Norman Connors' Mr. C is a masterclass in sophisticated modern funk and boogie-infused soul that was way ahead of its time. Originally released in 1981, the album finds the renowned jazz drummer/producer at a creative crossroads, boldly diving deep into street-level boogie-funk without losing his soulful, jazzy touch. What once might have puzzled jazz purists now delights soul/funk aficionados; it has quietly become a cult favorite and now, nearly 45 years later, Mr. C sounds fresher than ever. Brimming with infectious heavy funk, lush arrangements and soul-stirring performances, it's an album that flirts with perfection, ensuring its enduring significance in the boogie/jazz-funk-soul canon. From its opening moments, Mr. C makes one thing clear: this is Norman Connors at his funkiest. The majority of the album is a straight-up party: think dancefloor-ready beats complemented by punchy horn riffs and slick early-'80s boogie vibes. There's heavy use of synths and drum-machines, demonstrating Connors' gleeful embrace of contemporary funk trends. Each track shines in uniquely thrilling fashion, showcasing Connors' versatility and happy knack for blending genres whilst crafting unforgettable melodies. Lush string accents and horn stabs weave through funky basslines, while the vocals (handled by a young Beau Williams) soar with gospel-tinged emotion. Over four decades later, it endures as a masterpiece. The fusion of Caribbean rhythm elements into an R&B context demonstrates Connors' willingness to experiment with global sounds while keeping things soulful and danceable. Bringing a real quiet storm swagger, "Sing a Love Song" slows the tempo ever so slightly into a sexy, swaying jazz-funk gem, featuring a young Glenn Jones on lead vocals. The arrangement is elegant, built on warm keys and an undeniable groove. The celestial "Love's In Your Corner" is all about soulful uplift. Featuring the legendary Jean Carn's powerhouse vocals soaring over a brass-kissed driving funk, it's an R&B burner. On release, Mr. C flew under the radar but time has been exceptionally kind to this record. DJs, collectors and soul connoisseurs alike have since rediscovered its magic. As ever, this crucial reissue has been lovingly remastered by Simon Francis, cut by engineer of the year Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios and pressed to perfection by Record Industry in Holland. Norman Connors was something truly extra. He was a visionary. And Mr. C is proof.

Get ready for the rawest, dirtiest rock NYC has to offer! Taxidermy Girls, a band featuring legendary talents from Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Television, Mercury Rev, Speedball Baby, and Five Dollar Priest, is back with a new LP that will blow you away. Rte 209 Blues delivers gritty, powerful sound straight from the streets of New York City -- pure, unfiltered, and full of that authentic underground energy. Once known as Taxi Girls, this band has evolved but still carries that rebellious attitude and raw edge that make them stand out. From gritty riffs to catchy melodies, each track is a trip through NYC's underground scene, where dirty, honest rock reigns supreme. Don't miss out on this release -- a record that proves the spirit of NYC's rock scene is alive and kicking stronger than ever.

LP version. "After a storied first year as a band releasing and touring behind their critically acclaimed debut album Today, Galaxie 500 closed out 1988 with a quintessential performance at New York City's famed CBGB with every bit of their signature intimacy and autumnal bombast on display. The unusual bill which also included Sonic Youth, B.A.L.L. and Unsane was a benefit show for the zine shop See Hear. Captured here in a raw but inspired board mix by Kramer and restored and mastered from the analog source by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, CBGB 12.13.88 is a live snapshot of a Galaxie fully formed, punctuating the end of their first chapter while poised to step into their next with On Fire the following year."

"Chickasha, Oklahoma is not a place known for producing a lot of original proto-punk bands. In fact, there is, to Superior Viaduct's knowledge, only one: Debris'. Formed in 1975 by bassist Chuck Ivey, guitarist Oliver 'Rectomo' Powers, and drummer Johnny Gregg, the trio created some of the most art-damaged outsider rock 'n' roll this side of MX-80 Sound. When a local studio offered the package deal of ten hours for recording and mixing as well as pressing 1,000 LPs and two-color jackets, Debris' came in well-rehearsed -- nailing all eleven of their songs in just one take. In April 1976, the same month as Ramones' debut album, Debris' would release their lone record onto the world. Opener 'One Way Spit' could easily be mistaken for a lost KBD single -- from Chuck's bizarre count-in to the band's trashy start-stop rhythms, unfurling a Dadaist flag around Johnny's visceral vocals. On 'Tricia,' a reference to the then-current Patty Hearst trial, Oliver's gruesome groans are sardonically juxtaposed with an electric saw. These LSD-tinged tunes are a potent mix of Beefheart-ian controlled chaos and the genuinely weird avant-rock associated with the mid-'70s Cleveland scene. Enhanced by analog synthesizers and electronic effects, the album sounds like Eno-era Roxy Music or Stooges' Fun House buried deep in the red Oklahoma dirt. While punk would spark a handful of bands who boldly straddled the line between the primal and the experimental, the relatively unsung Debris' were one of the first to do so. Debris' had a standing invitation to play New York at Max's Kansas City and CBGB in 1976, although they never made it out of Oklahoma. The private-press edition of their self-titled album (also known as Static Disposal, which was actually the label name printed on the original front cover) has since become a collector's item and is even namechecked on the infamous NWW list."

2025 restock; tracks by Scientist, Barrington Levy, Johnny Osbourne, Linval Thompson, Wayne Wade, Wade Brammer, Barry Brown, Sammy Dread, and Wailing Souls. Produced by Brad Osborne.

Black vinyl version."Debut 1969 album by New Orleans funk legends The Meters. Sourced From the original 1969 analog master tapes. Cut by Kevin Gray of Cohearant Audio. Features the hit song 'Cissy Strut.' Limited color vinyl pressing."

"Jackpot Records presents a re-issue of this revered reggae album, 1976s War Ina Babylon by Max Romeo & The Upsetters. Originally released on Island Records, the album is considered one of the greatest Reggae albums of all time and was a massive influence on the UK punk movement that was just starting to bubble to the surface. The record's incredible power belies an unlikely partnership between one of the world's greatest producers (and experimenters in sound), Lee "Scratch" Perry, and vocalist Max Romeo (who by 1976 had performed on over 120 7" singles) Romeo had been transforming from his 'rude' records to writing lyrics with social themes as the era in Jamaica was rife with poverty, gangs, and politically motivated killings. As he was looking to produce protest music at its most powerful alongside music that would never leave the listener's souls, Lee Perry and Max Romeo started collaborating together. Recorded in two weeks in 1976, utilizing Lee Perry's kitchen sink production, War Ina Babylon is considered part of Lee Perry's 'holy trinity' Black Ark produced LPs released by Island Records (Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves and The Heptones' Party Time being the other classics LPs in the trinity), this LP continues to find new fans with every passing generation. Sourced from the original master tapes. Mastered by Kevin Gray."

Swiss percussionist Julian Sartorius and UK electronic artist Dan Nicholls team up as Clay Kin, presenting their debut record on Squama. They had never planned to make an album, yet through pure improvisation and spontaneity, Clay Kin have crafted Vevey. An album of seven tracks, distilled from over seven hours of improvised percussion and electronics. Recorded mostly outdoors -- on pedalo boats, up mountains and deep in forests near the namesake Swiss town of Vevey, it is imbued with the soft fascination of birdsong, rushing water and chattering children. Vevey resists genre. As musicians, Sartorius and Nicholls bridge the divide between acoustic and electronic soundscapes. Sartorius' raw, organic percussion interweaves with Nicholls' keyboard-triggered samples and harmonic landscapes, creating a dialogue where the lines between rhythm, melody and noise dissolve. Clay Kin identify their outfit as an audio-visual collective, with visual artist Lou Zon (Louise Boer) rounding out the group, creating videos to accompany both the recorded music and the live experience.

Remastered recordings of these Northeast Wisconsin underground rock trailblazers, originally released on cassette in 1992. An obscure gem of powerful '90s music with one foot firmly planted in the American Midwest tradition of Twin/Tone Records bands like The Replacements and the other in loud, fiery, high energy rock'n'roll. Includes a fold out insert with the story of the band. Limited edition of 300 copies.

For Synaptic Cliffs, it's an extraordinary honor to present these three "Scape One" variations of the original song "Diskmind" (first released on The Electrifying Dojo, 2025). Each masterpiece was recorded in different future decades of the 21st century (of course with the help of the Diskmind time travel machine) and reflects the corresponding trend in electronic music. A1: A timeless, pristine Electro composition from the year 2035. A2: An IDM marvel from late summer 2075, recorded in the Zero gravity of Space Station 775. B: An Experimental Electronica symphony recorded at pdqb's Studio 577 on Mars Outpost 47A. Only musical equipment that doesn't currently exist was used for this release.

A true icon of jazz, Billie Holiday (1915-1959) redefined vocal artistry with her raw emotion and unmistakable phrasing. Discovered by producer John Hammond in 1933, she recorded with Benny Goodman before rising to fame alongside jazz greats. Her haunting voice and timeless classics, like "Strange Fruit," captured both beauty and pain. Though personal struggles and addiction took their toll, her influence remains immeasurable. Arrested for heroin possession on her deathbed, she left behind a legacy that still resonates through generations.

LP version. "Michael Grigoni and Pan American present their first collaboration. The album's title, New World, Lonely Ride, gestures toward its meditative orientation. The duo offers a series of reflections on the zeitgeist of our present moment, the spirit of the age: the isolation and loneliness that continues to echo in the wake of the pandemic; the fractures that mar political discourse; the uncertainty that has stamped itself on the future of democracy. The vast geography of America and the absence of a common ground, a shared political vision, have contributed to the affective landscape of contemporary American life -- of what it feels like to live in the United States today. Using instrumental voices and textures drawn from the traditional American forms of folk, country, bluegrass and blues, and informed with a modern sense of ambience and space, the sound is both contemporary and deeply rooted. With New World, Lonely Ride, Grigoni and Pan American join countless American artists who have drawn upon this landscape -- physical and affective -- giving it a voice and shape, listening to its character. And in starting there, with listening, offer a response for the future."

"Combining the run of early singles with more obscure later period tracks underlines the strength in depth that Wire had. This is pop art as art/pop and an exploration of the blank canvas of pop culture and how far that canvas can be stretched going from three-minute constructs to ambient washes. The 7" single was always the ultimate artefact and statement with the A side being the band momentarily paused in time and distilled and freeze-framed into the forever with less than three minutes of electric sound. Perhaps the greatest pop band that you may never have heard of, Wire understood this implicitly. They somehow found the sweetest of spots between the post-punk's short sharp shock shapeshifting, art prog's defiant experimental and a disciplined pop touch that pushed the parameters of what a song could be. These 'sevens' released from 1977 to the end of that decade signpost the band's remarkable development from their brilliantly monochromatic early phase to the textured complexity of the almost psychedelic unzipping of their sound and vision. 'In some ways the compilation of Nine Sevens onto a double album makes for quite a weird documentation of the band in this period. The first disc, to some extent, follows the script of a singles/greatest hits collection but the second one goes wildly off-piste and ends up somewhere quite far from where the collection started. A conventional Greatest Hits collection, besides being conceptually a bit naff would, if strictly based on charting singles, consist of only one song! A Best Of is subjective and somewhat pointless in the age of the Spotify playlist that anyone can make. The only thing really that these tracks have in common (besides being by Wire) is that they were released or destined to be released on 7" by Wire in the period 1977-1980. Nine Sevens is both title and elevator pitch! Wire always understood the language of pop and also the artfulness of playing with it, deconstructing it and reassembling it into new and thrilling shapes. Decades later, these adventures into sound are like slices of delicious, perfect pop/noise and hits from a parallel universe."

"One of the first Velvet bootlegs, commissioned in 1982 by none other than the Velvet Underground Appreciation Society. This album further ignited the band's passion and mysticism, emphasizing their more radical and extreme sound. Detailed liner notes by Philip Milstein (VUAS)."

"Through the interaction of dulcet textures and harmonious melodies, infused with Greek bouzouki string plucks, sporadic piano and violin, enigmatic musician Gabriel Brady laments the everyday with daring simplicity on his lustrous alt-ambient debut for the Tonal Union imprint. Across its seven vignettes, Day-Blind is life animated as Brady makes possible an everyday encounter with the transcendent. Attracted by the sensibilities of old French film scores, especially those by Michel Legrand and Jean Constantin and the sheer simplistic beauty of forbearing composers Debussy, Satie, and Ravel, Brady cites inspiration in a warm earnestness to the melodies; and the complete, unmediated feeling that such scores and orchestrations create. Written and produced in his bedroom dorm at Harvard, in Cambridge Massachusetts, Brady recorded organic instruments (violin, bouzouki) before routing them through a compact modular synth setup acting as a sound chamber for further manipulation (loops, effects, textures). In striving to make sense of the ordinary, on Day-Blind, Brady's works are invariably imbued with a sense of serenity and tension. Day-Blind too explores themes of memory, nostalgia, and melancholia which emanate from its lo-fi, intimate and sensitive nature. Through a hazy smokescreen of delays, tape loops and decays Brady contemplates a typical post-modern-era dilemma of wistful longing and lonesome nostalgia, existing parallel/alongside contentment and staying in the present moment. The bare, reflective 'Streetlight' with its pitch-shifted and vari-speed piano, spliced with a weeping violin melody performed by Kalman Strauss, precedes the re-constructive 'Untitled' with a heavily filtered looping piano and rhythmic pulse. 'Ambrosial', dims the spotlight to a close being the most textural-laden track, combining loose sonic materials similar to Eno's Ambient 4 collage techniques. By channeling his own acute musical sensibilities by means of evocative voicings, Brady momentarily deconstructs, warps and reshapes reality."

Since its discovery in the late '90s, Dave Bixby's legendary $2000 private press album from 1969 is considered by all serious record collectors as the King in the loner/downer folk genre. First reissued by Guerssen back in 2009, the label now presents a new, improved edition with newly sourced/remastered sound and extras. After being involved in '60s Michigan folk and garage-rock bands such as The Shillelaghs and Peter & The Prophets, Bixby started playing acoustic guitar and experimenting with LSD. After a year of drug abuse he felt broken. Starting a soul-searching, spiritual journey, he wrote Ode to Quetzalcoatl and most of the material for his second album, Harbinger's Second Coming in just one month and a half. Assisted by fellow musician Brian MacInness, who played some guitar parts on the album, Dave recorded Quetzalcoatl using an echo-laden four track machine in a flat's living room. The sound is lo-fi and sparse: just acoustic guitars and some occasional harmonica and flute, added to Bixby's haunting, emotional vocals, spiritual lyrics and solid songwriting. The opening cut, the eerie and painful "Drug Song" sets the mood perfectly for the rest of the album which contains more tormented titles like "666," "Lonely faces," "Open Doors," and "Secret Forest." Featuring original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve. Restored and remastered in 24-bit domain at Grammy Award-winning Osiris Studio. Includes insert with detailed liner notes plus rare pictures and lyrics. Also features extra insert with the map/story of Quetzalcoatl by Dave Bixby, as well as download card.

The perfect marriage between psychedelia, pop and experimental sounds. This unique album by Bill Holt, first released in 1974, sounded way ahead of its time and became an international cult classic in the following decades. A perfect example of what was called "Head Music" at the time, Dreamies consists of two large suits full of Lennon-esque vocals, sound collages, early electronics and proto-sampling. Featuring remastered sound and original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve. Includes reproduction of the rare original insert and extra insert with liner notes by Klemen Breznikar (It's Psychedelic Baby) and photos.

"One of the top 50 Out There Albums Of All Time" --Mojo

"The overall effect is something like a primordial Olivia Tremor Control, and easily as wild and unfettered as anything the Residents were doing in the '70s. Dreamies has its obvious and acknowledged influences -- the Beatles and John Cage chief among them -- but it's also clearly the work of an untutored auteur dissecting his own mind in the basement on reel-to-reel." --Joe Tangari, Pitchfork

"On the cover: Cabaret Voltaire ten-page report: Chris Watson & Stephen Mallinder new interview + essays on Black industrialists, post-industrialism, Cabs in Yugoslavia, voice sampling, Richard H Kirk's techno adventures. Inside: Seymour Wright meets Chris Burn, DJ Haram's Invisible Jukebox, Lawrence Abu Hamdan's Earshot, SANAM, Ho99o9, Cerpintxt, Andy Boay, Sonic Belligeranza, Ftarri, Moreskinsound's David Toop & Ania Psenitsnikova, Loré Lixenberg on Cathy Berberian, Aidan Baker on Isao Tomita, and in the reviews sections: Michael Hurley, Linda May Han Oh, LINTD, QLH, Art Terry , Lars-Gunnar Bodin, Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, a history of hardcore, a Warp Happening, Subset festival + charts, letters and listings."

Drummer, percussionist and composer Valentina Magaletti (Moin, Holy Tongue, Vanishing Twin) has combined forces with musician, producer and composer YPY (aka Koshiro Hino of Goat) for their LP, Kansai Bruises, out via AD 93. The pair crash through Osaka's neonlit streets with abrasive drums and handcrafted Japanese electronics that hit like pavement against skin. This is bliss carved from bruises -- hope and fear tangled in metallic percussion while dreams of pesto float through sake-soaked alleyways.

"Recorded and mixed at Duke Reid's storied Treasure Isle studio by Duke's nephew, young engineer Errol Brown, Dub Expression collects dubbed up treatments of seminal rockers rhythms crafted for Marcia Griffiths, John Holt, Dennis Brown and more. Propelled by the drums of Lowell 'Sly' Dunbar, the appropriately named Revolutionaries (with their tough and radical sound) were the ideal group to reflect a turbulent period in Jamaican politics. While the band's personnel remained fluid -- depending on which players were available and frequently overlapping with other seminal sessions bands such as Joe Gibbs' The Professionals and Bunny 'Striker' Lee's The Aggrovators -- The Revolutionaries were most known as Channel One's house band in the mid to late '70s. The decision to top-bill The Revolutionaries, rather than feature an individual artist as was customary at the time, was made by Kingston's most celebrated female producer, Sonia Pottinger who shrewdly determined that The Revolutionaries' name alone would be a can't miss selling point. One only needs to spend a minute with Dub Expression to hear why. Originally released in 1978 on Pottinger's High Note label, Dub Expression represents the essence of dub in its purest form. An absolute classic. Liner notes by JR Gonne."

2025 repress. "Michael George Henry (aka Ras Michael and, for this lone release, Dadawah) was born in 1943 in Saint Mary Parish, in northeastern Jamaica. Henry was raised in a Rastafari community when the religious movement was still in its infancy and marginalized within Jamaica. It was there that he began performing Nyahbinghi, the Rastafarian devotional music that combines the influences of African drumming and Black gospel. Henry found himself in Kingston in the late 1950s where he worked for Coxsone Dodd at the legendary Studio One. By 1968, he had formed the group Sons of Negus and the first overtly Rasta record label, Zion Disc. As Rasta filtered into the mainstream, Henry released more music including albums for Trojan, Dynamic and Grounation labels. Originally released in 1974, Peace And Love - Wadadasow is Dadawah's magnum opus. Produced by Lloyd Charmers, the album features slinky basslines, wah-wah guitar, hypnotic keyboards, dubbed-out studio trickery and, of course, the propulsive drumming and rhythmic chanting characteristic of Nyahbinghi. Antarctica Starts Here presents the first widely available domestic release of Peace And Love - Wadadasow. This reissue is part of an archival series that focuses on Trojan's essential '60s and '70s catalogue. Liner notes by JR Gonne."

"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."

The Sorcerers' latest long player lands in perfect time for the summer, offering a further progression into their unique take on Ethio-inspired jazz. Other Worlds and Habitats is, of course, released on ATA Records and is blessed with the analogue recording and painstakingly loving production listeners have come to expect from this boutique studio. This, The Sorcerers eagerly anticipated fourth LP, follows on from the success of I Too Am A Stranger. Never ones to stop moving forward, and ever vigilant to avoid the realm of pastiche, The Sorcerers see the Ethiopique sound as a building block for their natural progression as a group, but a block that sits at the base of a much larger, ever expanding, structure, The addition of keyboardist Johnny Richards, whose use of the Jen 73 piano, Mellotron and Farfisa Compact Duo, alongside the core members of the group, has opened some exciting doors for The Sorcerers, fusing the future looking optimism of the late '60s and '70s (when artists began to experiment with the new electronic technology and synthesizers becoming more readily available) and more traditional sounds. Taking inspiration from Ethiopian keyboardist Hailu Mergia and Nigerian musician William Onyeabor, Other Worlds and Habitats, as the name suggests, showcases The Sorcerers' shift to a new, and deeply exciting, musical landscape. A Danish tour, unbelievably the first live outing for The Sorcerers, created another patina to the band. A weary time on the road, shared by the core Sorcerers trio of bassist Neil Innes, drummer Joost Hendrickx (Gotts Street Park, Kefaya, Eddie Chacon) and reed/flute/vibes player Richard Ormrod, alongside new/old member Richards led, to an organic, less cerebral sound than listeners have heard before. The Sorcerers' Other Worlds and Habitats is a natural progression in the world they have created for themselves. Richer for shared experiences, and accepting the rise of the machines, they prove that while their journey is always going forward, there are many different paths to take.

First time vinyl reissue, expanded and deluxe double gatefold 140g double vinyl, remastered audio with restored artwork. Alan James Eastwood's glorious Seeds is a certified folk-funk lost-classic. By the mid-1970s, Eastwood's musical career was pretty much over and he was almost unknown except among deep heads, amongst whom he would gain cult status. Original copies of the 1971 vinyl release of Seeds exchange hands for high sums. This expanded 2LP contains an extra record, collecting nine rare non-album singles and is presented in a gatefold sleeve complete with freshly commissioned liner notes courtesy of Paul Hillery (Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours). With the long overdue deluxe reissue of this prized artefact, Be With hope to finally shine a light on the unheralded genius of Alan James Eastwood. Alan James 'Bugsy' Eastwood was a renowned musician and singer who came to prominence in the late 1960s with The Exception, an unsung but excellent band from Birmingham. The Exception released many singles, the first featuring friend Robert Plant on tambourine, before an album, The Exceptional Exception. However, by this time, Bugsy was feeling constrained and restless; he left the band within weeks of the release. Having vanished from the scene, he was honing a deeper, introspective edge to his songwriting. His demos found their way to the sound engineer and producer Mike Cooper at Pan Music Studios in Denmark Street. Loving what he heard, Eastwood soon entered a recording session with Cooper. The session was just Alan, his guitar and harmonica and -- by all accounts -- it was remarkable. With the songs, the voice and such an exceptional talent, it was hard to go wrong. Top-flight session musicians were added to the roster to complete the sound, with Byron Lye Fook (father of musician Omar) on drums, bassist Mike Ward, Brian Pickles on marimba and jazz drummer Chris Karan on tabla and percussion. Recorded in a matter of days in Pan's small 8-track studio, they carefully added overdubs, rhythm sections and four string sessions arranged by Hawkins. Also featuring backing vocals from Marilyn Powell and jazz singer Josephine Stahl. Mastering for this special double vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. The original artwork has been lovingly brought back to life at Be With HQ, with the addition of passionately written liner notes specially for this landmark reissue by none other than Paul Hillery. RIYL Nick Drake, Rodriguez, Richie Havens.

Originally released by RAS in 1994. Recorded and mixed at Leggo Recording Studio Kingston, Jamaica. Blood Brothers review by Jo-Ann Greene: "After the success of 1984's Two Bad Superstars Meet, it was inevitable that Gregory Isaacs and Dennis Brown would join forces time and again. On Blood Brothers, the pair duets on four co-written tracks, then go their own way on another four self-composed songs apiece -- the upside is that even if Brown is no longer in perfect voice, his performances are still gloriously rich in emotion and soul. This is particularly notable on 'Ease Up,' the pair's heartfelt plea for 'Mr. Big Shot' to ease up the pressure on the sufferers, and the equally impassioned 'Hard Labor,' a tough look at prison life. The stellar title track is a bouncy and jubilant celebration of fraternal love, while the gorgeous 'Closer Than a Friend' revels in the men's glorious harmonies. Of Brown's own solo numbers, a recut 'Here I Come' is the weakest, his vocals reed-thin, which the backing Roots Radics' militant rhythm and producer Errol 'Flabba' Holt's crisp production emphasize. Far superior is Brown's inspiring, soulful performance on the praise-filled 'Give Thanks to the Father' and his impassioned loverman delivery on 'True Love Is Hard to Find.' Arguably the best of his numbers is the last, 'Lover With Meaning,' and here Brown's voice is thick and rich with emotion. The sparser the sound, the brighter the singer shines, as on his totally laid-back 'Hooked on Your Love,' where the backing is stripped down to tattooed beats, Holt's reverbed bass, and a sprinkling of keyboards. From the sweet 'Goodbye Love,' across the vivacious 'The Love Letter' and on to the sufferer's-themed 'The Feds,' Isaacs struts his best stuff. Of course, as the title makes clear, this set wasn't meant as a clash album, but a showcase for two superb talents."

"As a man who can see far, I know one day Triston Palma style is gonna reach far, so I -- Man Jah Thomas, the music maker from Jamaica, take pleasure in presenting this show case to nice-up the place." Originally released in Jamaica, 1982. Rhythm tracks laid at Channel One Studio. Voiced and mixed at: Channel One and King Tubby's Studio, Kingston Jamaica. W.I. Bass: Errol (Flabba Holt); Drums: Style Scott; Engineer: Barnabas, King Tubby, Professor (10), Scientist; Guitar (Lead): Dwite, Sowell; Guitar (Rhythm): Bingy Bunny; Horns: D. Headly, D. Frazer, Nambo; Organ: Stelle, Winston Wright; Percussion: Sky Juice; Piano: G. Anderson; Producer: Nkrumah Jah Thomas; Toasting (Featuring): Jah Thomas.

In Last Blues, De la Catessen presents a mysterious folio of sonic snapshots, as much recaptured as composed, by Jon Dale's project, Moth, in Adelaide in the late '90s and early '00s. Listeners are invited to tune in to these liminal frequencies, to observe and inhabit them, and relish the glowing sensual overdrive of their manifestation. From the ready means and at-handedness of guitar, amp, and tape, a congruous but diverse selection of unnamed tracks emerge -- musical moments borrowed from oblivion with the as yet unfulfilled good intention of returning them. Their sounds evoke abstract polaroids of winter seascapes flecked with spare, brittle detail, or the scaly-winged flutterings of elusive nocturnal insects. Here, a homely hum like a vacuum cleaner on sunny childhood's weekend morning; there, suburban power lines buzzing gently in the mist. The last track of Last Blues is like a reverent vision of lava-flow for harmonium, the slow-motion eruption of a single chord, which echoes in the mind for hours. Last Blues comes from somewhere that doesn't exist anymore, and shows listeners something that may never have happened there.

"Jon Dale collapses old dichotomies (such as organic vs. inorganic and heavy vs. light) into a pure horizon of tone with only guitar and a little harmonium. Sonically, it makes me think of a middle point between if Organum snuck into the studio to remix Glenn Branca, and what I imagine the electric synapses firing off in Raymond Roussel's brain would've sounded like if committed to wax cylinder. Which is to say, it sounds rad." --Ben Chasny, Six Organs Of Admittance

De la Catessen Records presents Here Comes Everything, a monumental 18CD box set marking the long-overdue recording debut of duo Pascoe & Martin. This is De la Catessen's most lavish production to date in its ongoing commitment to unearthing, documenting, and illuminating experimental music from Port Adelaide, Australia. The world of Here Comes Everything is rich, playful, and virtuosic. In its limitless variety it invokes a day-long perspective -- and what a glorious day -- of quotidian experiences, from the wondrous to the mundane. Here Comes Everything is sublime in its reverence of detail; awesome in its cumulative flood of experience; revelatory in its many extemporary dialogues whispered and roared. Each of the 18 parts of this Here Comes Everything is a single long improvisation, named after one of the 18 chapters of Ulysses. James Joyce's schema for Ulysses -- an 18-row chart he devised to help his friends navigate the labyrinth of each chapter's themes and references -- is the structure on which Pascoe & Martin's far-reaching musical epic is based. Here Comes Everything is the saga of two contradictory musical characters in their search for meaning and for each other. Chris Martin's piano is elevated, cabalistic, and rapturous. Derek Pascoe's saxophone is earthy, sensual and profane. Pascoe and Martin's journey in Here Comes Everything is akin to that of Bloom and Dedalus in Ulysses, where the fundamental inspiration for Here Comes Everything can be found. Pascoe & Martin have been honing their craft as a long-form improvising duo for 25 years. Since 2000 their public performances have been unmissable events. Pascoe & Martin continue to challenge and contradict each other in their open-ended Socratic dialogue. Years in the making, yet entirely and thrillingly in the moment, De la Catessen Records presents Here Comes Everything in an edition of just 300 copies. Lavishly illustrated by Michael Hocking with drawings taken from life during 18 recording sessions, Here Comes Everything is not to be missed.

2025 repress. Akira Ifukube's mighty score to the legendary monster movie that started it all, Godzilla! Ifukube's visionary music is super dark reflecting the horror of Ishiro Honda's film. This incredible score music alternates between brass and strings as we witness the death and destruction that comes in Godzilla's wake.

Essential funk, soul, and jazz grooves finally unearthed. Highly regarded lost classics -- never reissued until now. At last, here they are in all their funky glory! Download card included! Featuring Citation, Cho-Ko, The Aferton Project, Ice-O-Matic, Coleus, Clonzo May's Sextet, Oasis II Oasis, Arejay, M & M Co., Frank Pisani, and Sonny Khoeblal.

"So Lonely in Heaven is The Legendary Pink Dots' second album since the World stopped for a Global Pandemic. With members scattered across three countries and two continents, quite a few air miles were consumed in its creation. Ideas were spun across cyberspace for months, but the magic happened collectively in small spaces with the tape running. The Pink Dots are: Erik Drost -- acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar; Randall Frazier -- synthesizers, devices; Edward Ka-Spel -- voice, devices; Joep Hendrikx -- live electronics, devices."

2025 restock. Radiation Roots present a reissue of King Tubby Meets Scientist's compilation In A Revival Dub, originally released in 2009. Incredible collection of rare King Tubby vs. Scientist tracks. These were some of the last "classical" dub works created before dancehall ultimately mutated into a technologically-driven sound that largely did away with organic instruments and although these works already point in that direction, they still sound entirely fresh today because of the superb musicianship of the Roots Radics and the guiding hand of Jah Thomas in the producer's chair, as well as Scientist and his cohorts, working their dub magic at King Tubby's studio. Extensive liner notes by David Katz.

2025 repress. ReR Vinyl present a reissue of Henry Cow's Leg End, originally released in 1979. This was the first time together on record for Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson, Chris Cutler, John Greaves, and Geoff Leigh. An extension and fusion of the key influences of Soft Machine and Frank Zappa, the album is packed full of extraordinary tunes, complex but never pompous arrangements, and great improvisations. It defines a whole new world of European music. Indispensable really.

Subconsciousology is a full reworking of Dot Allison's 2023's Consciousology, by producer Lomond Campbell, who, as the title suggests, has made it deeper, darker and dancier. Whereas the original album was all ornate avant-garde folk and psychedelic explorations, this new take is as hard-hitting as it is heavenly, as beat-driven as it is beautiful, and crucially it finds Dot re-embracing the electronic music with which she first made her name in One Dove. "I love that Lomond has brought a rich musicality and has created wild universes around the elements he has chosen to retain in the various songs," adds Dot. "It reminds me of working with Andrew Weatherall in a way, where the mixes were bold and reinventive departures. The whole concept of the original record is about interconnectivity and the electromagnetic aspects to consciousness, so the remixed version is like a rainbow diffracted from a beam of light." Everything in this pot of gold sounds and feels at once familiar but different -- from the chugg.

Balmat 17 marks both a return and a new frontier. It is the second album on the label from Patricia Wolf, whose 2022 album See-Through (BALMAT 003LP) is one of the most beloved in Balmat's catalog; it also marks the first time that Wolf has turned her hand to a film soundtrack. The results are every bit as magical as fans of the Portland, Oregon, composer's music might expect. Hrafnamynd -- Icelandic for "raven film" -- is a new feature-length documentary by experimental filmmaker Edward Pack Davee. Shot on a mix of film and digital formats, and incorporating his father's Ektachrome slides from the 1970s, the autobiographical film works on multiple levels at once: a reminiscence of his childhood in Iceland, an exploration of landscape and folklore, and a documentary study of the island nation's ravens -- including a talking raven named Krummi. Wolf is the perfect artist to score such an unusual film. Mixing ambient music and field recording -- including extensive experience documenting bird song -- Wolf brings an unusually empathic perspective to her music. In the context of Hrafnamynd, her airy melodies, pensive atmospheres, and vivid textures intuitively complement the film's grainy film stock and blown-out colors. Friends for years, the two artists further bonded when Wolf asked Pack to film music videos for her songs "Woodland Encounter" (from See-Through) and "The Culmination Of" (from I'll Look For You In Others). Pack used Wolf's previously recorded music as placeholders as he began assembling a rough cut of the film, which made her a natural choice to help him complete his idiosyncratic vision with an all-new, bespoke score. But Wolf's soundtrack also indisputably stands alone as a full-length album. Largely created using the UDO Super 6 synthesizer, it features a carefully distilled palette of warm, string-like pads and darkly glistening mallets, rounded out with the very occasional introduction of nylon string guitar. Musically and stylistically, the album's 11 tracks represent both a continuation of the ruminative sound of See-Through and also an extension into new expressive modes. Few musicians, ambient or otherwise, are as skilled at balancing melody with atmosphere, or at finding ways to eke fresh at finding ways to eke fresh, surprising sounds out of an intentionally reduced toolkit. Meditative, immersive, and emotionally generous Wolf's Hrafnamynd soundtrack evokes a range of ambient classics from decades past while confidently marking out its own verdant patch of ground.