"As long-time admirers of his six and twelve-string wizardry, Amish Records presents the release of James Blackshaw's (kinda) new album, Unraveling In Your Hands. Originally released digitally in November 2024, solely on James' Bandcamp. The album marks the first music James has released since his self-imposed hiatus in 2016. After much personal tumult including a broken shoulder, the loss of his job and the death of his beloved dog Dexter, James finally felt the pull back to music. He begun to work, not even knowing if his injury would allow him to play the guitar, and then Unraveling In Your Hands quietly appeared. The title track is the album's center piece, a 27-minute meditation of precise guitar phrasings and shimmering harmonics, recorded in a single take. In UNCUT, Jon Dale says it's 'an unrelenting, hypnotic stream of shivering strings, tiny flecks of light dazzling as you plunge deep into the repetition, while following a snaky melody through the thickets -- is certainly unforgettable.' 'Dexter' is a somber piece with a minimal organ melody enveloped by droning woodwinds and scratching strings provided by multi-instrumentalist and longtime collaborator, Charlotte Glasson. Finally, 'Why Keep Still?' moves back into familiar sonic territory with fingerpicked guitar accompanied by rolling piano notes. Pitchfork gave the album an 8.0 rating, stating, 'The lucidity and beauty of this music feels hard-won, something to revere and cherish.' Inspired by the '60s Takoma school of American Primitive guitar, minimalist composers and European classical music, James Blackshaw b. 1981 has been highly regarded for his works for solo acoustic guitar since his debut album in 2003, employing fingerpicking techniques to create drones, overtones and repeating patterns, alongside a strong inclination for melody, to create instrumental music that is both intelligent, hypnotic and emotional. James Blackshaw has released eleven solo studio albums, two EPs, two live recordings and appeared on numerous compilations, receiving praise and earning places on Best of Year lists from many online and printed publications. Since its release, the album has received significant critical acclaim, with reviews in Uncut, Mojo, Stereogum, Aquarium Drunkard, Dusted, and Brainwashed."

Limited anniversary edition: hand numbered, limited edition white vinyl, 500 copies available! Sophomore album from the French space rock electro combo Heldon. Here, mastermind Richard Pinhas has formed a duo with Georges Grunblatt. The music: an interplay of feather-light acoustic guitars, Mellotron textures, fuzzy sounds and heavy, spherical synthesizers. Before making his own music in the early '70s, Richard Pinhas was a King Crimson fan. By now the British group has buzzed in Pinhas' mind for decades, but their greatest impact came early, from something he couldn't even identify immediately. When he first saw them play, Pinhas was struck by music played during intermission. That influence is clear on the second Heldon album, Allez-Teia, originally released in 1975 on Pinhas's own Disjuncta label. The opening song, a soaring mix of string-like electronics and smeared guitar, is called "In the Wake of King Fripp," a reference both to the guitarist and King Crimson's second album In the Wake of Poseidon. The meditative "Omar Diop Blondin," in which free tones float above a repetitive guitar figure, is dedicated to Fripp and Eno. Allez-Teia -- whose title is a nod to "aletheia," the ancient Greek term for philosophical truth -- is hardly a tribute album. The pieces Pinhas crafts with partner Georges Grunblatt -- both playing guitar, Mellotron, and ARP synths -- are beatific on the surface but infused with undercurrents of tension. Over four decades after he made Allez-Teia, Pinhas's admiration for King Crimson remains profound. He actually met Fripp in 1974, and the two still stay in touch.

Limited anniversary edition: hand numbered, limited edition light blue double vinyl, 500 copies available! Third album from the French spacerock electro combo masterminded by Richard Pinhas. Heldon's darkest work lays another stone in their sonic mosaic: synths, drones, fuzz and trippy improvisations. There's something wicked happening on Heldon's third album It's Always Rock and Roll. Richard Pinhas' essential attack of searing guitar and space-bound synthesizer didn't change radically after the first two Heldon albums, 1974's Electronique Guerilla and 1975's Allez-Teia. But there's dark energy coursing through this double album, a chilly aura that makes even the quietest pieces shiver with tension. The darkness of It's Always Rock and Roll is more about exploring what's hidden and overturning convention -- about diving beneath bright surfaces to find something more mysterious. If It's Always Rock and Roll stands up in Heldon's catalog, perhaps it's due to expansion -- both in the sense of big ideas and lengthy durations. Most tracks last over seven minutes, and two are side-covering epics. "I think the length of a track is part of the creation of the track," says Pinhas. "There are imperatives. You can do something very complex with a lot of events in four minutes, and then some other things need to be done very slowly. You have to do the length that it demands." Like the Heldon albums that precede it, It's Always Rock and Roll is undoubtedly Pinhas' baby. But its depth-probing sounds earned it a godfather, too.

Efficient Space honors trailblazing Australian imprint Volition Records with Volition Cuts Vol. 1. Evolving from Andrew Penhallow's time at GAP Records, which smuggled Cabaret Voltaire, The Fall and the Factory catalogue into the region, Volition shifted focus to homegrown talent over imported sounds. Echoing its precursor's blend of indie friction and electronic curiosity, the label wired itself into the pulse of club and rave culture, linking city scenes and amplifying them for the mainstream. With retina-scorching design, uncompromising packaging and top-tier remixes, Volition consistently bent the major label machine to its will. No Volition retrospective would be complete without Sisters Underground's intergenerational anthem "In the Neighbourhood." Ōtara teenagers Brenda Makamoeafi and Hassanah Iroegbu brought their Pasifika perspective to Proud (An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation), a commercial success that platformed NZ rap and R&B with a clarity that outshone its overseas counterparts. The quiet architect of Volition's sound, producer prodigy Robert Racic flipped the classic as a hip-house dub before his untimely passing in 1996. Its A-side companion comes from Brisbane synth-pop unit Boxcar, who signed to Volition after frontman Dave Smith handed a cassette to Tom Ellard of Severed Heads during a school newspaper interview. That unlikely handoff led to their 1990 debut Vertigo. Here, their ritual-laced, body-jacking industrial is retooled by Miami freestyle maverick Tony Garcia. Further cherry-picking from the VOLT vaults, Sexing The Cherry unleash a bleep-addled meltdown from Brisbane's Edwin Morrow and Cherryn Lomas. "This Is A Dream" was recorded exclusively for High (A Dance Compilation), the first all-Australian V/A to top the ARIA charts, propelling the local movement into national consciousness. Closing the sampler, Sydney's Single Gun Theory joined Volition as they moved from post-punk abstraction and electronic collage toward downtempo, sample-based mysticism. Their 1994 ambient-pop reverie "Fall" is reimagined by Stuart Crichton and Apollo 440's Norman Fisher-Jones as full-throttle Goa trance, a final surge that channels the label's relentless push into new terrain. Volition Cuts Vol. 1 is dedicated to the loving memory of Volition's visionary founder Andrew Penhallow, and key contributors Robert Racic and Edwin Morrow.

A note from Lawrence English: "Time is a strange and elusive companion. Listening to Alan Lamb's Primal Image/Beauty, the traces of time are deep, and forever deepening. Recorded in 1981 and 1983 respectively, and then revised and refined across the coming half decade, each of these pieces traces Lamb's personal history through materiality and harmony. 'Primal Image' was the first composition Alan Lamb completed. Recorded on the Faraway Wind Organ, a long stretch of abandoned telephone line located on his family's farm close by the Fitzgerald National Park in Western Australia, this piece resolved an interest in the sonification of wires which had started many decades before. Lamb recounts pressing his ears to a telephone pole as a child, encouraged by his nanny to 'hear the sound the world made.' 'Primal Image' is a work of intense dynamism, a climatic sonic environment within which a complexity of harmony, timbre and texture intermingle, inviting us to lean in. Similarly, 'Beauty' maintains this offer of harmonic complexity. Recorded across some 20 hours, the piece is a condensation of vibration, a folding of time and listenership that speaks both to Lamb's passion for his instrument and the instrument itself as a source of unbounded, and evolving sonics. Lamb's music is one of both attentiveness and patience. It is a music that comes forth from the world, but is simultaneously hidden from most of us. It is a music of the moment, but also one of recurrence as vibrations travel along the material that is the metal wires. It is also a music which, by its very nature, is eternally in the present. Alan Lamb, as a conduit to this material music invites us to share his listening in these moments. He asks us to cast our ears outward into the world and in doing so unlock an interiority of the mind which remains forever compelling and more so fascinating."

Double LP version. WRWTFWW Records presents its third release from visionary Japanese ambient/experimental/environmental composer/producer Yutaka Hirose, this time with brand new album Voices, available on limited edition heavyweight-sleeved double LP as well as double CD, both with liner notes from the artist. Voices finds Yutaka Hirose expanding his signature spatial layering into a three-dimensional videography of sound, blending field recordings, electronic manipulations, and abstract narratives. The 12-track album is a journey through a crumbling library where books whisper, history collides, and sonic textures weave new realities. Chaos, memory, and transformation -- Hirose's voices echo throughout the space, creating a fully immersive sonic experience. The pioneering experimental and abstract electronic piece with deep hints of ambient and IDM is beautifully represented by the original artwork by Koji Shiroshita and Mifuku gracing the double LP and double digipack CD sleeves. Voices marks Yutaka Hirose's third full-length release on WRWTFWW Records, following his kankyõ ongaku classics Nova + 4 (an expanded version of his genre defining Soundscape 2: Nova album) and archival compilation TRACE: Sound Design Works 1986-1989.

2025 restock. Nucleus's Elastic Rock is undisputedly a milestone in jazz-rock. A beautiful and vital debut album, it was first released on Vertigo in 1970. Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to "recognize rigid boundaries" and worked on delivering what they saw as a "total musical experience". Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. The very title Elastic Rock could be regarded as the group's MO, describing a melting point between their rock and jazz impulses. Recorded over four days in January 1970, Elastic Rock didn't sound like any other British jazz album. Exploding out the gate, "1916" opens with John Marshall's frantic pounding before melancholic horns enter. The smooth title track, "Elastic Rock" is just a gorgeous electric blues track. The serene "Striation", a Jeff Clyne and Chris Spedding collaboration, is led by bowed bass and is the epitome of calm before the late-night laidback vibe of "Taranaki" breezes along sweetly and smoothly with great trumpet and tenor. The truly emotional "Twisted Track" is elegant with horns, while guitar is gently played with drums and bass. "Crude Blues (Part 1)" features an excellent oboe part by Karl Jenkins with laconic guitar helping out. "Part 2" is livelier, with a heavy backbeat and great wind parts. "1916 (Battle Of Boogaloo)" features a steady bassline and great call and response parts from the horn section. The mesmeric epic "Torrid Zone" brilliantly encapsulates the jazz fusion aesthetic so desired by the group, the rhythm section is rock-influenced but magically retains a laid-back jazz vibe. Spacey jazz in the style of In a Silent Way, the semi-ambient "Stonescape" features smooth, muted brass, warm, smokey keys and a barely-there rhythm section. The bubbling, fragile restraint of "Earth Mother" partially utilizes the "Torrid Zone" bassline but takes the energy in a different direction. Next comes the very idiosyncratic drum solo track by Marshall in the appropriately-titled "Speaking for Myself, Personally, in My Own Opinion, I Think?" The album closes with the raucous "Persephones Jive", a track that ends the album frantically, riotously, just as it began. Remastered from the original Vertigo master tapes by Simon Francis. Cut by Cicely Balston at AIR Studios.

2025 restock. 50th anniversary official reissue of this holy grail kraut album from 1972. Real underground heavy-prog/psychedelic hard-rock with raw, in-your-face production, German lyrics, insane acid-fuzz guitar, garage organ and dark, proto-doom atmosphere -- the real deal! Named after the famous Lovecraft book, Necronomicon formed in the German town of Aachen in 1970, first influenced by bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Hendrix... In 1972 they entered a small studio in the Dutch border and recorded in just five days a concept album named Tips zum Selbstmord. The title roughly translates as "Tips on how to commit suicide" but the message the band wanted to give had nothing to do with taking your own life but instead with how mankind was facing self-destruction, destroying its own planet by pollution, wars, exploitation and overpopulation. 500 copies of the album were privately pressed by the band, housed in a lavish, cross shaped multi fold-out cover. It was a graphical translation of what they wanted to express musically. Original copies are impossible to find, making it one of the most desirable and sought-after kraut/German albums ever. Here's a long overdue new vinyl reissue. RIYL: Black Sabbath, Amon Düül, Gila, Paternoster, Hawkwind, Gäa, German Oak, Pink Floyd, Hendrix. Faithful reproduction of the original multi-fold-out cross shaped cover; sourced from the original master tapes; insert with detailed liner notes and photos. "... one of the best and most unique German records of the early seventies." --Cosmic Dreams At Play "... Necronomicon has created a dark and powerful vision that blends psychedelic and progressive music with a proto-punk garage band sensibility" --Rolf Semprebon (AllMusic)

2025 restock. Recorded when he was just nineteen, Dreaming With Alice by British folk musician/artist Mark Fry was (barely) released only in Italy in 1972, making it one of the rarest and most desirable acid-folk/psychedelic albums ever. Tracks like "The Witch" or "Mandolin Man" are considered nowadays classics of the genre. Original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve. Sourced from the original master tapes. Includes insert with liner notes by Mark Fry and photos. RIYL: Donovan, Nick Drake, Incredible String Band, Dr. Strangely Strange, Comus.

2025 restock. Zauberberg -- Wolfgang Voigt's most fundamental (and foreboding) release under his alias GAS and perhaps of all in his untold discography -- finally stands alone once again and is released in the way its original splendor. Originally released in 1997 on the iconic Frankfurt imprint Mille Plateaux, and then reissued in 2016 as a part of GAS Box (KOM 370LP, 2016), Zauberberg is now released on his own label, Kompakt. Though this narcotic symphony is not the first release under the GAS moniker, Zauberberg is the first to disclose the true nature of Wolfgang Voigt's unified sound and ideology as GAS. Layers of ominous intensity supported by muffled kick drums as classical music loops incessantly swirl with no direction, Zauberberg is the definitive GAS album and a perfect starting point for those not familiar with his music. 180 gram vinyl.

2025 restock. The inaugural release on KMRU's own fledgling OFNOT imprint, Dissolution Grip is an ambitious project that emerged from his studies at Berlin's prestigious UDK. Guided by Jasmine Guffond at Berlin's Universität der Künste (better known as UDK), KMRU looked at waveforms -- the visual representation of sound itself -- and embarked on a process where he would write scores from the shapes, gradually turning the scores into raw synth sounds. Each sound is birthed from one of KMRU's field recordings, but none of those recordings are audible in their original form. The album's opening side "Till Hurricane Bisect" is a 15-minute epic that evolves at its own glacial pace, carefully transforming blustering wind sounds into gasping drones, glassy oscillations and choked distortion. Cosmic and meditative, it's a testament to KMRU's skill as a sound engineer and patience as a composer, combining the gentle world building of his acclaimed Editions Mego album Peel (EMEGO 289CD/LP, 2020) with the rumbling energy of Limen, last year's collaboration with Aho Ssan. On the title track, KMRU takes the opportunity to flex his orchestral muscle, conducting a cast of warbling synth tones into a durational symphony. Starting as quietly as a whisper, Dissolution Grip expands at its own pace until it's a dense wall of harmony, powerful but never completely overwhelming. It is music embedded with a rich sense of place that informs us of KMRU's past and present, and signals where his musical philosophy might take us in the future.

2025 restock; white vinyl. Play Loud! Productions present the first reissue of Roky Erickson's All That May Do My Rhyme, originally released in 1994. Roky Erickson is a legend. Former member of the 13th Floor Elevators, he was considered the white James Brown. Drug problems and diagnosed schizophrenia made him an outsider. By the '90s, he was struggling to survive on a $200 monthly social security check. In 1990, artists like R.E.M., ZZ Top, and the Jesus and Mary Chain recorded his songs for a tribute album. Erickson performed publicly for the first time in many years at the Austin Music Awards. In 1994, he returned to the studio with guitarists Charlie Sexton and the Butthole Surfers' Paul Leary to record All That May Do My Rhyme. This record was released on CD, cassette, and vinyl in 1994 on Paul Leary's Trance Syndicate Records. Notes from the original press release: "Trance Syndicate is pleased to present the first studio recording in almost a decade by one of the most gifted, most influential, most inspired singer/songwriters from the Republic of Texas since Buddy Holly. Roky Erickson is back! performing new songs and a few classics in one of the best studios in Texas, backed by some of Texas' finest musicians." This is no cheap live tape, crummy reissue, nor a slimy bootleg. This is the real thing.

A note from Andy and Klaus: "After playing together for years, our tide was turning. What began as a happy rhythm of show dates in Berlin, from cozy trios in Klaus' home studio to ten-piece ensembles at Ausland, was now ebbing away thanks to Andy's move to the US. Whenever an accustomed pattern shifts it can take time to readjust, to find the gravity that will pull to shape an orbit again. What had been working well between us remained on both our minds for a few years after: the tension between complimentary forms and reflexes -- from deep bass to airy hiss, from swift improvised gesture to slowly developing layer -- these still animated our imaginations. But they had been honed in live playing, a situation now vanishingly rare. Then Klaus simply suggested we work toward a record, in gradual steps, no pressure, by trading recordings and responding to them in turn. This would be a conversation in concrete sound objects as opposed to the intuitive communication and reciprocal flow of on-stage collaboration. A different listening, becoming a different sounding. Again we found seemingly opposing tendencies resonating to surprising effect in the long-distance, long-term recording and exchange process. A new productive tension was added to our process: between the excitatory becoming of live playing and the carving directly in fixed blocks of sound that felt more like writing than performing. We took our time, savored the eddies and deluges, gaps and jumps of building a work together asynchronously. Around the time we were working on the last track of this collection, Andy pored over Stefan Helreich's A Book of Waves, a brilliant exploration of the ocean wave in its many forms and meanings across science and cultures, from histories to technologies to ecologies. In both the title's turn of phrase and the depths it plumbed, we felt we had found an echo of our cyclical endeavor, circumnavigating an idea, a shadow of which we can finally share in the shape of this record."

2025 restock. LP version; includes download code. Soulsheriff Records presents a milestone in electronic music, Liaisons Dangereuses' legendary 1981 self-titled debut album, newly remastered and reissued for the first time since 2002. Liaisons Dangereuses still fascinates today, through its innovative sound and the mystery encompassing it. The 10 electrifying songs, produced by Chrislo Haas (DAF) and Beate Bartel (Mania D, Matador) and reinforced by Krishna Goineau's French and Spanish speech-attack lyrics, created a unique style. The album, anything other than a typical Berlin or Düsseldorf thing, became an international favorite. Songs like "Peut Être... Pas" and "Los Niños del Parque" played a decisive role in the development of house in Detroit and Chicago, as well as various forms of European techno.

2025 repress; double LP version. Abelardo Carbonó, the godfather of champeta, was born in 1948 in Ciénaga, a small town between Santa Marta and Cartagena, Colombia. He started playing guitar when he was eight or nine, just playing along with his father. His family moved to Barranquilla in 1959. Upon his arrival, he quickly went to become a police cadet as it was pretty much all the city had to offer him in terms of employment. At the turn of the '80s, Abelardo had almost two decades of being in the police, a job he "wasn't very good at." With his brothers Jafeth (bass) and Abel (solo guitar), he progressively formed what was to become the nucleus of the bands to come, developing their signature: a sharp guitar, a strong bass, and a choir. The tropical pop sound, the groaning voice, the drum kit, the mix of rock and tropical guitar that one would hear later in Abelardo's work, were already visible in his personal way of playing Caribbean music, such as on "A otro perro con ese hueso." The vallenato cajón drum, a traditional feature one would rarely consider beyond vallenato circles, was used here and would be used extensively by Abelardo in various contexts. With its childish voices drowned in reverb, the swinging electric bass contrasting with the acoustic guitar, and the funny lyrics about a man who promises a lot as the choir rejects his affirmations, the tune stood out on a 12-song compilation released by Sonolux and gained Abelardo's band attention from the music industry. Other tracks like "Quiero a mi gente" and "Schallcarri" seem to testify once again that Fela Kuti's Shakara had a huge impact on the musicians from the coast. In fact, the most decisive influence was the African and Afro Caribbean one: it ranged from the Super Negro Bantous to South African music, the 45s from Kenya, and of course, Congolese and Haitian music. Funk and pop were also important, as were vallenato, cumbia and porro. For several years, Abelardo enjoyed the savoir faire and experience of the best studios around and worked with producers such as the great Eduardo Dávila, some sort of costeño Lee Perry, out of which came memorable sessions with collaborations by legends such as Michi Sarmiento and several artists from the Dolcey Gutiérrez Orchestra. On his albums for Felito, Abelardo recorded such gems as "Negra Kulenge," "Palenque," and "Carolina," magnified by a great sound and a unique mix. The rest of the world is finally about to discover the talent of this kind of Colombian Tom Zé -- a man that represents the psychedelic yet groovy side of the Caribbean musical world, and one of the best-kept secrets of Colombian music. Compiled by Lucas Silva of Palenque Records and annotated by Etienne Sevet.

2025 repress. Wewantsounds release Sharayet El Disco a selection of Egyptian '80s disco and boogie tracks curated by Egyptian DJ Disco Arabesquo from his vast collection of cassettes. Most tracks have never been released on any other format and are making their vinyl debut with this set. A journey through the funky sound of '80s Egypt, Sharayet El Disco (which can be translated by "Disco Cassettes") features Simone, Ammar El Sherei, and more obscure names from Cairo's cassette culture. Sharayet El Disco is part of an important mission for Moataz Rageb aka Disco Arabesquo. The Amsterdam-based Egyptian DJ has been collecting cassettes from Arab-speaking countries and its diaspora for many years and has amassed a vast collection of Egyptian music concentrating on the '80s, the sound he grew up listening to. His goal has been to search for these rare sounds and make them known to a new vinyl-hungry audience. During this decade, the rich Egyptian music industry, which had seen such stars as Oum Kalthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Warda take the Arab world by storm in the '60s and '70s, was going through a new phase and the cassette format was the cause. This radical change enabled many young musicians and producers to spread their music directly to consumers duplicating cassettes themselves. A new vibrant music scene erupted in Cairo blending their sound with trends coming from the US and Europe including, of course, disco, soul, and funk. The cream from this scene was soon picked up by the most daring labels, including Mohsen Gaber's Alam El Phan, Sout El Hob, and Americana. Sharayet El Disco gives you a glimpse of these great tracks which -- for most of them -- were only ever released on cassette. The set is a unique insight into the diversity of the Egyptian disco sound, from the pulsating disco of "Hezeny" by Hany Shenouda's Al Massrieen band to the boogie of Simone's "Merci", via Firkit El Asdekaa's tongue-in-cheek "Eklib el Sheriet" ("turn the cassette to the other side"), produced by legendary Egyptian musician Ammar El Sherei. The music is both inventive and funky and played with both Western and Arab instruments proving that quality of Egyptian music. Audio remastered for vinyl by David Hachour/Colorsound Studio in Paris. LP artwork by young Egyptian graphic designer Heba Tarek. Includes two-page insert featuring artwork of the original cassettes plus insightful liner notes by Moataz Rageb. Also features Afaf Rady, Dr. Ezat Abou Ouf & el four M, FIrkIt el Ensan, Eman el Bahr Darwish, Firkit Americana Show, and Lebleba.

2025 restock; LP version. Wewantsounds presents the release of one of Japan's most coveted albums of the '70s, Mangekyou by singer-songwriter Yoshiko Sai. Produced in 1975 by Master musician Yuji Ohno, the album features Yoshiko Sai's superbly crafted songs and crystal-clear voice over Ohno's lush, funky sound and breezy arrangements. A strong buzz has been growing around the album over the years and original copies now change hands for large sums of money. This is the first time Mangekyou is available outside of Japan, featuring remastered audio, original artwork and a four-page insert including new liner notes by Paul Bowler. Yoshiko Sai holds a unique status in the Japanese music landscape. The Japanese singer songwriter made a strong impression with her blend of ethereal melodies, poetic lyrics and crystalline singing. A private, almost enigmatic artist, Sai only made four highly praised albums during the '70s and all but retired from the music industry in 1979, which adds to the mystic surrounding her persona. Only thanks to the persistence of Japanese guitarist Jojo Hiroshige from the noise group Hijokaidan did she come out of retirement to record new material in the 2000s. She was originally noticed by key record labels and swiftly signed to Black Records/Teichiku. This led to the recording of Mangekyou ("Kaleidoscope"), in the Spring of 1975. While she penned all the material for Mangekyou, the arrangements were assigned to Ace producer Yuji Ohno, one of the top arrangers in Tokyo at the time. Ohno helped craft the album's superb funk sound and also played keyboards. The album displays Sai's unique craftmanship when it comes to songwriting and alternates between mid and up-tempo songs such as "Yoru No Sei" (Night Spirit) and "Fuyu No Chikadou" (Winter Underpass) and more atmospheric ballads such as "Tsubaki Wa Ochita Kaya" (Did The Camellia Fall?) or "Yukionna" (Snow Woman). It's worth noting Ohno blended his rich arrangements with elements of Japanese traditional music, with the use of such instruments as the Shakuhachi (bamboo flute), Tsuzumi (hand drum), and Biwa (wooden lute), giving the music its unique twist. All in all, listening to Mangekyou is a unique experience and it's easy to see why the album and Yoshiko Sai garnered such a cult following over the years.

Psychedelic hard-rock Holy Grail, originally released by this Greek band in 1976 but sounding more akin to late '60s/early '70s. Highly recommended to fans of heavy-fuzz guitars, think Dark, Fire, Open Mind, or even Spacemen 3 circa Revolution. The 4 Levels Of Existence (Τα 4 Επίπεδα Της Ύπαρξης) formed around 1974 in Athens from the ashes of a band called Frog's Eyes. Some of their influences were groups like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Who, or Iron Butterfly as well as traditional Greek music. They recorded their sole album in just ten hours with no overdubs and it was eventually released (500 copies only) on the small Venus label. The cover artwork was created by guitar player Athanasios Alatas. The band sadly split soon after but they left behind one of the most legendary and sought after albums not only from Greece but also from the worldwide heavy-prog scene. Remastered sound with original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve with OBI. Insert with liner notes by Klemen Breznikar (It's Psychedelic Baby) and rare photos / memorabilia. Includes "Someday In Athens," sampled on "Run This Town" by Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West.

Official reissue of this sought-after Canadian psychedelic hard-rock album from 1970. Formed in Toronto in the late '60s, It's All Meat (the name was taken from a dog food commercial!) soon caught the attention of influential character Jack London (frontman of pre-Steppenwolf band Jack London and the Sparrows) who managed the band and secured a deal with major label Columbia Records. After recording their first 45, the proto-punk MC5/Stones sounding "Feel It," the band started working on their first album with the tandem of Jed MacKay and Rick McKim as main songwriters. It's All Meat was released in 1970 and offered a powerful mix of garage-rock, psychedelia and early hard-rock, drawing influences from bands like the Stones, Country Joe & The Fish, Doors, Velvet Underground -- tracks like "Roll My Own" or the lysergic "Crying Into The Deep Lake" are now considered classics of the genre. Sadly, the band would split soon after the LP was released. Original artwork in gatefold sleeve and remastered sound in 24-bit domain. Includes insert with liner notes by Plastic Crimewave and rare photos/memorabilia. Includes download card with non-LP singles and rare tracks.

2025 repress. Following well-regarded outings on Phonica Records and Wolf Music, and a superb Many Shades Of House compilation released this year, Lausanne-based Lea Lisa joins Smallville Records with Poem For The Lost Souls, accompanied by remixes from Kuniyuki and Session Victim as a special double-12" package with gatefold cover. For these tracks, Lea Lisa has worked with several musicians in the studio to transform the warmth and organic feel of real instruments into her musical universe. The original mix of "Poem For The Lost Souls" leads, a jazzy house journey that ebbs and flows through fluttering flute melodies, ethereal chords, wandering piano and funk-infused bass grooves running atop organic percussion and disco tinged drums. On the B Side, the "Broken Mix" follows, as the name would suggest, rhythmically shifting focus towards off-kilter drum breaks alongside the other melodies and again -- all the ingredients that make a classic house track. Opening the C-side on record two, acclaimed Japanese artist and Mule Musiq regular Kuniyuki steps up to rework "Poem For The Lost Souls," in typical fashion the Sapporo born producer extracts the core grooves from the original and shapes it into something uniquely his own, laden with warmth, soul and dynamics. The duo Session Victim then round out the release on Side D with their interpretation, fusing together the original synth melodies with their own amalgamation of intricately intertwined keys and atmospherics, underpinned by a shuffled rhythm section and bouncy low-end drive. It's coming with a gatefold cover-artwork by Stefan Marx for a cherry-blossom glimpse of Yoyogi Park in Tokyo.

When the trio of Sontag Shogun gathered at Laura Naukkarinen's home on the Finnish island of Kimitoön in the summer of 2019, they had not the slightest inkling that the world was about to change irretrievably with the onset of a long-predicted pandemic the following year. By the time their collaborative album, Valo Siroutuu ("The Light Scatters"), was released nearly two years later, the intimate and reflective nature of the work they had created together had taken on new meaning, resonating powerfully (and quietly) with a world in which the proverbial cracks in the wall only seem to be widening. Päiväkahvit completes the story that began with Valo Siroutuu, featuring nine new songs from the original sessions plus four interpretive reworks courtesy of Amulets, Fadi Tabbal, Post-Dukes, and Jeremy Young. Available digitally and in a one-time vinyl pressing of 300 copies, the album flows seamlessly from beginning to end, incorporating field recordings, tape, sublime vocal melodies, and a host of acoustic and electronic instruments. Richly textured and immersive, Päiväkahvit positively crackles with warmth and a sense of creative embrace.

A true embodiment of Brazilian boogie, this is the first official reissue of Brylho's album, founded in Rio de Janeiro in 1978 as Brylho da Cidade. The group was influenced by the Black Rio movement of Tim Maia, Cassiano, and others. Members included Arnaldo Brandão (vocals/bass), Paulo Roquette (guitar), Cláudio Zoli (guitar/vocals), Robério Rafael (drums), Bolão (percussion), and Ricardo Cristaldi (keyboard). Claudio Zoli stands out as an important funk artist of the 1980s, during a time when pop rock bands dominated the Brazilian music scene. This album features one of the biggest hits of 1983: the soulful reggae groove "Noite do Prazer." Often described as Rio de Janeiro's answer to George Benson's "Give Me the Night," it's a timeless classic that bridges funk, soul, and Brazilian grooves. On "Se Você For a Salvador," a sun-soaked, feel-good boogie track, younger generations have embraced a new term to describe the sound: Brazilian City Pop. The record also delivers dancefloor heat like the stomping "Jóia Rara," the vibrant soul-reggae fusion "Destrava Maria," the ahead-of-its- time rap-funk hybrid "Cheque Sem Fundo," and the electrifying samba-reggae "Pé de Guerra," rich with Bahian rhythms and energy. Closing out the album are two under-the-radar jazz-funk gems: "Meditando" and "171." Though often lumped into the boogie category, these tracks lean more toward the sleek 1980s jazz-funk sound, reminiscent of UK acts like Level 42.

Recorded live in one session at age 18, this album helped launch Tania Maria's career as an acclaimed Brazilian jazz artist, celebrated for her virtuoso combination of piano and vocals. Produced by Romeo Nunes (Meirelles e Os Copa 5, Rio 65 Trio, Elis Regina, Elza Soares), the album features the pioneering Edison Machado, who transformed samba and was instrumental in the development of Bossa Nova through his groundbreaking "samba no prato" (samba on the cymbals) technique. His work helped shape the sounds of Jobim, Getz, and Milton Nascimento. On guitar is the legendary Neco, who played on over 500 albums. Initially self-taught, he later studied under maestros Guerra Peixe and Moacir Santos. He collaborated with icons like Elis Regina and Chico Buarque, and was a member of Os Ipanemas, Os Catedráticos, and Os Gatos. His solo work includes Velvet Bossa Nova (1966), which became an acid jazz favorite. The album features compositions by Caetano Veloso and Marcos Valle, alongside early samba classics. Blending Brazilian rhythms with elements of samba, bossa nova, and jazz fusion, it captures the early development of Tania Maria's signature style. Born in São Luís, Brazil in 1948, Tania Maria began playing piano at age seven. She learned samba, jazz, and chorinho through her father's weekend jam sessions. Leading her own band by age 13, she performed across the region while collecting records from influential artists. Though she earned a law degree and started a family, her passion for music ultimately won out -- she left law to pursue music full-time.

"Several years in the making, Lion can now finally deliver on its promise of another Groove Club volume dedicated to the deep and moving (and grooving) compositions of Sinn Sisamouth, sung by the Emperor of Khmer music himself, alone or duetting with the other legendary singer of those halcyon days in Cambodian music: Ros Sereysothea, the 'Queen with the Golden Voice.' Groove Club Vol. 5 also includes a 16-page booklet featuring an exclusive interview with Mrs. Khav Thong Nhot, widow of Sinn Sisamouth, and Sin Sethsochhata, artist and granddaughter of Sinn Sisamouth, revealing more about Sinn Sisamouth than has ever been known before now. Readers hear directly from his wife about their courtship, their life together as Sinn Sisamouth became famous -- and then what happened as the Khmer Rouge took control: the separation from her husband, and her own harrowing experiences trying to keep herself and their children alive. It's not easy reading, yet stands as an important contribution to a story which until now has only been partially told. Sinn Sisamouth's granddaughter, Sin Sethsochhata, a musical artist and also keeper of the family's legacy, speaks of her own experiences in both realms. Sinn Sisamouth is, without question, the most famous and beloved Cambodian singer and songwriter of all time. A brilliant singer and composer, 'the Emperor of Khmer music' has had a greater influence and has touched more hearts than any other singer in the country's history. Though he was tragically taken from this world, his soul, spirit, and emotions are echoed in the legacy of songs he bequeathed to the world, and for this reason, he is eternal. The fact that any of this music even exists today is nothing short of miraculous. Original vinyl is extremely rare -- and well-guarded! Lion has done its utmost to make the sound quality of the songs as good as can be without in any way treating or disrupting or limiting (or destroying) the frequency range of the tracks. This means that a few tracks might sound less than audiophile quality. But who cares! It's about the music. It's always about the music. And the stories. Mostly the music. Although this time, very much about the stories too. Official reissue -- and in most cases, first appearance of any kind -- of these insanely rare recordings since their initial release as singles."

"Bitterviper is the brand-new quartet of Nikos Veliotis (cello), Taku Unami (synthesizer), Sarah Hennies (percussion), and David Grubbs (guitar, piano), four individuals who separately are responsible for some of the most striking and wildly idiosyncratic music of the past couple of decades -- not to mention the duo collaborations between Grubbs and Unami (the albums Comet Meta and Failed Celestial Creatures) and Veliotis and Grubbs (The Harmless Dust). Athens-based Nikos Veliotis set Bitterviper into motion with four overdubbed pieces of dense psychoacoustic marvels on the cello; Grubbs responded with characteristically subtle tracery on piano, guitar, and lap steel; Unami weighed in electronically from Tokyo to mysteriously thicken both the plot and the low end; and Hennies applied her compositional gifts to structure the whole thing with an Occam's Razor approach to percussion. But once you drop the needle on Bitterviper, its origin story becomes ancient history; you're suddenly in the presence of an ensemble that sounds like no other and for whom there are no false steps. It's all fair game when this is how you choose to play; Bitterviper is a salvo of confidence and conviction, and this is only the beginning. David Grubbs is Distinguished Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, CUNY. He was a member of Gastr del Sol, Bastro, and Squirrel Bait, and has performed with Tony Conrad, Pauline Oliveros, Luc Ferrari, Will Oldham, Loren Connors, Jan St. Werner, The Red Krayola, and many others. Sarah Hennies is a composer and percussionist based in upstate New York whose work is concerned with a variety of musical, sociopolitical, and psychological issues including queer and trans identity, psychoacoustics, and the social and neurological conditions underlying creative thought. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Bard College. Taku Unami's work is influenced by science fiction, supernatural horror and weird fiction. He's the composer of film scores for directors including Isao Okishima and Takeshi Furusawa, was half (with Toshiya Tsunoda) of the group Wovenland, is one-third of the group Hontatedori, and has collaborated with, among others, Annette Krebs, Radu Malfatti, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Jarrod Fowler, and Graham Lambkin. Nikos Veliotis founded Mohammad with ILIOS and Coti K. (renamed MMMD in 2015). In the 1990s he developed an experimental practice, exploring image and sound, mainly through the cello; he also performed in numerous groups, most notably CRANC (with Angharad and Rhodri Davies) and Looper (with Ingar Zach and Martin Küchen)."

Absolute monster when talking about US hard-rock/proto-doom private pressings. Hailing from Florida, Bolder Damn released this beast in 1971. Ultra-heavy, "raw-in-your-face" sound with loud fuzzed-out guitar, solid rhythm section and manic vocals. Bolder Damn formed in 1969 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The original lineup consisted of John Anderson on vocals and rhythm guitar, Glenn Eaton on lead guitar, Ron Refett on bass, Mark Gaspard on keyboards, and Bob Eaton on drums. Initially performing covers, they gradually incorporated original material into their sets. Their energetic live performances led them to open for notable acts such as Alice Cooper, MC5, The Amboy Dukes, and Blue Cheer. In 1971, after Gaspard's departure, the remaining members recorded their sole album, Mourning, at Hyperbolic Studios in Florida. The recording session lasted only four hours, resulting in a raw, in-your-face heavy sound. The album was privately pressed with approximately 200 copies distributed mainly to friends, family, and local fans. Side 2 featured the 16-minute epic "Dead Meat," which reflects the band's heavy, proto-doom style, reminiscent of contemporaries like Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer. In 1972 Anderson and Refett were drafted into military service during the Vietnam War, leading to Bolder Damn's dissolution. Comes with original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve plus OBI. Remastered sound. Fold-out insert with liner notes/interview with singer John Anderson and rare pictures. Includes download card. RIYL: Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Pentagram, MC5, Sainte Anthony's Fyre.

Repressed in hard cardboard sleeve with obi. Powerful and melodic hard-rock by this US power-trio: ultra-loud Quilter amps, killer leads, fuzz bass, furious drumming and vocals. Recorded at the legendary Sonobeat Studios in Austin and originally released in 1971 as a private demo album, now impossible to find. Originally formed in California in the late '60s, Wildfire consisted of Randy Love (guitar/vocals), Danny Jamison (bass/lead vocals), and Donny Martin (drums). Famous for powerful live shows, they packed the clubs with lines around the block of fans waiting to enter, becoming the house band for Finnegan's Rainbow and the favorite group of The Hessians Motorcycle Club, who became the unofficial guardians of the band. Soon, they got in touch with Pat Quilter from Quilter amps. Tired of blowing up amps when playing, Randy told Pat to design an amp that couldn't blow up. And he did it. Following Wildfire's input, Pat designed for the band the famous "Master Volume Dial" amp. In 1969, a Texas promoter heard the band in Southern California and brought them to Austin, becoming an instant hit locally in the Austin area. While in Texas, Wildfire shared the stage with Freddie King, the Allman Brothers, Johnny Winter, and ZZ Top. It was in Austin that the eight-song demo was cut at Sonobeat Records (home also of Mariani and Cold Sun), released in 1970 as a private pressing housed in a plain white cover with a Wildfire sticker, each one numbered. The demo album was never sold other than at a small record store in Southern California and it's now one the rarest hard-rock albums from the US. RIYL: Grand Funk, Bolder Damn, Demian, Cactus, Stack, Banchee, Blue Cheer, Hendrix.

Tired of waiting for a compilation of the wildest and most hilarious punk-leaning music of the '60s? Yes, you may have already been taught a lesson by mediocrity and endless volumes. Well, the wait is over. Here are 19 atomic bombs from wonderful Mexico with doses of lysergia, frat, go-go, and, yes sir, punk. Just when you thought everything was discovered and handled, it's refreshing to find such a batch of teen spirit and desire to explode like those included in this magnificent compilation from the Pinche label. Songs that have never sounded so good have been captured from the original tapes. Featuring Los Soñadores, Los Shakers, Los Polivoces, Los Weelers, Los Belmonts, Los Rockin Devils, Los Antorchas, Los Crazy Birds, Los Hippies, Los Pajaros, Luis Vivi Hernandez, Los Glidders, Los Novels, Los Locos, Los Twist Teens, Los Rogers, Los Cinco, and Los Viking Boys.

Guitar-driven psychedelic hard-rock, heavy blues and proto-metal by this power-trio from Southampton. This is their sought-after album from 1975. Agnes Strange was a bluesy hard-rock trio active during the mid-1970s. The band consisted of John Westwood on guitar and vocals, Alan Green on bass and vocals, and Dave Rodwell on drums/vocals. In 1975, they released their sole album, Strange Flavour, on the small BirdsNest label, linked to a chain of pubs/brewing firm. The album showcased their blend of hard-rock, blues and experimental/psychedelic influences, drawing comparisons to bands like Status Quo, Budgie, and Hawkwind. Despite their energetic style and musical talent, the album did not achieve significant commercial success. It's clear that some other labels like Vertigo or Harvest would have been a better home for them. RIYL: Budgie, Taste, Hendrix, Status Quo, Sabbath, Stooges. Original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve. Sourced from the original masters. Includes insert with liner notes by original producer/manager Dave Travis and rare photos/memorabilia.

LP version. Alice is a vocal harmony trio made up of three persons, joined by a cheap synth and limited virtuosity. Together, they craft a kind of future folklore that's part funny, part apocalyptic -- half-soft, half-harsh, half-sad, half-simple, half-complex, half-controlled, half-Yvonne Harder, half-Sarah André, half-Lisa Harder. Since their last album L'Oiseau Magnifique (BJR 091CD), Alice have spent time on the road -- in cars, in trains, out in the open. Accustomed to writing outdoors, they slowly stitched together a collection of new songs. After two years of performing in clubs, bars, stairwells, carpentry workshops, activist agricultural fairs and roadside shoulders, they took their Oiseau Magnifique just about everywhere. It felt like time to sew these new pieces together -- a quilt of humor and soft words, something we could really use in these half-sweet, half-fascist times. Les Châteaux Faibles is the name of one of their latest songs, and naturally, the title of their new album. It captures the group's ethos perfectly -- a search for refuge in fragility, in a weakness that's better when shared. A collective sensitivity to bring us closer, stronger -- united in Châteaux Faibles.

Buh Records presents El tiempo quiere cantar ("Time Wants to Sing") the debut album by Pacha Wakay Munan, a duo formed by Peruvian musicians and researchers Dimitri Manga Chávez and Ricardo López Alcas. This album explores the sonic possibilities of pre-Hispanic instruments in a contemporary musical context. Through their performance, they explore their tonal possibilities, the interaction between their frequencies, and their ability to generate new dialogues. The work of Pacha Wakay Munan aligns with the tradition of sound explorers such as the Peruvians Arturo Ruiz del Pozo and Luis David Aguilar or the Colombians Yaki Kandru. The album's repertoire consists of pieces that explore diverse sonorities and musical concepts. "Pacha Wakay Munanqa" introduces the timbral variety of the instruments used. "El Taki Onkoy" draws inspiration from historical accounts and the meaning of its name ("Sick Song"), based on a Culina chant documented by Rodolfo Holzmann. It features vocals by the experienced singer Ximena Menéndez. "Mundo Posible" is a reinterpretation of an improvisation session with musicologist Chalena Vásquez Rodríguez, where the piano dialogues with ceramic antaras. Other pieces delve into the sonic construction of these instruments in relation to their cultural contexts. "Machu Tara" explores the concept of tara, a rough and vibrant sound quality found in certain Andean musical traditions. "Túpac Huaca" references the Huaca Aliaga in Lima, creating a sound palette where pututos, whistling vessels, and quenas converge. "Agua, Cuarzo y Viento" introduces quartz sikus and bowls tuned to different frequencies, evoking the interaction between natural elements and resonant vibrations. In the piece "Qinray Tema", Camilo Ángeles plays the metal transverse flute, creating a contrast with the pre-Hispanic ceramic flutes and pelican bone flutes. El tiempo quiere cantar is released by Buh Records in digital format and in a limited vinyl edition of 300 copies.

LP version. "Like a sweet spring breeze after a long, cruel winter, Cory Hanson's blowing through town again. And like the wind, I Love People comes from parts unknown. Followers of Cory's twin arcs as solo singer and Wand member will be intrigued to learn that the lineup here is the same band that recorded 2024's Vertigo. That's Robbie Cody co-producing behind the desk, Evan Backer playing bass and arranging strings and horns, Evan Burrows on drums and percussion and Cory on piano, guitars and voices and songs. I Love People bugs out to the wtf-ness on the edge of town spied now and again on Cory's previous solos, Pale Horse Rider and Western Cum. Here though, the simmering shades of Rider's quiet horror and the bursts of Cum's cartoonish, gun-slinger bravado have given way to an ever-more impartial view of life on the ground, tinted in gossamer sepia and other nostalgic tones. Written over the past several annums, Cory's songs ensnare the '70s singer-songwriter in a feedback loop, drawing additional inspiration from the indelible everyman melodies of the American Songbook. With gilded threads and emboldened needling, I Love People's songs are rendered with immediacy and a deep-pile Hollywood production sound that radiates affluence and comfort, even in the darkest and coldest nights way out beyond the range of any signal. Placed and displaced among gorgeously outfitted musical arrangements, I Love People's people are kin to their threadbare folk forbears. Song by song, their occupations, social positions and dispositions unravel like silk into the wind. While they perform, Cory loiters backstage, gently pulling at the curtain to reveal silly details hidden in plain sight inside America's broken heart. It doesn't come as a surprise, and it's not strictly funny, either: a giddy mash of the two, the delirium that comes from finding what you think is 'true' is someone else's 'false.' When maps won't help you find out where you are anymore, you're as normal and horrible as the next person, playing out your days in a place of constant activity with your parallax view progressing invisibly into a limbo beyond the horizon. That's your freedom for you, and it might be more sad, more terrifying -- if it weren't so much fun! Even though their subject won't stop squirming, Cory and his merry men have constructed a timeless still life with I Love People, simply by living for the fun and love of it all."

"Talán is the title of Raphael Rogiński's new solo album. Rogiński -- Polish guitarist, composer and musicologist, received recognition not only as a member of the Shofar trio where he performs with saxophonist Mikołaj Trzaska and percussionist Macio Moretti but also thanks to his astounding takes on John Coltrane's music released in 2015 Plays John Coltrane And Langston Hughes African Mystic Music. 'Talán is a very old (probably Scythian) word that can be translated as 'maybe' and that's where my musical approach comes from -- I take something in order to lose something else,' Rogiński explains. 'It's a constant process of achieving goals by getting rid of others and I'm fixated on this idea. It's also a meditation upon a process, a calm observation,' he adds. Talán is also a result of Rogiński's fascination with the Black Sea. 'All of the tracks are somehow connected to it and some were composed in Odessa -- a city often thought of as a gateway to Asia. This is where my some of my ancestors arrived to Europe,' says Raphael. 'When working on these tunes I came to know the Black Sea both physically and spiritually. What's interesting, it's been once called Inhospitable Sea only to later turn into Hospitable Sea. A myth was tamed and when the mystery disappeared and different civilizations met, a new myth came into life. The album was composed over a couple of years and took many attempts at the recording. My patience is usually very limited so this has been a strange experience for me. But traveling the region of the Black Sea and discovering its nature within myself required time. Our world is full of wonders and awes and traveling (both physically as well as emotionally) remains one of the most important aspects of living,' Rogiński admits."

"Brand new studio album from Marek Pospieszalski Octet featuring Zoh Amba. 'This band turned out to be an effective working unit from day one,' Pospieszalski admits. 'Its musical concepts leave a lot of space for creative playing and that's why I decided to use the Octet as a platform open for outside participation. One of the musicians I considered for this purpose was Zoh who is well recognized for her direct and limitless approach to music. And this opportunity came on the occasion of our concert at NOSPR concert hall in Katowice. The next day we visited Emil Berliner Studios where the album was recorded,' he explains. For most of the music recorded here, sheet music is treated only as a guideline, a rough entry point, and it's only thanks to collective improvisation that Now! sounds as good and coherent as an album. 'And that's one of the reasons why I decided to add titles only once the music got recorded,' Pospieszalski says. 'And despite the fact that I am being really direct here, I prefer to have listeners interpret the album's message on their own. Individual context is key here -- place, time and most importantly, personal emotions.' Leading a 9-person band may seem like a challenge on a lot of levels but Pospieszalski prefers to treat it as a set of new opportunities instead. 'Although everything here is focused on my artistic vision, it wouldn't sound as good if it weren't for other musicians involved,' he admits. 'Each member of the group has their influence over the final result of our collective playing. I tend to give them direction but it is up to them to interpret it.'"

Imagine a young artist from the Orfeon label (Mexico) in 1968 decided to combine the New Orleans funk sound with the emerging -- not yet mentioned as such -- West Coast Latin Rock, a little bit of free jazz and a few drops of Pink Floyd (era Syd Barrett). Got the picture? Something similar can be said about this super elusive -- originally $350, if it turns up -- 45 rpm record with over six minutes of freak-out per side. WARNING to DJs: You might start tapping your foot to the opening groove and end up on the floor in ecstasy.