News & Events

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: 2MR 078LTD-LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Kosaya Gora (English translation: Oblique Mountain), a new indie project from acclaimed electronic producer/singer Kedr Livanskiy and experimental producer/visual artist Flaty, have announced their first full-length album, Kosogor. Kosaya Gora is an entirely new sonic direction for them both. The debut is a multilingual foray into guitar-based folk, haunting dream pop, and moody synth, underpinned by Livanskiy's signature hypnotic vocals. The two recorded Kosogor in a mobile studio which they took through remote villages in their native Russia. Having worked together on each other's solo electronic projects in the past (Flaty co-produced Livanskiy's Your Need and features on her most recent album Liminal Soul), the two artists found themselves exploring new territory during a period of experimentation between 2020-21. With a spirit of curiosity and no specific plan, they took inspiration from all over during these sessions, likening their process to that of Gray, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Michael Holman's experimental band of nonprofessional musicians and artists. As a result, Kosogor contains echoes of '60s psychedelic folk, underground rock, country, DIY, and experimental electronica tapes, '00s and '90s indie and trip-hop, dub, and more. Though these touchpoints may be new to fans of both artists' solo work, they're deeply familiar to Livanskiy and Flaty themselves, echoes of their youths spent traversing Russia's underground music scenes. It makes sense, then, that a free-spirited approach to music-making would naturally resurface these familiar sounds. The resulting album is fittingly expansive: traditional folk guitars swirl alongside moody synths and '90s-era distortion. "V Pole Na Vole" has an upbeat, infectious melody and glitchy electronic production, while "Musika Voln" has a danceable trip-hop beat. All of the songs on Kosogor seem to dart between eras in a way that would be dizzying if it weren't so skillful. This sense of timelessness is underscored by the lyrics, which borrow from ancient folklore, 18th century German poetry, contemporary American writing, and more. The otherworldly "Empty Realm" is even written in an entirely invented language, an elvish dialect which Livanskiy describes as "a language of dreams." Channeling both the vibrant sounds of their city-dwelling youths and the more ancient atmosphere of the forests and small towns they traversed in their mobile studio, Kosogor is an enchanting debut from a group that, though brand new, feels oddly timeless. Clear vinyl.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: ALT 051COL-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Clear vinyl edition. Alter presents a remastered edition of Cremation Lily's second album. Recorded whilst living in Hastings and originally released as a double cassette on his Strange Rules label in 2017, The Processes And Instruments Of Normal People forms a trilogy of albums in the Cremation Lily canon that were influenced by the life and atmospheres within British coastal towns. Composed using a rudimentary set-up of synth, drum machine and two modified walkmans, Cremation Lily draws upon a broad range of influences from the underground electronic music spectrum. Noise, tape music, and ambient techno are all referenced and align to form a cohesive collection of tracks, flowing fluidly in sequence. Melancholic synth pads and deep kick drums intersect with crude field recordings and occasional bursts of feedback, evoking a claustrophobic uncertainty that feels more like being pulled under than carried above. Features additional piano and violin by Theodore Cale Schafer.

 

PRICE: $10.00

CAT #: BING 186CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"It's been seven strange years since The Veils' last studio album Total Depravity, and Finn Andrews has a new double album to show for it. ...And Out Of The Void Came Love is the result of this tumultuous period of injury, isolation and new life. Following the release of Total Depravity, Andrews released a solo album and began a worldwide tour. One night, while lashing out at a particularly intense moment on piano, he broke his wrist on stage. He played on and finished the rest of the tour, but it wasn't until he got it examined much later that he realized what a bad move that was. The convalescence that followed meant a lengthy hiatus from touring, so he did what he does best and stayed at home and wrote songs. Just when his hand had healed sufficiently for him to play again, The Veils found themselves in need of a new record label, but Finn set about starting to make a new record regardless. Producer Tom Healy invited Finn to his small studio underneath the old Crystal Palace ballroom in Mount Eden, and they listened through the legions of songs he had amassed throughout the previous year. Following another two years of intermittent recording between lockdowns, Finn's wife became pregnant, and yet more songs started coming. By the time the songs had been recorded, it was clear that arranging the album into two halves best suited such varied material -- but the meaning of the songs as a whole still eluded Andrews. The result of all these years of questioning, confinement and precarious uncertainty is this magnificent new double album. It is an album intended to be listened to in two sittings with a short break in the middle. Composer Victoria Kelly's soaring string arrangements play an integral role in bringing the songs to life, as do musicians Cass Basil (bass), Dan Raishbrook (lap steel, guitar), Liam Gerrard (piano), Joseph McCallum (drums), the NZTrio and special guests the Smoke Fairies on backing vocals. The Veils have toured consistently throughout their twenty-year history and garnered a formidable reputation as one of the world's greatest live bands. They have also been praised by film directors Paolo Sorrentino, Tim Burton and David Lynch who have all used their music on their soundtracks."

 

PRICE: $36.00

CAT #: BING 186LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version. "It's been seven strange years since The Veils' last studio album Total Depravity, and Finn Andrews has a new double album to show for it. ...And Out Of The Void Came Love is the result of this tumultuous period of injury, isolation and new life. Following the release of Total Depravity, Andrews released a solo album and began a worldwide tour. One night, while lashing out at a particularly intense moment on piano, he broke his wrist on stage. He played on and finished the rest of the tour, but it wasn't until he got it examined much later that he realized what a bad move that was. The convalescence that followed meant a lengthy hiatus from touring, so he did what he does best and stayed at home and wrote songs. Just when his hand had healed sufficiently for him to play again, The Veils found themselves in need of a new record label, but Finn set about starting to make a new record regardless. Producer Tom Healy invited Finn to his small studio underneath the old Crystal Palace ballroom in Mount Eden, and they listened through the legions of songs he had amassed throughout the previous year. Following another two years of intermittent recording between lockdowns, Finn's wife became pregnant, and yet more songs started coming. By the time the songs had been recorded, it was clear that arranging the album into two halves best suited such varied material -- but the meaning of the songs as a whole still eluded Andrews. The result of all these years of questioning, confinement and precarious uncertainty is this magnificent new double album. It is an album intended to be listened to in two sittings with a short break in the middle. Composer Victoria Kelly's soaring string arrangements play an integral role in bringing the songs to life, as do musicians Cass Basil (bass), Dan Raishbrook (lap steel, guitar), Liam Gerrard (piano), Joseph McCallum (drums), the NZTrio and special guests the Smoke Fairies on backing vocals. The Veils have toured consistently throughout their twenty-year history and garnered a formidable reputation as one of the world's greatest live bands. They have also been praised by film directors Paolo Sorrentino, Tim Burton and David Lynch who have all used their music on their soundtracks."

 

PRICE: $36.50

CAT #: BEWITH 028LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress. Be With Records present the first ever official reissue of Kimiko Kasai with Herbie Hancock's Butterfly, originally released in 1979. The positively sublime and very rare Butterfly LP, recorded in Tokyo in 1979 by Japanese songstress Kimiko Kasai and jazz legend Herbie Hancock. Due to its super-rare status as a Japan-only release, this exquisite collection of covers never got the recognition it deserved at the time, despite incredibly inspired performances from Kimiko, Herbie, and the supremely talented musicians assembled for the project. From heavenly drummer Alphonse Mouzon and renowned organist Webster Lewis to bassist Paul Jackson, reedman Bennie Maupin, and the master percussionist Bill Summers, the legendary performers crafted amazingly good vocal versions of Herbie/Headhunters jazz-funk. Unsurprisingly, it has been heavily in demand for many years. The LP opens with Kimiko's highly desirable version of "I Thought It Was You", an elegant take on Herbie's own anthem. Other superb re-workings include the delicately soulful "Butterfly", jazzy groover "Sunlight", the smooth and sexy "Tell Me A Bedtime Story", and the beautiful ballads "Maiden Voyage" and "Harvest Time". A wonderful example of perfectly understated and masterful jazz-funk soul fusion that shouldn't be missed, the set closes with a jaw-dropping version of Stevie Wonder's "As". This lovingly curated reissue enables a long overdue reappraisal of this hitherto unavailable masterpiece. The stunning artwork which adorned the original jacket -- complete with obi strip and sumptuous four-page folded insert -- has been faithfully restored. Mastered by Simon Francis, and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: BEWITH 037LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. Be With Records present the first ever officially licensed vinyl reissue of Buari's self-titled album, originally released on RCA in 1975. A surefire Afro-funk classic, long treasured by collectors across the globe, the fantastic self-titled LP from Ghanaian singing/percussion sensation Sidiku Buari nevertheless remains a criminally hard-to find gem. This super-rare album boasts an all-star cast of top funk instrumentalists playing alongside Buari as he blends heavy African rhythms with American soul-funk grooves. The arrangements and the playing are incredibly tight and the album is stacked with killer tracks including "Advice From Father" (sampled brilliantly by Kenny Dope) and "Ku Ka Maria", with its intense, neck-snapping breaks and funky drumming from legend Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. Purdie is in the pocket for the entirety of this stunning LP -- the drumming is just straight out of hand; so varied yet so precise. It's not hard to fathom why these tracks have always been huge on the b-boy/breaking scene. Other standouts include the wonderful disco-tinged Afro monsters "Karam Bani" and "Iro Le Pa" plus the cool laidback groove of "Them Yebtheyet". With access to the original analog tape transfers, the stellar mastering by Simon Francis elevates the sound throughout and. 180 gram vinyl.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: BEWITH 066LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; Be With Records present a reissue of Samuel Jonathan Johnson's My Music, originally released in 1978. My Music is a stellar spiritual soul/jazz-funk gem, recorded by keyboardist-singer Samuel Jonathan Johnson in 1978. The epitome of a cult classic, it didn't do much upon its release but steadily found an audience over the decades that followed. This is music that shares the jazzy R&B DNA of contemporaries like Roy Ayers and is an intoxicating blend of mellow moments and more groove-heavy tracks. Spacey keys and lush production give it a luxurious, enveloping warmth. My Music opens with the gorgeous title track: an indulgent slow jam opus. Introducing you to Johnson's compelling musical vision, it features a rich mélange of production techniques. Dripping in strings, horns, backing singers, popping funk bass lines and swooshing synth waves, it's an unusually structured cosmic two-stepper that has an irrepressible groove. Accordingly, it's been a favorite with the diggers and it was sampled by The Alchemist for Jadakiss's "We Gonna Make It". The up-tempo "Sweet Love" bubbles over with joy, its uplifting lyrics backed by infectious bass and jazzy Fender Rhodes lines. It follows a cover of "What The World Need's Now Is Love", taken at a funereal pace that transforms it into a heartfelt plea for love and understanding. After a full-minute-long opening of lush cinematic strings and horns, "Because I Love You" makes space for Samuel's voice, accompanied by some keys and just a sprinkle of guitar. It builds back up and then mellows its way out to a jazz lounge finish (in all the right ways). The feel-good ebullience of the Stevie Wonder-esque "It Ain't Easy" closes out the LP's first side. The second side bursts open with the heavy bounce and disco-funk basslines of "You", a slightly off-beat string-laden dancer with insistent horns and a piano-assisted groove. Next up is "Just Us", a legendary steppers track that could be heard oozing out of deep soul radios and funk sound systems back in the late '80s. "Yesterdays and Tomorrow" is a moving original ballad that is followed by an exquisite high-stepping paean to mom in the form of "Thank You Mother Dear". The thumping easy-glide of "Reason For The Reason" brings the album to a close. Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman. Sleeve artwork restored by Be With Records. 140 gram vinyl.

 

PRICE: $36.50

CAT #: BEWITH 061LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; LP version. 140 gram vinyl; gatefold sleeve; includes 16-page insert with photos and liner notes. For the first time since its inception in 1983, Steve Hiett's elusive Down On The Road By The Beach is finally made available outside of Japan. Most recognized in the fashion sphere as an English photographer and graphic designer, Hiett's transportive audio portraits amplify his serpentine guitar to the infinite blue, recorded across Paris, Tokyo and New York. A career devotee of Brian Wilson's groundbreaking harmonies, Hiett shot The Beach Boys for Rolling Stone -- as well as The Doors, Miles Davis, and Jimi Hendrix -- while establishing himself as a fashion photographer. Decamping to Paris in 1972, he began what would become 20-year collaborations with Vogue Paris and Marie Claire. In 1982, representatives from Tokyo's Galerie Watari visited him to propose a solo exhibition. Asking if he could insert a 7" of original music into the back of the exhibition catalogue, Hiett laid down "Blue Beach - Welcome To Your Beach" in a Parisian radio station, playing all of the instruments himself, and two more cuts in New York with Yoko Ono, The Doobie Brothers, and Steely Dan hired-gun, Elliot Randall. Once dispatched, there were requests for him to fly to Tokyo to record; it wasn't until he arrived that he discovered CBS/Sony had facilitated an entire album. Heitt hastily gripped some petty cash, bought a guitar, and retreated to his hotel room to start writing. Entering the studio the following day, he was further surprised by a waiting room of session players known as Moonriders -- one of Japan's most acclaimed rock bands of the 1980s. Intimidated by their indecipherable sheet music, Hiett suggested Randall join them and with money being no object for major labels at the time, his wingman was on the next plane out of New York. Near-ambient arrangements that float in a space between The Durutti Column, Steve Cropper, and Ashra, Down On The Road By The Beach also crowns Hiett the master of recontextualization with his zero-gravity blues visions of "Roll Over Beethoven", Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk" and the 1967 Eddie Floyd soul hit, "Never Found A Girl". Produced in coordination between Be With Records, Efficient Space and the artist, this definitive reissue is restored from original masters; extensive liner notes penned by Mikey IQ Jones.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BEAT 042LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. The Partisans were formed in South Wales in 1978 with the original line-up of Phil Staton (vocals), Rob "Spike" Harrington (guitar and backing vocals), Andy Lealand (second guitar), Mark "Shark" Harris (drums), and Mark "Savage" Parsons (bass). This line-up changed after one year as Parsons and Staton left the band and Rob took the vocal position and Louise Wright became the bass player. Basically influenced by The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Ramones, The Partisans started to cover those bands and play some of their own sounds, too. In September 1981, they released their first 7" under the label No Future Records, a fantastic single that helped the band to tour with the likes of Blitz, The Ejected and Peter And The Test Tube Babies. In May of 1982 they released their second 7" and when 1983 arrived, the band's debut LP was out. This debut LP is one of the seminal steps in British punk, for sure -- a record that still sounds fresh and strong after 30 years. Beat Generation is more than proud to announce the reissue of this legendary record on 180 gram vinyl with the original cover and inside artwork -- strictly limited to 500 copies.

 

PRICE: $21.50

CAT #: BEC 5611342

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Don Cavalli has just done four brilliant covers of reggae classics he loves in his own blues and rockabilly way.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: BMR 129LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Finally, we get some of the finest artistic results of the awful, forced hibernation zones we all were forced to bubble ourselves into during the COVID era. It [Infinite River's Prequel] sounds like the soundtrack to a space desert film you can't wait to watch. There are so many of the sounds you already like that might come from guitars and drone elements, but it's subtly put together here in ways that remove all sense of ego. These are sort of slowed-down post-rock songs, but it's not overly interested in math, and it is way too cosmic to be post-rock. Sorry we even said 'post-rock.' These perfect, first instrumental recordings here were made in a home studio in Birmingham, Michigan by three longtime friends and compatriots who were slowly starting to go nuts as lockdown started. Later, another friend shuttering in place in the U.P. added percussion elements. 'All our friends were doing yoga, so we made this yoga music for them,' Gretchen Davidson explains half-seriously. But this music contains multitudes. It exists in a curious space between improvised music and subtle songs that fall apart the closer you get to them. There is a lot of space in between these notes. No one will call this a 'Detroit supergroup,' and we implore you to follow suit. However, the group curiously brings together disparate yet friendly threads of the fertile Detroit underground: garage, weirdo indie, and the noise scene?from its very top practitioners, no less. Gretchen Davidson (Slumber Party, Terror At The Opera, Universal Indians), Warren Defever (ESP Beetles, His Name is Alive), special guest drummer Steve Nistor (Sparks, Ural Thomas, Seedsmen To The World), and Joey Mazzola (Detroit Cobras, Sponge, Sugarcoats) -- this combination is deeply unfuckwithable. We are so excited to release these recordings. This might be music that exists to bring back the chillout room at serious raves. Whatever its use, we all know that ex-hippies made the best postpunk; do ex-postpunks make the best neo-hippie music? That's a question perhaps only you can answer." --Mike McGonigal

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: BJR 062LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. 2023 repress. Les Disques Bongo Joe presents Club Coco, a summery outernational Latin and Afro rooted music compilation curated by Coco María. An attempt to give back something to music lovers around the world and print on an object a piece of the essence of the community that has been gathering around her weekly radio show at Worldwide FM. Coco María is a DJ and radio host whose musical selection transmits the energy of the Caribbean, Brazil, and the rest of Latin America through records full of samba, jazz, charanga, and cumbia, whilst embracing an internationalist vibe that can also include the most eclectic influences. Her great music taste, charming personality, and unpretentious and intimate way of speaking makes her radio shows intimate and personal. Coco María was starting to extend her musical endeavors beyond her DJ and radio sets by throwing a series of parties called "Club Coco" at Berlin's "Sameheads" venue. This is where Club Coco, the album that you are about to listen to, comes into action. This LP gathers some of the inescapable artists that have been part of Coco María's shows. The list includes Nico Mauskovic, La Perla, Meridian Brothers y Grupo Renacimiento, Graham Mushnik, La Redada, Alex Figueira & A. Bechan, Frente Cumbiero, Les Pythons de la Fournaise, Romperayo, Malphino, Max Weissenfeldt, and even Coco María herself. The album stands out by the way it transmits an internationalist identity via Latin music and other Afro rooted influences. In many ways the tracks of the album showcase how these artists use music to reconcile both their pride for Latin American and Afro culture as well as their interest in being part of the cosmopolitanism of big European cities. Thus, each track adds a particular detail into building a perfect soundtrack for a community that is always traveling back and forwards between both regions, always looking for songs that explore the furthest frontiers of tropical music while staying true to the roots of their genres. With Club Coco, Coco María made a further step -- after hosting a club night in the beginning, then getting her weekly show on WWFM -- to create a sound-world of her own. Look, she brought such a variety of artists with such different backgrounds on a single record and the outstanding result is: you hear all the way through that unique Club Coco trademark vibe.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: BJR 45023EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Cansu Ak, Tolga Horasanl?, and Mehmet Koray Erol came together in 2019 to produce their own music with creating the band "oldu o zaman". Since they gathered as a band, two songs written, composed, and arranged by them have been released by Avrupa Müzik. After that, the band decided to make their mutual dream which is covering and arranging Turkish traditional well-known folk songs with psychedelic and electronic elements to create a unique sound with their own touch. There was a psychedelic music trend in '70s used in traditional Anatolian folk songs. Oldu o Zaman rearranged famous tavern song "Sigaras? Yald?zl?" and a well-known Turkish gipsy song "Mastika" by using this trend in electronic form.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: NT 015EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

J. Albert's config EP for Couldn't Care More is one more step into his very own microcosm of electronic music wizardry: There is the flickering groove of "Armor", myriads of cut-up sonic pieces morphed into a glorious track somewhere next to techno and house and there's the distorted quiet beauty of slowly breathing "config4", ambient-esque but filled with tension like Huerco S does it. There are the holographic breakbeats of "config5", with voice samples and synth stabs melted in New York's fiercest heat and there's the sped-up ambient groove of ghostly "config2". The last track "Court" sums it up, a breathless groove mutation topped by spheric keyboard sounds. J. Albert gets it all together and he does it with a quite uncanny certainty. A different level.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: COUNTER 034LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Magna Pia, aka seasoned producer, DJ, and composer Hüseyin Evirgen, announces his second full-length album, QUT, arriving on Inland's Counterchange label. After two steamrolling EPs of club tracks on the label -- now entering its tenth year of action -- Magna Pia presents his most complete and advanced body of work to date, weaving a dense narrative of drone, figurative synthesis, bass-heavy electronica, and abstract techno. Over eight tracks each referencing his rich cultural and musical background, you are treated to a unique overview of a producer at the crest of his art. The word "Qut" is an ancient positive affirmation, in one short word encompassing all that is scared, pure and good. The Old Turkic term meaning not only "good fortune" and "joy", but in shamanic circles, the "wonder of the heavens", permeates the roots of Evirgen's multi-heritage history. That Evirgen expresses his interpretation of this central theme through the marriage of bewitching melodies with atonal, experimental and rumbling electronics is a conscious comment on the distortions and mutations of our Modern Era. We now exist in the digital age of the Technosphere for better or worse, and must seek beauty where-ever possible. The opening "Prologue" invites the listener into a futuristic yet organic sound world, where lush stereo processing goes hand in hand with rumbling bass and subtly detuned drone languages. From the echoes of traditional Uyghur folk music, translated via synthesizers into a glistening slowdiving opus ("Qizil"), to churning dub-techno adorned with a symphony of evolving sine-waves ("Venus M"), Evirgen then deploys "X" -- a haunting experimental piece composed predominantly with his voice and electronic processing. The interweaving synth lines of "Gudanna" pierce the fog with a radiant and transcendent club techno bounce before the ode to the ancient Bronze Age goddess "Astarte" unfolds its snare-driven broken-beat formations. The title track "Qut" embodies by far the heaviest club track of the album, in a deadly, stripped-back moment of future-techno hypnotism. Dancing flames of purple-tongued synthesis are held (just) in line by a wonderfully tough throb of drums. With his "Epilogue", Magna Pia allows the spectral ideas and concepts laid out across the LP to connect and travel full circle, confirming our suspicions that this could be one of the most coherent and exciting works to emerge in the brave new field of introspective, and sensitive techno-electronic language.

 

PRICE: $17.00

CAT #: DIS 120LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. "Instrument Soundtrack is a mainly instrumental soundtrack for the documentary (Instrument) about the band produced by the band and filmmaker Jem Cohen. The soundtrack mostly consists of previously unreleased songs and studio outtakes culled from Fugazi's history to that point, as well as seven demoversions of songs from their proper albums (six from 1998's End Hits and one from 1993's In on the Kill Taker)."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: CREP 095LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

By now a regular and esteemed presence among the Discrepant sprawling household via releases with projects such as Alförjs or Jibóia, Mestre André "resurrects" his O Morto alias (bad pun somewhat intended) after 2016 The Forest, The People And The Spirits. With a diaristic approach where field recordings function as remnants of his surrounding reality and subsequent memories to be processed and recontextualized into an expressionist whole, O Morto expands that previous Discrepant release sonic palette unto uncharted cartographies. Based on a number of field recordings taken during a life-changing trip to Morocco that felt like a fever dream, Dans la Gorge d'un Monstre reenacts that hazy and hallucinatory mind frame through five tracks where no vivid recollection persists, tainted by the extrasensory feeling of not being quite there. A sonic fiction that goes from the processed cymbals and pummeling drums of "The Gorge" with Andrés's mates in Jibóia, through Moroccan Gimbri player Ayoub El Ayady and Khalid Boulhaman's rattling Krakebs on "Lila" and the slowed down Eccojams vibes of "Out of the Atlas" to the dreamy aquatic soundscapes and arpeggios of the appropriately titled "Princesas Batráquio". Comprising the whole of the B side, "A Desert of Rain" is a slow evolving wonder where gong-like tones drift beneath scrambled transmissions of unknown origin, eventually giving way to synapse inducing drone motifs and scraps of realities col-lapsing among themselves -- fire into water, a jetstream into steps, maybe none of this. Along with the LP, the release comes with a companion piece tape titled "Iffrits Habitent", a more impressionistic and unadulterated account of the same travel that could well be this side of the mirror. Then again, maybe he never made it from the other side. Who's to know?

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: EFFICIENT 022LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress! Double LP version. Includes printed inner sleeves. A North American road trip of coming-of-age garage soul mapped by Ivan Liechti, Ghost Riders is Efficient Space's latest narrative compilation, hovering in a liminal emotional ravine between moonlight melancholy, teenage heartache, and unchecked, unrealized ambition. Across seventeen open hearted ballads recorded 1965-1974, the album collects and connects dots between British Invasion fanatics, child prodigies, the loners and the luckless, in a kind of trans-continental survey of those swept up in rock n' roll mania and buoyed by local newspaper ads promising fame and gold records. From the tangerine dreams of eight grade all-girl combo The Mod 4 to the tri-state jukebox aspiring echoes of The Tempters, The Yardleys' poetic Farfisa vamp and lilting folk pop, and The Landlords' weepy break up B-side blues, these are mostly one shots by dreamers whose experience was brief before being checked back to the reality of suburban normality and realistic career options. Hailing from the regional backwaters of Illinois, Arkansas, Nevada, Massachusetts, Ohio, Idaho, Texas, and beyond, the licensed artists were scouted by way of local fire departments, spiritualist fellowships and animal welfare centers, often barely a stone's throw from where their contributions were originally laid. A barely teenage Dennis Harte's "Summer's Over" perhaps best taps the collection's essence. A gut-wrenching lament of the passing of the season as if it was the last on earth. Flanked by players from The Left Banke, Harte, a now-piano tuner to the stars, is from the minor segment that found longevity in showbiz. Likewise with Michigan icon Lyn Nowicki who cast her ghostly voice over Beatles cover song chameleons The Common People and Jerry McGee, The Ventures member and conduit of Dr. John's "Twilight Zone". Ghost Riders simmers with the scent of youthful summers, the pang of schoolyard romance, and the excitement (and disenchantment) of teenage naïveté, delivered via a deceptively simple and frequently wonky garage band set-up. The vision of record collector and graphic designer Ivan Liechti, these eternal psych-folk howlers are further crystallized by Colin Young's fastidious audio restoration, the original artwork of Elise Ganebin-de Bons and an aptly penned forward from Sonic Boom. Also features Decompressed Impossibility, The Living End, The Newports, The Landlords, The Prisners Dream, The Fortels, The Bohemians, Tresa Leigh, WM. Penn & The Quakers, Carroll, and Toe Head.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: FTR 565LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Co-release with UK Shagrat label. "Because he is a relentless seeker of strange truths (especially as they relate to music), Nigel Cross was the gent who uncovered the fact that the London-based artist, Jill Tipping, had been a member of a Sunforest-style folk-rock group back in the day . . . Here are some notes from Jill on what's what. It's early '70s London and in a small all-girls grammar school a band is born. There had been an extant group of sixth-formers -- The Folk Group -- who provided musical filling at morning assemblies and religious services, but they were moving on. The spot became vacant, so up stepped Janice, Kim, Lesley, and Jill, with Barbara for moral support. Like many teens at the time, they had guitars and teach-yourself books, so they started strumming their way through religious songs, folk tunes and Beatles songbooks and attempted the music that was all around them. Some was pop charty -- Monkees, Kinks, Faces; some was folky -- Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Simon and Garfunkel; some rocky -- King Crimson, Pink Floyd, David Bowie; some singer/songwritey -- Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, and Elton John to name but a few . . . The quartet played in their teen bedrooms, as well as a couple of churches, school assemblies and events. They also had a very small taste of fame in the shape of an appearance on London education TV, which earned them a feature in the local papers. And luckily, there were recordings. Surviving house moves and dusty lofts for nearly 50 years, the tapes finally made their way into the hands of Shagrat's Nigel Cross . . . here are some songs from a previously unreleased girl group in all their genuine and sweetly harmonized innocence. A snapshot of '70s teenage-girlhood, an era predating TV talent shows and the internet. Along with traditional tunes "Sovey" and "Sinner Man," are covers of Lesley Duncan's "Love Song" (by way of Elton John's version on his Tumbleweed Connection album) and an endearingly scratchy "Moonchild" (courtesy of King Crimson), plus six lovely original songs of happiness, sadness, love, loss, anxiety, hope, yearning . . . The cover and inner sleeve are a collage of photos and ephemera with generous notes telling the story of The Folk Group/Saffron/Saphron/Red Amber -- they never quite settled on a name -- while the label (and badges) are by ace artist Savage Pencil." --Byron Coley. Edition of 450.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: FKR 112LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Wipe your blade clean. The bloodline of Eastern European kosmische and groundbreaking, grinding cinematic psych rock finally emerges from fifty years of forbidden forestland to fill your thirsty grails. Poland's prime progressive provocateurs Andrzej Zu?awski and Andrzej Korzynski finally expose the jagged roots of Possession and The Silver Globe and give the devil his due via this historical vinyl release. If an opening strapline that reads "Forget everything that you thought you knew about the history of psychedelic rock and horror movies" appeals to you, then further potentially hyperbolic phrases like "Lost Grail" and "Banned Forever" will surely clinch the deal, leaving the hugely significant wider context of this dream come true release surplus to requirement. But as we hope you have come to expect from Finders Keepers releases "The devil is in the detail" and the fact that any mention of the perpetually elusive original master tapes to a 1972 project entitled Diabe? and the phrase "Holy Grail" have become synonymously associated only adds the twisted irony that surrounds this genuine masterpiece of both aforementioned fields. For those fastidious enough to pursue the hunt, these unearthed recordings represent the crowning glory of the lifelong unison of maestro Andrzej Zu?awski and filmmaker Andrzej Korzynski, two genuine mavericks of Polish experimental cinema who challenged artistic and societal norms, on both sides of a politically restricted regime and on an international artistic stage, without compromise. Friends since childhood, Korzynski and Zu?awski may have become divided by limelight and geography (Zu?awski the intrepid emigre), but they remained united in their kaleidoscopic creative vision, resulting in a fractured stream of troublesome and mind-bending golden era collaborations such as Possession, The Silver Globe, and Third Part Of The Night. This long-awaited liberation of the psychedelic masterpiece known as Diabe? finally completes the duo's full vista with what many consider the most vital piece of the prism. Sourced from the elusive original master tapes with the full cooperation of the CeTA archives in Warsaw. Released alongside The Devil Tapes (FKSP 022EP) the original off-kilter psychedelic score rejected by Andrzej Zulawski.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: FKSP 022EP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

It has been exactly ten years since Finders Keepers first intrepidly entered Andrzej Korzynski's cavernous musical vault, but the label now announces the safe retrieval on a true heavy psych holy grail of the Polish composer's mind-bending oeuvre. The comprehensive elusive archive of the deeply psychedelic soundtrack to Andrzej Zu?awski's forbidden film Diabe? (The Devil) (FKR 112LP) is perhaps the most detailed dossier one could wish to find -- including audio sketches, rejected proposals and pre-butchered variations that play out like an intense and veritable creative conversation between the director and the maestro, both widely recognized as true mavericks of socialist-era Poland's fertile artistic landscape. Never intended for anything as conventional as a straightforward movie tie-in promotional disc (state owned Eastern European record labels rarely did this), the music in this archive has required special forensic inspection. The 7" here is more than just a companion piece, and it is far from a selection of the (non-existent) poppy title themes to promote a full feature-length album. This standalone release is wholly unique in its own right, giving Finders Keepers listeners a final access all areas snoop into the mind of one of the pillars of our alternative musical community. As those familiar with Zu?awski and Korzynski's long-running relationship will understand (a methodology best exemplified in the schizoid soundtrack to the film Possession), their exchanges were deeply nuanced and often complicated, with lots of artistic "tennis" thrown into the mix. The key plot in this behind-the-scene fable is that after delivering his original off-kilter psychedelic score to the director, maestro Korzynski was asked to make the music "totally unique, like something from another planet", to which Korzynski took his tapes, pulled down the vari-speed to a guttural grind and continued to recompose over the top using avant-garde electro-acoustic techniques while deploying psychedelic skills of guitarist Winicjusz Chróst. This limited record release proudly boasts Korzynski's original uptempo awkward psychedelic pop music prior to the doom-laden growls that make the official films soundtrack a true Goliath of Eastern European soundtrack composition. Released alongside long-awaited liberation of Andrzej Korzynski's full psychedelic score for Diabe? (FKR 112LP). Sourced from the elusive original master tapes with the full cooperation of the CeTA archives in Warsaw Transparent red vinyl; edition of 500.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: HMLLPV 004LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Creating an introverted version of restrained electronic music Berlin-based artist Constantijn Lange releases his second album Liquide on Heimlich Musik. The album is based on sketches created in isolation during the second pandemic year. The compositions are characterized by self-reflection and an attempt to translate the abstract experience of listening to oneself into a concrete form. The sound of personal isolation, the necessary withdrawal from the world and the restriction of all social contacts is, therefore, less club oriented and focused on functionality than an expressive concept of ideas, rather oriented on trip hop, breakbeat, ambient, and jazz. The collective rediscovery of shared experience results in arrangements of melancholic but optimistic melodies recorded with vintage synthesizers, supported by complex drum patterns and diverse percussions that create a signature sound as a new liquid amalgam.Constantijn Lange is an electronic music composer originally from Ostfriesland now based in Berlin. Besides several releases on Laut & Luise since the early days, his productions appear on labels like Get Physical, Traum Schallplatten, Sinnbus, Platon Records, Egoplanet, and many more. His passion for thick layered synth melodies, jazzy and kraut -- like vibes, atmosphere recordings, deep basslines and self-made percussion designs give his music a recognizable vibe which can be heard on nearly every production he was involved in so far. He spends a lot of time in his studio in Berlin, working on new music, remixing other artists and also engineering for other sound projects in the art scene. On top of that, he performs as a live act in clubs and on festivals all over the planet where his music can be described as very emotional and personal. Repeatedly this amazed people in countries like Germany, Russia, Poland, Switzerland, South Africa, Austria, Belgium, Mexico, and many more. Constantijn's ambition as an artist is to constantly evolve his productions and create music which carries emotions and energies into the clubs, to festivals and living rooms alike.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: HEIST 068EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Orlando Voorn is back on Heist after his 2022 Heist Mastercuts EP and comes in with a heavy dose of soulful machine funk. Heist Mastercuts Pt. 2 has the techno and house veteran showing his eclectic style with the vocal cut "Soundsystem", Midwest inspired sample jam "High" and his Boo Williams collaborative drum workout "909". On the first Heist Mastercuts, Orlando dove deep into his archives and presented a collection of old and new tracks, showing that his music has aged well and reminding us that he's a producer still on the top of his game. He kept busy in 2022 with releases on our own label Transient Nature, Kompakt, a handful of Bandcamp only tracks, and a self-released album. The EP kicks off with "Soundsystem": a masterclass in simplicity. A steady and minimalistic groove guides you through the track, where silky vocals and woozy chords take you on a trip through Orlando's sonic universe. "High" is Orlando's take on what could easily be an old Andrés track. Here, he samples a female vocal and cleverly adds his own vocals to add depth and originality to the track. The percussion on high grooves in an effortless way and underlines the feel of this track: It's fun, cool and incredibly funky. There's a bit of Dam Swindle sauce on the mix to make sure this track hits the right spot on any dancefloor. "Day By Day" is a classic Orlando Voorn cut with a live bassline, plenty of chopped samples and a Rhodes loop that could have come straight from a B-roll of a "First Choice" recording session. It ends with a collab with Orlando's close friend Emil and legendary Chicago producer Boo Williams. The producers take a monologue from Boo Williams about working the 909 and deliver a drum workout that keeps on building energy, showing exactly what Boo is talking about. The digital package also includes an instrumental mix of Soundsytem and an alternative mix to 909, just for good measure.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: IMPREC 493CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Greg is one of the pioneers of electronic music and these pieces are unique opportunities to discover how intricate and dynamic early synthesizers are." --Kaitlyn Aurelia SmithVeils Of Transformation 1972-1980 is a collection of the earliest works of Gregory Kramer, one of the 20th century masters of textural electronic music. Liner notes from Gregory Kramer and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, who first brought this fascinating work to the attention of Important Records. Kramer developed a musical language focused on continuous transformation of timbre, yielding a continuity of attention. This musical language, formed of timbral change, is a compelling aesthetic in its own right and a source of meditative experience. The four works on this album share a deep sense of order derived not from organizing pitches or rhythms, but from the evolution of timbre itself. Gregory Kramer (b. 1952) is a pioneering electronic composer, inventor, researcher, teacher and author. In 1975 he founded Electronic Musicmobile, a synthesizer ensemble later renamed Electronic Musicmobile, a series of synthesizer concerts in New York from which he formed the Electronic Art Ensemble. His work extended to developing synthesizers and related equipment. Kramer also co-founded the not-for-profit arts organization Harvestworks in New York City. He is recognized as the founding figure of the intensely cross-disciplinary field of data sonification. Since 1980, Kramer teaches Buddhist meditation. The four compositions collected here each represent Kramer's unique approaches: The structure of "Meditations on 32 Parts of the Body" is derived from the means of its production. Recording five people chanting an ancient meditation text, then layering to gradually achieve more than one million voices. The layering was all done using analog tape recorders. The decomposition of the sound reflects the anomalies of tape machines out of sync, and the build-up of artifacts from the audio tape itself, such as uneven response curves and tape hiss, are all engaged as musical materials. "Role" was generated using one complex patch on a large hybrid Buchla 200/100 system. Emerging from a zeitgeist that valued pure synthesis as a combined artistic and technological research. At the time this piece was realized it's as exceedingly difficult to produce electronic sounds that were internally complex. "Blue Wave" is built on Kramer's timbral development technique "Veils Of Transformation" which allows for disparate timbres to be woven into a continuously developing sound. "Monologue" is a virtuosic performance of a massive patch on a Buchla/Electron Farm hybrid electronic instrument. Built into the patch is a pathway for continuous transformation of voice and voltage-controlled synthesizer.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: IMPREC 493CS

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Cassette version. "Greg is one of the pioneers of electronic music and these pieces are unique opportunities to discover how intricate and dynamic early synthesizers are." --Kaitlyn Aurelia SmithVeils Of Transformation 1972-1980 is a collection of the earliest works of Gregory Kramer, one of the 20th century masters of textural electronic music. Liner notes from Gregory Kramer and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, who first brought this fascinating work to the attention of Important Records. Kramer developed a musical language focused on continuous transformation of timbre, yielding a continuity of attention. This musical language, formed of timbral change, is a compelling aesthetic in its own right and a source of meditative experience. The four works on this album share a deep sense of order derived not from organizing pitches or rhythms, but from the evolution of timbre itself. Gregory Kramer (b. 1952) is a pioneering electronic composer, inventor, researcher, teacher and author. In 1975 he founded Electronic Musicmobile, a synthesizer ensemble later renamed Electronic Musicmobile, a series of synthesizer concerts in New York from which he formed the Electronic Art Ensemble. His work extended to developing synthesizers and related equipment. Kramer also co-founded the not-for-profit arts organization Harvestworks in New York City. He is recognized as the founding figure of the intensely cross-disciplinary field of data sonification. Since 1980, Kramer teaches Buddhist meditation. The four compositions collected here each represent Kramer's unique approaches: The structure of "Meditations on 32 Parts of the Body" is derived from the means of its production. Recording five people chanting an ancient meditation text, then layering to gradually achieve more than one million voices. The layering was all done using analog tape recorders. The decomposition of the sound reflects the anomalies of tape machines out of sync, and the build-up of artifacts from the audio tape itself, such as uneven response curves and tape hiss, are all engaged as musical materials. "Role" was generated using one complex patch on a large hybrid Buchla 200/100 system. Emerging from a zeitgeist that valued pure synthesis as a combined artistic and technological research. At the time this piece was realized it's as exceedingly difficult to produce electronic sounds that were internally complex. "Blue Wave" is built on Kramer's timbral development technique "Veils Of Transformation" which allows for disparate timbres to be woven into a continuously developing sound. "Monologue" is a virtuosic performance of a massive patch on a Buchla/Electron Farm hybrid electronic instrument. Built into the patch is a pathway for continuous transformation of voice and voltage-controlled synthesizer.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: IF 1080LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. On Al Hadr, Sabrina Bellaouel taps into myriad influences: from spirituality, astrology to club culture, romance, the body and self-love. Creating a balance between places, identities, and sounds is a huge part of the charm of Al Hadr. As a true Libra, she's finding a balance between honoring her roots and carving out her future. Following two solo EPs, also on InFiné -- 2020's We Don't Need To Be Enemies and 2021's Libra (IF 2081LP) -- the French-Algerian producer and vocalist's unique style of electronic R&B blossoms with Al Hadr, a 13-track album featuring collaborations with dance producer Basile3, experimental club DJ and writer Crystallmess, jazz musician Monomite, and pop singer Bonnie Banane, among others. Born, raised and based in Bagneux, outside the southern périphérique of Paris, Bellaouel lives between worlds. At home, her Algerian heritage and Muslim faith have fused tight familial bonds and a keen sense of history and culture; as "Berbers", she speaks French and Arabic. In her headphones, she finds comfort in the sparse experimentalism of Radiohead and romantic tales of Jill Scott. On the hot club dance floors of Paris, driving house beats connect her to her body. In swirling these private and public passions together on Al Hadr -- which translates from Arabic as "the present time" -- Bellaouel is the most vulnerable she's ever been on record. Classic neo-soul and silken R&B blend with club electronics. Tender harmonies are sung and rhymes are spoken in English, French, and Arabic, exploring love, faith, and identity. Samples of drum machines are the backbone for wisps of woodwind, strings, keys and environmental "found sounds", including Bellaouel's own live recordings.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: IF 2082EP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

The two pieces Gaspar Claus brought together on Scaphandre form an abstract and mysterious B-side of Tancade, released in the fall of 2021. Both composed during the long, initial period of his first album's conception, this mini album's two episodes, each tinged with minimal and noisy abstractions, unfold more than ten minutes of total immersion into the abyss of experimental music on the first, and drone for the second. In their own way, these tracks are a form of raw, unadorned escape, a film negative of the cellist's surface creations, which we know are bathed in sunshine and fresh air. "Inside" is a moment of distraction while Gaspar worked on a film soundtrack. The title took time to mature in the musician's head, abandoned then picked up again and modified until it found its signature progression of strings where time seems suspended. The reverberations dress its fourteen-minute sound canvas in a way that is reminiscent of endless, sub-marine darkness. "Beyond" was recorded in three takes during a writing session for his first album with David Chalmin in the Basque Country. The post-production phase required a long process of refinement to obtain this invasive sound material that cuts the listener off from their real environment and films them with a hypnotic feeling of depths and apnea. Taken in 1898 by Louis Boutan a few dozen kilometres from the beach of Tancade in Banyuls sur mer -- Gaspar's family village -- the photographs of Scaphandre seal the vinyl sleeve with a unique auditory experience presenting the submerged side of the cellist. Obscure, dense, haunting, excitingly weightless.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: JR 7001EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Finally, the original Jamaican version of the 1970s classic "Money In My Pocket" gets a 7" release. The unsweetened and slightly slower cut to its first UK release that?came on the Joe Gibbs?label.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: JR 7002EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Tappa Zukie's classic "M.P.L.A." and its dub version, originally cut at Channel One studios in 1976. Still sounds as fantastic today.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: JR 7003EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Horace Andy's timeless cut "Money Money" even more relevant today, alongside it's rare dub cut. "Money money money... The root of all evil"!

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: KALITA 010LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Kalita Records unveil the second volume in their Borga Revolution! compilation series, focusing on the phenomenon of "burger highlife", a crossover of West African melodies with synthesizers, disco, and boogie that took over Ghanaian airwaves during the 1980s and beyond. Featuring both highly sought-after recordings by artists including Atta Frimpong and D.J. Lawyer Okyere, as well as seminal performances by greats such as Pat Thomas, A.B. Crentsil, and Alan Cosmos And His Bam-Baara Soundz, Kalita once again come to the rescue of audiophiles, DJs and music-lovers alike with Borga Revolution! Volume 2. The 1970s had witnessed an increased Western airtime and physical presence in Ghana introducing funk, soul and disco sounds to the region. By the turn of the decade the country was also enduring economic turmoil, with rising poverty, military dictatorships and long periods of enforced curfews (amongst other factors) making it impossible for artists to survive. As a result, many Ghanaian artists with a broader outlook began to pursue their careers in the West, moving to both Europe and America in search of stardom. It was here that Ghanaian musicians developed a digitized version of highlife music which fully embraced Western contemporary music styles and newly introduced technology such as the DX7 synthesizer and various drum machines. It is in this context in which the evolution of Ghanaian dance music and the emergence of "burger highlife" was born. With the Borga Revolution! series Kalita endeavor to tell this story, with prominent and lesser-known musicians' accounts and documentary evidence providing a comprehensive understanding of this shift to the digital age. Also features Pope Flyne Ackah, Mawuli Decker, and Nana Aboagye Da-Costa. Double-LP housed in a gatefold sleeve. Accompanied by a 12-page booklet featuring extensive interview-based liner notes on each artist and never-before-seen archival photos.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: KK 127CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Scottish composer and multi-instrumentalist Bill Wells and virtuoso tuba player Danielle Price once more team up for Karaoke Kalk under the name The Sensory Illusions. The two further explore the affinities between their idiosyncratic musical approaches across a variety of styles and genres while also expanding their sound palette. After its predecessor (KK 110CD/LP, 2019) saw Wells working strictly with his electric guitar, on the Sensory Illusions II the piano enters the mix on two of the eleven pieces. Much like his brass-heavy collaboration album Osaka Bridge with Japanese collective Maher Shalal Hash Baz (KK 044X-LP), this album injects melancholic atmospheres with a sense of playfulness. Picking up on elements from jazz, pop, blues, and classic songwriting while acknowledging their debt to techniques from the worlds of avant-garde and improv music, The Sensory Illusions weave together disparate elements into a colorful, imaginative suite of songs. Starting with the folky chords of opener "Four Chord Dream," the track titles spell out Wells's characteristic use of ideas that literally come to him in his sleep. The National Jazz Trio Of Scotland leader then fleshes them out together with Price, who again serves as a one-woman rhythm section, as she does throughout most of the album. When Wells enters 1960s spy movie territory with a swirling rendition of John Barry's "Theme from Vendetta" and picks up on those dynamics with a rolling riff in the next song, her versatile playing provides the backdrop for that. Once Wells sits down at the piano for the tender "Flotsam Bodes," however, their roles are being reversed and Price -- a seasoned and multifaceted musician who was one of only six applicants chosen to attend Chilly Gonzales's Gonzervatory in 2019 and who is currently working with acclaimed London-based trumpet player and composer Laura Jurd -- takes the lead. "I'm the Urban Spaceman" makes it even more apparent how seamlessly these two experienced players leave each other space to showcase their respective talent and expand on their individual ideas: Marked by Wells's soloing and exploring different sonic possibilities of the guitar, it also sees Price showcasing her reduced yet agile solos before they both return to the idea at the heart of the song. As the second duo record in their six years of working together, The Sensory Illusions II proves once more how much musical ground they are able to cover with their instruments and open minds alone.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: KOM 458LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. Sacramento, CA duo Blank Gloss's third album, Cornered, is an exquisite statement of pop ambient starkness, an album that oscillates between lush beauty and spare melancholy. It follows from their 2021 debut for Kompakt, Melt (KOMP 174CD/KOM 437LP), an album that saw Morgan Fox (piano, synths) and Patrick Hills (guitar) aligned, loosely, with the cosmic pastorale of the "ambient Americana" movement. Cornered feels like a significant step forward, though -- by peeling back the layers of their music, they've revealed both its restful core and its solemn gravitas. It is unendingly lovely, but with something disquieting at its center. Cornered was recorded quickly, over two days in December 2020. There's nothing rushed or haphazard about the album, though; everything has its place, with each sonic element contributing profoundly to these nine miniature dioramas. It signals change, quietly but perceptibly, through the way the duo sculpts their material, building out of loose improvisations that morphed into songs. While there was no plan in mind when Blank Gloss settled into the studio, Fox recalls that "right away we realized that things were sounding and feeling a bit different than any of the sessions we had previously." That difference can be heard in the increased amount of space Blank Gloss gift to their sound sources. Some of the most moving moments on Cornered come when Fox and Hills strip everything back -- see, for example, "Crossing", which sets pensive piano across a shyly humming drone and quiet arcs of guitar, recalling the driftworks of Roger Eno. Curiously, the album's distinctive shape and mood develops, at least in part, from a change in instrumentation, with Hills using a MIDI pick-up on his guitar. Elsewhere, on songs like "Salt", the piano tussles with flecks of guitar, single tones sent out to mingle with the stars, like Morricone at 16 RPM, while Cornered's centerpiece, the eleven-minute "No Appetite", lets long arcs of electronic texture breathe and sigh, tangling together in a cat's cradle of bliss. Throughout, it feels as though the music is blossoming as you hear it, like watching time-lapse footage of flora in bloom. But perhaps the most seductive thing about Cornered is the sense you get, listening, that the music was something unexpected, a visitation.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: KOMP 175CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Sacramento, CA duo Blank Gloss's third album, Cornered, is an exquisite statement of pop ambient starkness, an album that oscillates between lush beauty and spare melancholy. It follows from their 2021 debut for Kompakt, Melt (KOMP 174CD/KOM 437LP), an album that saw Morgan Fox (piano, synths) and Patrick Hills (guitar) aligned, loosely, with the cosmic pastorale of the "ambient Americana" movement. Cornered feels like a significant step forward, though -- by peeling back the layers of their music, they've revealed both its restful core and its solemn gravitas. It is unendingly lovely, but with something disquieting at its center. Cornered was recorded quickly, over two days in December 2020. There's nothing rushed or haphazard about the album, though; everything has its place, with each sonic element contributing profoundly to these nine miniature dioramas. It signals change, quietly but perceptibly, through the way the duo sculpts their material, building out of loose improvisations that morphed into songs. While there was no plan in mind when Blank Gloss settled into the studio, Fox recalls that "right away we realized that things were sounding and feeling a bit different than any of the sessions we had previously." That difference can be heard in the increased amount of space Blank Gloss gift to their sound sources. Some of the most moving moments on Cornered come when Fox and Hills strip everything back -- see, for example, "Crossing", which sets pensive piano across a shyly humming drone and quiet arcs of guitar, recalling the driftworks of Roger Eno. Curiously, the album's distinctive shape and mood develops, at least in part, from a change in instrumentation, with Hills using a MIDI pick-up on his guitar. Elsewhere, on songs like "Salt", the piano tussles with flecks of guitar, single tones sent out to mingle with the stars, like Morricone at 16 RPM, while Cornered's centerpiece, the eleven-minute "No Appetite", lets long arcs of electronic texture breathe and sigh, tangling together in a cat's cradle of bliss. Throughout, it feels as though the music is blossoming as you hear it, like watching time-lapse footage of flora in bloom. But perhaps the most seductive thing about Cornered is the sense you get, listening, that the music was something unexpected, a visitation.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: KRIMKRAM 006CD

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

Recording of the premiere performance of the Weihnachtsoratorium (Christmas Oratorio), an organ concert composed and played by the four hands of Daniel Löwenbrück and Fabian Löwenbrück. Performed December 26th, 2006 at the Hugo Meyer organ of the Evangelische Kirche in Lebach, Germany. Published by Krim Kram, Cork (Ireland). Full color six-panel digipak; edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: LG 003EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Decapitated Lovers was a short lived Washington D.C. side project from the late 1990s that featured Myra Power (Slant 6) on guitar and shirtless local she-thug Speck Brown on drums, along with Aaron Montaigne (Heroin, Antioch Arrow), Andy Coronado (Monorchid), and the elusive North Carolina prop-comic Paul Swanson aka 'Carrot-Bottom' (In/Humanity) who each took turns filling various duties within the group. The band never practiced all together at the same time and played only once at a not-so-legendary birthday party for Allison Wolfe in her urine-soaked living room sometime in 1998. Recorded under forgotten circumstances, the demo has been fermenting patiently for 25 years on a dubbed-over copy of Fidelity Jones's 1989 masterpiece 'Piltdown Lad'. Unearthed by the band after a quarter century, LG Records is proud as can be to present this lost 'gem' on a 200 gram one-sided 45 RPM 12" vinyl pressing housed in a sturdy tip-on style cardboard jacket and printed inner sleeve. The rediscovery of the Decapitated Lovers' hard-core demonic cranium-crushing yet easy going sound will finally legitimize the historically overlooked and underrepresented DC punk scene on the grand musical chessboard and put the city on the map once and for all. Perchance."

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: LIVITY 059EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Kouslin returns to Livity Sound Recordings with a second collection of slippery club tracks after the 2020 Vision EP. With an emphasis on head-twisting sound design and a detailed line in percussive programming, the London-based producer continues to reach into intriguing new areas without forsaking soundsystem-ready physicality. The tracks which make up the Patterns EP stemmed from a period of personal experimentation, where Kouslin returned to making music for its therapeutic benefits rather than a fixed purpose. The loops and sketches he returned to and expanded upon for this EP bristle with originality at every turn. There is a continued exploration of dancehall rhythms on "King", while "Five Four" toys with time signatures for a jagged, fast-paced abstraction of techno. "Why Don't You Don't" is harder to pin down thanks to its knotty beat and mutant synthesis, and "Michael" flips the script further with an unexpected swerve into pearlescent melodic lead lines -- the perfect demonstration of the honest and instinctive approach Kouslin took when making these tracks.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: LMS 5521725

FILE UNDER: ROCK

London Records celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Shakespears Sister's seminal album Hormonally Yours, originally released in 1992. A double platinum and top 3 UK album, Hormonally Yours secured Siobhan Fahey and Marcella Detroit a place in British pop history, spawning the single "Stay" -- which spent a staggering eight consecutive weeks at the top of the UK charts -- and winning the duo an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection. Hormonally Yours also features singles "Goodbye Cruel World" and "I Don't Care", tackles friendships gone wrong on "My Sixteenth Apology", powerful, dangerous attraction on "Emotional Thing" and documents a friend's coming out on "Are We In Love Yet?" Fan favorite "The Trouble With Andre", the full-throttle glam-blues of "Catwoman", and "Hello (Turn Your Radio On)", the album's glorious finale: an exhalation; a glorious, earth-shuddering moment that recalls the epic melancholy of David Bowie's "Five Years" and The Beatles' "A Day In The Life". Shakespears Sisters second album, Hormonally Yours, provided the perfect encapsulation of Shakespears Sisters' musical ying and yang; a deftly delivered balance of pop melody with a spikey alternative darkness. Remastered. New sleeve notes.CD version includes three bonus tracks; also includes DVD with all videos from the album shot by legendary producer Sophie Muller, live recordings of album tracks from the bands 2019 tour, and previously unseen footage shot during the making of the album (NTSC format - Region 0, Aspect Ratio mixed, Audio Format - 2.0 PCM).

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: MACROM 071EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

One of techno's most joyous experimenters delivers two intriguing up-tempo tracks. Instead of hitting hard and heavy "In Aggregate" and "Carob" float delicately, with explosive detail blooming freely and high above what feels rather like a bass-laden undercurrent than a persistent kick drum foundation. Both tracks expand on Stefan Goldmann's extensive polyrhythmic research and integrate tonal and metric functions within the same units of sound. Somewhat radically, the central sound of "Carob" is all in one: beat, bassline and single-note melody. By contrast, "In Aggregate" unfolds lush layers of exuberant percussion, countered by rounded drops of bass and an occasional vocal snippet ricocheting off of claustrophobia-inducing walls of glass. As future-forward as they are organic, these offerings come with appropriately idiosyncratic artwork by Jorinde Voigt. Printed on inside-out heavy paper cover; includes printed inner sleeve.

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: LOVE 079LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Limited 2023 repress, transparent violet vinyl. Gatefold double LP version. Following on from a pair of extended players released in 2011 (Passed Me By/We Stay Together) Andy Stott returns to Modern Love with Luxury Problems, an eight-track album of new material recorded over the last 12 months. Five of the tracks on the album feature the voice of Alison Skidmore, Andy's one-time piano teacher whom he hadn't seen since he was a teenager back in 1996. There was no grand gesture in mind, it just sort of happened -- but after almost a year of studio work, the result is really quite unlike anything you'll have heard from him before. "Numb" opens the album with Alison's voice; layered and looped, but essentially left bare and exposed, tumbling into a dense shuffle, sort of somewhere between Theo Parrish and Sade, but more fucked. "Lost and Found" follows and deploys a growling rave bass line and a disturbed vocal, the beat assembling itself around a squashed Linndrum like a submerged Prince/Cameo production, haunted and impenetrable, but full of funk. "Sleepless" started life as an African drum edit that sooner or later succumbed to Stott's intense rhythmic shifts. It's a sound that's been imitated countless times since the release of Passed Me By, here re-tooled and re-built for its next evolutionary phase. "Hatch the Plan" ends the first half of the album with some heavily treated location recordings and a low-end grind that probably doesn't quite prepare you for the vocal arrangements that follow -- it's just a beautifully inverted pop song. The second half opens with "Expecting," the most recognizably "Stott" moment on the album: a wrecked, deliriously knocked-out 4/4 shuffle deployed at half-speed; those heavy kick drums sucking in everything around them. "Luxury Problems" offers up the album's most quietly euphoric moment; conventional arrangements and drum loops are disrupted by sharp disco bursts that mess with what you know: it's straight and beautiful and unbalanced and damaged, somehow all at once. "Up the Box" fucks with the narrative and goes somewhere else entirely, an extended intro that seems to build continuously for 3 minutes before breaking off into a slowed-down amen edit, creating a kind of narcotic jungle variant that fragments everything and ends just at the point you think it's going to go off, before "Leaving" finishes the album with an almost unbearably-beautiful arrangement of voice and synth and a final key-change that takes you from joyful to forlorn in an instant. Mastered and cut by Matt Colton at Air Studios.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: MBS 2303LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. White vinyl; gatefold; edition of 500. Connected by mutual friend Miles Hunt (The Wonder Stuff) after a YouTube music video binge, the unlikely pair pool their disparate influences and experiences to break new ground. Described by a supporter as "21st Century '90s indie", the combination of Rat's iconic guitars with Laura's widescreen arrangements make for a refreshing rampage through themes of isolation, frustration and a craving for community. Laura says: "The title track 'One In A Thousand' sums it up. In a potentially very disconnected and lonely world, I hold onto the idea that every single one of us can hold a valuable place in our communities, offering the best of ourselves and receiving love and support in return. Instead of clawing our way up to a lonely pedestal to be one in a million, we can stand together and be one in a thousand." In spring 2020, as her previously busy world reduced to the size of her attic studio, The Launchpad, Laura started creating cut-up collages from Rat's intense, melodic guitar parts, building new sound spaces to voice her hopes, fears and frustrations but, more importantly, to offer a hand to the uncertain. In May 2021, her debut Penfriend solo album Exotic Monsters reached #24 in the Official UK Albums Chart, setting the stage for "One In A Thousand" to blossom into its final shape. As Rat considers the magnitude of releasing an album of new material 32 years after Ned's Atomic Dustbin's "God Fodder" blazed into the UK Charts at #4, he adds -- "I never thought I'd be sitting here again saying the words 'we've got an album coming out' -- and I can't tell you how utterly amazing it feels to say just those words, knowing what both of us have been through over the last three years. It's been a long time since I've done this, and I had to do a lot of soul-searching about whether I wanted to do this again." Mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle, Brighton.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: MBS 2306CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Connected by mutual friend Miles Hunt (The Wonder Stuff) after a YouTube music video binge, the unlikely pair pool their disparate influences and experiences to break new ground. Described by a supporter as "21st Century '90s indie", the combination of Rat's iconic guitars with Laura's widescreen arrangements make for a refreshing rampage through themes of isolation, frustration and a craving for community. Laura says: "The title track 'One In A Thousand' sums it up. In a potentially very disconnected and lonely world, I hold onto the idea that every single one of us can hold a valuable place in our communities, offering the best of ourselves and receiving love and support in return. Instead of clawing our way up to a lonely pedestal to be one in a million, we can stand together and be one in a thousand." In spring 2020, as her previously busy world reduced to the size of her attic studio, The Launchpad, Laura started creating cut-up collages from Rat's intense, melodic guitar parts, building new sound spaces to voice her hopes, fears and frustrations but, more importantly, to offer a hand to the uncertain. In May 2021, her debut Penfriend solo album Exotic Monsters reached #24 in the Official UK Albums Chart, setting the stage for "One In A Thousand" to blossom into its final shape. As Rat considers the magnitude of releasing an album of new material 32 years after Ned's Atomic Dustbin's "God Fodder" blazed into the UK Charts at #4, he adds -- "I never thought I'd be sitting here again saying the words 'we've got an album coming out' -- and I can't tell you how utterly amazing it feels to say just those words, knowing what both of us have been through over the last three years. It's been a long time since I've done this, and I had to do a lot of soul-searching about whether I wanted to do this again." Mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle, Brighton.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: MYDEAR 1001CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

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.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: NW 80827CD

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

"Unsettled in more senses than one, these fourteen choral works, reaching across the central third of the 20th century, represent some special moments in the story of music for voices, and within the creative musings of their composers. Generations later, they remain as outliers, but also as bearers of central truths about musical materials of their times, evading common categorizations -- radical or moderate, experimental or formalist, Stravinsky or Schoenberg. The eight composers are eminent figures -- each represented in other productions of New World Records. Their pieces here, however, have found no settled place in the choral culture, let alone in recordings -- excepting Pauline Oliveros's Tuning Meditation and Ernst Toch's Geographical Fugue. Yet there could be something special about these choral cases. In their individuality and diversity -- a small cauldron of mid-20th-century energies -- they might raise questions still not settled in our 21st century. At the least, they seem to offer fresh experiences among the more conventional tonalities of recent choral creation, and the more uniform notions of what constitutes good choral sound. Since the earliest chant, choral singing has been poised between two poles of expression, both of great interest to modern composers: a meditative state of pure sonority -- humming, melismas on vowels, drones -- and a discursive state of phonetic movement -- words projected through collective utterance. Through our fourteen choruses, emanations from the poles of humming and phonetics lead to a sense of musical 'language' itself in a state of re-thinking, not by notions of post-tonal styles replacing 19th-century harmonic grammar, but more by combinations of different sonic materials available on the terrain -- chromatic, 12-tone, modal, neo-classic, noise, drone, sound poetry. This is choral music 'unsettled' by its own times and embracing the situation with creative enthusiasm." --John McCaughey (from liner notes)

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: LSSN 083LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Slovak-Hungarian musician Adela Mede explores the interplay between voice and technology with field recordings. She sings in three languages (Slovak, Hungarian and English). Intimate ambient utterances with themes of spiritual growth accompanied by experimental electronics with a wide scope of influences; from minimalism to folklore. Initially released in early 2022 to universal acclaim on digital and cassette, Night School is extremely excited to share Szabadság on vinyl. Mastered by Rupert Clervaux for vinyl, the clearer format teases out new nuances in the music, revealing a physicality and permanence to Mede's first masterwork. Szabadság is a navigation. This debut by Adela Mede, recorded in her family home on the Slovakian border with Hungary, searches through the personal, familial, cultural, folkloric and geographic of her past and present. Examining both the vulnerability and determination of her voice -- as it leaves the lips, raw, and in the ways it can be transformed with digital processing -- the embodied memories of language, of utterance, are explored. Airy, open sound worlds and tentative strings of improvised naked vocal transform themselves into insistent repetition. Fizzing, sparkling electronics are set against the beautiful grainy depth of field recordings. The locations, these places, are found and lost - home is found and lost -- in a dance of fragmented vocal harmonies. Three languages (English, Hungarian, Slovak) weave a song of spring, nature, forgiveness, togetherness and rebirth." --Lisa Busby

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: NA 5191LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress; LP version. "Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin's music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin's recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7" singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia's 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums -- the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin's uber-rare 7" single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Good Aderegechegn gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7" single releases."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: NA 5192LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress; LP version. "Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin's music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin's recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7" singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia's 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums -- the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin's uber-rare 7" single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Che Belew gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7" single releases."

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: NA 5214LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress. "Originally planned for issue on Strata-East, Hammond took his collaboration with Durrah to Detroit and issued his masterpiece. Lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Now-Again presents the defi¬nitive Tribe Records reissues. Deep, spiritual jazz of the highest order. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America's 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, 'Music is the healing force of the universe.' Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff 'Chairman' Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe's mid-1970s heyday."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: O0 008LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Never Cursed is an unpredictable introduction to skins' ethereal, drifting meditations. A onetime producer for Metro Zu and Goth Money, his early, collage-style productions are here mixed with a palette of piano, organ, violin, guitar, and washed-out effects. The flux of styles reflects a life in transit from his parents' home in Jaffna, Sri Lanka to Toronto, CA, where the instrumental parts were recorded at St. James Cathedral, and ultimately to London, where he is now based, and whose mutant underground patently informs his nods to the post-everything scuzz, the radical ends of rap, and ambient-pop-noise. As debut statements of intent go, Never Cursed leaves a heady impression. The plangent, instrumental blooz of "my life, my soul, and all that i sacrifice" sounds like some Sade breakdown wafting over a Cocteau Twins instrumental from another room; harmonized, cascading guitar and whirling sax -- blissed and immeasurably sad. From here, the album runs like a downbeat mixtape, submerged hip hop drums, melancholy, psychedelically-activated texturing. "Thick skin" could almost be Honour jamming with Grouper, and the grungy swag of "tidying a tide" feels like Yves Tumor on a downer, while "skin extract" or "hide" land in the midst of Oxhy or Felix Lee's emo-tronica. The final transition from "when will the leaves at my window turn green" to "my looking glass" and the heart-in-mouth denouement of "at the altar" exemplify a knack for harder-to-place, mutant ambient chamber musick á la the c.a.n.v.a.s. label or even James Ferraro. Like pretty much everything we've heard from the shadowy O___o? stable, it comes shrouded in a peculiar fog of mystery and romance. Cover art by Rosita Evelyn C. and her son. Mastered by Amir Shoat. Clear vinyl; edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: OPT4 053LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The origins of power pop. In these songs you'll find the DNA of The Direct Hits. Although very Elvis Costello-like in both style and vocal delivery, these early recordings, dating from 1979 show a remarkable pop sensibility that had come on leaps and bounds since the release of the band's first single, the now highly sought after Fashion Plague/Cheam released a year prior to these being recorded. Songs like "We Broke Up Today" have all the hallmarks of classic Merseybeat, while out and out power pop like "Holiday Shots" and "Fool To Fall In Love" encapsulate perfectly the sheer exuberance of the genre. More than a few steps ahead of several of their contemporaries, the band's built-in tunesmiths Buckmaster and Swan were writing catchy songs that carried a powerful punch performed with the energy and excitement of the period. The Exits left behind a wonderful set of recordings that are worthy of a comprehensive vinyl retrospective release. These recordings first saw the light of day on a CD-only release back in 2007 when Cherry Red released the CD The Legendary Lost Exits Album through its Rev-Ola offshoot. Reportedly the band members were disappointed with the overall mix on the finished release for being a little lo-fi. There are no such issues with this specially remastered version for vinyl. The tracks sound fresh, punchy, and full of annoyingly great hooks. Optic Nerve add yet another great addition to their catalog with the long-since undisturbed sleeping giants, the Exits. Remastered and pressed on gold vinyl. Includes printed inner sleeve.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: WELLE 111LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Reissue, originally released in 1982. Deux Filles was not, in fact, two girls despite what the group name and its elaborate hoax of a backstory suggest. No, they were not Gemini Forque and Claudine Coule, French women who met as teenagers under tragic circumstances and became fast friends, recording two albums together before disappearing into the ether. In reality, Deux Filles was Simon Fisher Turner and Colin Lloyd Tucker, a UK duo who first worked together in an early incarnation of The The. Straddling the line between experimental and pop, Turner was an actor and teen singing star who later composed soundtracks for the iconic queer filmmaker Derek Jarman while Tucker's career began as an engineer for the famed UK library music studio, De Wolfe, before forming experimental wave group The Gadgets. In Deux Filles, the duo found an outlet for their least commercial tendencies, combining lo-fi proto-dream-pop instrumentals with samples, tape experiments, ambient textures, and drum machines. Even in the vibrant, seemingly endless well of UK DIY, Deux Filles stand out. Silence & Wisdom -- the duo's 1982 debut -- is a series of musical vignettes, like the score of an unrealized arthouse film. Blending processed guitars, sheets of synthesizers, echo-ey pianos, and washed-out vocal snippets to surprisingly varied effect, the album is recommended for fans of Durutti Column and Virginia Astley's From Gardens Where We Feel Secure (1983).

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: WELLE 112LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Reissue, originally released in 1983. Deux Filles was not, in fact, two girls despite what the group name and its elaborate hoax of a backstory suggest. No, they were not Gemini Forque and Claudine Coule, French women who met as teenagers under tragic circumstances and became fast friends, recording two albums together before disappearing into the ether. In reality, Deux Filles was Simon Fisher Turner and Colin Lloyd Tucker, a UK duo who first worked together in an early incarnation of The The. Straddling the line between experimental and pop, Turner was an actor and teen singing star who later composed soundtracks for the iconic queer filmmaker Derek Jarman while Tucker's career began as an engineer for the famed UK library music studio, De Wolfe, before forming experimental wave group The Gadgets. In Deux Filles, the duo found an outlet for their least commercial tendencies, combining lo-fi proto-dream-pop instrumentals with samples, tape experiments, ambient textures, and drum machines. Even in the vibrant, seemingly endless well of UK DIY, Deux Filles stand out. Double Happiness is the duo's second album, originally released in 1983 on their own imprint, Papier Maché. Full of meandering guitar and with a more ominous tone than the debut, the album is recommended for fans of Durutti Column and Thomas Leer & Robert Rental's The Bridge (1979).

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: POL 001-2023LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"'These things happen,' says K. Leimer of LUYU. Listen Until You Understand is a test drive through an obstacle course designed for new instruments, arrangements, juxtapositions, and real-time experiments dedicated to leaving the original impulses untouched and unadorned. Joined at times by digital percussionist Dolphie Stein, the music throws itself against itself without loyalty to genre or form, mashing granular particles into a tremulous spectrum of soundwalls, transitions, noise, distortions, and the occasional clearing. As close to live improvisation as one can get in a multitrack studio setting, LUYU takes generative techniques and drops them into short-form events by building its soundstage in thickets of shifting elements, collapsing phrases, broken signatures, and implied patterns. An outlier in Leimer's catalog of general stillness and subtle detail, LUYU revels in the bare sound of things usually hidden in the mix. Kerry Leimer founded Palace Of Lights in 1979. Leimer's work has also been issued by Abstrakce, Autumn, First Terrace, Les Giants, Invisible Inc., Origin Peoples and RVNG. His work is included in the Cherry Red Noise Floor compilation series and his early cassette work is featured in the critically acclaimed VOD box set, American Cassette Culture. Leimer has been actively producing music since the mid-1970s -- his current catalog includes twenty solo albums plus collaborative albums with Savant, Marc Barreca, and Three Point Circle. Recent soundtracks include work for video artists Cristiane Bouger and Fred Birchman, HBO's How To With John Wilson and the Netflix documentary John Was Trying to Contact Aliens. His work is included in the collection of The British Library."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: PAL 068LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress... "In a trajectory full of about-faces, Music for Four Guitars splices the formal innovations of Bill Orcutt's software-based music into the lobe-frying, blown-out Fender hyperdrive of his most frenetic workouts with Corsano or Hoyos. And while the guitar tone here is resolutely treble-kicked -- or, as Orcutt puts it, 'a bridge pickup rather than a neck pickup record' -- it still wades the same melodic streams as his previous LPs (yet, as Heraclitus taught us, that stream is utterly different the second time around). Although it's a true left-field listen, Music for Four Guitars is bizarrely meditative, a Bill Orcutt Buddha Machine, a glimpse of the world of icy beauty haunting the latitudes high above the Delta (down where the climate suits your clothes). I've written before of the immediate misapprehension that greeted Harry Pussy on their first tour with my band Charalambides -- that this was a trio of crazed freaks spontaneously spewing sound from wherever their fingers or drumsticks happened to land -- but I'll grant the casual listener a certain amount of confusion based on the early recorded evidence (and the fact that the band COULD be a trio of crazed freaks letting fly, as we learned from later tours). But to my ears, the precision and composition of their tracks were immediately apparent, as if the band was some sort of 5-D music box with its handle cranked into oblivion by a calculating organ grinder, running through musical maps as pre-ordained as the road to a Calvinist's grave. That organ grinder, it turns out, was Bill Orcutt, whose solo guitar output until 2022 has tilted decidedly towards improvisation, while his fetish for relentless, gridlike composition has animated his electronic music (c.f. Live in LA, A Mechanical Joey). Music for Four Guitars, apparently percolating since 2015 as a loosely-conceived score for an actual meatspace guitar quartet, is the culmination of years ruminating on classical music, Magic Band miniatures, and (perhaps) The League of Crafty Guitarists, although when the Reich-isms got tossed in the brew is anyone's guess. And Reichian (Steve, not Wilhelm) it is. The album's form is startlingly minimalist -- four guitars, each consigned to a chattering melody in counterpoint, repeated in cells throughout the course of the track, selectively pulled in and out of the mix to build fugue-like drama over the course of 14 brief tracks. It's tempting to compare them to chamber music, but these pieces reflect little of the delicacy of Satie's Gymnopedies or Bach's Cantatas. Instead, they bulldoze their way through melodic content with a touch of the motorik romanticism of New Order or Bailter Space ('At a Distance'), but more often ('A Different View,' 'On the Horizon') with the gonad-crushing drive of Discipline-era Crimson, full of squared corners, coldly angled like Beefheart-via-Beat-Detective. Just to nail down the classical fetishism, the album features a download of an 80-page PDF score transcribed by guitarist Shane Parish. And while it'd be just as reproducible as a bit of code or a player piano roll, I can easily close my eyes and imagine folks with brows higher than mine squeezing into their difficult-listening hour folding chairs at Issue Project Room to soak up these sounds being played by real people reading a printed score 50 years from now. And as much as I want to bomb anyone's academy, that feels like a warm fuzzy future to sink into." --Tom Carter Recorded Winter/Spring 2021 at the Living Room, San Francisco. Mastered by James Plotkin.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: PCMHYDLP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

12" version. Color vinyl. Internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary artist Hyd, nee Hayden Dunham, announces her first solo musical project, along with the announcement of her self-titled EP via PC Music. More disclosure than debut, Hyd's four-track offering lets us feel the heat that's been building underneath, calling you back down to earth. Written on an island formed from underground volcanic eruptions 15 million years ago, the EP is produced by A. G. Cook, Caroline Polachek, and umru. The EP follows Hyd's robust career as a sculptor and conceptual artist. Deeply enmeshed in the art world and music communities, she has dedicated her practice to reinventing systems -- systems of communicating, systems of sexuality, systems of interacting with our environments. Her large-scale sculptural practice, where she creates fluid, transformative art installations, has been exhibited in museums and galleries across America, Asia and Europe. Past works include "GEL", a vapor that travelled through the air vents of Andrea Rosen Gallery in NYC, and "7 Sisters", a seven-act performance at MoMA PS1 that incorporated dance, music, poetry, video, and scents, with additional exhibitions and performances at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, etc. Apart from appearances on A. G. Cook's recent Apple LP, "No Shadow" marks the first time Hayden has stepped out musically since Hey QT, the enigmatic and controversial project she created in collaboration with A. G. Cook and SOPHIE. The EP cover and singles' artworks were photographed by renowned artist, Torbjørn Rødland, whose images are saturated with symbolism, lyricism and eroticism. The graphic design identity is by Bureau Borsche, celebrated for their work with clients including Balenciaga, Supreme, and The Face, among others. Creative direction by Hyd and Jordan Richman.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: PKR 003LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Phil Kieran releases his sixth album, The Strand Cinema on his own label PKR. The last five years have seen an evolutionary shift for the electronic musician, undertaking more soundtrack work, including for film (Nightride on Netflix), radio, and theater. The Strand Cinema album is a tribute to the art deco cinema building, The Strand, where Phil's recording studio is. A stirring and beautiful record, it seamlessly traverses the worlds of contemporary classical to beautifully elevated dance music with a recognizably cinematic influence. Managing to sound both grand and expansive, as well as minimal and introspective -- it's a record that explores the macro and the micro. The opening track "Strand Cinema", begins with a steady, gentle, looping pulse, almost recalling the kosmische ripples of Cluster, before sweeping and enveloping strings enter, resulting in a track that manages to sound both grandiose and tender in one fell swoop. Lead single "Atlantic" perhaps most perfectly encapsulates the various sonic worlds that Kieran is operating in, merging a bordering on euphoric dance beat layered with infectious melodies, while remaining anchored to organic sounds, as strings and percussion collide with the driving and hypnotic groove of the track. "Strike the Match" showcases Kieran's talents for detail, in a track that feels almost palpably textural and rich in complexity but without feeling overly busy or superfluous; while "Elephant in Castle" utilizes intense, almost gargling electronics, that drone with a foreboding and ominous tone, but also produces fractured moments of light, beauty and poignancy. The album was created from organic sounds manipulated by machines; melted, mangled and hacked with computers but machines only sound as good as the human spirit put into them.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: RADCD 011CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Legendary Danbury Connecticut hardcore punk featuring a sixteen-year-old Moby on guitar. Relentless riffing, anti-religious lyrics, out-of-control drumming. This CD contains a remastered version of their hyper rare two EPs, the 12", tracks from the "Make It Work" 7", and an amount of unreleased tracks including the full Bill Knapp's Basement from 1982. On top of that, three tracks the band recorded with the OG line up in 2015. 42 tracks of old school American hardcore.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: RSR 046LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Antoni Maiovvi's The Dead Of Winter is a semi-faux soundtrack album in the vein of the British composers more classically cinematic works. Sonically the album resembles a sort of Deathrock Danny Elfman locking horns with Howard Shore piloting Sunn O)))'s dopemobile... at night... in the fog. The Dead Of Winter is a collection of unused themes made for a very real movie that for various tax break reasons were unable to be used. Not wanting to waste the work already completed, the cues were finished without picture and arranged here as their own narrative, with the idea to transport the listener to a snowy, isolated, old building filled with secrets and demons."

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RESORT 001EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

One for a sundowner: "Rumour" is the first single of isolée's upcoming album resort island, his first proper long-player since 2011's Well Spent Youth on Pampa Records (PAMPA 001CD). With its glittering strings and buzzing bass "Rumour" feels like a warm embrace. The groove as well as its textures and soundscapes will take you (and you friends) out there to resort island watching a vast mirror ball rising up over the horizon. The EP Rumour sees the release on isolée's own new record label Resort Island and comes with an exclusive, epic B-side track entitled "Seven Eleven" that will not be on the album. This is deep in thought house music that levitates between intoxicated ecstasy and escapism.

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: RNG 003EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Warehouse find, 2007 release, last copies. "Is this dubstep? What is dubstep? Who cares, when it's this good. Ringo Records drops another super fresh 12". On the A-side, Skream takes apart a D+B classic with his own inimitable style. B-side: L.D. - 'Clock Watching' Oh my God, L.D. is one to watch with this slick reggae and R+B influenced killer."

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: REPOSE 117LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Following on from their well-received albums Primitve Fuck (2018) and The Wholly Other (2020), London based psych rockers Black Helium release their third album Um via Riot Season Records. Here you find psychedelic defiance at its most incendiary and joyous. Returning to record at Bear Bites Horse studios with Wayne Adams, Beck Harvey, Diogo Gomes, and Stuart Gray deep dive into lysergic rock primitivism sparking sprawling stream-of-thought explorations to bring about an album that is as fried as it is alive. Black Helium are a psychedelic power trio, based in London. Never afraid to stray from the beaten path, they traverse aural hallucinatory soundscapes; from detuned Neanderthal rock to deep oceans of introspective blissed-out psychedelia. Black Helium are: Stuart Gray (vocals, guitar), Beck Harvey (bass, vocals), Diogo Gomes (drums). Purple/lilac color vinyl; edition of 400.

 

PRICE: $26.50

CAT #: ROBOT 043LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Limited restock. This LP of early compositions by Jacques Lejeune features three seminal works: D'une Multitude En Fête and Petite Suite, originally released in the Perspective Musicales series in 1970, and a previously unpublished composition, Géodes, from the same period. These three pieces (not included in Robot's 2013 Parages and Other Electroacoustic Works 1971-1985 three-CD set (ROBOT 042CD)) are some of Lejeune's earliest music for tape and may be considered a "prequel" to his later, more thematic works. Still, his concise musical narrative is ever-present in these first recordings. The side-long D'une Multitude En Fête (1969) refers to multitude, number, celebration, and any crowd situation as a form of ceremony -- all evoking a circular gaze, as topics of the different aural events and their anecdotal development emerge, leading to the dream, as a story we tell to ourselves. Géodes (1970) features percussion improvisations by Lauréat Dionne with Lejeune's tape work inflecting prisms deep into its thundering, rhythmic core. This concert version appears on vinyl for the first time. Concluding the album is Petite Suite (1970), with each section referencing a traditional musical form using both anecdotal as well as instrumental flourishes. The original drum and guitar elements are performed here by Michel Foudrinoy and Jean-Pierre Vassout. These pieces have been compared to Pierre Henry's bold rock themes in Messe Pour Le Temps Présent and also recall the peculiar atmospheres of some of the great early Nurse with Wound records that would follow. In contrast, Lejeune's early approach was heavily steeped in sonic narratives, combining unusual and ambiguous events to create a sound world uniquely his own. Early Works 1969-1970 explores the first precision splices by one of the true visionaries of musique concrète.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RM 4201CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Bill Seaman and Stephen Vitiello share an interest in texture, harmony, and space. On The Clear Distance they cast their ears outward, seeking to trace parallel lines and through doing so create a music that unfolds with an effortless sense of perpetuity and patience. This is a music of landscape, of lush tints and reductive hues. It is a music of deeply evocative images that materialize from within.From Bill Seaman: "I got a note from Stephen. As the consummate archiver he had inherited a tape of an interview with me in 1985 done with Kevin Concannon, in particular about my music production. He points out that in it I mention 'a device called a digital delay' that I had been exploring. A Deltalab Effectron II Digital Delay, which let you make little short one second loops and manually inject other sounds among other things -- nice kind of kluge aesthetic. We knew each other through Electronic Arts Intermix where Stephen worked for some time . . . I wrote Stephen a note and asked 'Would love to collaborate with you if you ever feel like it!' and he responded 'Sure, I'd be happy to work on something together. Let me know what you're thinking - or when something feels like a time and idea to start. I can generate some material and send it your way, or just as happy if you want to send me something.' He sent me some things. I had just completed working with a very good recording engineer on some new piano recordings, which I edited into short sample libraries, which I in turn sent to him. I often use these to build up my tracks in a very physical manner in Ableton live, often exploring chance relations and juxtapositions, then choosing what I feel 'works'. Later, I sent him some other things -- DX7 and analog synth. We started working on both our own linear tracks with the materials and others, and also exploring the re-arrangement of each other's work samples juxtaposed with some other parts of the library of materials. Stephen also began to include some found sound that was quite lovely. I was hoping he might convince Molly Berg to contribute -- I really love her sound. Stephen sent me acoustic guitar, some Ebow which I love, and some experimental abstraction of guitar. Later he sent some tracks with Molly on them. We both went at the material and did a series of back and forths..."

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: RM 4202CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Master field recordist Philip Samartzis spent one month in residency at the High-Altitude Research Station at Jungfraujoch, Switzerland. During this time, he turned his ears towards the subtle, but dynamic shifts of the environments around him. What revealed itself was a cascade of relational sound fields, co-existing and each effected by the macro environmental changes moment to moment. Atmospheres And Disturbances is a work of intense focus, of a deep listening into the spaces that exist at the fringes of audition and the fringes of human habitation. It is a record of porous experience, transposed and offered to you -- a chance to share the sonic fascinations of Samartzis in these moments.From Philip Samartzis: "Atmospheres And Disturbances registers the changes in high altitude ecologies caused by increasing global temperatures. The composition is based on field work undertaken at the High-Altitude Research Station at Jungfraujoch, Switzerland where for four weeks I deployed various recording devices around the station, and in the surrounding alpine environment to register natural, anthropogenic and geophysical forces. The project provides new encounters of an endangered alpine environment to enhance the way we perceive and engage with notions of place, community, and environmental dissonance. During fieldwork I used different microphones to record a variety of acoustic, spatial, atmospheric, and vibration-based phenomena. Omnidirectional microphones registered wind, snow, and ice as well as social, material, and industrial sound emanating from the nearby train terminus and viewing platforms. Hydrophones were placed within water and ice to record geophysical sound resonating within the frozen environment of Jungfraujoch and the adjacent glacier. The recordings capture the pervasive presence of anthropogenic sound permeating throughout the landscape produced by tourists, transport operations and recreational sports. Accelerometers were attached to various surfaces and structures to record solid vibration generated by high-velocity wind, and the process of melting and freezing. The recordings produced by the accelerometers clearly express the stress and fatigue occurring within the material structure of buildings and infrastructure. Atmospheres And Disturbances is designed to place audiences deep inside an extreme environment to afford embodied experiences of an alpine ecology under duress."

 

PRICE: $41.00

CAT #: RBWPC-LP1

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

The next issue in the on-going Mastermix series features a centerpiece of Frankfurt's club history: Wild Pitch Club. A predecessor to the esteemed Robert Johnson and a stepping stone for Panorama Bar's very own nd_baumecker. Founded by Playhouse masterminds Ata and the late Heiko M/S/O it was a Thursday club night that heavily featured house music as a prescription to the ongoing techno fever. Enamored with the USAmerican roots of it and all things deep, it not only presented the right records, but also their creators and protagonists. With a string of guest DJs from Robert Hood and Claude Young to Kerri Chandler and Theo Parrish as well as talent from the UK and Europe, it was one of the culture's hubs at the time. Here you have its testimony. Selected and mixed by Ata and nd_baumecker, it's an authentic snapshot of the club's vibe and spirit, spread over two separate 2x12" volumes or a collectable tape (RBWPC-CS, download included), it's the full dosage. Like Roach Motel confessed: "Wild Pitch, I love you." Features Deep 6, Ralph Falcon, Tronic Pulse, Global Goone, Low Key, The Afrodizzact, Da Rebels, Iz & Diz, and Kings Of Tomorrow.

 

PRICE: $41.00

CAT #: RBWPC-LP2

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

The next issue in the on-going Mastermix series features a centerpiece of Frankfurt's club history: Wild Pitch Club. A predecessor to the esteemed Robert Johnson and a stepping stone for Panorama Bar's very own nd_baumecker. Founded by Playhouse masterminds Ata and the late Heiko M/S/O it was a Thursday club night that heavily featured house music as a prescription to the ongoing techno fever. Enamored with the USAmerican roots of it and all things deep, it not only presented the right records, but also their creators and protagonists. With a string of guest DJs from Robert Hood and Claude Young to Kerri Chandler and Theo Parrish as well as talent from the UK and Europe, it was one of the culture's hubs at the time. Here you have its testimony. Selected and mixed by Ata and nd_baumecker, it's an authentic snapshot of the club's vibe and spirit, spread over two separate 2x12" volumes, a collectable tape (RBWPC-CS, download included), it's the full dosage. Like Roach Motel confessed: "Wild Pitch, I love you." Features Papermusic Issue One, Louie Balo, KGB, Jovonn, Krystine, Wam Kidz, Kings Of Tomorrow, Sean Grant, Free Energy, Omegaman, and Presence.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: SCAT 080LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"The Dark were a Cleveland hardcore/deathrock hybrid that in many ways was ground zero for The Guns, Spike in Vain, Knifedance, and several more beyond. For The Dark's first ever vinyl album Dressing The Corpse, Scat has collected highlights from sessions recorded between 1981 and 1984 that range from savage post-punk (imagine Venom covering Warsaw), to raging exacto-knife thrashers, deathrock, and proto-black metal -- there's even the requisite creepy, atmospheric instrumental to open the album ('Beyond The Ice') -- which is naturally followed by 'Fire In The Church.' Then things go other places, the group covered a lot of ground in its two and a half years and were always ahead of the curve. Although the band's median age ranges from fifteen to seventeen across these recordings, the rhythm section is second to none. The guitar playing is way further afield than most hardcore bands of the era. Namesake vocalist Tom Dark howls like a wolf, and could command a stage like few others. To be fair, the band's youth does make itself known in some of the lyrics, but otherwise you'd never guess this was just a bunch of kids -- it needn't be graded on a curve. The Dark had auspicious beginnings. They cut their teeth as The Decapitators in 1979, learning to play at the feet of the electric eels, Pagans, Dead Boys, and Cramps. After a year off, the four reformed to play only originals as The Dark, and almost immediately Mike Hudson of the Pagans wanted to manage the band. Included here is a demo Hudson recorded just three weeks after the band's first practice. Hudson only lasted a year, but it was a hell of a start. The majority of the recordings on Dressing The Corpse are culled from the band's 1984 album Scream Until We Die, which was not released until 2006 when Grand Theft Audio did a comprehensive double CD version of it. Included here are a few of the best non-album tracks from that release as well. Previously unreleased tracks include the aforementioned Hudson demo, as well as a previously unknown second demo from early 1982, ably representing the pre-thrash version of the band."

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: SCAT 080X-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Color vinyl. "The Dark were a Cleveland hardcore/deathrock hybrid that in many ways was ground zero for The Guns, Spike in Vain, Knifedance, and several more beyond. For The Dark's first ever vinyl album Dressing The Corpse, Scat has collected highlights from sessions recorded between 1981 and 1984 that range from savage post-punk (imagine Venom covering Warsaw), to raging exacto-knife thrashers, deathrock, and proto-black metal -- there's even the requisite creepy, atmospheric instrumental to open the album ('Beyond The Ice') -- which is naturally followed by 'Fire In The Church.' Then things go other places, the group covered a lot of ground in its two and a half years and were always ahead of the curve. Although the band's median age ranges from fifteen to seventeen across these recordings, the rhythm section is second to none. The guitar playing is way further afield than most hardcore bands of the era. Namesake vocalist Tom Dark howls like a wolf, and could command a stage like few others. To be fair, the band's youth does make itself known in some of the lyrics, but otherwise you'd never guess this was just a bunch of kids -- it needn't be graded on a curve. The Dark had auspicious beginnings. They cut their teeth as The Decapitators in 1979, learning to play at the feet of the electric eels, Pagans, Dead Boys, and Cramps. After a year off, the four reformed to play only originals as The Dark, and almost immediately Mike Hudson of the Pagans wanted to manage the band. Included here is a demo Hudson recorded just three weeks after the band's first practice. Hudson only lasted a year, but it was a hell of a start. The majority of the recordings on Dressing The Corpse are culled from the band's 1984 album Scream Until We Die, which was not released until 2006 when Grand Theft Audio did a comprehensive double CD version of it. Included here are a few of the best non-album tracks from that release as well. Previously unreleased tracks include the aforementioned Hudson demo, as well as a previously unknown second demo from early 1982, ably representing the pre-thrash version of the band."

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: SCITEC 250EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Berlin-based, Tel Aviv-born DJ and producer Roy Brizman aka Gel Abril is the new face on Dubfire's imprint. In the midst of the pandemic, Roy found solace in his grief and channeled it into a creative outpour, resulting in a series of captivating releases on reputable labels like Arteform Recordings, Subtil, and VDK. He has also launched his own imprint, Silvi Recordings, solidifying his place in the industry. Get ready to experience the magic of Roy Brizman. 15 years into its ongoing experimentation that has pushed the sonic fusion between science and technology, SCI+TEC remains at the very forefront of electronic music. From day one Dubfire's label has continuously forged its own path, with its feet firmly on the dance floor and its sights set on the future.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: SCOOP 078EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Fresh vinyl slice of UK dub roots reggae sees veteran producer Vibronics hook up once again with rising star Ashanti Selah for a four-track outing featuring three vocals and one deep dub mix. Vocals are provided by Nia Songbird, Echo Ranks, and Ashanti Selah. Nia is a young singer from Leicester creating waves in the sound system scene. Echo provides the listener with a rare opportunity to hear his legendary tones after a long break from releases and finally Ashanti Selah shows his versatility by dropping a vibrant '70s style DJ cut -- crucial combinations on this 10" vinyl that signed off with a furious Vibronics all-analog dub mix from the Dub Cupboard Studio. This release is beautifully presented in a specially printed SCOOPS Records purple label sleeve. Vibronics is one of the most established names in UK dub/reggae music. From their base, in the Dub Cupboard Studio in Leicester, their music has achieved millions of views on YouTube and many tens of thousands of vinyl record sales. Vibronics have collaborated with reggae legends Michael Prophet, Macka B, Iration Steppas, Soom T, Aba-Shant-I, and more. Ashanti Selah is a musician/dub producer hailing from the UK, and the eldest son of the world-renowned soundman, Aba Shanti-I. As well as working on his own productions Ashanti makes use of his musical abilities as a performer in various bands as keyboardist and has had the pleasure of working and collaborating with a number of great singers, musicians and producers in the scene, such as: Vivian Jones, Mad Professor, and Alpha Steppa, to name but a few.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: SEAL 023LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Drunk punks Organized Chaos release their first ever album compiling 18 tracks from two demos from 1981 and 1982 plus the compilation tracks from Wessex 82 7" and the Riotous Assembly compilation LP (1982). Organized Chaos were masters of driving UK82 punk with tin pot drums, buzzsaw guitars, and snarling vocals. If the band had released an album at the time they could have easily been as influential as Chaos UK or Disorder. How this band didn't have a Riot City release is anyone's guess. Simple meat and potatoes UK82 punk for those who still hate Thatcher, are worried about a nuclear war and despise the system.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: SOL 013EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Alexander Skancke's exciting debut EP for Slices Of Life, including a collaboration track with Foehn & Jerome. Alexander Skancke is a Berlin-based DJ, producer, and rising talent within Europe's underground house scene. The young Norwegian has made a sizeable impact on the electronic music scene, dating from way back to his early releases on Neostrictly, to the internationally respected releases on his own label Quirk. Entrenched in his love for vinyl and analog productions, Skancke is imbued with a passion for the very roots of house music, but has also kept his ears open far beyond the boundaries of electronic music. Skancke's excitement for analog is reflected in all aspects of his life: from his work at Bikini Waxx (a record shop in Berlin specializing in second-hand vinyl), to his fascination with vintage studio gear, all culminating in his music having a wonderfully raw and organic feeling. The three tracks that make up his Public Trouble EP showcase Alexander Skancke's knowledge of the history of dance music without copying the originals, but instead creating his own unique signature. "This Go This Way" sends you on a crazy acid dream, driven by a hypnotic unstoppable beat with Alexander Skancke's voice appearing out of the ether, before vanishing away. For "Wind Sync," Alex teamed up with his label mates and renowned DJ and producer duo Foehn & Jerome at their studio in Berlin. Together they've masterfully crafted a light-footed minimal house track with a slightly melancholic touch. The EP's title track "Public Trouble" truly shows off Alexander Skancke's love for deep minimal funk: an ultra-groovy piece of music based around tight beats and warm basslines, topped off with a funky stripped back synth line.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SOUK 011LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Souk present the sophomore album from a true fixture in Cairo seething electronic scene who should, by now at least, remain anonymously famous behind the 3Phaz moniker. Both as a way to make focus on the music itself regardless of identity and to sever ties with past projects, 3Phaz acts like an entity in itself, a most suitable conjuration of sounds past and future gravitating on their own dimension. Though connections are inevitable and welcoming with home turf artists such as ZULI or Rozzma, the Souk catalog or percussion obsessed travelers like DJ Plead or errorsmith, 3Phaz's dalliance with the traditional sounds of Shaabi and Mahraganat and possible intersections with grime, techno, and bass-heavy subcultures feel very much their own. Stripping away some of the dankest and darkest layers that made his debut album -- Three Phase -- such a dystopic proposition, Ends Meet envisions a different kind of future, that while not necessarily utopian, feels less tense and more celebratory in the capture and release mastery of its syncopations. Through seven percussion workouts summoned from hard-hitting kicks, flinty hand drums, darting rhythmic excursions and traditional flute-like synth melodies, 3Phaz creates a set of raw and ever-intriguing DJ tools for adventurous dancefloors that escape the mere functionality associated with the term to bristle with a life of their own.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: SPEAKEASY 005LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"After meeting at a memorial for a mutual friend, Tony Molina (Ovens) and Sarah Rose Janko (Dawn Riding) started spending nights into mornings playing guitar and singing their hearts out to an audience of empty wine bottles in the East Oakland warehouse where Janko lived. Both fans of each other's respective musical projects, they bonded over a shared love of The Byrds and Bill Fox and leaned into their friendship as a much-needed support in a time of dizzying grief. The days were marked in trips to Jackson's Liquor store, the same spot Molina frequented while recording with his band Ovens a decade earlier, at a studio in the same neighborhood. The nights drifted by. The songs kept coming. They decided they wanted to record all they'd been pouring their hearts into and The Lost Days was born. The Lost Days recorded their first release, Lost Demos, with Kit Center at his home studio and mixed it at another friend Nick Bassett's house in West Oakland. In April 2021 the demo was released on cassette by Oakland label The Long Road Society, eventually making its way into the hands of Spanish label Mapache, who pressed the five-track release on vinyl with the addition of a previously unreleased song. Over the course of 2021, the two kept writing and sharing songs. With Janko moving to New Orleans and the pandemic keeping the two songwriters apart, they worked long distance, sending demos back and forth. Inspired by the solo work of Bill Fox, The Byrds, Dear Nora and Guided By Voices, The Lost Days started recording what was to be their first full-length album, In The Store, at friend Nick Bassett's basement studio on his Yamaha MT8X 8 track. The album is an exercise in true DIY lo-fi analog home recorded tradition. Molina would venture on BART from Concord to Bassett's house in Oakland to lay down basic tracks, and Janko would add vocals and tambourine when she was in town. The comfort and familiarity of friendship and the intimacy of home recording allowed the two to craft traditional and yet deeply personal pop and folk songs. Writing that addresses alcoholism, depression and complex relationships are lovingly brought to life on the ten tracks (in thirteen minutes) that make up the album."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: SR 540CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

With Discreet Music (1975), Music for Airports (1978), and Thursday Afternoon (1985), Brian Eno invented a new music genre, ambient music, which he defined as "able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." These versions performed and arranged by Dedalus Ensemble, according to the musicians and the critics who listened to it, goes beyond what you expect from it. A mental base that takes you far away. One of the only music without beginning or end in which we want to stay as long as possible. Double-CD version includes eight-page booklet.Dedalus Ensemble: Founded in 1996 by Didier Aschour, Dedalus is a contemporary music ensemble based in Toulouse. Its repertoire includes works by classics of minimalism: Christian Wolff, Phill Niblock, Frederic Rzewski, Tom Johnson, Moondog, or Philip Glass. Personnel: Didier Aschour - guitar, arrangements and artistic direction; Denis Chouillet - piano; Amélie Berson - flute; Fabrice Villard - clarinet; Pierre-Stéphane Meugé - saxophone; Christian Pruvost - trumpet; Thierry Madiot - trombone; Silvia Tarozzi - violin; Cyprien Busolini - viola; Deborah Walker - cello; Eric Chalan - double bass, vibraphone.Inspired by Erik Satie's furniture music, Cage's indeterminacy and La Monte Young's drones, Eno's series of compositions were based on strict formal protocols bringing the listener into an enthralling world of sounds. Brian Eno was widely seen as a pioneering and influential figure of popular music and worked with icons of pop culture such as David Bowie, U2, etc.

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: SF 119LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Limited restock; double LP version. Tip-on gatefold jacket. Sublime Frequencies finally unleashes its essential compilation from 1970s Egypt, produced and compiled by Hisham Mayet. Modal instrumental tracks from Baligh Hamdi -- one of the most important Arabic composers of the 20th Century (writing for legends Umm Kalthum, Abdel Halim Hafez, Sabah, Warda, and many others). Features his legendary group the Diamond Orchestra with Omar Khorshid on guitar, Magdi al-Husseini on organ, Samir Sourour on saxophone, and Faruq Salama on accordion. All of these musicians were discovered and recruited by Hamdi to interpret his vision of a modernized, hybrid Arabic music. Under Hamdi's direction, this orchestra charted a new melodic direction and created a new musical language. This compilation is culled from a specific era of Hamdi's long career, a decade where he fully realized an international music which incorporated beat driven Eastern-tinged jazz, theremin draped orchestral noir, tracks that feature searing guitar solos from none other than Omar Khorshid, and a selection of buzzing, sitar driven, Indo-Arabic tracks establishing a meeting of mid-east and eastern psychedelic exotica, and a vision that created some of the hippest music coming out of the Middle East from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Includes extensive liner notes by Hisham Mayet with rare photographs.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: SV 175CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"David Cunningham was born in Ireland in 1954. His work ranges from pop music to gallery installations including several collaborations with visual artists. His first significant commercial success came with The Flying Lizards' single 'Money,' an international hit in 1979. Originally released in 1976, Cunningham's first solo album Grey Scale has become a landmark statement of DIY minimalist composition -- continuing in the vein of the wild explosion of arthouse experimentation from the early '70s. Cunningham, then a student at the Maidstone College of Art in Kent, drafted fellow student non-musicians and (using whatever instruments available) crafted an endlessly shifting sonic palette with an improvisor's keen sensitivity to space, texture and tone. As Cunningham states in the liner notes, his approach was to 'pursue something (which may appear trivial or meaningless) so rigorously or relentlessly to the point that it reveals something new.' Cunningham was influenced by live performances he was attending at the time by English composers Cornelius Cardew, Gavin Bryars and Michael Nyman as well as free improvisors Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, David Toop and Paul Burwell. The inaugural release on Cunningham's own Piano label, Grey Scale was indeed 'something new' in 1976. The artist quickly integrated his experimental sensibilities to produce art-rock pioneers This Heat, whose debut appeared on Piano in 1979. His popular success performing as The Flying Lizards (with two electro-punk albums on Virgin during the new wave era) was presaged by this seminal work of fascinating sound collage and tonal freedom. First-time reissue."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 175LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

LP version. "David Cunningham was born in Ireland in 1954. His work ranges from pop music to gallery installations including several collaborations with visual artists. His first significant commercial success came with The Flying Lizards' single 'Money,' an international hit in 1979. Originally released in 1976, Cunningham's first solo album Grey Scale has become a landmark statement of DIY minimalist composition -- continuing in the vein of the wild explosion of arthouse experimentation from the early '70s. Cunningham, then a student at the Maidstone College of Art in Kent, drafted fellow student non-musicians and (using whatever instruments available) crafted an endlessly shifting sonic palette with an improvisor's keen sensitivity to space, texture and tone. As Cunningham states in the liner notes, his approach was to 'pursue something (which may appear trivial or meaningless) so rigorously or relentlessly to the point that it reveals something new.' Cunningham was influenced by live performances he was attending at the time by English composers Cornelius Cardew, Gavin Bryars and Michael Nyman as well as free improvisors Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, David Toop and Paul Burwell. The inaugural release on Cunningham's own Piano label, Grey Scale was indeed 'something new' in 1976. The artist quickly integrated his experimental sensibilities to produce art-rock pioneers This Heat, whose debut appeared on Piano in 1979. His popular success performing as The Flying Lizards (with two electro-punk albums on Virgin during the new wave era) was presaged by this seminal work of fascinating sound collage and tonal freedom. First-time reissue."

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: TR 518CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Downpilot is ostensibly the solo project of singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and recording/mix engineer Paul Hiraga. For the last four albums, Hiraga has recorded and mixed single-handedly, which has given his work a seasoned clarity, and his seventh album, The Forecast, is the boldest, most exquisitely crafted Downpilot album to date. A trip across multiple decades with influences subtly ranging from the melodic Laurel Canyon-esque ballads ("Balancer"), to Baroque and sunshine pop of the late '60s and '70s ("Strangers Hotel"), to '90s Britpop ("Red Desert"), all with a 21st-Century spin, it's nothing less than an achievement that The Forecast hangs together so wonderfully as a cohesive body of work. The crystalline intro to "Black Eye", the album's opener, showcases Hiraga's voice, which has a richness and raspy expressiveness that has never sounded better than it does on this album. Hiraga has long been exploring a range of themes in his songwriting: the inevitability of change, the mystery and beauty of nature, the varied histories of places and people, the complexity of human relationships, and the uncertainty of the future. He is a Seattle-based artist, and the Pacific Northwest is a palpable presence -- it has gotten into his blood, and it seeps into the songs. With the sparse and delightfully rhythmic "Totems," he evokes the distant past of the region, interweaving it with individual and personal narratives. The intoxicated twang of "Night Shade" underpins a lament on things lost, while shimmery guitar and three-part vocals on "Balancer" take a bow to CSN, making a layered bed for a poetic love song. The melodic chorus of "Strangers Hotel," a symphony of strings, piano, and obscure oddball keyboards underpins a philosophical exploration of memory and the nature of reality. One of the albums most exciting moments appears with "Red Desert," a desolate urban vision with a transcendent violin from virtuoso Melinda Rice, who contributes string parts on several songs. Hiraga has also included longtime Downpilot members Jeff Brown and Anne Marie Ruljancich (Walkabouts) along with Terry de Castro (The Wedding Present) to add a few vocal nuances throughout the album, with Brown's harmonies adding a soaring quality to "Favorite Neighborhood." Ending with the title track, this may not be the sunniest of forecasts but it is not without hope. Ultimately this is a life-affirming album that dips effortlessly into different styles while maintaining Downpilot's unmistakable musical identity. Loyal fans will not be disappointed, as The Forecast contains plenty of signature sounds, themes, and motifs. But this new collection of superbly crafted pop songs could also open the field to new listeners.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: TR 518LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Downpilot is ostensibly the solo project of singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and recording/mix engineer Paul Hiraga. For the last four albums, Hiraga has recorded and mixed single-handedly, which has given his work a seasoned clarity, and his seventh album, The Forecast, is the boldest, most exquisitely crafted Downpilot album to date. A trip across multiple decades with influences subtly ranging from the melodic Laurel Canyon-esque ballads ("Balancer"), to Baroque and sunshine pop of the late '60s and '70s ("Strangers Hotel"), to '90s Britpop ("Red Desert"), all with a 21st-Century spin, it's nothing less than an achievement that The Forecast hangs together so wonderfully as a cohesive body of work. The crystalline intro to "Black Eye", the album's opener, showcases Hiraga's voice, which has a richness and raspy expressiveness that has never sounded better than it does on this album. Hiraga has long been exploring a range of themes in his songwriting: the inevitability of change, the mystery and beauty of nature, the varied histories of places and people, the complexity of human relationships, and the uncertainty of the future. He is a Seattle-based artist, and the Pacific Northwest is a palpable presence -- it has gotten into his blood, and it seeps into the songs. With the sparse and delightfully rhythmic "Totems," he evokes the distant past of the region, interweaving it with individual and personal narratives. The intoxicated twang of "Night Shade" underpins a lament on things lost, while shimmery guitar and three-part vocals on "Balancer" take a bow to CSN, making a layered bed for a poetic love song. The melodic chorus of "Strangers Hotel," a symphony of strings, piano, and obscure oddball keyboards underpins a philosophical exploration of memory and the nature of reality. One of the albums most exciting moments appears with "Red Desert," a desolate urban vision with a transcendent violin from virtuoso Melinda Rice, who contributes string parts on several songs. Hiraga has also included longtime Downpilot members Jeff Brown and Anne Marie Ruljancich (Walkabouts) along with Terry de Castro (The Wedding Present) to add a few vocal nuances throughout the album, with Brown's harmonies adding a soaring quality to "Favorite Neighborhood." Ending with the title track, this may not be the sunniest of forecasts but it is not without hope. Ultimately this is a life-affirming album that dips effortlessly into different styles while maintaining Downpilot's unmistakable musical identity. Loyal fans will not be disappointed, as The Forecast contains plenty of signature sounds, themes, and motifs. But this new collection of superbly crafted pop songs could also open the field to new listeners.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: TARC 002LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Tartelet present the debut album from Doc Sleep -- ten tracks of exquisitely rendered melodies and rhythms shaped with grit and beauty in equal measure. Birds (in my mind anyway) is a widescreen vision of electronica as a medium to express your personal situation and respond to your environment -- a rave adjacent art form free from the perceived rules of the dancefloor. To date, Melissa Maristuen, known as Doc Sleep, has established herself in the context of the club -- first engaging with the culture in San Francisco before moving to Berlin. She helps run the Room 4 Resistance party, DJs on Refuge Worldwide, co-owns the Jacktone label and has released on Detour, Dark Entries, and her own label. But in making Birds (in my mind anyway) she set herself an ultimatum. "At the time of recording this album, my life, all my routines and priorities had to change -- music was no exception. I decided if I couldn't be happy making an album free of the dancefloor, I was finally going to be done with music. Instead, I found a musical voice free of tempo and textural restriction. Eventually, I had a sound, and once I had the sound, the album came pretty quickly. It was a very different process writing music for no one -- except myself." If the impression given is one of a consistent style across the album, think again. Doc Sleep moves freely between tempos and themes, even if there are some recurring qualities binding the music together. She weaves fluttering arps with poise, lending them an almost choral quality which gives the album a very human touch. But they're equally emotionally ambiguous or pockmarked with sonic interference -- reflections of the collisions and conflicts that typify the human experience. Every inch of the album is a personal touch -- the title was pulled from Doc Sleep's mother's response to hearing the album, while her friend Kiernan Laveaux offered a beautiful text which appears on the back. Those closest to her all fed into the artwork process, which captures the curious dichotomy between urban brutalism and botanical finery often found in the parks of Berlin -- a vital place of respite when she was making the album. Features Glenn Astro and M Marie. For fans of: Ciel, rRoxymore, Skee Mask, Glenn Astro. Edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: FLENSER 062CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Some time in the Spring of 2009, I tried to kill myself. Six months before that, I used a Voor's Head Device for the first time.' This line opens the 150-page book that accompanies Giles Corey, an intensely personal, intimate portrait of depression that took me almost four years to make." --Dan Barrett "Giles Corey is the gloomy folk-driven solo project from Have A Nice Life mastermind Dan Barrett. Here, Barrett forgoes the post-industrial trappings of Have A Nice Life in favor of an intimate singer-songwriter approach. While thematically related to his other work -- dealing with subjects like suicide, death and the paranormal -- Giles Corey feels more personal, with impressive shifts from quiet desperation to cathartic outburst. Over the years the album has gained a fervent following, and has sometimes been compared to a religious experience. It is dark yet purgative enterprise not for the frail of heart. In Barrett's own words: 'The album follows a story arc of emotions that are detailed in the accompanying book, as much a part of this record as the music. The text switches between personal tales of struggles with depression, suicide, and a feeling of being lost, and the story of cult-leader and afterlife theorist Robert Voor. Voor's writings on death and the afterlife feature prominently across Have A Nice Life's Deathconsciousness, Nahvalr's self-titled debut, and Giles Corey, making him the unifying factor behind most of the music I've written in the last ten years. This record is as personal and raw as anything I've ever done.'"

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: FLENSER 122LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2021 release. "In 2017 The Flenser released a CD collection of material from Planning For Burial's early period entitled Matawan - Collected Works 2010-2014. Named after the bands long-term home-base in Matawan New Jersey, the collection included many of Planning For Burial's beloved rare tracks that originally appeared on seven inches, cassettes, or online. Since 2017, the band's own Thom Wasluck has re-examined the material found on the Matawan collection with the intention of releasing a vinyl version. This vinyl version of the first volume of the Matawan collection includes much of the first disc of the CD version tirelessly remixed and edited, and the inclusion tracks not found on the original edition specially prepared for the vinyl format." "Wasluck's longing and misery plays such a role in Planning for Burial's music that it often receives equal credit alongside the instrumentation." --Pitchfork

 

PRICE: $35.50

CAT #: SIR 024LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1976. Existing somewhere between the post-psychedelic period of Soft Machine and the electric funk of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, Black And White, from Norway's Vanessa is without question a formidable beast of a jazz-rock record. A potent brew of sonic experimentation and pulsating off-kilter groove. Taking their name from the genus of Nymphalidae butterfly, Vanessa was founded in 1971 by saxophonist Svend Undseth and pianist Frode Holm, the founder of the Oslo record store turned imprint, Compendium Records. Unsurprisingly analogous to the music championed across the Compendium catalog, Black And White is clearly influenced by the UK Canterbury scene, highlighted by Compendium's focus on the recordings of Soft Machine alumni Hugh Hopper and Elton Dean. Vanessa's spirit also lies synonymous with the collective pedigree on the label's roster including British progressive jazz stalwart Keith Tippett and Mirage (a UK group consisting of ex-members of Centipede and The Mike Westbrook Orchestra), together with the avant-rock collective Henry Cow and the experimental synthesizer-jazz of US ex-pat Joe Gallivan (together with Charles Austin). Often dubbed the "Compendium house band" owing to Holm's association with the label, the Vanessa sound is inherently familiar yet undeniably original. Each of the album's four long compositions are a meld of complex angular jazz laced with swirling electronic textures -- furious rhythms that surge in intoxicating intensity before easing into fluid passages of soulful post-bop. The dichotomy of these styles plants the group firmly into radical new jazz territory alongside their Canterbury contemporaries. Despite their brief existence, the band, alongside the label left an indelible mark on Norwegian jazz-rock and the headier side of European progressive music at large. Transferred and restored from the original master tape.

 

PRICE: $10.00

CAT #: WIRE 470

FILE UNDER: Misc

"The Wire Tapper 61: Every copy of the April issue will come with a free CD of the latest album in our series of underground music anthologies attached to the cover. This edition of The Wire Tapper features a cover designed by Laurent Benner and contains 16 new tracks by Sourdurent, Left Hand Cuts Off The Right, Teufelskeller, Ettab, Mungo's Hi Fi, Mehmet Aslan and more. On the cover... Maria Chávez, Mariam Rezaei & Victoria Shen: Three experimental turntablists, from the UK and the US East and West coasts, come together in a new project which sets out on a European festival tour this April. By Emily Pothast. Inside the issue... Mihály Víg: The Hungarian film composer, actor and close collaborator of film director Béla Tarr talks to Ilia Rogatchevski ahead of a major new Berlin screening and soundtrack performance of Tarr's monumental Sátántangó; Dorothy Moskowitz: The vocalist in venerable US experimental/electronic rock band The United States Of America talks to Edwin Pouncey as she returns with new project The United States Of Alchemy; Invisible Jukebox: Tatsuya Yoshida Japanese underground rock's most prolific drummer takes times out from Ruins, KK Null, Korekyojinn, etc. to take our mystery record test; Unlimited Editions: Polish based electronic label Outlines takes inspiration from US footwork music' Unofficial Channels: The City & Memories project presents its new project Polar Sounds; Global Ear: Belfast music promoters and organizers are building new infrastructure while the region gets by without a government. By Brian Coney; Epiphanies: Francisco López on the sounds of the rainforest; One page interviews with Francisco Mela, Brighde Chaimbeul, Zoë Mc Pherson and patten."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: TA 163CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"First Recording": a cascade of sounds and words, recorded one after the other as they arose in the mind, consists of songs and poetry from diverse sources as well as original works by the artist. Recorded by Dorothy Iannone in 1969. First published by Wiens Verlag in 1994 as a cassette in a limited edition of 100 copies. Four-panel A5 digipak. Edition of 200.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: TOYT 090-2LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Toy Tonics brings back the Kapote album. Ten dancefloor tracks originally released 2019 on the What It Is album. Now reworked, re-edited, and with two new tracks. House music, but with a heavy jazz-funk, Brasil, lo-fi influence. A mood that reminds early Moodymann, Kerri Chandler, or 1990ies Paris stuff. Loft disco and indie house. When this album came out originally in 2019 it caught the attention of many great DJs. DJ Harvey was playing "Jaas Func Haus" a lot at Pike in Ibiza and Gerd Janson, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Kenny Dope, and Blessed Madonna were filmed playing other tracks from the album. Kapote doesn't release much music as he is mainly involved in the Toy Tonics label development, creative direction and is also in many productions of other artists that release on Toy Tonics. Originally a piano and art student, he later discovered DJing, nightlife, electronic music and by now is doing what he does with Toy Tonics with a couple of friends and like-minded producers. Kapote's real name is Mathias Modica and if you google this you will find out he has been doing music before Toy Tonics under the name of Munk. Doing another label called Gomma Records. Where he and some friends already created a little universe based on electronic music, street art, DIY culture, shirt design, underground exhibitions. Mathias aka Kapote aka Munk has produced and released records with artists like Peaches, James Murphy and Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem, The Rammellzee, and WhoMadeWho. This is the past. The future will be new Kapote stuff currently in the making with Cody Currie and Sam Ruffillo. Meanwhile check out What It Is (2nd Version).

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: TEG 76530C-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock on white vinyl, originally released 2007. "Dinosaur L is an alias donned by Arthur Russell, a man whose contribution to dance music from the late seventies and through the eighties was formidable but only quietly acknowledged. His innovative and left field dance records were way ahead of what people were used to hearing at the time. He was a cellist who studied classical and Indian music. As well as his great strides in dance music he was also involved in the New York downtown avant-garde music scene and produced some albums in a more avant-garde/experimental vein as well as trying his own unique approach to pop. He scored several hits on the underground New York dance scene at clubs like The Paradise Garage (Larry Levan was a huge supporter). His biggest tunes, 'Go Bang!' and 'Is It All Over My Face?' were worldwide club hits and are still played today as classics. His records have influenced the scene from his first dance record in 1979 to the present day and his work has been much sampled. Sadly Arthur died in 1992, but his music lives on and his influence is still felt on the dance music scene, his tunes still sound great and are still moving many dancers around the world, so his spirit lives on. Sleeping Bag Records and Traffic Entertainment Group is proud to present Dinosaur L's 24->24 Music for the first time ever on double LP. Includes the original album tracklisting plus rare 12" remixes and edits."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: TRESOR 145LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. Tresor present a reissue of James Ruskin's seminal Point 2 album. First released in 2000, it marked a fine debut that entrenches the minimal sequences, utilitarian funk and eerie hypnosis found within Ruskin's body of work. As Tresor's relationship with the UK sound grew stronger across the course of the '00s, it was Ruskin, the label owner of Blueprint Records, who played a critical part in this. Throughout the trio of LPs released over that decade, inspirations of the sci-fi minimal Detroit sound lie abundant, rendered through corporeal slammers typical of the UK vein. Point 2 was the first of Ruskin's trilogy for Tresor, and brought a direct and uncompromising vibrancy to the fore, from the aquatic symphony featured on "From Over The Edge" to the pinpoint gaze of "Subject". Gurning loops beat against alien samples, drained into refined abstractions of pure techno. Newly remastered and featuring two tracks previously not cut onto vinyl, this upfront and bold classic is set to span dancefloors once again. New mastering, new cut, two tracks previously uncut on vinyl, new artwork. 180 gram; includes download code.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: TRESOR 327EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Vibrant acid tracks knead muscular electronic dance structures on Gerald Brunson's debut EP. A member of the Model 500 extended family and running Dance Sacred Records, Brunson presents a restless world that beckons forth from the underground of the Midwest, full of bouncing flair and techno passion. "Hoffman's S.O.S. (Scully, Owsley, Sand)" is more than a mere nod to the alchemists participating in the League for Spiritual Discovery and The Brotherhood of Eternal Love. It induces a pristine acid trip that twists neurons about agitated filtered effects and effective rhythmic structures. Finally, it emerges into wondrous vistas of ever-expanding horizons. "Blue Striped Felix" worms deep into the groove with the same brawn, its components lean and unceasing. Over on the flip side, "2way" struts a mean dance, stripping out the previous track's acid melodies into something far more focused on repetition with an electro influence shining through. This electro sound beams forward even more into a mutant funk on "Morf". The synths move squeakily as if the machine got jammed into enlightenment. Unexpected beat changes flick over to a four to the floor briefly, before out of nowhere chords invite the closing moments in with an eventual melodic response to the dancing synths. Brunson's tracks represent a unique sound. Techno is as real as the person who experiences it, and these tracks come from an enigmatic messenger who is firmly out on a limb.

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: TYPE 117LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Warehouse find, last copies; Double LP version. Kostas Soublis' productions under the Fluxion moniker helped define legendary Berlin imprint Chain Reaction, and with 1999's Vibrant Forms, the Greek producer released a milestone in the dub techno genre. Hazy and distant, there was still more than enough dancefloor push to propel Soublis into the (very short) list of genre legends, and make Vibrant Forms one of the very rare techno albums that works from beginning to end. Out of press for far too long, this new edition of Vibrant Forms has been remastered and will finally see the entire album released on vinyl for the first time. The most shocking thing hearing it almost 15 years after its original release, however, is how little it has dated. Soublis wisely avoided any cultural tropes, and the productions still sound fresh and deceptively alien. Through washes and waves of reverb and the faint thud of a kick drum, the all-analog productions contain a raw quality that is all too rare these days. Just head to the album's elegiac closing number "Opaque." Upbeat and propulsive, the track still maintains a deceptive calm, buoyed by swirling synthesizer washes and sizzling, tape-saturated percussion. This is the way dub techno should sound -- don't accept any imitations, Vibrant Forms is the real thing. Completely remastered by Matt Colton at Alchemy.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: VAMPI 160LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress; LP version. Includes "Todo en La Vida", the track featured in the Netflix Narcos series, "an ode to patience propelled by a yearning riff that wouldn't have been out of place in a Gainsbourg perv-jam").The recordings that the sisters Elia and Elizabeth Fleta made, hand-in-hand with music arranger Jimmy Salcedo in the early '70s in their native Colombia, remained hidden like lost pearls in the undervalued musical pop history of Latin America until today. Their concise and natural mix of styles sways between soft-pop with a touch of tropical-pastoral funk, singer-songwriter sweetened by the subtle perfume of Caribbean music and the psychedelia of a world in the midst of discovering all the possibilities offered by the recording studio. These elements blend graciously and fortuitously, brimming with freshness, in a perfect partnership of sharp melodies with lyrics inspired by a genuine juvenile curiosity about life's mysteries, love and nature in its simplest forms. Elia and Elizabeth Fleta Mallol were born in Bogotá by chance. Their parents were both from Spain but met and got married in Barranquila, and soon after moved to Bogotá. Their father, Miguel Fleta, was the son of the renowned tenor of the same name. Given the family's musical history, the sisters were fully supported and motivated by their parents, who bought them acoustic guitars and encouraged them to take lessons. Mr. Fleta's work would take them to Cali, back to Barranquilla, Lima, and finally Madrid and Barcelona in 1971. In Spain, Elia y Elizabeth were invited to a televised homage for their famous grandfather and were heard by composer and musical arranger Juan Carlos Calderon, who had previously worked with their aunts, the popular duo of sisters Elia and Paloma Fleta. Immediately, he invited them to record under his direction two songs in the studio of the Zafiro label from Barcelona. The chosen songs were "Cae la lluvia" and "Fue una lagrima," two of Elia's compositions. Both songs were released on a 45rpm single, although it lacked any kind of promotion given that, yet again, the Fleta family was about to move back to Colombia. Back in Barranquilla, after performing at a charity event with their friends from the Bakarett Blues Band, the sisters were heard by Graciela Arango de Tobon, a wealthy lady and composer who recommended them to Alvaro Arango. The latter was the musical director of Codiscos, subsidiary of Zeida, a label with headquarters in Medellín which was looking for a female duo with the characteristics of the Fleta sisters. After hearing them sing over the phone, Mr. Alvaro traveled to Barranquilla the next day, where he formalized his intention to record the duo. Soon after, Elia and Elizabeth were in the studios of Codiscos in Medellín. Humberto Moreno, head producer, entrusted the musical arrangements and direction to the pianist Jimmy Salcedo, a Mompox native. A talented and charismatic musician from the bohemian and jazz scene in Bogotá, Salcedo was a former member of The Be-Bops who had become a TV interviewer and started his own band, La Onda Tres. The support of Jimmy Salcedo and his band contributed to the Fleta duo becoming regulars in the local media. During their meteoric career, the sisters were the winners of the Coco Festival in Barranquilla, the recipients of the Principe de Oro -- an award given by the eponymous radio station -- and were nominated for the Onda Award as the best new band of 1972. A second LP appeared the following year and the TV shows continued weekly, leaving Elia less and less time to devote to her studies, which she was most interested in. She decided to talk to her family and explain to them her desire to stop her television performances and instead completely devote herself to her university education in music pedagogy. Elizabeth, meanwhile, understood and accepted her sister's decision and also quit the world of entertainment. Includes a booklet with liner notes by compiler Carlos Icaza and photos from Elia Fleta's personal archive.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: VAMPI 242LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 restock. Colombian sisters Elia and Elizabeth Fleta recorded a handful of songs between 1972 and 1973, accompanied by Jimmy Salcedo and his group La Onda Tres, mixing soft-pop with a touch of tropical-pastoral funk, singer-songwriter sweetened by the subtle perfume of Caribbean music and psychedelia. These elements blended graciously, brimming with freshness, in a perfect partnership of sharp melodies with lyrics inspired by a genuine juvenile curiosity about life's mysteries, love and nature in their simplest forms. The highlights of their work were masterfully compiled by Latin music expert and top collector and DJ Carlos Icaza aka Tropicaza on Vampisoul's past release La Onda de Elia y Elizabeth (VAMPI 160LP), while their original albums still fetch insane sale figures. Vampisoul present the two albums recorded by the Fleta sisters in the early '70s as they were originally released on Colombia's Codiscos-Zeida label (see also Elia y Elizabeth, VAMPI 241LP). Audio has been remastered and Vampisoul has preserved the original artwork of the albums. ¡Alegría! is a joyful celebration of life that includes the duo's best-known song under the same title. But there is much more to this work than just "Alegría", every song on this album is a winner. From the up-tempo tropical vibe of the opening song "Mis 32 Dientes" to the pastoral folk of "En La Gran Ciudad" or the rich arrangements and complex musical structure of the anthemic "Buscándonos", the songs of Elia y Elizabeth remain among us as part of the most wonderful pop legacy of all time.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: VAMPI 251LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. Vampisoul present a first time reissue of Wganda Kenya's self-titled album, originally released in 1976. According to Fruko, Wganda Kenya was formed at the request of José María Fuentes in 1974. Fuentes came to Fruko with the proposal to assemble a group with an African and Caribbean sound in order to appeal to the Costeño Colombian market and also inject a little international exoticism into the label. Fuentes wanted to create their own domestic version of the rare (and often unidentified) African and Antillean records played on the Colombian coast in the outdoor picó sound systems in cities like Barranquilla and Cartagena, as well as opening up their markets to international tastes. Fruko was happy to comply, becoming the bandleader and bassist while his pianist from Los Tesos, Luis "Tomate" Mesa, was recruited to play various electronic keyboards. Venezuelan singer Joe Rodríguez was tapped to play drums, Mariano Sepúlveda of Afrosound played guitar, José "Cholo" Gallardo of Los Diplomáticos played saxophone and several Tesos manned the percussion section. Various Fuentes regulars became the vocalists including Jaime Galé, Luis Carlos, and Joe Arroyo. In keeping with the exoticism and façade of foreignness, the vocalists often sang in made-up languages that approximated Indigenous Colombian, Haitian Creole, Papiamento from the Dutch Caribbean or Nigerian Yoruba; at other times they invented Spanish lyrics that mimicked the original foreign language ones, often in a humorous way. Wganda Kenya, like almost all Fuentes acts, cut plenty of non-album singles and cover versions that ended up on Bailables compilations but it was the runaway success of a 45 with their interpretation of the Haitian song "Homenaje a los embajadores" released in 1975 that motivated the Fuentes studio team to continue with the project and begin releasing complete albums under the band's name. In 1976, Discos Fuentes released the self-titled Wganda Kenya album and it is thought by many to be their first full-length record, in Colombia at least; if you take into account the Miami Records release of Wganda Kenya / Africa 5.000 the year before, it actually isn't the band's debut solo album. All the tunes on this record, including the bonus tracks, are covers, and they include interpretations of songs by Haiti's Original Shleu Shleu ("El Evangelio"), Guadeloupe's Combo Moderno ("An Nous Dansé Tumbelé"), and the Paris-based Le Trio Africain Los Makueson's ("Yoro"), among many others. Like its sibling band Afrosound, Wganda Kenya was ahead of its time, anticipating current contemporary global Afro-Latin-funk in a prescient way that is finding more and more fans across the globe. Contains two non-album bonus tracks from the same period. Includes insert with liner notes; 180 gram vinyl.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: VG+ 006LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"The first volume of San Francisco Moog: 1968-72 introduced the world to a trove of recordings from a little-known hinge point in electronic-music history. Vol. 2 brings to light the rest of tapes -- and the rest of the story. In 1968, Bay Area native Doug McKechnie got hold of one the very first modular Moog synthesizers ever made and began finding his own way to play it. Soon, he was hauling the finicky instrument around to perform improvised concerts at colleges and psychedelic ballrooms, as well as an ill-fated appearance on the bill at Altamont. Some of the performances were recorded, and the surviving tapes -- never before released -- capture a free-flowing, transportive sound that fills in the gap between the austere mid-century academic avant-garde and the expansive cosmic suites of Tangerine Dream and the rest of the Berlin School in the '70s. Vol. 2 captures a wider range of sounds and moods, encompassing austere sonic experiments, early sequenced pulses, and melodic etudes." "These pieces represent amazingly fully formed early approaches to the very idea of musical synthesis...arresting even to modern ears." --Goldmine "Presages both Tangerine Dream's soundtracks and, in its most grimy moments, Acid Tracks." --The Wire

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: VLM 005EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Vive La Musique brings you yet another magical release, compiling four stunning tracks from South African bass player -- Sipho Gumede. Taken from two rare albums originally released in the '80s, the music blends South African roots with boogie influences and is the follow-up to the hugely successful Jika Jika reissue. The release was born through label founder Aroop Roy's relentless search for a copy of the 1983 Peace album, which led to him tracking down the original producer -- Greg Cutler -- a key figure in South African music from that period and regular collaborator with Sipho. Aroop was blown away by "Uthinina" and "Bayabizana" -- two unique tracks, featuring haunting Zulu vocals, African jazz flavors, and epic changes over hypnotic grooves. "Something to Say" and "City of Gold" were recorded a few years later in the world-renowned Battery Mobile Studio. Sipho had been working there with Caiphus Semenya and Letta Mbulu and their influences can be heard, with drum machines and American boogie instrumentation laying the foundation for powerful vocal lines sung in English, with soul and gospel sensibility. The 12" comes with extensive liner notes from Greg Cutler, talking about his time in South Africa. He recalls his experience as a White producer, working with Black musicians under the challenges of apartheid and describes his musical journey with Sipho Gumede, with intriguing details on how the music and production evolved.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: WRJ 002LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress. New "regular edition" on 140 gram vinyl. We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records' new sister-label) present the official reissue of criminally overlooked Japanese jazz gem Mellow Dream by Hokkaido pianist wunderkind Ryo Fukui, originally released in 1977. Released in conjunction with the its legendary predecessor 1976's Scenery (WRJ 001CD/LP/LTD-LP). Firmly standing on the foundation he laid down with Scenery, Ryo Fukui continues his exploration of modal, bop, and cool jazz sounds with meticulous grace and absolute mastery. As its title suggests, Mellow Dream ventures into slightly mellower, more soulful, and sometimes more contemplative territories (the Bill Evans-reminiscent "Mellow Dream" and "My Foolish Heart") while still packing the commanding punch Fukui's work is loved for, as heard on the amazingly bombastic "Baron Potato Blues" or the gigantic McCoy Tyner/John Coltrane-influenced "Horizon" which sees each member of the trio -- Satoshi Denpo is on bass and Yoshinori Fukui is on drums -- demonstrating their virtuosity for nine exhilarating minutes. With his sophomore album, Ryo Fukui swings from melancholy to vibrant joy with ease, and reminds you that jazz is best served with a pinch of blues, and displays an immensely rare combination of pure talent, unique personal approach and focused discipline. The man undeniably deserves a spot in the pantheon of all-time great jazz pianists. After releasing the outstanding Scenery and Mellow Dream back-to-back, Ryo Fukui worked on developing his live skills, often performing at Sapporo's Slowboat Jazz Club (which he co-founded with his wife Yasuko Fukui), and even releasing two live albums. He sadly passed away in March 2016, leaving behind a legacy of works that all jazz lovers should explore. Sourced from the original masters. Mastered at half speed; 140 gram vinyl; includes sticker.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: WWSLP 069LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Wewantsounds release for the first time on vinyl the Lalo Schifrin's soundtrack for Frank Perry's thriller Man On A Swing from 1974. Featuring Schifrin's superb mix of jazz, bossa, groove, and atmospheric soundscape, the soundtrack, recorded in LA with the Wrecking Crew's Emil Richards, Bud Shank, and Howard Roberts, among others, finds the composer at his most inspired. Among which the mind-blowing rhythm track for the title "Radio Source", featuring a super funk breakbeat. Remastered for vinyl by Colorsound Studio. Features liner notes by Jeremy Allen with artwork by Eric Adrian Lee. By the time Lalo Schifrin composed the soundtrack for Frank Perry's psychological thriller in 1974, starring Cliff Robertson and Joel Gray (who'd just won an Oscar for his role in Bob Fosse's Cabaret) he was Hollywood royalty having worked on such iconic films as Bullitt and Dirty Harry. Perry on his side, had caused a stir with The Swimmer in 1968 starring Burt Lancaster (although he would dismiss the film after being fired from the production) and followed up with a string of great cult movies including Last Summer (1969), Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) starring Carrie Snodgress. Breaking from the social dramas from of his previous films, Perry decided to shoot a thriller based on journalist William Arthur Clark's book The Girl on The Volkswagen Floor. The film follows a police officer investigating a murder with the help of a strange ambiguous clairvoyant played by Gray. For the score Perry went to Lalo Schifrin who'd just come out of a bad experience on The Exorcist working with William Friedkin who'd rejected his music in favor of Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. Man On A Swing is pure undiluted Schifrin from the early '70s. The score plays like a long suite alternating bossa nova ("Juke Box Source"), lounge jazz ("Trip to LA"), and groove ("FM Groove") with superb "suspense" soundscapes, like "Rosehaven Hotel". The label has gone back to the Paramount 3-track tape transfers and come up with an updated tracklist (a CD version briefly appeared in the 2010s) -- re-sequenced and augmented with a handful of bonus tracks and alternate takes. A highlight is certainly "Radio Source Rhythm" which, losing the guitar and organ, reveal a jaw dropping funk breakbeat that is in the league of Dirty Harry and Enter the Dragon. This and the whole soundtrack, will ravish all the funk diggers and Lalo Schifrin fans around the world.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: WWU 002EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Leading lights of hybrid dembow club music, Nick León and DJ Python cap a mad couple of years with four metallic, reticulated electro-ton zingers on the latter's Worldwide Unlimited. Chasing up León's summer rave anthem "Xstasis" and production on Rosalía's Motomami, and Python's winding, busy annum including Club Sentimientos Vol. 2 plus a Sangre Nueva follow-up with Florentino and Kelman Duran; the pair build on months of residency and hanging at club Suero in Miami with four mercurial fusions finessed with sick, divergent production palettes and techniques. Bridging their known styles into something altogether new, the Split EP gives up two solo shots by both artists. Nick León cooks up the spiny ace "Nerves" with its hackled metallic melody set to martial dembow swag and grimiest bass grind, whilst his "Love Potion" pushes the tempo to near percolated broken beats zones, and opens out the vibe with breezy chords and fluid texturing. On the other hand, Python whisks jaunty reggaeton trills and aerosolized electronics in "I'm Tired", and slants off into psychedelic-impressionist abstraction on "uwu" with its un-stitched tresillo patterns and groggy pads colored well out-of-the-lines. Great to hear two dons keeping it wide open when they could have delivered straight bangers. The rest -- take note!

 

PRICE: $26.50

CAT #: WRWTFWW 034LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 restock; LP version. WRWTFWW Records present the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase's remarkable ambient/environmental/minimalism project #Notes of Forestry, available for the first time since its original release in 1988. The album is sourced from original masters and available on vinyl and CD with liner notes from the artist. This marks the third release from the Esplanade Series which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase, and Satsuki Shibano. One of the most fascinating and peculiar works from the golden era of Japanese ambient, #Notes of Forestry was initially released in 1988 by Newsic, the cult label started by Tokyo's Wacoal Art Center (also known as Spiral), home, notably, of Yoshio Ojima who co-produced the album. Conceived by jazz bassist turned experimentalist Motohiko Hamase, the magnum opus offers an enchanting mix of free-form pastoral electronics, otherworldly percussions by Yasunori Yamaguchi, and delightfully allusive piano played by none other than Satsuki Shibano (Sound Process' Wave Notation 3). Vibrant, sometimes eerie, and absolutely captivating, #Forestry captures Hamase's quest for musical freedom, he explains: "Inside the body of a musician, music is always transcendentally resonating. More than language, music reigns. When creating music overlaps with the moment my body performs, I strive to be as close as possible to the feeling of musical freedom. I feel that this notion lies at the foundation of this album." Musical freedom, here, provides an essential escape, extending the path uncovered by pivotal releases such as Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass (WRWTFWW 018LP, 019CD/LP), Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way (WRWTFWW 030CD/LP), and Yutaka Hirose's Nova (WRWTFWW 028CD/LTD). #Notes of Forestry is reissued in conjunction with Motohiko Hamase's Technodrome (WRWTFWW 035CD/LP) and Anecdote (WRWTFWW 036CD/LP) albums.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: WRWTFWW 019LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress; LP version. Comes in a Stoughton "Tip-On" jacket; Includes printed inner sleeves. Palto Flats and We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records present the highly-anticipated reissue of Japanese percussionist Midori Takada's sought after and timeless ambient/minimal album Through The Looking Glass, originally released in 1983 by RCA Japan. Considered a holy grail of Japanese music by many, Through The Looking Glass is Midori Takada's first solo endeavor, a captivating four-song suite capturing her deep quests into traditional African and Asian percussive language and exploring contemplative ambient sounds with an admirably precise use of marimba. The result is alternatively ethereal and vibrant, always precise and mesmerizing, and makes for an atmospheric masterpiece and an unparalleled sonic and spiritual experience. Midori Takada is a composer, multi-percussionist, and theater artist renowned in Japanese vanguard circles. Midori has released two solo albums: Through The Looking Glass and Tree Of Life (1999) and wrote music for Tadashi Suzuki's theater plays. Her hypnotic, minimalist music is based in the concept of coherence between sound and the human body. She performs solo on marimba and other percussion instruments. She debuted on the scene of Berlin Philharmonic, performing with the RIAS Symphonie-Orchester Berlin just after graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1974. She continued her career with solo concerts in Japan and abroad. In the 1980s, Midori began to explore the traditional music of Asia and Africa. Her fascination resulted in joint projects with Kakraba Lobi from Ghana, Lamine Konte from Senegal, Farafina Band from Burkina Faso, and Korean musicians: zither player Chi Seong-Ja, flute player Won-Il, and saxophone player Kang Tae-Hwan. She also led Mkwaju Ensemble's innovative percussion project and still performs with free-jazz band Ton-Klami with Kang Tae-Hwan and jazz pianist Masahiko Satoh. Takada's compositions have a remarkable way of affecting the imagination. Her minimalist, contemplative music is filled with the concept of infinity and reminds us of a moon voyage, falling stars, a journey into the ocean, or a walk in the garden. The trans melodies, initially simple, begin to loop and splinter, their rhythm breaking and thickening, slowly drawing the listener into another reality. This fully licensed reissue comes with extensive liner notes.