News & Events

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: AGIT 065CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Carlton Melton, from Northern California, are now a practicing four-piece in the arts of melted-minds psychedelia. With the added kraut-oomph and sike-flutter of fellow Californian Anthony Taibi (whom you may know as being a member of White Manna, and also DDT with Andy) Rich Millman, Andy Duvall, and Clint Golden have now embellished the Carlton Melton sound. Pushing forward as a quartet, the band recorded Resemble Ensemble in July 2021 at Anthony's home studio, 3D Light in Freshwater, CA. Anthony did all the recording and mixing. The Melton Magick Karpet settled, and our favorite contemporary sikedelic warlods plugged in, amped up and let it flow -- and flow it does -- from the krautrock fuelled pszych-raga of 'Prescribed Skies,' the fluid dronescape of 'Elsewhere' that welcomes you into its arms with a warming tone, almost a missing Spacemen 3 demo at the feast here. 'So The Story Grows' has the drone scraping through a murk of dazzling feedback and pummel, with the fuller sounding Melton giving the genre a proper wobble, hold on to your brains people. 'High Alert' -- whas this? Synth and guitar interplay jambusting, this is the Melton wigging out and almost interweaving 70s high table rock with some odd and downright perverse synthfunkpunk rhythms. Get weird or get wired -- or both. Easily done here. Closing out the album with 'Route Thirteen' is the road trip home. They've been, they've massaged and mangled your synapses, plug in the satnav and take the higher-route home, if you get our drift."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: ASH 312LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Limited restock. "Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana was the first of two albums Alice Coltrane released in 1977 (the other being Transcendence). Coltrane's music during this period grew out of an epiphany in which she would renounce secular life and don the orange robes of a swamini (spiritual teacher in the Hindu tradition). Musically, this meant leaving jazz behind (at least partially) and embracing the chants and rhythms of devotional music. The first half of Radha-Krsna is mostly filled with simple arrangements of bhajans (Hindu devotional songs) and features the singing of students from the Vedantic Center, the Ashram that Coltrane founded in 1975. The group bounces with the joy of a gospel choir (not coincidentally, some had backgrounds in Southern Baptist churches). A rapturous aura permeates opener 'Govinda Jai Jai' with Alice leading on Fender Rhodes. On 'Prema Muditha,' she returns to acoustic piano (her main instrument in the early part of her career) to deliver a powerful and poignant theme. Sidelong 'Om Namah Sivaya' beams with probing organ improvisations accompanied by the drumming of her 13-year-old son Aruna John Coltrane, Jr. This closing track offers a strong indication that even if Alice Coltrane was turning toward new traditions for inspiration, her music was still something that only she could make."

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: ARMA 472LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Chock-full of precious memories that translate perfectly to modern dancefloors, Armada Music - Trance Legacy brings listeners back to the glorious early days of trance music. Featuring timeless tracks from pioneering artists such as Above & Beyond, Armin van Buuren ("Communication", "Shivers"), Lange ("Drifting Away"), Matt Darey ("Beautiful"), Solarstone ("Seven Cities"), System F ("Out Of The Blue"), and Veracocha ("Carte Blanche"), this 24-track album is the ultimate collection of classics for any fan of the genre. Also features Binary Finary, Paul van Dyk, The Thrillseekers, En-Motion, Jurgen Vries, Marcella Woods, Warrior, Chicane, Moya Brennan, York, Mauro Picotto, Vincent De Moor, Gouryella, Electrique Boutique, Veracocha, Lost Witness, Three 'N One presents Johnny Shaker, Signum, Scott Mac, The Space Brothers, System F, Three Drives On A Vinyl, Sander Kleinenberg, Chakra, Above & Beyond, Saltwater, Alphazone. Printed inner sleeves.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: ARMA 479CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

One day, you wake up with a cloud in your head. You feel out of place and uninspired, and juggle so many worries the balance is skewed. That was Armin van Buuren three years ago. He put so much love and passion into his work and found it hard to cope with the fact that not everyone can be pleased. Something needed to change. So, he reformed his life routines, took up meditation to calm the storm and did everything he could to negate the numbness. And what he ended up with was a newfound love for music and an incredible three-part album: Feel Again. From "No Fun" and "Computers Take Over The World" to "One More Time", "Come Around Again", and "Roll The Dice", the Feel Again album sonically represents the journey of an artist extraordinaire radically looking for harmony within himself. Its 34 tracks may be different in terms of sound, but together, they reflect an equilibrium that could only come from a man in balance. From reconnecting to friends, family, and fans to finding inner peace, Feel Again means acknowledging harsh truths, finding out what really matters and letting that power a new step forward. Because in the evergreen words of Armin van Buuren himself, "we're still learning and will never stop learning till the day we die." Features Wrabel, Armin van Buuren x The Stickmen Project, Sam Gray, Billen Ted, JC Stewart, Jesse Fink, Lucky Lou, R3HAB, Simon Ward, AVIRA vs Chicane, Maia Wright, Blasterjaxx, 24h, Gareth Emery, Owl City, Philip Strand, Scott Abbot, Diane Warren, My Marianne, Husky, Azteck, Wildstylez, PollyAnna, Matoma, Teddy Swims, Stuart Crichton, Blasterjaxx, ZOI, Punctual, Alika, Vanessa Campagna, Matluck, Cosmic Gate, ALBA, and Ahmed Helmy.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: BING 199LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Tiny Ruins, the project of New Zealand musician Hollie Fullbrook, are back with their fourth album, Ceremony, out on Ba Da Bing Records. The follow-up to 2019's celebrated Olympic Girls, Ceremony goes deep into all the old and murky mysteries of what it means to be human -- and sometimes it nearly goes under. Yet these songs also show how one can find the strength to swim from the shipwreck, push through the silt, surface into another new morning -- another new chance. Ceremony washes in and takes one out like a strong tide, its songs 'chapters' of a saga set on the shores of T?maki Makaurau's (aka Auckland's) Manukau Harbour. Known to locals as 'Old Murky,' its western fringe of the Wait?kere Ranges is home to Fullbrook. And while the harbor itself is a treacherous and oft-polluted body of water, move to one of its many peaceful inlets and it's all tidal flats, shellfish and birdlife. 'It's beautiful but also muddy, dirty and neglected. It's a real meeting of nature and humanity' says Hollie. The album's songs took shape as she explored the turbulent landscape on foot with her two dogs. The things Fullbrook was struck by there are annotated across Ceremony (cover art by Christiane Shortal) as luminously as a naturalist's scrapbook. After touring Olympic Girls both solo and with her long-term band line-up of Cass Basil (bass), Alex Freer (drums), and Tom Healy (electric guitar, producer) for eighteen months, Fullbrook returned home to the banks of Little Muddy Creek, exhausted and with the global pandemic looming. The songs that would become Ceremony existed as note files, 'scrappy poems,' words written earlier during a profound period of personal loss, words from a 'difficult place' that she'd become adept at avoiding. When lockdown started to ease, Fullbrook went to stay in an old train carriage in the town of Raglan and spent several days forging these hard lyrics into songs. The intuitive rapport of her bandmates steered these early demos in another direction, with inventive, often joyful arrangements that land Fullbrook's hard songs into a blissfully warm bedrock of sound -- steadied in a kind of musical trust fall."

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: BCM 9610CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Beat Records reissue the classic original soundtrack by Ennio Morricone for the western movie Il Mercenario (aka "The Mercenary"), Ennio Morricone composed a wonderful soundtrack for a genre for which he has written immortal masterpieces. The Roman maestro surrounded himself with his usual collaborators such as Bruno Nicolai for the conducting of the orchestra, I Cantori Moderni Choir, and Alessandro Alessandroni for his famous whistling. For this CD, the original stereo master tape assembled for the 33rpm of the time was used, since to this day the complete recording sessions remain missing. Following a dramatic introduction by the winds, "Bamba vivace (Main Titles)" develops with an excited mariachi for orchestra and choir. An atmosphere of suspended mystery is provided by the whistle, orchestra and castanets in "Estasi," "Il mercenario," "The Mercenary (Reprise)," and "The Mercenary (Reprise Terza)." A moment of great romanticism and heroism is reached in "Libertā," a thrilling piece with the intervention of the Cantori Moderni. "Paco" takes up the choral Mexican motif of the opening credits, and "Ricciolo" is a piece for guitars and castanets with the melody of the organ. The climax of the soundtrack is "The Mercenary (L'arena)," arranged with whistle and castanets, trumpet and electric guitar that introduce a heroic motif for orchestra and chorus of Mexican flavor, also used by Quentin Tarantino in Kill Bill Vol. 2 in 2004. There is no shortage of Mexican folk music such as "Sueno Mejicano," "Fiesta (Mariachi)," and "Canto a mi Tierra," plus a waltz for the party scene. This CD is essential for any collection dedicated to the musical art of Ennio Morricone and the Italian western genre. Mastering and liner notes by Claudio Fuiano. Graphic layout by Daniele De Gemini. Includes 12-page booklet.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: CDCR 148CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Beat Records reissue on CD Riz Ortolani's scores for Requiescant and O'Cangaceiro, with a special bonus: the world premiere release of his music from the film I Tre Spietati. This interesting Western-adventure triptych, made between 1963 and 1969, bears the authoritative signature of the great maestro Riz Ortolani. All the material included here comes from the mono masters of the original sessions, with the exception of O'Cangaceiro, of which only the two tracks of the original 45 have survived (the film had very little music anyway due to an artistic choice by the director). For the unreleased I Tre Spietati, Riz Ortolani composed a symphonic commentary that pays homage to the American Western, echoing the sound of Elmer Bernstein's The Magnificent Seven, an epic and exciting main theme that is alternated with a tender love theme, dramatic sequences and suspenseful tension, which provide contrast to the cheerful saloon themes. Ortolani's approach for Requiescant was quite different, closer in tone to his score for La Notte Dei Serpente (1969), with saloon pieces and a delicate love theme featuring the magnificent harmonica of Franco De Gemini accompanied by the orchestra. Franco De Gemini's harmonica returns in a cavalcade theme, a motif that is reprised by the orchestra. From O'Cangaceiro, Beat Records present the two songs issued on the original single: "Mulhe Rendeira," a lively samba for choir, and "Vou caminhando," an evocative, slow bossa tempo piece for male voice. This CD, dedicated to the musical art of Riz Ortolani, is surely an essential addition to any collection dedicated to quality film music. Mastering and liner notes by Claudio Fuiano. Graphic layout by Daniele De Gemini. Includes 12-page booklet.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: BR 211019CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Black Rose Recordings present the exceptional new album by Asmus Tietchens, Schatten ohne Licht. E.M. Cioran plays a very important role in most of Tietchen's work and this release is no different. For this release Cioran has a fellow anthropofugal thinker: Ulrich Horstmann. The theme of this release deals with a return to a mineral world without any organic species, and therefore uninhabitable for human beings. This very radical dystopia serves as a foil to the six chapters of Schatten ohne Licht. There is something profound about the music. It can be slow and is certainly contemplative. Maybe the music is a sign of the state of our times? As a pioneer of electronic composition his work spans over four decades and doesn't fit easily into any one category. Early recordings ranged from experiments with tape machines and electronic sound through to experimental pop. Later works were a more sculptural blend of abstract microelectronics, industrial sounds, and musique concrete. Never straightforward or obvious, always unpredictable and innovative. His ground-breaking music influences many working in today's electronic music scene. He has worked almost exclusively as a solo artist, but other releases have seen him collaborate with well-known and diverse artists such as Dieter Moebius (Cluster, Harmonia), Thomas Koener, Richard Chartier, and Merzbow.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: BJR 020CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Bongo Joe Records return to the scorching Kabyle rock of Abranis, the pioneering Algerian band that blended traditional Berber music with western rock, folk, disco, and funk, all the while proudly celebrating their Kabyle heritage. Amazigh Freedom Rock is a comprehensive look into their discography, from the garage-rock experimentations of their early days to their lushly orchestrated North African fusion masterpieces of the 1980s. The Abranis story begins in the mid-sixties, when Shamy El Baz and Karim Abdenou crossed paths in one of Paris's bohemian neighborhoods. Both were Kabyle, the Berber people from Algeria's northern regions, both loved rock music, and both were passionate about fostering a modern Algerian sound, as inspired by Kabyle rhythms and melodies as it was by western rock. The two musicians founded Les Abranis in 1967. Together they experimented by mixing Kabyle vocals and melodies with garage and psych-rock but as the '70s progressed they increasingly moved away from the garage and psychedelia of their early days and began to interpret their Kabyle repertoire in more open and creative ways melting prog rock, jazz, and some early electronic influences. Over 11 electrifying tracks, Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983 highlights their legacy as the underground kings of Kabyle rock.

 

PRICE: $19.50

CAT #: BORNBAD 037LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Best-ever French '60s compilation, originally released in 2001 and finally reissued. All the tracks here have become classic. This compilation LP deals with the groovy side of French pop from the mid-'60s to the early '70s. Crazy lyrics about sex, drugs and other typical topics. Sung and performed by obscure artists such as Charlotte Leslie, Christie Laume, Les Fleurs De Pavot, Danyel Gerard, Richard De Bordeaux, Christine Pilzer, William Sheller, Les Papyvores, L'oeil and others.

 

PRICE: $19.50

CAT #: BORNBAD 044LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

2023 restock; LP version. Unissued anywhere else before, and now available for the first time ever, Born Bad Records presents a lost soundtrack found in a Parisian garbage dump. In our modern world, everything ends up -- or will end up -- in the garbage dump or in a museum. Occasionally, objects make it to the museum by way of the dump. The record you are holding is one of those objects. With the exception of two songs that already came out on a 45, the material on this disk was destined to remain in the trash. In 1971, a very few copies were made on acetate in an attempt to attract the interest of record labels. One was miraculously found in July, 2010 in a Paris garbage dump (quai d'Issy). In the mid-'60s, Jean-Pierre Mirouze was hired to work on Jean-Christophe Averty's very popular and very "pop" program Dim Dam Dom. Mirouze was in charge of the show's soundtrack. In 1971, Hervé Lamarre, who had just finished shooting the film Le mariage collectif in Sweden, thought of using the Dim Dam Dom team to create the musical score for his film. This film, which claims to try to justify open relationships and sexual freedom, is actually a botched second-rate picture that combines evocations of the Beat Generation, hippie idealism and softcore nudity, in a work that is -- quite frankly -- uninteresting. Jean-Pierre Mirouze, because of his association with Dim Dam Dom, was expected to bring a trendy touch to the project. Seeking to round out funding for what was, in essence, a commercial job, Mirouze went to Bagatelle, a Paris publisher specializing in film music, among other genres. While he was there, he played the melody of "Together" for them. These few notes were enough to convince the publisher to finance the recording of the soundtrack. Auditions were held, and Barry Green was recruited to sing the theme song. The recording was wrapped up in a week by a top-flight group of musicians, including Jean-Pierre Sabar, a talented organist who would be instrumental in the future success of the song "Sexopolis." Nine tracks were produced during these sessions. Bagatelle then started looking for a record label to issue the soundtrack album. In an attempt to interest record companies, a handful of test pressings were made, solely in the form of acetates. The songs on this album come from one of these acetates, found, in July, 2010, in a garbage dump. The film itself turned out to be a failure, and Bagatelle had a difficult time selling the soundtrack project. Finally, AZ (a French label) agreed to put out a 45 with "Together" on side A, billed as the "hit" from the film, and "Sexopolis" on the B-side as an instrumental filler. The 45's release went completely unnoticed, of course. It was rediscovered in the early 2000s, thanks -- ironically -- to the song "Sexopolis," and became the Holy Grail for worldwide collectors of film music.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: BORNBAD 160CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Delving into the deepest recesses of raī, this compilation serves as a tribute to its roaring years, but also as a rejuvenation of the genre in its sulphureous, subterranean version. It seemed like a good idea to dig into nearly untraceable cassettes, thus confirming it's in the oldest of Oranese pots that the very best of raī is to be found. Just 50 years ago, no one would have believed even a bit in a genre seemingly bound to forever turn round and round in its native Oran, laying low in one of its many coastal road clubs. In these underground venues, singers -- backed up by a minimalist orchestration for lack of space -- would move their audience to laughs and tears, sobbing in a beer or chuckling down (dry) whisky. Through the pre- and post-independence years, from 1950 to 1970, raī urbanized itself, with a generation growing up between asphalt and concrete to the sound of traditional flute, but also and mostly listening to twist, French variété and rock music. Their names were Boutaība S'ghir, Messaoud Bellemou, Groupe El Azhar, Younčs Benfissa, or Zergui, and they passed on their collection of songs to the incoming "Chebs" -- breathing a second youth into them. Oran, the capital of West-Algeria, will be at the heart of this rejuvenation. Overshadowed to the West by the bare mountain of Aīdour, a foot set onto a beautiful bay and the other on a long dried out wadi, covered up with buildings since, Oran must be the most European of Algerian towns -- regardless of its kasbah, its sanctuary built in 1793 under the reign of the Bey Mohammed ben Othman and devoted to Sidi El Houari, the city's patron saint, and praised in many a raī song, and its Pacha 18th century mosque built in memory of the displaced Spaniards of 1492. Oran is blessed with the sea and pine forests all around and above it, towards Sana Cruz. It is rich with Hispanic, Andalusian, Turkish, Arab-Berber and French influences. A cosmopolitanism is very much part of the city's largely jovial nature. Some head for the open-air theater, renamed Cheb Hasni in honor of the creator of love raī, killed on September the 29th, 1994. Others take over restaurants before taking it all out on the dancefloor of one of the many clubs dotted along the coastal road. Features Cheb Hindi, Houari Benchenet, Chab Mohamed Sghir, Chaba Fadila, Cheb Tahar, Cheb Djalal, Benchenet, Cheb Kader, Chab Hamouda, Cheb Khaled "Schir", Nordine Staīfi, Chaba Amel, Chaba Malika Meddah, and Tchier Abdelgani.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: BORNBAD 160LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Double LP version. Includes six-page booklet; includes download code. Delving into the deepest recesses of raī, this compilation serves as a tribute to its roaring years, but also as a rejuvenation of the genre in its sulphureous, subterranean version. It seemed like a good idea to dig into nearly untraceable cassettes, thus confirming it's in the oldest of Oranese pots that the very best of raī is to be found. Just 50 years ago, no one would have believed even a bit in a genre seemingly bound to forever turn round and round in its native Oran, laying low in one of its many coastal road clubs. In these underground venues, singers -- backed up by a minimalist orchestration for lack of space -- would move their audience to laughs and tears, sobbing in a beer or chuckling down (dry) whisky. Through the pre- and post-independence years, from 1950 to 1970, raī urbanized itself, with a generation growing up between asphalt and concrete to the sound of traditional flute, but also and mostly listening to twist, French variété and rock music. Their names were Boutaība S'ghir, Messaoud Bellemou, Groupe El Azhar, Younčs Benfissa, or Zergui, and they passed on their collection of songs to the incoming "Chebs" -- breathing a second youth into them. Oran, the capital of West-Algeria, will be at the heart of this rejuvenation. Overshadowed to the West by the bare mountain of Aīdour, a foot set onto a beautiful bay and the other on a long dried out wadi, covered up with buildings since, Oran must be the most European of Algerian towns -- regardless of its kasbah, its sanctuary built in 1793 under the reign of the Bey Mohammed ben Othman and devoted to Sidi El Houari, the city's patron saint, and praised in many a raī song, and its Pacha 18th century mosque built in memory of the displaced Spaniards of 1492. Oran is blessed with the sea and pine forests all around and above it, towards Sana Cruz. It is rich with Hispanic, Andalusian, Turkish, Arab-Berber and French influences. A cosmopolitanism is very much part of the city's largely jovial nature. Some head for the open-air theater, renamed Cheb Hasni in honor of the creator of love raī, killed on September the 29th, 1994. Others take over restaurants before taking it all out on the dancefloor of one of the many clubs dotted along the coastal road. Features Cheb Hindi, Houari Benchenet, Chab Mohamed Sghir, Chaba Fadila, Cheb Tahar, Cheb Djalal, Benchenet, Cheb Kader, Chab Hamouda, Cheb Khaled "Schir", Nordine Staīfi, Chaba Amel, Chaba Malika Meddah, and Tchier Abdelgani.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: CPT 603CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

After excursions into hip-hop, rap, and film music Austrian producer and musician Urbs has returned to the downtempo and trip-hop styles that were the cornerstones of his most successful work. Using obscure samples as well as traditional instrumentation for his impressionistic instrumental pieces he takes you to Geheimland. Born as Paul Nawrata in Lower Austria, Urbs is a veteran electronic producer and musician living in Vienna. A music fanatic from a very young age, he started writing and photographing for various fanzines in his teenage years, interviewing artists as diverse as Kurt Cobain, Nick Cave, and the Wu Tang Clan. He soon felt attracted to the blossoming hip-hop scene of Vienna, contributing to the radio program of legendary impressario Werner Geier aka Demon Flowers. Best described as the Austrian version of Tony Wilson, he took him under his wing and soon released his first steps in music production on his Uptight label. In 1998, two EPs were released as Urbs & Chaoz, spawning a first success with "Closer To God", which was not only a radio favorite, but was also used by famed director Ulrich Seidl in his early work Models and remixed by Thievery Corporation. Heavily influenced by Kenny Dope, Todd Terry, and Armand Van Helden's hip-hop releases, the musical style of Urbs & Chaoz was dubbed "Dope Beat" in central Europe and can be seen as one of the precursors of trip-hop. His next musical partner was Cutex with whom he released Breaks Of Dawn and Peace Talks!, two LPs of timeless instrumental hip-hop, both of which are seen as classics of the genre. His first solo album was released on G-Stone Recordings in 2005 and was co-produced by Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister). On Toujours Le Meme Film, Urbs channeled his love for film music and French chanson. Songs from the album were used for TV shows Grey's Anatomy and Nip:Tuck. Together with award winning composer Karwan Marouf, he worked on film music for directors like Arash and Arman Riahi as well as Werner Boote. While the world was in the grip of the pandemic in 2020, Urbs, who had just become a father, felt inspired by the fantasy and perception of his son. He reconnected with his roots and produced Geheimland in one go, trying to find the essence of his work and musical passion and creating his very own musical language along the way.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: CPT 603LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Double LP version. Gatefold sleeve; includes download. After excursions into hip-hop, rap, and film music Austrian producer and musician Urbs has returned to the downtempo and trip-hop styles that were the cornerstones of his most successful work. Using obscure samples as well as traditional instrumentation for his impressionistic instrumental pieces he takes you to Geheimland. Born as Paul Nawrata in Lower Austria, Urbs is a veteran electronic producer and musician living in Vienna. A music fanatic from a very young age, he started writing and photographing for various fanzines in his teenage years, interviewing artists as diverse as Kurt Cobain, Nick Cave, and the Wu Tang Clan. He soon felt attracted to the blossoming hip-hop scene of Vienna, contributing to the radio program of legendary impressario Werner Geier aka Demon Flowers. Best described as the Austrian version of Tony Wilson, he took him under his wing and soon released his first steps in music production on his Uptight label. In 1998, two EPs were released as Urbs & Chaoz, spawning a first success with "Closer To God", which was not only a radio favorite, but was also used by famed director Ulrich Seidl in his early work Models and remixed by Thievery Corporation. Heavily influenced by Kenny Dope, Todd Terry, and Armand Van Helden's hip-hop releases, the musical style of Urbs & Chaoz was dubbed "Dope Beat" in central Europe and can be seen as one of the precursors of trip-hop. His next musical partner was Cutex with whom he released Breaks Of Dawn and Peace Talks!, two LPs of timeless instrumental hip-hop, both of which are seen as classics of the genre. His first solo album was released on G-Stone Recordings in 2005 and was co-produced by Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister). On Toujours Le Meme Film, Urbs channeled his love for film music and French chanson. Songs from the album were used for TV shows Grey's Anatomy and Nip:Tuck. Together with award winning composer Karwan Marouf, he worked on film music for directors like Arash and Arman Riahi as well as Werner Boote. While the world was in the grip of the pandemic in 2020, Urbs, who had just become a father, felt inspired by the fantasy and perception of his son. He reconnected with his roots and produced Geheimland in one go, trying to find the essence of his work and musical passion and creating his very own musical language along the way.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: CPT 612EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Shahrokh Dini delivered two top-notch EPs in 2022, Now We Can Dance with Illinois and Ubuntu. After gathering some decent remixes, a proper vinyl release became self-evident. Here are splendid re-works by the likes of Lehar, David Mayer, Omer Tayar, Tooker, Kovi, Patrick Zigon, and Apoena. Shahrokh Dini left Karlsruhe, while he is even more active than ever in his old and new basecamp Berlin. Not even that he played a lot of nice gigs during summer (Amsterdam, few times on Ibiza, lot of gigs in Berlin, Italy, Corfu, Sardinia), he is also busy in the studio with several releases and remixes "Now We Can Dance" with the strong and lovely vocals by Illinois is a contemporary house smash with an '80s indie dance twist. Shahrokh met Illinois at the Garden Of Babylon parties, where Shahrokh is virtually the resident DJ, too.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: CPT 613LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Fred und Luna have always had a preference for symmetry. Reflected in their cover motifs and, on the current album, in the length of the musical pieces, which are all around the five-minute zone. Im Fünfminutentakt, accordingly the name of their latest creation, is Fred und Luna's fourth long player, an exquisite selection of contemporary instrumental and vocal pieces with a sensitive feel for repetitive rhythms, enchanting melodies, and mesmerizing sounds. Particularly noteworthy are "Es ist so schön" ("It's wunderschön"/"C'est wunderbar"), a piece sung in three languages (with its sensitive feeling for the joy of seeing your loved ones again after months of loneliness caused by the pandemic) and the dancefloor-oriented "Tanz mit mir" ("Dance With Me"), that gives an idea of how much even computer-like voices can awaken desires and dreams. Who are Fred und Luna? Fred und Luna are two mannequins living in a fashion boutique in Karlsruhe, Germany. They serve as muse for musician, poet and photo/video maker, Rainer Buchmüller. Inspired by his doll friends and his love for German electronic music of the past decades, Rainer Buchmüller under the name Fred und Luna produces his self-created genres elektrokraut and krautelektro: both a modern adventurous journey with a combination of motorik beats, electronic soundscapes, and elements of the krautrock era.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: CPT 614EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Remix EP 1 (includes remixes by Acid Pauli, Coldcut, DMX Krew, Shahrokh Dini, Frivolous). After the release of Felix Laband's highly acclaimed fifth album The Soft White Hand (CPT 605CD/LP), it's about time to give it some extra class remix treatment. So here comes a massive package with remixes by living legends Coldcut, Acid Pauli, DMX Krew, Frivolous, and Shahrokh Dini. Felix Laband's The Soft White Hand is the masterwork of an artist who expresses himself through musical and artistic collage acting together to reinterpret his sources and to express significant elements of his own personal story. Released by Munich-based Compost Records, the 14-track album is Laband's first full-length offering since the critically acclaimed Deaf Safari in 2015. It is heralded by the single "Derek and Me", and is being pressed on vinyl for distribution globally.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: DD 007LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

The Voices of Creation are a community-based choir led by vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and mainstay of the Los Angeles scene Jimetta Rose. Made up of a multigenerational group of mainly non-professional singers backed by some of the city's finest musicians, their music marries hip strains of gospel with layers of jazz, soul and funk. While aspects of their music might recall Kamasi Washington, The Staple Singers or Sly Stone, Jimetta's unique vision has resulted in new spiritually-charged forms of music whose whole-hearted embrace of love, joy and peace act as sonic healing balms for the soul. For Jimetta -- whose resume includes collaborations with Miguel Atwood Ferguson, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Angel Bat Dawid -- the very act of creation was part of a healing process. Among those accepted into the ever-evolving collective, which was begun initially as a community choir, were the likes of Sly Stone's daughter Novena Carmel, better known as a radio DJ for KCRW's flagship breakfast show. Jimetta's upbringing in the Pentecostal church, where she was a youth choir director, fed into her otherwise intuitive teachings of her songs and arrangements to the inexperienced members with help from the group's seasoned organ player/co-musical director Jack Maeby. Produced by Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys, Seu Jorge) and his wife Samantha Caldato the results show the incredible sense of togetherness and communal spirit that the group had built up over time in the rehearsal sessions. The six tracks of their debut album, a mixture of originals and rearranged covers, are performed in a wide-eyed mix of styles that reflect Jimetta's vision for borderless music. The group's propensity for warm and buoyant sonics finds representation on album opener "Let The Sunshine In," a sparkling rework of the Sons and Daughters of Lite's deep jazz classic. Their version finds the group's dynamic group harmonies offset with Allakoi Peete's nimble Afro-percussive touches and plenty of soul-drenched keys courtesy of pianist Quran Shaheed and organ player Jack Maeby. A similarly uplifting take on Rahsaan Roland Kirk's choral jazz classic "Spirits Up Above follows," with Maeby's groove-laden organ lines inspiring some gorgeous group harmonies as well as prime solo turns from the likes of Kellye Hawkins, Zavier Wise, Tamara Blue, and Khalila Gardner. Another Sons and Daughters of Lite cover follows as Jimetta leads the choir in the groove-drenched ode to self-affirmation "Operation Feed Yourself." Written as a series of mantras for everyday living, the Jimetta-penned composition "How Good It Is" harnesses the full transformative power of music to generate a stirring and joyful ode to positivity. Jimetta's talent for re-imagining songs in her own light is highlighted in "Answer The Call," her vivid re-telling of Funkadelic's Cosmic Slop. The album finishes with the standout original gospel number "Ain't Life Grand".

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: JACK 009CV-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. White vinyl. Live at the NEC Arena, Birmingham, England on September 20, 1985 from The Head Tour (European Leg). The Cure performed nine concerts on The Head Tour, between Queens Hall on September 21, 1985 and Cornwall Coliseum on September 8, 1985. This is the second night they performed live.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: JACK 009LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Live at the NEC Arena, Birmingham, England on September 20, 1985 from The Head Tour (European Leg). The Cure performed nine concerts on The Head Tour, between Queens Hall on September 21, 1985 and Cornwall Coliseum on September 8, 1985. This is the second night they performed live.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: JACK 029CV-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Yellow vinyl. Siouxsie And The Banshees, live at De Nieuwe Kade, Tiel, The Netherlands 1981. Great concert from the JuJu era (1981). The European tour began on June 14th, 1981 in Brussels, and ran to the end of the summer before the group flew to North America for dates throughout October and November. This Dutch concert features live versions of tracks that appear on JuJu, only missing "Into The Light" and "Monitor". A superb recording.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: JACK 029LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Siouxsie And The Banshees, live at De Nieuwe Kade, Tiel, The Netherlands 1981. Great concert from the JuJu era (1981). The European tour began on June 14th, 1981 in Brussels, and ran to the end of the summer before the group flew to North America for dates throughout October and November. This Dutch concert features live versions of tracks that appear on JuJu, only missing "Into The Light" and "Monitor". A superb recording.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 101LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Come home to the old world of Silver Jews -- they?ve been waiting patiently for your return. Back in the October of 1994, Silver Jews released Starlite Walker, their first LP and one that certainly confirmed all the fevered rumors of the group's promise. They were heard to play pop music with a rustic air, old-fashioned fervor and an excess of words, singing them out in a flat and honest voice, as if to say, 'There is no other way.' For the initial settlers of rock, its true; there was no other way. But the early '90s gave birth to a new generation of rockers: 'Silver Jews Fans,' appreciating Jews music and the lifestyle it implied. Unlike their forebears, these kids could have anything they wanted. And so, another era was underway. Now, some two years later, we can begin to understand why and of wherefore. The Natural Bridge attempts to bridge the gap between generations, and generations of people as well. While not blatantly a youth angst statement, nor a precise document of a coming of age, the LP has enough of everything to make someone's rite of passage a smoother ride. There is the acoustic melancholy of 'Black and Brown Blues,' electrical storms in 'Pet Politics' and 'The Ballad of Reverend War Character,' the breezy despair of 'Dallas' and 'How to Rent a Room,' and more, much more. Calling over time from the communities of rural Massachusetts and Virginia (and all points south), Silver Jews deliver performances steeped in history, though its more personal than public history that's outlined here. Ten songs an album make."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: DC 194LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Double LP version. "Whatever, Mortal finds our Mr. M singing his heart out as often as he can, plus backing himself -- with all manner of guitars and keyboards and bass and drums, as well as more exotic instruments like a freaking sitar, car keys and -- incredibly! -- a lousy goddamn wooden floor!"

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 387LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; LP version. "Their time in the studio was overseen by engineer Jim Vitti, whose work with Parliament/ Funkadelic seems to have informed his decision to record Death in raw fashion with little polish, showcasing the organic power relationships within the trio. The songs recorded there make up ...For the Whole World to See, which today blasts from the speakers as a fresh and inspired early entry in the category of punk rock. Death had a single pressed, Politicians In My Eyes b/w Keep On Knocking, selling them at their shows and on the street. Things weren't really going anywhere when they heard from Columbia Records' president Clive Davis. He was interested, but he had one demand -- they'd have to change their name. David, acting as the band's leader, would have no part of it, a decision that ultimately brought an end to Death. Moving to New England, David, Bobby and Dannis reconnected with their faith, forming the Christian rock-n-roll band The 4th Movement, whose self-released early-80s album joined Death's 45 as a sought-after obscurity for the next generation. 2009 is the time that Death is finally here ...For The Whole World to See. ...For The Whole World to See is the first full-length release EVER for the band called Death -- with only one 7" single to their name, and that usually goes for about a grand per. That's $1000! For those who do have the single, the remastered sound here will break you up."

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: DC 659LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Last copies of this reissue from 2017; originally released in 1967. "... It's been fifty years since Pearls Before Swine first appeared. A genteel, oft-hushed missive from a far corner of the psychedelic hive mind, One Nation Underground was released on an independent outlier of a record label, removed from the mainstream -- and still its spirit came to be widely appreciated by a generation and more. Today, this music has been reissued by labels around the world dozens of times. Tragic, then, that it hasn't been heard properly in decades! The stereo record that made it to compact disc in the '90s (and to subsequent vinyl pressings) was a botched job, with reverbs added to evoke a fake stereo image, and an overdub track from the original master lost in the transfer -- providing a perfect analog for a release destined not to make the original artists any money at all. The 50th Anniversary edition, however, has been returned to the hands of its creators, restoring the original mono mix that made such an impact in 1967, freed from the muffling veils that time eventually wrapped around it. Cast into a moment of incredible tumult and great discovery, Pearls Before Swine contributed a uniquely earthy strain to the arc of sound that defined the time and place of the later 1960s. A group of young men in Florida were inspired to send their demo tape to the label that released The Fugs, whose appearance and lawless attitude seemed at once a dare and an invitation. The label was ESP-Disk, whose catalog was largely comprised of records from some of the farthest-out jazz players in New York City -- but Pearls Before Swine were welcome to make a record there, too. Relocating to New York in the spring of 1967, they were installed at Impact Sound with provisional ESP-house man Richard Alderson (engineer of many of those jazz sessions, as well as sound-man on Dylan's '66 world tour) and, in three days, laid down the album. When it was released in October of that year, it immediately began to catch on with young people around the world with its blend of gentle and innocent, erudite and outraged. Each song was from a different genre and each track had something strange/mysterious in it, via exotic instruments, electronic oscillation or pure, simple intent. There was proto-punk in the mix, rife with humor, aloft with the pastoral acoustics of the banjo; music of the people of the world, all in the service of Tom Rapp's visceral, unblinking lyrics. For music like this, radio play wasn't dictated by pluggers pushing a single up the charts -- the jockeys at free-form stations played it because it spoke to them, and they loved it. One Nation Underground indeed!..."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: DC 803LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2021 release. "The Blind Date Party hosted by Bill Callahan and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and featuring AZITA, Matt Sweeney, Alasdair Roberts, Matt Kinsey, Sean O'Hagan, Bill MacKay, George Xylouris, Dead Rider, David Pajo, Mick Turner, Meg Baird, Ty Segall, Emmett Kelly, Cory Hanson, Six Organs of Admittance, David Grubbs, Cassie Berman, Cooper Crain and Sir Richard Bishop happened online in the fall and winter of '20-21 -- but the party planning dated back to the spring of 2020. Stuck at home, with no gigs in the foreseeable future, Bill, Bonny and Drag City needed an outreach program to keep themselves busy, not to mention sane. In the absence of any company or anything on the calendar, playing songs they loved was an idea; playing with people they loved, the desire. And making it fun -- so pairing someone with someone else having no say in the matter, the essence of the blind date, was the plan. Favorite songs were chosen; players from around the Drag City galaxy were messaged. Pretty soon, songs were flying back and forth -- music in the air! And thus, they were entertained throughout the summer of 2020, when so much else in the world seemed so completely wrong. By the fall, the songs started to appear online: Bill and Bonny singing a song by someone they loved and admired; each song cut by another artist they loved and admired, then sent to Bill and Bonny to provide the finishing touches. The spotlight pointed in every direction each week: toward the singers and writers who'd originally played the songs (Yusuf Islam, Hank Williams Jr., Dave Rich, The Other Years, Billie Eilish, Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Bill Callahan, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Wyatt, Judy Mayhan, Johnnie Frierson, Demis Roussos, Will Oldham, Leonard Cohen, David Berman, Iggy Pop and John Prine), the featured collaborators, the artists whose work adorned each digital single and videos made by still more collaborators. Now it was a party! Like the best parties, it turned out to be everything and more than they'd even hoped for. So many more people were involved in the process that we can get on the page here. Suffice to say, making records over the years has required a broad sense of community and an always-surprising mix of independence and unity, inspiration and utility..."

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: BEC 5161064

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress with CD format included. Justice, the French duo formed by Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay -- the band of a whole generation. When the two friends were still bright students in graphic design, in 2003 they made Justice a place to experiment a hybrid genre between music and image, which blends pop and electronic borders, and showcases the talents of two fascinating, passionate pop culture craftsmen, bored with hierarchy. They met Pedro Winter, who had just founded his label Ed Banger Records -- he immediately signs them after listening to "We Are Your Friends," which, with its joyful and vitamin-enriched electro beats combined with exhilarating voices, became the hymn of a whole generation and one of the most important tracks of the year 2000, celebrating a reconciliation of pop music and the dancefloor. It was awarded an MTV Video Award in 2007, bringing about the famous live TV appearance with Kanye West outraged that his million-dollar clip was outclassed by a home-made bomb. (Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Justice, Ed Banger and So_Me became a constant source of inspiration for Kanye and his superstar rapper colleagues. Kanye even employed So-Me as director for the video for his hit song "Good Life"), Jay Z will use "D.A.N.C.E" for his next album. From now on, the duo's ascent was constant and then lightning struck: remixes for N.E.R.D., Britney Spears, Franz Ferdinand, U2, Daft Punk, Lenny Kravitz and an EP in 2006 (Waters Of Nazareth) defining the "Justice sound," this famous ultra-powerful compression of pop and baroque melodies, both dark and threatening; lightning and animative; and above all, the famous Justice image, the cross from which an earlier version figures on the first EP. 2007 was the explosion that would turn the duo into the emblem of a whole generation: their first album, anticipated like the Messiah, swept everything away as an epic soundtrack and was more than a magnificent synthesis of our time. 800,000 sales worldwide and 4 years later, the album is considered a mainstay of the 2000s -- one of the few who bridged the gap from the Pitchfork world to MTV without losing its credibility. Housed in a mindfuckingly deluxe gatefold sleeve.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: RBK 011EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

It is often the case that less-than-mainstream names that make some of the greatest contributions are left aside in favor of the more widely-celebrated ones. Martyn Hare is a producer and DJ whose career spans a dark but important time for UK techno, the early 2000s, when the initial wave of innovation had begun to taper off and focus had shifted elsewhere. Even at its height in the late '90s, techno had always been something found around the edges of the more popular mutations of hardcore that took centerstage in UK, but this didn't stop Hare forging his own path. Originally releasing on labels like Tronic, Recycled Loops, and Potential, Hare found quick success and just as quickly moved on to found Emetic and Tremors, where his sound truly found its voice. Hare counts Aphex Twin, Laurent Garnier, and the late John Peel as longtime fans, and with many of techno's top contemporary names supporting both his older tracks and new music, the veteran is here to stay. As before, diversity continues to be a key point in Hare's sound, with industrial and techno as center points, but also taking in hardcore, breakbeats, and the textured sound of modern electronic music. After years operating without hype and without compromise, Martyn Hare continues to be in distinguished company, a seasoned figure amidst a raft of newer names whose experience and dedication to the cause speaks for itself. Features remixes by Wallis and Dahryl.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: ERG 008LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Over the course of a nearly 50 year romantic and creative partnership sound artist Annea Lockwood and the late pioneering electronic composer Ruth Anderson have shared space on a number of significant releases of early electronic and tape music, including Charles Amirkhanian's trailblazing 1977 anthology of women electronic composers New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media, a 1981 split LP on Opus One, a 1997 CD for Phill Niblock's XI imprint, and 1998's Lesbian American Composers compilation on CRI. The couple additionally taught a course on the history of women's music-making at Hunter College. Although Ruth passed away in 2019, the composers' dialogue continues today with Tęte-ā-tęte, a collection of unreleased archival and new material spread across an LP and a single-sided 10" record. It all began with a telephone call. In 1973, Ruth Anderson was seeking a substitute to cover a yearlong sabbatical from her position as the director of the Electronic Music Studio she had founded at Hunter College in New York City. Her friend Pauline Oliveros too was on sabbatical, but recommended Ruth call Annea Lockwood -- then living in London -- about the post. Over the next nine months, while Ruth was living in Hancock, New Hampshire, the couple would speak daily by phone in between visits. Ruth recorded these phone calls and, in 1974, surprised Annea with a cassette containing "Conversations," a private piece she composed by dexterously collaging fragments of their conversations alongside slowed and throwed snatches of old popular songs: "Yes Sir, That's My Baby"; "Oh, You Beautiful Doll"; and "Bill Bailey." The centerpiece of Tęte-ā-tęte, this side of intimate musique concrčte extends to its listeners a rare invitation to eavesdrop on the halcyon phenomenon of two people falling in love. Tender and playful throughout, "Conversations" comes to its zenith with a cut-up of relentless laughter of a contagious beauty that is, for once, properly convulsive. "For Ruth" is Annea's elegy to her life partner. In 2020, Annea returned to Hancock as well as to Ruth's resting place at Flathead Lake, Montana to make field recordings, which she wove together with further excerpts of the couple's 1974 conversations for a commission presented as part of the 2021 Counterflows Festival in Glasgow. A consummate field recordist, Annea imbues the simple sounds of church bells, birds, wind, and the bodies of water that permeated her time alongside Ruth with an otherworldly depth and sense of narrative akin to that of her celebrated sound maps of the Hudson, Danube, and Housatonic rivers. The collection opens with "Resolutions," Ruth's last completed electronic work, from 1984. A meditation for the individual listener composed as the result of her study of Zen, it's a rigorous, process-driven piece that charts the very slow, smooth descent of a fifth from the octave above middle C down to sub-bass frequencies. Minimalist in execution, yet powerful in effect, it glides by almost imperceptibly, with new tones arriving and hovering or levitating upwards, seemingly out of nowhere. Tape transfers by Maggi Payne and lacquers cut at Dubplates & Mastering, with domestic photos and liner notes provided by Annea Lockwood.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: ESPDISK 5058LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Normal Street is another salvo in ESP-Disk's drive to revive weird rock! Writer/musician/film maker Chris Shields says: "Near the DIY venue, cooperative, and punk/freak haven, The Firehouse, in Worcester, Mass, there's a street ironically named 'Normal St.' I was lucky enough to be playing a gig with Painted Faces there a few years back. Driving up the steep, labyrinthine roads we spotted the green sign, had a laugh owing to some solid riffing by all present, and then, moved on. The gig was good, the people great, and the memories, the stuff that makes time on earth meaningful. Little did I know Normal Street would return. Considering David Drucker's body of work and his unique brand of free form expression and clever pastiche, I shouldn't have been surprised. When you listen to Painted Faces what you're hearing is a mind at work. When Drucker begins to write and record, every dumb sign, bad horror movie, seemingly innocuous turn of phrase, petty embarrassment, transcendent joke, and musical influence are drawn together like iron filings to a magnet. What results is a document of a particular point in time for the artist. There are infectiously haunting hooks and raw atonal passages, cheap synths (and as time goes on less cheap ones), simple but effective chords, ramshackle percussion (a plastic toy maraca passed among audience members that refuses to die), and a host of other elements that all add up to something very special and deeply personal. It's a portrait of the artist as a freak . . . Normal Street is a fractured collection of songs, sounds, ideas, sometimes brief and other times delicately sustained; its stream of consciousness mischievousness bringing to mind Zappa and the Mothers filtered through the angst of bedroom pop and tape label minimalism. Many artists hope to embody Drucker's "Outback Steakhouse" approach ("No rules. Just right") but few have achieved such consistently fun results..."

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: ESPDISK 5080CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Allen Lowe writes: "In the Dark is a commemoration (sic) of the worst time of my life -- a period during which, having been operated on to remove a cancerous tumor in my sinus, I slept for only brief periods of time. Sometimes I made it as long as two hours continuously, but most often I dozed off for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, maybe an hour -- encamped as I was on my couch, trying not to wake my wife as I wandered in the dark contemplating the long night ahead. Sometimes I turned the television set on and slept fitfully to the sound of the late news shows. Most often I slept most peacefully at about 5 am, only to be awakened an hour or two later by the light that flooded my living room, even with the curtains closed. I could barely breathe through my nose, or any other place; my face had been carved up by the surgeons who saved my life, and I sometimes did mad circles in the dark to see if I could exercise and avoid collisions with inanimate objects like chairs, doors, stairways, tables, etc. I have never before (or since) felt that desperate about anything. For a little while, in the late stages, I was able to breathe better, but then something called neuropathy set in, as what felt like a low-level electric current seething through my left foot. So -- at this point I would go to bed at 11PM, and at 1AM, like clockwork, that left foot began to vibrate, which it would continue to do for five or six hours, leaving me, at 6 or 7AM, with the very temporary relief of sleep -- all the while trying to ignore the sunlight that tormented me like a celestial alarm clock that never stopped ringing. At some point during this ordeal, I started composing again. To my surprise -- because I felt blank and near-death -- the music poured out of me, and the result is this recording (and its ESP companion, America: The Rough Cut (ESPDISK 5082CD)). I don't why it all happened like this, but I am reasonably sure that I will never be this prolific again, that I will never again produce this much good music this quickly. The music is sometimes structured, sometimes free-improvised, sometimes blues and American song form; Ken Peplowski is let loose to play free jazz on some tracks; Aaron Johnson shows himself to be one of the best and most creative saxophonists playing today; Lewis Porter is a phenomenal pianist, adept at all forms and musical structures. Anthony Braxton has said 'Allen Lowe is the tradition,' and I am honored to accept his recognition."

 

PRICE: $12.00

CAT #: ESPDISK 5082CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Allen Lowe writes: "America: The Rough Cut is my statement not only on American music and American song, but also my commentary on the way American musicians of all styles handle that old-time music and those old song forms . . . The old things -- not just the blues, but gospel music and pre-blues shouts and language, plus hillbilly/minstrel song and medicine show irony -- reflect a disinterest in the polite trappings of (primarily but not only white) society, an implicit rejection of basic tonal, sonic, and harmonic rules. 'Noise' has, over a long time, come to be an accepted creative strategy for many musicians, with diminishing results. What is missing is...funk? Maybe, but not in that slick, drum machine, '80s way (the 1950s and 1960s, not to mention the 1920s, are another matter). What is missing is the funk from Funky Butt Hall of New Orleans, the sweat of the churchgoing gyrations of white and black Holy Rollers and the eccentric movements and sounds of attendants of the Pentecostal Church; not to mention the religious screams of white and black folk in the throes of post-rational bursts of tongues and trembling worship; or the ecstatic eternal protest of the Church of God in Christ . . . I live in a musical world (mostly in my head) in which the sacred and the profane are two sides of the same coin, and in which the blues is more effect than cause. As for most revivalists and folkies, well, they tend to sound (like most but not only jazz musicians) overqualified; there are some very satisfying exceptions to these rules, and I have tried to reflect that in America: The Rough Cut. So here we have gospel formulations ('Damned Nation'), pre-blues ruminations ('Full Moon Moan'), a little bit of Hank Williams-directed honky tonk ('Cheatin' My Heart'), heavy metal ('Metallic Taste', 'Blues in Shreds'), 'Poor Mourner's Serenade' (hail, hail Jelly Roll Morton), 'Hymn for Her' (to my savior, and wife, Helen); a little bit of my own statement on the fallibility of free jazz, dedicated to a certain guitar player who shall remain nameless ('Blues for Unprepared Guitarist') in which, overdubbed on guitar, I make a personal appeal for a MacArthur, while daily sitting by the door, waiting for that envelope. There's also 'Old Country Rag,' an evocation of the old-time hillbilly rag; 'Eh Death,' a variation on an old fear; 'It's the End,' a bit of autobiography; 'Cold was the Night, Dark Was the Ground" (and I was the first, back in the 1990s, to reference Blind Willie Johnson in a jazz way; here is my update); and 'At a Baptist Meeting,' recorded in concert some years ago with the late, great, grievously missed Roswell Rudd.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: FAB 110CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Violeta Vicci rides a motorbike, is fluent in seven languages, and feels at home in England, Switzerland and Spain. A multifaceted, contemporary violinist, vocalist and composer, she feels comfortable genre-crossing from classical to ambient, multilayered electronics, her influences ranging from Bach to Brian Eno. Her music has been played on BBC Radio 3 (Hannah Peel), Radio 4 Woman's Hour, BBC6 (Iggy Pop), KEXP, and Resonance FM. Since starting the violin at the age of four and giving her concert debut at the age of fifteen, she fulfilled her lifelong dream to study at the Royal Academy of Music. Violeta has recently supported the Orb on their 30th anniversary UK tour and collaborated with the likes of Thom Yorke, Elbow, Jonsi (Sigur Ros), Steeleye Span, and Ellie Goulding. She also arranges the strings for Fontaines DC and writes and performs with psychedelic rock band TTRRUUCES. "We didn't have a TV when growing up, so spending time in nature, building castles in the sand, reading, playing music and listening to fairy tales, played a big role in creating my inner magical universe." During lockdown, Vicci started "Live Music in Nature" a series of livestreamed concerts performed in beautiful natural locations around the UK, combining strings, voice and effect pedals to create a soundtrack to nature. She has been nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award 2021 and has released two studio albums to date.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: FAB 110LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. Violeta Vicci rides a motorbike, is fluent in seven languages, and feels at home in England, Switzerland and Spain. A multifaceted, contemporary violinist, vocalist and composer, she feels comfortable genre-crossing from classical to ambient, multilayered electronics, her influences ranging from Bach to Brian Eno. Her music has been played on BBC Radio 3 (Hannah Peel), Radio 4 Woman's Hour, BBC6 (Iggy Pop), KEXP, and Resonance FM. Since starting the violin at the age of four and giving her concert debut at the age of fifteen, she fulfilled her lifelong dream to study at the Royal Academy of Music. Violeta has recently supported the Orb on their 30th anniversary UK tour and collaborated with the likes of Thom Yorke, Elbow, Jonsi (Sigur Ros), Steeleye Span, and Ellie Goulding. She also arranges the strings for Fontaines DC and writes and performs with psychedelic rock band TTRRUUCES. "We didn't have a TV when growing up, so spending time in nature, building castles in the sand, reading, playing music and listening to fairy tales, played a big role in creating my inner magical universe." During lockdown, Vicci started "Live Music in Nature" a series of livestreamed concerts performed in beautiful natural locations around the UK, combining strings, voice and effect pedals to create a soundtrack to nature. She has been nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award 2021 and has released two studio albums to date.

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: FTR 649LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Here is the vinyl we promised, consisting of the first half of Soft Focus, the recent solo CD by Wednesday Knudsen. The second half may be along before the end of the year, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. This here is a solid foot of brilliant musical meditations that will fit snugly onto your shelf RIGHT NOW. The project was begun deep in the Plague Era, when it was hoped things might be turning better. It is virtually all unaccompanied work, apart from a little harp by PG Six on the first track. Wednesday displays her sweetly abundant chops on woodwinds, guitar, keyboards and vocals. The mood is abstract and wistful, bright at some moments, shrouded in the fog of mystery at others. Wednesday describes the record's sound as 'ambient,' which is true, but there's more here than that term often infers. To me, the pieces feel closer to the song-shaped abstractions Eno explored on Another Green World (1975) and Before and After Science (1977) than to Music for Airports (1979) or Discreet Music (1975). There's a lovely pop sensibility hiding in them that hillocks. Wednesday's other solo releases are two CDRs on Mystra and a cassette on Microdose. And she has a long recording history with the Pigeons as well as a few other combos. Previous appearances on FTR are Viewer's New Salem MC, both Weeping Bong Band LPs (FTR 313LP and FTR 448LP), and a pair of LPs in duo with Willie Lane (FTR 530LP and FTR 589LP). She has other pots boiling as well, but for now, here's some Soft Focus vinyl for your weary head. Don't miss the opportunity to grab it. What goes around does not always come around." --Byron Coley, 2023

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: FKR 114LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Expanded reissue of mega rare 1979 unknown vanity pressing LP that blends ethnological field recordings, musique concrčte principles, and introspective synthesizer music from this cult European studio maverick and historic collaborator of COS, Philippe Druilet, Marc Moulin, and John Surman. Alain Pierre's Mondo movie soundtrack to the controversial Des Morts shares very few stylistic rivals, but fans of Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain soundtrack and some of the more eldritch early sampling experiments of Jean-Pierre Massiera will certainly draw fragmented comparisons herein. Other listeners might file this album at the weirder end of your Smithsonian Folkways shelf, just before the Video Nasty soundtracks. Presented in remastered form comprising extra vintage studio outtakes (in accordance with the films morbid narrative), Des Morts serves as a would-be sequel to Finders Keepers' previous Ô Sidarta (FKR 107LP, 2021) release witnessing Pierre balance his allegiance to the Belgian bandes dessinée scene and Thierry Zéno's shock cinema oeuvre from the heart of his uber-legendary Brussels based experimental recording studio through the 1970s. Presented in remastered form comprising extra previously unreleased vintage studio outtakes. Edition of 750.

 

PRICE: $37.00

CAT #: GET 51466LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"Originally released in 2005, Most Known Unknown would become Three 6 Mafia's best-selling album with the lead single 'Stay Fly' featuring the Memphis crew of DJ Paul, Juicy J and Crunchy Black alongside Memphis legends Eightball and MJG and Nashville's Young Buck. The album also featured other southern rappers outside of the Memphis scene including Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, & Lil Flip representing Texas and Trick Daddy from Miami on 'Stay Fly (Still Fly Remix).'" Gatefold; silver vinyl.

 

PRICE: $37.00

CAT #: GET 51501LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"Deluxe edition vinyl which includes the original album plus three remixes of the title cut with liner notes featuring interviews with Common and NO I.D all in a beautiful gatefold jacket. Get On Down is proud to present, Common's sophomore album, Resurrection. While the album was originally neglected by the mainstream, it has since received a great deal of critical acclaim and is now on The Source's '100 Best Rap Albums'. In comparison to his debut album, Common's musical style evolved lyrically by his expressing of himself rather than just describing street life. With its jazz and hip-hop flavors, Resurrection furthered the growth of both genres. Overall, the album is commonly perceived as an underrated rap classic and now this legendary album is available in a much anticipated, 2xLP gatefold jacket edition. Resurrection was produced almost entirely by No I.D., who has gone on to work with heavyweights like Usher, Alicia Keys and Rihanna, and he recently produced the first two singles for Jay-Z's new album The Blueprint 3. In addition, No I.D. is credited as the man who introduced Kanye West to hip-hop production, inviting him to his sessions with Common when West was only starting out. The 2xLP features the original 15 album tracks (all cuts remastered from the original masters) and three remixes of the title track. Two of the remixes were produced by the one and only Large Professor of Main Source fame and the third is another track by No I.D. The gatefold jacket art features in-depth liner notes written by Brian Coleman with Common and No I.D."

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: GET 52716LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

2023 repress. "It's safe to say that hip-hop has never seen an album like Ol' Dirty Bastard's 1995 solo debut Return to the 36 Chambers. The brief glimpses of ODB's unhinged genius provided by Wu-Tang Clan's landmark Enter the Wu-Tang album two years earlier were begging to be expanded on to a larger canvas, and, with RZA guiding production, the album promised to give Dirty the creative license to make one of the most bizarre, entertaining and original LPs in hip-hop history. With his raspy, drunken flow and dark sense of humor, Dirty fearlessly attacks from all angles, throwing himself fearlessly into punchy rhyme attacks ('Damage,' with GZA), drugged-out party jams (the monster singles 'Brooklyn Zoo' and 'Shimmy Shimmy Ya') and bizarre, grimly hilarious fantasies of sex and violence ('Don't U Know' and the R&B-tinged 'Sweet Sugar Pie'). Backed by RZA's appropriately gritty, dissonant beats and appearances from the Clan, Return became an instant hit, selling over 1 million copies and earning a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album in 1996. The album stands as a high water mark in the Wu Tang Clan's collective creative output and was selected as one of the Best 100 Rap Albums by The Source magazine in 1998. In honoring the legacy of one of hip-hop's most innovative releases, Get On Down is proud to present this incredible and unique special edition of Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers as a double LP which contains the complete original album, remastered for optimal sound quality." Includes 18"x24" poster.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: GB 134CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Work Hard solidifies King Ayisoba's reputation as both a shamanic performer and a restless sonic experimenter. The album is a wild mashup of Ayisoba's frenetic Kologo sound and musical deep dives from an exciting roster of Ghanaian producers and contributors. Curated and partially mixed by Zea, from post-punk legends The Ex. Work Hard has a different focus than Ayisoba's previous releases. This was partly due to the disruptions and adjustments that Covid brought in its wake, which in turn necessitated a more homegrown strategy. The bulk of the recording and mixing was done at Top Link, Francis Ayamga's hilltop studio in Bongo, a town in the Upper East Region of Ghana bordering Burkina Faso. Francis has become an in-demand producer, due mainly to his previous work with Ayisoba, a relationship that also packed in a European tour as part of the King's band, playing the djembe and bembe drums. Francis has thrown himself into curating as much of the local music scene as possible, producing This is FraFra Power (2019), released on Makkum Records, the label of key Ayisoba collaborator and main international "presence" on Work Hard, Zea, aka Arnold de Boer. De Boer, who mixed two tracks and did the mastering (as well as adding vocals and guitar parts), talked of how some of the "Glocal" sounds on King Ayisoba's new record initially came to pass. The record's core playfulness, brilliantly captured by Ayamga, could be a spirit conjured up whilst playing live back in 2019, when Zea and Oscar Jan Hoogland toured with King Ayisoba, Ayuune Sule, Atamina, Prince Buju, and others. Tracks are often adorned with digital candy courtesy of Fruity Loops and Cubase, two programs that often inform the sound of contemporary African pop. Unlike his previous album, 2017's 1000 Can Die, Work Hard showcases no guest musicians, but De Boer sees the local involvement creating a practice akin to that nurtured at the Black Ark studios, both in terms of vibe and operation. As noted earlier, Zea throws a rope bridge to another creative hub with its roots firmly planted in the local community, Katzwijn Studios in Voorhout. For Work Hard, Ayisoba recorded one mid-tour track in this magical converted old bulb shed, the glorious "People Talk Too Much". Despite having a foot in two continents, the album is perhaps Ayisoba's most consistent, "concentrated" release. The sleeve notes and lyrics, in Frafra, Twi, or the King's own style of pidgin English, are strident and sometimes mischievous statements, dealing with uncomfortable issues many often prefer to ignore in an increasingly cloistered West.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: GB 134LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Work Hard solidifies King Ayisoba's reputation as both a shamanic performer and a restless sonic experimenter. The album is a wild mashup of Ayisoba's frenetic Kologo sound and musical deep dives from an exciting roster of Ghanaian producers and contributors. Curated and partially mixed by Zea, from post-punk legends The Ex. Work Hard has a different focus than Ayisoba's previous releases. This was partly due to the disruptions and adjustments that Covid brought in its wake, which in turn necessitated a more homegrown strategy. The bulk of the recording and mixing was done at Top Link, Francis Ayamga's hilltop studio in Bongo, a town in the Upper East Region of Ghana bordering Burkina Faso. Francis has become an in-demand producer, due mainly to his previous work with Ayisoba, a relationship that also packed in a European tour as part of the King's band, playing the djembe and bembe drums. Francis has thrown himself into curating as much of the local music scene as possible, producing This is FraFra Power (2019), released on Makkum Records, the label of key Ayisoba collaborator and main international "presence" on Work Hard, Zea, aka Arnold de Boer. De Boer, who mixed two tracks and did the mastering (as well as adding vocals and guitar parts), talked of how some of the "Glocal" sounds on King Ayisoba's new record initially came to pass. The record's core playfulness, brilliantly captured by Ayamga, could be a spirit conjured up whilst playing live back in 2019, when Zea and Oscar Jan Hoogland toured with King Ayisoba, Ayuune Sule, Atamina, Prince Buju, and others. Tracks are often adorned with digital candy courtesy of Fruity Loops and Cubase, two programs that often inform the sound of contemporary African pop. Unlike his previous album, 2017's 1000 Can Die, Work Hard showcases no guest musicians, but De Boer sees the local involvement creating a practice akin to that nurtured at the Black Ark studios, both in terms of vibe and operation. As noted earlier, Zea throws a rope bridge to another creative hub with its roots firmly planted in the local community, Katzwijn Studios in Voorhout. For Work Hard, Ayisoba recorded one mid-tour track in this magical converted old bulb shed, the glorious "People Talk Too Much". Despite having a foot in two continents, the album is perhaps Ayisoba's most consistent, "concentrated" release. The sleeve notes and lyrics, in Frafra, Twi, or the King's own style of pidgin English, are strident and sometimes mischievous statements, dealing with uncomfortable issues many often prefer to ignore in an increasingly cloistered West.

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: HBR 013LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Francesco Anselmo, also known as Lee Selmoco, Dorsey Dodd, Alex Brown, Arsenio Bracco or Tommy Ruff, is an Italian keyboardist that covered the role of artistic director for Vedette Records, historical Italian imprint founded by director and violinist Armando Sciascia, and also recorded for its notorious Phase 6 Super Stereo, its sub-label focused on instrumental records and production music. Mosaico (Le Tastiere Di Lee Selmoco) is an incredible display of his creative and composing skills, featuring 14 tracks of what could be classified as 'happy music', with killer electric organ and rhythms alternating with fuzzy guitars and spacey/psychedelic hints thrown in for good measures, written alongside Guido Baggiani, alias Ruscigan. We are very happy to start a series of reissues from the Vedette Records catalog with the first ever reissue of this title after 50 years from its original release, and since the original pressing did not feature the correct track listing, it is reissued here for the first time in its correct version!"

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: HBR 014LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Composed by Ennio Morricone alongside friend and frequent collaborator Bruno Nicolai, Controfase is one of the most overlooked and lesser-known chapters in the maestro's extensive catalog. Various experimental elements perfectly intertwine in these skillful compositions, VCS3 blend with hair-raising violin notes on a pattern of ominous percussions by Egisto Macchi. With the precious help of Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza as well as Edda Dell'Orso angelic voice, the two masterminds have crafted a true hidden gem."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: ITR 364CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Fans of the innovations and originality that sprang from the L.A. underground of the late 1970s and '80s often ask, 'What's Paul B. Cutler been up to?' A vital participant in the Los Angeles music scene of that period as bandleader, songwriter, musician and producer, Cutler's work -- in particular his guitar playing -- with The Consumers, 45 Grave, Vox Pop and The Dream Syndicate is still admired by fans and an influence on anyone interested in that period and the styles that developed from it. In 2014, 'Ryan Adams contacted me and wanted to form a band. He loved 45 Grave, he wanted to do some goth / punk, whatever you want to call it. That's right up my alley. He's amazingly talented and inspiring to work with. We did that for a while, and I wrote a bunch of songs.' Enthused about his new material, Cutler continued recording songs with just his signature electric guitar style and vocals. As this was developing, another vet of the early L.A. scene -- Brad Laner of Medicine and Savage Republic -- got in touch with Cutler. Soon Laner was mixing, co-producing, playing keyboards as well as adding the rhythm section. The overall process took some time, with songwriting beginning in 2014. When reflecting on the music that comprises Les Fleurs, 'To me, and it does not sound like it, but because of the philosophy I had while producing it, it's punk. I come from the original punk, before it was a genre. Before it was a 'sound.' When I got to LA in 1977 there were about twenty, maybe thirty bands and they all sounded very different. The Screamers, The Deadbeats, so many different takes on what music could be. There was no chance for commercial success so we all just did what we wanted. I never stopped. So philosophically I consider this punk rock, made in its original spirit although nobody would recognize it as such. I am a punk to this day.' So that, dear reader, is the basic story. Now it's up to you to see what you recognize in Paul B. Cutler's Les Fleurs."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: ITR 364LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version. "Fans of the innovations and originality that sprang from the L.A. underground of the late 1970s and '80s often ask, 'What's Paul B. Cutler been up to?' A vital participant in the Los Angeles music scene of that period as bandleader, songwriter, musician and producer, Cutler's work -- in particular his guitar playing -- with The Consumers, 45 Grave, Vox Pop and The Dream Syndicate is still admired by fans and an influence on anyone interested in that period and the styles that developed from it. In 2014, 'Ryan Adams contacted me and wanted to form a band. He loved 45 Grave, he wanted to do some goth / punk, whatever you want to call it. That's right up my alley. He's amazingly talented and inspiring to work with. We did that for a while, and I wrote a bunch of songs.' Enthused about his new material, Cutler continued recording songs with just his signature electric guitar style and vocals. As this was developing, another vet of the early L.A. scene -- Brad Laner of Medicine and Savage Republic -- got in touch with Cutler. Soon Laner was mixing, co-producing, playing keyboards as well as adding the rhythm section. The overall process took some time, with songwriting beginning in 2014. When reflecting on the music that comprises Les Fleurs, 'To me, and it does not sound like it, but because of the philosophy I had while producing it, it's punk. I come from the original punk, before it was a genre. Before it was a 'sound.' When I got to LA in 1977 there were about twenty, maybe thirty bands and they all sounded very different. The Screamers, The Deadbeats, so many different takes on what music could be. There was no chance for commercial success so we all just did what we wanted. I never stopped. So philosophically I consider this punk rock, made in its original spirit although nobody would recognize it as such. I am a punk to this day.' So that, dear reader, is the basic story. Now it's up to you to see what you recognize in Paul B. Cutler's Les Fleurs."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: ITR 374CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Summer Forever And Ever succeeds Blue Gene Stew, 2019's debut by the Wolfmanhattan Project, a collective unit co-starring three musicians familiar to In The Red listeners: singer-guitarist Mick Collins, front man of the seminal Detroit-bred garage units the Dirtbombs and the Gories, singer-guitarist Kid Congo Powers who played in such legendary bands as the Gun Club, the Cramps, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and drummer-vocalist Bob Bert, whose skin work has distinguished albums by Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Lydia Lunch's Retrovirus, and Jon Spencer and the HITmakers. The group was founded as a studio project by three musicians who are kept busy by their primary bands. Blue Gene Stew was written and recorded quickly. Powers says, 'I think that the new record was much more a group effort. I think there's more of a group kind of sound, as eclectic as it is. I feel like we all played together, as opposed to playing on each other's songs.' Bert notes that the band's music is grounded in spontaneity: 'Me and Mick went in and had a couple of rehearsals, and I would come up with a beat, he would come up with a riff. I still have a cassette Walkman, believe it or not, and we'd put it down on that. It wasn't even a full song. We'd just put down a bunch of ideas. When it came to recording we'd lay down the basic tracks and work out different things, and a lot of it was made up on the spot. It really is a great collaboration." Recorded and engineered by Mark C. of Live Skull at his studio, Summer Forever And Ever finds Powers playing piano and the Kaoss touch-pad effects unit and Collins playing synthesizer, in addition to their usual instruments. The album reflects the same eclectic mix of musical styles heard on the debut. References and sometimes even direct quotes from sources as diverse as the Andrea True Connection, Captain Beefheart, the Count Five, and Eurythmics leap out of the speakers."

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: ITR 374LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Summer Forever And Ever succeeds Blue Gene Stew, 2019's debut by the Wolfmanhattan Project, a collective unit co-starring three musicians familiar to In The Red listeners: singer-guitarist Mick Collins, front man of the seminal Detroit-bred garage units the Dirtbombs and the Gories, singer-guitarist Kid Congo Powers who played in such legendary bands as the Gun Club, the Cramps, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and drummer-vocalist Bob Bert, whose skin work has distinguished albums by Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Lydia Lunch's Retrovirus, and Jon Spencer and the HITmakers. The group was founded as a studio project by three musicians who are kept busy by their primary bands. Blue Gene Stew was written and recorded quickly. Powers says, 'I think that the new record was much more a group effort. I think there's more of a group kind of sound, as eclectic as it is. I feel like we all played together, as opposed to playing on each other's songs.' Bert notes that the band's music is grounded in spontaneity: 'Me and Mick went in and had a couple of rehearsals, and I would come up with a beat, he would come up with a riff. I still have a cassette Walkman, believe it or not, and we'd put it down on that. It wasn't even a full song. We'd just put down a bunch of ideas. When it came to recording we'd lay down the basic tracks and work out different things, and a lot of it was made up on the spot. It really is a great collaboration." Recorded and engineered by Mark C. of Live Skull at his studio, Summer Forever And Ever finds Powers playing piano and the Kaoss touch-pad effects unit and Collins playing synthesizer, in addition to their usual instruments. The album reflects the same eclectic mix of musical styles heard on the debut. References and sometimes even direct quotes from sources as diverse as the Andrea True Connection, Captain Beefheart, the Count Five, and Eurythmics leap out of the speakers."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: ITR 378CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Live In St. Kilda is a twelve song live album from a one-time-only show in which Kid Congo Powers was backed by The Near Death Experience. Kid Congo says, 'How did I hook up with The Near Death Experience you may ask? One fine day Kim Salmon, my long time Scientists Surrealist Beast of a friend, wrote from Australia to ask me to play at his book launch for his biography Nine Parts Water, One Part Sand: Kim Salmon And The Formula For Grunge on November 9th, 2019. The launch was to take place at the Memo Music Hall in St. Kilda, a seaside suburb of Melbourne. A royal command performance for the king of Kim? How could I say no to such an honor? What to do about a band? It did not take more than a minute for each of us to suggest Harry Howard and The Near Death Experience as the logical choice. I was a massive fan of the band already and we shared crossed paths as expats claiming out our musical in 1980s London. Harry with Crime And The City Solution and These Immortal Souls, Dave and Clare with The Moodists, Kim with the Scientists and me with Gun Club and Fur Bible. Needless to say, it was fantastical to get together and make a playlist for Kim featuring covers by Suicide and Shangri-La, with mine and NDE's songs as well. The night was magic -- I still am floating on a surrealistic pillow remembering the night. Enjoy the racket, enjoy the love, enjoy this record of friendship and celebration.'"

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: ITR 378LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Live In St. Kilda is a twelve song live album from a one-time-only show in which Kid Congo Powers was backed by The Near Death Experience. Kid Congo says, 'How did I hook up with The Near Death Experience you may ask? One fine day Kim Salmon, my long time Scientists Surrealist Beast of a friend, wrote from Australia to ask me to play at his book launch for his biography Nine Parts Water, One Part Sand: Kim Salmon And The Formula For Grunge on November 9th, 2019. The launch was to take place at the Memo Music Hall in St. Kilda, a seaside suburb of Melbourne. A royal command performance for the king of Kim? How could I say no to such an honor? What to do about a band? It did not take more than a minute for each of us to suggest Harry Howard and The Near Death Experience as the logical choice. I was a massive fan of the band already and we shared crossed paths as expats claiming out our musical in 1980s London. Harry with Crime And The City Solution and These Immortal Souls, Dave and Clare with The Moodists, Kim with the Scientists and me with Gun Club and Fur Bible. Needless to say, it was fantastical to get together and make a playlist for Kim featuring covers by Suicide and Shangri-La, with mine and NDE's songs as well. The night was magic -- I still am floating on a surrealistic pillow remembering the night. Enjoy the racket, enjoy the love, enjoy this record of friendship and celebration.'"

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: KRANK 239CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"The latest by Canadian composer Tim Hecker serves as a beacon of unease against the deluge of false positive corporate ambient currently in vogue. Whether taken as warning or promise, No Highs delivers -- this is music of austerity and ambiguity, purgatorial and seasick. A jagged anti-relaxant for our medicated age, rough-hewn and undefined. Morse code pulse programming flickers like distress signals while a gathering storm of strings, noise, and low-end looms in the distance. Processed electronics shiver and shudder against pitch-shifting assemblages of crackling voltage, mantric horns (including exquisite modal sax by Colin Stetson), and cathedral keys. Throughout, the pieces both accrue and avoid drama, more attuned to undertow than crescendo. Hecker mentions 'negation' as a muse of sorts -- the sense of tumult without bombast, tethered ecstasies, an escape from escapism. His is an antagonism both brusque and beguiling, devoid of resolution, beckoning the listener ever deeper into its greyscale alchemies of magisterial disquiet."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: MDFL 009LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Composer and live performer Emme Moises presents her third studio album, Talking To The Spheres. Envisioned from the start as a multimedia conceptual project, the album has been flourishing over two years, involving a wide spectrum of international creative minds. Talking To The Spheres are conversations with our future selves searching for reflection on the present time. A journey encapsulating a thriving future built on the fundamentals of the past. This album manifests a heritage projected into the endless realms of space, time, and frequency intertwined with intense pulsations and acoustic elements. This results in taking the listener on a journey to free its mind from conventional structures into the development of the music of the spheres, conversations of the future. 180 gram transparent vinyl.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: MMLP 010LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Monster Melodies present the legendary album Satan, an absolute must-have in terms of French progressive music, recorded in 1973 and never before released. In 1968, in Le Mans (a town in the west of France in Les pays de la Loire), some young students, planning to become teachers, started a band under the name The New Rainbow. Like many young musicians at the time, they enjoyed English blues and were fans of Pink Floyd, Soft Machine and Led Zeppelin. Quickly, they changed their name to Heaven Road and started to become famous west of France, playing live frequently. After playing covers, they wrote their own compositions and delivered a very good show at the same level of any professional band. In Paris, they won three contests in Le Golf Drouot (the mecca of the French rock at the time) and were declared the best non-professional French band of 1972. Playing at the festival, the band started to hang out with big names from the French rock scene, like Variations, Magma, Il Etait Une Fois, Catharsis, Ange and Dynastie Crisis. In 1973, they decided to be a professional band and change their name to Satan. They produced a unique music between hard rock and progressive and delivered intense shows, inspired by the world of sci-fi and literature, with musicians wearing make-up and strange costumes. But despite the fact that they played before the English band Caravan in 1974 and had an appearance in local TV show, the band always suffered from financial difficulties. For this reason, they created the more commercial band Ciel D'été with the intention of playing exclusively in the ballroom circuit. With the financial proceeds from Ciel D'été performances, they went to a studio in Angers twice - the first time to record two commercial tracks for Ciel D'été, and the second time to record tracks for the future album by Satan which had been performing for more than three years at that point. But at the time, they couldn't find a record company to publish their record. Satan collapsed in the middle of 1976, joining the cohort of musical project killed by the French musical industry - an industry which was preoccupied with making easy money by already successful English and American music and producing very dispensable French music, marketed commercially. Comes as colored vinyl; Includes a poster and inserts; Edition of 1000 (numbered).

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: MMLP 012LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Monster Mélodies present the never before released album by Calcium. A legendary French psychedelic rock album, recorded in 1969, of which only two tracks were released at the time. Percussionist Stéphane Vilar played with pianist Jef Gilson and recorded on his 1964 album Oeil Vision (OI 012LP). Musician Graeme Allwright introduced Vilar to Marc'O, then director of the theater school of the American Center Boulevard Raspail. The director, looking for musicians to play rock n' roll in his project Les Idols, hired Vilar along with jazz pianist Patrick Greussay, saxophonist Didier Malherbe (Gong, Clearlight), and guitarist Didier Léon who features on the Barney Wilen's 1972 album Moshi (FFL 015LP). Stéphane then recruited jazz bassist Jacques Zins through Jérôme Savary. Les Idols is where the musicians who baptized The Rollsticks played. It was performed in 1966 and was later adapted for a feature film in 1968, where the same participants were joined by Valérie Lagrange. Stéphane Vilar then decided, together with his brother the painter Christophe, to create his own band which included some of the Rollsticks: Jacques Zins, Patrick Greussay, Didier Léon, drummer Alain Sirguy, and singer Daničle Ciarlet known as Zouzou. Model and muse of the Parisian night scene, Zouzou acted in Eric Rohmer's Afternoon Love (1972). Considered to be the French Marianne Faithfull, she released two 45 EPs orchestrated by Jacques Dutronc. She represents the image of the liberated woman in France in the sixties. The group took the name of Jardin, and soon changed it to Calcium. Thanks to financial support from Sylvina Boissonnas, the group bought instruments and practiced and refined the compositions for a year before recording. Two recording sessions were held at the Davout studios in 1969. Christophe was replaced by guitarist Denys Lable who later recorded on Jean Claude Vannier's L'enfant Assassin Des Mouches (FKR 001X-LP). After the recordings, Michel Taittinger, the heir of the namesake Champagne and television producer, obtained a contract with Pathé for the band. A single was put on the market without any promotion, resulting in poor sales. It's now considered to be one of the rarest singles of French psychedelic rock. Due to the disinterest of the record company, which only wanted put Zouzou's character forward to create a new Janis Joplin, the masters for the album were abandoned on a shelf for forty-eight years. Color vinyl; Includes two inserts; Edition of 1000 (numbered).

 

PRICE: $37.00

CAT #: NA 5039LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Poets of Rhythm founding members first crucial piece of the funk spectrum recorded as The Whitefield Brothers. A wear-your heart-on-your-sleeve, hypnotic, defiantly psychedelic funk album that is as modern as it is grounded in the great musical traditions from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Featuring members of the Dap Kings, El Michels Affair and Poets of Rhythm." "The Whitefield Brothers In The Raw remains as potent in 2022 as the day it dropped twenty years ago. Originally released in 2002, and later reissued via Now-Again, the LP's panglobal brew of ragged psychedelic funk dripped different, defying easy markers of genre, era, and locality...live breakbeat drums and tribal chants...anchor the set's twelve tracks. Hypnotic and humid, come for the polyrhythms, stay for the swirling dub adjacent blasts of trumpet." --Aquarium Drunkard

 

PRICE: $30.00

CAT #: NA 5123LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 restock, on double-LP, including the the "Reverb Mix" version. "Issued in 1975, this is the articulation of Zambia's Zamrock ethos. While other albums -- Rikki Ililonga's Zambia, Witch's Lazy Bones!! -- are competitors, it's hard to best this album as it covers each major quadrant of the Zamrock whole: it came from the mines; its musicians were anti-colonial freedom fighters, it envelops Zambian folk music traditions, and it rocks -- hard. Amanaz were serious, and they made a serious stab at an album. They titled their album Africa, according to original band member Keith Kabwe, 'because of how it was shared and how its inhabitants were butchered and enslaved, its resources stolen... all the atrocities slave drivers committed. ' Thus, their 'Kale,' a blues sung in Nyanja, that traced the continent's arc from slavery to Zambia's independence closes the album. Kabwe and rhythm guitarist John Kanyepa have a winsome softness to their vocals, which sit politely aside the feral growl of drummer Watson Baldwin Lungu, bassist Jerry Mausala and bandleader/lead guitarist Isaac Mpofu. Africa's vibe ranges from anxious ('Amanaz') to escapist ('Easy Street') to straight-up pissed-off. On the 'History of Man,' his voice whiskey-burned, his distorted guitar buzzing like swarming hornets, Mpofu indicts his species. There's a darkness to Africa not found on any other Zamrock records, and a melancholy drifts throughout, specifically on Mpofu's more restrained 'Khala My Friend,' which stands as an effective, bleak situation for the Zambian everyman, the average citizen of a struggling, new nation, who might have had relatives in conflict-torn countries on the horizon, who might have been struggling to find his next meal, who might have seen a bleaker future than his president promised. Then there's the clear Velvet Underground-influence on the nostalgic 'Sunday Morning,' which, as Kabwe recalls, was the first song written for the album, back in 1968, when Velvet Undergound and Nico was a new release -- and the underground funk of 'Making the Scene.' The album also tackles traditional Zambian music and early-'60s rock -- punctuated, of course by Kanyepa's wah-wah and Mpofu's fuzz guitars. But every time Amanaz get too deep, too violent, they come back with an accessible song and woo their listener back to the groove. 'Green Apple' is a civil song, featuring Kanyepa's sighing guitar. It is a perfectly arranged album, from the dichotomy of Mpofu's and Kanyepa's lead and rhythm guitars, to the vocal harmonies, to the rhythm section's sense of space and time, which allows Africa's funk to build. Inexplicably, Africa was given two separate mixes and two separate presses: one version is dry, with the vocals and drums mixed loud, the other slathered in reverb, with the vocals and drums disappearing into the mix, and with the guitar solos mixed much louder. We've presented them both here as they each have their appeal: it's up to the listener to pick the one he or she prefers. This is a highpoint of the Zamrock scene and we hope that this can be seen as its definitive reissue."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: NA 5193LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. "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. Wegene gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7" single releases. Contains an oversized 11x11" 16-page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin's role within it."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: NA 5194LP

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. Tewedije Limut 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: $13.50

CAT #: PAL 073CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"It's been ten years since Bill Orcutt released A History of Every One (EMEGO 173CD, 2013), a compendium of hacksaw renditions of American standards on acoustic guitar -- and since ten years is a blink of an eye, you are forgiven for not immediately realizing that we've gone an entire decade waiting for Jump On It, the next Orcutt solo acoustic record. As those of us of 'a certain age' will tell you (ad nauseam), a decade is a blink of an eye containing an infinity of experiential moments, and if this record is any gauge, the weight of those experiences have squashed Orcutt's rough edges, feathered his stop-motion timing into a languid lyrical flow, and snapped the shackles tethering his instant compositional skills to the imperative to deconstruct guitar history. In short, Jump On It is a collection of canonical, mature acoustic guitar soli to contrast against the fractured downtown conceits of previous acoustic releases. For those paying attention to the arc of Orcutt's electric records, which chart a course from Quine's choppiness to Thompsonian/Verlaine-ian flow, it should be no surprise that the ten-year gap between acoustic records should expose a similar underlying journey. But what's maybe more surprising is that Jump On It, with its living-room aesthetics and big reverb, packs a disarming intimacy absent from the formal starkness of Orcutt's earlier acoustic outings. Although you might sense the looming human in the audible breath whispering intermittently between chords (a physical flourish reminiscent of the late Jack Rose), such documentarian signposts are the exception rather than the rule. Not quite refuting (yet not quite embracing) the polish of revered watershed records by Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, or Bola Sete, Jump On It treads a path between the raw and the refined, exemplified in tracks such as 'The Life of Jesus' and 'In a Column of Air' that alternate swaying chords with Orcutt's trademark angular quicksilver runs (cut brickwall short). While you won't mistake Jump On It for incidental music, at least not if taken at full strength, stray passages radiate a conversational beauty that would please the most dissonance-adverse listener. Strangely, some of the melted lockstep grooves found in Jump On It evoke nothing other than Music for Four Guitars (PAL 068CD/LP). While many of the linear runs are clearly improvised, and the phrasing distinctly slurred, intuitive and non-mechanical, the strummed chords hint at a cellular construction similar to Jump On It's electric predecessor. (Orcutt states that he prefers to keep his strategies obscure -- but that implies there is in fact a strategy). Whatever the case, I also hear Satie in Music for Four Guitars, and I hear him here too, hidden within Jump On It's lilting repetition, which I easily imagine stretching to an infinitely-distant horizon. Like each of Satie's three Gymnopedies, each facet of Jump On It is a tiny miniature bound in a slim volume, an earworm you might savor again and again upon awakening or before drifting off. Each track is a key to a memory, a building block in a shining anamnesis leading to the recollection that hey, we're all humans in a shared cosmos, and music is one way we might make that universe go down easy. And who wouldn't jump on that?" --Tom Carter Recorded Spring/Summer 2022 at the Living Room, San Francisco. Mixed and mastered by Chuck Johnson.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: PAL 073LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "It's been ten years since Bill Orcutt released A History of Every One (EMEGO 173CD, 2013), a compendium of hacksaw renditions of American standards on acoustic guitar -- and since ten years is a blink of an eye, you are forgiven for not immediately realizing that we've gone an entire decade waiting for Jump On It, the next Orcutt solo acoustic record. As those of us of 'a certain age' will tell you (ad nauseam), a decade is a blink of an eye containing an infinity of experiential moments, and if this record is any gauge, the weight of those experiences have squashed Orcutt's rough edges, feathered his stop-motion timing into a languid lyrical flow, and snapped the shackles tethering his instant compositional skills to the imperative to deconstruct guitar history. In short, Jump On It is a collection of canonical, mature acoustic guitar soli to contrast against the fractured downtown conceits of previous acoustic releases. For those paying attention to the arc of Orcutt's electric records, which chart a course from Quine's choppiness to Thompsonian/Verlaine-ian flow, it should be no surprise that the ten-year gap between acoustic records should expose a similar underlying journey. But what's maybe more surprising is that Jump On It, with its living-room aesthetics and big reverb, packs a disarming intimacy absent from the formal starkness of Orcutt's earlier acoustic outings. Although you might sense the looming human in the audible breath whispering intermittently between chords (a physical flourish reminiscent of the late Jack Rose), such documentarian signposts are the exception rather than the rule. Not quite refuting (yet not quite embracing) the polish of revered watershed records by Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, or Bola Sete, Jump On It treads a path between the raw and the refined, exemplified in tracks such as 'The Life of Jesus' and 'In a Column of Air' that alternate swaying chords with Orcutt's trademark angular quicksilver runs (cut brickwall short). While you won't mistake Jump On It for incidental music, at least not if taken at full strength, stray passages radiate a conversational beauty that would please the most dissonance-adverse listener. Strangely, some of the melted lockstep grooves found in Jump On It evoke nothing other than Music for Four Guitars (PAL 068CD/LP). While many of the linear runs are clearly improvised, and the phrasing distinctly slurred, intuitive and non-mechanical, the strummed chords hint at a cellular construction similar to Jump On It's electric predecessor. (Orcutt states that he prefers to keep his strategies obscure -- but that implies there is in fact a strategy). Whatever the case, I also hear Satie in Music for Four Guitars, and I hear him here too, hidden within Jump On It's lilting repetition, which I easily imagine stretching to an infinitely-distant horizon. Like each of Satie's three Gymnopedies, each facet of Jump On It is a tiny miniature bound in a slim volume, an earworm you might savor again and again upon awakening or before drifting off. Each track is a key to a memory, a building block in a shining anamnesis leading to the recollection that hey, we're all humans in a shared cosmos, and music is one way we might make that universe go down easy. And who wouldn't jump on that?" --Tom Carter Recorded Spring/Summer 2022 at the Living Room, San Francisco. Mixed and mastered by Chuck Johnson.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: PAMPA 007X-LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

In 2013, DJ Koze stunned mankind with his timeless masterpiece Amygdala, an album full of psychedelic radiance, deepness, and magical soundscapes in which there are still new nuances to discover even after ten years of continuous play. Pampa now celebrates this anniversary with a merciless limited clear vinyl edition. Features Caribou, Apparat, Matthew Dear, Dirk von Lowtzow, Ada, and Milosh. Clear double-LP with black vinyl 7"; gatefold sleeve; hand-numbered.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: PF 011LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; LP version. "Wire's first three albums need no introduction. They are the three classic albums on which Wire's reputation is based. Moreover, they are the recordings that minted the post-punk form. This was adopted by other bands, but Wire were there first. It has been a number of years since these albums were readily available. The aim with these new vinyl and CD releases is to approximate the original statements as closely as possible, but with remastered audio. The vinyl releases have the same covers and inners as the originals (minus the Harvest logo). The digipack CDs have identical track listings to their vinyl counterparts. These versions should be considered Wire's classic 1970s albums, pure and undiluted. Usually contextualized against a backdrop of two years of the growing cultural importance of punk rock--Wire's debut Pink Flag, released in December 1977 on EMI's progressive label Harvest was in fact was something 'other.' To the keen cultural commentator, the timing and label of its release will register two essential facts about it. Firstly, too late (a year after the Pistol's debut release) to be part of UK punk's first flush and secondly that the band were signaling something beyond punk by their choice of label. Further investigation would reveal twenty-one tracks, some of them clocking in at well under a minute and covering a range of tempi well beyond the buzzsaw rockabilly that had become, even by the second half of 1977, punk's staple."

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: PGML 072CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Mando Diao have always been free spirits. They have always gone their own way, resisted authority and enjoyed the hedonistic side of life, elements which have contributed to the band's successful and musically extensive career which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The character Boblikov, the symbol of Mando Diao's new album Boblikov's Magical World, represents the persona we all carry inside of us that likes to turn things upside down -- the little devil on our shoulders. He isn't evil; he's simply looking for advantages and to manipulate things in his own favor. As the mastermind behind his enterprise, he is not usually in the spotlight. This anonymity gives him a sense of security and respectability even though he is involved in some shady business. After a long and triumphant Swedish tour following the release of the #1 bestselling, gold-record awarded album I Solnedgången, Mando Diao regrouped in the studio together with producer Charlie Storm with the goal of creating an unpretentious rock album. The songs -- heavy with riffs, messy guitars, powerful drums, and bucketloads of energy -- have been released in portions in the form of EPs, and now, the two first volumes will be completed with a third EP and a compilation album. Songs like "Frustration" and "Fire in the Hall" have enjoyed major success on international and Swedish rock radio, and the band has been seen on the stages of the biggest European rock festivals. Boblikov's Magical World invites the listener into a fictional world where the schemer protagonist rules over a group of agents spread out across the world, agents who receive instructions from Boblikov himself to carry out evil deeds. The overarching theme is further amplified by both the cartoon covers and the visualizers. Mando Diao invite you into this parallel universe.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: RER HC20

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Further pieces uncovered since the release of the 18-CD box set that fills in parts of the story still undocumented-even on the bootleg circuit. A further collection of missing pieces uncovered since the release of the 18 CD Henry Cow Box that fills in parts of the story still undocumented (even on the bootleg circuit), Glastonbury, Chaumont, Bilbao and the Lions of Desire contains: The earliest and only known stage recording of the band as it was in June 1972 (Martin Ditcham, Fred Frith, John Greaves and Tim Hodgkinson) at the first Glastonbury Fayre. The recording is quite clean, though the mix heavily favors bass and guitar, which in a way makes it of special interest, both musically and historically. The brief two-week iteration of Henry Cow from April 1978 that featured Fred, Tim, Chris and Phil Minton, and an eclectic program that included a lot of Westbook/Orkhestra materials, none of which has been released before. Taken from a concert in Bilbao in 1977, some otherwise unrecorded compositions from the late Cow repertoire bound into a typical mash up of different compositional snippets. Further unusual extracts from the Chaumont concert in 1976, as well as a brief studio moment captured by a film crew during the recording of Half Awake, Half Asleep, in 1973. This collection supplements the 19-volume Henry Cow Redux Box set released in 2019. Further additions may follow."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: EZRDR 141LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Late in 2021, Slow Season announced they'd become Westing, and that Ben McLeod (also of Nashville's All Them Witches) was now in the four-piece on lead guitar alongside guitarist, vocalist and keyboardist Daniel Story Rice, bassist Hayden Doyel and drummer / recording engineer Cody Tarbell. Their new LP (fourth overall for RidingEasy), Future, is not coincidentally titled. Says Rice, 'We wanted to hit the reset button on some things and so we included a new band name to that list. Fresh start, for the psychological effect of it. We first met Ben in 2014 opening for All Them Witches in San Diego, and we did that again in 2016 and he and Cody corresponded about tape machines, music production, and other similar nerd stuff. We started swapping a few ideas early in 2021 and then flew him out for four days in August 2021. We got Future mostly down in that short span and did some remote stuff for overdubs, but nothing major. Obviously, our creative processes jelled pretty well to allow for such an efficiently productive session.' So the story of Westing, and of Future, is about change, but the music makes itself so immediately familiar, it's so welcoming, that it hardly matters. For about ten years, the Visalia, California, outfit wandered the earth representing a new generational interpretation of classic heavy rock. The tones, warm. The melodies, sweet. The boogie, infectious. They went to ground after supporting their 2016 self-titled third album, and clearly it was time for something different. Is Future the future? Hell, we should be so lucky. What Westing manifest in these songs is schooled in the rock of yore and theirs purely, and in that, Future looks forward with the benefit of the lessons learned across three prior full-lengths (and the accompanying tours) while offering the kind of freshness that comes with a debut. No, they're not the same kids who released Mountains in 2014, and the tradeoff is being able to convey maturity, evolving creativity and stage-born dynamic on Future without sacrificing the spirit and passion that has underscored their work all along." --JJ Koczan

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RMVCD 019CD

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

The long-awaited official release of Thy Kingdom Come. Originally set to be released by Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment on June 30, 1998, Thy Kingdom Come is King Tee's fifth studio album. Recorded at the same time as the multi-platinum albums Dr. Dre's 2001 and Eminem's The Slim Shady LP, Thy Kingdom Come features guest appearances by Dr. Dre, MC Ren (N.W.A.), DJ Quik, Too $hort, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, Ice-T, Kool G Rap, Dawn Robinson (En Vogue, Lucy Pearl), to name a few. Production duties on the album are handled by Dr. Dre (Eminem, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit), Mike Dean (Kanye West, Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Jay-Z), DJ Quik (2Pac, Snoop Dogg), Bud'da (Aaliyah, Ice Cube), and Dr. Dre's Aftermath producers DJ Battlecat, Stu B Doo, Chris "The Glove" Taylor, and Fredwreck as well as Ant Banks, Step One, and SLJ. Also features Baby S, Frost, El Debarge, Playa Hamm, Sharief, RC, Crystal, Tray Dee, and Whoz Who. The album is mixed and overseen by Dr. Dre. Remastered in high-resolution 24-bit 44.1 kHz audio in 2022.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: ROTOR 010LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited 2023 restock. 200-gram 12" version in deluxe heavy-duty sleeve. "When the May Rain Comes" is a cover of a track by German trio Sand, whose work has had a profound effect on David Tibet's work. The track first appeared on Current 93's influential 1992 album Thunder Perfect Mind. It appears here with an alternate version of the same track, originally released as a CD single accompanying the first 1000 copies of Ultrasonic Seraphim (1996), David Tibet and Steven Stapleton's collection of material by Sand. Current 93 is David Tibet's eclectic, idiosyncratic, hallucinatory, apocalyptic artistic project, begun in 1982. David Tibet is the only person permanently present in the group, although Steven Stapleton of Nurse With Wound, whom David met in 1983 at London's Equinox Event, has appeared on virtually all of Current 93's releases. David Tibet has worked with many individuals since he formed Current 93, including Michael Cashmore, Steve Ignorant (Crass), John Balance (Coil), Nick Cave, Marc Almond, Antony Hegarty, Sebastian Horsley, Andrew W.K., Rickie Lee Jones, Shirley Collins, and Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Current 93 has many faces, but has always primarily reflected David Tibet's beliefs and obsessions. His vision continues to grow increasingly personal and intense, inspired by his translations of non-canonical Coptic and Gnostic texts. Other important influences upon his work have been the New Testament, the works of Count Stenbock, cats, the Kabbalah, seahorses, and Birdsong in the Empire. Cover painting by Babs Santini.

 

PRICE: $39.50

CAT #: ROTOR 070LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 restock. Rotorelief present a reissue of Homotopy To Marie. the fifth album by Nurse With Wound, originally released in 1982. Music and sleeve created by Steven Stapleton. The album is "a step on from the Dadaist rock of Merzbild Schwet, with much use of tape manipulation and classical avant-garde techniques". The album, which combines tape edits with resonating gong tones and disembodied children's voices to create a sonic collage, is far removed from the harsh improvisations of the group's early albums. The title of the brief closing track derives from a passage from "Les Chants de Maldoror" (1869), a surreal poetic novel written by Le Comte de Lautréamont. This appropriation of a phrase from Maldoror is shared in common with the title of Nurse With Wound's debut album, Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella (1979); both phrases appear in Lautréamont's work. The album was first issued on Stapleton's own United Dairies label on vinyl, cassette, and later in remastered compact disc including an extra track "Astral Dustbin Dirge". This masterpiece reissue is the official full, double album from the original recording sessions. The four tracks from the original LP are accompanied by additional recordings from the same period. This second, double album masterpiece in the "silver collection" of Nurse With Wound albums, is a technically better, crystal clear performance, in comparison to the original 1982 cut. Comes one black vinyl (ROTOR 070LP) and silver-and-black vinyl (ROTOR 070SIL-LP).

 

PRICE: $41.00

CAT #: RRC 004LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"After teaming up with Boldy James to release Real Bad Boldy (2021) and Killing Nothing (2022) and linking up with rising star Pink Siifu for Real Bad Flights (2022), Real Bad Man returns to announce his first collaborative album of the year with Serpent. Serpent brings Real Bad Man together with the inimitable Kool Keith and is produced in its entirety by Real Bad Man. Serpent features appearances from Slug of Atmosphere, Ice-T, Edan, Cool Calm Pete and Zeelooperz. 'My rhymes go where the tracks take me and Serpent took me on a journey through time and space. I channeled Ultra, Ocatgon, Rhythm X, and Black Elvis to make something new and mind-blowing,' Kool Keith declares. When the Serpent bites, don't try to understand it; just enjoy the injection. The sound dynamic crystals mix so proper, my vocals and guest appearances are set in the right spots. 'My goal for this album is to capture my favorite parts from Keith's catalog. I wanted to make beats that got into his (Keith's) subconscious,' Real Bad Man maintains. 'I think it worked.'"

 

PRICE: $12.00

CAT #: SEAL 020CS

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Cassette version. Reissue, originally released in 1988. Cacophony is the second Rudimentary Peni album. Released after the band returned from their first hiatus following a series of personal events that changed the band forever. The thirty-track LP keeps turning heads 34 years after its release. Far from writing another Death Church, the band embarked on a truly bizarre quest -- to record an album based on the life and writings of horror's absolute king H.P. Lovecraft. A dense cacophony of total free songwriting. Dark, gothic, intricate, unexpected head-scratching punk. The short bursts of music twist and turn at every corner -- the vocals are part classic Blinko and part spoken word, the guitar is full of distorted awkward tones and the very inventive bass and drums are locked together creating a truly unique album. Cacophony is the benchmark of outsider punk and the influence and cult nature of this album grows with every passing year. This reissue stays close to the original version, with Nick Blinko's incredible cover art, including a 11" x 11" eight-page lyric booklet.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: SEAL 020LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Reissue, originally released in 1988. Cacophony is the second Rudimentary Peni album. Released after the band returned from their first hiatus following a series of personal events that changed the band forever. The thirty-track LP keeps turning heads 34 years after its release. Far from writing another Death Church, the band embarked on a truly bizarre quest -- to record an album based on the life and writings of horror's absolute king H.P. Lovecraft. A dense cacophony of total free songwriting. Dark, gothic, intricate, unexpected head-scratching punk. The short bursts of music twist and turn at every corner -- the vocals are part classic Blinko and part spoken word, the guitar is full of distorted awkward tones and the very inventive bass and drums are locked together creating a truly unique album. Cacophony is the benchmark of outsider punk and the influence and cult nature of this album grows with every passing year. This reissue stays close to the original version, with Nick Blinko's incredible cover art, including a 11" x 11" eight-page lyric booklet.

 

PRICE: $12.00

CAT #: SEAL 021CS

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Cassette version. Sealed Records reissue Alternative's 1985 album If They Treat You Like Shit - Act Like Manure, originally released on Corpus Christi Records. Recorded at Southern Studios and Co-produced by Pete Wright from Crass and featuring Annie Anxiety and Pete Wright on backing vocals. The album is full of provocative protest songs with intelligent lyrics, effective use of samples, melodic tunes, and dual female/male vocals. It's urgent, passionate, and memorable. A must own release from that classic mid '80s UK anarcho punk era. Remastered from the original tapes.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: SNDST 112EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

DJ/producer, label boss, and creative director Cora Novoa debuts on Berlin's Second State Audio with the Rituals EP. The release contains three dynamic original tracks from the Spanish creative, with an additional rework from regular Berghain DJ Nur Jaber.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: SELE 8512LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"AMG (whom The Source called 'more foul mouthed than a late 70s Richard Pryor concert film'), was a part of Courtney Branch and Tracy Kendrick's Total Trak Production crew which developed DJ Quik, 2nd II None, Sylk Smoov, Hi-C and Boss. He made his first appearances on DJ Quik's debut album Quik is The Name. In December of 1991, AMG released his self-produced debut solo album Bitch Betta Have My Money with the platinum selling lead single of the same name. This reissue has this West Coast 90s classic on vinyl for the first time since its initial release and includes 'I Wanna Be Yo Ho (Remix)' previously available only as a CD bonus track."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: STAUB 168LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1985. The Lo Yo Yo's only album from 1985 for the first time reissued on vinyl. Featuring Mick Hobbs (The Work, Half Japanese) and Alig Fodder (Family Fodder), produced by Charles Bullen (This Heat). The Lo Yo Yo was founded in 1984 by Family Fodder's John Pearce, aka Alig Fodder. They were active for two years and released one cassette, one split cassette with French band Look De Bouk and one full-length LP. The Lo Yo Yo's line-up went through changes over its whole lifetime, but with some constants --most notably singer Joey Stack and drummer Carrie Brooks. Charles Bullen of This Heat occasionally played drums with Family Fodder and produced The Lo Yo Yo's LP Extra Weapons in 1985. Alig says "It was impossible not to get together. In this era it was quasi compulsory to get a band together with your mates. It was normal to be left-wing, inclusive, anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-homophobic and in opposition. And to form a band, with or without experience. It started as a rhythm section: Carrie on drums and myself on bass. She brought a mate along (Joey Stack) and so did I (Mick Hobbs)." Pearce's punchy bass playing and Carrie Brooks's hard-hitting drumming form the backbone of The Lo Yo Yo sound, with Jo's singing and keyboard sitting firmly on top. It was made complete with Mick Hobbs on guitar and percussion, and the addition of cellist Annie Hunt. Edition of 500.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: SUNARK 002LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. "On Patrol, originally released in 2010, is a double album in two parts, and the fourth full length album from Sun Araw. An album for heavy-steamin' late nights in the city, inter-dimensional back alleys, ghost cabs; it creeps and tunes in on a much darker, sparser, and more classically minded channel than its predecessors: dark and deep steam-vent ruminations on Phil Cohran, lenticular objects, and fried Hot 92.3 R&B slow-jams. A cold bug makes a real 'live wire.'"

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: GB 139CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Scottish smallpipes player Brėghde Chaimbeul is a leading purveyor of experimental Celtic music. Her piping has earned her a BBC Young Folk Award and a BBC Horizon Award. Her second album Carry Them With Us is an exhilarating weave of rich textural drones, trance atmospheres and instrumental folk traditions. Acclaimed Canadian sound explorer and saxophonist Colin Stetson is a featured collaborator on the record. Stories can be told in music as well as words, and on her second album, Carry Them With Us, Brėghde Chaimbeul reveals hers. From her heart, from the Scottish tradition that formed her. And every one of them weaves its spell, as a good story should. The Scottish smallpipes, with their double-note drones, were in danger of falling into obscurity before Brėghde (pronounced Bree-chuh) Chaimbeul, a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Skye, became part of their more recent revival. Carry Them With Us is undoubtedly Chaimbeul's vision, but collaborator Colin Stetson, an experimental saxophonist and film composer probably best known for his work with Arcade Fire, helped her realize it. They seem to inhabit the same space, breathe the same air. Often, it's hard to tell where one instrument ends and the other begins - as she notes, "his style and breathing fit with the pipes." It's hypnotic, alive -- listen to "Tha Fonn Gun Bhi Trom: I Am Disposed of Mirth," where the music sometimes seems to suddenly bubble and flutter into the air. With the constancy of the drone as their foundation, and small changes to the melodies as they progressed, the music becomes immersive as Chaimbeul and Stetson weave over and around each other. Together, they created an album of stories. Some, like "Crōnan (i)" came spontaneously as the pair played in the studio. Others, "Pillių: The Call of the Redshank" and "Pėobaireachd Nan Eun: The Birds," grew from traditional pieces. Old things, stories, birdsong, are part of the tradition that surrounded Chaimbeul as she grew up. Chaimbeul tells them with a voice that's completely her own. Her singing at the close of "Bonn Beinn Eadarra: The Haunting," arrives like a ghost, its spectral feel lingering long after the track is over. On "Banish the Giant of Doubt And Despair," her playing brings the tale alive, as the daughter of the king of the land under the waves sings a tune before her wedding, and then when a giant, marauding the Western Isles, hears her. Enraptured, he cannot stop dancing, he ends up in the Atlantic, to the island of Hiort, where he topples over and drowns. It's storytelling in music, the past given new colors.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: GB 139LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Scottish smallpipes player Brėghde Chaimbeul is a leading purveyor of experimental Celtic music. Her piping has earned her a BBC Young Folk Award and a BBC Horizon Award. Her second album Carry Them With Us is an exhilarating weave of rich textural drones, trance atmospheres and instrumental folk traditions. Acclaimed Canadian sound explorer and saxophonist Colin Stetson is a featured collaborator on the record. Stories can be told in music as well as words, and on her second album, Carry Them With Us, Brėghde Chaimbeul reveals hers. From her heart, from the Scottish tradition that formed her. And every one of them weaves its spell, as a good story should. The Scottish smallpipes, with their double-note drones, were in danger of falling into obscurity before Brėghde (pronounced Bree-chuh) Chaimbeul, a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Skye, became part of their more recent revival. Carry Them With Us is undoubtedly Chaimbeul's vision, but collaborator Colin Stetson, an experimental saxophonist and film composer probably best known for his work with Arcade Fire, helped her realize it. They seem to inhabit the same space, breathe the same air. Often, it's hard to tell where one instrument ends and the other begins - as she notes, "his style and breathing fit with the pipes." It's hypnotic, alive -- listen to "Tha Fonn Gun Bhi Trom: I Am Disposed of Mirth," where the music sometimes seems to suddenly bubble and flutter into the air. With the constancy of the drone as their foundation, and small changes to the melodies as they progressed, the music becomes immersive as Chaimbeul and Stetson weave over and around each other. Together, they created an album of stories. Some, like "Crōnan (i)" came spontaneously as the pair played in the studio. Others, "Pillių: The Call of the Redshank" and "Pėobaireachd Nan Eun: The Birds," grew from traditional pieces. Old things, stories, birdsong, are part of the tradition that surrounded Chaimbeul as she grew up. Chaimbeul tells them with a voice that's completely her own. Her singing at the close of "Bonn Beinn Eadarra: The Haunting," arrives like a ghost, its spectral feel lingering long after the track is over. On "Banish the Giant of Doubt And Despair," her playing brings the tale alive, as the daughter of the king of the land under the waves sings a tune before her wedding, and then when a giant, marauding the Western Isles, hears her. Enraptured, he cannot stop dancing, he ends up in the Atlantic, to the island of Hiort, where he topples over and drowns. It's storytelling in music, the past given new colors.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: LSD 69018LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

More unearthed demo recordings by the Japanese psychedelic noise legends Les Rallizes Dénudés. Recorded in Azabu, Tokyo 1985.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: LSD 69019LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

More unearthed demo recordings by the Japanese psychedelic noise legends Les Rallizes Dénudés. Recorded in Azabu, Tokyo 1985.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: FLENSER 135LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"In an artistic landscape fueled by gamified promotional tactics, spasmodic virality, and manufactured controversy, the amount of noise that independent artists must cut through can seem overwhelming. Yet, it's the most genuine statements -- often those expecting no audience at all -- that overcome. The Origin Of My Depression, the 2019 album from Australian experimentalist Uboa, proves just that; presenting such a deeply affecting mix of dark ambient, noise, and extreme metal, it all but demanded its unplanned but unsurprising cult following. With several tracks that began as live improvisations recorded in the living-room-turned-bedroom, and others recorded from live sets in venues, The Origin Of My Depression exhibits the spontaneity and ineffability of extreme emotions. Xandra Metcalfe, the mind behind Uboa, offers sonic representations of her anxieties, depressive thoughts, and lived experiences throughout the record's seven songs, even if the origins of these feelings escape her. The result, intensely and authentically personal, undeniably resonates, as The Origin Of My Depression spread through online communities through sheer word of mouth upon its initial release. Now, four years later, the record stands as a defining statement of late 2010s underground music, and it takes just one listen to see why. Uboa has spent the better part of a decade dipping into every corner of heavy music. From harsh noise to dark ambient, glitch to doom metal, Metcalfe's output, though sonically varied, remains consistent in her use of such styles to express her mental state at the time of writing. Whether it's her live performances (described as a panic attack presented on stage) or her recorded material, her eclectic approach to dark music has led Uboa to become an unlikely but deserving cult figure in online music."

 

PRICE: $10.00

CAT #: WIRE 471

FILE UNDER: Misc

"On the cover: Dave Lombardo - The one-time drummer for Slayer, Mr Bungle, Fantômas and John Zorn pushes the art of percussion yet further out on his debut solo album, by Phil Freeman. Inside the issue... Once Upon A Time In San Diego: Tony Rettman dives into the San Diego punk scene of the late 80s and early 90s when bands like Heroin, Antioch Arrow and Pitchfork were reconstructing the emotional and aesthetic palette of hardcore; Paul Dunmall: The world's most underrated free jazz saxophonist (plus bagpiper and wood engraver) talks about his career from Johnny 'Guitar' Watson to John Edwards via Alice Coltrane's ashram, by Clive Bell; Unlimited Editions: French-Chinese rock label WV Sorcerer Productions is uncovering rough cut gems from the Beijing underground and beyond, by Josh Feola; Unofficial Channels: Doom And Gloom From The Tomb are deep diggers in the live music and bootleg recording scene, by Matt Krefting; Global Ear: Mike Steyels checks out the nightlife and the experimental electronic underground scene in Ho Chi Minh City; Invisible Jukebox; Epiphanies: Verity Susman of Memorials and Electrelane finds the personal becomes political in songs she learned through The Woodcraft Folk; Plus, full page interviews with PoiL Ueda, Luciano Maggiore, Dwight Trible and Alison Cotton."

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: 9780520382084

FILE UNDER: Misc

"A revisionist history of minimalism's transformative rise, through the voices of the musicians who created it. When composers like Philip Glass and Steve Reich began creating hypnotically repetitive music in the 1960s, it upended the world of American composition. But minimalism was more than a classical phenomenon -- minimalism changed everything. Its static harmonies and groovy pulses swept through the broader avant-garde landscape, informing the work of Yoko Ono and Brian Eno, John and Alice Coltrane, Pauline Oliveros and Julius Eastman, and many others. On Minimalism moves from the style's beginnings in psychedelic counterculture through its present-day influences on ambient jazz, doom metal, and electronic music. The editors look beyond the major figures to highlight crucial and diverse voices -- especially women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ musicians -- that have shaped the genre. Featuring more than a hundred rare historical sources, On Minimalism curates this history anew, documenting one of the most important musical movements of our time." 470 pages; 6x9; soft cover.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: VAMPI 215LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 restock, new lower pricing. Vampisoul present a reissue of Marcos Valle's 1983 self-titled album. Valle is one of the few artists one cannot miss if one has the slightest interest in Brazilian music. Whether one's taste is focused on bossa jazz, samba, psych folk or soul, Valle has surely recorded an album to match. By the late '60s he had already put out enough quality records to secure a place within the top Brazilian songwriters of all time, but his career did not stop there and he continued releasing amazing music over the following decades. He settled in Los Angeles in the mid-70s, tired of living under Brazil's military dictatorship, and started to collaborate with such talented artists as Leon Ware and Chicago. This LP from 1983 is the follow-up to the great Vontade De Rever Vocę (1981), his second album after moving back to Brazil. It shows all the music influences from his US years, especially boogie, soul and funk, and features stellar collaborators in Lincoln Olivetti, Robson Jorge, and Leon Ware. The opening track, the Brazilian boogie anthem "Estrelar," is Valle's biggest hit from the '80s and one of the most celebrated songs, making clear that what he accomplished while in LA would now make its way into Brazil. Valle pictures a beach lifestyle and summertime vibe across the entire album that describes his surfing days in Southern California. A couple of early Valle's classic songs are updated here to sit nicely next to soaring disco, killer vocal boogie numbers, and blissing instrumentals, making a well-balanced track list that satisfies both listening pleasure and dancefloor needs. This is an essential album for lovers of the work of Ware, who is the co-writer of three songs in the LP, including "Estrelar," first drafted when both artists were working together in the States and then recorded again when Valle returned to Brazil. Presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180g vinyl.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: VAMPI 256LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 restock, new lower price. Vampisoul present a reissue of Wanda Sá's Vagamente, originally released in 1964. Beautiful vocal bossa jazz album that includes songs written by Edu Lobo, Vinicius De Moraes, Roberto Menescal, and Marcos Valle, among others. The backing band was formed by Brazil top musicians led by Luis Carlos Vinhas, Tenorio Jr., and Menescal himself. This is the first solo album recorded by Wanda Sá who shortly after would join Sergio Mendes' Brasil 65 (with Rosinha de Valenįa and Jorge Ben). After touring the States (and recording), she returned to Brazil and did many shows with Baden Powell, Vinicius de Moraes, Luis Carlos Vinhas, and Bossa 3. Despite having a very short discography, Wanda Sá is one of Brazil's best-kept musical secrets. She started to play the guitar at a very young age under guidance by Roberto Menescal, and although her fantastic voice and playing have remained under the radar for the mainstream audience, her outstanding talent is well known and appreciated by those in the know... Highly in demand, this fantastic album, one of the earliest arranging assignments by Eumir Deodato, is now reissued on vinyl again after over a decade unavailable.

 

PRICE: $36.50

CAT #: VL 900310LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Two 180-gram LPs with 15 bonus tracks from the deluxe CD edition. Despite his huge success with his 1971 political concept album What's Going On, Marvin Gaye left social concerns behind for those of a more intimate nature with this 1973 album. Let's Get It On album broke new ground, gaining its place in history as one of the most sexual albums ever recorded, laying the basis for every slow jam ever after, and making Gaye both socially concerned and sexy -- a potent commercial combination.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: WOODSIST 105LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"John Andrews is something of an open secret in a certain corner of the music scene: a versatile musician and animator. A film school dropout whose work hat-tips tradition as much as outsider anti-aesthetics. He's spent over a decade on the DIY circuit, playing early house shows alongside then up-and-coming peers Weyes Blood and Daniel Bachman. Today he is still out there projecting his sketchy hand-drawn animations during his performances in coffee shops, small galleries and non-traditional venues. Andrews' painterly approach now introduces the listener to his version of New York City, the place he was bound to end up after years of dwelling in Pennsylvania farm towns and New Hampshire barns. There is handmade vibrancy to the world he's imagined here: intimate moments seen from the interior, looking outward from hole-in-the-wall restaurants, theaters and the fragments of peace found within the restless and dirty street corners. Love For The Underdog, his aptly titled fourth release with the Woodsist label, was tracked live to tape in various studios and apartments across the Empire State with help from his bandmates in Cut Worms' touring outfit, Max Clarke, Keven Lareau and Noah Bond. Buoyant melodies are supported by timeless string arrangements, translated from Andrews' head to page with the help of friend Simon Hanes. The string quartet follows the tradition of Francoise Hardy, Harry Nilsson, Margo Guryan and Belle and Sebastian, giving the whole thing a cinematic ambience with stark shadows of an Edward Hopper painting. The lyrics tie together narratives of cynical heroes and troubled lovers. Put on the record and sink into well-worn red velvet theater seats, when the lights go down and the flickering of projectors run the title: Love For The Underdog, indeed."

 

PRICE: $17.00

CAT #: YAZ 1078HLP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. 180 gram reissue, originally released in 1990. "Blind Willie Johnson (1902-1947) is one of the great gospel blues legends. Initially a preacher who gave sermons in the street, Johnson first became known for his powerful voice, but it was his masterful slide guitar playing that would soon write his name in the annals of blues."

 

PRICE: $21.50

CAT #: YORE 009LTD-EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Imagine a held-up-in-traffic Wayne Shorter arriving late to a Weather Report studio session and Joe Zawinul, Victor Bailey, and Omar Hakim filling in the time by jamming on a grooving house cut. Had that happened, it might have sounded a little bit like "It Never Stops," one of two ultra-fresh tracks on Kaidi Tatham's Yore debut. Jazz and house are obviously distinct genres, yet as this irresistible cut makes clear swing is common to both. The other track, the cerebrally titled "One For The Brain," locates itself closer to house music proper but is no less appealing for doing so. Given the jazzy vibe of "It Never Stops," it's fitting that Benji B once deemed Tatham the "Herbie Hancock of the United Kingdom." Regarded as one of the originators of the Broken Beat sound, the UK-based multi-instrumentalist has worked with many an artist, from Bugz In The Attic and The Herbaliser to DJ Jazzy Jeff, and his session work credits list Slum Village, Amy Winehouse, Soul II Soul, and others. His own discography includes EPs and releases for labels such as 2000 Black, First World Records, Theo Parrish's Sound Signature, Eglo Records, and now, of course, Yore. "It Never Stops" rolls in on a wave of silky synthesizer textures and percolating precision with a tight, funky groove that instantly pulls you into its velvety world. Triangles, electric bass, and clavinet add collective radiance to the material as the tune struts its way into your psyche. As if to make the jazz connection even more explicit, Tatham works an acoustic piano solo into the cut's second half before shifting focus back to the groove for the coda. "One for the Brain," by comparison, digs into its chugging house pulse with fervor whilst also sweetening the arrangement with painterly synth flourishes. This one charges with breathless determination and like "It Never Stops" nods in jazz's direction with the inclusion of a freewheeling piano solo. Every minute and second on this strictly limited 12" release seems meaningful.