Double LP version. We Release Jazz presents the release of Casimir Liberski ReTRio's The Z Suites, a full-length jazz album reinterpreting the music from iconic Nintendo video game series The Legend of Zelda. The epic Z-Jazz journey is available as limited edition 180g half speed mastered vinyl double LP housed in a heavyweight sleeve with obi and digipack CD (WRJ 015CD) with cavalier/obi. Casimir Liberski reimagines the golden era of video game soundtracks with jazz versions of Zelda favorites The Legend of Zelda (1986), A Link to the Past (1991), Link's Awakening (1993), and Oscarina of Time (1998) -- plus a few Easter eggs! Dancing between nostalgia and avant-garde, the Brussels-born pianist and composer crafts a sonic world of pixelated folklore where melody and improvisation coexist in harmony.

Going belly up, guess it's always a possibility. Following the release of their latest acclaimed record You Never End (Pitchfork, The Quietus, RA) Moin follow up with their latest EP, Belly Up.

"On The Cover: The co-founder of traillblazing Tokyo trio Yellow Magic Orchestra has maintained a decades long solo career that incorporates heterogenous pop fusion, funk, folk, calypso, ambient electronics and more. Last year LA's Stone's Throw records celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his debut solo release Hosono House with a compilation of covers and re-interpretations by contemporary artists introducing Hosono to a new generation of musical seekers. By James Hadfield. Features: Christer Bothén -- A former player in Don Cherry's Organic Music Society, Christer Bothén's new quintet Cosmic Ear have just released the album TRACES -- an album themed around the proverbial 'traces' of Cherry's legacy -- via Helsinki's We Jazz label. By Clive Bell; Crystabel Efemena Riley -- The improvising percussionist, formerly of glam-noise trio Maria & The Mirrors and currently of X-Ray Hex Tet has just released her debut solo album Live At Ormside via London's Infant Tree. By Abi Bliss; Blackhaine -- In July, the Preston-born rapper and choreographer will present a newly commissioned audio-visual dance performance, And Now I Know What Love Is, for this year's Manchester International Festival. By Hugh Morris; Invisible Jukebox: DJ Scotch Egg -- The producer and musician also known as Shigeru Ishihara enters The Wire's mystery listening booth. Tested by Daniel Neofetou."

LP version. Blue color vinyl. "Metallic Life Review is the sound of two people who have collected field recordings of metal objects from around the world for years of their lives together, collaging their magpie hoard into rhythmic patterns, sometimes writing melodies and basslines, but sometimes just letting sound be sound. Patient gathering yields to ADHD editing. Painstakingly made but blink and you'll miss it. Is it music or is it noise? It is without a doubt exceptionally beautiful music wrought from metal detritus. By employing the strong contrast between a harsh industrial clatter-fest and a sweeter melodic dimension that acts as a deliberate counterforce, Matmos created an album that is utterly delightful. A 'life review' is a phrase used to describe the psychological phenomena reported by people who have survived near death experiences: the sense captured in the phrase 'my life flashed before my eyes.' Metallic Life Review is a kind of compressed fast-forward of Matmos' career with a sonic parade of the metallic objects from their lives. The sounds on the album were captured over the entire length of the existence of Matmos as a band. Metallic Life Review features Susan Alcorn's pedal steel, Owen Gardner's glockenspiel, Thor Harris' drumming, Jason Willett's (Half Japanese) guitar, and Jeff Carey's aluminum cans, which were melted, molded into custom aluminum rods, and then bowed and struck. The most dramatic difference from any previous Matmos album is that side two was recorded 'live in the studio,' ala Throbbing Gristle's Heathen Earth. For the first time on recording, Matmos capture the evolving, shifting, slithering dynamic that happens when they play live and let patterns emerge out of chaos and then collapse and then re-form. Their playful blend of compositional brilliance and improvisational playfulness meld perfectly, truly capturing ecstatic moments in a way that can only happen live. Metallic Life Review is a love story transmuted into sound, the result of a life filled with curiosity and powered by boundless exploration. Matmos have again made something spellbinding, brilliant and emotionally resonant.

"The two men of Matmos are living rebukes to the idea that conceptual art is somehow scary and inaccessible. When they decide to make a track out of the sounds of a breast implant or a cow uterus, they're challenging themselves not just to use those noises, but to make them sound funky and fun." --Pitchfork

"Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt have been making music together for so long, and that their music has been so consistently good for so long really is remarkable." --The Quietus, album of the week

Lavender color vinyl version. 'Sally Anne Morgan is an artist and naturalist in the purest senses. Raised on old time and Appalachian folk traditions, Morgan's artistry embodies the rich life of the communities and natural world she surrounds herself with. Based in Alexander, NC on the edge of Appalachia and the Pisgah National Forest, Sally's blend of traditional technique and distinctly modern compositional approach are infused with the sounds of her garden, surrounding pastures, forests and mountains. 'I wanted to capture the feeling of walking outside and just encountering organic nature sounds, some with patterns, some with a randomness that also verges on its own kind of pattern,' notes Morgan. 'Old time fiddle music is the seed that grew into the part of my brain that makes music, and everything I do somehow seems to come back to that' she concludes. Abstraction in pursuit of free exploration of that which can't be put into words balancing with an intentional structure of song lies at the album's core. Guest synthesis Sean Dunlap (Field Patterns) and hurdy-gurdy player Brian 'Geologist' Weitz (Animal Collective) embellish pieces with droning thrums and sonic moss. The fiddles dance gracefully across the bedrock of banjo loops on 'Flowers of Sandihar.' The lush 'I Saw a Heron' speckles modal piano figures over a violin that sounds out from below, as if played at the bottom of a gorge. Slow guitar arpeggios on 'Eye is the First' are met with hiccupping banjo and otherworldly synth tones. Long time collaborator/mixer Joseph Dejarnette's bass gently underpins Morgan's reimagining of folk tune 'Callahan' into a more dramatic arc. Second Circle The Horizon is an album built on Morgan's singular artistic voice as an improviser and composer intertwined with deft intuition. Morgan's music highlights her bond with nature, and how its beauty and the beauty of artistic creation are interwoven. The album celebrates creation, revels in discovery, and marvels at the complex patterns, intersectional cycles and simple beauty of a creative life intertwined with the natural world."

"The fiddler, banjo player, guitarist and singer Sally Anne Morgan is a member of Black Twig Pickers and, like that band, her music is steeped in the traditions of folk music. 'Awake,' with its drifting tremolo guitar and dextrous fingerpicking, is a call to wake up to the world around you." --NPR Music

"Sally Anne Morgan's music sounds as though it has crept out of the backwoods of her native North Carolina, her voice, banjo and fiddle thrumming with the wet heaviness of that region's stormy summers." --The Guardian, Folk Album of the Month

Originally released in 2000, Mark de Clive-Lowe's Six Degrees captures the early essence of what would later be known as broken beat, club-jazz and future soul; bridging the sounds of '70s jazz-fusion, jungle, hip-hop, house and Afro-Cuban rhythms. With Fender Rhodes, synths and an MPC2000 at the core of his production, de Clive-Lowe blended live musicianship with beat-driven sensibilities in a way that was ahead of its time. Originally released in New Zealand via Kog Transmissions, the album found its way onto the global stage when Universal Jazz UK picked it up. Now, 25 years later, Be With presents a special anniversary vinyl reissue, celebrating a landmark album that laid the foundation for an international career spanning continents, collaborations, and countless musical evolutions. Limited to just 400 copies for the world. In 1998, a 23-year-old Mark de Clive-Lowe set off on a year-long journey that would shape his career and musical identity. Fueled by an insatiable curiosity and a grant from New Zealand supporting emerging artists, he traveled across the globe -- digging through record stores in San Francisco, immersing himself in the rhythms of Havana, collaborating in London's underground studios and experiencing the jazz legacy of New York. Along the way, he crossed paths with pioneers, mentors and kindred spirits who would deeply influence his sound. Six Degrees is the sonic diary of that transformative year -- a musical world tour distilled into one groundbreaking album. It's both a snapshot of a pivotal moment in de Clive-Lowe's life and a timeless statement of creative exploration. Speaking to Be With, de Clive Lowe explained just how much celebrating the 25-year anniversary of this album means to him: "Since then, I've released so much more music, but Six Degrees still resonates -- it captures a really special moment in my life. A turning point, a fork in the road that ultimately changed everything." Mastering for this 25-year 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. The original artwork has been lovingly brought back to life by de Clive-Lowe himself, with updated liner notes written specially for this landmark reissue.

2025 repress; LP version. First vinyl edition; 180 gram vinyl; printed inner-sleeve; Includes CD. Because Music present a reissue of JJ Cale's Guitar Man, originally released in 1996. Guitar Man is the 12th studio album by JJ Cale. Personnel: JJ Cale - vocals, guitar; Christine Lakeland - guitar, vocals on "Death In The Wilderness"; James Cruce - drums on "Death In The Wilderness".

"25 years after his first album, Naturally (1971), JJ Cale created Guitar Man, an album made up of hypnotic grooves forged out of elegantly simple components. The album is largely a solo affair, with only scattered additional accompaniment, such as on the incredible opening tune, 'Death in the Wilderness.' Otherwise, Cale plays every instrument, adding particularly strong guitar work to the mix." --All Music

2025 repress. Ten-year Anniversary LP Edition. Out of print for nearly a decade, Cold Spring Records are proud to announce the much-demanded new vinyl edition of this legendary collaboration. Recoiled is a rambunctious alchemy, of magical COIL sensibilities and hi-tech home circa '90s mixing technique, all fused in the cave-like early studios of Danny Hyde/Peter Christopherson. These were the unrestrained studio mix downs of four songs which long time Coil admirer/collaborator Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) requested Coil to remix. Reznor sent over the original multi-tracks and DATs to Hyde/Christopherson, who independently mixed versions and then met to synch both creations, molding them into these master versions. Recoiled includes a fuller, more opulent version of the track "Closer," which eventually made it onto the opening credits to the movie SE7EN. These five lengthy compositions are pre-Ableton/laptop generation type priest song creations, with the use of baby alarms and numerous wires to create bespoke effects. These legendary tracks were always rumored to exist and, only the due diligence of a dedicated NIN forum who hunted them down, are released/unleashed for your listening pleasure. Four of the tracks were released on the download-only Uncoiled. A bonus, previously unheard track from the same sessions closes the album. Jhonn Balance is also manifest on this gilded constellation. Beautifully remastered.

Reprinted. Hardcover. 12.6" L x 9.8" W (2.75 lbs). 192 pages. "Edited with text by Erin Christovale. Foreword by Ann Philbin. Text by Franya J. Berkman. Interviews by Ashley Kahn, Erin Christovale. Rashid Johnson, Cauleen Smith and others pay tribute to a truly extraordinary figure in 20th-century American jazz. This volume unpacks the cultural legacy of musician, spiritual leader, wife and mother Alice Coltrane. Accompanying the eponymous exhibition at Los Angeles' Hammer Museum, the book takes its title from Coltrane's 1977 autobiography and devotional text, Monument Eternal, in which she reflected on her newfound spiritual beliefs and the path to healing and self-discovery. Coltrane was 'ahead of her time,' as her son, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, says: she was 'one of the first people to move outside the mainstream, and certainly one of the first female, Black, American jazz musicians to record her own music in her own studio, and to release music on her own terms.' Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal explores themes including spiritual transcendence, sonic innovation and architectural intimacy. The project juxtaposes works from 19 contemporary American artists with pieces of ephemera from Coltrane's archive -- including handwritten sheet music, unreleased audio recordings and rarely seen footage -- to honor her cultural output and practice. Alice Coltrane was born in Detroit in 1937 and took up music at an early age, beginning piano lessons at seven years old. In 1967 her husband, saxophonist John Coltrane, gifted her a harp, on which she went on to record seminal albums including Journey in Satchidananda and A Monastic Trio, making her one of the very few harpists in the history of jazz. Coltrane moved to Southern California in 1972 and founded the Sai Anantam ashram. She lived and worked in Los Angeles, where she died in 2007 at age 69. This book was published in conjunction with Hammer Museum."

"The visionary 1983 album by Anthony Hobson, is a bold exploration of enterprising drama themes. Featuring hypnotic synth layers, commanding brass motifs, and the pulsating rhythms of electric bass and drum machine, each track resonates with confidence and ambition. Hobson's masterful compositions from this album were regular features on sports highlight reels throughout the '80s and '90s, including 'Polestar 1' on NFL Films. From touchdowns and slam dunks to space age captains of industry, Millennium captivates listeners with its dynamic compositions, offering a compelling musical journey through the aspirations and achievements of the burgeoning digital age of the early 1980s."

2025 restock. "A vinyl re-release of the debut-album by legendary krautrock avant garde band Agitation Free, starring Lutz 'Lüül' Graf-Ulbrich on guitar, who late became part of Ash Ra with Manuel Göttsching."

"When the band Agitation Free came together in 1967 as a result of the merging of two Berlin rock groups, one of the most interesting groups in a dawning independent German music scene was created. With their improvisations between rock, jazz and new music, Agitation Free -- soon relegated to the not so flattering category of 'Krautrock' -- made musical forays into areas that few of their fellow German musicians had ever penetrated. At a time when most in Germany were still orienting themselves as closely as possible to Anglo-American musical formats, Agitation Free found a completely new and very original form of musical expression. Starting with their debut album Malesch, Agitation Free delivered a fascinating sound, influenced not least by the manifold impressions from a Near East tour. The band moved toward a form of meta-music, a weaving of exotic-sounding compositions. The album has been justly regarded as a milestone in the genre, especially abroad. Looking back, it's evident that the Agitation Free was one of the most important bands of the experimental circle known as the 'Berlin School', and a career springboard for a whole slew of musicians. At the same time, this policy of changing personnel also meant risking that the band couldn't keep itself together over the long run. Agitation Free consciously took this risk in order to remain as close as possible to their own concept -- free from commercial pressure or concessions to the latest trends and modes."

2025 repress; LP version. Includes "Todo en La Vida", the track featured in the Netflix Narcos series, "an ode to patience propelled by a yearning riff that wouldn't have been out of place in a Gainsbourg perv-jam").
The recordings that the sisters Elia and Elizabeth Fleta made, hand-in-hand with music arranger Jimmy Salcedo in the early '70s in their native Colombia, remained hidden like lost pearls in the undervalued musical pop history of Latin America until today. Their concise and natural mix of styles sways between soft-pop with a touch of tropical-pastoral funk, singer-songwriter sweetened by the subtle perfume of Caribbean music and the psychedelia of a world in the midst of discovering all the possibilities offered by the recording studio. These elements blend graciously and fortuitously, brimming with freshness, in a perfect partnership of sharp melodies with lyrics inspired by a genuine juvenile curiosity about life's mysteries, love and nature in its simplest forms. Elia and Elizabeth Fleta Mallol were born in Bogotá by chance. Their parents were both from Spain but met and got married in Barranquila, and soon after moved to Bogotá. Their father, Miguel Fleta, was the son of the renowned tenor of the same name. Given the family's musical history, the sisters were fully supported and motivated by their parents, who bought them acoustic guitars and encouraged them to take lessons. Mr. Fleta's work would take them to Cali, back to Barranquilla, Lima, and finally Madrid and Barcelona in 1971. In Spain, Elia y Elizabeth were invited to a televised homage for their famous grandfather and were heard by composer and musical arranger Juan Carlos Calderon, who had previously worked with their aunts, the popular duo of sisters Elia and Paloma Fleta. Immediately, he invited them to record under his direction two songs in the studio of the Zafiro label from Barcelona. The chosen songs were "Cae la lluvia" and "Fue una lagrima," two of Elia's compositions. Both songs were released on a 45rpm single, although it lacked any kind of promotion given that, yet again, the Fleta family was about to move back to Colombia. Back in Barranquilla, after performing at a charity event with their friends from the Bakarett Blues Band, the sisters were heard by Graciela Arango de Tobon, a wealthy lady and composer who recommended them to Alvaro Arango. The latter was the musical director of Codiscos, subsidiary of Zeida, a label with headquarters in Medellín which was looking for a female duo with the characteristics of the Fleta sisters. After hearing them sing over the phone, Mr. Alvaro traveled to Barranquilla the next day, where he formalized his intention to record the duo. Soon after, Elia and Elizabeth were in the studios of Codiscos in Medellín. Humberto Moreno, head producer, entrusted the musical arrangements and direction to the pianist Jimmy Salcedo, a Mompox native. A talented and charismatic musician from the bohemian and jazz scene in Bogotá, Salcedo was a former member of The Be-Bops who had become a TV interviewer and started his own band, La Onda Tres. The support of Jimmy Salcedo and his band contributed to the Fleta duo becoming regulars in the local media. During their meteoric career, the sisters were the winners of the Coco Festival in Barranquilla, the recipients of the Principe de Oro -- an award given by the eponymous radio station -- and were nominated for the Onda Award as the best new band of 1972. A second LP appeared the following year and the TV shows continued weekly, leaving Elia less and less time to devote to her studies, which she was most interested in. She decided to talk to her family and explain to them her desire to stop her television performances and instead completely devote herself to her university education in music pedagogy. Elizabeth, meanwhile, understood and accepted her sister's decision and also quit the world of entertainment. Includes a booklet with liner notes by compiler Carlos Icaza and photos from Elia Fleta's personal archive.

2025 repress. We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records present the first ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's critically acclaimed and all around legendary science fiction anime film Ghost In The Shell (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow's groundbreaking manga series of the same name. The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan's most celebrated soundtrack composers alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong films Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai's compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme "Making Of Cyborg", Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a timeless and unparalleled soundtrack that admirably echoes the film's musings on the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world. Ghost In The Shell is widely considered one of the best anime films of all time and its influence has been felt in the work of numerous movie directors, including James Cameron's Avatar (2009), the Wachowskis's The Matrix (1999), and Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001). For fans of anime, manga, movie soundtracks, science fiction, ambient, folklore, Japan, Akira (1988), artificial intelligence, Midori Takada. Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon).

2025 limited restock. "Smile (sometimes stylized as SMiLE) is the unfinished album by the Beach Boys intended to follow their 1966 album Pet Sounds. the project came to be regarded as the most legendary unreleased album in popular music history. The album was produced and almost entirely composed by Brian Wilson with Van Dyke Parks, both of whom conceived the project as a 'teenage symphony to God' It was a concept album that was planned to feature word paintings, tape manipulation, experiments with musical acoustics, themes of youth and innocence, and comedic interludes, with influences drawn from mysticism, pre-rock and roll pop, doo-wop, jazz, ragtime, musique concrète, classical, American history, poetry, spirituality, and cartoons. A mythology grew around the project, and its unfulfilled potential inspired many, especially those in indie rock, post-punk, electronic, and chamber pop genres."

2025 repress. ReR Vinyl present a reissue of Henry Cow's Western Culture, originally released in 1978. The last Henry Cow record made after the group had officially disbanded. "I'm biased of course but I believe this was a milestone recording, and perhaps the closest we came to getting the music to sound the way we wanted on disc." --Chris Cutler Guest appearances by Irene Schweitzer and Anne-Marie Roeloffs

When you're running a label, a demo occasionally comes across your desk that makes you reconsider everything you thought your label was all about. For Balmat, such was the case with this stunning album from Stephen Vitiello, Brendan Canty, and Hahn Rowe. It sounds like nothing Balmat has released so far. Fans of ambient, experimental electronic music, and sound art will be familiar with Vitiello, a New York native, long based in Virginia, who has collaborated with a cross-generational list of greats: Taylor Deupree, Steve Roden, Lawrence English, Tetsu Inoue, Nam June Paik, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Pauline Oliveros, and many more. This album is something different. It may begin in ambient-adjacent territory, but it quickly veers off, and it just keeps zigzagging, taking on elements of krautrock, post-punk, dub, and the groove-heavy interplay of groups like Natural Information Society and 75 Dollar Bill. This stylistic turn is thanks in large part to Vitiello's choice of collaborators. Active since the early 1980s, Rowe -- a violinist, guitarist, and producer/engineer -- has played with, or manned the boards for, a frankly jaw-dropping list of musicians: Herbie Hancock, Gil Scott-Heron, the Last Poets, Roy Ayers, John Zorn, Glenn Branca, Swans, Live Skull, Brian Eno, David Byrne, Anohni, R.E.M., Yoko Ono, and many more. Canty, of course, is the legendary drummer of Fugazi, the visionary DC post-hardcore group, as well as Rites of Spring before them, and, currently, the Messthetics, a Dischord-signed instrumental trio with guitarist Anthony Pirog and Fugazi bassist Joe Lally. Second took shape in phases, shifting between improvisation and collage. Vitiello laid down the skeleton of the music at home, sketching out initial ideas on Rhodes keyboard and acoustic and electric guitar; he then fed the parts through samplers and his modular system, recording 10- or 20-minute jams. Once he had edited them into more structured forms, he hit the studio with Canty, who added not just drums but also bass and piano; finally, Vitiello took the results of those sessions to Rowe, who played violin, viola, electric bass, and 12-string acoustic and bowed electric guitar, and assisted in some of the final structuring and mixdown. A few more surprises along the way: Reanimator's Don Godwin, the studio engineer where Vitiello recorded with Canty, contributed what he calls "resonant dustpan;" and none other than Animal Collective's Geologist, who just happened to be in the studio that day, sits in on hurdy gurdy. An unexpected gift is a great way of describing Second as a whole: three veteran musicians venturing outside their usual zones and finding a new collaborative language together.

2025 restock. "Proto-punk and garage Zamrock: the celebrated guitarist Paul Ngozi's essential debut album. Featuring Chrissy Zebby Tembo. Guitarist/vocalist Paul Ngozi's debut album ? under the name Ngozi Family - is an important record: not just in the Zamrock genre, but in the global rock canon. Day of Judgement is an introduction to the most intense, raw and inimitable golden era Zamrock recorded, as it paved the way for a dozen Paul Ngozi and Ngozi Family releases (the most famous being drummer Chrissy Zebby Tembo's My Ancestors) that straddled the line between funk and punk, of driving hard rock and Zambian folk melodies and rhythms. Day of Judgement was released in 1976, the same year as other, now famous, Zamrock albums, from WITCH's Lazy Bones!! to Rikki Ililonga's Zambia. But it sounds like none of its counterparts. Part of that stems from its frenzied primitivism, the Ngozi Family's attempt to overcome a lack of musical acumen with sheer force of will. That will allowed Paul Ngozi to overcome a humble upbringing to become the most unlikely combination: Zamrock's most beloved star in its brief but now-well chronicled arc; the only musician to maintain his fame and recording prowess in the dark ages of the '80s; an inspiration to not only aging but young Zambians -- and now others, beyond Zambia's borders. But one cannot imagine Paul Ngozi without this album, a full-on aural assault that sounds as wild nearly forty years after its release as it must have sounded in the developing Zamrock landscape from which it emerged. We listen to this anachronistic yet prescient album now as a wholly original, completely unpredictable album in line with those from mavericks from across the world - from the Ramones to the Sex Pistols to Death. And, though it's been over two decades since Paul Ngozi's passing, his voice and vision still seem exciting, powerful, unique, unvarnished, new."

We Jazz Magazine, Issue 14 (spring 2025). Cosmos for Sun Ra. 128 pages, 170 x 240 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers. All articles presented in English. Includes a collection of Sun Ra pieces by Francis Gooding, Mats Gustafsson, Rui Miguel Abreu, Stewart Smith, and Joshua Lane, rare Sun Ra Arkestra photos by Guy Stevens, Larry Stabbins by Dave Waller, Angélique Kidjo by Rob Garratt, Heli Hartikainen by Wif Stenger, Alan Wilkinson by Daniel Spicer, Black Artists Group by David Mittleman, Mike Stern by Rob Garratt, album reviews, book reviews, live reviews, photo essay and more."

Ouzo Bazooka enchant on Kapaim, drawing listeners through a maze of hypnotic, head-snapping grooves, cosmic string bending, and swirling guitar explorations. As trailblazers of the new Middle Eastern psychedelia movement, the band fuse traditional folk sounds with gritty soul, funk, and rock. Their latest release is a testament to their boundary-pushing spirit, offering a soundscape that is both otherworldly and deeply rooted. Across five albums and a decade, Ouzo Bazooka has achieved international recognition for their music and performances, from the UK all the way to Japan, including The Great Escape, Fuji Rock, and Sziget Festivals. Core member and multi-instrumentalist Uri Brauner Kinrot -- musician, composer, and producer -- has been active in the international music scene for over two decades. He has played in acclaimed and diverse groups such as Balkan Beat Box, Firewater, Shotnez, and Boom Pam, who also collaborated with Anatolian rock legend Selda Bağcan, and recorded frequently with Kutiman. Launched as a solo project, Ouzo Bazooka quickly morphed into a full-fledged group. However, Kapaim (Hebrew for "palms") sees Kinrot refining the Ouzo Bazooka sound back into a largely solo endeavor. With more space to experiment, the mostly instrumental album is beautifully arranged and given room to breathe. The bass grooves, wonky synth motifs, head-nodding percussion, and soaring guitar solos create a hypnotic and uplifting experience. The title track, "Kapaim," urges listeners to clap along to a groove as solid as steel, fusing the legendary New Orleans instrumental funk of The Meters with snake-charming synths and cosmic Anatolian guitar licks. An otherworldly intro gives way to a tight bass-and-funk groove reminiscent of Bob James' heavily sampled "Nautilus" on "Seed," before Kinrot makes a rare vocal appearance, imagining himself as a seed at the center of the universe. Having played a key role in the global instrumental movement, Kinrot stands among peers such as JJ Whitefield, Shawn Lee, and Kutiman. The album recalls the cinematic depth of David Axelrod but with a distinctive Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean touch. Fans of Glass Beams, Derya Yıldırım, LA LOM, and hip-hop producer Oh No's sample-heavy tour of Turkish, Lebanese and Greek psych, Dr. No's Oxperiment, will find much to love. A testament to Kinrot's incredible talent, Kapaim carries a deep emotional resonance. It is Ouzo Bazooka's most personal and addictive album to date, radiating joy, creativity, and a spirit of boundless freedom.

Marcos Valle is one of the few artists you cannot miss if you have the slightest interest in Brazilian music. Whether your taste is focused on bossa jazz, samba, psych folk or soul, Valle has surely recorded a great album for you. Garra was originally released in 1971 and brought listeners Valle's classics such as "Com Mais De 30," "O Cafona," "Vinte E Seis Anos De Vida Normal," and the rare groove classic "Wanda Vidal." Remastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl, this release is part of Vampisoul's new reissue series that comprises many other outstanding Brazilian classics by the likes of Evinha, Cassiano, Gerson King Combo, Hyldon, and more. By the dawn of the 1970s, the multi-talented Valle was entering a new era, ready to test the government censors (Brazil was under strict military rule since a coup d'état in 1964) and express a socially aware stance and a playful hodge-podge of musical styles including samba, bossa nova, baião (a rhythmic beat from the rural northeast of Brazil), black American music, and rock. Garra maintains the same socially conscious content as in his previous album while also combining diverse musical styles and influences.

Marcos Valle is one of the few artists you cannot miss if you have the slightest interest in Brazilian music. Whether your taste is focused on bossa jazz, samba, psych folk or soul, Valle has surely recorded a great album for you. His much sought-after and stunning self-titled album from 1970 includes "Ele E Ela," as sampled on Jay-Z's "Thank You," as well as some of his most popular songs like "Freio Aerodinamico" and "Os Grilos," swinging between sophistication and groove. Remastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl, this release is part of Vampisoul's new reissue series that comprises many other outstanding Brazilian classics by the likes of Evinha, Cassiano, Gerson King Combo, Hyldon, and more. By the dawn of the 1970s, the multi-talented Valle was entering a new era, ready to test the government censors (Brazil was under strict military rule since a coup d'état in 1964) and express a socially aware stance and a playful hodge-podge of musical styles including samba, bossa nova, baião (a rhythmic beat from the rural northeast of Brazil), black American music, and rock. Marcos Valle was originally released in 1970 and features a dynamic musical backing from some of Brazil's most gifted players.

LP version. Corbett vs. Dempsey presents this joint release with Thanatosis Records (Stockholm), the second record by the quartet Das B. The lineup features Maya Magdas on piano, Mazen Kerbaj on trumpet, Mike Majowski on bass, and Tony Buck on drums. Taking structural and dynamic cues from the classic John Coltrane record A Love Supreme, Das B totally reinvents the music, and in the process meticulously subverts the notion of the tribute or songbook. Available on both CD and LP, in strictly limited editions.

LP version. Composed, performed and produced by Cosey Fanni Tutti, this nine-track album moves between propulsive beat constructions and expansive electronic explorations, continuing themes from 2019's acclaimed album TUTTI. It is a personal reflection; a sonic realization of her life, drawing on her powerful inner resolve and expressing it through music. The album finds Cosey making sense of some very tough years, dealing with personal bereavements alongside swinging world events. Centering on her own strength and self will, the album's two distinct parts -- one rhythmic, one more meditative -- are connected by an overwhelmingly positive mood. Even in the more melancholic moments, there's a lightness that she explains is an "acknowledgement that it's alright to be sad, that's part of life, but there is so much joy too in our memories of people we lose and in the moments we share with each other. Joy is our resistance." There are also threads from her most recent projects running through 2t2. Cosey's process and the different strands that make up her work form a totality of vision. She goes on to say, "Once you get creating and listening, weaving, collaging sound it's a wonderfully fulfilling feeling that takes you both out of yourself at the same time as essentially deep within." The artwork reflects this idea that the album is a "sound cameo," reflecting the light within the music, and the buzz of life that exists within all of Cosey's work. Musician, artist and author Cosey Fanni Tutti has continually challenged boundaries and conventions through her work. As a founding member of the hugely influential avant-garde band Throbbing Gristle, one half of electronic pioneers Chris and Cosey, and as an artist channeling her experience in pornographic modelling and striptease, her work on the margins has reshaped the mainstream.

Gusano mecánico has become a coveted collector's item, highly valued by music lovers worldwide. It has been included in 5001 Record Collector Dreams by Hans Pokora, receiving the highest rarity rating and hailed as a musical masterpiece. It was released in 1974 by the legendary Bolivian rock band Climax and was a big leap from their early recordings, where they paid tribute to their musical heroes. It became a landmark of prog rock in Bolivia and one of the few conceptual albums produced in the country. Gusano mecánico explores themes such as the loss of personal essence and the vindication of indigenous peoples. Founded in 1968 from the remnants of the disbanded Los Black Byrds and the unrealized project The Turtles, Climax was formed by guitarist José "Pepe" Eguino and bassist Javier Saldías, who developed a strong bond with drummer Álvaro Córdova, cemented by their shared passion for rock. Together, they embarked on a journey of self-discovery, spending several months in the United States during a crucial period straddling the end of the Summer of Love and the lead-up to Woodstock. This period, perhaps the most significant of the 1960s countercultural movement, saw an explosion of artistic expression driven by dissatisfaction with the society that the youth had inherited from their parents. Within this context, the influence of iconic bands such as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Blue Cheer, and Emerson played a pivotal role in their decision to return to Bolivia and form the country's first 'power trio'. They quite literally brought psychedelic and prog rock to Bolivia by carrying new, experimental vinyl records in their luggage, at a time when rock music (and music in general) had very limited exposure due to the scarcity of media resources. Their musical project reflected their influences and laid down the first traces of what would later be called heavy rock, a genre that never achieved widespread popularity in Bolivia. Climax embarked on a prog rock journey, exploring themes such as the loss of personal essence and the vindication of indigenous peoples. Their rebellious discourse opposed the mechanization of humankind brought about by past decades of industrial exploitation in which they resist being absorbed by the system. It became a landmark of prog rock in Bolivia and one of the few conceptual albums produced in the country.

"Definitive reissue of a Zamrock masterpiece, ranging from hard psych to wistful folk. Contains bonus track 'Sunday Morning Sunshine,' never before on LP. Zamrock was a bona-fide rock scene: on the African continent, only Nigeria can claim one so comprehensive, and Nigeria's was largely catalyzed and funded by subsidiaries of the European major labels. Zamrock was as independent as its newly-named country, formerly known as Northern Rhodesia. Zamrock is startling in its completeness, especially for a scene that emerged, unfurled, and disappeared so quickly. From Musi-O-Tunya's fusion of Fela's Afro-beat, Hendrix's rock, South African jazz and traditional Zambian melodies and rhythms to Salty Dog's acid folk/rock, Zambia's rock scene contained all of rock's subgenres. Zamrock was much more than an imitation of American and European rock music: it quickly became a uniquely Zambian movement, befitting of its name. WITCH, Paul Ngozi and Amanaz sound nothing like other rock music from the African continent -- or elsewhere. Zamrock came from a nation's youth carrying forth the momentum of a political and social revolution with a musical revolution that maintained the fiery power of early rock -- in the mid-to late-'70s. From that era, Zamrock's energy is matched only by the punk and hip-hop scenes of England and America."

"This album originally was planned for release in 2022 -- that's when Defcee and Parallel Thought first connected, built on a mutual respect for each other's discographies. Defcee was fresh off the success of his Backwoodz debut, Trapdoor (produced by Messiah Musik), while Parallel Thought had just released The Wild End, their collaborative album with another Chicago legend, Tree. An initial beat pack was sent, quickly followed by a demo of songs recorded by Defcee. The foundation was there, but then -- silence. Long story short -- life happened. Fast forward to July 2024, and Defcee spent a week in Freehold, recording the entirety of Other Blues at Parallel Thought's studio. Other Blues lays bare small joys, big hurts, and both swagger and insecurity in equal measure, serving as a testament to honesty, redemption, and a refocusing on life's most important priorities. Deeply personal and introspective, the album showcases Defcee's raw, honest lyricism over Parallel Thought's smoked-out, heavy, hazy jazz soundscapes. The project also features guest verses from extended family -- New Jersey's feature king, Fatboi Sharif, and fellow Chicagoan, Tree. Despite balancing day jobs, kids, and family, Defcee & Parallel Thought prove that music can still sound like it comes first."

In 1970, Italian composer Sandro Brugnolini recorded the two psychedelic lounge masterpieces Overground and Underground at Dirmaphon Studios in Rome. Featuring a lineup of some of Italy's finest musicians -- Silvano Chimenti (guitar), Angelo Baroncini (guitar), Giorgio Carnini (organ and piano), Giovanni Tommaso (bass and effects), and Enzo Restuccia (drums) -- these sessions were deeply rooted in the late 1960s psychedelic sound but uniquely fused jazz improvisation, funk, and Latin and African rhythms with cinematic melodies. This fusion defines their distinctive character and cements them as two of Brugnolini's most impressive works, remaining among the most sought-after artifacts from the golden era of Italian library music. Overground -- which Sonor Music Editions reissued in 2024 -- was originally released as the soundtrack to Persuasione, a documentary commissioned by Ente Provinciale Per Il Turismo Di Trento. Meanwhile, Underground was issued in two separate releases, RT 104 and RT 16, on the library and soundtrack label Record TV Discografica, founded by Alessandro Derevitzky in the late 1950s. In 2014, Sonor compiled both versions for Underground's first-ever reissue, featuring the longer version of "Psichefreèlico" from RT 16, instead of the shorter "Sostenuto" and "Ballata" versions from RT 104, along with new artwork. Now, in this 2025 reissue, Underground returns in its original RT 104 attire, with its original track listing and artwork. Sourced and carefully remastered from the original mono tapes and lacquer cut by Jukka Sarapää at Timmion Cutting, this edition features carefully restored Record TV Discografica label design artwork, printed on high-quality card stock.

Black LP version with limited art print. Scottish singer Quinie releases her third album Forefowk, Mind Me with Upset The Rhythm. The record is largely sung in Scots language, one of Scotland's three official languages along with Gaelic and English. Quinie sings with a style inspired by Scottish Traveller singers. "I began singing unaccompanied Scots Song in 2015 after hearing Scots Traveller singer Sheila Stewart on the radio. Initially I felt like I shouldn't sing these songs because I'm not a Traveller, and I saw people around me doing that in a way that made me uncomfortable. But on the other hand this music made sense to me and I felt driven to learn. Over the years I have met Traveller friends who taught me that settled people sharing these songs could contribute to raising awareness. Scottish Travellers are marginalized and discriminated against in modern Scotland, despite being custodians of so many of our important traditions. So I started to perform them and tell this story. From there I built on my repertoire and started writing my own songs." To develop this record, Quinie travelled across Argyll with her horse. They went on a pilgrimage of sorts through the ancient landscapes of the West of Scotland to explore the interconnected relationships between people, ancestors, animals, and place. The album's vinyl release is accompanied by a book and film, documenting this unusual research process. Forefowk, Mind Me was recorded in August 2024 at The Big Shed in Highland Perthshire with support from Creative Scotland. Quinie is accompanied by an ensemble of musicians: Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh (viola), Oliver Pitt (duduk, bouzouki, percussion), Harry Górski-Brown (small pipes, violin), and Stevie Jones (double bass, recording, and mixing). Each of these artists brings their own distinctive voice, bridging contemporary experimental practice with worlds of traditional and early music.

This wonderful and highly sought-after album was originally born from a promotional campaign by the U.S. Army to encourage recruitment. The recording perfectly captures the spirit of young America through songs written by Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, Funkadelic, and Burt Bacharach (via Isaac Hayes, of course). High-level soul and funk performed by brilliant anonymous musicians. Virtually impossible to find in its original edition, Vampisoul are now reissuing it once again thanks to a collaboration with Now Again. Pressed on 180g vinyl. Often, the most prized records by collectors hold unexpected stories. When they also feature incredibly high musical quality and only a few original copies are available, they become the holy grails of collecting. This is the case with this album, recorded by American soldiers stationed in Germany in the early '70s. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army organized a band competition among its soldiers. The winners would record a promotional album that would be distributed for free to encourage enlistment during such a turbulent time. The result was a double LP shared between the bands SOAP and East of Underground. Although East of Underground's repertoire consists of covers of soul and funk hits, the quality is surprisingly high: raw guitars, crushing drums, and brilliant vocal harmonies. When the label Now Again tried to reconstruct the story of East of Underground, they only managed to contact one of its members after digging through documents in the New York Library and collaborating with the U.S. Army.

"This is an album made during a crucial period in South Africa's history during which there was a palpable feeling of a slow turning towards the collapse of the apartheid state side by side with an increasingly well-organized culture of resistance through the formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and various affiliated bodies. However, as a result, there was increased pushback from the state security establishment, a turning to dirty tricks and the formation of hit squads whose members murdered and tortured many of our friends and created chaos throughout South Africa as well as neighboring countries. This album is situated in this political environment however it took advantage of the new do-it-yourself music technologies available at that time. Technologies that made it possible to make and release records without interference from traditional record company executives. Two musician friends of mine pooled their resources after their respective bands had broken up. Ivan Kadey (National Wake) and Lloyd Ross (Radio Rats) built an eight-track recording studio control room and fitted it out in a second-hand caravan and called it Shifty... All the work on this album was completed there, mainly after hours and mostly alone.... Influences of 1970s progressive/kraut/and psychedelic rock combined with mbaqanga bass styles, early reggae/dub and Indian tabla rhythms. Stockhausen, early Zappa and Holgar Czukay were radio text and shredding influences, and Chris Cutler's band Henry Cow & Art Bears helped me see a way to political expression. Mostly though was the exciting post-punk and no-wave music coming through to us from Europe and America: bands like This Heat, the Mekons, Raincoats, Sonic Youth, and Pere Ubu were immensely important to me.... Most important at that time was the influence of sound recordings I had made and experiences garnered from working as a sound recordist on documentary films. These financed my work and later the studio and were consistent employment throughout the 1980s. Film work also enabled me to experience much of South Africa that was hidden from most. The track 'Independence Day' is a good example; drawn from some time spent in the rural homeland of Venda. This then was the first full length Kalahari Surfers album -- completed in summer of 1984 it was taken to EMI pressing plant but rejected by the cutting engineer as being 'political, pornographic and anti-religious.' Chris Cutler at Recommended Records took up the challenge and released the album through his label. He wrote the original liner note." -- Warrick Sony, 2025 Johannesburg

LP version. Les Disques Bongo Joe present Lateena and Bony Fly's debut collaborative album, a ten-track journey through the pulsating rhythms of dancehall, bouyon, shatta, and reggaeton. Lateena, a queer trans artist hailing from Jamaica, channels her bold identity and raw energy into music that is both deeply personal and universally empowering. Paired with Bony Fly's innovative production -- steeped in his Guatemalan roots and honed by a career spanning global collaborations -- this album offers a fresh and exhilarating take on modern dancefloor sounds. Born out of an electric encounter at the Dancehall Fusion Festival in Geneva, the project reflects the duo's shared commitment to pushing boundaries. With Lateena's magnetic freestyle prowess and Bony Fly's mastery of production, each track is a celebration of diversity, resilience, and the transformative power of music. From infectious hooks to vibrant Caribbean beats, the album promises to captivate hearts and ignite dancefloors worldwide. Also featuring Carlton Osonga, Colombiana, and Oxric.

Drawing a line under his Pulse series, Pev brings a fifth and final dose of positivity to the dance with a distinctly techno-oriented focus and space for the odd curveball. Strident opener "Pulse XVII" bookends a lean, subtly stepped mid-section workout with pearlescent synth strings and chord stabs patched in for maximum Motor City uplift. "Pulse XVIII" operates within a taut house framework, stirring up a forthright jack track with the sparsest of ingredients drawn from the palette of bassweight 4/4 that has run throughout the Pulse series. The tempo noticeably nudges up on "Pulse XIX" -- a nagging dub techno variation where the genre's usual blown-out dreaminess is replaced with snappy urgency. That leaves it to "Pulse XX" to close the series out with a sharp left turn towards light-footed leftfield steppers gear with alien hooks -- an approach that harks back to earlier Pev output, but given a fresh lick with the bright-eyed production that has informed his latest phase of studio exploration. Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

In 2022, Greg celebrated the release of his book On The Street I Met a Dog and album Vintage Violence with a lively event at Rochester's House of Guitars, featuring a surprise set by The Shitkicker Rebellion -- a one-off band with former Chesterfield Kings and Low Spirits members. The energy led to a quick return to the studio, resulting in this very single. For such a special event, a book signing was scheduled, spiced up with free pizza, a "party" atmosphere, and a small, unannounced live performance. Greg was joined by Rick Cona (bass), Paul Morabito (guitar), Zachary Koch (drums) and Ryan Moore (lead guitar, piano/organ). The band performed five songs under the name The Shitkicker Rebellion. As expected, it was a blast, leaving both the artists and audience wanting more. Within a couple of weeks, they headed to the studio to record two songs from the brief live set with the idea of releasing a single. This one.

The Nervous Eaters are an original rock and roll band from Boston, MA who helped define the Boston underground garage/punk rock scene of the late '70s. The band was formed by Steve Cataldo on the North Shore of Boston in Beverly, MA. Fueled by the raw sounds of Link Wray, early Chicago Blues greats and British guitar legends Beck, Clapton, and Page, the Nervous Eaters created a raw edgy song style uniquely their own. This single presents two previously unreleased tracks from 1980, taken from a reel recently found at Perfect Crime Studios in Watertown, MA. 100% Eaters sound: sharp guitars, hooks galore, their world-famous rhythm section and the unmistakable vocals (and songs) of Steve Cataldo.

Two awesome Latin jazz-funk gems for the dance floor, blazing with the rich brass section and percussion. Both songs are taken from mega-rare Venezuelan LPs released in 1976. Reissued on a 45 for the first time. La Retreta Mayor was founded and led by guitarist Alex Rodríguez. "Torta de pan," reminiscent of recordings of classic US funk bands such as the JBs, was originally included in their only and hard-to-find LP. On the flip side comes "La venganza" that was part of a mega rare soundtrack written and recorded by Pablo Schneider for the obscure Venezuelan sexploitation film Sobre la Hierba? Virgen. Both songs were released on Discomoda in 1976 and the original records are almost impossible to find in any condition. How cool and handy is to have both songs together on a DJ-friendly 45? First time 7" reissue.