Forced Exposure New Releases for the Week of 10/16/2023

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: 12XU 154LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Dutch four-piece Lewsberg present their fourth studio album, Out And About. Since forming in 2016, Lewsberg have gone from strength to strength. On Out And About, rudimentary pop and rock songs are deliberately kept bare, only occasionally embellished with a violin or organ part. In the lyrics, the tendency towards existentialism and black humor is nuanced with an almost naive openness and engagement. Recorded in Amsterdam in Spring 2023 with producer Yulya Divakova, Out And About sees founding members Shalita Dietrich (vocals, bass guitar), Michiel Klein (guitar) and Arie van Vliet (vocals, guitar, violin) joined for the first time on record by drummer and vocalist Marrit Meinema, who joined the band in the Autumn of 2021. Out And About embraces a collaborative spirit, allowing each member to contribute their unique songwriting talents. The result is a collection of tracks that capture the band's collective creative energy and their individual perspectives. Compared to their first three albums, Out And About feels lighter, calling to mind the The Feelies, Marine Girls, and Young Marble Giants, whilst remaining distinctly Lewsberg."

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: 99CHANTS 012LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Double LP version. Heavyweight, gatefold sleeve with silver metallic print and screenprinted PE sleeve. A lavish four-chapter chronicle that imagines an alternative evolution of mankind through sound, V?S (Latin for energy or force) is the result of a lengthy process of self-discovery, collaboration and research for Italian-German composer David August. The son of a classical pianist, August slipped from the academic music world into an early career as a dance music producer and DJ before he felt his artistic outlook shifting considerably. He established the adventurous 99CHANTS label in 2018, and has since used it as an output for his most progressive notions, collaborating most recently with jazz-noise vocalist Cansu Tanrikulu and Carnatic singer Sushma Soma on last year's acclaimed Imaginary Landscapes compilation. V?S then is a chance for August to reconcile his personal narrative, leveling it with concepts that touch on history, transformation and metaphysics. He wrote the album's 13 pieces to play like a linear storyline, tracking the development of culture from its illusory beginnings in Plato's Cave into the wider world and observing its progression and adaptation. August represents these themes with levitational orchestral drones, choirs and bells that slowly bend to long-forgotten ancestral rhythms, inevitably colliding with the digitized chaos of the information age. Motion guides everything, whether it's shadows on a wall projected by dancing flames, or dramatic, overlayed rhythms that vibrate the air and excite the feet. V?S is a dynamic attempt to show the movement of time on a macro scale, looking backwards in order to move forwards. It charts mankind's journey from its cosmic beginnings through the awe-inspiring world of flora and fauna, grounding the experience in rhythmic expression and dance before we're returned to the stars in transcended form. Crucially, it's a hopeful articulation of ideas and concepts that continue to echo throughout history, inviting us to imagine greater and cherish the teeming landscape that surrounds us.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: AUK 007LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; available on 180-gram vinyl (no longer comes with download code). This the first time that this title has been available on vinyl. At the risk of belaboring a rather obvious point, with Thank God for Mental Illness, their third collection of absolutely stunning music to be released in 1996, The Brian Jonestown Massacre parallels the prolific and effortless brilliance of The Rolling Stones at their fevered late-1960s peak; the sheer scope of their achievements is stunning -- rarely are bands quite so productive, or quite so consistently amazing. Thank God is The BJM's down-and-dirty country-blues outing, all 12-odd tracks supposedly recorded on a single July day at a cost of just $17.36. The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a psychedelic rock band originally from San Francisco, California, led by guitarist and singer Anton Newcombe. Since 1995, The Brian Jonestown Massacre has released numerous albums, first for Bomp!, the label that gave them their start, and later for TVT and Tee Pee. The BJM has been essential in the development of the modern U.S. garage scene, and many LA and SF musicians got their start playing with Newcombe, including Peter Hayes of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Originally, Newcombe was heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones' psychedelic phase -- the band's name combines the name of Stones founder Brian Jones with a reference to cult leader Jim Jones -- but his work in the 2000s has expanded into aesthetic dimensions approximating the UK shoegaze genre of the 1990s and incorporating influences from world music, especially Middle Eastern and Brazilian music.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: AUK 051EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

To coincide with the Brian Jonestown Massacre's North American 2023 tour is the release of two new exclusive tracks by the band. Recorded in Berlin and remotely, the opening track "Abandon Ship (Martian Meltdown Mix)" runs at over 11 minutes long and plays at 33rpm. "Maybe Make It Right," the B-side, is nearly four minutes and plays at 45rpm. Featuring Anton Newcombe (vocals/guitars), Hakon Adalsteinsson (guitar), and Uri Rennert (drums). Emil Nikolaisen (Serena-Maneesh/BJM) and Ryan Carlson Van Kriedt (Asteroid #4/BJM) on engineering duties. The release comes in a heavy-weight PVC bag with J-card artwork.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: AR 159CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Mo' Horizons enter their seventh album chapter and celebrate 25 years of their exultant and globally enriched, forward-thinking, electronic sound. Featuring a cast of guest singers, including Ghanaian legend Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Mango is a fiery and sample-heavy blend of future-funk, balearic, highlife, Brazilian drum 'n bass and lo-fi hip hop, set to be released on their long-standing label Agogo Records. Familiar and warming sounds pervade Mango; the call of the Brazilian cuica, the snapping snares, rolling breakbeats, swooning sax licks, and dreamy beach vibrations. Yet there are brand new tricks; on "Havanna B-Boys" Arthur Lee's gravelly voice is sampled whilst a frenetic funk-ridden groove pulses, and the mesmeric vocal samples from Anglo-Portuguese singer Guida de Palma feature on opener "Anotha Bossa." Both shine as the album's singles. Outside Ambolley's contribution, further collabs sees Mo' Horizons reconnect with Venezuelan percussionist Nené Vásquez, Colombian singer Ivan Camelo, Hannover based, Israeli singer Noam Bar Azulay, and Spanish singer Laura Insausti. Spanning over three decades, German DJ and production duo Mo' Horizons, led by Ralf Droesemeyer and Mark Wetzler have been a relentless force on the global groove scene. For 25 years, the pair have continued to grow their international audiences, testament to remaining on-point, ignoring the fashion and tribalism of scenes like big beat and broken beat, that thrived but then morphed and went off radar. Also featuring The Maasai Tribe Of Tanzania.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: AR 159LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Mo' Horizons enter their seventh album chapter and celebrate 25 years of their exultant and globally enriched, forward-thinking, electronic sound. Featuring a cast of guest singers, including Ghanaian legend Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Mango is a fiery and sample-heavy blend of future-funk, balearic, highlife, Brazilian drum 'n bass and lo-fi hip hop, set to be released on their long-standing label Agogo Records. Familiar and warming sounds pervade Mango; the call of the Brazilian cuica, the snapping snares, rolling breakbeats, swooning sax licks, and dreamy beach vibrations. Yet there are brand new tricks; on "Havanna B-Boys" Arthur Lee's gravelly voice is sampled whilst a frenetic funk-ridden groove pulses, and the mesmeric vocal samples from Anglo-Portuguese singer Guida de Palma feature on opener "Anotha Bossa." Both shine as the album's singles. Outside Ambolley's contribution, further collabs sees Mo' Horizons reconnect with Venezuelan percussionist Nené Vásquez, Colombian singer Ivan Camelo, Hannover based, Israeli singer Noam Bar Azulay, and Spanish singer Laura Insausti. Spanning over three decades, German DJ and production duo Mo' Horizons, led by Ralf Droesemeyer and Mark Wetzler have been a relentless force on the global groove scene. For 25 years, the pair have continued to grow their international audiences, testament to remaining on-point, ignoring the fashion and tribalism of scenes like big beat and broken beat, that thrived but then morphed and went off radar. Also featuring The Maasai Tribe Of Tanzania.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: AW 124LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Since forming in 2004, Ohio rock band Smug Brothers have enjoyed a relaxed, almost nonchalant, approach to writing and recording, with most albums being minor Big Bangs -- instant and electric. New LP In the Book of Bad Ideas, on the other hand, was a struggle against entropy -- the disorder caused by plagues and departing personnel. Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Kyle Melton wrote the majority of the tunes in 'bunker fashion' during the miserable pandemic summer of 2020, then slowly started recording them with bassist Kyle Sowash, lead guitarist Scott Tribble, and drummer/Smug Brothers co-pilot Don Thrasher in 2021. That November, his contributions partially completed, Tribble decamped the band due to a new job and new demands. The exit was amicable, yet left the group in a lead guitar lurch. Melton had little choice but to enter the ring and play solos on some songs. Finally, belatedly, both In the Book of Bad Ideas and its sister EP Emerald Lemonade were finished in the spring of 2022. And against the odds, the two-year slog produced pleasantly surprising results. On In the Book of Bad Ideas, the band's typical, semi-'60s sound -- boasting biting leads and breakneck jangles -- is now fully integrated with synthesizers and crafted with a cool gloss, anachronistically creating the first Smug Brothers album of the early '80s."

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: AMEL 722LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 restock. The Ricardo Villalobos/Samuel Rohrer partnership has yielded increasingly interesting results over the past few years, with the former's remixes of the latter's trio Ambiq being supplemented by further reinterpretations of Rohrer's solo work and live meetings at select events like Berlin's Funkhaus and Radialsystem V. As should be the case with any strong collaboration, this partnership has been based on mutual challenge rather than compromise, seeing each participant shuttle key technical and emotive aspects of the other's work to previously unexpected places. Those who have been closely following this relationship will notice a definite sense of continuity between previous outings and the new collaborative release entitled MICROGESTURES. As with those earlier Villalobos/Rohrer pairings, these four new pieces are defined by a special quality of being many things that once: that is to say, depending on the listener's own level of focus, these can feel very tightly constructed and disciplined, or playful and freely wandering. That the tracks are equally engaging regardless of one's chosen listening "mode" is a testament to the level of thought put into them; you could almost imagine the creators pouring over some elaborate sketched set of architectural blueprints rather than coolly monitoring the usual multi-track editing software. Altogether the music here is firmly amelodic and percussive, but within these deliberate limitations there is still a greater variety of individual sounds than most would bother with. Each track is its own observatory of micro gestures, clustering together into a dense communicative fog or a sort of robotic sound swarm. Yet, while all these tracks are variations on that theme, each one has its own character and, consequently, its own rewards. Take for example "Cochlea" and its twin "Helix", on which the magnetizing, busy layers of percussion are tempered with mischievously disruptive blossoms of digital noise, as well as sampled radio communications. Club-oriented elements are also not absent from this suite, particularly on "Incus" with its traditional sequenced baseline, crisp synthetic trap and hats, and dizzily sliding set of bell-like tones laid on top. Yet this track, too, is powered as much by its restless desire to deviate as by its rhythmic consistency: throughout the eleven-minute running time, a mass of ambiguous and restless machine sounds build a parallel narrative, and will maybe prompt the occasional glance over the shoulder as they seem to be taking on their own life. "Lobule" rounds out the program with the most rhythmically eventful sound set off the five.

 

PRICE: $13.00

CAT #: AUM 117CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Echolocation is the astonishing debut album from Mendoza Hoff Revels, an electric and formidable new unit led by Ava Mendoza (guitar, compositions) and Devin Hoff (bass, compositions) and featuring James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax) and Ches Smith (drums). A super-group of our time, all profound creative artists in their own right, rocking mightily together, in their prime. 21st Century progressive rock played by punk rockers with serious improv skills and jazz feel. And vitally -- non-stop wicked catchy tunes, riffs and grooves. Strong sonic references are The Stooges' Funhouse, rendered by an entire band readily adept at rapidly swinging rhythmic and harmonic shifts. Vital influences on Ava and Devin toward this work's creation were mid-'80s Black Flag (w/ Roessler and Stevenson) and Ornette Coleman's Prime Time ands, both of which revolutionized the way they heard music."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: AUM 117LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Echolocation is the astonishing debut album from Mendoza Hoff Revels, an electric and formidable new unit led by Ava Mendoza (guitar, compositions) and Devin Hoff (bass, compositions) and featuring James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax) and Ches Smith (drums). A super-group of our time, all profound creative artists in their own right, rocking mightily together, in their prime. 21st Century progressive rock played by punk rockers with serious improv skills and jazz feel. And vitally -- non-stop wicked catchy tunes, riffs and grooves. Strong sonic references are The Stooges' Funhouse, rendered by an entire band readily adept at rapidly swinging rhythmic and harmonic shifts. Vital influences on Ava and Devin toward this work's creation were mid-'80s Black Flag (w/ Roessler and Stevenson) and Ornette Coleman's Prime Time ands, both of which revolutionized the way they heard music."

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: BPBL 007EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Banoffee Pies Records Black Label Series continues with a very special solo EP from Ukraine-born producer and DJ, Adelina. Now Berlin-based, the Oracool party founder, and multi medium artist, whose roots in Kyiv's underground sound, and passion for music culture, shines through their already distinct sonic signature. Following the mesmerizing dusty cut single Soft Moving, the full EP extends to combine this haunted five track collection via the seventh release on the BPR sub label. Adelina's introspective approach strikes a magnetism on their surrounding environment using a precise and mature combination of broken structures, dreamy dub basslines and high bliss electronica. Recently immersed into sound creation while exploring the most cryptic aspects in the connections between sonic spheres, Black Label Series 07 offers a fluid introduction to the imprint while representing the new Ukrainian sound wave. Their choice selections and alluring charisma as an artist reflect their infinite certainty in the power of music as a universal key.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: BPWL 002EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Banoffee Pies White Label Series is back with a debut EP on the mother imprint from Bristol based artist, DJ and talent, No Nation. A deeply attuned junglist delivers a love sick transmission with four gripping, jazzy and skeletal rave compositions following their recent single "Gad Damn". Rooted in the sounds of jazz, progressive rock and fusion, No Nation quickly cemented themselves within soul, RnB and old-school hip hop scenes early on before finding space to express these inspirations through their passion for high tempo hybrids. Now an established Bristol artist and label main stay with international bookings worldwide. As a producer their music is something to be savored. Drawing inspiration from music from output on Inperspective and Scientific Wax labels while combining a dynamic and diverse fusion of soulful sounds. Chopped breaks and samples sure to leave a lasting impression. No Nation has featured on labels Club Paint edit series, Bristol-based outfit Slippery Sounds, London leftfield label Diffrent Music and most recently Sherelle's new imprint BEAUTIFUL music. For fans of: Tommy the Cat, Sherelle, Tim Repeaer, Response, Dwarde, Denham Audio, Fixate, Coco Bryce, Peter Tosh, and Fracture.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: BTR 080EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Sababa 5 have demonstrated their special blend of Middle Eastern psych, funk and disco over a course of eights 45s for Batov Records, a collaborative EP with singer Shiran Tzfira, and an acclaimed self-titled album. Hot off the back of extended instrumental faze, covering their self-titled debut album, that drew comparisons to the Menahan Street Band, and a pair of essential 45s overflowing with funk, Sababa 5 hit the studio to cut a pair of killer songs with Turkish synth, electro and alternative pop sensation Canay Do?an. Currently a member of the jazz department at Istanbul University, Canay has been releasing her own songs since 2021. Known for her versatility not only as a singer but across keyboards, drums and percussion, she can be seen accompanying many artists on vocals and keyboards. The collaboration came about after Canay heard Sababa 5's "Nasmusa", delving deeper and noting the similarities with Turkish music she reached out to suggest they work together. Compounded by Sababa 5 already having a presence in Turkey, it was meant to be. Dreamy and melancholic synths meet gritty funk rhythms on "Bigâne". According to Canay, the song addresses issues around depressions about the relative meaninglessness of life, the emptiness of so many questions and answers, and the "variability of the truth". The urgent music of "Namdar" backs a paean to the fakeness of most friendships, and empty daily questions such as "how are you?", and how many so-called friends are in truth jealous and bitter. The deep and searching questions of Canay's lyrics give weight to the beautiful vocals that almost float over Sababa 5's compelling grooves. "Bigâne" and "Namdar" add another deadly string to Sababa 5's bow and are essential grooves.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: BEATNIK 048LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Originally released in 1993, on CD only except very few promo vinyls, Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales is a collaboration between famous -- and infamous! -- beat writer William S. Burroughs and politico-rappers Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, whose Television, Drug of the Nation picked up the baton from the Last Poets and Gil Scot Heron. With Hal Willner in the producer's chair, the album sits at the unusual intersection of literature, spoken word and music, as Burroughs is reading excerpts from seven of his books set to fabulous music by the Heroes, mostly a slow, lazy funk that sounds like it was lifted from a '70s blaxploitation soundtrack, plus fat hip-hop beats and soul-jazz overtones."

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: BEC 5613161

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

The unbelievable story of a child who has been scared by life and finds salvation through the love of his dogs. This is the story of Dogman, Luc Besson's new movie, shown at the Venice Film Festival and the Deauville American Film Festival, and starring Caleb Landry Jones. Besson returns to the dark tones of his first feature films, centered on a character on the fringes of society. He once again enlists the services of his favorite composer, Eric Serra (Le Grand Bleu, Nikita, Le Cinquième Element, etc.), who is responsible for the music of almost all his films. Serra's worked with a philharmonic orchestra, the Budapest Scoring Orchestra, for this soundtrack. On top of Eric Serra's new music, it also includes "Non, Je ne Regrette Rien" and its English version "No Regrets" performed by Edith Piaf and "Autumn Star" by Sateen. Collector digipack CD.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: BJR 093LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Following on from 2020's debut album Vodou Alé and two EPs last year, the collaboration between Haitian seven-piece Chouk Bwa and Belgian production duo The Ångströmers return with their second album Somanti. Full of Afro-Caribbean voodoo polyrhythms and bass-weight dub electronics, the group count the likes of Gilles Peterson, Gideon Coe, Trevor Jackson, and Worldwide FM as fans. Brutally separated by the COVID crisis, the band went back on stage in 2022 and performed about thirty concerts in Europe. Between two concert series, they took the opportunity to record their live set. The connection between the well-preserved vodou tradition on one hand, and analog electronics on the other hand, gets deeper and deeper, with also a kind of rage due to the incredible difficulty of the world. The musical result is wild and full of twists and blasts. It's in-your-face.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: BR 012-027LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. Trust the Mask are seeking connection. Connection to the world amidst an increasingly fractured global environment; connection to their listeners in a meaningful way that provokes questions and sparks joy in equal measure, and connection to their true selves, at their hearts, behind the masks. The creative partnership between two Venice-based musicians, multi-instrumentalist Elisa Dal Bianco and singer Vittoria Cavedon began just as social communion was about to be plunged into an all-time low. Describing their local music scene as one with "only about ten people, so everyone knows everyone", Vittoria and Elisa had been peripherally aware of each other's previous projects but finally began to talk at a party in early 2020. Elisa -- a classically-trained songwriter with a qualification in electronic music and a passion for unusual instruments picked up from around the world -- sent Vittoria a demo; Vittoria, a self-taught singer with a more pop-oriented melodic ear, immediately heard what she'd been searching for. For Elisa, Vittoria's knack for a hook was the ingredient she needed to make her unusual, experimental sound palettes pop. We all know how 2020 then proceeded to pan out yet, despite their infant status as a band, the duo continued to write remotely. From those lockdown days came two equal but opposite tracks ? "Our Fault" and "Spring" -- which addressed the lows and highs of our relationship to the planet. Over time, they would become the beginnings of Idiom, the band's forthcoming debut album: a record with an outward-facing eye that spotlights scenes both close to home and far, far wider. On Idiom, Trust the Mask's ability to mix the analogue and the synthetic, the physical and the digital, is out in full force. Elisa's songcraft centers around balancing the possibilities of electronic music with the more tactile sounds of live instruments. Vittoria's vocals, meanwhile, complement these ideas with both softness and power. Idiom was brought to life with the help of a group of musical mentors including Bruno Dorella (OvO, Ronin, Bachi da Pietra) who they describe as the residency's "spiritual guide", producer and sound, engineer Andrea Cola, and Matteo Vallicelli, drummer of The Soft Moon. Giving the duo the opportunity to explore and define their personalities as artists, the experience was crucial in building the unique sonic palette that populates the record.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: BUDA 860122CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Originally released in 2006. "An outstanding pianist and a remarkable composer, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou, now a Christian nun in a Jerusalem monastery, recorded her own piano solo works, seeped in Ethiopian culture. Their rich, personal poetry brings to mind Carlos d'Alessio's India Song. A rare curiosity indeed, with beautiful melodies and a charming interpretation."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: BUDA 860144CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Originally released in 2007. "Alèmayèhu Eshèté is no less than one of the great voices of the heyday of modern Ethiopian music -- the swinging '60s which, in Ethiopia, went on until the fall of the Emperor Haile Sellassie I in 1974. On a par with Tlahoun Gèssèssè, Bzunèsh Bèqèlè, or Mahmoud Ahmed, Alèmayèhu is a star at the top of the constellation that once lit up the wild nights in the capital city Addis Ababa."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BYR 043LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Betamax of The Comet Is Coming and Pete Bennie of Speakers Corner Quartet are Coma World. They have come together again to produce a further batch of rhythmically enlightened dystopian jazz, alongside illustrious graphic and sound artist Raimund Wong (Floating World Pictures) for this record -- Coma Wong. The storm clouds are gathering at sea, with the white horses dancing ever faster on the waves. Coma World chose to ride out the tempest, sail up, speeding along together towards who knows what? Expect drums precision engineered with just the right degree of insouciance, drone-bathed sounds rippling and depth charge bass that explodes beneath the surface across 12 tracks.

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: CA 60001LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Back to the Roots is an album by pianist Ramsey Lewis which was recorded in 1971 and originally released on the Cadet label."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: CVSD 103CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Tuned metal percussion figures prominently in the sound universe of Roscoe Mitchell. Many of Mitchell's early compositions for the Art Ensemble of Chicago feature xylophone and tuned bells, and his immersive set-up known as "The Cage" arranges an array of percussed instruments in a circle around him, including all sorts of metallophones and gongs. On Roscoe Village, Chicago-based improvisor Jason Adasiewicz has transcribed and arranged a selection of Mitchell-penned pieces, performing them all on solo vibraphone. Adasiewicz, who has been one of the most in-demand players on contemporary improvised music stages, with his group Sun Rooms, his quintet Rolldown, the ensemble Living By Lanterns (co-led with drummer Mike Reed), and in duets and quartets with saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, is back on the scene after a self-imposed five-year break from music. Originally commissioned to transcribe a few works as a surprise for Mitchell during the afterparty for an exhibition of paintings at Corbett vs. Dempsey at the beginning of 2023 Adasiewicz dug deeply into the archives. He transcribed and arranged several 1960s Art Ensemble cuts ("Old," "Toro," "Congliptious," "A Jackson In Your House," and the perennial "Carefree"), a cut from the '70s ("The Key"), and another from the '80s ("Jo Jar"). From the great LP The Third Decade, he chose a piece scribed by Mitchell's father ("Walking In the Moonlight") and from a recently uncovered Paris-era Art Ensemble composition sketchbook, he arranged a never-heard Mitchell work ("The Cartoon March"). Adasiewicz also worked up a version of one of Mitchell's favorite R&B tunes (Otis Blackwell's "Daddy Rollin' Stone"). On certain tracks he slowed the melody down drastically or split a harmonized part into its constituent parts, playing them in sequence rather than at once, on others he added his own composed material to the familiar Mitchell piece. This is the first time many of these historical works have been treated to a new arrangement, and it's also Adasiewicz's first solo record, a fact worth celebrating on its own. Sporting a 1968 painting by Mitchell on its cover, Roscoe Village is a unique document of two great minds in dialogue, one paying homage to the other by the mightiest means available: a highly attuned form of personal creativity.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: DE 315LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Disco legend Sylvester comes to Dark Entries with Private Recordings: August 1970, an intimate collection of vintage jazz, blues, and gospel. While Sylvester is best known for his chart-topping collaborations with producer Patrick Cowley, such as 'You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),' this release reveals his passion for the sounds of the '30s and '40s. In 1970 a 22-year-old Sylvester had moved to San Francisco and found himself involved with the Cockettes, the infamous psychedelic performance art troupe. Among this milieu was Peter Mintun, a pianist and record collector living in a commune devoted to retro culture. According to Mintun, 'We were like hippies who lived in the twenties. We lived in a house that didn't have anything modern in it. Nothing in it was made after World War II.' Mintun and Sylvester bonded over their love of Black singers of yore and were allotted a slot during Cockettes performances reviving the music of the Prohibition Era. One afternoon, Sylvester and Mintun recorded a number of their shared favorites using a high-end microphone a friend had acquired. Private Recordings features ninr songs from this session, including standards like 'Stormy Weather,' 'Happy Days Are Here Again,' and 'God Bless the Child.' Sylvester's unmistakable falsetto brings depth and a dash of camp to these familiar tunes. The recordings are casual and intimate, even capturing banter between Sylvester and Mintun; their brief rendition of 'When My Dreamboat Comes Home' has the duo working out a melody in real time. In addition to their sonic explorations of decades past, Sylvester and Mintun also staged photographic shoots in vintage couture. Private Recordings comes with a 16-page booklet on firm cardstock featuring images from these never-before-seen shoots as well as liner notes from Mintun detailing his friendship with Sylvester and their experiences recording. All this is housed in a metallic silver sleeve designed by Eloise Leigh featuring a 1920's Art Deco aesthetic. The record will be released on September 6th which would have been Sylvester's 76th birthday, and all proceeds from Private Recordings will go to the two charities that Sylvester left his royalties after his death: Project Open Hand and PRC (formerly AIDS Emergency Fund). This essential release documents the earliest known recordings from one of disco's greatest talents."

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: FANT 001LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

The year was 1974. Until then, only Los Destellos had recorded a non-instrumental cumbia song, "Elsa," in 1970. Víctor Casahuamán Bendezú, a musician, creator and the composer behind Grupo Celeste understood that in order to continue the legacy of Peruvian bands from the sixties like Los Demonios de Corocuchay, Los Yungas, and Los Demonios del Mantaro, it was necessary to address in his lyrics a special and urgent topic: the feeling of displacement from the homeland and the vicissitudes of the migrant sector. The experiences of those who traveled from the provinces to the capital in search of opportunities they could not find in their towns of origin; the process of settling and adapting in a foreign city; the challenges derived from this change of environment; the recognition of a different culture and the creation of a space they understood as their own were the stories that had to be told in the songs. This is why Grupo Celeste was the backbone of cumbia in Peru: it established a common story that thousands of migrants would identify with. From this idea and impetus was born En el campo, the band's first single. Never before had the lyrics of Peruvian cumbia been able to touch the reality of migrants from the countryside living in the capital. The band not only wove the nets of that urgent, necessary reconnection, but also gave birth to one of the most relevant popular singers in the history of Peru: Lorenzo Palacios Quispe.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: FANT 002LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Juan Nájera was a multifaceted musician by profession, and he did not always have the privilege of being able to dedicate his life to music. For almost ten years he ran a family hardware store in Huánuco and then a mechanic shop on La Marina Avenue in Lima. He was also a truck driver. A decade of military dictatorships in Latin America made the artist's path very hard in the region, and Peru was no exception. Nájera was only nineteen when his first son was born. He had to make a living and the possibilities for entrepreneurship were slim. But if we go back in history, Juan Nájera was, first and foremost, a boy who dreamed of becoming a musician. Later, he was a boy who made it. Los Darlings de Huánuco managed to cross borders, not only in the capital of Peru, but also abroad. There are many collectors and music lovers around the world who seek and appreciate their songs, musical gems that have toured different latitudes and have managed to position this band from the Peruvian countryside in the most remote places on the planet. In a country characterized by its centralism, where opportunities in the countryside are much scarcer than in the capital, where the foreigner is greeted with more warmth than the local, and where getting ahead, especially in the musical field, implies an extraordinary effort, Los Darlings de Huánuco managed to take their sound to where they never thought it would be possible. From the Andes to the skyscrapers, from the heart of Huánuco to the immensity of other continents.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 116LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress, originally released in 1997. The sixth Smog album, and the first one produced by Jim O'Rourke. Tracks include the single "Ex-Con" and "I Was A Stranger," later covered by Cat Power. "Like Wild Love and Knock Knock, Red Apple Falls represents the more elaborate side of Bill Callahan's discography. His outsider/loser image is still perfectly intact, but it is shaped here with a more expansive sonic palette. Everything from French horn and pedal steel to hurdy gurdy is employed on these unassumingly poetic tales of self-loathing. There's a larger cast than usual at work here, and the denser musical texture may be the reason Callahan's lyrical self-deprecation seems more like an artistic device than a desperate cry in the wilderness. The use of more natural, organic imagery in the songs, however, adds an extra level of depth to the subtle, carefully constructed."

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: ELR 002LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

By 1963, great Latin American artists such as Lucho Gatica, Felipe Pirela, Bienvenido Granda, Leo Marini, Benny Moré, Tito Rodríguez, Toña La Negra, Blanca Rosa Gil, and the so-called queen of boleros, Olga Guillot, had enriched the musical landscape, giving personality to the bolero. That year, in the midst of a new panorama, a bolero star was born from the depths of Venezuelan radio: Estelita Del Llano. Sensual, her debut album, is one of the greatest gems of the genre, with arrangements and orchestration by Porfi Jiménez. The backing of the Porfi Jiménez Orchestra and his arrangements made Sensual one of the most successful albums of its time. The selection of the twelve songs on the album was also a success. Although the years of the bolero's greatest splendor seemed to have passed, the bolero continued to spread throughout Latin America. The great success of Sensual lay in the arrangements and the choice of boleros with elements of the cha-cha-cha, another genre that was enjoying great popularity.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: ELR 003LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Lucila Justina Sarcines Reyes was born on July 19, 1936, in the Rímac district. After being admitted to a Franciscan convent and studying only until the third grade of primary school, now a teenager, she returned home, but suffered an attempt of rape by her new stepfather; she was forced to move to the central neighborhood of Barrios Altos, to live with her uncle, a guitarist from the legendary Guardia Vieja, also known as the founders of the Peruvian criollo waltz. This group of non-professional musicians, made up of bricklayers, merchants, artisans, marble workers and other employees, prolonged the oral traditions of their African slave ancestors in working-class neighborhoods of the capital. While the wealthy reject the music of their peons, which they associate with alcohol and disorder, it is the workers who listen carefully to the European waltzes and Aragonese jotas at the aristocratic halls, and later, back in their famous one-pipe alleys, transform their music under the spell of the night. It is in these sociability spaces that house numerous low-income families, where these criollos cheer up birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and other parties until dawn with the trill of their guitars and cajones. It is there that Reyes, at 16-years-old, picks up the legacy of the Guardia Vieja and her life changes forever: she is often asked to sing in jaranas (criollo parties), and since her voice stands out immediately, she is encouraged to make her debut on a radio show called El Sentir de los Barrios, where she performs the waltz "Abandonada" by Sixto Carrera. By 1973, Lucha Reyes had already reached the peak of her career, and that summer she got invited to perform in Chicago and at the renowned Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan. Her triumph in music came at a time of Afro-Peruvian culture visibility in Peru and in the world, prompted, in part, and from the arts by the siblings Nicomedes and Victoria Santa Cruz.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: FARO 237CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Som Imaginário are the stuff of MPB mythos. Integral to Brazil's Clube Da Esquina movement in the early 1970s, a heady blend of progressive rock, folk, psychedelia, jazz, and traditional Brazilian rhythm flows through the three studio albums the band recorded between '70 and '73. Flying the countercultural freak-flag amid the context of military dictatorship, the Brazilian prog lords shared much of the sense of experimentation and bountiful fuzz bequeathed by their tropicalismo forbearers. But armed with genius composers, arrangers and stupendously high-level musicianship, Som Imaginário introduced a potent harmonic complexity to Brazilian popular music, which would inspire generations of artists to come. On October 4th, 1976, having finished a spell of recording and touring with Milton Nascimento, Som Imaginário performed a concert in celebration of Nature Day in Brasília. The recordings of the show would become Banda Da Capital, which, for the past half century, has laid dormant, waiting for its mystical power to be untapped. In the band that day were original members Wagner Tiso and Fredera, joined by Nivaldo Ornelas, Paulinho Braga, and Jamil Joanes. Operating within such a hugely creative and free-spirited scene meant line-up fluctuations were inevitable and former Som Imaginário members also include Laudir de Oliveira (who left to join Chicago), Nana Vasconcelos (who also moved to work in the US), Zé Rodrix, Robertinho Silva, Novelli, and Toninho Horta. Titled after the Belo Horizonte radio station where they would practice during their youth, the show opens with "Rádio Guarany", an improvisation led by Paulinho Braga and Nivaldo Ornelas. The track morphs into Nivaldo Ornelas's composition "Xa Mate", which also opens Milton Nascimento's Milagre dos Peixes ao Vivo album, featuring Som Imaginário and a 32-piece orchestra. Having grown up together in Minas Gerais, composer, arranger and keyboard player Wagner Tiso had been another close musical partner of Milton Nascimento's. Some of their work together includes many of Bituca's most beloved albums, including Clube Da Esquina, Milton Nascimento (1970) and Maria Maria / Ultimo Trem, as well as Native Dancer: Nascimento's album with Wayne Shorter. One of the album's most tender moments is a beautiful rendition of the post-tropicalista folk-rock classic "Sabado", written by Fredera for Som Imaginiaro's debut album. CD version includes two bonus tracks from a separate concert at Museu de Arte Moderna, in Rio de Janeiro, on October 6th, 1975. Restored and mastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, London.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: FARO 237LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Som Imaginário are the stuff of MPB mythos. Integral to Brazil's Clube Da Esquina movement in the early 1970s, a heady blend of progressive rock, folk, psychedelia, jazz, and traditional Brazilian rhythm flows through the three studio albums the band recorded between '70 and '73. Flying the countercultural freak-flag amid the context of military dictatorship, the Brazilian prog lords shared much of the sense of experimentation and bountiful fuzz bequeathed by their tropicalismo forbearers. But armed with genius composers, arrangers and stupendously high-level musicianship, Som Imaginário introduced a potent harmonic complexity to Brazilian popular music, which would inspire generations of artists to come. On October 4th, 1976, having finished a spell of recording and touring with Milton Nascimento, Som Imaginário performed a concert in celebration of Nature Day in Brasília. The recordings of the show would become Banda Da Capital, which, for the past half century, has laid dormant, waiting for its mystical power to be untapped. In the band that day were original members Wagner Tiso and Fredera, joined by Nivaldo Ornelas, Paulinho Braga, and Jamil Joanes. Operating within such a hugely creative and free-spirited scene meant line-up fluctuations were inevitable and former Som Imaginário members also include Laudir de Oliveira (who left to join Chicago), Nana Vasconcelos (who also moved to work in the US), Zé Rodrix, Robertinho Silva, Novelli, and Toninho Horta. Titled after the Belo Horizonte radio station where they would practice during their youth, the show opens with "Rádio Guarany", an improvisation led by Paulinho Braga and Nivaldo Ornelas. The track morphs into Nivaldo Ornelas's composition "Xa Mate", which also opens Milton Nascimento's Milagre dos Peixes ao Vivo album, featuring Som Imaginário and a 32-piece orchestra. Having grown up together in Minas Gerais, composer, arranger and keyboard player Wagner Tiso had been another close musical partner of Milton Nascimento's. Some of their work together includes many of Bituca's most beloved albums, including Clube Da Esquina, Milton Nascimento (1970) and Maria Maria / Ultimo Trem, as well as Native Dancer: Nascimento's album with Wayne Shorter. One of the album's most tender moments is a beautiful rendition of the post-tropicalista folk-rock classic "Sabado", written by Fredera for Som Imaginiaro's debut album.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: FARO 239CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Renowned Italian spiritual jazz master, DJ, producer, guitarist, and bandleader Nicola Conte presents his new album Umoja via Far Out Recordings. A joyous exultation across ten tracks, Umoja taps into the abundant well of knowledge Conte has amassed over his career as a compiler and archivist of deep jazz, Latin, Afro-futurist, bossa-nova and soul music from around the world. Expressing unity, oneness and harmony in Swahili, Umoja coalesces universal feelings through the multifaceted global music Conte has spent his life studying and researching. Having released music with Blue Note, Impulse! and Schema records, Nicola Conte's relationship with Far Out began over a shared love of hard-edged bossa-nova and swinging samba-jazz. Between 2009-2013 Nicola Conte compiled five volumes of forgotten '60s Brazilian music for his Viagem series. He then released his critically acclaimed Natural album (FARO 188CD/LP): a collaboration with vocalist Steffania Dippiero, featuring jazz standards alongside covers of lesser-known Brazilian gems. The music of Umoja draws on the deep-dug '70s independent spiritual and free jazz sounds, private-press soul records, and African and Afro Caribbean rhythms in Conte's collection. But he equally recognizes his debt to many of the decade's more celebrated musical icons, such as North American cosmic jazz masters Lonnie Liston Smith and Gary Bartz, and Afrobeat originators Fela Kuti and Tony Allen. Since founding the Bari-based bohemian cultural movement and club night Fez at the dawn of the nineties, Conte has proven to be a pillar of the contemporary, international soul-jazz scene. Composed alongside his long-time friend, guitarist Alberto Parmegiani, Conte brings together a dazzling host of guests from around the world, including award winning British vocalist Zara Mcfarlane, acclaimed Finnish saxophonist Timo Lassy, French vibes player Simon Mullier, US vocalist Myles Sanko, rising South African drummer Fernando Damon, former Roy Hargrove bassist Ameen Saleem, and Serbian flute sensation Milena Jancuric. Proudly revivalist, Umoja was recorded direct to analog tape, with just two takes for each track. "Searching for an unadulterated, spontaneous, almost improvised feeling", Nicola made sure that the few overdubs were also transferred to tape in order to retain the color and warmth of the analog sound. "Very little post production or editing has been added, so what you hear is largely what happened in those magical live sessions". Also features Bridgette Amofah and Miles Sanko.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: FARO 239LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Double LP version. 45RPM. Renowned Italian spiritual jazz master, DJ, producer, guitarist, and bandleader Nicola Conte presents his new album Umoja via Far Out Recordings. A joyous exultation across ten tracks, Umoja taps into the abundant well of knowledge Conte has amassed over his career as a compiler and archivist of deep jazz, Latin, Afro-futurist, bossa-nova and soul music from around the world. Expressing unity, oneness and harmony in Swahili, Umoja coalesces universal feelings through the multifaceted global music Conte has spent his life studying and researching. Having released music with Blue Note, Impulse! and Schema records, Nicola Conte's relationship with Far Out began over a shared love of hard-edged bossa-nova and swinging samba-jazz. Between 2009-2013 Nicola Conte compiled five volumes of forgotten '60s Brazilian music for his Viagem series. He then released his critically acclaimed Natural album (FARO 188CD/LP): a collaboration with vocalist Steffania Dippiero, featuring jazz standards alongside covers of lesser-known Brazilian gems. The music of Umoja draws on the deep-dug '70s independent spiritual and free jazz sounds, private-press soul records, and African and Afro Caribbean rhythms in Conte's collection. But he equally recognizes his debt to many of the decade's more celebrated musical icons, such as North American cosmic jazz masters Lonnie Liston Smith and Gary Bartz, and Afrobeat originators Fela Kuti and Tony Allen. Since founding the Bari-based bohemian cultural movement and club night Fez at the dawn of the nineties, Conte has proven to be a pillar of the contemporary, international soul-jazz scene. Composed alongside his long-time friend, guitarist Alberto Parmegiani, Conte brings together a dazzling host of guests from around the world, including award winning British vocalist Zara Mcfarlane, acclaimed Finnish saxophonist Timo Lassy, French vibes player Simon Mullier, US vocalist Myles Sanko, rising South African drummer Fernando Damon, former Roy Hargrove bassist Ameen Saleem, and Serbian flute sensation Milena Jancuric. Proudly revivalist, Umoja was recorded direct to analog tape, with just two takes for each track. "Searching for an unadulterated, spontaneous, almost improvised feeling", Nicola made sure that the few overdubs were also transferred to tape in order to retain the color and warmth of the analog sound. "Very little post production or editing has been added, so what you hear is largely what happened in those magical live sessions". Also features Bridgette Amofah and Miles Sanko.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: FORDIS 007LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Repressed; LP version. Far Out Recordings presents Hermeto Pascoal's remarkable self-titled debut album. Recorded in 1970 at A&R studios in New York, the album features certified North American titans including Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Joe Farrel, and Googie Coppola, and Brazilian stars Airto Moreira and Flora Purim (who also produced the album). While it was Hermeto's first album released under his own name, he had spent the decade or so prior making a name for himself in Brazil and internationally as a composer, arranger and instrumentalist with groups including Sambrassa Trio, Quarteto Novo, and Brazilian Octopus, before going on to work with (amongst countless others) Edu Lobo, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Donald Byrd, Airto Moreira, and Miles Davis, who allegedly called Hermeto "one of the most important musicians on the planet." With Hermeto's otherworldly orchestral arrangements, ghostly vocal performances from Flora Purim and Googie Coppola, and the inimitable drumming and percussion stylings of Airto Moreira, Hermeto easily rivals some of the oft-celebrated MPB albums of the early 1970s, sitting somewhere between the string-heavy magic of Arthur Verocai's 1972 debut and the unplacable early experimentalism of Pedro Santos' 1968 album Krishnanda. With his phenomenal natural musical genius and a ceaseless sense of creative freedom, Hermeto is widely known for using unconventional objects to make music. In the album's sleeve notes, Airto highlights the track "Velório (Mourning)" explaining how Hermeto filled 36 apple juice bottles with different amounts of water and tuned them to precise pitches in order to create the beguiling harmonies heard. The reissue of Hermeto Pascoal's Hermeto follows Far Out's recent unveiling of a previously unheard Hermeto Pascoal live concert Planetario da Gavea from 1981 (FARO 229CD/LP), and 2017's release of Hermeto Pascoal's lost 1976 studio album: Viajando Com O Som (FARO 200CD/LP).

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: FOLC 210CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Barrence Whitfield And The Savages are back after a five year hiatus with a new LP titled Glory on FOLC Records that was recorded in Valencia Spain in May 2023. The Savages are now in their 40th year of recording and this LP is a genre bending pile driver that has the same energy as their self-titled LP from 1983. The band features original line-up core members Barrence Whitfield, Peter Greenberg, and Phil Lenker along with Andy Jody and Tom Quartulli who have been with the band a dozen years. The LP was produced by Mike Mariconda and the Savages were joined on this recording by Spencer Evoy on baritone sax. The Savages most recently had a successful run of recordings on Bloodshot Records, having re-grouped in 2010. They continue to unleash their distinctive brand of rock and roll that mixes up a cocktail of soul, blues and garage.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: FOLC 210LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Barrence Whitfield And The Savages are back after a five year hiatus with a new LP titled Glory on FOLC Records that was recorded in Valencia Spain in May 2023. The Savages are now in their 40th year of recording and this LP is a genre bending pile driver that has the same energy as their self-titled LP from 1983. The band features original line-up core members Barrence Whitfield, Peter Greenberg, and Phil Lenker along with Andy Jody and Tom Quartulli who have been with the band a dozen years. The LP was produced by Mike Mariconda and the Savages were joined on this recording by Spencer Evoy on baritone sax. The Savages most recently had a successful run of recordings on Bloodshot Records, having re-grouped in 2010. They continue to unleash their distinctive brand of rock and roll that mixes up a cocktail of soul, blues and garage.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: FD 148CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Originally released in spring 2021 by US label L.I.E.S. on vinyl, Anthony Di Franco of Ramleh returns to Fourth Dimension Records with a timely and well-deserved reissue. Featuring three additional tracks to the original six, Avalanche Zone is a weighty and abrasive follow-up to 2018's Weapon Design that's propelled by cranium-crunching bass, icy and portentous textures, battlefield rhythms and just the faintest nod to Anthony's love of both old school noise and more contemporary electronic music which refuses to compromise. If you have been paying attention to JFK especially during more recent years you won't be disappointed. Remixes by Klaska.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HFN 155LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Jacob Bellens' new solo Off My Meds took shape over two turbulent years in Jacob's life. Several major life events happened back-to-back in a very short time, and it ended up breaking him down to a point of total exhaustion. The energy needed to uphold the outer self we all need to function was no longer there, and his inner actual beliefs and values began to show themselves one by one, which was not pretty to look at. Change was inevitable, simply because the price of not changing would be much higher in the long term. The album is a pop-poem about accepting the premise of the life given to you. It is an ode to the perils of modern existence and our birth-given right to love, laugh and cry, whatever hand we may have been dealt to begin with. Lyrically it is centered around self-care and the courage to love someone and be loved in return. About taking responsibility for everything in your life instead of using your life history as an excuse for not living, no matter how tragic or unique your situation might be or seem to yourself. Musically it draws upon an eclectic mix of influences and genres, while still maintaining a distinct underlying red thread throughout the album. It is a melancholic funk hybrid with a positive DNA, and though it sounds like pop music in the best sense of the word, it doesn't quite look and feel like pop music. It is rather a collection of sounds and feelings put into words that are deeply personal -- but personal for all. Also featuring M.I.L.K.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: KST 520LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Lowell Fulson's comfortably laid-back but groovin' soul-blues workout 'Tramp' quickly became one of his biggest hits (and fared even better in a cover version by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas), and this album (released to tie in with the single's success) finds Fulson following a similar stylistic path. While most of Tramp's tunes lean more heavily on traditional blues structures than the title tune, Fulson was obviously aiming for a funky ambience rather than the heavy emotional crush of the deep blues, and his clean, uncluttered guitar solos are warmer and more approachable than the typical Chicago-style axe work of the day. There's a sly playfulness to this material that's winning, and even the most down-and-out songs here display a light touch and creative intelligence that sets Fulson apart. Hardly a masterpiece, Tramp is still the sort of album to please fans and new admirers alike." --Mark Deming, AllMusic

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: KITT 004EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

To celebrate three years since the release of Andrew Ashong and Kaidi Tatham's now classic Sankofa Season, Kitto Records invite some of their favorite artists to remix and reimagine the music. The result is an all-star lineup that crosses genre and generations to produce a truly cracking EP, one that is clearly rooted in the original music while also moving into new, unexpected territories. Whether it is dubstep pioneer Mala bringing a heavy and sophisticated twist to "Low Ceilings," or breakthrough post-punk artist Wu-Lu flipping "Washed in You" into a completely new realm, complete with a captivating feature from the one and only Lex Amor, the quality on show is undeniable. Shy One brings one for the bruk heads, with a bumping remix of "Learning Lessens" that flips between styles and mood, deftly using Andrew Ashong's floating vocals to great effect. Gavsborg and Shanique Marie round out the EP by bringing the full force of their forward-thinking Jamaican music collective Equiknoxx to bear with a soulful reimagining of "To Your Heart."

 

PRICE: $51.00

CAT #: RAUM 001LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

The inaugural release on cult eyewear label Kuboraum's new music platform, Salò is a mystifying fusion of noise, prog rock and psychedelic music that attempts to imagine a "dreamy and decadent" Roman renaissance. It's the brainchild of multidisciplinary artist Emiliano Maggi, who links with Mai Mai's Toni Cutrone, Wildmen's Giacomo Mancini, producer Cosimo Damiano and musician, writer and critic Stefano Di Trapani to distill a wellspring of poems, fairytales, anecdotes and mythologies -- drawing on mythological symbolism, medieval theater and rural iconography -- into an oozing celebration of art, ecstasy and extravagance. Salò developed as a way to challenge both theirself and their audience, performing with the ensemble exhaustively before they were ready to pen their debut full-length. The project is seen as a way to extend an artistic conversation across disciplines, unifying all their different interests; at any given performance, it's hard to know what to expect, and that's the point. One day be Salò might be a full band, the next it could be a painting, a string ensemble or a choir. This irreverence and mischievousness undergirds the album, offering its sprawling, ambitious compositions a level of carnivalesque eccentricity that's impossible to ignore. Considering the place of witches and brigands on the outskirts of society, Salò twist jangling European folk with autotuned murmurations and unsettling electronic rhythms on opener "La Ballata Delle Mosche," tipping into Mr. Bungle-stlye absurdity on "Capra lo Vedo, Capra lo Soni." The epic 14-minute prog-psych centerpiece "Denti Neri" meanwhile takes its cues from Black Sabbath's rock 'n roll excesses, and finale "Faccio L'amore In Groppa Ad Un Asino" is a ludicrous, giallo-esque ritual. It's work that taps into the pulse of commedia dell'arte, an early European theatrical form that mixed music and dance, using distinct costumes to represent each character. The Salò collective picks up where history left off, metamorphosing wild flights of fantasy and historical truths into audio-visual puzzles that defy contemporary logic, never failing to find humor in the darkest crevices.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: MUS 281EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

JJ & the A's release their debut six-track EP and it's a barrage of punk nuggets that explode out of the speaker. The treble is on full and the bass down low as the Danish/Barcelona power-punk band unleash hell and fury. This is punk from the golden eras of the late '70s and early '80s and even a bit of early '90s from people who have been involved in hardcore scene for all of their adult lives. It's relentless and is an absolute fireball of speed and energy. Think a mix of Gorilla Angreb, Screamers, Spits, Rip Off Records, and those classic Killed by Death 7"s that now are worth thousands. Get your dancing shoes on and enjoy every last second of this gem that came out of nowhere.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: LBR 090LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Almost 30 years after her last album release, Sylvia Meyer released ¿Quién?, an album where everything happens between her piano and her voice. Its exquisiteness, sensitivity, luminosity and refinement coexist with arranging complexity and virtuosic, achieving a unique texture and a voice that penetrates souls to nest there, and grow beauty. The musical atmospheres and the universes of beauty to which the songs that make up this album transport the listener rescue that sound so complete and, at the same time, so inevitably montevidean, which travels absolutely free. Meyer is one of the most important Uruguayan artists of the last four decades. Composer and owner of a unique and special voice. Everything that sighs fills it with beauty and mystery. Her music manages to transcend the borders of cinema, theater, concerts and art.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: LBR 096LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

A place where indie rock intersected with the great Latin bands of the 1950s, fringe genres like cumbia villera were transformed into sophisticated music, tango joined alternative pop, and track music became contemplative and landscaped. Juan Campodónico has a long artistic career (Peyote Asesino, Bajofondo) and extensive experience as an artistic producer on some fundamental records of Uruguayan and South American music (Jorge Drexler, Cuarteto de Nos, and No te Va Gustar, among others). In Campo is a very heterogeneous group of composers, performers and instrumentalists from different genres and geographical locations (Jorge Drexler, Martín Rivero, Ellen Arkbro, Pablo Bonilla, and Verónica Loza, among others). Campo was based on the song format, jumping the limits of the Río de la Plata, immersing himself in rhythms, genres, and forms of South American songs from the past and present, seeking the link with pop, rock and electronic music. The album -- which received nominations for the American Grammys, the European MTV Awards and the Latin Grammys -- broke schemes and prejudices. He brought together opposite worlds such as cumbia and britpop, songwriters and dance music, or bolero and electropop, finding beauty and sophistication in unexpected places.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: MDP 005LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Urinal St. Station by The Yellow River Boys is, at last, an album for those who believe that the human mouth smiles the most when it is being used as a makeshift urinal. Ten catchy, radio-friendly songs (in a musical style somewhere between Lynryd Skynryd and John Mellencamp) may not win over any converts to 'OUR' lifestyle -- but will certainly function as an enduring soundtrack to those who already partake. With the vocal support of 'new music fans' Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington, and with James Valentine of Maroon 5 fulfilling the same role that Eric Clapton did on The Beatles' million- selling White Album, you cannot go wrong stocking Urinal St. Station on your shelves. The golden yellow vinyl pressing has the potential to sell by the truckload not only to fans of classic rock 'n' roll, but to the growing demographic of those who like to recycle their urine through their own bladder, or over someone else."

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: MT 063LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Dum Dum Boys, XYZ, and NON! guitar player's second solo album, a home-recorded double LP extravaganza of fuzzy rockers, lo fi diskopunk dancefloor anthems, weird glam, heartbreaking ballads and psych pop. Fuzz pedals, analog synths, wild organ, Theremin, drum machines, tambourine, and violins. An orgy of sounds, an overdose of songs, from 20 seconds snapshots to eight-minutes epics. Includes two idiosyncratic covers of Joe Simon and Leonard Cohen.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MR 442LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

At the beginning of 1968, Los York's was the most popular group in Peru at morning shows, parties and on tours, and had a legion of fans who found the answers to their youthful concerns in the band's songs. The bulk of the quintet's repertoire were Spanish versions of their favorite rock songs in English, where they took advantage of free translation to speak openly about freedom, drugs and hippy love. That same year, Los York's would announce the new album was in the makings and would comprise two of their own songs and eight cover versions ranging from well-known hits to vinyl rarities. 68 was finally released in October of that year, with cover art based on the album by the American band The Other Half, recreated by designer Estanislao "Zanahoria" Ruiz. The versions include "Solo pido amor," by Rocky Roberts & The Airedales. "La punta de mi lengua" is a cover of The Grass Roots' song, featuring the multifaceted Pablo Villanueva (aka Melcochita) on xylophone. The nostalgic "Charo," originally by The McCoys, is dedicated to a friend of the group. "Abrázame, baby" is another recording of "Abrázame" -- a Don Covay original -- released on the previous album. "El viaje" owes its inspiration to the song "The trip," by Kim Fowley, but it was gradually transformed in rehearsals until it moved away from the original, while keeping its lysergic jamming spirit. The other versions included are "Vallery," by The Monkees; "Mira tú," by The Kinks; and "La alegría de tu amor," by Cream. The album ends with fast-paced "Solo estoy," a ritmazo composed by Pablo Luna, which shows the good vibes in the day-to-day life of the group.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MR 443LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

The only album released by Peruvian band Tarkus (featuring members of Telegraph Avenue) in 1972 is a heavy psych/hard rock masterpiece with echoes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple. Only a handful of promotional copies were made available at the time of its release, making it for years a true lost classic and one of the rarest records of Latin American rock. Tarkus was born after the 1971 split of Telegraph Avenue, one of the most popular Peruvian bands at the time. TA member Walo Carrillo was joined by Argentinian musicians Guillermo Van Lacke, whom he had met previously in Lima, and 16-year-old Darío Gianella. They got together and started making music very influenced by bands such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Deep Purple. They immediately developed a heavy, hard rock sound uncommon in Peru, and asked former Telegraph Avenue member Alex Nathanson to join them. They recorded their first album between April and May of 1972 for the MAG record label, which was expecting something closer to Telegraph Avenue and didn't know how to market such a heavy sound. Soon after, guitarist and main composer Darío Gianella decided to leave the band to follow his religious faith, just before they presented their debut LP live. As a result, the band disintegrated without making their official debut and only a few copies of the album were actually distributed. Time has given this LP the significance it rightly deserves as one of the foundations of Latin American hard rock, and Munster now presents this new vinyl reissue.

 

PRICE: $39.00

CAT #: MOV 2950GOLD-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Eastern Rebellion was the very first release on the Timeless label. This 1976 release is a classic set which features four jazz giants: Billy Higgins on drums, Sam Jones on bass, George Coleman on the tenor saxophone and led by Cedar Walton on the piano. This record features Walton's most famous composition 'Bolivia,' Coleman's '5/4 Thing' and Jones' boppish 'Bittersweet.' Eastern Rebellion is available as a limited edition of 500 individually numbered copies on gold colored vinyl."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: NR 029LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Grails don't mince words. Awesomely communicative but entirely instrumental, this dynamic band's violin, guitars, piano, and drums collide with sober melodies and massive emotion. At alternate moments, Grails can sound vaguely classical, Eastern European, Irish, like the lost tapes of Pauline Oliveros, and rock. They're not really like anything else on the Neurot roster, but they've got something in common with all the Neurot bands: a commitment to intense music that forges new paths and communicates in the most real way possible. Grails have their fair share of ambient noise -- shivery violins, a trickle of a high-hat, the amplified scrape of a guitar string -- but their music is based on strong, narrative melodies that resonate in the heart. At times it sounds delicate, but they never cower. Burden of Hope is the debut LP, following a pair of self-released, eponymous EPs in 2000 and 2002. The LP is the culmination of a year's worth of recordings, including a reinterpretation of Sun City Girls' classic 'Space Prophet Dogon.' Grails are gathered in Portland, Oregon from Baltimore, Little Rock, Louisville, Chapel Hill, and Reno. As an ensemble, their respective backgrounds in hardcore, classical, folk, and rock blend seamlessly. Formed in late 2000 to execute live the bedroom recordings of guitarist Alex Hall, the once-tentatively-assembled group found unexpected success with both audiences and local press. Originally formed under the moniker Laurel Canyon, the name of the group was changed to Grails to coincide with the release of The Burden of Hope in October, 2003."

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: NA 5134LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "21 rare and unreleased tracks. Long overlooked ballads from the flip sides of the funk 45s in the now-again vaults. We at Now-Again unearthed so much information about the bands that recorded the definitive disco and modern soul contained in our recently launched Soul Cal anthology that we decided we had no choice but to release an album and a book at the same time. Well, following that line, the music contained on Loving On The Flip Side music is too damn good to be anonymously relaunched, decades after musical visionaries blended the best of heavy funk and sweet soul into a unified whole. And simply telling the stories of these vocalists and bands without allowing their lovelorn pleas to be heard again wasn't an option. Thus, Loving On The Flip Side again offers the enthused a chance to listen to, read about and reflect on another great burst of black American creativity: the creation of the sublime genre we like to call 'sweet funk.' It seems laughable to skip past Thomas East's 'Slipping Around' 7' for the cheesy funk of 'Just A Trip,' or to listen obsessively to Lou Ragland's instrumental funk on the Hot Chocolate LP and ignore his indolent-yet-stirring 'We Had True Love.' Yet we did just that, until we first heard the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy's beautiful two-sider nearly ten years back. This was the record that set Loving On The Flip Side in motion, as the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy's two songs precipitated the sweet funk genre: the dichotomy of Funky Heavy's skull snapping rhythm section and the teenage Dears' angelic harmonies didn't sound like anything we'd heard before. That discovery set off a decade long search for the band and culminated in their discovery, the documenting of their stories, the emergence of their master tapes and the inclusion of their songs on Loving On The Flip Side. The excitement we felt while listening to the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy's masterworks forced us back into the field, in search of other sweet funk swooners and beat-heavy ballads to round out this anthology. The opportunity to present anew such wondrous soul music made the exhaustive process that produced Loving On The Flip Side worthwhile, and allowed us to collect one-offs that escaped prior investigations into the deep funk and sweet soul genres."

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: ACU 002LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Islaja presents her new album Angel Tape, her debut release on the new Helsinki-based label Other Power. Drawing inspiration from childhood epiphanies while listening to an alleged recording of angels singing, Islaja has crafted an album that stands out as a major work in her expansive and celebrated catalogue, which includes previous releases on labels such as Ecstatic Peace!, Fonal, and Svart. Islaja, aka Finnish artist Merja Kokkonen, describes her new album as a "counterwork" to her most recent albums, where the mode of composing was more song-based. This time around, she goes more in the direction of vast fields of sound where the human voice is a key ingredient of music that breaks free of strict stylistic guidelines and traditional song forms. Rough around the edges, atonal and otherworldly, Angel Tape is the result of a lifetime of inspiration from something beyond the immediate realm of our experience, an attempt to catch the elusive essence of musical otherness. Whereas Islaja has often thought of albums as being collections of recent songs presented together, Angel Tape has a strong sense of conceptual coherence. The music comes from a place. That doesn't mean that one must take a single path from one place to the next, as close listenings of the album reveal layers upon layers of not only sound but also of mood and meaning. From the human voice in its barest form, to the rising dense walls of sound moving and reshaping, Angel Tape is a captivating album that unveils new contours with each repeated listening.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: PRTL 021LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Six melodic instrumental tracks presented in the traditional extended "discomix" showcase dub style, that lean heavily towards the sounds of late '70s/early '80s. The melodica carries echoes of Augustus Pablo, while the acoustic guitar gives the recordings a lighter, more atmospheric touch, reminiscent of Fazal Prendergast, before the dub mixes come in and cause havoc in a King Tubby/Scientist style. Guiding Shield is comprised of producers Liam McGurk from Partial Records and Dougie Wardrop from Conscious Sounds who both share instrument credits and production duties.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: PFR 018LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. Double LP version. This is Danish producer Anders Trentemøller's debut full-length release for Poker Flat from 2006. The Last Resort -- a beautifully crafted, astonishing masterpiece that will leave you breathless. The 13 instrumental tracks together form a wordless musical story, almost like the soundtrack to a movie. It manages to capture a whole range of emotions in subtle melodic miniatures, dreamy ambiences, dusty beats, deep dub-tracks and driving groove-excursions. Although it's definitely an electronic album, it also incorporates live drums, guitars and other acoustic instruments like celesta, glockenspiel, melodica and even DJ scratching to create a more organic feel. A fantastic accomplishment from one of the greatest producers of this century.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: SPGRM 008LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Félicia Atkinson's Ni envers ni endroit que cette roche brûlante (Pour Georgia O'Keeffe) is approached as a meditation, not as meditative music, but as a reflection on the art of creation: how to inhabit one's creation, how to convey it, domesticate it and live with it. Drawing inspiration from the artist Georgia O' Keeffe, both in her work as a painter and in the houses in which she lived in New Mexico, and even in the landscapes that surround them, Félicia Atkinson has composed a piece that evokes and celebrates, in a poetic and holistic way, the mystery of art, the somnambulic oscillation that accompanies the act of creating. Blending fragmentary voices, islands of piano, electronic textures and patterns, and field recordings, Félicia Atkinson's music is sincere and inspired, a meditation, then, but also a lesson we sometimes forget: being an artist is not an activity, even less a profession, it's a singular way of approaching the world and, in so doing, densifying it. Richard Chartier's music takes up residence at the frontiers of the audible, on the edge where sound diffracts into an inter-dimensionality where sounds, space, listening and silence recombine in an arborescence of becomings that present themselves to us and then disappear. The space-time in which Richard Chartier's music unfolds is a stretched space-time, barely emerging in the world of sound. The delicacy, precision and accuracy of the composition Recurrence.Expansion lies precisely in this dialogue between a shape that is exposed and developed in an inspired and masterful way, and the sonic biotope in which this shape develops. It is from such an encounter that the singularity of Richard Chartier's music emerges, music of attentive listening, but also sensitive, inhabited music, a music of discreet metamorphosis." --Francois J. Bonnet, Paris, March 2023

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: R 104LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Recital presents the first vinyl edition of Let the Darkness Fall, a forgotten corner from the vast discography of Suzanne Langille & Loren Connors. Joined here by David Daniell and Andrew Burnes (of the Atlanta-based group San Agustin), Darkness was recorded in the summer of 1998 on a Tascam Porta-5 in Loren and Suzanne's Brooklyn living room, and issued the following year as a limited CD by Secretly Canadian. The tender gloom of Let the Darkness Fall sounds like a broadcast of some private séance. The trio of guitarists here show a beautiful restraint, hovering just underneath vocalist Suzanne Langille's ephemeral poetry. Once they hit record, the sensitivity of the players melded this quartet into a sole-entity; finishing each other's phrases in slow motion. Suzanne's gentle voice glows through the wispy guitar shadows with a quiet determination. One could almost imagine her building a nest out of the guitar lines she's gathered. This collection of musicians is a precursor to the band Haunted House, a wild sort of jam-band playing the blues without playing structure. Recital is proud to continue the series of Loren Connors-related editions, stretching from his art books Wildweeds & Night of Rain, to his masterpiece solo LPs Airs & Lullaby. And Recital is equally thrilled to highlight Suzanne Langille's mystifying command of voice and word and the intricate guitar work of Andrew Burnes and David Daniell. Come revisit the mist that filled that living room 25 years ago.

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: R 106LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Recital presents a newly unearthed recording of an interview between Sun Ra and composer Charlie Morrow recorded at his New York studio in 1989. This voice-only recording develops more like a kaleidoscopic sermon than any standard interview. Charlie Morrow recalls: "My 1989 Summer Solstice Celebration featured Sun Ra and his Arkestra. On March 29, 1989, ahead of this historical performance, Sun Ra came to New York to plan the performance and do an interview with me in the Charles Morrow Associates studio. There were members of the Sun Ra Arkestra, some of my team, and a photographer present. Once in the sound studio, Sun Ra wanted to record the discussion. What he says is so much more than anyone expected. I pushed record on the tape recorder, which quietly took it all in. What Sun Ra recorded is a breathtaking expression of his feelings and strong convictions, illustrated with personal memories and stories. My few questions to him about the upcoming Solstice and about the sun and his thoughts about a dawn event triggered his mind. He launched into a nonstop journey of ricocheting stories and concepts, climaxing when I started jamming with Sun Ra on conch horn. Our duo drives to a climactic peak with explosive conch breath sounds giving line-by-line affirmations to Sun Ra's points. The 1989 Summer Solstice event brought together Sun Ra and his constellation of musicians and fans with my large-scale gatherings and work with the New Wilderness Foundation. Here in 2023 and beyond, the events live again. Sean McCann of Recital was drawn to Sun Ra's words, which inspired the production of this edition. Sun Ra's words seem to have an even greater resonance in present time. Ra is calling out the turbulence of the bad actions of the righteous and the good actions that an evil man, as he dubs himself, can perform, all the time believing that music has the possibility to bring all humans to a better place." One-time pressing of 425. Includes 12-page booklet with photos and full transcription of interview. Also includes 24"x18" poster of Sun Ra 1989 Solstice performance photograph.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: RCD 2232CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Never one to rest on her laurels and always eager to break new ground, it's full steam ahead for guitarist Hedvig Mollestad when teaming up with sublime keyboard player Ståle Storløkken (Elephant9, Supersilent) and young drummer ace Ole Mofjell in a new trio bearing her name. Beautifully subtle and fiercely burning, Weejuns is a solid step into shimmering, hardcore improvisation and breathtaking instrumental interplay, a temporary move away from the composed music of her regular trio and the ensemble projects. It was not the intention, but with this in mind and great recordings of a handful of concerts, it made perfect sense to make the trio's debut a double live album. One could place the trio in the same musical landscape as Bitches Brew-era Miles, Supersilent, Henry Cow, and King Crimson '73-'74. The music was recorded live in concert during 2022 at venues in Oslo and Stavanger. Four of the six tracks are from their very first concert -- at the new Munch Museum -- a fact that says it all about the telepathic communication at play in this trio.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: SHELTER 146LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Sept duos pour guitar acoustique et piano préparé is the second duo recording from Stephen O'Malley and Anthony Pateras. Their first together, Rêve Noir (2018), took an electro-acoustic scalpel to a 2011 duo concert for electric guitar and piano, using Revox and digital treatments to twist and smear gig documentation into ghostly echoes and fractured drones. Here, in contrast, the music is entirely acoustic and presented as it was performed, without overdubs. Both players' choices of instruments are notable: this is O'Malley's most extensive recording on steel string acoustic guitar (playing an instrument whose previous owners include Marissa Nadler and Glenn Jones) and Pateras return to the prepared piano, which he has rarely employed in recent years, after spending much of the first decade of the 21st century exploring its possibilities. Each piece has its own character, subtly distinguished from the others through mood, pacing, and timbre. While the music is calm, rippling surface is immediately entrancing, these seven duos -- in the tradition of the best improvised music -- also reward close listening, which reveals sonic details and focuses the listener's attention on how the music unfolds spontaneously from decision to decision, from gesture to gesture. Recorded during a period when O'Malley and Pateras were grieving the loss of recently departed friends and collaborators, these seven duos possess a reflective, at times almost mournful quality. More importantly, though, they are imbued with other qualities that can arise from personal loss: a clarity that allows one to clear away the inessential, to begin again, to renew one's faith in friendship and music.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: SHELTER 149CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Matrices of Vision is the debut release of experimental music artist Abigail Toll (UK/DE) on Shelter Press. Toll composed Matrices of Vision during her masters in electroacoustic composition at the KMH in Stockholm. The piece is a sonic interpretation of a data set which details higher education trends in Sweden across seven decades. It is placed in conversation with her collaborator artist-scholar Tiara Roxanne's revelatory inquiries into AI bias and data colonialism, where the title references Alexander Galloway's description of atomised points of view "flanking and flooding the world viewed". The compositional study uses data aesthetics as a means to critically engage with the social and political mechanisms that surround us. Specifically, how categorization impacts the way we move through the world. Matrices of Vision expands Toll's interest in psychoacoustics and tuning as a durational and experiential response to this data, where flutes, strings, vocals and electronics culminate in an emotional sonic meditation. Toll transcribes the data through the Matrices of Vision graphic score, which maps the data with frequencies, or partials, that together make up the harmonic series, an approach which she developed with composer Rebecca Lane. What is reflected in the musical gestures -- through glissing, beating and cacophony -- is a destabilizing of rational systems into harmonic chaos, resulting in what Roxanne describes as a kind of flooding of listening and experiencing, from the body and the spaces that surround the body. Matrices of Vision was premiered as an ensemble performance in Berlin on 30 June 2022 at KM28 and 6 July 2022 at the Klosterruine hosted by KW Institute for Contemporary Art's Pogo Bar series. Featuring Lucy Railton, Rebecca Lane, and Evelyn Saylor, along with an introduction by Tiara Roxanne at the Klosterruine. The performances and record are kindly supported by Initiative Musik.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: SPECTRES 004BK

FILE UNDER: Misc

The fourth issue of the annual publication dedicated to sound and music experimentation, co-published by Shelter Press and Ina GRM (Groupe de Recherches Musicales), around the topic of voice. The voice is everywhere, infiltrating everything, making civilization, marking out territories with infinite borders, spreading from the farthest reaches to the most intimate spaces. It can be neither reduced nor summarized. And accordingly, when taken as a theme, the voice is inexhaustible, even when seen in the light of its very particular relation with the sonic or the musical, as is the case in most of the texts collected in this volume. There is no point therefore in trying to circumscribe or amalgamate the multiple avatars of the voice. We must rather try to apprehend what the voice can do, to envisage its landscape, its potential effects. Featuring contributions from/about François J. Bonnet, John Giorno, David Grubbs, Yannick Guédon, Lee Gamble, Sarah Hennies, Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix, Stine Janvin, Joan La Barbara, Youmna Saba, Akira Sakata, Pierre Schaeffer, Peter Szendy, and Ghédalia Tazartès.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: SHUKAI 006LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 restock. Following the unpublished works of the Ukrainian/Estonian musician Valentina Goncharova, Volume 2 of Shukai's archival project sits in direct contrast to the solo works of Vol. 1. Vol. 2 1987-1991 completes Shukai's dive into the sound world of an important yet overlooked artist working within Soviet era electroacoustics. This long player of duets casts a light on Goncharova's experiences with early free jazz, democratic improvisation and introductions to pure electronic sound. Where Vol. 1 explored her home studio experiments and flirtations with musique concrete and new age, this volume seeks to give audience to similarly DIY recordings developed in collaborative environments away from the conservatoire. Properly documenting sessions revolving around smoky jazz cafes, art galleries, salons and theatre venues across Riga and Tallinn, these seven pieces add to the historical narrative of the Soviet-era avant-garde and show the broader spectrum of Valentina's work. It begins in Riga with an adapted score for a delicately unfolding violin drone, voice and saxophone performance produced by Valentina and Alexander Aksenov. Valetina's bond with the multi-instrumentalist and theater director Aksenov led to decades of close friendship and several demo recordings such as "Reincarnation II". Across the rest of the disc are collaborative duets with Sergei Letov and Pekka Airaksinan respectively, the three tapes with Letov an example of recordings as a "rehearsal process". Atypical violin/saxophone techniques and light, difficult to place percussive textures interplay across the three duets with Letov, the sense of spatiality alluding to the very nature of the recordings. They strike ultimately as private, freeform experiments with sound, never intended for the listener but documenting a practice which explores the dichotomy of improv's "non-professionalism" and its potential freedom from trained performance. They are included as a deliberate variance to the tapes with Pekka Airaksinen, an already well-regarded composer, early synthesizer fanatic and Finnish radical. At their time of meeting, Pekka had diverted his attention from punk-indebted noise and free jazz groups to a pursuit of spiritualism via contemporary electronic technologies. Already familiar with the Buddhas of Golden Light LP, Valentina found in his work an attraction to the sacred and, after an encounter at a 1988 Helsinki festival dedicated to futurist art and literature, she prepared to visit his studio. After a failed attempt to record a joint album, fragments of the tapes are presented here, highlighting Goncharova's first real experience of electronic music making in a compositional sense. Fragmented guitar and additional keyboard patterns push and pull through delay units in unison with Valentina's two violins, at times mimicking the howl of the wind or even the human voice.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: FFL 087C-LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

LP version. Smoke color vinyl. Compilation curated by Steven Stapleton (of Nurse with Wound) of creative-experimental-unlikely music, originally released in 1984. Released on his United Dairies label that he had created with John Fothergill, he naturally called on Jean-Jacques Birgé and Francis Gorgé, who were then playing with Bernard Vitet in Un drame musical instantané. The compilation would be named In Fractured Silence. Alongside Nurse With Wound and Un drame musical instantané, could be heard Hélène Sage (whom Birgé introduced to Stapleton) and Sema, a project from the experimental British musician Robert Haigh who had participated in key records in the Nurse With Wound discography, such as Homotopy to Marie and Spiral Insana.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: FFL 087LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

LP version. Compilation curated by Steven Stapleton (of Nurse with Wound) of creative-experimental-unlikely music, originally released in 1984. Released on his United Dairies label that he had created with John Fothergill, he naturally called on Jean-Jacques Birgé and Francis Gorgé, who were then playing with Bernard Vitet in Un drame musical instantané. The compilation would be named In Fractured Silence. Alongside Nurse With Wound and Un drame musical instantané, could be heard Hélène Sage (whom Birgé introduced to Stapleton) and Sema, a project from the experimental British musician Robert Haigh who had participated in key records in the Nurse With Wound discography, such as Homotopy to Marie and Spiral Insana.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: SPITTLE 051LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Spittle Records presents a reissue of Chinese Restaurant by Italian new wave duo Chrisma, originally released in 1977. The album was recorded between London and Milano during the second half of 1977, and the results were something like post-punk. More in the direction of bands such as Ultravox, The Stranglers, and Suicide than the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, due to the use of electronic keyboards, obsessive rhythms, tense harmonies, and scratching vocals emerging from generally dark sound textures. Chinese Restaurant was definitely ahead of its time, especially in terms of Italian rock. Housed in a gatefold sleeve.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: SSR 108EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

After 2022's Stump Soup cassette, Powerplant is back with a sharp five tracker. On every release Powerplant mutates, changes and rotates their sound and on this EP it's no different. The rigid march of drum machines is now more determined and powerful than ever. Grass serves as their fatalist manifesto against burning daylight spending time fruitlessly. Like an intrusive thought or a ghost, the theme of time passing, barges into every song, calling to action. Powerplant, like a converted believer, is here to guide you through. "It gets worse before it gets worse", says bandleader Theo Zhykharyev, "I waited forever for things to get better and a perfect time to put out these songs, but judging from the trajectory of events -- this is as good as it's going to get." With the same necessity to get out and make up for lost time, the EP opens its gates with title track "Grass" -- a force of nature that charges into a dizzying riff, bridging into a crooning verse with a pompous backing. Powerplant's catchy sensibilities and affection for intricate song structures is at the forefront with a hint of weirdness that is yet to come. "Broodmother" is like the march of an evil and twisted army with military drums, distorted bass hook and sinister vocals. "Walk Around - Hang My Head" comes over like a mid-80s 4-track Stranglers demo with a vocal that chops and snarls with an odd twang to it. "3 Medallions" is a brief instrumental interlude that leads into final cut "Beautiful Boy" which is the most straightforward song -- but isn't straight forward at all. It starts like it's going to be an '80s synth pop gem but ends up like a ghostly version of early Wire or art punks that make every second count with some different happening, knowing that this might be their only ever release. Crystal purple vinyl; edition of 500; housed in a colorful pocket sleeve.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: SL 115LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Belgian producer and curator soFa launches from Strangelove once again, this time with his celebrated compilation series. A second trip round the stars Elsewhere Junior Vol II features a bunch of unknown and familiar offworld entertainers. Kosmische music lands amongst leftfield club krypton as our crew collaborate with young space cadets. The Empress of Nature and t-woc cover the interplanetary boogie hit "Rappers Delight," while Felix Kubin and daughter Bela waltz through the stratus. Conny Frischauf and The Mindful Potheads take us to Lynchian journeys of kindergarten Kraut. Mytron's motorik moon dance spins past Naomi Klaus' martian punk shuffle, all amongst a stellar double pack of electronics orbiting Uranus. In these gloomy times some whimsical fun and a little lightness is just what we need right? Put on your space helmets, fly high and enjoy these trippy sonic explorations. Also featuring Alice George Perez, Jumbrel, Aroma von Troisdorf, Marla Bereska, Puma & The Dolphin, Androo, A, C, and The Omni Ox3, Bela Elektra, Sexo Y Fantasia, Das Unkenduo, Oslo Karamell, Little Boy, and The Mindful Potheads.

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: SF 121LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. Sublime Frequencies release the third LP from Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band. Sonbonbela was recorded in the beginning of 2022 in the Republic of Burkina Faso. The group continue to hone their trademark fusion of Mandingue and Afro-beat styles. The Mandingo Band are a hit machine, sculpting seven new tracks of near Beefheart/Magic Band dynamics, Fela inspired groovers dusted out in the Sahel zone, rather than the humidity and sweat of Lagos, creating one of the most original and propulsive musical statements to come from the contemporary West African cultural juggernaut. As with previous releases, the band features the legendary guitar pyrotechnics of Issouf Diabate, truly one of the greatest West African (or Earth for that matter) guitarists of the last forty years. The band is completed by a near bottomless barrel of artistry from the Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso musical talent pool. On bass guitar, Wendeyida Ouedraogo, on drums Abbas Kabore, and on percussion and balafon, Nickie Dembele. Leading the charge again is the captain himself, Mamadou Sanou on the Doso Ngoni featuring one of the most distinctive voices of the modern era. The opposite of the banal trends of auto-tune that have pervaded most of West African popular music, Baba's voice still impresses with its gravel and grit, showcasing a range that is ancient and defiant in equal measure. This LP is a non-stop hit parade of Afro-beat bangers destined to light dancefloors and living rooms ablaze! This album is dedicated to the memory of Massimbo Taragna, the bass player extraordinaire who was an integral part of the Mandingo Band's trance stun musical power. He passed away in early 2022. RIP.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: SVVRCH 015CV-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Happy End's eponymous debut is a crucial piece of the J-Rock puzzle and a turning point for Japanese music. Originally released in 1970 on URC (Underground Record Club), Happy End finds creative mastermind Haruomi Hosono aborting the short-lived psychedelic rock project Apryl Fool, for a new direction in sound. Here the future YMO head teams up with former Apryl Fool drummer Takashi "Rei" Matsumoto and two new guitarists, Shigeru Suzuki and Eiichi Ohtaki, to deliver pioneering Japanese folk rock that remains influential in Japan to this day. While rock music certainly existed in Japan previous to this album's release, it was almost always sung in English. Happy End changed this and sparked what is known as the "Japanese-language Rock Controversy" -- a series of high-profile debates on if Japanese rock music sung in Japanese would be sustainable. This album's success (and the follow-up Kazemachi Roman) proved the sustainability of rock in Nihongo, and gave the world two brilliant slices of fuzzy J-folk in the process.

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: WIRE 477

FILE UNDER: Misc

"In the magazine: Irreversible Entanglements, Vanishing Twin, Carol Robinson, Tom Mudd, Hearsay, Marina Herlop, The Primer: Jazz & Poetry, Invisible Jukebox: Matana Roberts, Global Ear: Oaxaca, The Inner Sleeve: Val Wilmer on Henry Grimes, Epiphanies: Raphael Rogi?ski on Neopolitan soul, Unlimited Editions, Gin&Platonic, Unofficial Channels: Chocolate Monk Top Tens, and in the reviews sections: Gong, Tricky, Neumusik, Supersonic, and much more. On the CD: 16 new tracks by Martin Rev, Rebeca Omordia, Nick Dunston, Lucidvox, Nihiloxica, Sam Genovese, Dredd Foole & The Din, and more."

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: RELTIME 006CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Rico Friebe is back with the album Faces Meet after his recent debut Word Value and delivers his personal "deer in the headlight" moment. What once appeared sparely uncertain and questioning, equaling the fragile try to overcome a state of darkness and forsakenness, now forms into a frenzy of confrontational flashes on Faces Meet. Like reflecting on the uncertainties presented on Word Value, Faces Meet reveals some genuinely harrowing findings, creating a wholesome musical moment in time that might never happen like this again. Besides the uncompromising statements as to find in the opener "Look At Me," refined perceptions in "Nowhere To Run" or "Fifty-One," open-hearted calls in "Do More" and "Let Go," Rico's pivotal confrontation with the irrevocable truth and emotional dissection peaks in his heartbreaking story on "The Best Talk" which marks the crucial lynchpin of the whole album. Like faces (and therefore people) are constantly meeting everywhere, being faced with the decision how honest and open to meet at all, Faces Meet happens to be an even more involved metaphor about surrendering to your true inner self in a mirror-like situation. Deeply rooted in the seeds of his debut album Word Value, Rico follows a highly natural and severely plain musical language while implementing new and further ideas and elements throughout his sonic landscape.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: RELTIME 006LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. Rico Friebe is back with the album Faces Meet after his recent debut Word Value and delivers his personal "deer in the headlight" moment. What once appeared sparely uncertain and questioning, equaling the fragile try to overcome a state of darkness and forsakenness, now forms into a frenzy of confrontational flashes on Faces Meet. Like reflecting on the uncertainties presented on Word Value, Faces Meet reveals some genuinely harrowing findings, creating a wholesome musical moment in time that might never happen like this again. Besides the uncompromising statements as to find in the opener "Look At Me," refined perceptions in "Nowhere To Run" or "Fifty-One," open-hearted calls in "Do More" and "Let Go," Rico's pivotal confrontation with the irrevocable truth and emotional dissection peaks in his heartbreaking story on "The Best Talk" which marks the crucial lynchpin of the whole album. Like faces (and therefore people) are constantly meeting everywhere, being faced with the decision how honest and open to meet at all, Faces Meet happens to be an even more involved metaphor about surrendering to your true inner self in a mirror-like situation. Deeply rooted in the seeds of his debut album Word Value, Rico follows a highly natural and severely plain musical language while implementing new and further ideas and elements throughout his sonic landscape.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: TOUCH 027LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

A few years after her stand-out contribution to Touch Sensitive's Wacker That compilation and following a bunch of purple patch releases for Nyahh Records, TakuRoko, Fort Evil Fruit and Eiderdown Records, Natalia Beylis graces Touch Sensitive with a true landmark album for the label -- Mermaids. Recorded both at home in Leitrim and at neighbor Mat Warren's studio, Mermaids was inspired by two salvaged items: a CRB Elettronica Ancona - Model: Diamond 708 E electric keyboard from the local tip, and a photo taken by her father found in a pile of old family scraps. Smuggled home in the back of the van and ridded of the nine purple crayons lodged inside, the keyboard sounded perfect to Natalia. The striking image which would become the cover art features Natalia's mother and two friends during a dip in the ocean. After testing compositions and recordings for months on the rescued keys, the discovery of her father's image formed the final work. Much like the push and pull of the River Shannon, Natalia's own local swimming spot, Mermaids flow is both organic but unstoppable. Alongside the keyboard's glistening tone, field recordings from Natalia's expansive archive bring listeners back up for air; taking stops to check in with the chittering chickens and ducks of Athlone. In keeping with her back catalogue and extensive body of work, Mermaids exists within its own imagined universe. This is truly singular work that continues to underline Natalia as one of the finest underground artists of her time.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: TRESOR 032EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. Twenty-five years after its initial release, and accompanying the re-release of Internal Empire (TRESOR 027CD/LP), Tresor present a 180 gram pressing of Robert Hood's Master Builder. "25 years ago, I was faced with the challenge of following up on Minimal Nation. I cancelled all my tour dates for that summer, setup my studio in the living room and began to work on Internal Empire. My intention was to create something distinctively different. Looking out my living room window in Detroit watching people go by gave me a new perspective. It made me look at the world within myself." --Robert Hood

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: TRESOR 196XB-LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Triple LP version. Green color vinyl. 180 gram vinyl; silver pantone artwork; includes download card. Tresor Records presents a reissue of the sole output from Shifted Phases entitled The Cosmic Memoirs Of The Late Great Rupert J. Rosinthrope. Initially released in 2002, soon after James Stinson passed away, this LP plays a mysterious and compelling role in the Drexciya journey. While other records of Drexciya and related projects have received numerous reprints and editions, The Cosmic Memoirs... has remained out of print since its release. This rarity leaves it more open to interpretation with its place in the Drexciyan storm series, as it became increasingly hard to find and underexplored. This reissue does not merely close the loop on Tresor's reissue series of the Drexciya catalog but brings Shifted Phases to fresh ears more than other records. Accompanied by newly commissioned artwork from Matthew Angelo Harrison, the reissue also features the tracks "Crossing Of The Sun-Ra Nebula" and "Alien Vessel Distress Call", which were previously only on the original CD release. Track titles "Solar Wind", "White Dwarf", and "Lonely Journey of the Comet Bopp" reveal a focus on cosmic realms, suggesting a link with the Drexciya LP Grava 4 that moves from the underwater to the galactic. As it launches with mechanical blows on a precise orbit, each repetition entrenches the gravitational pull in the galaxy of Shifted Phases. In many places, it sounds like the readout of frequencies harvested from outer space, pockmarked with packet loss from the millions of kilometers distance travelled. The music is hard to contain, intuitively restless in motion through its unfolding universe and achingly resonant. It shapeshifts across affectedly melodic sequences such as in "Lonely Journey...", to the sparse, hard-hitting timbres found in "Alien Vessel Distress Call" and the mangled reverse vocals in "The Freak Show", somewhat reminiscent of another Drexciya side-project, Glass Domain. The mythology of Drexciya is evident in how keenly James Stinson and Gerald Donald created their imaginary worlds. In "Crossing Of The Sun-Ra Nebula", there is an indisputable reference to another Afro-futurist who delved deep into a galaxy of their own making.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 286LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Despite his popularity as comedian in Peru, Pablo Villanueva Branda -- known as Melcochita -- proved himself being also a very talented musician whose recordings on Discos MAG portrait his solid career throughout the late '60s. Back in 1968, the year "Dejen bailar al loco" was released, Pablo was still known as Pacocha (the name of a popular brand of soap) and worked during the day as a session musician for the MAG label. At night, from eight to six in the morning, he used to play percussion in clubs. Then, at the weekends, he performed on the popular variety show La Peña Ferrando, which featured "Quality acting; very funny, simple sketches", impersonations and musical performances. All these facets of Melcochita's life are reflected in the twelve songs of the album, recorded between 1967 and 1968, accompanied by the orchestras of Betico Salas, Joe di Roma, Nilo Espinoza, Carlos Muñoz, and Tito Chicoma. Most of the guarachas on the album are international hits, such as "El limoncito" and "Pa' gozá candela." The track, "Quiero casarme contigo" has Mexican origins, and it has been adapted to guaracha style by Betico Salas' orchestra. The humorous "No es un gato" hails from Colombia, while "Ahorita va a llové" and "Carta de Mamita" come from Cuba. "Dejen bailar al loco" and "Libre de pecado" are also from the Caribbean Island. "Cobardía" and "Dos almas" are classic boleros, which were already part of the repertoire of most singers back then and were also included on this album. The only way to perform them to the demanding audience at La Peña without being booed was to put a new spin on the songs, deconstruct them and reinvent the structure, as the Tito Chicoma and Joe di Roma orchestras did, and above all Melcochita, who sang them in a supernatural voice and a created Creole scat that must have wowed the audience, who would then burst into applause and laughter, going home happy after a great night out. First time reissue.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 287LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

The 1973 album El Violento was the fifth full-length salsa LP led by Julio Ernesto Estrada Rincón, aka Fruko, and the second credited to Fruko Y Sus Tesos. It features Fruko's two main vocalists that took over from the first pair of Humberto "Huango" Muriel and "Píper Pimienta" Díaz, namely the beloved duo of Álvaro "Joe" Arroyo and Wilson "Saoko" Manyoma. Los Tesos were a talented "wild bunch," with Fruko holding down the bottom end on electric bass, Hernán Gutiérrez in the piano chair, the Villegas brothers on hand percussion (Jesús tickling the bongos and Fernando slapping the congas), augmented by Rafael Benítez on timbales and an ace horn section of Freddy Ferrer and Gonzálo Gómez (trombones) and Jorge Gaviria and Salvador Pasos (trumpets). The super aggressive sound comes directly from the South Bronx playbook of Willie Colón. Sonically lightening the mood somewhat, "Nadando" ("Swimming") is a bouncy tune in the "Mercy" genre (basically a hybrid of pop, funky soul, cumbia and salsa, in the style of Nelson y Sus Estrellas), gleefully sung by Joe Arroyo. The beats are complex and ever changing, with a little bit of mozambique, conga, bomba, jala jala and of course salsa thrown in for good measure. The side closes out with a brilliant, up-tempo salsa reworking of the venerable ranchera chestnut, "Tú, sólo tú." Side two explodes with the frenetic descarga jam session "Salsa na' ma," which is exactly that: nothing more than the hottest "sauce" to make the dancers go crazy. Fruko's tune is dedicated to the Latin community in New York that listens to salsa from everywhere and dances to it so fervently on the weekend. The relentless percussion propels the listener along at breakneck speed as if hurtling down the Bronx Expressway, demonstrating that Fruko y Sus Tesos have mastered the "violent" form of urban salsa that was having its transnational moment in the early 1970s. While El Violento may not be as well-known as some Fruko records, it certainly deserves a new look and should be assessed on its own merits as a very powerful, confident entry in the historical evolution of Colombian salsa dura.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: VAMPI 289LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Considered one of the most innovative groups on the Colombian musical circuit in 1973, Columna de Fuego forged its sound by creatively and organically mixing elements of heavy rock with rhythms rooted in the music of the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of the country. Columna de Fuego, the first Colombian rock band to tour outside South America, was the supporting act for Leonor González (La Negra Grande de Colombia) for months and featured members of Los Young Beats, Los Speakers, and Siglo Cero. Their only LP, recorded in Spain and released in Colombia only in 1974, was a turning point in the history of Colombian rock, an album full of funk, soul, cumbia and currulao that maintains a fast pace from start to finish. After unsuccessful attempts to establish themselves in Europe, the group parted ways; some members returned to Colombia and others stayed in Europe as part of La Banda Salsa, a vibrant and little mentioned chapter in the history of Latin rock. Roberto Fiorilli, the stand-out drummer of Colombian rock, returned to his native Italy. Over the following five decades, the myth of Columna de Fuego, that wonderful Bogota rock band that dared to experiment with the music of the Colombian coastline, grew. The curiosity of musicians interested in the traditional music and folklore of the coasts since the late '80s, the consequent mixture of different musical genres (modern and roots) at the end of the 20th century and the almost impossible desire of collectors to find a copy of the album or one of the band's singles, gave it the status it should always have had as a pioneer, milestone and beacon. After remaining unavailable for five decades, we are proud to now present the first-time reissue of this obscure gem with its original artwork, including an insert with notes and rare photos.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: VAMPI 45077X-EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Few melodies have been played so many times on radio, movies, or TV commercials as these two compositions from the golden age of mainstream disco music. Top international hits and iconic milestones of an era, both songs are immediately recognizable after just a few chords by almost anyone on this planet. These two compelling tropical versions retain all the party spirit of the originals, guaranteeing some dancefloor heat each time the needle hits the surface of the vinyl. A perfect follow-up to the acclaimed previous singles in Vampisoul's Tropical 45s Series that so far has included recordings by the likes of Jimmy Salcedo and Sebastiao Tapajos/Pedro Dos Santos. In the rendition of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" there is a playful mix of the old and the modern made by Pedro "Ramayá" Beltrán, signed under his project La Cumbia Moderna de Soledad; a group from Barranquilla, Colombia that recorded a set of songs that exudes both tradition and innovation. Machuca Cumbia, a Colombian studio band under the direction of "Cachaco" Brando, add some unexpected cumbia arrangements to the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive," resulting a dancefloor winner full of hypnotic percussions and guitars that, at times, even recall other genres such as surf.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: VAMPI 45097EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Once resettled in Lima, Peru, in 1974 after spending some time playing in a jazz quintet in Berlin, sax player Nilo Espinosa would put together the Nil's Jazz Ensemble, a top-notch array of local talent. They recorded one single album (1976) that remains not only as one of the grails for collectors of Latin-American jazz but also as an outstanding piece of music on its own. Most of the line up of the ensemble were also part of Sangre Joven, a side project to release covers of international disco and funk hits for Discos MAG. A full album and a single were released under that moniker in 1975. "Zamba Zamba" is a true-to-the-original cover version of the song "Samba Samba" by Colombian brothers Elkin and Nelson, who moved to Spain in the '70s and recorded a couple of albums with the famous singer Juan Pardo on the production duties. "Lindo Caballito," on the flipside, is an up-tempo Latin track for the dance floor that had been previously recorded by Enrique Lynch and Grupo Ecuación. It includes elements of descarga and boogaloo but with a funky rock twist.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: VAMPI 45099EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Suavecito" has been called "The Chicano National Anthem." It was originally recorded by Santana-related band Malo in 1972 and reached the Billboard's Top 20. This Peruvian version, released on Discos MAG that same year, features Beto Villena and We All Together (WAT's Carlos Guerrero on lead vocals). Villena was one of the most accomplished trumpet players in Peru with a successful career in the Latin soul and tropical scenes while We All Together were one of the epoch-making groups in the history of Peruvian rock. A perfect blend of talents delivering a true-to-original rendition of the vocal-harmonies wonder that is "Suavecito." A sophisticated sweet soul "rola" for those into the lowrider sounds. On the flip we find Black Sugar, Peruvian pioneers in mixing funk influences with rock and Latin rhythms. "Viajecito" is one of the strongest tracks of their debut album, starting off with a psychedelic guitar-driven intro then throwing layers of infectious percussion and piano. The track gets a turn once the horns and vocal section start, resulting an amazing jazzy Latin soul dancer.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: VP 2782LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Keith Hudson's Pick A Dub is a classic album by many standards; released in1974, the session features performances from reggae legends Augustus Pablo, Big Youth, and Carlton and Aston Barrett. The 1994 re-issue on the Blood & Fire label introduced a new generation to its 'austere sonic qualities' and genre defining techniques. Pick A Dub showcases the enduring strength and pivotal importance of the rhythm to the development of reggae and dub music. Keith Hudson's complete mastery of the genre and the unqualified praise that followed its release was fully justified."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: W25 015LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Sounds While Waiting documents the latest organ works by composer and musician Ellen Arkbro -- following her phenomenal debut, 2017's For Organ And Brass, and the more recent CHORDS for organ. Recorded at a centuries-old church in Unnaryd, Sweden in June 2020, these pieces reveal the enchanting qualities of sustained harmonic sound, how patterns of listening dissolve and emerge as textured space. On opening track 'Changes,' long radiant tones ebb and flow like divine breaths, while 'Leaving Dreaming' builds with dynamic tension to unlock a subtle, otherworldly ambience. Arkbro composes for acoustic instruments, for synthetic sound and for combinations of both, including music for orchestra and smaller chamber ensembles and large scale installation works. She currently performs in Catherine Christer Hennix's Kamigaku ensemble and has previously studied with La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela in New York. Recommended for fans of Sarah Davachi, Eliane Radigue, and Charlemagne Palestine."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: WJCD 040CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2022 release. "Linda Fredriksson (they/them) shares their debut solo album Juniper on We Jazz Records. Linda (of Mopo and Superposition) has been working on the compositions heard on the album for several years, composing them mostly on guitar, keys and by singing. Only later have they been arranged for the band heard on the album, including Fredriksson on saxes and various instruments, Tuomo Prättälä (of ilmiliekki Quartet) on rhodes, moog and piano, Minna Koivisto on modular synth, moog and OP, Olavi Louhivuori (of Superposition) on drums, and Mikael Saastamoinen (of OK:KO and Superposition) on bass, as well as the Swedish artist Matti Bye on piano. At heart, Juniper is a 'singer-songwriter album,' performed by an instrumental jazz band. The end result is unique, personal, and as Linda themself puts it 'quiet and introspective.' The influence list for the album name checks the likes of Feist, Neil Young, Susanne Sundfør, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Eric Dolphy, and Fever Ray, yet the number one inspiration for Fredriksson prior to making the album was Carrie and Lowell, the 2017 album by Sufjan Stevens. Throughout the album, Linda plays their saxophones in a way that is serving music first and foremost. The musician's ego, so often at the forefront in jazz, takes a backseat, and the songs themselves remain. The album has been made in two different studios, three homes, two summer cottages and four working spaces. It was recorded with professional studio equipment but also with an iPhone and on a basic built-in laptop speaker. With that, Juniper stands as a remarkable musical diary of a creative musician and composer during the early 2020s."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: WJCD 045CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 release. "Swiss artist Lukas Traxel releases his powerful debut album One-Eyed Daruma on We Jazz Records. The trio features Traxel on double bass, Otis Sandsjö on sax and Moritz Baumgärtner on drums. Compact, deep, and organic to the bone, Traxel and co.'s sound echoes the innovations of rhythmically driven avantgarde jazz while keeping things moving at all times. There's both drive and freedom to this sound. One-Eyed Daruma features eight new compositions by Traxel, who crafted the outline for the album while dealing with the loss of his father. The group came together after an open invitation from the Zurich jazz club Moods to present a new group. The trio of Traxel, Sandsjö and Baumgärtner creates a full, symphonic, and powerful body of sound despite the instrumentation without a harmony instrument. The trio functions as a collective where the boundaries between composition, melody, and accompaniment are in flux, while keeping the common goal of creating new music together in sight at all times. Traxel reports that after playing bass in various groups with guitar and/or piano, he wanted to create a counterpoint of sorts with his new group and specifically go about it with a more sparse setup. As One-Eyed Drama proves, the idea behind the trio dynamic is a strong one and the unit makes use of their extra space in creating evocative, moody, swinging creative jazz with a distinguishable fingerprint of its own. Traxel's musical influences include the American composer and singer Caroline Shaw, Swiss pianist Colin Vallon's trio, composer/singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane, and the trio albums of Jimmy Guiffre and Sonny Rollins."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: WJCD 046CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2022 release. "Ilmiliekki Quartet and vocalist Emma Salokoski team up for a Christmas album! Includes 10 stunning Christmas vocal jazz gems sung in Finnish and Swedish, featuring three fantastic originals. Here's one for a more enjoyable holiday season."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: WJCD 049CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 release. "Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen's inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music, wild to the bone even when sounding completely in control. Circus/Citadel is essentially a coherent album, rather than a series of loosely connected compositions. There's plenty of diversity within Lötjönen's compositions and the band's dynamics, yet it all flows into one effortlessly, creating a suite of sorts, even outside of the title composition which consists of three parts. During the course of the album, the quintet often gets together in smaller formations: in trios and duos of different combinations of the players. The music breathes and maintains its energy at all times, leaving plenty of headroom for the all-out quintet 'attacks' when needed. It all comes together in a shape that feels unified and cyclical, leaving the listener hungry for repeated listens in order to get deeper into the many layers found within."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: WJCD 053CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 release. "Drummer Tilo Weber joins forces with bassist Petter Eldh (Koma Saxo) and Elias Stemeseder, who plays harpsichord and keys here on Weber's We Jazz debut, Tesserae. The three musicians plus guests present a unique jazz trio sound for all times, without boundaries. Weber, based in Berlin, came to the attention of We Jazz Records with his highly inspired drum work on Otis Sandsjö's Y-OTIS, and has since then also been awarded with the prestigious Deutscher Jazz Preis for the arrangement of the year in 2022. Tesserae is the work of not only Tilo Weber the drummer, but also the visionary 'full stack' artist on the rise, and the entire record consists of new, original compositions by Weber. Eldh and Stemeseder are close musical partners to Weber, and the whole album brims with natural innovation and musical joy shared among the three. Each of the versatile musicians also move beyond their main instruments on the album, with Weber bringing on the vibraphone, Stemeseder tackling the celesta, and Eldh picking about acoustic guitar. Tesserae sounds at once baroque and futuristic."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: WJLP 040LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. 2022 release. "Linda Fredriksson (they/them) shares their debut solo album Juniper on We Jazz Records. Linda (of Mopo and Superposition) has been working on the compositions heard on the album for several years, composing them mostly on guitar, keys and by singing. Only later have they been arranged for the band heard on the album, including Fredriksson on saxes and various instruments, Tuomo Prättälä (of ilmiliekki Quartet) on rhodes, moog and piano, Minna Koivisto on modular synth, moog and OP, Olavi Louhivuori (of Superposition) on drums, and Mikael Saastamoinen (of OK:KO and Superposition) on bass, as well as the Swedish artist Matti Bye on piano. At heart, Juniper is a 'singer-songwriter album,' performed by an instrumental jazz band. The end result is unique, personal, and as Linda themself puts it 'quiet and introspective.' The influence list for the album name checks the likes of Feist, Neil Young, Susanne Sundfør, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Eric Dolphy, and Fever Ray, yet the number one inspiration for Fredriksson prior to making the album was Carrie and Lowell, the 2017 album by Sufjan Stevens. Throughout the album, Linda plays their saxophones in a way that is serving music first and foremost. The musician's ego, so often at the forefront in jazz, takes a backseat, and the songs themselves remain. The album has been made in two different studios, three homes, two summer cottages and four working spaces. It was recorded with professional studio equipment but also with an iPhone and on a basic built-in laptop speaker. With that, Juniper stands as a remarkable musical diary of a creative musician and composer during the early 2020s."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: WJLP 040VIO-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. Violet color vinyl. 2022 release. "Linda Fredriksson (they/them) shares their debut solo album Juniper on We Jazz Records. Linda (of Mopo and Superposition) has been working on the compositions heard on the album for several years, composing them mostly on guitar, keys and by singing. Only later have they been arranged for the band heard on the album, including Fredriksson on saxes and various instruments, Tuomo Prättälä (of ilmiliekki Quartet) on rhodes, moog and piano, Minna Koivisto on modular synth, moog and OP, Olavi Louhivuori (of Superposition) on drums, and Mikael Saastamoinen (of OK:KO and Superposition) on bass, as well as the Swedish artist Matti Bye on piano. At heart, Juniper is a 'singer-songwriter album,' performed by an instrumental jazz band. The end result is unique, personal, and as Linda themself puts it 'quiet and introspective.' The influence list for the album name checks the likes of Feist, Neil Young, Susanne Sundfør, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Eric Dolphy, and Fever Ray, yet the number one inspiration for Fredriksson prior to making the album was Carrie and Lowell, the 2017 album by Sufjan Stevens. Throughout the album, Linda plays their saxophones in a way that is serving music first and foremost. The musician's ego, so often at the forefront in jazz, takes a backseat, and the songs themselves remain. The album has been made in two different studios, three homes, two summer cottages and four working spaces. It was recorded with professional studio equipment but also with an iPhone and on a basic built-in laptop speaker. With that, Juniper stands as a remarkable musical diary of a creative musician and composer during the early 2020s."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: WJLP 045LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. 2023 release. "Swiss artist Lukas Traxel releases his powerful debut album One-Eyed Daruma on We Jazz Records. The trio features Traxel on double bass, Otis Sandsjö on sax and Moritz Baumgärtner on drums. Compact, deep, and organic to the bone, Traxel and co.'s sound echoes the innovations of rhythmically driven avantgarde jazz while keeping things moving at all times. There's both drive and freedom to this sound. One-Eyed Daruma features eight new compositions by Traxel, who crafted the outline for the album while dealing with the loss of his father. The group came together after an open invitation from the Zurich jazz club Moods to present a new group. The trio of Traxel, Sandsjö and Baumgärtner creates a full, symphonic, and powerful body of sound despite the instrumentation without a harmony instrument. The trio functions as a collective where the boundaries between composition, melody, and accompaniment are in flux, while keeping the common goal of creating new music together in sight at all times. Traxel reports that after playing bass in various groups with guitar and/or piano, he wanted to create a counterpoint of sorts with his new group and specifically go about it with a more sparse setup. As One-Eyed Drama proves, the idea behind the trio dynamic is a strong one and the unit makes use of their extra space in creating evocative, moody, swinging creative jazz with a distinguishable fingerprint of its own. Traxel's musical influences include the American composer and singer Caroline Shaw, Swiss pianist Colin Vallon's trio, composer/singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane, and the trio albums of Jimmy Guiffre and Sonny Rollins."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: WJLP 049LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. 2023 release. "Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen's inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music, wild to the bone even when sounding completely in control. Circus/Citadel is essentially a coherent album, rather than a series of loosely connected compositions. There's plenty of diversity within Lötjönen's compositions and the band's dynamics, yet it all flows into one effortlessly, creating a suite of sorts, even outside of the title composition which consists of three parts. During the course of the album, the quintet often gets together in smaller formations: in trios and duos of different combinations of the players. The music breathes and maintains its energy at all times, leaving plenty of headroom for the all-out quintet 'attacks' when needed. It all comes together in a shape that feels unified and cyclical, leaving the listener hungry for repeated listens in order to get deeper into the many layers found within."

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: WJLP 049WH-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. White color vinyl. 2023 release. "Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen's inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music, wild to the bone even when sounding completely in control. Circus/Citadel is essentially a coherent album, rather than a series of loosely connected compositions. There's plenty of diversity within Lötjönen's compositions and the band's dynamics, yet it all flows into one effortlessly, creating a suite of sorts, even outside of the title composition which consists of three parts. During the course of the album, the quintet often gets together in smaller formations: in trios and duos of different combinations of the players. The music breathes and maintains its energy at all times, leaving plenty of headroom for the all-out quintet 'attacks' when needed. It all comes together in a shape that feels unified and cyclical, leaving the listener hungry for repeated listens in order to get deeper into the many layers found within."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: WJLP 053LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. 2023 release. "Drummer Tilo Weber joins forces with bassist Petter Eldh (Koma Saxo) and Elias Stemeseder, who plays harpsichord and keys here on Weber's We Jazz debut, Tesserae. The three musicians plus guests present a unique jazz trio sound for all times, without boundaries. Weber, based in Berlin, came to the attention of We Jazz Records with his highly inspired drum work on Otis Sandsjö's Y-OTIS, and has since then also been awarded with the prestigious Deutscher Jazz Preis for the arrangement of the year in 2022. Tesserae is the work of not only Tilo Weber the drummer, but also the visionary 'full stack' artist on the rise, and the entire record consists of new, original compositions by Weber. Eldh and Stemeseder are close musical partners to Weber, and the whole album brims with natural innovation and musical joy shared among the three. Each of the versatile musicians also move beyond their main instruments on the album, with Weber bringing on the vibraphone, Stemeseder tackling the celesta, and Eldh picking about acoustic guitar. Tesserae sounds at once baroque and futuristic."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: WJMAG 008

FILE UNDER: Misc

The eighth issue of We Jazz Magazine, Shadow Shapes for Dorothy Ashby. All articles presented in English. Dorothy Ashby by David Mittleman, Don Cherry by Magnus Nygren, Peter Evans by Andrey Henkin, The Return Of the Queer Jazz Scene by Tina Edwards, Jimetta Rose & the Voices Of Creation by Samuel Lamontage, Asher Gamedze by Teju Adeleye, Jazz Taphonomy by Seymour Wright, Discaholic column by Mats Gustafsson, Guy Stevens by Lander Lenaerts, reviews, plus more. 128 pages 170 x 240 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers.We Jazz Magazine is a quarterly journal of new stories about creative music. Published by the Helsinki-based label We Jazz, the magazine sheds light on often rarely featured artists, events and topics across the spectrum of creative music, both topical and historical. In addition to articles, the magazine includes album reviews plus notes on live events, books, design, etc. The magazine has a worldwide network of collaborators with names like Ashley Kahn, Peter Margasak, Debra Richards, Mats Gustafsson, Daniel Spicer, Stewart Smith, and many more contributing to the highly inspired narrative around the music. Designed by We Jazz artistic director Matti Nives, the magazine is pressed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers in 174 x 240 mm size and each issue runs 128 pages deep. In other words, this is one of those titles you want to stack up on your shelves for good, for the stories will remain fresh and the lavish look underlines the "keepsake" quality of the publication. The title of each issue is dedicated to the cover piece, and each issue's cover features a bespoke illustration of the cover story subject.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: WJMAG 009

FILE UNDER: Misc

The ninth issue of We Jazz Magazine, Oisters. Featuring: Jason Moran, Carlos Garnett, Oren Ambarchi, Darius Jones, Black Fire Records, Robyn Steward, columnist Mats Gustafsson, reviews, and more. 128 pages. 174 x 240 mm, 140g edixion paper. Laminated 300g Invercote covers.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: WRJ 003LTD-LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Limited restock, last copies... We Release Jazz present the official reissue of Eric Demarsan's original soundtrack of Jean-Pierre Melville's 1970 film noir classic Le Cercle Rouge. The film stars Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè, and Yves Montand. This reissue includes four bonus tracks, not available on previous pressings of the album, Eric Demarsan's compositions for Le Cercle Rouge draw from the orchestral spirit of the Modern Jazz Quartet (as requested by Melville who loved John Lewis's work), abstraction, and minimalism to create a suspenseful and hypnotizing audio landscape which elegantly underlines the tense atmosphere of unavoidable fate that shrouds the movie and the doleful beauty of its characters. Simply put, it's the finest combination of underworld existentialism, coldblooded chic, and crime jazz. Le Cercle Rouge boasts the participation of celebrated jazz players Guy Pedersen (bass), Daniel Humair (drums), Georges Arvanitas (piano), and Bernard Lubat (vibraphone). Starting as a collaborator of François de Roubaix and Michel Magne in the '60s, Eric Demarsan went on to become a mainstay of French cinema soundtracks, composing for directors such as Jean-Pierre Mocky, Costa-Gavras, and Patrice Leconte, among others. He also recorded the cult album Pop Symphony (for Pierre Cardin in 1970) under the Jason Havelock pseudonym. Includes four bonus tracks. Mastered at half speed. 180 gram vinyl; Stoughton tip-on sleeve; Obi with gold sticker.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: WWSLP 052LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. Wewantsounds present the first vinyl reissue of legendary Arabic diva Warda's Khalik Hena, recorded with full Egyptian orchestra and originally released on the label Soutelphan in 1973. A cult classic sampled by Jay Z and J Dilla, the album recorded in public mixes traditional Arabic music with a tinge of '70s grooves. Here, Warda delivers a hypnotic performance backed by her full-size orchestra featuring those unparalleled Arabic strings that made recordings by Oum Khalthoum, Farid El Atrache, and Abdel Halim Hafez so famous. Khalik Hena is one of her all-time classics, written by legendary composer Baligh Hamdi. Warda is one of the undisputed divas of the Arab world. Born in the Paris suburb from an Algerian father and a Lebanese mother, she was discovered at 11 by Ahmed Hachlaf, Pathe Marconi's heads of A&R specializing in Arabic music. having honed her singing skills at her father's cabaret in the Latin Quarter, the Tam-Tam (for Tunisia-Algeria-Morocco) she quickly found recognition in the Arabic music circles. The family relocated to Beirut in the late '50s after the police found arms in her father's cabaret destined to the political group fighting for Algeria's independence and was swiftly discovered there by an Egyptian film producer who brought her to Cairo to record and play in his films. From there, her career took a meteoric rise and she became a star working with Egyptian such stars as Abdel Halim Hafez and composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab. However, in the early '60s a traditional marriage in Algeria stopped her career for a decade to be a housewife until Algerian President Boumediene asked her to perform for the tenth anniversary of the Nation's independence in 1972. This was an epiphany and after a divorce she was back to Egypt for a triumphant comeback. Khalik Hena recorded in public in 1973 dates back to these glory days. Teaming up with her new husband, legendary composer Baligh Hamdi, she recorded a string of classic albums -- hypnotic tour-de-forces stretching over two sides in an almost trance-like mode, enhancing Warda's powerful vocal and ability to mesmerize audiences. Blending traditional and modern instrumentations (electric guitar, organ), the music is both complex and groovy, Khalik Hena is one of her best LPs, sought after by Arabic diggers and collectors alike. Remastered audio; original artwork and two-page insert with new introduction by Mario Choueiry from Institut du Monde Arabe who curates Wewantsounds' Arabic series of reissues.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: WWSLP 074LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Restocked; LP version. Wewantsounds announce an extensive reissue program of Meiko Kaji's first five albums released in Japan between 1972 and 1974 on Teichiku Records. The program, in partnership with Teichiku and Meiko Kaji, will see her first five albums reissued on vinyl for the first time ever in their original Japanese artwork and remastered audio. Famous for her early '70s exploitation movies (Lady Snowblood, the Female Prisoner Scorpion and Stray Cat Rock series) revered by Quentin Tarantino, Meiko Kaji was also a singer releasing albums to tie in with her movie career. These albums are a fascinating mix of Japanese pop and groove with superb funky cinematic orchestrations as displayed in Hajiki Uta. A cult icon on the international film scene, Japanese actress Meiko Kaji, born in Tokyo, has been put into the spotlight internationally by Quentin Tarantino when he heavily based his Kill Bill film on the 1973 revenge genre film Lady Snowblood. By the time she appeared in it, she had already made almost fifty feature films (she began her career in 1965) and she was one of the most famous exploitation actresses in Japan doubling as a sex symbol. This gave the studios the idea of getting her to start a singing career and release music closely associated with the films she starred in often singing the theme songs. Thus, she began releasing records at the dawn of the '70s, recording several 7" singles and five albums for Teichiku which have become sought-after and almost as cult as her films. Drawing on her film roles, the music on these albums were an uber-cool mix of kayokyoku (Japanese pop), traditional enka music, acid folk, and funky beats arranged by the best producers of the time in a cinematic way that could sound like Ennio Morricone or Jean-Claude Vannier. The album featured two film songs, namely "Urami Bushi" used for Female Prisoner Scorpion, and "Onna No Jumon" featured in Female Prisoner Scorpion - Jailhouse 41, which have been composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi who also composed the score for these films. Reissued with original artwork. Features new liner notes by Hashim Kotaro Bharoocha who has interviewed Meiko for the occasion. LP version comes in gatefold sleeve; OBI strip and insert.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: WRWTFWW 062LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

WRWTFWW Records is announces the first ever release of the long-lost original motion picture soundtrack from the 1988 cult horror comedy sensation Ghoulies II by the incomparable Fuzzbee Morse. Digging deep to uncover a true gem of the VHS era, this limited-edition vinyl release (500 copies worldwide) marks history in the making as a piece of film score lore is resurrected from the depths of oblivion. The LP is packed with 39 tracks and features an exclusive artwork by French illustrator Pierre Thyss, as well an obi and composer notes. The captivating melodies that once played hauntingly in the background of Ghoulies II were long believed to be lost forever. It took over 30 years and Fuzzbee Morse's unwavering determination to dig out the legendary recordings -- and restore them for full audio pleasure! The superb soundscape of Ghoulies II perfectly captures the chilling and wacky essence of the cult movie, as well as its creepy carnival setting. Morse, citing influences such as Bernard Hermann, Frank Zappa, and Igor Stravinsky, flexes his multi-instrumentalist skills, flowing with ease between magical fairground elements (with brilliant use of calliope, tuba, flutes and sparkly sounding synthesizers), dark atmospheres and frightening attacks (tribal percussion, strings, along with dissonant, atonal gongs, bowed cymbals), and goofy moods (bassoon, bass clarinet, glockenspiel, trumpet, clarinet). It's big cinematic horror movie music with a lighter comedic touch -- the '80s live again! To complete this collector's edition, French illustrator Pierre Thyss (the man behind the WRWTFWW Records logo) lends his talent to provide awe-inspiring visuals that flawlessly encapsulate the juxtaposition of horror and comedy Ghoulies II follows the release of the full uncut soundtrack of Ghoulies (1985) which was released on vinyl for the first time ever by WRWTFWW Records in 2020 alongside soundtracks for other Richard Band-composed, Empire Pictures-produced classics: TerrorVision and Troll. All these '80s horror favorites are still available -- complete the collection now!