"On the cover: 2024 Rewind -- The Wire's essential guide to the highs and lows of the last 12 months in underground music and culture, including our Top 50 Releases of the Year and Archive Releases of the Year charts, both compiled from the votes of more than 60 of our critics and contributors. Other features include cultural reflections from our roster of writers, our specialist columnists' charts and analyses from avant rock to noise, and essays on some of 2024's talking points including the revival of the CD, new compositional potentials of noise, and genre naming in the vortex of social media. Elsewhere in the issue: YATTA -- The New York based, Sierra Leone born multidisciplinary artist has just released their latest album Palm Wine via PTP. Five transient, introspective years in the making, it is their most personal release to date, reflecting on their relationship to tradition, family history, story-telling and the idea of home. By Stephanie Philips. Musica Ex Machina: At Lausanne's EPFL Pavilions, the exhibition Musica Ex Machina: Machines Thinking Musically plots a history of algorithmic and computational thought in music from the Middle Ages to the present day citing a range of theories and compositions from Schoenberg to Coltrane, George Lewis to Jennifer Walshe. Robert Barry visits it to ponder the saga of mechanical music. Bridget Hayden: The DIY multi-instrumentalist and singer is known for her involvement with expansive ensembles like Vibracathedral Orchestra and Folklore Tapes as well as duos with Bill Nace and Roy Claire Potter. Todmorden's Basin Rock label will release her new solo album, Cold Blows The Wind, in January. By Lucy Thraves. Plus one page profiles of Oranssi Pazuzu, Sakina Abdou, Stuart Argabright and Everlovin'."

Obscure and outstanding free jazz album reissued for the first time since its original release in 1969. Old-style gatefold LP, with liner notes by Ed Hazell. In the late 1960s, young jazz musician Bobby Naughton, a keyboardist and vibraphonist, faced significant challenges as he sought to record his first album. With major record labels and jazz clubs catering only to big names, Naughton and other creative musicians of his generation found themselves sidelined by the mainstream music industry. They turned to self-reliance and self-production, becoming part of a movement of independent musicians. Naughton's debut album, Nature's Consort, was a DIY effort in every sense -- recorded on home equipment and featuring a hand-printed woodblock cover. The album was distributed independently at concerts and by mail, receiving little attention initially, but over the years it gained a reputation as a rare, sought-after artifact of the period. Though recorded during an outdoor concert in Connecticut, Nature's Consort reflected the "loft jazz" scene in New York City. This avant-garde jazz movement centered around musicians who lived and played in loft spaces in lower Manhattan. Naughton commuted from his home in Southbury, Connecticut, to play with his bandmates Mark Whitecage, Mario Pavone, and Laurence Cook in New York's lofts. These musicians regularly performed at venues like Studio We, a key gathering spot for free-form jazz, where musicians could experiment and develop their sound, often with no audience present. Naughton's journey into jazz was a winding one. Originally from Boston, he played rockabilly and blues-rock before transitioning into free jazz. Inspired by avant-garde artists like Carla Bley and Paul Bley, Naughton sought to explore new forms of music that went beyond traditional jazz structures. His bandmates, Mark Whitecage and Mario Pavone, were both deeply affected by the death of John Coltrane in 1967, which prompted them to quit their day jobs, attend Coltrane's funeral, and move to New York to pursue jazz full-time. Nature's Consort was a collective project, with band members sharing equally in any profits. However, Naughton was the driving force behind the group's creative direction. He composed much of the original material and selected pieces by Ornette Coleman and Carla Bley for the band's repertoire. Jazz critic Nat Hentoff praised the album for its "high-risk improvisation" and the musicians' ability to anticipate each other's moves. Though Nature's Consort received little press at the time, it has since been recognized as a significant early document of the loft jazz era, representing Naughton's disciplined, improvisational approach to music.

Classic free jazz album reissued for the first time since the '70s. Old-style Gatefold LP, with liner notes by Ed Hazell. Noah Howard, an alto saxophonist and composer, was known for weaving intricate and innovative musical patterns, often likening his work to "sound paintings." His 1971 album Patterns, the first LP he self-produced on his Altsax label, stands as a testament to his experimental and spiritual approach to music. In interviews, Howard frequently used visual terms like "patterns" and "shapes" to describe his compositions, emphasizing the importance of melody and structure even in highly improvisational settings. For Howard, patterns and melodies were essential to guiding listeners through his explorations without alienating them, maintaining a balance between innovation and accessibility. Howard's quest for an original sound was deeply influenced by jazz greats like Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, and Jackie McLean. While he admired these legends, Howard avoided imitation, striving instead to develop his own distinct voice. His sound was unmistakably his own, and he felt a deep obligation to carry the jazz tradition forward through personal expression, not by mimicking others. His music was also rooted in spirituality, a legacy he traced to his upbringing in the Black Baptist Church. He believed jazz had always contained a spiritual essence, from Louis Armstrong to John Coltrane, and his work aimed to channel this cosmic, spiritual energy. Patterns was recorded in the Netherlands during Howard's second stint in Europe, where he found a more open, less racially charged environment compared to the U.S. For the album, Howard collaborated with Dutch musicians such as Misha Mengelberg (piano), Han Bennink (drums), and Earl Freeman (bass). Despite the challenges faced by guitarist Jaap Schoonhoven, who felt out of place in the session, the album came together as a powerful mix of blues, jazz, and classical elements. The music on Patterns is a high-energy fusion of American free jazz and Dutch improvisation. Howard's saxophone work alternates between leading with passionate, lyrical lines and blending into the collective improvisation. The album's dynamic interplay, particularly between Mengelberg's dissonant piano clusters and Bennink's thunderous drumming, creates a vivid "sound painting" full of contrasting forms and colors. Patterns remains one of Howard's most unique and celebrated recordings, showcasing his visionary approach to jazz.

In Straight Up, Without Wings, Joe McPhee surveys sixty years in creative music. Starting with his trumpeter-father's influence and formative years in the U.S. Army, McPhee recounts experiences as a Black-hippy-cum-budding-musician based in upstate New York, perched at an ideal distance from Manhattan's free jazz demimonde of the 1960s and its loft scene of the 1970s. A natural storyteller, revealing never-told tales and reveling in the joys of noise, McPhee puts the influence of -- and encounters with -- Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, and Albert Ayler into the context of an independently-minded young player, ravenous for experience, dealing with the crucible of racism, seeking to break out beyond the bounds of a regional Hudson Valley scene that he knows like the back of his hand. The memoir draws forward through thrilling passages in Europe and across the United States, as McPhee gains momentum, as his music becomes the impetus for multiple record labels, as he collaborates with figures from Peter Brötzmann to Pauline Oliveros, and as he eventually goes on to inspire musicians far and wide. Written as an oral history, deftly conducted by Mike Faloon to preserve McPhee's unique narrative voice, Straight Up, Without Wings includes "reflections" by eight musicians from across the protagonist's rich history. Photography: Ziga Koritnik, Ken Brunton, John Corbett. First printing, edition of 1000. 166 pages. Dimensions: 8.5" x 6" x .5".

2024 repress. Arctic pearl color vinyl. Faith in Strangers was written and recorded between January 2013 and June 2014, and was edited and sequenced in late July of 2014. Making use of on an array of instruments, field recordings, found sounds and vocal treatments, it's a largely analog variant of hi-tech production styles arcing from the dissonant to the sublime. The first two tracks recorded during these early sessions bookend the release, the opener "Time Away" featuring euphonium played by Kim Holly Thorpe and last track "Missing," a contribution by Stott's occasional vocal collaborator Alison Skidmore, who also appeared on 2012's Luxury Problems. Between these two points Faith in Strangers heads off from the sparse and infected "Violence" to the broken, downcast pop of "On Oath" and the motorik, driving melancholy of "Science & Industry" -- three vocal tracks built around that angular production style that imbues proceedings with both a pioneering spirit and a resonating sense of familiarity. Things take a sharp turn with "No Surrender"-- a sparkling analog jam making way for a tough, smudged rhythmic assault, while "How It Was" refracts sweaty warehouse signatures and "Damage" finds the sweet spot between RZA's classic "Ghost Dog" and Terror Danjah at his most brutal. "Faith in Strangers" is next and offers perhaps the most beautiful and open track here, its vocal hook and chiming melody bound to the rest of the album via the almost inaudible hum of Stott's mixing desk. It provides a haze of warmth and nostalgia that ties the nine loose joints that make up the LP into the most memorable and oddly cohesive of Stott's career to date, built and rendered in the spirit of those rare albums that straddle innovation and tradition through darkness and light, lingering on in the mind like nothing else.

"Smile (sometimes stylized as SMiLE) is the unfinished album by the Beach Boys intended to follow their 1966 album Pet Sounds. the project came to be regarded as the most legendary unreleased album in popular music history. The album was produced and almost entirely composed by Brian Wilson with Van Dyke Parks, both of whom conceived the project as a 'teenage symphony to God' It was a concept album that was planned to feature word paintings, tape manipulation, experiments with musical acoustics, themes of youth and innocence, and comedic interludes, with influences drawn from mysticism, pre-rock and roll pop, doo-wop, jazz, ragtime, musique concrète, classical, American history, poetry, spirituality, and cartoons. A mythology grew around the project, and its unfulfilled potential inspired many, especially those in indie rock, post-punk, electronic, and chamber pop genres."

Agartha: Personal Meditation Music is a 7 CD boxed set, originally released on cassette in 1986, at the height of New Age, as an aid for meditation and alignment. Bringing to mind 20th century composers like Eliane Radigue, La Monte Young, or even Brian Eno's Shutov Assembly, the time-stopping, enveloping, electronic music contained in this series sounds eerily modern, mysterious and moving. Characterized by deep analog drones, rising overtones, floating frequencies surfing on sine-waves and intervals with mystic modulation, this is truly moving, vibrational music. In Agartha, the individual notes of each Harmonic Triad proceed in a fashion that is neither improvisational nor chance-based, nor is it generative. Instead, the music flows outward as if being transmitted -- or channeled -- from a place outside human consciousness. There is a profound sense of cosmic depth expanding ever outward as the music fills the listener with waves of emotion, and a palpable somatic response is felt, although there are subtle differences with each unique Triad. Each disc is individually packaged in original replica sleeves and housed in a heavy-duty cardboard clamshell box. Digitized and remastered by Jessica Thompson. Liner notes include extensive instructions for use from the original text and an essay by library music scholar David Hollander. The original edition of Agartha: Personal Meditation Music, featured one-track, 30-minute track per tape repeated on both sides. Subsequent editions had unique Side B tracks on all but two of the seven volumes. Important Records have included all tracks in this boxed set. RIYL: Eliane Radigue, Pauline Oliveros, Eleh, Duane Pitre, La Monte Young, Eno, Larajji, Iasos.

Limited edition pressing of 500 copies worldwide. All pressed on olive green vinyl, housed in a full color sleeve with leather effect laminate, with hype sticker and black polylined inner bag. Continuing Riot Season's quest to get all of the classic early AMT albums released on vinyl, the label turns to 2006's Starless And Bible Black Sabbath, and with the help of Makoto Kawabata's studio wizardry, it is possible. This latest instalment in the Acid Mothers Temple Vinyl Archives - First Time On Vinyl series has been meticulously put together with the help of Makoto Kawabata with the original CD artwork recreated for these vinyl editions from archive photos stored in the vaults at the Acid Mothers Temple in Osaka, Japan and the original audio remastered by James Plotkin. Here's what Brainwashed.com had to say upon its original CD-only release back in 2006: "The title track is the meat of the beast, beginning with a minute of booms and gongs reminiscent of a thunderstorm before launching into some slow, heavy Sabbath-esque riffs. Squealing guitar and synth effects accompany the vocals of bassist Tabata Mitsuru, whose voice captures some of the sound and feeling of Ozzy's more than it does the melody. The pace is slower than most AMT fare, but things speed up considerably around the eight-and-a-half-minute mark."

Pagan Psych-Folk Glam Vocal Sounds of the Italian Cinema is a superb collection of extremely obscure gems culled from a variety of forgotten films. Featuring mostly vocal tracks, these songs are dripping with that mid-1960s to mid-1970s exploratory nature of song-craft, from clever and majestic to the ridiculously absurd. Acoustic guitars laced with strings and subtle effects, haunting and moody lyrical tales, and epic ballads that rock -- all of them fitting together like an impossible puzzle that most music aficionados of this magical period never knew existed. Stretches of this compilation could accompany an imagined sequel to the Wicker Man film made in Italy! A mix of relatively unknown and legendary composers of the time are presented here in this incredible package, which has been lovingly assembled to provide the most pleasurable listening experience available. Legends such as Nico Fidenco, Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, Piero Umiliani, and obscure combos like The Sorrows and The Rage Within are included among many other artists that combine to make Pagan Psych-Folk Glam Vocal Sounds of the Italian Cinema an instantly iconic release. Lavish full-color gate-fold jacket collage artwork with still shots from many of the films represented here. Limited edition pressing of 750 copies. Featuring Orchestra Cometa, Nico Fidenco, The Carrie Nations, The Sorrows, Augusto Martelli, Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, Raoul Lovecchio, Cyan, Don Powell, Piero Umiliani, The Rage Within, Charles Cannon, Gene Roman, Shirley Hammer, Phil Chilton/Peter L. Smith, Zeudi Araya, Canary Jones, Melody, and Orchestra Di Rockford Kabine.

"Music is my forever cove," writes Portland, Oregon's Luke Wyland of the ideas that give shape to Kuma Cove, his latest album under his own name. Though named after a real place on the Oregon coast, Kuma Cove casts its gaze far beyond the sightseer's line of vision. Recorded live in the studio and blurring obvious lines between computer-based composition and electro-acoustic instrumentation, it is an album about flow, borders, transitory states, and shelter. Composed of discontinuous ripples and repetitions, shaped into richly emotive arcs, and informed by his experience as a person who stutters, it is also an album about identity, self-expression, and the energies that sluice through and across what is perceived as linear time -- like floodwaters seeking an exit, like streams running into the sea. Luke Wyland is an interdisciplinary artist, composer, and performer based in Portland, OR. Wyland has been releasing critically acclaimed records for the past 20 years in the groups AU and Methods Body, as LWW, and under his own name, working with such labels as New Amsterdam, Beacon Sound, Balmat, The Leaf Label, and Aagoo Records. As a person who stutters, Wyland's approach to music is informed by his idiosyncratic relationship with language. Wyland believes deeply in the cathartic power of live performance as a means for collective healing. Through an interdisciplinary art practice that focuses on improvisation, somatic embodiment, bespoke tuning systems, the cadences of disfluent speech, and time manipulation technologies, he's collaborated with choreographers, high-school choirs, filmmakers, sound designers, and renowned musicians such as John Niekrasz, Holland Andrews, Colin Stetson, and Abraham Gomez-Delgado. Wyland has toured nationally and internationally and performed at the Whitney Museum, Ecstatic Music Festival, Issue Project Room, PICA's Time-Based Arts Festival, End of the Road Festival, and Les Nuits Botanique, among others.

LP with insert with extended liner notes and download code including extra bonus track "Movements of The Mind." For his second album on the Belgian leftfield imprint Cortizona, Devin Brahja Waldman gathered a group of insanely gifted and talented musicians to start a new and highly moving musical chapter titled Nebulizer. From the first moment the pulsating tone of Devin's synth blends with the whispering voices of Earth, Wind and Choir and the menacing bells Naima Karlsson set in motion this record you just know and feel immediately Nebulizer will be a soul-searching journey, soaking you deep into an unknown and very personal musical world. Devin Brahja Waldman is a New York saxophonist, drummer, synthesizer player and composer who leads the group BRAHJA. He has performed with Patti Smith, William Parker, Nadah El Shazly, Malcolm Mooney, Thurston Moore, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Charles Hayward, Luke Stewart, and Yoshiko Chuma. Waldman is also a member of NYC's Heroes Are Gang Leaders, of Sam Shalabi's Land of Kush, and of the Norwegian hardcore group MoE. Together with Adam Kinner, Georgia Wartel Collins, Earth, Wind and Choir, Luke Stewart, Kenichi Iwasa, Naima Karlsson, Alexis Mercelo, Janice Lowe, Watson and Damon Hankoff, Devin forms a slow-burning fireball unity. A devotional séance channeling unknown powers proving music is a healing force of the universe. Nebulizer is an elevating meditation on humanity's estrangement of nature. Interstellar sonic stardust from a mind-blowing collective that will leave you flabbergasted. Be prepared and hear it to believe it. For fans of: Art Ensemble of Chicago, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, John & Alice Coltrane, Kamasi Washington, Shabaka Hutchings, SAULT, Ill Considered, Jamie Branche, Angel Bat Dawid, Mackaya Craven, Matana Roberts, Sun Ra.

An album of hypnagogic nocturnes that relentlessly searches for a sense of calm in the great unknown, Is Peace Wild? is German producer, drummer and visual artist Ludwig Wandinger's long-awaited debut solo full-length. He dreamt it up while unpacking the breakdown of a long relationship, working in hotel rooms during the downtime between a series of chaotic live shows. To help empty his mind, Wandinger developed a suite of soulful reflections that prioritize harmony over rhythm and clarity over trivial complexity -- music that confronts the eternal duality of romance and tragedy. Almost beatless and consistently sublime, Is Peace Wild? is punctuated by hypnotic lyrical contributions from multidisciplinary artist, poet and activist Yves B. Golden and producer and vocalist Evita Manji, both of whom bless the album with indispensable friendship and familiarity. With a series of albums and EPs under his belt already, Wandinger is a tireless solo artist and a prolific collaborator. Is Peace Wild?, though, emerges as Wandinger's most personal work to date. The title track opens the album, and Golden's voice breathes softly over Wandinger's warm, lulling arpeggios. This airiness doesn't last long: on the noisy, sombre "Vien," Wandinger interrupts his elegiac, organ-like synths with metallic crashes and distorted, rasping bass, weaving twinkling, pensive notes into the spaces in-between. The oscillation between darkness and light is remarkably even-handed, capturing the aching sense of longing -- or "Sehnsucht" -- that's at the core of German Romanticism. And it's even more evident on "Xhausted Form," one of the album's heaviest tracks. The album's illusory qualities are fully dilated on "Fire." Manji's hypnotic freestyle was recorded in a single take as they were lying in bed on the verge of falling asleep, and provides a quiescent counterpoint to Wandinger's muted trance vibrations. "The world is on fire drowning in its own fluids," they slur into the abyss, vocalizing playfully while Wandinger freezes the sentiment in vanishing 4/4 thuds and dissociated processes. This makes the baroque "Overlife" and the noisy "Eternal Image" all the more dynamic. On the latter, Wandinger creates a noisy, apocalyptic atmosphere for Golden's sardonic words, cooling his euphoric synths with hissing white noise and burnished cybernetic textures. Open-ended and tangled with emotional paradoxes, Is Peace Wild? can be interpreted in many different ways. For fans of: Aphex Twin, Kali Malone, Sarah Davachi, Kara-lis Coverdale, Tim Hecker, Sigur Ros, Laurel Halo.

Décima Víctima were a Spanish band that, during their short-lived career between 1981 and 1984, developed a very personal sound reminiscent of Joy Division, The Cure, and other British post-punk bands. Despite commercial success evaded them, rarely has any Spanish band achieved such a high degree of quality and coherence in their music and personality. Although included in Munster's past release MR 305 (2010) as part of a limited-edition boxset, this is the first time their second album Un Hombre Solo (1984) gets an official reissue in its original single LP format. For this edition, the sound of the original tape recordings has been cleaned and improved and the artwork has been slightly modified following the band's ideas. Despite only being active for under three years, Décima Víctima left a long-lasting legacy, and their influence would later be heard in Spanish bands such as Family, Los Planetas, and Sr Chinarro. In 1981, brothers Lars and Per Mertanen formed the instrumental band Clausula Tenebrosa. After a show they started talking about the possibility of rehearsing with Carlos, a friend at the time and ex-singer of the recently split Ejecutivos Agresivos. That's how the story of Décima Víctima started, rehearsing with a drum machine in the cellar of the Mertanens' house in Madrid. Despite commercial success evaded them, their first LP (1982) was acclaimed by the press, especially by El Pais, one of the biggest-selling newspapers in Spain. A second album would follow two years later. It was called Un Hombre Solo (1984) and was released on Grabaciones Accidentales (GASA). Unavailable for years and always in high demand, it now gets an official reissue in its original single LP format.

Byrd Out Limited presents the release of previously unheard music from The Woodleigh Research Facility. The four-track EP Vous Du Music pulses with a chugging, acid-tinged electronica recorded between 2016 and 2017. The EP opens with the title track "Vous Du," a nod to the Gallic black magick musical creations of Erick Legrand, whose track Woodleigh Research Facility reworked here (indeed, Erick is given a credit). "Vous Du" is packed full of blips, beeps and propulsive energy, as well as spoken word interlaced with the unmistakable sound of the 303. Clocking in at eight minutes, "Between Two Waves" is arguably the standout track, with a swirling, hypnotic groove that captures the listener. With its insistent beat and interweaving melodies, the track conjures to mind the tide coming in and sweeping you away to a different place. The third track, "Tempesta" aptly moves to a more-stormy place, with industrial noises and haunting sonic layers. But looking to Caliban, the sounds and sweet airs give delight, and hurt not. "Tempesta" is almost reminiscent of a Hardfloor sound, moving along at pace. Closing out the EP is a remix of "Vous Du" by producer Timothy J. Fairplay, who sharpens the original into a dancefloor weapon of the highest caliber with more acid, more synths, more kick drum. This is harder, dense, acid-flecked techno. Fairplay is a firm fixture of the electronic music scene releasing on Dungeon Module, Pinkman Records and more, as well as formerly being in The Asphodells, and being co-founder of club night and label Crimes of the Future alongside Scott Fraser.

"The High Llamas' classic '90s output comes back to life on vinyl for the first time in over twenty years. The vibrant and colorful sweep of their remarkable six-album arc shines in new pressings of the original masters, which include the first-ever vinyl pressing for their debut album, Santa Barbara. The High Llamas were founded by Sean O'Hagan, Jon Fell, Marcus Holdaway, and Rob Allum. One year after the release of Hawaii, Cold And Bouncy delivered again, organically incorporating the glitch, dub and electronic inspirations burbling up from the underground into the Llamas signature sound. Respect here is due to co-producer Fulton Dingley's contributions as programmer, engineer and mixer. Without shifting away from their pop-rooted songwriting, Cold And Bouncy was also a grand example of the emerging electro-exotica of the late '90s."

LP version. A sublime expedition from Brazil to the sky, Modo Avião ("Airplane Mode") sees São Paulo-based trio Caixa Cubo jet further forth from the lineage of Brazilian instrumental music. Following in the footsteps of heroes like Azymuth, Antonio Adolfo, Cesar Mariano, and Marcos Resende, with the tried and tested trifecta of synthesizers, bass and drums, Caixa Cubo have carved out their own idiosyncratic ideal of golden-era Brazilian jazz-funk and samba-jazz. Encapsulating the vitality and experimentalism synonymous with Sao Paulo's musical history, Caixa Cubo playfully straddle the elegant and the surreal, with masterful songwriting and the consummate musicianship of longtime friends and bandmates Henrique Gomide (keyboards), Noa Stroeter (bass), and João Fideles (drums). Caixa Cubo have been playing together for over 14 years -- and that's "playing" in the truest sense of the word. As bassist Noa Stroeter explains: "A story, a joke, images, invented words, people we met on tour, places, fictitious or not, have always been part of our creative process. And they are precious materials beyond the musical work itself. This dynamic has stayed with us to this day, and for me it is the characteristic that guarantees that no matter what, we will have fun working." Presenting a contemporary reimagining of Brazilian grooves from the 1970s, Modo Avião marks an evolution for Caixa Cubo's music which delves deeper into the tradition of Brazilian instrumental music, while continuing to develop its rhythmic and harmonic possibilities. Utilizing an extensive understanding of Brazilian music history and Brazilian rhythm in particular, the group explore the seemingly endless possibilities of fusing carnival marches, frevo and Baião, with jazz, MPB and funk.

Complete 1967 recordings -- including the cult psychedelic classic 45 "Madman Running Through the Fields" -- by Dantalian's Chariot, Zoot Money's psychedelic incarnation featuring a young Andy Somers on guitar and sitar (later known as Andy Summers in The Police). Performing frequently at Middle Earth and UFO displaying a wild light show, the band cut just one 45 but laid down more tracks for an unreleased album. Here it is in its full sonic glory. Top notch UK psychedelia with West Coast and Eastern influences. Remastered sound. Hard cardboard sleeve. Insert with liner notes and photos/memorabilia.

HMS Bounty was Merrell Fankauser's project after Fapardokly. Things! was originally released in 1968 and it's one of the key albums from the Los Angeles psychedelic scene. Amazing songwriting, incredible guitar work with tasty fuzz, occasional sitar, refreshing vocal harmonies. Remastered sound with original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve. Includes insert with liner notes and photos.

West Coast psychedelia/bluesy acid-rock by this true hippie band led by the legendary Merrell Fankhauser (Fapardokly, HMS Bounty) and genius guitar player Jeff Cotton (Captain Beefheart Magic Band). This is their classic and sought after first album from 1971. Remastered sound with original artwork in hard cardboard silver foil sleeve like the original. Includes insert with lyrics, photos and extensive liner notes by Patrick Lundborg.

"The mix of bluesy urban LA exhaust fume vibes and tribal desert mystique is as archetypal an early 1970s SoCal trip as you can find. With strong songwriting and a pro-level recording, the album is given a clear musical identity via the excellent slide guitar, harmony vocals, and occasional sax." --Patrick Lundborg (Acid Archives)

Boogie jazz funk at its best. Rare 1985 session from guitarist Eddie Fisher, the East St. Louis native whose best known for the jazz/funk albums The Next One Hundred Years and The Third Cup. Fisher, who died in 2007, never really achieved major stardom, but has become a cult figure over the last years, thanks in large part to DJs and crate diggers who discovered his music and spread the word. Perhaps the most obscure item in his catalog, The Promise was issued only on vinyl in 1985 on Fisher's own Nentu label and has been out of print for years. Licensed by Christina Fisher.

"This album contains the contents of The 13th Floor Elevators' recording sessions for Contact Records in early 1966. On January 3rd 1966, the band taped both sides of their debut 45 You're Gonna Miss Me/Tried To Hide, which Contact released on January 17th. That same month the (on the 27th) The Elevators were busted for possession of marijuana, and fearing that Texas' draconian drug laws could imperil the band's future, they felt the need to document their unique, garage-infused brand of early psychedelia as a means to document their very existence -- at the time, possession of marijuana could result in a prison sentence of 2-10 years. These recordings were, therefore, meant to be the band's debut LP, which Tommy Hall titled Headstone. The album was essentially split in two; Side 1 featured both sides of the debut 45 alongside teen-oriented covers, while Side 2 was made up of the band's early forays into psychedelia. The recordings are in mono, the sound quality a touch lo-fi, but the primal magic the band were able to conjure is already in evidence, especially on the albums second half - all of which would re-recorded for their debut LP proper The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators later that same year. Aside from the debut 45, the remaining tracks on Side 1 would be left in the can, and would re-emerge (with overdubbed applause) on 1968's duplicitous Live album."

Expanded reissue, originally released in 1965. Infectious rock n' roll, surf, beat, girl group and ye-yé sounds by Las Mosquitas, the first female beat band from Argentina. Including their rare album from 1965 for the Music Hall label plus bonus tracks from singles and their impossible to find split EP with Los Gatos Salvajes. Las Mosquitas ("The Little Flies") consisted of Stella Maris Conde (Pupé) on vocals and guitar, María Cristina Medina (Nita) on bass, Ana María Millán (Nené) on vocals and guitar and Beatriz Cabrera (Dina) on drums. They performed their original compositions as well as Spanish sung covers of hits from the era. Producer Ricardo Romero of pioneering rock n' roll Argentinean band Los Cinco Latinos took them under his wing and secured a deal with the Music Hall label. They toured nationally and internationally, sometimes supporting Los Cinco Latinos, other times as the main act. Not only that, but they conquered every city they performed in, they were received by fans, ambassadors, presidents and their daughters, all eager to see Las Mosquitas on stage. Tours through Panamá, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Puerto Rico, Chile, Uruguay, Brasil, Curazao, and Argentina were completed with fantastic public response and TV appearances. The "Mosquitamania" was born and a string of singles and a full album on the Music Hall label followed. All of them are compiled here for the first time. Insert with liner notes in Spanish/English and photos/memorabilia; includes download card. "Their music was a mix of ye-yé and beat and they dressed how you would expect the Beatles to dress if they had been women" --Gareth Wynne (Ugly Things)

In 1969, producer and boogaloo godfather Bobby Marin conceived this undeservedly obscure funky, psychedelic Latin soul gem. Released on Ralph Lew's short-lived Dorado label and engineered by Jon Fausty, Bobby was backed by a top-notch studio band that included Ricardo Marrero, Joey Pastrana, Bernard Purdie, Louie Ramirez, Orlando Marin, and Ozzie Torrens. Includes liner notes by genre expert Pablo Yglesias telling the story behind the music. Generally, when discussing the first wave of Latin soul and boogaloo, it's the bands and their leaders, the singers and the songs that get all the recognition. But what of the producers, composers, and arrangers? One of the top old-school New York Latin music producers, Bobby Marin, was behind the scenes for some of the best independently produced boogaloo and salsa of the '60s and '70s. Saboreando: Pot Full Of Soul, is the album Bobby created in 1969 for his friend Ralph Lew's newly launched Dorado label. Fifty-five years later, Bobby confirms that he commemorated his humble Barrio beginnings playing stickball on West 107th Street and singing doo-wop while some kids played percussion on junkyard drums, by christening the band The 107th Street Stickball Team. The 107th Street Stickball Team was basically the same pool of friends as Ricardo Marrero's group, with the addition of Louie Ramirez playing piano and organ, Orlando Marin, Joey Pastrana and Ozzie Torrens on percussion, Mike Viñas handling the electric bass, and Butch Johnson and Danny Agosto on lead vocals for a few numbers. At that time, soul music was seen by the present Latin generation, indeed the youth market in general, as something that was different, that broke with tradition. The record, with Bobby singing several of the best tunes including "Mojo Shingaling" and "Rhythm and Soul," highlights an affinity or connection between African American and Cuban music in a convincing blend that was emblematic of the scene and allowed the young generation to feel they had a fresh kind of music all their own.

The sixth chapter in Axis Expressionist Series, a collection of vinyl and limited digital releases, curated by Millsart, an alias of Jeff Mills, of his most eclectic and transcendent compositions that derive from his Every Dog Has Its Day project, as well as new unreleased works.

LP version. Dutch electronic no-wave outfit Baby Berserk is making a thrilling return to Bongo Joe Records with their highly anticipated album, Slightly Hysterical Girls With Pearls. Following the release of two compelling 7'' singles -- What I Mean/Sleepless and Toxic Kisses/Wartime -- and a real-world tour, the band is back with a full-length record that pushes the boundaries of their eclectic sound. Known for their seamless blend of music and fashion, Baby Berserk captures the essence of contemporary nightlife, balancing the raw energy of a live band with the infectious pulse of club music. Their latest work offers a refreshing and invigorating boost for the mind, body, and soul. Slightly Hysterical Girls With Pearls isn't just an album; it's a statement. It's about embracing who you are, kicking out the negativity, and finding power in the primal urge to live life on your own terms. With a sound that mixes slow, groovy beats with sharp, slithering synths and a relentless rhythm, Baby Berserk invites you to lose yourself in the music and emerge stronger, more vibrant, and unapologetically yourself. Featuring Puggy Beales.

The Wild Classical Music Ensemble is a Belgian experimental rock band formed in 2007 by artists with mental disabilities within the social-artistic non-profit organization Wit.h in Kortrijk. Their unique sound is a blend of punk/rock riffs, fanatical rhythms and soaring flutes and fiery synths, over which gravitate multiple, multilingual voices that scratch harshly as much as they comfort. There's something very Belgian about this harshness and noisiness. During the Covid crisis, the disabled members of the Wild Classical Music Ensemble were undoubtedly subjected more than others to the harsh conditions of confinement, alone in their rooms. Damien Magnette was still able to visit them with sound equipment. This was one of their all-too-few windows onto the world. Forbidden to meet, let alone play together, the members of Wild were nevertheless able to compose songs in tandem with Damien. The tracks were then sent to musician friends -- Fabrice Gilbert, Ava Carrère, Wim Opbrouck, Shht, Arthur Satàn, Nathan Roche, and Julien ZLDR -- who added their artistic touch. Jean Lamoot and Carl Roosens joined the adventure, one as mixer, the other as video director. Leader Damien Magnette says: "For over a year, we were all confined. But what about when you're a mentally handicapped person? Well, it's very different from you and me. We have the right to choose, the luxury of deciding for ourselves what rules we want to follow or not. We have free will. They don't. This series of confined songs is dedicated to all the people who have gone through this crisis, deprived of their free will. We send them our thoughts, hugs and kisses full of true love!" The songs respond to a deep desire to look out for each other in adversity (the so obvious 'Comment ça va?' by Johan Geenens and Wim Opbrouck, or 'Waarom ben je boos' by Sébastien Faidherbe with Wim Decoene, the latter full of empathy). A sense of loneliness is logically present on the album ('Dat is mijn verdriet' by Linh Pham, a very real, very concrete and particularly touching poem, or 'Loneliness,' whose text was improvised by Wim), if not an understandable rage ('Je ne veux pas' and 'My Frustrations'). It worth noting that on "On reste heureux", Sébastien Faidherbe composed all the parts in one go, with an optimism that stands out from the anger expressed in his other songs.

LP version. Summer of love: they weren't around for the first, they've studied the second, and they're planning the next. Bryan's Magic Tears release their fourth album, Smoke and Mirrors, on Born Bad. The famed pupil-dilated Parisian shit-stirrers usually have a way of demolishing compositions in style when they go live. They'll have their work cut out for them with these new tracks bricked up in studio with Marc Portheau. Still a thing on previous records, 4AM (BORNBAD 108CD) and Vacuum Sealed (BORNBAD 146CD), their garage/noise legacy fades away, not denied though. Benjamin Dupont (guitar/vocals) collaborated with Lauriane Petit (bass/vocals) on four tracks, and recorded each instrument for this unabashed pop album. This confusing specimen will rave about fashionable shoegaze oldies while admitting a kink for All Saints. Aptly named, this new album pokes fun at stadium music while respecting its codes. Looks and sounds like Shaun Ryder had eaten Liam Gallagher, shamelessly churning out hits, leaning on a well-built wall of sound, held together by Raphaël Berrichon and Nicolas Boursier (guitars). The record heavily features that typical '90s shuffle beat, with which Bryan was already flirting, but they're an item now. Two-thirds of the tracks have that groove on. Lauriane and Benjamin offer matching vocal delivery, alternating rhythmic phrases crafted like riffs, and sweet dragging harmonies. This record offers a plump sound, tailor-made to spread arms, bob your head, and level the ground in festivals. Smoke and Mirrors ends with "Lady D," a clever dunce's essay on a rare subject. Went for the kill with acoustic guitar intro, strings on the chorus, warm heavy-hearted vocals, flanger on the drums when it's time to light the lighters, and put spoons on top. Because yes, it's still music to take drugs to make music to take drugs to listen to music.

An extremely prolific artist, whose work encompasses composition, opera, theatre, radio plays, film or performance, Ergo Phizmiz returns to the Discrepant fold long after his Two Quartets and Disco Carousel -- under his given DW Robertson name -- albums. A purveyor of the Creative Commons rights, Phizmiz has been deploying much of his work on the ever-expanding Free Music Archive directed by WFMU since the early 2000's, creating a sprawling and defiant body of work that defies given and stale notions of sound hierarchies, history and copyright through a process that comprises collage, sampling, reappropriation, songwriting, covers and pretty much any available media with a playful and thoughtful approach. For this new Discrepant entry, Phizmiz goes back in time to push into the future a number of pieces recorded more than two decades ago creating this perpetual motion outside a linear chronologic progression. Anticipating by almost 20 years the memefication of ASMR videos, Selected Ambient & ASMR Works 2001-2003 -- itself a pun on the AFX classics -- embraces the ambient tag not at its functional face value, but instead as a means to the "evocation of imaginary spaces, and correspondingly the invention of their sonic environments." Collecting recordings from a myriad of instruments -- violin, xylophone, banjo, kora, found percussion and so on -- shortwave radio and field recordings to create loops with different lengths that play with and/or against themselves continuously in a process "(dis)conjunction" not far removed from Feldman's Why Patterns? or hip-hop's sampledelia. A free-floating temporal space that collapses the flashing images of Angelfire pages unto Web 2.0 sense of displacement.

Prime cut late '60s California sunshine psych/acid-rock. Creation Of Sunlight by Long Beach band Sunlight was originally released on the Windy label in 1970 and it's filled with breezy vocal harmonies, organ, fuzz guitar, and flute. With original copies changing hands for four-figure sums, here's a welcomed reissue with newly sourced and remastered sound. Including a download card with the full album plus a bonus track, "Seven's Theme," taken from a rare acetate and never released until now. RIYL: Strawberry Alarm Clock, Love, Clear Light, Doors. Original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve. Remastered sound. Insert with liner notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things) and photos.

2LP gatefold cover with printed inner-sleeves. Ben Klock and Fadi Mohem reveal new album Layer One featuring Flowdan and Coby Sey as guest vocalists. The project comes via the Berghain residents' new label, Layer Records. The ten-track full length project follows the hypnotic EP Klockworks 34 that set the stage in 2022. In a bold departure from the techno roots that have defined and nurtured their careers, Klock and Mohem are now pushing genre boundaries, exploring IDM, ambient and experimental electronic music while still retaining the brilliance that characterized their earlier work. Elevating this project are two very human and dynamic collaborations featuring the charismatic Coby Sey and the legendary grime MC Flowdan. Sey, a prominent figure in the British music scene known for his work with artists like Tirzah and Mica Levi, injects his music with a mesmerizing emotional depth. Opening the album with the powerful track "Ultimately," Sey offers spoken-word musings on creativity and life over experimental landscapes meticulously crafted by Klock and Mohem. Nostalgia permeates this opening track, and track 7 "Clean Slate" reinforces this sentiment with Sey's stream-of-consciousness wordplay. Flowdan, the gritty MC whose verses have become anthems of the UK grime movement, made headlines in 2023 with two songs that reached the top 20 of the UK singles chart. On track "Our Sector," Flowdan unleashes his raw energy and dynamic flow, adding a thrilling vocal dimension to the album's narrative. The fluid delivery of his lyrics and rhythmic timing are enhanced by the staccato beats and abstract synths. These collaborations are not mere features; they are pivotal moments that crystallize the album's vision -- an experimental re-imagining of electronic music's possibilities. Immediately offering an impressive entry to Klock and Mohem's changing sonic universe, "Escape Velocity" shows the collaboration at its strongest. Deftly juggling between ambient chords and more densely intricate rhythmic moments. These tightly layered textures and intense clashing moments are continued through most of the album. Penultimate track "The Machine" feels like the internal innards of a PC or synthesizer brought to life. Electricity flows through the track like an auditory exploration of the digital world's hidden mechanical and electrical processes. In contrast, final track "Melatonin" does exactly what the name suggests; its soothing melodic ambience cradles the listener as the album draws to a close.

LP version. Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet returns with a new, refreshed lineup with a new full-length album, Beautiful People. The album was recorded in December '23 at Polish Radio's S4 studio after a series of a dozen WMQ concerts in 2023. Buoyed by the wonderful reception in many cities and hungry for new sensations and sounds, the Quintet recorded this album while absolutely in full throttle. Beautiful People is a soulful album heading into the realm of contemporary spiritual jazz while maintaining WMQ's identity and Slavic tradition. The fresh material presents quality new energy, sound and composition of the band. Wojtek Mazolewski is a prominent Polish jazz artist known for his pioneering work in contemporary jazz. A virtuoso bassist and composer, Mazolewski blends traditional jazz with contemporary elements, delivering a mesmerizing and emotionally charged musical experience that has earned him enthusiastic reviews from All About Jazz, DownBeat Magazine, Kind of Jazz, and other publications. With a career spanning decades, he has become an icon in the Polish jazz scene, enchanting audiences worldwide with his fusion of classic and modern jazz styles. His live performances are renowned for their energy and captivating stage presence, providing a memorable and genre-defying jazz experience that has made him a celebrated figure in the global jazz community.

"Claire Rousay's Sentiment Remixes is the essential companion piece for her universally praised album sentiment. Like Rousay's uncanny ability to enmesh pop with ambient, the album defies any expectations of the very notion of 'remixes,' and allows one to plunge deeper still into her lush and emotive soundworld. Rousay's generous vulnerability and emotional availability combined with her eager collaborative spirit permeate each piece. 'If these were the only versions of these songs that lived in peoples' minds, I would be totally okay with that,' says Rousay. 'They feel more like collaboration or extensions of the album itself.' Featuring fellow forward-thinking artists and acclaimed musicians from Rousay's orbit, her album that has been lauded as a best of the year since its release in 2024 is reimagined by the likes of saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi (The Armed), AMULETS, Maral, frequent collaborator more eaze, Gretchen Korsmo, M Sage, and Rousay's own longtime engineer/mixer Andrew Weathers. For music rich with intimate personal details, it's Rousay's openness and sense of broader musical community that lends the sentiment remixes an even greater depth of feeling to them. Rousay gathered a list of collaborators from near and far, whom she feels a personal or musical kinship with. Each artist selected their own tracks for reinterpretation free of constraints, acting as a natural extension of the album whilst creating new sound worlds and altered perspectives on the intimate pieces. The varied results reflect the collaborators' unique voices, from glitchy scrambles and blissful jazz arrangements to sensuous R&B throbs and dense atmospherics."

Through emotive ambient textures, granular synths, and field recordings, Rousay reimagines the Slovak animated fairy tale with a brand-new score. The Bloody Lady stands as a stunning masterpiece of Slovak animation. This album features the reimagined score Rousay wrote for Viktor Kubal's 1980 eponymous animated film. Kubal (1923-1997), a pioneering Slovak animator, is considered one of the most influential animation filmmakers of the 20th century. Known as a singular artist who challenges conventions in experimental and ambient music forms, Rousay crafted the score in her home studio immediately after moving to LA over the course of 2023. The inaugural performance, a screening of the film accompanied by Rousay performing the score live, took place at Videodroom/Film Fest Gent 2023 in Ghent, Belgium. The project has since been developed into an 11-track album with alternating themes that evoke the film's atmosphere while standing on its own as a distinct sonic work. The Bloody Lady is released via VIERNULVIER Records, the label known for its audiovisual collaborations with artists like Miaux, Hieroglyphic Being, and Mattias De Craene. The record comes with an extensive booklet including liner notes.

Brand-new band featuring Bedroom Community's own Valgeir Sigurðsson at the helm, commissioned by Belgium's BClassic arts and music foundation -- this project has blossomed into a full band for its three core members. Who is Isabelle Lewis, anyway? What kind of music does she make? Is she an opera singer? Does she write pop songs? Does she compose ethereal ambient soundscapes? Does she play chamber music on the violin? Is she producing dark, electronic beats? Well? yes. But Isabelle Lewis is not so much a person as a project. Isabelle's debut album, Greetings, credits a trio of composer-performers at its heart: producer Valgeir Sigurðsson, vocalist Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe, and violinist Elisabeth Klinck. The sound of the elusive Isabelle Lewis is heard most clearly in the push and pull between them, the three-way tension that gives the album its musical and emotional drive. Each of the three brings more to the collaboration than those epithets might imply. Elisabeth's solo performance practice incorporates composition, improvisation, live electronics, and a close command of bowing and fingering techniques that make her fiddle sing, whisper or whistle as required. Benjamin is a self-taught countertenor -- keening, crooning, and swelling to a voluptuous sensuality -- but also an interdisciplinary stage director and performer. Well known for his work as a producer and studio collaborator, and as a composer of scores for film and stage, Valgeir's solo discography interweaves meticulously crafted electronics, drones, noise, and other digital elements with acoustic instruments and vocals recorded with naked, unflinching clarity. But the extravagant theatricality Benjamin brings grapples against the thudding bass of the implacable digital backdrop. The album as a whole is elegantly shaped, swelling from an intimate, interpersonal statement into something deeper and more spacious. The first half of the album leans slightly towards self-contained pop songcraft and ticking beats, while side B jumps off into the almost symphonic grandeur of songs like "Moonshell" or the instrumental "Not the water, air, or the dirt." The ominous weight of the droning sub-bass and trombone (guest player Helgi Hrafn Jónsson) only makes the interplay between vocals and violins (guest player Daniel Pioro joining Elisabeth) seem more delicate and vulnerable. RIYL: Perfume Genius, Anhoni, Rufus Wainwright, James Blake, Bat For Lashes, John Grant.

This compilation edition recovers the memory of a very important moment for Venezuelan pop music. The appearance of PP'S (the acronym for Pedro Pérez Show, an original name that highlighted the leadership of the creator of an unexpected new wave scene in Venezuela) produced an explosion whose echo later resonated with the birth of a handful of bands that also renewed the country's musical panorama, in tune with what sounded strong in the Anglo market in those effervescent '80s (punk, post-punk, ska, even the funk that had expanded in the previous decade): Sentimiento Muerto, La Seguridad Nacional, Desorden Público, Caramelos de Cianuro, and Los Amigos Invisibles. PP'S recorded three albums in the '80s: PP'S (1981), En el aire (1982) and Tercera Guerra Mundial (1984), all with a clear pattern: putting the body in motion. It is music connected to its time that invites you to dance and listen to today, it builds a bridge to the past while opening a path to the future because PP'S is still in action. This compilation contains six songs from the first album, two from the second and three from the third, and is an exclusive edition of El Palmas Music. It reaffirms the vocation of Maurice Aymard's label to preserve the heritage of Venezuelan popular culture and at the same time captures all the facets of a musical project that is a stainless symbol of the country's new wave, but also exceeds that label with music in which flows of progressive, space rock and acid jazz filtered through. A colorful, diverse new wave, far from any type of corset. At just over 20 years old, Pedro Pérez lived in a city with a powerful cultural imprint like San Francisco. In the air was the fresh, uplifting sound of bands like Talking Heads, Devo, and The B-52's. Also, reggae and dancehall from a large group of Jamaican artists. Pérez also shared a date with Black Uhuru and with UB40, a British reflection (white and more pop) of Rastafarian music.