Forced Exposure New Releases for the Week of 1/2/2023

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: ABERRANT 007LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

An amazing showcase of disco, electro, funk, and more from the USSR 1979-1990. A mind-blowing introduction to the obscure world of soviet dance music. 12 tracks of pure soviet disco fever. Alright, put on your dancing shoes and get ready for a weird trip to the dancefloor, to a time when the Soviet Union -- still alive and under the flag of the hammer and sickle -- managed to produce some wonderfully odd and hypnotic disco hits, mutant funk smashers and electro hip breakers. Coming from all over the huge landscape that the USSR was, the artists on this killer compilation showcase a variety of visions on the subject of shaking the ass that will surprise even the most cynical connoisseur of the genre. Features Mirdza Zivere, ????????, Anzhelina Petrosova / ???????? ?????????, Pervouralsk / ????????????, Güljan Hümmedowa / ???????? ?????????, Roza Rymbaeva / ???? ????????, ???????? ??????????? & ???????, Janina Mis?iukait?, Verasy, Formula Dreyka / ??????? ??????, Eolika, and Raduga / ??????.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BANG 163LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Bang! Records present an expanded and remastered reissue of the Fuzztones' Preaching to the Perverted, originally released in 2011. Preaching to the Perverted was the seventh studio album by the legendary NYC garage rock band The Fuzztones. The album was produced by the leader and sole survivor of the original Fuzztones line-up Rudi Protrudi and Berlin keyboardist Lana Loveland. Includes two bonus tracks previously unreleased from the recording sessions. On this album, The Fuzztones keep their fuzz spreading. Remastered; edition of 600.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BBI 030LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Field School began as an experiment. As the pandemic pushed us into social isolation, Charles Bert realized that writing and recording with bandmates was off the table. But instead of burrowing away to wait it out, he seized the moment: writing, arranging, and recording songs on which he played every instrument, learning on the fly. His ingenuity was contagious, inspiring his friend, artist Jimmy Ulvenes, to start Small Craft Advisory to introduce the world (50 cassettes at a time) to Field School. When Summer Comes is a collection of these pocket-sized recordings, released as a debut album on Bobo Integral. K Records style indie pop but also the nearly mystical natural world of the Pacific Northwest is featured, with apple orchards, rippling rain, and aquatic phosphorescence drifting through the imagery. And with astonishing deftness, Charles also channels the questions and affinities of his older self through this effervescent style, allowing "twee" to grow up and flourish and renew. When Summer Comes is a panoramic album, traveling through wistful recollections and insecurity with humor and beaming hope. It's a reminder that after the separations of the pandemic, after hardship, after loss, you create your own now and you can keep learning and growing and living into the answers. Charles Bert made his mark in Seattle indie pop combo Math and Physics Club. RIYL: Math and Physics Club, Beat Happening, The Softies, The Reds, Pinks & Purples.

 

PRICE: $19.50

CAT #: BORNBAD 055LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2022 repress; LP version. Best of the best of French punk tracks. Only French KBD killer tracks. Released for the forthcoming exhibition "Europunk" at Cite de la Musique (Paris - October 2013/January 2014). The first French incarnations of "Le Punk" (pronounced "paink" in numerous locales) were not carbon copies of their foreign exemplars. Babbling, swarming, morphing, genuinely disorganized anarchy, bad intentions transformed into good ones: that's how punk rock (or at least a close approximation) was initially adapted to fit our peculiar French perspective. There was not the slightest network to distribute records or organize concert tours. Older generations were hostile (or worse, compassionate or even paternalistic). There was nothing and no one to forge a connection between the handful of small, isolated groups, fundamentally motivated by a passion for what they deemed true rock 'n' roll (the desire to terrorize the neighborhood arrived soon afterward), each in their own little world, trying to provoke their backwater village or their lame metropolis, and meeting, of course, with total indifference. Artists include: Les Nouveaux Riches, Strychnine, Electrochoc, Gasoline, Sexe A Pile, Soggy, Marie France, Ruth Elyeri, Les Olivensteins, Coronados, Dogs, Warm Gun, Gloires Locales, and Guilty Razors.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: BR 158LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

This compilation brings together 22 sound poems, including both pioneering and current pieces, and constitutes itself as the first great overview of sound poetry from Peru. It continues a cycle that began in 2009 with the appearance of a CD called Inventar La Voz: Nuevas Tradiciones Orales [To Invent the Voice: New Oral Traditions] and was followed up in 2011 with another one called Irse De Lengua [To Let It Slip], both of which contributed to articulate diverse manifestations of poetry that used technological means, also in the context of intense activity in the local scenes of experimental music and sound art that opened spaces for interdisciplinary dialogues. What we know as sound poetry is the product of a technological revolution associated with the appearance of various means of recording, transmission and amplification of the voice. A long process that took shape in the 20th century, until it became a discipline, articulated as an international movement which, based on phonetic research, expanded into a universe of oral/vocal artistic practices as part of a new technological context. The recordings gathered here comprise a time frame that goes from 1972 to 2021. You find poems that work with montage techniques, either because they explore simultaneity or juxtaposition, such as those by Mario Montalbetti, Frido Martín, Florentino Díaz, Carlos Estela, Luisa Fernanda Lindo, Macri Cáceres, Rodrigo Vera Cubas, Tilsa Otta, Giancarlo Huapaya/Omar Córdova, Virginia Benavides, Lisa Carrasco, and Luis Alvarado. Others emphasize vocal/oral performance: you find the phonetic poems of Carlos Germán Belli and Eduardo Chirinos, as well as the concrete conceptual poems of Michael Prado, Sandra Suazo, Peru Saizprez, and the oral/guttural poem of Omar Aramayo. Finally, you find another group of pieces where the poem starts with the creation of a computational parameter or algorithm, as is the case with the pieces by Jorge Eduardo Eielson and Enrique Verástegui, eventually reaching the use of Artificial Intelligence as in the poems by Francisco Mariotti and Paola Torres Núñez del Prado. The Verbal Matter: An Anthology of Peruvian Sound Poetry is part of a series produced by Buh Records for Centro del Sonido, a website set up as a digital archive of Peruvian experimental music and sound art. Includes extensive notes and visual documentation. Mastered by Alberto Cendra. Art by René Sánchez. Edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: SPDM 019CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Digitmovies presents on CD the original soundtrack from the film Nati Morti performed by Basement's Glare. Directed by Alex Visani and starring Lorenzo Lepori, Ingrid Monacelli, and Ester Andriani. Luna is a young embalmer with a strange passion for everything concerning death. One day, during a trip in the woods, she finds two bodies. The first one is a dead woman, the other one is a man who is still barely breathing. From this moment, Luna's life will change forever and a horrifying spiral of violence will take place around her existence. Basement's Glare began shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic exploded. Following the restrictions caused by the imposed isolation, Basement's Glare have recorded and released their first single, "Red Zone", which deals directly with the issue of social distancing and its consequences. Subsequently, the duo decided to complete the recordings of the eponymous EP as previously scheduled, working mostly remotely. Basement's Glare are composed by Riccardo Adamo and Daniele Marinelli as stable members, and by various session musicians. The collaboration turned out to be so fruitful and satisfying that the duo decided to cement it, opening musical horizons and making Basement's Glare an all-round musical project, with no limits of musical genre or intended use. Edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: JD 054EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Originally written by João Bosco and Aldir Blanc and released on Bosco's 1976 album Galos De Briga, "O Ronco da Cuica" is a samba/MPB masterpiece. In the song, the cuíca roars: roars in anger, roars from hunger and is told to stop, but it cannot -- "it's a man thing" explains Bosco in the lyrics. Personifying the instrument in this way, "O Ronco da Cuica" points to something quite profound about the nature of human suffering and our primitive need for expression. On this brilliant reimagining, renowned bassist Dudu Lima teamed up with Joao Bosco himself, as well as Azymuth drummer Ivan "Mamão" Conti, pianist Dudu Viana, and percussionist Marcos Suzano. Ironically, this version contains no cuíca, instead it takes a more stripped back instrumentation, exploring the deep jazz potential of this roaring samba classic, to stunning effect. On the B-side is a beautiful duet between Dudu Lima and João Bosco: acoustic guitar and vocals, and fretless bass -- together they take on "Imcompatibilidade De Gênios", also from Bosco's 1976 Galos De Briga album.

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: FTR 701LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Pioneer of the New York no wave with the bands Mars and Don King, Mark Cunningham has been part of the Barcelona music underground for almost 30 years, performing solo, with his own groups Raeo, Convolution, Aleatory Grammar, and Bèstia Ferida, as a member of Pascal Comelade's Bel Canto Orchestra and Superelvis, and in countless local and international collaborations. Blood Quartet was formed in early 2015 in Barcelona from a fortuitous collaboration between Cunningham and Catalan underground rock trio Murnau B. An outstanding musical treat that starts from the instrumental base of the modern jazz quartet and takes it to the territory of experimentation and electronics. Blood Quartet sound more luminous and rhythmic than ever, diving into uncharted terrain. This results in an exceptional range of genres that play with the form between the classic and the contemporary, and that extend the creative spectrum of the band towards new styles, such as krautrock and North African music. The result of this process has given rise to nine themes, each one baptized with the title of a literary work by some reference writers of the members of the quartet, in order to add more roots of meaning, more shadows of influence. Produced by Mark Cunningham. Composed by Blood Quartet. Recorded by Pablo Miranda at Fabra i Coats, Barcelona. Mixed by Pablo Miranda at La Isla Estudio, Barcelona. Mastered by Chris Hardman, UK. Personnel: Mark Cunningham - trumpet, guitar; Lluis Rueda - Guitar; Kike Bela - bass, Korg MS-10; Marc Eugeni - drums.

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: GR 2156LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Reissue, originally released in 2002. Esplendor Geométrico, the influential industrial pioneers of the pulsating, hypnotic and mechanical rhythms, present the extended version of their album Compuesto de Hierro to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release. Recorded in Beijing in 2002 and out of print for over 15 years, Compuesto de Hierro was originally released only on CD and now for the first time on double vinyl including on side D four new and unreleased tracks recorded in 2022, inspired by the music on the album. Now remastered for vinyl, the sleeve design is based on the original cover. Compuesto de Hierro is a perfect example of the industrial-tribal sound of Esplendor Geométrico, developed over more than two decades, reminiscent at times of their most "ethnic" album, Mekano-Turbo. The hypnotic and elaborate rhythms are masterfully combined with vocals, electronic analog sounds, and sonorities from the Far East, especially from China. Compuesto de Hierro represents a unique viewpoint in the fusion of traditional or ethnic music with classical industrial music. Esplendor Geométrico: Arturo Lanz and Saverio Evangelista. Composed by Arturo Lanz. Design: Alonso Urbanos and Andrés Noarbe (original cover). Remastered by Luca Spagnoletti, 2022. Edition of 600 (numbered).

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: JMAN 107X-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Limited 2022 repress. Due to overwhelming demand for Jazzman Records' five-LP boxset, here are the first ever official individual reissues of all five of the iconic Lansdowne recording sessions by the legendary UK jazz combo, the Don Rendell-Ian Carr Quintet. The five albums; 1965's Shades Of Blues, 1966's Dusk Fire (JMAN 108X-LP), 1968's Phase III (JMAN 109X-LP), 1969's Change Is (JMAN 111X-LP), and 1969's Live (JMAN 110X-LP), have reached almost mythical status in the collector's world. Regarded as holy grail artifacts for even the seasoned aficionado, the collective second-hand market value comes to an astonishing £6000. Jazzman Records located and acquired the original analog master tapes from the Universal vaults and created masters at Abbey Road Studios to produce audiophile quality 180 gram pressings replete with replica artwork -- shape, design, and even paper stock. No stone has been left unturned to deliver this absolute labor of love to the highest possible standard. Inside is a link to a printable online pdf which contains never before seen photographs, interviews with the remaining living band members and liner notes from BBC Radio 3 presenter, and award-winning jazz writer Alyn Shipton. The band played together for seven years and during this fruitful time they made a plethora of deeply melodic, post-bop British jazz compositions that later on took influences from Indo and more spiritually guided jazz. Produced by the influential Denis Preston and recorded at his Lansdowne Studios in London, the band was primarily made up of saxophonist Don Rendell, trumpeter/composer Ian Carr, and pianist/composer Michael Garrick. This is UK jazz at its absolute finest and is a treasure not to be missed. Original replica flipback color sleeves; 180 gram vinyl, mastered from the original master tapes at Abbey Road Studios, London; poly-lined and printed individual inner sleeves; contains link to online PDF with printable liner notes.

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: JMAN 108X-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Limited 2022 repress. Due to overwhelming demand for Jazzman Records' five-LP boxset, here are the first ever official individual reissues of all five of the iconic Lansdowne recording sessions by the legendary UK jazz combo, the Don Rendell-Ian Carr Quintet. The five albums; 1965's Shades Of Blues (JMAN 107X-LP), 1966's Dusk Fire, 1968's Phase III (JMAN 109X-LP), 1969's Change Is (JMAN 111X-LP), and 1969's Live (JMAN 110X-LP), have reached almost mythical status in the collector's world. Regarded as holy grail artifacts for even the seasoned aficionado, the collective second-hand market value comes to an astonishing £6000. Jazzman Records located and acquired the original analog master tapes from the Universal vaults and created masters at Abbey Road Studios to produce audiophile quality 180 gram pressings replete with replica artwork -- shape, design, and even paper stock. No stone has been left unturned to deliver this absolute labor of love to the highest possible standard. Inside is a link to a printable online pdf which contains never before seen photographs, interviews with the remaining living band members and liner notes from BBC Radio 3 presenter, and award-winning jazz writer Alyn Shipton. The band played together for seven years and during this fruitful time they made a plethora of deeply melodic, post-bop British jazz compositions that later on took influences from Indo and more spiritually guided jazz. Produced by the influential Denis Preston and recorded at his Lansdowne Studios in London, the band was primarily made up of saxophonist Don Rendell, trumpeter/composer Ian Carr, and pianist/composer Michael Garrick. This is UK jazz at its absolute finest and is a treasure not to be missed. Original replica flipback color sleeves; 180 gram vinyl, mastered from the original master tapes at Abbey Road Studios, London; poly-lined and printed individual inner sleeves; contains link to online PDF with printable liner notes.

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: LR 135C-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2022 repress. Lilith present a reissue of Caetano Veloso's Caetano Veloso (A Little More Blue), originally issued in 1971. Often referred to as "Brazil's unofficial poet laureate" and the "Bob Dylan of Brazil", this heavyweight of Brazilian music was also a young revolutionary who used his music to protest against Brazil's oppressive military regime. This protest music, which became known as tropicalia, first earned Veloso a stint in jail, but by the time this dour album was released in 1971, it had placed him in exile in the UK. Veloso's extreme bitterness and melancholy can be heard on every groove of this album, but don't let the album's gloomy atmosphere stop you from buying it; it is dripping with some of the best moments of saudade in the history of Brazilian music. Color vinyl.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MD 006LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Gatefold sleeve. Vintage Violence: Barbaric, Crude & Primitive 1975-1979 is a selection of material Greg Prevost recorded with his past bands before forming the Chesterfield Kings. If you are a fan, you probably know that Greg Prevost played in different bands before forming the Chesterfield Kings. Only one of them, the Distorted Levels, released a 7" at the time, in 1978. But there were many more. You may have heard or read about mystery bands such as Mr Electro & The Void, The Cutdowns, Mr Electro & the Psychedelic Burnouts, etc. They all recorded profusely, but most master tapes eventually disappeared, in no less mysterious circumstances. Still, some recordings survived... and here you have a selection of this material: all demos, all previously unreleased, plus the Distorted Levels 7", as well as four tracks recorded by early Chesterfield Kings line-ups from 1978-79. Also features Mr. Electro & The Psychedelic Lampshade. Includes detailed track-by-track notes by Greg, including over 30 photos/press-clippings from his personal archive, and liner notes from Mike Stax (Ugly Things magazine), whose final verdict of this whole artifact could not be more exact: "Barbaric. Crude. Primitive. Beautiful."

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: MD 007CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Vintage Violence: Barbaric, Crude & Primitive 1975-1979 is a selection of material Greg Prevost recorded with his past bands before forming the Chesterfield Kings. If you are a fan, you probably know that Greg Prevost played in different bands before forming the Chesterfield Kings. Only one of them, the Distorted Levels, released a 7" at the time, in 1978. But there were many more. You may have heard or read about mystery bands such as Mr Electro & The Void, The Cutdowns, Mr Electro & the Psychedelic Burnouts, etc. They all recorded profusely, but most master tapes eventually disappeared, in no less mysterious circumstances. Still, some recordings survived... and here you have a selection of this material: all demos, all previously unreleased, plus the Distorted Levels 7", as well as four tracks recorded by early Chesterfield Kings line-ups from 1978-79. Also features Mr. Electro & The Psychedelic Lampshade. Includes detailed track-by-track notes by Greg, including over 30 photos/press-clippings from his personal archive, and liner notes from Mike Stax (Ugly Things magazine), whose final verdict of this whole artifact could not be more exact: "Barbaric. Crude. Primitive. Beautiful." CD version includes an additional track.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: MP 012LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Grains is the debut album by Numinos on Mille Plateaux. The Cologne-based producer, DJ, author, and lecturer has been writing the tech-reviews in Groove for many years, tests equipment for various specialist magazines and teaches at the Institute for Pop Music (IFPOM) and Institute for Computer Music and Electronic Media (ICEM) of the Folkwang University. In his current creative phase, he conceptually deals with the topic of "granular synthesis". A "grain" is thus, to a certain extent, a tiny spectral snapshot from a larger musical context -- an infinitely expandable, flowing intermediate state. This is also where the connection to the cover motif is found that shows the negative of a photograph of a wild field and has been taken Bernd Adamek-Schyma: The negative as an eternal intermediate state between the motif and the developed image. And despite the fact that Numinos has a fully equipped studio with a wide range of instruments, the 20 Euro iPad app "Borderlands Granular" turned out to be the creative catalyst that enabled the trained pianist to implement his sound ideas with direct haptic influence. The app gives the Cologne-based sound artist the opportunity to extract tiny fragments from the sample based on their specific tonality, to recontextualize them and thus work out structures that are not audible at the original tempo. The results are polyrhythmic sound scenes that appear harsh, artificial and strange in a moment, only to transform into contemplative, warm and familiar frequency stratification minutes later. Numinos deceives the listener in many ways. Above all with the supposed rhythm that does not exist. Because in fact almost all granular clusters within the pieces run in completely asynchronous loops. The addition of a simple kick drum then forces the brain to suddenly hear apparent triplets, quintoles, or dotted eighths in these mathematically completely chaotic structures, which are purely fallacy.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MR 433LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Reissue, originally released in 1986. In the mid-80s Granada, a small city in the south of Spain, was a redoubt of avant-garde resistance. While Madrid bragged about being the capital of the new wave scene -- the much-trumpeted Movida madrileña --, away from any media interest the Andalusian city was part of a European wide network where the free circulation of ideas and knowledge could be linked to the current copyleft movement. They exchanged music following that do-it-yourself philosophy in which the cassette had an ideal role as the vehicle of music diffusion. Ani Zinc would become an expert amateur of such activities. As a child, radio was her only contact with music. She received her first shock listening to "Remember Love", the repetitive song by Yoko Ono. She later found out about Llorenç Barber. Only when she arrived in Granada to study psychology did she discover that she wasn't the only one that liked a kind of music that didn't resemble anything. Granada's proximity to Africa made it possible to tune into Arabic, flamenco, and pop radio stations. Unable to get that Yoko Ono song off her mind, she started discovering the possibilities of her voice. Diseño Corbusier was born out of that obsession. Also, out of the electronic explorations of Javier G Marín, then a first-year law student. They had met in 1981 after an ad in the music magazine Vibraciones. If their first record ("Pérfido encanto", 1985) was a vibrant experiment where the rhythms weren't yet muscled up, with El alma de la estrella (1986) the duo took a step ahead. They renovated some electronic equipment and signed a distribution deal between their own label, Auxilio de Cientos, and one of the most prosperous Spanish independents of the '80s, Nuevos Medios, who were working with labels such as Factory at the time. "Golpe de Amistad" came up as the most international track of a brilliant, expressionist and charmingly domestic repertoire. More confident than ever, Ani Zinc manipulated reality as if it were plasticine. El alma de la estrella gathered all her obsessions. On "Chiquillo" she imitated the angry women's voices which filled the streets of the poor neighborhood where she had grown up. "Ritmo 21" can't hide her admiration for Yoko Ono's vocal register and the records by French female singers that her sister used to bring her from Paris. "El club del ruido" came about as a fragmented document of an interview they did on the radio show of the same name. Rather than electronic or even industrial music, Diseño Corbusier's second album was a vibrant piece of domestic craftwork.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MR 434LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

First time official reissue. Originally released in 1967. Los York's became the epitome of Peruvian garage sound, and the kings of the multi-group concerts which teenagers flocked to on Saturday and Sunday mornings in Lima's main movie theaters. The group was in tune with the youth from popular districts who were gradually turning morning concerts into dynamic gigs as the fashion for solo rock-ballads waned and garage sounds by bands like Los Shain's, Los Derbys, Los Juniors, Los Flyers, and, of course, Los York's took over. Their supportive fans would follow them to every gig. After releasing their three first singles on MAG, featuring covers of popular hits, it took them a year to turn their ideas into songs for their first LP that was successfully released at Christmas in 1967. The band was backed by Melcohita on vibraphone and Mario Allison on percussion. It features a beat-influenced go-go twang guitar garage psych tone throughout, including a bunch of covers like Alan Y Sus Bates' "Pronto Un Doctor" or The Box Tops' "The Letter", and amazing originals like "No Puedo Amar" with an intense garage beat.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: MR 7357EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

First time reissue. When the Alessi twins saw their heyday in 1976, their moderate hit "Seabird" resonated strongly in the head of Javier Guerrero, son of the Peruvian label Discos MAG's founder Manuel A. Guerrero. The luminous melody of the song fits perfectly into the daily scenes of Lima surfers, establishing a curious parallelism with the idyllic Californian landscape and its traditional surfer way of life. It was not long before Guerrero entered into the recording studio accompanied by Ernesto Samamé, bassist in We All Together, the band led by Javier's brother, Carlos Guerrero, as well as a member of Laghonia, Fe 59, and a few other musical projects. In his hands, "Seabird" became an even brighter song than its original version, a potential perfect soundtrack for a scene taken from The Endless Summer, musical gold for any yacht-rock fan despite its less sophisticated and rawer production. The single was completed with another version, "Put A Little Away", a late hit by Frankie Valli's The Four Seasons, and was released in 1997 on MAG Records, with a tiny distribution most likely limited to Peru.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: MR 7358EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

First time fully licensed 7" reissue. By the mid-60s, Kenny Johnson and several of his Bakersfield (California) acolytes had relocated to Los Angeles and were playing gigs all over. "See If I Care" is a killer 1966 organ-led snotty garage punker that was credited to the pseudonymous Ken & The Forth Dimension. At the time, this song was considered a relative throwaway compared to its pop A-side, "Rovin' Heart". However, an error with the original pressing that reversed the 45 labels meant that anyone that might have played the record expecting the schlocky sentiments of the main track, got an earful of garage band insolence instead. Many years on and "See If I Care" reached a cult status after being included in the Back From the Grave series becoming a popular spin in the garage scene.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: NAP 001EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Punchy, UK inspired house EP.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: REGRM 009LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2022 repress. De Natura Sonorum (1975): Premiered at the Salle Wagram in Paris on June 3rd 1975. A suite of 12 movements, divided into two series of six. "The first series comprises six related movements, usually organized in pairs, electronic sounds with instrumental and more rarely, concrete sounds: Incidences/resonances bring into play controlled resonances akin to sounds of concrete origin in a process that helps to expand the variable electronic sound sources. Here, 'incidents' are opposed to one-off 'accidents' in the second movement: 'Accidents/Harmoniques' ('Accidents/Harmonics'). In the second movement, very short events of instrumental origin change the harmonic tone of the continuum they interrupt or overlap. Moreover, the high notes are underplayed, which stimulates the attention given to other phenomena generally hidden by the melodic form applied to the instrumental play. 'Géologie sonore' ('Sound Geology') is similar to a flight over an area where different 'sound' layers come to the surface one after the other. When seen from high above, instrumental and electronic sounds seem to fuse. 'Dynamique de la resonance' ('Dynamics of Resonance') is a microphonic exploration of a single sound resonating through different forms of percussion. 'L'Etude élastique' ('Elastic Study') places together various sounds produced by 'touching' elastic or instrumental skins (balloons, doumbeks) or vibrating strings and a number of instrumental gestures close to this 'touch,' using electronic processes to generate white noise. 'Conjugaison du timbre' ('Conjugated Tone'), the last movement in the series, uses the same substance to apply rhythmic forms onto a perpetually varying tone continuum. The second series of movements draws its inspiration from concrete and electronic sources rather than instrumental ones. 'Incidences/battements' ('Incidences/ Beatings') is a reminder of the first movement in the first series, which then quickly moves into 'Natures éphémères' ('Ephemeral Natures'): an ephemeral play on instrumental and electronic sounds, singled out by their internal trajectory rather than by the material itself. 'Matières induites' ('Induced Matters'): just as molecular effervescence triggers changes of state, it seems that the different states of these sound materials can be generated by each other or through induction processes. In 'Ondes croisées' ('Crossed Waves'), the pizz vibrations interfere with somehow 'visible' water drops on the surface of a similar material. 'Pleins et déliés' ('Downstrokes and Upstrokes') can be listened to as the energies absorbed in the motion of bouncing bodies, while hollow 'bubbles' and points bring together some people's gravity and others' downwards movements. The work finishes with 'Points contre champs' ('Reverse Angle Points'). Here, the notion of perspective of the different sound threads weaving a kind of network, or field, traps the occasional iterative elements in the foreground and progressively absorbs them, giving more space for the angle -- and the chanted sound -- to grow." --Bernard Parmigiani; De Natura Sonorum whose title echoes Lucretius' De rerum natura, similarly explores the multiplicity of sound possibilities. This profuse work, with countless discoveries and dazzling intuitions, has influenced several generations of composers and remains a truly seminal piece in the experimental music soundscape. De Natura Sonorum, one of Parmegiani's masterpieces, has left an indelible mark on the classical period of electroacoustic music. At last, it is being reissued on vinyl and for the first time this includes the whole of its 12 movements." --Christian Zanési & François Bonnet. Housed in a gatefold sleeve.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: REGRM 024LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2022 repress. "Fractals" (1981): Composed at the GMVL from December 1979 to September 1981, this work was commissioned by Fnac. Fractals are mathematical oddities that, when crossing our path, turn the smallest island into an immensity to be explored. "Fractals" is a series of short studies, all based on the same sound source. Seeking in the sound and its very logic a proposal upon which a construction is elaborated, each Fractal remains open and is a mere fragment of itself. "Fractals", music pieces sculpted in four dimensions, are vast microcosms that can only be inhabited by the mind. Each "Fractal" can be approached from several angles, far, near, etc. Some can be listened to at different speeds, forwards or backwards. "Fractals": amorphous and endless music pieces whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere."Brain Fever" (2017): Wherever you may be in the forest of South India, the Brain Fever bird, together with the Seven Sisters, literally gets into your head. Whether it be early morning, daytime, or nighttime, amidst the stridulations of insects, its song utterly reflects Indian life: sonorous, noisy, insistent, dense, overcrowded, mobile, swarming, frantic, overheated, deprived of rest and sleep. "Brain Fever" echoes sonic images caught in the Aurovillian forest, near Pondicherry, and rich fragments of improvisations made in Lyon on analog sound synthesis or feedback devices, the kind Fort used to do in the first GMVL studios. "Brain Fever" is dedicated to Sofia Jannok, a musician and sàmi singer.Cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, November 2019. Translations: Valérie Vivancos. Layout: Stephen O'Malley. Photos: Daniel Lepoutre, Francesco Giorni, Christian Ganet. Mécanisme d'un paysage urbain, by Paul Klee. Coordination GRM: François Bonnet, Jules Négrier. Executive Production: Peter Rehberg.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: REGRM 026LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2022 repress. "I wonder if my fascination for clouds (without being an obsession) may have risen at the end of the '80s as, whilst composing 'Micro-climat', I would regularly wander between the Vercors mountains and the high plateaus of the Monts du Forez discovering, through my eyes, body, breath, active observation and walk, that natural forms when constantly changing and yet swollen with a unity of matter (in this instance, water) open one up to a deep, fundamental breath and a clear field for the mind. The sky and its forces: our ally. A model for a natural music which, although fixed, as in musique concrète (a rule of the genre), moreover on a recording tape, will remain charged with such a poetic quality that (isn't it its role or rather its reality?) it will ensure a perpetual renewal for our senses, so as to reach another idea of the world, far more open and richer than what we could have imagined." --Lionel Marchetti, 2011."Lionel Marchetti is a major figure of the 'third generation' of concrète musicians, a term he values. Listening to these works, imbued with poetry and traversed by micro-narratives, one can indeed retrieve the original concrète spirit, the one that draws from the sonic world, with ears wide open, so as to extract a fertile, rich and multiple substance then shaped and conveyed towards a formal and musical abstraction. Lionel Marchetti has mastered this process, but his real distinctive feature is a truly unique talent for setting climates (as one sets traps) and keeping us on constant alert. The two pieces in this record perfectly illustrate the entrancing dimension of Lionel Marchetti's music, whose charm leads us, through each successive listening, to become voluntary captives so as to better liberate ourselves." --François Bonnet, Paris, 2020."La grande vallée": Musical composition, design and sound production carried out at the INA grm Studios (Paris) in 1993/95; Original audio recordings in the Drôme and the Mont Ventoux areas "Micro-climat" is the first movement of the Sirrus cycle (Micro-climat, Passerelle, Sirrus) composed in 1989/90; Musical composition, sound design and production, audio recordings in 1989/90 at the CFMI studios in Lyon (Lumière University, Lyon 2). Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi; Cut by Andreas Kauffelt at Schnittstelle, Berlin, November 2020; Translations: Valérie Vivancos; Layout: Stephen O'Malley.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: FFL 077CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1971. Before Mahjun -- with the two albums released by Saravah, reissued by Souffle Continu in 2016 (FFL 022LP, FFL 023LP) -- there was... Maajun. Five musicians (Jean-Pierre Arnoux, Cyril and Jean-Louis Lefebvre, Alain Roux, and Roger Scaglia) and three times as many instruments at the service of an electric-poetic guerrilla group molded from folk and blues. The group's unique album, Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde evokes an (imaginary) association of Frank Zappa and Jacques Higelin, of Sonny Sharrock and the Art Ensemble Of Chicago. Under these conditions, Long Live Death! "The most French of all the French groups, determined to take Maurice Chevalier's place in American hearts." This was how Rock&Folk presented Mahjun in 1977. So be it. But when Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde, was issued, it was 1971, and the name, though the same group, was still spelled Maajun. At the end of the sixties, five blues fans decided to form a French group ready to break down the barriers: Jean-Pierre Arnoux (drums, vibraphone, saxophone), Cyril Lefebvre (guitar, organ), Jean-Louis Lefebvre (bass, violin, guitar, vocals), Alain Roux (saxophone, flute, harmonica, vocals) and Roger Scaglia (guitar, vocals). This was Maajun, and Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde would be their only album, but which would (nevertheless) be followed by those of Mahjun created later by Lefebvre (Jean-Louis) and Arnoux. Recorded for the Vogue label, Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde would disturb a number of people. This is mostly due to the lyrics, many of which were written by Gérald Escot-Bocanegra, who, while summoning the spirit of Lautréamont and Rimbaud, turned the Maajun musicians on to rock and free jazz. Add a bit of politics into the mix, and the release of the album was delayed for several months. But then, wasn't it worth waiting for? Because Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde, a real concept-album, is an important and iconoclastic statement made directly in the face of (francophone) dreamers of all countries. Over heavy guitar riffs, psychedelic interludes or fantasy-fueled digressions, Maajun built mazes on the advice of alchemists known only to themselves before heading off on a long march on the "cracking walls". Licensed from Maajun. Carefully remastered and restored by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur. Includes liner notes by Ian Thompson and rare photos.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: SPITTLE 138LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue. Originally released on Kina's Blu Bus label in 1996, Città Invisibili comes as the band's most mature work. A strong final statement from one of the seminal hardcore punk bands ever. Includes CD and printed inner sleeve.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: SPITTLE 139LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue. Originally released on cassette by Blue Bus in 1990 and issued here for the first time on vinyl. This was Kina's first live album. An in-your-face snapshot of the band caught live during their 1900 European tour. Includes CD and printed inner sleeve.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: BUS 009LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Syntoma is a DIY synth band formed in Mexico City in the early '80s. No Me Puedo Controlar, the only Syntoma LP, released in 1983 by the independent labels Corporación Sintética and Trópico Digital, combined the benefits and atrocities of speculative science fiction with dystopian opera that opened the doors to new formulas for understanding the progress of human degradation. Where some used technology to destroy and conquer, others to create and unify. Personnel: Alex Ice & Drinks - synths - Korg (MS20, Monopoly), Yamaha (PS20), drum machine (KR55), guitars, vocals; Synthia Napalm - Synths - Korg (MS20, Monopoly), vocals; Bernardo Dix-Fraz - synths - Korg (MS10), Yamaha (PS20), vocals. Remastered from the original tapes. Include extra A2 poster with photos, lyrics, and liner notes.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: BUS 011LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1982. Formed in 1981 in Tokyo, Saboten was an all-girl-Erik Satie-obsessed-post-punk band. This album was recorded in 1982 at the legendary Studio Dig and is the first time the LP has been reissued in its original format. Remastered from the original master tapes with two bonus tracks from the same session. This reissue has the original artwork, extended with a gatefold cover and an extra A2 poster with lyrics, liner notes, photos, and amazing artwork by the singer and guitarist Satomi Matsumot. Saboten is featured on the cult compilations Huddle No Trouble (1984) and Welcome To Dreamland (1985). "Absolute masterpiece of minimal, Satie-influenced post-punk. No other group sounds like Saboten." "Saboten means 'cactus' and, like their namesake, they are spiky and yet oddly beautiful.""Of the many things one could say of Saboten it is their impeccable sense of lyricism and melody that make them truly great. They were a female band unlike any other in the world. Part contemporary music, part rock, theirs is a high form of pop music. When all is said and done, they are a wonderful band, and one of only a handful that will forever remain in the collective musical consciousness." --Shunji Tsutaki

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 220-2LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

One of the "holy grails" of 1960s Cuban music was not recorded, produced or released in Havana or New York; in fact it was made in Lima, Peru under interesting if somewhat unexpected circumstances. Pianist Alfredo "Alfredito" Valdés Jr. (1941-2016), one of the most important figures in Latin music, came from an illustrious musical family in Cuba. In 1956, he emigrated to New York with his family, making him one of the forerunners of Cuban-based salsa music in the US. Three years later at age 18 Alfredito joined Arsenio Rodríguez and his conjunto; then in 1961 Ray Barretto recruited him for his Charanga La Moderna. Alfredito then become substitute pianist for Machito and His Afro-Cubans for a tour that would take him to Colombia and Peru for a number of engagements in the winter of 1964 and into the new year. While in Lima, several problems arose with the Argentine businessman and tour promoter Mauricio Támara who took the Machito gang to the Peruvian capital but forfeited their pay and left them stranded and penniless to fend for themselves in December of 1964. Machito's brother-in-law and musical director Mario Bauzá had to travel to New York to get money for the return of the entire company; meantime the rest of the musicians had not even enough to eat. They ended up being stranded for a total of three months. It is from this embarrassing and depressing turn of events that the enterprising Alfredito Valdés Jr. was able to spin musical gold in his newfound Peruvian home. Thankfully, sound engineer and proprietor of Discos MAG Miguel Ángel Guerrero made him a deal for some recording sessions, which eventually produced two albums, the first of which was Gozando! Alfredito played multiple roles on the date: arranger, pianist, percussionist, singer, and director. Gozando! has more than simply Cuban and Nuyorican genres like pachanga, mambo, descarga, guaracha, and bolero; there is also a fantastic cover of the Colombian cumbia classic "Tabaquera". Overall, the swinging MAG sessions sound like a long-lost record by Cachao and Tito Puente if they led an orchestra with Charlie Palmieri on piano and Tito Rodríguez on vocals (and played pachangas like Machito's Afro-Cubans "with flute to boot"). Ultimately, the Afro-Cubans were able to pay their bills and return to the United States in February, 1965. Though the Al Valdez y su Conjunto sessions for MAG may have been enjoyed by a few South American and Mexican aficionados at the time, the scarcity and obscurity of the releases insured that they would become "legendary lost records" rarely heard until recently, when the MAG vaults were opened and the reissues started to flow.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 271LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

First time reissue. From a young age, La Perla, Callao-born guitarist Oswaldo "Mita" Barreto was a fan of Cuban artists like Celina y Reutilio and Los Compadres, whose records were a staple in the port city homes. He soon learned to distinguish the sound of the Cuban tres on these records (the chordophone from rural areas of Cuba). At the age of 18, he had already mastered the instrument, although he had never seen a Cuban musician play one live until that point. At the beginning of 1969 (according to the record company's archives), his fame led him to record his first 45 RPM singles for the MAG label, which were compiled in an LP by the end of the year entitled Arecibo, after a song dedicated to the Puerto Rican city of the same name. For these recordings he was accompanied by a group of musician friends, all linked to the tropical music scene in Callao, Peru. The album opens with two Cuban guarachas from the 1950s: "Mango Mangüé" by El Gran Fellove, whose compositions were popularized across the Americas thanks to the voice of Celia Cruz and the Sonora Matancera; and "El Yoyo" by Antonio Sánchez Reyes, another international hit performed by Cortijo y su Combo. Both songs were recorded by Mita in May 1969. The album also includes four songs from the repertoire of Puerto Rican musician Joe Cuba: "Arecibo", "No Coman Cuento", "Oriza Oco", and "Con Mi Mambo", where Mita replaced the sound of the vibraphone with the Cuban tres, an innovation that gave the group its distinctive sound. Three songs by Oswaldo Barreto "Mita" were also included on the album: the memorable "Mita Descarga", the incredibly fast "Descarga En Botella Y Güiro" ("del Perú a Puerto Rico cantamos") and the intimate "No Aguanto Más", all with inspired plucking by the tres player from La Perla. The release of the LP at the end of 1969, established Mita's career, and he continued to record on MAG and other labels in the following years, although he never released another album.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 272LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

First time reissue. Originally released in 1966. First solo LP by the talented Peruvian artist Betico Salas, lead trumpet player of the great Sonora de Lucho Macedo, one of the best ensembles playing Cuban repertoires in the early '60s. Alfredo Linares on piano and sonero vocals by Benny del Solar stand out on this album. Benny del Solar sings lead vocals on the cumbia of Argentine origin "Nos Vamos A Casar"; the Colombian "Lo Que Pasa Es Que La Banda Está Borracha", a continental hit since the early sixties; the guaracha "A Los Muchachos De Belén", by Puerto Rican musician Tito Rodríguez; the guaracha "Ritmo Del Amor"; the elegant Cuban guaguancó "Así Namá", also well known for Tito Rodríguez's rendition; and the cumbia "Qué Le Digo A Mi Mujer". Singer, César Gonzales, who would have an extensive career in Peruvian tropical music, sang lead vocals in the guaguancó by the Sonora Matancera "Lindo Omelenko" and the bolero "El Árbol", a hit for the singer Roberto Ledesma, also recorded that same year by Peruvians Carmita Jiménez, Anamelba, Raul del Mar, and Lucho Macedo himself, who decided to sing for his new record label. The mythical singer Johnny Arce, years later known as Mr. Macondo, also appears on the album on the two guarachas: "La Renga", a composition by Esther Forero, known as "La novia de Barranquilla"; and "Yo Soy Candela", a composition by the Colombian Ray Rodríguez. Finally, "La Chola" is a cumbia by Peruvian composer Tomás Benítez; and "Mambo Jazz" is a version of the descarga "Yayi's Instant Mambo", an innovative instrumental track performed by Puerto Rican Willie Rosario, who recorded it in the United States at the start of 1966 with his own orchestra. Betico Salas would later release two more albums and become a legendary trumpet player in Peruvian musical history.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 274LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

First time reissue. Originally release in 1982. This Chico Lessa album is one of the milestones of independent production in Brazil and one of the greatest achievements of MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) ever that deserves wider recognition, and shines with a depth that makes it an instant classic. The arrangements on the beautiful "Choveu" and "Me Pega, Me Larga" can easily bring names like Arthur Verocai to your mind. No wonder the album features some of Brazil's leading musicians, arrangers, and composers of all time: Wagner Tiso, Mauricio Maestro, Robertinho Silva, Pascoal Meirelles... The songs on this album sound so fresh they could have been recorded today while also retaining the feel of the best post-Tropicalia work of '70s Brazil. It has become a much sought-after album in recent times after being rediscovered by top collectors worldwide. For those into Milton Nascimento, Caetano Veloso, Arthur Verocai... 180 gram vinyl.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 275LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

First time reissue. Originally released in 1971. One of pianist Ray Pérez's rarest releases and his first on his own label Pyraphon, They Do It was also his final collaboration with Perucho Torcat, a talented sonero who died tragically young in NYC the following year. The record sports an impressively diverse array of rhythms and genres, including the popular Cuban, Puerto Rican, and New York sounds that the young Venezuelan salsa groups excelled in at the time (guaguancó, bolero son, son montuno, and Latin soul/boogaloo). Other Caribbean modes like calypso (the coast of Venezuela is very near Trinidad and Tobago), pambiche (a slow form of Dominican merengue developed for tourists), and even traditional Venezuelan merengue (a completely different rhythm from the Dominican genre of the same name) appear on the album. Full of classic dancefloor burners, the album has been lovingly restored, mastered from the original tapes, fully licensed, with its original artwork intact, preserving the legacy of this great Venezuelan music for today's generation of salsa dura lovers everywhere. Recommended by DJ Bongohead of Peace & Rhythm.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: VAMPI 45092EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Back in 2004, Vampisoul played a role in the return to recording of the legendary Joe Bataan, which fully materialized in the acclaimed album Call My Name, written and produced by Daniel Collás (The Phenomenal Handclap Band, Incarnations). Now, the song that marked the return of Joe Bataan finally makes it into a 7" single for the first time. "This whole project grew out of a song called 'Cycles of You', which I had written around 2000-2001 with the guitarist and bassist of my band at the time, Easy. The chord progression and vocal melody really reminded me of Bataan, and it occurred to me that it wouldn't be impossible to get him into the studio to do a guest vocal if we ever recorded it. I had met Bataan a few years before at a small, family-reunion style show at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in my neighborhood, where he not only still sounded great, but was also gracious and easy to talk to. By the time we got around to recording with Easy, the band was about to break up but we still had the studio booked. We all agreed that we didn't want to continue as a band, but at the same time, it would be a shame to never record what we had been working on. Around this time Bataan was playing out again, so I went to the show to see him and find out if he'd be interested in doing some vocals with us. He was agreeable, so we decided to turn it into a Joe Bataan session and do 'Cycles of You' . . . The rhythm section was a band called TransLove Airways that I formed in 2002. We got really tight and developed a great sound that was, to me, equal parts Heart, Shocking Blue, Brian Auger, and Rare Earth. To this core group I added pieces from a few other local bands: The Middle Initials, who are a great Temptations/Main Ingredient-style vocal group, and members of an incredible Latin band called Grupo Latin Vibe, who were responsible for almost all the percussion. There was also some fine trombone playing by Aaron Johnson of Antibalas and great flute work by Neal Sugarman and my cousin Sonny . . . The 'Call My Name' sessions took place when Daptone had just moved to Bushwick, its classic location..." --Daniel Collás, producer of "Call My Name".

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: WWSLP 017LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2022 repress; LP version. Includes download card and original four-page insert with lyrics and line-up. Wewantsounds continues their Akiko Yano reissue program with the release of Japanese Girl, her landmark debut album from 1976. Backed by Little Feat with Lowell George and by top Japanese musicians (including Haruomi Hosono), Japanese Girl is one of the most important Japanese albums of the '70s, mixing pop, rock, and Japanese folk together with Little Feat's superb classic sound. After a marriage with musician/producer Makoto Yano and the birth of her son (Fuuta), Yano and her team resumed the recording of the album and decided to pitch Little Feat for a collaboration as she loved the group. Against all odds they said yes and Yano left Tokyo for Los Angeles in March 1976 to record a full side with them. The legend has it they found it so difficult to keep up with Yano's compositions they returned some of their fee. The session was nevertheless stunning and Lowell George even compared Yano to Stevie Wonder. The Little Feat blend of New Orleans groove matched Yano's melodies perfectly, as witnessed on "Funamachi-Uta Part ". Originally a traditional song from The Nebuta Festival in her hometown of Aomori, the Little Feat version is a formidable slow-funk workout not dissimilar to their classic, "Spanish Moon", serving Yano's beautiful vocals and sense of groove to perfection. The whole side is a match made in heaven, showcasing the classic Little Feat line up at their funkiest with Yano's unique Japanese twist. The Japanese side on the album gives a great snapshot of the Tokyo music scene of the '70s with many musicians gravitating around Haruomi Hosono and also several musicians from Japanese band, The Moonriders. Recorded at the legendary Onkyo Haus studio in Tokyo, the sessions mix singer-songwriter sensitivity and pop with traditional Japanese sounds and instruments like the shinobue transverse flute, the koto string instrument, or the Tsuzumi hand drum as played on "Hekoriputaa" by the legendary percussionist Kisaku Katada who was appointed Living National Treasure by the Japanese state in 1999; together they create a beautiful east-meets-west mix masterfully driven by Yano's creativity and unique talent. First international release. Remastered sound.