Sought-after compilation exploring the Group Sound movement that swept Japan in the mid-1960s. Under the influence of the Beatles, dozens of Japanese bands devoted themselves to exporting a wide genre that ranged from surf-rock, garage fuzz, psych and wild R&B. Featuring the influential The Mops, the Filipino band (relocated to Hong Kong) D'Swooners, The Golden Cups, The Beavers, The Carnabeats, The Spiders, The Voltage, The Bunnys, and The Spiders.

In 1961, a giant awoke in South Central Los Angeles: a musically radical, deep-rooted, politically engaged band, its members drawn from the community it represented and served, and its music composed by them alone -- The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. The brainchild of pianist and composer Horace Tapscott, the Arkestra was intended to preserve Black music, nurture Black musicians, and above all contribute positively to community building in South Central LA. 60 Years celebrates six decades of his radical and uplifting musical and social vision. Digging deep into the Arkestra's archives, the album gathers breath-taking unreleased material, including previously unheard compositions, from every stage of the band's development -- from Tapscott's earliest iterations of the group, recording at home in 1961, to the current incarnation of the band, led by the new generation of young musicians. Tapscott passed on in 1999, but the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra was built to outlast him: over more than half a century it has stayed true to its roots and to Tapscott's vision, welcoming multiple generations of players into its fold, and celebrating their music. And with current leader Mekala Session -- son of the Arkestra's veteran altoist Michael Session -- at the helm, the Ark is still going strong. 60 Years selects a song from every decade of its life, show-casing a musical family tree that includes renowned musicians such as Arthur Blythe, Dwight Trible, Phil Ranelin, Butch Morris, Kamau Daáood, Sonjia Maia Harper, Nate Morgan, Linda Hill, Adele Sebastian, Michael Session, Jesse Sharps and of course the late, great Horace Tapscott himself. Remastered from archival sources by the Arkestra's longstanding engineer Wayne Peet, 60 Years is presented by The Village -- a label operated by members of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. With archival photographs documenting the Arkestra's history, the album arrives with liner notes featuring track-by-track commentary from Arkestra members past and present. For decades, Tapscott's musical brilliance and the majesty of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra was almost unknown outside South Central. 60 Years is the sound of all this history emerging at last, and also of history in the making. To quote Zekkeraya El-Megharbel, Arkestra conductor and trombonist: "There's more to be said, but words feel like they don't do the job."

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.

New repress! "This compilation is dedicated to the memory of the late great 'Prince' Philip Smart -- the first apprentice of King Tubby and the first engineer at Tubby's studio besides Tubby himself. Alongside Tubby, Philip was integral to the innovation that took place at Tubby's studio in the mid-1970s, where the mixing of new roots reggae revolutionized the sound of Jamaican music and created styles and techniques that are still being echoed today, nearly 50 years later. Though rarely credited on records in comparison to Tubby, Philip also mixed a lot of the paramount music produced by those close associates of Tubby's studio such as Bunny Lee, Yabby You, and Augustus Pablo. Philip was closely tied to Pablo due to their childhood friendship and was a partner in his stylistically significant early production works. In the early years of Tubby's studio, both men were making and cutting custom dubs there for their sound systems before starting to produce their own tunes from scratch, and Philip becoming the second chair engineer. Several of the songs on this compilation are a selection of the aforementioned work. All of the songs here are sourced from Philip's personal tape archive, and basically all of these mixes and versions have been scarcely if ever heard, and never released before. This double album comprises a rare and genuine glimpse into the dubplate workings of the inner circle of Tubby's studio in the mid-1970s, where the prime players and emerging giants of reggae music production and sound system versioned, remixed and voiced rhythms for custom and exclusive cuts. Some of the cuts heard here were formerly exclusive power plays on King Tubby's own legendary sound system, and unlike some previous issues of such material, these are genuine mixes done at the time. Some other tracks clearly exude the youthful enthusiasm of the participants. Rest in power Prince Philip Smart." --RB/DKR, Summer 2023

LP version. With their unpredictable live performances and songs such as "Zurück zum Beton" and "Industriemädchen," S.Y.P.H. caused a ruckus at the end of the '70s -- as one of the bands that began to write lyrics in German around Düsseldorf's Ratinger Hof (German '70s punk club equivalent to CBGB's, where D.A.F. originated). Right from the start, the band broke with genre-conformist expectations and borrowed from rock, punk and kraut just as much as from Dadaism and the reality of everyday life. Now, a reissue series sheds light on S.Y.P.H.'s first creative phase from 1977 to 1982. S.Y.P.H. formed in 1977 in Solingen and began playing concerts in nearby Düsseldorf. Initially clearly based on punk, the band's sound quickly developed and became increasingly difficult to categorize. In the intensive years that followed, S.Y.P.H.'s productions often featured guests from the Düsseldorf scene around Ratinger Hof or CAN's Holger Czukay. This is a collection of the band's early singles: four tracks - including "Industriemädchen" and "Europa" -- were originally released in 1979 on the EP Viel Feind, viel Ehr. Thirteen further tracks -- including "Falsche Freunde" and "Knudelblues II" -- were released in 1982 as Der Bauer im Parkdeck. Three further songs are unreleased.

LP version. With their unpredictable live performances and songs such as "Zurück zum Beton" and "Industriemädchen," S.Y.P.H. caused a ruckus at the end of the '70s -- as one of the bands that began to write lyrics in German around Düsseldorf's Ratinger Hof. Right from the start, the band broke with genre-conformist expectations and borrowed from rock, punk and kraut just as much as from Dadaism and the reality of everyday life. Now, a reissue series sheds light on S.Y.P.H.'s first creative phase from 1977 to 1982. Pure Freude Singles includes previously unreleased songs. S.Y.P.H. formed in 1977 in Solingen and began playing concerts in nearby Düsseldorf. Initially clearly based on punk, the band's sound quickly developed and became increasingly difficult to categorize. In the intensive years that followed, S.Y.P.H.'s productions often featured guests from the Düsseldorf scene around Ratinger Hof or CAN's Holger Czukay. While around 1980, punk and Neue Deutsche Welle (German New Wave) were solidifying as supposedly clear-cut concepts, S.Y.P.H.'s music testified to the blurriness of genre boundaries: already on the first, self-titled LP, the band belts out short punky songs like "Zurück zum Beton" and "Lachleute und Nettmenschen," while the B-side surprises with more than ten-minute long Kraut-inspired pieces.

LP version. Als die Welt noch unterging ("When the world was still ending") is a chronicle of the emergence and development of punk and new wave in German-speaking countries from 1979 - 1984. The apocalyptic sentiment around 1980 gave punk and new wave the necessary push. It led to an incredible outburst of activity and creativity. Against the backdrop of the nuclear armament, nobody believed that this world would have a great future anymore -- so suddenly everything was allowed, regardless of the consequences. This is the subject of a book by German author Frank Apunkt Schneider, in which he unfolds the history of the New German Wave and the German punk underground right through to the regional, cassette and fanzine scenes. To mark the 20th-anniversary of this book, a compilation curated by the author brings this period back to life. Featuring Autofick, Carambolage, Siluetes 61, Hans-A-Plast, Kosmonautentraum, Holger Hiller, Die Zwei, Family 5 Tagein, Rassemenschen helfen armen Menschen, Lustige Mutanten, Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, Neues Deutschland, Die Egozentrischen 2, Male, Bärchen und die Milchbubis, Die Zimmermänner, The Wirtschaftswunder, Palais Schaumburg, Cretins, and Konstantin.

"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.

The dawn of psychedelic rock in Mexico, ten tracks introducing a worldwide-phenomena in the realm of the South American memory. A fascinating voyage led by cultish band La Revolución De Emiliano Zapata and several other nuggets-style combos. Originally released in 1971 the compilation was aptly titled La Onda, referring to a broader cultural and political movement. La Onda Chicana grew rapidly in a few years, culminating in a two days "Mexican Woodstock" known as "Avándaro," which attracted 300,000 people in September 1971. Featuring La Revolucion De Emiliano Zapata, Tinta Blanca, Javier Batiz, Rosario, La Tribu, La Tribu, La Quinta Vision, Los Clicks, Division Del Norte, and Poly Y Cia.

Massive free-from psych from the Japanese cult band, three long tracks almost approaching 55 minutes in pure controlled chaos. Formed by band leader Mizutani Takashi, their music remained remarkably familiar over the years, and is best described as high volume, raw lo-fi repetitive feedback-drenched guitar noise fests with nods in the direction of the Velvet Underground and Blues Creation.

Ultimo Tango (Milan) and Glossy Mistakes (Madrid) present the release of Tribal Organic: Deep Dive into European Percussions 79-90, a compilation of otherworldly percussion-driven tracks, digging deep into this unknown realm of a past era. Compiled by Luca Fiore and Glossy Mario, the album takes listeners on a rhythmic journey through the diverse sounds of Europe from 1979 to 1990. This collaboration between two like-minded labels highlights forgotten recordings from across Europe, including works by artists from France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, and more. Opening with the ethereal "Rainforest" by British female duo Ova, this collection weaves together nine tracks from artists who were deeply influenced by global percussion traditions. With hints of jazz, new age, gamelan, and West African rhythms, these tracks feature instruments like congas, tablas, and shekeres, and reflect a shared fascination with the organic beat of the drum. From the industrial-meets-African grooves of Jean-Michel Bertrand's "Engines," to the hypnotic accordion and tribal chants of Cuco Pérez's "Calabó Bambú," the compilation offers a cross-cultural listening experience that is both meditative and invigorating. Despite creating these works in isolation during the last years of the Cold War, each artist was inspired by a borderless world of sound. The compilation pays homage to these nomadic musicians who respected the traditions they drew from, while contributing their own experimental takes on percussion-led music. In Tribal Organic, Glossy Mario and Luca Fiore have unearthed a treasure trove of rhythm-driven tracks that blur the lines between nations, genres, and cultures. This compilation offers more than just music; it's a listening experience that is both spiritual and grounded -- bold, exploratory, and deeply rooted in the beat of the Earth. Also featuring Terry Keegan, Van Kampen, Votu, Four Drummers Drumming, Χόρες, Angklunk, and Cipriani One Man Band.

Repressed! Formed in 1977 by brothers Kim Chang-wan, Kim Chang-hoon and Kim Chang-ik, Sanullim are one of the fathers of Korean psychedelic rock. Evening Breeze is the first ever comp focused on their little known 1979-83 albums, selecting their most fuzzed-out, hard-psych-pop-funk (Korean style) tracks. Selected by (probably) Sanullim number one non-Korean fan Antoni Gorgues. Sourced from the original masters, featuring gatefold artwork designed by Spanish illustrator Mario Feal. Liner notes by Hugh Dellar and photos.

"Intervention Records presents its first jazz release, Bobby Bradford and his CuZns' Freddie Ain't Ready. Freddie Ain't Ready is about identity. It is about discovering, developing, and embracing who you are. Freddie was recorded live-to-two-track analog at Hollywood's legendary EastWest (formerly Western) Studios by Steve Genewick and Joe Harley. Custom Flux Magnetics head stacks were used, with no editing, limiting, or compression. Just the highest resolution delivery possible of live sound to your home. Mastering and lacquers are cut by Kevin Gray at CoHEARent Audio, and boutique press RTI delivers dead quiet 180G vinyl. No expense was spared, and laborious attention to detail ensured that the listener is transported into the studio and the creative experience. His discography is extensive and includes classics such as Ornette Coleman's Science Fiction and Broken Shadows. Additionally, he holds a B.M. from Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, Texas), and was a jazz educator of note at Pomona College (Claremont, California) for 44 years. This recording project was initiated when drummer-percussionist Garth Powell (Zen Widow, AudioQuest) proposed a performance with CuZns (Bobby Bradford and William Roper) on the long-time New Music Sunday's series hosted by Open Gate Theatre in Los Angeles. This was extremely well-received, and a grand time was had by all."

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.

Following a four-year hiatus from solo releases, the British musician Matt Karmil returns with the soft-focus gentle beauty and subtly stealthy beats of new LP, No Going Back. With inspired moments of creation happening incrementally, the album came together amidst a busy mixing/remixing/mastering/co-production schedule. Artists who've enlisted his multiple skills includes Bicep, Underworld, Mall Grab, Jayda G, DJ Koze, Neneh Cherry, Sofia Kourtesis, DJ Fett Burger, Matias Aguayo, and Carmen Villain. Feeling the benefits of this new approach, No Going Back is the strongest expression of Matt's artistic vision to date, honing the spectrum of styles for which he's renowned, all smudged together by a warm, gauzy haze. The microhouse anthem "SFP" is followed by the broken tech science of "No Going Back," the spectral dub techno spookiness of "Old Haunts" and the sublime misty shimmer of "The Last Time." Further switching things up is the oddball dancefloor experimentalism of "Still Something There," the washed-out electroid balm of "Things Really Happen," and the epic dark ambient closer "15 mins."

"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.