New Releases for March 2008

Index of New Releases for March 2008

Artist:	SPEER & THE HELIX, D. CHARLES
Title:	After Hours
Label:	BLACK DIRT
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	BD 004LP

"The much-anticipated blast-off release for Speer and his band. Recently rewarded 5 stars in Time Out mag by the music editor, this album is a landmark in laid-back blues and country songwriting, feat. members of NNCK and Sunburned." -S@1. "The inimitable Mr. Speer coined the term himself upon titling his pre-Helix full length release... Forgotten Country. Not so much a forgotten people of a state or a rural area. Not so either some Souths gonna rise again moonshine. More so a return to a way of presenting a music in the context of a tradition (something those boys in the band are pretty high on.) But this isn't your grandfathers Bakersfield we're dealing with. Tho the tongue of the balladeer may spin tales ripe with a cast of characters including 'the Pastor' Randolph Healey, Cheese Frog, the man from HHS, Uncle Ernie, that guy with the black mustache and red Caddy who stole your girl, and the true born sons of Levi, he sings them not only with the twang of the roadhouse, but tainted with the grit of the streets of the big city. As one casual listener once noted to the band after a performance, 'You guys play both types... country and psych.' And it's true that the sounds contained on After Hours do act on the mind as much as they tug at the heartstrings. Replete with tales of mental instability, infidelity, drunken advice, wartime hucksters, heartbreak, and redemption, the first album by D. Charles with his backing band will surely immediately stand out amongst the shards of gothic Americana that litter our fair sonic landscape. Edition of 500. Recorded at Black Dirt Studio" -- Black Dirt.

BLOOMSBURY (UK)

Artist:	COPE, JULIAN
Title:	Japrocksampler
Label:	BLOOMSBURY (UK)
Format:	Book
Price:	$27.00
Catalog #:	BLOOM JC

2nd hardcover printing, now available! UK-only publication, hardcover, 302 pages, with 16 page inset of color cover reproductions. Impressive work and a nice followup to Cope's defining Krautrocksampler from a decade ago. "Julian Cope, eccentric and visionary rock musician, hip archaeologist and one time frontman of Teardrop Explodes, follows the runaway underground success of his book Krautrocksampler with Japrocksampler, a cult deconstruction of Japanese rock music. Japrocksampler reveals what really happened when East met West after World War II and the mayhem that ensued... and is a must for anybody interested in modern music and Japanese culture. It explores the clash between traditional, conservative Japanese values and the wild rock 'n' roll renegades of the 1960s and '70s and tells the tale of the seminal artists in Japanese post-war culture, from itinerant art-house poets to violent refusenik rock groups with a penchant for plane hijacking. The book concludes with enticing reviews of Julian's top 50 Jap Rock albums."

BLOSSOMING NOISE

Artist:	MISS HIGH HEEL
Title:	The Family's Hot Daughter
Label:	BLOSSOMING NOISE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	BN 032CD

"In their consumptive four-month existence, this meta-stuporgroup annihilated no-wave distant past, banal present, and dystopic future. The Family's Hot Daughter, MHH's sole studio document, was meticulously restored for this release from the original, wholly ungovernable recordings. The platinum, members-only standard of insanity. Featuring Tom Smith, James Marlon Magas, Weasel Walter, Azita Youseffi, Jim O'Rourke, Bill Pisarri, Chuck Falzone, Odi M'Khan, Nandor Nevai and Mike Green."

BO WEAVIL RECORDINGS (UK)

Artist:	JOYNES, C
Title:	God Feeds The Ravens
Label:	BO WEAVIL RECORDINGS (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	WEAVIL 028CD

C Joynes' God Feeds The Ravens is part of Bo' Weavil's Wooden Weavil series. English acoustic guitarist C Joynes uses a heavy, thumb-led finger-picking technique that harks back to traditional country blues and early ragtime; however, he uses this technique to explore alternative melodic traditions: the English folk-tune; North and West African music; elements of classical Indian music; proto-minimalist and impressionist musics from the European classical tradition. His approach to the recording and compositional process contains a subtle and unassuming experimentation, at times including collaged fragments, field recordings, processing, en-plein-air recordings, and cut-and-paste. The version of "Since I Lay My Burden Down" incorporates variations on lyrics and vocal lines drawn from a different song entirely. He has a penchant for reworking over-familiar pieces and stripping them of their kitsch and cliché, presenting them afresh, such as with "Christmas Medley," the arrangement of "A Night In Tunisia," and the gospel-based "And When The Sun Begins To Shine." Joynes' music is instinctive, well-researched, placid, and evokes a certain simplicity and naiveté.

BOXER RECORDINGS (GERMANY)

Artist:	MARASCIA
Title:	Nova/Nympho
Label:	BOXER RECORDINGS (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	BOXER 056EP

Marascia presents two cocky prime-time smashers. He is known for remixes he did for legends such as Todd Terry, John Aquaviva and Richie Hawtin, and those achievements say a lot about what this guy is made of: finest, precious wood from Italy. Precious wood is characterized by a beautiful and strong coloring, striking contrasts and breathtaking grain. Other particularities are its heavy weight and high density. Altogether characteristics that -- if transferred onto his music -- would produce amazing interfaces.

BPITCH CONTROL (GERMANY)

Artist:	FUNKE, SASCHA
Title:	Mango
Label:	BPITCH CONTROL (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	BPC 167CD

This is the second full-length release on BPitch Control by Berlin-based DJ and producer, Sascha Funke. After several 12" releases and remix projects, Sascha presents Mango, a fully-ripe evocation of the beauty of the six months he spent in Aix-en-Provence. Like its forerunner Bravo, you won't hear 08/15 speed-techno with 140 bpm -- but a fresh and direct, catchy sound that is the antidote to boredom. "Mango" and "We Are Facing The Sun" opens the release with warmth and "Feather" makes you picture elves dancing in a meadow. "Take A Chance With Me" builds it up, while "Summer Rain" cools things down. The gravelly-affected vocals on "Double Checked" are sung by Fritz Zander, and other guest musicians include Fritz Kalkbrenner and TimTim, whose sparsely twanged guitar creates a lot of space within the songs. "Lotre (Mehr Fleisch)" fits perfectly into the barbeque: the bass develops like embers and hides behind rhythms and sounds, until Sascha's vocals catch sparks. "Chemin Des Figons" is the beautiful street Sascha lived on a year ago in Aix-en-Provence, and you'll want to walk it again and again. Finally, "The Fortune Cookie" finishes everything off with a strident, harmonic sing-a-long that will fit everywhere, whether you're enjoying a nice day at the park or a crazy underground rave.

Artist:	CHAIM
Title:	Moon
Label:	BPITCH CONTROL (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	BPC 169EP

Chaim from Tel Aviv presents a debut that possesses more than one surprise. "Moon" displays a free groove with the help of some dignified effects, making you want to throw your hands in the air. "Wednesday June" is a bit more minimal, with groove that structures itself into a bubbling bass line, dissolved by one of these typically Chaim-melodies, which anchor themselves deeply into the head -- only for catching dreams under the light of the moon, on a Wednesday in June.

BUREAU B (GERMANY)

Artist:	LAST, JAMES
Title:	James Last In Los Angeles
Label:	BUREAU B (GERMANY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	BB 010LP

...The Legendary 1975 Record Plant Studio Sessions. The glitzy funk disco jazz fusion insider tip from 1975 is now brand new on limited vinyl. Considered by many jazz fans and DJs to be the finest album "Hansi" ever recorded, the erstwhile Well Kept Secret album now has now officially resurfaced and been retitled. James Last teamed up with arranger and producer Wes Farrell and an array of top-flight American musicians for the 1975 recording sessions in L.A.'s Record Plant Studios. Glitzy jazz/disco arrangements and on-the-money funk rhythms culminated in an orchestration which would not have been out of place in a Blaxploitation score. Original copies of the LP fetch handsome sums at record fairs and on the Internet, with tracks like "Bolero 75," "Love For Sale" and "I Can't Move No Mountains" firm favorites with cool club DJs. How did this extraordinary record come about? In the '70s, James Last was selling vast quantities of records and filling concert halls the world over. There was, however, one significant gap on the map -- the United States of America. Few in the USA had even heard of the hugely successful bandleader. Signed to Polydor, Last's desire to try out something different dovetailed nicely with his record company's ambition to conquer America. The ball started to roll, coming to a stop in L.A. where Last met Farrell and an unparalleled selection of musicians at one of the most renowned recording studios in the USA. Also credited with a role in the arrangements was keyboarder and former Elvis pianist, Larry Muhoberac. Among the musicians were sax stars Ernie Watts and Tom Scott, the guitarist Larry Carlton (Steely Dan, Crusaders), bass player Max Bennet (L.A. Express) and Jim Gordon (Derek and the Dominos) on the drums. In spite of everything, the album failed to achieve the commercial breakthrough hoped for in the USA. Meanwhile, the rest of the world did not seem ready for such a funky James Last... ensuring the album's status as both cult classic and well kept secret.

C.i.P.

Artist:	ILLUSION OF SAFETY
Title:	Sedation & Quell
Label:	C.i.P.
Format:	10"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	CIP 021EP

"For 25 years, Illusion of Safety has charted the terra incognita where sound, silence, noise and music intersect. Current audio emphasis includes electronic synthesis, computer composition and manipulation, musical reference, and close microphone recording. Side one is a pleasantly dense, yet not cluttered by any means, assemblage of diverse elements including an old typewriter, turntable pops/crackles, and what appears to be shortwave radio interference topped by subtle frequency and oscillation tweaks. Side two offers a beautiful counterbalance: after an initial punch announcing the track, we waver through numerous delicate swimming tones that are eventually subdued by a listing rhythmic faction suffused with other surprises."

CAMERA OBSCURA (AUSTRALIA)

Artist:	RUSALNAIA (FEAT. SHARRON KRAUS)
Title:	Rusalnaia
Label:	CAMERA OBSCURA (AUSTRALIA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	CAM 082CD

"Recorded in two sessions through 2007 when Sharron Kraus & Gillian Chadwick teamed up with engineer Greg Weeks, who helped capture the duo's organic & sometimes unusual instrumentation, from dulcimer & guitar to pennywhistles & goat's nail shaker, and contributed his own accents to a few tracks: acid Les Paul leads & vintage '70s synths. Eight tracks of haunting, ritualistic, magical pagan-folk were the result, varying from the darkly processional tale of dispossession 'Shifting Sands,' though the Comus-like ceremonies of the title track, to the extended forest-folk trance on the concluding 'Wild Summer.'"

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Artist:	ABSOLUT NULL PUNKT
Title:	Absolute Magnitude
Label:	BLOSSOMING NOISE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	BN 031CD

Artist:	PALUMBO - TOMASINI
Title:	Canes Venatici
Label:	BLOSSOMING NOISE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	BN 033CD