Black Truffle present the release of Ichida, the first release from the duo of two important, yet often underappreciated musicians, Eiko Ishibashi and Darin Gray. Ishibashi is a singer-songwriter, keyboardist, drummer, and multi-instrumentalist, known in Japan both for her own elaborately conceptual solo albums and for her frequent collaborations with figures such as Jim O'Rourke, Merzbow, and Phew. Darin Gray is a bassist and multi-instrumentalist known for a multitude of collaborations (with O'Rourke and Loren Connors, among many others), for On Fillmore, his cinematic post-exotica project with Glenn Kotche, and as one half of Chikamorachi with Chris Corsano, one of the finest free-jazz rhythm sections around. Presenting the entirely of a live set performed at Tokyo's Super Deluxe in March 2013, the set begins as a duet for Ishibashi's flute and Gray's upright bass. Calmly melodic yet harmonically inventive, with shades of "spiritual jazz", the pair's acoustic ruminations are gradually joined by Ishibashi's lush electronics, which randomly flicker between chords in a manner recalling the classic work of David Behrman. As the electronics build into a gloomy fog of slowly cycling loops, Gray lays his bass aside and turns to making strangely mournful interjections on a mouthpiece. Eventually Ishibashi moves to the piano, enveloping the audience in rippling pools of sustained, octave-doubled melody, provided by Gray's bass with a fluid and dynamic foundation. For much of the second side, both Ishibashi and Gray turn to electronics, ultimately arriving in a bizarre space of melancholic arpeggios and random sputter and sizzle, oddly reminiscent of '70s outsider prog acts like Wapassou. An uneasy coda of rich piano chords ends the set. Captured in warm room ambience and beautifully mixed by Jim O'Rourke, Ichida is a rare combination of improvisational acumen and emotional directness, both adventurous and immediately accessible. Cover pics by Jim O'Rourke. Design by Stephen O'Malley. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.

Far Out Recordings present a reissue of the 1975 self-titled debut album from Brazilian vocalist and bossa nova luminary Emilio Santiago. Nicknamed "the Nat King Cole of Brazil", Santiago was a master bossa balladeer and a top-class crooner. But he is known equally for his Brazilian funk, soul, and boogie classics. One of his best know is album opener "Bananeira", a party-starting version of the song originally written by João Donato and Gilberto Gil. "Brother" is a smooth-grooving killer with great horn arrangements and a huge backing choir, while "La Mulata" is a soulful, swinging salsa stepper. Originally released on the CID label, the album showcases the full range of Emilio's talents, while paying homage to some of Brazil's greatest composers, including Jorge Ben, Marcos and Sergio Valle, and Ivan Lins, among others. The credits on the album are a "who's who" of Brazil's greats, with João Donato on keys, Wilson das Neves, Ivan "Mamão" Conti and Paulinho on drums, Durval Ferreira, Carlos Roberto Rocha and Helio Delmiro on guitar, Ariovaldo, Orlandivo and Chacal on percussion, Danilo Caymmi on flute, a brass section featuring Victor Assis Brasil, Edson Maciel and Jesse Sadoc, and backing vocals from Jaime & Nair, Lúcia Lins, Jurema and Marcio Lott.

Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Jean Cohen-Solal's Captain Tarthopom, originally released in 1973. "Nothing can stop a flutist. We can do whatever we want, whatever we feel. My flute, is a mirror of myself. I express feelings more easily with the flute than with language." This is what Jean Cohen-Solal said on the cover of his first album released in 1972, Flûtes Libres (FFL 044LP), renowned for its adventurous overdubbing of alto, piccolo, and bass flutes, in treble or in C and ocarina. Mentioned on the famous Nurse With Wound list, the path followed by Jean Cohen-Solal included many exciting adventures in the 1970s, from his participation in the cult animation series Les Shadoks where his voice can be heard alongside the actor Claude Piéplu, to his proximity to the GRM where he worked alongside Bernard Parmegiani, François Bayle, Luc Ferrari, Guy Reibel, and Béatrice Ferreyra, or his involvement in progressive music with Captain Tarthopom, an album very much in the same style as that featured in Europe on the Vertigo label, but in an instrumental form, and even more audacious, without turning its back on the same classical influences as everyone else. It is impossible to pin a label on Jean Cohen-Solal, he is the equal of his Anglo-Saxon counterparts Bob Downes, Harold McNair, Jon Field (Jade Warrior), and Jeremy Steig, just to mention the most creative of the bunch. His affinity with strings, already heard in his work with Serge Franklin (author of the ineffable Free Sitar) on Flûtes Libres, is perfectly echoed here by the work of Jean-Claude Deblais, himself author of one of the little-known summits of sound illustration and French underground music: Le Miroir Du Fantastique (1977). Licensed from Jean Cohen-Solal. Includes eight-page booklet. Clear vinyl; Obi strip; Edition of 700.

For its 303rd release, Tresor present a commissioned work by Donato Dozzy, Filo Loves The Acid. Rome-based production maestro and DJ extraordinaire Donato Dozzy is unanimously considered as an illustrious leading light in all techno artforms. Along his long career and extensive discography, Dozzy has proven to use his instruments most interesting ways, always re-inventing his music, always presenting new approaches to both the deeper and the more rhythmic forms of electronic music. It was self-evident to Tresor to enroll Donato Dozzy's talents for this assignment, a nod to the seminal Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer. The result is a relentless collection of radical, propulsive, and bleeding-heart acid tracks. Donato Dozzy wishes to dedicate this work to his lifelong friend Filo.

Vinilisssimo present a reissue of Hector Costita Sexteto's Impacto, originally released in 1964. By the mid-1960s, samba and bossa nova were the exotic hip sounds of the time. João Gilberto had gained international popularity by blending American jazz and samba, and Sérgio Mendes was about to reach the Billboard Top 5 a few times. Hector "Costita" Bisignani had arrived to Brazil a few years earlier from his native Argentina, where he started to play saxophone influenced by local legend Lalo Schifrin. During his first years in Brazil he would play with artists such as João Donato, Manfredo Fest, and Sérgio Mendes (as part of Sexteto Bossa Rio), and also released a solo album: O Fabuloso Hector (1962). In 1964, Costita and his sextet recorded Impacto (Fermata) in São Paulo, an explosive mix of tough jazz and Brazilian samba in equal measure, widely considered his best work. The opening track "Le Roi" alone should be enough reason for any music lover to own this beautiful record, but the entire album is absolutely amazing. The work of Tom Jobin and Vinícius de Moraes has a prominent presence on the tracklist, which also features three compositions by Hector Costita: "Impacto", "Tanganica", and "Gabriela". Horace Silver's "The Tokyo Blues" is here simply listed as "Tokio", but the performance of Costita and his sextet does not shorten any of the original brilliance of the tune, showing the strength of jazz peppered with samba and the undoubtful skills of the musicians... This album is killer. Hector Costita would later stop recording music for quite a few years, working as a sideman for many artists such as Elis Regina and Wilson Simonal and as a music teacher at CLAM, a Brazilian music school founded by Zimbo Trio. Thankfully he would return to the studio in 1981 to continue his brilliant solo career. Presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

Triple LP version. Limited Edition. "Levitate is the Fall's 19th album originally released in 1997 on Artful Records. It has been out of print for a number of years now and is much sought after by fans. It's the last album to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley (whose playing was once described by Smith as the defining element of the group's music). The album was initially going to be produced by Keir Stewart and Simon Spencer (who previously collaborated with Smith under the moniker D.O.S.E. on the 1995 single 'Plug Myself In'). Most of the recordings took place at Edwyn Collins' studio in West Hampstead. However, Stewart and Spencer soon fell out with Smith over payments and left after a week, taking most of the tapes with them. The only tracks from these sessions to make the album were '4½ Inch' (allegedly edited out of samples of a rehearsal recording), 'Spencer', later re-dubbed by Smith as 'Spencer Must Die', and 'The Quartet of Doc Shanley'. This re-issue has been re-mastered by long term Fall engineer Andy Pearce and features new sleeve notes by Daryl Easlea."

Melopea Discos present a reissue of Litto Nebbia's Melopea, originally released in 1974. Melopea is one of most praised works by Litto Nebbia -- the title of this album, years later, would become the name of his record label and production company. It is an elegant opus in songwriting, and perhaps one of his most song-orientated creations. A subtle pop and prog overtones paint an aura full of identity, and originality. The highlight is the presence of the venerated orchestral conductor, guitarist, and composer Rodolfo Alchourron. He was a master in fusing the tango with jazz and rock and piloted the amazing band Sanata Y Clarificación. Also worth mentioning, there are lyrics of the renowned poet Mirta Delfipo. "La Lección Del Viajero" is a beautiful folk song in a Dylanesque vein. "Gloria Y Guitarra" and "Augurio Del Silencioso" have peculiar Brazilian overtones. "Los Lunes De La Humanidad" (intersected by shivering tango nuances), "Apelación De Otoño" (a very moving interpretation), and the closing track simply called "Final" ("Ending", what a chic finale) are enriched by a flowering orchestration. Enjoy, then, a remastered and restored sui generis pop adventure. Having over 100 albums under his belt, including soundtracks, full productions and collaborations, Félix Francisco Nebbia, as known as Litto Nebbia was born in Rosario, Santa Fé province, Argentina, in 1948. Aside of being a cult name and an artistic institution per se, he can easily display a legendary status as his name appears in over 1200 songs. As early as 1963, he was already playing guitar, and playing lo-key gigs. With his best friend Ciro Fogliatta he formed the first Argentinian rock band in 1966, Los Gatos. He established Melopea, his own company, a pioneer enterprise for discovering and recording upcoming talents as well as being a record label. He has collaborated with well-regarded musicians as Cacho Tejera, Victor Biglione, Zé Renato, Domingo Cura, and Lito Vitale. Welcome to the legendary world of Litto Nebbia!

12" version. Includes download code. For White Sun Live. Part I: Strings, Jófríður Ákadóttir has re-recorded some of the finest songs from her bands and solo-projects (JFDR, Samaris, Pascal Pinon) with new string arrangements. These versions have a simple, inherent beauty that is juxtaposed with their seething, stark intensity. To replace the original arrangements with strings was originally planned as a one-off event: When preparing a Pascal Pinon performance in Portugal, Jófríður asked NYC-based composer Ian Davis to help her re-arrange four tracks. After the show Jófríður realized that the material deserved to be captured. The featured songs were chosen from the repertoire of JFDR (her solo project) and Pascal Pinon (the duo she forms with her sister Ásthildur). There was no objective selection criteria: "I chose the songs that called for strings, songs that I was interested in continuing their story", Jófríður says. "Making this EP was meant to cast new light onto old bodies, to explore what is song and what is arrangement". Indeed, the arrangements establish a fresh perspective on the selected songs (except for "My Work" -- as the track will appear on a forthcoming JFDR album). Being freed from genre, these versions also expose JFDR's voice and its dynamics -- the absence of beats gives her vocal performance new possibilities. The EP was recorded live in a studio in Reykjavík, where Jófríður was joined by producer Albert Finnbogason, her sister Ásthildur (additional vocals and piano) and a string quintet. Ian Davis also made it to the recording sessions and brought two new transcriptions: "I wanted to have moments of clear simplicity juxtaposed with more dense, experimental passages. Sometimes the strings are just holding root notes and simple chords and other times they open up into more contrapuntal and textural moments", Ian explains. As a result, you'll find both moments of modest beauty as well as intensely seething passages. Even if Jófríður's voice clearly is the main attraction here, this EP -- as she emphasizes herself -- is a collective work of those involved: "Trusting your collaborators is the truest gift".

"Kyle Gann, voice & electronics, sampling keyboard; Kenneth Patchen, voice; Martha Herr, voice. This recording features three works by Kyle Gann (b. 1955): Custer and Sitting Bull, Scenario, and So Many Little Dyings, from the decade 1994 to 2004. Those familiar with Gann's music will recognize a commitment to just intonation (alternate tunings), paired with a deployment of unexpected meters, often set to frequently shifting tempos. But here we also encounter another side of Gann, a composer preoccupied with texts, the inherent rhythms found within the spoken word, and the dramatic potential of these texts (including poems, interviews, stories, speeches, and even one psychic transmission). A musical reflection on the historic encounter between Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the Lakota leader Sitting Bull, Custer and Sitting Bull (1995-99), presented here in an updated version, is an example of a 'pocket opera,' a kind of one-person opera that blossomed in the unfunded spaces of downtown Manhattan. From 1999 to 2007 Gann performed it live himself, narrating the drama using various historical texts set to a MIDI keyboard accompaniment tuned to just intonation (ranging from 20 to 31-note-to-the-octave scales). While it takes the form of reimagined American history, Custer is perhaps most centrally about the value of sustained, repeated listening. Indeed, Gann's use of just intonation not only rewards but arguably requires many hearings to access certain subtleties. The title of So Many Little Dyings (1994) is taken from the Kenneth Patchen poem 'And What with the Blunders' (from First Will & Testament, 1939). The entire work originates from the pitch and rhythm of Patchen's spoken voice, which Gann sampled and transcribed from a recorded recitation of the poem. Listening to it, however, one might not perceive this borrowing immediately, as the work begins with the sound of a microtonal toy piano imitating the rhythms and contours of Patchen's voice. Very slowly, over the course of the 7-minute work, the piano's melody is taken over by a recording of Patchen's sampled voice. Scenario, for soprano and virtual orchestra, was written between 2003-2004 but wasn't performed live until 2012. The text is taken from a 1932 S. J. Perelman story of the same name, which consists of a non-stop, breathless collage of filmic clichés. On the page, Perelman's text continues for pages without paragraph break and includes dialogue excerpts, Hollywood rumors, and behind-the-scenes film directions. In Gann's setting of it, what he calls 'a surrealist collage opera, the musical analog of an animated cartoon, for theatrical soprano and virtual orchestra,' each collaged portion is set in a corresponding style and character, so the soprano must alternate rapidly between each affect and singing style throughout the 17-minute work."

Oom Dooby Dochas present a reissue of Osamu Kitajima's Osamu, originally released in 1977. This is the third album by Osamu Kitajima, one of Japan's most prolific artists from the ethno rock, world music, and progressive department. You certainly cannot divide all the mentioned stylistic aspects from each other for they were all incorporated in these complex arrangements and homogeneous sound. It is the same with his other albums like 1976's Benzaiten (DOO 17005LP/PSI 004-1CD) and or his fourth album, 1980's Masterless Samurai; traditional Japanese music meets Western jazz-rock and progressive sounds to form a new style unheard by most people in Western countries at the time. Osamu Kitajima easily plays with elements of reggae and funk, fusion jazz, and colorful pop while staying true to his Japanese roots with bits and pieces of traditional melodies and the use of old Asiatic instruments. The Japanese influence makes this music unique and still it gets as close to Western rock and pop sounds as it could. An adventurous journey through the world from East Asia to West Africa and to the steaming metropolises of the UK and USA is your reward when you put this perfectly produced album onto your turntable. The former Pink Floyd comparison coming with Benzaiten is not totally out of place with the self-titled album here but there is much more latitude in the allover style. Osamu Kitajima gathers a few well talented musicians around him on this record despite playing and arranging most of the instrumental passages himself. He, the multi-instrumentalist who discovered progressive rock music in the early '70s during a stay in London where he released a first album under the moniker Justin Heathcliff before moving to California around the mid-70s. And this group of musicians creates something special that sticks out of the mass of similar art pop and fusion bands in the late '70s. Osamu Kitajima is something like the Japanese answer to Mike Oldfield, and others equal in vision and output.

"Rustblade presents Claudio Simonetti and his Goblin playing and reinterpreting the score of one of the most famous horror movies of all times to celebrate 40 years of the idolised film Dawn of the Dead directed by George Romero and produced by Dario Argento. The music that accompanies the movie is a mix of prog and electronic rock full of tension and magic tribalism. Piercing guitars, Synth orchestration and virtualism give life to thousands of blood thirsty zombies. Limited Colored Vinyl Plus Gatefold Poster."

Scissor & Thread present a collaboration between label boss Francis Harris and DJ Aakmael. Aakmael has built a reputation for some of the deepest, rawest house music sounds coming out of the US, releasing well-received tracks on a variety of labels. Aakmael and Harris cook up an intoxicating vibe across this five-track EP. Aakmael's "Deep Muzik" is a blend of skittering drums, a shuffling groove, deep keys, and chords. On the B side, Frank joins Aakmael for "Mercy Of Means", slipping into an easy, mid-tempo groove before Frank's "Part Song" also hones in on the subtle deep grooves.

Color vinyl version. Don't Hold Onto The Clouds is the fourth release on Kutiman's own record label Siyal following Space Cassava (2015), the White Monkey 7" (SYL 003EP, 2017), and 6AM (SYL 002CD/LP, 2016). In the era of the brand, Kutiman is an anomaly. A musician who's a video artist, a producer, an animator, and also the unwilling star of one of Israel's most successful recent documentaries, every one of his records contrasts with whatever it was that came before. But that's fundamental to his appeal: no one, not even him, really knows what to expect next. Unsurprisingly, therefore, Don't Hold On To The Clouds is no different, which means it's like nothing he's ever done. Most artists would acknowledge this by working under pseudonyms, but Kutiman is -- yes, you've guessed it -- different again. Kutiman's Don't Hold On To The Clouds is comprised of just four tracks -- the shortest of which, "Lucid Dream", still clocks in at almost eight minutes; it orbits within reach of, among other styles, ambient, electronica, minimal, and new age, but refuses to settle on merely one. The A side features the airy "Behind The Noise" and "Unknown", reeling the listener into a deep and meditation. Flip it over to the B side and you'll find "Mineral" and "Lucid Dream" inducing an ethereal state. This new record is unusual to Kutiman's typical style, revealing his love for the sounds of Terry Reilly, Moondog, Alice Coltrane, and William Basinski. Recorded live by Kutiman over the course of a year, the album also draws upon his growing love for Indian music, and, alongside extensive use of a Juno 6, features his first, unorthodox use of a tabla which he received from his mother. Don't Hold On To The Clouds is meditative and enigmatic, like nothing he's done before. "I hope it will offer peace," he smiles, adding hurriedly, "not in a big global way, but just as a break from reality. If anyone feels like head banging, I'll be happy as well, but it actually helps me fall asleep. I can't say that about any other record I've made." Comes in a full-color jacket with original artwork by Kutiman.

Vinilisssimo present a reissue of Hareton Salvanini's A Virgem De Saint Tropez, originally released in 1974. Polish film maker Zygmunt Sulistrowski pioneered the format of shooting low-budget soft porn on exotic locations. After a long list of previous works, in 1973 he directed the French-Brazilian production A Virgem de Saint Tropez, also known as "Magia Erotica"... Although the movie actually lacked magic, it did include every possible archetypical scene of the genre, and this combination of hot action in tropical surroundings, pleasant sights of Saint Tropez and frantic chases needed some proper background music. Brazilian arranger and writer Hareton Salvanini was commissioned to deliver this soundtrack and what a wonderful job he did -- no wonder he is considered by many a lesser known Arthur Verocai. But instead of multiple layers of refined strings and delicate orchestral sounds, Salvanini creates a record full of groovy guitars and percussions that could rival with the best of KPM or Chappell library LPs. "Copacabana Rock" starts with with some psychedelic vibes and then evolves into a dancefloor bomb. "Saint Tropez" is a rhythmic flute and electric piano-laden track with wah-wah guitars a plenty. There is room for some heavy tropical drumming on "Perseguiçao" and "Seios". In need of some soft bossa with dabadaba vocals -- Just check "Espairecendo", one of the most exquisite cuts on the album that sounds as if Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 had been produced by Verocai. While the jazzier and most experimental passages of the soundtrack belong to the wonderful "Sao Paulo". As well as its original Brazilian version (Fermata, 1974), the soundtrack was also released in Italy in small quantities shortly after. Both pressings have become collector's items over the years, just like every other Salvanini recording: his only own album called S.P. 73 (1973), the mega rare EP he made for one of his brother's theater productions or the obscure soundtrack to the film Xavana, Uma Ilha do Amor (1981). Presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

2018 repress . Double LP version; originally released 2006. Ellen Allien, the head of the BPitch Control aesthetic steamroller, teams with Apparat, partner in the Shitkatapult brand empire to develop a remarkable sonic salvo.

Elastic Dreams presents more left-field techno sounds from one of the scene's more unassuming producers; A Sagittariun delivers a new single stamped with his trademark sound aesthetic. The Fahrenheit 451 EP brings together three new productions ahead of a new album later this year. "The Golden Apple" combines brain-scrambling drums, a heavy bassline, and a Sagi-style wormhole riff, whilst "Blue Lotus" throws tropical shapes into a rapid 4/4 stomper, with scattering hats and equatorial ambience giving a unique vibe. A Sagittariun strays into disco territory on "Liebe Tanzen", flitting among modern intergalactic synth riffs, basslines, and sampled disco drums.

Freedom Engine brings you Volume 2 in the Decompression Remixes Series. The haunting strings of the original wind their way through drums reminiscent of jacking '90s house before the drop of the classic "Decompression" bassline, chopped and spliced. Mike Shannon touches down with a modular synth rework that takes the original and twists it into a modern acid trip and groove. Like surfing a spaceship through a technicolor wormhole to planet funk. Deadbeat shows his strength with a spaced-out dub version. Natalia Escobar stretches and pulls the track into an intense ambient time machine. Also features a GMT remix.

LP version. The legendary gig that Joe Strummer, singer from the punk rock band The Clash, attended and inspired his writing their classic "White Man In Hammersmith Palais" took place on the June 5th,1977. At the Hammersmith Palais venue on Shepherd's Bush Road W6, London during the height of punk mania. The full line-up for the show were all Jamaican artists Dillinger, Leroy Smart, Delroy Wilson (all the first time from Jamaica), and Ken Boothe. "Ken Boothe for UK pop reggae" who had already scored some hits with "Everything I Own" and "Crying Over You" in 1974. Joe Strummer was expecting roots, rock, reggae but the sound system that evening Admiral Ken Sound was playing "Four Tops All Night" as in soul and northern soul that were staple crowd pleasers at the time to warm up the audience, but in Joe's eyes the music should have reflected more Jamaican roots-based music. The song also deals with bigger issues of black and white unity, but some people including the punk rockers. The artwork supplied by punk artist Mal-One has used the two posters that were made for this gig, the reggae promoters "Star Promotions" poster, that contained a picture of Ken Boothe and the venue's own poster that used text to announce its line up for that evenings performance. Alongside these lost relics he has also combined the groups own poster for the "White Man In Hammersmith Palais" single that incorporated the use of rifle target sights, perhaps enhancing the air of violence contained in the songs message. Mal-One has collaged these together joining the two stories as indeed the song lyrics reflected. People often forget that the songs release was in fact as year after the actual gig, Kingston Sounds have tied this release to the 40th anniversary of the song's release. Joe Strummer was one of the few voices from the punk era that used his lyrics as a weapon to tell the events that were happening around him and their relevance to those times. The song itself was released on June 16th, 1978. Kingston Sounds have compiled this album with songs by these artists, most of which you would have heard that night. Features artists from the full line-up of the show: Delroy Wilson, Leroy Smart, Ken Boothe, and Dillinger.

LP version. Ooom Dooby Dochas present a first-time reissue of Kiki Gyan's Feeling So Good, originally released in 1979. This is in fact more than just a rare record and definitely more than just a vinyl share for insatiable collectors who only judge a record by its monetary value. This is a prime example of overflowing talent coupled with a simmering passion for music and the hunger for life right at the moment. The story begins on June 7th, 1957 in a small Ghanaian village where Kofi Kwarko Gyan, nicknamed Kiki, was born into a middle-class family. Soon his talent as a musician began to show when he started taking piano lessons by the age of five and went professional by the age of 12. He dropped out of school shortly after and began living a life on the road with regional Ghanaian bands. One trip abroad took him to London in the early '70s where his career received a giant push at the age of 15. He joined Afro rock legends Osibisa in 1972 as their new keyboardist after his predecessor had left the band. By the mid-70s Kiki Gyan had played with Osibisa to giant audiences all over the world and met personalities from the international music scene such as Elton John and Mick Jagger. He was not only a steady keyboardist for Osibisa but also as a very popular session man. He released a couple of solo albums with Feeling So Good being his second effort. The music keeps what the title promises as this is a delightful example of joy manifesting in music. Everything is bright here, the grooves are complex and powerful, yet always accessible. The harmonies enchant you with their friendly approach. Gyan mixes Western disco sounds, funk, African traditional chants and reggae sounds into an ever-flowing groove music that has lots of melody and mesmerizes by the swirling percussion patterns. Feeling So Good is an equally physical and spiritual affair and contains six lengthy tunes. Tunes that live from the tight interplay of all instruments, the crisp, clear, and powerful production and a wild and steaming atmosphere. His legacy remains huge, not only for African music but for all black music that ruled the early disco scene in the '70s. Next to Fela Kuti and Geraldo Pino, Kiki Gyan can be called a true force in African pop music of the '70s.

Tectonic present the game-changing second album by 26-year-old Mancunian Sam Walton, better known as simply Walton. Black Lotus follows his inclusion on Tectonic's landmark 100th release, Riko Dan's Hard Food EP (TEC 100EP, 2018). Abstract electronics, grime, dubstep, and new styles that don't even have a name yet coalesce perfectly on this classic in the making. It finds Walton at peak power, reaching just as far (if not more so) than anything on the Pan, Different Circles, Boxed, or Tectonic catalogs for pure futurism and new-terrain-traversing brilliance. Spacious and modern sounding, with just the right amount of grit, on Black Lotus Walton has taken things the next level -- setting an impressive new high bar. This is the best music to take inspiration from far eastern culture since Photek's seminal Ni - Ten - Ichi - Ryu (1995) and The Water Margin (1995). Cinematic may be a term bandied about too often, but on this record it unquestionably applies, with the whole thing playing out like an epic movie, full of highs, lows, action, reflection and changing scenes. The album kicks off with "Black Lotus", which makes it quickly evident that this isn't just another generic long-player; a weightless/sino style intro segues into a mystical kalimba line, which is then is enveloped by huge waves of synthesized, pitched-down brass. "Point Blank" offers locked, harsh mechanical funk, full of aggravated excitement, before sleek, spacious grime and disguised pop garage achieve twisted anthem status, on the hugely satisfying "Koto Riddim". The Yakuza crime riff of "No Mercy" is perfect for Riko Dan's threatening menace, especially at the point his voice gets distorted into a gutural and unsettling, demon-like wretch. "Mad Zapper" is abstract, comprised of simple yet challenging beats, tones, and stutters, whilst the taiko/kumi-daiko style percussion of "Angry Drummer" has a rousing, heavy thump. "Pan" sounds equally enthralling whether sound-tracking a dark movie scene of impending danger, or carrying enraptured ravers on a dancefloor journey, especially one suited to the synapse-prodding drama of a high production, laser-heavy festival set. Choppy drums and bouncy bass tones are laced with the gorgeous melody of "Ehru", and "Vectors" is sleek 'n' deep breakbeat-garage-meets-IDM, featuring Wen. Although already known for elements of musicality, Walton raises his game even higher with the beautiful closing track "White Lotus", which has a wow factor akin to hearing Aphex Twin's "Jynweythek Ylow" (2002) for the first time.

Repressed; Double LP version. Includes download code. "Rausch with no name / My beautiful shine / You are the sun / This is where I want to be / Rausch with no morning / This is where we burn / The Stars sparkle / In a sea of flames / Horns and fanfares / Fanfares of joy / Fanfares of fear / The wine we drink through the eyes / The moon pours down at night in waves / Careful with that axe Eugene / Personal Jesus / No beginning no end / Eighteenth of Oktember / The night falls / The king comes / The hunt starts / Freude schöner Götterfunken / The long march through the underwood / Trust me there's nothing / Once upon a time, there was a bandit / Who loved a prince / That was long ago / Spring Summer Fall and Gas / There is a train heading to Nowhere / Drums and Trumpets / Future without mankind / Warm snow / Alles ist gut / The bells toll / You are not alone / The murmur in the forest / The murmur in the head / Light as mist / Heavy as lead / Music happens / To flow like gas /A clearing / Heavy baggage / Debut in the afterlife / Death has seven cats / World heritage Rausch / Finally infinite." --Wolfgang Voigt, 2018; Rausch was created as a single composition. The intention is to listen to the album as a whole from beginning to end. Following a global tour, GAS will continue to perform live throughout 2018 to support Rausch.

Double LP version. The new Chanson generation, re-modernized and reshaped! A new generation of artists is born to shake up the French pop scene. It isn't without reason that the Le Pop 9 compilation is subtitled Au Début: 16 new French artists, none of which have ever appeared on a Le Pop compilation before, hereby introduce themselves. The modern sound of the current French pop scene allows for its listeners to rediscover the creativity of chanson-pop in all its different facets. The 2018 generation is influenced by electronic sounds and production styles deriving from R&B and hip-hop. The two brains behind Polo & Pan are DJs, Hollydays' singer is a Rihanna fan whilst her partner prefers Amon Tobin and Aphex Twin. Whoever sees the high achieving Angèle on stage will be perplexed by her dance moves -- until one finds out her brother is the famous Belgian rapper Roméo Elvis. And there's more: Ezéchiel Pailhès first appeared in electronic duo Nôze whilst the George Moustaki prize winner Laurie Darmon drifts from chanson into speech song and stands beside a human beatbox performer on stage. La Femme, awarded twice by the Victoire de la musique, showcases their Francophone indie pop with four keyboards on the stage. No trace of guitar rock nostalgia of the old times. And in "Poésies" the singer Chaton's voice is made foreign through autotune effects, so that the song becomes a subtle reminiscence of modern dancehall. In comparison to the cool naturalness of Flavien Berger, arguably the central figure of the new scene, many bands aiming for international success with their average English are made to look like wannabe hipsters. The wealth of ideas hidden behind Ali Danel, who for instance reinterprets a Paul Éluard poem onto an Afro-beat backdrop, seem in line with a contemporary re-appropriation of Gainsbourg's "Percussions" principle -- without making it sound a little out of date. But the special thing about it all is that, in its very essence, the music remains chanson. The language and words define the genre, with voices central to the production and melodies remaining frameworks in which the songs are structured. And so, Le Pop 9: Au Début is simply another piece of evidence of the vitality and vibrancy of a genre that is being constantly renewed musically amidst changing frameworks and thus remaining perpetually fascinating. Also features Pomme, Eddy Crampes, Alexia Gredy, Adrien Soleiman, Achille, and Gérald Kurdian.

"'Would you be able to stand in for me in Paris, for a tribute to Derek? - Of course! Besides, I think Gen is participating there with Thee Majesty. - Yes, absolutely. They're going to do a new performance of In The Shadow Of The Sun. - Different from the one we did as TG?! - Exactly. And I was going to create a new piece myself, different from the one Derek had commissioned me to write for The Art Of Mirrors. But something came up at the last minute and it would be a shame to miss this opportunity to pay tribute to him, which is why I'm calling you now. I assume that Derek would have been very pleased that one of us did it. - Alright, but what's the deadline? - You've got one month to get ready!' This is more or less how Simon Fisher Turner and Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson made plans one morning in July 2004 -- on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Derek Jarman's death -- in order to mount one of the greatest tributes the Étrange Festival has ever presented. Beyond his talents as a film maker, painter and botanist, Derek Jarman was an artist who seized in the best way the very essence of mutations unleashed by a whole generation, at the dawn of the 70's. As a privileged observer of the incredible deflagration brought about by the punk movement, the industrial music and gay liberation, he leaves behind him a fascinating and deeply moving work, in which the members of Throbbing Gristle, among others, took part. Unreleased before, this new work composed for several short movies is finally released. The ultimate gift from such a talented composer, and of whom there is still so much more to discover."

South London producer Ben Hauke takes a sonic excursion to South America via Lewisham for a new seven-track release for Far Out Recordings, Only Old. While littered with Afro-Latin percussion, and samples of obscure Brazilian, Cuban, and Colombian records, Only Old stays true to Ben's distinctly London identity, with a record that fluctuates between house, broken beat, and instrumental hip-hop. Having collaborated with the likes of Nubya Garcia and Joe Armon Jones, Ben Hauke stands at the electronic end of London's new jazz movement. Currently working on new releases with more of a focus on live instrumentation, Ben titled the release Only Old as it leans more heavily on his foundational approach to music making: an idiosyncratic, almost brazen sampling style in productions bursting with personality. Always full of character and style, Hauke's productions have seen him likened to Theo Parrish and Madlib, with an altogether physical approach to sound. Title track "Only Old" is moody broken beat with eerie sampled vocals and piano. "Get Up To Get Down" is a light n' breezy summer house stepper, while Brazil-inspired "Runners" sounds as if it was made for MF Doom. 180 gram vinyl. Sleeve design by fellow South London based artist Samuel Lloyd. "Digi Luv" features Eggrum.

"Prince Far I aka the Voice Of Thunder got his start in the burgeoning Jamaican music industry as a sound system DJ (for Sir Mike The Musical Dragon), working security at Joe Gibbs' studio and in a similar roll at Coxsone Dodd's Studio One. As fate would have it, King Stitt, the regular DJ at Studio One, failed to turn up to voice a track and the up and comer convinced Coxsone to give him a try on the mic. The resulting cut launched the career of one of Reggae's most famous toasters -- though he liked to describe his style as a chanter rather than the more popular term toaster. First releasing records using the moniker King Cry Cry, the same name he'd used working Sir Mike's sound system, he soon changed his name to Prince Far I at the suggestion of producer Enos McLeod. On Voice Of Thunder, Prince Far I is supported by an extremely sparse yet heavy instrumental backing which perfectly complements his growling voice. As is often the case with Prince Far I, much of the material is essentially Bible verse, 'Ten Commandments' being a perfect example. The Voice Of Thunder full length also includes a tribute to the very recently deceased Bob Marley, and he even takes time to take UK skinheads to task for wearing polyester (forbidden to a real Rastafarian). Long out of print on vinyl, this 1981 masterpiece from Prince Far I is back in effect thanks to Get On Down."

Red vinyl. Includes 7". "Sam Gopal took up the tabla in Malaysia at the age of 7, before coming to study music in Britain in 1962. Sam Gopal put together his first group, 'Sam Gopal's Dream' in 1966. They quickly became a feature of the psychedelic scene, playing at the 14 Hour Technicolour Dream at Alexandra Palace in 1967 and sharing stages with such giants as Pink Floyd, the Move and Jimi Hendrix. Indeed, Jimi jammed with them during a gig at the Speakeasy in January 1968. However, whilst successful live, the band went unrecorded, and disbanded shortly after, only to be reconstituted under the 'Sam Gopal' moniker, Sam being joined by Roger D'Elia on guitar, Phil Duke on bass and most famously, ex Jimi Hendrix roadie Ian 'Lemmy' Willis on vocals and guitar. Signed to the short-lived Stable label, songs for an album were quickly written, most of them by Lemmy, and the album was released in March 1969, beautifully packaged in a gatefold sleeve. Something of a classic of psychedelic acid rock, complete with fuzzed guitars, but rooted by its Eastern percussion, the album included one cover, a rocked up version of Donovan's 'Season Of The Witch', whilst a projected single release included a version of Willie Dixon's 'Back Door Man', which managed to be even heavier than the interpretation by the Doors on their first album, released two years earlier.'You're Alone Now', one of the Lemmy-written songs on the album, became quietly influential, acting not only as a forerunner of Hawkwind's seminal 'The Watcher', but having an intro that brings to mind Black Sabbath's 1970 smash 'Paranoid'. The album ends with undoubtedly the gentlest song of Lemmy's career, the rather lovely 'Yesterlove', which has Lemmy's vocal floating gently over a backing of tabla and acoustic guitar. Sadly, despite apparently having all the ingredients in place for success, this incarnation of 'Sam Gopal' proved to be no longer-lived than 'Sam Gopal's Dream', and broke up not long after the release of this album."

Subliminal Sounds present a first time reissue of K.S. Ratliff And Black Magic's Fear Of The Night, originally released in 1982. A rare and unique teenage psych garage private press album. Here's the inside word from the pioneering record collector and front man of New York's Endless Boogie, Paul Major: "The first time I heard this record I had to vigorously punch myself in the face to make sure I wasn't dreaming it up. It's real. K.S. Ratliff comes on like a blast from a lost world, a maverick small town flash from high school kids in some alternate Kentucky utterly isolated from any scene and untainted by even the slightest stink of music biz disease. Real people. This music has the direct and real emotional honesty of Kenneth Higney crossed with the ominous sci-fi atmosphere of Marcus, boiled down to the essentials, merging a psyched-up garage sense of teen discovery with music so uncontrived it naturally delivers hook after hook. Brilliant songs like 'Brainstorms', 'Fear Of The Night', and 'Invasion' are right to the point. No pretense or distance seems to exist between the singer's mind and what is crashing into your ears. The vocals redefine the concept of talent and the no frills fuzz guitar/organ action has an uncanny mysterious quality like something hiding in plain sight. You can dig it straight up but if you turn your mind a little to the left or right you can climb right into another dimension. It's like your seemingly ordinary next door neighbor has been hiding a flying saucer in his basement and you just found out about it. Real people private pressing records come in many flavors but the best ones have some unifying elements. They sound like nothing else even if some of the moves they make convey a bent sense of the familiar. They emerged from a nurturing isolation and remained unknown until the right ears stumbled across a copy. The person and the music are inseparable, fortifying each other into a zone where ordinary musical standards become irrelevant as an indicator of quality. In 2018 the once constant flow of unique and important vintage discoveries has slowed to a trickle. K.S. Ratliff and Black Magic is an extra tasty killer that I file in the 'I can't believe a record like this actually exists' section." Edition of 500.

2018 repress. Remastered, expanded gatefold double LP version (briefly available as a single LP in 2001 and o/p for 10 years now). This version features new artwork by Tina Frank, based on the original 2001 Mego release. Contains "Ohne Sonne" and "47 Blues," previously only available on the Japanese CD versions, as well as a new, extended version of "Happy Audio," exclusive to this release. Endless Summer, originally released in 2001 by Mego, was a breakthrough album for Christian Fennesz -- the album which brought his name and music towards the first steps of mainstream recognition. Following on from the more experimental Hotel Paral.lel (EMEGO 016CD) and the Beach Boys-homaged Plays single, Endless Summer brought the guitars more to the front, the electronics shimmered more, and the melodies shined more brightly. It went on to become a classic of its time, topping many end-of-year polls. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, September 2010.

Feeding Tube Records present the first US LP by Dutch experimental artist Jan van den Dobbelsteen. Jan has been releasing music, non-music and kinda-music on his Cosmic Volume label since 1978. Often these works are connected to visual exhibits or installations, but they also work as standalone sound events. Feeding Tube Records had been tracking Jan's work for a good long while, but it was only after Phil Milstein told them he was friends of Jan and his partner, Danielle Lemaire, that their wheels began to spin--They had sponsored Milstein's show-and-tell song-poem trip to the Low Countries. Introductions were made, and here are the most excellent results. Because van den Dobbelsteen's conceptual palette is so wide, Feeding Tube Records approached this project without preconceptions or suggestions. What he came up with was a set of wild pieces for bells of all sorts. The effect is something like a shoebox version of Charlemagne Palestine's work with carillons, perhaps crossed with one of those records documenting the sounds of mechanical toys. When pressed for a few words, Jan described it thusly: "Constructing a music machine inspired from musical automata, self-playing instruments. Music boxes, barrel and street-organs, automatic mechanical pneumatic organs. Self-playing ensemble of bells. electromechanical random clicking and tinkle. No virtuosity or individual genius. Automated musical bells generates the sounds and motion in the performance and produce richly-textured sounds and jingle while there is no need for a composer or performer. rinkelen jingle tinkle jangle chink clang clank klingelen jingle tinkle tingelen tinkle jingle rammelen rattle jingle strum jangle sputter clash kletteren clatter clang clank patter rattle jingle gerinkel tinkle jingle clank jangle chink clang klinkklank jingle clink chink tinkle jangle ding a ling ring ding ping chime tintinnabulation clink chink tinkle ring ding ping ringing chime jingle bell toll peal rumble grumble carillion." Edition of 200.

Double LP version. "Songs about the unity of Sudan, peace between Muslims and Christians and the fate of war orphans, backed by grooves equally taking influence from Arabic sounds, American funk as well as neighboring Ethiopia. Kamal Keila was among the first artist we met in Sudan during our two trips to Khartoum and Omdurman last year. He is one of the key figures of the Sudanese jazz scene that was a vital part of the musical culture in Sudan from the mid-1960s until the Islamist revolution in the late 1980s. When we meet Kamal he luckily presented us with two mold covered studio reels. Each tape included five tracks. One with English lyrics and another with Arabic ones. Musically you can hear the influence of neighboring Ethiopia much more than on other Sudanese recordings of the time, as well as references to Fela and American funk and soul. His lyrics, at least when he sings in English which gave him more freedom from censorship, are very political. A brave statement in the political climate of Sudan of the last decades, preaching for the unity of Sudan, peace between Muslims and Christians and singing the blues about the fate of war orphans called 'Shmasha'. A note inside one of the boxes specified the track titles, durations and the fact that the sessions were recorded on the 12th of August 1992. Both sessions stand as a hearable testament how Kamal Keila stuck to a sound aesthetic from decades ago, while incorporating current events into his lyrics. Kamal Keila's album is the first in a series of releases covering the Sudanese jazz scene on Habibi Funk. Be on the lookout for albums by The Scorpions and Sharhabeel coming soon."

Repressed. Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop From Europe 1980-1991 is the second multiple artist compilation on Music From Memory. It's compiled by record connoisseur Raphael Top-Secret and label man Jamie Tiller. The compilation brings together twenty-one tracks from across the continent; exploring the more unusual and unexpected sides of pop music produced during that period. Drawing material from cult experimental artists such as Steve Beresford, Brenda Ray, and Bill Nelson alongside one-off independent musical projects rescued from the fringes, Uneven Paths focuses on a selection of tracks that go beyond the confines of mainstream pop music but which also transcend expectations of much of the "experimental" music of the time. This is music with one foot in the avant-garde and another foot firmly rooted within the sensibilities of pop; where jazz musicians detour into synth-pop, punk bands break into boogie jams, and student doctors jam out on odd melodies with synthesizers and drum machines during their night shifts. Features Nightfall In Camp, Stroer Duo Howard Fine, Tony Hymas, Violet Eves, Miko & Mubare, Piscine Et Charles, John Makin & Friends, Nonobstant, Wolfgang Klingler, Thomas Heimes, Hans-Christian Mittag, Sound On Sound, Pete Brandt's Method, Lost Gringos, Vanakos, Brenda And The Beachballs, Patrick Forgas, Xavier Jouvelet, Lou Blic, Steve Beresford, Bill Nelson's Orchestra Arcana, Harte 10, and Monica Rypma.

Play Loud! Productions present a reissue of the Vulgar Boatmen's You And Your Sister, originally released in 1989. In the early 1990s, the Vulgar Boatmen's first two albums, You And Your Sister and 1992's Please Panic (PL 080LP), garnered accolades from virtually every major music publication in the country, despite being barely available on the tiny Record Collect and Safehouse labels. The group's unique working arrangement (two distinct lineups, located 800 miles apart, fronted separately by songwriters Robert Ray and Dale Lawrence) received a lot of attention -- but so did their style, a melodic hypno-R&B, compared to everyone from Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers to the Feelies and the Velvet Underground. The band toured extensively in the US and Europe. Their songs were heard on both college and commercial radio -- especially "Drive Somewhere", a surprise hit on Chicago's WXRT. In the 1992 on Option Magazine Readers Poll, Please Panic placed fifth in the Best New Album category. In 1995, critic Bill Wyman called You And Your Sister the best record of the last ten years. The following year, his colleague at Salon.com, Charles Taylor, named Please Panic his all-time favorite album. In 1995, the Boatmen made their major label debut with Opposite Sex (PL 081LP), released in Europe on Blanco Y Negro/EastWest. It too received glowing reviews from the British press, but label politics at Elektra kept the album from ever getting a stateside release. In 2003, No Nostalgia issued Wide Awake, a 21-track anthology chronicling the band's career. Partly re-mixed and re-mastered. Includes liner notes by Bill Wyman, accompanied by photographs. Original artwork; Edition of 500.

Shits are not given by Laurie Tompkins and Oliver Coates on Ample Profanity; a let-it-all-out session of deviant, punkish avant-classical composition hallucinated and expectorated by two prodigious talents. An ideally off-center and brazenly wigged-out follow-up to aces from Chaines (SLP 037LP), Yeah You, and Ashley Paul (SLP 044LP) already released by Slip -- the label Laurie runs with friends between London and Newcastle. Laurie supposes and composes on keys, tapes, and samples, and Oliver does his part on cello and FX. They both sing, if your definition stretches that far. What is agreeable, though, is that Ample Profanity is a steaming pile of madness quite unlike anything else in circulation right now. Still feral from his cultishly acclaimed Heat, War, Sweat, Law album (2016), Laurie is matched by a usually more collected Coates, who, while often hardly distinguishable from the maelstrom, certainly doesn't impede the lunacy, and seems to encourage it, grasping the opportunity to freak out properly adjunct to his solo work and collaborations with Mica Levi. Kicking off with "Sniffin' Samgh", a possessed study in primal vocals and lurching, yelpy strings, the session turns variously thru quieter, asymmetric ideas in "Peejayargh" to cough up its spicy noise guts in RP Beal, before they settle into a call-and-response of quizzical sighs and plucks on "Lime Rugis" and set about hacking up a wickedly dissonant tussle between no wave guitars, intercepted phone calls, and edge-of-sanity blasts into the void with "Charterhouse Vinci". It's maybe not what you might expect from a former winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Young Artist Award 2011, and a graduate of the RNCM, or maybe it is. Either way, Ample Profanity is beautiful, funny, and fucked up in equally satisfying measures. RIYL: Jandek, Mica Levi, Yeah You.

"Imagine the beauty of a peak time Sade production in the days when pop could be massive and inventive, with some Sly & Robbie voodoo magic from their 80's pop production. Imagine if the brilliance of an Andrew Weatherall remix in the 90's could meet with the melancholy of Roedelius. Summer is officially here. Deal with it and get loose with this one."

6x12" version; Comes on exclusive fluorescent vinyl which glow in the dark and create a "magical" effect while played in club; Includes CD; Edition of 500. Cocoon presents R! Few other DJs embody the ability to "think outside the box" like Frankfurt's honorary citizen and Cocoon head Sven Väth, whether he's dropping Sade's version of "Why Can't We Live Together" to close out the night or ushering in Monday morning with The Bangles' "Just Another Manic Monday". Of course Sven and Cocoon are also synonymous with techno, nevertheless, it's worth looking back over the last few years of Cocoon's output to realize strict style guidelines and exaggerated pigeonholing no longer apply. It's especially true for the compilation series, which having now reached the letter R, impressively shows the arc the Frankfurt label's output continues to span. From soft and melodic with a lot of depth to highly functional and extremely crisp -- there's a creative range on offer that very few labels can boast. Sven Väth: "I listen to and play everything that I like and that touches me. I always pack a genre-spanning record bag, I'm particularly interested in those special tracks." The current compilation, R, not only continues this idea, it is a prime example of the label's philosophy. The illustrious circle of artists on the latest compilation is peppered with such prominent names as Isoleé, Lusine, Pig&Dan, Inigo Kennedy, Ambivalent & Alden Tyrell, ROD, and Mano Le Tough. Label representative and Frankfurt original Ingo Boss is once again on board and with contributions from International Anything, John Heckle, Cristi Cons, and Eduardo De La Calle, promising new faces from further afield are also represented. Of course, all this doesn't say much about the actual content, but that's exactly what it's about. Known vs. unknown, origins, discography etc., it's not important on this collection. Cocoon delivers what the label stands for and what it does best: promoting new artists, bringing celebrity names on board and above all, not building any musical walls either on or off the dancefloor. With releases like this, it's clear to us that the journey is ongoing and the wheel will continue to spin.