Double LP version. For the first time a full album with recordings based on Yoko Ono's 1964 collection of texts, event scores and drawings Grapefruit, a foundational cornerstone of what became known as conceptual art, and enveloping the orbits of Fluxus and experimental music. Performed by The Great Learning Orchestra which has during the 25 years of its existence worked with Gavin Bryars, Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros, J.G. Thirlwell, Arnold Dreyblatt, and more. Originally self-published in 1964 in a limited edition of 500 copies under Yoko Ono's own imprint, Wunternaum Press, and later reprinted in expanded editions, the collection of over 230 texts, event scores and drawings that comprise Grapefruit has long been considered a foundational text in what became known as Conceptual Art, and envelops the orbit of Fluxus and experimental music. Though comparisons to John Cage may seem obvious, Ono's first attempts at textual composition actually pre-date her first encounter with the American composer by around a decade and have evolved free from Cage's influence. Another factor that sets these scores apart from associated forms of verbal notation from the same period is Ono's ambivalence towards the necessity, or even possibility, of their physical realization -- instead the idea being that the realization should take place in the mind of the reader. Hardly any performances have been recorded and released on disc -- so, 60 years after Grapefruit first appeared, Selected Recordings From Grapefruit is the very first full album of pieces selected from the many sections of the book. The sonic realizations presented here are of a number of different kinds, encompassing studio-based ensemble performances, but also location, environmental and field recordings (and at times combinations of these), as the scores themselves dictate, and for the most part recorded live and acoustically, such that the performances, actions, situations and environments that you hear are real. The accompanying 20-page booklet with rare performance photos and some original typewritten scores from Ono's personal archive also includes the text instructions for each piece - thus allowing the listener to make a connection between the imaginative engagement and creative activity executed by the performing members of The Great Learning Orchestra and the resulting recording. With 20 tracks and approximately 85 minutes duration, Selected Recordings From Grapefruit finally brings to ear some of the most important and influential 20th century avantgarde art.
"Spacing Out is an instrumental masterpiece only ever issued in Bermuda at the turn of 1970. A mix of the band's out-there original compositions and extravagant covers of The Meters, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, and The Isley Brothers, it established this band as one of the greatest instrumental bands of any genre, and helped kickstart the retro-soul/funk scenes that birthed the likes of Daptone and Big Crown Records. It's certainly a lodestar for Now-Again Records. This reissue was done with the license and participation of the entire Invaders band, with their story told in great detail in an oversized booklet penned by Jefferson 'Chairman' Mao, complete with rare photos of this rarely seen ensemble. From the proverbial stank face-inducing opening bars of reverb-drenched drums and congas that announce Spacing Out, you're thrust into something visceral and fleeting: a pocket universe in which technical excess, chemistry between players, and the uninhibited energy of youth align in a kind of glorious imperfection. Spacing Out is one of the greatest instrumental albums of its or any period in that unmistakably raw -- as in honest -- way only a crew of largely self-taught young-uns could catch a groove."
"Four Flies sheds light on the catalogue of the enigmatic Paloma Records, a DIY record label founded in 1983 by Bolognese composer, arranger, conductor, and singer Paolo Zavallone, who, after a long career in pop music and at RAI television, decided to venture into the world of library music publishing. The 12 tracks on this compilation were composed by Zavallone, who co-produced and co-arranged them with his friend Mauro Malavasi. The Paloma Records catalogue comprises just five LPs, all released -- solely for circulation among industry professionals and not for commercial distribution -- within a two-year period. Like typical library music albums, these LPs had very simple, plain artwork that hid their creators behind a game of smoke and mirrors -- fanciful pseudonyms, names of non-existent studio bands, and even figureheads. But despite its enigmatic nature, today the label's small catalogue reveals its extraordinary potential: it's utterly iconic in the way it captures the sound of Italian music in the early '80s, and not only in the library genre. Zavallone's library music can also be regarded as a tribute to a certain Bolognese music scene, characterized by small provincial studios and, most importantly, by young, talented session musicians like Rudy Trevisi on sax and percussion, Davide Romani on bass, Lele Melotti on drums, and Paolo Gianolio on guitar (together with Malavasi, who played synths, they were basically the rhythm section of Vasco Rossi's records in 1983-1984). Like in the case of fellow Bolognese composer Enzo Minuti, this music scene offered a unique alternative to the dominance of Rome and Milan in the library music industry."
"Nasim-e Sahar ('The Breath of the Dawn') by Asareh Shekarchi (on tombak and āvāz), and Bahareh Fayazi (on tar) is a reinterpretation of works by master Iranian singer Reza-Qoli Mirza Zelli (1906 - 1946). This recording features a variety of modal divisions of Iranian music with poetry that speaks of both earthly and mystical love stories. Sparse and powerful, Nasim-e Sahar showcases the technical virtuosity and improvisational mastery of these two artists. By reinterpreting the masterpieces of a male singer, Bahareh and Asareh, two young women, promise the dawn of a new age in which women claim their rightful place in the history of Iranian music."
2025 repress! "Trout Mask Replica is a touchstone in the history of recorded music. The mix of dada absurdist blues and previously unexplored experimental avenues has long been praised as one of the greatest albums of all time. As so eloquently put by John Peel, 'If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then Trout Mask Replica is probably that work.' In full partnership with the Zappa Family Trust and to celebrate the relaunch of the seminal Bizarre label imprint, Third Man Records is proud to announce Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band's Trout Mask Replica. Out of print on vinyl for nearly ten years, this remaster was helmed by industry legend Bob Ludwig and cut by the estimable Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Utilizing crystalline-quality safety masters kept in the Zappa family vault for decades by the trustworthy Joe Travers, the audio here is positively glorious. Every last skronk breathes full life into the room. Every twisted guitar figure uncurls onto paths previously unpaved. Every last bark and howl shines resolute through the vast emptiness of your mind. Previous countless Trout Mask Replica repressings used scans of scans of scans of the cover image, but the original Cal Schenkel cover photo has been tracked down and reproduced here at its clearest -- its resolution from the original release in 1969. If you've only ever seen a jpg online or fuzzy, smeared-looking CD issues from the 90's, be prepared to be wowed by the fully engaging spectrum this iconic image casts. This 2xLP is pressed on heavyweight 180-gram black vinyl for that full-on frenetic feeling. 180g vinyl, gatefold Stoughton tip-on jacket, booklet insert."
Bursting forth from the darkness of this pre-apocalyptic winter comes The Cabanists, the first release of an improvisational project of the same name, comprising three members of the UK's seminal avant-rock band, Nøught. Garnering a cult following since their initial self-titled debut, Nøught became known in the London experimental underground for their tightly orchestrated yet highly complex compositions, ranging from heavy atonal riffage to mesmerizing and hypnotic meditations. The Cabanists builds on Nøught's musical language and are a boundary-pushing trio fusing intricate guitar riffs, dynamic keyboard textures and explosive percussion into a sound that defies convention. Featuring James Sedwards on guitar (most recently known for his involvement with the Thurston Moore Group and This Is Not This Heat), Luke Barlow on keyboards (who co-runs Copepod Records with musician Alex Ward) and Bo Mapper on drums, the band recorded their groundbreaking material during an extended session at London's Lonely Man Studio, marking a defining moment in their musical journey. With influences spanning progressive rock, experimental jazz and post-punk energy, The Cabanists weave a sonic tapestry that is as cerebral as it is visceral. They challenge standard rock and jazz norms while crafting deeply resonant soundscapes, inviting listeners into a thrilling journey of sound and intense emotion. Prepare to lose yourself in the intricate chaos and undeniable groove of The Cabanists -- where every note is a revelation.
2025 warehouse find, last copies. Alga Marghen presents a reissue of Intersystems' Free Psychedelic Poster Inside (1968). Intersystems occupied a difficult-to-reach critical nook between the many tropes that had established to frame the various artistic trends of 1960s. Announcing itself with a quivering beam of fluorescent sound, the beginning of Intersystems' Free Psychedelic Poster Inside feels as though it's slowly piercing right through your frontal lobe. Blake Parker's poetry is a dark glimpse into mundane domesticity and the suburbs. One can't help but sense that they're being brainwashed: the slow metamorphosis of sound is juxtaposed against Parker's even-tempered yet electronically-tampered-with speech. There are occasional hints at the twitchy energy of Peachy (NMN 093-2LP), but everything is braced by a spine of lean, cool tones, making Free Psychedelic Poster Inside a far more stark outing than either of its predecessors. Yet the sense of impending danger and general volatility found in the rest of the catalogue is still present - if not amplified. In contrast to Peachy, the shapes the music cuts are smooth rather than jagged, but one is never sure just when Parker's strangely uninflected voice will emerge from the blinding aggregates of pure color. While these clusters of glowing sustain assert an aggressive mesmerism, they serve as a primer for the ears, ominously readying them for virtually anything to happen. When something does, there's often a sense mild alarm on the listener's part even when said change comes in the form of a reprieve from the relentless swarms of high frequency - cascades of synthetic giggles, sliding slow elastic melodies, vigorous strobing modulations and bubbling passages of electronic fizz. Musician and insatiable collector Julian Cope, on his exhaustive online chronicle of all things rare and psychedelic, "Head Heritage" calls Intersystems third LP "one of the densest, most oblique collections of sound ever". Re-mastered by John Mills-Cockell. Mastered for cutting by Giuseppe Ielasi. Comes with original LP graphics as well as a new insert. Edition of 300.
Restocked. Carrying on a string of stunning archival releases from major figures of Indian classical tradition (including releases from members of the Dagar family and Amelia Cuni), Black Truffle presents an unheard recording from tabla master Kamalesh Maitra (1924-2005). For over fifty years, Maitra devoted himself to the rare tabla tarang, a set of between ten and sixteen hand drums tuned to the notes of the raga to be performed. While the tabla tarang has its origins in the late 19th century, Maitra was the first to recognize its potential as a solo concert instrument, using the set of tuned drums to perform full-length raags. Seated behind a semi-circular array of drums, Maitra produced stunning waves of melodic improvisation enlivened with the rhythmic invention of a master percussionist. Across his career, Maitra performed in ensembles led by Ravi Shankar, collaborated with George Harrison, and led his own East-West fusion group, the Ragatala Ensemble. However, it is in the solo setting that his remarkable artistry and the otherworldly timbral qualities of the tabla tarang are most strikingly on display. Recorded during the same 1985 Berlin sessions that produced Maitra's self-released solo LP Tabla Tarang: Ragas on Drums, on Raag Kirwani on Tabla Tarang listeners are treated to Maitra stretching out for over forty minutes on the late-night Raag Kirwani, accompanied by Laura Patchen on tabla and Mila Morgenstern and Marina Kitsos on tanpura. The performance begins with the traditional free-floating exposition section, where Maitra's spacious melodic improvisation at times almost resembles a plucked string instrument (like the sarod, which Maitra also played). For the listener unaccustomed to the tabla tarang, the sound of these microtonally inflected melodic patterns played on drums has a magic quality. As Maitra begins to imply the rhythmic cycles more strongly, Patchen joins on tabla, beginning half an hour of rhythmic-melodic exploration, where virtuosity sits side by side with delicacy and meditative attention. Accompanied by beautiful archival images and extensive liner notes from Laura Patchen, for many listeners Raag Kirwani on Tabla Tarang will be the perfect introduction to the magical world of Kamalesh Maitra, released to coincide with the hundredth anniversary of the master musician's birth.
2025 repress; gatefold 2LP version. Includes download code. Iceland's GusGus graces Kompakt with a second album, after their enigmatic debut for the label 24/7, which earned the trio much acclaim thanks to its conceptual rigidity and pure glamour. Conceived solely with the help of two precious Doepfer modular systems and Daniel August's all-pervasive vocals, it could easily have been characterized as GusGus' unofficial live album. For Arabian Horse, their seventh studio album, President Bongo, Biggi Veira and Daniel August set up a makeshift studio in a summer cottage in the depths of the lava field. Secluded in silence and beauty, they produced something that really showcases GusGus' versatility and stunning songwriting ability. A vast array of illustrious guest musicians and singers abound on these powerful new songs. Most prominently, this album features the long-awaited return of former band member and gifted vocalist Urður "Earth" Hákonardóttir, who appears on three songs. Högni Elisson of the band Hjaltalin lends his voice to some of the album's most memorable and deepest moments. Samúel Jón Samúelsson contributes the elevating, goosebump-inducing string arrangements and David Thor Jonsson contributes accordion and the banjo. Even an un-named gypsy combo leaves their mark here. Compared to GusGus' stripped-down predecessor for Kompakt, this album is much more in-your-face -- the songs brim with big gestures, enthralling hooks, pop and soul. Take the powerful schaffel anthem "Deep Inside," which makes use of big room chords, a ferocious bass line and a vocal duel, or "Within You," where strings converge with breathtaking vocals and an addictive techno bass kick. GusGus retrace their original influences, creating an album that recalls a forgotten period of early '90s dance pop (think The Beloved), classic house music and urban soul à la Massive Attack. But make no mistake, Arabian Horse does not sound like pure retro in any way. It's deeply rooted in the sound of today, backed by one of the most state-of-the-art quality productions Kompakt has released to date. Still need a tag? Why not: Icelandic hi-tech soul.
WITCH
Introduction (Red Vinyl) LP
2025 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."
2025 repress; LP version. Wewantsounds continues its Akiko Yano reissue series with the release of the singer's third studio album To Ki Me Ki, recorded in New York and released in 1978 in Japan. It follows her cult Iroha Ni Konpeitou LP and keeps the similar blend of Japanese pop and New York funk found in the latter. To Ki Me Ki features such musicians as Rick Marotta, Will Lee, and David Spinozza, and also programmer Hideki Matsutake who would soon join the YMO with Akiko. To Ki Me Ki is reissued outside of Japan for the first time, remastered in Tokyo by revered engineer Mitsuo Koike and featuring original artwork by Tsutomu Murakami with four-page color insert and new liner notes by Paul Bowler.
Sonor Music Editions presents the vinyl reissue of Riz Ortolani's iconic soundtrack to the 1969 Giallo thriller Così Dolce Così Perversa (So Sweet, So Perverse). This highly sought-after score composed by the legendary maestro who scored over 200 films, including Paolo Cavara and Gualtiero Jacopetti's 1962 pseudo-documentary Mondo Cane, perfectly captures the atmosphere of suspense, eroticism, and deception found in this obscure film. Directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Carroll Baker and Jean-Louis Trintignant, Così Dolce Così Perversa" is a stylish and thrilling masterpiece from the golden era of Italian Giallo films. Ortolani's score is a crucial element in the film's success, featuring haunting melodies, driving rhythms, and the unforgettable main theme, "Why?" sung by British singer J. Vincent Edwards, with lyrics by Norman Newell. Twenty-four years after its initial vinyl release, this lost Italian soundtrack has been revitalized with fully remastered sound sourced from the original master tapes from the legendary Sermi Records vaults. This new reissue is available in a limited edition of 500 copies and mark the first ever digital release of the soundtrack.
The "extracøntinent" that Damien Mingus invites listeners to visit on this new album from his My Jazzy Child project is by no means an imagined or imaginary space. It's the palpable space forged by the musician's 25 years of activity, where popular and traditional music, free music and learned traditions collide. And don't confuse the ∅ (empty set) with the Ø (island in Finnish) used in the title of this album and some of the tracks -- it's insularity that's being asserted here. An island-continent made up of sonic archipelagos where electronic collages and improvisations are rooted in pop exoterism. Where Innéisme (AKU 1028LP, 2021), his previous album, questioned the construction of language, Extracøntinent this time summons esoteric discourse to better circumscribe it. The second part of a trilogy in the making.
Iranian multi-instrumentalist Kamyar Arsani (Faraway Ghost) and Indian-born drummer/electronic music producer Ravish Momin (Sunken Cages) create their own brand of digital folk music that draws on Sufi mysticism, traditional Persian Music, street rhythms from Mumbai and contemporary electronic music at once. Momin accompanies Arsani's vocals and daf (frame-drum) with a masterful blend of electronic and acoustic percussion, including live-looping via his unique drum-loop performance system. Kamyar Arsani is an Iranian multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter based in Washington DC. Through his solo work and numerous collaborations, Arsani creates music across an array of styles, ranging from classical Persian music to genre-defying electronic experimentation. A teacher, performer and scholar of the daf (the Iranian frame drum), Arsani has been a featured artist at the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Voice of America, Georgetown University and numerous other stages throughout the region. Along with his solo work and collaborations, Arsani is also the singer and lyricist of Shadow Riot, a Washington D.C punk band. Sunken Cages is the moniker of drummer/electronic music producer Ravish Momin, who studied with US Jazz master-drummer Andrew Cyrille. He has worked as a sideman with a wide array of musicians including US avant-Jazz legend Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre (AACM/Chicago.) In addition, he has also led his own Jazz/global group Tarana on international stages for the past 14 years. As Sunken Cages, Momin plays electronic and acoustic drums. He layers loops while manipulating them in real-time to blur the lines between composition and improvisation. While rooted in Indian and Black Music traditions, he is also influenced by the street sounds of underground dance music from Sao Paolo to Durban to Mumbai and beyond.
LP version. Although still very much a secret, Oakland, California's Justin Pinkerton has perfected and expanded his Futuropaco project to a stunning degree over the past seven years. The one-man band is deeply rooted in Pinkerton's masterful drumming, which builds on the legacy of 1960s and 1970s legends such as Tony Allen and Jaki Liebezeit. But he's an accomplished multi-instrumentalist as well, and the Futuropaco sound is a colorful fusion that sees him throw fuzz guitars, flutes, vintage synthesizers and Anatolian string instruments into the mix -- seemingly without much effort. The second and final volume of the Fortezza Di Vetro series feels like a conclusion, the sound of an artist reaching his creative zenith. It's an experimental album, yet immediately seductive in its energy -- channeling the vibey art-rock of Tortoise, Black Sabbath riffage and vintage Italian film music in equal measures. It's such a refined and esoteric blend, yet hits so directly. It's simply impossible not to crank the volume knob once this slab of vinyl is on the turntable, followed by immediate head nodding. Buy the ticket, take the ride. Justin Pinkerton is a vastly talented rhythmsmith, best known as a member of Californian stoners Golden Void. On this project he plays all the other instruments too so he can do what he blooming well feels. And it's not as if the drum solos go on for twenty minutes like those of John Bonham and his pale imitators. Nope. Into tracks that are both jam-packed and concise, Pinkerton has squeezed his love of vintage Italian library music, classic krautrock and heavy psych rock. At one point it suggests Grails have been performing super-speed cover versions of fusion-era Miles Davis with Adrian Younge on production.
Fully licensed and remastered, limited to 500 copies. Gary Marks' Gathering is exactly what you would call a miracle. Self-produced in 1974 and engineered at Vitra Sonic Recording Studios in New York, the album introduced the crispy talent of the guitarist/pianist and producer. A genuine blend of folksy harmonies and jazzy arrangements, the record could have been possibly the missing link between Tim Buckley Starsailor and some early seventies Impulse! session. Now it's about time to get a hold of this masterpiece. Gathering includes guitar legend John Scofield, the amazing jazz pianist Michael Cochrane, and one the of the top vibraphonists in the world, David Samuels.
2025 repress. "Water Damage's follow-up to 2022's widely acclaimed Repeater is another minimal/maximal collision with two songs (hey!) clocking in at 19 and 22 minutes respectively. Hence, 'Fuck This' and 'Fuck That'. On Two Songs, the original septet of Nate Cross (USA/Mexico/Marriage), George Dishner (Spray Paint), Thor Harris, Travis Austin, Mike Kanin (Black Eyes), Greg Piwonka and Jeff Piwonka are joined by Mari Maurice (More Eaze)." "More Water! More Damage! The second proper LP by this Texan juggernaut is even more biggerer than the first, a head-drowning pair of new 'reels' (every Water Damage tracks generally take up a reel of tape, hence the 'reel ____' song titles) that makes you feel like you're swimming in a sun-drenched river of sound. Two drummers, two bassists, and tons of vibrating strings are once again a recipe for massive rocking-drone fires. Two Songs has two songs, and they're kind of the yin/yang of Water Damage: one toned very low, growling and roaring, groaning over a beat, while the other hums high, troubling the treble clef and ringing like a bunch of church bells that don't want to be in church. They're more alike than different though, divining momentum from repetition, flying forward by staying in place, climbing a mountain that they're building as they go. Enough ink has already been spilled about the previous-band pedigrees of the players in this hurtling collective, and by this point, the past seems way less relevant than the present when it comes to Water Damage's present-pounding sound. These people know what they're doing, sure. You don't need a resume in front of you to figure that out. It's there in every second of this gigantic, eternal music -- in all the strings being bowed, the skins being slammed, the rumbles being rumbled. You might notice that this time around, Water Damage haven't just given their tracks reel numbers. They're also called 'Fuck This' and 'Fuck That.' I take that as instructional. Whatever you're doing, whatever you're fretting about, whatever someone's trying to use to occupy your attention so you'll buy something or vote for something or ignore something: Fuck This. Fuck That. Listen to Water Damage." --Marc Masters
Only in retrospect have the Pink Fairies taken their rightful place in UK music history. They looked like hippies but acted like punks and played fast, invigorating rock'n'roll at a time when it was in short supply. This collection of ten tracks recorded at four BBC sessions showcases some of their best-known numbers as well as four cover versions never released on the band's studio LPs. Sound quality is excellent throughout apart from the Feb '71 session. Comes with full recording details and sleeve notes.
Ajay Saggar is Bhajan Bhoy. This album presents a rich and varied set of compositions that showcase Saggar's skills as an incredibly talented and accomplished composer and musician. With each and every Bhajan Bhoy LP, you are carried to a higher place. With Bhoy On The Wire, the 35 minutes laid out unfolds like a cosmic tapestry, an extraordinary exploration that shimmers and reverberates with newfound vibrancy. The songs were broadcast as part of a session on Steve Barker's On The Wire radio show in April 2024. They were a gift to Steve and his team for 40 years of broadcasting. As Ajay explains in his own words: "In September 1984, I started a degree course at the University of Lancaster. On a wet and soggy Sunday afternoon towards the end of September, I sat in my room staring out at the grey Lancashire landscape, and decided to alleviate the boredom by seeing if there was anything to listen to on the radio. Most of the stations I tuned into were as dull as the weather outside. However, as I neared the end of the FM dial (and was about to give up hope), I chanced upon a station where I was taken by the music being played. That show was 'On The Wire,' introduced by Steve Barker. From there on in, every Sunday, between 2-5pm, I tuned into Radio Lancashire to listen. Steve's shows had an incredible and wide-reaching selection of music and genres, that thrilled your ears and left you wanting more. Tied to that, his deep knowledge of the material he played helped the listener dig into the sounds even more, and also left you in admiration of this trait. In 1985, I started putting on DIY shows in Lancaster and Steve was kind enough to mention the shows on-air, which helped in getting people from different parts of the county to come to the shows. At the tail-end of 1985, he invited me to the studio to come and hang out. When in 1988, the group I was in, Dandelion Adventure, released our first (demo) cassette, it was Steve, who not only played tracks off it, but invited the group to the studio for an interview. Now if you're a young band, that is a massive thrill! And in 1990, when Dandelion Adventure did a John Peel session, I actually used 'On The Wire' jingles (that Steve had put on a cassette and given to me a few years before) on the track 'All the World's A Lounge.' Since then, the show has been a mainstay for me, and so many others around the world, to get turned onto incredible sounds from around the world. And over the course of 40 years, Steve has always supported my music. These six tracks are a 40th birthday gift to the 'On The Wire' team for sharing so much amazing music, and making the world a better place. They were originally broadcast as an exclusive session in April 2024 on 'On The Wire,' and are here for your listening pleasure. Music like shower." Mastered by Chris Hardman in March 2024. Sleeve design and illustration by Jake Blanchard.
Colin Newman and Malka Spigel's Immersion project sees the third volume of their Nanocluster collaboration series. The third album in the Nanocluster series is a mid-Atlantic melting pot of ideas that have created a brand-new third way. The album sees a collaboration between the European post-punk electronic discipline of Immersion meeting the American ambient country band SUSS and their big sky, new world, Americana cinematic soundscapes to create a perfect Nanocluster! It's a perfect combination that fits the Nanocluster vision. Immersion's open-minded approach sees their music spark new textures with the American band who were once described by UNCUT magazine as "Eno's Apollo Atmospheres crash-landed in America's Sonoran Desert," and by Pitchfork as "Neither rawboned nor ramshackle -- their elegantly composed brand of ambient country stands as tall and clean as a brand-new pair of cowboy boots." Suss are composed of veteran musicians Pat Irwin (the B-52s, Raybeats, 8 Eyed Spy), Bob Holmes (numun, Rubber Rodeo), and Jonathan Gregg (the Combine, the Linemen). SUSS combine pedal steel, national steel guitar, mandolin, harmonica, baritone guitar, and the harmonium, which they weave with synthesizers and loops to create their big, lonesome sound.
LOFT, THE
Everything Changes Everything Stays The Same LP
LP version. The Loft notched up an impressive list of firsts for Creation Records' artists back in the mid-'80s. First Creation band on TV, first to hit the top of the indie singles chart, first to be invited on to a major UK tour and first Creation band to record a coveted BBC radio session -- for Janice Long's Radio One show in 1984. Then they split up. Since that infamous onstage tragedy; splitting up mid-song, at the Hammersmith Palais in front of 3,000 people when on the verge of Big Time indie greatness, the band has reunited. Just as their status as one of the UK's most influential guitar bands of the '80s continues to grow and to influence a host of younger artists, and thirty-nine years after that acrimonious split, it seemed the time was right to record their debut album. After a sell-out show at London's MOTH club and their heralded appearance at the Glas-Goes Pop festival, the group was invited by BBC 6 Music's Riley & Coe to record its fourth BBC session, at Maida Vale's famous Studio 4. Within six months the session was rush released by Precious Recordings of London on glorious ten inch vinyl. Enter Hamburg based, Tapete Records, who, hearing rumors about new Loft material, snapped up the album and signed the band without hearing a single note. The ten song collection, Everything Changes, Everything Stays The Same was recorded in Hackney in August and produced by Dexys' Sean Read with the original Loft line up of Pete Astor (guitar /vocals) Andy Strickland (guitar), Bill Prince (bass) and Dave Morgan (drums).
2025 repress. WRWTFWW Records announce the first ever vinyl release for Pizza Hotline's brilliant 2022 full-length Level Select, originally only released on cassette and digital. The liquid drum & bass meets Y2K era video gaming aesthetics monster is now available in a limited-edition transparent vinyl double LP with a glorious 45rpm cut, packaged in a heavyweight 350gsm sleeve. Entirely written and composed by UK producer Pizza Hotline (apart from "GLACIER ZONE", a collaboration between Pizza Hotline and DJ Total 90), the stellar eight-song album was initially released as a limited cassette in January 2022 and quickly gained cult status -- making a full-on vinyl release quite the necessity. It's here now with the previously unreleased track "POLYGON DREAMSCAPE" (which sounds as magical as its title) and 45rpm cut for louder, bigger, deeper bass rumbling. Spellbinding, atmospheric, and beautifully melodic, Level Select is a large scope dreamy adventure of liquid DnB filled with ambient escapades, ethereal jungle, high vibe breaks, and a heavy loving dose of late '90s/early 2000s video game influences. Hypnotic late-night hype and pensive chill moods mesh with ease in a cinematic soundscape that re-contextualizes and gives a new life to a beloved music genre -- LTJ Bukem, Peshay, the Wipeout OST or Soichi Terada's Ape Escape come to mind, and sounds and soundtracks from the Sony Playstation, the Nintendo 64, and the Sega Saturn resonate from the speakers. It's all fresh with a subtle nostalgia and so much heart. An instant classic. Press start.
VA
Chebran: French Boogie 1980-1985 2LP
2025 repress. Double LP version with insert. In the early '80s in France, the happy-go-lucky gathered the nectar of each and every new release. Believing in a bright future for videotex and loosened up by budding pirate radio stations, the new generation dreamt of dancefloors and holiday clubs. French Boogie, which preserves the spirit of these years of boodle and bunkum, is the ideal soundtrack to their dreams. What has come to be called "French boogie" is a form of synthetic funk reflecting the spirit of those days when everything seemed possible. In popular clubs such as La Main Bleue in Montreuil or L'Echappatoire in Clichy-sous-Bois -- where Micky Milan could be seen behind the decks -- an enthusiastic audience discovered this post-disco sonic wave, influenced as much by French pop as by The Sugarhill Gang or Kurtis Blow. In this myriad of new musicians, the very young François Feldman and Phil Barney pioneered a fresh musical hybrid. Other well-known artists like Gérard Blanc from Martin Circus (Attaché Case), Richard de Bordeaux (Ich), and Jean-Pierre Massiera (Anisette, Pirate Club, Mandrake, Groupe Scratch Man) added an eccentric touch. Singers like Agathe (the author of "La Fourmi" (included here) and of the hit song "Je ne veux pas rentrer chez moi seule") were far more than just window dressing, giving an ironic and subversive twist to this rather harmless genre. But by 1984, French boogie was already breathless, and merged with other genres; on the one hand, rap and breakdance adapted its flow to a more urban world, especially with Dee Nasty's broadcasts on Radio Nova, and on the other, Italo, new beat, and house began to rule dancefloors. Squeezed between the age of disco and that of modern electronic music, French boogie was a transitional phase, but it remains an amazingly refreshing testimony to the intermingling of pop and underground cultures. The genre was hastily categorized as anecdotal in spite of its pioneering synthetic groove and matchless basslines. An attentive ear will discover the poetry of the ephemeral beyond the eccentricities of the genre, as well as a certain unexpected avant-gardism. At the origin of major music trends, always cheerful and catchy, French boogie is what you need to party. Includes tracks from 1980-1985 by Interview, Krootchey, Gérard Vincent, Style, Pierre Edouard, Casino, Bianca, Trigo & Friends, Hugues Hamilton, Pascal Davoz, Anisette, Pilou, Henriette Coulouvrat, New Paradise, Ich, Attaché Case, and Yannick Chevalier.
LP version. Japanese producer Saeko Killy returns for her second album of psychedelic electronics and drum machine workouts with Dream In Dream on Bureau B. In contrast to her first LP Morphing Polaroids (BB 426CD), which was a more collaborative project coming out of the pandemic, Dream In Dream sees Saeko Killy take the lion's share of the controls herself. This time around she wrote and played mostly everything herself, meaning she could arrange her songs exactly how she liked, to draw out their dream-like elements. Occasionally Saeko got around the arm issue by teaming up with her good friend and guitarist Alexa D! saster, who features on "Melancholik" and the album-opener "Kaiju." Right from the start, Saeko invites listeners into her hypnotic musical world, with wide-screen pads, guitars that sound like chants, and dubby reverb slaps, forming the foundation for Saeko's otherworldly vocals. "Melancholik" in contrast, is a moody stomper of up-tempo minimal wave, nodding to her '80s post punk inspirations. These two tracks capture the different sides of Dream In Dream, blissful downtempo dreamscapes next to upbeat excursions for the psychedelic dancefloor. Saeko mixed the album together with Sebastian Lee Philipp aka Die Wilde Jagd, another long-time friend that Saeko was introduced to when she first moved to Berlin. Together in Sebastian's studio, they brought out the harmonics of Saeko's collection of Korgs, Yamahas and other affordable, modern-day versions of classic synths. Music and magic are just some of the languages that appear on Dream In Dream, which also switches between Japanese, English and German. For the track "Jede Farbe" for example, Saeko experimented with each language, to find which would fit the groove best. The result is something that could have been heard booming out of speakers in West Berlin in the '80s. However, the changing languages also place Saeko's songs somewhere between worlds. They sound new wave, but filtered through Saeko's lens of JPop, NDW, and Industrial music. Saeko navigates these in between sounds using signposts from her dreams, guided through the spacetime distortion loops as if by a vision. The true meaning of this vision might not be immediately clear -- but who minds, when the search for that meaning sounds this good?
2025 repress. Remastered, expanded gatefold double LP version. This version features new artwork by Tina Frank, based on the original 2001 Mego release. Contains "Ohne Sonne" and "47 Blues," previously only available on the Japanese CD versions, as well as a new, extended version of "Happy Audio," exclusive to this release. Endless Summer, originally released in 2001 by Mego, was a breakthrough album for Christian Fennesz -- the album which brought his name and music towards the first steps of mainstream recognition. Following on from the more experimental Hotel Paral.lel (EMEGO 016CD) and the Beach Boys-homaged Plays single, Endless Summer brought the guitars more to the front, the electronics shimmered more, and the melodies shined more brightly. It went on to become a classic of its time, topping many end-of-year polls. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, September 2010.
LP version. "Bob Balch here. When Gary Arce mentioned that Yawning Man was gonna record and we should do another round of Yawning Balch jams I was super stoked. I'll always jam with those guys. Once the invite was extended I knew I had to drop some money on new pedals. Haha. Not that I don't have enough already but jamming with Yawning Man means you have to build a massive pedal board and try to get the most 'out there' sounds you can. At least that's what it means to me. Another aspect is once we start jamming I like to improvise riffs but keep them in mind so I can return to them throughout the jam. It was an honor to share a few hours playing with those dudes and I'm always surprised how much material we get out of it." Volume Three was recorded in one five-hour session April 20th, 2024 in Joshua Tree, CA. Also available on CD (HPS 338CD), blue vinyl (HPS 338LTD-LP), and yellow/red/blue splatter vinyl (HPS 338ULTRA-LP).
WITCH
In The Past (Green Vinyl) LP
2025 repress. "Pressed on opaque green vinyl. 'Electrified by a diet of James Brown, the Stones and Deep Purple, Witch were the stadium-filling kings of 70s Zamrock.' --MOJO This landmark recording from Now-Again's comprehensive overview of Zambia's premier garage-, psych-, prog-, funk-, Afro-rock ensemble Witch, We Intend To Cause Havoc! is now available in a never before seen color variant. The audio is nigh-perfect -- restored and remastered from the original master tapes. Witch's musical arc is contained to a five-year span and, in retrospect, is a logical one. The band's first two, self-produced albums -- released in unison with the birth of the commercial Zambian recording industry -- are exuberant experiments in garage rock, and are as influenced by the Rolling Stones as they are James Brown. In The Past, their second album, is the perfect follow-up for anyone exposed to the Witch band through their landmark Introduction."
After the demise of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Lydia Lunch launched her solo career with Queen Of Siam, arguably her greatest LP. In true No Wave style, the album is a mishmash of irritants, but her palette is far broader here, lurching from slow dirges, excessive feminist exhortations, and raucous personal purges to a touch of disco and lounge music exoticism, as conjured by Voidoids/Lou Reed guitarist Robert Quine, Contortions bassist Jack Ruby, and John Cale's drummer, Douglas Browne. Spirited, surprisingly broad and defiantly dissonant, Queen Of Siam's dense layers were designed to provoke and inflame; listen closely to fully decode.
During the late 1970s, after No Wave pioneer Lydia Lunch met saxophonist James Chance, she began setting her angry and disjointed poetry to anti-music, founding her ground-breaking band Teenage Jesus and The Jerks with Lunch's shouted lyrics matched by her non-conventional use of electric guitar. The group's self-titled debut EP is a fast and furious affair, produced by Robert Quine of the Voidoids/Lou Reed, with future Nick Cave drummer Jim Sclavunos on bass and Bradley Field on minimalist percussion; steeped in aggression and audacity, it's an awesome disc that rebuffs punk's easy cliches and refuses to be categorized. This reissue also includes the "Pre" EP and the tracks from the legendary No New York compilation. Essential!
Recorded in Los Angeles in 1982, 13.13 exists as document to the pandemonium of specters and potential serial killers who twisted the California Dream into a waking nightmare as they snaked through the boulevards, back yards and basements of a sun stroked paradise turning into a blood-soaked inferno of fear, paranoia, panic and lust killings. Lush musical textures provided by members of seminal art punks The Weirdos -- Dix Denney, Cliff Martinez, and Greg Williams -- create a hypnotic backdrop to Lunch's evocative vocals and terrifying lyrics.
2025 repress. London-based psychedelic folk quartet Kaleidoscope formed as the Sidekicks in 1964, changing their name to the Key the following year. By the time they signed Fontana for the 1967 debut album Tangerine Dream, their choral pop harmonies were stronger and the musicianship more accomplished, the distinctly English folk undercurrents more pronounced. A favorite of Spaceman 3 and other connoisseurs of neglected psych, originals of this rare gem now change hands at extortionate prices and the work has aged like a vintage wine, the unjustly overlooked classic now rightly feted.
Repressed. With rpm, Touch wanted to join some of the dots of Philip Jeck's life and involve many other collaborators, early and more recent. Fennesz was a friend and kindred spirit on the same label. Claire M Singer formed a new chemistry and partnership and although their plans must now take a different form, Mary found some sketches Philip had laid out using Claire's organ recordings, for further development. Faith Coloccia and Philip had already released "Stardust" on Touch in 2021. Their live performance together at 2220arts + archives, Los Angeles in March 2022 celebrating Touch's 40th anniversary had to be shelved. And in September of that year Iklectik hosted a memorable tribute night with live work from Chris Watson, Liverpool Improvisation Collective, Claire M Singer, and others -- most of all a dedicated audience who knew and felt that this was a future event and not the end of the story. A work in progress at the time of Philip's death, Oxmardyke, a project with Chris Watson, saw the light of day as Touch Tone 83 in early 2023 -- working on recordings Chris had sent, Philip with laptop perched on hospital bed, almost to the end. There were other artists who wanted to actively contribute further, whether in performance or contributing to this album: Jana Winderen had already sent Philip her recordings of pilot whales and the track you hear was finished in March 2022. Cris Cheek was in Slant with Philip and Sianed Jones, who also sadly passed away that same year -- their work together predates Philip's with Touch. Philip owed much in his early years of composing and playing to his collaboration with dancers, theatre and film makers -- in particular, a ten-year working and performing partnership with Laurie Booth, Yip Yip Mix, and the 20th Century, which toured widely during the 1980s and early '90s. An early audio-visual work, Vinyl Requiem (1993) was created with visual artist Lol Sargent, using 180 record players, nine slide projectors and two 16mm projectors producing a live performance on a huge scale. Vinyl Requiem wasn't exactly about the end of vinyl, but the dawn of something else regarding sound recording and music. It was never a final statement but a testament to the work to come. Also featuring Gavin Bryars, Rosy Parlane, Cris Cheek, Faith Coloccia, David Sylvian & Hildur Guðnadóttir, Jah Wobble & Deep Space, Drums Off Chaos, Chandra Shukla, and Jana Winderen.
HUDSON, KEITH
The Black Breast Has Produced Her Best, Flesh Of My Skin Blood Of My Blood LP
2025 restock. LP version. "Often called reggae's 'Dark Prince,' Keith Hudson was one of the genre's most innovative left-of-center producers and vocalists, often mentioned in the same breath as Lee Scratch Perry. Hudson's fourth album, Flesh Of My Skin, Blood Of My Blood, was released in 1974 to critical reception in London, paving the way for his future success and setting a foundation for his creative legacy. Compared favorably at the time to the work of Bob Marley & The Wailers, Hudson's sound was edgy and subversive, perfectly in tune with the punky reggae zeitgeist about to take over the world. This meticulous remaster of the original Mamba pressing includes three tracks not on the original, plus extensive liner notes from Hudson biographer Vincent Ellis, combining to make this the definitive release of an obscure reggae classic."
2025 repress; LP version. Includes download card and original four-page insert with lyrics and line-up. Wewantsounds continues their Akiko Yano reissue program with the release of Japanese Girl, her landmark debut album from 1976. Backed by Little Feat with Lowell George and by top Japanese musicians (including Haruomi Hosono), Japanese Girl is one of the most important Japanese albums of the '70s, mixing pop, rock, and Japanese folk together with Little Feat's superb classic sound. After a marriage with musician/producer Makoto Yano and the birth of her son (Fuuta), Yano and her team resumed the recording of the album and decided to pitch Little Feat for a collaboration as she loved the group. Against all odds they said yes and Yano left Tokyo for Los Angeles in March 1976 to record a full side with them. The legend has it they found it so difficult to keep up with Yano's compositions they returned some of their fee. The session was nevertheless stunning and Lowell George even compared Yano to Stevie Wonder. The Little Feat blend of New Orleans groove matched Yano's melodies perfectly, as witnessed on "Funamachi-Uta Part ". Originally a traditional song from The Nebuta Festival in her hometown of Aomori, the Little Feat version is a formidable slow-funk workout not dissimilar to their classic, "Spanish Moon", serving Yano's beautiful vocals and sense of groove to perfection. The whole side is a match made in heaven, showcasing the classic Little Feat line up at their funkiest with Yano's unique Japanese twist. The Japanese side on the album gives a great snapshot of the Tokyo music scene of the '70s with many musicians gravitating around Haruomi Hosono and also several musicians from Japanese band, The Moonriders. Recorded at the legendary Onkyo Haus studio in Tokyo, the sessions mix singer-songwriter sensitivity and pop with traditional Japanese sounds and instruments like the shinobue transverse flute, the koto string instrument, or the Tsuzumi hand drum as played on "Hekoriputaa" by the legendary percussionist Kisaku Katada who was appointed Living National Treasure by the Japanese state in 1999; together they create a beautiful east-meets-west mix masterfully driven by Yano's creativity and unique talent. First international release. Remastered sound.
2025 repress; double vinyl version. Walls is the fifth full-length album for Apparat. Despite its title, Walls isn't about dividing lines. Instead, it describes a circle that pulls many elements together into a protected, enclosed space where they jostle and roam free: strings and mallet instruments; rock guitar and gravelly sawtooth synths; stuttering digital percussion and muscular studio drumming. Important guests and collaborators on this record include Telefon Tel Aviv's Josh Eustis, who did the album's final mixdown in Chicago, as well as the talented Raz Ohara, who contributes his smoky vocals. Apparat has melded his genius as a sound designer with his growing songwriting talents to craft songs brimming with ideas, energy, texture, light, color. They are hummable, embraceable, swimmable, possibly edible.
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Free Psychedelic Poster Inside LP
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Selected Recordings From Grapefruit 2LP
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