Browse by Label: BASTA (NETHERLANDS)

Artist:	POPP, ANDRE
Title:	Delirium in Hi-Fi
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9031

"CD reissue of the legendary vinyl album with which French composer/arranger André Popp explored the boundaries of audio technology back in 1957. Old tunes like 'La Paloma' and Beer Barrel Polka' were reinvented by way of weird orchestrations and sound effects. The result: a milestone of musical creativity." Utilizing half-speed, double speed and backwards recording techniques, for trombones, vocals, vibraphones, flutes, saxes, trumpets, tape delay, accordion, etc. Following swiped from the pen of Johan Kugelberg!: "This record is the créme de la créme of fucked up musique concrete/easy listening records. Any avant garde tape manipulation technique to known to man in the late 50s is utilized to the fullest extent of the law of ridiculousness."

Artist:	SCOTT, RAYMOND
Title:	Manhattan Research Inc.
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	3LP
Price:	$46.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9045

2011 repress. Astounding triple LP version of this collection of unreleased electronic music from Raymond Scott's studio, from the 1950s & '60s. Previously issued as a double CD w/ book (BASTA 9078). This vinyl edition is presented as three LPs, each packaged and in its own full color gatefold jacket, all shrinkwrapped together (the LPs are not available individually). Contains all 69 tracks found on the CD version. "Over two hours of Raymond Scott's unreleased electronic recordings from the 1950s and '60s. In 1946, Scott formed Manhattan Research Inc. (MRI), billed as 'Designers and Manufacturers of Electronic Music and Musique Concrète Devices and Systems'. His colleague Robert Moog said, 'Scott was definitely in the forefront of developing electronic music technology and in the forefront of using it commercially as a musician.' Soothing Sounds For Baby was just a warm-up. With MRI, prepare yourself for something beyond the pleasant parameters of pop. Scott's electronic experiments took him to uncharted netherworlds. The results are intriguing, compelling, and occasionally diabolic. Where SSFB offers relaxing ambience, the grotesqueries of MRI promise a sonic excursion to the realms of weightlessness, moon-craters, and six-armed aliens with twittering antennae. The recordings range from detergent jingles to decidedly non-commercial -- uncommercial, even -- experimental adventures in sound sculpture."

Artist:	VA
Title:	Popular Electronics: The Singles Collection
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	4x7" BOX
Price:	$100.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9055

Limited, numbered edition of 1000 copies, housed in an embossed red velvet box. This boxset reissues 4 original 7"s as first issued by Philips in the late '50s/early '60s, with exact repros of the original picture sleeves, liner notes and labels. This music was previously compiled on the 4CD compilation box set Popular Electronics: Early Dutch Electronic Music From Philips Research Laboratories (1956-1963), as released on Basta in 2004. Historical, long desired early electronic music from legendary Dutch composers. Included here are: H. Badings, Electronic Ballet Music: Cain and Abel (1956); Kid Baltan, Electronic Popular Music (1957); Tom Dissevelt, Electronic Movements (1958); Tom Dissevelt/Kid Baltan, Electronic Music (1961). Expensive, but excessively deluxe and very costly to manufacture; a one-of-a-kind artifact that you will have a hard time believing really exists!

Artist:	SCOTT, RAYMOND
Title:	Soothing Sounds For Baby Vol 1 (1 to 6 Months)
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9064

Unbelievably great reissue of 3 LPs originally issued by Epic in 1963. Utilizing a proto-Electronium, oscillators, an Ondioline, tape echo and other primitive electronics, this is shockingly contemporary sounding and nothing like Scott's familiar cartoon-jazz and orchestral work. These CDs are legally licensed from Sony by the Dutch Basta label, sound stellar and are each packaged with a16 page booklet of notes & photographs. All three volumes are essential. "In retrospect, SSFB's simple, repetitive melodies and rhythms, intended to pacify infants, sound like--but pre-date--some of the gradually shifting, hypnotic dreamscapes composed by Phillip Glass and Terry Riley a few years later. They also foreshadow the 1970's electro-dance drones of Kraftwerk and Neu!.--Irwin Chusid. From the liner notes by Joachim Gurewitz: "Despite its title, Soothing Sounds for Baby isn't just for infants. When it was recorded by composer/electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott in 1962 or '63 it was intended for babies--but history has endowed this deceptively simple work with a broader significance. Had Scott known that this elemental music's appeal would continue as its target audience grew up, he might have entitled the series Sophisticated Sounds for Baby. Released on three long-playing records in conjunction with the Gesell Institute of Child Development, Inc., Soothing Sounds... was intended to serve as an 'aural toy' during the 'feeding, teething, play, sleep and fretful periods' of infants in three distinct age groups. The original album notes stressed that a young child's sense of hearing is better developed than many people realize. Besides soothing infants, these recordings were intended to be 'pleasantly stimulating.' Babies like 'new sights and new sounds,' explained a booklet slipped inside the LPs. Music consists of vibrations, which babies also like--'just vibrate baby's bed gently,' the booklet noted, and 'crying often stops.' By approximating 'the rhythmic tinkle of a music box' and 'a ticking watch held close to [the] ear,' SSFB provided a 'quieting' atmosphere of relaxation, warmth, and contentment. Ironically, these same qualities were embodied in a type of adult music that evolved in the 1970s and '80s. Brian Eno's 1975 album Discreet Music is often cited as the first deliberate attempt at 'ambient music' (though Eno cited No Pussyfooting, a 1973 collaboration with guitarist Robert Fripp, as a forerunner). This music, intended to pacify and mesmerize, later mixed with dance beats into such styles as ambient house, trance, techno, and trip-hop. Echoes can be heard in the recordings of Aphex Twin, The Orb, and Stereolab, among countless others. By Eno's definition of ambient, SSFB qualifies, while pre-dating Discreet Music by over a decade. This reissue re-introduces Scott's seminal work to new generations of fans, whether their listening is active or passive--and regardless of the age of those particular generations. In fact, since the original releases had such limited circulation, it could be claimed that this reissue is actually 'introducing' this music to the world. It was easy to overlook the first time around -- it doesn't scream for attention. So, relax. Listen closely. Or don't. In a world fraught with tension and insecurity, we trust you'll find Raymond Scott's gentle melodies and childlike rhythms to be soothing companions."

Artist:	SCOTT, RAYMOND
Title:	Reckless Nights And Turkish Delights
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$18.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9073

"A New & Improved remastered edition of the landmark 1992 Raymond Scott album Reckless Nights And Turkish Twilights. This 22-track CD includes the original Columbia Records 78 rpm tracks by the Raymond Scott Quintette, including all the major RSQ titles (esp. those used in WB cartoons) such as 'Powerhouse,' 'The Toy Trumpet,' 'The Penguin,' 'In an 18th Century Drawing Room,' 'Twilight in Turkey, etc. The album was produced by Irwin Chusid, with Hal Willner as Executive Producer. For the new version, all tracks were 24-bit remastered at Sony Studios, NYC (i.e., the latest technology was used to extract better sound from the original 1937-40 metal master discs); two tracks ('Oil Gusher' and 'At An Arabian House Party') have been replaced by different, newly-discovered -- and better -- performances; the liner notes have been corrected, updated, and expanded."

Artist:	SCOTT, RAYMOND
Title:	Manhattan Research Inc.
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$28.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9078

"Basta Records unveils Manhattan Research, Inc., a 2 CD, 69 track edition of over two hours of Raymond Scott's unreleased electronic recordings from the 1950s and 60s. These works feature such homebuilt Scott music machines as the Electronium, Clavivox, Circle Machine (early sequencer), Bandito the Bongo Artist, and more. The album includes maverick (and decidedly 'non-kiddie') collaborative works with pre-Muppet-era Jim Henson, and comes packaged in a 144-page, full-color, hard-bound book. The text features interviews with those who knew and worked with Scott (e.g., synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog, wife Mitzi Scott, electronic music authority Tom Rhea), along with countless previously unseen photos, lab notes, US patents, and scrapbook items. In 1946, Scott formed Manhattan Research Inc. (MRI), billed as 'Designers and Manufacturers of Electronic Music and Musique Concrète Devices and Systems'. His colleague Robert Moog said, 'Scott was definitely in the forefront of developing electronic music technology and in the forefront of using it commercially as a musician.' Soothing Sounds For Baby was just a warm-up. With MRI, prepare yourself for something beyond the pleasant parameters of pop. Scott's electronic experiments took him to uncharted netherworlds. The results are intriguing, compelling, and occasionally diabolic. Where SSFB offers relaxing ambience, the grotesqueries of MRI promise a sonic excursion to the realms of weightlessness, moon-craters, and six-armed aliens with twittering antennae. The 'personnel' on MRI consists of such Scott inventions as the Clavivox, a keyboard theremin that was later modified to produce an array of sounds similar to a synthesizer; the Electronium, an instantaneous composition-performance console (conceived in the '50s, developed in the '60s, used at Motown in the '70s); polyphonic sequencers, including his 'Circle Machine"; the Rhythm Modulator; and the Bass Line Generator; along with existing sound devices (e.g., the Ondioline and tone generators). The recordings range from detergent jingles to decidedly non-commercial -- uncommercial, even -- experimental adventures in sound sculpture. Aside from several samples of Scott re-tooling old titles (e.g., 1937's "The Toy Trumpet" and "Twilight in Turkey"), the remainder is new material. Also included, for the first time in commercial release, are several mid-1960s film soundtrack collaborations between Scott and Jim Henson."

Artist:	SCOTT, RAYMOND
Title:	The Chesterfield Arrangements
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9097

"Collection of originally unrecorded orchestral arrangements of classic Raymond Scott charts (newly recorded here by the 60-piece Metropole Orchestra featuring the Beau Hunks Saxtette) commissioned by Paul Whiteman from his orchestrating staff between 1937 & 1938. Scott-quintet Chestnuts such as 'Powerhouse' (two separate versions), 'Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals', 'The Toy Trumpet', 'Twilight in Turkey', and 'Reckless Night on Board an Ocean Liner' here get recontextualized into denser, sophisticated takes on the now-familiar themes & variations. Things get pretty 'lush' after a few tracks, but if you've waded in this deep into the Raymond Scott (kiddie) pool, you might as well touch the other end." -- Hrvatski.

Artist:	SCOTT & THE SECRET SEVEN, RAYMOND
Title:	The Unexpected
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9106

"In 1959, Raymond Scott assembled an anonymous all-star band and dubbed them The Secret Seven. With this group of top jazz players, he recorded the album The Unexpected. For nearly 45 years the identity of the Secret Seven line-up has remained a mystery, but as Nat Henthoff wrote in the liner notes, 'Jazz listeners should recognize the identity of the performers.' This is another CD in Basta's Essential Reissue series, complete with the original liner notes & original cover artwork."

Artist:	SCOTT QUINTETTE, RAYMOND
Title:	Microphone Music
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9109

". . A new collection of vintage 1930s Raymond Scott Quintette recordings, entitled Microphone Music...'The title refers to Scotts emphasis on the microphone as a 'seventh member' of his legendary six-man Quintette, and the mic's importance in helping Scott shape the recorded sound of his ensembles. The 42-track compilation will feature unreleased titles, radio performances, first-rate rehearsals, and out of print gems by the Raymond Scott Quintette, recorded between 1937 and 1939. The collection was mastered from discs preserved in the Scott archives."

Artist:	ELLIOT AND HIS SWINGING BIG, BIG BAND, DEAN
Title:	Zounds! What Sounds!
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9111

"Long-sought Bachelor Pad classic now on CD. Zounds! What Sounds!, the legendary 1963 album by Dean Elliot & His Swinging Big, Big Band, is now on CD as part of Basta's Essential Reissues series. The album is a wild collaboration between orchestra director Elliot and cartoon sound effects wizard Phil Kaye. The inspiration for Zounds! came when the L.A.-based bandleader was tooling around Woodland Hills, and stopped for a traffic light. His ears caught the rhythm of a cement mixer nearby, and he started snapping his fingers in synch with the mixer's gyrations. 'This has a terrific beat,' thought Elliot. 'How would it go with a melody?' Thus was born the woofer-wasting, tweeter-trashing Zounds! What Sounds!. Elliot's arrangements combine the orchestral explosiveness of Nelson Riddle with the percussive deviltry of Spike Jones: brass and reeds compete for soundspace against short-wave signals, mechanical teeth, squeaking doors, bowling balls, hoot owls, pogo stick springs and underwater detonations. The sound effects were courtesy of Phil Kaye, a sonic alchemist whose mayhem underscored Tom & Jerry cartoons. The golden age of bachelor pad music (1955-1965) was marked by clever and creative use of studio technology to enhance live performances. Measured against such hi-fi/stereo stalwarts from the period as Esquivel, The Three Suns, Enoch Light, and Dick Schory, Zounds! What Sounds! deserves landmark status. In a long writing, conducting and arranging career, Elliot composed scores for such films as The Phantom Tollbooth, High School Confidential (with Mamie Van Doren) and College Confidential (with Mamie Van Doren and Steve Allen). He also scored for such animated TV shows as Alvin & the Chipmunks, Bugs & Daffy, and Heathcliff, and for theatrical releases of Tom & Jerry cartoons directed by Chuck Jones. The master tape of Zounds! that Basta received from Capitol was in excellent condition. Inferior-quality bootlegs have been circulating for years, reflecting the collector's status of this legendary LP."

Artist:	PERREY & DAVID CHAZAM, JEAN JACQUES
Title:	Eclektronics
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9113

"The name Jean Jacques Perrey should be immediately familiar to electronic music fans, particularly those who are aware of the Moog synthesizer's golden age of the '60s and '70s, when Moog synthesizer records were plentiful in record stores. But unlike most of those LPs -- which usually covered other artists' tunes from the Beatles to Bacharach to Bach and beyond -- Perrey's albums were mostly filled with catchy, incredibly happy original tunes showcasing Perrey's wacky musical sense of humor. From 1966 to 1970, Perrey released four LPs for Vanguard -- two with arranger Kingsley, and two by himself as a solo artist. In addition to their records for Vanguard, during the early '60s, Perrey and Gershon Kingsley also created many commercials for radio and television. Around 1970, Perrey's contract with Vanguard ended, and he returned home to France. When Chazam became fascinated with Perrey's music, he sent a cassette of some of his own electronic music to Perrey, and proposed that they collaborate on an album. Perrey's reply was positive and said simply 'When, where and how?' Perrey joined Chazam in the studio, bringing his prepared tape loops (digitally loaded into his Kurzweil synthesizer/sampler), but bringing no actual tunes to record. Instead, he arrived with what he calls 'several cine-reels in my head.' These 'cine-reels,' as Perrey calls them, were little movies -- imaginary pictures and conceptual ideas that Perrey wanted to orchestrate with music. He would describe the feel of the music needed, and Chazam would come up with an appropriate rhythm track. David Chazam: 'This album was produced by a person who loves Jean Jacques' music -- me! I wanted to present his music with some nice modern technical tricks, but I also tried to recreate the classic analog sound of his Vanguard recordings. I wanted to help him create an album that I hoped would be timeless, and wouldn't sound dated many years from now.' Jean Jacques Perrey's music for Eclektronics is a perfect blend of the style of his classic '60s melodies blended with more modern, groove-oriented samples and production techniques."

Artist:	GURDJIEFF, GEORGE
Title:	Harmonic Development
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	3CD
Price:	$58.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9115

Subtitled: The Complete Harmonium Recordings 1948-1949. 2 regular CDs, an MP3-disc (with 19 hours of music & visuals), plus a 144 page illustrated paperback book on Gurdjieff and his harmonium recordings. This is the first release of this music (there have been numerous releases of Gurdjieff's earlier piano music from the 1920s, usually performed by Thomas de Hartmann), documented to the usual high Basta standards. "Basta Audio Visuals is proud to announce the release of George Gurdjieff's complete harmonium recordings. In September 2000, at the instigation of producer Gert-Jan Blom, Basta Music obtained the license of the 44 master-tapes containing Gurdjieff's complete recorded output from Mme. Sylvie Anastasieff, widow of Valentin Anastasieff, Gurdjieff's nephew. The 113 recordings on these tapes are sequenced in four series: I: First Series - recorded between 1 April and 21 July 1949; II: Mesoteric Series - recorded between 22 July and 18 August 1949; III: American Series - recorded between 25 August and 27 September 1949; IV: Second Series - recorded between 27 September and 16 October 1949. These were recorded at Gurdjieff's apartment in Paris. Additionally, the very first recordings of Gurdjieff's harmonium music -- made at the Wellington Hotel, New York, between 25 December 1948 and early February 1949 -- have been added to this collection with the consent of the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York. These New York recordings also include several talks and stories as told by Gurdjieff to his pupils.
An addenda section containing several interesting, albeit unlabeled pieces from the original wire recordings brings the grand total to 136 recordings, over 19 hours of music, all brought together in chronological sequence on a single disc in 'MP3' format. As a special bonus, a short 9-minute film made by Evelyn Sutta on several automobile trips with Gurdjieff during the summer of 1949 has been added. This disc will play on any computer with MP3 software installed and on most recent DVD players. An extra 2 CD set in standard audio format contains a representative compilation of the recordings; these discs will play on any CD player. This unique collection comes with an attractive and profusely illustrated 144-page book with many previously unpublished photographs of Gurdjieff and recollections of people who were present when these recordings were made. It further contains several chapters by Gert-Jan Blom about the process of selecting and sequencing the tracks, audio restoration of the recordings, the history of Gurdjieff's harmonium music, transcriptions of Gurdjieff's stories and an extensive track notes-section. The book has a preface by King Crimson guitarist, Guitar Craft instructor and Soundscaper Robert Fripp."

Artist:	SCOTT, RAYMOND
Title:	Kodachrome: Compositions For Orchestra By Raymond Scott
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$18.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9118

"Kodachrome is a sparkling collection of Raymond Scott's idiosyncratic orchestral music, performed by the 60-piece Metropole Orchestra. All compositions make their CD debut here. With Kodachrome, the Raymond Scott legacy grows yet again. After Scott disbanded his legendary 'Quintet' in 1939, he formed the first of his many orchestras. Scott continued to compose, this time for a larger canvas, and some of his more historically fascinating work often went commercially unrecorded, performed only on radio (and preserved on transcription discs made by Scott himself). Kodachrome was produced by Beau Hunks leader Gert-Jan Blom, and features exceptional cover artwork by Kellie Strøm, and liner notes by illustrious author and jazz historian Will Friedwald."

Artist:	VARIOUS ARTISTS
Title:	Popular Electronics
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	4CD BOX
Price:	$55.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9141

Subtitled: Early Dutch Electronic Music from Philips Research Laboratories 1956-1963. Featuring the complete electronic works from Kid Baltan & Tom Dissevelt, film music by Dick Raaijmakers and ballet music by Henk Badings. Basta are well known for the mind-bending packages, but this one tops them all. Four CDs of historical, long desired early electronic music from legendary Dutch composers, (in association with Philips) packaged in a deluxe box with 8(!) individual booklets of liner notes and photos, etc. (180 total pages). Plus a series of fold-out posters of electronic scores, stickers, etc. Simply over the top. Fans of Pierre Henry, Jean-Jacques Perrey, Raymond Scott's electronic music, etc. -- should all investigate at full speed. "A multi-CD release that will give a historic overview of Dutch popular and applied electronic music from 1956-63. The CD's contain music from Henk Badings, Kid Baltan, and Tom Dissevelt. Besides tracks that have been released on vinyl in the late 50's / early 60's on Philips (Kain en Abel, Song of the Second Moon, Evolutionen, Electronic Movements, Contrasts, Mechanical Motions, Pianoforte, Intersection, Fanatasy in Orbit), many never before published material has been re-discovered and restored for this project. Graphic design by Schreuders and Sonja Hamel. The text includes contributions by Rudie Kagie, book editor is Irwin Chusid."

Artist:	SCHWITTERS READ BY JAAP BLONK, KURT
Title:	Ursonate
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9145

"In 1979, Blonk first heard the ursonate as read by Dutch actor Hans Hausdorfer. Over the following years he took to learning the piece by heart, bit by bit, in such a way that each segment acquired an individual meaning for him. For a long time, the Schwitters estate did not give permission to issue recordings of his works. Only in 2002 the ban was lifted and the performing and publishing rights were turned over to a foundation based in the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, the Kurt und Ernst Schwitters Stiftung. This meant that, finally, Blonk's 1986 studio recording could be made available to the public. On the present CD, Blonk decided to add a recent recording of the sonata. For reasons of contrast he chose a live recording from 2003, made in a richly reverberant space. It is complete and unedited, spiced with the inevitable odd slip of the tongue that helps keeping a live performance alive." Published with 36 page booklet, including complete libretto.

Artist:	RAAIJMAKERS, DICK
Title:	The Complete Tape Music of Dick Raaijmakers
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	3CD/BOOK
Price:	$30.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9156

3CD and extensive 124-page book. "In 1998, The Complete Tape Music of Dick Raaijmakers was published by Stichting Donemus under the label NEAR (Dutch electro-acoustic repertoire). When The Complete Tape Music of Dick Raaijmakers ran out of print, Donemus was happy that Basta Music was interested to produce a second edition, and offered full co-operation. It fits in well with Basta's CD projects Popular Electronics: Early Dutch Electronic Music from Philips Research Laboratories 1956-1963 and STRP1: Reactions to the Music of Dick Raaijmakers. Moreover, Basta Music and NEAR/Donemus will continue the cooperation with other Dutch electroacoustic music CD projects in the future. This second edition (2006) has a new look. Only the English translations of the texts have been included, the original Dutch texts have been left out. The foreword and credits have been adapted. For the rest, however, nothing has changed: audio and texts have remained the same as in the first edition. The work list does not go beyond 1997, and we decided to leave it that way. However, Dick Raaijmakers made some musical-theatrical compositions after that time, such as Proefneming Met Een Tabakspijp (1998), De Weergave (2000), Konzert Für... (2000) and Ritual Moment (2005). He was awarded the Johan Wagenaarprijs 2004 for his entire oeuvre and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leiden in 2005. In 2007, a monograph."

Artist:	GURDJIEFF, GEORGE
Title:	Oriental Suite: The Complete Orchestral Music 1923-1924
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	4CD/BOOK
Price:	$100.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9165

We're always running out of words to complement Basta's packaging, but this is really something: beautifully printed 255-page hardcover book, with 4 CDs in a supplementary folder. The music here was recorded in 2001 by the Metropole Orchestra, conducted by Jan Stulen. "Between 13 and 25 December 1923 the Gurdjieff Institute gave a series of eight public demonstrations of the Sacred Gymnastics and Movements at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris. The music, composed by Gurdjieff to accompany these dances, was orchestrated by Thomas de Hartmann and performed by an orchestra of thirty-five musicians. In January 1924, Gurdjieff and his pupils sailed to America for a series of public demonstrations in New York, Boston and Chicago. At Gurdjieff's request, de Hartmann adapted the full orchestral scores for a smaller ensemble that would accompany the demonstrations there. The four CDs enclosed with this book contain both the Paris orchestrations and the American versions, all recorded for the first time by the Metropole Orchestra and the Little Orchestra. An addenda section features music that was intended for Gurdjieff's unfinished ballet 'The Struggle of the Magicians.' In order to complete the reconstruction of the orchestral Gurdjieff/de Hartmann music, the Oriental Suite, compiled by de Hartmann in 1956, is included as well. The 255-page book is profusely illustrated with many new photos and unique historical documents. It further contains recollections of people who were present when these demonstrations were given, as well as a sampling of the extensive press coverage that the Gurdjieff Institute generated during its first (and final) public appearance."

Artist:	VA
Title:	STRP1 - Reactions to the Music of Dick Raaijmakers
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9166

"STRP is based in the technological area of Eindhoven. Strijp-S, the characteristic industrial inheritance from Philips, forms the cradle of this region. On this spot, revolutionary inventions which have had an enormous impact on several art forms, were realized. Electronic music composer Dick Raaijmakers completed the first electronic music album almost 50 years ago at Strijp-S. His work has been remixed or reinterpreted by renowned contemporary musicians from different scenes. The result of it has brought out on this CD." Artists include: Keith Fullerton Whitman, Mouse on Mars, Jason Forrest, Phantom Orchid (Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori), David Grubbs, Yutaka Makino, Thurston Moore, Atom TM, Isolée, Beautyon, Kettel and Secede, Edwin van der Heide, Taeji Sawai and Vert.

Artist:	BADINGS, HENK
Title:	More Electronic Music
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$25.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9172

"For years we have heard little of the music by Henk Badings, in any case in the Netherlands. That is why the four-CD box set Popular Electronics that was released by Basta Music in 2004, came as such a pleasant surprise. For this overview included a few of the early electronic compositions by Badings: the ballet music 'Kain en Abel,' commissioned by the Holland Festival 1956, 'Evolutionen' from 1958 -- another work for ballet -- and the 'Variations Electroniques, music for an animation film from 1957. Thus these compositions -- that up until now were only known to a handful of collectors and experts -- have been made accessible in the best way possible. Now there is another exemplary release with compositions that Badings realised in the studio of the Philips Research Laboratories. This release not only documents the history of electronic music, but also open up the oeuvre of Henk Badings... Upon his death in 1987, composer Henk Badings (b. 1907) left behind an eclectic oeuvre: symphonies, operas, sonatas, cantatas and compositions for brass bands. He also earned the distinction of having composed what is considered the first electronic music composition in Dutch history, the 'radiophonic opera' 'Orestes' (1954)." Includes 32-page booklet with pictures and detailed notes on each composition.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Anthology Of Dutch Electronic Tape Music, Volume 1 1955-1966
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9182

"The two-volume Anthology of Dutch Electronic Tape Music was originally released in the late 1970s on limited edition vinyl by the Donemus Composers' Voice label. Compiled by electronica pioneer Dick Raaijmakers, the series offered an authoritative survey of electronic tape music composed in the Netherlands from 1955 to 1977. Those LPs are long out of print and highly sought by collectors. Basta has now reissued this historic series on CD. In 2004, Basta collaborated with NEAR (the Nederlands Elektro-Akoestisch Repertoirecentrum) and Donemus on Popular Electronics: Early Dutch Electronic Music from Philips Research Laboratories. This 4CD boxed set with seven booklets presented vintage tape music recorded from 1956 to 1963 by Dutch composers Dick Raaijmakers (aka Kid Baltan), Tom Dissevelt, and Henk Badings. In Holland, as in other countries, electronic music produced up to 1966 was often prepared for concerts. After 1966, electronic music expanded as advanced computer technology was developed, live electronic music received more attention, electronic music was accorded a place in conservatory and university curricula, and private studios were set up by and for groups of improvising musicians. Therefore 1966-1967, a pivotal period in the history of Dutch electronic music, marks the dividing line of these collections. Volume 1 includes tape music from 1955 to 1966, and Volume 2 documents tape music from the 'open studios' from 1966 to 1977. The new Anthology reissues were compiled from the original source tape recordings, which have been well-preserved and meticulously remastered. The packages (each contains two CDs) include the original liner notes from the Composers' Voice releases, including an extensive historical overview by Raaijmakers. These releases launch a series of new anthologies spotlighting electro-acoustic music composed and recorded in the Netherlands during this seminal era. Electronic musicians have been intensely active in the Netherlands since 1955, and the variety of this activity is reflected in the large number of studios devoted to electronic music. Anthology Vol. 1 illustrates both the work of legendary studios and of individual composers -- the latter represented by their earliest and most characteristic pieces. The majority of the works are exercises and étude-style compositions." Artists include Hans Kox, Ton de Leeuw, Jan Boerman, Jaap Spek, Rudolf Escher, Henk Badings, Dick Raaijmakers, Ton de Leeuw, Frits Weiland, Tom Dissevelt, Axel Meijer, Robbert Jan de Neeve, Peter Schat, Ton Bruynèl, Bilthoven, Will Eisma, Klaus Gorter, Luctor Ponse and Berend Giltay.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Anthology of Dutch Electronic Tape Music, Volume 2 1966-1977
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9183

"This second volume of the Anthology of Electronic Tape Music contains works composed after 1966, when electronic music broadened its horizons and established links with other disciplines, as studios opened their portals to influences and involvement from outside. Although electronic music after 1966 became very fragmented and took many new forms in Holland, Volume 2 of the Anthology aims to provide an overall survey of pure tape music. Other movements, such as computer music, and their links with each other are discussed in the liner notes. We have attempted to offer groundbreaking and influential works as well as first electronic works by pioneering composers. Volume 2 presents composers not represented on Volume 1." Jacob Cats, Tera de Marez Oyens, Jos Kunst, Gilius van Bergeijk, Frans van Doorn, Thomas Arras, Simeon ten Holt, Victor Wentink, Louis Andriessen, Peter Smith and Tony van Campen.

Artist:	SCOTT AND HIS ORCHESTRA, RAYMOND
Title:	This Time With Strings
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9187

"Raymond Scott's reputation as a 20th century musical maverick has grown in the 21st century. Sometimes considered the 'Man Who Made Cartoons Swing' because dozens of his melodies were enshrined in classic Warner Bros. animation of the 1940s and '50s, Raymond Scott was a man of numerous accomplishments: chamber-jazz composer, big band leader, electronica pioneer, intrepid audio engineer, music visionary. Scott's 100th birthday is celebrated in 2008, and Basta is planning a series of compilations of unreleased archival recordings, reissues, and remix projects. Scott (1908-1994), who was both musician and inventor, musically re-invented eleven of his compositions for full orchestra and strings on the 1957 album This Time With Strings. It is now being released as part of Basta's Essential Reissue Series -- the first time the album has appeared on CD. Many of these tunes were originally recorded by Scott's novelty jazz six-man Quintette in the late 1930s; others date from the 1940s and '50s. All get a spectacular makeover under the baton of the legendary maestro. This Time With Stringscontains some of Scott's most famous works, including Quintette favorites 'Powerhouse,' 'The Toy Trumpet,' and 'Twilight in Turkey,' retooled for an expanded setting. 'There are many of the old Quintette things in this LP,' said the composer in the original liner notes. 'Also some older things for dance band, material written for Broadway and the screen, and some of my more recent writing. Indeed, a potpourri given hi-fidelity dressing, and a certain vividness in string treatment.' The CD booklet includes the complete original liner notes by jazz historian Burt Korall. The album was recorded in glorious monophonic sound, which is retained on CD. No artificial processing. Crank up the hi-fi!"

Artist:	HARRIS AND THE POWERHOUSE FIVE, DAVE
Title:	Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9189

"Dave Harris played tenor sax in Raymond Scott's legendary late 1930s six-man 'Quintette.' Over a long career as a sought-after session musician in New York and L.A., Harris (1913-2002) released only one record as a bandleader. That was Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals in 1958, and it was a tribute to his old boss, for whom he held deep respect. Harris and the Powerhouse Five recaptured the manic elegance and rhythmic wit of twelve classic Scott tunes. Nostalgia was the inspiration, but sharp musicianship and a celebratory gusto mark this album as a missing link in the Scott legacy. Basta presents the first CD reissue of this long out of print album. When Raymond Scott organized his Quintette, he recruited CBS Radio Orchestra compatriot Harris. The group was short-lived -- in 1939, Scott expanded the group into a swing orchestra. However, the original RSQ created a sensation during its brief existence, and left a lasting impact on music history. Scott composed 'portraits in music,' programmatic novelties with eccentric titles like 'War Dance for Wooden Indians,' 'Reckless Night on Board an Ocean Liner,' and 'In An 18th Century Drawing Room.' A dozen tunes from this group's repertoire were later adapted by Warner Bros. music director Carl Stalling in hundreds of classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Thus was the RSQ's legacy -- quite apart from the bandleader's own efforts -- preserved for future generations. One title, 'Powerhouse,' has become a staple of cartoon fare, having been used in The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, and Animaniacs, as well as in forty anarchic WB shorts and several major motion pictures. In addition to leading a succession of orchestras, Scott composed a Broadway musical in 1946, conducted orchestra on TV's Your Hit Parade in the 1950s, and was a pioneer in electronic music development. But in late-life interviews, he professed that his 1937-1939 Quintette was his favorite band. That opinion was doubtless shared by Harris, who always spoke fondly of working under Scott. Such was Harris' affection for this band that in 1958 he organized a sextet, called his sidemen the Powerhouse Five, and recorded an album of RSQ favorites in modern high fidelity. After the RSQ, Harris remained with Scott's first swing band, then compiled an impressive résumé as a session player on radio and TV, and in the recording studio. In a career that extended into the 1970s, he worked with Billie Holiday, Gene Krupa, Eddie Cantor, Mickey Katz, Stan Webb, Russ Case, Bob Haggart and countless others. As a director with a musical pedigree, Harris, on Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals, maintains the high standards set by his old boss, recapturing the spunk, energy, and humor of the original RSQ. While there's an obvious element of nostalgia at play, don't underestimate the joyfulness and craftsmanship of these performances."

Artist:	JENKINS, GORDON
Title:	Seven Dreams
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9190

"Gordon Jenkins (1910-1984) was a renaissance music figure: composer, arranger, conductor, and musician; recording artist, label executive, producer, talent scout, and hitmaker. He worked with such legends as Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Nat 'King' Cole, and Harry Nilsson. Yet one resume entry has remained quietly entombed: the 1953 concept album Seven Dreams. An extended philosophical oratorio, the work is both powerful and strikingly idiosyncratic. It is also immensely entertaining, and its wry observations are timeless. This Basta Essential Reissue contains the entire 1953 album as it was originally released. The CD booklet includes passages from Goodbye, a biography of Jenkins by his son, journalist Bruce Jenkins. With Seven Dreams, Jenkins arguably emerged as the godfather of what became later known as 'concept albums,' a program of musical compositions thematically linked in storytelling fashion on a long-playing record. While music-cum-plot defines Broadway and occasionally Hollywood (as well as opera), original cast albums are audio derivatives of theatrical or cinematic productions. Seven Dreams existed on a 12" vinyl platter and -- other than on the composer's written score -- nowhere else. Until now, it hasn't even appeared on CD. Seven Dreams was radio theater on record--seven symphonic playlets composed, authored, arranged, and conducted by Jenkins. In contrast to the gloss and frothiness of the composer's earlier Manhattan Tower suite, Seven Dreams is haunting, in parts even disturbing. Where the former gazes outward at the glittering spires of Gotham, the latter glares inward at the dark night of the soul. Seven Dreams explores Big Issues sound-staged as cower-under-the-blanket hallucinations, segueing from fantasy to fantasy, and sometimes veering into confusion and surrealism. The libretto is fraught with cynicism (blustery politicians; cocktail party braggadocio), existential emptiness (a cemetery caretaker; atheism), and sneering social satire. The seven vignettes are termed 'dreams' only because the word 'nightmares' in the title was probably deemed a marketing turnoff. Seven Dreams has long been overlooked as a little-referenced entry in the Jenkins discography, overshadowed by a Gibraltar-scale catalog of monumental works. That it has remained a footnote in the Olympian legacy of such an influential figure is an inexplicable historical oversight. On the eve of the Jenkins centennial, behold the work; listen and draw your own conclusions. Seven Dreams is not dreamy, and it won't induce slumber. Its underlying moods may actually interfere with a good night's sleep. Composed, arranged, and conducted by Gordon Jenkins. Produced for reissue by Irwin Chusid."

Artist:	GARCIA AND HIS ORCHESTRA, RUSS
Title:	Fantastica
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	CD
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9191

"Fantastica is a 1950s exotica classic that stylistically defines the genre 'space age pop.' The era of manned space travel began in 1959, but in musical terms, composers had been exploring interplanetary vistas for centuries. Garcia's accomplishment was to merge compositional sophistication and the technology of the modern transistorized recording studio with cleverly created special effects. From the first track, 'Into Space,' Garcia sets the controls for interstellar overdrive and never looks back. His pan-galactic portraits shuttle the listener from planet to planet, as moods shift from mysterious to exhilarating. This Basta Essential Reissue contains the entire 1959 album as it was originally released. The liner notes include remembrances written in 2008 by the composer Russell Garcia (b. 1916, Oakland, California). Garcia explained, 'We had no computers to make effects, so I recorded a musical saw struck with a soft mallet; blew a straw into gelatin water; vibrated a kitchen knife off the edge of a table; tapped wood blocks; hit a gong while moving a microphone from the center to the edge. I recorded these sounds at different speeds, some of them backwards through feedback echo. Then I wrote them into the orchestral score.' Garcia has had a long, distinguished career in music as a trumpeter, songwriter, bandleader, conductor, arranger, TV and film score composer, teacher, and theorist. He has worked with Henry Mancini, Harry James, Oscar Peterson, Louis Armstrong, Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. In 2005 the L.A. Jazz Institute honored Garcia for his over 60 years of contributions to jazz."

Artist:	VA
Title:	Anthology Of Dutch Electronic Music 1999-2010
Label:	BASTA (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	BASTA 9304

"This double CD, Anthology of Dutch Electronic Music 1999-2010, displays the diversity of the more recent Dutch electronic music: sharpening, statics, dramatic, loud, subtle, detailed.... 26 tracks represent different to approach tape music, concert music for accoustical instruments and electronics, live-electronics, sound installations and environmentals, electronic music theatre, composition and improvisation. The CD features recordings by Thomas Ankersmit, Justin Bennett, Jan-Bas Bollen, Bosch & Simons, Marko Ciciliani, Cathy van Eck, Huib Emmer, Huba de Graaff, Edwin van der Heide, Robert van Heumen, Rozalie Hirs, Luc Houtkamp, Alison Isadora, Bas Kalle, Yannis Kyriakides, Anne La Berge, Roderik de Man, Juan Parra Cancino, Gert-Jan Prins, Joel Ryan, Wouter Snoei, Kees Tazelaar, Hans Timmermans, René Uijlenhoet, Henry Vega and Michel Waisvisz. An essay and annotations by Jacqueline Oskamp compliment the music for this release."

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