LP version. Biosphere's album The Way Of Time takes loose inspiration from Elizabeth Madox Roberts' novel The Time Of Man, sampling Joan Lorring's voice from the 1951 radio play adaptation of the novel. Biosphere's signature ambient loops, soothing arctic synths and melodies combine with Lorring's sweet, wistful and deep-south wonderings to create a record that is both deeply human and searching.

It's one thing to have founded a notable band dedicated to exploring the possibilities of psychedelic exploration in many different sounds and styles. But it's arguably pretty darn rare to have done it, as Jeffrey Alexander has, four separate times. First emerging with the Iditarod in the mid-1990s before a later world oversimplified their sound as "freak folk," you'd be forgiven for thinking Alexander had settled into things with the feedback grooves of Dire Wolves. But 2020 brought forth another incarnation in the form of the Philadelphia-based Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders, joined by local legends like Kohoutek's drummer Scott Verrastro and Drew Gardner and Jesse Shepherd of the exploratory guitar duo Elkhorn. Once more they're here to provide some needed balm in the form of their sixth formal album effort, Synchronous Orbit, released jointly by Feeding Tube and Cardinal Fuzz labels. With three lengthy songs showcasing their interwoven skills both in studio and live settings, Synchronous Orbit finds the Heavy Lidders once more, given the appropriate album title, aiming for a beautiful trip into outer space and in the inner mind. There's guest percussion from Ryan Jewell and, in a lovely matching of voices with Alexander, a wonderful turn from the legendary Kate Wright, famed for her work in the Bristol UK acts Movietone and Crescent. Plenty of space unfolds for a sweetly trippy midsection as the players do their thing, with Wright and Alexander's vocals returning to help wrap up the trip. The core quartet keep the calm but never cool vibes leading into a steady slow-building burn, guitar parts pouring over each other like glowing layers of honey with Verrastro's drumming both keeping pace and gently altering tempos and intensity. Synchronous Orbit concludes with its longest track at twenty minutes, taken from a live show at the Milwaukee Psych Festival in May 2024. There's a heck of a wonderful wild card factor in the form of 21st century jazz experimenter Isaiah Collier, contributing not merely saxophone but bullhorn and bird calls -- a real
menagerie of sound. His performances add both depth and even more energy to the proceedings, never simply a rampage outward even at his fiercest, but
embracing the sense of community and participation in the performance.

LP version. "Composer and lute player Jozef Van Wissem has created, in my opinion, the most beautiful film music of the year for Un Prince. Suites of princely pieces allow the film to be transported into a fantastic dimension where power and magic unfold." --Chaosreign

"Un Prince features a striking soundtrack -- part Baroque courtly dance, part Doors-like instrumental by Dutch lutenist Jozef van Wissem" --Variety/ Screen Daily

"The Dutch composer illustrates the initiatory story of the film (a young man discovers gardening and unusual sexual practices) and the scenes of a pictorial nature, in fixed shots, with captivating notes of the order of the procession, with a certain devoutness, like a ceremony." --Cinezik

LP version. Acclaimed director and musician Jim Jarmusch and experimental lute player and composer Jozef Van Wissem met nearly 20 years ago, forming a close bond after they ran into each other on the streets of New York City. In 2011, they began performing and producing records together. This release is the follow up to American Landscapes entitled The Day The Angels Cried. The duo weaves an intricate lute and guitar string tapestry of droning, minimal free-folk compositions destined to captivate listeners with their dark hypnosis. This time vocals and electronics are added as well. Van Wissem's work comes from a tradition of avant-garde minimalism and lends itself well to the director's stark cinematic works. Jarmusch has played guitar in bands on and off since the late '70s. Van Wissem's compositional style involves hypnotic circular musical phrases that allow for a lot of contemplative space between the notes. Their first live performance was in Issue Project Room in Brooklyn in October 2011, where they appeared together for a Van Wissem curated concert program called "New Music for Early Instruments." The idea for their first album, Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity (Important Records) developed from their live performance. Jarmusch has said that he considers these songs as Van Wissem's compositions, and sees himself as someone filling in the background to Jozef 's foreground, like the "scenic" on a film shoot, the one who paints the backdrops. "The sound of the lute is as bright as the sun, a beautiful red color and my stuff sounds sort of like the moon, more like blue, like mercury." According to Van Wissem: "We started with layers of instrumental parts. Jim recorded an otherworldly Passerelle bridge guitar part to which we added vocals. This became the title track 'The Day The Angels Cried.' The lyrics for this song came to me during a vision I had in a dream. It was much like a vision Swedenborg writes about. In it he converses with angels. In my vision the angel looked down from the heavens upon the earth engulfed in flames. Recent events in Los Angeles and other parts of the world, have led me to believe that this dream was a premonition.'"

Double LP version. Part 1. One of the most politically charged terms of the 20th century, the Iron Curtain was a metaphor for political and cultural division. In a post-war telegram Winston Churchill referred to the fault line that ran through Europe between East and West as "an Iron Curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind." In this two-part album, as far as jazz is concerned, Jazzman will showcase, describe and celebrate exactly what was "going on behind." Music is the power supreme, with the ability to transcend all barriers, be they physical, political or metaphorical. The liner notes illustrate the complex and contradictory history of Soviet jazz, and the tracks chosen cover the key period of the early 1960s to the 1980s. It was during these dark years of the Cold War that the Soviet Union and its satellite states produced a number of outstanding artists playing in a variety of styles. The impact of modernism, from hard bop and Latin to modal and cool jazz, had found its way through cracks in the curtain. The deeply-felt ancestral strains of traditional European folk music were combined with the exciting new and progressive sounds of the West, and a radical, intoxicating brew was created that no amount of guns, tanks or polonium tea could overcome. Jazzman chronicles the triumph of jazz at a time of extreme geopolitical conflict. What went on behind the Iron Curtain in these countries was once mysterious and unknown to the West, but the perseverance of their artists provided sound and light amid the secretive, dark days of the communist-capitalist standoff. There was no end of life-affirming spiritual jazz behind the Iron Curtain. Featuring Collage, Manfred Ludwig-Sextett, Krzysztof Komeda, Polish Jazz Quartet, Vagif Mustafa-Zade, Quartet Jazz Focus-65, Theo Schumman Combo, Vaclav Zahradnik, Karel Velebny, Sevil, Focus '65, Golstain-Nosov Quintet, YU All Stars 1977, and Dan Mindrila.

Double LP version. Part 2. One of the most politically charged terms of the 20th century, the Iron Curtain was a metaphor for political and cultural division. In a post-war telegram Winston Churchill referred to the fault line that ran through Europe between East and West as "an Iron Curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind." In this two-part album, as far as jazz is concerned, Jazzman will showcase, describe and celebrate exactly what was "going on behind." Music is the power supreme, with the ability to transcend all barriers, be they physical, political or metaphorical. The liner notes illustrate the complex and contradictory history of Soviet jazz, and the tracks chosen cover the key period of the early 1960s to the 1980s. It was during these dark years of the Cold War that the Soviet Union and its satellite states produced a number of outstanding artists playing in a variety of styles. The impact of modernism, from hard bop and Latin to modal and cool jazz, had found its way through cracks in the curtain. The deeply-felt ancestral strains of traditional European folk music were combined with the exciting new and progressive sounds of the West, and a radical, intoxicating brew was created that no amount of guns, tanks or polonium tea could overcome. Jazzman chronicles the triumph of jazz at a time of extreme geopolitical conflict. What went on behind the Iron Curtain in these countries was once mysterious and unknown to the West, but the perseverance of their artists provided sound and light amid the secretive, dark days of the communist-capitalist standoff. There was no end of life-affirming spiritual jazz behind the Iron Curtain. Featuring Leningrad Jazz Ensemble, Sh Jazz Quintet, Josef Blaha Trio, Csaba Deseo Ensemble, Manfred Ludwig-Sextett, Anatoly Vapirov, Zbigniew Namyslowski, Andrzej Trzaskowski Quintet, Tomsits Quartet, Nicolai Gromin Quartet, Valery Kolesnikov, Vyacheslav Novikov, Vladimir Molotkov, Alexander Christidis, Tone Jansa, and S+HQ.

Meet Motherfuckers JMB & Co! J is for Jim, M is for Marc, B is for Brian. The trio's first full-length is a rocket of rhythm and atmosphere that fearlessly treks into vast sonic spaces. Drumbeats spread into constellations, bass pumps air into the sky, drones flare into clouds. Thick grooves drift in and out of focus, but there's always a central force to cling to as all the vapor-trails shoot past. Decades of musical archaeology lurk behind this rainbow-hued swirl of psych, drone, improvisation, and ritual. Brian Weitz (hurdy gurdy) has spent 25 years crafting sound as Geologist in the ground-breaking quartet Animal Collective. Jim Thomson (drums) has been in scores of bands, from helping found Richmond art-metal legends GWAR, to jamming instrumentals in SST alums Alter-Natives (a fitting forebear to JMB's vocal-less jaunts), to driving the spirited dance-punk of Time Is Fire. Marc Minsker (bass, guitar, harmonium) has made music since the early '90s, initially in Third Eye Lounge (who backed legendary improviser Eugene Chadbourne), and later in myriad partnerships around the mid-Atlantic region. The trio came together via old-fashioned community, in the always-fertile ground of the DC/Maryland/Virginia experimental scene. Recordings for Music Excitement Action Beauty took place in Tonal Park studios during a single afternoon, with "lights lowered and incense and candles lit," as Thomson describes. Weitz edited the resulting material after a three-month break, trimming down improvisations and reworking cut-out sections into seamless transitions. Music Excitement Action Beauty features seven cascading tracks that blend like ice cream flavors overfilling a cone. Throughout Music Excitement Action Beauty, there's a communal vibe -- not just from the friends-through-friends connections of JMB, but also the larger environments they've moved in for years. There's a "Co." at the end of their name for a reason, as if Music Excitement Action Beauty was made by three on behalf of many more. "Every group I've played with was usually organically formed and informed by the community and friendships in some ways," says Thomson. "I was very attracted to playing with Marc and Brian because of the promise of repetition, drone, and psychedelia, and it delivered in spades."

LP version. Includes bonus 7". Wewantsounds continues its extensive Meiko Kaji reissue program -- in partnership with Teichiku Records and Kaji herself -- with the release of Yadokari, her third album from 1973. This marks the first time the album has been reissued on vinyl, featuring its original artwork and newly remastered audio. Renowned for her iconic 1970s films (Lady Snowblood, the Stray Cat Rock series) and admired by Quentin Tarantino, Meiko Kaji also released a string of outstanding albums on Teichiku, blending Japanese pop with cinematic grooves. Yadokari is reissued here with its original deluxe gatefold sleeve and OBI plus a two-page insert featuring new liner notes by Hashim Kotaro Bharoocha. As a special bonus, this edition includes an EP single featuring "Shura No Hana," famously featured on the Kill Bill soundtrack. Kaji was one of Japan's most iconic exploitation film actresses of the early 1970s. Beyond acting, she was invited by film studios to perform theme songs for many of her films leading to revered music career. Between 1972 and 1974, she recorded five albums for Teichiku, which have since become highly sought after. Yadokari ("hermit crab"), released in 1973, was Kaji's third album for the label. Like its predecessors Gincho Wataridori and Hajiki Uta, it offers a rich mix of kayōkyoku (Japanese pop), traditional enka, psychedelic rock, and cinematic '70s funk. The album includes two tracks, "Hagure Bushi" and "Kiba no Ballad," from the cult 1973 TV series Sengoku Rock Hagure Kiba, in which Kaji starred. "Hagure Bushi" stands out as one of the album's funkiest tracks. Like "Kiba no Ballad," it was composed and arranged by the legendary producer Yuji Ohno (best known for his work on Lupin the III). The album as a whole is a superb blend of atmospheric songs, from the haunting, slow-burning title track "Yadokari" to "Ah," which features groovy guitar licks, harmonica, and sleek string arrangements, evoking a subtle Morricone influence. To complete this reissue, Wewantsounds has included the rare 1973 7" EP "Shura No Hana/Hō Yare Ho" as a bonus. Only released as a single, "Shura No Hana" (Flower of Carnage") is a cult classic, famously featured on Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 2 soundtrack. A key release in Meiko Kaji's 1972 - 1974 Teichiku Records catalog, Yadokari is a testament to her singular talent as a singer.

2025 repress of this five track EP from 1994. Written-By/Performer: David Grubbs, Jim O'Rourke. Featuring John McEntire (percussion), Gene Coleman (bass clarinet). Recorded By: Casey Rice , John McEntire, Steve Albini.

Eric Arn has mined the nether regions of avant-rock, free improv, drone and psychedelia beginning with the Crystalized Movements in the 1980s, and continuing with Primordial Undermind for over three decades. Eric has released records on a wide range of other labels, including Feeding Tube Records, Stoned to Death, The Lotus Sound, Sloow Tapes, and Ramble Records, among others. Eric has also collaborated with the likes of Tom Carter (Charalambides), Jasmine Pender, Margaret Unknown, and Eyal Maoz. Nearly four years to the date after the release of Higher Order, Eric Arn's previous release for Carbon Records, comes his latest collection of guitar excursions. The songs on fixe Idee have a rolling, rambling guitar feel that builds sonic lattices which drift in the air like steel spiderwebs in the summer sky. The record opens with the American Primitive-esque storytelling saga "Impromptu pour le fantôme," setting the stage for a nice variety of playing and recording styles to follow. The more pastoral tracks "Sunrills" and "Gutbucket" are nicely interspersed with the more raw, lo-fi slide-based joints "Rhyolite" and "Ewigkeitsgasse," each with variations of tipsy tones dancing off the edge of the fretboard to bathe in a swirling concoction of acoustic fantasia. Fixe Idee finally moves back into the Primitive landscape with the "raag Melathys," then the closer, the perfectly titled "Bear," completely unraveled starts with more spastic and experimental Derek Bailey leanings, then eventually settles into more rhythmic patterns, and an exhaling finale. This is a record made by someone whose passion for the guitar as a physical instrument creating sound for enjoyment, and as a catalyst for getting right with the Universe, is deeply evident.

Double LP version. Limited 2LP colored yellow and oxblood vinyl with A3 Poster, sticker, MP3 Download. How Do You Are? are back with another chapter in its ongoing series of unearthing smooth vibes from all over the world. This time, the label goes back to the future for you with: The Sunset Manifesto Volume 2. After a five-year break mainly concentrating on the late '70s/early '80s Westcoast Soul/Yacht/AOR sound, HDYA finally dives deep into the modern world of its beloved sister-label Too Slow To Disco NEO. TSTD NEO is the outlet DJ Supermarkt is using to unearth modern laidback, smooth, sunny slow disco vibes with a soulful Westcoast/Balearic touch. For him TSTD always has been about a laidback vibe/feeling, not a certain time period in musical history. And that sunny Westcoast vibe HDYA dug out on those traditional TSTD compilations has become a huge influence to so many modern artists. So it makes sense that the label presents the cream of new slo/mo nu-disco/dunset disco/daytime disco acts in the TSTD format, a luxurious compilation, with artists from all across the globe: Not only from the two homelands of that modern slow disco sound, Los Angeles/California and France, but also from Beijing, Montreal, Mexico, London, New York, Stockholm, Rotterdam. This music is more a state of mind, a feeling, then a geographical thing. Featuring Poolside, Woolfy, Prep & Eddie Chacon, Turbotito, Young Gun Silver Fox, Lovetempo, Kimchii, Goodvibes Sound, Nicholas Cangiano, Moi Je, B.U.M.P., 1-900, Moods & Nic Hanson, BowAsWell, and Joel Sarakula.

"Formed in 1972 as a quintet, Dzyan recorded their self-titled debut album after only two months and released it on Aronda, a small Bad Homburg label owned by producer Günther Müller. The original line-up, which never performed live, broke up after a few months. Bassist Reinhard Karwatky soon formed a trio that took the band's name. Karwatky, guitarist Eddy Marron and drummer Peter Giger signed a contract with Bacillus/Bellaphon, Peter Hauke (Omega, Nektar, Jeronimo, etc.) produced and Dieter Dierks was the studio engineer. On Time Machine (1973), the first album for Bacillus, Dzyan plays virtuoso jazz-rock that occasionally, especially on the 18-minute title track, reminds one of John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra. At the same time, the trio does not lack a certain herbaceous rawness. On their second Bacillus album, Electric Silence (1974), the trio celebrates their Kraut-Jazzrock to perfection. In its review of the album, the leading German jazz magazine Jazz Podium concluded that Electric Silence would establish Dzyan as 'probably the best German band' in the field of jazz rock. Achim Breiling of the online magazine Babyblaue Seiten said: 'Electric Silence is certainly one of the strangest, but also one of the most impressive and independent of what has been produced in Germany in the border area between jazz and rock.'"

LP version. Latency presents the first-ever arrangements of iconic Ethiopian composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru's music for piano and strings, honoring her desire to broaden the interpretation of her work beyond the piano. Led by pianist, composer, and Emahoy's close friend Maya Dunietz, a nine-piece string ensemble performed her compositions during two tribute concerts at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, in April 2024. This album celebrates the centenary of Emahoy's birth and commemorates the first anniversary of her passing. The album marks the culmination of a journey that began nearly two decades ago, in 2005. While browsing a London record store, pianist and composer Maya Dunietz and conductor Ilan Volkov discovered a CD by Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, released as part of the acclaimed Éthiopiques series. Intrigued, they sought out the esteemed musician, eventually locating her in a small monastery in Jerusalem. Their initial meeting blossomed into a deep, lengthy conversation. Emahoy recounted her life in the monastery and the challenges of making music in that setting. They delved into her music, discussing it in great detail. When they asked Emahoy about notation, she invited them to read her notebook, which contained compositions written that very morning. Maya and Ilan played some on the piano. At that moment, Emahoy began to trust them. Before leaving, Maya wrote her phone number in Emahoy's notebook and invited her to call if she ever wanted or needed anything. A few years later, the call came: Emahoy invited Maya to the monastery, handing her a couple of wrinkled old Air Ethiopia plastic bags filled with hundreds of her composition manuscripts. She asked Maya to help create a book of her piano compositions, making them accessible to people around the world. Faced with such a monumental undertaking, Maya partnered with the Jerusalem Season of Culture to embark on this ambitious project. This collaboration resulted in the publication of a book of sheet music and a collection of essays in 2013, as well as numerous concerts performed worldwide. These concerts, along with Maya's work on Emahoy's music, grew from a deep bond of love and mutual respect between the two women. For Maya, this tremendous compliment became the catalyst for all the string arrangements she would create for Emahoy's beautiful music -- arrangements now collected in this album after years of collaboration and discussions between Maya and the record label Latency.

A meeting of great minds recorded live at the Improtech Festival in Uzeste in summer 2023. Two avant-garde and improvisation titans offer a new chapter in the infinite quest for freedom and absolute beauty. "Innocence" and "Insouciance" are sharp and stinging live improvisations by longtime comrades, Parker and Foussat. Elegant, subtle and complex, these pieces immediately rise to the status of eternal documents by these giants. "WIRElessfor Anthony Wood" is a solo tenor piece by Parker recorded during The Actual Festival at the London ICA in August 1981 and named in homage to the late Anthony Wood, founder of both The Wire Magazine and The Actual Festival. It is followed and echoed by "SLAUGHTreturn," a contemporaneous assembly piece by Foussat from the original Abattage solo VCS3session in late 1980.

WRWTFWW Records presents Swiss cult band Grauzone's recording of their April 12th 1980 live show at Gaskessel in their hometown of Bern. The nine-track album, documenting the very beginnings of the group, is available as a limited-edition white vinyl LP in heavy 350gsm sleeve with special artwork by band member Stephan Eicher. Experience the early Grauzone days, live from Bern, with Martin Eicher on guitar and vocals, Christian G.T. Trüssel on bass, Marco Repetto on drums, Stephan Eicher on synth, and Claudine Chirac on saxophone. The performance is a true time capsule of the early '80s underground, showcasing the punk side of Grauzone with renditions of songs that were never officially released, as well as future fan-favorite "Moskau." A piece of Swiss music history, This limited release is a must have for all Grauzone fans and DIY archivists.

"The road is a wrinkled timeline. Uncanny flatness conceals unfolding textures, transparent layers and open tabs. The truck cuts the landscape, tracing the road with a line of mad logic that composites time, space, thought. On Dans Le Camion de Marguerite Duras, French duo Jean-Marie Mercimek have returned with a road movie for the blind. Composed and recorded by Marion Molle and Ronan Riou over six years across France and Belgium, this unlikely distillation of microtonal MIDI composition, French B.O., and post-punk chansons brazenly expands the duos' penchant for lowkey narrative spectacle. Across Le Camion, sounds form a theatrical screen. Our ears are the curtains drawn wide and listening with a look that pans across the shot. No title cards, they cut straight to action. The truck is a camera, zooming and framing the tracks as scenes. Songwriting and sound design blur in a tangle of delicate economy. The balance of mutant music-boxes and dewy miniatures recalls otherworldly hits from Gareth Williams' Flaming Tunes, Residents, and catchier corners of the Lovely Music catalog. Strange, sure, but this flick is never quite a cartoon. Molle and Riou's vocals dilate into a cast of very human characters. Voices sing borrowed texts like untrained actors (playing themselves, in fact) stepping into the frame once before disappearing forever. And when they're gone, you miss them. But here in the truck, it all comes back again under the cyclic spell of repose in perpetual motion. Turn up the radio and appuyez sur le champignon." --Turner Williams Jr.

"Listening to CD3, I'm reminded of how the Vincent Over The Sink record 22 Coloured Bull Terriers made me feel all those years ago. There's a free ranging quality to it. It feels calmly capable of doing whatever it wants. It feels mysterious and self-generating, almost aloof to the humans who made it. I adored that record; it cascaded into so many epiphanies. I don't want to implicate Cooper and David's music in any fleeting desire towards currency, but listening to this CD3 record over the last few weeks has felt weirdly, thematically correct. There's an echo-ey kind of referentiality to it. Not to particular styles of music, but to the recently elapsed histories those styles of music evoke. It's something that Th Blisks kind of gestures towards, but which this project seems to own entirely. It's a kind of melted reconfiguration of popular (occasionally popular-on-the-fringes) styles. These familiar sounds are reconfigured and muddied. Hindsight frames the sources in an almost primordial light, to the extent that they feel like folk art. 'Glyphted' and 'Franzbranntwein' sound like pop songs stripped to their bones and distorted, as if the styles they vaguely recall are as old as time. It's a stunningly weird effect. Songs like 'The Duchess' and 'Farmhand' exacerbate this impression. The record comes to feel yearningly ahistorical. But in a way that feels pertinent? It might just be where my head is at, but the implacable nature of the record feels important to me, somehow. It's something far, far north of post-modern but ancient too." --Shaun Prescott

Originally released in 2021. The spirit of KPM, DeWolfe & I Marc 4 distilled in a lockup garage in Leeds returns for a second helping. The funky, atmospheric, evocative and sometimes downright weird output of companies such as DeWolfe, Cavendish, Burton and the ubiquitous KPM have always been a guiding inspiration for ATA Records, as evidenced in the spooky soundtrack works of The Sorcerers, the big band brass of The Yorkshire Film & Television Orchestra and even in the soul-jazz of The Lewis Express. It only seemed natural for the team at ATA Records to scratch their own library itch, and so The Library Archive Vol. 1 was born. Recorded over a series of sessions in the Alladins cave of vintage recording equipment that is ATA studios, it featured many of the stalwart musicians from the label. Recorded during the Autumn of 2020, The Library Archive Vol. 2 still has the golden age of European Library music squarely in its sights, but this time the focus is drawn more to the wonky organ work of Italian quartet I Marc 4. Opening track "The Glass Eye" starts things off with a tense bass riff, atmospheric percussion and a haunting organ melody. "Mosey Rambler" brings things into more amiable territory before "Windie Man" soundtracks an early '70s sporting highlights reel or student hash party. "Ice Cool" introduces vocal elements reminiscent of Barbara Moore's ethereal output before "Cleared For Launch" blasts into the upper atmosphere and "Swamp Cat" channels Johnny Hawksworth's theme tune to "Roobarb" to close out the first side. Side B kicks off proceedings with the knockout "Fight Or Fuzz" before settling into the Addam's Familyesque "Mysterious Manor." The frenetic organ and bongos of "Push & Go" could quite easily accompany detectives Regan & Carter as they chase down another east end villain, while "Sensed Presence" brings a sense of otherworldly menace. "The Actuator" gets the wheels moving before LP closer "Going Galactic" takes listeners back to the mothership.

2025 restock; double-LP version. Gatefold sleeve with insert and original liner notes. Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell's music to be released after his death in 1992. Released on CD by Point Music in 1993 it marked the beginning of nearly 30 years of work to let the world hear the enormous archive of unreleased recordings Arthur left behind. Be With Records revisits this first compilation. This is the only place where you can hear some of Arthur's most recognizable music, like the title track "Another Thought", "A Little Lost", "This Is How We Walk On The Moon", "Keeping Up" and the woozy disco of "In The Light Of The Miracle" and "My Tiger, My Timing". Though technically a compilation, the whole of Another Thought comes together as a consistent, coherent, wonderful album. Janette Beckman reproduced her iconic photograph of Arthur in his newspaper boat hat for the sleeve. Tom Lee gave permission to include his liner notes from the original CD booklet, together with Arthur's lyrics. Another Thought is absolutely essential for even the most casual Arthur Russell collection. In fact, it's essential for any fan of non-obvious pop music.

2025 restock; reissue, originally released in 1976. Long before the term Cosmic Americana was of common use there was a band ideally fitting the role. Back in 1976 the long psychedelic wave was rapidly fading away, but the market of private press was still in demand. The self-debut album of Relatively Clean Rivers came out the same year on the leader Phil Pearlman's label. Pacific Is released just this sole album and was to a certain extent an original example of do it yourself. The brainchild of Phil Pearlman, the band was rapidly crossing genres focusing on extended long jam verging on Californian psych and proto-ambient country/folk. The man, a sort of local guru, was previously involved in two other projects: Orange County's own The Beat Of The Earth and The Electronic Hole, so to speak different names for the same group of musicians. While those two early efforts were explicitly devoted to a sort of LSD induced trip, the Relatively Clean Rivers stand on their own, merging styles and -- finally -- proposing an accurate songwriting. The first pressing of this sought-after, underground masterpiece has been traded for thousand dollars, now here's your chance to grab this rural manifesto. With much of the music being acoustic, there are elements of morphing electric guitars, smattered with strange, spacey moments creating a certain stoned atmosphere. The album is imaginative, melancholic, mellow, and exotically webbed. And then there's the band Wilco, citing Relatively Clean Rivers as being inspirational.

"Instrumental album from 1983! The band's fourth LP, finally back on vinyl! Having endured no less than three long-players and a brace of singles featuring the caterwauling of Messrs Hampshire and Childish, the Milkshakes' audience figured it might be time for an instrumental outing. In response the group gave them just that. But this was to be no run-of-the-mill effort -- no Dick Dale-esque surf marathons or Shadowsy twangers are apparent here. These tunes are more 'rhythm-and-mood'-based compositions; occasionally leaning more towards the Link Wray end of the spectrum -- as you would probably expect. This fourth album was recorded in 1983 at Oakwood Studios -- as were all previous releases -- but this was the first in their new facilities in a converted church near Canterbury, which opened up a whole new golden vista of shimmering, silvery sounds in atmospheric conditions. Of course, the Milkshakes were having none of that."

2025 repress; originally released in 1999. LP version. "Jim is doing for himself what he's more than generously done for other so-called musical talents. Everybody wants a little pop in their lives and the O'Rourke is no exception. There is no way to listen to Eureka without hearing the eccentricity, the progressive musical textures, the utter lack of anything like pop music, but at the same time it's magnificent in scale, pleasant to listen to, catchy and even reminiscent of other records you might actually have heard on The Casey Casem Show. If Bad Timing was regarded as a crossroads of O'Rourkian interests, Eureka is a six-lane clover-leaf junction of singer-songwriter traditions, production styles of the 70s, confusion and contradiction as well as the riveting sound of the artist putting all his cards on the table."

Hologram Teen is the solo project (and anagram) of former Stereolab keyboardist Morgane Lhote. Her colorful playful songs are heavily influenced by disco and '80s French pop. Initially from Paris, Morgane relocated to Los Angeles where she concentrated on her solo material. Captain Fluo is a disco-fueled love letter to 1980s Paris and its underground nightlife, record store discoveries and the exhilaration of growing up as a gay teenager in a world of self-discovery. Produced and mixed by Andrew Claristidge (Acid Washed) at Duca Sonora Studios in Brittany, Captain Fluo is a vibrant fusion of propulsive beats, bouncy synths and funky basslines. Morgane's signature keyboards weave through a constellation of guest vocalists including Sandra Zettpunkt, Maxwell Farrington, Eric D Clark, and Alex Aikiu. From the euphoric pulse of "Lust Pill" to the radio crooner nostalgia of "Fréquence Gaie" each track is a portal to the dance floors and late-night airwaves of a bygone era. Drawing inspiration from French pop icons like France Gall, Michel Berger, and Louis Chedid alongside the sleek productions of Italo disco pioneers Kasso and the genre-defining touch of David Bowie, Nile Rogers, Quincy Jones, and Depeche Mode, Captain Fluo is a heartfelt ride through an era when music was liberation.

LP version. Latency present És pregunta, the second album from Catalan vocal duo Tarta Relena. Founded by Helena Ros Redon and Marta Torrella i Martínez, Tarta Relena explores the rich vocal traditions of the Mediterranean, singing in languages such as Classical Greek, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Catalan, Ladino, and more. Their music blends sacred and secular influences, drawing inspiration from flamenco, lyrical song, traditional music, and electronic experimentation. És pregunta dives into themes of tragic contemplation, portraying the tension between natural and human forces grappling with mysterious and inevitable consequences. The album is a conceptual journey through fate, knowledge, and the struggle to reconcile our future selves with present realities. Influenced by Mediterranean folk, Georgian laments, and the mystic works of 12th-century visionary Hildegard von Bingen, Tarta Relena crafts a vibrant sonic world where the past and future converge. Renowned for their captivating live performances, Tarta Relena has enchanted audiences at festivals like Sónar, Le Guess Who, Mutek, Big Ears, and Primavera Sound. Their stage presence is enriched by subtle electronics and rhythmic patterns played on a ceramic amphora, creating a unique texture to their vocal artistry. Collaborations with artists such as Marina Herlop and Maria Arnal i Marcel Bagés have further pushed the duo to explore new dimensions of contemporary folk music. For Tarta Relena, folk is a living tradition -- deeply rooted in the past but always evolving.

Not much is known about De Frank Kakra -- let alone his birth name or where he is today. A few liner notes scattered across his records give a glimpse of his career as a backing vocalist and percussionist on the Ghanaian highlife scene of the 1970s, notably with Vis-A-Vis, K. Frimpong's band (Cubano Fiestas). He later formed his own bands, The Professionals and The Diggit Ways, alongside Sammy Copper, recording throughout West Africa. His recordings have now been unearthed, remastered and compiled in a triple LP anthology of his musical works. Although much remains unknown, RastaPastaRecords' goal is to ascertain several discoveries made about his life during the production of this record and to continue the research. Call Me Frank is a funky take on 1970s highlife set to a vintage Afro -- rock fusion that evokes a time when West African dance floors vibrated with raw energy and relentless groove. "Psychedelic Man" is a full dive into the De Frank Kakra sound. With its hypnotic guitar riffs, cosmic organs and head-nodding drum rhythms, this infectious anthem will plunge you into a state of nostalgic psychedelia. 24-track triple LP in trifold packaging. A powerful mix of hypnotic guitars, cosmic organs and relentless grooves.

2025 restock. Sorcerer Records present the reissue of Why Not Now?... Alan!, the debut LP from 1987 by Milwaukee space-rock gods, F/i. Available for the first time on vinyl since its initial release, it remains a holy grail item for lovers of cosmic rock n' roll sounds from underground Amerika in the 1980s. F/i had been churning out tape upon tape of experimental electronics since the early '80s. Influenced by krautrock (particularly Cluster, Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel) and the harsh noise of industrialists Throbbing Gristle and early SPK, by the mid '80s they morphed into a fully-fledged "rock" band, albeit one incorporating all of the above. This LP is the perfect synthesis of these sounds: grimy, lo-fi "rock" with elements of industrial clang and extended, Hawkwind-ish space-rock jams; from the two-step cosmic churn of "Electric Waltz" to the 'Neubauten-style bang and bash of "Zombie Theme". Remastered by Mikey Young. The sleeve replicates the original. Includes download card; edition of 500.

Emerging from the heart of Japan's underground scene, Schedars is an incredible five-piece band with an explosive sound rooted in the post-punk-no-wave aesthetic. Previously self-released and now reissued on a world-wide scale, this is their first full album. A hyper-active blend of sharp singing, psychotic guitars and organs, snaky saxes, infectious bass lines and nervous drums beats. Fans of bands like D.N.A, The Contortions, Phew or early The Ex will find themselves enthralled by Schedars' uncompromising, high-intensity approach. With this first full-length release now reaching a global audience, Schedars is set to carve out a space in the international post-punk landscape, proving that the underground still has plenty of room for raw, visceral, and boundary-pushing sounds. Get ready to experience Schedars -- where controlled chaos meets razor-sharp musical precision.

Repressed. Wewantsounds presents the release of Al-Qasar's new album, Uncovered, a side-project from the group featuring covers from the Western and Arabic repertoires, as well as new originals composed by the group. The album was recorded in Europe and Africa and features guest appearances by Alsarah, Mamani Keita, Cheick Tidiane Seck, and Sami Galbi. Al-Qasar's new album keeps exploring diverse sounds from around the world. One says there's nothing like the original. But when the psychedelic collective tackles such a Depeche Mode classic as "Personal Jesus," you know you're in for a brain-melting, transcontinental journey. The lyrics are in Turkish, and the song's iconic riffs are played on electric saz. The cast is mouth-watering, with studio wizard Thomas Attar producing, playing guitar and saz and Turkish artist Sibel on vocals. "Promises," the second single, is an Afro-futuristic heavy-psych track sung in Bambara which features Malian singer Mamani Keita (who played with Salif Keita) on vocals and the revered "Black Buddah," Cheick Tidiane Seck (Gorillaz, Black Eyed Peas, Santana) on keyboards and backing vocals. On drums you've got Souleymane Ibrahim (from the Tuareg group Mdou Moctar) who unleashes a powerful beat. The rest of the album is sizzling and features Swiss-Morrocan Rai rising star Sami Galbi, Sudanese singer Alsarah, Tunisian virtuoso oud player Nada Mahmoud and Sufi singer Mariam Hamrouni. Produced by Thomas Attar who also plays guitars and synths, Uncovered has been recorded between Tunis, Lisbon, Bamako and Paris and is enhanced by Matt Hyde's warm and massive mix which will enthrall all the group's fans.

Wewantsounds continues its Algerian music reissue program with the release of Les Abranis' coveted 1983 LP, Album No. 1. Originally recorded in Paris and privately pressed by the group, the album is now being reissued for the first time. Curated by Cheb Gero, who compiled the Sweet Rebels Rai set for Wewantsounds, Album No. 1 is a masterful blend of Kabyle grooves, funk, and hints of reggae. Also known as Id Ed Was, the album is reissued with its original artwork, remastered audio by Colorsound Studio in Paris, and a two-page insert with new liner notes (in French and English) by journalist Rabah Mezouane. The Kabyle group Les Abranis from Algeria has become one of the most sought-after bands on the global beat scene over the years. Founded in France in the late 1960s by two young Algerian Kabyle workers, Shamy El Vaz and Karim Abdenour, Les Abranis rose to prominence in the 1970s with their innovative sound, blending traditional Kabyle music with funk, rock, and psychedelic influences. Their lyrics, often sung in Kabyle, celebrate Amazigh identity and culture, making them a major influence on the North African music scene and beyond. Despite facing opposition from the country's authorities -- who viewed them as a societal threat due to their use of the Kabyle language instead of Arabic -- their popularity continued to grow. Throughout the 1970s, they released several albums, including the highly sought-after Les Abranis 1977, issued on the Paris-based Algerian label Disques Bordj El Phen. In 1983, the group entered Acousti Studio in Paris to record Album No. 1, featuring legendary French drummer André 'Dédé' Ceccarelli -- who played with artists ranging from Serge Gainsbourg to France Gall, as well as on numerous library music sessions with Janko Nilovic, Teddy Lasry, and Jacky Giordano -- alongside Tony Bonfils on bass. Album No. 1 showcases a superb range of sounds, from the reggae-infused cult track "Avehri" to the funk-driven "Achethkhi," and the irresistibly groovy instrumental "Thadoukli." Album No. 1 was originally self-released in 1983 and distributed exclusively within the Kabyle and Algerian communities in France and the Maghreb. Over time, it has become a sought-after LP among fans of Arabic music, as it was never reissued -- until now.

Wewantsounds reissues another Warda classic from the '70s, Wemalo, originally recorded in 1975 by the legendary Arabic Diva who has been sampled by Jay-Z and J Dilla. The album blends traditional Arabic music with 1970s grooves, showcasing Warda's distinct vocal style. She is accompanied by a full-sized orchestra, updating the classy traditional sound with modern instruments (electric guitar, organ). Wemalo was penned by composer Baligh Hamdi. This reissue features newly remastered audio, original cassette artwork and a two-page insert with a new introduction by Mario Choueiry from the Institut du Monde Arabe. Warda is widely regarded as one of the greatest divas of the Arab world with Oum Kalthoum and Fairuz. Born in the suburbs of Paris to an Algerian father and a Lebanese mother, she was discovered at the age of 11 by Ahmed Hachlaf, the head of A&R at Pathé Marconi in Paris specializing in Arabic music. She refined her singing skills at her father's cabaret in the Latin Quarter, Le Tam-Tam, and soon gained recognition in Arabic music circles. While in Lebanon, Warda was spotted by an Egyptian film producer who brought her to Cairo, where she began recording and acting in films. However, in the early 1960s, Warda stepped away from the music scene after marrying and settling in Algeria, dedicating herself to family life for nearly a decade. It wasn't until 1972, when Algerian President Houari Boumediene invited her to sing for the 10th anniversary of the country's independence, that she had an epiphany. She divorced and returned to Egypt, marking the beginning of a remarkable comeback. Wemalo ("So What") was recorded live in 1975, during the peak of her career. Partnering with her new husband, renowned composer Baligh Hamdi, she created a series of albums filled with lengthy, hypnotic compositions that showcased her commanding voice and ability to captivate audiences. Merging traditional Arabic music with modern instrumentation -- including electric guitar and organ (likely played by Hany Mehanna) -- the album unfolds into several mesmerizing sections, highlighting Warda's superb singing. Wemalo is one of her most rhythmically dynamic LPs, and remains highly regarded by collectors and Arabic music enthusiasts.

2025 restock. This is the fourth volume in World Arbiter's Japanese Traditional Music series. The World Arbiter label presents 1941 recordings of the Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai -- masters of the shamisen. An extensive anthology of traditional Japanese music was created sometime around 1941-1942 by the Kokusai Bunka Shinkôkai (KBS), International Organization for the Promotion of Culture. KBS was established under the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1934 for cultural exchange between Japan and foreign countries, representing genres such as gagaku (court music), shômyô (Buddhist chants), nô (Noh medieval theater play), heikyoku (biwa-lute narratives of battles), shakuhachi (bamboo flute music), koto (long zither music), shamisen (three-stringed lute music), sairei bayashi (instrumental music for folk festivals), komori-uta (cradle songs, lullabies), warabe-uta (children songs), and riyou (min'you) (folk songs). Considering that 1941-1942 was a most daunting time for Japan's economy and international relationships with Asian and Western countries, it is remarkable that this excellent anthology of Japanese music was ever completed and published, as it contains judiciously selected pieces from various genres performed by top-level artists at that time. The KBS' recording project is of unique historical importance and culturally valuable as a document of musical practices in traditional Japanese genres during the wartime. Few copies of this collection exist in Japan. This CD restoration is taken from a set originally belonging to Donald Richie, a writer and scholar on Japanese culture (particularly on Japanese cinema), who had given it to Ms. Beate Sirota Gordon, known for her great contribution to the establishment of Japan's Constitution during the period of U.S. occupation after WWII. Gordon's father, Leo Sirota, a piano pupil of Busoni's, fostered many excellent Japanese pianists at the Tokyo Ongaku Gakko (Academy of Music, forerunner of present-day Music Department of Tokyo National University of The Arts) during 1928-1945. Shamisen, a three stringed lute, is said to have been imported from China through Okinawa into mainland Japan (Sakai, Osaka) in the latter half of the 16th century. It began to accompany popular songs and contributed in bringing about a variety of genres of shamisen music in the early 17th century. In the late Edo period (early 19th century), small-scale shamisen vocal genres such as ogie-bushi, hauta, utazawa, and kouta were performed by geisha in ozashiki chambers. This disc includes the shamisen music enjoyed in ozashiki. Jiuta music is mainly performed in houses or ozashiki chamber in the Kansai area and said to be the oldest shamisen music genre, born soon after the instrument's arrival in Japan. Kumiuta (combined pre-existent songs) music is also heard on this disc. Full descriptions are included in a 36-page booklet in English and Japanese.

In the wake of his Stones Throw breakthrough -- Exotic Worlds & Master Treasures -- Stimulator Jones was pegged by many as a '90s throwback artist. However, he literally IS a '90s artist. He's been recording music most of his life and he's now 40. Cool Green Trees (1999-2005) is a collection of beats and loops he created between the ages of 14-20 at home in his basement, bedroom and computer room in Roanoke, Virginia. Everything before 2004 was recorded when he was still in school. He was in eighth grade when he made the 1999 tracks -- he didn't even have his learner's permit. This album is a snapshot of a young man in a simpler time. Things were still mysterious back then and he was flying blind, relying on his ears and having to figure things out for himself. Opener "Pharoah Jones" was inspired by Yesterday's New Quintet and Madlib's ability to capture that classic '70s sound whilst playing all the instruments. The sublime, evocative title track, "Cool Green Trees" was created when Sam was still living at home. He dumped samples off his SU10 into the family desktop and arranged them in a demo version of Pro Tools. "Chill Scratch" snags the final bit of a bossanova record and pairs it with a drum loop before adding experimental scratching run through an Electro Harmonix Memory Man echo pedal. Sam explains just how much these tracks mean to him: "They all have immense historical and sentimental value and I'm proud of them. These beats come from an innocent, simple time when I was just figuring out how to craft these sounds. They're something very personal to me." The cover photo is a picture of Sam standing on his back porch in the latter part of 1998, just before he got his first sampler. 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.

LP version. For their third album on Bongo Joe, Madalitso Band takes a new direction. After two records capturing the raw intensity of their live performances, the Malawian duo ventures for the first time into the possibilities of the studio -- without ever compromising their signature style or energy. Armed with their handmade babatone, a guitar, and their interwoven voices, Yobu and Yosefe craft a sound at the crossroads of banjo music, kwela, gospel, and African folk. An acoustic trance that's both minimal and vibrant, deeply rooted in tradition yet undeniably fresh and contemporary. On Ma Gitala, they add new textures: layered vocals, playful percussion, melodic surprises, and guests from their close and family circles. Always guided by instinct, the band reveals a more intimate and narrative side of their universe -- full of memories, spontaneity, and close-knit complicity. An album that captures the joy and creativity of two artists who turned the street into a stage, and the stage into a playground.

People Like Us, the project of artist Vicki Bennet, returns to Discrepant with a special vinyl release of Copia. This album marks the first new musical material since The Mirror in 2018, delving into the profound realms of existential collage and sampling, celebrating these forms as expressions of timeless connectivity. The title Copia, meaning "abundance" and "copy," reflects the essence of collage and sampling -- art created not in isolation, but as a connective thread through time and space, linking ideas across generations in a seamless tapestry. By reconfiguring preexisting sounds and images, Bennet highlights the non-dual nature of creation -- where distinctions between past, present, and future possibilities blur, revealing a shared foundation beneath. The album marks a return to not just solo works but collaborations with notable artists. Drawing from the new People Like Us live AV performance, "The Library of Babel," sampling and edited sound collage, electronic music, combined with Ergo Phizmiz's lyrics and melodies, Copia weaves and recombines a timeless blend of diverse elements that transcends traditional musical boundaries. This creative process unfolded through the exchange of multitracks across both water and ether. Collaborating with the voices, instruments and editing timelines of Matmos, Hearty White, Gwilly Edmondez, Lotte Bowater, Buttress O'Kneel, Douglas Benford, Irene Moon, Jon Leidecker, and Matt Warwick, the work evolved exquisite corpse-style.

"In 1987, Rafael Toral began making his own compositions and solo recordings using electric guitar in an enhanced signal path. In the time since then, he has developed his conceptions, first as a guitar improviser, then in what he called his 'Space Program,' utilizing self-made electronic modules. 2024's Spectral Evolution was a much-acclaimed return to guitar voicings and improvisations, edified by his further explorations in electronic sound. In the wake of his extraordinary new music comes a new set of CD masters for Rafael's first two albums, Sound Mind Sound Body and Wave Field. Nearly 40 years later, these recordings sound remarkably prescient and perfectly timeless -- fresher today than when they were first released! Sound Mind Sound Body was inspired in part by the working principles of Fripp and Eno, extrapolated by Rafael via a unique signal path leading out of his guitar. He paid notice to the massive impact of discreet gestures, creating slow-moving tones and spacious orchestral resonances, drifting and droning with glacial majesty, hardly recognizable as guitar much of the time. The first pieces were recorded in 1987; in 1994, a collection was released on Portugal's AnAnAnA, producing an hour's worth of remarkable sonic equilibrium in this mode. With each subsequent reissue, however, aspects of this sound have been subtly revisited. For the 1998 Moikai CD, 'AE 1,' one of the earliest pieces conceived, was newly recorded; for the 2018 Drag City LP master, 'Textura e Linhas Curvas' was included, 'AER 7 E' was re-recorded and the material for 'AE 2' was recorded for the first time ever. These performances were executed using the same processes as the original ones. For the current CD, 'Loopability II' has been recalled from the AnAnAnA master, 'Textura e Linhas Curvas' omitted and yet another brand-new version of 'AER 7E' inserted in place of the 2018 version. Incredibly, all of these changes augment Sound Mind Sound Body's expansive intent without altering its essential otherworldly atmosphere. Wave Field and Sound Mind Sound Body to sit perfectly among the forward-reaching music of today -- as it continues to evolve in listeners' ears, moving ever towards the next conception of listening space."