"Tom Wachunas' Spare Changes is by far one of the best (and unknown/underappreciated) singer-songwriter records ever made. Classifying the album within a specific genre is a terribly difficult feat -- acid folk? folk rock? psychedelic? A true cornucopia of instrumentation -- sax, vibes, kalimba, tabla, guitars (including One St. Stephen guitarist Bruce Roberts), accordion(!) and highly introspective lyrics. Imagine being on a Caribbean cruise ship in 1975, and Neil Young happens to be croonin' with a 12-piece band on some new material that never saw the light of day. Recorded in Columbus, Ohio USA in 1975 at the now-defunct Owl Recording Studios, Spare Changes was actually Tom Wachunas's graduation project for his Masters in Fine Arts from The Ohio State University. Extremely rare -- only 1,000 copies of the original pressing were manufactured. Owl Recording Studio operated from 1973(ish) through 1977 under the direction of Tom Murphy, who would eventually go on to run the famous Track Record Studios in North Hollywood. Tom Murphy's blessing and involvement in sourcing the audio were essential in making this reissue happen."

Alessandro Cortini's acclaimed Forse series is available for the first time on CD including an exclusive disc of Forse performed live. Composed using only an original Buchla Music Easel, an incredibly rare electronic music instrument designed by Don Buchla, the Forse series features long, romantic compositions full of voluminous, bombastic tones and dripping with thick timbre. 2021 digital master by Stephan Mathieu. Packaged in matte-coated digipacks, housed in a heavy-duty tip-on style outer box.

Double LP version. Gatefold sleeve. New full length album by LeRon Carson titled Under The Conditions. Follows 12-inches Lemonline and Tracks From the Tape on Sound Signature. "Under The Conditions sounds like the pinnacle of what lo-fi house producers tried to accomplish a few years ago. Carson carved forward-thinking house anthems with limited equipment and only rudimentary syncing of electronic instruments." --Resident Advisor

Double-LP version. Gatefold sleeve with insert and original liner notes. Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell's music to be released after his death in 1992. Released on CD by Point Music in 1993 it marked the beginning of nearly 30 years of work to let the world hear the enormous archive of unreleased recordings Arthur left behind. Be With Records revisits this first compilation. This is the only place where you can hear some of Arthur's most recognizable music, like the title track "Another Thought", "A Little Lost", "This Is How We Walk On The Moon", "Keeping Up" and the woozy disco of "In The Light Of The Miracle" and "My Tiger, My Timing". Though technically a compilation, the whole of Another Thought comes together as a consistent, coherent, wonderful album. Janette Beckman reproduced her iconic photograph of Arthur in his newspaper boat hat for the sleeve. Tom Lee gave permission to include his liner notes from the original CD booklet, together with Arthur's lyrics. Another Thought is absolutely essential for even the most casual Arthur Russell collection. In fact, it's essential for any fan of non-obvious pop music.

2021 restock. Third volume in the BYG Actuel series; gatefold sleeve, 180 gram vinyl. "After three years as a member of Albert Ayler's band (1964-1967), avant-garde jazz drummer Sunny Murray traveled to France where he recorded for Affinity and BYG. The amazing Homage to Africa was recorded on August 15, 1969 for BYG and features Archie Shepp, Alan Silva, Grachan Moncur III, Lester Bowie, Clifford Thornton, Roscoe Mitchell, Kenneth Terroade and Jeanne Lee."

2021 repress. "Hopeton Brown, better known as Scientist, has been a pioneering figure in the world of dub for 40 years. His early love of electronics proved fruitful when (still a teenager) he was hired at King Tubby's studio in Kingston. Brown quickly ascended the ranks and became heir to Tubby's throne, producing imaginative and technically impressive mixes that solidified his forward-looking nickname. Originally released in 1981, In The Kingdom Of Dub remains one of the best early LPs in Scientist's long career. Produced by Roy Cousins at Channel One and featuring Sly and Robbie along with members of The Revolutionaries, The Aggrovators and The Soul Syndicate, the album offers a wide range of arresting rhythms, bold effect drops and exquisitely melodic bass. From '18 Drumalie Avenue Dub' (a reference to King Tubby's address) to 'Burning Sun Dub', Scientist lays down a veritable roadmap of dub -- filled with disintegrating echoes of satiny organ and textural guitar -- firmly cementing his place as one of the true innovators in Jamaican popular music."

The Mighty Soulmates is a towering early '90s project from the legitimate super group of André Cymone (bass player with Prince), St. Paul Peterson (keyboard player in The Time and lead singer in Prince's group The Family), Mic Murphy (of Sass and The System fame) and Gardner Cole (writer, producer and musician probably best known for his work with Madonna). The sound is a majestic blend of sophisticated funk, emotional R&B, new jack swing flava and slick deep soul. These should-be legendary sessions have been almost a secret since they were recorded back in 1993. From all the tracks Mic sent over, Be With Records cherry picked the absolute cream for a tight four-track EP. A mixture of beat ballads and up-tempo non-hits, coming on like Al B Sure! or Babyface take on Shalamar or even The Purple One. The feel-good dancefloor dynamite of "I Wanna Be The One" is the explosive opening track. A piano-driven, groove-laden blast of yearning deep-pop, with perfectly delivered soulful vocals and an unmistakable "early '90s" sound. Indeed, fans of Eddie Chacon's old group will dig this for days. "Back In The Day" has a timeless swing and swagger, the lyrics reminiscing about the halcyon street life of the Soulmates' youth, about Curtis, Superfly and innocent days gone by, about hustling with friends. Yet more spine-tingling vocals over yet another perfectly produced musical backdrop. "Blue Tuesday" is the thrilling pinnacle of the EP, at least for us. It's absolute soulful-pop perfection. A soaring beat ballad full of chiming guitars, gorgeous harmonizing, falsetto backing vocals and a real steppers' groove. Dramatic, purple-hued closer "Private Time" seems to predict the Timbaland-dominated sound of the mid-to-late '90s, all synthetic strings and squelchy, acidic-drum-machine soul. This EP represents the sound of four incredibly soulful, talented, and influential (soul)mates jamming together over one long hot summer and weaving pure sonic magic.

Limited restock; double LP version. "Freddie Gibbs is the product of violent, drug-laden streets. But unlike most rappers with similar resumes, he brings the block to the booth without inhibition or an exaggerated rap persona. Piñata, a 17 track collaboration with producer Madlib, is the best distillation yet of his transparent approach to making music, combining an at times stark honesty with electrifying talent as a lyricist and performer. Piñata is 'a gangster Blaxploitation film on wax,' says Gibbs, who came up on the streets of Gary, Indiana, the disregarded city known for producing Michael Jackson. Here he is joined by Mac Miller, Earl Sweatshirt, Raekwon, Scarface, Domo Genesis, Ab-Soul and a host of others in setting his soliloquies of the streets alongside film snippets and dusted funk, soul and prog musical tapestries. While this is the latest in a series of single-artist collaborations for Madlib, after Jaylib (J Dilla), Madvillainy (MF Doom) and the street-centric O.J. Simpson with Detroit's Guilty Simpson, the pairing is unique as it is the first time for Gibbs working with just one producer."

Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell's music to be released after his death in 1992. Released on CD by Point Music in 1993 it marked the beginning of nearly 30 years of work to let the world hear the enormous archive of unreleased recordings Arthur left behind. Be With Records revisits this first compilation. This is the only place where you can hear some of Arthur's most recognizable music, like the title track "Another Thought", "A Little Lost", "This Is How We Walk On The Moon", "Keeping Up" and the woozy disco of "In The Light Of The Miracle" and "My Tiger, My Timing". Though technically a compilation, the whole of Another Thought comes together as a consistent, coherent, wonderful album. Janette Beckman reproduced her iconic photograph of Arthur in his newspaper boat hat for the sleeve. Tom Lee gave permission to include his liner notes from the original CD booklet, together with Arthur's lyrics. Another Thought is absolutely essential for even the most casual Arthur Russell collection. In fact, it's essential for any fan of non-obvious pop music. CD version comes in triple-fold digipack with insert and original liner notes.

2021 repress. Be With Records present a reissue of Sweet And Nice, the vital debut album from Jamaica's undisputed first lady of song Marica Griffiths, originally released in 1974. It's reggae at its most soulful. Slinking through a tight ten tracks of R&B and pop-sourced material, it became an instant best seller. Sweet And Nice has appeared over the years with a revised running order and under different titles. But the original's opening sequence of loping soul is legendary, even beyond reggae circles. These songs are now returned to how they were presented on that first Jamaican release, and under their intended album title. Be With doesn't mess with magic. Marcia's version of "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)" has long been lusted after, played by genre-hopping selectors to snapping necks for decades now. It's followed by the sophisticated, rollicking wah-wah funk of "Everything I Own" and the slice of smooth lovers soul par excellence that is "Green Grasshopper" and her ace, lilting Neil Diamond cover "Play Me". The thundering, humid funk of "Children At Play" "sounds uncannily like a precursor of Massive Attack", as FACT Mag astutely noted when they put Sweet And Nice at number 16 in their list of the 100 best albums of the 1970s. Otherworldly, moody, and essential. Side two keeps the fire burning. "Sweet, Bitter Love" should leave you swooning, and is also one of the album's alternate titles. Curtis Mayfield's already-eternal "Gypsy Man" follows, recast as proto-lovers rock. "There's No Me Without You" is elevated to canonical status by the majestic, forlorn horns of the Federal Soul Givers and Marcia's heartbreaking delivery. And if this doesn't get you then surely the next track will: arguably the definitive version of Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". "I Just Don't Want To Be Lonely" re-takes its rightful place at the end of the LP's second side... but Be With Records added an entire second record of rare material recorded around the same time as Sweet And Nice, much of it unavailable since it was originally released. Amongst these 14 extra tracks you'll find the exquisite late-60s singles "Melody Life" and "Mark My Word" which, along with the sumptuous reading of "Band Of Gold". All material is remastered. 140 gram vinyl.

LP version. Built around the successes of his soundtracks and songs for the movies of Christophe Honoré, Alex Beaupain's profile in the "chanson française" landscape is quite unique. Beaupain alternates between soundtracks, songs he writes for others (mainly great French actresses) and his own solo albums. In March 2021, Beaupain paid tribute to the late Serge Gainsbourg for the 30th anniversary of his passing during a special live on-air event where he covered in full, with the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Gainsbourg's penultimate shocking album from 1984: Love On The Beat. This experience led him directly in the studio with Saint DX as producer, the French-American duet Faux Real singing backing vocals and a full string section to re-record this cult album with a 2021 twist. He had also dreamed of covering that particular album that had so much impact on him, musically and lyrically, when he first discovered it. The '80s funky sound of the record, produced by Billy Rush, was a new start for Gainsbourg and at the time, the lyrics shocked everyone but achieved to avoid any censorship.

"I was 10 when Love On The Beat was released in 1984. Covering the full album was an idea I always kept somewhere in my mind as I was fully aware of the long-lasting impact this particular record had on all the teenagers at the time. This collection of songs is far from being the most covered or talked about works form Gainsbourg, but I've always had the feeling they were 'mine'. That everything started there for me and that, one day or the other, I would have to come back to it." --Alex Beaupain

2021 repress. Transparent orange vinyl. LP version. Windborne is the debut album from young Norwegian power-trio Kanaan. With components from jazz, fusion and post-rock they have created six extended pieces of blazing free-form psychedelia. While the band is rooted in the same spirit that gave birth to Mahavishnu Orchestra and Larry Coryell's The Eleventh House in the 1970s, there's a distinctive modern flavor to Kanaan. Their Scandinavian genealogy is apparent as well; their intricate song structures seems to be branching off the same stem as Motorpsycho, Papir, and Jaga Jazzist. Opening track "A. Hausenbecken" feels like a sudden blast of refreshing Nordic air, with rolling guitar leads and growling Fender Rhodes. But Kanaan aren't afraid to get deep and heavy; the B-side dives into straight-up Sabbath territory, with "Act Upon The Mundane World" and "The Groke", before ending the album with the abstract, free-flowing title track "Windborne".

"We are most pleased to present the seventh LP by The Doozer, now based in Edinburgh, but still creating a sound we feel has deep roots in Cambridge, England. is a somewhat sparser trip than his last album, 2018's Figurines (FTR 360LP), but the quality of the songs will be balm to those who have missed his presence. With gentle accompaniment from multi-instrumentalist Ben Kingsbury, Lance Whitehead and Eddie Goodban, the tracks here were recorded in Edinburgh in the summer of 2019, before the shit hit the fans, but some of the songs feel as though they were precipitated by a personal apocalypse, and I'm pretty sure that's something we can all empathize with at this point in the time/space continuum. The sense one gets is that the songs collected here are deigned to help us all rebuild that which has collapsed around us. This is not on infer that The Doozer has gone all instructional on us. One of the great features of his songs has always been their way of combining abstract confusion with observational clarity, allowing simple words to create abstract images. And that has not changed here. His brilliantly casual approach to this is what always makes people (like me anyway), think about his music in terms of extending the sweetest traditions of Syd Barrett and Nick Nicely. There is darkness built into this music, but it is countered with illumination. And if you so choose, you can spend many pleasant hours exploring the many mysterious corners of Convalescence. And that would be the right thing to do!" --Byron Coley, 2021

The classic debut LP by Dub Narcotic Sound System, Boot Party, originally released on K Records in 1996 and unavailable on vinyl for 25 years. The oddball indie-funk collective Dub Narcotic Sound System was spearheaded by vocalist Calvin Johnson, the former frontman of the legendary Beat Happening as well as the founder of the famed K Records label. Named in honor of Johnson's own Olympia, WA-based basement studio Dub Narcotic, the project was begun in 1994 with a rapid-fire series of funk-, rap-, and reggae-influenced singles including "Bite", "Fuck Shit Up", "Booty Run", and "Shake-a-Puddin'"; from the outset Johnson was the group's sole constant member, although over the course of subsequent releases, including the EPs Industrial Breakdown (1996), Ridin' Shotgun (1995), and Ship to Shore (1996), the revolving lineup grew to include Olympia scenesters like Lois Maffeo as well as Larry Butler, Todd Ranslow, and Brian Weber, all three members of the hip-hop unit Dead Presidents. The first Dub Narcotic Sound System full-length, Rhythm Record, Vol. One: Echoes From the Scene Control Room, appeared in 1995; later efforts included 1996's Boot Party and 1998's Out of Your Mind. Sideways Soul, a collaboration with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, followed in 1999. Trouser Press wrote that "when not delving deep into the usual sorts of ambient studio trickery, the songs hit a '60s R&B stride, bathing in the stoned soul picnic ambience with uplifting spirit." Deep red vinyl.

Foot are: Don Fleming, Jim Dunbar, and Thurston Moore -- vintage analog synthesizers. This album has been remodeled by Tim Newman and his associates from the track "Early Foot", which originally appeared on the God Bless Records CD foot in 1998, recorded as part of the Canal Street Series at Jimbo's Pad, NYC in the early days of Nemocore, winter 1996. Liberated from the traditional constraints of time signature and key signature and fixed changes. Where sound responds to music. Clear vinyl.

2021 repress; LP version. Originally released in 1980, this album from Lee "Scratch" Perry is the final work to emerge from the Black Ark studio, before its permanent destruction. It concludes a series of such LP masterworks such as Super Ape, War In Babylon, Police And Thieves, and Return Of The Super Ape. Enthrallingly, it crosses the sound world of Roast Fish Collie Weed & Cornbread with new hybrids -- like the irresistible 11-minute opener, rolling and delirious, a kind of reggae prophesy of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," but musically richer, and more glazed, randy and visionary. Includes an insert with extensive notes by David Katz.

A love-filled tribute to the late Japanese techno and ambient pioneer Susumu Yokota. In 2021, talented classical guitarist Ayane Shino discovered his impressive works and recorded cover version of tracks from his acclaimed Sakura album. Those new contemporary musical pieces will please his ever-growing fanbase as well as listeners beyond the electronic music scene. First in a series (The Timbre Of Guitars) of classical cover versions by Japanese guitarist Ayane Shino. For fans of: ambient, new classical, electronica Japan, Susumu Yokota. Half speed mastering; inside out cardboard; edition of 500.

Operating from the fringes of the South African jazz scene, the enigmatic yet charismatic trombonist and pianist Malcolm Jiyane delivers a major contribution to the canon -- one shaped around dedications to key figures in his personal and professional life. Several years ago, Jiyane was dealing with the death of a band member, the birth of a daughter and the passing of his beloved mentor Johnny Mekoa, founder of the Music Academy of Gauteng, which Jiyane attended from a young age. These life-altering events give shape to the music's emotional register and its thematic concerns. In Black Music, his book of essays and critiques, Amiri Baraka makes the point that jazz musicians, be it in the construction of solos or in other aspects of composition, always draw on the works of their contemporaries or elders. How much outsiders pick up on that is really dependent on how au fait they are with the music. In this album, Jiyane finds comfort in this well-trodden path. Two songs make for great examples. "Umkhumbi kaMa", a jazz-funk track celebrating the creative force as inhabited by women, the motif to Herbie Hancock's "Ostinato (Suite for Angela)" is a clear reference, connecting in one swift move, not only the musical traditions of the Black Atlantic but also the struggles and triumphs of women across space and time. On the same note, the free-form "Solomon, Tsietsi & Khotso", conjured in the same jam session that yielded SPAZA's Uprize! (M3H 007LP), appears here in a more fleshed out form as "Senzo seNkosi"; a tender dedication to Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O bass player Senzo Nxumalo. Jiyane's path to the realization of his debut album as frontman is more than merely one individual's breakthrough. Workshopped and recorded within two days in Johannesburg, UMDALI, not unlike Miles Davis's landmark Kind of Blue, stretches our idea of what it means to improvise within the context of jazz.

The first vinyl LP release from Fluxus pioneer Alison Knowles (b. 1933). Sounds from the Book of Bean is an assemblage of noises and texts related to "The Book of Bean" (1982), Knowles' eight-foot tall walk-in book constructed at Franklin Furnace in New York. This recording, the sounds of making the big book, was continually played back inside of the installation. Echoes of Yoshi Wada hammering together the circular spine of the book, other collaborators mixing ink, feeding a horse, the flowing waters of the Hudson Valley... all superimposed with texts and poems read by Knowles and her daughter Jessica Higgins. On the second side of the album, the piece "Essential Divisions" features Knowles performing with red, black, and white beans. Recorded in Annea Lockwood's underground studio, Knowles sounds the beans in glass, ceramics, wood, as well as in her mouth. Further bean histories and sound poems are recited, concluding with "Popular Bean Soup" -- an ancient recipe translated by George Brecht. Knowles' big books are, as she describes them, transvironments: a transformationally experienced environment. The phenomenological nature of her book is distilled aurally in the case of this record. As Knowles describes the end of her book, "the reader leaves via a ladder or out the window and through a muslin panel printed with contradictory wisdom concerning beans and dreaming... one can begin again either by going on or turning back." Originally published as a cassette in 1982 on the New Wilderness Audiographics label, this remastered edition has been transferred from original tapes. An expansive 20-page booklet is included, holding graphics and writings from Alison Knowles, George Quasha, and Charlie Morrow. Recorded by Alison Knowles, 1980. Produced by Alison Knowles, Sean McCann, and Charlie Morrow. Design by Alison Knowles, cover image courtesy George Quasha. Jessica Higgins also adds voice to tracks 1, 3, 4, 5.

2021 repress. The long-awaited foray into the Vietnamese rock, pop and soul sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s is finally here. Saigon Rock & Soul delivers the goods international retro collectors have been searching for in vain for many years -- and it delivers beyond belief. Every song is a mini-masterpiece, be it heavy acid-rock psychedelia, horn- and guitar-drenched funk grooves, or gripping soul ballads reflective of life during wartime. The tracks that form this collection cut a window into a rich musical Vietnamese music scene that has long been obscured, and for the most part, forgotten. As the scope of electrified Vietnamese music from the 1960s and 1970s begins to be revealed, it becomes evident that this was among the heaviest and most eclectic musical scenes of Southeast Asia at the time. These songs tell of war, love and what war does to love. All of them were recorded in makeshift studios and even U.S. army facilities while the Vietnam War raged -- and were issued by a handful of Saigon record companies on vinyl 45s and reel or cassette tapes. Westernized forms of music in Vietnam had appeared during the latter 19th century, and especially during the early 20th century, under the influence of the French colonizers. Tan Nhac (trans. "modern music") always incorporated both domestic and international sounds, and continued to develop alongside Western musical trends. During the 1960s and 1970s, pulp ballads were being recorded by leading crooners of the time who alternated between modern and traditional forms of regional music. When the electric guitar hit the streets of Saigon, Vietnamese renditions of contemporary instrumental trends such as surf-rock, beat and twist soon emerged, followed by some pretty deep soul sounds inspired by Motown radio hits as well as funk grooves brought on by James Brown and his contemporaries. By the mid-1960s, Vietnam had been ravaged by war for years. American G.I.s had become a standard fixture in Saigon, as did many of the cultural artifacts they brought with them. This certainly included the music. The sounds of rock and roll dominated the radio waves, and Saigon nightclubs were teeming with new sounds. Musically, The Shadows and The Ventures soon gave way to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as an enthusiastic set of young Vietnamese rockers signed on to the lifestyle, always eager to hear the latest musical trends the G.I.s would bring in on LP or tape. This era saw the birth of a vibrant rock scene, yet rock music and anything that came close was commonly referred to as "soul" in the Vietnamese genre-listings. Like many cultures in Asia, Vietnamese music is recorded, marketed, listened to and disposed of in a relatively quick manner. This level of advanced ephemera ensures a degree of difficulty when trying to unearth and discover cultural histories. Literally, most of the music heard here has been brought back from the dead. Artists featured include some of Vietnam's most popular at the time: Elvis Phuong, Hung Cuong, Mai Lei Huyen, Le Thu, Thai Thanh, Giao Linh, Mai Lei Huyen and the CBC Band. Features 70 minutes of classic original recordings compiled by Mark Gergis with extensive liner notes.

LP version. Wewantsounds continues their Ryuichi Sakamoto reissue series with the release of the 1985 album Esperanto, composed for a performance by New York avant-garde choreographer Molissa Fenley. Produced and performed by Sakamoto with contribution by Arto Lindsay and Japanese percussionist Yas-Kaz, Esperanto is a fascinating instrumental work mixing electronica, ambient and synth pop. Released in Japan in 1985 on Midi Inc.s' School label, the album has never been released outside of Japan until now. Esperanto originally came out in 1985 and was Ryuichi Sakamoto's sixth solo album. Coming after his stint with the influential Yellow Magic Orchestra, and also the worldwide success of Sakamoto's 1984 soundtrack for the film Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (in which he starred alongside David Bowie), Esperanto was a return to Sakamoto's leftfield roots. Composed as the soundtrack to a performance by New York choreographer Molissa Fenley (a show commissioned by Japanese producer Shozo Tsurumoto), the album was masterminded by Sakamoto with the help of the cutting-edge electronic technology of the time (the only external contributions are by Arto Lindsay on guitar and Japanese composer Yas-Kaz on percussion). Indeed, the album is a fascinating soundscape experimenting with the new sampler technology -- which, according to Ryuichi Sakamoto from a conversation with journalist Andy Beta mentioned in the liner notes, needed a computer that was huge at the time. Esperanto is composed of eight tracks displaying a varied mix of influences. "A Wongga Dance Song" is pulsating with rhythms while "A Rain Song" adopts a minimalist mode with its distinctive repetitive pattern. "Dolphins" and "A Carved Stone" are captivating ambient pieces showcasing Sakamoto's talent for setting beautiful abstract melodic ornaments over atmospheric tones. One of the highlights of the album is "Adelic Penguins", a fascinating proto techno piece with a funky twist stretching over six minutes which echoes the electro funk of 1981's album Hidari Ude No Yume (WWSCD 033CD/WWSLP 033LP/WWSLP 034LP). "Ulu Watu", a collage-like piece featuring bird motives and a tropical soundscape closes the album with an experimental note. It's interesting to note that, a year later, the tracks from Esperanto would be turned into an experimental video project by New York visual artists Kit Fitzgerald and Nam June Paik collaborator Paul Garrin. A unique album in Ryuichi Sakamoto's rich discography, Esperanto is a groundbreaking work worth rediscovering in its full glory. Original artwork; includes two-page insert with a new introduction by journalist Andy Beta. Audio remastered in Tokyo by Seigen Ono.

Following in the footsteps of Giorgio Lopez, Horisontal Mambo have another newcomer on the label. Behind this Balearic EP (or Donauleric perhaps?) the label have Attila and Szilard, aka Pleasure Voyage, from Budapest. Teaming up as a DJ and production team in 2018 they found a mutual love of disco and Balearic sounds. In their own words: "Pleasure Voyage is a cruise through the universe of feel-good music." After a little touch up and additional mixing by Prins Thomas at Asker's B15 lab Horisontal Mambo are content on classifying this as a modern Balearic classic.

"November 4, 1966 recording of a performance at Valleydale Ballroom in Columbus, Ohio. So its Velvet's classic 1st line up, with Nico Banana album. Almost perform entirely. On top it contains complete un-edited takes of 'Melody Laughter' and 'The Nothing Song' (it clocks 23 minutes something!) where the band performs free into previously unknown passages. Mastered from recently sourced tapes not comparable with any previous versions. Black vinyl edition. Gatefold sleeve audiophile vinyl bags. Limited edition numbered 300 units."

2021 repress, remastered. Alga Marghen very proudly presents Opus 17, a major turning-point in the sonic oeuvre of Eliane Radigue. Finished in 1970, it was the last work composed with feedback materials. From that experimental period, Opus 17 preserves a plastic character: a music made of rough sonic phenomena, at once harsh and granular, possessing a quality of materiality and tactility. Its vibrations structure the air surrounding the listener with densities, thicknesses, indeed with palpable movement. Her compositions are frames which let us hear these phenomena, open frameworks from the sonic installations of her Endless Musics and here reinserted in the five scenes making up Opus 17. In 1970, in her studio of very rudimentary means, she developed a completely unique body of work centered on sounds produced by feedback. Opus 17 has the quality of showing off the sum of the achieved techniques and methods. Eliane Radigue's music has never been rooted in ideas but in practice, the intimate experience of things in the wild which she has known how to tame. This dialog both intense and poetic which she keeps up with the solid matter of sound finds a remarkable concretization in Opus 17. It is to be underlined that with Opus 17 Eliane Radigue inaugurates a technique of composition which will be her footprint, her trademark: imperceptible transformations. For that she has developed a technique of meticulous mixings, based on the slow passage from one section to the next. Imperceptible all during the piece, we pass, ceaselessly and without noticing the changes, from one frequency flux to another. Time is suspended, smoothed out, stretched. It is this technique which Eliane Radigue will be essentially using for all the electronic works to come and which she will never cease to refine and render always more subtle. Opus 17 is the great panoramic voyage through material sound, its electronic phenomena detailed as if in a microscope. As Rhys Chatham recalls: "Eliane Radigue (...) had just moved to New York and had the idea of acquiring an analog modular synthesizer, which is why she worked at NYU in order to try out the possibilities of the Buchla 100 series which we had there. One day, while gossiping, she invited me to her loft, which was just on the corner. She had me listen to a piece composed in France; the piece called 'Opus 17'. (...) What I heard changed to course of my life as a composer. (...) That piece, impressive source of inspiration, gave the impression of being in a grand cathedral, both for the sensation of immensity of being in such a large cathedral, as for the effect of being so close to God." Opus 17 was created at the artistic center of Verderonne on May 23, 1970, for the Fête en blanc (i.e. White Festival) organized by the visual artists Antoni Miralda, Joan Rabascall, Dorothée Selz and Jaume Xifra. Previously unreleased,

Okkyung Lee's is perhaps the most harrowing of the Black Cross Solo Sessions stories. At the onset of COVID, the cellist was called to travel to Korea to be with her dying father. The trip was sudden and didn't allow her to bring her instrument, but once there she was unable to return to New York because of the stringent lockdown. For months she was stranded without her cello, unable to practice or make any music. This intense alienation took a long time to lift. Indeed, even after she made it back to the States, Lee found it impossible to reconnect with the music for a period. The invitation to make a new solo CD for BCSS inspired her to jump-start her playing and in the process, she has made one of the most profound and beautiful CDs in recent memory, an almost impossible to describe amalgam of string and wood and voice and magic. Lee does not release many records, so each one is a major event. A stunning studio production, Na-Reul is that and more, its nine tracks, as Lee puts it, a "raw and direct" response to the traumatic events of 2020 and the turbulent emotions that accompanied it. With liner notes by the artist and artwork and design by Christopher Wool.

2021 repress; tri-color striped vinyl. Double LP version. Something different from Causa Sui. While Causa Sui have always had one foot in heavy psychedelic rock, they've had the other one deep in a wide variety of esoteric styles. On this set, that other dimension of the band is being explored full-scale. Szabodelico paints with a colorful palette, both compositionally and sonically -- digging deep into an assortment of cultures, eras and sounds with a true crate-digger mindset. Throughout their 15-year life-span, Causa Sui has always been about seeking out new directions, exploring the past and the present in a way that's unique at each step of their subtle progression -- forging new paths into an existing map. Szabodelico feels like discovering a small room under the stairs of your own house: familiar, yet new and exciting. Their latest vision is an elegantly zoned-out version of itself: a turn inward. Anti-bombastic, yet rich with ecstatic harmonics and dynamics. The band stringed together a long series of sessions in 2019 and early 2020 in their studio in Odense, often prioritizing playful first takes and good vibes rather than clinical perfection. Sparsely dubbed and mixed with a natural, full-bodied flavor by Jonas Munk during the summer of 2020, each track has its own aesthetic. There's no simple equation to sum up the 13 individual parts of the album, but as a whole it creates an entity that's as complete as each of its parts. From the windblown opener "Echoes of Light", to the closing slow-motion epic "Merging Waters" you'll find yourself asking "where did the time go?" The answer of course is: Szabodelico.

Extraordinary NYC trio Attitude! combine free jazz and post-punk with pointed commentary about issues of race, gender, the pandemic, and political autonomy. Rose Tang, a Mongol from Sichuan, sings/recites and plays guitar, piano, and percussion. Her album with Roses & Roaches, And Yet We Ain't Alone, was released by 577 earlier in 2021. Mentored by free jazz legend Daniel Carter, Tang plays in about 30 bands and ensembles in New York and Seattle. Her music, which she hates to be labeled, may be called punk rock, post-punk, free jazz, spoken word, experimental improv, avant garde, or Chinese rock and folk. Tang calls her music genre "weird shit". She is also a journalist and was a protestor at Tiananmen Square. Tenor saxophonist Ayumi Ishito, from Japan, plays in a plethora of bands along the jazz/rock spectrum. She spent three years studying performance and composition at Berklee, where her instructors included George Garzone, Hal Crook, and Frank Tiberi. In 2017, Ayumi joined Marc Edwards & Slipstream Time Travel, led by Marc Edwards, former drummer of Cecil Taylor's band. Currently, Ayumi is a regular member of The Jazz Thieves, GADADU, Eighty-pound Pug, Platypus Revenge, and Big Squid. Ayumi has released two albums of her original compositions, View from a Little Cave (2016) and Midnite Cinema (2019). Drummer, composer, and educator Wen-Ting Wu Wen-Ting Wu, from Taiwan, combines jazz drive and classical rigor. She was a member of Golden Melody Award-winning band Chang & Lee and Hello Nico in Taiwan before she moved to New York in 2016 and earned her Master of Jazz Performance Degree in Queens College. Besides being a member in Frank Lacy's Concert Jazz Ensemble currently, she leads her own band. The group came together to play one song at an event. ESP-Disk', already familiar with the separate work on the NYC scene of all three members, immediately invited them to make an album. After intensive rehearsals, the members recorded the album in a one-day session, then reunited during the pandemic to add words about its effect to an existing instrumental on "8 Steps/7 O'Clock". This album is simultaneously part of ESP-Disk's drive to revive weird rock and an extension of the label's famed free-jazz legacy.

7" purple vinyl. The music we love passes from one generation to the next and the New York Dolls will always be a group to celebrate. Both Sonic Youth and The Pastels are not only fans but covered two of their most iconic songs a few years apart, in 1987 (The Pastels -- "Lonely Planet Boy") and 1992 (Sonic Youth -- "Personality Crisis"). Glass Modern bring these two fantastic versions together in a limited edition split 7" single with Annabel Wright cover art. New York Dolls forever.

LP version. Léonie Pernet's second album Le Cirque de Consolation, to be on InFiné and CryBaby, inhabits a world where borders dissolve and everyone makes their own unique and singular utopia. Hereby, the record questions the links between pop music, African cultures and electronic music, neo-classical music or the role of voice, whether human or synthetic. Sophomore albums can be a painful process for an artist. The sought-after whirlwind of French pop that exploded onto the scene with her debut Crave, Leonie Pernet returns with her second album, Le Circque de Consolation, a sort of double negative of her first. While the yearning that sat at the center of Crave might not have been resolved, the young multi-instrumentalist and singer has found a new perspective -- a more open and positive outlook on her own life and work. Perhaps telling, then, that the title was the first element of the album to exist: as it is and has always been a journey of personal (and collective) consolation first, a musical confrontation with the self. In line with her new-found "openness", Leonie invites another musician into her creative process for the first time on Le Cirque de Consolation: Jean Sylvain le Gouic, who lent his coproduction and perspective to her, while Leonie still plays almost all instruments herself with an astounding prowess. Leonie's voice oozes with a new-found self-confidence and takes center stage amidst eclectic, distinctively fun and open-minded production. Surrounding her astounding, intoxicating voice are forays into any direction imaginable: from harsh, experimental electronics to the more somber, organic and quiet moments -- and everywhere, there is the vision of Africa, (also Middle East) it's many sonic gifts and cultures. The French novelist and philosopher Édouard Glissant -- whose work and writing had a big influence on Pernet -- coined the term "Creolization". From "Hard Billy", a techno-influenced rebellious anthem, to "Les Chants de Maldoror", a club and dance song propelled forward by feverish derboukas, to the deeply moving "A Rebours" and its Afro-electronic rock. Léonie Pernet inhabits a world where borders dissolve and everyone makes their own unique and singular utopia. Hereby, the record questions the links between pop music, African cultures and electronic music ("Intérieur Négro"), neo-classical music ("Le Cirque de consolation", "Dandelion"), or the place of the voice, whether human or synthetic as in the atmospheric "Vowel".

Kalita Records announce the first ever re-release of "Asew Watchman" and "Mabre Agu", two phenomenal pieces of Ghanaian boogie/burger highlife from Wilson Boateng's sought-after 1988 record Highlife Rock. With original copies impossible to find, it's perfect time for Kalita Records to shine a spotlight on Wilson and his music via a loud-cut 12" single optimized for dancefloor action. In addition, Kalita invite Amsterdam-based producer and DJ Mendel back into the fold for two remixes sourced from the original multitrack session tapes. Following on from their Nana Tuffour retrospective in 2018, here Kalita focus again on the 1980s phenomenon of burger highlife, a crossover of highlife melodies with synthesizers, disco and boogie that took over Ghanaian airwaves during the decade and beyond. Originally privately released in a small run by Wilson himself, "Asew Watchman" and "Mabre Agu" were both recorded in Brixton, London in 1988 after his relocation from Ghana to the UK in search of stardom, following the footsteps of burger highlife stars Pat Thomas, George Darko and Thomas Frempong. Sadly, however, after pressing one thousand copies of the album, and although the music itself rivalled the very best burger highlife of the time, Wilson was beset by various obstacles both in London and back home. As such, the record was unable to make the headway that it deserved, and the music was soon lost into obscurity. Nevertheless, with original copies now selling for triple figures on the second-hand market, and after a two-year search to track Wilson down, Kalita now work with and celebrate the outstanding burger highlife of Wilson Boateng.

The latest entry in the ongoing series of exciting collaborations sees the Turkish free form ensemble Konstrukt live on stage with Thurston Moore. #5 in a continuing series of Konstrukt collaborations on KarlRecords is a live document of the concert by the Turkish freeform group with Thurston Moore. Konstrukt, the Istanbul based free jazz/freeform group founded and led by Umut Çağlar and Korhan Futaci, are known for their openness to and interest in collaborations --and regularly meet up and perform with new partners that range from Joe McPhee, William Parker, Akira Sakata, Marshall Allen, Evan Parker, Alexander Hawkins, Ken Vandermark or Otomo Yoshihide. This latest release sees the quartet join forces with one of the indie rock icons: Thurston Moore, who besides his decade-long main band Sonic Youth always found time and inspiration for solo projects and collaborations of different kinds. Turkish Belly, recorded live at SalonIKSV in Istanbul in February of 2020, is as adventurous and daring as one will expect from such a pairing and a highly rewarding experience for the fans of Konstrukt and those of Moore alike.

"Dub reggae legend Lee 'Scratch' Perry delivers a second follow-up to his Grammy-nominated collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Steve Marshall and producer John Saxon. Perry continues to create unique, category-defying music. For the uninitiated, Lee 'Scratch' Perry is one of the most important figures in the history of reggae music. Not only did he help develop the early reggae sound captured in a number of important recordings, but as an engineer, producer, songwriter, and performer he pioneered a number of innovations, including dub reggae. Lee Perry again draws his narrative from his spirituality and today's global events. Very special guests Keith Richards and George Clinton again join Marshall, with Duncan & Green, Tim Hill, Dr Sleepy, Alec Hay, elodieO & Abi Browning, and David Stewart Jones also featured."

Listeners who know much of anything about Bryn Jones' work as Muslimgauze know that he was prolific in both his work and in the way he sent out his work to labels and other interested parties. Fittingly enough for an artist that feverishly productive and often taciturn to the point of frustration, he didn't tend to give much more information than handwritten track titles on the sleeve of a DAT. Why he would submit multiple copies of the same or similar tracks to those he worked with, often in totally different configurations, is now a permanent mystery, but it does lead to Jackal The Invizible, essentially a compilation of material from multiple other releases that Jones had also submitted at the time on its own DAT. All of the songs here were released at least 20 years ago (a few over 30) and as with practically all Muslimgauze releases they were limited and/or hard to get ahold of now. Jackal The Invizible is both a way to issue those tracks on vinyl as the Archive series has been consistently doing, and in interesting look into how Jones would organize and sequence his albums. The track listing here was faithfully reproduced from the way Jones titled these tracks on this submission, which is how you get Fedayeen's "Bharboo of Pakistan Railways" here called "Fedayeen Bharboo of Pakistan Railways 2001". This compilation as with most of his work was submitted without comment, so it can be asked, was it intended to be a compilation? Had he at some point decided he preferred these tracks in this arrangement rather than on their other tapes? Did he produce so much work and/or was so disorganized he simply forgot this batch had been mailed off before? Did he have a standing arrangement with his postal worker and just handed him whatever was closest to the door each week? The new juxtapositions can be quite striking; shifting suddenly from the harshly distorted blurts of "Resume and Shaduf Fatah Guerrilla 1999" to the cooly nocturnal atmosphere of "Abu Nidal 1987" and then to the dubby bass pulses and rattling hand percussion of "Hand of Fatima 1999" is an experience unlike much else in Jones' oeuvre, even though all three modes are ones he has worked in before. Engineered and mixed by J. Delf. Mastering by Rinus Hooning. Edition of 700.

"If The Fall truly is a cult band, then Slates both benefits from and reinforces such shrouded obsessions. In presenting these six particular songs as a 10-inch EP, the inherent and attractive difficulty of The Fall's sound is made physical, framing the urgency of their singles from this period (notably How I Wrote 'Elastic Man' and Lie Dream of a Casino Soul) alongside lengthy rumblings normally restricted to long players. The tumbling and phased 'Middle Mass' begins on an incredible high note, segueing into the snake-charm hypnotism of 'An Older Lover Etc.' 'Slates, Slags, Etc.' is built on stretched VU-inspired riffing, complete with ace feedback bleed that doubtlessly went on long after fade-out. Ultimately, it's the piercing chimes of guitar and marching drum grind of 'Prole Art Threat' that elevates Slates beyond oddity. Truly one of Mark E. Smith's finest, busiest and most enigmatic performances, equally matched by a band at the peak of their powers. LP edition compiles the six tracks from the original EP release, their March 1981 Peel session and an early '80s studio outtake. Liner notes by Brian Turner."

2021 repress. "New Zealand's Pin Group emerged out of the early '80s Christchurch scene and, with just two stunning singles and one brilliant five-song EP, have become an archetype for nearly all indie bands ever since. Ambivalence was not only The Pin Group's hypnotic debut, but also the very first release on Flying Nun. While guitarist Roy Montgomery, bassist Ross Humphries and drummer Peter Stapleton build off each other's jittery riffs, Montgomery's uncanny baritone pierces the torrential clangor. Conjuring both Wire's Chairs Missing and VU's White Light/White Heat, the band captures a truly unique sound -- evocative, yet austere. Wasting little time, The Pin Group released Coat in November 1981, merely two months after their first single. On the title track, Humphries' distant vocals call out as tense rhythms gradually push listeners over the edge. B-side track 'Jim' could easily have been recorded in Manchester circa 1979, but remains a master class in NZ post-punk atmospherics, menacing from start to finish. The Pin Group went back into the studio in January 1982 to record their third and final classic release. Featuring an expanded five-piece lineup with Mary Heney on guitar/vocals and Peter Fryer on viola, Go To Town is a work of taut perfection. Showcasing the band's dramatic chiaroscuro textures and arresting lyrics, 'Long Night' and 'When I Tell You' make staggeringly clear how much sonic ground The Pin Group covered in their unfortunately short tenure. These first-time standalone reissues, featuring Ronnie van Hout's original sleeve designs, are pressed on limited edition color vinyl. Now is the time to discover again the monochrome magnetism of this unparalleled and legendary band." Liner notes by Liz Harris. First-time reissue from legendary New Zealand band.