News & Events

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: ASH 707LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. "Michael George Henry (aka Ras Michael and, for this lone release, Dadawah) was born in 1943 in Saint Mary Parish, in northeastern Jamaica. Henry was raised in a Rastafari community when the religious movement was still in its infancy and marginalized within Jamaica. It was there that he began performing Nyahbinghi, the Rastafarian devotional music that combines the influences of African drumming and Black gospel. Henry found himself in Kingston in the late 1950s where he worked for Coxsone Dodd at the legendary Studio One. By 1968, he had formed the group Sons of Negus and the first overtly Rasta record label, Zion Disc. As Rasta filtered into the mainstream, Henry released more music including albums for Trojan, Dynamic and Grounation labels. Originally released in 1974, Peace And Love - Wadadasow is Dadawah's magnum opus. Produced by Lloyd Charmers, the album features slinky basslines, wah-wah guitar, hypnotic keyboards, dubbed-out studio trickery and, of course, the propulsive drumming and rhythmic chanting characteristic of Nyahbinghi. Antarctica Starts Here presents the first widely available domestic release of Peace And Love - Wadadasow. This reissue is part of an archival series that focuses on Trojan's essential '60s and '70s catalogue. Liner notes by JR Gonne."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: BWZ 779CD

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"An alloy is a mixture of chemical agents which forms a new substance that retains the characteristics of a metal. The mechanical properties of alloys often differ significantly from those of its individual constituents. It has been more than two years since ShrapKnel's debut album, during which time the duo of Curly Castro and PremRock have individually released successful solo albums with Backwoodz Studioz. Fittingly, these two albums were nothing alike; Castro's incendiary Little Robert Hutton is a high octane soundclash, a stark contrast to the knotty intimacy of PremRock's Load Bearing Crow's Feet. A new ShrapKnel album means a return to foundry and forge, the alchemy of turning two into one. Carbon and Iron make steel, rest assured, there will be no sophomore slump. Metal Lung is the evidence. The bulk of the production is provided by Steel Tipped Dove, who has worked with Nosaj, billy woods, SHIRT, R.A.P. Ferreira and just put out an incredible album of his own on Backwoodz last year (Call Me When You're Outside). Additional production comes from Child Actor (ELUCID, Serengeti, Armand Hammer) & Olof Melander (Moor Mother, Project Mooncircle). Mixed and mastered by the incomparable Willie Green."

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: BWZ 779LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

LP version. "An alloy is a mixture of chemical agents which forms a new substance that retains the characteristics of a metal. The mechanical properties of alloys often differ significantly from those of its individual constituents. It has been more than two years since ShrapKnel's debut album, during which time the duo of Curly Castro and PremRock have individually released successful solo albums with Backwoodz Studioz. Fittingly, these two albums were nothing alike; Castro's incendiary Little Robert Hutton is a high octane soundclash, a stark contrast to the knotty intimacy of PremRock's Load Bearing Crow's Feet. A new ShrapKnel album means a return to foundry and forge, the alchemy of turning two into one. Carbon and Iron make steel, rest assured, there will be no sophomore slump. Metal Lung is the evidence. The bulk of the production is provided by Steel Tipped Dove, who has worked with Nosaj, billy woods, SHIRT, R.A.P. Ferreira and just put out an incredible album of his own on Backwoodz last year (Call Me When You're Outside). Additional production comes from Child Actor (ELUCID, Serengeti, Armand Hammer) & Olof Melander (Moor Mother, Project Mooncircle). Mixed and mastered by the incomparable Willie Green."

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: BALMAT 005LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Double-LP version. The British producer ?-Ziq has been an inspiration to label co-founders Albert Salinas and Philip Sherburne since the 1990s. In fact, his album-length remix project The Auteurs Vs ?-Ziq was one of the very first pieces of electronic music that Philip bought, way back in 1994. To have the opportunity to release his music now feels like a real full-circle moment. Paradinas, of course, needs no introduction. Under a slew of aliases, chief among them ?-Ziq, the British artist revolutionized leftfield electronic music in the 1990s -- coincidentally, this year marks the 30th anniversary of his debut album, Tango N' Vectif, for his friend and sometime collaborator Aphex Twin's Rephlex label -- and his label Planet Mu has built up a formidable catalog of visionary, forward-looking records, mapping virtually every corner of the electronic spectrum. With 1977, he turns the clock backward in a sense, and not just with the album's title: Rooted in classic ambient and electronic sounds, these 15 tracks evoke the anything-goes spirit of the early '90s, before the tools and tropes had calcified into cut-and-dried styles. There's no shortage of familiar sounds on 1977. There are echoes of raves and chillout rooms and transmissions from the fringes of techno; there are detuned synths and glistening reverb tails and, above all, gauzy vox pads, the eerie glue that holds it all together. The title, he says, is meant to invoke a general sense of nostalgia, bookmarking a year in his boyhood when he became more self-aware. More than anything, 1977 sounds like ?-Ziq distilled: Stripped of his signature breakbeats and customary chaos, Paradinas's first-ever strictly (well, mostly) ambient album presents the essence of his music in a whole new light. Along the way Paradinas touches on dark-ambient drones ("Marmite"), horror-film themes ("Belt & Carpet"), jungle breaks ("Mesolithic Jungle"), and even house music ("Houzz 13"), which marks the first bona fide dance-floor moment on Balmat to date). Yet the album never feels expressly retro. Rather, Paradinas plucks timeless sounds out of the ether and gives them a gentle tap, spinning them into unexpected new orbits. At times, 1977 feels like an experience of extended déjà vu: When we first listened to it, we had the sense that we already knew this music. It was as though we had heard it years ago, perhaps on a battered cassette tape lent to us by a friend, and been searching for it ever since. "1977" features Meemo Comma.

 

PRICE: $36.50

CAT #: BAUHAUS 004LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Homage to Tarab is a journey between cultures, times, places and of course sounds that were molded within the Middle Eastern orient that had shaped The Hallways' musical perception. All out of tremendous respect to their legacies. Described in one short sentence, experimental Arabic drone music. Picture dark synths, alienated rare drum machines meet ancient organ lamentations, beats the bubble from deep within and such that floats around spaces in circles while constantly changing. Ones that feel like flying on top of a magic carpet ride over deserts, mosques, ancient prayer books while in the background the dimming lights of a mysterious asphalt and concrete covered city.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: BCM 9594CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Beat Records present the world premiere CD release of Space: 1999, featuring the original motion picture soundtrack of the Italian theatrical version composed by two-time Oscar-winner Ennio Morricone. Space: 1999 premiered in Italian theatres on January 14, 1975, and was created through the process of editing together three episodes from season one of the TV series: Breakaway, Ring Around the Moon, and Another Time, Another Place. The theatrical release of Space: 1999 predated the series' debut on Italian television by a year, with the first six episodes being broadcast from January 31, 1976. Six more episodes followed in July and the remaining twelve episodes in the fall of the same year. The series' original iconic score was not used for the Italian theatrical version (the series originally premiered on British television on September 4, 1975), instead being replaced with a fascinating score by Ennio Morricone, who composed original material featuring frantic jazz themes and futuristic electronic sequences reminiscent of Barry Gray's work on UFO. This release also includes avant-garde material by Morricone that was carefully selected as background music for various scenes in the movie, taken directly from the RCA promotional series of library vinyl LPs titled Dimensioni Sonore, performed by symphonic orchestra and presented here in full stereo. Also included is the final large orchestral theme heard over the end credits, featuring vocals by Edda Dell'Orso and I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni. This theme was reused for the 1979 mini-series Orient Express, again scored by Ennio Morricone. Comes with a full-color, 20-page booklet containing double cover, archive stills, a foreword from Fanderson chairman Nick Williams (the official Fanderson UK fan club) and plot synopses and credits for the three original episodes. This release was officially approved by ITV Studios and will be available from September 13, 2016, the day in which the moon separated from Earth's orbit in Space: 1999. Mastering by Claudio Fuiano and Daniel Winkler. Graphic layout by Daniele De Gemini.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: BCM 9613CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Beat Records reissues a classic original soundtrack by Ennio Morricone for the Giallo film Le foto proibite di una Signora per bene (aka The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion), directed in 1971 by Luciano Ercoli starring Dagmar Lassander, Nieves Navarro, Simón Andreu, Pier Paolo Capponi, Osvaldo Genazzani, and Salvador Huguet. Ennio Morricone composed a solid OST for a genre for which he had written many memorable scores. For this film he penned an orchestral score in which the crystal voice of Edda Dell'Orso intervenes as an additional instrument in the main theme "Le foto proibite di una Signora per bene," performed in a bossa nova tempo that opens and closes the CD. "Amore come dolore" is a romantic-mysterious theme with beat rhythms, contrasting with numerous dissonant themes and the tense atmosphere in which the female protagonist is immersed. Beat dance music is not lacking with themes much loved by fans such as "Allegretto per Signora," "Intermezzino pop", and "Secondo intermezzino pop," which have also been included in various lounge music compilations. For this CD, Beat Records used the stereo master tapes from the original recording sessions. Mastering and liner notes by Claudio Fuiano. Graphic layout by Daniele De Gemini.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: CDOSTPK 046CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Cinevox Record, in collaboration with Pick Up Records and Beat Records, present the CD featuring the original soundtrack of Squadra Antigangsters, composed by Goblin, the fifth movie with Tomas Milian in the role of commissioner Nico Giraldi. At the time speaking Cinevox released an album with eight cues, included two songs singed by Asha Puthli that bring the listener into late '70s American discotheques. Goblin (Fabio Pignatelli, Claudio Simonetti, Agostino Marangolo, and Carlo Pennisi) composed a brilliant OST, with different styles. This new edition on CD has been remastered and includes the original album program and the three bonus tracks already featured in the preceding version, booklet has been structured with a double cover featuring the two original posters of the movie. Digital remastering by Claudio Fuiano. Liner notes by Roberto Attanasio and Fabio Capuzzo. Graphic design by Daniele De Gemini.

 

PRICE: $40.00

CAT #: BE 015LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"On September 6th, 1993, I felt a stranger's presence flow through me. 'The end of material civilization is near. Man will soon transcend the physical realm. But when this day comes, many souls will be lost forever,' she announced and then swiftly disappeared. She has since visited me occasionally, and with her help I've witnessed stars align to form a cross, and a golden country filled with waves of tremendous rapture. She says I have a divine duty to impart through my music a sense of the waves of delight I have experienced, even if I can only reach one other person." --Shizuka, 7/23/94Reissue, originally released in 1994. Few artists have left behind a legacy as enigmatic and captivating as Shizuka Miura. Amidst the Tokyo underground, she was a spectral figure, creating ghostly, childlike dolls and writing haunting, other-worldly songs. She formed Shizuka in 1992 with Maki Miura, known for his staggering guitar work in legendary groups Fushitsusha and Les Rallizes Dénudés. Their music bloomed with a fragile, yet explosive mystical power; an atmospheric alchemy of psychedelic rock, folk and noise with Shizuka's ethereal vocals invoking loneliness, yearning and dark providence. Since her passing in 2010, the group has steadily gathered a cult following. Black Editions presents their sole studio album, 1994's Heavenly Persona, a monumental, transcendent work originally issued by P.S.F. Japan on CD in 1994; Now newly remastered and in its first ever vinyl edition on double-LP with a laser etched fourth side. Presented in a deluxe tip-on tri-fold jacket with ink pigment foil stamping, gloss film laminate finish and printed inner sleeves and mounted booklet. It includes her extensive, heart wrenching final interview, translated for the first time to English alongside high-resolution archival images.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: BONF 018LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1971. Another underground folk masterpiece back on the map. Forerunner of the British revival Ian A. Anderson licensed the album on his own The Village Thing on December 1971. Besides a couple of excellent cover -- "Black Uncle Remus" penned by Loudon Wainwright III and a minor Bob Dylan classic as "One Too Many Mornings" -- the album shows a more forward-thinking production, with several bucolic progressive arrangements.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: BOSC 050-5EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Here you have the second EP part of Minimono Half Way Trough mini saga. Follows the sound of the previous one serving four most exciting electro, Italo-disco, and acid-infected floor-burners. "Run it Back" is a simple and dry tune, has those big cutting edge sounds typical of the early 2000 '80s contaminated electro... perfect for your starting set or in recreating that unique atmosphere. On the A side follows "Half Way Trough", an effortlessly driving tech-acid house tune, strangely compelling, with a timeless feeling... looking like an essential weapon for any dancefloor. B-side starts with the spicy electro-disco tune "Over The Machines" epic and functional at the same time with evocative arpeggios and a mechanical vocoder-ed speech. The EP ends with the cyberfunk stomper "Revolution", a twisted electro funk groover in typical Minimono vein.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: BR 173EP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

José Javier Castro (1965-2022) was a Peruvian artist and musician who emerged in the 1980s, and is known for being the leader, guitarist, and singer of the experimental rock group El Aire, as well as an emblematic figure of the Lima underground. He also developed, starting in the early '90s, various projects centered on electronic experimentation, and oriented towards ambient and cosmic music, both for soundtracks, sound installations, as well as for his own rock band, leaving an important archive of recordings unpublished. "Melodía a Gianni Toti en dos partes" (Melody for Gianni Toti in two parts) constitutes a first publication that seeks to disclose that other creative side of José Javier Castro, who was also an active promoter of the experimental music scene in Peru. José Javier Castro encountered the work of the Italian artist Gianni Toti as an active collaborator of the Túpac Amauta project, directed by Toti and produced at the Centro Internacional de Creación de Video (International Center for Video Creation) (CICV). In 1999, for the second part of the Túpac Amauta project, he was invited as a resident artist at the CICV, establishing a first-hand link with Toti, with whom he shared ideas regarding syntheatronic creation. The sound piece Melodía a Gianni Toti en dos partes was composed in 2021 and is inspired by Toti's various visions of music and aesthetics. This project led Castro to a long reflective process in search of a coherent definition of both the process and the aesthetics. It is a spontaneous and heartfelt evocation as a tribute and thanks to Toti. White/translucent blue vinyl; edition of 250.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: BR 176LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Berlin-based Peruvian musicians Alejandra Cárdenas, AKA Ale Hop, and Laura Robles present their debut album together, released via Buh Records. With a foundation informed by decolonialism and organology, Agua Dulce is a radical deconstruction of traditional rhythms of the Peruvian coast, in which the cajón instrument plays a central role. Agua Dulce is named after the most popular beach in Lima, near where both artists lived during their childhood, houses apart, without ever meeting one another. Now, years later, the pair have joined forces, with Robles on a self-built electric cajón and Cárdenas on electric guitar and electronics. Together they explore rhythmical structures that form the backbone of the complex Afro-Peruvian music and dance traditions -- a broad term used for the various musical developments that occurred in the last two centuries, at the shores of the Peruvian Pacific. The cajón originated in coastal Peru as a percussion instrument that the black slaves created from wooden fruit boxes, when foot drums were banned at the end of the Spanish colonial-era, in the 19th century. From its birth the cajón was a symbol of resistance, experimentation and transformation, so Robles and Cárdenas strive to maintain the instrument's spirit and qualities by pushing the boundaries of its sound into the future. However, although buzzing with an intense voltage and proffering a fresh contribution to modern experimental/noise/lo-fi/percussive music, the duo's mission isn't merely capturing something sonically futuristic, but is primarily concerned with shaking off the dust: "These rhythms have become ossified nowadays, heard in Peruvian folklore shows, and on the 'global music' circuit, but our desire is to experiment and do something more radical with them, connecting to the instruments more radical past", comments Cárdenas. The two musicians take the pulses of dances like Landó, Zamacueca, Festejo, Alcatraz, Lamento and Son de los diablos, electrifying and mutating them into pure textures, or reinforcing the physical character of the cajón through repetition and distortion. Cover art by Eduardo Yaguas. Edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: BB 429CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"In 1984, four years after the release of my first solo album Synthesist on Sky Records, I wanted to produce a new solo album. At the time I was operating on the fifth floor of a former backyard factory on Graefe-Str. in Berlin Kreuzberg with my Neue Deutsche Welle Band Lilli Berlin. We'd turned the space into a small music and rehearsal studio where we set up a Tascam 8-track tape recorder, a 12- channel MM mixer that roared like hell, a Mini-Moog and a Roland Jupiter-6 synthesizer. This is where the basic recordings for Oceanheart were made. Essentially sequences and chords, which I then added piano, drums, Indian tablas and solo voices to in Christoph Franke's (Tangerine Dream) studio in Berlin Spandau. It was then mastered on a Betamax video recorder -- at that time the non-plus-ultra of modern stereo recording technique. Oceanheart was released on Sky Records in 1985. At the beginning of 2022 Gunther Buskies, owner of Bureau B label, had the inspired idea to expand the planned re-release of Oceanheart with a remix album and to call it Oceanheart Revisited. Around the same time, I met Tobias Stock through my friend Chris Mick. Tobias, a qualified electronics engineer and musician, had put together a complex, top-class analog studio over 20 years of meticulous and passionate collecting -- bringing each of the numerous component parts back into the best technical state with his own hands. There are only few studios of this kind and quality in the world and it was here, in his 'On TAPE' Studio, we created the analogue mixes of Oceanheart Revisited on a NAGRA 2-channel tape machine. I really enjoyed working on Oceanheart Revisited and I'd like to share this experiment with you." --Harald Grosskopf, January 2023

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: BB 429LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Double LP version. "In 1984, four years after the release of my first solo album Synthesist on Sky Records, I wanted to produce a new solo album. At the time I was operating on the fifth floor of a former backyard factory on Graefe-Str. in Berlin Kreuzberg with my Neue Deutsche Welle Band Lilli Berlin. We'd turned the space into a small music and rehearsal studio where we set up a Tascam 8-track tape recorder, a 12- channel MM mixer that roared like hell, a Mini-Moog and a Roland Jupiter-6 synthesizer. This is where the basic recordings for Oceanheart were made. Essentially sequences and chords, which I then added piano, drums, Indian tablas and solo voices to in Christoph Franke's (Tangerine Dream) studio in Berlin Spandau. It was then mastered on a Betamax video recorder -- at that time the non-plus-ultra of modern stereo recording technique. Oceanheart was released on Sky Records in 1985. At the beginning of 2022 Gunther Buskies, owner of Bureau B label, had the inspired idea to expand the planned re-release of Oceanheart with a remix album and to call it Oceanheart Revisited. Around the same time, I met Tobias Stock through my friend Chris Mick. Tobias, a qualified electronics engineer and musician, had put together a complex, top-class analog studio over 20 years of meticulous and passionate collecting -- bringing each of the numerous component parts back into the best technical state with his own hands. There are only few studios of this kind and quality in the world and it was here, in his 'On TAPE' Studio, we created the analogue mixes of Oceanheart Revisited on a NAGRA 2-channel tape machine. I really enjoyed working on Oceanheart Revisited and I'd like to share this experiment with you." --Harald Grosskopf, January 2023

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: CAMUS 33015LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Many things have been said about Reynols over the past 30 years but altogether seem not yet enough to properly describe the unclassifiable Argentine group formed by Miguel Tomasin, Roberto Conlazo and Anla Courtis. Now Calar Music is proud to present Peloto Cabras Mulusa Olve, an album appeared at the very end of the XXth Century bringing a vivid sonic portrait of one of the wildest periods of the band. After a whole year playing Monday-to-Friday as house band of a Medical TV show broadcasted on Argentine's National Channel [ATC], the group recorded these remarkable tracks back in 1999 at their own Ornitivo Studios in Buenos Aires. Based on a trio line-up, with Tomasín's verbal laboratory in all its glory plus his chunky drums and a playful pair of sharp guitars jumping electrically all around, the band reached an intense trademark distorted sound. Recorded in a complete analog mood -- due to magnetic tape's magic -- and without overdubs of any kind, this music remains as a milestone of a savage era. Raw, powerful, vital, oneiric and beyond description, this obscure gem was originally released as a 1999 ultra-limited tape, which sold-out that same year. This LP brings the album to the new century carefully remastered by Vyles Boisen (who worked with artists such as: Fred Frith, MX-80 Sound, Daevid Allen, Malcolm Mooney, Anthony Braxton or David Lynch) and also expanded with two unreleased tracks from those epic sessions. Decades before appearing on the cover of The Wire Magazine, receiving the Henry Viscardi Achievement Award or becoming a one-of-a-kind brand name in the field of global experimental music, Reynols were already active and certainly on fire: Peloto Cabras Mulusa Olve stands as an historic sound document to prove it."

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: COS 121EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Betty Griffin's 'Free Spirit' was previously released on the 2016 compilation -- Greg Belson's Divine Disco Volume 1. This 7-inch comes with two epic remixes of the track. These remixes are being released as a celebration for the 10 Year Anniversary of Greg Belson's significant radio show -- 'Divine Chord Gospel Show' on Dub Lab. Both tracks were remixed by the Divine Situation featuring Paulo Fulci and Greg Belson. The A-side remix, Divine Situation NYC Downlow Rework is influenced by their DJ appearances at Glastonbury's Downlow Club Room while the B-Side is more of an instrumental version. Both are pure fire for the dancefloor!"

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: DLC 004LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Limited restock. The first ever vinyl release from the archives of Music of Transparent Means, the constantly evolving minimalist ensemble of up to 21 players active in Adelaide, Australia from 2002-2007. Long celebrated by a tiny circle of initiates and hardcore minimalism aficionados, Music of Transparent Means shaped the sound of its native city to its most euphoric and immersive state with a series of terrifically intense concerts of original compositions. After its leader Alex Carpenter was lured to New York in 2007, the surviving artifacts -- coveted CDr editions handmade by Carpenter himself -- were circulated only among the most trusting fans. De la Catessen Records presents "Chord From The Second Delphic Hymn" alongside Music of Transparent Means' anthem "Emerging Like An Infant From The House Of Truth", recorded live at an evening performance at De la Catessen Gallery in 2007. Lovers of the music of La Monte Young, Phill Niblock, Tony Conrad, and Arnold Dreyblatt will discover much on this album to rejoice.Alex Carpenter is an Australian-born artist and researcher living in New York City. His large-scale minimalist orchestra Music of Transparent Means won notoriety in the early 2000s for its experimental live marathons, with as many as 21 players and as few as one."Joyous sensory over-stimulation (...) a kind of blissful, obliterated exhaustion (...) the music is, quite simply, a head-fucking blast to listen to and swim through" --Jon Dale."Staggering... one of the records of the year" --Shame File Music."'Chord from the Second Delphic Hymn' shimmers and undulates clangorously like some freshly awakened metallic beast... textures chime like an orchestra of dulcimers ... controlled thunder ... a kind of inner euphoria ... the result both a mutating organism and volcanic forcefield" --Textura

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DLC 006LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. In Last Blues, De la Catessen Records presents a mysterious folio of sonic snapshots, as much recaptured as composed, by Jon Dale's project, Moth, in Adelaide in the late '90s and early '00s. We're invited to tune in to these liminal frequencies, to observe and inhabit them, and relish the glowing sensual overdrive of their manifestation. From the ready means and at-handedness of guitar, amp, and tape, a congruous but diverse selection of unnamed tracks emerge -- musical moments borrowed from oblivion with the as yet unfulfilled good intention of returning them. Their sounds evoke abstract Polaroids of winter seascapes flecked with spare, brittle detail, or the scaly-winged flutterings of elusive nocturnal insects. Here, a homely hum like a vacuum cleaner on sunny childhood's weekend morning; there, suburban power lines buzzing gently in the mist. The last track of Last Blues is like a reverent vision of lava-flow for harmonium, the slow-motion eruption of a single chord, which echoes in the mind for hours. Last Blues comes from somewhere that doesn't exist anymore, and shows us something that may never have happened there."Jon Dale collapses old dichotomies (such as organic vs. inorganic and heavy vs. light) into a pure horizon of tone with only guitar and a little harmonium. Sonically, it makes me think of a middle point between if Organum snuck into the studio to remix Glenn Branca, and what I imagine the electric synapses firing off in Raymond Roussel's brain would've sounded like if committed to wax cylinder. Which is to say, it sounds rad." --Ben Chasny, Six Organs Of Admittance

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DLC 007LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Limited restock. Selected Live Recordings is the third release De La Catessen Records has divined from the archives of New-York-via-Adelaide minimalist composer Alex Carpenter, and the second in this series for his shape-shifting collective, Music Of Transparent Means. It follows the two side-long fantasias of 2021's self-titled album; this time, we pan out slightly, to grant the listener a varied and yet more complex understanding of the material Carpenter was writing and performing when this music was happening, during the noughties. On this album, you can hear the results of some intensive explorations of the possibilities of minimalism both at its most delicate, and at its most feverish. The heavenly stasis of "Disappearance #1", for massed wine glasses and bowed guitars, feels like being jettisoned in a water tower filled with ether; the wooziness of "Burial Music" captures something of the spirit of Fripp & Eno's (No Pussyfooting), but as though the tape is slowly disintegrating; the music is blurred at the edges, warped and sidereal. Perhaps the centerpiece of Selected Live Recordings, though, is the simple, yet ravishing, "Rose Street Womb". With its performers given a simple set of instructions -- to continually repeat and elongate a series of phrases, while listening and responding to the overall sound of the ensemble -- its pastoral psychedelia recalls the gentle slippages of Arthur Russell's landmark composition, Tower Of Meaning. Elsewhere, "Mountain Piece #2" is a thunderstorm for massed drums, while "Second Presencing" uses delays as a structuring device to paint an "audio canvas" from a clutch of damaged tones. Throughout, you can hear Carpenter's knowledge and deep study of the history of minimalist composition -- he has written extensively on the work of La Monte Young, and there is certainly some aesthetic and ideological crossover with the likes of Phill Niblock, Terry Riley, and Arnold Dreyblatt. But it is also very much his own thing, the result of an intensive period of study and exploration of the possibilities, not just of minimalist composition, but also of Just Intonation. With the material long whispered about in reverent tones, and circulating on CD-R only amongst a small group of like-minded souls, De La Catessen's ongoing series of releases of Carpenter's music is a major development, bringing to light one of minimalism's hidden histories.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: DELI 026LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Golf Trip is the new solo project of Gautier de Bosredon, former member of the Camel Power Club that he cofounded in 2013. The tracks he co-produced and co-wrote have now accumulated over 50 million listens on streaming platforms and the project is now touring all over Europe to present them. Resulting from a writing that was done since his departure from the group, the music of Golf Trip is groovy and solar. The will to make a record which is soft and positive was the thread of all its realization. Long sessions allow the elaboration of a musical framework based on straight rhythmics, funky guitars and soft synthesizers. A quiet fleet on board which the listener embarks for six tracks whose arrangements and mixing were realized by the Norwegian Olefonken (aka Hubbabubbaklubb).

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: CDDM 320CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

This album would not have been possible if Edipan hadn't conserved two mono masters in good conditions in its archives (stereo mixes have gone lost). Unfortunately, it was not possible to cancel some magnetic flaws. Digitmovies have brought to life an original soundtrack that contains all the popular and well-respected music elements of maestro Nicolai: dissonant strings segments, experimental effects of an evocative classical main theme, ambiguous and mysterious, accompanied by pop rhythms. Directed by Peter Collinson in 1974 and starring Oliver Reed, Elke Sommer, Richard Attenborough, Gert Fröbe, Herbert Lom, Charles Aznavour, Maria Rohm, Adolfo Celi, Stéphane Audran, Alberto de Mendoza, Orson Welles (just voice). A stranger that calls himself U.N. Owen invites ten people to stay at an isolated house in the Iran desert, drowning them with weird excuses. The nearest town is two hundred miles away and there are no phone in the house. Once arrived, they don't meet the house owner but they hear his voice recorded while he accuses them of several homicides still unpunished, for which they would pay with their lives. From this moment on, they will start to get killed one by one. Only two of them will save themselves: Vera Clyde and Hugh Lombard, who didn't commit the crime Owen accused them of, since they were mistakenly called to the house.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: CDDM 323CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Manuel De Sica wrote an orchestral comment based on a recurring symphonic tarantella, which is the main theme retaken in symphonic version or with a solo guitar, alternated with lounge tracks like "Rough", sung by De Sica himself, who was 23 years old back then, with the fabulous "Bossa Nova Boss", with the extravagant "Casa da gioco" and with the "Anna e Tonino" love theme. RCA printed a promo LP (SP 8046), put together by De Sica. In 1994 the same material was printed on CD (original soundtrack - OST 125), paired with The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (aka "Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini"). Digitmovies were able to access the original session mono masters, which brought them to discover some unpublished material, that results in a 46:38 minutes long CD. A sincere homage to the Musical Art of the dear departed Manuel De Sica. Directed by Pasquale Squitieri in 1972 and starring Fabio Testi, Jean Seberg, Raymond Pellegrin, Lilla Brignone, Charles Vanel, Germana Carnacina, Enzo Cannavale, Ugo D'Alessio, Paul Muller, Enzo Turco, Salvatore Puntillo, Marcello Filotico, Alberto Farnese, Nino Vingelli, Leopoldo Mastelloni. Tonino Russo, son of a humble and honest cobbler and engaged to Anna, just released after two years in prison for personal injury, gets challenged by a neighbor. Member of the Camorra Don Mario Capece witnesses the duel, from which Tonino comes out as winner. Impressed by the young man, Don Mario offers him a job in his organization. From that moment on, motivated by an insatiable thirst for power, Tonino only aims to go higher and higher. Greeted by Don Capece, thanks to his services and to his control over two gambling houses, after bringing to his side even the boss's partner, Tonino tries his big shot: take the boss's place in a deal of real estate speculation. Found out the betrayal, Don Mario kills Tonino's ex fiancée and tries to make him make a faux pas: murder an untouchable boss of the Camorra. Failed, Capece, knowing that Russo will try to kill him, moves the attack up by kidnapping his little brother. Tonino still manages to kill the boss, then, convinced by his father not to shoot the cops arrived there, turns himself in.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: CDDM 324CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Composer and conductor Vito Lo Re signs the soundtrack of Io Sono L'abisso, the new film by Donato Carrisi -- based on the novel of the same name. "It is an atypical soundtrack," says Vito Lo Re, "It is essentially based on a single piece that has the task of accompanying the most important and most difficult scene of the film. And the director had told me that he was going to shoot it without sound, relying only on the music. It was a huge responsibility because the emotional effect of the ending depends on that scene and that piece." Vito Lo Re is a conductor, composer, author of musical comedies, musicals, music for short films, documentaries, films and television programs as well as an orchestrator and arranger, an activity that has made him range through the most heterogeneous musical genres.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: DOC 144LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

2023 repress. Akira Ifukube's mighty score to the legendary monster movie that started it all, Godzilla! Ifukube's visionary music is super dark reflecting the horror of Ishiro Honda's film. This incredible score music alternates between brass and strings as we witness the death and destruction that comes in Godzilla's wake.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: DOC 145LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

2023 repress. Akira Ifukube's score to the legendary 1962 monster movie King Kong vs. Godzilla. Ifukube's visionary music is tense and violent, a perfect complement to Ishir? Honda's film. This incredible score alternates between brass and strings as you witness the death and destruction that comes in the wake of these two classic film monsters' battles.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: DC 049LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. LP version with bonus 7"; one of the great Drag City releases (and one of the great American music solo albums) finally on vinyl again. "In 1970, Mayo Thompson (once-and-future leader of The Red Krayola) recorded an album entitled Corky's Debt To His Father. Walt Andrus' Texas Revolution label released the record -- but just barely, selling a few hundred LPs with no promotion to speak of. The copies that made it into shops became the treasured objects of taste-makers around the globe -- which made Corky's Debt To His Father an influential record down the years. As punk rock, new wave, post-punk and all the rest came along, it was inevitable that this lost classic of independent music would be discovered by a wider audience. In 1988, the album was reissued on the UK Glass Records imprint but went out-of-print again in short order. Then in 1994, Drag City brought Corky's Debt To His Father back to the USA, as well as to the CD format for the first time. Additionally, a third pressing of the vinyl was made. The CD has been a perennial favorite ever since -- but after just a few months of robust sales, the LP artwork and jackets were destroyed in a fire, thus putting the end to the life of Corky's Debt To His Father on vinyl once again. Wrapped in a jacket that recalls the halcyon days of solid LP dominance, this new pressing comes with a 7" single featuring the instrumental 'Woof,' which was recorded at the same sessions but not released until The Red Krayola's 2004 compilation CD Singles. The B-side of this single is a never-before heard take on John Cage's '4'33"' played by fellow traveller Sergei McUgly."

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 161LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. LP version. "The only thing familiar about Knock Knock is the now familiar Smog sensation of being somehow completely unfamiliar! At this point in his illustrious career, there certain styles he feels comfortable with. But who'd've guessed that super-sexy space cowboy would be one of them? Several ballads on Knock Knock are of the spirit of Bill Callahan...a record with a divide of hard and soft ones, a record with a torn curtain inviting you to look inside. It is a real-life opera, a story told in song -- the story of a kid named Smog. A real tour de force."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: DC 450LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. LP version. "Essentially an ensemble recorded live in the studio, Bill Callahan's Apocalypse is the corpus delecti. Something happened here! If tape is like meat, this record is the whole hog! No cuts! Delectables and guts! In the opening salvo 'Drover,' the cattle is herded. Everyone is in this roundup -- this is the big one! Listeners! Laughers! Pundits! Wags! Haters! Hausfraus! Mr. Memory and Mrs. Future! Callahan, riding on the back of his band, corrals them all and guides them single-handedly through the Valley with love and ferocity. 'Drover' is the universal gathering, but 'Baby's Breath' is one man's plot of land. The focus turns again outward, next, in 'America!' Looking at 'the last 100 years,' -- which we reckon is about the narrative age of this LP -- 'America!' is a love letter if we've ever had the privilege to read one over someone else's shoulder. 'Universal Applicant,' then, is the looking deep within. The flame in the mirror. Canyons can look like cartoons even when they are real. Side two begins with 'Riding for the Feeling.' Saying goodbye to a mass, an ice floe. A wave that sweeps away and away and keeps coming back. It is breath. 'Free's' is the song of the truly free, the ones that know being free means being kept by the free. 'One Fine Morning' ends it all. The mountains that create the valleys of Drover bow down. 'Hey! No more drovering!' This record makes us wonder what has really happened in the last 100 years. And what will happen in the next 10. The soul of your country called and left you a message. Seven messages."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: DC 600LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Gatefold double LP version. "The Segall has landed. And it's fully loaded, with everything that Ty Segall (and you and me) are gonna need in the world to come. Heads up! It's coming down fast. Soursweet declarations featuring freaks and creeps alike: 'The Singer,' 'The Faker,' 'Mister Main,' 'Susie Thumb,' the 'Connection Man,' and 'The Crawler,' to name but a mutant fistful. To see these peeps, to realize their dreams and visions, Ty kept working, kept writing, laying down more tracks than ever. New musical expressions pop and surprise relentlessly throughout all the knockout tunes of Manipulator with many sounds in the mix ? but most of all, SO many guitars! So many. And different kinds of strings ? the strangled-neck solo of 'The Singer,' recalling the good old days down by the river with Neil. Numbed and- unplugged discursions spiraling away from the funk on 'Mister Main.' Three-quarter quartets raising their din in a few key places. Waves of sparkling acoustics with ominous, Love-ly undertones ? and then, torrents of filthy git-grunge, exploding into the chorus, washing everything away, fusing the blackness of Sabbath with the grime and grab-ass of the Stooges and the sweet swinging tones of the Stones. All in the name of getting higher on the music. Why have one guitar solo when you can have a few in the same space? There's so little time, and a lot to say."

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: BEC 5610879

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Born Jephté Mbisi in Genève, Varnish La Pisicine is a 25-year Swiss rap author, composer, and producer. After his former works under the name Pink Flamingo who made him work with Sébastien Tellier and Philippe Zdar, Varnish La Piscine also became a movie director and realized his first film Les contes du Cockatoo whose original soundtrack enhanced with bonus tracks was released by Color Records under the name Metronome Pole Dance Twist Amazone. After they met, Pedro Winter signed him on Ed Banger Record for his next works. This Lake Is Successful is the brand new seven song mini-album. Features Snubnose Frankenstein.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: HE 68002LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Endless Happiness present a reissue of Muddy Waters's Electric Mud, originally released in 1968. Electric Mud is the fifth studio album by Muddy Waters, with members of Rotary Connection serving as his backing band. Released in 1968, it imagines Muddy Waters as a psychedelic musician. Producer Marshall Chess suggested that Muddy Waters recorded it in an attempt to appeal to a rock audience. The album peaked at number 127 on Billboard 200 album chart. It was controversial for its fusion of electric blues with psychedelic elements.

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: FTR 546LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Turner Williams Jr. is a string-player out of the same Alabama surrealist scene that gave us Rev. Fred Lane & the Say Day Bew gang, Davey Williams & LaDonna Smith's Trans Museq universe, and the Sweet Wreath madmen (who have been working with Johnny Coley, Silica Gel, and others). Some crazy shit has gone on down there, and Mr. Williams soaked it all in before heading up to NYC, where he fell in with some of the Sound @ One scene. Which added another layer to the freak potential of his playing. After drifting around the East Coast for a few years, Williams packed up and moved to Marseilles, but not before cutting this session with Jason Meagher at Black Dirt. And it's a monster. Turner plays electric shahi baajas, gaz, and perhaps other ostensibly Eastern instruments, which he uses the create amazing clots of improvisational flow. He cites Michael Flower's work on bulbultarang, and the entire oeuvre of the late Davey Williams as inspiration, and manages to create music as fresh, wild and original as anything either of them has done. The sounds here are generated by just strings and effects, but the way he toggles back and forth between known and unknown tongues demonstrates a conceptual mastery that matches his ace technique. There are bits of this you might think were Paul Metzger, or maybe one of the guys from the World of Pelt, but not many other folks would be able to pull off something so seamlessly syncretic. The tangled fusion of East/West, traditional/post-modern, inside/outside displayed on Briars on a Dewdrop makes the album a brilliant puzzle to try and unravel. Turner Williams? Just say oui! You'll be glad you did." --Byron Coley, 2023

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: FKR 101LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. After years of mythology, misinterpretation, and procrastination Nurse With Wound's Steven Stapleton finally chooses Finders Keepers as the ideal collaborators to release "the right tracks" from his über-legendary psych/prog/punk peculiarity shopping list known as The Nurse With Wound List, commencing with a French specific Volume One of this authentically titled Strain Crack Break series. Featuring some Finders Keepers' regulars amongst galactic Gallic rarities, this double-vinyl dossier demystifies some of the essential French free jazz and Parisian prog inclusions from the alphabetical "dedication" inventory as printed the anti-bands 1979 industrial milestone debut. When Steven Stapleton, Heman Pathak, and John Fothergill's anti-band Nurse With Wound decided to include an alphabetical dedication to all their favorite bands on the back of their inaugural LP the notion of creating a future record dealers' trophy list couldn't have been further from their minds. By adding a list of untraveled European mythical musicians and noise makers to their own debut release of unchartered industrial art rock they were merely providing a suggestive support system of existing potential like-minded bands. Many of the rare, obscure and unpronounceable genre-free records on The Nurse With Wound List have slowly found their own feet and stumbled in to the homes of open-minded outer-national vinyl junkies, mostly without consultation of the enigmatic NWW map. Via vinyl vacations, on cheap flights and interrail tickets, buying bargain bin LPs on a shoestring while oblivious to the pending pension worthy price tags after their 40-year vintage, Stapleton and Fothergill, even if you've never heard of them, were at the bottom of the pit before "digging" became pay dirt. The List has been mythologized, misunderstood, and misconstrued. It's also been overlooked, overestimated, and under-appreciated in equal measures. Bolstered by the sub-title "Categories strain, crack and sometimes break, under their burden," all bands on the inventory (many chosen on the strength of just one track alone) were chosen for their genre-defying qualities. Forty years after Nurse With Wound's first record, Finders Keepers, in close collaboration with Steve Stapleton remind fans of this kind of "lost" music, that there once existed a feint path which was worn away decades before major label pop property developers built over this psychedelic underground. A collaborative attempt to officially, authentically, and legally compile the best tracks from the list, succeeding where many overzealous nerds have deferred. The first volume of the series focuses exclusively on individual tracks of French origin, the country that unsurprisingly hosted the highest content of bands on the list. Comprising of musique concrète, free jazz, Rock In Opposition, Zeuhl School space rock, macabre ballet music, lo-fi sci-fi, and classic horror literature inspired prog.Features Jacques Thollot, Philippe Besombes, Igor Wakhévitch, Mahjun, Lard Free, Etron Fou Leloublan, Jean Cohen-Solal, Z. N. R., Red Noise, Pierre Henry, Horrific Child, Dashiell Hedayat, and Jean Guérin.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: FKR 108LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. With his ongoing commitment to like-minded archivist label Finders Keepers Records, industrial music pioneer Steven Stapleton further entrusts the label to lift the veil and expose "the right tracks" from his uber-legendary and oft misinterpreted psych/prog/punk peculiarity shopping list known as The Nurse With Wound List. Following the critically lauded first instalment and it's exclusively French tracklisting both parties now combine their vinyl-vulturous penchants to bring you the next Strain Crack & Break edition which consists of twelve lesser-known German records that played a hugely important part in the initial foundations of the list which began to unfold when Stapleton was just thirteen-years-old. From the perspective of a schoolboy Amon Düül (ONE) victim, at the start of a journey that commenced before phrases like kosmische and the xeno-ignant krautrock tag had become mag hack currency, this compendium is devoid of the tropes that united what many would accurately argue to be the greatest progressive pop bands in Europe (namely CAN, Neu! and Kraftwerk) and rather shatters the ingredients across a ground zero landscape. This record includes the music that skulked behind krautrock and perhaps refused to polish its backhanded name belt. Including lesser-known artists like the late Wolfgang Dauner whose career proceeded and outlived the kosmische movement while consistently informing and outsmarting 'em whenever they got stuck in their metronomic ruts, or Fritz Müller, the man who was to Kraftwerk what Stuart Sutcliffe was to The Beatles but had more in common with Yoko and quite rightly couldn't give a shit about the Fab Four's Hamburg roots. Elsewhere there's a plethora of German bands made for German audiences as they try and shed second hand flower power Americanisms and feel the benefits of much harder drugs and the realizations of difficult second album budgets. Bonzo Cockettes show off their Big Muffs and drummers ask for extra mics while Conny Plank goes for parliamentary office and gives babies good firm handshakes for the camera. Tracks by Mr. and Mrs. Fuchs (aka Anima-Sound) who played their instruments completely naked throughout their anti-career alongside previously unpressed tracks by the scene's leading Detroit-born African American drummer Fred Braceful (Exmagma). Finders Keepers and Nurse With Wound continue to sing from the same hymnal with this ongoing collaborative attempt to officially, authentically and legally compile the best tracks from Steve's list, where many overzealous nerds have faltered (or simply, got the wrong end of the stick). Volume Two focuses exclusively on individual tracks of German origin -- the country whose music forged the prototype of the NWW inventory in the form of his secondary school vinyl want-list in the early 1970s. Features Wolfgang Dauner, My Solid Ground, Association PC, Fritz Müller, Exmagma, Anima-Sound, Tomorrow's Gift, Out Of Focus, Brainstorm, Thirsty Moon, Gomorrha, and Brainticket.

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: FLIES45 045EP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Cocktail and power-bossa vibes meet shots of clavinet-funk in the new single by Milan-based producer Larry Manteca, a relentless creator of soundtracks for imaginary films in various genres -- from the erotic to the spaghetti western, from crime to zombie-horror. Manteca's debut on 7" vinyl could happen under the aegis of Four Flies Records, whose team went and hand-picked two of the grooviest tracks in his bulimic output, both recorded in 2015 for the sci-fi/erotic-themed album Mutant Virgins From Pluto (the title says it all!). 'UFO Bossa' is a delicious, up-tempo bossa-jazz number cast in an ultra-lounge style and spiced up with references to Les Baxter and Martin Denny's exotica, as well as to pop/erotic sci-fi soundtracks like Bob Crewe's Barbarella, with the added bonus of Yasmine Zekri's sexy scat singing. On the flip side you have 'Intergalactic Porno Scene,' a typical poliziottesco theme where clavinet and flute interweave into a super-funky groove, before synths come in and send us into erotically-charged space orbit."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: FS 4462LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited repress. 180 gram reissue of Rita Lee's (Os Mutantes) debut solo album, originally issued in Brazil in 1970. Orchestral arrangements by Rogerio Duprat and production by Arnaldo Baptista, with a cover of The Beatles' "And I Love Her". Mustard yellow vinyl.

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: GUESS 142LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Bolder Damn's 1971 album Mourning is an absolute monster among U.S. hard rock private pressings. Hailing from Florida, Bolder Damn boasted an ultra-heavy, "raw-in-your-face" sound with devastating fuzzed-out guitar, a solid rhythm section, and manic vocals. First discovered and reissued by the legendary Rockadelic label in 1990, the album has gained a cult status among new fans of '70s proto-doom and hard rock sounds since then. Bringing it back into print after many years, Guerssen presents the definitive vinyl reissue of Mourning, featuring original artwork and fold-out insert with liner notes, interview with singer John Anderson, and rare pictures. Remastered sound. Highly recommended if you like Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Pentagram, MC5, Sainte Anthony's Fyre...

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: GUESS 164LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Guerssen Records present a reissue of Forever Amber's The Love Cycle, originally released in 1969. A holy grail item for psychedelic pop aficionados, Forever Amber's The Love Cycle is, along with Dark and the first Complex album, one of a triumvirate of must-have private pressings from the UK. Sounding like a blend of Pet Sounds (1966) and Odessey & Oracle (1968) but with a charming, homemade, lo-fi vibe, The Love Cycle was a concept album masterminded by talented songwriter/arranger John M. Hudson (a kind of Brian Wilson figure), who found in Cambridge band Forever Amber the perfect vehicle for his songwriting ideas. The Love Cycle was recorded in the summer of 1968 at a makeshift studio, located in the basement of a music shop. Consisting of a song-suite revolving around the meeting, courtship, and break-up of a young couple, the result was a stunning album filled with heavenly vocal harmonies, electric harpsichord and memorable hooks, including some intense psychedelic moments (the heavy phasing of "The Dreamer Flies Back" and more). Released in 1969 as a private edition of 99 copies, The Love Cycle remained buried until its discovery in the late '80s by psychedelic collectors. Bootlegged several times, the first official reissue came in 2007 thanks to David Wells/Tenth Planet. Out of print for several years, Guerssen Records a new vinyl reissue of this essential psych album. Original artwork in backflaps sleeve; includes color insert with rare photos and detailed liner notes by David Wells. RIYL: Zombies, Beatles, Beach Boys, Left Banke, Honeybus, Bee Gees.

 

PRICE: $38.50

CAT #: GUESS 187LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; black vinyl repress. If you are looking for raw, psychedelic hard-rock, look no further. Guerssen Records present the complete recordings (1968-1972) from Wicked Lady, the legendary UK underground power trio leaded by ace guitarist Martin Weaver, later a member of Dark on their Round The Edges album (1972). Here's the first volume of our Wicked Lady collection, double vinyl of The Axeman Cometh. Guerssen Records' new edition features gatefold cover with liner notes by doomy psychedelic guitar god in person, Martin Weaver, who tells the real (and bizarre!) story behind Wicked Lady. The stuff of a legend, this is a real fest of fuzz, wah-wah and heavy riffs that will blow the mind of any hard-psych collector.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: GUESS 194LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Reissue, originally released in 1971 on the Triangle label. Excellent vintage hard-rock made in Belgium. Irish Coffee's sound was clearly influenced by Deep Purple or even Uriah Heep, with killer guitar all over and good use of organ. This has been considered as a key album in the hard-rock field since the early days of collecting, with originals fetching really some money. Hard-cardboard cover with original artwork; OBI and resealable sleeve; insert with liner notes and photos.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: HSRSS 004LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Reggay Undercover is an exciting musical kaleidoscope of Jamaican and Reggae music from the early '60s through to the mid-70s. In the 1950s, Jamaican dancehall regulars were crazy about the haunting sounds of American Rhythm & Blues. But in the mid-1950s, Rock n' roll began to replace R&B in America, and Jamaican dancehall owners like Duke Reid and Clement Dodd turned to local musicians to record their own versions of American R&B. The trend of covering foreign hits exploded during the Ska heyday of the early '60s and continued through the Rocksteady and Reggae eras. Jamaican musicians have covered virtually every genre of music, from jazz and rock to film scores, television soundtracks, pop, classical music and more. Over the years, they have also recorded many 'versions' of already existing covers. Cover of cover of cover... Admittedly, some of these covers were futile but many were sublime as this new and eclectic collection of Ska, Rocksteady and Reggay nuggets, compiled by the very competent and very charming DJ Helea, brilliantly demonstrates. Attention we are here 'undercover', there are no well-known covers. Some of the tracks selected are rare, others unknown or forgotten - but all are excellent and blended in an impeccable mix, in line with previous Harlem Shuffle compilations... All killer, no filler!"

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: HONEY 069LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1962. Trumpet Africaine was Hugh Masekela's debut album, recorded in New York and released in 1962, two years after Masekela had left South Africa in reaction to the increasing inhumanity of the apartheid regime. Masekela's trumpet shines on top of Hugo Montenegro's fine orchestral arrangements while the track list includes, among others, five fresh instrumental versions of Miriam Makeba's songs. Trumpet Africaine was an important early statement from one of the most representative South African musicians of its time.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 075LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1960. Ahmad Jamal's contribution to the expansion of the jazz art form is undeniable. A true genius and a source of inspiration for other jazz greats, one for all: Miles Davis. Jamal's piano style and music aesthetic come as a unique blend of sophistication and taste. Recorded in Chicago and first released on Argo in 1960, Happy Moods is the result of a happy studio date and lush production featuring his great trio with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernel Fournier on drums.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 076LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1957. Modern Jazz Perspective is a highly swinging straight-ahead bop infused album by two great modernists of the '50s. Recorded and first released on Columbia in 1957 this album sees trumpeter Donald Byrd and alto sax player Gigi Gryce teaming up and leading a group of strong partners such as Jimmy Cleveland (trombone), Julius Watkins (French horn), Sahib Shihab (baritone sax), Wynton Kelly (piano), Wendell Marshall (bass), and Art Taylor (drums), plus the guest appearance of Jackie Paris on banjo on one track and vocals on two others.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 077LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1963. Jon Hendricks one of the greatest jazz singers of all time as well as one of the originators of vocalese style in a declared tribute to the unique art of Joao Gilberto. Hendricks's inspired rendition of Gilberto's sophisticated repertoire shows love and devotion for the Brazilian tradition through a series of accurate and faithful arrangements. Needless to add that Hendricks's hyper smooth singing is perfectly baked by a hi-class line-up featuring among others: Pete and Conte Candoli (trumpets), Buddy Colette (flute), and Laurindo Almeida (guitar). In one word: superb!

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: INC 022EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Berlin-based producer Buttechno (a.k.a Pavel Milyakov) returns to Incienso for the second edition of his "minimal cuts" series with four house bangers full of style and class.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: INC 031CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

The first two pieces "Cleveland "and "Akron" were recorded in 2022. These dark, long form, hypnotic drone pieces reflect the current state of America. The third piece "American Landscapes" was commissioned and performed by Stephen Petronio Dance Company in New York. According to the New York Times "the piece is a spare, almost soothing composition by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch -- it's a combination of lute, acoustic guitar and electric guitar. Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Van Wissem met on the streets of New York in 2006. They shared a lot of interest and background so a collaboration and a friendship was born. Jarmusch was looking to have Van Wissem compose a score for a film he had been trying to make for years, what he described as a "crypto-vampire film" about two lovers, outsider types who have been in love for hundreds of years. Van Wissem's work comes from a tradition of avant-garde minimalism and lends itself well to the director's stark cinematic works. Jarmusch has played guitar in bands on and off since the late '70s. Van Wissem's compositional style involves hypnotic circular musical phrases that allow for a lot of contemplative space between the notes. Their first live performance was in Issue Project Room in Brooklyn in October 2011, where they appeared together for a Van Wissem curated concert program called 'New Music for Early Instruments.' The idea for their first album, Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity (Important Records) developed from their live performance. Jarmusch has said that he considers these songs as Van Wissem's compositions, and sees himself as someone filling in the background to Jozef 's foreground, like the 'scenic' on a film shoot, the one who paints the backdrops. The sound of the lute is as bright as the sun, a beautiful red color and my stuff sounds sort of like the moon, more like blue, like mercury." Jozef Van Wissem - lutes, condensator drones, electronics; Jim Jarmusch - acoustic and electric guitars. All compositions by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch. Produced, mixed by JVW. Front cover by Robert Longo.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: INC 032LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

LP version. The first two pieces "Cleveland "and "Akron" were recorded in 2022. These dark, long form, hypnotic drone pieces reflect the current state of America. The third piece "American Landscapes" was commissioned and performed by Stephen Petronio Dance Company in New York. According to the New York Times "the piece is a spare, almost soothing composition by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch -- it's a combination of lute, acoustic guitar and electric guitar. Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Van Wissem met on the streets of New York in 2006. They shared a lot of interest and background so a collaboration and a friendship was born. Jarmusch was looking to have Van Wissem compose a score for a film he had been trying to make for years, what he described as a "crypto-vampire film" about two lovers, outsider types who have been in love for hundreds of years. Van Wissem's work comes from a tradition of avant-garde minimalism and lends itself well to the director's stark cinematic works. Jarmusch has played guitar in bands on and off since the late '70s. Van Wissem's compositional style involves hypnotic circular musical phrases that allow for a lot of contemplative space between the notes. Their first live performance was in Issue Project Room in Brooklyn in October 2011, where they appeared together for a Van Wissem curated concert program called 'New Music for Early Instruments.' The idea for their first album, Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity (Important Records) developed from their live performance. Jarmusch has said that he considers these songs as Van Wissem's compositions, and sees himself as someone filling in the background to Jozef 's foreground, like the 'scenic' on a film shoot, the one who paints the backdrops. The sound of the lute is as bright as the sun, a beautiful red color and my stuff sounds sort of like the moon, more like blue, like mercury." Jozef Van Wissem - lutes, condensator drones, electronics; Jim Jarmusch - acoustic and electric guitars. All compositions by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch. Produced, mixed by JVW. Front cover by Robert Longo.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: JPR 037LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Etta James debut LP originally released in 1960, featuring the classic hit song 'At Last'. Blues, soul, jazz, R&B and rock vocalist Etta James needs no introduction. An icon from early rock'n'rolls pantheon of divas, she has inspired five decades of listeners and fellow artists with her vocal stylings. From Janis Joplin to Beyonce, her expressive and guttural style has been imitated, but never quite matched. Jackpot Records is honored to release this momentous record with the original album artwork and 4 bonus tracks (previously only available on CD)."

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: KEYSYS 002EP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2020 release. Lost two-song 7" jazz EP by NYC session drummer Tee Holman. Holman allegedly got his start sitting in on "Heat Wave" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, and eventually landed the drummer's seat on Eddie Gale's legendary Ghetto Music LP for Blue Note. These songs, commissioned by Holman with some of New York's best emerging jazz cats including Sonelius Smith, the Arkestra's Ahmed Abdullah, and singer Joe Lee Wilson whose B-side interpretation of Gershwin's "Summertime" is a hazy, soulful, psychedelic masterpiece. A-side "The Rudie" is a jazz funk workout only the five boroughs could produce. 7" with pocket sleeve; handstamped and numbered; edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $40.00

CAT #: KK 2258003LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Restocked; double LP version. Poly-lined inner sleeves; gatefold. 180 gram, black double vinyl. The original analog master tapes were transferred with higher resolution and remastered with great care. Remastered by Dieter Dierks and Dennis Flüchter. Walter Wegmüller (1937-2020) was a Swiss-Jenish artist who grew up in difficult circumstances in Bern. After training in Basel, Bern, Paris, and London, he began his artistic career. In addition to painting and sculptural works, Walter Wegmüller occupied himself with the entire spectrum of art. He gained widespread international attention, especially from 1974 onwards, with the publication of his Zigeuner Tarot. He was successful at countless exhibitions in Europe and overseas and was repeatedly awarded prizes and distinctions. However, he never forgot his origins as a Verding child and "Rome child from the Kalderasch tribe." In 1973, he released the album Tarot with an all-star band. Successful musicians such as Klaus Schulze, Manuel Göttsching, Harald Grosskopf, Dieter Dierks, Hartmut Enke, Jürgen Dollase, and Walter Westrupp played in the band. It remained Walter Wegmüller's only foray into the world of music. The album was last released on vinyl in 1976, the CD in 2000. This version here is the first remaster ever.

 

PRICE: $36.00

CAT #: KRANK 114LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Atlas Sound is the solo moniker of Deerhunter frontman/provocateur Bradford Cox. Here on his debut album, Cox/Sound moves out of dank nightclubs filled with eternal existential drone punk, and relaxes at home in his Grant Park, Atlanta bedroom. And this is, essentially, a bedroom album, a collage, mixing the garage rock and ambient electronic influences previously explored with Deerhunter in a new context, with newly-explored recording techniques, mainly laptop-based, learned with guidance from Kranky artist Nudge's Brian Foote. This is a true solo album, entirely created and produced by a single person. That is certainly not unique, especially in the contemporary scene. But Bradford Cox's unusual talent is the ability to take a wide variety of seemingly incongruous sound elements, and seamlessly meld them into a cohesive pop narrative...This is the first vinyl release for the acclaimed solo debut from Bradford Cox. To make the 4 sides of the album complete, there are six new songs added. Rest assured, these are not mere 'leftovers' from the mixing of the album. In fact, most of them were recorded after the album had already been completed. And two of the new tunes, 'It Rained' and 'Stained Glass Swan' are of such high quality that they would be considered centerpieces on most albums." Deluxe gatefold packaging.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: LIFE 031LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1961. "This jazz musician of Sudanese descent shows up here and there on recording sessions from the '60s, including a stint as a member of Thelonious Monk's combo. He also played oud and took part in a variety of attempts to blend his roots music with jazz, out of which this is one of the most successful. Indeed, one might overlook the entire fusion nature of this record and look at is as a prime example of how much brilliant jazz is created often by relatively unknown players, despite traditional historical attempts to credit most of the best jazz to a certain pantheon of so-called 'giant' players. The best-known player here is drummer Andrew Cyrille, recorded here early in his career, playing in a more traditional style then he would eventually become known for and playing very well to be sure. The leader's original tunes are catchy and refreshing, revealing new delights with each listen. The version of the standard 'Don't Blame Me' is a wonderful showcase for another undersung player, cellist Calo Scott. Of course, the usual credit should go to recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder, whose efforts recording small combo jazz have never been matched." --Eugene Chadbourne, All Music

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: LIFE 032LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1962. Sounds of Africa is the fourth album by double bassist and oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik featuring performances recorded in 1962 (with one track from 1961) and originally released on the New Jazz label. This early '60s Afro-jazz jam with Middle-Eastern and Latin flavors is one of the first in its genre. The album also features Bilal Abdurahman, Andrew Cyrille, and Chief Bey. Seminal!

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: LSD 154CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"The Dream was a return to form and leans towards the earlier Orb sound and aesthetic. Dr. Alex Paterson reunites with Martin 'Youth' Glover and is also joined by Tim Bran of Dreadzone. Listeners are treated to the magical guitar flair from none other than Steve Hillage (Gong, System 7) as he joins in on several of the albums tracks. The Dream is the eighth studio album by The Orb released in 2007 on Liquid Sound Design Records and is the only Orb album yet to be released on vinyl."

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: MAR 050LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress. Mad About Records present a reissue of Tete Mbambisa's Tete's Big Sound, originally released in 1976. South African jazz holy grail. Tete Mbambisa has performed and recorded with many of the giants of South African Jazz (Bazil "Manenberg" Coetzee, Johnny Dyani, Dick Khoza, Duku Makasi, Gideon Nxumalo, Dudu Pukwana, etc...), and is one of the very few South African jazz musicians that can claim to have played with the three jazz generations of the last fifty years. His work as a pianist, vocalist, composer and arranger is a landmark on South African jazz history. After a recording hiatus, Mbambisa returned in 1974 with an octet album, Tete's Big Sound released on a newly formed label, As Shams (or "The Sun"), established by South African record store owner and independent producer Rashid Vally. Tete's Big Sound included tracks like "Unity" and the "Black Heroes Lamentation", now considered a classic in the South African jazz underground. The sound that Mbambisa carved in this period was wholly acoustic, and is a style that now is often loosely labelled spiritual jazz, a sound that alludes to deep African textures and rhythms balanced with clear nods to American hard bop and modal jazz, sometimes edging toward free improvisation in echoes of John Coltrane and Pharaoh Sanders. 180 gram vinyl; deluxe hard-cardboard sleeve with OBI and resealable outer sleeve.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: MAR 061LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 restock; reissue, originally released in 1983. One of the rarest boogie jazz records ever. The private press album includes the rare groove classic "Searchin' For The Soul". Corky McClerkin's early career follows It follows in the wake of the infectiously funky, blues-based keyboard music exemplified by hard-bop paragons Horace Silver and Bobby Timmons in the '50s and '60s. Not surprisingly, McClerkin listened to those pianists while growing up on Chicago's south-side; he also heard plenty of Ahmad Jamal (who then lived and worked in Chicago), and Jamal's trademark airiness occasionally works its way into the mix as well. Since the 1960s, Corky has performed professionally throughout the Chicago area, guided by his mentor, jazz tenor great Von Freeman, he developed his talents throughout the 1970s while also discovering his passion for writing. As a featured columnist for the Chicago Courier, he was inspired to write Undercurrents (1978), a collection of short stories about the black experience. In 1981, Corky strengthened his talents by taking on the position of musical director and arranger for the Chicago production of Sasha, Sing Dinah! and wrote "a play, Life Cycles," performed at the Chicago Cultural Center. In 1983 he built on his experiences by releasing his first album, Searchin' For The Soul on WinCor Records in 1983. Hard-cardboard sleeve; obi; 180 gram vinyl.

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: MENT 006LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Mental Experience present a reissue of Golem's Orion Awakes. Orion Awakes was recorded and produced circa 1976 by Toby Robinson, aka Genius P. Orridge, while he worked as second engineer at the famous Dierks Studio in Cologne. Memories from those hazy times are sketchy, but all evidence leads you to believe that the musicians featured here were well-known names from the kraut scene working under pseudonyms, recording 100% underground, non-commercial music under Toby's guidance, just for fun. Apparently, Orion Awakes was released as a very limited hand-made pressing housed in a silver foil sleeve on the Pyramid label, which was run by Toby and his friend Robin Page, the Fluxus artist. No original copies have ever been found. The fascinating liner notes by kraut expert Alan Freeman talk about seeing an original copy of Golem at a record shop in Germany many years ago and he also sheds some light on who could be the real musicians involved, as well as discussing the controversial story of the Pyramid label and the accusations of Golem being a manufactured '90s "fake" instead of a real vintage '70s recording. A glorious blend of space-rock, kraut, and psychedelia, courtesy of the mysterious Golem -- Plenty of Hammond organ, analog synths, ripping guitar, effects, trippy jams. RIYL: Gila, Mythos, Guru Guru, Cosmic Jokers, Novalis, Neu!, Hawkwind, Brainticket, My Solid Ground, Pink Floyd. "Legitimately tripped out, fans of the Cosmic Jokers could certainly get behind this one." --Angela Sawyer (Weirdo Records) Includes download coupon; 24-bit domain remaster from the original tapes; Housed in a silver foil sleeve; Insert with liner notes by Alan Freeman (Ultima Thule/The Crack In The Cosmic Egg (1996)).

 

PRICE: $30.00

CAT #: MKY 024LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; LP version. Stoughton tip on jacket. "A true desert island disc, criminally out of print for nearly 40 years. This seminal, eponymous post-punk album by Japanese group Aunt Sally, fronted by experimental singer Phew (Mute Records), was first released by the iconic Vanity Records label in 1979. Over the past forty-plus years, Phew has forged a singular path through a wide range of styles -- from free improvisation to pop -- and has collaborated with the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto, members of Can, DAF, Einstürzende Neubauten, The Raincoats, and more. But Aunt Sally is where she got her start and, despite the members' young ages (still in college at the time), Phew and the band delivered a mature, timeless take on minimalistic punk. Remastered from the original analog tapes."

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: MIND 804LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Limited repress. 1975 was the year in which Kraftwerk's live shows took off and you can hear that on this record. Kraftwerk developed a progressive robot pop style by mixing electronic sounds and hypnotic rhythms with pop melodies. Kraftwerk was the birthplace of electronic music and is still an example for great artists. This registration includes the world hit Autobahn.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: MR 437LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

MAG has been, since its foundation in 1953, an essential label in the music scene of Peru, allowing the development of the careers of both tropical artists and musicians of other genres. At the head was Don Manuel Antonio Guerrero, its founder, whose name comes from the acronym of the label itself (M.A.G.). In 2021 MAG was acquired by the Spanish company Distrolux SL, owner of the Munster and Vampisoul record labels, after years of previous collaborations in which some of the most emblematic titles in the catalog were already reissued for the international market: Nils Jazz Ensemble, Sonora Casino, Traffic Sound, Al Valdez, Pax... Following 14 MAGníficos Bailables (VAMPI 260LP), comprising some of the best tropical music on MAG, this new compilation brings together 12 songs recorded between 1971 and 1976, reminiscent of sunshine pop, folk psych, and soft rock but with Peruvian touches. The lyrics range from youthful reflections, environmental awareness, paradigm changes to all shades of love that the youth of the day experienced. Unusual instruments and exceptional vocal play also feature in the ten original songs and two cover versions, all performed by Lima-based groups. In chronological order, the earliest song comes from Telegraph Avenue, who recorded their debut album on the MAG label in 1971. Next comes "Tiempo de sol" (1972), by the Peruvian-Argentinean band Tarkus, which included in its line-up the bass guitarist and drummer of Telegraph Avenue. Again from 1972, We All Together (WAT) is the project that Saúl and Manuel Cornejo started after their last album with Laghonia, together with Carlos Guerrero, the son of MAG's owner. WAT originally intended to cover McCartney, taking advantage of the fact that the Wings records took a long time to be released in Peru. The female vocals on this album are provided by Monik, the artistic pseudonym of Mónica Guerrero, MAG's A&R director and Carlos's sister, who encouraged her to record some "test" songs that were soon released, including the anguished "The World Is Getting Worse", written by Carlos. "Estoy Brillando" is a gem of sunshine pop in Spanish recorded by FE 59 in 1973. Grupo Amigos also recorded an LP that year with their own songs in English and Spanish, again with the collaboration of the Cornejo brothers. "Mujer" is a nostalgic slow rock song accented by a melodious synthesizer. "Cariño Grande" is a blistering huayno-milonga with Moog synthesizer by Miguel Ángel Ruiz Orbegozo, known as Zulu. And the list goes on and on... Also features Innovations, Sudamérica, Traffic Sound, Telegraph Ave, Monik, Illicit, Grupo Amigos, and Cerro Verde.

 

PRICE: $38.00

CAT #: MOV 3396LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Donald Byrd was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter, vocalist, composer and bandleader. In his early career he was one of the few hard bop musicians exploring funk and soul while remaining true to his jazz roots. His 1973 album Street Lady was produced by Larry Mizell and contains the classic jazz-funk tracks 'Lansana's Priestress' and 'Street Lady'. Personnel playing on the album include Fonce Mizell (Larry's brother) on clavinet, trumpet, vocals and Harvey Mason on drums. Some of the songs on this record were later sampled by artists like Jungle Brothers, Del the Funky Homosapien, and Theo Parrish amongst others. Street Lady is regarded as classic jazz-funk album and is available in the original replica gatefold sleeve."

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: MYE 113LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reissue, originally released in 1967. Los Bric a Brac is a very special band within Chilean pop because of the diversity of its members: its leader and founding member, Luis "Chino" Urquidi, came from Los Cuatro Cuartos, one of the most successful Chilean neo-folk bands of the time who were joined by the two most recognizable faces of the band, and Antonio Zabaleta was from Los Red Juniors, and Paz Undurraga, formerly of Las Cuatro Brujas. With such diverse influences the group achieved a sound closer to international pop, but with touches of bossa nova, vocal groups like The Mama's and the Papa's, or the most direct reference to the British beat. The convulsive times in Chile made Bric a Brac approach the social commentary, but not from the sidewalk of militancy, but with a more distant look, almost as an impartial observer. Given the popularity of its members, TV was important for the massiveness of success, which came very soon for the band, who after their debut single immediately released their first LP, which is the one we present here, and the most representative of a band that as the interpretation of its name seems to indicate -- a little bit of everything -- moved in a wide range of styles. Their life was very short, and after a second LP called Nuestro Show, equally successful, came the separation and the end of one of the most popular pop groups of the late '60s in Chile. The single "Sacale las balas a tu fusil" (Take the Bullets off Your Rifle) is an anti-war song, originally recorded by Argentinian duo Barbara & Dick. "Alma joven" (Young Soul) was a second single, but their biggest hit was "Nunca Jamas" (Never Ever), the song that gave the band the chance to be included in the prestigious Viña de Mar Festival. From the original IRT masters.

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: MYE 114LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1967. In the '60s, in Chile there were two styles of pop music that were very popular: one was the "new wave", something like the descendants of the Anglo-Saxon pop soloists; the other, naturally, were the groups that, under the influence of the British invasion by the hand of the Beatles, played rock and roll. With Juegos Prohibidos, Beat 4 begin to detach themselves a little from that current that was limited to copying and covering especially British hits, and began to sing in Spanish, and to risk more in the production of their songs, approaching psychedelia and experimentation. With its own personality and a fresh sound, Juegos Prohibidos is a key piece to understand the first steps of Chilean rock, an album that although it keeps winks to the greats of rock, especially the Stones ("Encontrarás otro amor"), also gives original steps ("Quiero fugarme con ella a una isla solitaria (donde haya paz)"), and mystical experimentation with psychedelic touches already influenced by the hippie generation ("Viaje fantástico"). One of the jewels of a pioneer band of the Chilean rock of the '60s. The band was at first called Los Electrodos and they started playing "nueva ola" songs. With the arrival Beatlemania they changed their name to Beat 4 and began playing song of their idols, The Beatles, The Kinks and The Animals. Soon the band began to write and play their own songs in Spanish. By the beginning of the ´70s they have already released 4 albums with great success, but as key members quit the group, Beat 4 was over. From the original IRT masters.

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: MYE 115LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reissue, originally released in 1972. In days of high politicization of music, the so-called new song was undoubtedly the one that monopolized the media. In that environment appears the Combo Xingu, a band far from the Latin Americanist line and political ebullition, took elements of soul and funk to build this jewel mostly ignored at the time, which is his only legacy. Stevie Wonder and James Brown are their most notorious references, but they also bring their own personality and elements, especially in the song "Black Power", as the band's position. It is also worth mentioning a memorable interpretation of Led Zeppelin's classic "Moby Dick". Far from the conjunctural, the band dissolves with only two years and one album to their credit, separated from the mainstream by a style that although it was very popular in the north, was of null diffusion in Chile, but they leave this unique piece as a sample of other bands that would come years later to continue their legacy, ahead for the times. Combo Xingu was a short-lived band formed by students of the Chilean university of music, and ex members of the Beat Combo in 1971 and their career ended in 1973. They left two very original albums, being the first band to play soul and funk in Chile, with influence of the "nueva canción" and pop-rock touches. And a very powerful sound. From the original IRT masters.

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: MYE 117LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1973. The group was a vocal trio formed by the sisters Dolores, Soledad, and Patricia García, which imposed on radios and nightclubs at least three singles of enormous popularity: "Cállate (Ya no me mientas)", "Duele, duele", and "Yo soy una dama". The band started as a family and adolescent project, with the four García sisters (Macarena left soon after) rehearsing in the family living room under the orders of their father, who had no problem in taking over as their manager and promoting the musical career of his daughters, who had not yet finished high school. Their first name was Las Incógnitas ("because they were unknown", according to them) and they reinforced it by performing under masks. Their recitals highlighted a strong stage organization, which always included dance steps and vocal harmonization. Kermesses and school festivals were their first showcases, which soon expanded with tours to the provinces. The girls received dance lessons from Paco Mairena and agreed on flashy outfits, indebted to the provocative New York disco wave that was already known in Chile. The enormous success of their music led them to foreign promotions that left them for a while in Germany, thanks to an exclusive RCA contract. However, in Europe it was impossible for them to keep the attention, and the group disbanded in the mid-80s. The García sisters have lived in Germany ever since, and have made very sporadic visits to Chile. Their careful vocal harmonies and neat arrangements bequeathed a sound that still sounds elegant, far above similar danceable efforts of the time. Although, at the time, Frecuencia Mod defended a music of apparent evasion, it is impossible not to recognize its pioneering value for Chilean pop of high quality. From the original IRT masters.

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: MYE 121LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1967. Los Mac's were formed in 1962 in Playa Ancha, initially as a cover band. In 1965 they moved to Santiago, with their experience on their backs, and with their own songs they attracted the interest of RCA, who quickly signed them. In their career the band would record six albums, four in their heyday in the '60s, and two more after their reunion in 2010. Kaleidoscope Men is the most important and successful of this Valparaiso quartet, and was produced at RCA by Carlos Gonzalez. Kaleidoscope Men is a psychedelic album clearly influenced by the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's, and by the groups of the then called Californian sunshine pop. A mature album, with excellent vocal and instrumental arrangements that flies from the confines of the world to a universal sound with fluidity and elegance. The elegant "Degrees" shines with its own light, psychedelia with vocal touches of great bands of the '60s like The Turtles, The Association, or the incomparable Byrds. "El evangelio de la gente sola" is a progressive instrumental cut with the peculiar sound of a church organ, while "Dear Friend Bob" uses the technique that George Martin used with the Beatles in their most experimental stage of using the tapes in the opposite direction, with which the sound of the instruments "upside down" gives the special touch popularized by the four from Liverpool but used assiduously by bands of the time. The acid baroque of "A través del cristal" is close to "Strawberry Fields Forever", while "La muerte de mi hermano" enters the anti-war current of the Vietnam War era; a poignant song structurally supported by the Byrds' guitar sound. Originally released in 1967, Kaleidoscope Men is the penultimate and most respected album by the Mac's, who would record their last album in 1968 and then move to the United States. A jewel to rediscover through this careful release that honors the original with an excellent remastering and artwork. From the original IRT masters.

 

PRICE: $50.00

CAT #: NA 5218LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Del Jones, a poet, and proto-rapper, recorded Court Is Closed in 1973. It was underground Philadelphia's response to Amiri Baraka's and Gil Scott-Heron's indictments of the Black American experience -- a call to action not just for his city, but for the nation. Court Is Closed, equal parts psychedelic rock and deep funk, had a limited release of 500 copies and was rarely heard before Jones overdubbed horns on the album, remixed and augmented it with additional music, and issued it as the better-known Positive Vibes. Here we present both versions of the album on the 23rd release in the deluxe Now-Again Reserve Edition series. Jones' story, and that of his family, is like his music: a loud, vital voice long silenced. Understanding it now is not just a visceral musical experience, but an essential dissection of racism and classism in America. The set includes an oversized ten-page booklet by Jeremy Cargill, with contributions by Now-Again founder Eothen "Egon" Alapatt which delves into Jones' music, milieu and life as an author, activist and orator, shining a light not only on his prescient awareness of hip-hop, but also on the struggles he confronted, and his urgent, current mandate."

 

PRICE: $50.00

CAT #: NA 5222LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; double LP version. "Morgen's self-titled 1969 album is the sole release by the NYC band led by songwriter/vocalist Steve Morgen. Now-Again's Reserve edition of the release pairs the album with previously-unreleased songs, alternate takes and instrumentals for a de¬finitive triple CD reissue. That casual listeners have never heard of this late 60s masterpiece is by any measure a musical injustice. Morgen offers a portal to a dream space where the expansive, artful touches never prevent the band members from pummeling their instruments like their lives depended on it. Paul Major, perhaps the first Morgen evangelist, likens the album's immediacy to that of Hendrix, stating 'Morgen was one of the records that came closest to giving me that same kind of thrill on that level. It blew my mind!' Geoffrey Weiss, Now-Again's nomination for World's Greatest Record Collector, states '...unlike 95% of the rare psychedelic records that people celebrate it sounds like they were good musicians who were well rehearsed and had worked out this sound very intentionally. Morgen has a kind of power -- you really can't compare it to anything.' The band, and Morgen's arc were -- cribbing Kurt Vonnegut -- unstuck in time. It took 50 years for Steve Morgen's belief, for instance, that an alternate, superior version of his stellar 'Purple' was recorded in 1968. It sees release here, alongside other takes of songs from the album, including a version of 'Beggin' Your Pardon (Ms. Joan)' on which Morgen's fiery guitarist Murray Shiffrin sings lead and songs the band recorded as possibilities for the album, before settling on their dense, hazy vision and etching an indelible entry into the psychedelic canon."

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: NOW 017CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

This comeback is nothing other than the first step towards the new Fakear. This new wave can be expressed in one word: Talisman, his new album. The first tracks "Moonlight Moves" and "Altar" have mesmerizing and intriguing sounds. It also features "Voyager," with a music video mixing gorgeous mountain views and a feeling of weightlessness. Today, Fakear is above all Theo: with his emotions and his battles, one of them being for climate change, and the importance of our planet. For his new album, he collaborated with Camille Étienne, a known climate change activist, on his track "Odyssea." Ten years after his first steps in the industry, Fakear now returns to his roots, without looking to the past with nostalgia or contempt; but rather by contemplating his past self with kindness, and a tap on the shoulder. "I found myself," he admitted. Also features Dana Williams, Thylacine, and Hannah Yadi.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: NOW 017LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. This comeback is nothing other than the first step towards the new Fakear. This new wave can be expressed in one word: Talisman, his new album. The first tracks "Moonlight Moves" and "Altar" have mesmerizing and intriguing sounds. It also features "Voyager," with a music video mixing gorgeous mountain views and a feeling of weightlessness. Today, Fakear is above all Theo: with his emotions and his battles, one of them being for climate change, and the importance of our planet. For his new album, he collaborated with Camille Étienne, a known climate change activist, on his track "Odyssea." Ten years after his first steps in the industry, Fakear now returns to his roots, without looking to the past with nostalgia or contempt; but rather by contemplating his past self with kindness, and a tap on the shoulder. "I found myself," he admitted. Also features Dana Williams, Thylacine, and Hannah Yadi.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: PAL 022LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress, 1999 release. Will Oldham's first release as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. "Like Oldham's best work, I See A Darkness is alternately baffling and revelatory, revealing more with each successive listen. Terrific." -- The Onion A.V. Club

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RR 380LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reissue. Crucial set of dubs from Scientist. Barry Brown Meets The Scientist features twelve extra-heavy Scientist mixes of Barry Brown tracks originally cut and played at King Tubby's by the legendary Roots Radics. Six vocal mixes and a further six dubs, where the peerless Scientist really cuts loose on the mixing board, nudging the EQs and royally dubbing Brown outta sight.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: RAJATON 002B-EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Sasu Ripatti presents the second volume in his Dancefloor Classics series with five 10" releases coming throughout 2023. Music for imaginary dancefloors, released on Ripatti's own label Rajaton. Second 10" in a series of five EPs by Sasu Ripatti aka Dancefloor Classics. 45rpm; includes download code; edition of 500.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: RAJATON 003B-EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Vladislav Delay presents the second EP in his Hide Behind The Silence series with five 10" releases coming throughout 2023. Intuitive and raw music, momentary and reflective, released on Sasu Ripatti's own label Rajaton. Second 10" in a series of five EPs by Sasu Ripatti aka Vladislav Delay. 45rpm; includes download code; edition of 500.

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: RLV 001-7

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"With the release of Piero Umiliani's Discomania Four Flies launched RELOVED, a vinyl series where contemporary DJs and producers rework tunes from Italian golden age soundtracks and library music. The aim of the series is to spark a conversation between past, present and future, joining the dots between Italy's great film and library-music tradition and a global scene of forward-thinking producers. The 7" releases are co-curated by fellow independent label Little Beat More -- in their own words: 'We're giving new life to music from some of the greatest Italian composers of the past. It's all about sampling, and that's why we decided to involve not only electronic producers but also highly talented beat makers, and we decided to focus mostly on the 7-inch format which is so popular among hip hop lovers. First in line is the 7" Autumn 2001/Autumn 2021, with an original track from Italian jazz pianist and electronic music pioneer Gianni Safred and a rework from Free The Robots. 'Autumn 2001' comes from the 1978 Italian library LP Futuribile (The Life To Come), a retro-futuristic masterpiece by Gianni Safred, one of the great pioneers of Italian electronic music. Chris Alfaro, aka Free the Robots, is a musician, beat maker and DJ known for his ability to jump in and out of different sonic worlds, creating a unique signature sound blending electronic, hip hop, jazz and psychedelia. Free The Robots says about the release: 'The sounds used back in the '60s and '70s are partly where I model my own sound and many Italian bands from the era played a big role in the inspiration of my music.'"

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: RER VHC2

FILE UNDER: ROCK

20213 restock. ReR Vinyl present a reissue of Henry Cow's Unrest, originally released in 1974. Dating from 1974, and following on from the re-release of Leg End, this is the second in the label's series of vinyl reissues of the original Virgin albums. Geoff Leigh had left the group and Lindsay Cooper joined on bassoon, oboe, flute, and soprano sax. The mix was more "live" than Leg End, with the drums much more up front. The first half is highly composed material, with some of the Cow's best loved tunes, like "Half Asleep Half Awake" and "Bittern Storm Over Ulm". For the second half the material was all written in the studio, using loops, varispeed tapes and electronics, and superimposing live improvisation and composed passages.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: EZRDR 136LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; LP version. "Here's just a few of the gems on Brown Acid - The Fourteenth Trip, the much beloved series that is the Nuggets of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock: The Legends' 'Fever Games' is a 1969 fever dream of heavy psych on par with Blue Cheer at their heaviest, featuring an incredible intro with whammy-bar gymnastics through an Echoplex. This Harrisburg, PA power trio, featuring Dan Hartman (Edgar Winter Group, et al) and his brother Dave, also name-checks Jimi Hendrix Experience in the midst of the song's most blatant Hendrix rip. Perhaps that's how Fever Games work? Transfer's velvet smooth groove has an almost proto-punk feel like a mashup of the Velvet Underground and The Flamin' Groovies. But the lyrics referencing tokin' reefer and the twanging surf lead situate them closer to their heavy rock brethren. This very rare 1974 self- released 45 is this lone archive of the band's existence -- assume they just kept right on playin' it cool into oblivion. Cox's Army deploy the grungy rocker 'I'm Tired' which sounds like if Jimi Hendrix fronted Mudhoney. Yes, please! Though they hailed from Aurora, IL, it sounds like there's definitely some Pacific Northwest in their blood. Particularly in the gritty production, which hints at The Sonics' 'bustin' outta lo-fi' style. Not much is known about the enigmatic Columbus, OH musician known as Raven, whose 'Back to Ohio Blues' closes this edition. The mantra-like droning riff of this eight-minute jam is a Black To Comm-style epic, driven by Raven's hostile, no-bullshit diatribe until it all busts open for an insane two-minute long drum solo soaked in odd effects that sounds like it was copped from a Melvins album."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: EZRDR 139LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; LP version. "Lo and behold, Brown Acid - The Fifteenth Trip is here, and it's another mind-melting dose of brilliant long-lost, rare, and unreleased hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks from the 60s -70s. Riding Easy's crate-digging mining expeditions, and growing network of the original artists keeps on giving with more and more incredible discoveries every time they go back for more. Like they've done throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. Make oneself comfortable and prepare for yet another deep, deep dive into the treasure trove of dank, subterranean, wild-eyed and hairy rock n' roll of yesteryear. Some key examples include: As usual, this Trip opens strong, as 'Take The Time' swaggers along with switchblade stabs of guitar twang and frantic drumming that sounds like Nick Cave's '80s post-punk barbarians The Birthday Party on this 1969 single from the mysterious Boston area band The Looking Glass. Negative Space toil in the dark web of The Seeds, and dwell in the mystic haze of working-class suburbs in Camden, NJ circa 1970. Their angry, nasty guitar sounds and frustration-bogged frontman Rob Russen ensure that the aggro fueled 'Forbidden Fruit' -- in which he confesses his love for his sister-in-law -- will hit one right in the face. Truth & Janey might be familiar from their 45-only 'Midnight Horseman' single heard way back on the Sixth Trip, and/or their incredible 1976 album No Rest For The Wicked. Their super-driven soul leaning cover of 'Under My Thumb' is almost like The Who had penned the track, with relentless drums, jackhammer rhythm guitar and near-falsetto vocals."

 

PRICE: $59.50

CAT #: ROTOR 080LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

The long-running and infamous project known as Nurse With Wound -- essentially Steven Stapleton joined by a rotating cast of characters -- mixes the overly serious chin-scratching of the contemporary avant-garde with a healthy dose of absurdist humor and wit. Often unfortunately branded with the industrial's tag, Stapleton's music actually reflects elements of musique concrète, ambient, and free improvisation juxtaposed against more traditional forms. No one pigeonhole can adequately describe this diverse and immense catalogue: only by diving in can one truly appreciate the varied sonic possibilities of Stapleton's unfettered imagination. He's that weird, and he's that good. In the mid-1980s, Nurse With Wound existed as a live band for only eight shows, of which only five were in front of an actual audience. Live at Bar Maldoror, released in 1991, documents these various live incarnations. Having been remastered by Andrew Liles, the diverse and lengthy pieces (which were actually recorded in disparate locales, none of which are named "Bar Maldoror") sound rather contemporary. Sparse percussion, tape manipulation, loops, noise, dark drones, improvised semi-musical instrumentation and strangled glossolalia all expose the many facets of Stapleton's oeuvre. In 2023, as part of the silver editions, Rotorelief Records released Bar Maldoror as a double vinyl album, in a luxurious gatefold with four panels of artwork by Babs Santini.

 

PRICE: $70.00

CAT #: ROTOR 080SIL-LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Double LP version. Silver vinyl. The long-running and infamous project known as Nurse With Wound -- essentially Steven Stapleton joined by a rotating cast of characters -- mixes the overly serious chin-scratching of the contemporary avant-garde with a healthy dose of absurdist humor and wit. Often unfortunately branded with the industrial's tag, Stapleton's music actually reflects elements of musique concrète, ambient, and free improvisation juxtaposed against more traditional forms. No one pigeonhole can adequately describe this diverse and immense catalogue: only by diving in can one truly appreciate the varied sonic possibilities of Stapleton's unfettered imagination. He's that weird, and he's that good. In the mid-1980s, Nurse With Wound existed as a live band for only eight shows, of which only five were in front of an actual audience. Live at Bar Maldoror, released in 1991, documents these various live incarnations. Having been remastered by Andrew Liles, the diverse and lengthy pieces (which were actually recorded in disparate locales, none of which are named "Bar Maldoror") sound rather contemporary. Sparse percussion, tape manipulation, loops, noise, dark drones, improvised semi-musical instrumentation and strangled glossolalia all expose the many facets of Stapleton's oeuvre. In 2023, as part of the silver editions, Rotorelief Records released Bar Maldoror as a double vinyl album, in a luxurious gatefold with four panels of artwork by Babs Santini.

 

PRICE: $40.00

CAT #: ROTOR 081LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Camizole's first unreleased album Erahtic, recorded in 1972, released 50 years later on vinyl by Rotorelief. These are the very first recordings of Camizole made in 1972 with a cassette recorder. The main instrument used is a self-built zither, a primitive lutherie supplemented from time to time by an alto violin and a flute. "The goal was to obtain new, dissonant, noisy sounds. The following year, when I bought my first synthesizer, I considered the instrument now useless and destroyed it. In 2016 I wanted to rework these recordings with tools that appeared later, asking myself a decisive question: if I had had access to this material at the time, what would it have given? That's why I didn't remove anything, nor add anything, the pieces are delivered whole and without any editing. I only ran the original sound through pitches, delays, harmonizers, harps, reverse, and then mixed the resulting new tracks." Dominique Grimaud - zither, viola, flute, electronic. Pre-mastering by David Fenech. Mastering by Andreas Lubitch. Artwork by Frédéric Tacer.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: RBACID 001EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Dial 303! The new and hopefully also durable sampler series on Running Back is here. Dedicated to the twang of Roland's silver baseline box with a varied string of artists: DVS1, Marko East & Jordi Chu (whose collaboration sparked the idea of a whole series), Like A Tim via Prins Thomas, Katerina, and I:Cube. The Parisian put it in a nutshell, too: "Although rinsed to death to the point of becoming a parody of itself, acid will last forever." Therefore, his "Folie Noire" is combining the original recipes with hypnotic European influences, while Marko and Jordi present a rough and direct 303-909 live jam, Prins Thomas puts his wickedest smile on Like A Tim's "Wonderline" from 2005 and Katerina sets a lucid dream to sanguine music. Finally, there is a rare and much desired musical outing by the unique DVS1. A direct ode to Chicago's acid and beatdown styles and its Midwest companions, it is a heads-down-lights-down late-night track made for driving up and down "Lower Wacker Drive". Trippy trip artwork by the inimitable Gasius. Trivia: If the piano is the bread of house music, the acid line is its butter!

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: SCAT 035LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Little introduction should be required here. Let it suffice to say that Bee Thousand is arguably the best, or at least among the top Guided By Voices albums in a copious discography. Accordingly, the album has stacked up accolades over the years, including being voted #1 on Amazon.com's '100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums of All Time.' It's a staple of such lists, and has also placed highly on those curated by Spin, Pitchfork, Mojo and Rolling Stone. This new LP pressing, the first since the late '90s, honors the album's 20th anniversary. It features new (and definitely improved) mastering from John Golden, a substantial gatefold jacket with a previously unpublished Robert Pollard collage, and high-quality virgin vinyl from RTI. We've also included a free download card."

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: SCAT 049LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; LP version. "Propeller was the fifth album by Guided By Voices, and was intended to be the group's last. Released as a limited edition of 500 LPs in 1992, the album featured handmade covers and blank labels to keep expenses as low as possible. Their other albums hadn't sold much, why would this one? Robert Pollard had a family to support and his musical aspirations had not exactly been a boon to their bank account. As fate would have it, the band wound up releasing an album chock full of gems Pollard had stockpiled, and for the first time sounded distinctly like the band that fans have since come to love. Propeller also marks the return of Tobin Sprout to the GBV fold, along with an increased songwriting presence. From anthem-to-be 'Over the Neptune' to the effortless melodies of closer 'On the Tundra,' Propeller is a hell of a ride, and remains one of the most important albums in the band's discography. The vinyl edition has been out of print for a decade, and features different cover art than previous pressings. The CD edition has been out of print for a minute as well, and is now housed in digipak format, also with a new, unique cover from one of the original pressings. And for the first time Propeller is available on cassette."

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: SAT 055EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

JVXTA is a DJ and producer based in London (UK). He also co-founded the label Hardmatter. Here, Scissor And Thread, the Brooklyn imprint headed by Francis Harris and Anthony Collins share JVXTA's new EP -- Euston Blues. Elements of free improvisation and experimentation pepper the album, while a strong thread of atmospheric cohesion winds its way through the eight tracks -- making Euston Blues a truly rewarding and rich listening experience. "Euston Blues synthesizes deep chords, classic house rhythms and jazz laden influences to chronicle an intimate journey of physical and psychological isolation," says Charles Field, the man behind the JVXTA project. "Scope is relative and this transposition is explored from the seclusion of a single room to the expanses of the Beyond."

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: SDBANU 032CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Belgian junk jazz trio schroothoop (which translates as "junk yard") bring together multi-instrumentalists Rik Staelens (wind and string instruments), Timo Vantyghem (bass and thumb piano) and Margo Maex (percussion). Their new album called MACADAM will be out via Sdban Records, home of many strongholds in the lively contemporary Belgian jazz and groove scene. In 2020, schroothoop first emerged with their much-acclaimed and infectious debut album Klein Gevaarlijk Afval (Small Hazardous Waste). On their second album, schroothoop explore the vast sounds of discarded objects found on the macadam streets of Brussels. Wooden crates turn into guitars and lyres. Scrap metal becomes a thumb piano, a cimbalom, or percussion bells. Their compelling collection of semi-improvised songs is born out of several fruitful residencies and live performances during which Margo Maex, Rik Staelens, and Timo Vantyghem dive deeper into the possibilities and unique timbres of their DIY instruments. The junk jazz trio find inspiration in traditional Afro-Cuban and North-African rhythms, New Orleans second line grooves, and Arabic Hijaz scales. On MACADAM, the band also explore the realms of electronic music, not shunning hints of drum and bass, dub riddims and ambient soundscapes, using pitch shifting delays or gauzy reverbs. The album delivers a mesmerizing trip through the most diverse capital of Europe, mixed and post-produced by none other than sound wizard Dijf Sanders. The trio originally met in the Brussels street orchestra scene. One night they found themselves jamming on trash cans, buckets and other illegally dumped materials. Soon after, they started building their own DIY instruments from street trash. Imagine flutes made out of PVC pipes, a scrap metal drum kit, thumb pianos made out of old kitchen knives, a tin can violin, worn-out cutting discs as gongs, and a washtub bass. Delivering their own brand of "junk jazz", schroothoop literally gives junk a second life by immortalizing a whole range of lost and found objects through music. The Brussels-based group effortlessly incorporates jazz, Northern African music, and Afro-Cuban rhythms, resulting in a danceable and hypnotic trip through the city's melting pot.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: SHUKAI 006LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 repress. Following the unpublished works of the Ukrainian/Estonian musician Valentina Goncharova, Volume 2 of Shukai's archival project sits in direct contrast to the solo works of Vol. 1. Vol. 2 1987-1991 completes Shukai's dive into the sound world of an important yet overlooked artist working within Soviet era electroacoustics. This long player of duets casts a light on Goncharova's experiences with early free jazz, democratic improvisation and introductions to pure electronic sound. Where Vol. 1 explored her home studio experiments and flirtations with musique concrete and new age, this volume seeks to give audience to similarly DIY recordings developed in collaborative environments away from the conservatoire. Properly documenting sessions revolving around smoky jazz cafes, art galleries, salons and theatre venues across Riga and Tallinn, these seven pieces add to the historical narrative of the Soviet-era avant-garde and show the broader spectrum of Valentina's work. It begins in Riga with an adapted score for a delicately unfolding violin drone, voice and saxophone performance produced by Valentina and Alexander Aksenov. Valetina's bond with the multi-instrumentalist and theater director Aksenov led to decades of close friendship and several demo recordings such as "Reincarnation II". Across the rest of the disc are collaborative duets with Sergei Letov and Pekka Airaksinan respectively, the three tapes with Letov an example of recordings as a "rehearsal process". Atypical violin/saxophone techniques and light, difficult to place percussive textures interplay across the three duets with Letov, the sense of spatiality alluding to the very nature of the recordings. They strike ultimately as private, freeform experiments with sound, never intended for the listener but documenting a practice which explores the dichotomy of improv's "non-professionalism" and its potential freedom from trained performance. They are included as a deliberate variance to the tapes with Pekka Airaksinen, an already well-regarded composer, early synthesizer fanatic and Finnish radical. At their time of meeting, Pekka had diverted his attention from punk-indebted noise and free jazz groups to a pursuit of spiritualism via contemporary electronic technologies. Already familiar with the Buddhas of Golden Light LP, Valentina found in his work an attraction to the sacred and, after an encounter at a 1988 Helsinki festival dedicated to futurist art and literature, she prepared to visit his studio. After a failed attempt to record a joint album, fragments of the tapes are presented here, highlighting Goncharova's first real experience of electronic music making in a compositional sense. Fragmented guitar and additional keyboard patterns push and pull through delay units in unison with Valentina's two violins, at times mimicking the howl of the wind or even the human voice.

 

PRICE: $41.00

CAT #: SNS 024CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

This four-CD box edition collects all concert music by Michèle Bokanowski, a composer of electroacoustic music living in Paris, France. Passionate about music from childhood, it wasn't until later, at the age of 22, after reading À la recherche d'une musique concrète by Pierre Schaeffer, that she decided to study composition. After classical training in harmony, she met Michel Puig, a pupil of René Leibowitz, who taught her writing and analysis upon Schönberg Theory. In 1970, she began a two-year internship at the Research Department of the ORTF under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer. Between 1973 and 1975, she took part in a research group on sound synthesis, studied computer music at the University of Vincennes as well as electronic music with Éliane Radigue. She mainly composes for concert and for cinema (music for Patrick Bokanowski's short films and for his feature films L'Ange and Un Rêve solaire). She has also composed for television, theater and dance. In her music, often infused with a mysterious atmosphere, she uses evocative and poetic concrete sounds, with a mastery of looping and feedback techniques and with an art of cinematic editing. "Why musique concrète is so attractive to me, as opposed to written music? To write music implies that an idea or a thought is at the origins of the composition and that the final thing is the sound rendering of this thought. The sound is at the end of the line, in other words. Musique concrète is the exact reverse of this process: you start from sounds... sounds that will perhaps lead you to a constructive thought. Here, it's the material that induces the thought, or the writing. The possibilities of finding or inventing new sounds and, therefore, new forms are tremendous, infinite... Moreover you can use chance to a much greater extent." (Excerpt of an interview with Michael Karman for Asymmetry Music Magazine, 2007)

 

PRICE: $35.50

CAT #: FFL 081LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

After the experience of Camizole, Dominique Grimaud began a new (and different) adventure in 1979 with Monique Alba. Alongside Gilbert Artman (Urban Sax), Guigou Chenevier (Etron Fou Leloublan), Jean-Pierre Grasset (Verto), and Cyril Lefebvre (Maajun), Vidéo-Aventures is composed of instrumentals capable of reconciliating Captain Beefheart, Henry Cow, Suicide and... John Barry. All with the backing of Rock In Opposition, which enabled this Musiques Pour Garçons Et Filles to become known worldwide. "Let us enter your hearts": is the request made by Vidéo-Aventures, and how can we refuse? Especially as Musiques Pour Garçons Et Filles, recorded by Dominique Grimaud and Monique Alba fifty years ago along with handpicked colleagues, is as fresh as ever. 1979: having improvised a huge amount (and how!) with Camizole, Grimaud tried his hand at composition and studio recording with Alba. Their first instrument was the AKS synthesizer, with which the duo recorded the instrumental tracks that were then offered to their comrades Guigou Chenevier (Etron Fou Leloublan), Gilbert Artman (Lard Free, Urban Sax), Jean-Pierre Grasset (Verto) and Cyril Lefebvre (Maajun). At the end of the year, they all came into the studio for a week to record the eight tracks of this mini-album that Chris Cutler would issue a few months later on his label, Recommended. In France it was the beginning of the agitation around Rock In Opposition, to such a point that Musiques pour Garçons et Filles would rise to second place in the NME independent Charts. And this is hardly surprising... For these instrumental miniatures (here with the bonus of rare archives, some of which are previously unpublished) are uncontrollable: electronics augmented by lap-steel guitar ("Tina"), cunning pop ("Zazou Sur La Piste"), mechanic sound ("Une Vie Modern"), street piano ("French Kiss"), disturbing atmospheres ("La Ballade Des Cardiaques") or something like a TV theme tune capable of adjusting all the colors ("Telstar")... With such promising ingredients, why stop Vidéo-Aventures from entering... Originally released in 1981; expanded reissue. Carefully remastered from the master tapes by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur. Licensed from Dominique Grimaud.Eight-page booklet; 180 gram vinyl; 425 gsm brownboard outer sleeve.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: FFL 082LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

The axolotl is a species of salamander native to Mexico, living in a state of larva and having the capacity to regenerate damaged organs. This brief introduction doesn't tell us if the axolotl sings. But, for the one that concerns us here: yes indeed. In Paris, at the end of the 1970s, Etienne Brunet and Marc Dufourd would improvise regularly, inspired by some other saxophone-guitar duos: Claude Bernard-Raymond Boni firstly, then Evan Parker-Derek Bailey. When Jacques Oger (a saxophonist whom Brunet had met at a workshop given by Steve Lacy at the Châteauvallon festival in 1977) joined the duo Brunet-Dufourd, Axolotl was born. Iconoclastic, the trio was bound to please Jac Berrocal, and he proposed to record their first album on the label D'avantage. In spring 1981 three days were just enough for Oger (tenor and barytone saxophones), Brunet (alto saxophone, bass clarinet and "things"), and Dufourd (electric guitar) to complete Axolotl, the first album by a group which would record -- two. If there was a collective of iconoclasts, the trio would be there with some relatives: Alterations, Fred Frith, John Zorn, the ROVA Saxophone Quartet... and then because there was mention of a collective, Axolotl steps (considerably) beyond the domain of free improvisation to lean towards jazz ("Illusion", "Paris, Froissé"), no wave ("Ombre Pilée", "Trottoirs Défunts"), contemporary ("Oreiller", "D'autres Seuls"), and even what you could call -- acid fun ("Dehors"). Above all, Axolotl wanted to really get to grips with sound via an expression as direct as it was liberating, as can be heard on "Ozone, Flocon, Torsion", producing a noise that, even today pierces the brain. Carefully remastered from the master tapes by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur. Licensed from Etienne Brunet. Eight-page booklet; 180 gram vinyl; 425 gsm brownboard outer sleeve.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: SOW 005LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress. Sowing Records present a reissue of Dorothy Ashby's debut album, The Jazz Harpist, originally released in 1957 by the Regent label. Recognized as the woman who gave the harp a jazz voice, here, Ashby is at the head of a highly distinctive combo featuring Frank Wess on flute, Eddie Jones or Wendell Marshall on bass and master Ed Thigpen on drums. The Jazz Harpist is an unprecedented mix of evocative classic sounds and jazz soul, awarded by AllMusic as her first and best album, period! Clear vinyl.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SQM 020LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. 180 gram vinyl. On his debut album, Childish Mind, guitarist Jonathan Bockelmann presents a series of light, serene acoustic guitar vignettes. The Munich-born musician has studied classical guitar for about two decades, perfecting his technique and gaining mastery of the instrument. Childish Mind sees him explore a new compositional path by crafting delicately interwoven melodies for the acoustic guitar. From the gentle webs and patterns Jonathan creates, there's a sense of meditativeness throughout the album -- his music radiates out, filling moments with a sense of ease and calmness.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: SVT 323LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Following up to his maiden transmission for the label, Cosmic Silence, issued in 2022, Italian producer Alessandro Cozzolino AKA Cioz resurfaces on Stil vor Talent with his longed-for debut album Supermassive Whole, a ten-track cosmic odyssey in sound percolating staple elements of Cioz's palette of choice, from otherworldly techno to Latin-inflected house, via the obvious injection of kosmische and electronica soundscaping. The lead single "Wachaka" -- recorded in collaboration with Cape Town producer Ryan Murgatroyd, exemplifies Cozzolino's electrifying approach to a T. An inch-perfectly balanced mix of Afro-infused polyrhythmic bravura and seesawing synth moves, the track swells with a blazing fire at heart that keeps on sprawling infectiously with each and every bar. Trading the linear buildup for most sensuous levels of syncopation, "Me Monkey" serves up a warmer kind of funk, perfect for getting snug and cozy before an avalanche of seesawing chords up the ante towards space-opera-esque amplitude. All in elusive sinuosity and processed machine talk, "Harakat" dwells the confines of wonky house templates and polyamorous EBM, while "I Always Wanted To..." goes the slo-burning, counterclockwise route, primed for languid moments in the alcove. "B1" is perhaps the most spitting avatar of the Italian whiz's hybrid rolling-and-pounding rhythmic style, nicely embodying both its quirky, hip-swaying and fanfare-like percussive aspects. The ecstatically bouncy "Do It The Way You Feel" showcases Cioz's more rousing, floor-friendly facet with a killer combo of hi-octane electro dynamics, pop-rock motif'd hooks and slashing breaks taking the controls. The mood also happens to be melancholic at times, such as on the beautifully understated "Is This Real", which bridges the gap betwixt piano-house déjà-vu - here tweaked to distinctively soul-wrenching effect, and a prog buildup glossed under a thick sauce of FX, similar to that of the inflating saturation of "Sudpol Birgit" in the post-prod treatment. Somewhat brushed with Balearic shades in mind, "Pace e Amore" follows a more classic curve, slowly veering off onto ambient-laced territories, while "Lost in Space" evokes a certain idea of gravity-defying plenitude through that ever intuitive and subtly arranged collage of tender wistfulness and endless attraction towards the groove, which defines Cozzolino's phraseology so fittingly.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: STREAM 1035LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 restock. "From the Host of Late-Comers represents the latest challenge manifested by Plastic Palace People, the duo of Jim O'Rourke and Christoph Heemann, who have been collaborating continuously (even though in a largely unnoticed fashion) since 1989. Previous Streamline releases from Mimir contain some of their earlier work; Plastic Palace People first saw release in 2011. After two releases in quick succession, it has been a long wait for more, and finally here is a recent piece of work from them, recorded at Super Deluxe in Tokyo, Japan, in August 2013. After all these years of contact, friendship and collaboration, the collective strength and mutual understanding of this duo has grown into a state where it is almost impossible to distinguish who is responsible for an utterance directed at the other at any given time, at a fast, almost speed-of-light succession of soundscapes chasing one another. The build seems to be never ending, but what about the descent? It's all about sitting back and enjoying the ride giving it a try while spinning the grooves of this high fidelity platter mastered and manufactured to the highest standards for you, dear listener."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: SSR 122LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Songs Of Stone is a musical project based on several epigrams, elegies and laments that Gabriele Tinti composed inspired by epigraphs from the ancient world. It arises from the wish to sustain the necessary link that joins us to the rituals of the past. The inscription on durable material was one of the languages the ancients used to oppose the transience of oral expression, wishing to conserve their words in time. Tinti gathers these ideas to create verses he entrusts to the actor's interpretation, thus combining the impression of the spoken word and the visual participation of the words in stone. The readings are made by Malcolm McDowell, star of numerous cult films including A Clockwork Orange, If..., and Caligula. Tinti's words and the actor's vocal performance are put together by Massimo Pupillo in a work intended to transgress the confines between reality and ancient mythology. Massimo has created an imaginary landscape, creating a visionary theater for Gabriele Tinti's words, a sound world born and based on the precise and eloquent vocal timbre of Malcolm McDowell. Using a plethora of different sources, various synthesis, samples of Eastern European choirs, processing McDowell's voice, Songs Of Stone will bring the listener in a twilight zone between dreams and mythology, where remote past and future horizons meet.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: SCR 017EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Fantastic Man continues to gain momentum as he presents the second instalment of his series Visions of Dance. Featuring four new tracks, each a harmonious blend of euphoria, made for use at every stage of your nocturnal journey.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: TOYT 146EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Toy Tonics presents a new producer team: Sound Support consists of two enthusiastic synth and house aficionados that everybody knows (in the scene): Lars Dales from Dam Swindle and Lorenz Rhode (keyboard wizard and producer genius). Together they are doing extremely groovy, jazz infected dance music that connects the good things of 1990ies house with the indie disco of the 2000s. Lars Dales and Lorenz Rhode connected through their mutual love for all things musically unusual. After years of having worked together on several projects, such as the Dam Swindle live show, they finally got around to making music together. The result has been nothing less than an avalanche of tracks, mostly made in four-day coffee fueled studio sessions in Lorenz' studio in Cologne. All reminding the big funk house tracks of the early 2000s. Yes, a lot of Daft Punk is here, a lot of NYC disco influences. Larry Levan and Laurent Garnier, DJ Harvey and Masters at Work... all influences on this record. After their first two Sound Support EPs on Prins Thomas' label, Internasjonal, they've ventured out to House of Disco and other labels with a wide array of immensely enjoyable synth heavy tracks. 2023 sees these two venture more into house territory with releases on AUS music and Toy Tonics, two labels that have cemented themselves deeply into the underground scene. In any case, it's clear that Sound Support have found its signature sound and there is much more of that to look forward to. Toy Tonics is the key label for the wildstyle house scene and Sound Support fit perfectly.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: TDP 54061LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Trading Places present a reissue of Mighty Baby's A Jug Of Love, originally released in 1971. Evolving from London Mod act The Action, Mighty Baby signed to Parlophone on the reputation of their live sets, featuring guitarist Alan King, bassist Mike Evans, and drummer Roger Powell, with former Savoy Brown guitarist Martin Stone and keyboardist/sax player Ian Whiteman joining after. Their 1969 debut moved into heavy psych and sophomore set A Jug Of Love took semi-acoustic form, blending bluesy folk and a touch of North African spice into their psychedelic prog, the style reminiscent of the Grateful Dead, but very much their own. An unsung masterpiece, feted by Julian Cope. 180 gram vinyl; includes lyrics insert. Licensed by Cherry Red.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: TDP 54067LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Born to an African-American opera singer and a Jamaican footballer who played for Celtic in Glasgow, Gil Scott-Heron was a ground-breaking musician and writer whose melding of poetry, soul, and political activism paved the way for the arrival of rap and prefaced neo-soul by some decades. In live performance, Scott-Heron was always a force to be reckoned with, especially with his Amnesia Express behind him, with Jamaican percussionist Larry McDonald and saxophonist Ron Holloway. This album collects four exceptional moments of their 1986 tour, with excellent versions of landmark "B Movie" and substance-misuse epics "The Bottle" and "Angel Dust", as well as an extended "Alien (Hold On to Your Dream)". 180 gram vinyl. Licensed by Prestige.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: VAMPI 273LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

First time vinyl reissue. Originally released in 1976."The human voice is more than just a musical instrument; it is ally to the thought. Vocal art is one of the most beautiful forms of musical expression and an endless resource. It's a shame that so few devote themselves to it in our popular music. I would therefore like to congratulate Aquarius and Continental for the release of this LP and may it be received by all with the same affection and attention than those who dedicated themselves to making it" --Paulinho Tapajos.These notes, originally printed on the back cover of this 1976 beauty, are a perfect introduction to the vocal harmonies and arrangements and excellent guitar work that are masterfully combined creating a joyful journey that features the undisputed talent of Raymundo Bittencourt, Octávio Burnier, and Paulo Moura. An amazing bit of Brazilian samba funk that also touches on MPB, bossa nova, jazz... This sought-after gem opens with the beautiful version of Burnier & Cartier's "Só Tem Lugar Prá Você" (one of the two B&C versions included on this album, with a pitched-down "Europanema" sparkling on the B-side), building up a mellow, airy vibe that stays throughout the entire album.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 279LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

First time vinyl reissue of this awesome Latin jazz-funk gem by Venezuelan guitarist Alex Rodríguez -- originally self-released in 1978. Rodríguez is a classical and jazz trained guitarist who in the early days of his career joined some of the best orchestras in Venezuela, including Aldemaro Romero's Onda Nueva. He put together a brief project, La Retreta Mayor, in 1976 which only released one album and would later move to New York where he had the opportunity to record his own songs with renowned musicians of the city at that time, like Víctor Paz, Charlie Camalliari, Sam Burtis, Mario Bauza, Guillermo Edgil, Bernard Purdie, Jorge Dalto, among others. It took him a little more than a year writing the songs and preparing the material for Búsqueda but in 1978 Alex Rodríguez would return to New York City. Jorge Dalto had spoken with Dennis Davis (drums), Stanley Banks (bass) who played together with George Benson, and Víctor Paz contacted Alex with Ronnie Cuber (saxes), an excellent saxophonist, who later recorded "Cumana" on his own album The Eleventh Day Of Aquarius. Before going to the recording studios they did a rehearsal to review the music, and the next day Dalto, Banks, Davis, Cuber, and Alex Rodríguez were recording in the CBS studio on 52nd street in Manhattan. The production and mixing of the album were finished in Caracas, at Sono 2000 studios, with the participation of excellent Venezuelan musicians such as Nené Quintero, Lucio Caminiti, Edgar Saume, Carlos Acosta, Alberto Naranjo, Rolando Briceño, Leo and Frank Quintero, among others. The resulting album contains quite a few heaters for the dancefloor, like "El Mercado", and tight, keys and guitar punctuated fusion jams! (just check the groovy opener "Cumana".) Búsqueda was then self-released and distributed in tiny quantities, becoming over the years a very sought-after collectors' item, probably one of the most obscure albums from Venezuela. It now gets reissued on vinyl for the first time, including notes by Alex Rodríguez. 180 gram vinyl.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 280LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

First time reissue. Aníbal "Sensación" Velásquez is one of Colombia's most innovative and prolific Costeño musicians, known as "El Mago del Acordeón" and "El Rey de La Guaracha". Velásquez grew up hearing Cuban music as well as the local rhythms of his region, and this led him to tinker with and transform the beats and melodies of the regional music encountered in his home city of Barranquilla during the 1950s and '60s. By 1960, after being a sideman in several groups, Velásquez formed his own conjunto with his elder brother Juan, a talented musician in his own right, and his younger sibling José. Aníbal Velásquez En Tremenda Salsa is a perfect example of the musician's wanderlust and restless creative spirit. A pioneer of the adventuresome mixing of rhythms, genres, and styles that was happening at the time in Barranquilla and the rest of coastal Colombia, in retrospect one can say that Velásquez was quite daring in combining the music and instrumentation of his native country with other Caribbean forms. In 1968, when he made this album, very few Colombians were attempting to record an accordion-led session of descarga, guaracha, boogaloo, guajira, guaguancó, and mambo, and for that Velásquez should be recognized as a forerunner of various other records by Lisandro Meza y su Combo, Los Corraleros de Majagual, Los Caporales del Magdalena, and Chico Cervantes y su Conjunto Internacional. The album kicks off with an intense and mesmerizing descarga featuring the guaguancó bass line, hot Cuban style piano and a heavy timbales solo, reminding one of the Tico-Alegre or Fania All-Stars jam session records. And yet, the accordion and caja are there throughout the tune, giving it plenty of "sabor colombiano" and distancing it from the New York or Havana sound. It bears repeating that for this album Velásquez and Fuentes added a crucial ingredient in salsa, the piano. Overall, the feeling on the album is of the loose, improvised jam session implied in the genre term descarga. Although En Tremenda Salsa is just one of many such records that Velásquez cut with his Cuban and Puerto Rican influences writ large on his sleeve, it is perhaps his most consistent and well-recorded, certainly only one of a few of his featuring prominent piano played in a salsa style, and this is why it is a highly sought after record by collectors in the know. Remastered from the original tapes, with original artwork intact. Includes two bonus tracks. 180 gram vinyl.

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: VAMPI 281LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

The two-volume collection Fruko Power is not an homage, career overview, greatest hits or "best of" collection showcasing the evolution of Fruko (Julio Ernesto Estrada Rincón), the Renaissance man of Colombian tropical music. Instead, this compilation series shines a light on a lesser-known side of the bassist and band leader's work during the early 1970s with Fruko y Sus Tesos, reissuing in physical form many of his rare or hard to find salsa 45s as well as a few deep album cuts from the first half decade of his career, assembled in chronological order. There are interesting cover versions as well as originals, some of which never appeared on an LP. All of Fruko's classic vocalists are represented, from early collaborators Humberto "Huango" Muriel and Edulfamid "Píper Pimienta" Díaz to golden-era stars Joe Arroyo and Wilson "Saoko" Manyoma. Fruko Power is less for the newcomer and more for the serious salsa collector, DJ, and dancer who may have a few of the maestro's albums or hits but wants to dig deeper and have all these obscure rarities in one place. However, it also serves as an excellent compendium of powerful Latin dance tracks by Fruko y Sus Tesos that have stood the test of time, so even those who do not know much of his work will be sure to feel the power of Fruko. Includes insert with photos and liner notes by DJ Bongohead (of Peace & Rhythm).

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: VAMPI 45092C-EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Splatter vinyl. Back in 2004, Vampisoul played a role in the return to recording of the legendary Joe Bataan, which fully materialized in the acclaimed album Call My Name, written and produced by Daniel Collás (The Phenomenal Handclap Band, Incarnations). Now, the song that marked the return of Joe Bataan finally makes it into a 7" single for the first time. "This whole project grew out of a song called 'Cycles of You', which I had written around 2000-2001 with the guitarist and bassist of my band at the time, Easy. The chord progression and vocal melody really reminded me of Bataan, and it occurred to me that it wouldn't be impossible to get him into the studio to do a guest vocal if we ever recorded it. I had met Bataan a few years before at a small, family-reunion style show at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in my neighborhood, where he not only still sounded great, but was also gracious and easy to talk to. By the time we got around to recording with Easy, the band was about to break up but we still had the studio booked. We all agreed that we didn't want to continue as a band, but at the same time, it would be a shame to never record what we had been working on. Around this time Bataan was playing out again, so I went to the show to see him and find out if he'd be interested in doing some vocals with us. He was agreeable, so we decided to turn it into a Joe Bataan session and do 'Cycles of You' . . . The rhythm section was a band called TransLove Airways that I formed in 2002. We got really tight and developed a great sound that was, to me, equal parts Heart, Shocking Blue, Brian Auger, and Rare Earth. To this core group I added pieces from a few other local bands: The Middle Initials, who are a great Temptations/Main Ingredient-style vocal group, and members of an incredible Latin band called Grupo Latin Vibe, who were responsible for almost all the percussion. There was also some fine trombone playing by Aaron Johnson of Antibalas and great flute work by Neal Sugarman and my cousin Sonny . . . The 'Call My Name' sessions took place when Daptone had just moved to Bushwick, its classic location..." --Daniel Collás, producer of "Call My Name".

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: WRWTFWW 017LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

2023 repress. We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records present the ?rst ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's critically acclaimed and all around legendary science ?ction anime ?lm Ghost In The Shell (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow's groundbreaking manga series of the same name. The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan's most celebrated soundtrack composers alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong ?lms Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai's compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme "Making Of Cyborg", Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a timeless and unparalleled soundtrack that admirably echoes the ?lm's musings on the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world. Ghost In The Shell is widely considered one of the best anime ?lms of all time and its in?uence has been felt in the work of numerous movie directors, including James Cameron's Avatar (2009), the Wachowskis's The Matrix (1999), and Steven Spielberg's AI: Arti?cial Intelligence (2001). For fans of anime, manga, movie soundtracks, science ?ction, ambient, folklore, Japan, Akira (1988), arti?cial intelligence, Midori Takada. Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon).

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: WRWTFWW 068LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

WRWTFWW Records announce Ar Ais Arís, the third album by Irish producer Gareth Quinn Redmond, following his amazing Satoshi Ashikawa-inspired Laistigh Den Ghleo (WRWTFWW 039CD/LP) released in 2019 and 2023's ambient-meets-Irish-traditional-music soundscape Umcheol (WRWTFWW 069LP). Ar Ais Arís is Gareth Quinn Redmond's fortuitous love affair with the art of tape loops -- a practice he discovered while performing with Ross Chaney and Myles O'Reilly in late November 2020. Fascinated, he spent months experimenting with the technique: "By cracking open the shell of a cassette, cutting the tape and splicing the ends together, I created repeating sound loops of varying lengths. After reassembling and slotting the cassette into the Tascam Portastudio, I recorded and played back the sounds of the tape loop. These sounds were then manipulated using the pitch wheel to make subtle and warbly inflections to the recordings. This is achieved by speeding up or slowing down the playback speed of the tape, which offers dynamic contrasts in both mood and texture." The result is eight deliciously enchanting minimalistic tape loops creating a very rare kind of daydreaming environmental music full of accidental miracles and dusty soothing backdrops. It's a very pleasant listening experience inspiring a feeling of enveloping warmth and gentle coziness, with an uncanny touch of spellbinding magic. Artwork by Dublin artist Barry Gibbons. Liner notes from Gareth Quinn Redmond. Edition of 500.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: Y 019LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Lusty, urbane, should've been-top 40 pop from NPR classical critic/secret genius Tom Manoff and master vocalist Jill Talvé. Thought to be lost in the wake of epic legal acrimony, this 1983 collection, rescued from safety copy cassettes, easily qualifies as one of the most incredible musical discoveries of the 21st century. It can be left to some intrepid music reporter to uncover the whole sordid mess behind the making of this incredible album. Yoga Records just wants to share the music. It's incredible and it's a hit. Listen to ten seconds of "I'm A Nobody" and understand that it's a mainstream pop music hit almost too good to actually exist. It's that good. Marvel at tossed off verses like "you just crossed the line/ from being snake/ to being slime" or the casual brilliance of the way the last chorus glitches in "Delayed Reaction". In the overfished world of music reissues stuff like this does not come around every day. Like any great musical discovery, the record seems to point a way to an escape hatch to an alternate, better dimension where this got the release it deserved, and Manoff and/or Talvé made a dozen more records. Naked In The Park is that good. RIYL: Pat Benatar, Madonna, Blondie, The Motels.