Other worldly folk music from the Central Highlands of Vietnam performed by some of the most renowned musicians of the region, this exceptional document features small ensembles and solo performers on a variety of unique instruments (many with vocals). This is rare and disappearing music from the Jerai, Banhar, Ede, and Rongao ethnic groups and although the recordings are made during informal settings, they are raw, emotional, dreamy, and transcendent. From Vincenzo Della Ratta's liner notes: "In recent decades, the traditional cultures of various ethnic groups in Vietnam have undergone dramatic changes, leading to the radical transformation or even loss of some long-standing traditions, all of which has also had a significant impact on the musical traditions of the Central Highlands. The recordings on this album reflect this period, in which the last representatives of the old musical traditions have coexisted with a new wave of musicians and performers. This shift has affected the musical instruments used, the functions or contexts in which they are played, the repertoires, and the playing styles. A further characteristic of musical change in the Central Highlands is the influence of Western or Vietnamese music, evident in the way young musicians perform with a clean and measured style, with the standard Western tuning. This contrasts with the traditional playing style of older generations, and both styles are featured on this album. Rather than just being a 'musical postcard,' this album is intended to provide an accurate sonic representation of the musical landscape in the Central Highlands over the past two decades, while still being highly enjoyable. I feel that it is particularly significant, considering the present period of major change, during which the music of the older generations is fading from the villages of the region, making way for new forms of musical expression." Recorded live on location by Vincenzo Della Ratta between 2003-2023, this extremely limited-edition LP includes a four-page full-color insert with photos of the musicians and surroundings, a detailed track list and liner notes by Vincenzo Della Ratta.

WRWTFWW Records is boiling with excitement: Pizza Hotline is back! The UK producer and DJ is following up the already classic Level Select (WRWTFWW 078LP, 2023) with another liquid drum and bass with a video game music twist beauty: the Polygon Island album, available in a limited-edition double LP with a majestic 45rpm cut (for louder, bigger, bolder, deeper earth-shaking bass), packaged in a heavyweight 350gsm gatefold sleeve. Home of eight all new slices of delicious atmospheric drum and bass, Polygon Island is the perfect artificial paradise beach for Pizza Hotline to deepen his exploration of modern jungle music liquified through the lens of '90s/Y2K video game motifs and seasoned with the soundtrack essence of PS1, PS2, N64, Sega Saturn & Dreamcast adventures. Bewitching and larger than life, Pizza Hotline's perfect follow-up to Level Select takes listeners (players?) on an endless summer escapade filled with immaculate vibes, crispy beats, and refashioned homages to, once again, LTJ Bukem, Peshay, the Wipeout OST, and Soichi Terada's Ape Escape. It's bouncy, it flows, it's dreamy -- something to dance to, something to reminisce to, something to chill to. Pizza Hotline is back and it feels so good. Press start. Again.

Joanne Robertson follows up on AD 93 with the album Blurrr. Written between painting sessions and also whilst raising a child, Blurrr is a record of loose and playful intuition. Robertson's vocals and guitar drift, murmur and whisper across the record; fostering a deep intimacy as unknown emotions rise up from the well. Robertson's intuitive approach to music making co-exists alongside her improvisatory and collaborative nature. She has collaborated regularly with artists such as Elias Rønnenfelt on Heavy Glory, Dean Blunt on Backstage Raver, and Black Metal, and Sidsel Meineche Hansen on Alien Baby. In Blurrr Robertson turns to previous collaborator and friend: cellist, composer and producer Oliver Coates.

2LP version. Since 2015, Les Disques Bongo Joe have been exploring musical margins with passion and precision -- from rare reissues to bold local projects and international collaborations. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Geneva-based label releases 10 Years of Sonic Explorations, a compilation that captures a decade of handcrafted work, collective vision, and sonic adventures. It's not a "best of," but a vivid snapshot of what drives the label: from forgotten archives to emerging scenes, from Geneva to Bogotá, Istanbul or Lilongwe -- through lo-fi grooves, offbeat percussion, raw vocals and unclassifiable sounds. Spanning the label's earliest releases to its most recent ones, this selection highlights the range of aesthetics Bongo Joe has championed over the years -- always resisting trends, always embracing singularity. A deep dive into a freeform catalogue built on one belief: that music is a force for expression, transmission, and connection. Featuring Alain Peters, Altin Gün, Mauskovic Dance Band, Esplendor Geometrico, Hyperculte, Madalitso Band, Meridian Brothers, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, Nordine Staifi, Cyril Cyril, África Negra, Yīn Yīn, Les Abranis, Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, Coco Maria, AMAMI, Lalalar, Nusantara Beat, Yalla Miku, Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers, Sami Galbi, Baby Berserk, and Dressed Up Animal.

Double LP version. Electronic pioneers Propaganda follow up their acclaimed 2024 comeback with Remix Encounters, a broad and brilliant remix album featuring Moby, Tangerine Dream, Rhys Fulber, Schiller, and more. Released on Bureau B, this remix collection reflects the enthusiasm Propaganda's return after three decades of silence has ignited among contemporary artists, who approached the project with fresh energy and creative freedom.

"Since breaking new ground with their seminal 1985 debut A Secret Wish and its pioneering remix companion Wishful Thinking, Propaganda have thrived on transformation. Yet rather than revisiting the past, Remix Encounters looks forward, building on the vitality of last year's album and celebrating its widespread critical and fan acclaim. What began as a remix request from Finnish electronic maestro Jori Hulkkonen, returning the favor after Ralf Dörper's contribution to his last album, quickly blossomed into an international collaboration, drawing in luminaries such as Moby, Tangerine Dream, Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assembly, Delerium), and Schiller. Embracing openness, Propaganda spent the fourth quarter of 2024 encouraging the wide range of musicians inspired by their triumphant return to offer their own interpretations. Each brought their distinctive voice to the material, resulting in a thrilling journey through electronic subgenres, from EBM and industrial to rave, ambient, house, and beyond. Rhys Fulber opens the album with a brooding, machine-funk reinvention of 'They Call Me Nocebo,' evolving from a sleek, sinuous introduction into a relentless pneumatic stomp. Next, Schiller offers a powerful remix of 'Distant' that balances raw electro-house and techno energy with the emotional depth of EBM, before Moby transforms 'Purveyor of Pleasure' into a furious early-'90s rave anthem, fusing breakbeats and rolling basslines that pulse with nostalgic urgency yet feel unmistakably modern. Elsewhere, Finnish polymath Jimi Tenor infuses 'Vicious Circle' with cosmic jazz and dub textures, while Pyrolator, a key figure in Düsseldorf's avant-garde scene, delivers a shadowy reinterpretation of 'LoveCraft.' Cult With No Name also contribute a brooding electro-ballad version of the same track. Propaganda's own Michael Mertens teams up with longtime collaborator Hans Steingen to re-envision 'Dystopian Waltz,' shifting its time signature to a gripping 4/4 and intensifying its ominous mood for darker dance floors. The range of remixers speaks volumes: from industrial punks Gewalt and synth purists Metroland to ambient pioneers Tangerine Dream, Remix Encounters unites an eclectic group of electronic artists bound by a shared reverence for innovation and Propaganda's distinctive voice." --Patrick Ryder

"For many bands, having all their gear stolen would be catastrophic. For Third Ear Band, this unfortunate 1968 incident opened a portal to beneficial change. Leader/percussionist Glen Sweeney viewed the heist as a sign to alter Third Ear Band's approach, and they switched to exclusively using acoustic instruments. With electrified psychedelia in full bloom, Sweeney, Paul Minns (oboe, recorder, whistles, flutes) and Richard Coff (violin, viola) struck out on an individualistic path, blending Indian raga with chamber music -- without plugging in. Third Ear Band's 1969 debut album, Alchemy, established them as a solemn, powerful force in the global underground. On Alchemy, Sweeney laid down a steady pulse on hand drums, while Minns and Coff wove in melismatic patterns on oboe, recorder, violin and viola. This approach carried over to Third Ear Band's self-titled sophomore album, often called Elements due to its track titles being named after the four basic components of medieval European alchemists' doctrines. On this 1970 LP, Third Ear Band sounded at once ancient and contemporary, yet they turned on the hippies with their epic, trance-inducing jams that suggested secret knowledge of infinity. Although Third Ear Band flourished during the West's countercultural zenith, they were peculiarly estranged from it on a sonic level. Even outré contemporaries such as Comus and Jan Dukes De Grey sounded like pop groups compared to TEB. Having no traditional front person or electric instruments, Third Ear Band forged a singular path that flowered most vividly on Elements. The long songs here stream forth from their skilled hands, evoking a communal transcendence in sound -- a hypnotic swirl that doesn't swing, but rather wafts and undulates with cloistered beauty. TEB's music exists in an eternal now, a perpetual wow. It is an ouroboros of organic textures, seemingly magicked into the air spontaneously, yet possessing a rigor that suggests long hours in the lab. Without electricity, it somehow burrowed deeper into your consciousness." --Dave Segal

Spanish-born, Berlin-based artist JASSS, presents her third LP, Eager Buyers. It's the inaugural release on her own new platform called AWOS, which also encompasses musical, AV and art collaborations, live events, and a radio show. Eager Buyers is an observation of longing, of memory, of attempted connection, of lost innocence, and irreconcilable dreams. It's the sound of broken promises for a bright future, where rose-tinted glasses have lost their clarity, dirtied with disaffection over time. Across this sultry, smoky, cinematic epic, JASSS attempts to process mixed feelings amidst the modern malaise. Alluringly atmospheric and cerebral, but bold and direct, with high-spec sound design, JASSS spaces each element with expert definition. Searing swathes of noise nestle with crisp breakbeats, billowing bass, dark ambience, prepared piano, phosphorescent electronics and calibrated percussion. A sort of anti-nostalgia, the record lives in a contemporary purgatory of oblique moods which hover in the psyche, somewhere between uncertainty, foreboding, and guarded anticipation. The raw metal of bass guitar strings plays a key part too, ranging from ornate melodic phrases, shoegazy drones, and attitude-riven hard twangs. Vocals come from JASSS herself, plus James K and Alias Error on the track "It's A Hole." The heavy, hauntological atmospherics are in part due to the addition of field recordings -- the discreet, but spiritually-loaded incidental sounds of a place which can capture its history, with the acoustics somehow retaining an emotional imprint of lives long gone. If pressed for descriptive reference points, "masterfully-produced-post-punk-post-rockbaroque-gothy-dubby-trip-hop" might be a starting point, but that doesn't do it justice. Equally spectral in their dream-like quality are the musical signposts, where genre elements are familiar, but somehow also unplaceable, untethered from context, and beautifully strange in their new composite. At points there's an air of strangely dazed calm too -- a kind of frazzled cool in the face of desolation, and even tender, lighter moments, which glint through the cracks.

2025 restock. Another selection of eight songs following the first compilation released in late 2020 covering the same period but also venturing in the 1990s. Drissi is one of Rai's softest voices. This is more Wah-Wah driven, mid-tempo guitar-based Rai from the city where Rai's "harder' form was conceived. Sad romantic songs about lost loves and other sorrowful tales.

"The Diary, the legendary lost album and instrumentals from J Dilla, released posthumously in 2016, was the VMP Hip-Hop Record of the Month for November 2022. It's here on exclusive double LP purple and orange marble vinyl. (AAA) lacquers cut from the analog tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. 180 gram audiophile vinyl pressed at QRP, Salina, KS. Includes extensive listening notes booklet by Andrew Winistorfer."

"Kris Kristofferson was the true country outsider, a man who single-handedly pushed the genre leftward, changing forever the perception of its songwriters, its performers and its message. He was long-haired, anti-war and sang songs with drug use, sex and violence always lurking as dangers in the margins, at a time when Waylon and Willie were wearing sweaters and playing golf on their album covers. He was the outlaw, in a genre that would soon have people recording his songs, and co-opting his vision for a new version of country, to much greater financial success." (AAA) lacquers cut from tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on exclusive 180 gram "black and blue" galaxy vinyl. Listening notes by Andrew Winistorfer.

"With 1975's Trident, McCoy Tyner finally achieved his true vision for the piano trio. In an era that finally -- and firmly -- established Tyner in the upper echelon of jazz masters, adored by critics, set at the top of festival bills and heartily supported by the record-buying public, Trident stands at the pinnacle of his brilliant album run from that decade. Trident might not seem as ambitious as Tyner's other '70s outings, but don't let its near-monochromatic gray and silver cover of McCoy by the ocean fool you; just beneath its surface is the heaviest, most vivid and deep music of his career. Trident finds him coming full circle, realizing his -- and just about any fantasy jazz fan's -- dream piano trio. Call it Money Jungle for the new decade, only one featuring cogent and telepathic alignment rather than clashing intergenerational conflict. Three titans, three defining masters of their instrument, with thousands of recording dates between them. (AAA) lacquers cut from the master tapes by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound. Pressed on 180 gram black vinyl. Exclusive listening notes booklet by Andy Beta. "

Berlin-based DJ and producer Moomin (Sebastian Genz) returns with Into The Distance, a deeply immersive album. Expanding on his signature warm, textured sound, the 10-track LP blends deep house, downtempo, and ambient influences into a hypnotic, cinematic journey. Following his acclaimed 2011 debut The Story About You, Moomin has released on labels like Smallville, WOLF Music, OATH, and Aim, while also running his vinyl and tape imprint, Closer. Into The Distance refines his introspective, groove-driven style, with tracks like "Joni" and "A Way Out" pulsing with subtle energy, while "Caught In A Memory" and "Night Moves" evoke dreamy nostalgia. Having stepped away from live shows in 2019 to focus on his mastering studio, Moomin's latest album reflects this period of deep creative focus -- fluid, contemplative, and designed for both personal reflection and sonic exploration.

[delayed, release date unknown] Process of Elimination, El Hardwick's sophomore's album, explores sickness as a teacher for anti-capitalist modes of being; a rewilding of the self. Out via AD 93, the record is the product of an attempt to be indestructible; this sickness has an unknown diagnosis. El Hardwick's album follows their experience of becoming chronically ill after years of treating their body like a machine. El explains: "After failing to receive a diagnosis, which is only given via a lengthy process of elimination, I instead turned to autonomous modes of healing rooted in mysticism and herbalism; putting aside the need to be defined. My journey towards accepting my disability is told in parallel to my coming-out as trans. I also see my non-binary identity as a process of elimination: I am neither gender, both, in-between. It is through rewilding myself from capitalism and gender normativity that I learn how to connect to my body and the earth; no longer allowing either's energy to be extracted from. The less I sought answers, language, metrics and analysis, the more peace I found." Silvia Federici's Caliban And The Witch influenced the album in telling how dissident women and gender nonconforming people have been historically labelled as hysterical and heretical when questioning the cartesian dualist mindset that laid the groundwork of capitalism. Donna J Haraway's Staying With The Trouble and Jenny Odell's How To Do Nothing were further inspirations in how humans can rebuild relationships with the earth. The album features a number of London-based musicians and friends: Alex McKenzie (Gentle Stranger, Shovel Dance Collective, Caroline) on clarinet, flute and saxophone, Laura Misch on saxophone, Marysia Osu (Levitation Orchestra) on harp, Memory Play on co-production, double bass and saw, and Sasha Wilde on vocals. El Hardwick is a multidisciplinary artist living in London, UK. Identifying as trans non-binary, their work weaves narratives between queer world making practices and how listeners can heal on a damaged planet.

2025 repress. Innercity Griots, the second album from Freestyle Fellowship, is perhaps the essential West Coast left-field rap album of the early '90s. Released in 1993 on 4th & Broadway, it's a towering, progressive hip-hop masterpiece that expanded rap's boundaries through lyrical elevation and production innovation. Their talent was ahead of everybody else by light years. This is pure b-boy jazz. Be With reissue includes "Pure Thought" from the CD version of the album. Freestyle Fellowship were some of the earliest technically dazzling rappers to come out of California. Mikah 9, P.E.A.C.E., Aceyalone and Self Jupiter -- along with DJ Kiilu -- forged their famed lyrical dexterity in the ultra-competitive crucible of the Good Life Cafe. Founded in Leimert Park, South Central LA in December 1989, this earthy health-food store and cafe was where the city's finest microphone fiends would gather to showcase their freestyle skills at the Thursday night open-mic. Innercity Griots has been described as the Rosetta Stone for rap styles. The group's dense, vibrant wordplay and enviable interplay quickly earned the attention and respect of the city's hip-hop underground. Frenetically trading acrobatic rhymes with agility and grace, the Fellowship used their voices as instruments like true virtuosos, spraying improvised raps like a Coltrane sax solo. With the bulk of the album's production handled by The Earthquake Brothers, and Bambawar, Daddy-O, and Edman taking over for some of the tracks, Innercity Griots dances between organic and programmed music, largely forgoing sampling and instead built around live jazz jams. The likes of Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay" and Miles Davis's "Black Comedy" were used more as templates for house band The Underground Railroad Band to spiral out from. As Pitchfork noted in their recent 9.0 review of this classic album, "Freestyle Fellowship embodied the style and spirit of jazz on a molecular level. They shared the effortless cool and tough countenance of the great bebop players from the '50s without verging into jazz-rap parody." The unusual approach to the music was matched by the Fellowship's lyrics. Eschewing the tired rap tropes of the time, this multifaceted album instead explores their ruminations on greed and homelessness, weed, sex, survival, insecurity and tribalism. Remastered by Simon Francis, cut by Pete Norman.

2025 restock. "Two albums that shook the world! Dub From The Roots and The Roots of Dub. The release of these two ground-breaking dubs sets in 1975 altered the course of modern music forever. Dub From The Roots and Roots Of Dub make up a crucial selection of King Tubby's mind-altering dub versions. Produced by Bunny "Striker" Lee -- both albums are essential."

2025 repress, originally released 1979. . "As roots reggae harmony groups go, Culture has always been a bit unique. Wholly dominated by the mystical and strangely charismatic lead singer and songwriter Joseph Hill, Culture has always dealt in simple (some would say simplistic) and yet absurdly catchy melodies, astringent harmonies and lyrics of the very dreadest character -- very few love songs, very few party songs, just lots and lots of dire warnings issued to Babylon and its fellow travellers. Although the band is most commonly praised for its work with producer Joe Gibbs (most notably the stone classic Two Sevens Clash album), many the tracks Culture recorded under the supervision of Sonia Pottinger are every bit as good, and Cumbolo includes ten of the best of those. Just about every song here counts as a highlight, but 'Natty Never Get Weary,' 'Poor Jah People,' and a charming adaptation of 'This Train' are all particularly good. And the backup is provided by a shifting contingent of Jamaica's studio aristocracy that includes Sly & Robbie, Ansel Collins, and 'Deadly' Headley Bennett, among other luminaries. Highly recommended." --Rick Anderson, AllMusic

2025 repress, black vinyl. "Originally released in Turkey 1973, Özkent's masterpiece (creation) of an all instrumental Turkish Psychedelic Funk album, filled with classic beats and breaks still inspires long time fans and first time listeners. The funky rhythms, hypnotic percussions, and heavy break beats makes this a holy grail amongst DJ's and music fans alike. Only a handful of copies from the original pressing are known to still exist making this reissue a welcome addition to any record collection. The concept is very complicated, futuristic and free from categorization. Traditional folk songs mixed with rock, jazz, blues, funk and psych. Özkent took traditional turkish folk songs and reconstructed them for the new 'hip' generation. It was recorded live in just one day with some of the best studio musicians in Turkey. The band was made up of 2 drummers, 2 guitarists, 2 percussionists, a bassist and a Hammond B3 organist. Özkent created his own unique guitar sound by adding extra frets and a clutch of effect pedals in order to create quarter notes and emulate turkish traditional scales. Mustafa Özkent has since made arrangements for hundreds of other artists in Turkey. But this unique album documents his most revered work. In the more than 40 years since the Mustafa Özkent Ve Orkestrası recorded Gençlik İle Elele, it seems that the world is still just discovering this gem."

Green vinyl. 2LP Silk Screen Sleeve plus insert. Holidays Records is more than excited to join the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of Les Disques Bongo Joe with the first ever vinyl edition of Meridian Brothers' early projects: Meridian Brothers VI and Meridian Brothers VII! Before Guaracha UFO propelled Meridian Brothers onto the international stage, Eblis Álvarez was already shaping his singular sonic universe in the shadows. Released only on CD in between 2009 and 2012 via local label La Distritofónica, Meridian Brothers VI and VII never had wide distribution or media exposure. Yet, these albums represent a crucial phase in the band's evolution, capturing the energy of Bogotá's experimental cumbia scene at the time. VII pushes experimentation even further with a custom-built sampling algorithm, generating unpredictable loops and grooves. These two albums laid the foundation for the radical fusion and irreverent spirit that would later define Meridian Brothers. Now reissued on vinyl for the first time, these historic recordings offer a raw and fascinating glimpse into the origins of one of Latin America's most forward-thinking musical projects.

A luminous new chapter in a singular collaboration Handling, Nils Frahm and F.S. Blumm present their fifth collaborative album-an immersive, 40-minute journey across just three tracks that radiate intimacy, invention, and sonic depth. Building on the dub-inflected textures of 2X1=4, the duo now ventures into more delicate, exploratory terrain, where every sound feels intentional and alive. Recorded at Frahm's LEITER studio in Berlin's Funkhaus, Handling is a masterclass in subtlety and sonic storytelling. Each of the three compositions-titled Leuchter-glows with quiet energy, evoking miniature worlds through a rich palette of instruments: pianos, celestas, cristal baschets, glockenspiels, guitars, and a wide array of percussive textures. Blumm and Frahm's long-standing friendship and mutual trust allow for a rare creative freedom. Their contrasting approaches-Blumm's playful chaos and Frahm's structured intuition-merge into a sound that is neither one nor the other, but something entirely new. Handling is not just music-it's a living, breathing sound sculpture, full of warmth, wonder, and the joy of discovery. A must for fans of ambient, experimental, and genre-defying music.

"Those profiled include Egyptian guitarist Omar Khorshid, maverick producer/arranger/composer Elias Rahbani, mysterious talents like Nicolas Dick and Robert Maalouf and the father of the label's founder, Abdallah Chahine, a pianist of immense talent. As told in detailed liner notes by DJ, music researcher and legacy-keeper Ernesto Chahoud and Natalie Shooter, this period of Lebanese music formed the soundtrack to the city of Beirut during its multiple transformations, from its 1950s to 1960s heyday as 'the Switzerland of the Orient' through to the mid-1970s and 1980s, when it soundtracked the tragic days of the Lebanese Civil War. From Chahoud's liner notes: 'I spent years going through thousands of titles from one of the largest catalog of Lebanese and Arabic music, by one of the earliest labels in the Arab world, Voix De L'Orient, to handpick the 12 songs that represent a survey into this momentous catalog. The Lebanese musical experiment, stretching almost seven decades, has offered one of the most complex and fully fledged modern Oriental scenes of the Arab world. These 12 songs were released in different periods and embody a wide range of musical ideas from the most adventurous on the Voix De L'Orient label, those musicians that played major roles in the renaissance of ancient musical traditions. So, from the '60s and '70s, you'll hear Adballah Chahine improvising on Oriental scales on a custom-made piano that he developed in order to play quarter tones; you'll engage the radical approach to folkloric music from the legendary Iraqi composer and oud player Munir Bechir; you'll enjoy the timeless blend of Occidental and Oriental forms as fused by the genius Elias Rahbani. The songs by Georgette Sayegh, Adib Abou Antoun and Robert Maalouf give a sense of Lebanon's unique '70s and '80s pop sounds. You might think that this music comes from a foreign, faraway culture, and I suppose it does, for some, but this music is close to us all. This anthology is presented 100 percent free of cultural appropriation. This album is a genuine attempt to escape the ephemeral aspect of everyday, fast music fashions. This album is absolute beauty to play out loud, while waiting for the second volume to come.'"

2025 restock. "Few moments in pop music history can match the grinding, pent-up energy of 'Mongoloid' and the spastic bounce and sputter of 'Jocko Homo' (two anthems presented in their earlier and superior versions here). Cult favorites like 'Mechanical Man' and 'Auto-Modown' make Volume 1 essential listening."

2025 repress. "Hopeton Brown, better known as Scientist, has been a pioneering figure in the world of dub for nearly 40 years. His early love of electronics proved fruitful when (still a teenager) he was hired at King Tubby's studio in Kingston. Brown quickly ascended the ranks and became heir to Tubby's throne, producing imaginative and technically impressive mixes that solidified his forward-looking nickname. Introducing Scientist - The Best Dub Album in the World, his 1980 debut LP, lives up to its boastful title. Recorded with Sly & Robbie at Channel One Studio and mixed at King Tubby's, the album features hypnotic basslines, reverb- drenched keyboards, and fluid, start-stop rhythms. Opening track 'Steppers,' with its well-balanced phrasing and organic contours, shows Scientist's mastery of the studio- as-instrument concept. On 'Scientific,' the effectsladen guitars are stretched to their outer limit to create magnificent, spaced-out textures and muted tension. Introducing Scientist displays the talents of a man obsessed with every element of production, drawing out the very best of the dub form."

"No one knows what happened to Jim Sullivan, but there have been various rumors floated involving the mob, police foul play, and, due to his closeness to Roswell, alien abduction. Because of the mystery of his disappearance, the lyrics on U.F.O. took on an otherworldly quality; the songs about aliens, and being in the sky, and disappearing seem like they were written to explain his disappearance, just written six years early. 180 gram coke bottle clear vinyl. Heavyweight gatefold tip-on jacket. Exclusive 16-page expanded liner notes."

2025 restock. Be With Records present a reissue of Willie Hutch's Soul Portrait, originally released in 1969. Soul Portrait is a slice of Southern-fried soul, a blend of beat ballads and dancers. Increasingly rare, this reissue is most welcome and showcases the early work of a soul legend. Officially licensed and remastered by Simon Francis, it's pressed on 180 gram vinyl for the first time and features the original artwork and liner notes. A monumental force firmly rooted in the soul canon, Willie Hutch is most notable for recording two of the best Blaxploitation soundtracks, The Mack (1973) and Foxy Brown (1984). Yet his legacy is much greater. Outside of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Smokey Robinson, Hutch was arguably Motown's top male solo artist of the '70s. Prior to his association with Gordy et al, Hutch crafted his opening statements for RCA, two vital LPs. His debut, Soul Portrait (1969), is an incredible slice of gritty, Southern-fried soul. Think Stax with a touch of Detroit sparkle. As a whole, the album demonstrates the self-contained act Hutch was; he wrote every tune on the album while also arranging and conducting for it. The album's centerpiece is undoubtedly the iconic, brooding minor-key masterpiece "A Love That's Worth Having". The album's most recognizable track, it's a towering ballad drenched in stylish, sliding horns, and elevated by its stunning backing vocalists. It was famously sampled by Madlib to augment his soundtrack for Stones Throw's Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton (2013) as well as 9th Wonder for the Murs classic "Dreamchaser". Horn-heavy opener "Ain't Gonna Stop" is a funk-fueled monster, Hutch's fatback vocal aided by a vicious drum 'n' conga rhythm whilst the bumping uptown soul of "You Can't Miss Something That You Never Had" anticipates the Motown-vibe that Hutch went on to create. Supple guitar licks propel the loping, head-nod breaks of "Good To The Last Drop" whilst "That's What I Call Lovin' You" features gospel piano and plaintive, tender vocal turn. The blazing horns of "You Gotta Try" hints at the Blaxploitation that was to come. The thundering proto-70s-Motown rhythm of "Let Me Give You The Love You Need" segues neatly into the bouncing Northern soul favorite "Lucky To Be Loved By You" whilst Hutch's gutbucket guitar stylings are all over the smoldering "Keep On Doin' What You Do". "Your Love Keeps Liftin' Me Higher" is not a rendition of the Jackie Wilson classic; rather, it's a powerhouse original that indicates where Hutch would take his sound on The Mack. Closing the album, the anthemic "Do What You Wanna Do" name-checks contemporary dance fads before instructing the listener to just get up and dance. Brilliantly supported by a heavy roster of studio cats who combined to create a winning combination of horns, strings, and gorgeous female background vocalists, Soul Portrait is as complete a soul album as the decade's very best.

Reissue, originally released in 1973. Tonio Rubio's Rhythms is a stone-cold killer, a heavyweight library breaks LP and the inaugural release in Be With's new partnership with legendary French library label Tele Music. For this extremely special 50 year anniversary reissue, Be With Records reproduced the classic Tele Music sleeve with a full color insert featuring rare photographs, fresh liner notes, and personal memories of Tonio from the likes of Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Claude Petit, and Janko Nilovic. Sumptuous opener "Latin Leitmotiv" is all funky phasing effects and a killer montuno, with what sounds like piano and bass in tandem, stoking straight up Latin fire. The gritty hard funk of blaxploitation groove "Red Medium" is dripping in wah-wah attitude and head-nod oddness. The atmospheric, exotica-tinged "Dead Slow" emulates the languid, sensual Afro groove of Quincy Jones's wild masterpiece "Gula Matari" whilst the proggy, electric jazz fusion epic "Rock 73" is 9+ minutes of moody, rolling menace. But the real highlight of this cult classic -- and why it has long been so desirable -- is the devastating, deep, hypnotic minimalist groove of "Bass In Action N°1". Very much in conversation with Quincy's rendition of "Hummin'", the loping, rumbling bassline and sweet electric piano over clean, crisp drums making it one of those tracks that sounds like a hip-hop beat 20 years ahead of time. "Bass In Action N°2" features Tonio's own vocal scat performance. Antonio "Tonio" Rubio Garcia got his start playing the double bass in jazz clubs. In 1962, Tonio joined the Golden Stars, the first backing band of France's teenage idol Johnny Hallyday. A genius musician with a unique guitar sound, he played on standards of French chanson including Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot's "Bonnie and Clyde", Françoise Hardy's "Tous les Garçons et les Filles", Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin's "Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus", and Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg's infamous "Lemon Incest". Jean-Claude Vannier remembers Tonio as "a secretive, mysterious man, with an endearing personality, albeit difficult to reach out to. His virtuosity as a bass player allowed me to write very innovative basslines, because he was able to play any of my eccentricities!" Remastered by Simon Francis.

2025 repress. Death In Vegas returns with new album Death Mask, where disintegration, overload and total sonic immersion tell a personal tale. With dirty circuitry and rough-hewn textures at the fore, this is gritty, unpolished techno; an audio outlier that's full of personality, and a bold artistic statement. It's closer in DNA to the grainy growl of sunn O))), or the searing intensity of Underground Resistance at their fiercest, and as far from generic influencer business as you could possibly get. "I've been soaking in Ramleh's 'Hole In the Heart', the machine funk of Terrence Dixon's Population One, Jamal Moss' psychedelic techno jams, the stunning minimalism of Mika Vanio's Ø and Panasonic, the layered drones of LOOP, and drowning in the acid of TM 404." Broader inspirations are weaved into the album's fabric too; from his Thameside Metal Box studio and evocations of nautical ghosts, to lamentations for a broken world, to memories of a youthful Detroit pilgrimage, and the innocent fraternity of rave euphoria, there's a lot going on, acting as a chronicle of moments, and locations.

It all started in 1958, when Hugh Steinmetz played trumpet in the school band and got in contact with Christian Mouritzen, a 19-year-old blacksmith who played alto saxophone and would soon change his name into Franz Beckerlee. They were soon joined by young bass player Steffen Andersen. By January 1962 they entered the scene at the Vingaarden club in central Copenhagen where, together with John Tchicai, they had the groundbreaking experience of hearing Cecil Taylor, Sunny Murray, and Albert Ayler. The next step was to enter the scene in the more international Montmartre Jazzhouse. Monday night was "avantgarde night" and The Beckerlee Quartet (still in their late teens) accepted the offer to play for an hour and therefore got the chance to further develop their music. It was there that they came into contact with The New York Contemporary Five -- Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, John Tchicai, Don Moore, and J.C. Moses. Before The New York Contemporary Five left Scandinavia in November 1963, they collaborated with The Beckerlee Quartet for a broadcast on Danish Radio. The gifted drummer Sunny Murray, an inspiring force for the Beckerlee group, was hired in 1964 to play on Action, their first LP, issued the following year by the legendary Debut Records. It was at that time that they changed their name to The Contemporary Jazz Quartet. Action has come to be regarded by many as one of the most important early accomplishments in European free improvisation. It was at this time that members of The Contemporary Jazz Quartet were invited to perform with David Tudor and Michael von Biehl in Charlottenborg, a very important place for the avantgarde in music and visual arts. The group would eventually shift again in membership and become The Contemporary Jazz Quintet, featuring Bo Thrige Andersen, Franz Beckerlee, Hugh Steinmetz, Niels Harrit, and Steffen Andersen, and enter the studio in 1967 to record what would have been the follow up to Action, intended to be also issued by Debut. As a fascinating illumination of the moment, particularly because it predates Miles Davis' revolutionary innovation of electric jazz by roughly a year, new innovations in amplification during that moment that the band began to observe in rock music, provoked them to abandon that album and begin again, eventually producing the LP T.C.J.Q. in 1969, which featured two electrified saxophones, as well as amplified trumpet and double-bass, relinquishing their previous recordings, unreleased, to the vaults. It is those incredible, lost 1967 recordings made by The Contemporary Jazz Quintet, unearthed for the first time in nearly 60 years, that comprise Action A B C E, FormalIbera's new LP dedicated to the group. Includes an insert with liner notes by Mats Gustaffson and Anna-Lise Malmros.

Double LP version. Transparent vinyl. New York-based artist James K returns with Friend. This album is full of electric pop anthems that blends ear-worming melodies with peak-time breaks, buzzing powerpunk guitars and a classic rave pulse, with K's signature enchanting vocals playfully spitting emotion. It's a hallucinatory pleasure, tearing through your body and mind. "Play" rushes with a rebellion of friends -- an electro fever daydream waking up everywhere you go. Hot off extensive tours worldwide, playing the likes of Pitchfork Festival, Dekmantel, iii Points, and Mutek, following in the footsteps of her last two critically acclaimed singles Friend comes on AD 93. RIYL: Cocteau Twins, Yves Tumor, Prodigy, Oklou, Grimes.

2025 repress. Deluxe gatefold vinyl edition. "With a book of lyrics and artwork, updated by Vashti herself. This vinyl reissue of Vashti Bunyan's lone 1970 solo release features contributions from British folk royalty including members of Fairport Convention and preeminent producer Joe Boyd." "Vashti Bunyan's lone 1970 solo release features contributions from British folk royalty including members of Fairport Convention and preeminent producer Joe Boyd. Vashti was recently heard singing alongside Devendra Banhart on the title track of Rejoicing In The Hands. The songs were written over two summers and one winter of travelling. After a chance meeting that winter with Derroll Adams (noted Woody Guthrie era folksinger and banjo player) who told her not to 'hide her light under a bushel,' Vashti took the songs of her journey to Joe Boyd. A year later he recorded Just Another Diamond Day, inviting Robin Williamson of the Incredible String Band, and Dave Swarbrick and Simon Nicol (who also played on Nick Drake's records) from Fairport Convention to accompany Vashti on some tracks. The album was released late in 1970 to little attention. The music was abandoned by the singer in favor of further horse journeys and complete obscurity. However, over the years all the recordings have succeeded in finding their own way to the notice of music collectors. The master tape of the album lay in a London warehouse for thirty years before being unwisely taken across the city in an underground train and getting wet in a raging thunderstorm, but has survived almost intact. The four additional on this edition are from well traveled old vinyl, acetate demos, and home recorded tape." -- Paul Lambden.

2025 restock, last copies, reduced price. First time vinyl reissue. 1985 was one of the most important years in Brazil's recent history, when the country was freed from more than 20 years of military dictatorship. The youth took the lead and finally Brazil entered the world show business circuit with Rock In Rio festival. But the real revolution was happening in the underground and this record is a proof of that. One of the people in charge was the musician, composer, poet, writer, scriptwriter and speaker from Rio de Janeiro Ronaldo Tapajós, who was always involved with experimental and avant-garde music. His trajectory begins in the mythical 1968, when, as part of the the duo Rô and Carlinhos, he released an emblematic single containing the song "O Gigante" -- perhaps the first Brazilian bad trip recorded on vinyl and a shrewd criticism of the society's "square" habits. According to Cinema's LP press release: "in the era of visual music, Cinema is sound". In terms of sound, listening to this album feels like diving into an intriguing anguish of trying to understand how the relationship between technology available at that time (1983-1984) and the more organic instruments happened, this duality between synthesizers/effects with percussion, woodwind instruments, piano and clarinet. In other words: how was the coexistence between the synthetic and the acoustic? This paradox seems to seduce collectors, DJs and enthusiasts of Brazilian music from the '80s around the world. This fictional soundtrack has a dark mood, as if a fog of dark and ambient music insisted on staying on top of cheerful patterns of Afro-Brazilian percussion, or conceptual synth pop. The track "Sem Teto" was included in Outro Tempo (Electronic and Contemporary Music from Brazil 1978-1992) (Music From Memory, 2017). Includes two extra and unreleased tracks found after decades. Remastered from the original tapes. Includes eight-page color booklet full of photos, images, and new testimonials from the four members of the project.

La Festa delle Rane (literally "the frog's party") are one of the most singular outputs from the vibrant Italian underground community. Innocent, at times flawed, full of candor and tenderness and just enough spice to make things take a grandiose detour into the eerie and unsettling. Il lago è il cielo del bosco e tutte le rane cantano in coro, originally released on tape for Ruego in 2022 and now remastered for vinyl by Matt Bordin, was conceived by main songwriter Lucia Sole between 2020 and 2022. Her knack for off-kilter church melodies and yelping renditions of what apparently could be categorized as "feel-good" tunes often wanders into obscurity sparked by flashes of lo-fi Spectorian pomp, campfire folk and Smile era Wilson-isms. Recorded between Bologna, Napoli, Brussels, Benevento, and Colleverde di Leonessa, La Festa delle Rane's sun-tinged psychedelia comes with an incredible bag of tricks: dream flashes of absurdity, pillowy melodies and kaleidoscopic lollipops that are bound to melt and stick as soon as you get close. Joined by a collective of musicians that include Gianlorenzo Nardi (Lac Observation, Il Gran Diavolato, Rawarr), Simone del Deo, and Francesco Esposito, Lucia Sole 's songs are laced with mystique and a raw organic sound that depends, for this chapter, on a rotating trunk of instruments (glockenspiel, flute, organ, clarinet, musical saw, melodica) where subtlety and spontaneity are often combined resulting in a bizarre and oddly functional marriage. You often get the impression that just the wind and the swaying of trees would be enough soundscape for them to create timeless melodies and woven patterns. The lyrics not only paint a bucolic setting or a nostalgic elegy but they wedge simple nuggets into the psyche, seeds of a forgotten world that still ring true in any outsider cosmos. Tempos flutter and pitch comes and goes carrying a melancholy pin-pointed across the recordings, a bewildering atmosphere permeating the 14-track collection. Medieval folklore for the dawn of AM Radio or simply a zonked out semi-pagan collective that treads the fine line between the surreal and the pastoral. Innocence and mischief flow into a beautiful collection of celestial free-form children's folk hymns.

2025 restock. "One of the most revered, reviled and talked about records in all Australian music history, I'm Stranded by The Saints finally gets the vinyl box set treatment. A joint collaboration between In The Red, Universal Music Australia, and spearheaded by Feel Presents and Saints founder Ed Kuepper, the deluxe edition of I'm Stranded features four vinyl LPs covering all the band's studio and live recordings from 1976 thru 1977 and includes: the iconic debut album remastered for vinyl for the first time in over forty years; A five-song live performance from Paddington Town Hall Sydney 3/4/1977, appearing on vinyl for the first time; A full live performance from the Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival, London November 1977, appearing on vinyl for the first time; All three tracks from the 1977 This Perfect Day 12-inch single and all four tracks from the 1977 1-2-3-4 double 7-inch single; The previously unreleased 1976 demo mix of the full I'm Stranded album. In addition to all that vinyl, the set also features a twenty-eight page 12"x12" photo essay of the band covering their origins from 1973 through the end of'77, an authorized band history, an 8"x10" 1976 promo photo, and a I'm Stranded sticker."

2025 repress. Originally released on Lovely Music in 1998. Double CD of all five of Elaine Radigue's songs in tribute to the Tibetan saint and poet from the 11th century. Two of the tracks dates from Radigue's first release in 1983, two are previously unreleased and the final 62-minute track was previously issued as a sole CD in 1987. The material is performed by Radigue (synthesizer and recording), Robert Ashley (English voice), and Lama Kunga Rinpoche (Tibetan voice). Radigue was born in France and has studied under Pierre Shaeffer and Pierre Henry; her music has an extremely organic and mystical electronics vibe, and has been previously documented on Phill Niblock's XI label, as well as Metamkine and Lovely. Milarepa is a great saint and poet of Tibet who lived in the 11th century. Through years dedicated to meditation and related practices in the solitude of the mountains, Milarepa achieved the highest attainable illumination and the mental power that enabled him to guide innumerable disciples. His ability to present complex teachings in a simple, lucid style is astonishing. He had a fine voice and loved to sing. When his patrons and disciples made a request or asked him a question, he answered in spontaneously composed free-flowing poems or lyric songs. It is said that he composed 100,000 songs to communicate his ideas in his teachings and conversations.

2025 restock; transparent red and opaque yellow vinyl. "Devo, captured live in Oakland, performing early experimental tracks written between 1974 and 1977, prior to any label deal or public success. No matter how messy, beginnings are exciting. Especially when what happens next endures the test of time. For Devo, the beginning happened in the basements and garages of Akron, Ohio. The songs they wrote were raw and unfiltered with no commercial intent. They called it Hardcore Devo. Performing 21 oddities, this is a tribute to departed, original Devo bandmate, Robert 'Bob 2' Casale. Recorded live on June 28, 2014 at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. This repress is on red (disc 1) and yellow (disc 2) and is limited to 500 copies."

2025 restock. "This whole project grew out of a song called 'Cycles Of You', which I had written around 2000-2001 with the guitarist and bassist of my band at the time, Easy. The chord progression and vocal melody really reminded me of Joe Bataan, and it occurred to me that it wouldn't be impossible to get him into the studio to do a guest vocal if we ever recorded it. I had met Bataan a few years before at Nuyorican Poets Cafe in my neighborhood. Around this time Bataan was playing out again, so I went to the show to see him and find out if he'd be interested in doing some vocals with us. He was agreeable, so we decided to turn it into a Joe Bataan session and do 'Cycles Of You'. When I got the opportunity from Vampisoul to do a full album, I was hoping Bataan and I could write some songs together, but our schedules proved tough to coordinate. I figured the best way to go about it was to do most of the work and just have him come sing on it. The rhythm section was a band called TransLove Airways that I formed in 2002. To this core group I added pieces from a few other local bands: The Middle Initials, who are a great Temptations/Main Ingredient-style vocal group, and members of an incredible Latin band called Grupo Latin Vibe, who were responsible for almost all the percussion and the vibraphone solo on 'I'm The Fool Pt. 2'. There was also some fine trombone playing by Aaron Johnson of Antibalas and great flute work by Neal Sugarman and my cousin Sonny. Preparing for Call My Name, I listened to a lot of different records from the mid to late '70s. It has now been over ten years since the completion of this record, and so much has changed. The Call My Name sessions took place when Daptone had just moved to Bushwick, its now-famous current location. Gabe Roth was my first call whenever I had any recording to do. He was yet to become the legendary figure at the center of the Daptone/Truth & Soul universe. He was just a humble guy with an incredible talent and an impeccable ear who made authentic sounding records with inexpensive analog gear." -- Daniel Collás, producer of Call My Name