Double LP version. Wewantsounds reissues French pop icon Brigitte Fontaine's landmark 1968 album Brigitte Fontaine Est Folle, originally released on the cult label Saravah and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier. This special, approved by the artist, features the original album, newly remastered from the original tapes, along with demos, instrumentals, and a live rendition of "Il Pleut" recorded for France Inter/ORTF. The release also includes a 20-page bilingual booklet with introductions by journalist Jeremy Allen and Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier, essays by Brigitte Fontaine's biographer Benoît Mouchart and Benjamin Barouh, plus full lyrics and rare archival photos. Brigitte Fontaine needs no introduction. An inspiring figure in French music since the 1960s, she has long been revered by a wide array of musicians -- from Stereolab to Sonic Youth, Beck, and Jarvis Cocker. Originally released in 1968 on Pierre Barouh's cult Saravah label, Brigitte Fontaine Est Folle shattered conventions. Fusing Fontaine's lyrical brilliance -- tackling themes like death, social revolt, and female desire -- with Vannier's lush, funky arrangements, the pair created a work that was ahead of its time. The release offers a selection of rare and previously unreleased recordings, including demos -- recently unearthed by the album's composer, Olivier Bloch-Lainé -- instrumentals showcasing Vannier's skills, and a groundbreaking 1969 live rendition of "Il Pleut" recorded for France Inter/ORTF. This version features Malachi Favors on bass, forming a direct link to her next LP, Comme à la Radio, recorded with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Rebellious, witty and timeless, Brigitte Fontaine Est Folle is a landmark work by an artist who not only redefined French pop but also expanded its boundaries on the international scene. This deluxe edition stands as a vital document of her enduring legacy and one of the most original voices in modern music.

Released exclusively in Germany in March 1966, Black Monk Time by The Monks has become a cult classic -- praised as a groundbreaking forerunner to punk and krautrock. From the explosive opener "Monk Time" to the fierce "Complication," Black Monk Time rejected flower power for something more urgent -- anger, humor, and innovation developing a confrontational, rhythm heavy sound. Though the album was overlooked at the time, its bold sound and sharp lyrics have earned it lasting influence and critical acclaim. The Monks were five American G.I.s stationed near Heidelberg, West Germany. Originally performing as a typical beat group under the name the 5 Torquays, they evolved into something far more radical. After discovering guitar feedback by accident and embracing a raw, percussive approach, they caught the attention of two German ad men -- Walther Niemann and Karl Remy -- who became their managers and helped reinvent their identity. Dressed in monks' robes with tonsured hair and noose neckties, the band developed a confrontational, rhythm heavy sound. Their sole studio album, produced by Jimmy Bowien and recorded in Cologne in late 1965, defied musical norms. At the time, Polydor Records deemed the music too radical for American audiences, delaying its U.S. release. Despite its initial commercial failure, the album is now seen as a pivotal moment in rock history -- loud, strange, and unapologetically ahead of its time. The Monks' story is as unlikely as their sound: five ex-soldiers and two ad executives creating one of the most daring records of the '60s. The band never sparked the revolution they hinted at, but decades later, Black Monk Time still resonates. This is your chance to experience the album that dared to be different -- don't miss it. Remastered sound from the tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl.

The Keith Tippett Group's Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening is a landmark in cutting edge fusion/avant-jazz. A vital and profoundly adventurous jazz-rock record that still swings hard, it was first released on Vertigo in 1971. Original copies are now very tricky to score and, as most of you really should know, it's aged ridiculously well. The stunning gatefold jacket fully restores Roger and Martyn Dean's original, arresting album artwork to complete this must-have reissue. Alive and bursting with a joyful energy that has to be heard to be believed, Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening flirts with perfection. It's truly magical and forever essential. A brilliant jazz pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader "who could make the outlands of modern music feel like the most hospitable of places" (The Guardian), Keith Tippett's second album is oft-regarded as his Canterbury album. Indeed, not only does he draw heavily on Soft Machine members past, present and future but the album title itself archly references a Soft Machine composition. Ray Babbington handles bass alongside Neville Whitehead and the drums are shared between Brian Spring, Robert Wyatt, and Phil Howard. Gary Boyle is on guitar whilst the great percussionist Tony Uter is enlisted for his conga and cow bell expertise. Elton Dean on alto saxello, cornetist Marc Charig and Nick Evans on trombone round out this quite stunning ensemble. Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening presents a collective of superhuman musicians enjoying themselves in the studio. The sheer exuberance of the performance is totally infectious. It's wild, energetic, atmospheric and, bluntly, bordering on chaotic at points. In a word, it's beautiful. This Be With edition of Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis' mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at Abbey Road Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings.

Discostan presents the first vinyl release by young legends Sireesha and Sreeusha -- better known to both classical Indian fans and to musical fans of improvisation around the world as the Mandolin Sisters. On their first album released to a global audience, the Sisters showcase an upstart energy, revitalizing centuries-old songs with a fast and furious playing on electrified mandolin. Mandolin Sisters: Odysseys in Electric Carnatic is a deep immersion into the Sisters' virtuosic playing style, weaving intricate lines and sophisticated harmonies that will appeal to fans of genre-expanding experimental guitar sounds and improvised music. But the pair is also deeply steeped in historical tradition and spent years dedicated to study and practice of these sonorities. Even before the two sisters could read, the duo were singularly devoted to the expression of Carnatic music through an instrument that is still relatively new to South Indian classical music. Over their career, they have played more than 3,500 shows. The mandolin is only a recent addition to the world of Carnatic music. However, there is no disputing the role that Uppalapu Srinivas (more widely known as simply U. Srinivas) played in bringing the instrument to wider acclaim and as a respected part of South Indian classical music. Today, the Mandolin Sisters are carrying on the legacy of Srinivas. Across the seven songs in this album, the Mandolin Sisters imbue their signature sound onto raga compositions drawn from the deep well of the Carnatic tradition. Because of the amount of improvisation in Carnatic music, no song is ever played the same twice. Each person adjusts the song every time to create an all-new version, even playing them for years. While they are inspired by deep tradition and the mastery of Srinivas and others, their search for new paths is unrelenting. In the words of Sireesha: "In Carnatic music there's no end to learning, it keeps going. It's like a sea. No matter how deep you go, there is always more depth." Discostan is a relatively young record label dedicated to documenting innovative sounds from South and West Asia and North Africa from the past, present and future. The long-running party, radio show and label has previously released reissues of Urdu-language synth pop and Palestine's first English-language folk songs. This album is a unique entry point into contemporary Carnatic music as well as a gift (or revelation) for fans of adventurous music from new voices.

Originally released on Ben Chasny's own Pavilion imprint in 2011. "I was invited by the Incubate Festival and the city of Tilburg to participate in an artist residency where I would explore the region's unique chapels built for the Virgin Mary. After writing the music for about six months by drawing on memories of the encounters with the chapels and using techniques inspired by Gaston Bachelard's Poetics Of Reverie, I flew back to Tilburg to perform the music at the Incubate Festival. We recorded the evening and I released the result on my Pavilion label. Each cover was hand painted white on white in the old Pavilion style. I created a stencil and used graphite powder to make the design that is inspired by the sun imagery in Athanasius Kircher diagrams. In 2010 I was approached by the organization of the Incubate Festival in the North Brabant town of Tilburg. Their request was for me to lead the American composer and guitarist Ben Chasny around a number of chapels in the province devoted to Mary. He had been invited to North Brabant to write some new compositions. Ben Chasny then chose to be inspired by these chapels and that's how we met. I was especially curious how an American would react to something as specific and small as a roadside chapel in North Brabant, since we tend to think here of (people in) America in terms of 'big-bigger-biggest'. Would an inhabitant of this enormous country with this prevailing culture be able to grasp and respect the identity of some 2.5 million people in North Brabant with their chapels? The answer to this question lies hidden in the compositions he made and that can be listened to on this album. Yes, Ben Chasny has been able to convert the phenomenon of a simple chapel devoted to Mary into music. The physical and the spiritual have found each other. What a beautiful world -- just listen!" --Paul Spapens

LP version. "The shaman of the six-string is back. Waving his axe of choice, Sir Richard Bishop once again summons forth damnable truth and beauty on an all-new musical kamikaze run through histories both written and -- as of yet -- not commonly known. Since the dying days of the 20th century, the composer/player of spirited polytheistic guitar recitals including Salvador Kali, Improvika, The Freak of Araby, Tangier Sessions, and most recently, Oneiric Formulary has worked feverishly to wrench and wrangle all the music that has and can possibly fall out of the guitar from east to west. With Hillbilly Ragas, Sir Rick stretches his callused hands across the waters to draw diverse musics back to his shack with the gladiatorial bloodthirst and balance of gravitas and jocosity listeners can expect from him in every hot little moment of play. But there's more to be said than these merely glib rantings as to what happens when traditional music heads for the hillbillies:"

"There were a few different approaches I utilized for this release. First and foremost, I wanted to go back to basics, to strip away any excesses and keep it as simple as possible: one man, one acoustic guitar, no overdubs, no effects, no electricity. Taking several cues from the sounds most often associated with the so-called American Primitive guitar style, I wanted to avoid any traditional approaches and instead try something more-raw and aggressive, concentrating more on rhythm and movement as opposed to anything predictable or overly melodic, while also keeping my particular interpretive ideas about East Indian Raga in the mix. I've always felt that the majority of what is considered to be American Primitive music, while certainly based on historical American musical traditions, never really had any sounds that I personally thought of as being primitive -- it always seemed too orderly, too developed, and too safe? During the recording process I was envisioning an undiscovered mountain man or "hillbilly" who had remained hidden in his own private backwoods; one who never learned, or even heard about, any traditional musical canon that he was expected to work within. So what we have here with Hillbilly Ragas are nine pieces for solo acoustic guitar, each one representing a different excursion into the dark woods -- the untamed explorations of a musical loner, an outsider, maybe even an undesirable, embodying a peculiar folklore and turning it into sound -- creating his own folk music in the process. He's still out there, fueled by moonshine, his supernatural surroundings, and a fuck-all attitude!" --Richard Bishop, 2025

Off The Record, the new album by French collagist Roméo Poirier, is an amusing romp through the discarded history of recording studios. It contains fourteen miniatures based on accidental recordings of studio talk, revealing things that were never meant for the public: listeners hear instructions from studio staff, scraps of talk between musicians, or just microphones being adjusted, as well as false notes, false starts: everyone stops. Start again: 1, 2, 3, 4! Poirier's approach recalls "Accumulation," an artform practiced by Arman, Jean Tinguely and Daniel Spoerri that involved piling up everyday items into assemblages. The objects themselves often remained unaltered, the artistic gesture consisting in the careful curating of a distinctive selection. Poirier's audio collages explore similar terrain. The fourteen pieces on Off the Record combine more than a thousand found sounds from studio archives into complex miniatures. The audio content of these outtakes is twisted, stretched, cut, reassembled, slowed down and accelerated. Voices cut into a microgroove, from a very old recording, intertwine with digital voices gleaned from YouTube. All of them in dialogue, engaging the listener with the impression of being part of a new music group. Poirier uses the mundane routine of setting up before the actual recording gets underway to tell a universal story about working in a recording studio. And he manages something few achieve, transforming specialist knowledge into a narrative whose beauty goes far beyond its immediate subject. It speaks to everyone, because the story is told in a musical language that is open and accessible, evoking magical images reminiscent of Oz -- a world consisting less of events than of camp hallucinations, captured in grainy black-and-white photographs. En passant, Poirier shows listeners how the notion of material accumulation can produce great art. Written and produced by Roméo Poirier, mastered by Stephan Mathieu, photos by Roméo Poirier, graphic design by Tim Tetzner.

"Although it was the lead track on the Stones's eighth studio LP, Let it Bleed, the song 'Gimmie Shelter' was not released as a single. Indeed, the single 'from' that album was the countrified non-LP track, 'HonkyTonk Women' backed with the corny chorale sluice of 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.' It was as though the Stones, knowing they would soon be pilloried on the cross of Altamont, wanted to have a way to try and dodge those nails by being able to claim they weren't even a rock band. Well, fuck them. 55 long years after the Stones's shameful retreat from their true identity, Jackie O Motherfucker has decided to try them in the court of public opinion, both for their jaundiced world view as well as the sheer cowardice of their presentation of facts. The simplest way for JOMF to proceed would have been to illuminate the ridiculous musical and philosophical inconsistencies inside their trademark song of 1968/9, 'Sympathy for the Devil,' but they chose to leave child's play to children. Instead, they took the four minutes and thirty seconds of 'Shelter,' divided it into thirds and created a set of music that explores the mathematical relationships between those segments and the three parts of a song which it reportedly inspired, The Stooges's 'Gimme Danger.' I've had the Calculus of the equation explained to me a couple of times by Tom Greenwood, the founding member of JOMF, but I get sorta lost in most number stuff more evolved than Trigonometry. My sense is that three improvised pieces on this album are musical meditations about the possible existence of a tripartite equivalent of Aristotle's Golden Mean. And while I totally believe in his as a concept, it doesn't really help to explain what the music sounds like, y'know? The three tracks are drawn from two live shows and one studio session, using a line-up resembling that on 2023's Manual of the Bayonet, the music here is largely-instrumental, reed-laced, and filled with the same glowing sense of direction this listener gets when I'm several acid sheets to the wind. Some parts collect themselves and repeat like small bursts of energy trapped inside a pyramid. When vocals do pop up, they sound like out-takes from the soundtrack to Kenneth Anger's Invocation of My Demon Brother, and submerge themselves in a murk of Egyptian dust. Some might compare JOMF's sound to the more abstruse out-takes from the Dead's Gizan shows of '78. But its commentary on the nature of musical forms reaches back further than that. I mean, remember -- the Dead pulled out of playing Altamont. I'm not sure JOMF would have done the same, but I'm sure they would have done something if they found themselves in the same situation. And it might well have sounded like this. As Bear always said, 'A trip in time saves nine.' Good thought, and as diggable today as it was back then. Hop on. This shelter is rolling. --Byron Coley, 2025

Fully licensed, all tracks remastered! Ken Boothe and Lloyd Charmers -- two soul-driven innovators -- deliver a bold statement. Each vocal cut is paired with a raw version: stripped to drum and bass -- raw, unfiltered. It's a format that would shape reggae's future. This is where it starts -- no filler, just foundation. Includes two bonus tracks.

Paloma Mensajera (featuring members of New Juggler Sound/Laghonia) shows the shift that was taking place within Peruvian rock away from psych and hard rock which had predominated during the early '70s. The style adopted by Grupo Amigos (and other bands and artists during this period) highlights the influence of soft rock, UK, US and Latin American folk rock and, above all, the desire to keep the melodic greatness of The Beatles alive. The positive reception albums by artists such as We All Together, Telegraph Avenue, and Zulu garnered between 1972 and 1975, marked a change of paradigm and in preferences within the Peruvian rock scene. Eclecticism gained new ground, to the detriment of the sectarian and orthodox, while melody grew more present and visible, moving away from the progressive experimentation that typified underground Peruvian rock up to the beginning of the '70s. For their first single on MAG, included on this reissue, the band adopted a formula in which Beatles harmonies converged symmetrically with folk motifs. "Dirty Girl" was a hit on the radio. A full album followed but only a fairly small number of copies of the album were pressed, which seems to have been the main reason for omitting it from the historical accounts of Peruvian rock music from the late '90s onwards. In Paloma Mensajera all compositions were penned by the group, after several years during which cover versions were a staple. Some of the musical resources that the band had at their disposal in terms of composition and arrangements are striking and even surprising, considering that they were a debut band, whose members were under the age of 20. The arrangements included the clever use of a Moog synthesizer which had just arrived at the MAG studio. The success achieved by the Beatles tribute performances played by the members of Grupo Amigos for decades have eclipsed the songs that Edmundo, Andrés Da Ros, and Simón Ames composed with youthful enthusiasm and energy between 1972 and 1973 to the point where they have almost been forgotten. This re-release of Paloma Mensajera should help rectify this major injustice. It includes bonus tracks and extensive liner notes.

Welcome to a kaleidoscopic picnic where you can feast on a music scene that was rich, sparkling, multi-colored, ground-breaking and it'll blow your mind. A prodigious soundscape that blends the Caribbean and the Amazon sophistication and flavors; raw yet delicate textures. Joropop: Psych Pop & Folk in Venezuela, 1968-1976 features infectious Latin rock rhythms and timeless folk melodies across 15 ultra-rare tracks -- most of which have never been reissued until now. The golden age of Caracas pop started in 1965. It replaced the wave of cloyingly romantic song writing as fresh talents leant into richer and more complex styles: folk-rock, psychedelia, soul, hard blues, symphonic pop, Latin rock etc. Singer-songwriters, experimental electric guitars and jam sessions all appeared on the scene, creating music that became increasingly refined and free. The industry took a while to catch on to this new trend and leave behind the teen idols and dream lifestyles. By the late '60s, there was a long list of new bands in the capital city. Young people finally found their voice. Featuring El Zigui Y Una Luz, Grupo Espiga, Grupo Syma, La Fe Perdida, Ladies W.C., Los Fabricantes De Muñecas, Los Memphis, La Cuarta Calle, Grupo C.I.M., Grupo Pan, Los Rangers, Los Chicos Malos, Ciruela, The Four Blues, and La Cuarta Calle.

Ranil is undoubtedly the most unconventional figure among the greats of Amazonian cumbia, earning a well-deserved place alongside all the better-known iconic bands. He worked as a teacher, criollo guitarist, radio host, TV entrepreneur, and politician, but gained lasting fame as the founder of Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical in the 1970s. By 1968, around the same time Los Destellos were making waves in Lima, groups like Los Wembler's de Iquitos and Juaneco y su Combo began electrifying cumbia in Iquitos. This new genre, dubbed Amazonian cumbia, exploded nationwide in 1973, thanks to hits by Juaneco y su Combo, Los Mirlos, and Los Wembler's. The success these bands achieved spawned dozens of other groups from the Amazon. Ranil, always a visionary, recognized the movement's potential and joined forces through his first single recorded on the Dinsa label in 1974. Unhappy with the contractual terms, he went on to found Producciones Llerena, the label on which he would release the rest of his discography. Over the years, Ranil y su Conjunto Tropical featured guitarists like Límber Zumba and Luis Nigro, while Ranil remained the lead vocalist and bassist for group. Zumba and Nigro had already played with other regional bands and written songs for groups like Los Destellos and Los Mirlos. This compilation offers a glimpse into the vast musical output Ranil created in the late 1970s and early 1980s, bringing together 14 tracks from the band's ten LPs. These records have always been hard to come by as, despite being recorded in Lima, they were distributed by Ranil from Iquitos. Psychedelia, rock fusion, cumbia, salsa, mambo, Amazonian folk -- you'll find all these flavors blended into the vibrant, jungle-rich sound Ranil crafted.

LP version. Schnitzler's collaborations with Wolf Sequenza aka Wolfgang Seidel occupy a special place in his vast musical output. They brought him closer to pop music than ever before or since, with the possible exception of Berlin Express and Auf dem schwarzen Kanal. Following Consequenz and Con 3, Consequenz III is now the third album to be released from this phase of his work.

"Consequenz III follows on directly from the two previous albums. Once again, the pieces sound almost like pop music, once again they are rhythmically and harmoniously structured, once again they are between three and four minutes long. And once again, they are not 100% pop music, but rather a balancing act between strict, abstract seriality and contemporary electronics: no melodies, no vocals, and it's up to each listener to decide whether the pieces are danceable. Rather, the eleven pieces are rhythmic études or finger exercises, especially for Seidel, who once again plays with incredible precision, as if he were a sequencer himself. It is not for nothing that Schnitzler gave him the pseudonym Wolf Sequenza for their joint productions. Musicians such as Wolfgang Seidel continue to lend Schnitzler's sonic universe additional radiance. The fact that the pieces on Consequenz III have already been released in 2006 by the Japanese label Captain Trip under the title Consequenz 2 + was probably only noticed by very few Schnitzler fans outside Japan. Only a small number of the limited edition ever reached Europe, and sold out in no time. Consequenz III therefore reissues material that was previously known only to a few. And there's no end to it: Schnitzler left behind music that was either only released in very small editions (e.g. on cassettes or CDRs) or has never been released at all. There is still plenty to discover in the various archives. Will we ever get to know the 'whole Schnitzler'? I don't think so." --Asmus Tietchens, 2025

Color vinyl version. A fascinating glimpse into the creative mind of Pink Floyd's enigmatic founder, Madcap Cries compiles rare demos and outtakes from Syd Barrett's solo sessions.

"The successor to 2022's Bajascillators glides easily into frame, but once there, Inland See is deceptively immediate. It's so dialed in, you hardly even feel how present the music (and you the listener) is. Time wharping's always been a resident magic for Bitchin Bajas, as is flow, which is translucent like water here. That's the Inland See vibe, unique unto itself. In turn, each of the four songs here are entirely within themselves, all together forming an essential whole. The coincision'll cause yer breath to shorten, like an exciting and non-fatal kind of exercise! New freedoms, yet more molecular structure in each one. With every successive Bitchin Bajas release, we see that the real key for them is a sense of discovery, that tingle that comes when you feel something breaking through. The sky opening up. The stuff that fills this Inland See holds you up powerfully, as if you're floating, saltwater or helium-wise -- effervescent, effortless, elemental. An increasing sense of the Bajas' physicality -- what's ephemeral, what's mercurial, and what sits inside us after it's all over. This music was mostly written on the road. It's an unusual happening for Bitchin Bajas! They were open for it, though -- the landmarked Bajascillators kept them out there for a while, and when inspiration struck, there they rolling. When it was time to render it to tape and find the record there, they did the whole thing at Electrical Audio. Recording all together in the room there lent a sense of space, which they dug and captured as natural as possible. No reverb at all added after the fact. Everything that's there was in system, directed through the interconnects with cool hands. And once Inland See is flowing toward you, through the hi-fi, you feel it all in the air."

Color vinyl version. "Sydney's Lipstick Killers released just one single in their lifetime -- the perfect '79 pairing of 'Hindu Gods of Love' and 'Shakedown USA,' released on both their own Lost in Space Records and Greg Shaw's Voxx Records and produced by Deniz Tek of the band's heroes Radio Birdman -- but a posthumous live album and a couple of archival releases followed. It was all incredible. and it was all put together a few years ago on Grown Up Wrong!'s 2CD set Strange Flash! And while the 2LP version of that release included all the studio stuff and the live in LA 1981 set, there was no room for this brain-burning, chaotic live set from '79. Tour De Force, which was recorded for local radio station 5UV, captures the band as they were still emerging from the cocoon that was the Psycho Surgeons. The Nuggets influences are there, but it's a Stooges influences which dominate proceedings, and definitive readings of both sides of the Psycho Surgeons classic 45 'Wild Weekend'/'Horizontal Action' are included alongside early Killers killers like 'Teen Police' and 'Sockman' and later faves like 'Hindu Gods of Love,' 'Shakedown USA' and 'Dying Boy's Crawl.' The band's hot take on the Thirteenth Floor Elevators' 'I've Got Levitation' is also featured. There's also plenty of tunes that were only ever captured on tape on this wild night, including 'Human Crash,' 'Crush On You,' 'Head Off,' and 'Bully!'"

Fully licensed, all tracks remastered! When you name Barrington Levy, Roots Radics, and Scientist at King Tubby's studio, you can't go wrong. Produced by Hyman "Jah Life" Wright, Bounty Hunter captures the transition from roots reggae to early dancehall, blending deep rhythms with Levy's distinctive vocal style. A landmark album that defines an era and showcases the evolution of Jamaican music.

LP version. History of Silence is the first full body of work by Icelandic collective múm since 2013's Smilewound (MORR 124CD) and their seventh studio album to date -- recorded, deconstructed, put back together again, refined and finished over the course of two years. Vibrantly oscillating around a carefully curated palette of electronic and analogue sounds, the eight new tracks reflect the group's continuous strive to explore sonic spaces through subtle yet gripping songwriting. For a long time now, múm have been exploring the idea of distance in their music. Founded in Iceland in the late 1990s, the members soon began embarking on journeys across the world. Settling in, moving on, catching up: The concept of distance soon became an integral part of the collective's process. History of Silence leans into this idea, with space and time becoming indispensable pillars of the arrangements. While being coherent and structured, they echo their origins from different seasons, cities, and spaces -- neatly stitched together with unparalleled craftsmanship. On History of Silence time manifests in unexpected, liberating, and mesmerizing ways. It does not move reliably forward; it drifts, takes twists and turns, even disappears completely. Electronic textures blur into acoustic sounds, voices flicker and dissolve, melodies stumble and repeat. The arrangements often feel like they're wandering, gently resisting direction. Work on History of Silence began at Sudestudio in southern Italy. Additional recordings were made in Reykjavík, Berlin, Athens, Helsinki, New York, and Prague. The strings were recorded by Sinfonia Nord at the Hof concert hall, Akureyri, arranged and conducted by Ingi Garðar Erlendsson, who has worked with the band for many years. The orchestral elements don't dominate the record -- instead, they surface gently, adding depth and resonance to the songs without disturbing the songs' fragility. Contrary to what the album title suggests, History of Silence is a collection of bold and colorful songs, no matter how muted they might sound at times. They tickle like a feather drifting through the wind, ending up in unexpected places, stimulating long-forgotten thoughts and feelings, intimate moments of introspection. The songs move through the echoes those moments leave behind: the emotional traces of things unsaid, the weight of stillness. Offering closeness by means of distance and much-needed support. Bless.

Color vinyl. Milton Nascimento's 1969 Courage blends Brazilian music with jazz, marking his international debut. Featuring Herbie Hancock and arranged by Eumir Deodato, the album highlights Nascimento's emotive vocals and lush arrangements. A timeless introduction to one of Brazil's most unique voices.

Color vinyl. Groundbreaking Tropicália album that fuses Brazilian rhythms with psychedelic rock. Backed by the experimental band Os Mutantes, Gil blends tradition and rebellion in a bold, genre-defying sound. A vibrant snapshot of Brazil's musical revolution.

A note from Lawrence English: "If I'm not mistaken, Ben Frost and I first talked about the ideas of what would become Steel Wound sometime in mid-2002. In the early '00s, Ben had been working on cut-up electronics, spilling over with floating rhythms, humming string samples and piano splices. It was a sound realized in part through the subversion of fruity loops and also owes a debt to Ableton Live which arrived in late 2001. His works to that point, gently saturated and bristling with a fizzy distortion at times, hinted at another sound world which would become his focused in the summer of 2002 and into 2003. Locking himself away at Johanna's Beach, a remote southern vantage along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, he was able to record for the first time without a sense of constraint. This opening up of the sound palette brought with it an entirely new harmonic language that had been hinted at, but not realized, on previous recordings. With a simple restriction of instrumentation, the guitar as the palette, Frost unlocked a certain verticality to his working methods that holds light to this day. Steel Wound is, by design, a singular record in Ben Frost's discography. It's a recording born of particular conditions, but also of particular interests. It was the first time Ben had set himself up with a situation where saturation, volume and density were all something that could be realized in a space and a time, not as a process of post-production. To have sound operating in space is a thing of true beauty and moreover it allows for a certain unpredictability that is central to new discoveries. Working with a Fender Twin, often with the reverb dialed in at maximum, he found a language of shimmer and saturation, of compression and collision, that set the stage for a prolonged interest in how sound performs and is perceived at volume. It also is the first time that many of the tonal and melodic inflections that have come to be recognized as his compositional language are on display. Steel Wound, in my opinion, is a map to the future for Ben. It is a portal, a chance for new understandings to emerge and also to take hold and it's these learnings that have guided Ben's work in the subsequent years. Steel Wound remains a pulsing beacon in an ocean of noise that has been flickering for two decades now."

Live at Kōkumeikan, Tokyo 1987 captures the raw, immersive power of Les Rallizes Dénudés at their peak. Blending droning psychedelia, ear-shattering noise, and hypnotic melodies, this recording is a testament to the band's uncompromising approach to sound.

LP version. Acclaimed Welsh composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Cerys Hafana's third album, Angel, is a deep exploration of minimalism, traditional and avant-folk music and Hafana's primary instrument the Welsh triple harp. The album alternates between vocal songs (all sung in the Welsh language) and instrumentals, often buoyed by a deft trio of sympathetic and exploratory musicians (drums, double bass, alto sax). The uncommon breadth and innovation of Angel soundly confirms Hafana as one of the UK's most exciting young contemporary folk artists. Their spellbinding music is rich with atmosphere and heart and stubbornly resistant to genre boxes and easy classification. Hafana has been self-releasing their music for a few years, with 2022's Edyf making the Guardian newspaper's Top Ten Folk Album Of The Year list. They also recently had an album of piano pieces called Difrisg released on Instant Karma Classics. Although Hafana is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and considers the piano to be their "main instrument, technically," it's for their work using the Welsh triple harp that they've gained a reputation as an innovative, exploratory, singularly powerful musician. Hafana's harp has a distinct sound, in part because they had the idea of damping the harp's strings using blu-tac to produce a woody, muted sound, after hearing about other harpists threading strips of paper and other material to create a 'buzzy' effect. It's this kind of experimentation that sees them both reach back to artists in the Welsh triple harp tradition like Llio Rhydderch and forward to fellow contemporary artists and sonic adventurers like Rhodri Davies. Hafana's music manages to be immersed in and informed by Welsh harp traditions but also embraces minimalism, jazz, the avant-garde and, particularly on the track "Angel," contemporary Breton folk styles. Hafana says: "on this album I wanted to try to push the musical limits more than I have previously, and to swing between the extremes of dynamics and texture as much as is possible on the instruments at my disposal. Lots of the writing also draws from contemporary Breton folk music with its driving and repetitive dance rhythms, more sparse, contemporary styles of composing and improvising, and some brief moments of very Welsh and traditional harp playing and unaccompanied singing."

Double LP version. The Slovenian avant-folk trio Sirom are back with a sonically and thematically expansive fifth album; a thrilling follow-up to their widely praised 2022 release The Liquified Throne of Simplicity (GB 120CD/LP). Navigating almost two dozen instruments (some of which they've handcrafted), and hypnotic compositions that often exceed ten minutes in length, Ana Kravanja, Iztok Koren, and Samo Kutin court patient, deep-dive listeners via intricately woven atmospheres, rhythms and sonics. In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper is arguably the sharpest evocation yet of the group's highly collective music process, enveloping rustic melodic folklore, outernational textures, non-linear song structures and dissonance, and a buzzing ambiance that can at times feel like an ecstatic ritual. Few experimental ensembles from the last decade have created an ouevre as singular and unmistakable as that of this far-sighted trio from the disparate landscapes of Slovenia. Sirom truly sounds like no one else. The band are more melodic and accessible here than they have ever been. The insistent grooves and trademark texture are still present, but there's a new-found sense of linearity that largely replaces the stacks of sound and detailed collages that have characterized their work to date. There is suddenly more air, allowing a string of sublime melodies, in "Curls Upon the Neck, Ribs Upon the Mountain" and "Hope in an All-Sufficient Space of Calm" in particular, to flourish. Everyone's still speaking, just not at the same time, but the drama level remains high. The resulting sense of space, of emergence and arrival, is certainly something a Tim Hecker or indeed Park Jiha fan would instantly recognize. This is as close as Sirom have ever got to a state-of-the-world, state-of-their-lives record. "We don't want to play something that sounds like it already exists," said Samo, and they still don't. File this under contemporary classical, imaginary folk or rural underground, file it under Slovenian, file it under anything you want. People will find this wonderful album regardless. Or perhaps, more probably, it will find them.

Wewantsounds reissues Fairuz's classic album Chat Iskandaria released on Relax-in in 1987. The album sees "The Lebanese Diva" going back to her roots and interpreting classic songs by the Rahbani Brothers in her own style accompanied by hypnotic traditional orchestral arrangements. Coming with its original deluxe gatefold sleeve, the album -- curated by Mario Choueiry from Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), who also wrote the liner notes -- has been newly remastered by Colorsound Studio in Paris. Fairuz is a living legend and one of the greatest divas of the Arab world. For more than sixty years, she has been at the heart of Arabic music, releasing landmark albums since the early '50s and performing on stages around the globe. Fairuz rose to prominence through her collaboration with the Rahbani Brothers (Assi and Mansour), a creative partnership that began in the 1950s and flourished through the 1970s, producing a vast repertoire of timeless songs that remain beloved across the Arab world and beyond. In the late 1970s, Fairuz shifted to a more modern sound with albums such as Wahdon (1979) and Maarifti Feek (1986), produced by her son Ziad Rahbani, blending jazz, funk, and other contemporary influences into her music. However, Chat Iskandaria, released in 1987, marks a return to her classic Rahbani sound, offering a more traditional yet captivating approach to Arabic music. The album sees Fairuz interpreting a selection of Rahbani Brothers compositions in their signature theatrical and orchestral style, with themes ranging from nostalgia and love -- including a heartfelt homage to the city of Alexandria -- to the passage of time, central motifs in much of their work the legendary poet Saïd Akl contributes to two songs, "Min Rawabina Al Kamar" and "Fattehhon Alay." Unlike her more experimental collaborations with Ziad Rahbani, Chat Iskandaria stays firmly rooted in traditional Lebanese and Levantine musical aesthetics. Rich in melody and poetic imagery, it showcases Fairuz at her most evocative, supported by the refined orchestral arrangements that defined her golden era with the Rahbanis. Chat Iskandaria is a must-have for lovers of classical Arabic music and a poignant reminder of the enduring artistic bond between Fairuz and the Rahbani Brothers. Wewantsounds releases the album on vinyl for the first time since its original 1987 release, featuring its beautiful gatefold sleeve, remastered audio and a new bilingual introduction by Mario Choueiry (Institut du Monde Arabe).

2025 restock. Be With Records present the first ever official reissue of Kimiko Kasai with Herbie Hancock's Butterfly, originally released in 1979. The positively sublime and very rare Butterfly LP, recorded in Tokyo in 1979 by Japanese songstress Kimiko Kasai and jazz legend Herbie Hancock. Due to its super-rare status as a Japan-only release, this exquisite collection of covers never got the recognition it deserved at the time, despite incredibly inspired performances from Kimiko, Herbie, and the supremely talented musicians assembled for the project. From heavenly drummer Alphonse Mouzon and renowned organist Webster Lewis to bassist Paul Jackson, reedman Bennie Maupin, and the master percussionist Bill Summers, the legendary performers crafted amazingly good vocal versions of Herbie/Headhunters jazz-funk. Unsurprisingly, it has been heavily in demand for many years. The LP opens with Kimiko's highly desirable version of "I Thought It Was You", an elegant take on Herbie's own anthem. Other superb re-workings include the delicately soulful "Butterfly", jazzy groover "Sunlight", the smooth and sexy "Tell Me A Bedtime Story", and the beautiful ballads "Maiden Voyage" and "Harvest Time". A wonderful example of perfectly understated and masterful jazz-funk soul fusion that shouldn't be missed, the set closes with a jaw-dropping version of Stevie Wonder's "As". This lovingly curated reissue enables a long overdue reappraisal of this hitherto unavailable masterpiece. The stunning artwork which adorned the original jacket -- complete with obi strip and sumptuous four-page folded insert -- has been faithfully restored. Mastered by Simon Francis, and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

LP version. Color vinyl. Few debut albums arrive with the kind of self-contained logic and radical spirit found on the self-titled Faust. Released in 1971, it marked the beginning of a project that would sidestep genre and expectation, offering a fractured, exploratory take on rock music, blending tape experiments, improvised structures, and surreal collage. This Bureau B reissue offers a fresh opportunity to engage with one of the most curious and uncompromising records of its time. The story of Faust begins in 1969, when cultural journalist Uwe Nettelbeck met with Horst Schmolzi, an A&R man at Polydor in Hamburg. Schmolzi was looking for a German answer to The Beatles, but Nettelbeck had other ideas. With a generous advance in hand, he set out to assemble something far more radical. Nettlebeck headed into the Hamburg underground and fused members of the bands Nukleus and Campylognatus Citelli into a new six-piece lineup. From Nukleus came bassist Jean-Hervé Péron, guitarist Rudolf Sosna, and saxophonist Gunther Wüsthoff. From Campylognatus Citelli, he brought in keyboardist Hans-Joachim Irmler and drummers Werner "Zappi" Diermaier and Arnulf Meifert. Their debut album Faust feels deliberate in its unpredictability: a meticulously chaotic document of six musicians discovering a new musical language in real time. At its heart lies a groove so deep and syncopated it borders on funk, only to collapse into chaos once more. Drums stutter toward cohesion and then back away in terror. Guitars unravel into smoke. And in the final moments, the music recedes, leaving behind a broken narrative, fragmented speech, laughter, coughs, like a bedtime story told by ghosts of a Europe still recovering from war. Despite the experimental nature, surrealist lyrics and a complete rejection of conventional music form, this isn't an over intellectual exercise, or a display of willful antagonism. Instead, Faust packed these three sprawling, sputtering pieces with the breadth of human emotion, capturing the chaos and complexity of existence in an audio analogue to Jackson Pollock's abstract expressionism. More than 50 years on, it remains a thrilling reminder of what can happen when artists abandon the map and follow instinct instead.

"Previously unreleased. Both sides with dub. A-side is mastertape mixes, B-side is the original early 1980s dubplate mixes. Comes in Bond Export company sleeve. Killer previously unreleased early 1980s Mighty Diamonds straight from producer Gussie Clarke, tuff steppers cut of the Heptones classic. This tune made the rounds on dubplate back at the time, but never ended up seeing release. On the A-side comes the mastertape mix, a hard but spare mix of this canon JA tune, that recalls the dry and heavy 1980 Taxi style. On the B-side comes the original dubplate mixes which were around on plate at the time, mixed down in proper plate style like you would have gotten from Slipe Road if you had the juice."

"After their epic run with Channel One beginning in the mid 1970s, the Mighty Diamonds moved to producer Gussie Clarke for a string of albums starting in 1979 and running thru the 1980s. Among the many great tunes from this run, the title track of their 1982 album The Roots Is There is simply one of the Diamond's best ever, and probably the most lyrically militant tune they ever made. This tune was never released as a single at the time, though new mixes were released as a single in 2017. Now, this release is presented on Music Works' original early 1980s dubplate label design, just like the original slate would have been adorned with."

2025 repress. The Efficient Space label follows its acclaimed 2016 Sky Girl compilation (EFFICIENT 002CD/LP) with Midnite Spares. Here, Australian music devotees András Fox and Instant Peterson hold a candle to overlooked avant-pop and electronic works by antipodean artists and outsiders working through the '80s and '90s. Through co-presenting their weekly radio show "Strange Holiday", the duo slowly upturned their locale for inspiration - archives, country bookstores, private collections and convenience stores - searching for a place to anchor their own identities in the oceans of the island continent. The ten tracks here acknowledge a minor history, passed on via a network of friends, friends of friends, the libraries of radio station 3RRR and more often than not, the artists themselves. Renowned mixed media artist Maria Kozic enters with the mysterious downbeat of "Trust Me", her partner Philip Brophy responsible for digital and analog sonic construction (as the MK Sound). A recurring character in András and Instant Peterson's investigations, Brophy reappears with a score piece from his divisive feature film Salt, Saliva, Sperm and Sweat (1988), recorded as → ↑ → (pronounced "Tch Tch Tch"). Other links are thread under the surface. Melbourne inner north experimentalist David Chesworth explores his Australiana song-craft leading Whadya Want? on "Open Spaces". The short lived project also featured Philip Jackson, whose duo The Couch is restored from Fast Forward's dance issue - a pioneering cassette fanzine published by early-80s 3RRR personality Bruce Milne. The collection binds a certain musicianship that's indifferent to fame or chart success, although some artists unwittingly experienced this before and after. Poets Of The Machine's Grace Jones techno-wave was a modest moment for Coral Island and Red Stripe, an English migrant who once celebrated a #1 UK Christmas single with an acapella cover of "Yazoo", while the morbid coming of age electronics of Foot And Mouth is a lesser known prologue to Sean Greenway and Matty Whittle's rise as legendary teen punks heroes God. Quickly becoming a modern dancefloor hit, Mumbo Jumbo's sole release "Wind It Up" is only now basking in its brilliance. The remaining figures shape the diversity further. There's Sydney dub addicts The Igniters, Mix's groovy synth song about masturbation and the Cameron Allen and Graham Bidstrup soundtrack for petrol headed "ozploitation" film, Midnite Spares (1983) -- the compilation's namesake.

2025 repress. Stereo version. Exact repro of their first album, originally released in 1966.

Restocked; double LP version. Gatefold with 4-page booklet. Includes obi and printed inner sleeves. Second album by Brazil's upcoming star, Liniker. A seamless blend of pop, samba, jazz, R&B, and house. Featuring Lulu Santos, Pabllo Vittar, Tropkillaz, Melly, Priscila Senna, Baianasystem, Amaro Freitas, and Anavitória. Born in Araraquara/São Paulo, Liniker is a multitalented artist -- singer, songwriter, music producer, and actress -- whose passion for the arts began in childhood. Influenced by her mother and uncles, who were active in samba rock circles, Liniker's early musical experiences planted the seeds for her future career. Today she is one of the most exciting Brazilian artists. In 2022, she won the Best Brazilian Album category at the Latin Grammy Awards with Indigo Borboleta Anil. In 2023, Liniker became immortalized by the Brazilian Academy of Culture, taking the seat once held by Elza Soares, the eternal Brazilian singer. Liniker's sophomore album CAJU has quickly become a classic in Brazilian popular music. The album's 14 tracks -- some extending beyond seven minutes -- demonstrate Liniker's commitment to artistic expression over commercial constraints. Liniker showcases versatility and artistic growth through a seamless blend of pop, samba, jazz, R&B, and house. Songs like "Veludo Marrom," "Tudo," and "Ao Teu Lado" shine for their musical complexity and emotional depth. Its success led to multiple wins at 2024 Multishow Brazilian Music Awards, including Artist and Album of the Year.

2025 repress. Originally released in 1968, Caetano Veloso's debut album did for Brazilian music what the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers did for rock & roll, giving birth to the soon-to-be Tropicalia movement, which fused Brazilian music with pop, psychedelia and social awareness (and Veloso's leftist politics actually earned him a stint in jail in 1968 for 'anti-government activity'). Veloso, nonetheless went on to become one of the most popular and influential Brazilian musicians of all time. Includes the genre-defining classics "Clarice" and "Soy Loco Por Tì, América", "Superbacana", "Tropicalia" and "Alegria, Alegria". Now with bonus CD of the album and OBI "bookmark" Japanese style.

"My Solid Ground was a German progressive rock band that was founded in Rüsselsheim in 1968. Several lineup changes in its early years led to a change in the band's musical direction. In the summer of 1970, the band entered the studio for the first time and recorded the nearly 25-minute opus 'Flash.' The five musicians submitted this track to a band competition organized by Südwestfunk as part of the popular program Pop Shop. They came in second, attracting the interest of the record industry and landing a contract with the progressive Bacillus label of the Frankfurt-based Bellaphon record company. In spring 1971, they recorded the LP My Solid Ground in Dieter Dierks' studios in Cologne, which was released in October of that year. My Solid Ground toured, played at festivals, and made television appearances. In the summer of 1971, they were invited to record another studio album with their own songs at Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden. This album is available as bonus tracks on the re-release. In 1972, the band's lineup changed again, resulting in a complete reorientation of the personnel. Plans for a second My Solid Ground LP were made but never realized. The band broke up for good in 1974 after releasing only one album."

"The debut album by Cologne-based psychedelic rock band Gomorrha was released in 1970 on the Cornet label, which was distributed by BASF. However, the band rejected the original German-language version and re-recorded the album with English lyrics and a new singer, Peter Otten. A year later, it was released under the title Trauma. In 1972, I Turned to See Whose Voice It Was followed on Brain, after which the four musicians went their separate ways. For example, Ali Claudi enjoyed worldwide success as a jazz and blues guitarist, working with artists such as Bill Coleman and Big Joe Turner. Composer and guitarist Ad Ochel became a successful architect and is delighted about the re-release of the three albums produced by Conny Plank on CD and in digital format. He recalls: 'Many critics wrote about the apocalyptic mood of our last LP. But when I look at the state of the world today, I am overcome by an uneasy feeling that often keeps me awake at night.'"