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.
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.
"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."
"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."
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.
"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)."
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."
DADAWAH
Peace And Love - Wadadasow LP
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.
VA
Box of Delights: Vol. 1 LP
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.
Paris' Latency presents Estradas, an electrifying dance music album by multi-instrumentalist Valentina Magaletti and Afro-Portuguese beat-maker NÃdia. The album follows the footsteps of Moritz von Oswald, Laurel Halo, Duval Timothy, Angel Bat Dawid, Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, and more on the French label. Estradas ("roads" in Portuguese), born from the Sicilian heat and refined under English rain, transcends cultural and environmental barriers, showcasing the duo's rhythmic expertise and connection through intricate beats and infectious melodies. The album celebrates the universal language of music, immersing listeners in a world where rhythm reigns supreme and movement is inevitable. NÃdia and Valentina continuously meet "on the road," sharing a sonic adaptation to the urgency and context of different environments. Their exchange of vibes and beats resonates with all these diverse places. Produced by Tom Halstead (Raime/Moin), Estradas masterfully blends syncopated drum patterns, pulsating marimba lines, and melodic interludes.
Christine Perfect moved to center stage, with the band successfully re-recording material from her Chicken Shack and solo LP. Also included are songs from the Then Play On, Kiln House (TV documentary) and Future Games albums. Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan feature extensively, as does Bob Welch on a specially recorded version of should- have-been-a-hit single "Dragonfly." Comes with extensive sleeve notes including full recording details.
Unavailable for almost 30 years in its own right, this collection from the Cold Spring archive has been repackaged and remastered with new art. This classic album exists as a document of the soundtrack work Psychic TV created for the many films and videos of Derek Jarman. Another demonstration of why Psychic TV were one of the most important groups in the world. The titular track, "Prayer For Derek," is intended as an invocationary prayer, based on Tibetan rituals; a collage of sounds including field recordings of the lulling waves running aground on the shingle beach opposite Jarman's Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, Kent alongside bird song, crying babies, and massed ritualized chants to aid the late film director in his after-life journeys. Other tracks feature elongated drones, washes of dissonance, melancholic guitar chime, evocative piano scoring, Burroughs cut-ups, gothic chants, and familiar snarling gods. CD is featured in matt digipak with eight-page fold-out booklet, with detailed liner notes by Genesis P-Orridge (1997); Astorical anecdotes and background facts for completeness.
CRAMPS, THE
Psychedelic Safari (Live Seattle, May '82) LP
"One of the Cramps' finest live albums. Recorded in Seattle in May 1982, it shows the band at its peak, with Kid Congo Powers joining the band on guitar, performing the best of their newly released Psychedelic Jungle. More tracks from the first album and some select '50s and '60s punk tracks."
"Grayfolded is literally a hundred or so great nights rolled into one extraordinary extended high. Gorgeous sonic origami." --Rolling Stone
"An extended time-warped psychedelic jam that is meticulously hallucinatory." --New York Times
This deluxe 2025 vinyl edition of The Grateful Dead's Grayfolded was pressed at Optimal in Germany, known for their high-end audiophile pressings. In 1993 Canadian composer John Oswald was invited by Phil Lesh to transform historical recordings of the Dead into something new, along the lines of what they had attempted in their Anthem of the Sun album. Oswald chose to focus on the Dead's Dark Star, which, over the course of a quarter century, they had expanded and transformed in myriad ways in live performances. Oswald was given access to the Vaults, where over the course of a month, with the guidance of the Dead's resident archivist Dick Latvala, he collected 105 performances, which through the following year he formed, folded, fondled, and finessed into a kaleidoscopic unstuck-in-time documentary of the Grateful Dead in some of their most psychedelic, symphonic, and rocking excursions -- a singular 110-minute fantasy performance. Here it is, Deadheads, the ultimate Dark Star. Deluxe audiophile pressing cut in Toronto under the watchful ears of John Oswald. Elaborately printed packaging in a heavy-duty triple gatefold jacket includes liner notes by musicologist Rob Bowman featuring interviews with Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Robert Hunter plus six "time maps" which chart the source concerts of Dark Star. Music performed by The Grateful Dead (c) Grateful Dead Productions Inc. & Ice Nine Publishing Inc. Taken from over 100 performances of Dark Star recorded between 1968 and 1993. Built, layered and "folded" to produce one large, new re-composed Dark Star. Original recordings of the Grateful Dead in performance have been processed using Plunderphonic techniques. John Oswald is best known as the creator of the music genre Plunderphonics, an appropriative form of recording studio creation which he began to develop in the late sixties. This has got him in trouble with, and also generated invitations from major record labels and musical icons. Meanwhile, in the '90s he began, with several commissions from the Kronos Quartet, to compose scores for classical musicians and orchestras, the latest of which is an orchestral work, commissioned by the BBC, combining aspects of The Beatles, Gyrgy Ligeti, and Terry Riley. He also improvises on the saxophone in various settings, dances, and is a successful visual artist, best known for the chronophotic series Stillnessence.
Fully licensed, all tracks remastered. Re-issued for the first time on vinyl, this obscure dub masterpiece -- originally available on the small imprint Silver Camel in 1981 -- is still considered one of the best efforts by brilliant singer and producer Al Campbell. More magic at the controls with the key presence of Barnabas and Maxie at Channel One and Scientist tracks mixed at King Tubby's studio. Dig better with dub originators!
"In the spring of 1983, taking advantage of the Italian dates of the European tour, the quintet agreed to record some pieces at Studio Cavalieri in Bari. A vibrant quintet with Ricky Ford on tenor saxophone, Jack Walrath on trumpet, Bob Neloms on piano and Cameron Brown on bass in the thankless role of substituting Mingus. This is how Dionysius was born, an album showing a vital and creative ensemble in each of its components. Dionysius was the last album recorded in studio in his own name who finished his days on earth because of a stroke in New York on March 15th, 1988."
LP version. Welcome to Bobby's Place, the new split personality album from long time musical mischief maker and cultural provocateur Bobby Conn! Side A finds Bobby living in a tent somewhere on the astral plane surrounded by synthesizers, woodwinds, hand drums and a pulsating psychedelic fog. Planet Earth and the temporal plane are only faintly visible in the distance. Bobby is joined by his partner in crime Monica BouBou on violin, and DJ LeDeuce on unknown electronics making three long form journeys through polyrhythmic soundscapes. Master percussionist Michael Zerang (Peter Brötzmann Tentet, among many others), virtuoso flautist Constance Volk (Ensemble Dal Niente, Twyla Tharp Dance), and bassoonist Airan Wright (Mucca Pazza) come along for the ride. While sonic exploration has always been an aspect of Bobby's music, this is his purest expression to date. Side One finds Bobby starring in an alternative reality workplace sitcom also called "Bobby's Place." In each episode Bobby starts a new small business, like a restaurant or a nail salon, with a team of puppets, but the business inevitably fails and ends in bankruptcy by the end of the show. Bobby sings odes to blind (emphasis on blind) optimism in the face of rising Fascism and the decadent decay of late capitalism, joined once again by Monica BouBou and his band from 2020's Recovery release (TR 450CD): Josh Johannpeter, Jim "Dallas" Cooper, Devin Davis, and Billie Howard. The album was recorded at Bobby's home studio in Chicago over the summer of 2024 and mixed by the brilliant Cooper Crain (Bitchin' Bajas). Bobby Conn is a vocalist, songwriter, and performance artist working in Chicago. He came out of the Chicago "No-Wave" noise and performance scene in the mid-90's but quickly developed a reputation for extravagantly excessive performances, satirically political lyrics, and experimental, electro glam art rock. He collaborates with his partner and violinist Monica BouBou, DJ and sound designer Adam "DJ LeDeuce" Greuel, longtime rhythm section Jim "Dallas" Cooper and Josh Johannpeter, as well as many talented players in the Chicago classical, jazz and improvisational scene. With Monica, he often performs as a minimalist electro duo with sequenced backing tracks, and also performs at larger events with his seven-piece Superband.
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