Souffle Continu presents Byard Lancaster -- The Complete Palm Recordings 1973-1974, the definitive seven LP deluxe package of Philadelphia born jazz wizard Byard Lancaster, including his four legendary albums released on Jef Gilson's Palm Records in the 1970s: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib, along with the first ever standalone edition of "Love Always," a fifteen minute modal jazz beauty plus a 20-page booklet with rare photos and in-depth article about Byard Lancaster's Parisian years by Pierre Crépon. At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell, and Ted Daniel. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. He would come back to France in 1971 and in 1973. This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib. Us, the first of the four records was recorded on November 24th, 1973 with Sylvin Marc on electric bass and the evergreen Steve McCall on drums. A few months after recording Us, Lancaster recorded Mother Africa along with Clint Jackson III, a trumpeter, partner of Khan Jamal or Noah Howard on other recordings. The recording of Exactement required two sessions in the studio: February 1st and May 18th 1974. Two names appear on the cover of Exactement: Lancaster (Byard) and Speller (Keno). Funny Funky Rib Crib is an unforgettable recording (made up of several sessions dating from the middle of 1974) of creative jazz overwhelmed by funk and soul. If Lancaster had already made successful albums in the same genre, this one is an homage to James Brown and Sammy Davis. The magnificent "Love Always" was originally released on the fourth (and last) volume of the Jef Gilson Anthology series released in 1975. Recorded on 8th March 1974, it is a beautiful 15-minute-long modal jazz piece. Four notes from the bass (the relentless Jean-François Catoire, who makes up the rhythm section alongside drummer Jonathan Dickinson and percussionist Keno Speller), and the group is up and running! On piano, Gilson shows the subtle tact of a sideman, leaving the lions' share of the place to the horns. And if further proof was required of the confidence that Byard Lancaster and Jef Gilson inspire, "Love Always" provides it on this one-sided release exclusive to the box set. Carefully restored and remastered by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur.

KahruMusiqa is a musical retrospective by Tunisian singer and composer Badiâa Bouhrizi AKA Neysatu. She is known as the author behind the protest songs that became the anthems of the Tunisian revolution. Songlines Magazine elected Badiâa as the best artist for 2024. "KahruMusiqa" means "electronic music," but is never used as such in Arabic to name the genre. The record is a collection of sonic experimentations that started when Badiâa first got her hands on music production software in the 2000s. The tracks are based around poems in classical Arabic language or Tunisian dialect written by Badiâa herself or female poets she admires, such as Palestinian authors Fadwa Tuqan or Salma Al Jayusi, or the Tunisian poet Noureddine Werghi. Most of the vocal work features improvisations recorded with a computer microphone. A take on the classic Turkish folk song "Muhabbat" is almost a modern harmonic rewriting, using only classical guitar, vocals and delays. KahruMusiqa's themes are in line with Badiâa Bouhrizi's ideological trajectory. She is a woman in the moving sands of Tunesia in the song "Transrimel." She also questions the political contract that led to Balfour and the displacement of millions of Palestinians in 1948, describing a journey between London and Nablus, in "Fil Madinatil harima" ("In The Old City"). This lo-fi bedroom album (the first ever record Badiâa Bouhrizi was willing to release) also displays several songs that have become classics of the Arab underground milieu like "Ila Selma."

Parsley Sounds was the glorious debut album for Mo Wax by Parsley Sound. The album was one of the iconic label's final releases before it closed in 2003 and locating a clean copy has been extremely tricky of late, unless you're flush enough to drop 150 notes on it. Mercifully, the Be With reissue, put together with invaluable assistance from the group, should remedy this situation. It's a lo-fi, bass-heavy, blunted beat treat, warped with heat haze and dreamy soft-psych and has been criminally under-heard for far too long. As with most cult-like records, Parsley Sounds has many influential fans, far and wide. From Four Tet and Caribou to NTS's modern day breakfast hero Flo Dill, its reputation has only grown in stature. At the time, the notoriously hard-to-please Pitchfork garlanded it with a scarcely achievable 8.8 whilst the Numero Group's Rob Sevier described it as a "visionary bit of proto-Salvia Plath (or Steve Lacy)" via a Ghostly International missive. Parsley Sound comprised super-talented duo Preston Mead and Dan Sargassa. They released an early single on Warp Records as Slum, before signing to Mo Wax. Hidden behind a wall of sound -- fuzzy layers of beats, bleeps and symphonic synths -- they were convinced they made mainstream pop music. And, in many respects, Parsley Sounds really is a beautiful pop album. It overflows with memorable, gorgeous melodies and inspired songcraft. A melodic masterpiece, part Crosby, Stills & Nash, part proto-Koushik, it presents a melancholy falsetto, surging bass and blunted lead guitar. As it climaxes, gorgeous strings are ushered in to see listeners out. Under the watchful eye of Parsley Sound themselves, the audio for Parsley Sounds has been carefully mastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, with a few much-needed tweaks here and there, according to the artist's wishes. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at the always stellar Record Industry in Holland. With the audio and artwork now approaching completeness after 20 years, this long overdue re-issue could be considered its definitive vinyl release.

LP version. Color vinyl. It's hardly a secret that there was a lot of movement in German pop music during the late '60s and early '70s of the last century, and that many new things emerged then. Countless books have already been published on the subject of "Krautrock," and many LPs from this period have been re-released. Günter Schickert only released two LPs in the '70s: Überfällig (Sky Records, 1979/Bureau B, 2012) and Samtvogel (Brain, 1976). Now, exactly 50 years after its original release, Samtvogel has returned.

"Günter Schickert used only guitars, echo devices and a modest recording technique for Samtvogel. The album is a genuine DIY production -- radical in every respect and not at all in keeping with the zeitgeist of the time. It was perhaps this radicalism that made it difficult to find a suitable record label to release the album. In any case, Schickert initially self-released Samtvogel in 1974 in an edition of 500 copies. It wasn't until two years later that the album was released in a much larger edition on the Brain label. I am sure that Schickert was familiar with the minimal music of Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass. I don't know whether he had also heard Die grüne Reise (1971) by Achim Reichel. Inventions for Electric Guitar by Manuel Göttsching would not appear until 1976. With his version of minimal music, Schickert completely dispenses with electronic sound generators; neither synthesizers, sequencers nor rhythm machines can be heard on Samtvogel. Instead, he enters into a dialogue with the echo device and uses it and his electric guitar to create seemingly simple, almost rudimentary repetitive patterns that only reveal their minimalist nuances on closer listening. What sounds so simple requires a high level of concentration from the player, as he has to react to the relentless echo once it has been set up. If attention wavers for even a second, the piece immediately goes off the rails and chaos ensues. In the studio, you simply start all over again; in a live situation, it's a worst-case scenario. However, Schickert remains absolutely precise on Samtvogel, and yet his music does not have the coolness and/or artificiality found in the electronically produced music of other German musicians." --Asmus Tietchens, 2024

Previously unreleased live recording from the Ranta archives. The creative duo of Michael Ranta and Takehisa Kosugi performed many times in the 1970s and 1980s. In this outstanding performance, recorded at the Japanese Culture Institute in Cologne in 1987, the application of an advanced multi delay system, independently utilized by both players, plays a central role. The smartly treated cyclic tapestry of the delay system (modulated, transformed, harmonized) injects additional dimensions to the highly coordinated improvisation with voice, percussion, violin and electronics, creating interactive "composition-like" textures being Multiple Musics.

Aguaturbia (1970) is an essential album to understand the construction of Chilean rock. This very influential album is raw and dynamic, featuring heavy rhythms, distortion, and exceptional phased female vocals reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane. It comprises original compositions and electrifying renditions of songs brought to fame by the likes of Tommy James & The Shondells, The Beatles, and, of course, Jefferson Airplane elevating these classics to new heights of intensity and rhythmic allure. Aguaturbia's debut album was originally released in 1970 and showcases one of South America's most significant psychedelic bands from the late '60s and early '70s. Their influence in their native Chile -- and beyond -- was groundbreaking. It was played live in 1969 on three tracks, and it became an icon of transgression due to its unbridled musical aesthetics and cover art that -- for the time of its irruption -- meant a clear defiance of the conservative logics lived in Chile, which saw in the nudity of the cover a challenge to morality and good manners. The album is raw and dynamic, featuring heavy rhythms, distortion, and exceptional phased female vocals reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane. Guitarist Carlos Corales shines and when he played solos at the gigs, the effect on the audience was silence and euphoria at the same time, they couldn't believe what they heard. Everything was done with a professional attitude. In fact, Carlos Corales (guitar) and Willy Cavada (drums) were both professional musicians who had made a previous career in rock and roll bands. The LP showcases breathtaking moments, like Willy Cavada's masterful drum solo in "Ah Ah Ah Ay" captured flawlessly in a single take. Dive into the sensual psychedelic journey of "Erotica," where Denise's alluring vocals dance harmoniously with Carlos' electrifying guitar. Plus, don't miss their thrilling renditions of "Somebody to Love" and "Crimson and Clover" -- each track elevating classics to new heights of intensity and rhythmic allure. This album is more than music; it's an invitation to experience sheer auditory bliss!

"In attempting to write this dispatch on the second Voice Imitator album my instinct is to pitch them as somewhat of an antidote to the current ills of what could be described as the post-noise rock landscape. I'm trying not to tread too far down the path of negativity and slander, so let's just say that while on paper they share basic characteristics with popular groups in the pigfuck to frat rock pipeline, Voice Imitator possess a tact and vision scantly seen in repetition-orientated rock. On Of How Hits, the members decades long individual and collaborative experiences in punk/rock, the avant-garde and electronic music, are further honed to form an internal logic that doesn't merely cut and paste from these experiences, but creates a distinctive and singular group sensibility. Self-conscious subcultural baggage is removed from past youth music experiences, only the molten core remains. With each listen the distinction between traditional band and synthesized modes becomes harder to distinguish, like a zoomed in Killing Joke welding itself to Robert Hood's technominimalism. Lyrics reflect the surreal banality and horrors of modern existence, like a co- worker recapping their interstate trip away to the Banksy exhibition. The album ender, 'On Cloud Nine As One Of Three Percent' can only be compared to Lou Reed and Metallica's 'Junior Dad'. In short, affecting contemporary music." --Nic Warnock

You Never End is the third album from Valentina Magaletti, Tom Halstead, and Joe Andrews (Moin) out via AD 93. Its title alone expresses the teetering and shifting nature of both the album and band. This record marks the Moin's shift into a new phase with vocal collaborations across the album from Olan Monk, james K, Coby Sey and Sophia Al-Maria. The album's collaborators all have voices that are alluring in their own right whilst hard to pin down: from james K's ethereal, reverb drenched vocals, Coby Sey's words that bounce and echo across London's concrete streets and Olan Monk's emotive songwriting, while artist Sophie Al-Maria's voice and thoughts are known to stretch across her multidisciplinary practice as an artist, filmmaker and writer. The unique mystique of each collaborator is maintained throughout the record while simultaneously opening Moin up to new possibilities, in a gentle shifting alchemy. Continuing their enigmatic re-configuring of the traditional band, Moin use a mix of conventional and unique production and compositional techniques. Subtly re-framing the current conversation about what the band in 2024 needs to be, Moin walk the line between what's reassuringly familiar and what's unsettling and inquisitive. You Never End is a more sensitive record in sentiment, it re-contextualizes grunge, shoegaze and indie rock with a weirdly comforting melancholy while still sounding direct and alive. Showing Moin at their most accessible, the vocal collaborations bring the most articulate moments and lucid emotion while still remaining uniquely within Moin's established world. Alongside this, the record fine tunes the elements of electronic production that have always been a feature of the band's unique sound in a deeply subtle way. Elements are simpler and more direct, offering robust functional support as well as textural and emotional resonance. Together they show the potential for both practices to intertwine. You Never End is both produced and mixed by Tom and Joe, demonstrating the extended range of control the pair have over the band's sound, and their ability to truly hold together Moin's intricate world.

The Buffalo sacrifice is a significant ritual among the Bahnar people, an ethnic group residing in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It symbolizes a connection to ancestral spirits and the natural world. Prior to the sacrifice, the community gathers to prepare offerings and adorn the buffalo with symbolic decorations. The ceremony typically involves prayers, chants, and dances led by village elders. The sacrifice is performed with reverence and gratitude, honoring the buffalo's sacrifice for the well-being of the community. It's believed to ensure fertility, protection, and prosperity for the village. The ritual underscores the Bahnar people's deep-rooted spiritual beliefs and their harmonious relationship with nature. After the sacrifice, the buffalo's meat is shared among the villagers in a communal feast, fostering unity and solidarity within the community. This tradition serves as a cultural cornerstone, preserving the Bahnar's heritage and spiritual practices for generations. Recorded in the village of Plei Hven (Vietnam) in 2019 by Vincenzo Della Ratta, this unique album offers a deep immersion in this ancestral ceremony. Includes liner notes.

"The inspiration for Album l and Album II began with a performance by Japanese musician Eiko Ishibashi at Cologne's Week-End Fest in 2019. For this appearance, the renowned experimental musician and composer of the Oscar-winning film Drive My Car was joined on drums by Tatsuhisa Yamamoto and Joe Talia; both integral members of the top-level improvisational/experimental scene in Tokyo. While in town for the festival, Ishibashi met up with the members of the Cologne-Berlin based group Von Spar who featured Ishibashi on their then new album Under Pressure. It was these previous collaborations that triggered the seven friends to take part in an extended session which resulted in these two new recordings, the first of which contains a variety of short pieces while the second boasts one continuous epic, album-length track. These recordings are a development of Von Spar's collaborative ambitions, where Sebastian Blume, Jan Philipp Janzen, Christopher Marquez, and Phillip Tielsch have previously invited special guests to their home studio to help realize a vision -- a methodology exemplified on their last two releases, Street Life and the aforementioned Under Pressure, which featured contributions from Marker Starling, Laetitia Sadier, Vivien Goldman, and R. Stevie Moore. On Album I, the percussion and drums phase in and out in a bold and skillful manner and form the framework for delicate guitars and complex progressions on the keys, all resulting in somnambulistic city-pop pieces like the opener, grooving electro-jazz reminiscent of the early 2000s, and fusion. You can also hear elements of contemporary jazz explorations from New York, LA and London, or reach back further to the Chicago post-rock of the early '90s. Album II with its expansive, experimental nature goes one step further featuring Yamamoto and Janzen's jagged percussion serving as the bedrock for a menacing and otherworldly arrangement of wind instruments to float in until essential sampler work by Joe Talia brings everything to a lively conclusion. These two albums may have the same origin but they are wildly different pieces of work, both exciting in their own way and proof that daring to experiment with freedom and trust in your collaborators can lead to musical highs such as these." --Lars Fleischmann, 2024

"The inspiration for Album l and Album II began with a performance by Japanese musician Eiko Ishibashi at Cologne's Week-End Fest in 2019. For this appearance, the renowned experimental musician and composer of the Oscar-winning film Drive My Car was joined on drums by Tatsuhisa Yamamoto and Joe Talia; both integral members of the top-level improvisational/experimental scene in Tokyo. While in town for the festival, Ishibashi met up with the members of the Cologne-Berlin based group Von Spar who featured Ishibashi on their then new album Under Pressure. It was these previous collaborations that triggered the seven friends to take part in an extended session which resulted in these two new recordings, the first of which contains a variety of short pieces while the second boasts one continuous epic, album-length track. These recordings are a development of Von Spar's collaborative ambitions, where Sebastian Blume, Jan Philipp Janzen, Christopher Marquez, and Phillip Tielsch have previously invited special guests to their home studio to help realize a vision -- a methodology exemplified on their last two releases, Street Life and the aforementioned Under Pressure, which featured contributions from Marker Starling, Laetitia Sadier, Vivien Goldman, and R. Stevie Moore. On Album I, the percussion and drums phase in and out in a bold and skillful manner and form the framework for delicate guitars and complex progressions on the keys, all resulting in somnambulistic city-pop pieces like the opener, grooving electro-jazz reminiscent of the early 2000s, and fusion. You can also hear elements of contemporary jazz explorations from New York, LA and London, or reach back further to the Chicago post-rock of the early '90s. Album II with its expansive, experimental nature goes one step further featuring Yamamoto and Janzen's jagged percussion serving as the bedrock for a menacing and otherworldly arrangement of wind instruments to float in until essential sampler work by Joe Talia brings everything to a lively conclusion. These two albums may have the same origin but they are wildly different pieces of work, both exciting in their own way and proof that daring to experiment with freedom and trust in your collaborators can lead to musical highs such as these." --Lars Fleischmann, 2024

LP version. Color vinyl. "You don't really need to say much about this man: co-founder of Wallenstein, drummer on at least two of the most wonderful Krautrock albums (namely Mother Universe and Cosmic Century), member of the legendary Kosmische Kuriere, records with Ash Ra Temple and Klaus Schulze. Finally, Harald Grosskopf switched from drums to sequencers and created something breathtaking. I listened to his solo debut Synthesist (BB 158CD, 1980) to death, and few days began without 'So weit, so gut.' It was a record that did everything right, that salvaged whatever could be salvaged from Kraut, adding the melancholy with which one suddenly looked back on everything that could still be naively believed and played in the '70s. Then in 1985 came the follow-up Oceanheart (BB 157CD), no less great, albeit already noticeably more minimalist. Manuel Göttsching could be sensed in the distance if you surrendered to the track 'Eve on the Hill' and followed it into the depths. Time passed, the music stayed with me. I lost sight of Harald Grosskopf, even though he did produce an album from time to time. And now: Strom. The evocation of electricity, the virtuosity of the circuit that skillfully intertwines man and machine, an antidote to the triumphal march of desolate musical digitality. If you listen carefully, you will immediately recognize the engineer behind the soundscapes. Right from the opener 'Bureau 39,' everything you would expect from Grosskopf is immediately there: the push toward hypnosis, a subdued pulse, catchy, circling bass lines, layering Moog kaleidoscopes. Sometimes the sounds coarsen, the depths distort into grinding noises (as in 'Blow'), into mechanical gurgling, i.e. into what remains when the path comes to an end, when the music reaches beyond the human. The mid-tempo track with the programmatic title 'After the Future,' grotesquely twisting the word 'Ònever,' points the way there. Time and again, however, the beat pauses, leaving space for the soundscapes -- and then, at the latest, the electronica of the early '80s springs back to life. The two complementary pieces 'Gleich Strom' and 'Spaeter Strom' would also fit in wonderfully on Synthesist. On the other hand, the closing track 'Stromklang' remains resolutely committed to the sinister, even gloomy groove that was previously unknown from this artist and with which he has finally returned to me after far too long. Stylo Kraut indeed." --Philipp Theisohn

"Papa M is back, and he's talking 'bout Harry Houdini. This time, with a fresh, fine and fat-assed set of songs. Sometimes you never know when it comes to Papa M and his ol' left-shoulder angel, David Christian Pajo. After Slint's disbandment, he whiled away the '90s playing with literally everybody who asked, pausing long enough here and there to start his own band, called M. Two epic/classic albums and a forbiddingly large outstretched palm of singles (eventually collected into another epic full-length) later, David was looking a bit green around the gills. It'd been five years of Papa-ing off; time to do something/anything else for a while. Twelve long years go by before he sends in Highway Songs. Now comes Ballads of Harry Houdini. Following the path of M records from Aerial to Papa, (the just-released The Peel Sessions excepted!) David recorded Ballads of Harry Houdini on his own, receding deep inside himself and taking the time for ideas new and old, from soup to nuts, et al. Having his fun before spitting it all out onto the world -- setting down some tracks, getting lit, grabbing a guitar, getting a sound going, and soloing over 'em! With a bit of singing here and there too. Everything that's meant to be in the picture is in there. The shit that isn't, isn't. Frankly, the amount of hip-shaking sleaze oozing out of these pieces blows the idea that these are simple ad-hoc assemblies right the FUNK out of the water. Sure, when David does blues scaling, he sounds a little like Billy Gibbons. But then there's the insistent torn-n-fucked delirium that's accompanied every Papa M expression into the marketplace (with pride) since 1999. As ever, it's mixed extra-crispy, with earworms and easter eggs and lots of other surprising shit that's bound to change your whole personality. And so it is and so it does. Ballads of Harry Houdini: it can make you dance, sing or anything."

"This one to me is a time capsule more than most any of my recordings. All music is a time trapped in time that preaches timelessness -- preaching either convincingly or not. But with a radio session such as this, there is a different aspect. It's all live, all first take, no overdubs. Also I think having the BBC engineers at the controls, with their own aesthetic, not one I am bringing to the studio, that makes it more encapsulated ? 'remember that day we did that?' The circumstances and the memory of the smell of the studio makes it stand out. So it's more of a performance maybe than a usual recording, because the audience (engineer and producer) were foreign to us. British, milk in tea. So we gave them something to show them who WE were -- Dale Coopers with our black coffees. Somebody said this EP is very Twin Peaksy. Not in a Badalamenti, torch-song way -- a deeper connection. I can see that. 'Beautiful Child' has been turned into a minor key song because, well, it really should have been one in the first place! 'Cold Discovery' was a live staple then and some nights it could really catch fire. We got a pretty good one for BBC. 'Dirty Pants' here is probably better than the LP version. And then there's 'Jesus.' Sweet, sweet 'Jesus.' Here sounding like a deathbed plea shot through with visitations from the angel of mercy." -- Bill, 2024

"Four years separate the release of Stateless and we will be wherever the fires are lit. In the interim, Tashi Dorji has seldom stood still, playing and touring almost constantly, continuing to record both as a solo and in collaboration with artists including Susie Ibarra, Alex Zhang Hungtai, Bill Orcutt, Michael Zerang, Elliott Sharp, Audrey Chen, Sally Gates, Marshall Trammell, Efrim Manuel Menuck, Aaron Turner, Dave Rempis, and Joe McPhee. For Tashi, the playing of this music is always political even in its most abstract iterations. In and of itself, music can't solve political problems -- but since no moment of life is without its political context, 'strumming in opposition to the towers' is therefore a universal state, a freedom of expression made while doing all the other things involved with playing, maintaining a sense of lineage and documenting forward movement. we will be wherever the fires are lit was recorded over a period of a month on a Zoom recorder in a cabin behind Tashi's home. His music, as ever, is all improvised, using different guitar preparations -- tape for muting, and metal for buzz. Different tunings and techniques; inspirations from all over. Tashi's sound is his own, but listeners can't help but feel the sound of many nations, in all hemispheres, storming through these acoustic expressions. Who else would it be for, if not for everyone?"

Holy grail of US roots reggae released in 1979. Old-style tip-on sleeve replicating the original sleeve. More Relation started in 1977 in New York as a backup band for reggae artists such as Melodians, Larry Marshall, Carlton Coffee, and Ken Booth. They released many now sought-after singles and one self-titled album.

With rpm, Touch wanted to join some of the dots of Philip Jeck's life and involve many other collaborators, early and more recent. Fennesz was a friend and kindred spirit on the same label. Claire M Singer formed a new chemistry and partnership and although their plans must now take a different form, Mary found some sketches Philip had laid out using Claire's organ recordings, for further development. Faith Coloccia and Philip had already released "Stardust" on Touch in 2021. Their live performance together at 2220arts + archives, Los Angeles in March 2022 celebrating Touch's 40th anniversary had to be shelved. And in September of that year Iklectik hosted a memorable tribute night with live work from Chris Watson, Liverpool Improvisation Collective, Claire M Singer, and others -- most of all a dedicated audience who knew and felt that this was a future event and not the end of the story. A work in progress at the time of Philip's death, Oxmardyke, a project with Chris Watson, saw the light of day as Touch Tone 83 in early 2023 -- working on recordings Chris had sent, Philip with laptop perched on hospital bed, almost to the end. There were other artists who wanted to actively contribute further, whether in performance or contributing to this album: Jana Winderen had already sent Philip her recordings of pilot whales and the track you hear was finished in March 2022. Cris Cheek was in Slant with Philip and Sianed Jones, who also sadly passed away that same year -- their work together predates Philip's with Touch. Philip owed much in his early years of composing and playing to his collaboration with dancers, theatre and film makers -- in particular, a ten-year working and performing partnership with Laurie Booth, Yip Yip Mix, and the 20th Century, which toured widely during the 1980s and early '90s. An early audio-visual work, Vinyl Requiem (1993) was created with visual artist Lol Sargent, using 180 record players, nine slide projectors and two 16mm projectors producing a live performance on a huge scale. Vinyl Requiem wasn't exactly about the end of vinyl, but the dawn of something else regarding sound recording and music. It was never a final statement but a testament to the work to come. Also featuring Gavin Bryars, Rosy Parlane, Cris Cheek, Faith Coloccia, David Sylvian & Hildur Guðnadóttir, Jah Wobble & Deep Space, Drums Off Chaos, Chandra Shukla, and Jana Winderen.

These two vinyl records showcase the legacy left by the boogaloo movement in Peru between 1966 and 1975. They comprise twenty-two songs by seventeen artists who recorded on the remarkable local label MAG more than five decades ago and now invite today's new generations to dance body and soul to these re-releases. You will find outstanding tracks by the likes of Tito Chicoma, Melcochita, Los Kintos, Otto Rojas, and Coco Lagos among many others. MAG was one of the most important and prolific labels in Peru and, though it also was involved in releasing a lot of other types of music, its specialty was the tropical variety, which coincidentally, DJs and collectors seem to crave most. Peru developed a major boogaloo scene in the mid-60s, far from the genre's place of origin, New York, where iconic songs like "Bang Bang" and "El Pito" fused soul and funk with Latin sounds, conquering dance halls and winning extensive radio airplay. The music trend soon spread to Caribbean countries and from there made the geographical leap to the city of Lima. Although Joe Bataan claimed that boogaloo was killed off at the end of the sixties by the labels and their veteran musicians (who conspired against the new generation of singers), Pete Rodriguez, Richie Ray, and the Lebrón Brothers continued to release boogaloo records in Peru, but salsa music soon took over. These two vinyl records showcase the legacy left by this movement in Peru between 1966 and 1975. They comprise twenty-two songs by seventeen artists who recorded more than five decades ago and now invite today's new generations to dance body and soul to these re-releases. Featuring Santiago Silva, Ñico Estrada, Beto Villena, Nilo Espinosa Y Su Orquesta, Pancho Acosta Y Sus Guaracheros, Karamanduka, Mag Peruvian All Stars, Joe Di Roma, Sonora Casino, Luciano Luciani Y Sus Mulatos, Mario Allison Y Su Combo, Coco Lagos Y Sus Orates, Laghonia/New Juggler Sound, , Sangre Joven, and Conjunto Los Rayos Del Ande.

Step into the enigmatic realm of Funeste Human Nature, an audacious collaboration between avant-garde luminaries Jac Berrocal, Pascal Comelade, and Vincent Epplay. In this mesmerizing sonic odyssey, the boundaries of experimental music are shattered as Berrocal's haunting trumpet, Comelade's whimsical piano, and Epplay's immersive soundscapes converge to create a kaleidoscope of textures and emotions. A journey through the depths of the human psyche, where surrealism meets primal instincts and the absurd dances with the profound. The trio's fearless exploration of sound, inviting listeners to unravel the mysteries of the human condition through an eclectic tapestry of sonic experimentation. From the eerie whispers of forgotten dreams to the jubilant cacophony of uninhibited joy, Funeste Human Nature is a testament to the boundless possibilities of artistic collaboration. Embrace the unexpected, embrace the sublime, and immerse yourself in the haunting beauty of this extraordinary musical venture. Pascal Comelade, born in Montpellier, France in 1955, is a prolific Catalan musician and composer known for his distinctive blend of minimalism, surrealism, and musical primitivism. Comelade's work is characterized by its eclectic influences, ranging from rock and folk to classical and avant-garde. He has collaborated with various artists, including PJ Harvey and Robert Wyatt. Jac Berrocal, born in 1946 in Saint-Jean d'Angély, France, is a pioneering avant-garde trumpeter and composer known for his fusion of jazz, rock, and experimental music. His career, which began in the early 1970s, is marked by innovative albums like Musiq Musik and extensive collaborations with artists from Nurse With Wound to Vince Taylor. Vincent Epplay, born in 1964 in France, is an innovative sound artist and musician known for his work in creating immersive audiovisual environments. His artistic approach often involves the manipulation of sound to explore its interaction with space and audience perception. Epplay's works are characterized by a keen interest in the experimental music tradition, incorporating elements of chance and the use of unconventional sound sources. He has collaborated extensively with other artists, including Jac Berrocal and David Fenech, contributing to a dynamic and exploratory sound art scene.

2024 repress. Zehra present The Trance Of Seven Colors by master Gnawa musician Maleem Mahmoud Ghania and free jazz legend Pharoah Sanders, available on vinyl for the very first time. Originally released in 1994 on Bill Laswell's Axiom imprint, and produced by Bill Laswell, The Trance Of Seven Colors is the meeting of two true musical masters. Maleem Mahmoud Ghania (1951-2015), son of the master of Gnawa music Maleem Boubker Ghania and the famous clairvoyant and "moqaddema", A'isha Qabral, and a master of the traditional Gnawa style in his own right. Mahmoud learned this craft as a youth along with his brothers, walking from village to village, performing ceremonies with his father Boubker and was one of the few masters (Maleem) who continued to practice the Gnawa tradition strictly for healing (the central ritual of the Gnawa is the trance music ceremony -- with the purpose of healing or purification of the participants). With 30 cassette releases of music from the Gnawa repertoire with his own ensemble and performances at every major festival in Morocco, including performing for the King in various contexts, Mahmoud Ghania was also one of Morocco's most prominent professional musicians. In 1994, Bill Laswell and Pharoah Sanders went to Morocco equipped with just some mobile recording devices to record Ghania and a large ensemble of musicians (a good portion being family members) in a very intimate set-up at a private house. Sanders, the legendary free jazz musician, contributed the distinctive tenor saxophone sounds that gained him highest praise as a truly spiritual soul right from the days of playing with John Coltrane and his wife Alice and on seminal solo albums, like Karma (1969). The aptly titled The Trance Of Seven Colors ranks among the best Gnawa recordings ever released, making it onto The Vinyl Factory's list of "10 incredible percussive albums from around the world". 25 years after its original CD release, it is finally available on vinyl. Remastered for vinyl and vinyl cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. 180 gram vinyl; comes in gatefold sleeve; includes download code. "One of the most important albums of Gnawa trance music released in the '90s." --The Attic "first-hand access to Gnawa healing ceremonial music" --All Music

Over the last few years, the Italian imprint, Dialogo, has showed a remarkable dedication to the history of experimental music via reissues of seminal artefacts from the Cramps catalog, and important albums by Piero Umiliani, Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Enrico Rava, and others. This initiative now takes on a towering scale with the first ever box set gathering the entire ten album collection of Brian Eno's Obscure Records, originally issued between 1975 and 1978. A truly groundbreaking body of recordings - many of which have remained out of print and difficult to find for decades - it contains some of the most important, influential, and enduring music to emerge during the second half of the 20th Century, which collectively reconfigured the terms of minimalism and laid the groundwork for the emerging movement of ambient music over its short, three-year run. Issued in a deluxe CD edition of 1,000 copies, each box set contains all of Obscure's albums, completely remastered by Andrea Marutti and housed in faithful mini-replicas of their original covers and liner notes, as well as a 130-page booklet, this historic collection marks the first time such a seminal series has received a complete repress. This is certainly one of the year's most interesting, essential, and widely anticipated releases, stunningly produced with the complete involvement of all the artists or their estates. When viewed collectively, the Obscure catalog reveals a remarkable, and previously unexplored counterpoint -- bridging the United Kingdom and the American West Coast -- to the dominant threads of minimal and experimental music, centered in New York that had long dominated the public consciousness. This historic collection marks the first time the seminal Obscure catalog has received a complete repress; simply a dream come true. Featuring Gavin Bryars, Christopher Hobbs, John Adams, Brian Eno, David Toop, Max Eastley, Jan Steele, John Cage, Michael Nyman, The Penguin Café Orchestra, John White, Tom Phillips, Gavin Bryars, Fred Orton, and Harold Budd.

"Elder Reggae statesman King Jammy returns to his Dub laboratory to forge a new sonic message of positive vibrations in Dub. Jammy's handpicked peacekeeping force of Kingston 11 stalwarts precision drop ten fresh boomshots for the healing of the nations to unite the world Dubwise -- when these Dubs hit you, fell no pain! Freshly recorded 2024 dub attack from King Jammy, versions galore from Jammy's 21st Century A Team, musicians Andre Dennis, I Sax, Brandon Harris, plus in a nod to his illustrious past Jammy pulls out vintage parts from Sly & Robbie and the High Times Band to mix and blend on two deep dives ("Climate Action Dub" and "Ceasefire Dub"). All tracks expertly engineered by King Jammy, Romeo 'Shemmo' Facey, and John John."

Sixth album by Christoph Heemann and Timo van Luijk. Four years after Lost in Spice comes Arrival. An altar on the surface of the water is burning with flames. Behind it you can see a half of the Earth's globe, and on it there's a bright throne. A pale, translucent ruler wearing a crown sits in the throne. The globe is surrounded by a ball of shadows on which sits a larger dark ruler on a dark throne. Behind the globe are mountain peaks, and all of it is reflected in the water. Above the mountains are clouds which merge into rivers and end in a curved horizon on which forests stand, and the sun rises between them. Above this horizon is another sky with lunar crescents and comets. Above this sky are rows of angels bent over, above which the stars shine. The sun shines in the top left corner and the crescent moon in the right.

Formed in Cambridge in 1969 by Tim Souster and Roger Smalley, Intermodulation started out as a four-piece group with the addition of Robin Thompson and Andrew Powell (who soon moved on to other Cambridge projects, including a pre-Chris Cutler Henry Cow). Powell was replaced by Peter Britton, and this incarnation of the group remained for the duration of their existence. Having released a box set of works by Gentle Fire, it felt necessary to do the same with Intermodulation and thus complete the other half of this missing chapter in British experimental music. Intermodulation had quite a different line up than Gentle Fire, most notably with Peter's percussion, Robin on bassoon and soprano sax, and the shared use of VCS3's and electric keyboards. Nonetheless both groups covered similar ground, appeared at the same European festivals, travelled together with Stockhausen to Iran, and they were generally concerned with a similar repertoire of experimental scores. Although Intermodulation released no records during their existence (and Gentle Fire only the one LP), both groups did appear side by side on the recording of Stockhausen's Sternklang. This four-CD set aims to cover a wide range of their work. CD one contains the entirety of their 1971 concert at Ely Cathedral (a six-minute excerpt of which appeared on the Not Necessarily English Music compiled by David Toop). CD two focuses on their BBC recordings including excerpts from two Prom performances, one of which is the famous 1970 Prom which had Soft Machine taking the stage in the second half. CD three features material held in the archives of three German radio stations and the fourth disc consists of one work; "World Music" by Tim Souster, the 72-minute opus written for the four players plus tape. In summary, Intermodulation plays five Stockhausen pieces (four of which are realizations of his intuitive text pieces), two Terry Riley pieces and one by Cardew. They also play two compositions by Tim and one by Roger, as well performing two group improvisations. The set comes with a 48-page booklet detailing the groups history. This is a numbered edition of 500.

A very welcomed reissue for this rare Jackie Mittoo album, originally released in 1979 on unknown label, Rite Sound inc. The original release was sold without a jacket, adding a mysterious vibe to the whole thing. The dubby effects-intensive sound of the album extends from "Russian Satelite" to the whole side A, with "Harder Than The Rest," "Stepping Tiger," and "World Of Love" being an excellent triptych of note. The thrill of Jackie's crazy keyboards intertwining with the floating dub sound like a heavenly space is beyond description. Space is the place.

2024 repress. "The infamous and legendary Jah Life in Dub LP, finally released. Originally slated for release in late '80/early '81, this was to be Jah Life's first dub LP, featuring all exclusive mixes to now-classic Barrington Levy tunes. For one reason or another, the LP was never released. To confuse matters, a couple years later, some of the unused jackets were given to Germain to house an untitled dub LP of his productions. Naturally, we needed to rectify this situation. So here it is, finally released 34 years later! Featuring ten killer dubs to Barrington Levy tunes, ALL MIXED BY SCIENTIST AT KING TUBBY'S. Six out of the ten tracks are previously unreleased mixes, including a dub to the song 'Jah Life' which has never been available anywhere before. As an added bonus, the first pressing of this LP will come housed in the original jackets from 1980, which features killer artwork by Oneil Nanco."

2024 repress. The seminal 1994 double album Execution Ground, by the original Painkiller with the line-up of Bill Laswell, John Zorn and Mick Harris on vinyl for the first time. When Painkiller started in 1991, their first two albums Guts Of A Virgin (1991) and Buried Secrets (1992) (both released on extreme metal label Earache) were heavy attacks blending grindcore and free jazz that brought together the musical backgrounds of the three protagonists: drummer Mick Harris had just left grindcore legend Napalm Death, John Zorn explored new extremities with his Naked City project while Bill Laswell had as a member of roaring free jazz quartet Last Exit (with Peter Brötzmann, Sonny Sharrock, Ronald Shannon Jackson) proven that he was not only a visionary producer but also an accomplished bassist. But it is their 1994 double album Execution Ground remains the opus magnum of the brilliant trio: Zorn's unmistakable shrieking saxophone, Harris's pounding drums and Laswell's growling sub-bass lines were given heavy mixing desk treatment, resulting in extended tracks that are no less intense than their early works but display the full range of the musicians's skills. Avant-jazz, grindcore, dub and ambient melt into eerie tracks of haunting atmospheres - even more so in the "ambient" versions of the second disc. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M Berlin. Available here as a double 180 gram vinyl. Includes a download code and insert.

2024 restock; originally released by Lovely Music in 1981. In this fascinating exploration of acoustical phenomena, Alvin Lucier slips from the domain of language to that of music in the course of 40 minutes and 32 repetitions of a simple paragraph of text. In I Am Sitting In A Room, several sentences of recorded speech are simultaneously played back into a room and re-recorded there many times. As the repetitive process continues, those sounds common to the original spoken statement and those implied by the structural dimensions of the room are reinforced. The others are gradually eliminated. The space acts as a filter; the speech is transformed into pure sound. All the recorded segments are spliced together in the order in which they were made and constitute the work. I Am Sitting In A Room was composed in 1970 and was first performed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City that same year. A second version was made in 1972 to accompany the dance, Dune, performed by the Viola Farber Dance Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Since that time, numerous versions of this composition have been realized in various ways by other musicians, including a Swedish radio broadcast version. This recording was made by Alvin Lucier on October 29th and 31st, 1980, in the living room of his home in Middletown, CT. The material was recorded on a Nagra tape recorder with an Electro-Voice 635 dynamic microphone and played back on one channel of a Revox A77 tape recorder, Dynaco amplifier, and a KLH Model Six loudspeaker. It consists of thirty-two generations of Alvin Lucier's speech and was made expressly for Lovely Music, Ltd.

Rolf Gehlhaar (1943-2019) was an instrumental and electronic music composer, and a pioneer in computer controlled interactive music. He grew up in the US where he studied philosophy and composition at Yale University. In 1967 he moved back to Germany to become Stockhausen's personal assistant and member of his performing ensemble. In 1969 Gehlhaar co-founded, along with Johannes Fritsch and David Johnson, the Feedback Studios in Cologne, a new-music performance center and publishing house. He later moved to England, where he became in 1979 a founding member of the Electro-Acoustic Music Association and also senior lecturer in design and digital media. Gehlhaar's compositions include symphonies, instrumental works, experimental and electronic music, interactive computer-controlled music and everything in between. The three previously unreleased tracks on this LP only show a glimpse of the versatility of his adventurous and innovative musical ideas. The LP comes with a foldout insert including photos and extensive program notes.

Turning their gaze to the buoyant culture of wyrd, modernist German folk music, Quindi welcome a spectacularly idiosyncratic offering from Johannes Schebler, aka Baldruin. Bewildering narrative twists, high drama and intricate delicacy make Mosaike der Imagination an engrossing listen from the outset, as baroque atmospheres and tumbledown drums intertwine with tactile string plucks and needlepoint synthesis in an authoritative bridging of ancient and hypermodern sonic sensibilities. Schebler's catalogue as Baldruin is extensive, reaching back to the late '00s and covering a lot of ground through cassette albums on respected underground labels like SicSic, A Giant Fern, and Lullabies For Insomniacs. Meanwhile, his work has been recognized as part of a broader movement of experimental electronic music in Germany taking inspiration from folk traditions, as documented on Gespensterland. Beyond his solo work, Schebler also works with Jani Hirvonen as Grykë Pyje (mappa), and both collaborate with Paul Wilson as Yayoba (Not Not Fun). Christian Schoppik of leading dark folk project Brannten Schnüre joins him as Freundliche Kreisel (STROOM). It's a tangled, fascinating and evocative sound world which Mosaike der Imagination offers a compelling window into. No two tracks on the album follow the same pattern or palette, whether gliding through the Giallo synth undulations and post rock tonal arcs of "Stimme des Wegelagerers" or spelling out miasmic incantations through flickering flames on "Aus dem Feuer, aus dem Licht." "Hinein, hinaus, hinüber" revolves around meditative drum mantras and cascading melodic phrasing, densely layered and evolving with purpose. "Gemeinsam hindurch" flicks between swooping strings and pizzicato plucks in a purely romantic expression of orchestration, "Mit verbundenen Augen" is a bewildering choral voice study and "Im Sternstrom" revels in ecstatic synth arpeggios. Nothing can be predicted except the vibrancy and clarity of Schebler's vision. It's a vision which extends to the front cover artwork for Mosaike der Imagination -- a glorious tapestry created by Finnish artist Jan Anderzén, with a responding design and layout from Schebler adorning the rear sleeve.

Als die Welt noch unterging ("When the world was still ending") is a chronicle of the emergence and development of punk and new wave in German-speaking countries from 1979 - 1984. The apocalyptic sentiment around 1980 gave punk and new wave the necessary push. It led to an incredible outburst of activity and creativity. Against the backdrop of the nuclear armament, nobody believed that this world would have a great future anymore -- so suddenly everything was allowed, regardless of the consequences. This is the subject of a book by German author Frank Apunkt Schneider, in which he unfolds the history of the New German Wave and the German punk underground right through to the regional, cassette and fanzine scenes. To mark the 20th-anniversary of this book, a compilation curated by the author brings this period back to life. Featuring Autofick, Carambolage, Siluetes 61, Hans-A-Plast, Kosmonautentraum, Holger Hiller, Die Zwei, Family 5 Tagein, Rassemenschen helfen armen Menschen, Lustige Mutanten, Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, Neues Deutschland, Die Egozentrischen 2, Male, Bärchen und die Milchbubis, Die Zimmermänner, The Wirtschaftswunder, Palais Schaumburg, Cretins, and Konstantin.

LP version. Comet Gain had actually disbanded in 1997, but David Christian didn't want to let the dream die and carried on. Old name, new band. And a new album! Tigertown Pictures was first released in 1999 by Fortuna Pop/Where It's At Is Where You Are in the UK/EU and Kill Rock Stars in the USA and is now being reissued worldwide by Tapete Records. Tigertown Pictures is a wild ride through all things post-punk, DIY, Indie POP, international pop underground, lo fi, garagebeat and folk and rock. Boy/girl vocals, scratchy guitars, sweet noise and rough melodies, enthusiasm and pain, even some unidentified electronic stuff. It´s all there.

LP version. The Telescopes are an all-embracing concern that began in 1987, the only constant being sole composer/instigator, Northumbrian born Stephen Lawrie. The band's line-up is in constant flux, there can be anywhere between one and twenty members on a recording. The Telescopes were initially signed to Cheree Records then moved on to What Goes On Records where they became regulars at the top of the indie charts before gaining more mainstream success on signing to Creation Records. The Telescopes music has constantly pushed at its own boundaries; it overlaps many genres following its own course, inspiration led. Time has shown The Telescopes music not only withstands repeated listening but also reveals something new with each listen, a thread consistent throughout a highly influential body of work spanning over 30 years. The Telescopes have been cited as an influence on many artists across genres, around the world. Halo Moon is The Telescopes 17th studio album, the sixth for Tapete Records. It came from the sky. A herald of new beginnings. A tranquil glow in the boundless universe.

Limited restock, last-ever copies. "Yodeling Astrologer (aka: Color By The Number) could be considered an anomaly, a one-off or a miracle of circumstance in the history of psychedelic pop music. Mij, a.k.a. Jim Holmberg was discovered by ESP-Disk owners while playing in Washington Square Park in the summer of 1968. His style and persona mesmerized the label heads, and he explained to them a recent auto accident had fractured his skull but left him changed. He perceived sound, color and vision differently and he had funneled this new world of perception directly into his music. All this was enough to warrant getting Mij into the studio to lay down a record of his rambly, cosmic folk songs. The entire album was recorded in three hours, first-takes and impromptu production intact, then pressed up and introduced to the world shortly thereafter. To focus on the yodeling aspect of the Yodeling Astrologer would miss some of the depth of this album. Not just a hippie novelty act of the time, this is a truly thoughtful and somewhat frenzied document. Like Buffy St. Marie's Meditations, Linda Perhacs' Parallelograms or Cold Fact by Rodriguez, this is an album of sincere folk songs colored with subtle psychedelic touches. Uneasy reverberations and soft echoes glide over Holmberg's breezy songs, creating a consistent sonic environment as spontaneous as it is intriguing. Available on vinyl for the first time since an incredibly limited original pressing in 1969 on ESP-Disk."

"On the cover: AR Kane. Overlooked in their late '80s Mk 1 era and unsung for years after their 1994 split, the duo of Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala heralded many landmark developments in '90s music: most famously dreampop, shoegaze and post-rock. Through their embrace of dub, soul and club-forward forms they also impacted the development of trip hop, ambient dub and even, obliquely, house music's explosion into the charts. With last year's release of the AR Kive box set and a return to live activity, they talk to early supporter Simon Reynolds about what to expect next. Inside the issue: Yatta, Sun Yizhou, Cuntroaches. Invisible Jukebox: Sun Araw."