CD digipack. After a prolific cassette discography, The Totemist marks a new direction for the mysterious group. Equipped with studio quality recordings and a (somewhat) lighter tone, opposed to the oppressively lo-fi sound the group is known for. This is a deep psychedelic-folk album with hints of mysticism, some of which was written and recorded in a ghost-town in the Chihuahuan Desert in far West Texas -- a place where the dead outnumber the living. Various overdubs and field recordings were captured in the historic Terlingua cemetery: an ancient burial ground filled with small grottoes and graves made of sticks and stones. This being the final resting place for miners who succumbed from illnesses derived from the toxic rare-earth element known as mercury. Originally released as an LP.

Unglee Izi -- France's elusive and impenetrable one-man electronic project -- delivers his most introspective and self-contemplating work to date. Four hours of music spread over four CDs, Le Temps Des Figures Du Soleil Noir proceeds further with his inexplicable open-ended quest in sound. This new episode in the Musique de l'A.S.M.A. saga confronts listeners with a new staggering journey in surgical-precision electronic compositions soaked in dark/bliss mystifying ecstasy that solemnly directs towards unknown spiritual realms. Olivier Messiaen is the only actual musical reference Unglee Izi has explicitly validated in regards to this truly comprehensive work in his oeuvre. The 4 CDs are housed inside a thick cardboard slipcase along with a 150+ page booklet featuring a selection of Unglee Izi's cryptic and gorgeous photography. The journey starts and ends here.

LP version. Finally back in print! Originally released by EMI's Pathé Marconi imprint in 1969, People in Sorrow -- a 40-minute work by the four-piece lineup of Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors -- has long been unavailable on vinyl and CD, and then only in hard-to-find European and Japanese issues. It is arguably the finest and most ambitious of the 14 studio albums recorded by the Art Ensemble during their 23-month sojourn in France, which launched the American group internationally. People in Sorrow can be viewed as the culminating event in the Art Ensemble's inventive and revolutionary approach to collective improvisation, counterpoising clamorous free-blowing intensity with expanses of hushed conversation on the group's immense arsenal of "little instruments." Fully licensed from Warner Music, and augmented with new liner notes by veteran U.S. music journalist Chris Morris, this release marks the long-awaited return of the record that Chicago-based writer, curator, and label operator John Corbett calls "one of the most luminous albums of creative music ever made." This edition faithfully recreates the first French Pathé-Marconi pressing of People in Sorrow (1969), which originally featured black graphics on a light (white or off-white) background and red Pathé-Marconi labels, rather than the yellow cover seen on later issues. The vinyl LP includes an inlay with detailed liner notes, while the CD Digipak (PL 195CD) comes with a 12-page booklet containing the same material. The album has been newly remastered by Moritz Illner (duophonic), who also handled play Loud!'s acclaimed reissue of the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Les Stances à Sophie.

"12 Dub Classics brings together the giants of Jamaica's golden dub era in a deep, resonant collection of rhythm and atmosphere. Featuring foundational figures including The Revolutionaries, The Aggrovators, Niney & The Observers, Twelve Tribes of Israel, Ken Boothe, Gregory Isaacs, Jimmy Riley, and Phil Pratt, this LP captures the essence of the studio-as-instrument ethos that shaped the roots of reggae and sound system culture. Each cut showcases the signature production and performance brilliance of the period -- the cavernous basslines, echo-laden percussion, and swirling textures that define dub at its most transcendent. From the militant power of 'Garvey Dub' and 'Majority Rule Dub' to the cosmic sway of 'Star Wars Dub' and the soulful undertow of 'Public Eyes,' this set traces the full dynamic range of the genre. Moments like 'Jah's Children In Style,' 'Harmony Dub,' and 'Mafia Dub' reveal why the interplay between musicians and engineers such as The Revolutionaries and King Tubby's associates remains unmatched. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl and accompanied by detailed sleeve notes, 12 Dub Classics stands as an essential document for reggae collectors, sound-system selectors, and anyone devoted to the timeless pulse of dub."

LP version. On their ninth album for Bureau B, the internationally renowned Berlin/Düsseldorf-based outfit Kreidler focus on atmospheric soundscapes -- of course maintaining their signature rhythmic groove, which on Schemes is simply more buoyant and less insistent. Schemes is also characterized by the more pronounced use of nature/outdoor recordings. The track featuring Leo Garcia as a guest vocalist is based on just such a field recording. With Schemes, Kreidler step into a more ambient space of possibilities, crafting an album that feels both carefully considered and delightfully unguarded. The songs on Schemes are like beads hanging on a string. Each one distinct, yet connected. Swinging in a warm breeze. Catching the light from different angles. The album begins with "Beads," with a funky stabby synth drives the song, which nonetheless maintains a hazy ambivalence. "Klove Twin" begins with tiny bells emanating some foggy substance intoxicating the band into a mid-tempo shuffle with some brash brush strokes. "Scrap Metal" might be the genre. "Snowflakes" are enjoying a summer dance, layers of synth melodies intertwined. "Marble Upset" plays with memory, activating recollections of present past, a slowed down rave, faint images, glimpses and gasps. "Via de me," big city, nocturnal lights, an ambient pop take. It may be really quiet, still there are better things to do than to sleep. Leading to "Fenix": Leo Garcia just happened to be in Berlin for a concert. The old friend from Buenos Aires built his euphoric vocal melody impromptu over a noisy urban field recording. The bird rising up out of the ashes, fighting the miseries, towards the light. It is a protest song of the unusual kind. The home stretch is "Tar," where some cicadas continue in a similar spirit, tiny animals having a night on the tiles. The smell of tar in the sun, soft and deep black, in sharp contrast with the background of gently curved hills, pastel-colored, asking what it takes to live peacefully together. The cover artwork by Luzie Meyer mirrors this spirit: A dialogue of sorts, on a string, a psychoanalytic dance. Ideas clash, yet disputes are solved amicably.

A note from Lawrence English: "Akira Kosemura's Polaroid Piano is a record that is very close to my heart. In fact, it is Akira's work that was one of the drivers for Someone Good, one of the Room40 sibling labels, to be founded. Polaroid Piano marks the beginning of what would later become known as felt piano music, an approach to the piano which was picked up by numerous artists across subsequent years. It captures an essential and intimate rendering of the piano at close proximity, but it does more than that, it allows the piano to breathe within the places around it. Structurally, the record is a collection of piano-led vignettes. Each piece is a microcosm of lived in music, which is porous, and opens themselves outward, inviting a sense of time and 'the present' to seep into the music. They feel instantly intimate and evocative, melodies imprinted with the world around them. In some of the recordings a siren calls out from beyond the immediate acoustic space of the studio, whilst in others birds seep in and the rustling of Akira's clothing folds into the music itself. When we first discussed the recording, Akira had invited me to offer some sounds that might act as a leaping off point for the compositions. I collected a series of field recordings which were offered as simple and suggestive prompts, and as a means of imagining 'other' environments which might be simultaneously in orbit of the places Akira was recording in. Some of those field recordings are captured in the record, like a memory being recounted at a distance of time. Polaroid Piano is a unique record for many reasons. One is it manages to manifest an acoustic transcription of that 'momentary' quality of its photographic namesake. The pieces are auditory snapshots and reflect a certain quality of harmonic light and timbral exposure that is unquestionably tethered to the aesthetics of the polaroid format. It is a record that celebrates the body of the instrument as a sound source and invites us to be proximate to the resonation, and the living qualities of sound, that make music so utterly profound, and gratifying."

2026 restock. "46 years after I first heard Stare Kits on a cassette, they finally have an LP. About time! This NYC quartet's name often comes up in discussions of the No Wave era, which make sense. The members -- Angela Jaeger, Amy Rigby, Michael McMahon, and Bob Gurevics -- were all fans of the scene, and involved with various aspects of TR3, one of No Wave's pre-eminent showcases. UT played their first gig opening for Stare Kits. Rick Brown (Blinding Headache, Information, etc.) played guest sax with them. Julia Gorton used Amy as a photo model almost as often as she used Lydia Lunch, and so on. But despite such connections they were not a No Wave band. Stare Kits's music certainly use instrumental elements in line with No Wave's ethos, but these're part of a much larger mix. The band's basic approach is much rockier and punkier. Bob's guitar parts are more in the tradition of Quine and Reed than they are Lydian, the McMahon/Rigby's rhythm section is more primitive than martial, and Angela's vocals are goddamn melodic. Closer musical comparisons might be made to a various aspects of UK bands from Penetration to Wire to Deaf School to X-Ray Spex. There's a soupçon of a '79 UK DIY rattle to some of the tunes as well. But there is an ineffable something lurking in their collective soul that keeps Stare Kits's instrumental sound grounded in the NYC art-punk/street-rock continuum. Angela's vocals may resemble Penelope Houston's at moments but there's not much overt political content in Stare Kits's lyrics. An eclectic mix of elements? Yeah, and it sounds fucking great. The saga of Stare Kits was laid out pretty well in Angela's excellent book, I Feel Famous (Hat & Beard Press 2025) and was also part of Amy McMahon's equally dandy Girl to City (Southern Domestic 2019). Now's your chance to hear what their hubbub was all about." --Byron Coley, 2025

2026 repress. "It's safe to say that hip-hop has never seen an album like Ol' Dirty Bastard's 1995 solo debut Return to the 36 Chambers. The brief glimpses of ODB's unhinged genius provided by Wu-Tang Clan's landmark Enter the Wu-Tang album two years earlier were begging to be expanded on to a larger canvas, and, with RZA guiding production, the album promised to give Dirty the creative license to make one of the most bizarre, entertaining and original LPs in hip-hop history. With his raspy, drunken flow and dark sense of humor, Dirty fearlessly attacks from all angles, throwing himself fearlessly into punchy rhyme attacks ('Damage,' with GZA), drugged-out party jams (the monster singles 'Brooklyn Zoo' and 'Shimmy Shimmy Ya') and bizarre, grimly hilarious fantasies of sex and violence ('Don't U Know' and the R&B-tinged 'Sweet Sugar Pie'). Backed by RZA's appropriately gritty, dissonant beats and appearances from the Clan, Return became an instant hit, selling over 1 million copies and earning a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album in 1996. The album stands as a high water mark in the Wu Tang Clan's collective creative output and was selected as one of the Best 100 Rap Albums by The Source magazine in 1998. In honoring the legacy of one of hip-hop's most innovative releases, Get On Down is proud to present this incredible and unique special edition of Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers as a double LP which contains the complete original album, remastered for optimal sound quality." Includes 18"x24" poster.

The iconic Saharan rock band's sixth album, Assikel, is by turns intimate, raw and deeply atmospheric. Recorded on analogue tape, with the band playing live and direct, the album fully captures their instinctive interplay and hypnotic presence. Songs of resistance, community and longing. Music for this moment. For two decades, Tamikrest's music has illuminated the sound, culture and conscience of the Kel Tamasheq (Touareg) people of the Sahara. Tamikrest means "connection" or "union" in Tamasheq, and the band have become one of the Kel Tamasheq's most vital voices, raising awareness of their plight while channeling experiences of exile, loss and resistance. Their sixth studio album, Assikel, which means "voyage" or "journey," shows just how far the band have come. Formed in 2006 by Ousmane Ag Mossa and Cheikh Ag Tiglia, both originally from Tinzawaten near the Mali-Algerian border, Tamikrest emerged under the influence of Tinariwen, those legendary pioneers of Ishumar guitar music. A serendipitous encounter with Glitterbeat's co-founder Chris Eckman and his group Dirtmusic at the 2008 Festival in the Desert in Mali marked the beginning of a long-standing partnership with the label -- one that has since helped bring the band to international attention. They are now an established four-piece with guitarist Paul Salvagnac, who joined in 2012, and percussionist Cédric 'Momo' Maurel, who joined a year later. Assikel marks a deliberate tonal shift. Drawing on years of touring and improvisation, the band chose to record live to analogue tape. The idea was inspired, in part, by their love of the sound created by Altın Gün's engineer/mixer Jasper Geluk. Recording took place over ten days in October 2025 at Jasper's Tone Boutique studio in Haarlem (NL), using a late-1960s 16-track tape machine. The result captures the rawness and spontaneity of the recording process, with this desire to go back to basics also extending to the album cover visuals, which were shot on film to give the artwork a grainy, timeless aesthetic. Thematically, Assikel continues Tamikrest's exploration of exile, displacement and assouf -- that untranslatable Tamasheq word encompassing nostalgia, longing and homesickness. This is, in short, music that only Tamikrest can make. Featuring Ibrahim Ag Alhabib.

2026 repress. "Regular edition" on 140 gram vinyl. We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records' new sister-label) present the official reissue of criminally overlooked Japanese jazz gem Mellow Dream by Hokkaido pianist wunderkind Ryo Fukui, originally released in 1977. Released in conjunction with the its legendary predecessor 1976's Scenery (WRJ 001CD/LP/LTD-LP). Firmly standing on the foundation he laid down with Scenery, Ryo Fukui continues his exploration of modal, bop, and cool jazz sounds with meticulous grace and absolute mastery. As its title suggests, Mellow Dream ventures into slightly mellower, more soulful, and sometimes more contemplative territories (the Bill Evans-reminiscent "Mellow Dream" and "My Foolish Heart") while still packing the commanding punch Fukui's work is loved for, as heard on the amazingly bombastic "Baron Potato Blues" or the gigantic McCoy Tyner/John Coltrane-influenced "Horizon" which sees each member of the trio -- Satoshi Denpo is on bass and Yoshinori Fukui is on drums -- demonstrating their virtuosity for nine exhilarating minutes. With his sophomore album, Ryo Fukui swings from melancholy to vibrant joy with ease, and reminds you that jazz is best served with a pinch of blues, and displays an immensely rare combination of pure talent, unique personal approach and focused discipline. The man undeniably deserves a spot in the pantheon of all-time great jazz pianists. After releasing the outstanding Scenery and Mellow Dream back-to-back, Ryo Fukui worked on developing his live skills, often performing at Sapporo's Slowboat Jazz Club (which he co-founded with his wife Yasuko Fukui), and even releasing two live albums. He sadly passed away in March 2016, leaving behind a legacy of works that all jazz lovers should explore. Sourced from the original masters. Mastered at half speed; 140 gram vinyl; includes sticker.

2026 restock. Deluxe gatefold 2LP version; 2nd edition, no longer contains the (marginally viable) 3CD glasses. Includes a download code that can be used to download all tracks plus a 24-page digital booklet (note: it no longer includes a physical booklet). 'You won't find Os Mutantes or their maestro Rogerio Duprat on this compilation. There is a reason that the records contained here have never been reissued. Even though you will recognize some of the labels contained here... believe me when I write this: some of the rarest, and best, examples of fuzzy, funky Brazilian psychedelia came out as promo-only 7" records on these labels.' Each song contained on this album has never been reissued, and has been restored from the best source possible and remastered for near-perfect sound quality. Artists: Celio Balona, Loyce E Os Gnomes, The Youngsters, Serguei, Fabio, Tony E Som Colorido, 14 Bis, Banda De 7 Legues, Ton E Sergio, Ely, Com Os Falcoes Reais, Marisa Rossi, The Pops, Loyce E Os Gnomes, Piry and Mac Rybell.

Gap Mangione's monumentally influential Diana In The Autumn Wind. They said it could never be done. And with good reason. Be With has spent the past 12 years trying to license this legendary 1968 recording from Gap and, after much work, it's finally here. Remarkably, this is the first ever vinyl reissue of Gap Mangione's Diana In The Autumn Wind, produced with the full and extensive participation of Gap. An exceedingly rare album, it's been coveted by funk, soul, jazz and hip-hop sample fiends for decades. It's unarguably the most sought-after album for J Dilla/Madlib sample collectors. It has also been brilliantly sampled by A Tribe Called Quest, Large Professor, Ghostface Killah, Kendrick Lamar, and Talib Kweli. But this record is so much more than a sample-spotters curio. It's solid gold throughout. Bursting with killer funky-jazz grooves and tracks adorned with warm electric piano, the release is notable for featuring some extremely significant players at the very outset of their careers; Tony Levin, at 21, whose superb playing on both acoustic and electric bass was the harmonic mainstay of the trio and Steve Gadd, at 23, one of the greatest drummers of his generation. Gap's story is told in his words alongside rare photos across a sumptuously designed two-page insert and, to augment this deluxe edition further, it's all wrapped up in a beautiful, no-expense-spared luxury tip-on sleeve, as per the original hens-teeth release. The tracks are short but complex, with that extraordinary rhythm section backing the beautiful piano, organ and electric piano work of Gap. It's a stunning blend of the vibrant, driving music of the Gap Mangione Trio coupled with the sensitive composition and superb orchestration of Gap's legendary brother, Chuck Mangione, who helmed an amalgam of seemingly disparate elements -- rock, big band jazz, solo improvisation and "classical" music -- into a spectacularly cohesive whole that has aged wonderfully well. As Gap himself notes in the liners, "with this group I was able to explore and add new and exciting elements from rock, Brazilian and then-current pop music." Under the watchful eye -- and extremely attentive ears -- of Gap Mangione himself, the audio for Diana In The Autumn Wind has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, with a few much-needed tweaks here and there, according to the artist's wishes. At the prestigious Abbey Road Studios, Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at the always stellar Record Industry in Holland.

"Between 2010 and 2016, the ever-enigmatic Residents -- operating as the trio of Randy, Chuck, and Bob -- embarked on an astonishing creative run that included three acclaimed tours: Talking Light, Wonder of Weird, and Shadowland. These shows, which enthralled audiences around the world, reimagined the group's legendary back catalog while introducing a wealth of new stories, characters, and conceptual frameworks. The Residents Present Randy, Chuck & Bob in the Studio opens a long-locked vault from that era, offering a rare glimpse into the band's creative process with two sides of previously unreleased studio material spanning 2009 to 2015. Drawn from the group's extensive private archive, this collection features demos crafted for the live shows, alternate mixes, rehearsal recordings, and full-on studio improvisations. Listeners can hear The Residents at their most uninhibited -- shifting between ambient experimentation, absurdist pop, and surreal storytelling in ways only they can. It's an intimate document of a band both honoring and deconstructing its own mythology, offering diehard fans and newcomers alike a front-row seat to the strange alchemy that defines their sound. The album's unfiltered approach reflects The Residents' eternal fascination with art-making as a form of theater -- one that is spontaneous, confounding, and continually evolving. Whether through reimagined classics or cryptic new works, The Residents Present Randy, Chuck & Bob in the Studio captures a pivotal era in the group's five-decade legacy, revealing how chaos and control coexist within their singular creative vision."

LP version. Unreleased sound objects by Pierre Henry. Reload and original composition by ErikM. Bidule 2.0 is a unique reinterpretation of Pierre Henry's little-known sound heritage combined with ErikM's original composition. The album explores previously unused raw materials, transformed through ErikM's highly digital approach, balancing fixed composition and unexpected sonic events, a singular sonic experience where historical archives and contemporary creation converge.

"Bidule 2.0 is a composition by ErikM that revisits a selection of the unused sonic heritage of composer Pierre Henry, covering the period from 1950 to 1974, sourced from the Son/Ré studio and digitized by the BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France). Over the decades, Pierre Henry and his team accumulated a vast collection of sonic materials from their studio research. This sound library, recorded on analog tape, is a testimony to the recording techniques of that era -- including the quality of microphones and recording media, as well as the acoustics of the recording spaces -- all of which define the sound of a time. Not wanting to create a remix from the composer's iconic sounds, I chose instead to work with selections of raw material from unused recording sessions, 168 sequences ranging from one to twenty-two minutes each. Isabelle Warnier and Bernadette Mangin provided me with sessions of prepared piano, series of electronic sounds, feedbacks, and voice recordings. Pierre Henry's analog sounds were, for the most part, processed through successive stages (up to five generations of transformation), using a custom electronic device: Idiosyncrasie 9.3, built on Max/MSP and Lemur." --ErikM

Volume 1. Concert at Prades-le-Lez marks the origins of the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra. In 1974, François Tusques and his companions (Michel Marre, Jo Maka, Adolf Winkler and Guem), in the spirit of Don Cherry or Chris McGregor, playfully dismantled all borders and all styles of creative music. The Intercommunal takes its audience from New Orleans to Brittany and on to North Africa, building unprecedented soundscapes around a song of revolt, a dance tune, and a burst of dissonance. This now-restored reissue of the two volumes of Concert at Prades-le-Lez, recorded on January 25 and 26, 1974 by François Tusques and his comrades, is an important event. In 1971, after recording a series of albums that would leave a lasting mark on French jazz, François Tusques founded the Intercommunal -- a grouping whose very name called for the fraternization of the various communities making up the country. Among the great records made by the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra, the two volumes of Concert at Prades-le-Lez come first. François Tusques and his companions performed on January 25 and 26, 1974 at the Moulin de Prades-le-Lez, a few kilometers from Montpellier. It was thus in the southern region of Occitanie that the first echoes of this musical vision of a borderless brotherhood were recorded. The energy is striking and it never lets up throughout these two recordings, from start to finish: jazz, blues, traditional music, minimalism, even funk. The musicians of the Intercommunal have heard a lot of great music and now delight in reinventing it by mixing it all together. "We want the song form to take its place as a weapon in the struggle against capitalist exploitation and all those who oppress us morally and materially," declared an Intercommunal leaflet, quoting Jean-Baptiste Clément, author of the lyrics to "Le Temps des cerises." The struggle was therefore serious -- but it did not prevent François Tusques and his group from waging it in a festive spirit: each piece on Concert at Prades-le-Lez sends out a call for love and fraternity. Fifty years later, the message remains as relevant as ever -- and once again, it is François Tusques who makes it heard.

Recorded live on location, this is a style of music unlike anything you have ever heard before and the first album of the Himba people's music ever released from northwest Namibia. From the album's producer and recordist, Ian Brennan: "The Namib desert is the oldest in the world. Therefore, the driest. Italian-Rwandan photographer, Marilena Umuhoza Delli and I had come to record with possibly the most photographed people on earth, the Himba -- to listen rather than gaze at them as if on display. To share their voices as a counter to their visual objectification, particularly the inappropriate eroticization of the women who customarily go topless throughout daily life. We had to stress multiple times that we did not want the musicians to don touristic tribal costumes -- quite possibly the first music project in history that urged performers to cover-up rather than pleading with artists to expose more flesh. But it was to no avail. When the assigned hour arrived, the men all ditched the baseball caps and soccer jerseys that they routinely wear. And for the women, the reality is that they almost without exception keep their torsos bare, even in winter. We had to acquiesce. Forcing the issue would have only been the flipside of inauthenticity. The featured, traditional instrument is the Cattle Gun. It's rarely found these days and therefore, costly. Made from the lengthy horn of an Oryx and coated in mud, it is blown, resulting in a breathy, rattled tone. Via the use of live looping on three of the album's tracks, psychedelic vocal tapestries were created as if snatched from the ever-shifting skies that enshrined the valley from all sides. But even more esoteric results arose from members cupping hands over mouth to create chorusing and flanging effects sans electricity or gear. Rather than 'primitive' or traditional, the Himba music making is imbued with innovation and timelessness.' Limited edition pressing of 500 vinyl copies with four-page color insert including photos of the musicians and liner notes by Grammy-award winning producer and author, Ian Brennan.

CD box, clamshell. "Recorded in January 2022 in Brooklyn, NY, this album traces the map of an extraordinary musical dialogue. Two guitars, two territories, a moment suspended in time. Loren Connors, an iconic figure in avant-garde blues for 50 years, and Alessandra Novaga, a unique voice in experimentation, come together here for an improvised performance that is both fragile and intense. A moment of deep listening to be shared beyond the boundaries of sound: in the communication between two artists of great sensitivity. A live event captured on record: mystery, emotion and improvisation combine to create the magic of this improvisational piece The concert was part of a season-opening evening at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, New York, which also featured Kim Gordon alongside Loren Connors seven years after their first duo, already immortalized on record in 2022 by the same label, Alara. This duet between Connors and Novaga is like an almost whispered conversation between two guitars, opening up spaces for listening, suspension and revelation. What this record captures is not simply a concert -- it is an immersion in the solemnity of silence, the tension of almost nothingness, the delicacy of sound gestures that are sometimes as if sprinkled. On stage, Connors and Novaga's interventions are overlapped and calibrated, with each silence itself becoming material. The guitars sometimes align in a beam of micro-details: quivering harmonics, subtle glides, dissolving attacks, minimal melodic droplets almost like piano notes. Their timbres blend -- Novaga's high-pitched grains, Connors' spectral depth -- to create a soundscape of subtle density. These emotions, bordering on the infinitesimal, do not impose themselves through intensity or crescendo, but through contained tension, attentive listening, and suspended moments."

2026 restock; LP version. "In 1986 Arthur Russell was diagnosed with HIV, that same year he released his career-defining masterpiece World of Echo, the first and only solo album issued during his lifetime. Arthur had found his voice and a fresh direction with a set of new, transformative material, unlike anything he or anyone else had previously released. His illness ensured that the artistic growth and sense of exploration encapsulated in World of Echo would be tragically curtailed. Within six short years Arthur was gone. Arthur's final years were filled with a renewed commitment to creativity and unceasing live and recording work. He regularly performed the World of Echo material and incorporated several of its compositions in collaborations with choreographers active in New York's innovative dance community. Arthur worked closely with Diane Madden, Allison Salzinger, Stephanie Woodard and John Bernd, usually playing his cello and effects boxes off stage as the choreographers' pieces were performed. In 1993 Arthur posthumously received a prestigious Bessie Composer Award for his work in the dance world. Picture of Bunny Rabbit features nine previously unreleased performances from this era compiled from completed masters culled from two unique test pressings, including one, dated 9/15/85 by Arthur, provided by his mother and sister. A further four tracks were discovered in his tape archive. The track listing includes an exceptional and dramatic solo recording of 'In The Light of a Miracle' and the enigmatic title instrumental 'Picture of Bunny Rabbit', written especially for a friends pet rabbit. The bulk of the material was recorded with engineer Eric Liljestrand at Battery Sound Studios, New York, which was located directly opposite the World Trade Center and at Arthur's apartment studio in the East Village."

For more than three decades, Go Hirano has developed a quietly enthralling sound world on the peripheries of the Japanese underground. Emerging in the 1990s, Hirano released three albums with the revered PSF Records label and established himself as an artist with a unique sense of melody and atmosphere that was both entrancing and intimate. His work, largely recorded at home and in the field, de-emphasized technical perfection in favor of an unvarnished immediacy that imbued the quiet moments of daily life with a dreamlike splendor. On The Habit, Hirano brings together recordings that span decades of his playing the piano and other instruments on a daily basis. The core of the album was recorded in 2020 at Pianola Records in Tokyo, while other pieces draw from recordings dating as far back as the late 1980s. Through this span of years, a coherent vision emerges, marked by patient, subtle engagement with repetition, space, and resonance. Hirano works with a restrained palette -- piano, pianica, wind chime, percussion, and synthesizer -- to develop simple melodic figures that gradually shift in harmony and texture. Spacious piano chords expand through soft synthesizer tones. Near-imperceptible rhythmic frameworks intertwine with tranquil phrases that drift and merge with the sounds of the world around them. This synthesis of music and the environment in which it is created is critical to Hirano's approach. Rather than isolating the music from its surroundings, he embraces the atmosphere of the moment, the room in which each piece is played, capturing the subtle sounds and artifacts of the artist's daily experience and the surrounding natural world. For Hirano, these "imperfections" are pathways to vibrant, living expression. While he may share affinities with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Hiroshi Yoshimura, and even Brian Eno, Hirano's dedication to "initial, unadorned expression" and processing the environment through his own particular filter sets him apart. The Habit reveals a meditative, melodic language unfolding over the decades and within the many spaces of a life in music marked by a unique warmth and beauty. Co-released with Conatala label, Japan. Mastered by Makoto Oshiro. Lacquers cut by Rashad Becker, Clunk Studio, Berlin. Pressed at Optimal Media, Germany. Artwork by Yukiko Ikeda. Design by Rob Carmichael, SEEN. Produced by Peter Kolovos, Conatala, and Rie Hirano.

2026 restock; Bureau B's 2009 reissue. LP version. Originally recorded and released in 1977 on Sky Records, the first collaborative album by Brian Eno and Cluster was the first ambient record produced in Germany, and is considered the seminal, defining work of the genre. Brian Eno was certainly instrumental in creating and popularizing the concept of "ambient music" -- but it was not his invention alone. The German musicians Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius (Cluster) were brothers in spirit. As so often in music, the idea of ambient was in the air -- both Eno and Cluster experimenting with the form in the 1970s, rendering any debate as to who influenced who redundant. What is certain, is that Brian Eno attended a Cluster concert in Hamburg in 1975, strategically positioning himself in the front row. Sure enough, he was invited on stage to jam with the band and, after the show, the participants arranged to meet up again. They did so two years later at the Old Weserhof in Forst, the domicile of the German duo. Eno and Cluster spent three weeks in Conny Plank's studio, resulting in two albums: Cluster & Eno and After The Heat (1978). In the liner notes, Asmus Tietchens (who also plays on the record along with Can's Holger Czukay) writes: "Clearly, all three musicians inspired each other during their three weeks together without any clash of personalities. Nevertheless, some tracks sound more like Cluster, some more like Eno. So it made perfect sense to collect the tracks with a Cluster flavor on Cluster & Eno." The importance of this record can never be overstated, nor can its elegance of diverse forms be matched. From Indian sitar and tamboura, to synth warbles and airy tributes to Western groove, it is a rare glimpse at what happens when masters meet.

Repressed. Sought-after compilation exploring the Group Sound movement that swept Japan in the mid-1960s. Under the influence of the Beatles, dozens of Japanese bands devoted themselves to exporting a wide genre that ranged from surf-rock, garage fuzz, psych and wild R&B. Featuring the influential The Mops, the Filipino band (relocated to Hong Kong) D'Swooners, The Golden Cups, The Beavers, The Carnabeats, The Spiders, The Voltage, The Bunnys, and The Spiders.

Synthetic meditations on the zodiac as envisioned by Decimus Magnus Ausonius (310-395). Last in a series of twelve Decimus LPs. The 12-LP cycle of the zodiac of Decimus Magnus Ausonius was originally initiated in 2011. Over the course of 15 years, LPs were release on various labels including Kelippah, Digitalis, Planam, Holidays and more. This present LP represents the resolution of this arc. Silkscreened by Alan Sherry at Siwa Prints.

"What's new for the first time in over a decade? Squirrel Bait's and Skag Heaven in the black. In '85-'87, their screamin' teenage psycho dilemmas stood way out in the emerging field of metal damaged hardcore punk. 'Kid Dynamite' would ring in your head like a #1 single that had just unseated 'Sun God' from the vaunted top spot. Every week. Anthems for the freaks! It happened fast. After a couple of records, guitarists David Grubbs and Brian McMahan split for Bastro and Slint (and Gastr del Sol and The For Carnation, respectively). With Grubbs went bassist Clark Johnson, original Bait batterie mate Britt Walford joined McMahan in Slint. Leaving only the stuff of legend: records eternally exploding with youthful feels through all the endless winters and summers of hearts and minds. Repressed, Squirrel Bait can now continue to dialogue with the young in the creation of new useful and unforgettable experiences. For the children of tomorrow as well as your own damn selves, get copies now."

Never heard of Canberra's Samuel D. Rich, who rocked our nation's capital for approximately a mere 18 months circa 1973-74? No? That's OK. Up until about a year ago, nor had Eminent Vinyl. They -- they were a band -- played with a host of luminaries of the day -- everyone from The Aztecs, Stevie Wright, Buffalo, Hush, and Bakery to Mackenzie Theory and beyond, recorded this album then split up. Through a rather bizarre chain of events, these unreleased recordings landed in Eminient Vinyl's lap from band member Geoff Rosenberg, and now there is this incredible LP, Theme of Discontent. The group's sound was caught somewhere between the Oz-Prog of Spectrum, Mackenzie Theory, and Kahvas Jute, mixed with the acid-rock guitar flash of Santana and the psychedelic funk groove of early Chicago (minus the brass, and substitute it with a whole lotta flute, thanks). The band had some serious chops and an abundance of terrific original material, so they went into a studio in early 1974 and laid down an hour of tracks. By later in the year, they were no more, though the music was kept on a Betamax(!) tape and transferred to CD a couple of decades ago. Had they stuck around, they would have slotted into the Mushroom or Infinity stables nicely. Eminent Vinyl has taken the best 45 minutes of songs, had them remastered by Mikey Young and housed the release in an incredible package, complete with an informative four-page booklet designed by Luke Fraser. Fun fact: Canberra resident and law student, Peter Garrett, was such a big fan of the band that he tried out as their singer (he didn't get the job, but subsequently did pretty well in other pursuits). Theme of Discontent is a remarkable discovery for lovers of Australian rock of yore: completely unknown '70s music from the nation's capital ripe for listening in 2026.

Died Pretty's run of greatness possibly reached its peak with 1991's Doughboy Hollow. It was an album which finally and belatedly really saw the band rise above the musical underground and gain a wider audience. Spearheaded by incredible singles such as "D.C.," "Godbless," and "Sweetheart," Ron Peno, Brett Myers, Chris Walsh and co. were accompanied by the likes of cellist Sarah Peet and The Go-Betweens' Amanda Brown on violin to create a lush, widescreen sonic aura that still sounds magnificent 35 years later. This is truly one of the great Australian rock albums, remastered and ready for re-release.

"Nearly three years on from their self-titled debut, Psyché return with a new album that reinvigorates and expands their singular blend of groove and psychedelia. The band's name itself -- the ancient Greek word for 'mind' or 'soul' -- signals a deep-rooted love for psychedelic funk, while pointing towards a vast array of Mediterranean influences spanning Southern Europe, the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Maghreb. While their first record explored a mythical, timeless Mediterranean as a sort of 'elsewhere' -- reimagining ancient musical traditions through modern styles and sensibilities -- Psyché II adds a subtle political dimension and shifts the focus toward a wider, more contemporary geography. Here, the Mediterranean becomes a modern lingua franca -- a fluid bridge uniting diverse peoples, cultures, and musical legacies. In this vision, the band's native Naples serves as a vibrant crossroads where sounds from North Africa and the Middle East meet the echoes of distant shores like Brazil and Colombia. The album's core strength is the band's mastery of restraint -- their minimalist style. Veterans Marcello Giannini, Andrea De Fazio, Paolo Petrella, and Roberto Porzio -- all central figures in the Neapolitan scene through projects like Parbleu, Bassolino, and the Nu Genea Live Band -- excel at creating engaging, hypnotic music defined by few elements but deep, pulsating grooves. Their sound traverses cosmic funk and desert blues, cumbia, dub, and jazz, anchored by the use of analogue synths and propulsive basslines. The record gains further international and political weight through collaborations with Ziad Trabelsi on "Hurriya (We Must Resist)", an Anatolian-rock-style celebration of resilience and freedom with lyrics in Arabic, and Merve Daşdemir (formerly of Altın Gün) on "Yallah!", a proud unmasking of duplicity sung in Turkish and built upon the exotic rhythm of a Middle Eastern-inspired dance. Psyché II is the distillation of a journey through cultures and identities: an album where cross-pollination and a nomadic spirit become the tenets of a contemporary sound -- at once rooted in the Mediterranean and open to the world."

Dimensions: 314 × 314 × 8mm. Materials: die-cut laminated greyboard, archival case-wrapping. Media: 4× 80mm compact disc, 1× full-length compact disc. Electronic musician, composer, and conceptualist Joseph Branciforte joins pioneering Fender Rhodes artist Jozef Dumoulin on ITERAE, a compelling entry in the post-glitch canon. The album documents an acutely focused musical dialogue between two artists who have reimagined not only the sonic possibilities of amplified keyboard instruments, but the potential of technology to shape musical improvisation. Spanning 70 minutes, its eight modular sections hover between form and abstraction, precise sonic architecture and dream-like flow. ITERAE is issued as a bespoke multi-disc edition designed by Branciforte -- extending the music's own structural logic into physical form. ITERAE links two performers from opposite sides of the Atlantic known for their transformations of Fender Rhodes electric piano. Jozef Dumoulin is a Belgian keyboardist recognized for his role in redefining the Fender Rhodes as a 21st-century instrument, forging a highly personal musical language through extensive electronic manipulation. Joseph Branciforte is a composer, producer, and fellow Rhodes experimentalist known for bridging acoustic and electronic worlds in collaborations with Theo Bleckmann, Taylor Deupree, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Both performers are fluent improvisers, with musical vocabularies drawing broadly from jazz, electronic, and contemporary music. Here, however, the focus is squarely on distillation: small fragments captured, transformed, and recombined into cascading, lattice-like structures. The result is a sound that merges aspects of the early glitch movement with bold explorations of harmony and form -- weaving together threads from modern classical, electroacoustic, and ambient to create something decisively of the present. The music unfolds with an unbroken focus and sense of direction, dense tapestries of glitches giving way to moments of deeply intuitive, harmonic convergence. The juxtaposition of open-ended improvisation and the precise, methodical compositional vision for which Branciforte is known creates a dynamic interplay, where flow and memory, improviser and editor remain in constant dialogue. ITERAE is issued as a bespoke multi-disc edition designed for both shelf and wall -- referencing the domestic scale of the vinyl LP while quietly subverting its familiar expectations. The format embodies the album's structural logic in physical form: four paired movements (⊏/⊐) distributed across four 80mm compact discs. Each disc can be played independently or sequenced freely, extending the music's own recursive methodology into its physical presentation. Each disc is housed within a die-cut matte greyboard panel. This outer layer is bonded to a rigid 4mm core, case-wrapped in white archival paper with a printed bottom spine -- allowing it to sit comfortably on a shelf alongside vinyl records. A full-length compact disc is included on the rear for universal playback, along with an integrated wall-hanging tab. Functioning both as a playable sound edition and sculptural object, the design reframes the album as a physical system.

"You don't have to be a cinephile to know Michael Winner's 1974 cult vigilante movie Death Wish. Starring the ever-stoic, quintessential action hero Charles Bronson, it was this film that defined the further careers of both Winner and Bronson. Right before this, they collaborated on The Stone Killer, in which Bronson plays a gritty detective from New York sent to L.A. to solve a case involving an old Sicilian Mafia family feud. The soundtrack is composed by jazz pianist and composer Roy Budd, who was also responsible for the much-praised soundtrack of the 1971 classic Get Carter starring Michael Caine. It begins with a gentle tender melody but it's a trick, as there is a 70-piece orchestra waiting to pounce. Suddenly the big picture is revealed and the listener enters a full-on Budd theme with a cool jazz accompaniment. The score perfectly demonstrates Budd's ability to blend jazz with orchestral arrangements in ways unparalleled by very few composers. In typical 1970s fashion, this soundtrack will surely satisfy fans of the jazz-funk and library music found on labels such as KPM and Music De Wolfe. The Stone Killer is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on 'Blade Bullet' colored vinyl and includes an insert with liner notes and a fold-out replica of the original movie poster."

"They have been known to deep soul, funk and disco collectors for decades for their sought after 7" 'Watching Out/Dazed,' long thought to be the band's only recordings. Egon tracked down Split Decision Band's vocalist and songwriter Gordon Starr Flipping in the hopes of more and got it -- with Split Decision Band, Now-Again presents an album of devastatingly good disco and boogie from the unlikely city of Des Moines, Iowa. Flipping's collaborations with Prince's stable made him a Midwestern legend, but his band's music is more than an urban tall tale -- this album finally proves to the world their merits."

"A newly unearthed and fully restored recording of Thelonious Monk's 1967 Paris concert. This marks the first official release from the Monk Estate. Captured at the height of Monk's creative powers, this historic performance showcases the pianist and composer with his classic quartet: Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone), Larry Gales (bass), and Ben Riley (drums). The unparalleled composer/pianist/visionary Thelonious Sphere Monk epitomized every aspect of this in exponential form. As a result, he occupies a unique position in the Jazz pantheon. Every aspect of this extraordinary man epitomizes jazz expression at its most compelling level. His visual presence -- his headwear, his glasses, his sartorial style -- matched with his remarkably profound verbal statements, the way he danced around the piano during other musicians' solos; and even more importantly, his brilliant compositions that are both starkly angular, yet gorgeously lyrical, and matched by his piano playing which made dissonance and fractured rhythms so utterly delightful, make Thelonious Monk stand out dynamically even amidst his other transcendent peers. This release, Monk Live in Paris, 1967: Volume One, is very special, not only for its merging of these elements, but also because it showcases Monk's longstanding quartet featuring tenor man Charlie Rouse and the bass/drums tandem of Larry Gales and Ben Riley, who are joined by five very special guest horn men. Alto saxophonist Phil Woods, trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, Ray Copeland and tenor titan Johnny Griffin (Rouse's predecessor in the quartet) perform in various permutations. Volume One includes four Monk classics -- 'Epistrophy,' with a scorching, growlingly muscular Griffin solo and a lyrical and adventurous Copeland solo; the deliciously syncopated 'Evidence,' with sparkling Rouse, another terrific solo by Copeland; and bluesy, wickedly swinging Woods. On both extended pieces, the four horns provide densely harmonic thematic statements and some adventurous riffing that spurs on the soloists for a spontaneous feeling with a jam session atmosphere of jubilant excitement. 'We See' again highlights Rouse and Copeland; with the beautiful 'Ruby, My Dear' just featuring the original quartet completing the package. The recording is presented as a 180-gram audiophile pressing and was selected by Thelonious Sphere Monk III as the first in a new series of previously unreleased, rare live recordings, mastered by Rudy Van Gelder. The album cover artwork was designed by Japanese graphic designer and artist Gaku Inada. Vinyl: 180 gram, blue vinyl. Packaging: single pocket jacket with a polylined sleeve and insert."

A note from Lawrence English: "In late 1975, Annea Lockwood realized her composition World Rhythms. It represents one of the first creative works exploring the potentials of field recordings in a multichannel setting. It is a landmark work and a composition that, on its 50th anniversary, has gently carried forward over the decades, but arguably now is only starting to come into true focus, and be understood for exactly how revolutionary it was. World Rhythms was a work concerned with a practice of sustained listening into the world, and beyond. It expanded outward from many of the compositions and themes Annea Lockwood had been exploring since the 1960s. It sought to take those learnings and apply them to a new set of terrains and circumstances. Moreover, it suggested a sensing of sound that was drawn from profound curiosity, matched only by patience. In 2019, I reached out to Annea and started a conversation about a revisitation of World Rhythms. My initial proposition was a simple one: a re-issue that was remastered and touched up, reflecting Annea's thoughts on the piece in this moment. The conversation quickly spun outward though, and before long Annea had asked if I might be interested to revisit the master tapes with the thought that the work could be revived and prepared for performance presentations going forward into this century. On listening to the materials, during the period of restoring the audio from the original master tapes, I was struck by the profound dynamism of the recordings. Each of the sound-fields held an attentive flux, a rhythmic pulse that was breathing. Each one a story of the pulses of the world, and our universe, that spoke to a possible reading of reality that sits in excess of our everyday capacities. A poetics of pulse if you like. Here then is the result of those conversations and also the presentations of the piece that followed -- several of which Annea has overseen herself. On this newly rendered imagining of World Rhythms, new relations, listening paths and ways of exploring her sound-fields are brought into focus. The core of the piece remains, a prioritized zone of listening, but emerging from deep within it new sonic formations emerge, a reminder of the dynamism of our energetic world and its surroundings." Composition by Annea Lockwood; gong performed by Vanessa Tomlinson and Annea Lockwood; mix realized by Lawrence English. Design by Traianos Pakioufakis; essay by Lawrence English.

Eskaton is part of that generation of FrenchZeuhlbands that arrived on the scene a little too late in the 1970s, on the cusp of the shift to punk and then new wave, to have benefited from the media coverage of the glory years of progressive rock in all its forms and currents. Originally released in 1980, it was their first official album. But it was actually their second, since '4 visions' (SZ 23 onCD and SZ 39 on vinyl) had been recorded in 1978 but only released in 1981 on cassette by the American label Eurock. When it was released in 1980, the band was very disappointed with the muffled sound of the mastering, which did not do justice to the band's power. The 2003 CD reissue, based on the original tapes and thanks to the Parélies studio, made it possible to correct the errors of the time and restore the sound quality originally intended by the band. This vinyl reissue was once again produced with the help of Parélies studio, a renowned specialist in vinyl engraving. While '4 Visions' is generally considered Eskaton's masterpiece, "Ardeur" is very similar in style (only a little over a year separates their respective recordings) and contains some of the collective's most iconic tracks, such as 'Dagon'. The original album is complemented by a maxi 45 rpm single (a format that allows for much better dynamics due to the optimised spacing of the grooves, a format rarely used in 'our' music but very common in techno for this reason) which contains on side A the two tracks released on 45 rpm in 1979 (" Le chant de la terre' and 'If" -already included as bonus tracks on the 2003 CD) and on side B three completely unreleased tracks...until now.If this release is as successful as the vinyl edition of '4 visions' was in its time (2013) it is advisable not to wait untilstocks run out, as evidenced by the surprising prices reached on the second-hand market since 2022 on Discogs.

"In 1975, Jannick Top left Magma (before returning in 1976 for the VanderTop period and the album Üdü Wüdü) and had just composed De Futura, a piece performed live for the first time at the Nancy Jazz Festival on 17 October, with a collective of 18 musicians, including C. Vander, under the name Utopic Sporadic Orchestra. The version of 'De Futura' released here, for the first time on vinyl, is the rehearsal from 16 October 1975 (duration 23:40).The record also includes the two studio tracks released by Jannick Top on a 45 rpm single in 1975 on the Utopia label, then created by Giorgio Gomelsky in association with RCA: 'Utopia Viva' and 'Epithecanthropus Erectus II'. It should be noted that the versions released here are those from the aforementioned single, which have never been reissued since then, as the versions released in 2001 on the Utopic CD Soleil d'Ork are longer versions, previously unreleased. The disc includes an insert with a bilingual historical text (French/English) by Jean-Christophe Alluin, author of a book on Magma that has not yet been published."

2026 restock; LP version. On "Cold Sweat," James Brown famously called to "give the drummer some." In 1974, Philadelphia vibraphonist Khan Jamal called to Give the Vibes Some, with superb results. Pianist and composer Jef Gilson's PALM label gave Jamal the platform he needed to deliver a thorough exploration of contemporary vibraphone. After launching PALM in 1973, Gilson quickly demonstrated that he would only produce records not found anywhere else. Give the Vibes Some, PALM number 10, was another confirmation of this guiding principle. Raised and based in Philadelphia, Khan Jamal took up the vibes in 1968, after two years in the army during which he was stationed in France and Germany. Decisively drawn to the instrument by the work of the Modern Jazz Quartet's Milt Jackson, Jamal studied under Philadelphia vibraphone legend Bill Lewis and soon made his debuts in the local underground. Early in 1972, Jamal made his first recording, with the Sounds of Liberation. The band attempted an original fusion of conga-heavy grooves with avant-garde jazz soloing. Saxophonist Byard Lancaster, an important figure in Jamal's development, contributed much of the solo work. Later in 1972, Jamal made his leader debut with Drum Dance to the Motherland, a reverb-drenched, never-to-be-replicated experiment with live sound processing. Both albums appeared on the tiny musician-run Dogtown label. "We couldn't get no play from nowhere. No gigs or recording sessions or anything. So I took off for Paris," Jamal recalled in a Cadence interview with Ken Weiss. "Within a few weeks, I had a few articles and I did a record date. It didn't make me feel good about America." That was in 1974, while Byard Lancaster was recording the music gathered on Souffle Continu's The Complete PALM Recordings, 1973-1974. Jamal's record date delivered Give the Vibes Some. At its core, it was an exploratory solo vibraphone album, even if two tracks added (through technological resourcefulness?) a très célèbre French drummer very much into Elvin Jones appearing under pseudonym for contractual reasons. Another track, for which Jamal switched to the vibes's wooden ancestor, the marimba, added young Texan trumpeter Clint Jackson III. The most notable article published on Jamal during this stay in France was a Jazz Magazine interview. Jamal's last word there were "The Creator has a master plan/drum dance to the motherland." "Give the vibes some" could be added to this programmatic statement.

LP version. "Wellspring presents the arrival of a powerful new voice in creative music, unrelenting in passion and invention, while always transmitting a deeply empathic grace. Masterful composer-improviser DoYeon Kim is an unparalleled practitioner of the Korean gayageum (a silk-string zither), and is also in possession of a purposeful vocal intensity. This is her debut album as a bandleader, featuring fellow master musicians Tyshawn Sorey (drums), Mat Maneri (viola), Henry Fraser (bass). Armed with an unlikely traditional instrument, flanked by three extraordinary improvisers, radiating a brash, acoustic strategy that simultaneously invokes folk universalism and a no wave battle-stance, the Brooklyn-based virtuoso drops a volcanic sonic statement with grand humanist goals. Kim mingles Korean lullabies, fervent interactions between drums and strings, and pure instrumental expressions of musical self. At times, she sounds like she can halt armies. Wellspring is a call for society to come together. How the Seoul, South Korea-born 34-year-old came to be the centuries-old zither's leading -- and perhaps only -- practitioner of contemporary improvised music, reflects an expansive embrace of her own culture, her place in modern society, and her ascending recognition of music's liberatory power."