This week's update contains releases by:
A-Bones * Aerosol * Ahleuchatistas * Anne Laplantine *
Anthony Coleman * Antony & The Johnsons * Ard Bit * Area C *
Beat Circus * Ben Nash & Sophie Cooper * Blind Man's Colour *
By Night With Spear * Celer * Circle of Ouroborus * Computer
Perfection * Destroy All Monsters * Digital Primitives * Down
Review * Ergo * Fauz't * Felix * Fell * Forest
Creature * Fresh & Onlys, The * Gary Higgins * Goliath *
Green Blossoms * Grizzly Bear * Holland with Mark Borthwick *
Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown * Jim O'Rourke * John Fahey * John
Zorn * Karjalan Sissit * Klimek * Kza & Toshiya Kawasaki * La
Nueva Banda De Santisteban * Litter, The * Loren Dent * Lucid
Dream (John Tejada) * Luxa * M * Mario Diaz de Leon * Merzbow
* Mike Kelley * Monotonix * Naphta * Natural Snow Buildings *
Om * Philip Jeck * Port Royal * Pulse Emitter * Ramleh
* Richard Pinhas * Roger Reynolds * Tim Buckley * U Roy *
Wadada Leo Smith * Zevious
A-Bones - Not Now! CD (Norton) [CED345] $12.75
Yes, your favorite slop team makes with the shake once again! THE
A-BONES
return with a fifteen-song platter recorded at Manhattan's posh underground
NY Hed Studios piloted by reknown engineer MATT VERTA-RAY. The A-Bones even
managed to lure elusive R&B legend DAVE "BABY" CORTEZ back onto the Hammond
organ to grind out a fresh take of his instro stomper "Cat Nip."
Supercharged originals are filled out with covers of the Animals and the
Clovers, plus Shallow Grave, Andy Shernoff's Bobby Fuller style ode to
Charles "Smitty" Schmid, the notorious Pied Piper of Tucson and lots more!
Aerosol - Airborne CD (n5MD) [MD170] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 10-05-2009
Airborne is the 2nd album from Rasmus Rasmussen's Aerosol project.
Starting
out as a member of the post-rock band Limp (Morr Music) with band mates
Jonas Munk (manual), Jakob Skøtt (syntaks) and Jess Kahr, Rasmussen helped
incubate a certain sound that the of the four have nurtured in each of
their solo endeavors. Rasmussen's take on the sun drenched post-shoegaze of
the "post-limp collective" has a more defined sense of psychedelia and
openness than his mates. This heightened sense of consciousness-expansion
is all without ever being contrived, heavy handed or excessive. There is a
self-awareness to Airborne that can be heard in spades on the aptly titled
swirly slow-burn of "Psychedelic Coffee Buzz". A song written about a tour
around Morocco, were we are very sure that sleep deprivation, sunrises and
of course coffee play key roles in its expanses. Tracks like the bookend
pieces of "Midnight Ride Down the Mental Freeway" and "Softly Slipping" are
blissed-out electronic shoegaze featuring sure-stepped percussion, chiming
guitars, synth-lines seemingly made of aether and steadfast acoustic guitar
lines. This is personal listening at its best. Every song is a landscape
and every one of those hazy landscapes has a story. You'll just need to get
Airborne for the anecdote.
Ahleuchatistas - Of The Body Prone CD (Tzadik) [TZ8066]
$14.50
"A new recording by this dynamic young band of hardcore improvisers.
Hot
off a long tour, Of the Body Prone finds them in a blazing fury. Mixing
improvisation and tightly controlled jump cut compositional complexity,
Ahleuchatistas are one of a handful of rock groups that can give the Ruins,
Meshuggah and Naked City a run for their money. Fascinating and powerful
compositions passionately performed and beautifully recorded, this is the
New Rock Complexity at its very best!"
Anne Laplantine - A Little May Be Time CD (Ahornfelder)
[AH14-2] $16.00
Since Anne Laplantine has not released a new record for a few
years,
Ahornfelder is proud to announce the release of a new album by this
outstanding French artist.
Over the last years Anne moved between Vienna, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin and Paris where she currently lives. This journey reflects her artistic personality - like an explorer she is constantly searching for the ideal solution and the right thing to say artistically. She uncomprimisingly follows her artistic intuition and each step of this ongoing search is never well prepared or calculated. The destination of her journey is not a safe spot somewhere in the music world. She is not interested in finding her musical home or in marking her territory, rather she seems to be most interested in the promising struggle of a new start.
Maybe that's why Anne confused her audience by releasing records on different labels under many different guises: As Michiko Kusaki she had a release on the label Angelika Kühlermann (Vienna), for Tomlab (Cologne) she recorded as Angelika Kühlermann and Anne Hamburg, and on Emphase Records (Berlin) she released a wonderful album under her given name. Besides her musical projects, which also involve a variety of impressive collaborations, she is also involved in an all sorts of art projects in the cities she lives in.
On her latest
releases Anne developed her very own way of composing electronic pop music.
Concerning structure and harmony her music owes more to baroque polyphony
than to the standard track format. Little lo-fi sound samples of flute,
guitar, etc. are arranged to create fragile polyphonic
minature-masterpieces. This fascinating and friendly way of composing is
further developed on her album for Ahornfelder. But this record offers much
more to discover: Concentrated experiments with structure and sound,
beautiful songs which are sparsely orchestrated with guitars and an old
school drum computer, and additionally an incorporated art project. The
album contains 58 tracks, 34 of which are nothing but "silences" in
between 4 to 20 seconds. But these "silences" are not totally silent. In
these short passages you can either hear the first few seconds after a
recording is finished, or you can listen to the the stage setting of the
next recording to come. You do not hear the recorded music itself. Anne
again seems more interested in the promising struggles of new beginnings
-- where so far nothing is said, but everything could be said -- than
in fixed results or answers. It speaks in favour of Anne's focused musical
sensibility that this "silences" experiment does not dissipate her album
into incoherent pieces. The dramaturgy of the album is conclusive and each
little piece of silence helps to bundle the attention of the listener all
over again. I love this record and so will you. --Jochen Briesen
Anthony Coleman - Freakish CD (Tzadik) [TZ7631] $14.50
"One of the greatest, and perhaps the very first composer in jazz
history,
Jelly Roll Morton was a charismatic and influential figure that helped
define jazz music in its critical early years. Combining ragtime, Latin
inflections and more, his music is complex and strikingly original. Anthony
Coleman approaches these pieces with a modern composer's ear, bringing out
melodic, rhythmic and harmonic nuances that give them an exciting fresh new
edge. Five years in the making, this is a classic recital of essential
music from the early 20th century by a brilliant modern composer/pianist
who feels the music with a deep and profound passion."
Antony & The Johnsons - Aeon/Crazy In Love CD (Secretly
Canadian) [SC209CD] $7.25
"'Aeon' is one of the highlights of the critical and commercial smash
album
The Crying Light which debuted at #1 on the European chart. The band
appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman for the song's television
debut. Antony and the Johnsons' earnest and impassioned cover of Beyonce's
'Crazy in Love,' a long time live favorite, is being released officially
for the first time."
Ard
Bit - Spannon CD (Symbolic Interaction) [SIC022] $12.25
Ard Janssen who records as Ard Bit is a long-time protege and Institute
of
Sonology school mate of Roel Funcken (Funckarma/Quench) who is listed with
a co-production and mastering credit. Ard first surfaced via a
collaboration credit on Quench's n5MD album Caipruss and has now completed
his debut album Spannon. Spannon is an original album of emotive
electronics somewhere between dubstep, electro and the more surefooted
output of The Funcken Brothers many incarnations.
Area C - The Planetarium Project 2CD (Sedimental) [SED054CD]
$15.25
"In live collaboration with Black Forest/Black Sea, Eyes Like Saucers
and
Mudboy. Double full length CD release limited to 500 copies housed in a
stunning and uniquely designed handmade, hand assembled letterpress
cardstock sleeve by discerning artist Amy Borezo at her Shelter Bookworks
studio in Western MA. We have been fans and have closely followed
Providence's Area C project for several years. It was simply a matter of
time before we would release something by this dynamic artist and these
special recordings presented themselves as the obvious choice. Area C's
work has always appealed in its ability to be at once hypnotically
accessible balanced by subtle and brooding dark elements under the surface.
It recalls both post-rock elements as well as the more experimental works
of classic '70s German space rock groups. The live collaborations with the
other Providence based artists push Area C's distinctive sound in
compelling directions. This document represents over two hours of carefully
selected music taken from many evenings of performances."
Beat Circus - Boy From Black Mountain CD (Cuneiform)
[RUNE294CD] $14.25
"Beat Circus was formed in Boston in 2002. The band is the brainchild
of
multi-instrumentalist / singer-songwriter Brian Carpenter, who has been its
only constant member since its inception. The music bridges a number of
disparate genres including experimental music, Americana, cabaret, circus
music, Appalachian string music, bluegrass music, old-time music, Southern
Gospel, and funereal music. Boy From Black Mountain began shortly after
Carpenter's son was diagnosed with autism in late 2006. He began writing
songs inspired by the experience of living with his son during the time of
diagnosis and treatment. Carpenter further dedicates the album to his
father and grandparents, whose lives as watermelon farmers in the rural
Bible Belt inspired songs which share their titles with classic Southern
Gothic literature. The album was produced by Brian Carpenter and Bryce
Goggin (Akron/Family, Antony and the Johnsons, Bishop Allen) and marks the
second release in Carpenter's Weird American Gothic trilogy. Singer Larkin
Grimm (Young God Records) and cellist Julia Kent (Antony and the Johnsons)
special guest throughout the album. Recommended if you like: Nick Cave,
Ennio Morricone, Warren Ellis, Wovenhand, Johnny Cash, Sixteen Horsepower.
A very artful-yet-accessible album with great lyrics, memorable songs and
rich orchestrations. In addition to the songs are a handful of haunting
instrumentals which help to frame the overall work of the songs to a larger
canvas."
Ben
Nash & Sophie Cooper - Alchemy CD (Blackest Rainbow Records) [BRR130CD]
$15.25
"Recorded over a weekend back in the early months of 2009, here are 2
tracks of multi instrumental composition from Ben Nash and Sophie Cooper
(CooperJones). The music here is truly beautiful, personally I think this
is some of the best work to come from both Ben and Sophie so far. Total
late night guitar meanderings blurred with a haze of deep churning scrapes
from various instruments and layered drone bliss, creating 2 totally
immersive and beautiful psychedelic drone. Some of the guitar playing here
has a beautiful Loren Connors meets Ry Cooder Paris Texas era sound, and
then when both Ben and Sophie reach for the gee-tars you have the beautiful
mix of Ben's reflective electric blues and Sophie's purely relaxed acoustic
musings, totally fantastic. This really has it down for me as something
truly different, lets hope that they continue to record as this duo. I
certainly cannot wait for more. Glass mastered pro pressed CD (not cdr) in
pro printed full colour card wallet, one time pressing of 1000. Co-released
with Ben's own Recollections of Knulp label."
Blind Man's Colour - Season Dreaming CD (Kanine) [KR392]
$13.50
RELEASE DATE: 08-18-2009
***Two Florida 19 year olds make mature pysch pop, receive blog love
from
Stereogum, I Guess I'm Floating, Indie Rock Cafe, and Kanye West, sign to
Kanine Records and release the debut album, Season Dreaming. Limited
edition pressing.
By
Night With Spear - Fortune CDEP (Self Storage Recordings) [SSR003]
$7.00
Their name was inspired by the American artist, sculptor and
avant-garde
filmmaker, Joseph Cornell. His last film, the silent 9-minute, By Night
with Torch and Spear, was produced in 1979 and explores the world of a
steel foundry. It's exactly this type of artistic inclination and
exploration that inspires their current body of work. Heavily influenced by
80s post-punk and British new wave, this four-piece, fronted by the lovely
Anaben, proves that their worth their weight in spirit. By Night With Spear
will undoubtedly make an indelible impact upon those listeners that prefer
their drops of beauty mixed equally with majestic power.
Celer - Brittle CD (Low Point) [LP028] $13.50
RELEASE DATE: 09-14-2009
Celer is the artistic endeavour of the husband and wife duo Will Long
and
Danielle Baquet-Long. Danielle was a teacher of special education and music
therapy, a published writer of poetry and prose, a painter,
multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. She had an extensive background in
Gender Studies, Education, Basque History, Photography and Tibetan Studies,
as well as having lived in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the United States.
She passed away on July 8, 2009 of heart failure at the age of 26.
Since forming in 2006, Celer's intent was to produce works that reflect the sincere nature and importance of love, the fragility of life, and the importance of togetherness, through a relative and absolute symposium of expression.
This is particularly apparent on "Brittle', an album produced with the aim of demonstrating a feeling of continuation through what sometimes seems like a delicate existence, a philosophy which takes on a deeper resonance in light of these recent, tragic events.
Musically, all of the sounds contained on "Brittle' were created by piano, violin, cello, tingsha bells, harpsichord, and whistle. There are also field recordings from the inside of a room, with the windows open, but containing largely only room noise. The resulting recordings were then structured into 19 different tracks, which were then restructured into one single forming track of 74 minutes. All of the different pieces were merged together, to blur interruption and to allow the possibility of unfocused repetition.
The album is arranged to move in a specific way, not simply section by
section, but by subtle movements that swell and sway calmly. Instead of
creating an environment to sink into, Celer hope that the piece will
instead act as a blanket, moving with the listener through gentle sways,
shifting tones and small spaces of silence that are as unpredictable as
thought.
Circle of Ouroborus - Tree Of Knowledge CD (Hospital
Productions) [HOS241CD] $13.50
"Mysterious occult shoegaze black rock from Finland. Newest full length
of
eight sinister spells. Known from splits with Urfaust and Nuit Noire."
Computer Perfection - We Wish You Well On Your Way To Hell CD
(Le Grand Magistery) [HRH049] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 09-22-2009
Computer Perfection is a five-piece half-baked musical concoction made
up
of five former members of the band Pas/Cal. Their influences come from the
worlds of film, literature, food and music. A lazy one-sheet could use
words like 'psychedelic', 'pop', 'jangle' & 'kraut', but I guess this one
just did! Let the love flow, and read more about the band in a recent
interview with What Of Whom:
http://whatofwhom.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/computer-perfection/
Digital Primitives - Hum Crackle Pop CD (Hopscotch) [HOP042CD]
$13.50
"The 2nd Digital Primitives release (Cooper-Moore, Asif Tsahar, Chad
Taylor) digs in deep to fuse a new sound from blues, folk, jazz & funk,
with accents from the music's African antecedents."
Down Review - From Here, For Anyone CDEP (Hidden Shoal)
[HSR054] $11.00
Down Review is the new collaboration between n5MD artists Arc Lab and
Near
The Parenthesis. Their debut EP, From Here, For Anyone, is a captivating
travelogue of luscious sprawl and purpose. The EP kicks off with the single
"Anything Is Everything", a post-midnight drive through a flaking neon
city. Crisp programmed drums, warm synths and surging bass weave through a
mist of skittering textures and falling light particles. Then, there's the
urgent phasing science of "Archive', the outer planetary dub of
"Always Enough', and the creeping, insistent epic All In''. It's the
kind of glowing electronica that could loop endlessly, such is the allure
of its ebullient, cyclical melodies.
Ergo - Multitude, Solitude CD (Cuneiform) [RUNE289CD]
$14.25
"In 2003, trombonist and composer Brett Sroka began exploring beyond
his
jazz background and became fascinated with electronic music, surrounding
himself with synthesizers and software. As he sought to reconcile the six
hundred years of technology between trombone and computer he also found, in
Carl Maguire and Shawn Baltazor, musicians of similarly elastic and
adventurous temperaments. As they played throughout New York City and the
Northeast US over the next few years an idiosyncratic dynamic began to
cohere and Ergo was born. Ergo's music is fresh and different -- jazz
musicians exploring the boundaries of electronic music -- and one of stark
melodic beauty, enveloping electro-acoustic texture and empathic
imagination. It has been compared to music as diverse as Duke Ellington,
Autechre, Sigur Ros, Sun Ra, and King Crimson."
Fauz't - From The Frozen South CD (Atavistic) [ALP192]
$14.50
FAUST were the leaders of the "Krautrock" movement of early '70s
Germany.
Their records still sound ahead of their time in the 21st century, true
visionaries and artists. This collaboration features original Faust man
HANS JOACHIM IRMLER with underground soundscape artist Z'EV. Spacious and
soothing to full on brutality to their take on rock, From the Frozen South
is an incredible journey and reflects all of the sounds these two legends
have incorporated for the last 30-plus years in their various works. A
monument to the avant-garde, but still of and for the people.
Felix - You Are The One I Pick CD (Kranky) [KRANK139CD]
$12.75
"Felix is the musical duo of Lucinda Chua and Chris Summerlin, who make
their home in England. The focus of the album is Lucinda's askew stories,
and the subtle conversation between her piano and the guitar accompaniment
of Chris Summerlin, an intuitive discussion that speaks volumes by not
saying too much and while never stepping on each other's lines. The songs
themselves are delicate and spare chamber pop. They are understated and
deceptively simple, but deliver an emotional impact that mere decibels
cannot. Lucinda's tales of woe concern the banality of domestic life, small
animals, and the desire to keep the forces of the world at bay. You Are the
One I Pick may be an album of small charms, but they come with a frequency
rarely found, and are myriad in number."
Fell - Incoherent Lullabies CD (Camera Obscura) [CAM086]
$14.50
RELEASE DATE: 08-18-2009
***On their second album, FELL have replaced the dark, post-Joy
Division,
post Disintegration-era Cure tonalities of their debut with a shimmering,
gorgeously melodic trip that recall the more blissed out moments of bands
like the Telescopes and JOSH WAMBEKE's earlier space-pop project PHINEAS
GAGE. Recorded with expensive studios, name producers or extravagant
budgets just a dedication to achieving sublime sonics at the intersection
of post-rock, dream-pop and psychedelia.
Forest Creature - 7 Edits From 2009 CD (Blackest Rainbow
Records) [BRR123CD] $15.25
"Very pleased to announce the first 'proper' release from this local
duo of
Ben Moon and Richard Sides, and a very new sound for Blackest Rainbow.
Forest Creature has been through many different sounds, starting as a
fairly harsh noise experience opening for bands like Wolf Eyes and Jazkamer
back when we did shows, they later on incorporated live drums and screwed
up vocals, and a purely animal live experience. The duo's sound has
progressed more and more over the last year, with more and more different
sounds collating to make Forest Creature reach a point where they have
their very own sound. Their previous sound would've fitted nicely into the
Load Records roster, and then building to sound more like some kind of
blend of Black Dice, early Animal Collective and F*** Buttons. But now over
the last few months I've experienced some of their best live performances
yet (performed in near total darkness with flickering TV screen and bulbs)
they pummel their audience with thumping beats, raging psychedelic synth,
broken glitches and clicks, they seemed to have found a definite place that
seems to be right for them. Strangely enough some of this material even
reminds me of the supreme days of Sheffield's techno and IDM music boom
back in the late '80s and early '90s with legends like Autechre, Black Dog,
and the hay day of Warp Records best releases. If you're into Black Dice,
Warp Records, Animal Collective and aren't afraid of a little beat here and
there then I suggest you check out Forest Creature! Glass mastered pro
pressed CD (not CDR) in full colour pro printed CD wallet."
Fresh & Onlys, The - Grey-Eyed Girls CD (Woodsist)
[WOODSIST032CD] $13.50
"When Tim Cohen told Shayde Sartin he was writing a song called 'Be My
Hooker,' the Fresh & Onlys bassist looked at the singer/guitarist and said,
'There's no way we're gonna have a song with that title, dude,' explains
Sartin. 'But sure enough, he laid a riff down and I was like, 'Jesus
christ, I can't believe you pulled something meaningful out of such a
stupid line.'' Welcome to the push/pull dynamic that's fueled the Fresh &
Onlys' steady stream of releases over the past year, including last
spring's self-titled LP (Castle Face) and Grey-Eyed Girls (Woodsist). And
to think it all started the old-fashioned way -- with Sartin and Cohen
simply hanging out after work, playing their favorite punk (Buzzcocks, The
Mekons) and classic rock (Country Joe and the Fish, cued up alongside slabs
of psych from the group's homebase, San Francisco) records alongside a
growing collection of empty beer cans. 'I can't really explain what
happened or why,' says Sartin. 'I guess we listened to records until we
were on the same page, and from that point on, we never stopped recording.'
As simple as all of that sounds, the duo first bought a tape machine five
years ago. When that failed to produce any concrete cuts, Cohen focused on
his previous avant-pop band, Black Fiction, and Sartin split his time
between session and live work for such bands as the Skygreen Leopards,
Papercuts and Citay. Not to mention his close friend Kelley Stoltz, who
ended up releasing the first Fresh & Onlys 7" (the limited Imaginary
Friends EP) in early 2008. With so much music hitting shops in such a short
time (Sartin says the band already has boxes of backlogged tapes), you
might think the Fresh & Only's camp have a problem with quality control.
Quite the contrary; Sartin and Cohen are very careful about what they
release. And while the duo writes and records the band's songs, the
arrangements are usually fleshed out with guitarist Wymond Miles, drummer
Kyle Gibson, and backup singer Heidi Alexander. 'If we take a song into the
studio or a live setting and it doesn't have wings,' says Sartin, 'Then we
just ditch it and keep the charming demo version.' The final mix of
Grey-Eyed Girls sounds like a natural bridge between the raucous garage
rock of the group's debut and the full-on studio record they plan on
wrapping for In the Red later this year. That goes for the galloping
grooves of 'Happy To Be Living,' the shadowy post-punk of 'Invisible
Forces,' and the firework finale freak-outs that drive 'The Delusion of
Man.' Not to mention a stack of hook-slinging tracks that nix any
'shitgaze' assumptions you may have. 'We're not trying to hide melodies or
do the blown-out thing,' says Sartin. 'A lot of those bands are great, but
I don't want to ever cater to what's popular. It's not that I'm being
reactionary; we're just trying to make recordings that are as rich and
ear-friendly as possible.' It's working."
Gary Higgins - Seconds CD (Drag City) [DC395CD] $12.75
"The music business is full of funny stories -- and some of them aren't
that funny at all. Take Gary Higgins. In the early 70s, he made a great
record, the culmination of years of listening and playing and work. Then he
went to jail for marijuana possession, a short stint, but still, the kind
of crime that's almost not a crime these days. The record came out -- but
without him to promote it, almost nobody heard it, until... 2005: Red Hash,
Higgins' megaobscure psychedelic folk-rock masterpiece is reissued on CD,
drawing all kinds of acclaim and selling thousands of copies. Shows are
played, interviews are done. But how to answer the question, why haven't
you made another record since then? 2009: Gary Higgins' Seconds. is here to
answer the question. It's a beautiful acoustic-based record featuring
careful, melancholy arrangements in the tradition set by his famous
previous record -- but with a few unpredictable musical touches.
Additionally, Seconds. weaves black threads of lyrical reflection into its
sleeve in the shortlived Higgins tradition. His was never a hippie-dippy
perspective -- back in the day, his songs featured a thoughtful, but
worldweary, occasionally even paranoid perspective. And today, he opens
Seconds. with the couplet 'I got demons on my back/they don't travel nice.'
Gary is from the original singer-songwriter wave of rock and roll. There's
no need for him to pretend that his songs are being sung from another point
of view. And so Seconds. strings together moments of life, working through
regrets and reflections on fallibility, the odd flashback, and a few hopes
for the future over the course of seven deep songs. Whether the material
has been gathered in the years since his reemergence in 2005 or over the
longer stretch since the last released Higgins material, it flows with
oneness. And accompanied by his fellow travelers (including a couple Red
Hash players as well as his son), he's put together a bold and colorful
statement of where he's at today. Seconds. ain't no Sweet Baby James, or
anyone else for that matter. This is the sound of Gary Higgins, making
music and digging it once again."
Green Blossoms - Whiskey Leaves CD (Digitalis) [DIGI054CD]
$10.25
"It was important we get this out in the heart of summer because
Whiskey
Leaves, its familiar melodies and breezy instrumentation are the perfect
accompaniment to your hot, humid nights. The duo of Aiko Kogo and Anthony
Guerra first made their presence known on a micro-edition CDR from New
Zealand's Pseudoarcana. Whiskey Leaves, though, is a different beast
entirely. While on the surface these compositions feel simple, once you dig
a little deeper you realize the care put into each song. This is intimate
music. Guerra sets the pace with layers of makeshift percussion and guitar.
Kogo also plays ukulele, but it's her voice that is the real focal point of
the album. Soft and restrained, even when you can't understand her words
(some of the lyrics are in Japanese), you are hooked from the get-go. Hours
later, you find yourself humming her melodies while her ghostly
incantations are stuck in the back of your mind. This is fractured pop
perfection. Whiskey Leaves will be a welcome addition to fans of Tujiko
Noriko, Tenniscoats and the like. Beautiful."
Grizzly Bear - Horn Of Plenty 2CD (Kanine) [KR152] $13.50
This is GRIZZLY BEAR's debut album. This is a two-disc set. The first
disc
is the original Horn of Plenty CD. The second disc contains seventeen
remixes!
Holland with Mark Borthwick - Soundtrack for Synthetic Voices
CD (Darla) [DRL067] $12.25
Warehouse find. Last copies. Mark Borthwick's conceptualism and
collage.
Trevor Holland's avant-pop music. Jenny Toomey's
only-available-here-poetry. Originally released 1998.
Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown - Varmint CD (Cuneiform)
[RUNE292CD] $14.25
"Led by vibraphonist and composer Jason Adasiewicz [a-dah-shev-its],
Varmint is Rolldown's second release. The band, active for over 5 years,
features stalwarts from Chicago's vibrant jazz/new music community. Their
sound combines Blue Note's classic, avant-leaning '60s albums with
contemporary drive, swing, energy, and attack. Varmint features six new
compositions by Adasiewicz and a tune written by Andrew Hill. One of the
most important influences on Jason's playing and composing are the
musicians he plays with in the Chicago scene. The players' fearless
presences materialize as collaborative voices rather than sidemen. For the
past 10 years, Josh Berman has played with Adasiewicz and remains a key
voice in his compositions. The two have struggled together and supported
each other's aspirations and maturation as musicians. Jason began playing
with Aram Shelton and Jason Roebke in 2001 in Shelton's group, Arrive.
Jason and Frank Rosaly's relationship began with the birth Rolldown. Every
player is deeply rooted in jazz tradition, and all are at the mercy of the
memory of growing up in the 80s."
Jim
O'Rourke - The Visitor CD (Drag City) [DC375CD] $12.75
"The cat's back in the bag again -- try not to throw it in the river
this
time! This one is special: Jim O'Rourke has delivered his first new solo
album since 2001. Working relentlessly since he burst onto the scene in
1989, Jim has played, recorded and mixed a couple hundred records -- but
only a dozen of them have been Jim O'Rourke-endorsed products that bear the
name that gives his promise of quality. That relative handful of albums has
established a brand that's been burned deep into Jim's flanks. Is it any
wonder that he fled the western hemisphere; never leaves his Tokyo
apartment and isn't seen in public anymore without a strong drink in his
hand? So anyway, it's been a long time since one of Jim O'Rourke's popular
music records. The Visitor hasn't made us wait as long as Chinese Democracy
but it has made us wince a lot less. Call it Jim's Japanese Democracy -- a
republic of one inside the studio where it was recorded and mixed. The
Visitor is a seriously all-O'Rourke affair -- all the sounds you hear are
Jim and Jim alone. So this time you can't blame any of those session dudes
and their bloodless line readings -- the chill you're getting is a
one-hundred percent O'Rourke effect. As a matter of fact, it might be more
like two hundred percent -- some of The Visitor is tracked so deep, it took
two hundred tracks to hold it all. It doesn't sound like it though -- to
Jim's credit, the mix sounds very minimal, very straightforward -- not like
several hundred tracks at all. Call it his invisible wall of sound --
Spector without the gun. But what Jim lacks in firearms, he makes up for in
desire. Speaking of sound, all the classic O'Rourke-isms are here, for you
musicologist types: percolating banjos, smooth electric leads, organic,
kicking drum sounds, the flickering of shakers to the left and right,
mellow but ominous woodwinds, sounds that indicate 'vintage' (before
turning left and running out the door), sonic jokes, sonic tear-jerkers,
sonic jerkoffs, all wrapped in spacious yet subtle left to right placement
of everything in the picture. There's moments of low comedy next to high
drama and juicy melancholy with a seeming lack of regard for proximity
(which of course is just what Jim wants you to think, that's how jaded and
perverse he is!). Plus -- sudden surging rhythms! A roil of noise or two!
Constantly shifting moods! Things that aren't what they seem! The Visitor
is sort of 'O'Rourke Does O'Rourke' -- Jim recontextualizing everything
he's done over the years, and throwing out the bullshit. The one thing you
won't hear is his voice -- perhaps another O'Rourkian self-examination? Or
maybe he's just saving it for all the name-calling on his next album. At
the end of the day, The Visitor doesn't overstay its welcome -- call it a
cautionary tale, rest of the music world! And get ready for redefinition --
Jim O'Rourke is back."
John Fahey - How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life Book (Drag
City) [DC124BK] $25.75
2009 reprint, originally published in 2000. "John Fahey is feared and
revered around the world as a guitar player and composer. His inventions
for acoustic and electric strings are the stuff of legend. Since he began
recording in Maryland in the late 1950s, Mr. Fahey's access to the unknown
tongue has been made manifest on over 30 albums, and his presence has
unsettled audiences from here to Tasmania. He has served as a spiritual
model for guitarists as disparate as Leo Kottke and Thurston Moore. He has
been called a musical visionary by everyone from The New York Times to
Ptolemaic Terrascope. John Fahey is a giant of 20th Century American Music.
This is well known. It is perhaps less well-known that Fahey's pen has the
same world-gobbling ferocity as his guitar. His early records included
savagely hilarious liner notes, and other sightings of his clamorous
writerly discourse have surfaced over the years. Now, finally, here is a
collection that makes an explosive selection of his work available for
general public consumption. What else can we possibly say, except, 'Grab
your ankles, dear readers. It's kingdom time!'." -Byron Coley, 1999.
Introduction by Jim O'Rouke. 291 pages, paperbound.
John Zorn - Femina CD (Tzadik) [TZ7377] $14.50
"Structured as a colorful tribute to women in the arts, Femina is a
triumphant return to the file card technique that has produced some of
Zorn's most shockingly original compositions. Much like an aural film, the
music jumps from scene to scene with breathtaking precision, following its
own peculiar logic. Hildegard von Bingen, Meredith Monk, Simone de
Beauvoir, Frida Kahlo, Madame Blavatsky, Isadora Duncan, Hélène Cixous,
Gertrude Stein, Abe Sada, Sylvia Plath, Louise Bourgeois, Margaret Mead,
Loie Fuller, Dorothy Parker, Yoko Ono and the moon goddess En Hedu'Anna are
just a few of the figures who are referenced, reflected and summoned in
this soulful and exhilarating tribute to some of the greatest hearts and
minds that ever lived. Featuring an all-woman band of some of the downtown
scene's most creative and talented musicians, Femina is one of Zorn's
deepest and most profoundly beautiful creations. Unique packaging contains
artwork and a booklet of images by Kiki Smith, one of the world's greatest
and most important art visionaries."
Karjalan Sissit - F***ing Whore Society CD (25th Cycle) [10533]
$13.50
At last, Karjalan Sissit return after 4 years of relative silence with
their most obscure and harshest work ever. F***ing whore society is an
anger and Vodka fueled bombastic opus inspired by the world's psychopathic
state. A revolt against the cruel and sickly ways of today's society and a
visceral and personal statement denouncing betrayal. Karjalan Sissit have
masterfully expanded their signature sound with dense ambient passages and
unsettling vocals all combined with their intensely unique orchestral
passages, presenting us their best and most intense work yet. Produced by
Peter Bjärgö (Arcana / Sophia) Edition of 2000 copies In A5 gatefold
cardboard sleeve. 10 Tracks. Running Time: 40:10
Klimek - Movies Is Magic CD (Anticipate) [ANTICIP008CD]
$14.75
This is Klimek's (Sebastian Meissner) second full-length release for
the
Anticipate label, the follow-up to 2007's Dedications. Movies Is Magic
deals both directly and peripherally with ideas of film music its purpose,
its meaning, its uses. Though the music is furthered by the concepts
underpinning it, it stands on its own two sonic feet with swathes and
swells of cinematic, expansive melodies: from the bold to the understated,
the shades of grey to the brightly direct, the string-laden to the
piano-driven -- some with sprinkles of subtle percussion and others which
run through the barest of themes in order to produce giant results. Movies
Is Magic renders itself as a comment on the idea of cinema sound, which
brings it into a present-day home-listening experience that is more
concerned with conjuring new images than accompanying existing ones.
Resonating in myriad directions, the traces of its musical, conceptual and
visual inspirations remain, haunting the complete work. This confluence of
cultural influences and sound productions is an indication of where Movies
Is Magic takes both the listener and the artist behind the experience. Like
an orchestra restructured in the digital domain, the remnants at the core
of each piece lend themselves less to conservatory comparisons than filmic
ones. Ambiences reside inside, but are never left untouched or undeveloped,
subverting expectations and leaving trails of themselves long after each
song ends. Large, picturesque settings produce emotionally-compelling
mini-narratives, while warm, open progressions balance with the
multi-layered shadows that are expected from a Klimek album. A careful
percussive phrase, the occasional menacing horn, a tentatively sustained
tone, or vocal murmurs arrange these pieces between intersecting musical
camps, while rustling backgrounds creep up to remind one where they stand.
The material is the product of a variety of allegiances and alliances: from
soundtracks to the range of electro-acoustic and electronic sensibilities
that produce such works as these, the multiples of moods and directions all
further the frame of the project and the Klimek sound. The CD comes
packaged with a 14"x9" fold-out poster with an alternate cover photo image
-- revealing another layer of the release -- and an essay detailing the
full scope of Movies Is Magic.
Kza
& Toshiya Kawasaki - I'm Starting To Feel Okay Vol. 3 CD (Endless Flight)
[EF003CD] $14.75
Endless Flight is home to the third volume of the I'm Starting To Feel
Okay
series, featuring tracks from Mule Musiq, Mule Electronic, and Endless
Flight. Including exclusive, new tracks in addition to tunes that have
never appeared on CD before, selected by label boss Toshiya Kawasaki, and
all mixed by KZA of Force Of Nature. The opening Kuniyuki has been a
heavily highlighted single and is here remixed by Theo Parrish, Mark E is
the hottest nu-disco artist at the moment, Cos/Mes is a new producer team
from Japan, and Naum Gabo is Jonnie Wilkes of Optimo, remixed by Japanese
newcomer Discosession. More tracks follow from Soft Rocks, with some jazzy
breakbeat, John Daly, and Italo-disco artist, Marcello Giordani as remixed
by DJ Naughty. The excellent collaboration between Norway's space-disco
kings Prins Thomas and Japanese disco-ers Force Of Nature makes for some
killer disco house, while Wild Rumps presents progressive disco that sounds
like Carlos Santana. The Runaway remix of Belgium's Mugwump is a
compilation highlight, and Mr Raoul K presents some unique, deep African
house music. The unreleased live mix version of Henrik Schwarz' remix of
Kuniyuki is more clubby than the original release, while DJ Sprinkles aka
Terre Thaemlitz gets his own psychedelic Kuniyuki remix. Sasse's track
provides a taste of early '90s house, followed by the inimitable Tony
Lionni. German house music producer Motor City Drum Ensemble made an
excellent Chicago house style remix for DJ Sprinkles before Brendon Moeller
presents an upcomer for Mule Musiq. The last track is a remix by Still
Going, a project by Eric D from Rub N Tug.
Loren Dent - Anthropology Vol. 1 CD (Infraction) [10532]
$13.75
Roland Barthes called it 'the grain of the voice,' in writing of how a
singer's vocal contours may tap into ineffable meanings above and beyond
words and melody: a semiotics of sound colour in which text cedes to
texture, and audio kicks come from tuning into tone tricks over lyrics. Now
there may be no song sung on Anthropology Vol. 1, but its lines - liquid,
labyrinthine - and the sounding arc of its dives - the shiver in its
timbres - bring to mind the idea of grain. It comes from the sound's sheer
materiality and bodily affect, and in Loren Dent's bent - channeling
vectors of New Music, minimalism, ambient, postrock, and space music
through a vibrant array of his own voicings.
Dent's Anthropology
traverses considerable terrain: opener, "Introduction - Dreams and
Concrete," moves from Feldman to Niblock, before picking up on Pärt in
transition to "This Thing We Enjoy," where borders of Basinskian
melancholia are skirted,and a quiet Stars of the Lid glow flirted with. It
ends up on "Another Rural Fantasy" and "Winter During Wartime"in a swooping
fizzing orchestralism suggesting Christopher Bissonnette vs. Tim Hecker.
The preceding parade of references is offered only by way of a rough guide,
for the music of Anthropology is cast by Dent in tones he owns, more
sweeping in scale than any of the above, great tonal gushes surging into
swelling symphonics, then running off into pools of pop pointillism.
Lucid Dream (John Tejada) - Recovered Data 95 CD (Phthalo)
[PHTH052CD] $13.50
"House and techno music producer John Tejada's newest album project,
Recovered Data 1995, is released under the name Lucid Dream as the second
in Phthalo Records' Phthalo Origins series and is, as the Origins name
implies, actually Tejada's very first full length, recorded back in 1995.
The aggressively melodic album was recorded as a conscious, focused effort
to get Tejada's music heard by other artists and DJs. And, of course, it
worked: the result was a deal with now defunct A13 Records, with whom
Tejada released two Lucid Dream singles and a full length album called Pure
Punk. Recovered Data 1995, however, was in many ways the original version
of that album. The original title was slated to be Palette, a name which
electronic music aficionados will recognize as the name Tejada later used
for his own record label, which started in 1996. But by the time Tejada was
ready to release this album, A13 had changed direction towards a more club
type style, asking Tejada to make new tracks. As a result, all of these
tracks went unused, save for the album's first track, 'Grip,' which wound
up being released on the Lucid Dream single Pot Hole in 1996. None of the
others have seen the light of day since. John Tejada's thoughts on
Recovered Data 1995: 'While digitizing old DAT tapes recently, I
rediscovered this release which still holds a special place for me. I've
always regretted the fact that with so many releases since, this one had
yet to see the light of day. Back then it was a special time for making
music. The tools were limiting, forcing you to be creative. There were no
plug in synths or DAW workstations. No one I knew had a cell phone or even
an email account yet. There were no MP3s or music blogs; so we didn't
download, we drove to the record store to get new music and magazines to
catch up on the global scene. It was quite a different time ?a time I
really miss because of the undivided attention I could give my writing
process. The result was a very personal work I am still proud of fourteen
years later.'"
Luxa - Drawn to the Sea CDEP (Self Storage Recordings) [SSR002]
$5.50
Luxa has a dim relation to the newer offshoot genres of shoegaze, but
enters greater landscapes with a volatile adventurism and a new kind of
dynamism in its swirling beauty. raw and tender. complex and simple.
consumable and out of reach.
M -
Pop Muzik (30th Anniversary Remixes) CD (Echo Beach) [EB075CD] $16.00
Echo Beach pays tribute to the 30th anniversary of M's (aka Robin
Scott)
"Pop Musik" -- offering 12 new versions/remixes of this classic 1979 tune.
Scott's recording career encompasses four decades. Rubbing elbows in his
early years with Malcolm MacLaren and Vivienne Westwood, after leaving art
school in Croydon, UK, he displayed a talent for writing topical songs
which he performed on radio and TV. This led to the first Robin Scott LP,
titled Woman From The Warm Grass, which was released on the small
independent label, Head Records. Scott was backed on the album by the
legendary Mighty Baby, but the record went unrecognized, as Head Records
very quickly folded. Scott worked as a troubadour, singing his own songs
and accompanying himself on guitar, and he spent a period playing folk
clubs as a solo artist, sharing bills with such emergent artists as David
Bowie, John Martin and Ralph McTell. In the early '70s he conceived a
multimedia project, "The Voice" which was aired on BBC Radio 3 but his
restlessness then led him to travel both in Europe and North America, and
when he returned, he made demos with members of prog-rock Camel. Around
1973, he performed in bands with the likes of Pete Thomas (later of Elvis
Costello and The Attractions) and Paul "Bassman" Riley, and then started
working with Roogalator, a well-regarded and original R&B band, producing
their debut single "Cincinnati Fatback." In 1978, Scott worked as producer
for Barclay Records in Paris where he lived with his partner Brigitte
Vinchon (aka Brigit Novik) after producing and filming (with celebrated
director Julian Temple) all-female punk quartet, The Slits. Scott also
recorded the Cry Myself To Sleep EP under the alias of Comic Romance and
released the debut LP by Adam And The Ants, Dirk Wears White Sox on his own
Do It Records in 1979. Established now as "M," he also produced and
recorded "Pop Muzik," which was written as a resume of 25 years of pop
music since 1954. Among other musicians who played on the track was his
brother, Julian Scott on bass, keyboard virtuoso Wally Badarou, Canadian
programmer John Lewis and Brigit Novik -- the "backing" vocalist who put
the "pop" in the "muzik." The song became a huge international hit, and
emblemized the angular, synth-driven, MTV-glossed sheen of '80s music pop
culture. This 30th anniversary release sees this classic remixed by
Paralyzer, Devo, Stefan Obermaier, Internationally Trained Bunnies, Todd
Terje, Salz, Stachy, Karl Moestl, Dub Spencer & Trance Hill, Frost &
Wagner, Riddim Wize, and Torpedo Boys.
Mario Diaz de Leon - Enter Houses Of CD (Tzadik) [TZ8065]
$14.50
"Composer Mario Diaz de León is a talented young composer who has
studied
with Maryanne Amacher and George Lewis. His work focuses on
acoustic/electronic hybrids that often fuse the two elements into unified
meta-instruments. Often structured as walls and gestures of shimmering
sound, his work is influenced by contemporary composers Scelsi, Ligeti,
Dumitrescu and Radulescu as well as a wide range of electronic music, free
improvisation, black/drone/doom metal and American noise bands like Metalux
and Sejayno. Hypnotic and ritualistic, the music relates to altered
consciousness and the movement between vision states."
Merzbow - Don't Steal My Goat CD (No Music Records) [10529]
$18.25
This time Masami Akita, the legend of noise, delivers a Jazz (?)
Noise-Muzak album. More than 66 minutes of powerful noise in best Merzbow
quality with live free-jazz-like drums wich turn into more rithmic and
beating ones.... Very unusual for Merzbow: this is a very rhythmic album!
Monotonix - Where Were You When It Happened? CD (Drag City)
[DC411CD] $12.75
"Monotonix are back -- but how can this be, if they never really went
away?
They're the People's Rock Band, playing anywhere and everywhere that
they're allowed to play all around the world. Nobody anywhere has played
more gigs than Monotonix over the past two years. Nobody -- unless 'playing
gigs' is code for scratching one's ass, in which case, we're all as Godly
as the Monotonix crew. Speaking of ass, wait'll you see the back of Where
Were You When It Happened? ! What it lacks in cheek, it makes up for in
crack. But what are Monotonix supposed to do? Fans of their incredible live
energy insist that their first record, the Body Language EP, is great, but
can't possibly approach the thrill that comes from being rocked from
within, doused with band-sweat, trash and a variety of drinks, mooned and
then challenged to bear the group aloft while they climax their relentless
assault. F***ing duh! No LP, CD or DVD can duplicate that -- not even
Blu-Ray (not yet). Still, over the course of their two releases, Monotonix
have mastered an approximation of their live rush. Where Were You When It
Happened? roils and rocks with frenetic glee, shows a lot of skin, and is
over before you know it. Where Were You When It Happened? works up a sweat
with raw rock and roll, acid guitar licks and riffs, screaming choruses
and, in general, the wildness of Monotonix in a way that makes for repeated
album listening (and pummeling). How did they do it? Where most bands
refine their production sound as they go forward, Monotonix have
reverse-refined themselves, playing dirtier and more energetic to capture
the lightning they are known for."
Naphta - Long Time Burning CD (Ruff Revival) [FEAR003CD]
$14.75
Originally released in 2007. A key figure in the development of the
drum n'
bass scene in Ireland, Naphta is regarded as something of a jungle pioneer
in his own country. A founding member and resident DJ with Bassbin for 10
years, his productions provided key moments in the Bassbin Recordings
back-catalog, while his unique style on the decks proved hugely influential
to a new generation of junglists both at home and abroad. 2007 opened with
the success of his Soundclash double-header on Lightless Recordings,
demonstrating the truth of what he had claimed for years: that there was a
whole new generation of drum n' bass fans out there starved of the vibes,
rhythms and attitude that had first made him fall in love with the music.
Paving the way for his debut album proper, Grande Illusions: Demonstrations
In The Art Of Underground Drum 'n Bass compiled previously-unreleased
highlights from his back catalog to a hugely enthusiastic reception
(10,000+ album downloads). On Long Time Burning, Naphta steps up to deliver
his vision of an updated jungle sound. Purposely rooted in the source music
that inspired the original sample-heavy junglist blueprint back in
1993/1994, this album offers a selection of ruff cuts that draw on reggae,
dancehall, funk, soul and hip-hop and combines them into an explosive whole
-- with the precision that only a true veteran and long-time believer could
achieve. The end result is as colorfully melodic, rhythmically urgent and
uniquely inspired a vision of jungle music as you're likely to hear for
some time. A shambolic, sampledelic, and feverishly brilliant collage.
Natural Snow Buildings - Shadow Kingdom 2CD/ZINE (BRR 140CD) CD
(Blackest Rainbow Records) [BRR140CD] $21.50
"New double disc from the French duo of Mehdi Ameziane and Solange
Gularte,
aka Natural Snow Buildings. Shadow Kingdom continues their journey through
some of the finest experimental folk laced with beautiful drones, all
recordings are new. Stand alone CD version of the LP (plus two bonus
tracks), 2xCD housed in an A5 16 page pro-printed comic featuring artwork
by Solange. This is identical to the CD version that comes with the LP, but
obviously you don't get the LPs, the LP sleeve artwork, and insert that the
LP has."
Om
- God Is Good CD (Drag City) [DC404CD] $12.75
"It's been years now -- just about two, judging from the sun. OM have
done
their time in the desert, and ever-changing, are returned. Today, they say,
God is Good. Are you surprised? Perhaps you've haven't understood what OM
was saying to you. But perhaps you felt something... It's true that the one
way pursued by OM leads in many different directions. It is a mystic path.
Songs come from innumerable sources, filtering through the external and the
internal. OM albums are rituals, personal convictions transcripted into
verse. Playing the music is visceral, emotional, a catharsis of soul and
spirit. As the ghat liberates soul from body to the ultimate, so too do OM
strive to disengage from the finite object of their objective mortal self
to rest in the empty and timeless witness. And in doing so, they seek to
release you as well. As ever, dynamic relationships and the slow building
of mood are attenuations that shape the structures of God is Good. With
careful microscopic increase, the energy grows through the four songs,
leading towards moments that one could interpret...revelation? Oblivion?
Awakening? Since 2004, OM have burned their name into the annals, trolled
the fertile crescent, faithfully made more out of what little was put into
their hands, forged three full-length albums from white-hot evaluations of
the infinite. The duo that is OM is composed of bass and drums and whatever
else comes into their mind that will serve the song and do it justice. Al
Cisneros has been pursuing the pure note as OM (and previously with Sleep)
for many years now, but this is the first OM record to feature the battery
of Emil Amos, who replaces Chris Haikus in the chair. You can go to the
shelf and study it: there are comparative religions, philosophy,
metaphysics, mythology, and history. Turn around, and there is OM. Their
vibrations of the philosophical and the physical are meant to move you.
Believe."
Philip Jeck - Spool Cassette (The Tapeworm) [TTW001CS]
$7.25
Cassette-only, limited edition of 250 copies. Spool is by UK-based
turntable/multimedia experimenter Philip Jeck, and it is the premier
release by new, cassette-only UK label, The Tapeworm. Recorded in June, at
home in Liverpool, on Spool, Jeck eschews his usual prepared vinyl
technique, instead playing bass guitar through various effects boxes. Jeck
is best known for his work with old records and record players salvaged
from junk shops, playing them like musical instruments, and creating an
intensely personal language that evolves with each added part of a record.
Most of Jeck's audio work is released on Touch, but this Tapeworm label
debut is a fresh example of an artist at his most organic and free-flowing.
Port Royal - Dying In Time CD (n5MD) [MD169] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 10-05-2009
2 Years have past in all our lives since the release of the
port-royal's
"afraid to dance" (Resonant) but the royals have been keeping very busy
with writing, recording, touring the EU and Russia, as well as creating
remixes for the likes of Ladytron and Felix Da Housecat. For port-royal's
3rd album "Dying in time" the band have expanded their sound to encompass
the more electronically skewed perspectives of synth-pop and even techno
while still holding steadfast to their roots and original core sound that
has always laid somewhere between shoegaze and emotively soaring ambient.
As the title may suggest there is an undercurrent of aching melancholy to
the album, as if the band are expressing the feelings they have for the
temporality of life's situations and feelings. For we are all truly dying
in time.
Pulse Emitter - Oppressive Nature CD (Digitalis) [ACE024CD]
$11.25
"I've been a fan of Daryl Groetsch AKA Pulse Emitter's synthetic
concoctions for years now. Hailing from the hotbed of Portland, Oregon, his
work is almost unparalleled when it comes to modular synthesizer
excursions. Oppressive Nature is a 40 minute journey into cities that will
soon be lost and overrun to the wilderness. The thematic idea behind the
album is nature's inevitable reclamation of the concrete jungles we've
constructed and amassed. Where Groetsch truly succeeds on Oppressive Nature
is creating such an organic landscape with his synth. His work here is
highly focused and dialed-in. Through the static and electronic waves
something warm and almost triumphant emerges. Heavy saw waves weave a
chaotic mass of urban debris, smoothed over by the sine waves of time.
Barriers fade away as they are consumed by sonic vines that find their way
into all these aural cracks. The result is oddly beautiful in an almost
post-apocalyptic way. Nature always wins."
Various Artists - Self Storage Compilation Vol. 1 CD (Self
Storage Recordings) [SSR001] $11.50
Tracks:
This week's VINYL update contains releases by:
[ F E A T U R E D R E L E A S E S ]
69 * A-Bones * Alejandro Mosso * Ali Nasser *
Antislash * Arthur Lee * Benny Joy * Bernard Badie * Betty
Davis * Bo Diddley * Cambridge Stones * Charlie Nothing *
Chocolate Watch Band * Christina Carter * Claude VonStroke (feat.
Bootsy Collins) * Cyrus (Random Trio) * Data * Drafted By
Minotaurs * Fehlfarben * Felix * Filsonik * Franklin de Costa
* Freedarich & Stiggsen * Fresh & Onlys, The * Gabriel Ananda
* Gary Higgins * Gavin Herlihy * Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts *
Hapshash & The Coloured Coat * Io * Jeff Beck * Jim O'Rourke
* Knacks * Los Temerarios * Madlib & Dudley Perkins * Meth
Teeth * Mod.civil * Monotonix * Moving Sidewalks * Mr Raoul K
* Natural Snow Buildings * Nurse With Wound * Om * Ricardo
Villalobos & Fumiya Tanaka * Roland M. Dill * Russ Gabriel *
Santorini * Schaffhauser & Friends * Scott Hull * Sic Alps *
Simon & Garfunkel * Sir Warrior & His Original Bros. Int'l Band *
Sven Weisemann * Teenage Cool Kids * U Roy * Unknown *
Vargas * Velvet Underground, The * War/eric Burdon & The
Animals * Wolf Eyes * Wyrd * Yes
Nurse With Wound - Chance Meeting On A Dissecting Table Of A
Sewing Machine LP Box (Dirter Promotions) [DPROM071BOX] $98.50
...And An Umbrella. This is the long-awaited vinyl re-issue of the
timeless
Nurse With Wound debut release from 1979. Described by Sounds at the time
as a record that "makes The Faust Tapes sound like Carousel," nothing has
changed to alter this view over the last 30 years, and to say that this
work is the "Sgt. Pepper of the avant-garde" would not be hyperbole. The
special box edition will consist of: the double LP, which will be a 2LP set
with the extra track "Strain, Crack, Break" (never previously available on
vinyl and appearing for the first time in any format in its intended
unedited form) on side three and an etching on side four. Also included in
this box is a t-shirt with the legendary "NWW list" (a list of 294 bands
that accompanied NWW on this album) in luminous ink on a black shirt, and a
die-cut enamel badge of the woman from the iconic front cover. The
collection will be housed in a beautiful box printed with a matte laminate
coating. Only 250 copies of this box will be available at retail level. The
regular double LP will be released shortly thereafter. Members include:
John Fothergill (synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, wind), Heman (synthesizer,
guitar, keyboards, wind), Nicky Rogers (guitar), and Steve Stapleton
(synthesizer, flute, guitar, keyboards).
[ . . . ]
69
- The Legendary Adventures Of A Filter King LP Box (Planet E) [PE65307EP]
$154.50
"Planet E's first release was titled Four Jazz Funk Classics, which
Carl
Craig recorded under the moniker 69. This album set the standard for what
was to follow in Planet E's history. In addition, it set the stage for
listeners to prepare themselves for the unique and undeniable sound the
label would become synonymous with, a sort of 'futuristic funk' that
remains true to its techno roots, while redefining the genre as a whole.
69
- The Legendary Adventures of a Filter King. Ltd Edition vinyl boxed set
featuring re-mastered versions of: 4 Jazz Funk Classics, Sound on Sound,
Lite Music, Pungtang, and a bonus disc with 2 previously unreleased
versions of 'If Mojo Was A.M.' and 'Poi Et Pas.' Package design by
Machine.
All five 12" disc pressed on attractive color vinyl." Tracklist: 01.
Ladies
And Gentlemen 02. If Mojo Was A.M. 03. My Machines 04. Frequency Finale
05.
Rushed 06. Sub Seducer 07. Sound On Sound 08. Pois Et Pas (Original) 09.
Filter King 10. Jam The Box 11. Microlovr 12. Desire 13. Jam The Box 2
14.
Puntang 15. Puntang 2 16. Sub Seducer (Long Mix) 17. Poi Beats 18. Poi Et
Pas (Unreleased Version) 19. If Mojo Was A.M.(Extended Version)
69 - The Legendary Adventures Of A Filter King LP Box (Planet
E) [PE65307LTD-EP] $191.00
"Planet E's first release was titled Four Jazz Funk Classics, which
Carl
Craig recorded under the moniker 69. This album set the standard for what
was to follow in Planet E's history. In addition, it set the stage for
listeners to prepare themselves for the unique and undeniable sound the
label would become synonymous with, a sort of 'futuristic funk' that
remains true to its techno roots, while redefining the genre as a whole.
69
- The Legendary Adventures of a Filter King. Ltd Edition vinyl boxed set
featuring re-mastered versions of: 4 Jazz Funk Classics, Sound on Sound,
Lite Music, Pungtang, and a bonus disc with 2 previously unreleased
versions of 'If Mojo Was A.M.' and 'Poi Et Pas.' Package design by
Machine.
All five 12" disc pressed on attractive color vinyl." Tracklist: 01.
Ladies
And Gentlemen 02. If Mojo Was A.M. 03. My Machines 04. Frequency Finale
05.
Rushed 06. Sub Seducer 07. Sound On Sound 08. Pois Et Pas (Original) 09.
Filter King 10. Jam The Box 11. Microlovr 12. Desire 13. Jam The Box 2
14.
Puntang 15. Puntang 2 16. Sub Seducer (Long Mix) 17. Poi Beats 18. Poi Et
Pas (Unreleased Version) 19. If Mojo Was A.M.(Extended Version) Includes
limited edition American Apparel t-shirt designed by San Francisco-based
designer clothing company Nice Collective.
A-Bones - Not Now! LP (Norton) [ED345] $12.00
Yes, your favorite slop team makes with the shake once again! THE
A-BONES
return with a fifteen-song platter recorded at Manhattan's posh
underground
NY Hed Studios piloted by reknown engineer MATT VERTA-RAY. The A-Bones
even
managed to lure elusive R&B legend DAVE "BABY" CORTEZ back onto the
Hammond
organ to grind out a fresh take of his instro stomper "Cat Nip."
Supercharged originals are filled out with covers of the Animals and the
Clovers, plus Shallow Grave, Andy Shernoff's Bobby Fuller style ode to
Charles "Smitty" Schmid, the notorious Pied Piper of Tucson and lots
more!
Alejandro Mosso - Somebody 12 inch (Lomidhigh Organic)
[LMHO010EP] $11.50
"At the Lomidhigh HQ we thought of making a hot, little summery
surprise
for you all. So why not a single-sided treat for the first time on the
label with a jazz-tastic excursion spiced with some blues flavours by
Alejandro Mosso on Somebody. We imagine you bopping your head and
swinging
your feet to the heavy bass, rolling piano and that muffled vox which
creates a simple but lush groove to get lost in."
Ali Nasser - Ra 12 inch (Soweso) [SWS003EP] $12.25
"Soweso Records is here with their third release! After 2 very
successful
releases it's now time for the Romanian Ali Nasser to show us what's up!
Ali has made a name for himself with his unique techhouse sound and Ra EP
is the cherry on top. Three very diverse and well produced tracks, a
stomping remix by newly signed Viva artist Leon."
Antislash - Vertiges 12 inch (Frankie Records) [FRANKIE047EP]
$12.25
"Antislash joins Frankie records with a 3 tracker EP titled Vertiges
EP a
bunch of quirky sounds and fonky beats. We start with the long side A1 -
'Lendemain de Fête' (more than 10 min!!) a great shaky tool sounds like
an
invitation to share their sense of groove warm and bleepy sounds are
nicely
arranged. Definitely a great moment with crazy moments and deeper
atmosphere in the 2nd part of the song. Simply a wonderful and powerful
track! On the flip B1 Damn a nice bleepy and craziness with takt, groove
and great arrangements. Follows B2 'Pastis Anis' combining deeper
atmosphere and weird bleepy sounds as antislah knows to do!"
Benny Joy - Crash The Party - Benny Joy Story Vol. 1 LP
(Norton) [ED346] $12.00
A new series of reissued wax from the legenary BENNY JOY! Roll to the
jukebox rock with the party crashing sounds of Tampa's Rebel Rocker Benny
Joy. Benny has long been acknowledged as one of the unsung kings of
rockabilly through five star killer singles like "Crash The Party,"
"Little
Red Book," "Spin The Bottle" and "Steady With Betty."
Benny Joy - Rollin' To The Jukebox Rock - Benny Joy Story
Vol. 2 LP (Norton) [ED347] $12.00
A new series of reissued wax from the legenary BENNY JOY! Roll to the
jukebox rock with the party crashing sounds of Tampa's Rebel Rocker Benny
Joy. Benny has long been acknowledged as one of the unsung kings of
rockabilly through five star killer singles like "Crash The Party,"
"Little
Red Book," "Spin The Bottle" and "Steady With Betty."
Benny Joy - I'm Gonna Move - Benny Joy Story Vol. 3 LP
(Norton) [ED348] $12.00
A new series of reissued wax from the legenary BENNY JOY! Roll to the
jukebox rock with the party crashing sounds of Tampa's Rebel Rocker Benny
Joy. Benny has long been acknowledged as one of the unsung kings of
rockabilly through five star killer singles like "Crash The Party,"
"Little
Red Book," "Spin The Bottle" and "Steady With Betty."
Benny Joy - Wild Wild Lover - Benny Joy Story Vol. 4 LP
(Norton) [ED349] $12.00
A new series of reissued wax from the legenary BENNY JOY! Roll to the
jukebox rock with the party crashing sounds of Tampa's Rebel Rocker Benny
Joy. Benny has long been acknowledged as one of the unsung kings of
rockabilly through five star killer singles like "Crash The Party,"
"Little
Red Book," "Spin The Bottle" and "Steady With Betty."
Benny Joy - Love Zone - Benny Joy Story Vol. 5 LP (Norton)
[ED350] $12.00
A new series of reissued wax from the legenary BENNY JOY! Roll to the
jukebox rock with the party crashing sounds of Tampa's Rebel Rocker Benny
Joy. Benny has long been acknowledged as one of the unsung kings of
rockabilly through five star killer singles like "Crash The Party,"
"Little
Red Book," "Spin The Bottle" and "Steady With Betty."
Bernard Badie - Move To The Beat 12 inch (Mojuba)
[MOJUBA013EP] $12.75
"Time for the next regular Mojuba release after some fabulous
contributions
by Chez Damier and Nick Solé. The new 12'' is from Bernard Badie, who
graced the 10th anniversary release with his all-time house classic 'Time
Reveals.' This time he delivers some serious Chicago house action with a
re-edit of a rare and out of print track from Larry Heard's Alleviated
Records called 'Move To The Beat' and the second tune is fresh and
directly
out of his studio, a jacking track which combines the old school flavour
with the new school vibe! Let's jack the house!"
Cambridge Stones - Discotheque A-Go-Go 10 inch (Electro
Harmonix) [EH042] $19.25
Mexico is a bottomless mine of rock'n'roll, beat and surf gemstones.
Originally from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, THE CAMBRIDGE STONES are one of
those obscure jewels. Discos Coro released their only album, Discotheque
A-Go-Go, a completely instrumental LP with obvious British and American
influences: The Ventures, The Shadows, Dick Dale, The Champs, Duane Eddy
and Bill Justis.
Charlie Nothing - The Psychedelic Saxophone Of Charlie
Nothing LP (Takoma) [C1015LP] $16.50
Grey-area exact LP repro edition, originally released on Fahey's
Takoma
label in 1967. Charlie Nothing was the fractured-psyche pseudonym of
author, organic farmer, beekeeper and philosopher/clown Charles Martin
Simon, inventor of the dingulator (guitar sculptures made out the metal
from American cars). The Psychedelic Saxophone Of Charlie Nothing made a
minor splash in the European free jazz melting pot upon its initial
release, but the album's non-dingulating psych sax improvisation,
accompanied by gong, conga drum and banjo (supposedly borrowed from Tiny
Tim), is highly sought-after by the adventurous and heavily medicated.
Limited to 500 copies.
Christina Carter - Lace Heart 2xLP (Root Strata) [RS036LP]
$24.25
"Double LP reissue of a 2005 CD-R released on Christina's own Many
Breaths
imprint. Six love songs comprised of elliptical bell like guitar phrases,
barely there, sometimes even coaxing silence, set behind the extended
vowel
sounds of voice. Soft gentle performances here, like this whole record
was
cut very very late at night or in the early hours of the morning. An
unhinged 'nowness' is pervasive in Christina's work, and Lace Heart is no
exception. There is a very private feeling here, some kinda intimacy that
just feels really rare. Lovers of past, present & future all collapse
into
one. Memories of smells, tastes & textures all channeled into wide open
song. No one really does it like this. Three sides of music & and an
etching of one of Christina's drawings on the fourth side. Red vinyl with
maroon splatter. Edition of 500."
Claude VonStroke (feat. Bootsy Collins) - The Greasy Beat 12
inch (Dirtybird) [DBIRD027EP] $11.50
The legendary Bootsy Collins from Parliament Funkadelic and Claude
VonStroke team up on the lead single from VonStroke's second album, Bird
Brain. Rolling Stone writes: " Bootsy is a true star, the clown prince of
comic, psychedelic, good-times funk -- if he weren't such a genius of the
bass, you'd think he was Jimmie Walker in a sequined costume." Claude
takes
the same tongue-in-cheek approach to his music, and that's why this
collaboration works -- greasy beats in a funk bomb mix and a tech funk
mix.
Cyrus (Random Trio) - Space Cadet/Junk Yard 12 inch
(Tectonic) [TEC031EP] $10.75
Random Trio's Cyrus returns to Tectonic with two minimal stepper
riddims.
"Space Cadet" takes the stripped-down minimal approach to an extreme.
Once
the otherworldly atmospherics and fizzing hi-hats drift away, the beat
comes rolling in -- rock solid and uncompromising. Kick, hat, snare and,
of
course -- stomach-shaking subs that lay low down and heavy. "Junk Yard"
features a relentless, double-time bass while strange, atmospheric stabs
emerge like alien beasts lurking just beneath the surface. More quality
bass weight.
Data - Doors Of Perception 12 inch (Tempa) [TEMPA044EP]
$10.75
Best-known for his releases under Goldie's Metalheadz imprint, this
is
Data's first release on Tempa. His sound is more akin to Headhunter and
Basic Channel than, say, Benga, and sits more comfortably on your home
monitors than it does peak-time on the dancefloor. Moving with the
measured
pace of experience, "Doors Of Perception" (featuring Cell) is
characterized
by intermittent sweeps and percussion which add scar tissue to the body
of
work. "Leaves" references the glory of individuality while remaining
grounded.
Drafted By Minotaurs - Aversion Therapy LP (Infraction)
[10531] $25.75
Drafted by Minotaurs mainstays are guitarist Ryan Wilson and Ian
Fulcher,
who contributes trumpet and glockenspiel. Meanwhile members of a floating
cast chip in with added textures from cello and violin. Opener
"Blueprints
for Sunbuilding" spools out a hail of plucked and bowed strings, webs of
sound solidifying then melting into steely flow, stall set out somewhere
around cultivated Constellation post-rockeries, a mood and sound that may
feel familiar to those acquainted with the new backwoods chamberisms and
neo-folk drone of UK cottage industrialites such as Richard Skelton (aka
A
Broken Consort/Clouwbeck) and Seasons (Pre-din). "Sault Locks" proposes
cyclical patterns of stringed things that seem to hover shyly apart,
before
swarming to swell and billow over the listener - not so much a Storm of
Drones as a squall of tones. "Skin the Night and Fog," a more veiled
sister
of the previous pluckings and bowings, plays out a psych-infused dream
sequence. These three tracks forming Side A work with their own distinct
harmonic and textural patterns, while seeming like movements of something
overarching. Miasmic minor chord tidal flow abounds, the music's motion
determined by languorous bow-strokes, its textures by warm-prickly
needles
of guitar pizzicatos. Side B's single extended track, "Sunday's Morning
Ghost," is wrought from similar materials, but aspires to more
transcendant
levels, led by the celestial harmonics of Fulcher's treated trumpet. It
takes on atavistic echoes redolent of some distant Miles Davis or Jon
Hassell blowback, as if viewing In a Silent Way through a post-Kosmische
kaleidoscope, or channeled through Eno/Budd cathedrals to meet today's
psych-drone and ambient trajectories. Overall, Aversion Therapy thrives
on
such productive tensions between genres and eras, as it does between live
and recorded, spontaneous and pre-structured, making for engaging, at
times
thrillingly psychotropic, listening." - alan lockett This LP pressing is
limited to 489 copies.
Felix - You Are The One I Pick LP (Kranky) [KRANK139LP]
$12.00
"Felix is the musical duo of Lucinda Chua and Chris Summerlin, who
make
their home in England. The focus of the album is Lucinda's askew stories,
and the subtle conversation between her piano and the guitar
accompaniment
of Chris Summerlin, an intuitive discussion that speaks volumes by not
saying too much and while never stepping on each other's lines. The songs
themselves are delicate and spare chamber pop. They are understated and
deceptively simple, but deliver an emotional impact that mere decibels
cannot. Lucinda's tales of woe concern the banality of domestic life,
small
animals, and the desire to keep the forces of the world at bay. You Are
the
One I Pick may be an album of small charms, but they come with a
frequency
rarely found, and are myriad in number."
Filsonik - Day Three 12 inch (These Days) [TD003EP]
$11.50
"The initial These Days trilogy concludes with a collection of works
and
remixes of New York artist and resident Filsonik. 'Diva Jaguar' is a deep
and mosaic journey which weaves vibrant percussion between subtle
textured
pads and flowing melodic synths to create a unique spiritual moment. Raw
elements of the original are extracted and distilled to leave an organic,
hypnotic flow in These Days' beats version. Argy's tool version of
Filsoniks 'Can U' features on the flip side as an absolute percussive
dancefloor groove. Alexander Ross takes 'Diva Jaguar' in a completely
different direction with a soaring, spacial cut which layers a driving
beat
and echoing, dubbed synths over bass and textures from the original."
Franklin de Costa - Redazz 12 inch (Einmaleins) [EINMAL047EP]
$11.50
"We are pround to present Mr.Franklin De Costa`s second EP on
Einmaleins.
He takes us into a spheric drivin journey with his two tracks. The title
track is a hypnotizing minimal groove monster. On the flipside we have
tight drums, a hypnotic melody and sick sounds which don't let you go off
the hook. Two diverse dancefloor weapons! Get your copies!"
Freedarich & Stiggsen - Candide 12 inch (Areal Records)
[AREAL052EP] $11.50
Freedarich & Stiggsen present their first release on Areal Records.
This is
a Berlin act that has only just started its rise, dropping infectiously
melodic monsters. "Candide" is a popping track with shiny synth
vacillations, and gently climbing, staccato melodies. Hypnotic and
narcotic. "Lago" takes things even further down the tech-house tunnel --
simple beats match clicks and melodic, chiming percolations for an
understated, classy groove.
Fresh & Onlys, The - Grey-Eyed Girls LP (Woodsist)
[WOODSIST032LP] $13.50
"When Tim Cohen told Shayde Sartin he was writing a song called 'Be
My
Hooker,' the Fresh & Onlys bassist looked at the singer/guitarist and
said,
'There's no way we're gonna have a song with that title, dude,' explains
Sartin. 'But sure enough, he laid a riff down and I was like, 'Jesus
christ, I can't believe you pulled something meaningful out of such a
stupid line.'' Welcome to the push/pull dynamic that's fueled the Fresh &
Onlys' steady stream of releases over the past year, including last
spring's self-titled LP (Castle Face) and Grey-Eyed Girls (Woodsist). And
to think it all started the old-fashioned way -- with Sartin and Cohen
simply hanging out after work, playing their favorite punk (Buzzcocks,
The
Mekons) and classic rock (Country Joe and the Fish, cued up alongside
slabs
of psych from the group's homebase, San Francisco) records alongside a
growing collection of empty beer cans. 'I can't really explain what
happened or why,' says Sartin. 'I guess we listened to records until we
were on the same page, and from that point on, we never stopped
recording.'
As simple as all of that sounds, the duo first bought a tape machine five
years ago. When that failed to produce any concrete cuts, Cohen focused
on
his previous avant-pop band, Black Fiction, and Sartin split his time
between session and live work for such bands as the Skygreen Leopards,
Papercuts and Citay. Not to mention his close friend Kelley Stoltz, who
ended up releasing the first Fresh & Onlys 7" (the limited Imaginary
Friends EP) in early 2008. With so much music hitting shops in such a
short
time (Sartin says the band already has boxes of backlogged tapes), you
might think the Fresh & Only's camp have a problem with quality control.
Quite the contrary; Sartin and Cohen are very careful about what they
release. And while the duo writes and records the band's songs, the
arrangements are usually fleshed out with guitarist Wymond Miles, drummer
Kyle Gibson, and backup singer Heidi Alexander. 'If we take a song into
the
studio or a live setting and it doesn't have wings,' says Sartin, 'Then
we
just ditch it and keep the charming demo version.' The final mix of
Grey-Eyed Girls sounds like a natural bridge between the raucous garage
rock of the group's debut and the full-on studio record they plan on
wrapping for In the Red later this year. That goes for the galloping
grooves of 'Happy To Be Living,' the shadowy post-punk of 'Invisible
Forces,' and the firework finale freak-outs that drive 'The Delusion of
Man.' Not to mention a stack of hook-slinging tracks that nix any
'shitgaze' assumptions you may have. 'We're not trying to hide melodies
or
do the blown-out thing,' says Sartin. 'A lot of those bands are great,
but
I don't want to ever cater to what's popular. It's not that I'm being
reactionary; we're just trying to make recordings that are as rich and
ear-friendly as possible.' It's working."
Gabriel Ananda - Bell/Schnee 12 inch (Basmati) [BASMATI001EP]
$11.50
"Now techno has its own fair trade. Basmati, the new label by Gabriel
Ananda (artist direction) and Marcel Janovsky (management), does not
indulge in pretentious bragging. In fact, it's not even supposed to have
a
release sheet like this one. But sometimes, you're even too modest to
stay
away. So, what's it all about? Well, the music, of course. And only the
music. Organic stuff, so to speak. Tracks made by pure immersion. No
plans,
no blueprints. Just going with the flow, unleashing the inner Krautrock
while staying true to the basics of techno. Gabriel and friends at their
best. Inhale."
Gary Higgins - Seconds LP (Drag City) [DC395LP] $14.75
"The music business is full of funny stories -- and some of them
aren't
that funny at all. Take Gary Higgins. In the early 70s, he made a great
record, the culmination of years of listening and playing and work. Then
he
went to jail for marijuana possession, a short stint, but still, the kind
of crime that's almost not a crime these days. The record came out -- but
without him to promote it, almost nobody heard it, until... 2005: Red
Hash,
Higgins' megaobscure psychedelic folk-rock masterpiece is reissued on CD,
drawing all kinds of acclaim and selling thousands of copies. Shows are
played, interviews are done. But how to answer the question, why haven't
you made another record since then? 2009: Gary Higgins' Seconds. is here
to
answer the question. It's a beautiful acoustic-based record featuring
careful, melancholy arrangements in the tradition set by his famous
previous record -- but with a few unpredictable musical touches.
Additionally, Seconds. weaves black threads of lyrical reflection into
its
sleeve in the shortlived Higgins tradition. His was never a hippie-dippy
perspective -- back in the day, his songs featured a thoughtful, but
worldweary, occasionally even paranoid perspective. And today, he opens
Seconds. with the couplet 'I got demons on my back/they don't travel
nice.'
Gary is from the original singer-songwriter wave of rock and roll.
There's
no need for him to pretend that his songs are being sung from another
point
of view. And so Seconds. strings together moments of life, working
through
regrets and reflections on fallibility, the odd flashback, and a few
hopes
for the future over the course of seven deep songs. Whether the material
has been gathered in the years since his reemergence in 2005 or over the
longer stretch since the last released Higgins material, it flows with
oneness. And accompanied by his fellow travelers (including a couple Red
Hash players as well as his son), he's put together a bold and colorful
statement of where he's at today. Seconds. ain't no Sweet Baby James, or
anyone else for that matter. This is the sound of Gary Higgins, making
music and digging it once again."
Gavin Herlihy - Games Of Dares 12 inch (Kindisch) [KD024EP]
$11.50
"After blazing a trail through all things house and techno over the
last
year our favorite Irishman returns to the Kindisch sandbox with 3
funk-shoveling dance floor weapons. The last year has seen him contribute
remixes and releases to an onslaught of respectable labels including the
likes of Ben Watt's Buzzin' Fly, Sven Väth's Cocoon and Luciano's
Cadenza.
Ok, put your tongue back in your mouth and let the music wipe up that
mess
you just made on the floor. Hefty and hulking right from the beginning
'Tension, Release' is a carnal beast of heavyweight House. No
'girlie-man-back-in-bed-at-4 A.M'. House here. This is
'look-down-at-your-watch-say, 'screw it'
and-soldier-on-to-the-after-party'
beats. Fully equipped with heavy artillery consisting of ray gun
synthesizer effects, chanting vocals and warped clunking bells. This is a
versatile and unique tool that will be applauded by DJ's from many
different genres. 'Expression' is a testament to Gavin's sound. You can
here his signature touch on the track right through the bubbling melodic
bass line, finicky detail to sound design and his ability to effortlessly
layer sounds. This is one of those tracks that has his mark all over it,
proving he is not just following the pack. There is not too much that is
random about 'The Random.' An upright guitar bass line are the backbone
of
this bad boy, but really what whisks you away and off your feet is the
modulating filtered pads. Their simple melody spreads warmth and feeling
like a fireplace in a chilled Norwegian hut. People like Gavin are why
electronic music is moving forward. Technology has given us endless
possibilities as well as the means to attain them. There is so much room
to
explore, and Herlihy is one of those people who are not afraid to put on
the hard hat and jump in head first. He is definitely one to watch for
the
future, which is just fine with us."
Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - The Secret Is In The Pudding
12 inch (Oslo) [OSLO013EP] $11.50
"Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts, a very special artist, who is not
only an
electronic producer, brings us this time a record with two excellent
house
tracks. On the A side is 'Here we go ...again' with a lot of percussions,
reproduces a very warm summer vibe, fiting perfectly with the special
moments. On the B side is 'Bada Bing,' a funky house track wich lives
from
the vocals and the Bassline. Guillaume prooves once again that his EP is
a
secret weapon for this summer."
Io - Cabaret 12 inch (Diynamic) [DIYNAMIC029EP] $11.50
"Two talented house fans and DJs are behind Ukrainian act, and new
Diynamic
artists 'iO'. With only their second release, they show an exciting and
fruitful new direction. The duo's talents have been honed not only from
their regular DJ sets but also from presenting their weekly radio shows
on
DJ FM and Kiss FM in their home country. Diynamic Music are pleased to
welcome them to the family."
Jim O'Rourke - The Visitor LP (Drag City) [DC375LP]
$16.50
"The cat's back in the bag again -- try not to throw it in the river
this
time! This one is special: Jim O'Rourke has delivered his first new solo
album since 2001. Working relentlessly since he burst onto the scene in
1989, Jim has played, recorded and mixed a couple hundred records -- but
only a dozen of them have been Jim O'Rourke-endorsed products that bear
the
name that gives his promise of quality. That relative handful of albums
has
established a brand that's been burned deep into Jim's flanks. Is it any
wonder that he fled the western hemisphere; never leaves his Tokyo
apartment and isn't seen in public anymore without a strong drink in his
hand? So anyway, it's been a long time since one of Jim O'Rourke's
popular
music records. The Visitor hasn't made us wait as long as Chinese
Democracy
but it has made us wince a lot less. Call it Jim's Japanese Democracy --
a
republic of one inside the studio where it was recorded and mixed. The
Visitor is a seriously all-O'Rourke affair -- all the sounds you hear are
Jim and Jim alone. So this time you can't blame any of those session
dudes
and their bloodless line readings -- the chill you're getting is a
one-hundred percent O'Rourke effect. As a matter of fact, it might be
more
like two hundred percent -- some of The Visitor is tracked so deep, it
took
two hundred tracks to hold it all. It doesn't sound like it though -- to
Jim's credit, the mix sounds very minimal, very straightforward -- not
like
several hundred tracks at all. Call it his invisible wall of sound --
Spector without the gun. But what Jim lacks in firearms, he makes up for
in
desire. Speaking of sound, all the classic O'Rourke-isms are here, for
you
musicologist types: percolating banjos, smooth electric leads, organic,
kicking drum sounds, the flickering of shakers to the left and right,
mellow but ominous woodwinds, sounds that indicate 'vintage' (before
turning left and running out the door), sonic jokes, sonic tear-jerkers,
sonic jerkoffs, all wrapped in spacious yet subtle left to right
placement
of everything in the picture. There's moments of low comedy next to high
drama and juicy melancholy with a seeming lack of regard for proximity
(which of course is just what Jim wants you to think, that's how jaded
and
perverse he is!). Plus -- sudden surging rhythms! A roil of noise or two!
Constantly shifting moods! Things that aren't what they seem! The Visitor
is sort of 'O'Rourke Does O'Rourke' -- Jim recontextualizing everything
he's done over the years, and throwing out the bullshit. The one thing
you
won't hear is his voice -- perhaps another O'Rourkian self-examination?
Or
maybe he's just saving it for all the name-calling on his next album. At
the end of the day, The Visitor doesn't overstay its welcome -- call it a
cautionary tale, rest of the music world! And get ready for redefinition
--
Jim O'Rourke is back."
Knacks - Knacks 10 inch (Electro Harmonix) [EH043] $19.25
THE KNACKS are one of the cornerstones of '60s Argentine music. They
left a
rich legacy full of freakbeat, garage and British psychedelia sounds
pressed on a bunch of singles impossible to find today without paying a
huge amount of money. This compilation of some of their best singles is
an
acknowledegement to their great role as pioneers of Argentine beat music.
Madlib & Dudley Perkins - A Lil Light Instrumentals 2xLP
(Stones Throw) [STH2074] $17.00
Incredible instrumentals from DUDLEY PERKINS' album, A Lil Light.
This is
the last piece of the puzzle made from the same batch of MADLIB beats as
Jaylib and Madvillain.
Meth Teeth - Everything Went Wrong LP (Woodsist)
[WOODSIST030LP] $13.50
"Meth Teeth reside in Portland OR. and in some ways embody the rainy
day
big country vibe of the city with its youth culture dreamers, old
druggies,
and rustic history. There is something that is really hard to pin down
about Meth Teeth, the songs rely on simple ramshackle rhythms, upbeat
shinny guitar interplay, and big fat chord churners, and a lot of
tambourine banging away on the snare drum. Ultra catchy summertime
rockers
keep you sad and lonely, and upbeat and hopeful all at once." -- Shawn
Reed/Night People
Mod.civil - Ghost 12 inch (Rotary Cocktail) [RC018EP]
$11.50
"Raw synth line & chords driven techno/house stuff by the mysterious
Mod.Civil project (ORNAMENTS). Be fast -- limited edition!"
Monotonix - Where Were You When It Happened? LP (Drag City)
[DC411LP] $14.75
"Monotonix are back -- but how can this be, if they never really went
away?
They're the People's Rock Band, playing anywhere and everywhere that
they're allowed to play all around the world. Nobody anywhere has played
more gigs than Monotonix over the past two years. Nobody -- unless
'playing
gigs' is code for scratching one's ass, in which case, we're all as Godly
as the Monotonix crew. Speaking of ass, wait'll you see the back of Where
Were You When It Happened? ! What it lacks in cheek, it makes up for in
crack. But what are Monotonix supposed to do? Fans of their incredible
live
energy insist that their first record, the Body Language EP, is great,
but
can't possibly approach the thrill that comes from being rocked from
within, doused with band-sweat, trash and a variety of drinks, mooned and
then challenged to bear the group aloft while they climax their
relentless
assault. F***ing duh! No LP, CD or DVD can duplicate that -- not even
Blu-Ray (not yet). Still, over the course of their two releases,
Monotonix
have mastered an approximation of their live rush. Where Were You When It
Happened? roils and rocks with frenetic glee, shows a lot of skin, and is
over before you know it. Where Were You When It Happened? works up a
sweat
with raw rock and roll, acid guitar licks and riffs, screaming choruses
and, in general, the wildness of Monotonix in a way that makes for
repeated
album listening (and pummeling). How did they do it? Where most bands
refine their production sound as they go forward, Monotonix have
reverse-refined themselves, playing dirtier and more energetic to capture
the lightning they are known for."
Mr Raoul K - Moment Psychedelik 12 inch (Baobab Music)
[BBS901EP] $12.75
"Moment Psychedelik - it's all said in the title, actually. It is
easy to
get lost in all those layers of mesmerizing sounds, swirling around you
like bubbles sparkling out of a well shaken bottle. Just before you lose
it
all, the kickdrum comes in to lead you to a winding path. Upon blistering
plains, through some dry land into a multicoloured jungle, populated with
all kinds of textures and sounds. Enter the next level - like the title
suggests. The flipside utilizes a more pronounced guide: Mr Talking Drum
himself will show you how to find the clearing of enlightenment where
your
heart gets filled with joy and your feet can't stop dancing. Supported by
Lopazz, Ä,me, Tobi Neumann."
Natural Snow Buildings - Shadow Kingdom 3xLP (Blackest
Rainbow Records) [BRR140LP] $53.75
"So here it is, the vinyl debut from the French duo of Mehdi Ameziane
and
Solange Gularte, aka Natural Snow Buildings. Shadow Kingdom is the vinyl
debut of this highly regarded project, and it continues their journey
through some of the finest experimental folk laced with beautiful drones,
all recordings are new. An epic piece of music, only deserved an epic
release. You get the full length record across three 180 gram LPs in a
full
colour sleeve featuring the superb art by Solange, includes the CD
version
that features 2 bonus tracks housed in an A5 16 page comic by the band,
plus a hand numbered black and white insert. All sleeves and the comic
book
are pro-printed. Mastered by Ben Nash. The artwork on the LP and insert
is
exclusive to the LP version."
Om - God Is Good LP (Drag City) [DC404LP] $16.50
"It's been years now -- just about two, judging from the sun. OM have
done
their time in the desert, and ever-changing, are returned. Today, they
say,
God is Good. Are you surprised? Perhaps you've haven't understood what OM
was saying to you. But perhaps you felt something... It's true that the
one
way pursued by OM leads in many different directions. It is a mystic
path.
Songs come from innumerable sources, filtering through the external and
the
internal. OM albums are rituals, personal convictions transcripted into
verse. Playing the music is visceral, emotional, a catharsis of soul and
spirit. As the ghat liberates soul from body to the ultimate, so too do
OM
strive to disengage from the finite object of their objective mortal self
to rest in the empty and timeless witness. And in doing so, they seek to
release you as well. As ever, dynamic relationships and the slow building
of mood are attenuations that shape the structures of God is Good. With
careful microscopic increase, the energy grows through the four songs,
leading towards moments that one could interpret...revelation? Oblivion?
Awakening? Since 2004, OM have burned their name into the annals, trolled
the fertile crescent, faithfully made more out of what little was put
into
their hands, forged three full-length albums from white-hot evaluations
of
the infinite. The duo that is OM is composed of bass and drums and
whatever
else comes into their mind that will serve the song and do it justice. Al
Cisneros has been pursuing the pure note as OM (and previously with
Sleep)
for many years now, but this is the first OM record to feature the
battery
of Emil Amos, who replaces Chris Haikus in the chair. You can go to the
shelf and study it: there are comparative religions, philosophy,
metaphysics, mythology, and history. Turn around, and there is OM. Their
vibrations of the philosophical and the physical are meant to move you.
Believe."
Ricardo Villalobos & Fumiya Tanaka - Fumiyandric 12 inch
(Sundance) [SND001EP] $12.25
"Please welcome the very first release from Sundance, which is Fumiya
Tanaka's third and newest label following Torema Records and op.disc.
This
EP contains two tracks by Fumiya and Ricardo Villalobos."
Roland M. Dill - Taurine On Sunday 12 inch (Trapez)
[TRAPEZ09975EP] $11.50
Cologne-based artist Roland M. Dill presents two bass-heavy groovers
that
you will fall for. "Taurine On Sunday" is a jumping-jack track, a
happy-go-merry, super-dooper late-night groover that Charlie Parker would
have loved to improvise on. "Candy Mountain" is powered by a funky, tight
rhythm with accelerating beats, although it also has deep, hypnotic and
subtle moments, creating a complex, cool techno track.
Russ Gabriel - Parsec 12 inch (Leena) [LEENA012EP] $11.50
"For Russ Gabriel, subtlety is the name of the game. Always
maintaining a
passion for sound and synthesis, Russ Gabriel's elegant sonic
constructions
are built on slowly shifting modulations and have established himself as
a
name synonymous with UK techno. Since the inception of his career, he has
recorded for nearly all the major techno names of the 90s including
Peacefrog Records, Soma Recordings, his own Ferox Records, and Planet-E
(on
which he released his legendary remix for Carl Craig's 'At Les'). He
joined
forces with mobilee in 2008 with his release entitled 'The Fall Guy' and
now he's back with a release on Leena entited 'Parsec' -- or for those of
you who skipped science class, the equivalent of 3.26 light years. The
aptly named A-side takes its time as well, with clicky, bleeps of melody
that wobble to-and-fro, constantly fading in and out on incredibly minute
levels as the track calmly progresses as a comfortable pace. Muted snare
drums, rattles add diversity to the environment as the synthesizers force
their way in from the group up. 'Sat Vremena' (or 'hour' in Serbian)
utilizes the aforementioned tropes for which Russ is known while
futuristic
effects permeate the backdrop. A singular high-pitched drone maintains
continuity until a wave of static marks a transitional point as the track
winds down and breaks up into its constituent components."
Santorini - Shadittz 12 inch (Upon You) [UY026EP] $12.25
"Our man from Italy hits base again! He was the first house-agent
that
we've send out on a pure digital Upon You mission. He mastered it with
such
bravery that our Headquater see it worthwhile to hit session two on
vinyl.
In phase A1 he successfully recovered a whole row of bad house replicates
under the code name 'Shadittz' to bring back the good taste. 'Back from
the
middle' is the motto in Phase A2, essentially contributing the bust of a
few lousy tech-house bosses that where about to sell scuzzy loops to
minors. His work was very useful for us and an easy seizing for mr.
superbrain Tolga Fidan who could complete the mission as our remix
profiler."
Schaffhauser & Friends - Unequal Equality 3 12 inch (Ware)
[WARE081EP] $10.75
Part 3 of Ware's Unequal Equality 12" series, featuring never
before-released collaborations between Mathias Schaffhäuser and various
artists. "It's Only Flesh (What We Call Brain)" by Schaffhäuser and Pawas
&
Beume takes a unique journey through dance history, mixing crisp
dub-house
and Kraut vocals. Glitterbug's remix sits right in the middle between
understatement, euphoria and desire. The vocal version of Schaffhäuser
and
Midinovela's "Quiero" features Edu's super-smooth voice and revised
arrangements and sounds.
Scott Hull - Requiem LP (Kreation) [KR30] $14.75
Requiem, the first score from veteran sound-designer SCOTT HULL (PIG
DESTROYER, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED), is a beautiful yet acutely sobering
work
of profound depth and reach. Requiem explores the pathos of death, the
burden of guilt, and the weight of consequence in all their stages.
Influenced by Morricone and Popol Vuh and films such as The Shining, Dead
Man, Aguirre and more, Requiem further establishes Hull as a modern
virtuoso.
Sic Alps - Long Way Around To A Short Cut LP (Drag City)
[DC400] $17.75
RELEASE DATE: 08-18-2009
***"The new, first-time-ever-on-vinyl double-LP reissue is somehow a
"greatest hits" of the golden not-quite-decade of SIC ALPS. Their music
is
the bright, surging sound of ye olde rock & roll radio (and the garages
that tuned in), but heard through air darkened with specks of nameless
obstruction. Originally issued as a CD in 2008, it collected songs that
were first issued throughout the epic years of 2006 & 2007 on two 12-inch
EPs, three 7-inch singles and a cassette, plus a song from a compilation
CDR and a song released nowhere else but on the ALWATAS compilation."
Sven Weisemann - Xine Zero 12 inch (Wandering) [4THJOURNEY]
$12.75
"Time to prove that the Mojuba sublabel Wandering was initially
founded to
be a platform for all different kinds of good music. The new 12'' is the
pre-album-release for Sven Weisemann's modern classic and cinematic LP
project entitled XINE. It will feature 3 exclusive tracks which will only
be available on vinyl and can be seen as the thematic introduction to the
whole concept. Regarding sound a new dimension of the Weisemann-sound
universe can be discovered, it sounds like the naturally next step after
his excursions on Essays Music. Be prepared for deep pianos, lush strings
and breathtaking soundscape which are still connectable with his music
that
we all love!"
Teenage Cool Kids - Foreign Lands LP (Protagonist Music)
[PRO008] $12.75
So, you want to hear the soundtrack to best house-party you've ever
been
to? This band is it! These boys from Denton, Texas are writing music that
will make you smile, dance, sing along, and get stoked on 'indie rock'
all
over again. Despite a strong sense of originality, the band carries
influences from early Built To Spill, Meneguar, Dinosaur Jr, and
Jawbreaker. With clever lyrics and sense of humor, the guys will win you
over in a heartbeat-just play the music loud, get sweaty, and remember
the
good times. Features a member of FERGUS & GERONIMO (Woodsist).
Unknown - Juerca/Jocoso 12 inch (Joke) [JOKE004EP] $12.75
"Next action from East Berlin. Only a few hundred copies. Be fast."
Vargas - Tarragona LP (American Typewriter) [AT002LP]
$21.00
"Vargas, the brand new band related to American Typewriter, is a
Geneva all
stars duet, trio or fourtet featuring members of Brakhage, Chapter,
Equus,
Impure Wilhelmina and Swoan. They deliver a passionate and personal blend
of indie pop-electronica-rock, blending intense mathrock spazz-outs with
dense, dreamy melodies. Their first album has been recorded and mixed
with
TVO in Geneva. It's released on a white coloured vinyl limited edition of
368 copies stamp-numbered."
Various Artists - Trapez 100 Pt. 1 12 inch (Trapez)
[TRAPEZ100EP] $11.50
The Trapez label celebrates its 100th vinyl release with a
compilation of
exclusive, unreleased material and other surprises. Out on CD with 11
tracks as well as on two separate 12"s with a selection of 3 tracks each.
This first record features tracks by Gabriel Ananda, Roland M. Dill and a
Five Green Circle remix by Salz.
Various Artists - Trapez 100 Pt. 2 12 inch (Trapez)
[TRAPEZ101EP] $11.50
Part 2 in the Trapez 100 vinyl 12" series features a dynamic track by
Dominik Eulberg, and two remixes -- one by Break 3000 of Oliver Hacke's
legendary "Der Vampir Von Düsseldorf" and the other by Format: B of
Florian
Meindl's hit track "Blast." Eulberg's exclusive track refers to the days
when techno was defined through its drive and enormous dynamic.
"Ambivalent" is exactly such a pounding, driving track, with big synths
that create joy and a great rush.
War/eric Burdon & The Animals - Gypsy Man (Live)/House Of The
Rising Sun 12 inch (Slow To Speak) [SP1222EP] $12.75
"Gypsy Man (Live)" taken from the album Live At The Watts Jazz
Festival
Volume One. "House Of The Rising Sun" taken from the album The Animals.
Wolf Eyes - Always Wrong LP (Hospital Productions) [HOS245LP]
$16.50
"Always Wrong is a mantra of severity. Wolf Eyes has been scouring
audiences across the globe with their acid drenched industrial noise and
dub terror psychedelia, establishing themselves as the trailblazers of a
genre and pioneers of the long-form noise tour. Coming forth from the
piles
of tape loops and effects, the bulk of tables reeling with electronics
have
been shed. This clarity never sacrifices intensity as paradoxically this
is
the most organic of the full lengths but also the harshest and most
dissonant. Opening track 'Cellar' immediately sets the pace of barraged
edits and percussive electronics as startling vocals spit from the dry
throat and remain unfiltered for the first time breathing a clear litany
of
scorn. A new voice is rising and it isn't happy. Throughout the album,
non-electronic beats created from live drums replace programming while
colliding tape loops and junk metal bring new unstable rhythm like a
house
with eroding foundation. 'Living Stone' shows a more natural state of
acoustic composition highlighting the despondent, subtle plucking of
controlled guitar improvisation that could come from natures ghost.
Forging
ahead in 'We All Hate You,' loud tonal horns and architecturally placed
electronics. However, their aesthetic core of pummeling hasn't been
abandoned as the aggressive 'Broken Order' takes hold, with shrill
feedback
fueling industrial cannon blasts of white hot noise that burn the body
from
the neck down. An eerie harmonica driven death march straight out of Once
Upon A Time In The West cries on the closing track 'Droll/Cut The Dog.'
Immediately it is clear that Wolf Eyes have crafted a statement with
maturity that stands at the top of their mysterious discography. Always
Wrong is a denial against conformity and the triumph of walking a path
alone. Young, Olson, Connelly."
Wyrd - Ghost Album LP (Kreation) [KR31] $13.25
NOW AVAILABLE ON REGULAR EDITION VINYL!!! The Ghost Album marks
another
great chapter in WYRD's somewhat surprisingly underground career. Wyrd is
old news for most ambient/folk black metal fans, so there's no need for
introduction other than saying this band has held a very strong and
unique
style for quite a few albums. Minimalistic and extreme at times, but
melodic and ambient most of the times. The bands style has been growing
and
evolving over the last several years. And this album is no exception.
The
changes continue and develop in the shape of an almost completely new
style. With a very noticeable and new doom influence and with marked
rock-inspired riffs, this new style is at times reminiscent of early
works
but also at times reminds one of more recent Drudkh, or even Swallow the
Sun. This is a very doom-death influenced album and is yet another fine
chapter in the tale of Wyrd.
[ H I S T O R I C A L ]
Arthur Lee - Love Jumped Through My Window/Sad Song 7 inch
(Sundazed) [SEP209EP] $7.25
"Sonic archaeology! In a move that defies rational belief, Sundazed
has
unearthed an unissued 1971 album by revered Los Angeles rock band Arthur
Lee & Love, languishing in the Columbia Records tape vault. And that's
not
all! We've also uncovered a marvelous batch of acoustic demos for the '71
album, featuring just the magical voice of Arthur Lee and his acoustic
guitar. It's a thrilling twin-discovery of ultra-important material that
no
one knew existed! As a precursor to the release of this breathtaking
Arthur
Lee and Love material (to be called Love Lost), we've created a 7" single
of two knockout tracks from the demo sides. 'Love Jumped Through My
Window'
is cut from the same fine cloth as every heart-stopping Love track you've
ever heard. And the flipside, 'Sad Song,' -- in alternate take form here
--
will appear only on seven-inch vinyl. The Love maestro is in superlative
voice on both of these exquisite unheard sides."
Betty Davis - Is It Love Or Desire LP (Sundazed) [SC5313LP]
$18.50
"Legendary '70s R&B diva Betty Davis is currently in the midst of a
long-overdue resurgence, and with good reason. The charismatic funk/soul
iconoclast's vintage work retains a timeless blend of sex and substance
that establishes Davis as both a musical visionary and a world-class
badass. The current resurgence of interest in Davis' classic work makes
Sundazed Music's vinyl release of Is It Love or Desire a timely one
indeed.
Recorded in 1976, following the artist's landmark albums Betty Davis,
They
Say I'm Different and Nasty Gal, Is It Love or Desire was unexpectedly
shelved. The artist retreated from the spotlight soon after, and Is It
Love
or Desire remained unheard by the public for more than three decades. It
has never been released -- or even bootlegged -- until now. Finally
available to Davis' still-growing fan base, Is It Love or Desire is a
revelation. Recorded at Louisiana's remote Studio in the Country with
Davis' skintight band Funk House, the ten-song album contains some of the
most powerful and personal music of the artist's career, with such titles
as 'It's So Good,' 'Whorey Angel' and 'Crashin' From Passion' ranking
with
Davis' most memorable work. This first-ever vinyl edition of Is It Love
or
Desire maintains Sundazed's usual exacting quality standards. Mastered
from
the original analog tapes, the album is pressed on high-quality,
high-definition 180 gram vinyl, and features new cover art and previously
unseen photos."
Bo Diddley - Have Guitar, Will Travel LP (Checker) [LP2974LP]
$10.25
Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1959. "Have Guitar, Will
Travel
opens with a super-charged version of 'She's Alright' that leaps right
out
of the grooves. It has some of the flavor and excitement that marks the
work of Ray Charles, yet is unmistakably Bo Diddley. Proceeding through
the
aforementioned 'Cops and Robbers,' with its funny monologue, and 'Run
Diddley Daddy,' whose beat suggests a calypso, you'll hear 'Mumblin'
Guitar' next. The spoken introduction precedes Bo's unique 'talking
guitar'
that is backed by the typical Bo Diddley rhythm pattern that is based on
the old 'shave and a haircut, six bits' phrase. On 'Say Man, Back Again,'
Bo and maracas player Jerome Green echo the success of their 'Say Man'
conversation between two cats standing on the corner. Bo's vocals
highlight
the remainder of the album, save for the instrumental 'Spanish Guitar' on
which his guitar again takes over in front of Green's maracas."
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger LP (Checker)
[LP2977LP] $10.25
Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1961. "Not only does it
sport
one of the most striking album covers of its era (Diddley decked out in
cowboy finery, about to get the drop on some unfortunate varmint with one
of his fieriest guitars lying at his feet), this 1961 album contains some
fine music. The title track continues the legend of you-know-who, while
'Ride on Josephine' and 'Cadillac' rock like hell (and Ed Sullivan must
have been glad to see that Diddley finally learned 'Sixteen Tons')." --
All
Music
Bo Diddley - The Black Gladiator LP (Checker) [MSM37188LP]
$10.25
Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1970. Features without a
doubt
the most badass (or baffling) front and back cover art in the man's
entire
catalogue, with Diddley sporting some sort of post-apocalyptic/Mad
Max/Rob
Halford-esque bondage gear outfit. That alone makes this piece essential,
but if you really need to know about the music, this is a late period,
funk-oriented refashioning of Diddley. Songs include "Power House," "I've
Got A Feeling," "Funky Fly" and "Hot Buttered Blues."
Bo Diddley - Another Dimension LP (Chess) [CH50001LP]
$10.25
Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1971. Diddley explores
John
Fogerty's catalog on this one, covering three of his songs: "Bad Moon
Rising," "Down On The Corner" and "Lodi." Also included are covers of
Elton
John's "Bad Side Of The Moon," Al Kooper's "I Love You More Than You'll
Ever Know," and The Band's "The Shape I'm In." "Now this album that
you're
holding has a lot to do with Bo and his attitude. As well as with the
guitar with the jagged edges and that voice full of loose ceiling
plaster.
Like all of his other albums, this one is pure Diddley. And like all of
his
other albums, this one is for right now."
Bo Diddley - Where It All Began LP (Chess) [CH50016LP]
$10.25
Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1972. This is
late-period,
funkified Diddley, with songs like "Infatuation," "Bad Trip" and "Take It
All Off." Shuggie Otis guests on guitar and the album was produced by
Johnny Otis. Featuring Connie Redmond on lead vocals on "A Good Thing."
Bo Diddley - Big Bad Bo LP (Chess) [MSM37189LP] $10.25
Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1974. Featuring his cover
of
Odetta F. Gordon's "Hit Or Miss," which was later sampled by Wu Tang's
RZA.
He also covers Van Morrison's "I've Been Workin'." This was supposed to
be
Diddley's "jazz" album, and the line-up includes notable players such as
Joe Newman (trumpet), John Bello (trumpet), Harry DiVito (trombone) and
Jimmy Johnson Jr. (drums).
Chocolate Watch Band - No Way Out LP (Sundazed) [SC5306LP]
$18.50
"Sundazed is totally stoked to announce the reissue of the first two
albums
by the Chocolate Watch Band, high on everyone's list as one of the most
exciting garage bands ever. Hailing from San Jose, California, the Watch
Band -- featuring the pouting, Mick Jagger-influenced lead vocals of Dave
Aguilar, the thrilling guitars of Sean Tolby and Mark Loomis, the solid
bass of Bill Flores and the thumping drums of Gary Andrijasevich -- made
all the right scenes in San Jose, including appearances with South Bay
chart-toppers the Syndicate of Sound and Count Five. No Way Out kicks
things off with an eye-opening nugget, 'Let's Talk About Girls.' It's a
song that perfectly blends a stomping Chuck Berry rhythm track with the
happening 'boss sound,' the psychedelic guitar. 'Come On,' an early
Stones
single, is given the perfect Jagger paint job, while 'Are You Gonna Be
There (At the Love-In)' captures the new tribal hippie culture in a
nutshell."
Chocolate Watch Band - The Inner Mystique LP (Sundazed)
[SC5307LP] $18.50
"The Inner Mystique, the Watch Band's follow-up LP, puts you in the
middle
of a hippie ballroom with legendary producer Ed Cobb's instrumental
'Voyage
of the Trieste' and 'In the Past,' which use enough psychedelic guitar,
electric sitar and exotic shakers and rattles to grow your hair at least
two inches overnight. Ray Davies' 'I'm Not Like Everybody Else' sounds
like
it was written just for the Watch Band, and Dylan's 'It's All Over Now,
Baby Blue' is a jingle-jangle masterpiece."
Fehlfarben - Ein Jahr (Es Geht Voran)/Feuer An Bord 7 inch
(Bureau B) [BB035EP] $14.75
Officially licensed exact repro of this 1982 single, originally
issued on
EMI Electrola. Fehlfarben were formed in 1979 from previous members of
Mittagspause, D.A.F., S.Y.P.H., Der Plan, and other musicians from the
Düsseldorf punk scene. In 1980, they released Monarchie And Alltag
(Monarchy And Everyday Life), an album recognized as one of the most
important German-language rock records. The single "Ein Jahr (Es Geht
Voran)" would be their only hit single, and was, in fact, disliked by the
band members themselves, who had initially produced its slick disco
groove
more in jest than seriousness.
Hapshash & The Coloured Coat - Featuring The Human Host And
The Heavy Metal Kids LP (Sundazed) [SC5272LP] $18.50
"One of the most sought-after of all '60s cult LPs, 1967's Hapshash
and the
Coloured Coat Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids is the
sort
of record that could only have emerged during the psychedelic era, and a
vibrant manifestation of that period's freewheeling, boundary-breaking
spirit of musical adventure. Hapshash and the Colored Coat -- the English
duo of Michael English and Nigel Weymouth -- initially achieved notoriety
as a graphic design team whose distinctive visual sensibility placed them
at the center of London's original psychedelic explosion. The pair's
vivid
visual imagination spawned numerous album covers, including Cream's
iconic
Disraeli Gears, and countless posters promoting performances at London's
legendary UFO Club by such acts as Pink Floyd and the Incredible String
Band. Those visual works brilliantly captured the London scene's buoyant,
mind-expanding vibe, and feature some of the psychedelic era's most
arresting imagery. Such was Hapshash and the Colored Coat's prominence
and
influence that, in 1967, they were given the opportunity to branch out as
a
recording act. For the occasion, English and Weymouth teamed with
legendary
producer/manager/DJ/scene catalyst Guy Stevens, whose lengthy resume
encompasses work with the Rolling Stones, Procol Harum, Mott the Hoople
and
The Clash. The result was Hapshash and the Coloured Coat Featuring the
Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids. The unlikely collaboration produced
a
one-of-a-kind sonic experience that exemplifies the spirit of psychedelia
while sounding like no other record of its time, mixing primal vocal
chants
and insistent tribal rhythms with proto-funk guitar and bluesy piano on
such memorably titled tracks as 'H-O-P-P-Why?,' 'The New Messiah Coming
1985,' 'Empires of the Sun' and 'A Mind Blown Is a Mind Shown.' Out of
print on vinyl for decades and never before reissued domestically,
Hapshash
and the Coloured Coat featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids
has
been meticulously restored for this LP reissue, using Sundazed's usual
exacting standards. The album is pressed on high-quality audiophile
vinyl,
and features complete original cover art."
Jeff Beck - Truth LP (Sundazed) [SC5310LP] $18.50
"Jeff Beck, as visionary a guitarist, in his own way, as Jimi
Hendrix,
certainly heads anyone's list of most exciting rock 'n' roll fretboard
whizzes ever. Beck made his name as the second of three hall of fame
stringbenders for the equally legendary Yardbirds (following in the shoes
of Eric Clapton and preceding the pre-Zep Jimmy Page). Known for his
blistering leads and the wild chances he took as one of the first axemen
to
widely employ feedback during a solo, Beck hit the ground running when he
left the Yardbirds in 1967 and would cut a pair of solo albums that
didn't
miss a beat from the greatness of his previous work. With future Stone
Ron
Wood on bass and Mickey Waller on drums, Beck was free to blow the roof
off
the studio with razor-sharp guitar work on his 1968 solo debut, Truth.
The
album's ace in the hole, of course, was the rise to fame of gravel-voiced
singer Rod Stewart. Cuts like 'Beck's Bolero' and the wah-wah infused
genius of 'I Ain't Superstitious' would show the way, beacon-like, to
rock
bands for years to come. This edition of Truth is the
never-before-released
MONO version of the Jeff Beck classic. Sourced from the original analog
UK
masters!"
Jeff Beck - Beck-Ola LP (Sundazed) [SC5311LP] $18.50
"A year after Truth, Jeff Beck returned with the even thicker sound
of
Beck-Ola, an album that was so heavy you could use it for a refrigerator
door. The original personnel of the Jeff Beck Group was only enhanced by
the terrific keyboard work of storied session man supreme, Nicky Hopkins.
Like its predecessor, Beck-Ola made you feel like you'd just been run
over
by an eight-wheeled streetsweeper -- but you liked it!"
Los Temerarios - Los Temerarios 10 inch (Electro Harmonix)
[EH044] $19.25
LOS TEMERARIOS were five young guys from the State of Tabasco,
Mexico, who
in 1965 decided they were ready to conquer Mexico City with their Beatles
suits and wild beat music. They recorded three albums, one on Regis
(Rock,
Rock, Rock, 1965) and two on Son Art (La Catedral de Winchester, 1966,
and
this eponymous compilation from 1967). They had a short-lived radio hit
with the Beatlesque "Vas a Perder a Esa Chica" and later on started other
projects.
Moving Sidewalks - Flash LP (Klimt) [KLI301] $23.25
This 1968 release of Flash is the only famous album by this Texas
trio,
featuring a young BILLY GIBBONS, later of ZZ TOP fame, and it includes
five
bonus tracks from the CD re-release. Featuring "99th Floor," the smash
hit
that was a sensation in the acid-psych scene of late 1960s Texas, and
gained them the # 1 spot in the charts for 6 weeks. Printed inner sleeve.
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water LP (Sundazed)
[SC5302LP] $18.50
"Bridge Over Troubled Water is the most enduring album in the beloved
duo's
catalog, boasting some of their finest vocal performances as well as some
of Simon's most accomplished songwriting. It spawned no less than four
hit
singles: 'The Boxer,' 'Cecilia,' 'El Condor Pasa' and the iconic title
track, which became an instant standard and which remains one of the
most-covered songs in pop history. The album also features such beloved
Simon and Garfunkel classics as 'Keep the Customer Satisfied,' 'Baby
Driver,' 'The Only Living Boy in New York' and 'So Long, Frank Lloyd
Wright.' Capturing the contemplative mood of the end of a tumultuous
decade, Bridge Over Troubled Water quickly became one of the most popular
albums of its time, appealing to counterculture audiences as well as
mainstream listeners. The album spent two-and-a-half months at the top of
the charts, selling more than five million copies at the time of its
original release; it has since sold over 25 million copies worldwide. It
also won six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the
Year
and Song of the Year, and in 2003 was ranked at #51 on Rolling Stone's
list
of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Now, four decades after its
original release, Bridge Over Troubled Water is once again available in
its
original LP format utilizing Sundazed's exacting quality standards.
Mastered from the original analog tapes, the album is pressed on
high-quality, high-definition vinyl, with meticulously reproduced
complete
original cover art. It's the perfect way to re-experience this timeless
classic."
Sir Warrior & His Original Bros. Int'l Band - Onye Obula Zoba
Isi Onweya LP (Klimt) [KLI302] $23.25
This 1981 album epitomizes the incredible career of a prodigy, who
started
at age 11 as a member of an Ese ensemble, a traditional Nigerian form of
choral music, and has since excelled in many of the varied forms of
African
music. The most distinctive genre created by SIR WARROR (born EZEBUIRO
OBINNA) is the one known as Nigerian "high-life" music, a modernization
of
Ghanian high-life obtained by combining elements of tradition with a
modern
musical approach. In Warrior's case incredibly gifted guitar playing
combined with lyrics deriving from traditional Igbo proverbs made him a
pop
icon and superstar, with hundreds of hits and dozens of best selling
records all over Africa.
U
Roy - I Am The Originator LP (Kingston Sounds) [KING019LP] $16.00
"The mighty U Roy is the originator, the man who put the DJ
phenomenon on
the map and made it an artform. U Roy moved into the recording arena
firstly cutting two disc's for producer Lee Perry Earths Rightful Ruler
and
OK Corral and then following this with Dynamic Fashion Way and Riot for
producer Keith Hudson. Producer Duke Reid seeing the potential in this
new
found form brought U Roy to his Treasure Isle Studios to voice over his
back catalogue of rocksteady hits. His first three releases for Duke Reid
Wake The Town, Rule The Nation and Wear You To The Ball held the Top 3
positions for 12 weeks in early 1970s. Here Kingston Sounds have compiled
some of U Roy's best loved cuts from his mid '70s period when all were
still looking at him for guidance. The opening cut 'Call On Me' sees him
working over Delroy Wilson's 'Got To Be There.' 'You Never Get Away' gets
U
Roy answering Delroy Wison's 'Keep On Rocking.' Johnny Clarke's 'Time
Gonna
Tell' with rootsy bassline turns into 'Every Knee Shall Bow.' Two extra
tracks for the CD release of this album sees the great voice of Slim
Smith
on his 'Let's Stick Together' becomes 'Ain't To Proud To Beg' and Cornell
Campbell's 'Stand Firm' works with U Roy to sign us off with 'I Shall Not
Remove.' A fine collection to the Daddy of all DJs, who in his own words,
'I Originate, so you must appreciate, while the others got to imitate'
says
it all really."
Velvet Underground, The - The Velvet Underground Singles
1966-69 7 inch box (Sundazed) [SC7002BOX] $42.50
"The Velvet Underground Singles 1966-69, is a seven-disc box set
honoring
the legendary New York combo's 7" vinyl output in their rare mono
versions.
The set features exact reproductions of Velvet Underground singles, two
of
them with their original picture sleeves. The singles are packaged in a
distinctively designed box, along with rare vintage photos and new liner
notes by Rolling Stone's David Fricke (who also penned the acclaimed
notes
for the historic 1995 Velvets CD box set Peel Slowly and See). The Velvet
Underground -- whose membership included Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling
Morrison, Maureen Tucker, Doug Yule and Nico -- introduced numerous sonic
and thematic innovations that laid much of the groundwork for punk and
alternative rock. Although they're now acknowledged as one of the most
influential bands in rock history, during their existence the Velvets
barely registered on mainstream radar, and were often reviled by
mainstream
observers as well as hippie-era arbiters of cool. But, as Fricke writes
in
the new set's liner notes, 'Somewhere, in another rock & roll universe,
the
Velvet Underground are more than a legendary band. They are stars, with
hit
singles -- the original seven-inch masterpieces inside this box.'
Although
they never came close to scoring a hit, the Velvet Underground was
ideally
suited to the 7" single format. 'The Velvet Underground were a great
singles band,' David Fricke notes, adding that the Velvets 'invented
modern
rock with searing guitar distortion, throbbing improvisation and brutally
realistic tales of life on the wild side. But they did it all in these
classic pop songs -- compact miracles of raw drive, intimate beauty and
Top
40 ecstasy, heard again in the original, thrilling mono single mixes.'
The
seven singles included in The Velvet Underground Singles 1966-69 comprise
the four Velvets singles originally released in the U.S. on the Verve and
MGM labels, plus an additional pair of singles that were prepared for
release but never made it to the marketplace and a special radio-only
promotional single. The singles feature alternate mono versions that
differ
in significant ways from the songs' better-known stereo album versions.
For
instance, the band's 1966 debut single 'All Tomorrow's Parties' appears
here in a special mono edit that amplifies the song's melodic beauty and
sonic tension, and a mono mix of their sophomore single 'Sunday Morning'
emphasizes the song's haunting quality. Meanwhile, the mono single
version
of 'White Light/White Heat' exemplifies the vintage Velvets' stark,
distortion-laden fury, while a mono edit of 'What Goes On' accentuates
that
song's inherent pop jangle. The Velvet Underground Singles 1966-69 also
includes two unissued singles, one with a never-released pairing of
'White
Light/White Heat' backed by 'I Heard Her Call My Name,' and the other
with
'Temptation Inside Your Heart' and 'Stephanie Says,' recorded in the
waning
days of the band's classic Reed/Cale/Morrison/Tucker lineup and unheard
by
the public for nearly two decades thereafter. The set's seventh single is
a
reproduction of a vintage promotional disc, a two-and-a-half minute radio
spot promoting the band's eponymous third album and featuring legendary
disc jockey Bill 'Rosko' Mercer, with excerpts from 'I'm Set Free,' 'What
Goes On' and 'Beginning to See the Light,' as well as a picture sleeve
with
an un-airbrushed variation on the album's iconic cover art. By presenting
the Velvets as a singles band, The Velvet Underground Singles 1966-69
shows, in David Fricke's words, 'rock history the way it should have
been:
the Velvet Underground as the New York Beatles, guaranteed to blow up
your
radio and your mind.'"
Yes - The BBC Recordings 1969-1970 2xLP (Cleopatra)
[CLP8169LP] $27.00
"Special limited edition 2 X 12" vinyl set of early recordings for
the BBC
radio program by legendary progressive rock band Yes! Original Yes
line-up
of Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Tony Kaye, and Peter Banks
performing classic songs by Stephen Stills ('Everydays'), the Beatles
('Every Little Thing'), and 'Something's Coming' from the Broadway show
West Side Story PLUS several original Yes compositions!"