Between 1987 and 1988, when Seattle was still a circuit of small clubs, four-track tapes and bands sharing drummers, Jack Endino went in to record one of the most solid -- and most unfairly invisible -- outfits of that scene: Bundle Of Hiss. Those sessions fell into limbo, stored in the basement of Dan Peters (who would soon go on to Mudhoney) and for years they were a kind of pre-grunge legend: everyone knew they existed, but there was no record, until Loveless Records from NYC released it on CD. This Bang! Records LP is, finally, that record. It gathers the core of those 1987-1988 recordings done by Endino: the moment when the band is tighter, darker and closer to what the press would later call the "Seattle sound": minor-key melodies, thick fuzz, vocals on the edge, and that mix of hard rock, punk and Sabbath-like heaviness fans would later hear in Mudhoney, TAD or early Soundgarden. Bang! Records is releasing this album on vinyl for the first time, just as it should have come out in the late '80s: a basement document turned into a collectible artifact. For those who want real grunge, not the domesticated version. Here is Bundle of Hiss exactly as Jack Endino captured them in 1987-1988.

Triple LP version. The legacy of wipE′out″ has transcended time and cemented itself as a true transgenerational phenomenon. Launched in 1995, it didn't just revolutionize the gaming industry, it created a bridge between the gaming ecosystem and the raver community. Its futuristic aesthetics and forward-thinking sound left a mark not only on mainstream audiences but also on the most demanding corners of the underground. Decades later, the game's impact is still alive. The release in 2023 of The Zero Gravity Soundtrack on Lapsus Records proved once again that wipE′out″'s accompanying audio will go down in history as much more than just an anti-gravity racing game soundtrack. This is why Lapsus decided to go deeper into the slipstream and build the second volume you're now holding in your hands. Drawn from the original archives of Tim Wright, aka CoLD SToRAGE, this new collection surfaces unreleased cuts, pieces that couldn't fit on the first edition, and a suite of self-authored ambient reworks that translate pure velocity into wide-screen atmospherics engineered for the long straights, the drone of airbrakes, the blue hour between checkpoints. It also reconnects the circuit, gathering selections and variants tied to later chapters of the saga -- wipE′out″ HD and wipE′out″ Pure -- plus alternative mixes that, until now, only existed in the Sega Saturn dimension of the franchise. Finally, the material takes a leap into the future in the hands of four remixers especially chosen for this release: Tim Reaper, SHERELLE, Mantra, and NikNak, who collectively forge links between CoLD SToRAGE's pioneering musical vision, the sound world of the game, and the contemporary breakbeats and drum and bass vanguard. Expect the DNA you remember -- accelerated breaks, trance-vector synths, jungle influences, sub-bass rumbling neatly beneath the craft's hull, and at times even echoes of classic hardstyle -- now revealed with new angles and air. The previously unheard material carries the same aerodynamic design sense that made these tracks feel faster than the track map itself, while the ambient versions open the field of view with melodies hovering at the lip of overdrive. For the faithful -- crate-digging ravers, speed-run obsessives, and design nerds -- this is an essential expansion pack: compiling rarities, restoring context, and reframing the emotional core of wipE′out″ for late nights and early mornings alike. Bridging memory and momentum, club and console, rush and afterglow. Strap in.

LP version. The journey through French-speaking pop archives continues with this fifth volume, packed with fuzz, gimmicks, and dissent. Far from the charts, the selected tracks display a great creative freedom, often backed by corrosive humor. Welcome to the surprising, kaleidoscopic, and colorful world of the late sixties and early seventies, Wizzz! Includes 6-page booklet with liner notes. Featuring Robert Pico, Annie Girardot, Spauv Georges, Zoé, Jacques Da Sylva, Valentin, Jacques Malia, Bernard Jamet, Jean-Pierre Lebrot, Les Concentrés, Les Missiles, Hegessipe, Marechalement Votre, Mamlouk, Mosaïque, Jean-Marc Garrigues, and Penuel.

2026 repress; Triple-LP version. Tri-gatefold cover. "Considering the monumental depth of Sun Ra's recorded oeuvre, there are surprisingly few solo piano albums. Monorails & Satellites Volumes 1 and 2 were the first commercial LPs of the artist's solo keyboard excursions. Recorded in 1966 and released on his Saturn imprint in 1968, Volume 1 featured seven idiosyncratic originals and one standard ('Easy Street') delivered in Sunny's singular manner. Volume 2 was released the following year, and contains five compositions, all originals. A third volume was prepped but shelved, and this deluxe edition marks its premiere release. As with all Cosmic Myth releases these volumes are superbly mastered, and are available with copious liners notes by renown American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, and additional overviews by jazz historian Ben Young and producer Irwin Chusid."

"Originally released in 2014, The Lore Of Mysticore stands as one of the most compelling documents of the contemporary psychedelic underground. Minneapolis-based Magic Castles craft a hypnotic and immersive sound that blends shimmering psych-pop, hazy drones, and kaleidoscopic guitar textures into expansive, sun-drenched songs. This first-ever vinyl edition brings the band's beloved debut album to wax for the very first time, offering fans a chance to experience its swirling, cinematic beauty in a format that truly does it justice. Essential listening for fans of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Asteroid #4, and Spacemen 3."

LP version. On their fourth album Yatta!, the celebrated Dutch quartet YĪN YĪN extends, bends, and ignites a joyous mix of disco, funk, surf, psychedelia, and Southeast Asian motifs. As Yatta! proves, the band's sonic footprint is an ever-evolving kaleidoscope of sounds, textures and beats. As with their breakthrough album Mount Matsu (GB 147CD, 2024), their devotion to getting the dance floor moving remains front and center. That impulse, already strong, has intensified -- Yatta! lifting it to an ecstatic next level. The result? An album that reveals a band whose groove just keeps getting deeper. Certainly, the quartet from Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands has built a reputation for balancing an eclectic range of influences and using them to forge something that is affectionately retro and, at the same time, fresh and forward-facing. From the beginning, YĪN YĪN have been devoted to exploring global sounds with an emphasis on getting the dance floor moving -- an impulse that reaches its peak on Yatta! One major influence is the sound of Italo Disco -- the spacey brand of disco music that arose in Italy in the late 1970s. "It has something of a mystique," says Berkers. "All the producers were using new recording techniques and effects, but there are not many pictures or videos of how they were creating things in the studio. You have to use your own fantasy and create your own story about how that music is created." Across the album, YĪN YĪN specialize in creating the soundtracks to dream journeys, opportunities for the listener to visit places that exist in realms of the imagination. If there's a general direction of travel in YĪN YĪN's expeditions, it's towards the east, with Asian influences coming through loud and clear. It's a fascination that has suffused YĪN YĪN's sound since, in the early days, they stumbled upon a couple of compilation albums of psychedelic '60s and '70s guitar music from Southeast Asia. Adopting Eastern tunings has imparted an unusual feel to YĪN YĪN's music and challenged them as songwriters, and Yatta! is the sound of four musicians finding their own globe-trotting groove, and having the time of their lives exploring it.

"Mostra Collettiva by Complesso Gisteri -- the elusive 1972 gem born from the inspired partnership of Alessandro Alessandroni and Oronzo De Filippi -- returns to vinyl for the first time ever. Originally released in microscopic quantities and long considered a holy grail of Italian library music, the album has now been lovingly restored and reissued in its most faithful analog form. Under the alias Complesso Gisteri, Alessandroni and De Filippi explored a warm, pastoral palette that distills everything collectors cherish about early-'70s Italian soundtracks and library sessions. Alessandroni's unmistakable guitar style -- lyrical, shimmering, instantly evocative -- sets the tone throughout, weaving effortlessly around De Filippi's expressive keyboards, from rich piano passages to the crystalline touch of spinet and harpsichord, an emblematic signature of the era's finest Italian productions. The duo enriches these intimate arrangements with flute flourishes and the ethereal vocal textures of Giulia De Mutiis, whose wordless melodies elevate several pieces into dreamy, almost cinematic vignettes. The compositions radiate joy and romanticism, painting images of pastoral calm, sun-dappled landscapes, and rustic Italian charm. A long-hidden treasure, rediscovered and made available to collectors and music lovers for the very first time."

Real Time is an extraordinary example of interaction between musicians coming from different worlds of new music. "I had the chance to perform with those two great musicians on other occasions: in duo with Alvin Curran and in duo, trio and sextet with Evan Parker. Alvin came from the American school, full of minimalist references, melodic structures and open to all kinds of contamination. Evan had left jazz to accomplish his own instrumental language, aiming at total improvisation. The idea of getting them to put together a trio that would perform several concerts and recording was one of the most exciting moments of my career. Our three languages found a common ground of expression where different musical backgrounds came together and created a unique blend for that period of time." --Andrea Centazzo Andrea Centazzo: percussion, percussion synthesizer; Alvin Curran: synthesizer, piano, trumpet; Evan Parker: soprano & tenor saxophones. Recorded live in concert Rome, Italy December 13, 1977. Engineer: Nicola Bernardini. Remastered from the original tapes by Matt Bordin at Outside Inside Studio.

"The lost album by Rodney Stepp's Rapture Ensemble. Unreleased sweet soul and disco funk from mid-'70s Indianapolis, featuring members of Amnesty, Midnight Star, and The Spinners. Featuring liner notes written by Naptown historian Kyle Long. A photo in Rodney Stepp's scrapbook sums this period in his life in music. It's 1974, The Spinners were headliners at the 'Zaire 74' music festival, a sideshow to Muhammad Ali's fabled 'Rumble in the Jungle' fight with George Foreman. Among the faded snapshots, there's a picture of Stepp backstage posing arm in arm with Ali; another image shows The Greatest seated at Stepp's Fender Rhodes alongside vocalist Etta James. It was all a dream for this Naptown wunderkind, who had previously recorded for Herb Miller's LAMP Records as the Diplomatics and had issued the sweet soul killer 'Young Girl' as Jazzie Cazzie and the Eight Sounds on a rare Knaptown 45. But as exciting as his rise out of that local status was, as exciting as it was to headline festivals and arenas and appear on late night talk shows, Stepp grew restless with the mechanical routine of being a sideman. He grew tired of playing the same charts night after night. He was hungry for a creative outlet that mimicked his earliest days in recorded music. So, in 1978, Stepp left The Spinners and returned to Indianapolis, where he established an all-star group of musicians?including members of Jazzie Cazzie and the fabled Amnesty -- and he named the band Rapture. They inspired countless others. They recorded an album's worth of material. Now-Again's Egon first got tapes from Stepp in 2002 and dutifully transferred them, but the time was not right for a foray into this wealth of material. Now, this is the first time it Rapture's music is seeing the light of day, a triumphant, late career moment for Stepp and a cause for celebration of those intrigued by deep, sweet soul and disco funk."

Blue Abstraction compiles a selection of Jessica Williams' lost prepared piano recordings. These recordings document the beginning of a vital, solitary phase in her career: a period of intense sonic experimentation that began with physically altering a 6'4" grand piano -- creating a new instrument, and from there, creating a new music. The results are breathtaking; from melancholic soundscapes with Satie-esque lyricism to forcefully controlled cacophony, always grounded by the distinct emotional voicing of her melodic lines. Jessica Williams (1948-2022) was a pioneering trans jazz pianist and composer from Baltimore, where she studied at the Peabody Conservatory. Among countless other greats, she gigged with Philly Joe Jones, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Tony Williams, Charlie Rouse, Jackie McLean, Roy Haynes, Charlie Haden, and Bobby Hutcherson, and recorded with Eddie Henderson, Eddie Harris, Leroy Vinnegar, Victor Lewis, and Ray Drummond. She received accolades from piano greats McCoy Tyner and Dave Brubeck. Williams could play anything and knew the standards deeply -- expanding from there through her composing and arranging. In 1985, with a head full of Thelonious Monk's dissonant harmonies, Williams began her prepared piano project. She altered the piano by placing vibrating and/or muting elements on top of and between the strings at varying distances across the harp -- some sounding like bells or gongs (screws, bolts), others like percussion instruments (clothespins, hairpins, washers, erasers). The effect radically expanded the instrument's possibilities, sometimes making it sound metallic or ghostly, other times muted, tactile, almost broken. The resulting beauty and listenability of these works are a testament to Williams' vision and mastery. The recordings on Blue Abstraction came out of three years of experimentation. She recorded at her own Quanta Studios and at Moon Studios (both in Sacramento), and two live performances at Noe Valley Ministry in San Francisco, on January 11 and May 10, 1986, as part of the Noe Valley Music Series. For Williams, these recordings were a personal transformation through the musical process. Though known for her recordings and live performances -- especially of Monk tunes -- Williams made some of her most forward-thinking music privately. The music on this record disappeared for almost four decades.

At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared with the Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib. Us, the first of the four records, was recorded on November 24th, 1973 with Sylvin Marcon electric bass and the evergreen Steve McCallon on drums. On the album, the trio works from the John Coltrane model; free jazz shook up by the timely contributions of the bassist, followed by a mesmerizing atmospheric music. Then, Lancaster delivers a sinuous solo path, which is a reminder of his unique tone. On the album's companion single, the trio launches into great black music of a different genre which would lead the clairvoyant François Tusques to claim that Byard Lancaster is an "authentic representative of soul/free jazz." This is the first ever stand-alone vinyl reissue of Us. Carefully remastered and restored by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur. Includes four-page booklet with rare and unpublished photos 425GSM Frovi Brown Board Heavyweight 180 gr. LP with bonus 7". Officially Licensed from Palm/Geneviève Quievreux.

At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared with the Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib.Lancaster recorded Mother Africa along with Clint Jackson III, a trumpeter, and partner of Khan Jamal and Noah Howard on other recordings. On march 8th, 1974, Lancaster and Jackson headed up a group composed of Jean-François Catoire (electric and double bass), Keno Speller (percussion) and Jonathan Dickinson (drums). Together, they created an immediate impression. This is the first ever stand-alone vinyl reissue of Mother Africa. Carefully remastered and restored by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur. Includes four-pagebooklet with rare and unpublished photos. 425GSM Frovi Brown Board Heavyweight 180 gr. LP. Officially Licensed from Palm/Geneviève Quievreux.

Dubmaster Dennis Bovell presents cLOUD mUsIc. A miraculous set of loose limbed, slinky funk-forward dub on the A-Side with totally blunted, spaced out trippiness on the grooving versions gracing the flipside. A pioneer of dub and progenitor of lovers rock, genius producer-arranger Dennis "Blackbeard" Bovell's prolific and eclectic career encompasses a huge range of music: from dub poetry to lovers rock, afro-beat to post-punk, disco to pop and beyond. His production work encompasses such diverse figures as Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Slits, Fela Kuti, Linton Kwesi Johnson, The Pop Group, Janet Kay, Saada Bonaire, Orange Juice, Golden Teacher, I Roy, Maximum Joy, Steel Pulse and more. cLOUD mUsIc features eight new, deep, never-heard heaters, initially created for upstart UK library label FOLD. Dennis had written some music under the influence of Cloud-watching and presented it to FOLD with a view to them presenting it as Library Music to be utilized by anyone interested in having music for incidentals, films, TV and advertising etc. cLOUD mUsIc represents Dennis expressing himself freely and inviting others to join and express themselves. Thrilling disco-flecked opener "Rebel Funk" comes bustling out the gate with deeply soulful, driving funk rhythms, a ponderous thumping bass combining brilliantly with a full band and chanting choral vocals. Spirited, joyful and dynamic, it's a true treat from the reggae maestro. The lush, deeply danceable "Raw Soul" combines funk and soul via bass, drums, electric guitar, sax and trumpet. The chilled, serene "Callaloo" presents a sunny, calypso-style reggae with dub rhythms, with steel drums and keyboards providing the sweet melody of deep bass and percussive rhythms. "Too Funky To Be True" is just that: slow bass and brass-led funk with melodies from strings and organ. It's sleazy, warm and refined. To close out the side, "Wind Up, Dub Down" is bright and breezy dub reggae with a bouncy rhythm and reflective, contented feel. The B-Side features jaw-dropping dubbed-out, strung-out, spaced-out versions of each of the first five tracks. The vinyl features artwork utilizing a unique photo by Dennis himself. Meticulously mastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, cLOUD mUsIc has been pressed to the highest possible quality at Record Industry in Holland.

"Previously unreleased. 12 song dub/instrumental LP. Another excellent find here, an unreleased dub/instrumental album compiled by Lloydie Slim at the end of the '70s, featuring exclusive dubwise & instrumental cuts to many of his rhythms from earlier in the decade. As a bonus we've added two more tracks to the original 10 track album tape -- the vocal & dub cuts to Johnny Clarke's 'I'll Never Fall in Love Again', one of Slim's personal favorites of his productions. This single was originally released in 1975 in JA on his Don One label, and again in New York a few years later on his namesake Ivanhoe the Conqueror label. This album is a great listen which reminds us of the classic Channel 1 Revolutionaries instrumentals of the mid/late 70s."

270 pages. Soft-cover, fully illustrated. 196 x 268mm. Edited by Eva Prinz. Preface by Neneh Cherry. Afterword by Joe McPhee. New York, NY, USA -- musicians Mats Gustafsson, Neneh Cherry, Joe McPhee, and Thurston Moore, along with music writer Byron Coley, have contributed to an illustrated collector's guide to records -- replete with 270 pages of beatific album art, labels, sleeve notes and collector musings on their life-long obsessions of record collecting, with a distinct focus on the recorded history of free jazz and free improvisation. Compiling personal archives of their selections of recordings which could be contenders within a list defined by a parameter of 100 of the most essential releases presented in chronological order, acknowledging the music to be preternaturally noncompetitive, non-hierarchical, and of equal value, Now Jazz Now is a book for all adventurous music lovers, whether ravenous record collectors, avant-garde jazz enthusiasts, students of radical culture, or simply curiosity seekers in wonder to this music's illustrious history and lineage. The gleanings of Cherry, Coley, Gustafsson, McPhee and Moore will enlighten, delight, amuse, and bemuse all who follow their streams of consciousness, knowledge, perception, and, most importantly, unbridled respect and regard for a genre of music dedicated to the dignity of practicing freedom.

"After her self-titled debut, Chiaré returns with SEI, a collection of six brand new tracks. The Italian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist blends the technical mastery from her jazz singing diploma and ongoing classical double bass studies with the raw talent recognized by the 2023 Bianca D'Aponte Award for emerging Italian singer-songwriters. For this record, Chiaré has teamed up with forward-thinking producer Pasquale Strizzi to further refine her sound, whose folk and jazz influences are now intertwined with electronic elements."

"Wale's third studio album, and his second for Atlantic/Maybach Music Group, The Gifted, was originally released in 2013, digitally and on CD. The album was not released on vinyl until now. Following up on the success of Ambition, Wale enlisted a new team of producers and fellow MMG artists Rick Ross and Meek Mill, with additional features by rappers Wiz Khalifa, Nicki Minaj, Yo Gotti, Juicy J, and 2 Chainz alongside R&B contemporaries Lyfe Jennings, Ne-Yo, and Sam Dew, with a special appearance by Jerry Seinfeld. Wale first dropped the single 'Bad' featuring Tiara Thomas, followed by two more singles, 'LoveHate Thing' featuring Sam Dew, and a remix of 'Bad' featuring Rihanna. After three successful singles, the album was released on June 25, 2013, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 -- Wale's first #1 -- and would eventually be certified Gold. Get On Down is proud to present on vinyl for the first time, The Gifted. The album is pressed on splatter color-in-color vinyl and packaged in an alternate cover jacket, limited to 500 copies."

"Six-song LP with three tracks in extended mixes with dub. Long requested reissue of this 1981 Barrington album, featuring some tracks not available elsewhere, like 'Full Understanding' as played by the great Jah Shaka. The whole LP is heavy stuff from the Radics + Scientist combination of the day, like all Barrington's classic early albums. This album has only been available very briefly a couple of times since its original release, and it's back here pressed from new stampers from the original mothers, which means you're getting a record identical to the original press. An essential album if you love the heavy sound of the early '80s."

2026 restock; LP version. Best of the best of French punk tracks. Only French KBD killer tracks. Released for the forthcoming exhibition "Europunk" at Cite de la Musique (Paris - October 2013/January 2014). The first French incarnations of "Le Punk" (pronounced "paink" in numerous locales) were not carbon copies of their foreign exemplars. Babbling, swarming, morphing, genuinely disorganized anarchy, bad intentions transformed into good ones: that's how punk rock (or at least a close approximation) was initially adapted to fit our peculiar French perspective. There was not the slightest network to distribute records or organize concert tours. Older generations were hostile (or worse, compassionate or even paternalistic). There was nothing and no one to forge a connection between the handful of small, isolated groups, fundamentally motivated by a passion for what they deemed true rock 'n' roll (the desire to terrorize the neighborhood arrived soon afterward), each in their own little world, trying to provoke their backwater village or their lame metropolis, and meeting, of course, with total indifference. Artists include: Les Nouveaux Riches, Strychnine, Electrochoc, Gasoline, Sexe A Pile, Soggy, Marie France, Ruth Elyeri, Les Olivensteins, Coronados, Dogs, Warm Gun, Gloires Locales, and Guilty Razors.

Reduced price, last copies of this soon-deleted LP box! Born Herman Poole Blount in Alabama during 1914, Sun Ra first emerged on the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s. One of the great avant-garde composers of his generation -- leading the way on piano, organ, and (eventually) synthesizer -- beginning in the mid-1950s and lasting until his death in 1993, led the Arkestra, a band through which a near countless number of important artists passed and collaborated with, and many remained for the duration of their careers, notably Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, and June Tyson. Known for their wild costumes and theatrics, Ra's eccentric image and claims that he was from Saturn was deeply political, imagining an alternate social order, history, and future for African Americans that rests as a pioneering force in the Afro-Futurist movement. Recorded live at Teatro Giulio Cesare on March 28, 1980, comprising an astounding 27 compositions, including the highly celebrated "Astro Black," "Mr. Mystery," "Romance of Two Planets," "Space Is the Place," "We Travel the Spaceways," and "Calling Planet Earth," over six vinyl sides. High among the greatest live gigs by the Arkestra captured on tape, carefully mastered by Matt Bordin at Outside Inside Studio, Live in Rome 1980 is a near perfect snapshot of the band's versatility and range, including many of their most notably and famous songs, as well as striking renditions of the Horace Henderson penned Benny Goodman number "Big John's Special," Fletcher Henderson's "Yeah Man!," and "Limehouse Blues," displaying Ra's willingness to address and rework the entire, diverse history of jazz in a single go. Heard in its totality, perhaps what makes Live in Rome 1980 most striking is the way in which the concert plays out. Roughly the first half encounters the band locked in some of the most out-there, free jazz fire that can be imagined, weaving a startling sense of interplay and furious energy into a brilliant tapestry of writhing sonority, the likes of which were only really achieved by this band. The second half, with only moments of exception that return to the furious energy of the first, is a very different affair, easy toward the vocal standards, led by June Tyson's vocals and the joyous collective chanting of the band, for which they have become so widely celebrated, threading the sounds of off-kilter big band swing with heavy grooves and imagines of outer space.

"Dormancy comes in many forms. For some it is a break from the world of stress and the constant demands one finds oneself under. For others it is a much-needed respite from the grind, a time to disengage from the wheel and collect oneself for the next challenge. If The Sun Dies, Greg Weeks' seventh release, is a signal that his respite is over. Pursuing creativity once again, Weeks finds himself in a period of explosive productivity. He has written an enormous number of songs over the past few years, enough to fuel five separate projects, including If The Sun Dies. In addition, he has rebuilt his Hexham Head Studio (still all analog, still twenty-four tracks) and resuscitated his label Language Of Stone (sans imprint status). If The Sun Dies, which takes its title from an Oriana Fallaci novel, is every bit a Weeks album: cryptic-poetic lyrics over melancholic melodies strummed on acoustic guitar and ornamented with the analog instruments he has forever treasured (Hammond Organ, Mellotron, Mini-Moog, and effects-laden guitars). However, the album feels like a departure, a maturation in both content and approach despite its many echoes from the past. The album's running thread is melancholia, but lyrically the tunes couldn't be more disparate. 'If The Sun Dies' is an anthem that posits the end of things being the only means by which two people can find time to truly connect. 'The Heathen Heart' speaks to one's desire for salvation yet underscores a different, more frightening reality. The more narrative 'A Narrow Star' follows a young woman's journey into entropy, while 'Tail Lights Burn The Hillside Red' explores the depression that likely drove her there. Shifting gears, 'Dream You Awake' investigates the more archetypal territory of the star-crossed lovers, while 'Driven' attempts, unsuccessfully, to put the genie back into the bottle. 'Ridley Street,' a song about a stalker, is juxtaposed to 'Rainless,' a song that believes in the transcendent power of love. While 'A Million Ways To Die' and 'Gone Darkside' tread quite literal territory, the album's closer, 'What It Takes' questions identity in the face of pharmaceuticals. Taken in total, the album amounts to a complete return to form."

2026 repress. "Archival reissue of the Afro-prog-psych Zamrock masterpiece. Presented for the first time ever in an aged copper green pressing. The entirety of Witch's fourth album, restored and remastered from master tapes, and presented as an archival reissue in an aged copper green vinyl pressing. Witch's musical arc is contained to a five-year span and, in retrospect, it is a logical one. The band's fourth album -- recorded after the band toured with Osibisa -- makes use of traditional Zambian rhythms and folk melodies alongside progressive rock movements. It is the most 'Afro-rock' of Witch's oeuvre."

2026 repress. "Archival reissue of the Afro-prog-psych Zamrock masterpiece, presented for the first time ever in a yellow vinyl pressing. Witch's musical arc is contained to a five-year span and, in retrospect, is a logical one. The band's fifth and final rock album -- released before the band splintered and an offshoot band traveled to Zimbabwe to record and release disco albums -- makes use of traditional Zambian rhythms and folk melodies alongside progressive rock movements. Like Lukombo Vibes before it, it is in the Osibas 'Afro-rock' style."

LP version. "The Soft Pink Truth (Drew Daniel also of Matmos) grafts chamber music and electronic music into a beguiling new hybrid pop album that evokes mid-20th century film soundtracks with nods to minimalism. Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever? features artwork by Robert Beatty (Tame Impala, The Weeknd). The new album features a host of special guests: Bill Orcutt offers one of his most delicate performances committed to record. Other guests include strings arranger Ulas Kurugullu, harpists Neleta Ortiz and Cecilia Cuccolin, pianists Koye Berry and M.C. Schmidt, the Ebu String Quartet, as well as woodwinds played by Brandon Wilkins and Evelyn Frances and Zach Rowden of celebrated noise duo Tongue Depressor provides grinding double bass drones. Wedding emotional expression with canny references to the inherited history of recorded music, the chimes, organ and pizzicato strings on 'Phrygian Ganymede' recall Bernard Herrmann's scores for classic Alfred Hitchcock films, while galloping marimbas lend a sense of screwball comedy on 'L'Esprit de L'Escalier.' Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever? is a singular album that speaks to the prowess of Drew Daniel as a composer and producer, deftly interlacing pop structure and classical timbre while interlacing subtle electronic sound design with gorgeous acoustics. Across the album Daniel embraces a spirit of drama and romanticism that blurs the boundaries between unconscious desire and everyday reality. The Soft Pink Truth has created a sound world of lavish fantasy that acts as a balm and counterpoint to the communal pains of modern life."

"Like that clubber throwing dancefloor etiquette out of the window, The Soft Pink Truth create thrills in their quest for something deeper." --The Quietus

"[Daniel] excoriates populism by making protest a deeply sensual act" --Uncut

2026 restock. Alan Licht returns to VDSQ with Havens, a sprawling double-disc set of exploratory guitar-based compositions forged from the myriad possibilities arising when strings collide with electricity and space. Licht is masterful and relentless in his negotiation of the often-unknowable intersections that exist between juxtaposing strands of sound. His work is marked by contrast and contradiction: maximalism versus minimalism; rockist inclinations versus avant, expanded-field expression; loose improvisation versus considered performance. What these dichotomies shouldn't obscure, however, is the simple pleasure that transpires in his refracting of idiom, conjuring expansive pieces that collapse, stratify and convolve competing schools of music to wholly singular ends. 2LP housed in full color gatefold jacket with printed inner sleeves.

"Havens documents a new sound for Licht, building on a previous VDSQ release Currents, his last major solo outing from 2015. Playing those solo acoustic tracks live on tour, their lyricism translated through the power of a PA, Licht was taken by the overtones surging atop those song-like pieces, transforming them into something new. The compositions here, particularly the mesmeric title track, luxuriate in that newfound sense of possibility, infused with a rock-born urgency by way of lightning-fast, urgent strumming gradually unfurling layers of phantom harmonics. The record is rich with considered, contained explosivity, firmly minimalist in its patient pace and ear for hallucination but expressed in defiantly, deliciously rock terms, each piece its own lyrical hybrid built of scant elements unfurled with painterly grace. This loving dislocation and reframing of the rock lexicon remains true to the Licht M.O., Havens being a resoundingly deep listen teeming with visceral energy, a glorious love letter to the still-unexplored potentialities of a simple guitar thrust into the hands of an individual who simultaneously reveres its known nooks but steadfastly continues to push it into crannies uncharted." --Edward Beaver, Nature's Trip Records

LP version. Yellow/black splatter color vinyl. Gatefold sleeve. Sumrrá asks: "Can we free ourselves from prejudice, cultural and personal. How can we liberate ourselves from the bias and self-sabotage that we got from our ancestors, our environment, our society and our cultural background." REVOLUTI8N explores seven themes in the band's eighth album. Sumrrá express their thoughts through music and tone poems. They seek to trigger an inner Revoluti8n, to spark it. They are shooting an arrow towards the direction they believe the world collectively must look today. After 25 years and hundreds of concerts around the world, Sumrrá continues to look into the future. Pianist Manuel Gutierrez, double bassist Xacobe Martínez Antelo, and drummer L.A.R. Legido perform with a maturity and freshness of ideas that has made their devoted fan base continue to grow. Smart, dynamic and emotional music from Galiza, Spain. Having already released seven albums, REVOLUTI8N, is their eighth.

2026 restock. One of King Tubby's finest works, originally released in 1974. Recorded at Tubby's famous 18 Drummly Ave. studio in Kingston during dub's early development period.

2026 repress; LP version. What two great producers other than Lee Perry and Bunny Lee would be best suited for a Dub Soundclash? Both producers were integral at the birth of dub music and would share many rhythms and sessions -- their musical paths would cross all through their careers. It was in fact Bunny Lee's rhythm that provided the back drop to Lee Perry's "Shocks Of Mighty" cut. Jobs were passed from one to the other, Bunny Lee taking over Lee Perry's position at WIRL Records. Yes, two producers whose paths always seemed to cross as it does with this release. Jamaican Recordings have selected some of Lee Perry's rhythms, the first half of this set, against some Bunny Lee rhythm on the second half. You can hear the distinctive sound of Lee Perry's Black Ark studio with his echoplex giving his trademark whirling sound against Bunny Lee's rhythms cut at many different studios. The winner of the Soundclash? That is up to you the listener... But in this dub session there is no loser...

2026 restock. LP version with a 12-page full-color booklet with extensive notes and unseen photos. "With only six singles released between 1965 and 1966, and from an apparently remote place such as Lima, Peru, Los Saicos created a raw, wild and visceral sound, the Southern Hemisphere equivalent of the garage rock that was coming out of the U.S. Northwest at the same time. Theirs is the same DNA shared by The Sonics, The Cramps and Black Lips. This release compiles all their recordings and tells their amazing story. This snarling maelstrom of nihilism was cut in Lima when the rest of the world was wetting itself over The Beatles, direct links to both The Stooges and The Cramps here and several more equally-enthralling combos. The latter spawned several generations of individuals who would dig deep to previously (mostly) unheard seams of music and other forms of culture that have since become part of the mainstream fabric. Another strong case of the same kind of happenstance to my mind is that which preceded the much-vaunted 'punk' explosion of the '70s." --Lindsay Hutton

"Two years after he first appeared on Balmat with 1977, Mike Paradinas returns with 1979. The sense of continuity between the two records is clear, and not just from their titles. Both capture the Planet Mu head venturing into the wilderness, seeking something -- half-formed memories, thoughts caught in midair -- in some of the most abstract, searching music he has released. Just like 1977, 1979 surveys a synth-heavy array of ethereal soundscapes, ominous crevasses, and strange, psychedelic fugues. Like its predecessor, the new album's atmospheric cast sets it apart from much of the work Paradinas has released as µ-Ziq on Planet Mu. It's not strictly an ambient record, but it's close, as close as this famously mutable artist ever comes to inhabiting a particular genre. Paradinas' inspiration for the record began on visits to the Spanish cities of Ávila and Majadahona, where his family hails from. That might account for the sense that there are spirits flitting through this music, presences you can intuit if not quite grasp. But 1979 is also a record to meet on your own terms, and to find your own meanings in. It's a stunning record, every track a world unto itself: the mysterious contours of "Majadahonda at Dawn"; the playful melodic fillips of "Clari"; the airy melancholy of "Galletas"; the full-scale breakbeat abandon (yes, you read that right) of "Houzz 14," the rarest of dancefloor detours for Balmat. There are echoes of classic braindance and isolationist ambient and golden-age IDM; there are easter eggs and recurring themes and hidden symmetries. Despite what the title might suggest, it's less a trip back in time than a portal to another universe, a destination for(to?) which only Mike Paradinas knows the exact coordinates." --Philip Sherburne

Milton Nascimento's immaculate melodies and harmonies resound in full tone and color throughout this magnificent 1980 TV performance. A marvelous set of songs performed with masterful sensitivity by Nascimento on vocals and acoustic guitar along with one of his historical partners, the great pianist, arranger Wagner Tiso on piano and organ.

As trans-Atlantic alchemists pulling from a shared dialectic that somehow encompassed both postmodern deconstructionist tendencies and a delightfully subversive sense of poptimism, it's easy to see how David Cunningham and Peter Gordon immediately hit it off upon initially meeting each other back in the late-1970s at the height of their youthful transgressions. Having initially worked together on the second Flying Lizards' LP, with its ingenious fusion of dismantled rhythms and rearranged melodies juxtaposed against the slyly sultry singing of Snatch's Patti Palladin -- with Gordon adding a few sprinkles of mischievous sax in the mix -- it's no wonder the collaboration would lead to further musical adventures. Which leads directly to the genesis of The Yellow Box. Embarking on a collaborative exercise in the structural repurposing of music as untethered puzzle pieces in need of rearrangement with no predetermined outcomes, the duo gave birth to a project that would see them move through both time and recording studios across Europe, taking nearly two years from 1981-1983 to complete. Enlisting the great Anton Fier on drums from The Feelies/Lounge Lizards nexus and John Greaves on bass from Henry Cow/Soft Heap lore to round out their duelling creative counterparts, the album would be something of a lost treasure until its eventual release on Cunningham's Piano imprint in 1996. Cinematic in scope, and filled with drifting drones, beautiful counter-melodies, eery minimalism, Kraftwerkian synthesizers, looped voices, skronky interludes, and other shifting undercurrents of sound, it was an album that utilized both a diverse array of expressive languages, as well as early sampling techniques and prepared instruments, well before most people were thinking in such expansive, integrated terms at the dawn of the '80s. Like a sparser, less groove-oriented version of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, or a more radical take on the experimental work of Can's Holger Czukay, The Yellow Box stands at the crossroads of time and technology, fusing multiple strands of musical thought and compositional techniques into a disjointed whole that somehow still comes off as a conceptually complete record. Now, here it is again, over 40 years later, with perhaps even more historical resonance than it had before, remade and remodeled just waiting to be rediscovered again.

LP version. "As the meteoric rise of reggae began to captivate listeners around the globe in the 1970s, innovative artist Augustus Pablo emerged as vital creative force pushing the genre forward. An important figure in the Jamaican music scene during this remarkable era, Pablo was not only a skilled musician but an influential producer who shaped the sound of countless classic recordings. While his instrumental work and legendary dubs remain essential, Pablo was also responsible for iconic vocal tracks from a wide range of local talent, many of which were released on his own label Rockers. Now, Nature Sounds presents Rockers United!, a collection of classic and rare vocal selections from the Rockers archives, all produced by Augustus Pablo. Deeply rooted in hypnotic, bass-heavy instrumentation, the album features remastered audio transferred from the original master tapes, with vocals by Jacob Miller, Delroy Williams, Hugh Mundell, Tetrak, Junior Delgado, Earl Sixteen, Spliffy Dan and more."

Pablo Yglesias -- AKA DJ Bongohea -- compiles for Grosso Recordings an amazing series with classic tunes from Caribbean music that became great successes of "Salsa." Featuring Arsenio Rodríguez Y Su Conjunto, Orquesta Cosmopolita, Tito Puente Y Su Conjunto, Orquesta América del '55, Conjunto Jóvenes Del Cayo, Tito Rodríguez and His Orchestra, Cheo Marquetti Y Su Conjunto, Arsenio Rodríguez Y Su Conjunto, Silvestre Méndez, Conjunto Casino, La Gloria Matancera, Beny Moré Y Su Orquesta, Estrellas De Chocolate, and Chappottín Y Sus Estrellas.

"This is the fourth volume in our series on the Roots of Salsa. The main criterion was to pick tracks that sounded adequate for today's DJs to play at a gig or were sufficiently interesting (or enough of a surprise to fans of the later version) to merit inclusion. The other measuring stick was that they needed to come from the old-school, before the more modern era (from 1962 on) and all of its recording innovations and marketing strategies. For now, listen to these dozen gems and then go back to their more familiar cousins from recent times and compare and contrast, and we're sure you'll be enlightened and entertained." --Pablo E. Yglesias, aka DJBongohead

A deeply moving debut: Mahku by Manizeh Rimer -- founder of London's Love Supreme Projects -- is a spiritual jazz album that bridges generations, cultures, and time. Co-produced by ganavya (Daughter of a Temple) and LEITER co-founder Felix Grimm, it was recorded at Berlin's Funkhaus with a stellar cast: Grammy-nominated Jai Uttal, bassists Doug Weiss and Ben Hazleton, harpist Miriam Adefris, pianist Jay Verma, and Manizeh's daughter Mahku Rimer. The eight tracks -- including a touching reinterpretation of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" -- are musical prayers blending Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Tibetan traditions. "Mahku" means "eclipse" -- a symbol of unity and transformation. It's also the name of Manizeh's grandmother, whose spiritual legacy lives on through this music.