Black Truffle announces the first vinyl reissue of Trancedance, a wild slice of Swedish Afro-fusion from Christer Bothén, originally released in 1984. A major figure in Swedish jazz and improvised music since the 1970s, often heard on bass clarinet and tenor sax, Bothen studied doso n'koni (the large six-stringed "hunter's harp" of the Wasulu) in Mali in 1971-1972 before turning to the guinbri (the three-stringed lute of the Gnawa/Gnauoua) in Marakesh later in the decade. In between, he performed extensively with Don Cherry during his Organic Music Society period and taught Cherry the doso n'koni. In the later '70s and '80s he worked with the most important figures in the distinctive Swedish jazz-rock-world fusion scene, joining Archimedes Badkar for their African-influenced Tre and participating in Bengt Berger's legendary Bitter Funeral Beer Band. Many of the musicians who played on the Bitter Funeral Beer Band's ECM LP (including Berger on drums, Anita Livstrand on voice and percussion and Tord Bengstsson on piano, violin and guitar) joined Bothén for one of the sessions that produced Trancedance, the first release under his own name, dedicated to his compositions. The other session introduced his seven-piece group Bolon Bata, heard on the second track of each side. Using an expanded 16-piece ensemble, the music balances untethered improvisation with carefully arranged passages of knotty ensemble playing that at points suggest Mingus, Moacir Santos, or some of the ambitious post-free work being done in the same years by figures like David Murray or Henry Threadgill. A must for fans of the Swedish scene around groups like Arbete och Fritid and Archimedes Badkar, as well as any listener who has been seduced by Louis Moholo's Spirits Rejoice!, The Brotherhood of Breath, or, more recently, the guinbri grooves of Natural Information Society, Trancedance is a lost classic ripe for rediscovery.

"Dicks' debut LP has been acknowledged as a foundational statement in punk ever since its initial 1983 release. Following their first single, 1980's Dicks Hate The Police, and a live split with fellow Austinites the Big Boys, Kill From The Heart does not disappoint. Originally released on SST, the album stands apart from the mass of generic thrash-hardcore contemporaries -- fueled by the manic, but controlled power of singer Gary Floyd along with the original lineup of guitarist Glen Taylor, bassist Buxf Parrot and drummer Pat Deason. Dicks were operating at an absolute peak at this point, alternating damaged workouts that suggest Flipper or No Trend on one end and highly charged tracks in the vein of Minutemen or Tales of Terror on the other. Straight out of the gate on 'Anti Klan,' the band trades blues-grounded guitar with squealing feedback and intensely political lyrics. The raw emotional sincerity of Floyd, who was openly gay in Reagan-era Texas, provides unmistakable urgency to songs such as 'No Nazi's Friend,' 'Rich Daddy' and the title track, which remains one of the stone-cold classic punk anthems. Forty years on, Kill From The Heart continues to smolder -- an arresting testament to the possibilities embodied in creative rage. It is no surprise that Dicks have been covered by Mudhoney, Jesus Lizard and more. Superior Viaduct is honored to present this truly essential reissue. Comes with original tracklist, insert and download card."

LP version. "Originally released in 1974 on Shandar, Dream House 78'17" is the second full-length album by La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela. This first-time US edition reproduces the original gatefold sleeve with beautiful calligraphy by Zazeela and liner notes by Young and French musicologist Daniel Caux. Side one was recorded at a private concert (on the date and time indicated by the title) and features Young and Zazeela's voices against a sine wave drone with Jon Hassell on trumpet and Garrett List on trombone. This work is a section of the longer composition Map of 49's 'Dream the Two Systems of Eleven Sets of Galactic Intervals Ornamental Lightyears Tracery' (begun in 1966 as a sub-section of The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys, which was begun in 1964 with Young's group The Theatre of Eternal Music). The piece evolves with the oscillator changing pitch and dictating an ornate pattern over the course of the performance. Side two is an example of one of the sets of frequencies sustained in the Dream House, the composite sound environments conceived by Young and Zazeela. The composer suggests listening while seated -- to experience how the sound interacts with the room and other perceptions of its arrangement -- as well as while walking. As Young states, 'The frequency ratios are monitored continuously as lissajous patterns on the oscilloscopes and, in spite of the great stability of the oscillators, the phase relationships of the sine waves gradually drift which causes their amplitudes to add and subtract algebraically. Not only does the sound become a bit louder and softer, but at very loud levels, one actually begins to have a sensation that parts of the body are somehow locked in sync with the sine waves and slowly drifting with them in space and time.'"

Double LP version. Yellow color vinyl. "Culled from three 1985 gigs in the UK during a transitional and transcendent time in the band's story, Sonic Youth's The Walls Have Ears appeared/disappeared as a 2LP set in 1986, not just a live album but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verité. It's now issued for the first time officially under the band's auspices."

"The '85 shows were the second time the band appeared on UK soil, Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground; an art/punk band from NYC sporting casual attitudes and tees sporting Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince made some good press copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. Paul Smith of the newly-founded Blast First label acted as an overseas diplomatic envoy for Sonic Youth through their SST years as well as issuing their classic 1988 Daydream Nation outside the USA. However the Smith-produced 'bootleg' of their '85 UK gigs surfaced much to everyone's surprise, just before EVOL was to be released. It turned out to be a marker of the group's dissatisfaction that ultimately led to the release's deletion, and the band and Smith parting ways after Daydream. In this 2LP set brimming with primitive classics like 'The Burning Spear,' 'Death Valley 69,' and 'I'm Insane' (uncredited on sleeve), segues and live guitar changes ooze together threaded by Madonna tapes and vocal loops off the board (somewhat a necessity for distraction until the band had a full-fledged stage crew to prepare guitars). The first two sides of Walls are massive, cavernous, with newly-drafted drummer Steve Shelley. SY tear it up especially on one trash-fi excerpt of 'Blood On Brighton Beach' (actually 'Making The Nature Scene') from a legendary outdoor gig November 8th where [Thurston] Moore, [Kim] Gordon and [Lee] Ranaldo's guitars treble-blast dissonant shockwaves over the black-stoned beach of Quadrophenia fame. The record's second slab spotlights an April 1985 at London's Hammersmith Palais and was one of the final appearances live of Bob Bert on drums, again featuring some molten takes on 'Brother James,' 'Flower' (listed as 'The Word (E.V.O.L.)'), and others. This document remains an essential representation of some lean and mean years of the quartet's throttling march out into the world." --Brian Turner

Founded in the southern German city of Bietigheim-Bissingen by Heiko Maile, Oliver Kreyssig, and Marcus Meyn in the year 1984, the band Camouflage scored an unexpected international hit with their debut album Voices & Images in 1988. Their sophomore album Methods Of Silence, released just a year later, was an even bigger success. Songs like "The Great Commandment" and "Love Is A Shield," went on to become perennial classics of the synth pop genre. Heiko Maile and Marcus Meyn recorded their fourth album Bodega Bohemia in the synthsound studio of Belgian producer and electro-pop pioneer Dan Lacksman. It was released on 26 April 1993. To mark the 30th anniversary of the album, the band opened up the archives to assemble a special bonus edition including a wealth of rare and unreleased recordings.

2024 restock, LP version. Reissue. Originally released as private pressing in 1971, the Farm album is highly sought-after and revered by collectors. Recorded by this Southern Illinois band in 1971 at the legendary Golden Voice studios, it's chock full of jammy, bluesy guitar psych with heavy dual guitars, organ, congas, harp... Recommended if you like Quicksilver, Allman Brothers, Canned Heat, Ten Years After... Remastered sound; original artwork; includes booklet with photos and extensive liner notes by Kevin Rathert (It's Psychedelic Baby) LP version includes download card. "A vital album for fans of vintage guitar action." --Patrick Lundborg (Acid Archives).

Repressed. "In 1962, legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans collaborated for the first time on record with jazz guitarist Jim Hall to create the landmark album Undercurrent. And even though it is a two-person improvisational affair, it is almost unfathomable that these two giants alone fill up all the grooves on this record. The thoughtful interplay between these two musicians created such a beautiful, lush, and emotional journey that their work influenced many. At the time of this recording, Bill Evans was one of the top jazz pianists (his performance with Miles Davis on Kind Of Blue is still a high-water mark), but he had stopped performing and recording after the death of his peer, bassist Scott LaFaro. Eventually, he was persuaded to return to music, and this was one of the first recordings upon his return. Guitarist Jim Hall -- who had worked with Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, and Chico Hamilton -- started his partnership with Evans during this time. Recorded over two sessions in April and May 1962, the two have that beautifully unspoken musical language of give and take; their recordings are refreshingly busy but also incredibly sparse. These two giants understand that intertwining their personalities and harmonic styles could create greatness. This notable re-issue is an all-analog production affair -- AAA Mastered and cut live by audio guru Kevin Gray (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus) -- and it's never sounded better."

LP version. After a hiatus of five years, The Pearlfishers, Glasgow's finest, return with their ninth album for Marina -- most probably their best and most immediate one so far. Driven by main man David Scott's exceptional songwriting and sophisticated arrangements, Making Tapes For Girls is a goldmine of pop gems -- full of witty and colorful lyrics about the affirmative and healing power of music and pop escapism. It is another Pearlfishers classic in the vein of My Dad The Weatherfan and Even On A Sunday Afternoon and also David Scott's nod to Terry Hall's The Colour Field.

2024 restock; LP version. Wewantsounds announce a special edition of the legendary 1979 Masahiko Togashi album Song of Soil, recorded in Paris with Don Cherry and Charlie Haden and released on Japanese label Paddle Wheel. Supervised by Parisian producer Martin Meissonnier -- then Don Cherry's right-hand man -- Song of Soil reaches heights of spirituality mixing Eastern influences with jazz and deep ambient soundscapes. The album is reissued here with its original artwork and remastered by King Records in Japan. Masahiko Togashi's cult classic, Song of Soil was recorded just a few months after the Codona album release but unlike the landmark ECM album, Song of Soil was only released in Japan at the time. Thanks to Japanese pianist Takashi Kako, who was living in Paris at the time, a session had been set up with Don Cherry and Charlie Haden thanks to Martin Meissonnier, a young journalist and radio producer, who was starting to make an impression on the Paris music scene. Paris at the time was a buzzing city and one of the most active epicenters of jazz creativity. Masahiko Togashi was, at the time, one of Japan's most celebrated jazz musicians. He was a key exponent of the Japanese free jazz movement at the turn of the '60s. Despite an accident that had left him paralyzed from waist down, Togashi became more active than ever thanks to a special drumkit that enabled him to play like before. He came to Paris to record Song of Soil with the two American musicians who were touring Europe with their Old and New Dreams quartet (they'd played a concert promoted by Meissonnier at the Palais des Glaces on the July 31st). Always on the lookout for new inspiring adventures, Cherry agreed to do the session with Togashi and the musicians headed to the Ramses studio to record the album with Haden as the bassist. Comprised of six Togashi originals, Song of Soil is a superb blend of global improvisational interaction featuring Togashi's deep abstract drumming, Don Cherry's imaginary trumpet playing, and Charlie Haden's expansive basslines. Also present during the session was Don Cherry's friend, photographer Philippe Gras who'd shot the cult legendary short film Don Cherry in 1968. Gras shot the session for the album release and artwork. For Meissonnier, it was the beginning of a meteoric rise that would see him shape the global sound of the '80s with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, and Rai musicians. A key album in Don Cherry's discography as well as an essential Japanese jazz album, Song of Soil is a unique meeting of the minds. Includes eight-page color booklet with liner notes by Jacques Denis/Martin Meissonnier and Paul Bowler plus unissued photos by Philippe Gras.

Joe McPhee is one of the great multi-instrumentalists of contemporary improvised music. His instrumental battery has included saxophones, clarinets, valve trombone, pocket trumpet, sound-on-sound tape recorder, and space organ, but another arrow in his quiver is text. McPhee has been writing poems since the 1970s. He occasionally introduces one into performance, as an introduction or afterword to music, and in recent years he's been known to do full-on readings, text only, featuring his inimitable sense of dramatic timing intoned in his rich voice. The poems range from the observational to the political to the surreal. They're composed in rhyme or according to an internal rhythm, sometimes utterly prosaic, sometimes fantastic and flamboyant. A few of them capture the immediacy of improvised music more acutely than any critical writing on the subject, his half-century immersion in the craft of free music having given him a bottomless cup to draw on and his sensitivity to the nuances of language providing a host of palpable metaphors and metonyms, similes and strophes. The poems are marvels on the page, but they really take flight in McPhee's mouth. In 2021, during a flurry of pandemic-inspired poetic activity, he traveled to Chicago expressly to record a program of his poems. For the studio date, he invited saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Vandermark to play duets as interludes between groupings of the poems. Then Vandermark, engineer Alex Inglizian, and the CvsD team sat breathless in the Experimental Sound Studio control room as McPhee proceeded to perform his poetry nonstop and without repetition for nearly two hours. The result is Musings of a Bahamian Son, the first full-length release dedicated to McPhee's writing, with 27 poems interspersed with nine musical interludes and a postlude.

2024 repress. "One of the first releases on EMI's progressive rock label, Harvest in July 1969, Alchemy was the debut album by Third Ear Band. One of the earliest signings to Harvest, the band was formed in 1968 around a nucleus of Glen Sweeney (percussion), Paul Minns (oboe), Richard Coff (violin, viola) and Mel Davis (cello). Third Ear Band were unique in their exploration of exotic baroque music fused with experimental rock. Signing to Blackhill Enterprises in 1969, the quartet opened for many of the legendary Hyde Park free concerts by Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Blind Faith. Recorded at Abbey Road studios in the early months of 1969, Alchemy is regarded as one of the most striking and original works of the era with its unique gothic improvisational music and this new Esoteric Recordings 180 gram vinyl edition is a faithful reproduction of the original 1969 gatefold LP release. It has been re-mastered from the original Harvest master tapes and has been cut at Abbey Road studios for this definitive edition vinyl reissue."

"Jackpot Records presents this re-reissue of what many call arguably the greatest album of the punk rock era: The Flesh Eaters' 1981 punk-noir masterpiece, A Minute To Pray A Second To Die. Once referred to as an all-star roots/voodoo combo, The Flesh Eaters could only have crawled out of the myst of the late L.A. '70s punk scene. Fronted by punk poet/composer Chris D. (Desjardins), the band was a satellite for exquisite collaborators that allowed him to bring the full force of his dark, messed-up lyrical nightmares. Members of X, Wall Of Voodoo, Los Lobos, The Blasters, and The Plugz all hopped into his unmarked car to take a drive with Chris D. Its grabbed-by-the-throat vocals are powerfully buoyed by the tight melodicism emanating from the players on this record (John Doe and DJ Bonebrake from X, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, Dave Alvin and Bill Bateman of The Blasters). Hell, there's even the perfectly executed John Doe original, 'Cyrano de Berger's Back,' which was re-recorded by X in 1987. The creators of this record made a pulp novel for your ears with an equal chance to scar your heart. Do not miss out -- this is punk noir at its greatest. Limited edition ruby red vinyl. Includes original inner sleeve design."

Erlend Øye and La Comitiva's La Comitiva. In a small town like Siracusa, Italy, socializing is mostly done in peoples' homes and consists of: buy ingredients for a meal, make the meal and talk, eat the meal and talk, get the instruments and sit around the table and play and sing for hours. Erlend plays a ukulele, Marco plays nylon string guitar, Luigi plays cavaquinho, a Brazilian samba instrument, and Stefano plays "bass" on the same steel string guitars that Erlend uses with Kings of Convenience. The band became professionalized during a 2018 tour through Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. During that tour, many of the band's original songs came to be, such as "Altiplano," the arrangement of which took place in a dusty border crossing station between Chile and Perú. After many involuntary breaks (Covid, Kings of Convenience album release, Marco Castello album release), the full-length LP La Comitiva finally sees the light of day. In 2016, Erlend became aware of the free-spirited classical ensemble Stargaze during the collaborative festival "People" in Berlin, and he started to involve some of the members in studio recording sessions and live concerts with La Comitiva. Mostly featured: Kobi Arditi (trombone), Maaike van der Linde (flute), Romain Bly (trumpet, French horn and percussions). Format: 180G heavyweight black vinyl with printed inner sleeve and hype sticker.

LP version. Faust is a group of artists who shared intense musical experiences in the years 1971 to 1974. Supported by producer Uwe Nettelbeck and sound engineer Kurt Graupner, they produced an immense array of recordings in a studio in Wumme which had been set up just for them. Two compact album productions followed, recorded at the Manor (March 1973) and Musicland Studios (May 1974). This album presents a selection of recordings from this period, documenting their creative versatility and explosive dynamism. Some tracks are extremely raw and experimental, others are fully rounded productions. A collection of un-released snapshots which offer a wonderful insight into the world of Faust. This volume includes recordings which have been previously released on other compilations such as 71 Minutes and BBC Sessions+. When reviewing this material for this compilation, some titles have been changed, e.g. "Ma Trompette (Alternative Version)" has been released as "Party 10" previously, "Zwolf Meter unter der Oberflache" has been "(360)" and "Geister, die wir riefen" was "The Lurcher."

LP version. Green color vinyl. Mayday is the third LP by Montreal-based artist, Myriam Gendron. It follows her earlier, critically acclaimed albums, Not So Deep As A Well (2014) and Ma Délire: Songs Of Love, Lost & Found (2021). Myriam began exploring the complex folk traditions of Quebec (and beyond), with Ma délire, which combines traditional and original songs with arrangements that make space for avant-garde musical interludes by such folks as guitarist Bill Nace (Body/Head) and renowned jazz percussionist Chris Corsano. Mayday presents an even more syncretic fusion of the elements Myriam uses to create her sound. Most of the songs are original, sung in both English and French, and they blend traditional and avant elements with abandon. She is often accompanied on this album by the guitarist Marisa Anderson and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White), whose work provides a quietly aggressive sort of free-rock base. Additional players include Montreal bassist Cédric Dind-Lovie, Bill Nace and saxophonist Zoh Amba. Mayday is a thoroughly thrilling effort that manages to create new vistas of sound while maintaining a feel that is both intimate and familiar. The music here certainly possesses a richly serious tone, but Myriam Gendron (like Leonard Cohen) is able to infuse her darkness with a subtle, powerful light that reminds listeners that even the most pitch-black night is but a transitional state. Beautiful work. Recorded at home and at Hotel2Tango with Howard Bilerman and Shea Brossard. Mastered by Harris Newman.

When the U.S. State Department announced in the mid-1970s that they were sponsoring a South African tour for the Oklahoma-born, Paris-based saxophonist Hal Singer, producer Rashid Vally took note. Even though his nascent record label As-Shams/The Sun (established in 1974) was making waves on the local scene, the idea of commissioning a recording from an international artist was a ballsy idea. With a discography that stretched back to the 1950s, Hal Singer was already somewhat of a legacy artist by 1976. Vally was well-versed on Singer's accomplishments and specifically enamored by his composition "Blue Stompin'," which appeared on a Prestige album from 1959 that had struck a chord in South Africa. With his irresistible charm, Vally managed to coax Singer into a studio in Johannesburg, South Africa, to record a new version of "Blue Stompin'" with South African sax star Kippie Moeketsi, which became the title track of a 1977 album by Moeketsi. The recording session also yielded an album's worth of new material by Hal Singer and his quartet that took its name from a track inspired by Singer's trip to South Africa entitled "Soweto to Harlem." Released in 1976 and only available in South Africa, Soweto to Harlem captures a laid-back, cheeky and nostalgic rhythm and blues set from the Hal Singer Quartet that is unlikely to have emerged for a different target market.

After Future Sounds Of Kraut Vol. 1 (CPT 621LP), Compost presents Vol. 2: 17 modern krauty electronic tracks (nine of them exclusive) inspired by Kraftwerk, Can, Neu!, Cluster, Harmonia, Klaus Schulze, and many others. Curated and compiled by Compost artist Fred und Luna. The collage on the cover -- like on Vol.1 -- was exclusively made by the fantastic artist Norika Nienstedt from Kraut metropolis Düsseldorf. Future sounds of Kraut, what's it all about? Maybe Vol. 2 will bring it to light for you. It's not easy at all or even impossible to define the musical genre "Kraut." Nevertheless, Compost Records and Fred und Luna strike out on the path to find the diverse elements of German electronic music of the 1970s and 1980s and their effects on the new German and international music scene. After the immense success of Vol. 1, a follow-up volume was soon started, tying in stylistically with its predecessor and furthermore -- as this is one basic principle of the series -- expanding the musical spectrum by adding new krauty elements step by step. So now, besides stylistic followings to Vol. 1, you will hear some more club oriented and experimental tracks. Feel free to listen and get krautified! Featuring Sankt Otten, Ghost Power, formAnt B, Thomas Fehlmann, Roman Flügel, Sordid Sound System, I:Cube, Lucas Croon, Minami Deutsch, Gilgamesh Mata Hari Duo, Kosmischer Läufer, Young Solo, Schlammpeitziger, and Halwa.

2024 limited repress; Triple LP version. Includes CD. Comes with a 24-page booklet in a hardcover book. In the body of work of Cologne artist Wolfgang Voigt - who, like few others, has informed, shaped and influenced the world of electronic music with countless different projects since the early 1990s - Gas stands out in particular, a saturnine sound cosmos based on heavily condensed classic sequences. Even after nearly 20 years, the sound of Gas doesn't seem to have lost any of its luster, as shown by the commanding success of Kompakt's fall 2016 re-release of the essential back catalogue as a box set (KOM 370LP). The overwhelming feedback from a loyal international fan community and worldwide media outlets attests once again to the sheer timelessness of Gas. Which is why it will feel like hardly a day has passed since the release of the last official album Pop nearly two decades ago in 2000, when Wolfgang Voigt resumes this specific creative path with the upcoming new full-length Narkopop. Even in the here and now, the unmistakable vibe of Gas immediately hits home, taking the listener on an otherworldly journey with the very first sounds, drawing them into an impervious sonic thicket, down to the depths of rapture and reverie. From wafts of dense symphonic mist emerges a floating and whirling feeling of weightlessness, before the listener steps into an eerily beautiful forest of fantasy, pulled in by the allure of a narcotic bass drum. While earlier Gas tracks were often based on the hypnotic effects of looping techniques, the ten new pieces on Narkopop unfold their magic in a more entwined manner, sometimes with the sonic might of an entire philharmonic orchestra, at times subtle and fragile. A main characteristic of Voigt's oeuvre, the coalescence of seemingly contradictory stylistic aspects such as harmonious and atonal, concrete and abstract, light and heavy, near and far is also a decisive feature of Narkopop. In accordance with the transgressive spirit of his collective work, Voigt carries the aesthetic conceptions of his music over to the realm of the visual. Based on his abstract forest pictures, the Gas artwork addresses Voigt's artistic affinity to romanticism and the forest as a place of yearning. For the first time, a closer look at the cover of Narkopop reveals signs of architectural fragments which hint at another, maybe parallel world behind Voigt's forest. Truth is the prettiest illusion.

Dettinger's Intershop and Oasis have long been held, by many fans of ambient and electronic music, to be some of the finest albums in their field. Produced by the mysterious Olaf Dettinger, about whom not much is publicly known, they were some of the earliest full-lengths released by the then-nascent Kompakt, and in many ways, they both articulated and defined the sound that would come to be known as pop ambient, while also existing, somehow, to the leftfield of any clearly recognizable genre. Beautiful, sui generis works, it is a rare pleasure to see them being reissued on vinyl for a new generation of listeners to embrace. Originally released on CD only in 1999, Intershop was Kompakt's first artist full-length. The music here simmers and broods, with opulent banks of tone marking out territory for rhythms that seem to be built from the clacking detritus of technology -- hisses, thunks, knocks. Bass is deployed carefully, each drop a dubbed-out depth charge; drones spin and spiral, warping and weaving between the beats. There is, of course, other music to know Dettinger by, too -- his three excellent EPs for Kompakt, Blond (1998), Puma, and Totentanz (1999), the latter of which, Michael Mayer once argued, "invented dubstep." There is also a small, yet graceful run of compilation contributions, many of which can be found on Kompakt's Total and Pop Ambient series. All this music has plenty to recommend it, sharing a clarity of purpose, and a rare, human warmth and depth. But Intershop and Oasis are the releases that distill Dettinger's singular vision, and allow him, should he wish, to claim his place as a modern master of ambient and electronic music.

This live album is a recording of the last live performance by Drumwolf (Toru)'s with the band. The concert was held at WWWX in Shibuya on March 11th, 2023 and includes 13 of the songs that they played at this gig. It is the last memorial live performance for Toru, the bedrock of Guitar Wolf for many years and will be permanently etched on vinyl. This is a must record that fans need to get hold of, as it is the live recording of the band's latest performance featuring many of their classic songs. Guitar Wolf have been expanding their horizons of their activities in recent years, including an appearance at the Shimane Jet festival, and they hope you can appreciate the pure joy of their universal rock and roll vibes on vinyl that might be too hot for the whole world to handle! And as a bonus item, you can stream the full live performance of this monumental concert of Guitar Wolf in its entirety as well! It was directed by Tetsuro Takeuchi, who had previously worked on Guitar Wolf's music videos for many years. This video of their live performance was edited full of tension and speed and it truly displays how much Guitar Wolf deserves the title of Japan's number one rock and roll band.

Modern Lovers' self-titled debut album, released in 1976, is a timeless exploration of proto-punk and alternative rock. Led by Jonathan Richman, the album captures a minimalist and lo-fi charm, with tracks like "Roadrunner" becoming anthems of the emerging punk scene. Richman's witty lyrics and stripped-down sound make Modern Lovers a seminal work, influencing generations of indie and punk musicians. The album stands as a testament to the band's pioneering role in shaping the landscape of alternative music.

This is tenor saxophonist Frank Lowe, a major voice in the '70s New York loft scene, at the head of a stellar line-up featuring: Don Cherry (trumpet), Grachan Moncur III (trombone), Geri Allen (piano), Charnett Moffett (bass), and Charles Moffett (drums). An outstanding cast of creative jazz luminaries for a hard swinging, blues driven studio session dated 1984.

2024 repress; double LP version. Following the recent success of the Tokyo Dreaming (WWSCD 040CD/WWSLP 040LP), Wewantsounds comes with another compelling set, this time compiled by city pop expert DJ Notoya who has dug the rich Nippon Columbia catalog to bring a breezy selection of funky gems. Nippon has amassed an incredible back catalog over the decades. Particularly strong in the '70s and '80s, the label was one of the main purveyors of great music at a time when Japan was entering its greatest economic boom and labels had budgets at hand to create the highest quality music. As Notoya explains in the liner notes "Back in the day, the record companies had big budgets and could afford to have many great musicians playing on one record, plus strings and horn sections, top drummers and keyboardists. It all made for a very rich sound, which is generally very different to today's music." Keen to emulate the music created in the US by their American counterparts, Japanese musicians came with their own blend of funk, boogie and soul that has come to be known as city pop. The selection on Tokyo Glow is full of such gems and starts with "Kimugare" a relaxed, mid-tempo track by Kumi Nakamura, famous actress who only recorded one album in 1980 for Columbia. The set continues and flows effortlessly with the sunshine grooves of Miyuki Maki, Hatsumi Shibata and cult keyboard player Hiroshi Sato before the pace starts going faster and funkier with New Generation Company, Kengo Kurozumi -- with his superb boogie, "Juggler" -- and one of the queens of the genre, Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama with "Tuxedo Connection". Tokyo-based DJ Notoya is from a new breed of Japanese DJs there focusing on nippon music and is an expert on funk, modern soul, and boogie from the Island. With Tokyo Glow, Notoya says he "focused more on the slightly more underground tracks from the era, rather than the bigger, well-known releases. For me that was a more fun and satisfying approach." Another fine example on the set is the mid-tempo groove of "I Wander All Alone Part III" by New Generation Company, an aggregate group of some of the best Japanese session musicians led by arranger Katz Hoshi and including Hiroyuki Namba, Kazuo Shiina, and Yutaka Uehara. Tokyo Glow showcases the diversity and specificity of Japanese city pop during the late '70s and '80s. Also features Haruyoshi Yamashina, Sumiko Yamagata, Makoto Iwabuchi, Arakawa Band, Kiyohiko Ozaki, Ken Nishizaki, Jadoes, Midori Hara, Mizuki Koyama, Haruo Chikada & Vibra-Tones, and Mitsuko Horie.

2024 repress. We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records present the first ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's critically acclaimed and all around legendary science fiction anime film Ghost In The Shell (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow's groundbreaking manga series of the same name. The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan's most celebrated soundtrack composers alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong films Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai's compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme "Making Of Cyborg", Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a timeless and unparalleled soundtrack that admirably echoes the film's musings on the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world. Ghost In The Shell is widely considered one of the best anime films of all time and its influence has been felt in the work of numerous movie directors, including James Cameron's Avatar (2009), the Wachowskis's The Matrix (1999), and Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001). For fans of anime, manga, movie soundtracks, science fiction, ambient, folklore, Japan, Akira (1988), artificial intelligence, Midori Takada. Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon).

LP version. The 1960s weren't just about The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and hippies; they also ushered in new forms of art: happenings, Fluxus, Neo-Dada, video art, to name just a few. As borders blurred, pop influenced art and art influenced pop. Many protagonists of the time chose to ignore borders altogether. This chaotic, euphoric atmosphere of extreme innovation lasted well into the 1970s and continues to resonate today. All manner of trailblazers shaped the soundscape of the era. Conrad Schnitzler (born 1937) and Karl Horst Hödicke (born 1938) -- longstanding members of the official artistic canon -- were multifunctional artists who painted, performed, sculptured, made films and music. They were always to be found on the edge of the "permissible" and invariably went beyond "modern" perceptions of art. Schnitzler, Hödicke and many of their contemporaries arrived at a completely new definition of the avant-garde. The circumstances of Schnitzler and Hödicke's first meeting are unknown, but it should come as no surprise that it was Schnitzler who composed the soundtrack for Hödicke's film entitled Slow Motion in 1976. The two artists were cut from the same cloth, routinely crossing any boundaries they happened to encounter. Schnitzler wrote music for each of the film's 14 sequences, linking them together in a logical progression of minimalist imagery. Each piece of music quite brilliantly accentuated the preceding one. Schnitzler's musical sensibility was wholly compatible with Hödicke's approach to film. Not that Schnitzler was ever a film composer. Slow Motion worked because Schnitzler and Hödicke were on the same wavelength, daring to experiment with sound and vision in such a way that auditory and visual components were interdependent. Nevertheless, it still makes sense to release the soundtrack without the images. Schnitzler undoubtedly responded to the pictures as he composed, but his customarily uncompromising style is very much in evidence: rhythmically structured electronic cascades, intermittent impulse chains and manual improvisations alternate with planar clouds of sound. Analogue sequencers and an analogue rhythm machine played a crucial role. The tracks on Slow Motion vary in length and mood, but the listener never has to leave Schnitzler's sonic universe, even without the pictures for which the music was composed. Slow Motion is an important document in Schnitzler's oeuvre, seamlessly taking its place alongside his many other releases, whilst also highlighting his constructive input as an equal partner in an experimental film production.

Synthpop ignites in Utrecht! May 27, 1984 captures Talk Talk live. Early hits ("Such a Shame") simmer alongside experimental explorations, hinting at their genre-bending future. A captivating glimpse into a band on the cusp of evolution. Color vinyl version.

Mad About Records officially reissues super rare private press Quintessence's 1981 LP. With every famous jazz recording, many others remained on the shelf of oblivion without ever receiving the recognition they deserved, and this is the case of Quintessence. Ron Ancrum, with George Sovak, David Gaedeke, Winston Johnson, and Steve Muse recorded an exceptional and fundamental album of '80s jazz. If you are into Fender Rhodes, this is an LP to be collected. Deluxe hard-cardboard sleeve cover. 180g vinyl. Includes obi and download card.

Double LP version. Yellow color vinyl. Einstürzende Neubauten present their new album Rampen (apm: alien pop music). Since the band was founded on April 1, 1980, Einstürzende Neubauten have been shifting the parameters of mainstream and subculture to make the inaudible audible -- perhaps the unheard as well. This experimental field research, spanning more than four decades, is now entering the next stage. In its 44th year of existence, the band is going back to its roots while redefining itself. It's a change in self-image, for which the Berlin quintet plus one has created its own genre -- alien pop music.

Sabura Djâ Nfrontam by one of the biggest names in the triumph of the electrification of Funaná, the great José Casimiro. The album was recorded in 1981, celebrates music made in Portuguese-speaking Africa, finally reissued for the first time. Sabura is a new record label based in Lisbon, but its hearts and ears are firmly rooted in the world. Sabura believes that some of the most exciting present sounds come from the past, and digs deep into the musical legacy of Portuguese-speaking Africa. Its mission is simple: to give the most notable recordings of Lusophony a new life. Sabura couldn't start in a better way than with the reissue for the first time of two landmark LPs of Cape Verdean music.

LP version. A stylish selection of jazz-funk from Japanese label Electric Bird, selected by DJ Notoya and featuring Yasuaki Shimizu, Shunzo Ohno, Bobby Lyle, Toshiyuki Honda, Mikio Masuda, David Matthews, and Ronnie Foster. Following the success of the Tokyo Glow compilation, Wewantsounds once again teams up with Japanese Tokyo-based DJ Notoya to dig the rich Electric Bird catalogue and come with a versatile selection of sunny jazz-funk gems recorded between 1978 and 1987 for the label. Most tracks make their vinyl debut outside of Japan and the album has been designed by Optigram/Manuel Sepulveda and is annotated by DJ Notoya. Audio newly remastered in Tokyo by King Records. A sub-label from the venerable Japanese label King Records, Electric Bird was set up in 1977 to cater for the booming Nippon jazz funk audience that King -- as the Japanese licensee for such US jazz labels at Blue Note or CTI -- had grown for years. Taking advantage of their experience and the many contacts King had garnered through their American partners, Electric Bird, headed by in-house producer Shigeyuki Kawashima, decided to apply the same formula to their new label. Kawashima began signing a new wave of jazz musicians from Japan, putting them in state-of-the-art Tokyo or New York studios and backing them with the best American and Japanese players in order to shape the slick, sun-drenched jazz funk sound that would be Electric Bird's signature sound. With Funk Tide, DJ Notoya aimed at showcasing the diversity of the label's output, from the funky opener "In The Sky" by Trumpeter Shunzo Ohno to the sunshine mid-tempo groove of sax player Toshiyuki Honda's "Living in a City" featuring Paulinho Da Costa on perc via Mikio Masuda's Fender Rhodes-infected "Let's Get Together." One of Funk Tide's highlights is certainly Katsutoshi Morizono's "Space Traveller" from 1978, a remake of James Vincent's eponymous cult classic recorded two years before with some of Earth Wind And Fire's musicians and which has since become a favorite on the groove scene. Faithful to Vincent's beautiful laid-back, breezy original, Morizono's rendition add its own spice to it, and ending Notoya's skilled selection of the cutting-edge Electric Bird label on a perfect note.

Wewantsounds announces the reissue of Fumio Itabashi's highly sought-after album Watarase, hailed as one of the great Japanese jazz albums and featuring Itabashi on solo piano playing an inspired mix of standards and originals. Recorded in 1981 for Denon and released in Japan the following year, the album has since reached cult status among international jazz connoisseurs, thanks to Itabashi's inventive piano playing and to its cult title track, a superb lyrical spiritual composition. Newly remastered by Nippon Columbia using their ORT mastering technology, the album reissue features original artwork including a two-page insert with a new introduction by Paul Bowler. Born in 1949 in Tochigi, Fumio Itabashi studied piano at the renowned Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo, where Joe Hisaishi also studied. After finishing his studies, he quickly began recording as a session player for Japanese heavyweights such as Sadao Watanabe (making his recording debut on Watanabe's 1972 self-titled album), Terumasa Hino, and Kohsuke Mine before recording his first album as a leader -- accompanied by his trio -- with the album Toh released by Frasco Record in 1976. In October 1981, Itabashi entered Nippon Columbia's Studio 1 to digitally record a new album using Denon's PCM digital recorder as a follow up to Nature. The album, called Watarase was cut in just two days and feature Itabashi on solo piano, playing a couple of standards ("Someday My Prince Will Come" and "I Can't Get Started") and four originals plus "Msunduza," a Dollar Brand composition from 1975. The album highlights the pianist's dazzling technique oscillating between energetic passages as on "Msunduza" and more serene ones as heard on "Someday My Prince Will Come." The high point of the album is undoubtedly its title track, "Watarase" which has become a favorite on the international jazz scene over the years. Paul Bowler, in the liner notes, draws comparisons between Itabashi's and Pharoah Sanders' playing, noting that they both "possess a similar open-hearted blend of spiritualism, passionate intensity and melodic beauty." Watarase was never widely available outside of Japan (with only a limited edition in 2018). Wewantsounds is therefore delighted to bring this classic back in circulation, newly remastered in Tokyo by Nippon Columbia for all Japanese jazz lovers to enjoy.

Cara Beth Satalino built her adulthood in feral, eccentric Baltimore, Maryland, waiting tables and playing in a band, keeping her schedule flexible just in case an opportunity arose. Though spontaneity seemed inevitable as an artist, she was stuck. Paralyzed by her own assumptions of what a musician's life needed to be, time passed undetectably -- more songs written, more gigs played, tips in pocket on which to survive, undying hopes of "making it" in the music industry. In a moment of frustration, Cara Beth left Baltimore to pursue further schooling. Along with her partner Chester Gwazda -- fellow member of indie band Outer Spaces -- the couple moved to New Jersey only to be met with a chronic illness diagnosis for Cara Beth, a global pandemic, a surprise pregnancy, looming mental-health issues, and the inevitable obligation to quit school. So much upheaval after fifteen years of a predictable lifestyle led to the creation of Little Green, a bold, stripped-back, ten-song distillation of identity out on UK label Worried Songs. Born in upstate New York, the breeding ground for America's rich history of folk and settler traditions, Cara Beth was steeped in acoustic sounds from a young age. Her father, an accomplished instrumentalist, colored her childhood with the vibrations of fiddle, banjo, guitars, and mandolin. Though she had spent much of her indie rock career rarely allowing these influences to show, the unravelling of her life seemed like a perfect time to be honest about her musical framework. As "Warmth of A Golden Sun" opens Little Green with what feels like a folk-rock dirge over Casio drum machine beats -- Cara Beth offers a sonic analogy about her move from weird city life into warm analog intimacy. "Dandelion Weed" plants the listener firmly into her ecosystem of pedal steel and close-microphoned acoustic guitar, but with succinct rock drumming that gives the song's spaciousness a sturdy foundation. Though the influences of Fairport Convention, James Taylor, and Sandy Denny are all opaquely present throughout the record, surprising twists like the Velvet Underground electricity of "Little Green" and the classic '70s country shuffle on "Time", broaden the scope out of upstate New York into the eclectic artist she has become. Sitting above this spacious sonic palette is the obvious allure of Little Green: Cara Beth's voice. Her vocal tones span centuries, from traditional mountain singing to hints of young Dolly Parton and the delivery of Gillian Welch.

2024 repress; LP version. First vinyl edition; 180 gram vinyl; printed inner-sleeve; Includes CD. Because Music present a reissue of JJ Cale's Closer To You, originally released in 1994. The album was published under the independent French label Delabel and distributed by Virgin Records. Personnel: JJ Cale - vocals, guitar, synthesizer; James Cruce - drums; Tim Drummond - bass; Jim Karstein - drums, percussion; Christine Lakeland - guitar, vocals (background); Bill Payne - keyboards; Don Preston - guitar.

"On the two albums that preceded Closer To You, Travel-Log (1989) and Number 10 (1992), JJ Cale adopted a more basic musical approach. This album continues the trend. Cale plays a few songs alone (though the overdubbed parts sound remarkably spare), including the title track. Closer To You finds him electronically treating his vocals, a technique that surprisingly makes him sound as down-to-earth as ever." --All Music

LP version. This self-titled second album from Gordan, the acclaimed transnational (Serbia/Germany/Austria) experimental trio, fuses traditional Balkan vocalizations with feedback, electronic sound generators, pulsing bass and hypnotic drumming. Gordan mirrors the mysticism of legends and stories from the Balkan region, creating a music that stretches between expressiveness and abstraction; tradition and the avant-garde. The visceral vocals of Svetlana Spajic (Marina Abramovic, Lenhart Tapes, Antony and the Johnsons) are both rooted and deeply interpretive. In turn, drummer Andi Stecher (STECHER, Billy Bultheel, Orchestre Les Mangelepa), and Guido Möbius on bass and electronics, employ sonic strategies that steer the songs in inspired and unpredictable directions. Gordan makes music that lies between expressiveness and abstraction. Their pieces are not limited by rigid formal structures. Instead, they are open processes that create a loss of sense of time. Reduced arrangements and expressive vocals combine to form a powerful musical whole. This band creates something new from minimalism, intensity and the rich singing tradition of the Balkans. When Down in the Meadow, the first album by Gordan was released by Morphine Records in October 2021, it was celebrated by critics and audiences alike. Now the trio presents its second, even more radical record. Drummer Andi Stecher forgoes any ornamentation and at the same time plays varied and concentrated. Confident and with outstanding technique, he is the engine of the band's sound. His stylistic flexibility demonstrates a profound knowledge of global music history. Guido Möbius plays bass guitar and various electronic sound generators. He also provokes feedback using a guitar amplifier, microphone and effects. These sometimes spherical, sometimes very concrete sounds interact with Svetlana Spajic's voice. Vocals and feedback circle each other in fleeting, ever-changing harmony.

"Gripping, like something ancient being born" --The Wire

"The connection between folk and improvised music, between traditional song and electric noise has been tried in recent years, but rarely as intensively and interestingly." --Rolling Stone (DE)

LP version. Alowan is the side of 16 Horsepower that has not been heard before. As a founding member of the alternative country band from Denver, Colorado, Tolas' arrangements, music and influence in the band was always clearly present through their career. This is a more personal and intimate vision. In collaborations with a few friends and musicians, Feathers is a body of work to be reckoned with. Tola presents ten beautiful and dark folk songs. Chantal Acda, the main vocalist, will carry you to the clouds with her light but deep tones and poetic lyrics. Alowan takes her to new territories and her talent shows. The Texan Calvin Dover (Dover Brothers) accompanies her on a couple of tracks making the duet irresistible. A few others join Tola in this project, such as Steve Taylor (former 16 Horsepower guitar player) and Theo Hakola of the famed Orchestre Rouge and Passion Fodder.