New Releases for April 2008

Index of New Releases for April 2008

Artist:	SMASH TV
Title:	Locomotive Breath
Label:	BPITCH CONTROL (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	BPC 170EP

Holger Zilske isn't a dark horse in the scene of electronic music. As Smash TV, he has always instigated the masses with his ecstatic, technoid live-sets. This 12" really breathes new life into the dancefloor. Both songs consist of minimal, striking beats -- the first boasts elaborate percussion and kicks asses with specially-modulated bass. "Breath Me" gives us the creeps. The accords create an enthralling harmony, which finds its climax within an apocalyptical break.

Artist:	ALLIEN, ELLEN
Title:	Boogy Bytes Vol. 04
Label:	BPITCH CONTROL (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	BPC 171CD

This is the eagerly-awaited fourth installment in BPitch Control's Boogy Bytes series, mixed by the label queen herself, Ellen Allien. Allien describes this mix as "emotional, noisy, trippy, weird and sexual," an apt characterization of her typology of sound that is perhaps more crooked, more abstract or technoid than others, but with a seamless queue of artists that you can't help but be excited about. As a DJ, she maintains that emotional and direct contact to the audience always comes first -- likewise, she tries to anticipate all the facets and interactions of daily life where music is a companion, whether it be dancefloor, airport, studio, office or living room. For example, the bass drum is not set into the foreground, obviously, neither should it dominate the feelings of the listener. Ellen Allien sketches a voyage that consists of a generous arrangement of tracks that allows space and room for the listener's own perception of the music and what he or she might add based on their own mood and experiences. 2007 was a special year for Allien, and also for electronic music "made in Europe" and so, that element resonates within the mix. Between poem producer AGF and Little Dragon is music that is fluid and malleable with club nights and daily wanderings in mind. The riveting cover-theme continues with photographer Axl Jansen's instant-action shot, which perfectly reflects Boogy Bytes Vol. 04: full of motion and emotional. Other artists include: Vera, Ricardo Villalobos & Patrick Ense, Melon, Andres Zacco & Lucas Mari, Seph, Konpiùta, Moessap, Sozadams, Richard Seeley, Lucio Aquilina, Melchior Productions, Friendly People, Damian Schwartz, Sascha Funke, Gaiser and Kassem Mosse.

BROQUE (GERMANY)

Artist:	JUNO6
Title:	Salamis
Label:	BROQUE (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.50
Catalog #:	BROQUE 011EP

"Juno6 is the pseudonym and the birthday of Stefan Schulz from Lipsia at the same time. He also complies with the analog connotations of his name. Stefan likes to experiment with quiet IDM and straight techno. 'Salamis' is the great story about massive things that happened a long time ago in the surrounding field of this island. The original version of the track tells us this monumental story. Cio D'Or (Karmarouge, Treibstoff Cologne) presents us her skillfully deep and melodic version on the other side. And Steffen Bennemann (Distillery, 1bit-wonder Lipsia) makes another minimal trip after the battles."

BUREAU B (GERMANY)

Artist:	VA
Title:	Easy Beatles: Irresistible In-Sound Interpretations
Label:	BUREAU B (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	BB 009CD

...from the 60s and 70s. The Bureau B label presents what may very well be the best Beatles covers record, ever. Now-sound meets jet-set music meets space-age pop meets easy listening meets soul jazz meets vocal jazz. Not to mention stand-out contributors such as Gary McFarland, Gershon Kingsley, The Sandpipers, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Scott and many more. Countless musicians and bands have transposed The Beatles into styles as diverse as country & western, reggae or even waltzes. When it comes to Beatles interpretations, almost anything goes. The most prolific period of Beatles remakes coincided with the band's own active phase. The late '60s and early '70s were positively awash with Fab Four facsimiles on the songsheets of popular entertainers and jazz musicians. Some went as far as to record entire albums of Beatles songs. While some turned out to be rather fabulous in their own right, others were unintentionally amusing, but no less fascinating for that. More than a few pearls have been gathering dust in the archives over the years and many such treasures thoroughly deserve to see the light of day once again. This collection is but a small, initial foray into such territory. Eighteen jewels handpicked from the copious vaults of (primarily) American recordings embrace multi-genre interpretations. Little known starlets like The Assembled Multitude, studio musicians who came together for a single production, rub shoulders with the somewhat more familiar vocalist Nancy Ames (her highest chart position a less than stellar #89) and the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, a true giant of the vocal jazz scene. Includes detailed and entertaining track-by-track liner notes, beautifully packaged. Get ready to enter the Fab Fourth Dimension.

BURIED TREASURE RECORDS

Artist:	MEKONS
Title:	The Mekons Story 1977-1982
Label:	BURIED TREASURE RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	BURT 005CD

"Originally released in 1982, The Mekons Story (also known as It Falleth like the Gentle Rain from Heaven) is a collection of rare and unobtainable tracks from the UK punk legends Jon Langford describes as 'our revenge on the world.' This 20 track CD includes brilliant outtakes, unreleased tracks, alternate versions, B-sides, as well as a handful of live radio sessions recorded between 1977 and 1982 during the first Mekons incarnation. With a drunken sounding David Spencer providing a between cuts 'history' of the band, this, more than any other Mekons recording, shows their crucial and comic post-punk development. From cacophonic punk, primitive disco, agitated funk and new wave, and synth pop, the consistent thread in this material is the sheer brilliance of the Mekons' literacy in songwriting."

CADET CONCEPT RECORDS

Artist:	NEW ROTARY CONNECTION, THE
Title:	Hey Love
Label:	CADET CONCEPT RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	CC 50006LP

Exact repro vinyl version of the sixth and final Rotary Connection album, originally released on Cadet in 1972; featuring Minnie Riperton. "As strong as Hey Love is -- it's one of Rotary Connection's best records. Too many people point to the group's self-titled debut as its only essential release, which means that albums like this remain overlooked. And that means that too many people go on without hearing 'If I Sing My Song,' 'I Am the Black Gold of the Sun,' and 'Hey Love.' On 'If I Sing My Song,' Richard Rudolph and Charles Stepney play Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and the result belongs in the ranks of that songwriting team for its degree of hummability and the impeccably designed arrangements. 'I Am the Black Gold of the Sun' is the apex, the brightest moment in the group's discography; it's an ineffable package of grace, grit, and life-affirming spirit (if your knees don't quake). Virtually anything would seem like a comedown after it, but the title track of the album sounds at points like a precursor to fellow Chicagoan Terry Callier's 'Gotta Get Closer to You' and keeps the quality of the orchestra-spiked soul flowing." --All Music Guide

CAPTAIN TRIP (JAPAN)

Artist:	YA HO WHA 13
Title:	God And Hair
Label:	CAPTAIN TRIP (JAPAN)
Format:	13CD
Price:	$115.00
Catalog #:	CT 130/142RCD

Restocked. With the recent publication of Isis Aquarian's book The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13, and the Source Family, plus their first public performances in over 30 years, interest in Ya Ho What 13 is at an all time high! 2nd edition now available. No longer comes w/ the original oversize box or booklet, but priced at a much lower price. This 13 CD box set collects the complete available recordings of '70s cult rockers from CA, Ya Ho Wha 13. Led by the late Father Yod, who supposedly died in a hang-gliding accident in the late '70s(?), Ya Ho Wha 13 released numerous LPs (and at least one 8-Track) on their own Higher Key label in the mid-'70s. Only distributed locally at the time, some of these have been reissued in psuedo-legit (or outright bootleg) fashion in the UK over the last decade (although more recent Swordfish releases are fully authorized), but have never been widely available. These records epitomize the insanity of highly-personalized psychedelic exploration via the fringes of rock music and it's subsequent private documentation better than anything else produced by the human race to date. Tribal-acid pound from the family's key group members (Djinn, guitar; Sunflower, bass; Octavius, drums) and freakish vocal output from Yod himself, wailing away on top like the king of the universe. The exact number of of Ya Ho Wha albums has never been clearly specified until now, but this incredible box set appears to put them all in place, plus a few CDs worth of unreleased material. This new edition features a wooden box with wax seal, with the 13 discs contained in 3 plastic cases. It's not as deluxe as the original packaging (which had 13 separate jewel case editions -- but that was for "then," this is for "now." The music still represents the ultimate in the weird & insane world of private press psychedelic documentation, not to be missed. Contains the following albums: 1) FATHER YOD AND THE SPIRIT OF '76: Kohoutek (the debut release on Higher Key from 1973). 2) FATHER YOD AND THE SPIRIT OF '76: Contraction (1974). 3) FATHER YOD AND THE SPIRT OF '76: Expansion (1974). 4) FATHER YOD AND THE SPIRIT OF '76:All Or Nothing At All (1974, with 4 bonus 7" tracks). 5) YAHOWA 13 (1974, with two bonus 7" tracks). 6) YAHOWA 13: Savage Sons of Yahowa (1974). 7) YAHOWA 13: Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony (1974, the masterpiece, one of the 25 most destroyed rock records of all time for sure!). 8) YAHOWHA 13: I'm Gonna Take You Home (1974, again! & and another monster record; let's not forget Gregg Breth's words from the past -- after all, his copies were handed to him by 'wisdom': 'The ultimate acid album there is. Insane vocals and screaming, 100% twisted guitar and total permeated feeling of being completely fucked up! This album is the epitome of the term acid.'). 9) YAHOWA 13: To The Principles For The Children (1974-75). 10) FIRE, WATER, AIR: Golden Sunrise (1977, the 8-track only release). 11) YODSHIP (undated, showed up as a UK boot/legit issue a few years ago; classic acid-folk floatation/chant from Osirus & Sunlight with the brothers and sisters). 12) VA: Related Singles (featuring Sky Saxon on most tracks). 13): VA: Unreleased Materials (jamming post-Yod psych from Djinn, Sunflower, Octavius, etc., with Sky Saxon on some tracks).

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Artist:	KALKBRENNER, PAUL
Title:	Bingo Bongo
Label:	BPITCH CONTROL (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	BPC 172EP

Artist:	SCHNITZLER & WOLF SEQUENZA, CONRAD
Title:	Consequenz
Label:	CAPTAIN TRIP (JAPAN)
Format:	CD
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	CT 614CD

Artist:	SCHNITZLER, CONRAD
Title:	Contempora
Label:	CAPTAIN TRIP (JAPAN)
Format:	CD
Price:	$26.00
Catalog #:	CT 615CD