Forced Exposure New Releases for the Week of 7/24/2023

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: ACTLP 9969LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Ghana has an ancient tradition of story-telling, so the continuance of this great heritage can take many forms, and not just ones that involve the voice or words. Peter Somuah spins tales which come from his instrument: as a young trumpet-player, he embarked on a fascinating search for his identity between the highlife music of his native country, Miles Davis -- his idol -- and the cosmopolitan musical language of Holland, the country which is now his home. He tells that story in Letter to the Universe. With his new album, Peter Somuah has ventured further out into the musical cosmos as a travelling storyteller. His new compositions reflect the stages of his young life: his Ghanaian past, the work of his jazz idols and the lively 'Afropean' scene of his new home in the Benelux. In the pulsating and frenzied 'Mission On Earth,' one can read an unmistakable dedication to Miles Davis's Bitches Brew phase, and also an echo of the layered architecture of today's cosmic jazz as played by the likes of Kamasi Washington. That track is also a perfect demonstration of quite how tight and organic the interplay with his band is. Somuah's work, however, is by no means a male-only affair: right from the prologue, he assigns an important role to slam poet Lisette Ma Neza, who has her roots in Rwanda. Somuah's music also deals with this Afro-African existence in a way that reaches out for answers. This is trumpet-playing that has nothing to do with showing-off and virtuosity. Rather, he creates a flow in an eloquent narrative, and yet there is also, very clearly, plenty of the joy of playing & danceability here. There are also colors and hallmarks from Ghanaian music be found on this journey, the fusion of boisterous Fra Fra music from the north of Ghana with jazz, or in highlife borrowings, notably in the appearance of Ghanaian veteran Gyedu-Bley Ambolley. What Somuah has done is to bring his own new & unheard stories to the cosmopolitan jazz of the 21st century."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: AKENAT 003LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Limited 2023 repress. During the '60s and early '70s, Singapore had one of most vibrant and interesting music scenes in Asia and even the world, and this compilation presents undeniable proof of it. Focusing exclusively on the female presence on the scene (be it as solo singers, backed by other bands or as band leaders), Singapore Nuggets. The Ladies presents such and amazing collection of songs many will be shocked by the sheer genius of this ladies. Ranging from naive pop to fuzzed-out garage (and more!) all within the confines of Pop Yeh-Yeh, the fresh, colorful, local sound of '60s Singapore, in which western influences and Chinese, Arabic, and Indian sounds were mixed by locals to create a wonderfully idiosyncratic style. A must! Features Chew Yan And The Stylers, Lim Ling & Silvertones, Grace Lee And The Stylers, Violet Tang & Saints, Rita Chao & Quests, Sakura, Naomi & The Boys, Linda Yong And The Silvertones, Patrina with Maurice Patton & Melodians, Liu Hui Yun, Evey Lyn & The Siglap Five, Teresa Khoo & Her Five Notes, Doris Ang & The Sandboys, and Shang Guan Su Shen.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: ATL 1377HLP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress. 180 gram exact repro reissue, manufactured by Rhino. Originally released in 1962. Featuring Roland Kirk (flute, siren, tenor sax, manzello & strich), Booker Ervin (tenor sax), Jimmy Knepper (trombone), Doug Watkins (bass) and Dannie Richmond (drums). "This album represents the first time in his protean career that Mingus has recorded an entire set on which he plays only piano. This is also the first album on which Mingus sings."

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: BEC 5543434

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Because Music present a reissue of JJ Cale's Guitar Man, originally released in 1996. Guitar Man is the 12th studio album by JJ Cale. Personnel: JJ Cale - vocals, guitar; Christine Lakeland - guitar, vocals on "Death In The Wilderness"; James Cruce - drums on "Death In The Wilderness". CD version comes in a jewel case; includes six-page roll booklet."25 years after his first album, Naturally (1971), JJ Cale created Guitar Man, an album made up of hypnotic grooves forged out of elegantly simple components. The album is largely a solo affair, with only scattered additional accompaniment, such as on the incredible opening tune, 'Death in the Wilderness.' Otherwise, Cale plays every instrument, adding particularly strong guitar work to the mix." --All Music

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: BB 009LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Green vinyl pressing. Received an 8.8 Best New Reissue rating from Pitchfork. Blackball Records presents the 20th anniversary edition of Jawbreaker's Bivouac. Originally released in 1992, this groundbreaking album has been remastered by John Golden from the original tapes, and the increased sampling rate boosts some of the bottom end and mid-range. The vinyl version is available for the first time in years; the CD and download versions include the songs from the Chesterfield King 12-inch as well as two bonus tracks from the original studio session. The reissue also features restored original artwork, and all formats include additional band photos from the time of recording. 'Shield Your Eyes,' 'Parabola,' 'Chesterfield King' and 'Bivouac' remained set list staples throughout Jawbreaker's run. The album wound up on a lot of fanzine top ten lists and Rolling Stone listed it as one of the 'Ten Most Influential Emo Albums of All Time.'"

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: BORNBAD 161CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

France, early sixties: the Mouvement de l'École moderne is in full bloom. Relying on the experiments and writings of its founder, the educationist Célestin Freinet, this consortium of teachers is about to give empirical evidence proving that another approach to music in school can be fruitful. With its pragmatic, anti-authoritarian tack, the method that Freinet was already developing in the 1920s held children in respect, giving them confidence and autonomy. Freinet very soon started to put his principles into practice, experimenting in person a series of innovating techniques that would become emblematic: removing the rostrum, reorganizing the classroom, encouraging cooperation, developing activities such as school printing or inter-school correspondence... As the wish to encourage free expression was central in the Freinet philosophy, arts and crafts were given more importance at school; in this regard, singing and music had a part to play, just as much as writing or drawing. While classrooms filled with a joyful jumble of sound-making objects (springs, bottles and basins, dismantled piano frames, drums, bamboos and the first DIY electronics), singular forms of music started ringing out: wild improvising, delicate a-cappella singing, clanks and dissonant string hammerings, basic experiments with magnetic tapes, evanescent folk songs... Between 1962 and 1982, recordings collected from schools everywhere around France were compiled on dozens of vinyl records. Mostly destined to teachers and friends supporting or gravitating around the Mouvement, these short-format records documented the evolution of practices and approaches: catchy headings such as "Musique libre" (free music), "Recherches sur la voix" (vocal experiments), "Musiques concrètes" (concrete music), "Musiques électroniques" (electronic music) or "Musiques d'ailleurs" (music from elsewhere) are particularly telling. And the music that could be heard on these groundbreaking records was the work of pupils from small towns in Lot-et-Garonne, Oise, and Alpes Maritime -- not exactly the archetypal privileged children benefitting from an upper-class economic and cultural background... Rather, children from rural schools with a single classroom, and sometimes, atypical or struggling children oriented towards the so-called "classes de perfectionnement." Liner notes in English and French. CD version includes 28-page booklet.Features: Frederic Chanu, Paul et Jean Paul avec Tambour, Classe de perfectionnement, C.E.G de Douvres la Delivrande, Nadine Perron, Enfants de 9 à 1à ans, Olivier, Dédé avec Gaby à l'Ariel, Sandrine Lanoux et Pascal Panizut, FP1 à l'école normale de St Germain en Laye, Anne Krikorian et Andrea Debret, Lionel Tasquier, Genevieve Marty, Gerard, Marc, et Roger 9 ans, Isabelle et Christain, Dominique Colas, Bernard, Une équipe de jeunes enfants, Jean, Patrice, Hervé, Jean-Paul, Monique, Club de danse de l'école, and Enfant inconnu.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: BORNBAD 161LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Includes 20-page booklet. France, early sixties: the Mouvement de l'École moderne is in full bloom. Relying on the experiments and writings of its founder, the educationist Célestin Freinet, this consortium of teachers is about to give empirical evidence proving that another approach to music in school can be fruitful. With its pragmatic, anti-authoritarian tack, the method that Freinet was already developing in the 1920s held children in respect, giving them confidence and autonomy. Freinet very soon started to put his principles into practice, experimenting in person a series of innovating techniques that would become emblematic: removing the rostrum, reorganizing the classroom, encouraging cooperation, developing activities such as school printing or inter-school correspondence... As the wish to encourage free expression was central in the Freinet philosophy, arts and crafts were given more importance at school; in this regard, singing and music had a part to play, just as much as writing or drawing. While classrooms filled with a joyful jumble of sound-making objects (springs, bottles and basins, dismantled piano frames, drums, bamboos and the first DIY electronics), singular forms of music started ringing out: wild improvising, delicate a-cappella singing, clanks and dissonant string hammerings, basic experiments with magnetic tapes, evanescent folk songs... Between 1962 and 1982, recordings collected from schools everywhere around France were compiled on dozens of vinyl records. Mostly destined to teachers and friends supporting or gravitating around the Mouvement, these short-format records documented the evolution of practices and approaches: catchy headings such as "Musique libre" (free music), "Recherches sur la voix" (vocal experiments), "Musiques concrètes" (concrete music), "Musiques électroniques" (electronic music) or "Musiques d'ailleurs" (music from elsewhere) are particularly telling. And the music that could be heard on these groundbreaking records was the work of pupils from small towns in Lot-et-Garonne, Oise, and Alpes Maritime -- not exactly the archetypal privileged children benefitting from an upper-class economic and cultural background... Rather, children from rural schools with a single classroom, and sometimes, atypical or struggling children oriented towards the so-called "classes de perfectionnement." Liner notes in English and French.Features: Frederic Chanu, Paul et Jean Paul avec Tambour, Classe de perfectionnement, C.E.G de Douvres la Delivrande, Nadine Perron, Enfants de 9 à 1à ans, Olivier, Dédé avec Gaby à l'Ariel, Sandrine Lanoux et Pascal Panizut, FP1 à l'école normale de St Germain en Laye, Anne Krikorian et Andrea Debret, Lionel Tasquier, Genevieve Marty, Gerard, Marc, et Roger 9 ans, Isabelle et Christain, Dominique Colas, Bernard, Une équipe de jeunes enfants, Jean, Patrice, Hervé, Jean-Paul, Monique, Club de danse de l'école, and Enfant inconnu.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: BYG 304LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 repress; Fourth volume in the BYG Actuel series; gatefold sleeve, 180 gram vinyl. "A great recording session for the French BYG Actuel label dated August 12, 1969. Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp met up with members of the Chicago avant-garde school including Art Ensemble Of Chicago members Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell and Malachi Favors. Featuring also Dave Burrell, Sunny Murray, Philly Joe Jones, Art Taylor, Clifford Thornton, Earl Freeman among the others."

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: CLV 009LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. A new artist on the Clivage Music roster, Vhinz is a musician based in Brussels. After taking his time to break onto the electronic scene, he's now ready to share Belvédère, his debut, dreamlike album, confidently intense, sweeping between cinematic songs and soaring, epic electronic sounds. Vincent Honca is Belgian, with Armenian roots and a love of keyboards: the mini synth he used to play as a child, the classical piano of his years of training at the Académie de Musique, the Yamaha synth of his teenage years... During the noughties of his adolescence, electronic music was omnipresent in his life as he listened to and admired Daft Punk, Moby, Vitalic, Air, and The Chemical Brothers. Vincent went on to become a computer programmer and decided to make music in as much of his spare time as possible. His first productions came out in 2015, including "Drastical", one of three deep house dancefloor-orientated tracks recorded with none other than Kris Menace. Vincent worked on two independent Belgian films by director Christophe Karabache, UltravoKal (2018) and Vortex (2019), both collaborations with Michel Duprez. Now, Vincent has chosen the name Vhinz, bringing together his expertise with machines and computers, his passion and enthusiasm for the electronic sounds of his adolescence and his adoration of cinema's powerful, impactful soundtracks. Vhinz's first track is thus called "Aether", a track brimming with character and confidence, with sung-spoken vocals that sweeps the listener up in bewitching synthetic themes and drums like an off- kilter heartbeat. The track perfectly encapsulates the Vhinz sound, and Citizen Records immediately loved it. "Then Covid and the lockdown happened, and everything came to a complete halt," remembers Vhinz. During those long two years without anything being released, the project continued its gestation and has now grown in a mini-album of eight coherent, fascinating tracks. "I really wanted a strong concept for everything, and so was born this album that I've called Belvédère. I imagined myself on a belvedere with a panoramic view of the world, channeling all the emotions it elicited in me into music." Belvédère is a dreamlike debut album, confidently intense, sweeping between cinematic songs and soaring, epic electronic sounds. It's a place for Vhinz to showcase his dreams, talk, sing and invite others too: Margot Ferro sings on "Le Passage" and "Envole-moi", and Michael Meers (MieK) lends his vocals to "Evolution". Musically, the album falls somewhere between Moby, Vitalic, Air, and Serge Gainsbourg, with a density and atmosphere that are completely Vhinz.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: COSMR 020LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

A serious obscure object of desire! Amazing collection that gathers some of the rarest Persian 45s. Such an eclectic mix of styles, from garage rock to cool Persian beat, exotic rock and roll, and astonishing prog/psych numbers. Featuring female drummer and singer Zangoleah with some killer garage/rockin' tracks, obscure bands like Takkhalha doing a fab cover of the Stones "Play With Fire" and an amazing take on the Persian traditional song "Mastom, Mastom," Golden Ring-styled beat by Big Boys, exotic Persian beat by Saeed and Tigers, terrific garage-beat by Ojubeha and the two sides of the Kambiz 45, probably the major discovery from Iran in recent years and one of the few, if not the only truly Persian prog/psych 45s ever recorded. Also features Kambiz.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: NRT 007EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"In 1978, as The Residents' star ascended, Ralph Records excavated the group's 1974 X Is For Xtra tapes and reprocessed them, eager for a new release to satisfy the growing market for product. Whether or not The Residents themselves were involved in this process remains the subject of debate (spoiler: they weren't. Probably), but the end result, Not Available, was, and still is, a masterpiece. Along the way, Ralph produced a shortened, work in progress 'demo' of their efforts to present to The Residents (who ignored it). Previously unreleased, that 1978 version is heard here for the first time, just as it rolled off the tapes."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: DE 310LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Dark Entries and Papi Juice Records team up for No Jack Swing, the solo electronic debut of multi-hype man Brontez Purnell. The Southern-raised, Oakland-based musician and writer has centered his queerness and Blackness in projects Gravy Train and Younger Lovers as well as in his award-winning books 100 Boyfriends and Since I Laid My Burden Down. On No Jack Swing, Purnell gives us a love letter to the most beloved (and secularized) of drum patterns -- that is, the electronic 808 'Amen Break'. Beginning recording in 2020, Purnell conceived of No Jack Swing as an audio zine of found sound materials: chain letters of instrumentals recorded in bedrooms, poems from boys in France, found gospel tapes from his childhood family Baptist Choir, and the sound of records skipping on his bedroom turntable. No Jack Swing is as much a homage to no wave and New Jack Swing as it is an answering to the gods of indie, electroclash, disco, and gospel. Amidst all this background noise, the unexpected occurs: all the niche pretensions collapse to a singularity -- the sound of high pop! No Jack Swing was produced by Nightfeelings. Each copy of includes a lyric sheet with a photo of Brontez."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: DD 007LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Limited restock. The Voices of Creation are a community-based choir led by vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and mainstay of the Los Angeles scene Jimetta Rose. Made up of a multigenerational group of mainly non-professional singers backed by some of the city's finest musicians, their music marries hip strains of gospel with layers of jazz, soul and funk. While aspects of their music might recall Kamasi Washington, The Staple Singers or Sly Stone, Jimetta's unique vision has resulted in new spiritually-charged forms of music whose whole-hearted embrace of love, joy and peace act as sonic healing balms for the soul. For Jimetta -- whose resume includes collaborations with Miguel Atwood Ferguson, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Angel Bat Dawid -- the very act of creation was part of a healing process. Among those accepted into the ever-evolving collective, which was begun initially as a community choir, were the likes of Sly Stone's daughter Novena Carmel, better known as a radio DJ for KCRW's flagship breakfast show. Jimetta's upbringing in the Pentecostal church, where she was a youth choir director, fed into her otherwise intuitive teachings of her songs and arrangements to the inexperienced members with help from the group's seasoned organ player/co-musical director Jack Maeby. Produced by Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys, Seu Jorge) and his wife Samantha Caldato the results show the incredible sense of togetherness and communal spirit that the group had built up over time in the rehearsal sessions. The six tracks of their debut album, a mixture of originals and rearranged covers, are performed in a wide-eyed mix of styles that reflect Jimetta's vision for borderless music. The group's propensity for warm and buoyant sonics finds representation on album opener "Let The Sunshine In," a sparkling rework of the Sons and Daughters of Lite's deep jazz classic. Their version finds the group's dynamic group harmonies offset with Allakoi Peete's nimble Afro-percussive touches and plenty of soul-drenched keys courtesy of pianist Quran Shaheed and organ player Jack Maeby. A similarly uplifting take on Rahsaan Roland Kirk's choral jazz classic "Spirits Up Above follows," with Maeby's groove-laden organ lines inspiring some gorgeous group harmonies as well as prime solo turns from the likes of Kellye Hawkins, Zavier Wise, Tamara Blue, and Khalila Gardner. Another Sons and Daughters of Lite cover follows as Jimetta leads the choir in the groove-drenched ode to self-affirmation "Operation Feed Yourself." Written as a series of mantras for everyday living, the Jimetta-penned composition "How Good It Is" harnesses the full transformative power of music to generate a stirring and joyful ode to positivity. Jimetta's talent for re-imagining songs in her own light is highlighted in "Answer The Call," her vivid re-telling of Funkadelic's Cosmic Slop. The album finishes with the standout original gospel number "Ain't Life Grand".

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: DMOO 023LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Wanda Jackson is a true pioneer of American popular music. One of the first women in history to record country and western music, as well as rock n' roll, and a brief romantic liaison with Elvis. This collection reminds of the greatness of her peak years at Capitol Records. From the mournful twists of "Sinful Heart," to the hard-rocking thrills of "Let's Have A Party" and "Riot In Cell Block Number Nine," Wanda Jackson attacks the material in her distinctive way, with a wry glance at innocence left somewhere behind. Clear vinyl; numbered.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: DMOO 028LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1961. Best known for his pioneering work in be-bop, drummer Max Roach was a hugely important figure who worked with countless jazz greats, including Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, and Thelonious Monk. We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite was created with then-wife Abbie Lincoln, saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, the Nigerian percussionist Olatunji, and lyricist Oscar Brown Jr to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the unique landmark an intense, musically challenging masterwork of social relevance that was far ahead of its time. Clear vinyl; numbered.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: DMOO 033LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1965.Collecting recordings made between 1953 and 1956, Miles Davis Plays For Lovers is a look at the more sensitive and sensual side of the great trumpeter, focusing on his sultry and smoky late night ballads. Mostly featuring his legendary mid-50s quintet of Coltrane, Garland, Chambers, and Jones, this collection highlights that group's ability to slow things down to a soulful, brilliant simmer. Classic jazz ballads that swing, perfect for late nights with a lover at your side. Clear vinyl; numbered.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: DMOO 034LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1958. A pioneer of bebop, Max Roach went on to work on many other styles of music and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history having worked with such musicians as Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, and more. A seminal set, stretching out towards the directions Max would explore fully on the Candid, Impulse!, and Fantasy labels in the '60s. Group members include Booker Little on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor, Ray Draper on tuba, and Art Davis on bass -- and the lack of a piano makes for a very exciting sound. Clear vinyl; numbered.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: DMOO 052LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1961. The West Indian-born alto saxophonist Joe Harriott was one of the most convincing boppers outside of the USA, though by the end of the 1950s he was exploring freer musical pastures, and the quintet with which he undertook the exploration was an outgrowth of the hard bop band with which he'd made a name on the British scene. Often in the past the group's music, in which trumpet and flugelhorn player Shake Keane figured alongside Harriott in the front line, has been compared with that of the early Ornette Coleman quartets, but here it's far more interactive, a fact borne out most obviously by the lack of soloists. Here on Free Form is where the rhythm of that indigenously West Indian form is extraordinarily maintained in the midst of characteristic group exchanges. Clear vinyl; numbered.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: DGTRM 001LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The Merrritonians is a French combo exploring rocksteady and Jamaican music, the old-fashioned way. For their eponym debut album, Don Cavalli offered them three songs. "A Lonely One" is the opening title and a cover version of French singer Pomme. Rocksteady still captivates the souls and makes the hearts of those who listen to it capsize. A timeless, warm music and the mother of many musical trends, largely inspired by this Jamaican treasure, this rocksteady memorial is a way of paying tribute to and thanking all the musicians, singers and sound engineers who, in such a short period of time, have recorded an impressive number of tracks! Half a century later, rocksteady is still very present in the collective memory but is rarely played live. With this in mind, The Merritonians propose to replay some of the hits from these prolific years. The Paragons, Hopton Lewis, Derrick Harriott, The Gaylads and many others will be there.... Rocksteady revival!

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: DC 586LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. "Shade Themes from Kairos is a new iteration of the dream for all the guitar freaks out there, bringing together a couple of singular players together, just to see what happens. In this case, the players were old friends and collaborators Oren Ambarchi and Stephen O'Malley, playing in a space engineered and co-populated by Randall Dunn. From the top, Shade Themes from Kairos is resonant as a collective inquest in sound, with all the players deeply immersed within the panorama they are creating. 'That Space Between' blows in from a distance, rolling rhythmically, with synthetic percussion chattering, before it settles into a stately pace, as the guitars wind ethereal around the procession. Under the beat lies always space, and as the cadential clusters drift off, metal chimes and keys sputter and dig deep and clean through the abyss." Housed in a gatefold sleeve.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: EFFICIENT 034LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Spurred on by emergent footage of a recent live performance, Efficient Space delves deeper into the world of Spanish shoegaze outfit Bélver Yin, now solely helmed by founding member Pedro L. Ortega. An intimate collection of new recordings, Para Mi Madre is a parting gift to his mother, fulfilling a promise made in her final days. Bélver Yin's story begins at the turn of the '90s, blooming from a fixation with British ethereal alt-pop (Cocteau Twins, The Chameleons, The Cure, et al.) Utilizing guitar, bass, and drum machine rhythms to record the cathartic 1991 debut Luz Bel (EFFICIENT 016LP), their quintessentially Mediterranean angle on slow, reverb and echo-laden atmospherics found a home on fleeting label Noisex Music. Despite radio play and concerts around Spain, lack of distribution led to the album being largely overlooked, until Efficient Space's faithful reissue in 2020. With this newfound interest stoking Ortega's fire, the wealth and strength of Para Mi Madre's expressive impulses will woo fans and newcomers alike. Patiently moving from pastel hues, sepia-tones and Balearic nostalgia, its crystallized instrumentals give a knowing nod to the wide-eyed possibilities of youthful summers as much as they do world-weary respite. Not wallowing in gloom, the deeply personal and spirit-stirring memorandum documents Ortega coming to terms with the loss of his greatest champion.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: FATA 001LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Accidentally blinded at adolescence, the Portland-based Bob Desper released just one record -- in 1974, and limited to a 500-copy pressing on a local Christian imprint -- before fading into the woodwork, leaving only this tiny morsel of music behind for anyone to find and follow back to its source. New Sounds is a classic lost record, though whether it counts as a lost classic is pretty relative, considering that even folk heavy hitters Nick Drake or Bert Jansch were once tagged as totally obscure by all but the most ardent followers of the form. New Sounds isn't the sort of record that would appeal to casual toe-dippers, anyway. Rather, it's the kind of recording, like Gary Higgins' similarly recently unearthed Red Hash, pretty much designed to be lost and rediscovered decades later.

 

PRICE: $25.50

CAT #: FTR 732LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

With the death in 2020 of long-standing occasional third member Peter Stapleton (percussion/electronics), A Handful of Dust has regrouped as the core duo of Alastair Galbraith (violin, guitar, cello, piano, drums) and Bruce Russell (guitar, electronics). This new set of live-to-four-track recordings from January 2022 is the first album to be wholly recorded "in the studio" since 1995's Towards a Soundtrack to the "Anabase" of St-John Perse. Committed to tape at the Rugby Hotel in Dunedin, the four-track recordings were played back in the room where they were made and recorded again, this time to Android telephone, to make a digital mono master which you hear on this record. Unadorned, brutal and sonically austere, this new set captures the "wild Mercury sound" for which this long-standing unit is rightly feted among cognoscenti of the Antipodean New Thing. Three pieces that will pop your third eye in seconds flat. Astral travel for now people. "Duck and Sally" continue their unplanned career in the extreme abuse of the rock n' roll tool kit. Drowned phoenician sailors bob disconcertingly to the surface while the captain's tower rocks to a sustained monomachy 'twixt Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, brought back from the grave for that specific purpose. Don't be shy -- please jump out of your window. You know you gotta trust us, when you need a friend...

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: GET 51457LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress, purple vinyl. "Well before Shuggie Otis cut his debut album, musicianship and performance had long been a part of his life. The son of rhythm and blues legend Johnny Otis, Shuggie learned to play guitar as early as the age of two, and performed professionally with his father's band at eleven. Throughout his long and illustrious career he'd performed on records for the likes of Frank Zappa, Al Kooper, Etta James, and George Duke, to name a few. In spite of all this, widespread mainstream success eluded Shuggie for much of his career. His most famous release to date is his 1974 album Inspiration/Information, which would experience new resurgent life in the 2000s. Those willing to dig a little deeper however, would discover hidden gold in his earlier releases, especially in the album directly before Inspiration/Information, his sophomore 1971 release Freedom Flight. As with his debut, Freedom Flight was produced by Shuggie's father Johnny Otis, and built upon the distinct sounds of his debut album: lush, baroque, string section arrangements, paired with hard funk rhythms, and funky blues melodies, with the majority of the instruments once again performed by Shuggie himself. The album also features backing from premium session greats like George Duke and Aynsley Dunbar, and the track 'Strawberry Letter 23' which became a monster hit for The Brothers Johnson three years later. Freedom Flight is a treasure of deft, technical skill, and virtuosic composition."

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: GET 52724LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

2023 repress, clear vinyl. "'We are the planters of the weeds or roses in our garden. Take the plunge within yourself to find The Main Ingredient.' So reads CL Smooth's album dedication in the liners to Pete Rock & CL's underrated, soulful and deeply grooving sophomore album. For fans, it was bittersweet, as it would be their last as a duo. By 1994, Pete and CL were darlings of both fans and critics, still on a high after 1992's Mecca & The Soul Brother and the album's emotional smash single 'They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.).' Two years later, they had grown even more as men and artists. Gone was some of the righteous striving of their earlier work, replaced by mature -- yet still righteous -- wisdom. And a lot more love as well, bringing a larger female constituency into their fanbase. They were adults now, reveling in the plateau they had reached. The duo's '90s swan song is a powerful double album that still resonates with Golden Era hip-hop fans: 16 cuts deep and full of intelligence, fire and warmth. Beats-per-minute-wise, the album mostly clocks at a comfortable strutting pace, bolstered by Pete Rock's pioneering use of filtered basslines and a recently-hatched obsession with Rhodes piano. The new tracks filled speakers and headphones with soul, as CL continued to assert his lyrical prowess all throughout."

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: GET 52734LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2023 repress. "After the smash success of Deee-Lite's debut record World Clique, and their now-iconic dance club hit 'Groove Is In The Heart', anticipation was high for a follow-up from the New York-based dance music trio of vocalist Miss Lady Kier, and producers DJ Towa Tei and Super DJ Dmitri. For their sophomore record Infinity Within, Deee-Lite opted to venture in a different direction of sorts. The club-embracing disco-funk sounds and groovy vibes of World Clique were ever-present, but while that record contained themes of global togetherness, Infinity Within took a more socially aware route, with politically charged themes of environmentalism, (to show their bona fide-se, Infinity Within was one of the first titles to be issued in an ecologically friendly eco-pak) sexual liberation, voting rights, and critique of the judicial system. Taking major inspiration from the ancient Chinese divination text I Ching, Miss Lady Kier would later explain that Infinity Within was a natural progression for the group, not a departure. Elaborating in an interview with Reflex Magazine, she remarked: 'The reason why we titled this new album Infinity Within -- to balance out World Clique's idea of looking outward and thinking about unity -- is if you look outward, you should look inward to see what you're doing as an individual. Because people seem to be so passive -- I'd like to see people turn their TV sets off and start protesting.' Infinity Within was not the overwhelming commercial success that World Clique was, but its tracks shined on the Billboard Dance Club charts, with its lead single 'Runaway' reaching #1 on the chart, bolstered by a Gus Van Sant-directed music video. The record also featured a slew of top-tier collaborators, including Parliament veterans Bernie Worrell, Maceo Parker and Bootsy Collins (Returning from their appearances on World Clique) as well as Bootsy's brother Catfish Collins, legendary house DJ Statoshi Tomiie, and rap verses from Michael Franti, Jamal-Ski, and a pre-'Tennessee' Arrested Development. Even though critical reaction at the time was cooler than their debut, over the years Infinity Within has been considered an underrated gem of '90s dance, a classic of early club and house music, and a remarkable follow-up for Deee-Lite."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: GGGR 091LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

2018 release. "Gilgongo Records is pleased to announce Continuous Hole, a collaborative album by Drew Daniel and John Wiese. The fruit of over ten years of home recordings in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Baltimore, Continuous Hole melds improvisation and musique concrète composition into a uniquely sweaty document of labor-intensive rhythm. A finger puzzle of reconciled opposites: lockstep structure and constant flux. Many of the tracks reflect the unique blending of the disparate backgrounds of its creators: on 'Abhorred Shears,' 'Sleek Disorder' and 'Cosmic Joke' the relentlessly variable source material is relegated to precisely timed gated forms and patterns. Without using any sampling or MIDI sequencing, the rhythmic cuts evoke the tempo/BPM of footwork, juke or gabber, but they are constructed entirely from volcanic, gnarled abstraction, and eschew typical genre elements. 'Progress Bar' goes from frantic cuts to weightless slo-mo freefall and back to frenzy. Moving from mayhem to menace, 'Surprise' concludes the album with ominous flutters of a pedal steel guitar and the sound of a dog's toenails scraping a stone floor. In the final milliseconds of the song, the dog leaps for the listener's throat. Raw yet precise, it's a dynamic conclusion to an album of strong contrasts from two American artists discovering common ground in the joy of frenzied cutting. A prolific recording artist and visual artist with an extensive discography under his own name, and with grindcore stalwarts Sissy Spacek, John Wiese is currently based in Cleveland. One half of the electronic band Matmos and all of The Soft Pink Truth, Drew Daniel is based in Baltimore."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: GGGR 123LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Cheryl E. Leonard builds and plays electroacoustic instruments made out of natural materials such as bones, driftwood, shells, seaweed, feathers, and stones. Jon Leidecker (aka 'Wobbly') responds to the sounds of her creations with synthesized animal voices driven by machine listening. The inaugural collaboration of these two veterans of the San Francisco Bay Area electronic music scene can be heard on the album Multiple Park, a collection of works assembled from both studio and outdoor performances, radio broadcasts and field recordings, as well as outright hallucinations -- an album which evokes an abstract yet literal world that exists in the space between city life and utter wilderness. Material for the album's centerpiece was recorded in three California parks, ranging from deeply urban to abandoned to entirely wild. The result is one 'Multiple Park,' filled with noises simultaneously abstract yet bound to the physical events that generated them. Riding a line between a secret history of electronic music that aspires to birdsong, and those dedicated to the preservation of vanishing biophonies, Multiple Park is a visceral meditation on the sounds of 'the outdoors,' and how those sounds are changed and framed by our technologically accelerating lives. Cheryl E. Leonard has been composing and improvising with materials from the natural world since the late 1990s. Her performance and recorded history includes many collaborations -- notably with Euphotic (Tom Djll & Bryan Day), Thomas Carnacki, Big City Orchestra, and Phillip Greenlief. Jon Leidecker has been creating experimental work since 1987: both solo and in collaboration (People Like Us, Matmos), as a member of Negativland since 2011, a current producer of Over The Edge on KPFA, as well as contributing electronics to the current incarnation of the Thurston Moore Group."

 

PRICE: $38.50

CAT #: GODREC 068LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"Blumenstück for piano was composed in 1984 as a sound meditation for private use and it celebrates the beauty of the piano sound through tenderness and slowness. All the sounds of the work derived from a word list that lists 168 flower names. All the letters in these names were assigned to notes on the keyboard according to a fixed system. Each sound has to be played softly and as long as possible. After the attack, all sounds should fade away into silence..." --Hubert Steins

 

PRICE: $40.00

CAT #: GODREC 070LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

This new Laibach album, through a new/fresh interpretation, examines the conflict-ridden genesis of the band's formation in the industrial town of Trbovlje in 1980 and questions the band's aesthetic, sonic, and ideological roots from the distance of time. Includes 16-page booklet.

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: GRGAWS 002LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. Yasushi Ide, the Japanese street music icon unleashed Cosmic Suite 2 in a revolutionary blend of genres. This groundbreaking album features collaborations with esteemed pioneers including Afrika Bambaataa, Don Letts, Josh Millan, Jeff Mills, DJ Krush, Tony Allen, and more. By transcending the limitations of time, genre, and even mortality, Ide has crafted a truly unique and eclectic street music experience unlike anything seen before. Notably, Ide enlisted the expertise of Grammy-winning sound engineer Steven Stanley to embark on the reconstruction of Cosmic Suite 2 using his renowned dub mix techniques. The outcome of this collaboration is the birth of Dr. Steven Stanley Meets Yasushi Ide - Cosmic Disco Dub, a mesmerizing rendition that showcases the genius of both artists. Hailing from Jamaica, Steven Stanley is a highly regarded sound engineer and producer whose illustrious career spans several decades, primarily in the realms of reggae, dub, and rock music. Having worked with acclaimed acts such as Talking Heads, Black Uhuru, and Tom Tom Club, Stanley has solidified his status as a living legend within the industry. His contributions to Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" and his Grammy-winning work on Black Uhuru's "Anthem" further exemplify his unparalleled expertise. Additionally, Stanley has collaborated with notable artists including Grace Jones and B-52's. In Dr. Steven Stanley Meets Yasushi Ide - Cosmic Disco Dub, Stanley expertly integrates elements from the original Cosmic Suite 2 tracks, employing his unique dubbing techniques to enhance the sonic experience. Through the addition of his signature dubby reverb and other distinctive sound manipulations, Stanley elevates the album to an entirely new dimension. "The Battle Dub" featuring Emilie Chick is transformed into an enchanting disco dub experience, infused with Stanley's horn section effects for a smoky ambience. In the mesmerizing track "Galactic Beats," the legendary Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen's powerful drums take center stage. Another standout is the dub version of "LAVA," featuring acclaimed Japanese singer UA. "Outer Space" transcends time and genre with a dream collaboration between the late legendary reggae drummer Style Scott and Japan's turntablist extraordinaire, DJ Krush. "Sumimasen" is a track that exemplifies Stanley's mastery, transforming the piece into a psychedelic and deeply immersive dub journey. "Hear?There?Beyond" is a collaboration between Yasushi Ide, Kan Takagi, the pioneering figure of Japanese hip-hop, and Reck, the bassist from the legendary punk rock band Friction. A timeless dub reconstruction masterpiece. Also features Josué Thomas, Afrika Bambaataa, Emily Capell, Rebel Dread, and Josh Milan.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: VPGS 7076CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Cries From The Youth' rounds up ten in-demand 80's roots anthems. Produced by King jammy 'Cries From The Youth' showcases the rising stars of the '80s 'longside '70s elders like Dennis Brown & Junior Murvin. Conscious reggae very much standing the test of time!"

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: VPGS 7090CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"From his secret dub laboratory, Alborosie, 'The Dub Mechanic' reaches deep inside the echo chamber to unleash another crucial heavyweight dub testament. Deep & heavy -- this is dub from the roots! CD release collects up two Alborosie dub testaments on one value packed dub master."

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: VPGS 7091LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"From his secret dub laboratory, Alborosie, 'The Dub Mechanic' reaches deep inside the echo chamber to unleash another crucial heavyweight dub testament. Deep & heavy -- this is dub from the roots!"

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: VPGS 7092LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"From his secret dub laboratory, Alborosie, 'The Dub Mechanic' reaches deep inside the echo chamber to unleash another crucial heavyweight dub testament. Deep & heavy -- this is dub from the roots!"

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: VPGS 7101LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Classic late '80s digi-roots set from the legendary Wailing Souls produced by King Jammy. Stormy Night takes its place in a long line of classic Wailing Souls albums for Greensleeves stretching from the '81s 'Fire House Rock' to the recent Alborosie produced 'Back A Yard'. Includes the hit single 'Dog Bite'. Re-mastered and re-sequenced with new cover art."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: VPGS 7102LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Classic late '80s digi-roots set from the legendary Cultural Roots produced by King Jammy. Follow up album to the best-selling Greensleeves album Hell A Go Pop. Includes the hit singles 'Running Back To Me' and 'Distant Lover'. Remastered with new cover art."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: SUBURBIA 032LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Complete 12 song demo recording from 1985 by Seattle's own pop punk/grunge pioneers, The Fastbacks. Recorded in Seattle on a 4-track cassette Portastudio with the classic Lulu-Kim-Kurt line-up with Richard Stuverud (of War Babies and Three Fish fame on drums). Remastered by Kurt Bloch in 2021 and unreleased as a whole in any format until today. White vinyl.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: HONEY 083LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1963. Flutist Prince Lasha and alto saxophonist Sonny Simmons were one of the great teams in the "New Thing" era. Recorded in New York in May 1963 these early studio sessions feature great contributions from trumpeter Don Cherry and tenor sax giant Clifford Jordan, plus the rhythm section of Orville Harrison and Bill Wood on bass, Charles Moffett on drums, and producer Fred Lyman on flugelhorn. This is a great snapshot of the NYC music scene in the '60s, when a bunch of young, creative, uncompromising musicians invaded the city and began to change the rules of jazz.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: HC 076CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Since his introduction in the '60s, he has lit stages on fire, whether it be with The Rickers Orchestra or with The Melo-Togo Orchestra (taking home second place for the first National Festival of Tologese Music). His first seven-inch vinyl, Wait For Me, is a holy grail for diggers all around the world. It was such a hit that Togolese music is and will forever be stamped by Roger Damawuzan. He was principal in introducing Gazo, Akpesse, and Kamou rhythms to modern day soul music. In Avépozo -- a few kilometers from the capital, Lomé. Though Tropicana Hotel has been closed for years, the many European tourists who were lucky enough to visit have not forgotten the nights that Roger Damawuzan set ablaze throughout the years. Indeed, in their collective memory is nostalgic of his flaming spirit and the rawness of his rigorous funk. He is timeless: since 1987, the Tropicana is no longer but Damawuzan roars on. In response to requests from his studio and his label, "Tropicana Sounds", which, during '80s, was responsible for releasing his work, Damawuzan also gave his expertise and was a major influence on the evolution of hip-hop and Tologese electro. Relentless and unstoppable, Roger Damawuzan is now making a comeback with Seda. Afro, soul, funk, Vaudou. This album may be described, but it cannot be explained. Only through listening to this disk at a high volume will one completely understand, at its full scope, Roger Damawuzan's emotions, his complaints, his cries, and all his evisceration when he takes the mic. Such a force of nature, Roger Damawuzan could have been supported by only one group. Led by Peter Solo, the members of the Vaudou Game and Lomé's most talented musicians are at Damawuzan's disposal for this album. The bass thunders in his honor, the brass escorts his arrival through the drums' rhythmatic steps, and the guitars riff so perfectly to serve as the ideal bedrock. Such a force of nature, this album could have been only captured, if not mastered, by one studio. Such mission was accomplished by the legendary studio OTODI (Office Togolese of Disks) by utilizing solely analog equipment to translate and to breath all of Damawuzan's soul into this album. In Mina, Roger Damawuzan's native tongue, Seda means "listen". And this is neither advice nor a suggestion -- it's an order! Seda!

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: HC 076LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. Since his introduction in the '60s, he has lit stages on fire, whether it be with The Rickers Orchestra or with The Melo-Togo Orchestra (taking home second place for the first National Festival of Tologese Music). His first seven-inch vinyl, Wait For Me, is a holy grail for diggers all around the world. It was such a hit that Togolese music is and will forever be stamped by Roger Damawuzan. He was principal in introducing Gazo, Akpesse, and Kamou rhythms to modern day soul music. In Avépozo -- a few kilometers from the capital, Lomé. Though Tropicana Hotel has been closed for years, the many European tourists who were lucky enough to visit have not forgotten the nights that Roger Damawuzan set ablaze throughout the years. Indeed, in their collective memory is nostalgic of his flaming spirit and the rawness of his rigorous funk. He is timeless: since 1987, the Tropicana is no longer but Damawuzan roars on. In response to requests from his studio and his label, "Tropicana Sounds", which, during '80s, was responsible for releasing his work, Damawuzan also gave his expertise and was a major influence on the evolution of hip-hop and Tologese electro. Relentless and unstoppable, Roger Damawuzan is now making a comeback with Seda. Afro, soul, funk, Vaudou. This album may be described, but it cannot be explained. Only through listening to this disk at a high volume will one completely understand, at its full scope, Roger Damawuzan's emotions, his complaints, his cries, and all his evisceration when he takes the mic. Such a force of nature, Roger Damawuzan could have been supported by only one group. Led by Peter Solo, the members of the Vaudou Game and Lomé's most talented musicians are at Damawuzan's disposal for this album. The bass thunders in his honor, the brass escorts his arrival through the drums' rhythmatic steps, and the guitars riff so perfectly to serve as the ideal bedrock. Such a force of nature, this album could have been only captured, if not mastered, by one studio. Such mission was accomplished by the legendary studio OTODI (Office Togolese of Disks) by utilizing solely analog equipment to translate and to breath all of Damawuzan's soul into this album. In Mina, Roger Damawuzan's native tongue, Seda means "listen". And this is neither advice nor a suggestion -- it's an order! Seda!

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: HC 077EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Tribute to the soul brother of Benin with rare Afro-funk and digital soul songs from the Maestro. Following the tremendous Dans le Tchink System reissue album, Hot Casa wanted to celebrate the legacy of one the greatest singers from Cotonou. Owhaaou...! is an original four-track 12 inch vinyl taken from the extremely obscure, futuristic and now expensive record Metamorphose released in 1985 and recorded on 24 analog tracks channel with an incredible backing band such as Hilaire Penda on bass and Daniel Bentho from Poly Rythmo de Cotonou to name a few. The B-side is a DJ-friendly edit of the dance floor burner "Zemidjan" recorded in 1991. A composition to pay tribute to the taxi moto of Cotonou. The last track "Mi Tchinker" is a typical Stanislas Tohon hit with a mix of Tchink rhythm, soul and funky melodies. The famous soul singer from Cotonou started his musical career at this age of 9, played with the greatest such as Gnonnas Pedro and recorded almost 35 albums. Influenced by the traditional "Tchingoume" music, he invented his own rhythm called "Tchink Système", a mix of soul and Beninese traditional rhythm. Sang in Fon, his native language from Benin, this EP is a soulful call for peace, respect, and unity in Africa, a real definition of Afro-soul music! Remastered by The Carvery (UK), officially licensed and strictly limited to 1000 copies.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: HC 078EP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reissue of one of the ultimate Soukous banger! Originally recorded in 1992 in Paris, Eki Bis is a party classic. The chorus became a common expression all over the world helped by the hypnotic guitars of the maestros Diblo Dibala and Rigo Star and a smashing up-tempo electro-acoustic drum beat. Le Cobra de Sundama is a famous singer from Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) who composed more than 12 albums backed by great band such as Empire Bakuba, and was considered to have a voice like Kofi Olomide or Papa Wemba, mixing Lingala and French street expressions. After many concerts and tours all over the continent, he finally settled in Angola. The B-side features a DJ/radio edit with the addition of few electro synths. Produced in Paris by the great producer Jacky Toto and now officially licensed. Remastered by The Carvery and pressed on limited 500 copies.

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: IALP 005HLP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress; 180 gram exact repro reissue of their 2nd album, originally released in 1967. "The Elevators' second album, Easter Everywhere showed the band's progression light years away from their first one but a year earlier. Indeed, they had transmuted beyond their Lightnin' Hopkins'n'Hooker heated acid blues; delving further inward to the cosmic eye, mind and beyond. Easter Everywhere is an album that exhibits group chemistry at its ultimate unification. The Elevators had already arrived at a place where they had the songs, lyrics AND feel to animate both into a consciousness-delving manner, but now they took their explorations even further out and beyond the crust, the mantle and the white-hot core of the psychedelic experience into a place where existence can be seen as an eternal dance: a play between time and space, of push and pull (it's hard to describe without using the language it demands, but here goes) of the whole exchange of thingy-inny to thingy-outty and all that implies?of the spaces between yourself and your existence, as the rollicking rhythm that is life steams full on ahead into the future. A broader expanse was never mapped out by a rock'n'roll band of its time." -- The Seth Man/HEAD HERITAGE.

 

PRICE: $30.00

CAT #: JPR 092LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Most of us likely missed Mudhoney's Five Dollar Bob's Mock Cooter Stew when it first cratered here on Earth in late 1993, but we can ALL learn from our previous mistakes RIGHT NOW! Out of print in any physical format for 30 years, here is their reprise mini-LP for all to devour in real-time and roll in its naked glory. Initially recorded by the band as an offering for their fans to devour while they were between full-length albums, the majority of Five Dollar was recorded in one short, inspired burst on August 1, 1993, between the hours of 9:30 and 10:15 PM (with friend and fastback Kur(d)t Bloch egging them on from the production booth). They smashed this out in just 45 minutes. It might be the band at their most 'Stooge-esque' since there is no flowery imagery; nothing to misinterpret; just in-your-face blunt despair (in that department, Black Flag's Damaged LP comes to mind, especially in Mudhoney's gleefully punishing highlight: 'No Song III'). Within two seconds of any of these songs hitting your mind (maybe even within one second), you knew it could only be Mudhoney. You can instantly recognize it, because they truly own it/you/the universe."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: JPR 102LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Moustache could have only happened in Portland, Oregon. This young group of music lovers, trying to recreate that dangerous feeling that they got the first time they stuck their heads through the doors of that all ages punk rock show. You can't fake this music. They were smart and had a plan. But Portland thought they were taking the piss. And the squares didn't understand. This wasn't a goddamn joke! If Moustache would have come out of New York or Chicago, they would have been welcomed like royalty. But unfortunately for them, Moustache could have only happened in Portland, Oregon." --Jerry A (Poison Idea)

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: JPR 103LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Only whispered about by collectors, Sidewalk's sole LP from 1976 was privately issued in a 100-copy run that sellers currently ask towards $10,000 for. Working directly with members of the band, Jackpot Records has lovingly restored the original master tapes to bring this record to private press fans for the first time. Sidewalk's sound existed somewhere between Steely Dan's relentless jazz-prog shredding, the outdoor festival chug of Chicago and the technical prowess of YES if they backed up a lost '70s AOR songwriter. At the height of FM Radio rock, Sidewalk combined high-level chops with innovative chord progressions and advanced studio production to create a serious contender in the Cal-Jam festival era. But they tragically disbanded after pressing up this sole LP as the only document of their existence. This LP is pressed on high-quality vinyl and includes original artwork with liner notes written by Doane Perry of Jethro Tull."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: KOO 008LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Together with Photons (KOO 002LP, 2005), Lightwaves completes the investigation of the electro archetype, documenting the Neosurrationalist bridge between art and science, that began with a dialogue in a Kreuzberg bar involving Giovanni De Donà, Paololuca Barbieri of Alterazioni Video, and physics researcher Markus Gühr, now professor and lead of the Experimental Quantum Physics group at Potsdam University in Berlin. The dissemination given by the current interpretations made by various artists, reveal the possibility of radical vibrant electro made without synthesizers, in spite of Kraftwerk's tradition. To play directly with neon lights instead of singing them, and to amplify even the invisible infrared of a remote control without fearing a T.V.O.D -- television overdose --, it's meant entering definitively into the new normality of the bruit, the rauschen, the shum, the záy?n, the new "Arte dei rumori" of the electromagnetic noise of the new millennium, revealing both the inaudible of light frequencies and also the invisible through its raw sound and potential for irreverent, chromatically-limited pulsations. The first pocket-sized Chinese solar panels are turned into photomicrophones, and with an inexpensive set-up made of different light bulbs, neon, remote controls, LEDs, and a dimmer, we experienced the zeitgeist by closing a cycle that involved popular culture and contemporary art. Lightwaves was on tour for some years from No Art Gallery and Mediateca Santa Teresa in Milan to MoMa PS1 and Location One in New York, MoCa and Duolun Museum in Shanghai, Ikra club in Moscow, then in other locations as Kunstlerhaus in Stuttgart, Link in Bologna, Flowers in Catania, Acusmatiq 2.0 in Ancona, Mayr 3 in Milano again, and Breakout music festival featuring Steve Piccolo in Genova in 2009.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: LANR 027LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Brand new reissue for the epic Tapper Zukie's first album, originally released in 1973. Supervised by the original producer Clement Bushay! Zukie never expected these cuts to turn into an album, and was quite startled to discover this record in the London shops when he came to town in the spring of 1975. After 50 years Man Ah Warrior is still a lively and unique collection. The bassline and trademark guitar sound from The Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" is instantly recognizable in the title track with the riddim featuring just drum, bass, and riffing guitar. "I King Zukie" is a big tune, an interplay between the soulful vocal of "I Dont Know Why I Love You" (originally done by Stevie Wonder) and Tapper Zukie's toasting. All in all, a series of remarkable tunes such as the wicked "Viego", the hypnotic "Cally Dolly" and "Zukie Fashionwear" with a big trombone and at the beginning Willie Williams (although Delroy Wilson is mentioned in the song) singing lines from the Temptations song "Get Ready".

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: LANR 031LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

First official re-issue for this roots reggae masterpiece, originally recorded in 1977. The Bushrangers, also known as Clem Bushay All Stars is the house band of producer Clem Bushay. They recorded the Stuntman album with musicians like Barry McVicker, Bunny McKenzie, Candy McKenzie, Carl Lewis, Dennis Bovell, Desmond Charles, Hughie, Janet Kay, Jimmy Haynes, Jimmy Mack, Jimmy Stratdan, Joseph Charles, Junior Bailey, Junior English, Michael Charles, Stanley, Suzy Browne, Moon Rocks and Zabandis. The album was also produced by Bushay.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: LANR 032EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Re-issued for the very first time on vinyl, finally we have the chance to collect the only two EP's published by the influential post-punk combo from Bristol. Both records have been released on Recreational in 1982 and still sound fresh and highly influential. Their infectious hybrid of DIY punk attitude and straight funk rhythms made the difference throughout the local club scene. A mandatory re-issue! Also heard on the incredible Cherry Red box set Shake The Foundations: Militant Funk & The Post-Punk Dancefloor 1978-1984.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: LIFE 033LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Exotica masterpiece finally reissued! This record is produced by Martin Denny, arranged by pianist Paul Conrad and features vintage Exotica's second lady who is only outclassed by the Peruvian chantress Yma Sumac. It's Exotic Dreams, released in 1958, that puts "the enticing voice of Ethel Azama" (1934 -- 1984), a Hawaiian jazz singer, into the spotlight. Martin Denny discovered her a few years later and was able to negotiate with his house label Liberty Records, which granted Azama the opportunity to release one LP on which Denny also provides the liner notes (on a side note, Jimmie Rodgers succeeded with his negotiations as well, granting Azama a contract for a second LP in 1959). Exotic Dreams is one of those superb records that live up to the hype due to both the beautiful voice of the singer and the exotic arrangement alike, causing the listener to execrate the missed opportunities of releasing further material, as Azama faded into obscurity shortly thereafter despite her obvious talent, various gigs in Hawaiian and Australian night clubs and her recurring role in the '70s TV series Hawaii Five-0.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: LIFE 034LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Japan goes to Africa! It's more than a bit ironic that Tak Shindo's most "exotic" album, the superb Mganga!, boasts no connection to his own Japanese heritage, instead focusing on the primal rhythms and tribal chants of Africa. Rooted largely in the arranger's experience on the Latin jazz circuit, its Afro-Cuban rhythms, sampled animal sounds, and chants capture an African musical culture based far more in fantasy than reality, much as rival exotica maestros like Martin Denny and Les Baxter conjured interpretations of the Far East driven by suppositions and daydreams. Shindo documents an Africa informed by libraries and dancehalls, not first-hand experience. That said, Mganga! is vibrant and intoxicating, with a rhythmic intensity quite uncommon for its era. For an artificial experience, it packs a genuine wallop.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: MIG 2971LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version.

 

PRICE: $12.00

CAT #: MAGGOT 013

FILE UNDER: Misc

"The cover story is a multi-part Prince feature with reprints of rare writings by the great writers Ann Powers, Michael A. Gonzales, and Greil Marcus. Plus, also too: Mary Lattimore -- the great LA-based harpist interviewed by RJ Smith. Audrey Golden's Thought I Heard You Speak book on the role of women in Factory Records is celebrated with an interview by Jessica Beard. Negativland -- amazing huge very very in-depth feature on the whole 'Helter Stupid' debacle -- strap on in for this one, by Cory Frye. Roussel + Duchamp, illustrated -- Philippe Lapierre delivers dozens of real and super-real vignettes of a posthumous relationship, with beautiful pointillistic drawings. Stewart Lee by Richard Gehr -- an awesome and dare-we-say-deep chat with the world's greatest living standup comedian. Katharina Kuhlenkampf drew this terrific comic strip about the delightful Go-Betweens song 'Lee Remick.' Emeralds -- Fred Thomas on the much-missed Ann Arbor-based drone explorers. High Risk Group by Tim Alborn -- the full, fascinating story of the excellent, obscure Boston based 1980s alt-rock group. Joshua Gamma -- Murat Cem Mengüç on the big show the artist curated which explores the relationship between Christian psychedelic aesthetics and American subcultures. Killer columns: A really sweet one by Lucy Sante (who we are so stoked has been in every issue thus far as she is our favorite contemporary nonfiction writer), return of the hip-hop column (Paula Perry this time), tape column, reissue column on the 1990s band Moss Icon by Fred Thomas, and Mimi Lipson's excellent advice column, the Korean pop psych great Kim Jung Mi -- and Dorothy Berry on being Black in experimental music spaces."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MD 006LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited restock; LP version. Gatefold sleeve. Vintage Violence: Barbaric, Crude & Primitive 1975-1979 is a selection of material Greg Prevost recorded with his past bands before forming the Chesterfield Kings. If you are a fan, you probably know that Greg Prevost played in different bands before forming the Chesterfield Kings. Only one of them, the Distorted Levels, released a 7" at the time, in 1978. But there were many more. You may have heard or read about mystery bands such as Mr Electro & The Void, The Cutdowns, Mr Electro & the Psychedelic Burnouts, etc. They all recorded profusely, but most master tapes eventually disappeared, in no less mysterious circumstances. Still, some recordings survived... and here you have a selection of this material: all demos, all previously unreleased, plus the Distorted Levels 7", as well as four tracks recorded by early Chesterfield Kings line-ups from 1978-79. Also features Mr. Electro & The Psychedelic Lampshade. Includes detailed track-by-track notes by Greg, including over 30 photos/press-clippings from his personal archive, and liner notes from Mike Stax (Ugly Things magazine), whose final verdict of this whole artifact could not be more exact: "Barbaric. Crude. Primitive. Beautiful."

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: MIND 830LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Patti Smith live from CBGB, New York, NY August 11th, 1979. Few women in rock have had as enormous an impact and influence as Patti Smith. Smith was part of the early New York punk scene in 1975 with regular shows at the CBGB club between 1974 and 1976. A major record deal in 1975 took her far and wide across America, but she returns with a no holds barred performance, on August 11th, 1979, long after her career had exploded to the point where she was selling out 5,000-seater auditoriums.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: MIND 858LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Townes Van Zandt, live in Johnson City Tennessee in April of 1985.

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: MJC 129004CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Reissue, originally released in 1974. This extraordinary album, which Mono-Jazz are re-issuing on the occasion of RT 30 (the celebration of Right Tempo's thirty years of activity), is a tribute to the great Trinidadian pianist Sonnie Taylor who in these recordings, accompanied by the singer Bunnie Foy, expresses all his musical nature connected to Africa and the spiritual roots of jazz music. Many of you will recall Mayfra Combo, well, the leader of that seminal soul jazz ensemble was Sonnie Taylor. "I'm a Harlem Flower," says Bunnie. "I was born right in Harlem, where I've listened to an infinite number of popular songs of all kinds since I was a child. That's why I learned to sing spirituals, blues, classic and modern jazz pieces by Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and even calypso and African music. These are things that are all equally familiar to me. On this record, for example, I interpret a Gershwin medley but also 'Go Down Moses' which is spiritual, 'Uelelé' which is an Angolan piece, and 'Way-O Comin' Home' which comes from the Caribbean." Her real name is Shirley, but the nickname -- which in Italian means bunny -- grew up with her. She arrived in Italy in 1968 after a very flattering career start, during which she collaborated with famous names such as Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane. When she decided to settle in Milan she had already been to France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and North Africa. Sonnie Taylor, the distinguished pianist and organist who leads the nine recordings contained herein, is a native of Trinidad. He has performed in England, Spain and Italy with a rhythm and blues ensemble. He currently leads a quintet that plays Afro-Cuban music. For about a year he has been working with Bunnie Foy on her concert tours.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: MJC 129004LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. Reissue, originally released in 1974. This extraordinary album, which Mono-Jazz are re-issuing on the occasion of RT 30 (the celebration of Right Tempo's thirty years of activity), is a tribute to the great Trinidadian pianist Sonnie Taylor who in these recordings, accompanied by the singer Bunnie Foy, expresses all his musical nature connected to Africa and the spiritual roots of jazz music. Many of you will recall Mayfra Combo, well, the leader of that seminal soul jazz ensemble was Sonnie Taylor. "I'm a Harlem Flower," says Bunnie. "I was born right in Harlem, where I've listened to an infinite number of popular songs of all kinds since I was a child. That's why I learned to sing spirituals, blues, classic and modern jazz pieces by Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and even calypso and African music. These are things that are all equally familiar to me. On this record, for example, I interpret a Gershwin medley but also 'Go Down Moses' which is spiritual, 'Uelelé' which is an Angolan piece, and 'Way-O Comin' Home' which comes from the Caribbean." Her real name is Shirley, but the nickname -- which in Italian means bunny -- grew up with her. She arrived in Italy in 1968 after a very flattering career start, during which she collaborated with famous names such as Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane. When she decided to settle in Milan she had already been to France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and North Africa. Sonnie Taylor, the distinguished pianist and organist who leads the nine recordings contained herein, is a native of Trinidad. He has performed in England, Spain and Italy with a rhythm and blues ensemble. He currently leads a quintet that plays Afro-Cuban music. For about a year he has been working with Bunnie Foy on her concert tours.

 

PRICE: $47.00

CAT #: MOV 2424COL-LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"The original Jamaican extra-terrestrial marked a return to the power of Lee 'Scratch' Perry's most spaced-out work. On Jamaican E.T., Perry created a contemporary and challenging set by applying his psychedelic dub to roots reggae, modern reggae, hip-hop, and dazed, otherworldly exotica. The riddims are groovy, but Perry's greatest strength has always been his mixology. On this album, instead of his usual dub mixes full of insane rhythmic effects, Perry utilizes the voice as his primary instrument of dub: laid-back toasting, singing, mumbling, and gospel backups come in and out, crisscrossing and swirling, truly setting a new mark. In 2003 it won the Grammy award for Best Reggae Album. Jamaican E.T. is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on gold-colored, 180-gram audiophile vinyl."

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: NRR 009LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The sixth volume of Cosmic Discotheque, the compilation series that keeps exploring a broad and seminal musical genre like the disco music of the '70s. From Afro to disco funk, from space disco to Middle Eastern sound-oriented dance music. This is another batch of hidden treasures found through forgotten singles and finally brought to light and offered as perfect stuff to be played in your next party. This volume comes with a more classic disco imprint and is imbued with all that typical '70s sound including drum breaks, synths, violins, etc. Are you ready for this journey towards unexplored planets? As always, the advice is: when at the flea market, just sharpen your eyes, sometimes treasures can be very cheap. So let's dance! Featuring The Mystic Moods, Zamulo, Who's Who, Surprise Band, Petr A Pavel ORM, Dance Machine, Boro, The Yetians, Freddie Cannon, Caliente Orchestra, The Fantastic Soul Invention, and Obah.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: RARE 001LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited restock. Tracks recorded at Arrow Studios Manchester, Eden Studios London and Strawberry Studios Stockport (April 1978 to April 1979). All studio sessions mastered for optimal results.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: RARE 002LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited restock. Tracks recorded at Piccadilly Radio, Pennine Sound Oldham, Graveyard Prestwich Eden Studios London and Strawberry Studios Stockport (April 1979 to January 1980). All studio sessions mastered for optimal results.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: OMM 560072CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue of the 1970 krautrock classic. The timing was right: Five years earlier would have been too early, five years later would have been too late. But Annexus Quam from Kamp-Lintfort near Düsseldorf came along with the right music at the right moment. The seven-piece band formed in 1967 as Ambition Of Music; they were what was then called a "beat group." In 1970, working with a local trombone choir led to a dramatic change of direction. Trombone, clarinet, saxophone, scat-like vocals, various percussion, even a bicycle pump or a guitar played below the bridge found their way into the band. Annexus Quam, in a unique way, mixed two musical genres: rock and free jazz, but the group played both differently from what could be heard otherwise at that time. Elements of psychedelic rock with heavy organ sounds were combined with freely dabbed brass notes; at the same time the band was closer to Stockhausen's concept of "Intuitive Music" than to the expressive group improvisations of free jazz musicians. The genre names sound familiar, but Annexus Quam filled them with new meaning. There are hardly any formal structures in Annexus Quam's music, the musicians control the ensemble sound intuitively by concentrated listening to each other. But the free playing is not limitless. Not every musician always has to play at the same time, the breaks are also important here. Despite all the freedom, the pieces remain comprehensible. This is what makes them appealing still today. The album was originally produced by Julius Schittenhelm in 1970. HaGü Schmitz and Dieter Wegner remastered Osmose at the Dierks Studio in 2022.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: OMM 560076LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Reissue of the 1970 krautrock classic. The timing was right: Five years earlier would have been too early, five years later would have been too late. But Annexus Quam from Kamp-Lintfort near Düsseldorf came along with the right music at the right moment. The seven-piece band formed in 1967 as Ambition Of Music; they were what was then called a "beat group." In 1970, working with a local trombone choir led to a dramatic change of direction. Trombone, clarinet, saxophone, scat-like vocals, various percussion, even a bicycle pump or a guitar played below the bridge found their way into the band. Annexus Quam, in a unique way, mixed two musical genres: rock and free jazz, but the group played both differently from what could be heard otherwise at that time. Elements of psychedelic rock with heavy organ sounds were combined with freely dabbed brass notes; at the same time the band was closer to Stockhausen's concept of "Intuitive Music" than to the expressive group improvisations of free jazz musicians. The genre names sound familiar, but Annexus Quam filled them with new meaning. There are hardly any formal structures in Annexus Quam's music, the musicians control the ensemble sound intuitively by concentrated listening to each other. But the free playing is not limitless. Not every musician always has to play at the same time, the breaks are also important here. Despite all the freedom, the pieces remain comprehensible. This is what makes them appealing still today. The album was originally produced by Julius Schittenhelm in 1970. HaGü Schmitz and Dieter Wegner remastered Osmose at the Dierks Studio in 2022.

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: OMONE 123CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Vida is the latest album release by Omara Portuondo, the grand Cuban Lady of Feeling. In 1997, at the age of 67, Omara became The Diva of Buena Vista Social Club, crowning her fame after half a century of a huge national and international solo career. Omara won her first Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Tropical Album along with a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. She received three Grammy Award nominations in 2019, and in 2021 was awarded with the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports, and then won the prestigious Songlines Pioneer Award for her life-long contribution to Cuban music and culture. At the age of 90, Omara found herself stuck in Havana due to the pandemic, and had to put the tours on hold. Known for her compassion and her sense of humanity, Omara naturally chose to express herself through music in those historically significant times, inviting life-long friends and colleagues to participate in the long-distance project. Omara's son, Ariel Jiménez Portuondo, organized the recordings and found the perfect artistic producer, the recently Grammy nominated Guatemalan singer-song writer Gaby Moreno. This album is a tribute to Omara's musical legacy. On Vida, Omara sings together with a stellar line up of legendary singers. Anyone who has loved Cuban and Latin music of the last 50 years will recognize the beauty of the timeless songs that reflect Omara's thoughts and feelings during this heavy period. Like so many others, she found herself mourning dear friends lost to the pandemic, and the ballads "Silencio" and "Duele" reflect this "melancolía". Besides Covid, the year 2020 brought to the surface another pandemic: the one of systemic racism and violence. "Now" was originally song by Lena Horne in 1963, and in the '70s, Omara made it famous in Cuba. Gaby Moreno's "Bolero a la Vida" won them a Latin Grammy Nomination, "Honrar la Vida" was sung beautifully together with Ruben Blades, "Se Feliz" with Keb 'Mo and "Gracias a la vida" with Natalia Lafourcade; all reflect Omara's eternal positive spirit. The "Con 2 que se quieran", sung together with Amaury Pérez and Alexander Abreu, is an explosion of a party to leave you with a smile, dancing down your road of life. Also features Andy Montañez, Rapahel & Orchesta Faild, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Susana Baca, Carlos Rivera, Nathalia Lafoucade, and Amaury Pérez & Alexander Abreu.

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: ZR 2023001CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

As a bass guitarist, composer and initiator, Teun Creemers has always had a broad interest in different musical genres, which has never limited him to playing only one genre. After years of experiences and discoveries within different bands and genres like jazz, funk, and West African music, it was high time to take the lead himself and record his experiences in the form of his debut album Naamu. For this album, Teun combined his passion for West African music with his acquired experiences in jazz and groove music to create an adventurous repertoire he himself calls "Malinke Groove Jazz". After having played bass in the bands of various virtuoso West African musicians, he felt the need to delve further into the West African music and all its possibilities. Without neglecting his own built-up experiences within the Dutch jazz scene, he pursued his dream to combine the best of two worlds; creating his own unique blend of tradition and innovation. Naamu was recorded in studios in the Netherlands, Mali, United States, and France. The album was mainly recorded and produced at the Galloway Studio in Nijmegen (NL) where Teun collaborated with co-producer Sebastiaan van Bijlevelt. The additional recordings made abroad were with various African musicians including the great kamale n'goni player, Harouna Samake, and the talented upcoming Malian singer, Kankou Kouyaté, among others. The lyrics on the album are sung in Bambara, one of the many languages of West-Africa. The various singers this album features, like Kankou Kouyaté and Yacouba "Bloffou" Sagara, sing poetically about themes like war, friendship and a celebration to women. The powerful lyrics of the album's first single, "A Nyininka", mysteriously leave much to the imagination while blending perfectly with the raw, thunderous playing of the various musicians on the album. Guests featured on the album include some of the best musicians of the West-African music scene like Harouna Samake (kamale n'goni), Mamadou Diabate (balafon), Sefoudi Kouyate (kora), Yacouba Sagara (vocals), Kankou Kouyaté (vocals), Lassine Diarra (vocals), Bah Kouyaté (vocals), Eva Dembeler (vocals), and Ami Dante (vocals). Also participating were Dutch musicians such as Jesse Schilderink (tenor), Miguel Boelens (alto/tenor), Mete Erker (bass clarinet), Yoran Vroom (drums), Antoine Duijkers (drums/percussion), Yariv Vroom (percussion), Fantison Araby O'Bryan (percussion), Yannick van ter Beek (percussion), and Teis Semey (guitar).

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: PAMPA 040EP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

DJ Koze unveils a spiritual and surprising journey into rapturous spheres with Wespennest EP. The visionary artist and master of electronic sound, presents his first own release after 2018's global club hit "Pick Up". "Candidasa" and "Wespennest" are the result of DJ Koze's inspiring stay in a secluded Benedictine monastery on the enchanting island of Sulawesi. Amidst this idyllic setting, he found the perfect environment to unleash his musical vision. He composed all of the music of "Candidasa" while lying on his stomach, in an act of deepest devotion and self-reflection. In doing so, he fed exclusively on so-called heroin kebabs to immerse himself in a trance-like state of creative flow. The result is a soundscape of unimagined depth and beauty that enchants the senses and transports listeners to another dimension by massively increasing the frequency of flicker fusion. On "Wespennest" the wonderful Sophia Kennedy takes the stage and breathes a new dimension into the music with her impactful lyrics and vocals. With generous dedication, Sophia has provided exclusive excerpts of her yet unreleased songs, giving this track a radiant psychedelic power. The combination of DJ Koze's musical genius and Sophia Kennedy's glorious vocals creates a club track full of wonderment, opening up a mystical rapturous world for listeners. Already an instant classic of German dance music. With "Candidasa" and "Wespennest" DJ Koze has once again pushed the boundaries of electronic sounds and created a spiritual journey that touches the soul and frees the mind.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: PL 140LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

First vinyl release. In 1989, before the wall came down, Mona Mur and her producer Dieter Meier (Yellow) came to Poland. Under the musical direction of Polish rock star Grzegorz Ciechowski (Republika) and with renowned Polish musicians, arrangers and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, she recorded her album Warsaw in early 1990. Mona Mur: "Warsaw deals with the old topic of love as a marginal experience. Why does this intrigue me? Because this is how I experienced it at a very young age. There is hardly a more relevant subject for me as an artist, maybe apart from war. Both confront you with the possibility of annihilation." During six months of production in Warsaw, from September 1989 to March 1990, Mona Mur observes historical changes in Europe and the whole world. The recordings take place at Polish Television's legendary studio S4 - 10 songs of great intensity, three of which are given genre-redefining orchestration by renowned composer and conductor, Krzesimir Debski. Producer Dieter Meier is enchanted. But Warsaw faces challenges. Its release does not happen as planned. Mona Mur's record company back then, German RCA, feels the album is not mainstream enough. More illustrious bidders follow, including Stevo Pearce of Some Bizarre, then the album vanishes. In 2000, four of Mona Mur's songs from Warsaw are covered by Polish singer Katarzyna Groniec on her album M??czy?ni (SONY). Producer: Grzegorz Ciechowksi. The album gets high chart rankings, the single with Mona's song "Paintings" (polish: "Dzi?ki za mi?o??") sells over 70,000 copies. Soon after, in late 2001, producer Grzegorz Ciechowski dies suddenly at the age of only 44, under tragic circumstances. His work as a musician, singer, frontman and rock poet is unique in Poland. An annual memorial concert in the medieval city of Torun, as well as several new interpretations of the Republika hits keep the memory of "Citizen GC" alive. In 2011, Mona Mur is invited to Torun, where she performs live with Grzegorz Ciechowski's band members. Finally, in 2015, Mona Mur's album Warsaw was released by Mystic Productions, but only on CD and exclusively in Poland.

 

PRICE: $22.50

CAT #: PRO 001LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The Produkt compilation takes us back to the time between 1979 and 1984, when post-punk was the main expression of the underground movement. Bands in the wake of PIL and Joy Division came out like mushrooms after the punk crush. In this compilation you will find mostly unknown yet interesting productions. This is a ten-track album, all originally released on 7" from all over the world: from Poland to Sweden, from Yugoslavia to Denmark. A perfect item for both enthusiasts and completists but also for those curious, passionate of those extraordinary years and lovers of a genre that still continues to evolve and that indeed continues to storm clubs around the world. Features: Lust Sacrifice, Jacek Skubikowski, Silent Corner, Ratata, Plain Characters, Lex, Witha, Scatterbrain, Force de Frappe, and Amila.

 

PRICE: $13.50

CAT #: RADCD 010CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Reissue, originally released in 1989. Midlands experimental group the Telescopes were not your average '80s band. Instead of opting for formulaic guitar jangles, the group mashed-up psychedelia, space rock, noise rock and indie, with a touch of chamber music here and there. Debut album Taste is considered their masterpiece, and rightly so, the unique result stemming from frontman Stephen Lawrie's creative vision. The triple-guitar onslaught tips things over the edge in places, yet there are also cool moments of respite. An absolute masterpiece of the whole shoegaze era, and one of the most influential LPs in '90s alternative rock. Dive in, soak up and be amazed.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 124CV-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Color vinyl. Long-awaited reissue of the 1985 album of the most iconic of all the UK82 bands, The Exploited. Originally out on the small Belgian Konexion label in Europe and the legendary Combat Records for the overseas market, Horror Epics reached no. 17 in the UK indie chart Top 20, and is still considered an absolute classic of the genre. This superb deluxe reissue, exclusively licensed by Wattie Buchan himself, also features two bonus tracks from the original cassette version. Includes double-sided insert with liner notes by Mark Brennan and a rare photo by Rikki Ercoli.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 194LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Obscure British punk quartet Court Martial formed in Bristol in 1980, part of the same scene that gave rise to Chaos UK, Vice Squad, The Partisans, and Anti-Pasti. This comparative compilation captures the group at their rawest beginnings, surveying the unfiltered demos they cut before signing to Riot City Records, as well as the more professional efforts that resulted in the 12-inch singles "No Solution" and "Gotta Get Out." The material finds our heroes switching between fast n' furious diatribes and fuzzy dirges, and alternating the demos with the singles allows you to witness their progression. Great early '80s Brit punk.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: RRS 215LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Reissue, originally released in 1989. Midlands experimental group the Telescopes were not your average '80s band. Instead of opting for formulaic guitar jangles, the group mashed-up psychedelia, space rock, noise rock and indie, with a touch of chamber music here and there. Debut album Taste is considered their masterpiece, and rightly so, the unique result stemming from frontman Stephen Lawrie's creative vision. The triple-guitar onslaught tips things over the edge in places, yet there are also cool moments of respite. An absolute masterpiece of the whole shoegaze era, and one of the most influential LPs in '90s alternative rock. Dive in, soak up and be amazed.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: EZRDR 151CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Sixteen trips might fry the fragile psyche of the average teenager, but the hoary old heads at Brown Acid boiled their brain pans long ago! As such, Riding Easy is bringing even more hard rock, heavy psych, and garage rock rarities from the North American wasteland of the 1970s. From L.A. to Youngstown, OH, from Toronto to Charlotte, The Sixteenth Trip has got everything covered. As always, original copies of these 45s would cost a pretty penny -- if one could find 'em in the first place. And by now one knows the drill: This ain't no bootleg. All songs are officially licensed. This sixteenth installment kicks off with 'Shuckin' and Jiving,' a seven-minute power jam from L.A.'s kings of garage psych, the Seeds. The song appeared as a single in 1972 with 'You Took Me By Surprise' on the flipside. It was the only release on Productions Unlimited, a label created by (or for) the Seeds at the tail end of their late '60s/early '70s run as Sky Saxon And The Seeds. Get shucked! Macbeth released their one and only 45 in 1978, with the steamrolling 'Freight Train' as the b-side to 'Didn't Mean (To Come This Far).' Boasting a thick-ass riff, a tasty stereo-panned guitar solo and at least one space laser sound effect, this one should satisfy fans of Blue Cheer and Grand Funk alike. Macbeth's bassist, Ned Meloni, went on to play with UFO guitarist Paul Chapman, Virgin Steele guitarist Jack Starr and do a brief stint with doom legends Pentagram. Formed by three brothers -- David, Bruce and Barry Flynn, all GM factory workers -- along with organist Tom Applegate, The Headstones (also known as simply Headstone) lent their 1974 garage boogie 'Carry Me On' to The Fourth Trip. This time, the Midwest psych rockers return with their killer 1975 instrumental 'Snake Dance.' One can hear echoes of this particular guitar style in the recent work of Swedish adventure rock overlords Hällas. The band Clinton might've been from Pennsylvania, but that didn't stop them from writing about New York City. 'Midnight In New York' is the flipside to their sole single, 1976's "Falling Behind." Stylistically and thematically, it's not unlike something famous New Yawker Ace Frehley would've written for KISS around the same time."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SB 194LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"If the names Amber Sermeno, Andy Jordan and Stanley Martinez sound familiar, it's because they're in practically every band that matters from the SF/Bay area, A short list reads; Non Plus Temps, Children Maybe Later, Naked Roommate, and not the least of which is Famous Mammals. Following a self-released cassette, Instant Pop Expressionism Now! is their first full-length vinyl effort. On their debut tape the seeds were sown for what has blossomed on this LP as a fully pollinated orchard of hybridized post punk that seemingly harkens back to the halcyon days when Rough Trade called 202 Kensington Park Road home. Instant Pop Expressionism Now! is an ultramodern polyglot of smatterings that at once sound familiar, but you can't quite place it. Swell Maps? Happy Refugees? Monochrome Set? Maybe. Kinda. It's in the stitching, but the design & thrust is all Famous Mammals. And while we're not prone to hubris, we are confident that Instant Pop Expressionism Now! will be the hit LP of the summer everywhere from Sooty's Disco Party to Gus' Hotdog Hootenanny. If you know, you know, it's not too late to hop on board. The more the merrier. RIYL releases on; Rather Records, Refill Records, Step-Forward Records, NB Records."

 

PRICE: $21.00

CAT #: SA 7528HLP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Exact repro, 180 gram virgin vinyl pressing, manufactured by Rhino under license from Sire Records. Originally released in 1977, The Ramones' classic second LP contains their second song about sniffing glue (the once controversial "Carbona Not Glue" -- which has been correctly reinstated on this version) and is the first LP to feature their iconic presidential seal logo.

 

PRICE: $14.50

CAT #: SCR 235CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Dot Allison returns with a new solo album, Consciousology. After over a decade away, the former One Dove singer and songwriter broke cover in 2021 with Heart-Shaped Scars and this new album follows just two years later, as she hits a purple patch of songwriting. It's also her first full release for Sonic Cathedral after contributing to Mark Peters's acclaimed Red Sunset Dreams (SCR 230CD/LP, 2022). Consciousology finds multi-instrumentalist Dot joined by the London Contemporary Orchestra, her new labelmate Andy Bell from Ride, who plays guitar on two tracks, and Hannah Peel, who is responsible for some of the string arrangements with both the LCO and a stellar group of Scottish string players. It expands on the styles and themes of the previous album, all while pushing everything just that little bit further -- the songs sound bigger, more avant-garde and experimental and, occasionally, properly out-there and psychedelic. "I wanted to make some albums that felt like a set, exploring love, what lies beyond the visible and how all these aspects dovetail together," explains Dot. "I see Consciousology a more psych Heart-Shaped Scars with a far fuller, more immersive sound and so, in that sense, it's a more wayward, bolder, rule-breaking partner." Right from the eye-catching artwork by PJ Harvey collaborator Maria Mochnacz, it definitely does not play it safe. It veers from the techno-played-as-folk of opener "Shyness Of Crowns" and "220Hz" and the Linda Perhacs-meets-The Velvet Underground chug of the first single "Unchanged" to the Mercury Rev-style fantasia of "Bleached By The Sun", the Brian Wilson-esque harmonies of "Moon Flowers" and the kaleidoscopic color trip of "Double Rainbow". Elsewhere there are echoes of Desertshore-era Nico, Jack Nitzsche's work with Neil Young, Karen Dalton, and Anne Briggs before the relative simplicity of the Tim Hardin-inspired closer, "Weeping Roses". It's a brilliant, breathtaking record.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: SCR 235LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Orange vinyl. Dot Allison returns with a new solo album, Consciousology. After over a decade away, the former One Dove singer and songwriter broke cover in 2021 with Heart-Shaped Scars and this new album follows just two years later, as she hits a purple patch of songwriting. It's also her first full release for Sonic Cathedral after contributing to Mark Peters's acclaimed Red Sunset Dreams (SCR 230CD/LP, 2022). Consciousology finds multi-instrumentalist Dot joined by the London Contemporary Orchestra, her new labelmate Andy Bell from Ride, who plays guitar on two tracks, and Hannah Peel, who is responsible for some of the string arrangements with both the LCO and a stellar group of Scottish string players. It expands on the styles and themes of the previous album, all while pushing everything just that little bit further -- the songs sound bigger, more avant-garde and experimental and, occasionally, properly out-there and psychedelic. "I wanted to make some albums that felt like a set, exploring love, what lies beyond the visible and how all these aspects dovetail together," explains Dot. "I see Consciousology a more psych Heart-Shaped Scars with a far fuller, more immersive sound and so, in that sense, it's a more wayward, bolder, rule-breaking partner." Right from the eye-catching artwork by PJ Harvey collaborator Maria Mochnacz, it definitely does not play it safe. It veers from the techno-played-as-folk of opener "Shyness Of Crowns" and "220Hz" and the Linda Perhacs-meets-The Velvet Underground chug of the first single "Unchanged" to the Mercury Rev-style fantasia of "Bleached By The Sun", the Brian Wilson-esque harmonies of "Moon Flowers" and the kaleidoscopic color trip of "Double Rainbow". Elsewhere there are echoes of Desertshore-era Nico, Jack Nitzsche's work with Neil Young, Karen Dalton, and Anne Briggs before the relative simplicity of the Tim Hardin-inspired closer, "Weeping Roses". It's a brilliant, breathtaking record.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: SOULG 011LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

One of the most influential vocal groups of the '60s with their original masterpiece, a necessary collection of rare groove and soul ballads. Officially reissued on vinyl after more than 40 years, here's the band fifth album, originally released in 1971 on Little Star Records. Formed in 1958 in Canton, Ohio, and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles, The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hit "Lonely Drifter" in 1963, but reached their greatest level of success once Gamble & Huff signed them to their Philadelphia International. Super Bad is a raw, deep funk classic. Ranking among their finest work and it is widely regarded as their most complete album.

 

PRICE: $21.50

CAT #: SPITTLE 009CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limbo was an influential eclectic music project created in February 1984 by the Tuscan artist Gianluca Becuzzi (aka G. Luca B.) -- still one of the most important personalities on the Italian electronic / electro-acoustic and experimental scenes. Since 1984 Limbo has released twelve LPs, plus two mini albums, one boxset, and one tape. They have also appeared on various compilations and performed live many times in Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Over the years Limbo frequently changed record labels, line-ups and musical styles, but always maintained strong dark and electronic elements. Characteristic of the band's whole artistic approach was its exploration of rhythm/timbre, as well as the highly dramatic mood created by both the sound and the themes examined (i.e. technology and mysticism, science and neoprimitivism, thanatology and extreme erotic practices). The aesthetic quality of the band, its conceptual and formal coherence, and the continuity of its developed languages, all helped to create the "cult" status that still surrounds the name Limbo on the international underground circuit. Spittle Records (the Tuscan label which originally released the debut mini-LP In Limbo back in 1986) asked the disbanded Limbo if it could release all the band's early material, including its first demo-tape, its first mini-LP and a small collection of tracks that have resurfaced from within the label's vaults. Spittle's inquiry has resulted in this Early Works 1984-1987, a double-CD including a digitally re-mastered and polished version of the whole musical production of Limbo in its early years. The entire audio work was provided by Diego Loporcaro (aka D. Loop), electronic musician/producer, member of Limbo during its last period of existence, and producer of Limbo's last album, Compendium: The Light Fall. The complete artwork is by Gianluca Becuzzi and Marco Formaioni. The two created the artwork for the band's first demo-tape (1984) and mini-album (1986), and the entire graphic concept of Early Works 1984-1987 is based on the original visual material used in these two early releases. Although Limbo ceased to exist some years ago, it left an indelible mark on the international underground music scene. Features Thelema.

 

PRICE: $43.00

CAT #: SUBOST 011LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

A tight, atmospheric and pretty damn funky soundtrack composed by the maestro Ennio Morricone for the 1970 crime-drama Città Violenta starring the mighty Charles Bronson and directed by Sergio Sollima. Another hard-hitting score by Morricone with a quite dark mood flowing from the dramatic to psychedelic along with a touch of funkiness. The famous "Citta? Violenta" track, the score's main theme, is celebrated as one of Morricone's most iconic themes. Complete edition with 21 tracks for the first time ever on vinyl. Music composed and orchestrated by Ennio Morricone. Conducted by Bruno Nicolai.

 

PRICE: $51.00

CAT #: SUBOST 011X-LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

Double LP version. Color vinyl. A tight, atmospheric and pretty damn funky soundtrack composed by the maestro Ennio Morricone for the 1970 crime-drama Città Violenta starring the mighty Charles Bronson and directed by Sergio Sollima. Another hard-hitting score by Morricone with a quite dark mood flowing from the dramatic to psychedelic along with a touch of funkiness. The famous "Citta? Violenta" track, the score's main theme, is celebrated as one of Morricone's most iconic themes. Complete edition with 21 tracks for the first time ever on vinyl. Music composed and orchestrated by Ennio Morricone. Conducted by Bruno Nicolai.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: SVVRCH 075LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Reissue, originally released in 1976. After running a sound system and studying electronics overseas, Spanish Town-based Harry Mudie began releasing rhythm and blues recordings by local performers, enjoying more concerted success during the reggae era of the late 1960s and mid-1970s, crafting lasting hits with artists like Dennis Walks and the Spanish Town-based toaster, I Roy. The first volume of the Dub Conference series, made with King Tubby, has stripped-down cuts of some of Mudie's greatest productions, including "Lorna's Dance," a percussion and horns take of "Caught You In A Lie," and a strings cut of the Heptones' "Love Without Feeling."

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: TR 528CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

The Wirtschaftswunder are European post-punk history. Formed in Limburg in 1980, the multinational band consisted of Czech-born guitarist Tom Dokoupil, Canadian keyboardist Mark Pfurtscheller, German drummer Jürgen Beuth (also in Die Radierer), and Italian singer Angelo Galizia. After their DIY milestone Salmobray, the band was signed to Polydor. Contrary to the aims of the record company, who planned to make a huge NDW act out of the band, the new (and more expensive) ways of record production just showed how special this band really was. A financial flop and artistically one of the strangest and most wonderful major debuts of all times."The eponymous title of the sophomore album by The Wirtschaftswunder sounds as if it should have been their debut disc. Nevertheless, the name is a good fit, this being the record which sees the band come to terms with their own distinctive sound, one which is completely different to the sum of their parts, as was the case on its predecessor Salmobray. Here, they have morphed into a funk band, albeit one without any intention of playing funk. This record was also their first on a major label, although Polydor do not appear to have weighed in on the creative process. The LP spawned just the one single -- 'Der große Mafioso' -- and zero NDW* hits. Whereas other label acts such as Hubert Kah or Fräulein Menke were busy crafting chart material with a New German Wave flavor, The Wirtschaftswunder (possibly aware of their stablemates' efforts) appeared unencumbered by the pressure to deliver conventional success. The major label influence was at least evident in the departure from the dim haziness of contemporary DIY studios for a production of dazzling sharpness. Cast in this light, The Wirtschaftswunder sound even stranger than in the more familiar environs of their insouciant debut. This might very well be the German music industry's boldest record ever, Ernste Musik (serious music) aside. Released in early 1982, with few words offered to contextualize matters, the record felt like a statement, an artistic representation of pop music laced with a range of alienating effects which lent it a remarkable precision. Perspective, expressiveness -- these are concepts that sit well with 'The Wirtschaftswunder'. The characteristic style, the air and, above all, the 'sonic mission' are reminiscent of the Junge Wilden or, to be more exact, the Mühlheimer Freiheit group of artists associated with them." --Frank Apunkt Schneider

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: TR 528LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. The Wirtschaftswunder are European post-punk history. Formed in Limburg in 1980, the multinational band consisted of Czech-born guitarist Tom Dokoupil, Canadian keyboardist Mark Pfurtscheller, German drummer Jürgen Beuth (also in Die Radierer), and Italian singer Angelo Galizia. After their DIY milestone Salmobray, the band was signed to Polydor. Contrary to the aims of the record company, who planned to make a huge NDW act out of the band, the new (and more expensive) ways of record production just showed how special this band really was. A financial flop and artistically one of the strangest and most wonderful major debuts of all times."The eponymous title of the sophomore album by The Wirtschaftswunder sounds as if it should have been their debut disc. Nevertheless, the name is a good fit, this being the record which sees the band come to terms with their own distinctive sound, one which is completely different to the sum of their parts, as was the case on its predecessor Salmobray. Here, they have morphed into a funk band, albeit one without any intention of playing funk. This record was also their first on a major label, although Polydor do not appear to have weighed in on the creative process. The LP spawned just the one single -- 'Der große Mafioso' -- and zero NDW* hits. Whereas other label acts such as Hubert Kah or Fräulein Menke were busy crafting chart material with a New German Wave flavor, The Wirtschaftswunder (possibly aware of their stablemates' efforts) appeared unencumbered by the pressure to deliver conventional success. The major label influence was at least evident in the departure from the dim haziness of contemporary DIY studios for a production of dazzling sharpness. Cast in this light, The Wirtschaftswunder sound even stranger than in the more familiar environs of their insouciant debut. This might very well be the German music industry's boldest record ever, Ernste Musik (serious music) aside. Released in early 1982, with few words offered to contextualize matters, the record felt like a statement, an artistic representation of pop music laced with a range of alienating effects which lent it a remarkable precision. Perspective, expressiveness -- these are concepts that sit well with 'The Wirtschaftswunder'. The characteristic style, the air and, above all, the 'sonic mission' are reminiscent of the Junge Wilden or, to be more exact, the Mühlheimer Freiheit group of artists associated with them." --Frank Apunkt Schneider

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: TB 077LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Imperial F.F.R.R. was Unrest's breakthrough album in 1992. It has withstood the test of time and is now considered an indie-rock classic and one of the best albums of the 1990s. They helped invent the genre along with Pavement and Sebadoh. Imperial marked the arrival of original Velocity Girl vocalist Bridget Cross joining drummer Phil Krauth and singer/guitarist Mark Robinson. It was recorded by Wharton Tiers (Sonic Youth). After the release, the band released singles for Sub Pop and K and soon thereafter signed to legendary UK indie 4AD, releasing their final album Perfect Teeth in 1993. Pressed on 180-gram opaque white vinyl with printed innersleeve."

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: TMR 764CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2003 release, 2023 repress. "Recorded in 1996 and not released (in slightly different edit/mix) until 1999 under the title Jerusalem, the legend and lore behind Dopesmoker would overshadow an LP of any lesser significance. But the 63-minute magnum opus dedicated exclusively to the sacrament of marijuana is not just the pinnacle of the goofily named stoner metal genre... it's inarguably one of the most important and influential albums of all time."

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: TMR 764LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version. 2003 release, 2023 repress. "Recorded in 1996 and not released (in slightly different edit/mix) until 1999 under the title Jerusalem, the legend and lore behind Dopesmoker would overshadow an LP of any lesser significance. But the 63-minute magnum opus dedicated exclusively to the sacrament of marijuana is not just the pinnacle of the goofily named stoner metal genre... it's inarguably one of the most important and influential albums of all time."

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: TMR 878CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"On April 7, North Americans -- the project of Los Angeles guitarist Patrick McDermott and Portland's Barry Walker on pedal steel -- released their new album Long Cool World via Third Man Records. As North Americans, McDermott has been experimenting with drone and noise and how it can take shape, and then jettison that shape, since 2013s No_No, but it's when he embraced his love of fingerpicked guitar and vintage country music on 2018's Going Steady that he settled on a sound that felt like a genuine melding of his disparate musical interests. 2020's Roped In was another creative milestone: with Walker and a host of other collaborators, including harpist Mary Lattimore and guitarist William Tyler, among others, creating a communal, layered approach to each track that felt vital as the world dipped into isolation during a global pandemic. Long Cool World strips away most of the musical collaborators, allowing Walker and McDermott to settle on an approach that is at once intricate and simple, creating hypnotic music that loops and layers, with subtle shimmers of noise or quiet psychedelic freakouts hiding beneath McDermott's unshowy but emotionally affecting guitarwork and Walker's pedal steel hum. The duo refined their collaborative relationship as well, with McDermott sending isolated guitar tracks to Walker, who then listened to them while on drives and walks around Portland, before going into the studio with only a loose sense of what he wanted to add to them. Eventually McDermott and Walker came together to record the album, giving the whole thing a sort of free-flowing, naturally collaborative feel. 'We were really excited to dig into our own process in a more focused way together,' McDermott says. Walker echoes this sentiment, speaking of how those guitar loops built into a full-fledged collaborative relationship: 'There were times when we played the organ together,' Walker says, speaking of the tandem organ drone of 'The Last Rockabilly.' 'We sat down and it was feeding through the Leslie speakers and we were doing a drone together -- it was a lot of instinct.' At its core, Long Cool World is a confident album that finds its heart in deceptively simple moments: the pedal steel cascading over McDermott's strumming on 'Think of Me as a Place' or the quiet burst of noise at the midpoint of first single 'Classic Water,' or the warm, drunk wobble of album closer 'Bad Box,' are all moments that happily exist on the periphery of the core sound of the record, but take center stage the more you listen."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: TMR 878LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "On April 7, North Americans -- the project of Los Angeles guitarist Patrick McDermott and Portland's Barry Walker on pedal steel -- released their new album Long Cool World via Third Man Records. As North Americans, McDermott has been experimenting with drone and noise and how it can take shape, and then jettison that shape, since 2013s No_No, but it's when he embraced his love of fingerpicked guitar and vintage country music on 2018's Going Steady that he settled on a sound that felt like a genuine melding of his disparate musical interests. 2020's Roped In was another creative milestone: with Walker and a host of other collaborators, including harpist Mary Lattimore and guitarist William Tyler, among others, creating a communal, layered approach to each track that felt vital as the world dipped into isolation during a global pandemic. Long Cool World strips away most of the musical collaborators, allowing Walker and McDermott to settle on an approach that is at once intricate and simple, creating hypnotic music that loops and layers, with subtle shimmers of noise or quiet psychedelic freakouts hiding beneath McDermott's unshowy but emotionally affecting guitarwork and Walker's pedal steel hum. The duo refined their collaborative relationship as well, with McDermott sending isolated guitar tracks to Walker, who then listened to them while on drives and walks around Portland, before going into the studio with only a loose sense of what he wanted to add to them. Eventually McDermott and Walker came together to record the album, giving the whole thing a sort of free-flowing, naturally collaborative feel. 'We were really excited to dig into our own process in a more focused way together,' McDermott says. Walker echoes this sentiment, speaking of how those guitar loops built into a full-fledged collaborative relationship: 'There were times when we played the organ together,' Walker says, speaking of the tandem organ drone of 'The Last Rockabilly.' 'We sat down and it was feeding through the Leslie speakers and we were doing a drone together -- it was a lot of instinct.' At its core, Long Cool World is a confident album that finds its heart in deceptively simple moments: the pedal steel cascading over McDermott's strumming on 'Think of Me as a Place' or the quiet burst of noise at the midpoint of first single 'Classic Water,' or the warm, drunk wobble of album closer 'Bad Box,' are all moments that happily exist on the periphery of the core sound of the record, but take center stage the more you listen."

 

PRICE: $11.00

CAT #: TMR 919CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Snõõper (the project) began as a collaboration between local Nashville punk mainstay Connor Cummins and Blair Tramel, an early education teacher with a sideline in wickedly funny animation and art. As their cassette tapes and homemade videos began to find scattered fans around the world, the duo brought the project to the live stage in late 2021 and Snõõper (the band) was born. Featuring one of the wildest live shows out there, as well a maelstrom of puppets, 8-bit animation, papier-mâché, whistles, flashing lights and a whirling dervish of bodies, Snõõper commits the live act to a studio setting and sets the stage for one of the most promising punk debut albums in decades." Henry Rollins: "In the briefest of descriptions, Snõõper is a band who, in a 33 1/3 rpm world, make 45 rpm music they play at 78 and it completely works. Even at this incredible speed, Snõõper (the kinetic duo of musician Connor Cummins and visual/video artist, Blair Tramel) is super precise instrumentally and skillfully melodic vocally, even though, again, they're flooring it almost the entire time. The overall effect is a megadose of extremely cool and unique songs that while at the speed of tomorrow, would lose their overwhelming fun factor if played any differently. As far as Snõõper vinyl, there's been three 7" records: 2020's Music For Spies, the Snõõper EP released in 2021 and last year's Town Topic EP. All of them are great but you'd be well advised not to sit down once you've put a side on, as you'll be getting up to flip the record over all too soon. Snõõper's music isn't for sitting around to anyway. Diverging from their regular two person line-up, for Super Snooper, Connor and Blair bought on drummer Cam Sarrett, bassist Happy Haugen and Ian Teeple on second guitar. The results do justice to the music and has evolved Snõõper's sound exponentially. On the fourth listen to Super Snooper now and a new evaluation springs forth: Snõõper don't play fast. They play at the speed of Snõõper. The band is so tight, the songs so ready for the Bonneville Salt Lake Flats testing site, one might conclude Snõõper's just leapin' and lopin', to borrow the title of Sonny Clark's excellent 1962 Blue Note LP. Snõõper's completely happening 11-23-22 thirty-four song 27:22 set at Nashville's Exit/In, mercifully recorded and released so you can back up your witness testimony as to how smokin' the show was with actual audio verification is further proof of how totally ripping this band is and brings to mind a topic insinuated by the live recording but proven true by Super Snooper..."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: TMR 919LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Snõõper (the project) began as a collaboration between local Nashville punk mainstay Connor Cummins and Blair Tramel, an early education teacher with a sideline in wickedly funny animation and art. As their cassette tapes and homemade videos began to find scattered fans around the world, the duo brought the project to the live stage in late 2021 and Snõõper (the band) was born. Featuring one of the wildest live shows out there, as well a maelstrom of puppets, 8-bit animation, papier-mâché, whistles, flashing lights and a whirling dervish of bodies, Snõõper commits the live act to a studio setting and sets the stage for one of the most promising punk debut albums in decades." Henry Rollins: "In the briefest of descriptions, Snõõper is a band who, in a 33 1/3 rpm world, make 45 rpm music they play at 78 and it completely works. Even at this incredible speed, Snõõper (the kinetic duo of musician Connor Cummins and visual/video artist, Blair Tramel) is super precise instrumentally and skillfully melodic vocally, even though, again, they're flooring it almost the entire time. The overall effect is a megadose of extremely cool and unique songs that while at the speed of tomorrow, would lose their overwhelming fun factor if played any differently. As far as Snõõper vinyl, there's been three 7" records: 2020's Music For Spies, the Snõõper EP released in 2021 and last year's Town Topic EP. All of them are great but you'd be well advised not to sit down once you've put a side on, as you'll be getting up to flip the record over all too soon. Snõõper's music isn't for sitting around to anyway. Diverging from their regular two person line-up, for Super Snooper, Connor and Blair bought on drummer Cam Sarrett, bassist Happy Haugen and Ian Teeple on second guitar. The results do justice to the music and has evolved Snõõper's sound exponentially. On the fourth listen to Super Snooper now and a new evaluation springs forth: Snõõper don't play fast. They play at the speed of Snõõper. The band is so tight, the songs so ready for the Bonneville Salt Lake Flats testing site, one might conclude Snõõper's just leapin' and lopin', to borrow the title of Sonny Clark's excellent 1962 Blue Note LP. Snõõper's completely happening 11-23-22 thirty-four song 27:22 set at Nashville's Exit/In, mercifully recorded and released so you can back up your witness testimony as to how smokin' the show was with actual audio verification is further proof of how totally ripping this band is and brings to mind a topic insinuated by the live recording but proven true by Super Snooper..."

 

PRICE: $19.50

CAT #: TDP 54019LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 restock. Trading Places present a reissue of Stack Waddy's Bugger Off!, originally released in 1972. Bugger Off! picked up where its predecessor left off, and rampaged on from there. Covers of Zappa's "Willy the Pimp" and the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" might have seemed a little obvious, but both are battered down with such a glorious lack of finesse that it's impossible to object -- anybody familiar with, respectively, Juicy Lucy and the Hammersmith Gorillas' versions of the same songs will come in with at least a vague idea of what to expect, but that's about it. "Hoochie Coochie Man" is even more disheveled, and when John Peel's liner notes reminisce on the group's insistence on recording live, you can tell he's not necessarily looking back with any fondness. On one occasion, he suggested they do a little overdubbing. The band's response to his words would become the album's title. Includes "Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut" as bonus track taken from the 1972 John Peel Session. Licensed from Cherry Red.

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: TROST 234CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

The End is near -- after two albums on the now defunct UK label Rare Noise, the powerful project of Sofia Jernberg (vocals), Kjetil Møster (clarinet and tenor saxophone), Mats Gustafsson (flutes, baritone saxophone and electronics), Anders Hana (baritone and bass guitar), and Børge Fjordheim (drums) releases their third album on Trost. They combine avant-rock, jazz, and a haunting beautiful voice to a seethe mix of emotions, noise, music -- a sonic landscape, dynamic, and captivating. This album is a true testament to the power of experimental music that continues to push boundaries and explore new sonic territories. Sofia Jernberg's voice is a central element -- her timbre and diverse vocal techniques set new accents and give the tracks an extraordinary emotional depth.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: VAMPI 273LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Repressed, frst time vinyl reissue. Originally released in 1976."The human voice is more than just a musical instrument; it is ally to the thought. Vocal art is one of the most beautiful forms of musical expression and an endless resource. It's a shame that so few devote themselves to it in our popular music. I would therefore like to congratulate Aquarius and Continental for the release of this LP and may it be received by all with the same affection and attention than those who dedicated themselves to making it" --Paulinho Tapajos.These notes, originally printed on the back cover of this 1976 beauty, are a perfect introduction to the vocal harmonies and arrangements and excellent guitar work that are masterfully combined creating a joyful journey that features the undisputed talent of Raymundo Bittencourt, Octávio Burnier, and Paulo Moura. An amazing bit of Brazilian samba funk that also touches on MPB, bossa nova, jazz... This sought-after gem opens with the beautiful version of Burnier & Cartier's "Só Tem Lugar Prá Você" (one of the two B&C versions included on this album, with a pitched-down "Europanema" sparkling on the B-side), building up a mellow, airy vibe that stays throughout the entire album.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: VP 4244CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Bunny Lee was the first to actually use reggae in the title of a record with It's Reggae Time Striker's propensity for creating hit records during this period was unmatched and he was awarded the prestigious 'title of Jamaican Producer Of The Year in 1969, 1970, 1971 & 1972' the years covered by this new Boss Reggae focused compilation. Striker's complete mastery of the new reggae rhythms and 'versioning them over' are showcased on this release with the emphasis placed on the outstanding contribution of the cream of Kingston's session musicians."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: VP 4244LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. "Bunny Lee was the first to actually use reggae in the title of a record with It's Reggae Time Striker's propensity for creating hit records during this period was unmatched and he was awarded the prestigious 'title of Jamaican Producer Of The Year in 1969, 1970, 1971 & 1972' the years covered by this new Boss Reggae focused compilation. Striker's complete mastery of the new reggae rhythms and 'versioning them over' are showcased on this release with the emphasis placed on the outstanding contribution of the cream of Kingston's session musicians."

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: WHP 1467LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Catch a Fire, the Wailers' first output on the Western market was released in April 1973, and this BBC recording from May was the band's first major radio exposure in the UK. This was an incredible show based on a strong tracklist including several immortal pieces from the early Wailers' repertoire: "Concrete Jungle," "Slave Driver," "Midnight Ravers" and "Get up Stand Up." just to name a few. Needless to add that this was the original line-up of: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer, plus Earl 'Wya' Lindo on keyboards and the super tight one-drop riddims of Aston and Carlton Barrett respectively on bass and drums.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: WHP 1468LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

This is Marvin Gaye's legendary appearance at the Budokan theater in Tokyo in November 1979. A wonderful performance with the great singer backed by a fine, sensitive band and a concert tracklist featuring various gems such as "Save the Children" and "Inner City Blues" from his masterpiece What's Going On as well as other smash hits like "I Want You" and "Let's Get it On". A true live-soul experience!

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: WRWTFWW 065CD

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

WRWTFWW Records announce the first official worldwide reissue of Satsuki Shibano's Wave Notation 3: Erik Satie 1984, the final album from the sound-defining Wave Notation environmental music series curated by Satoshi Ashikawa. Originally released in 1984 on the Sound Process label, Wave Notation 3 followed Ashikawa's own Still Way (1982) and Hiroshi Yoshimura's Music For Nine Postcards (1982). The highly sought-after album is sourced from the original master tape. Wave Notation 3 is a splendid tribute to seminal French composer and pianist Erik Satie, himself one of the main influences behind kanky? ongaku/environmental music (alongside Brian Eno, John Cage, to name a few). The alphabetically-sequenced album features 26 pieces showcasing Shibano's unique piano interpretation of Satie's works. The artist explains: "For this album, I sequenced the compositions in alphabetical order of each title, irrespective of the period of each composition or style. By doing this, I attempted to effectively create 'Music as an environment' and at the same time, allow the listener to genuinely experience Satie's music." Satsuko Shibano's minimalistic approach to ambient classical is simply perfect and offers a beautiful and tranquil listening experience, furniture music with extra comfort and soothing simplicity, relaxing to the mind and to the soul. This Wave Notation deserves a spot among the pillars of Japanese environmental music, next to Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Hiroshi Yoshimura's Green, and Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way. For fans of furniture music, environmental music, music as an environment for furniture, ambient, Midori Takada, Satoshi Ashikawa, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Erik Satie, Brian Eno, minimalism. Includes English and Japanese liner notes by the artist, was supervised by Japanese ambient legend Yoshio Ojima.

 

PRICE: $39.50

CAT #: WRWTFWW 065LP

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

Double LP version. WRWTFWW Records announce the first official worldwide reissue of Satsuki Shibano's Wave Notation 3: Erik Satie 1984, the final album from the sound-defining Wave Notation environmental music series curated by Satoshi Ashikawa. Originally released in 1984 on the Sound Process label, Wave Notation 3 followed Ashikawa's own Still Way (1982) and Hiroshi Yoshimura's Music For Nine Postcards (1982). The highly sought-after album is sourced from the original master tape. Wave Notation 3 is a splendid tribute to seminal French composer and pianist Erik Satie, himself one of the main influences behind kanky? ongaku/environmental music (alongside Brian Eno, John Cage, to name a few). The alphabetically-sequenced album features 26 pieces showcasing Shibano's unique piano interpretation of Satie's works. The artist explains: "For this album, I sequenced the compositions in alphabetical order of each title, irrespective of the period of each composition or style. By doing this, I attempted to effectively create 'Music as an environment' and at the same time, allow the listener to genuinely experience Satie's music." Satsuko Shibano's minimalistic approach to ambient classical is simply perfect and offers a beautiful and tranquil listening experience, furniture music with extra comfort and soothing simplicity, relaxing to the mind and to the soul. This Wave Notation deserves a spot among the pillars of Japanese environmental music, next to Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Hiroshi Yoshimura's Green, and Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way. For fans of furniture music, environmental music, music as an environment for furniture, ambient, Midori Takada, Satoshi Ashikawa, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Erik Satie, Brian Eno, minimalism. Includes English and Japanese liner notes by the artist, was supervised by Japanese ambient legend Yoshio Ojima.