LP version. Thumbing through the back pages of German electronic music, Bureau B uncovers another hidden gem from the Sky Records archive: Inventions, the 1983 collaboration between Adelbert von Deyen and Dieter Schütz. Fusing expansive kosmische textures with biting rock guitars, motorik rhythms, and the growl of '80s synth-pop, the duo conjures a sonic singularity which still sounds like the future today. Compact yet cosmic, Inventions distils ambient drift and experimental edge into taut, three-minute pop miniatures, with the occasional longer track extending the energy without losing any of the impact. Adelbert von Deyen, a painter, graphic artist and composer, was born in 1953 in northern Germany. Inspired by Pink Floyd and the Berlin School, he began creating electronic music in the late '70s, ultimately releasing a string of solo albums on Sky Records. Dieter Schütz, born in nearby Flensburg in 1955, was a multi-instrumentalist equally at home with pastoral acoustic tones and kosmische synthesis. After stints in local rock bands and electronic experimentation in his home studio, Schütz debuted in 1981 with TransVision, followed by solo albums that further explored his unique blend of organic and synthetic elements. Their musical paths converged on the track "Earth" from von Deyen's 1982 LP Planetary, a hypnotic collision of space-bound electronics and driving rhythm. The chemistry was instant and by the following year the pair had completed a full album as a duo, Inventions, marking Schütz's first appearance on the Sky roster. With Inventions, von Deyen and Schütz found a rare middle ground between introspective electronics and wide-eyed pop, creating something strange, beautiful and beguiling which inhabits a space all of its own. Reissued here for the first time in decades, it's a thrilling rediscovery from the adventurous outer edges of early '80s German music.

2025 repress; LP version. Agree to disagree: A selected Krautrock discography. Krautrock, what is it anyway? A genre, a derogative term, a song by Faust, or: a welcome (and recurring) opportunity to talk about all of this. The music associated with the term in question has eagerly been canonized. From the enthusiastic and idiosyncratic ramblings of Julian Cope's "Krautrocksampler" to encyclopedic approaches like Alan and Stephen Freeman's "Crack in the Cosmic Egg", there are plenty of books to read and lists to discuss: Who's in, who isn't? The quarrels and disputes surrounding the terms "Krautrock" and "Kosmische Musik" are a testament to their enduring relevance and fascination. The book Krautrock Eruption by Wolfgang Seidel addresses some of those questions. In this book, you will find an annotated discography of fifty albums. Out of these fifty, Bureau B are presenting an even narrower selection of tracks from twelve albums on this compilation. Lists and compilation track listings inevitably see tracks missing and being left out. The list is meant to inspire repeated or further listening, to spark discussions and -- potentially -- to provoke new lists, perhaps your own! It's all part of the fun. Music is made for enjoyment in the first and for friendly debate in the second place, after all. Featuring Conrad Schnitzler, Eno Moebius Roedelius, Harald Grosskopf, Cluster, Moebius & Plank, Roedelius, Pyrolator, Riechmann, Kluster, Günter Schickert, and Asmus Tietchens.

Limited repress. Recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris and one and a half a year after releasing his magnum opus Music For Animals -- described by PopMatters as "a musical waterfall of monumental proportions" -- Nils Frahm shares a new live album on his Leiter label. In what's becoming a tradition, it follows 2013's Spaces, a Pitchfork Album of the Year taped at shows over the preceding 18 months, and 2020's Tripping With Nils Frahm, also released as a film. Paris is Frahm's first live album from a single night, March 21, 2024, and contains ten tracks over a running time of 84 minutes. Frahm's performances have always been known for expanding upon his studio recordings, and Paris is no exception. Drawing on his substantial catalogue, the German composer and producer reworks tracks from Music For Animals ("Right Right Right" and "Briefly") before less recent material from 2009's The Bells ("Some"), and 2012's Screws ("Re," originally recorded with just nine fingers after Frahm broke a thumb). There's also "Spells" from All Encores and "You Name It" from Day, while the brand new, luxurious and strangely gripping "Opera" sets the stage for "On The Roof" from his heart-rending, award-winning score for 2015's widely acclaimed, one-camera, one-take German thriller, Victoria. Frahm's instrumental range has expanded to include a mountain of vintage synths and keyboard instruments. These include a custom-made organ as well as the final glass harmonica constructed by Gerhard Finkenbeiner, a master glassblower who, in the 1980s, resurrected the instrument -- first invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761 -- and then died in 1999 in mysterious, still unresolved circumstances. Frahm's grasp of dynamics and tension has likewise expanded, and not only does he reinvigorate his work during concerts for this wider range of possibilities, but he also keeps developing it as he tours. If he leaves the stage to the same uproarious jubilation with which he was initially greeted, Paris makes it clear why he's been so in demand. Paris is a vital document of this ingenious, gifted musician's endless pursuit of fresh perspectives.

Editions Mego reissue the 2001 release Asuma by Finnish artist Ilpo Väisänen. Originally released on CD this is the first ever vinyl issue, remastered by Rashad Becker. 2001 is a landmark year for the artist following a wave of success from the notable outfit Väisänen formed alongside Mika Vanio, Pan Sonic (as they were now known then). Following a string of highly acclaimed and influential releases such as Vakio, Kulma, A, and Aaltopiiri, Pan Sonic had toured the globe extensively leaving a trail of blown expectations and rumors of all manner of objects in venues cracking or falling apart due to the immense sound the duo concocted with their unique instruments. Taking a break from the ecstatic cacophony of Pan Sonic, Väisänen retreated to work on a solo release which conjured the spirits of the former outfit whilst simultaneously carving out a more personal take on these new electronic forms. Asuma is a precise study of drones, rhythms, clicks, ambience and gentle confusion. Whilst inhabiting a zone of abstraction the results also move in a natural field as Väisänen's native Finland permeates these recordings as much as the idea of experimentation itself. "Autioitu 1" opens the album as delicate pinball rhythms bounce across the spectrum as a hairy drone hovers underneath. The mood is both intriguing and unsettling. "Tukahduttaja" is a delightfully disorientating sound sculpture that is hard to pinpoint what it actually is. "Klikki" is comparable to a microscopic version of Pink Floyd's "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict." "Asumaton" is a foreboding miniature acting like a segway to "Vallitseva" which embraces the icy clicks that punctuates much of the Pan Sonic output. "Arvioimaton Ongelma" is an audio riddle whilst "Jaettu" jitters around a dancefloor crawl. "Autioitu" closes proceedings as a gentle ambient thumper. Asuma is awash with contradiction and mystery. This is time wrapped in twisted turns and rewards a neat payoff for those interested in the absolute fringes of electronic 'dance' music.

New Environments & Rhythm Studies finds Andrew Pekler returning to the humid zones he explored on previous albums such as Sounds From Phantom Islands and Tristes Tropiques. Split between longer immersive compositions and shorter glimpse-like sketches, these 12 tracks feature new juxtapositions of Pekler's familiar palette of synthetic field recordings, warm, undulating electronic textures, shifting percussion patterns and serene melodies. As with much of his recent work, Pekler's compositions here are structured around the beguiling effect of synthetic and non-synthetic sounds mirroring, mimicking and modulating one another. The teeming atmospheres within tracks such as "Globestructures," "Cymbals In The Mist," or "Globestructures: Option II" are, despite their seemingly anthropogenic nature, entirely synthetic. Elsewhere, the lopsided grooves of "Cumbia Para Los Grillos" or "Fabulation For K" are derived from recordings of crickets and other insects which Pekler loops and uses to trigger electronic percussion -- producing a pleasantly skewed rhythmic base for the fragments of melody which are layered on top. The six "Rhythm Studies" also follow the same principle -- a playful interweaving of the organic and synthetic. New Environments & Rhythm Studies is a further attempt to re-describe past tropes which laid claims to authentically represent music and sound from beyond the Western world (exotica, ethnomusicology, field recording) as undertakings of the imaginary. Written and produced by Andrew Pekler, mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi, artwork by Morgan Cuinet, graphic design by Dmytro Nikolaienko.

Volume 7. The Heads unleash Reverberations: A five-LP explosion of basement-born, acid-fried sonic fury. Forged in the fogged-out depths of their Bristol basement, Reverberations captures The Heads at their heaviest and most unhinged -- sprawling, free-form jams that pulse, pummel, and phase into infinity. No edits, no overdubs, no apologies. Just pure, pulverizing cosmic communion. Spanning over four hours of fuzz-drenched excursions, hypnotic riff spiral, motorik freakouts and tape-saturated noise walls, this is The Heads as they were never meant to be heard -- unless you were in the room, and out of your mind. You ever hear a Hawkwind bootleg on the wrong speed and think "yeah but what if this was heavier and more lost?" That's Reverberations. It's acid-fried, it's righteous, it's like crawling through the fuzz-soaked lungs of the universe with only a blown speaker and a half-drunk pint for company. Five LPs. No polish. No polishers. The guitars don't play -- they detonate. The drums don't keep time -- they pull it apart, beat by bloody beat. And the bass? That's not bass. That's the sound of tectonic plates grinding their teeth in orgasmic terror. Each LP in the series is its own trip, housed in matte laminated outer sleeves and pressed on mixed color vinyl, for the full synapse-sizzling experience. Issued via Cardinal Fuzz (Europe) and Feeding Tube Records (USA), in strictly limited quantities, Reverberations is a vital document from the outer reaches of Britain's psych underground. Get ready to have your face melted, your brain scrambled, and your whole concept of "music" pulverized into psychedelic dust. Strictly limited. Psychos only. No posers.

2025 restock. Manic fuzzed out instrumentals, mind blowing high-energy rock´n`roll, mysterious exotica, and more in this wild compilation of ass-kicking biker movie soundtracks. 14 gems taken from 14 greasy biker movies filmed between 1966 and 1971. An eye-opening collection of mostly forgotten treasures. Get ready for a wild ride with this compilation gathering a bunch of amazing '60s/early '70s biker movie soundtracks. Starting with the classic that defined the whole genre (Davie Allan & the Arrow´s "Blues Theme") this record is, of course, drenched in delicious fuzz madness, but it doesn´t stop there: from the mind-blowing high-energy bust that is "Changes" by the East-West Pipeline, to none other than the king of exotica, Les Baxter, this is a fascinating and roaring trip filled to the top with gasoline fueled hits! Featuring Mike Curb, The Man-Eaters, The Sidewalk Sounds, Simon Stokes And The Nighthawks, Jeff Simmons, Eddie And The Stompers, Lenny Stack, Harley Hatcher, The Sunrays, The Other Side, and Stu Phillips.

With Time, We Learned To Ask Less is the first duo album by Giuseppe Ielasi and Riccardo D. Wanke after decades of friendship and the occasional artistic collaboration. Working with only electric guitar and electric piano as well as a gentle dose of reverb, these improvisation-based recordings showcase the rapprochement of two artists whose interests are perfectly aligned. Their carefulness, attention to detail, and shared desire to sculpt space through music instead of just occupying it create a unique harmony between these two exceptional musicians who consistently stay mindful of the old adage that music is the space between the notes. Following up on solo albums sees them seamlessly combining the sparse but lush aesthetics of those experiments throughout these 44 minutes. Having lived close to each other in Northern Italy, where the prolific mastering engineer Ielasi still resides to this day, he and Wanke were members of the group Medves together with Andrea Belfi, Renato Rinaldi, and Stefano Pilia before Wanke relocated to Lisbon. When Ielasi, who had mastered Wanke's recent solo albums including 2023's i for electric pianos, was invited to play a concert in the Portuguese capital in the summer of that year, the two took the opportunity to go on stage together. Infatuated by the results of this fully improvised set, they organized a two-day session in Ielasi's Monza studio shortly thereafter and edited the recordings over the course of the following months. The resulting album shows them moving slowly through sonic space and time, complementing and counterpointing each other's playing. They leave each other room in which to unfold and let short moments of silence speak for themselves. With Time, We Learned To Ask Less is the closest you will get to hearing the air sing.

Karma Sutra had already been a band for five years when they released their elusive one and only album, released on their own Paradoxical Records label in 1987. The Daydreams of a Production Line Worker came towards the end of the bands life span and all they had to show prior was a few demos and some tracks on compilations on Mortarhate. By the time the band entered the studio Karma Sutra was spreading their musical wings, moving from a straight ahead anarcho sound to a more-dense and thoughtful place, adding flourishes of post punk and moody atmospheres to their agit-prop political stance thus creating one of the most idiosyncratic concept albums of their time, where situationist politics meet the most ambitious anarcho punk sound. The album was recorded in Sheffield at Vibrasound Studio and co-produced by Spon of UK DECAY, which added yet another layer to the already complex album. When released The Daydreams Of A Production Line Worker had little fanfare due to the rigid approach to punk of the time. But as time passed, so did this album's importance. The Daydreams Of A Production Line Worker reissue comes with a reproduction of the originally included 28-page booklet, which the band viewed as an inseparable part of the album to understand the concept. Dense at times and intended to be thought provoking it covers class oppression, gender, culture brainwashing, prison struggle et all the capitalism society illnesses written from an anarchist perspective and aligned with the situationism theory of revolution of every day life.

War Games 95-99 is the definitive and extended collection of the ultimate teenage midwestern three-piece noise band notorious for live shows using a full desktop computer on stage. While there were predecessors to the stage, Flutter was the first mostly computer-generated noise to emerge from the harsh noise subculture dominated by pedals in the '90s tape scene. Unapologetically domestic, Flutter blended seemingly wholesome Midwest extracurricular activities with a soundtrack of suburban angst and placed all of this in a psycho-melancholic explosion of blinded circuitry, twisted band-room freak out and full-on bedroom ultra-creativity that only invention as necessity could birth. Flutter have remained a project for those in-the-know and are the phoenix who rose on the elegant and sinister Elsie And Jack And Chair CD compilations, splits on Xerxes and Bob Marinelli's distorted vision record and who were poised for graduation on the Groundfault album that should have been, here they rise from smoke of the '90s and now firmly rest the trophy of history on the mantel of today's noise-americana. Brutal and fun -- this 6CD box is a collection based around their proper full-length cassette -- War Games -- and extends into obscurities such material from splits with Âmes Sanglantes, Napalm Jesus, material for Joe Lombardo and essentially unheard relics of live recordings, the mysterious Self Abuse tape for Patrick O'Neil's distribution and the fabled and notorious unreleased Groundfault recordings full length CD! Includes unseen time capsule live and recording photos, liner notes/mini poster, and download code, packaged in clamshell box. Painstaking cassette restoration and detective work by Kris Lapke.

Facta returns to Wisdom Teeth with Gulp: a zippy, hi-def mini-album full of scrambled vocals, blown-out basslines, dripping synths and spring-loaded grooves that together map out his playfully psychedelic corner of contemporary club music. Written in a quick creative burst in late 2024, the record brings together a range of the producer's distinct creative strands into a sharp, cohesive whole. Sitting snugly within the stylistic niche carved out by his A&Ring and DJ sets (alongside label co-founder K-LONE), listeners hear the influence of '00s minimal, tech house, UK soundsystem music, ambient electronica, dub and more rubbing shoulders in a way that feels effortless and personal. The Londoner's characteristic approach to sound design and genre interplay are on full display here. Generative vocal hooks melt and warp into strange fluid forms, while synths stretch, detune, bend and dissolve into space before snapping back into shape again. Keyboards mirror human vocal formants, forming melodies that feel at once organic and alien. Basslines warp and distort, as if being re-molded out of different synthetic properties. Across the record there's a commitment to expressing simple or familiar ideas in new and unexpected ways, whilst experimentations and innovations are presented clearly and intuitively. Cherished genre references are lovingly deployed as personal touchstones across the record -- bleeping minimal- and tech- house; breakbeat dubstep and funky; Chicago house; dub techno -- yet sounds and influences are combined and meshed in unexpected ways. Each track is tightly engineered and reduced down to its key elements, which are then manipulated, flipped, warped and pushed to breaking point. As is typical of Facta's music, uncanny contrasts are worked throughout the music in unexpected ways. Warm, balmy moods come laced with seams of tension or uncertainty, whilst the record's darker moments are handled with a light, playful touch. The album's artwork features photography by award-winning Boston-based photographer, Pelle Cass, whose complex time-lapse composites present hyperreal yet impossible tableaus of seemingly simple everyday scenes -- an approach that parallels the record's blurring of the familiar and the unfamiliar.

2025 restock; LP version. The fourth full-length album by legendary German electronic music duo Cluster, originally released on Sky Records in 1976. Sowiesoso follows on from their most highly-acclaimed album, Zuckerzeit (1974). Michael Rother's influence was clearly audible on the latter, Cluster already having recorded two albums with him under the name of Harmonia. 1976 saw the duo looking for new musical forms. More than any other Cluster album, Sowiesoso represents the utopian vision of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Mobius, its mellow transparency evoking the landscape of the Weser Uplands where the two musicians lived at the time. Sowiesoso is not the work of fanatic dreamers who have fled the metropolis, but the reward for their tenacious search for a new musical language. The LP's seven cuts were recorded in their own studio with modest equipment -- a four-track tape machine, two Revox A77 stereo tape-decks and a simple 8-channel mixer. Cluster were thus completely independent, able to work where and when they wanted, at their own pace. With no guest musicians, sound engineers or producers to accommodate, Cluster thrived on their new-found autonomous freedom. Sowiesoso captures them at the peak of their creative development, with the limited range of recording equipment enhancing the clarity of their vision, allowing them to concentrate on the music without drifting into narcissistic muso territory. Minimalist, yet neither formulaic nor automated, the album is a rhythmic tapestry of otherworldly electronic and acoustic elements -- relaxed, organic and gentle ambience. This could only be Cluster music; its harmonies reaffirm the quality of song, in spite of eluding song structure as such.

2LP Silk Screen Sleeve plus insert. Before Guaracha UFO propelled Meridian Brothers onto the international stage, Eblis Álvarez was already shaping his singular sonic universe in the shadows. Released only on CD in between 2009 and 2012 via local label La Distritofónica, Meridian Brothers VI and VII never had wide distribution or media exposure. Yet, these albums represent a crucial phase in the band's evolution, capturing the energy of Bogotá's experimental cumbia scene at the time. On VI, Álvarez crafts a hallucinatory patchwork of cumbia and vallenato, using his guitar as the guiding thread before layering other instruments on top. These two albums laid the foundation for the radical fusion and irreverent spirit that would later define Meridian Brothers. Now reissued on vinyl for the first time, these historic recordings offer a raw and fascinating glimpse into the origins of one of Latin America's most forward-thinking musical projects.

2LP Silk Screen Sleeve plus insert. Before Guaracha UFO propelled Meridian Brothers onto the international stage, Eblis Álvarez was already shaping his singular sonic universe in the shadows. Released only on CD in between 2009 and 2012 via local label La Distritofónica, Meridian Brothers VI and VII never had wide distribution or media exposure. Yet, these albums represent a crucial phase in the band's evolution, capturing the energy of Bogotá's experimental cumbia scene at the time. VII pushes experimentation even further with a custom-built sampling algorithm, generating unpredictable loops and grooves. These two albums laid the foundation for the radical fusion and irreverent spirit that would later define Meridian Brothers. Now reissued on vinyl for the first time, these historic recordings offer a raw and fascinating glimpse into the origins of one of Latin America's most forward-thinking musical projects.

LP version. Cluster can be counted among the most important international protagonists of the electronic avant-garde. Some credit them with having invented ambient music, others as pioneers of synthesizer pop, whilst to some they are firmly embedded in the krautrock universe. There is some truth in all of these notions. Cluster (or Kluster as they were in the beginning) were founded in 1970 in Berlin by Conrad Schnitzler, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and Dieter Moebius. A change in direction and musical differences moved Moebius and Roedelius to split from Schnitzler after which the duo recorded ten regular studio albums between 1971 and 2009. Their debut album (Cluster 71) was in Wire Magazine's "One Hundred Records That Set The World On Fire" list. Cluster II is influenced by Berlin and Hamburg; situated somewhere in the middle of artistic happenings, musical outrageousness and drug abuse: an urban mixture.

"The question as to whether Cluster II has to be considered part of serious music or rather of popular music seems as obsolete today as it was back in 1972. Interestingly enough, however, the album was among the first ones to leave people in confusion when trying to tell what musical category it belonged to. As opposed to now where there is a large transitional area situated somewhere in between the two poles and made up by all sorts of electro-acoustic music, serious and popular music were still categories strictly set apart at the beginning of the seventies. Moebius and Roedelius, however, simply did not care about categorizing their music, thus contributing to the trend towards abandoning the categories altogether. When listening to Cluster II today, fifty years after it was recorded, the album's historic significance becomes as clear as never before. A lot has already been written about Cluster's historic impact. Let me just underline in this context that it was not least this album that opened up doors through which generations of electro-acoustic musicians were yet to step." --Asmus Tietchens

LP version. After more than 40 years, Silberstreif's EP Ich suche dein Gesicht, first released on Sky Records in 1983, is available again. Rather unusual for Sky's catalogue, the duo played flawless synth-pop with German-language lyrics. This EP sank into obscurity in the 1980s flood of hyper-commercial German New Wave releases. The band later became an insider tip and the EP a sought-after collector's item. The re-issue is accompanied by four previously unreleased bonus tracks.

"Overdue, a re-issue of this great, rare EP from 1983. While that year, the major labels were finally exploiting everything commercially that even rudimentarily fitted the NDW (Neue Deutsche Welle -- German New Wave) buzzword, we can now look back and realize that there were still countless creative bands, projects and artists in the musical underground. The release by Silberstreif shows like no other that the focus of the German 1980s underground was not only on odd and experimental sounds, but also on poppy and melodic ones. Listening to these hopeful, almost innocent synth melodies paired with dark lyrics circling around obsessive male protagonists, one can't help but imagine how this band re-asserted its artistic freedom by leaning into the musical tropes of sell-out and commercialization -- with a subtle subversive middle finger. The duo play fantastic and timeless synth-pop which is still relevant today and still gets crowds dancing in trendy clubs between songs by Human League and Grauzone. Like I said, this re-issue is long overdue!" --Marco Floess

LP version. Limited edition (400) vinyl with artwork by Ian Anderson and double CD. CD contains the tracks from Plan For A Miracle. Pioneering British electronic musician Mark Van Hoen presents his latest solo album, The Eternal Present, a remarkable collection of tracks spanning nearly three decades of recordings from 1998 to 2024. The Eternal Present embodies its philosophical title, inspired by Joseph Campbell's concept that "Eternity is that dimension of here and now that all thinking in temporal terms cuts off." The album explores music as the ultimate expression of existing in the present moment, transcending time and creating a sonic experience that is simultaneously "spectral, ghostly, melodic, harmonic, and decayed." An influential contemporary of Aphex Twin, Autechre, LFO and Boards of Canada, Van Hoen is best known for his solo work as Locust in the mid-'90s, which helped push post-rave electronic music into newly challenging realms. The Eternal Present continues the lineage of Van Hoen's most significant works, with artwork by Ian Anderson (Designers Republic) reflecting the album's "eternal present" concept with a mysterious visual approach, allowing listeners to form their own imaginary landscapes. The mastering by Stefan Betke (Pole) enhances this document of the evolution of the artist over the years as he continues to hone his signature sound. Using a host of instruments including analogue synthesizers and employing various recording approaches, Van Hoen's equipment changed dramatically over the years, contributing to the album's rich sonic diversity. Throughout The Eternal Present, ideas are woven together through spoken word quotations and abstract vocals featuring notable collaborations from Rachel Goswell on the Slowdive cover "Shine" (from 1998), Megan Mitchell (Cruel Diagonals) on "Somewhere", and session vocalists Clare Dove and Dorothy Takev on "No-One Leave" and "It's Not You (In A Way)" respectively. The album was recorded across multiple locations including Somerset, London, Los Angeles, and New York, reflecting Van Hoen's changing personal circumstances, environments, and situations throughout the years.

LP version. Far Out Recordings continues its reissue campaign of the late Argentinian guitarist Agustin Pereyra Lucena's work with the first-ever vinyl reissue of his singular 1988 private press album, Puertos De Alternativa, now his most sought-after LP. The album features some of Agustin's most uniquely beautiful compositions, including "Luces de Valeria" and "Preparativos Maritimos," alongside Baden Powell's "Pequeño Vals" and "O Cego Aderaldo (Nordeste)," and "Tema Barroco" by his longtime collaborator, Guilhermo Reuter. By 1988, Agustín had established himself as one of Argentina's foremost interpreters of Brazilian music. The seventies saw success with his group Candeias, and he gained recognition in Brazil, forming friendships and collaborations with luminaries such as Vinicius de Moraes, Baden Powell, Dorival Caymmi, Toquinho, and Maria Bethania. Following the era of dictatorship in South America, Agustín spent the late seventies and early eighties, living and touring in Norway as part of his European travels with his group Agustín Pereyra Lucena Quartet. Recorded after returning to his native Buenos Aires, Agustin Peyera Lucena's Puertos de Alternativa emerged from this confluence of diverse experiences and influences, revealing an artist deeply connected to his environment. The album's title, meaning "Alternative Harbours," reflects Agustín's particular affinity for water. He observed that much of his favorite music originated from places with rivers and seas nearby, noting, "There is a flow near water that influences guitar playing for sure." With a profound connection to both instrument and environment, Agustín's music is often difficult to place. The album begins rooted deeply in South American soil, drawing clear inspiration from Brazilian guitar masters like Heitor Villa Lobos, Garoto, and Baden Powell. But, as it progresses, a sense of journey unfolds, evoking new landscapes and horizons -- from the crystalline beauty of glacial Norway to the gentle currents of the Rio de la Plata. The ensemble on Puertos de Alternativa features notable Argentinian musicians, including drummer Osvaldo Avena, flautist Rubén Izarrualde, and saxophonist Bernardo Baraj. Mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis Studios from the original master tapes which had been lovingly kept by Agustin's nephew José Lucena Perreyra.

LP version. "While they have collaborated a good many times, Next is the first recorded evidence of Danish guitarist (or more properly Bastardist) Jørgen Teller playing with American ex-pat multi-instrumentalist Mark Cunningham. The pair both have long histories on the fringes of known sounds. I first heard Teller as a member of the dizzily freakoid Tzarina Q Cut and Cunningham's decades of musical adventurism with Mars, Don King, Bestia Ferida, Blood Quartet, etc. have been well documented, not least by us. This is Mark's tenth FTR release! The four pieces here are improvised instrumental duets. The material was recorded in October 2023, as part of an ongoing residency Mark has at the Fabra I Coats creation center in Barcelona. Throughout, Teller plays Le Bastard (a Hofner 137 electric guitar with two bass strings and three guitar strings). Cunningham plays mostly trumpet and delays, but also whips out his old Dan Electro for one of the tracks. Overall, the sonic results are droney, druggy, lightly-noisesome slabs of brilliant buzz. In a general way, Jørgen's amped strings set up a humbucking sound-sheet against which he and Mark can each toss spontaneous squibs of creation and destruction, When Mark is playing trumpet and pedals, the music sometimes manifests a strange sort of charm that almost has the feel of a noise rock approach to the Canterbury Sound. By which, I mean the stuff is rackety, but there are built-in glissandos that make me think of nothing less Camel's brilliant live work on the Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dancehall. Of course, these moments resolve themselves in weirder ways than any Pete Bardens has ever dreamed up, but it demonstrates the duo's avant-prog game is strong! The doubled guitar track (called 'Next 3' to contrast it with 'Next 1,' 'Next 2,' and 'Next 4') is a superb piece of string work with rockist overtones that put fellow in mind of some of the best moments by classic two-man string units like the Smashchords or early Half Japanese. But with a more overtly hypnagogic overlay that forces your brain's receptors to stretch themselves in new ways. It's all amazing stuff. Sounding so fully evolved you'll be tempted to swear it weren't improvised! But you'd be wrong, friend. Some people just have the gift. To paraphrase that old softy, Lou Reed, their week beats your year. Get up with it!" --Byron Coley, 2025

Comes with 16-page score booklet. Cosmogonical Ears is Amosphère's first album for Hallow Ground. Following her contribution to the Swiss label's Epiphanies compilation and her 2021 full-length debut More Die of Heartbreak on 33-33, it features three expansive pieces. The Paris-based composer and multidisciplinary artist delves deeper into themes of time, space, cosmology, human perception, and psycho-physical effects, crafting profound sonic meditations. Drawing on a minimalist approach while blending electronic and acoustic elements, Amosphère's long-form compositions are living, breathing entities whose sonic richness and evocative power unfold gradually over time, putting Cosmogonical Ears in direct kinship with previous Hallow Ground releases by artists such as Kali Malone and FUJI|||||||||||TA. The questions posed by Cosmogonical Ears do not yield straightforward answers. Instead, Amosphère's restrained yet intricately layered compositions require full immersion and concentration from the listener. As expressed by the album's title -- which envisions the birth of a new universe through listening -- Cosmogonical Ears offers an experimental approach to auditory perception as a tool for seeking truth, freedom, and harmony between the outer world and the inner self.

Laetitia Sonami was born in France, where she studied with Eliane Radigue. She moved to the United States to study electronic music, first with Joel Chadabe at SUNY Albany, then at Mills College where she was mentored by Robert Ashley and David Behrman. Laetitia Sonami is not only a gifted composer/designer of electronic music, but a compelling presence on stage. This collection of early works covers a period when Sonami transitioned from live mixing with cassettes, homemade analog synths and objects in the early eighties, to working with MIDI, MAX software and "off the shelf" synths and samplers. At the same time, she begins a long collaboration with Melody Sumner Carnahan, using her dramatic texts to evoke characters and behaviors to inhabit musically and visually. All but two of the works on this release utilize Sumner Carnahan's stories, and all but one use Sonami's famous invention, the lady's glove, an arm-length tailored glove fitted with movement sensors allowing the perform to fluidly control digital sound parameters and processing, as well as motors, lights and video playback. Sonami has since moved on to works for another of her inventions, the Spring Spyre, which applies Machine Learning to real time audio synthesis.

Electròccid àccid alquimístic xoc marks a shift in Pau Riba's sound -- now electrified and fully embracing rock under the influence of artists like Lou Reed, Ray Davies, and Kevin Ayers. Once again, Riba left everyone bewildered with a work that, on its own, gave early substance to what would eventually be known as roc català, of which Riba may well have been its most authentic representative. First vinyl reissue in over four decades! The magical "Dioptria" had been left behind. The album was recorded in the winter of 1975 with the help of the same group of musicians who had accompanied Riba a few months earlier at a concert at Zeleste to debut new songs: a mix of Valencian musicians from bands like Paranoia Dea and guitarist Eduardo Bort's group. The core of Electròccid is defined by Riba's own authorship. With lyrics that veer from poetic to absurdly ironic, Riba explores themes like the moon, the stars, death, love, women, the devil, and the bourgeoisie -- fueling the originality that made him such a unique artist. It's striking how naturally and effortlessly Riba incorporated the Catalan language into the rock idiom -- and vice versa.

Hypnotic polyrhythms play a central role on Fera, creating the pulse for a sound that's rich in acoustic tonality and lively energy. Louca uses custom-made, microtonal guitars to explore nuanced phrasings, and his languid interplay with violin, synthesizer, and other instruments lead to moments of vivid beauty. This wild and adventurous album that Egyptian artist Maurice Louca wrote over a four-year period takes its title from the Latin root for the word feral, and has its origins in a solo set that Louca first developed in 2019; the compositions eventually took their final shape when he recorded them in a Cairo studio in 2024 with a group of longtime collaborators and guests. The violinist Ayman Asfour, percussionist and drummer Khaled Yassine, double bassist Rosa Brunello and co-producer Adham Zidan all play critical roles on the album, and they're joined on two tracks by multi-instrumentalist Nancy Mounir (who plays violin and theremin on "El Taalab") and oud virtuoso Hazem Shaheen (on "Sahar"). Fera is some of the most composed and thoughtfully-crafted music Louca has ever made, but of course it's guided by the dynamic experimentation and collaborative spark that have become central to his work. Fera's artwork was created by another long-time collaborator, visual artist Maha Maamoun, using the Decalcomania ink transfer technique, to create dream- like natural forms that emerge through both deliberate manipulation and chance. Residue elements photographed from 6,000-year-old rock art paintings found at the Cave of Swimmers in Gilf Kebir (an area on the Egypt-Libya border) can be seen in the Fera "painting", which was digitally manipulated for color and other effects along with original typography and graphic design in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist and designer Hussein Nassereddine.

"The original Madlib instrumentals to Georgia Anne Muldrow's critically acclaimed album Seeds which was released in 2012 on SomeOthaShip Connect. Heralded as one of her most captivating and immediate front-to-back statements of purpose, a deeply spiritual collection of songs. It was the first time in her career where she handed over all production duties to someone other than herself, that someone being the legendary Madlib. The beats on Seeds are naturally heavy, funky, soulful, abrupt yet hypnotic. All the characteristics of Madlib's signature sound listeners know and love. On the B Side of the vinyl is a collection of Georgia Anne Muldrow instrumentals from across three Dudley Perkins albums, Young Spirit, Self Study, and Holy Smokes. Beats with synths reminiscent of J Dilla's electronic era but with enough G-Funk influence to melt your Raiders hat. Bass lines that could get The Click back together. Georgia Anne Muldrow is a master of her craft on the beats and the microphone. This record is a testament to that. Rediscover Seeds, the magical powers of Madlib, and why beat tapes will never go out of style."

LP version. Ride bassist Steve Queralt's debut solo album Swallow is a beautifully brooding nine-track collection that combines the darkly textured soundscapes of early M83 and Sigur Rós with an electronic sheen reminiscent of Boards Of Canada. It also features guest vocals from Sonic Cathedral labelmate Emma Anderson (formerly of Lush and Sing-Sing) and Verity Susman (Electrelane, MEMORIALS). Swallow has been slowly but surely pieced together between Ride albums and tours over the past five years and, perhaps as a result, has a slightly dystopian, Blade Runner feel that reflects the liminal spaces in which it was created. Despite the fact that the majority of the album is instrumental, there is plenty of power and emotion poured into these moody, moonlit soundtracks. When words do appear, an underlying anger and political slant emerges and amplifies the album's dark intensity. This is most notable on the closing track, "Motor Boats," where he overlays words from Julie Sheldon's polemic poem The Same Boat. According to Steve, these simple words of rejection "capture the reality of our times perfectly." However, it was the collaborations with the two guest vocalists that tied the whole thing together and paved the way to the finished album.

Vinyl reissue of the legendary soundtrack to Forbidden Planet by Bebe and Louis Barron, an absolute milestone for electronic music, and the first entirely electronic score for a feature film. Recorded in 1956 by Bebe and Louis Barron, the soundtrack to the cult film Forbidden Planet is without a doubt one of the most suggestive and astounding examples of early electronica, bringing the extraterrestrial experience of the movie to new levels with the help of the stunning sounds created by the couple through of a myriad of vintage artifacts, including loop FX and amazing modular synths. Includes a foldout insert with a Bebe Barron interview. An absolute masterpiece of the genre, bringing proto electronica, sci-fi and abstract music together for an unforgettable aural experience.

LP version. When they performed a handful of concerts as a duo in the summer of 1998, Kristen Noguès and John Surman had already worked a lot on the interweaving of genres: Noguès had confronted traditional Breton music with contemporary music and Surman had changed his jazz into atmospheric numbers that would be amongst the finest recording on the ECM label. As a duo, the harpist and the saxophonist would go on to invent something different: free folk, traditional ambient, modal 'fest-noz'. It is difficult to label, because the duo Noguès/Surman is one of a kind. Diriaou means "Thursday" in Breton. It is also the title of the first piece that Kristen Noguès and John Surman played together in 1991. Noguès learned the Breton language as a child, at the same time as the Celtic harp, "taking lessons with Denise Mégevand, who would go on to teach others, notably Alan Stivell. At the beginning of the 1970s, she discovered the Breton song tradition (soniou and gwerziou) and became involved in Névénoé, a cooperative of traditional expression founded by Gérard Delahaye and Patrick Ewen. She recorded a single with the two musicians in 1974, then her first album, two years later. Everyone who has listened to Kristen Noguès debut Marc'h Gouez is now aware of her mysterious plucked strings. Her art, leaving Brittany, would go on to take in all landscapes and folklores, in the same as that of John Surman, conceived a little further north including vernacular jazz, international fusion with Chris McGregor or Miroslav Vitou, and exploring more personal territory. Kristen Noguèsand John Surman thus shared an "extra-Celtic" inspiration infused with free improvisation. On this recording, made in 1998 by Tanguy Le Doré at the Dre Ar Wenojenn festival, the duo uses original compositions which refer back to traditional songs (Maro Pontkalek, Le Scorff). The musicians then create fantastic impressions: Baz Valan, on which Noguès and Surman have a heavenly exchange; Kernow, on which the shared theme slowing disappears into the mist; Maro Pontkalek and Diriaou which move from the storm to the calm. Elsewhere, there is singing, first with Surman (Kleier) and then moving on to Noguès (Kerzhadenn and her signature song Berceuse). On a canvas of traditional music, the two musicians weave countless memorable landscapes.

LP version. Formed in London in 1992 by singer and songwriter David Christian, Comet Gain were originally inspired by early Creation Records, Television Personalities and mod culture, drawing from the same ideals as Dexys, The Style Council and Vic Godard, and from the lineage of The Velvet Underground, The Byrds and the 13th Floor Elevators. In the ensuing years they have released eight albums on such esteemed labels as Wiiija, Kill Rock Stars, What's Your Rupture and Fortuna POP! that blend French New Wave with English kitchen-sink heart, Riot Grrrl with acid punk, and C86 with post-punk and Northern soul, somehow outliving their peers and in turn inspiring a younger generation of DIY musicians. On this record, their second album proper for Tapete Records, Comet Gain are David Christian (vocals, guitar), Ben Phillipson (guitar), Rachel Evans (vocals), Robin Christian (percussion), Anne Laure Guillain (keyboards) and Clientele bassist James Hornsey, with additional vocal, brass and keyboard contributions from producer Sean Read (Dexys, Edwyn Collins, Rockingbirds).

"After Comet Gain's last LP Fireraisers Forever! which was a necessary exorcism of the Moron Era that has in fact only got worse -- they have put aside the fuzz drenched broken glass howls for a more immediate, toe-tapping rush of melody and intent. Sifted through from the library of songs David Christian Feck had been recording over the last couple years for Bandcamp LPs of homemade snap, crackle and POP and picked the best bunch and streamlined, improved and muscled up 8 or so and wrote new songs that would fit into a living thing - a jukebox of favorites playing somewhere in the background -- evergreen sixties UK pop with tough edges, soul stompers with a slight tear in the eye, Alex Chilton, Gene Clark, 'Sound Affects' Jam, euphoric melancholic folk rock, Hitchcock and Cope, The Fall when they made pop records, snarling freakbeat, yearning '80s baroque popness and jangled mornings and sad midnights -- an alchemy mix to make something direct with hooks and hope and heart-looking back to look forward and looking forward to be in the NOW? Truly this is one of the best of the Comet Gain LPs -- a concise mix of all their bags of tricks but in a way where everything fits like close friends that finish their own sentences -- pop singles, garage snarl, midnight ballads, morning floor shakers, folkrockers, obtuse angles and direct hits. Just good things to hum for the 'Ordinary Outsiders' everywhere as they watch the world falling down around them, because sometimes that's all you can do." --Allen Ginsberg, Bordeaux, Jan 2025

LP version. Picture one of the greatest living singer-songwriters in a kitchen. He is on holidays, he's just had a swim. His wife is out on the beach, and he finds himself faced with a bowl of irresistible strawberries. They're meant to be shared, of course, but their taste is "out of the ordinary," so he just can't help himself. Minutes later all of the delicious fruit are gone, but there's the germ of a song as the phrase "Someone ate all the strawberries" has just popped into Robert Forster's mind, sounding "so weird, but normal". Thankfully, he has taken his guitar with him. As the story goes, his wife Karin Bäumler not only forgave her husband, she actually joined him on a duet of what was to become the title song to his ninth solo album. Robert Forster has perfected the art of being outré in a least ostentatious way, from his time in the Go-Betweens to his solo career, now spanning almost three decades, interrupted only by the old band's reformation in 2000 which ended with his songwriting partner Grant McLennan's untimely death in 2006. Strawberries follows a recent spate of deluxe reissues of four of his older solo albums as well as the third and final volume of the career-spanning series of G Stands For Go-Betweens boxsets with a much awaited helping of new material. Next to admittedly bigger names such as Bob Dylan or Nick Cave, Robert Forster is the rare case of an artist with a celebrated past whose current work evokes genuine interest among a faithful fan base. As a straight-up personal song, "Strawberries" is a bit of a red herring in the context of this new album that, unusually for Forster, deals almost exclusively in observational character studies or, as the author would have it, "story songs". Louis Forster, by the way, also makes an impressive appearance on lyrical lead guitar in "Such a Shame." As his slapback echo vocals tuck into a rockabilly vibe, you can hear Forster enjoying the company of his Swedish backing band: producer Peter Morén (of Peter, Björn and John fame) on guitar, Jonas Thorell on bass, and Magnus Olsson on drums, crucially augmented by Lina Langendorf on various woodwind instruments and Anna Åhman on keys. The album's monumental closing track "Diamonds" starts off as a cross between Lou Reed and Buffalo Springfield, then takes off via Astral Weeks into an (almost) Albert Ayler direction, with Lina Langendorf given free rein on the tenor sax and Forster himself relinquishing his trademark understatement for some unexpected outbursts of falsetto.

2025 repress. The historical origins of cumbia in Colombia are nebulous and imprecise. The mythology surrounding it suggests an ancient past when Amerindian, African and European musical sounds were mixed together. The main record companies in Colombia such as Discos Fuentes, Discos Tropical, Sonolux, Zeida-Codiscos, Silver, Ondina, Discos Atlantic, Vergara, and Curro were created between Barranquilla, Medellín, Cartagena, and Bogotá from 1936 to 1954. All of them, without exception, recorded Colombian tropical music that over the years was given different names such as porro, gaita, fandango, paseaito, merecumbé, mapalé, bullerengue or, of course, cumbia. This first volume in the series Cumbia Cumbia Cumbia!!! comprises 24 Colombian cumbia bangers for the dancefloor from the deep vaults of Discos Fuentes, the most emblematic and best remembered label in the golden age of the genre. This is complemented by a selection of cumbias recorded by the label Discos Tropical, which sold most of its catalog to Discos Fuentes in 1990. Discos Fuentes concentrated on recording cumbias played on the accordion and by orchestras and ensembles. The label produced a prodigious number of albums devoted to cumbias between 1962 and 1979, which served to define ambiguous stereotypes, rooted as much in authenticity and modernity as in demure sensuality and joyful nostalgia. Cumbia Cumbia Cumbia!!! combines well-known classics and rarities that are difficult to find in their original formats. An invitation to enjoy and be amazed, above and beyond ethnographic and academic concerns. Features Juan Piña Y Sus Muchachos, Los Corraleros De Majagual, Aníbal Velásquez Y Su Conjunto, Cumbia Cipote Vaina, Calixto Ochoa Y Su Conjunto, Lucho Campillo Y Su Conjunto, La Sonora Del Caribe, El Sexteto Miramar, Pello Torres Y Sus Diablos Del Ritmo, Combo Los Galleros, Los Guacharacos, Combo Sampuesano, Conjunto Típico Vallenato, Pedro Laza Y Sus Pelayeros, Andrés Landero Y Su Conjunto, Los Golden Boys, Orquesta Nuñez, Los Candelosos, Morgan Blanco Y Su Conjunto, Pacho Galán Y Sus Sabaneros, Los Gavilanes De La Costa, Las Estrellas De Tolú, Los Warahuaco, Rodolfo Aicardi Y Su Tipica Ra7.

The Rhythm Machine is now available again to the musical public, legitimately reissued in its original packaging. Offering up brilliant soul, haunting ballads and high-energy mid-'70s funk, this tasty medley is served best in its entirety. Virtually impossible to find in its original edition, it is now reissued once again thanks to a collaboration with Now Again. Pressed on 180g vinyl. Indianapolis' legendary Rhythm Machine is one of the rare funk bands that transitioned between eras of funk's history seamlessly, creating awesome funk sides for a host of independent labels between the years of 1968 and 1976. Born out of cult Indy funk band The Highlighters' ashes, the Rhythm Machine was founded in the early '70s by bass player James Boone and guitarist James Brantley. Their self-titled and only LP, originally released in 1976, is a wild, super-groovy ride with tight band energy and a bunch of unexpected twists that keep things interesting from start to finish. At first, you might catch some Earth, Wind & Fire vibes -- deep basslines, funky beats, and killer horn sections -- but dig a little deeper and you'll find something a little looser, a little cooler. There's a smooth, jazzy undercurrent running through a lot of these tracks that gives the whole thing a fresh, off-the-beaten-path feel. Some songs drift into a dreamy, almost spacey zone -- think cosmic funk with a romantic twist. The production is silky, almost liquid-like, letting the guitars shimmer and the keys float. And when the soprano sax kicks in? Pure magic. It adds just the right bite to take the tracks up a notch. Perfect for late-night grooves, chill sessions, or anyone hunting for that hidden gem funk record with serious soul.

Here it is, for the first time on a 45, "Drug Story," the lost track by Joe Bataan. Pure Latin soul, recorded at the peak of the artist's career and released 50 years later! A must-purchase for those into Latin soul and funk. Joe Bataan's extensive discography was expanded in 2022 with the release of some old recordings from the King of Latin Soul that had never been previously published. After the success of his album Riot! (1968), Bataan had easy access to a studio whenever inspiration struck to record a new song sketch or even a complete track. Sometimes, he would finish the recording entirely and offer it in its final version to Fania for release. This usually worked, although on some occasions, the song was rejected. In the case of "Drug Story," the track was recorded without a clear final purpose, even though Bataan hoped it would become part of an album. When the Fania executives heard the result, they immediately rejected it, thinking it promoted drug use. The tapes were filed away and lost in oblivion until they ended up in a thrift store in New York. From there, they were rescued by a Latin music specialist and later sold, eventually making their way to the Vampisoul archives. The song was finally released in its entirety in 2022 on the LP Drug Story by Now Again. It features a long, slow vocal intro that evolves into a more up-tempo track with two very distinct parts, to the point that it almost feels like two different songs. It transports us to the best moment of Joe Bataan's career, with all of his classic ingredients, delivering a track as good as his most famous songs. Bataan himself takes on the lead vocals and piano, Bobby Rodríguez handles the flute, sax, and bass, Pete 'Choki' Quintero plays the drums, and William Howes Jr. plays the electric guitar with wah-wah effects.

Krautrock as an escape from post-war Germany. Krautrock Eruption is a rousing counter-narrative to the usual depictions of Krautrock, written by Wolfgang Seidel, member of Conrad Schnitzler's band Eruption and co-founder of Ton Steine Scherben. Seidel's groundbreaking book, which includes unique historical photographs, paints a vivid picture of the old Federal Republic of Germany, with all of its contradictions and struggles. What is now celebrated as Krautrock emerged in this environment, and at the time was an attempt to contribute the soundtrack to the revolution. As a fly on the wall, Seidel recounts the squats, demos and first concerts of bands such as Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel. Just as precisely and vividly, he recapitulates the influence of minimal music composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, the origins of many Krautrock musicians in jazz and the role of the synthesiser. Wolfgang Seidel delivers a captivating account on Krautrock that dispels many of the founding myths of the first genuinely German pop culture, which above all did not want to be German. In addition, the book is supplemented by a discography of the 50 most important Krautrock records, written by music journalist and Krautrock expert Holger Adam. Translated from German by Alexander Paulick (member of influential Düsseldorf-based avant-garde band Kreidler). Paperback, 186 pages, 7.5 oz, dimensions: 7.5" x 5".

Volume 2 of the absolutely infamous (and highly sought after) Cult Sounds compilation, comprised of music done by fringe religious cults around the world. Oh, boy! Volume 2 of Cult Sounds is here, so it's time for another bad trip through the music produced by weird, extreme cults all over the world. From hypnotic Manson Family recordings to the catchy '80s pop manufactured by The Family, to jazz, psych jams, country music or plain out-there musical experimentation, this second volume gets as weird, dark and mesmerizing as its predecessor, amazing. Featuring Zendik Farm Orgaztra, Church Universal and Triumphant, Gabriel of Sedona's Bright & Morning Star Choir, Otto Muehl, The Lyman Family, Lisa Kindred, Aun Shinrykio, Joe Pass, Dr Malachi Z. York, Unification Church, and Unarius.

As humankind strives to create artificial intelligence what will faith, love, or morality look like to a nascent consciousness? Will it be capable of understanding its creators who often hold logic and superstition within themselves? In return how will humans comprehend its hallucinations? And the Sun, a ball of hot plasma oblivious to our existence continually burns hydrogen until it runs out and swallows its three closest neighbors.