‘The basis of the album was a series of field recordings of tones and unintentional harmonies that I made in the summer & fall of 2013 — whistling industrial air conditioners, bird songs, locust drones, washing machines — that I mimicked or interpreted on the guitar, making loops that developed into fuller compositions. Several of the pieces are recreations of harmony loops that I heard in a series of extraordinarily vivid dreams, and then woke up and recorded. A few pieces had lyrics and vocal parts that I ultimately removed; at a certain point the album became an exercise in restraint, so I strove to leave only what I felt absolutely essential. Unlike most of my previous recordings, there are no digital/software after-effects on the album; all sounds are from analog tape and/or my few guitar pedals’ –Thomas Meluch (Benoit Pioulard). The sound of the fifth Benoit Pioulard full-length is lush and verdant, a temperate rainforest of ear ecstasy that reflects the environment surrounding the artist. A mostly instrumental work, it is an adept melding of song and sound, melody and texture, the intangible and the palpable, that in an abstract sense recalls the more fractured and loose end of the ’70s krautrock movement.

One day, in the 25th year of the Motorpsychodelic Union, the forces of D/Numbness were finally vanquished. Once again the intergalactic Four Norsemen of the Rock Avant could fly their veg zeppelin unchallenged across the solar plains, their mission complete and the righteous deed done! For still they held sway, and on this day at least — somewhere Behind the Sun — they were triumphant! For their previous album Still Life with Eggplant (RCD 2143CD/RLP 3143LP) they assembled some 20 songs of what Bent Sæther called “other music,” simply songs from the last three years that didn’t suit the operatic Unicorn behemot, but refused to be ignored. For most of the recording sessions the core trio was augmented by guitarist Reine Fiske. Best known for his work in Swedish psych-combos Dungen and The Amazing, Reine is an old acquaintance of the band, and his recent exploits with StÃ¥le Storløkken’s Elephant9 had made the pairing seem like a potentially interesting one for Motorpsycho as well. So well, in fact, that he tagged along for most live shows as well as the recording of the new magnum opus Behind the Sun. With nine tracks clocking in at just over an hour, the album also brings the “Hell, Part 1-3” from Still Life with Eggplant to a conclusion on “Hell, Part 4-6” and the closing track “Hell, Part 7.” And as with Still Life with Eggplant, the recording was done in Brygga Studio in their hometown of Trondheim where they had recorded a few of their first albums 20 years ago. Guests this time, in addition to Reine Fiske, is Ole Henrik Moe on viola and saw and Kari Rønnekleiv on violin, both known from their Norwegian Grammy-winning album Ciaccona/3 Persephone Perceptions from 2007. It’s safe to say that after 25 years, Motorpsycho has cemented their position as an institution in Norwegian music — no rock band has even been close to achieving the same status when it comes to long-term quality, credibility, integrity and respect. It’s also extremely rare to see bands and artists continue to flourish artistically after such a long time. In fact, we can’t think of any.

Swathed in hundreds of miles of snaking hinterland, the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan is a giant canvas for the imagination of the wanderers it gives home to. Through the stark reaches of the vast Thar Desert, Rajasthan shares borders as well as bloodlines with the Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Punjab to the west and the Indian state of Gujarat to the south. The state’s rough history and harsh environment is heavily reflected in the Rajasthani people and Marwari tribal culture; centuries of continuous invasions, epic battles, brutal slaughterings and various rulings by Scythians, Mauryans, Satraps, Gurjars, Mughals, Rajputs and the British have left their traces in local folklore in the shape of storytelling, songs and plays. In Rajasthan’s modern-day avatar, daily life is controlled by power failures, lasting droughts, dried-out or diverted rivers and an ever-advancing desertification. These hardships of the past and present have equipped the Rajasthani people with their notoriously resilient and proud character and are clearly voiced in the music of the region. This compilation has been recorded in various cities, villages and remote regions of Rajasthan as part of a two-month road trip seeking found folklore, of which one month was spent in the holy town of Pushkar, where we experienced different aspects of Rajasthani cultural and Hindu religious life. Flexible improvisation, good chance and often pure luck allowed these recordings to happen when musicians of different ages and castes crossed our path along the way. This collection does not focus on the contextual technicalities of musical lineage, castes or styles, and is neither an exhaustive folkloric research project nor an ethnomusicology study; rather, it presents the musical landscape of contemporary Rajasthan on the street level as it was found in 2007-2008, a cross-section of aural environment outside of the academic approach to Rajasthani music that many Western and Indian scholars have already covered in intricate detail. The most important criteria for recording these musicians in their homes (or on the streets) was the personal beauty of raw power in their music. –Seb Bassleer; Limited edition 2LP in a full-color heavy gatefold jacket with images of the musicians and detailed liner-notes by compiler and producer Seb Bassleer.

Bush Taxi Mali: Field Recordings from Mali is an aural tour through the heart of Mali. These field recordings were made by Tucker Martine in 1998 while traveling throughout the West African country. This blend of bluesy ngonis, clamoring street sounds, the stunning voice of Jalimusa Amanita Diabaté (of the famous Diabaté family), passing radios, Fulani flutes, runaway sound systems, and chants from the Dogon country creates a unique portrait of Mali’s rich musical heritage. Eventually Martine found himself in the backseat of a beat-up Peugeot on his way to the village of Kela, a Jeli village, where the songs and traditions of the Mande people have been scrupulously preserved. Some of the musical performances heard on this LP were made during that visit. Bush Taxi Mali is a strikingly original tapestry of the ancient traditions of Mali in the modern era. Limited edition LP reissue of the original 2005 CD in a heavy-duty tip-on jacket with gorgeous, redesigned front and back cover photos, including a two-sided insert featuring liner notes by producer Tucker Martine and his photographs of the musicians.

Richard D James’ first AFX release since the Analord series on Rephlex (2003-2005).

Richard D James’ first AFX release since the Analord series on Rephlex (2003-2005).

Echocord presents the third album by Fluxion. In the beginning of 2013, K. Soublis (aka Fluxion) met Jamaican vocalist Teddy Selassie in NY. After a brief discussion, they started exchanging music and lyrics and by the end of 2013, the Broadwalk Tales album came to life — an album of musical pieces that visit the roots of reggae and dub music with the distinct Fluxion production aesthetic, combining them with more ambient atmospheric tracks as well as techno and more experimental productions. In the words of the artist: “I wanted to make something more than the usual dub techno tracks with a hint of manipulated voices every now and then. Teddy Selassie came in and gave a breath to the whole material, made it more alive, broadening the journey.”

No. Inc. are Material Object and AtomTM. Both artists launch their No. label imprint here with a taste of their forthcoming full-length Early Reflection. The tracks featured on this EP are the ambient piece “Early Reflection Part I” and the technoid “Refraction I.” While side A explores the realms of textures and soundscapes, side AA, which is exclusively released here, expands into rhythmical codes and thereby outlines possible horizons both artists are envisioning for their No. platform. Housed in a special sleeve (cut out No. triangle), pressed on 180 gram vinyl and limited to 300 copies.