CIANI, SUZANNE
Buchla Concert At Galeria Bonino New York April 1974 LP
The very first Buchla synthesizer performance by revolutionary composer Suzanne Ciani finally makes its fifty-year journey from its switch-on New York art gallery to its long deserved and discerning global phonographic audience. With this previously unheard vinyl pressing, Finders Keepers Records present an archival project of "art music" that not only redefines musical history but lays genuine claim to the overused buzzwords such as pioneering, maverick, experimental, groundbreaking and esoteric, while questioning social politics and the evolution of music technology as we have come to understand it. To describe Italian-American composer Suzanne Ciani's resurrected Buchla Concert records as genuine gamechangers would be a gross understatement. These records represent a musical revolution, an artistic revelation, a scientific benchmark and a trophy in the cabinet of counterculture creativity. This sonic installation album, alongside her recently liberated WBAI/Phill Niblock 1975 sessions (FKR 082X-LP), are triumphant yardsticks in the synthesizer space race and the untold story of the first woman on the proverbial musical moon. While pondering the early accolades attached to these golden era New York recordings it's daunting to learn that these records were in fact not even records at all. What exists on this disc now was a manifesto and a one-time gateway to a new world, which somehow was only partially pushed ajar. Captured here is a genuine live act exploring new territories with a fully performable music instrument. If the unfamiliar, modernistic, melodic pulses, tones and harmonics found on these 1970s artistic gallery collaborations/live presentations (then soon to be followed by academic grant applications and educational demonstrations) had been placed in a phonographic context alongside the widely marketed work of Morton Subotnick, Walter Carlos, or Tomita, then the name Suzanne Ciani and her infectious influence would have already radically changed the shape, sound and gender of our record. With the light of Buchla and Ciani's initial flame Finders Keepers continues the journey through the vaults of this increasingly celebrated music legacy, illuminating these "non-records" that evaded the limelight for almost half a century.
Keiji Haino is, without question, one of the truly iconic artists to rise beyond the dusk of the 20th century. An artist focused singularly of the beautiful visceral promise of music, his practice is a many-headed beast taking in movements from the gentlest of guitar play, through free improvisation and noise. As divergent as the work might be, it is held tightly by his unique way in sound, one that exists moment to moment with a force like no other. 20 years since its first release, Black Blues remains one of his most provocative recordings -- a collection of 6 songs, recorded twice over. One version "Violent," the other "Soft"; and the differences could not be more radical. Black Blues exists at both margins of Haino's sonic spectrum. At the Violent end, each piece is delivered with a sense of tangible intensity. In some moments it is as if listeners are inside Haino, his voice completely consuming all it comes in contact with. The guitar, carving a path that is part rhythm, part harmony, its tenderness cradling his voice with a determination and generosity. By contrast the Soft versions are almost lullabies, all be it ones that carry a mournful and anguish ladened atmosphere. Here the guitar splays out into clouds of reverb that shimmer at the edges, housing a voice which is constantly seeking a deeper resolution within the songs. Gentle but never settled. Black Blues captures the dynamic form of Keiji Haino's work in its most raw form; voice and guitar. The songs encapsulate a very particular portrait of an artist whose work only continues to grow deeper in is wonder and profundity.
A note from Hasegawa: "The first LP by the Taj Mahal Travellers was recorded at Sogetsu Hall in Tokyo on July 15, 1972, which became the title of the work and was released the same year by CBS Sony Records. A live performance celebrating the 50th anniversary of this album was held on July 15, 2022. The only original members of the Taj Mahal Travellers who attended were myself and Seiji Nagai. This is because two of the six members passed away, two are religiously active and they cannot play music according to their belief, and the last one has lost touch with us. Therefore, young musicians were recruited to perform with us. This performance was a spark of improvisation that broke 50 years of my silence. Let me recall a little about the day of the concert. The venue was a live house called Forestlimit Hatagaya, about 20 minutes by car from Shibuya. In the pouring rain, we ended up entering a narrow alley from where it was impossible to reach the place by car, so after unloading my instruments, we had to head back to a wider road and find another route. The venue was small and located on the basement floor. Among performers and stuff members we were more than ten people, and including the audience, in total about 60 people gathered on that day. Indeed, the place felt packed like a crowded train in Tokyo. Many of the performers were meeting each other for the first time, and not only the audience but the participating musicians themselves could not imagine what the performance would be like. For this live performance, I asked my friends to perform stone, shadow, bamboo, and gorilla."
A Colourful Storm presents the first vinyl edition of Yahho no Potori, a treasured recording by one of the most cherished contemporary Japanese folk outfits, Eddie Marcon. Comprised of the core duo of Eddie Corman and Jules Marcon, Eddie Marcon was formed in Himeji in 2001, following Corman's involvement in noise-rock duo Coa and Shinsuke Michishita's fabled psychedelic outfit, LSD March. Marking a stylistic shift into delicate, acoustic territories, the duo would release dozens of albums and singles, mostly self-released through their Pong-Kong imprint, that have seen little distribution outside of Japan. Recorded over a particularly humid summer and autumn, Yahho no Potori sees Eddie Marcon drifting from the delicate psychedelia of their debut EP into traditional song-based structures. A touching document of joy, tenderness and wistfulness, Marcon's deft yet effortless strum sets a stylish backdrop for Corman's voice to ascend. Desirous yet self-assured, Corman breathes life into an intimate space adorned by the elegant instrumentation of Yashuhisa Mizatani, Yoriro Tatekawa, Ran Mizutani, and Saya Ueno, whose ingenuous collaborative instinct has been gifted to listeners through collectives such as Tenniscoats, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, and Spirit Fest. Here, she also lends her engineering prowess, having produced the album. Devotees of ambitious yet beautifully understated songwriting, as well as followers of Reiko and Tori Kudo, Nagisa Ni Te and Ai Aso, will find much to adore in the songs of Eddie Marcon. An intense and devastating recording, A Colourful Storm is proud to give new life to a shimmering, underappreciated gem.
LP version.If I don't make it, I love u is Still House Plants third album and the fullest embodiment of their sound to date. Where Fast Edit formed with quick attachment and jump cuts, If I don't make it is shaped by persistence -- a commitment to the songs that makes the music solid, warmer and accepted. Marking the trio's decade of friendship, this is the first record written whilst all live in the same city since 2017's Assemblages. The band rehearsed it relentlessly, playing for nobody except themselves, consistently building support for one another and growing the way they play. Jess's voice is deeper. Fin's guitar is full size, richer. David drums harder. Focused on one point together, everyone gets bigger and nothing falls apart. The guitar and the drums blend, raise the voice, make room for what is being said, what is felt. When able to finally record, production allowed layers, gave elasticity, a chance to fully stretch. Playing with length and connections, the band brought in analog techniques -- a Leslie cabinet on "Headlight", sidechaining the snare with the guitar, pushing vocals through cheap DJ software -- each process an attempt to bring one instrument closer to another, to give bass, body, backup. If I don't make it, I love u seeks beauty, holds feeling maximum and builds surety with its sound. The most generous SHP record to date, the music is wide open, demands less. Play it again, it will come clear.
"A gorgeous soul-jazz organ quartet album that hearkens back to early-mid '60s sessions of similar form; fully revitalized by William Parker's indelible compositions and the generous musical gifts of Darryl Foster, Cooper-Moore, and Gerald Cleaver. A straight-up joy. This very special project was produced by William Parker for his own Centering Records imprint, and dedicated to his Aunt Carrie Lee and Uncle Joe (pictured on album cover). It was created to celebrate the occasion of their 65th wedding anniversary on August 6th, 2010. William wanted to get this album finished in time to gift to them for that auspicious date, and he did! He wrote seven of the songs in Dec 2009 toward the Jan 2010 recording session; 'Ennio's Tag' and 'Oasis' were previously written and they fit in perfectly. The CD was officially released on Centering Records in October 2010. Two pressings were made, and have long sold out. The special one-time only LP pressing was made in time for a family celebration/Organ Quartet performance on May 19, 2024 at An Die Musik in Baltimore. Remastered and re-sequenced for vinyl, the LP includes a full-res download card of the album as originally released on CD, including three additional tracks."
LP version. Punk note edition. "I Against I is the third studio album from Bad Brains, originally released in 1986 on SST Records. It remains influential to this day, inspiring countless punk, ska, reggae, and hardcore bands with its innovative sound and uncompromising attitude. This reissue marks the eighth release in the remaster campaign, re-launching the Bad Brains Records label imprint. In coordination with the band, Org Music has overseen the restoration and remastering of the iconic Bad Brains' recordings. The audio was mastered by Dave Gardner and pressed at Furnace Record Pressing."
Sonor Music Editions presents this restored reissue of Maestro Sandro Brugnolini's Overground. This elusive masterpiece in library music captures the most impressive work, alongside Underground (1970), of the Italian composer and alto sax player. Overground was released on Sincro Edizioni Musicali in 1970 as the soundtrack to Enrico Moscatelli and Mario Rigoni's documentary Persuasione, commissioned by Ente Provinciale Per Il Turismo Di Trento, a local tourism board in Italy, with music composed by Sandro Brugnolini and Luigi Malatesta, featuring some of the best musicians in Italy at the time like Angelo Baroncini and Silvano Chimento on guitars, Giorgio Carnini on piano and organ, Enzo Restuccia on drums, and Giovanni Tommaso on bass and effects. The music spans from underground psychedelic prog rock with swirling organs, trippy effects, and distorted fuzz guitars to sophisticated Lounge grooves with avant-garde orchestrations. The music has been transferred and remastered from the original master tapes. It has been lacquer cut in stereo by Jukka Sarapää at Timmion Cutting and packed in a thick cardboard sleeve featuring a fully restored painting by Umberto Mastroianni licensed by Centro Studi dell'Opera di Umberto Mastroianni.
CHBB was a project by Beate Bartel (Mania D./Matador) and Chris Haas (DAF) that developed from their collaboration in 1981, while working on the self-titled album Liaisons Dangereuses. They released their music only on four limited cassettes. This compilation presents the complete works of CHBB, including all recordings from their original cassettes alongside previously unreleased tracks produced by both artists.
When KMRU relocated to Berlin from Nairobi, he was immediately fascinated by the German capital's relative silence. Back home, he was surrounded by sound: the omnipresent churr of birds and insects, the chatter of passers-by, and the electrical smog belched out by criss-crossing power lines and roaring transformers. In Berlin, this noise was muzzled; pedestrians wandered the streets with headphones in, barely communicating, while electrical cables were hidden away underground, and wildlife retreated from the imposing, concrete jungle. KMRU compares this observation with his visual experiences. Acclimatizing to life in Western Europe, he realized that night, a dusky blue-black lit up by streetlights and shops, offered little contrast with day. Nighttime in Kenya felt more tangible, somehow. After 6PM, when the sun sets, even the dim glow of a screen can dazzle the eyes, which must quickly adapt to the conditions. And as anyone who's closed their eyes while listening to music will know, the ears also adjust when visibility is impaired, enhancing even the tiniest sounds. So KMRU used this phenomenon to inform Natur, a billowing long-form narrative that blurs the audible spectrum with an imperceptible sonic universe, contrasting cacophonous electromagnetic soundscapes with more familiar and grounding natural sounds. The piece was composed in 2022, and since then KMRU has made it a live staple, tweaking and reshaping it as he performed on tour with Fennesz, and with the London Contemporary Orchestra at Southbank Centre. The experience allowed KMRU to sculpt not only the album's crucial dynamics, but its philosophy. Natur is KMRU's most uncompromising work to date, crackling to life from dense clouds of static and intimidating, dissonant drones. Using electromagnetic microphones, he uncloaks the commotion hidden by the digital era's ambiguous stillness, juxtaposing roaring, mechanical growls with microscopic glitches and tranquil, electrical wails. When environmental recordings do appear, they're used as transitions between the thickets of harsh noise; sometimes hard to identify, they subconsciously remind the listener that behind the wall of sound there's a natural world in constant communication, continually adapting to the fluctuating ecosystem. KMRU sees Natur as a way to reconsider what technology actually is and how it changes perceptions of reality. On Natur, KMRU allows listeners to visualize a concealed landscape, one that's teeming with life and in dialog with mechanization.
"Ugly Things #66 on the cover: a mind-blowing, emotional interview with Michelle Phillips about the stratospheric highs and catastrophic lows she experienced with the Mamas & the Papas -- the music, the men, the drugs, the power trips, and the magical, inviolable, fragile chemistry they shared as a group. Also: the history of Peru's greatest psychedelic band, Traffic Sound; Peter Stanfield goes deep on the MC5's 1972 UK sojourn; '60s garage punks the Emperors from Long Beach, California and the Traits from Pelham, NY; the continuing story of UK '70s punk outsiders the Subway Sect; soul music songwriter hero Dan Penn; Japanese Mod power pop trio the Badge; Canadian '60s garage/psychsters the Fringe -- and lots more, including, as always, the expansive and essential review sections covering all the latest vinyl and CD reissues, and rock 'n' roll-related books."
Skin Bank is the second full-length vinyl release from Italian techno deviant Crypto Order. Drawing inspiration from conspiracy theories, occultism, transhumanism and the New World Order, the project mixes confrontational themes and recycled propaganda with a haunting blend of dark beats and ominous melodies. Thanks to a prolific body of work amassed over the last few years, savvy listeners who have been paying attention to the right places will know him already as an unorthodox force to be reckoned with in today's underground music world. A hallmark of Crypto Order's work is an enigmatic deployment of both sound and vision. Heavy electro-style breakbeats and extra-terrestrial atmospheres create a warped-yet-familiar sound reminiscent of early techno, whilst a compelling visual aesthetic evoking echoes of the early industrial and power electronics scenes infuses it further with a sense of mystery. Themes of power and control have been par for the course in the music of Crypto Order and Skin Bank is no different, manifesting a world that invites the listener to question the reality around them and dive deep into the shadows of their own repressed and murky consciousness. This is a kind of electronic body music which sends you into a dystopian realm of chaos and intrigue, throwing up uncomfortable questions along the way.
LP version. On From The Source, Causa Sui's first new studio album since 2020, the band has created some of their most ambitious music ever -- simultaneously travelling through the sonic landscapes that has come to define the group's sound and pushing towards new horizons. With the four bandmember's ties to jazz, experimental and ambient music, Causa Sui is something of an anomaly in the ever-growing European psychedelic rock scene. Always following their own path. Never before has the group's wide-ranging influences been more meticulously weaved together as on From The Source, from groovy Zamrock and electric jazz to floating post-rock, Sabbath riffage and hypnotic kosmische. The album was recorded during months of sessions in their own studio, refining each part gradually through intense explorations, yet keeping room for improvisation and favoring "magic" takes over clinical perfection. The temperament of the music spans white-iron hot and sub-zero chilled with every ebb and flow in between. Dynamic range has always been central to Causa Sui but on this set the band explores it to a new degree -- every track twists and turns, seamlessly leading the listener down unpredictable paths. The pinnacle of the album, and arguably of the band's singular ethos in general, is the sidelong odyssey, "Visions of a New Horizon" -- a 24-minute suite in seven parts. An appropriate closing monument on the album that marks the 20th anniversary of the band.
CONTE, NICOLA
Umoja (Joaquin Joe Claussell Sacred Rhythm Music & Cosmic Arts Remixes) 2LP
Double LP version. Renowned New York City house music icon Joaquin Joe Claussell has embarked on an electrifying project of ecstatic, spiritual club music with his latest endeavor: a double album worth of reinterpretations of the music from Italian jazz master Nicola Conte's 2023 album Umoja. Claussell's collaboration with Nicola Conte and Far Out Recordings helps mark the label's 30th anniversary, as Claussell joins fellow producers such as Theo Parrish, Ron Trent, Kenny Dope, and 4hero in remixing music from the label's catalogue. Extending the tracks from Umoja for full length, dance-floor focused mixes, Claussell has accentuated the original music's global, Afro-futurist vision with comprehensive rearrangements -- featuring additional percussion, guitars, keyboards, synthesizers and drum programming -- excavating the source music and re-recording many of its parts under the auspices of his Sacred Music & Cosmic Arts banner.
"George Adams (1940-1992) was a passionate tenor-saxophonist who always had his own intense sound and personal approach to playing jazz. Paradise Space Shuttle is his third album as the sole leader and includes the set standard 'Send In The Clowns,' 'Metamorphosis,' a tribute to Charlus Mingus, and the album opener 'Intentions.' The line-up for these recordings included Ron Burton on piano, Don Pate on bass, Al Foster on drums, and Azzedin Weston on percussion. Paradise Space Shuttle includes newly written liner notes by music journalist Scott Yanow."
Shit And Shine return to Riot Season where it all began with their debut You're Lucky To Have Friends Like Us (2004) for their 20th anniversary. Rum And Coke, is only available as a limited edition white vinyl LP (300 copies worldwide) with download code and hype sticker. The album also features vocals from Callum Howe (The Shits) and it's Shit And Shine at their filthy/noisy best. Guitar/vocals -- Craig Clouse; Vocals -- Callum Howe (The Shits); Drums -- He Who Will Remain a Mystery. Mastered by James Plotkin. Rum And Coke comes stumbling out the speakers with the week old stench of an alcoholic exiting his late night hideaway into the sunshine of a new day. It is the sound playing inside his fermented brain as he heads of in search of his next tipple. It's grimy, it's noisy. It's a bit of a bastard. Heavy, impenetrable layers of gnarled guitars, slurred vocals, pounding drums all wrapped in a blanket of thick sludge.
Octet supergroup lead by Eric Quach aka Thisquietarmy. Including three drummers, guitar, synth and brass players (who also play in bands such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Exhaust, Hanged Up, Avec Le Soleil Sortant De Sa Bouche, and more); Pangea De Futura brings together the merged and emerging territories of Montreal's exploratory music scene. War Milk is the debut studio album from the supergroup, an octet that has been exploring since 2019, the many ways of -- slowly -- constructing massive textural musical shapes and droning tribal post-rock ambiances. Each track simultaneously encapsulates its structure emerging from and within a flux, alongside its impending entropy, creating a suspended moment. This intense experience is crafted through the combined rhythmic contributions of Aidan Girt, Eric Craven, Samuel Bobony, the merging brass arrangements of Véronique Janosy, Reüel Ordoñez, Neboysha Rakic, the electronic textures provided by Charles Bussières, and the intense drones/soundscapes created by Eric Quach's guitar playing. Eight musicians, involved -- in total -- in some fifty projects from the Montreal scene.
VA
Women In Turkish Electronic Music CD
After the release of the Anthology of Turkish Experimental Music 1961-2014 (SR 390CD, 2016), this new series of recordings unveils the diverse creativity of young Turkish female artists. The majority of these compositions were crafted between 2021 and 2024. The anthology presents works from 15 Turkish female artists, each contributing to the album's beauty through their multifaceted creations. It encompasses various styles, ranging from purely formal music to innovative electronica, incorporating remnants of Turkish harmonies, as well as pieces with conceptual or political undertones, varying in intensity from subtle to overt. Featuring Aslz Kobaner, Eda Er, Elif Yalvaç, Eylül Deniz, Fulya Uçanok, Gökçe Uygun, Gülce Özen Gürkan, Güls¸ah Erol, KAOSMOS, MelteM Ural, Mine Pakel, Pervin Güzeldere, Senem Pirler, Seinemis, and Zeynep SarÏkartal.
LP version. "Diamanda Galás' In Concert is not simply a live album. With nothing but a piano and the full expressive range of her extraordinary voice, Diamanda Galás strips away the comforting patina of time, tradition and stylistic convention to expose and express the raw human emotion that is the living heart of a song. It explores an eclectic range of material; rembetika, soul, ranchera, country and free jazz, and her passionate eviscerations reveal their hidden kinship. Four of the songs -- 'O Prósfigas,' 'La Llorona,' 'Let My People Go,' and 'Ánoixe Pétra' -- are for and by the forsaken, outcast and debased; the other three are hardboiled love songs. In Concert features select recordings taken from performances at Thalia Hall in Chicago, and Neptune Theatre in Seattle from 2017. The songs are drawn from disparate sources. Diamanda is of Maniati Greek and Middle-Eastern Greek/Egyptian origin, but she was born near the border of San Diego and Mexico, hearing the corridos, ranchera, and ballades daily, so the album draws deeply from both sources. Crucial to her performance are song types with ancient roots, primarily the amané, a vocal improvisation of Anatolian Greek origin. Amanés can be defined as a last prayer to the mother by a dying soldier, with the word amané itself possibly deriving from the Greek word mana, mother. Echoes of amanés can be heard in the Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, but in origin it is a primal lament, expressing grief and loss. The origins of the amané are archaic; its spirit is urgent and timeless."
"Ms. Galás breach[es] the limits of music, improvising, mixing classical bel canto singing with demonic shrieks, muttering and glossolalic runs. Her vocal range is stunning, though the precise parameter is unknown." --The New York Times
"Galás shows us humankind as both culprit and victim, a self-destructive pawn that each year grows guiltier, sadder, and more overwhelmed by the weight of bottomless trauma." - Pitchfork
"Every so often an album comes along that, from the very first seconds, fills one with a state of overwhelm and wonder, knowing that one has stumbled upon something truly special. Swedish musician Petter Herbertsson has been steadily recording and releasing albums for over two decades with his group Testbild! (not to mention many other projects under various aliases), but he recorded his so-far career defining statement with Ulrika, an album of almost imperceptible beauty. Quietly released at the tail end of 2023 by Sweden's Dilettante Productions in an edition of 199 copies, Ulrika unfolds like a flower in the morning sun, slowly opening and unveiling itself to the world. It's hard to believe that Herbertsson plays all of the instruments on the album, as it is an especially sumptuous affair, with guitar, vibraphone, all manner of keys (including some especially lovely harpsichord), melodica, vocals and more all intertwining with each other. In someone else's hands it could easily have come across as stiff and crowded, but here every instrument is given its proper amount of space to breathe, with an organic feeling of warmth that one just wants to sink into. Although some analogs can be made to '70s era Robert Wyatt, Brian Wilson's lush arrangements or Slapp Happy's charming avant-pop, Herbertsson has done an impeccable job of distilling these influences into his own defined sound. From the production to the compositions, nothing about Ulrika feels modern, the entire affair sounding like it could have been released in 1972 (in the best way possible). Rarely does 21st century music reach the levels of artistic maturity found on Ulrika."
"Tidal Perspectives is an album by Giovanni Di Domenico, Pak Yan Lau, and John Also Bennett. Recorded across a single afternoon in Brussels, Belgium, the album's four parts are a rippling alchemy of processed Rhodes piano, sizzling ceramics, and liquified bass flute, a rare meeting of three unique voices from the contemporary music landscape that manages to flow with the depth and effortless inevitability of the oceanic tides. Giovanni Di Domenico, an accomplished composer and prolific collaborator who has released albums with Jim O'Rourke, Eiko Ishibashi, and Akira Sakata, among many others, initiated the collaboration with Bennett after the two met at a record fair in Saint-Gilles, Belgium and bonded over a shared inquisitiveness for unconventional sonic combinations. Along with Pak Yan Lau, a Belgian-born sound artist and improviser who has developed her own rich and unique sonic footprint, the trio entered the studio with little, if any, discussion beforehand, jumping right into playing without preconceived structures. The resulting recordings had a depth of sound and emotional resonance surprising even them, with finished pieces emerging from single live takes and minor edits. Bennett, known for his solo work as well as his collaborations with Christina Vantzou as CV & JAB, gives listeners here a taste of his bass flute in free-flowing form. Unconstricted by concept, joyfully and lazily bouncing off the melodic shimmers of Di Domenico's Rhodes, Bennett uses his flute's pitch information to trigger long tones that emerge like rays of light piercing through low hanging clouds - moments of clarity among a clicking world of sonic stimuli. Meanwhile, Lau's crackling and sometimes dissonant contributions on prepared piano, live hydrophone, and custom ceramic sound objects balance out the triangle, adding a sense of microcosmic intrigue that allows the music to seamlessly ebb and flow between moments of comfort and misty uncertainty. The album's title track and climax, the eighteen minute 'Tidal Perspectives,' drifts in with some kind of clarity, Lau's glinting tonal waves edging in just beyond the horizon lines drawn by Di Domenico's Rhodes and Bennett's bass flute. But like the tidal flows of the Atlantic that inspired its title, just as you begin to perceive what's happening, the currents have already taken you out to sea."
Wisdom Teeth co-founder K-Lone presents a deep, broken techno vibe on this EP, Catching Wild Pt. 2. Opener "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" is a deep and bubbly cut with dubbed-out rhythms and a one-vocal refrain that's looped, panned about the mix and doused in reverb to serve as a trippy hook. Further stabs, deft synth details, whirring pads and neon colors all add detail to this warm, dynamic sound. The fantastic "Elastick" is a tight and kinetic minimal kicker with gorgeously smeared pads. Fresh sound designs bring it to life next to lush background chords that layer in plenty of signature K-Lone color. "Shook" is a dubby and bouncy rhythm with rubbery bass and glitchy hits that hook you into a world of gloopy pads and heady cosmic ambience. Last of all, "Brake Root" keeps the good vibes coming, this time with a tumbling broken beat that makes you shake your body loose amidst balmy pads and beautiful melodic curlicues that ooze late-night soul. UK trailblazer K-Lone heads up the label Wisdom Teeth with fellow producer Facta and has released everything from club-primed garage to innovative home listening records. Whether cooking up kinetic beats and bouncy bass or soundtracking a lazy summer's afternoon with synthesized bird calls and lush marimbas, the London-bred artist is a proven studio wizard. Critical acclaim has come for both his Swells and Cape Cira albums, and now his Catching Wild EPs for Aus Music offer yet another portal into the colorful world of his idiosyncratic, signature sound.
Three years in the making, Livity Sound alumni Azu Tiwaline and Forest Drive West combine their distinct but compatible styles into an EP of advanced, reduced sound system immersion. The idea for the collaboration took shape not long after Tiwaline's first Livity release, the Magnetic Service EP, and the pair took time to settle on a sound set which now shapes out Fluids In Motion. Drawing on a cohesive palette, the tracks they pieced together in a remote exchange between Tunisia and the UK explored a variety of tempos and rhythms ranging from pure ambience through to spring-loaded 4/4, with a focus on minimalism and dub-spirited spatial sound design. The end result naturally evolves from each artist's existing work, matching subtlety and space with intricate detail to present a complete, considered release that runs as deep as an album over the course of four tracks. 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.
Seven Villas continues selecting its "all-time favorites" works from the catalogue for this second part of the Ten Years Anniversary. Six hidden gems that have never been release on vinyl, beautiful deep works by Pablo Bolivar & Ben Preisinger, Nhar, Ercos Blanka, Francisco Aguado, Juand Deminicis & Pablo Acenso, and Alessandro Crimi.
Squama regulars Enji and Popp join forces on Nant, the debut LP by their newly minted duo Poeji, exploring the confines of post-dub and downtempo. 2022's three-track EP 031921 5.24 5.53, released as a limited run of dubplates, was the first testament to their open approach to writing, which takes only very basic ideas and relies on non-verbal communication to define form and pace. Enji's vocals are less center-stage than on her solo endeavors, piercing through reverb plates and guitar pedals while Simon inked his signature set of wooden and metal percussions with chains of tape echoes and analog delay. Listening to Nant as a snapshot of Poeji's artistry at a certain time and place can instill a sense of gratitude within the listener that something so fleeting can be captured.
Simon Huxtable's Inhmost project has been a focal outlet for his ambient and downtempo compositions. Pierre Nesi's Owl production alias likewise is rich in ambient tones and textures. The resulting collaboration is chillout bliss.
Miles Davis' historical second quintet with Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Tony Williams (drums). A perfect coalition of young, creative individuals under Miles' direction. A turning point in the whole history of American jazz. Recorded live in Germany in October 1964, this double album features hyper-adventurous renditions of classic tunes including Davis originals like "All Blues," "Milestones," and "Walking," as well as standards like Rollins' "Oleo" and Cole Porter's "All of You." A highly recommended document from one of the key groups in modern jazz.
Salétile return to the Keroxen tenfold with their second long play of '60s inspired psychedelia and neo shoegaze tunes. With its members hailing from a particular area of northern Tenerife with its ever present "panza de burro" -- a layer of insistent low clouds overcasting the region -- the tone and feel of Salétile's music had to be naturally clouded and somber. A periphery sound from the periphery then, a local approach of a popular sound with a calm and serene attitude. While their first album, Humanoides del abismo ("Humanoids of the Abyss"), evoked an underwater journey, for their second outing Salétile emerge swiftly into the surface to continue their peculiar sound explorations of their precious surroundings, adding different layers of pressurization. A more pronounced melodic intention is present but without abandoning the care for textures and atmospheres that defined their debut, as well as the use of contemporary techniques such as looping and real-time processing, encompassing influences as diverse and timeless as classical music, 1950s R&B, 1960s pop, hip-hop, dub, 1990s English shoegaze, concrete music, slowcore, or math rock. A loopy pot of sources from a hermetic band that is not afraid of pushing their many influences to the foreground. Salétile are Daniel García, Elsa Mateu, and Ruymán García. Mastered by Daniel García. Artwork by Gustavo García . Vinyl pressed in Spain.
2024 repress. "James Brown had several incredibly talented 'funky divas' in his late '60s and early '70s stable, including Vicki Anderson and Marva Whitney. But as great as those two powerhouse singers were, Lyn Collins was the strongest hit maker of that funky JB era. Her strong voice and commanding stage presence -- which earned her the nicknames 'The Female Preacher' and 'Mama Feelgood' -- quickly proved to be a potent addition to the People Records universe. In the spring of 1972 her second single, the driving and ridiculously funky 'Think (About It),' hit the R&B music world like a ton of bricks. As fans young and old know, thanks to its timeless, relentless groove and powerful vocals, 'Think' gained a powerful second life in the 1980s thanks to the hip-hop generation, fueling the platinum smash 'It Takes Two,' by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock in 1988 and additionally sampled by dozens of hip-hop and dance music artists up to the present day. But Collins was far from a one hit wonder: she was as vocally adept on ballads as she was with full-blown funk. She proves this throughout her debut album, which was released in 1972 on James Brown's new People Records label -- the imprint's second full-length release. To wit, aside from the title smash: a powerful and emotional cover of Bill Withers' 'Ain't No Sunshine,' the socially progressive 'Women's Lib,' the Gamble & Huff-penned 'Never Gonna Give You Up' (originally done by Jerry Butler), and even a daring, muscular take on the song 'Fly Me to the Moon,' made famous by, among others, Frank Sinatra. All throughout Think (About It), Collins shows that she was a vocal force to be reckoned with. Backed by a James Brown-assembled musical crew that included Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley, and, of course, James Brown himself, the platter was bound to impress and succeed. And that it did."
"Originally seeing the light of day in April of 1992, Harsh 70s Reality was not just a high water mark for that year, but for the ages. Technically this was the band's fourth long-play outing, and as a double-album, it followed (and was ever so slightly informed by) two formidable juggernauts that preceded it: Twin Infinitives and Lake. But it was Harsh 70s Reality that left the decade stronger and more resonant than it came in. People say that rock music died with the passing of Kurt Cobain. But The Dead C slaughtered it in its sleep with this tremendous set of grinding thud. It is in every sense the ultimate post-rock album. To hear it is to understand why one scribe back in the day referred to their sound as 'a garbage truck backing over the abyss.' A legendary release from a legendary band on a legendary label."
2024 restock. The year was 1974. Until then, only Los Destellos had recorded a non-instrumental cumbia song, "Elsa," in 1970. Víctor Casahuamán Bendezú, a musician, creator and the composer behind Grupo Celeste understood that in order to continue the legacy of Peruvian bands from the sixties like Los Demonios de Corocuchay, Los Yungas, and Los Demonios del Mantaro, it was necessary to address in his lyrics a special and urgent topic: the feeling of displacement from the homeland and the vicissitudes of the migrant sector. The experiences of those who traveled from the provinces to the capital in search of opportunities they could not find in their towns of origin; the process of settling and adapting in a foreign city; the challenges derived from this change of environment; the recognition of a different culture and the creation of a space they understood as their own were the stories that had to be told in the songs. This is why Grupo Celeste was the backbone of cumbia in Peru: it established a common story that thousands of migrants would identify with. From this idea and impetus was born En el campo, the band's first single. Never before had the lyrics of Peruvian cumbia been able to touch the reality of migrants from the countryside living in the capital. The band not only wove the nets of that urgent, necessary reconnection, but also gave birth to one of the most relevant popular singers in the history of Peru: Lorenzo Palacios Quispe.
Released in 1999 on Taylor Deupree's 12k label, optimal.lp was the debut album by Dan Abrams under his Shuttle358 moniker. For its 25th anniversary, Keplar presents it on vinyl for the first time with three previously unreleased tracks, as well as a new artwork recreated by Daniel Castrejón and a remaster by Andreas [LUPO] Lubich based on the original pre-masters that were been restored and cleaned up for the reissue project by Abrams. optimal.lp was inspired by the rich tradition of ambient music and the rhythmic complexity of 1990s electronica while also sharing many traits with the then-emerging clicks'n'cuts movement, making it a true sui generis piece of work -- both informed by tradition and visionary, idiosyncratic and seminal for many artists after him. During the 1990s, Abrams increasingly immersed himself in the electronica scene and the output of labels such as Instinct, where Deupree worked as an art director and released his first records as Human Mesh Dance. Abrams found a home on 12k after sending Deupree a demo tape that would later evolve into optimal.lp, released as the label's fifth catalogue number. This sense of timelessness remains tangible after a quarter of a century after the album's original CD release and is even being expanded upon by the vinyl reissue, which is complemented by three pieces that were made while Abrams was working on the album. The digital release even features an entirely new take on the original album's final piece, "Tank." While Abrams let one of the masters go through his customized reverb unit when preparing the reissue, he started recording the results of this accidental dialogue between past and present. It's a fitting tribute to an album whose delicate circular rhythms, rich textures, and ethereal melodies are precisely so exhilarating because their interplay seems to suspend the passing of time altogether.
"Completing Kranky's chronologically reverse reissue program of the earlier Loscil albums on vinyl, the 2001 debut album is issued on the format for the first time with the addition of three bonus tracks from the same sessions that produced the original release."
"Pay no mind to the label and pay no mind to the producer's locale (Vancouver isn't Cologne or Detroit); Triple Point is one of the finest -- and most varied -- ambient techno releases of 2001." --AllMusic
"Finding itself nestled halfway between the endlessly spacious mechanoid constructions of Berlin's Basic Channel and the drifting expanses of Labradford, Scott Morgan's work as Loscil never ceases to impress with its deft use of technology and percussion." --Boomkat
Twenty years after its original release, Paul St. Hilaire (AKA Tikiman) and René Löwe's eternal classic Faith is being reissued for the first time. Richard Akingbehin's Kynant Records -- which recently released the first solo Tikiman album since 2006 -- is behind the reissue of Faith, giving new life and the first digital release to one of the most beloved dub techno 12"s of all time.
ORCAS
How To Color A Thousand Mistakes LP
LP version. Following a ten-year hiatus, multi-instrumentalists Rafael Anton Irisarri and Benoît Pioulard return with How to Color a Thousand Mistakes, their third LP together as Orcas. Building on the electronic minimalism of Orcas (MORR 111CD, 2012) and the Twin Peaks-inspired haze of Yearling (MORR 128CD, 2014), the duo have expanded their sound and vision into a full-spectrum ensemble. Recorded in a variety of studios and cities including Brooklyn, Cambridge, Oxford, Seattle, and upstate New York, the resulting album, under the tutelage of UK producer James Brown (Arctic Monkeys, Kevin Shields, Nine Inch Nails), is a patiently-crafted beast, equally inspired by impressionism, British new wave, and dream pop. With Irisarri's guidance and Brown's encouragement, Pioulard brings his velvety voice to its harmonized peak on songs like "Wrong Way to Fall" and the Durutti Column-indebted "Fare." Where his most recent solo albums for Morr Music (Sylva and Eidetic) navigated foggy forests of ambient pop and stacked tape loops, here his characteristic blur shifts into focus with a unique degree of clarity and confidence. Lead single, "Riptide," is a summary of Pioulard's life changes and personal upheavals in the past decade, "flitting eastward toward a yen deep in the past" and learning to glide through the tumult of ocean waves, as a metaphor for the punches one takes in pursuit of grace. Its towering, key-changing midsection arrives with the monumental drumming of Slowdive's Simon Scott. On third-act highlight, "Bruise," Scott is doubled on the drum kit by MONO's Dahm Majuri Cipolla, whose Liebezeit-influenced metronomy anchors a nimble bass groove from Andrew Tasselmyer (of Hotel Neon), and some of the album's most syncopated, spaced-out interplay, courtesy of Puerto Rican guitar player Orlando Méndez (a childhood friend of Irisarri's). Throughout How to Color a Thousand Mistakes, Irisarri uses his deep well of production experience to paint the stereo field with meticulously designed textures, exemplified on the slow burn of "Heaven's Despite" and the heady rush of "Swells." How to Color a Thousand Mistakes brims with tight, complex art rock songwriting, masterful production, and sonic versatility, informed by a plethora of genres and tonal hues. The title might promise answers, but the gravitational center of the album is the dawning realization that, as you reckon with the infinite whims of the cosmos, there could be none.
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Get House (Josh Wink Interpretation) 12"
Move On Up (Mark Knight Remix) 12"
Paradise Space Shuttle LP
Live At Montreux And North Sea LP
Ten Years Of Seven Villas (Part II) 12"
Beyond A Moonless Night LP
Stadthalle, Sindelfingen, Germany October 8, 1964 2LP
Uncle Joe's Spirit House LP
Tequila Y Aguardiente 12"
If I don't make it, I love u LP
The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours CD
Umoja (Joaquin Joe Claussell Sacred Rhythm Music & Cosmic Arts Remixes) CD
Umoja (Joaquin Joe Claussell Sacred Rhythm Music & Cosmic Arts Remixes) 2LP
Saturno 3 -- Atmosfera 0 LP
Punk Rock Clothes For Heroes 7"
The Broadcast Album 1968-1970 LP
The Rolling Stones On Tour '66 (Volume 2) LP
Club Cute (Pink Vinyl) LP
More You Becomes You (White Vinyl) LP
The Brian Jonestown Massacre LP
Complete Session, Nov 81 LP
College Tour Vol. 1: The Complete Nothing Is... 2CD
Bells/Prophecy: Expanded Edition 2CD
Buchla Concerts 1975 (2024 Version) LP
Buchla Concert At Galeria Bonino New York April 1974 LP
Wake Up Your Mind (Deluxe Gatefold) LP
Shaolin Soul Episode 3 2LP+CD
Introduction To Living Country Blues USA: Field Recordings from Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Virginia, etc. 2LP
Living Country Blues USA Vol.2: Blues On Highway 61 LP
Living Country Blues USA Vol.1 LP
I Against I (Plutonium Color Vinyl) LP
I Against I (Punk Note Edition) LP
Funky Chicken: Belgian Grooves from the 70's Part 1 2LP
Funky Chicken: Belgian Grooves from the 70's Part 2 2LP
Women In Turkish Electronic Music CD
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