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LIFE 061LP
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Tokyo playwright, director and artist J A Caesar sprang to prominence in the early '70s largely through his work with Shuji Terayama's Tenjo Sajiki Theatre, specializing in vaguely sinister music. The Kokkyou Junreika release, often considered Caesar's finest work, was culled from the five hours of music written for the original play distilled down to an album's worth of ageless chants, Buddhist mantras, heavenly invocations and fuzztone guitar vamps supported by Caesar's droning electric organ and the eerie female vocals of Yoko Ran, Keiko Shinko, and Seigo Showa. An album that sits comfortably alongside early Ash Ra Temple, Cosmic Jokers, and ATEM-period Tangerine Dream.
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LIFE 060LP
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Though short-lived, the New York Contemporary Five brought together NY free players Don Moore on bass, J.C. Moses on drums, Archie Shepp on tenor saxophone, and Don Cherry on trumpet with Danish alto saxophonist John Tchicai. Their 1966 album Consequences is a true masterpiece of fire music.
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LIFE 059LP
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Reissue. The debut album by forward thinking English piano player Keith Tippett was a turning point in British jazz evolution. The overall atmosphere and aura of You Are Here... I Am There points at the influences of jazz musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and Charles Mingus. This strong tendency points to other contemporary European players like Jan Garbarek and Miles biographer Ian Carr. Tippett's compositional style also reveals traces of his classical training, unveiled by a harmonic and dynamic awareness. Bridging the line between UK more adventurous prog-rock and Afro-American fire music, this 1970 album stands as a masterpiece on its own.
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LIFE 058LP
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Outstanding and limited compilation of Turkish jazz-funk rarities. The release explores what happened when Western music styles such as modal jazz, bossa nova, fusion, and funk met Arabic folk music, tone scales and rhythm structures in the late sixties and seventies in Turkey and Egypt. Features Emin Findikoğlu, Mustafa Ökzent ve Orkestrasi, Erkut Taçkin, Fikret Kizilok, Erkin Koray, Aksu Orkestrasi, Ferdi Özbeğen, Erol Pekcan, Okay Temiz, Erol Pekcan Orkestrasi, and Durul Gence 10.
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LIFE 056LP
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Think about Can as performed by a shaman commune! Two long LP-side size compositions, focusing on tribal rhythms (without real drummer), heavy-folk and electronic samples and loops. Takahashi Yoshihiro (Brast Burn) was the man behind this cultish project originally released in 1974.
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LIFE 057LP
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More Japanese lysergic madness! The 1972 soundtrack for Shuji Terayama's visionary movie of the same name contains all the elements necessary to reach composer and theatre producer J.A. Caesar's intended pleasure-centers. Disturbing, but in the end truly innovative, this soundtrack is a certified gateway to the underworld in the vein of classic by Faust, Cosmic Jokers, or early Amon Düül.
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LIFE 055LP
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Massive free-from psych from the Japanese cult band, three long tracks almost approaching 55 minutes in pure controlled chaos. Formed by band leader Mizutani Takashi, their music remained remarkably familiar over the years, and is best described as high volume, raw lo-fi repetitive feedback-drenched guitar noise fests with nods in the direction of the Velvet Underground and Blues Creation.
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LIFE 054LP
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Second album from the Japanese psych-prog band that started out as Far Out in 1973. The record is basically a concept: "The Cave" is arriving onto the planet, and the group is generally celebrating the beauties of nature. Heavily influenced by Floyd (Atom Heart Mother era), the group lays down some very credible ambiances that even Waters & Co. could've pulled off. This album draws Klaus Schulze's attention and he will collaborate with FEFB on their next one.
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LIFE 052LP
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The collaborative album 5 Na Bossa was originally released in 1965 on Philips Brazil and featured some of the top player of the genre. If you are into the sound of Nara Leão, Edu Lobo, and Tamba Trio, this is a magical encounter, bringing together Nara's soft voice, Edu's battering guitar and Tamba's swinging vocals. Featuring classic compositions like "Reza" and "Zambi," this album is a must have for any fans of the Latin jazz legacy. The set was recorded live at the Paramount Theater in Sao Paulo.
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LIFE 049LP
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This extremely rare psychedelic album contains two long tracks, which provide an interesting forty-seven minutes long surreal experience for willing listeners. Led by Japanese guru Karuna Khyal, the band literally shows a narcotic and hypnotic groovy feel heading to massive bluesy tribal section. A cult in its own.
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LIFE 051LP
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Tone Float is the debut and only LP by the German band Organisation. The band featured two Kraftwerk former members: Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben. The album was produced by Konrad "Conny" Plank and it was an astonishing example of free rock meets avant-garde music, including a great variety of abstract noises, percussions and organ chords. Contrary to others Kraftwerk albums this one is really groovy and trippy. The psychedelic shape of a cult to follow.
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LIFE 047LP
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No. 2 is the second studio album by Serge Gainsbourg, originally released in 1959. It features Gainsbourg backed by the Alain Goraguer Orchestra. Definitely a mutant jazz-pop album with a strong chansonnier feel and a touch of French literature. The album cover is a reference to French author and musician Boris Vian.
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LIFE 045LP
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This somehow mythological album from one of Iran's top sitarist lurches between traditional Eastern forms and more modern Western styles, blending the two into a fascinating fusion of cultures and flavors. Similar to the work of Indian rare groove master Ananda Shankar, the record brings to life the ultimate marriage of funky drums, lush horns, wah-wah guitars and Eastern harmonies. A necessary re-discovery!
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LIFE 042LP
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"Their music reaches from blues to jazz into space," proclaimed the original liner notes to this highly collectible record, just released in 1968. Hailing from Boston, the Far Cry were a talented seven-piece blending psych rock and R&B, in the vein of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Rare Earth, with a further look into the realms of Beefheart Magic Band and John Cipollina Quicksilver Messenger Service. Their sole album still maintains a distinctive sound, melting acid guitar, sax and even vibraphone, organ and conga.
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LIFE 046LP
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An obscure country-psych rock relic from Kansas. In 1968 four of the five original members of The Wizards From Kansas formed a band called New West, and began playing in the Lawrence, Kansas area, at clubs and parties. Californian guitarist Robert Manson Crain joined the group soon thereafter, expanding to a quintet. Reaching on the same esoteric drift as Clear Light or Emitt Rhodes, the band unleashed an even excellent cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Cod'ine," more in the vein of Quicksilver M.S.
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LIFE 043LP
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Som Imaginário (Imaginary Music) is a Brazilian band from the '70s. They joined together to support Milton Nascimento in his first record and shows. Their style is heavily influenced by jazz, classical music and rock. Their self-titled debut from 1970 is a must have, a psychedelic South American cult all in all.
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LIFE 041LP
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A.R. & Machines is the solo project of one Achim Reichel. Released in 1971, this album still retains a magical touch. Ranked between the most original kraut albums of all the time, Die Grune Reise (aka The Green Journey) really is a trip. Turning his back to the original beat movement, Reichel embraced the infinity of a multi-layered sound, experiencing the most prolific path of prog rock while joining the obscure meanders of the lysergic renaissance.
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LIFE 040LP
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Nephew of world-famous sitar player Ravi Shankar, Ananda made an important impact in the '70s psychedelic scene by combining Western electronics and Indian music in order to create stunning instrumental jams. The jungle safari-tinged Sá-Re-Gá Machán was released in 1981 but still maintains a certain soundtrack feel to it, more akin to previous decade excursions. Still a magical clash of eastern and western musical dichotomy.
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LIFE 038LP
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This record is a nice summary of some of the band's earlier work -- when infamous bassist Moriaki Wakabayashi was still playing before he went and hijacked a plane (he was a member of the "Yodogō Group" of the radical New Left Japan Communist League's "Red Army Faction" that carried out the hijacking of Japan Airlines Flight 351 in 1970, ultimately forcing the plane to fly to North Korea, where Wakabayashi currently resides). A seemingly endless sonic flame-throwers of phased white noise streak across your inner landscape, as stupidly loud and overly-backlit lead guitar emissions perpetrated by a perpetually be-shaded longhair pummel the similarly be-shaded but barely adequate musical backing that sags and creaks under the wattage. Contemporary groups like the Wooden Shjips would have killed for it. Occasionally, lead vocals of a singular variety are provided by said be-shaded mad axeman, whose paranoid personality ensures all songs are delivered in a voice of querulous subterranean gargling from beyond the valley of Alan Vega. A great collection of LRD tracks with a good level of cohesiveness that brings everything you would expect from this band to the table.
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LIFE 037LP
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Insect Trust were an American jazz-based rock band that formed in New York in 1967. The members of the band were Nancy Jeffries on vocals, Bill Barth on guitar, Luke Faust -- formerly of the Holy Modal Rounders -- on guitar, banjo, fiddle, and harmonica, Trevor Koehler on saxophone, and Robert Palmer (1945 -- 1997) on clarinet and alto saxophone. Elvin Jones and Bernard Purdie both drummed with the group at times. Bill Folwell, who had played with Albert Ayler (and later an original member of The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo), on bass and trumpet; as well as Warren Gardner on trumpet and clarinet, were part of the band by the time they recorded their second album. The band probably took its name from William S. Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch. The music ranges from surreal folk-rock (in the vein of such local heroes like Holy Modal Rounders and Fugs), to Booker T.-like pop-soul, to flat-out free jazz. Never intended to be a traditional pop act, the Insect Trust should be best remembered for extending rock's boundaries and taking the genre to a much hipper level without resorting to a lot of banal technique.
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LIFE 036LP
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This album is compiled from the Hoggin the Stage and BBC In Concert sessions. In the 1960s, The Groundhogs were among the pioneers of the British blues revival. The group shifted to a more rock sound in the early 1970s and placed three consecutive albums in the UK top ten between 1970 and 1972.
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LIFE 035LP
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Best known for his proficiency on the oud, John Berberian has been releasing music since the early-1960s. While attending New York's Columbia University, Berberian made his professional musical debut playing the oud in support of violinist Reuben Sarkisian. While completing an MBA from Harvard, Berberian managed to find the time to become a staple on the Manhattan nightclub scene. In 1964 he was signed to Bob Shad's New York-based Mainstream Records, where he recorded a pair of Middle Eastern-themed instrumental collections. Those were followed by a pair of albums for George Goldner's Roulette and Jerry Schoenbaum's Verve Forecast. Music Of The Middle East was originally released in 1966 on Roulette and showcased all of the composer brilliancy. The group he formed to perform the traditional music of Turkey, Armenia, Greece, Arabia and North Africa, succeeded in creating a vividly exotic blend of rhythms, melodies and improvisations into an early global beat. Still a breathtaking experience.
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LIFE 033LP
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Exotica masterpiece finally reissued! This record is produced by Martin Denny, arranged by pianist Paul Conrad and features vintage Exotica's second lady who is only outclassed by the Peruvian chantress Yma Sumac. It's Exotic Dreams, released in 1958, that puts "the enticing voice of Ethel Azama" (1934 -- 1984), a Hawaiian jazz singer, into the spotlight. Martin Denny discovered her a few years later and was able to negotiate with his house label Liberty Records, which granted Azama the opportunity to release one LP on which Denny also provides the liner notes (on a side note, Jimmie Rodgers succeeded with his negotiations as well, granting Azama a contract for a second LP in 1959). Exotic Dreams is one of those superb records that live up to the hype due to both the beautiful voice of the singer and the exotic arrangement alike, causing the listener to execrate the missed opportunities of releasing further material, as Azama faded into obscurity shortly thereafter despite her obvious talent, various gigs in Hawaiian and Australian night clubs and her recurring role in the '70s TV series Hawaii Five-0.
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LIFE 034LP
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Japan goes to Africa! It's more than a bit ironic that Tak Shindo's most "exotic" album, the superb Mganga!, boasts no connection to his own Japanese heritage, instead focusing on the primal rhythms and tribal chants of Africa. Rooted largely in the arranger's experience on the Latin jazz circuit, its Afro-Cuban rhythms, sampled animal sounds, and chants capture an African musical culture based far more in fantasy than reality, much as rival exotica maestros like Martin Denny and Les Baxter conjured interpretations of the Far East driven by suppositions and daydreams. Shindo documents an Africa informed by libraries and dancehalls, not first-hand experience. That said, Mganga! is vibrant and intoxicating, with a rhythmic intensity quite uncommon for its era. For an artificial experience, it packs a genuine wallop.
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LIFE 032LP
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Reissue, originally released in 1962. Sounds of Africa is the fourth album by double bassist and oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik featuring performances recorded in 1962 (with one track from 1961) and originally released on the New Jazz label. This early '60s Afro-jazz jam with Middle-Eastern and Latin flavors is one of the first in its genre. The album also features Bilal Abdurahman, Andrew Cyrille, and Chief Bey. Seminal!
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