Double LP version. In April 2023, the first part of the Fluxus edition called Stolen Symphony was released. Now, in 2024, there is the second part, called Keep Together. At the center of this edition was a broken piano, acquired by the Opening Performance Orchestra for the purpose of making live and studio recordings. During this time other new works for this broken piano were written by diverse Fluxus and non-Fluxus composers. In the spring of 2022, the Opening Performance Orchestra and the broken piano participated in an event hosted by Mieko Shiomi. This was a new version of her early work Spatial Poem, documentation of which was presented at the 2022 Aichi Triennale in Tokyo. At present, the broken piano lies in the open air in Prague and is subject to gradual decay. This edition contains new and old pieces, live and studio recordings, finished pieces and scores to be performed, solos and pieces for ensemble, using classical and special instruments from 33 Fluxus artists, which have been played by ten soloists and four ensembles. There are new essays and articles from 15 writers on the theme Fluxus, as well as original photos and other documentation in the booklets. The Belgian label Sub Rosa provided technical support and a good place for the grand-scale release. The audio restauration and mastering were done by Gabriel Séverin at Laboratoire central, Brussels, and Kakaxa, 3bees, Prague. Archivio Conz in Berlin provided access to their extensive archives and Edizioni Conz provided co-production. Ursula and René Block made possible the realization of John Cage's historical composition "Mozart Mix" from the Edition Block archive. The photographic material comes from Marie Knízáková and Milan Knízák's private archive, the German photographer Wolfgang Träger, Archivio Conz's Fluxus archive, the private archives from diverse Fluxus artists and Opening Performance Orchestra's digital archive. Milan Knízák, Henning Christiansen, La Monte Young, Philip Corner, Bengt af Klintberg, George Maciunas, Takako Saito, Toshi Ichiyanagi, John Cage, Geoffrey Hendricks, Nam June Paik, Sara Miyamoto, Ken Friedman, Yoko Ono, Josef Anton Riedl, Giancarlo Cardini, Ay-O, and George Brecht.

The first ever publication of the original soundtrack composed by Alain Pierre for the Belgian cult film Vase de noces, directed by Thierry Zeno in 1974. Limited edition of 400 copies with screen-printed sleeve. Vase de Noces wasn't released in Belgium. The only distribution Thierry's films might have accessed here was the "Swedish distribution," a code for distribution around adult movie theaters. Films by major directors such as Bergman or Polanski were released this way. In memory of Alain Pierre (1948-2024).

"Vase de noces was made with very little money. Thierry used 16mm reversal film, utilizing the ends of reels he obtained from friends who worked as TV cameramen. Similarly, I salvaged magnetic tape from my workplace, the Équipe sound studio. Film professionals looked down on him because he filmed everything on his own, without relying on technicians. The remarks became even more disparaging when they saw the quality of the result. Thierry shot this film gradually, just getting by, progressing intermittently, but he had a precise idea and memory of the framing and sequences. He really did a great job, as if he had the entire edit in mind from the start. The first shot had to be the right one. He showed me the film sequence by sequence when the editing was over. This was how he worked, and that's why it took him so long getting the right splices, the right light, etc. Thierry handled the framing and the lighting himself. His black-and-white work is unique; he operated within constraints, which is how creativity often flourishes. Thierry had a story in mind, and in the end, he achieved exactly what he wanted. The performance of actor Dominique Garny, for instance, and his aptitude -- it helped a lot. They spent hours together in the cold, in the mud. As the shooting progressed, I suggested samples of sounds obtained from my machine. This was what he wanted: bottle sounds. There isn't a single direct sound in the film -- it's all dubbed. I never distinguished music from the rest of the soundtrack. The idea of a 'sound object' never left me, and I've always kept that direction in mind when composing. One day, Thierry stopped by while I was working on a documentary about Saint Augustine, for which I was using a tune by Monteverdi. He told me about a certain sequence from his film, and I had the feeling that this music would work wonderfully with that sequence if I slowed it down to the extreme, to the point that it would be unrecognizable. Very rudimentary special effects. I had manipulated music sung by castrati this way for O Sidarta (FKR 107LP), and he liked it. My suggestion was accepted." -- Alain Pierre

Double LP version. Synth pop trio Bronski Beat's 1984 debut The Age of Consent is a rarity in musical history -- an album that both defined a generation and challenged the status quo. Its four singles, and particular lead single "Smalltown Boy," have endured with astonishing resonance, offering home to all listeners dreaming of escape from their familiar surroundings and situations. Every track on the album places the listener "in the room:" they are in it, living it, rolling inside each song's thematic meaning. Through the blue-eyed wonder of singer Jimmy Somerville's vocal pirouettes, they too take the punch of hate in "Why?," question the bible with alongside a male voice choir on "It Ain't Necessarily So," and watch the same crappy TV advertising on "Junk." They are part of the trade-off between lust and commerce in "Love and Money" and the heated near climax of "Need A Man Blues." 40 years later and The Age of Consent remains as prescient and vital as ever as it did on its original release; truly transgressive -- defiant, queer, and laden with hooks. To celebrate this important anniversary, London Records revisit the album across a series of expanded formats, uncovering sonic archival gems, new mixes, essays and more. Includes 24-page booklet featuring rare and unseen photos, and essays by: Tom Rasmussen, Lesley Chow, Lucy Robinson, and Barnaby Ashton-Bullock. Also available as 4CD/DVD (LMS 1725202) and 2LP (LMS 1725203).

Crawling Wind was released in 1981 on the Japanese Chaos International Series label and features the tracks "Toujours Plus à l'Est," "Before The Heat," and "Central Belgium In The Dark." This is the first vinyl reissue of this legendary EP. "Toujours Plus à l'Est," as the title suggests, is heavily influenced by the traditional music of Eastern Europe, particularly Bulgaria. It also pays tribute to the iconic catchphrase of Professor Calculus (Tournesol), the character from the Belgian comic series Tintin. "Before The Heat," played live a few times, is an ambient composition by Andy Kirk, who is part of the EP's lineup alongside Daniel Denis, Guy Segers, Alan Ward, and Dirk Descheemaeker. "Central Belgium in the Dark" is a live improvisation from a period when Univers Zéro dedicated part of their concerts to complete improvisation. What makes this recording unique is that one of Andy Kirk's effects pedals picked up and emitted the sound of a mysterious radio signal, seemingly coming from "nowhere," especially noticeable at the end of the piece. The title of this improv is a nod to contemporary composer Charles Ives' work "Central Park in the Dark." "Central Belgium" refers to the concert venue where the piece was recorded (Haine-St-Pierre). This EP was named one of the greatest Belgian albums of all time by MOFO magazine in February 2000, a rock magazine from the '80s. The original cover artwork has been beautifully redesigned by Thierry Moreau. Univers Zero represents one of the longest-living bands in Belgium. It was established in 1974. Drummer Daniel Denis had the brilliant idea to gather together a team of professionals sharing the same taste for music. The band has adopted an instrumental progressive style. Over the last couple of decades, the band has also implemented a series of influences from chamber music -- most commonly, chamber music from the 20th century. Even if the line-up changes a lot over the years, the overall sound of UZ remained fairly consistent.

LP version. On Beautiful Days is Winter Family's fourth album. It tells a lot of stories; that of the musicians themselves and their loved ones, those of their territories, of their life in Jerusalem, Paris, or Lorraine; that of women, "witches," conspiracy myths; that of capitalist and colonialist Europe; that of the blindness and violence of Israeli society and the indoctrination of its population; that of the occupation of Palestine; that of eternal lockdown and a laboratory rat; and maybe yours, too. The duo from Jerusalem and Lotharingia formed by Ruth Rosenthal and Xavier Klaine has been developing for around fifteen years a unique universe, to say the least, alternating synthetic punk sounds and dronic prayers of a society on the edge of the precipice. Nourished by metal and baroque music, multidisciplinary theater and African-American culture, they continue to trace a unique path by defending a radical discourse that is aware of its contradictions. They play across the world in clubs, galleries and churches, music that is minimal, dark, political and abrasive, between magic, chaos and melancholy. Winter Family also create documentary theatre performances produced by major European theaters. Sometimes their daughter Saralei plays with them. Listeners hear layers of pump organs and harmoniums, an old piano, distortions and celestial white noise, sirens -- the sound of marching boots -- breathing during sleep -- stun grenades at checkpoint 56 in Hebron recorded by Xavier, the flows of Saralei's flutes, beats played on an iPhone and Ruth's voice. Listeners dive into all these contemporary stories haunted by history, feeling of a leap into the void, a state of dissociation or a feeling of liberation.

Metal.wet is the new album from mercurial avant-pop shapeshifters Soft as Snow. Ten tracks of beat-driven synth-pop featuring analogue synths, samplers, live drums, and processed guitars, with Oda Starheim's evocative and layered vocals at the center of it all. Recorded in Berlin and Marseille, the album is an ambitious and atmospheric step forward for the duo, exploring themes of vulnerability and sensuality with a confident and uncanny approach to experimental pop production. Includes insert with lyrics. Mastered by Heba Kadry. "Whip" features London-based MC Brother May.

Corbett vs. Dempsey and Studio Williams announce that Radio Play is available on long play vinyl for the first time. The double-disk set contains two adaptions of Inklusive. Inklusive is a play written by Bavarian playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz. It is part of a trilogy of radio plays from 1971 titled Trilogie Münchener Lebens. The play was first broadcast as a radio play in former West Germany on Südwestfunk in 1972. A second version was broadcast in former East Germany on Rundfunk der DDR in 1974. The West and East German broadcasts are the basis for two radio play adaptations by artist Christopher Williams. Both adaptations will be recorded in German using the same technology used to produce the original broadcasts of 1972 and 1974. Eva Mattes (O.k., The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant) is an actress born in Tegernsee. Sebastian Bezzel (Tatort, Eberhoferkrimis) is an actor from Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Norbert Stöß (Abschnitt 40) is an actor born in Dresden. Andreas Leupold (The Human Centipede) is an actor from East Berlin. Rüdiger Carl is a free jazz artist born in Goldap, East Prussia. Mo Stern is a sound engineer, visual artist, DJ and music producer born in Hamburg. Franz Xaver Kroetz is a playwright, actor, and director from Munich. Christopher Williams is a Los Angeles-born artist and professor of photography who lives and works in Cologne. Maximilian Klemens Sänger is an artist and filmmaker based in Düsseldorf. Packaged in cardboard sleeve with paper insert. Produced and directed by Christopher Williams; executive production by: John Corbett & Jim Dempsey. Edition of 500.

Double LP version. Utah Saints are one of the most important acts since the inception of electronic dance music. Early adopters of sampling, they brought the artform -- used chiefly in hip-hop in the 1980s -- into new realms. Incorporating rock, dance and hip-hop elements into their music, they scored five Top 40 UK singles including "Something Good" and "What Can You Do For Me" and a Top 10 album in the space of just two years. Out of print since its original release over 30 years ago, Utah Saints' eponymous debut album returns -- remastered extended with three sought after remixes by CJ Bolland, DJ Misjah, and Union Jack. Includes special limited edition mirror board packaging, for National Album Day 2024.

"Tucked in the back corner of a linen closet in Macon, Georgia since 1979 sat a box that very few people knew existed. Lost and presumed forgotten, this box contained reel-to-reel tapes of the lost album by the band that issued the lauded Black Gold as The Mighty Chevelles in 1977. By 1979, while transitioning to the name Music Makers Band, the band entered Capricorn Studios and recorded this disco funk opus, finally issued as You Can Be. Nearly all songs have been remixed from the original multi-track masters by Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez."

"The definitive survey of America's independent '70s soul scene, and a companion piece to Now-Again's long-running Soul Cal series."

"Soul Cal captures the retro-utopian vision of a past where every smalltown record store or garage in the US might have hidden a virtuosic funk outfit; the thrill of knowing that jobbing musicians might be getting paid for the first time; plus the bittersweet knowledge that those that passed on are getting deserved recognition. And all that before you get the thrill of the music itself." --Wire Magazine.

"Compilation produced, annotated and researched by Eothen 'Egon' Alapatt. Art direction by Errol Richardson. Mastered by Dave Cooley, Kelly Hibbert, and Jason Bitner. Additional coordination by Tanner McCrary."

"Limited-edition transparent purple vinyl. Iggy Pop practically invented punk rock with The Stooges and is celebrated for his wild and dangerous attitude, whether with The Stooges, David Bowie, or other line-ups. But he's rarely seen SOLO. This Skydog Records double-vinyl album captures Iggy without any band in various environments, mostly acoustic and also electric, but -- just as rock'n'roll as ever! Stripped down versions of 'I Wanna Be Your Dog,' 'Louie Louie,' 'Night Clubbing,' Jonathan Richmond's 'Pablo Picasso' with only four strings left on his guitar, and many other favorites as they've rarely been heard -- and five otherwise unreleased songs! The 2LP set comprises a solo acoustic show from Barcelona, an acoustic studio session, a solo electric gig from Paris, plus more solo tracks from elsewhere. Skydog Records' first Iggy release was in 1976 with the riotous 'last ever Stooges show,' Metallic KO; this is its alternative hidden gem."

Club music reduced to its essential elements, those elements then pushed to their limits! Dangerously malfunctioning DJ tools! The Feeling of Power! All that and much more on this striking new record from the one and only Barnt, the great reductional absurdist finally appearing on Studio Barnhus, providing concrete proof of the secret, decade-long love-affair between artist and label, after a bunch of Barnt b2b Boman DJ sets over the years, Kornél Kovács' legendary "disco edit" of classic Barnt track "Chappell", endless "Studio Barnthus" jokes, etc. "Aqua Breeze" immediately makes its mark as an essential part of Barnt's relatively small, absolutely profound catalog.

MLiR is one of those rare creative partnerships where personalities and talents perfectly match, an exquisite balance of similarity and polarity leading to ingenuity. In the case of MLiR, this dynamic has resulted in the form of consistently vibrant takes on current, past and future global dance music, an artistic expression fueled by equal parts tireless record digging and masterful studio wizardry. Their two previous EPs on Studio Barnhus count among the label's most played and loved, and the forthcoming debut album Pulpo Fiction, released on the Stockholm label, takes it to the next level with a staggering track list of 16 new recordings featuring vocal talent as diverse as Kenyan rapper Nah Eeto, American poet Oliver Grimball and Swedish soul singer Cosima Olu. The music is as wild a ride as ever with MLiR at the controls -- ranging from the nostalgic to the futuristic, the deep to the poptastic -- with a firm base in the kind high-powered, light-footed dancefloor material the duo is so beloved for. Also features Arnau Obiols, Kamohelo, Janne Tavi, and Kamohelo.

mindSET is the ninth album from enigmatic producer SW., directly following 2024's excursion into his trademark techno, IDM and bleep soundscapes, on the myDEFINITIONS Vol II album. But with his mindSET album, SW. takes a left turn, as pioneers often do, and listeners find themselves on the lesser traveled side roads of electronic music history. Or in SW.'s own words: "the more abstract leftfield elements." It's in these less-defined areas that SW. finds his sweet spot, building dancefloor soundtracks that defied definition. And with mindSET, the sounds and the machines might have changed, the methodology remains the same. "It draws from what was more generally seen in leftfield as a term for the slightly off-kilter house and broken beats that didn't fit neatly into classic genres, whether that was Chicago house, French garage, drum and bass, or broken beat. It's more about those in-between sounds that never really took off, only appearing briefly in the early to mid-'90s and then quickly disappearing. There was a certain magic in that moment, which I wanted to capture. Also, the entire album was produced using classic analog equipment, with old machines that were used during that era. That's the approach I've taken." The eight tracks on mindSET are shaped out of de-tuned techno pop synths and heavy, syncopated drums, grooving along chopped-up polymeters to create an eerie mood, as if orbiting an undiscovered planet for the first time. The harmonic movements are often bent out of shape, sometimes veering towards Gherkin Jerks or Cristian Vogel territory. But in the end, the sounds are less important than the atmosphere, and the tracks represent an attitude or an approach -- to creating the music as well as experiencing it. mindSET is a nod to those dancers sharing an oddball moment, and for those of us on the same wavelength, it's a vibe listeners can all get inside.

2024 repress! "Mondays at The Enfield Tennis Academy, x2 LPs of long-form, lyrical, groove-based free improv by acclaimed guitarist & composer Jeff Parker's ETA IVtet, is at last here. Recorded live at ETA (referencing David Foster Wallace), a bar in LA's Highland Park neighborhood with just enough space in the back for Parker, drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Anna Butterss, & alto saxophonist Josh Johnson to convene in extraordinarily depthful & exploratory music making. Gleaned for the stoniest side-length cuts from 10+ hours of vivid two-track recordings made between 2019 & 2021 by Bryce Gonzales, Mondays at The Enfield Tennis Academy is a darkly glowing séance of an album, brimming over with the hypnotic, the melodic, & patience & grace in its own beautiful strangeness. Room-tone, electric fields, environment, ceiling echo, live recording, Mondays, Los Angeles. Jeff Parker's first double album & first live album, Mondays at The Enfield Tennis Academy belongs in the lineage of such canonical live double albums recorded on the West Coast as Lee Morgan's Live at the Lighthouse, Miles Davis' In Person Friday & Saturday Night at the Blackhawk, San Francisco & Black Beauty, & John Coltrane's Live in Seattle. While the IVtet sometimes plays standards &, including on this recording, original compositions, it is as previously stated largely a free improv group -- just not in the genre meaning of the term. The music is more free composition than free improvisation, more blending than discordant. It's tensile, yet spacious & relaxed. Clearly all four musicians have spent significant time in the planetary system known as jazz, but relationships to other musics, across many scenes & eras -- dub & Dilla, primary source psychedelia, ambient & drone -- suffuse the proceedings. Listening to playbacks Parker remarked, humorously & not, 'we sound like the Byrds' (to certain ears, the Clarence White-era Byrds, who really stretched it). A fundamental of all great ensembles, whether basketball teams or bands, is the ability of each member to move fluidly & fluently in & out of lead & supportive roles. Building on the communicative pathways they've established in Parker's -- The New Breed -- project, Parker & Johnson maintain a constant dialogue of lead & support. Their sampled & looped phrases move continuously thru the music, layered & alive, adding depth & texture & pattern, evoking birds in formation, sea creatures drifting below the photic zone. Or, the two musicians simulate those processes by entwining their terse, clear-lined playing in real-time. The stop/start flow of Bellerose, too, simulates the sampler, recalling drum parts in Parker's beat-driven projects. Mostly Bellerose's animated phraseologies deliver the inimitable instantaneous feel of live creative drumming. The range of tonal colors he conjures from his extremely vintage battery of drums & shakers -- as distinctive a sonic signature as we have in contemporary acoustic drumming -- bring almost folkloric qualities to the aesthetic currency of the IVtet's language. A wonderful revelation in this band is the playing of Anna Butterss. The strength, judiciousness & humility with which she navigates the bass position both ground & lift upward the egalitarian group sound. As the IVtet's grooves flow & clip, loop & repeat, the ensemble elements reconfigure, a terrarium of musical cultivation growing under controlled variables, a tight experiment of harmony & intuition, deep focus & freedom. For all its varied sonic personality, Mondays at The Enfield Tennis Academy scans immediately & unmistakably as music coming from Jeff Parker's unique sound world. Generous in spirit, trenchant & disciplined in execution, Parker's music has an earned respect for itself & for its place in history that transmutes through the musical event into the listener. Many moods & shapes of heart & mind will find utility & hope in a music that combines the autonomy & the community we collectively long to see take hold in our world, in substance & in staying power. On the personal tip, this was always my favorite gig to hit, a lifeline of the eremite records Santa Barbara years. Mondays southbound on the 101, driving away from tasks & screens & illness, an hour later ordering a double tequila neat at the bar with the band three feet away, knowing i was in good hands, knowing it would be back around on another Monday. To encounter life at scales beyond the human body is the collective dance of music & the beholding of its beauty, together." --Michael Ehlers & Zac Brenner Pressed on premium audiophile-quality 140 gram vinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing from Kevin Gray/Cohearent Audio lacquers. Mastered by Joe Lizzi, Triple Point Records, Queens, NY.

2024 repress; LP version. "After a two-decade interlude, Jim O'Rourke's Moikai returns with Spectral Evolution, a major new work by Rafael Toral. Making his name in the mid-1990s with influential guitar drone platters like Sound Mind Sound Body and Wave Field, Toral has never been one to rest on his laurels repeating his past glories. Since 2017, Toral's work has been entering a new phase, often still centered around the arsenal of self-built instruments developed in the Space Program, but with a renewed interest in the long tones and almost static textures of his earlier work; he has also, after more than a decade, returned to the electric guitar. Spectral Evolution is undoubtedly Toral's most sophisticated work to date, bringing together seemingly incompatible threads from his entire career into a powerful new synthesis, both wildly experimental and emotionally affecting. Toral manages the almost miraculous feat of having his self-built electronic instruments (which in the past he had seen as 'inadequate to play any music based on the Western system') play in tune. In an unexpected sidestep away from any of his previous work, the chord changes that underpin many of the episodes on Spectral Evolution are derived from classic jazz harmony, including takes on the archetypal Gershwin 'Rhythm changes' and Ellington-Strayhorn's 'Take the ʻA' Train,' albeit slowed to such an extent that each chord becomes a kind of environment in its own right. Threading together twelve distinct episodes into a flowing whole, Spectral Evolution alternates moments of airy instrumental interplay with dense sonic mass, breaking up the pieces based on chord changes with ambient 'Spaces.' At points reduced to almost a whisper, at other moments Toral's electronics wail, squelch, and squeak like David Tudor's live-electronic rainforest. Similarly, his use of the guitar encompasses an enormous dynamic and textural range, from chiming chords to expansive drones, from crystal clarity to fuzzy grit: on the beautiful 'Your Goodbye,' his filtered, distorted soloing recalls Loren Connors in its emotive depth and wandering melodic sensibility. The product of three years of experimentation and recording, and synthesizing the insights of more than thirty years of musical research, Spectral Evolution is the quintessential album of guitar music from Rafael Toral."

From Mike Cooper: "I made the first set of pieces for this collection during the intense heat of the 2023 Spanish summer; 32 degrees inside the house at night sometimes. I had just finished reading one of the most extraordinary volumes of fiction (something I rarely read) titled The Guyana Quartet by the Caribbean writer Wilson Harris. I came to this book via the works of Nathaniel Mackay, who recommended Wilson Harris as an important influence on his own creative writing. While researching further for my Tropical Gothic project I came across another writer from Guyana, Edgar Mittelholzer, and his book My Bones And My Flute. The two books couldn't be more different. Mittelholzer's book is described as 'a ghost story in the old-fashioned manner,' while The Guyana Quartet is one of the strangest books I have ever read. A lot of the time I had no idea what was going on but its strangeness kept drawing me into it and onwards. It is extremely psychedelic and tropical gothic with an added healthy dose of quantum time. Sometimes the characters are both alive and dead at the same time. The stories all takes place either in the Amazon basin rainforests of Guyana or the Rupununi Savannah, home to a vast array of exotic wildlife which includes jaguars, sloths, monkeys, giant otters, tapirs, emerald tree boa snakes and more. I wanted this musical edition to be an aural reflection of the landscapes conjured in my mind's eye as I was reading. Most of my samples and loops are created using a ukulele, my fingers, a metal hip-flask, (for rum), an empty St James Rum bottle, field recordings from Martinique, electric and acoustic lap steel guitar and a virtual pedal steel guitar. The flute player is unknown but maybe from Vietnam. The titles of my pieces are mostly taken from the two books as well as the title, Slow Motion Lightning, which resonated with me as a description of our current situation with regards climate change, and other man-made disasters that have occurred since beginning the pieces. Slow Motion Lightning; deadly and unpredictable never strikes twice in the same place except when it does."

Mazza Vision's Ohm Spectrum represents the first album of this new project created by two founding members of Tone Rec and Dat Politics, joined by occasional collaborators. Recorded during the bizarre pandemic summer of 2020, the six slow-burning tracks take drone-rock-noise as rhythm to new hazy territories by stripping down the essence of acoustic/electronic sound into dry husks and organizing them into strangely harmonic and hypnotic structures. A radical collision of instrument manipulations, heady electronics, field recordings, and heartfelt ambient soundscapes forms part of a puzzling, lo-fi dissonant movement that seems to seep out of the concrete walls. All music composed and mixed by Mazza Vision (Pailliot, Collet): electronics, drums, synthesizer, sampler, organ, bass, accordion, guitar, field recordings, contact mic, minidisk. RIYL: Tone Rec, Seefeel, Tomaga, Fuck Buttons.

"Arabian Waltz is the pinnacle of Rabih Abou-Khalil's achievement as a composer and arranger. It is a sublime fusion of jazz, Middle Eastern traditional music, and Western classical. In addition to Abou-Khalil on oud (the Arabic lute), Michel Godard on the tuba and the serpent (the tuba's antique kinsman), and Nabil Khaiat on frame drums, the album also features the Balanescu String Quartet instead of the usual trumpet or sax. The presence of the Balanescu might seem to pose a dilemma for the composer: traditional Middle Eastern music uses no harmony but a string quartet is all about harmony. Abou-Khalil achieves a compromise by generally writing the string parts in unison (or in octaves), in effect using the quartet as a single voice, but also letting the quartet split up to play parts in unison with the other instruments or to provide ornamentation. Without surrendering jazziness at all, the presence of the strings makes possible a wondrous atmosphere, almost as if one is listening to the soundtrack of a classy movie set in Beirut or Damascus during the '40s. This feeling is greatest on 'Dreams of a Dying City' with its brooding tuba and cello motifs and grave, repeated rhythms. 'The Pain After' starts with an impressive tuba solo that turns into a long interlude for tuba and string quartet; sad, slow music that sounds like one of Beethoven's late quartets. Then Abou-Khalil finally enters on oud, bringing a sustained note of wistfulness. Fortunately, beside the darker numbers lie the propulsive drama of 'Arabian Waltz' and the bobbing and weaving quirkiness of 'Ornette Never Sleeps.' Abou-Khalil is known for experimenting with the possibilities his guest musicians bring to his style. In this case, the guests have inspired the host to reach a new height and maybe even a new style. This recording suits every fan of world music, jazz, classical, or just good music." --Kurt Keefner

US psych holy grail from 1969. Killer Doorsy organ and fuzzed-out guitars, including all-time psychedelic classics like "Colors," "Workshop," and "Mind Machine." Transplanted from Portland to the Sunset Strip, Hunger played at all the hip places, rubbing shoulders with bands like Hour Glass (pre-Allman Brothers), the Doors, and Steppenwolf. In 1969 they released Strictly from Hunger for the small Public label. Highly sought after, Guerssen is proud to present a straight reissue of such collectable album. Featuring original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve plus OBI, with remastered sound and insert with liner notes and rare photos by Clark Faville.

Until now, the earliest recordings anyone has heard by Joe McPhee come from the period around his 1968 debut album, Underground Railroad. McPhee had just started playing tenor saxophone at that point. A couple of years earlier, the bassist featured on all of McPhee's early recordings, Tyrone Crabb, led a band of his own, the Jazzmen, in which McPhee was featured on his first instrument: trumpet. Indeed, McPhee was a trumpet legacy -- his father was a trumpeter. In the mid-'60s, Joe was a serious young player with deep knowledge and an expansive ear. Performing around Poughkeepsie and across the Hudson Valley, the Jazzmen were one of the very first ensembles recorded by Craig Johnson, who would go on to form the CjR label expressly to release McPhee's music. The fledgling audio engineer was clearly learning the ropes when he documented this incredible 1966 performance, but despite a few excusable acoustic blemishes, it's a beautiful window into McPhee's trumpet playing, suggesting that, had he stuck to that instrument alone, he might well have been considered a major figure on the horn (of course, he is such a figure on the pocket trumpet); the opening track, a version of "One Mint Julep" as arranged by Freddie Hubbard (on his Blue Note record Open Sesame) shows McPhee's lithe stylings to good effect. McPhee's musical cosmology was much bigger than a single axe, however, as is evident on the sprawling second track, which, over the course of half-an-hour proceeds from an excoriating yowl to a version of Miles Davis's "Milestones" taken at a sweltering tempo. A portent of the free jazz to follow and a marker of McPhee's foundations in hard bop and soul jazz, 1966 features the entire reel-to-reel tape long thought lost, simply labeled: "Joe McPhee, 1966, trumpet." Featuring Joe McPhee (trumpet, recorder), Harry Hall (tenor saxophone, recorder), Reggie Marks (tenor saxophone, recorder), Mike Kull (piano), Tyrone Crabb (bass, bandleader), and Charlie Benjamin (drums).

Space Drum Meditation unveils Four Tusks, their debut album and seventh release on the label. This 12-track journey blends tribal rhythms, atmospheric textures, and electronic elements, interweaving darkness and light. The album unfolds like a ritual, revealing a murky, immersive soundscape shaped by primal beats, ethereal ambience, rumbling thunder, and the whisper of rain, reminiscent of a primeval marshland and drawing one into its depths. Featuring a wide array of instruments -- including deep percussion, traditional flutes, throat singing, and field recordings -- Four Tusks crafts a mysterious tapestry that feels both ancient and futuristic, resonating with nature's elements.

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. The definitive Amethyst line-up, with Hugh Patton on drums and Mike Waugh on bass, played at venues like the I.L. Club, a historical landmark of Austin blues and psychedelic music. 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. 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, followed by a new edition on German label World In Sound in 2008, now out of print. For this new edition, Guerssen has tried to imagine how the Cold Sun album could have looked like if it had been actually released in 1970. It comes 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.

With their roots traced in two legendary '60s garage bands, The Outcasts and The Stoics, Homer were without doubt one the best psychedelic/hard-rock outfits coming out from Texas. Grown in U.S.A was their only album, released as a private pressing in 1970. Rural psychedelic rock with early prog hints fueled by stunning lead/dual guitar, melodic vocals and occasional mellotron. Featuring original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve plus OBI, with newly sourced and remastered sound. Includes insert with liner notes and photos.

Housed together in a stunning slipcase with a matte laminate soft touch finish and a UV spot varnish on the beloved logo, Be With proudly present the Be With 10 Years record and book package. Record contains ten exclusive never-before-on-vinyl tracks from ten Be With family members. 310mm square softcover book printed on a 350gsm woodfree uncoated board. Book block printed on 120gsm Dadong Lucky Bird woodfree uncoated paper. 140gram vinyl with a 380gsm jacket. 1000 copies only for the world, no repress! Be With Records reaching ten years feels like a landmark worth celebrating. The label presents Joyride (the record) and Labour Of Love (the book) in one beautiful slipcase. This book and record package was conceived as an opportunity to praise, shine a light on and above all else show gratitude to all the artists Be With has worked so closely with over the last ten years. But not just the artists -- all of the amazing people who form part of the wider Be With family. Without question, this package represents the most exciting, daunting and rewarding thing that the label has ever put together. The record: Joyride. Ten tracks for ten years of Be With from ten artists. As a happily "all over the place" label, the music, accordingly, had to be varied in vibe and style. Featuring Thomas Almqvist, Lewis Taylor, Mic Murphy, 52nd Street, Coastlines, Maston, Kenny Dickenson, The Autumn Defense, Stimulator Jones, and Andre Cymone. The book: Labour Of Love. Created in conjunction with the editor and design team behind Disco Pogo, Labour Of Love is Be With's first ever book and serves as a brilliantly rich and varied document of Be With's first 10 years. It surveys the entire catalogue with the artwork for every single release faithfully reproduced in full color accompanied by Rob's inimitable reviews. The book contains fresh, exclusive interviews with Ned Doheny, Leon Ware, Lewis Taylor, Tommy Guerrero, Wally Badarou, Steve Moore, Pete Fowler, Kimiko Kasai, Tony Henry (52nd Street), The Autumn Defense, Coastlines, and The Mighty Soulmates. There's also fantastic contributions from a whole host of well-regarded fans of the label, including Gilles Peterson, Trevor Jackson, Efficient Space on Steve Hiett, Bill Brewster, Balearic Mike, and Lou Hayter. It explores the development of the Be With logo and also take an insider's look at the journey of a typical Be With record.

2024 restock; reissue -- originally released in 1976. Color vinyl, 180 gram. "Water Babies is a compilation album by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. It compiled music Davis recorded in studio sessions with his quintet in 1967 and 1968, including outtakes from his 1968 album Nefertiti and recordings that foreshadowed his direction on In a Silent Way (1969), while covering styles such as jazz fusion and post-bop. Water Babies was released by Columbia Records in 1976 after Davis had (temporarily) retired." Personnel: Miles Davis, Trumpet; Wayne Shorter, Soprano Saxophone; Herbie Hancock, Piano; Ron Carter, Bass; Tony Williams, Drums; Chick Corea, Electric Piano; Dave Holland, Bass; Teo Macero, Producer

"In 1996, Too $hort almost retired with album number ten, but of course, he couldn't stay away from the game. In 1999 he returned with Can't Stay Away and would pick back up his streak and release a new album every year until 2003. He had been living in Atlanta for several years and the ATL influence was growing on him as each album would feature more southern Hip-Hop artists and producers. Too $hort was starting to get crunk and made appearances on Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz albums as their sound was growing in popularity in the early aughts. Lil Jon jumped on Too $hort's 14th album What's My Favorite Word in 2002 and would produce five songs on the 2003 follow up Married To The Game. $hort was not about to retire but took a three-year hiatus after the release of his 15th album. He returned in 2006 and dropped the hyped-up Lil Jon single 'Blow The Whistle' and followed with his 16th studio album of the same name with Lil Jon and Jazze Pha behind the boards. The album is a mix of crunk, club, classic pimp tales, and some East Oakland hyphy courtesy of Droop-E and Rick Rock. Almost 20 years later 'Blow The Whistle' can get any club or stadium bouncing and Too $hort don't stop rappin. Get On Down is proud to present Blow The Whistle for the first time on vinyl."

From Lawrence English: "It's hard to imagine that this year [2024] William Gibson's Neuromancer celebrates its 40th anniversary. Having recently re-read the book for the first time in a great many years, the world building Gibson undertook in that text and the lingering cultural specters he conjured, feel ever so evocative of moments of our contemporary lived experience. The books continued cultural resonance has resolved in a way that captured a future reading of an, at that time of its release, unknown internet era. It was an era of promise, and imagination, of speculative hope and down-right uneasiness in equal parts. In 1994, as the books 10th anniversary was on hand, New York duo Black Rain were commissioned to make a soundtrack to the audio book version of Neuromancer. Read by the author himself, this document, originally publish on a series of cassettes, would go on to be recognized as a unique glimpse into Gibson's sensing of the characters and places that make up the Neuromancer zone. Following a period of work as an expanded collective, Stuart Argabright and Shinichi Shimokawa, the two core members of Black Rain, decided to strip back their unit largely to a duet format. Their focus became more engaged around studio practice, and it was this refocusing that was ultimately serendipitous. As they started work on Neuromancer a number of new approaches and techniques emerged and with them came a new sonic language the pair had only imagined previously. The audio book was a huge success and the soundtrack too was recognized for its brooding and post-industrial electronic grind. Since that time however, the recordings have largely remained in obscurity. While a couple of the pieces have surfaced in various editions including an excellent compilation by Blackest Ever Black, the entire suite of pieces has remained unpublished until this moment. Working off the original master tapes, this edition (like the book), folds and morphs over itself in an episodic stratification. Pieces emerge, like strange architecture, from one another forming a sonic environment that feels almost tangible. I spent many weeks working on these tapes and also on the connections between the pieces. In collaboration with Stuart, our joint aim was to create a version of the soundtrack that speaks to the very atmosphere of the text itself. It's a delight to share this collection of work for the first time."

Originally recorded and edited between 1983-1997. From Lawrence English: "I'll take a guess and say I first heard Alan Lamb's Night Passage in 1999. Released by Darrin Verhagen's seminal Dorobo label, the record birthed an approach that wove together themes of materialism, field recording and a reimagining of the abandoned utilities of human habitation. Night Passage is one of those recordings I feel has always been with me, it's that foundational. It completely re-shaped the way a generation of audio explorers thought about how sound and music might exist in the orbit of each other. On my first listen I'm confident I was unable to place exactly how these sounds were created, even knowing the source materials, but one thing I can say without reservation is their resonance has lingered with me these past couple of decades. The sound world Lamb captured, waves rippling along wires, was exquisitely simple, and effortlessly deep. Here, right before us, was a sound world locked within materials we pass by everyday. In tapping into these materials, Alan Lamb unlocked a parallel dimension of sense, one guided by interactions of objects and the environments surrounding them. An inorganic, living music the likes of which had not been readily available until the publication of his recordings. Alan Lamb's work with long wires, undertaken in situ across Western Australia, are quite frankly the stuff of legend. To revisit them in such a focused way almost four decades on from their initial recording I'm struck by how other worldly and evocative they continue to be. It's with great pleasure we share Night Passage, completely remastered under the guidance of Alan himself."

Limited 2024 repress; double LP version. WRWTFWW Records announce the first official worldwide reissue of Satsuki Shibano's Wave Notation 3: Erik Satie 1984, the final album from the sound-defining Wave Notation environmental music series curated by Satoshi Ashikawa. Originally released in 1984 on the Sound Process label, Wave Notation 3 followed Ashikawa's own Still Way (1982) and Hiroshi Yoshimura's Music For Nine Postcards (1982). The highly sought-after album is sourced from the original master tape. Wave Notation 3 is a splendid tribute to seminal French composer and pianist Erik Satie, himself one of the main influences behind kankyō ongaku/environmental music (alongside Brian Eno, John Cage, to name a few). The alphabetically-sequenced album features 26 pieces showcasing Shibano's unique piano interpretation of Satie's works. The artist explains: "For this album, I sequenced the compositions in alphabetical order of each title, irrespective of the period of each composition or style. By doing this, I attempted to effectively create 'Music as an environment' and at the same time, allow the listener to genuinely experience Satie's music." Satsuko Shibano's minimalistic approach to ambient classical is simply perfect and offers a beautiful and tranquil listening experience, furniture music with extra comfort and soothing simplicity, relaxing to the mind and to the soul. This Wave Notation deserves a spot among the pillars of Japanese environmental music, next to Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Hiroshi Yoshimura's Green, and Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way. For fans of furniture music, environmental music, music as an environment for furniture, ambient, Midori Takada, Satoshi Ashikawa, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Erik Satie, Brian Eno, minimalism. Includes English and Japanese liner notes by the artist, was supervised by Japanese ambient legend Yoshio Ojima.

2024 repress. "You've got to listen to this band, you'll really like them, I know." A Colourful Storm presents the first-time vinyl issue of Blueboy's The Bank Of England, originally released in 1998. The group of Paul Stewart, Keith Girdler, Cath Close, Ian Gardner, and James Neville are Sarah Records royalty alongside The Field Mice, Heavenly, The Wake, and The Orchids, and this is the final recording from arguably the most beautiful, afflicted band of '90s indie-pop and DIY. One of the true treasures of modern pop music. Mastered from the original recording tapes with assistance from Sarah Records and Shinkansen Records' own Matt Haynes. Full color reverse-card LP sleeve with printed insert.

Mirror Phase concludes a trilogy of minimal ambient albums in Jonas Munk's own name. These eight compositions, based on guitar and synthesizer loops, marks a return to the warmer sounds Munk is often associated with. Sonic structures that slowly and gradually evolves and changes, like cloud formations in the sky. The title track "Mirror Phase" is Munk's most expansive drone opus so far. It's a carefully arranged piece where sounds that oscillates with the same interval, but at different phases, are continuously added, hence creating shifting patterns throughout the track's nearly 18-minute duration. Elsewhere, in "Transition," multi-layered guitars create the sonic equivalent of waves gently splashing on the shore. "At a Distance" creates a haunting, and hypnotic, soundscape by using slightly out-of-tune analog synthesizers, summoning the transcendent krautrock of Popol Vuh. "Rise," as well as the closing track "Return to Nowhere," recall the glistening sounds of his Manual releases. Mirror Phase might just be Munk's ambient oeuvre reaching its zenith. RIYL: Fripp & Eno, William Basinski, Christopher Willits, Stars of the Lid. CD comes with Munk's previous album Altered Light, vinyl is limited to 300 copies on milky clear vinyl.

2024 repress. "Back in 1997, David Pajo was a little over a half decade removed from the future sensation known as Slint, who released two albums over the course of a three-year existence; the second album came out when they band were already defunct. During the next five years, Pajo played with Palace Brothers, King Kong, Tortoise, The For Carnation, and Stereolab. All during that period, the idea of his own music was slowly simmering, building flavor like a good rage. When it broke, it was a 1996 7" single on Palace records, attributed to 'M' with no further edification -- but upon hearing it, there could be no doubt that this fucker was of the Slint lineage. So David jumped up to Drag City with a full length album, this time to be released under the name Aerial M. Two years after that, he came back with an album called Live From a Shark Cage, this time to be credited to Papa M, and Aerial M was heard of no more, until the 2024 release of their late-'90s Peel sesh. And now the album that started to continue it all is pressed anew on vinyl. Dig Aerial M."

The Feedbackorchester (Feedback Orchestra/FBO) consists of eight electric guitarists who play exclusively feedback on their instruments. Situated at the intersection of rock music and sound art, the group was founded in Berlin in 1999 and has since been performing mainly in unusual locations with unique acoustic or architectural features, such as churches, stairwells, water reservoirs, ruins, barns, etc. After a number of self-released CD-Rs, this is their first vinyl album. The orchestra is always arranged in a circle to ensure the closest possible contact between the players, while the audience is free to move around and listen from different positions. The music has been described as meditative on the one hand, while at the same time showing an impressive physical presence, often drawing comparisons to forces of nature. It is a constantly flowing stream of vibrations, frictions, and of rising and falling walls of sound in which tones and harmonies constantly attract, break, and find each other again. In recent years, the FBO has settled on a permanent cast of members who have been making music in various bands and projects for decades. This LP was recorded in a Berlin church, the Zwingli-Kirche, on August 27, 2020, and features the players Herman Herrmann, Günter Schickert, Kerl Fieser, Zeppy Haus, Giles Schumm, Hendrik Kröz, Dirk Dresselhaus, and Ansgar Wilken. Edition of 300 in full-color sleeve with photos from the location and the performance.

After the orchestral piece KlangWerk 11 in 2022 (ET 933-04LP), Edition Telemark presents the second LP from Berlin-based composer Erhard Grosskopf (b. 1934), featuring his two string quartets nos. 3 and 4 in previously unreleased recordings by the renowned Pellegrini Quartet, and pressed on multi-colored quadratic mirage vinyl. Like all of his seminal pieces, these quartets -- written after one another in 1998 -- exhibit Grosskopf's principle of composing in a space instead of on a timescale, thereby eschewing the development of a dramaturgy and instead trying to make the listener forget a sense of time passing. He utilizes so-called sound processes: layers of differing lengths that are looped and stacked according to mathematical principles, resulting in circling harmonic constellations that come to an end only when their end points coincide. Despite being meticulously planned out, the actual musical phenomena that establish themselves with this method seem unpredictable to the listener. String quartet no. 3 (op. 50) uses seven such layers mapped to the four instruments, resulting in a length of about 30 minutes. String quartet no. 4 (op. 51) on the other hand consists of 12 short pieces (five quartets, three trios, and four duos) that use a simpler algorithm, allowing the listener to observe the process in close detail. Both quartets were performed by the Pellegrini Quartet (Antonio Pellegrini, Thomas Hofer, Fabio Marano, Helmut Menzler) at the UltraSchall Festival in Berlin in 2007 and 2003, respectively. This particular recording of quartet no. 3 is unreleased, while quartet no. 4 has never been released before at all. The LP is pressed on bespoke blue and crystal quadratic mirage vinyl, optically mirroring the sound process layers. Full-color sleeve with artwork by Julia Antonia and liner notes by Matthias R. Entreß. Includes a postcard with the sleeve artwork.