Browse by Label: NERO'S NEPTUNE

Artist:	VAMPIRE HANDS
Title:	Two E.P.S
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	LP
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	NN 004B-LP

At Wizard Island Too Punk To Fuck/Cuz It's A Beach Funeral. Nero's Neptune has bestowed the last copies of this ultra-limited, swankly-packaged, tour-only LP upon Forced Exposure to coincide with Vampire Hands' Spring 2009 23-date tour with Wavves. Minneapolis' Vampire Hands are a rather difficult-to-pigeonhole lot, one with so many disparately abundant ideas bubbling out of their collective skulls that they barely keep pace with them. Citing influences as diverse as Exuma, Can, Neil Young and Simply Saucer, Vampire Hand's sound might (lazily) be described as Marc Bolan meets Mayo Thompson in Neil Haggerty's cannabistro. Fuzzy, distorted guitars meet tribal, pulsating rhythms. An eerily affecting falsetto melds with a lower, drier voice to create delightfully off-kilter harmonies. Get this NOW before this band assuredly ascends the hype-ladder.

Artist:	DARK DARK DARK
Title:	Love You, Bye
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	12"
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	NN 005EP

Dark Dark Dark is a four-piece, baroque-gypsy band (originally based out of Minneapolis) who have in recent months called New York City, France, New Orleans, and a raft on the river "home." They are led by Marshall LaCount on banjo and Nona Marie Invie on accordion, and are backed by Todd Chandler on upright bass and Jonathan Kaiser on cello. All four members sing. Their haunting, dreamy and dark Eastern European-inflected music is informed by influences drawing from the cabaret and folk traditions. The five songs presented here (four originals plus an enchanting "Wayfaring Stranger") reveal the intimate sound of Dark Dark Dark at home, each with its own take on loss and loneliness. The group draws heavily from, in their own words, the "long tradition of wandering musicians and those who have lived deeply." Printed jackets are derived from photos of one of 32 branded, white leather covers designed by installation artist and sculptor Jay Heikes.

Artist:	KOERNER, SPIDER JOHN
Title:	March 1963
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	NN 006CD

A major archival discovery, taped March 24, 1963 for a Milwaukee, Wisconsin radio program, on the eve of the very same day that the seminal Blues, Rags & Hollers LP by Koerner, Ray & Glover was created. Spider John Koerner is the man who first introduced a young Bob Dylan to the 12-string guitar, a bona fide legend who is acknowledged as an influence by artists as diverse as John Lennon, Beck, The Doors & Dylan himself. Nearly 50 years ago, Paul Nelson, writing in the Little Sandy Review and Sing Out respectively, said that "Koerner's art is like Chaplin's, as great and lasting as it is entertaining," while calling him "the most innovatively brilliant acoustic blues musician of his generation." In the year 2010 -- seldom performing and now in his 70s -- the reclusive Koerner is "one of the world's greatest living practitioners of traditional American folk music." It is with enormous pride that Nero's Neptune presents this long-lost piece of American musical history.

Artist:	KOERNER, SPIDER JOHN
Title:	March 1963
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	LP
Price:	$18.50
Catalog #:	NN 006LP

Artist:	ORIGINAL HARMONY RIDGE CREEK DIPPERS
Title:	Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	LP+CD
Price:	$20.00
Catalog #:	NN 007LP

When the Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers' self-distributed inaugural CD first appeared in 1997, fans of Jayhawks-founder Mark Olson had to work pretty hard to find it. Now, Nero's Neptune Records presents this overlooked masterpiece on vinyl for the first time. Pressed at RTI on 180 gram virgin vinyl (with deluxe packaging that includes a free CD), a new era of discerning music-lovers can now discover what a devout few have known all along: Mark Olson is one of this country's very finest songwriters, and this LP is as fine a representation of his poetic vision as has ever been bestowed upon the world. Olson, together with multi-instrumentalists Mike "Razz" Russell and Victoria Williams, offers 10 tunes that revolve around his gently strummed acoustic guitar. Lovingly woven background vocals (courtesy of Ms. Williams) and tasteful, sparse use of piano, mandolin, fiddle and banjo flesh out Olson's heartbreakingly sincere and affecting songs. Pure and simple, this is a desert island-level classic. As No Depression magazine gushed, "it's the kind of music that's impossible to strive for, to fashion from careful study or conscious effort; the only way it happens like this is when it flows straight out from the soul."

Artist:	SALLY, ZAK
Title:	Fear Of Song
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	LP
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	NN 009LP

Zak Sally is a Twin Cities-based musician, publisher and comic artist. After 12 years with minimalist rock band Low, Zak left. Planting roots in Minneapolis, Zak began focusing on cartooning, and also established a small-press publishing concern, La Mano 21. Although Zak initially planned to abandon recording, he remained "absolutely terrified by music." Eventually, and with the help of his friend Ben Durrant (Andrew Bird, Dosh), he polished off a Sub Pop 45 ("Why We Hide" b/w "When I Said I Missed You I Just Meant My Aim Was Off"). Now, Nero's Neptune releases this delightful, full-length LP. All sounds you hear on the record are courtesy of Mr. Sally. In fact, Zak was involved in EVERY aspect of creating this LP, not only performing all the music contained within, but also designing the cover, laying it out for printing, making the plates, printing the damn thing on his OWN PRESS, trimming, folding, and finally inserting and sleeving the records! The LP is called Fear Of Song, and, in Zak's words "it's the sound of one man clanging." Limited numbered edition of 340 vinyl copies only.

Artist:	EIH, A.L.K. AND BROTHER CLARK, DAMIN
Title:	Never Mind
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	NN 010CD

On many hardcore psych collectors' Top 10 lists (including one via Patrick Lundborg's Acid Archives book), this insanely rare and impossible-to-describe 1973 brain-fryer from Minneapolis is utterly soaked with mystic, thoroughly-dosed higher key psychedelia -- think Zerfas meets Bobb Trimble, but you're still nowhere near the lysergic laboratory. Damin Eih rambled off to India to clear his head after leaving behind this lone, legendary offering, never to be heard from again. Painstakingly and spectacularly re-mastered from two virgin copies of the original vinyl (the master tapes have long since disappeared), this treasure is now rescued from the deepest catacombs of psychedelic fatso obscurity for all to hear.

Artist:	EIH, A.L.K. AND BROTHER CLARK, DAMIN
Title:	Never Mind
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	LP
Price:	$32.50
Catalog #:	NN 010LP

Now available on vinyl in a limited edition of 475 copies. On many hard-core psych collectors' Top 10 lists, this insanely rare and impossible-to-describe 1973 brain-fryer from Minneapolis is utterly soaked with mystic, thoroughly-dosed higher key psychedelia. It is a truly unhinged gem of out-there, acid-dipped geniusness, with quavering vocals, flanged-out guitars & effects, acoustic ramble, and fuzz confusion. Damin Eih wandered off to India to clear his head after leaving behind this lone, legendary offering, never to be heard from again. Painstakingly and spectacularly remastered from two virgin copies of the original vinyl with the full participation of Brother Clark (the others are lost and presumed dead), this treasure is now rescued from the deepest catacombs of psychedelic fatso obscurity for all to hear. 180 gram vinyl, original insert reproduction, and 28 pt. craft stock with old school paste-on sleeves.

Artist:	BRAIN SOUND
Title:	An Attempt To Record Coincidence
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	LP
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	NN 011LP

Pictured in all its tantalizing, eye-popping glory in Hans Pokora's 1001 Record Collector Dreams, this hellishly-rare Austrian avant garde LP from 1972 is nothing short of astonishing. There are no instruments, but rather varying configurations of solo, duo and ensemble vocal improvisations, presumably informed by the aforementioned (and nearly impenetrable) code (or "charts"). Although this might be seen as part of an interesting continuum, this unique and prescient music will stun even the most astute followers of outsider art. Describe it, you say? Sweet Jesus! "Shape note singing for acidheads," perhaps? From an avant-classical perspective, one might mention late-'60s Penderecki as a possible reference point (along with Ligeti, or perhaps even Nono). In improvised music, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble's larger workshop groups similarly feature masses of vocal sounds; comparisons with Alan Watts' This Is It are as plausible as they are inevitable. Ultimately, though, nothing will quite prepare you for this LP. In fact, when an original copy landed at Nero's Neptune headquarters, one notorious "outsider" label chief/collector extraordinaire's peni-meter became so perilously engorged, that he nearly burst with envy, casting ridiculous offers of rare wax and unmentionable "favors" Nero's Neptune's way while begging to let him take over. In other words, it is strongly recommended that you purchase this limited reissue while you can, while securing appropriate spiritual condiments for the trip. After all, you CAN be anyone this time around. Strictly limited edition of 500 copies only. Packaged in high-gloss, tip-on sleeves, and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

Artist:	FINE/PAUL METZGER, MILO
Title:	Concerning The Other Condition/Spontaneous Composition..
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	LP
Price:	$18.50
Catalog #:	NN 012LP

...Generator. Nero's Neptune presents a split LP of solo works from free-jazz improv master/multi-instrumentalist Milo Fine and guitar experimentalist Paul Metzger. "'Moosbruger' was recorded on the occasion of my first public collaboration with Paul Metzger. Before the concert, and for a number of reasons, my thought was that, when my name was drawn for a solo, I'd be playing drum set. But, as befits the spirit of improvisation (the moment), I grabbed the B flat clarinet, and then, echoing the first time I played piano in public (1971), moved off stage to the prepared piano remains, where the two instruments conjoined. 'Ulrich' is a self-contained section of a set-long (drum) solo I played at the Art of This Gallery's Tuesday Night Improvised Music Series. 'Moosbruger' was recorded on March 21, 2009. 'Ulrich' was recorded on January 20, 2009." --Milo Fine
       "I created the Spontaneous Composition Generator to produce a random series of musical actions. It is a device consisting of 37 altered music box movements mounted in a wooden painter's box. The alterations include dampening, detuning, replacing, removing, doubling, and reversing the tines. Most of the original melody pins on the cylinders were removed. Rubber bands of various lengths and thicknesses were attached to the winding stems to facilitate a continuously variable tension. One dozen hand-wired piezo pickups are attached to output a stereo signal. The piece on this recording was created November 9, 2009 with a time of 18:43. It was specifically made as a complement to Milo's contributions to this Nero's Neptune LP. --Paul Metzger

       Strictly limited edition of 421 vinyl copies only. Screen-printed onto wax paper sleeves, with an insert. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

Artist:	KOERNER, SPIDER JOHN
Title:	Music Is Just A Bunch Of Notes/The Secret Of Sleep
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	CD/DVD
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	NN 013CD

Music Is Just A Bunch Of Notes was cut in 1972 in an upstairs storefront building above a coffee house on Minneapolis' West Bank. One of the counterculture's first entirely DIY efforts, it was engineered by 12-string guitar legend Dave "Snaker" Ray and released on his fledgling Sweet Jane label. All of the songs are Koerner originals; the tunes are sequenced with a cinematic eye and interspersed with weird spoken-word bits. The album includes several mainstays of John's repertoire, including the timeless "Everybody's Goin' For The Money," a song that sums up the uniquely Koernerian brand of existentialism as tidily as any. This CD is mastered from the original tapes and is reissued for the first time since the rare 1972 release. The DVD disc features a previously unreleased 16mm movie made by Bruce Rubenstein, David Rubenstein & The Secret Of Sleep. In it, Percival (John Koerner) gets a call in which he's told to go on a mysterious quest. Percy and his buddy (Willie Murphy) wander around in various utopian settings, but in the end, they return to the city to contend with reality. Digitally restored in 2009, released on DVD for the first time, this is a tremendous bit of lost holy grail for Koerner enthusiasts. NTSC region 1 DVD (run time: 60 minutes; audio: mono; black & white; aspect ratio: 4x3 letterbox).

Artist:	PARR, CHARLIE
Title:	When The Devil Goes Blind
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	NN 016CD

The legendary Charlie Parr's spellbinding finger picking and slide techniques on guitar and banjo place him front & center among the world's foremost string-benders. His blood & guts songs are infused with an originality, integrity and heart rarely (if ever) displayed by contemporaries operating in or around pre-war blues traditions. Further, Parr's performing career (which began in 1988) has taken him from Twin Cities bars and coffeehouses -- studying resident greats like Dave Ray and Spider John Koerner -- to the year 2010, where he's enjoying an ever-growing fan base comprised of folk-blues purists, American Primitive beard-scratchers, jam band-lovin' neo-hippies, and, well, just about every type of person imaginable. Charlie's songs betray (in the words of one writer) a "sense that the gamblers, union workers, criminals and sinners that wander around his songs are peering right over your shoulder." His late father grew up during the Depression, riding freight trains through places like the Piedmont region of North Carolina, rendering the music of that area all the more visceral to Charlie. Charlie's parents were union workers and picket line fixtures during bitter labor strikes in the mid-1980s at Austin, Minnesota's Hormel plant, and Charlie got himself a first-hand view of what those old songs were talking about. When The Devil Goes Blind is his first release on Nero's Neptune Records. Produced by Bo Ramsey (former guitarist with Greg Brown and Lucinda Williams), Charlie's first nationally-distributed record is easily his most fully-realized effort to date. Buy it, and then go see Charlie when he comes to your town. Find out why Greg Brown has compared him with Dave Van Ronk, and even the inscrutable Spider John Koerner has given him the proverbial thumbs up. As everyone seems to say about Charlie, he's "the real deal."

Artist:	PARR, CHARLIE
Title:	When The Devil Goes Blind
Label:	NERO'S NEPTUNE
Format:	LP+CD
Price:	$18.50
Catalog #:	NN 016LP

LP version. Includes a CD of the entire LP. 180 gram vinyl with tip-on sleeves. The legendary Charlie Parr's spellbinding finger picking and slide techniques on guitar and banjo place him front & center among the world's foremost string-benders. His blood & guts songs are infused with an originality, integrity and heart rarely (if ever) displayed by contemporaries operating in or around pre-war blues traditions. In 2010, he's enjoying an ever-growing fan base comprised of folk-blues purists, American Primitive beard-scratchers, jam band-lovin' neo-hippies, etc. Produced by Bo Ramsey (former guitarist with Greg Brown and Lucinda Williams), Charlie's first nationally-distributed record is easily his most fully-realized effort to date.

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