with strong funk and soul elements. New York was at the epicenter of the phenomenon, thanks to its thriving club scene and also to a new wave of DJs from the Bronx who started playing the music at block parties along with James Brown and Mandrill. bubbling under was a cohort of small independent labels that released some great music on 7" singles to meet the growing demand. Industry veteran Bob Shad and his label Mainstream Records started investigating this new scene and asked his circle of independent producers to bring him their latest production for release. For the occasion, he set up two sub labels, IX Chains and Brown Dog. Among the producers who'd heard Shad's call were Tommy Stewart who came up with The South Side Coalition's funky "(Don't You Wanna) Get Down Get Down" in 1975 and Prophecy's "What Ever's Your Sign" a year later. Seasoned arranger/producer Bert DeCoteaux (Patti Austin, Maxine Brown, The Main Ingredient) brought Lenny Welch's soulful "A Hundred Pounds of Pain' and the superb mid-tempo instrumental "Nothing Between Us" by The Electric Ladies. Arranger Jimmy Roach came with his latest single with The Dramatics ("No Rebate on Love") whom he'd worked with at Volt and with Three Ounces of Love on their aptly titled single "Disco Man," whose unissued long version merging Side 1 and 2 is released here on vinyl for the first time. The sister group would go on to sign with Motown in 1978 and release their sole album self-titled Three Ounces of Love. Other highlights on Mainstream Disco Funk include The Grand Jury's "Music Is Fun To Me" with its languid funky rhythm arranged by Ted Bodnar, a producer and studio engineer who'd work with Sir Joe Quarterman, Blair and Al Johnson. Also featured on the set is Crystal Image's superb "Gonna Have a Good Time (part 1 & 2)" which typifies the blend of urban funk, glitzy strings and metronomic beat that were signature elements of early disco. Also features Chocolate Syrup. Remastered by Colorsound Studio in Paris, with liner notes by Charles Waring.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: WWSLP 070LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Wewantsounds present a first time reissue of Farid el Atrache's cult album Nagham Fi Hayati released in 1974 on Voice of Lebanon. It is the soundtrack of the eponymous film starring El Atrache. Sampled by the Beatles and nicknamed the "King of Oud", El Atrache is one of the giants of Egyptian music together with Oum Kalthoum and Abdel Halim Hafez. The album which showcases El Atrache's versatility and includes the monster groove "Hebina Hebina", is one of Brian Eno's favorite albums. Nagham Fi Hayati also contains an unedited version of "Takassim Oud" highlighting El Atrache superb oud playing. In the '50s and '60s, El Atrache became one of the most famous singers in the Arab world. One of his songs from the '60s, "Awel Hamsa" even got sampled by the Beatles on their "Revolution 9" from the White Album. The album Nagham Fi Hayati (The Melody of My Life) released in 1974, the year of his death. It was also the soundtrack of the eponymous film directed by famed Egyptian director Henry Barakat and also featured female star Mervat Amin. The album is comprised of four tracks. "Alachan Malich Gheirak" (Because There is No One Else for Me but You) and "Ya Habaybi Ya Ghaybin" (My Absent Loves) are typical long romantic songs alternating lush instrumental parts by a full Egyptian orchestra with parts sung by El Atrache. "Takassim Oud" is an astonishing instrumental highlighting El Atrache's virtuoso oud playing explaining why he was nicknamed "The King of Oud". The song is released here in its entirety for the first time on vinyl as a small section that was cut from the original vinyl release, has been reintegrated. The highlight of the album is certainly "Hebina Hebina" (Love Us, Love Us) which has become an Arabic groove club classic over the years featuring a funky loop and groovy organ. The song and the album actually caught the ear of producer Brian Eno who named it one of his favorite albums in an interview with musician William Doyle in 2016 for The Quietus. Originally released on the label Voice of Lebanon, Nagham Fi Hayati was recorded by engineer Nabil Mumtaz (from the cult Polysound Studios in Beirut). It has become one of Farid El Atrache's most coveted albums on the Arabic music scene. Audio newly remastered by Colorsound, original artwork and new liner notes by Mario Choueiry from Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.

 

PRICE: $44.50

CAT #: WS 010LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Bones for Time signifies a watershed moment in Tongue Depressor's artistic evolution. Over the course of four expansive tracks, Henry Birdsey and Zach Rowden expound upon the formal and technical characteristics that have defined Tongue Depressor's oeuvre up to this point. Oscillating microtonal drones and spectral smears of pedal steel guitar are now augmented by the disembodied presence of tattered tape loops. The days narrow, dragged forth into a voidal expanse. Sometimes, the void looks back."empyrean chimes and subterranean drones from out-musick duo Tongue Depressor -- an in-depth exploration of tuned percussion and just intoned drone that comes highly recommended if you're into the work of Tony Conrad, C.C. Hennix, John Cage, Philip Corner and Michael Ranta -- or if you're into church bells, gamelan, or Popol Vuh's earliest meditations. Floored." --Boomkat

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: ZEDD 055CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

The follow-up to his 2017 album (ZEDD 041CD/LP), Produced With Love II is a collection of brand new songs from one of the UK's most longstanding, respected and fiercely independent artists. In a flash-in-the-pan industry like music, Dave Lee's career is notable for both its longevity and consistency. As a record producer and remixer, DJ and curator, he's now clocked up well over 30 years and, if such things existed, would be nailed on for a carriage clock for long service to add to the numerous hits and landmarks he's enjoyed over a storied career. His latest album, Produced With Love II, continues the work he started with 2017's superb collection. Incorporating aspects of house, soul, and disco, and crafted with the attention to detail you'd expect from someone of Lee's heritage and caliber, Produced With Love II comprises 12 brand new songs. The writing process has always remained the same and Dave has always preferred to work face-to-face with artists whenever possible -- albeit with a few enforced remote sessions due to the pandemic. Released as the lead single from the album, "Starlight" sees Lee team up with Omar. "Starlight" is a gorgeous, mid-tempo dance record, with Omar's silky vocals backed up with rich production: soaring live strings, groove-laden clav and synth over a chugging bassline creating a heady, inviting atmosphere. It's an almost viscerally life-affirming record: a theme that continues throughout the entire album. Take a track like "If You Ever Need Somebody" featuring Tiffany T'zelle, or "Taste My Love" with vocals from Billy Valentine. These songs would stand toe-to-toe with any soul standard from the '70s or '80s: to have production this rich and bold in 2022 isn't far short of miraculous. And that's what you get throughout Produced With Love II -- an attention to detail and level of creative collaboration rarely seen. It's why a Dave Lee album is a rare thing. These things take time, but when they do come along, it's something worth treasuring.Double-CD version also features: Raw Essence, Lifford, Mistura, Dave & Maurissa, Dave Lee, Billy Valentine, Jemini, The Sunburst Band, Foreal People, Xan Blacq, Angela Johnson, Jayenne, Gina Carey, Leroy Burgess, Kokomo, Harold Melvin And The Bluenotes, Str4ta, Destiny II, Wayne Hernandez, Prospect Park, The Vison, Andreya Triana, Roland Wrightangle, Darcus, and Ja'Shay.

 

PRICE: $39.50

CAT #: ZEDD 055LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Triple LP version. Gatefold sleeve. The follow-up to his 2017 album (ZEDD 041CD/LP), Produced With Love II is a collection of brand new songs from one of the UK's most longstanding, respected and fiercely independent artists. In a flash-in-the-pan industry like music, Dave Lee's career is notable for both its longevity and consistency. As a record producer and remixer, DJ and curator, he's now clocked up well over 30 years and, if such things existed, would be nailed on for a carriage clock for long service to add to the numerous hits and landmarks he's enjoyed over a storied career. His latest album, Produced With Love II, continues the work he started with 2017's superb collection. Incorporating aspects of house, soul, and disco, and crafted with the attention to detail you'd expect from someone of Lee's heritage and caliber, Produced With Love II comprises 12 brand new songs. The writing process has always remained the same and Dave has always preferred to work face-to-face with artists whenever possible -- albeit with a few enforced remote sessions due to the pandemic. Released as the lead single from the album, "Starlight" sees Lee team up with Omar. "Starlight" is a gorgeous, mid-tempo dance record, with Omar's silky vocals backed up with rich production: soaring live strings, groove-laden clav and synth over a chugging bassline creating a heady, inviting atmosphere. It's an almost viscerally life-affirming record: a theme that continues throughout the entire album. Take a track like "If You Ever Need Somebody" featuring Tiffany T'zelle, or "Taste My Love" with vocals from Billy Valentine. These songs would stand toe-to-toe with any soul standard from the '70s or '80s: to have production this rich and bold in 2022 isn't far short of miraculous. And that's what you get throughout Produced With Love II -- an attention to detail and level of creative collaboration rarely seen. It's why a Dave Lee album is a rare thing. These things take time, but when they do come along, it's something worth treasuring.Triple-LP version features: Dave & Omar, Jayenne, Gina Carey, Foreal People, Xan Blacq, Dave Lee, Billy Valentine, Mistura, Jemini, The Sunburst Band, Angela Johnson, Raw Essence, Lifford, Harold Melvin And The Bluenotes, and Kokomo.