"They had never played together before. They had never even met each other before this springtime 2024 concert at London's Café Oto. Evan Parker, circular breathing maestro of the saxophone, a legend in the universe that is free improvisation since the late 1960s and Bill Nace, one of the most intriguing experimental 'noise' guitarists of the 1990s/2000s underground scene. For those of us who have been enamored by the live and documented work of both these gents, this Café Oto duo was a must-hear event. It could have gone anywhere musically and that would have been totally fine. Particularly with Evan having a history of being thrown into a variety of challenging collaborations throughout his career, employing the learned elegance of trust in his own sensitivity to listening, responding, leading, following, sparring, intertwining, dialoguing, creating in the instant and, essentially, dignifying the non-hierarchical grace of chance? By the time Bill reached Café Oto in early 2024 he had relocated to Philadelphia all the while releasing a succession of collaborative LPs on his Open Mouth label to present his developing progression of solo and collaborative work. He also would find himself considerably engaged with playing the electric taishōgoto, a keyboard-activated string instrument from Japan which can exist as a one, two, four, five, or six string oblong sound object. Bill's approach to the taishōgoto would not be too unlike his approach to the traditional electric guitar, though no outboard implements such as files, sticks, and rocks are utilized. The similarity would lie wholly with Bill's full immersion of high velocity action-playing where, with the taishōgoto, an electric drone beauty occurs. The flurry of sonics and resultant harmonics emanating from the amplifier (which Bill opts to dial into with borderline loud-as fuck volume settings) furthers the meta-mantra properties of the instrument in an astounding display of drone dynamism. This sound world of Bill's two-stringed taishōgoto on this Café Oto night worked beautifully with Evan Parker's improvisatory saxophone conceptions. The duology achieved instant lift off at ground zero only to find its eventual finale as if it were organically ordained. Time seemingly morphed from its ancient human construct of control, rendered inconsequential to the torrential transcendence of the room wildly activated by the magic resonance of the multi-directional pan-spatial sonance of the music as if it were some beatific blessing. It was one of those nights where art as a liberating force of spirit gifted the listeners with an offering of exaltation and joy. It was entirely mystical and mind blowing. A night of Total Music." -- Thurston Moore, London, 2025

Tsapiky music from Southwest Madagascar features wild ecstatic vocals, distorted electric guitars, rocket bass, and the amphetamine beat! Unlike anything else, this is THE high life music you've always wanted -- ceremonial music played with abandon and extreme intent, honoring the living and dead alike. In Toliara and its surrounding region, funerals, weddings, circumcisions and other rites of passage have been celebrated for decades in ceremonies called mandriampototse. During these celebrations -- which last between three and seven days -- cigarettes, beer and toaky gasy (artisanal rum) are passed around while electric orchestras play on the same dirt floor as the dancing crowds and zebus. The music, tsapiky, defies any classification. This compilation showcases the diversity of contemporary tsapiky music. Locally and even nationally renowned bands played their own songs on makeshift instruments, blaring through patched-up amps and horn speakers hung in tamarind trees, projecting the music kilometers away. Lead guitarists and female lead singers are the central figures of tsapiky. Driven as much by their creative impulses as by the need to stand out in a competitive market, the artists distinguish themselves stylistically through their lyrics, rhythms or guitar riffs. They must also master a wide repertoire of current tsapiky hits, which the families that attend inevitably request before parading in front of the orchestra with their offerings. This work, a constant push and pull between distinction and imitation, is nourished by fertile exchanges between various groups: acoustic and electric, rural and urban, coastal or inland. What results during these ceremonies is a music of astonishing intensity and creativity, played by artists carving out their own path, indifferent to the standards of any other music industry: Malagasy, African or global. Recorded live on location by Maxime Bobo, this CD edition includes three bonus tracks not on the LP plus an eight-page full-color insert with detailed liner notes and photos of the musicians and surroundings.

Featuring Mamehy, Drick, Songada, Befila, Behaja, Mahafaly Mihisa, Meny & Ando, Rebona, Renitsa, Gorop Milalaza, and Mirasoa & Mahapoteke.

Daniel O'Sullivan's transcendent new album, Eros, is one of the greatest things Be With has ever heard. A simply stunning song cycle of hypnotic, experimental contemporary chamber music composed for a 14-piece ensemble. Combining minimalism, complex syncopation, detailed acoustic textures, weird intervals and samurai precision, this record will elegantly blow your mind. Daniel first pitched it as "Liquid Swords meets Michael Nyman". A "unique hybrid orchestral music," it presents a confluence of Daniel's longstanding fixations; indeed, there's elements of Nyman, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Magma, Aaron Copland, and RZA. But this is wholly O'Sullivan's. Originally commissioned for the Sonoton Music Library in Munich, Eros now receives a deluxe vinyl release courtesy of Be With Records, bringing this meticulously crafted work to a wider audience. Limited to just 500 copies for the world, these are gonna fly. As a deep virtuoso and collaborator, O'Sullivan has also played in a number of influential projects, including Ulver, Sunn O))), This Is Not This Heat, Grumbling Fur, and Miracle (with Steve Moore), leaving an indelible mark on the contemporary experimental music landscape. O'Sullivan's first foray into classically informed chamber music, Eros is a culmination of his long-standing fixations and expansive musical influences. The album features arrangements that are as detailed as they are emotionally resonant, showcasing his unparalleled ear for intervals and mastery of counterpoint. The music brims with complex rhythmic syncopation and a sensitivity to texture and space, resulting in a soundscape that is both intoxicating and dauntingly precise. Recorded June 2023 and February 2024, in Brussels, London and Carmarthenshire, Wales, Eros features members of Echo Collective (Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant), Thighpaulsandra (from seminal post-industrial band Coil), and jazz pioneer Oren Marshall. Mastering for this vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis, and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. Truly, Eros is a work of extraordinary depth and sophistication. It invites listeners to immerse themselves in its intricate layers, to lose themselves in its hypnotic rhythms, and to marvel at the precision of its execution. With this release, O'Sullivan reaffirms his position as one of the most inventive and uncompromising voices in contemporary music.

2025 restock. Faitiche presents a long-lost vinyl album. Since 2003, Jan Jelinek's Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records, originally released in 2001 on ~scape, existed only as a download. Now the album is available again on vinyl, as a double LP with two bonus tracks, "Moiré (Guitar & Horns)" and "Poren", B-sides from Tendency EP (2000).

"Don't be misled by the title, though for there isn't a finger-snapping rhythm bebop lead anywhere on the album. Instead, Jelinek chooses to explore the visual effect moiré - two shifting patterns creating an implied third dimension - in the audio realm." --Alternative Press

"The title acts as explanation for the studio technique that provided the basis for this album, snippets of other people's arrangements deconstructed through a sampler into loops and then splashed onto an audio canvas." --ATM

"Jelinek's sound evolved out of his dislike for (and inability to play) keyboards." --RPM

"Jelinek has abstracted his sources beyond recognition, looping his millisecond samples into flickering patterns of sonic moiré laid atop a dub techno framework. . . . Jelinek might as well have sampled a horn player's hissing intake of breath - it would have been 'jazz' enough for his purposes." --The Wire

"It's a perfect inversion of conventional music, a sonic negative. Everything that would typically be foreground is moved back or pushed off the screen altogether, and the flecks of sonic debris that would normally be covered by other sounds are left to carry the melody and rhythm." --Pitchfork

"All you need to know is that these onomatopoeic non-specific songs . . . are warm, paradisiacal creations." --NME

"Listen carefully and you'll hear textures slowly unfolding and mutating. Presuming you've not fallen asleep of course." --iDJ

"At times, it's all a bit dripping tap Japanese water torture; so sedentary it drowns in its own motionlessness" --DJ

"Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records is a genuine modern classic whose re-release is anything but a cynical mortgage repayment exercise. Consider this a second chance, then pretend you had it all along." --Boomkat

Double vinyl version. Originally released in 1993, The Brown Album marked a significant evolution in Orbital's sound -- and was met with widespread critical acclaim. NME awarded it 9/10 in their review, and it was chosen as one of Mixmag's best albums of all time. Standout track, "Halcyon + On + On", became an instant classic, known for its ethereal atmosphere and haunting vocal sample from Opus III's "It's a Fine Day." The track's dreamy progression and uplifting yet melancholic tone made it a staple in film soundtracks and DJ sets, embodying the emotional depth electronic music could achieve. "Impact (The Earth Is Burning)" is another defining moment, an evolving journey of layered breakbeats and dynamic synth arrangements, reflecting the duo's ability to create both club-ready and introspective music. Meanwhile, "Lush 3-1" and "Lush 3-2" demonstrate Orbital's knack for crafting intricate, evolving grooves, balancing pulsating rhythms with melodic flourishes that keep the listener engaged. The Brown Album 2LP reissue has been cut at half speed, to ensure maximum audio fidelity for this landmark release, and is the first time the album has been pressed on vinyl for over ten years. 2LP version (LMS 1725320) comes in double black 140gr vinyl, in gatefold sleeve, with printed inners and sticker. Also available in limited edition, double gold and khaki vinyl (LMS 1725321).

0.365 kg. Size: 19 × 13.5 × 3.5 cm. NOTON presents this box set of Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto's V.I.R.U.S. Pioneers in their own musical approaches, Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, began their exploration of sound in the evocatively titled V.I.R.U.S. series in 2002. After more than a decade from the release of the collection's final installment with Summvs in 2011, NOTON reissued all the five albums between May and November 2022. With its impressionistic atmosphere, in this collaborative project two generations met and shared the idea of electronic music as an inspiration source for new musical structures. Over a series of five albums, Vrioon (2002), Insen (2005), Revep (2006), utp_ (2008), and summvs (2011), the duo have explored blending electronic and acoustic sounds into a meditative whole that is at once expressive, breathing and precision-engineered. Remastered in collaboration with Calyx Mastering, the recordings of "Vrioon," "Insen," "Revep," "Utp_," and "Summvs" are made available under the title "reMASTER," accompanied by exclusive, unreleased compositions and housed in a beautifully designed sleeve with original cover art by Carsten Nicolai.

Margaux Gazur presents her debut album Blurred Memories on Smallville -- almost 70 minutes into a very special search for her musical origins. Margaux Gazur is a French-Vietnamese composer, musician, producer and DJ, now based in Berlin. Having lived in Vietnam for five years from 2012, she found herself searching for the sounds of her roots, played-back in form of field-recordings combined with traditional instruments and the sounds of her blurred childhood memories. The tracks of her debut-album unfold the magic in a very subtle way, filled with vivid rhythms of Hanoian street sounds, evolving layers of mesmerizing tones and organic textures to create an intimate and unique atmosphere. Each track offers yet another something to discover while listening -- mysterious voices and fragile elements next to beautiful melodies and trippy glitches, organic grooves and hypnotic wonkiness- and a lot of magic moments implemented. Woozy pads meandering and moving along -- there are so many things to discover within Blurred Memories. Margaux released her first track on vinyl on Smallville 55 back in 2019 and she has played endless live-sets and DJ performances at amazing spaces like Panorama Bar/Berghain, Heideglühen, Club der Visionäre, Berlin, La Station, Paris, Giegling events, Smallville, and Kann Parties as well as beautiful festivals such as Waking Life in Portugal, Fusion, Berlin Atonal, Meakusma Festival or Equation in Vietnam amongst others. Smallville is happy to present Blurred Memories, music to stay with you. LP number 18 on Smallville comes with a special gatefold cover artwork by Stefan Marx.

Picture one of the greatest living singer-songwriters in a kitchen. He is on holidays, he's just had a swim. His wife is out on the beach, and he finds himself faced with a bowl of irresistible strawberries. They're meant to be shared, of course, but their taste is "out of the ordinary," so he just can't help himself. Minutes later all of the delicious fruit are gone, but there's the germ of a song as the phrase "Someone ate all the strawberries" has just popped into Robert Forster's mind, sounding "so weird, but normal". Thankfully, he has taken his guitar with him. As the story goes, his wife Karin Bäumler not only forgave her husband, she actually joined him on a duet of what was to become the title song to his ninth solo album. Robert Forster has perfected the art of being outré in a least ostentatious way, from his time in the Go-Betweens to his solo career, now spanning almost three decades, interrupted only by the old band's reformation in 2000 which ended with his songwriting partner Grant McLennan's untimely death in 2006. Strawberries follows a recent spate of deluxe reissues of four of his older solo albums as well as the third and final volume of the career-spanning series of G Stands For Go-Betweens boxsets with a much awaited helping of new material. Next to admittedly bigger names such as Bob Dylan or Nick Cave, Robert Forster is the rare case of an artist with a celebrated past whose current work evokes genuine interest among a faithful fan base. As a straight-up personal song, "Strawberries" is a bit of a red herring in the context of this new album that, unusually for Forster, deals almost exclusively in observational character studies or, as the author would have it, "story songs". Louis Forster, by the way, also makes an impressive appearance on lyrical lead guitar in "Such a Shame." As his slapback echo vocals tuck into a rockabilly vibe, you can hear Forster enjoying the company of his Swedish backing band: producer Peter Morén (of Peter, Björn and John fame) on guitar, Jonas Thorell on bass, and Magnus Olsson on drums, crucially augmented by Lina Langendorf on various woodwind instruments and Anna Åhman on keys. The album's monumental closing track "Diamonds" starts off as a cross between Lou Reed and Buffalo Springfield, then takes off via Astral Weeks into an (almost) Albert Ayler direction, with Lina Langendorf given free rein on the tenor sax and Forster himself relinquishing his trademark understatement for some unexpected outbursts of falsetto.

LP version. Clear vinyl. "Thalia Zedek's considerable body of work demonstrates a clarity of vision, a singular performance style, and an expansive range. Her ability to deliver raw emotions through her vivid stories of loss and hope, strife and triumph is unmatched. Zedek has long been a melodic songwriter in a series of heavy bands. That contrast, alongside her distinct blend of both direct and poetic lyrics, allows her to sing of the most difficult of life's moments in ways that are both elevating and devastating. Out and proud her entire career, Zedek never hesitates to speak truth to power. The Boat Outside Your Window finds Zedek contemplating absence and distance, with songs as spirited as they are profoundly moving. The band is guitarist and vocalist Zedek, bassist Winston Braman, and drummer Gavin McCarthy (Karate), now joined by newest member, pedal steel guitarist Karen Sarkisian. On The Boat Outside Your Window, Sarkisian's counter melodies and oblique augmentations created with non-traditional tools like an ebow, add an otherworldly quality to songs. The grit of Zedek's guitar and drive of Braman and McCarthy are met with synth-like swells and more harmonic density. The album features guests Nancy Asch (percussion) and Beth Heinberg (piano) whose subtle touches are added to 'Shoes' and 'Aliyah.' The record was recorded with Andy Hong, mixed by Seth Manchester, and mastered by Sarah Register. Throughout the album, Zedek deftly uncovers how external realities manifest in internal worlds. Zedek's mastery of songwriting is on full display on The Boat Outside Your Window. Her unique musical voice remains potent and pointed. Cultivating her sound with purpose and an unflinching view of humanity, Zedek's words and music are both invigorating, and capable of deep emotional complexities. The Boat Outside Your Window is Thalia Zedek reaching new heights, reinforcing her status as a peerless songwriter and voice.

"Ms.Zedek's songs (are)... more hard-nosed, delivered... in a raspy voice that backed by the band's folk-rock, sounded surprisingly like Bob Dylan's." --New York Times

"she has rediscovered the energy that defined her work with Uzi, Live Skull, and Come, pouring imposing defiance into ten rocking cuts." --The Wire

"This is someone getting better at something they were already incredible at." --The Quietus

"her voice sounding like a cross between Nico and Patti Smith? musically she spans pedal-steel-laden country rock, punk menace and string-driven Velvets drones." -- Uncut

LP version. Blue color vinyl. "Emptyset, James Ginzburg and Paul Purgas, explore both spatial and physical properties of sound; specifically the perceptible boundaries between it and noise. They have produced installations for Tate Britain and the Architecture Foundation in London. Emptyset's new album Dissever continues their exploration of the histories of 20th century electronic sound and media. Dissever delves into the intertwined evolution of cosmic rock, minimalism and electronic music, viewed through their prospective dreams and overlapping technological ambitions. Premiered at Tate Modern as a live performance, Dissever was part of the exhibition Electric Dreams, a large-scale survey of the global history of art and technology. The resulting album is astoundingly sublime, rich with sonics that are as thrilling and immediate as they are singular and dense with complexity. The compositions across Dissever draw threads from pioneering production methods emerging in parallel across the late 1960s, considering the cross talk between these fields and their radical intentions to carve out the future from differing paths, traversing the mystical and modern, while incorporating elements of the transformative, hypnotic, expansive and transcendent to define new principles within sound. The arrangements, performed live and captured in single takes, emerged across a series of sessions at long term collaborator Mat Sampson's recording studio in Bristol. This process revisited early hardware, spatial and multitrack recording techniques to create a dynamic body of material that could look back to these foundational musical forms and converge them through the lens of a reimagined timeline, cultivating a transmission from 1969 to the present and a sensory bridge to the past."

"Emptyset are in a class by themselves when it comes to excavating brutality out of silence." --Pitchfork

LP version. Timo Lassy, one of the leading lights in the current generation of Finnish jazz, releases a new live album with his hard-cooking trio on We Jazz Records. That's Lassy on tenor sax, Ville Herrala on double bass and Jaska Lukkarinen on drums -- each member a We Jazz recording solo artist on their own right. Recorded at G Livelab, Helsinki's premiere live music spot, in 2023 and including new versions of tracks all across the sax man's celebrated catalog, Live in Helsinki proves why Lassy usually packs the house when he plays a hometown show. For those familiar with Timo Lassy's studio work, especially his latest We Jazz release, Trio (2021), the sound of this live recording is likely to sound both familiar and delightfully new. The trio's live sound is rough around the edges, and the immediate rawness of the live situation brings out a new edge of the band. Timo Lassy, a remarkably strong tenor player with his own sound, pulls no punches while delivering his message live. He colors more outside of the lines than on his albums -- a fitting rationale for any live version released, and his highly potent combo follows suit. The underlying spirit of Timo Lassy Trio's music is the true friendship of the band members. It's evident all across the album that they play for their audience but also for each other, pushing and inspiring each other into new territory in a way that echoes togetherness in the stead of competition. This is a sold-out hometown show for a band that needs no hype. They play raw jazz from the heart -- a recipe enough for building an expanding fanbase.

LP version. Cosmic Ear is a new group bringing together Christer Bothén, Mats Gustafsson, Goran Kajfe, Kansan Zetterberg and Juan Romero. Their debut album Traces is presented by We Jazz Records, including six deep cuts. Traces is an album that sees Cosmic Ear tracking down the "traces" of the legendary Don Cherry's legacy while paving their own way in contemporary creative music expression. Christer Bothén, a collaborator with Don Cherry during his Swedish period in the 1970s, brings depth to the history of the band, while his bandmates each belong at the top of the game in Scandinavian jazz. Their music is meditative and deep, much recommended for fans of the likes of Don Cherry, Alice Coltrane, and Pharoah. That being said, listeners should approach Cosmic Ear only with openness and curiosity, without set stylistic boundaries, as it's the group's natural flow and togetherness that brings their music into a fresh territory of their own. As John Corbett writes in his liner notes: "The Cosmic Ear. Five souls, sometimes six, on the same road. The pied piper path of Mr. Cherry. Christer Bothén, one of Cherry's main collaborators in his Swedish period and one of the most beautiful bass clarinetists on planet earth, together with next-gen saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, who has carried so many torches in Cherry's procession, and younger Swedish stars trumpeter Goran Kajfes, bassist Kansan Zetterberg, and percussionist Juan Romero. Together a tempo is set, a path is charted. There are global grooves. A berimbau, a karignan (metal scraper from Guinea), donso n'goni. There are ET grooves. Synth, live-electronics, slide flute. The globe is a glove, a hand warmer that radiates with extraterrestrial power, returning the fingers to their place at the center of the galaxy; the Cherry path is a balm that restores essential moisture to the lips that blow life back into the megacosm. Let us all praise warm fingers and moist mouths." Featuring an insert with liner notes by John Corbett.

"Back in the mid-'90s the Dirty Three opened for Ed Kuepper in Melbourne. That's when Ed and Jim White first crossed paths. Jim of course was well-aware of Ed; who wasn't? This was an artist who had redefined Australian music not just once with The Saints, not just twice with Laughing Clowns, but was at it again for a third time, under his own name. Roll forward to 2020. Time became malleable, even these most industrious of artists found themselves with time to kill. Jim was unexpectedly back in Australia, in fact stranded in Australia. Despite all the complexities of the pandemic Ed recognized an opportunity to capture the collaboration he'd long had in mind. The original idea was for the two of them to do a few shows together. It would be 'casual'. But it proved to be anything but. Amidst the on-off restrictions and the threat of the virus the tour was a turbulent ride. They performed two sold out nights at the Sydney Opera House and fluked the only gig at Rising before the Melbourne Festival was cancelled. Other gigs were blown out and plans would be changed at the last minute. Touring was precarious with Ed and Jim unsure when restrictions would be announced, leaving them high and dry or forcing them to drive cross county late at night to cross state lines before the borders were closed. In amidst this turmoil a musical bond was forged. Ed appreciated Jim's "rhythmic intent. It's intuition based" he explains. The duo grasped an opportunity to enter Melbourne's Sound Park Studio. Working quickly over four days they captured the music they had been performing. The resulting album features eight tracks that provide, as Ed puts it 'The broadest representation of what we did, with the most variety.' The widescreen selection of songs gives a tracking shot of Ed's career to date. The earliest song reimagined here is The Saints' 'Swing For The Crime,' which originally appeared in 1978 on the Prehistoric Sounds album. Ed's early '80s band Laughing Clowns is generously represented and rewired with the songs 'Crying Dance,' 'The Year Of The Bloated Goat,' and 'Collapse Board.' Deep into their careers, at the top of their game, ever curious, changing and searching, Ed and Jim reach another high-water mark. After The Flood was recorded and mixed by Idge at Sound Park Studio, Melbourne, Spring 2023. Produced by Ed Kuepper and Jim White."

Romano, synthesizer wizard and a hidden creative force behind much of Tel Aviv's vibrant musical scene, unveils his debut solo album, Güle Güle, for Batov Records. A cinematic journey through groove, nostalgia, and diverse cultural soundscapes, the album showcases Romano's rich musical heritage and cutting-edge creativity, building a unique sound worldwide from influences as vast as funk, disco, reggae, to Latin America, the Balkans and particularly the Middle East. Lior Romano grew up in a Turkish-Egyptian heritage household, surrounded by music. Turkish and Egyptian, naturally, but also Greek, and the unique fusion of Greek and Arabic sounds common to the culturally diverse neighborhood he grew up in. At the same time, he gravitated towards global legends such as Stevie Wonder, Jackie Mittoo, Omar Souleyman, and Aris San, in love with sounds, increasingly the sounds of synthesizers. He eventually went on to tour with internationally renowned artists such as Ester Rada and Yossi Fine (David Bowie). These experiences saw him perform at iconic venues and festivals around the globe, opening for superstars like Alicia Keys and Sting. He also recorded with like-minds, such as Sababa 5 before launching his own group, Baharat, known for their distinctive take on Middle Eastern surf music. Romano's upbringing in a multicultural family certainly shaped Güle Güle into a crossroads of sound. From Turkish flatbreads to Ethiopian border rhythms, each track draws deeply from personal and global traditions. "Sandman," a collaboration with Tal Sandman of Sandman Project, herself a huge exponent of Ethio-inspired grooves, begins with a melody Romano playfully "stole" from her, resulting in an electric guitar-driven funk jam with a strong hint of Moroccan Gnawa, reflecting their deep camaraderie and shared artistic vision. "Hai Hai," a spirited reinterpretation of an Israeli Eurovision hit, featuring vocals by Rotem Bahar of the Şatellites, interweaves Hebrew, Turkish, and disco influences, revitalizing the original arrangement with a vibrant, modern feel. Güle Güle was never planned as an album, but as they worked together across various projects, Batov Records' DJ Kobayashi realized Lior was a "genius," who had perfectly captured the Middle Eastern groove sound he was searching for across the tracks he was sharing. Having adopted a much more personal approach to creating music, Romano created a special world of sound that moves the body, warms the heart, and takes the mind on an incredible journey.

2025 repress. Known principally as a smooth titan of blue-eyed soul, Bobby Caldwell transcended genre tags with consummate ease; he was a musical icon of real class and versatility, cherished the world over. His double platinum self-titled album from 1978 is a timeless masterpiece of sophisticated jazzy soul brilliance and is strictly canonical. Whilst Ned Doheny is known in Japan as "Mr California", native New Yorker Bobby Caldwell has always been "Mr AOR" to his Far-Eastern friends. His distinct charm is an irresistible blend of soul, jazz, and pop influences. He possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances, was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful, sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted. Bobby sadly passed away on 23rd March 2023, after a long struggle with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, due to an adverse effect from a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The reissue of his eponymous album will be available on vinyl across the globe, ensuring that fans -- and soul music enthusiasts worldwide -- can radiate in the deep beauty of this seminal album. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest quality at Record Industry in Holland.

Repressed. "Years past the space time of Automaginary, Bitchin Bajas and Natural Information Society have reported back at last from beyond. If the new title doesn't clue you, Totality brings good news. Since their first collaboration, the path ways that lead from Natural Information Society's ecstatic all-world jazz to Bitchin Bajas' microtonal soundscapes have grown ever finer in their articulation. Across the spectrum, the septet balance a deeply searching mood with wonderfully in-pocket production feel. This makes for collective aural transport of the highest order to all those listening in. In the time since their 2015 first convergence, the Natural Information Society have released four albums (one in collaboration with Evan Parker, one with Ari Brown) and Bitchin Bajas five (one a soundtrack, one with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, one featuring the songs of Sun Ra). Given the multivarious paths both groups have traveled, it makes sense that their second convergence seems to emanate from centuries, eons beyond or below -- some undefinable elsewhere -- from their first. Totality is that. These days, Natural Information Society is populated differently. From the sextet NIS that co-created Automaginary, Joshua Abrams, Lisa Alvarado and Mikel Patrick Avery remain. In the stead of the departed former players is Jason Stein on bass clarinet. This might account for some mere impression of aspects of time, space and evolution to be found here -- but then again, Bitchin Bajas flow on in their long-standing trio configuration (Cooper Crain, Dan Quinlivan, Rob Frye), so the 'people in the room' theory of how Totality ever got this way will only take us so far. Recorded in a single day with Greg Norman at Chicago's Electrical Audio, then slowly considered into the finished record we hear here, Totality is a sweet-tempered second child. It experiences time in ways the first kid didn't. If you're in it for slow-shifting trance formations, it's gonna be cool. There's lots here for you, lots of simmering time and synth atmospheres dappled with radiant woodwinds -- but there's some head-snapping hypno-rhythms that stand apart from the groove energies of the first one. It's just natural facts: two different days in time separated by years, with the experience of several live encounters between the two groups in between. Beyond that, only the music can say anything else. That said, here are a few thoughts from this listener's log... The low-key revolutionary thump of 'Nothing Does Not Show' and 'Clock no Clock' notwithstanding, Totality charts impressive new launch angles from NIS & BB's improvisatory heart, with their careful listening and response time continually redefining the space in a relaxed manner that rewards deep zoners. Additionally, their blended corps assimilate marvelously on Abrams' composition, 'Always 9 Seconds Away.' Here, and with the aforementioned groovers, the collective resonates beyond familiar kraut/spiritual/minimal power lines, bringing new time conceptions to bear in the always-expansive space of this album event. It's about time we got back to the singularly-divined space of Natural Information Society & Bitchin Bajas with Totality. That's the best way to way to define this new music -- it's about time."

On June 13th 2024, Joakim, along with six guest musicians performed Terry Riley's renowned piece "In C" at a sold-out Philharmonie de Paris. This is the recording of their live performance. The guest musicians were Amosphere, Apollo Noir, Canblaster, Narumi Herisson, Joseph Schiano di Lombo, and Frederic Soulard. Each musician used their own synthesizers, creating a synthetic chamber orchestra that showcased the evolution of electronic musical instruments. This included Amosphere's Philicorda from 1967, Joakim's Arp2600 (first launched in 1971), and contemporary instruments like Narumi's Osmose from Expressive, along with Eurorack modular systems from Canblaster and Apollo Noir. The performers were arranged in a circle at ground level with Joakim in the center. Each musician had their own speaker, making it seem as if the sound originated from their instrument. This setup encouraged the audience to move around the circle, experiencing a variety of sounds based on their position. The result is a uniquely reimagined version of "In C" that is both purely electronic and organically rich. Despite the relatively small ensemble, the piece feels immensely full, occasionally leading listeners to believe they hear a flute or oboe interspersed throughout. Limited pressing of 300 copies in heavy cardboard sleeve with an insert. For fans of: Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Philipp Glass, Max Richter, Caterina Barbieri.

LP version. Coming four years after the previous trio album Ding Dong. You're Dead, it´s the longest period ever between Hedvig albums. That, however, is no indication she´s been idle, quite the contrary, actually. There´s been five commissioned works, two of which have resulted in albums in her own name. 2023 saw the debut release from power-impro-trio Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns with Ståle Storløkken (keyboards) and Ole Mofjell (drums). The same year she was Artist In Residence at the Moldejazz festival, with vital guest appearances from the likes of Nels Cline, Trevor Dunn, and Colin Stetson. Hedvig also found time to write new music for a screening of the silent movie Limité (Brazil 1931). After these busy years, she felt a strong urge to get back to the core, which has always been the trio that started it all back in 2011 with the powerful debut album Shoot!. Starting work on new music before last summer, she later in the year hooked up with Ellen on several occasions to collect loose ends and put it all together before drummer Ivar was brought into the fold to complete the process. There was plenty of excitement going into the studio, and with a lot of the music being quite complicated with lots of small variations and long structures, the studio sessions were extremely focused and concentrated. Hedvig stresses that the main objective of the trio is to always have fun whether in the studio or on stage, and to share that joy with the listener. Listening to Bees In The Bonnet, it shines through how much the trio had been missing making new music together, with glowing evidence of their skills both as writers and players. The daughter of a jazz musician, Hedvig soon lost herself in his record collection, studying classic works by Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Joe Pass, and Jim Hall before discovering riff-raging titans like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath as well as Mahavishnu Orchestra in her early 20s. This would eventually lead to the formation of Hedvig Mollestad Trio after she received the "Jazz Talent Of The Year" award at Moldejazz in 2009. Their relentless recording and touring schedule (hundreds of concerts all over the world) have earned the guitarist a stream of accolades, including two Norwegian Grammies and DownBeat magazine naming her one of the 25 artists who "could shape jazz for decades" in 2020.

2x10" version. Causa Sui return with the perfect companion to From The Source (EPR 076CD, 2024). Whereas that record was a tightly structured piece of work, that condensed many aspects of the band's sound into a concise 45-minute LP, In Flux presents the more loose and impulsive side of Causa Sui. After an introductory suite in classic Causa Sui territory, with deep fuzz riffs and syncopated grooves, things gradually become more outlandish. The band channels Hot Rats-style jazz fusion, the oceanic post-rock of late-period Talk Talk, and the impulsive, anarchic experimentalism of Can's Tago Mago into their own beatific brew. On "Spree," the band abandons guitar entirely, relying on a dual synthesizer on top of drums and bass instead, yet maintains that uniquely Sui-an vibe. The centerpiece in this set, "Astral Shores," unfolds over 16 minutes -- from gently hypnotic, ritualistic folk, through motoric psychedelia and back again. It's been many years since Causa Sui have sounded this unmoored on a studio record. In Flux is an essential chapter in the band's ever-changing oeuvre. Each track has a character all off its own, taking the listener somewhere different.

"Water Damage is ten people from one town and one sound from twelve people. For Instruments, the plus two are guitarist David Grubbs and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi, neither of whom blunt the angle or confound the aim. The tempo? Slow and low. Four tracks, averaging twenty minutes each, the pace never above a comfortable walk. The damage creeps, a forest becomes a mountain, and the faithful move forward. The album is named after Fugazi, in a manner, and 'Reel 25' takes after the Shocklee Brothers, in a cry. Stop asking the lord how many drummers this band has and ask him how much of your mind, babe. Some people say drone and same people say trance and some people say invocation through patterned unity. Some people just say rock and we let them set their clocks back. Lie down and let these holy treads flatten you. Just because Water Damage know what they are doing doesn't mean you have to. Fix your hearts or die!" -- Sasha Frere-Jones

Annie A, the one-off collaborative project between Félicia Atkinson, Time is Away, Christina Petrie, and Maxine Funke, arrives on A Colourful Storm with an inquisitive, exploratory composition evoking questions of inconstancy and reconciliation, vastness and finitude and the sometimes-cruel deception of human perception. It is a geographically diverse yet like-minded ensemble whose seeds were sown during an A Colourful Storm show in London, where time on stage was shared by Atkinson, Time is Away and Petrie. Atkinson had previously found solace in Time is Away's Ballads, Funke's Seance, and particularly the voice of poet Petrie, whose delivery drifts from a wide-eyed stream of consciousness to crystalline sensory expression. It is the perfect accompaniment to Atkinson's hushed tones, spoken sensitively like a mother to a resting child. Atkinson's evocative sonic landscapes are formed from keyboard, voice and organic materials collected from life on the dramatic coast of Normandy, as well as field recordings from places far and wide. She breathes life into liminal spaces, the sound of wind, whispers and the distant clatter of rocks conjuring visions of places both beautiful and eerily familiar. Time is Away delicately arranges the field of sounds, their weaving and layering likened to the assembly of an Anni Albers textile. The spirit of Albers guides the piece, Petrie's recounting of her loom and thread a symbol of her endurance, vitality and seeking wonder in intricacies. The piece also features an exclusive concluding track by Maxine Funke, whose meditation on vulnerability confronts and surrenders herself to the enchanting natural world.

This is a new limited edition 10" single from Brian Jonestown Massacre, the band's first new recordings for two years .Side A includes "Makes Me Great Again," a whimsical song rooted heavily in psychedelic folk rock -- the way Anton Newcombe does it best. Side B offers the up-tempo "Out Of Body," a joyous plunge into an experimental shoegaze ode to the '60s, with multiple experiments conducted on an array of instruments. The art work is a photo taken by the talented Francis Delacroix, part of a series of photos of Anton Newcombe taken by the artist.

After a two-year hiatus following his critically acclaimed fifth album Orbs, Anthony Naples returns with his sixth album, Scanners, featuring ten new songs.

After a collage tape collab with Bardo Todol back in 2022 (Magnetic Road to Hell) Robert Millis finally gets his Discrepant debut proper, a much overdue entry in the label's wonderful catalogue of lost musical oddities. The not so self-explanatory title Interior Music explores Millis obsession with hidden sounds and its anomalies. A hermetic rearrangement of emptiness could be another more big-headed title. Millis says "The phrase interior music occurred to me a few years ago as a way to describe some recent work. It's about the resonances inside of hollow wooden chambers (and hollow heads) like gramophones and talking machines, music boxes, instruments, metal containers, and resonant rooms. It's about exploring tiny audio fragments -- single notes, vinyl and shellac surface noise, recording mishaps and anomalies -- and arranging them into something meaningful. It is about my own interior mishaps and anomalies and attempts to arrange THEM into something meaningful. It also references 'interior design' with the placement of sounds in specific locations, layers or in juxtapositions. Inspirations include Steve Roden's lowercase work, Toshiya Tsunoda's field recordings, Eliane Radique's slowly shifting ambiances, and the musique concrete of Pierre Schaeffer, as well as the dhrupad and kayal traditions of Indian classical music -- especially Kesarbai Kerkar and the Dagar family who have a sublime way of stretching out individual notes and exploring their endless permutations, combinations and connotations."

The Fun Years, comprised of multi-instrumentalists Ben Recht and Isaac Sparks, have been making music together since the turn of the century, producing intriguing interrogations of ambient, drone, post-rock, and turntablism. Originally released in 2008 on the now-defunct Barge Recordings, baby it's cold inside is perhaps the high watermark of their discography. Equally concerned with microtonal nuance and harmonic intensity, it is both a product of its time and something well past it. The chief protagonist is surely the turntable, deployed to create woolly, evocative loops from unidentifiable source material that recall, at times, the work of Philip Jeck or Jan Jelinek -- churning, roiling, hissing, atrophied textures further articulated with nuanced processing and buoyed by baritone guitar drones and anti-riffing. The title of opener "my lowville" feels like a wink to the famed slowcore duo, with spare post-rock motifs hovering in a dusty ether, slowly consumed by distorted washes of rich, harmonic sound. One of the most satisfying aspects of the album is that despite the recumbent nature of most of their sound design choices and compositional proclivities, Recht and Sparks are loath to sit still. "auto show of the dead" is a serpentine piano/guitar exploration full of subtle detail, preceding the immaculately titled "fucking milwaukee's been hesher forever," in which the tactile delights of clicks and cuts are liberated from the laboratory and allowed to slum it in the world of tape gunk and '90s plate reverb. Later, "re: we're again buried under" presents an inky black ambience that feels truly expansive and almost overwhelming, and closer "The Surge is Working" tears apart an anthemic shoegaze dirge at the seams, leaving only billowing filtered noise and negative space in its wake. Presented here with a brilliant remaster by LUPO, baby it's cold inside should be considered alongside records like Belong's October Language and Polmo Polpo's Like Hearts Swelling -- an arresting early aughts ambient marvel that warrants ongoing investigation.

Electronic music visionary Pye Corner Audio, a master of blending nostalgia with forward-thinking production, has carved out a unique niche in the electronic music landscape. Drawing inspiration from 1970s and '80s synthesizer music, Detroit techno, and cinematic soundtracks, his work often evokes a sense of eerie futurism. Lapsus Records presents Where Things Are Hollow: No Tomorrow, a comprehensive box set revisiting and expanding his acclaimed Where Things Are Hollow series. This release includes the first two volumes -- with Volume 2 featuring an unreleased track -- and two additional chapters that further enrich the series' narrative. Once again, Pye Corner Audio delivers innovative soundscapes, drawing inspiration from ambient techno, cinematic electronica, and experimental slow disco. The third installment unveils a constellation of entirely new tracks, weaving the ambient, synthwave, and retro-futuristic textures that define Jenkins' work. Meanwhile, Where Things Are Hollow 4 amplifies this narrative, incorporating reinterpretations by some of today's most visionary artists: Alessandro Cortini, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Lord Of The Isles, and Surgeons Girl, alongside the popular 2020 John Talabot remix of "Resist." As with previous entries, the visual identity of Where Things Are Hollow: No Tomorrow is a striking collaboration between Basora Studio and renowned illustrator Alex Trochut, offering a visual counterpart to the series' otherworldly audio. With all tracks remastered for this release, Where Things Are Hollow: No Tomorrow is a testament to Jenkins' enduring influence and creative evolution, cementing Pye Corner Audio as a key figure in modern electronic music.

Double LP version. Gatefold sleeve; includes printed inner sleeve, 28-page booklet; edition of 700. Carpet Of Fallen Leaves is an introduction to the folk-pop world of Eddie Marcon. It follows in the footsteps of other collections of Japanese artists on Morr Music, such as Yumbo, Andersens, and the Minna Miteru compilations. Carpet Of Fallen Leaves draws together songs from Eddie Marcon's twenty-two-year history, including fragile, yet rich in melody material, collected from a prodigious run of limited edition, self-released CD-Rs. Eddie Marcon is the project of Eddie Corman and Jules Marcon, who met through their involvement in Japan's underground music scene. Eddie was a member of noise-rock duo Coa, while both Eddie and Marcon were part of psych-rock collective LSD-March. Forming in 2001, Eddie Marcon's sound is markedly different from these groups, though they do, at times, share a sense of psychedelic dislocation, through the gentle, limpid pace of their songs. But with Eddie Marcon, melody and gentleness is at the music's core. They've long marked out their own, unique territory within a worldwide community of psych-folk and folk-pop artists; sharing their music through a subterranean network of colleagues and friends, they count groups like The Pastels and The Notwist as their fans, and Eddie has collaborated with the likes of Shintaro Sakamoto, and Aki Tsuyuko (in Tondekebana, and with Marcon and Ippei Matsui in the quartet Wasurerogusa). Eddie Marcon have also recently worked with drummer Ikuro Takahashi, who's played with groups such as Fushitsusha, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, and Nagisa Ni Te. Across the songs on Carpet Of Fallen Leaves, Eddie Marcon's songs are performed by Eddie on guitar, organ and vocals, and Marcon on bass; they're variously joined by Takahashi, Yojiro Tatekawa (drums), Tomoko Kageyama (vibraphone), Yasuhisa Mizutani (flute), Madoka Asakura (vocals), and Ztom Motoyama (pedal steel). The arrangements are pared back to best serve the core of each song, and the playing is gorgeous -- fluent but not showy; capable of great intricacy, but aware that simplicity is key to direct communication. Includes download code.

"On The Cover: Cosey Fanni Tutti. There are few artists on the frontier between music and performance/body art as influential as Cosey Fanni Tutti. An early member of the COUM Transmissions collective, she would co-found the group's trailblazing offshoot Throbbing Gristle before she and Chris Carter launched their long-running duo Chris & Cosey (later Carter Tutti) after TG's first disbandment in 1981. Recent years have seen her withdraw from music to focus on writing, leading to the publication of books like Re-sisters and her autobiography Art, Sex, Music. By Claire Biddles."

Perila returns with a contemplative spiritual successor to her album 7.37/2.11, which was also released on Vaagner's sister label A Sunken Mall back in 2022. Featuring a collection of eight pieces produced between 2021 and 2023, the album carries a serene vulnerability that underpins each work, drawing the listener in while gently grounding them amidst a drifting, ephemeral motion of echoing voices, droning guitars and sonorous soundscapes. Like a whispered conversation in the quiet moments of the day. Perila has once again created a world unto itself, one that doesn't need to be understood but simply felt. If anything, it's an album that brings listeners back to the present, reminding them that the chaotic disarray of the world outside can be addressed and mitigated through their internal landscape. By embracing imperfection and forging new paths, The Air Outside Feels Crazy Right Now is a testament towards Perila's ability to turn fragility into a powerful form of strength.

180 Gram vinyl, hand numbered edition of 500, ultra gloss sleeve on 380 gsm card, black poly-lined inner, eight-page booklet printed on 330 gsm card. Neil Ardley'S Harmony Of The Spheres returns to vinyl for the first time in over 40 years. Analogue October Records presents the long-awaited licensed reissue of Harmony of the Spheres, Neil Ardley's cosmic jazz masterpiece, originally released in 1979 by Decca. This marks the first vinyl reissue of the album since its original release, offering fans a rare opportunity to experience this extraordinary record in its purest form. Recorded at the legendary Morgan Studios and produced by the esteemed Martin Levan, Harmony of the Spheres is another bold evolution in Ardley's ever-expanding musical journey. A unique blend of jazz, electronic synthesis, and progressive rock, the album explores the ancient Greek concept that planets create celestial harmonies as they move through space. Using precise astronomical calculations, Ardley transposed planetary orbits into a nine-note chord -- one that extends beyond the range of traditional acoustic instruments, making synthesizers the only means of fully realizing this cosmic sound. The album features an all-star lineup, including the visionary John Martyn on guitar, saxophonist Barbara Thompson, Tony Coe, Ian Carr, and keyboardist Geoff Castle, alongside the formidable rhythm section of Billy Kristian (bass), Richard Burgess (drums), and Trevor Tomkins (percussion). Following the reissue success of Journey to the Urge Within (1986) by Courtney Pine, Analogue October Records' founder Craig Crane embarked on a mission to restore Harmony of the Spheres to its full sonic glory. Working with Gearbox and using Decca's original 15ips 2-track stereo master tapes, this reissue is a true AAA release -- an all-analogue production with no digital step. The album was meticulously cut directly from the tapes and pressed to the highest standards at Optimal in Germany. Inside the deluxe package, fans will discover an eight-page booklet featuring an in-depth essay by Jazzwise magazine editor Mike Flynn, along with never-before-seen photos from the original recording sessions. This reissue is just the beginning -- Analogue October Records is committed to further explorations of Neil Ardley's work, alongside other deep cuts from the UK's vibrant 1970s jazz fusion and jazz-rock scene. Whether you're rediscovering Harmony of the Spheres or experiencing it for the first time, this release is a testament to the artistry and innovation of Neil Ardley.

Every ATA project is marked by collaboration -- some over a few weeks and some over decades. When drummer Sam Hobbs and bassist Neil Innes decided to make The Return Of, by The Flying Hats, they were building on twenty years of playing together; Innes's years of nightclub residencies and love of Afro-American dance music, and Hobbs's intensive exploration of the links between American soul and R&B, Jamaican rocksteady and roots, and the music of the wider Caribbean from Cuba to Trinidad and Brazil. Organist Bob Birch (the original organ player for New Mastersounds) and guitarist Chris Dawkins (Nightmares On Wax, Jimi Tenor, David Holmes, Finlay Quaye) were the other crucial elements -- Birch started out as a jazz Hammond player in the bluesy McGriff/McDuff mould before discovering the more exotic colors of Art Neville and Jackie Mittoo, and Dawkins has been a session guitarist for the cream of British reggae and rock for a generation. The Return of the Flying Hats occupies a space somewhere between The Aggrovators and The Meters, under the influence of Lynn Taitt & the Jets, and Fatman Riddim Section. Tracks like "Grafter" and "Bust Up" conjure up the image of classic New Orleans funk recorded in Kingston, whilst "Tough Swagger" sounds like half of Bunny Lee's Aggrovators have dropped in at "Ultrasonic" to jam with Ziggy Modeliste. In other places the Jamaican sound predominates: "An Autumn Sun" is as sweet a dish of Kingston soul as you could wish for, "Strong Fish" an honest homage to Hot Milk-era Mittoo, whilst the introductory fanfares of opener "Night Bus" and "Power Cut" feel like they should be ushering in hot I Roy cuts. Meanwhile, "Iron Fist" mixes everything up together in a fresh brew of asymmetric drums, talking bass and free-flowing organ melodies: when Innes and Hobbs started jamming together they roughed out melodies to every groove, but Birch came in and ignored virtually every note, preferring instead to simply channel extempo lines that sound both original and traditional at once. It would be a mistake to call this group a new band, with all the communal miles they've travelled together: what this undoubtedly is though, is a fresh take on a couple of cherished genres (New Orleans R&B, Instrumental Rocksteady) that comes up with something more than the sum of its parts.

LP version. With Ylh Bye Bye, Swiss-Moroccan producer Sami Galbi delivers a raw and electrifying debut album after the success of his first single "Dakchi Hani / Rruina." Merging North African folk, chaâbi, and trap with forward-thinking electronic club music, his punk energy and DIY ethos stem from years immersed in Lausanne's underground squat scene, shaping a sound that's both deeply personal and politically charged. Driven by infectious North African melodic loops, heavy basslines, and percussive textures -- blending bendir drums, karkabas, and analog synths -- Ylh Bye Bye pulses with urgency. From high-energy dancefloor anthems to dreamy acid pop ballads, the album explores themes of migration, identity, and belonging. Galbi's Arabic vocals oscillate between auto-tuned harmonies and spoken word, capturing the tensions of diaspora life. Recorded between Switzerland and Morocco, the album's title -- meaning "Let's go" or "See you" in regional slang -- reflects the artist's nomadic journey, from a DIY studio in a van to a transformative creative residency in Casablanca. It's a work of constant movement, embodying both departure and return. Featuring FlexFab and INES.

2025 repress. "This compilation is dedicated to the memory of the late great 'Prince' Philip Smart -- the first apprentice of King Tubby and the first engineer at Tubby's studio besides Tubby himself. Alongside Tubby, Philip was integral to the innovation that took place at Tubby's studio in the mid-1970s, where the mixing of new roots reggae revolutionized the sound of Jamaican music and created styles and techniques that are still being echoed today, nearly 50 years later. Though rarely credited on records in comparison to Tubby, Philip also mixed a lot of the paramount music produced by those close associates of Tubby's studio such as Bunny Lee, Yabby You, and Augustus Pablo. Philip was closely tied to Pablo due to their childhood friendship and was a partner in his stylistically significant early production works. In the early years of Tubby's studio, both men were making and cutting custom dubs there for their sound systems before starting to produce their own tunes from scratch, and Philip becoming the second chair engineer. Several of the songs on this compilation are a selection of the aforementioned work. All of the songs here are sourced from Philip's personal tape archive, and basically all of these mixes and versions have been scarcely if ever heard, and never released before. This double album comprises a rare and genuine glimpse into the dubplate workings of the inner circle of Tubby's studio in the mid-1970s, where the prime players and emerging giants of reggae music production and sound system versioned, remixed and voiced rhythms for custom and exclusive cuts. Some of the cuts heard here were formerly exclusive power plays on King Tubby's own legendary sound system, and unlike some previous issues of such material, these are genuine mixes done at the time. Some other tracks clearly exude the youthful enthusiasm of the participants. Rest in power Prince Philip Smart." --RB/DKR, Summer 2023

Efficient Space charts Ghost Riders' North American roadmap, crashing into 1973 New York to ignite the unfiltered teen dreams of Dennis Harte. In the late '60s, 11-year-old prodigy Dennis Harte was handed a Sears-bought Silvertone 1448, its in-case amplifier primed for street-level incantations. Recruiting two neighborhood friends, the trio hammered out raw rhythms, drawing in Brooklyn's wandering bohemians, keen to glimpse a prepubescent Alex Chilton in the making. Also jamming with his older brothers, Bart and John, a family friend introduced the siblings to budding music exec Carl Edelson, who had spent the better part of two decades hustling through a string of local labels. A father figure of sorts, Edelson backed them immediately, facilitating sessions at the famed A-1 Sound Studios and Sanders Recording Studio and pressing four 7"s on his newly minted Roundtable Records. To maximize his chances of courting major labels, he strategically assigned each release a different artist name -- Dennis Harte, Pure Madness, Harte Brothers and the wryly titled Harte Attack. Dennis' emotional maturity and sheer talent bleed into the defining "Summer's Over," penned by Edelson and once recorded by mid-'60s New Jersey garage vocal group The Wouldsmen. Morphing into an unfathomably teenage, blue-eyed soul/psych lament, it aches for a season slipping away forever. Its Harte Attack edition counterpart -- the candied ballad "Running Thru My Mind" -- delivers unison harmonies and kinetic guitar interplay with a streetwise punch, channeling the spirit of NYC-area icons The Rascals, The Lovin' Spoonful, and The Youngbloods. Roaring like the Spencer Davis Group, Pure Madness' organ-driven bruiser "Freedom Rides" screams of biker gangs, yet its true subject -- '60s civil rights activists the Freedom Riders -- looms as another towering theme for an adolescent perspective. Meanwhile, the loose, bluesy ruckus "Treat Me Like a Man" digs back into Edelson's catalogue, covering the Beatles-inflected Levittown group The Shandels. Though Dennis later found success touring with Wilson Pickett and now doubles as a piano tuner to the stars, these four snapshots frame ambition on its outer edge -- a heartfelt homage to an unbreakable brotherhood.

The first release on Entire Records, in the shape of the soundtrack score to Academy-nominated 1976 documentary about the Bakhtiari tribe composed and performed by G.T. Moore and Shusha Guppy. Available on vinyl for the first time since its original release. Musically encompassing Persian-flavored and folk-tinged instrumentals and Farsi-language acapellas. G.T. Moore is a singer and songwriter whose career stretches back to the late '60s when he was a member of folk band Heron. In the mid-'70s he formed G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars. Later in his career, he would work with the likes of Lee Perry, Johnny Nash, and Poly Styrene. After 50 years in the music business, Gerald (G.T.) is still effortless bridging musical genres. Shusha Guppy, born in Tehran, was a talented writer, editor, songwriter, and singer. Between 1971 and 1995, she recorded over ten albums of both Persian and Western folk songs. She passed away in 2008.