Valo Siroutuu (The Light Scatters) is a collaborative song cycle written on and for the island of Kimitoön, home to Finnish artist Lau Nau. Incorporating in-situ field recordings, impromptu outdoor songwriting, contemplative and patient chamber arrangements, and lyrics delivered both in Finnish and English, the album thematically pursues observations of and meditations on place, time, nature, home, play, and language. Less a record of songs and more a continued, braided rope of ephemeral moments and turbid musical events, this work exists in a suspended dream or flow state, billowing up momentarily like wind breezing through spruce leaves or cresting over like the initial breaking waves of an oncoming high tide, yet always eventually rippling out back into quietude and solace like the patient floating fractures of light scattered across water's surface. RIYL: Juliana Barwick, Volcano Choir, Grouper, Amiina, The Album Leaf, Microphones, Múm, El Perro Del Mar, Sigur Ros, Kemialliset Ystävät. "A travelogue of sound" --Drifting, Almost Falling

LP version. Yīn Yīn's dazzling second album dives even deeper into dancefloor propulsion and space travel atmospherics than their lauded debut The Rabbit that Hunts Tigers (2019). The beautiful, old and somewhat staid city of Maastricht, where the band is based, isn't really conducive to setting up a bustling music scene: and it's a place where the outsiders quickly recognize each other. Yīn Yīn are all "nightlife people", which meant their friendship initially came about through co-organizing and deejaying DIY parties. Things started to move for real when Yves Lennertz and Kees Berkers decided to make a cassette tape that drew on references to Southern and South East Asian music. Once the idea was formed, Lennertz and Berkers wasted no time in taking "a lot" of instruments to a rented rehearsal room in a small village near Maastricht. They asked friends to help out, and they became a full band: with Remy Scheren on bass, Robbert Verwijlen on keys and Jerome Cardynaals, and Gino Bombrini on percussion. A "united against the world" stance is also heard at the end of "Declined by Universe". It's a funny, maybe surreptitious statement of belief in what they do. Yīn Yīn also wanted to create an illusion of strength in other ways: "Declined By Universe" sounds as if there is a large group of people playing, not just the core band. Nods to brilliant, invigorating dance music abound, some of the thumping beats in numbers like "Chong Wang" the title track and "Nautilus" drop some thumping 1990s-style electric boogie and Italo disco chops along the way. Then there is "Shēnzou V.", which plots a stately course between eastern-inflected pop music, Italo, and Harmonia-style electronic meditations. The expansive richness in sound and feel may be down to the fact that more samples, drum computers, and synthesizers are used on The Age of Aquarius than in their previous records, a process that intertwines with real-time playing in the studio. "Faiyadansu", for example, started with a sample found on an old traditional Japanese koto record. Cosmic appropriations of time also crop up in the titles, which may give the lie to some of the band members' preoccupations with the state of the world. An old trope musically the Age is most famously referenced in the hippie musical, Hair. Other direct references to cosmic times are in the track names "Kali Yuga" and "Satya Yuga": the Kali Yuga, in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four yugas (world ages) in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Dvapara Yuga and followed by the next cycle's Krita (Satya) Yuga.

From 1975, 2023 is Baris Manço's masterpiece. Stunning cosmic, psychedelic, groovy conceptual album with fantastic electronics and a strong Turkish folk flavor as usual. Legit deluxe release. Comes with the original gatefold cover, reproduction of the full color booklet, and insert with extensive liner notes. Newly and improved master sound.

2022 black vinyl repress. If you are looking for raw, psychedelic hard-rock, look no further. Guerssen Records present the complete recordings (1968-1972) from Wicked Lady, the legendary UK underground power trio leaded by ace guitarist Martin Weaver, later a member of Dark on their Round The Edges album (1972). Here's the first volume of our Wicked Lady collection, double vinyl of The Axeman Cometh. Guerssen Records' new edition features gatefold cover with liner notes by doomy psychedelic guitar god in person, Martin Weaver, who tells the real (and bizarre!) story behind Wicked Lady. The stuff of a legend, this is a real fest of fuzz, wah-wah and heavy riffs that will blow the mind of any hard-psych collector.

Reissue, originally released in 1971 on the Triangle label. Excellent vintage hard-rock made in Belgium. Irish Coffee's sound was clearly influenced by Deep Purple or even Uriah Heep, with killer guitar all over and good use of organ. This has been considered as a key album in the hard-rock field since the early days of collecting, with originals fetching really some money. Hard-cardboard cover with original artwork; OBI and resealable sleeve; insert with liner notes and photos.

First ever worldwide reissue of Popcorn's Prime Choice, originally released in 1983. Rare modern soul/funk private press LP from Miami. Almost impossible to find an original copy of this 1983 modern funk soul boogie masterpiece. 180 gram vinyl; deluxe hard-cardboard sleeve with OBI and resealable outer sleeve.

Reissue. In 1975, the second album of the Berlin based electronic group Mythos was released. Mastermind Stephan Kaske and his band present the typical sound cascades and sequences of the Berlin school. Similar to the works of several other fellow artists on the same label, the album develops a science fiction concept around the story of an extraterrestrial visitor on a journey to Earth. Dreamlab is predominantly made up of peaceful and relaxed music. The meter is often determined by echoes from flutes and guitar riffs backed by expansive Mellotron arrangements. This remastered reissue comes in a digisleeve on the original Kosmische Kuriere label.

Marina present the first ever vinyl issues of three classic albums by Glasgow's finest, The Pearlfishers: 1999's The Young Picnickers (MA 091LP), 2001's Across The Milky Way and 2007's Up With The Larks (MA 093LP). Three albums of masterful, classic pop music, driven by main man David Scott's exceptional songwriting which was often compared to Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, Todd Rundgren, and Brian Wilson. The beautifully crafted arrangements include woodwinds, trumpet, flugel horns, banjo -- and real strings! These albums also feature some of the finest Scottish musicians. Duglas T Stewart of BMX Bandits co-wrote two songs. Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub contributed backing vocals on The Young Picnickers and co-produced four tracks on Up With The Larks. Mick Slaven, one of the most unique guitarists ever (Jazzateers, James Kirk, Paul Quinn & The Independent Group), plays on Across The Milky Way. So does trumpet maestro Colin Steele who later recorded an entire album of Pearlfishers songs in terrific jazz arrangements with Diving For Pearls (MA 082CD/LP, 2017). The Young Picnickers was selected "Indie album of the month" in MOJO magazine. Up With The Larks was recently voted one of "Scotland's favourite albums" in The Herald. "Save the world! Save the world! From this grotesque exhibition..." Gatefold sleeves with enhanced artwork and complete lyrics; includes four bonus tracks, most never released before; edition of 750.

"David Scott's compositions sound something like The Carpenters and Burt Bacharach -- except much more poppy, upbeat, and current!" --Babysue.

2022 repress of this CD. "In 1975 I was doing a series of concerts in France with Lutz Ulbrich, where we were presenting 'Inventions for Electric Guitar' and other compositions, which we developed together that year. In August, we were invited for two concerts in the South of France, one in the wonderful Roman theater in Arles, the other at the Festival Palace in Cannes. This is where we met the musicians of the German band CAN and the singer Nico, who also played at the festival. After the concerts we stayed together a few days in the beautiful city of Arles. Nico's friend, the French director Philippe Garrel, was working at that time on a film starring Nico, Anita Pallenberg and Dominique Sanda and was looking for music to make you dream. I always recorded most of our concerts, that's how we were able to offer him the piece that we had performed as 'encore' in Cannes. It became the main theme of the film. Other parts were recorded during several sessions throughout 1975 in my studio in Berlin. Instruments and electronic devices were relatively simple compared to today's technology: four-track tape recorder, an old Farfisa organ, the beautiful EKO Rhythm Computer (Italian machines controlled by punched cards), the EMS superb guitar-Synthi HiFli and, of course, our 'usual' guitars. All this combined with the patching, the filtering and echo has produced its own unique sound to 'electronic dreams' of the 70s." --Manuel Göttsching, 1993

Recorded in 1975 at Studio Roma, Berlin, with the exception of "Le Berceau de Cristal," recorded in concert on August 7, 1975, at Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. Mixed and produced by Manuel Göttsching.

Ohr present a reissue of Birth Control's Operation, originally released in 1971. Re-release of the second album of the Berlin outfit on the original Ohr label. Produced by the famous photographer Didi Zill in 1971 at Hansa Studios.

"Birth Control's second album, Operation, stands as one of the band's finest recordings, getting the vote as the second-best album of 1971 by one of Germany's leading music magazines. Operation has Birth Control employing a nine-piece string section as well as a smaller brass entourage in order to produce a larger sound, and while their progressive air is just beginning to flourish, a rather large difference in musical strength and instrumental craft is noted right away. Not fully abstract or left-of-center just yet, the powerful crunch of Bruno Frenzel's guitar surely leads the way, dominating the rhythms of every track while complimenting the aeronautics of the keyboard passages..." --Mike DeGagne, AllMusic

"The Troggs are the cover stars of this issue with an extensive feature based on new interviews with Chris Britton and Pete Staples. Plus: David Holzer delves into the world of Alice Cooper circa 1974 with the help of bass player Dennis Dunaway; eye-opening stories on pre-Moby Grape Northwest rockers the Frantics; sunshine pop masters the Gordian Knot; psychedelic proto-punks Chrome, teen garage combo Thus (and their mega-rare custom press LP All of Thus); pint-sized mop tops the Bantams; the final installment of our Roulettes saga; an interview with rock fanzine pioneer Brian Hogg (Bam Balam) and a chat with actor, director and Boss 66 Radio DJ Tom Hanks. Not to mention our info-packed review sections, covering all the latest vinyl and CD reissues, and rock 'n' roll-related books."

2022 repress; black vinyl. Gatefold 180 gram double vinyl version. Truth in advertising: the Brian Jonestown Massacre's sophomore album does, as promised, spring forth from the Rolling Stones' long-underrated 1967 masterpiece Their Satanic Majesties Request, copping not only Mick and Keith's leering bad-boy attitude but also their rock-and-roll-circus spirit. Opening with the brilliant "All Around You (Intro)," a tongue-in-cheek guide to the mind-altering journey ahead, the record is a kaleidoscopic, drug-fueled freakout -- like the Stones' namesake album, Second Request is painted by Eastern drones and psychedelic tangents, each track bubbling with dozens of sound effects including sitars, mellotrons, farfisas, didgeridoos, tablas, congas, and glockenspiels. Travelling through the past, darkly, the Massacre arrives on the other side unscathed; their music is too rich to be merely retro, and too knowing to be merely slavish -- the Stones themselves haven't made a record this strong or entertaining in years.

2021 repress. Be With Records present a reissue of Fuzzy Duck's self-titled album, originally released in 1971. A memorable name with an outstanding cover, Fuzzy Duck is a classic slice of underground London art rock and melodic psychedelia. Originally released on MAM in 1971, it's truly a musical force of infectious riffs and fiery solos, sharp tempo changes, a tight rhythm section, and heavy, Hammond-drenched grooves. With echoes of Spencer Davis Group, early Grand Funk, and Vanilla Fudge, it comes on like a heavier Soft Machine or Caravan. No wonder Fuzzy Duck's cult appeal has endured. The album features Mick Hawksworth (Five Day Week Straw People, Andromeda) on bass, acoustic 12-string, electric cello, and some of the vocal duties, and also Roy "Daze" Sharland (Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Spice) on organ and electric piano. Accompanying those two were Paul Francis on drums and percussion, and Grahame White on guitars and the rest of the vocals. Originally released in an edition of 500, Fuzzy Duck became legendary all over the world through a holy trinity of scarcity, personnel, and its sheer brilliance. The album kicks off with a heavy, bass-fueled, Hammond rocker titled "Time Will Be Your Doctor". This is pure hard-edged blues rock, brilliantly played. Its drum break intro was sampled by DJ Premier for Gang Starr's "Mostly Tha Voice" on 1994's legendary Hard To Earn. At nearly seven minutes long, "Mrs. Prout" follows incorporating more psych-leaning guitar and drawn-out keyboards à la Ray Manzarek. "Just Look Around You" is propulsive folk-rock with a soaring, proto power-pop chorus, backed by frenetic organ and heavy bass. Back comes the heavy, strung-out psych to both close out side one with "Afternoon Out" and kick off side two with "More Than I Am". "Country Boy" quenches the thirst for rhythm and melody, only the lyrics and vibe are wonderfully creepy. The groove suddenly cuts and drops into a more sinister tempo before the band pick up speed and toss you back again into the opening jam, this time with organ. The final, fully fleshed out track is the majestic "In Our Time", which oscillates between endless organ-driven boogie and heavenly, genuinely moving vocals. Infamous instrumental cut "A Word from Big D" rounds out the album. Yes, that's the band jamming with duck quack sound effects accompanying the music. Mastered by Simon Francis; cut by Pete Norman. Remastered from the original analog tapes.

2022 repress; Double LP version. Cameroonian musician Francis Bebey is truly one of a kind. He entered the music scene with his African compositions for classical guitar. He gave recitals while pursuing a career in journalism and then as an international civil servant. The same creative impulse also led him to write pop songs, some of which (based on novels he had written) became big hits in Africa and in the French-speaking world. But few people know that in the '70s, Francis Bebey delved into electronic music. The first electronic keyboards, organs and drum machines offered him new possibilities of totally controlling his compositions. He embraced the technique of "sound on sound" recording (recording several tracks, sequentially juxtaposed on the same tape). This new stage in his musical career included the production of several records (Savannah Georgia, New Track, Haiti), rarities both for their creative explorations as well as their manifestations on vinyl. This was a particularly rich period for him, as he tested the limitless possibilities of the medium, and made use of surprising and novel instruments. Incredible sounds -- in the literal sense of the word -- would soon appear on the planet Bebey. Full-color printed innersleeves with notes in English and French.

One of the rarest teen-garage albums from the US, originally released in 1968 on the custom Century label. A mix of fantastic original songs and imaginative covers. From garage-punk to moody folk-rock, beat and proto-psych. The story of Thus is not very different to that of many '60s bands that appeared in the US after the British invasion: four high school friends who decide to form a group influenced by the Beatles, Stones, The Who, Kinks, Yardbirds, Zombies, or the Byrds, ending up releasing a private pressing album. In the case of Thus, they were four friends from the tiny town on Victor in New York: John Johnston, Don Corbit, Jerry Heukensfeld, and Barry Dalgleish. In 1968, they released their only album, All of Thus, on the custom Century label in an edition of just 265 copies. But there are two things that set the Thus album apart from many other similar garage records of the era: half of the songs are original compositions by John Johnston, showing a talented and versatile songwriter capable of moving from moody folk-rock/teen-beat to garage-punk and proto-psych and the other half are cover versions (typical of such garage albums) but done with an unusual strong personality and imagination. These include their superb rendition of Bacharach's "Walk On By", a punked-out cover of the Zombies "It's Alright With Me" and more. The All of Thus album went unnoticed until 1993, when it was unearthed and reissued on vinyl by the Rockadelic label. Long out of print, Guerssen Records present a new reissue with newly remastered sound, original artwork and insert with liner notes by Mike Stax, telling the story of the band for the first time. RIYL: Rising Storm, The Bachs, Fantastic Dee-Jays, Zombies. "One of my personal faves in the local moptop bag" --Patrick Lundborg (Acid Archives). "... regarded by many as one of the finest teen garage albums of the era" --Mike Stax (Ugly Things).

LP version. Rope (named after the eponymous film by Alfred Hitchcock) is a veteran Italian piano trio featuring Fabrizio Puglisi, pianist extraordinaire, along with the solid and sensitive rhythm section of Stefano Senni on bass and Zeno DeRossi on drums. Their new release, In the Moment: The Music of Charlie Haden comes as an impassioned celebration of an iconic musician whose musical contributions spanned decades of creative jazz from the fifties to the present day. A tribute to Charlie Haden's music must take into account the constantly evolving language of modern jazz: from Ornette Coleman's desperate lyricism to the militant protest music of the Liberation Music Orchestra, to some of the most forward-looking piano trios in jazz history, Haden was a pivotal figure in numerous seminal bands which have shaped the music we know as jazz. Rope sails these seas with love and respect, the musicians plainly at their ease as they explore each chapter of this timeless American music. The moving voice of Petra Haden joins the trio in a memorable version of traditional song "Shenandoah", a favorite of her father who recorded it many times in the final years of his incredible career.

Mad About Records present a first-time vinyl reissue of Jothan Callins & The Sounds Of Togetherness' Winds of Change, originally released in 1975. Rare spiritual jazz funk masterpiece. Jothan Callins had played with Olatunji in the late 1960s. He both joined the Sun Ra Arkestra and founded his own Sound of Togetherness. The incarnation of the band featured on this 1975 New York recording includes Cecil McBee, Norman Connors, Joseph Bonner, and Roland Duval. Winds of Change is generally compared to the Strata East style of jazz. Under exclusive license from Amadi Aziliwe. Includes original four-page booklet; OBI; 180 gram vinyl.

2022 repress. "Vinyl version of the Meat Puppets' landmark 1985 album, reissued and remastered for vinyl. This one is a stone cold classic; a mix of punk rock, folk, country, jams and poetic lyrics that was a shock when originally released on SST way back when. From the stoned and sunny opening title track to the whirling dervish of sound that is 'Two Rivers,' this album has absolutely no filler and holds up insanely well, like a classic should! For fans of Black Flag and the Grateful Dead."

'70s Chicago-area based band Apocalypse used their double-neck guitars to create chamber prog suites about faraway castles. Their lost 1976 LP (used as a demo), with male/female harmonies, violin, mellotron, and fuzzed-out guitars/keys has been unearthed by Steve "Plastic Crimewave" Krakow. With their lengthy and tuneful musical odysseys, Apocalypse conjures the golden mid-70s progressive period of Renaissance, Soft Machine, ELP, Gentle Giant, and Genesis. Travel back in time with the Salvatori family. Way back to 1976, when he was in high school, Tom Salvatori teamed up with older brother Michael Salvatori, Michael's wife Gail Salvatori and Tom's classmate Scott Magnesen. As Apocalypse they recorded an album of pure progressive rock magic called The Castle. Although the five-song, 38-minute demo was an amazing showcase for their collective progressive rock leanings, The Castle remained an unreleased artifact until 2021 when the reel-to-reel master tape of the presumably long-lost relic was rediscovered by Michael in a dusty old basement storage bin. Music fans can be thankful that Michael's rediscovery of the Apocalypse master tape has now led to a vinyl-only reissue of The Castle. Sourced from the original masters. Insert with photos and liner notes by Plastic Crimewave. Artwork by Sara Gossett.

2022 repress. Trading Places present a reissue of Ithaca's A Game For All Who Know, originally released in 1973. Following their collaboration on the Alice Through The Looking Glass and Agincourt projects, Sussex-based Peter Howell and John Ferdinando formed Ithaca, another project recorded in Ferdinando's spare-room studio. Howell had just joined the BBC (where he would later work on the Doctor Who theme), and inspired by the Moody Blues, conceived a prog-rock project exploring life's grander themes, with Ferdinando handling producer duties; Lee Menelaus of Agincourt is present on select songs, along with other colleagues. A Game For All Who Know is a beautiful slice of pastoral prog that is ripe for rediscovery, this edition made more appealing through the inclusion of several rare bonus tracks. Licensed from Cherry Red.

2022 restock. Collection of early works and Joan La Barbara's first vocal compositions, originally released on LPs in the 1970s and early 1980s on her own Wizard Records. La Barbara says, "One of my earliest pieces, 'Hear What I Feel', was a self-exploratory, sensory-deprivation experimental work, designed to help me discover new sounds, delve into psychological aspects, as well as communicate with the audience on a pre-verbal level of awareness. After spending an hour in isolation with my eyes taped shut and not touching anything with my hands, I was led our into the performance space where my assistant had placed a variety of substances in six small glass dishes. As I touched the material, I tried to give an immediate vocal response to what I felt both emotionally and physically, without the benefit of visual information. I expected the shock of bringing a solitary state of mind into the heightened awareness of a performance situation to intensify my experience, and the poignancy of my 'prepared' state to affect the audience. The sounds are presented here in their raw state; it is truly an experimental work with no intentional musical implications or designs. 'Voice Piece: One-Note Internal Resonance Investigation' explores the color spectrum of a single pitch. 'Circular Song' was inspired by the circular breathing technique of horn players. 'Des Accords pour Teeny', an exploration of multi-phonic technique or choral singing, was dedicated to Teeny Duchamp. In much of my early work I dealt with sound as a physical presence, sculpting it, building up layers in complex constructions, letting the flow of thought and the visualization of sonic gestures direct my studio art. Voice Is The Original Instrument was both a statement of purpose and a manifesto as, through various experiments and explorations, I tried to rediscover the basic function of the voice as the first means of expression as well as to release untapped sonic material. As I gave my classically trained voice its freedom, letting it direct me toward new places and ideas, I developed what was a unique vocabulary and used those sounds to score an orchestra of layered voices."

Sowing Records present a reissue of Red Garland Quintet's Soul Junction, originally released in 1960. Recorded in November 1957 and released in 1960 on Prestige Records, Soul Junction is the highly celebrated Red Garland release featuring the young John Coltrane on tenor sax and Donald Byrd on trumpet. Garland's ultra-relaxed piano fits perfectly with the steady groove provided by George Joyner on bass and Art Taylor on drums, while Coltrane and Byrd often steal the show with outstanding solos. This is a marvelous quintet digging deep into the blues idiom and the soulful side of jazz. Clear vinyl.

2022 repress, green vinyl. "1968 debut album from the king of the psychedelic bayou -- the hypnotic, mystical and powerful sound of the swamp coming to life. As he became Dr. John (real name Mac Rebennack), it was his LA session work with musicians like Sonny & Cher, Canned Heat, and Zappa that allowed him to start conjuring up his visions of guitar psych-pop to walk alongside his authentic New Orleans upbringing. While Gris Gris contains moments that make it a type stamped symbol of its era, it might have well been made in outer space. Recorded in its own psychic and stylistic vacuum, the album borrows as heavily from the New Orleans' musical culture in which he grew up as it does the looming continuous pulse of war, heavy drugs, and the end of the free love/hippie movement. The album was taken under the wing of a small percentage of the 'underground' upon its release in 1968 and did not find a true following for years. Limited color vinyl, first reissue for original mono mix."

"It has been a while since the release Myriam's acclaimed 2014 debut album, Not So Deep as a Well (FTR 146-4LP). The intervening years have brought a smattering of live performances, a bouquet of children, Trump's Pandemic, and much more . . .

Different concepts for a new album were broached, but the seed of Ma Délire was planted when Myriam recalled a paper she written in university. It was about Leonard Cohen's recording of "The Lost Canadian (Un canadien errant)" from Recent Songs. Ostensibly a cover of an old Quebecois ballad, Cohen stripped away the specificity of the lyrics, tying the song's titular figure to the archetype of 'The Wandering Jew'.

The theme of this paper returned to Myriam when she had a residency at the Old Mill in Le Bic, QC in August 2016. Benoit Chaput had turned her on to the traditional tune 'Au Coeur de ma Délire,' from a 1971 album by Dominique Tremblay and Philippe Gagnon. The song was so haunting, she decided to record it right there in the Mill's boat repair workshop. That is the very recording used here . . .

This started Myriam musing about how the end of the Catholic hegemony in Quebec had the unanticipated consequence of making people think less of traditional Quebecois folk music, because so much of it was soaked in the blood of the lamb. It made sense this music should be explored and updated despite its dogmatic origins which Cohen had proved could be effectively expunged . . .

Just as the world was shutting down, Myriam was awarded a grant which allowed her the time and space to fully investigate and develop this material. She had spent years sifting through traditional music from Quebec, France and the U.S., highlighting parts of songs and ideas she liked, discarding some she found abhorrent, and merging the good bits with her own writing or other cannibalized shards. At some juncture she flashed on this work's common thread -- its thematic roots were always in one type of romantic longing or another. And so, this album came together during the dark days of the General Lockdown. Mixing vocal tracks with instrumentals, singing in both French and English, using a syncretic blend of original, modern and traditional lyrics, Ma Délire fearlessly wanders through a universe of its own invention, daring us to open our minds wide enough to take it all in.

Myriam initially recorded with just guitar and vocals. But when she began working with the sound engineer Tonio Morin-Vargas, he had some insightful suggestions about additional instrumentation that might broaden the album's sound without confounding it. Myriam had already planned to ask her friends, Bill Nace and Chris Corsano, to add some things, so the whole shebang evolved as organically as most great records do..." --Byron Coley, 2021

Singer/songwriter and guitarist Jayan Bertrand, bassist Josh Ewers, electronic drummer Josue Vargas and guitarist Dion Kerr have coined a new genre "Caribbean Jazzgaze" to describe their wholly unique combination of jazz, shoegaze, rock, hip-hop, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms that is Seafoam Walls. Seafoam Walls caught the attention of cultish music and art communities around South Florida with a soundtrack befitting of their dark tropical paradise, and have remained a Miami secret since 2016. Bandleader Jayan began his journey as a musician listening to metal and classic rock. His first formal lessons after a year of self-taught practice came from a family friend and talented jazz guitarist, Bemol Telfort. Although jazz wasn't his first love but opened his heart to explorations of free improvisation which led to an introduction to Dion, Josh, and Josue -- all active members on South Florida's jazz scene. Seafoam Walls released their first EP, titled R-E-F-L-E-C-T in 2018 and ROOT in 2019 via Bandcamp. The band recently attracted international rock n' roll consciousness following a secret all-ages matinee in the gardens of North Miami's Centre for Subtropical Affairs with DC hardcore photographer Susie J (Teen Idles, Minor Threat, et al.) and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore front row center. The Miami indie band completed the eight-track album entitled XVI earlier in 2021. Mastered by Norwegian sound artist Lasse Marhaug. Seafoam green vinyl.

2022 black vinyl repress. Second volume to complete the anthology of Wicked Lady recordings, their final tracks recorded in 1972, just before the band split up and guitarist Martin Weaver left for Dark (of Round The Edges fame). Another batch of excessive, over-the-top doomy psychedelic hard-rock including underground classics like "I'm A Freak" and the 21-minute epic "Ship Of Ghosts". Double vinyl which offers maximum sound quality. Gatefold cover with liner notes by doomy psychedelic guitar God in person, Martin Weaver, telling the real story behind Wicked Lady.

Double LP version. Clear vinyl. Flicker is the second album from Ride guitarist and songwriter Andy Bell. This 18-track double album finds Andy moving towards classic songwriting, notably on the reflective lead single "Something Like Love", the strident harmonies of "World of Echo", the joyous refracted loops of "Jenny Holzer B. Goode" and the fuzz-laden late-60s balladeering of "Love Is The Frequency". Stylistically, the four sides of Flicker take in everything from modern psychedelia to fingerpicked folk, whimsical baroque pop, and Byrdsian 12-string beauty. It's a breathtaking array and makes it even more abundantly clear that Andy has entered a purple patch in his songwriting, hitting a new velocity in contrast to his initial inhibitions about becoming a solo artist. Flicker is also an apt description for the genesis of the album. At the start of 2021, Andy returned to the stems of the recording sessions he made at Beady Eye and Oasis bandmate Gem Archer's North London studio and added fuel to the fire, writing melodies and lyrics and turning them into fully formed songs. The same sessions were also the starting point for The View From Halfway Down (SCR 170CD/LP, 2020) and this album picks up where that one left off, quite literally, with the very first words being "I was halfway down?" This is the first of several playful, possibly intentional, references to albums and song titles that litter the record like a musical breadcrumb trail. As much as this is a modern sounding and forward-looking record, it's also very much about looking back, something that is clear from the first glimpse of the front cover -- a previously unseen outtake from Joe Dilworth's photo sessions for the inner sleeve of Ride's debut album, Nowhere (1990). "When I think about Flicker, I see it as closure," explains Andy. "Most literally, on a half-finished project from over six years ago, but also on a much bigger timescale. Some of these songs date back to the '90s and the cognitive dissonance of writing brand new lyrics over songs that are 20-plus years old makes it feel like it is, almost literally, me exchanging ideas with my younger self." Some of it remains unspoken, taking place sonically rather than verbally: the album has a reflective, meditative feeling throughout.

Grup Şimşek is a fresh and modern pop group which combines Anatolian folk and contemporary grooves, often contaminated by psychedelia and progressive rock flavors. Led by Derya Yıldırım's hypnotizing bağlama and vocals, the group draw a meaningful continuity from the Turkish folk repertoire to their original songwriting, with a strong sound identity and a dancefloor-friendly energy. Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, along with Swiss label Bongo Joe, release the new LP Dost 1, the collective's second album and first of two to be released in 2022. Turkish singer and saz player Derya Yıldırım has been burning the candle for Turkish folk and psychedelia since her infamous performance at the New Hamburg Festival back in 2015. Soon after, Grup Şimşek was born and there started a rich journey of musical feast, exploring and rendering new versions of Anatolian classics as well as building a songbook of original compositions, with references to the music of The Doors, west coast US psych, Turkish musical activist and hero Selda Bagçan and many heroes of musical Anatolia. Grup Şimşek are itinerant by nature. They live apart across various European homes and span Turkish, German, French, and English heritage with Derya living in Berlin. Despite this spatial incongruence, the group's harmony oozes through their music with a rich stew of funk-noir groove, organ energy, hypnotic saz (Turkish stringed instrument) and synths all layered beneath Derya's warm sometimes heartfelt vocal, singing verse and poetry, borrowed, evolved and new.

"Interior sounds from Madalyn in an album that flits between eerie ambience, environment, and hermetic logic. The music's timing and sequencing feels distant, the elegant constructions conjured and organized semi-consciously, drawing the listener deeper into the dream and towards a zone where watch hands tick forward accurately and their perception of time unspools. Here each neatly tuned conversation and clockwork assemblage harmonizes, spinning tantalizingly just out of range and understanding." "Puzzle Music is the desire to create images out of diverse pieces of sound. To collect timbral colors in a gradient procession and connect them until they create reason. Principally not knowing how the image will turn out, or what the picture even is. It is the act of placing sound shapes next to one another in the hope that clarity will gradually be revealed. When grouping the songs together I was thinking of them as mechanisms in a timepiece. I have something of an obsession with Swiss watchmaking, although I think this stems from a desire for creative mastery and the design of an energy source independent of electronic needs. Hopefully the songs all serve a purpose towards the end goal of the album... but also, the way the Oberheim Xpander pans sounds is in a very clear circular pattern, which makes me think of gears turning."--Madalyn Merkey

"The Afro Modern Seventies Sounds of Soweto's First Nightclub. Over ten years in the making, this is the first compilation from South African vinyl re-issue specialists Matsuli Music. Ten track double gatefold album journey through jazz, funk, fusion and disco, detailing the incredible story and sounds behind the Soweto nightclub during the height of apartheid. Uniquely South African take on the trans-Atlantic sounds of Philadelphia, Detroit, and New York City. Unseen photographs, and liner notes by Kwanele Sosibo featuring interviews with key musicians, players and a former president of South Africa. A night-time haunt in the backstreets of Soweto run by a well-known bootlegger should have been a prime zone for nefarious underworld activities. Instead, it nurtured an underground of a different kind. Soon after its opening in 1973, Club Pelican became a spot where musicians steeped in the tradition of South African jazz began to cook up experimental sounds inspired by communion, competition and the movements in funk and soul blowing in from the West. Located in an industrial park on the western edge of Orlando East, Soweto, Club Pelican was off the beaten track, among a matrix of railway and industrial infrastructure. In a different time and place, this would have been a prototypical nightclub location, except there was no local precedent to follow. This was Soweto's first night club. In the intervening years, this location has served to heighten the now-defunct spot's legendary status as a singular venue, one that ruled the night in the seventies. Initially called Lucky's and established in 1973, the Pelican's impact on the Soweto cultural landscape was immediate. Lorded over by a charismatic figure known as Lucky Michaels, the club became the jewel in a nondescript collection of family businesses. It boasted a diverse pool of talent in its succession of house bands and an A-list of ghetto-fabulous singers as its cabaret stars. Its VIP section was a veritable who's who of Soweto society and its stage, hosting a mix of the day's pop culture infused with the creativity and individual histories of the musicians, the Pelican filled a live music vacuum. One Night In Pelican captures the halcyon seventies period with a single nightclub embodying an indomitable spirit of its troubadour players. While schooled and rooted in 'standards' and local forms, the music could take any direction, at a moment's notice. This compilation features all the key groups and players of the time: Abacothozi, Almon Memela's Soweto, The Black Pages, Dick Khoza and the Afro Pedlars, The Drive, Ensemble of Rhythm and Art, The Headquarters, Makhona Zonke Band, the Shyannes and Spirits Rejoice. Audio mastered and cut for vinyl by Frank Merritt at The Carvery with heavyweight 180g vinyl pressed at Pallas in Germany."

Love marks the long-awaited return of Melbourne based producer Prequel to Rhythm Section INTL, following outings on Distant Hawaii (now Distant Horizons), Local Talk, and an EP on Lumberjacks in Hell. The lead track, "Love Is" is a joint effort with long term collaborator Cazeaux O.S.L.O. Its a meditation on Love, in all its complexities. This exploration is dissected across this deeply personal concept album -- a 50-minute journey through the highs and lows of love and loss. Across 12 tracks we're taken on a journey which seamlessly incorporates soul, jazz, hip-hop, and Brazilian influences -- all drenched in a deep longing which traces its roots back to the masters of deep, melancholic house music. Born into a musical family and brought up on a blend of jazz and hip-hop, Prequel supplements his sample-based style with a number of luminaries of the Australian music scene in the form of guests Horatio Luna on bass, Josh Kelly on sax, Cazeaux O.S.L.O on vocals, Javier Fredes on percussion and Tamil Rogeon on violin/viola. Deeply influenced by his love of film, the album is accompanied by a series of music videos edited by Prequel that whilst creating companion pieces to each single, also looks to further expand the meditation of what we talk about when we talk about Love. For fans of: Osunlade, Gilles Peterson, K15, Seven Davis Jr., Lefto, Moxie. Red vinyl.

Four Pianos (1979-80): It is recognized today that these tutelary pieces for four pianos are among the most powerful in contemporary music, their impact is almost unparalleled. After the historical version recorded forty years ago, this one, featuring four of the greatest European performers, is now regaining its full power. High level recordings too. Red vinyl; includes color insert.

Julius Eastman: There was some for John Cage, then came Christian Wolff, and finally Morton Feldman, from this school in New York. Only Julius Eastman remained outside the game, the last figure, the most solitary and enigmatic -- undoubtedly also one of the most powerful, and it is this power that is revealed through these recordings. In the 1970s and 1980s, Eastman was one of the very few African-Americans to gain recognition in the New York avant-garde music scene. He was politically committed, a figure of queer culture and a solar and solitary poet whose melancholy influenced his genius as well as his tragic destiny: suffering from various addictions, declared missing, actually homeless. During Winter of 1981-82, he got deported from his apartment by the police, who destroyed most of what he owned - including scores and recordings. He was found dead in 1990, on the streets of Buffalo, after years of vagrancy.

The Performers: Nicolas Horvath, pianist and electroacoustic composer; Melaine Dalibert, a French composer and pianist; Stephane Ginsburgh, a tireless surveyor of the repertoire but also explorer of new music; Wilhem Latchoumia, embraces both new music and the classical repertoire with success and charisma.

Turbo Recordings present its grandest achievement yet, a reimagining of Plastikman's 1998 magnum opus Consumed, transformed as a new collaborative composition between original artist Richie Hawtin and musical genius Chilly Gonzales. This is an album three decades in the making, brought into the world by executive producer Tiga. A masterpiece of restraint, depth, and music as architectural vision, Consumed was profoundly influential, defining the soon-to-emerge minimal movement. Shortly after its 20th anniversary, Chilly Gonzales was inspired to compose accompanying piano pieces (counterparts) for each of the tracks and shared them with Tiga, who became the conduit between both artists and led the project to fruition on his label. Hawtin mixed the new combined work, allowing each artist their own space within the project, more of a sonic conversation between them than a conventional collaboration. The artwork is a reinterpretation of the original album's, flipped to black-and-white and with the cutout size transposed to the dimensions of a piano key, the die-cut in the white outer sleeve revealing a shiny black foil stamp on the black inner sleeves. Vinyl and packaging were made using recycled materials.

2022 restock; double-LP version. Gatefold sleeve with insert and original liner notes. Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell's music to be released after his death in 1992. Released on CD by Point Music in 1993 it marked the beginning of nearly 30 years of work to let the world hear the enormous archive of unreleased recordings Arthur left behind. Be With Records revisits this first compilation. This is the only place where you can hear some of Arthur's most recognizable music, like the title track "Another Thought", "A Little Lost", "This Is How We Walk On The Moon", "Keeping Up" and the woozy disco of "In The Light Of The Miracle" and "My Tiger, My Timing". Though technically a compilation, the whole of Another Thought comes together as a consistent, coherent, wonderful album. Janette Beckman reproduced her iconic photograph of Arthur in his newspaper boat hat for the sleeve. Tom Lee gave permission to include his liner notes from the original CD booklet, together with Arthur's lyrics. Another Thought is absolutely essential for even the most casual Arthur Russell collection. In fact, it's essential for any fan of non-obvious pop music.

Reissue of one of the most in demand Brij Bhushan Kabra LPs finally available. Remastered. In the 1920s, Tau Moe (pronounced "mo-ay"), a Hawaiian musician, arrived in India and introduced Hawaiian music to the sub-continent. After settling in Calcutta in the early 1940s, Moe and his family performed, taught and introduced Hawaiian music by building and selling guitars to the local musicians. Indian filmmakers and composers quickly fell under the spell of these instruments and sounds and made them suitable for playing ragas, the melodic patterns and modes in traditional Indian compositions. Soon these hot-rod guitars were accepted as legitimate instruments for performing Indian classical music, and a new breed of virtuosos emerged to write yet another chapter of the guitar's unpredictable evolution. Brij Bhushan Kabra was one of the Indian musicians who heard the steel guitar's siren call, but his vision went beyond adapting Hawaiian sounds to popular music. Instead, he saw the instrument's potential for playing ragas. To pursue this dream, Kabra began studying with Ali Akbar Khan, whose fretless sarod offered a sonic example for Kabra to emulate with his lap-slide guitar. Kabra's instrument was a Gibson Super 400, modified with a drone string and a high nut to raise the strings off the fretboard like a lap steel. Seated on the floor in the traditional style of Indian musicians, Kabra played his guitar horizontally, using a fingerstyle plucking technique and a bar to contact the strings. His approach set the standard for virtually all Indian slide guitarists. He is rightfully considered a master musician and regarded as one of Indian Classical music's most renowned ambassadors to the rest of the world.