It's a miracle that some records ever get made. Right in the middle of Ceausescu's ultra-repressive dictatorship, composer Iancu Dumitrescu managed to arrange for his first LP, a compilation of radical new music by Dumitrescu and three of his Romanian colleagues, all older than him: Ocavian Nemescu, Stefan Niculescu, and Corneliu Cezar. Dumitrescu was -- and remains -- one of the most iconoclastic figures in contemporary music. Often referred to as a spectralist (though he distances himself from the approach taken by the French spectralists) and self-described as an adherent of "acousmatic" music (though again he situates himself at a remove from the French electroacoustic composers) and highly influenced by deep studies in phenomenology, Dumitrescu's music often focuses intensely on one sonorous object, penetrating it until it is entirely blown open. He formed Ansamblul Hyperion, a chamber group featuring adventurous young musicians, in 1976. Four years later, against all odds, in a radio studio in Bucharest, they recorded this groundbreaking compilation for Electrecord, the state record company. The program starts with one of Dumitrescu's most important works, the breathtaking, string-centric "Movemur et Sumus" (1978), translated from the Latin as "move and exist." Nemescu's "Combinatii In Cercuri" (1965) was composed for the ensemble together with an electronic component that was added to the piece in 1980. Composed in 1979, Niculescu's "Sincronie" features Dumitrescu himself on piano, as well as conducting, as he does on all the works; written for an indeterminate number of performers between two and twelve (here featuring nine) it utilizes fixed elements in the score together with openly improvised elements, expanding from a core vibraphone part to encompass an almost ecstatic meditation on stasis and motion. Cezar's work "Rota" (1976) combines Romanian, Balkan, and other Eastern melodic resonances with electronics (some of them startlingly video-game-like) and preparations on various instruments, lending an ear to the natural sounds of wind, waves, and seagull calls. This historically charged document, released in 1981 in Romania and available for the most part only there, has never been reissued in any form. Gorgeously remastered from the original tapes, it appears here with its original cover design.

"Originally released in 2011, Julianna Barwick's debut full length The Magic Place is a nine-piece full-length album of magic and solace, bursting joy, and healing tones. Julianna's mostly acapella music is built from her multi-tracked and looped voice, with backing instrumentation, but it's the vocals -- soaring high in reverb-drenched, wordless harmonies -- that matter most here. Layered fragments and pieces become an intricate pattern through electronics; it's the sound of a rising thing, a big group harmony as a splash of sunlight through a car window, a sound that feels like hope and ascendance and patience and intimacy. Out of print for years, this 2024 version has been fully remastered by Heba Kadry, and is available through Julianna's Florid Recordings, the imprint she started in 2006 to self-release her earliest recordings. There's a very particular joy in listening to Barwick's music. Free of the constraints of narrative and traceable language, it's the same joy in giving yourself over to opera in a foreign language, of letting go of your pesky rational mind and allowing the feeling to come through in the voices and performance. The title track is next, a reverb-y beauty queen that soars to Promethean heights and builds its own kind of safe haven in the clouds. Even the gaps between songs are essential to the album's listening experience -- a sigh between stories or silence-as-drone, each second important. The New York Times called the pauses between Julianna's songs, 'the small pleasure of a chance to breathe between the greater pleasures of not wanting to have to.' Meet The Magic Place."

"The Magic Place is music for a specific constellation of feelings. They are real, many people share them, and this album owns them completely." --Pitchfork Best New Music 2011

Corbett vs. Dempsey presents And Yeah So (1981-1985), the first ever compilation by Splat! Emerging amid the primo froth of the British post-punk era, Splat!'s lineup included vocalist Dave Parsons, the mastermind behind Ron Johnson Records. The band released its only 7-inch single as the label's maiden record, going on to follow up with a 12-inch EP. These (plus one track on a compilation) were the sum total official output, but the band was active and made loads of fantastic, high-octane, often hilarious and off-kilter recordings, the best of which are collected here, together with their full discography, and made available on CD for the first time. Nineteen tracks that give truth to the title "Jugular Blowjob," a heavy heap of blessed mess that kicks the whole comp off. Dave Parsons tells the full Splat! story: "Splat! were four, sometimes five, misfits from a small town halfway between Nottingham and Derby in the middle of England. Influenced by the likes of the Pop Group, PiL, The Fall, and the Birthday Party but also by all the punk stuff that they had experienced when they were fifteen years old or so. The band played mainly in the local area and got a good reputation for messy live shows that often ended in blood and tears (and some sweat). The band was around in 1982 -- after some pre-incarnations in 1980 and 1981 -- Paul Walker, drums (17 years old), Dave Parsons, voice (19 years old), John Allsopp, guitar (19 years old), Mark Grebby (bass, 20 years old) was the main lineup. A single was recorded at Cargo Studios. The first Splat! single did okay -- it sold most of its pressing of 1000 -- there was an interview in Sounds and John Peel played it a couple of times and plans went ahead for the second release. The 12" EP (RON2) came out in 1984 and did much the same. Soon after that the band split up, with some recorded but unreleased material (some of which is here for the first time in physical form). Dave continued Ron Johnson and the label had considerable artistic/critical success from 1984 to 1988 with Big Flame, A Witness, Stump, the Shrubs, MacKenzies, The Ex, etc. gaining the label a reputation for angular post-Beefheartian guitar noise-pop.

2024 repress. LP version. Currently based in Los Angeles, Laurel Halo has spent over a decade stepping into different towns and cities for a moment or more, to the point where everywhere almost became nowhere. Atlas, the debut release on her new imprint Awe, is an attempt to put that feeling to music. Using both electronic and acoustic instrumentation, Halo has created a potent set of sensual ambient jazz collages, comprised of orchestral clouds, shades of modal harmony, hidden sonic details, and detuned, hallucinatory textures. The music functions as a series of maps, for places real and imaginary, and for expressing the unsaid. The process of writing Atlas began back in 2020 when she reacquainted herself with the piano. She relished the piano's physical feedback, as well as its capacity to express emotion and lightness. And when the legendary Ina-GRM Studios in Paris invited her to take up a residency the following year in 2021, she spared no time to dub, stretch and manipulate some of the simple piano sketches she'd recorded over the prior months; these subtle piano recordings and electronic manipulations would go on to become the heart of Atlas. In the remainder of 2021 and 2022, with time spent between Berlin and London, Halo recorded additional guitar, violin and vibraphone, as well as acoustic instrumentation from friends and collaborators including saxophonist Bendik Giske, violinist James Underwood, cellist Lucy Railton, and vocalist Coby Sey. All of these sounds were shaped, melted, and re-composed into the arrangements, their acoustic origins rendered uncanny. In short, Atlas is road trip music for the subconscious. With repeated listens, it is a record that can leave a deep sensorial impression on the listener, akin to walking at dusk in a dark forest. Its humor and sharp focus would dispel any notions of sentimentality. Completely distinct from the rest of Halo's catalog, Atlas is an album that thrives in the quietest places, rejecting bombast and embracing awe. Fitting that it's the debut release on her new recording label, whose slogan parallels the mood and atmosphere of the album: Awe is something you feel when confronted with forces beyond your control: nature, the cosmos, chaos human error, hallucinations.

2024 repress. Be With Records present a reissue of Jay Richford and Gary Stevan's Feelings, originally released in 1974. Since its original release on Italian label Carosello in 1974, Richford and Stevan's Feelings has been described as the greatest library record ever released more than once. It's a tough funk, street jazz masterpiece coveted for many years by collectors of all musical genres. As the story goes, these were the pseudonyms adopted by Stefano Torossi and Giancarlo Gazzani who wrote the album but couldn't use their real names on the original release for legal reasons. But Torossi himself later both clarified and confused the tale further by explaining that fellow composers and musicians Sandro Brugnolini and Puccio Roelens also worked on Feelings. Infectiously funky, deliciously melodic and with impeccable, elegant production, Feelings record is the showcase for a stunning set of compositions and arrangements and with performances that are nothing short of virtuoso. The record's first side lifts off with "Flying High", soaring brilliant and shimmering with funk licks, menacing strings, and swaggering horns. The string-drenched cop-funk of "Going Home" raises the tempo with quick-fire bass lines and killer electric guitar. "Walking In The Dark" positively drips in blaxploitation-funk drama strings and horn struts, all laced with delicate drums, velvet piano, and more filthy wah-wah. "Fighting For Life" is another funk-fueled workout built around an effortlessly relentless drum track. The loping, open drum break that guides the much-loved "Feeling Tense" is filled out by heavy bass gloss, swirling strings, and ominous horns. "Running Fast" is a fine rollicking chase theme underpinned by frenetic (yet funky) Fender Rhodes and skipping bass and drums. "Loving Tenderly" envelops you in warm, velvety night-time vibes with easy listening horns and slinky strings. The pace picks up on the electrifying "Fearing Much" where strings dart around deep bass, buzzing guitars, and another funky drum break. The lush, melancholic "Being Friendly" is another easy beauty, all warm Rhodes and strings. The climactic "Having Fun" rides a pulsating, bass-heavy drum break with snatches of a funky guitar refrain, some luxurious keys, sweeping strings, and triumphant horns. Groove-laden bass, irrepressible horns, sweet flute lines, warm Rhodes, lush string arrangements, blaxploitation-styled wah-wah guitars and more make Feelings one of the finest instrumental soul LPs of the '70s, if not of all time. Remastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman. Remastered from the original tapes.

LP version. Cités Analogues was the first album released by Lightwave's core duo Christoph Harbonnier and Christian Wittman. Recorded between April and May 1988, and edited and produced in July 1988, Cités Analogues was then distributed through the alternative scene as a cassette. After the experiments and improvisations of their first tape, "Modular Experiments," recorded with Serge Leroy, Lightwave opted for a concept album, comprising of a series of discrete compositions and atmospheres assembled into two continuous tracks. The album was both recorded and mixed live, using a Revox B77 and an Allen & Heath 12/2 mixer. As such the different passages of this album captured the experience of Lightwave's performances, in which Harbonnier and Wittman played off each other with sympathetic improvisations. The instrumentation consists mainly of analog synthesizers, including several modular systems (RSF, ARP, Roland, Oberheim), while the sequences and rhythms are driven by two Roland sequencers. Digital effects help to create an expansive stereo field, in which recordings of urban environments and tape processing form rich experimental punctuations. Cités Analogues is thus a seminal album for the Harbonnier-Wittman duo, laying the foundations for a musical collaboration that continues thirty-five years on, thanks to their complementary skills and sonic universes. Long overdue, this remastered reissue of Cités Analogues, produced by Christoph Harbonnier, documents an important stage in Lightwave's trajectory and reflects the kaleidoscope of their influences at the end of the '80s, encompassing the Berlin School, Brian Eno's ambient work, and a particularly French-style of electro-acoustic experimentation. All tracks composed and performed by Christoph Harbonnier and Christian Wittman at Malibu Studio, Parmain, France (1988). Remix and mastering: Christoph Harbonnie.

LP version. Twin Color marks the grand return of Murcof to producing a full-length album in all its glory and generosity, nearly two decades after the release of Cosmos in 2007. Celebrated for his classical, minimalist textures and unique soundscapes, Murcof has established himself as a master of modern ambient music alongside Tim Hecker, Alva Noto, and Johann Johannsson. With this new album, Murcof takes a bold step forward, embracing a distinctly cinematic and dystopian narrative influenced by the great science fiction films of the 1980s. This new direction immerses the listener in atmospheres that are at times dark, at times filled with nostalgic brightness, drawing inspiration from post-punk and synth-wave, while partially reconnecting with his early experiments with the Nortec Collective. Premiered at Mutek Montréal in August 2024, Twin Color is also an unprecedented audiovisual performance, created in collaboration with Simon Geilfus, based in Brussels, who has nourished and colored the album's production. This immersive performance, conceived in the IRCAM studios in Paris in 2022, unfolds the album's tracks against a backdrop of moving natural landscapes, as mysterious as they are fascinating, highlighted in the album's visual elements. This album reaffirms Murcof's unique sonic signature, blending analog synthesizers with modern production techniques to create a multisensory experience, propelling Murcof into an exciting new decade.

Fully remastered and licensed, limited to 500 copies. Reissued here for the first time, in an extended version, the UK reggae band Eclipse's only album, originally released on Ball Record in 1978. One of the best-kept secrets of the late '70s/mid '80s British reggae scene who, with Steel Pulse, competed for the title of best reggae band in Birmingham. The album includes these eight tracks plus both sides of the bands final single and a brace of previously unreleased tracks.

Rare and obscure dub roots reggae compilation, produced by Clement Bushay in 1975 and released on Chalwa Records in 1978. Arranged by Alton Ellis and mixed by King Tubby. Recorded at King Tubby Studio, Kingston, JA and Chalk Farm, TMC, SWM Studios, UK. Featuring King Tubby, The Cimarons, Dennis Alcapone, Dave Barker, and I. Pablo. A must for every reggae fan!

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.

Chapter three of the successful compilation series. 14 modern kraut-electronic tracks (three of them exclusive and previously unreleased) inspired by Kraftwerk, Can, Neu!, Cluster, Klaus Schulze and many more. Curated and compiled by Compost artist Fred und Luna. As on Vol. 1 and 2, the collage on the cover was designed exclusively by the fantastic artist Norika Nienstedt from the Kraut metropolis of Düsseldorf. Rainer Buchmüller aka Fred und Luna sadly passed away in January 2024 after a long illness. He was a kind-hearted person, gifted artist, friend and companion. Compost mourns him deeply. A few days before his death, Rainer Buchmüller had along the track listing for Volume 3 (and already ideas for Volume 4), with the request to publish this posthumously, he would be very happy if his fans and all those who will be would receive a "sign of life' from him. It's not at all easy or basically impossible to describe the term "Kraut" stylistically. Nevertheless, Compost Records and Fred und Luna embark on a journey through time to discover the different elements of German electronic music from the 1970s and 1980s and their impact on the more recent German and global music scene. After the great success of Volumes 1 and 2, Volume 3 follows on stylistically from its predecessor and -- as this is one of the basic ideas of the series -- gradually expands the musical spectrum with new krauty elements. Black 2LP with black inner sleeves. Includes three exclusive and unreleased tracks. Featuring Fred und Luna, Philipp Johann Thimm, Niklas Wandt, Christian Nainggolan, Von Spar, Harmonious Thelonious, Benoit B, Salvage Art, Die Orangen, Puma & The Dolphin, Twoonky, Sula Bassana, and Organza Ray.

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.

LP version. Peter Gall, drummer of Web Web, one of the most accomplished and sought-after German jazz drummers, releases his second solo album. An intense work full of passion for modal jazz, fusion and improvisation. Full support from Gilles Peterson. With highly virtuoso, prominent guests: Wanja Slavin, Rainer Böhm, Reinier Baas, Matthias Pichler, and a live tour in winter and spring 2025. In 2018, Peter Gall's sensational debut album Paradox Dreambox saw the light of day. What began as an experiment became a strong musical statement that met with an enthusiastic response in the jazz world and led to successful tours with a fantastic band. Now finally comes the long-awaited second album: on Love Avatar, the Berliner-by-choice, who was born in Bad Aibling in Southern Bavaria, continues his search for new musical galaxies and paradoxes, emotional eruptions, irresistible grooves and the unreal, the supernatural and the love in music. Love Avatar by Peter Gall and his colleagues is richer, more complex, but also more focused and consistent than its predecessor. Mystical, hotblooded and biting, multidimensional and, above all, with a great focus on rousing grooves. It is somehow not a pure jazz album, there are too many parallel worlds for that. Nevertheless, jazz, the unpredictable, blind interaction and the courage to take risks play the most important role in this conglomerate of post-bop, fusion, baião, anthemic indie rock, melancholy synth spheres and hypnotizing beats.

Anglo-Norwegian ensemble celebrating the work of Nordic poet, Nils Christian Moe-Repstad. With Jan Bang (live sampling, samples and programming, synthesizer), Michael Francis Duch (double bass), Erik Honoré (live sampling, synthesizer), David Toop (paper, cardboard, leaves, friction, activated objects, air, aerophones, bone conduction, cassettes, vibration, voice), and Mark Wastell (tam tam, gongs, sticks, beaters). Recorded live at Punkt, Kristiansand on 31 August 2023.

Pittsburgh's feral punks Snarling Dogs return to bite the hand that feeds them with their debut self-titled LP Snarling Dogs. This unhinged offering kicks out 11 revved-up, slobbering 77-esque punk tracks that will have wasted, spikey punks diving into the pit never to return. Songs like "Nothing Left" are charged and chock full of hits sounding like a demented mix of Raw Power era Stooges with the speed and aggression of The Damned or The Dead Boys. The record expands from there with songs like "Hour at a Time" -- a locked in dirgy, psychedelic stroll through crime ridden city streets. From there songs like "Enemy" rip through the void with manic energy- fast, raw and visceral almost stepping into early hardcore territory. While the record has these intense dynamic shifts, Snarling Dogs glue it all together with their cohesive live rock n roll energy. Snarling Dogs is the perfect escape from the mundanity of life. Chug that 40 oz on your lunch break, smoke that entire pack of cigs, and take a piss on your boss's car. There are two dogs in you. Now it's time to set the Snarling Dog free.

A gas generator, a hi-fi system, a semi-abandoned house, and 20 hastily printed flyers. That's how, almost without realizing it, Lapsus was born in 2004. Over the course of two decades, the label has ridden a rollercoaster of emotions: from soaring epiphanies, convinced that nothing could stop them, to moments of near defeat when they almost threw in the towel. Making a career out of music is not exactly choosing the easy path. But epic tales aside, today Lapsus look back with pride at having created something that is genuine. To celebrate Lapsus' journey and what lies ahead -- and also keeping an eye on what is yet to come -- Lapsus has gathered some of the artists who have joined along the way, musicians they consider friends and for whom they have the deepest admiration. In a way, VINT (Catalan for "twenty") is like a sonic photo album, a tracklist that tells Lapsus' story better than they could themselves, a collection of unreleased music that celebrates the fact that they've made it this far. Leading this outstanding compilation are forward-thinking producers, with contributions from some of the most respected names in cutting-edge electronic music: CLARAGUILAR, GAZZI, Kettel, Kode9, Le Motel, Lord Of The Isles, Marina Herlop, naemi, Nueen, Pépe, Plaid, Seph, Simo Cell, Suzanne Ciani, Wordcolour, and µ-Ziq.

Teatro Del Metapresente is the debut album by La Nuit Je Mens, a duo hailing from the Parisian suburbs and southern Italy. Now based in Rome, the two artists have crafted a striking sound that merges their DIY ethos with raw, unfiltered energy. Driven by synthetic, minimalist rhythms created on a fleet of analog machines, the seven tracks pay homage to the sound of the '80s -- yet entirely forward-looking and embracing the dancefloor modernity. Blending genres such as EBM, synth-pop and minimal-cold-wave, paired with French vocals, the album delves into themes of underground activities, the slow decay of the club scene and the depths of emotional yearning. Released on the Berlin-Basel-based label Reach Another System, Teatro Del Metapresente follows the previously released 7" and reinforces the duo's own sound and unique identity.

Neue Grafik (known to friends as Fred) has successfully transplanted from Parisian rookie to one-man London Institution. Beginning as a solo producer and DJ, Fred spread his wings upon relocating to South London -- at first with his Neue Grafik Ensemble and later with his now iconic twice-weekly Orii Jam -- the latter of which has given agency to an entire new generation of musicians; spawning an aesthetic, nurturing a unique sound and becoming a launchpad for countless artists. Dalston Tape Vol. 1 is Fred's attempt to fall back in love with beatmaking -- taking it back to the roots of where the project began. Since his early MPC-led productions on Parisian label, Beat X Changers, Fred has learnt to play the keys to a concert hall standard, he has become proficient in double bass and built up a dense network of collaborators who he has composed, recorded, engineered and produced for both at home in SE London and in the iconic Total Refreshment Centre Studios in Dalston. This experience adds unavoidable dimensions to his toolbox -- resulting in something more akin to a miniature-magnum-opus than a simple beat-tape. Yes, there are the influences of Pete Rock, Mad Lib, J Dilla, and Al Dobson Jr, but there is also the musicality of D'Aneglo, James Blake, and live contributions from an ever-growing army of young graduates of the Orii School. Featuring Brother Portrait, Max Mckenzie, and Selina Jones.

On Ghadr, Sandy Chamoun, Anthony Sahyoun and Jad Atoui play with chaos. Built on group improvisation, surges of coruscating electronics and distortion meld with vocals that, while stemming from a background in classical Arabic singing, seek to reroute tradition. The album, whose title imperfectly translates to "Treachery," began on a residency in Switzerland while the trio were touring Europe (Chamoun solo, Atoui and Sahyoun as their duo NP). It was later finished in their home city of Beirut. The five tracks are built on vibrant circuits of guitar and modular synthesis, the former often acting as a trigger for the latter's volatile output. Chamoun's vocals blend her background in classical Arabic music with free-singing, using tradition as a foundation for exploration rather than standards to follow. Apart from "Hayawanon Ghader (treacherous animal)," all the songs' lyrics pull from the archive. About the album's title, Chamoun explains: "On this planet, the only thing that's happening now is treachery. It's the headline of our days." Terror in Gaza, its shockwaves through the Middle-East and its place in longer histories loom over the record. However, while Ghadr reflects the present moment, it isn't consumed by it. The trio agree the album reflects tenderness as much as anger. It's audible in the effortless swings between abstract and soaring. The way Chamoun's lyrics put ninth century odes to a bird and ancient Bedouin love songs next to personal reflections by Al-Domouky or Chaoul on real world tragedies. Sonically and lyrically Ghadr is music of possibility and potential. The five tracks travel through unbounded terrain rather than along fixed paths. While the record reflects their state of mind as residents of Lebanon, and the uncertainty that entails, Sahyoun suggests they're striving to reach beyond it. Ghadr is the first release under the name Chamoun/Sahyoun/Atoui, but the trio's connection is deeply rooted. Sahyoun and Chamoun are members of ecstatic rock collective Sanam. Atoui and Sahyoun's explorations of synthesis, solo and as NP, are long-running. On Ghadr these histories form something new. A charged record which faces the world as it is while offering glimpses of something else.

A limited-edition 4CD box set released to coincide with the cult shoegaze label's 20th anniversary. It features 62 tracks, many of which are previously unreleased, plus rare remixes, showstopping live recordings and a shoegaze Christmas compilation. Includes Slowdive, Andy Bell (Ride), Emma Anderson (Lush), bdrmm, Whitelands and deary, plus remixes by Andrew Weatherall, James Holden, David Holmes, Daniel Avery, and many more. Across the four discs, the box set tells the story of Sonic Cathedral from its humble beginnings as a club night in 2004 to its present-day position at the center of the never-ending shoegaze revival, after playing a huge part in repopularizing the once maligned genre over the past two decades. Also featuring Pye Corner Audio, The Early Years, Mark Peters, Dot Allison, Cheval Sombre, Neil Halstead, Mildred Maude, Yeti Lane, Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, Horsegirl, Three Quarter Skies, Moon Diagrams, Not Me But Us, MOLLY, XAM Duo, Disappears, Sennen, Dean Wareham, Younghusband, Spectres, A Place To Bury Strangers, Fairewell, Dawn Chorus And The Infallible Sea, and Maps.

Though allegedly a Texas native, Milton Davis first recorded in Los Angeles in 1967 as a member of the Four Tempos. When that act split, he trekked up the coast in stages, eventually settling in Portland. Here he secured the lead vocal role for local scene heroes, Slickaphonic. Though a full album of their own was taped, another reel of material was cut centered on Milton as a solo artist. Neither set of tracks saw release in their day, but from the latter collection Soul7 has pulled a bona fide 1977 disco-soul smasher and a mid-tempo flipside with a sheen that belies its depth. First time ever on 7" 45, dinked center hole with picture sleeve, 500 numbered copies only.

Singer Andy Stokes, billed as the "Northwest King of Soul Music," may have recently worked with such industry luminaries as Snoop Dogg but, way back in the late '70s, he was fronting a hopeful Jazz-Funk group struggling to break into even just the Oregon circuit. Despite boasting members from internationally successful acts like Fantasy Records' own Pleasure, Lights Out never saw their one demo -- cut in 1982 for the well-established Solar Records -- even get a promo pressing. Two of the tightest and busiest of their dancefloor wreckers from the session now grace their only 7" to date. Important note: The B Side is entitled "Surrender Your Love" and not "Take It" as printed on the label.

With this second record, Shoko Igarashi unveils a new genre called Onsen Music. Each track invites you on a relaxing journey, much like soaking away your troubles in the steamy hot waters of a traditional Japanese spa (Onsen). The variety of songs mimic the variety of onsens, some are salty and scorching, some are smooth and clear, some are bubbly and colorful, and others are a refreshing dip into crisp clear waters. In every instance, there's a sense of satisfaction as soothing and delightful as the tracks themselves. This ode to "relax," while remaining irresistibly danceable, is filled with good vibrations, melodies and hooks that go straight to the heart, saxophone playing virtuosity, intricate electronic compositions, vocals that make listeners dream of new worlds, and beats that could keep them on a dancefloor all night long. Shoko Igarashi was born in Yamagata Prefecture, Tsuruoka city, Japan. An accomplished tenor saxophonist, she is also a versatile flautist and plays alto and soprano saxophone fluently. She has already made her mark as both an arranger and a composer. Shoko grew up surrounded by dreamlike landscapes of abundant nature in the snowy countryside of Tsuruoka, a mysterious and surreal region renowned for producing the best quality rice in Japan, where she says, "the water and the air feel the purest," and where mountains and shrines overflow with ancient mysticism. For fans of: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yellow Magic Orchestra.

"The myths of our Western tradition have often captivated me, whether they be Greek, Roman, or Judeo-Christian. Myths are a transcendent collective narrative; a buried memory, not intellectual but spiritual, alive to all the senses of another world. These stories often describe forbidding passages guarded by terrifying monster-like creatures, which, if conquered, give access to other planes. Door 1 Door 2 are two of these planes, opening to prophecy and kingship." --Christopher Chaplin

Following the release of his powerful and dark album trilogy Je suis le Ténébreux, Paradise Lost, and M, British avant-garde composer Christopher James Chaplin unveiled his latest project in 2021: Patriarchs (FAB 094LP), released to critical acclaim. This project is a musical exploration of the Antediluvian patriarchs, from Adam to Noah, and is another captivating and daring work of art that straddles experimental electronic music and the avant-garde. Chaplin also been wowed audiences with his live performances, releasing the concert album Patriarchs Live to shorten the wait for his newest studio album Door 1 Door 2. It is another powerful work of art, located between electronic music and avant-garde. Once again, Christopher Chaplin breaks genre boundaries and manages to condense experimental and colorful electronics in chamber music in a unique way, transporting the listener into mental and spatiotemporal intermediate states. A completely unique musical microcosm that can also be experienced in his impressive solo live performances.

Restocked. Vivid peyote-induced psychedelia from Texas sounding like an impossible meld between the Elevators and the Velvet Underground but possessing a strongly unique disposition. Recorded in 1970 but never released at the time, featuring future members of Roky Erickson's backing band Bleib Alien/The Aliens. Formed in Austin in the late 1960s by visionary lyricist and autoharp player Billy Bill Miller and his friend Tom McGarrigle on guitar, Cold Sun evolved from a band called Cauldron (later Amethyst) which at one point featured drummer John Kearney from Roky Erickson's first band The Spades. Miller, a proto-Goth figure always dressed in black, highly influenced by Joe Meek and vintage sci-fi/horror movies, started to experiment with weird noises out of his electrified autoharp, favoring the audio-oriented drug mescaline over the LSD associated with hippies. Amethyst jammed with musicians such as Benny Thurman from the 13th Floor Elevators and Steve Webb from the Lost And Found. It was through Mike Waugh's friendship with Elevators drummer John Ike Walton that Billy Miller and the band hooked up with the local label/studio Sonobeat, who expressed interest in recording an album with the intention to shop it to a major label: thus, the now-legendary Cold Sun album was born. The band, driven by Miller's strange electrified autoharp sounds plus the massive fuzz guitar of McGarrigle, dressed with feedback and futuristic lyrics, laid down several tracks in between rehearsals at Miller's house on Castle Hill (west Austin). Never released at the time, the Cold Sun album languished in oblivion and the musicians moved on to other things. It wasn't until 1990 that the Cold Sun album was finally released on vinyl by the Rockadelic label (in a tiny edition of 300 copies), followed by a new edition on German label World In Sound in 2008, now out of print. For this new edition, Guerssen tried to imagine how the Cold Sun album could have looked like if it had been actually released in 1970. It comes in a hard cardboard sleeve with vintage styled artwork by psychedelic illustrator Callum Rooney. Sourced from the same audio master as the original Rockadelic LP, the sound has been vastly improved thanks to the meticulous and careful restoration/remastering by audiophile engineer Ezra Lesser, who has also penned the definitive story of Cold Sun for the liner notes.

Dutch-Surinamese multi-instrumentalist Ronald Snijders presents new album Penta via Night Dreamer. A jazz heavyweight who draws Latin, Brazilian and Surinamese influences into dialogue with the electric sound of Weather Report, Snijders released four albums between 1977 and 1983 that have become holy grails of deep, forward-thinking fusion. Over forty years, 50 releases and 5,000 compositions later, Penta represents a statement return from an unsung jazz great ready to pick up his dues. Recorded direct-to-disc at Artone Studio, with a stellar cast of European musicians, new album Penta fizzes and sparks with the ingenuity of Snijders' flute chops, tight interplay and a palette that spans synths, clavinet, Fender Rhodes, electric bass and sax. A seamless fusion of rhythms, influences and improvisation, Penta has the class of a golden-era jazz-funk record, with the energy and verve of an in-the-pocket live band. Born in Suriname and son of renowned composer and orchestra leader Eddy Snijders, Ronald Snijders made his name in the Netherlands -- his 1977 debut album Natural Sources a remarkable and radical feat of self-determination. Released on his own label, Black Straight Records, the album featured only original compositions, for which Snijders played all the instruments, produced and mixed the album himself. Bucking the expectation that Surinamese or Caribbean musicians should only make party records, Snijders blazed a trail, cutting his second LP, A Safe Return in similarly independent circumstances in 1980. Working with a band for 1981's Black Straight Music and 1983's Quartz, Snijders crafted a discography that will be reissued by Night Dreamer to accompany the release of Penta, all transferred from the original master tapes. Although both Snijders and his father have been knighted for their services to music in the Netherlands, with Ronald receiving the country's most prestigious jazz award, The Boy Edgar Prize, in 2022, his work has been largely obscured to the international jazz audiences. An exposition of Snijders' virtuosic range and beguiling compositional prowess, Penta traces musical trajectories from Suriname to Europe and back again to fuse a sound that is both timeless and original in equal measure.

2024 repress. "It was early in 2019 -- no, November 2018! -- that Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin met at Studio Rymden, in a quiet, pretty suburban district of Stockholm, to make the music that became Ghosted. They can't remember exactly when it was made because that time -- the when and where that it was recorded -- doesn't really matter anymore. Now the music of Ghosted exists in the intention of a shared moment of playing, a clearly delineated time, put forth with a steady flow of small details on bass, guitar and drums, in a remarkable display of rhythmic flexibility within a minimal framework. Oren and Johan have met many times onstage and off since 2003, with several duo recordings to their credit, as well as additional encounters in the group Fire! with Mats Gustafsson and drummer Andreas Werliin. A while back, Oren and Johan decided to reconvene in the studio for a furthering of the thought process that they'd come to on the second Ambarchi/Berthling collaboration, 2015's Tongue Tied. As Andreas had mixed that session, it felt right to have him on kit -- he'd already been intimately involved in the process. The music they all play together in Fire! is, to put it mildly, loud. This session, they sensed an opportunity to explore different dynamics -- to tap, perhaps, a shared inner ECM space. Studio Rymden sits on an upper floor of the building it's located in, and the light coming through the windows was pleasant on that day. They set up, picked out some amps (including the best-sounding Leslie speaker Oren's ever heard) and got started. Rooting in the rich tonality and repeating figures of Johan's acoustic (and sometimes electric) bass, the four tracks that make up Ghosted act as variations on a theme, unspooling continuously over the course of 39 minutes with the terse flow of krautrock jams -- closely observed percussive riffs and repetitions that build continuously with subtle shifts as they move forward, with the small details flying expansively in and out across the stereo spectrum. Oren's guitar often sounds with an organ-like tone, with notes of fire and glass wafting out over the percolation and permutation in Johan and Andreas' rhythms..."

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."

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

Rose Tang has previously been heard on ESP-Disk in the band ATTITUDE!, whose album Pause & Effect came out in 2021 (ESPDISK 5048LP). She writes: "There was a school of philosophy in ancient China whose core theory stems from a debate entitled 'A White Horse Is Not a Horse.' In a book by Gongsun Long (公孫龍 320-250BC, about 200 years after Confucius) in the Warring States Period, two persons argue if a white horse is a horse: the protagonist argues it is not, because 'white' is the color of a (particular) horse while a 'horse' is a shape and a generic term. It's a linguistic/logical paradox, or sophistry. Ridiculed by his contemporary philosophers and forgotten for centuries, Gongsun is now considered the only philosopher in ancient China who delved into logic and philosophy of language. I was about 12 when my artist father first told me about the debate. He's painted many horses, especially white horses. Long before I discovered I'm a Mongol, I had always loved horses. Funny, my high school politics (Maoism/Marxism) teacher nicknamed me 'Wild Horse Running off the Reins.' That's how I see myself when playing music. Music offers instant and countless ways of freeing myself and connecting with people and the multiverse. It's all about following the qi, the energy, the flow. It's like cooking or making love, with senses and feelings all out in the open, without thinking. Improvising in a group is the most democratic activity. And all sounds are equal -- birds, traffic, construction, the ocean, kids -- all music to my ear. All instruments are my toys (some are indeed my daughter's toys). For every instrument I play, I feel the physical and spiritual connections with them. Ask not what your instrument can do for you, ask what you can do for your instrument. I look for the sounds that an instrument isn't 'supposed' to make. Music is the most abstract art form and the closest to the truth, yet it's the most institutionalized. My slogan is 'Learn through play. Play by ear. Fuck the rest!' So here it is, just some Weird Shit, music that is not music. A white horse is not a horse." All music improvised by Rose Tang and Patrick Golden. Recorded by Jim Clouse at Park West Studios, Brooklyn, on August 28, 2024.

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."

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.