LP version. "Weejuns is all about interplay," explains Mollestad, a former Young Jazz Talent of the Year and Artist in Residence in her native Norway. "Bitches Blues consists of six instrumental tracks, or stretches of music, with an extreme range of dynamics. Some are based around hefty beats, while other tracks are far more lyrical and rubato. It ranges from riff-based rock-ish stuff, to loud chaos, to melancholy ballads and even totally free improvisations." Taking a cultured yet refreshingly instinctive approach to intertwining instruments and influences, Bitches Blues (a wry play on Miles Davis album Bitches Brew) veers unpredictably from slow and soft, distinctly sectioned songs with disciplined chord progressions to explosive eruptions of cathartic and complex structures. Weejuns (a slang abbreviation of "Norwegians") introduced themselves in 2023 with a self-titled double live album. Originally assembled by Mollestad for the Kongsberg Jazz Festival, where she'd been awarded the prestigious Musicians Prize, Weejuns' collective chemistry has proven enduring and alluring, in part as a foil to the Hedvig Mollestad Trio's heaviest album to date, 2025's Bees in the Bonnet. A graduate of the Norwegian Academy of Music, Mollestad has released eight acclaimed albums with her eponymous Trio, toured across Europe and North America, and performed with the likes of Nels Cline, Colin Stetson, Ingrid Laubrock, Trevor Dunn, and Shahzad Ismaily. The signature of her 15-year career has been fusing serious chops with an overt focus on finding fun in sound. For years, Mollestad obsessed over music and little else. The daughter of a jazz musician, she lost herself in his record collection, studying classic works by Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Joe Pass, and Jim Hall before discovering riff-raging titans like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Mahavishnu Orchestra in her 20s. This led to the formation of Hedvig Mollestad Trio, whose relentless recording and touring schedule since the early '10s have earned the guitarist a stream of accolades, including two Norwegian Grammys (Spellemannprisen) and DownBeat magazine naming her one of the 25 artists who "could shape jazz for decades" in November of 2020. Ståle Storløkken is a founder and long serving member of Supersilent and Elephant9, has served as Terje Rypdal's "right hand" since the mid-90s, and collaborated with Motorpsycho on record and on stage... as well as countless others. Ole Mofjell is the youngest member, active with Krokofant, Signe Emmeluth's Amoeba and his own free jazz trio 3 Days Of Maceration. Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen - guitar; Ståle Storløkken - organ and synth; Ole Mofjell - drums.

LP version. Audiophile collector's edition. Transparent vinyl. Wondrously uninhibited, and liberated from the added pressure of either a studio or a planned live recording, there is true magic, sparkling energy, and no lowering of intensity in this never-before-released unearthed gem. The night before Ella Fitzgerald walked into Konserthuset in Stockholm and recorded what became The Stockholm Concert, 1966, the Pablo Records live album now considered among the essential documents of her late career, she played two concerts at Falkoner Theatre in Copenhagen. Like many other Black American jazz musicians of her era, Denmark felt like home to Ella. It was a country where they found a degree of respect that the United States too often denied them. Ella's ease in her adopted home was palpable when she walked onto the Falkoner Theatre stage that Sunday. And, now the results are released on record for the first time, and with the full blessing of Ella's estate, listeners are treated to an irrepressible, unexpectedly vital addition to her canon.

A sequel to 2011's communication from our future selves on The Spectacle of Light Abductions, this new endeavor by restless netherzone traveller Spencer Clark envisions a space map towards the other side of human life. A meditation on the paintings of Vedran Kopljar, these two side-long pieces, recorded and performed at Kopljar's exhibition at Muhka Museum in Antwerp in 2024, tap into the barren world inhabited by Clark while wandering what he calls the "Abomination Plateaus." Searching for meaning amidst the landscape, "Abyssfields" turns Clark's keyboards, sampler and wha pedals into sentient beings, roaming a luminous sound field of low-res percussion, glistening keys and mangled voice-like transmissions. Featuring Athens-based John Also Bennet on flute, "Abomination Plateaus" layered misty pads hover above a recurring driving-pinging loop, unlocking new harmonic specters throughout each passage, suspended in the light. Always enveloping.

Ghost Dubs, real name Michael Fiedler, aka Jah Schulz, announces a rebirth with Damaged, his first album for The Bug's PRESSURE label. Having recently dropped two criminally overlooked, experimental dub LPs, with his Dub Over Science series, the German producer/bass specialist, now stretches his own parameters of outwardness still further, with these twelve fresh explorations of dub deviance. For those who feel the fusion of dub techno and ambient drone had creatively ended with the demise of the short lived, Berlin based Chain Reaction label. Ghost Dubs now upgrades, and extends that legendary blueprint's abstract methodology even further and deeper, floating away upon a wonderfully warm sea of hiss and static bliss. This is dub so atomized that it disintegrates within your eardrums. Its music, where the machines take over and virtually all traces of humanity are erased. But thankfully, the warmest soul still oozes seductively from the pores of Fiedler's robo riddims. Relentlessly hypnotic, seriously sedated, Damaged celebrates the point of departure within its mesmerizing low-end grooves. It's no surprise that PRESSURE would then turn to the great, Berlin based producer Stefan Betke, to master/cut this collection at his infamous Scape mastering room. And a fine job he did too, as high-quality sound and levels are definitely maintained throughout. If you like your melodies submerged, your dub narcotic, your basslines obese, and your beats evaporating, Damaged provides the perfect prescription and entry point into Ghost Dub's spectral soundworld.

At last Nurse With Wound's classic masterpiece Rock 'n' Roll Station gets it's timely and well-deserved VIP treatment. A much loved and firm favorite with fans and critics alike, this celebrated seminal work is here represented by four tracks, each unique with extended reworking and mixing. Featuring (alongside the usual suspects of Colin Potter, Matt Waldron, Andrew Liles, and Diarmuid MacDiarmada) French pioneer and trail blazer of the '70s, Jean Jacque Birge. Housed in stunning new full color artwork by acclaimed and award-winning artist and sleeve designer Babs Santini.

LP version. Chinese multi-instrumental Lao Dan, a rising star of free jazz with a deep background in traditional music from his homeland, debuts a blistering new quartet recording featuring three of the most important figures from the Chicago scene -- percussionist Michael Zerang, bassist Joshua Abrams, and pianist Mabel Kwan. Over the last decade or so the Chinese multi-instrumentalist Lao Dan has emerged as one of the most hard-driven, skilled, and versatile figures of the improvised music community. While his earliest work found him exploring new, improvisational terrain with the dizi, a traditional Chinese bamboo flute used in many regional musical approaches, his lyric delicacy on that device has been countered by his ferocious energy and searing tone on the tenor saxophone. He first surfaced on the global scene in 2019 with Live at Willimantic Records, a fiery live date recorded a year earlier in Connecticut with stalwart Western Massachusetts free jazz figures Randall Colbourne and Paul Flaherty, along with double bassist Damon Smith. Dan's restless spirit has led him to travel the planet, building new connections, collaborating with many different musicians. Dan's dual interest in folkloric traditions and free jazz led to an interest in the duo work of Chicago percussionists Michael Zerang and Hamid Drake, whom he first heard on recordings as members of the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet. In the spring of 2024 he arranged for a trip to play in Chicago, and while Drake wasn't in town, he performed with a variety of local figures, including a sterling quartet with Zerang, double bassist Joshua Abrams -- leader of Natural Information Society -- and pianist Mabel Kwan, a rising star whose improvisational brilliance has complemented her deep roots in contemporary music. Trost Records is proud to present Lao Dan's Klotski, a searing recording of that live quartet performance at Elastic Arts where the opening tenor cries on "Green Tongue" can't help but evoke the spirit of Peter Brötzmann's galvanic opening blasts, but the music that follows belongs to this agile quartet alone. While Dan's fire-breathing extremes lead the way through a rumbling, shape-shifting thicket on the opening piece, his crystalline tone, peerless technique and melodic gifts on flute distinguish the rollicking "Wandering Donkey." Throughout the set the music toggles between such polarities, fed by the versatility of the quartet members who reveal an almost instant rapport and keen listening abilities, particularly the nubby sonic fabrics woven behind Dan's blowing by Abrams and Kwan.

33-33 present Ton Klami, a rare live recording from one of East Asia's most remarkable improvising ensembles, bringing together Japanese pianist Masahiko Satoh, Korean saxophonist Kang Tae-Hwan and Japanese percussionist Midori Takada. Recorded during a memorial concert for the influential critic and producer Soejima Teruto, the album documents a unique meeting between three pioneering artists whose individual careers helped redefine the possibilities of improvised and experimental music across Japan and Korea from the late twentieth century onwards. Masahiko Satoh is one of the most influential figures in post-war Japanese jazz and experimental music. Across a career spanning more than six decades, he has continually expanded the possibilities of improvisation through work encompassing jazz, contemporary composition, electronic music and interdisciplinary collaboration. Kang Tae Hwan is a foundational figure in Korean free improvisation and one of the most distinctive saxophonists to emerge from East Asia. His radical approach to breath, tone and extended technique has influenced generations of improvisers internationally. Midori Takada is internationally celebrated for her groundbreaking work as a percussionist and composer. Her recordings and performances have profoundly shaped contemporary understandings of minimalism, rhythm and environmental sound, earning renewed global recognition in recent years. Ton Klami reflects 33-33's ongoing commitment to uncovering overlooked histories within experimental music. Through a catalogue spanning contemporary commissions, archival recordings and cross-cultural collaborations, the label seeks to create new contexts for significant work that sits beyond conventional genre boundaries. In bringing this recording back into circulation, 33-33 continues its wider exploration of artistic exchange between Japan, Korea and the international avant-garde. A rare document of spontaneous dialogue between pioneering improvisers Masahiko Satoh, Kang Tae-Hwan and Midori Takada, exploring tension, texture and space through cross-cultural experimental sound.

On August 4, 2018 in the scorching Berlin sunshine, Faust performed a truly stunning and unique set, featuring iconic material rarely, if ever, performed live. What made this so special was hearing such pieces as "Why Don't You Eat Carrots?" played live, with the small choir perfecting that part of the song. For those lucky enough to have been there, they witnessed a Faust show never seen before, or ever to be repeated. This CD was recorded on a professional digital recorder (not a phone). It has been lovingly remastered by Amaury Cambuzat, possibly the only person capable of doing so, without compromising the nature of the show. Nothing has been added, so there will be imperfections. It comes packaged in a mini-LP gatefold wallet, with a gloss spot varnish.

"Time stands stunningly still on The Final Painting, the dreamy, elegiac final album from legendary underground singer-songwriter/poet/painter Ed Askew. Ed started his singing career in 1968 with a self-titled LP release on NYC's infamous freejazz/free-folk ESP-Disk' label. Upon returning to New York in the early '80s, he began circulating cassettes of his self-recorded new songs. This was a fascinating and unlikely new chapter in his music, but only a few noticed. In the years following, additional new and archival Askew recordings have been released through Tin Angel, Drag City and Improved Sequence Records. By the time Ed turned 80 in 2020, his health was declining to the point that touring was impossible and even leaving his place was a challenge. In his Brooklyn apartment, he continued to tape new songs, posting them on his Bandcamp page. Their stark and fragile quality was singular, inspiring thoughts of a new production fleshing out Ed's two-track home recordings. Ed was into it; he forwarded nearly three dozen songs in different stages of completion and the two plotted a path forward. For the World featured acoustic piano, banjo and harp; the songs here, played by Ed on keyboards, synth and harmonica suggested trumpet, tenor saxophone and other sonic touches to expand their existentially lonely sound. Health scares for both men delayed things until early 2024, when various musicians recorded their parts either at home or in a Nashville Studio, with Styrofoam Winos' Trevor Nikrant and Ryan Davis's Roadhouse Band taking their turns almost in response to one another. The Final Painting not only defies the curse of sequels and the ten-year gap between the two DeCicca/Askew productions, it's also a wonderous variation on the intimacy of the self-portrait, an expression from the twilight of one of the most unique artists to emerge in last half of the 20th century. The Final Painting reinvites For the World contributors Sharon Van Etten, Eve Searls, and Canaan Faulkner, and new guests Bill Callahan, William Tyler, Ryan Jewell, Dustin Laurenzi, and Fulvio Sigurta. In their last conversation, just days before Ed passed in January 2025, he and Jerry agreed to: a) use the painting left on the easel of Ed's now-empty apartment and b) call the album The Final Painting. Profoundly resonant in the style of Frank Sinatra's Watertown and David Bowie's Blackstar, The Final Painting is faithful to the spirit of Ed Askew and his DIY nature and Modernist values, pursued for years and years throughout life, art and music, all the way to the very end."

LP version. "Sir Richard Bishop returns for a new spontaneous six-string meshing of people's music, recollections and psychic intentions. Are y'all ready for some Hillbilly Erotica? Migration from last album's Ragas to this new Erotica is another chapter in Bishop's progress, drifting via songs into the further frontiers of his pappy's hometown sounds, trancing over and out in their hand-me-down clothes. As with the ragas, the 'rotica's hung round the neck of John Fahey's infamous dubbing of certain traditional American folk sounds as 'American Primitive.' A perfectly good thought, but Sir Richard picks his own axe and chose a separate path. Rushing through gutters and picking pickled brains in the saucy headwaters of the down-low and literal American primitive, his hillbilly music is a mash of brined cultural inheritance, mini-ragas and moonshine-drunk savagery breaking out on the frets. As a conception for Sir Rick's acoustic guitar music, it's a dynamite means and frame, centering his improvisations in a place overflown with pagan desire and unbound in deliverance. Here he flies up and down the neck, his manner less pristine, yet more exquisite, a flailing, flowing-on-the-river medley through stubborn whitewater turbulence, post-grass and folk's classical gas. Anybody who takes a snort of this here Hillbilly Erotica will find a frankly spellbinding richness of intent and execution in their ear-mouths. And may thereafter find brain and blightness. It's fine! Like with Hillbilly Ragas, Sir Richard plays one acoustic guitar on all eight Hillbilly Erotica cuts, no overdubs and, but for the closing 'Postcoital Serenade,' improvised entirely. The not-so-sexy 'sexy' angle of song titles like 'Lick Skillet,' 'Sweet Lips,' 'Hookers Bend,' and 'Finger, Tennessee' is actually actual names for dots on the map in rural TN, each one just five minutes removed -- by horse, of course -- from Richard's dad's remote Enville homestead, its town name purloined previously for a song on 2020's Oneiric Formulary. This ancestral interzone's a venue of interest for Rick, allowing him to ask the deep questions, like 'What the hell has been going on around here with place names like these?' while running down the changes like no one else before. Hillbilly Erotica promises unspoken wonders of the world around each and every dark corner, revelations of legacy, a new spyglass to sight your forebears! Imagined American music at its most gorgeous and violent, simply achieved by Sir Richard Bishop through a powerful application of steel-stringed instrumentation and delightfully exhaustive flights of speculative thought."

For several decades Norway has had a healthy tradition for prog, psych and jazz fusion -- yet, there's something very different about the ensemble that is Fra Det Onde ("From Evil"). The group is comprised of one of Europe's finest jazz drummers Olaf Olsen (Needlepoint, Motorpsycho, Bigbang and others), bassist Rune Neergaard (Bushman's Revenge, Exoterm) and trumpeter Erik Kimestad -- one of the brightest young stars in current Scandinavian jazz. And they have a secret weapon in the form of sonic wizard Emil Nikolaisen, known for his pioneering noise rock in Serena Maneesh, as well as a collaborative album with Todd Rundgren. He's currently a member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Emil not only contributes Farfisa and weird electronics to the group's free flowing streams of sound, he's also responsible for the innovative album mix that expands the ensemble's vision into new and astonishing territory. Smilet Er En Flyktig Tilstand is one of those rare records that manage to absorb the spirit of the past and transform it into something new and exciting. Listening to the suite that makes up most of the album, one can sense the cosmic energy of 1970s Don Cherry, or the sonic adventurism of Can in their prime -- but Fra Det Onde pushes these aesthetics into the extreme. Labels such as "fusion" or "psychedelic jazz" don't really come close to describing the rush of energy and kaleidoscopic sonics that's taking place on this record. Vinyl-only, limited to 500 copies, no digital release. File next to: electric Miles Davis, Can, Don Cherry.

Deluxe LP version. Coke-bottle green vinyl. Renascent marks the long-awaited return of legendary Manchester outfit The Durutti Column, their first new studio album in over fifteen years, produced by Keir Stewart. Around the guitar work of Vini Reilly, the album plays between sonic atmospherics and structure: warm ambient washes, piano, beats and guest vocal turns by a new generation (Caoilfhionn Rose on "Agonistes" and Lucas Elliot on CD bonus track "All they See is Fire"). Both contemporary and otherworldly, and with a swathe of new champions citing the band as an influence (Blood Orange, Harry Styles, The Avalanches, Mark William Lewis), Renascent is a timely and vital rebirth for The Durutti Column. Artwork by long-time collaborators 8vo.

Gold vinyl. Deluxe reissue of the sole album by The Eighteenth Day Of May. Beginning life as a trio in London, 2003, the original line-up consisted of Allison Brice (vocals, flute), Richard Olson (acoustic guitar) and Ben Phillipson (guitar, mandolin) before expanding the following year to include the rhythm section of Mark Nicholas (bass) and Karl Sabino (drums, autoharp) and finally Alison Cotton (viola). This being the mid zeros, the independent music scene in the UK was reluctant to embrace a sun-dazed folk band but this, their sole album, has gradually feathered a bed of affection amongst international folk fans. Twenty years on, the album is now rightfully seen as a trailblazer for the myriad alternative/psych folk bands that emerged in its wake. Andy Childs who signed the band originally takes up the story. "I first heard their music on a cover mounted CD with the much missed Comes With A Smile magazine and as far as I could tell no-one was making music like this anymore, certainly not with such panache and confidence. To my jaded ears it all sounded so uninhibited -- old weird folk songs, Americana, original psych-folk, minimalist drones. Great melodies and all six of them could sing! A joyous, unfettered sound that could in one moment conjure up flashes of The Byrds and then effortlessly the spirit of Velvet Underground would drift through. They even covered a Spacemen 3 song. I loved the fact that they had the aplomb to tackle traditional folk songs like 'Lady Margaret' and 'Flowers In The Forest' and not be afraid to stamp their own identity on them. Signing them to the Hannibal label was straightforward. If anything the album somehow sounds fresh and undated, even better than it did in the day when perhaps eclecticism was out of synch with the times; its subtleties have become more apparent."

Hailing from Osaka, Japan. Kevin blend elements of krautrock, post-punk, and improvisation, their music is built on hypnotic rhythms and minimal structures that gradually evolve into dense, immersive soundscapes. Kevin's second album It Is What It Is captures both the immediacy of live performance and the depth of layered studio recording. Driven by steady, grounded drumming and intuitive interaction between the two members, the record moves between control and collapse, structure and freedom. Dark, physical, and meditative, It Is What It Is reflects a commitment to groove, space, and the unpredictable flow of sound. Transparent red vinyl; housed in a gloss finished sleeve with wrap around OBI, polylined inner bag and hype sticker.

Color vinyl version. Ever since the late 1950s bossa-nova revolution, Brazil's influence on French music has been undeniable. Pierre Barouh, Georges Moustaki, and a vast array of lesser known artists, all made the Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB) an axis of promotion at the service of a cool and metaphysical, modern and mixed Brazilian lifestyle. Some were seduced by the poetic languor of the bossa, some were looking for fun, and others just loved the American hybridization of jazz-bossa, jazz-samba. With emotion, arrangements for violin and supple guitar licks, bossa nova rapidly changed. A transformation that can be heard in the Tchic Tchic: French Bossa Nova 1963-1974 compilation, the result of a cultural reappropriation, which traveled through the United States and supplemented itself in France. A musical revolution that has remained significant, bossa nova was born in Rio. From 1956 to 1961, Brazil lived through its golden years. In five years, the country had invented its modernist style. American jazzmen then took over. In particular, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and guitarist Charlie Byrd. In November 1962, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded a "Bossa-Nova" concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, inviting the genre's pioneers. In Brazil, the 1964 military coup quickly ended this euphoria. The destructive atmosphere that ensued pushed many Brazilian musicians to leave, if not to exile. Thus, Tom Jobim, Sergio Mendes, and Joao Gilberto arrived to the United States. In New York, Joao Gilberto met saxophonist Stan Getz. At the time, he was married to the Bahianese Astrud Weinert Gilberto, who had a German father. She had never sung before, but she knew how to speak English. Getz therefore asked her to replace her husband on "The Girl From Ipanema". The Getz/Gilberto record with Tom Jobim on piano, was released in March 1964. Phil Ramone, the "pope of pop" was in charge of sound. Bossa nova arrived in Paris through the classic "guitar-voice" channel. But France loved jazz and Paris had already welcomed its American contributors. Features Les Masques, Isabelle Aubret, Christianne Legrand, Jean Constantin, Billy Nencioli & Baden Powell, Marpessa Dawn, Jean-Pierre Sabar, Sophia Loren, Isabelle, Sylvia Fels, Frank Gérard, Ann Sorel, Charles Level, Andrea Parisy, Audrey Arno, Aldo Frank, Clarinha, Hit Parade des Enfants, Jean-Pierre Lang, Magalie Noël, and Françoise Legrand. CD version includes 24-page booklet with liner notes in French and English. Double-LP version includes printed undersleeve with liner notes in French and English; also includes download code.

LP version. Guilty Razors, Parisian punk band (1975-1978). To understand something about their somewhat linear but very energetic sound, we might need to talk about the context in which it was born and, more broadly, recall the boredom (a theme that would become capital in punk songs) coupled with the desire to blow everything off, which were the basis for the formation of bands playing a rejuvenated rock music ; about the passion for a few records by the Kinks or the early Who, by the Stooges, by the Velvet mostly, which set you apart from the crowd. In 1975-76, French music was, as almost always, in a sorry state; it was still dominated by Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan. Local rock music was also rather bleak, apart from Bijou and Little Bob who tried to revive this small scene with poorly sound-engineered gigs played to almost no one. In the working class suburbs at the time, it was mainly hard rock music played to 11 that helped people forget about their grueling shifts at the factory. It makes sense that the four+1 members of Guilty Razors, who initially amplified acoustic guitars with crappy tape recorder microphones, would adopt punk music (pronounced paink in French) naturally and instinctively, since it combines liberating noise with speed of execution and -- crucially -- a very healthy sense of rebellion. Anything that could challenge authority was fair game and of course, strikes for just about any reason would lead to increasingly frequent truancy (with a definitive farewell to education that would soon follow). Tristam Nada spent his 10th and 11th unfinished grades with José Perez, who had come from Spain, where his father, a janitor, had been sentenced to death by Franco. The first rehearsals of the newly named Guilty Razors took place in the bedroom of a Perez aunt. There, the rookies tried to cover a few standards, songs that often were an integral part of their lives. But like most pioneering punk bands of the era, Guilty Razors eventually split up for good after three years The reason for ceasing business activities were more or less the same for everyone: there were no venues outside one's small circuit to play this kind of rock music, which was still frightening, unknown, or of little interest to most people. Pantone silver metallic cover. Includes booklet with liner notes by Eric Tandy (Olivensteins) in French and English.

Corbett vs. Dempsey celebrates its first release featuring Nick Mazzarella. One of the critical figures in Chicago's creative music scene, alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella has been a mainstay for over 25 years as a leader, composer, and player. This gorgeous recording was made at Shape Shoppe Paradiso, the Italian studio of former Chicagoan Griffin Rodriguez. Mazzarella was introduced to bassist Silvia Bolognesi by cellist Tomeka Reid, and he began informally playing with Silvia and drummer Christiano Calcangile in 2016. Seven years later, Bolognesi invited Mazzarella to play with her quartet at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival and to tour a bit with them; she then invited him to Italy, where they performed and recorded, and in 2025 they convened again, this time allowing time for a trio session focused on Mazzarella's original music, all of it previously unrecorded or written specifically for the occasion. Mazzarella, Bolognesi, and Calcagnile added trumpeter Emanuele Marsico for quartets on two pieces. Covering a breadth of stylistic terrain, from three open improvisations to piquant balladry and freebop heat, Siena Sessions presents Mazzarella's uncompromising vision with grace and precision. Molto bene, Mazzarella!

"A common misconception about Mars is that their music was meant to be dark and nihilistic. That's not totally wrong: When their guitars sawed noise, rhythms lurched heavy and words came in howls, listening could be a harrowing experience, as suffocating as any of their apocalyptic No Wave counterparts. But the quartet's work was also energetic, joyful and buoyantly melodic. After all, they started by jamming on tunes by the Velvet Underground, pretty much the ur-band when it comes to sounding both dark and bright. As much as Mars stretched and remade that model into new wiry shapes, the spark of brightness sustained. It's easy to hear when listening to this set recorded in the summer of 1977 at a series of shows put on by the late Terry Ork at the Village Gate, a renowned jazz club in Greenwich Village. All eight songs have an urgent bounce, which is clearest in the caffeinated energy of the vocals, usually delivered in the pungent wail of either Sumner Crane or Connie Burg. Mark Cunningham's rubbery bass and the chopping guitars of Crane and Burg shoot flares as if they were running a fireworks display. Add Nancy Arlen's nonstop drumming -- roughly echoing Mo Tucker if she had extra limbs and Live at the Village Gate becomes a dizzying rush of tunes that zooms by in a taut 24 minutes. Though Mars hadn't even recorded at this point, they were already what Burg called 'like a machine in a way -- a really out of control machine.' Most of these songs were honed when the band was called China, a name they changed a few months before this gig after discovering other, potentially litigious groups bearing that moniker. In fact these songs were so far along that when Mars did start recording, only '3E' would survive, none of the other seven would ever see the dank light of a studio." --Marc Masters

The legends of the golden era of Italian soundtracks and library music go by many names, but the backbone of that era's definitive sonic identity is most often identified as I Marc 4 (also known as Marc 4 or I Marc Quattro). While the moniker might be less familiar to the uninitiated, it is a simple acronym derived from its founding members: Maurizio Majorana (bass), Antonello Vannucchi (organ), Roberto Podio (drums and percussion), and Carlo Pes (guitar). The number 4 serves to highlight the core synergy of these four master musicians. Their journey began in Rome's vibrant jazz scene of the 1950s and early 1960s, where they honed their craft as members of the RAI national orchestra and collaborated with the most prominent jazz and pop icons of the day. However, it was their pivotal role in defining the Italian cinematic sound of the 1960s and 1970s that secured their legacy. Their unmistakable style was an eclectic fusion of beat, jazz, classical, and Latin influences -- textured with early synthesizers, experimental sound effects, and a blend of electronic and baroque instrumentation. Beyond their work as session luminaries, they produced a vast body of library music under their own name at the legendary Telecinesound Studios in Rome. These recordings were released through prestigious library labels like Sermi, Ricordi, and Fonit Cetra, as well as through their own imprints: Nelson Records, Silver Men, and Silver Music, spanning a definitive series of sixteen albums. Ten of these volumes were issued on Nelson Records during the 1970s, featuring the now-iconic military stencil design. The series was completed by two elusive companion releases: S.M. 2001 on Silver Music and S.M. 2002 on Silver Men, both presented in the same distinctive brown sleeve. Rediscovered in the 1990s and 2000s, these Nelson releases have since achieved cult status among collectors, producers, and DJs worldwide. The final two installments, S.M. 2001 and S.M. 2002, remain the rarest and most enigmatic of the set. Often overlooked, they contain some of the most profound "hidden gems" in the group's catalog. Sonor Music Editions has meticulously curated the finest moments from these two rare albums for this first-ever dedicated reissue. Bringing together the best of Silver Music (S.M. 2001) and Silver Men (S.M. 2002), this release retains the iconic stencil artwork but introduces a striking silver finish. This design choice honors the original ten-album sequence while shedding new light on these outstanding recordings -- works that remain, in every sense, golden.

2026 repress; double LP version. Includes insert. Born Bad Records present the second volume Chebran, a series focusing on French boogie. The French in the '80s were not faint-hearted: as some threw themselves heart and soul into music or business, others wouldn't mind going bottomless to get themselves noticed. While Bernard Tapie soon realized his own fortune was rather to be found in business, many music-loving dreamers already imagined themselves in the sun, in an enchanting world made of funky rhythms and synthesizers. While the French National Front was growing in the shadow of François Mitterrand, these guys mixed New York-style funk with electronic, Eastern, or African sounds. With their genre-crossing arrangements and often chanted lyrics, they brought honor to the "SOS Racisme" generation, unconsciously outlining the nascent French contemporary urban culture. The French, while admiring Grace Jones' "savage beauty" in Jean-Paul Goude's advertisements, were enjoying their freshly-gained fifth week of paid vacation, tanning on the beaches of Maghreb. Following The Clash's example, punks and rockers converted to reggae, and the new independent radios opened up their programming to "world music". At the other end of the pyramid, the successive waves of immigration enriched France in a much better way. With the rise of "Youth and Culture Centers", the practice of musical instruments became affordable for those of humble background, allowing for new bands to appear. Caught between the spirit of Gallic bawdiness and their own community hopes, the musicians from this singular scene probably didn't succeed in life the way Bernard Tapie meant it. But their explorations left no room for doubt: by facilitating the rise of a new hybrid culture about to give birth, among others, to French hip-hop, those little-known artists indeed were off on an adventure, quite simply. Since the '60s, numerous venues destined for the North-African community had appeared all over France. In those bars and nightclubs, Eastern 45s were broadcast as well as local productions combining Raï, Frenchy funk, or proto-hip-hop. Thanks to the cassette tape medium, new songs kept circulating between Paris, Lille, Strasbourg, Marseilles, and many other urban areas -- mainly among the working class. The artists appearing on these compilations progressively shaped a new style, blending sounds from their original cultures and from their adopted country. Features Phil Barney, JM Black, Ettika, Sammy Massamba, Shams Dinn, Alfio Scandurra, Philippe Chany, Nordine Staiffi, Brigitte Et Michot, Alec Mansion, Marie Jose Fa, Hamidou, Ganawa, Creole Star, Manu, Ethnie, and Joel Ferrati.

The cult album, fully remastered. Recorded in Paris with Jean-Yves Messan, Patrick Francfort, and François Corea, leading figures of the African diaspora, Na Bo Ndedi is one of the pinnacles of makossa's golden age. A classic by Ngallé Jojo, with a unique sound that blends traditional rhythms with modern arrangements, vibrant grooves, and a powerful rhythmic drive. Thirty years later, Celluloid Records is reissuing this essential album in a remastered version. For collectors who know it by heart, and for all those who are finally discovering it. Also available with bonus 7" (CELPACK 001LP).

Trost Records presents Two Balls Are Enough, the debut album from the duo of Finnish accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen and Swedish reedist Mats Gustafsson. Both musicians have routinely blown past the rules of the traditions from which first emerged -- folk and free jazz, respectively -- to explore constantly expanding worlds. It was only a matter of time before these iconoclasts collided to create something wonderfully raw and unexpected. Recorded Feb 24-25th, 2026 by Martin Siewert, Vienna. Mixed May 18-19th, 2026 by Martin Siewert, Pohjonen and Gustafsson. Mastered June 2nd, 2026 by Martin Siewert. Photos by Olof Madsen and Ziga Koritnik.

LP version. Wewantsounds presents the first official reissue of the highly sought-after 1979 classic, Summer-Time Love Song by The Milky Way. Originally released on the Seven Seas label in Japan and produced by the legendary Makoto Matsushita -- the visionary behind the cult album First Light -- the album is a premier example of the sophisticated sound that defined the era. Featuring the cream of Japanese musicians, including Yasuaki Shimizu, the record offers a superb mix of AOR, jazz fusion, funk, and bossa nova. Remastered by Colorsound Studio, this deluxe reissue features the original artwork, an OBI strip, and a 4-page booklet with a new introduction by Paul Bowler. The album serves as a vital precursor to Matsushita's own 1981 cult masterpiece First Light. Here, he and Nobuta lead the cream of Japanese session musicians. From the sun-drenched bossa nova rhythms of the Jobim classic "Wave" to a sophisticated rendition of Boz Scaggs' classic "Harbor Lights," finishing with the dreamy rhythms of "Endless Summer," the record is a masterclass in elegant funky arrangements and relaxed harmonies. As music journalist Paul Bowler writes in the liner notes for this release: "Summer-Time Love Song represents a fascinating bridge in Japanese pop history; a moment where the breezy aspirations of the '70s met the meticulous studio perfectionism that would soon take over the world." This deluxe edition features the original artwork, showcasing classic photography by the cult photographer Shinpei Asai -- famed for his iconic work on the Pacific album by Haruomi Hosono, Shigeru Suzuki, and Tatsuro Yamashita. Newly remastered, this reissue finally makes one of the most coveted albums of the 70s Japanese scene accessible to Japanese music fans worldwide.

"Limited edition double LP set. For the first time together, the complete Torch Of Freedom sessions. The acclaimed follow up to the classic Pick A Dub And Flesh Of My Skin album. Original raw manmba label Jamaican mix, plus Keith's UK remix and re-sequence. Includes bonus dub crying previously only available on rare import 7" single. Features the classic 'Turn The Heater On' as cover by New Order. Extensive sleeve notes by Keith Hudson biographer Vincent Ellis."

LP version. Released in 1974, Zuckerzeit marks a clear turning point in Cluster's work, introducing shorter formats and a more defined rhythmic framework. The increased use of drum machines and structured sequencing sets it apart from the duo's earlier, more diffuse recordings, while maintaining a focus on texture and tone. Developed in close proximity to Michael Rother and under increasingly independent production conditions, the album establishes a more direct and accessible approach without simplifying its underlying ideas. This standard edition makes the album available again on CD and vinyl following the previous limited anniversary release. A key recording in Cluster's catalogue, capturing a pivotal moment of transition and refinement. In 1974, Cluster entered the sugar era. Many a thing had changed for band members Moebius and Roedelius since Cluster II: They had moved from boisterous Berlin to this calm rural village, they had founded the band Harmonia, had set up their own studio and had bought new equipment. As a result of this and many other things, new impulses were noticeably spurring the evolution of their music. The album Zuckerzeit ("sugar era") launched a revolution for Cluster. Strictly speaking, Zuckerzeit is not really an album by Cluster. More precisely, the LP contains two mini solo albums by Moebius and Roedelius. Those who were familiar with the stylistic peculiarities of the two musicians could easily relate the solo pieces to either one of them. As Roedelius and Moebius had not yet released any solo works by the time, it was actually not possible to draw up any comparisons yet. Zuckerzeit is light and cheerful, freed from the Germanic gravity and the mystic incense fumes that were so fashionable at the time. Cluster managed to keep both feet on the ground without becoming plain or even sterile. The friendliness of the music is clearly due to the two personalities of Roedelius and Moebius; its down-to-earth character possibly comes from Michael Rother, the album's coproducer. When comparing Zuckerzeit to the works of other electronic combos produced at the same time, it is first of all the shortness of the tracks that seems most striking. The fact that Cluster worked in such a calm and collected way, that they concentrated on their musical ideas instead of losing themselves in long-windedness -- all this taken together gave way to the creation of electronic miniatures that sounded as extraordinary in the 1970s as they still do today.

Originally released in 2017. This is a previously unreleased mono recording of Modes and Blues from the Tubby Hayes Quintet's weekly Ronnie Scott's residency on February 8, 1964. Regarded as one of the masterworks of British modern jazz, Modes and Blues shows the Quintet at the very height of its powers, channeling the new musical flavors and inspiration that Tubby Hayes had absorbed from the cutting edge of jazz and the new directions of John Coltrane. Recorded with Hayes' approval by Les Tomkins on his Ferrograph tape recorder, this is one of the most engrossing of all his stretch-out epics. Hayes digs in deep with marathon and breathtaking soloing, trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar delivers his characteristically lyrical improvisation, and there's dynamic interplay and drive from the great Terry Shannon, Freddy Logan, and Allan Ganley rhythm section. The Quintet had barely a few months left to run at the time of this performance, splitting in August 1964, fearing its music had atrophied into self-parody. Modes and Blues is among its many triumphs, a performance that shows how high the band had set the aspirational bar for British modernism, and, as such, is as much a cultural document as a musical souvenir.

Sonic Fiction Special, featuring Earl Howard. Recorded in Cologne, March 2025. Featuring Earl Howard (electronis, alto sax), Frank Gratkowski (clarinets), Laura Strobl (viola), Georg Graewe (piano), and Gerry Hemingway (drums, percussion).

Laura Strobl is a Viennese, classically trained violist (and violinist), who focuses on featuring the viola as a contemporary solo instrument. She is a long-time member of German pianist and composer Georg Graewe's Sonic Fiction Orchestra, which is based in Vienna. Stroble has played with such innovative improvisers as Frank Gratkowski, François Houle, Gerry Hemingway, Martin Siewert, and Günter "Baby" Sommer. She initiated the free-improvising trio with her mentor Graewe and British master drummer Mark Sanders, who has worked with many greats in the British, European, and American free jazz and free improvised music scenes. Sanders first collaborated with Graewe in his quintet in the 1990s (Concert in Berlin 1996, Wobbly Rail, 1999), and continued to work with Graewe in the Frisque Concordance band. This trio first performed live at London's Cafe OTO in March 2026 during Sanders' three-day residency in the club. Actuance was recorded in Vienna in November 2025 and offers eleven chamber pieces for the uncommon instrumentation of viola, piano, and drums. The album's title refers to the abrupt transition from light to dark in a physical, objective measure of an image at the edges of objects. It defines the steepness of the tonal gradient across boundaries, directly influencing the human eye's perception of sharpness and clarity in a photograph. It is an apt description of how spontaneous, improvised ideas, a brief and evocative melody, or just an abstract sound gravitate organically into instant, coherent, and often complex and intense compositions.

2026 repress. LP version. Otto A. Totland's modern compositional elements are most widely-recognized as half of the Norwegian duo Deaf Center, where his melancholic, intricate piano work provides haunting relief to the beds of noise and deep strings from Erik K. Skodvin. Pinô is the first full-length release by Totland, though his solo work has been released once, as the five-minute A-side of Sonic Pieces' 7", Harmony from the Past. Otto's previously brief vignettes are now expanded into a fully personal realization of his own style. Initial track "Open" fills itself with heavy, knowing pauses that quickly become overwhelmed with the desire to understand what's to come. Each silence leads into quick flutters of keys, preparing the listener for a vast terrain of giddy beauty, bleak depths, and true contentedness. Pinô quickly recalls deep winter; in front of a fireplace for days on end, you lose how far along you've ventured into the 18 tracks without any idea how far is left to go. The experience feels inevitable, with no other option but to curl up somewhere cozy and appreciate the sense of timelessness that Totland has created. His album is a haunting modern compositional treasure, expressed through instrumentals completely unique to Totland and captured masterfully by Nils Frahm at Durton Studios. With Pinô, Otto A. Totland appears out of the Norwegian landscape, sharing an achievement that will provide relief during the brooding winter darkness. Though a highly personal endeavor, the recognizable continuation of Totland's compositions will attract fans of Deaf Center, and the cinematic and classical components of his solo work will hold sway for those familiar with Harold Budd or Dustin O'Halloran.

2026 repress. LP version. Includes original four-page insert full of session photos and credits. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Jaye P. Morgan's 1976 ultra-rare private press, featuring the cream of the LA jazz and funk scene -- and one of David Foster's first productions -- is reissued on vinyl and CD. This lost classic recorded in LA at the legendary Sound City Studios is also the first full-blown production by David Foster two years before he co-produced Earth Wind & Fire's album I Am (1979) and went on to become one of the hottest producers on the scene. Featuring an extraordinary lineup of the best LA musicians including Harvey Mason, Ed Greene, Jay Graydon, Ray Parker Jr. Tower of Power, Ernie Watts, and many more, it's probably one of the most expensive private press ever produced and a delight of sophisticated Los Angeles funk featuring Jaye's superb soulful vocals. "This album is one of the first David ever produced and I know he was going all the way to the top" stated Jaye P. Morgan in an interview when asked about David Foster before adding: "I tried to make a soulful album and I loved David's work. We used the best musicians in the world." And they certainly did making this album one of the most expensive private presses in the world! This album was a bold move for the singer who had made her mark in the '50s and '60s as a singer and actress. Hiring Foster was a masterstroke as he hadn't yet produced any noticeable hit, but together they gathered the most impressive crew of musicians you could think of including two of Foster's closest associates, guitarist Jay Graydon and singer/arranger Bill Champlin (of Sons of Champlin's fame) and created the perfect white soul album with a breezy California feel. Featuring masterful renditions of such iconic songs as Stevie Wonder's songs as "Seems So Long" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Can't Hide Love" (Foster, Champlin, and Graydon would soon pen "After The Love Has Gone" which would become a mega hit for Earth Wind & Fire two years later), together with a handpicked selection of originals, the sound alternates between up-tempo funk and soulful mid-tempo ballads, all served by Morgan's superb vocals. The missing link between Steely Dan and Earth, Wind & Fire, Jaye P. Morgan is pure, undiluted funk music and an essential LA classic.

2026 repress. LP version. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Yukihiro Takahashi's debut solo album Saravah!, originally released in 1978. One of the key Japanese albums of the '70s, it was released at a key time when, following his tenure with Sadistic Mika Band, Takahashi had just joined the nascent line up of Yellow Magic Orchestra. A sophisticated mix of disco funk, synth pop, ambient, French exotica, and bossa nova, the album has the stylish feel of a night out clubbing in Paris circa 1978. It's the missing link between the city pop scene of the late '70s and the synth sound of YMO which was about to revolutionize the world. The month before recording the YMO debut album that would help alter the course of music, Yukihiro Takahashi entered the studio with his fellow band-members Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono to record Saravah! together with the cream of the Japanese scene. He drew his inspiration from globe-trotting French musician Pierre Barouh who had introduced Bossa Nova in France in 1966 with "Samba Saravah" (featured in soundtrack the Oscar winner A Man And A Woman which he co-wrote) and subsequently launched Saravah Records. Saravah! starts off with a couple of French and Italian exotica classics ("Volare" and "C'est Si Bon") with delicious touches of synth while "Saravah!" is a nod to Pierre Barouh, a languid bossa nova with beautiful soulful strings arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album gets hotter with "La Rosa", a superb mid-tempo ambient funk featuring Shigeru Suzuki's fluid guitar. Next is an amazing exotica-synth version of the standard "Mood Indigo", announcing the midi revolution that was to come before things get funkier shortly after with Ryuichi Sakamoto's superb up-tempo disco instrumental "Elastic Dummy" featuring soulful strings and horns with solos by Sakamoto and guitarist Tsunehide Matsuki. The album then moves on to the ambient synth pop of "Sunset" before switching back to disco funk with "Back Street Midnight Queen" which, like "Elastic Dummy", has become a dancefloor cult classic. Saravah! ends on a perfect note with the beautiful "Present" a perfectly crafted pop song which Takahashi wanted to do in a city pop mode, featuring a superb melody and high-class arrangements.. Newly remastered by renowned engineer Mitsuo Koike. Features original artwork with photos by Masayoshi Sukita (David Bowie's Heroes (1977)); includes four-page insert and a new Introduction by Benjamin Barouh (of Saravah Records).

2026 restock of Macka Dub's The Sound of Macka Dub Vol. 1. Featuring Glenn Adams (piano/organ), Mr. Wire (piano/organ), Rick Trater (guitar), Bobby Chung (guitar), Carlton Barrett (drums), Tad Dawkins (drums), Sparrow Martin (drums), Maurice (bass), and Family Man Barrett (bass).

Originally released October 11, 2025, Art Blakey's birthday. Featuring Art Blakey (drums), Johnny O'Neal (piano), Donald Harrison (alto saxophone), Terence Blanchard (trumpet), Billy Pierce (tenor saxophone), and Charles Fambrough (double bass). Recorded on April 1, 1982, in Strasbourg, France. Mastered by Caspar Sutton-Jones at Gearbox Records, London. Album artwork by Alan Foulkes.

Pon is Tujiko Noriko's sixth album for Editions Mego and a further extension of her already significant body of work as both a solo and collaborative artist. Dedicated to her cat who she adopted as an infant and passed away due an accident having been born deaf, Pon is imbued with abstraction, tenderness and a deep emotional resonance. Noriko's palette of electronics, romantic melodies and surprising sonic details are all fully present here, and like her last full length, 2023's Crépuscule this is an epic work, released as a 2LP by Editions Mego. The unmistakable hue of Japan hovers throughout this emotional rich landscape. Subtle field recordings and fragile, abstract motifs drift through the album, all cloaked in a warmth and humanity that only Noriko seems able to conjure. Pon moves effortlessly between the childlike and the obscure. There are moments of deceptive simplicity where unexpected elements suddenly surface -- strange voices emerge on "Boku Wa Obaka." "Knife of Yonder" is a standout: a startling ten-minute unfolding that begins with a warm, almost Eno-esque drift before launching into a soaring mid-section and finally landing somewhere unexpectedly blues-adjacent. "Kikoeru Pon" is brimming with childlike wonder -- a heartfelt ballad that dissolves into domestic field recordings, including sounds of the feline for whom both the album and track are named. A quietly devastating ending that brings the personal nature of the record into sharp focus. There is a deep sense of the human in the way Noriko embraces technology. This is far from cold abstraction; rather, Pon feels like a colorful photo album, documenting Noriko's inner world and instincts with remarkable intimacy. Hovering in liminal states between pop, ambient and abstraction, this is a deeply affective and moving release that reveals new surprises with each listen. The emotional range of Noriko's latest offering inspires hope in a world in disarray. It is both gentle and epic and one which we feel embodies the work of an artist fully at the height of her powers.

First time ever on vinyl for the 1999 debut album by cult Melbourne outfit, Hungry Ghosts. Originally released on CD on the Reliant label and produced by Rowland S. Howard (Birthday Party/Young Charlatans), it sounded like a band from another place and time. Nominally thrown into the "post-rock" sphere, the Hungry Ghosts brought so much more to the table than such restrictive terms may imply. Featuring an eclectic array of percussive and stringed instruments, with some brass thrown in for good measure, the band created its own world of expressive instrumental music that played like a lost European film soundtrack. Soon after its release, the group made their way to the US to record for Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth)'s Smells Like label, and the story continues from there. This 2LP edition features the debut full-length CD on vinyl for the very first time, as well as their debut self-released (and -titled) EP from two years earlier. Inside is an informative four-page booklet with extensive liner notes telling the Hungry Ghosts story. Highly recommended for fans of: Dirty Three, Low, Triffids.