|
Recent Best Sellers
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
3LP
|
|
AALP 087LP
|
Triple LP version. 140 gram vinyl; Gatefold sleeve with liner notes and pictures. Following Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb's dangerous trip to Mogadishu in November of 2016, the label presents Dur Dur of Somalia: Volume 1, Volume 2 & Previously Unreleased Tracks. Dur-Dur, a young band from the '80s, climaxed as a band in April of 1987 with the release of Volume 2, their second album. The secrets to Dur-Dur's rapid success is inextricably linked to the vision of Isse Dahir, founder and keyboard player of the band. Isse's plan was to locate some of the most forward-thinking musicians of Mogadishu's buzzing scene and lure them into Dur-Dur. Ujeeri, the band's mercurial bass player was recruited from Somali jazz and drummer extraordinaire Handal previously played in Bakaka Band. Isse also added his two younger brothers to the line-up: Abukar Dahir Qassin was brought in to play lead guitar, and Ahmed Dahir Qassin was hired as a permanent sound engineer. On their first two albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2, three different singers traded lead-vocal duties back and forth. Shimaali, formerly of Bakaka Band, handled the Dhaanto songs, a Somalian rhythm from the northern part of the country that bears a striking resemblance to reggae; Sahra Dawo, a young female singer, had been recruited from Somalia's national orchestra, the Waaberi Band. Their third singer, the legendary Baastow, who had also been a vocalist with the Waaberi Band, and had been brought into Dur-Dur due to his deep knowledge of traditional Somali music, particularly Saar, a type of music intended to summon the spirits during religious rituals. From the very beginning, Dur-Dur's doctrine was the fusion of traditional Somali music with whatever rhythms would make people dance: funk, reggae, soul, disco, and new wave were mixed effortlessly with Banaadiri beats, Dhaanto, and spiritual Saar music. The concoction was explosive. It initially seemed that Dur-Dur's music had only been preserved as a series of murky tape dubs and YouTube videos, but after Samy arrived in Mogadishu he eventually got to the heart of Mogadishu's tape-copying network and ended up finding some of the band's fabled master tapes, long thought to have disappeared. This set reissues the band's first two albums -- the first installment in a three-part series dedicated to Dur-Dur Band -- representing the first fruit of Analog Africa's long labors to bring this extraordinary music to the wider world. Remastered from the best available audio sources. Includes two previously unreleased tracks; Accompanied by extensive liner notes, featuring interviews with original band members.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
KOM 392LP
|
Double LP version. Two years on from his last outing, The Follower (KOMP 130CD/KOM 350LP, 2016), Axel Willner puts on his Field suit again to present his sixth full-length effort for Kompakt, Infinite Moment. Infinite Moment sees him striding further across the deeper, richer rims of the hue cycle. In Willner's own words, "the threshold of creating something new had to be broken", as had been done with his past albums, including his acclaimed debut From Here We Go Sublime (KOMP 057CD/KOMRSD 002LP, 2007). For Willner, "stepping outside of the studio opened up fresh perspectives on the creation of new music"; it was the opening cut, "Made Of Steel, Made Of Stone", that got him into the flux of things, "making of the rest of the album easier as I went". Substituting the up-tempo vim of his previous pieces for a sense of mind-expanding horizontality, Infinite Moment is an album filled with hope and draped in a diffuse, appeasing light, easing the pain and troubles of the human soul through a lushly forested recital of shoegazing modular, complex textural interplays and solar, atmospheric fractals. "Made Of Steel, Made Of Stone" gets the ball rolling on a thumping down-tempo note, which as Willner explains, "gives me a lot of hope". "Hope is something I've been missing in the nowadays climate and this album is a relief to me, a type of comfort, like a moment that feels good and you don't want to end." "Divide Now" is a sonic mitosis, engaging the metamorphosis to come; like a larvae pupating and reemerging weeks later from under rough bark in the form of a butterfly - fluttering breaks shed their skin to make way for a more intimate and hypnotic second chapter. "Hear Your Voice" propels the lavish, pad-upholstered glamour of its melodic lines in a bolder syncopated re-visitation of 1980s-indebted pop harmonics, while "Something Left, Something Right, Something Wrong" returns to a flaring post-euphoric daze. A more arrhythmic affair, "Who Goes There" spins out into orbit wildly, fusing acid bass moves with a haunting motorik, playing with the listener's mind intensely before the ten-minute-long epic "Infinite Moment" ushers its listener into a highly immersive final ballet of buzzing chords, trampling drums and all-consuming drones. This album is a direct soul-to-soul transmission, aiming no further than at finding the right balance between contained emotion and an expressive eloquence.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
FKR 096LP
|
Finders Keepers present a reissue of Popera Cosmic's Les Esclaves, originally released in 1969. For the few people lucky enough to have heard the entire album in the five decades since its release, the mythical Popera Cosmic album is now considered to be France's first dedicated psychedelic album and the shrouded blueprint for the hugely influential Gallic concept album phenomenon that followed -- including Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire De Melody Nelson (1971) and Gérard Manset's La Mort D'Orion (1970). Spearheaded by François Wertheimer (songwriter for Vangelis, Barbara, and BYG Records), composed with future Jodorowsky soundtracker and genius all-rounder, Guy Skornik, and based on an embryonic concept co-conspired by a teenage Jean-Michel Jarre, this instantly deleted 1969 recording is a true essential for any outer-national-radicalized record collection. With credentials that mark the birth of the cosmic funk (later disco) that helped shape the influential sound of France today, this LP also includes the first pressed instrumentals by members of Space Art, some of the best orchestra rock arrangements by William Sheller -- Lux Aeterna (1972), Erotissimo (1969) -- and orchestrator Paul Piot (Jean Rollin), as well as sitar psych benchmarks courtesy of uber legend Serge Franklin -- all pinned down by the rhythm section that would later be known to prog aficionados as Alice. Subtitled Les Esclaves ("The Slaves"), this street theater/rock opera (influenced by the work of Julien Beck's Living Theatre) now celebrates its 50th birthday standing firmly as a sonic tome to the birth of the no-no era (that rebuked France's yé-yé hamster wheel) leading directly to the thematic progressive network of Wakhévitch, Manset, and Magma while comprising an inter-Gallic intergalactic super group from the early annals of France's pop psych revolution. Imagine a rock opera where the cast of Mister Freedom perform Clash Of The Titans at the foot of The Holy Mountain -- then pinch yourself...
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
CSR 263LP
|
LP version. Includes download card. Cold Spring Records present the complete recording of A Slow Fade To Total Transparency. Recorded on August 24th, 1983 at the Air Gallery in London, UK. Personnel for the performance: John Balance (Coil), John Gosling (Zos Kia), Marc Almond (Soft Cell), and live mix by Peter Christopherson (Coil, Throbbing Gristle). Features: "How To Destroy Angels", the complete 23-minute piece; "How To Destroy Angels (Zos Kia Remix)", a nine-minute, unheard remix by John Gosling; and "Baptism Of Fire", an unreleased recording of Zos Kia/Coil at Recession Studios, London, England on October 12, 1983. Liner notes by Michel Faber (Under The Skin (2000), The Crimson Petal And The White). All audio, previously unreleased, has been remastered from the original tapes and is exclusive to this release.
Michel Faber: "Imagine how out-of-step with the dominant culture Coil were when they unveiled themselves in the Air Gallery to perform A Slow Fade To Total Transparency. Subtitled: How To Destroy Angels, the music -- a backing track prepared by John Balance, John Gosling and Peter Christopherson -- bears only scant resemblance to the How To Destroy Angels 12" that Coil would release as their debut vinyl the following year. Instead of the meditative ritual gongs of the 12", what we hear here is a restless, queasy melange of industrial noise, its eerie whistles the perfect backdrop for Marc Almond as he recites a bitter tirade against an ex-lover."
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
ARCHIVE 036LP
|
Staalplaat presents a double LP reissue of Muslimgauze's Ingaza, originally released in 1999 (the year of his death) as part of the Box Of Silk And Dogs set. Those not familiar with Bryn Jones's style will listen slack-jawed at the sheer anticipatory nature of his sound collages. He was a cult artist, politically motivated for the Arab-Palestinian cause and a seminal experimenter with ethnic samples' and minimal and electronic rhythms. The atmospheres retain their original charm, full and gloomy, but pulsating with provocative emotions, different from the exotic and ornamental processing of certain world music. Drum machines, old synths, and percussion are all combined in a traditional way, without any computer assistance. "Peace is a distant dream," said Bryn Jones, in one of his last interviews before passing away from a rare blood disease, and on both sizes things seem to unfortunately still be the same. Ingaza is thematically and stylistically all over the place, sporting atmospheric instrumental loops one moment and jarring, heavily barbed and distorted beats the next. Differences between tracks, not unlike changing channels on television or switching between net browsers, predominate, with imagery conjuring Middle Eastern travel and tourism on one screen whilst grisly proxy war footage plays on the next.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
CD
|
|
FABRIC 200CD
|
For the 100th and final installment of the iconic FabricLive mix series, in its current form, two UK pioneers unite for a hypnotic mix. Burial and Kode9 are each credited with fostering esoteric, hyperlocal sounds and steering them to global recognition, helping to shape the landscape of contemporary electronic music as we know it. Since launching his seminal Hyperdub imprint in 2004, Kode9 has sustained a reputation as one of the most innovative artists, curators and DJs. He has three studio albums, Memories of the Future (2006) and Black Sun (2010) with The Spaceape, Nothing (2015) and three DJ compilations, Dubstep Allstars vol.3 (Tempa 2006), DJ Kicks (!K7 2011) and Rinse 22 (Rinse 2013) to his name, as well as tracks released on labels ranging from Aphex Twin's Rephlex imprint and Soul Jazz to Warp and Domino. As one of the most enigmatic artists of the 21st century, Burial is responsible for birthing a sound that is truly singular. There are few producers whose work is so instantly recognizable, to the point that his name is now synonymous with a distinct set of eerie sonic components. His disquieting depictions of South London, informed heavily by sound system and UK rave culture, are widely considered masterpieces, with the cultural impact of his work echoing far further afield than his home-turf. His relationship with Kode9 and Hyperdub stems back to his first EP, South London Boroughs (2005), with almost every subsequent release, including two highly-influential studio albums, Burial (2006) and Untrue (2007) residing on the label. Both artist's origins can be traced back to bass-heavy strands of UK underground music -- a sphere in which they have worked closely together for many years -- but the idiosyncrasies of their respective styles are recognized on a much broader scale. As such, the mix reaches into obscure corners and a disorienting range of tempos across its 37 tracks. Featuring artists from Africa, China, South America and Japan as well as the Europe and US, the mix draws from gqom, juke and footwork to trance, jungle and grime, as well as a wealth of material that defies categorization. It sounds like it was stitched together from a box of unknown mixtapes found in the gutter. FabricLive 100 concludes the current strand of the beloved mix CD series in a way that honors its namesake clubnight. Covering many of the musical styles that have found their home within its walls, whilst simultaneously looking outward for inspiration. It is also a documentation of two of London's remarkably skilled artists delving deep for an undeniably unique collaboration.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
CD
|
|
KOMP 149CD
|
Two years on from his last outing, The Follower (KOMP 130CD/KOM 350LP, 2016), Axel Willner puts on his Field suit again to present his sixth full-length effort for Kompakt, Infinite Moment. Infinite Moment sees him striding further across the deeper, richer rims of the hue cycle. In Willner's own words, "the threshold of creating something new had to be broken", as had been done with his past albums, including his acclaimed debut From Here We Go Sublime (KOMP 057CD/KOMRSD 002LP, 2007). For Willner, "stepping outside of the studio opened up fresh perspectives on the creation of new music"; it was the opening cut, "Made Of Steel, Made Of Stone", that got him into the flux of things, "making of the rest of the album easier as I went". Substituting the up-tempo vim of his previous pieces for a sense of mind-expanding horizontality, Infinite Moment is an album filled with hope and draped in a diffuse, appeasing light, easing the pain and troubles of the human soul through a lushly forested recital of shoegazing modular, complex textural interplays and solar, atmospheric fractals. "Made Of Steel, Made Of Stone" gets the ball rolling on a thumping down-tempo note, which as Willner explains, "gives me a lot of hope". "Hope is something I've been missing in the nowadays climate and this album is a relief to me, a type of comfort, like a moment that feels good and you don't want to end." "Divide Now" is a sonic mitosis, engaging the metamorphosis to come; like a larvae pupating and reemerging weeks later from under rough bark in the form of a butterfly - fluttering breaks shed their skin to make way for a more intimate and hypnotic second chapter. "Hear Your Voice" propels the lavish, pad-upholstered glamour of its melodic lines in a bolder syncopated re-visitation of 1980s-indebted pop harmonics, while "Something Left, Something Right, Something Wrong" returns to a flaring post-euphoric daze. A more arrhythmic affair, "Who Goes There" spins out into orbit wildly, fusing acid bass moves with a haunting motorik, playing with the listener's mind intensely before the ten-minute-long epic "Infinite Moment" ushers its listener into a highly immersive final ballet of buzzing chords, trampling drums and all-consuming drones. This album is a direct soul-to-soul transmission, aiming no further than at finding the right balance between contained emotion and an expressive eloquence.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2CD
|
|
BEC 5543696
|
Arguably one of the most acclaimed and loved bands of the past 20 years, by both fans and their musical peers alike, The Beta Band formed in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1996. Their unique musical and aesthetic approach to everything they did set them far apart from their musical contemporaries. Together for a relatively short period of time, the three albums and three EPs they released between 1996 and 2004 would nonetheless help define them as one of the most exciting and cherished bands of their generation. After acquiring the Beta Band's catalog last year, Because Music will reissue their releases. Alongside The Three EPs (20th Anniversary Remaster) (BEC 5543617), they start with the double-CD, The Best Of The Beta Band. The release compiles all their best hits and includes a live show recorded at the Shepherd's Bush Empire (London) in 2004.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2CD
|
|
AACD 087CD
|
Following Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb's dangerous trip to Mogadishu in November of 2016, the label presents Dur Dur of Somalia: Volume 1, Volume 2 & Previously Unreleased Tracks. Dur-Dur, a young band from the '80s, climaxed as a band in April of 1987 with the release of Volume 2, their second album. The secrets to Dur-Dur's rapid success is inextricably linked to the vision of Isse Dahir, founder and keyboard player of the band. Isse's plan was to locate some of the most forward-thinking musicians of Mogadishu's buzzing scene and lure them into Dur-Dur. Ujeeri, the band's mercurial bass player was recruited from Somali jazz and drummer extraordinaire Handal previously played in Bakaka Band. Isse also added his two younger brothers to the line-up: Abukar Dahir Qassin was brought in to play lead guitar, and Ahmed Dahir Qassin was hired as a permanent sound engineer. On their first two albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2, three different singers traded lead-vocal duties back and forth. Shimaali, formerly of Bakaka Band, handled the Dhaanto songs, a Somalian rhythm from the northern part of the country that bears a striking resemblance to reggae; Sahra Dawo, a young female singer, had been recruited from Somalia's national orchestra, the Waaberi Band. Their third singer, the legendary Baastow, who had also been a vocalist with the Waaberi Band, and had been brought into Dur-Dur due to his deep knowledge of traditional Somali music, particularly Saar, a type of music intended to summon the spirits during religious rituals. From the very beginning, Dur-Dur's doctrine was the fusion of traditional Somali music with whatever rhythms would make people dance: funk, reggae, soul, disco, and new wave were mixed effortlessly with Banaadiri beats, Dhaanto, and spiritual Saar music. The concoction was explosive. It initially seemed that Dur-Dur's music had only been preserved as a series of murky tape dubs and YouTube videos, but after Samy arrived in Mogadishu he eventually got to the heart of Mogadishu's tape-copying network and ended up finding some of the band's fabled master tapes, long thought to have disappeared. This set reissues the band's first two albums -- the first installment in a three-part series dedicated to Dur-Dur Band -- representing the first fruit of Analog Africa's long labors to bring this extraordinary music to the wider world. Remastered from the best available audio sources. Includes two previously unreleased tracks; Accompanied by extensive liner notes, featuring interviews with original band members. Double-CD version comes with 12-page booklet.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
HAFTW 029LP
|
Sold out, repress hopefully in 2019... The penultimate release in the series, Stage 5 of The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End of Time charts severe levels of musical/mental deterioration and sensory detachment through four extended, smudged and hallucinatory side-long pieces. Nearing the end, Stage 5 sees our protagonist enter a near-permanent state of confusion and horror. Mirroring the endemic deterioration of dementia's latter phases, one is pulled through the most extreme entanglements in the series so far; repetition and ruptures, barely maintaining a connection to waking life and a sense of self. In the most classic sense, one becomes witness to an abandonment and dissolution of ego, as the mulch of bygone 78s totally loses itself in a way that connotes misfiring synapses failing to properly relay information at advanced levels of the disease. It feels as though one's skull is being scraped out, uncovering hellish layers of accreted sensation and mulched imagery, occasionally recognizing calmer patterns, only for them to fray into the ether before it's possible to parse and dwell on them. At this point it's also perhaps worth pointing out the uncannily profound synchronicity between the timelines of Everywhere At The End of Time and Brexit, which both started in 2016 and are due to wrap up in spring 2019. It should be no stretch of the imagination to read into their parallel progression from nostalgia and historic/collective amnesia, to progressive dementia and complete obliteration of (the) sense(s). Mastered and cut by Lupo, artwork by Ivan Seal.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
SFRLP 111LP
|
"One of post-punks most important and influential groups, Joy Division is captured here in their purest form, performing live in a BBC studio for legendary rock & roll broadcaster John Peel. Recorded over the course of three sessions between January -- November 1979, with the band performing both fan favorites and introducing several yet-to-be-released new songs, the intimacy and immediacy of the recordings is nothing short of stunning."
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
DPROM 135LP
|
Dirter presents the first appearance on vinyl since 1990 of Whitehouse's Steve Albini-produced classic Thank Your Lucky Stars LP, this time around as a luxuriously expanded double LP set. The original LP was recorded in September 1988 at Albini's Chicago studio and then issued on Susan Lawly as a 4 track 12″ vinyl release. A special CD edition followed in 1997 on CD with extra tracks from other sessions in Chicago recorded around that time. This limited double vinyl edition features all that material in addition to the legendary original 13:36 version of "My Cock's On Fire" recorded at IPS, London in 1984. The set is limited to just 500 copies.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
4LP+CD
|
|
BEC 5543617
|
Because Music presents a 20th anniversary remaster and reissue of The Three EPs, a compilation of The Beta Band's early music, dating from 1997-1998. Arguably one of the most acclaimed and loved bands of the past 20 years, by both fans and their musical peers alike, The Beta Band formed in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1996. Their unique musical and aesthetic approach to everything they did set them far apart from their musical contemporaries. Together for a relatively short period of time, the three albums and three EPs that they released between 1996 and 2004 would nonetheless help define them as one of the most exciting and cherished bands of their generation. After acquiring the Beta Band's catalog in 2017, Because Music reissue the first in a series of releases, starting with The Three EPs. A deluxe vinyl edition gathering the EPs: Champion Versions (1997) on red vinyl, The Patty Patty Sound (1998) on two yellow vinyl, and Los Amigos Del Beta Bandidos (1998) on blue vinyl. Remastered tracks; Includes CD; Slipcase box set; Hand-numbered edition; Limited to 5,000.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
BF 004LP
|
Before the spectral, romantic electric guitar miniatures for which he is celebrated today, Loren Connors recorded a string of nine solo acoustic guitar improvisations under the name of Loren Mazzacane between 1979 and 1980. The records feature Loren's contorted impressions of Delta and country blues, persistently kneaded into sidelong guitar excursions entangled with wordless, mournful vocal utterances, hummed and moaned in imitation of the dogs that often howled outside his window. Originally released on Loren's own Daggett Records (named after the street he lived on in New Haven), these LPs slipped into obscurity after Daggett's distributor went bankrupt, forcing the guitarist, who didn't have a car, to dispose of their unsold stock rather than drag the records home without transportation. Now, thanks to a recording found by Unseen Worlds's Tommy McCutchon in the archives of Columbia University, Blank Forms presents the tenth volume of the series. Recorded in Woodstock, in front of a live audience at the Creative Music Studio (the improvised music nonprofit founded by Karl Berger, Ornette Coleman, and Ingrid Sertso), Unaccompanied Acoustic Guitar Improvisations Vol. 10 provides a welcome addition to the canon of Loren's early solo releases and is the first contemporary vinyl publication of material from his Daggett Street period. As with the original Daggett records, the LP is issued in handmade covers with paste-on art featuring a replica of a recent drawing included in Loren's October 2018 art exhibition Wild Weeds, presented by Blank Forms. One of the world's most singular guitarists, Connors is among few living musicians whose prolific body of work can be said to be wholly justified in its plenitude. On more than 100 records across almost four decades on labels like Table of the Elements, Drag City, Ecstatic Yod, and his own Daggett Records, Connors has wrung distinctive shades of ephemeral blues from his guitar, its sound ever-shifting while remaining unmistakably his own. From his early, splintered take on the Delta bottleneck style through his song-based albums with Suzanne Langille and on to the painterly abstraction that defines his current work, Connors has earned the admiration of many, leading to collaborations with the likes of John Fahey, Jim O'Rourke, Keiji Haino, Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Alan Licht, and Jandek. Creative Music Studio is an ongoing organization that engages musicians and listeners from all backgrounds to deepen and broaden their musical sensitivity, expression, and understanding through workshops, recordings, and concerts worldwide.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
CD
|
|
BEC 5543615
|
Because Music presents a 20th anniversary remaster and reissue of The Three EPs, a compilation of The Beta Band's early music, dating from 1997-1998. Arguably one of the most acclaimed and loved bands of the past 20 years, by both fans and their musical peers alike, The Beta Band formed in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1996. Their unique musical and aesthetic approach to everything they did set them far apart from their musical contemporaries. Together for a relatively short period of time, the three albums and three EPs that they released between 1996 and 2004 would nonetheless help define them as one of the most exciting and cherished bands of their generation. After acquiring the Beta Band's catalog in 2017, Because Music are reissuing a series of releases, starting with The Three EPs. Two-panel digipack with 32-page stapled booklet.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
PAPR 2004LP
|
Past & Present presents Girls In The Garage Volume 4, the fourth volume of a series of garage rock compilations focusing on female artists. Prior to Joan Jett, Patti Smith, Courtney Love and other era-defining women in rock, there were the girls in the garage. Like their male counterparts discovered, being in a band was not only cool and alluring, it was sexual and ultimately political without making a political statement. The garage band was a medium that enabled a voice to be heard, whether it be an adolescent fury of angst and frustration or plain old hormones. Girls In the Garage captures the raw essence of those juvenile dreams played out through guitars, drums, microphones and amplifiers. Prevailing gender roles would be tested, and rock 'n' roll became someone else's domain: the girls. Although it's been said that it was rare for a girl group to play on their own records in the mid-1960s, they were many exceptions. On both sides of the Atlantic, cynical and shrewd producers largely employed session musicians, afraid of any conceivable faults at the hands of such young and innocent hands, male and female. The ones who didn't were bold visionaries that believed not only in this new generation's ambitions, but their capabilities as well. As the female presence in rock n' roll gained traction through the appearance of figures such as The Vejtables, Jan Errico, The Honeycombs' Honey Lantree, and the fabulous Maureen Tucker (The Velvet Underground), so too did the rise of all-female bands. Liverpool's Liverbirds and Hull's Mandy and The Girlfriends gave weight to the idea that it was "normal" and paved the way for like-minded girls to pick up their guitars. Although the prevailing attitude among both major and independent record labels was never going to be inspiring or welcoming, times were changing and girls didn't just want to have fun. Emerging groups such as The Pleasure Seekers, White Boots, Ace Of Cups, Bittersweets, and The Luv'd Ones were playing rock n' roll on their own terms whilst breaking new ground, whether they were trying to or not. Features The Southern Belles, Bonnie Jo Mason, The Girls, The Cake, Kathy Clarke, Minnie & The Kneebones, The Supergirls, Kay Bell & The Tuffs, Feebeez, Jean Robinson, The Ladybugs, The Daughters Of Eve, The Rums & Coke, The Sham-Ettes, The Debs, Society's Children, and The GTO's. 180 gram, purple vinyl; Includes four-page vinyl booklet; hand-numbered sleeves; Edition of 1000.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
WRJ 001LTD-LP
|
Last copies of this deluxe edition, to be replaced by "regular" version (WRJ 001LP). Mastered at half speed. 180 gram vinyl; Stoughton tip-on sleeve. We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records' new sister-label) presents its first release, the official reissue of Ryo Fukui's highly sought-after masterpiece Scenery, originally released in 1976. Unquestionably one of the most important Japanese jazz albums ever recorded, Scenery reveals Ryo Fukui as a miraculously brilliant self-taught pianist fusing modal, bop, and cool jazz influences for a very personal, dexterous, and game-changing take on classic standards made famous by Bing Crosby and John Coltrane among others. From "It Could Happen To You" and its serene and calm intro which magically flows into a jubilant and upbeat piece, to the out-of-this-world piano solo of "Early Summer", or the incredible teamwork of "Autumn Leaves" where Fukui leads Satoshi Denpo (bass) and Yoshinori Fukui (drums) into groove heaven, every single note on the album oozes precision, confidence, and flair and every single section slides seamlessly into one another, creating a supreme and elegant blend of jazz. Often compared to McCoy Tyner or Bill Evans, Ryo Fukui was a genius in his own right, a true master of his craft whose perfectionism gave birth to some of the greatest music ever recorded. Scenery is his magnum opus and an absolute must-have. The Hokkaido wizard-pianist followed Scenery with the soulful gem Mellow Dream (WRJ 002CD/LTD-LP) in 1977. He then focused on improving his live skills, often performing at Sapporo's Slowboat Jazz Club (which he co-founded with his wife Yasuko Fukui) and releasing two live albums. Ryo Fukui sadly passed away in March 2016, leaving behind a legacy of works that is sure to captivate jazz lovers for generations to come. Sourced from the original masters. Last copies of this deluxe edition, to be replaced by "regular" version (WRJ 001LP).
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2CD
|
|
BEC 5543705
|
Because Music presents a reissue of The Beta Band's 1999 self-titled debut. Arguably one of the most acclaimed and loved bands of the past 20 years, by both fans and their musical peers alike, The Beta Band formed in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1996. Innovative and singular, their unique musical and aesthetic approach to everything they did set them far apart from their musical contemporaries. Together for a relatively short period of time, the three albums and three EPs they released between 1996 and 2004 would nonetheless help define them as one of the most exciting and cherished bands of their generation. The Beta Band followed 1998's critically acclaimed compilation The Three E.P.'s (BEC 5543615, 5543616, 5543617, 2018). With high anticipation for The Beta Band, the band originally planned to record the album in four separate continents, but financial constraints slimmed the recording locations down. However, the album was still recorded in a variety of locations and pulling inspiration from sources as diverse as Jamaican reggae, Disney's The Black Hole (1979) and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart". The band also originally intended the album to contain a bonus disc of two long-form ambient pieces, "Happiness and Colour" and "The Hut", both of which lasted over 20 minutes and represented the band's desire to "make a record of sound as a description for something like happiness, where a distinct first part gives way to a distinct second part". However, the band and label ultimately decided to remove these tracks from the original album prior to release; for this edition they have been restored as a bonus disc. Three-panel digisleeve with 24-page stapled booklet.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
MNQ 121LP
|
Mannequin Records concludes its trilogy of reissues from the avant-garde Italian-born producer Doris Norton with Artificial Intelligence (1985). Apple's first music "endorsement" (Norton was also later a consultant for IBM) and early Roland affiliate, Doris Norton is one of the most important women pioneer in the use of synths and in the early electro/computer music. While the beat-oriented style of Norton's music aligns her with such global fellow-travelers as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk, her championing of the personal computer as a tool for self-sufficient musical creativity also connects her to musicians such as Pietro Grossi, Laurie Spiegel, and the League of Automatic Music Composers. Norton's predilection for the bright, glossy timbres of early digital instruments also recalls Hubert Bognermayr and Harald Zuschrader's bizarre Erdenklang (1982). A year on from Personal Computer (MNQ 120LP, 2018), Norton released Artificial Intelligence in 1985, setting a step up in her deep electronic music research and innovation.
"The whole album was composed and programmed only with the alphanumerical keyboard of the computer. The total of the notes and coded events takes to the number 124,648: of these 123,827 were coded with 'step time' procedure and the rest with real-time procedure. Having reduced the keyboard, Norton used only a hexaphonic JX.8P with memory processed by her and interfaced to the computer. No drums were used, neither electronic nor much less acoustic. All the rhythms were obtained by A.D.A. conversions and processing of wave ranges with the use of expanders with a very special handling of envelopes, frequency, resonance, and noise. Doris Norton fed the computer the parameters of vowels and consonants of her own voice, like A, O, U, E, D, and N, through an A.D.A conversion card. By processing these values and assembling them in phonemes in hundreds of different combination, at various compressed resolutions she was able to make the computer sing a complete song in a totally human way (with the voice of Doris). Many other synth sounds resulting from A.D.A. conversions are present in Artificial Intelligence, amongst these: pipe organ, plate, electric discharge, iron beat, birds, dog, harp, and woods, all sampled and handled by the computer. Artificial Intelligence is a perfect example of how human intelligence can bend the coded 'artificial intelligence' to its own will." --ComputerMusik, 1985.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
AUK 129LP
|
LP version on 180 gram clear vinyl. This is the second full-length album from Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe. The self-titled album contains 9 tracks. "Right On" is the only track that has been released before on the eponymous EP released earlier in 2018. All tracks were recorded at Cobra Studios, Berlin in 2017, the majority of the songs co-written by Tess & Anton.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
ST 7302LP
|
"This is the one that started it all, the 1970 debut disk by George Clinton's groundbreaking funk racketeers Parliament. All of the extravagant, idiosyncratic elements are in place here -- lysergic-dosed soul, wild guitars, deep grooves, over-arching experimentation -- combining to create an altogether unprecedented collection of typically free thinking, almost unhinged workouts. A funk milestone of epic proportions."
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
WWSLP 012LP
|
Sold out, repress in August 2018... LP version. Wewantsounds present a reissue and the first international release of Hiroshi Sato's ultra-rare synth masterpiece, Orient, originally released in 1979 on Kitty Records in Japan only. This highly sought-after album is a superb breezy mix of Japanese synth-pop with a subtle touch of mid-70s Herbie Hancock-style funk and AOR. Originally released in 1979, at a fruitful time when Hiroshi Sato, Haruomi Hosono, and Shigeru Suzuki were fresh from playing in the group Tin Pan Alley and Haruomi Hosono had just formed Yellow Magic Orchestra, Orient is a unique balance of various styles. It has become one of the most sought-after Japanese LPs on the global Balearic scene and is now exchanging hands for astronomical prices. The album includes such cult tracks as "Son Go Kuw" and "Do-Jo" popular on the international DJ scene. It features the best Japanese musicians at the time, including Shigeru Suzuki on guitar, Haruomi Hosono on bass, Pecker on percussion, and Sato himself on keyboards and synthesizers. The album also features on Gilles Peterson's "Significant Album" List. Fully remastered from the original Kitty Records tapes by Universal Japan. Includes original four-page color insert, including English translations of the original liner notes by leading Japanese journalist Yasufumi Amatatsu, plus the full track-by-track musician line up. "Breezy Balearic synth pop with a Nippon twist" --The Vinyl Factory.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
EPR 048LP
|
Double LP version. Mythic Sunship's sound has been described as "the ethos of free jazz in a doom setting". On Another Shape Of Psychedelic Music, recorded and mixed in the studio of Causa Sui's Jonas Munk, the band goes even further and lets saxophone burn into the mix. It's a wildfire of ideas that travel far on a smoky haze of cosmic krautrock, stoner, doom, heavy psych, modal jazz and even drifts into Afrobeat. Jonas Munk joins these live sessions on guitar on a few tracks as well, making up a screaming cacophony of three guitars, bass, drums, and saxophone. Aptly titled Another Shape Of Psychedelic Music, this is just not a record of psychedelic music; it's also an album about psychedelic music. The very fabric of psych music seems to materialize in all its shapes and sizes and then vaporize right in front of your ears as the album burns further towards the final groove. Few bands would be able to pull this off, but Mythic Sunship maintain a down-to-earth melted vibe, even at their most ferocious. Making this album good both for zoning out as well as for pure rock catharsis. Groovy.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP+CD
|
|
BEC 5543698
|
Because Music presents a reissue of The Beta Band's 1999 self-titled debut. Arguably one of the most acclaimed and loved bands of the past 20 years, by both fans and their musical peers alike, The Beta Band formed in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1996. Innovative and singular, their unique musical and aesthetic approach to everything they did set them far apart from their musical contemporaries. Together for a relatively short period of time, the three albums and three EPs they released between 1996 and 2004 would nonetheless help define them as one of the most exciting and cherished bands of their generation. The Beta Band followed 1998's critically acclaimed compilation The Three E.P.'s (BEC 5543615, 5543616, 5543617, 2018). With high anticipation for The Beta Band, the band originally planned to record the album in four separate continents, but financial constraints slimmed the recording locations down. However, the album was still recorded in a variety of locations and pulling inspiration from sources as diverse as Jamaican reggae, Disney's The Black Hole (1979) and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Gatefold jacket with printed sleeves; CD included.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
VAMPI 184LP
|
"Vampisoul present the latest volume in their Discos Fuentes reissue series, Salsa Con Monte, an instant tropical Latin dance party from Blas 'Michi' Sarmiento. Honestly, all Michi Y Sus Bravos albums are all so good. However, a poll with fans and DJs, selected his sixth album Salsa Con Monte, from 1973, issued here for the first time. 'El Michi', as his grandmother nicknamed him, is the son of the famous reedman ClĂmaco Sarmiento, a bandleader who recorded with Fuentes for decades. Proficient in percussion and singing from an early age, Michi is most known for following in his father's footsteps with clarinet, saxophone, composition and musical arranging as his signature skills. By 17 Michi had his own band and by 1967 his Bravos were competing with local sound systems and radio stations that were playing salsa, descarga, charanga, and boogaloo. While Sarmiento has consistently maintained his love of traditional Afro-Colombian-rooted 'mĂşsica costeña' to this day (porro, cumbia, cumbelĂ©, gaita, paseo and merecumbĂ©), Los Bravos always played it hard, loose and fast, because they had to compete with the DJs. Michi preferred recording "live" in the studio with the result being an accurate document of what a powerful outfit they must have been to experience in person. This album contains a number of excellent cover tunes, including the rather surprising choice of Gilberto Gil's "Viramundo". This opening cut is followed in quick succession by a dizzyingly diverse gaggle of genres, namely cumbelĂ©, calypso, pasebol, cumbiĂłn and rumba. One could truly say Michi and his band of 'braves' bring us quite a heavy load of salsa 'mounted' on this record (Salsa Con Monte, referring to Michi's motorbike 'mount' on the cover), which is exactly what's happening by the look of the front and back jackets of this classic Discos Fuentes LP." --Pablo Yglesias, aka DJ Bongohead Issued with facsimile artwork and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
RCR 6703LP
|
"London's scruffy, stomping garage-psych bad boys the Deviants were one of the era's most delightfully pernicious rock & roll groups. Founded by infamous music journalist Mick Farren in 1967, the Deviants had a roaring, proto-punk edge with an eccentric lysergic twist which Farren described as 'teeth-grinding psychedelic rock,' an unusual combination that propelled them into wild, previously unknown territory."
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
3LP+2CD
|
|
BEC 5543699
|
Triple LP version. Includes two CDs; Gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves. Because Music presents a reissue of The Beta Band's 1999 self-titled debut. Arguably one of the most acclaimed and loved bands of the past 20 years, by both fans and their musical peers alike, The Beta Band formed in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1996. Innovative and singular, their unique musical and aesthetic approach to everything they did set them far apart from their musical contemporaries. Together for a relatively short period of time, the three albums and three EPs they released between 1996 and 2004 would nonetheless help define them as one of the most exciting and cherished bands of their generation. The Beta Band followed 1998's critically acclaimed compilation The Three E.P.'s (BEC 5543615, 5543616, 5543617, 2018). With high anticipation for The Beta Band, the band originally planned to record the album in four separate continents, but financial constraints slimmed the recording locations down. However, the album was still recorded in a variety of locations and pulling inspiration from sources as diverse as Jamaican reggae, Disney's The Black Hole (1979) and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart". The band also originally intended the album to contain a bonus disc of two long-form ambient pieces, "Happiness and Colour" and "The Hut", both of which lasted over 20 minutes and represented the band's desire to "make a record of sound as a description for something like happiness, where a distinct first part gives way to a distinct second part". However, the band and label ultimately decided to remove these tracks from the original album prior to release; for this edition they have been restored as a bonus disc.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
BANG 122LP
|
Sonic's Rendezvous Band were Detroit '70s legends that included Fred "Sonic" Smith of The MC5 and Scott Asheton of The Stooges. In 1978 Sonic's Rendezvous Band recorded only two studio tracks which are in this LP, including the mighty "City Slang" plus other tracks recorded live in Detroit in 1978 with excellent sound quality. A total must-have for all fans of The Stooges and The MC5 as well as Bored!, Radio Birdman, The New Christs, The Hellacopters, etc. This album has been previously released under the name Too Much Crack. Released under license from Easy Action Records.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
MUSIQ 218LP
|
Is Watarase the best jazz record from Japan, as the French-born Gilles Peterson once assumed? Or is it maybe the best jazz record of all jazz records? Everyone can decide for themselves and listen to Watarase, the second solo piano album of the Japanese pianist Fumio Itabashi, originally released in 1982. Tokyo-based Mule Musiq have unearthed it, re-mastered the original recordings and brought it back to the world in order to seduce all music lovers that embrace notes which come straight from the heart and soul. Any sensible listener finds the instrumental piano pieces are somehow soulfully connected to what Keith Jarrett plays on his legendary Köln Concert (1975). Like Jarrett, Itabashi does not play his notes academically. He lets them fly, gives them some kind a life of their own, hits the piano keys deeply emotionally and injects his into compositions and interpretations a kind of nervous human soul. In terms of style, some call his Watarase recordings post-bop, others contemporary jazz. It is all, however, just that kind of agitating jazz that melts spirituality with humanity. Three tunes, the epic "Someday My Prince Will Come" as well as "Msunduza" and "I Can't Get Started", are interpretations, respectively, of compositions by Frank Churchill, Dollar Brand, and Vernon Duke. The other four compositions were written and by Itabashi, who started to play the piano when he was eight years old. While studying at Tokyo-based Kunitachi College Of Music, he fell in love with jazz. In the 1970's, he worked with such musicians like trumpet player Terumasa Hino, drummer Takeo Moriyama, and saxophonist Sadao Watanabe. Today Itabashi is still a vital part of Japanese jazz culture as a performer and composer. Those who want to see how he makes love with his piano should check the Internet for the French documentary Jazzed Out (2010), that captured his unique way of playing in one episode. But as music is always firstly for the ears, and not the eyes, one had to be directed to play the Watarase recordings loud, to get hooked by the highly infectious piano gems that have been recorded at Nippon Columbia 1st studio in Tokyo on 12th and 13th of October 1981. They will force one to become a good friend with the repeat button, in whatever medium one chooses to surrender to the music of Fumio Itabashi.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
WRWTFWW 024LP
|
LP version. 140 gram vinyl; Comes in Stoughton tip-on sleeve. WRWTFWW Records announce the reissue of the 1981 self-titled album from cult Japanese duo Colored Music. Includes liner notes in English and Japanese by digger, curator, connoisseur, writer, and legend Chee Shimizu. An incredible mix of cosmic new wave, unconventional disco, avant-garde synth pop, and hybrid electronic funk, Colored Music is enchantingly unique, a sort of experimental and magnetizing take on David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy with a psychedelic Haruomi Hosono touch. From the groovy post-punk glam title track to the proto-house dance floor killer "Heartbeat", Ichiko Hashimoto and Atsuo Fujimoto hit all the right (and sometimes not-exactly-right-but-truly-genius) notes to create the odd and beautiful, an unparalleled audio escape to the best elsewhere you can think of. Also playing on the album are celebrated musicians Mansaku Kimura, Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami -- 1978's Pacific (V 25AH426), 1981's KI-Motion by MKWAJU ensemble (WRWTFWW 026CD/LP), collaborations with Jun Fukamachi, Yasuaki Shimizu, Haruomi Hosono... -- Kiyohiko Semba, Tamio "Doyo" Kawabata, and Tatsuhiko Hizawa.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
WRWTFWW 032LP
|
LP version; in heavy 350 gram sleeve. WRWTFWW Records present the official reissue of cult album Lingua Franca-1 (originally released in 1983) by groundbreaking Kyoto band EP-4. Straight from the delirious minds of unconventional geniuses Kaoru Sato (who had previously released an album as R.N.A. Organism on legendary Osaka label Vanity Records) and Yuji "Banana" Kawashima, Lingua Franca-1 is a seamless voyage of spellbinding mutant funk grooves, joyful post-punk explorations, synth fantasies, sexy distortions, and fluid cool-no-sweat vocals. Constantly mutating in an almost biological way (similarly to Colored Music's self-titled album (1981)), always mysterious and seductive, sometimes reminiscing of a freaky cross between PiL, Liquid Liquid, David Bowie, and Yello, EP-4's debut is hard to label, although "Debonair Wave" could be a legitimate way to describe this Japan's best-kept-secret of an album. Defying the rules wasn't limited to sonic experimentations for band leader Kaoru Sato. To promote Lingua Franca-1, he and his crew plastered gigantic (illegal) billboards all over Shibuya and Harajuku, announcing performances in four different cities on odd hours of the same day (May 5th, 1983). Other of his notable antics included originally sub-titling the album "Death to the Emperor Showa", causing a controversy (which led to censorship and a title-change), trying to release two albums on the same day without the concerned labels being aware of the plan or, in the R.N.A. Organism days, fooling Vanity Records into believing the demo he sent them came from a foreign band (it worked). Unique personality, unique music!
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
P 024LP
|
Apologia is a set of unique psychedelic killers from Niagara, mounting a sterling debut album for Lisbon's PrĂncipe five years after their first 12", Ouro Oeste (2013). Trust that they have lost none of the weirdness that's endeared them to freaks around the world ever since they emerged. If anything they're stranger, spaced-out and more porous to wild influence on the 13 tracks of Apologia. Outlining Niagara's definitive description of contemporary exotica, Apologia limns a frayed, buzzing sort of "Fourth World PLUS" sound, where the "PLUS" refers to their embrace of noise as an agent of chaos. But it's not necessarily malefic chaos, and should be taken as a smart acknowledgement of the overlooked yet crucial role that roughness of grain and construction play in contrast with so many clinically smooth and even anodyne efforts from the same, imagined arena of worldly music for a new age. In allowing for the entropy of time and the inevitable infidelity of attrition to enter their soundsphere, Niagara's organic machine music keenly reflects a natural world order without the need for algorithmic process. Their world is a fertile interplay of acoustic and electronic sources rendering hazy, fata morgana-like glimpses of musical possibility, practically triangulating the visions of like minds such as Jamal Moss/Hieroglyphic Being and Dolo Percussion with the explorative precedents of Portugal's Telectu to realize a fine expression of anachronistic modernism. Most of the tracks loosely work around three-minute timeframes, lending a zig-zagging mosaic quality to the track list in between its longer parts. Richly colorful spiritual jazz arps and raw machine grooves spring from opener "França", triggering a cascade of ideas that bends between acidic kosmiche in "6:30" to the heat-sick boogie gliss of "40" and the stark emptiness of "Senhora Do Cabo", to give up the gorgeous, extended flute and acid meditation "Siena", and mess with Vangelis-style synth majesty on "Via Garibaldi", before spending their coolest energies in the drowsy Afro-Latin swagger of "Cabo Verde". It's hard to ignore the fact that Alberto, AntĂłnio and Sara aka Niagara have distilled their sound to imperfection on Apologia, resulting one of 2018's most crucial lo-fi electronic albums. Artwork/hand-painted sleeves by Márcio Matos, edition of 500.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
BLANK 002LP
|
Selected Early Keyboard Works is the first in a series of planned archival records of the unheard music of Swedish composer, philosopher, poet, mathematician, and visual artist Catherine Christer Hennix, co-released by Blank Forms Editions and Empty Editions. It comes hot-on-the-heels of Traversée Du Fantasme at the Stedelijk in Amsterdam, Hennix's first solo museum exhibition in over 40 years, and coincides with both Blank Forms' publication of Poësy Matters and Other Matters, a two-volume collection of her writing, and the closing of Thresholds of Perception, a retrospective archival show of Hennix's visual work at The Empty Gallery in Hong Kong. The record also marks the first time Hennix's own music has been given a full-length vinyl issue. In 1976, Catherine Christer Hennix's just intonation live-electronic ensemble The Deontic Miracle performed Hennix's original compositions, alongside works by La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Terry Jennings, as part of Brouwer's Lattice at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. Culled from rehearsal tapes recorded during the ten-day Dream Music Festival, Selected Early Keyboard Works features three pieces of minimal music, performed by Hennix on tunable electric keyboards. "Mode Nouvelle Des Modalités", for well-tuned just intonation Fender Rhodes and sine wave drone, is a consummate expression of Hennix's formative years, a probing meditation giving the mercurial quality of early electronic music an instrumental life replete with the dexterity of Cecil Taylor and shades of Paul Bley's synthesized reveries. "Equal Temperament Fender Mix", performed on the same Rhodes but in twelve-tone equal temperament tuning, employs a tape delay system not unlike that used famously by Terry Riley, here towards more somber, hallucinatory means. Hennix is joined by Hans Isgren for the collection's centerpiece, "The Well-Tuned Marimba", for well-tuned Yamaha, sheng, sine wave, and live electronics. Using the same approach and just intonation keyboard featured on Hennix's The Electric Harpsichord (2010), but with marimba in place of harpsichord stops, the piece is an undulating marvel of lysergic drone, equally deserving of its companion's status as "THE obscure masterpiece of the days of the early American minimalism". Now accessible for the first time, these recordings only begin to fill gaps of silence from a figure whose work has until recently remained flickering at the margins of some of the most enduring cultural developments of the 20th century. Tape transfer and master cut by Andreas (Lupo) Lubich. Audio restoration and mastering by Stephan Mathieu.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP+CD
|
|
BEC 5543616
|
Double LP version. Includes CD. Gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves. Because Music presents a 20th anniversary remaster and reissue of The Three EPs, a compilation of The Beta Band's early music, dating from 1997-1998. Arguably one of the most acclaimed and loved bands of the past 20 years, by both fans and their musical peers alike, The Beta Band formed in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1996. Their unique musical and aesthetic approach to everything they did set them far apart from their musical contemporaries. Together for a relatively short period of time, the three albums and three EPs that they released between 1996 and 2004 would nonetheless help define them as one of the most exciting and cherished bands of their generation. After acquiring the Beta Band's catalog in 2017, Because Music are reissuing a series of releases, starting with The Three EPs. Two-panel digipack with 32-page stapled booklet.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
MRSSS 561LP
|
Vinilisssimo present a reissue of Os Mutantes' Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol, originally released in 1974. Os Mutantes showed an interest in following international music trends from the very beginning of their career, when they moved away from the traditional sounds of their native Brazil in favor of psychedelia. Even its own name gives us some clues about the ever-transforming will of the band. The continuous changes characterized the group's history until its dissolution in 1978 and, as part of that evolution, they embraced progressive rock in their final albums. Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol was released in 1974, when Rita Lee was already focused on her solo career and Arnaldo Baptista had also left the group due to internal and personal problems. The only original member remaining, Sérgio Dias, along with bassist Liminha, who had joined the band a few years earlier but left before recording this album, were responsible for composing most of these songs. Despite the obvious differences from the original sound of Os Mutantes, this record will not disappoint the fans of the band. "Deixe Entrar Um Pouco D'água No Quintal", "Cidadão Da Terra", or "Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol" clearly leave aside any reference to Tropicalismo to embrace instead the hardest sounds and progressive style of groups like Deep Purple or even Iron Butterfly. The keyboardist Túlio Mourão stars in some of the most intense moments of the album, along with the energetic and fierce guitar of Sérgio Dias, who was the band's leader at the time. An example of their virtuosity is "Pitágoras", written by Mourão, where piano and guitar take you into a progressive and almost psychedelic journey with music references as diverse as jazz and flamenco. Without any doubt, this is one of the strongest songs of the entire LP. Presented in facsimile gatefold sleeve; 180 gram vinyl.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
CRNBR 16061LP
|
Cornbread Records present a reissue of Nina Simone's Folksy Nina, originally released in 1964. Recorded live at Carnegie Hall in early 1963, in an intimate setting with her trio of guitar/bass/piano and of course with Nina herself at the piano, this live album is a beautiful piece of early, raw, and emotional material from one of the most unique voices of 20th century jazz and pop. Covering tracks from Leadbelly and Pete Seeger, to Johnny Mathis, old English traditional ballads, and Israeli folk tunes, Nina Simone always drew inspiration from the farthest possible reaches. As one of the finest interpreters of songs ever, this live recording is further proof of the genius of the one and only Nina Simone. Reissued on 180 gram vinyl.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
GPF 081LP
|
LP version. DJ Krush's latest album Cosmic Yard sees the abstract hip-hop pioneer step back to his instrumental roots. Sinister beats, sci-fi tinged keys, and collaborations from long-time cohort Toshinori Kondo come together to form an album that while referencing the past looks the future straight in the eye. Also features Yukihiro Atsumi, Syuzan Morita, and Binkbeats.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
MANA 005LP
|
"Mana is pleased to finally present Pomegranates by Nicolas Jaar as a double LP, with new mastering by D&M. The sleeve is designed by David Rudnick, with labels by Stéphane Jourdan and a new insert created by Jaar collaborator and friend Maziyar Pahlevan. Longer and slower-releasing than his other albums, Pomegranates often parallels the cinematic epic on which it's based (Նռան գույնը), with ideas pursued over long timelines and across dark landscapes, assembling elements and moods from the aesthetic and folkloric landscapes of Armenia. Jaar's identity is perceived within this, folding in his heritage as Palestinian and Chilean as he attempts to build a musical architecture outwards that frames as much of the mess and sprawl of life as possible; using a language that investigates the movement and fluctuation of his own artistic career and character similarly to the film's tracing of the coming of age of the young poet, Sayat-Nova. At times, Pomegranates feels profoundly intimate, as though looking through the archive of a friend's music and discovering the accent and common currency that lives within each of these tracks. Much of Jaar's most elegant and touching melodic work is nestled here, its power residing in its simplicity and willingness to speak to the heart and not the mind of the listener. In the text document included in the first freely distributed version of the album in 2015, Jaar writes that the album was conceived during a moment of change, and that the pomegranate became an icon that heralded that passage of time. The physical publication of Pomegranates closes one door whilst opening another, keeping promises and marking a significant point in the career of an artist who restlessly reinvents himself, with a document that illustrates a common language of lyricism, freedom, and emotional resonance that links his many paths and projects."
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
MFM 035LP
|
Music From Memory's latest release sees the reissue of Gunther Beckers's Walkman album from 1982. A painter and musician from Aachen, Germany, Beckers created his third album Walkman to coincide with an exhibition of his latest body of artwork in 1982. Released on his very own Milky Music label with a run of just 500 copies and original pieces of artwork included with some copies, most copies of the album nonetheless remained amongst art collectors and with the painter himself. Rediscovered a few years ago through a friend of Music From Memory in the archives of a local radio station where all but one of the stations copies had been destroyed, it has been an album the label have been in love with since the first listen. Touring as a guitarist with ECM-affiliated jazz musicians such as Alex De Grassi, William Ackerman, Ralph Towner, and Larry Coryell to name but a few, Beckers also would record on a number of releases of Klaus Schulze's cult electronic music label Innovative Communication. Always exploring new ideas and the possibilities of technology within his music, Beckers would record Walkman utilizing the Kunstkopf technique of sound recording. Kunstkopf, or 'dummy head' recording is a 3-D audio recording technology that enables listeners to define each source of sound as if they were in the original recording situation itself. Using two microphones which are usually mounted in the ears of a mannequin, the technique exploits certain basic principles of human spatial hearing. Listeners to Kunstkopf recordings are in fact encouraged to listen to such recordings on headphones, as the 3-D perception is often greatly diminished on speakers. With the title Walkman, Beckers was very much hoping the album would be enjoyed on headphones, even portably through a Walkman. Minimalist variations around an acoustic guitar, guitar synth, rhythm box and with wordless female vocals, Walkman drifts in and out of moods; it is a unique and at times hauntingly beautiful album, which the Kunstkopf recording technique further adds to the album's often-otherworldly feeling.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP+CD
|
|
BEC 5543596
|
Double LP version includes CD. Gatefold sleeve. Duke Ellington once said that there are two kinds of music: the good one and the bad one. With the compilation series Shaolin Soul one is always certain to be on the right side of the line since its first volume (BEC 5543356, 2018) which compiled two dozen tracks sampled by RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan. Following a second episode (BEC 5543357, 2018) and a third (BEC 5543358, 2018), the famous curator Uncle O is back to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Shaolin Soul series with a fourth episode compiling 22 tracks among the rarest and finest treats of soul music. Features: Esther Phillips, Al Green, Eddie Kendricks, Sylvia, Betty Wright, The Ambassadors, The Dynamics, Carolyn Sullivan, Brenton Wood, The Floaters, Faze-O, Ernie Hines, Jerry Butler, J.J. Johnson, Monk Higgins and Alex Brown, The East St. Louis Gospelettes, Jean Plum, The Staples Singers, The Sylvers, Della Humphrey, Freda Payne, and Carla Thomas.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
BEC 5772110
|
2017 repress. Justice's highly-acclaimed debut album from 2007. French-only vinyl version, in deluxe gatefold sleeve. Retreating to their underground post-nuclear shelter/studio, French duo Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay worked on their first album as if their lives depended on it. The result is a mind-fuck of an album that proves that Justice's unique talent is to be found where least expected. Take for example "Let There Be Light" and its strident, angry electro, driven by a jabbing bassline; "D.A.N.C.E," a pure piece of vicious house sung innocently by a choir of children; "Newjack," a funky parody of the opulent times of the French Touch; "Phantom," taking over where "Waters Of Nazareth" left off to drift towards "Phantom Pt. II" and its head-swirling disco violins; "Valentine," an erotic, melancholic nursery rhyme, like a tribute to Vladimir Cosma and "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy," a pure electro-funk track where the sexy Uffie plays more than ever the cheeky Lolita. Justice have thrown established rules out the window (the notion of good and bad taste, the thin line between underground and pop music, the pigeon hole labeling between rock and electro, etc.) with a fantastic talent for synthesizing and mixing their influences with total candor, be it the cosmic disco of Larry Levan or Vladimir Cosma's panty-wetting romantics, Camel's prog rock or the anxious theme of Goblin for Dario Argento, to the flashy funk of the Brothers Johnson or "ABC" by the Jackson 5. Cross isn't a collection of random dancefloor singles. Cross is for listening at home or in clubs. Cross is a link between pop at its purest and experimental music. Cross brings together hardcore elements and cheese. Cross makes the Goths link arms with the rave kids. A generational manifest, ideally positioned on the side of the dancefloor, Cross, insolent with youth, is a testimony that the French electro scene is healthier than ever.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
BT 040LP
|
Black Truffle present the first reissue of a true underground masterpiece, Massimo Toniutti's Il Museo Selvatico ("The Wild Museum"), originally self-released on LP in 1991. Like his better-known brother Giancarlo -- whose classic 1985 Broken Flag LP La Mutazione was reissued by Black Truffle in 2015 (BT 014LP) -- Massimo Toniutti was active in the vibrant underground industrial/noise scene of the 1980s, contributing to releases on legendary labels such as Broken Flag and RRR and self-releasing a series of cassettes between 1984 and 1988. Existing in a private world apart from the noise and dark industrial tropes of many of his contemporaries, Toniutti's Il Museo Selvatico is an entirely singular work of domestic electro-acoustic exploration. Made up primarily of what Toniutti calls "small and rare noises" or sonic "knick-knacks" recorded between 1987 and 1990, the five pieces that make up the original LP usher us into a crepuscular space populated by mysterious traces of everyday life. Toniutti weaves a loose net of distant clanks, dull thuds, metallic resonance, and skittering percussive sounds, allowing the sounds to breathe against a backdrop of near-silent atmosphere. Although the haunted ambience recalls the work of contemporaries like Organum, Toniutti generally steers clear of long tones and drones, preferring to arrange brief, sometimes staccato sonic objects into patters of repeating figures and isolated events whose overall compositional shape remains somehow ungraspable. Although glimpses of recognizable location recordings and instrumental sounds can occasionally be made out, for most of the record the sources of the sounds you hear remain teasingly mysterious, an abstracted memory of everyday actions and atmospheres. I Museo Selvatico is accompanied here by an additional LP of material recorded at the same time, composed especially for this reissue into two side-long suites that inhabit the same haunted space as the original LP while occasionally making use of more maximal compositional strategies. Essential listening for fans of Organum, Nurse With Wound, Christoph Heemann, and the tradition of outsider musique concrete. Comes as a double-LP in a lavish gatefold with printed inner sleeves featuring archival images and notes. Remastered and cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
CRNBR 16060LP
|
Collecting several recordings from 1961, the year that a young Minnesotan became the epicenter of the nascent Greenwich Village folk scene, Come Back, Baby is a great view into the development of one of the greatest American songwriters ever. This great set features Bob Dylan's first ever radio performance, part of a 12-hour hootenanny on July 29th, two songs, and interviews for Oscar Brand's radio show, as well as alternate takes from Carolyn Hester's third album recording sessions, on which Bob plays harmonica. Mostly covering traditional folk and blues, this is a beautiful and crucial collection for any Dylan fan. 180 gram vinyl.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
NK 201801LP
|
Performing on four different dates in 1967, the year they released their first album, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967), this is Pink Floyd at their early, psychedelic, and raw best. Their showing in May of that year, for the program "The Look Of The Week", was probably the earliest live video recording of the group and includes amazing versions of "Pow R. Toc H." and "Astronomy Domine". Two more recordings for the program Top Gear, which showcased the underground hipster scene of London, and one for "Tomorrow's World" round out this amazing collection of early Floyd, including great versions of "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun", "Flaming", and "Vegetable Man". Essential live recordings of Pink Floyd during their greatest era! Limited edition splatter vinyl LP.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
CD
|
|
AUK 129CD
|
This is the second full-length album from Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe. The self-titled album contains 9 tracks. "Right On" is the only track that has been released before on the eponymous EP released earlier in 2018. All tracks were recorded at Cobra Studios, Berlin in 2017, the majority of the songs co-written by Tess & Anton.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
MFM 027LP
|
The Japanese producer and DJ Kuniyuki Takahashi is the subject of a retrospective compilation from Music From Memory titled Early Tape Works (1987-1993) Vol 1. Composed of two volumes, the compilations gather together a selection of tracks from a tiny run of privately released tape-only albums, highlighting a fascinating early period in Kuniyuki's musical output, one of which little is known about. After discovering the world of nightclubs in Japan around 1986, and the seemingly boundless freedom expressed there through music as well as art, Kuniyuki became inspired to experiment with electronic music. Excited by the possibilities of new music technology, he would begin to gather together a number of, at that time, reasonably accessible and inexpensive local keyboards, drum computers and recording equipment. This became for Kuniyuki a way in which to explore music not as such made for nightclubs, but certainly inspired by them. Setting up a home studio in his hometown of Saporro, Kuniyuki would record extensively during this period with the equipment he had gathered together, equipment such as Roland's Juno60, TR-606, TB-303, Casio FZ-1, Korg 770, Boss DE-200, Foster A8, and a Yamaha MT44 track cassette recorder. Driven to develop a musical language derived as much by an exploration of music technology as a desire to create new sounds, Kuniyuki was also looking to evolve the possibilities of what he refers to as a "new Oriental sound". Early Tape Works brings together two albums of material which not only highlights the evolution of Kuniyuki's own work but also of Japanese electronic music as a whole.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
GODREC 048LP
|
dieb13 on Philip Jeck: "... In his hands, a tool as simple as a hammer that blocks the arm of the record player creates a loop with a taste of eternity. Two or three such hammers can create musical galaxies far beyond the reach of traditional instruments, where no human ear has ever been before. From unidentifiable rumble and grinding to brilliant instrument-snippets and comical voice fragments, Philip Jeck glues sounds together as if they were never meant to exist on their own. Whether it be Pachelbel's Canon or some mid-90s dance music that's on Philip's vinyl, but what we hear in the Vinyl Coda is his very unique musical voice -- articulated with a perfect sense for structure, suspense and sound."
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
SOAVE 019-20LP
|
Soave present a reissue of Roberto Musci and Giovanni Venosta's A Noise, A Sound, originally released in 1992. The third episode of the alchemical association between Roberto Musci and Giovanni Venosta, reprinted for the first time. This work seems to be even more enigmatic than the previous ones. The "plunderphonics" style of the compositional process, significant to allowing a technical experimentalism of inexhaustible variety of materials used (compendium of sounds, harmonies, ethnic timbres) and the infinite possibilities of assembly between non-sense and provocation, still remains. You might be almost stimulated to guess -- in the articulated sound architectures of the tracks -- every single fragment of popular or cultured music from every part of the world (Asia, Africa, Middle East, South America) related to the ad hoc inserts of polyphonic instrumentation distorted and dazed. The music expressed is basically a polyhedral pataphysical gaze on the complexity of the existing, an immersion in the contradictory forces of reality; the attentive listener will be able to recognize the tortuous and magical lines of a free and imaginative artistic creation, which is absolutely counter-current and unconventional. Comes in gatefold sleeve.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
TRANSVERS 006LP
|
For the first time on vinyl, Transversales Disques presents Ennio Morricone's full score for the 1968 erotico-giallo film Grazie Zia. Grazie Zia was directed in 1968 by Salvatore Samperi and starred Italian actress Lisa Gastoni. On this unique soundtrack, Morricone has created a magical and suspenseful atmosphere based on the recurrent use of the Boys' Choir Of Renata Cortiglioni, including the killer theme "Guerra E Pace, Pollo E Brace", with its funny rhyme and ferocious drums. Remastered from the original tapes and presented in a limited edition with an obi strip.
|
|
|
# |
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
|
LP
|
|
CRNBR 16059LP
|
Minneapolis/St. Paul, May 1960: a young Bob Dylan, still known as Robert Zimmerman and not yet even 19 years old, decides to drop out of college to move to New York City and pursue a career in folk music. That same month he plays a small gathering at Karen Wallace's apartment in St. Paul -- Karen's sister, Terri, was an early fan and supporter of Dylan's -- mostly covering American folk and blues standards, which he'd become obsessed with since starting at the University. Still a few years before his self-titled debut, this tape is one of the earliest documents of early Dylan, and since Karen Wallace attempted to sell the tape for $10,000 in the 1970s and subsequently disappeared along with the tape, its life is another great story in the history of Bob Dylan, one of the most enigmatic and idiosyncratic celebrities of the 20th century. 180 gram vinyl.
|
|