In Straight Up, Without Wings, Joe McPhee surveys sixty years in creative music. Starting with his trumpeter-father's influence and formative years in the U.S. Army, McPhee recounts experiences as a Black-hippy-cum-budding-musician based in upstate New York, perched at an ideal distance from Manhattan's free jazz demimonde of the 1960s and its loft scene of the 1970s. A natural storyteller, revealing never-told tales and reveling in the joys of noise, McPhee puts the influence of -- and encounters with -- Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, and Albert Ayler into the context of an independently-minded young player, ravenous for experience, dealing with the crucible of racism, seeking to break out beyond the bounds of a regional Hudson Valley scene that he knows like the back of his hand. The memoir draws forward through thrilling passages in Europe and across the United States, as McPhee gains momentum, as his music becomes the impetus for multiple record labels, as he collaborates with figures from Peter Brötzmann to Pauline Oliveros, and as he eventually goes on to inspire musicians far and wide. Written as an oral history, deftly conducted by Mike Faloon to preserve McPhee's unique narrative voice, Straight Up, Without Wings includes "reflections" by eight musicians from across the protagonist's rich history. Photography: Ziga Koritnik, Ken Brunton, John Corbett. First printing, edition of 1000. 166 pages. Dimensions: 8.5" x 6" x .5".

2024 repress. Arctic pearl color vinyl. Faith in Strangers was written and recorded between January 2013 and June 2014, and was edited and sequenced in late July of 2014. Making use of on an array of instruments, field recordings, found sounds and vocal treatments, it's a largely analog variant of hi-tech production styles arcing from the dissonant to the sublime. The first two tracks recorded during these early sessions bookend the release, the opener "Time Away" featuring euphonium played by Kim Holly Thorpe and last track "Missing," a contribution by Stott's occasional vocal collaborator Alison Skidmore, who also appeared on 2012's Luxury Problems. Between these two points Faith in Strangers heads off from the sparse and infected "Violence" to the broken, downcast pop of "On Oath" and the motorik, driving melancholy of "Science & Industry" -- three vocal tracks built around that angular production style that imbues proceedings with both a pioneering spirit and a resonating sense of familiarity. Things take a sharp turn with "No Surrender"-- a sparkling analog jam making way for a tough, smudged rhythmic assault, while "How It Was" refracts sweaty warehouse signatures and "Damage" finds the sweet spot between RZA's classic "Ghost Dog" and Terror Danjah at his most brutal. "Faith in Strangers" is next and offers perhaps the most beautiful and open track here, its vocal hook and chiming melody bound to the rest of the album via the almost inaudible hum of Stott's mixing desk. It provides a haze of warmth and nostalgia that ties the nine loose joints that make up the LP into the most memorable and oddly cohesive of Stott's career to date, built and rendered in the spirit of those rare albums that straddle innovation and tradition through darkness and light, lingering on in the mind like nothing else.

"Smile (sometimes stylized as SMiLE) is the unfinished album by the Beach Boys intended to follow their 1966 album Pet Sounds. the project came to be regarded as the most legendary unreleased album in popular music history. The album was produced and almost entirely composed by Brian Wilson with Van Dyke Parks, both of whom conceived the project as a 'teenage symphony to God' It was a concept album that was planned to feature word paintings, tape manipulation, experiments with musical acoustics, themes of youth and innocence, and comedic interludes, with influences drawn from mysticism, pre-rock and roll pop, doo-wop, jazz, ragtime, musique concrète, classical, American history, poetry, spirituality, and cartoons. A mythology grew around the project, and its unfulfilled potential inspired many, especially those in indie rock, post-punk, electronic, and chamber pop genres."

Agartha: Personal Meditation Music is a 7 CD boxed set, originally released on cassette in 1986, at the height of New Age, as an aid for meditation and alignment. Bringing to mind 20th century composers like Eliane Radigue, La Monte Young, or even Brian Eno's Shutov Assembly, the time-stopping, enveloping, electronic music contained in this series sounds eerily modern, mysterious and moving. Characterized by deep analog drones, rising overtones, floating frequencies surfing on sine-waves and intervals with mystic modulation, this is truly moving, vibrational music. In Agartha, the individual notes of each Harmonic Triad proceed in a fashion that is neither improvisational nor chance-based, nor is it generative. Instead, the music flows outward as if being transmitted -- or channeled -- from a place outside human consciousness. There is a profound sense of cosmic depth expanding ever outward as the music fills the listener with waves of emotion, and a palpable somatic response is felt, although there are subtle differences with each unique Triad. Each disc is individually packaged in original replica sleeves and housed in a heavy-duty cardboard clamshell box. Digitized and remastered by Jessica Thompson. Liner notes include extensive instructions for use from the original text and an essay by library music scholar David Hollander. The original edition of Agartha: Personal Meditation Music, featured one-track, 30-minute track per tape repeated on both sides. Subsequent editions had unique Side B tracks on all but two of the seven volumes. Important Records have included all tracks in this boxed set. RIYL: Eliane Radigue, Pauline Oliveros, Eleh, Duane Pitre, La Monte Young, Eno, Larajji, Iasos.

Pagan Psych-Folk Glam Vocal Sounds of the Italian Cinema is a superb collection of extremely obscure gems culled from a variety of forgotten films. Featuring mostly vocal tracks, these songs are dripping with that mid-1960s to mid-1970s exploratory nature of song-craft, from clever and majestic to the ridiculously absurd. Acoustic guitars laced with strings and subtle effects, haunting and moody lyrical tales, and epic ballads that rock -- all of them fitting together like an impossible puzzle that most music aficionados of this magical period never knew existed. Stretches of this compilation could accompany an imagined sequel to the Wicker Man film made in Italy! A mix of relatively unknown and legendary composers of the time are presented here in this incredible package, which has been lovingly assembled to provide the most pleasurable listening experience available. Legends such as Nico Fidenco, Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, Piero Umiliani, and obscure combos like The Sorrows and The Rage Within are included among many other artists that combine to make Pagan Psych-Folk Glam Vocal Sounds of the Italian Cinema an instantly iconic release. Lavish full-color gate-fold jacket collage artwork with still shots from many of the films represented here. Limited edition pressing of 750 copies. Featuring Orchestra Cometa, Nico Fidenco, The Carrie Nations, The Sorrows, Augusto Martelli, Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, Raoul Lovecchio, Cyan, Don Powell, Piero Umiliani, The Rage Within, Charles Cannon, Gene Roman, Shirley Hammer, Phil Chilton/Peter L. Smith, Zeudi Araya, Canary Jones, Melody, and Orchestra Di Rockford Kabine.

LP with insert with extended liner notes and download code including extra bonus track "Movements of The Mind." For his second album on the Belgian leftfield imprint Cortizona, Devin Brahja Waldman gathered a group of insanely gifted and talented musicians to start a new and highly moving musical chapter titled Nebulizer. From the first moment the pulsating tone of Devin's synth blends with the whispering voices of Earth, Wind and Choir and the menacing bells Naima Karlsson set in motion this record you just know and feel immediately Nebulizer will be a soul-searching journey, soaking you deep into an unknown and very personal musical world. Devin Brahja Waldman is a New York saxophonist, drummer, synthesizer player and composer who leads the group BRAHJA. He has performed with Patti Smith, William Parker, Nadah El Shazly, Malcolm Mooney, Thurston Moore, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Charles Hayward, Luke Stewart, and Yoshiko Chuma. Waldman is also a member of NYC's Heroes Are Gang Leaders, of Sam Shalabi's Land of Kush, and of the Norwegian hardcore group MoE. Together with Adam Kinner, Georgia Wartel Collins, Earth, Wind and Choir, Luke Stewart, Kenichi Iwasa, Naima Karlsson, Alexis Mercelo, Janice Lowe, Watson and Damon Hankoff, Devin forms a slow-burning fireball unity. A devotional séance channeling unknown powers proving music is a healing force of the universe. Nebulizer is an elevating meditation on humanity's estrangement of nature. Interstellar sonic stardust from a mind-blowing collective that will leave you flabbergasted. Be prepared and hear it to believe it. For fans of: Art Ensemble of Chicago, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, John & Alice Coltrane, Kamasi Washington, Shabaka Hutchings, SAULT, Ill Considered, Jamie Branche, Angel Bat Dawid, Mackaya Craven, Matana Roberts, Sun Ra.

"Hardback in slipcase with 7" vinyl. Out of print since its initial 2012 very limited first edition run. Contains exclusive 7" featuring previously unreleased 1983 interview with Barney Sumner conducted by the author. Over 400 unique-to-this-publication photos of the band and 200 plus images of rare memorabilia. No one has ever documented the early live career of a truly iconic band in such detail. Dec Hickey saw every New Order UK gig between Feb '81 and June '84 -- some fifty plus nights! Forewords by Peter Hook and Stephen Morris. Introductions by Moby and . Paul Morley. Moby: 'Up until about 10 minutes ago I thought that the depths of my Joy Division/New Order obsession were untouched/unmatched. Then I looked through this book. Ah boy, I'm beaten. And in awe.' Paul Morley: 'I can very much understand someone having an obsession with New Order. It was inevitable that a fan, a loyal, attentive follower, of such a group on such a meticulous label releasing records packaged with such scrupulous suggestive care would themselves be particularly obsessive. The fan(atic) symbolizes the idea that without obsession, life is nothing. For the fan, New Order are an ideal object of desire, the perfect pop group -- in the form of a perfect puzzle, an actual sign of fluid intelligence -- to obsess over, to collect, analyze, interpret, treasure, and ultimately possess.'"

Décima Víctima were a Spanish band that, during their short-lived career between 1981 and 1984, developed a very personal sound reminiscent of Joy Division, The Cure, and other British post-punk bands. Despite commercial success evaded them, rarely has any Spanish band achieved such a high degree of quality and coherence in their music and personality. Although included in Munster's past release MR 305 (2010) as part of a limited-edition boxset, this is the first time their second album Un Hombre Solo (1984) gets an official reissue in its original single LP format. For this edition, the sound of the original tape recordings has been cleaned and improved and the artwork has been slightly modified following the band's ideas. Despite only being active for under three years, Décima Víctima left a long-lasting legacy, and their influence would later be heard in Spanish bands such as Family, Los Planetas, and Sr Chinarro. In 1981, brothers Lars and Per Mertanen formed the instrumental band Clausula Tenebrosa. After a show they started talking about the possibility of rehearsing with Carlos, a friend at the time and ex-singer of the recently split Ejecutivos Agresivos. That's how the story of Décima Víctima started, rehearsing with a drum machine in the cellar of the Mertanens' house in Madrid. Despite commercial success evaded them, their first LP (1982) was acclaimed by the press, especially by El Pais, one of the biggest-selling newspapers in Spain. A second album would follow two years later. It was called Un Hombre Solo (1984) and was released on Grabaciones Accidentales (GASA). Unavailable for years and always in high demand, it now gets an official reissue in its original single LP format.

"The High Llamas' classic '90s output comes back to life on vinyl for the first time in over twenty years. The vibrant and colorful sweep of their remarkable six-album arc shines in new pressings of the original masters, which include the first-ever vinyl pressing for their debut album, Santa Barbara. The High Llamas were founded by Sean O'Hagan, Jon Fell, Marcus Holdaway, and Rob Allum. One year after the release of Hawaii, Cold And Bouncy delivered again, organically incorporating the glitch, dub and electronic inspirations burbling up from the underground into the Llamas signature sound. Respect here is due to co-producer Fulton Dingley's contributions as programmer, engineer and mixer. Without shifting away from their pop-rooted songwriting, Cold And Bouncy was also a grand example of the emerging electro-exotica of the late '90s."

LP version. A sublime expedition from Brazil to the sky, Modo Avião ("Airplane Mode") sees São Paulo-based trio Caixa Cubo jet further forth from the lineage of Brazilian instrumental music. Following in the footsteps of heroes like Azymuth, Antonio Adolfo, Cesar Mariano, and Marcos Resende, with the tried and tested trifecta of synthesizers, bass and drums, Caixa Cubo have carved out their own idiosyncratic ideal of golden-era Brazilian jazz-funk and samba-jazz. Encapsulating the vitality and experimentalism synonymous with Sao Paulo's musical history, Caixa Cubo playfully straddle the elegant and the surreal, with masterful songwriting and the consummate musicianship of longtime friends and bandmates Henrique Gomide (keyboards), Noa Stroeter (bass), and João Fideles (drums). Caixa Cubo have been playing together for over 14 years -- and that's "playing" in the truest sense of the word. As bassist Noa Stroeter explains: "A story, a joke, images, invented words, people we met on tour, places, fictitious or not, have always been part of our creative process. And they are precious materials beyond the musical work itself. This dynamic has stayed with us to this day, and for me it is the characteristic that guarantees that no matter what, we will have fun working." Presenting a contemporary reimagining of Brazilian grooves from the 1970s, Modo Avião marks an evolution for Caixa Cubo's music which delves deeper into the tradition of Brazilian instrumental music, while continuing to develop its rhythmic and harmonic possibilities. Utilizing an extensive understanding of Brazilian music history and Brazilian rhythm in particular, the group explore the seemingly endless possibilities of fusing carnival marches, frevo and Baião, with jazz, MPB and funk.

Complete 1967 recordings -- including the cult psychedelic classic 45 "Madman Running Through the Fields" -- by Dantalian's Chariot, Zoot Money's psychedelic incarnation featuring a young Andy Somers on guitar and sitar (later known as Andy Summers in The Police). Performing frequently at Middle Earth and UFO displaying a wild light show, the band cut just one 45 but laid down more tracks for an unreleased album. Here it is in its full sonic glory. Top notch UK psychedelia with West Coast and Eastern influences. Remastered sound. Hard cardboard sleeve. Insert with liner notes and photos/memorabilia.

HMS Bounty was Merrell Fankauser's project after Fapardokly. Things! was originally released in 1968 and it's one of the key albums from the Los Angeles psychedelic scene. Amazing songwriting, incredible guitar work with tasty fuzz, occasional sitar, refreshing vocal harmonies. Remastered sound with original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve. Includes insert with liner notes and photos.

West Coast psychedelia/bluesy acid-rock by this true hippie band led by the legendary Merrell Fankhauser (Fapardokly, HMS Bounty) and genius guitar player Jeff Cotton (Captain Beefheart Magic Band). This is their classic and sought after first album from 1971. Remastered sound with original artwork in hard cardboard silver foil sleeve like the original. Includes insert with lyrics, photos and extensive liner notes by Patrick Lundborg.

"The mix of bluesy urban LA exhaust fume vibes and tribal desert mystique is as archetypal an early 1970s SoCal trip as you can find. With strong songwriting and a pro-level recording, the album is given a clear musical identity via the excellent slide guitar, harmony vocals, and occasional sax." --Patrick Lundborg (Acid Archives)

Boogie jazz funk at its best. Rare 1985 session from guitarist Eddie Fisher, the East St. Louis native whose best known for the jazz/funk albums The Next One Hundred Years and The Third Cup. Fisher, who died in 2007, never really achieved major stardom, but has become a cult figure over the last years, thanks in large part to DJs and crate diggers who discovered his music and spread the word. Perhaps the most obscure item in his catalog, The Promise was issued only on vinyl in 1985 on Fisher's own Nentu label and has been out of print for years. Licensed by Christina Fisher.

"This album contains the contents of The 13th Floor Elevators' recording sessions for Contact Records in early 1966. On January 3rd 1966, the band taped both sides of their debut 45 You're Gonna Miss Me/Tried To Hide, which Contact released on January 17th. That same month the (on the 27th) The Elevators were busted for possession of marijuana, and fearing that Texas' draconian drug laws could imperil the band's future, they felt the need to document their unique, garage-infused brand of early psychedelia as a means to document their very existence -- at the time, possession of marijuana could result in a prison sentence of 2-10 years. These recordings were, therefore, meant to be the band's debut LP, which Tommy Hall titled Headstone. The album was essentially split in two; Side 1 featured both sides of the debut 45 alongside teen-oriented covers, while Side 2 was made up of the band's early forays into psychedelia. The recordings are in mono, the sound quality a touch lo-fi, but the primal magic the band were able to conjure is already in evidence, especially on the albums second half - all of which would re-recorded for their debut LP proper The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators later that same year. Aside from the debut 45, the remaining tracks on Side 1 would be left in the can, and would re-emerge (with overdubbed applause) on 1968's duplicitous Live album."

Expanded reissue, originally released in 1965. Infectious rock n' roll, surf, beat, girl group and ye-yé sounds by Las Mosquitas, the first female beat band from Argentina. Including their rare album from 1965 for the Music Hall label plus bonus tracks from singles and their impossible to find split EP with Los Gatos Salvajes. Las Mosquitas ("The Little Flies") consisted of Stella Maris Conde (Pupé) on vocals and guitar, María Cristina Medina (Nita) on bass, Ana María Millán (Nené) on vocals and guitar and Beatriz Cabrera (Dina) on drums. They performed their original compositions as well as Spanish sung covers of hits from the era. Producer Ricardo Romero of pioneering rock n' roll Argentinean band Los Cinco Latinos took them under his wing and secured a deal with the Music Hall label. They toured nationally and internationally, sometimes supporting Los Cinco Latinos, other times as the main act. Not only that, but they conquered every city they performed in, they were received by fans, ambassadors, presidents and their daughters, all eager to see Las Mosquitas on stage. Tours through Panamá, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Puerto Rico, Chile, Uruguay, Brasil, Curazao, and Argentina were completed with fantastic public response and TV appearances. The "Mosquitamania" was born and a string of singles and a full album on the Music Hall label followed. All of them are compiled here for the first time. Insert with liner notes in Spanish/English and photos/memorabilia; includes download card. "Their music was a mix of ye-yé and beat and they dressed how you would expect the Beatles to dress if they had been women" --Gareth Wynne (Ugly Things)

In 1969, producer and boogaloo godfather Bobby Marin conceived this undeservedly obscure funky, psychedelic Latin soul gem. Released on Ralph Lew's short-lived Dorado label and engineered by Jon Fausty, Bobby was backed by a top-notch studio band that included Ricardo Marrero, Joey Pastrana, Bernard Purdie, Louie Ramirez, Orlando Marin, and Ozzie Torrens. Includes liner notes by genre expert Pablo Yglesias telling the story behind the music. Generally, when discussing the first wave of Latin soul and boogaloo, it's the bands and their leaders, the singers and the songs that get all the recognition. But what of the producers, composers, and arrangers? One of the top old-school New York Latin music producers, Bobby Marin, was behind the scenes for some of the best independently produced boogaloo and salsa of the '60s and '70s. Saboreando: Pot Full Of Soul, is the album Bobby created in 1969 for his friend Ralph Lew's newly launched Dorado label. Fifty-five years later, Bobby confirms that he commemorated his humble Barrio beginnings playing stickball on West 107th Street and singing doo-wop while some kids played percussion on junkyard drums, by christening the band The 107th Street Stickball Team. The 107th Street Stickball Team was basically the same pool of friends as Ricardo Marrero's group, with the addition of Louie Ramirez playing piano and organ, Orlando Marin, Joey Pastrana and Ozzie Torrens on percussion, Mike Viñas handling the electric bass, and Butch Johnson and Danny Agosto on lead vocals for a few numbers. At that time, soul music was seen by the present Latin generation, indeed the youth market in general, as something that was different, that broke with tradition. The record, with Bobby singing several of the best tunes including "Mojo Shingaling" and "Rhythm and Soul," highlights an affinity or connection between African American and Cuban music in a convincing blend that was emblematic of the scene and allowed the young generation to feel they had a fresh kind of music all their own.

The sixth chapter in Axis Expressionist Series, a collection of vinyl and limited digital releases, curated by Millsart, an alias of Jeff Mills, of his most eclectic and transcendent compositions that derive from his Every Dog Has Its Day project, as well as new unreleased works.

The Wild Classical Music Ensemble is a Belgian experimental rock band formed in 2007 by artists with mental disabilities within the social-artistic non-profit organization Wit.h in Kortrijk. Their unique sound is a blend of punk/rock riffs, fanatical rhythms and soaring flutes and fiery synths, over which gravitate multiple, multilingual voices that scratch harshly as much as they comfort. There's something very Belgian about this harshness and noisiness. During the Covid crisis, the disabled members of the Wild Classical Music Ensemble were undoubtedly subjected more than others to the harsh conditions of confinement, alone in their rooms. Damien Magnette was still able to visit them with sound equipment. This was one of their all-too-few windows onto the world. Forbidden to meet, let alone play together, the members of Wild were nevertheless able to compose songs in tandem with Damien. The tracks were then sent to musician friends -- Fabrice Gilbert, Ava Carrère, Wim Opbrouck, Shht, Arthur Satàn, Nathan Roche, and Julien ZLDR -- who added their artistic touch. Jean Lamoot and Carl Roosens joined the adventure, one as mixer, the other as video director. Leader Damien Magnette says: "For over a year, we were all confined. But what about when you're a mentally handicapped person? Well, it's very different from you and me. We have the right to choose, the luxury of deciding for ourselves what rules we want to follow or not. We have free will. They don't. This series of confined songs is dedicated to all the people who have gone through this crisis, deprived of their free will. We send them our thoughts, hugs and kisses full of true love!" The songs respond to a deep desire to look out for each other in adversity (the so obvious 'Comment ça va?' by Johan Geenens and Wim Opbrouck, or 'Waarom ben je boos' by Sébastien Faidherbe with Wim Decoene, the latter full of empathy). A sense of loneliness is logically present on the album ('Dat is mijn verdriet' by Linh Pham, a very real, very concrete and particularly touching poem, or 'Loneliness,' whose text was improvised by Wim), if not an understandable rage ('Je ne veux pas' and 'My Frustrations'). It worth noting that on "On reste heureux", Sébastien Faidherbe composed all the parts in one go, with an optimism that stands out from the anger expressed in his other songs.

LP version. Summer of love: they weren't around for the first, they've studied the second, and they're planning the next. Bryan's Magic Tears release their fourth album, Smoke and Mirrors, on Born Bad. The famed pupil-dilated Parisian shit-stirrers usually have a way of demolishing compositions in style when they go live. They'll have their work cut out for them with these new tracks bricked up in studio with Marc Portheau. Still a thing on previous records, 4AM (BORNBAD 108CD) and Vacuum Sealed (BORNBAD 146CD), their garage/noise legacy fades away, not denied though. Benjamin Dupont (guitar/vocals) collaborated with Lauriane Petit (bass/vocals) on four tracks, and recorded each instrument for this unabashed pop album. This confusing specimen will rave about fashionable shoegaze oldies while admitting a kink for All Saints. Aptly named, this new album pokes fun at stadium music while respecting its codes. Looks and sounds like Shaun Ryder had eaten Liam Gallagher, shamelessly churning out hits, leaning on a well-built wall of sound, held together by Raphaël Berrichon and Nicolas Boursier (guitars). The record heavily features that typical '90s shuffle beat, with which Bryan was already flirting, but they're an item now. Two-thirds of the tracks have that groove on. Lauriane and Benjamin offer matching vocal delivery, alternating rhythmic phrases crafted like riffs, and sweet dragging harmonies. This record offers a plump sound, tailor-made to spread arms, bob your head, and level the ground in festivals. Smoke and Mirrors ends with "Lady D," a clever dunce's essay on a rare subject. Went for the kill with acoustic guitar intro, strings on the chorus, warm heavy-hearted vocals, flanger on the drums when it's time to light the lighters, and put spoons on top. Because yes, it's still music to take drugs to make music to take drugs to listen to music.

Prime cut late '60s California sunshine psych/acid-rock. Creation Of Sunlight by Long Beach band Sunlight was originally released on the Windy label in 1970 and it's filled with breezy vocal harmonies, organ, fuzz guitar, and flute. With original copies changing hands for four-figure sums, here's a welcomed reissue with newly sourced and remastered sound. Including a download card with the full album plus a bonus track, "Seven's Theme," taken from a rare acetate and never released until now. RIYL: Strawberry Alarm Clock, Love, Clear Light, Doors. Original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve. Remastered sound. Insert with liner notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things) and photos.

2LP gatefold cover with printed inner-sleeves. Ben Klock and Fadi Mohem reveal new album Layer One featuring Flowdan and Coby Sey as guest vocalists. The project comes via the Berghain residents' new label, Layer Records. The ten-track full length project follows the hypnotic EP Klockworks 34 that set the stage in 2022. In a bold departure from the techno roots that have defined and nurtured their careers, Klock and Mohem are now pushing genre boundaries, exploring IDM, ambient and experimental electronic music while still retaining the brilliance that characterized their earlier work. Elevating this project are two very human and dynamic collaborations featuring the charismatic Coby Sey and the legendary grime MC Flowdan. Sey, a prominent figure in the British music scene known for his work with artists like Tirzah and Mica Levi, injects his music with a mesmerizing emotional depth. Opening the album with the powerful track "Ultimately," Sey offers spoken-word musings on creativity and life over experimental landscapes meticulously crafted by Klock and Mohem. Nostalgia permeates this opening track, and track 7 "Clean Slate" reinforces this sentiment with Sey's stream-of-consciousness wordplay. Flowdan, the gritty MC whose verses have become anthems of the UK grime movement, made headlines in 2023 with two songs that reached the top 20 of the UK singles chart. On track "Our Sector," Flowdan unleashes his raw energy and dynamic flow, adding a thrilling vocal dimension to the album's narrative. The fluid delivery of his lyrics and rhythmic timing are enhanced by the staccato beats and abstract synths. These collaborations are not mere features; they are pivotal moments that crystallize the album's vision -- an experimental re-imagining of electronic music's possibilities. Immediately offering an impressive entry to Klock and Mohem's changing sonic universe, "Escape Velocity" shows the collaboration at its strongest. Deftly juggling between ambient chords and more densely intricate rhythmic moments. These tightly layered textures and intense clashing moments are continued through most of the album. Penultimate track "The Machine" feels like the internal innards of a PC or synthesizer brought to life. Electricity flows through the track like an auditory exploration of the digital world's hidden mechanical and electrical processes. In contrast, final track "Melatonin" does exactly what the name suggests; its soothing melodic ambience cradles the listener as the album draws to a close.

"Claire Rousay's Sentiment Remixes is the essential companion piece for her universally praised album sentiment. Like Rousay's uncanny ability to enmesh pop with ambient, the album defies any expectations of the very notion of 'remixes,' and allows one to plunge deeper still into her lush and emotive soundworld. Rousay's generous vulnerability and emotional availability combined with her eager collaborative spirit permeate each piece. 'If these were the only versions of these songs that lived in peoples' minds, I would be totally okay with that,' says Rousay. 'They feel more like collaboration or extensions of the album itself.' Featuring fellow forward-thinking artists and acclaimed musicians from Rousay's orbit, her album that has been lauded as a best of the year since its release in 2024 is reimagined by the likes of saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi (The Armed), AMULETS, Maral, frequent collaborator more eaze, Gretchen Korsmo, M Sage, and Rousay's own longtime engineer/mixer Andrew Weathers. For music rich with intimate personal details, it's Rousay's openness and sense of broader musical community that lends the sentiment remixes an even greater depth of feeling to them. Rousay gathered a list of collaborators from near and far, whom she feels a personal or musical kinship with. Each artist selected their own tracks for reinterpretation free of constraints, acting as a natural extension of the album whilst creating new sound worlds and altered perspectives on the intimate pieces. The varied results reflect the collaborators' unique voices, from glitchy scrambles and blissful jazz arrangements to sensuous R&B throbs and dense atmospherics."

Through emotive ambient textures, granular synths, and field recordings, Rousay reimagines the Slovak animated fairy tale with a brand-new score. The Bloody Lady stands as a stunning masterpiece of Slovak animation. This album features the reimagined score Rousay wrote for Viktor Kubal's 1980 eponymous animated film. Kubal (1923-1997), a pioneering Slovak animator, is considered one of the most influential animation filmmakers of the 20th century. Known as a singular artist who challenges conventions in experimental and ambient music forms, Rousay crafted the score in her home studio immediately after moving to LA over the course of 2023. The inaugural performance, a screening of the film accompanied by Rousay performing the score live, took place at Videodroom/Film Fest Gent 2023 in Ghent, Belgium. The project has since been developed into an 11-track album with alternating themes that evoke the film's atmosphere while standing on its own as a distinct sonic work. The Bloody Lady is released via VIERNULVIER Records, the label known for its audiovisual collaborations with artists like Miaux, Hieroglyphic Being, and Mattias De Craene. The record comes with an extensive booklet including liner notes.

This compilation edition recovers the memory of a very important moment for Venezuelan pop music. The appearance of PP'S (the acronym for Pedro Pérez Show, an original name that highlighted the leadership of the creator of an unexpected new wave scene in Venezuela) produced an explosion whose echo later resonated with the birth of a handful of bands that also renewed the country's musical panorama, in tune with what sounded strong in the Anglo market in those effervescent '80s (punk, post-punk, ska, even the funk that had expanded in the previous decade): Sentimiento Muerto, La Seguridad Nacional, Desorden Público, Caramelos de Cianuro, and Los Amigos Invisibles. PP'S recorded three albums in the '80s: PP'S (1981), En el aire (1982) and Tercera Guerra Mundial (1984), all with a clear pattern: putting the body in motion. It is music connected to its time that invites you to dance and listen to today, it builds a bridge to the past while opening a path to the future because PP'S is still in action. This compilation contains six songs from the first album, two from the second and three from the third, and is an exclusive edition of El Palmas Music. It reaffirms the vocation of Maurice Aymard's label to preserve the heritage of Venezuelan popular culture and at the same time captures all the facets of a musical project that is a stainless symbol of the country's new wave, but also exceeds that label with music in which flows of progressive, space rock and acid jazz filtered through. A colorful, diverse new wave, far from any type of corset. At just over 20 years old, Pedro Pérez lived in a city with a powerful cultural imprint like San Francisco. In the air was the fresh, uplifting sound of bands like Talking Heads, Devo, and The B-52's. Also, reggae and dancehall from a large group of Jamaican artists. Pérez also shared a date with Black Uhuru and with UB40, a British reflection (white and more pop) of Rastafarian music.

A note from Alvin: "It has taken me over 50 years to write these words. Since my initial successes in the 1970s, many have urged me to 'release' unpublished works from the same period, pieces that featured the VCS3 synths or the amazing Serge (which I regret not having used enough) or pieces featuring soundscapes from my classic environmental composition style. For reasons of persistence and empathy, Lawrence English at Room 40 was the most persuasive; now, nearly three years after our agreement, a new publication composed with materials from that inceptive period has come to fruition. While I'm condemned to live evermore in the past, it is the future where I continue to put my remaining creative energies. Nonetheless, in the creation of these two 'new' works I did all I could to avoid sentimentalism or get buried by my own history and the musical riches of the late 20th Century. Relistening to these forgotten fragments of old tapes included inspiring and useful surprises."

2024 repress, 140-gram vinyl, gatefold cover. In 1980, right before the recording of The Gun Club's mighty debut The Fire of Love, Jeffrey Lee Pierce did a handful of solo acoustic recordings based on his fascination for Mississippi Delta blues. And this is what this record sounds like -- Jeffrey Lee Pierce doing a review of the classic blues -- raw, bitter and straight to your heart. These recordings are now released on vinyl for the first time. This album contains a 16-page booklet with previously-unreleased photographs and chronicles from Pierce's friends, speaking about their times and memories with him -- people such as Nick Cave, Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Gutter Twins), Henry Rollins, Kim Salmon (Scientists, Beasts Of Bourbon), Terry Graham (The Gun Club), Tex Perkins (Beasts Of Bourbon, Cruel Sea, Butcher Shop), Kid Congo Powers (The Gun Club, The Cramps, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Butcher Shop), Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, The Cramps, Sonic Youth, Panther Burns), Spencer P. Jones (Beasts Of Bourbon, The Johnnys, Butcher Shop, Slappers), Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Jeremy Gluck (Barracudas), Jim Duckworth (The Gun Club), Billy Zoom (X), Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, Black Flag), Bob Bert (Chrome Cranks, Pussy Galore, Sonic Youth, Five Dollar Priest), Hugo Race (Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds), Peter Aaron (Chrome Cranks), Dave Graney (Moodists), Tav Falco (Panther Burns), Dan Stuart (Green On Red), and more.

"This one is a killer! Few bands will ever reach the intensity level of UK post punk gods Magazine, and there's no more overwhelming proof of that than this collection of the first three Peel Sessions the band recorded. The band's adventurous, uncompromising approach is in full swing here, with a selection of unbeatable hits, great sound, and the band's incredible musical prowess making this record an explosive collection."

"Pop polymath Wilson Malone -- multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, vocalist, producer, arranger -- has achieved cult acclaim for his early work in the soft white underbelly of the British pop industry, being responsible for a number of highly collectable singles and albums during the psychedelic and progressive rock eras before recording the soundtrack to the 1972 British horror film Death Line (retitled Raw Meat for the American market) and working with such storied names as Cliff Richard and Roger Daltrey. However, genuine heavyweight success didn't arrive until some thirty years into Wil's career, when he provided the striking string arrangements that underscored major '90s hits by The Verve ('Bittersweet Symphony') and Massive Attack ('Unfinished Sympathy'). His work has been featured in movies, TV shows, and commercials. His contributions to the soundtracks of various media have helped create mood and atmosphere in visual storytelling. This three-disc CD boxset titled Old Feet, New Socks: The Many Faces Of Wil Malone 1965-72 captures those early years of Wil Malone's work from Robb Storme, The Orange Bicycle, Barnaby Rudge, The Wilson Malone Voiceband, and Fickle Pickle."

Que no cunda el orden comprises the first demos recorded by this iconic Spanish punk band in January 1982, seven original songs and two versions that would also become the band's live repertoire in their early years. Among these songs is the only studio version of "Emilio Cao" and the previously unreleased "No me gusta bailar." The sound of the original tape has been mixed and mastered for this very special edition. Siniestro Total were a Spanish punk band formed in Vigo in 1981. A big commercial success accompanied the band for over a decade, until the mid-late '90s, when the popularity of the groups from the so-called "movida madrileña" and other similar scenes from other parts of Spain such as Galicia, where Siniestro Total were formed, faded away. Many of their best and most popular songs, reflecting the punk and fun essence of the band, were written and recorded in the early days of Siniestro Total. This album comprises their very first recording sessions, unearthed here for the first time, when the early demo versions of some of those songs were captured. The band's lack of studio experience was balanced with tons of fun and laughter. This demo was sent to a radio DJ and all the songs were aired on his show at the most popular music station in Spain, Radio 3. In fact, the demo was awarded demo of the year (Maqueta de Oro del Diario Pop 1982). Four decades later, the sound of the original tape has been mixed and mastered for this very special release that Munster Records are honored to bring to fruition.

Memphis-born saxophonist Frank Lowe with his muscular tenor sax voice shines along with Butch Morris' cornet and Amina Claudine Myers' piano on top of Wilber Morris (bass) and Tim Pleasant (drums) angular rhythms. Recorded in 1981.

Warehouse find, last copies; Double LP version. Kostas Soublis' productions under the Fluxion moniker helped define legendary Berlin imprint Chain Reaction, and with 1999's Vibrant Forms, the Greek producer released a milestone in the dub techno genre. Hazy and distant, there was still more than enough dancefloor push to propel Soublis into the (very short) list of genre legends, and make Vibrant Forms one of the very rare techno albums that works from beginning to end. Out of press for far too long, this new edition of Vibrant Forms has been remastered and will finally see the entire album released on vinyl for the first time. The most shocking thing hearing it almost 15 years after its original release, however, is how little it has dated. Soublis wisely avoided any cultural tropes, and the productions still sound fresh and deceptively alien. Through washes and waves of reverb and the faint thud of a kick drum, the all-analog productions contain a raw quality that is all too rare these days. Just head to the album's elegiac closing number "Opaque." Upbeat and propulsive, the track still maintains a deceptive calm, buoyed by swirling synthesizer washes and sizzling, tape-saturated percussion. This is the way dub techno should sound -- don't accept any imitations, Vibrant Forms is the real thing. Completely remastered by Matt Colton at Alchemy.

First time 7" reissue of this mega-rare Bobby Marin produced Latin funk gem. "Together People (Pamoja Watu)" sounds like a cross between James Brown's "It's A New Day" and Manu Dibango's "Soul Makossa," while "It's Your Thing" is a heavy Latin funk instrumental version of the Isley Brothers classic, featuring screaming Hammond organ. Both are DJ favorites and the original 45 fetches large sums, if you can find a copy. Generally, when discussing the first wave of Latin soul and boogaloo, it's the bands and their leaders, the singers and the songs that get all the recognition. But what of the producers, composers, and arrangers? One of the top old-school New York Latin music producers, Bobby Marin, was behind the scenes for some of the best independently produced boogaloo and salsa of the '60s and '70s. One of his best and most obscure productions was credited to Los Africanos, a studio project featuring Chico Mendoza and New Jersey-based band Ocho.

2024 restock; 1998 release. Voted one of 1998's top 15 Records of the Year in Modern Composition by the writers and critics of The Wire, Trilogie de la Mort is a work in three parts for anolog Arp synthesizer. The first third of the work, Kyema, is inspired by The Tibetan Book of the Dead and invokes the six intermediate states that constitute the existential continuity of the being. Kailasha, the second chapter, is structured on an imaginary pilgrimage around Mt. Kailash, one of the most sacred mountains in the Himalayas. Koumé makes up the last part of the trilogy and emphasizes the transcendence of death.

"The last great rock LP from Nigeria's post-Civil War underground. Be Nice to the People was recorded in 1977 by Fela producer Odion Iruoje as he chased the runaway success of high school band Ofege. The Western world was in the throes of peace, love and flower power as Nigeria descended into civil war in 1967. The rock scene that developed during the following three years of bloodshed and destruction would come to heal the country, propagate the world-wide ideal of the modern Nigerian, and propel Fela to stardom after the conflict ended in 1970. The members of Question Mark were children when the Nigerian civil war ended and by the time they recorded their only album in 1977 they were college students, chasing rock n' roll dreams as Afro-beat turned to Afro-disco. Theirs is a fiery reminder of a once vibrant scene."