Forced Exposure New Releases for the Week of 6/12/23

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: ABDT 062LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The Invisible Hands: Alan Bishop, Cherif El Masri, Ayawasqa, Adham Zidan. "Years in the making amidst multiple other projects, the third album by The Invisible Hands has finally seen the light of day. In 2014, just after releasing their second album Teslam (ABDT 054CD/LP, 2014), The Invisible Hands met to begin recording their third album. But there was a problem: Alan Bishop had dozens of new songs to record and a slow-motion reality bi-product of this dilemma was that one new album became several new albums. Three of those were released under Bishop's Alvarius B. moniker (With a Beaker on the Burner and an Otter in the Oven) in November of 2017 (ABDT 059CD). Although that triple LP featured many additional musicians, it was essentially part of a grander Invisible Hands project which began morphing into several new directions. Between October of 2014 and January of 2020, nearly 100 songs were recorded by various forms of the group. Many tracks have remained unreleased or unfinished. Final post-production was completed on The Big Minute in late 2022 and it features the premier studio versions of several original songs and most of the covers from the band's live repertoire (including 'Dirty Angels' by Ennio Morricone, 'Watchin' You' by Brainticket, and 'Black Orchid' by Sun City Girls). Now, almost nine years after the release of their second album, Teslam, you can finally listen to the official third album from the only folk-psychedelic-rock band to ever hail from Egypt." --Mustafa Murkos, Cairo, January 2023. Limited edition LP release of 500 copies with insert text and photos.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: N 084LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Let's forget that Saroos is a closed, three-minded system: a fixed and fully committed entity of three. Known to reinvent themselves in less drastic ways, Christoph Brandner, Max Punktezahl, and Florian Zimmer, have opened the floodgates to collaboration on their quietly explosive latest album Turtle Roll. Announced by 2021 singles "Tin & Glass" featuring Ronald Lippok and aptly titled "Frequency Change" featuring Leila Gharib aka Sequoyah Tiger, the sixth full-length sees the Berlin threesome add another handful of vocal guests along the way. Kicked off by the motoric B-funk (Berlin represent) of the Lippok-assisted "Tin & Glass," complete with retro-futuristic effects, spoken declarations, and non-terrestrial vibes, it might not be Daft Punk playing at their house, but a byobv (vibe) house party of musical minds isn't too far off, actually! Once again as much a mixtape as an album, the mood, vibe, and color changes with every new collaborative tune: From ethereally soothing and dreamy ("The Mind Knows" featuring Solent from Canada) to clap-driven and wildly hypnotic (that pounding "Mutazione," featuring vocals and rhymes courtesy of Eva Geist from Italy) and almost radio-ready when that stadium-sized oomph of "Frequency Change" featuring Sequoyah Tiger arrives around halfway in. Elsewhere, Japanese guest Kiki Hitomi (WaqWaq Kingdom) adds exotic ecstasy to the hypothermic beatscapes of "The Sign," while Ukrainian vocalist Lucy Zoria pushes poetic layers over "Southern Blue"'s wonky foundation that hardens and finds more direction with each round the beat clock takes -- until it's impossible to escape that undertow. "My baby makes it better," sings Caleb Dailey on the faithful and still-loving "Being with You," a sepia, softly churning look back by the US songsmith, a sweetly shimmering ode to a relationship. Speaking of foursomes, there's four instrumental tracks scattered throughout the new LP -- ranging from a painting in crystal clear colors of night ("Organ of Recall") to the highly dramatic sonic tapestry of "Thicket" (with vocals as well). Before the perfect goodbye of slow-moving album closer "Here Before," "Passed Out" sounds like Odd Nosdam finding his feet after blacking out on a German carnival. Titled after a surf maneuver that allows you to break through the crests on the way out, Saroos have skipped the obvious waves with Turtle Roll -- creating their own kind of sonic "Hang Ten" by adding seven new voices to the mix. Includes download code; edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: AMT 031EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Tel-Aviv based duo, Project Runaway, return with a new release on LDN/LA based All My Thoughts. The four-track EP opens with title track "Charly", a mesmerizing hypnotic percussive bomb, with voodoo-like vocal mantras and trance flavors throughout. "J&S" is up next, a minimal sunset/sunrise house track full of raw layers of sensitive percussion and bouncing rhythm. The B side opens with "Export City", a psychedelic percussive trip into the city that never sleeps. "Tunnels", brings you to a close with a mysterious flow of melodies alongside PR's signature percussion, equally suited to both festival stages and sweaty basements. For fans of: Red Axes, Chaos In The CBD, Fantastic Man, Aleqs Notal.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: BEWITH 094LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Be With Records present a reissue of Jay Richford and Gary Stevan's Feelings, originally released in 1974. Since its original release on Italian label Carosello in 1974, Richford and Stevan's Feelings has been described as the greatest library record ever released more than once. It's a tough funk, street jazz masterpiece coveted for many years by collectors of all musical genres. As the story goes, these were the pseudonyms adopted by Stefano Torossi and Giancarlo Gazzani who wrote the album but couldn't use their real names on the original release for legal reasons. But Torossi himself later both clarified and confused the tale further by explaining that fellow composers and musicians Sandro Brugnolini and Puccio Roelens also worked on Feelings. Infectiously funky, deliciously melodic and with impeccable, elegant production, Feelings record is the showcase for a stunning set of compositions and arrangements and with performances that are nothing short of virtuoso. The record's first side lifts off with "Flying High", soaring brilliant and shimmering with funk licks, menacing strings, and swaggering horns. The string-drenched cop-funk of "Going Home" raises the tempo with quick-fire bass lines and killer electric guitar. "Walking In The Dark" positively drips in blaxploitation-funk drama strings and horn struts, all laced with delicate drums, velvet piano, and more filthy wah-wah. "Fighting For Life" is another funk-fueled workout built around an effortlessly relentless drum track. The loping, open drum break that guides the much-loved "Feeling Tense" is filled out by heavy bass gloss, swirling strings, and ominous horns. "Running Fast" is a fine rollicking chase theme underpinned by frenetic (yet funky) Fender Rhodes and skipping bass and drums. "Loving Tenderly" envelops you in warm, velvety night-time vibes with easy listening horns and slinky strings. The pace picks up on the electrifying "Fearing Much" where strings dart around deep bass, buzzing guitars, and another funky drum break. The lush, melancholic "Being Friendly" is another easy beauty, all warm Rhodes and strings. The climactic "Having Fun" rides a pulsating, bass-heavy drum break with snatches of a funky guitar refrain, some luxurious keys, sweeping strings, and triumphant horns. Groove-laden bass, irrepressible horns, sweet flute lines, warm Rhodes, lush string arrangements, blaxploitation-styled wah-wah guitars and more make Feelings one of the finest instrumental soul LPs of the '70s, if not of all time. Remastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman. Remastered from the original tapes.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: BEWITH 138LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

First time vinyl issue. Lost soul phenomenon Lewis Taylor's Numb finally arrives on double vinyl. One of UK soul's most fascinating artists, most enigmatic figures and most under-appreciated talents, Andrew Lewis Taylor is a prodigious multi-instrumentalist and eclectic polymath. Numb is Taylor's sixth album, initially released on his own label Slow Reality (an anagram of his name) and licensed to Be With for this physical edition. Lewis wrote and recorded these ten brand new tracks after a 17-year break from making music, although the album came together over a two-year period. Numb marks a return to the darker, more mysterious side of his output: "Brian Wilson-channels-Smokey Robinson atmospheres," as Mojo put it recently. In June 2021, news emerged out of the blue that he was readying new music alongside Sabina Smyth with whom he had worked first time around. On Numb, Lewis deftly balances stark, soul-bearing lyrics with moody mid-tempo pop-soul sheen. He deals candidly with depression, mental turmoil, even thoughts of suicide -- clearly more personal than Taylor's earlier songs. The music is rich, warm, and layered, with infectious melodies and hooks that stick with you. Triumphant dubwise horns ring out yet, almost instantly, "Final Hour" takes on a dark, downbeat vibe. Woven around delicate yet insistent piano and subtle strings over a killer bassline, the title track "Numb" is a good example of the lyrical themes throughout the album. "Feels So Good" is sophisticated '90s-sounding soul of the highest order. The music and vocals feel simultaneously optimistic and despondent. "Apathy" is a mini-epic, a symphonic-soul gem which builds and glides and, eventually, soars. "Worried Mind" is another slow-builder, creeping out the gate in a sketchy, discordant fashion before climbing to half-crescendo but never quite breaking free of its disorientating restraint. The brighter "Please" presents a more hopeful mood. "Brave Heart" quietly struts from step one, as Lewis's falsetto swaggers over a downtempo backdrop with ace echoey drums, beautiful strings and serene electric guitar. "Is It Cool" answers its own (non-) question with a spellbinding deep soul that oscillates between a restrained, barely-there backdrop and a lushly full musical accompaniment of acoustic and electric guitar and organ over bass and slick drums. "Nearer" is a magical, soul-stirring ballad in which Lewis sings of reaching a sweet salvation and achieving a peace of mind. "Being Broken" places Lewis's gorgeous voice high in the mix and the wordless falsetto and melodies invite you to ponder what Pet Sounds might sound like if it were refashioned as a dubby 21st century electronic soul album. Mastered by Simon Francis. Cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: BEWITH 139LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Stoned Part I was the first self-released album from lost soul phenomenon Lewis Taylor. His third album proper, it was initially released on his own label Slow Reality in 2002. First ever vinyl edition. After parting ways with Island, and without a label deal, Lewis went back to his home studio and began to record Stoned Part I in 2001. Co-written and co-produced with longtime collaborator Sabina Smyth, Lewis sings and plays all the instruments on this beautiful, emotional and very human album. It represents Lewis at his most accessible and finds him in the middle ground between his two Island releases. In some ways, Stoned Part I distills the best of his musical sensibilities. The flawless production is dense, layered and very early-2000s slick. The bottom end is thick, funky and sexy. The complex, proggy-soul of title track "Stoned" opens the album with deep swinging funk and sweet soulful vocals, complemented by wah-wah guitar and swelling acidic synths. "Positively Beautiful" has shades of Curtis and Marvin; its richly layered harmonies propelled by a simple, metronomic click-track that gives way to a more fully fleshed beat for the magnificent coda. The slow, sweeping majesty of "Lewis IV" is all moody atmosphere, featuring dense, richly textured music and heavenly multi-tracked harmonies. "Send Me An Angel" is beautifully crafted sophisticated soul-pop songwriting in the vein of the very best Sade records. The smooth, psychedelia-lite "Til The Morning Light" is a gorgeous, sun-dappled love song, layered with Lewis's distinctive honey-drenched vocals. "Shame" packs so many shifting styles into one song; opening in a laconic, breezy style, not unlike a Dallas Austin or Rodney Jerkins produced R&B hit of the day, it morphs into a heavy psych-soul Soulaquarians wig-out before elegantly sliding into string-assisted symphonic soul and then back around again. The sublime, gentle head-nod funk-soul of "When Will I Ever Learn" (Part 1) is a neat, sweet bass-driven guitar-soul jam. "Lovin' U More" sounds like a classic turn-of-the-century Neptunes production. A Latin-tinged groover with more than a little Nile Rodgers-driven slick funk stylings, it's yet another instant Lewis bomb with those gorgeous harmonies and chart-friendly irresistible key-changes to boot. The funky seductive swagger of "From The Day We Met - Part II" opens the final side of wax, giving way to the gigantic buzzing synth-funk beast "Lovelight", a track so insouciantly mighty it should have been a massive hit for someone. To close this phenomenal album, the twisted electronic soul of "Sheneverdid" marries Lewis's beautiful falsetto to his virtuoso playing and an easy-cum-ominous musical backdrop. Mastered by Simon Francis. Cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: BEWITH 140LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Stoned Part II is Lewis Taylor's pure, perfect dance-pop album. His second self-released album and fourth album proper, it initially appeared on his own label Slow Reality in 2004. First ever vinyl edition. An experiment in the sounds of contemporary pop and dance music, Lewis's wonky take on funky pop would annihilate anything kicking around the charts, then or now. If only it were given half a chance. Roughly half the tracks are absolutely essential, fascinating re-workings of tracks from the eternal Stoned Part I, as Lewis explains: "When we were doing Stoned we were trying different approaches with everything so we ended up with more than one version of nearly all the songs which left us with more than an album's worth of material. There was a lot of really cool house tunes around at the time which we were both really into and that shaped the sound and production, some songs more directly than others." The swoonsome, string-drenched opener "Madman" is quite the departure, a bleepy, bumping soulful disco-house record. It's followed by another huge dancefloor stomper, "Keep Right On". There's no let-up with the sparkling "Reconsider" which sounds an awful lot like Daft Punk meets Nile Rodgers. "When Will I Ever Learn 2" really slaps, presenting a breezier, more upbeat funk take on the brilliant original and incorporating "From The Day We Met" from Stoned Part I. "Out Of My Head Is The Way I Feel" is one of Lewis's very best songs. The vocals, self-harmonizing and virtuoso playing are next level. "Carried Away" is a real standout, Lewis's gorgeous falsetto riding a quasi D&B groove to begin with before adorning a more classically funky 2-step rhythm. The funky, Rhythm King drum machine soul of "Stoned Part 2" refashions the original in the style of an unearthed Sly Stone classic, circa There's A Riot Going On. Then glide to "Positively Beautiful 2" which, if it's even possible, manages to be better than the original. The epic, orchestral opening truly captivates before Lewis gets down with kaleidoscopic dancefloor-slaying Philly soul-funk. "Throw Me A Line" closes out the side "Shame 2" is a blissful, restrained version of the massive original, without the crazy psych-soul wig-out. The gorgeous mellow vibe continues with "Won't Fade Away", featuring Beach Boys harmonies over a barely-there pulse. The album bows out with a psych-soul wig-out, "Keep On Keeping On", a real highlight. Mastered by Simon Francis. Cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: BNSD 077LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Methods Body's groundbreaking second record, Plural Not Possessive, is an opus against the algorithm -- ranging from 22 seconds to 15 minutes in duration, these five tracks reveal lush ecosystems woven out of the duo's spontaneous compositions. John Niekrasz (drums, voice) and Luke Wyland (keys, electronics, voice) create musical and technological strategies that force them to break old habits and patterns. Extrinsic song forms and standardized meters fall away. Time becomes a physical substance sculpted to alter the listener's emotional experience. Wyland channels his life-long stutter into a music of broken speech. There are lost languages in this record -- it is haunted by artifacts the musicians can't explain. Over two years, Niekrasz and Wyland worked together in their forest studio, staving off darkness at a time when it wasn't possible to be with others. Plural Not Possessive stands as a bracing evolution of the ensemble's previous work, but fans will still recognize Methods Body's hallmark microtonality, uncanny rhythms, world-building intricacy, and unmistakable collaborative chemistry. RIYL: Terry Riley, Autechre, Tyondai Braxton, Aphex Twin, Wendy Carlos, Pauline Oliveros, Iannis Xenakis.Praise for their self-titled debut (BNSD 047LP, 2020): "In Methods Body's music, nothing feels fixed in place. The drums-and-electronics duo's debut album is as slippery as the deck of a boat in a storm: Muscular rhythms in strange time signatures, microtonal prepared-piano riffs, droning feedback -- they all careen back and forth, colliding, breaking into pieces. The result is a gnarled hybrid of free improv, minimalist composition, and dance music that advances in fits and starts, repetitive until it is not, knotty until it turns unexpectedly smooth." --Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: BTRC 022LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Dedicated Men of Zion (DMZ) -- the sacred soul quartet from eastern North Carolina who are all related to one another by blood or marriage -- has come a long way since the release of 2020's Can't Turn Me Around on producer Bruce Watson's Bible & Tire Recording Co. label. They have performed at globalFEST, Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, and Fresh Grass festivals. They have earned the acclaim of Brooklyn Vegan, NPR Music, and The New York Times. They scored placements on best of 2020 lists from NPR Music and the Philadelphia Inquirer. With Bruce Watson of Fat Possum at the helm, they have surpassed their debut with The Devil Don't Like It, out on Bible & Tire Recording Co. The Memphis-based Sacred Soul Sound Section provided the supple but sinewy grooves, featuring GRAMMY winner Matt Ross-Spang on guitar (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine), drummer George Sluppick (Rufus Thomas, Albert King, J.J. Grey & Mofro, Chris Robinson Brotherhood), guitarist Will Sexton (Alejandro Escovedo, Roky Erickson), bassist Mark Edgar Stuart (Elizabeth King, Alvin Youngblood Hart), and organist Al Gamble (St. Paul & The Broken Bones)."

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: BTRC 030LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Memphis gospel singer Elder Jack Ward's spirit took flight on April 11, 2023 after a remarkable life of spreading God's word through example, message and most especially, song. His latest album, The Storm, had just been released by Bible and Tire Records at the time of his passing and has now become the final word and work of a life well lived. Like its 2021 predecessor, Already Made, The Storm captured an element of Ward that producer Bruce Watson found truly rare in the world of gospel music: song writing . . ." --Michael Hurtt, April, 2023

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: BOND 12070EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Having released on Pokerflat, Berg Audio, and Hedzup Records, label regular Mihai Popoviciu makes a return to Bondage Music, he delivers four new original tracks to drops his next EP Echo Audio on Bondage-Music. 180 gram, green vinyl.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: BONER 025LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. 1991 release. "Available again with updated artwork and a new gatefold sleeve! Melvins' follow-up to 1989's Ozma was 1991's groundbreaking Bullhead. The songs are longer, the mood is calmer, yet more menacing. 'Boris' (which gave the Japanese group their name) is a long, slow, low death march of addiction and self-abuse. 'Zodiac' is a frantic punk rock machine gun blasting away at Buzz's demons (both inner and outer). 'Cow' is a happy baboon bashing away at the best drum solo of his life. 'It's Shoved' is a groovy beat for the cast of Shindig to bop along to, until their carefree performances of The Pony, The Mashed Potato, and The Watusi are horribly interrupted by the soundstage tilting up and sliding them all into a mangled heap of screaming dancers, broken cameras and flaming electronic equipment at the bottom."

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: BONER 028LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress, black vinyl. "Originally released as a 10-inch in 1991, Eggnog is a wild ride into the outer limits of Melvins-dom. The first side cuts loose with three quick blasts. 'Wispy' has the Lorax (Lori Temple Black) on bass and Dale Crover on drums, pounding one note in unison while Buzz Osborne bellows and whispers and turns his guitar on and off. 'Antitoxidote' is a rabid horse galloping off into the desert, with yet more stops and starts and feedback detonations. 'Hog Leg' sounds like a syphillitic Jimmy Swaggert trying to mimic Dio while being backed by a drunken ZZ Top cover band. Side Two features the side-long epic 'Charmicarmicat,' with seasick waves of guitar and slow-motion madness bringing communicable disease and poisonous jellyfish ashore, stinging and infecting the unsuspecting sunbathers before gently washing out to sea again."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BJR 090LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Riot Grrrl fire and noise meets musical debauchery from Latin America. Born in Argentina in 2017, Blanco Teta is more than just a band. The project melts experimental rock, punk-pop and trash noise to develop a statement that pass over genre limits. The quatuor digs with intensity into noise, dance, avant-garde but also into politic with a clear speech on transfeminism. From the suburbs of Buenos Aires to some of the most interesting European festival, passing by an outstanding KEXP session, the live iteration of Blanco Teta proposes something so fresh crossing border of performance to create an immersive experience at high level of energy and madness. Rompe Paga is their third record material but also their first LP. Going from trashy skate-punk vibe tracks to serious noise experiences, the band experiments with no limit. Using a lot of glitches effect or digital mixing tools as autotune, the album is a real mind blower. With very political lyrics, Blanco Teta goes further than just a punky project, it demonstrates the power of music and put the audience into something real. Features Lucy Patane and Satira.

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: BB 414CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

With synthesizers, rhythm computers, and human metronomes turned to a gallop, these electronic innovators set modernity to a motorik beat, and Bureau B's second trip into Silberland cuts right to the thrust of the genre. The set begins with the propulsive opener from Harald Grosskopf's 1986 LP Oceanheart, in which pristine sequences play in counterpoint atop a mechanical kick, hurtling forward until the rest of the kit catches up. Live drums take center stage for Cluster's feverish "Prothese" and the time travelling "Elektroklang" by Conrad Schnitzler. You offer astral ascension on "Son Of A True Star", weaving proggy square waves and pulsating arps around an irresistible shuffle from mysterious percussionist Lhan Gopal (Grosskopf in disguise), before the optimistic "Für Dich" fuses classic kosmische chords with Thomas Dinger's pummeling beat. Asmus Tietchens's detuned keys and drum machine samba are imbued with a punk spirit shared by Moebius Plank Neumeier's discordant jazz-tanz jam "Search Zero". "Beat For Ikutaro", plucked from a mid-80s demo tape by Camouflage keyboardist Heiko Maile, swerves into icy electroid territories. The cassette energy continues with the mechanized boogie of Lapre's "Flokati", a funkier take on the style in wonderful contrast with Adelbert Von Deyen's breakneck, straight shooting "Time Machine", a massively motorik night drive. Günter Schickert takes you inside the fuel pump on the weird and watery "Puls", while the charmingly disruptive Faust complete the pitstop via the blasted blues of "Juggernaut". Moebius & Plank return sans Neumeier for the deep and dubby "Feedback 66", all murmured vocals and surging pedals powered by a seismic bassline from Holger Czukay. You move through the airy tones of Roedelius and arrive at the high-tension electronics of Serge Blenner's "Phonique". Moebius & Beerbohm's "Subito" follows in a flurry of tribal drumming, guttural distortion and corrosive drone, a synthesized translation of punk spirit which mellows into the soft-focus serenade of Tyndall's "Wolkenlos", a thrilling contradiction of pastoral motifs and breathless tempo. Pyrolator's 1981 creation "180°" maintains the lightening pace, lurching forward in bursts of chaotic drum programming and sampler abuse, sending you spinning out into the strange beauty of Die Partei's "Guten Morgen In Köln". Enmeshing fragments of musique concrète and yearning guitar with throbbing sequences and a rigid rhythm grid, the duo signpost a melodic destination finally delivered by Streetmark keyboardist Dorothea Raukes under her Deutsche Wertabeit alias. A fitting finale, "Auf Engelsflügeln" radiates human warmth and cosmic wonder, serving electronic emotion from start to finish.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: BB 414LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version. With synthesizers, rhythm computers, and human metronomes turned to a gallop, these electronic innovators set modernity to a motorik beat, and Bureau B's second trip into Silberland cuts right to the thrust of the genre. The set begins with the propulsive opener from Harald Grosskopf's 1986 LP Oceanheart, in which pristine sequences play in counterpoint atop a mechanical kick, hurtling forward until the rest of the kit catches up. Live drums take center stage for Cluster's feverish "Prothese" and the time travelling "Elektroklang" by Conrad Schnitzler. You offer astral ascension on "Son Of A True Star", weaving proggy square waves and pulsating arps around an irresistible shuffle from mysterious percussionist Lhan Gopal (Grosskopf in disguise), before the optimistic "Für Dich" fuses classic kosmische chords with Thomas Dinger's pummeling beat. Asmus Tietchens's detuned keys and drum machine samba are imbued with a punk spirit shared by Moebius Plank Neumeier's discordant jazz-tanz jam "Search Zero". "Beat For Ikutaro", plucked from a mid-80s demo tape by Camouflage keyboardist Heiko Maile, swerves into icy electroid territories. The cassette energy continues with the mechanized boogie of Lapre's "Flokati", a funkier take on the style in wonderful contrast with Adelbert Von Deyen's breakneck, straight shooting "Time Machine", a massively motorik night drive. Günter Schickert takes you inside the fuel pump on the weird and watery "Puls", while the charmingly disruptive Faust complete the pitstop via the blasted blues of "Juggernaut". Moebius & Plank return sans Neumeier for the deep and dubby "Feedback 66", all murmured vocals and surging pedals powered by a seismic bassline from Holger Czukay. You move through the airy tones of Roedelius and arrive at the high-tension electronics of Serge Blenner's "Phonique". Moebius & Beerbohm's "Subito" follows in a flurry of tribal drumming, guttural distortion and corrosive drone, a synthesized translation of punk spirit which mellows into the soft-focus serenade of Tyndall's "Wolkenlos", a thrilling contradiction of pastoral motifs and breathless tempo. Pyrolator's 1981 creation "180°" maintains the lightening pace, lurching forward in bursts of chaotic drum programming and sampler abuse, sending you spinning out into the strange beauty of Die Partei's "Guten Morgen In Köln". Enmeshing fragments of musique concrète and yearning guitar with throbbing sequences and a rigid rhythm grid, the duo signpost a melodic destination finally delivered by Streetmark keyboardist Dorothea Raukes under her Deutsche Wertabeit alias. A fitting finale, "Auf Engelsflügeln" radiates human warmth and cosmic wonder, serving electronic emotion from start to finish.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: BYR 040EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Hibotep takes charge with stabbing drums and marauding bass that steal in alongside her multilingual lyrics on "Amber". "Ebwino" sees Hibotep masterminding a blistering, low-slung rap track with artist Will'stone, before finishing on the instrumental and playful "Saffron". Hibotep is of Somali ancestry. Born and raised in Ethiopia, she currently lives in Kampala, Uganda, where she moved to reconnect with her twin sister. A walking, breathing example of the diversity of Kampala's arts and culture scene, Hibo Elmi is, amongst other things, a DJ, filmmaker, fashion designer, installation artist, rapper and producer. A self-described cultural nomad, pushing forward a genre she calls Industrial Shamanism. Named by Mixmag in April as one of the 17 women shaping African dance music, and one of "15 East African Artists You Need to Hear" by Resident Advisor. The vinyl is a split EP with much-lauded artist KMRU on the other side.

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: DKR 126EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. "An NYC/JA collaboration with Wackie's producing an early tune by Don Carlos, originally credited as 'Jah Carlos,' over a tough Soul Syndicate rhythm. This one is on the Rawse label."

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: DKR 147EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Killer instrumental 45 on Rawse, spread over two sides. Clive Hunt and the Wackie's house band under the 'Azul' moniker, with a fantastic piano sound -- or is it steel drum? One of the rarest Wackie's produced singles."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: DKR 216LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"24 track double LP in gatefold jacket. LP1 is vocals, LP2 is dubs/versions. LP1 features one previously unreleased track. Jacket features extensive liner notes and many never-before-seen photos and flyers of both groups. Some tracks are reissued from the master tapes for the first time." "... we put together this 2LP collecting the vocals & dubs of nearly all of Creole's output and likewise nearly all of the music of the first iteration of Chinafrica (see our 12" single releases from both groups for the rest). For the record, Chinafrica went on to make some more great music in the 1990's, which is not included here. Also, we went deep into the band members' archives to dig out as many photos and flyers as we could for the jacket, accompanied by a detailed rundown of their histories and musical output. Creole and Chinafrica each created a small but fantastic body of music that does a rare thing. Much of the music on this album successfully blends elements of different genres of music in an interesting way. It's firmly planted in reggae, but straddles the borders of soul, funk and rock in brilliant, complimentary moves. I dare say in Jamaican music, you will be hard pressed to find an easy comparison to the music of these two groups. Please enjoy this collection of Wayne Chin and the guys' unique and uncompromising vision of reggae music, much as we have enjoyed realizing it and shining a long overdue spotlight on their history and creativity. A sincere thanks to Wayne Chin and all the members of Creole and Chinafrica who indulged me and enthusiastically took part in one of my dream projects, it's a honor to finally present this release." --RB/DKR

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: DKR 228EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Monster mid '80s 12 inch here, 'Break Down the Walls' has Sugar Minott on vocals with the Abbashantie band, bad roots tune, while the B-side 'Abbashantie Rock' has Jerry Johnson blowing on another killer driving uptempo rhythm, both sides with versions. Comes in Wackie's/Bond Export company sleeve."

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: DKR 263EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"One of a pair of absolute killer late '80s singjay reality tunes, originally released back-to-back on one notoriously rare 12 inch. Despite being from '87 these tunes have a wicked mid 80s style 'live digital' sound with a band on the rhythm. These tunes were produced in Jamaica by Delroy Francis for his Claypot imprint. Delroy is better known as the producer behind the Park Heights label and record shop, one of Brooklyn's foundational players in the record biz. This batch of releases kicks off a long-planned program of Park Heights productions, featuring as always rarities and previously unreleased tunes. These Nuthead tracks are recut from the mixdown master tape, the original '87 mixes for maximum pressure; a previous reissue of these tunes from a decade ago featured new mixes done at that time."

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: DKR 264EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Fitting right in with the pair of Nuthead tunes released alongside it, here's another lesser known gem. Junior Vibes' 'Sweet Jamaica' was also originally released on the Claypot imprint, another tuff and now very hard to find piece of late '80s singjay with a rugged live rhythm. But the vibe on this one is more uptempo and bubbling, less dread than the Nuthead tunes, but still rocking. Crisp and bright, remastered from the original tape."

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: DKR 266EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Killer early '80s lick of the Java rhythm with the soulful voice of Roman Stewart on top and the inimitable Heptones on harmonies. First time reissue, direct from master tape."

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: DKR 267EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Killer rootical Tyrone Evans vocal on the same lick of the Java rhythm as 'Rain A Fall', released for the very first time, direct from master tape."

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: DKR 268LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"You know we had to do it, so here's the near companion dub album to our recent Roots from the Record Smith compilation. This LP features the B-side dub versions from the original 45's of almost all the tracks from the vocal comp, nearly all taken from master tapes. For the curious and studious, here's a breakdown of the deviations from the vocal LP. Track A3, the dub version to 'Heading For the Mountain', is a previously unreleased mix, in that it does not contain the explosion sound fx heard on the original 45 -- these fx were added during the master cutting for the original 45 and are not on the master tape! Likewise, the original dub to Black Oney's 'Jah Jah Send the Parson', titled 'Version Stormy Weather' with storm sound FX was done the same way, and that version has been added here in place of a version to I Roy's 'Look a Boom.' Our previous reissue of the Black Oney single contained a raw rhythm cut and not this dub version with FX. Lastly, in place of a version for the Heptones 'Tripe Girl' (sadly no version of the Heptones or I Roy was ever released!), we've added the version to Black Oney's 'Festival '75', as found only on the impossibly rare original blank 45 release. Our previous issue of that one was backed with the Prince Far I cut on the same rhythm. A final note, the last track on this album is the dub to Ronnie Davis' 'Power of Love', titled 'King Tubby's In Fine Stile', and widely recognized as one of the King's all-time best mixes. If you don't know, get to know. This one alone is worth the price of admission." Comes in green or orange print.

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: DKR 269EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Here's one of our favorite Wackie's tunes that we always thought ought to be on a single, ready to be played alongside the other cuts of the rhythm already issued. This 45 features Wayne Jarrett's 'Moses' as it appeared on the first volume of the Jah Children Invasion compilation series. This tune appears in a different mix on Wayne's Wackie's album as Brimstone & Fire, but here is the elusive compilation cut. The single is backed with the raw cut of its rhythm as played by the Soul Syndicate in Jamaica, before any of the overdubs later done at Wackie's studio in NYC."

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: DKR 270EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"There's a first time for everything, and here is DKR's first ever 1960's reissue. As usual we strive to bring out the baddest and the best tunes, and here's one such single. Two rocksteady monsters back-to-back, just as wickedly rare as they are tough. Straight from master tape, the A-side an all-time dark instrumental piece, the B-side a fantastic lovelorn vocal. Issued in direct partnership with one of Jamaica's living legends, Mr. Bobby Aitken. Bobby has been playing since the dawn of the JA music industry, and his band licked many of the baddest rhythms of rocksteady, both credited and uncredited. More to come from Mr. Aitken, so hold tight."

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: DPROM 161LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

1988 saw the release of several timeless and remarkable EPs from Nurse With Wound, one of those classics is Alas The Madonna Does Not Function. Madonna in some respect was a turning point for NWW. It's a record that whilst unmistakably retaining that ineffable NWW character brought rhythmic and almost "musical" elements into play. Madonna could be seen along with the Soresucker and Cooloorta Moon EPs as the bridge between the old and the new, the natural precursors to Thunder Perfect Mind and Rock 'n Roll Station. Some 34 years later Madonna still sounds fresh and unique, a true one off, proving NWW to be one of the few genuinely enduring and uncompromising artists of their time. Added to this reissue is the fan favorite, "I Am The Poison". With its plodding cyclical bass, minimalist sound and distorted vocal lines it could be argued that "Poison" is a forgotten, yet divergent, post punk classic. Beautifully remastered by Andrew Liles. Beautiful die-cut sleeve with Babs Santini artwork.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: CREP 098LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Eight years almost to the day after releasing his unique re-interpretation album of his field recordings made in the late '90s in Tanzania, Kink Gong is back with another volume of bushmen madness. Here's what Kink Gong aka Laurent Jeanneau has to say about his end of millennium trip: "My experience in Tanzania is now over 20 years and most of the so-called remix was started in Tanzania and left un-finished, then eventually retouched in Vienna, Paris, Shanghai, Kunming, Dali or Vientiane. 20 years later I searched my Tanzanian files and rediscovered unfinished tracks which are being now refreshed on this new record. Back to the early days of the XXI century, when I lost my health trying to survive with the Hadzas, the last bushmen in northern Tanzania. In 1999 James Stephenson from NYC invited me to join his Hadzas friends. I would leave the bush to rest in a place with enough food and electricity and start to edit, loop and work on the original recordings, to trans-form them into organic abstract compositions, the only instrument I had recorded a lot with the Hadzas was the malimba and I bought different malimbas in Arusha to take back with me to Europe, I used either the original recordings or me playing malimbas on some tracks and applied some electronic treatment to it, at that time I used Roland synths for some tracks. The original recordings are related to scenes at night by the fire with the Hadzas, but also three different types of celebrations, 'Epeme Men' was recorded on a moonless night with men and women singing and dancing in complete darkness in Mangola, an Hadza camp. 'Irawk Drum Under the Rain' was recorded during daytime at a Multi ethnic gathering at the Franciscan Spanish catholic mission with a crowd dancing and singing under heavy rain while an IRAWK large (and wet) drum was being played, Northern Tanzania. 'Makonde Island' was recorded in southern Tanzania at the border with Mozambique and is a pure scene of trance taking place on an island where the Makonde fishermen off the coast of Mtwara, get wild, hitting plastic containers for the sound, drunk and stoned men and women are hysterically jumping and falling on each other, ending up with a few wounded. Once again, I'm responsible for this act of multicultural sabotage, but don't forget that you can always listen to the original recordings on the Kink Gong recs collection." --Laurent Jeanneau, Berlin 2023.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: DRUNKEN 117C-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

New version/2023 repress on green vinyl. "You'd think Jake Robertson would already have his hands full playing in the likes of Ausmuteants, Leather Towel, School Damage, Drug Sweat, et al. But no, evidently there's always time for one more thoroughly wracked project, and Alien Nosejob's focus is as kaleidoscopically scattershot as you'd expect from a man with such a short attention span. Just to confirm: yes, that's a good thing. From the off, we glide through the Coneheads-style Devocore of 'Television Sets' before romping through the jangling lo-fi pop of 'Weight Of The World', which skips and mopes while making like The Clean setting light to their parents' carpet with a magnifying glass. There's also charmingly scruffy soul-pop, chugging sci-fi slop-punk, straight-up college rock balladry and much, much more. But these aren't sketches or tossed-off genre exercises. They're bona fide works of consummate skill that resonate sincerely and effortlessly. Essentially, each song sounds like a challenge to the one that follows, a cry of 'step the fuck up'; Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud is a treasure trove of mini-masterpieces. Rough as fuck mini-masterpieces, sure, recorded with a cheap drum machine and guitars that sound like rusty drills cutting through power cables, but mini-masterpieces nonetheless. When venerable doyens of the pop establishment make albums of such eclectic scope and genuine songwriting talent, they get called geniuses. When punk-as-fuck wiseguys like Robertson pull it off, words like 'maverick' get tossed around. Rest assured, his Alien Nosejob project covers both angles. This second album is an instant classic that deserves to be heard far beyond the underground -- but if it isn't, who cares? He's probably playing in another seven bands already by the time you read this. I've not heard them yet either, but I can tell you they're all fucking amazing. Just buy this record and join the cult." --Will Fitzpatrick

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DRUNKEN 130LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Ever since Rocket From The Tombs gave way to Pere Ubu and The Dead Boys, Cleveland's been producing endless shots of adrenaline courtesy of the wildest, weirdest sounds around. Knowso may not have much sonically in common with their city's elder statesmen, but they're following in the same spiritual tradition, blasting away with a take on punk rock that's tense, spiky and powerful. Following on from their Look At The Chart 12" for California's premier trash-rock stable Neck Chop, and a 7" for Total Punk, Specialtronics Green Vision is their debut album - and as full-lengths go, it's a helluva first offering. Cuts like 'Calamine' echo the likes of Devo in their jerked-out fury, but whereas there's a whole raft of slopcore bands in recent years who've focused on the other-worldly side of Mothersbaugh and co., Knowso rub their angular tendencies against clenched-teeth riffage and a brutal sense of righteous outrage. The effect is somewhere in between Steve Albini's more pointed rackets, Black Flag in both 'weirdo freakout' and 'perfect slice of fury' modes, and (unexpectedly) even the screwy rhetoric of Welsh wonders Future Of The Left. They have a killer CV -- Knowso boast members of Cruelster, Perverts Again and Cloud Nothings among their line-up -- but still, this is a record that sounds everything and nothing like those bands, with a healthy number of bonus ingredients thrown in. 'Peaceful And Extinct' shows them at their smartarse best, bouncing between (hey, bear with me) tasteful riffology and sheer power, while 'Digital God' is just a heads-down thrill ride. But hey, it's a record full of surprises and wonder, like ice cream topped with barbed wire, and it's one of the best things you'll hear all year. Insert your own 'think so? I knowso' joke here; I'd write one myself but I'm too busy putting this on repeat play for the rest of forever." --Will Fitzpatrick

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DRUNKEN 136LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reuben Sawyer is nothing if not prolific. He's also a man of many talents -- his various projects have included the cold wave sounds of The Column, Hollow Sunshine's blown-out psych-noise, Anytime Cowboy's take on countrified weirdo-pop, and even ambient house courtesy of Rose. Oh, and he's a visual artist too, of course. Pfft, who needs an attention span anyway? One thing he's also dabbled in, however, is post-punk. Human Trophy is firmly in line with that tradition, but pulling from multiple directions at once -- the twisting guitar lines and pummeling bass of "Forming Horrors" even call to mind his blackened punk project Dry Insides, but with less velocity and a helluva lot more menace. Is Corpse Dream a goth record? Possibly. Whether goth is a lifestyle choice for Sawyer or not, he's certainly adept at immersing himself in sounds and making them feel like a comfortable fit. As with all his projects, it feels like another effortless facet of Reuben Sawyer -- and in keeping with the rest of his output, it's absolutely packed with songs you'll wanna play again and again. Penultimate track "The Roads" is built on a none-more gloomy pile-up of darkly portentous rhythms and a firm sense of disquiet, but once you're locked into its circular riffage you'll feel an urge to keep the loop going endlessly. Then there's the closer "Blood Apex", a dual-vocal nightmare set to music which draws you back in even as it attempts to push you away.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: DRUNKEN 163LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Beside You is Body Maintenance's first full-length LP, following a 12" EP and live cassette on guitarist James Kane's own Unwound Records, and a self-released demo cassette. Superficially, their take on brutally noisy sang-froid is the sort of thing that garners lazy comparisons to Joy Division, but more discerning ears will pick out similar sounds like Stockholm's much-missed Holograms, Blitz circa Second Empire Justice and even Italy's modern anarcho heroes A Culture Of Killing. All of which is kind of irrelevant except that it should tell you, o worthy possessor of exquisite taste, that it sounds fucking great and you need to get this band in your ears immediately. Drummer Zoe Mulcahy (also of Jake Robertson's effervescent Alien Nosejob project) may be the secret star of the show, whether lending a glowing pulse to the cold wave-imbued robotica of "Time Enough" or simply wailing hard on album opener "Silver Yarns". Riley Stafford's dispassionate bark also stands out, especially on the driving "It's Theatre", although it's buried deep in the mix, clouded by the wash of guitars and Ella Howells's glacial synths. But let's not get bogged down in individual performances, 'cause this Melbourne quintet are way more than the sum of their parts. The whole is punchy and powerful; the sound pulls you all over the place emotionally -- you can't truly prepare for the way the brooding title track sneaks up on you. It throbs in your brain like an amyl nitrate headache; it rages subtly and smartly while simultaneously indulging and railing against a primitivist instinct to rock out. More simply, it's the soundtrack to your springtime and beyond -- this is the instant classic you've been after, so why waste any more time reading what I've got to say on the matter? Buy it, regret nothing but the shelf space you didn't occupy.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: EB 188CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

David Bowie polymath, Briton, chameleon, duke, enigma ... the list could go on until Z for Ziggy. David Bowie morphed from folkie to space popper, from West Berlin myth to chic regular at Studio 54, from pop star to actor to art connoisseur. But although the Thin White Duke repeatedly drank from the cup of black music history, no proper Bowie dub mix (in the Jamaican sense) survives -- and certainly not a complete album-length dub set. Producer Lee Groves and the longest-serving German dub label Echo Beach, specialists for cases like this, were unanimous: something needed to be done! Thanks to a worldwide network of musicians and studio whizzes, versions of legendary songs including by The Police, Grace Jones, Martha & The Muffins, Ton Steine Scherben, and most recently, Robert Palmer, have been created here. Dubby Stardust is another milestone in Echo Beach's dub cycle catalog and a long overdue tribute to the pop chameleon who died in 2016 -- a compilation that draws on the collective memory of three generations of fans. Features James Riley, Benedict, Joseph Holiday, Vinyl Sky, Baby Alpaca, Jasmine Ash, Tom Rhodes, and Zachary Kibbee.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: EFFICIENT 027LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Hydroplane reinstate their formidable 1997 debut of sublime guitar atmospherics, fragile lyricism, and droning incidentals with an overdue vinyl reissue. An offshoot of the now-fêted The Cat's Miaow, the trio formed after drummer Cameron Smith decamped to London, charting new territory with tape loops, manipulated samples, and a borrowed Jupiter 4 in the wake of Endtroducing. Adopting a handle that Dean Wareham once considered calling Luna, Hydroplane intended to only ever release Excerpts From Forthcoming LP (1996), a single-sided 7" sonic collage, before imploding in mystery. Their label however insisted they deliver their taunted album. From the comfort of a Brunswick flat, they continued to record soaring melodies and restrained song structures to 4-track, sculpting dramatic Radiophonic Workshop cues weighted in reverb and near-perfect dream pop lead by Kerrie Bolton's empyrean vocals. Bored of industry expectation and largely ignored by local audiences, the reluctant performers followed the way of The Cannanes and formed meaningful overseas alliances by mail and phone, securing releases on Michigan outpost Drive-In and Broadcast launching pad Wurlitzer Jukebox. Championed by John Peel with twenty spins on his converted Radio One slot and even polling in Festive Fifty of 1997, the humble three-piece still walked to their neighborhood shops undetected. Previously only available as a US-issued CD, this reminiscent late-night suite establishes Hydroplane as an everlasting ember in Australia's beloved indie nexus.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: ELPALMAS 031LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

El Palmas Music release a new compilation of songs by the famous Venezuelan singer and percussionist Tabaco. Tabaco Quintana is, without a doubt, one of the great masters of Venezuelan salsa. Born in Caracas in 1943, he was tall and very skinny, which earned him the nickname, Tabaco. A shoeshine boy and street hawker, at the age of 18 he fell in love with the Caracas nightlife and spent his days listening to the rehearsals of a musical group that he ended up joining, thanks to the intervention of his friend Elio Pacheco. That group was called Sexteto Juventud. Tabaco passed through almost every musical position within the band until he became a singer. It was the resemblance of his voice to Ismael Rivera and his skills as an interpreter that earned him a permanent position in the band. After leaving the group in 1973, he created his own sextet, Tabaco y Su Sexteto, and later formed Tabaco y sus Metales, two groups that achieved international recognition, and became staples of the Venezuelan music scene 'til the mid-80s. Throughout, and despite his fame, Tabaco was always clear that music had a social role to play, and would often sing in Venezuelan prisons. Sadly, he died young, on May 30, 1995, due to a lung condition. The public overflowed the streets to accompany him to his last dance. This compilation of Tabaco's songs, simply titled Tabaco and compiled by El Dragón Criollo and El Palmas, is an attempt to shine a light on this musical icon, and to show his versatility, vocal ability and unparalleled knowledge of musical rhythms. Primarily known for his voice - which isn't surprising considering his vocal nuances and the different registers he is able to reach -- it can be said that he was also no slouch when it came to mixing up the rhythms. On this compilation there is a strong influence of African music ("San Juan Guarincongo", "Imolle") and jazz -- just listen to the unforgettable beginning of "Arrollando". Percussion, piano and wind instruments are high in the mix, but it's the masterful voice of Tabaco that adapts effortlessly to the requirements of the melody and the lyrics, riding each groove masterfully. The lyrics also show the great social sensitivity of the Venezuelan maestro: "Una Sola Bandera" and "Cuando Llora el Indio" are two great examples of salsa's power in denouncing social injustice, and Tabaco's commitment to that ethos. Tabaco is unmissable, a heady journey into the essence of salsa and the rhythms of the Caribbean.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: ELPALMAS 032LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Enigmatic group known for their song "Cumbia Del Desierto" on a 7" they share with El Dragón Criollo at El Palmas Music. This song was played with fury by music lovers and collectors around the world. Well, beautiful people La Jungla is back with the melody in this mini album titled De Borondo! A cut of four songs where criticism, humor, experiences, and good vibes are present throughout all the songs.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: ESC 125LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

On Ydegirl, the Copenhagen and Berlin-based musician Andrea Novel channels women from the past to find healing in her own present. The album's themes span time and her body's adaption to its changing passages, of places -- both real and imagined -- and her relationship to them. The songs exist in a limbo, fragmented state, reflecting Andrea's desire to challenge the concept of wholeness as the ideal. "I wanted to embrace being on the cusp, and not idealizing the wholesome or homogenous sound or form of storytelling," Novel says of the album. "It's more a collage work where I've been patching together the corners of my sound and mind, and then from different angles letting through all the voices, fantasies, moods and memories I have inside. The good and bad, the clear and distorted, the desired and unwanted, the ancient and yet to come." Ydegirl stages modern day r&b and pop elements in a Nordic baroque scene, using classical instruments like clarinet, guitar, and violin in the same breath as synthesizers and electronic drum patterns. Center to the music is her captivating voice, interlacing feelings of past, present and future in unique sonic arrangements. In Yde in the Netherlands in 1897, a 2000 year-old body of a girl was found in a local bog, remarkably preserved thanks to the effects of the acid in the peat. When found her head was partly shaved and her chest and pelvis almost dissolved. It's an image that's stayed with Danish artist Andrea Novel, inspiring not just her stage name Ydegirl, but also acting as something of a muse for the tightrope walking tension of her haunting chamber pop. Novel shared her first project as Ydegirl in 2019 with her debut EP notes19, a collection of self-produced songs that play out like an intimate diary, secret tellings of desires, plans and turmoil, creating sparks of energy around her artistic practice. Since her debut, Ydegirl has performed across Europe including a recent gallery show in London, Vega in Copenhagen, and at multiple festivals across Scandinavia including Norway's by:Larm and Denmark's SPOT. Ydegirl is Novel's debut album. Clear, swirly vinyl; includes swamp extract and double-sided 70x100 cm poster with album art and lyrics; edition of 500.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: ESC 165LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Danish four-piece Liss share their debut album in the hopes of creating a lasting legacy for late lead singer Søren Holm's life, love, and talent. Although recording began many years prior, the album was only finished shortly before Holm tragically passed away in May 2021. From the most recent release "Boys In Movies" featuring Nilüfer Yanya, which oscillates gorgeously between dark, grungy guitar chords and a sunny, optimistic ear worm of a chorus, to "Exist", an ethereal plea with hints of a hymn in the vocal stacks, the record shows all the transfixing sides of Liss with extraordinary heart. With the release, a new video for "Nobody Really Cares" filmed in Western Denmark, the area where Holm was raised. Shot by his two dear friends Albert Hildebrand and Yasmina Derradj, this video embraces the Western Danish wilds with portraits of Holm's friends blended with clips of natural elements as the visual become more and more surreal. Of the debut album's release today, Liss share, "Today our album I Guess Nothing Will Be The Same is released. We have spent an important part of our life together since we started the band seven years ago . . . Søren was always the one who made us understand each other better. He was extremely generous with his creativity and as a human being. We would like to thank Søren's parents, Leonida and Niels, for supporting us in releasing this album..." The project's title, I Guess Nothing Will Be The Same, is a line from, "Text Me Back," a song about a break-up with someone you love that closes out the new album. The world was first introduced to Holm's off-kilter charm and mesmerizing voice in the video for Liss's debut video, "Try", in 2015. In the pursuing years, Søren and his fellow band members Villads, Vilhelm, and Tobias navigated Liss's rise in popularity and everything it brought with it. Co-signed by the likes of Pharrell Williams, they soon followed up with the widely praised First EP (2016) released via XL Recordings. After an enforced hiatus, they returned with their EPs, Second (2019) and Third (2020). Combining Holm's captivating voice with their grungy take on r&b, soul, and alternative pop, stints on the road with artists like Vampire Weekend, MO, and jungle soon followed. Blue vinyl.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: ESC 167LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Following his gorgeous collaborative single with Ian Isiah, "Fiction," and his most recent singles "Swim On" and "Seconds" (featuring feat. Coco O), internationally acclaimed Danish pianist and producer, August Rosenbaum, shares his highly collaborative Songs People Together LP via Escho, featuring Ian Isiah, Kool Keith, Moses Boyd, and more. At 34 years old, August's acclaimed career as a multifaceted artist melds the cinematic and classic. His talents as a writer range from crafting timeless pop songs including collaborating and recording with some of today's most exciting and established musicians, Kendrick Lamar, Dijon, Dev Hynes, Kindness, and more; to composing numerous scores for film, TV and art installations, and recently co-wrote a ballet score with Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon for the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He also regularly collaborates with leading visual artist Jesper Just on exhibitions for a.o. Palais De Tokyo and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Songs People Together is expansive, with elements of RnB, pop, soul -- all filtered through August's unique experimental lens. The record as a whole is a world unto itself, with the production often booming but always crystal clear. It's immersive and haunting sonically, wrapping you up in the main thesis of the album, which is that connecting with each other is the main goal of any kind of music, no matter who you are or what it sounds like. The voices on the record (including August's own for the first time) give us different perspectives within this one landscape. Also features Emi Wes, Felukah, Philip Owusu, and Jada.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: ESC 182LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Puyain Sanati is a Danish-Iranian, Copenhagen-based composer and sound artist. Hailing from a background in more dance-oriented club music he now also works within the field of electroacoustic and abstract music. Influenced by improvisation and ritual music, he has been delving into his artistic research on the subject of "ancient traditions with today's electronic possibilities", utilizing hypnotic rhythms and soundscapes to map out some kind of bigger universal language, perhaps bridging a wider human consciousness. Nafas Morte is the title of Puyain Sanati's new album and Farsi for "final breath". As with all undulations of breath, nothing here is constant. The five tracks work as cinematic soundscapes to an array of possible narratives -- personal, universal, or abstract -- all of which center around notions of rituals and tragedy. With a generous and candid approach, Nafas Morte sonically illustrates these complex subjects in a poetic and non-grid manner. According to Sanati, the album is an exploration of rituals of grief, loss, and the transcendence that follows. Emitting a faint hubbub holding a likeness to crowds or reverberating machinery the record oscillates between moments of build-up and release -- implemental for mirroring the flow and pace of our world. With elements akin to ambient, industrial, drone, kosmische, and musique concrète, Sanati utilizes a range of technical approaches, including experiments with electronic processing and acoustic sources, side by side and together. Choral harmonies, flute, and the santoor effortlessly weave together into the tapestry of sound. All these sources, overlapping layers, textures, and tempos somehow feel dense yet light at the same time. Death is change. And with its intrinsic beauty it trickles through the veins of this album, beckoning the listener to ponder the state of transition. Clear vinyl.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: FP 1087LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Originally released in 1968 For The Sake of The Song is a re-issue of Townes' well-known debut album. Produced by Jack Clement (Charley Pride, Chet Atkins, U2, etc.) and featuring original liner notes by Mickey Newbury, Townes Van Zandt went on to cement his status a cult icon among gifted song writers such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Emmylou Harris who eventually recorded their own covers of Townes' songs."

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: FP 80340LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double gatefold. "You Better Run is the first career-spanning collection by Junior Kimbrough, one of the most influential and original blues players in the past 50 years. Hailed by U2's Bono and Iggy Pop as a primal force in blues music, Junior never reached the mass audience that he deserved while alive, but his music endures, and continues to be discovered by music fans from all walks of life." "The music is dark and vibrant, the sex nasty, the nights late and messy, and women not to be trusted." --Arion Berger, Rolling Stone

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: FP 80808LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"A beautifully packaged edition of Junior Kimbrough's first album, recorded live in the converted church that replaced Kimbrough's original wooden shack juke joint. The lineup is Kimbrough on vocals and guitar, Garry Burnside on bass, and Kenny Malone on drums (it's a family business around this area, and you'll find Burnsides and Malones all over Fat Possum's releases). All Night Long is a big, scruffy racket of an electric blues album, and it's fantastic material, a mix of charging, biting rhythms, intense slow blues, hollerin', stompin' and moanin'. The lack of studio polish is a big plus here -- producer Robert Palmer was absolutely right to give this to us flubs and all -- and the energy is wonderful. A great electric blues portrait that's getting widespread attention at last -- and deserves it all." --AllMusic

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: FAVELA 065C-LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Jean-Luc Mocard met Jean Ronde in September of 2009, while working at the CASIO Palaiseau factory, near Paris. Before, they were both active musicians with a particular taste for synthesized music, touring extensively through European and Asian underground venues and clubs. Eventually, their furious passion for collecting '80s keyboards brought them together to become the fabulous duo, Vive Les Cônes. Presently based in Porto, Portugal, by a matter of pure chance, Vive Les Cônes is a CASIO explosion, the fuel of a dancing machine that never stops and cherry picks moments from dance and pop music culture along the way. Their live concerts are non-stop hit parades featuring their very own local cult classics, such as "Bonaparty" or "Brocoli-Rave", and medleys of pop-culture classics ranging from video-game soundtracks, to dance hits, to classical music. De France, their debut album, is the product of years of playing live, training and mastering the perfect CASIO technique. Every track in this album is played live using only pure unmodded Casio PT-380 and Yamaha PSR-37 keyboards, thrift store fx pedals, bringing to the recorded form the meticulously crafted tracks that set dancefloors on fire all throughout the world. The album is an eclectic journey through electronic and dance music on cheap keyboards, from traces of house music in "Maillon" and the instant hit "Je Ne Sais Pas", fumes of vaporwave in "Machine à Vapeur", and, of course, baguettes of French electro in "Brocoli-Rave", the track that usually and euphorically ends Vive Les Cônes's set. The Quietus has referred to the duo as a "weird John Shuttleworth take on house music", but them being French, a better comparison would be something like "Daft Punk lost all their gear on tour and had to play a gig using some old keyboards". But could they even do it? Maybe a "Pascal Comelade on molly live set for Boiler Room" could make them better Justice. It's not easy to compare them to anyone though, and probably there's no need to compare them to anything, as the best thing you can do is to give them a go and check them out for yourself. Cyan vinyl version. Includes printed inner sleeve.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: FAVELA 065Y-LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Yellow vinyl. Includes printed inner sleeve. Jean-Luc Mocard met Jean Ronde in September of 2009, while working at the CASIO Palaiseau factory, near Paris. Before, they were both active musicians with a particular taste for synthesized music, touring extensively through European and Asian underground venues and clubs. Eventually, their furious passion for collecting '80s keyboards brought them together to become the fabulous duo, Vive Les Cônes. Presently based in Porto, Portugal, by a matter of pure chance, Vive Les Cônes is a CASIO explosion, the fuel of a dancing machine that never stops and cherry picks moments from dance and pop music culture along the way. Their live concerts are non-stop hit parades featuring their very own local cult classics, such as "Bonaparty" or "Brocoli-Rave", and medleys of pop-culture classics ranging from video-game soundtracks, to dance hits, to classical music. De France, their debut album, is the product of years of playing live, training and mastering the perfect CASIO technique. Every track in this album is played live using only pure unmodded Casio PT-380 and Yamaha PSR-37 keyboards, thrift store fx pedals, bringing to the recorded form the meticulously crafted tracks that set dancefloors on fire all throughout the world. The album is an eclectic journey through electronic and dance music on cheap keyboards, from traces of house music in "Maillon" and the instant hit "Je Ne Sais Pas", fumes of vaporwave in "Machine à Vapeur", and, of course, baguettes of French electro in "Brocoli-Rave", the track that usually and euphorically ends Vive Les Cônes's set. The Quietus has referred to the duo as a "weird John Shuttleworth take on house music", but them being French, a better comparison would be something like "Daft Punk lost all their gear on tour and had to play a gig using some old keyboards". But could they even do it? Maybe a "Pascal Comelade on molly live set for Boiler Room" could make them better Justice. It's not easy to compare them to anyone though, and probably there's no need to compare them to anything, as the best thing you can do is to give them a go and check them out for yourself.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: FTR 337LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Limited 2023 restock. "The Chicago-based string genius Joshua Abrams first talked to us about the idea of this album a while back. It took a couple of years to get together, but in a way, it's cool that it's being released in 2018 -- the 50th anniversary of the recording of the first free bass solo LP, Barre Phillips' Journal Violone. Issued by Opus One in the U.S., Music Man in the UK (as Unaccompanied Barre), and Futura in France (as Basse Barre), Phillips' groundbreaking album was a gorgeous and gritty exploration of textures that are usually bound deep inside the creative flow of unit improvisation. Hearing these sonorities explored, at length, without extraneous gabble was revelatory, but not easy to replicate. I could only think of a dozen other LPs of the stuff that have been done in the intervening years (CDs don't count)*. But Abrams is undaunted by such shit. Anyone who has seen him play or listened to him on record knows he has an aggressively wide palette and a fearless drive to explore new regions of sound. The tones on Excavations 1 have a much gnarlier feel than many of the tones Joshua explores inside group dynamics. Almost more like some of the bassists associated with avant garde composition (Bertram Turetzky, Fernando Grillo, etc.), Abrams' work here is about pushing against accepted precepts of melody and rhythm, freeing the bass from its accepted role, and allowing it to scream for real." --Byron Coley, 2018 Edition of 500.* 1974, Alan Silva - Inner Song (Center of the World); 1974, Harry Miller - Children at Play (Ogun); 1975, Kent Carter - Beauvais Cathedral (Emanem); 1976, Henri Texier - Amir (Eurodisc); 1976 - Fernando Grillo - Fluvine (Cramps); 1977, Henry Texier - Varech (Eurodisc); 1978, Dave Holland - Emerald Tears (ECM); 1978, Brother Malachi Favors - Magoustos Natural & Spiritual (AECO); 1980, Roberto Miguel Miranda - The Creator's Musician (Nimbus West); 1985, Joëlle Léandre - ?Sincerely (Plainisphare); 1986, Miroslav Vitous - Emergence (ECM); 1988, Klaus Koch - Basse Partout (Creative Works).

 

PRICE: $18.50

CAT #: FTR 410LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited 2023 restock, gold vinyl! "Silk is the fantastic third LP by Maxine Funke, a New Zealand musician whose first recordings were with the legendary $100 Band (Funke, Alastair Galbraith, and Mike Dooley!), whose music was drifting experimental dust of a very high order. Maxine's first two solo albums, Lace (2008) and Felt (2012) (originally released as CDR on Galbraith's Next Best Way and a lathe on Epic Sweep, respectively), were reissued by Time-Lag to great acclaim in 2016, securing her place in the upper echelons of contemporary folk inventors. With the release of Silk, Ms. Funke manages to create an album that merges both of these style threads. Many of the tracks are cast in an intimate mood congruent with artists like Sibylle Baier, Barbara Manning, Myriam Gendron, Joanne Robertson, and other women who have pulled sweetly dark sounds from pockets of deep emotion, abetted largely by acoustic guitar. On a few other tracks, electronic instrumentals hearken back to her work with transceivers in the $100 Band days. The balance between these posts is delicately intoxicating. A readymade classic from start to finish, Silk travels a brilliant series of spaceways with grace and assurance. We should all be so lucky." --Byron Coley, 2018.

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: FTR 696LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Another fantastic slab by Virginia-based guitarist Jordan Perry, whose style fuses disparate threads from the American Primitive and avant-garde songbooks into a unique alloy. For this album Primitivism has largely been eclipsed by avant urges. Still, there is one track, 'Days Have Gone By Volume' where Jordan is joined by guitarist Ned Oldham for a piece evoking Fahey in more than its title. But that is the exception. Most of What Do You See Every Day? is filled with abstractions for acoustic guitar. His work has a genteel aura and pacing in which free melodies are played inside the context of graspable rhythmic structures. This simultaneously highlights their weirdness, and dials it back contextually by having the music emerge in a clearly delineated flow. The act of not-rushing things has the effect of softening the potentially sharp edges of the sound. Jordan also plays melodica on a track, 'For Three,' which shimmers with a liturgical edge reminiscent of plainsong. He is joined on another track, 'From Traces What Do You?,' by wordless vocalizing from two Virginia singers, Diane Cluck and Devon Sproule. Their voices (plus Jordan's own) add an ethereal otherness that is quite lovely. As is the avian field recording on 'Five Hours.' But the bulk of the music is guitar-centric and beautiful off-kilter. There are little flashes of jazziness that make me think of some of Duck Baker's work, but only for a moment. There are also bursts that seem to parallel some of the experimental work Mike Cooper has been doing for last couple of decades. But, as usual, Jordan Perry is walking a path all his own. And it is a beautiful way to wander." --Byron Coley, 2023

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: GLAMS 003EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

David J, of Bauhaus/Love & Rockers, pays tribute to his old friend Pat Fish (AKA The Jazz Butcher), who sadly passed away in October 2021. Featuring musical contributions from Dave Morgan (Weather Prophets/Jazz Butcher), Rolo McGinty (Woodentops), Max Eider (Jazz Butcher), Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus/Love & Rockets), Owen Jones (Jazz Butcher), Colin Henney (Jazz Butcher), and Raoul. The B side is "Vienna Song", a Jazz Butcher song, featuring Paul Wallfisch (Swans) on piano, Wolfgang Tschegg and Tony Green. Random color vinyl.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: GB 140CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Mesmerizing field recordings from Botswana. Producer/recordist/Grammy winner Ian Brennan ventured to an end-of-the-road location to document songs sung in Taa, a rich language on the verge of extinction. This captivating music is created by solo and layered voices, handclaps, found percussion and thumb piano. Shamanic, ghostly ballads from the farthest reaches of Southern Africa. Volume #11 of Glitterbeat's acclaimed Hidden Musics series. The Taa language in Botswana possesses 112 sounds, the most of any language in the world. In contrast, English has approximately 44 sounds, Italian 32. But there are only around 2,500 Taa speakers remaining and the language is "dying." The songs on this album are mostly mantras... prayers that repeat the same words or phrases over and over again. The song titles tell entire stories by themselves, and with the Taa language's heavy use of click consonants, the sounds carry the meaning as much as the words. The name of the Taa language itself translates to "human being," making its threat of extinction all the more poignant --the language living in the people, not on the page. The explanation of lyrics often took longer than the songs themselves -- difficult to translate, complex thoughts encapsulated in a single word."Botswana is diamond-drunk nation, hosting the biggest diamond mine on earth. But the Taa villages at the furthest reach of dead-end dirt roads are where the country expires and the people are left forgotten by unguarded borders. One village's name literally translates to "the very end." Wherever we reached, elderly shamans -- two who were blind -- gathered and played ghostly ballads. Yet, they told us that there were many other songs and those could not be played since performing them in the daytime would bring bad luck. One shaman's son said he hadn't heard the music performed since he was a child in the 1980s, over thirty years ago. Many were 'homemade-beer, drinking songs.' Another shaman's parents taught him to play the thumb piano as a way of remembering them after they were gone Botswana is so flat, at sunset you can see the earth's own shadow -- the horizon bending back on itself. We visited the highest point in the country, a hill that would barely register as one elsewhere. It is a land largely defined by absence. The towns resembled trailer-parks in America's southwest..." --Notes written by Ian Brennan

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: GUESS 207LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Originally released in 1971, the Fuchsia album is one of the best examples of British progressive and psychedelic folk-rock, full on inventive arrangements, and songwriting. Produced by David Hitchcock (Caravan, Mellow Candle). Here's a long overdue vinyl reissue. Fuchsia was formed by a group of Exeter University students. They were Tony Durant (previously of psych band Louise) on acoustic/electric guitars and vocals; Michael Day on bass and Michael Gregory on drums plus the three-piece classical ensemble of Vanessa Hall-Smith (violin, backing vocals); Janet Rogers (violin, backing vocals) and Madeleine Bland (cello, piano, harmonium, backing vocals). Signed to Pegasus Records (the "progressive" branch of B&C Records), Fuchsia recorded their self-titled album at Sound Techniques studio with producer David Hitchcock (Caravan, Mellow Candle, Genesis, Camel). The main inspiration for the album was Tony Durant's readings of Mervyn Peake's gothic novels such a Titus Groan and its fictional character Lady Fuchsia Groan. Like some of their contemporaries (Comus, Mellow Candle) Fuchsia only started gaining recognition in the following decades, thanks to fans of obscure psychedelic folk. Today, Tony Durant leads a new version of Fuchsia, still playing and recording. Newly remastered sound; original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve; Insert with liner notes and rare photos/memorabilia; repro of the rare promo insert. "Recommended to fans of bands like Spirogyra and String Driven Thing" --Aaron Milenski (Galactic Ramble)

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: GUESS 217LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

A must to anyone into '60s British beat and psychedelia, here's the complete recordings of pre-Yes band The Syn, featuring Chris Squire and Peter Banks. Including their sought-after mod-psych singles for Deram ("Grounded", "14 Hour Technicolour Dream", "Flowerman") plus a treasure trove of rare '60s recordings, including a five-minute rehearsal excerpt of stage favorite "The Gangster Opera", an earlier recording of "Flowerman", a pre-Deram acetate of the unissued-at-the-time "Merry-Go-Round", two tracks by pre-Syn band The Selfs, and more. Also including are a couple of 1974 bonus tracks from post-Syn project, Narsquijack. Led by singer Steve Nardelli, The Syn formed in 1966 initially as a mod/Tamla band. They soon embraced psychedelia and flower-power with some legendary theatrical shows during their Marquee Club residency. After a string of singles for the Deram label, the band slowly evolved into legendary prog band Yes. Hard cardboard sleeve with artwork by Sara Gossett; remastered sound; insert with detailed liner notes by David Wells with an introduction by Phil Collins (a huge fan during their Marquee days), plus rare photos/memorabilia. "This vinyl package concentrates on the original Syn, determined to make their mark as the Tamla/mod scene melted into the balmy, barmy days of flower power." --David Wells

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: GUESS 218LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Formed in 1966 around lead singer Richard Shirman, The Attack were the ultimate freakbeat/psychedelic band. Guerssen Records present a new, definitive edition of their famous Final Daze recordings, focusing on strictly 1967-1968 stuff with John Cann as main songwriter (plus a never-before-on-vinyl track from '69, taken from a rare acetate), unlike previous editions that included early and post-Attack unrelated recordings. The result is a killer UK psych sounding album featuring the impressive guitar of John Cann (Andromeda, Atomic Rooster) and it's the closer we can get to what the long rumored to exist Attack's Roman God Of War unreleased LP could have sounded like. Including the classic mod-psych anthem "Magic In The Air" (dropped by their record label Decca for "being too heavy"), their unreleased monster hard-psych 45 Feel Like Flying/Freedom For You, the killer title track, the pre-Andromeda demos of "Too Old" and "Go Your Way", and more! Includes insert with liner notes by Jon "Mojo" Mills (Shindig!) and rare photos. "Inhabiting a region of the sonic solar system somewhere between the Creation and the Small Faces, the Attack languished in comparative obscurity back in their day, only to be recognized decades later as one of the most exciting bands of the era." --Mike Stax (Ugly Things)

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: GUESS 220LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Prog-psych/acid-folk lost classic from 1969 by this short-lived London trio. Now lovingly reissued on vinyl with fantastic remastered sound and including insert with rare photos/memorabilia and detailed liner notes by Steve Krakow, aka Plastic Crimewave. Named after a Cannonball Adderley track, Synanthesia formed thanks to a Melody Maker ad placed in 1968 by guitarist/vibes/vocalist Dennis Homes, answered by Jim Fraser (who played sax, oboe, and flute) and Leslie Cook (an Incredible String Band fan on bongos, violin and mandolin). With their particular blend of folk, jazz, and psychedelia, the trio played all the key underground venues and clubs, sometimes alongside top acts like Floyd, King Crimson, or Fairport Convention. Their sole album was recorded at Sounds Technique studio in Chelsea (which was where Pink Floyd were recording their albums at the time) and subsequently released by RCA. The cover featured the trio climbed onto a tree at the same park where the Beatles filmed their "Strawberry Field" promo film. Despite the good reviews and the support of DJs like John Peel, the album was considered too far out and psychedelic and eventually flopped, only to be re-discovered several decades later by acid-folk fans and collectors. Original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve + OBI; insert with liner notes by Plastic Crimewave and rare photos/memorabilia. RIYL: Incredible String Band, Syd Barrett, Comus, Heron, King Crimson, Subway... "A cool and unique album whose cover accurately promises strange fruits of the earth" --Aaron Milenski (Galactic Ramble)

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: GUESS 226LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue. A classic in the collecting circuit since ages, the sole release by UK group Elias Hulk was out in 1970 on the Youngblood label. Raw hard-rock, adding some Eastern and blues-rock elements as well. Previously available on Guerssen Records' Sommor sub-label and out-of-print, Guerssen Records present a new edition. Original artwork in hard cardboard laminated sleeve + OBI; insert with photos and extensive liners by Andy Morten; repro of the original poster.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: GUESS 230LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

One of the holy grails of heavy psychedelia, originally released in 1969 by this Canadian band. Basement garage-psych meets heavy rock. Echoing vocals, crashing drums, ultra-raw distorted guitar. Bent Wind formed in Toronto in 1969. Discovered by producer Merv Buchanan while they played at a 12-hourPop Festival in York, he signed them to his Trend label. A single was soon released, followed by the Sussex album in 1969. Titled after the street where the band had a rehearsal space in a building where local hippies and freaks hang out, Sussex was released housed in a cover designed by guitar player Gerry Ribas. According to band member Marty Roth, no more than 200 copies were pressed, making one the most sought-after psych albums ever. Original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve; remastered sound; insert with liner notes by Klemen Breznikar (It's Psychedelic Baby) and photos. "For intense guitar action I never tire of LPs like Bent Wind" --Paul Major. "One of the last gasps of garage-psychedelia" --Richie Unterberger (All Music Guide). "Monstrous heavy psych from Toronto. Great plodding songs and recorded-in-a-barn ambience" --Wayne Rogers (Twisted Village).

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: GUESS 231LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Orang-Utan were in fact a London based band called Hunter, featuring vocalist Terry "Nobby" Clarke (of psych-pop legends Jason Crest), guitar player Mick Clarke, drummer and songwriter Jeff Seopardi, and bass player Paul Roberts. They recorded their sole album in 1971 at DeLane Lea studios. In a bizarre twist of events, their producers/managers ran with the tapes to the US, where they placed the album on Bell Records under a new band name: Orang-Utan, without telling any of the band members. A lost classic of blazing, early hard rock with minor psychedelic hangover vibes, a twin-guitar attack, and waves of fuzz/wah, along with powerful vocals. Think Leaf Hound, Budgie, Bang, Sir Lord Baltimore, Hard Stuff... Legit reissue done in co-operation with the original band members. Insert with liner notes telling the bizarre story of the band for the first time, and rare photos; hard cardboard sleeve + OBI; includes download card. "Quintessentially British hard-rock, transforming the blues in a way American bands rarely did, and with a kind of vocal intensity that compares to Free, Humble Pie, et al" --Aaron Milenski (Galactic Ramble).

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: HOS 810CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

In times of rain and sleet all the windows open, Star presents a relaxed uncertainty. The cargo seatbelt material flapping furiously. Every intercom systems in the cabin feedbacking at once in tandem and synchronized disc after disc blown like snow through the interior of an airplane. Slowly accumulating fluff. Clearly a photographic memory. Below, in the Lincoln Tunnel, horns are quiet. Allergic to chocolate this plane will not stop. Matter-of-fact noise presented in an epic double-CD digipack. Includes download code.

 

PRICE: $21.50

CAT #: HH 136LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Hush Hush Records present the debut album No Such Thing As Free Will by Los Angeles-based guitarist and composer Deniz Cuylan. "Deniz Cuylan seems to invent new languages for the guitar: nylon-strung takes on Reichian minimalism, fluttering arpeggios that recall Vini Reilly's spidery flamenco and atmospheric pieces pitched between Glenn Branca and Bert Jansch." --The Guardian "It's certainly an album that will soundtrack those moments when you sit and gaze at the world for a stretch, whether it is from behind a screen or in a park. An understated work, yes, but a miniature marvel." --A Closer Listen "A bright, studious, harmonic, pastoral gem. No Such Thing As Free Will is a much prettier and more enveloping record than words can convey; it has a really nice poise between the disciplines of the leftfield, the guitar soli and that of bright folk melody." --Backseat Mafia

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: HH 144LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. Hush Hush Records present a bold new exploration within their cinematic, atmospheric, and genre-free sonic universe with Open, a collaborative album between veteran Finnish musicians Tapani Rinne and Juha Mäki-Patola. An organic melding of each musician's distinctive style that yields their own unique shared language, Open reveals a cohesive meditative thread through ambient, jazz, and neo-classical music, paving the way for a refreshingly cool and sophisticated Nordic sound. Tapani and Juha were strangers prior to connecting online in February, yet they've both been active players within the Finnish music community for decades. Tapani's illustrious career as a saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer has been an evolving path of collaborative works, solo releases, and an array of commissioned work dating back to the mid-1980s. He was featured prominently on legendary Finnish jazz drummer/composer Edward Vesala's critically acclaimed 1987 album Lumi for ECM Records, and the following year he co-founded RinneRadio, a pioneering Finnish outfit that forged a thrilling experimental intersection between jazz and techno. Open was written quickly during a three-month creative burst in early 2021. Working remotely from their respective home studios in Helsinki, the two artists eagerly traded ideas back-and-forth to find a warm, immersive, and transportive shared sonic vision. Tapani's rich saxophone and clarinet melodies blend seamlessly into Juha's complementary guitar, piano, organ, and synthesizer compositions. Sometimes Tapani's contributions joyfully dance around in the foreground, elsewhere they provide a deep, subtle, cavernous accompaniment to Juha's lush arrangements. Opening track "Brevity" introduces their combined palette in welcoming fashion, Tapani's dueling melodies interweaving gently within Juha's twinkling minimal foundation before swelling alongside additional layers of piano. Lead single "Open Pt. 1" provides the album's most upfront and immediate moment, Tapani's exploratory saxophone melodies dominating the spotlight to glide atop a meditative piano motif. Penultimate track "Fall" serves as another early single off the album, its undulating pulse finding beauty in its restraint and spotlighting the duo's atmospheric strengths. "Hover" eases the listener towards a gracious finale, Tapani and Juha having a playful dialogue with rich organ chords laying the groundwork for Tapani's whimsical saxophone. Stylistically reminiscent of Floating Points and Pharaoh Sanders's instant 2021 classic Promises, Open distinguishes itself with an expansive and contemplative aesthetic informed by Finland's icy climate and long winters, as well as the atmospheric nature of the Nordic experimental jazz scene.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: BEC 5543356

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Reissue of Shaolin Soul Episode 1, originally released in 1998. One of three LP reissues celebrating the 20th anniversary of Shaolin Soul Episode 1. Legendary deep soul French compilations featuring many soul classics, sometimes forgotten, which have been sampled countless times by some of the biggest hip-hop acts. Available for the first time on vinyl + CD. Original packaging strictly reproduced. Cut from original masters. Double-LP comes in a gatefold sleeve; Includes CD.Episode 1 features Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright, The Charmels, David Porter, Willie Mitchell, Al Green, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, The Emotions, Bob James, Syl Johnson, Donny Hathaway, Wendy Rene, Lyn Collins, The Dramatics, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Booker T. And The MGs, and Barry White.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: BEC 5543358

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Reissue of Shaolin Soul Episode 2, originally released in 2014. One of three LP reissues celebrating the 20th anniversary of 1998's Shaolin Soul Episode 1 (BEC 5543356). Legendary deep soul French compilations featuring many soul classics, sometimes forgotten, which have been sampled countless times by some of the biggest hip-hop acts. Available for the first time on vinyl + CD. Original packaging strictly reproduced. Cut from original masters. Double-LP comes in a gatefold sleeve; Includes CD.Episode 3 features The Jimmy Castor Bunch, Ann Peebles, The Dells, The Dramatics, Sydney Joe Qualls, Jackie Moore, The Supremes, Judy Clay, Barbara & The Browns, Willie Mitchell, Joe Tex, The Sweet Inspirations, Bobby Bland, B.B. King, Rufus Thomas, Freddie Waters, David Porter, Dionne Warwick, Ann Sexton, The Rimshots, and The Persuasions.

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: JL 056EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Not much needs to be written here, one of reggae's all-time anthems, one of the baddest tunes of the '80s. Finally back out on a crisp booming 45, rock to the sounds of Jah Life, internationally."

 

PRICE: $9.00

CAT #: JL 057EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Not much needs to be written here, one of reggae's all-time anthems, one of the baddest tunes of the '80s. Finally back out on a crisp booming 45, rock to the sounds of Jah Life, internationally."

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: JR 7010EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

A?timeless?classic?back?into?the?fire... "Women?no?want?bangarang."

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: JR 7011EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

One?of?the Don's?killer?tunes... Still?stands?strong?with?great king?tubby?version on?the?flipside.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: JR 7012EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Eric?Donaldson?winner?of?the Jamaican Festival song competition?no?less?than five?times. This?track won?it in?1971 covered?by?UB40 and?the?Rolling?Stones, but?never?bettered...

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: JMAN 134LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. 180 gram vinyl; tip-on sleeve with insert; includes download with four bonus tracks. LP version comes on 180 gram vinyl; tip-on sleeve with insert; includes download with four bonus tracks. Reissue, privately pressed in 1977. "Following my recent phone call with Prof. Benson, I left him to continue his 92nd birthday celebrations with his family. We'd talked about his life, his music, his achievements. Throughout our conversation it struck me what a kind, humble and pleasant man he was. I felt that I was in the presence of greatness -- not the egotistical greatness that emanates so often from high achievers, but that of someone who had simply won at life. 'I was a music teacher. I wasn't trying to make a record to compete, I was trying to make a record so the students would have something to remember the experience that we had... I was doing it for the kids.' It was 1973 that Prof. James Benson had self-funded his private press LP for the benefit of the teenage musicians he tutored at Cal Poly, California. The album was a momentous achievement for him and his young protegees, something they were all proud of, and rightly so. Taking inspiration from their recent trip to Africa and blended with the radical jazz associated with the young minds of early '70s black America, the Gow-Dow Experience is a unique foray into the enthusiastic mindset of up-and-coming jazz musicians, as encouraged by their mentor Prof. Benson . . . Comes with four additional tracks taken from the recording session. Until now these tracks have never been heard since the day they were recorded -- believe me, they're worth the wait!" Insert with liner notes and photos provided courtesy of Prof Benson.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: JMAN 135LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. 180 gram vinyl; includes insert with liner notes and download code. Reissue, originally released in 1967. In a 1990 interview, producer James Bronson described his Touché label as a "floating record label", comparing it to the "floating gambling houses" that Black people in his city had operated to try and avoid attention from the law. The label itself was a private enterprise, run from home, and had scant budget for promotion nor expansion. His slogan "Record companies don't make music, musicians do" spoke volumes as to his respect for the artist. Nevertheless, the Al Tanner LP Happiness Is... Takin' Care of Natural Business... Dig? was the first of just three albums the label was to release over the following 20 years. For an ambitious musician with ideas of fame and fortune, the situation may have appeared far from acceptable, but pianist Al Tanner didn't have such aspirations. He may have recorded an album for Bronson, but his ambition of living his life as a working musician was fulfilled -- he was a professional until the day he died -- and that of being a recording star wasn't a part of it. He was much more inclined to be a gigging jazzman, and was well-known as such in and around the local Bay Area nightspots. He was also heavily involved in musical education, and could be found performing at countless local community events, schools and recreation centers. He rarely travelled outside of the area. With Bronson's limited resources and Tanner's reluctance to put himself through the mill of touring, it was perhaps inevitable that the album would garner little attention nationally, or even within the wider California region. As noted in a 1967 review of Happiness Is... published in Downbeat Magazine, "Apparently, he [Tanner] is accorded a considerable amount of respect in San Francisco, though he has no national reputation. This isn't unusual. Many gifted jazzmen stay on their home base for years, playing well but attracting little attention, while other, sometimes less talented musicians gravitate to New York and make names for themselves." Nevertheless, reasons notwithstanding for a lack of commercial success, Tanner found happiness in the music that he made throughout his career. "I would say it's a spiritual thing. I find a lot of love for the piano, and a love for music. And I try and express myself on the piano as I love it. Jazz is a spirit to me, there's a spiritual side of jazz and there's a side of jazz where you playing a whole lot of notes and you're trying to get so many notes in one bar..." Includes extensive liner notes.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: JIAOLONG 024LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress; double LP version. Daphni aka Caribou aka Dan Snaith announces a new album, Cherry, his first album since 2017. Cherry will be released via Snaith's own Jiaolong label. Whether in the studio or the club, Daphni has always been a pursuit where Dan Snaith lets the music find its own path. With Cherry this is more evident than ever, this sense of the tracks as objects with life and desires outside of Snaith's control has now become a driving force in their creation. "There isn't anything obvious that unifies it or makes it hang together," Snaith says. "I think it was good that it was made without worrying about any of that. I just made it." Recorded over a prolonged period, Snaith let the music go where it wanted to go. It wasn't until he put everything he'd been tinkering with together that he realized what he had. "It's weird that when the tracks were put in what felt like the right order it took on a new coherence," he says, "where it pings quickly from one idea to the next and, at least for me, hangs together in way that feels unified. Maybe because it's hard to avoid the musical fingerprints I leave on the music I make, whether I want to or not." The component parts have this same sense of independence, the essence of Daphni always present over music that is more free-wheeling than it's ever been, almost escaping Snaith's grasp as it tumbles and spirals. "As is often the case when you're working quickly and intuitively, new pieces of equipment played a part" he says. New gear and ways of working meant Snaith was able to sit at the center of the music but let things get away from him a bit more as equipment began to make its own decisions before reeling it back in to suit his purposes, or as he puts it "getting the snake to eat its own tail".

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: FREUD 057CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Debuting with their 1977 tour with The Clash, The Slits were known for their uncompromising attitude and aggressive and confrontational music in a time when most bands were male. To this day they are cited as being hugely inspiring to many female artists. But their seminal Island Records 1979 debut album Cut, with its infamous sleeve featuring the band members naked and caked in mud, does not capture the true energy and spontaneity as well as these live recordings do. The album spans from an early, chaotic punk-era show which includes their classics such as 'Shoplifting', 'New Town' and 'Love & Romance', shows how they evolved into their dubby, reggae-influenced style with songs such as 'Typical Girls', and finishes with a track from their last ever performance in 1981."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: FREUD 096CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Metallic KO is the remarkable album of Iggy & The Stooges confrontational 'last ever gig' (until their reunion almost 30 years later). Effectively the fourth Stooges album with then brand new and unheard songs, it was released in 1976 three years after Raw Power while Iggy was in limbo. Soon after the gig Iggy checked into a mental hospital. The sound of kamikaze Iggy provocatively abusing his audience and then dodging eggs and bottles thrown by a biker gang enhanced Iggy's reputation in the embryonic punk scene as the punk godfather. Nothing like it had been heard before. It became a must-have album and far out-sold the first three Stooges albums, with sales of over 100,000. It is now reissued with the original LP tracklist -- previously it had been extended to a double-CD with the complete 1973 and 1974 shows it is taken from. In the 2007 re-mastering, an original tape-speed error was discovered and corrected -- so now for the first time the album can be heard at the correct pitch. The booklet contains Iggy Pop's story of the events surrounding the gigs as well as contemporaneous reports from Nick Kent, Giovanni Dadomo and Lester Bangs. An essential album for any Iggy fan. Nick Kent said: 'I'm convinced that side two is a masterpiece,' and Lester Bangs said: 'It's the only rock album I know where you can actually hear hurled beer bottles breaking against guitar strings.'"

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: KALITA 12023EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Kalita Records announce the first ever re-release of Los Angeles-based outfit Addmoro's three sought-after recordings from their privately released invisible 1985 boogie grail "Keep On Tryin'". With original copies of the album out of reach for all but a select few since its initial release over thirty-five years ago, this is a much overdue retrospective of the group's musical output. Originally privately released on the group's eponymous label Addmoro Records, Kalita's 12" reissue single features both the vocal and instrumental versions of "Keep On Tryin'", plus the saxophone-featuring boogie monster "Rock & Roll Skate (Sax Version)", arguably one of the heaviest boogie recordings of the genre. With original copies of Addmoro's album selling for over £600 on the rare occasion that they come up for sale, Kalita now deliver a loud and remastered 12" single for all.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: KM 8500606LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. 180 gram vinyl. "Timothy Leary!" -- That was "Sternenmädchen" Gille Lettmann's almost breathed closing words on the 1974 album Gilles Zeitschiff, Vol. 1 (KM 180122CD/KM 180126LP). That same year, the Cosmic Crew Gille, Dieter Dierks, Jürgen Dollase, Harald Großkopf, and Mythos recorded Vol. 2, but it never came to a release at that time -- let's say: due to circumstances. Until now. Almost 50 years after its recording, Zeitschiff 2 can finally take off. Gilles conjures up Leary's spirit here as well, comets and stars whizz through space on fluorescent ray trails -- the Cosmic Couriers live up to their name. But unlike Vol. 1, everything here is of one piece. The careful remastering ensures compact sound, and where the "Queen of Sunshine" still outshone everything else on the first disc, a tidying hand ensures clarity in Zeitschiff 2. This hand belongs to the Italian pianist and conductor Roberto Cacciapaglia. The Quadro album Sonanze, produced by Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser, was his ticket into the magic circle of cosmic magicians. Even if it wasn't called that at the time, Sonanze was an early approach to a genre we now call "ambient." One can guess what potential Rolf heard in Roberto's music. Dieter and Rolf knew how to integrate Roberto's expertise. Zeitschiff 2 has become a fluently composed, effectively arranged work that radiates warmth and cosmic calm without lacking tension. A work that brings back to life the spirit of space rock of the early seventies and shows us today on which tracks the Cosmic Couriers already walked back then. Gilles Zeitschiff 2 is more than just a sequel. And also, more than a premiere: it is a discovery. Carefully transferred and remastered from the original analog master tapes by HaGü Schmitz at Dierks Studios in Pulheim-Stommeln in 2022.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: MUS 249LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Barrera follows up the Nuevo Sonido Balear path started by Orden Mundial, Pou and Pena Máxima with a debut release filled to the rim with lust, sex, power, and distortion. Their songs are slow and acidic, with a tortured tone that would make Gloom or Brainbombs cry. The seven songs on Visiones Nocturnas are themed around the death of romantic love and are not afraid to look at the darkest side of life with a nihilistic conviction. Musically the record follows the path laid by Stickmen With Rayguns or Flipper but are firmly rooted in Spanish punk with Desechables as a clear point of reference, both aesthetically and sonically. Although Barrera occupy their own space with a sound that is clearly their own nightmare. Recorded and mixed by Chano Morales at Impala Uno Studio, Mallorca. Mastered by Shigenori Kobayashi at Noise Room, Tokyo. Artwork by Barrera.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: MUS 253LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Hurtling out of Lesser Poland full of indignant rage and armed with defiant conviction come Lublin's OHYDA with a third LP that puts Kaczy?ski and his PiS cronies to shame. The legacy of Polish forefathers Dezerter lurks behind razor-sharp riffs and tightly-wound drums, but this record is no mere exercise in homage paying. Where other efforts may hide behind prescriptive cacophony, OHYDA leap out from the dark with a sound that is both cleaner and more considered while somehow remaining belligerently heavy and grotesque. Such is the catchiness that loiters beneath the swell of this tortured LP you might even pick up glimmers of TZN Xenna's 1985 7" Dzieci z Brudnej Ulicy. Right-wing populists and pro-lifers are amongst the victims who are dressed down with both fury and absurdity. There's also an entire tune that goes after Kaja Godek, which deserves a round of applause in itself. The band's best work to date." --Christopher Dodd (Bad Breeding). Pan Bóg Spe?ni Wszystkie Pragnienia Lewaków... I Dojdzie Do Katastrofy! was recorded at the local Culture Center (CK Lublin) by Dariusz Koci?ski and mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door Studios. Sleeve art by Dziki, mincing the head of Kaja Godek, a prolife/anti LGBTQ+ activist, with lettering help from guitarist Mike Champagne.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: LAPSUS 036LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Gacha Bakradze releases his third album on Lapsus entitled Pancakes, and while the name may appear conventional at first glance, it actually contains esoteric philosophical concepts. The Georgian producer perceives the making of pancakes -- a transformative and healing parental activity that he loves to partake in with his son -- as a metaphor for alteration, metamorphosis, and change. A reflection that also accentuates the importance of balance during each process of preparing a simple recipe, which in turn highlights key human attributes such as patience, attention to detail and willingness to adapt to shifting circumstances. On a sonic level, Gacha's new album embodies precisely that: the contextual reworking of his music, while maintaining the essence of his previous work. Pancakes provides the typically melancholic yet vibrant genetics already recognizable in his music, but also embraces new genres, including his unique and personal take on hyper-pop and trance. It is an album of contrasting elements, where bucolic interludes make way for heavier tracks that are more suited to a club environment, an aural universe that hybridizes IDM, electro, bass music and cutting-edge techno, and once again demonstrates that trying to pigeonhole Gacha Bakradze's sound is a somewhat fruitless task.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LTJC 002LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 restock; Le Très Jazz Club present a reissue of Masaru Imada Trio + 2's Green Caterpillar, originally released on Three Blind Mice in 1975. Fuzati (Klub Des Loosers), producer and die-hard crate digger, has teamed up with Modulor to launch the Le Très Jazz Club label, dedicated to jazz vinyl reissues. For the first two releases, Mine (LTJC 001LP) and Green Caterpillar, presented here, Le Très Jazz Club has chosen to celebrate Japan. Japanese jazz is sadly one of the best-kept secrets in music. But, it would be stupid to not discover Green Caterpillar by Masaru Imada Trio + 2. Led by Masaru Imada and his Fender Rhodes, the record opens with "A Green Caterpillar", an 11-minute piece whose groove is somewhat reminiscent of Marc Moulin and his Placebo band. "A Straight Flash" continues along this line, while on "Blue Impulse" and "Spanish Flower" sees Imada use the piano in a much more modal style.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: LTJC 005LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress. Le Très Jazz Club present a reissue of Elysian Spring's Glass Flowers, originally released in 1969. Glass Flowers, recorded in 1969, is an unclassifiable album, overtaking the jazz outlines. Can words really describe music? It may be hard when music is as fantastic as on this LP. Glass Flowers is an unclassifiable album, overtaking the jazz outlines, recorded by Rainer Bertrams (piano, vibes, flute), Bruce Krasin (saxophone, flute), Lenny Ezbicky (drums), and Jimmy Bridges (bass). Only 500 copies of the record were privately pressed at the time by a group of students which where fans of the band. Repressed for the first time on LP by Le Très Jazz Club, this fantastic album comes with an insert documenting the story of Elysian Spring and the recording of this true masterpiece.

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: LTJC 006LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 restock. Le Très Jazz Club present the first reissue of George Otsuka Quintet's Physical Structure, originally released in 1976. Reissued for the first time outside of Japan, Physical Structure by Japanese drummer George Otsuka is an amazing jazz-fusion album, featuring Fumio Karashima on the piano, electric piano, synth, and Fender Rhodes and Shozo Sasaki on tenor and soprano sax. Check the surprising and sublime cover of "Naima" which alone justifies getting this record. Also features Mitsuako Furuno (bass) and Norio Ohno (percussion). Recorded on February 11, 1976. Le Très Jazz Club keeps on exploring Japanese jazz and the Three Blind Mice catalog with this reissue.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: LTJC 012LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 restock. Le Tres Jazz Club present a reissue of Marion Brown's Le Temps Fou (Musique du film de Marcel Camus), originally released in 1969. Marion Brown, who moved to Europe two years earlier than 1969, and records, in the legendary Parisian studio Davout, the soundtrack of the movie by Marcel Camus entitled Le Temps Fou. The movie starred Nino Ferrer was out in 1970 under the title Un été sauvage. Fallen into oblivion, Le Temps Fou was printed in very few copies and is almost impossible to find in its original pressing. Personnel: Marion Brown - alto sax, bells; Gunter Hampel - vibes, bass clarinet, tree bells; Ambrose Jackson - trumpet cow bells, tambour; Barre Phillips - contra basse, castanetes, whistle; Steve McCall - drums, triangle, tambour; Alain Corneau - claves, cow bells.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: LAD 068EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Turkish-Italian multi-instrumentalist and rising music icon Carlita joins forces with German DJ and production duo Andhim to release their debut EP, Life.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LR 349LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. By the time this album was released, Antonio Carlos Jobim was already an international superstar. Having recently won a Grammy (1965) for "The Girl From Ipanema", by 1967 all the big name stars from up north were breaking down his door to work with the new "Gershwin of Brazil." In fact, Jobim had just finished working on an album with Frank Sinatra when he went into the studio to record this album. Recorded in 1967, Wave is actually one of the lesser known masterpieces of Brazilian music, and undoubtedly one of Jobim's greatest. Here Jobim and the great Claus Ogerman lead a top-flight cast on hidden classics like Batidinha, Triste and Wave.

 

PRICE: $26.50

CAT #: LMS 5521288

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. London Records present a reissue of Happy Mondays' Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches, originally released in 1990. Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches was Happy Mondays commercial peak, both a No. 4 victory (in the UK) and a benchmark album in history. That year the Mondays made a generation feel like the freaks were winning again, the dreamers and schemers hurtling in from the shadows to park themselves, like grin-faced goblins, in the daylight glare of the mainstream. Artwork lovingly replicated by original Manchester designers Central Station Design. Featured the singles "Step On", "Kinky Afro", and "Loose Fit". 180 gram vinyl; gatefold sleeve; printed inner-sleeve; includes download code.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LMS 5521940

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Celebrating 20 years since the release of Neon Nights. Neon Nights saw Dannii Minogue enter her imperial pop phase, with four consecutive UK Top Ten singles and UK Club Number ones. The album entered the UK Top 10 and reached Gold Sales. Dannii says: "When I embarked on a solo recording career and released my first album in 1990, music was only released on 7" and 12" vinyl. Fast forward through my album releases and throw in a bunch of technology changes; cassingles, cassette albums, CDs, Mini CDs and we are finally back to vinyl! Neon Nights never had a vinyl release -- it was the '90s, and the industry was entering the digital age, and no-one was looking back at this experience of music listening. Thankfully Gen Y has embraced the nostalgia of the record player, so you finally get to put the needle on it with these tracks (please turn the volume up loud enough to annoy your neighbors!)" "Begin to Spin Me Round" mashes Dannii's "I Begin To Wonder" with Dead or Alive's Number One hit "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". "Don't Wanna Lose This Groove" mashes Dannii's "Don't Wanna Lose This Feeling" with Madonna's "Into The Groove", her first formally approved sample usage. CD+DVD version comes in hardback case packaging with sewn in booklet; includes bonus track, music videos, and BBC performances; DVD is NTSC region 0.

 

PRICE: $41.00

CAT #: LMS 5521942

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Double-sided picture disc in PVC sleeve. Picture Disc version features the Official Bootleg Edition track listing, with two key mash-up versions following the trends of the day. Features new mash-up artwork by Argentinian graphic artist and collagist Molokid. Celebrating 20 years since the release of Neon Nights. Neon Nights saw Dannii Minogue enter her imperial pop phase, with four consecutive UK Top Ten singles and UK Club Number ones. The album entered the UK Top 10 and reached Gold Sales. Dannii says: "When I embarked on a solo recording career and released my first album in 1990, music was only released on 7" and 12" vinyl. Fast forward through my album releases and throw in a bunch of technology changes; cassingles, cassette albums, CDs, Mini CDs and we are finally back to vinyl! Neon Nights never had a vinyl release -- it was the '90s, and the industry was entering the digital age, and no-one was looking back at this experience of music listening. Thankfully Gen Y has embraced the nostalgia of the record player, so you finally get to put the needle on it with these tracks (please turn the volume up loud enough to annoy your neighbors!)" "Begin to Spin Me Round" mashes Dannii's "I Begin To Wonder" with Dead or Alive's Number One hit "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". "Don't Wanna Lose This Groove" mashes Dannii's "Don't Wanna Lose This Feeling" with Madonna's "Into The Groove", her first formally approved sample usage.

 

PRICE: $35.50

CAT #: MAR 066LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1979. French drummer and jazz musician/composer Daniel Bechet dedicated Songs To My Father to his father, the famous sax/clarinet player Sydney Bechet. The only LP from Sydney Bechet's son is a hidden treasure. The base is a solid fusion and jazz funk sound. Still, the mellow and soulful moment is wonderfully groovy with arrangements reminding George Duke's albums, or Cortex plenty of funky Fender Rhodes. 180 gram vinyl; hard cardboard cover + OBI.

 

PRICE: $35.50

CAT #: MAR 076LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1976. Spirale is one of the essential recordings of Eastern European modal jazz. The masterpiece recorded by Paul Weiner, a pianist from Timisoara, a city in Romania, has been transformed into a cult LP and not just because it is a source of samples. 180 gram vinyl; hard cardboard cover + OBI.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: MIND 760LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"She'd been a New Yorker since moving to the city in 1967, aged 21. She had a child that she gave up for adoption, met and started a relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe -- with whom she shared a room at the infamous Chelsea Hotel for some time -- and she discovered the work of French symbolist poet Arthur Rimbaud. She appeared in Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis's play Femme Fatale with Wayne County, and -- for one night only -- in Cowboy Mouth which she co-wrote with Sam Shepherd. She was considered for the role of lead vocalist in Blue Öyster Cult, but instead contributed lyrics to many of the band's songs, and she started a relationship with BOC keyboardist, Alan Lanier. She contributed articles to rock journals Rolling Stone and Creem. By 1974 she was performing rock music herself, initially with guitarist, bassist and rock archivist Lenny Kaye, and later with a full band comprising Kaye, Ivan Kral on guitar and bass, Jay Dee Daugherty on drums and Richard Sohl on piano. The group released the self-financed single 'Hey Joe'/'Piss Factory' the same year and in 1975 recorded their debut album Horses for the label to which they were by then signed, Arista; the album was released in December '75 to near unanimous high praise. Two months later, on February 15th 1976, the group played at the Boarding House in San Francisco -- a performance which was broadcast live on FM radio. This album captures this concert in its entirety and illustrates perfectly the strange power of this pioneering band and its dynamic, talented and foresighted lead singer and main songwriter. 1976 was also the year that the United States of America celebrated 200 years of independence from the British Empire, a celebration that culminated on July 4th -- the date in 1776 on which the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Whether or not this event had any impact or bearing on Patti Smith is not recorded."

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: MIND 838LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Kraftwerk live at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo, Japan on September 8th, 1981. FM broadcast.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MR 363LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. The third LP by Generation X's original line-up, recorded in 1979 and unreleased until 1998. An essential piece in the discography of one of the original UK punk bands. 180-gram LP. "In early 1979 Generation X went to the English countryside to write and 'routine' the band's third album. We felt we had a new sound, simple songs delivered with more space than most rock'n'roll, so we went into Olympic Studios in Barnes, London and began recording with the house engineer, Doug Bennett, as co-producer. Most of the songs were recorded before our tour of Japan in June '79. On our return Billy came into the studio with an outline of a song called 'Dancing With Myself'. We went to work on it and pretty much finished it quickly and we felt it was the song to lead the album, a single I guess. . . . Then I left the band at the end of the year and carried the fuckin' stack of 1/4'' master tapes around the world for many years. A year or so later they changed the band name to Gen X and re-recorded four or five songs for the album Kiss Me Deadly. Billy later released the re-recorded version of 'Dancing With Myself' for his solo career in America and the rest is history. . . . After years in storage my tapes were nearing the end of their life, so I digitized them in order to save this lost treasure. I named the album KMD Sweet Revenge. Some time later the album was released in Germany, Japan, Spain and supposedly the USA, however the release in America was quashed until Capitol Records put out their own version within a 3-CD anthology of the band, using some different mixes of the songs from cassette tapes. The recordings are almost complete minus a few guitar solos and final mixes. Time on Generation X had run out, but this album clearly shows the direction the band were heading and is worth documenting and certainly worth playing. For your pleasure . . . Sweet Revenge." --Bob "Derwood" Andrews

 

PRICE: $37.50

CAT #: MYE 101LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. La Voz de los '80 was the first album by Los Prisioneros, released by the indie record label Fusion in December 1984, and it came an instant hit. Time has proved that this is the most important album of Chilean rock. Written and produced mostly by their lead singer and bass player, Jorge Gonzalez, the album is a collection of Latin American rock classics, with anthems like "La Voz de los '80", "Sexo", "Latinoamerica es un pueblo al sur de Estados Unidos" and "Paramar" -- songs that have punk, pop and reggae as their main influences. La Voz de los '80 is a masterpiece of street rock, from a band from the suburbs, with the raw sound of a garage band and lyrics that were saying everything everybody wanted to say but couldn't because of censorship. Influenced by The Clash first album, musically simple but with lyrics full of teenage anger and deep social comments, La Voz de los '80 is the soundtrack of the dark days of Pinochet's dictatorship. A true classic. Band members: Jorge González - bass and lead singer (1982-2006); Claudio Narea - guitar (1982-1989/2001-2003); Miguel Tapia - drums (1982-2006).

 

PRICE: $36.00

CAT #: NR 126LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Praised by Jimmy Page as 'riveting,' Janaka Stucky's book length poem, Ascend Ascend, published by Jack White's Third Man Books in 2019, gets a mesmerizing treatment on this album by the same name, accompanied by experimental cellist Lori Goldston. Goldston, known for her work with a number of acts -- including Nirvana, Cat Power, and Earth -- provides otherworldly layers of distortion and natural reverb over Stucky's dirge-like vocal performance. Recorded at the All Pilgrims Church in Seattle while Stucky was on a 7-city tour produced by Atlas Obscura in 2019, the performance is served well by the room's ambiance and was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Mell Dettmer -- who has engineered albums for acts such as Earth, Sunn O))), Master Musicians of Bukkake, and Wolves in the Throne Room."

 

PRICE: $45.00

CAT #: NW 80638CD

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

2023 restock. "This three-disc set marks the first appearance on disc of the music of the African-American composer Julius Eastman (1940-1990), who died under unexplained circumstances and whose musical legacy was thought lost. This comprehensive and definitive document, which comprises almost all of Eastman's signature works, will undoubtedly be a revelation for those who have thus far been unable to hear his work. In his book American Music in the Twentieth Century, composer/author Kyle Gann briefly sums up Eastman's work and its importance: 'Born in New York, he graduated from the Curtis Institute in composition and was discovered by Lukas Foss, who conducted his music, including Stay On It (1973), one of the first works to introduce pop tonal progressions and free improvisation in an art context... Applying minimalism's additive process to the building of sections, he developed a composing technique he called 'organic music,' a cumulatively overlapping process in which each section of a work contains, simultaneously, all the sections which preceded it. The pieces he wrote in this style often had intentionally provocative titles intended to reinterpret the minorities Eastman belonged to in a positive light: for example, Evil Nigger, Crazy Nigger, and Gay Guerrilla (all circa 1980). These three pieces, all scored for multiple pianos, build up immense emotive power through the incessant repetition of rhythmic figures.' Eastman was an energizing underground figure, one whose forms are clear, whose methods were powerful and persuasive, and whose thinking was supremely musical. His works show different routes minimalism might have taken, and perhaps some of those will now be followed up. This set of discs is a bold beginning to restoring to history the works of one of the most important members of the first post-minimalist generation."

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: NA 5240LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 restock. "The lost albums in jamaican bass player, bandleader, songwriter, singer and producer Boris Gardiner's discography. First official issue of these impossibly rare albums contains extensive booklet, with Jeff Mao detailing Gardiner's career and the 70s Jamaican music industry. Unpublished photos and ephemera. 1970s Jamaica suffered an unprecedented stretch of political turmoil and violence, and as the country's economy and morale collapsed, reggae and its offshoots exploded worldwide. Boris Gardiner enjoyed great success leading bands, issuing albums that mixed reggae, ska, soul and funk, and collaborating with the likes of Lee (Scratch) Perry and Herman Chin-Loy in their legendary studios and playing on hundreds of records. So many that he lost count. Sometime around the issue of his Boris Gardiner Happening Is What's Happening album -- a loft classic, with David Mancuso favoring Gardiner's take of Booker T. and the MG's 'Melting Pot' at his legendary gathering -- and his soundtrack to Every N----r Is A Star, famously sampled by Kendrick Lamar and used as the introduction to the film Moonlight, two albums -- Ultra Super Dub Vols. 1 and 2 -- credited to The Boris Gardiner Happening -- two albums so obscure that for the longest time Boris wasn't even aware that they existed. Following classics such as King Tubby's Dub From the Roots and Augustus Pablo's King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown, Miami-based Alty East's Ultra Records took instrumentals Gardiner created for a run of 45s, and created and issued these compilations of dubbed out originals and JA renditions of songs by Otis Redding, Clarence Carter, Betty Wright, Jimmy 'Bo' Horne and Ultra label-mate Frankie Zhivago Young. Released in tiny runs in handmade, silkscreened, paste-on covers, they have become some of the most sought-after Jamaican albums. Now, issued under Boris' guidance, and with a detailed booklet by Jeff Mao, which delves into the deep scene which birthed these remarkable records, we can finally consider the last, unheard portion of this landmark musician's career."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: NA 6103LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 restock. Opaque red vinyl version. "Our comprehensive overview of Zambia's premier garage-, psych-, prog-, funk-,Afro-rock ensemble Witch, We Intend To Cause Havoc!, is now sold out in its 6LP box set form. So we are making the first four Witch albums available in archival reissue form. As with our box set, the audio is nigh-perfect -- restored and remastered from the original master tapes. The entirety of Witch's first album, restored and remastered from master tapes, and presented as an archival reissue. Witch's musical arc is contained to a five year span and, in retrospect, is a logical one. The band's first two, self-produced albums - released in unison with the birth of the commercial Zambian recording industry -- are exuberant experiments in garage rock, and are as influenced by the Rolling Stones as they are James Brown. Thus Introduction, their first, is the perfect starting point for anyone interested in delving into the Witch band, or Zamrock in general."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: NA 6104LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 restock. "Pressed on opaque green vinyl. 'Electrified by a diet of James Brown, the Stones and Deep Purple, Witch were the stadium-filling kings of 70s Zamrock.' --MOJO This landmark recording from Now-Again's comprehensive overview of Zambia's premier garage-, psych-, prog-, funk-, Afro-rock ensemble Witch, We Intend To Cause Havoc! is now available in a never before seen color variant. The audio is nigh-perfect -- restored and remastered from the original master tapes. Witch's musical arc is contained to a five-year span and, in retrospect, is a logical one. The band's first two, self-produced albums -- released in unison with the birth of the commercial Zambian recording industry -- are exuberant experiments in garage rock, and are as influenced by the Rolling Stones as they are James Brown. In The Past, their second album, is the perfect follow-up for anyone exposed to the Witch band through their landmark Introduction."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: NA 6105LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 restock. "Pressed on opaque orange vinyl. This landmark recording from Now-Again's comprehensive overview of Zambia's premier garage-, psych-, prog-, funk-, Afro-rock ensemble WITCH, We Intend To Cause Havoc! is now available in a never before seen color variant. The audio is nigh-perfect -- restored and remastered from the original master tapes. WITCH's musical arc is contained to a five-year span and, in retrospect, is a logical one. The band's third album, Lazy Bones!!, is the band's masterpiece -- a dark, brooding psychedelic opus that makes equal use of wah-wah and fuzz guitars, that relies as heavily on the stomping feel of hard rock as it does the syncopation of funk."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: OMM 660086LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. 180 gram vinyl; gatefold sleeve. Reissue, originally released in 1969. The band Amon Düül formed in 1967, with music being only one part of their artistic work. In 1969, the albums Paradieswärts Düül (OMM 560082CD/560086LP) and Psychedelic Underground were produced. Reviewers describe them as a "document from the birth of German rock." It was the first krautrock album ever. Even before CAN and XHOL Caravan. Before that, three musicians parted ways with the band and formed Amon Düül II. Amon Düül disbanded in 1971. The album was transferred in high resolution from the analog master tapes at Dierks Studios and carefully remastered.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: HUM 038CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Essentially Robert White -- erstwhile mainstay keyboardist/guitarist/songwriter for early 1990s noisenik Britpop-deniers, Levitation -- The Milk And Honey Band exist so that the world doesn't have to invent another band as contrarily/culturally dissimilar to any other band as contrarily/culturally dissimilar to them. The band's name was originally thought up as an antidote to the frailty and vapidity of a 1990s scene that White felt alienated from as well as handy way to disguise the fact it was a solo project. Correspondingly, the songs that The Milk And Honey Band conjure up, have more in keeping with the sublime, reflective nature of a novel like Cider With Rosie than they do with the self-congratulatory, back-slapping musical fare often associated with the indie scene. And, oh yes, the Milk and Honey Band are defiantly indie. In 2004 White signed to Andy Partridge of XTC's label and released The Secret Life Of The Milk And Honey Band, and four years after that, the band released their first masterpiece. Dog Eared Moonlight was the band's second appearance on Partridge's label and accorded the kind of critical attention that makes everyone sit up and notice. "Immaculately arranged acoustic-rock and power-pop numbers about love and break-up revealing an Elliott Smith-style gift for combining bitter sentiments with sweet harmonies" --Financial Times

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: OSR 045LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Out-Sider present the first vinyl reissue of Jungle Lady (1974) by Titus Oates. This is the first ever legitimate vinyl reissue of this progressive hard-rock private pressing from Texas, 1974. Excellent dual guitars, keyboards, melodic vocals, West Coast touches - think Allman Brothers, early ZZ Top, Wishbone Ash, Homer. Top notch pro-sounding recording and superb musicianship. Jungle Lady saw the light in two different pressings: the original white label Lips vinyl from 1974 is the first pressing, and the red Lips label is a remix done later in Nashville, possibly around 1975. This Out-sider reissue is taken from the remix version, as it was always believed to be "hotter" than the original pressing. One of the classics since the early days or rare psych records lists, championed by influential tastemakers such as Paul Major. "Personal fave with TX/West coast bar band mystique fulla spooky organ, hot guitar licks & warm vocals on the folk-rocky ballads. Has a seedy singles bar pick-up music undercurrent I dig & fantastic gatefold cover art" -- Paul Major. Master tape sound. Includes insert with detailed liner notes and photos.

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: OSR 053LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restoclk. Out-Sider present the first vinyl reissue of Jeffery Liberman's self-titled album, originally released in 1975. Chicago born Jeff Liberman was a guitar player in the best tradition of '70s guitar Gods like Hendrix, Trower, Clapton or Zappa. His music is the perfect mix between virtuosity and feeling, with a gift for brilliant songwriting. Between 1975 and 1978, Liberman self-released three albums on his own Librah label which were some of the first private pressings to gain recognition amongst psych collectors in the '80s. His self-titled first album was released in 1975 and recorded at PSR Studios in Chicago. It is full of heavy psych guitar with plenty of fuzz-wah, phasing, effects, mystical/moody vocals, acid-blues, and mellow folkie tracks with west coast vibes and even some crazy synth/electronic/experimental excursions. Featuring the 8+ minutes psych opus "Phenaphen No. 3" and more. RIYL: Bob Smith, D.R. Hooker, Terry Brooks, Bevis Frond, Robin Trower, Cream, Bob Desper. Remastered sound; Includes an insert with liner notes by Klemen Breznikar (It's Psychedelic Baby); Includes a digital download.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: OSR 097LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Local Philly legends the American Dream was a late '60s band (featuring musician/actor Nick Jameson, later of Foghat) who were regulars at clubs like the Electric Circus and offered a cool mix of psych, hard rock, and proto-power pop. They were signed to Ampex/Bearsville Records, releasing their only album in 1970, produced by Todd Rundgren (his first production work). Now, for the first time on vinyl and straight from the original masters, Guerssen present their previously unreleased studio demos from 1969 -- also produced by Todd Rundgren -- that landed the band their deal with Ampex. Music is great psych-rock with superb vocal harmonies and hard guitars. Also included are two rare tracks from their unfinished 1970 second LP plus the killer garage-jangle classic "Big Brother", originally recorded by pre-American Dream band, The Finestuff, in 1967, as a bonus. RIYL: The Nazz, Who, Badfinger, Moby Grape, Byrds, Big Star, Beatles, CSNY. Hard cardboard sleeve; insert with liner notes and photos/memorabilia; download card.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: PRTL 12009EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Classic roots/dub from 1992 produced by Nick "Manasseh" and Jeremy "The Equalizer" Armstrong, with vocals from reggae legend Earl Sixteen known for his work with the likes of Lee Perry, Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread, and Leftfield. Originally released on the Riz label, "Natural Roots" gained popularity in sound system circles, with play from the likes of Jah Shaka. The original 12" cause distress on the collectors' market. Features one previously unreleased mix: "Natural Dub".

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: PRTL 7078EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Classic roots/dub track with vocals from reggae legend Earl Sixteen known for his work with the likes of Lee Perry, Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread, Leftfield, and Dreadzone. Earl first recorded "Zion City" with Dreadzone in 1995 which was known as "Zion Youth". The cuts on this 7" were mixed by Manasseh in 1997, with strong support coming from the late great Jah Shaka. Previously unreleased dubplate vocal cut backed with dub-wise excursion.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: PRTL 7079EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Classic roots reggae vocal track from the late Devon Russell. The original version was recorded by Coxsone Dodd for his Studio One label. This updated digital version was produced by Zion Train and released in 1992. A long-time sound system favorite with a dub version from Zion Train on the flipside.

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: PL 005EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. First official authorized reissue of Complication/Oh-How To Do Now by legendary avant-garde rockers Monks, originally released by International Polydor Production in 1966. Original artwork. Original master sound.

 

PRICE: $36.50

CAT #: POTFLP 003LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Curacao color vinyl. Poets of the Fall to release debut album Signs of Life on vinyl -- Indulge in a truly unforgettable musical journey. Get ready to experience the legendary debut album that rocked the music world and set the bar high for a new generation of artists. Signs of Life is the first album from Poets of the Fall, the critically acclaimed band that pushed boundaries and redefined the indie music scene. Now, for the first time ever, you can own this iconic album on stunning turquoise vinyl, adding a whole new dimension to your listening experience. With its haunting melodies, innovative soundscapes, and soulful lyrics, "Signs of Life" is a timeless masterpiece that will continue to inspire and captivate music lovers for generations to come. Don't miss out on owning this must-have vinyl.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: SPGRM 004LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 repress! Following her critically acclaimed album The Sacrificial Code (IDEAL 192CD/LP), Swedish-American composer Kali Malone returns with Living Torch on Portraits GRM. Living Torch, through its unique structural form and harmonic material, is a bold continuation of Kali Malone's demanding and exciting body of work, while opening new perspectives and increasing the emotional potential of the music tenfold. As such, Living Torch is a major new piece by the composer and adds a significant milestone to an already fascinating repertoire. Departing from the pipe organ that Malone's music is most notable for, Living Torch features a complex electroacoustic ensemble. Leafing through recordings from conventional instruments like the trombone and bass clarinet to more experimental machines like the boîte à bourdon, passing through sinewave generators and Éliane Radigue's ARP 2500 synthesizer. Living Torch weaves its own history, its own genealogy, and that of its author. It extends her robust structural approach to a liberated palette of timbre. Living Torch was initially commissioned by GRM for its legendary loudspeaker orchestra, the Acousmonium, and premiered in its complete multichannel form at the Grand Auditorium of Radio France in a concert entirely dedicated to the artist. Composed at GRM studios in Paris between 2020-2021, Living Torch is a work of great intensity, an oeuvre-monde that is singularly placed at the crossroads of instrumental writing and electroacoustic composition. Living Torch proceeds from multiple lineages, including early modern music, American minimalism, and musique concrète. It's a work as much turned towards exploring justly tuned harmony and canonic structures as towards the polyphony of unique timbres, the scaling of dynamic range, and the revelation of sound qualities. GRM (Groupe de Recherches Musicales), the pioneering institution of electroacoustic, acousmatic, and musique concrète, has been a unique laboratory for sonorous research since 1958. Witnessing the extreme vitality of the music championed by GRM, the Portraits GRM record series extends and expands this momentum with Kali Malone's Living Torch. The French label-partner Shelter Press is proud to continue the collaboration with GRM, which Peter Rehberg of Editions MEGO set the foundation for in 2012. Composed and produced by Kali Malone at INA GRM 2020-2021. Trombone and bass clarinet recorded at EMS Elektronmusikstudion 2020. Pre-mastered by Emmanuel Richier at INA GRM. Mastered by Stephan Mathieu at Schwebung Mastering. Cut by Andreas Kauffelt at Schnittstelle, Berlin. Personnel: Mats Äleklint - trombone; Isak Hedtjärn - bass clarinet; Kali Malone - ARP 2500, Modular Synthesis, Pura Data, Boîte à Bourdons.

 

PRICE: $30.00

CAT #: PRO 144CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Stephen Hill, Hearts of Space Radio: "Abandoning all conventional notions of music as melody, harmony and rhythm, Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces allows the listener blissful hours on the high frontier between deep listening music and the spirituality of pure sound. On the 20th anniversary of Roach's breathtaking album, Projekt collects all four parts into a single release -- close to five hours of electronic ambient music. Moving into the majestic realm of pure, non-rhythmic electro-acoustic soundworlds, these four discs are a milestone from a true artist of sound. His landmark statements -- including Dreamtime Return, Magnificent Void and Structures from Silence -- are all parts of the uninterrupted flow which built to this 2003 release. Roach's awe-inspiring sonic immersion delves into a spiritual dimension of sound. This release offers a listening experience creating a new sense of 'ambient orchestration' through a constantly shifting flow of textures that enter a sacred realm of music." Steve Davis, Neptune Currents, KKUP-FM: "Steve Roach has created an ambient masterpiece: a varied collection of totally absorbing, immersive soundworlds, clearly a milestone in electronic music." John Diliberto, Echoes: "It floats in a space of richly detailed but minutely shifting sound constructs that owe more to Gyorgy Ligeti and Mark Rothko than early Roach touchstones like Klaus Schulze and Salvador Dali. Roach is creating a free fall through space, less rooted in the pulsing techno-tribal sound of his 1990s music and more ecstatic in its evocations of something beyond. He carries you to groaning turgid depths then lifts you as electric guitar glides and synthesizers gurgle, shudder, and swell in an Aurora Borealis of sound." 4CD eco-wallet; limited edition of 1000; Originally released in 2003; 20th anniversary rerelease.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: PP 082EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Big Beat 2023! How does it sound? Bigger and better than ever! The prophet Eden Burns does not stop to share his beats with all you out there. Help him spread the message, the dancefloors of the world will thank you for it. Beat moves feet, feet do dance, dance is joy, joy is life!

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: QUINTESSE 087EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Hailing from the south of Italy, Nico Lahs is a man of many tasks. Besides running the great Cosmic Rhythm label, Nico has more than a decade of quality house music releases on labels like Moods & Grooves, Local Talk, Omena, Delusions of Grandeur, or Josh Wink's Ovum under his belt. Easy Loving You shows his diverse skills: proper club trax ("Keep On Groovin'"), freaky yet groovy stuff (well... "Freakin'"), emotional deep house ("Come Get Me"), and raw and deep tunes ("Easy Loving You"), Nico Lahs can do it all!

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 204LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1980. Launched in London in December 1976, punk stalwarts 999 are one of the most successful and long-lasting acts of the upstart movement. Third studio album The Biggest Prize In Sport was their first for Polydor, the band's competency at a peak, despite the temporary appearance of fanboy drummer Ed Case, drafted in from the Southall Crew supporters when Pablo LaBrittain broke his arm. Often ranked as the greatest album of their entire career, The Biggest Prize In Sport had noticeably smoother edges than their earlier work, yet still holding plenty of bite, the combination pushing it into the Billboard top 200 in the USA. Unmissable! Color vinyl.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 216LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1979. During the late 1970s, after No Wave pioneer Lydia Lunch met saxophonist James Chance, she began setting her angry and disjointed poetry to anti-music, founding her ground-breaking band Teenage Jesus and The Jerks with Lunch's shouted lyrics matched by her non-conventional use of electric guitar. The group's self-titled debut EP is a fast and furious affair, produced by Robert Quine of the Voidoids/Lou Reed, with future Nick Cave drummer Jim Sclavunos on bass and Bradley Field on minimalist percussion; steeped in aggression and audacity, it's an awesome disc that rebuffs punk's easy cliches and refuses to be categorized. This reissue also includes the Pre EP and the tracks from the legendary No New York compilation. Essential! Pink vinyl.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 217LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue. Visionary No Wave legends Teenage Jesus and The Jerks created a confrontational sound, with a shifting line-up as a platform for Lydia Lunch's shouted vocal shocks, accompanied by her jagged guitar noise, non-melodic bass, and minimalist drums. This must-have live anthology is culled from six performances undertaken during their heyday, these atonal, in-your-face blasts somehow even more caustic than their studio work, rendering an aural assault not for the fainthearted. Benefitting from the presence of James Chance on select numbers, this uncompromising collection of staccato eruptions will get right up your nose -- a must for all Jerks fans. White vinyl.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 218LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1980. After the demise of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Lydia Lunch launched her solo career with Queen of Siam, arguably her greatest LP. In true No Wave style, the album is a mishmash of irritants, but her palette is far broader here, lurching from slow dirges, excessive feminist exhortations, and raucous personal purges to a touch of disco and lounge music exoticism, as conjured by Voidoids/Lou Reed guitarist Robert Quine, Contortions bassist Jack Ruby, and John Cale's drummer, Douglas Browne. Spirited, surprisingly broad, and defiantly dissonant, Queen of Siam's dense layers were designed to provoke and inflame; listen closely to fully decode. Red vinyl.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: DMFPE 001CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

From 1989 onwards, Richard Sen was an obsessive collector of house and techno music, frequenting legendary London record shops such as Fat Cat, Silverfish, Trax, and Red Records. He took record buying trips to New York to find second-hand disco, house and techno 12"s, which were lying around in bargain bins. The selection for this compilation is his own personal favorites from that era. Back then, electronic dance music was young, innocent and fun; it hadn't been analyzed, theorized, and fragmented into the multi-genre industry it is today. What you hear on this compilation reflects what he was playing at that time; joining the dots between ambient, techno, tribal house, breakbeat and early trance productions from the UK. Much house and techno from the US, Belgium, Germany, and Holland has been well documented, but some of the more obscure British productions are lesser known and need to be showcased. Hopefully, these tracks will inspire and educate a new generation of electronic music fans who weren't born then and also trigger some acid flashbacks for the older ravers as they take a trip down memory lane. Features Centuras, Bandulu, Strontium 90, Orr-Some, Biff'um Baff'um Boys, Epoch 90, Mind Over Rhythm, Dream Frequency, As One, and UVX. Double-CD version contains the same tracklisting; CD 1 is unmixed, CD 2 is mixed.

 

PRICE: $44.00

CAT #: RARECOOL 001LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Happy Listener -- it is my dubious pleasure to present a random selection of demonstration recordings by William Ivy Loveday. Dulcet guitar tones are occasionally offered up by a Mister D Tattersall, and a Mister J Riley can also be heard playing harp on some excellent tracks. All that now remains is for you to sit back on your palliasse and open your lug-holes. Be ye enthralled or disgusted, you can't help but be disgusted in the presence of a true poet." --Jack Ketch, Stranded, Angel Island, California 2023. Limited edition of 475 copies; Heavy duty black vinyl; special kraft paper jacket; hand stamped and numbered; custom printed insert.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: REBREC 002LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Following the release last year of Rebecca Vasmant's acclaimed album With Love, From Glasgow (nominated for Scottish Album Of The Year 2022), Vasmant's Rebecca's Records label have announced their latest release, the debut album from spiritual jazz outfit Azamiah led by India Blue. Azamiah have emerged from Glasgow's bubbling jazz scene with their debut album, the beautifully transportive and soulful In Phases. Centered around India Blue's expressive and ethereal lead vocals, the twelve track LP takes the listener on an immersive journey that draws inspiration from the sounds of the natural world and the urban rhythm of the city. "Night Woman" encapsulates the gorgeous sonic worlds that are the essence of Azamiah's debut, as grooving bass, gentle, breezy brass and sublime percussive embellishments forming a truly dazzling aural experience. Headed by respected Glasgow-based producer, composer and DJ Rebecca Vasmant, Rebecca's Records is a family run imprint that aims to platform and support female-led jazz, as well as shining a spotlight on Scottish jazz. The label represents the wonderfully diverse and rich music scene that makes Glasgow so very special. Speaking about Amaziah's album In Phases, Rebecca Vasmant said: "When I first heard the beautiful and mesmerizing music from Azamiah, I was absolutely blown away, and I am so very happy that we are able to present such a beautiful album. It was recorded and written in Glasgow, continuing our ethos of promoting and supporting Scottish jazz. This record gives me the chills, and I really love the music so very much. We hope to release beautiful and special records that make us feel like we've been transported into a cloud of happiness and peace, and hopefully will make listeners feel the same. We aim to send the message of the spirit of Glasgow -- collaboration, love and acceptance -- in that everyone is welcome in our beautiful city that we call home." For fans of Hiatus Kaiyote, Matthew Halsall, Nala Sinephro, Rebecca Vasmant.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: EZRDR 138LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"After one heard them first on Brown Acid's The Thirteenth Trip, Riding Easy are very excited to present Feelin' Dead, the full unreleased recordings from that amazing band from Detroit, Master Danse. Formed in late 1973 in Detroit, Michigan, when drummer Tom Riss and bassist Cary Fletcher, formerly of the Detroit band Licking Stick, went looking for a new guitarist/lead vocalist and jammed with John Giaier, who had most recently played in the band Crawdad, the three musicians hit it off immediately, and a new power hard rock trio was born. In 1973, Detroit was clearly 'Rock City', featuring such local icons as Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk Railroad, Ted Nugent, and Mitch Ryder, and the high energy punch of Master Danse reflects this proud heritage. Unfortunately, this union would only last one year, and by the end of 1974 the power rock trio known as Master Danse had disbanded. What was left for posterity were only two live reel-to-reel recordings and one promo 45 single. Some forty-seven years later, the 45 found its way onto the internet and a small cult following of audiophiles was born, people who appreciate the raw power and high energy of early '70s rock. Bands like Master Danse and others from this era were riding the wave of transition from the pop rock sound of the '60s to an edgier sound that would eventually lead to metal and punk music. With the help of modern-day tape restoration techniques, the two live recordings were restored, and together with the 45, the best versions of the eight songs that have survived the decades are featured on this album. Although recorded live forty-eight years ago on a two-track stereo tape recorder, one can still feel the power of Giaier's Marshall stack, Fletcher's twin Acoustic 360 amps, and the relentless attack of Riss' Ludwig drums. So, sit back and enjoy."

 

PRICE: $41.00

CAT #: REPOSE 110LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Third release in the "first time on vinyl" trilogy, following the quickly sold-out Pink Lady Lemonade - You're From Outer Space and Myth Of The Love Electrique. Here you have the band's classic 2007 double album, Acid Motherly Love, pressed on vinyl for the first time. Acid Motherly Love is another out-there ride through Acid Mothers' weird and psychedelic world. Guitars howl, riffs grow bigger with each minute and brains get fried along the way. Recorded under falling ash and burning roof tiles, Acid Motherly Love features every dimension of their legendary underground sound -- from wild riff heavy jams, to quieter acoustic passages and spoken monologues, all capped by the trance inducing 15 minute-plus epic "Santa Sanrodriguez". Fully redesigned sleeve complete with obligatory nudity. Transparent orange vinyl; gatefold sleeve; edition of 350.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: RMVMC 019CS

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

Double cassette version. The long-awaited official release of Thy Kingdom Come. Originally set to be released by Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment on June 30, 1998, Thy Kingdom Come is King Tee's fifth studio album. Recorded at the same time as the multi-platinum albums Dr. Dre's 2001 and Eminem's The Slim Shady LP, Thy Kingdom Come features guest appearances by Dr. Dre, MC Ren (N.W.A.), DJ Quik, Too $hort, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, Ice-T, Kool G Rap, Dawn Robinson (En Vogue, Lucy Pearl), to name a few. Production duties on the album are handled by Dr. Dre (Eminem, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit), Mike Dean (Kanye West, Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Jay-Z), DJ Quik (2Pac, Snoop Dogg), Bud'da (Aaliyah, Ice Cube), and Dr. Dre's Aftermath producers DJ Battlecat, Stu B Doo, Chris "The Glove" Taylor, and Fredwreck as well as Ant Banks, Step One, and SLJ. Also features Baby S, Frost, El Debarge, Playa Hamm, Sharief, RC, Crystal, Tray Dee, and Whoz Who. The album is mixed and overseen by Dr. Dre. Remastered in high-resolution 24-bit 44.1 kHz audio in 2022.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: SHELTER 134LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 repress. When words trail off at the beginning of claire rousay's Everything Perfect Is Already Here, ornate instrumentation is waiting to fill a void left by the breakdown of language. Yet it becomes clear as you trace rousay's collaged sonic pathway that breakdown, of meaning and also of melody, is also a place to rest. Everything Perfect... is made up of two extended compositions that cycle between familiarity and unknowing. There are seemingly infinite ways to feel in response to these pieces of music, which shift tone across their languid duration, earnest like a familiar song but unbound from the emotional didacticisms of lyrical voice and pop form. rousay builds a fluid landscape around the acoustic contributions of Alex Cunningham (violin), Mari Maurice (electronics, violin), Marilu Donovan (harp), and Theodore Cale Schafer (piano), whose respective melodies weave gently in and out, sometimes steady, sometimes aching, sometimes receding altogether in deference to less overtly musical sounds. That is, percussive texture in the form of unvarnished samples and field recordings: the rattle and rustle and the stops and starts of life unfurling, voices sharing memories nearly out of reach, doors closing, wind against a microphone. Everything comes from somewhere in particular, possessing the veneer of the diaristic, but sound's provenance is secondary here and so these details become tangled and fused. Such details sound not as individual ornaments or stories but the collective architecture of the greater composition. It's an architecture that is not quite formed and thus full of openings out to the world unfolding. "The world unfolding," that's a kind way of saying change, movement, loss, transformation. Things rousay here indexes, not without shards of desire or pain, still somehow what I hear is coarse peace in the in-between. Everything Is Perfect Is Already Here is loose and beautiful in surprising ways. The music guides a certain experience of the world around. In claire's music there is this marriage -- not just a pairing or juxtaposition but an interrelationship, an eventual confusion -- of song/texture, narrative/abstraction, figure/ground. Everything comes from somewhere in particular but not just the voices, the field recordings, the what is being said or meant, what matters is "the where you are now". There are so many ways of anchoring oneself in the present, some have to do with fantasy or storytelling and some with accepting what is. These two compositions find peace between these modes. They sweep you away and then bring you to earth, but which is which, anyway? Their mode of feeling is inquisitive.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: SCR 265CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Lorelle Meets The Obsolete's sixth album was recorded at their home studio in Ensenada, Baja California, it was mixed by Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes and mastered by Mikey Young of Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Total Control. It's a short, sharp shock of a record with no unnecessary adornments and no fat on any of its eight songs. Gone are the psychedelic wig-outs found on previous releases, replaced with bass-heavy post-punk grooves inspired by the roots of The Congos, the no wave of Ike Yard, the industrial hip-hop of Dälek, and the dark modular moves of Hiro Kone, all while harnessing the elemental power of Jon Hassell's Vernal Equinox. "The 'in the room' feel is one of the things I've always loved about The Besnard Lakes' records," says guitarist Alberto González. "And Jace brought that to Datura. The only note we gave him was 'we want this album to sound big and aggressive'." It worked -- perhaps unsurprisingly for a record that covers cultural colonialism, imperialism, conflicting opinions, intense emotions, strange dreams, and insomnia. The title refers to the genus of plants often associated with ancient rituals that are also sometimes used as poison or hallucinogens. "We liked the idea of a flower that opens at night," says singer and guitarist Lorena Quintanilla. "A type of Datura grows all over the neighborhood where we live. People try to get rid of them because they are afraid of their dogs eating them, but they always regrow again and again in the same places." A bit like Lorelle themselves, then. We last heard from them at the start of 2020, when they had to crowdfund their way home after being stranded on the road in the US as Covid lockdowns came into force. As life returned to normal, they started playing shows again, firstly in Mexico and then, earlier this year, they finished what they started three years ago and toured the US with SUUNS. Now, finally, they are set to flower once again with Datura, their most direct and dynamic album to date; proof that nature really is healing.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: SCR 265LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Blue vinyl. Lorelle Meets The Obsolete's sixth album was recorded at their home studio in Ensenada, Baja California, it was mixed by Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes and mastered by Mikey Young of Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Total Control. It's a short, sharp shock of a record with no unnecessary adornments and no fat on any of its eight songs. Gone are the psychedelic wig-outs found on previous releases, replaced with bass-heavy post-punk grooves inspired by the roots of The Congos, the no wave of Ike Yard, the industrial hip-hop of Dälek, and the dark modular moves of Hiro Kone, all while harnessing the elemental power of Jon Hassell's Vernal Equinox. "The 'in the room' feel is one of the things I've always loved about The Besnard Lakes' records," says guitarist Alberto González. "And Jace brought that to Datura. The only note we gave him was 'we want this album to sound big and aggressive'." It worked -- perhaps unsurprisingly for a record that covers cultural colonialism, imperialism, conflicting opinions, intense emotions, strange dreams, and insomnia. The title refers to the genus of plants often associated with ancient rituals that are also sometimes used as poison or hallucinogens. "We liked the idea of a flower that opens at night," says singer and guitarist Lorena Quintanilla. "A type of Datura grows all over the neighborhood where we live. People try to get rid of them because they are afraid of their dogs eating them, but they always regrow again and again in the same places." A bit like Lorelle themselves, then. We last heard from them at the start of 2020, when they had to crowdfund their way home after being stranded on the road in the US as Covid lockdowns came into force. As life returned to normal, they started playing shows again, firstly in Mexico and then, earlier this year, they finished what they started three years ago and toured the US with SUUNS. Now, finally, they are set to flower once again with Datura, their most direct and dynamic album to date; proof that nature really is healing.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: SQM 021LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

For Zylva, creating is a form of healing. In 2020, the producer, illustrator, and poet found herself struggling with her mental wellbeing: a fresh arrival in locked-down Berlin, and newly heartbroken in a city known for its harsh winters and fleeting connections, Zylva imagined a place for hope, creating her debut album Poems from the Dark. Drifting somewhere between avant pop, lo-fi and celestial R&B, Poems from the Dark sets out on an emotional journey that unfolds over the course of twelve deeply personal tracks. 180 gram vinyl.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: STAR 3443141LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Every once in a while, an artist takes a decisive step, sort of gears up and delivers an album that tells us who they've always been. On the new album Flood, Vilma Flood has taken just such a step, distilling both her emotional expression, her songwriting and her musical arrangements into something that could be the big exclamation point of the year for anyone who falls for what feels real. Working with producer and songwriter Hampus Norén (Sara Parkman, etc.), Flood has developed her palette. On the album, sheer strings coexist with subtle synth melodies and dreamy plucking nylon-stringed guitars. Emotion ranges from angry and harsh, as in the opening "Cold", to gentle and tender, as in the whispering "Crowded Garden". It's unfiltered but perfectly calibrated. Since her debut album Moodswinger, which was unanimously acclaimed by the Swedish press in 2019, Vilma Flood has been seen touring extensively, with highlights including a sold-out Fasching in Stockholm, Dalhalla and the tastemaker festival Sthlm Americana, as well as guesting Moonica Mac alongside Sara Parkman in Så Mycket Bättre. Flood has also appeared on recordings by The Legends, Blood Music, and I'm Kingfisher, among others, and has been a guest of the aforementioned Mac at her sold out Cirkus shows. "All Nighter" features Loney Dear.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: STAR 3443142CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Every once in a while, an artist takes a decisive step, sort of gears up and delivers an album that tells us who they've always been. On the new album Flood, Vilma Flood has taken just such a step, distilling both her emotional expression, her songwriting and her musical arrangements into something that could be the big exclamation point of the year for anyone who falls for what feels real. Working with producer and songwriter Hampus Norén (Sara Parkman, etc.), Flood has developed her palette. On the album, sheer strings coexist with subtle synth melodies and dreamy plucking nylon-stringed guitars. Emotion ranges from angry and harsh, as in the opening "Cold", to gentle and tender, as in the whispering "Crowded Garden". It's unfiltered but perfectly calibrated. Since her debut album Moodswinger, which was unanimously acclaimed by the Swedish press in 2019, Vilma Flood has been seen touring extensively, with highlights including a sold-out Fasching in Stockholm, Dalhalla and the tastemaker festival Sthlm Americana, as well as guesting Moonica Mac alongside Sara Parkman in Så Mycket Bättre. Flood has also appeared on recordings by The Legends, Blood Music, and I'm Kingfisher, among others, and has been a guest of the aforementioned Mac at her sold out Cirkus shows. "All Nighter" features Loney Dear.

 

PRICE: $21.50

CAT #: SL 114EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Deep into lockdown, Frank Harris pulled out Bernie Grundman's original 24 track masters of the In a Minor Mode EP, digitizing and exploring the original multi track recordings. Inspired by newly rediscovered parts recovered from the editing floor, what followed was a faithful but full-blown reimagining of Loveroom, Strangelove Music present this definitive version alongside a deep dive into Echoes LP (SL 104LP) favorite "Down By The Rio" Frank's FM friendly take flipped on the B-side with Frakas's trippy, diced-up vibe alongside a bumping beatdown version from New Zealand's finest Julien Dyne. Essential Balearic heat beat!

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: BARN 084EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Something never heard before from man of the moment Nikki Nair (or anyone else, for that matter): Whimsical glitch pop-blues with Nikki singing full vocals for the first time on record -- lamenting the 9-to-5 struggle, yearning for summer and getting fucked up on the beach. The idiosyncratic, strangely addictive original comes with a b*nging remix from Stockholm avant-techno ledge Peder Mannerfelt going full chaotic evil mode, warping Nikki's vocals into a menacing call to arms for the modern hedonist. Nikki Nair's latest single arrives on Stockholm label Studio Barnhus.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 136LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"In the mid-'60s, Albert Ayler found himself at the center of major transformations within jazz. On his albums for ESP-Disk', his delivery was radically aggressive and his tone blistering -- aiming for something beyond the New Thing. His music would be further energized when (at the behest of John Coltrane) Bob Thiele signed him to Impulse! As Ayler told The Plain Dealer at the time, 'It's not about notes anymore. It's a sound -- a feeling. The approach we're taking will discontinue the use of the word 'jazz.'' In Greenwich Village, Ayler's first LP on Impulse!, perfectly captures the Cleveland-born saxophonist's radiant intensity. Sourced from a pair of live engagements -- February '67 at the Village Theatre on New York's Lower East Side and December '66 at the Village Vanguard -- these recordings show an improved clarity in production and performance. Both sets feature two basses (including Alan Silva and Henry Grimes) which allowed the ensemble to go in different harmonic directions while maintaining an organic unity. Of particular interest are 'For John Coltrane,' a tribute to Ayler's mentor who would pass later that year, and 'Truth Is Marching In' where trumpeter Donald Ayler joins his brother to celebrate and ultimately deconstruct several jazz traditions to stunning effect. Vibrant in sound and vision, Albert Ayler's In Greenwich Village is a landmark statement in free jazz and a career high-point for this truly original artist. Superior Viaduct is honored to present this classic album on vinyl for the first time domestically in 30 years."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: SV 168LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Byard Lancaster was a composer/multi-instrumentalist born in Philadelphia in 1942. He started playing alto saxophone at an early age and later took up flute and bass clarinet. While attending Berklee College of Music, Lancaster and pianist Dave Burrell organized late-night jam sessions with fellow students and touring musicians. In 1965, he moved to New York and quickly became part of the city's burgeoning scene -- playing with jazz luminaries such as Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray, Bill Dixon and Marzette Watts. It's Not Up To Us, Lancaster's 1968 debut as a leader, was originally released on Vortex, a subsidiary of Atlantic responsible for first albums by Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett and Sonny Sharrock. Featuring guitarist Sharrock (another Berklee alum), It's Not Up To Us is true fire music -- fusing elements of free jazz, soul/R&B and traditional folk song. On the opening title track, Lancaster's luminous flute draws the listener in, while bassist Jerome Hunter grounds the tune with a simple descending theme over Keno Speller and Eric Gravatt's syncopated rhythms. 'John's Children,' a reference to the group's status as post-Coltrane players, showcases the modal strumming of Sharrock's steady drones as Lancaster cries into the void. After repeated listens, Lancaster's original compositions become visceral aural memories ingrained in the ear, while the standards ('Misty' and 'Over The Rainbow') sound the most avant-garde pieces on the album. This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of Albert Ayler, Don Cherry and Pharoah Sanders."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: SV 169LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Warren 'Sonny' Sharrock died of a heart attack at the age of 53 in 1994. At the time of his death, many writers noted that he had recently landed a contract with a major label (RCA) and was perhaps 'destined for big things.' In my opinion, these writers missed the point. Although Mr. Sharrock may not have been successful financially (as though that might be a primary motivating goal for any true artist), he was uncommonly successful aesthetically. Certainly, there are a few dubious moments to be found inside his oeuvre, but Mr. Sharrock produced several of the most mind-shredding avant-garde albums ever recorded. Premier among them is Black Woman. Originally released on the Vortex label in 1969, Black Woman may be the universe's first true statement of guitar skronk majesty. It also represents Mr. Sharrock's first date as a leader and stands as the sole documentation of a band that well-understood the essentials of energy. Besides Sharrock's explosive guitar, the band features the omni-directional percussion mastery of Milford Graves (then in the midst of recording Love Cry with Albert Ayler), the gorgeous post-tongue vocalizing of Sonny's then-wife Linda Sharrock, the sinuous bass presence of Norris Jones (later known as Sirone) and some of the most explicitly abstract piano work ever recorded by Dave Burrell. That Black Woman was produced by flautist Herbie Mann, a guy not well-known for his affinity to fire music, makes it even more intriguing." --Byron Coley

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: SYST 135EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Systematic present that the highly anticipated collaboration between Timo Maas and Marc Romboy, Die Zeit. This 12" release features a powerful combination of progressive tech beats and a thought-provoking German female vocal sample, making it a must-have for fans of both artists. "Die Zeit" is the result of a spontaneous studio session following the duo's back-to-back DJ set at the end of 2022. The track showcases the immense talent of both Maas and Romboy as they explore new creative territories together. Special beatless "Synthapella" version on the flip side. Mastered by Steffen Müller. Color splatter vinyl.

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: TDLP 002LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Second volume of early recordings and dubplates drawn from the vaults of Munchie Jackson's Tafari label." Features Pau & Paluka, Leroy Sibbles, Little Roy, Tafari All Stars, Stranger Cole, Maurice "Scorcher" Jackson, and John Clarke.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: PICI 048LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Early Band Of Holy Joy existed somewhere on the cut-up side of proto-industrial music, resting between Marc Stewart & Maffia, Sonic Youth, and Current 93, and proponents of a more romantic musical language -- Virginia Astley, Dead Can Dance, and Cocteau Twins, among them -- all artists whose work BPHJ's music sat comfortably alongside across on a stream of low-budget vinyl and cassette compilations after the start of the eighties. A great leap in polish led to a deal with Rough Trade and several early '90s albums which flirted with the mainstream, with BOHJ almost an odder, less obvious cousin to Dexys Midnight Runners. When these releases failed to take off as hoped, lost years followed on smaller labels and self-released projects, until the renewed urgency of the 2016 Brutalism Begins At Home EP and increasingly majestic albums on which saw leader Johny Brown's lyricism enter a new phase. The common thread through BOHJ's four decades of recordings is the foundational warmth and humanity of Brown's words. The band's earliest recordings seemed garnered from street-level observations of neighborhood people and sights. By the time of near-hit "Tactless", their songs -- whatever the underlying impulses may have been -- had become immediate enough to overcome the mystery of a line like "Do you remember the swan that was shot in the park?" Over each of their last three albums -- Funambulist We Love You, Neon Primitives, and Dreams Take Flight -- BOHJ has bettered itself, and may now have reached their apex, Fated Beautiful Mistakes. We live in a time of generally justifiable gloom and awkward uncertainty. So, it may appear cavalier to claim this album sounds revelatory in that context, but Band Of Holy Joy's strengths rest largely in Johny Brown and the band's ability to capture a wider societal feeling. One listen to the escapist fantasy of "Our Flighty Season Under The Flighty Sun" and its slightly-haunted ending speaks volumes beyond most of what passes for music in 2023, and it's just one of many perfect moments on this album.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: TDP 12902EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1971. Glasgow-born pianist Mike McNaught's aim was to infuse pop and rock into jazz, forming Atlantic Bridge after leading the London Jazz Four, recruiting bassist Darryl Runswick and drummer Mike Travis, who he played with in the Henry Lowther Band, alongside flutist/saxophonist Jim Philip of the Michael Garrick Sextet to craft a sole LP for Pye's Dawn subsidiary. The lead track on this rare 12-inch EP, I Can't Lie To You, was a non-standard original that summed up all of their capabilities, with uncredited female vocals and unusual enhancing overdubs; instrumentals "Hilary Dickson" and "Childhood Room" are pleasantly atmospheric, the latter showcasing the awesome power of Runswick's melodic bass prowess. Licensed by BMG.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: TDP 12903EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1971. Progressive folk act Comus was a true one-off, their unique take on folk rock a spine-tinglingly shocking one, even as the music draws the listener into singalongs. Formed by singer-guitarist Roger Wootton with some art school mates, including guitarist Glen Goring, violinist Colin Pearson, and oboist Rob Young, Comus began recording their debut LP for RCA, who dropped them halfway through, leading to further recordings for Dawn with Barry Murray. Every song on this single bears the hallmark of their exceptional take on folk rock, too far ahead of its time to gain favor on release, and all the more to savor now. Licensed by BMG.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: TDP 12904EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1970. Proto-prog act Titus Groan came together in London from disparate influences: drummer Jim Toomey, who later played in the Tourists, had a trad jazz background, and then played in a soul act with saxophonist/flutist/oboist Tony Priestland; bassist John Lee had played with jazz saxophonist Dick Morrissey, and guitarist/keyboardist Stuart Cowell was a blues fan, hence the diverse directions of their sole LP. Rare 12-inch Open The Door Homer features their cover of the unreleased Bob Dylan song that was also tackled by Fairport Convention, originals "Woman Of The World" and "Liverpool" between blues rock, jazz rock and prog. Licensed by BMG.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: TDP 12905EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1970 as a 7". After performing together in the skiffle-oriented band Good Earth, singer-songwriter Ray Dorset, and keyboardist Colin Earl formed Mungo Jerry, whose breakthrough single, "In The Summertime," remains a stone-cold anthem of the early 1970s. With Paul King on banjo and jug, Mike Cole on string bass, Earl on ragtime piano and with Dorset's humorous vocals upfront, "In The Summertime" was skiffle-tinged rock at its best. The reissue of this uncommon 12" also features Dorset's "Mighty Man," with King's kazoo and harp, as well as a great cover of Woodie Guthrie's "Dust Pneumonia Blues." A must-have! Licensed by BMG.

 

PRICE: $36.50

CAT #: TRESOR 017LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

The reissue of classic and seminal releases from the Tresor catalog comes round to Waveform Transmission Vol. 2 by The Vision aka Robert Hood which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Released in the same year he left UR and his hometown of Detroit in 1993, Waveform Transmission Vol. 2 represents a pivotal moment in Hood's career as his move to New York with fellow UR co-founder Jeff Mills led to Hood experimenting with a new work ethos through which he settled on his trademark sound. Fast, aurally assaulting, yet funky -- the release is techno as effective as it can possibly be; in this version, remastered by Thomas P. Heckmann, you see the first results of his transmutation as Hood manipulates the raw sounds he would soon distill into seminal works like Internal Empire and Minimal Nation. Ever philosophical and spiritual, in the sleeve notes for the release Hood dedicated the release "to the form of simplicity[,] the reasoning of vision[,] the understanding of where we came from and how we got here and to the perspective we use to construct over destiny" -- words which from our early 2020s vantage point almost foresee the influence this intuitive work would have on artists working from Birmingham to Berlin and beyond over the next three decades. 180 gram vinyl; full printed sleeve; download card.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: TRESOR 117LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress of the third seminal album by the UK's Surgeon, originally released in 1999. Remastered in 2015 by Matt Colton at Alchemy Mastering, London. Surgeon's third Tresor album reinforces the theories communicated in previous releases, drawing carefully on the parallel between loud music's ability to cross cultural differences. The opposing swing toward experimentally contemplative music is played quietly to produce a different perception. Sentimental with high emotional content while sometimes simultaneously brutal, Force + Form brews a powerful physical experience at club-level decibels.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: TROST 142LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; LP version. Steve Noble: drums and percussion. Stephen O'Malley: guitars and amplifiers. Stephen O'Malley (cult-guitarist of SUNN O))), KTL) teams up with one of the leading UK drummers of the avant-garde scene, Steve Noble, to build hypnotic sound-sculptures and drones.

 

PRICE: $39.50

CAT #: UTR 096R-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Finally back on vinyl, this time a limited pressing on 180 gram white vinyl. More Wealth Than Money by Normil Hawaiians quickly sold out upon Upset The Rhythm's release in 2017. More Wealth Than Money proved a vastly ambitious debut album, sprawling across four sides of vinyl in a way that still feels truly expansive, brave, cinematic even. From the plaintive pastoralism of "British Warm" to the transcendental vistas of "Other Ways Of Knowing", the album constantly surprises with its ringing trails of guitar, motorik pulse, and synth rambles. From the striving incursion of "Sally IV" to the softly spoken disbelief of "Yellow Rain" the album is nothing short of a waking dream. Guy Smith's vocal floats through the album in a haunting manner, at times heartfelt at others overcome. He's on a quest to his own celestial city and you can stay for the whole journey if you only listen. Described by the press upon its release in 1982 as an "absolutely mesmerizing double album travelling through progressive rock, via industrial folk to freaky art-punk whilst sounding delightfully coherent" and "a huge slab of mind-blowing dark psychedelia" the album was critically acknowledged for its peculiarly British kosmische. However, for an album so indebted to the fertile soil from which it sprang, it's curious that More Wealth Than Money never came out officially in the UK. The band's label Illuminated were temporarily blacklisted by their distributor because of unpaid debts and so the album was only available from the band at concerts within the UK. The bulk of the record's sales went to mainland Europe on export. Includes booklet full of anecdotes and photos from all band members. Includes download card with bonus material not included on double-LP vinyl; edition of 500. "A killer slice of freeform raging post-punk" --The Quietus.

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: VL 900228LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress of Vinyl Lovers' 2008 expanded reissue; originally released in 1981. Two 180-gram LPs in deluxe gatefold sleeve. Recorded in 1981, this classic album took The Cure further down the road of despair they'd initiated with Seventeen Seconds in 1980 (VL 900358LP). It's an album full of mournful atmospheric tracks, including their hit single, "Primary." This reissue includes six bonus tracks.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: WWSCD 024CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 reprint. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Ryuichi Sakamoto's first solo album Thousand Knives Of, originally released in 1978 on the sought-after Better Days label. Save for a small-scale release in 1982, this is the first time the album is being released on vinyl outside of Japan. 1978 was a key year for Japanese music. Haruomi Hosono, one of the country's most innovative musicians had just formed Yellow Magic Orchestra pursuing the sonic experimentation he had started with his solo album Paraiso. The album, recorded between December '77 and January '78, featured both Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi. Hosono quickly invited both musicians to form YMO but before the group could release their first album, Sakamoto entered the Nippon Columbia studios in April 1978 with a plan. Sakamoto had become an in-demand session musician after studying composition at the Tokyo University of Art and had played on many key albums of the time, such as Taeko Ohnuki's Sunshower (1977) and Tatsuro Yamashita Spacy (1977). This led to an invitation by Hosono to feature on Paraiso. A penchant for avant-garde and improvisation had gotten Sakamoto interested in electronic music early on, and with Thousand Knives he decided to get Hideki Matsutake on board as he had mastered the art of synth programming following a stint with Electronic Music pioneer Isao Tomita. Thousand Knives took several months to record as Sakamoto would be busy during the day with his session work and would only record at night. Named after Belgian-born poet Henri Michaux's description of a mescaline experience, the album is a reflection on how synthesizer technology might come to change the face of music. The first side conceived as a long suite opens with the title track and a recitation of the Mao Zedong poem "Jinggang Mountain" filtered through a vocoder, before morphing into a mid-tempo synthpop instrumental. It is followed by "Island Of Woods", a ten-minute track buzzing with insect-like synth sounds. Side one ends with "Grasshoppers", a beautiful acoustic piano melody underlined by a subtle synthesizer soundscape. Side two opens with "Das Neue Japanische Elektronische Volkslied", acknowledging the influence of the German sound spearheaded by Kraftwerk. The track features a mid-tempo metronomic beat skillfully intertwined with a Japanese folk sounding melody. The album ends with two catchy up-tempo synthpop tunes in the form of "Plastic Bamboo" and "The End Of Asia", which both became staples of YMO's and Sakamoto's live shows. YMO's sound included various influences from its three members but there is no denying Thousand Knives paved the way for the group's Computer Music sound. Remastered from the original tapes by renowned producer and engineer Seigen Ono.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: WWSCD 033CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 reprint. Wewantsounds present the reissue of Ryuichi Sakamoto's third solo album Hidari Ude No Yume (Left Handed Dream), originally released in 1981 on the Alfa label. Save for a small-scale Dutch vinyl release in 1981, it is the first time the album's original Japanese edition is released outside of Japan (the European release on Epic Records included significantly different tracks and mixes). Hidari Ude No Yume was recorded at the legendary Alfa Studio "A" in Tokyo during the Summer of 1981. it came after B-2 Unit in 1980 and his debut album Thousand Knives Of... in 1978 (WWSCD 024CD/WWSLP 024LP), the very year Sakamoto was invited by Haruomi Hosono to join Yellow Magic Orchestra alongside Yukihiro Takahashi. In 1981, Sakamoto decided to record an album rooted in pop and he invited British producer Robin Scott to co-produce. They entered the Alfa studio in July 1981 with his fellow YMO musicians Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, keyboard programmer extraordinaire Hideki Matsutake who'd been on Sakamoto's first two albums and became YMO's unofficial fourth member, violinist Kaoru Sato, saxophonist Satoshi Nakamura, and American guitarist Adrian Belew (David Bowie, The Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club). Together, they created a fascinating mix of pop, ambient and electronic music with elements of avant-garde and traditional Japanese music, the whole firmly rooted in a solid groove. From the funk of "Relâché" to the new wave feel of "Venezia" and the ambient minimalism of "Slat Dance," the album is remarkably consistent while displaying a wealth of global influences. The album was released in Japan in 1981 and Epic Records picked it up for Europe a year later but decided to release it in a significantly altered version. The sequencing was completely reshuffled and two tracks, "Saru No Ie" and "Living In The Dark" were completely dropped while three others, "Relâché", "Tell 'em To Me", "Venezia" were heavily remodeled with English lyrics and different names. Last but not least, a new English-sung track, "The Arrangement," was added, making the album nine tracks instead of ten for the Japanese edition. Newly remastered from the original tapes by renowned engineer Bernie Grundman. Four-page insert with new introduction by journalist Anton Spice.

 

PRICE: $34.50

CAT #: WWSLP 014LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress; double LP version. Gatefold sleeve; Features a new essay by French journalist Jacques Denis (Liberation). Don Cherry's downtown Paris funk masterwork Home Boy, Sister Out, produced in 1985 by Ramuntcho Matta and originally released by Barclay in France only, finally gets a worldwide release on Wewantsounds. Featuring French post-punk muse Elli Medeiros, avant-garde poet Brion Gysin, and cult Senegalese drummer Abdoulaye Prosper Niang (Xalam), this is a unique soundbite of Paris in the early '80s at its coolest when funk, jazz, and new wave were mingling with sounds from Africa, Jamaica, and Latin America. Recorded at the legendary Studio Caroline in Paris, a hotbed for the African diaspora in Paris the '80s, and produced by cult French-Chilean musician and producer Ramuntcho Matta (his father is painter Roberto Matta and half-brother is cult New York artist Gordon Matta-Clark), Home Boy, Sister Out is one of Don Cherry's funkiest albums. Coming back from New York where Matta had immersed himself in the downtown scene working with the likes of Peter Gordon, Arto Lindsay, The Talking Heads, Meredith Monk, and Laurie Anderson, he crossed path with the American trumpet player in Paris by chance. It was love at first sight and together they had the idea of an album where Cherry would not only play but also sing. Accompanied by a first class cast of musicians from the Paris scene, they recorded Home Boy, Sister Out in Spring 1985. Very little known outside of France, where it has achieved cult status in some circles, the album embodies the spirit of the "Sono Mondiale", the multi-ethnic sound of '80s Paris, pioneered by Radio Nova and Celluloid Records. Featuring legendary Senegalese drummer, Abdoulaye Prosper Niang (Xalam), Negrito Trasante, Elli Medeiros, Jannick Top, and Don Cherry on various instruments plus vocals, the album is a fascinating mix of Downtown New York funk, jazz, new wave, reggae, and African music. The release also includes a handful of bonus tracks taken from Ramuntcho Matta's vaults including the cult 1983 single "Kick" featuring legendary multi-artist Brion Gysin who's influenced such artists as David Bowie, Keith Haring, John Zorn, Brian Jones, Genesis P-Orridge, among others. A fascinating album. Newly remastered. Includes five bonus tracks.

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: WWSLP 034LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress; single LP version. Obi strip; four-page insert. Wewantsounds present the reissue of Ryuichi Sakamoto's third solo album Hidari Ude No Yume (Left Handed Dream), originally released in 1981 on the Alfa label. Save for a small-scale Dutch vinyl release in 1981, it is the first time the album's original Japanese edition is released outside of Japan (the European release on Epic Records included significantly different tracks and mixes). Hidari Ude No Yume was recorded at the legendary Alfa Studio "A" in Tokyo during the Summer of 1981. it came after B-2 Unit in 1980 and his debut album Thousand Knives Of... in 1978 (WWSCD 024CD/WWSLP 024LP), the very year Sakamoto was invited by Haruomi Hosono to join Yellow Magic Orchestra alongside Yukihiro Takahashi. In 1981, Sakamoto decided to record an album rooted in pop, following the more experimental B-2 Unit and his landmark electro debut. Sakamoto invited British producer Robin Scott to co-produce. They entered the Alfa studio in July 1981 with his fellow YMO musicians Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, keyboard programmer extraordinaire Hideki Matsutake who'd been on Sakamoto's first two albums and became YMO's unofficial fourth member, violinist Kaoru Sato, saxophonist Satoshi Nakamura, and American guitarist Adrian Belew (David Bowie, The Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club). Together, they created a fascinating mix of pop, ambient and electronic music with elements of avant-garde and traditional Japanese music, the whole firmly rooted in a solid groove. From the funk of "Relâché" to the new wave feel of "Venezia" and the ambient minimalism of "Slat Dance," the album is remarkably consistent while displaying a wealth of global influences. The album was released in Japan in 1981 and Epic Records picked it up for Europe a year later but decided to release it in a significantly altered version. The sequencing was completely reshuffled and two tracks, "Saru No Ie" and "Living In The Dark" were completely dropped while three others, "Relâché", "Tell 'em To Me", "Venezia" were heavily remodeled with English lyrics and different names. Last but not least, a new English-sung track, "The Arrangement," was added, making the album nine tracks instead of ten for the Japanese edition. Newly remastered from the original tapes by renowned engineer Bernie Grundman. Comes with original artwork featuring cover shot by famous photographer Masayoshi Sukita. Four-page insert with new introduction by journalist Anton Spice.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: WWSLP 043LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress; LP version. Wewantsounds continues their Ryuichi Sakamoto reissue series with the release of the 1985 album Esperanto, composed for a performance by New York avant-garde choreographer Molissa Fenley. Produced and performed by Sakamoto with contribution by Arto Lindsay and Japanese percussionist Yas-Kaz, Esperanto is a fascinating instrumental work mixing electronica, ambient and synth pop. Released in Japan in 1985 on Midi Inc.s' School label, the album has never been released outside of Japan until now. Esperanto originally came out in 1985 and was Ryuichi Sakamoto's sixth solo album. Coming after his stint with the influential Yellow Magic Orchestra, and also the worldwide success of Sakamoto's 1984 soundtrack for the film Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (in which he starred alongside David Bowie), Esperanto was a return to Sakamoto's leftfield roots. Composed as the soundtrack to a performance by New York choreographer Molissa Fenley (a show commissioned by Japanese producer Shozo Tsurumoto), the album was masterminded by Sakamoto with the help of the cutting-edge electronic technology of the time (the only external contributions are by Arto Lindsay on guitar and Japanese composer Yas-Kaz on percussion). Indeed, the album is a fascinating soundscape experimenting with the new sampler technology -- which, according to Ryuichi Sakamoto from a conversation with journalist Andy Beta mentioned in the liner notes, needed a computer that was huge at the time. Esperanto is composed of eight tracks displaying a varied mix of influences. "A Wongga Dance Song" is pulsating with rhythms while "A Rain Song" adopts a minimalist mode with its distinctive repetitive pattern. "Dolphins" and "A Carved Stone" are captivating ambient pieces showcasing Sakamoto's talent for setting beautiful abstract melodic ornaments over atmospheric tones. One of the highlights of the album is "Adelic Penguins", a fascinating proto techno piece with a funky twist stretching over six minutes which echoes the electro funk of 1981's album Hidari Ude No Yume (WWSCD 033CD/WWSLP 033LP/WWSLP 034LP). "Ulu Watu", a collage-like piece featuring bird motives and a tropical soundscape closes the album with an experimental note. It's interesting to note that, a year later, the tracks from Esperanto would be turned into an experimental video project by New York visual artists Kit Fitzgerald and Nam June Paik collaborator Paul Garrin. A unique album in Ryuichi Sakamoto's rich discography, Esperanto is a groundbreaking work worth rediscovering in its full glory. Original artwork; includes two-page insert with a new introduction by journalist Andy Beta. Audio remastered in Tokyo by Seigen Ono.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: WWSLP 077LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Wewantsounds announce the vinyl reissue of Ramuntcho Matta's rare first self-titled album from 1985, mixing funk, no wave, and ambient soundscapes. The album released on tiny French label Mosquito was conceived as the soundtrack for French choreographer Régine Chopinot's play VIA with costumes by fashion rising star Jean-Paul Gaultier. It was recorded at a buoyant time in Paris when Matta -- who had just spent a few years in New York following the death of his brother Gordon Matta-Clark -- immersed himself in Paris's underground scene. Ramuntcho Matta, one of France's most interesting producers, collaborated with a wide array of luminaries such as Don Cherry, Brion Gysin, and Laurie Anderson. Coming from an illustrious artistic family -- his father was painter Roberto Matta, one of the giants of 20th Century art, his brother Gordon Matta Clark a cult figure of the '70s New York avant-garde scene and his uncle Serge Matta a renowned fashion illustrator who was a mentor to Jean Paul Goude. Having spent his teenage years in Paris assisting the legendary beat writer Brion Gysin, Matta left for New York in 1978 upon the death of Gordon Matta Clark to sort things out. Planning to stay for a couple of weeks, he stayed two years working in Laurie Anderson's studio and immersing himself in the cultural and musical hurricane that was late '70s NYC downtown scene. The album is a superb mix of d-i-y no wave soundscapes recorded mainly at Matta's home and avant funk tracks recorded at Studio d'Auteuil in Paris. The latter include Fred Cousseau on drums, Elli Medeiros on vocals, Urugayian percussionist Negrito Trasante and Polo Lombardo on Konks with Matta producing and playing a wide array of instruments. Highlights of the album include "Sassam Kitaki" featuring Elli on vocals, "Jeunes Et Vieilles" which sounds like Money Mark's "Mark's Keyboard Repair" only ten years before and "Une A Une" whose version here is an unissued instrumental that makes its vinyl debut. The music is a perfect match for Chopinot's innovative choreography which made her an essential part of France's 80s new wave of artists. The album was released in 1985 in France only by Mosquito Records and was never really promoted. The original release had several mistakes, misspelling musician names and knocking off one track title from the tracklist. The reissue here is in partnership with Ramuntcho Matta. Remastered audio. Includes four-page booklet featuring Jacques Denis's interview with Ramuntcho Matta (English/French) and an additional insert with a facsimile of Marc Caro's original artwork for the VIA show.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: ZEDD 057LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Sold out, but 2023 repress forthcoming in May. Double LP version. Gatefold sleeve. Z Records continues its commitment to unearthing the obscure and long forgotten tracks from the last 40 years through the ever-popular Under The Influence series. Following on from Red Greg, Nick The Record, Sean P, Faze Action, and 2021's Alena Arpels. It's now the turn of one of the scene's most impressive collectors and DJs; Rahaan. Hailing from Chicago his love affair with muzik started in the late '70s/early '80s, listening to muzik on the radio combined with his mom and dad playing their records every weekend. In the early '80s on the South side of Chicago, he started hearing something a bit different, what they called "house muzik". A combination of disco, jazz, soul funk, new wave, and Italo disco. Here, Rahaan digs deep into his impressive record collection that he has collected, built up, and crafted over his many years of traveling, networking and DJ'ing to showcase 22 of his finest and rarest cuts. Many of the tracks on the album would cost hundreds and that's if you were even able to find the originals. As always with ZR compilations a lot of time and effort has been spent on creating these masters from the original vinyl, cleaning them up, removing all the clicks and pops resulting in the cleanest sounding copy possible.