EAR/Rational Update Week 10, 2010

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This week's update contains releases by:

Aloha * Anibal Velasquez y Su Conjunto * Apostle Of Solitude * Asmus Tietchens + Richard Chartier * Ava Mendoza * Besnard Lakes * Bitcrush * Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang * Boyd Rice * Bundles * Burning Star Core * Candle Nine * Ceremony * Coconuts * Dastan Ensemble & Salar Aghili * Eddy Current Suppression Ring * Ellen Allien * Everclear * Fauz't * Figli Di Madre Ignota * Fjernlys * Fraction * Francisco Lopez * Frightened Rabbit * Fursaxa * Groove Armada * Harlem Underground Band * He3 Project * Holland * Hrdvsion * Incredible String Band, The * Infinity * JJ * Josiah Wolf * Kazumasa Hashimoto * Kees Hazevoet/Han Bennink * Kink Gong * Lisa O Piu * Ludicra * Maquina! * Martin Campbell/Alien Dread * Mi Ami * Mimicking Birds * My Education * Near The Parenthesis * Nice Face * Nikakoi * Notic Nastic * Ortolan * Peter Marshall * Phelios * Pocahaunted * Rova Saxophone Quartet & Nels Cline Singers * Ruxpin * Sean Smith * Sewer Goddess * Sight Below * Slim Cessna's Auto Club * Soundpool * Sun Araw * TBA_Natalie Beridze * Tells * Tenebrous * Toog * Trans Am * Triclops! * Tunng * Viking Moses * Viv Albertine * White Hinterland

[ F E A T U R E D   R E L E A S E S ]

Asmus Tietchens + Richard Chartier - Fabrication 2 2CD (Auf Abwegen) [aatp29] $26.51
"Fabrication 2" ist the sequel to "Fabrication", the first collaboration between Richard Chartier and Asmus Tietchens released in 2007. Whereas for the first collab the idea developed from the project around reinterpretations of Chartier's "Postfabricated" this time the efforts where directly focussed on the reinterpretation of specific basic sound material. This basic sound material can be found on the first disc in the set "Prefabrication 2" which was constructed by Richard Chartier alone in Montreal and Washington, DC. "Fabrication 2" is the reworking of this sonic basis by Asmus Tietchens. Whereas the first CD has traces of subtle dematerialized rhythmic structures the second disc is a study in minimalism and concentrated sound manipulation. Richard Chartier (b.1971), sound and installation artist, is considered one of the key figures in the current of reductionist electronic sound art which has been termed both "microsound" and Neo-Modernist. Chartier's minimalist digital work explores the inter-relationships between the spatial nature of sound, silence, focus, perception and the act of listening itself. Chartier's critically acclaimed sound works have been published over the past 12 years as 38 compact discs on labels such as 12k/LINE (US), Raster-Noton (Germany), Spekk (Japan), Non Visual Objects (Austria), Room40 (Australia), Die Stadt (Germany), DSP (Italy), ERS (Netherlands), and Trente Oiseaux (Germany). He has collaborated with noted sound artists Taylor Deupree, William Basinski, CoH, and German pioneer Asmus Tietchens, as well as installation artists Evelina Domnitch, Dmitry Gelfand, and visual artist Linn Meyers. Asmus Tietchens has been producing electronic music since the 1960ies and is one of the most renowned sound artists today in Germany. In the last five years he was awarded twice the SWR state radio prize "Karl Sczuka Preis" for radio art. He has released more than 80 records and CDs on labels all around the world.

Ava Mendoza - Shadow Stories CD (Resipiscent) [RSPT037] $12.00
On this, her solo debut, you may not expect the opening track to be the Tennessee Waltz, but that's where she finds you, resting lazily on a melody already tattooed to your brain. Steadily and with sufficient heat, she peels that paint to leave you amazed, re-pinked, wondering just what might happen next. As she romps through "Kiss of Fire," if you sense she's going easy on you… beware her next claw, the original "Don't Pity Me (Up in Flames)" which stirs a conflagration that burns across three original tunes. You grab the liner notes to find Nels Cline reporting his own amazement "Could this be some obscure, overlooked master […] playing in some slashing, raw-yet-virtuosic manner?" Mendoza describes the album as a "a love letter to the melodic and sonic abstraction of songs to the point of distortion, disfigurement and unrecognizability." While she may deny possessing wisdom beyond her years, the discipline of Mendoza's mastery, her wide open ears and improvisational guts make it clear, hers is an art beyond single register and a future with no limits in sight.

[ . . . ]

Aloha - Home Acres CD (Polyvinyl) [PRC189] $10.75
ALOHA follows the acclaimed LP Some Echoes (2006) and acoustic EP Light Works (2007) with a powerful record that shows the band unbound by past influences and boldly stepping out of the shadows. Home Acres pushes the tempos and dials up the guitars, with the band's slow-burn intensity sometimes overflowing into huge moments. But even as the energy surges, Aloha casts an otherworldy glow, serving up ambience and attack with equal measure. Lyrically, Home Acres tries to sort through the wreckage of the Great Lakes region and a way of life. Left abandoned "waiting for a getaway car that never came" in the record's arena-rock-by-way-of-Silver Apples closer "Ruins," we're left to think that maybe we ought to have dreamt bigger and fought the urge to disengage. A suggestion that Aloha has taken to heart for its biggest, brightest record to date.

Apostle Of Solitude - Last Sunrise CD (Profound Lore) [PFL058] $12.00
Indianapolis' APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE was formed in 2004 by CHUCK BROWN, formerly of GATES OF SLUMBER. While both bands play an epic style of doom metal, Brown's new project has carved its own niche within the genre. The band's music is rooted in themes of personal struggle, sadness and tragedy-a departure from the tales of wizards and warriors common to traditional doom bands. Apostle of Solitude's debut EP and 2008 full-length Sincerest Misery created a good buzz in the underground, drawing comparisons to doom legends Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus. Last Sunrise, their latest album, will solidify the band's standing in that elite circle. Packed with emotionally stirring odes, massive guitars and a pounding rhythm section, it is destined to go down as one of the best doom metal releases of 2010. Includes three unlisted bonus tracks. No exports to Canada or the UK/Europe

Besnard Lakes - Are The Roaring Night CD (Jagjaguwar) [JAG126] $13.25
Once again, the husband-and-wife duo of OLGA GOREAS and JACE LASEK has crafted a majestic, sprawling vision of guitar bombast and captivating pop experiments. With the aid of Besnard members KEVIN LAING on drums and RICHARD WHITE on guitar, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night is a dense, ambitious recording, experimenting, as always, with the studio as instrument. The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night calls upon the influence of ELO and finer parts of the Alan Parsons Project in its orchestration. Still helped by the Ghost of Beach Boys Past, the album is more Dennis Wilson than Brian, and more Peter Green Fleetwood Mac than Lindsay Buckingham. The album is a dark bliss-out that folds the eerie guitar epics of the Montreal band's breakthrough into a wall of affected drones and atmospherics, but with a toughened immediacy and grit that gives the form a much-needed shove over the cliffs, making for a haunting, provocative swan dive into the crushing tide.

Bitcrush - Of Embers CD (n5MD) [md174] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 03-30-2010
Those that keep a close eye on Mike Cadoo's Bitcrush project may have been somewhat concerned with the title of his previous full-length, Epilogue in Waves. That album, by Cadoo's admission, was to be the last of his cathartic Bitcrush entity. Thankfully, writing music is an integral part of Cadoo and has become an important means to understand life. Now, two years later we see the release of Cadoo's fifth album from his Bitcrush project 'Of Embers.' Of Embers is his most intimate album and continues with the very personal cathartic nature we have come to expect. Cadoo has always transitioned between and fused together diverse styles seamlessly and with each album has moved the Bitcrush meme towards his personal needs of expression. Of Embers begins where the Epilogue in Waves' song Pearl left us. Presented are longer movements each that progress and tell their story patiently using the sound that has grown to become the Bitcrush norm. Of Embers is an hour in length, yet boasts only six tracks; three tracks over 10 minutes and two that approach 15 minutes. Of Embers finds Cadoo looking even further back into his experiences and inner struggles than ever before to create what may be the most hopeful album of his musical career.

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang - The Wonder Show Of The World CD (Drag City) [DC2012CD] $12.75
For this new album of songs, Bonny Billy and The Cairo Gang together have built a bridge forward, assembled with riffs and bits from Emmett Kelly's guitar and the lyricism of Bonny's heart. But mostly, The Wonder Show Of The World was, in its making, about trust. It's a record made eye-to-eye in a room, close and careful, by and for a few men who wanted to be together, who wanted to make music that sounds as good to listen to as it did to make, and who in doing so forged something new in space, the wonder of you and of them.

Boyd Rice - Wolfsangel metal label pin object (Soleilmoon) [10948] $13.50
Cloth patch, 5.6 cm (2-1/4 inch) wide, by 3.7 cm (1-1/2 inch) high. Black background with metallic silver embroidery thread.

Boyd Rice - Wolfsangel S t-shirt (Soleilmoon) [10950] $18.50
Heavy cotton black "Alstyle" brand t-shirt with Boyd Rice's famous Wolfsangel logo printed in reflective ink on the chest. The image is 9 cm (3.5 inch) wide by 5 cm (2 inches) high. The print looks silver-gray in normal light, but lights up when illuminated in the dark. Perfect for wearing at night.

Boyd Rice - Wolfsangel M t-shirt (Soleilmoon) [10951] $18.50
Heavy cotton black "Alstyle" brand t-shirt with Boyd Rice's famous Wolfsangel logo printed in reflective ink on the chest. The image is 9 cm (3.5 inch) wide by 5 cm (2 inches) high. The print looks silver-gray in normal light, but lights up when illuminated in the dark. Perfect for wearing at night.

Boyd Rice - Wolfsangel L t-shirt (Soleilmoon) [10952] $18.50
Heavy cotton black "Alstyle" brand t-shirt with Boyd Rice's famous Wolfsangel logo printed in reflective ink on the chest. The image is 9 cm (3.5 inch) wide by 5 cm (2 inches) high. The print looks silver-gray in normal light, but lights up when illuminated in the dark. Perfect for wearing at night.

Boyd Rice - Wolfsangel XL t-shirt (Soleilmoon) [10953] $18.50
Heavy cotton black "Alstyle" brand t-shirt with Boyd Rice's famous Wolfsangel logo printed in reflective ink on the chest. The image is 9 cm (3.5 inch) wide by 5 cm (2 inches) high. The print looks silver-gray in normal light, but lights up when illuminated in the dark. Perfect for wearing at night.

Boyd Rice - Wolfsangel XXL t-shirt (Soleilmoon) [10954] $20.25
Heavy cotton black "Alstyle" brand t-shirt with Boyd Rice's famous Wolfsangel logo printed in reflective ink on the chest. The image is 9 cm (3.5 inch) wide by 5 cm (2 inches) high. The print looks silver-gray in normal light, but lights up when illuminated in the dark. Perfect for wearing at night.

Bundles - Bundles CD (K Records) [KLP214] $13.25
THE BUNDLES boast a lineup of KIMYA DAWSON, JEFFREY LEWIS, JACK LEWIS, ANDERS GRIFFEN and KARL BLAU, a formidable group of artists who have achieved great singular success. The Bundles started in 2001 as a collaborative project between Lewis and Dawson, who were fans of each other in the growing anti-folk music scene of New York City in the late '90s (she of the MOLDY PEACHES, he of the Jeffrey Lewis Band). Years passed, during which Jeffrey released five acclaimed records on Rough Trade, and Kimya recorded six solo albums, and increased exposure from the Juno soundtrack. Despite the demanding schedules of all involved, The Bundles continued to be resurrected in unlikely times and places wherever in the world they happened to cross paths. Eventually in 2009 they congregated to make some full-band recordings. Their debut album The Bundles is a delightful fusion of everything they have done on their own. Mix the tragic-comic folk narratives of Lewis, with Dawson's friendly calls for bravery, with the daffy, multi-instrumentations of Jack Lewis, Blau and Griffen and the result is an album that is able to be both snarky and tender, and vulnerable and confident-all at the same time.

Burning Star Core - Papercuts Theater CD (No Quarter) [NOQ022] $12.25
Ah, the live album: often a tool for bands looking to wiggle out of contracts or perhaps, squeeze a few more pennies from a loyal fanbase. Rare is it a work of art. Inspired by these singular instances (Grayfolded, The Grateful Dead; Sonic Death, Sonic Youth; In Search of Spaces, Flying Saucer Attack) C. SPENCER YEH, the lone constant of the long-running BURNING STAR CORE project, conceptualized Papercuts Theater: one long piece (broken into four movements) culled from over sixty live performances, spanning years and continents. These formerly disparate relics of time and space now exist as one: a sonic document of the present.

Candle Nine - The Muse In The Machine CD (Tympanik) [10955] $14.25
Tympanik Audio's first release in 2010 comes from Chicago-based artist Candle Nine with his debut CD 'The Muse In The Machine'. At once a swirling torrent of luscious synths, steady glitch-soaked beats, provocative vocal samples, and powerful piano movements, 'The Muse In The Machine' easily cultivates both cerebral wonder and lip-biting ecstasy.

Brutality meets beauty with expert precision to arrive with such perfect cohesiveness and purpose, your mind is sure to contradict your body.

Includes remixes by Autoclav1.1 and Access To Arasaka.

Ceremony - Rocket Fire CD (Killer Pimp) [PIMPK015CD] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 04-27-2010
10 brilliant pop songs super charged with amplification and distortion to make an incredible mix. Before A Place To Bury Strangers, there was Skywave, a three piece noise pop band from Fredericksburg, Virgina. When Ollie left to move to NYC, Paul and John remained and reorganized as Ceremony. While there will be undeniable comparisons made to APTBS (they still remain friends and share an affinity for loud guitars), Ceremony employ a songcraft far more focused on making catchy pop tunes than blowing out speakers and eardrums. The LP comes with a special download code to download MP3s of the entire LP while the CD comes with bonus enhanced content of four music videos.

"With all the deviation in the shoegaze sound, Virginia's Ceremony is proud to stay firmly grounded in the roots of the genre. After the demise of Skywave, a band considered by many to be responsible for the resurgence of shoegaze in America, bassist Oliver Akerman formed the incredible A Place to Bury Strangers, and remaining members Paul Baker and John Fedowitz formed the equally excellent Ceremony. Picking up directly where Skywave left off, the duo's guitars make a tremendous amount of noise thanks to some serious pedal magic. Blisteringly loud washes of guitars are as piercing as they are soothing, contrasting the lo-fi drum machine rhythms tucked just below the mix. Baker's vocals add great texture, sounding relaxed and calming amongst the breaking dance beats and all encompassing storm of guitar effects." - Exploding In Sound

"Much like the loudness that pervades such noise rock, Ceremony feature raucous pop hooks and riffs that surmount the loudness. The bond between them and A Place to Bury Strangers is undoubtedly felt but they've captured their own appealing facets. Although there is plenty of drive, it's a noisy explosion that unquestionably delivers a strong jolt that resonates for a long time after it ends." - Bryan Sanchez, Delusions of Adequacy

"thunderously romantic Factory Records guitar/bass interplay, lo-fi drum machines--but as far as what it sets out to do, it succeeds." - Marc Hogan, Pitchfork

"Creating noisy, brilliant shoegaze like APTBS, Ceremony's tunes are a bit more on the indie pop side, making for an interesting and brilliant mix of influences." - Girls Sold Out

Coconuts - Coconuts CD (No Quarter) [NOQ023] $12.25
Words that come to mind while listening to COCONUTS' debut album: ugliness, despair, un-marketability. Theirs is a sound rooted in inherent darkness, influenced by early-'80s post-punk, no wave (fellow Australians The Birthday Party come to mind) and the bleakest of world-views. It's an almost disorienting experience, created by homemade guitars that seem to leak feedback, built by founding members TIM EVANS and JORDAN REDAELLI (the aforementioned Australians). The duo met up with Pacific-Northwesterner DANIEL MITHA in New York City, whose primitive drumming completed the group.

Dastan Ensemble & Salar Aghili - In The Name Of The Red Rose CD (Celestial Harmonies) [CH13300CD] $14.00
The Iranian ensemble performs a rendition of Mohammad Reza Shafi'i Kadkani's poem. "Listening to the music of such artists as Mahjoubi or Banan and becoming familiar with the writings of great minds like Shafi'i Kadkani built the foundation of my future artistic life which I could further develop by expanding my knowledge in specialized art schools. Today, this foundation gives me passion and courage to present my very own rendition of In The Name Of The Red Rose in music and song. The words of Shafi'i Kadkani connect your heart with the other side of the world; they do not recognize borders, and they belong to all human beings. It was pure joy to hear the music played by the members of the Dastan Ensemble and the guest musicians; the beautiful voice of Salar Aghili joins me in this melody so that we all can sing In The Name Of The Red Rose with love." -- Hamid Motebassem

Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Rush To Relax CD (Goner) [57GONE] $12.00
Six years after their formation, THE EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING has racked up accolades from the likes of SPIN Magazine, London's Guardian newspaper, and the Australian Independent Record Labels Association. In March of 2009, they were awarded the $30,000 Australian Music Prize for their second album, Primary Colours. Eddy Current's third full-length, Rush to Relax, is already one of the most anticipated releases of 2010. Cut last August in a six-hour session at Melbourne's Revolver Rehearsal Studios, the album combines stripped-down post-punk sensibilities with the sheer exhilaration of a four-man musical unit that has created its own language, and will never run out of new things to say. While Primary Colours drew on what Guardian music critic Tom Hughes described as "fast 'n' fuzzy garage rock," Rush to Relax employs a pop ethos more common to the mid-'80s Dunedin Sound of New Zealand's Flying Nun label, with cascading guitar riffs and precise rhythms shadowing the introspective lyrics from black-gloved frontman Brendan Suppression. The geographical tug is most prevalent on "Anxiety," the new album's lead single, which is a guitar-driven homage to The Clean's whimsical, scene-launching debut "Tally-Ho," twisted via Eddy Current's inimitable style. The frantic pace of "Anxiety" is somewhat of an anomaly for Rush to Relax, a shape-shifter of an album that has already garnered comparisons to Television's 1977 landmark debut Marquee Moon. Like that classic group, Eddy Current Suppression Ring harnesses tension and propulsion to blast past the barriers of everyday tedium. Touring the States in June 2010. No CD exports to Australia/NZ or the UK/Europe. LP version to follow.

Ellen Allien - Dust CD (Bpitch Control) [BPC217CD] $14.00
Ellen Allien, owner of the BPitch Control label and Fairy Queen of Berlin's more delicately-woven rave music, has been tinkering with the sound of the city for over a decade now. What has remained from all these years -- packed with great releases, highly original remixes and exploratory mix CDs -- are her monolithic albums, each the condensed result of a completely different creative phase. It already seems an eternity since Ellen Allien last remodelled her own sound with the sharp-edged diamond Sool in 2008 -- a release which opened the gates to a far-off parallel world where minimalist artifacts float through the room with a cool elegance and distanced allure. With Dust, Ellen removes the sense of remoteness entirely, and a warm immediacy takes center. On "My Tree" your eyes will be dazzled by the light shining through a canopy of leaves. And while the bleeps prance on by, the introduction of the clarinet, as a classical element, ensures that some order presides over all the endlessness behind the clouds. "Huibuh" feeds off a similar feeling, a perfectly tranquil synth-pop song which pays tribute to the most chilled of all Sunday afternoons. Melodic, sexy and self-content. On "Ever" the plucked synths and glockenspiels float over an unobtrusive beat framework. And despite their rich variety, these sounds are blended into a funky groove of life-affirming bliss. "Dream" makes a more twisted entrance where synths scale the walls while the trailing female vocals float through unconscious depths. Ellen prefers to sing a duet with her pitched-down alter ego under the pleasant glare of the "Flashy Flashy" disco lights -- a house track that trots along with a light and breezy gait. "Our Utopie" is the soundtrack to a sunrise with sounds that ring and reverberate through the air. Beneath the old school analog synth of "Schlumi" is a kick drum and a rave siren that winds its way up to the surface until the walls start to ripple and there are no more right angles in sight. Then there's "You," a completely unexpected indie-pop track with a beguiling guitar loop like something halfway between Zoot Woman and Phoenix, with a Joy Division bass line, and then Ellen's bright voice, singing with a cool fragility. "Sun The Rain" is the second synth-pop song on Dust, and "Should We Go Home" thrills with hushed voices, involuntary rushes of goosebumps and a few melodic fragments, arranged here as ambient phase shifts pile on top of one another. What now? You'd better dust yourself off. It's time to start all over again.

Everclear - White Trash Hell CD (Fire) [SFIRE009CD] $14.00
2002 release. Little known Everclear fact: at one point, Art Alexakis established a record label called Shindig, which promoted alt-country. He loves old country music and you can sometimes hear it in his tunes and music, which leans as heavily on the country and rock and roll roots of Creedence Clearwater Revival, as Northwestern three chords crash and burn against punk rage and fury. From the pastoral cow-punk revelations of "Fire Maple Song," to the burned-out nihilism and hollow dreams of "Heroin Girl," Everclear's earliest recordings truly set the moonshine on fire; now fully lodged in people's consciousness and several millions of album sales down the road, with an inimitably affecting grungy pop/rock sound, don't forget where these rockers started out.

Fauz't - From The Frozen South CD (Atavistic) [ALP192CD] $13.75
"Faust were certainly among the leaders of Germany's Krautrock movement back in the early '70s. Ensconced in 'The Pantheon' forever as truly visionary artists, their early records still sound light-years ahead of their time 30+ years later. From The Frozen South features original Faust mainman Hans Joachim Irmler joining forces with the iconic 'scape artist/percussionist Z'EV at Faust Studios. The topologically-charged results range from spacious and soothing, through full-on digital brutality; each piece is subtly tinged with both artist's distinct and respective take on the out-rock they helped create. Frozen South offers a glacial essence of the sounds these two legends have created and incorporated over the last 30 years, plus new ideas and experiments -- each distilled through a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration. An incredible sonic journey made by two of the genre's pioneers to be sure; a monument to the avant garde, perhaps... but steadfastly, as always: of and for the People!"

Figli Di Madre Ignota - Fez Club CD (Eastblok Music) [EBM013CD] $14.75
2008 release. This is the third release from Figli Di Madre Ignota, a band from Milan, Italy who play an energetic mix of Balkan music, evil polkas, and klezmer with a twist. Mean swings and breathless tarantellas are all made up with surf guitars and a compelling horn section. Beginning in the late '90s, they found a natural inspiration in Balkan brass bands and klezmer melodies, and like every good self-declared rootless artist, they picked up the spirit of the dance-or-die and mixed it with a powerful rock combo. The Italian side of Figli draws its inspiration from roots music of their homeland -- music that was played live for the people to dance to -- humorous, funny, and at the same time cool and exciting. Their Balkan side adds spice and powerful brass winds. The occasional sevdah and longing in their timbre unites both cultures. Fez Club contains a cover of the '80s hit single "Paradise," produced by and played with the famous Sicilian trumpeter Roy Paci (Aretuska, Manu Chao, Radio Bemba, Mau Mau, etc.). Fez Club also features a collaboration with Circus Contraption, a dark circus band from Seattle, as well as with Italy's acclaimed parody theater company, Banda Osiris. Their songs here mix different languages (Serbian, English) besides the Italian used by the band. "Figli di madre ignota" literally means "unknown mother's sons," which used to be the legal term in Italy for orphans of women who couldn't or didn't want to recognize them. Such a proud bastard is Italian powerhouse Figli Di Madre Ignota. It's music to dance to wildly to -- a Balkan brass section playing with a cool rock band, ready to make any monkey dance. Figli Di Madre Ignota ask the question, "can a bunch of nutty people raised on fog, pasta and hoaxes in Northern Italy play klezmer/Balkan/polka/swing without having to disown aglio e olio e peperoncino spaghetti?" Listen and find out. Includes two bonus videos, including the video for "Paradise," directed by Cosimo AlemÄ~C , already on rotation on MTV Italy and MTV Turkey.

Fjernlys - Beyond The Undulant Quiescence CD (Loki) [10958] $19.50
This album contains ten great and endless epic tracks to reach far beyond trepidation and tranquillity, it's not only welcoming with open arms but captivating slowly the listener and remaining breathless till the last sound. "Beyond The Undulant Quiescence" unifies the opposites when the frostiness of the synthesizer sound and the warmth of the melodies are melting one another. The spectrum ranges from melancholic piano compositions to complex and superior songstructures with an open commitment to slow motion. In every track there is this cryptical sparkling which is always shimmering but it almost stays in the background. It's the multilayered arrangement in each track which is constantly changing the colours and feature an cineastic coarseness in an audible way.

Francisco Lopez - Amarok CD (Glacial Movements) [10959] $19.25
For "Amarok" composition two years of hard work have been employed using sounds and processed field recordings. It's a unequalled conceptual soundscape in this artist's huge discography and it perfectly joins to Glacial Movements aesthetics. After a few seconds from the track beginning we are dip into an arctic trip which lasts more than an hour and in which tangled weavings in a masterly fashion handled by the Spanish artist appear, develop and dissolve. Gusts of arctic wind, the Amarok's wheezing breath (Amarok is the name of a gigantic wolf in Inuit mythology) and the sense of loss in the polar night are only some of the sensations that this cryogenic hallucinatory acustic is able to evoke. "Amarok is probably one of the more isolationist and spookiest work I've ever done" Francisco López,march 2009

Frightened Rabbit - Winter Of Mixed Drinks CD (Fat Cat) [FAT0084] $13.25
With their sophomore outing The Midnight Organ Fight a fixture on 2008's Best Of The Year circuit, a fanbase increasing in both size and devotion, and multiple sold-out tours of ever-larger venues under their belts, Glasgow-based FRIGHTENED RABBIT are releasing their third LP to towering expectations. The Winter Of Mixed Drinks-a collection of ambitious, moving, and gloriously accomplished songs-more than meets this challenge.

Fursaxa - Mycorrhizae Realm CD (ATP Recordings) [ATPR038CD] $12.75
"Fursaxa is Tara Burke. Formerly a member of the Silbreeze band UN, Tara started her Fursaxa project in 1999 after UN disbanded. Since then Fursaxa has released six full length albums on the Acid Mothers Temple label, Ecstatic Peace, Time Lag, Eclipse, Last Visible Dog, and ATP. In addition there have been 3 self released CD-Rs and a CD on her own Sylph recordings. In the summer of 2008 Fursaxa started recording her seventh full length record Mycorrhizae Realm at Hexham Head studio in Philadelphia. This studio recording is a first, as all of the previous releases have been recorded at home on a four track. In addition to recording, Fursaxa has played live music at venues in the US, UK, and Europe, touring with Bardo Pond, Black Forest/Black Sea, Christina Carter, Jack Rose, Spires That in The Sunset Rise, and Brightblack Morning Light to name a few. Over the last couple of years Fursaxa has been collaborating more and more with other musicians as well. Espers member Helena Espvall and Tara have a duo called Anahita, and Sharron Kraus and Tara have the duo Tau Emerald. And in September of 2006 Fursaxa became part of The Valerie Project, which was a live soundtrack for the 1970 Czech film Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders. Tara really enjoyed playing with these musicians and decided to engage Greg Weeks, Mary Lattimore, and Helena Espvall, all fellow Valerians, for her next album. Greg recorded the album at his studio, Mary played harp on 4 songs and also co-wrote 2 of the songs, and Helena played cello on 3 songs. It is an exercise in symbiosis."

Groove Armada - Black Light CD (Om) [OM408] $14.50
Not many bands' sixth albums could be described as bold, brave, fresh, adventurous or representing a new creative peak. But GROOVE ARMADA's brilliant Black Light is all of those things and more. Twelve years into a career as purveyors of top drawer dance music, ANDY CATO and TOM FINDLAY have completely reinvented their sound, with thrilling results. Drawing inspiration from Lovebox-their award-winning London festival featuring bands like the Friendly Fires, the Klaxons, LCD Soundsystem, Ladyhawke and MGMT-the band has taken their songwriting in an unexpected and original direction. Groove Armada would be pushed back towards people like Bowie, Gary Numan, New Order, Fleetwood Mac and Roxy Music. Includes appearances from BRYAN FERRY, NICK LITTLEMORE, SAINT SAVIOR, WILL YOUNG, JESS LARRABEE, and FENECH SOLER. DAVID S. WARE "Saturnian (Solo Saxophones Vol. 1)" (Aum Fidelity - AUM 060) CD $9.35 (UPC: 642623306024 - CDWARE,Satu) ***Recorded live in concert at the Abrons Arts Center, NYC on October 15, 2009, Saturnian documents master saxophonist DAVID S. WARE's triumphant return to performance following his kidney transplant in May 2009. This performance prompted features in The New York Times and on NBC Nightly News. Ware, in full peak of form, performed three extended pieces, each one on a different horn. "Methone" is on the saxello and "Pallene" features the stritch. David has played these lesser-known members of the saxophone family for many decades and recorded with them in the late '80s, but this was the first time he has performed with them live on stage. The final piece, "Anthe" is performed on the tenor sax.

Holland - I Blow Up CD (TeenBeat) [tb460] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 03-23-2010
This new album combines Trevor Kampmann's endless energy with his great electronic melodies fleshed out here with spastic guitars & piano. Kampmann is somewhat musically prescient. As proof, you need only give hollAnd's 1997 album Your Orgasm a cursory listen & then jump ten years hence & listen to anything by The Postal Service. Jettison the rough sonic edges on that early disc & trade out his sexually explicit lyrics for some saccharine 'emotional' ones & you're onto the recipe.

Hrdvsion - Where Did You Just Go? CD (Wagon Repair) [WAG064CD] $16.00
This is the second full-length release from Canadian Nathan Jonson aka Hrdvsion. Where Did You Just Go? takes the listener to a variety of places, at least some of which will doubtless be new to many ears. A non-compromising creator of glitch-heavy electronic music for the last decade or so, Hrdvsion has finally matched his esoteric vision to the more formal structures of house, techno and electro/breakbeat. As Jonson himself states, "The production, the way it's mixed, is similar to my older stuff as I've always liked loud and punchy music. In general, this album is a bit subtler. I focused on letting ideas evolve more slowly and let the grooves go on for longer." Jonson's prior releases are known for their scattered, Squarepusher-esque energy, their bleep-drenched melodies and sense of twisted urgency. Where Did You Just Go? retains these circuit-busting tendencies yet aims more directly for the dancefloor. "842 Colours" blends off-kilter beats with Hrdvsion's trademark skittish sounds, while cuts like "Captivated Heart," "City Girls," "Closed Eyes" and "Making It Home" cultivate and simultaneously subvert "traditional" house and breakbeat riddims via buzzing synths and serrated melodies. The deep and resonant "Cause I Love You" (influenced by the DJ sets of his friends and fellow Berlin residents Dirt Crew) are, he admits, among the "softest I've ever written." Don't go thinking this is a predictable techno album though -- plenty of songs hark back to his earlier, more chaotic work. "Betrayed," "Bonker Brainss," "Kiss Yesterday Goodbye" and "Claustraneonia" are wild-eyed forays into acid-addled glitchtronica, replete with distended diodes and screaming capacitors. Nathan ends the album with a couple of nostalgic visits to his ambient days, namely "Amsterdam at 4:47" and the lush closer "I Wish I Could Directly Effect." This album was started when Hrdvsion moved to Berlin in 2009. During a period of insecurity born of being broke in an alien city, he opened up his laptop and sorted through hundreds of finished and half-finished songs, creating what were ostensibly remixes of the originals. More or less by definition, Where Did You Just Go? represents a brand new era for Hrdvsion and his unique sound.

JJ - No. 3 CD (Secretly Canadian) [SC212] $13.25
Last summer Gothenburg, Sweden's JJ quietly released one of 2009's most critically-acclaimed albums. The album was named No. 2 and it was the group's debut full-length (their first single was No. 1). With the naive swagger of youth, JJ have already completed their next full-length. JJ create R&B and balearic dub from the ghosts of lost lovers; pop as delicate as a fawn's nose across blades of frosted grass. It is the soundtrack for friends packed into the town square's tiniest tavern, their moon-tanned, apple-cheeked faces glowing, their dilated pupils filled with all the meaning and meaninglessness of a magic 8-ball. Their music is both carefree without carelessness, and self-aware without being self-conscious. With it, they build an ice bridge arching from Gothenburg into the heart of middle America, and everywhere in between.

Josiah Wolf - Jet Lag CD (Anticon) [ABR0100] $12.00
The debut album from WHY? multi-instrumentalist JOSIAH WOLF offers up a rare achievement-a solo work with true legs of its own. Wolf's visual snapshots illustrate the wistfulness of a mundane moment and offer canny excavations of those poignancies that lie beneath the surface: tough triumphs, tougher truths, and outright failures. His lean poems are set to an autumnal mix of warm folk and easy psychedelia played out (by Wolf alone) on guitar, vibes, kalimba, Hammond organ, bells, bass, and drums, to name a few. The end result, a sort of chamber pop minus the showy sweeps-virtuosity without the virtuoso-makes Jet Lag as impressive in its subtle execution as it is a timeless, heartfelt listen. Jet Lag came together following the dissolution of an eleven-year relationship, and during a move from California back to the Midwest, where Wolf grew up. Solo US tour planned for Spring 2010. No exports to Canada, Europe, or Japan

Kazumasa Hashimoto - Strangeness CD (Noble) [cxca1265] $17.75
RELEASE DATE: 03-15-2010
The sounds of kazumasa hashimoto are defined by an elegant and fantastic sound woven by his ingenious talent and sophistication of the classical music he has learned since early childhood. hashimoto's musical endeavors cross overseas with the artist featured in Europe's largest Sonar festival in Barcelona in 2007, followed by a successful tour visiting through six European cities in 2008. His first film score in Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Tokyo Sonata" received the jury prize in the Un Certain Regard Section of the 61st Cannes Film Festival, steadily establishing his career as a musician.

Aside from the "Tokyo Sonata" soundtrack, this album will be hashimoto's newest work since "Euphoriam" released in December 2007 as an original album. His newest work, the first ever album to be centered on "song", invites Gutevolk on all vocal pieces featured. Gutevolk has a voice that even made the famous Akiko Yano say, "I wish I were born with a voice like that. Could we trade?" Furthermore, the artist plays all the instruments such as the piano, Mellotron, guitar, base, and drums. The analogue feel of the album which brings out the best of the shimmering and distorted sounds unique to live instruments is another characteristic of the album, resulting in a masterpiece which insatiably pursues the universality of each number and its "strength" as pop music.

The sophisticated and beautiful melody that rings throughout the entire album, the soft harmony, and arrangement like a kaleidoscope is like rich vintage sounds often found in 8mm film. This, combined with the sweet and nostalgic voice of Gutevolk makes listeners drift to a different world, a psychedelic and dreamy world above the clouds. An album that is new yet nostalgicâ~@¦nostalgic yet new. It's just what the title says, it's a strange but speechlessly sweet time made especially for your enjoyment.

biography: kazumasa hashimoto has released 4 albums and 1 soundtrack to present including "Euphorium" released from noble label in December 2007. Until now, the artist has received 5 stars in a review by Germany's DE:BUG magazine, his music has been used by the UK's BBC television, and his work has been taken up widely by Japanese and overseas media in Europe and the United States.

The artist has been active in overseas as well with a performance at Europe's largest festival of electronic music and multimedia art, the sonar festival in Barcelona in June 2007 as well as a 6 country tour across Europe in November 2008.

In addition to his own work, hashimoto created music for the movie "TOKYO SONATA" (director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa), an award winning film in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2008 Cannes International Film Festival and continues to unleash his spectrum of talent as a music producer for commercials, theater, and other artists.

Kink Gong - Electronic World CD (Atavistic) [ALP194CD] $13.75
"After recording the indigenous musics of countless Asian villages and releasing over 50 CD-Rs of these documents on his own label, Laurent Jeanneau debuts his own Kink Gong electro project on Atavistic!" "Since 1995 I am involved in 2 complementary activities -- first recording ethnic minority music, mostly in southeast Asia (India, Tanzania, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China); and second, composing electronic music that includes or transforms those recordings. Every country has a different context, so also my approach is different -- depending on how much time I spend, how close I am with the people, the degree of acculturation, how easy it is to find musicians, the political situation, who I am working with. In many cases, I seem to be the first one to record those musicians; I am aware of this exclusive dimension, but this is not essential. I won't pretend that I'm doing it for saving endangered cultures, nowadays everyone is using those words..." -LJ, 2009

Lisa O Piu - Behind The Bend CD (Subliminal Sounds) [SUBL072CD] $13.25
This is the second album from Swedish folk siren Lisa Isaakson and her band Lisa o Piu. This is the follow-up to 2009's critically-acclaimed debut album When This Was The Future. To get inspiration for the creation of Behind The Bend, Lisa spent time in a small cottage located deep in the vast woods of Vastmanland, Sweden, where she enjoyed the last breath of the summer. Every evening she and David Svedmyr walked further into the woods to an old rowing boat that lay on the edge of a forest lake. In the light of the magically ever-glowing Swedish summer midnight sun they paddled across the lake and then further along a forest creek with lush green trees that hung down over the fresh running water and water lilies. This is the kind of set and setting where you travel into another world... and they did. The initial recordings were made under a vaulted blue ceiling with gold stars in the old 15th century timber church of HjulsjÄ~C¶, Sweden. The new album is filled with delicious and bewitching watery woodland folk hymnals -- eloquent yet eerie. The harp has been given more space, the violin plays a greater role, the 12-stringed guitar plays graceful melodies and all is led by Lisa's gossamer vocals, as delicate as a wavering candle flame. Come along for the ride.

Ludicra - Tenant CD (Profound Lore) [PFL056] $12.00
For the better part of the decade, San Francisco's LUDICRA has cultivated a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest and most forward-thinking bands in the contemporary underground metal scene. They were one of the first inspired by the second wave of Norwegian black metal to fuse that sound with punk, traditional metal, and neo-folk elements, and alongside the now-legendary Weakling, they put Bay Area metal back on the map as a hotbed of artistic fervor. The band is comprised of experienced musicians who have traveled the underground for years: JOHN COBBETT (HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE), ROSS SEWAGE (IMPALED, GHOUL), AESOP DEKKER (AGALLOCH), LAURIE SHANAMAN (QUEEN COBRA), and CHRISTY CATHER. The Tenant, their fourth album, finds Ludicra at the height of their musical prowess. Possibly their most metal-sounding release yet (thanks in no small part to some infectious Metallica-esque dual guitar harmonics), the record also features a strong progressive edge reminiscent of 2006's Fex Urbis Lex Orbis-not to mention a return of the raw, punk-inflected black metal vibe with which the band first made their name. It is bound to be one of the most memorable releases of 2010. No exports to Canada or the UK

Ludicra - Fex Urbis, Lex Orbis CD (Alternative Tentacles) [VIRUS364] $13.25
No description available at this time.

Maquina! - Let's Get Smashed CD (Picap) [PICAP910897CD] $18.50
"Stunning compilation with all the singles by Barcelona's legendary psychedelic-progressive group, including potential hits such as 'Lands Of Perfection', 'Let's Get Smashed' or 'Look Away Our Happiness'. Also included a couple 10+ minute songs from their En Directo album."

Mi Ami - Steal Your Face CD (Thrill Jockey) [THR237CD] $13.75
"Mi Ami is committed to their own particular joyful noise, to the intersection of vicious high-energy playing with ebullient communal experience. In this climate, when pretty much every band has some dub records at home and a myriad of musical influences have been rendered mundane, Mi Ami defines itself by turning inward. Where before, melodies had been suggested, here they are fully developed. Where structure had previously meandered, here each song uses a minimum of means to 'get to there,' allowing the playing to fly free. And, where lyrics had been left unprinted, here they are laid out completely, an integral part of the music. Technically, there are four components to Mi Ami's music: Drums, Bass, Guitar and Vocals. And yet, essentially there is only one: the unified sound, more than the sum of its parts, each individual component coming from and returning to the singular whole. Anyone interested in understanding what Mi Ami is about would do well to start with this album. More concise than Watersports , more confident than their other pre-Thrill Jockey releases and better sounding than anything else they have done, Steal Your Face marks their arrival as a fully-formed, organically mature band."

Mimicking Birds - Mimicking Birds CD (Glacial Pace Recordings) [GP006] $13.25
What started out as a solo project under the moniker NEIGHT (a portmanteau of 'Nate' and 'eight') has evolved into the trio now known as MIMICKING BIRDS. Originally from Portland, Oregon, flock lead man NATE LACY initially learned to play guitar during his senior year in high school. Shortly after graduating, he moved south to Eugene, Oregon for two years and began writing music. Once he became acquainted with a Yamaha 16-track digital recorder, Nate began recording his songs while playing all of the instruments himself. Recently, Nate was joined by his childhood friends, drummer AARON HANSON, whose talent is constructing spacious, purposeful beats while TIM SKELLENGER, being the least structured musician in the band brings a lighthearted and buoyant sound on guitar. Think ethereal melodies by way of cosmic folk. Nate masters the use of reverb to create ambient sounds. Accompanied by a voice so delicate and seraphic, Mimicking Birds play lachrymose songs that synchronously evoke warm-heartedness and an overall compassion for life without coming off dilettante or sending you an invitation to a pity party. It's the band you find out about, listen to incessantly, want so much to keep a secret, but can't resist the urge to play for everyone you know.

My Education - Sunrise CD (Strange Attractors Audio House) [SAAH060CD] $12.00
"Comprised of pieces from the band's original score for F.W. Murnau's 1927 silent masterpiece Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, My Education has discovered the perfect forum for which to flex their compositional muscles, achieving ever-transcendent musical heights in the process. This original score was perfected over the last two years through live scoring to the film, performed at sold out shows from coast-to-coast throughout the USA. Just as the music provides new context to the film as a live accompaniment, Sunrise flashes brightly from the speakers, sparking vivid and lush imagery for the listener. Finding parallels to the timeless soundtracks-as-albums Popol Vuh composed for a number of Werner Herzog's films - music with such visual distinction that it went on to become both synonymous with the screen and the band's legacy - Sunrise leaps onto celluloid with confident grace, distinguishing itself as My Education's most diverse and mature release yet."

Near The Parenthesis - Music For The Forest Concourse CD (n5MD) [md176] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 03-30-2010
Near the Parenthesis returns with "Music for the Forrest Concourse". Tim Arndt's fourth album for n5MD. Perhaps becoming a theme, Arndt again uses the concept of place as the muse for an album. An approach adopted with 2008's "L'Eixample" where Barcelona served as the inspiration. Time, however, is the inspiration for the current release and as a result Music for the Forrest Concourse is more imaginary. Arndt wrote this collection of music 'for dusk, for open air, for sitting down, and for breathing in. It is music for staring upwards and listening attentively or casually.' However you choose to listen Music for the Forrest Concourse will provide many rewards.

Nice Face - Immer Etwas CD (Sacred Bones) [SBR030] $12.00
Immer Etwas is the first full-length release from this one-man bedroom recording project turned full on 5-piece live band. NICE FACE have been turning out singles, comp tracks, and cassettes at a steady clip over the past two years and change. This album is a solid thirteen tracks of drum-machine-driven blown-out hook-laden punk rock. The live the band now counts members of LIVEFASTDIE and IMAGINARY ICONS among its ranks.

Nikakoi - Selected 2CD (Laboratory Instinct) [LI014CD] $19.75
Selected draws upon Tbilisi, Georgia-based Nikakoi's first two albums, but it's not a complete reissue. Instead, Nika Machaidze aka Nikakoi has gathered nine tracks from Sestrichka, 11 from Sentimental and 10 all-new recordings. All 30 tracks have been completely re-sequenced, shuffling old with new to create a hybrid album that's far more than the sum of its parts. Over two and a quarter hours long, Selected is a treasure trove, amazingly rich and varied, of almost cinematic proportions. Appropriately for an artist who also directs and edits film and video, on Selected the forces of chance and sentiment play out in a widescreen panorama of chaos-skirting rhythms and heartstring-tugging melodies. There are ample traces of '90s electronica and IDM in Nikakoi's skittering rhythms and melancholic refrains, but it's not mere redux. Tracks like "Krasnagorsky Dream" and "PP" treat the styles established early in their careers by Aphex Twin and Autechre as a kind of folk idiom with infinite potential... rather than bound by the anxiety of influence, they're bursting with innocence and, yes, sincerity. There are moments of unbridled rhythmic and textural experimentation, like the new "HACPYBYXO," which somehow manages to sound soothing despite its punishing, quadruple-time arpeggios. Dub enters the picture on tracks like "Undine 2" and "Minimsss 3," which recall the fluid grooves and expansive sonics of artists like Pole and Burnt Friedman. Tweaked breakbeats and lounge instrumentation drive the '60s-inspired "Surup," while "Cverty 2 For May" is a slow-mo take on minimal techno at its most velvety. And finally, there are the many moments of understated electronic-pop genius: "Tin Soldier For Nika Ono," "City Lights [Tutta 2]," "Petja," "Sentimental" and "Nishan3test," all of them bittersweet and starry-eyed, teenage dreams burnished by the years to a dull shine. Nikakoi is truly a softy at heart, but his music is as complex as any human emotion: both sentimental and sedimentary, Selected is like an architectural survey for a planet where the soil itself is composed of microscopic fragments of memory.

Notic Nastic - It's Dark But It's Okay CD (Shitkatapult) [STRIKE110CD] $14.75
Shitkatapult's first album release in 2010 is the exciting debut by New York and Berlin group Notic Nastic. It's Dark But It's Okay tells a story about a girl as she grows up and changes a lot. Not a real coming of age thing, but more a collage of life. The soul of the story is that no one is just one character. We will each be 1,000 different things to 1,000 different people in the world... ID is slippery. The album features a great deal of electronic music, kicking, forward, disturbing, as well as easy, pop music based on fat beats. Right off the bat, the first three songs "Let Go," "Stupid Happy" and "Secret Life" grow an intense mixture of music elements that remind you of some cocktail of Missy Elliot, T.Raumschmiere and the typical Shitkatapult out-of-nowhere style. A perfect picture of a human life that assembles the results of the neverending morphs we all go through. The album also fantasizes about the quiet, inner vision you have of yourself that no other person will ever completely see or understand: "The Secret Life." Notic Nastic draws this riddle in musically-perfect praxis: 13 songs blend fast breaks, variable parts, catchy refrains and disturbing, but always grooving, breaks and bridges. Notic Nastic makes pumping, popped-out, strangely addictive electronic bon-bons where twisted vocals meet freaky beats. Besides this fantastic debut album, Notic Nastic has already drawn great feedback with their live-performances. They wear glowing masks and put out big beats. Their show has a great, energetic output with power, acid and life. No matter how weird or dark things get, there is lots of fun to be had -- so shut up, chill out and shake that ass.

Ortolan - Time On A String CD (Sounds Familyre) [SF24] $13.25
"Luxuriating within the lustrous musical harbor of the ORTOLAN sisterhood is the great strength of STEPHANIE COTTINGAHAM's lyrics. She talks of space and place, street corners, trees, and "sitting here reading this all on the ground." We are able to explore these rooms with her, dream alongside her, join her in the desire to "Be So Bold" and "wish I could live...to the fullest." We know with her that "I was meant for something more." We face "Sticky Situations" in the midst of which we struggle to "make things better" and believe the best about people and ourselves. DANIEL SMITH's fine production has framed all this in such a way that there is little to hinder our entrance. Music like this is rare. It addresses us kindly, directly, without pretense or irony. It is not cool or hip or self-contained. It is unabashedly vulnerable, open to encounter. It's not often anymore that you hear the music of young people. Not just young people, but anyone who is still engaged in becoming who they are. Ortolan includes us in the family, encouraging us to grow along with them. As we walk from room to room, past painting after painting, here is something that invites us to pause, enter in, and to become a kindred participant in its quest." -Dan Zimmerman, 2009

Phelios - Astral Unity CD (Malignant) [10957] $14.25
Following two CDs on Eternal Soul and a recent split LP on LOKI, Germany's revered dark ambient project Phelios makes their first appearance for Malignant. With its swirling cosmic drones and sweeping, cinematic drift, the music of Phelios is breathtaking and hypnotic, often evoking moments of serenity and beauty, yet spiking them with deep cushions of ritualistic percussion and textural squalls that suggest something much more ominous and threatening looms on the vast horizon. Collectively, Astral Unity is thoughtful and concise - a vivid and richly detailed entity that's alive and constantly evolving, channeling the universe while simultaneously exploring the inner regions of a more primordial earth. In 6 panel digipak, with gold foil stamping.

Pocahaunted - Make It Real CD (Not Not Fun) [NNF188CD] $12.00
Blissed-out psych dwellers Pocahaunted have now expanded their line-up to include members of Sun Araw and BlackBlack. Make It Real features the song "Save Yourself (It's Nice)," which is already beaming giant shafts of light directly into the internet hivemind.

Rova Saxophone Quartet & Nels Cline Singers - The Celestial Septet CD (New World Records) [NW80708CD] $14.50
Featuring: Bruce Ackley, soprano, tenor saxophones; Steve Adams, alto, sopranino saxophones; Scott Amendola, drums; Nels Cline, guitars; Devin Hoff, bass; Larry Ochs, tenor, sopranino saxophones; Jon Raskin, baritone, alto, sopranino saxophones. "[The Celestial Septet] sounds a cosmic death knell for fixed ideas about musical protocol and decorum, and a round trip through its 68 minutes leaves no horizon intact." -- Derk Richardson "The story of the Celestial Septet is that of two bands becoming one. On their own, the Nels Cline Singers and the Rova Saxophone Quartet have established themselves as the most forward-looking groups not only in their respective formats--a trio of guitar, bass, and drums, and a quartet of saxophones ranging from baritone to sopranino--but also in the area of music that has variously and inadequately been called 'free,' 'avant-garde,' 'creative,' and 'improvised.' The Septet is a vehicle for time and space travel through dense, narrow thickets and airy, wide expanses of boundary-blurred extrapolations of jazz, rock, late-20th-century European modernism and American minimalism, and 21st-century postmodern fusions. The trip is challenging, but the open-minded listener/traveler cannot help but come through the experience with new perspectives on sound and music. Perhaps most significantly, separately and conjoined, these units defy categorization by taking composition as seriously as they take improvisation, and by taking neither so seriously as to let one get in the way of the other."

Ruxpin - Where Do We Float From Here? CD (n5MD) [md175] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 03-30-2010
Due to an overwhelming demand, Ruxpin's "Where Do We Float From Here?" (originally released in 2009 on n5MD's digital imprint Enpeg Digital) is being rereleased on CD. Ruxpin is Icleandic electronic music composer Jonas Thor Gudmundsson and .Where do We Float From Here?. is his 6th long play. Gudmundsson has released on labels such as Uni:form Recordings, Elektrolux and Mikrolux, had many compilation appearances and has done many remixes for artists such as Mum and Worm is Green. Ruxpin's sound is firmly planted in the classic braindance subgenre of IDM. Although, there is an undeniably Icelandic twist to the music and enough emotion to fit within the n5MD emotional ethos. Where Do We Float From Here? is 16 tracks of finely tuned, well crafted electronica from a highly underrated artist.

Sean Smith - Eternal CD (Strange Attractors Audio House) [SAAH059CD] $12.00
"Eternal finds Sean Smith in peak compositional form, coaxing sensory-enhancing textures from an ensemble of players. His erstwhile acoustic guitar providing the anchor, Smith provides common links with Eastern and Middle Eastern folk music, folk-rock, Appalachian stomp, and Robbie Basho-esque American Raga that bobs and weaves but never ribbons itself away from its common tether. Especially reminiscent of the tilaka-adorned works of Sandy Bull and Peter Walker, with nods towards the Eastern influenced albums of John Fahey (The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party, Fare Forward Voyagers), Smith has arrived with an elaborately adorned and introspective offering. Softly psychedelic, spiritual, beautiful. Eternal is eternal."

Sewer Goddess - With Dirt You Are One CD (Malignant) [10956] $12.00
Following numerous cassette and vinyl releases, With Dirt You Are One represents the first formal CD release from this Boston based cult project and officially kicks off the return of Malignant side label, Black Plagve. Expect 9 tracks of wretched, filth ridden, post mortem electronics, spewing forth a barrage of unclean frequencies, skuzzy reverberations, blackened drones, and anguished, inhuman vocalizations. Filled with negativity and dread, this is a hellishly grim and visceral assault, and essential listening for anyone into the darker, more depraved side of heavy electronics .Lmtd 500 copies, in jewel box..

Sight Below - It All Falls Apart CD (Ghostly International) [gi102] $14.50
RELEASE DATE: 04-06-2010
Unlike his debut "Glider", with its loose, semi-improvised feel, "It All Falls Apart" was carefully plotted from the first note, as The Sight Below struck up a long-distance collaboration with Simon Scott (SLOWDIVE). The Sight Below's overcast moods give way to a rainbow (such as it is) of brooding, melancholy textures, incorporating strings, brass, samplers synths & vocals into the mix alongside the usual guitars & beats. It's just too damn beautiful to be depressing.

Slim Cessna's Auto Club - Buried Behind The Barn CD (Alternative Tentacles) [VIRUS413] $9.50
Twisted twangsters SLIM CESSNA'S AUTO CLUB roar back with some raw, heart-shattering tracks from 2000 and 2001. Led by the vocals of Cessna and MUNLY, the Auto Club bares even more of their troubled souls than usual. Briefly released as a limited-to-200 CDR in 2004, these songs are basically unreleased, original versions of later album tracks and compilation songs. Whatever their destination, all eight are undeniably prime 'n' primal Auto Club-a rambunctious mix of joyful twang, acoustic folk, hillbilly picking, and old-time gospel backed with words of spiritual angst, roadhouse wisdom, and whiskey-drinking sin 'n' salvation. Recorded and mixed by Auto Club collaborator and Tarantella / Blood Axis member ROBERT FERBRACHE. 10-inch version includes a download.

Soundpool - Mirrors In Your Eyes CD (Killer Pimp) [PIMPK016CD] $12.25
RELEASE DATE: 04-27-2010
The explosive third album sees this NY-based 5-piece stepping out onto the dancefloor,â~@¦ without leaving their guitars and dreamy effects behind! After building a loyal following in the independent shoegaze scene Soundpool have enhanced their palette and, in turn, crafted a pop masterpiece. The nine songs are infectious, overflowing with strong bass hooks, driving beats, shimmering guitars, and Kim Fields' captivating, ethereal voice. The LP comes with a special download code to download MP3s of the entire LP while the CD comes with bonus enhanced content of five music videos.

A 12" EP is planned featuring remixes by Strategy, Colder, Lawrence Chandler (Bowery Electric), and GTO.

"The best f***ing band in the world!" - Ulrich Schnauss

"Reminiscent of French pop via Air or Stereolab... fine dream pop." - Pitchfork

"A thick, dreamy shoegazing guitar jumble, driven by an even thicker disco beat" - Max Sebela, Jezebel Music

"Post-shoegaze ambient dance with a canonball of cosmic sounds" - Kenyon, Advance Copy

"Captivating blend of shoegaze, space rock and wonderful soundscapes" - Radiofreedavid.com

"Few new artists match Soundpool's vocal delivery and sonic awareness" - Musicisnotdead

"Slowdive for the new millennium" - David Mansdorf, Losing Today

"When Lush wrote Sweetness and Light at the height of shoegazing, I wonder if they had anticipated Soundpool" - Brett Spaceman, EVILSPONGE

"Soundpool's heavily layered, dreamy tunes conjure up images of a queen soaring on a throne made of clouds, singing while her smiling band mates float beside her. Vocalist Kim Field's pure, angelic voice ranges from sexy, deeper notes to high-pitched melodies that mirror her keyboard playing. Active yet appropriately subtle, drummer James Renard works with the bassist to form a tight rhythm section, creating an urgent, driving groove. The nonstop, ethereal synths compliment the angular, sometimes haunting guitar, which recalls the sounds of 70s psychedelia, 80s pop and 90s shoegaze. Soundpool's supremely pleasing music leaves listeners with a euphoric high that's only heightened in their dynamic live performances. - Becky Firesheets, The Deli

Sun Araw - On Patrol CD (Not Not Fun) [NNF187CD] $12.00
Heavier than Heavy Deeds and hotter than a stolen trunkload of skunk weed stopped at the border.

TBA_Natalie Beridze - Pending CD (Laboratory Instinct) [LI015CD] $16.00
2009 release. After five albums for Thomas Brinkmann's max.ernst label, Tbilisi, Georgia-based producer Natalie Tusia Beridze aka TBA comes aboard Laboratory Instinct with Pending. It's her first album since 2007's Size and Tears (MAXE 014CD), and between its tentative melodies and its astonishingly rich tones, it might be her most emotionally-focused yet. But the record's cohesive feel doesn't mean that she has tempered her ambitions. Quite the opposite: Pending runs a gamut of moods and styles, borrowing bits and pieces from ambient, hip-hop, house, techno and pop. Where so much electronic music pledges itself to a lone technology or a single beat structure, Beridze only takes what she needs from swollen synthesizer patches, jittery drum programming, sampled pianos, even the occasional breakbeat. Beridze's own voice, often stretched like gauze through an array of reverb, lends an extra layer of warmth. "To 'Hell Risers'" opens the album like a calm intake of breath, with acoustic samples pulsing beneath a purring spray of syllables. "Don't Know Why" feels like Underworld on helium, or the Postal Service wearing anti-gravity boots: it's classic electro-pop, and it soars. On "Good Night Tokyo," notes flicker like a time-lapse film of a night-time skyline, but slowly decaying chords and drifting vocals impart a sense of stillness that only deepens with the beatless "X.It (Endo)," three minutes of keys and strings. The classically-inspired sketches "Ice Turns End" and "Isole" suggest excerpts from film scores, which makes sense, given Beridze's own filmmaking work and her multimedia activities with the Goslab collective. One of the album's most powerful tracks, "Cuts vs. Ignorance" fuses Detroit techno's keening synths to stuttery, hip-hop-influenced beats. "Everything Pushes Me Further Away" is even heavier, with an unrelenting spray of metallic scraps abrading a dark, velvety backdrop. Occasionally, Beridze will come clean with relatively straightforward pop songs, but always rendered in her unusually intimate, voices-in-your-head style. At the album's center, there's "Come To Kiss Me," a nine-minute masterpiece of fluttering chords, indebted to Steve Reich and Terry Riley's pulse minimalism. It's a gorgeous, expanding mass, a slow-motion explosion of color as dizzying as its title promises.

Tells - Hope Your Wounds Heal CD (Fire) [FIRE095CD] $14.00
Originally released in 2006, this is the debut album from Scottish duo Tells. Produced at Steadling Studios in Aberdeenshire, Jim Version and Caroline Ross kept themselves busy during their 4-year hiatus as both acclaimed producer (Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Alasdair Roberts, Hookers Green No1) and vocalist (Susumo Yokota, Rothko). As previous incarnation Delicate Awol, they made swirls of epic jazz-psychedelia, but since parting ways with their rhythm section, they have been given room to explore a more minimalist approach built around Ross' vocals. Their sound is rooted deeply in their surroundings and wouldn't sound out of place on the soundtrack to the cult horror flick The Wicker Man.

Tenebrous - Tenebrous CD (Fire) [FIRE097CD] $14.00
2006 release of Tenebrous, the project by Steve Gullick (aka successful music photographer, creator of Loose Lips Sink Ships and Careless Talk Costs Lives magazines and one third of the critically acclaimed musical troupe ...bender). This eleven track eponymous debut album was recorded and played by Steve in various parts of his East London home. John Webb (Todd/Pre) added guitar to a couple of songs & Steve's kids (Jesse, Sly & Curtis) added piano & backing vocals. Tenebrous has been conceived to evolve without the constraints of a band line-up.

Toog - Goto CD (Karaoke Kalk) [KK053CD] $14.75
This is the second album on Karaoke Kalk for French musician, poet, blogger and director, Toog. He started his musical career in 1999 when he met the widely-venerated Scottish singer/songwriter Momus. They went on an extensive tour together, playing almost 150 shows. In 2004, Toog released his album Lou Etendue on Karaoke Kalk together with Italian actress and director Asia Argento. Goto is a collection of musical ideas, references, nostalgia and gags -- background noise with coarse exaggerations, where madness and graceful levity go hand-in-hand. Whistles and explicit statements try a balancing act between humor and serious contemplation. A musical diary, reflecting memorable encounters, experiences and oddities. Toog is helped on some tracks by David Fenech and Fashion Flesh, who the artist admired for his work with Matmos, Cornelius and Momus. The artist's wife Florence Manlik, who designed the cover, can also be heard on some songs. As Toog himself explains, "Goto is narrative, meditative. It's travel with an electronic donkey, where the fern tree line at the top of the mountains is nothing but a miniature. Slow is how my heart beats: 56 bpm."

Trans Am - Things CD (Thrill Jockey) [THR236CD] $13.75
"Most bands are too afraid to step up to the bat. They are scared that life is going to throw them different kinds of curve balls. But for more than fifteen years, Trans Am has fearlessly stepped up, taken their swings and thrown a few curve balls of their own. Few bands can say they've toured the Canadian mountains with Tool, and fewer still can say they played their first tour opening for Tortoise. Trans Am a-la 2010 is a band of veterans unafraid to contradict themselves, confident in their identity even as confounding as that identity has been for their fans over the years. Thing is a wreckage of sorts. The project was originally commissioned as a sci-fi, horror adaptation of Romeo And Juliet. When funding for that project fell apart, Trans Am forged on with their own album."

Triclops! - Helpers On The Other Side CD (Alternative Tentacles) [VIRUS412] $12.00
Adding flourishes to the formula established on their debut Out of Africa, Alternative Tentacles' flagship band TRICLOPS! continues its assault on all pretenders to the punk / psych / prog throne. The sound on this album is varied, but one might say it's akin to fIREHOSE crossing streams with Goblin in an acid vat. There's even an acoustic bridge in "With SARS, I'll Ride the Wind" that sounds like a fever-warbled classic rock jammer. Triclops! is an acid-punk version of avant-garde classical composition with cinematic textures-an absurdist soundscape replete with comedic relief that acknowledges its own pure ridiculousness. This career suicide / cult-accepted approach to exhibitionism finds kindred spirits in envelope-pushing, progress-obsessed minds like Butthole Surfers, Slayer, David Lynch, Zappa, Heinlein, Timothy Leary, Melvins / Big Business, B. Traven, Deerhoof, Bill Hicks, Sun Ra, Fellini, Sonic Youth, and Scratch Acid. Features members of VICTIMS FAMILY, FLESHIES, BOTTLES AND SKULLS, and LOWER FORTY-EIGHT.

Tunng - ...And Then We Saw Land CD (Thrill Jockey) [THR242CD] $13.75
"In the spirit of all their travel and experimentation, they decided to call their new album ...And Then We Saw Land, and it's full of adventurous spirit. Three songs contain what the band describe as The Mega Chorus, a 15-strong group of collaborators and drinking buddies who lent their voices to the album one rainy night in an abandoned school hall in Old Street. The intimacy and domesticity of previous songs is replaced by a grand sweep, a feeling of a wide world being explored and alien experiences being processed and drawn into the band's lives. And yet it's still Tunng, still with that bucolic oddness and modernist gleam that made those very first basement recordings so intriguing seven long, strange years ago. They were different then, and they remain very different now; still different, but still the same. That's Tunng."

Various Artists - Music For Double Bass CD (Neos) [NEOS11018CD] $20.25
Featured works: Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988): Nuit: C'est Bien La Nuit & Le RÄ~C©veil Profound (1972); Isang Yun (1917-1995): FÄ~C¼r Aki I (1981), FÄ~C¼r Aki II (1981); Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001): Theraps (1976); Hans Manfred Stahnke (1951): Streetmusic III (1995, dedicated to Frank Reinecke); Werner Henze (1926): S. Biagio 9 Agosto Ore 1207, Ricordo Per Un Contrabasso Solo (1977); Bent Lorentzen (1935): Tiefe (1993, dedicated to Frank Reinecke). Performed by Frank Reinecke, double bass. "As Elgin Heuerding remarks in her introduction, Frank Reinecke plays an instrument that one can not 'hear out' from the musical texture but which can only be felt as part of the immense forces involved in orchestral sound. When allotted a solo role, the double bass reveals its otherwise reticent brilliance and is able to display some remarkable colors. In Nuits (1972) by Giacinto Scelsi, it takes on the garb of an Aeolian harp; in For Aki (1981) it sings many a beautiful melody... he was the son of a friend whose life was saved by Isang Yun. From the 'dirty notes' of Streetmusic (1995) by Manfred Stahnke we arrive at the wild and reeling sound world of Iannis Xenakis' Theraps (1976). This is a lonely reminiscence of the bells at midday, heard by Hans Werner Henze in 1977 in the Italian village of San Biagio. Finally we meet Bent Lorentzen, whose Tiefe (1993) gradually sounds out of the depths."

Various Artists - BalkanBeats Volume 3 CD (Eastblok Music) [EBM011CD] $14.75
2008 release. Eastblok Music presents the third volume in their BalkanBeats compilation series. More Balkan hits from DJ Robert Soko, straight from Berlin's Mudd Club -- again compiled strictly from a dancefloor point of view. Nothing smoothed out, everything fresh and steaming, single-handedly dug up and turned into trans-cultural, genre-crossing hits. Many of these tracks are making it to the West for the first time and are truly Eastern European gems -- a burning amalgamation of Balkan brass, beats, rock, reggae, traditional Balkan stomp, and just about everything else you can imagine. Includes a full color 20-page booklet with pictures and notes on the artists. Artists include: Slavic Soul Party, Magnifico, Kiril (feat. MC Wasp & RUCL), Watcha Clan, Shantel (feat. Boban MarkoviÄ~G Orkestar), Friends Of Boban, Goran BregoviÄ~G, Ot Azoj Klezmer Band, Streamer & MPS Pilot, Max Pashm, Parno Graszt, Slonovski Bal, Damian & Brothers, Ä~C"l Jawala, Figli Di Madre Ignota, The No Smoking Orchestra, and Romengo.

Various Artists - Balkan Grooves CD (Eastblok Music) [EBM016CD] $16.00
The Balkans groove? Yes, indeed. What started almost 20 years ago with the first releases of mostly Romanian gypsy ensembles, dug up and recorded by Western field researchers behind the just-fallen Iron Curtain, has now turned into a global club movement. Nevermind the disco trash productions of turbo folk and manele starlets in the Balkans, it was mostly Western producers and DJs who, fascinated by the raw energy of the Balkan rhythms and the sweet melancholy and wild passion of Slavic and gypsy melodies, made the whole thing compatible for the dancefloor. Well, those neck-breaking Balkan tunes had always been danceable, as one could witness at concerts of the leading Balkan brass bands. Now it is about putting these speedniks in fancy clubwear, dragging them out of the folklore corner to make it cool for the kids. Those Balkan beats get groovy. Eastern passion meets four-to-the-floor. Chilly dubstep cellars now shine with warm ornaments. Artists include: Kiril, Ras Tweed & Esma, Anima Sound System, Jutasi, Valentino Vallente Balkan Project, Goulasch Exotica, EtnoRom, Shazalakazoo, Leni Kravac, Watcha Clan, Fagget Fairys, Kottarashky, Dobranotch & DJ Click, Riva Starr, NÄ~C'ze, [dunkelbunt] & Cloud Tissa, Imam Baildi, DJ Panko, Mere Mortals, Mara, La Caravane Electro, Balkantronika, and BASADUB.

Various Artists - Document CD (Spectral Sound) [SPC088CD] $14.75
When Ghostly International spawned the Spectral Sound imprint nearly a decade ago, Sam Valenti and Matthew Dear conceived the label as the dark, dancefloor-oriented alter-ego of Ghostly's eclectic, album-based sound -- a home for, as Matthew Dear calls it, body music for the mind. Now run by Spectral producer/DJ Ryan Elliott alongside co-founder Dear, the label has solidified its image as Ghostly's leaner, meaner brother. Which brings us to the Elliott-curated Document compilation: it's a calling card, the Detroit-bred Berliner explains, a battle flag carried into a new decade. Document, in other words, is the ultimate Spectral Sound manifesto, mingling Spectral's old guard (Audion, Hieroglyphic Being, James T. Cotton) with new blood (Kate Simko, Seth Troxler, Lee Curtiss) and a few artists who straddle both worlds (Lawrence, Bodycode with Lerato). An overall aesthetic is hard to describe, but the Spectral vision lurks in the music's details: the way the bass-line ricochets between the crackling snares of Lawrence's "Divided" (Kassem Mosse Remix) like a pinball; the skyline-spanning groove of Ryan Crosson's "Don't Look Further"; and the thoughtful organ that hums below the record-closing "She Only Looks At You" by newcomer Gadi Mizrahi. Document captures Spectral Sound circa 2010, at a peak in the label's almost decade-long evolution. And although Spectral Sound's sonic footprint is forever in flux, its mission has been the same since day one: to provide uncompromising, forward-thinking, dancefloor-oriented music that's relevant and cutting-edge on a global scale that also reflects their Midwestern roots. As a compilation of all things Spectral, Document does just that. Other artists include Mike Parker and Martinez.

Various Artists - Musik Oblik: Musics In The Margin 2 CD (Sub Rosa) [SR299CD] $14.75
This is the second volume of the Musics in the Margin compilation series. Like volume 1 in 2006 (SR 254CD), this new production mixes visual arts with music, focusing on the affinities existing between three visual art fields considered on equal terms: modern art, contemporary art, and outsider art. Decompartmentalization is the key word, and this record offers unique approaches transcending the simple question of the insider/outsider classification. Based in Berlin, Klaus Beyer is mostly known for his unusual performances of Beatles songs, but this musician's talent is larger than that, as he also writes his own songs, makes short films and animated films, and works as an actor. Normand Cournoyer launched his music career around the age of 70. Self-taught, he has since written an incredible number of songs (more than 1,500 in over 75 languages) using a piece of random composition software. Installation artist, performer, illustrator, sculptor, sound collector, and globe-trotter Baudouin Oosterlynck expands listening capabilities by creating prostheses and musical objects to multiply and increase our ears. The Wild Classical Music Ensemble is headed by musician/audio artist/experimentalist Damien Magnette and four artists with learning disabilities. Othin Spake is an improvisatory project between drummer Teun Verbruggen (Flat Earth Society), guitarist Mauro Pawlowski (dEUS) and Rhodes pianist Jozef Dumoulin (Magic Malik). A major representative of the Italian madrigal style of the Renaissance, Gesualdo's position in music history has been largely re-assessed in the 20th century. Once seen as a marginal, unbalanced composer, Gesualdo is hailed by some as a visionary. The first composer, 300 years before Wagner and the post-Romantics, to make significant use of chromatism and dissonance, and a precursor of the Moderns in his use of extreme contrasts and unusual rhythmical breaks. A composer, violinist, and teacher, Baudouin de Jaer created multidisciplinary works adapted to a complete space. A major artist of the 20th century, Adolf WÄ~C¶lfli was committed to the Waldau Mental Asylum, near Bern, in 1899. WÄ~C¶lfli started drawing, writing, and composing music at the age of 35, working all day long on a colossal body of work, comprising 25,000 pages of graphic compositions, collages, literary works, and music scores. Jacques Brodier, artist and researcher, is the inventor of the "Filtre de RÄ~C©alitÄ~C©" ("Reality Filter"), whose antennae, using the ionosphere's reflection, receives the electromagnetic noise broadcasted by Earth in deep space. This airwave noise consists of radio signals from everywhere, music and voices in multiple languages lost in a sea of cosmic noise, distorted by untraceable causes or the mishaps of dissemination.

Viking Moses - Swollen & Small: The Songs Of Neutral Milk Hotel CD (Fire) [FIRE103CD] $14.00
2007 release. A special 4-track EP from Missouri-based Jeff Magnum freak Viking Moses, featuring covers of songs by Neutral Milk Hotel. "...those already familiar with the selection here -- 'You've Passed,' 'Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone,' 'Where You'll Find Me Now' and 'Holland 1945' -- and with Viking Moses' quite unique vocal delivery should find a smile beaming from their chops not long after pressing play." --Drowned In Sound

Viv Albertine - Flesh CD (Ecstatic Peace) [E#22D] $8.25
"Viv Albertine is returning to music after a break of 25 years. Her first band, The Flowers of Romance, was formed with her flatmate Sid Vicious. Sid went on to The Sex Pistols and Viv to become guitarist and main songwriter with The Slits. Viv debuts her solo career with an EP on Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label. Viv's songs are cute and dark with personal, almost confessional lyrics. 'I realised I was living out other people's dreams and expectations, not my own. When I started writing songs again, I couldn't stop the avalanche of pent up feelings pouring out.' The result is beautifully uncomplicated, stripped down and raw. In Viv's own words, 'a collision of twisted lyrics, mindworm melodies and kinky boots!'"

White Hinterland - Kairos CD (Dead Oceans) [DOC034] $13.25
On Kairos, we find WHITE HINTERLAND exploring the edges of minimal pop, accomplishing a delicate but lively seduction through deep, patient bass throbs, prismatic synth textures, and direct, intimate songs sung with an empowered gravitas. Here CASEY DIENEL tailors the acrobatics of her former songwriting into a slender focus, folding it into deeper grooves. Beneath the baroque arrangements and intellectual lean of Dienel's previous musical efforts was a sexiness that Kairos exposes, showing the artist for what she is: powerful and comfortable in her own skin, with a glittery voice weaned on pop R&B. With a sound so modern, so contemporary, Kairos fixes White Hinterland's gaze firmly on the future. Using just one mic, electronics, programming and an arsenal of percussion and instruments, the minimal, washy Kairos was born.

[ D V D ]

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

Anibal Velasquez y Su Conjunto - Mambo Loco CD (Analog Africa) [AACD067CD] $17.25
Analog Africa moves its focus to another continent for release number 7: Mambo Loco is a compilation of tracks by Anibal Velasquez, the legendary accordionist from Barranquilla in Colombia. In fact, when not crate-digging in Africa, Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb can often be found in Colombia. Nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the Rio Magdalena, lies the city of Barranquilla. Hailed by its locals as Colombia's "Puerto de Oro" (Golden Gate), Barranquilla has served as a gateway for "Caribbean Tropical Sounds" for almost a century. Home to the country's biggest cultural celebration, El Carnaval, and the birthplace of Colombia's radio and recording industry, Barranquilla has always been a city deeply rooted in musical traditions, and nobody embodies Barranquilla's rich musical heritage more than Anibal Velasquez. Known affectionately by his fans as "El Mago" (the Magician), Anibal has been one of the most prolific musicians of Colombia's Musica Tropical movement. Anibal was born into a musical family in Barranquilla in 1936. His father was an accomplished musician but his biggest influence was his older brother Juan who first introduced him to the secrets of the accordion. One of the turning points was a chance encounter with Robertico Roman, a musician from Cartagena. "It was with Robertico Roman that I formed my first band called Los Vallenatos de Magdalena. I made my first recording with that band in 1952. Four songs were recorded including a track called 'La Gallina,' which became a huge hit and really spread the costal sound toward the interior of the country." Unfortunately soon after, in 1955, band-mate Robertico died and Los Vallenatos de Magdalena had to disband. Without a band, Anibal was forced to take a job as a session musician for Barranquilla-based label Disco Eva working for a group called El Conjunto Colomboy. He remained with Disco Eva until the end of the 1950s, working closely with the great Costeno master Lucho Campilo. Then in 1960, Anibal formed a new group together with his elder brother Juan, a gifted musician in his own right, and his younger brother Jose who would soon become his right hand man, enabling Anibal to add a new dimension to his playing style. Jose himself began experimenting by incorporating new instruments and re-inventing old rhythms. He would break the rules and replaced the traditional bongos used in Cuban guaracha and rumba with a traditional Colombian drum called "La Caja" which he modified by adding "radiografias medicas" (x-ray film) over the drum. This -- combined with Anibal's powerful accordion -- was to become a sensation, generating a much harder and drier sound than the traditional leather skin drums. Anibal's new Guaracha style was infectious, fast and furious, often leading his crowds into a state of frenzy. The interest for Anibal's new innovative sound started growing and recording offers poured in. Anibal began to have an impressive amount of followers, drawing huge crowds wherever he went. By the mid-1960s, music in La Costa began to change drastically. With the onset of the hippie movement in the United States came a craving for marijuana, and Colombia's Caribbean Coast had become a main trafficking hub. A new economy of drugs had emerged and with it a musical style called Vallenato rose to prominence. Its distinct accordion sound and bluesy appeal made it a favorite among drug lords and mafiosos alike, becoming the soundtrack for their feverish life-styles. By the 1970s the level of violence in the coast had grown to unprecedented heights and Vallenato was everywhere. Fed up with this, Anibal decided to move to Caracas, Venezuela, where he remained for 18 years until finally returning back to his beloved Barranquilla in the late '80s. Anibal's contribution to Colombia's Musica Tropical Movement cannot be forgotten. It is said that Anibal Velasquez recorded 300 LPs throughout his remarkable career. His ability to play music that was joyful and percussive, with lyrics right out of everyday life, while at the same time championing a new sound, has made him into one of the few living legends of Colombia's glorious musical past. Includes a 24-page booklet.

Fraction - Moon Blood CD (Phoenix Records) [ASH3017CD] $16.00
Los Angeles-based Fraction's heavy psych classic Moon Blood was originally released on the Angelus record label in 1971. Only 200 copies were pressed, so originals are currently worth a small fortune. Fraction, with vocalist Jim Beach, bearing an uncanny vocal resemblance to Jim Morrison (although he was singing on Sunset Strip long before Morrison took to the stage), were often compared favorably with The Doors, although their quasi-religious message would probably not have found favor with the recently-departed Morrison. Indeed, this rather fine record was once famously described as the album The Doors probably wished they'd made! Underpinned by guitarist Don Swanson's superb Ritchie Blackmore-style guitar work, this is an album full of beautiful psychedelia, acid and hard rock, at once emblematic of the era, but not dated by its association. The five original compositions are consistently of the highest quality and the contribution of Beach's now legendary vocals places a stamp of originality on the recording that endures from beginning to end. Monstrously heavy, howling, epic psych that is basically a must-own. A truly excellent album. Limited edition of 1,000 numbered copies only, featuring the original die-cut cover with colored cellophane and printed inner bag.

Harlem Underground Band - Harlem Underground Band CD (Paul Winley Records) [TEG9924CD] $15.00
"Here it is! This is the monster lost funk album from 1976 that features Willis Jackson, George Benson, and Ann Winley on a bunch of super-funky, tripped-out, straight-blunted and often-sampled cuts full of breaks. Worth buying for the track 'Smokin' Cheeba-Cheeba' alone (used by Eric B and Rakim, Genius, Medina Green, Smif-N-Wessun and of course Tone-Loc), the album also contains the great breakbeat version of 'Ain't No Sunshine' with a tenor solo by Willis Jackson (used by A Tribe Called Quest, Beatnuts and Ghostface Killah), and the slow bluesy talking cut 'Fed Up,' a baaaad rap about a couple splitting up. Very dope. Another reason to hear this record is the mystery behind it. Little is actually known. The cover says Willis Jackson and George Benson are the Harlem Underground Band along with singer Ann Winley, wife of Paul Winley, label owner and former member of the post-Atlantic Clovers, but many accounts say that there were a few other 'well known' and uncredited people in on the recording and that George Benson never actually played on any of the tracks. So who knows what's really happened back in 1976, but either way, the album has great grooves, whoever the guitar player is!"

He3 Project - Chapter One CD (Family Groove) [FG3000CD] $13.50
"Few have had the opportunity to hear the brilliant music of virtuoso pianist, arranger, and songwriter, Herman Eberitzsch Jr. III. Known to his peers as 'funky knuckles,' Eberitzsch crafted an inimitable brand of psychedelic soul and funky jazz during San Francisco's much-fabled artistic and political awakening in the 60s and 70s. Yet, his boldly experimental music missed the ears of the right A&R man and never saw commercial release. The studio tapes found their way to Eberitzsch's basement where they remained for 35 years until a chance encounter with Family Groove Records. Over one decade's worth of Eberitzsch's original recordings will be mastered and released, resulting in a four-part compilation entitled the HE3 Project. Still reeling from the idealism of the 1960s civil rights movement, social protests, and in the midst of three major political assassinations and a devastating war abroad in Vietnam, San Francisco would forge an inspired social and artistic renaissance. 'The music had a totally inventive feeling,' says Eberitzsch. 'It was totally fresh and completely psychedelic.' And Eberitzsch was part of that movement. His work embodied the impassioned zeitgeist, both a fearless exploration of the cosmos and a raw form of self-expression immersed in the grass roots. The first chapter of the HE3 Project features Eberitzsch's trailblazing efforts from three distinct recording sessions spanning 1971 to '74. He brought a loose-knit quartet together in '71 to record a decidedly expressionistic approach to jazz and funk that they had cultivated in the city's avant-garde clubs and cafes. In '73, Eberitzsch joined members of Coke Escovedo's Latin group, Azteca, at Wally Heider and CBS studios to arrange and write demos for Coke's seminal, self-titled debut. And in '74, he brought in a full band, Motion, to record at Wally Heider -- with songstress Linda Tillery (The Loading Zone) an unknown soul singer named Johnny Lovett on lead vocals and a Tower-Of-Power strength horn section. 'The music was very innocent,' Eberitzsch says. 'We worked from a standpoint not so much of knowledge but of an ignorance of where we were going.' By forsaking formula, Eberitzsch was able to create a unique outsider sound, reminiscent of private press albums of that era. He preferred an explorative aesthetic to convention and favored improvisation while still keeping the music in the pocket. Ebullient songs like 'Funk Punk' and 'Rapture of the Deep' manage to retain a solid foundation while traveling to uncharted fringes of sonic territory. 'We invented as we went along,' Eberitzsch explains. 'We shook the bag of formulas and saw what came out.' Eberitzsch brought this experimental ethos to the studio where he played around with recording techniques. With a child's amusement, he used an old fashioned Fender Echoplex in 'Rapture' and applied a screwdriver to his Hammond keyboard in 'Massage' to create wobbling effects. He then manipulated the tape loop, searching loosely for weird sounds that would produce warped textures. The strange, idiosyncratic sounds created in the process helped to shape the psychedelic quality of the music. Yet it never smothers itself in abstraction. 'It's still earthy because it was manipulated not by machines,' he explains while laughing, 'but by the hands of the monkey man!' Inspired to write, Eberitzsch also cultivated a poignant lyrical ability. His empowering messages evoke a heartfelt idealism that does not shy away from understanding life's unending struggles. It is just this sort of tension between hope and despair that frame Eberitzsch's meditations on life as more than just a two-sided coin. The HE3 Project, emerging nearly four decades after its inception, is as strikingly moving and fresh as ever."

Incredible String Band, The - The Incredible String Band CD (Fledg'ling) [FLED3076CD] $14.75
The Incredible String Band was founded in Edinburgh in 1965 when Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron began a journey which would connect traditional folk music, ragtime and the emerging counterculture/psychedelic scene. Their recordings paved the way for what has since become known as "world music." High-profile Incredible String Band fans include Paul McCartney, Billy Connolly, Robert Plant and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Signed by Joe Boyd to the prestigious Elektra label, their early recordings are among the finest and most imaginative of the period. The Incredible String Band -- their 1966 debut LP, is a powerful mix of their many influences. Highlights include "October Song," "When The Music Starts To Play," "Empty Pocket Blues," "Smoke Shovelling Song" and the closing "Everything's Fine Right Now." For many fans, this beguiling album was the first step in a life-long fascination for all things ISB. The band quickly became favorites on John Peel's pirate radio-show "The Perfumed Garden." "Through the incense and the exotic blend of instruments and influences came an original and memorable combination of shining talents destined to outlast their era." Carefully re-mastered by original producer Joe Boyd and engineer John Wood. Housed in a stunning digipack with all elements of the original artwork. New sleevenotes from Clive Palmer and Robyn Hitchcock. Mike Heron (lead vocal), Clive Palmer (vocal, guitar, kazoo and banjo), Robin Williamson (lead vocal, violin, guitar, mandolin and whistle).

Incredible String Band, The - The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion CD (Fledg'ling) [FLED3077CD] $14.75
The second album by The Incredible String Band, The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion was first released in July 1967. With Clive Palmer having left for India, Mike Heron and Robin Williamson were accompanied by Danny Thompson on double bass and Licorice on vocals and percussion. The album demonstrated the beginnings of what Williamson describes as using the studio as a giant paint box. Standout songs include Heron's "The Hedgehog's Song," Williamson's beautiful "First Girl I Loved" (later recorded by Judy Collins, Jackson Browne and many others) and his "The Mad Hatter's Song." Enthusiastic reviews in the music press were accompanied by appearances at venues such as London's UFO Club (co-owned by Boyd), and Queen Elizabeth Hall. Their exposure on John Peel's "Perfumed Garden" radio show on the pirate ship Radio London, and later on BBC's "Top Gear," made them favorites with the emerging UK underground audience. The album went to #1 on the UK folk chart, and was named by Paul McCartney as one of his favorite records of that year. Carefully re-mastered by original producer Joe Boyd and engineer John Wood. Housed in a stunning digipack with all the elements of the original artwork. New sleevenotes from Mike Heron. Mike Heron (lead vocals, harmonica and guitar), Robin Williamson (lead vocals, bowed and bass gimbri, guitar, flute, Soma sitar, tamboura, drums, rattles, oud and mandolin), Danny Thompson (double bass), Licorice (vocals and finger cymbals), John Hopkins (piano), Nazir Jarazbhoy (sitar, tamboura).

Incredible String Band, The - The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter CD (Fledg'ling) [FLED3078CD] $14.75
The Incredible String Band's The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, their finest studio work, reached the top 5 on the UK album charts soon after its release in March 1968, and was nominated for a Grammy in the U.S. Robert Plant has said that Led Zeppelin found their own way by playing Hangman's and following the instructions. A departure from the band's previous albums, the set relied heavily on a more layered production, with imaginative use of the then-new multi-track recording techniques. The album's centerpiece is Mike Heron's "A Very Cellular Song," which incorporates a Sikh hymn and the Bahamian spiritual "I Bid You Goodnight" (learned from Joseph Spence). Carefully re-mastered by original producer Joe Boyd and engineer John Wood. Housed in a stunning digipack with all the elements of the original artwork. New sleevenotes from Robin Williamson. Mike Heron (lead vocals, sitar, Hammond organ, guitar, hammer dulcimer, harpsichord), Robin Williamson (lead vocals, guitar, gimbri, whistle, percussion, pan-pipe, piano, oud, mandolin, jew's harp, chahanai, water harp, harmonica), Dolly Collins (flute organ and piano), David Snell (harp), Licorice (vocals and finger cymbals).

Incredible String Band, The - Wee Tam & The Big Huge 2CD (Fledg'ling) [FLED3079CD] $14.75
Wee Tam & The Big Huge is the fourth album by The Incredible String Band, and the band's most ambitious album to date, conceived as a double LP. First released in Europe as both a double LP and separate single LPs in November 1968. In the U.S., Elektra released the two albums separately as Wee Tam and The Big Huge, on the same day. The set is considered by many fans to be, along with its predecessor The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, their finest studio work. By the second half of 1968, The Incredible String Band saw their popularity and reputation growing on both sides of the Atlantic, and they began to sell out large concert venues like the Fillmore (East and West) and London's Royal Albert Hall. The album reflected an even wider variety of influences than the previous two releases and was packed to overflowing with classic songs from Mike Heron and Robin Williamson. Deluxe 2CD set for the price of a single album. The Fledg'ling deluxe 2CD digipack edition comes in a choice of two stunning front covers! Carefully remastered by original producer Joe Boyd and engineer John Wood with acclaimed mastering technician Simon Heyworth. The sets incorporate all elements of the original artwork and new sleevenotes from Mr. Boyd. Mike Heron (lead vocals, guitar, sitar, bass, organ, harpsichord, washboard, percussion, harmonica), Robin Williamson (lead vocals, guitar, bass, piano, drums, whistle, organ, violin, Irish harp, gimbri, sarangi, harpsichord, flute, kazoo, bass drum), Rose (violin, percussion), Licorice (Irish harp, percussion).

Infinity - Collected Works 1969-70 CD (Acme Gramophone/lion Productions) [ACLN1013CD] $15.00
"Legendary UK psych outfit Infinity formed in 1969 from the ashes of 'Chocolate Soup' psych faves the Flies and Cymbaline. The mission: to develop a heavy psychedelic/pop sound, and express it through complex original songs. Thanks to some funky Hammond organ, punchy guitars, and the band's unique harmonies, Infinity was no run of the mill outfit. Upon their return to mainland England from a residency in Jersey, they joined the high-profile NEMS agency, alongside heavy hitters like Pink Floyd, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Soft Machine, and Pretty Things. In late 1969 and early 1970, following support slots with The Searchers and Marmalade, Infinity recorded original material for a proposed album, which was meant to explore 'time, space, matter, energy and chicken phal, said in some circles to be so hot in a culinary sense that it's temperature approached infinity,' or so they have said, with tongue-in-cheek, we have to believe. Sadly, they broke up soon after the sessions. The good news is that the band left behind the recordings presented on this disc, which can now be enjoyed in the digital format after the passage of more than four decades! Comes with a 24-page booklet which includes band history, photos, and more, printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy."

Kees Hazevoet/Han Bennink - Calling Down The Flevo Spirit CD (Atavistic) [ALP259CD] $13.75
"The Unheard Music Series is proud to (finally) reissue 1978's refreshingly unique duo recordings from Kees Hazevoet (The Unlawful Music & Pleasure reissues on UMS), and legendary Dutch percussionist/Dada enthusiast Han Bennink (Nerve Beats, Balls, Fmp144 & much more on the UMS)."

Martin Campbell/Alien Dread - Cosmic Dub Clash CD (Log On) [LOG005CD] $16.00
"Album CD re-issue. All tracks have been fully re-mastered. All Alien Dread tracks have been re-mixed. New and fully revised art work. 13 track CD original 1990s and contemporary dubs, recorded at Channel One UK & Phat Dubz UK."

Peter Marshall - Channel One Revisited CD (ACL) [ACLAR002CD] $16.00
"All tracks have been re-mastered. New and fully revised art work. Showcase style album. The vocal track is followed by the dub. All vocal tracks voiced early 1990s. 16 track CD, all original 1970s Channel One JA recorded rhythms. Featuring The Revolutionaries (Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare etc.). Produced by: Martin Campbell."

This week's VINYL update contains releases by:

Accident Du Travail * Andrea * Anibal Velasquez Y Su Conjunto * Arado & Den Ishu * Ben Verse * Bill Callahan * Bill Withers * Billy Shane * Black Sabbath * Blue Things, The * Bok Bok/Brackles & Shortstuff * Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang * Cari Lekebusch * Celeste Boursier-Mougenot * Centipede Eest * Ceremony * Claro Intelecto * Cotti * Cv313 * Daedelus * Deviation Social * Donae'o * Dub Taylor * Elle P. & Iftah * Ellen Allien * F***pony * Fursaxa * Future Islands * Gerry Mitchell & Little Sparta Liars * Ginz & Kool Money Kwame * Goldielocks * Grant Hart * He3 Project * Headhunter & Djunya * Hey Colossus & Van Halen Time Capsule * Index * Inner City * James Blake * Jason Urick * Jeff Mills * Jimmy McGriff * Kadebostan * Kenny Knots/Mikey Murka * Krause Duo * Lemon Drops, The * Lisa O Piu * Ludicra * Maayan Nidam * Mandre * Martyn * Matteo Milleri & The Selph * Mi Ami * Mike Shannon * Mutant Clan * My Education * Nina Simone * Pikaya * Pink Noise * Pocahaunted * Queen Cobra * Reade Truth * Richie Davis/Mikey Murka * Ripperton * Rodriguez * Ronnie Foster * Scott Tuma * Selah Collins/Errol Bellot * Shkval * Snuff Crew * Souki * Soundpool * Steely Dan * Stewart Walker * Sun Araw * The C & B * The Rebel * Thelonious Monk * Thom Yorke * Till Von Sein & Tigerskin * Toog * Trans Am * Tunng * Tyvek * Ursula Bogner * Vincent Epplay/Samon Takahashi * Zu

Accident Du Travail - Accident Du Travail LP (Bruit Direct Disques) [BRD4] $20.75
Twenty-four minutes of Ondes Martenot recordings by JULIE NORMAL (CRADLE OF SMURF) and OLIVIER (CHEVEU). Maximal repeatable sound beauty, "somewhere between the lilting decay of Discreet Music and the disorientating phantom flirt of Maryanne Amacher's Sound Characters (Making the Third Ear)" according to Doug Mosurock. "It's an impressive, subdued work, and anyone looking to end their evening on a restful comedown should look within."

Andrea - You Still Got Me/Got To Forget 12 inch (Daphne) [DAPHNE005EP] $11.50
Andrea heads out on her own for the first time after a trio of 12"s as one-half of Millie and Andrea. "You Still Got Me" plays on Andrea's love of classic rave structures, squaring off with rugged, hardcore edits and low-end rumbles offset by big house vocals and blue strings. "Got To Forget" unravels around a ghostly vocal and dismembered percussive sequence that opens up to display a whole array of twilight keys and the warmest, most padded bass-line imaginable.

Arado & Den Ishu - Preacher Man 12 inch (Area Remote) [AREA019EP] $11.50
Area Remote welcomes genius duo Arado & Den Ishu, two local heroes from the heart of Germany's Ruhr Valley. Producing in collaboration since the beginning of 2009, their work is influenced by their common experiences and backgrounds in soul, funk, hip-hop and house music. "Preacher Man" is a slamming track with clever snippets all masterfully mashed together -- from preacher-talk to laughter to police sirens -- a mayhem of madness. "Same Thang" gives you a rawer, stripped-down sound for those who just want to keep moving and do their "thang" on the club floor.

Ben Verse - Flip The Coin 12 inch (Wheel & Deal) [WHEELY005EP] $10.25
"Wheel & Deal Records presents two fresh cuts from the man otherwise known as the MC of drum & bass outfit Pendulum: Ben Verse. Having been a vocalist for the past fourteen years, and a producer for the past six, this year Ben delivers a pair of futuristic, energized dubstep tracks with distinct character. 'Flip The Coin' is a dark, head-nodding half stepper that packs a weighty punch, utilizing fat percussive patterns with tribal undertones. Twisting, ghostly soundscapes drift in and out from above, with morphing pulses of subbass underneath. On the flipside, 'Inhale' brings dubbed out, future-jungle vibes with irresistible energy and hints of mystical allure."

Bill Callahan - Rough Travel For A Rare Thing 2xLP (Sea Note) [SN016LP] $18.00
"Finally! The Smog live album everyone always wanted for years and years has finally reached the public just in time to be a Bill Callahan record instead. Doesn't make a bit of difference -- Smog classics ride alongside Callahan hits with the same unforgettable gait. Rough Travel For A Rare Thing was recorded in Melbourne, Australia on November 8, 2007, at a club called The Toff. Which I think is a slang term for snob. Like, 'that bleedin' toff is a poofta.' In fact, the club was called The Poofta in the '80s. Australia's been good to Bill. They like him and he likes the ocean that surrounds them. Oh, and he likes them too, of course. And of course, they like the ocean, too. They are water people and he's a water person. It makes for good touring and killer live show recordings, as you will soon see. The show sold out in a matter of hours, which Bill's minders delightedly reported to their star, in order to get his spirits up for the show. They needn't have bothered -- Bill loves playing live, whether in front of sold-out houses or almost sold-out houses. In any case, it was a moment to remember when the band walked into the venue for the first time. Bill was like, 'Cool! There's a bar in my dressing room. Which way to the stage?' Then he found out he was standing on the stage. The place was small, I tell ya. Small. When Bill makes his records, he has a certain sound in his head which we hope can be extracted by the time the budget is maxed. The same thing happens on tour but we pay a lot less money for it to happen. For the sold-out tour all across Australia that this recording was taken from, the line-up was: three fiddle players who also sang back up, a drummer without cymbals and a bass player who also played harmonica. The idea was to have a strong, simple foundation with a lot of space left on top to be filled by the mystical strings and voice. And that's what came to pass. Rough Travel For A Rare Thing features Kate Connor, Lara Goodridge, Pria Schwall, Tim Rogers and Lawrence Pike and an audience of probably a hundred. But they were packed in there. And there were lots more out on the sidewalk in front -- honest!"

Billy Shane - Runner 12 inch (Spectral Sound) [SFV005EP] $11.50
Brooklyn's Billy Shane presents a release that is firmly rooted in raw techno. From the chunky dub-tech funk of "Runner" to the lush, beautifully-orchestrated "Hole" and "Fach," Billy's attention to detail as well as his instincts as a DJ are clearly apparent. With a big thumbs-up from Ben Klock already, this release should put Shane firmly on the map. Steadfast owner Brendon Moeller offers up a solid rework of "Runner" under his Echologist guise.

Bok Bok/Brackles & Shortstuff - Citizens Dub/Pipey D 12 inch (Blunted Robots) [BLR003EP] $10.25
"Blunted Robots celebrate their third single with a great big cake, stuffed full of sound. The first slice features Bok Bok, serving up his underground anthem 'Citizens Dub' -- the UK's answer to a question nobody asked. Then, for those of you greedy enough to ask for more, Brackles & Shortstuff have enlisted the help of Bootsy's record collection to bring you 'Pipey D' -- a detailed look at the UK Funky blueprint through x-ray specs. Now tuck in. DJs showing love include Sinden, Mark Pritchard, Oneman, Ben UFO, Daedelus, Untold..."

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang - The Wonder Show Of The World LP (Drag City) [DC2012LP] $16.50
For this new album of songs, Bonny Billy and The Cairo Gang together have built a bridge forward, assembled with riffs and bits from Emmett Kelly's guitar and the lyricism of Bonny's heart. But mostly, The Wonder Show Of The World was, in its making, about trust. It's a record made eye-to-eye in a room, close and careful, by and for a few men who wanted to be together, who wanted to make music that sounds as good to listen to as it did to make, and who in doing so forged something new in space, the wonder of you and of them.

Cari Lekebusch - Merry Go Round 12 inch (Harthouse) [HHMA030EP] $11.50
"Swedish institution in techno music Cari Lekebush is no stranger to Harthouse Records. In 2008 he released his single Absorb and his album Mind Over Matter on Harthouse Mannheim. Moreover he produced his track 'Stimuli' under his alias Braincell together with Jola Bola aka Joel Stefansson, appearing on the Mirror Of The Future compilation. Furthermore, he had several releases in the mid and late nineties at our label. With his own label H. Productions and his own studio HP HQ he is one of Swedish DJs and producers who characterized and spread out the sound into the world that was famous later as Swedish techno (beside Adam Beyer, Joel Mull or Per Grindvik). Now he is coming around with his new release Merry Go Round on Harthouse."

Celeste Boursier-Mougenot - Overlap / Recouvrement LP (I Dischi Della Casa Rossa) [DISCR001] $309.50
"I Dischi Della Casa Rossa proudly presents this LP record art multiple by CÄ~C©leste Boursier-Mougenot, produced on the occasion of the artist's new sound installation at La Maison Rouge in Paris. The LP features two identical sides of unmanipulated fire cocrete recording, investigating the relationships between pattern and background. The work of CÄ~C©leste Boursier-Mougenot must be seen first and foremost as that of a musician who, for the past twelve years, has shown his work exclusively in contemporary art venues. From 1985 to 1994, he composed for Pascal Rambert's Side One Posthume Theatre company. Following this he began to give his work an autonomous existence through sound installations. CÄ~C©leste Boursier-Mougenot succeeds in drawing out the musical potential of multiple and diverse objects and situations. He extends the notion of musical score to the unorthodox combinations of miscellaneous materials and media which he uses to generate, usually live, what he describes as living sound forms. Each device functions in relation to the surrounding architecture or environment, where the process behind the music is laid bare for the visitor to see and comprehend. Edition limited to 50 signed and numbered copies presented in a back-on-back silk-screened linen cover. Conceived specifically for La Maison Rouge Appreication Society and sold out before been produced. Only a handful of copies are available for distribution. Attention! This is probably your only chance to include this edition, which in short time will surely proof to be a top investment, in your art record archive."

Centipede Eest - Metal Moon 7 inch (New Ruins) [NURU004EP] $7.50
"The careful listener will recognize the main riff of 'Metal Moon' as a brief snippet from the full length, but here Centipede Eest has developed the motif into a full length song. The B-side, 'Ow'ls Nest,' showcases the bands interest with ethnic music and instrumentation. Initially an improvisation utilizing steel drum and trap set, the band added overdubs and the result is something that could easily fit in the Sun City Girls or Sublime Frequencies catalog. Centipede Eest is a group of five musicians from Pittsburgh, PA who play hybrid rock music born of a collective and sprawling mind. Throughout the course of five years, the band have released two albums, a 12" EP, a split 7" (limited to national record store day), and have toured the US. Live shows encompass everything from instant improvisation to chaotic rock riffs, sometimes with visual accompaniment. The band have found inspiration in Lagos, Bangkok, choogle, Dusseldorf, Tokyo, the Sahara, the Sun City and everywhere in between."

Ceremony - Rocket Fire LP (Killer Pimp) [PIMPK015LP] $14.75
RELEASE DATE: 04-27-2010
10 brilliant pop songs super charged with amplification and distortion to make an incredible mix. Before A Place To Bury Strangers, there was Skywave, a three piece noise pop band from Fredericksburg, Virgina. When Ollie left to move to NYC, Paul and John remained and reorganized as Ceremony. While there will be undeniable comparisons made to APTBS (they still remain friends and share an affinity for loud guitars), Ceremony employ a songcraft far more focused on making catchy pop tunes than blowing out speakers and eardrums. The LP comes with a special download code to download MP3s of the entire LP while the CD comes with bonus enhanced content of four music videos.

"With all the deviation in the shoegaze sound, Virginia's Ceremony is proud to stay firmly grounded in the roots of the genre. After the demise of Skywave, a band considered by many to be responsible for the resurgence of shoegaze in America, bassist Oliver Akerman formed the incredible A Place to Bury Strangers, and remaining members Paul Baker and John Fedowitz formed the equally excellent Ceremony. Picking up directly where Skywave left off, the duo's guitars make a tremendous amount of noise thanks to some serious pedal magic. Blisteringly loud washes of guitars are as piercing as they are soothing, contrasting the lo-fi drum machine rhythms tucked just below the mix. Baker's vocals add great texture, sounding relaxed and calming amongst the breaking dance beats and all encompassing storm of guitar effects." - Exploding In Sound

"Much like the loudness that pervades such noise rock, Ceremony feature raucous pop hooks and riffs that surmount the loudness. The bond between them and A Place to Bury Strangers is undoubtedly felt but they've captured their own appealing facets. Although there is plenty of drive, it's a noisy explosion that unquestionably delivers a strong jolt that resonates for a long time after it ends." - Bryan Sanchez, Delusions of Adequacy

"thunderously romantic Factory Records guitar/bass interplay, lo-fi drum machines--but as far as what it sets out to do, it succeeds." - Marc Hogan, Pitchfork

"Creating noisy, brilliant shoegaze like APTBS, Ceremony's tunes are a bit more on the indie pop side, making for an interesting and brilliant mix of influences." - Girls Sold Out

Ceremony - Leave Alone / Walk Away 7 inch (Killer Pimp) [PIMPK017] $5.50
RELEASE DATE: 04-27-2010
Following the success of the "Someday" 7" single Killer Pimp will issue a 7" single of two exclusive non-LP Ceremony tracks on April 27th, the date of their full-length release, Rocket Fire.

The 7" is limited to 500 copies and neither song will not be on the LP or CD.

"some very fine noise-pop" - Built on a Weak Spot

"Ceremony's music is a superb hybrid of dark noisy pop, shoegaze, and electro; the result is a sound both unique and nostalgic." - Superstarcastic

"Utterly exhilarating" -- Opus

Claro Intelecto - New Life 12 inch (Modern Love) [LOVE061EP] $11.50
"Back In The Day" is a slow, compressed house reduction. Making use of submerged strings and heavy kicks, it's a track that employs a filthy New York warehouse aesthetic with that distinctive, modified square bass-line that's become a Claro Intelecto signature, bent out of all recognition. "New Life" is also wired for the floor, yet features skewed and euphoric chord sequences that evoke the hazy nostalgia of Ducktails or Oneohtrix Point Never, driving peak-time activities without ever resorting to cheap thrills.

Cotti - Real Hustler 12 inch (Sumting New) [STN001EP] $11.00
"It's Cotti back with the first release on the well-anticipated Sumting New label, set up and managed by Cotti, featuring a stable of fresh new vocalist and up-and-coming producers. As the name suggests, Sumting New is all about new and innovative music. 'Real Hustler' with a co- production on the B-side from Cotti and DJ Chef. Both tracks have been supported around the world by DJs such as Scream, Benga, Dmz, N-type, Joker, Caspa and Rusko to name a few. Side A (Real hustler) is a ragga vocal style track with hard hitting dub bassline accompanied with the trademark guitar stabbs and strong brass section Cotti is very well known for. Side B Cotti vs Chefal - This track lays down some serious sub bass with a crazy mid range bass that keep your head straight nodding for the whole track. Not to mention da cheeky sample at the drop."

Cv313 - Infinit-1 12 inch (Echospace) [ECHOSPACE010-A] $12.25
This is the second single culled from cv313's 2CD album Dimensional Space, featuring two versions of "Infinit-1." Recorded in a live session of over 2 hours, "Infinit-1" refers to an infinite state of being. This project was based on an experiment using a hybrid form of discrete summation to create a new hybrid of both "waveshaping" and "subtractive"-based synthesis ("carriershaping") currently being developed for mass consumption. Features the first remix ever from Stephan Laubner (STL) in one of his deepest moments.

Daedelus - Meanwhile... LP (Laboratory Instinct) [LI001LP] $19.00
2010 repress, 2004 release. LP version.

Donae'o - Riot Music 12 inch (Digital Soundboy Records) [SBOY027EP] $9.00
"Donae'o aka Ian Greenidge was always destined to make a career out of music after growing up in a house where melodies were a major force. During his teens Donae'o would release a few singles, most notably Fallin' and Bounce on various imprints. Both singles made an impact on the underground, with Bounce winning an award for Best Live P.A at the People' Choi Awards in 2003. All of this set the foundations for Donae'o's future success. A few years later an older, wiser and more business savy Donae'o penned a tune called 'Devil In A Blue Dress,' and was to kick-start his career once again and have a major impact on the UK underground. From 'Devil In A Blue Dress,' came his critically acclaimed Party Hard album, an mixture of beats, rich with his trademark heavy soulless and killer choruses. The lead single off the album, also called 'Party Hard,' became a massive hit in the clubs and on specialist radio, winning him champions across the board and throughout the British music press. 'Riot Music' was never released as a single, but in Novemer 2009, Zane Lowe surprisingly picked up on the track, making it his 'Hottest Record In The Universe' and continuing to support it over the following months. The interest and buzz has continued to build, and in early Dec 2009, 'Riot Music' was pulled from the digital bundle of the Party Hard album and signed to Shy FX's Digital Soundboy label. Since then, Shy has tweaked the radio mix and also roped in none other than Skream and The Nextmen for some remix pressure. Already a favourite with Zane Lowe, Annie Mac and Mista Jam, and continuing to win supports across the board, 'Riot Music' is set to be one of THE big records for 2010!"

Dub Taylor - Clicktrap 10 inch (Two.birds) [TWOBIRDS002EP] $11.50
"Roast the pine nuts slowly without oil or fat in a pan till their color becomes golden brown. Skin the cucumbers, cut in halves and deseed them with a little spoon. Then slice the halves with a grater. Cut the cocktail tomatoes into halves too. Take a bowl and put the yoghurt inside, add two good dash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add all chopped herbs, the grated cucumbers, the halved cocktail tomatoes, the roasted pine nuts, the halved and chopped spring onions and chili. Mix it with a spoon and season it with salt, pepper and a bit of honey."

Elle P. & Iftah - Sick Liar/The Pink Painter 12 inch (Souvenir Music) [SOUVENIR024EP] $11.50
This duo defines its music as "future-retro-avantgarde-electroacoustic-funky-melancholic-harmonic pop," but for their first proper vinyl release as a duo, Souvenir gives you more. Elle P.'s voice flirts as easily with Dadaism as with profound poetry. Blend it with the edgy and experimental productions of Iftah, add two groundbreaking remixes by dOP and RÄ~C¼de Hagelstein, and you get dark electro synth waves, jazzy modern pop, and plenty of stomping, cinematic nostalgia.

Ellen Allien - Dust 2xLP (Bpitch Control) [BPC217LP] $17.25
Ellen Allien, owner of the BPitch Control label and Fairy Queen of Berlin's more delicately-woven rave music, has been tinkering with the sound of the city for over a decade now. What has remained from all these years -- packed with great releases, highly original remixes and exploratory mix CDs -- are her monolithic albums, each the condensed result of a completely different creative phase. It already seems an eternity since Ellen Allien last remodelled her own sound with the sharp-edged diamond Sool in 2008 -- a release which opened the gates to a far-off parallel world where minimalist artifacts float through the room with a cool elegance and distanced allure. With Dust, Ellen removes the sense of remoteness entirely, and a warm immediacy takes center. On "My Tree" your eyes will be dazzled by the light shining through a canopy of leaves. And while the bleeps prance on by, the introduction of the clarinet, as a classical element, ensures that some order presides over all the endlessness behind the clouds. "Huibuh" feeds off a similar feeling, a perfectly tranquil synth-pop song which pays tribute to the most chilled of all Sunday afternoons. Melodic, sexy and self-content. On "Ever" the plucked synths and glockenspiels float over an unobtrusive beat framework. And despite their rich variety, these sounds are blended into a funky groove of life-affirming bliss. "Dream" makes a more twisted entrance where synths scale the walls while the trailing female vocals float through unconscious depths. Ellen prefers to sing a duet with her pitched-down alter ego under the pleasant glare of the "Flashy Flashy" disco lights -- a house track that trots along with a light and breezy gait. "Our Utopie" is the soundtrack to a sunrise with sounds that ring and reverberate through the air. Beneath the old school analog synth of "Schlumi" is a kick drum and a rave siren that winds its way up to the surface until the walls start to ripple and there are no more right angles in sight. Then there's "You," a completely unexpected indie-pop track with a beguiling guitar loop like something halfway between Zoot Woman and Phoenix, with a Joy Division bass line, and then Ellen's bright voice, singing with a cool fragility. "Sun The Rain" is the second synth-pop song on Dust, and "Should We Go Home" thrills with hushed voices, involuntary rushes of goosebumps and a few melodic fragments, arranged here as ambient phase shifts pile on top of one another. What now? You'd better dust yourself off. It's time to start all over again.

F***pony - I'm Burning Inside 12 inch (Bpitch Control) [BPC211EP] $11.50
Jay Haze aka F***pony presents the second single from his Let The Love Flow album, with two remixes of "I'm Burning Inside." Reboot aka Frank Heinrich takes a pleasantly experimental approach, starting with punchy drums, a super-crisp, compressed kick and a growling bass-line. Soon, the wonderful piano and melody fragments from the original provide the dramatic direction, until finally you hear the unmistakable sound of the sun rising. Also features a lovely remix from Paul Ritch.

Fursaxa - Mycorrhizae Realm LP (ATP Recordings) [ATPR038LP] $16.50
"Fursaxa is Tara Burke. Formerly a member of the Silbreeze band UN, Tara started her Fursaxa project in 1999 after UN disbanded. Since then Fursaxa has released six full length albums on the Acid Mothers Temple label, Ecstatic Peace, Time Lag, Eclipse, Last Visible Dog, and ATP. In addition there have been 3 self released CD-Rs and a CD on her own Sylph recordings. In the summer of 2008 Fursaxa started recording her seventh full length record Mycorrhizae Realm at Hexham Head studio in Philadelphia. This studio recording is a first, as all of the previous releases have been recorded at home on a four track. In addition to recording, Fursaxa has played live music at venues in the US, UK, and Europe, touring with Bardo Pond, Black Forest/Black Sea, Christina Carter, Jack Rose, Spires That in The Sunset Rise, and Brightblack Morning Light to name a few. Over the last couple of years Fursaxa has been collaborating more and more with other musicians as well. Espers member Helena Espvall and Tara have a duo called Anahita, and Sharron Kraus and Tara have the duo Tau Emerald. And in September of 2006 Fursaxa became part of The Valerie Project, which was a live soundtrack for the 1970 Czech film Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders. Tara really enjoyed playing with these musicians and decided to engage Greg Weeks, Mary Lattimore, and Helena Espvall, all fellow Valerians, for her next album. Greg recorded the album at his studio, Mary played harp on 4 songs and also co-wrote 2 of the songs, and Helena played cello on 3 songs. It is an exercise in symbiosis."

Future Islands - In The Fall 12 inch (Thrill Jockey) [THR01241EP] $12.00
"Too many bands in the era of buzz and the blog are taken before their time. The spotlight hits hard and finds a group who has not yet developed, not yet put in the work to find their sound and hone it and make themselves better, and just as quickly they're gone. Future Islands are not one of those bands."

Gerry Mitchell & Little Sparta Liars - Keep Mother Vol. 4 10 inch (Fire) [BLAZE10147EP] $11.00
Originally released in 2006, this is the fourth installment of the Keep Mother series by Fire Records. Pressed on 10"s of lovingly-assembled, heavy-duty vinyl, all handsomely packaged in a die-cut card sleeve. Hand-stamped and hand numbered, and limited to just 500 copies. This volume features NYC band Liarsand Glaswegian street-poet Gerry Mitchell -- a rather interesting combination as Gerry's tale of a bummed-out summer combines perfectly with Liars' helium-induced cover of Led Zeppelin's "How Many More Times."

Ginz & Kool Money Kwame - Wetwipe Riddim 12 inch (Earwax) [EAR013EP] $10.25
"2009 saw the world taken by storm as the Bristol born sound of Purple w0w! infiltrated sound systems and radio stations with its catchy synth lines and bold approach. Focus so far has mainly been on Joker, who ripped up the rule book and laughed hard at it, but a number of the big floor filler productions that helped make his name, such as the anthem 'Purple City', were co-produced by the more mysterious Ginz. Exclusively for Earwax, Ginz unleashes a plate of bouncing, messed up wonky-synth-hopdubstep- purple-whizzle with help on the buttons this time from the even more mysterious Kool Money Kwame. 'Wetwipe Riddim' is a Hennessy-hugging monster of a beat, showcasing Ginz's superb production ethic and musical mastery -- it's both demented and catchy in equal measures! 'Oreo' sees further experiments in bendy beats that leaving you on constant catch up, complete with ankle flapping bass and more psychedelic synth work. Support from: Pinch, Joker, Mary Anne-Hobbs, Plastician, N-Type, MRK1, Cotti and many more."

Goldielocks - I'm Not Her 12 inch (Gut Instinct) [GUT001EP] $11.00
"A co-production with Benga - the brilliantly sparse, bleepy 'Green Eyes' - is going to grab people's attention, but the other three tracks here are easily as good. Sarah 'Goldielocks' Akwisombe makes outstanding modernist electro-pop with dark, emotionally intense lyrical themes and a hefty DJ-friendly dubstep wallop, and is without question a talent who is here to stay. The EP is overall inspired by London, underground music scenes - 2step / garage / grime and dubstep, paranoia, relationships and concealed emotions."

Grant Hart - Intolerance LP (Con D'Or) [MVD4960] $14.50
1989's solo effort (originally issued by SST Records but long out of print), the first by a HUSKER DU member, lovingly reissued on 180-gram vinyl. Intolerance contains the Sounds magazine single of the week, "2541," a lament for lost love. Other rockers include "Now That You Need Me," a very strong pop-rock song that was slated to be the single from the never made third Huesker Due LP for Warner Bros. On the more introspective side of things, there is "The Main," a traditional ballad in waltz time that tells the story of one man's descent into hell. "Rollar Rink" captures the atmosphere of a roller-skating party that has too many guests. "Intolerance" was a reaction to the sparse production of the Husker records and was GRANT HART's first opportunity to reach for the sounds that were in his head all along.

Headhunter & Djunya - El Presidente 12 inch (Surefire Sound) [SFS002EP] $10.25
"Surefire Sound's second single release features four heavyweight producers representing the UK and North America. This innovative tag-team set brings together dub-tech pioneers collaborating on a pair of earth-moving tracks. Leading off the release is the UK's Tony Williams, a.k.a. Headhunter, a veteran Bristol producer with numerous releases on Tempa, alongside Joseph S. Hanks Jr, -- Djunya to his mates -- a stalwart SF artist whose tracks on Narco Hz, Lo Dubs and Eight FX have established him as a major player. Combing the best of their respective spacious and spacey sounds, 'El Presidente' is a luminous, rolling track, equipped with pulsating bass and reverberating synth stabs. It's truly King Tubby-style dub for the 21st century. The track is getting massive advance play from artists like Jus Wan, F and Mary Anne Hobbs, to name a few. SF's Dean J. Grenier, a.k.a. DJG has risen quickly in the electronic ranks via singles on Tube 10, Subway and Narco Hz that showcase his potent techy tracks. He links up with Toronto, Canada's XI, whose releases on Formant and Immerse have lead to mixes for Sonic Router and a growing international following. 'Putney Says' features an intricate, percussive rhythm that lumbers like a giant, each step punctuated by mountainous bass thumps. Sizzling analog synths, vaporous filtered pads and well-timed drops round out this effective and tension-building work. "

Hey Colossus & Van Halen Time Capsule - Eurogrumble Vol. 1 LP (Riot Season) [REPOSELP025] $15.25
Fifth album and a new six man line up. Almost seven years of flying under the radar doesn't seem to of bothered these stubborn souls. Back they roll with their second album on Riot Season. Happy Birthday, released August last year, plundered a top 30 spot in the Rock-a-rolla end of year charts, in fact it caused quite a stench wherever it was heard. "Channelling the no frills riffage of Black Flag and Melvins before drowning it under a sea of distorted feedback" said the heavy metal magazine Kerrang. "'Intense' is an overused description, but HEY COLOSSUS deserve it. Utterly." wittered the doomed indie mag Plan B. Now with the addition of the VAN HALEN TIME CAPSULE they've set their sites on the lights. The majick and jam of Germany in the '70s, and all things dingy, claustrophobic and killer from Whitehouse to The Heads. Recorded in their South London home, Dropout, the sludge and stink of previous efforts still prevails. Ooze ridden basement tapes created under a fug of the most suspicious odour, add in some swamp doom and it begins to fall into place. This fella is a melting pot of libelous ideas and ludicrous intentions. Wrapped in a sleeve depicting Masonic images taken during the recordings, liner notes from LOESS COS YUH, the Spanish leading light on all things dark, this 12-inch is what it's all about. Edition of 500 copies.

Inner City - Pennies From Heaven 12 inch (Slow To Speak) [TRS016EP] $9.00
"The latest song to join the Slow To Speak remix repertoire hails from the glory years of quality dance records, a track which for the most part has faded away into the dark corners of house music's subconscious. 'Pennies From Heaven' is one of those records that epitomizes 'party jam' whilst doubling as an intelligent, honest piece of cathartic escapism in its most sincere and innocent form, and for that, this record had to be honored and brought back into this world with care -- protected with vigilance against the hordes of mediocre, lazy and pointless vocal house records of the modern era. The latter of these do not speak to us, they fail to stay with us and shape our essence... and so they must be rejected. Fear not, though, for here it is, 'Pennies From Heaven,' reborn and in its most fit shape ever, having re-strengthened 10 fold its former powers of party rockage and ready to once again shine its light in these new days of darkness."

James Blake - The Bells Sketch 12 inch (Hessle Audio) [HES011EP] $10.25
"Hessle Audio's eleventh release comes from James Blake, a 21-year-old from London, who has previously released for Hemlock Recordings, as well as having an EP in the pipeline for R&S. This three track EP exclusively features his own warped and manipulated vocals. James also joins Mount Kimbie for their live shows, singing as well as playing keyboard. " "James Blake's mongrelised, pitch-bent production style finds kinship with dubstep's Joker and Untold, but his secret weapon is his voice: Blake sings with a sweet, honey-soaked coo that betrays his traditional background in music: one that knew the Family Stone long before it'd heard of FWD>>." - Fact Magazine .

Jason Urick - Fussing & Fighting 12 inch (Thrill Jockey) [THR01240EP] $12.00
"The three tracks on Fussing & Fighting were spawned during the period just after Urick completed his work on Husbands. After not listening to little else as he finished that album, Urick dove deep into some old faves, including Pita's Get Out and the Gas catalog, and also became obsessed with videos of London reggae linchpin Jah Shaka. The three compositions included on this 12" are experiments in trying to combine these influences into Urick's working methods established for Husbands. Unlike Husbands' gentle washes of ambience, the songs on Fussing & Fighting are Urick's first in a very long time to incorporate any sort of rhythmic element, however simple. This time Urick made a conscious effort to slowly steer away from the experiments with density on display on Husbands, opening up his music sonically and allowing things to breathe. As with Husbands, all three of the original tracks were recorded by Urick himself at Floristree."

Jeff Mills - The Drummer Pt. 3 12 inch (Purposemaker) [PM024EP] $8.75
"Jeff Mills concludes The Drummer project with this final part 3. Saving his most influential for the last, these selected Drumming Masters range from classic to fusion jazz. Such as: Art Blakey, Alphonse Mouzon, Elvin Jones and Bill Bruford. Chosen for their complex rudiments and hand control, The Drummer Pt. 3 is the most profound in terms of human ability and control. If you've collected the previous 2 parts (PM 022EP and PM 023EP), we hoped you enjoyed this project as much as we do. Thanks for listening."

Kadebostan - The Souk EP 10 inch (Fenou) [FENOU010EP] $11.50
Kadebostan opens up an exotic sound bazaar on Fenou with The Souk EP. On side A, he charms us with a clarinet, like a snake-charmer decoys the hissing reptiles from a basket. Your hips will sway softly and smoothly under this hypnosis, against a beating rhythm and repetitive bass line. On the flip, he lifts the veil on a world of foreign, magical music -- a miraculous mixture of charming vocals, gentle rhythms, unique guitar and piano scales.

Krause Duo - Up 12 inch (Philpot) [PHP044EP] $11.50
The infamous Krause Duo is back on Philpot with these soul-grinding pieces of deep swing. Once again, they team up with Large MÄ~C¤urer, whose minor keys add a certain kind of blues. This is irresistible dance music with an edge.

Lemon Drops, The - Sunshower Flower Power LP (Cicadelic Records) [CIC984LP] $22.75
"The Lemon Drops Sunshower Flower Power is now available in a limited edition yellow vinyl pressing of 600 copies. Includes six songs in versions previously unavailable on vinyl and two unreleased versions available for the first time 'Flowers On The Hillside' and 'Dream.'"

Lisa O Piu - Behind The Bend LP (Subliminal Sounds) [SUBL071LP] $19.00
Limited edition of 500 copies worldwide. This is the second album from Swedish folk siren Lisa Isaakson and her band Lisa o Piu. This is the follow-up to 2009's critically-acclaimed debut album When This Was The Future. To get inspiration for the creation of Behind The Bend, Lisa spent time in a small cottage located deep in the vast woods of Vastmanland, Sweden, where she enjoyed the last breath of the summer. Every evening she and David Svedmyr walked further into the woods to an old rowing boat that lay on the edge of a forest lake. In the light of the magically ever-glowing Swedish summer midnight sun they paddled across the lake and then further along a forest creek with lush green trees that hung down over the fresh running water and water lilies. This is the kind of set and setting where you travel into another world... and they did. The initial recordings were made under a vaulted blue ceiling with gold stars in the old 15th century timber church of HjulsjÄ~C¶, Sweden. The new album is filled with delicious and bewitching watery woodland folk hymnals -- eloquent yet eerie. The harp has been given more space, the violin plays a greater role, the 12-stringed guitar plays graceful melodies and all is led by Lisa's gossamer vocals, as delicate as a wavering candle flame. Come along for the ride.

Ludicra - Another Great Love Song LP (Alternative Tentacles) [VIRUS321] $9.50
No description available at this time.

Maayan Nidam - A Turnaround 12 inch (Freak N' Chic) [FNC047EP] $12.25
Maayan Nidam, previously known as Miss Fitz, presents a collection of three productions that engage the listener on a journey into the heart of this impressive talent. A Turnaround commences with the rolling frequencies and jovial melodies of "Perplexday" before reaching the magnetic pulses of "You Break Me" and culminating with "The Road To Recovery," an eerie yet remarkably charming endeavor. Maayan continues to develop her style with each release and this is yet another collection that marks her as a true talent.

Martyn - Remixes 2/2 12 inch (3024) [3024007EP] $10.25
"The second half of the Great Lengths remixes package offers 3 more vividly contrasting interpretations of the album's tracks .Almost a year on from the release of his debut album One and with 'Saviour of Techno' plaudits still bouncing off concrete walls, Berghain lynchpin Ben Klock turns in a remix of 'Is This Insanity' that distills everything inspirational about both the club and city he calls home. Spaceape's cracked vocal is welded to a sort of cavernous piston driven groove while traces of the original's melody fractured into the briefest of shards fight their way to the surface only to sink back into the percussive smog. Located well outside of the heavily scrutinized UK hype centres, Manchester's rising star Illum Sphere continues to hone his already distinct sound on the flipside's 'Brilliant Orange' reworking. A clanking off kilter groove rubs up against an extended mutation of the original melody that pushes the track towards a poignant climax, evoking all the ache of reaching for the stars and landing squarely on one's face."

Matteo Milleri & The Selph - Moods 12 inch (Off) [OFF015EP] $11.50
"Milan-based friends Matteo MIlleri & The Selph present their debut EP for Off Recordings. And it's a debut to watch as those guys may be young in age but very talented. Remembrance is a peaktime house tool with an anthemic organ line, uplifting vocals, a tight groove and an epic arrangement, perfect for rocking the dancefloor in the middle of the night. Mobilee's Marcin Czubala delivers a more laidback interpretation in his unique style, building a deep groove and combining elements of the original with great new samples to create a quirky track perfect for the earlier or later hours of the night. 'Midnight Rims' is a completely different affair, a techhouse-tool stripped down to the essence for all lovers of minimalistic groovebombs. The EP is completed by 'Mornin' Mist,' an atmospheric deephouse groover based on soulful chords and vocals."

Mi Ami - Steal Your Face LP (Thrill Jockey) [THR237LP] $13.75
"Mi Ami is committed to their own particular joyful noise, to the intersection of vicious high-energy playing with ebullient communal experience. In this climate, when pretty much every band has some dub records at home and a myriad of musical influences have been rendered mundane, Mi Ami defines itself by turning inward. Where before, melodies had been suggested, here they are fully developed. Where structure had previously meandered, here each song uses a minimum of means to 'get to there,' allowing the playing to fly free. And, where lyrics had been left unprinted, here they are laid out completely, an integral part of the music. Technically, there are four components to Mi Ami's music: Drums, Bass, Guitar and Vocals. And yet, essentially there is only one: the unified sound, more than the sum of its parts, each individual component coming from and returning to the singular whole. Anyone interested in understanding what Mi Ami is about would do well to start with this album. More concise than Watersports , more confident than their other pre-Thrill Jockey releases and better sounding than anything else they have done, Steal Your Face marks their arrival as a fully-formed, organically mature band."

Mike Shannon - Under The Radar (feat. Fadila) 2x10 inch (Cynosure) [CYN040EP] $27.00
Cynosure label-head Mike Shannon offers uncompromising dance music both with his DJ sets and with his label. It seems all too fitting after a decade of living in the shadows that Shannon, the master of the piss-take and techno's Prince of Cats, should choose to deliver the label-anthem "Under The Radar." Featuring vocals by singer Fadila, and remixes from Ricardo Villalobos, Deadbeat, and Rozzo of Mountain People, this celebratory anniversary release is one certain to outgrow its cheeky title. File under: crucial. Gatefold sleeve.

Mutant Clan - We Are/I Feel Sense 12 inch (Figure Spc) [FIGSPCF] $11.50
"Mutant Clan is the mysterious alter-ego of long serving electronic music veterans Timo Maas and Santos. After a small handful of heavyweight EPs on labels like Connaisseur and SCI + TEC, its time for this undoubtedly talented duo to unleash their next batch of weapons on Figure SPC. The considerably epic 'We Are' fuses classic elements of tweaking acid, bright jacking drums and an extended, open-ended arrangement that floats atop a choir of celestial rave angels?! Built for cavernous techno meccas, or up-close and personal basement sweat-boxes alike. In comparison the deephouse tones of 'I Feel The Sense' retain the excellent production values that we've come to expect from this pair, and take a trip down a dubbed and shuffling melodious path. Uplifting, summery and full of clever, climbing effects, it's a lighter, yet by no means lesser, trip!"

My Education - Sunrise LP (Strange Attractors Audio House) [SAAH060LP] $16.00
"Comprised of pieces from the band's original score for F.W. Murnau's 1927 silent masterpiece Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, My Education has discovered the perfect forum for which to flex their compositional muscles, achieving ever-transcendent musical heights in the process. This original score was perfected over the last two years through live scoring to the film, performed at sold out shows from coast-to-coast throughout the USA. Just as the music provides new context to the film as a live accompaniment, Sunrise flashes brightly from the speakers, sparking vivid and lush imagery for the listener. Finding parallels to the timeless soundtracks-as-albums Popol Vuh composed for a number of Werner Herzog's films - music with such visual distinction that it went on to become both synonymous with the screen and the band's legacy - Sunrise leaps onto celluloid with confident grace, distinguishing itself as My Education's most diverse and mature release yet."

Pikaya - Levante 12 inch (Meander Music) [MEANDER006EP] $11.50
This release presents three luscious tracks from the meandering-funk supergroup, Pikaya. Levante features crafty signals & grooves, luscious melodies, and warm rhythmic beats finalized with a solid dash of acid. The title-track is a dub-driven odyssey into space, with varying drum patterns and room-engaging beat structures, emphasized by a cavernous bass theme. "Liquid Loop" is a quirly anthem of analog inventions and melodic tone shifts. "Department" boasts a robust kick-drum, atonal swing excursions and a smack synthesizer. Vital and cinematic.

Pink Noise - Birdland LP (Sacred Bones) [SBR029] $14.75
This is the deluxe remastered LP edition of the previously cassette-only release on Beniffer Editions. It is PINK NOISE's third official full length, described as "a totally peaced out collection of de-structo boombox symphonies." Sounds about right to us. This French Canadian duo, who's output has been prolific already-two full lengths, two cassettes, a single and an appearance on the World's Lousy Vol. 2 comp-is mining territory similar to Chrome and Suicide channeled through warm layers of fuzz and broken Casio beats.

Pocahaunted - Make It Real LP (Not Not Fun) [NNF188LP] $13.50
Blissed-out psych dwellers Pocahaunted have now expanded their line-up to include members of Sun Araw and BlackBlack. Make It Real features the song "Save Yourself (It's Nice)," which is already beaming giant shafts of light directly into the internet hivemind.

Queen Cobra - Queen Cobra LP (Boner) [BR69] $11.75
AVAILABLE AGAIN!!! The head-banging debut album from sadly-defunct San Francisco scorch rock heroines QUEEN COBRA-madames L.S. DEFUNKT (aka LAURIE SUE SHANAMAN of LUDICRA) and the EMPRESS YASMINE K.K. (aka KUSF deejay CAROLYN KEDDY). Twelve f***ing tracks of throttle-down three-chord tear-it-up, punched with Yasmine's driving punk guitar, Defunkt's throat-searing vocals, and drum machine BERTHA MOON's party-rocking beats. Recorded by Boner Records head honcho TOM FLYNN, because Tim Green was afraid. Limited edition pressing packaged with wicked hand-screened covers. Buy or die.

Reade Truth - Let's Go To Heaven 12 inch (Wurst Music Co) [WET1010EP] $11.50
Long-time techno vet Reade Truth -- he of Strictly Rhythm and Sonic Groove pedigree -- turns in some heady offerings on his debut for Wurst Music. "Let's Go To Heaven" is a brooding, electro-fueled, sleazy affair, perfect for building the night up or taking it down. "Folie Ä~C? Deux" takes a different approach with its relentless, infectious bounce. Brennan Green presents a startlingly tough house remix. Label-support from Carl Craig, James Murphy, LindstrÄ~C¸m & Prins Thomas, Luke Solomon, Ewan Pearson, etc.

Richie Davis/Mikey Murka - Lean Boot/Ride The Rhythm 12 inch (Honest Jon's Records) [HJU002EP] $10.75
Richie Davis' "Lean Boot" and Mikey Murka's "Ride The Rhythm," both with dub versions. Wicked, next-generation cuts, remastered and in spanking new sleeves in honor of the greatest UK digi label there ever was: Unity.

Ripperton - Nocturnal Reflection 1# 12 inch (Plak) [PLK021EP] $11.50
A 14-minute epic track with ecstatic keyboards, melancholic strings & raw beats. Call it house, techno or what you want, this is an outstanding, soulful piece of music written by the electronic chameleon Ripperton. From analog to analog, dedicated to wax lovers.

Rodriguez - Inner City Blues/I'm Gonna Live Till I Die 7 inch (Light In The Attic) [LITA018EP] $6.75
"If you don't already know, let us fill you in on a little secret: Rodriguez is kind of a big deal. After a lengthy departure from the music business, this pioneering Detroit-born folk singing soul brother came back with a 'BANG' in 2008-9 after Light In The Attic's re-release of his psychedelic opus Cold Fact (LITA 036), followed by the beautifully Donovan-esque Coming From Reality (LITA 038). Since headlining his first proper US show ever at the historic Joe's Pub in NYC on September 3rd, 2008, Rodriguez hit the road, playing to curious and captivated crowds all over North America, Europe, Australia, and South Africa. Underground for so long, and equally content pouring over books and newspapers at the Detroit Public Library, the politically minded Rodriguez is clearly not clamoring for a quick buck or interested in playing the rock star game. After a glance at the fabricated pop charts, this is refreshing realness. Just ask the youngbloods (his young fans, as Rodriguez calls them) who sat with their hero after each show, getting not only autographs, but sage advice and warm encouragement from the now veteran musician. Even in our wildest dreams, we couldn't be happier. So in celebration of Record Store Day, we bring you a taste of the legendary singer-songwriter's LIVE experience. The self-penned 'Inner City Blues' b/w Sinatra's 'I'm Gonna Live Till I Die' (LITA 45-018) catches Rodriguez in perfect form, channeling the type of soul and creativity that puts today's younger generation breed of retro-minded pop-rock mavens to shame. Armed with guitar in tow, Rodriguez acknowledges his own mortality, the inevitable struggles of life, and every single break he's ever received. He simply doesn't take his music career for granted. And in turn, we simply can't resist his hard-working life's story, his music, his stage banter, or his omnipresent charm; for every tune he's written, each brick he's laid, every political step he's made, has been done with LOVE. He is nothing but the real deal. So before our time here is up, remember that the stereo is on, candles lit, and the fine wine poured. Come listen with us! Through a captivating world of song, Rodriguez has already changed our lives. Now let him change yours."

Scott Tuma - Dandelion LP (Digitalis) [DIGI002LP] $17.25
This is Scott Tuma's third release on the Digitalis label. After a five-year hiatus, 2008's Not For Nobody reminded everyone of the subtle force that was lurking in Chicago. He followed that up with an epic collaborative LP with Zelienople's Mike Weis and an underrated gem as part of the Good Stuff House trio. Those ideas and manifestations present on all three albums come to a head with Dandelion. This is Scott Tuma at his most definitive, most vocal, and most devastating. His acoustic vignettes flicker in and out like the specters of long-forgotten greats, showing up just long enough to remind you that once upon a time, they ruled the land of kings. Sparse guitar plucks and banjo strums ache in the thin air. "Red Roses For Me" puts all the pieces in place with hollow, reverberating drones piercing the grey skies in the first half of the song. Quiet recordings of birdsong echo in the background, bouncing off minimally shifting banjo and chimes. But this is when Tuma really starts to mess with you, this is when Dandelion takes one of many unexpected turns. As a siren wails in the background, he is almost playful in the last half of the piece with a chord organ and gently strummed guitar bleeding nostalgia into the streets. It's a sinister joke in the middle of the flood. Dandelion is a hymn to loves won, then lost. Dying on the vine, he bellows "you are so pretty," yearning for something simpler and easier to navigate. "You're always on my mind" reminds us that things come to an end, that even the best things have a shelf-life. It runs head first into the megalith that is "Free Dirt." Mike Weis makes his presence felt as the duo navigates the darkest moments Tuma's ever put to tape. This is "Taradiddle" drowned in the mud. Hope is lost to the darkness as denial turns to acceptance. Winding down into a wall of cymbals and heavy-handed acoustic guitar, it's total catharsis. Eventually this ride, this testament comes to an end. The mournful longing of the final two pieces wraps Dandelion up into a perfect, graceful package. Scott Tuma shows one more time why there's nobody else like him around. This may be an album that asks a lot of questions, but it also answers every single one. Limited vinyl edition of 450 copies only for the world, featuring custom artwork by award-winning artist, Christopher Koelle.

Selah Collins/Errol Bellot - Pick A Sound/What A Wonderful Feeling 12 inch (Honest Jon's Records) [HJU001EP] $10.75
Three scintillating slices of the greatest UK digi there ever was, swingingly remastered and spiffily sleeved, to usher back the celebrated, Watch How The People Dancing, a compilation of cuts from the mid-to-late '80s Northeast London reggae sound system, Unity. The original DJ cut and dub version of Selah Collins's "Pick A Sound" lays down classic reggae chops with an electronic edge. On the flip, you get Errol Bellot's always charming "What A Wonderful Feeling." All brilliantly mastered by Basic Channel's Moritz Von Oswald at Dubplates & Mastering.

Shkval - Slow Death Process LP (Antee) [ANT001LP] $14.75
Shkval is a Brussels-born duo which first saw the light of day in 2004. They produce a narrative montage using analogical instruments (mainly guitars), groove boxes, subtractive synthesis generators and music samples. Slow Death Process is their first record and delivers the best of 5 years of experimentations. It totals 12 tracks (each side timing in at 20 minutes) recorded during short, deliberately intuitive and almost improvised music sessions (that often featured a third man as guest). With this gross material, Shkval meticulously re-assembled and re-organized what was needed by following a narrative and subjacent frame. This LP should be listened to comfortably seated, with the volume up a little loud and yourself a little drunk (as they did it).

Snuff Crew - More Fun 12 inch (International Deejay Gigolo) [GIGOLO264EP] $11.50
Snuff Crew presents a taster of new demos, most of which have found a place in DJ Hell's DJ sets. New vs. old, analog vs. digital, Chi-town takes on Berlin, bring it on! With this in mind, let's meet "More Fun" & "I Like Your Body," two tracks that have been tried and tested at some of the best clubs in the world and made specifically to detonate a dancefloor near you.

Souki - Monkey Sun 12 inch (Einmaleins) [EINMAL053EP] $11.50
Berlin-based Souki is back on Einmaleins with two deep and cool minimal tracks to lose yourself on the floor. "Monkey Sun" is a groovy, playful and tight, minimal track that just rolls and rolls. "Bijou" is weird and trippy with hypnotic sounds. Yapacc's remix gives "Monkey Sun" a brighter dancefloor sheen.

Soundpool - Mirrors In Your Eyes LP (Killer Pimp) [PIMPK016LP] $14.75
RELEASE DATE: 04-27-2010
The explosive third album sees this NY-based 5-piece stepping out onto the dancefloor,â~@¦ without leaving their guitars and dreamy effects behind! After building a loyal following in the independent shoegaze scene Soundpool have enhanced their palette and, in turn, crafted a pop masterpiece. The nine songs are infectious, overflowing with strong bass hooks, driving beats, shimmering guitars, and Kim Fields' captivating, ethereal voice. The LP comes with a special download code to download MP3s of the entire LP while the CD comes with bonus enhanced content of five music videos.

A 12" EP is planned featuring remixes by Strategy, Colder, Lawrence Chandler (Bowery Electric), and GTO.

"The best f***ing band in the world!" - Ulrich Schnauss

"Reminiscent of French pop via Air or Stereolab... fine dream pop." - Pitchfork

"A thick, dreamy shoegazing guitar jumble, driven by an even thicker disco beat" - Max Sebela, Jezebel Music

"Post-shoegaze ambient dance with a canonball of cosmic sounds" - Kenyon, Advance Copy

"Captivating blend of shoegaze, space rock and wonderful soundscapes" - Radiofreedavid.com

"Few new artists match Soundpool's vocal delivery and sonic awareness" - Musicisnotdead

"Slowdive for the new millennium" - David Mansdorf, Losing Today

"When Lush wrote Sweetness and Light at the height of shoegazing, I wonder if they had anticipated Soundpool" - Brett Spaceman, EVILSPONGE

"Soundpool's heavily layered, dreamy tunes conjure up images of a queen soaring on a throne made of clouds, singing while her smiling band mates float beside her. Vocalist Kim Field's pure, angelic voice ranges from sexy, deeper notes to high-pitched melodies that mirror her keyboard playing. Active yet appropriately subtle, drummer James Renard works with the bassist to form a tight rhythm section, creating an urgent, driving groove. The nonstop, ethereal synths compliment the angular, sometimes haunting guitar, which recalls the sounds of 70s psychedelia, 80s pop and 90s shoegaze. Soundpool's supremely pleasing music leaves listeners with a euphoric high that's only heightened in their dynamic live performances. - Becky Firesheets, The Deli

Stewart Walker - Scratched Notes 12 inch (Curle Recordings) [CURLE026EP] $11.50
This is the first Curle from Stewart Walker. He started his career on the mythical Detroit label Matrix, did some stuff for Force Inc, Tresor, Mille Plateaux and M_nus, before founding the amazing Persona imprint. Since then, he has done very few releases on other labels. All three tracks on this Curle EP live and breathe the deep, melodic, minimal sound Stewart Walker is known for, and Scratched Notes is among the very best music he has ever released.

Sun Araw - On Patrol 2xLP (Not Not Fun) [NNF187LP] $24.25
Massive 2LP version.

The C & B - The C & B 7 inch (Siltbreeze) [SB132] $8.75
THE C&B is short for CAT & BELLS CLUB, a brief precursor that would soon be transformed into the estimable poetics of THE SHADOW RING. Studious fans of the band's releases may recognize this name from the whimsical word search found on the back cover of their 1995 Some Of Us 7-inch. Ah, finally; mystery solved & now all the ducks are on the pond. While early Shadow Ring managed to fuse equal parts Tyrannosaurus Rex mystical recitations with Throbbing Gristle aural idolatry, The C&B seem divinely born out of the sputtering taps of brown ale that flowed freely down the gullets of various first-generation DIY shufflers, most notably, 49 Americans or Door And The Window. And while this is just dumb luck, there's no denying a genus, unintentional as it may be. The templates for the ruminative, droll & original wordsmithing not to mention the threadbare musical accompaniment that would soon become the hallmark for The Shadow Ring sound are now available for the first time ever in a 300-press 7-inch, four-track EP. Original artwork by founding member GRAHAM LAMBKIN. Only 100 copies available for distribution.

The Rebel - Incredible Hulk LP (Aspirin) [ASP019] $15.25
A new full length LP by COUNTRY TEASERS' frontman BEN "THE REBEL" WALLERS is always something to be savored. The Incredible Hulk is a brooding and brilliant work. Its darkness is punctured by skewed, experimental pop songs. The epic, pitch-black opener "Ambient Pasteman" details children's TV character Postman Pat's relationship problems ("Postman Pat booted out his wife because Postman Pat didn't like his wife") and is followed by the poppier "Cherish" ("we must cherish the drugs we have, for as long as we have the drugs") and the anthemic "Aiming Low, Getting High" (released on 7-inch by Lexi-Disques last year). "Christmas Every Day" is a snapshot of a nightmare-a man talks in earnest about how he celebrates Christmas every day, watching the Queen's speech on endless video loops. The voice emerges from monstrous guitar noise and machine gun fire. Wallers' satirical brilliance is to the fore with "On My Own"-it has a rather catchy chorus but the lyrics are an interpolation of a popular pedophile joke which then works as an intro for "The Forest"-a psychotic recontextualization of "A Forest" by The Cure. A crackling copy of that record is put on and gets stuck on Smith's familiar vocal "again and again and again"-looping over and over. Is this an acid blast at '60s-'80s recycling in the moribund British pop scene, a twisted tribute, or a sick joke? Or all of the above? The Rebel is f***ing with us again-thank God. Limited edition of 500 copies. UK import, no exports outside of North America.

Thom Yorke - The Eraser 12 inch (Slow To Speak) [MARCELLA022EP] $9.00
"Thom Yorke is the pen, voice and soul of the rock group Radiohead -- he has released a solo album The Eraser and that is where this story begins. Abandoning his guitar get-along gang for the cold warmth of his computer and under-hyping an album that should be plastering the walls and buses of your local city, the anxiety ridden and morose Yorke cuts to the core of the dark state of humanity, unapologetically commenting on the zombies that were once humans. On this extremely limited 12", the album title track 'The Eraser' gets remixed by Slow To Speak. On the flip is various acapella's of Thom speaking on the current state of society and commerce and the Radiohead song 'Climbing Up the Walls,' which in some strange dysfunctional way is married lyrically to 'The Eraser.' Comes in a hand made silk-screened jacket."

Till Von Sein & Tigerskin - The Sein Of The Tiger 12 inch (Morris Audio) [MORRIS067EP] $11.50
"After a lil break, Morris Audio is back! We were not chilling, but preparing everything for our 10th anniversary year! Yes, holy shit, 10 years of Morris Audio! The first release in this jubilee year presents Berlin buddies and long term Morris Audio activists Till von Sein and Tigerskin with some fierce club tunes. Till's 'Sister O Dissey' is a cool percussive tool with a slight disco feel, whereas Tigerskin's 'Polio' has this oldschool house flavour. And you know we love dis!"

Toog - Goto LP (Karaoke Kalk) [KK057LP] $14.75
This is the second album on Karaoke Kalk for French musician, poet, blogger and director, Toog. He started his musical career in 1999 when he met the widely-venerated Scottish singer/songwriter Momus. They went on an extensive tour together, playing almost 150 shows. In 2004, Toog released his album Lou Etendue on Karaoke Kalk together with Italian actress and director Asia Argento. Goto is a collection of musical ideas, references, nostalgia and gags -- background noise with coarse exaggerations, where madness and graceful levity go hand-in-hand. Whistles and explicit statements try a balancing act between humor and serious contemplation. A musical diary, reflecting memorable encounters, experiences and oddities. Toog is helped on some tracks by David Fenech and Fashion Flesh, who the artist admired for his work with Matmos, Cornelius and Momus. The artist's wife Florence Manlik, who designed the cover, can also be heard on some songs. As Toog himself explains, "Goto is narrative, meditative. It's travel with an electronic donkey, where the fern tree line at the top of the mountains is nothing but a miniature. Slow is how my heart beats: 56 bpm."

Trans Am - Things LP (Thrill Jockey) [THR236LP] $15.25
"Most bands are too afraid to step up to the bat. They are scared that life is going to throw them different kinds of curve balls. But for more than fifteen years, Trans Am has fearlessly stepped up, taken their swings and thrown a few curve balls of their own. Few bands can say they've toured the Canadian mountains with Tool, and fewer still can say they played their first tour opening for Tortoise. Trans Am a-la 2010 is a band of veterans unafraid to contradict themselves, confident in their identity even as confounding as that identity has been for their fans over the years. Thing is a wreckage of sorts. The project was originally commissioned as a sci-fi, horror adaptation of Romeo And Juliet. When funding for that project fell apart, Trans Am forged on with their own album."

Tunng - ...And Then We Saw Land LP (Thrill Jockey) [THR242LP] $13.75
"In the spirit of all their travel and experimentation, they decided to call their new album ...And Then We Saw Land, and it's full of adventurous spirit. Three songs contain what the band describe as The Mega Chorus, a 15-strong group of collaborators and drinking buddies who lent their voices to the album one rainy night in an abandoned school hall in Old Street. The intimacy and domesticity of previous songs is replaced by a grand sweep, a feeling of a wide world being explored and alien experiences being processed and drawn into the band's lives. And yet it's still Tunng, still with that bucolic oddness and modernist gleam that made those very first basement recordings so intriguing seven long, strange years ago. They were different then, and they remain very different now; still different, but still the same. That's Tunng."

Tyvek - Skyin LP (Exbxtapes) [LPTYVEKSKYI] $13.50
Ten songs by TYVEK recorded in late 2004 on four-track at their home in beautiful Detroit, Michigan. Early versions of some songs, other songs exclusive to this release. Pressed in an edition of 500 copies, in recycled LP sleeves with full color 11"x17" paste-on art.

Various Artists - BalkanBeats Volume 3 2xLP (Eastblok Music) [EBM011LP] $19.75
2008 release. Eastblok Music presents the third volume in their BalkanBeats compilation series. More Balkan hits from DJ Robert Soko, straight from Berlin's Mudd Club -- again compiled strictly from a dancefloor point of view. Nothing smoothed out, everything fresh and steaming, single-handedly dug up and turned into trans-cultural, genre-crossing hits. Many of these tracks are making it to the West for the first time and are truly Eastern European gems -- a burning amalgamation of Balkan brass, beats, rock, reggae, traditional Balkan stomp, and just about everything else you can imagine. Includes a full color 20-page booklet with pictures and notes on the artists. Artists include: Slavic Soul Party, Magnifico, Kiril (feat. MC Wasp & RUCL), Watcha Clan, Shantel (feat. Boban MarkoviÄ~G Orkestar), Friends Of Boban, Goran BregoviÄ~G, Ot Azoj Klezmer Band, Streamer & MPS Pilot, Max Pashm, Parno Graszt, Slonovski Bal, Damian & Brothers, Ä~C"l Jawala, Figli Di Madre Ignota, The No Smoking Orchestra, and Romengo.

Various Artists - Don't Believe The Hype 4xLP (Oslo) [OSLO016EP] $42.50
Always on the lookout for new talented producers, the Oslo family grows larger and larger, surprising their audience again and again with new interpretations of modern dance music. After 3 exciting years, the label presents their compilation Don't Believe The Hype, consisting of 4 12"s, presenting tracks from DamiÄ~C¡n Schwartz, Minimono, Christian Burkhardt, Massimo Di Lena, DJ W!ld, Laverne Radix, Johnny D, Sascha Dive, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, Federico Molinari, Nekes, Ray Okpara, and Vera.

Various Artists - Collected Works 1 12 inch (Off Spin) [OFFSPIN001EP] $11.50
"Following OFF's big success, it's time for expanding the label concept with a sublabel: Off Spin. While Off itself will be slightly repositioned as an outlet for full artist EPs with timeless and deep house music, often by names already well-known on the scene, Off Spin will be mainly used for various artist EP's, but also for full EPs by Off newcomers. For OFF SPIN 001 we made a special effort to collect some really outstanding tracks by some of our favourite artists, some of them already around for a long time, some of them more fresh to the scene, but all very talented. French underground legends Chris Carrier & Phil Weeks team up to deliver a deep disco-infected house groover in their unique style; classy, timeless and with some of the sweetest samples you might have heard in a while. Ukrainian friends Drive D & Goshva & WestBoy have made a name for themselves with some outstanding releases on labels like Diynamic or their own Mulen imprint and deliver a modern house groover with some killer sample breaks. Off labelowner Andre Crom and Martin Dawson (who with Giles Smith also forms 2 Armadillos) present the first track of their new collaboration, a rough and driving house tool with some really freaky vocal samples, perfect for the later hours. And Cecille's Jacuzzi Boys team up with Bastian Schuster to deliver a really cool deephouse-hitech-groover with a unique and minimalistic fresh sound design."

Vincent Epplay/Samon Takahashi - Soundtracks For The Movies Of Pierre Clementi LP (Planam) [PLANAMETC] $25.25
"First performed at the CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art in Bordeaux in March 2009, Soundtracks For The Movies Of Pierre Clemanti is an electronic concrete music including many references to psychedelia, Krautrock, spontaneous sound creation of the 1960s-'70s, building an intense dialogue with the specific universe of Pierre Clementi. Even if psychedelia and electroacoustic music seem to have little in common, they got intersected in the work of some advanced artists. On one side electronics entered rock and free jazz, on the other electric guitar and drums have been manipulated by adventurous modern composers. We could take Joseph Byrd, Friendsound, Faust, Supersister or Brainticket as a reference as well as Luc Ferrari, Jacques Lejeune, Bernard Parmegiani or Pierre Henry. A complete list of exchanges and collaborations would be too long to compile. Their common background could be defined as the need to enter our unexplored inner consciousness, either through the use of drugs and lysergic substances, or through mysticism or esthetic explorations. Vincent Epplay and Samon Takahashi's music as pure experience and sonic-energy is the perfect soundtrack to the three movies by Pierre Clementi. The first two movies Positano - Bobine 30B01 (1969) and La DeuxiÄ~C¨me femme - Bobine J (1967-78) are the documentation of an intense period of experiences shared with Nico, Philippe Garrel, FrÄ~C©dÄ~C©ric Pardo, Tina Aumont, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Bulle Ogier, Marc O', Viva and many others. The third movie, La rÄ~C©volution n'est qu'un dÄ~C©but: continuons le combat (1968), is a true hymn to freedom and is based around the May '68 events. Like a hallucinatory flux, the images of these three movies have been used by Epplay and Takahashi as the starting point for creating a unique sound experience. Edition limited to 300 copies with full-color sleeve, inner sleeve and insert, reproducing some very inspired scenes from the movies of Pierre Clementi."

Zu - The Way Of The Animal Powers LP (Public Guilt) [PG020LP] $22.75
"Zu, the Roman metal/math/no-wave/free noise/punk/jazz trio, is perhaps best known in the US as a band who have had an unbelievable line-up of recording partners which includes The Stooges' Steve Mackay, Fugazi's Joe Lally and Guy Picciotto, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Can's Damo Suzuki, jazz masters Ken Vandermark and Mats Gustafsson, percussionists Han Bennink and Hamid Drake, improvisationalist Eugene Chadbourne and the like-minded Nobukazu Takemura. The Italian trio of Jacopo Battaglia (drums), Massimo Pupillo (bass) and Luca T. Mai (saxophone) formed in 1999 after having worked together in local theater. Driven by a punk rock work ethic, Zu have played an astounding number of over 1,000 gigs worldwide including Europe, North America, Asia, Russia, and even Africa. The have released fourteen albums to date."

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

Anibal Velasquez Y Su Conjunto - Mambo Loco LP (Analog Africa) [AALP067LP] $18.25
Analog Africa moves its focus to another continent for release number 7: Mambo Loco is a compilation of tracks by Anibal Velasquez, the legendary accordionist from Barranquilla in Colombia. In fact, when not crate-digging in Africa, Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb can often be found in Colombia. Nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the Rio Magdalena, lies the city of Barranquilla. Hailed by its locals as Colombia's "Puerto de Oro" (Golden Gate), Barranquilla has served as a gateway for "Caribbean Tropical Sounds" for almost a century. Home to the country's biggest cultural celebration, El Carnaval, and the birthplace of Colombia's radio and recording industry, Barranquilla has always been a city deeply rooted in musical traditions, and nobody embodies Barranquilla's rich musical heritage more than Anibal Velasquez. Known affectionately by his fans as "El Mago" (the Magician), Anibal has been one of the most prolific musicians of Colombia's Musica Tropical movement. Anibal was born into a musical family in Barranquilla in 1936. His father was an accomplished musician but his biggest influence was his older brother Juan who first introduced him to the secrets of the accordion. One of the turning points was a chance encounter with Robertico Roman, a musician from Cartagena. "It was with Robertico Roman that I formed my first band called Los Vallenatos de Magdalena. I made my first recording with that band in 1952. Four songs were recorded including a track called 'La Gallina,' which became a huge hit and really spread the costal sound toward the interior of the country." Unfortunately soon after, in 1955, band-mate Robertico died and Los Vallenatos de Magdalena had to disband. Without a band, Anibal was forced to take a job as a session musician for Barranquilla-based label Disco Eva working for a group called El Conjunto Colomboy. He remained with Disco Eva until the end of the 1950s, working closely with the great Costeno master Lucho Campilo. Then in 1960, Anibal formed a new group together with his elder brother Juan, a gifted musician in his own right, and his younger brother Jose who would soon become his right hand man, enabling Anibal to add a new dimension to his playing style. Jose himself began experimenting by incorporating new instruments and re-inventing old rhythms. He would break the rules and replaced the traditional bongos used in Cuban guaracha and rumba with a traditional Colombian drum called "La Caja" which he modified by adding "radiografias medicas" (x-ray film) over the drum. This -- combined with Anibal's powerful accordion -- was to become a sensation, generating a much harder and drier sound than the traditional leather skin drums. Anibal's new Guaracha style was infectious, fast and furious, often leading his crowds into a state of frenzy. The interest for Anibal's new innovative sound started growing and recording offers poured in. Anibal began to have an impressive amount of followers, drawing huge crowds wherever he went. By the mid-1960s, music in La Costa began to change drastically. With the onset of the hippie movement in the United States came a craving for marijuana, and Colombia's Caribbean Coast had become a main trafficking hub. A new economy of drugs had emerged and with it a musical style called Vallenato rose to prominence. Its distinct accordion sound and bluesy appeal made it a favorite among drug lords and mafiosos alike, becoming the soundtrack for their feverish life-styles. By the 1970s the level of violence in the coast had grown to unprecedented heights and Vallenato was everywhere. Fed up with this, Anibal decided to move to Caracas, Venezuela, where he remained for 18 years until finally returning back to his beloved Barranquilla in the late '80s. Anibal's contribution to Colombia's Musica Tropical Movement cannot be forgotten. It is said that Anibal Velasquez recorded 300 LPs throughout his remarkable career. His ability to play music that was joyful and percussive, with lyrics right out of everyday life, while at the same time championing a new sound, has made him into one of the few living legends of Colombia's glorious musical past. Includes a 24-page booklet.

Bill Withers - Greatest Hits LP (Columbia) [P756987HLP] $14.00
180 gram reissue of Bill Withers' second best of collection for Colombia, originally released in 1981. Instantly recognizable, powerful pop soul. Tracklist: A1. Just The Two Of Us; A2. Use Me; A3; Ain't No Sunshine; A4. Lovely Day; A5. I Want To Spend The Night. B1. Soul Shadows; B2. Lean On Me; B3. Grandma's Hands; B4. Hello Like Before; B5. Who Is He What Is He To You.

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath LP (Nems) [NEL6002HLP] $13.50
180 gram exact repro reissue of the classic debut from 1970 that would go on to permanently realign the DNA of all things rock and roll, guitar tuning, wizardry, good and evil, war and peace, occult imagery, power chords, black clothing and British drug consumption for the rest of history. Absolutely classic, strains of this album's influence have mutated more than the bubonic plague.

Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality LP (Nems) [NEL6004HLP] $13.50
180 gram exact repro reissue the 1976 UK pressing on NEMS of Black Sabbath's third album and the first real stoner rock record that counts, originally released in 1971. The song "Lord Of This World" incited waves of disenchanted fast food employees to worship Satan, set churches on fire and commit suicide. Also, "Sweet Leaf" is probably about drugs. Also includes "After Forever," "Children Of The Grave" and "Into The Void." "..."naive, simplistic, repetitive, absolute doggerel" -- Lester Bangs

Blue Things, The - The Blue Things Story Volume One LP (Cicadelic Records) [CIC975LP] $22.75
"The Blue Things Story Volume One is back, originally issued in 1987, it has been out of print since 1989, now in a limited edition blue vinyl pressing of 600 copies. Also expanded to include a whooping nineteen tracks."

Deviation Social - From End To Beginning Vol. 1 - Compilation Tracks 1982-1984 LP (Dais) [DAIS012] $17.75
Started from the ashes of the post-industrial scene of San Francisco and continuing onwards until his final performance in 1986, DEVIATION SOCIAL became a obscure cult phenomenon to followers of industrial tape culture of the 1980s. Only self releasing his recordings through his Ppresence label, the Deviation Social output was limited to a handful of tapes (some being less than 20 copies) and one sole 7-inch, all of which fetch large sums through collectors markets today. This limited release on Dais collects all of Deviation Social's contributions to experimental/noise/industrial cassette compilations throughout the early '80s on such notable labels as Vita Nova, Aeon, Beyond The Pale, and Another Room. Primitive, raw, and powerful, Deviation Social drew on influences and contemporaries such as Throbbing Gristle, SPK and Leather Nun but fused a experimental approach of musique concrete and crude experimentation using analog synthesizers, hollowed drum machines and tribal instruments allowing him to sporadically, at will, create some of the most interesting and unabashed industrial recordings the genre has seen. Limited to 500 copies and includes a 8-page LP booklet with original liner notes by Deviation Social and archival zine interviews republished for the first time since their original publication.

He3 Project - Chapter One LP (Family Groove) [FG3000LP] $21.50
"Few have had the opportunity to hear the brilliant music of virtuoso pianist, arranger, and songwriter, Herman Eberitzsch Jr. III. Known to his peers as 'funky knuckles,' Eberitzsch crafted an inimitable brand of psychedelic soul and funky jazz during San Francisco's much-fabled artistic and political awakening in the 60s and 70s. Yet, his boldly experimental music missed the ears of the right A&R man and never saw commercial release. The studio tapes found their way to Eberitzsch's basement where they remained for 35 years until a chance encounter with Family Groove Records. Over one decade's worth of Eberitzsch's original recordings will be mastered and released, resulting in a four-part compilation entitled the HE3 Project. Still reeling from the idealism of the 1960s civil rights movement, social protests, and in the midst of three major political assassinations and a devastating war abroad in Vietnam, San Francisco would forge an inspired social and artistic renaissance. 'The music had a totally inventive feeling,' says Eberitzsch. 'It was totally fresh and completely psychedelic.' And Eberitzsch was part of that movement. His work embodied the impassioned zeitgeist, both a fearless exploration of the cosmos and a raw form of self-expression immersed in the grass roots. The first chapter of the HE3 Project features Eberitzsch's trailblazing efforts from three distinct recording sessions spanning 1971 to '74. He brought a loose-knit quartet together in '71 to record a decidedly expressionistic approach to jazz and funk that they had cultivated in the city's avant-garde clubs and cafes. In '73, Eberitzsch joined members of Coke Escovedo's Latin group, Azteca, at Wally Heider and CBS studios to arrange and write demos for Coke's seminal, self-titled debut. And in '74, he brought in a full band, Motion, to record at Wally Heider -- with songstress Linda Tillery (The Loading Zone) an unknown soul singer named Johnny Lovett on lead vocals and a Tower-Of-Power strength horn section. 'The music was very innocent,' Eberitzsch says. 'We worked from a standpoint not so much of knowledge but of an ignorance of where we were going.' By forsaking formula, Eberitzsch was able to create a unique outsider sound, reminiscent of private press albums of that era. He preferred an explorative aesthetic to convention and favored improvisation while still keeping the music in the pocket. Ebullient songs like 'Funk Punk' and 'Rapture of the Deep' manage to retain a solid foundation while traveling to uncharted fringes of sonic territory. 'We invented as we went along,' Eberitzsch explains. 'We shook the bag of formulas and saw what came out.' Eberitzsch brought this experimental ethos to the studio where he played around with recording techniques. With a child's amusement, he used an old fashioned Fender Echoplex in 'Rapture' and applied a screwdriver to his Hammond keyboard in 'Massage' to create wobbling effects. He then manipulated the tape loop, searching loosely for weird sounds that would produce warped textures. The strange, idiosyncratic sounds created in the process helped to shape the psychedelic quality of the music. Yet it never smothers itself in abstraction. 'It's still earthy because it was manipulated not by machines,' he explains while laughing, 'but by the hands of the monkey man!' Inspired to write, Eberitzsch also cultivated a poignant lyrical ability. His empowering messages evoke a heartfelt idealism that does not shy away from understanding life's unending struggles. It is just this sort of tension between hope and despair that frame Eberitzsch's meditations on life as more than just a two-sided coin. The HE3 Project, emerging nearly four decades after its inception, is as strikingly moving and fresh as ever."

Index - Index LP (Tsuba) [VALORD2004LP] $20.25
Last copies of this official reissue from 2004 of the first Index LP, originally released in 1967. All copies have a certain amount of edge-warp (as expected, I guess) and are sold as is. "Much has been written about this incredible band. Much of it isn't true. I want to set the record straight. Index was formed in the early spring of 1967 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. I was 18 years old when I met a chain-smoking 16-year-old named Gary Francis. Our conversation soon got around to rock and roll. He told me that he and his friend, John Ford, were forming a band. I told him that I played drums and we arranged a jam session at John's home on Lakeshore Drive. Our first meeting was incredible. Our sound was full and powerful. John's lead guitar techniques were fresh and innovative. After our first sessions we knew we had something special. Index was born. Soon we hit the local 'sock hop' circuit, playing at high schools and teen clubs in the area. We poured our unique sound out at The Hideout, Undercroft and G.P. War Memorial every weekend. One afternoon John pulled out a new album he had been listening to. It was a new band with a mind-shattering sound called 'The Jimi Hendrix Experience.' John played some songs he had written inspired by this 'psychedelic' sound. Over the next few days, 'Fire Eyes,' 'Shock Wave' and 'Feedback' were written. This album was recorded in December of 1967 at the Ford estate. It is recorded in mono sound with literally one microphone and with all instruments and vocals recorded at the same time. The cover photo is of 'Orpheus and Bacus,' founders of a singing group John joined at Yale. The stiff, board-like figures seem to characterize the exact opposite of this musical collection. This reissue is taken from the original recordings. Nothing has been added and all songs are in their original length. Over the years various bootleg copies of this album have surfaced but this is the original work." -- Jim Valice

Jimmy McGriff - I've Got A Woman LP (Sue Records) [SUE1012LP] $11.00
Exact repro reissue of Jimmy McGriff's debut album, originally released in 1963. "....mixing the ingredients of the jazz blues and gospel idioms with a refreshing, almost pop-like fervor can be appreciated on such favorites as Hamp's high-flying 'Flying Homes,' Duke's hip-swinging 'Satin Doll' and Lerner & Lowe's finger-snappin' 'On The Street Where You Live.' The moody-blues dept. is intriguingly covered in the 'Round Midnight and 'After Hours' stands. The inviting originals include a shufflin' 'All About My Girl,' a rhythmic, steady beat 'M.G. Blues,' a bright twist-like 'That's The Way I Feel' and as a final, the galloping 'Sermon.'"

Kenny Knots/Mikey Murka - Watch How The People Dancing/We Try 12 inch (Honest Jon's Records) [HJU003EP] $10.75
New edition of the first 12" on Honest Jon's, remastered and in a new sleeve. Honest Jon's presents a 12" sampler of London-based Kenny Knots' album, Watch How The People Dancing - Unity Sounds From The London Dancehall, 1986-1989. Featuring a version not available on the album, a dub plate version, and tracks by Mikey Murka. Swinging, utterly mellow reggae & dub.

Mandre - 4 LP (Rush Hour) [RHRSS1-LP] $16.00
After three albums on Motown, "the mystery man from outer space" MandrÄ~C© released his fourth record in the Bay Area on his privately-run Future Groove label in 1980. The story goes that just after the album was shipped, most of the stock was accidentally destroyed in the warehouse. Only a few copies made it to the local stores, thus making this one of the most rare '80s fusion/funk albums, ever. Most fans don't even know that this album exists, and copies on eBay go for hundreds of dollars. This album contains some of MandrÄ~C©'s finest work ever, like the playful "Isle De Joie" and the captivating "Magic Woman" and is now finally available as a limited album, in its original form (pressed on clear vinyl and housed in a clear PVC sleeve). Far-out space-funk far freakier than Parliament and kinkier than Rick James.

Nina Simone - Black Gold LP (Rca) [LSP4248LP] $11.00
Exact repro reissue of this 1970 live album, recorded in 1969 at the Philharmonic Hall, New York. Includes her stunning interpretation of the traditional "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair"; other songs include "Ain't Got No; I Got Life," "Westwind," "Who Knows Where The Time Goes," "The Assignment Sequence" and the Civil Rights-anthem "To Be Young, Gifted And Black."

Ronnie Foster - Cheshire Cat LP (Blue Note) [BNLA425LP] $11.00
Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1975. Finely-honed, post-Freap organ jazz funk, featuring Joe Beck (guitar), George Benson (guitar, background vocals), William Allen (bass), Gary King (bass), Dennis Davis (drums) and James Mtume (percussion). Tracks include "Like A Child," "Tuesday Heartbreak," "Fly Away," Heartless" and "Funky Motion."

Steely Dan - Peg/Caves Of Altamira/Do It Again 12 inch (Slow To Speak) [ABCD9541EP] $9.75
"Peg" from 1977's Aja, "Caves Of Altamira" from 1976's The Royal Scam and "Do It Again" from 1972's Can't Buy A Thrill.

Thelonious Monk - Monk's Blues LP (Columbia) [P757674HLP] $14.00
180 gram reissue, originally released in 1969. Arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. "Monk's genius shines through on some of the more sensible and sensitive arrangements, such as 'Reflections,' 'Monk's Point,' and the surprisingly tasteful 'Brilliant Corners.'" -- All Music Guide

Thelonious Monk - It's Monk's Time LP (Columbia) [P757675HLP] $14.00
180 gram reissue, originally released in 1964. Featuring Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Butch Warren (bass), Ben Riley (drums) and Thelonious Monk (piano). "It's Monk's Time (1964) contains some of the best -- if not arguably the best -- studio sides that the pianist cut during his final years as a recording musician.... From four sessions in early 1964, It's Monk's Time gathers four quartet and two solo sides, presenting the pinnacle of what these musicians offered stylistically as well as from the standpoint of presentation. There is sense of mischievous playfulness in Monk's nimble keyboard work, especially notable on the beautifully off-kilter unaccompanied opening to 'Lulu's Back in Town,' and the same practically impish quality also drives the solo performance on 'Nice Work if You Can Get It.' Both pop standards are prime examples of the bop pioneer's inimitable approach to arranging, and also provide an uncanny insight to his influences." -- All Music Guide

Ursula Bogner - Pluto Hat Einen Mond 7 inch (Maas Media Verlag) [MAAS032EP] $13.50
Limited edition of 300 copies. More unearthed recordings from German pharmacist Ursula Bogner, possibly dating back to 1968. After Jan Jelinek's discovery and reassembly of Bogner's reel-to-reel tapes (released by Faitiche on Recordings 1969-1988), this 7" makes public for the very first time another 4 tracks of fascinating electronic modulations and synth loops.

Various Artists - Minimal Wave Tapes 2xLP (Stones Throw) [STH2223] $17.75
AVAILABLE AGAIN!!! This is the first official volume of minimal wave music from Europe and North America recorded in the 1980s. Most of the songs were originally released on limited edition cassettes or vinyl by the artists themselves, and only a handful of people knew about them. Now, they've been remastered from their analog source tapes for your listening pleasure. Brought to you by VERONICA VASICKA and PEANUT BUTTER WOLF. Received an 8.0 rating from Pitchfork.

Various Artists - Flex Your Head LP (Dischord) [DIS007LP] $16.50
"Flex Your Head was first released in January 1982 and was the first full-length album released by Dischord Records. The compilation features 32 songs by 11 DC area bands and went a long way towards 'putting DC on the map' as one of the era's great punk scenes. This album has remained in print, first on LP and later on CD, and has remained a perennial must-have for each new generation of kids looking to re-trace the roots and ethos of DIY punk. One of the unique features of the album over the years has been its revolving front cover image. The first pressing featured a generic stock cover with a classical music theme chosen from the pressing plant's catalog. Over the years there have been 4 different covers, the violin, the wheat field, the DC Flag and the blurry man. This new edition, which has been re-cut and includes a free MP3 download coupon, features the DC Flag stars and bars (on a red field), an image so associated with DC punk that many mistake it for a made-up symbol for straight edge. This cover image was also used (on a black field) for an edition of the album briefly pressed in conjunction with Alternative Tentacles in the '80s."