EAR/Rational Update Week 36, 2009

This week's update contains releases by:

Aaron Martin * Ambarchi/Fennesz/Pimmon/Rehberg/Rowe * Aporias Trio: Neil Davidson, Tatsuya Nakatani, Raymond MacDonald * Bachelor Of Arts * Ben Frost * Bifrost Arts * Bobby Birdman * Borah Bergman/Stefano Pastor * Brunette Models * Busso De La Lune * Caethua * Celan * Chet * Clientele, The * Crisis * Danny Saul * Darius Jones Trio * Dominique Leone * Drums * Elemental Research Project * End * Engineers * Evan Miller * Fabio Orsi & Valerio Cosi * Faux Fox * Flesh Vs Venom * Fresh & Onlys * Fuse * George Burt and Raymond MacDonald * Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and George Lewis * Grand Salvo * Group Bombino * Group Doueh * Guitar * Gunther Becker * Heather Woods Broderick * Hefner * Incapacitants * Infant Cycle, The * J.B. Floyd * Jandek * Joe Morris Quartet * Joey Negro * Joey Negro and the Sunburst Band * Jonny Trunk * Katsen * Kucz Konrad * La Casa Azul * Matias Aguayo * Maurizio Bianchi * Merzbow * Michael Bastian Weiss * Michael Tenzer * Millipede * Moonbootica * Nadja * Nicola Ratti * P Jorgensen * Phill Niblock * Pimmon * Primitive Calculators * Richard Skelton * Ruts DC * Sebo K * Shackleton * Shannon Stephens * Simon Scott * Slaraffenland * Sleep Chamber * Small Color * Stuart Saunders Smith * Tama Sumo * Tetparop * The Night Terrors * Tomasz Zawadzincski * Twin Crystals * Unicazurn (Coil) * Urna * Useless Children * Velehentor * Yarek

[ F E A T U R E D   R E L E A S E S ]

Aporias Trio: Neil Davidson, Tatsuya Nakatani, Raymond MacDonald - Entre Nous CD (Iorram) [GN54] $15.50
Aporias Trio - Tatsuya Nakatani - drums and percussion, Raymond MacDonald - sax, Neil Davidson - guitar: Entre Nous Recorded in the midst of an intense tour of the UK in 2007. This disk breaks up the long arcs of sound which marked the trio's live performances from that period into discreet essays in sonic physicality. Shamanic percussion, deconstructed guitar and circular breathing. Artwork by Sarah Tripp. CD limited to 500 copies - ' roaring grungey guitar sound, bustling, scraping percussion with wild sax flailing along behind ... Aporias Trio make good improvised music, gracefully executed with a fine sense of structure but also a firm physicality. Good stuff.' - Richard Pinnell

Bachelor Of Arts - Infinite Jest CD (Exo Records) [9326425804025] $13.00
Bachelor Of Arts is an exercise in critical thinking for a generation of apathetic and a abstinent generation, a musical generation of the time and place that is present day Melbourne, Australia. This is their debut album, forged from 2 years of live efforts which has seen the group share stages with Japanther(US), Bakelite(CAN) and These New Puritans. This record is a frenetic and precise distillation of their intense performance aesthetic.

Crisis - Reactor4 CD (Syndrom) [SYN001CD] $17.15
This is the debut album for Syndrom Records. A mixture of dark ambient and electronics assembled in ten tracks. There are sampled voices from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster era, coupled with distorted signals and electronics.

Faux Fox - All That Remains CD (Exo Records) [9326425804032] $13.00
Evolving from the late-90s North Texas art-rock movement, Faux Fox, formed in early 2001, had a fascination with fashion, glamour, cinema, pop art, and the avant-garde, which separated the band from their contemporaries. Dressed in bizarre, stylish costumes, the group played a defiantly experimental variation of electro, which vacillated between avant-rock and sleek pop hooks. Faux Fox currently call Dirt City (Dallas /Fort Worth / Denton), Texas their home. It also includes a video clip for the track Nothing Gold directed by Victor Solomon.

Flesh Vs Venom - Family Tree CD (Exo Records) [9326425804056] $13.00
The last ever album from Melbourne's post-punk band Flesh Vs Venom. Silk screened limited edition packaging. Including tracks from some of their very first recordings. Members of FVV have been making waves in the Australian music scene for years being from some of Australia's most influential new wave / punk bands such as The Vivian Girls (Aus) , Farenheight 451, Ninetynine, Battleaxe, The Day Everything Became Nothing and many many more.

Fuse - Dimension Intrusion CD (Plus 8) [PLUS8024CD] $14.00
Originally released in 1993 as the fifth release on Warp's Artificial Intelligence series, this is the original Plus 8 version from 1993 -- this album was licensed to TVT for the U.S. but is no longer available on that label -- of Richie Hawtin's legendary first full-length release as FUSE. Ushering in the second wave of Detroit techno, Dimension Intrusion is a haunting, futuristic soundtrack and a classic of minimal, acid-flecked electro-house. These tracks are collages of interactive grooves spewed forth by machines and men, cyber-active, abstract dance rhythms, spoken by samplers with a human touch. After Hawtin and John Acquaviva began regularly crossing the short distance from Canada to Detroit to visit the clubs that catered to techno legends such as Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, they were inspired to start Plus 8 Records in order to release pure techno devoted to "The Future Sound Of Detroit." Just like in the days of Transmat, NU Groove, and Metroplex, Plus 8 gave techno enthusiasts a label that truly represented Detroit in the '90s, a label with minimal sampling but maximum inventiveness. It also began to bring to attention the FUSE pseudonym that Richie Hawtin had begun to use for his solo projects. Richie had already released one FUSE single, the electromagnetic Approach & Identify EP, four tracks of experimental illusions aimed at loading information into the cerebral brainwaves and transferring them into complex body beats, and two tracks on the From Our Minds To Yours compilation on Champion, two further FUSE out-of-mind-and-body experiences. The influence of acid has never left Hawtin and if anybody is remotely responsible for the resurgence of the Roland TB303 and the surreal sounds it releases, then surely he, along with fellow Detroiters Underground Resistance, must share much of the blame. On Dimension Intrusion, Hawtin takes the 303 to a new dimension, either recreating liquid scopes, slowed down into a sea to electro bubbles, as demonstrated on "Slac" or "Substance Abuse," a techno floor dominator in 1991, or "Circuit Breaker," another of his other outlets for ruthless ideas, released on Plus 8's harder dance subsidiary, Probe. Dimension Intrusion is an impressive array of sub-world disturbances and discreet musical mechanics. But these are no jejune rave tunes, these are timeless pieces of abstract dance that can be placed on file, and called up in years to come still bearing the same effect as on their initial impact. Cover artwork by Matthew Hawtin.

George Burt and Raymond MacDonald - Constant Weave CD-R (Iorram) [AA56] $11.50
George Burt (guitar) & Raymond MacDonald (saxophones) After 11 CDs and 10 years of co-leading their own band, George Burt & Raymond MacDonald release their first duo recording with 5 pieces exploring their highly angular and exuberant approach. The sound of two catalysts of Scottish jazz engulfed in no-holds-barred, freewheeling improvisatory negotiations. CDR 100 copies

Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and George Lewis - Metamorphic Rock CD (Iorram) [ML83] $15.50
40 minutes of free improvisation form George Lewis and GIO recorded in December 2007 mid way through preparatory work on Lewis's new piece, 'Artificial Life 2007' written for the orchestra. One continuous take reveals the group in its subtlest and most raucous modes delivering the seemingly impossible; coherent large group free improvisation. Artwork by Sarah Tripp. CD 500 copies - There is ... as much focus placed on massed texture as there is on sudden moments of expression, a real sense of seeing where things go rather than just using improvisation to colour rigid structures. .' - Richard Pinnell

The Night Terrors - Back To Zero CD (Exo Records) [9369999018115] $13.00
The Night Terrors theremin-fueled electro-noise has been petrifying punters since the year 2000. Their formula of thunderous metal-bass, breakneck drumming, vintage horror synth and the manic wail of the theremin has earnt the Terrors a reputation as one of Australia's most unusual and original bands.

Twin Crystals - Separate / Birth CD (Exo Records) [9324690027163] $8.00
Birthed from the ruined streets of east Vancouver is Twin Crystals. A trio consisting of heavy repetitive synth and percussion, fronted with rabid and seemingly desperate vocals. Delaying guitar, saxophone, and voice to create a wavering framework, perpetually on the verge of collapse. Twin Crystals thrive in the sweaty basement and warehouse shows famous on the west coast of America for showcasing new, untainted, and independent bands.

Useless Children - Useless Children CD (Exo Records) [9326425804049] $8.50
Useless Children are a three piece punk band from Melbourne, Australia. This is their first official release! Bratty go for broke punk blasts! Half a dozen cuts in under 10 minutes. Fast and frantic sometimes bordering on thrash with screaming female vocals. Power paced biting sonic jabs which rips it up just fine. Reminiscent of early SNFU, hints of Death Wish Kids and The Yahmos.

Various Artists - 2 Favorite Places CD (Audiobulb) [ABFP2] $9.00
The second instalment of the series invites contemporary artists to capture field recordings and create a composition depicting the essence of their favourite place. The sounds emerge from city streetscapes, deserted factories; isolated countryside and a homely bedroom. The aim has been to enable a creative interaction between external and internal realities. It is hoped that the pieces will inspire the audience to become increasingly active listeners whilst experiencing their own favourite places.

[ . . . ]

Aaron Martin - Chautauqua CD (Preservation) [PRE026CD] $14.75
This is the third solo album from cellist and sound-sculptor Aaron Martin. Aaron not only surprised many with his 2007 debut Almond, but gained attention worldwide. The album set him on a course of many collaborations, and he has since worked with a diverse array of artists, including Machinefabriek, Dawn Smithson (Jessamine, Sunn O)))) and Jasper TX. His second album, River Water, proved a darkly compelling turn and stands as a forebear to Chautauqua in its pursuit of a distillation of pure emotional range, poised at the meeting point of intensity, calm and resolution. Now, Chautauqua puts Aaron's considerable talents and unique compositional vision at their most sharp and measured level yet. Concentrating on a core group of instruments -- cello, banjo and organ -- the pieces on Chautauqua are interwoven with field recordings as well as sounds from home movies, creating an edge tingling with a heightened, ghostly kind of nostalgia. Chautauqua is a poignant work, magnetic in its compulsion.

Ambarchi/Fennesz/Pimmon/Rehberg/Rowe - Afternoon Tea CD (Black Truffle) [BT003CD] $14.75
It's the people involved in Afternoon Tea -- originally released in 2000 on German label Ritornell and now reissued on Black Truffle with a new master, bonus tracks and newly discovered live recordings after years of being out of print -- that ensured it was more than a happy accident. The twin guitar presence of AMM's Keith Rowe and Oren Ambarchi and kindred spirits of the laptop -- Sydney's Pimmon, Vienna's Christian Fennesz and Peter Rehberg -- made it a momentous day. With all the players coming together during the 2000 What Is Music? Festival (co-curated by Ambarchi), Afternoon Tea stands as a highpoint of the then-emerging intersection between Powerbook performance and guitar improvisation. All subtlety, nuance and detail, it is a revelation of restraint. Built on a steadying flow of burbling rhythm, the quintet slowly weave around each others' sonics in layers, creating a tonal palette immersive in its atmosphere and magnetic in its compulsion. Hindsight clearly reveals the heart of these pieces -- important to note considering they were recorded at a time when laptop performance was an alien concept to many in experimental music, suffering controversy and backlash as well as an over-abundance of pale approaches from many who took it on as novelty as opposed to serious musical pursuit. Those involved in the Afternoon Tea session left their Australian tour inspired, citing their performances as a direct influence on their following work. Many great live recordings were spawned from the tour itself, including Rehberg & Ramon Bauer's passt and Fennesz's Live At Revolver (both on Touch), as well as Fennesz's collaboration with New Zealand's Rosy Parlane (released on Synaesthesia). Additionally, the seeds were sown for the Fennesz classic Endless Summer from 2001 (Mego). Afternoon Tea remains one of the quiet and real achievers for experimental music of the past decade.

Ben Frost - By The Throat CD (Bedroom Community) [HVALUR006CD] $14.75
This is Reykjavik-based composer/producer Ben Frost's second release for the Icelandic Bedroom Community label. Frost first took the spotlight and smashed it to pieces in 2007 with his breathtaking and critically acclaimed release Theory of Machines, which Boomkat called "the future of electronic music" and The Wire called "simply awesome -- Arvo Pärt as arranged by Trent Reznor." It's impossible to truly classify where he is coming from musically, but it would be safe to say his fans would also have records from Neurosis, Tim Hecker, Sunn O))) and Fennesz in their collection. To simply call him an experimental electronic musician, however, does him no justice whatsoever. Where Theory of Machines came sterilized in fluorescent light, By The Throat is blood red and cloaked in shadow. Produced in Iceland by Ben Frost and Valgeir Sigurðsson (Björk, Coco Rosie, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy), By The Throat features performances by Amiina of Sigur Rós fame, Arcade Fire's Jeremy Gara, Swedish metal outfit Crowpath and composer Nico Muhly. Aside from the purely musical language of harmony and melody -- like Amiina's strings on "Leo Needs A New Pair Of Shoes," there's the level of musique concrète, the weaving of nonmusical sounds into the musical fabric. We hear the snarling of wolves and the groaning of lions in "Killshot," the microscopic clicking and whirring of hunting killer whales in "Through The Roof Of Your Mouth" and the unmistakable sound of a human gasping for breath in "Híbakúsja." Then there's the sheer physical experience, the literally visceral effect of Frost's seismic rhythms and high-pitched shrieks on your body. These extra-harmonic elements are not just effects to punctuate the musical narrative in By The Throat, but are integral, unifying motifs. Borgar Magnason's menacing double bass growls pure bestial noise throughout By The Throat and the brass choirs of "Peter Venkman" are recorded so closely that they almost transform into pure human breath. And just as these voices slide away from "notes" and "harmony" to become concrete sound-images, the meanings of these images rattle around and collide into each other, forming a whole language of gasping and howling, gut-punching bass, and snarling metal. Using this language, Frost tells a story we can't quite articulate, but which we can feel, profoundly and unmistakably.

Bifrost Arts - Come O Spirit Vol. 1 CD (Sounds Familyre) [GCR001] $13.25
An Anthology of Hymns and Spiritual Songs. "For more than 30 years, pop music has suffered from a God complex-attaching a scarlet letter to artists who include the religious experience in their songs. But a new generation of musicians from across the spiritual spectrum is emerging, discarding the trappings of the Christian-culture industry to reintroduce the transcendence, beauty and historical gravity of Western scared music to the places where it belongs: dinner parties, road trips and back porches. Come O Spirit brings together artists like DAVE BAZAN, DAMIEN JURADO, ROSIE THOMAS, DENNISON WITMER, THE WELCOME WAGON (featuring SUFJAN STEVENS) and LEIGH NASH to revive 400 years of long-forgotten melodies and liturgical music. The brainchild of producers ISAAC WARDELL and MASON NEELY, Come O Spirit interprets hymnody through lush, cinematic arrangements and a drop of Southern gothic mystique"

Bobby Birdman - New Moods CD (Fryk Beat) [FRYK04-2] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 11-09-2009
After three years of tireless tinkering, Bobby Birdman is back.

On New Moods, his most focused and complete musical effort to date, upbeat pop anthems jostle up against shimmering slow a cappella numbers, while New Orleans bounce, dancehall, and hyphy funnel noisily into each self-produced pop number. Sun-drenched guitars and Bobby Birdman's characteristic, unf***withable new-school croon wash over drumline weirdness and tyrannical sub bass, like a rogue wave on the Malibu beaches he frequently surfs.

New Moods is deconstructed pop-rock, but the melodies are so irresistible that they hook into a timeless, Van Dyke Parks-cum-Perry Como sound that's as at home blasting out of a tape deck on your beach towel as it is in the club.

Born Robert Kieswetter, but dubbed "Bobby Birdman" by surf buddy Kyle Field (Little Wings), Kieswetter released several solo albums on Portland, OR-based indie labels before relocating to Los Angeles. No stranger to various LA art, music, and fashion scenes, Kieswetter has plied his talents composing music for visual artist Geoff McFetridge, and modeling for Band of Outsiders' Fall 2008 line (with surfboard in hand, of course). He's even remixed Young MC's "Fastest Rhyme" for last year's Delicious Vinyl anniversary release.

Bobby Birdman has toured with Will Oldham, Hot Chip, Joanna Newsom, YACHT, Dirty Projectors, White Rainbow, Little Wings and Lucky Dragons, and has graced venues as diverse as LA's The Smell to the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The range of talent that Kieswetter hides beneath his unassuming fledgling moniker is just beginning to surge, and New Moods will crest the wave.

"Birdman has a smooth-as-butter voice and an uncanny knack for melody that separate him from the the experimental pop pack... [New Moods] is his strongest and most posititve work to date." -Casey Jarmen (Willamete Week)

Borah Bergman/Stefano Pastor - Live At Tortona CD (Mutablemusic) [MUTABLE17534] $12.25
"This new CD by pianist Borah Bergman and violinist Stefano Pastor was recorded on July 1st, 2007 at the Jazz Fuori Tema Festival in Tortona, Italy. The five pieces on this recording - three compositions by Bergman and two improvisations by the duo - highlight Bergman¹s ambi-ideation: his amazing ability to have each hand go its own way. Instead of accompaniment and melody, what one hears are often two completely different melodic lines being played simultaneously. Stefano Pastor's style of playing the violin is strongly based on an imaginative reworking of bop wind instruments' language. A great deal of experimentation led him to re-consider the set-up of his instrument. Pastor has re-strung his violin with extremely rigid electric guitar strings to obtain a heavy sound, allowing his violin and the way he plays it to speak like a wind instrument - with breath and power. The resulting music is sometimes rasping, sometimes lyrical, a not rarely prodigious dialogue between the piano and the violin, with Bergman's hands running about on the keyboard producing cascades of notes, each with an exact, determined precision with its own very limpid specific weight. Pastor plays the game wonderfully, intervening with his violin with its sanded, gravelly, very earthy sound."

Brunette Models - Last Poem CD (Generator) [10594] $16.75
"Brunette Models" makes very good ambient music, skillfully combined with dreamy, slow-motion club music, murky vinyl lounge and subtle solarized downtempo-breakbeat. Listening to this record we may have free floating associations with music made by such as artists as Centrozoon, Geir Jenssen, Ian Boddy, Robert Rich or the Aerial Service Area project, but it would still be sketchy, spontaneous impressions, insofar as the brain and only member of "Brunette Models", a certain mysterious philosopher Piotr, has a great talent as far as painting of strongly individualized sound abstractions is concerned.

Busso De La Lune - With Your Ear Down To The Ground CD (Soulworm) [10604] $18.00
Beautiful ambient composed with field recordings, drones, acoustic instruments etc. Limited edition of 250 copies. Pro-CDR in dvd case with nice artwork and very professional presentation.

Caethua - The Long Afternoon of Earth 2CD (Preservation) [PRE025CD] $17.25
The Preservation label presents The Long Afternoon of Earth, from Caethua. Caethua is the recording project for singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Clare Adrienne Cameron Hubbard. Hubbard has been prolific over several years with a wide range of releases spanning folk, experimental, ambient and hip hop. The Long Afternoon of Earth is made up of two separate EP-length sets of songs, both different in style but connected by themes -- family, place, escape and remembrance. The first set, "No Man's Land," (approximately 27 minutes long) is acoustic-based, with songs haunting in their hypnotic way, finding common ground between the rustic and spectral in the spell they cast. Hubbard's surroundings play deeply within the realm of her thoughts, with lyrics both unvarnished and emotionally shading in the way they portray experience both real and imagined. The second set, "Into The Dog-Dayed Night," (approximately 28 minutes long) is also stark, but yet another spin on Hubbard's otherworldly songs. Piano, guitar, raw beats and almost industrial-type textures alchemically fuse for an altogether different mood -- more theatrical, lamenting and spooked. Both sets come together here in the kind of purity and fortitude that underline Caethua's true artistry. The Long Afternoon of Earth is as enigmatic and heartfelt a statement you're likely to hear.

Celan - Halo CD (Exile on Mainstream) [EOM041] $13.75
CELAN was conceived of in early 2008 when ARI BENJAMIN MEYERS (REDUX ORCHESTRA, EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN) and CHRIS SPENCER (UNSANE, CUTTHROATS 9) met in a bar in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. Initially it was intended as a collaboration between a classically trained composer and someone who had been working and touring in a noise/rock band for years. It's quite an ironic side note that this collaborative idea was born in Germany, probably the last remaining country in the world where music reception, and thus broadcasting and media representation, is still determined by a separation between 'serious' and 'popular' music. Sure, bands like the aforementioned Einstuerzende Neubauten have been working for decades on tearing these walls down and Celan might be another addition to this goal, although in a different manner. This album, titled Halo, is pure rock! It distills the genre to its core elements and channels pure emotion into sounds so thick and massive that one could only dream about them. It's fascinating how Ari Benjamin Meyers' skills stand up to the blistering noise blast created by the rest of the band.

Chet - Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home CD (Absolutely Kosher) [AK087] $12.00
RELEASE DATE: 09-15-2009
***CHET's (led by RYAN BEATTIE of FROG EYES and HIMALYAN BEAR) Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home is an album that grapples with the needs of the heart and soul. These songs are about loving someone in spite of their flaws. Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home is Chet's fourth album in seven years and first to receive release outside of western Canada. The world-weariness that drips from Ryan Beattie's melancholy croon is readily apparent, but repeated listens expose a strange beauty. His voice swoops from a gentle tenor to a wavering falsetto and back again, changing shape but retaining the same soul. It's an album in the classic sense, one of unique character whose unusual beauty unfolds further with each listen.

Clientele, The - Lost Weekend CDEP (Acuarela) [nois020] $8.50
The Clientele's songs have been defined as "laments at midnight, between pop and surrealism" (NME) or "all the bleary beauty of a lazy Sunday morning" (Mojo). The English trio emerged from London's suburbia during the summer of 1997, releasing a single on the label Fierce Panda. The single soon inspired much admiration and comparisons to Felt and Galaxie 500. From then on they have continued to work with similar premises: fragility, dusky stories and a tendency for bittersweet refrains. Because of it, they have been considered not only colleagues of Belle & Sebastian, but heirs to Arthur Lee, Nick Drake, Donovan, Bacharach or Big Star. In reality though, their soft lethargic pop suggests the influences of any artist with such good schooling. The bucolic beauty of The Clientele shines with it's own light, where psychedelia mingels with folk. Since 1997 they have released a series of singles on labels with such exemplary credentials as Pointy Records (UK), Slumberland (USA), Motorway (Japan), Elefant (Spain) or March (USA). These songs have been gathered in a compilation CD under the title "Suburban Light". The thirteen songs paint a picture of falling leaves and loves slipping just when they'd reached a profoundness, autumns where we dreamt of a band that would sound like Kevin Shields glowing with Hawaiian melodies. The Clientele are well known among the North American independent circuit, in fact they've done several US tours and signed a contract with the venerable label that is Merge. Last April they played in Spain for the first time, opening for Migala and Trans Am in Barcelona. They returned in November to perform in Santander's Tanned Tin festival, together with Retsin and Piano Magic. This is what they have to say about "Lost Weekend" their exclusive brand new EP on ACUARELA: "We literally risked our lives to make this, particularly in the evenings after recording, when just to get to the pub we had to repeatedly jump into bushes on the verge of a Kent A-road with trucks barrelling past every five seconds and no pavements. Plus even being in post-apocalyptic, green, deserted and starving Kent, with horrible passively-smoked-Marijuana-induced creeping paranoia, breeding and multiplying in the agricultural silence and the whinnying of demonic horses. And of course, lest we forget, the partridge hunting season and its shotguns. Anyway this record is a 5 track EP, of rare and evocative beauty. Take it from us, we've re-recorded it 3 times (once on 8 track, once in a 24 track studio and a last one again on 8 track), cut about 70 takes of "Emptily Through Holloway", groaned at 2 blips of white noise randomly dumped onto the tape by 8 track machine and its oxidised wiring, due to 1 bottle of coke dropped over mixing desk, and abandoned 2 songs to boredom. How fitting that the whole thing was loosely based around the poetics of the hangover. We like this record, and you will too. You can buy it in all the usual places, the CD version is on Acuarela, and a 10" vinyl imprint is being released by Earworm. Press quotes: "Enveloped in gossamer reverb and a spectral aura of half-light and dust motes, the London trio's gorgeous echo-chamber pop is premised on the melancholy of transience and its associated paradoxical quests: the preservation of ephemera, the capture of fugitive emotion.The delicate, sanctified mystery of their best songs would be equally at home in one of Cornell's glass-fronted shadow boxes - they share their ethereal austerity, gentle fetishism, and perfect self-containment" -the village voice "Perhaps no band in recent memory has better captured the feeling of coming down from acid in a wet cardboard box than London's humble elusive Clientele... avoid this strange and wonderful document at your own peril." -time out new york

Danny Saul - Harsh, Final CD (White Box) [WHITEBOX004CD] $14.00
This is the debut solo album from Danny Saul. Saul has been an active part of a largely undocumented Manchester music scene for nearly 10 years, having played with Stranger Son Of WB (bass), Easter (guitar), Polythene (attitude) and Barbarians (destroying stuff) amongst others, as well as continuing an ongoing live collaboration with Greg Haines as pub-ambient improvising duo Liondialer, whose LIVE! album was also released on White Box. As guitarist with Tsuji Giri, Saul self-released a Steve Albini-recorded album in 2005, with the band promptly self-destructing soon after. After all the tribulations associated with the process of production and shared decision-making, Danny rethought every aspect of how to perform and record with the minimum of intervention or interference; Harsh, Final is the culmination of a bloody minded pursuit for a personal satisfaction in both making music and doing things right. "Your Death" opens the album with softly plucked acoustic guitar, and proceeds to build layers of acoustic and electric guitars into a hazed atmosphere. Be sure -- Danny Saul is very much not a conventional singer-songwriter, as these are tunes sensitively drawn, defiantly made and deliberately too long for both radio and the short attention spans of his peers. The album builds to a head on the wonderful "Cannonball," just shy of thirteen minutes, and is bracketed by two shorter pieces "(harsh)" and "(final)," which bring a heady sense of disorientation and an unusual focus to the longer tune resting between them. Harsh, Final maintains this pared-down and deliberate atmosphere throughout -- recurring themes of death and escape culminate in a cover of a heartfelt lament for a personal loss by Manchester's Hotpants Romance (think a much more glamorous Shaggs), here reinterpreted as an oppressive and over-possessive love song. Its cumulative build of layered guitar and harmony vocals eventually fades, echoing the album as it began, with a single exposed musician (guitar, vocal), indelibly human and unforgettably resonant. 'Your Death' opens the album with softly plucked acoustic guitar, and proceeds to build layers of acoustic and electric guitars into a hazed atmosphere, which suddenly comes into focus as the track's defining chords state that this is a song, and that everything put in place so far is only framework. And in many ways this typifies what makes the record really tick: the fission between the pull of the songs and the musical dynamics working within and yet outside them. Be sure - Danny Saul is very much not a conventional singer-songwriter, with all the compromise and baggage that carries with it. These are tunes sensitively drawn, defiantly made, and deliberately too long for both radio and the short attention spans of his peers. Instead we are allowed to revel in the long-form, are left grasping for reference points, brazen novelty long ago discarded as mere trivia. 'My Escape' details "a wall of doubt" with a crumbling, threatened, growling undercarriage barraging the tune, about to collapse beneath the listener at any moment. The album builds to a head on the wonderful 'Cannonball', just shy of thirteen minutes, and is bracketed by two shorter pieces '(harsh)' and '(final)', which bring a heady sense of disorientation and an unusual focus to the longer tune resting between them. Check this track and reflect on "the outcome / we wait / to see". 'Harsh, Final' maintains this pared-down and deliberate atmosphere throughout - recurring themes of death and escape culminate in a cover of a heartfelt lament for a personal loss by Manchester's Hotpants Romance (think a much more glamorous Shaggs), here reinterpreted as an oppressive and over-possessive love song. Its cumulative build of layered guitar and harmony vocals eventually fades, leaving Saul's solitary voice reassuring the listener that "we'll be OK / you'll see"', echoing the album as it began, with a single exposed musician [guitar, vocal], indelibly human and unforgettably resonant.

Darius Jones Trio - Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) CD (Aum Fidelity) [AUM057CD] $12.25
"Darius Jones is an extraordinarily gifted young alto saxophonist and composer; Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) is his remarkable debut as a leader. Jones joined the New York music community in 2005, after living and studying in Richmond, VA. In his short time here, he has amazed and inspired musicians and audiences from widely divergent backgrounds with his meticulously honed musical gifts. Soul-power is at his foundation; forward looking expression always at the fore. Some bands Jones currently works with are the Cooper-Moore Trio, Mike Pride's From Bacteria to Boys, William Hooker's Bliss (East), and Trevor Dunn's Proof Readers. Jones also has a band with Travis LaPlante, Andrew Smiley, and Jason Nazary called Little Women; their first record Teeth came out in 2008, and they just stunned the audience at the 2009 Saalfelden Jazz Festival. Man'ish Boy is a deeply personal work that found Jones meditating on his life growing up in the south: not an easy life, but one suffused with familial love, hard work and self-assurance. His experiences in church, particularly hearing gospel choirs - the ecstatic combination of powerful individual voices coming together to create something greater - were a deep inspiration for this project. An abiding respect for elders and the breadth of life experience they bring led Jones to ask elder master musicians Cooper-Moore (piano, diddley-bo) and Rakalam Bob Moses (drums) to be part of this project. Jones first met Moses at a performance while still in Virginia, and they have had a close relationship ever since. Jones joined forces with Cooper-Moore, a fellow Virginian and church-goer as a youth, after moving to NYC. C-M was asked specifically to also play diddley-bo on this project: a one-wire stringed instrument with roots in the deep south via Africa, only heard in a jazz context via Cooper-Moore; with it, he fully brings the organic funk. This striking album work features ballads of deeply affecting tenderness, an intense polyrhythmic excursion that literally does chase the ghost in holiness fashion, a series of open-ended pieces that further display the remarkable improvisational gifts of the three musicians."

Dominique Leone - Abstract Expression CD (Important) [IMPREC266] $13.00
RELEASE DATE: 09-28-2009
Abstract Expression is the second album from San Francisco-based avant-pop producer Dominique Leone, and first for vanguard American experimental music label Important Records.

Dominique is a classically trained artist and composer originally from Texas. He's one of a growing number of college-educated musical auteurs with more than a slight command of pop history and theory chops, and writing songs for joyous, infatuated (or over saturated) people. All of his music could be considered "pop" of a sort, though with dashes of prog, classical music, electronica, and even noise. It's catchy but ambitious; crafted but not sterile; interesting but not pretentious. It's just a lot of ****ing fun!

He lists Brian Wilson, Claude Debussy, Randy Newman, Paul McCartney, Andy Partridge, Glenn Gould, ABBA, Miles Davis, Magma, Fleetwood Mac and Olivier Messiaen as personal heroes. He's played, written or recorded with Lindstrom, Boredoms, Mungolian JetSet, Kevin Blechdom, Cryptacize, Sonic Youth's William Winant, R. Stevie Moore, Wobbly, MaryClare Brzytwa, Odawas and many others.

Drums - Summertime! CD (Twentysevenrecords) [168038] $6.00
"We just wanted to start a band that sounded like The Wake." say THE DRUMS. "We heard their song 'Pale Spectre' and went crazy! Maybe our music didn't turn out sounding too much like The Wake but we're really just like everybody else, chasing that perfect pop song. And that's not so bad right?" Not so bad indeed! The Drums have a sound that pulls together years of obvious influence by the Factory Records sound and a sudden fascination with '50s surf culture. A combination that may not seem logical, but when you hear it you'll know you need it, you've gotta have it and it's what has always been missing. Containing six tracks of sweet innocent pop songs, the Summertime! EP is the perfect accompaniment to upcoming warm sunny season. Prepare yourself for an instant classic! Their lead single "Let's Go Surfing" will be going up on the Forkast and then the video will be heading there as well. Brooklyn Vegan just premiered their music video for "Let's Go Surfing" and it'll also be "Video of The Day" in Spinner.com.

Elemental Research Project - Elementality CD (Basses Frequences) [10603] $15.25
Soft synth landscapes.

End - The Dangerous Class CD (Hymen) [Y778] $16.00
RELEASE DATE: 09-14-2009
five years in the making, the dangerous class is 17 tracks of audio madness bound together by themes of sex, drugs, and rebellion. a wild mix of live instrumentation, programmed electronics, and collaged sample fragments, the dangerous class is the soundtrack to a world of wayward youth given to deviance, chemical transcendence and violent transgression. the dangerous class is stitched together from the detritus of a century of recorded music, rampaging its way through countless sounds and styles - one moment it is double-time drums accompanying glitched-out rockabilly, the next swinging jazz scat overtop dirty, blown-out synths. almost no musical genre is left unexplored - surf, garage rock, speed metal, big band horn numbers, speak-easy jazz, techno thumpers, organ dirges, chamber music, bollywood sitar psychedelia, string ensembles, groovy lounge pieces and more. all of it woven into catchy pop-tunes where sunshine-voiced singers belt out infectious melodies while craggy old voices weave a narrative of decadence and forbidden pleasures.

Engineers - Three Facts Fader CD (K-Scope) [1674683] $17.75
2009 sophomore release from the leaders of the Shoegaze-influenced Nu-Gaze movement. Engineers are a group who ardently believe in the restless, symphonic power of music. They're driven forward by the same impulse that compelled Dennis Wilson to write Pacific Ocean Blue or Talk Talk to forge Spirit Of Eden. When so much around them is prosaic and mundane, Engineers strive to create music of immense depth and scope that combines the experimental with the emotional. Inspired by everything from Brian Eno and The Cocteau Twins through to Todd Rundgren and Spiritualized, they're interested in the music they make and little else. 13 tracks.

Evan Miller - Beeswax Ephemera CD (Preservation) [PRE022CD] $14.75
The Preservation label presents Beeswax Ephemera from Iowa City guitarist Evan Miller. With one eye on the future and one on the past, his playing has considerable technical and abstract expanse, though retains a wonderful melodic sensibility up front. Evan's experimental leanings give Beeswax Ephemera an idiosyncratic quality that mark an inventive new talent in the world of artists taking guitar music into exciting new directions. These nominally earthy compositions take flight with the undeniable spirit of country-blues and early Takoma folk recordings from the likes of John Fahey, but also journey into more surreal ruminations for a rapturous work sitting somewhere between down-home, mysterious and timeless. After taking piano and clarinet lessons as a child, Evan acquired his first six-string at 14, though it stayed propped against a wall for a time until the age-old spur of competitive teenage boys made him pick it up and start playing. It was a quick transition from aping FM radio rock staples to fingerpicking folk, via a copy of Stephan Grossman's instruction classic Country-Blues Guitar book passed on by his father. Its influence still looms large: The closing track on Beeswax Ephemera is a dynamic take on Furry Lewis' blues classic "I Will Turn Your Money Green" that also finds room for a blistering snatch of electric guitar, rolling clarinet lines and sleigh bells by its end. Beeswax Ephemera was originally self-released by Evan in a handmade edition of 150, primarily sold on tour through the United Kingdom. This new Preservation edition has been mastered by former Yellow Swans member Pete Swanson and also features a suite of new pieces that display an even newer breadth in Evan's style, "Three Visions of Stylites."

Fabio Orsi & Valerio Cosi - Thoughts Melt In The Air CD (Preservation) [PRE020CD] $14.75
The Preservation label presents Thoughts Melt In The Air, the second album from the pairing of Italian composers Fabio Orsi and Valerio Cosi. Both Orsi and Cosi have become recognized widely internationally for their prolific solo output and kindred spirits in creating momentous soundscapes that ring with lyrical feeling. Still in his early 20s, Valerio Cosi has released a seemingly endless stream of work that swirls around giddily in a sweep of heady free-jazz (his main instrument is tenor saxophone), homespun psychedelia and Krautrock rhythm. Similarly unfaltering in his release schedule, Fabio Orsi's work draws from a more electronic palette with a quieter, pastoral scope featuring gentle washes of piano, guitar and percussion. Over these four extended pieces, the pair reveals an intimate detailing of sound while going widescreen in pursuit of the epic. Wistful, yearning and melancholic, Thoughts Melt In the Air traces the celestial, emotive sound of enigmatic 4AD acts This Mortal Coil and Cocteau Twins, perfectly pitched between dream-pop vibes and deep ambience. Moreover, it harks back to the absorbing, meditative qualities of Popol Vuh and classic-period Eno, often coupled with the primal and hypnotic tension of rock 'n roll in its pulse. Whatever the elements, Thoughts Melt In The Air altogether represents a great meeting of minds.

Fresh & Onlys - Grey-Eyed Girls CD (Woodsist) [WOODSIST032] $12.00
RELEASE DATE: 09-15-2009
***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.'" But Sartin explains, "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. With so much music hitting shops in such a short time, one might think the band has a problem with quality control. Quite the contrary; Sartin and Cohen are very careful about what they release. 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. Second full-length from San Francisco buzz band

Grand Salvo - Soil Creatures CD (Preservation) [PRE024CD] $14.75
The Preservation label presents Soil Creatures, the fifth album from Grand Salvo. The name under which Melbourne singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Paddy Mann records and performs, Grand Salvo has quietly and unassumingly developed a body of work that has inspired both hardcore devotion and more recently, wider recognition, stemming from his previous album, Death. The ambitious fairytale orchestration widely received rave reviews. With Soil Creatures, Grand Salvo has returned with no less scope but sits within quieter surroundings. This gorgeous set of songs revolves around delicate guitar, strings and harp along with other added nuances that confirms Mann's master's touch in arranging. By turns whimsical, wistful and wanting, Soil Creatures beds down in the elemental things of life -- the physical and spiritual -- that play on memory, as well as time's fading ways and what grows in place of what's lost in its cycle. It has a filmic sensibility with lyrics that border on free-association with its imagery, ultimately forming crystal clear connections between the everyday and the divine. Featured on Soil Creatures is the long-time vocal foil in Grand Salvo, Luluc's Zoe Randell, and cellist Jessica Venables (Jessica Says, Sly Hats). Yet again with Soil Creatures, Grand Salvo has engaged a depth of feeling to a most unique and affecting level. It's another affirmation of a true talent in Australia.

Group Bombino - Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger) Vol. 2 CD (Sublime Frequencies) [SF046CD] $14.75
Group Bombino is the latest salvo from the Agadez music scene. Led by the guitar virtuoso Omara Mochtar (Bombino), the group's debut LP -- volume two in the Guitars From Agadez series, represents the latest chapter in the modern sound of the Tuareg revolution. As of 2008, the Tuareg rebellion is in full force again, and Bombino is in exile to parts unknown. Agadez has been cut off from the rest of the country. The only road that connects this legendary city with the rest of the country is littered with land mines and the only escorts are the military. This music and its messages of hope, justice, and desire for validation of the Kel Tamachek way of life ring louder than ever. Group Bombino are gaining mythic status in and around the Tuareg community for their incendiary live performances. Coming from the same scene as Group Inerane and sharing some of the same musicians, Group Bombino showcase both sides of the Tuareg guitar style. The first half of this CD features the "dry guitar" sound, an unplugged selection of songs sung among the dunes, camels and stars of the Tenere desert. The last five tracks demonstrate the electric fury of the full band, a melding of heavy, psychedelic guitar heroics with a raw, garage sound, back beat percussion, all swirling in extended trance rock moves. Recorded live and unfiltered in Agadez and the surrounding desert in early 2007, with the band's equipment powered by generators and an unflinching dedication to the rebellion, Group Bombino's music transcends any influence and ignites the raw passion of its message to the outside world. Includes liner notes by Hisham Mayet with great photos of the musicians. This is a CD reissue of the limited LP pressing which sold out almost immediately upon release.

Group Doueh - Treeg Salaam CD (Sublime Frequencies) [SF048CD] $14.75
Group Doueh's follow-up to their now-legendary debut LP is here. While most would think it damn near impossible to top the former release, in terms of sheer "shock and awe," Treeg Salaam (trans. "Streets Of Peace"), blows hot and dusty from the infernal sand-swept dunes of the Western Sahara. Compiled from Group Doueh's personal archives, these five tracks are as brain-shifting in their ecstatic brilliance as any music ever heard. From the wah-stroked lead-off track to the blazing dexterity of "Ragsa Jaguar," the whole of the first side is an entrance to the lip-puckering tea den of Saharan trance heaven. Salmou Baamar's (Doueh) guitar/tinidit runs explode in cosmic shrapnel, raining down on the temporal nodes of the listener's brain. On "Tazit Kalifa," we have a 20-minute, smoky, slow-burning, psychedelic excursion into the great unknown. A meditation on the arid and inhospitable landscape that inspires this music and its people. Compiled by Hisham Mayet, this is a CD reissue of the limited LP pressing which sold out almost immediately upon release.

Guitar - Friends CD (& records) [YOUTH085] $16.50
RELEASE DATE: 09-28-2009
6th album from the band called Guitar. Guitar is the trackmaker Michael Lückner and Japanese singer Ayako Akashiba.

Gunther Becker - The Complete Organ Works CD/SACD (CYBELE 60701CD) CD (Cybele Records) [CYBELE60701CD] $20.25
Martin Schmeding, organ; Christian Roderburg, percussion. Drei kleine Orgelstücke (1978); A la mémoire de Josquin für Orgel (1975); Interpolationen (1993); Meteoron for Organ, Percussion and two track tape (1969). "The organ oeuvre of Günther Becker reveals a broad spectrum of compositional concerns, never reducing himself to a personal style. Instead, his claim that he aimed to allow each work to pursue its own, individual idea, becomes clear. As a result, his organ compositions are not only a cross-section of Becker's own creative work, but also a reflection of the times in which they originated: first the experimental years of new organ music in its infancy, then the first post-modern attempts at an integration with early music (citations of music by Josquin des Prez). These organ works are a testament to his internal debate about tonality and to a reflexive return to the idea of pure music and its many incarnations. Becker showed himself to be a composer in flux, one whose authenticity manifested itself in distinct artistic phases. Taken as a whole, the great Sauer organ displays a true versatility, an instrument of many colours suited for a vast stylistic range of organ music. This recording proves it to be a perfect match for the contemporary organ répertoire and for the music of Günther Becker in particular: one is seated in front of an instrument capable of the special synthesis of sounds often required by the composer, sounds whose roots may be traced back to the serial structures of his compositional method. The organ simultaneously allows, however, a solid basis for orchestral sounds via its numerous foundation stops and the innumerable ways in which sounds could be tinted and nuanced."

Heather Woods Broderick - From The Ground CD (Preservation) [PRE027CD] $14.75
This is the debut full-length release from Oregon's Heather Woods Broderick. Growing up in the relative quiet of the Maine countryside while learning a range of instruments and being sung to sleep by her parents playing folk songs, natural and rural sounds became central to Heather's sense of song, falling into a deeply personal realm. The subtlety and nuance in Heather's music also comes from her inclination towards ambient and experimental sounds, conjuring atmosphere equally with the striking melodies at the core of her songs. It's also allowed for three gorgeous instrumentals to flow seamlessly alongside Heather's songs on this album. The songs on From The Ground hang then blossom, unfurling slowly to reveal disarming feelings through her spirited soul of a voice, gliding above the swirling beauty of her music. Rich and resonant, there's a veritable ensemble of instruments at play, including piano, guitar, celeste, flute, glockenspiel, mandolin and more. Lending his intuitive sensibility to From The Ground is Heather's brother Peter Broderick, who has already gained great notice in his short career for works of similar scope. Peter recorded and mixed the album in addition to playing throughout.

Hefner - We Love The City 2CD (Belka) [HEFCD06] $17.25
RELEASE DATE: 10-05-2009
We Love the City was Hefner's commercial and creative peak. Having cleared a large backlog of songs on the band's first two albums and various B-sides, for their third Darren Hayman wrote a new set of loosely themed songs about love in the capital city. We Love The City eschews the band's former broken indie-folk sound in favor of a bouncy, urban, blue-eyed soul and an expanded line up including Hammond organs, Wurlitzer pianos and brass sections. Songs like 'Greedy Ugly People', 'Good Fruit', 'Painting and Kissing' and 'The Day that Thatcher Dies' are typical examples of the direct, infectious, intelligent style that endeared Hefner to so many. The album's narrative is conceptual and played out by a retinue of vividly drawn characters, but at heart this is Hayman's most personal and focussed work. Always championed by John Peel, promotion for this album culminated in a full, real time performance show session, broadcast live from BBC Maida Vale (now available else where as the album Maida Vale). This two-disc set expands the original album set to a mighty 39 songs including all of the relevant B-sides, substantially different alternate versions and surprising remixes from Electric Sound of Joy, Piano Magic and The Wisdom of Harry.

Incapacitants - Lon Guy CD (Harbinger Sound) [HARB045CD] $12.75
Shit-your-pants loud, or just another day at the office for Incapacitants.

Infant Cycle, The - Trialism - Clear Shapes Stereo 2xCD3 (Abgvrd) [10596] $13.75
The Infant Cycle, together with the Abgurd label from Russia, have just released a new package, managing to reissue four entire releases in the span of just six tracks. The first disc brings together the original stereo mixes for the three shaped one-side lathe 8"s (all limited to 40 copies each), "Clear Square", "Clear Hexagon", and "Clear Triangle" (2002-2004), while the second disc brings together the much belated (2005) "Clear Shape B-Sides", originally an online EP. With the previous formats' necessity for compactness, this may be one of the best places to start for those dipping into the The Infant Cycle universe...

J.B. Floyd - In Crossing The Busy Street CD (Mutablemusic) [MUTABLE17535] $12.25
"This new recording of music by J.B. Floyd highlights the three main strands of his career: pianist, composer, improvisor. He composed In Crossing the Busy Street for baritone Thomas Buckner (a frequent collaborator of his) and piano, using a poem by Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore. The musical material from this twenty-two minute song cycle then became the basis for further exploration as material for improvisations. Floyd then worked with drummer George Marsh (another long-time collaborator) on what became Improvisations on In Crossing the Busy Street. J.B. Floyd's career as pianist, composer, and improviser has included classical recitals and solos with orchestra, new music solos and group collaborations, jazz improvisations, and multi-media presentations."

Jandek - Hasselt Saturday CD (Corwood Industries) [COR0795] $7.25
'The Places You Left Me' Parts One - Eight. Recorded live at Kunstencentrum Belgie in Hasselt, Belgium, November 12, 2005.

Joe Morris Quartet - Today On Earth CD (Aum Fidelity) [AUM058CD] $12.25
"'I call what I play Free Music because I want to be free to render my work in any way I feel necessary to express my feelings and ideas. Today on Earth is quartet music that emphasizes the groove; some folk-like melodies mixed in with some other things. My colleagues here, Jim Hobbs, Timo Shanko and Luther Gray are as strong and expressive as any players ever when it comes to dealing with this kind of material. I'm lucky to be able to work with them. The title of this recording suggests the idea that is at the core of my artistic goals; a reminder to have a simple instant of realization, a second of reflection about our lives standing on this planet floating in the universe.' - Joe Morris. Simultaneous to having achieved a strong measure of well-deserved acclaim for his ascendant work on upright bass (most recently on the July release of Wildlife (AUM Fidelity), Joe Morris has kept his incomparable and singular voice on the guitar in highly notable flex mode in the past year on both a 4xCD set of improvised duos with Anthony Braxton and on the David S. Ware release, Shakti (AUM Fidelity). Here Morris brings the guitar again full fore with his blessed Quartet on a brand new set of indelibly melodic tunes that are rendered with deep swing and profound essence of joy. Joining him in doing so are alto saxophonist Jim Hobbs and bassist Timo Shanko (both of The Fully Celebrated) as well as further long-time associate, drummer Luther Gray."

Joey Negro - Locked In The Vinyl Cellar 2CD (Z Records) [ZEDD015CD] $16.00
Joey Negro is one of the UK's best loved connoisseurs of house, disco, funk, soul and everything in between and is renowned for pushing the boundaries when it comes to delivering amazing DJ sets featuring rediscovered gems. With an obsession for vinyl collecting and crate digging, Joey has locked himself in his very own music vault and surfaced with an amazing collection of specially chosen nuggets for his brand new Locked In The Vinyl Cellar compilation series for Z Records. Having blown off the dust and adding a sprinkling of studio magic, Joey unearths a vast selection of dancefloor classics on this double CD oozing with an array of soul-drenched funk, disco, reggae and house jewels, essential for any music lover. He kicks off the album with the hilarious Disco Dick track "DIY Disco," then follows on with "Slip Your Disc To This" from the music genius behind many a Michael Jackson hit, Rod Temperton, with his disco band Heatwave. Other highlights include the super funky "Maxx Axe" from George Clinton collaborator Roger Troutman, the obscure Brit-funk from The Oceans, the sublime boogie of Trentemøller's "Le Champagne" and the impeccable jazz sounds from Australia's best-known jazz band, Galapagos Duck. If that's not enough to blow your mind, on CD2 Joey gets busy in the studio and toys with a selection of tunes from the album, offering a selection of exclusive re-edits, including extra tracks from Le Cop with "Le Rock" and Alan Kaufman's "Ivory Fantasy." It all adds up to an eclectic selection of specially chosen gems, compiled with love, devotion and humor from Joey Negro. Other artists include New Deep Society, L.E.B Harmony, Mohjah, JamNowGen, George Soule, Tom Moulton, Coldcut, Lisa Stansfield, Marly Duffy & Joe Jones and more.

Joey Negro - The Many Faces Of Joey Negro Volume Two 2CD (Z Records) [ZEDD017CD] $16.00
Many Faces Vol. Two showcases some of the best productions from the UK's Dave Lee aka Joey Negro, predominantly covering the last 18 months of studio work, but also featuring some classic tracks from his catalog. The 2CD features full-length versions, many never available on an unmixed CD before, making this a great value purchase for both the digital enthusiast and vinyl hoarder alike. Tracks exclusive to this album include the druggy underground "Sax My Bitch Up," a taster of Akabu's debut album to come in 2010. "Beyond The Dance" sees new material from Joey Negro getting deep with this mid-tempo chugger, and David Penn remixes the classic track from '98, "Can't Get High Without U" into a minimal tech-influenced main-room monster. Other highlights from CD1 include Joey Negro's revamped take on "Love Hangover," this time with Diane Charlemagne (Goldie, Inner City Life/52nd Street) on vocals, the recently massive old school house of "Ride The Rhythm," the stomping Philly disco from Doug Willis in the shape of "Nu Dimension," a new edit of "Rough Times," one of the standout tracks from the Sunburst Band album Moving With The Shakers, and the big, bass line-driven "We'll Keep Climbing" under Dave's Z Factor guise. CD2 highlights the breadth of remixes that have been commissioned for release on Dave's Z Records imprint, as well as some of his own remixes for other labels. Highlights here have to be the undiscovered Marshall Jefferson gem from '88 which Joey faithfully brings into the digital age, Dennis Ferrer's deep take on "Journey To The Sun," the vinyl-only dub mix from Henrik Schwarz, Jimpster at his very best taking on Akabu, and Joey showing why he is still a very much in-demand remixer with his rework of Roisin Murphy. Finally, "We Rap More Mellow" was one of the tracks Dave Lee released on his Republic Records in the late-'80s. Originally from 1979, here Grandmaster Flash appears with his fellow MCs Cowboy, Melle Mel, Raheem, and King Creole under their pre-Furious Five moniker, The Younger Generation. Dave remixed/edited the track a couple of years ago, adding much-needed breaks with extra keys and solos, giving it a more jazzy feel. Other artists include: Sessomatto, DJ Spen, Dave Spoon, Mark Grant, Nicola Fasano, Kaje Trackheadz, and Conan Liquid.

Joey Negro and the Sunburst Band - The Remixes 2CD (Z Records) [ZEDD016CD] $16.00
This double CD collects remixes of The Sunburst Band produced by Joey Negro and others. The Sunburst Band have built up a strong following with a sound that has been compared to Earth Wind and Fire and a style that combines the great feel good vibes of boogie and disco, but putting them in a modern setting. This double CD collects the best remixes of songs from the previous 3 albums (many of which were vinyl only) by the likes of Dennis Ferrer, Henrik Schwarz, Milton Jackson, IG Culture, Yam Who, Grant Nelson, Simon Grey, Audiowhores, Electrons, Idjut Boys, and Joey Negro himself -- as well as adding brand new reworks from Cool Million, Recloose, Kaje Trackheads, DJ Meme, Domu and The Revenge that are exclusive to the package. Whereas the band's sound is generally very organic, with live instrumentation aplenty, these remixes are more electronic and synthesized -- ranging from deep, techy, broken beat, to straight-up disco house and downtempo boogie. The release of their debut album Here Comes The Sunburst Band won critical acclaim with both old school heads as well as nu breed disco and house fans. Tracks like "Garden Of Love" and "Delicious" became scene classics, championed by DJs from Pete Tong to 4 Hero to Dimitri From Paris. The follow-up, Until The End Of Time, featured cuts like "Far Beyond" and soul anthem "Everyday." 2008's Moving With The Shakers was widely regarded as the best CD of the year within the modern soul/jazz funk scene. These Sunburst remixes have all been supported by the likes of Carl Craig, Groove Armada, Glenn Underground, Roger Sanchez, Laurent Garnier, Prins Thomas and more.

Jonny Trunk - Scrapbook CD (Trunk) [JBH033CD] $14.75
This is the second album from UK-based Trunk Records label-head, Jonny Trunk. As one would expect from a lad from Trunk, Scrapbook is a curious, entertaining and quite bewildering mix of samples, piano, men with no throats, lesbians and a Japanese choir. It's kind of jazzy, hip-hoppy, filmic, and borders on novelty once in a while. And there's a rock bit on there too. As Jonny Trunk himself explains: "This album has all come about through impatience. Over the last seven years I have tinkered and diddled with music in my bedroom, my office and my head. The 20 tracks on this album are the ones that are still just about alive and represent the scraps of music I have dubbed off or that have not been trashed from my desktop. I don't really want to see them all die, so the only way to get them off my computer and out of my life is to issue them, and the only way I thought I could do it was under the umbrella excuse of a musical scrapbook. It will become obvious quite fast that many of the tracks are indeed scraps, sketches or unfinished business. But getting tracks completed is the hardest bit about making music, if you ask me, it takes ages to finish things sometimes, and ages is really not what I have. So I thought it best to get it all out as it is. I actually think this is alright and acceptable these days -- our attention spans have diminished, we are more used to sound bites, shorter cues, weird little things. The other nearly noteworthy point is that rather that sit around and deliberate for hours, days, weeks or months about which track should follow which track, I've simply compiled them all alphabetically, which was dead easy. It took about ten seconds. And I have only stuck with working titles for the tracks, too." Equipment used: an EMU E5000 Ultra, an old Beocenter 1800, Logic 4.7 on an Apple G3, a Yamaha P90 electric piano and a small Mackie mixer.

Katsen - It Hertz! CD (Shelflife) [life059] $13.00
RELEASE DATE: 10-13-2009
Electronic pop duo from Brighton, England with a collection of toy Casios & old monophonic synths (some held together by gaffer tape), crafted their 12 track debut album. Katsen songs take cues from 50s chic, 70s krautrock & the sharper edges of 80s synthpop. "Christopher & Donna exude a fun (and even adorable if I do say so), accessible energy that helps make Katsen one of my favorite electro newcomers." -Computer Love

Kucz Konrad - Railroad Paths CD (Generator) [10593] $16.75
After the quiet and meditative "Vita Contemplativa Litania", Konrad Kucz lets his other face appear: "Railroad Paths" is a rhythm-sequencing, Berlin-oriented album. Although one may associate some of the moods here with the style of "the Berlin giants" or Kraftwerk, there is no doubt that Kucz's album is a very individual and mature work. This music is very good certainly not only as a soundtrack to a dawn journey by train, which seems to be the leading plot throughout the album.

La Casa Azul - La Nueva Yma Sumac: What The Revolution Left Us CD (Elefant) [ER1144] $16.00
RELEASE DATE: 09-21-2009
"The sexual revolution" left us with unforgettable moments, a never-before dreamed of happiness, and an endless feeling of pleasure. The concerts were authentic exaltations of uncontrolled happiness, collective madness and a truly therapeutic release. LA CASA AZUL's newest work is a gift for fans, a small souvenir that closes the magical era. LA CASA AZUL's new journey is still full of fantasy -- a fantasy that begins in their new video, "La Nueva Yma Sumac", an incredible piece by the great master Duprez (responsible also for the album design) and a team made up of true fans of the group. It is an ambitious project that makes this video unique and unprecedented in the history of music videos and animation in our country, and that will undoubtedly be talked about outside of our borders as well.

Some of Guille Milkyway's most admired personalities have unconditionally given themselves to "La Revolucion Sexual" and collaborated on this disc, making it the most international project yet by LA CASA AZUL.. Franħoise (STEREO TOTAL) sings a new version of "La Recolucion Sexual" in German, which Guille rerecorded almost entirely. Guille himself was in charge of the vocals in English and the exquisite Yeongene does her thing on the Korean version. Guille and Duglas T Steward (BMX BANDITS) share vocals on "Bad boys", the English version of "Chicos Malos", which is also a heart-felt homage to Chris Montez, and THE APRILS remix "La Nueva Yma Sumac", singing it in Japanese. Inspired by HELEN LOVE's "Jump Up & Down", Guille constructed an authentic dance hit that is not lacking in small homages and references to Plastic Bertran, 50's rock and roll and of course surf, one of their great passions. The disc includes three versions - Joan Manuel Serrat's "Seıora", THE JACKSON FIVE's "I Want You Back" and "Love Is in the Air" by John Paul John - and it closes with four live songs taken from one of their last concerts in Barcelona.

It's a special, limited edition disc that also contains a data track with the video for "La Nueva Yma Sumac" (in Spanish and Japanese), and screen savers for computers and mobile phones.

Matias Aguayo - Ay Ay Ay CD (Kompakt) [KOMP076CD] $14.00
This is Matias Aguayo's second full-length for Kompakt. Chilean born, German raised Matias Aguayo is one of those rare talents you come across that genuinely works in music for the sake of loving music. Kompakt's long love affair with Matias Aguayo runs all the way back to his first official act (together with Dirk Leyers) as Closer Musik back in 2000. Though short lived, their releases were foundation builders for the label and still stand as relevant as the day the songs were recorded. Following their demise, Matias felt the urge to abandon the rules that he felt techno imposed on him and moved towards a more organic approach to making music. His first foray into this would be with his 2005 debut solo album Are You Really Lost (KOM 044CD). Matias returned to Kompakt in 2008 with 2 12" bombs -- the club anthems "Minimal" and "Walter Neff." Feeling refreshed and inspired from travelling throughout Latin America, Aguayo was back to end the cycle of boredom that was permeating dance music! That brings us to his sophomore full length Ay Ay Ay. Recorded in Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Paris together with Vicente Sanfuentes (Original Hamster), Matias has conjured an impossibly unclassifiable full-length that is certain to surprise and elate anyone that should come across this true breakthrough of a recording. Take opener "Menta Latte" -- countless layers of his voice revel in a psychedelic dream park together with a simple xylophone chord. The chorus of Matias' unpretentious first single "Rollerskate" is damned to stay on auto repeat in your head for days. His leanings to traditional African music resonate with the beautiful crooner "Koro Koro." Fans of his recent singles will rejoice to the rhythm of songs "Me Vuelvo Loca" and "Juanita" -- Latin harmonies embraced with Matias coaxing you to get up and dance. To call Ay Ay Ay ambitious would be an understatement -- Matias Aguayo has managed to come up with a recording that is undeniably all his own and a landmark release for Kompakt.

Maurizio Bianchi - Blut und Nebel CD (Slaughter Productions) [10602] $18.75
Remixes of the "First 10 LPs" by Maurizio Bianchi.

Merzbow - 13 Japanese Birds Vol 9: Hiyodori CD (Important) [IMPREC265] $13.00
RELEASE DATE: 09-28-2009
Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released January 2010. Each volume will be a one time pressing of 1000 copies. Available from Important Records is a deluxe hand made numbered bamboo box to hold the 13 cd collection. Cover art by Jenny Akita.

Michael Bastian Weiss - Fragmenta Missarum Pro Defunctis CD (Neos) [NEOS10830CD] $20.25
Andreas Skouras, piano and harpsichord. "The Charm of the Impossible: Micheal Bastian WeiÄY has discovered the subject-matter of his life in the richly-layered relationship between art and science, between music and philosophy. He lives in Munich as a composer and philosopher. For WeiÄY, rather, the challenge is to extend the instrument and its possibilities out beyond itself. Likewise, the entire duration of the Sonata on Obscurity, which is also his 2nd Symphony, is colossal. At 50 minutes it explodes every conventional notion of cembalo music. He liberates the instrument from older and more recent historical models and creates a wholly new kind of music for it."

Michael Tenzer - Let Others Name You CD (New World Records) [NW80697CD] $14.50
"This collection of five pieces firmly situates composer and ethnomusicologist Michael Tenzer (b. 1957) in the forefront of a group of contemporary composers creating cross-cultural musical and social fusions, while dealing openly with issues of cultural power and hegemony, and simply luxuriating in the sheer sounds of musics that are neither here nor there, but are from an altogether different place. The three large-scale works using gamelan instruments were conceived as a triptych. They are related structurally by their adaptation of the three-sectional form often found in large-scale Balinese compositions, collectively called lelambatan ('slow music') that is generally performed at temples during religious festivals. The gamelan as well as the two piano pieces are also related rhythmically by their use of the complex rhythmic play of the tani avarthanam, a long drum solo characteristic of South Indian classical music. Thus, all of the pieces in this collection use the aesthetic sensibilities, musical structures, and compositional resources of Balinese and South Indian traditions, as well as Western art musics in varying combinations, each creating a beautifully integrated whole. The music also makes nuanced and carefully differentiated statements about the possibilities of cross-cultural communication and tolerance. Somewhat unresolved and exploratory in nature, yet ultimately hopeful in vision, together they explore musical and social arrangements that question basic assumptions about difference, tolerance, and about our ability to get along in a world largely defined today by tension and conflict."

Millipede - All My Best Intentions CD (Hymen) [Y776] $16.00
RELEASE DATE: 09-14-2009
don hill has been creating dark ambient music under the moniker porteur de l'image since 1998. while he was exploring new music-software, yet unexpected options of his musical self-conception opened up and resulted in millipede. this project has taken on a life of it's own - much more beat-oriented and complex than pdl'i, yet still dark and harsh - a soundtrack for contemplation, as hill explains. with the support of josh pyle (aphorism) and the usage of samples granted by pyle, jan carleklev (sanctum) and angel draganov (polygon ring), millipede's first full-length release sees the light of day: all my best intentions. millipede lays down a caleidoscope of beat-driven melancholy, marked by an acute sense of memorable tunes which will persist long after each track fades. a panoramic of digital glitch, pounding rhythms and bass lines agglutinated by melodic ambience. add to this the occasional carefully placed application of acoustic guitars, fender rhodes piano and electric bass, a unique and captivating album that crosses boundaries is the result; not isolated idm, glitch, or dark ambient but a combination of elements of them all and more. all my best intentions: an intriguing aural journey into what innovative electronic music is truly meant to be - an album of hidden depth and complexity.

Moonbootica - Save The Night 2CD (Moonbootique Records) [MOON004CD] $21.25
The much loved all-night-dance-party duo that is Moonbootica (aka KoweSix and tobitob) have become synonymous with high quality, high energy dance mixes that have made them a household name in Germany and beyond. Encompassing everything between electro, house, disco, funk, minimal and more, this very special double CD package features nearly three hours of finely mixed auditory pleasures, including two new and exclusive tunes from Moonbootica themselves ("The Ease" and "Men Of The Future"), plus special edits, remixes and surprises along the way. The selection process for this DJ mix-extraordinaire was complex, from the heart and totally personal. The style police are powerless, and Moonbootica turn it all upside down and show them how it should really be done! The second disc holds even more treasures, taking things a little psychedelic at first, with trippin' cuts from the likes of Marcin Czubala, Lemos and a Catz N' Dogz mix of Kasper Bjørke & His Friendly Ghost, before soaring back into their trademark hybrid disco floorshow, with Turntablerocker's interpretation of "Everybody" paving the way towards club-smashing territory. The second new gem from Moonbootica comes shortly after in the shape of "Men Of The Future," and opens the galactic floodgates for a sweet and stellar second half of the mix, with later highlights from John Daly and Rodriguez Jr., before a fitting conclusion in the shape of Good Guy Mikesh & Filburt's heartbreaking "Someone Told Me." Showing off every corner of this dynamic and lovable duo's passions for cutting-edge club vibes, Save The Night marks a milestone in the remarkable 10 year long career of these two devoted music activists from Hamburg. Other artists include: Discodeine, Anton Pieete, Mr. Jay & T, Alex Metric, Dada Life, Stereofunk, Adam Freeland, Evil Nine, Golden Bug, Shir Khan, In Flagranti, Hey Today, Disco Trash Music, Future Flash, Saint Pauli, The Funk Out, Bodymovin, Gridrunners, Woolfy vs Projections, Alpha Child, Franc Spangler, The Faint, Tensnake, David Rubato, Aeroplane and Fat Phaze.

Nadja - Under The Jaguar Sun 2CD (Beta-Lactam Ring) [MT175] $14.75
RELEASE DATE: 09-15-2009
***That's right kids! Yes you can mix your own NADJA album! The second disc in this set "Quetzalcoatl" diffuses into the air an alien vocabulary of electronicesque gargles and hums. Disc one of the set, "Tezcatlipoca" is the actual collapsing of stars. Or, perhaps the

Nicola Ratti - Ode CD (Preservation) [PRE023CD] $14.75
The Preservation label presents Ode, the third album from Italy's Nicola Ratti. The former guitarist of self-described "math-jazz-rock trio" Pin Pin Sugar, Nicola first started recording solo works around the same time of their demise. He has also collaborated with Andrea Belfi and producer and engineer Giuseppe Ielasi in the duo Bellows. His is a deceptively languid, disarming sound of small and gentle gestures and loping rhythms, often repeated and subtly shifting in an impressionistic vision founded on traditional elements. Merging guitar, piano and double bass with percussion, environmental sounds and occasional voice, Nicola constructs songs that by turns float, swell and envelop in magnetic fashion. A piercing tenderness remains at the core of his work, though on Ode there is a more expansive palette at play for something that approaches a pure sense of grace in the sense of space and suspended atmosphere created. It's an ingratiating, personal language Nicola has been quietly developing, reaching the point with Ode where it's blossomed into something truly special.

P Jorgensen - To CD (Low Point) [LP027] $14.75
'To' is the second album release by P Jĸrgensen, a sound artist and composer for ensemble, theatre and film based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Exploring the relationship between composition and chance, Jĸrgensen created the music for this release by drawing upon a palette of acoustic instrumentation and field recordings which were then transformed via computer processing into luminous textures, crystalline tones and vibrant ambient drones.

'To' is divided into two clearly defined sections across its 30 minute running time. Broad swathes of sound, juxtaposed chords and miniature crescendos during the first half give way to a more introspective and peaceful denouement as the album draws to an end.

Whilst the running time of 'To' may seem surprisingly concise for an album of this genre, Jĸrgensen's purposeful and streamlined approach to composition ensures that not a single second goes to waste. By focusing on timbre and texture, these distinctive tracks establish vibrant atmospheres which seem to take on the properties of a morning's fog or the diffuse glow of reflected light.

Phill Niblock - Touch Strings 2CD (Touch) [TO079CD] $17.25
This is Phill Niblock's fourth release on the Touch label. Phill Niblock is a New York-based minimalist composer and multi-media musician and director of Experimental Intermedia, a foundation born in the flames of 1968's barricade-hopping. He has been a maverick presence on the fringes of the avant garde ever since. In the history books Niblock is the forgotten Minimalist. His influence has had more impact on younger composers such as Susan Stenger, Lois V Vierk, David First, and Glenn Branca, and he's also worked with Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. Touch Strings features three new pieces completed between 2007 and 2008. "Stosspeng," a piece for guitars and bass guitars performed by Susan Stenger and Robert Poss, premiered at the Donau Festival in Krems, Austria in April of 2007 after recording sessions to obtain materials for the piece took place at Robert Poss's Trace Elements studio in New York. The material for "Poure" was recorded in Johan Vandermaelen's Amplus studio in Aaigem, Belgium, and premiered at Schuurlo, Sint-Maria-Aalter, Belgium on September 12, 2008. Performed by Arne Deforce on cello, "Poure" was commissioned by the Centre de Recherches et de Formation Musicales de Wallonie, CRFMW, Liege, Belgium. "One Large Rose," performed by The Nelly Boyd Ensemble (Robert Engelbrecht, cello; Jan Feddersen, piano strummed with nylon strings; Peter Imig, violin; Jens Roehm, acoustic bass guitar strummed with nylon strings or e-bow), was made with the musicians playing from a score, and recorded acoustically in real time, with four recordings of 46 minutes each superimposed, until a final mix was completed at Experimental Intermedia, New York in October of 2008.

Pimmon - Smudge Another Yesterday CD (Preservation) [PRE021CD] $14.75
The Preservation label presents Smudge Another Yesterday from Sydney's Pimmon. Pimmon is the alias for electronic composer Paul Gough. In the last decade, Pimmon has forged an international reputation for creating dense, challenging and engaging electronic music. This release picks up and goes further from the point where the acclaimed Secret Sleeping Birds left off. Smudge Another Yesterday is an exploration of the song behind the noise; the secret whispers hidden in the static. Within these vast and spacious works are endless fragments shaped and distended into magnetic states of subtle movement and pulse. From beautiful, foreboding pieces sung by hidden choirs to crackling, lava-flow like ambience, the mood swings of Smudge Another Yesterday are steeped in bristling commotion and stirring intimacy. It is a startling return from an individual and distinct artist. Smudge Another Yesterday was mastered by renown Italian composer Giuseppe Ielasi. Pimmon has previously collaborated with other celebrated artists of his field -- including Fennesz, Oren Ambarchi, Kid606 and Keith Rowe -- and has recorded for various labels around the world including Tigerbeat6 and Fat Cat.

Richard Skelton - Marking Time CD (Preservation) [PRE018CD] $14.75
This is the 2008 CD release from the Preservation label of UK artist Richard Skelton's Marking Time. Richard has previously recorded in various guises -- as Clouwbeck, Heidika, Carousell and A Broken Consort. Marking Time is his first work under his own name, and also the first to be released on a label other than his own, Sustain-Release. Through the prolific output on Sustain-Release, Richard has created a singular vision with his music: a sound that is at once complex and elemental in its questing nature, corporal feel and ultimately life-affirming quality. As The Wire writes, Richard's music "inhabits landscapes -- both physical and emotional -- etched with memory and loss." Marking Time represents a new beginning for Richard and finds him at his most direct and intimate, slowly turning on relatively bare textures of bowed strings, piano and guitar. A meditation on loss and the passing of time, its measure of transcendence accumulates in instrumental passages that work like gestures drifting towards a sense of space both rich and real. Richard continues to use his numerous names by which to produce music as well as further the relationship his creative muse has with his physical surroundings (he lives on the rural edges of Lancashire) through his Landings project. Here, he leaves one-off recordings in the outdoor environments in which they're made as a kind of offering and acknowledgment to the power and inextricable connection he feels from these settings. And as with Marking Time, it is with his music that Richard impacts on and affects that environment, by documenting his ever-changing shape in it by means not only uniquely personal, but universal in a devastatingly beautiful way.

Ruts DC - Rhythm Collision Reloaded CD (Echo Beach) [EB077CD] $16.00
The story of the UK's The Ruts (and the follow-up band Ruts DC) and the legendary dub set Rhythm Collision Vol. 1, is a story that brings together musical opposition and resistance. Here it is now recast in a series of modern remixes by RSD aka Rob Smith, Salz, Steve Dub, Dreadzone, Go Home Production, Boz Boorer, and Ruts DC themselves.

Sebo K - Watergate 04 CD (Watergate Records) [WG004CD] $16.00
Sebo K mixes and curates this fourth volume in Watergate Records' series of mixes dedicated to the sounds of the Watergate Club in Berlin. Sebo K has long been a key figure in Berlin's music community, starting his DJ career in the early '90s at Alec Empire's Bass Terror nights, Berlin's first UK-style breakbeat parties. By the mid '90s he had discovered his love for Chicago house and Detroit techno -- a passion evident to anyone who has heard the vintage depths many of his tracks nod to -- and at the turn of the decade began playing regularly at legendary clubs throughout Berlin. With a number of solid releases for Mobilee under his belt and tracks appearing on countless compilations and mixes, he's becoming an unstoppable force in the electronic music scene. His love for soulful, deep vibes combined with his ability to transition seamlessly between minimal techno and straight house -- and an uncanny ability to blur the lines between the two -- has reinforced the importance of house in an age seemingly inundated by techno lovers. Sebo now steps in to mix Watergate 04 and showcases his talent in a mix filled with Watergate exclusive edits by artists such as Rndm (of Dial fame), Agnes from Switzerland and Sebo K himself. Also, you will find some hard to find classics by Mood II Swing and Rick Wade as well as an exclusive by dOP, who contributed an intro specially composed for this mix. All this adds up to make a superb mix of timeless deep house music just the way you would hear it at one of Sebo K's nights at the Berlin's Watergate Club. Other artists include Koljah & Oliver Deutschmann, Session Victim, Daze Maxim, Blagger, Martyn, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, Je Davu, Sid Le Rock, DJ Koze and Nina Kraviz.

Shackleton - Three EPs CD (Perlon) [PERL076CD] $16.00
Surprise, surprise.... after several excellent releases on his imprint Skull Disco, Berlin transplant Sam Shackleton sends out some drones through Perlon. Shackleton's maverick take on big bass lines and complex beats doesn't fit into any easy categories. Shackleton has been carving out his own brand of eclecticism so far with intricate, snaking percussion, hypnotic melodies, seriously deep bass lines and dubwise sensibilities. With tribal percussion up against electronic screeeeeee, and some seriously dubwise and bass-y low-end backing ring modulators and other avant garde accessories, Three EPs is a milestone already.

Shackleton - Three EPs 3x^12 inch CD (Perlon) [PERL076LP] $23.00
Surprise, surprise.... after several excellent releases on his imprint Skull Disco, Berlin transplant Sam Shackleton sends out some drones through Perlon. Shackleton's maverick take on big bass lines and complex beats doesn't fit into any easy categories. Shackleton has been carving out his own brand of eclecticism so far with intricate, snaking percussion, hypnotic melodies, seriously deep bass lines and dubwise sensibilities. With tribal percussion up against electronic screeeeeee, and some seriously dubwise and bass-y low-end backing ring modulators and other avant garde accessories, Three EPs is a milestone already.

Shannon Stephens - Breadwinner CD (Asthmatic Kitty) [AKR64] $13.25
Crouching in her backyard garden, SHANNON STEPHENS (ex-MARZUKI) is poised for greatness. Although she ran from music for almost a decade, she's not hiding now. Recorded in her living room over the last year, The Breadwinner belies its humble roots; with themes of love, home, family, and a vision of the end of the world, the lush and exquisite sound of this album is anything but domestic.

Simon Scott - Navigare CD (Miasmah) [MIA011CD] $14.00
This is the debut full-length release by the UK's Simon Scott. Scott has had a notable musical past: in the early '90s he was the drummer for the renowned shoegaze band Slowdive. Upon leaving Slowdive, he formed the more electronic-based group Televise. He also set up his own label, Kesh Recordings, and has so far released titles by the likes of Hannu, Sebastian Roux, Aus and Mark Templeton. More recently, Scott has been involved in several diverse projects, including his work as a member of Seavault (with Antony Ryan from Isan), and collaborations with Machinefabriek, Jasper TX and Emmanuele Errante. With Navigare, there are shades of Scott's previous output and musical interests, but as a whole, the album marks a bold new direction. Navigare opens with "Introduction Of Cambridge," a shimmering wall of sound, its ethereal tones and slow-burning drones gradually drawing closer and closer, creating gorgeous uplifting melodies and textures. The processed guitar combined with gentle swathes of interference and underlying rhythms echoes the processes of Chain Reaction's productions as much as it does the screeching, arcing feedback lines of Kevin Shield's guitar work. Navigare shares an affinity with the melodic content of Fennesz's work, the dark beauty of Tim Hecker's sound, and houses elements of the restraint found in Andrew Chalk's drone compositions. What really devastates here is Scott's ability to merge ambient passages with such memorable melodic cycles, taking the simplest of ideas and building on them, generating murky hooks and submerged "riffs." Scott explores textures using a variety of instruments including sitar, violin, cello, and flute, merging them with excerpts from field recordings; it all sounds so effortless. The looping rhythms and slow guitars rise and grow, at times approaching something oppressive; select pieces such as "Flood Inn" house an underlying weight, comparable to Justin K. Broderick's Jesu and Final projects. Perhaps the hazy drums, bass and guitar drift of "The ACC" presents the most recognizable of stylistic qualities from Scott's back catalog; a groove that recalls the Souvlaki-era sound in all its glory, re-imagined in a new, darker and more expansive form. Additionally, a guest appearance from label mate Jasper TX, a vocal contribution from Moskitoo, and a track co-written with Rafael Anton Irisarri, adds even more depth to Scott's already ambitious vision.

Slaraffenland - We're On Your Side CD (Hometapes) [HT032] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 09-15-2009
***"We have waited a while, still it'll take us some time" begins "Meet and Greet." Vocal harmonies ring out to the pulsing beat of a delayed floor tom. A guitar wakes up the reeds. The subtle organic percussion of handclaps punctuates the amplified air, the music becoming a distinct human synthesis. This is a pop song. This is SLARAFFENLAND. Based in Denmark, they embrace the art of shape, of space, and of slow gratification, hand-carving their sound with the diligence and artistry often associated with their nation's design heritage. This year, Slaraffenland reintroduces themselves with the magnificent release of We're on Your Side. The new LP and CD from Hometapes connects the points between stage and studio-bringing Slaraffenland's virtuosic musicianship, pop sensibility, emotional directness, compositional experimentalism, and the road-proven energy of their live performance into absolute, impeccable, and addictive focus. This is the record Slaraffenland fans have been waiting for-and the sound, remarkably accessible, that should summon thousands more.

Sleep Chamber - Species Interruptus "Live from the German Tour Vol. #1 CD (Inner X) [10587] $13.75
'Once thought lost, "SPECIES INTERRUPTUS" will see it's proper release. "LIVE FROM THE GERMAN TOUR" is the subtitle, and that's what you will get. Crystal clear recordings, it feels like you are in the front row! Excellent shows!

Small Color - In Light CD (12k) [12K1057] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 10-20-2009
Four years after the release of their debut album Outflow, Japan's Small Color, a duo comprised of Rie Yoshihara (aka Trico!) (accordion, voice, vintage keyboard instruments) and Yusuke Onishi (guitar, banjo, bass, programming and production) are back with the beautifully polished In Light. This album marks what some may consider a departure for 12k: sublime and gentle, minimal, acoustic J-pop, which once may have been destined for the now-defunct Happy label, but can now sit comfortably beside 12k's roster of electronic/acoustic ambient hybrids.

For the past 4 years, Small Color has been performing live and honing their sound. Inspired mostly by the very act of performing and the way their sound relates to interactions with a live audience, In Light is truly a mature album with a very focused aesthetic. Being primarily an acoustic band, their recordings are not created in front of a computer screen. With the musicianship of Yoshihara, an accomplished accordion player and instructor, and Onishi, who plays guitar for many artists in Japan, live performance and songwriting are what Small Color is all about, as is quite evident on In Light.

Small Color's sound encompasses many moods in its modest shell: joy, sorrow, love and sadness, the feelings of everyday life, with influences from such diverse musical genres as jazz, world music, pop and experimentalism, as well as design, architecture and cooking (Rie is an accomplished chef and has a recipe book being published in the near future). Their songs are delicate yet rich in texture, brimming with the warm sounds of electric pianos, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, accordion, toy pianos and a studio full of other instruments accented by small beatboxes, electronic sprinklings, and Rie's faraway and lulling voice with lyrics in both Japanese and English.

The first 1000 copies of In Light will be packaged in a full-color slipcase over the ubiquitous 12k digipack and the release of the CD will coincide with the digital-only release of the remixed single fora "Hikari No Hana."

Tama Sumo - Panorama Bar 02 CD (Ostgut Ton) [OSTGUT010CD] $14.75
Some djs put their nuts on the the turntables and some their hearts -- Tama Sumo definitely lays her heart down. She is among Berlin's house djs winning people over with her very own style and refreshing charisma. Her lextended sunday afternoon sets at Panorama Bar are extremely varied musically, ranging from Techno, Disco, Vintage Electro and a pinch of Pop, however House is always at the gravitational centre. Sometimes it's hard to put a finger on a dj's specialty, but with Tama Sumo, a surplus of emotions and openmindedness can easily be detected. She manages to transfer these skills onto the dancefloor creating a special atmosphere of sexiness garnsished with an essential dose of dirt. After Cassy launched the Panorama Bar mix series three years ago, it is up to Tama Sumo to carry on the torch. On her approach to producing the latest Panorama mix, Tama Sumo says: "Similar to djing in a club, it has been improtant for me to create this mix with an emotional, rough and powerfull house blueprint able to counter the ominpresent easy-to-get functionality of today." Accordingly, her mix is a rather personal statement. Furthermore, itt has been important for her to ask producers she's friends with and others whose music she adores respectively. Similar to Marcel Dettmann's and Len Faki's and approach for "Berghain 02 & 03". Tama has been able to secure a handfull of exclusive tracks. Apart from the excellent tracks by Basic Soul Unit, Lerosa, Levon Vincent and Steffi, which we're releasing on vinyl (Ostgut Ton 28&29), Panorama Bar 02 also contains exclusive and previously unreleased material by Shed, Soundstream and Tama Sumo herself teaming up with Prosumer. Tama Sumo is not only focusing on her direct Berlin based surroundings. She is also embracing components which have been influential for her in the past few years. There's Tin Man's whispering pop, deep house by John Daly, John Roberts, Trus'Me and Kassem Mosse; there's the Detroit techno of Redshape's interpretation of Newworldaquarium's "Trespassers", the vintage house of Marcus Mixx with a mix by Ron Hardy, XDB's and Mike Huckaby's dub techno and there's the over the top pop of Ost & Kjex. There are unjustifiedly rare gems in this mix, tracks one doesn't get to hear mixed in clubs or cds often. "The dramaturgy of this mix was really important to me. I wanted to have an easy, yet soulful beginning, a slow ascent towards more ecstatic terriortories, a lillte pinch of pop and then end it clamly again. After all, this is the typical Panorama Bar feeling for me."

Tetparop - Made in Madness CD (Abgvrd) [10597] $13.75
dark cold atmospheres with heavy synth.

Tomasz Zawadzincski - Follow Me CD (Generator) [10591] $16.75
"Follow me" - certainly towards magical electronic lands, spooky tonal jungles, which remind us so much of those painted by the masters of Berlin School or their talented descendants. The Listener will discover, that She is asked to follow Zawadzinski not only in one particular direction, but rather in many different ones, towards a great many different worlds. Let us give this record a careful listen and we will really appreciate the already well-formed style of Tomasz Zawadzinski, who is able to paint musical scenes - "sounds like pictures" - both nostalgic and optimistic, both snowy and warm.

Tomasz Zawadzincski - Sounds Like Pictures CD (Generator) [10592] $16.75
"Follow me" - certainly towards magical electronic lands, spooky tonal jungles, which remind us so much of those painted by the masters of Berlin School or their talented descendants. The Listener will discover, that She is asked to follow Zawadzinski not only in one particular direction, but rather in many different ones, towards a great many different worlds. Let us give this record a careful listen and we will really appreciate the already well-formed style of Tomasz Zawadzinski, who is able to paint musical scenes - "sounds like pictures" - both nostalgic and optimistic, both snowy and warm.

Unicazurn (Coil) - Temporal Bends CD (Uzu Music) [10586] $16.75
UnicaZürn are: Stephen Thrower (Cyclobe; Coil) and David Knight (Arkkon; Shock Headed Peters; Lydia Lunch). Both are also members of the improvisation group The Amal Gamal Ensemble.

With guest vocals by Danielle Dax. Composed from recordings and improvisations made between 2004-2009, by the banks of the Thames and the East Sussex coast, Temporal Bends is a journey through time, and a dive into the depths. Recording sessions throughout have been accompanied by the spectre of water; slow currents or lapping waves, windows of streaming rain, seashore horizons. Temporal Bends is aquatic, coastal music, connecting UnicaZürn's experience of the rivers and seas of England with the micro-waterways of memory and the mind, through decompression and dehydration to full flood and saturation. The oceans and estuaries of late evenings past and yet to come.

UnicaZürn's core musical instrumentation is processed electric guitar, clarinet and saxophone. Knight is renowned for his pulverising fretwork in Shock Headed Peters, and his cavernous guitar treatments in Arkkon; Thrower's reed playing provided a distinctive 'free-melancholy' in Coil and emerges as electro-acoustic texture in Cyclobe. To this duophonic arrangement, UnicaZürn add copious analogue synthesizer, mellotron and piano, with influences echoing back through Tangerine Dream's early albums to the VCS3 days of Roxy Music.

UnicaZürn offer a deeply immersive music which hovers at the brink of abstraction, seeking to conjure at that threshold fantastical coastlines and subterranean narratives in the mind's eye.

Urna - Liber Lelle CD (Abgvrd) [10599] $13.75
This work is inspired by the mystic experience of Angela da Foligno (1248/49-1309).

Various Artists - Elementality Revisited CD (Basses Frequences) [10601] $15.25
1 Elementaural Research Project Elementality (Sound Source Mix) / 2 Rie Lambdoll / E.R.P* In The Maze / 3 Neurotic WKY Traveling Lights / 4 Randy Greif Ringtone For Nichols / 5 Aidan Baker Untitled / 6 Rapoon In Silence (Walk Away) / 7 Dickson Dee Untitled / 8 Sarana Ne / 9 Mlehst Is Leor Nod Don Eoloch / 10 Loop Orchestra, The Untitled / 11 Radboud Mens First Theory

Various Artists - Wild Angels (Mary Anne Hobbs Presents) CD (Planet Mu) [ZIQ239] $13.25
BBC Radio One's firebrand DJ MARY ANNE HOBBS presents the third selection of her favorite new artists with the Planet Mu label. The phrase "wild angel" was an expression that Hobbs used for the influential playing of the late Alice Coltrane on her West Coast Rocks special; it could just as easily describe the music on this album. Mike Paradinas at Planet Mu loved the expression and suggested it as a title. Wild Angels is a great transatlantic showcase for emerging new artists who fuse existing genres like hip hop, dubstep, grime, and soul into exotic and exciting new forms. Coming from Los Angeles, Glasgow, Bristol, and Philadelphia, they represent a growing new global electronic music scene. The mixture of underground classics and exclusive new tracks makes it an essential purchase for the curious and the converted. This collection features pioneering tracks from Glasgow's HUDSON MOHAWKE and RUSTIE, who have been highly influential on a host of new artists. STARKEY's underground dancefloor anthems "Gutter Music VIP" and MARK PRITCHARD's devastating cerebral piece "?" accompany exclusive tracks from next-generation artists such as Teebs and Gemmy. Double LP version to be released 9/22/2009. No exports outside North America or Japan. Touring The West Coast Now!

Various Artists - Love's a Real Thing: The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa CD (Luaka Bop) [LBOP052CD] $13.25
2004 release. "These twelve astonishing tracks are drawn from a broad spectrum of early 70s West African psychedelic classics. Yet the fact that they scarcely registered on the Richter scale of contemporary underground music must surely be one of the greatest ironies of modern popular music, given that western counterculture drew so heavily on the musical, aesthetic and visual traditions of Africa. Musically, the transatlantic links are strong and obvious; from the urban black American soul and funk of James Brown, through the West Coast sounds of Hendrix, to the deeper grooves of Cuban rumba and Latin percussion." Enhanced CD with bonus video content.

Various Artists - Snuggle & Slap 2CD (Circus Company) [CC006CD] $19.75
Celebrating 10 years of refining its highly personal vision of underground electronic dance music, Paris' Circus Company presents Snuggle & Slap, a 2CD compilation balancing contemporary house music with more idiosyncratic submissions. It's more than just a label sampler: many of the artists included here appear two or even three times, having been afforded the opportunity to think beyond the dancefloor and experiment with new sounds, unusual styles, and secret passions. Hushed funk, feathery beats and spongy textures characterize the "Snuggle" CD, while "Slap" snaps to attention with more insistent grooves straight to the heart of the label's sweet spot: sumptuously detailed, swoon-worthy deep house. Whether you've been following Circus Company for the whole decade or are only just now turning on, this collection of new, exclusive material is an essential portrait of one of the most dynamic labels around. Who's on board? There are veterans from the label's very earliest days, including Ark, Nôze, Dave Aju and Sety. There are folks that have joined in recent years, enlarging the label's sound along with its roster: dOP, MyMy, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, Audio Werner, Antislash, Oleg Poliakov, and Le K., and finally, there are the most recent freaks to join the Circus: Ryan Crosson, Nicolas Jaar, and Homewreckers. There are also a few familiar faces hidden behind names that might be new to you: Ezechiel Pailhes, who contributes a touching sketch for piano and voice, is one half of Nôze; Destination Danger is the pairing of Oleg Poliakov and Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, and together they come up with one of the album's most driving and hypnotic tracks. These tracks go far deeper than the bongos-and-keyboards model of so much current "deep house." An emphasis on live instrumentation, acoustic samples and subtle vocals keeps the sound warm and supple across both discs.

Various Artists - Willkommen Collective Volume 1 CD (Willkommen) [WILLK004CD] $9.75
This is a special limited edition handmade Willkommen Records label sampler. The Willkommen Collective is the name given to a group of Brighton, UK-based folk musicians who together make up the groups Shoreline, Sons of Noel and Adrian, The Leisure Society, Moonshine Moonshine, Atlas Crease, Laish Quartet and The Miserable Rich. Influenced by a wide variety of musical traditions, and with the input from such a diverse pool of players, each band in the ever-expanding co-operative has been able to create a truly unique sound with the view to create a self-sufficient musical alliance. The name Willkommen came from the fact that cellist and beard cultivator Will Calderbank happens to play on everyone's music. He also records under the name Atlas Crease and the song featured here, "Four Corners," gives a glimpse into the hushed, idyllic space Mr. Calderbank calls home. Nick Hemming's group The Leisure Society, having debuted on Willkommen Records with their album The Sleeper, displays their winsome chamber pop here with "Pancake Day." Delve into the compilation further and you'll discover Daniel Green's soulful, rustic bonhomie under the name Laish Quartet. One of Willkommen's foremost torchbearers for the British folk tradition is the Sons of Noel and Adrian, the mothership of the Willkommen operation. Here you'll be able to marvel at Jacob Richardson's whistling prowess and city leveling baritone. A Brighton via Rome collaboration between Tom Cowan, the Collective and Beatrice Sanjust Di Teulada, Shoreline deal in sensuous, soft-focus sound worlds. Hamilton Yarns are Willkommen's purveyors of (un)easy-listening esoterica, embraced by the Wire magazine cognoscenti, while The Climbers are something of a Willkommen studio- super-group headed up by Tim West; it's the kind of flawless music cut by Curt Boettcher and Gary Usher out on the Strip in the late '60s, re-imagined in the suburban environs of the South of England. That's just a smattering of the music on the compilation. We hope Willkommen Volume 1 acts as a perfect primer into this highly-touted inclusive scene.

Various Artists - Beáta Móri Message: Young Contemporary Hungarian... CD (Hungaroton) [HUNG32594CD] $16.50
...Composers For Cimbalom. Ilona Mesko (*1981): Mill Songs; Short Pieces; Poesie. Peter Zombola (*1983): Preludium; Institutio I/A. Mate Bella: Message; Messag 02. Balazs Horvath (1942 ? 2006): Gritty Street - for the 65th anniversary of Z. Jeney; Further Series. Daniel Dinyes: Ouverture, Air, Double. Marton Kerekfy: Rhapsody. Beáta Móri, cimbalom, Krisztina Dobner, flute, Zsolt Bartek, clarinet. "It was the 20th century when the international fame and recognition of the cimbalom started to grow exponentially. Today, a wide choice awaits musicians ranging from being an independent soloist of a concerto to playing in the most varied chamber ensembles. The relationship between composers and musicians works ideally; new compositions are played by outstanding experts and, in turn, cimbalom players abound in new pieces. What is more, as it is also demonstrated by our present recording, it is still possible to say something new through the cimbalom. Here, eleven pieces composed by six young composers will have been heard in the rendition of Beáta Móri, who - despite her youth - can already take pride in having several dedications."

Various Artists - Donaueschinger Musitage 2007 CD (Neos) [NEOS10824CD] $20.25
Hans Zender (*1936): Orchestergruppen (2007). SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg/Sylvain Cambreling. Klaus Huber (*1924): Quod est Pax? Vers la Raison du Coeur ... für fünf Solostimmen, Arabische Percussion, Schlagzeug und Orchester (2007). Nora Thiele, Arabic percussion; les jeunes solistes SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg/Rupert Huber. "From 1956 to 1959 Zender studied piano, conducting, and composition (the latter with Wolfgang Fortner) in Frankfurt am Main and Freiburg im Breisgau. From 1959 to 1963 he was Kapellmeister of the Municipal Theatres in Freiburg im Breisgau, after which he became Principal Conductor at the Stadttheater in Bonn. In 1964?65 he attended the Second Cologne Courses for New Music at the Rheinische Musikhochschule, under the artistic direction of Karlheinz Stockhausen. In 1968 he was called to Kiel, where he was General Music Director until 1972. In this year he began his activity as Principal Conductor of the Radio-Symphony Orchestra in Saarbrücken. In 1984 he became Head of the Hamburg State Opera and General Music Director of the orchestra there, changing in 1987 to the position of Conductor in Chief of the Chamber Orchestra of Radio Netherlands in Hilversum, where he worked until 1990."

Various Artists - 10 Years Sender 2CD (Sender) [SENDER085CD] $22.25
"Antennas up! The Sender station brings you an exclusive special broadcast covering the big label anniversary. On the occasion of the tenth birthday, contributions by various label-associated representatives of the electronic music-production community will follow here, appearing in black gold and a modern digital garment. In the first part, brand new productions are set to be hawked separately. The second part succeeds in mixed shape and recapitulates the Sender era in a DJ-set format. In the spotlight, we have acquaintances such as Misc., Baby Ford, Matt John, Pan/Tone, Someone Else and label holder and founder Benno Blome himself. Beyond that, fresh talents like Ronald Christoph and Shap introduce themselves to the audience and ambitious producers like Matt Star leave their incisive remix-signature. The whole stylistic bandwidth of the Sender program is to be performed for our audience once again, over and above we would like to put you in the mood for further decades of potent rhythm-broadcasts. Since establishing the Sender station, tons of sweat ran down the walls of international Techno clubs. Not few numbers out of the Sender catalogue have been involved with this sportive society phenomenon. Artists like Misc. have reached some of their top levels with blood-pressure-raising Techno compounds on Sender. High caliber acts like T..Raumschmiere and Jake Fairley have set the standard in style and dirt. British legends like A Guy Called Gerald and Baby Ford have built robust Techno-bridges to the continent. Despite the intricate maintenance of the sending, station conductor Benno Blome holds most of the program spots with 28 contributions, of which many were generated in joint ventures. Thus in this anniversary issue he can be heard with Tigerskin once again, who also had several appearances on Sender. Please put your remote control aside now and immerse in the following music program."

Velehentor - Bleaching Of Penury CD (Abgvrd) [10598] $13.75
This album is tributed to the occurences of poisoning of a human by a human. Recorded in 2005. Limited to 100 copies.

Velehentor - From The Gloom Of Graves: Stonewells Of Aeternity CD (Desolate Catacombs of Smersh) [10600] $15.25
'Very gloomy dark ambience, with sad and melancholic tunes in the way of Raison D'Etre or Svartsinn. Velehentor (aka 121 from Closing The Eternity) also uses spoken words, slow percussive elements and guitar, and thus creates his very own vision and style. "Classic Dark Ambient: cold echo of unknown rituals straying in the pitch darkness of resonant stone labyrinths. Paranoiac trance induced by the feeling of lifeless presence in the crypts that breathe with dead moisture. Glacial serenity of indifferent doom". Ltd x 460 copies in a black digipak with spot varnishing. Russian import. Highly recommended!

Yarek - Nok Na Zamku CD (Generator) [10590] $16.75
I50 minutes of rich electronic dreams, emerging from mysterious dusk of an abandoned castle. We are dealing here with a great variety of styles, from sequential electronica over atmospheric ambient up to very sophisticated berlinized acid ("La Orkestra"), and each of the styles presented here sounds convincing, strong, and accounts for a perfectly consistent and original whole.

[ H I S T O R I C A L ]

Primitive Calculators - And Friends 1979-82 CD (Chapter Music) [CH055] $16.00
Originally released by Chapter Music in 2007. After reissuing the landmark 1979 live album by Melbourne's ferocious synth-punk snarlers PRINMITIVE CALCULATORS in late 2004, Chapter Music follows up with a crucial compilation of tracks by Primitive Calculators and their friends from the legendary Melbourne Little Band scene. Including the Calculators' only studio recording, the single "I Can't Stop It" b/w "Do That Dance," plus the Little Bands compilation EP (both originally released in 1979 and now highly-prized collectors items), plus numerous live and rehearsal recordings, this CD examines a particularly fertile and distinctive time in Melbourne music history, which has been discussed in hushed tones ever since. It takes in bands with names like THRUSH & THE CUNTS and TOO FAT TO FIT THROUGH THE DOOR, and ranges from disaffected Fitzroy art-punk to Sudanese tribal chanting recorded in London. With liner notes culled from a revealing interview with Prim Calcs members DAVE LIGHT, DENISE HILTON and FRANK LOVECE, plus rare photos and song lyrics, Primitive Calculators And Friends is a revelatory companion piece to their live album, which received a rave review from Maximum Rock'n'Roll and a 10 out of 10 "Album of the Month" feature in the Australian version of Vice magazine, amongst other stellar reviews. Other crazed offshoots chronicled here include: MORPIONS, THE TAKE, RONNIE & THE RHYTHM BOYS, ZYE YE YE, TAKE TWO and THE EGG.

Stuart Saunders Smith - The Links Series Of Vibraphone Essays 2CD (New World Records) [NW80690CD] $27.75
"Stuart Saunders Smith (b. 1948) has created a diverse and unusual body of musical and literary compositions. His music is usually chromatic, atonal, and rhythmically complex, with his pitch material selected in an intuitive manner rather than via the twelve-tone technique. Many of his works are theatrical, asking the performers to speak, sing, act, and perform pantomime in addition to playing their instruments. His works often feature improvisation. Approximately half of his more than 130 works involve percussion, and his works are particularly popular among percussionists. This is the first complete recording of the Links series. 'The Links Series of Vibraphone Essays is scored for vibraphone in various settings, from unaccompanied solos to duos with flute, piano and off-stage orchestra bells. This series was composed between 1975 and 1995. There are eleven individual Links pieces. The title refers to the entire structure of the work, in that the end of one composition elides to the beginning of the next - a link in a delicate necklace. Also, 'links' in German means 'left' in English. The Links Series remains left of the center of the past and current musical languages in which composers have composed and are composing. It is the most physically, melodically, rhythmically, and conceptually demanding vibraphone music yet composed. The Links are performed all over the world and are part of important percussion curriculums from Yale to UC-San Diego, to mention a few.' - Stuart Saunders Smith"

Various Artists - Can't Stop It II - Australian Post-punk 1979-1984 CD (Chapter Music) [CH057] $16.00
Originally released in 2007, this is the second installment of Chapter Music's acclaimed Australian post-punk compilation series, Can't Stop It!-another incredible array of inventive and often previously-unheard music from the period of 1979-1984. This was a fantastically rich and dynamic time in Australian music history, a time when Australia stepped out of the shadows of overseas influence and asserted its own musical identity for perhaps the first time. Can't Stop It! II features tracks by bands such as SEVERED HEADS, SYSTEMATICS, SCATTERED ORDER, LISA GERRARD (DEAD CAN DANCE), MARK SEYMOUR (HUNTERS & COLLECTORS), ASPHIXIATION, JETSONNES, BRRR COLD, WILD DOG RODEO, Candy soundtrack composer PAUL CHARLIER, and others. The CD includes a 16-page booklet with extensive liner notes, rare photos. and JOSH PETHERICK's striking design.

Various Artists - Singapore A-Go-Go CD (Sublime Frequencies) [SF051CD] $14.75
Sublime Frequencies works its way down to the tip of the Malaysian peninsula with this superb collection of Singaporean '60s beat, pop and "off-beat cha-cha" classics compiled from original vinyl 45s. These 22 supercharged beat-a-go-go tracks defy a common held belief that the Chinese couldn't rock, groove or swing back in the 1960s. The vocals are sung in the dialects of Mandarin and Hokkien and they soar, with catchy hooks atop groovy, clever beats. There's plenty of electric guitar, organ and crazy percussion rocking and twisting behind it all, at times reaching quite a mad and freaky state of affairs. The record's finale, "Happy Lunar New Year," sung by Linda Yong, may be the weirdest New Year's greeting ever recorded. Every single cut is a winner and it never lets up, from start to finish. Although most of the lyrics focus on love, innocence and festive atmospherics, there's an epic vibe to the music that rivals other extremely well-recorded and unique pop styles emanating from the surrounding Southeast Asian scenes during the late 1960s. Seminal bands of the period like The Stylers and The Silvertones are well represented here, backing up a wide array of popular vocalists with Charlie Electric Guitar Band's Sound of Japan ripping it up on four brilliant instrumental tracks. CD comes with a 16-page booklet featuring gorgeous, full-color photos of the original 45 sleeves and extended liner notes from compiler William Gibson.

This week's VINYL update contains releases by:

2nd II None * Al Usher * Ambivalent * Amthea & Celler * Andrew W.K. * Ben Frost * Benno Blome & Martin Eyerer * Blackdown Feat. Durrty Goodz * Bobby Birdman * Cherry Five (aka Goblin) * Cloaks * Dan Curtin * De Kift * Deadnotes * Dinky * Dollz at Play * Eden's Children * Elemental * F * Filippo Naughty Moscatello * Gary War * Golden Ring, The * Greg Cartwright * Grief No Absolution * Grievous Angel/Naphta * Hatcha vs. Lost * Helixir * Hyetal/Peverelist * Il Reale Impero Britannico (aka Goblin) * Jaqee * Jimmy Edgar * John Shananigans * Jonny Trunk * Len Faki * Likhan * Long John Baldry * Mark E * Mayyors * N-Type * Neko Case * Nick Curly * Notwist, The * Others, The * Piemont * Prosumer & Murat Tepeli * Ricordi D'infanzia * Robert Beatty * Robert Hood * Rogue State & Twisted * San Proper * Schaufler & Zovsky * Seth Troxler * Simon Scott * Smoke, The * Steve Bug * Still Going * Tallest Man On Earth * Tiefschwarz (feat. Seth Troxler) * Tiger Stripes * Till von Sein & Tigerskin * Trolley Snatcher * Unknown * Wil Malone * Zurich

2nd II None - Waterfallz Remixes 12 inch (Heavy Artillery) [HEAVY009EP] $10.75
At long last, a chance to get your hands upon a full release of one of the most in-demand slates of the last year. Pinch has been rinsing Peverelist's massive remix for what seems like well over a year. Rossi B's always on point Heavy Artillery, another Bristol-based label, have been smart enough to pick up the track for vinyl issue.

Al Usher - Lullaby For Robert Remixes 12 inch (Internasjonal) [INT0092EP] $11.50
"Lullaby For Robert" continues to mesmerize where ever it is played, and now it's time for the last chapter of remixes. Presenting the mindboggling Gatto Fritto remix, Mark Seven's "version" and Prins Thomas' just plain silly rework.

Ambivalent - Is 5 12 inch (Minus) [MINUS079EP] $10.75
"Whereas [some] must content themselves with the merely undeniable fact that two times two is four, he rejoices in the irresistible truth to be found, in abbreviated costume, upon the title page of the present volume." -E.E. Cummings

Amthea & Celler - Down With G.O.D. 12 inch (Tuning Spork) [TS051EP] $11.50
Anthea & Celler present their third effort as a duo. "Down With G.O.D." is a chunky and forceful workout, fuelled by Jesus Juice, with a distorted bass bounce and vaporous dub overtones that will make the dancefloor speak in tongues. Then comes the remix from Jay Haze, where the deepness gets bumped up a notch with his trademark onslaught of snare drums. DJ Sneak concocts a bold blend with two parts percolating Chicago attitude and one part French filter house.

Andrew W.K. - 55 Cadillac LP (Ecstatic Peace) [E#8B] $19.75
"Andrew's first ever new-age instrumental solo piano concept album. 55 Cadillac showcases Andrew's spontaneous piano improvisations, as well as the visualized manifestations of his car. 55 Cadillac will be released on September 7th, 2009 in the UK, and on September 8th, in the USA and the rest of the world. Special edition gatefold vinyl by Ecstatic Peace! and special edition CD by Skyscraper Music Maker. The 55 Cadillac recording process began in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday, January 23rd, 2009. Andrew played his very own Steinway Concert D piano, set up for optimum tape recording by F.F.V., using a mobile triple cassette sound system. Photographer, Andrew Strasser, has completed a comprehensive photo shoot of AWK's prized 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine, which features heavily into the album's artwork. Mario Dane mixed the album at Skyscraper Music Maker in Manhattan, NYC. Only 750 copies of the LP will be pressed."

Ben Frost - By The Throat LP (Bedroom Community) [HVALUR006LP] $14.75
This is Reykjavik-based composer/producer Ben Frost's second release for the Icelandic Bedroom Community label. Frost first took the spotlight and smashed it to pieces in 2007 with his breathtaking and critically acclaimed release Theory of Machines, which Boomkat called "the future of electronic music" and The Wire called "simply awesome -- Arvo Pärt as arranged by Trent Reznor." It's impossible to truly classify where he is coming from musically, but it would be safe to say his fans would also have records from Neurosis, Tim Hecker, Sunn O))) and Fennesz in their collection. To simply call him an experimental electronic musician, however, does him no justice whatsoever. Where Theory of Machines came sterilized in fluorescent light, By The Throat is blood red and cloaked in shadow. Produced in Iceland by Ben Frost and Valgeir Sigurðsson (Björk, Coco Rosie, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy), By The Throat features performances by Amiina of Sigur Rós fame, Arcade Fire's Jeremy Gara, Swedish metal outfit Crowpath and composer Nico Muhly. Aside from the purely musical language of harmony and melody -- like Amiina's strings on "Leo Needs A New Pair Of Shoes," there's the level of musique concrète, the weaving of nonmusical sounds into the musical fabric. We hear the snarling of wolves and the groaning of lions in "Killshot," the microscopic clicking and whirring of hunting killer whales in "Through The Roof Of Your Mouth" and the unmistakable sound of a human gasping for breath in "Híbakúsja." Then there's the sheer physical experience, the literally visceral effect of Frost's seismic rhythms and high-pitched shrieks on your body. These extra-harmonic elements are not just effects to punctuate the musical narrative in By The Throat, but are integral, unifying motifs. Borgar Magnason's menacing double bass growls pure bestial noise throughout By The Throat and the brass choirs of "Peter Venkman" are recorded so closely that they almost transform into pure human breath. And just as these voices slide away from "notes" and "harmony" to become concrete sound-images, the meanings of these images rattle around and collide into each other, forming a whole language of gasping and howling, gut-punching bass, and snarling metal. Using this language, Frost tells a story we can't quite articulate, but which we can feel, profoundly and unmistakably.

Benno Blome & Martin Eyerer - Hayat 12 inch (Sender) [SENDER086EP] $10.25
Includes a Ruggiero remix on the flipside.

Blackdown Feat. Durrty Goodz - Concrete Streets 12 inch (Keysound Recordings) [LDN012EP] $10.75
Blackdown aka Martin Clark injects his tracks with a skill and sense of composition rarely witnessed. "Concrete Streets" features vocals by grime MC #1 Durrty Goodz. The Zomby remix will make those in the club wish they'd brought an extra pair of pants.

Bobby Birdman - New Moods LP (Fryk Beat) [FRYK04-1] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 11-09-2009
After three years of tireless tinkering, Bobby Birdman is back.

On New Moods, his most focused and complete musical effort to date, upbeat pop anthems jostle up against shimmering slow a cappella numbers, while New Orleans bounce, dancehall, and hyphy funnel noisily into each self-produced pop number. Sun-drenched guitars and Bobby Birdman's characteristic, unf***withable new-school croon wash over drumline weirdness and tyrannical sub bass, like a rogue wave on the Malibu beaches he frequently surfs.

New Moods is deconstructed pop-rock, but the melodies are so irresistible that they hook into a timeless, Van Dyke Parks-cum-Perry Como sound that's as at home blasting out of a tape deck on your beach towel as it is in the club.

Born Robert Kieswetter, but dubbed "Bobby Birdman" by surf buddy Kyle Field (Little Wings), Kieswetter released several solo albums on Portland, OR-based indie labels before relocating to Los Angeles. No stranger to various LA art, music, and fashion scenes, Kieswetter has plied his talents composing music for visual artist Geoff McFetridge, and modeling for Band of Outsiders' Fall 2008 line (with surfboard in hand, of course). He's even remixed Young MC's "Fastest Rhyme" for last year's Delicious Vinyl anniversary release.

Bobby Birdman has toured with Will Oldham, Hot Chip, Joanna Newsom, YACHT, Dirty Projectors, White Rainbow, Little Wings and Lucky Dragons, and has graced venues as diverse as LA's The Smell to the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The range of talent that Kieswetter hides beneath his unassuming fledgling moniker is just beginning to surge, and New Moods will crest the wave.

"Birdman has a smooth-as-butter voice and an uncanny knack for melody that separate him from the the experimental pop pack... [New Moods] is his strongest and most posititve work to date." -Casey Jarmen (Willamete Week)

Cloaks - Against/Rust On Metal 12 inch (3BY3) [3BY3001EP] $10.75
"Against" and "Rust On Metal," two titanic slabs of low-end, rolling noise with beats as heavy as hell, are lifted from Cloaks' debut album Versus Grain, the debut release on the 3By3 label that sorts out the men from the boys. Utterly unforgiving cuts of harsh, icy, metallic dub delivered with an intent to f*** you up. Jah Shaka meets Wolf Eyes with Skream at the controls? That's just sexy.

Dan Curtin - Other 12 inch (Mobilee) [MOBILEE056EP] $11.50
Dan Curtin heads in a new, exciting direction, demonstrating his unique ability to anthologize over 15 years of electronic music within a single track. "Other" opens with a pulsating wall of sound before descending into a passage of vocal-laced house and a starkly contrasting backdrop of bells. "Sandwalk" provides a nice contrast, with a more house-oriented sound, stuttered melody and fragmented vocals. Meanwhile, the Push mix gives the vocals a dub treatment while focusing on the housier components.

Deadnotes - Orange Trumpet LP (Soft Abuse) [SAB34] $13.75
RELEASE DATE: 09-15-2009
***Armed with an arsenal of trumpet, guitar, drums and Casio, the trio make a glorious, semi-spontaneous sort of eccentric pop music that's drawn comparisons (rightly or wrongly) to the likes of Ennio Morricone, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, The Magic Band, Moondog and even The Minutemen. The thirty tracks that comprise Orange Trumpet, the trio's defining statement, are amongst their earliest creations. Orange Trumpet plays like a minimalist, mariachi-esque version of Grow-Up's The Best Thing; it's brimming with ideas and presented with loose abandon. A jaunty melancholy, with echoes of Tori Kudo and Tenniscoats, is present throughout, regardless if the boys are shuffling thru haunted dirges, garage-y workouts, or other points in between. Vinyl only release, limited to 400 copies.

Dinky - Anemik 2x12 inch (Wagon Repair) [WAG056LP] $19.00
This is Dinky's fourth studio album, now available in a 2x12" version. Following up on her unanimously-acclaimed album May Be Later (VA 003CD/024LP), Chilean artist and Berlin transplant Alejandra Iglesias conceived Anemik entirely for the Wagon Repair label after being approached by label head Mathew Jonson. A musing on femininity and the fine line between romance and delirium, Anemik transcends borders in its range of influence and reflects consciousness in the fluidity and tangibly live origins of its creation. Recorded using analog equipment and acoustic instruments with a strong emphasis on voice, there is a wisdom and maturity to this work. At times dreamy, at times nightmarish, at times romantic, at times befuddled, Anemik is always quintessentially Dinky.

Dollz at Play - Oscura Wand In Paris 12 inch (Wagon Repair) [WAG054EP] $11.50
This is the debut EP by London duo Dollz At Play. Xochitl and Bea, originally from Mexico and Spain respectively, present "Oscura Wand In Paris," a mid-paced, bass-driven minimal electro-strut, equally suited for the Miami sun or Berlin dawn. The dub version is a subtler beast -- an ethereal and meditative ambient journey. Dollz At Play manager and Superfreq head-honcho Mr. C provides the final mix -- a deep techno trip founded on swelling synths, bouncing bass and epic melodies.

Eden's Children - Eden's Children LP (Sweet Dandelion) [SWDDL717LP] $27.00
"We are proud to present the first album by Boston's most exciting trio, reissued for the first time with its original gatefold cover. Getting rare now as an original, and unavailable to many, it failed to sell after its release despite a good welcome by critics. After more than 40 years the album stands the weight of time and provides nine robust songs with all the fuzz you can ask for, a constant pounding drum beat and even some eastern influences. The record is probably worth it alone for the great guitar playing of Richard Schamack 'Sham' and its cool psychedelic cover. Limited to 500 copies, with remastered sound and preserving the original gatefold artwork."

Elemental - 925/Arise 12 inch (Reduction Records) [RDCTN002EP] $10.75
Elemental brings some major, dirty break-step action to the floor; phat-ass, squelchy, distorted , squashed low-end and rollin' beats make for two dark and heavy drops. He's had tracks appear alongside Scuba and Caspa & Rusko. Bristol's Reduction label brings a prime slice of local talent from a city positively teeming with innovative music.

F - The Untitled Dub/Phantom 12 inch (7Even) [7EVEN006EP] $10.75
The return of the mysterious F on 7even Recordings! "The Untitled Dub" is a melancholic yet melodic track, fusing dub chords with filtered horns and groovy drum patterns. This track has been on the biggest DJs decks, including Appleblim, Ramadanman, 2562 and Peverelist. The journey continues with the minimal darkness of "Phantom" on the flip, a dubby progressive number built on a lush polyrhythmic structure underpinned with a massive surrounding subbass. A certified killer.

F - Epilogue 12 inch (7Even) [7EVEN009EP] $10.75
F has made huge waves on the scene with his unique sculpted approach to dubstep and techno. Dub techno styled A-side "Epilogue"'s clean production and atmospheric textures create the backdrop for a distant beat which drills into the psyche. On the B-side, Ramadanman weighs in with a rework which absolutely slays. You could call it garage, you could call it dub-tech, but this track is so fresh, we're sure it'll have the funky house heads on their hands and knees.

Filippo Naughty Moscatello - Houz Remixes Part 1 12 inch (Mood Music) [MOOD077EP] $11.50
Taken from the Pagliaccio album on Mood Music, Filippo Moscatello gets the remix treatment from his favorite house-heads. Quarion rocks "Houz" into a frenzy of stabbing, jacking and deep bass for the full-flavored floor experience. Dirt Crew hooligan and old school house-head James Flavour takes "Kleinmond" on a trip to NYC circa 1993, and Trickski shows their genuine talent in transforming "Houz" into a peak-hour sub-120 mover, with live piano and a great Chicago-inspired groove that makes you yearn for more.

Gary War - Galactic Citizen 12 inch (Captured Tracks) [CT022] $11.00
Synth-psych-spook-warble pop from the titan of the form. Fresh from an LP on Sacred Bones, MR. GARY WAR comes on strong with six, killer, weird songs. This dude has played with Bobb Trimble, Blank Dogs and Ariel Pink's Haunted Graphitti. Sort of somewhere between those three with a sound all his own.

Golden Ring, The - Iranian '60s Styled Garage And Other Exotic Sounds LP (Persianna) [PSR001LP] $25.75
"As collectors continue to explore and discover new music from around the world, one country that's starting to gain momentum is Iran. Iran has been a mystery to collectors for many years, and even today it remains a blackbox to most. Within the rubbles of Iran's lost musical history comes Golden Ring, one of the first, and most prominent Iranian garage groups from the '60s. Based in Tehran, Golden Ring recorded and released a series of songs on 7" during the late '60s and early '70s before disbanding. They were one of the first Iranian bands to be influenced by Western music such as The Beatles, combining traditional Iranian instrumentation and melodies with structures found in the UK and North American rock and pop. This combination resulted in an Iranian take on garage music during the genre's climax. One of the members of Golden Ring, Arif, later went on to become a solo artist, and over time became one of the legendary artists within Iran's musical landscape. His solo material spread across 45's, soundtracks and generations of fans. Sadly Golden Ring never recorded or released a full length album, but through a lot of hard work and effort we are pleased to offer a full length compilation of Golden Ring's music for you to enjoy. Limited to 500 copies."

Greg Cartwright - Live At The Circle A LP (Dusty Medical) [DMR18] $14.75
Memphis native GREG CARTWRIGHT (OLBIVIANS, REIGNING SOUND) may be known for selling out rock venues across the world, but his talent as a prolific songwriter has never been showcased as vividly as on the new acoustic Live at The Circle A LP on Dusty Medical Records. With no loud rock'n'roll band backing him, this crystal clear live performance (recorded at a small club in Milwaukee) showcases Cartwright's ability to capture an audience with brilliant lyrics and timeless songs. The album is filled with heartbreakers and rare soul covers, though a highlight of the LP is during a Cartwright original, "I'll Cry," when audience members provide impromptu handclaps and backing vocals that match the album version almost perfectly. Another unique element is the between-song banter, which involves Cartwright taking requests and humbly asking audience members to remind him of lyrics. Includes a bonus 7-inch with three songs recorded live on the radio in Milwaukee (professionally recorded, mixed and mastered), with THE GOODNIGHT LOVING as his backup band and cover artwork that's a tribute to the "Goner Sleeve."

Grief No Absolution - Eurostopodus Argus/Crypsis 10 inch (Flingco Sound System) [FSS006] $23.25
RELEASE DATE: 09-15-2009
***Short sharp hateful stabs of sound versus the withered dry bones of arid furnace-like slabs. GRIEF NO ABSOLUTION is a crushing abandonment of frilly technique that has seeped into the darkest edges of metal, a reversion to a harrowing, bleak sound-decayed, scorched-and utterly unredeemed. Includes download code. Limited to 500 copies.

Grievous Angel/Naphta - Soundclash 1/Harpy 12 inch (Keysound Recordings) [LDN011EP] $10.75
Ireland's Naphta steps up to deliver his vision of an updated jungle sound. The resulting sound delivers a colorful, hypnotic nostalgia for a future that's yet to happen. Grievous Angel does the VIP mix of "Soundclash 1," from Naphta's Ruff Revival release Long Time Burning.

Hatcha vs. Lost - Kreeping 12 inch (Unknown Label) [UKURBAN001EP] $10.25
"Super limited white label. Hatcha Vs Lost keep things low and moody."

Helixir - Helicraft/Dub 4 P 12 inch (7Even) [7EVEN005EP] $10.75
Helixir's back for his second 12'' on 7even Recordings! Helixir do it again with "Helicraft" and "Dub 4 P," blending all kinds of influences, from dubstep to techno, jungle, breakstep and dub, produced and executed with immense attention to detail. "Helicraft" is a mad track -- wicked beats, techno loops, old school sounds and tricky mixing potential make it a killer cut. "Dub 4 P" is a real smasher, rolling on a broken riddim and bringing the horns to the dancefloor. Killer.

Helixir - XP Dub/Peace Dub 12 inch (7Even) [7EVEN010EP] $10.75
Navigating easily through styles, Helixir brings us two super-heavy dub cuts, proving again his mastery of sound manipulation combined with an ear for massive hooks. "XP Dub" and "Peace Dub" offer two slabs of heavy, minimal dub tech-influenced brilliance. A 4/4 drop, ultra deep basslines and smoked-out synths all make this killer 12" an essential addition to 7even's ever impressive back catalogue. Helixir just cannot fail to impress.

Hyetal/Peverelist - Pixel Rainbow Sequence 12 inch (Reduction Records) [RDCTN003EP] $10.75
"Bristol's Hyetal brings retro, chiptune-inspired aesthetics to dubstep's beat structures on Pixel Rainbow Sequence, which seem to hover in place over a spring-load step-slide rhythm. They render everything a brittle staccato, taking advantage of the bright attack of sounds that might otherwise seem paltry if they stuck around too long. Aside from the hometown connection, Peverelist makes a fitting choice of remixer, given his own pointed approach on so many records." -- The Wire

Jaqee - Kokoo Girl/Kokoo Version 7 inch (Rootdown Records) [RDM130657EP] $7.25
Jaqee's superb full-length album Kokoo Girl is full of potential club and radio singles. But why not start with the anthem? Find "Kokoo Girl" on the front and the "Kokoo Version" produced by Rootdown Records founder Teka on the flip. Pop/ska/reggae can't get much better.

Jimmy Edgar - Funktion 12 inch (Items & Things) [ITEM004EP] $10.75
"Detroit based multi instrumentalist Jimmy Edgar brings his unique electronic vision to Items & Things for the label's keenly anticipated fourth release. Edgar's versatility is well documented with influences ranging from jazz, funk and R&B through to Chicago house and of course Detroit techno. For this outing he puts his distinctive R&B tinged electronica to one side, laying down some timeless acid house grooves that pay homage to the founding fathers of the genre. The sublime techno soul of the title track Funktion House kicks off the 4-track EP with sweet chord stabs and laid back laser sweeps dominating the intro. A gentle yet infectious background melody that'll pull bodies to the dancefloor like bees to honey completes the summertime vibe with each element effortlessly evolving as Edgar applies subtle ring shifts and delays to the down tempo groove. The tension gradually builds with some acidic tweaks eventually emerging to complement the squelchy bassline but the track never loses sight of its soulful origins, keeping the floor ticking over and soothing the collective spirit in a wash of old school nostalgia. Dark acid tones abound on Young Thing with its dirty, scratchy vocal parts posturing over a sparse, razor sharp 808 groove in a return to the days of Phuture Fantasy Club and Fast Eddie's Acid Thunder. The nervous tension resonates back and forth between the liquid acid and the pitched down vocals creating the perfect late night dancefloor moment that'll turn the most innocent of clubs into a heaving sweatbox, maintaining the high standards and left field agenda set by the label's previous three releases. The beats get nasty as another of Detroit's next generation, Thrill Cosby aka Seth Troxler goes to work on reforming Funktion. The mood is relentless from the off with another twisting acid line accompanying a host of peripheral bleeps, efx and reinterpreted retro synth stabs from the original version. The groove pushes forward urgently, cloaked by freaky pitcheddown vocals that repeat hypnotically into a full-on electro funk breakdown that disorientates and seduces in equal measures. Edgar's own acid remix of Funktion offers a more toxic take on the original theme. It's raw, stripped down with urgent snare rolls, machine gun claps and cavernous reverberating vocal efx. The jacking bassline becomes embroiled with the splayed hi-hat pattern before a complimentary second bassline fleshes out the sequence. The powerful acid rush continues to ebb and flow, teasing the floor constantly before he finally drives it to point of climax, tweaking the controls to oblivion until the track dissolves into a sea of delay."

John Shananigans - The Man With One Blue Shoe 12 inch (Circus Company) [CCS040EP] $11.50
A mysterious package turned up at Circus Company's Paris offices. It contained only a CD-R scrawled with two titles: "Bounce The Blue" and "One Blue Shoe." The former was a rollicking beast of a track, driven forward by a walking bass line and strange grunting. "One Blue Shoe" was full of tri-tone harmonies and a sensual groove, suggesting a delirious state of mind and an almost desperate pursuit of physical pleasure. Could it possibly be the work of anyone else but John Shananigans?

Jonny Trunk - Scrapbook LP (Trunk) [JBH033LP] $16.00
This is the second album from UK-based Trunk Records label-head, Jonny Trunk. As one would expect from a lad from Trunk, Scrapbook is a curious, entertaining and quite bewildering mix of samples, piano, men with no throats, lesbians and a Japanese choir. It's kind of jazzy, hip-hoppy, filmic, and borders on novelty once in a while. And there's a rock bit on there too. As Jonny Trunk himself explains: "This album has all come about through impatience. Over the last seven years I have tinkered and diddled with music in my bedroom, my office and my head. The 20 tracks on this album are the ones that are still just about alive and represent the scraps of music I have dubbed off or that have not been trashed from my desktop. I don't really want to see them all die, so the only way to get them off my computer and out of my life is to issue them, and the only way I thought I could do it was under the umbrella excuse of a musical scrapbook. It will become obvious quite fast that many of the tracks are indeed scraps, sketches or unfinished business. But getting tracks completed is the hardest bit about making music, if you ask me, it takes ages to finish things sometimes, and ages is really not what I have. So I thought it best to get it all out as it is. I actually think this is alright and acceptable these days -- our attention spans have diminished, we are more used to sound bites, shorter cues, weird little things. The other nearly noteworthy point is that rather that sit around and deliberate for hours, days, weeks or months about which track should follow which track, I've simply compiled them all alphabetically, which was dead easy. It took about ten seconds. And I have only stuck with working titles for the tracks, too." Equipment used: an EMU E5000 Ultra, an old Beocenter 1800, Logic 4.7 on an Apple G3, a Yamaha P90 electric piano and a small Mackie mixer.

Len Faki - Death By House Remixes 12 inch (Cocoon) [COR065EP] $12.25
Len Faki's "Death By House" was undoubtedly the ultimate hit on Cocoon Compilation H (COR 017CD/LP), uniting the techno and house floors worldwide. Now, Faki leaves the echo of this conjuration of powerful jack-house in very competent hands. Adam Beyer produces a bass kick that makes the earth shake, while percussive discotech massages your diaphragm. DJ Akihiro Mochizuki aka A.Mochi keeps up the energy with a pulsing bass, clockwork effects and a hands-in-the-air break.

Likhan - Redlight/Quiet Riot 12 inch (7Even) [7EVEN008EP] $10.75
Likhan's back for his third twelve on 7even Recordings. "Redlight" and "Quiet Riot" blend massive two-step and dubstep rhythms with incredible sonic techno and dub sounds and effects. Once again Likhan provides a unique sound and musical approach with impeccable production and unfussy arrangements. Try to put a name on it, call it what you want or simply let the music speak!

Mark E - Codsall Juniors 12 inch (Endless Flight) [EF017EP] $11.50
After his gorgeous releases for Running Back and Internasjonal, Birmingham-based Mark E is the hottest nu-disco artist at the moment, and here he delivers two razor-sharp tracks cut just for the floor. You might recognize the A-side's "Codsall Juniors" from KZA and Toshiya Kawasaki's solid mix for Endless Flight's I'm Starting To Feel Okay Vol. 3 CD. What does the E in his name stand for? If this 12" is any indication, the word is "ecstasy."

Mayyors - Deads 12 inch (Hurling Man) [HURL01] $10.25
NOW AVAILABLE!!! The elusive Deads EP from Sacramento's MAYYORS. "Snotty, snarly, fuzzy, punky, noisy, catchy, druggy, crumbling ultra distorted guitars, wild pounding drums, yowled effected vox, tons of feedback, FX all over the place and THICK corrosive buzzing bass that drives EVERYTHING. Imagine maybe a poppier, less f***ed up more new wave Rusted Shut, that same sort of chaotic noise rock, that while druggy, manages to be a bit tighter and a whole lot less on the verge of total collapse, while remaining awesomely chaotic. The final track might be our favorite, the same sort of revved up Brainbombs style dirge, supercharged, and eventually growing more and more and more distorted and in-the-red, culminating in what might just be the raddest post-Buttholes drug rock noise guitar freakout EVER."-Aquarius Records

N-Type - Envy 12 inch (Southside Dubstars) [SSDUB020EP] $10.25
"Very limited white label. Dubstep Don, N-Type is back with this double dubstep header on Southside Dubstars."

Neko Case - Canadian Amp LP (Lance Rock) [LRR036] $14.00
Out of print for a while now, Lance Rock steps to the plate once again to keep NEKO CASE's fine catalog in print and available, on vinyl. Canadian Amp was initially released as a tour and mail order only CD on Neko's own Lady Pilot label, comprised of Neko solo in her kitchen, covering the work of Canadian artists such as Sook-Yin Lee, Mike O'Neil (Inbreds), Neil Young, Lisa Marr, updates of Hank Williams tracks, and a pair of new originals (including the live favorite, "Favourite"). The feel is more morose and stripped down than on her previous albums, allowing Neko's voice to shine even more than ever. Chicago's KELLY HOGAN, JON RAUHOUSE, ANDREW BIRD, TOM RAY and ANDY HOPKINS all guest. Demand for the limited CD was overwhelming, and rather than release it via conventional distribution, Case has decided to let Lance Rock put it out as a vinyl-only release.

Nick Curly - Series 1.3 12 inch (Cecille Records) [CEC013EP] $12.25
This is the third part in Nick Curly's Series releases, spread out over all his labels. The man from Mannheim strikes back with another bomb on Cécille. This is the next step into an endless series of awesome tracks of modern house music. Use, consume, and take it as loud as you possibly can.

Notwist, The - Sturm LP+CD (Alien Transistor) [N020LP] $20.50
Soundtrack for "Storm", the new motion-picture of Hans-Christian Schmid. Hannah Maynard, a prosecutor at the Tribunal in The Hague, manages to convince a young Bosnian woman to testify against an alleged war criminal. Amidst the inconsistency of political interests and threats coming from Bosnian Serb nationalists, she realizes that her opponents not only sit on the dock across from her, but are also found in her own ranks. For "Storm" The Notwist composed a soundtrack, creating a hypnotic unreal ambiance with bowed xylophone, alienated Glockenspiel, orchestra accordion and minimal electronic. All music composed and played by the Notwist, except "Vilina Kosa Version" composed by Daniel Glatzel and the Notwist, played by Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra and the Notwist.

Others, The - King Pin 12 inch (Dub Police) [DP030EP] $11.00
"Following on from the huge success of the recent Subscape release on Dub Police, The Others are back with a bang with an ultra-wobble big-hitter King Pin. This sees their signature sound developing and morphing into an even bigger relentless weapon. In the same way that the Subscape release was arranged, the flip of this release sees The Others on a much lighter tip incorporating old school drum & bass vibes and possibly highlighting a softer sensitive side to the boys we all assumed were premier league hit-men."

Piemont - Shipyard 12 inch (My Best Friend) [MBF12059EP] $11.50
The Shipyard EP shows Piemont at their best. The A-side track is a fusion of massively hi-tech magnetic bassline monsters with old school blowing horns. "Cargo" is as heavy and bulky as a track with that title can be, but if you know Piemont, you know they can make even heavy tracks funky. "Dockyard" is the deepest track on this 12", recalling the talent for deep music they revealed on their debut full-length, Strange World Beyond.

Prosumer & Murat Tepeli - U & I/The Jam 12 inch (Ostgut Ton) [OSTGUT030EP] $11.50
Cologne-Berlin duo Prosumer and Murat Tepeli deliver trend-resistant deephouse, brimming with their unmistakable signature sound. "U & I" is based around an adorably old school bassline that Larry Heard would be proud of. Prosumer and female singer Elif Biçer share vocal duties, revealing a touching story about night clubbing and human relations. Based on the recordings for "U & I," "The Jam" is a techno-oriented, instrumental side that caters to a more upbeat dancefloor. Their most energetic effort to date.

Ricordi D'infanzia - Io Uomo LP (Vinyl Magic) [VM143LP] $31.50
"Sole album by this obscure group. Io uomo contains a very good progressive sound, based on mediocre lyrics on the creation of mankind (a recurring theme in many Italian prog bands' concept albums). The eight track album has its best moments in 'Morire e non morire' and the opening 'Caos,' one of the few tracks with keyboards at the fore. An ultra-rare album, one of the rarest on Fonit-Cetra, Io uomo originally had a textured gatefold cover that included the lyrics but no details on the band. The album was issued in the LPP series that included mostly popular music records and oddly didn't include the group name on the cover, just a mention in the liner notes in the inner gatefold."

Robert Beatty - Solos LP (Dronedisco) [WHAT009LP] $16.50
"In spring 2009, Robert Beatty (of solo Three Legged Race and band Hair Police) travelled as a collaborating and touring member of Burning Star Core -- with whom he has collaborated and toured as a member of for a number of years as well. Written into the setlist performed every night was a slot for an improvised solo by Robert, on his special electronics rig, synthesizer, space echo, question boxes, etc. Anything sound he wanted, 'make it sing.' So imagine similar to three hour stadium show, the moment for the bass solo or perhaps drum solo, except this is a few minutes out of a 30 or 40 minute long set. Except the stage doesn't rise up or no additional smoke blows across. So imagine if almost every Burning Star Core performance was recorded on this tour and these 'Robert Beatty' solos were cut out and strung along into an work of their own? This LP Solos realizes that concept. It is live, but it is not collage; it is a document, but it is not comprehensive to the originating context. So ten complete solos, in chronological order, on two sides of LP, about run time of 35 minutes. Paste-ons jacket with creepy Robert poster to get to know. 166 copies of this work for fans of detailed-driven minimum electronics."

Robert Hood - Obey/Resurrection 12 inch (M-plant) [MPM002EP] $11.50
Robert Hood continues the M-Plant mission with Obey/Resurrection. Both tracks display Hood's continued experimentations with the minimal sound he has been exploring and developing since the early '90s. Here are two of the toughest beats crafted with relentless grooves and an incredible ability to still invoke "the funk" behind something so stripped-down -- forged from the machines that are the tools of his trade.

Rogue State & Twisted - Logical Regression 12 inch (R8 Records) [R8005EP] $10.25
"After the success of R8004 produced by RSD, R8 Records are back with another new producer and the return of label owner Rogue State. The Sheffield-Germany connection has never been stronger! Rogue State - 'Logical Regression.' Another meaty slab of Rogue's own niche influenced dubstep style, this track was influenced by the mighty LTJ Bukem. Rogue is on top form here with depth and emotion created through the synthy intro whilst the tear-out drop will get anyone moving. Twisted - 'Infect.' Hailing from Germany and part of the Dutty Dubs crew, Twisted is starting to make a real impact on the international scene. The super slick mixdown is what first attracted us to him but it was this phenomenally heavy weight track that made us decide to release Twisted. Bass face time!"

San Proper - Keep It Raw 12 inch (Perlon) [PERL075EP] $13.25
This is the first solo 12" from San Proper for Perlon. San, who's based in Amsterdam, is also responsible for the A'dam Family Series of five 12"s that were released on Rush Hour Recordings in 2007. His song "Magnificent Speech Funk" was remixed by Laurent Garnier in 2008. This time, San keeps it raw. We'll let you figure that out.

Schaufler & Zovsky - Roggentin 12 inch (Acker Records) [ACKER012EP] $10.25
"Again that laid-back, humorous and open-minded character of the people of Mecklenburg glistens from the grooves of the available Acker record. This time it is represented by the gentlemen Schäufler, who is an essential part of the local producer and DJ scene since many years, and Zovsky, who was musically socialized in trancy sceneries and shows a remarkable versatility. 'Set Di Dol' comes around on a powerful, pushing bass line, precisely placed percussions, minimal melody fragments and an exotic vocal sample make this track distinctly stimulating. After that the two dudes pick up the relaxed and cozy atmosphere of 'Every Day,' which originally hails from the easy listening genre, and garnish it with reduced but very effective rhythms. On the flipside, the radio version puts this remix even more in a nutshell and finally Acker mister Mollono.Bass presents his version of 'Set Di Dol' on the flipside: Based on his typical, bouncing groove, he creates a frisky and somehow tropical atmosphere, using refreshing xylophone sounds and a proper portion of tribalistic percussions."

Seth Troxler - Panic, Stop. Repeat! 12 inch (Spectral Sound) [SPC075EP] $11.50
Seth Troxler's Panic, Stop. Repeat! EP brings together all facets of the young Berlin-via- Detroit producer's notoriously brilliant/bizarre persona, offering two new tracks (and one house-y remix) of sweaty, ecstatic dance music with a dirty mind and a heart of gold. "Panic, Stop. Repeat!" uses its titular command as a guiding principle, eroding its own immaculate facade through a series of anxious freakouts. The track rolls along like a freight train with a loose screw-designed for precision and speed, but with mechanical parts that constantly jiggle free and whiz off into the stratosphere. As a leathery kick drum and a wickedly simple two-note bassline keep the pace, "Panic, Stop. Repeat!" takes a series of surreal detours involving an EKG machine, a lady's feverish coos, and one particularly old-school sci-fi synth. Next up, Troxler melds minds with Matthew Dear on the collaborative "Hurt," a sexy beast of a track featuring bone-dry drum machines, a huge lead tom-tom, and Dear's terrifyingly deep spoken-word musings. Paco Osuna's remix of "Panic, Stop. Repeat!" rounds out the EP with an exhilarating take on Troxler's original, building a subversive house creeper around "Panic"'s heavy-breathing leading lady.

Simon Scott - Navigare LP (Miasmah) [MIA011LP] $17.25
This is the debut full-length release by the UK's Simon Scott. Scott has had a notable musical past: in the early '90s he was the drummer for the renowned shoegaze band Slowdive. Upon leaving Slowdive, he formed the more electronic-based group Televise. He also set up his own label, Kesh Recordings, and has so far released titles by the likes of Hannu, Sebastian Roux, Aus and Mark Templeton. More recently, Scott has been involved in several diverse projects, including his work as a member of Seavault (with Antony Ryan from Isan), and collaborations with Machinefabriek, Jasper TX and Emmanuele Errante. With Navigare, there are shades of Scott's previous output and musical interests, but as a whole, the album marks a bold new direction. Navigare opens with "Introduction Of Cambridge," a shimmering wall of sound, its ethereal tones and slow-burning drones gradually drawing closer and closer, creating gorgeous uplifting melodies and textures. The processed guitar combined with gentle swathes of interference and underlying rhythms echoes the processes of Chain Reaction's productions as much as it does the screeching, arcing feedback lines of Kevin Shield's guitar work. Navigare shares an affinity with the melodic content of Fennesz's work, the dark beauty of Tim Hecker's sound, and houses elements of the restraint found in Andrew Chalk's drone compositions. What really devastates here is Scott's ability to merge ambient passages with such memorable melodic cycles, taking the simplest of ideas and building on them, generating murky hooks and submerged "riffs." Scott explores textures using a variety of instruments including sitar, violin, cello, and flute, merging them with excerpts from field recordings; it all sounds so effortless. The looping rhythms and slow guitars rise and grow, at times approaching something oppressive; select pieces such as "Flood Inn" house an underlying weight, comparable to Justin K. Broderick's Jesu and Final projects. Perhaps the hazy drums, bass and guitar drift of "The ACC" presents the most recognizable of stylistic qualities from Scott's back catalog; a groove that recalls the Souvlaki-era sound in all its glory, re-imagined in a new, darker and more expansive form. Additionally, a guest appearance from label mate Jasper TX, a vocal contribution from Moskitoo, and a track co-written with Rafael Anton Irisarri, adds even more depth to Scott's already ambitious vision.

Steve Bug - Swallowed Too Much Bass 12 inch (Poker Flat) [PFR106EP] $11.50
"Swallowed Too Much Bass" features vocals by Paris The Black Fu and is one of the strongest tracks off of Steve Bug's full-length album Collaboratory (PFR 024CD). Includes remixes by Joris Voorn and Kris Wadsworth.

Still Going - Spaghetti Circus 12 inch (DFA) [DFA2232] $8.50
STILL GOING is LIV SPENCER and ERIC DUNCAN, and the duo is back with a new single on DFA featuring an all-star cast, including REGGIE WATTS on vocals, ANDREW RAPPOSO of HERCULES and LOVE AFFAIR on bass, TUMMYTOUCH's TIM LEE on keys, and The VLA's JASON RABE on guitar. "Spaghetti Circus" is a guitar-laced piano anthem that drives to kick-and-scream dancehall levels, while the B-side, "Untitled Love," takes the listener on a sunrise Euro-disco journey. Both cuts retain Still Going's progressive magic that was originally featured on their now-classic debut "Still Going Theme / On and On." Since hitting the scene in 2007, Still Going have turned out remixes for The Presets, !!!, Crazy P, Force of Nature, Doves, and Low Motion Disco, while Spencer and Duncan continue to work with their respective projects, House of House and Rub N Tug. No exports to the UK

Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Grave LP (Mexican Summer) [MEX006] $21.75
Whether it's THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH's lo-fi tape recording technique or penetrating vocal stylings, Shallow Grave authentically represents a tradition of Americana folk rock that was popularized during the '50s and '60s. "The Tallest Man on Earth, like Dylan before him, grounds his songs in Son House and Blind Willie McTell-inspired guitar work, lofting tempestuous vocals overhead and garnishing liberally with 'babes' and 'honey's'."

Tiefschwarz (feat. Seth Troxler) - Trust Remixes 12 inch (Souvenir Music) [SOUVENIR020EP] $11.50
Tiefschwarz's Trust EP, featuring lyrics by Seth Troxler, made it into the DJ sets of the most demanding beat connoisseurs (Radioslave, Ellen Allien, Damian Lazarus, Dubfire, etc.) and was even hailed by DJ magazine and Pete Tong. Here is a package of remixes by Jamie Jones, Audion and Tim Green. Jamie's remix is an electro-funk monster, Audion dissects the bongo loop and infuses the lyrics with a "doo-wop" reverb effect, and Tim Green's remix is driven by an unstoppable beat.

Tiger Stripes - Me & I 12 inch (Get Digital Music) [GDM007EP] $12.25
Talented Swedish producer and DJ Tiger Stripes is one of the few modern house producers who can program drums with the best of them, while taking it up a notch by lacing his tracks with harmonious melodies. "Me & I" is about as classy as it gets, with rolling drums, jittering percussion, a tasteful vocal and a silky smooth chord melody skillfully congealed. This is one tune that is sure to sneak into many record bags.

Till von Sein & Tigerskin - Isle Of Sahne 12 inch (Dirt Crew) [DIRT036EP] $11.50
Till von Sein and Tigerskin blend their unique styles and hit the dancefloors hard once again. Here is a splendid EP with a great variety of styles and moods. "Sle" is an absolute floor bomb that will overwhelm you with its super-tight old school appeal, and "I" is a perfect deep-house trip that reflects Till's deep side and Tigerskin's great talent for moving and long, building arrangements.

Trolley Snatcher - The Future 12 inch (Dub Police) [DP031EP] $11.00
"Trolley what?!?! Hoodies!? Annoying knife wielding youths? Nah, this is Trolley Snatcher, upcoming dubstep superstar and his debut release on Dub Police. 'The Future' has already been snapped up by N-Type for a recent Rinse FM compilation CD and has received heavy airplay for the likes of The Others, Caspa and Rusko. Watch out for the Trolley Snatcher at your local Asda car park."

Unknown - Mandragora 12 inch (1XA) [1XA001EP] $10.75
Low-end blessed, heavyweight dub techno piece from the top drawer of a rather well-known, but perhaps deliberately shy producer. Cut with all the soul and depth you expect from Dubplates & Mastering, this is super loud and heavy, observed through the vapor trails of the downbeat side to Basic Channel, the advanced sound system research of Chain Reaction and Echospace's afterswell. Comes hand stamped and individually sealed.

Unknown - Joka Smoka 12 inch (War) [WAR011EP] $10.25
"Super limited edition white label copies from the now legendary U.S. based War imprint."

Various Artists - Cosmic Balearic Beats 2 Part 2 12 inch (Eskimo) [ESK503050] $11.50
This is the second of three vinyl samplers of Eskimo's Cosmic Balearic Beats 2 compilation. Naum Gabo are Glasgow DJ legends Johnnie Wilkes and James Savage (aka Optimo), who have remixed Franz Ferdinand, MGMT and Simian Mobile Disco, Premier Rang bring it down a notch with distorted thundercloud claps and French dialogue, Social Disco Club pumps things up with a bouncing beat and hand claps, and Marbeya Sound fuses a love of Soviet-era synths into a modern-day cosmic swirl.

Various Artists - Full Body Workout Vol. 05 12 inch (Get Digital Music) [GPM117EP] $12.25
This is the fifth installment in Get Physical's limited edition Full Body Workout series. Keine Musik's remix of "You," by Icelandic pop band Steed Lord contorts the vocals into stuttering remnants of their former selves. Catz N' Dogz's grooving house number glides along on a smooth surface of chords, percussion and tender vocals. Maher Daniel's "Casbar" is slow-burning and lush. Turmspringer round it out with a Detroit techno-influenced tune that prowls the night like a black panther.

Zurich - Zurich LP (Important) [IMPREC224] $19.00
RELEASE DATE: 09-28-2009
Limited edition of 500 copies pressed at RTI and packaged in heavy duty jackets screen printed at Monoroid. Featuring members of Tony Wilson (Knives ov Resistance), Neil Halstead (Slowdive/Mojave 3) & Sarah Peacock (Seefeel).

Zurich began as a 1994 musical partnership between Neil Halstead then of Slowdive and Tony F Wilson. The two recorded a handful of tracks together at a time when Wilson was co-promoting and DJing at the club/live night Quirky in South London where he booked acts including Pan Sonic, Hafler Trio and Autechre. Halstead was shortly to begin work on Slowdive's final and most experimental album Pygmalion. Recorded at a time when the popularity of ambient techno was at its peak, these recordings are remarkably austere by comparison. Whilst A Harsh Truth displays the Oriental gracefulness of a Sakamoto/Sylvian collaboration, Tzarist's gothic industrialism shares more in common with the early works of Coil. Following the release of Pygmalion and Creation letting go of Slowdive, Halstead would disband Slowdive and abandon sound experimentation to create more song-based material in Mojave 3. Shortly thereafter, Wilson began collaborating with drum & bass producer and engineer Joe Gray on more rhythm based, yet still atmospheric productions. Too Scared to Breath features the voice of Seefeel's Sarah Peacock and sounds not unlike prime Autechre and Aphex. Militia (Dynamic Warfare) on the other hand mirrors the post-metal Dub of Techno Animal and Scorn.

All of the recordings were lost until very recently when Touch recording artist Mark Van Hoen found the two tracks on old CD-Rs and cassettes he was given by Wilson.

Wilson produced and recorded in the Knives ov Resistance project for the Aurora Borealis label and is currently working on a project with Ted Parson (Swans/Prong).

Tony F Wilson: Various synths, Samples, Akai S3000, Cubase V.1 Joe Gray: Various synths, Samples, Akai S3000, Cubase V.1 Neil Halstead: Guitars, Roland Space Echo, Various Pedals Sarah Peacock: Voice

[ H I S T O R I C A L ]

Cherry Five (aka Goblin) - Cherry Five LP (Ams) [AMS014LP] $31.50
"Another Goblin parallel work is the mighty Cherry Five album, recorded in 1974 and released in 1976. Even if it's not particularly representative of the Italian prog sound, the LP is a genuine rarity due to the great world success Goblin achieved with some of their soundtrack works, and is in many collectors' want lists. A keyboard based album, sung in English, Cherry Five has strong influences by the likes of Genesis and Yes, especially in the fluid keyboard parts and powerful bass sound. A classic, and a continuous seller."

De Kift - Yverzucht LP (Mississippi Records) [MR042LP] $11.25
"De Kift emerged from a Dutch squatters' movement and the punk waves of the late '70s and early '80s. Their debut vinyl LP Yverzucht was released in 1989. Ferry: guitar & brass (Svatsox); Wim: drums (Rondos, the Ex); Jacco (GRRR): bass; Maarten: vocals (Pistache B.V.). De Kift were a tremendous and original force at the time. Sparse, rhythmic, angular, yet energetic music. Staccato punk with fanfare elements. Maarten's lyrics were recited, spat out and crooned, bleak reflective explorations of the Dutch mental state of the times. Maarten (as well as Jacco) departed the band after debuting Yverzucht. Out of the ashes, emerged a new conceptual, literary De Kift that would play on for 20 years. De Kift were part of the squatter movement. Playing benefits, raising funds, eyebrows and soundtracking a lifestyle on its last legs."

De Kift - De Kift 7 inch (Mississippi Records) [MR043EP] $6.00
"Spunky 1988 release. A fairly unknown predecessor to their debut LP Yverzucht. Impossible to find and never reissued. Three songs of driving rhythms and volatile speech. Another testament to the uniquely prolific '80s Dutch punk scene."

Il Reale Impero Britannico (aka Goblin) - Perche Si Uccidono LP (Ams) [AMS013LP] $31.50
"Reale Impero Britannico surely is the rarest record of the Goblin universe, together with Cherry Five of course. Released in a very small batch of copies in January 1976, as the soundtrack of an obscure movie called Perché si uccidono - La merde though it was recorded some time before, when the members of Goblin still called themselves Cherry Five, as the band still featured Cherry Five singer Tony Tartarini (that sings the excellent 'My Damned Shit') and drummer Walter Martino. Afterwards the band will change its name to Goblin recording its breakthrough record bestseller, the soundtrack of Profondo Rosso. This is also why Perché si uccidono is the perfect musical hook-up between Cherry Five and Goblin. An essential and rare record for Goblin lovers that will suit all psychedelic and progressive minds!"

Long John Baldry - Long John's Blues LP (Sweet Dandelion) [SWDDL716LP] $27.00
"Here's Long John Baldry's debut album from 1964. This legendary figure in the British R&B scene of the early '60s, without whom the history of English rock n' roll and especially R&B would have been very different, was one of the most exciting live acts of the time. This, his first album, stands very proudly amongst the most essential British R&B/blues albums of all time, and is certainly a must for any Mod/'60s R&B aficionado. Limited to 500 copies, with remastered sound and preserving the original artwork."

Smoke, The - The Smoke LP (Unknown Label) [SMOKEUS068LP] $27.00
"Stunning soft-psych album from 1968 by this one-off studio band leaded by genius Michael Lloyd (West Coast Pop Art Expertimental Band). Housed in a beautiful psychedelic period sleeve, the music contained here is pure soft-psych magic in the same vein as Sagittarius/Millenium or Left Banke. A conceptual psych-pop masterpiece, full of vocal harmonies, brilliant songwriting and big studio production. Reissued for the first time on vinyl, original artwork."

Wil Malone - Wil Malone LP (Unknown Label) [WILONE070LP] $27.00
"Wil Malone was a member of UK psych-pop outfit Orange Bicycle. In 1970, he released this obscure solo album for the Fontana label. Apparently, fewer than 200 copies reached the shops at the time, so this is one of the rarest UK major label albums ever with original copies fetching £2.000. The music contained here is reminiscent of a psychedelic Donovan, full of baroque arrangements (flute, oboe, strings, bass, acoustic guitar), occasional trippy effects, pastoral and haunting folk-like songs and the fragile voice of Malone. Essential to anyone into UK psychedelia and obscure singer/songwriter stuff. Reissued for the first time on vinyl, original artwork."