News & Events

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: 99CHANTS 012CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

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

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: AGIT 066LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Brand new album from young Allentown, PA three-piece Catatonic Suns. Their first for Agitated Records. Catatonic Suns comprises eight songs (seven originals, and an Original Sins cover) and has blown Agitated's collective minds. Their previous album was an incredible melding of big-sounding US/UK underground sounds, but this album has taken that fire further. The band have developed more of a hi-fidelity psychedelic rock with a shoegazery shimmer akin to the late '80s / early '90s Pacific Northwest sound in cahoots with the UK sound of early '90s Creation/4AD. For fans of Screaming Trees, Nirvana, The Verve (early), Slowdive, Ride, Alice In Chains. Songs that soar, these new recordings verge on the epic."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: AGIT 068CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Northern California psychedelic sorcerers Carlton Melton are brain surfers, mind trippers -- 'psychlists,' if you prefer. The band will take your head for a ride, occasionally rushing at superluminal speeds through a wormhole or gliding softly on a gentle breeze in a leafy glade. Sometimes your brain needs to rage, and sometimes it needs to repose. For a decade and a half, the band has yo-yo'ed, almost schizophrenically, between these two modes: walloping space jams with furious guitar solos in one hemisphere of the brain and ethereal, feather-light splashdowns in the other. Not to mention a track here and there that builds from the latter into the former. But with two new releases in 2023, the band has evolved. Whether psych rock or ambient trance, their sound remains driving, organic, and flowing. With the addition of Anthony Taibi (White Manna, DDT), however, the group's metal freak-outs are Hawkwindier and their droning kraut trances are Spacemen 3-er. The cover art of Turn To Earth evokes a vine-covered, electric crucifix. The sound is, well, earthy but also gritty and striving towards change. Phil Becker (Terry Gross, Pins Of Light) contributed drums and percussion to a few tracks on Turn To Earth, recording the album at El Studio in San Francisco. With Becker at the helm, the synths have become more prominent and the tone heavier on the doom: several moments could even serve as background music for epic dark fantasy films like Conan the Barbarian, Fire and Ice, or Heavy Metal. As exquisite as Turn To Earth is, Melton are best appreciated as a live act: their recordings as well as their gigs are largely improvised -- not so much composed as birthed."

 

PRICE: $37.00

CAT #: AGIT 068LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Double LP version. "Northern California psychedelic sorcerers Carlton Melton are brain surfers, mind trippers -- 'psychlists,' if you prefer. The band will take your head for a ride, occasionally rushing at superluminal speeds through a wormhole or gliding softly on a gentle breeze in a leafy glade. Sometimes your brain needs to rage, and sometimes it needs to repose. For a decade and a half, the band has yo-yo'ed, almost schizophrenically, between these two modes: walloping space jams with furious guitar solos in one hemisphere of the brain and ethereal, feather-light splashdowns in the other. Not to mention a track here and there that builds from the latter into the former. But with two new releases in 2023, the band has evolved. Whether psych rock or ambient trance, their sound remains driving, organic, and flowing. With the addition of Anthony Taibi (White Manna, DDT), however, the group's metal freak-outs are Hawkwindier and their droning kraut trances are Spacemen 3-er. The cover art of Turn To Earth evokes a vine-covered, electric crucifix. The sound is, well, earthy but also gritty and striving towards change. Phil Becker (Terry Gross, Pins Of Light) contributed drums and percussion to a few tracks on Turn To Earth, recording the album at El Studio in San Francisco. With Becker at the helm, the synths have become more prominent and the tone heavier on the doom: several moments could even serve as background music for epic dark fantasy films like Conan the Barbarian, Fire and Ice, or Heavy Metal. As exquisite as Turn To Earth is, Melton are best appreciated as a live act: their recordings as well as their gigs are largely improvised -- not so much composed as birthed."

 

PRICE: $39.00

CAT #: AGIT 068X-LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Double LP version. Color vinyl. "Northern California psychedelic sorcerers Carlton Melton are brain surfers, mind trippers -- 'psychlists,' if you prefer. The band will take your head for a ride, occasionally rushing at superluminal speeds through a wormhole or gliding softly on a gentle breeze in a leafy glade. Sometimes your brain needs to rage, and sometimes it needs to repose. For a decade and a half, the band has yo-yo'ed, almost schizophrenically, between these two modes: walloping space jams with furious guitar solos in one hemisphere of the brain and ethereal, feather-light splashdowns in the other. Not to mention a track here and there that builds from the latter into the former. But with two new releases in 2023, the band has evolved. Whether psych rock or ambient trance, their sound remains driving, organic, and flowing. With the addition of Anthony Taibi (White Manna, DDT), however, the group's metal freak-outs are Hawkwindier and their droning kraut trances are Spacemen 3-er. The cover art of Turn To Earth evokes a vine-covered, electric crucifix. The sound is, well, earthy but also gritty and striving towards change. Phil Becker (Terry Gross, Pins Of Light) contributed drums and percussion to a few tracks on Turn To Earth, recording the album at El Studio in San Francisco. With Becker at the helm, the synths have become more prominent and the tone heavier on the doom: several moments could even serve as background music for epic dark fantasy films like Conan the Barbarian, Fire and Ice, or Heavy Metal. As exquisite as Turn To Earth is, Melton are best appreciated as a live act: their recordings as well as their gigs are largely improvised -- not so much composed as birthed."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BTR 086LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Sababa 5 continues their musical journey following the success of their acclaimed self-titled debut album, which fused deep funk and Middle Eastern grooves. Their latest offering, still under the Batov Records label, ventures into more explorative and experimental instrumental compositions. While evolving their musical direction, Aspan delves into the realm of psychedelic rock while retaining the essence of the band's signature Middle Eastern groove.

 

PRICE: $40.00

CAT #: DDJ 017DLX-LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Beat Records, in collaboration with Cabum presents the original motion picture soundtrack of L'allenatore nel pallone, for the first time ever on a colored 180 heavy weight vinyl (green, marmorized). It's the story of Oronzo Can? (Lino Banfi), an unemployed football coach that is hired by Longobarda's president, Mr. Borlotti (Camillo Milli), whose team just arrived in the top Italian football league. On the lookout for new talent, our hero is sent to Brazil to recruit some top players. Negotiations for hiring Junior and Socrates quickly fail, and events bring Longobarda's trainer to watch a football game on a pitch close to Maracan? stadium. There, aided by Giginho and Bergonzoni -- two unlikely talent scouts (Gigi e Andrea) -- he finds young Aristoteles (Urs Althaus), Brazilian talent of the ginga. Thus, the incredible Longobarda adventure begins in the highest Italian league, the A series, with his "B zone" scheme. After an uncertain start, the team begins to score points, carried by Aristoteles' talent, but soon problems arise that undermine Can? ambitions. By the end of the championship, before the final match against Atlanta, Oronzo Can? will have to make a difficult decision on which the destiny of him and his team will depend. A soundtrack lies firmly in the pop key, with carioca influences (Aristoteles' saudade theme), easygoing cues that color the comedic aspect of the movie (such as the main titles), the wonderful "Mundialito" (already featured in some other scores but made famous by this movie) and many other sonorities.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: CDCR 150CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

A long-awaited release for a wonderful soundtrack composed by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis for the first Italian cop-movie. A great proof of ability by the director Enzo G. Castellari with this superb movie interpreted by a great Franco Nero. A mile stone in the Italian cinema and '70s Italian music available again in this deluxe edition on CD to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the movie, now featuring all the original tracklist plus a new cool easter egg, right at the start of the CD. Jewel case edition with transparent tray, liner notes by Enzo G. Castellari and Alessandro Di Giovanni, artwork by Daniele De Gemini, mastering by Enrico De Gemini. Also available in a heavy weight colored vinyl (black and red).

 

PRICE: $40.00

CAT #: LPF 095LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

LP version. Red and black color vinyl. A long-awaited release for a wonderful soundtrack composed by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis for the first Italian cop-movie. A great proof of ability by the director Enzo G. Castellari with this superb movie interpreted by a great Franco Nero. A mile stone in the Italian cinema and '70s Italian music available again in this deluxe edition on CD to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the movie, now featuring all the original tracklist plus a new cool easter egg, right at the start of the CD. Jewel case edition with transparent tray, liner notes by Enzo G. Castellari and Alessandro Di Giovanni, artwork by Daniele De Gemini, mastering by Enrico De Gemini. Also available in a heavy weight colored vinyl (black and red).

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: BJR 100LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Almighty duo Hyperculte strikes back with a tremendous third album La Pang?e. More than a band, Hyperculte is a superband reuniting two figures of the Geneva subculture scene: Vincent Bertholet (Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp) and Simone Aubert (Tout Bleu, Massicot). If you're not familiar with the band expect some angry krautrock, high-energy post-punk and etheric voices. Facing the collapse of our modern world, its failures, and the dead end we're all rushing in, the band creates a political statement: "this world is dead, glory to the new one." It's about change, fight, hope and rebuilding or communities.

 

PRICE: $39.50

CAT #: BKEDITDS 037LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Dreams are made and displaced on Mark Fell & Rian Treanor's oneiric electro-acoustic inception Last Exit, borne from long days in the family garden, and assembled into a mesmerizing masterpiece of minimalist modal rhythm and atmospheric exploration, into rapt smallsound detailing in breathtaking form. It's a bit like listening to Virginia Astley's From Gardens Where We Feel Secure, with washes of Autechre seeping into the mix from outside. Last Exit originally appeared in a different form as a cassette release for Boomkat's Documenting Sound series in 2021, and was edited this year by Mark and Rian for this new expanded and altered edition, mastered by Rashad Becker. Across four parts, they kern, juxtapose and diffract synthesized percussion and field recordings into polymetric arrangements riddled with timbral nuance of a highly unpredictable nature. While patently inflected with nods to Indonesian gamelan, Ugandan folk, Indian Carnatic classical, Morton Feldman-esque minimalism, free jazz improvisation and a sort of rhythmic cubism that speaks to their mutual, voracious listening habits and tastes, the results are arguably without direct compare. Attentive listeners will recognize, however, that Last Exit effortlessly transcends their respective styles, achieving a new high watermark of imaginary future-hyperfolk expressed in a sort of personalized but highly relatable meta-musical language. The 80 minutes in between feel like returning to a dream, with flashes of FM strings dabbed to sloshing rhythms and domestic detritus, tilting into a nervously tentative tension ruptured with abstract dance dynamism and angular free jazz ballistics. A longform isolationist fantasy, consider it crucial listening if you are into Robert Ashley's Automatic Writing, Graham Lambkin, Autechre or Nuno Canavarro.

 

PRICE: $17.00

CAT #: CNPY 007EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"CNPY007 marks a strong return to Canopy for Sam Redmore, on the second edition in the Alafia series where he impresses with two powerful and inspired re-imaginings of these tropical synth future-classics. Afro-centric broken beats meet dirty fuzz basslines. Chic-esque guitars and icy synths swirl among horn crescendos and steel drums. Sam assembled a troupe of tight players who deliver slick performances which sincerely compliment the original arrangements, while he turns the electronic tropical funk factor to full -- Inspired music reinvented for inspired dancefloors."

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: CSKNOE 074LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"Gary Davis is the polymath behind Chocolate Star Records, the label he started in Camden, New Jersey. He is one of the first people to record rap music, with NYC maverick Peter Brown and on his own. Before that, he made disco. But he's also steeped in the jazz tradition. Gary made 200 copies of this record for Chocolate Star. It is a funky jazz set he recorded live on October 31, 1976 at New Jersey's Glassboro State College (today's Rowan University). Gary's an inspiration, for still believing in music that comes from and finds its way back to the fringes. 'I want people who are out there struggling to know: Do not depend on other people having control over your destiny. If you wanna do it, do it!' he says, Gary told the Palm Beach New Times many years ago. 'The best part is doing it, so why worry about all this other nonsense? I've always felt that way, but now I have the evidence to back up what I've been telling people all along. It gives me the credibility I deserve.'"

 

PRICE: $9.50

CAT #: CSR 324CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Arise, Cold Spring's first label sampler since Earthen, is finally unveiled! A massive double CD featuring 33 tracks from the label's current and forthcoming releases. An unrivalled collection of industrial, esoteric, dark ambient, noise, ritual, drone, doom metal, experimental, electronica, and dark soundtracks. Immerse yourself in the world of Cold Spring! Limited 4000 copies, packed in an ecopak. Featuring Kollaps, Llyn Y Cwn, Khost, Jagath, Trepaneringsritualen, Coil, Merzbow, She Spread Sorrow, Frank Hall, Dead Voices On Air, Cevin Key, Lull, Maschinenzimmer 412, The Circular Ruins, Mystified, Common Eider, King Eider, Colossloth, We Be Echo, George Fenton, Kristian Eidnes Andersen, Lars Von Trier, Himukalt, Sonologyst, Sat?ri, 400 Lonely Things, Tunnels Of ?h, Sleep Research Facility, Burial Hex, Tenhornedbeast, Fm Einheit, Lee Ranaldo, Spk, Oleg Karpachov, Drew Daniel, John Wiese, La Breiche, Neil Chaney, Genesis P-Orridge, and Dave Ball.

 

PRICE: $50.00

CAT #: CSR 327CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

The Outland album series was a collaborative endeavor by the visionary US bassist-producer Bill Laswell and the late German musician Pete Namlook that pushed the boundaries of dark ambient and electronic music. Spanning five albums released over a thirteen-year period from 1994, this new boxset serves as a testament to the creative synergy between the two masterminds. At the time the duo joined forces, the New York-based Bill Laswell was already a famous producer with a massive client list that included cutting-edge rock, pop, funk, jazz and electronic artists, but he had also founded the Axiom label in 1989 and been responsible for groundbreaking work in genres that included ambient, dub and world music. Pete Namlook was recognized as a pioneering figure in the ambient techno scene, having founded the label FAX +49-69/450464 in his native Frankfurt in 1992. Outland became a fusion of their individual musical sensibilities that resulted in a unique set of releases. At the heart of the series is an exploration of sound as a vehicle for emotion and contemplation, with Laswell's signature basslines and experimental soundscapes interweaving seamlessly with Namlook's ethereal textures and intricate sonic layering. Each album is characterized by a sense of expansiveness, taking listeners on a voyage through rarely charted sonic dimensions. All have the ability to evoke a wide range of emotions and have their own distinctive sonic palette, ranging from ambient tranquility to cosmic intensity. Outland has endured as an influential touchstone, its impact felt not only in its captivating soundscapes but also in its invitation to engage in deep introspection and cosmic contemplation. With each album, the duo beckoned listeners to transcend the mundane and embark on a sonic voyage into the extraordinary, where sound becomes a conduit for spiritual and artistic expression. The lavish matte-finish boxset opens to the five Outland albums in separate matte sleeves, with all-new designs, and all audio completely remastered. This box also contains a new addition to the Outland series -- an album of dense, bass space drone by Bill Laswell, entitled Blackland. The boxset also contains an exclusive card with an essay about the project written by Bill in July 2023.

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: CVSD 099CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Corbett Vs. Dempsey presents the third release in an ongoing series that will reconstruct the legacy known and the legacy damned of the most overlooked and under-documented American free rock unit, Dredd Foole and the Din. After his miraculous two-year collaboration with Mission of Burma came to an end, Dredd Foole found a full-time band -- built with Peter Prescott's Volcano Suns. This new Dredd Foole and the Din would set the Boston scene on fire from 1984-1987, playing more shows in a given month than the Burma-Din had played during their entire run. The band is the longest running and most fully realized group that Dredd Foole has ever been part of, and the music bears it out. For the first time, their full story will be told. This 2CD set features the complete Suns-Din era and almost doubles the group's historical output: both of their never-before-reissued albums -- 1985's Eat My Dust, Cleanse My Soul, and 1988's Take Off Your Skin -- plus unreleased studio tracks from multiple sessions and a bevy of never before heard live material from the height of the band's powers, including a complete show -- all remastered from the original tapes, all seen through rare and ecstatic photos by Boston scene documentarian Pat Ireton, all framed by extensive liner notes by the project's archivist. The effort includes a painstakingly remixed Take Off Your Skin, the Din's second album, recorded in '86 but not released until '88. This new mix reveals the under-distributed album as the band's magnum opus. After an exhaustive approach in which hundreds of live, studio, home, and private performances have been located and reviewed over several years, this monster third archival release is a both-barrels blast of peak radical expression music, proudly presented with the full cooperation of Dredd Foole, Volcano Suns, and guitarist Kenny Chambers.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: DE 295CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Nervous Gender's legendary synthpunk LP Music From Hell burbles up from infernal depths to resurface on Dark Entries! Confrontational, unhinged, and unabashedly queer, Music from Hell is an unholy grail for fans of the strangest underbellies of post-punk, minimal synth, and early industrial music, and is presented here newly remastered and on expanded double LP. Nervous Gender (de)formed in LA in 1978 at the hands of Phranc, Gerardo Velaquez, Edward Stapleton, and Michael Ochoa. Phranc, the androgynous embodiment of the band's name, left in 1980. Following her departure, a wide cast of LA freaks would find themselves drawn into the band's orbit, including Alice Bag of the Bags, Paul Roessler of the Screamers, the Germs' Don Bolles, and an 8-year-old drummer named Sven Pfeiffer. In 1980, Nervous Gender appeared on the seminal Live at Target compilation alongside Factrix, uns, and Flipper. With the band's notoriety cemented, Music from Hell followed in 1981 on Subterranean Records (as no LA label would touch this material). Side A, dubbed 'Martyr Complex,' presents a more punk-forward sound with live drum salvos and slabs of aggressive synth. These twitchy, unsettling shockers ooze with the kind of snotty misanthropy that will endear them to fans of the Screamers or Crass. Side B, known as 'Beelzebub Youth,' is a live performance the band labeled 'an electronic bruto-canto dissertation on the banality of spiritual transcendence.' Mutant melodies cede way to synthesized clangs, whirs, bleeps, manipulated tapes, and howls of despair. In addition to all the material from the original LP, we're treated to a full disc of the band's demos, the material from the Live at Target compilation, and early live recordings. Included are unrecognizable covers of Carly Simon and Lou Reed, and the Sex Pistols that are so despairingly skewed they fall into the void. This reissue of Music From Hell includes a 36-page lyric booklet, foldout poster, and gatefold sleeve with photos, flyers, and news-clippings designed by Eloise Leigh. Tackling taboo issues like sexual kinks, mental illness, drug use, and childhood molestation, Music From Hell is still surprising -- even shocking -- over 40 years after the album's release. Nervous Gender stand as one of the most genuinely anti-establishment outfits in underground music, a colossal fuck you to social norms from religious strictures to gender essentialism."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: DE 295LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version. "Nervous Gender's legendary synthpunk LP Music From Hell burbles up from infernal depths to resurface on Dark Entries! Confrontational, unhinged, and unabashedly queer, Music from Hell is an unholy grail for fans of the strangest underbellies of post-punk, minimal synth, and early industrial music, and is presented here newly remastered and on expanded double LP. Nervous Gender (de)formed in LA in 1978 at the hands of Phranc, Gerardo Velaquez, Edward Stapleton, and Michael Ochoa. Phranc, the androgynous embodiment of the band's name, left in 1980. Following her departure, a wide cast of LA freaks would find themselves drawn into the band's orbit, including Alice Bag of the Bags, Paul Roessler of the Screamers, the Germs' Don Bolles, and an 8-year-old drummer named Sven Pfeiffer. In 1980, Nervous Gender appeared on the seminal Live at Target compilation alongside Factrix, uns, and Flipper. With the band's notoriety cemented, Music from Hell followed in 1981 on Subterranean Records (as no LA label would touch this material). Side A, dubbed 'Martyr Complex,' presents a more punk-forward sound with live drum salvos and slabs of aggressive synth. These twitchy, unsettling shockers ooze with the kind of snotty misanthropy that will endear them to fans of the Screamers or Crass. Side B, known as 'Beelzebub Youth,' is a live performance the band labeled 'an electronic bruto-canto dissertation on the banality of spiritual transcendence.' Mutant melodies cede way to synthesized clangs, whirs, bleeps, manipulated tapes, and howls of despair. In addition to all the material from the original LP, we're treated to a full disc of the band's demos, the material from the Live at Target compilation, and early live recordings. Included are unrecognizable covers of Carly Simon and Lou Reed, and the Sex Pistols that are so despairingly skewed they fall into the void. This reissue of Music From Hell includes a 36-page lyric booklet, foldout poster, and gatefold sleeve with photos, flyers, and news-clippings designed by Eloise Leigh. Tackling taboo issues like sexual kinks, mental illness, drug use, and childhood molestation, Music From Hell is still surprising -- even shocking -- over 40 years after the album's release. Nervous Gender stand as one of the most genuinely anti-establishment outfits in underground music, a colossal fuck you to social norms from religious strictures to gender essentialism."

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: JACK 036LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Incredible '82 live show from Clutch Cargo's Detroit, featuring Terry Graham of The Gun Club on drums. The Cramps are on top of their game with psychotic interplanetary performance of infamous garage punk-a-billy underground hits as "New Kind Of Kick," "Goo Goo Muck," "Potentate Of Love," and more.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: JACK 037LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Part of the Italian leg of The Sisters of Mercy's Armageddon Tour in 1985. On May 2nd 1985 the band was again in great form for a three-piece as they adjusted to life after Marx, and the performances were all amazing. A great live for Sisters of Mercy fans.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: DMOO 035LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

In the early 1960s, the high school students who made up the legendary surf rock outfit The Surfaris scored an incredible hit with their debut instrumental, "Wipeout," and its sung B-side "Surfer Joe" would be belatedly hailed as a classic, but the circumstances of the hit's reissue by Dot led to a faux debut album that only featured the band on those two songs. Play was the bonafide 1963 debut LP that solidified their reputation, with "Surfing Drums" reportedly inspiring Keith Moon; a one-off take of the Batman theme is enjoyable, but the originals really delight. Calling all surf rock fans: this genre-defining LP is an absolute must have!

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: DMOO 040LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

After a time with Duke Ellington, expressive tenor saxophonist Ben Webster went solo, recording an early LP for Norman Granz's Norgran label leading him to his most successful phase with Verve, following a merger. Soulville is easily the best of the bunch, with Webster's breathy tones given a fitting accompaniment by Oscar Peterson and his group, then including bassist Ray Brown, guitarist Herb Ellis, and understated drummer Stan Levy; versions of "Lover Come Back To Me" and "Makin' Whoopee" sound excellent, but bluesy originals such as "Last Date" and the title track are truly outstanding. A quality set from start to finish. Clear vinyl LP.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: DMOO 046LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Widely feted as one of the most influential soul artists of all time and known as the King of Soul for his many contributions to the form, Sam Cooke scored 29 top-40 singles in his seven-year solo career. The Wonderful World Of Sam Cooke, released by Keen in 1960 just after Cooke signed to RCA, was the first long player to garner serious interest in the man because of its sublime track listing, including distinctive readings of show tunes "Blue Moon," "Stealing Kisses," "For Sentimental Reasons," "Summertime," and of course the standout title track, which remains a greatly loved classic that has never gone out of fashion.

 

PRICE: $52.50

CAT #: CDDM 329CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Digitmovies presents, for the first time in a complete edition in a 3CD box, six OSTs by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, composed for television between 1972 and 1975 and taken from the archive of the historic RCA. The beloved brothers, who had already been active for some years for cinema with such famous soundtracks as "Per grazia ricevuta," "Continuavano a chiamarlo Trinit?," "...e poi lo chiamarono il magnifico," "Pi? forte ragazzi," "Trastevere," and preceding by a year the worldwide success of "Sandokan" (1976), composed beautiful OSTs whose main theme was released in the '70s by RCA only on singles, but which we present here in their entirety, thanks to the masters of the original mono and stereo sessions archived at Universal Music Publishing Ricordi. Through sixty-nine tracks, the listener will travel through fascinating sound dimensions: beat, rock, progressive, folk, and experimental, alternating romantic themes with dramatic and mysterious ones that demonstrate the enormous talent of Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, then young composers, had gained a lot of experience in soundtracks, thanks to work done for years with other colleagues. This box also contains featured versions released at the time, such as the famous "Verde" from Quaranta giorni di libert?, "London Town" from Dedicato ad una coppia, "Majorana Theme" from Ipotesi sulla scomparsa di un fisico atomico, "Carolis Theme" from Sul filo della memoria, "Don Minzoni Theme" from Delitto di regime (Il caso Don Minzoni), and "Naples oggi" from Il Marsigliese. This box, produced with love, fills a hole in the huge discography of Guido & Maurizio De Angelis and Digitmovies dedicates it to their immeasurable Musical Art.

 

PRICE: $13.00

CAT #: DIS 194CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Scream formed in 1979. Drummer Kent Stacks, bassist Skeeter Enoch Thompson, and the brothers Pete and Franz Stahl attended school together in Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia, when they began to discover the punk and new wave scene in DC and the provocative power of making music. Like most of the punk bands in DC, they were influenced by the Bad Brains, but their rock and roll sensibilities set them apart. In 1982, they went into Inner Ear Studio with Ian MacKaye and Eddie Janney to record Dischord's first full-length album, Still Screaming. For their newest album, DC Special, Scream invited their extensive music community to help create a unique project that weaves the history of music in Washington DC into the story of the band. Recorded by Don Zientara just weeks before his studio was evicted from its longtime location, the record is rich with both the sounds of Inner Ear and those of friends and musicians who influenced Scream and who shaped DC music over the past six decades. DC Special embodies the same sense of community and politics that inspired Scream from the start and is a truly special collection of new music that speaks to the present and also tells the story of DC music, Scream, and the influences that shaped them. Special guests on the record include: Mark Cisneros, Joe Lally, Derrick Decker, Bob Berberich, Clint Walsh, Dave Grohl, Onam Emmett, John Goetchius, Jerry Busher, Amy Pickering, Ian MacKaye, Amanda MacKaye, Brian Baker, Randy Austin, Martha Hull, Michael Reidy, Nate Bergman, and Bobby Madden."

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: DIS 194LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Scream formed in 1979. Drummer Kent Stacks, bassist Skeeter Enoch Thompson, and the brothers Pete and Franz Stahl attended school together in Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia, when they began to discover the punk and new wave scene in DC and the provocative power of making music. Like most of the punk bands in DC, they were influenced by the Bad Brains, but their rock and roll sensibilities set them apart. In 1982, they went into Inner Ear Studio with Ian MacKaye and Eddie Janney to record Dischord's first full-length album, Still Screaming. For their newest album, DC Special, Scream invited their extensive music community to help create a unique project that weaves the history of music in Washington DC into the story of the band. Recorded by Don Zientara just weeks before his studio was evicted from its longtime location, the record is rich with both the sounds of Inner Ear and those of friends and musicians who influenced Scream and who shaped DC music over the past six decades. DC Special embodies the same sense of community and politics that inspired Scream from the start and is a truly special collection of new music that speaks to the present and also tells the story of DC music, Scream, and the influences that shaped them. Special guests on the record include: Mark Cisneros, Joe Lally, Derrick Decker, Bob Berberich, Clint Walsh, Dave Grohl, Onam Emmett, John Goetchius, Jerry Busher, Amy Pickering, Ian MacKaye, Amanda MacKaye, Brian Baker, Randy Austin, Martha Hull, Michael Reidy, Nate Bergman, and Bobby Madden."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: DOG 083CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"A resurgent Dog Meat Records is thrilled and proud to release a new album by a resurgent rock'n'roller and an old friend, Pat Todd and his band The Rankoutsiders. The seventh album by LA's finest rock'n'roll band comes some 36 years after the label's first dalliances with Pat, back when he fronted the legendary Lazy Cowgirls. The new album shows that Pat has lost none of his spark, that his voice and songwriting have only gotten stronger, and that he's got another killer band behind him, one that mixes classic '70s punk rock roots with country, blues and rock'n'roll in a manner that sits somewhere between Exile on Main Street and LAMF. The new album is highlighted as usual by Pat Todd's fantastic songs. New originals like 'All We Have To Show,' the horn-riffing rocker 'Living In A World of Hurt,' and the raucous country-folk punker 'Goodbye to the World' are up there with anything he has ever written, and the Rankoutsiders play them even better than ever. Indeed, a couple of choice covers -- a version of 'Hi Ho Silver Lining,' sung by guitarist Nick Alexander and cut before Jeff Beck's unfortunate passing, and a version of David Johansen's old heartbreaker 'Donna' cut before word of Martin Scorsese's Johansen documentary got out -- shows by comparison to the original versions just how well these guys can crank it out. Prior to the new album Sons of the City Ditch, the Rankoutsiders have released six full-length albums and over a dozen singles and EPs and have more releases queued up. Each and every one of them is a testament to Pat's personal vision of raw, high energy rock'n'roll infused with elements of country and rhythm and blues, and documentary proof that the Rankoutsiders are one of the hottest rock'n'roll bands on the planet. Indeed, it must be said the Rankoutsiders truly are a band: energetically flanking Pat stage left is long-time guitarist and vocalist Kevin Keller; to the right is guitarist and founding member, Nick Alexander- -- the cool, calm and collected eye of the storm; bassist Steven Vigh holds the lower frequencies in check with steadfast authority, pushing the chorus to the next harmonic level, while drummer Walt Phelan drives the engine hard while keeping the band on the rails."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: DOG 083LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "A resurgent Dog Meat Records is thrilled and proud to release a new album by a resurgent rock'n'roller and an old friend, Pat Todd and his band The Rankoutsiders. The seventh album by LA's finest rock'n'roll band comes some 36 years after the label's first dalliances with Pat, back when he fronted the legendary Lazy Cowgirls. The new album shows that Pat has lost none of his spark, that his voice and songwriting have only gotten stronger, and that he's got another killer band behind him, one that mixes classic '70s punk rock roots with country, blues and rock'n'roll in a manner that sits somewhere between Exile on Main Street and LAMF. The new album is highlighted as usual by Pat Todd's fantastic songs. New originals like 'All We Have To Show,' the horn-riffing rocker 'Living In A World of Hurt,' and the raucous country-folk punker 'Goodbye to the World' are up there with anything he has ever written, and the Rankoutsiders play them even better than ever. Indeed, a couple of choice covers -- a version of 'Hi Ho Silver Lining,' sung by guitarist Nick Alexander and cut before Jeff Beck's unfortunate passing, and a version of David Johansen's old heartbreaker 'Donna' cut before word of Martin Scorsese's Johansen documentary got out -- shows by comparison to the original versions just how well these guys can crank it out. Prior to the new album Sons of the City Ditch, the Rankoutsiders have released six full-length albums and over a dozen singles and EPs and have more releases queued up. Each and every one of them is a testament to Pat's personal vision of raw, high energy rock'n'roll infused with elements of country and rhythm and blues, and documentary proof that the Rankoutsiders are one of the hottest rock'n'roll bands on the planet. Indeed, it must be said the Rankoutsiders truly are a band: energetically flanking Pat stage left is long-time guitarist and vocalist Kevin Keller; to the right is guitarist and founding member, Nick Alexander- -- the cool, calm and collected eye of the storm; bassist Steven Vigh holds the lower frequencies in check with steadfast authority, pushing the chorus to the next harmonic level, while drummer Walt Phelan drives the engine hard while keeping the band on the rails."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: DOG 083X-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Color vinyl. "A resurgent Dog Meat Records is thrilled and proud to release a new album by a resurgent rock'n'roller and an old friend, Pat Todd and his band The Rankoutsiders. The seventh album by LA's finest rock'n'roll band comes some 36 years after the label's first dalliances with Pat, back when he fronted the legendary Lazy Cowgirls. The new album shows that Pat has lost none of his spark, that his voice and songwriting have only gotten stronger, and that he's got another killer band behind him, one that mixes classic '70s punk rock roots with country, blues and rock'n'roll in a manner that sits somewhere between Exile on Main Street and LAMF. The new album is highlighted as usual by Pat Todd's fantastic songs. New originals like 'All We Have To Show,' the horn-riffing rocker 'Living In A World of Hurt,' and the raucous country-folk punker 'Goodbye to the World' are up there with anything he has ever written, and the Rankoutsiders play them even better than ever. Indeed, a couple of choice covers -- a version of 'Hi Ho Silver Lining,' sung by guitarist Nick Alexander and cut before Jeff Beck's unfortunate passing, and a version of David Johansen's old heartbreaker 'Donna' cut before word of Martin Scorsese's Johansen documentary got out -- shows by comparison to the original versions just how well these guys can crank it out. Prior to the new album Sons of the City Ditch, the Rankoutsiders have released six full-length albums and over a dozen singles and EPs and have more releases queued up. Each and every one of them is a testament to Pat's personal vision of raw, high energy rock'n'roll infused with elements of country and rhythm and blues, and documentary proof that the Rankoutsiders are one of the hottest rock'n'roll bands on the planet. Indeed, it must be said the Rankoutsiders truly are a band: energetically flanking Pat stage left is long-time guitarist and vocalist Kevin Keller; to the right is guitarist and founding member, Nick Alexander- -- the cool, calm and collected eye of the storm; bassist Steven Vigh holds the lower frequencies in check with steadfast authority, pushing the chorus to the next harmonic level, while drummer Walt Phelan drives the engine hard while keeping the band on the rails."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: DOK 206LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. "Originally released in 1961 as Joao Gilberto, this historic album is one of the great cornerstones of bossa nova. Accompanied by Tom Jobim (who wrote such standards as 'Garota de Ipanema' and 'Desafinado') and organist Walter Wanderley (best known for his smooth Hammond playing and the 1966 hit 'Summer Samba'), Gilberto plays songs like 'Samba da minha terra' and 'O amor em paz,' both of which (along with most of the songs on this album) would soon become standards of the genre." On 180 gram vinyl with a CD of the entire album.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: DC 894CD

FILE UNDER: COMEDY

"Drag City presents its first-ever Christmas/Holiday album -- Neil Hamburger Presents Seasonal Depression Suite. This song-cycle is filtered through the lens of various guests stuck in a perfectly average chain-hotel during the holiday season, wallowing in self-pity and paranoia, re-living personal catastrophes both real and imagined, or simply trying to use the hotel vending machine. Influenced by everything from Thom Bell to Tommy to the troll-ish misery of Trip Advisor reviews, Seasonal Depression Suite provides another entry in the sprawling satirical critique of America that Greg Turkington has been engaged in with his multifarious enterprises and collaborations since the early '90s. The musical tapestry woven by Turkington and Erik Paparozzi draws from the stage musicals, pop vocal albums, film scores, rock concept albums, new wave mini-masterpieces, and singer-songwriter epics that have captured their imaginations since childhood, in pitch-perfect support of their fictitious hotel guests and their tormented concerns. To sing these parts, a once-in-a-lifetime all-star cast was assembled -- including Neil Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House, Fleetwood Mac), Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow), Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls), Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, acclaimed singer/performance artist Puddles Pity Party, voice actress Natalie Peyser, J.P. Hasson (Pleaseeasaur), enigmatic vocalist (and Frank Sinatra's granddaughter) A.J. Lambert, Paparozzi himself and, of course, Neil Hamburger. Among the many musicians accompanying the cast were Scarlet Rivera, Danny Heifetz (Mr. Bungle), B?r McKinnon (Mr. Bungle), Prairie Prince (The Tubes), Atom Ellis (Dieselhed), Jason Schimmel (Secret Chiefs 3), and Alex Jules (The Monkees band) -- an international assemblage whose talents give Seasonal Depression Suite its epic sweep. With all hands-on board, Turkington and Paparozzi created their own kind of masterpiece, like Sinatra's late-period concept album Watertown fused with the misfit comedy of Neil Hamburger -- a work that looks at a cast of characters both ordinary and bizarre, as they make their way from one grievance to another, traveling from place to place, hoping to live, while waiting to die. There won't be another album like Seasonal Depression Suite anytime soon -- if ever."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: DC 894LP

FILE UNDER: COMEDY

LP version. "Drag City presents its first-ever Christmas/Holiday album -- Neil Hamburger Presents Seasonal Depression Suite. This song-cycle is filtered through the lens of various guests stuck in a perfectly average chain-hotel during the holiday season, wallowing in self-pity and paranoia, re-living personal catastrophes both real and imagined, or simply trying to use the hotel vending machine. Influenced by everything from Thom Bell to Tommy to the troll-ish misery of Trip Advisor reviews, Seasonal Depression Suite provides another entry in the sprawling satirical critique of America that Greg Turkington has been engaged in with his multifarious enterprises and collaborations since the early '90s. The musical tapestry woven by Turkington and Erik Paparozzi draws from the stage musicals, pop vocal albums, film scores, rock concept albums, new wave mini-masterpieces, and singer-songwriter epics that have captured their imaginations since childhood, in pitch-perfect support of their fictitious hotel guests and their tormented concerns. To sing these parts, a once-in-a-lifetime all-star cast was assembled -- including Neil Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House, Fleetwood Mac), Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow), Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls), Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, acclaimed singer/performance artist Puddles Pity Party, voice actress Natalie Peyser, J.P. Hasson (Pleaseeasaur), enigmatic vocalist (and Frank Sinatra's granddaughter) A.J. Lambert, Paparozzi himself and, of course, Neil Hamburger. Among the many musicians accompanying the cast were Scarlet Rivera, Danny Heifetz (Mr. Bungle), B?r McKinnon (Mr. Bungle), Prairie Prince (The Tubes), Atom Ellis (Dieselhed), Jason Schimmel (Secret Chiefs 3), and Alex Jules (The Monkees band) -- an international assemblage whose talents give Seasonal Depression Suite its epic sweep. With all hands-on board, Turkington and Paparozzi created their own kind of masterpiece, like Sinatra's late-period concept album Watertown fused with the misfit comedy of Neil Hamburger -- a work that looks at a cast of characters both ordinary and bizarre, as they make their way from one grievance to another, traveling from place to place, hoping to live, while waiting to die. There won't be another album like Seasonal Depression Suite anytime soon -- if ever."

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: DC 906EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"In the time since the 2009 release of ...For the Whole World to See, happenings in the world of Death have occurred at warp speed. The raw rock and roll that the Hackney brothers made in the 1970s became a belated punk rock sensation, leading to shows and tours round the world, as well as two further compilations of old material. Since a series of US dates in 2019, things have been relatively quiet externally, but evolution has continued, with this Death/Rough Francis split single representing the inauguration of a new phase in the Death history. Keeping it in the family and pointing toward the future has been a way of life for Death since the beginning. For this new recording, Bobby Hackney's sons have joined Bobby and Dannis in the band they formed with their late brother David nearly 50 years ago. Urian, Julian, and Bobby Jr. have made music under the name of Rough Francis since 2010, and will continue that journey while also making Death music old and new happen with their father and uncle. 'World In Disguise' and 'Haunted' are produced by Urian, who is gaining recognition as a drummer, artist and producer, playing with Converge and The Armed. 'World In Disguise' was developed from a demo in the Death 70s archive -- and more songs from that archive will be coming in the future, as part of the full-circle Hackney experience going forward. 'Haunted' presents the Rough Francis sound, driven just as powerfully as the parent band and inclined to the same depth of introspection that is a part of Death's signature. Bobby Jr.'s vocals and lyrics are in turn, rawly aggro and ethereally philosophical, as the Rough Francis production sound encompasses the wide spectrum of their shared vision."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: ET 944CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Les Chakachas Disco Sudamericana was released by CBS Sugar in 1974, and when it originally came out did not receive the attention it deserved. Disco Sudamericana is a rich album in terms of catchy tracks and killer grooves. "Super Cat," "Liza& Brooks," and "Selling Mango" are just some of the peaks here. This is yet another major release on the legendary Easy Tempo label, offering this time two extra tracks not featured on the original release!

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: HE 68005LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Nico immediately embarked on a solo recording career after splitting with the Velvet Underground and had an unfulfilling experience making her first album. For The Marble Index, she seized control of the recording process, determined that her vision be more fully realized on her second LP. Writing all of the songs and enlisting John Cale's playing and production assistance, Nico created a dark, stripped-down atmosphere that was a million miles from Top 40. Centered around her signature harmonium playing, the songs have a stark, Gothic quality that profoundly affected listeners.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: HE 69010LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

It's hard to understand why Warne Marsch was so neglected during his lifetime. It's harder still to substantiate the charges with which his music was branded -- cerebral, cold, unemotional, uninvolving. This album alone, one of his best, should have been enough to put such absurd slurs to rest. The music on Ne Plus Ultra is intimate, warm, passionate, risky. There is much beauty to be shared.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: HE 70002LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

A superb and under-recognized recording, Crisis is one-third of a trilogy of extraordinary albums -- the others being Broken Shadows and Science Fiction -- by Ornette Coleman's small groups of the late '60s and early '70s. A rendition of the piece "Broken Shadows" itself, a dirge of astonishing beauty second only to his "Lonely Woman," opens the live performance and offers solos of deep and poignant probity from Coleman and tenorist Dewey Redman, whose earthy growled tones counterbalanced the leader's so well for so long. Crisis somehow lacks the reputation of the revolutionary Coleman albums from early in his career, but on purely musical grounds it ranks among his most satisfying works. LP 180 gram gatefold.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: HE 70004LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Desertshore is Nico's third solo album, recorded and released in 1970. It was co-produced by John Cale and Joe Boyd. Like its predecessor The Marble Index (HE 68005LP, 2023), it is an avant-garde album with chamber music elements. The back and front covers feature stills from the film La cicatrice interieure by Philippe Garrel, which starred Nico, Garrel and her son Ari Boulogne. A few of the songs from the album were included on the soundtrack of the film.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: EJR 002CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

They have been working together again and again for more than 20 years and have constantly explored the boundaries of their instructions and not infrequently even expanded them: singer Jutta Glaser and guitarist Claus Boesser-Ferrari. Their current project Return & Crossing is a tribute to the Lebanese-American painter, film artist and poet Etel Adnan. Jutta Glaser and Claus Boesser-Ferrari have opened their music wide to Adnan's poems. In doing so, they have not simply deconstructed their compositions, but, on the contrary, restructured them in a way that floats in the flow of the language, that is, in a peculiarly fluid way. They have deliberately worked in a more sound-painting manner in order to take up the aspect of multiple talents or Etel Adnan's interdisciplinary approach and mirror it in a corresponding art form. Just as Adnan's poetry is always read in a new and different way, so is this music, which is so changeable in itself. Jutta Glaser's singing is a sometimes tender and fragile, sometimes highly expressive, but always respectfully bow to Adnan's texts. Glaser transfers them as virtuously as sensitively into congenial improvisations and alienations, without overstretching the natural richness of the texts' relationships. Claus Boesser-Ferrari, supported by cleverly used electronics, functions here not as an accompanist, but as a second voice in a dialogue of different artistic means and formal languages. The guitarist moves in his usual stylistically confident manner between lyrical sound surfaces, percussive pointing and expressive outbursts. Return & Crossing is a multi-layered dramaturgical production, which not only elaborates the high musicality of Adnan's language, organized in diffuse-open spaces, with love and meticulousness, but also makes it sound as multi-layered as it is rousing.

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: FTR 697LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Like last year's brilliant Wings Dipped in Fire (FTR 398CS, 2023), this new album was recorded by Taylor Hales at Chicago's Electrical Audio. But this time, the duo (once known at Mako Sica) is joined not just by keyboard/trumpet master Thymme Jones, but also percussionist Hamid Drake, bassist Tatsu Aoki (on shamisen) and bassist Joshua Abrams. A total post-form all-star line-up, with more combined chops than a breakfast table crammed with lumberjacks. The mood on june 22 is weird and simmering. Blasts of heat alternate with spaced-out jam abstractions with Brent Fuscaldo's vocals and Przemyslaw Krys Drazek's guitar and trumpet dodging in and out of available crevices. As with all of this combo's recent music, exactly what genre they occupy is not easy to say. This is something they share with this generation of Chicago improvisers, who often seem to begin in jazz, but evolve into something much more intangible, mysterious and beautiful. Just as Abrams' Natural Information Society is making sounds requiring multi-hyphonic descriptives, so Drazek Fuscaldo have dissolved categorical confines, although their journey to this point began in a rock (or post-rock) formulation. By now the music contains multitudes -- jazz, folk, world music, avant-garde experimentalism and beyond. It defies being called anything other than MUSIC. Great music. And to quote the Captain once again, 'If you got ears, you gotta listen.' Don't know what else to say, except june 22 is a killer." --Byron Coley, 2023

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: FKR 062X-LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

During the maiden voyage into an expansive vat of unreleased music by Polish composer Andrzej Korzynski, Finders Keepers Records originally presented his previously unreleased electro/ orchestral/experimental score for Andrzej Zulawski's surrealist '80s horror classic Possession in 2012. These 25 cues were written and recorded exclusively for the 1981 award-winning film starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neil, but due to the progressive, stark and modernist nature of the finished film less than half of them made it on to the actual director's cut -- leaving many of the tracks on this spackage totally unheard outside of Korzynski's studio. The intended Possession score in its entirety marks an important axis in Korzynski's career where his various musical disciplines overlap. In one respect it marks his first forays into to synth driven electronics and disco drum machines, while other tracks epitomize the well-honed techniques used in previous Zulawski scores, such as Third Part Of The Night and The Devil, which rely on his inimitable orchestral arrangements and combination of clavinet, Rhodes, piano and electric guitar. Available once again on black 12" vinyl for the first time since its original release some 11 years ago, Finders Keepers' ongoing commitment to the important restoration of Korzynski's music aims to shed new light on the seldom manufactured productions of the composer whose vast cinematic catalogue warrants overdue global status alongside other golden era Eastern European composers such as Kryzstof Komeda, Jan Hammer, and Zdenek Liska -- not to mention the best of the French and Italian soundtrackers, such as Roubaix, Vannier, and Nicolai. Duplicated and carefully remastered directly from Korzynski's original master tapes this album boasts the uninhibited studio experiments and retains the pre-cut ambience.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: FR 024LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Frozen Reeds presents the only recorded duo playing of two legendary musical figures. Derek Bailey and Paul Motian -- two longstanding pioneers of distinct strains of improvised music -- came together for a brief period of collaboration in the early 1990s. Tapes of their two known live performances (one at Groningen's JazzMarathon festival in the Netherlands, the other a year later at New Music Cafe, NYC) were recently unearthed in the Incus archives, and their contents will surprise and delight fans of both supremely idiosyncratic musicians. The Groningen concert (1990) is released on vinyl, while the New York date (1991) is included with the digital download, which is included free of charge for all purchasers. A conversation between Bill Frisell and Henry Kaiser on Bailey, Motian, their intertwined backgrounds, and the significance of these recordings is included as sleeve-note insert. Each player bringing decades of crucial experience to their encounters -- with histories taking in vast swathes of the development of jazz and free improvisation -- these fleeting shared moments provide some of the most riveting playing in the career of either. There is precious little recorded evidence of Motian as a free improviser, but his mastery is beyond any doubt in these recordings. From knife-edge precision to textural haze, Motian's palette is astounding, but perhaps even more impressive is his confidence in the non-idiomatic conversation itself. Pushing far beyond the established vocabulary of free percussion, his playing allows a measured degree of repetition to take form, giving rise to almost song-like structures. In turn, Bailey allows some of his most unashamedly melodic passages to unfold without a mote of his trademark contrariness or antagonism. Patterns that would be acerbically disrupted elsewhere are allowed to settle, with variations of note and timbre introduced more gradually than is typical of his playing. When forceful changes in dynamics or tone do arrive, they do so in such close tandem with Motian's rhythmic and textural transitions as to beggar belief. The guitarist's duos with percussionists (Jamie Muir, Han Bennink, John Stevens) arguably provide some of the highlights of his discography. Duo in Concert represents a strong addition to the list. An elegant sense of construction pervades the sets, as the duo ably fulfil the promise of free improvisation: carving out hugely compelling, expertly balanced, and thrillingly paced music as if from thin air.

 

PRICE: $30.00

CAT #: GET 51297LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

2023 repress. "In 1994, hip-hop was going through a painful growth spurt. Since N.W.A. and Ice-T's ascent in the late '80s, the rap game was no longer owned by the east coast. After the worldwide popularity of Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992, things were looking even worse for hip-hop's hometown. The east coast/west coast feud that would indirectly claim the lives of Biggie and Pac was still in its infancy, but New York needed a shot in the arm. And as soon as the first lines of 'N.Y. State of Mind' kick in, bolstered by perhaps DJ Premier's darkest beat of all time, the entire east coast breathed a collective sigh of relief. God's son had arrived. Backed by an absolute all-star cast of New York's top-shelf producers -- Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Q-Tip, and a youngster named L.E.S. -- the album never lets up. Serious to a fault, and lyrically dense to an extent that has possibly never been matched, the 20-year old Nas stood on the shoulders of his predecessors and proudly proclaimed, 'Don't f*** with the east? we are back.' It was a dark, hard record, made for heads in New York, not teeny-boppers in Des Moines. There were no dance beats, no crossover love songs. Just boom-bap and rhymes, skills, and heart."

 

PRICE: $36.00

CAT #: GET 51509G-LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"Thirty years ago on May 4, 1993, Run-DMC made one of the greatest comebacks in hip-hop history with the release of their sixth studio album Down With The King. In 1991, a 12" remix came out for the single 'Back From Hell' featuring Chuck D and Ice Cube and fans took notice. It would be two more years before anyone would hear from Run-DMC again. In March of 1993, a new single and video 'Down With The King' debuted on Yo! MTV Raps featuring the new Hip-Hop Gods Pete Rock and CL Smooth paying homage to The Kings calling back verses from Sucker MCs over a dope signature Pete Rock beat. Fans watched it over and over to catch all the cameos, everyone from Eazy-E to the Native Tongues Family of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. The anticipation was building, but would the album live up to the lead single that knocked it out of the park? On May 4, 1993, the album dropped on CD, cassette, and vinyl. Run-DMC enlisted The Bomb Squad from Public Enemy, Q-Tip, EPMD, Jermaine Dupri, Kay Gee of Naughty By Nature, and Pete Rock to produce the album with a special appearance by Tom Morello rocking out his guitar emulating DJ scratches he made famous with Rage Against The Machine. Their rhyming was as enthusiastic and powerful as they were on their debut album ten years prior. Run-DMC, the self-proclaimed Kings of Rock and original Kings of Hip Hop were indeed back. Get On Down is presents for the first time on vinyl since its original release, a 30 Year Anniversary pressing on double-colored vinyl with numbered OBI in a gatefold jacket."

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: GET 731EP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

2023 repress. "'Shook Ones Part II' might be one of the biggest records to come out of New York in the mid 90's. From the moment you hear the bare hi-hat and the infamous line 'to all the killers and the hundred dollar billas' it is an immediate adrenaline rush. The beat alone is a work of art, Havoc constructed what would go on for years as 'how did he actually come up with that beat?!' amongst DJ's and Producers alike. The infectious piano, cinematic sirens, it was no doubt that it was one of (famed New York nightclub) The Tunnel's most signature records. As Cipha Sounds put it - 'How could it not rip in The Tunnel? Just classic. "Shook Ones Part I" was actually pretty big in the Tunnel, but "Part II" ripped everything.' When 'Shook Ones Part II' came you couldn't help but nod your head and get lost in Havoc and Prodigy trading verses breaking down the meaning of a crook... making you shook son."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: GET 786EP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"One of the greatest hip-hop singles to be released in 1993 -- reissued as a limited edition 7" vinyl single. 'Down With The King' featuring Pete Rock and CL Smooth is pressed on red and clear colored vinyl in a picture sleeve with 'Come On Everybody' feat Q-Tip on the B-Side."

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: GUESS 071CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Seattle's first "alternative" band from the '60s, the Daily Flash were caught in the psychedelic explosion of the West Coast with their electrifying blend of folk-rock, pop, blues and jazz. This compilation (the most comprehensive to date) includes their essential 45s ("Jack Of Diamonds" of Nuggets fame, "Queen Jane Approximately," "The French Girl") plus unreleased studio/live recordings and rare demos/acetates. Featuring Doug Hastings (Buffalo Springfield/Rhinoceros) on guitar/vocals.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: GUESS 213LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Seattle's first "alternative" band from the '60s, the Daily Flash were caught in the psychedelic explosion of the West Coast with their electrifying blend of folk-rock, pop, blues and jazz. This compilation (the most comprehensive to date) includes their essential 45s ("Jack Of Diamonds" of Nuggets fame, "Queen Jane Approximately," "The French Girl") plus unreleased studio/live recordings and rare demos/acetates. Featuring Doug Hastings (Buffalo Springfield/Rhinoceros) on guitar/vocals.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: HPS 275CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Kadabra formed during the dark days of 2020 and were quickly signed by Heavy Psych Sounds, releasing Ultra in the fall of 2021 and establishing their penchant for delivering crushing doom riffs and haunting vocals accentuated by bursts of psychedelic flair and swampy Americana swagger. And while the chemistry of long-time friends Garrett Zanol (guitar/vocals), Ian Nelson (bass) and Chase Howard (drums) was apparent upon listening to their debut, their bond was further strengthened by relentlessly touring the western United States and completing a month-long tour of Europe. The trio almost immediately began looking forward, road-testing and crystalizing the songs that would comprise their follow-up, which found the band reuniting with Ultra producer Dawson Scholz. The result is Umbra: a singular statement that is more focused and cohesive than its predecessor, while managing to capture the immersive, free-flowing experience of their live show. For fans of: Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats and Dead Meadow.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: SUBURBIA 031AU

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Originally released in 2020 and widely acclaimed as "the record of the year" in the punk rock community worldwide, Bobby Ramone's legendary self-titled debut gets the Hey Suburbia reissue treatment. Repress in Australian Ramones-style sleeve! Two bonus tracks included!

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: HBR 019LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Holy Basil continues the reissue series of Shigeo Sekito's iconic Special Sound series with its third instalment, Path?tique, a mesmerizing musical journey crafted by the visionary Japanese musician Shigeo Sekito. Released in the 1970s, this album stands as a testament to Sekito's innovative genius and his ability to seamlessly blend genres, resulting in a captivating and groundbreaking sonic experience. Path?tique showcases Sekito's masterful fusion of jazz, funk, and electronic elements, creating a unique and otherworldly soundscape that transports listeners to a realm of musical exploration. The album features a series of compositions that are not only technically impressive but also emotionally resonant, evoking a range of feelings from nostalgia to euphoria. The album's title, Path?tique, is a nod to Tchaikovsky's renowned Path?tique Symphony, and it hints at the emotional depth and complexity found within the music. Sekito's virtuosity on various instruments, including keyboards, synthesizers, and guitar, is on full display throughout the album, as he weaves intricate melodies and harmonies that take listeners on a sonic adventure."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 086LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Released in 1961, this was Elis Regina's debut album. A first and already distinctive statement from an extremely talented teen from Porto Alegre who later became a star and who's now remembered as one of the greatest Brazilian vocalists of all times. Regina's vocal range and singing versatility shine in the wake of a varied track list based on different ingredients and flavors, from pop songs through vibrant Afro-Cuban grooves and jazzy sambas. The whole album is a treat!

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 087LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Originally released on Sue Records in 1963, this was Ike & Tina Turner's fourth album, the one that earned them a first grammy nomination and a further step in the consolidation of their international success. Most of the tunes here are highly energetic up-tempo numbers while the whole album comes as the fruit of a unique combination of raw R&B and highly energetic rock and roll.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 088LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Originally released on Ray Charles' Tangerine label, and for too long considered a collector's item, Falling in Love is Wonderful can be easily considered as one of Jimmy Scott's essential albums. Perfectly backed by Marty Paich and Gerald Wilson sophisticated arrangements Jimmy Scott lays some of the best vocal performances in his entire career. Classic standards such as "There Is No Greater Love" and "How Deep Is The Ocean" reach new heights and flourish through his unique voice.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 089LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

This is the incomparable Tony Scott, one of the greatest American jazz clarinetists of all times caught while touring South Africa in 1957. The album sees Scott joining a local Marabi dance band called Alexandra Dead End Kids and playing live with his jazz quartet in front of hyper-enthusiastic crowds. It's great to hear his masterful clarinet splitting between the penny whistle sound of South African folk tunes and the virtuosity of a real jazz performance. This disc reveals Scott's great versatility, high spirit and deep love for music and people.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: IMPREC 460LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 restock.Born Again In The Voltage is an astonishing collection of electro-acoustic pieces for Buchla 200 system, cello, and voice composed and produced by Caterina Barbieri at Elektronmusikstudion (SE) between 2014 and 2015. Cello by Antonello Manzo. Images by Giovanni Brunetto; Photography by Angelo Jaroszuk Bogasz; Layout by Important Records. Mastering by Giuseppe Ielasi.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: JPR 089LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Formed in 1966, The Electric Prunes had a novel approach to being a band: deciding to be a recording unit rather than a live performance band. They discovered their signature sound -- reverb-drenched, beautifully chaotic garage pop -- and released one of the most fantastic, fuzzed-out singles of all time, 'I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night.' Guitar effects drip and splatter throughout (the band had landed an endorsement deal with Vox, who were the leaders in wild effects pedals at that time), and they laid into the material with brute force (and the occasional gentle touch)."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: JPR 090LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Due to their successful debut, the band's producer was in demand, leaving little time to devote to the Prunes. The band took full advantage of the adults not being in the room and created an incredible follow-up of original material on 1968's Underground. Here is where the band really leaned heavily into their knack for challenging pop. This album came to define what later gravediggers of the garage genre came to devour: Iggy Pop, The Ramones, and Patti Smith all took a riff here; an attitude there."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: JPR 091LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"In 1968, The Electric Prunes collaborated with classically-trained musician David Axelrod to create Mass in F Minor, a religious-based rock opera. Even though the album is a head-scratcher side by side with their previous records, this has become one of the era's most bizarre and hypnotic releases. Sung in Latin with the band hanging onto Axelrod's ambitious arrangements; you've never heard anything like it. It created enough of a cultural mark that the lead track 'Kyrie Eleison' was even used in the movie that defined the late '60s generation, Easy Rider."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: JPR 106LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"When the '80s U.S. garage/psych explosion started, one record in that genre towered above all others -- The Miracle Workers' 1985 debut LP Inside Out. Initially formed in 1982, the classic line-up on this debut was a five-headed, five-star beast and one of the most ferocious live bands of the era. With four songwriters, they rarely had to rely on the crutch of cover versions that many of their paisley contemporaries had to lean on. No lazy Pebbles compilation wanna-bees or drippy long-form psych yawns here; just 13 songs that are up there in the pantheon of garage rock (and really any other rock genre)."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: JPR 113LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Highly sought-after second album from the most influential modern surf band. Originally released in 1995 on Estrus! Records, this instrumental classic sold out immediately. Satan's Pilgrims are known for their '60s stylized surf soul sound with diverse, imaginative, and melodic compositions."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: JM 085LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

"Kool Keith is an educated man, boasting a pair of doctorates -- one in Dooomology and another in Octagon Mathematics. With this immense medical and scientific background at his disposal, Keith has come to operate. Production on Keith's albums is eerily evil; his music is an LSD experience gone horribly wrong. Bizarre, ethereal sound effects and tight, piercing drum loops prepare the listener for a down and dirty lyrical delivery that's been cultivated since Keith first arrived on the rap scene with the Ultramagnetic MC's. Verses contain unique rhyme structures and original metaphors, and range from classic emcee braggadocio to tales of robbery and street sex. Keith's latest LP Mr. Controller entirely produced by Junkaz Lou is yet another work of art. No MC on the planet is so grimy and yet so polished -- after years in the rap game, Kool Keith's as unique as ever."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: KRANK 240CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"South Carolina singer and producer Niecy Blues describes her songwriting process like an undertow: 'I feel a strange pull, and let it carry me, following swirling leaves... whole days roll by, forgetting about the body.' Their full-length debut, Exit Simulation, captures this sense of deep-rooted divination, cycling between simmering ballads, ghosted R&B, downtempo gospel, and looped vocal improvisations -- often within the same track. The title is taken from a science fiction novel she read during the purgatory of the pandemic, alluding to a dimensional ideation of departure -- 'the permission to imagine leaving.' Recorded in her current home of Charleston, she characterizes the album's mood in terms both reflective and raw: an exploration of things suppressed, foundations beginning to crack, 'talking myself off a ledge.' The music of Niecy Blues transposes reverie and reckoning into emotive devotionals of keys, guitar, bass, synth, and bewitched voice, steeped in sacred atmospheres gleaned from a youth spent in a religious Oklahoma household: 'My first experience with ambient music was church -- slow songs of worship, with delay on the guitar... even if you don't believe, you feel something.'"

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: KRANK 240LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "South Carolina singer and producer Niecy Blues describes her songwriting process like an undertow: 'I feel a strange pull, and let it carry me, following swirling leaves... whole days roll by, forgetting about the body.' Their full-length debut, Exit Simulation, captures this sense of deep-rooted divination, cycling between simmering ballads, ghosted R&B, downtempo gospel, and looped vocal improvisations -- often within the same track. The title is taken from a science fiction novel she read during the purgatory of the pandemic, alluding to a dimensional ideation of departure -- 'the permission to imagine leaving.' Recorded in her current home of Charleston, she characterizes the album's mood in terms both reflective and raw: an exploration of things suppressed, foundations beginning to crack, 'talking myself off a ledge.' The music of Niecy Blues transposes reverie and reckoning into emotive devotionals of keys, guitar, bass, synth, and bewitched voice, steeped in sacred atmospheres gleaned from a youth spent in a religious Oklahoma household: 'My first experience with ambient music was church -- slow songs of worship, with delay on the guitar... even if you don't believe, you feel something.'"

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LANR 037LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reissued for the first time on vinyl, an amazing showcase of roots and reggae lovers, originally released on Trojan in 1977. Although his place as a reggae pioneer cannot be questioned, Owen Gray has felt for many years that he never got his due from Jamaica, his homeland. On August 6, 2023, the government finally recognized his contribution awarding him with the honor of Order Of Distinction, Jamaica's sixth-highest honor. Gray, now 87, is ecstatic about what he considers an overdue and deserved reward. In the rocksteady era, he recorded for producer Sir Clancy Collins AKA Sir Collins. His popularity continued throughout the 1960s, working with producers such as Clement Dodd, Prince Buster, Sydney Crooks, Arthur "Duke" Reid, Leslie Kong, and Clancy Eccles, including work as a duo with Millie Small, with songs ranging from ska to ballads. He continued to record regularly, having a big hit in 1968 with "Cupid." His 1970 track "Apollo 12" found favor with the early skinheads, and in 1972 he returned to Island Records, recording reggae versions of The Rolling Stones' "Tumblin' Dice" and John Lennon's "Jealous Guy," although they met with little success. During this period, he regularly had releases on Pama and Pioneer Internacional label, Camel Records, and one single on Hot Lead Records. He had greater success in Jamaica, however, with "Hail the Man," a tribute to Emperor Haile Selassie, which was popular with the increasing Rastafari following. Fully licensed, 140g vinyl.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: LPS PS014LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Triple LP version. Back in the 1990s, video games were still largely seen as nerdy: fun, sure, but basically a guilty pleasure that you'd soon grow out of. The release in 1995 of wipE'out'', a lightning-fast, razor-sharp, futuristic racing game that helped to launch the PlayStation in Europe and North America, changed all that. This was a game that looked and sounded both adult and cool, the kind of game you would put on display in your living room, rather than hide away under your bed. Key to this was the fact that wipE'out'' borrowed unashamedly from the clubbing experience and electronic music, in a way that put it at the heart of progressive mid '90s culture. wipE?out?? also sounded like a new rave dream. The European version of the game included music from The Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, and Orbital, the kind of fashionable game syncs that were almost unheard of at the time. Equally striking was the game's original music, which came from Welsh musician Tim Wright, aka CoLD SToRAGE, by this point already a veteran in the video games world, having worked on the music for Amiga titles such as Lemmings and Shadow of the Beast 2. His music for wipE?out?? was, if anything, even more extreme than the big-name syncs, mixing the accelerated beats of drum and bass with the pure synth rush of trance to make music that sounded as breathlessly exciting as playing the game felt. These tracks were burned into the brains of millions of gamers; the soundtrack to a generation of late-night anti-gravity racing, as the sun gingerly rose beyond the curtains. But they haven't, perhaps, quite got the respect they deserve, something that this release will address. Featuring remixes by ?-Ziq, Wordcolour, Brainwaltzera, James Shinra, Kode9, Simo Cell, Surgeons Girl, Datassette.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LR 130LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. The undisputed leaders of the early gothic scene, and a seminal band that contributed to the rise of British post-punk, The Cure recorded their debut album Three Imaginary Boys at London's Morgan Studios and released it in May 1979. After touring for almost all of 1977, the band changed their name to The Cure and rearranged their line-up with the sacking of Porl Thompson, giving birth to an unusual power trio. This line-up lasted only for their first album, making it unique in its essentially minimal sound. The year was now 1978, and the three (imaginary?) boys soon signed to Chris Parry's Fiction Label.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: LIR 009EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

A command across genres has distinguished Yasushi Ide's work as a DJ and producer since emerging from the multiscene spawning big bang that was Tokyo's highly influential club milieu of the 1980s. His productions draw variously from hip-hop, dub, house, punk, jazz dance, exotica and electronic music -- and at their most expressive, synthesize sensibilities within a single track. The respect Ide's earned is well evident in the impressive roll call of collaborators he's accrued over the years -- Masters At Work, Tom Verlaine, Don Letts, James Chance, DJ Krush, Pharaoh Sanders, U-ROY, and Bongo Herman, just to name a legendary few. Now available for worldwide distribution from Love Injection Records in both digital and 7" 45 vinyl formats, the Yasushi Ide "A Place In the Sun (Kaoru Inoue Remix)" is paired with the equally gorgeous "A Place In the Sun (Dub)." On the former, Inoue's treatment largely strips away the track's beats, anchoring it to a subtle percussion pulse that emphasizes the composition's irresistible melodic qualities. The latter finds Yoko Ota at the controls restoring and pushing reverb-soaked drums to the forefront of the mix, accentuating Ide's affection for the sound system aesthetic while exercising just the right amount of spatial arrangement flourishes to inject some brawn amidst the beauty. These serendipitously rediscovered renditions of a back catalog deep cut are just the latest examples of Yasushi Ide's artistic reach. In addition to recording such acclaimed albums as 2020's Cosmic Suite and its 2022 sequel (for which Love Injection has remixed a track), his work has spanned music supervision of some 200+ compilations for major labels, artist management, his Grand Gallery shop/gallery proprietorship, and books showcasing the depth of his archival sensibilities, including vintage t-shirt and ephemera curation. Perhaps most inspiring, however, is that Ide is still winning new appreciators and collaborators in unexpected ways four decades into a revered career that continues to evolve and expand.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: MACROM 074CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Acustica: For this acoustic sources-only mix, Stefan Goldmann cut up a vast library of recorded interpretations of 20th century avant-garde compositions. Layered segments of individual instrumental and chamber performances form emergent orchestral opulence -- just to spill over into actual orchestral segments. Goldmann has tackled acoustic archives before with his edit of multiple recordings of Igor Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps." However, this mix traverses the disparities and convergences of seven decades of score-based music with impressively results. A metalevel polystylistic work that explores vast potentials of integration, interaction and interference. An antidote to the prevailing practice of sounding compositions in scattered, sterile isolation. Here, opposing concepts of music are channeled into one continuous flow, with a coherent DJ performance as the vehicle.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: MILS 005LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series entry #5: Dan Hastie and Terin Ector (Orgone) pick up where Piero Umiliani left off with Exotic Grooves and Lush Funk. This is the next up in a series of music library releases, with future volumes produced by DJ Muggs, Karriem Riggins and more. The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series was created by Madlib and Egon to give their creative friends a chance to stretch out and indulge in whatever type of music they wanted. This music was created for easy, one-stop clearance in film and television synchronization usage and for sampling. You can also enjoy these albums in the way that many do with the best of the best vintage library catalogs -- listen, ponder, repeat."

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: MIND 703P-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Full radio broadcast from the legendary Amsterdam show at Paradiso in 1986, one of the few with Ritchie on drums!

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: LOVE 126LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Flora Yin Wong's ravishing interiority finds lucid expression on an absorbing second album for Modern Love, manifesting her instrumental storytelling in a syncretic bind of supernatural themes with hyperrealist, concr?te sound design. Through ten parts, Flora crystallizes the ennui that followed an uncanny, disorienting trip to East and Southeast Asia. She spent solitude in a haunted house during the quiet snowfall of Kyoto, where she might have offended some spirit, and nights in mountain temples with South Korean monks, and an equally strange feeling return to the Island of the Gods. Heavy with a sense of nightmarish dissociation and grief, Flora read about Giuseppe Tartini's Violin Sonata in G Minor, aka the "Devil's Trill Sonata," a notoriously tricky c.18th composition which attempted to transcribe music heard in a dream, which the composer felt he could never fully bring into reality. It's this soporific motif that binds and underpins Cold Reading, finding Flora chasing the dragon of fleeting fantasy through passages of etched melancholy, pinched with hypnagogic jerks that linger in the memory. From her use of the "Devil's Trill' Sonata" in "All My Dreams are Nightmares" through evocations of subtropical humidity in the Bryn Jones-esque, resonant hand-played percussion of "Konna" and "Banjar", to a breathtaking dreampop denouement "Nectar Dripping" and the Enya-like lush of "Beautiful Crisis", Flora blooms her ideas with an open-ended ambiguity so often missing from so called ambient music, ushering the listener into a sound world that disturbs and displaces, just as much as it calms. Clear vinyl.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: MUSIQ 248LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. Mule Musiq announces the vinyl release of Kuniyuki's masterpiece, All These Things. Originally, it was only released in 2007 on CD. It was Kuniyuki second album, but it's essentially his first album because the first album was a collection of early productions. The first track "The Guitar Song" is a good mixture of jazz, fusion, world music, and electronic music. The second track, featuring African vocalist and percussionist Omar Guaindefall, is a gem. "You Get Me" features the singer Josee Hurlock, who released her fantastic album Residue on Hefner in 2000. She is also featured on the fourth track, "All These Things", too. The fifth track "Flying Music" features poetry by Alex From Tokyo and popular Tokyo trumpeter Shuichiro Sakaguchi. "The Session" is a collaboration of song with Henrik Schwarz. They have met at Mule Musiq's party in Tokyo and clicked immediately. The seventh track "Touch" sounds very nostalgic, recalling the type of African jazz or Spanish fusion popular currently as Balearic music. The last track, "Rain Of Ocean", is primitive, African minimal deep house. A collection of eight timeless and genre-less tracks.

 

PRICE: $38.00

CAT #: MOV 2525COL-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Battle Of Armagideon is one of the essential albums by Lee 'Scratch' Perry & The Upsetters. Perry's technique as a mixer and producer will get to you in many ways. 'I'm A Madman' is the best-known album track, wherein Perry acknowledged his lunatic persona. The Spin Alternative Record Guide deemed the album Perry's best of the 1980s. Lee 'Scratch' Perry was a pioneer in dub music and worked together with artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Clash, and The Beastie Boys. Battle Of Armagideon is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on red colored vinyl."

 

PRICE: $36.00

CAT #: MOV 3320COL-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Grotesque (After The Gramme) is the third studio album by the Fall. The album reached number one on the UK Independent Chart, spending 29 weeks on the chart in total. The Fall's music at the time was described as 'Mancabilly,' and by Smith himself as 'Country and Northern.' In 2020, Rolling Stone included Grotesque (After The Gramme) in its '80 Greatest albums of 1980' list, praising the band for its 'ability to craft impossibly catchy songs that simultaneously sound like they're shaking apart at the seams.' Grotesque (After The Gramme) is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on translucent yellow colored vinyl and includes an insert."

 

PRICE: $38.00

CAT #: MOV 3610COL-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Woody Shaw With Tone Jansa Quartet is the 1985 album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, and band leader Woody Shaw. During his life, he was regarded as one of the most influential and innovative jazz musicians of his time. The Tone Jansa Quartet consisted of Renato Chico on piano, Peter Herbert on bass, Dragan Gajic on drums, Tone Jansa on tenor saxophone and Woody Shaw on trumpet and flugelhorn. All compositions are by Tone Jansa and the hard bop jazz album was recorded at Studio 44, Monster, the Netherlands, in April 1985. Woody Shaw With Tone Jansa Quartet is being reissued for the first time since its original release and is available as a limited edition of 500 individually numbered copies on white colored vinyl."

 

PRICE: $39.00

CAT #: MOVATM 110CL-LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

"Ennio Morricone composed and arranged scores for more than 500 film and television productions, making him one of the most influential and best-selling film composers since the late '50s. The Legend of 1900 (Italian: La Leggenda Del Pianista Sull'Oceano) is a 1998 Italian drama film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and starring Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Melanie Thierry. The film is inspired by Novecento, a monologue by Alessandro Baricco. The Legend Of 1900 was nominated for a variety of international awards, winning several for its soundtrack, including a Golden Globe for Best Original Score -- Motion Picture. This release includes the song 'Lost Boys Calling,' on which Roger Waters and Eddie van Halen are featured. Throughout his career, Morricone received an unprecedented number of awards, including Grammys, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs. Ennio Morricone has influenced many artists including Danger Mouse, Dire Straits, Muse, Metallica, Radiohead, Hans Zimmer, and many more. The Legend of 1900 is available as a 25th anniversary edition of 10.000 individually numbered copies on gold and black marbled vinyl and contains an insert."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: R 134CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Skalpel is a nu-jazz classic. On their debut and sophomore albums Skalpel and Konfusion (Ninja Tune) they were able to resurrect the dusty spirit of the '60s and '70s jazz and reimagine it for the 21st century audiophiles. They created emotionally charged music, sophisticated in its structure. After ten years Skalpel returned in 2014 with Transit, an album that segued from sample-based music into compositions created on virtual instruments. Their last studio album Origins (R 132LP, 2022) was an inspiring contemporary vision adapting various currents of electronica and dance music of the millennium era. The latest release earned them a Polish Grammy -- Fryderyk Award. The journey continues as Marcin Cichy and Igor Pud?o present Skalpel Big Band. Patryk Pilasiewicz, composer and musician from Pozna?, who is the originator of the idea, dissected and revised Skalpel's music for a seventeen-person big band. The idea was to weave new, acoustic interpretation of Skalpel's compositions with their original electronic sound.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: NA 6103LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

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

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: ORGM 2120S-LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Tutankhamun, the 1969 album by avant-garde jazz pioneers Art Ensemble of Chicago, features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, and Malachi Favors Maghostut. As the AllMusic review states, 'This landmark album is one of the most influential free jazz recordings in the '60s avant-garde canon.' Previously out of print for over three decades, Tutankhamun has been remastered for vinyl at Infrasonic Mastering and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas in Germany. As a bonus, the reissue features 'Tthinitthedalen' Part 1 and 2, closing out sides A and B, respectively. This limited edition pressing comes on metallic silver color vinyl."

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: PARODIA 003LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

French producer and DJ Nathan Melja returns with his debut album With Dan!, out via his own imprint Parodia, the follow-up to a series of breakthrough releases on cult labels Mister Saturday Night, Technicolour, Antinote, Kalahari Oyster Cult and more. Produced and recorded over the past two years hand-in-hand with his father Dan, a seasoned guitarist and sound engineer, this album is his most personal project to date and holds a true feeling of spontaneity, juggling between genres and driven by Nathan's characteristic unrestrained creative approach. Over the course of its ten tracks, Nathan gently steps away from his previous dance offerings in favor of exploring new paces and rhythms, while consistently delivering a refreshed take on his trademark hybrid sound palette and textures. On With Dan!, he embarks an array of local and international friends on vocals, which bring yet another dimension to his rich, at times lush, at others challenging music. Also featuring Jon Beige, Edward Reilly, and AnNie .Adaa.

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: PRTL 7066EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

A classic UK roots reggae outing, originally appearing on the Goldmaster label in 1998 and fast becoming a collector's item. Originally reissued by Partial in 2019, this swiftly sold out. Includes two previously unreleased mixes, vocal and dub. Featuring Southend On Sea-based Goldmaster All Stars, with the cream of the crop of hot-shot reggae musicians featuring female singer Christel, on her one and only release, who was only 14-years-old at the time of this recording.

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: PING 083LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Two visionary maestros, Pierre Bastien and Michel Banabila, unite in their first collaborative album, Baba Soir?e. The veterans of electronic music bring their unique expertise to the table, resulting in a captivating fusion of experimental styles. Bastien's mechanical loops and experimental instrumental setups merge seamlessly with Banabila's sound design and impeccable skills of sampling collages. Pierre Bastien is a composer and multi-instrumentalist with a background in French literature. He has spent decades crafting an idiosyncratic world of experimental sound with his self-built mechanical orchestra Mecanium. It was most notably showcased in audiovisual releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label. Bastien's creations are a mesmerizing combination of traditional instruments (he has a vast collection) and mechanical automatons. The violin in the track "Rotomotor," for example, is physically played by one of his machines. In Baba Soir?e, Bastien also plays a prepared cornet, infusing the recordings with a breathy, dreamy dimension. Michel Banabila, a sound artist, composer and producer, possesses an eclectic musical repertoire that defies genres. His seamless blend of minimal electronica, tribal ambient, and neo- classical influences has earned him a prominent place in the world of experimental music, and an impressive discography. Banabila serves as the creative sampling editor for Baba Soir?e, expertly weaving together the recordings to craft an evocative sonic tapestry. The two share a curiosity for traditional instruments from various cultures. The instruments used in the recordings are shown in the cover artwork. A mutual admiration for each other's work paved the way for this fruitful artistic partnership of the Rotterdam-based artists: collaborating on a single as a fundraiser for Yemen in 2022 set the stage for the creation of Baba Soir?e. The title Baba Soir?e is an homage to Kurt Schwitters and Theo van Doesburg's Kleine Dada Soir?e collaboration which took place exactly a century ago.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: PF 011LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; LP version. "Wire's first three albums need no introduction. They are the three classic albums on which Wire's reputation is based. Moreover, they are the recordings that minted the post-punk form. This was adopted by other bands, but Wire were there first. It has been a number of years since these albums were readily available. The aim with these new vinyl and CD releases is to approximate the original statements as closely as possible, but with remastered audio. The vinyl releases have the same covers and inners as the originals (minus the Harvest logo). The digipack CDs have identical track listings to their vinyl counterparts. These versions should be considered Wire's classic 1970s albums, pure and undiluted. Usually contextualized against a backdrop of two years of the growing cultural importance of punk rock--Wire's debut Pink Flag, released in December 1977 on EMI's progressive label Harvest was in fact was something 'other.' To the keen cultural commentator, the timing and label of its release will register two essential facts about it. Firstly, too late (a year after the Pistol's debut release) to be part of UK punk's first flush and secondly that the band were signaling something beyond punk by their choice of label. Further investigation would reveal twenty-one tracks, some of them clocking in at well under a minute and covering a range of tempi well beyond the buzzsaw rockabilly that had become, even by the second half of 1977, punk's staple."

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: PF 012LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; LP version. "1978's Chairs Missing represented perhaps the biggest conceptual leap made during this period of Wire and was widely misunderstood at the time yet it remains, to the band and production crew Wire's favorite '70s album. If Pink Flag proposed an almost cut and paste approach to deconstructing rock history, Chairs Missing proposed something more radical, a definite futurism with much less influence from its antecedents. Chairs Missing was at once more stark and more lush than its predecessor and has exerted its own influence on the course of cultural history, having laid down one of the earliest (if not the earliest) blueprints for the genuinely post-punk aesthetic."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 091CV-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The debut LP by Oi! legends The Business, originally released in 1983. Formed in South London in 1979 the group started playing Oi! concerts in 1981, opening for the 4-Skins. After that they quickly became one of the bigger groups on the UK Oi! scene. This absolute stone-cold Oi! classic includes the indie chart hit single "Harry May" plus "Real Enemy" and "Guttersnipe" among the others. Produced by the Cockney Rejects' Micky Geggus, this is another essential UK punk/Oi! classic.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 141CV-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

By the time Toy Doys issued Bare Faced Cheek as the inaugural LP of their own Nit Records label, bassist Flip had been replaced by Dean Robson and drummer Happy Bob by Martin Yule, with Olga still the vocal focal point. "Yul Brynner Was A Skinhead" is the best of the bunch, "Neville Is A Nerd" and "Quick To Quit The Quentin" are typical Toy Dolls punkpiss-takes, and there are digs at a hotel and a local launderette too. Everything is delivered in lightning-fast bursts of energy, poking fun at all and sundry, the Toy Dolls punk way.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: RRS 191LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

When Fat Bob's Feet was released by Receiver Records in 1991, it found Sunderland's cheeky punk act Toy Dolls welcoming bassist John Casey into the fold, the latest in a long line joining founding frontman Olga and drummer Martin Yule, who'd been present since Bare Faced Cheek; the favorites here include "The Sphinx Stinks," "Bitten By A Bed Bug," and the immortal "Kids In Tyne & Wear," a northeast England punk recasting of Kim Wilde's "Kids In America," plus there's a guest appearance by Ashbrooke, Olga's dog, and, unusually for the band, no sign of any symphonic interludes. A much-loved Toy Dolls classic!

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RR 385LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

One of the greatest reggae singers of all time, Dennis Brown made an incredible impact during a career that spanned four decades, his reign cut short by his tragically early death from a collapsed lung in 1999, aged just 42. First released in 1995 under the title Take A Stand and also known as Temperature Is Rising, the album Love Is So True was expertly produced by Anthony Dehaney, alias Bunny Gemini, at the Record Factory studios in Kingston, then home to some of the better dancehall being cut in Jamaica. Along with saxophonist/arranger Dean Fraser and the Fire House Crew and "Rhythm Twins" Sly and Robbie, the featured musicians include the stalwart keyboardist Ansel Collins of "Double Barrel" and "Stalag" fame, guitarist Lascelles Beckford and bassist Danny "Axe Man" Thompson of the Gifted Roots band, trumpeter David Madden of Zap Pow, and keyboardist Dennis "Jah D" Fearon. The keen musicianship brought forth by these players helped coax the best out of Brown on songs such as "Never Let Your Heart Be Troubled," which rides a tough re-cut of the "Full Up" rhythm, and "Temperature Is Rising," on a durable re-cut of the "Far East"/"Jah Shakey" rhythm; "A Little Respect" makes use of a bouncing update of "Pressure And Slide," the meditative "Sea Shore" is on a great dancehall cut of "Real Rock" and the anti-rude boy "Gangster" is voiced on a beautiful dancehall interpretation of "Freedom Blues." There's even a dancehall take of the Beatles' "You Won't See Me," delivered as only Dennis Brown can, as well as a likeable re-make of Dennis' own "Have You Ever."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RR 398LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Deejay Jah Thomas was one of the creative figures making a dramatic impact on the Kingston sound system scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the rhythms he laid at Channel One studio with the Roots Radics helping to steer reggae towards the emerging dancehall style. Voicing and mixing his work at King Tubby's studio, typically with the young upstart engineer known as Scientist, Thomas got his start as a quick-witted deejay in the vibrant sound system scene of western Kingston, making his recording debut in 1976 with Midnight Rock, a hit that became the name of his record label, once he shifted to producing his own work. Dance Hall Connection, which first surfaced in 1983, is easily one of his best LPs, Thomas ably riding the rough Radics rhythms with style. The title track is a variant of the "Boneman Connection" theme that references dancehall's grounding in sound system culture, "Friday Night Jamboree" salutes the music's potent allure on a top cut of the "Entertainment" rhythm, and "Let Him In" implores the gateman to allow an impoverished dreadlocks into the dance; "Ni**er Skank" warns against wrongdoers, "Joker Smoker" pokes fun at those who can't handle their herb, and "Living In Jamaica" describes various aspects of lifestyle on the island. Elsewhere, Thomas enters boasting territory on "Cool Profile," disses combative women on "Jealous," recounts his girlfriend's dubious antics on "Gal A Laugh" and implores another not to forget him once she emigrates. Flash it, Jah Thomas! This is musical murder!

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: EZRDR 156CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Lucky number seventeen? Believe it. Those at Brown Acid have been scouring the highways and byways of America for even more hidden stashes of psych/garage/proto-punk madness from the so-called Aquarian Age. There's no flower power here, though -- just acid casualties, rock stompers and major freakouts. As always, the songs have been officially licensed, and all the artists get paid. Some samples of this trip include: Stone Hedge were a seven-piece rock band out of Michigan with a penchant for Creedence and anthropomorphism. 'Smokey Bear' is their 1972 tribute to the official mascot of the U.S. Forest Services -- not to mention the A side of their sole single -- and it recalls the kind of organ-drenched swamp jam that soundtracked many a Burt Reynolds flick back in the day. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, may not be known as a cultural mecca, but they did produce Truth & Janey. This deadly hard rock trio delivered their holy grail full-length, No Rest For The Wicked, back in 1976. 'Around and Around' is a Chuck Berry cover that originally appeared on a 1973 single the band released under the earlier name Truth. Originally released in 1973, 'High School Letter' is the debut single from San Diego rock squad Glory. This infectious bonehead cruncher features future Beat Farmer Jerry Raney and the original rhythm section of Iron Butterfly in bassist Greg Willis and drummer Jack Pinney. Glory is what they got up to after their former bandmates left for L.A.'s garden of Eden. 'Jack the Ripper' is a mercilessly bootlegged Cleveland classic from 1978 with a serrated punk edge and vocals that recall Mick Blood of Aussie savages the Lime Spiders. Or maybe it's the other way around -- the Lime Spiders formed the year after Strychnine carved off this lethal paean to the infamous Whitechapel slasher of olde."

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: ROG 130CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Truly an all-star ensemble, all are leaders of their own projects. Myra Melford (piano, compositions) with Ingrid Laubrock (saxophone), Tomeka Reid (cello), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Lesley Mok (drums). Hailed by The New Yorker as 'a stalwart of the new-jazz movement' and by Disaster Amnesiac as 'one of the great post-Taylor players,' pianist and composer Myra Melford (Guggenheim Fellow, Alpert Award and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award recipient) is proud to present her newest release Hear the Light Singing. According to journalist and critic Natalie Wiener, Hear the Light Singing is 'a sequel of sorts to [Melford's] 2022 release, For The Love Of Fire And Water, featuring a nearly identical all-star cast and the same set of Cy Twombly drawings from which the first album drew its name as inspiration. This album is named specifically for Melford's interpretation of the sunlight on the Mediterranean in Gaeta, Italy, where Twombly made those drawings, and the synesthetic sensation it creates.' Joined by saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, drummer Lesley Mok and MacArthur Fellows Tomeka Reid (cello) and Mary Halvorson (guitar), Melford bounces off the Fire & Water repertoire to create 'another set of extraordinary compositions,' or 'insertions,' writes Wiener, 'that Melford designed to entwine with the original suite, but still stand alone.'"

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: SMC 040CS

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Benjamin Lee Farley has been writing and recording music for around 20 years and he swears that he's finally gotten good at it -- though we know he always has been. Diagnosed bipolar and schizophrenic and recently medicated, he is finally willing to use his mental illness to his advantage if it gets people to perk up their ears. In other words, he hears things and sometimes it translates to music and lyrics. After more than a decade of performing with different acts and under various aliases in the Boston area, he has relocated to the hills of North Carolina and become a hermit. Self-taught and frighteningly prolific, he has recorded and released over 50 albums in the past 5 years alone, in styles ranging from singer-songwriter-folky-americana to grimy electronics to dub to thrash metal to straight up rock n fuckin' roll. With yelling. His latest album The Stalker is in many ways a synthesis of the different musical strains he has explored over his long career, a frenetic burst of energy showcasing his raw talent and well-honed DIY production instincts. His music has been compared to a wide breadth of legendary musicians, but is really its own unique monster. Highfives and backpats all around. RIYL: Vic Chesnutt, Fiona Apple, Queens of the Stone Age, The Coasters, Neil Young, Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SB 183LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Daylight Moon is Yuzo Iwata's first outing since his debut, Drowning In The Sky, got the green light in 1999 on the legendary Org label. While Yuzo's been living stateside for a couple of decades, his roots, style and fluidity harken back to the Kichijoji Minor days of the late seventies Tokyo underground scene. He also put in some time as a member of Tori Kudo's Maher Shalal Hash Baz early on and there's no one else in Philadelphia who can make that claim. His pedigree is legit. As is his playing. For fans of Kousokuya and Hallelujahs especially and PSF and Org label output overall. Limited re-pressing of 300."

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: SKALD 038CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

SDEM's debut album for Mancunian electronic music imprint Skam Records. Vortices' nine tracks continue SDEM's current prolific flow after a steady series of drops via his own MEDS label and other like-minded operators (CPU, Opal Tapes, Seagrave, Superpang, etc.) Informed by hip-hop and computer music and steeped in Northern England's post bleep+bass mutations, Vortices operates in its own lane, rooted as much in the by-hand manipulations of musique concrete and free improv as the studio-as-an-instrument innovations of electro, hip-hop, dub, and bass-weighted electronica. Evolved out of hardware jams, the pieces showcased here crackle with emotion and color, repeated plays reveal suggested and subliminal depths. Neither shackled to the grid nor enslaved to linearity, the album expands and finesses SDEM's dynamic and forward-facing approach. Features S1.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: SKALD 038LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Double LP version. SDEM's debut album for Mancunian electronic music imprint Skam Records. Vortices' nine tracks continue SDEM's current prolific flow after a steady series of drops via his own MEDS label and other like-minded operators (CPU, Opal Tapes, Seagrave, Superpang, etc.) Informed by hip-hop and computer music and steeped in Northern England's post bleep+bass mutations, Vortices operates in its own lane, rooted as much in the by-hand manipulations of musique concrete and free improv as the studio-as-an-instrument innovations of electro, hip-hop, dub, and bass-weighted electronica. Evolved out of hardware jams, the pieces showcased here crackle with emotion and color, repeated plays reveal suggested and subliminal depths. Neither shackled to the grid nor enslaved to linearity, the album expands and finesses SDEM's dynamic and forward-facing approach. Features S1.

 

PRICE: $12.00

CAT #: SKASSETTE 038CS

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Cassette version. SDEM's debut album for Mancunian electronic music imprint Skam Records. Vortices' nine tracks continue SDEM's current prolific flow after a steady series of drops via his own MEDS label and other like-minded operators (CPU, Opal Tapes, Seagrave, Superpang, etc.) Informed by hip-hop and computer music and steeped in Northern England's post bleep+bass mutations, Vortices operates in its own lane, rooted as much in the by-hand manipulations of musique concrete and free improv as the studio-as-an-instrument innovations of electro, hip-hop, dub, and bass-weighted electronica. Evolved out of hardware jams, the pieces showcased here crackle with emotion and color, repeated plays reveal suggested and subliminal depths. Neither shackled to the grid nor enslaved to linearity, the album expands and finesses SDEM's dynamic and forward-facing approach. Features S1.

 

PRICE: $36.00

CAT #: SV 025LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Volume 2 digs further into the band's cranial bunker with the caveman hit 'Be Stiff,' the space age surf-blues of 'Clockout' and even a demented take on bubblegum pop, 'Goo Goo Itch.' This 2xLP set includes four previously unreleased tracks: 'Man from the Past,' 'Doghouse Doghouse,' 'Hubert House' and 'Shimmy Shake.'"

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: SV 127LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "The Fall returned to Rough Trade in 1983 to release a pair of singles ('The Man Whose Head Expanded' and 'Kicker Conspiracy') and Perverted By Language, their sixth proper studio album. Perverted By Language hints at the band's shift towards a distinctly pop approach, one that they would perfect via their Beggars Banquet output that immediately followed. Yet again, the force and panic of their initial Rough Trade recordings remains the foundation for much of the album. A transitional recording in the absolute best sense, Perverted By Language is The Fall both as they were and as they would become. The emergence of Brix Smith is often cited as the impetus for The Fall's move toward outward pop, and she first makes her first appearance with the band on Perverted By Language. Nowhere is her presence felt more than on 'Hotel Bl?edel,' where she handles lead vocal duties alongside Mark E. Smith whose mangled violin accompaniment roots the song's cold romanticism in his unmistakable brand of strange. 'Garden' provides a new take on The Fall's stretched-out tendencies -- using ringing, clean guitars to build a nearly 10-minute epic more subtly than ever before. The opener, 'Eat Y'self Fitter,' is wholly classic Fall: a playfully circular bass line drives the album's strongest vocal spout, complete with emphatic breaks where Mark E. Smith issues the song's spiteful decree with equal parts glee and scorn. Superior Viaduct's edition is the first time that Perverted By Language has been available on vinyl domestically."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 128LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "'On Suicide's First Rehearsal Tapes, recorded in 1975, Alan Vega and Martin Rev create minimalist aural structures, traces of which would surface on their eponymous debut album, released on the Red Star label in late 1977. These songs are not a sketchpad of semi-formed ideas. The First Rehearsal Tapes comprise an audio diary of two men out in the ether, measuring themselves as evolving individual artists and as a unit who would rely on inseparability to realize their unique and often confrontational mass in the decades to come. What the tapes also reveal is that Vega and Rev were compositionally ambitious, capable of melody and form, while resisting definition as they headed further into uncharted territory. The First Rehearsal Tapes afford the listener a glimpse into the creative process of two groundbreaking, true art warriors with their swords and shields leaning against the practice room wall. To understand the absolute brilliance of Suicide's first album as well as their sonic adventures that followed, you have to start here with their earliest recordings.' --Henry Rollins (excerpt from the liner notes)"

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 170LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Flaming Tunes' sole release is perhaps the finest elegy to the '80s home recording ethos that you've never heard. Originally released in 1985 on cassette (with individually hand-colored covers), this self-titled album grew out of the collaboration between childhood friends Gareth Williams and Mary Currie. Williams is best known as a member of English art-rock band This Heat. After leaving the group in the early '80s, he travelled to India where he studied classical Kathakali dance -- an experience that would profoundly shape the music of Flaming Tunes. In an old Victorian house in South London, the duo recorded during the day while Currie's young son attended school and Williams conducted tape treatments at night. They were joined by various guests including This Heat guitarist Charles Bullen as well as long-term collaborators Martin Harrison and Rick Wilson. Using whatever instruments they had on hand (clarinet, piano, bells, etc.), Flaming Tunes create lo-fi melodies around simple arrangements, oblique rhythms and densely layered natural sounds. The results are a mesmeric collage of instrumental daydreams and sideways pop songs, floating into one another in a hazy confluence of late '60s Canterbury psych-folk and early Residents experimentation. All of these beguiling elements converge in a personal manner, quietly insistent in listeners' ears like the blood pulsing in one's veins on a warm summer day."

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: SVVRCH 081LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Pioneering Latino punk band The Plugz formed in Los Angeles in 1977 with frontman Tito Larriva, drummer Chalo Quintana and bassist Barry McBride. After debut album Electrify Me, sophomore set Better Luck saw McBride replaced by John Curry of The Flyboys; now with better mastery of their instruments, Larriva and Chalo steered the sound into new wave stylings, aided and abetted by guest horns, harmonica, and keyboards. Yet, the band was still a critical force pushing against societal inequalities, as heard on the caustic "American," and "El Clavo Y La Cruz" reminded that the core of the group was 100% Latino. A great LP!

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: SVVRCH 082LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Formed in 1978 in Derry, a Republican city in Northern Ireland, power-pop-punk trio the Moondogs mixed the energy of the Clash with the melodic bent of the Beatles. Gigs with the Undertones led to a 45 for Good Vibrations, plus a few more for Real Records, and by the time they cut debut LP That's What Friends Are For in New York with Todd Rundgren for Sire, they were at their most accomplished; somehow, the band split mid-way through its creation, rendering the album a frozen moment in time, rather than a leg-up to world domination. A great listen and another missing piece of Northern Ireland's punk puzzle.

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: WIRE 478

FILE UNDER: Misc

"On the cover: Khanate: The reconvened avant sludge quartet bring their fifth document of doom in the form of To Be Cruel. By Rob Turner. Plus: BEAM SPLITTER: Audrey Chen and Henrik Munkeby N?rsteb? explore intimacy via electroacoustics. By Julian Cowley; Invisible Jukebox: Dali De Saint Paul: The Bristol based vocalist and improvisor faces The Wire's mystery record selection. Tested by Phil England; Agitation Free: The German rock experimentalists return with a new album. By Daniel Spicer. Also inside this issue: Violent Magic Orchestra; Mpho Molikeng; Galya Bisengalieva; Eve Stainton; Unlimited Editions bi? Records; Unofficial Channels The Roulette Tapes; Global Ear in Berlin; The Inner Sleeve by Alan Courtis; Epiphanies by Nkisi; many pages of reviews and much more."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: TDP 54120LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Obscure British prog-rock band Mighty Baby evolved from a mod group called The Action, but moved heavily into experimental psychedelia in 1969, when they cut an incredible debut for the Head label. Glastonbury Fayre Festival 1971 captures the legendary group in live action, "A Blanket In My Muesli" being a free-form jam that remains their best-loved effort; "India" is a similarly hefty instrumental mega-jam with lilting flute amidst the bluesy guitar work, and there are awesome renditions of "Virgin Spring," "Devil's Whisper," and "Lazy Days." If you like your prog thoughtful, complex, and multi-layered, this one's for you! Licensed from Cherry Red.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: TDP 54121LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Esteemed pianist Masabumi Kikuchi enjoyed a long and illustrious career in jazz that encompassed many forms. After playing in Lionel Hampton's Japanese touring band, he played on five Sadao Watanabe albums in mid-1960s and backed Sonny Rollins before studying at the Berklee College of Music. Matrix was the first of five albums recorded with his Sextet and is rightly rated one of the greatest of his entire career, the album mixing well-executed covers of songs by Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Watanabe, and the Black Orpheus theme with the enthralling originals "Little Aby" and "In Fourth Way." An excellent listen! Licensed from Good Time Inc.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: TDP 54122LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Inspired by Muddy Waters and other blues greats, the South London blues-rock band Killing Floor was formed in 1968 with lead singer and harmonica player Bill Thorndycraft, guitarist Mike Clarke, bassist Stuart McDonald, pianist Lou Martin, and percussionist Bas Smith. This self-titled debut set, issued by the independent Spark label (and licensed to Sire for US pressings), was produced with care by former DJ John Edward, based on Chicago blues material, as heard on the cover of Willie Dixon's "You Need Love." This is the band at their rawest beginnings, a grittier traditional blues set that contrasts with later work for Larry Page. Licensed from Cherry Red.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: TDP 54124LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Of Filipino descent, the expressive keyboardist, vocalist, and composer Flip Nu?ez enjoyed a varied career in jazz. After backing Bev Kelly, Jon Hendricks, and others in the 1960s, Nu?ez impacted in the Latin jazz-rock act Azteca. The marvelous My Own Time And Space, his only solo album, showcases his versatility; the Latin cadences of Willie Colon and former Santana bassist Tom Rutley and the keen jazz phrasings of guitarist Michael Howell and drummer Vince Lateano make superb backing for Nu?ez's piano and synthesizer flourishes, bolstered by his emotive voice. A lost classic, and one that sounds better with every spin.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: TDP 54128LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

The pianist and bandleader Frank Strazzeri enjoyed a distinguished jazz career. After backing Billie Holliday and Woody Herman, Strazzeri became a mainstay of the west coast jazz scene. His excellent album After The Rain, released by Catalyst in 1976, straddled different styles and moods, Strazzeri's piano and synth melodies abetted by top accompaniment from Herman's horn alumni Sam Most and Bobby Shew, playing alongside Cal Tjader's bassist Harvey Newmark and percussionist Don Alias of Blood Sweat and Tears, with Strazzeri's son Steve behind the drumkit. Another fine fusion LP from Strazzeri that's ripe for rediscovery.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: TDP 54131LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Established by members of the British brass-rock outfit IF with the former Osibisa percussionist Loughty Amao, Zzebra was a forward-thinking hybrid mixing jazz, rock, and world music. Chief songwriter/saxophonist Dave Quincy keeps the arrangements complex and Loughty injects the African element, with former Elastic Band keyboardist Gus Yeadon and guitarist John Terry adding layers of melodic inventiveness. Yielding a progressive jazz style that roped in funk, blues, and west African rhythms, this enthralling LP speaks to Zzebra's forceful reputation as a powerhouse live act of the British jazz fusion scene.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: TDP 54132LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

For the coveted sophomore album by British fusion band Zzebra, the group underwent some lineup changes, the arrival of the former Joe Cocker keyboardist Tommy Eyre and guitarist Steve Byrd enabling further excursions into unknow territory, morphing the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" into a space-rock synth epic and "Panic" somewhere between metal, be-bop and Latin rock; "Tree" is driven by the vocals of former One frontman Alan Marshall and "Liamo" heightens the African element from former Osibisa percussionist Loughty Amao. A total killer from start to finish -- arguably Zzebra's best!

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: TRESOR 358EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Argentinian producers Oscean return to Tresor with Chronium Radiance, their longest release so far, in which the duo continue the evolution of their sound, coalescing the elemental ideas explored in their first two releases and yielding sublime results. This landmark release will no doubt be seen as the point at which Oscean crystalized a trademark sound, balancing complex percussive rhythms with pulsing and cadenced music in which a universe of often oxymoronic ideas can be found, melded together with a deft touch to create a blissful sonic whole. There is a sense of space and airiness to side A of the record as synth parts drift across the more solid-feeling landscape of the basslines and percussion. Opening track "ChronoRebel" is a propulsive trance induction that brings forth cinematic images of billowing clouds. This nebulous quality is continued on "Neon Harmonies" where the highly syncopated drum track weaves through a haze of colorful synths that while lower tempo than the previous track somehow has an energy of a faster piece. The flip side has a denser, darker quality to it beginning with "Blaster Imploder," a deep and funky track that continues the convention-defying theme by being powerful and frenetic whilst also having a soft and exultant sheen. This is followed by "Echoes of Chaos" which closes out the 12" with a dynamic beat and spacious, sweeping synths that feel as though we are passing through the atmosphere heading towards some distant nebula. Alongside the tracks on the vinyl release, three digital tracks expand on the universe Oscean have built with a truly ecstatic love theme, a retelling of "Neon Harmonies" that unveils a river of dub, and a low tempo, drifting yet no-less affecting piece acting as the closing titles to our voyage to this Osceanic world. 180g 12" vinyl, full pantone printed sleeve. Includes download code featuring three tracks: "Random Destiny," "Neon Harmonies (The Other Version)," "Who Holds the Key?"

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: UTR 159LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Brontez Purnell has been making music since the '90s. The Southern-raised, Oakland-based American musician and writer has centered his queerness and Blackness in projects Gravy Train!!! and Younger Lovers as well as in his award-winning books 100 Boyfriends and Since I Laid My Burden Down. He is also a dancer, film maker and choreographer. Hot on the heels of recent 7" singles for Sub Pop, PPM, and his first solo electronic record No Jack Swing (Dark Entries/Papi Juice), Brontez returns in DIY-punk band formation for a new album entitled Confirmed Bachelor on Upset The Rhythm. These twelve songs presented are of the no-time-wasted variety. Fuzzed-out pop songs, hotly delivered from the heart, often sassy, sometimes sappy, always snappy! Brontez's band includes the multifaceted talents of Vice Cooler (who also produced and mixed the album), Sean Teves (of Younger Lovers) on drums, Kevin Preston (Prima Donna, Green Day) on guitar, Aaron Minton (Prima Donna) on piano and saxophone, and Laena Myers-Ionita on violin. The album was recorded in Los Angeles at The VCR earlier this year. Crystal clear vinyl.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: WS 013LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. "North Carolina based singer/songwriter Rosali Middleman has spent the last decade using her voice and guitar to construct tunes built upon the spectrum between joy and pain -- deeply personal lyrics, profound vocals, and striking, heady guitar synchronizing as a perfect pair to deliver a very welcome and fresh perspective on folk rock and roll music. On this newest collection of tunes, Variable Happiness, under the moniker Edsel Axle, her voice takes a winter hibernation to showcase the prodigious slow burn thump of her solo electric guitar playing. While this musical pivot may be a risk to some, the worlds of wilderness created within the music are easily navigated with clarity. Recorded directly to a four-track cassette rig in the comfort of her own home -- each chord struck exhales from the gear and onto magnetic tape, finding its true north, and throwing sand on the bonfire before it burns the foundation. First thought/best thought improvisations naturally trickling down and turning puddles into expansive streams of sound. The opener, 'Some Answer' seems to not have any question before it. As if it has always just been. A mode of intrinsic acceptance. Middleman confidently reigns in atonal midrange melodies and lets them rest in the bottom of the ocean. Every new movement coming up for air. Reviving consciousness, and letting go once more. The small combo amp on the recordings sounds like it's being overloaded and exploding into a peace sign, before fading into the next tune. The title track, "Variable Happiness" suggests that serenity is found within acceptance. It begins with a warm, simple, and circular groove. Bridging the giant landmasses of Fleetwood Mac's 'Albatross' and Loren Connors. The light boogie has surgical tremolo dirge doing major brain work and re-wiring . . . 'Come Down From That Tree Now' isn't so much a command as it is a peaceful suggestion. A neon glazed layer of arpeggios sits in the background, while Middleman wails fully in the foreground. An amalgamation that sounds like Windy and Carl records being blown apart by firecrackers in a bucket. Through these six honey-soaked, deeply psychedelic, overdriven ohm-style meditations, Variable Happiness showcases the prodigious left-hand melodies, and ball peen hammer attack of Middleman's right hand. Striking with great patience and humility. A true-blue guitar denizen of a heady state. A new benchmark in solo guitar recordings..." --Ryley Walker"Another beautiful solo-guitar excursion from Rosali Middleman, filled with meditative songs that circle and eddy like leaves on the wind or a mountain stream in springtime. Her guitar playing has a raw, elemental power that is simultaneously soothing and invigorating, hypnotic and transportive." --Ripley Johnson (Wooden Shjips/Moon Duo/Rose City Band)