LP version. In 2019, Elephant9 released two double live albums, Psychedelic Backfire I and II, the latter with guest guitarist Reine Fiske, whose favorite guitarist happened to be Terje Rypdal. With both albums out of print, Catching Fire is a most welcome addition to their discography. Recorded at a remarkable concert from 2017 in Oslo, Rypdal would turn 70 later in the year. David Fricke makes some interesting references to classic live albums in his liner notes, and Rune Grammofon would like to add King Crimson´s underrated USA and numerous Pink Floyd 1970 live bootlegs into the equation, sharing the common energy level and sense of untamed intensity. That said, there are also stretches of calm at play here, especially in the 22-minute opener where Rypdal introduces himself with some trademark, glacier melodic lines. Rypdal is on fire throughout, adding some fierce rhythm work and abstract acrobatics from his toolbox. Ståle and Terje are sometimes so interlocked that it´s difficult to tell them apart. This is partly because the album is mixed to get a sense of being at the concert, by not overly trying to separate them, but primarily due to a common understanding stemming from Ståle being the guitarist´s "right hand" both in the studio and on stage for close to 30 years. Torstein and Nikolai is the most solid of rhythm sections, a well-oiled engine, finesse and power combined. Elephant9 established their reputation as a live powerhouse well before their album debut in 2008 and have since released six more studio albums as well as the live albums from 2019. Terje Rypdal´s musical history dates back to the early sixties as a teenage member of The Vanguards, and The Dream a few years later.
"Every copy of the November issue will come with a free CD of The Wire Tapper 66 attached to the cover. This latest edition of The Wire Tapper features a cover designed by Firpal and contains 16 new tracks by Boris Hauf, Rafael Anton Irisarri, and Niton. Featuring John Butcher, Masayoshi Fujita, Moor Mother, Schande, and more. On the cover: Marshall Allen. Inside the issue: Once Upon A Time In Lithuania, Frank Chickens, Water Damage. Invisible Jukebox: Pharmakon. Global Ear: Latvia. Unlimited Editions: Reading Group. Inner Sleeve: Eleni Poulou. Plus one page profiles of Kamilya Jubran, Flickers From The Fen, SEO, and Callahan & Witscher."
"Primitive Art Group 1981-1986 is presented on gatefold 2LP, and is a combination of the group's only two albums, consisting of one LP of Five Tread cuts plus 'Cecil Likes to Dance' a never-before-released live recording from Thistle Hall (1984) and the full 1985 LP Future Jaw-Clap. This material that has been unavailable since mid-1980s. It is well documented that in the early '80s, New Zealand was awash with adventurous new music. Though sharing the kind of happy isolation and the DIY ethic with contemporaneous outfits like Flying Nun, South Indies, and Xpressway, one band cut a decidedly different path. The Primitive Art Group, formed in Wellington, devoted itself to collective improvisation coming out of a jazz tradition. With the line-up of Anthony Donaldson (drums), David Donaldson (bass), Neil Duncan (saxes), Stuart Porter (saxes), David Watson (guitar), and originally with Pam Grey (on cello), the group's relatively brief existence left a lasting impression on the New Zealand's free music scene. Musically, there was no precedent in New Zealand for their combination of noise, collective playing and compositional freedom. The band's five-year lifespan was non-stop activity: rehearsing, touring, the creation of Braille Records (their own record label which released ten LPs), dance and theater work, appearances at music festivals, and hosting two hugely influential national festivals of improvisation at Thistle Hall, Wellington. In 1984, Primitive Art Group spent a week making their first recording, an ambitious double LP, Five Tread, which had only a single pressing and sold-out locally. One year later they were back in the studio making their second album, Future Jaw-Clap. This outing contained tighter pieces, as the band widened its repertoire with nods to broader influences and antecedents. In 1986, The Primitive Art Group gave their last concert at the Wellington Town Hall, just a half mile from Rawa House and the legendary Thistle Hall where their first shows had taken place. The band's Braille Records' recordings have never been released outside of New Zealand, nor have ever been available digitally. The group's brief tenure has continued to inspire new generations of improvisers, but nothing has ever quite matched the visceral blast of the Primitive Art Group's arrival on the scene. Every member of the group has carried on doing creative work at the highest levels: scoring films, making art, mentoring, organizing, touring and always playing."
Steve Leach's Balearic beach-funk beast Ocean Potion, recorded with the Crystal Grass Orchestra is an absolutely ace, Ned Doheny-adjacent funky AOR/blue-eyed soul BBQ classic from 1976. A French-only release on Philips, it's a hugely immediate, pop-funk firecracker. It features a wonderfully lush, full orchestral sound throughout, underpinning Steve's gorgeous voice and an army of brilliant backing vocalists. The supporting cast is phenomenal and is arguably the salient reason this is such a fantastic record. Featuring legendary players from the French scene (think Arpadys, Voyage, Kongas, CCPP, Giant, Swing Family) such as Don Ray with his arranger-conductor hat on as well as synths, Marc Chantereau on percussion, Slim Pezin on guitar, André Ceccarelli on drums, Christian Padovan on bass, and Pierre Halation on flute. With these snakes behind the scenes, it remains a mystery how Ocean Potion is so relatively unknown. Hopefully, this long overdue reissue rectifies this and puts a stop to people dropping $200 on it. Triumphant, horn-forward opener "The Light Of The Mind" has that uniquely Ned Doheny fidgety funk feel with a fantastically irresistible chorus and great harmonies. Just magic. Coming off like something off The Beach Boy's Surf's Up or Holland is the brilliantly ominous, driving wall of sound of "Take Strength". Cavernous drums, urgent strings and a staggeringly good vocal performance make this a real highlight amongst an album of highlights. Glacial ballad "All Love's Children" has a deep New Orleans soul feel that truly soars whilst the breezy "Get Out In The Sun" owes a debt to "Crocodile Rock". It's pure pop for now people and wouldn't have been out of place on a late '70s Nick Lowe effort. Pastoral closer "I Meditate Each Day" is just beautiful, and likely the reason this reissue is giving you that special feeling. As ever, the audio for Ocean Potion has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring it sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original, iconic sleeve featuring a topless Steve reclining next to his piano on a flatbed truck on the beach has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.
"Record Time No 2 hits the bargain bins and neglected corners of the local record store to find great records that are still affordable to average folks. And, as with the first issue, we dig into the back stories of these records and artists, with a focus on good writing. This time around we do a deep dive into the life and career of Ray (Rae) Bourbon, a pre-Stonewall drag artist and comedian; jazzman Charles Lloyd's 'wilderness' albums; Catalan folk legend and politico Lluis Llach; oddball rockers the Hampton Grease Band; finding the South African country music holy grail; Canadian cabaret rocker Louis Furey; the weird world of Polka; hard rocking should-have-been-huge Birtha; actor and music pusher Jack Webb; Sex Pistols and Pistols-inspired novelty records; patron saint of smart asses Rick Johnson; and more! Contributors this time are Tom Hyland, Owen Maercks, Stella Beratlis, Steve Silverstein, Nathanel Amar, Adam Taub, Nate Knaebel, Laurent Bigot, Mike Trouchon, Greg Pshaw, Johnny Sunshine, Dennis Worden, Fred De Vries, Stan Appleton, Billups Allen, and Todd Trick Knee, with guest appearances by Lali Donovan, Larry Hardy, Tony Coulter, and Dana Katharine. Edited by S Soriano."
Moin is a three-piece group consisting of Joe Andrews and Tom Halstead of Raime alongside longtime collaborator Valentina Magaletti of Tomaga, Shit & Shine & CZN. Released on AD93, Moot marks a creative left turn for the label and a pared-down studio approach for the artists involved. According to Moin, "the record was made as an experiment really, it felt like the right time to play on the fringes of this kind of music. The priority was to be direct at first and then change the edges perhaps. Make something to experience rather than something as a spectacle." Made using traditional live recording techniques with some sparingly applied sampling and postprocessing in the studio afterwards, it's a heady interpretation of the mist between post-punk, hardcore and down-tuned US stoner rock. There's flashes of Slint in the hollow locked in percussion and ominous bass interludes, there's elements of the various influential projects of Justin Broadrick, Steve Albini, or even Kevin Shields with the warm distortion across tracks like "It's Never Goodbye" and the rhythmic complexity in the tightly wound, menacing time signatures. A no-frills rediscovery of the music which informed their youth, Moot! is the culmination of three visionaries stripping things back to the essential elements. A visceral and timeless experience that's highly recommended.
Paste is the second album by Moin, released on the October 2022 via AD 93. The follow up to their well-received debut album Moot!, the record draws influences from alternative guitar music in its many forms, using electronic manipulations and sampling techniques to redefine it's context, not settling on any one style but moving through them in search of new connections. By exploring these relationships, Moin delivers another collage of the known and unknown, punctuated by words that are just out of reach.
Limited 2024 repress. Before the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, unleashing a horrifying genocide, Cambodia had one of the most vibrant and exciting music scenes in Asia. With a mixture of traditional Khmer music and a myriad of western genres (from French and Latin music, to rock-and-roll, rhythm-and-blues, surf, psychedelia, soul, and many more) the few pre 75 Cambodian recordings that survived -- most of them were destroyed -- are enough to make anyone with a taste for good music shocked by the amazing quality of the sounds created during those golden years. Gathered on Cambodian Nuggets are some of the most talented and unique musicians from that amazing era with an explosive collection of tracks sure to blow the mind of the listener. A celebration of some of the best music ever made. Features Ros Serey Sothea, Yol Aularong, Pan Ron, Tet Somnang & Meas Samon, Houy Meas & Dara Chom Chan, Choun Malai, Sinn Sisamouth, Liev Tuk, Thra Kha Band, Yol Aularong & Liev Tuk, Eng Nary, and Baksey Cham Krong + Mol Kamach. Edition of 500.
KHOST
Many Things Afflict Us Few Things Console Us (Red Vinyl) LP
LP version. Red color vinyl. The fifth album from Birmingham-based industrial/doom metal band Khost sees the band forging new and at times nightmarish territories, alongside their signature walls of detuned guitar, corroded percussion and VHS atmospherics. Inspiration for many of the tracks came from countless live shows and even soundcheck experiments in which extreme, harsh electronics evolved, as did punk/early industrial tempos, all of which were then fused into the DNA of Many Things Afflict Us Few Things Console Us. Collaborators include Axebreaker (aka Terence Hannum of Locrian), acclaimed cellist Jo Quail, and Berlin-based sound designer Manuel Liebeskind. CD version is reinforced with seven extra tracks including Adrian Stainburner's incredible remix of "Yellow Light" featuring Stephen Mallinderon vocals, and Bereneces adding his signature deep, dark D&B sound to the track "Death Threat." The LP editions (CSR 313LP and CSR 313X-LP) feature a different mix by Khost especially for vinyl.
LP version. Yellow color vinyl. Broken Allures, the fifth LP from trio Jac Berrocal (Nurse With Wound collaborator), David Fenech, and Vincent Epplay (following releases on Blackest Ever Black, Akuphone, KlangGalerie), furthers their unique recording style with a musique concrète approach to mixing, characterized by the distinctive sound and technique of musicians and producers. Fenech and Epplay have paired with legendary French musician Berrocal, renowned for his collaborations with Nurse With Wound, Vince Taylor, Jaki Liebezeit, Pascal Comelade, Sunny Murray, and more. Broken Allures is arguably their most coherent and fully accomplished album to date. For this album, the trio has invited two fantastic musicians to compose with them: Cosey Fanni Tutti and Jah Wobble. Cosey Fanni Tutti (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey, COUM Transmissions) contributes vocals, cornet, and electric guitar in her unique style. She has also written lyrics for two tracks on the album and brings a radical touch to the instrumental track "Viva la Hacienda," which, in her own words, recalls her time recording with Throbbing Gristle. Jah Wobble (founding member of Public Image Limited, and collaborator with African Head Charge, Brian Eno, Björk, Holger Czukay, Jaki Liebezeit, Bill Laswell, Primal Scream, Evan Parker, Sinéad O'Connor, and more) plays a deep bass line on one track. He adds his signature industrial dub sound, with deep sub-bass frequencies.
Continuing his fruitful relationship with Discrepant after the third volume of his ongoing Organic Music Tape Series on Sucata Tapes, Tiago Sousa returns with two long-form pieces for organ with A Thousand Strings. A self-explanatory title in itself, A Thousand Strings drifts fluidly into a celestial realm of cascading melodies and cycling patterns that never feel forced or strict throughout its two hypnotic tracks. Pulsating with life and ecstatic abandon. Taking cues from the tradition of American minimalists like Steve Reich and, particularly, Terry Riley, the Portuguese composer's work flows with a life of his own, that, while acknowledging those influences, transcends them into his own signature. On the A side, "A Thousand Strings" goes seamlessly from intertwining crepuscular harmonies to ascending keyboard runs in the manner of "Persian Surgery Dervishes" finishing with a coda of rhythmic marimba-like pulses. On the flipside, "The Things Passed" creates this maze-like tapestry of melodies that seem to drift apart only to converge back again into its internal process before setting on sustained tones infused with a sense of longing. For all things passed. For what is yet to come. Recorded by Tiago Sousa and mastered by Rashad Becker.
Mexican duo Lorelle Meets The Obsolete are putting out a limited-edition vinyl version of their Remezcla EP, expanded with two extra tracks. Pressed on neon green vinyl and limited to 250 copies, the EP features reworkings of six tracks from 2023's hugely acclaimed album Datura by SUUNS, Dälek, MEMORIALS, Invisible Dog (aka LA-based musician Adam Payne), and Immersion (aka Colin Newman of Wire and Malka Spigel of Minimal Compact). Ranging from indie-dance and avant-garde hip-hop to drone and celestial indie-pop, it's the perfect companion piece to the album. "The whole EP is kind of a 'pinch me' moment," says LMTO guitarist Alberto González. "The fascinating thing with remixes is that you never really know what to expect when you invite someone to collaborate. You sign up for the unknown. We are truly grateful for how everyone shapeshifted these songs. Now it's coming out on vinyl, it's like the EP is finally getting justice in every sense. I guess there's something about physical media that you can't beat. Daniel Castrejon's artwork is much more powerful once printed. All this work is all meant to be released physically. It's truly special and it also feels like a nice transition to what's coming next. All the period around Datura has been highly educational and transformative for us, so this is a nice way to wrap it up and embrace the next phase."
Dirt Bike Vacation -- for Worried Songs Records -- explores the sonic world of the late amateur guitar player, Charles 'Poppy Bob' Walker, through a captivating set of instrumental songs made in the mid-1980s. Recorded on a single-track, Marantz field recorder, the project is a transportive document of Walker's days spent as a meatpacking employee in Yuma, Arizona and the dailiness of that existence: driving to work, sitting in his backyard, walking around drunkenly, unwinding on the couch with a friend. These sketches, showing an experimental tendency, are surprisingly ahead of their time; some exhibit ad hoc tape delay, while others make use of primitive overdubbing. Not dissimilar to works such as Bruce Langhorne's The Hired Hand soundtrack, Walker's guitar playing is melodic, texturally rich and beautifully sober. On a musical tour from Nashville to Los Angeles, musician-archivist, Cameron Knowler, uncovered these songs from a series of dusty cassette tapes housed at a branch of the Yuma County Library. Originally tipped off by cryptic metadata entries found through an online finding aid, Knowler requested a sound sample and was immediately drawn in by their eerie, yet hopeful nature. Sorting through the index cards associated with these tapes, Knowler was able to gain a detailed sense of most recording's provenance, whereabouts and time: Walker's Datsun pickup truck chugging along boiling hot Interstate 80, the Marine Corps Air Station parking lot, the Eastern Wetlands on the banks of the Colorado River, a fishing trip to Martinez Lake. Trying to reduce the amount of his own subjectivities coloring the work, Cameron constructed titles and track sequences by borrowing information gleaned from Charles' handwritten notes. This proved no small task, as many notecards had to be deciphered and then coupled with their native tapes which needed extensive restoration treatments. The result is a project very much out of the blue, and one that is intensely personal to Knowler, having grown up in the same town under similar circumstances. In their current form, the tracks combine to create a sonic journey that boldly contributes to the traditions of acoustic guitar soli, archival digs and field recordings all the same; most importantly, it is a creative document which shows a day-in-the-life of a man grappling with the human experience under a ubiquitous Yuma sun.
Zel Zele presents the first-ever reissue of a cult classic from 1974, written, produced, and arranged by Anatolian rock pioneer Barış Manço, backed by his legendary Kurtalan Ekspres band. Sevil & Ayla's Bebek/Irgat is a highly sought-after Turkish folk and psychedelic single, sung by Yeşilçam stars Sevil & Ayla during the golden era of Anatolian rock music. A-side "Bebek" hardly needs an introduction, being a rare gem among crate diggers and beat enthusiasts. The track's strings and bass are a nod to the iconic groove of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," creating instant recognition. Sevil and Ayla's haunting vocals add a moody twist, narrating the tragic tale of a crazed mother over losing her baby to an eagle. On the B-side, "Irgat" is an underrated rider's groove with an incredible break and keyboard solo, perfect for keeping the dance floor swinging.
2024 repress. "Now freshly remastered and restored with original press artwork complete with inner disco sleeve. Heart of the Congos is a roots reggae album by The Congos, produced by Lee 'Scratch' Perry at his Black Ark studio with a studio band including Boris Gardiner on bass and Ernest Ranglin on guitar. The album was released in 1977. It is noted as being one of Perry's masterpiece productions of the Black Ark era."
London has a bright new Brazilian talent in town, who goes by the name of MOMO. One of the recent generation of artists influenced by the Brazilian classics, from 1970s tropicália, Os Mutantes, and Milton Nascimento. MOMO. releases his seventh album Gira, on Batov Records bringing together some very special musicians and guests from London's bustling and hustling jazz community, with fellow Brazilian artists, recorded and cut to tape at East London's Total Refreshment Center. A journeying collaboration which effortlessly swings, guided by Marcelo Frota's soft yet reassuringly familiar vocal, with ruminative and explorative brass twists, Gira was recorded with friends and guests including Alabaster DePlume on tenor sax (in whose band Marcelo toured), Jessica Lauren on keys, Tamar Osborn on baritone sax, Nick 'Emanative' Woodmansey on drums, Carwyn Ellis of Rio 18 fame on piano, Magnus Mehta from Penya on percussion and Caetano Malta on bass. Gira is MOMO.'s first album recorded in London. His debut from 2006, A Estética do Rabisco, was named one of the best albums of the year by the Chicago Reader and set Marcelo's musical path in motion. His singer-songwriting talents have already earned him plaudits from royalty like Patti Smith and David Byrne and he was invited to participate in A Tribute to Caetano to mark the 70th birthday of Brazilian musical legend, Caetano Veloso. Gira is a new departure for MOMO. While previous albums have always started with guitar and voice, Gira begins with the groove -- yet succeeds sublimely in balancing this new emphasis on spontaneous improvisation and songwriting. "Life brought me to London and I think I've made my lightest album; it could only have been created here," he says. When Brazil meets London, you can't help but move to the groove. For fans of: Sessa, Caetano, Veloso, Alabaster DePlume, Bala Desejo.
LP version. Hologram Teen's exuberance is brightly reflected in the mirror ball synthpop of her third album. It is her second long player to appear on vinyl after the release of Between The Funk And The Fear debut on the Polytechnic Youth label. Morgane was the keyboard player in Stereolab between 1995 and 2001 during which time they released Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots And Loops. As a teenager though she first played the drums, then guitar and bass. She only learnt the keyboards one month before joining the group. After leaving Stereolab, Morgane first moved to New York for nine years; she'd always planned to move to America having spent a lot of time there with her parents and of course those space-pop pioneers. The warmer weather of LA enticed her though and you can hear its pulse in Day-Glo Chaos. The album's thumping heart is pumped by the city's night sky and when asked she cites three particular albums as her favorites: the oddball analogue electro of Jacno's 1979 debut; John Carpenter's Escape From New York and The B-52's Cosmic Thing. There's also a strong nod to the playful computerized harmonies of Yellow Magic Orchestra whilst she's somewhat partial to the synth prog of Yes and Soft Machine. Throughout her work (but especially on this record) you can hear the influence of computer games. Though not a fan of Hotline Miami or the GTA series she liked Hang On and loved Outrun which she used to play a lot on her Sega Master System. You'll see and hear such influences on the lead single from the album "Midnite Rogue" the video to which pays (im)perfect juddering homage to such arcade culture. The title was inspired by a Fighting Fantasy book which she adored as a kid.
After their Discrepant debut -- OOOO (CREP 060LP, 2018) -- Lisbon-based travelers Jibóia return to the fold with another offering of globetrotting psychedelia with Salar. With the core trio of Óscar Silva, Ricardo Martins, and Mestre André augmented by a stellar parade of collaborators on various roles, Salar further expands on the transglobal visions by now pretty trademarked by the band. Interspersed among shorter vignettes for drums, saxophone and bass, each of the more fully fleshed tracks casts a guest to elevate Jibóia's music to uncharted realms -- both in a mystical and geographical sense. Opener "Selar" summons the cello of songstress Joana Guerra for a skewed dialogue with Silva's guitar, propelled by Martins' drums and percussion and André's electronic textures into 4 minutes and 20 seconds that feel epic -- if there was any psychedelic numerological symbolism needed. On "Solar," Silva's non-western plucking rides on for Yaw Tembe's trumpet to veer in a multitude in directions, while the mysterious "Sitar" conjures the voice of Moroccan musician Ayoub El Ayadi for a contemplative nighttime prayer. Elsewhere, guitarist Rui Carvalho aka Filho da Mãe injects dissonant guitar lines unto "Sarar"'s pummeling dance and Pedro Augusto's electronics hover below the shapeshifting dynamics of "Sonar," among mesmerizing keyboard lines. "Salir," featuring Daiyen Jone's enchanted flute, brings the album to a close at its most reflective, all crepuscular synth lines and reverbed handclaps.
"Anthony Moore's post-Slapp Happy output, for years an underrated-to-outright unknown quantity, achieves another dimensional plane with this third archival release from his personal tape library. Home of the Demo triangulates upon the art-pop qualities found in his previously unreleased OUT (1976, officially issued 2020) and the new wave-adjacent Flying Doesn't Help (1979, reissued 2022), finding Anthony's early/mid-'80s compositions drifting into the actual mainstream, just moments before it began giving way to the inevitable Next Waves. Home of the Demo unpacks ten tracks from what might otherwise be called a lost era. Subtitled 'from the dawn of bedsit recording,' this collection largely represents something nearer to DIY than any of your fancy modern kit! As Anthony remarks in his liner notes, 'We are talking about a few hundred quid's worth of gear balanced precariously on bookshelves and table tops in bedrooms and basements.' And yet, the tracks sound right dreamy. Anthony was a songwriter and musician whose first decade-plus in the music 'business' had brought him outside-in, through experimental/avant projects into the pop music world he'd loved as a youngster. He was an old hand at getting sounds as well; distinctly '80s elements that might abrade the ear instead benefit from his tactile deployment of that gear stacked up on tables and bookshelves in the basement. In this manner, he produced well-appointed, ambitiously clever songs for himself and others, such as his friend David Gilmour's band, who used a couple pieces on Home of the Demo for their 1987 comeback album. Amidst the assiduous work of writing the Next Big One, a relaxed, almost playful mood prevails throughout the pieces assembled here -- as one might imagine at home demo sessions where one man plays all the parts. It's also true for the numbers that feature special guests, such as the ominously monikered 'Page The Oracle' on lead guitar -- or the singer simply dubbed, 'Guest' -- no doubt a safe alias for a hot young Bunnyman rising to his commercial peak in those halcyon days."
"Dean Spunt's all-new Basic Editions is an excursion in electronic sound that instrumentally unpacks his fascination with language -- in this case, the syntax of systems and processes. By turns meditative, compulsive and consumptive, Basic Editions distills a 64-voice module through a headful of ideas -- somewhat like pouring a cornucopia of possible ambient moods and EZ listening impulses backwards through a funnel, inspiring a deceptively absurd rainbow of soul to spray out the other end. With this new release, Dean IDs his process as 'using sounds, rather than making sounds.' This approach to music-making is a train of thought that's been rolling out from the far horizon of the past for ages now -- but for Dean, whose previous works within and without No Age depended on their making of sounds, it's a fresh work stance. Basic Editions delivers further unexpected hard-rights and lefts in the non-aesthetic aesthetic that has defined Dean's path over the past two decades. Steering toward wacked digital soundscapes that bounce colorfully across the stereo azimuth, Dean creates a kind of post-ambient neo-exotica that hinges upon a giddy conflation of cosmic and comic. This 'urban dance synth' was made great use of in hip-hop productions around the turn of the millennium. There's lots more to know about the machines of that time -- choose your own rabbit hole -- but the takeaway here is that it generates a finite amount of very circa-2000 sounds and he got it for fifty bucks. Inspired, Dean spent a minute getting its basic capacities in hand, while acquiring a few other boxes with compatible cards (more sounds!). In one way of thinking, Basic Editions is the sound of Dean not being influenced by anything -- how could he be? The sounds were all preset! There is, however, an instinctiveness to pushing a closed system in a curatorial manner, and it's here that Dean's inclinations took the wheel of the proceedings, bending the farmed sounds in and out of color and shape, creating improbable constructions whose gears clash together and revolve with an odd combination of nerviness and chill. Further refinements are provided with the artwork, which reprocesses generic graphic information sourced from various modules, while the album title tips its cap to a fine rank-and-file clothing line offered at K-Mart. RIYL: Moebius, Nuno Canavarro, General Magic, Pita, Carl Stone, Jon Hassell."
"For the first time this century, two missed masterpieces are coming available on vinyl. The band Souled American formed in Chicago in 1986 and recorded a total of sixty-six songs between 1988 and 1996. Though not ever popular themselves, their evolving hybrid of roots/rock music heavily influenced many more popular bands to come, among them Wilco, The Jayhawks, The Feelies, Califone, Counting Crows, The Mountain Goats, and Cracker. Their records became legendary, unavailable for decades. Some got to the Internet in 2023. Their last two albums Frozen and Notes Campfire are now re-issued in limited, hand-crafted, 30th Anniversary Editions with a fresh abundance of stories, technical information, musician credits, and cartoons that detail the unexpected origins surrounding these two early classics of 'ambient Americana.' These records sound at once both old and new with brilliant melodies and profound performances stacked in unusual patterns like soft-hued bricks."
"To say that the vinyl release of Ostraaly's Misery Guests has overcome monumental challenges isn't hyperbole, but fact. The label had been in cahoots with principal band members Katharine Daly and Leonie Brialey as far back as the Luggs CD-R in 2016. Initially this release was to see vinyl action, but a series of setbacks prevented that from happening and when we next caught up w/each other it was 2019. Ostraaly was now a full-on unit and a new set of tracks entitled Misery Guests was slated for a cassette issue by the estimable Tenth Court label. Katharine was quite keen for Siltbreeze to release it on vinyl and both sides set about to make it happen. Tenth Court released the cassette in Jan of 2020, vinyl to follow. However, a series of mechanical issues-a new track was added, artwork needed to be revamped-reared up and by the time it was off to press, Covid slammed shut the world. Diligence was the key here, as was hope. And as the world began to come out of its pandemic cocoon sometime in 2021, the project was on once more. But in the midst of retrieving new masters and artwork, Katharine Daly passed away unexpectedly, and that shock naturally put everything into what seemed to be a perpetual limbo. The years passed, but never the desire to see this album fulfilled. It was through the tenacity of the surviving band members, relocating and getting Siltbreeze the new masters and jacket art, that this LP finally sees the light of day as it was meant to some five years prior. What you'll find within the grooves of Misery Guests is a band assuredly zoned into what they're laying down. It woozily rollicks in a way that's fetchingly out of step and swings in a rural-like, rough-hewn manner that's unimpeachable. To say nothing of the out-of-time folk ruggedness stitched in, which makes these tracks seem almost plucked out of some mid-'70s time warp that contemporary alt/retro bands could only dream of conceiving. And while its existence will forever remain bittersweet that Daly isn't here to embrace its ultimate fruition, her spirit is forever locked into every nuance of this stone-cold masterpiece. Dedicated to the memory of Katharine Daly and all who sailed w/her. FFO: Fairport Convention, Etchingham Steam Band, Patti Smith Group, The Garbage & The Flowers. Edition of 400."
Presented on limited-edition black and clear vinyl. Includes download code. Up In Her Room present the latest offering from Uruguay's Las Cobras! Emerging from the Uruguayan city of Canelones in 2017, Las Cobras introduced themselves with their debut album, Temporal, a nine-track release that quickly became a reference point in global psychedelia after signing with London's Fuzz Club Records. A couple of years later, the duo -- Leandro Rebellato and Sofia Aguerre -- expanded to include Dario Macarín and Diego Mercadal, releasing their second album, Selva. In their debut, Las Cobras blended proto-punk and shoegaze with hints of afrobeat and Tropicalia. With Selva, the band amplified these elements, showcasing their evolving sound. Notably, their track "Al más Allá" is featured in the Amazon Prime series La Cabeza de Joaquín Murrieta. For their third album, Cárcavas, the band explores the concept of the cárcava -- a scar on the earth symbolizing a period of desolation. Teaming up with London label Up in her Room, they present a darker, more chaotic record that reflects the tumultuous years they've endured. Most tracks were mixed by James Aparicio (Depeche Mode, Spiritualized, Throw Down Bones Grinderman), lending the album a sharper, more defined sound. Las Cobras continue to delve into their sonic palette, incorporating electronic drums, Latin percussion, penetrating synthesizers, and fuzzed-out guitars, all from a more stripped-down perspective. "Black Butterfly," for example, is an espectrum of a lost friend. Like a ghost, always in orbit.
Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records have the pleasure of unleashing the sizzling contact high sounds of Yerba Mansa's new LP release -- Gravity's Joke. As the heppest of you undoubtedly know, Yerba Mansa are Edwin Stevens (Irma Vep, Klaus Kinski, The Web of Lies) and Andrew Cheetham (Richard Dawson, Jane Weaver, Waterless Hilss). Both have been members of Desmadrados Soldados de Ventura, and are purveyors of raging, mind-bending primitive garage infused Middle-Eastern free-rock psychedelia. Showcased here is Edwin's mesmerizing guitar playing, capable of conjuring sonic specters from thin air and Andrew's limitless drumming, rooted in jazz and totally mesmerizing in fluidity and movement. Within Gravity's Joke, the grooves are some of the fiercest apocalyptic and heady jams you will hear this year. Yerba Mansa whirl up demonic raga meltdowns which showcase their individual chops and duo telepathy; the guitar vernacular is pure Sharrock/Flower/Quine -- indeed the tuning sounds like it could be ostrich, and the drumming is more octopus. Side two is a near 20-minute mystical freak out. The whole shebang could and should implode at any time, but doesn't. It hangs together somehow as melodies appear out of the chaos, and the title track relentlessly builds up to a shamonic climax, akin to stumbling across a Voodoun ritual in the American Plains. Sizzling, stifling and ever so slightly ear-scraping -- this is a must for any lover of untamed music.
2024 repress. "Keith Hudson's Pick A Dub is a classic album by many standards; released in1974, the session features performances from reggae legends Augustus Pablo, Big Youth, and Carlton and Aston Barrett. The 1994 re-issue on the Blood & Fire label introduced a new generation to its 'austere sonic qualities' and genre defining techniques. Pick A Dub showcases the enduring strength and pivotal importance of the rhythm to the development of reggae and dub music. Keith Hudson's complete mastery of the genre and the unqualified praise that followed its release was fully justified."
VA
Holy Beat: A Collection Of '60s Italian Christian Beat From The Vaults Of Ariel Records LP
Holy Beat! A collection of '60s Italian Christian beat from the vaults of Ariel Records. Presenting nine tracks from three amazing Italian bands, Angel and the Brains, I Barritas, and The Bumpers. Originally released as La Messa dei Giovanni in 1966 and recorded live the same year, this record has been the stuff of legend for deep cut Pop connoisseurs and '60s beat archeologists, a beautiful and mesmerizing gem that goes way beyond the Christian novelty. This is not just a Christian pop record, this is a collection of beautifully crafted beat that will blow the mind of anyone remotely interested in '60s music, a must!
CERRONE
Supernature (Cerrone III) (The Official 2014 Edition) LP+CD
2024 restock. Because Music reissues on LP (with bonus CD format added) the 1977 album Supernature by French disco legend Marc Cerrone. Big hits can be the result of a combination of circumstances. Massively popular at the time, crowned with the success of Love in C Minor and Cerrone's Paradise that made him a disco hero of the '70s, the musician started working on his new album differently. This time, the inspiration came from a synthesizer, an instrument he never used before. ARP, an American manufacturer, provided him with it. "I was given this machine and didn't know how to use it," he remembers. "I twiddled a few knobs, trying to get some sounds out of it. Then, as I was playing on the keyboard, a bass line came to me that I immediately recorded on my Revox. It was 'Supernature!'" Lene Lovich, future queen of the punk and new wave English scene, wrote the lyrics. It was a science fiction story, similar in spirit to The Planet of the Apes. Once the track and album were finished, Cerrone asked the record company to focus on "Supernature," rather than the rest of the record, in the vein of his previous work. History would prove him right. This track, the more iconic of his catalog, would turn out to be his biggest hit. This third album (also called Supernature) would also sell eight million copies. Always a funny guy, Cerrone can be seen on the cover of the record, but without naked women. Creatures with animal-heads in a surgery room replaced them. It meant a mutant and more synthetic kind of disco was born. Pressed on pale green vinyl + CD. Includes a 4-page booklet with a 30cm x 30cm poster-booklet with photos and biographic notes.
2024 repress. "Hold your breath -- now let it go. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's Greatest Palace Music is back on vinyl for the first time in a generation. In 2005, it followed the release of Bonny's Master and Everyone. It may have seemed a novel idea at the time, but the 'Prince' was simply taking a page from the old masters of country and western music, addressing a swath of old favorite numbers with new performances. He's done something similar several times since, with Now Here's My Plan, Singer's Grave a Sea of Tongues, and (under the nom-de-vie, Will Oldham), Songs of Love and Horror. The Greatest Palace Music recordings were done in Nashville with a studio full of session cats old and new, addressing only the pre-Bonny material released as Palace Brothers/Songs/or Music, the originals of which can be found on the albums There Is No One What Would Take Care of You, Days In the Wake, and Lost Blues and Other Songs. As befits an album of 'Greatest' whatever, the tunes were given plush, enormous, near glacial treatments as they were played and sung again, and sound, even at a distance of nigh-twenty years, to be bigger than ever."
To Celebrate its 25th anniversary, Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records present the lost classic that is Outrageous Cherry's Out There In The Dark, presented for the very first time on vinyl. Originally released via the DF2K (the contemporary sister label of Del-Fi), one of the classic labels of the '50s and '60s (Richie Valens/Bobby Fuller) and in Europe via Poptones. While earlier records shared a love of The Turtles, The Troggs, and Television Personalities (among a host of other stuff), Out There In The Dark feels like Eno and Hawkwind filtered through Petula Clark's hit singles and Spectorized via Matthew Smiths' wonderful analog production. Recorded at Jim Diamond's Ghetto Recorders Studio, this release makes use of a huge ancient reel to reel machine that provides that superb tape echo effect employed across this LP. Like Guided By Voices, Outrageous Cherry's affection for this kind of music never sounds retro, and their experimental touches make Out There In The Dark plays like a jukebox full of forgotten hits, a time machine with its controls set for the past and the future. Across 13 tracks, sweet melodies and harmonies soar over vicious urban Motor City guitar workouts. Motown-fueled bass and drums throb hypnotically as Matthew Smith sings as though Brian Wilson had been an honorary Ramone. Beatle-esque pop numbers like "Tracy", "Corruptable," and the made-for-AM radio "Where Do I Go When You Dream?" balance moodier songs like the album's narcotic centerpiece, "Easy Come, Uneasy Glow." Their trippy side comes to the forefront on the excellent, backwards guitar-driven "Only the Easy Way Down," as Larry Rays solos cut like a jagged knife, and in the title track's drifting guitars and shifting tempos. Smith's ultra-faithful, vintage production style sparkles on "A Bad Movie." The album closer "There's No Escape From the Infinite" ends in a trance-inducing guitar apocalypse that would make Spacemen 3 and The Jesus And Mary Chain proud. Presented in a gloss laminated outer sleeve and with a four-page folded A4 insert and download code.
2024 restock. "Transamorem - Transmortem was premiered on March 9, 1974 at The Kitchen in NYC, where the music programmer at the time was Rhys Chatham - this was right before his guitar phase. During this period, Transamorem - Transmortem was presented along with other compositions by Eliane Radigue in a linear mode of listening, although the piece had originally been conceived, during its composition, as a sound installation. Of course, both modes of listening are possible, and each works marvelously in its own way."
The Zeros are a pioneer punk rock band formed in 1976 in Chula Vista, California. Comparisons with The Ramones are often made when describing the energetic and fierce guitar driven sound of the group. The first singles recorded by the band instantly catapulted The Zeros into a top draw on the local scene and have become legendary. Unfortunately, the band never cut an album during these days. This release compiles all their early singles, some rare tracks (including the previously unreleased "Left to Right") and songs taken from a 1978 live show. Munster are thrilled to reissue this essential '80s power pop gem as part of a series of releases celebrating Bomp! 50th anniversary. Their debut single was released in 1977 on Greg Shaw's very own Bomp! Records. It included "Don't Push Me Around" and "Wimp," two of the greatest punk rock songs of all time, both written by Javier Escovedo. It was followed by another single in 1978, "Wild Weekend" and a third one in 1980, "They Say That (Everything's Alright)." The first singles recorded by the band instantly catapulted The Zeros into a top draw on the local scene and have become legendary. Unfortunately, the band never cut an album during these days.
2024 repress. An authentic '70s USA proto-punk gem by Nervous Eaters, one of the key groups of the rich late-'70s Boston rock scene along with The Real Kids, DMZ, etc. A long-awaited reissue of their second single, originally released on Rat Records in 1979. Recorded in 1975 during the same sessions as their debut, Loretta (PENN 45005EP), this 45 was their last release for an independent label; the following year they signed with Warner. Both songs display the class and bad attitude that saw them included in the best punk compilations and incited many covers of their material in the years since.
2024 repress; reissue. First released in 1963 on Phillips Records, this was Jorge Ben's debut album. Samba Esquema Novo ("New Style Samba") deliberately sets a new standard in Brazilian music. A beautiful, fresh and vital combination of Ben's percussive guitar and smooth/rough voice backed by big band style horns, percussion (the great Dom Um Romao), and strings. In 2007, it was listed by Rolling Stone Brazil as one of the 100 best Brazilian albums in history. But it's important to remind you that this is the album that contains the first original version of "Mas Que Nada", one of the most popular songs in the world. Clear vinyl.
BLACK PUS
Terrestrial Seethings (Silver Vinyl) LP
LP version. Silver color vinyl. "Black Pus is the guttural, raw, freeform project of singular drummer, vocalist, and artist Brian Chippendale. A heavy drum foundation and distorted electronics anchor Black Pus' sound, and remain directly connected to the intensity of Chippendale's legendary duo with Brian Gibson, Lightning Bolt. Recorded at Machines with Magnets by engineer Seth Manchester, Terrestrial Seethings is pure energy, pure Black Pus, capturing the precision, frenzy, and ecstatic performance in all its glory. After more than a decade playing and improvising, Chippendale's imagination and curiosity continue to push his world of twisted joy in expressive new directions. While known primarily for his iconic style of drumming with Lightning Bolt, Chippendale has also worked alongside artists such as Björk, The Flaming Lips, Boredoms, Andrew W.K., and Lee "Scratch" Perry. Outside of music related endeavors, Chippendale has made a name for himself as a renowned painter and painterly silk screen artist. Known for his frenetic color work, for Terrestrial Seethings Brian created striking black drawings that, like its title, pervert assumptions. Chippendale's approach to crafting music as Black Pus mirrors his restless and indomitable spirit as a creator. His daily practice of making music and art on his own is both as meditative and cathartic, as it is inquisitive and spontaneous. 'This art is a river of energy that I jump into and ride along with,' he says. 'It's not really music made to tell written stories. It's energy music first and foremost.' The pieces that shape Terrestrial Seethings brim with his preternatural ability to unearth new ideas and explore them with abandon while maintaining a sense of cohesion and a kind of alien musicality."
"drum-and-bass-meets Jackson Pollock rhythms provide the foundations for Black Pus"--Pitchfork
"This is noise rock at its most animalistic: punkish rhythms allied to untamed sweeps and swoops of brutal electroracket." --the Quietus
"Taken altogether it's a physically overwhelming experience" --LA WEEKLY
2024 repress. "This whole project grew out of a song called 'Cycles Of You', which I had written around 2000-2001 with the guitarist and bassist of my band at the time, Easy. The chord progression and vocal melody really reminded me of Joe Bataan, and it occurred to me that it wouldn't be impossible to get him into the studio to do a guest vocal if we ever recorded it. I had met Bataan a few years before at Nuyorican Poets Cafe in my neighborhood. Around this time Bataan was playing out again, so I went to the show to see him and find out if he'd be interested in doing some vocals with us. He was agreeable, so we decided to turn it into a Joe Bataan session and do 'Cycles Of You'. When I got the opportunity from Vampisoul to do a full album, I was hoping Bataan and I could write some songs together, but our schedules proved tough to coordinate. I figured the best way to go about it was to do most of the work and just have him come sing on it. The rhythm section was a band called TransLove Airways that I formed in 2002. To this core group I added pieces from a few other local bands: The Middle Initials, who are a great Temptations/Main Ingredient-style vocal group, and members of an incredible Latin band called Grupo Latin Vibe, who were responsible for almost all the percussion and the vibraphone solo on 'I'm The Fool Pt. 2'. There was also some fine trombone playing by Aaron Johnson of Antibalas and great flute work by Neal Sugarman and my cousin Sonny. Preparing for Call My Name, I listened to a lot of different records from the mid to late '70s. It has now been over ten years since the completion of this record, and so much has changed. The Call My Name sessions took place when Daptone had just moved to Bushwick, its now-famous current location. Gabe Roth was my first call whenever I had any recording to do. He was yet to become the legendary figure at the center of the Daptone/Truth & Soul universe. He was just a humble guy with an incredible talent and an impeccable ear who made authentic sounding records with inexpensive analog gear." -- Daniel Collás, producer of Call My Name
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That's Just How I Feel 12"
AB10: Autumn Bells 10 Year Anniversary 3LP BOX
Many Things Afflict Us Few Things Console Us CD
Many Things Afflict Us Few Things Console Us LP
Many Things Afflict Us Few Things Console Us (Red Vinyl) LP
Broken Allures (Yellow Vinyl) LP
Together We Are Beautiful CD
The Birth Of Ska: From Mento To Studio One Book
Rock Steady To Rockers From Treasure Isle To Channel One Book
United Kingdom Of Anxiety CD
#489 November 2024 MAG/CD
In Brine (Black Vinyl) LP
94-Now: Collaborations LP
In A Capsule Underground LP
Deliria (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) CD
Fear: The Ultimate Anthology 2CD
Heart of the Congos (Remastered) LP
Primitive Art Group 1981-1986 2LP
Supernature (Cerrone III) (The Official 2014 Edition) LP+CD
Greatest Palace Music 2LP
The Mill Pond & Collected Paintings CD
Transamorem - Transmortem CD
The Lost Record Soundtrack LP
Mejor De Los Nuggetz: Garage & Psyche From Latin America (Magenta Red Vinyl) LP
Solta o Pavao (Color Vinyl) LP
White Light/White Heat LP
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