A note from Lawrence English: "In late 1975, Annea Lockwood realized her composition World Rhythms. It represents one of the first creative works exploring the potentials of field recordings in a multichannel setting. It is a landmark work and a composition that, on its 50th anniversary, has gently carried forward over the decades, but arguably now is only starting to come into true focus, and be understood for exactly how revolutionary it was. World Rhythms was a work concerned with a practice of sustained listening into the world, and beyond. It expanded outward from many of the compositions and themes Annea Lockwood had been exploring since the 1960s. It sought to take those learnings and apply them to a new set of terrains and circumstances. Moreover, it suggested a sensing of sound that was drawn from profound curiosity, matched only by patience. In 2019, I reached out to Annea and started a conversation about a revisitation of World Rhythms. My initial proposition was a simple one: a re-issue that was remastered and touched up, reflecting Annea's thoughts on the piece in this moment. The conversation quickly spun outward though, and before long Annea had asked if I might be interested to revisit the master tapes with the thought that the work could be revived and prepared for performance presentations going forward into this century. On listening to the materials, during the period of restoring the audio from the original master tapes, I was struck by the profound dynamism of the recordings. Each of the sound-fields held an attentive flux, a rhythmic pulse that was breathing. Each one a story of the pulses of the world, and our universe, that spoke to a possible reading of reality that sits in excess of our everyday capacities. A poetics of pulse if you like. Here then is the result of those conversations and also the presentations of the piece that followed -- several of which Annea has overseen herself. On this newly rendered imagining of World Rhythms, new relations, listening paths and ways of exploring her sound-fields are brought into focus. The core of the piece remains, a prioritized zone of listening, but emerging from deep within it new sonic formations emerge, a reminder of the dynamism of our energetic world and its surroundings." Composition by Annea Lockwood; gong performed by Vanessa Tomlinson and Annea Lockwood; mix realized by Lawrence English. Design by Traianos Pakioufakis; essay by Lawrence English.

Alan Bishop's solo persona appears again from his now 15-year-old home of Cairo where it was recorded in and around many other projects over the past few years. And unlike his more recent singer/songwriter material, Malarial Dream drifts closer to latter day Sun City Girls (Mister Lonely/Funeral Mariachi) amidst a melodic Middle Eastern and beyond psych-warped folk setting. Mostly instrumental and, except for two obscure covers, original compositions that feature a cast of extraordinary players: Adham Zidan, Aya Hemeda, Cherif El Masri, and Morgan Mikkelsen (The Invisible Hands), Maurice Louca and Sam Shalabi (The Dwarfs of East Agouza), Amelie Legrand, Asher Gamedze, Eyvind Kang, Hana Al Bayaty, Huda Asfour, and Sammy Sayed. LP Limited to 500 copies. Produced by Alvarius B. and Adham Zidan.

Born from Israel's groundbreaking psychedelic pioneers The Churchills, Jericho Jones emerged in 1971 with Junkies, Monkeys & Donkeys -- an internationally-minded leap into hard rock, proto-prog, and melodic songwriting. Recorded in a single, electrifying 24-hour session at London's Tangerine Studios, the album captures a band in full creative flight. Blending heavy riffs, lush melodies, and subtle Middle Eastern influences, Junkies, Monkeys & Donkeys stands today as a lost classic of early '70s rock -- a vital bridge between psychedelia and the heavier sounds that followed. Features original artwork in gatefold sleeve. Newly remastered sound. Includes insert with detailed liner notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things) with input from original member Robb Huxley as well as extra insert with lyrics.

Part-time farmer/musician Oliver Chaplin is the person behind one of the rarest private pressings from the UK. His cult masterpiece Standing Stone was recorded in early 1974 at a remote farm in Wales, using a portable 4-track Teac reel-to-reel machine. Helped by his brother Chris at the controls (an experienced BBC engineer who had worked on Syd Barrett sessions), surrounded by animals and "smaller winged creatures," Oliver sang and played acoustic and electric guitars filtered through tape echo, distortion and multi-tracking, creating a very unique sound, a kind of DIY mutant-psychedelic-blues (think Captain Beefheart) which sounded years ahead of its time. Despite the lo-fi nature of the recording, the sound quality is amazing and timeless. Only 250 copies of the album were pressed and it even caught the attention of the Virgin label, who were interested in distribution but Oliver finally refused their offer. Musicians like JJ Cale expressed interest in Oliver's music, inviting him to a jam session but in the end, Oliver decided he was not interested in the music business and left Wales to travel around Europe. He remains a kind of a mysterious figure and Guerssen now offers a new, long-awaited reissue of Standing Stone, sanctioned by the artist.

Two '70s Zamrock hard-fuzz monsters! "Hey Babe" by Ngozi Family was originally included on their sought-after Day of Judgement album and it features one of the loudest, nastiest Ron Asheton-esque fuzz-wah guitar solos ever committed to wax. "Really" by Crossbones is crazy fuzzed-out Sabbatt-esque hard-rock, taken from their impossible to find Wise Man album.

Legendary dub techno artist Paul St. Hilaire (AKA Tikiman) presents this new collaborative album, marking ten years of Kynant Records. Building on the success of Paul St. Hilaire's landmark solo album for Richard Akingbehin's label Kynant in 2023, w/ The Producers switches up the formula to pair St. Hilaire's with a different producer on each track. Referencing fellow dub techno pioneers Mark Ernestus & Moritz von Oswald's acclaimed album w/ The Artists as Rhythm & Sound, St. Hilaire flips the concept to feature as the lone vocalist. Over the album's nine tracks, St. Hilaire offers a range of conscious song-writing and headtop musings, such as the spoken-word dread of "What's This" or the sparse call-to-action of "Send Them On." The record weaves through all shades of contemporary dub evolutions, showing the vocal range and versatility of St. Hilaire. w/ The Producers is yet another essential record in St. Hilaire's unmatched discography. w/ The Producers finds Kynant Records bridging the original voice of dub techno with the genre's new wave. It's a statement of intent from the label, which began with deep, hypnotic techno and has veered gradually towards more dubwise sounds.

LP version. "'I wanted to try / And go very far.' These are the first words on Poem 1 and reintroduce an artist who's in a conspicuously different phase of her life than she was when her debut album, Because of a Flower, sprouted nearly six years ago. Heartbroken and reflective, Ana Roxanne surveys the transformations that followed and displays a new-found boldness. Her voice is naked, vulnerable and alive, no longer shrouded in tape noise or looped and echoed beyond recognition beneath layered electroacoustic textures. Throughout the course of Poem 1, Roxanne displays her skill as a singer and songwriter in the classic sense, using the limited instrumentation simply to accent her exposed tones. Muted piano phrases and plucked bass notes languidly trail her anguished siren song on 'Berceuse in A-flat Minor, Op. 45,' making each word count. On 'Keepsake' meanwhile, she sounds as if she's alone in an abandoned bar, stroking the dust off the piano's keys as she inventories her emotional scars. There's a smell of old whisky in the air, but Poem 1 is a remarkably sober album; never wallowing in self-pity, Roxanne finds catharsis in the logic of her expressions, twisting out the edges of her memories into surreal, cinematic asides. 'Untitled II,' the album's pronounced, uninhibited centerpiece, delivers on the Lynchian promise that's been present since her first EP. Purring over a brushy, decelerated rhythm and funereal piano, Roxanne glances the edge of a hot spotlight, cutting through the stage smoke with her glassy evocations. And when she interprets the Robert Schumann's lied 'Stille Tränen' on 'One Shall Sleep,' she turns Justinus Kerner's words into a whispered echo of her own grief, narrating the 19th-century poem over syrupy synthesizers and strings. There's a light emerging on the horizon, though; burying her past on the choral standout 'Cover Me,' Roxanne shifts the pace and the mood on 'Atonement,' lifting her voice into a gentle lilt."

A major milestone in the history of electronic music, Jeff Mills' legendary Live at Liquid Room, recorded in 1995 in Tokyo, is widely regarded as one of the greatest DJ mixes of all time. A true techno anthology, this set made history with its boldness and intensity, inspiring generations of DJs and producers around the world. To celebrate the album's 30th anniversary, Jeff Mills presents this reissue of the iconic live recording. Featuring Surgeon, Joey Beltram, Millsart, DJ Funk, DJ Joe T. Vanellis, Csilla, Wicked Wipe, Circuit Breaker, iO, Joey Beltram, Club MCM, Claude Young, The Advent, Rhythim Is Rhythim, Ken Ishii, Damon Wild, X-102, H&M, The Shadow, Dan Morgan, and Hell & Jonzon.

LP version. With Heat, Société Étrange extends its work around repetition, groove and cyclic structures, shaping an instrumental music that is both hypnotic and enveloping. Without any radical shift, the Lyon-based trio subtly moves towards more melodic and more cinematic forms, revealing warmer, more textured and sometimes more luminous atmospheres. Formed by Antoine Bellini (electronics), Romain Hervault (bass) and Jonathan Grandcollot (drums), Société Étrange builds here a more diffuse trance, driven by generally slower tempos than on Chance (BJR 075CD, 2022). Organic drums interact with drum machines and layers of synthesizers, while the bass carries both pulse and melodic lines. The music breathes more, leaving space for silences and micro-variations, and unfolds as an immersive listening experience. With Heat, the band explores a strange form of instrumental pop, without formats or choruses, nourished by an imaginary close to soundtracks and narrative electronic music. A warm and hypnotic album, where repetition becomes texture, tension turns into atmosphere, and each track draws its own sonic landscape.

"Like a lightning strike that travels through time, White Fence are all of a sudden cracking in the hear-view mirror again. Orange hits like, visceral. Guitars sound and like a shower spray forth. Resolutely picked. Cold and soothing. Swivelin' thru the jagged, jittery pop sounds of the '60s-'00s, the sharped focus of Orange's rock sonics gives Tim Presley exactly what he needed the most: open space to sing into, and songs to sing. The rest is White Fence magik at its most dark, as Tim's restless free-allusivation trippifyingly transforms the cramped confines of heart wracked self-excoriation right before our eyes and ears! In pop songs. On (the mixing) board with White Fence/on the (drum) kit with Tim is Ty Segall. Engineering tactics fully hand-in-glove with the White Fence intent, they produce a clean and uncrowded space to mount up all the rock 'n balladry, their clean lines surrounded by an emphatic/unalterable (minimalist) frame. Tim's lyric sets and chord progressions, with their perspectives, time codes and smash cuts, give up eleven fleeting glimpses from the other side of the 'Fence, each outfitted as foot-forward pop tunes for maximum rock 'n roll. Playing with genre throughout the album like a space-age Kinks, Tim's natty wordplay splatters against the songs' rock-solid edifice, spilling an infinitum of cracked, shaggy realities, billowing, mirrored, sharded. When it all moves, you move, and that's fun. Orange is an unstill life; a bowlful of Tim's latest conceptions for guitar band, grown larger through thoughts, feelings, SONGS and some keys and synth from Alice Sandhal (+ 2 drum cameos from the ever-righteous Dylan Hadley). A trance-like chronology of consciousness, captured in opalescent diamond tightness and ice fidelity at Ty's Harmonizer II studio. It's a KILLER. White Fence is Orange on time this time!"

Dang dut is the biggest musical genre in Indonesia. Dangdut, onomatopoetic name from the sound of hand drums used in this type of music, is what reggae to Jamaicans, country to Americans or skiffle to mid-20th century British people. And in this genre of dang dut, the name Rhoma Irama looms large. He is to this day the undisputable king of dang dut and his role as pioneer of the music is already in the history book. Most of Rhoma's well-known compositions may have been influenced by Indian tunes but some of his best quality works owed much to the West. Rhoma had long found home in Western pop music. In the early 1960s, after honing his guitar playing skill, Rhoma set up his first band Gayhand to play the tunes of The Beatles, Paul Anka, and Tom Jones. Yet, nothing changed Rhoma's fortune in the music industry, to a point where he decided to leave pop and switched to playing Orkes Melayu (Malay Orchestra) music, first with Orkes Melayu Purnama and later with Soneta Group. His career soon took off with Soneta, especially after he introduced what ethnomusicologist William H. Frederick considered as "theatre", through which Rhoma borrows many elements from stage performances of British and American rock bands. These elements, kitsch and pomp, he liberally adopted and became an inseparable part of dangdut itself; tight pants, long hair, platform shoes, glitter and glamour which would not be out of place in Elton John and David Bowie stage show. From technical point of view, Rhoma not only replaced the acoustic elements from Melayu Music with electric instruments but also created new synthetic sounds that has never been attempted before in Indonesia's music industry. Notice how Rhoma reproduced funk, which is all the rage in early 1970s, in the song "Santai" (Relax), this album's closer, or "Credit Title (Instrumentalia)" which opens this Darah Muda (Young Blood) soundtrack. The rubbery bass lines that open both songs can easily find home in any Sly and the Family Stone's or Isaac Hayes' tunes from that era. The 13 tracks contained in this compilation Begadang: Soneta Group Best Songs, 1975-1980 are some the most innovative music that came out of Indonesia's music scene in the 1970s, tunes that has cemented Rhoma Irama's status as the king of the genre. Only 500 copies were pressed for this compilation.

"Multi-instrumentalist Sarah Lipstate brings her innovative music to life under the name Noveller. Forming unexpected sonic routes, her songs are vivid and cinematic. Following several years spent collaborating with Iggy Pop, and touring the world as his guitarist, Lipstate returns with a new album of her own. I Am The Weather further expands her inventive explorations, creating what Pop once described to Jim Jarmusch as 'symphonies for people that don't have a lot of time.' Sarah's work as a composer, notably for the HBO Docuseries Breath Of Fire, as well as the Anthony Bourdain documentary Roadrunner, has greatly influenced her new constructions, incorporating piano, percussion and a new studio filled with excitement into her signature guitar sculpting. It is the baby grand at the center of her studio that welcomes you to the record on 'Sunday in Copenhagen' before ceding to a celestial six string swell. The percussive rhythms of 'Divining Dance' awaken a new morning in 'The Way of Our Flood' and walk towards the bowed grace of 'Otherside of Mountainside.' Surging into the sky, 'Portmerion' allows 'Beyond the Fells' to glide back down to Earth, revealing the album's biggest surprise -- a vocal track! It seems fitting given their past, that the first vocals on a Noveller record would be delivered by the legendary Iggy Pop. Written specifically for The Godfather of Punk, a noir-ish tale of a man over-matched by a femme fatale, 'The Girl Who Was Death' builds with tension and release. Following their collaboration on the title track to Iggy's album Free, (also used in a global campaign for PETA) and their interpretation of Dylan Thomas' 'Do Not Go Gently Into The Night,' Iggy was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to add vocals to another Lipstate composition. A scene set as if on opposite ends of a corner booth at the Double R Diner in Twin Peaks, he delivers each line with the weight of a thousand lives lived. The result is a song so vivid that you can see it projected ten feet tall on the walls all around you. I Am The Weather is the first new release for the Experimentia label, which will soon be the home for the entire Noveller catalogue."

"Two giants of alternative/experimental music join creative forces for the first time in their storied, nearly fifty-year careers. A startlingly cohesive union that burns through landscapes of primitive outsider rock, avant-garde composition, progressive ambient and further locales boldly and beautifully unnamable. Bonner Kramer (previously known as Kramer) decoded the sounds of Galaxie 500 as producer on all of their records as well as producing Low, Will Oldham, and Urge Overkill's hit single 'Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon' for the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, to name just a few of his over three hundred and seventy producer credits listed on Discogs. He is the proprietor of iconic indie label Shimmy-Disc (a one-time home to Daniel Johnston, Ween, Boredoms, and John Zorn's Naked City among countless others), and an esteemed recording studio mastermind. Thurston Moore is a founding member of Sonic Youth, and responsible for Chelsea Light Moving and a massive and varied solo career, and remains an era-and genre-defining composer, cultural critic, prime mover of all things cool, and one of the most iconic, singular guitarists in rock music's long tail, the keystone of the explored tension between rock and noise."

Already pioneers at home under their earlier name The Churchills, the band relocated to the UK in 1971 under the guidance of a big management, changing their name to Jericho Jones and finally Jericho. Released by A&M in February 1972, the self-titled Jericho album was heavier, longer, and more progressive than anything they had done before. Built around extended compositions, fearless arrangements, and telepathic ensemble playing, it captured a band operating at full creative stretch. The album opens with "Ethiopia," a ferocious multi-section rocker whose volcanic riffing and sudden twists set the tone for everything that follows. "Don't You Let Me Down," later issued as a single, delivers urgent hooks wrapped in the group's distinctive modal flavor. The towering "Featherbed" moves from melodic introspection to a widescreen instrumental workout that became the band's breakthrough moment on British stages. At the heart of the record lies "Justin and Nova," Robb Huxley's sweeping, cinematic psychedelic/ progressive epic. With its emotional narrative, dramatic dynamics, and lush piano and strings, the track has grown into a cult classic, often cited by fans as one of the era's lost masterpieces. The album closes with "Kill Me With Your Love" a hard-edged, proto-metal piece, ending the journey in grand, theatrical fashion. Internal strains and homesickness soon led to lineup changes, and despite tours, new singles, and even interest from heavyweight industry figures, momentum proved difficult to sustain. Within a short time, Jericho was over. Newly remastered sound. Includes original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve and insert with detailed liner notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things) with input from original member Robb Huxley. Also includes extra insert with lyrics.

2026 restock. "With his honeyed falsetto, Horace Andy has long been considered one of roots reggae's most inimitable voices. His signature tune, 'Skylarking,' is one of a handful of songs that can be instantly recognized by even the most casual of reggae fans. Making his debut with producer and mentor Phil Pratt at the age of sixteen, Andy's expressive vocal style is immediately distinctive, bearing the soulful influence of American artists Otis Redding and Smokey Robinson as well as fellow countryman Alton Ellis. 1975's Get Wise collects a series of singles produced by Pratt including versions of hits 'Money, Money' ('Root Of All Evil') and 'Zion Gate' ('I Don't Want To Be Outside'). Recorded between 1972 and 1974, these sides were captured at legendary studios Channel One, Black Ark, Dynamic Sound and Randy's Studio 17 with house engineers Ernest Hoo Kim, Lee Perry, Carlton Lee and Errol Thompson at the helm. Originally released on Pratt's Sunshot label, the album doubles as a showcase for The Soul Syndicate Band, a typically ad-hoc session group which featured Sly & Robbie, Aston 'Family Man' Barrett and Earl 'Chinna' Smith, among others. Get Wise delivers ten tracks of Andy's finest material and should be in the collection of any aficionado of the classic '70s Kingston sound. Liner notes by JR Gonne."

2026 restock. Originally released in 1985, this is a compilation of classic Horace Andy, including covers of Tappa Zukie's "Better Collie" and Leroy Sibble's "My Guiding Star."

Hardcover, 656 pages, 500 color images. 28 × 21 cm. "A massive photographic archive of Lee 'Scratch' Perry's legendary recording studio. A 600-page tribute to one of the most famous locales in music history, Black Ark is a detailed inventory of photographs and writings from the Black Ark Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, where producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry created music from 1973 onward. The eclectic and constantly evolving decoration of the studio provides an enduring visual counterpart to Perry's expansive musical catalog. From mural paintings to shape-shifting assemblages of records, instruments, found objects, posters and newspaper clippings, the artworks layer upon one another as they intertwine with the studio building itself. Perry created his own dense and diverse world in which to work: memorialized in this volume before the Black Ark disappears for good. The photographic documentation of the studio in the spring of 2021 was supplemented by efforts to secure and preserve Perry's works, objects and recordings as part of a joint project with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Black Ark reflects the rhythm and layering effects of collage both in its content and the materials used to craft the book. Perry was involved in the development of this publication until his death in August 2021. The book closes with memorial essays from Ishion Hutchinson, David Katz, Kodwo Eshun, and John Corbett. Lee 'Scratch' Perry (1936-2021) was a musician and producer best known for pioneering the dub genre in the 1970s. He worked with well-known Jamaican artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Heptones, the Congos, and Max Romeo. In 2003 he won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album."

"Generic Flipper, the debut album by Flipper, remains the most absorbing full-length LP to emerge from the early San Francisco punk scene. A constant source of imitation for so-called 'noise rock' bands, it has yet to be surpassed in its nihilistic glee. Recorded between October 1980 and August 1981 and released in 1982 on the indispensable Subterranean Records, this album functions as a chaotic, sticky mass of individual personalities: the magma-like bass eruptions and dual vocals of Will Shatter and Bruce Loose, Ted Falconi's icy guitar scraping and the relentless beat of drummer Steve DePace. At times playful and taciturn, paranoid and absurd, Generic charts a deliberate path that willfully chances destruction. In early '80s punk, when the hardening default was 'faster-shorter-louder,' Generic subverts the nascent hardcore scene with a strictly applied regimen of turgid-slower-heavier. The lyrics are bleak, yet unnervingly beautiful. 'Ever' sets the tone with trademark restraint, while closer 'Sex Bomb' is a churning, 8-minute epic with looping bass, saxophone accompaniment and electronic effects of dropping bombs. Tons of indie bands have attempted to recreate Flipper's mix of acidic guitar, metallic bass sludge and sardonically brilliant lyricism, using the seemingly effortless template they pioneered; however, the effect usually drives listeners right back to Generic. While most of their contemporaries wilt under direct comparison, No Trend, the Butthole Surfers, feedtime and Church Police are a few who can stand the frigid heat."

Electroacoustic composer claire rousay (US) presents her new album, The Bloody Lady, featuring the reimagined score she wrote for Viktor Kubal's 1980 eponymous animated film. Kubal (1923-1997), a pioneering Slovak animator, is considered one of the most influential animation filmmakers of the 20th century. Known as a singular artist who challenges conventions in experimental and ambient music forms, rousay crafted the score in her home studio immediately after moving to LA over the course of 2023. The inaugural performance, a screening of the film accompanied by rousay performing the score live, took place at Videodroom / Film Fest Gent 2023 in Ghent, Belgium. The project has since been developed into an 11-track album with alternating themes that evoke the film's atmosphere while standing on its own as a distinct sonic work. Based on the lurid folk tale of Elisabeth Bathory (1560-1614), the trippy Slovak animated film The Bloody Lady follows the story of a Slovak noblewoman. Accused of murdering hundreds of girls and women. Her murderous motive: hoping to remain eternally young, she allegedly bathed in their blood. Central to both the film and rousay's score is the heart and its rhythmic pulse. Much like the story itself, her compositions are whimsical, with subtle hints of looming menace. As this underlying tension lingers in the background, the score incorporates everyday sounds and nature recordings to evoke an ethereal yet unsettling atmosphere. To create these emotive textures, rousay primarily relied on a blend of granular VST synths, piano, pitched-down violin, and an array of field recordings. In a twist of serendipity claire mentions she had been traveling around Hungary and had actually visited the castle of Elisabeth Bathory a full year before being commissioned to work on the new score. She had made some field recordings there, in both the forests and around the site and randomly recorded the ambiance in a local bar. All these sounds have found their way as foliage into the live soundtrack. The Bloody Lady marks an unexpected new chapter in Rousay's blossoming career, demonstrating her ability to apply her delicate melodic sensibility and meticulous attention to detail to the medium of film. This score becomes a deeply personal and heartfelt project, casting new light on Viktor Kubal's more-than-40-year-old magnum opus and helping it regain the recognition it deserves.

Wewantsounds presents Ayam El Disco, a new selection of Egyptian 1980s disco and boogie cassette tracks curated by Egyptian DJ Disco Arabesquo, following his highly acclaimed Sharayet El Disco. Most tracks make their vinyl debut in this set. A journey through the funky sounds of 1980s Egypt, Ayam El Disco ("Disco Days") features Ammar El Sherei, Al Massrieen, and other underground artists from Cairo's vibrant cassette culture. The audio has been remastered for vinyl by David Hachour at Colorsound Studio in Paris, and the LP features artwork by Egyptian graphic designer Heba Tarek, along with a two-page insert showcasing the original cassette artwork and insightful liner notes by Moataz Rageb. Based in Amsterdam, the Egyptian DJ has spent years collecting rare tapes from the 1980s and early 1990s -- a period that transformed Egypt's musical landscape and shaped his own listening experience. By the 1980s, the cassette format had become a revolutionary medium in Egypt. Affordable and easily duplicated, tapes allowed artists to work independently while absorbing global influences such as disco, funk, and synth-pop through imported and bootleg recordings. Rather than mirroring Western club culture, these sounds were adapted to local contexts. Disco entered everyday life -- played at home, in cars, at weddings, beaches, and family gatherings - resulting in a distinctly Egyptian interpretation rooted in Arabic musical traditions. Ayam El Disco reflects this era through a carefully curated selection ranging from smooth disco and boogie to funkier instrumentals and early proto-Jeel sounds. Also featuring Firkit Americana Show, Firkit Hany Shenoda, Mostafa El Sakka, Hamid El Shaeri, Firkit El Pharana, Omar Fathy, Ammar El Sherei, Medhat Saleh, Aida El Ayoubi, and Ahmed Adaweya.

First time reissue of Japan/US free jazz rarity. Old-style gatefold LP with rare photographs and liner notes by Ed Hazell. Edition of 1000. The 1970s were Marion Brown's most searching decade, a period during which he sought to move beyond the free jazz of the previous era and find more personal approaches to structuring improvisation and composition. After leaving New York for Europe in 1967, Brown began reshaping his music into what he described as "a more deliberate kind of music that had more structure to it," pacing it so that moods and modes could develop over time. Albums such as In Sommerhausen, Afternoon of a Georgia Faun, Geechee Recollections, and Sweet Earth Flying trace this evolution: rhythmic structures moved to the foreground, harmony receded, and composition became a matter of orchestrating interlocking rhythmic parts as one would polyphonic lines. Released in 1976, Awofofora is an overlooked but crucial entry in that sequence. At the time, its use of funk and reggae beats, electric guitars, and grooves drawn from contemporary Black popular music led some to misread it as a jazz-rock detour. In retrospect, it is entirely consistent with Brown's methodology. As he admired in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the stimulus comes from within the community. Here Brown filters Afro-Caribbean rhythms and funk through his own sensibility, abstracting their structural qualities rather than adopting surface style. "La Placita," making its first recorded appearance, layers distinct rhythmic phrases in a manner reminiscent of African drum ensembles, over which Brown and trumpeter Ambrose Jackson spin extended improvisations. The standard "Flamingo" is reshaped through diasporic rhythm and lyrical soloing, while "Pepi's Tempo" and "Mangoes" harness crisp funk and reggae grooves to generate what Brown called a "manifestation of community" through collective improvisation. Even the overdubbed solo feature "And Then They Danced" reflects his structural thinking, ingeniously re-voicing a duet composition for two alto saxophones performed by one player. This was the only recording by a short-lived band that briefly polarized audiences during festival appearances in 1976. Yet Brown consistently sought unity across change: different sounds, same principles -- rhythm as structure, melody as architecture, collective improvisation, and above all, the primacy of tone. Awofofora stands not as a departure, but as a vivid synthesis of the elements he had been refining since the late 1960s, its grooves and golden alto lines conveying a sound drawn, in his words, "from life and from the world of experience."

First time reissue of free jazz rarity, pre-Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai group. Old-style gatefold LP with rare photographs and liner notes by Alan Cummings. Limited edition of 500. The single album self-released by the quartet Shūdan Sokai in 1977 is one of the most vital documents of mid-seventies Japanese free jazz, documenting Tokyo's free scene at the precise moment when it began to shift to a handful of tiny venues on the western fringes of the city. In free jazz in Japan, Teruto Soejima identifies the extant venue Aketa no Mise in Nishi-Ogikubo as the pioneer of this decamping from the center: a cramped basement beneath a rice shop, seating just 20 people. Among the most active of the new venues was Alone in Hachiōji, nearly an hour from Shinjuku, in a district shaped by universities, lower rents, and a thriving counterculture. Originally opened in 1973 as a jazu kissa, Alone was unusually spacious and equipped with a stage, grand piano, and drum kit. Around 1974, Junji Mori and Yasuhiro Sakakibara began working there, booking free jazz players on weekends and establishing the venue as a crucial hub. Mori recalls early appearances by figures including Kazutoki Umezu, Toshinori Kondo, and others who would define the scene. In early 1976, Umezu and pianist Yoriyuki Harada -- recently returned from New York's loft jazz environment, where they had played with musicians such as David Murray and William Parker -- formed Shūdan Sokai with Mori and drummer Takashi Kikuchi. The name, meaning "mass evacuation," pointed to their self-chosen exile in Hachiōji. With Alone as their home base, the quartet developed a music characterized by an infectious sense of enjoyment and a willingness to integrate free jazz with elements of song structure. Harada switched between piano and bass; the group experimented with rap-like vocal pieces, jabbering nursery rhymes over bass rhythms. They returned to Alone on December 24 to record Sono zen'ya (Eve), releasing it on their own Des Chonboo Records, partially funded by advertisements from local businesses printed on the rear cover. Alone closed in September 1977, and Shūdan Sokai soon dissolved, later morphing into the expanded Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai Orchestra. What remains is a recording rooted in a specific place and moment: a fiercely independent scene sustained by small rooms, close listening, and collective commitment.

Gatefold! Comes with booklet. Black Truffle presents Dalbergia Retusa, an extensive double LP selection of the solo guitar music of Hans Reichel, compiled by Oren Ambarchi. Last heard on Black Truffle as one quarter of the joyously anarchic Bergisch-Brandenburgisches Quartett, Hans Reichel (1949-2011) is one of the great figures of experimental guitar music. Though perhaps lesser known than peers like Derek Bailey, Fred Frith, and Keith Rowe, Reichel's rethinking of the instrument was in some ways the most radical of all. Early on, he dispensed with existing guitars to build a series of his own that explored the use of additional strings and fretboards, moveable pickups, extra bridges, special capos, and other innovations documented in the extensive booklet accompanying this release. Reichel was a long-term resident of Wuppertal, the small Western Germany city that became an unlikely center of European free jazz in the late 1960s, also home to Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald. His solo debut Wichlinghauser Blues was an early entry into the FMP discography and began a relationship with the label that stretched into the 1990s; all the solo performances heard here were first released on FMP. Reichel was an important source for the development of Oren Ambarchi's own extended approach to the electric guitar. Appropriately enough, his selection opens with the very first piece by Reichel he ever heard, on a flexidisc included with a 1989 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Though Reichel collaborated with others extensively in many settings and also performed on violin and his other major contribution to instrument invention, the daxophone, his music for solo guitar remains at the core of his oeuvre. Focusing exclusively on solo pieces recorded between 1973 and 1988, the 23 pieces on Dalbergia Retusa showcase the range and consistency of Reichel's work, allowing the listener to see how his performances developed hand-in-hand with his instrumental inventions. Many of the pieces from the 1980s make use of varieties of the "pick behind the bridge guitar," instruments of uncanny harmonic richness primarily designed to be played on the 'wrong' side of the bridge. At times the unexpected behavior of attacks, resonance, and decay can almost seem electronic, conjuring up the technology-assisted work of Henry Kaiser or even Fennesz, but realized solely through Reichel's unorthodox techniques on his invented instruments. Extensively illustrated with photos and Reichel's own plans and drawings of his instruments, Dalbergia Retusa is an essential introduction to the unique world of Hans Reichel.

The latest in Field Records' run of essential vinyl pressings revisits Stephen Hitchell's 2009 masterpiece under his Variant alias, The Setting Sun. As part of Echospace and also celebrated for his productions as Intrusion and Soultek, Hitchell is considered a leading light in dub techno, with the versatility in his sound to range from rhythmic, physical pulses to purely tonal, abyssal drone. His work as Variant, which debuted with The Setting Sun, capitalizes on this scope to deliver a compelling ambient-with-teeth set richly deserving of a proper vinyl pressing. The Setting Sun first emerged on Echospace as a download-only release. Hitchell was at pains to map out the tools that went into the sound on the album -- field recordings of storms in Berlin, Germany and train rides in Narita, Japan, outboard synths and samplers. Crucially, he declared no computers were used, and it shows. When The Setting Sun was recorded, in-the-box production was largely dominating electronic music and the technology had yet to replicate the warmth and character of analogue equipment. Hitchell's looming chords come baked with harmonic overtones, surface noise becomes another essential layer and fragments of distortion add to the narrative of these glacial, monumental pieces. The presence of piano keys feels stark in the Variant sound world, but Hitchell ably folds these coded elements into his process bathed in the same curious luminosity that lingers around all his work. Evolving at a painstaking pace, the plaintive humanity in the cascading keys and plucked guitar strings renders one of the most personal expressions in Hitchell's considerable canon -- a unique release that holds its own space comfortably, The Setting Sun is a profound benchmark in a stellar discography.

Before the Wizards From Kansas, it was In Black And White. Two previously unreleased tracks recorded in 1967 by a young Stephen Barncard (producer/engineer of Grateful Dead, David Crosby). A terrific fuzzed-out psych track on Side A and a cool Byrdsy folk-rocker on the flip.

Late '60s danceable British psychedelia at its best: "Pandemonium Shadow Show" (also known as "Cooger & Dark") by psych/proto-prog legends Mandrake Paddle Steamer was recorded in 1968 but never released at the time. "No Good Child" by cult psych band Fairfield Ski is a previously unreleased track from the early '70s and what a killer discovery: Hammond, catchy vocals, heavy drums.

Split 45 with two freakbeat/psych classics. "Magic In The Air" by The Attack was recorded in 1967 but not released at the time due to John Cann's guitar sound deemed "too heavy" by their record label. The doomy "Train To Disaster" by Scottish band The Voice (related to Robert de Grimston's Process Church Of The Final Judgment) is "freakbeat" personified.

The debut solo album by Henrik Raabe, guitarist of the German trio Wareika, who rose to prominence in the 2000s with their minimal deep house sound. Departing from the cool, jazzy deep house he was known for, Raabe delivers a uniquely crafted downtempo album that feels like a seamless blend of jazz, Afro, dub, new age, and postmodern influences. It evokes the spirit of an imagined encounter between the Durutti Column and Dennis Bovell, with Virginia Astley joining in -- reminiscent of the UK sound of the 1980s -- yet rendered more minimal and refined, in a distinctly German way. With each listen, the album draws you deeper in. It is poised to become a defining release for Mule Musiq.

The first-ever reissue on Studio Mule of the debut album by Japanese jazz legend and bassist Yoshio Ikeda. Having performed with such illustrious figures as Sadao Watanabe, Masabumi Kikuchi, and Terumasa Hino, Ikeda's first album as a leader features pianist and vocalist Ichiko Hashimoto -- also known for her involvement with Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Berlin-based jazz pianist Aki Takase, and leading Japanese drummer Motohiko Hino. Avant-garde yet imbued with a distinctly Japanese sense of melancholy, this is a work that resonates profoundly with the present moment. The gem "whispering weeds," highlighted by thrilling piano and Hashimoto's evocative scat vocals, was also included on a compilation by BBE. Remastered from the original master tapes by Kuniyuki, the album has been revived with a richer, more lustrous sound in this definitive reissue.

"The title track for Lupo Città's second LP, Inverno ('winter' in Italian), was born in January 2023. Written in waking sleep at 4 am. Looking out the window at the winter world below when it's too quiet, no one is around, but anything and everything feels possible. Lupo Città wrote the songs for Inverno by instinct: each song, in viscera, a life and personality of its own. Chris, Jenn, and Sarah each brought in songs at different stages, in different forms and moods. Some came together fast, others took long. Some songs had to be stripped, slowed down or sped up, while others were completely gutted and rebuilt. A hard coming out of post-COVID lockdown, trying to relearn to live outside of isolation. Moving from the dark of winter into light, a jarring shift, the world was changing so fast in such stark contrast between the quiet isolation the world settled into with close friends and family. While Lupo Città's debut was melodic, energetic, world-weary, sometimes chaotic, Inverno is out on a limb, taking a risk, and not caring at all how it turns out. Inverno is a snapshot of the bad and good, trying to stay awake and be present, fighting off the sleep of winter and the lure of time standing still. Writing, playing, listening to music is essential, now, more than ever, for survival amidst uncertainty, doubt, dystopia, grief, loss, blindness, vision, and love. This is Inverno."

Tulipa Ruiz is a Latin Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and illustrator from São Paulo. Born in a family of musicians (her father, Luiz Chagas, played with Itamar Assumpção, and her brother, Gustavo Ruiz, is her longtime producer), she follows the footsteps of the Vanguarda Paulista and offers a bold, genre-bending sound. Fusing MPB, soul, pop, and rock, her music is joyful, rich, and one of a kind. Since her debut album, Efêmera (2010), Tulipa has become one of Brazil's most distinctive voices, with five critically acclaimed albums, collaborations with Elza Soares and Milton Nascimento, and performances at international festivals such as the Montreux Jazz Festival and Lollapalooza. From the hypnotic "Samaúma" to the infectious "Estardalhaço," Habilidades Extraordinarias seamlessly blends improvisation and groove. The duet "Disco Voador" with João Donato, one of her last recordings, bridges generations, combining bossa-jazz swing and the warmth of Donato's Fender Rhodes with Tulipa's luminous vocals. "Pluma Black" (featuring Negro Leo) explores pre-jazz abstraction, while "Novelos" and the album's title track evoke the soul-jazz of the Hermeto Pascoal and Stevie Wonder era. Acclaimed throughout Brazil, Habilidades Extraordinarias established Tulipa Ruiz as a leading figure in modern MPB, combining melodic sophistication, humor, and emotional depth. Ten years after her spectacular climb to success and her Latin Grammy Award victory, she continues to enrich the Brazilian pop and jazz scene.

Ste Cy, the latest studio offering from the trio of Jac Berrocal, Vincent Epplay, and Timo van Luijk, ripens like a forbidden fruit -- born of an improvised instrumental session captured in the secluded hush of Kulta Saha by Timo van Luijk. These raw recordings were later reshaped into 12 songs by Vincent Epplay at Studio Villejuif in Paris. And over it all drifts the poetry of Jac Berrocal -- sensual and incendiary, seeping into the music like spice into flesh. Jac Berrocal: voice, words, trumpet, double bass; Timo van Luijk: guitar, piano, vibraphone, percussion; Vincent Epplay: field recording, drums, percussion, EMS Synth A, Noizoid OCS 2, double bass.

Slipcase edition with 8-page booklet. 250 copies. Metaphon presents this première edition, which brings together a near-complete collection of the acousmatic works of Liliane Donskoy. Liliane Donskoy (1933) is a French, classically trained pianist, music teacher, and composer of both instrumental and acousmatic music. She began her musical training at an early age, undertaking private piano studies with Yves Nat at the age of thirteen, shortly after the Second World War. During the 1960s and 1970s, she pursued advanced studies with prominent figures of twentieth-century music, including Darius Milhaud, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Schaeffer, and Guy Reibel, and participated in courses led by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, and Iannis Xenakis. Despite this extensive and diverse training, Donskoy encountered limited institutional and professional opportunities to fully realize her artistic vision. A decisive turning point occurred in 1977, when she gained access to the facilities of the Institute of Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM) in Ghent. There, she realized and completed the majority of her acousmatic compositions. Donskoy's oeuvre is characterized by a high degree of structural complexity, precision, and expressive intensity. Her work reflects a pronounced and distinctive artistic temperament, manifested through a rigorous exploration of sound material and form. Notwithstanding its artistic significance, her music has remained largely unknown, as her compositions were neither widely circulated nor formally released, leading to their relative obscurity until the present publication. Anthology produced by Timo van Luijk. Mastering by EARLabs. Booklet edited by Vincent de Roguin. Design by Meeuw. Also available as hardboard linen box set edition with 8-page booklet and download code (METAPHON 026BOX).

Wired was an ephemeral improvisational music project formed by Michael Ranta, Karl-Heinz Böttner, and Mike Lewis. On April 28, 1970, the trio recorded an extended studio session of approximately 140 minutes, in collaboration with Conny Plank, who engineered and mixed the recording in real time, incorporating elements of live electronics. This session was subsequently edited to album length and released in 1974 as part of the Free Improvisation 3LP box set issued by Deutsche Grammophon, alongside recordings by Iskra and New Phonic Art. Owing to its exploratory electric sound world and Plank's distinctive spatial production techniques, the Wired recording acquired a degree of underground cult status, particularly among listeners associated with krautrock and psychedelic improvisation. Shortly after the studio session, Ranta and Böttner travelled to Japan, where they spent approximately six months performing with Karlheinz Stockhausen at Expo '70 in Osaka. In addition to these activities, they engaged in various independent musical projects and performances. The present release, sourced from the personal archive of Michael Ranta, documents a live duo performance by Ranta and Böttner, recorded on 27 July 1970 in an outdoor setting in Kyoto (the exact location remains unknown), before an audience of approximately 200 music teachers. The recording exhibits sonic and aesthetic characteristics closely aligned with the previously released studio material, retaining the distinctive "Wired" sound while situating it within a live, site-specific context. Production: Timo van Luijk. Painting: Wayne Jacob. Mastering: EARLabs. Design: Meeuw.

Originally released in 2025. N1_SOUND and Ras Yunchie join forces on an 8-track LP that transcends both definition and generation. Inna DJ Style marks the Toronto veteran singer's first-ever vinyl release. Pairing four vocal cuts with four dub versions on the B-side, Inna DJ Style bridges experimental dub, digi, and roots, embodying what Ras describes as an "open" sound -- one that draws from reggae traditions while boldly breaking new sonic ground. N1_SOUND first encountered Ras' distinctive voice and soaring falsetto at Toronto sound system parties. A cornerstone of the city's reggae scene, Ras Yunchie has been performing since 1983 and remains a vital presence more than 40 years on. His contributions have been recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National DJ Association, alongside titles such as DJ of the Year, DJ Sound Champion, and winner of the 1985 DJ Sound Clash. While the rhythms pulse with heavy bass and the three-dimensional lead melodies synonymous with N1_SOUND, it's Ras' vocals that make Inna DJ Style truly shine. Each track was recorded in a single take and left largely untouched -- a testament to the raw talent and enduring artistry of the 61-year-old singer. Across the four vocal cuts, the alchemy of contrasting styles, influences, and lived experience highlights how collaboration can push sound and genre into bold, unexpected territory.