"On the cover: Phew. The Japanese punk survivor and intrepid vocalist/composer continues to build an impressive catalogue of collaborations, solo projects and band work in a career now spanning over 40 years. Japanese punk primer: A round-up of notable outliers of Japanese punk and post-punk; The Primer: Pauline Oliveros. A Deep Listening dive into the recordings (and cisterns) of the composer and accordionist who pioneered radical new ways of listening and living; Ione: The writer, playwright and director, and creative/life partner of Pauline Oliveros, continues their work to connect communities and listeners; Invisible Jukebox: Ava Mendoza. Will The Wire's mystery record selection shred the nerves of the virtuoso guitarist?; The Dream Syndicate: Since their 2012 reunion, the US psych trailblazers have let their freak flag fly across a run of trippy releases including new album Ultraviolet Battle Hymns & True Confessions; Unlimited Editions: Radio Art Zone; Unofficial Channels: Riddimguide; Black Glass Ensemble: Environmentalist chamber group follow the data; Deborah Walker & Silvia Tarozzi: Finest worksongs for the Italian cello and viola duo; Julmud: The Palestinian producer and rapper collages industrial sounds from across the Middle East; Floris Vanhoof: Transforming sound and vision is fair game for the Belgian artist and instrument builder; Global Ear: Moscow. The invasion of Ukraine has pushed the Russian counterculture into retreat; The Inner Sleeve: billy woods on Bigg Jus's Black Mamba Serums v2.0; Epiphanies: Gary Lucas is enchanted by Third Ear Band's trancelike medievalism."
From deep in the heart of Moomin valley, frozen in time for many midwinters passed, comes a genuine treasure chest of never heard Moomin melodies and instrumental comet songs composed for the continued animated adventures of the fuzzy-felt freak folk friends who disappeared from UK TV pastures in the mid-1980s. From the top of the Hobgoblin's Hat and the bottom of Snufkin's satchel, original Moomin's composer Graeme Miller (The Carrier Frequency) kindly shares this patchwork selection of spellbinding sound poems and percussive peons made using the very same selection of ocarinas, kalimbas, miniature squeak boxes, Wasp-y synths, cornflake box shakers and a seemingly endless array of talent and lo-fi home studio trickery. Regarded as one of the most enigmatic, beguiling and haunting imported children's programs to ever grace UK TV screens, The Moomins was one of the first-ever commissions by Anne Wood (The Teletubbies) who ingeniously replaced the original Polish/Austrian/Finnish soundtrack with homemade music experiments by unknown post-punk theater students Graeme Miller and Steve Shill (aka The Commies From Mars) who after the screening of two unforgettable series in 1983 and 1985 were left in eager anticipation of rescoring further Moomin adventures with new melodies, arrangements and sound designs which then lingered in the ether waiting until the Groke awoke and Snorkmaiden sang once more. With future felt adventures screened exclusively in Poland and Germany for many years (often as feature films) these unheard recordings are the only genuine musical sequel to the bizarre UK version of The Moomins and stand as important inclusions the Graeme Miller's own portfolio of theatrical theme music and sound installations as part of The Impact Theatre Cooperative including collaborations with artists and writers such as Russell Hoban. Witnessed in fragmented form during a short run of incredible rare live screenings at The Barbican Theatre and various film festival this record marks the first time this music has been heard in its original full-length form, free from sound effects, dialogue and whimpers of euphoric joy and nostalgia from those who have continued to crave the company of the Moomin trolls and their mysterious music over the last five decades.
Double LP version. Les Disques Bongo Joe present brand new sounds from the cutting-edge of the 21st century Istanbul underground by powerhouse Turkish trio Lalalar. Riding a wave of fierce energy and acclaim generated by their show-stopping festival performances at Le Guess Who and Trans Musicales, they now unleash their hotly-anticipated debut album, Bi Cinnete Bakar. The brainchild of three of Turkey's most active and innovative alternative artists -- Ali Güçlü Şimşek, Barlas Tan Özemek, and Kaan Düzarat -- the album is a thrilling mix of punk energy, dark electronics and Turkish instrumentation and samples. You can learn a lot from the names bands give themselves --and Lalalar is no exception. Principal songwriter, Ali Güçlü Şimşek, explains: "Lala is the wise man, the teacher of sultans in Ottoman history. And at the same time, in slang, the one who doesn't know what he is talking about." Make it plural by adding "lar," and you've got a moniker that might translate as "the wiseguys," delivered with a punkish sneer. That's the kind of streetwise, confrontational attitude that crackles through Lalalar's first, uncompromising full-length offering. For listeners whose knowledge of Turkish music extends only as far as '70s Anatolian rock, Lalalar might come as a surprise. Though Şimşek suggests that those psychedelic classics are "in the veins" of all three members, Lalalar are much more than just another retro outfit. Instead, they weave subtle samples of timeless Turkish folk music into their electronic stews. Listen to how "Abla Deme Lazim Olur" begins with a flash of Arabesque strings before hunkering into a lumbering industrial-funk groove. But for all their brooding mystery, Lalalar are anything but a bunch of shoe-gazing introverts. Over the last few years, they've forged a formidable reputation for their wildly ecstatic live performances. Just as the UK's '70s punk scene was fueled by youthful discontent with Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, Turkish youth living under President Erdoğan's rule are hungry for new sounds. All three members of Lalalar have been active on this scene for years but, although they've been friends since way back, they didn't start playing together till spring 2018. It was a long overdue meeting of minds, with a deep foundation of mutual respect. Şimşek and guitarist Barlas Tan Özemek first worked together in 2014 on the debut album of another doyen of the current Turkish scene, singer Gaye Su Akyol. For fans of: Scalping, Altin Gün, Yin Yin, Los Bitchos.
Trading Places present a reissue of Gilli Smyth's Mother, originally released in 1978. The London-born vocalist and former Sorbonne lecturer Gilli Smyth became known as the "space whisperer" for the poems she performed in Gong, formed in Paris in 1967 with her Australian-born partner, Daevid Allen of Soft Machine, with whom she also performed. Debut solo album Mother, released by French label Charly in 1978, featured her breathy suppositions on motherhood, the cosmic lifeforce, and the powers of Mother Earth, cut with fellow Gong members such as bassist Christian Trisch, saxophonist Didier Malherbe, drummer Pip Pyle, and Allen himself, as well as their children. A must for all Gong fans! Licensed by Cherry Red. 180 gram vinyl.
LP version. WRWTFWW Records and MEG Museum (Geneva) present the first new solo album by renowned Japanese percussionist Midori Takada in 23 years, Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter. Recorded in a live setting and played with instruments conserved in the collections of the MEG Museum, Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter is Midori Takada's very own rendition of "Nhemamusasa", a traditional work emblematic of the musical repertoire for mbira of the Shona of Zimbabwe, well known worldwide, thanks notably to its version by Paul F. Berliner included on the famed 1973 album The Soul of Mbira. The choice of this title by Midori Takada evokes the links between traditional African and contemporary music which are the foundation of this work, and it also translates the resolutely multicultural vision of the artist. Midori Takada explains: "African music is remarkable for its polyrhythms. Not only are there simultaneously several rhythmic motifs, sometimes as many as ten, but furthermore it may be that the part played by each musician has its own starting point and its own pace, all combining to form a cycle. All the cycles progress at the same time according to a single metrical structure which functions as a reference point, but which is not played by any one person from beginning to end. The structure emerges out of the multi-level parts, all different. With the Shona, the musical system is based on the polymelody: one performs simultaneously several melodic lines which are superimposed, each having its own rhythmic organization. It is truly captivating. In Western classical music, one four-beat rhythm induces some precise temporal framework and regular reference points, which come on the strong beats 1 and 3. But in the logic of the Shona musical system, and in other African music, the melody can begin in the very middle of the cycle and be continued up to some other place in an autonomous manner, as if it had its own personality. It's very rich." Includes in-depth liner notes that include an interview with Midori Takada, a point of view by Zimbabwean scholar, musician and activist Forward Mazuruse, and background information on the project by Isabel Garcia Gomez and Madeleine Leclair from MEG Museum. Artwork by celebrated Zimbabwean painter Portia Zvavahera.
LP version. WRWTFWW Records and MEG Museum (Geneva) announce a new full-length album by celebrated Japanese percussionist Midori Takada, in collaboration with Buddhist monks belonging to the Samgha group of the Shingon school of Koya-san, led by Reverend Syuukoh Ikawa. Recorded at The Premises Studio (London) and in Tokyo in 2019, You Who Are Leaving To Nirvana is a majestic work combining a suite of six Buddhist liturgical chants and a musical creation by Midori Takada. The Buddhist chants come from three types of repertoires: shomyo ("Teisan", "Unga-Bai", "Sange", "Taiyo"), but also goeika ("Kannon-Daiji") and mantra ("Hannya-Singyo"). After supervising the recording of the Buddhist chants, Midori Takada added her own compositions, with subtle layers of percussion and the melodies of her beloved marimba, giving full life to the sacred texts. Reverend Syuukoh Ikawa explains: "Shomyo is a form of declamation of sacred esoteric texts, inherited over many generations. The power of words goes far beyond their mere pronunciation. I think there is something that words alone cannot really convey. If I recite prayers in a musical way, the feeling transmitted will be even stronger than if I say it normally, in everyday language. I think that the musicality of a work carries a hidden power that cannot be expressed in words alone. The setting of the music has an additional power for you and for those around you who listen to it. The words of a song are not just words set to music. They carry an additional hidden power that cannot be expressed in any other way. Listening to Midori Takada's musical performance, the words truly seem to come alive." Original recordings of the Buddhist chants are held in the International Archives of Folk Music (IAFM) at the MEG Museum in Geneva. The album sleeve features an artwork by famed Japanese sculptor Katsura Funakoshi selected by Midori Takada. LP version comes on half speed mastered vinyl.
"Raymond Pettibon on the cover! And on the inside, in a wide-ranging and sweet interview by Adam Woodhead, Pettibon walks us through his entire career, and even makes economics sound interesting. Columns: Lucy Sante (their first autobiographical writing for us, touching and brilliant); Mimi Lipson with a tear-jerker of an advice column; The forgotten hip-hop column is on the enigmatic Son of Bazerk!; A look at forgotten early Hawaiian music in the reissue column; We go into detail about why the mysterious Seymour Glass from Bananafish matters so much; We revisit the roadside America column with a dinosaur theme because why not; There's a terrific first-person account of growing up in DC right when Fugazi hit and why that band was such a crucial signpost for misfits of all stripes at the time. Also featuring: Cheri Knight: The great Seattle-based scribe Dave Segal goes deep on this neglected experimental pop musician from Olympia in the '80s; David Nance: Editor Mike McGonigal is fascinated by the way Nance manages to mix up tributes, and collaborations, with such strong solo material; Amy Ruhl: The cinematic visual artist is explored in depth by Chelsea Wolfe; John Brannon: the most epic and excellent career spanning photo packed feature by photographer Doug Coombe; Melvins photo tour diary, entirely by Buzz Osbourne, photos and words; Lidia Yuknavitch: Alex Behr turned in a brilliant interview with the cult writer; Kan Mikami: The Japanese outsider blues-folk musician and actor is interviewed by the LA-based saxophone player and composer Patrick Shiroishi; The Willies: And here we have thanks to Tyler Wilcox the most Maggot Brain type article, a big in-depth, lyrical feature on the Feelies ambient offshoot who have never been written on in-depth; Sarah Elizabeth Schantz: We have some brilliant and timely fiction that deals with gun violence by this great writer."
Trading Places present a reissue of Beau's Creation, originally released in 1971. Leeds-born folk-rocker John Trevor Midgely, alias Beau, was celebrated for deft twelve-string guitar, a poignant voice and distinctive song-writing, which brought him onto John Peel's Dandelion label. Second LP Creation was recorded over three days and features more of Beau's beautiful twelve-string work and mournful vocals, this time with accompaniment from Steve Clayton and Jim Milne of The Way We Live (later known as Tractor), mostly subtle, but rocking in places, as heard on "The Silence Returns"; this edition comes with rare bonus track, the contemplative "Sky Dance", from a 1972 Dandelion compilation LP. Licensed by Cherry Red.
Recorded in Berlin and remotely between 2020 and 2021, The Brian Jonestown Massacre returns with their 19th full-length studio album. Fire Doesn't Grow On Trees is the beginning of a thrilling new phase for Anton Newcombe and his band. Joining him in the studio and remotely for this album were Ricky Maymi (guitars), Ryan Carlson Van Kriedt (keyboards), Hakon Adalsteinsson (guitar), Hallberg Daði Hallbergsson (bass), and Uri Rennert (drums). Originally, Newcombe was heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones' psychedelic phase -- the name comes from Stones guitarist Brian Jones combined with a reference to cult leader Jim Jones. But his work in the 2000s has expanded into aesthetic dimensions approximating the UK shoegaze genre of the 1990s and incorporating influences from world music, especially Middle Eastern and Brazilian music.
Princess Diana of Wales, by London-based Australian Laila Sakini, is A Colourful Storm's latest and most curious project. Someone, no one, a notion, a feeling... Sakini offers clues but no simple answers. Vocal-led pieces "Still Beach" and "Fragments of Blue" are brittle and intoxicating, contemplating recklessness and unfulfillment of a past life: "Watching the future wash away/ Giving it up to have this day". She studies closeness and, incredulous of the feelings that emerge, wonders if detachment is impermanent. She catalogs these emotions as a series of memories, colors, and images. "Evaporate", sedated and hushed, is a secret confession and ode to resolution, albeit, fatally, only a temporary one: "Take some form/ Later on when I can do this/ When we can do this/ Together". Behind the album is a stage of dubwise disorientations evoking in-between states of the everyday. "Swing" and "Closer" are woozy and dreamlike, their voices summoning ghosts of fortunes past while "Exhaust" finds an aperture in our protagonist's daydream. A perilous foreshadowing of the incantatory "Choir Chant", whose spell pacifies her inquisition, submerging both self and feeling into the deep blue sea. RIYL: Grouper, Kali Malone, Drew McDowall. Full-color sleeve with insert.
"The trance blues stylings of Otha Turner and his Rising Star Fife And Drum Band should be a music classification unto itself, a whole new primitive take on drum and bass. This music is the oldest still-practiced post-colonial American music, and Turner was one of its greatest artists of the 20th century. Blowing the cane fife with a band of drummers as back up, The Rising Star Fife And Drum band was legendary in the hills of Tate County, Mississippi, where they would perform during the yearly goat picnics on Turner's farm. These tracks were recorded by Luther Dickinson during such picnics and released when Turner was ninety years old. Everybody Hollerin' Goat shows firsthand the hypnotic and rhythmic style of fife and drum music at its best -- raw and beautiful. It is every bit as essential a document of America's folk-music heritage as anything Harry Smith or Alan Lomax ever offered up for posterity. Turner's band included some of his children and grandchildren that have gone on to continue the fife and drum tradition since his death in 2003. This first ever vinyl release of Everybody Hollerin' Goat contains a whole side of unreleased recordings from one night of the picnic and is intended to bring the experience of hollerin' for goat in Senatobia, Mississippi to the living room. Dancing around the plants is recommended (but don't eat the pickled eggs). The entire album is remastered by legend Gary Hobish." "One of the top five blues LPs from the 90s." --David Fricke, Rolling Stone
LP version. Includes eight-page booklet and download code. Wouldn't it do them justice to rid Les Calamités (literally "the calamities") of the embarrassing phrase "girl band", durably stuck to their skins and plaited skirts? It's nothing but a pink puffy cloud obscuring their true importance as a "band" full stop, as well as their fleeting though mind-bending trajectory. In just a few months going on stage with a handful of original songs recorded here and there, they became, from Dijon to Rouen, Paris to Toulouse, Bordeaux to Strasbourg, the darlings of an uncompromising rockers' demanding scene. Tolerated by some, maybe, they were also consecrated, certainly (should they have needed the accolade). The trade-off was a succession of quick and distinctive verse-choruses for which the adjectives "fresh" and "light" seemed to have been invented again. They delivered just as many covers, which gave an idea of the origins of their songwriting: one foot in the fifties (on the dancefloor), the other in the sixties (in the garage). All of this leading to their final hit, a successful incursion in the top sales with a popular song for everyone to hum at ease, from seaside campsites to the cool kids of the capital. Everything the Calamités touched, with their classy, rigorous, casual ways -- plus just enough amused detachment -- turned into gold. Small-scale, three-voice anthems sung with a style given both by arrogant innocence and cheeky ease. Without playing the cards naturally assigned to girls (sexy attitude, feminist clichés, dilettante groupism) they managed to combine a pop teen spirit with a shameless rock n' roll energy. The Calamités were however and at once, one step behind -- some kind of '50s-60s classicism -- and one ahead thanks to their writing talent and French lyrics. They lived in Beaune, Burgundy, and do so mostly uneventfully. It's the early '80s. One thing leading to another, with a repertoire made up of just as many covers as personal compositions, they find a drummer after trying many, fire up local, then national venues, befriend the Dogs and other rock n' roll bands and recorded an album, À bride abattue, for the label New Rose. Coveted by fanzines, then approached by the magazines Best and Rock & Folk, they also appear on regional then national television, from Les Enfants du Rock all the way to Platine 45 with Jacky. When all the doors seem wide open, they choose to focus on the end of their studies instead. Caroline definitely moves on, while Odile and Isabelle push things just a bit further and treat themselves to a hit that easily makes its way into the Top 50: the famous "Vélomoteur", fan-produced by Daniel Chenevez -- one-half of the successful duo Niagara and a savvy producer.
At the vanguard of Greek electronic music, Anatolian Weapons, an alias of Aggelos Baltas, has garnered praise from the likes of Lena Willikens and RA. This is a deliberately dancefloor-oriented release, with a host of long, acid-laced tracks, and some surprises. The titles offer a subtle nod to a recently passed DJ and polymath, and the remixes give a fresh feel to Aggelos's tracks, with Serbian selector AASKA and Coma World on duty. The remixes give a fresh feel to Aggelos's tracks, with AASKA breathing downtempo energy into "Only Harmony Seeds", and Byrd Out associates Coma World (Betamax and Pete Bennie) imbuing "Other Paths" with a dreamlike spirit driven by Betamax's treacle-like drumming. For fans of: Andrew Weatherall, DMX Krew, Sordid Sound System, James Shinra.
"Well before Shuggie Otis cut his debut album, musicianship and performance had long been a part of his life. The son of rhythm and blues legend Johnny Otis, Shuggie learned to play guitar as early as the age of two, and performed professionally with his father's band at eleven. Throughout his long and illustrious career he'd performed on records for the likes of Frank Zappa, Al Kooper, Etta James, and George Duke, to name a few. In spite of all this, widespread mainstream success eluded Shuggie for much of his career. His most famous release to date is his 1974 album Inspiration/Information, which would experience new resurgent life in the 2000s. Those willing to dig a little deeper however, would discover hidden gold in his earlier releases, especially in the album directly before Inspiration/Information, his sophomore 1971 release Freedom Flight. As with his debut, Freedom Flight was produced by Shuggie's father Johnny Otis, and built upon the distinct sounds of his debut album: lush, baroque, string section arrangements, paired with hard funk rhythms, and funky blues melodies, with the majority of the instruments once again performed by Shuggie himself. The album also features backing from premium session greats like George Duke and Aynsley Dunbar, and the track 'Strawberry Letter 23' which became a monster hit for The Brothers Johnson three years later. Freedom Flight is a treasure of deft, technical skill, and virtuosic composition."
"20,000 Days On Earth is an inventive, lyrical ode to creativity and an intimate examination of the artistic process of musician and cultural icon Nick Cave. In their debut feature directors Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard fuse drama and documentary, weaving a staged day in Cave's life with never-before-seen verité observation of his creative cycle."
Melancholic energy blast from Gran Canaria's cult trio, MINIATURa, helmed by Eduardo Briganty. Formed in Las Palmas in 2007 and with three records under their belt, Music Box (2007), La Huida Concéntrica (2012), and Estrategias de Perdición (2015), the trio now unleashes its fourth album with a distillation of Briganty's musical and artistic references, coming like a cross of concept album and an unintentional imaginary soundtrack to a David Lynch flick -- an island version of a depressed or irate David Lynch. Featuring deep rock workouts to somnambulant ballads, Geometría Prohibida presents itself like a statement from the band, a crystallization of the bands intentions with a concise and precise 26 minutes of masterfully produced music showcasing the kind of restrain you'd expect from past giants like Joy Division, Neu!, or Scott Walker. The hallmarks of krautrock and shoegazing/dream pop haunt this record like a benevolent force, another unique reference of music made through an insular lens of remoteness that Keroxen drives to showcase to the world. More unobvious island music to the outer world.
LP version. "Jacob Long's third Earthen Sea outing for Kranky, Ghost Poems, further refines his fragile, fractured palette into fluttering arrythmias of dust, percussion, and yearning. Composed during the first wave of lockdowns in New York, the pieces took shape patiently from samples of piano, texture, and domestic sounds (sink splashing, room tone, clinking objects), filtered through live FX to imbue them with an intuitive, immaterial feel. Wisps of melody splinter, shimmer, and refract, like light on water; pulses accrue and dissipate, as if mapping shifting sands. Throughout, there's a sense of matter made animate, of absences felt. Long cites notions of 'the studio as a dub instrument' and the melancholy of '7th chords on a fake Rhodes patch' as central elements in his process, transforming raw materials into rare thresholds of symbiosis and hypnosis. This is music for night skies in hollowed-out cities, for views across rivers towards unknown shores: restless, placeless, and profound."
GOLDIE
Timeless (25 Year Anniversary Edition) (Black Vinyl) 3LP
Black vinyl. 25 Year Anniversary Edition of Goldie's Timeless, originally released in 1995, remastered and expanded with rarities and new remixes, featuring Grooverider, 4 Hero, and [re:jazz]. Goldie's groundbreaking album Timeless turns 25, and to celebrate Clifford Joseph Price, the pioneering producer and DJ announces a reissue with London Records. A complex debut album, Timeless founded a new chapter in the history of the electronic genre originally reaching no. 7 in the charts and since been celebrated for its unique blend of sublime strings, beautiful atmospheres, and sophisticated vocals. Inarguably an ambitious blueprint at the time; Goldie's production in 1995 fashioned the edgy rhythms and bass of jungle into a newly futuristic model, now globally admired as drum & bass. Features rarities and remixes unearthed from Goldie's personal archive. New liner notes by Tim Barr.
The new Cristian Vogel album 1Zhuayo sounds as if non-musicology and ultra-blackness is not an end or a destination to be arrived at, but as if it is the point of departure, much like tomorrow relates to the day after tomorrow. As if we have left the space of certainties and are moving instead into one of manifold possibilities. They are anticipated in the micro-structures of sound, which is the process of playing with and against the software. Beyond genre delimitation and fragmentation, it is non-music in the post, without itself immediately becoming a cliché, like deconstructed club music or hyper pop. Without being superficially conceptual, the musical material alone succeeds in creating a different, coherent, sonically possible world.
Part of The Optic Sevens 4.0 reissue series. The Monochrome Set were something of the unsung heroes of the post-punk world; they fitted into absolutely no category whatsoever and their puckish take on spaghetti western soundtracks meets lounge jazz via the twisted lyrical imagery of vocalist Bid was as singular as it was unique. Comprising a couple of ex-Ants in Andy Warren and Lester Square, with singer/guitarist Bid and drummer JD Haney, their filmic, playful material found favor with many, including John Peel although they failed to match this with commercial success. "The Jet Set Junta" was originally released on Cherry Red in 1983 with its urgent, ringing guitars surrounding Bid's lyrics telling of dodgy arms dealings and armored limos as Lester Square's Ennio Morricone twang bends and reverb as a counterpoint. Red vinyl; includes postcard and poster.
LP version. JB Dunckel, half of electronic iconic French band Air, releases a new solo album. Carbon, JB Dunckel's first album in four years, considers the recent uncertainties that have befallen the planet and explores diffuse visions of how a better future might look. There are meditations on existential bliss (the airy, chiming "Cristal Mind") and egotistical escapist fantasies ("Sex UFO", which can't help but recall Jeff Bezos phallic rocket). Yet Carbon also considers the subversive pleasures of nihilism: reveling in man's insignificance compared to the cosmos (the languid "Space") and wondering whether big tech might save us yet (the triumphalist "Corporate Sunset"). The album is a psychological test that reveals the listener's own outlook, says Dunckel -- an artist who taught pop fans how to dream more than 20 years ago as half of the trailblazing cosmic pop duo Air. Since then, he's become a lauded, César-nominated composer for films such as François Ozon's film Summer of 85 (2020). With Carbon, the accompanying images are entirely of the listener's creation: "I want them to feel ready to travel in space," he says. "Space" features Heather d'Angelo.
Bristol based band Cousin Kula announce their debut album, Double Dinners. With co-signs from the likes of BADBADNOTGOOD and newly signed to Rhythm Section, Cousin Kula have created their own musical universe of otherworldly pop serenity with vastly distinct, but complementary elements: "the possibilities of jazz, the emphatic energy of club culture, and the sonic tapestries of psychedelia" CLASH Magazine remark. Living and recording together, nestled in the sun-drenched hills on the outskirts of Bristol, Cousin Kula are masters of their craft, and also of restraint; widely regarded by their fans for their superior live show. Having performed live in various bands for the past ten years since their early teens, not being able to hit the stage during lockdown took its toll on these musicians. Ever resourceful, however, Cousin Kula began a series of their own home-made live sessions, which lead in turn to a Boiler Room Session and further a request from XL signees BADBADNOTGOOD to record a live adaptation of their new single. Now, Cousin Kula flutter into the collective consciousness with a timeless slice of psychedelic soul on debut album Double Dinners. The latest band to emerge out of the buoyant Bristol music scene, they have stripped back all excess baggage for their most accomplished recordings to date. Existing on a similar plane to contemporaries such as Connan Mockasin, Mildlife, Toro Y Moi, Mac DeMarco, and HOMESHAKE, the band caught the attention of renowned tastemaker Bradley Zero with their Casa Kula Cassette EP at the end of 2020, with the Rhythm Section founder swiftly taking the five-piece under his wing, with him commenting: "The band balance an outsider approach with more hooks than you can shake a stick at... the result being a gently beguiling sound that effortlessly draws you in, revealing more character with each listen." For fans of: Connan Mockasin, Mildlife, Toro Y Moi, Mac Demarco, HOMESHAKE, BADBADNOTGOOD.
The South-London based musician Tone announces his debut album So I Can See You, due for release via Rhythm Section. With a mixtape already under his belt, one that he says was thrown together on a whim; this new body of work was created during the pregnancy and subsequent birth of his daughter. Tone, real name Basil Anthony Harewood, was compelled to capture this significant moment, recording mostly at night, with his new life and old life in mind. The album is less a departure of who he was but an embrace of the future and the new life that arrives with beginning a family. Across the 11 tracks, you hear tender guitar riffs and off-beat R&B elements press up against influences of dub and shoegaze leaving you with a woozy afterglow. Tone's distinctive vocals are complemented by the familiar voices of Coby Sey on "So I Can See You", Fran Lobo on "From the North" and Roxanne Tataei on "Make It Drop". Having both Afro-Caribbean and Welsh heritage has informed the ways in which he sees things and the music he has been magnetized to, especially growing up in both a tiny village in the north of England in East Yorkshire as well as further afield in Europe. Time spent in St Kitts and Nevis as a child opened his eyes and ears to calypso, reggae and dub and while back home in the UK, he fell in love with ska, punk and skinhead culture none of which he ever outgrew and to this day still informs his music practice. Each track was recorded on a Tascam 38 tape machine in the studio he set up with Mica Levi and Coby Sey in Hither Green with the drums, played by Marc Pell (Good Bad Happy Sad) were recorded at Andy Ramsey's studio (Stereolab). Alongside, Levi and Sey, Tone is a CURL collective member and was half of the short-lived punk-duo, Farai. For fans of: Mica Levi, Tirzah, Coby Sey, Smerz, Blood Orange, Dean Blunt, Erika De Casier, Farai, L'rain, Joviale. LP versions on black vinyl (RS 050LP) and transparent violet vinyl (RS 050C-LP).
Saltern's latest offering marks the first-ever release of "lost minimalist" Terry Jennings' visionary 1960 composition, Piece for Cello and Saxophone, as arranged in just intonation by legendary composer La Monte Young for renowned cellist Charles Curtis. Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Jennings was a close associate of Young, Terry Riley, and Dennis Johnson, and an early adopter of minimalist tendencies, creating slow, sustained music, influenced by jazz, modalism, and late romantic classical music. Jennings died tragically in his early forties, most of his work lost to a chaotic life; however, his forward-looking music quietly exerted a lasting influence on composers including Young and Harold Budd. Composed over sixty years ago, Piece for Cello and Saxophone, foreshadows a number of movements in postwar avant-garde music. Despite the title, there is no saxophone on this album. At over eighty minutes, La Monte Young's justly tuned realization of Piece for Cello and Saxophone for cello alone unifies and extrapolates Terry Jennings' dense harmonies, creating an extended field of complex sonorities in motion, all brought to life by the immaculate playing of Charles Curtis. The recording captures Curtis in a performance from 2016 reflecting more than twenty-five years of dedication to the piece. Piece for Cello and Saxophone is released physically on double-LP. Mixed by Anthony Burr, mastered by Stephan Mathieu, and cut to vinyl via direct metal mastering by Hans Jörg Maucksch at Pauler Acoustics. Pressed at RTI and printed at Stoughton. Includes a four-page insert with liner notes by Young, Curtis, Burr, and Tashi Wada, and a download of the full recording.
Following his trio debut Triptych in 2021 (SQM 012CD/LP), trumpeter Matthias Lindermayr presents his duo record Sequence with long-time companion and ECM recording artist Matthieu Bordenave on tenor saxophone. In contrast to its technical title, Sequence is a very lyrical record, sacral at times. Like two figure skaters, the voices gracefully glide along and whirl around in perfect synch, always sensing where the other one is going. A fitting comparison also, as the recording session was equally exhausting, due to the level of concentration required to perform this music. The minimalist line-up and the hyper-focused playing gives the album both a breath-like purity and solemn depth.
2022 repress. Turbo Recordings present its grandest achievement yet, a reimagining of Plastikman's 1998 magnum opus Consumed, transformed as a new collaborative composition between original artist Richie Hawtin and musical genius Chilly Gonzales. This is an album three decades in the making, brought into the world by executive producer Tiga. A masterpiece of restraint, depth, and music as architectural vision, Consumed was profoundly influential, defining the soon-to-emerge minimal movement. Shortly after its 20th anniversary, Chilly Gonzales was inspired to compose accompanying piano pieces (counterparts) for each of the tracks and shared them with Tiga, who became the conduit between both artists and led the project to fruition on his label. Hawtin mixed the new combined work, allowing each artist their own space within the project, more of a sonic conversation between them than a conventional collaboration. The artwork is a reinterpretation of the original album's, flipped to black-and-white and with the cutout size transposed to the dimensions of a piano key, the die-cut in the white outer sleeve revealing a shiny black foil stamp on the black inner sleeves. Vinyl and packaging were made using recycled materials.
Prime Sequences is the latest album by DJ and electronic music producer GummiHz, real name Alexander Tsotsos. Alex has an ear for what he describes as elastic frequencies, thus gummi-hertz! In other words, low bass lines, airy synth phrases, and shuffle rhythms, playfully arranged within loose forms. A philosophy that comes across throughout this long player. Elements fall in and out of order, time swings back and forth, all together in perfect harmony. Pushing the boundaries of what has become his signature sound, a fusion of house and techno all the way from Berlin to Detroit. This package features underground music coming straight from the heart, or the Hertz more appropriately. The story unfolds within no less than nine tracks showcasing Alex's versatility in making waves. The opening track titled "Berlinopolis" is a sonic portrait of the city of Berlin, where Alex lives since more than a decade. A smooth soundscape produced by combining abstract melodies with field recordings of the city's ambience. "Second Wave" follows airy jazz chords and drum parts to launch the listener into trajectory. The title track "Prime Sequence" is a Detroit brewed piece with some Berlin minimalism rawness in the rhythm section. Next up comes "Submerge", a tight and hypnotic affair carrying the right amount of subtle release. "Prime Dub" dives deeper into the frequency spectrum. "Proto Sequence" follows a simple still infectious groove laced with various modulations. Inspired by proto-house motifs pioneered by artists like Chi-town's Ron Hardy. "Metafunk" reaches out to Berlin's club culture at its core. "Mindloop" is a track written for the afterhours looping state of mind. Another minimal house cut with a fair dose of psychedelic sound design. Lastly, "Descension" relaxes the mood through deep pulsating rhythms and playful arpeggios. Prime Sequences covers a wide range of styles like ambient electronics, peak time house, and techno, as well as seriously effed-up afterhours minimalism. Made for both DJs and music lovers, this is the second long player by GummiHz to come out on vinyl after his debut album Sleepless Nights back in 2009.
VA
United Dreadlocks Volumes 1 & 2 2CD
"Joe Gibbs Roots Reggae 1976-1977. CD debut of two of the finest roots albums of the late '70s includes many tracks new to CD. Features many of the biggest reggae hits of the roots era."
Swedish duo Thunder Tillman come together again in healing harmony to produce a much-needed LP for troubled times. Thunder and his life coach Pony bring their spirits in sync for 40 minutes of improvised soundtracks for mental and physical wellbeing. Recorded on Stockholm's Wind Island, the pair have carefully selected specimens from their collection of vintage musical paraphernalia to channel these specific vibrations for maximum healing power. Side one is a gentle wake up call for the soul, with pipes and chimes that gently give way to mind-expanding synths and feedback echoes that sound like sun glistening off a mountain river. Those sounds lead into an electric piano and life affirming synth figure, before disintegrating into santoor strings and chants with a slight Indian flavor. It's a cosmic combination that invites relaxation and meditation, and the kind of deep breathing exercises that could turn back the clock on a host of bodily ailments. An electric piano comes back to the foreground with a bass and synth combination that drives forward with healing hands, before parting the frequencies for ear-tickling pads and voices. Rounding out the side is a chiming synth and santoor figure that brings the wandering spirit home and to rest. Side two starts up with "Cosmic Osmosis" -- a motorik drum machine beat and bass line that briefly brings to mind some of their more krautrock inspired modes across their three previous EPs, but soon collapses back into visceral synth twinkles and relaxing washes of analog tones. It's a dynamic that drives the whole record, sounds that excite the soul perhaps even the body on an atomic level, before bringing that energy down to a calming, relaxing home. There's a craftsmanship to their synthesized tones that goes beyond mere artistry, and the interplay between sounds and frequencies is especially inspired, to the point where the music practically sparkles out of the speakers. Side two closes out with harmonic chimes that could put you on a Himalayan Mountain side, and succeeds in raising the spirit, mind and body to higher plains of cosmic consciousness. The Aural Healing Program is accompanied by a 40-minute Visual Healing Program that will be unveiled in conjunction with the vinyl release. The first visual healing session featuring side B opener "Cosmic Osmosis", is already available for all to partake. Relax, let go, and let the frequencies guide you. Inlay insert included.
"Dagobah is the first LP (following a couple of cassettes and a CD) by Kool Music, the solo guitar project helmed by Glasgow-based polymath, Jasper Baydala. Jasper has previously had some exposure on the label, when his image appeared on the cover of Joanne Robertson's Black Moon Days LP (FTR 179LP, 2015). At that point we knew of Jasper as a video artist and writer, but Joanne assured us he was an excellent musician as well. And so began the road to Dagobah. The soubriquet Kool Music has a bit of a hip-hop heft to it, but the 14 tracks here present a very different picture. Jasper has said that when he first hoisted the Kool Music flag, in Canada back in 2010, its sound was something of a cross between country music and Asian string traditions. Easy aural evidence of those roots has vanished over the past dozen years. The music on Dagobah has certain tonal similarities to the UK free music tradition, but the pieces display a humanity and sense of humor that (rightly or wrongly) we don't always associate with that scene. Each of the tracks is a solo electric guitar instrumental, usually taken at a slow pace with carefully built layers of sound that often overlap and decay before Kool Music moves on to the next trope. This gives the music a meditative quality, but the mildly casual dissonances make it tough for listeners to just float along on the sound. In that sense, Kool Music demands your attention. Although generally in the politest way imaginable. Every time I spin Dagobah I hear a bunch of new details. And they're really engaging. As is this whole damn album. And if you let yourself sink into its web, I do believe you will feel just the same. Now that's Kool Music." --Byron Coley, 2022
2022 restock, 2nd edition. "Black Unity Trio - Al Fatihah quite possibly was the first independently released free jazz record ever. Originating in Oberlin, Ohio as the Black Unity Quartet, and ultimately becoming the Trio (Abdul Wadud, Yusuf Mumin, and Hasan Al Hut), the group recorded Al Fatihah in December 24, 1968 at Agency Recording Studio (which was located upstairs in the building housing the legendary Agora Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio). The album ultimately was released in May 1969 in an edition of 500 copies. The album has been legendary among collectors, producers, and DJs in the past several decades, and has been sampled numerous times on other releases. Much mystery surrounded the origins of the album, as well as the status of the musicians, until 2020 when The Wire published an interview with Hasan. Many underground jazz purists know about the intense, though relatively short-lived hotbed of avant-garde jazz in Cleveland, Ohio during the mid-to-late 1960s. Clubs such as Leo's Casino, Jazz Temple, The Doan Club, Le Cave and a few private clubs saw many young avant-garde jazz acts during this time period. I first learned of Black Unity Trio when seeking out tapes of Albert Ayler playing at Le Cave. From that point forward, I had a mission to seek out the members and see if they would be interested in making a vinyl reissue of Al Fatihah. Most of my efforts ran into dead ends, and it did not take very long to learn that the members, perhaps, were content with letting the record fall into the annals of crate digging history. Then in 2019, I received a phone call from someone referring to himself as 'Ron'; who wanted to bring some tapes by the pressing plant. Whenever I get a call on the subject of tapes, my first question is 'how old are the tapes?'. The caller replied 'late 1960's''. Of course, this perked my interest even more, so I asked what sort of material was on the tapes, to which he replied 'Oh, spiritual jazz''. 'Really?'; I replied, even more interested than ever - particularly since the caller id showed a 216 area code phone number. Then he proceeded to say 'it's called the Black Unity Trio''. I about dropped the phone; 'Are you serious, I have been trying to get a hold of you guys for a year!' I replied. Ron (Abdul) was surprised by that statement. But, it led to months of additional conversations with both he and Yusuf about how to get the record back into the world, and eventually I was introduced to Hasan as well. After many phone conferences, we were able to come to an agreement to reissue this seminal free jazz record via Gotta Groove Records' OHWax series. Yusuf personally brought the original 1968 master tapes to Cleveland in early 2020, and we have been working on the audio restoration and package details ever since. We have spared no expense in making this reissue. Our friend Grammy-Award recipient Paul Blakemore's restoration and remastering work cleaned random ticks from the original source, as well as greatly improved the balance to bring out some of the instrument subtleties which were barely, if at all audible, in the original pressing. We also used Gotta Groove's proprietary GrooveCoated stamper plating technology -- This involves an additional electroforming step in the creation of the metal stampers used to press the grooves into the records. GrooveCoated stampers have a lubricious surface which helps high frequencies in particular to be held more intact during the course of manufacturing, verses traditional stampers. This is a record I am truly proud and excited to be working on, and I look forward to a new generation of vinyl listeners to have access to it." --Matt Earley, Executive Producer. The musicians of Black Unity Trio are paid at least 70% of the profits from this release by Gotta Groove Records, Inc.
LP version. "Tremblers And Goggles By Rank marks a new phase in Robert Pollard's songwriting evolution. His songs have always included non-traditional approaches to form and song structure, but with this album, he has pushed it further than ever. While the familiar Guided By Voices pop-craft and melodic virtuosity always occupies center stage, the first-time listener will never be able to predict what's coming next in a song. 'Alex Bell' and 'Focus On The Flock' are the two anchors, each one expansive and filled with rock grandeur, and both exemplifying the complex wordplay, melodies, and structures that are hallmarks of the album. GBV's latest batch of brilliant songs ride on colorful psychedelic flourishes and brash post-punk textures that make this ten-song album a one-of-a-kind head trip. While there are hooks and earworms aplenty within, this album is a complex and kaleidoscopic journey, representing a new echelon in the Guided By Voices universe. It represents another level of songwriting and performance from the group. It plays out like an intricate and powerful collage, in a very multicolored and multi-faceted fashion; a work grand in scale and undertaking. There are triumphant and glorious choruses, deep and dark wormholes, sinewy twists and turns, bold and theatrical bravados, massive cliffs, plateaus, peaks, and valleys -- these emotional landscapes reach new and unexpected heights along the way."
"In The Red is proud to announce the 12-inch vinyl release of six songs from The Linda Lindas' early recording sessions on beautiful color vinyl variants that were specifically picked by each member of the band. The group released the tracks digitally a year ago and have since become instant sensations when their song 'Racist, Sexist Boy' went viral -- now everyone knows how awesome they are. In The Red were already huge fans of the band and are thrilled to be giving these songs the vinyl treatment. This release will be priming the pump for their debut album which will be out later in 2022 on Epitaph." "I first had my mind blown by The Linda Lindas at a Save The Music in Chinatown Event. The series of concerts was meant to raise funds for the music program at Castelar Elementary School in Chinatown. At that point, the girls played covers of popular punk songs and traded instruments. They played with skill, joy and zero pretense. The children in the audience danced and chased each other around to the music. As I recall, the old timers in the audience included OG members of the Adolescents, the Dils, the Zeros, the Alley Cats, Nervous Gender, and of course the Bags. We were all smiling from ear to ear during the entire set, recognizing that punk spirit of fearlessness and an eagerness to take on the world." --Alice Bag
LP version. "'60s Brit band The Troggs are garage music forefathers and are cited as influences on numerous alternative and punk bands such as The MC5, R.E.M., The Buzzcocks, The Fleshtones and countless others. Their classic rock hit 'Wild Thing' is an international classic covered numerously from Jimi Hendrix, X, Fancy, and Siouxsie & The Creatures. Other songs are revered and often covered including 'Love Is All Around', 'With A Girl Like You' and 'I Can't Control Myself'. The band recorded four studio albums in the '60s before a hiatus in the early '70s. They recorded two albums in the mid-part of the decade with The Troggs Tapes (not be confused with the legendary spoken word tapes) in 1976. This 12-track album has a '70s glam-punk sound with raucous tracks like 'Supergirl' and 'Down South to Georgia' along with cover versions of Rufus Thomas's 'Walkin' the Dog' and Brendon Dunning's 'Rock and Roll Little Lady'."
"The Lost Daughter is a critically acclaimed 2021 psychological drama film written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal in her feature directorial debut, based on the 2006 same-titled novel by Elena Ferrante. The film stars Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Dagmara Domińczyk, Jack Farthing, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, with Peter Sarsgaard, and Ed Harris. Colman also serves as an executive producer on the film. The film follows Leda (Colman) who is on a solo-vacation at the seaside and becomes consumed with a young mother and daughter as she watches them on the beach. When a small, seemingly meaningless event occurs, Leda is overwhelmed by memories of the difficult, unconventional choices she made as a mother and their consequences for herself and her family. The seemingly serene tale of a woman's pleasant rediscovery of herself soon becomes the story of a ferocious confrontation with an unsettled past. The Lost Daughter premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where Gyllenhaal won the Golden Osella Award for Best Screenplay. At its opening night world premiere, the movie received a four-minute standing ovation from Venice Film Festival attendees. The film also received three nominations at the 94th Academy Awards for Best Actress (Colman), Best Supporting Actress (Buckley), and Best Adapted Screenplay. The score is composed by Dickon Hinchliffe, founding member of Tindersticks. Dickon's unique style of composition and arrangements developed from his classical study of the violin and song writing and recording in bands. The Lost Daughter is available as a limited 'Peal it like a snake, don't let it break' edition of 750 individually numbered copies on orange marbled vinyl. The LP features alternative artwork designed by Yelena Yemchuk, a Ukranian professional photographer, painter and film director, best known for her work with The Smashing Pumpkins. The vinyl package includes an inset with pictures and liner notes by both Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dickon Hinchliffe."
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Il Ne Pense Qu'a Ca 1967-1970 LP
Double Dinners (Yellow Vinyl) LP
So I Can See You (Transparent Violet Vinyl) LP
Themes: Lounge (Mediterranean Blue Vinyl) 2LP
Back In Mono (B-sides & Outtakes) CD
Back In Mono (B-sides & Outtakes) LP
Curse Of The Easily Amused CD
Big In Japan: Live In Tokyo 2010 3CD
Out Of The Blue (Blu-ray) 2xBLU-RAY
Princess Diana of Wales LP
Catena (Jordan GCZ & Donato Dozzy Remix EP) 12"
Everybody Hollerin' Goat 2LP
Dissidaence (Episode 2) LP
Rain EP (Incl. SYO Remix) 12"
United Dreadlocks Volumes 1 & 2 2CD
Ska La-Rama: Treasure Isle Ska 1965-1966 2CD
Aural Healing Program For Peace And Longevity LP
Nick Cave - 20,000 Days On Earth DVD
Nick Cave - 20,000 Days On Earth (Blu-ray) BLU-RAY
Tremblers And Goggles By Rank CD
Tremblers And Goggles By Rank LP
Keep On Swindling Pt. 1 12"
Timeless (25 Year Anniversary Edition) (Black Vinyl) 3LP
Maggot Brain #9 (Jun/Jul/Aug 2022) MAG
Themes: Western (Red & Silver Marbled Vinyl) 2LP
Themes: Psycho (Black Clouds Vinyl) 2LP
Themes: Giallo (Bloody & Black Vinyl) 2LP
Would It Sound Just As Bad, If You Played It Backwards, Vol. 1 2LP
What Came First An Why Does It Matter 12"
Sennor Pescador/Travel Miles (Paradise Lost Mix) 12"
Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter LP
You Who Are Leaving To Nirvana LP
The Real (White Vinyl) 10"
Music of Northern Laos LP
Live in Stockholm January 9, 1969 Late Show - FM Broadcast LP
Passing Cars In The Rain CD
Harmonica Blues: Great Harmonica Performances Of The 1920s And '30s LP
Sweeter As The Years Go By LP
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