Forced Exposure New Releases for the Week of 8/14/2023

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: VP 4218CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"During the latter half of the seventies very few came close to emulating the success of the productions of Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson. 'The Mighty Two' took the greatest of Kingston's musical and technical innovations and transformed the cutting edge into a commercial proposition that crossed over the rest of the world. Under Heavy Manners was an essential purchase as well as a defining statement on the somber mood of the times in the year that 'Two Sevens Clash' and forty years after its original release, the raw reality of Under Heavy Manner continue to hit home."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: VP 4218LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. "During the latter half of the seventies very few came close to emulating the success of the productions of Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson. 'The Mighty Two' took the greatest of Kingston's musical and technical innovations and transformed the cutting edge into a commercial proposition that crossed over the rest of the world. Under Heavy Manners was an essential purchase as well as a defining statement on the somber mood of the times in the year that 'Two Sevens Clash' and forty years after its original release, the raw reality of Under Heavy Manner continue to hit home."

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: AKU 1042CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

New album of the Swiss/Lebanese experimental duo (Raed Yassin and Paed Conca). Praed is a band whose musical oeuvre can be described as a mixture of Arabic popular music, free jazz, and electronics. Since then, the band has frequented numerous international music festivals and toured intensively world-wide, spanning Japan, Europe, and Canada. Through these endeavors, the band has created a large global network with other renowned musicians as musical collaborators. CD version comes in digipack; edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: AKU 1042LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Edition of 500. New album of the Swiss/Lebanese experimental duo (Raed Yassin and Paed Conca). Praed is a band whose musical oeuvre can be described as a mixture of Arabic popular music, free jazz, and electronics. Since then, the band has frequented numerous international music festivals and toured intensively world-wide, spanning Japan, Europe, and Canada. Through these endeavors, the band has created a large global network with other renowned musicians as musical collaborators.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: AKU 1044LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Baskot Lel Baltageyya (which, loosely translated, means "Cookies for Thugs"), is a project headed by musician Adham Zidan and poet Anwar Dabbour. On the Egyptian band's debut album, Dabbour's colloquial Arabic lyrics paint visions of a world spinning into chaos, where reality often veers into absurdity. Zidan, who produced the album in addition to writing the music, harnesses the madness with serpentine melodies that mingle and dance over hypnotic grooves like a psychedelic version of ring-around-the-rosie. Zidan plays keyboards and sings in The Invisible Hands alongside Sublime Frequencies/Sun City Girls co-founder, Alan Bishop. He honed his own style of lo-fi folk on Today Is Tomorrow, and is now expanding his horizons even further with Baskot Lel Baltageyya. Over the past decade, he has gained widespread recognition for his work as a musician, producer, recordist, and mixer. Dubbed "Egypt's musical renaissance man" by Scene Noise in 2019, he's lent his keen ear to numerous other projects -- such as Youssra El Hawary's No'oum Nasyeen (2017), Tarkamt's Live at the Necropolis (2018), Maurice Louca's Elephantine (SR 474LP, 2019), Natik Awayez's Manbarani (SF 116LP, 2020), and Nancy Mounir's Nozhet El Nofous (2022) -- and has collaborated with many of the biggest names in the region's independent music scene, including Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, Nadah El Shazly, Raed Yassin, and Sam Shalabi. Baskot Lel Baltageyya started as an audiovisual project, and from the beginning, Zidan has resisted the idea of it being pinned down as any one thing. As he puts it, "You can think of Baskot as a genre of music, a name of a group, or as something to consume." The album serves as an extension of Baskot's phantasmagoric live show. With his voice slathered in vocoders, Dabbour weaves his fragmented rhyme schemes with surreal images, odd characters, pop-culture references and imperative prescriptions for managing everyday life. Astute listeners can find links between the album and the dark absurdist humor that prominently featured in Egyptian popular culture before life became more absurd than the culture. You may perceive similarities to monologuist performances, or to the different shaabi musics of the region, or to old Egyptian TV scores, or to early electronic music, or to western psychedelia. Alternatively, however, you can choose not to want to view everything in relation to things you already know. Bridging the gap between experimentation and pop, Baskot Lel Baltageyya stands as a style, a sound, and an edible entity all its own. Mastered by Heba Kadry. Includes 12" double poster.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: AKU 1045LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

An original instrumental music project led by composer and Oud player, Aly Eissa. Featuring his diverse musical influences, Eissa's compositions create versatile and twisted meditative atmospheres throughout the musical experience. Aly Eissa is a composer and Oud player based in Cairo, Egypt. He was mentored by legendary composer Abdo Dagher and Oud virtuoso, Hazem Shahin. Eissa's style is deeply-rooted in the Egyptian classical and folk traditions, and influenced by various western genres. Since 2012, Eissa has been regularly performing his compositions with an ensemble for live audiences in Cairo, offering a meditative musical experience with a twist. One of Eissa's musical approaches is the experimenting approach through a unique trio formation including the Belgian synthesizer player Jonas Cambien and the Egyptian percussion player, Ayman Mabrouk. In this trio, Eissa is trying to explore a different sound and space in the originally composed Arabic music. Includes CD with bonus tracks.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: ANIMALS 011EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

This four-track EP combines bouncy arps, proggy basslines and FM synthesis that mingle with bubbly SFX, synth risers and field recordings, resulting in a sprightly, atmospheric collection of club tracks for leftfield adjacent dancers.

 

PRICE: $135.00

CAT #: BING 200LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"A decade on from the release of Ripely Pine, Lady Lamb's Aly Spaltro has created the definitive five-LP box set to commemorate and expand upon her landmark debut. With the original songs remastered, Ten Years Of Ripely Pine also includes three LPs of newly recorded studio material, produced and arranged by Spaltro and mixed by original co-producer Nadim Issa. It captures the time, mood, art and ambition of Aly Spaltro in her early twenties, who had already accumulated years of playing and self-recording experience before laying down tracks for this giant of a debut record, and the sage wisdom of a decade's experience."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: QR 449CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Quartet Records, in collaboration with Gruppo Sugar, presents the world premiere release of the catchy score by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis for Lando Buzzanca's sex-comedy vehicle, San Pasquale Baylonne Protettore Delle Donne (1976). The film, directed by Luigi Filippo D'Amico, follows petty criminal Giuseppe Cicerchia (Buzzanca) who can't catch a break following separation from his wife, Iolanda. That is, until he moves to the isolated mountain town of Busolone, where the crafty con man finds the recipe for success. The score by the De Angelis brothers is almost a musical sequel to their score for Per La Grazia Ricevuta (1971), a film with which San Pasquale Bayllone has much in common. A folk/pop hybrid approach characterizes the whole score, mixed with the brothers' indisputable gift for melody and lovely, heart-warming tunes. A religiously inspired, folksy waltz serves as the main theme. Mastered by Claudio Fuiano from stereo session master tapes provided by Gruppo Sugar. CD comes in a richly illustrated package featuring liner notes by Gergely Hubai that cover both the film and score.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: QR 457CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Quartet Records, in collaboration with Gruppo Sugar, presents the CD premiere of the delicious Detto Mariano comedy score for the Maurizio Nichetti classic, Ratataplan (1979). The film was written and directed by Maurizio Nichetti, whose specialization was pantomime acting and who also stars in the film. The wordless movie stars Nichetti as Colombo, an engineer who is known for coming up with unusual solutions to problems. In a number of colorful vignettes, you see him invent brilliant contraptions such as a breakfast machine, the secret of eternal life and even a dancing robot. The score composed by Detto Mariano is as colorful as Colombo's inventions. The main theme is a vocal duet, reflecting on the film's optimistic message that even an oddball like the hero can find a mate. Colorful source cues for the flats around Colombo's loft are augmented with great music for the film's memorable set pieces, including a theatrical performance where a cardboard piano comes to life and a couple of infectious disco songs to which the dancing robot can jam. CAM released a 33-minute LP in 1979; for this edition, the program has expanded to offer the complete score. Mastered by Claudio Fuiano from stereo session master tapes provided by Gruppo Sugar. Comes in a richly illustrated package featuring liner notes by Gergely Hubai that discuss both film and score.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: BMR 133LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"The band is comprised of four badasses of Michigan underground sound: Gretchen Gonzales (Universal Indians, Slumber Party, Terror At The Opera), Warren Defever (His Name Is Alive, ESP Beetles), Joey Mazzola (Detroit Cobras, Sponge, Sugarcoats), and special guest Steve Nistor (Sparks, Ural Thomas, Seedsmen To The World). The instrumental combo has already played in London, the Bay Area (where they accompanied some of Harry Smith's 'Early Abstraction' films), and to packed houses in Detroit. Their debut, Prequel (Birdman) released at the start of 2023, received many fine notices; this album was recorded at the same time and in the same home studio in Birmingham, Michigan. Space Mirror is so good. Each unnamed track flows into the next. It's subtle, often quiet, and beautiful, to be sure. But it's expansive and hard to pin down. Part of the reason is that the Michigan way is all-out. You can't get on the smallest stage here without fully committing. That's why we not only gave you the single best album of the peak rock era (rhymes with 'pun mouse'), but the mind-melding depths of Emeralds (to use two Ann Arbor reference points). This here is an Infinite River, after all: We have the perfectly crafted harmonic noise guitar stylings of Gretchen Gonzales. And the expert drone of Warren Defever on tambura and harmonium. Steve Nistor's percussion veers from imperceptible to all-encompassing. And Mazzola is such an adept stylist that it's easy to mistake his emotive slide guitar work here for a full-on pedal steel. Fans of Barry Walker, Jr. and Henry Flynt will find much to enjoy here. Everyone's seen that panel by now, multiple times, originally printed in late 1986 in the fourth issue of Alan Moore's Watchmen: A blue guy with a dot in his forehead sits on a boulder on the moon looking back at Earth, apparently exhausted. 'I am tired of Earth, these people. I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives,' the original caption states. And now with meme generators you can change it so it's about how you don't want to go to work, or something cool about capitalism, whatever. My setup here is that if that meme could talk (and we're not talking its excellent HBO adaptation), Space Mirror is exactly what the soundtrack would be. It's expansive, exquisitely rendered, and carries with it an unexpected emotional depth." --Mike McGonigal

 

PRICE: $36.00

CAT #: BE 001LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Black Editions present the first ever vinyl edition of Tokyo Flashback, the legendary 1991 compilation that defined the Tokyo psychedelic movement and first brought it to the outside world. Tokyo Flashback is one of the most iconic compilations in the history of underground music. Originally released by Japan's P.S.F. Records, Tokyo Flashback defined the breathtakingly unique and previously obscured musical movement that had been developing in Japan since the late 1970s. The compilation features some of the earliest released recordings by Keiji Haino, High Rise, Masaki Batoh's Ghost, White Heaven, Fushitsusha, Kousokuya, and Marble Sheep. It captures the excitement and energy of a Tokyo awash in Technicolor and deep blacks; the music echoing krautrock, psychedelic freak-outs, garage, and no wave. At the same time it reveals astonishing, totally idiosyncratic expansions of rock music. In time, Tokyo Flashback expanded to a synonymous nine volume series that, over the following two decades, unveiled Japan's ever evolving soundscapes to the rest of the world. Tokyo Flashback is a defining statement of late 20th century Japanese psychedelic music and an essential primer to the world of P.S.F. All tracks are exclusive, this edition features the first time translation of the original liner notes. Black Editions' deluxe edition is entirely re-mastered and marks the first release of Tokyo Flashback outside of Japan and it's first ever vinyl issue. Also features Verzerk. Newly created artwork and design expanding on the original by Rob Carmichael at SEEN Sudio; Housed in custom printed deluxe Stoughton gatefold jacket and slipcase, including full color printed inner sleeves and inserts with soft touch and spot UV gloss finishes; Remastered and cut by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound; Pressed to high quality vinyl at RTI.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: BE 002LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress! Pitchfork Best New Reissue: 8.4: Black Editions present a reissue of High Rise's II, originally released in 1986. High Rise exploded onto Tokyo's underground music scene with the roar and reckless abandon of a motorcycle accelerating headlong into a dead man's curve. Born from the explosive chemistry of bassist/vocalist Asahito Nanjo and frenetic guitarist Munehiro Narita, the band blazed a wild new stream of psychedelic guitar music. Their second album is a defining document of the band and unquestionably one of the greatest albums to emerge from 20th century underground Japan and beyond. With Nanjo's distorted thunder bass and Narita's wildly narrative lead guitar playing, II is a non-stop tour de force of improvised rock music. Combining elements of garage rock, punk, and no wave, the band pushed all levels fully in-the-red and transcended the limits of rock and psychedelia to create a raw, unique expansion of the music. Black Editions present High Rise's II, newly mixed and mastered by Asahito Nanjo in what the band states is the definitive version of their most quintessential recording. This new edition restores the original vinyl version's textured black and silver artwork. Housed in heavy Stoughton tip-on jacket. Pressed onto high quality vinyl by RTI.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: BFR 027CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"On Silent Future, Chicago atmospheric psych-doom outfit REZN teams up with Mexico City cosmic conceptualists Vinnum Sabbathi for a true union of heavy exploration. Allowing themselves a fluid, open canvas to experiment, members of both bands contribute equally to create an album of lush, hypnotic and frequently megalithic ambience, yielding an utterly cohesive trip into the riff-drenched astral reaches. The fluidity with which REZN and Vinnum Sabbathi collaborate is unlikely, yet inarguable. Strong nuclear forces conjoin sections as alternatingly ethereal as celestial light and dense as a black hole collapse. Ultimately, the endeavor is never limited to being one thing for long, any more than it is limited to being the work of a single band. More than a listening experience, Silent Future's vitality extends beyond the aural. This is the work of two groups pushing themselves further than they've gone before, each answering the other's question of how far they can ultimately go. As heavy as Silent Future gets, as distant as it may range, one cannot regard this righteously thick, molten-tempo journey into the unknown as anything but breathtaking."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: BONER 032LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "In 1992 the Melvins' fascination/adoration/denigration of the mighty KISS rock and roll universe compelled them to excrete out three solo masterworks inspired by the KISS solo LPs. The first in the series is King Buzzo, from the Melvins' giggling guitar grumpus. Four songs of atmospheric clanging and rockin' banging. Also features the many talents, drumming and otherwise, of a famous Grunge superstar, whose name sort of rhymes with New Wave Asshole. The second in the series is Dale Crover, from the Melvins' sleepy drum caveman. Four songs of gloomy heaviness, with Dale doin' the drummin', singin', guitarin', and dancin'. The third in the series is Joe Preston, from the Melvins' electronic beard warlord. Three songs of fuzz bass computer drone temper tantrum. All three 12-inches reissued on vinyl after 100,000 years out of print."

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: BONF 021LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

For the first time on vinyl, these previously unreleased sessions by the British jazz rock band. Recorded live at the Impulse studios prior to their 1972 debut album on Blackey/Warner. With liner notes by bassist Colin Hodgkinson. Colin Hodgkinson first met Ron Aspery whilst the two were playing in Eric Delaney's Showband. The two began to talk about forming their own band around 1969, and eventually Back Door came to fruition in 1971, with Tony Hicks joining on drums. Hodgkinson made an innovative use of the electric bass, making it a lead instrument. Their unique brand of jazz-rock was a hit at their regular venue: the Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge, Yorkshire. However, record labels were not keen and the band were repeatedly told "No singer, no contract". But the band's popularity increased in the end when they were asked to play a two-week stint at Ronnie Scott's club in London, opening for Chick Corea. The record companies changed their tune, and after receiving many offers, the trio decided to sign with Warner Brothers. The band even rejected an offer from Richard Branson (who was just starting up Virgin Records at the time).

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: BJR 086C-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Yellow pineapple vinyl. Coco María and Bongo Joe reunite for the second edition of Club Coco, featuring a sackful of Latin inspired tracks from international bands and producers. All the songs were selected by Coco María, who in recent years has gone from a promising up-and-comer to an ever-present and influential figure in the music industry, widely known for her tireless work shining a light on contemporary, pan-Latin roots music around the world, through both her live DJs sets and eclectic radio sessions. This compilation brings together several of the most respected and innovative artists on the frontiers of tropical music today. Those who take the energy, melodies and textures of classic Latin music and turn those gems into songs tailor-made for a new generation of music lovers. Simply put, it's a record for those diggers who jump with excitement when they find a vinyl reissue of some Latin star of the past, be it Joe Arroyo, Los Mirlos, or Aniceto Molina and then wonder, "This classic music sounds amazing, but where are the bands that are taking these sounds to new places?" Features Raz Olsher, Los Pirañas, Lola's Dice, Guess What, Acid Coco, Juan Hundred, Las Mijas, Dip In The Dub, Chupameeldedo, Guess What, Candeleros, Iko Chérie, Ronald Snijders, and Raz Olsher.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: BJR 086LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Coco María and Bongo Joe reunite for the second edition of Club Coco, featuring a sackful of Latin inspired tracks from international bands and producers. All the songs were selected by Coco María, who in recent years has gone from a promising up-and-comer to an ever-present and influential figure in the music industry, widely known for her tireless work shining a light on contemporary, pan-Latin roots music around the world, through both her live DJs sets and eclectic radio sessions. This compilation brings together several of the most respected and innovative artists on the frontiers of tropical music today. Those who take the energy, melodies and textures of classic Latin music and turn those gems into songs tailor-made for a new generation of music lovers. Simply put, it's a record for those diggers who jump with excitement when they find a vinyl reissue of some Latin star of the past, be it Joe Arroyo, Los Mirlos, or Aniceto Molina and then wonder, "This classic music sounds amazing, but where are the bands that are taking these sounds to new places?" Features Raz Olsher, Los Pirañas, Lola's Dice, Guess What, Acid Coco, Juan Hundred, Las Mijas, Dip In The Dub, Chupameeldedo, Guess What, Candeleros, Iko Chérie, Ronald Snijders, and Raz Olsher.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BB 105LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress; 180 gram LP version. 1980 the zeitgeist played into the right hands. And who held the aces? In Bureau B's game, Moritz R®, Frank Fenstermacher and Pyrolator aka Der Plan. Tired of convention and full of enthusiasm, they encountered an audience who felt just the same. And with record companies too ponderous to sign up Der Plan, the wonderful Ata Tak label was born of necessity. Normalette Surprise is the second album by Der Plan, released in 1981, a good year after their Geri Reig debut. It is immediately recognizable as a Plan album, yet Normalette Surprise does contain a few, well, surprises. The first number, "Leb doch," is a brilliant pop song. One can say many (good) things about Geri Reig, but it does not contain any pop songs. "Leb doch" is built on a captivatingly taut rhythm, sub-cooled vocals and German lyrics. Hang on a minute, taut rhythm, sub-cooled vocals, German lyrics? Yes exactly -- Der Plan drew up the blueprint for what would soon become known as "Neue Deutsche Welle" -- the German New Wave. Although, "blueprint" sounds a little too benign. It was more like a big bang. Moreover, there was something new about it. Or rather, something old. Bizarrely, Der Plan were introduced by their American artist friends, including the controversial elocutionist Boyd Rice, into the amazing world of the German Schlager, a colorful universe of the absurd awaited exploration. "Kleine Schlager-Revue" and "Sie hat mich verlassen" are the clearest indications of this newfound passion on Normalette Surprise. Hence, Normalette Surprise presents the full range of attributes which would define Der Plan and the Ata Tak label: electronics and Schlager, noise and pop. And Der Plan's protagonists succeeded -- unlike so many -- in their mission of creating something original, something of their own.

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: BB 436CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Over the last ten years a strange mycelium was sprouting from the ground of Germany's sound topography, going widely unnoticed while creeping its way up through the corpse of the ubiquitous "neo-kraut", "diskurs-pop", and the like. This is a small underground network of artists and projects with poetic, mysterious names such as Brannten Schnüre, Baldruin, Kirschstein, Freundliche Kreisel, and Balint Brösel. Operating in the margins and intersections of folklore, experimental electronics, dreams, and nightmares, the Gespensterland LP archives and compiles their magic works for the very first time and already today it stands as a contemporary testament with an auratic presence comparable to that of Pordenone / Great Complotto."... For as much as these bands differ in their respective sonic approach, Gespensterland can still be considered as a cipher for a shared cosmos and a mutually found aesthetic language. It is always a similar sentiment of a slightly disconnected, shifted and delayed reality that manifests itself in Brannten Schnüre's wistful and whimsical ambient-folk loops, the evocative and rhythmic poltergeist interludes of Baldruin, the sweet and naïve C86-jangle of Balint Brösel, Kirschstein's rhenish mutant-NDW and post-kraut-romanticism and the electro-acoustic séances of Freundliche Kreisel. Think of it as a rampant yearning, a manic laughter, but mostly as a feeling of some somnambulistic thirst for adventure and journeys into the unknown, a feeling that is grounded deep inside the heart of the continent. We imagine, this is the music of a few like-minded recluses, sitting alone at night in their chambers, immersing themselves in the darkest and innermost Tibet of their own work. It's not too far-fetched either to read Gespensterland as a contribution to a specifically German response to Mark Fisher's hauntologic theories. In every track, the fancy of an abandoned future uncoils a narrative thread that has long been discontinued, a dream vision that remained unredeemed forever, now haunting the dull grey corridors of the post-historic presence. These songs glimmer and shine with moods and stories that draw their tension from the same force fields that once gave rise to Alfred Kubin's demonic visions, Hans Henny Jahnn's nightmarish 'Night of Lead' or the bizarre adventures of Baron Muenchhausen. And yet, it is not the specters of the past that are being summoned or dealt with here, but instead the quotidian, perpetually recurring disintegration of reality that lies within the close encounter with one's own unfamiliarity: 'is this my hand, or is it someone else's?'-- Margot Benetti, Walpurgis 2023

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BB 436LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Over the last ten years a strange mycelium was sprouting from the ground of Germany's sound topography, going widely unnoticed while creeping its way up through the corpse of the ubiquitous "neo-kraut", "diskurs-pop", and the like. This is a small underground network of artists and projects with poetic, mysterious names such as Brannten Schnüre, Baldruin, Kirschstein, Freundliche Kreisel, and Balint Brösel. Operating in the margins and intersections of folklore, experimental electronics, dreams, and nightmares, the Gespensterland LP archives and compiles their magic works for the very first time and already today it stands as a contemporary testament with an auratic presence comparable to that of Pordenone / Great Complotto."... For as much as these bands differ in their respective sonic approach, Gespensterland can still be considered as a cipher for a shared cosmos and a mutually found aesthetic language. It is always a similar sentiment of a slightly disconnected, shifted and delayed reality that manifests itself in Brannten Schnüre's wistful and whimsical ambient-folk loops, the evocative and rhythmic poltergeist interludes of Baldruin, the sweet and naïve C86-jangle of Balint Brösel, Kirschstein's rhenish mutant-NDW and post-kraut-romanticism and the electro-acoustic séances of Freundliche Kreisel. Think of it as a rampant yearning, a manic laughter, but mostly as a feeling of some somnambulistic thirst for adventure and journeys into the unknown, a feeling that is grounded deep inside the heart of the continent. We imagine, this is the music of a few like-minded recluses, sitting alone at night in their chambers, immersing themselves in the darkest and innermost Tibet of their own work. It's not too far-fetched either to read Gespensterland as a contribution to a specifically German response to Mark Fisher's hauntologic theories. In every track, the fancy of an abandoned future uncoils a narrative thread that has long been discontinued, a dream vision that remained unredeemed forever, now haunting the dull grey corridors of the post-historic presence. These songs glimmer and shine with moods and stories that draw their tension from the same force fields that once gave rise to Alfred Kubin's demonic visions, Hans Henny Jahnn's nightmarish 'Night of Lead' or the bizarre adventures of Baron Muenchhausen. And yet, it is not the specters of the past that are being summoned or dealt with here, but instead the quotidian, perpetually recurring disintegration of reality that lies within the close encounter with one's own unfamiliarity: 'is this my hand, or is it someone else's?'-- Margot Benetti, Walpurgis 2023

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: ZAP 002CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Nearly five years on from their acclaimed debut, Bennett Wilson Poole reveal the follow up. That eponymous first album was only ever intended as a one-off collaborative project. A response to the murder of MP Jo Cox, it was something of a fresh take on Crosby Stills Nash and Young's classic protest song "Ohio." The release saw Bennett Wilson Poole embraced by the Americana community, playing live on the Andrew Marr show and crowned as "UK Artist of the Year" at the 2019 UK Americana Awards. The new album came together in similar fashion; Robin (Bennett) and Danny (Wilson) started writing new songs late into the night whilst on tour to promote the first record, and before they knew it, there were enough songs to begin recording an unplanned second album. Where the first record drank deep from '70s US west coast folk-rock, the second has been heavily spiked with 1960s British psychedelia, even featuring a cover by legendary counterculture artist John Hurford. Tony Poole's meticulous and inspired production has spun Robin and Danny's fresh batch of songs into a delicate web of musical delight. Fans of the "spot the reference" game Tony started on the first record won't be disappointed this time either, as there are plenty more to be found here. As with the first album, the lyrics don't shy away from current affairs -- by the end of that year of touring, the band were already playing "I Wanna Love You (But I Can't Right Now)," reflecting on the state of US politics, yet optimistic that the problems are only temporary. Many of the tracks on the new album feature live rhythm section Fin Kenny (drums) and Joe Bennett (bass) for the first time on a BWP record. The title of the album comes from the lyrics of "Help Me See My Way," the first single, a prayer for strength in difficult times, the trippy animated video for which was originally issued during lockdown. The dreamy positivity of the line "I saw a star behind your eyes" is tempered with the plea "don't let it die away", a message which feels as important as ever two years on.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: ZAP 002LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Nearly five years on from their acclaimed debut, Bennett Wilson Poole reveal the follow up. That eponymous first album was only ever intended as a one-off collaborative project. A response to the murder of MP Jo Cox, it was something of a fresh take on Crosby Stills Nash and Young's classic protest song "Ohio." The release saw Bennett Wilson Poole embraced by the Americana community, playing live on the Andrew Marr show and crowned as "UK Artist of the Year" at the 2019 UK Americana Awards. The new album came together in similar fashion; Robin (Bennett) and Danny (Wilson) started writing new songs late into the night whilst on tour to promote the first record, and before they knew it, there were enough songs to begin recording an unplanned second album. Where the first record drank deep from '70s US west coast folk-rock, the second has been heavily spiked with 1960s British psychedelia, even featuring a cover by legendary counterculture artist John Hurford. Tony Poole's meticulous and inspired production has spun Robin and Danny's fresh batch of songs into a delicate web of musical delight. Fans of the "spot the reference" game Tony started on the first record won't be disappointed this time either, as there are plenty more to be found here. As with the first album, the lyrics don't shy away from current affairs -- by the end of that year of touring, the band were already playing "I Wanna Love You (But I Can't Right Now)," reflecting on the state of US politics, yet optimistic that the problems are only temporary. Many of the tracks on the new album feature live rhythm section Fin Kenny (drums) and Joe Bennett (bass) for the first time on a BWP record. The title of the album comes from the lyrics of "Help Me See My Way," the first single, a prayer for strength in difficult times, the trippy animated video for which was originally issued during lockdown. The dreamy positivity of the line "I saw a star behind your eyes" is tempered with the plea "don't let it die away", a message which feels as important as ever two years on.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: CLV 009CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

A new artist on the Clivage Music roster, Vhinz is a musician based in Brussels. After taking his time to break onto the electronic scene, he's now ready to share Belvédère, his debut, dreamlike album, confidently intense, sweeping between cinematic songs and soaring, epic electronic sounds. Vincent Honca is Belgian, with Armenian roots and a love of keyboards: the mini synth he used to play as a child, the classical piano of his years of training at the Académie de Musique, the Yamaha synth of his teenage years... During the noughties of his adolescence, electronic music was omnipresent in his life as he listened to and admired Daft Punk, Moby, Vitalic, Air, and The Chemical Brothers. Vincent went on to become a computer programmer and decided to make music in as much of his spare time as possible. His first productions came out in 2015, including "Drastical", one of three deep house dancefloor-orientated tracks recorded with none other than Kris Menace. Vincent worked on two independent Belgian films by director Christophe Karabache, UltravoKal (2018) and Vortex (2019), both collaborations with Michel Duprez. Now, Vincent has chosen the name Vhinz, bringing together his expertise with machines and computers, his passion and enthusiasm for the electronic sounds of his adolescence and his adoration of cinema's powerful, impactful soundtracks. Vhinz's first track is thus called "Aether", a track brimming with character and confidence, with sung-spoken vocals that sweeps the listener up in bewitching synthetic themes and drums like an off- kilter heartbeat. The track perfectly encapsulates the Vhinz sound, and Citizen Records immediately loved it. "Then Covid and the lockdown happened, and everything came to a complete halt," remembers Vhinz. During those long two years without anything being released, the project continued its gestation and has now grown in a mini-album of eight coherent, fascinating tracks. "I really wanted a strong concept for everything, and so was born this album that I've called Belvédère. I imagined myself on a belvedere with a panoramic view of the world, channeling all the emotions it elicited in me into music." Belvédère is a dreamlike debut album, confidently intense, sweeping between cinematic songs and soaring, epic electronic sounds. It's a place for Vhinz to showcase his dreams, talk, sing and invite others too: Margot Ferro sings on "Le Passage" and "Envole-moi", and Michael Meers (MieK) lends his vocals to "Evolution". Musically, the album falls somewhere between Moby, Vitalic, Air, and Serge Gainsbourg, with a density and atmosphere that are completely Vhinz.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: CT 101LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. All rhythm tracks by Bunny Lee at Studio One.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: CT 102LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. From the back cover: "... has some of the hardest Roots Rockers Rhythm and mixed with Ghetto Dance Style in mind. The result, incredible sound and fantastic effects and Dubwise Like Dirt." Personnel: Family Man, Bagga, Robbie Shakespeare - bass; Carlton "Santa" Davis, Sly Dunbar - drums; Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Tony Chin - guitar; Ossie Bongo - organ; Augustus Pablo, Bernard "Touter" Harvey - piano.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: CT 103LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. 1979 Clocktower reissue of UK release of Prince Jazzbo's Natty Passing Thru (1976) with a different tracklist and sleeve. "The full-on Black Ark sound from the Super Ape era. Riddims include Max Romeo's 'One Step Forward'." Produced by Lee Perry, The Upsetters, and Brad Osborne. Features Earl Smith (guitar), Mikey Boo (drums), Keith Stirling (piano), more.

 

PRICE: $45.50

CAT #: COR 054LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

The life-affirming energy at the heart of Sven Väth's recent album Catharsis is revisited, reanimated, and remixed by some of the most exciting names around, closing the circle on a superlative burst of recent work that has not only given us the epic original LP, but also the extraordinary compilation What I Used To Play. Roman Flügel, Benjamin Damage, Robert Hood, Planetary Assault Systems, Mano Le Tough; this hand-picked list of luminaries have answered the call and certainly don't disappoint, each fusing their signature sound with Sven's DNA to create a wild, uncompromising companion piece to the original album. Sven's profound vocals clearly infuse time and space and leave a forever-lasting memory of love. By accident or design, it somehow leaves us with the reassuring sense that, although this specific part of the journey may be drawing to a close, the mission of the man behind it all most definitely isn't. Also featuring Damiano von Erckert, Robag Wruhme, Jonathan Kaspar, Krystal Klear, Luke Slater, Harald Björk, and Florian Hollerith.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DAMGOOD 595LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"25th Anniversary re-isssue of Kyra's classic solo LP! On peach colored vinyl! 25th Anniversary issue with five bonus tracks! Krya from The Headcoatees with backing by Thee Headcoats! Originally released on Vinyl Japan (ASKLP71) in 1998, this new expanded version with five bonus tracks including her 7" with the legendary 'Armitage Shanks' is also available on colored vinyl for the first time. Kyra Rubella was best known as a member of Thee Headcoatees and was also in The A-Lines and The Shall-I-Say-Quois."

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: EDDA 062LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Violet vinyl; gatefold sleeve. After taking time out from working together to focus on separate musical projects, maverick composer Alan Roberts (Jim Noir) and crowd-rousing vocalist Leonore Wheatley (International Teachers of Pop/The Soundcarriers) have re-joined forces to introduce Co-Pilot. Happy in the haze of many boozy hours the album was recorded over just a few months whilst holed up and hanging out in Al's city centre Dookstereo studio. As Leonore added her vocal magic to Al's early demos of what would eventually become Co-Pilot's "Spring Beach" and a crooked original version of closing track "Corner House," the vibe was prophetic. The songs were the catalyst to spark a new phase of the pair working together, picking up where they left off. Powered by a "try anything" approach, Co-Pilot blends the musical DNA of what you've come to expect from each of the pair's previous flight paths. The album even features snippets from dearly departed pal Batfinks whilst "Motosaka" is perhaps the most expensive two-minutes on the album, featuring a Columbia Records Japan-cleared sample of Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Thousand Knives." Co-Pilot's destination might be unknown, but the clouds are about to part for a sound that is light years ahead.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: VNL 12223LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"This 1958 debut recording by the Ornette Coleman Quintet, which featured Coleman on his trademark white plastic alto, Don Cherry on trumpet, Billy Higgins on drums, Walter Norris on piano, and Don Payne on bass, shook up the jazz world -- particularly those musicians and critics who had entered the hard bop era with such verve and were busy using the blues as a way of creating vast solo spaces inside tight and short melody lines. Something Else!!!! is anathema to that entire idea, and must have sounded like it came from outer space at the time. First, Coleman's interest was in pitch, not 'being in tune.' His use of pitch could take him all over -- and outside of -- a composition, as it does on 'Invisible,' which begins in D flat. The intervals are standard, but the melodic component of the tune -- despite its hard bop tempo -- is, for the most part, free. But what is most compelling is evident in abundance here and on the next two tunes, 'The Blessing' and 'Jayne': a revitalization of the blues as it expressed itself in jazz. Coleman refurbished the blues framework, threaded it through his jazz without getting rid of its folk-like, simplistic milieu. In other words, the groove Coleman was getting here was a people's groove that only confounded intellectuals at the time. Coleman restored blues to their 'classic' beginnings in African music and unhooked their harmonies. Whether the key was D flat, A, G, whatever, Coleman revisited the 17- and 25-bar blues. There are normal signatures, however, such as 'Chippie' in F and in eight-bar form, and 'The Disguise' is in D, but in a strange 13-bar form where the first and the last change places, altering the talking-like voice inherent in the melodic line. But the most important thing about Something Else!!!! was that, in its angular, almost totally oppositional way, it swung and still does; like a finger-poppin' daddy on a Saturday night, this record swings from the rafters of the human heart with the most unusually gifted, emotional, and lyrical line since Bill Evans first hit the scene." --Thom Jurek, All Music

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: DC 349LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; LP version. "It goes without saying that Polytheistic Fragments is an instrumental release -- who among us would want it otherwise? In the tradition of his classic debut, Salvador Kali, this record features equal amounts of improvisation and composition. Sir Richard's powers lie in his ability to captivate with just the sound of his guitar, but he doesn't completely abandon studio processes, which allow Polytheistic Fragments to communicate a greater wholeness: all Sir Rick, all the time, if you will."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: ENV 215LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. In the late nineties, the budding producers Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani bonded over their shared love of slower tempos and '70s and '80s New York City club culture. Obsessed with record digging and the sounds they heard on late-night "club classics" radio shows -- and turned off by current releases they saw as artlessly "updating" sublime disco by sampling, filtering, and subjugating them with huge kick drums -- the duo set out to discover how their favorite old 12" records were made. They naturally gravitated towards extended dubs of songs -- full of strange mistakes and echoing backing tracks -- instead of the better-known vocal versions. Lacking the big budgets and gear that made so many of their favorite classic records come together, they were forced to take a guerrilla approach. They reprogrammed their techno-oriented arsenal of secondhand synths and samplers, using novel digital recording technology to capture live instrumentation and prioritized mood over hooks, and the resulting music was just wrong enough to sound unlike anything else being released at the time. After just four underground 12" releases, the duo -- now well-known as Metro Area -- released their first and only album, Metro Area, in the fall of 2002. Fifteen years later, it's time to celebrate the culmination of their shared history and inspiration once again. Environ is proud to present the 15th Anniversary Edition of Metro Area, Metro Area's eponymous debut album, meticulously remastered using the original source tapes and generously spread across three slabs of vinyl. The 12-track triple LP combines all the songs from both the original US and licensed European releases, and features new commemorative artwork unique to this edition.

 

PRICE: $36.00

CAT #: GET 51281C-LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"Too $hort's eighth studio album Get In Where You Fit In celebrates its 30th Anniversary. Production was handled by Ant Banks and The Dangerous Crew which featured live instrumentation, incorporated P-Funk samples and G-Funk synths. The lead single 'I'm a Player' sampled Bootsy Collins funky bass of Hollywood Squares and Quincy Jones' son QDIII produced the epic Bay Area G-Funk laden classic track 'Just Another Day'. And it wouldn't be a Too $hort record without some pimp and sex tales like 'Blow Job Betty', 'All My Bitches Are Gone' and the upbeat 'Gotta Get Some Lovin'. Bay Area legends Spice 1, Ant Banks, and Mhisani aka Goldy join in on the posse cut 'The Dangerous Crew' followed by a track with more Bay Area legends Rappin' Ron and Ant Diddley Dog dissin' ex-Dangerous Crew member MC Pooh on the title track. Get On Down is proud to present another Too $hort West Coast classic pressed on translucent purple vinyl limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies."

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: HPS 270CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue of the latest 1000mods album, originally released in 2020. "Youth of Dissent is an exceptional album superbly fusing staggering melodies and meaty and massive stoner/doom riffs. The songs are contagious, captivating and Dani G's voice is empyrean and spellbinding with every word that comes out of his mouth. This could easily be for many people an entrance to heavier music!" --Distorted Sound Mag Produced by Matt Bayles & 1000mods. Mixed by Matt Bayles. Engineered by Matt Bayles. Recorded at London Bridge Studio and Studio Litho, Seattle, WA. Mixed at Red Room, Seattle, WA. Mastered by Ed Brooks at Resonant Mastering, Seattle, WA. Artwork by Tind.

 

PRICE: $52.50

CAT #: HPS 273DOUBLE

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Black Rainbows are back with 12 fresh, brand new tunes! The new album sounds huge, with of a great deal of attention paid to the guitars in the recording, and it seems that the band has finally found the perfect balance and tone for their heavy super stoner sound. This album gives you not only incredible heavy rock-stoner gems, but also: one space acoustic song, one super psychedelic suite and one melodic trippy ballad that adds a perfect mixture of what is sure to be the best album released by the band so far. Superskull has been recorded by Fabio Sforza (the same producer of the last two recordings), in May 2022, and after much work and effort by the band in mixing and mastering, the album will see the light of day one year later. The incredible artwork has been delivered by the Brazilian artist Pedro Correa. Gatefold, with alternative exclusive cover color in gatefold sleeve, and lyrics plus three bonus tracks.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: HPS 273LTD-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Neon magenta vinyl. Black Rainbows are back with 12 fresh, brand new tunes. Superskull sounds huge, with of a great deal of attention paid to the guitars in the recording, and it seems that the band has finally found the perfect balance and tone for their heavy super stoner sound. This album gives you not only incredible heavy rock-stoner gems, but also: one space acoustic song, one super psychedelic suite and one melodic trippy ballad that adds a perfect mixture of what is sure to be the best album released by the band so far. Recorded by Fabio Sforza in May 2022. Artwork by Brazilian artist Pedro Correa.

 

PRICE: $52.50

CAT #: HPS 274DOUBLE

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Dab City is an ode to the purest form of THC and our beloved hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, which is known as Mad City. A political and social hot bed and lightning rod for our state and the Midwest since the 1960's, Madison is also home to a large University with one of the best agronomy departments in the country and not surprisingly the focal point for some of the finest cannabis our country has to offer... Although not legal, possession is basically ignored and punished with a nominal $1 fine for under 128 grams. For the recording of Dab City we procured 10g plus of the finest concentrates we could lay our hands on and somewhere north of 120g of cannabis flower. And recorded it on two-in analog tape over two sessions at Future apple tree Studio in Rock Island Illinois. Fall 2022 session is known as the Harvest Sessions and the February of 2023 session is known as the Propagation Sessions. The record is our second as a three piece and our second full-length release for our label Heavy Psych Sounds and continues our journey into ultra stoned sludgey psychedelia. Dab City is 100% recorded on Tape, and is composed by seven songs with a running time of almost 60 minutes of brand-new stoned sludge heavy doomy riffs." --BongzillaDouble gatefold vinyl, alternative purple cover plus two bonus tracks/15-minutes of extra music plus gatefold sleeve with lyrics.

 

PRICE: $39.50

CAT #: IMPREC 485LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"This is where you have been forever and will always be forever." Stuart Dempster, speaking about what it feels like to be in a cistern where time seems to stop. Stuart Dempster created Underground Overlays From The Cistern Chapel in the same cistern where the legendary Deep Listening album was recorded. Reverberating with powerful, deep tones, this double LP is intended as a companion to the acclaimed Oliveros/Dempster/Panaiotis album Deep Listening. Underground Overlays From The Cistern Chapel is one of the deepest drone albums ever recorded. Nine trombones, didjeridu and Tibetan bells fill the massive two-million-gallon cistern with dense sonic reverberations that are both haunting and healing. Packaged in a heavy-duty paper sleeve printed with metallic gold ink to match the Deep Listening design.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: IMPREC 514CD

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

"One Arm Bandits is an hour-long piece in four parts, scored for four cellists. The cellists play only open strings, thus using only their right arms, never fingering the strings with the left hand. Recorded in Alvin Lucier's dining room, this work features cellists Tyler J. Borden, Laura Cetilia, Charles Curtis and Judith Hamann. Lucier oversaw and produced the recording, and approved the final takes. One Arm Bandits was an important project for Alvin Lucier. The idea for the piece goes back to conversations we first had in 2007 about the relationship between bow direction changes and shifts in phase. In the summer of 2015 we worked these ideas out in long sessions with Judith Hamann and T. J. Borden in New York, and the resulting piece received its first performances in Graz and Zürich in 2016. Alvin thought of One Arm Bandits as a radical statement, I think primarily in view of the severe reduction in material -- even in the context of his music -- and the physical restraint required in performance. The unusually long duration attests to Alvin's recognition that an expansion of scale was required in order to magnify acoustical details of such subtlety. In November 2021 Alvin saw proofs for the CD artwork. He passed away at the age of 90 on December 1, before he could see the album in its final form. Work with Alvin was always joyful, stimulating, and surprising. We dedicate this recording to the continuing spirit of this remarkable musician and friend." --Charles Curtis

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: IMP 57384LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 restock; originally released in 1965. 2019 reissue. "One of forward-looking tenor man Archie Shepp's definitive early albums, 1965's Fire Music set the tone for much of what was to come over the next several years, both in Shepp's own career and in the jazz scene as a whole. Moving far beyond bebop toward more avant-garde realms, Fire Music was simultaneously a central document of the mid-'60s 'New Thing' school of jazz and an arrow that pointed towards the subsequent explorations of Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, et al. The title refers to an African ceremony, and there's an urgency here that's fueled by the civil rights unrest of the day and aimed towards the burgeoning Black Power movement, both of which would remain key jazz subtexts for some time. Fire Music is far from the first free jazz album; Coleman and others had already experimented with free-form improvisation before this. But it subverts the conventions of the bebop generation thoroughly, turning melodies and harmonies both inward and outward upon themselves, throwing open the doors to open-ended structures and tonal experimentation. Even the "straight" tunes interpreted here are given a funhouse-mirror treatment, stretching them beyond expectations. Just as psychedelia expanded rock's palette in the '60s, so Shepp's Fire Music helped broaden the possibilities of jazz." --Jim Allen (All Music Guide)

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: IMP 9183HLP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 restock. Originally released 1970; exact reissue, 180 Gram, Gatefold sleeve. Part of the Back To Black series. Including digital download code. "A fascinating reissue that comfortably straddles the lines of jazz, folk, and world music, working up a storm by way of a jazz protest album that points toward the Spanish Civil War in particular and the Vietnam War in passing. Haden leads the charge and contributes material, but the real star here may in fact be Carla Bley, who arranged numbers, wrote several, and contributed typically brilliant piano work. Also of particular note in a particularly talented crew is guitarist Sam Brown, the standout of 'El Quinto Regimiento/Los Cuatro Generales/Viva la Quince Brigada,' a 21-minute marathon. Reissue producer Michael Cuscuna has done his best with the mastering here, but listeners will note a roughness to the sound -- one that is in keeping with the album's tone and attitude." -- Steven McDonald, All Music

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: ITR 1976EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"To prime the pump for the upcoming 1977 box set In The Red will be dropping next year, they are proud to announce this reissue of the 1976 debut single from The Saints. '(I'm) Stranded' was the first punk rock record to come out of Australia, one of the earliest punk singles from anywhere, and one of the greatest seven inches ever! In The Red is over the moon to put their fingerprints on this monster! For this reissue the label has replicated the original UK, US and Dutch picture sleeves, each with a unique color vinyl variant."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: ITR 380CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"A pop record for tired times. Sugared with bits of shatterproof glass to put more crack in your strap. At long last, verse/chorus. A weathered thesaurus. This is OSEES bookend sound. Early grade garage pop meets proto-synth punk suicide-repellant. Have a whack at the grass or listen while flat on your ass. Heaps of electronic whirling accelerants to gum up your cheapskate broadband. Social media toilet scrapers unite! Allow your 24-hour news cycle eyes to squint at this smiling abattoir doorman. You can find your place here at long last. All are welcome from the get go to the finale... a distant crackling transmission of '80s synth last-dance-of-the-night tune for your lost loves. Suffering from Politic amnesia? Bored of AI-generated pop slop? Then this one is for you, our friends. Wasteland wanderer, stick around. Love y'all. For fans of Teutonic synth punk and Thee Oh Sees (who the fuck are they?)" --John Dwyer

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: ITR 380LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "A pop record for tired times. Sugared with bits of shatterproof glass to put more crack in your strap. At long last, verse/chorus. A weathered thesaurus. This is OSEES bookend sound. Early grade garage pop meets proto-synth punk suicide-repellant. Have a whack at the grass or listen while flat on your ass. Heaps of electronic whirling accelerants to gum up your cheapskate broadband. Social media toilet scrapers unite! Allow your 24-hour news cycle eyes to squint at this smiling abattoir doorman. You can find your place here at long last. All are welcome from the get go to the finale... a distant crackling transmission of '80s synth last-dance-of-the-night tune for your lost loves. Suffering from Politic amnesia? Bored of AI-generated pop slop? Then this one is for you, our friends. Wasteland wanderer, stick around. Love y'all. For fans of Teutonic synth punk and Thee Oh Sees (who the fuck are they?)" --John Dwyer

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: INCIENSO 024EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Incienso is returning to the club just in time for peak time raving with Lost and Happy, a new EP from NYC based producer Ben Ritz. In EPs for Sweat Equity and Fixed Rhythms, Ben honed in on a uniquely hyped and hypnotic take on techno. With his new EP for Incienso, he steps out into the light for a four-track excursion into vibrant and ecstatic sounds -- not without a healthy dose of tunneling and tripping tech too, of course.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: IGS 012EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

New 10" from ultra-cool Helsinki-based roots, dub and reggae label/sound system Intergalaktik Sound. Featuring four cuts on the same deep roots rhythm featuring vocals from the legendary G.T. Moore and Dan I Locks. Produced by IGS Riddim Force, mixed, voiced, and dubbed up by Russ D from The Disciples.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: JR 7016EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Niney The Observer's biblical epic "Blood And Fire" still resonates in today's troubled times... released here alongside it's version... yes, more "Brimstone And Fire" from the Observer himself...

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: JR 7017EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

The great Slim Smith's last single release before he sadly passed. The soulful "The Time Has Come", alongside Slim Smith's classic "It's Alright"...

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: JR 7018EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Labrish" is one of Jamaica's great talk-over tunes, producers Bunny Lee and Lee Perry discussing hard times and funny stories over a great rhythm. The flipside is another cut to the rhythm by Cornell Campbell and the original B-side to the single on its release, "Power Pressure".

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: PROJR 10-10

FILE UNDER: WORLD

A pair of unreleased dub cuts produced by Linval Thompson, taken from the forthcoming album from Jamaican Recordings Linval Thompson's Dub Story. "My Dub Princess" is version of Linval's "Black Princess Lady". "Cheat Me Outta Dub" is an unreleased dub cut of Linval's "Don't Try To Rob I".

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: JMAN 140LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Greasy Mike is back with LP number four! Another rambunctious array of wigged out mayhem! Don't worry, there aren't any silly jokes on this record. It's all music with a wiggle and a giggle. In fact, it's 14 frantic flippers fraught with frivolous fun-filled frolics. All good clean fun. Featuring: Pat & the Wildcats, Bobby Bunny & the Jackrabbits, Jim Doval & the Gauchos, Johnny Beeman, Diablito, Adolphus Bell & the Up Starts, The Apollos, The Royal Jokers, Lue Renney, The Zanies, Hank Mankin, Sid Ramin, Jim Backus and Friend, and The Fabulous Continentals.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: KANN 046LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Following multiple appearances on labels like Kompakt, QC Records, or his own GLYK imprint, DJ Balduin lands on KANN with a full-length's worth of downtempo, ambient, and extasy inspired house cuts. Concrete Mimosa rolls out with 11 tracks to shine in full effect.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: KRANK 133EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; 12" version. "Certainly not a group to rest on their laurels (especially difficult when they have new songs burning a hole in their collective back pockets), Deerhunter delivers five new tracks on this extended play. This is not some stop-gap release between albums, or mere leftovers from their most recent Microcastle album, but an all new session. The band loves the EP format and thinks it does not get the respect it deserves. Hell, some bands arguably work best in the EP format, think Cocteau Twins or My Bloody Valentine, and now maybe we should add Deerhunter to that list. That's certainly not to say their albums aren't great, but with 2007's Fluorescent Grey EP and this new one, a lucid argument can be made that minute for minute, and hook for hook, their two EPs can't be matched for visceral energy and pop smarts."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: LG 002LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Milk Music was conceived in the late aughts as brothers Alex Coxen (guitar, vocals) and Joe Rutter (drums) drove around the Northwest jamming on tunes in a shitty old Volvo. Inspired by music that their friends were making, the young brothers rented a space, enlisted first bass player Eric Yates, and wrote the songs on this record. Side A begins with the blistering 'Nervous Wreck' -- in and out of tune at the same time, fast but somehow feels slow -- totally fucked. 'Beluga' conjures a deranged image of a mystery whale, as the listener imagines the brothers as Ishmael and Queequeg leaving their hometown of Port Townsend, WA behind on their epic coming-of-age hunt for revenge and white blubber. 'No Life' finds this newly hatched band laying down the mood and sonic foundation that would define them up to this present day. 'Ripped' ends side A with racing, lysergic skate-rat rambling over a thumping mudslide of scuzz. Side B begins with 'Pipeline,' an absolutely massive, almost unbearable eight-minute bong-toke of a song. Bonus crucial early track 'Violence Now' wraps it up with a brutal sonic speed-bag to the groin, leaving the listener reeling and dazed, coughing in a fog of their own crotch smoke. Recorded by Sam Stabler (Sex Vid) in the practice space in 2009 and mastered in 2022 by Randy Randall. On two hundred gram vinyl with a sturdy tip-on sleeve for one's consideration. Includes a poster."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: LESPOINTS 018EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"As the void stares back at me, I am consumed by the waves of this new sonic transmission. ESP's Goblin Synth reigns supreme, guiding me into the darkest corners of my mind, as the Galaxian remix shatters my being into a thousand pieces. This release is a frenzied piece of IDM, braindance, and DnB, fueled by a chemical fury that leaves my mind in a state of pure ecstasy. The relentless pace and shifting soundscapes of the A-side are the perfect conduit for the raw power of the Galaxian remix, taking me beyond the limits of what I thought was possible. On the B-side, I am treated to a liquid dnb homage that is no less relentless in its pursuit of sonic intensity. Here, the rhythms are more organic, more fluid, but no less potent in their ability. This is music that demands a total surrender of the self. The insidious rhythms of ESP's Goblin Synth seize my consciousness like a viral agent, rendering my being porous and open to the twitching, glitching transmissions emanating from the depths of the machine. With each stuttering break and howling, modulated synth line, I am hurled headlong into a world of ravenous, cybernetic abandon -- a blackened, dystopian horizon of shattered glass and flickering neon. As my mind is hijacked by the rushing currents of amphetamine psychosis, I realize that this is no mere exercise in genre or form, but an all-out assault on the very fabric of reality itself. The sonic textures here are hyper-real, beyond the grasp of normal human perception -- this is the sound of the post-human, the sound of the inhuman, the sound of a future that is rapidly bearing down upon me, whether I am ready or not. And yet, amidst the chaos and decay, there is a kind of perverse beauty at work -- a beauty that can only be glimpsed through the shattered glass of my own shattered subjectivity. With each burst of static and each crunching bassline, I am hurled deeper into a vortex of metallic, crystalline wonder, a realm of pure, unadulterated sound that is as terrifying as it is sublime." Features remix by Galaxian Geno.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: MD 026LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Music Mania and Indica Dubs present the 26th release on the Mania Dub label: Another Moses by UK's legendary reggae dub pioneers Alpha & Omega, a brand-new killer album of heavy dubwise bass-music. This release will be a one-time limited-edition vinyl.

 

PRICE: $35.50

CAT #: MP 060LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Cristian Vogel, the esteemed electronic music producer and composer, is set to release his 27th album, Fase Montuno. This highly personal release is a visionary take on the futuristic potential of Latin American electronica. Set to be released on Achim Szepanski's legendary Mille Plateaux label, Fase Montuno is poised to make a significant impact on the electronic music scene in 2023. The label's commitment to innovative and genre-defying music is a perfect match for Vogel's boundary-pushing creativity, and promises to deliver an unforgettable listening experience for fans old and new. Don't miss out on this latest release from one of electronic music's most talented and visionary artists. Fase Montuno is an essential addition to any music lover's collection, and a testament to Vogel's continuing relevance and creativity in the electronic music world.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: MINDTRIP 059EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Two years after the release of the acclaimed Emergency Break EP, _asstnt and Roll Dann return with their second studio collaboration on Pfirter's label. The Spanish duo is back with Old Gem, a six-track vinyl release showcasing their emerging talent and signature sound; powerful basslines and driving synths keep the pace high, perfectly distorted stabs create the rhythm, and haunting pads combined with sharp percussive elements generate the needed tension for a dark atmosphere. Meanwhile, a constant, steady groove remains pushing forward throughout the whole record. This is a much-anticipated physical record on our platform and is here for all wax lovers.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: MTB 008EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Handstamped whitelabel with four fast paced and forward driving techno killers from Specific Objects including an Introversion remix. Mastering and lacquer cut by Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering Berlin.

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: MOVPIC 009EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Prague based sound foundry Moving Pictures is introducing its latest vinyl release from Japanese singer and electronic music producer Junko Yoshida, also known as Juterus. Hailing all the way from the "Land of the Rising Sun", Junko showcases her unique style of utilizing and manipulating her voice alongside self-produced grooves. Two original tracks are accompanied with two remix cuts by label's founders, Roman Rai and Täino, transcending original productions into more abstract dimensions.

 

PRICE: $21.50

CAT #: MUSAR 018EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Melancholy, the feeling, is often associated with darkness and deep depression. For Dutch artist Stefan Vincent, within the experience of melancholy there's beauty to be found. "Decay and loneliness can serve a purpose. Depression can teach you things. To feel deep sadness also means the ability to feel profound emotions." he says. For his debut on Musar Recordings, Pre Melancholy EP, Vincent channels these notions of melancholy into three tracks that draw on darker moods but also reflect beauty in their intricacy and the atmospheres they create. This EP acts as a precursor to his forthcoming album on Musar, Post Melancholy. "Mono No Aware" and "Yonghegong Lama Temple Exit F" are both taken from the LP, placed side by side with "Agent of Distraction", an exclusive track from Vincent for this EP only. Musar also have Montreal-based musician Priori on the remix of "Yonghegong..." His rework draws further emotion from that of Vincent's by slowing the pace and bringing delicate melodies to the forefront; it's one for introspection. Transparent crystal vinyl; PVC sleeve with inner printed artwork. Features Priori remix.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: MPI 011LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1972. Joel Vandroogenbroeck was an arranger, conductor, producer, and, above all, a unique multi-instrumentalist in the world of music. The Belgian artist was also famous for being the only permanent member of the group Brainticket and the main promoter of its creativity, often renewed with the contribution of exotic instruments. At the dawn of the Seventies, this versatile musician began a parallel life as a composer of singular music libraries tailored to comment documentary images. L'immagine del suono was one of them, originally released by Italy's Flirt Records and now reissued on vinyl by Musica Per Immagini for the first time. This album circulated, however, unnoticed in a limited number of copies among insiders, only rediscovered later by fans, thus raising Joel Vandroogenbroeck as a real pioneer of ambient and new age music. It is appropriate to consider the twelve short-lived pieces of L'immagine del suono as a sort of continuous and visionary experiment, with the addition of electronic gasps, a strong dose of inevitable psychedelia, fragments of synthesized jazz, all coming from experiences both internal and external, hallucinatory and hedonistic. All of this combined creates a mysterious and abstract hybrid. Sonic raw material is sculpted with artisanal care, at times twisted and cryptic, characterized by a transversal irony, to the point that the interference of rock elements in the course of the set divert the listener's attention and momentarily interrupt the flow of consciousness. L'immagine del suono is a concentrated example of the avant-garde, free from categorization of any kind, developed in a non-commercial key and, equally, is drawn from a direct line via what was previously expressed within the folds of the then contemporary works of Brainticket.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: NCRT 003LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Originally hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, Natural Child are a quartet whose good and greasy style is informed by Southern rock, vintage country-rock, laid-back Laurel Canyon sounds, '70s-style boogie, a dash of hard rock, and most likely a careful balance of liquor and bong hits. Be M'Guest, their eighth studio album, has been hailed as a return to form for the group, packing eleven stylistically unique hits into the grooves of this forty-five-minute LP. Produced by Cooper Crain of Bitchin Bajas and featuring Oakley Munson of The Black Lips, this is unquestionably the greatest rock and roll record one is going to hear this year."

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: NSD 828LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Visionary artist Augustus Pablo is among the most important figures in reggae history. Widely credited with popularizing the use of the melodica in reggae, Pablo was a talented musician and an innovative producer who became an early dub pioneer. Now regarded as classics, his memorable 1970s recordings were part of the remarkable creative surge that vaulted the Jamaican music scene to international prominence. Much of this material was released by Rockers, an independent record label founded by Pablo and named after his popular Kingston sound system. Now, Nature Sounds is proud to present Roots, Rockers & Dub, a new Augustus Pablo vinyl collection celebrating the 50th anniversary of Rockers. Featuring classic dubs along with rare and out-of-print tracks, the album captures Pabloís immense contribution to roots reggae by highlighting a wealth of material spanning his entire career, all released on Rockers. Fully remastered and released in partnership with the Pablo family, Roots, Rockers & Dub is a fitting tribute to an artist whose music still reverberates heavily more than two decades after his passing."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: ND 013LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Balearic folktronica meets percussion genius on a unique one-take recording that finds Turkish downtempo specialist Islandman in triple conference with legendary percussion innovator Okay Temiz, and contemporary saz virtuoso Muhlis Berbero?lu. Recorded in Amsterdam for Night Dreamer's ground-breaking Direct-To-Disc series, the session captures the innovative brilliance of the great Okay Temiz in full flow over Islandman's trademark Balearic-tinged production, alongside the modern Anadolu folk sound of Berbero?lu's saz. Expanding beyond their electro-acoustic DJ formula into a wider sound world of experimental instruments, neo-traditional rhythms and folk improvisation, Islandman's vision on this Night Dreamer disc seeks to reconnect cerebral downtempo beatmaking with the folkloric and ritual bedrock that their music has always rested on. Bandleader Tolga Boyuk's vision has always been expansive, and the link-up with Night Dreamer was a chance to try out a more spontaneous style of playing and recording. Known for his inventive genius on percussion instruments ranging from the berimbau to the bricklayer's trowel, Turkish percussionist and drummer Okay Temiz is one of the world's foremost improvising musicians. In the course of a career stretching back to the mid-1960s, he has collaborated with jazz greats including Don Cherry and Johnny Dyani, led his own Oriental Wind unit, and played with countless musicians across dozens of genres. Approached for the project by Islandman's drummer Eralp Güven, the always open and experimental Temiz was enthusiastic to participate. To complete the unit, Boyuk turned to Muhlis Berbero?lu. The session unfolded with controlled unpredictability. Boyuk arrived at the studio with simply produced tracks, and from there the ensemble let improvisation and organic synergy take control. The brilliant wildcard was the effervescent imagination of Temiz, who came equipped with an eclectic mix of homemade instruments including an electrified flute made of industrial bathroom piping, and a shaker with a contact mic wired to a wah-wah pedal. Combined with Islandman's subtle and responsive beat-science and Berbero?lu's scintillating agility on the saz, Temiz's visionary rhythm force leads the session into unknown territories of improvised future-folklore, strictly for the heads.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: NA 5193C-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Wegene is now available in a limited-edition metallic grey pressing. Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin's music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin's recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7" singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia's 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums -- the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin's uber-rare 7" single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Wegene gives us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7" single releases. Contains an oversized 11" x 11" 16-page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin's role within it."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: NA 5194C-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

White vinyl. "Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin's music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin's recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7" singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia's 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums -- the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin's uber-rare 7" single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Tewedije Limut gives us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7" single releases. Contains an oversized 11" x 11" 16-page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin's role within it."

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: NA 5213C-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Teal vinyl. "The Tribe Records co-founder's lost album, rumored to exist no more. Mastered from the original tapes and lacquered by Bernie Grundman. The first ever issue of this Spiritual Jazz album. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America's 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, 'Music is the healing force of the universe.' Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff 'Chairman' Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe's mid-1970s heyday."

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: OMM 560282CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Re-release of the second album by Annexus Quam, originally released in 1972. Transferred from the original master tapes and carefully remastered by HaGü Schmitz and Dieter Wegner. The timing was right: Five years earlier would have been too early, five years later would have been too late. But Annexus Quam from Kamp-Lintfort near Düsseldorf came along with the right music at the right moment. The seven-piece band formed in 1967 as Ambition Of Music; they were what was then called a "beat group". In 1970, working with a local trombone choir led to a dramatic change of direction. Trombone, clarinet, saxophone, scat-like vocals, various percussion, even a bicycle pump or a guitar played below the bridge found their way into the band. Annexus Quam, in a unique way, mixed two musical genres: rock and free jazz, but the group played both differently from what could be heard otherwise at that time. Elements of psychedelic rock with heavy organ sounds were combined with freely dabbed brass notes; at the same time the band was closer to Stockhausen's concept of "Intuitive Music" than to the expressive group improvisations of free jazz musicians. The genre names sound familiar, but Annexus Quam filled them with new meaning. There are hardly any formal structures in Annexus Quam's music, the musicians control the ensemble sound intuitively by concentrated listening to each other. But the free playing is not limitless. Not every musician always has to play at the same time, the breaks are also important here. Despite all the freedom, the pieces remain comprehensible. This is what makes them appealing still today.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: OMM 560286LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Re-release of the second album by Annexus Quam, originally released in 1972. Transferred from the original master tapes and carefully remastered by HaGü Schmitz and Dieter Wegner. The timing was right: Five years earlier would have been too early, five years later would have been too late. But Annexus Quam from Kamp-Lintfort near Düsseldorf came along with the right music at the right moment. The seven-piece band formed in 1967 as Ambition Of Music; they were what was then called a "beat group". In 1970, working with a local trombone choir led to a dramatic change of direction. Trombone, clarinet, saxophone, scat-like vocals, various percussion, even a bicycle pump or a guitar played below the bridge found their way into the band. Annexus Quam, in a unique way, mixed two musical genres: rock and free jazz, but the group played both differently from what could be heard otherwise at that time. Elements of psychedelic rock with heavy organ sounds were combined with freely dabbed brass notes; at the same time the band was closer to Stockhausen's concept of "Intuitive Music" than to the expressive group improvisations of free jazz musicians. The genre names sound familiar, but Annexus Quam filled them with new meaning. There are hardly any formal structures in Annexus Quam's music, the musicians control the ensemble sound intuitively by concentrated listening to each other. But the free playing is not limitless. Not every musician always has to play at the same time, the breaks are also important here. Despite all the freedom, the pieces remain comprehensible. This is what makes them appealing still today.

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: OPT4 055CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

New band-compiled album of The Pooh Sticks hits and misses. "'Mellifluous'... is a word you won't hear much when conversation turns to early Pooh Sticks records. But "noise pollution", sure: that comes up. I've even used it myself. So look away now if you must: Straight Up: Noise Pollution C88-90 is a selection of some of the most loved/despised/ignored tracks released by The Pooh Sticks on however many records it was before it all went wilfully 'American' sometime around dotted-lining for BMG mega-corp in 1991. The record has highlights and lowlights. You and me, we'd probably agree on most of them. We chose a reasonable cross-section, I think (although there could've been more tambourine), including: -- 'On Tape' -- zeitgeist-nailin' strum and strangle. 'I Know Someone Who Knows Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well' -- long title -- 'Teenage High' -- breathy sweetness sneaked onto the depraved Sympathy For The Record Industry label. 'Dying For It' -- the Vaselines cover which beat Nirvana by a full two years (though theirs sold better)... and more! It's like Christmas (no, blocking up the chimney won't help: we've cut spare keys)..." --Trudi xx LP version comes on blue vinyl; gatefold sleeve; includes repro poster for the March '89 Pastels/Pooh Sticks/Vaselines London gig.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: OPT4 055LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. New band-compiled album of The Pooh Sticks hits and misses. "'Mellifluous'... is a word you won't hear much when conversation turns to early Pooh Sticks records. But "noise pollution", sure: that comes up. I've even used it myself. So look away now if you must: Straight Up: Noise Pollution C88-90 is a selection of some of the most loved/despised/ignored tracks released by The Pooh Sticks on however many records it was before it all went wilfully 'American' sometime around dotted-lining for BMG mega-corp in 1991. The record has highlights and lowlights. You and me, we'd probably agree on most of them. We chose a reasonable cross-section, I think (although there could've been more tambourine), including: -- 'On Tape' -- zeitgeist-nailin' strum and strangle. 'I Know Someone Who Knows Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well' -- long title -- 'Teenage High' -- breathy sweetness sneaked onto the depraved Sympathy For The Record Industry label. 'Dying For It' -- the Vaselines cover which beat Nirvana by a full two years (though theirs sold better)... and more! It's like Christmas (no, blocking up the chimney won't help: we've cut spare keys)..." --Trudi xx LP version comes on blue vinyl; gatefold sleeve; includes repro poster for the March '89 Pastels/Pooh Sticks/Vaselines London gig.

 

PRICE: $44.50

CAT #: PD 039CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Paradigm Discs have not had a physical release by composer and ecologist Michael Prime since the release of Borneo in 2007. This new three-CD set brings us up to date with a series of recordings from across the years. It also sees a new refinement in his working practice as well as a new extension to his original name. Bioelectrical Music by Michael Allen Z Prime consists of recordings that fall into three defined categories: Bioelectrical Compositions, Bioelectrical Field Recordings, and Bioelectrical Installations. All three use the bioelectrical potentials generated by plants and fungi, although these sound sources are now no longer purely seen as raw material available for multi-tracking or further electronic processing of the signal path. Now, the bioactivity signals themselves form the basis of the music. Following a framework of self-imposed rules that restrict the extent that the source sounds can be altered, such that the essential voice of the living sound sources remain identifiable. The development of this framework is a direction that Prime's music has been moving towards for some years now, and this box set collects various recordings made between 1990 and 2019 that fall into the remit of this new development. The pieces included here range from short sound studies to lengthy compositions and installation recordings made at a wide variety of locations. The 3CDs are accompanied by a 44-page booklet with an essay by Prime outlining the history and development of the understanding of plant neurophysiology. There is also a short piece written by author and fungal enthusiast Merlin Sheldrake. Edition of 500 (numbered).

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: PSNR 089CS

FILE UNDER: ROCK

In 1989, Dee Dee Ramone fled both New York and The Ramones and headed to Europe. After a brief aborted link-up with Stiv Bators and Johnny Thunders in Paris, he moved to London intending to seek out fellow punk rock contemporaries with a plan for a fresh start and to form a new band. Dee Dee was introduced by mutual friend Brian James (ex Damned/Lords of the New Church) to Alan Lee Shaw (ex Rings/Maniacs) and George Butler (ex Lighting Raiders) and a band formed with the proposed name of Dee Dee Ramone's Deadline. With rehearsals underway, Alan on bass /backing vocals, George on drums, and Dee Dee guitar/lead vocals, the project was soon up and running and in the process of negotiating a recording deal with Overground Records, the release would be promoted with a UK tour, when due to unforeseen circumstances (unfortunately the state of Dee Dee's fragile mental/physical shape), the project was sadly and frustratingly brought to an abrupt end, before any studio recordings or gigs could be completed.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: PNY 33021LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

"Working with La Batteria was one of those rare cases in which, before anything else, we avoided the chance of working in terms of functional music, and we rather chose to focus on composition. The idea was about writing music which could have an influence on the film narrative, sometimes fueling it, or directing it, and hopefully making it unique and valuable." --Alex InfascelliThis is how the director describes his collaboration with La Batteria for the soundtrack of the documentary Kill Me If You Can. This was certainly a special collaboration since Infascelli himself is a musician and therefore it was possible to establish a deep and fully aware exchange. Rather than setting the already edited film to music, you chose to follow an "old-fashioned" approach. Starting from an initial exchange with the director, the band composed a good number of tracks, and the film was then directly edited with the music. An unusual process that created a deep connection between music and the story itself. From a stylistic point of view, the original music follows two main directions: on the one hand there's the more melodic material dominated by choirs and acoustic instruments which explicitly refer to the great Italian film music tradition; while on the other you have the electronic soundwork, mostly produced through the use of analog synthesizers. As always, the group made use of a wide and eclectic range of instruments, and also involved two guest musicians: vocalist Davide Savarese and cellist Kyung Mi Lee. The music, produced by La Batteria, was recorded and mixed by Paolo Pecorelli at Studiosette (Rome), and was mastered by Danilo Silvestri. In addition to the twelve unreleased tracks, the soundtrack also includes two tracks ("Lightless", "Crepuscular") from La Batteria's album Notes in the Dark (Deneb/Flipper 2020).

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: PLE 65408EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

The year is 1989. Techno's second generation has begun to permeate the globe leading a young Carl Craig to a tiny village in the countryside of Belgium. It is here, undistracted and determined to break out, that Craig encounters one of the country's only drum machines, an Alesis controlled midi-808. In a single session he composes and mixes a handful of records that are still to this day regarded as some of his most raw and explosive contributions to the fabric of electronic music history. Carl revisits this fateful chapter through the lens of a famed cut from his Psyche alias From Beyond, with a "C2 2023 Mix" and remixes from Seth Troxler, Ataxia and Admn, out July 14 on Planet E Communications. The Psyche alias, known for early Transmat releases like Crack\down and Elements, embodied a stripped back, less sample-based yin attitude to the yang of Carl's more aggressive 69 and sampleforward BFC and Paperclip People identities. From Beyond, first released in 1990 via the Crackdown 12" on Transmat, offers an eerie glimpse into the simplistic production that came through Carl's mastery of the 808 and the sonic value of restricting himself to this movement defining tool. This new From Beyond package sees Carl lift and bend the original in his "C2 2023 Mix" alongside a package of remixes from artists near to the hearts of Detroit and the Planet E fold. Seth Troxler brings a subdued acid tinge to the package, while label regular Ataxia pays homage to the source material with a renewed percussive energy, followed by a soulful rework by Admn.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: PLE 65409EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Revered house mainstay Junior Sanchez makes his debut on Carl Craig's renowned Planet E Communications imprint today with the digital release of his latest EP Art O Fact out now with a 12" to come this July. Hailing from New Jersey, Sanchez remains a pioneering force in house music for over three decades and a close ally of Craig's. Art O Fact is an exemplar of the energized rhythm and infectious groove that has become synonymous with Sanchez's work and genre defining productions. The package seamlessly connects scenes and eras, paying homage to the soulful sonic atmosphere of Detroit, Junior Sanchez's says: "Art O Fact -- was created purely and simply out of creative inspiration. I walked into the studio one morning not really knowing what to do, so I let my inspiration guide me and my inspiration really was Detroit. I thought about that city, what it meant to me and what techno really meant to my heart. I have loved so many records by Carl Craig, DJ ROLANDO, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins, so the result is something really beautiful and organic, and the fact that it's coming out on Carl Craig's Planet E imprint is such an honor." In addition to the original mix, the Art O Fact EP features a bouncy "Luv4Detroit" Dub, energized edit, and melodic reprise.

 

PRICE: $43.00

CAT #: POTOMAK 957051

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock; gatefold vinyl reissue of Einstürzende Neubauten's Silence Is Sexy, originally released in 2000. This vinyl double album contains the track "Pelikanol," first available as a bonus track with the 2000 release of the album and now for the first time available on vinyl. Silence Is Sexy finally receives a long-awaited reissue on the band's own label Potomak. The element of surprise was and continues to be routine for Einstürzende Neubauten. On Silence Is Sexy they masterfully celebrate the unexpected in the exploration of silence. It is a wonderful album in the classical Neubauten sense; lyrical and melancholy. It's a musical coming-of-age from metal-defying scrap iron sound to constructed melodiousness, with a familiar rhythmic undertow -- playful, arrogant, poetic, subversive, dandified and mature. From its first release in 2000 (marking the 20-year existence of the band) to date, it has doubtlessly remained the group's most complex work and the most fascinating in its evolution. It shows the Neubauten universe from both a known, emotionally moving side, as well as one that is deliberately constructive. It clearly breathes the inimitably rough Neubauten handwriting, while Blixa's voice cuts through intellectual and cryptic texts. It is carried by metal sounds, from which individual instruments can almost no longer be extracted -- and by silence. Ultimately, nearly inaudible tones or laughter in the right place can seem more destructive than the most enduring rage. This is an album that won't be ignored; a unique appearance in the history of German rock music. 180 gram audiophile pressing.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: REPOSE 121LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The second album from Finnish experimental band featuring members of the legendary Circle. Mahti are a Finnish four-piece group presenting a unique mixture of ambient-rock, electronic music and traditional Finnish-Karelian music. Lengthy semi-improvisational pieces are built on top of complex, hypnotic grooves which are layered with opaque guitars and strangely soothing noise elements. In the heart of it all there's kantele, an ancient Finnish string instrument played by Hannu Saha, who has studied Finnish folk music in theory and practice for nearly five decades. The other players are Jussi Lehtisalo and Tomi Leppänen, who also form the rhythmic core of avant-rock group Circle, and psychiatrist Teemu Elo. Strange dreams guaranteed! Limited edition transparent purple marble LP. Housed in a stunning full-color sleeve with polylined inner bag and download code.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: SC 055CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"The final U.S. show, a triumphant and blistering bookend to the storied career of one of the most influential bands in rock music, featuring a unique and expansive eighty-five minute set list that spans Sonic Youth's nearly three decade catalog. Mixed from multitrack by longtime live engineer Aaron Mullan and mastered and cut by Carl Saff."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: SC 055LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version. "The final U.S. show, a triumphant and blistering bookend to the storied career of one of the most influential bands in rock music, featuring a unique and expansive eighty-five minute set list that spans Sonic Youth's nearly three decade catalog. Mixed from multitrack by longtime live engineer Aaron Mullan and mastered and cut by Carl Saff."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: SC 055X-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version. Color vinyl. "The final U.S. show, a triumphant and blistering bookend to the storied career of one of the most influential bands in rock music, featuring a unique and expansive eighty-five minute set list that spans Sonic Youth's nearly three decade catalog. Mixed from multitrack by longtime live engineer Aaron Mullan and mastered and cut by Carl Saff."

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: SAB 104LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"'Hark! DIY sleaze-rock henchpersons, ascend from your cellars and rejoice... Midwestern anti-folk hero Christopher Alan Durham (The Bibs, All Gone Recs) arrives on high horse in full-length mode with a band of merry menaces in tow. Following a string of cassette and 7" releases for labels like Spacecase and Soft Abuse (whom are also responsible for the gift in hand), Kicks Or Macabre is CAD's first LP outing under his own name, and we're all the better for it. Recorded in and around modern-day Detroit, the record certainly has that street-walking cheetah energy that one might expect from a protagonist presumably raised on the teet-to-mouth diet of Destroy All Monsters youtube vids, vending machine snacks, trucker speed 'n' malt liquor laced with the ever present back-and-fore ground pollins of our patron Jim Shepards, Pussy Galores, Gibson Bros and countless other unscrewed basement saints who shook, rattled and rolled before us... but wait, there's so much more. Durham and his trusty Peacetime Consumers (ex-Quilt Boy/Roachclip cohorts) conjure up a thicker-than-usual, borderline soulful junk sick blooze that slinks and swaggers like a lean-drunk Flamin' Groovies or Gulcher/Richie-era KV if you traded his happy-go-lucky, confidently carefree dopiness for the frantic urgency of a paranoid loner whose slumlord is putting the screws to him, and look... there ain't enough grass left in that bag to even pack a bat... But the band plays on, and if Durham's long-running development as a mainstay in the American sub-underground proves to hit its peak with Kicks, we should consider ourselves lucky to have ever had such good seats in this, the theater of his own strange little lower-middle-class tragedy songs, often reflecting less on the overarching and impossibly big / bad times than they do on the smaller, more understandable, more feelable good ones. Even luckier for us, he may have only just begun.' --Ryan Davis, 2023"

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: SQMX 002EP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Almost all the trains I do are steam engines from the 1900s." Like the lyricism of surfing and the grace of baseball, the romance of trains is an integral part in Raymond Pettibon's imagination. "TO-DAY" is a wild roller coaster ride on the "A" Train with Pettibon's favorite writers John Ruskin and Charles Manson. Pettibon at his best with terrific sound collage by Oliver Augst.

 

PRICE: $17.00

CAT #: MVD 11602CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Best live recording from Roky's 'comeback' era of 2005-2008 with The Explosives. Recorded at the Bowery Ballroom, New York City, NY on April 15, 2007. This is a complete, unedited recording of a fiery performance representative of what Roky and Explosives were doing in the 2005-2008 'comeback' years. Excellent song selections and killer performance from top to bottom. Roky is in great voice and the band is in full force. The ONLY official release from this time period."

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: AO 077R-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reissue, originally released in 1992. Alpha & Omega (Greensleeves, A&O Records), the groundbreaking pioneers of UK dub, emerged in the 1980s and have amassed an impressive catalog of over 40 studio albums. Their influential presence signifies the very essence of soundsystem culture and the global migration of bass music from its Jamaican roots to the UK and beyond. After more than three decades, Steppas Records has finally unveiled the highly anticipated A&O classic LP reissue series. The latest addition to this remarkable collection is none other than Almighty Jah, a cherished and elusive gem originally released in 1992 and currently commanding exorbitant prices, if obtainable at all. Meticulously re-mastered with utmost care, this exceptional album, featuring the incomparable Dub Judah, is presented in its original sleeve adorned with the iconic A&O artwork. Almighty Jah holds a revered status as one of the definitive UK dub albums and stands as a true testament to musical history.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: ASCD 016-17CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Alpha Steppa and Awa Fall's debut full length collaborative album, What a Joy. This outstanding 12 vocal and 12 dub double album couples Alpha Steppa's signature future-dub sound with the powerful, versatile and soulful voice of Awa Fall. Both artists are known to promote a conscious message, this album confronts socio-political and environmental issues; from the climate crisis, the refugee crisis, to race, gender and inequality. The album also speaks of love, with an ambiguity open to romance, self-love and divine love. This is truly an album for lovers of dub, reggae, soundsystem culture and music for the soul, what a joy. Awa Fall is a rising reggae star, born to a Senegalese father and Italian mother, she started writing, recording and performing at the age of 14. Today, she has toured the world, featured on national television, performed for the UN, FOA Women's Committee and at major reggae festivals. Awa has shared the stage with major reggae artists such as Alborosie, Africa Unite, and has worked with some of the most respected producers and singers in dub, reggae and beyond including; Alpha Steppa, Mad Professor, General Levy, M1 (Dead Prez), Gaudi, Murray Man, Kumar, Charlart58, and Vibronics. Alpha Steppa (Steppas Records/Dub Dynasty) has been surrounded by soundsystem culture from a young age. As the son and nephew of respected UK dub pioneers Alpha & Omega (Greensleeves) his dubbed out style draws upon the sounds of his musical heritage, filtered through an exploration of reggae, dub, hip hop, lo-fi, sound design, traditional and electronic music. Alpha Steppa has toured the world, produced numerous critically acclaimed albums and most notably developed a dynamic community around his unique sound and conscious message.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: ASLP 016-17LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Double LP version. Alpha Steppa and Awa Fall's debut full length collaborative album, What a Joy. This outstanding 12 vocal and 12 dub double album couples Alpha Steppa's signature future-dub sound with the powerful, versatile and soulful voice of Awa Fall. Both artists are known to promote a conscious message, this album confronts socio-political and environmental issues; from the climate crisis, the refugee crisis, to race, gender and inequality. The album also speaks of love, with an ambiguity open to romance, self-love and divine love. This is truly an album for lovers of dub, reggae, soundsystem culture and music for the soul, what a joy. Awa Fall is a rising reggae star, born to a Senegalese father and Italian mother, she started writing, recording and performing at the age of 14. Today, she has toured the world, featured on national television, performed for the UN, FOA Women's Committee and at major reggae festivals. Awa has shared the stage with major reggae artists such as Alborosie, Africa Unite, and has worked with some of the most respected producers and singers in dub, reggae and beyond including; Alpha Steppa, Mad Professor, General Levy, M1 (Dead Prez), Gaudi, Murray Man, Kumar, Charlart58, and Vibronics. Alpha Steppa (Steppas Records/Dub Dynasty) has been surrounded by soundsystem culture from a young age. As the son and nephew of respected UK dub pioneers Alpha & Omega (Greensleeves) his dubbed out style draws upon the sounds of his musical heritage, filtered through an exploration of reggae, dub, hip hop, lo-fi, sound design, traditional and electronic music. Alpha Steppa has toured the world, produced numerous critically acclaimed albums and most notably developed a dynamic community around his unique sound and conscious message.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: SUBOST 009LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Taken from the 1993 movie directed by Pupi Avati. Riziero Ortolani was an Italian composer, conductor, and orchestrator, predominantly of film scores. He scored over 200 films and television programs between 1955 and 2014, with a career spanning over fifty years. Internationally, he is best known for his genre scores, notably his music for mondo, giallo, horror, and Spaghetti Western films. His most famous composition is "More," which he wrote for the infamous film Mondo Cane. The song was later covered by Frank Sinatra, Kai Winding, Andy Williams, Roy Orbison, and others. Ortolani received many other accolades, including four David di Donatello Awards, three Nastro d'Argento Awards, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. In 2013, he received a Lifetime Achievement from the World Soundtrack Academy. In the early 1950s, Ortolani was founder and member of a well-known Italian jazz band. One of his early film scores was for Paolo Cavara and Gualtiero Jacopetti's 1962 pseudo-documentary Mondo Cane. The success of this led Ortolani to score films in England and the United States such as The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966), The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968) and Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968). In later years he scored many films for Italian director Pupi Avati.

 

PRICE: $43.00

CAT #: SUBOST 010LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

A record of rare beauty that collects the soundtrack of a 1975 film called Drugged Rome: the Police Can't Intervene (in English Hallucination Strip) directed by Lucio Marcaccini. The soundtrack was written by Alber Verrecchia, a French composer who came to Italy in the 1960s and formed the group I Pyranas, with whom he recorded two albums released by Arc. In the 1970s Verrecchia devoted himself mainly to making soundtracks, including the one presented here. Unlike other soundtrack composers, Verrecchia preferred electric sounds to orchestral arrangements. This disc contains interesting tracks in rock and blues styles, with some psychedelic influences. Musicians featured on the record include Cyan, Baba Yaga, Toni Esposito, and singer Sammy Barbot. Singer Edda Dell'Orso, with her soprano voice, also appears on two tracks. In short, a unique record in the panorama of soundtracks.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: SSR 123LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Doomdelic instrumental space prog rockers L'ira Del Baccano are back with their fourth album on Subsound Records, Cosmic Evoked Potentials. The album release will be preceded by a video for the single "The Strange Dream of My Old Sun". Producer and guitarist Alessandro Santori says about the album: Cosmic Evoked Potentials is a rite of passage, the end of a cycle and already blooming of another. Surely their most instinctive effort so far. The band went back to their roots of live recording, this time instead of a stage they chose an old mansion from late 1700s outside Rome. The atmosphere there was so charming and stimulating that 13 minutes of a 45-minute-long improvisation ended up in the album.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: SSR 123LTD-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Color vinyl. Doomdelic instrumental space prog rockers L'ira Del Baccano are back with their fourth album on Subsound Records, Cosmic Evoked Potentials. The album release will be preceded by a video for the single "The Strange Dream of My Old Sun". Producer and guitarist Alessandro Santori says about the album: Cosmic Evoked Potentials is a rite of passage, the end of a cycle and already blooming of another. Surely their most instinctive effort so far. The band went back to their roots of live recording, this time instead of a stage they chose an old mansion from late 1700s outside Rome. The atmosphere there was so charming and stimulating that 13 minutes of a 45-minute-long improvisation ended up in the album.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 164LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress. "'It's been nearly five decades since Joe McPhee assembled a group of musicians to perform the weekend concerts that would become Nation Time, his second LP. It was December 1970, thirty-one-year-old McPhee was inspired by Amiri Baraka's poem 'It's Nation Time,' and the students at Vassar College didn't know what hit them. 'What time is it?' shouted the bandleader. 'C'mon, you can do better than that. What time is it?!' The music on Nation Time came out of the fertile, but little-known creative jazz scene in Poughkeepsie, New York, McPhee's home base. Two bands were deployed, one with a funky free foundation featuring guitar and organ, the other consisting of a more standard jazz formation with two drummers and the brilliant Mike Kull at the piano. Across the concert and the next afternoon's audience-less recording session, the band was ignited by McPhee's passion and his gorgeous post-Coltrane / post-Pharoah tenor. On 'Shakey Jake,' they hit a James Brown groove filtered through Archie Shepp, while the sidelong title track is as searching and poignant today as it was during its heyday. Originally released in 1971 on CjR, an imprint started expressly to document McPhee's music, Nation Time has a sense of urgency and inspiration. Additional material from those December days would later appear on Black Magic Man, Hat Hut's first release. In fact, the first four records on this seminal Swiss label all featured McPhee. Nation Time was largely unknown a quarter century or so later, when it was first issued on CD through Atavistic's Unheard Music Series. On Corbett vs. Dempsey, we reissued the album along with all known tapes leading up to and around it as a deluxe box set, but the standalone LP has long remained incredibly rare. Now is the time for a new generation of freaks to lose their shit when settling into the cushy beat of 'Shakey Jake' and answer McPhee's call with the only appropriate response: It's NATION TIME.' --John Corbett."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: SV 198LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2023 repress; LP version. "La Monte Young was born in Bern, Idaho in 1935. He began his music studies in Los Angeles and later Berkeley, California before relocating to New York City in 1960, where he became a primary influence on Minimalism, the Fluxus movement and performance art through his legendary compositions of extended time durations and the development of just intonation and rational number based tuning systems. With wife and collaborator, artist Marian Zazeela, they would formulate the composite sound environments of the Dream House, which continues to this day. Seeing reissue for the first time since its initial 1969 release, Young and Zazeela's first full-length album is often referred to as The Black Record due to Zazeela's stunning cover design, complete with Young's original liner notes in magnificent calligraphy. Side one was recorded in 1969 (on the date and time indicated by the title) at the gallery of Heiner Friedrich in Munich, where Young and Zazeela premiered their Dream House sound and light installation. Featuring Young and Zazeela's voices against a sine wave drone, the recording is a section of the longer composition "Map of 49's Dream the Two Systems of Eleven Sets of Galactic Intervals Ornamental Lightyears Tracery" (begun in 1966 as a sub-section of the even larger work The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys, which was begun in 1964 with Young's group The Theatre of Eternal Music). According to Young, the raga-like melodic phrases of his voice were heavily influenced by his future teacher, the Hindustani singer Pandit Pran Nath. Side two, recorded in Young and Zazeela's NYC studio in 1964, is a section of the longer composition Studies in the Bowed Disc. This composition is an extended, highly abstract noise piece for bowed gong (gifted by sculptor Robert Morris). The liner notes state that the live performance can be heard at 33 and 1/3 RPM, but may also be played at any constant slower speed down to 8 and 1/3 RPM for turntables with this capacity." "La Monte Young is the daddy of us all." --Brian Eno

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: LSD 69021LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Freaked out lo-fi psychedelic noise recordings from 1972 and 1980 by the mythical Japanese psych rockers Les Rallizes Dénudés, including the 23-minute "Guitar Jam" filling the complete A-side, a sort of Stooges riff with Ramones-like drumming ending up in a total feedback noise orgy. Recorded on Sept. 9, 1980. Side B starts with the droning 18-minute track "A Tale Of Love," from the same 1980 Mars Studio sessions recorded three days before "Guitar Jam" and ends with a six-minute version of the classic "Field Of Artificial Flowers," recorded in 1972 during the Oz Days studio sessions.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: TB 556LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Party Milk is the duo of Mark Robinson and Trevor Kampmann. They have been recording together for almost two decades and this new album contains 35 songs of pop experimentalism on one single vinyl LP. Mark Robinson was a founding member of the bands Unrest, Air Miami, Flin Flon, Grenadine, Cotton Candy, and more. He founded the seminal Teenbeat indie label while in high school in 1984 in Washington, DC. They have released music by bands such as Versus, Gastr Del Sol, The Feminine Complex, Stereolab, Luna, Tuscadero, and countless others. Trevor Kampmann began making music under the name See Saw in the 1990s on the Simple Machines label, and has since recorded over 12 albums under the name hollAnd. He has worked on countless recordings for bands such as Explosions in the Sky, Cat Power, The Rondelles, and Flin Flon (whose song 'Floods' became the theme for CNN's Anderson Cooper 360). Kampmann has collaborated with photographer Mark Borthwick and has produced music for avant-garde fashion designers Martin Margiela and Zero by Maria Cornejo. In 2011, they released an anonymous LP under the name Fang Wizard called Pure Hex."

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: WIRE 475

FILE UNDER: Misc

"On the cover: an 18-page special on Don and Moki Cherry's organic music family. Inside: The Pitch, Feng Jiangzhou, Aho Ssan, Powerplant, Janneke van der Putten, Global Ear: São Paulo, The Inner Sleeve: Suzanne Ciani, Epiphanies: John Butcher, Unlimited Editions: Pakapi Records, Unofficial Channels: Ethio-Pain, Nyege Nyege Tapes, Gérard Grisey, DDR tape underground, experimental music during Brexit and the pandemic, Disruptive Frequencies, Tomorrow Festival, and much more."

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: THRILL 050V-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Limited-edition 2023 reissue of TNT now available in a clear with black and blue double-LP. Tortoise's third full-length release, TNT, was written and recorded during a 10-month interval in 1997. This longer-than-usual writing/production schedule was purposefully undertaken by the group in the hopes of crafting an expansive, diverse, yet thematically coherent offering. TNT builds upon the spare, instrumental framework of the group's first, self-titled album, and the extended edits, melodic adventures, and klangfarben of the subsequent full-length release, Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Further to this, Tortoise's interest in the possibilities offered by the remixing of tracks was realized within the actual production of TNT; individual elements, sections, or sometimes whole compositions mutate within the album's shifting framework. These techniques were suitably realized thanks in part to the use of non-linear digital recording and editing methods, the first example of such work for the group."

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: TPCDRFT 4502EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Topic Drift Music reissue a 7" from Miami band James Knight & The Butlers, originally released on Cat.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: TOYT 137EP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

New record by Gome with fat remixes by Mike Dunn and Telephones. "Television" features David Bay.

 

PRICE: $36.50

CAT #: TRILPFR 012LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Tricatel release the reissue of Helena Noguerra's Azul, released in 2001. First time on vinyl. Noguerra on the "Inspired by Barthes, who wrote that the resistance would probably be one day in the affirmation of happiness, I wanted to write a happy record, so happy that it would be a provocation. So, I wanted to sing about love in the naive and poetic language that Portuguese is for me. It is the language of secrecy and modesty, of sensuality and eroticism. So, we recorded Azul in the offices/studios of Tricatel in four days. With the Recyclers (Steve Arguëlles, Benoit Delbecq, Christophe Minck), we created these versions on the spot and on ADAT tape for a budget of thirty thousand francs. It is, until now, my album which travelled the most, and which found the most aficionados. This reissue for the first time on vinyl, almost 23 years later, fills me with joy." Printed inner sleeve containing vintage studio photos.

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: UTR 157EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Water Machine is an office romance between Hando Morice (they/them), Flore de Hoog (she/her), Jimmy Gage (he/him) and Goda Ilgauskait? (she/her). An unassuming supergroup formed out of Glasgow institutions including Goth GF, Passion Pusher, Brenda, and Soursob, their sound careens between punk, country and alt-rock underpinned by the unique quality they call "Raw Liquid Power." Following last year's self-titled demo tape on Gold Mold Records, and fresh off of shows with the likes of Holiday Ghosts, The Cool Greenhouse and The Orielles, as well as a rollicking Viagra Boys afterparty, the four-piece will release their highly-anticipated first studio effort Raw Liquid Power on Upset The Rhythm on August 4th. The EP opens with a menacing, modulating synth melody. Gage's guitar enters with a mighty bend before breaking into the chugging rhythm of "Water Machine Pt. 2." "Stilettos" marches on indignantly with a spiky riff punctuated by Ilgauskait?'s cowbells. Staccato talk-singing tells a playful tale of stray cats following you home, but belies a darker subtext as the breakdown gives way to paranoid duelling guitars evoking The Fire Engines. The anti-anthem "At the Drive In" skewers joyless DIY crowds, reminiscent of much-missed Glasgow punks Breakfast Muff. Water Machine's irrepressible sincerity can't help but shine through in the final moments though, as jibes about "late night trade potential" give way to plaintive vocal harmonies. Morice tears public transport a new one on closer "Bussy," a First Bus diss track bemoaning precarious employment amidst crumbling infrastructure. "That's why I'm not on time!" they roar over de Hoog's frantic, pounding bass, bringing the record to a skidding, screeching halt.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: VIA 006LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Originally in 1999 on CD by Third Eye Music. The second part of the famous collaboration between two UK based electronic pioneers: John Bolloten aka The Rootsman and Bryn Jones aka Muslimgauze. For this album the original The Rootsman material from his albums Into The Light and 52 Days to Timbuktu was remixed and deconstructed by Muslimgauze. As always with Bryn Jones, all material is inspired by Arab culture. You hear distorted dub rhythms, sawn-off loops, traditional music, male and female voices and then distorted rhythms again. Closing your eyes, you can find yourself in the middle of an Eastern city, walk along its noisy streets, admire the ancient architecture. This noise can tell amazing stories. First vinyl edition.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: VL 900358LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress of Vinyl Lovers' 2008 expanded reissue; originally released in 1980. Two 180-gram LPs in deluxe gatefold sleeve. Released in 1980 as the follow-up to their 1979 debut, Three Imaginary Boys, and featuring a new line-up that included Simon Gallup and Matthieu Hartley, this is the album that gave the band their first hit ("A Forest"), and also began to solidify the brooding atmospheric sound that would soon make these grandfathers of goth international pop icons. This reissue includes 15 bonus tracks.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: WHP 1470LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Max Roach, the father of modern jazz drumming, caught in action in Paris, France in 1964. This is one of the few live documents in his 1960s dense activity. Here Roach is at the head of a strong quintet featuring the deep voice of Mrs. Abbey Lincoln and tenor sax giant Clifford Jordan. Starting from an almost all standard repertoire (including gems like Duke Jordan's "Jordu" and Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady") Roach along with Eddie Khan and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson drive the music with their solid hard swinging pulse. Recorded in Paris, January 18, 1964.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: WHP 1471LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

A brilliant live document from the great pianist and composer Horace Silver as leader of a mind-blowing quintet featuring the two-horn frontline of Bennie Maupin (tenor sax) and Randy Brecker (trumpet), plus John Wiliams (bass), and the young and already powerful Billy Cobham (drums). Recorded in Paris at the famous Salle Pleyel in the turbulent year of 1968, this is a highly dynamic hard-bop set based on extended versions of three well known Silver's compositions. Recorded at Salle Pleyel, Paris, France, November 4, 1968.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: WNCL 044EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

WNCL Recordings is back with a series of two-track 10" vinyl battle weapons for your record box. Skin Teeth makes a welcome return to the Cassette Library with his first full release -- two hard as hell tracks that are guaranteed to rock the bells.

 

PRICE: $12.50

CAT #: YVJ 008CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2022 repress. First released in 1984 by Vivian Jackson aka Yabby You. Nine original dub songs. Yabby You, who has died of a stroke aged 63, was one of Jamaican music's most individual figures. Known as the "Jesus Dread" because he wore dreadlocks but adhered to the Christian faith rather than the conventional beliefs of Rastafari, he produced a series of sublime devotional recordings from the mid-1970s onwards. The apocalyptic spiritualism of his lyrics, the superb musicianship of his backing band, and the uncommon arrangement of his material, kept his output among the most compelling roots reggae releases ever issued. He was taken to church from an early age. As recounted in Randall Grass's book Great Spirits, he was fascinated by the Bible and decided that the best way to understand its words was to directly experience them. Choosing to emulate Jesus, he left home at the age of 12 to discuss religious doctrine with the learned men of the land. This led him to various Rasta communities on the periphery of the west Kingston ghettos, while he earned a living at a metal foundry in the Waterhouse district.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: YAZ 1005CLP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress, color vinyl version. Reissue of Yazoo's 1968 compilation of rare 78 rpm recordings from Blind Willie McTell. A record that put Yazoo on the map as an essential archival label of roots music. The very best of the magnificent Willie Samuel McTell -- aka Blind Willie aka Hot Shot Willie aka Georgia Bill -- exploring spiritual, ragtime, hillbilly, and above all, the blues.

 

PRICE: $17.00

CAT #: YAZ 1080C-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"These recordings, dating between 1927 and 1929, are a unique body of work: work songs, minstrel numbers, rags, and what we now define as the blues, all offered in an unpretentious form that would have been every bit as compelling had Henry Thomas cut them this way 40 years later. Songs such as 'Arkansas,' 'Fox and the Hounds' (featuring the reed pipes that Thomas also excelled at playing), and 'Little Red Caboose' represent a brand of upbeat dance music associated with late-19th century entertainment, a tradition already largely lost or becoming lost when Thomas cut these numbers. Yet Thomas, who was already in his 50s when he recorded these tracks, sings and plays them with a beguiling ease and honesty, not to mention a dexterity on the guitar that makes him sound every bit as vital and urgent as Big Bill Broonzy or any of the other up-and-coming blues legends just starting out at the time these sides were laid down. The blues numbers, including 'Shanty Blues,' 'Woodhouse Blues,' 'Honey, Won't You Allow Me One More Chance?,' and 'Bull Doze Blues' are compelling in their own right -- they display musical and lyrical virtuosity and, in the latter two cases, offer a chance to hear the sources for classic works by Bob Dylan and Canned Heat, respectively. Luckily for historians, Henry Thomas recorded for Vocalion and not for one of the truly lost labels like Paramount, and all 23 surviving sides of his work sound very good on this CD." --Bruce Eder, AllMusic