LP version. Nantes-based Australian drummer and percussionist Will Guthrie returns to Black Truffle with Nist-Nah. Like his previous solo record on the label, the abrasive hip-hop concrète of People Pleaser (BT 027LP, 2017), Nist-Nah finds Guthrie branching out in a new direction, this time in a suite of six percussion pieces primarily using the metallaphones, hand drums, and gongs of the Gamelan ensembles of Indonesia. The music presented here is grounded in Guthrie's travels in Indonesia and study of various forms of Gamelan music, from the stately suspended temporality of the courtly Javanese Gamelan Sekatan, to the delirious, thuggish repetition that accompanies the Javanese trance ritual Jathilan, to the shimmering acoustic glitch of contemporary Balinese composer Dewa Alit and his Gamelan Salukat/ However, far from an exercise in exoticism, Nist-Nah develops out of Guthrie's extensive work with metal percussion in recent years (as heard, for example, on his 2015 LP for iDEAL, Sacrée Obsession), where gongs, singing bowls and cymbals are used to build up walls of hovering tones and sizzling details. Though Guthrie is broadening his palette to explore Gamelan instrumentation and pay tribute to his love of this sophisticated yet elemental percussion music, the pieces presented here are equally informed by Guthrie's interests in free jazz, electro-acoustic music, and diverse experimental music practices, exploring long tones, extended techniques, and non-metered pulse. Nist-Nah presents a variety of approaches across its six pieces, from the crisp, precise rhythmic complexity of the opening title track to the droning textures of "Catlike" and "Elders". On the epic closing "Kebogiro Glendeng", Guthrie offers an extended, layered rendition of a Javanese piece belonging to a repertoire primarily used for warmups, beginner's groups and children first learning Gamelan, elegantly gesturing to his own amateur status while using the piece's insistently repeated melody as an extended exploration of the hypnotic effects of repetition, falling in and out of time with himself to create woozy, narcotic effects until the piece eventually dissolves into a wavering fog. Images by Sylvie Meunier. Recorded in 2019 by Lucas Pizzini. Mixed and mastered by Joe Talia at Good Mixture, Tokyo. Cut by Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.

"Quiet Music is a collection of pieces created by Steve Roach between 1983 and 1986 in respect for silence. The gentle electronics of Roach's synthesizers mix with flute, electric piano and nature sounds flow like breath, enveloping the listener in a sustained, delicate and translucent atmosphere. Quiet Music was originally released as a three tape cassette series in 1986 on Fortuna Records and is now being issued as a complete series on vinyl for the first time ever. After Structures From Silence was released, Steve was receiving invitations to create music for the emerging meditation yoga and healing arts community in Los Angeles. Quiet Music 1 was originally commissioned for a meditation video, which featured a collection of video images of lush forested areas, wild flowers and natural serenity. But by the time the piece was completed the producer passed away and the project was never completed. Quiet Music 1's direct connection to a distinct environment set the tone for the trilogy of albums. The Quiet Music series was released in a timeline that is often seen as linear but this music was created directly alongside the dynamic fully electronic albums like Now, Traveler, and Empetus. In the early '80s Steve would be shifting between the invigorating sequencer-percussive driven music and then move directly into weightless drifts and contemplative spaces. This way of creating grew naturally out of a desire to not settle into one place sonically and to nourish himself with a space that could be creative and fine-tuned, creating a calm and renewing zone while living within the hectic pace of urban life in Los Angeles."

"Quiet Music is a collection of pieces created by Steve Roach between 1983 and 1986 in respect for silence. The gentle electronics of Roach's synthesizers mix with flute, electric piano and nature sounds flow like breath, enveloping the listener in a sustained, delicate and translucent atmosphere. Quiet Music was originally released as a three tape cassette series in 1986 on Fortuna Records and is now being issued as a complete series on vinyl for the first time ever. After Structures From Silence was released, Steve was receiving invitations to create music for the emerging meditation yoga and healing arts community in Los Angeles. Quiet Music 2 was inspired by Steve spending a lot of time in deserts and was created as a natural progression from Structures From Silence, and the more nocturnal feeling of Quiet Music 3 were pieces designed for Steve's personal healing practices. The Quiet Music series was released in a timeline that is often seen as linear but this music was created directly alongside the dynamic fully electronic albums like Now, Traveler, and Empetus. In the early '80s Steve would be shifting between the invigorating sequencer-percussive driven music and then move directly into weightless drifts and contemplative spaces. This way of creating grew naturally out of a desire to not settle into one place sonically and to nourish himself with a space that could be creative and fine-tuned, creating a calm and renewing zone while living within the hectic pace of urban life in Los Angeles."

"Quiet Music is a collection of pieces created by Steve Roach between 1983 and 1986 in respect for silence. The gentle electronics of Roach's synthesizers mix with flute, electric piano and nature sounds flow like breath, enveloping the listener in a sustained, delicate and translucent atmosphere. Quiet Music was originally released as a three tape cassette series in 1986 on Fortuna Records and is now being issued as a complete series on vinyl for the first time ever. After Structures From Silence was released, Steve was receiving invitations to create music for the emerging meditation yoga and healing arts community in Los Angeles... The more nocturnal feeling of Quiet Music 3 were pieces designed for Steve's personal healing practices. The Quiet Music series was released in a timeline that is often seen as linear but this music was created directly alongside the dynamic fully electronic albums like Now, Traveler, and Empetus. In the early '80s Steve would be shifting between the invigorating sequencer-percussive driven music and then move directly into weightless drifts and contemplative spaces. This way of creating grew naturally out of a desire to not settle into one place sonically and to nourish himself with a space that could be creative and fine-tuned, creating a calm and renewing zone while living within the hectic pace of urban life in Los Angeles."

Bureau B present a reissue of Heldon's Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale, originally released in 1976. Heldon's Richard Pinhas has never been shy of pinpointing his influences while, at the same time, making music that is noticeably distinct from any of his designated sources. He has, for instance, made it clear that a significant font of inspiration was Robert Fripp's guitar style and melding of rock music with cutting-edge electronics (especially in collaboration with Brian Eno). Indeed, Heldon's fifth album, Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale, was named after a live bootleg of a King Crimson concert. Pinhas first met Fripp in 1974, and the pair became friends and have remained in contact ever since. Pinhas was even offered a deal with E.G. Records, the company that oversaw King Crimson alongside other successful groups like Roxy Music and ELP. "That was a dream," says Pinhas. "But when you are 22, you are in a hurry. They asked me to wait one or two years before joining the team. I couldn't wait two years!" Instead, Pinhas launched his own label, Disjuncta, which he later sold to purchase the Moog synthesizer that would make a huge difference to Heldon's sound. Heldon's output also drew from radical science fiction (Philip K. Dick, Norman Spinrad, etc.) as well as philosophy: the sleeve features a quote from Pierre Klossowski's Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle (1969). Heldon never represented a mere facsimile of Pinhas's musical touchstones: King Crimson, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, or Frank Zappa. Heldon was always its own beast and by 1976 it was thriving and roaring like never before. More work was being completed in a proper studio, the Moog helped strengthen the sound and direction, and Pinhas's rotating cast of collaborators was solidifying into something resembling a regular lineup, with François Auger on drums and Patrick Gauthier on synthesizers. The result was a darker, heavier, and more intense sound. The LP opens with the prog-gone-skronk onslaught of "Marie Virginie C", sounding rather like Robert Fripp being sliced into bloody chunks in Thurston Moore's basement. Auger is the star of "Elephanta", in all its Moog-assisted polyrhythmic glory. On side two, "MVC II" offers six minutes of sinister dystopian squelch rock. It's followed by "Toward The Red Line", an epic piece conceivably serving to connect the dots between Hawkwind's most freeform passages and the Detroit techno innovations of the coming decade.

Gowanus Session II was seven years in the planning. Thollem McDonas, Nels Cline, and William Parker convened at Peter Karl Studios in Brooklyn on January 3rd, 2012 and recorded two complete albums. The first was Gowanus Session I, released by Porter Records in April of 2012. GS II was put aside to eventually complete the five-album palindromic cycle of trio albums Nels and Thollem ambitiously set out to realize. The albums in between include Radical Empathy with Michael Wimberly (Relative Pitch, 2015), Molecular Affinity with Pauline Oliveros (ROAR 042LP, 2016), and Reality and Other Imaginary Places, with Michael Wimberly (ESPDISK 5035CD/LP, 2019). William Parker debuted on ESP-Disk' in the mid-70s on Frank Lowe's classic album Black Beings (ESPDISK 3013CD) and has returned to the label this decade on the Black Beings sequel, The Loweski (ESPDISK 4066CD) and with Mat Walerian's group Toxic (ESPDISK 5011CD, 2017) and in a quartet with Ivo Perelman, Matthew Shipp, and Bobby Kapp (ESPDISK 5036CD, 2019), while being highly prolific as a leader, notably with a series of brilliant albums on AUM Fidelity. Nels Cline has spent decades changing people's ideas about the role of the electric guitar in multiple contexts, ranging from Wilco to Anthony Braxton (think about that!) as well as many projects as a leader, earning a spot on Rolling Stone's Top 100 Guitarists list. Thollem is a perpetually traveling pianist, keyboardist, composer, improviser, singer-songwriter, activist, author, and teacher. He's spent most of his adult life living on the road throughout North America and Europe. His work is ever-changing, evolving and responding to the times and his experiences, both as a soloist and in collaboration with hundreds of artists across idioms and disciplines. Thollem is known internationally as an acoustic piano player in the free jazz and post-classical worlds, as the lead vocalist for the Italian agit-punk band Tsigoti, and as an electronic keyboardist through a multitude of projects. Personnel: William Parker - bass; Nels Cline - electric guitar/effects; Thollem McDonas - piano. All compositions by Thollem McDonas, William Parker, Nels Cline.

"Massimo Toniutti is an Italian sound designer and experimental musician. He is the brother of Giancarlo Toniutti who is best known for his dark ambient masterpiece La Mutazione which was originally released on the Broken Flag label in the UK and later reissued by Klanggalerie. Massimo started working with sound when he was a teenager, collecting and playing recordings of all kinds. In th 1980s he released four cassettes on his own label, all heavily influenced by the experimental musis scene of that time. He soon developped a strong relation to electroacoustic structures, space/environment and silence. In the 1990s, he began investigating radio, creating his own sound archive and producing unusual broadcasts. He released an album entitled Il Museum Selvatico, which was reissued in Australia in 2018 on Oren Ambarchi's label Black Truffle. A documentation of his radio work can be heard on the CD Le Gabbiette Di Faraday, collecting radio pieces from 1996 to 1998. After a twenty year break, the cassette Antidocument/Groundwork was released in 2016 in a tiny edition of only 100 copies. Klanggalerie asked Massimo Toniutti to reissue this composition on CD to which he agreed. When work was started, Massimo decided to extend it to a much longer piece which became Variation Séculaire Géomagnétique. if you are into Musique Concrete, Dark Ambient or simply beautifully crafted atmospheric music, then this release is for you."

London Records present the first vinyl reissue of Happy Mondays' Squirrel And G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out), originally released in 1987. Released in April 1987, the Happy Mondays debut album was a perfect snapshot of a very different kind of pop culture coming from beyond the fringes. It would be an underground album but a game changer. Produced by Velvet Underground legend, John Cale, this was the accidental sound track for the endless housing estates sailing away from Manchester City center and into Salford-perfectly captured by this gang of misfits. Artwork lovingly replicated by original Manchester designers Central Station Design. Featured the singles "Tart Tart" and "24 Hour Party People". 180 gram vinyl; silk-screen printed PVC O-card; printed inner-sleeve; includes download code.

London Records present the first vinyl reissue of Happy Mondays' Bummed, originally released in 1988. Like many an influential album in rock history, the cultural significance of Happy Mondays' Bummed was apparent to precious few listeners upon its first release on November 5th, 1988. Within a decade or two, Bummed would be hailed as one of the best records of the '80s, often by the self-same publications that had slated it back in the day -- a harbinger of the seismic shift about to take place in British popular music, away from the squeaky-clean, corporately ordained pop-radio fodder which had increasingly dominated the charts since punk, and back towards the more aggressive, unruly, and experience-hungry urges which had always pulsed through rock n' roll. Artwork lovingly replicated by original Manchester designers Central Station Design. Featured the singles "Wrote For Luck" and "Lazyitis - One Armed Boxer". 180 gram vinyl; gatefold sleeve with embossing; printed inner-sleeve; includes download code.

London Records present a reissue of Happy Mondays' ...Yes Please!, originally released in 1992. The last Happy Mondays album on Factory Records -- reaching no. 14 in the UK chart. Produced by Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. Artwork lovingly replicated by original Manchester designers Central Station Design. Features the singles "Stinkin' Thinkin", "Sunshine & Love", and "Angel". 180 gram vinyl; printed inner-sleeve; includes download code.

"180 gram audiophile vinyl edition of this much sought after 1969 Pussy album. This repress is on ginger vinyl. A real deal heavy psych classic!"

"The first, the best, the last, the one and only Dwarves celebrate over 20 years of unmentionable practices against music, the populace, small animals, teenage girls, law, order, and society with a kiss-off collection of 16 classic tracks on Reptilian Records. After nearly 20 years out of print, the classic collection How to Win Friends and Influence People spits out re-recorded versions of the songs that made the Dwarves a universally loved Satanic cult of sex, drugs, and destruction -- 'Drug Store', 'Fuck You Up and Get High', 'Dairy Queen', 'Let's Fuck', and many others. Although the originals resounded with power and fury, the newest versions are even mightier; not bland, verbatim clones, but altered arrangements -- some slower, some faster, all better, recorded raw and with increased abandon. The Dwarves -- talented, demented, (not to mention once young and good looking) leave countless imitators in their sleazy wake, but none could ever fulfill the twisted manifest destiny declared by these lawless pioneers many years ago."

Double LP version. Wewantsounds present a 40th anniversary reissue of Akiko Yano's Gohan Ga Dekitayo, originally released in 1980. This superb double-album was recorded with Yellow Magic Orchestra at a time when she was part of the group's touring line-up between 1979 and 1980. The album is pure Akiko Yano featuring her superb singing and piano playing, enhanced by touches of YMO's synth-pop sound (check her cult version of YMO's classic, "Tong-Poo"). First album release outside of Japan. When Gohan Ga Dekitayo came out in 1980, Akiko Yano had been touring with Yellow Magic Orchestra for more than a year. She'd play keyboards alongside the three founding members -- Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yukihiro Takahashi -- plus guitarist Kenji Omura and synth wizard programmer Hideki Matsutake (as part of the 1980 North American tour, she'd also feature in the group's cult TV appearance on Soul Train for a memorable rendition of "Tighten Up") and they are all present on Gohan Ga Dekitayo. The double-LP, whose title could be translated by "Dinner Is Ready", was co-produced with Ryuichi Sakamoto and recorded at two legendary studios: Tokyo's Alfa Studio "A" and Los Angeles's Sound City. It was Akiko's first shift towards a fuller synth sound following four studio albums mixing pop and jazz funk, including her landmark debut from 1976, Japanese Girl (WWSCD 017CD/WWSLP 017LP). A shift that would continue with the release of Tadaima in 1981 (WWSCD 016CD/WWSLP 016LP_, also featuring the YMO musicians. The fourteen tracks on Gohan Ga Dekitayo find Akiko in top form mixing her singer-songwriter's sensitivity with the electro-pop sound of YMO. It's interesting to note though that it is very much an Akiko Yano album even if the group is present on the album (interestingly they do also play analog instruments on the album). Akiko is clearly the one in charge with a string of beautiful compositions and the rendition of one of the group's classics, "Tong Poo" which she reinvents as a slower, less metronomic-paced song adding her own lyrics. Other highlights on the album include "Dogs Awaiting...", a hypnotic composition featuring fascinating electro arrangements or "Coloured Water" sung in English by Akiko accompanying herself on Fender Rhodes with subtle percussion by Tatsuo Hayashi and electronics by Ryuichi Sakamoto. There are many more great moments on this superb album which announces the further experiments of Tadaima. Remastered audio by Mitsuo Koike.

Bang! Records present a reissue of Lydia Lunch and Rowland S. Howard's Shotgun Wedding, originally released in 1991. Lydia Lunch: New York City's provocateur, poet, singer, author, performer, and actress. From fronting the influential no-wave group Teenage Jesus and The Jerks to her current musical incarnation as Big Sexy Noise, with Gallon Drunk's noise makers James Johnston, Terry Edwards, and Ian White; countless collaborations and projects in between Lydia has never played by anyone's rules but her own. This 1991 collaboration with the Australian iconic cult figure Rowland S. Howard is perhaps one of her most revered. Featuring production by JG Thirwell (Foetus, Manorexia) and drums by Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds, Grinderman) it's a veritable who is who of the post punk/no wave scene of the time. Rowland S. Howard is no doubt best known for his work with the Birthday Party, his discordant guitar is an essential factor in their sound. Howard sadly passed away from liver cancer in 2009. A hugely influential alternative musician, in 2011 he was subject to a 110-minute documentary entitled Autoluminescent, by cult filmmakers Richard Lowenstein and Lynne Maree Milburn, which received an independent cinema release. Featuring luminaries such as Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie, Wim Wenders, and of course... Lydia Lunch, the film highlights Howard s genius, talent, and rightfully elevates him to the cult status he so deserves. With both parties at the height of their respective talents, this is an alternative rock gem, yet however maintains an atmosphere of eerie beauty throughout. Out of print for years, this re-press is a must have.

Elettroencefalogramma scans the full breadth of electronic composition by Italian musical mastermind Antonino Riccardo Luciani, who's perhaps best known for his library records, but on the showing here had a strong, prescient line in mind-bending, fathoms-deep experimental and academic work with tape and early, pre-synth devices. Awarded unprecedented access to polymath composer "Tony" Luciani's archive of inter-disciplinary work, Finders Keepers' Andy Votel follows his pressing of Maria Teresa Luciani's Sounds Of The City (FKR 093LP) with a first compilation survey of her sibling's vast catalog, newly issued via the Dead-Cert label he curates alongside Sean Canty and Doug Shipton. The set falls deep within the label's remit of reissued and previously unreleased work by overlooked and undocumented pioneers of 20th century sound, revealing a distinctive mix of material that nods to contemporary, tape music, neo-classical, jazz, electro-acoustic, and counterpoint composition. Drawn from original tapes recorded during the 1970s, Elettroencefalogramma spans the heyday of Luciani's work, before synth music was popularized. In this sense, it's worth noting Luciani's links with Teresa Rampazzi and the pioneering electroacoustic group NPS -- and namely Serenella "Serena" Marega -- with whom he shares a strong affiliation toward embracing the possibilities of new music at the dawn of an unprecedented sonic epoch. There's a sense of being in transition between worlds and eras in the opening blend of melancholy strings and bubbling electronic rhythm "Battery Farm", and likewise the cranky mixture of bestial growls and dissonance in "The Zoo", while the rattle-y rhythm of "Offices" uncannily recalls Trunk's recent issue of Mechanical Keyboard Sounds (JBH 084LP, 2019) from the modern day. But Luciani excels at quieter, introspective styles, as with the flute-led vision of "Desol 2", and most remarkably in the stygian, primitive drum machine pulse and clammy string drones of "Forest Of Chimneys", which is surely crying out for imagery of Satanic mills, while the rupturing tape of "Bombardment" sets him firmly in a lane of advanced Italian noise that connects him to Gruppo's Roland Kayn and Maurizio Bianchi. RIYL: Dapne Oram, Teresa Rampazzi, Daniela Casa, Roland Kayn, Maurizio Bianchi. Edition of 300.

Double-LP version. Clear vinyl; six-panel, gatefold sleeve. Ending the decade of silence which followed more than ten years of remarkable, critically-acclaimed activity by the partnership of veteran experimentalists, Luigi Archetti and Bo Wiget, the duo returns with what may be their most ambitious effort to date, Weltformat, issued by Die Schachtel. Switzerland-based Luigi Archetti and Bo Wiget began collaborating in 1998, the fruits of which initially emerged as the critically heralded, three-part Low Tide Digitals series, released by Rune Grammofon between 2001 and 2009. Weltformat, like its predecessors, builds on decades of solo and collaborative efforts by its creators -- Archetti with famed Krautrock pioneers, Guru Guru, among many others, and Wiget with Werner Lüdi, Taku Sugimoto, Tetuzi Akiyama, and others. Sculpted from the intricate tonal interventions and responses of Archetti on guitar, mandolin, and electronics, and Wiget on cello, electronics, and vocals, across the album the duo constructs a remarkably diverse landscape in sound, folding touchstones of modern classical, free improvisation, minimalism, harsh noise, and ambient music, into a seamless, singular expanse. Clusters of tone and dissonance merge, collide, and abrade against drones, textures, and pulsing electronics, each element a representative voice of its creator, caught in an imagistic conversation beyond words, which feels as immediate and intuitive, as it does perfectly balanced and thoughtful. Weltformat, encountering Archetti and Wiget just past the 20 year mark of their collaborative partnership, bears the fruit of rigorous experiments in sound - an immersive, effortless form of sonic realism, built from the optimism and hope which lays at the root of the avant-garde. As beautiful, inviting, immersive, and slow moving, as it is challenging, destabilizing, and thought provoking.

Housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket; OBI. "After years of Wrecking Crew-grade session musicianship around Los Angeles, Malcolm John Rebbenack carved his own niche by the late 1960s with a distinct blend of psychedelic rock, boogie-woogie, and rhythm & blues. Taking the stage name Dr. John, The Night Tripper (later shortened to Dr. John), he developed a cult following with his music, heavily influenced by his home of New Orleans, and fascination with the voodoo religion, which was reflected in his elaborate stage shows. In 1968 he released his debut record Gris-Gris, which was not a commercial hit, but fascinated critics, and set him on an artistic path that would eventually lead to major mainstream success in the 1970s, and cement his reputation as a prominent curator and performer of the New Orleans sound. After Gris-Gris' release, Dr. John found himself in a strange and awkward position. The US was deep into the Vietnam War, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were fresh in the public memory. On top of that, Dr. John was being pursued by various Los Angeles authorities for a handful of criminal offenses. It was, in his own words: 'a heavy time for me.' Much like Sly & The Family Stone's There's A Riot Goin' On, Dr. John's sophomore album Babylon would be a reflection of the chaotic and tumultuous time that he was living in. He and the band dove deeper into the voodoo-inflected psychedelic rock and R&B of Gris-Gris, while touching upon elements of free jazz and Captain Beefheart-style avant garde. As with his debut record, production was handled by the legendary Harold Battiste, and much of the same session personnel who performed on it returned for Babylon, including Plas Johnson on saxophone, Alvin Robinson on guitar, and backing vocals from Jessie Hill, Shirley Goodman, and Tami Lynn. Babylon stands out as one of Dr. John's most overtly political albums, and is a singularly murky and darkly entrancing record in his discography. A psychedelic swamp of apocalyptic lyrical content, drunk, disorienting experimentation, and a fascinating entry into Dr. John's catalogue well-worthy of his expansive legacy."

Mike Stax on the 7": "Craig Smith was a Southern California golden boy: smart, funny, good looking, gregarious and gifted. Success came easy to him in the 1960s, his winning smile flickering on TV screens across America, his songs recorded by The Monkees, Andy Williams, and Glen Campbell, and his band, The Penny Arkade (produced and mentored by Michael Nesmith) poised for the big time. But in 1968, after revelatory experiences with LSD and meditation, he walked away from the music business and set out along the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to India. Then tragedy struck. A horrific attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan triggered a complete mental breakdown, and when Craig returned to California he was not the same person. Craig Smith became Maitreya Kali, a self-professed psychedelic guru with a serious Messiah complex and black widow spider tattooed on his Third Eye. Maitreya laid out his bizarre vision on two brilliant albums, Apache and Inca, pressed up in tiny quantities in 1972 and now among the most sought-after psychedelic artifacts in the world. Written and recorded in 1969-70, 'Sam Pan Boat' is one of his most haunting and unerringly beautiful songs. The version here is remastered from the Inca album. 'Race The Wind' was sourced from a two-sided acetate demo recorded around 1968-69. Take 2 of the song was included on the album Love Is Our Existence (MAM 201CD/101LP, 2018). The slightly more vigorous Take 1 is being released for the first time here."

"Now-Again Records presents limited edition deluxe reissues of the lauded black fire catalog in 2020. First up in the series, this previously unreleased live session recorded at the legendary Brooklyn venue The East in 1973. Magical, mystical, Afrocentric, progressive -- words that could be used to describe any number of musical compositions by Sun Ra or his cosmic brothers and sisters, from John to Alice Coltrane, early '70s projects on record labels like Detroit's Tribe or Houston's Lightin' or the interests of one Washington, DC native named Jimmy Gray that centered under one, perfect moniker: Black Fire. Gray spent nearly three decades pushing boundaries as a Black American promoter, distributor and, finally, record label owner. Together with Juju's leader James 'Plunky Nkabinde' Branch, Gray oversaw sixteen releases on Black Fire Records between 1975 and 1996. These are the definitive reissues of five of the label's key titles; all were lacquered -- most directly from master tape -- by legendary Los Angeles mastering engineer Bernie Grundman. With this set, Juju and Black Fire's story burns forth into its fifth decade, its message not tempered, its sound pure. It's cycle, once again, complete. Each release is packaged in a thick, tip-on sleeve and includes a deluxe booklet with extensive notes on the album, the Black Fire collective, and the musical and cultural revolution they created. Limited edition, one time pressing."

Can music be classic and contemporary at the same time? Can it contain a secret genetic code in which the summary of the past, the present pulse, and the future view are hidden? Be ahead of its time and not lose relevance along the way? Let's Call It A Day, the first album collaboration of German authors Move D (David Moufang) and Benjamin Brunn, proves it is not only possible hypothetically, but can also live amongst us. First appearing on a CD via Bine Music in 2006, it is now remastered here by Calyx and on vinyl for the first time ever. This is a complete piece built from seven sections, each one is a microcosm of unique textures, depth, ambience, emotions, programming, looping, and melodic rules; together they are a homogenous creation, a symphony that culminate in dance music experiencing elevation. Let's Call It A Day, which in a way is the big brother of Songs From The Beehive (SMALL 001CD/LP) -- their exhilarating installment for Smallville from 2008 -- is an album above the Zeitgeist. The way Moufang and Brunn fuse different genres together without committing to any musical doctrine, makes them appear prophetic. However, it is in no sense a retrospect feeling; even at the time it was clear that the perceptions, experience, vision, and delicacy of this album were outstanding. Every element here, every frequency, rhythm, turnaround or keyboard tapping, is the material from which masterpieces are made of. From the opening meditative, ever-evolving loops of "On The Magic Bus" to the abstract drones of "Grains" with its almost nonexistent bass drum -- like it was aimed to hit the ambient-house craze; through the mesmerizing dubbiness of "A", which sounds like a rave ending in an echo chamber and the constant micro-movement of the arpeggios in the title track; "Ω", which sounds like a soundtrack for a sinking submarine footage and the ambient downbeat of "C-Sick", which melts your heart from within; and finally the closer -- the fragile and elegant beauty of "Magnetically Leviated Train". More than 76 minutes of diving constantly deeper and deeper. This new remastered version will feature a brand new and extra glossy Stefan Marx gatefold cover, that will give the perfect visual expression of the album's timeless music. And If there was ever a downside to Let's Call It A Day, it would be its lack of a vinyl edition. Well, this is exactly what's being sorted out now, isn't it? Gatefold cover.

"The sound and spirit of post-punk endures in the music and long-tail legacy of British quartet Wire, now dispersed over Europe but regrouping around the Pink Flag for a major tour and new album Mind Hive. Meanwhile, inside the issue... Katie Gately - The LA based sound artist and sought-after producer (serpentwithfeet) and remixer (Björk) explores the complete emotional spectrum of the human voice on her harrowing new album Loom; Frank Denyer - Where the British composer leads others in new music have followed, from ethnomusicological adventures and found sound to creative performance staging. On two new albums, he sings for the first time in his 40 year plus career; Invisible Jukebox - Mayo Thompson; Epiphanies - Ryley Walker on Christian ska; The Inner Sleeve - Jeff Mills on jazz; Unlimited Editions - Recital."

Trading Places present a reissue of Bridget St. John's Ask Me No Questions, originally released in 1969. Blessed with a distinctive voice largely defined by a rich, cello-like timbre, the English singer and guitarist Bridget St. John was brought to the attention of the adventurous guitarist John Martyn by fellow singer Robin Frederick and after being introduced to him by Martyn's poet friend, Pete Roch, was championed by BBC Radio disc jockey John Peel, who formed the Dandelion label in 1969 (with Elektra record-plugger Clive Selwood) specifically to issue St. John's music. Recorded in a brief session that lasted for some nine or ten hours, debut album Ask Me No Questions features Martyn on second guitar on opener "To Be Without A Hitch" and the equally chilling "Curl Your Toes", as well as the haunting title track, while future Fairport Convention and Soft Machine member Ric Sanders appears on "Lizard Tongue Boy" and "Many Happy Returns". Licensed by Cherry Red.

Trading Places present a reissue of Emerald Web's Sound Trek, originally released in 1980. Pioneering space music duo Emerald Web, comprised of Bob Stohl and soulmate Kat Epple, made some of the most ethereal, divine, and healing sounds between 1979 and 1990. Crafting their debut album in a haunted mansion in northwest Connecticut, their second disc was created in a small log cabin. A subsequent move to the San Francisco Bay Area brought an extended stay at an Indonesian martial arts ashram, which led to the Valley of the Birds, a remote avian haven in which the duo produced Sound Trek, an incredible space rock long-player drawing on their immersion in fantasy realms, sci-fi, martial arts, and UFOs. Created mostly with monophonic synths and an Oberheim DS-2 sequencer, it also features Shakahachi flutes, electronic flutes, and more standard acoustic instruments. Licensed by Kat Epple.

Trading Places present a reissue of Implosion's self-titled album, originally released in 1988. Outstanding Italian outfit that combines prog, space rock, psych, and electronic music in an album that could have come from the early 1970s. Long spacey, dreamy, and mostly instrumental tracks made of killer, acid-leaking electronics. Released in 500 copies in 1988, the monster rare LP was never reissued in any format for more than 30 years and Discogs has it in the three-digit range. This long-awaited reissue was digitally remixed and remastered in 2019 from the master analog tapes, played back through the original 4-track recording deck. Inner sleeve features a 2019 foreword by Implosion's guitarist, as well as lyrics to three songs and the bio sheet which originally graced the first 20 copies only. Licensed by Gianni Rosati.

Welcome to the third instalment in Vampisoul's series dedicated to the original Italian library music from the vaults of Nelson Records. In this album, the label digs deeper into the most experimental recordings in the archives of Nelson Records. The label was founded in 1970 by the musicians Maurizio Majorana, Antonello Vannucchi, and Roberto Podio (who along with Carlo Pes would be known as I Marc 4), after establishing the Telecinesound studio, right where the New Italian Library Sound was created. They recorded with Armando Trovajoli, Piero Piccioni, Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliani, Henry Mancini, and many others, and created a special sound, mixing jazz, pop, rock, and psychedelic music, to produce records aiming to be used by the programmers of the Italian RAI television. The music of Thrilling Mortale is mostly special effects, drum breaks, fast bongo rhythms, and groovy Hammond background sounds inspired by cinema noise experts who did not use any musical instruments and had only a few objects to recreate the noises of the films; from horse rides to closing gates, everything was done in the traditional way. I Marc 4, instead, would recreate those sounds with bass, guitar, drums, piano and Hammond organ. Many musicians, record producers and film directors still like, look for, rediscover and re-use for their work, and the music on these albums recorded by I Marc 4 between 1970-1976 have reached cult status among library music collectors.

Salón Dadá and Col Corazón were two bands led by Támira Bassallo and Jaime de Lama, active between 1986 and 1990. They emerged in Lima, in the context of the hardcore punk movement known as rock subterráneo. They distinguished themselves by their sound experimentation and their unconventional song structures, which led them from the stridency of noise rock to the use of Andean sonorities. In this sense, they were able to assimilate the innovative spirit of post-punk and became the most representative saga of this sound in Peru. And although they did not leave official recordings, the cult around them has been increasing over time. Lo Que No Existe, Existe: Registros De Una Saga Post Punk En El Peru (1986-1990) compiles a series of recordings from various sources, including rehearsals and live takes, presented for the first time in vinyl format, with substantial visual documentation, and extensive liner notes telling the story of the group. This release allows one to approach the sound and universe of what was one of the most beloved, respected, and innovative groups of rock subterráneo, one of the best-kept secrets of the Peruvian scene. This project is part of the Essential Sounds collection, with which Buh Records presents a series of fundamental works of the Peruvian musical avant-garde.

LP version. Eight early songs written and produced by Tase, recorded on 16-track tape machine. Neues Deutschland Studio 2010-2011. Tase is producer Sven Rieger. Co-founder of SUED, Rieger records under aliases SVN and Ixus and in groups such as AU, Département d'Éducation Psychique, Dreesvn, and S.P. Posse.

A profoundly original record steeped in millennia of pre-Islamic (pagan) and Islamic theology and Arabic tradition, Dhil-un Taht Shajarat Al-Zaqum translates into "a patch of shade under the zaqum tree" and sees Myslma convey an ancient sense of existential angst via the contemporary prism of electronic music in his singular style of emo-R&B and weightless grime expression. Although entirely sung in a form of classical Arabic that even modern-day speakers may not comprehend, Msylma's impassioned delivery and intonation conveys the gravity of the album's themes in no uncertain terms, meaning that native and non-Arabic speakers alike will be absorbed by the album's emotional pull. Turning cues from a rich knowledge of pre-Islamic and Quranic poetry into a work of subversive literary fiction, Msylma charts a transition from a romanticized childhood, thru the rising self-awareness of adolescence, to problems with parents and the sardonic cynicism of adulthood, before looping back to childhood, and resolving with a burned-out, sore conclusion in an eternal here and now; effectively mulling ontological and existential themes that surely resonate with a lived human experience wherever you're listening from. Whether channeling a pained sort of R&B/soul spirit in the aching delivery and floating chords of opener "Inqirad (Rihab-U Dhakir)", singing from the midst of a weightless grime skirmish in "Min Bab AlKamal-i w AlDawam", or scaling the lofty heights of "Astaqi AlGhamam", no knowledge of the lyrics' meaning is required in order to immerse in and empathize with Myslma's music. But if you're the inquisitive type, maybe a quick Google translate of the track titles will offer more concrete pointers to each song's meaning and, in turn, open listeners to a world that's familiar yet beyond their immediate conception. This is an album that will stick in the mind long after the music stops playing, opening windows into parallel dimensions as fascinating and dramatic as the visions of Scott Walker, as haunting as Omar Souleyman's lamenting mawwals, or futuristic as Fatima Al Qadiri. Follows standout vocal work on Zuli's Terminal LP, The Wire's #2 Album of the Year in 2018 (UIQ 003LP). Design and layout by Jesse Osborne-Lanthier. Mastered by Al Carlson. Produced by the artist, Zuli, and 1127. Edition of 300; includes insert.

Bit of an enigma this one, the debut release -- a decade in the making -- from an artist about which little is known, Wayne Phoenix. soaring wayne phoenix story the earth is a fascinatingly intimate yet elusive record honed over years by a trained pianist recording a kind of all-encompassing audio diary that is reminiscent of everything from Klein to Burial, to RZA's incredible Ghost Dog original soundtrack. After marinating in the archive while trends passed by, the fleeting stop/start collage of honest humility and ephemeral thoughts in story the earth resembles a time capsule of a former, or parallel, self; one the artist is only now at ease to come terms with. Vacillating moments of profound lucidity and penetrative pangs of anxiety, Wayne lays his soul bare in that most vulnerable way that can sometimes lead to great art, and finds himself in solid, empathetic company among Halcyon Veil's sensitively intuitive spirits such as Myslma, Mhysa, and of course, Rabit. One of those debuts that feels uncannily familiar on the first encounter, the album dredges a remarkable and unshakeable depth of feeling and human insight via its mazy tile of vignettes, drifting from softly textured, deep blue witching hour logic to more grizzled, Tricky-esque realizations and glossolalic expressions that practically, poetically say as much as his legible lyrics. In between, pockets of fractured music box melody and sorely textured beats flower and weed in the gaps, sounding something like RZA's Ghost Dog OST adapted from dilapidated NYC rooftops to the same drizzly London streets inhabited by Burial, Klein, and Mica Levi. Maybe best of all though, there's very little pretense to this record. It simply sounds like the artist is working out their feelings through music in an exposed, genuine way that doesn't matter if nobody else ever hears it. Wayne Phoenix's frayed, dreamlike tapestry of self-reflections are set to become part of our contemporary consciousness in 2020. Mastered and cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. One-sided LP; transparent yellow vinyl; edition of 300.

2020 version; black vinyl and alternative cover. Originally released in 2014. Void Vision is a Philadelphia based solo female minimal synth/cold wave project from Shari Wallin. Already included by Rough Trade in their seminal Synth Wave compilations, the single anticipated her full-length Sub Rosa for Mannequin Records (MNQ 054CD/LP, 2014). "Sour" was featured in the acclaimed Wild Wild Country Netflix series in 2018. Music supervisor Chris Swanson about the track: "We were having a hard time finding a song for that scene, actually. We had a Future Islands track originally in that scene, I think, but I remember we were having a hard time getting the tone right... because there were objectives with regards to the narrative... we wanted a good beat, a sense of time but also conforming to the time. I think of all the songs [in WWC], the Void Vision song is the one that stands out... because it was different yet it sold the story that we were trying to tell." Remix by Vanzetti & Sacco, aka Jos Van Galen with the Otto Kraanen, the boss of the acclaimed Bordello A Parigi from Rotterdam. Edition of 500.

Exploring the balances between pop song writing structures, '80s cold wave bedroom style electronic production, and dreary gloom rock, Paris-based Dissemblance presents her debut LP Over The Sand for Mannequin Records. Over ten tracks, Dissemblance treads the fringes of a blurred dream world, using her bass guitar, voice, and drum machine as the backbone to create haunting yet soothing pop atmospheres in her songs. The opener "Transfuge" maintains a focus on the bass guitar, while a sparse rhythm box and monotone vocal fuel unbreakable tension. "Rescue" continues centered around the bass playing, this time with more almost upbeat surf rock pop sensibility driving the track. The closer, "A Ride", takes shape with Boss DR-55 clicks, solemn, floating vocals, and a subtle bassline reminding us of some of Lifetones' finer moments. A welcome new addition to the Mannequin catalog, Over The Sand will appeal to fans of gloom-tinged electronic pop and even to optimistic goths around the globe. All songs written and produced by Mathilde Mallen in Paris, France. Mixed by Silent Servant in Los Angeles, California, 2019.

Black vinyl repress. Andy Stott's first release since 2016 and first EP since 2011, It Should Be Us is a double EP of slow and raw productions for the club, recorded in 2019 and following a series of EPs that started with Passed Me By (LOVE 069LP) and We Stay Together (LOVE 072LP) early this decade. Recorded fast and loose over the summer, these eight tracks harness a pure and bare-boned energy, melodies subsumed by drum machines and synths; slow, rugged hedonism. It's all about rhythmic heat and disorientation, pure dance and DJ specials rendered at an unsteady pace, from percolated house and percussive rituals to moody tripped-out burners. There'll be a new Andy Stott album in 2020, but in the meantime... this one's for dancing. Mastered and cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.

Japanese sound artist Kimihide Kusafuka, better known as K2, originally came onto the scene in 1981, in order to explore the possibility of noise. The activities at that time were only the creation of cassette works and actions in the world of mail art with no live performance. A few years later, he suspended his music activities to concentrate on his studies and returned in 1993 after having just graduated as a pathologist. K2 perceives no alteration between the act of making noise and the act of science and he practices a kind of alchemy through his noise. Hepatopolitika, an ultra-rare work released in 1994 on transparent vinyl by German label Praxis Dr. Bearmann in only 125 numbered copies, represents in an exemplary way the idea just expressed. He sets one's sights of metamorphosize himself with both the awareness he gets from his scientific experiments and the emotional strength he obtains from performing and listening to noise. The work is essentially a cut-ups noise oriented in its most exhausting form and in its rawest form. The sound is exceptionally lo-fi; the actual aggression of sound deconstruction in both sides leaves you astonished and consists in amazing assemblage of crashing, creaking, and scraping sounds made with pieces of junk metal plus concrete music and voice, edited in a jarring, unpredictable style. 140 gram black vinyl; black inner sleeve in a deluxe black cardboard sleeve with logo in silver silk screen plus obi that include art collage from original vinyl label; Edition of 199. "Noise cannot be refused by either ears and heads!"

Controlled Death is the dark side project by the Japanese noise legend Maso Yamazaki, aka Masonna. In April 2018 he decided to make a shudder debut with first album Symphony For The Black Murder (UMA 125CD) then followed at the beginning of 2019 from second work in an astonishing black wooden box that included Journey Through A Dead Body on vinyl and Deathwish Tapes 1-3 on CD and double-tape (UMA 130LP). Now there's yet another mind-boggling work on double-LP recorded during 2019, Ritualistic Mutilation in the Bloody Darkness. Wild and amazing, this one is absolutely essential for any fan of synth and dark ambient music. Cracked minimal electronic sound by Korg MS-20, unclear and disturbing voice with the influence of primitive black metal and dark ritual in this new double-album which developed a moisturized doom world while wearing a raw material texture. While listening to the records, each long track does meander their way slowly through proceedings with silent pauses, but they nonetheless generate a respectably dense assemblage of sounds. The smell of death is soaked in every groove produced by the four vinyl sides. The activities of Controlled Death are like archaic revival to the music experience before Masonna. You can also find the pathology image of the early industrial period and the shadows of Vienna activism such as Hermann Nitsch as well as loose bits of seminal black metal. The existence and art that pierces through conspicuous consciousness and dives to areas of unconsciousness due to death and pleasure. 140 gram vinyl; deluxe gatefold sleeve with impressive photography (of a cave church with the remains of the people who were massacred by the Saracens in 999 A.D. during the invasion of southern Italy) by Aldo Volpe. Edition of 299.

LP version. Synth ambiences, acoustic landscapes, deep songwriting, and subtle candombe percussions combine in most of the musical output released in Uruguay during the '80s. A very unique sound was developed within the narrow boundaries of Montevideo, the country's capital city, by just a small group of very talented artists. These sounds reverberated in singer-songwriting (Eduardo Darnauchans, Fernando Cabrera, Estela Magnone), jazz fusion approximations (Hugo Fattoruso's La Escuelita), experimental music (Leo Maslíah, Hugo Jasa), and the work of musicians at the intersections of these worlds (Jaime Roos, Mariana Ingold). In América Invertida, ethereal vocal arrangements and acoustic guitars cohabit with synthesizers and drum machines; Candombe and Latin American music form a fellowship with new wave and dream pop. However, the overwhelming musical harvest produced by giant neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, shadowed any attempt for this scene to transcend beyond the local market. It's only now, a few decades later, when some of those records have achieved cult status among a discreet group of collectors that try hard to get hold of those titles, pressed in only tiny numbers at the time. No wonder, the timeless beauty of these songs remains in full effect while retaining the uniqueness of a sound resulting from multiple cultural encounters on the streets of Montevideo. This compilation, América Invertida, reveals part of this hidden world. It veers towards the most experimental side of Uruguayan singer-songwriting of the '80s, both from an acoustic and electronic point of view (with artists who moved between both universes) as well as towards instrumental fusion. A collaboration with Montevideo based label Little Butterfly. Compiled by Spanish DJ and collector Javi Bayo. Extensive liner notes by Uruguayan journalist and music expert Andrés Torrón. Also features Contraviento, Jaime Roos Y Estela Magnone, Eduardo Mateo, and Travesía.