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:
"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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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."