Feb 16 2012
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Weekly News Letters

…..news letter #524 – holy sit…..

howdy all…..

finally! new releases are starting to trickle in. a bunch of stuff this week and more on the way for monday. now that you’ve finished with valentines day, you can get back to spending money on yourself….

…..pick of the week…..

*slant azymuth – s/t – pre-cert – lp
- yes! new release from one of my favorite labels… “slant azymuth expand on the concepts shared on 2011′s virtually unobtainable series of releases on andy votel and demdike stare’s pre-cert home entertainment label. slant azymuth is more than likely a joint venture between label heads demdike and votel, once again exploring fake-loric nonlanguage/electric codes and forbidden information to create an archive of sonic and poetic commentary (evidence) concerning corruption in pre-war local industry, perverted belief systems and scientific invention. part music concrète, part folklore, part-pulp-fictitious, part neorealism — this indulgent patchwork of mechanical folk/pop and non-music combines essential influences of electric smithsonian releases, sound poetry, zdeněk liska, ilhan mimaroglu, basic carnatic music, lettrism, pierre henry, oramics in ardwick, massiera, lloyd m. williams, stella crenshaw, bruno nicolai, suzanne ciani, eastern european fiction, agitprop, l.s. lowry, j.g. frazer, gurdjieff, kommune pop groups and futen theater. limited to 700 copies.”

…..new arrivals…..

archers of loaf – vee vee – merge – lp/2cd
- expanded reissue of their second album, remastered by bob weston. cd copies include 16 bonus tracks and new cover art re-imagined by graphic artist jay ryan. the limited edition lps pressed to green vinyl. ‘vee vee’ was a slight departure from the bombastic noisepop that characterized archers of loaf’s previous work, and the album’s success proved that the band wasn’t just a flash in the pan. the album became their best-selling album to date.
*caretaker – patience – history always favors the winner – lp
- back in stock! didn’t expect any more of this one but here they are…. this is your last notice, don’t continue to sleep on these caretaker records folks!!
*earth – angels of darkness, demons of light II – southern lord – cd
- recorded in the same two week session as 2011′s ‘angels of darkness, demons of light I’, ‘II’ carries on in the freely improvised, folkloric vein of the title track from their last release. tape was rolled and spontaneous composition occurred. striking in many ways, not least, in the wildly improvised nature of this particular recording. this new earth material brings forth some highly original and deeply mesmerizing tones throughout, at times more hopeful and less dark and death oriented than previous work.
grimes – visions – arbutus – lp/cd
- grimes’ fourth release in less than two years. incorporating influences as wide as enya, tlc and aphex twin, drawing from genres like new jack swing, idm, new age, k-pop, industrial and glitch – this approach has marked grimes as a curator of culture, allowing the project to remain flexible and evolving. despite an upbeat demeanour, an urgency permeates the album. calling between our history and the future, it uses the pleasure of minimal rhythms and dance to entice. yet beyond its rich, software-sculpted cohesiveness and vocal energy, runs a very real and odd world.
islands – a sleep & a forgetting – anti – lp/cd
- continues the band’s penchant for crafting adventuresome and infectious state of the art pop music. but this time band leader nick thorburn has infused the songs with a personal introspection that gives the record a new and powerful emotional resonance. produced in less than two weeks, the 11 songs recorded live with hardly a single overdub. it’s a stripped down process and beautifully understated sound which only reinforces the confessional content of the lyrics.
shearwater – animal joy – sub pop – lp/cd
- the eighth album overall from this okkervil river off shoot. on animal joy, meiburg ditches the expansive approach of his recent records particularly the epic trilogy of palo santo, rook and the golden archipelago to create a record that seems shockingly direct, immediate and intensely personal. he’s no stranger to lush, crafted recordings, but this one sounds like no prior shearwater incarnation.
*mustapha skandrani – istikhbars and improvisations – em – lp
- besides having an excellent name, this man, a luminary of algerian music, possessed a unique musical sense, able to transcend the borders of musical cultures to create a distinctive fusion of arabo-andalusian and european styles. recorded in 1965 in paris, it is a solo piano album presenting a trans-mediterranean crossover based on traditional algerian vocal pieces known as istikhbars. comes with an insert with liner notes in english and japanese. limited edition of 200 pressed on vinyl.
tom waits – round midnight – let them eat vinyl – lp
- in december 1975, waits entered the studios of kqrs minneapolis for his first ever fm broadcast, floated across the airwaves by that very station and syndicated by many others nationwide. now considered the holy grail of waits broadcasts amongst serious collectors of the great man’s work, this performance featuring tom waits alone at his piano with just his magnificent voice as accompaniment, the way he should be heard, is nothing short of staggering. limited to 1000 copies.
*keith fullerton whitman – generators – editions mego – lp
- over the course of a year, whitman performed a piece of live electronic music a few dozen times entitled “generator.” this lp covers the final two performances of the piece over two consecutive evenings; these recordings show the piece in two different iterations, taking two different trajectories entirely. they’re considered the definitive versions of the piece. composed for, and realized with a scalable selection of digital and analog modular synthesis equipment, an attempt to wrest a viable performance-based music out of what had until then been a solitary set of sound-design tools.
various – rumble in the jungle – penny – lp+cd
- “exotica, novelty rock ‘n’ roll, r&b, doo wop, rockabilly, calypso and jive from the fifties and early sixties. rare cuts that all have one thing in common: apes in the jungle! artists like crazy nervous norvus, cleveland soul sisters the ebonettes and their ‘wild man walk’, bert convey and his ‘the gorilla’, and everyone’s favorite italian american gigolo, the king of swing, louis prima with his ‘civilization (bongo bongo bongo)’.”
various – she bop – penny – lp+cd
- “sixteen tracks of stone-cold female rock, soul and r&b from deep in the vaults. these chicks were busy keepin’ it real…not keepin’ house! everyone from big mama thornton and her superlative version of ‘hound dog’, to toni fisher and her 1959 hit ‘the big hurt’ (apparently the first song ever to use flanging), cool connie francis’ 1955 ‘fallin”, shirley gunter’s doo wop classic ‘ipsie opsie ooh’ and the ‘female elvis’ janis martin’s ‘cracker jack’!”

…..restocks…..

*ambarchi/o’rourke/haino – imikuzushi – black truffle – lp
arcade fire – funeral – merge – lp
beach boys – smile sessions – emi – lp
beatles – love – emi – lp
black flag – my war – sst – lp
cloud nothings – attack on memory – carpark – cd
leonard cohen – old ideas – columbia – lp
*demdike stare – symbiosis – modern love – cd
dinosaur jr – farm – jagjaguwar – lp
kathleen edwards – voyager – zoe – lp
fleet foxes – s/t – sub pop – lp
fleet foxes – helplessness blues – sub pop – lp
florence & the machine – lungs – island – lp
florence & the machine – ceremonial – island – lp
gonjasufi – mu.zz.le. – warp – lp
jimi hendrix – are you experienced – sony – lp
*jesus lizard – down – touch & go – lp
*jesus lizard – goat – touch & go – lp
*jesus lizard – liar – touch & go – lp
*les rallizes denudes – heavier than a death in the family – phoenix – lp
mf doom & madlib – madvillian – stones throw – lp
*neung phak – 2 – abduction – lp
nirvana – bleach – sub pop – lp
*oneohtrix point never – replica – software – lp
pink floyd – wish you were here – emi – lp
portishead – s/t – london – lp
portishead – dummy – polydor – lp
redd kross – neurotica – sympathy for the record industry – lp
rolling stones – exile on main street – universal – lp
john k samson – provincial – anti – lp/cd
*sonic youth – sister – original – lp
*sunn o))) – 00 void – southern lord – lp
*sunn o))) – monoliths & dimensions – southern lord – lp
*sunn o))) – oracle – southern lord – lp
*supreme dicks – emotional plague – jagjaguwar – lp
*supreme dicks – unexamined life – jagjaguwar – lp
*robert wyatt – ruth is stranger than richard – domino – lp
neil young & crazy horse – live in san francisco – vinyl passion – lp
zombies – odessey & oracle – big beat – lp

thanks for listening….

listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780.732.1132

www.listenrecords.net
www.facebook.com/listenrecords

Feb 09 2012
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New, Weekly News Letters

…..news letter #523 – to drop ceiling, or to not drop ceiling…..

howdy all,

you know, every week make this news letter, and it takes me a varying amount of time depending on how much is in (or coming in), how busy i am in the store that day, and how motivated i am to get to it. and nearly every week i wonder, ‘does anyone even read this damned thing’. and then i put out a list like last week full of some nice used goodies, and a week later most of it is all gone, so i guess it does get read after all. this week finds not a huge amount in, but some real top notch stuff not to be missed. we are slowly sorting out the void left by the loss of one of our suppliers and hope that some of the new sources we’ve drummed up will work out even better going forward.. only time shall tell though. in the meantime, here’s what did come in this week that you should buy…

…..pick of the week…..

*neung phak – 2 – abduction – lp
- yes!!!!! “in the pantheon of western-tilted south east asian tribute groups, oakland, california’s neung phak (pronounced: “noong pahk”) have carved out a decade’s worth of inspired and unique recordings and performance since their 2001 debut, (birthed as a spin-off from legendary bay area group mono pause). galvanized by exposure to thousands of south east asian cassette tapes, lps and radio broadcasts harvested during years of travels (co-founder mark gergis is a key conspirator with international record label sublime frequencies), the 7-piece group play folk and pop sounds from thailand, cambodia, laos, indonesia, vietnam and elsewhere, using a variety of western and non-western instruments. neung phak delivers international sounds that trade the gloss and sheen of so-called “world music” for the energy and unpredictability you can find when you’re somewhere else. after two releases on abduction and several performances and tours, neung phak have returned with their second full-length studio lp. 2 showcases molam-folk pop and acid-rock hauntings from thailand’s yesterday and today, javanese dancefloor dangdut, and cambodian instrumental dramas — all retold in inimitable neung phak parlance. the stunning indonesian pop gem, “bang toyib,” features guest alan bishop (sun city girls) on bahasa vocals. thai dance-pop cuts “poot” and “poo jud” feature veteran singer diana hayes. the damning “fucking usa” was purportedly recorded in a north korean studio — and the epic retelling of the classic southern thai-styled “sat chatri,” closes down the lp in sprawling, psychedelic form. limited edition one-time pressing of 500 copies with download card.” super rad.

…..new arrivals…..

birthday party – peel sessions – strange fruit – 2lp
- the john peel bbc sessions march on with this stellar 19 track collection from nick cave’s legendary band. 16 peel session tracks including ‘cry’, ‘yard’, ‘release the bats’, ‘big jesus trash can’ and more. plus unreleased versions of ‘fear of gun 4′, ‘hamlet’ and ‘junkyard’.
boys next door – door, door – mushroom – lp
- reissue of nick cave’s boys next door studio album from 1979, 10 tracks in picture sleeve from mushroom records. garage punk at it’s finest, including the moody and morbid ballad “shivers”. very limited stock.
thomas brinkmann & oren ambarchi – the mortimer trap – black truffle – cd
- an epic, 77-minute “variation” of morton feldman’s for bunita marcus, pulsating waves of claustrophobic ambience generated from who-knows-what patiently builds into a throbbing, rhythmic pulse of gorgeous sonic density.
*caretaker – patience – history always favors the winner – cd
- now available on cd… kirby returns in 2012 with his long-in-the-making soundtrack to grant gee’s film about w.g. sebald. patience (after sebald) is a multi-layered film essay on landscape, art, history, life and loss by the acclaimed documentary film-maker grant gee. grant approached the caretaker to work on a soundtrack for this work and he sourced out-of-copyright franz schubert works from 1927 including the famous work “winterreise.” the soundtrack has been pieced together using snippets and fragments of this source material.
*demdike stare – elemental 4 – modern love – 12″
- the fourth and final installment of this sprawling collection of deep, dark ambient, ethno, dub, library, horror duo’s latest offering. the whole set is now instock… limited of course.
demdike stare/hype williams – meet shangaan electro – honest jon’s – 12″
- essential installment in the shangaan remix series, with futuristic pop duo hype williams turning out a mesmerizing tribute, lagging somewhere ages behind the party people, achingly soulful and lost. if you have to ask what the demdike stare side is like, then you don’t deserve it.
*flower travellin’ band – anywhere – lp
- first album from the legendary japanese rockers fronted by yuya uchida. although an album consisting mainly of cover versions, 1970′s anywhere still exhibited many of the musical traits that were to come to the fore on the band’s next release, the classic satori, an album of original material delivered with panache by the increasingly confident uchida. an album made memorable by its risqué cover as well as its ground-breaking approach to western rock music.
fucked up – year of the tiger – matador – 12″
- you know it’s the new year when these polaris prize winners’ annual ep is released. i’m sure there will be at least 3 more versions on various formats for the collectors to frenzy over.
fela kuti vs de la soul – fela soul – lp
- you got it… de la soul mash ups with fela kuti…. pot holes in nigeria…
mark lanegan band – blues funeral – 4ad – lp/cd
- after spending some time with greg dulli in the gutter twins, lanegan is back with a new solo album. colored vinyl, for now….
*kim jung mi – now – lion – lp
- “in 1973, god-like guitar wizard, songwriter, producer, and arranger shin joong hyun took a young girl named kim jung mi, and transformed her from a wallflower student into a folk-psych chanteuse in record time (if francoise hardy is the marianne faithful of france, then kim jung mi is, i suppose, the francoise hardy of korea). on each number, hyun and his backing group laid down pure emotion on tape. this raw feeling, combined with mi’s seductive, expressive vocals and empathetic string orchestration, resulted in an album that is nothing short of awe-inspiring. without a doubt, one of the best psychedelic albums ever created.”
nirvana – live melbourne 1.2.1992 – live wire – 2lp
- great sounding live recording of these guys just before they really broke. aneurysm, drain you, school, sliver, about a girl, come as you are, lithium, breed, polly, lounge act, in bloom, love buzz, smells like teen spirit, druid’s jam, negative creep, on a plain, & blew.
*jim o’rourke – old news # 7 – old news – lp
- more archival works from o’rourke see the light of day. “welcome to the django” is a 2-sided mid-’90s excursion of o’rouke’s first experiments with a serge modular system. “natural born killers” is a recent live jam recorded in nagoya. “tacere fas” is legendary early ’90s piece, finally available again, originally appearing on the compilation unentitled, released by these records in 1994. available only in this format.
porter ricks – biokinetics – type – lp/cd
- now in on cd…. techno isn’t a genre that has birthed many classic albums, and the dub techno subgenre even less so, but one indisputable classic is porter ricks’ debut biokinetics. originally issued on the legendary basic channel sub-label chain reaction in 1996, it was the first of the label’s album releases, and still stands as its crowning achievement. the duo was made up of dark ambient pioneer thomas köner and sound engineer andy mellwig. simply put, biokinetics is one of the most important records in the genre.
ulrich schnauss/mark peters – underrated silence – bureau b – lp/cd
- underrated silence is a quiet album, for the most part. its multi-layered fabric reveals something new every time one listens to it — a wealth of fresh discoveries, new rhythms emerging from the sound cloud, hitherto unnoticed melodies illuminating the background. schnauss and peters have crafted music which is enchanting in the truest sense of the word — shimmering sounds, floating echoes, rhythmically reverberant chords which wrap themselves around the listener, lifting you into a state of suspension and carrying you gently away.
john talabot – fin – permanent vacation – lp+cd
- 11 tracks dominated by dark ambiances, gaseous textures and bittersweet moods that, above all, reveal a kind of vivacity that’s really hard to find in contemporary electronics. fin is far from being a track collection.
tandy love – turk jerk – fat city – lp
- tandy love’s anagram jam sequel “turk jerk” aka anatolian anagrams. features 13 tracks of “marmalised and de-pipped” obscure-as-hell turk-ish psych funk disco punk and cosmic floor fillers and mind benders.
robert turman – flux – spectrum spools – lp
- until recently, turman was perhaps best known for his contributions to the ballistic non project with boyd rice, as well as other obscured U.S. industrial acts such as z.o. voider. flux was originally self-released in 1981, in extremely limited numbers. a curious, dusty fidelity carries these classic tracks across four sides of vinyl, including all of the original flux content. these compositions glow with a sprawling, slow-motion haze that’s light years ahead of its time. flux reveals wide spectrums of sound from melancholic kalimba and percussion patterns to slowed-down, syrupy exotica. turman had complex ideas in his mind, yet only the simple technologies of the day were at hand.
*various – istanbul 70 – nublu – lp
- “compiled by renowned dj baris k, this is a 14-track compilation featuring turkish classics from the ’70s — from rock stalwarts erkin koray and cem karaca, to disco folksters baris manco, nazan soray, and psy-funkers mogollar and kamuran akkor.”

…..restocks…..

adele – 21 – xl – lp
aphex twin – selected ambient works 85-92 – fanclub – lp
*john bender – pop surgery – record sluts – lp
*john bender – plaster falling – record sluts – lp
*john fahey – america – 4 men with beards – lp
*can – ege bamyasi – united artists – lp
*can – tago mago – united artists – lp
the fall – this nation’s saving grace – beggars – lp
girls – father, son, holy ghost – true panther – lp
*harald grosskopf – synthesist – rerving – lp
kenneth higney – attic demonstration – one kind favor – lp
*erkin koray – mechul – sublime frequencies – lp
*takahasi kosugi – catch wave – phoenix – lp
louvin brothers – satan is real – light in the attic – lp
john maus – we must become… – ribbon – lp
mount kimbie – crooks & lovers – hot flush – lp
new order – movement – rhino – lp
new order – power, corruption, lies – rhino – lp
*la planete sauvage OST – pathe – lp
pinch/shackleton – s/t – honest jons – lp
pixies – doolittle – 4ad – lp
slowdive – pygmalion – creation – lp
*taj mahal travellers – 15 july, 1972 – klimt – lp
talk talk – spirit of eden – parlophone – lp
*robert wyatt – dondestan – domino – lp
xx – s/t – xl – lp

thanks for listening…..

listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780-732-1132

www.listenrecords.net
www.facebook.com/listenrecords

Feb 02 2012
2 Comments
New, Used, Weekly News Letters

…..news letter #522 – ugh, sanding…..

howdy all,
     welcome to february, the month in which stuff finally starts to come out again. sadly, yesterday one of our main suppliers called it quits. so hopefully not too much gets missed while we pick up the pieces and find new sources for everything. who knows, maybe this will turn out to be a good thing. maybe….

…..pick of the week…..

*keiji haino/jim o’rourke/oren ambarchi – imikuzushi – black truffle – lp
- limited gatefold double lp version with printed innersleeves. “the yearly summit of keiji haino, jim o’rourke and oren ambarchi continues with imikuzushi, which finds the group extending the power-trio strategies of 2011′s highly-praised in a flash everything comes together as one there is no need for a subject and bringing to them a newly-sustained intensity. for this performance, haino limits himself to electric guitar and vocals, forming complex networks of slashing rhythm work, noise squall and chromatic shredding, moving at times to near-silent passages of howled vocals and isolated, hanging guitar strums. the tendency towards driving free-rock which surfaced on moments of the trio’s last release is cemented here, with o’rourke’s fuzzed-out, non-linear bass riffing moving the music into almost garage-rock areas, combining with ambarchi’s drums to form a bedrock of hypnotic, metronomic pounding which transforms itself effortlessly into passages of flowing free-time. like all of haino’s best work, the trio transcends any ‘rock’ genre exercise to enter a non-idiomatic zone of ritual intensity, creating a music formed purely out of instrumental and group-mind possibility. presented as four unedited excerpts salvaged from an epic show that lasted well over three hours, the sometimes raw nature of the recording only adds to its directness and harshly emotive quality.” –francis plagne, melbourne, november, 2011. design by stephen o’malley (sunn o)))) with high quality live shots by ujin matsuo and stunning images by tokyo-based photographer and sound artist shunichiro okada.

…..new arrivals…..

a place to bury strangers – onwards to the wall – dead oceans – lp/cd
       - packs every bit of the searing sonic maelstrom listeners have come to expect (nay, demand!) from brooklyn’s a place to bury strangers. yet, the adroit songcraft that’s always been there is brought more the fore, pop hooks are repurposed and more instantly recognizable.
laurel aitken – calypso rock & roll: early mento recordings – rumble – lp
- “unmissable singles collection documenting the early days of the man the world will always remember as the ‘godfather of ska’. this is a must-have for anyone willing to know more on the origins of rocksteady and ska.”
laurel aitken – boogie in my bones: early steps of the godfather of ska – rumble – lp
- “more of the r&b and early mento singles by the godfather of jamaican ska. chronicling his last twelve months before leaving the island in 1960, this collection includes his collaborations with legendary jamaican producers such as chris blackwell and duke reid, confirming his calypso leanings, but also anticipating that pronounced guitar offbeat heralding the approach of ska.”
*the caretaker – patience (after sebald) – history always favours the winners – lp
- kirby returns in 2012 with his long-in-the-making soundtrack to grant gee’s film about w.g. sebald. patience (after sebald) is a multi-layered film essay on landscape, art, history, life and loss by the acclaimed documentary film-maker grant gee. grant approached the caretaker to work on a soundtrack for this work and he sourced out-of-copyright franz schubert works from 1927 including the famous work “winterreise.” the soundtrack has been pieced together using snippets and fragments of this source material.
cloud nothings – attack on memory – carpark – lp/cd
- new album from this band that now actually functions as a band… for fans of drive like jehu, jawbreaker, braid, etc.
*esperit! – endavant continu – bankrobber – lp
- “one-man-band recording this first album that features a collection of sounds (accidentally) recorded between 2005 and 2011 in various places such as highway stops, swimming pools, in the forest, and occasionally in a studio as well!!! it obviously has that home-made lo-fi feel, and it’s a great mix of electric and acoustic psychedelia, trippy folk and real people vibe all way through. vinyl release is limited to 500 copies only.”
kenneth higney – attic demonstration – one kind favor – lp
- “often considered the holy grail of ‘real people’ records, kenneth higney’s attic demonstration was never actually intended to be an official release. it was recorded as a vehicle with which to sell higney’s songs to other artists and was only pressed to vinyl in 1976 when he grew tired of duplicating cassette tapes. attic demonstration is a strange sonic world all of its own. it is neither too weird to be unappealing to ‘regular’ music listeners nor is it one of those discoveries that leaves you wondering what all the hype was about. acoustic guitar ballads of nearly atonal desolation mix readily with rock ‘n’ roll numbers featuring hiccuping drums and alien sounding electric guitar.”
house of low culture – poisoned soil – taiga – lp+12″
- holc is the long-running solo project of aaron turner (isis, mamiffer, lotus eaters, etc.) and poisoned soil is their first proper album to be released in nearly a decade. the three lengthy compositions within conjure a wide variety of spatial effects and spectral imagery when experienced under headphones: distant rumblings, ominous premonitions and strange equilibrium disturbances, all underscored by the hiss of naked electrical current. pressed on 200 gram virgin vinyl, poisoned soil is presented as a grand lp+12″ set with spot colors, printed innersleeves and flooded pockets in an edition of 500.
perispirit – spiritual church movement – digitalis – lp
- new collaboration from ricardo donoso and luke moldof, following on from releases for prurient’s hospital productions label. the album is a highly disjointed meeting of analog and digital production techniques recalling autechre at their most progressive.
wendy rene – after laughter comes tears – light in the attic – lp/cd
- subtitled: complete stax & volt singles & rarities 1964-65. “first ever anthology of southern soul legend wendy rene including eleven singles, nine rarities and two unreleased songs. listen, delve and enjoy. glorious mono sound restored and remastered from the original tapes.”
*saga – s/t – acid nightmare – lp
- cult swedish heavy progressive rock group saga’s super rare lone album released back in 1974. a rich blend of prog/fusion, heavy acid blues and dark folk-rock, making this a must-have in any collection of ’70s proto-metal and prog-rock as well. limited to 400 copies, in remastered sound and original artwork.
john k. sampson – provincial – anti – lp/cd
- new solo album from john k of the weakerthans.
ulrich schnauss & mark peters – underrated silence – bureau b – lp+cd
- underrated silence is a quiet album, for the most part. its multi-layered fabric reveals something new every time one listens to it — a wealth of fresh discoveries, new rhythms emerging from the sound cloud, hitherto unnoticed melodies illuminating the background. schnauss and peters have crafted music which is enchanting in the truest sense of the word — shimmering sounds, floating echoes, rhythmically reverberant chords which wrap themselves around the listener, lifting you into a state of suspension and carrying you gently away.
sound ceremony – s/t – one kind favor – lp
- “canadian born guitarist and songwriter ron warren ganderton’s 1979 lp with his group sound ceremony. ganderton self-released three lps with the band while living in the uk during the 1970s and ’80s. all of the group’s efforts are undeniably unique, but their middle record is the true brain-damaged winner of the bunch. the record surely fits somewhere into the uk punk explosion of the day, but it’s also looks back to the mid-sixties rock that ton cut his teeth on and ahead to some sort of maniac future form of entertainment that perhaps has not been invented yet.”
*sunn o))) – 00void – southern lord – lp/2cd
- much needed reissue of these doom monsters’ second album. deluxe double cd contains the nurse with wound remixes.
twilight sad – no one can ever know – fat cat – lp/cd
       –  the twilight sad’s third full-length, marks a sonic shift for the band. freshly inspired by a listening diet of cabaret voltaire, can, liars, magazine, autechre, and public image limited, the band turn to a dark, synth-heavy sound; the resulting lp shares thematic and sonic space with the most innovative offerings from depeche mode, the cure, or even nine inch nails.
vazz/la bambola del dr. caligari – whisper not/the wrong holiday – forced nostalgia – lp
- the fourth release from archival imprint forced nostalgia. a-side features vazz’s absolutely incredible “lost” album of casio-pop from 1982. while the b-side features 5 tracks of mid-’80s gloom-pop and slow-wave from Italy’s la bambola del dr. caligari
various – beat frauleins: female pop in germany 1964-1968 – grosse freiheit – lp/cd
- following two funky fräuleins compilations, the time has come for the beat fräuleins. back we go, deep into the ’60s, when the beat forced its way into the innocent world of german schlager, when the rhythm grew hotter and the lyrics sharper, the drums louder and the guitar more distorted. beat fräuleins brings together 19 highlights of the era.

…..used goodies…..

luke abbott – holkham drones – border community – lp
aleph-1 (aka alva noto) – s/t – ideal/raster-noton – 2lp
alva noto – unitxt – raster-noton – lp
alva noto – xerrox vol 1 – raster-noton – lp
alva noto – xerrox vol 2 – raster-noton – lp
antony & the johnsons – the crying light – secretly canadian – lp
asura – s/t –  non projects – lp
devendra banhart – nino rojo & rejoicing in the hands – young god – 2lp
devendra banhart – oh me oh my… – young god – lp
black boned angel – eternal love – riot season – lp
blank realm – heatless ark – not not fun – lp
the books – the way out – temporary residence – lp
karl bosmann – eskalation – youdon’thavetocallitmusic – lp
william s. burroughs – break through in grey room – sub rosa – lp
byetone – plastic star – raster-noton – 12″
codes in the clouds – as the spirit wanders – erased tapes – lp
nicolas collins – devil’s music – em – 2lp
donnacha costello – color series – minimise – 10×12″
denzel & huhn – filet – city centre offices – lp
deru – pushing air – neo ouija – lp
dictaphone – m.=addiction – city centre offices – lp
expressway yo yo dieting – bubblethug – weird forest – lp
fridge – happiness – temporary residence – lp
fridge – the sun – temporary residence – lp
gavouna – stings & dum machines – arable – lp
jose gonzalez – in our nature – mute – lp
robert henke – atom/document – imbalance – lp (sealed)
land of kush – monogamy – constellation – 2lp
larsen – LLL – important – lp
monolake – atlas – imbalance – lp (sealed)
monolake – silence – imbalance – lp (sealed)
sandro perri – plays polmo polpo – constellation – lp
pinch – underwater dancehall (instrumentals) – tectonic – lp
portishead – third – mercury – lp
sam prekop – old punch card – thrill jockey – lp
psychic reality – vibrant new age – not not fun – lp
puzzle muteson – en garde – bedroom community – lp
rockford kabine – italian music – combination – lp
arthur russell – first thought, best thought – audika – 3lp (sealed)
collie ryan – the hour is now – sebastian speaks – lp
silver mt zion – 13 blues for thirteen moons – constellation – lp
joseph suchy – entskidoo – entenpfuhl – lp
sunken foal – fallen arches – planet mu – lp
tecumeh – avalanche and inundation – important – lp
tomutonttu – s/t – beta lactum ring – lp
torngat – la petite nicole – alien 8 – lp
triple burner – s/t – madrona – lp
alexander tucker – grey onion – latitudes – lp
ultralyd – conditions for a piece of music – rune grammofon – lp
valet – naked acid – marriage – lp
moritz von oswald trio – vertical ascent
various – music de wolfe vol 1 – de wolfe – lp
various – dramatic funk themes vol 1 – show up – lp
various – killing melody – ethbo – lp

…..restocks…..

beach boys – smile sessions – capitol – lp
beatles – abbey road – capitol – lp
*black flag – damaged – sst – lp
black flag – first four years – sst – lp
black flag – slip it in – sst – lp
black keys – brothers – nonesuch – lp
black keys – el camino – nonesuch – lp
*blues creation – demon & eleven children – therapeutic – lp
*miles davis – bitches brew – legacy – lp
*miles davis – kind of blue – legacy – lp
j dilla – donuts – stones throw – lp
*lee fields – my world – truth & soul – lp
*lee fields – problems – truth & soul – lp
fucked up – hidden world – deranged – lp
*bruce haack – electric lucifer – omni – cd
jimi hendrix – axis: bold as love – reprise – lp
howlin’ wolf – moanin’ – docy – lp
*johann johannsson – miner’s hymns – fat cat – lp
sharon jones – soul time – daptone – cd
*july – s/t – guerssen – lp
marvelous darlings – single life – deranged – lp
mastodon – leviathan – relapse – lp
metallica – ride the lighting – elektra – lp
metallica – and justice for all – elektra – lp
metallica – master of puppets – elektra – lp
*neu! – neu! – groenland – lp
*neu! – 2 – groenland – lp
*neu! – 75 – groenland – lp
pentemple – o))) presents – southern lord – lp
real estate – days – domino – lp
rural alberta advantage – departing – paperbag – lp
smashing pumpkins – siamese dream – virgin – lp
sonics – here are the sonics – norton – lp
sonics – boom – norton – lp
*velvet underground – & nico – 4 men with beards – lp
tom waits – bad as me – anti – lp
wilco – a ghost is born – nonesuch – lp

thanks for listening….
Jan 26 2012
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Weekly News Letters

…..news letter #521 – ick…..

howdy all…..

in what is becoming the ups standard, we’re still waiting on a box here, but i guess they still have a bit of time. not that there’s a huge amount in that box. next week there should be a lot more in this little list, as i know of a few things that are en route. anyway there’s still lots to catch up on anyway, right?

a little reminder too, that tonight i’ll be over at the common spinning records for a little while, starting around 9:30. come down and say hi…

…..pick of the week…..

*nord – lsd – pcp – lp
- super cool early 80s japanese synth explorations. “the first of two requested nord lp’s, l.s.d. features rough hewn sheets of ominous yet trippy pulsating textural electronics with an obvious debt to the stark teutonic soundworlds of kluster and (especially) seesselberg. any glimmers of transcendence are immediately offset by a deadzone ambience that reeks of maurizio bianchi. hiroshi oikawa’s solo explorations of the galactic void seem considerably more enticing to these set of ears than the more formalized quotidian post-industrial con-structs he was fabricating under the nord moniker with satoshi katayama on their pinakotheca label debut lp from three years earlier. if this is cos-mic, than it’s the cosmos as viewed from the vantage point of a burned out cinder drifting into entropy. gripping stuff!“ limited repress from germany.

…..new arrivals…..

oren ambarchi – audience of one – touch – cd
- “taking his cues from the spacious methodologies of alvin lucier and morton feldman, the more raw field-stuffs of folkways recordings, and the electronic abstractions of voice crack and various mego-folk, oren’s music has the peculiar sense of being both grounded and drifting, an amalgam of the visceral and pleasantly disorienting.”
*atomic forest – obsession – now again – lp/cd
- “The collected recordings of india’s best-known psychedelic rock ensemble, and the story behind their genesis, which lasted from 1973-1977. the atomic forest stand as the only indian psychedelic/hard rock band that managed to record an album: obsession ’77. the album’s mix of blistering, fuzzy rock and synth-lead funk inspired collectors the world over to fork over thousands of dollars for original copies of this — until recently — unknown platter. ” 44-page booklet of photos, liner notes, etc.
*demdike stare – elemental part 3 – modern love – 12″
- part three in this 4-part set. this 12″ slots into the elemental quad-gatefold which came with parts 1 & 2. the 2cd album elemental features a different tracklisting with alternate versions of some of these vinyl tracks plus extra content. pressed on colored vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies for the world.
fire/jim o’rourke – released! – rune grammofon – 10″
- fire! are developing at a rapid speed and their exhilarating gig at oslo jazz festival in august 2011 simply left the audience gobsmacked. this 10″ ep however, contains more music from their fruitful collaboration with jim o’rourke in tokyo in september 2010. here are two workouts showing the wide musical spectrum they cover. vinyl-only.
*ben frost/daniel bjarnason – solaris – bedroom community – lp
- a special collaboration between composers ben frost and daníel bjarnason — a symphonic suite inspired by andrei tarkovsky’s solaris. “the artistic context is not a prerequisite, as the forever gripping and occasionally terrifying sounds are universal. it is also not an outwardly sci-fi album and, for its ambition and execution, sólaris should sit very highly in the curriculum vitaes of both its creators.”
scorch trio – made in norway – rune grammofon – lp
- classic double live album from this free-spirited international trio, this time expanded with american sax player mars williams. recorded live at oslo’s café mono and at the nattjazz festival in bergen, both in may 2011. the interplay is simply stunning and the sound is of studio quality. vinyl-only release, limited to 500 numbered copies.
various – pop ambient 2012 – kompakt – lp/cd
- kompakt’s beloved annual institution for unreleased and praised new selections from the world of beat-less electronic music. features brand new music from wolfgang voigt (aka gas), triola (aka jörg burger), marsen jules, superpitcher, bvdub, and the new alter-ego from the field under loops of your heart.

…..restocks…..

*steve hauschildt – tragedy & geometry – kranky – lp
*jakob olausson – morning & sunrise – de stijl – lp
*porter ricks – biokinetics – type – lp
*terry riley – a rainbow in curved air – epic – lp
archie shepp – magic of ju-ju – impulse – lp
*taj mahal travellers – july 15, 1972 – klimt – lp
*various – african scream contest – analog africa – lp

thanks for listening…..

listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780.732.1132

www.listenrecords.net
www.facebook.com/listenrecords

Jan 19 2012
2 Comments
New, Weekly News Letters

…..news letter #520 – winter much?…..

howdy all…..

well, it’s definitely january. -30 and slim pickin’s for new releases. but as usual, despite the lack of releases, that doesn’t mean a lack of quality. there’s some top notch stuff in this week, and it’s warming up again too so get out of your cave and get down here.

       oh ya, if you’ve missed it in past, next week i’ll be djing again down the street at the common next thursday night. come on down, after 9, i’ll be spinning some cool fuzzy funky library and soundtrack tunes along side some folks from other local shops. come show your love for listen!

…..pick of the week…..


*eddie callahan – false ego – time-lag – lp
- first ever reissue, deluxe & legit, of this quite rare 1976 southern california private press gem. it’s a strange, fantastical, and totally distinct album that will have you sucked in almost instantly. this one is extremely hard to pin down – think something like a loner powerpop rock opus, heavy on the psychedelic production values, studio dreamer vibes, and timeless hooks. the songs are unusual but infectious, the production is breezy & expansive but not polished, and the vocals are constantly morphing yet always effective. in fact, the hazy chameleon-like personality here might be one of the best things going for the album, as not only does eddie seem to be channeling a handful of different vocalists, but the whole mood & sound shifts around unexpectedly as well. even the potential low points somehow work, and there’s surprises around every turn. the often questioning, self-reflective lyrics add yet another layer of mystique to the trip. musically the most mellow points hover around gorgeous, airy, rural-tinged, floating psychedelia with beautifully layered acoustic & electric guitars, tinkling keys, and lush mellotron. when things pick up they’re truly rocking, with tight punchy rhythms and eddie firing off big chunky guitar riffs like he’s playing to the packed stadium behind his third eye. all the studio tricks at hand are put to full use with sweet leslie guitar effects, special tones, backwards solos, elaborate multi-tracked sound fields, and some of the most wonderfully bent synthesizer soloing ever laid to tape. the perfectly strange & beautiful cover art seals the deal… mastered from the artist’s well preserved & great sounding master tapes. pressed on highest quality 180gm virgin vinyl, and packaging in an exact reproduction heavy old-style cover, with exact repro labels. also includes a double-sided heavy stock insert with a bunch of great vintage photos of eddie rockin’ the marshall stacks at the ‘false ego’ sessions, plus new notes from eddie, his wife donna-davi, and album producer robert berry. one time pressing of 700 copies.


*ghedelia tazartes – works 1977-1979 – vinyl on demand – 4lp+10″
- in tomorrow… back in stock!! “4lp-box with 10″ tazartes’ transports, tazartes, diaspora, une eclipse totale de soleil, and quelque part quelqu’un. the french artist and autodidact ghedalia tazartes who is born in paris in 1947 is a true nomad spending more than 30 years within musical practice and experimentation. ghedalia is the orchestra and a pop group all in one person: the self is multitude and others, freely connecting the sounds, the rhythms, his voice, his voices. the extra-european music opens the ear to ghedalia’s intra-european exotism. the permanent metamorphosis is a principle of composition; it escapes control, refuses classification, diametrical to the purists of synthetic culture and technocrates of noise. he wanders through music from chant to rhythm, from one voice to another. utilizing magnetic tape recorders, he paves the way for the electric and the vocal paths, between the muezzin psalmody and the screaming of a rocker. he traces vague landscapes where the mitre of the white clown, the plumes of the sorcerer, the helmet of a cop and parisian anhydride collide into polyphonic ceremonies. this box concentrates on his early works from 1977-1979 and his four officially released vinyl-lp’s plus a 10″ of an unreleased work from 1978. all the material is superbly remastered for vinyl by anders peterson of ghostsounds.net, pushing the overall quality and dimension in sound to an amazing new level and experience.”

…..new arrivals…..

biosphere – substrata – biophon – 2lp
biosphere – n-plants – biophon – 2lp
- in tomorrow… limited edition vinyl releases of these two ambient slabs. the first, one of the all-time classic ambient albums, from 1997. the second, a vinyl issue of their 2011 album.
michael chapman – rainmaker – light in the attic – lp
- in tomorrow… on the heels of 2011s superb reissue of chapman’s 1970 classic album fully qualified survivor comes his 1969 debut rainmaker (originally released on the seminal harvest label). like the fqs album, rainmaker is a psychedelic-guitar-folk delight.
*karen dalton – 1966 – delmore – lp
- in tomorrow… “in 1966, carl baron brought his reel to reel over to her remote cabin in summerville, colorado and recorded one of those exquisite musical evenings. karen and richard tucker were rehearsing for a gig when carl hit the record button. the result is a 45-year-old tape, carefully exhumed, documenting karen at her most raw and unfiltered. features karen solo on banjo and guitar, plus four duets with richard.”
demdike stare – elemental – modern love – 2×12″
- ooooops… this one got missed in holiday shuffle. the first half of this dark ambient, dub, ethno, library, horror duo’s latest offering. includes 2 12″s and room for 2 more soon to be released…. of course, limited.
dimlite – grimm reality – now again – 3×10″+7″
- in tomorrow… “the third full length from the visionary producer/electronic musician celebrated by the likes of flying lotus, prefuse 73, gaslamp killer and other ‘new beat’ scene luminaries. deluxe 3×10″ vinyl edition: records are housed in thick ‘tip on’ sleeves and packaged in a slipcase containing original art by anneka beatty.”
*eyvind kang – visible breath – ideological organ – lp
- in tomorrow… “the pair of pieces presented on side a of this album, ‘visible breath’ and ‘monodology’ were recorded in 2008. side b is a new piece recorded in summer 2011 with pedal steel and cello, a beautiful excursion of harmonics, ghost tones, and integral interpretation. delicate, enjoyable and translucent as white fields of grass.” — stephen o’malley
*carmen maki & blues creation – s/t – phoenix – lp/cd
- in tomorrow… released at about the same time as demon and eleven children, the album the beautiful carmen maki recorded with the band blues creation, this 1971 heavy rock guitar monster reminds us that …eleven children isn’t the only heavy album from this ensemble. maki was probably one of the strongest voices of japanese rock and is featured here doing her finest grace slick impression. lots of brutal, non-stop wailing guitar but some mellow, bluesy psychedelic rock numbers, too. highly recommended.
john maus – we must become the pitiless censors of ourselves – ribbon – lp
- wow… nothing but excuses from the supplier, but better late than never right? lots of love for this one on year end lists. ariel pink does 80s synth pop kinda vibes.
majutsu no niwa – sylvania 7072 live – 8mm
- debut vinyl release for majutsu no niwa, band led by guitarist and songwriter rinji fukuoka, already founding member of tokyo’s legends overhang party. making their own the formula that if a band rocks, then it rocks live, majutsu no niwa (litterally ‘magical garden’) four tracks of pure sonic catharsis, epic songs, cosmic rock, psychic delirium, including a classic tokyo-style ballad, for one of the loudest bands in the planet. already a cult! 250 copies.
nova scotian arms – cult spectrum – digitalis – lp
- in tomorrow… new album from grant evans, husband and collaborator of rachel evans aka motion sickness of time travel. “slowly meandering, spaced-out layers of drone and ambient synth pads that at once comfort and subtly unsettle, impressively unfolding arrangements built around encompassing tape loops, gently fading into an invisible, infinite space…”
**picchio dal pozzo – s/t – goodfellow – lp
- in tomorrow… reissue of this amazing 1976 italian prog album with heavy canterbury influences. if soft machine were italian, they would have made this record. pricy, but brilliant.
*porter ricks – biokinetics – type – lp
- in tomorrow… techno isn’t a genre that has birthed many classic albums, and the dub techno subgenre even less so, but one indisputable classic is porter ricks‘ debut biokinetics. originally issued on the legendary basic channel sub-label chain reaction in 1996, it was the first of the label’s album releases, and still stands as its crowning achievement. the duo was made up of dark ambient pioneer thomas köner and sound engineer andy mellwig. simply put, biokinetics is one of the most important records in the genre.
up-tight & anla courtis – hamamatsu power – 8mm – one-sided lp
- fantastic meeting between tokyo’s heroes up-tight and cosmic traveller anla courtis. recorded february 18th, 2011 at lucrezia in hamamatsu, tokyo, here you have the rare chance to listen to these folks jamming completely free and at monstrous volume, perfectly alternating great explosions of electricity and quiet moments of dream-like psychedelia, for the real deal celestial burn-out! limited to 200 numbered copies, with handmade covers.

…..restocks…..

*barn owl – shadowland – thrill jockey – lp
bon iver – s/t – jagjaguwar – lp
byetone – symeta – raster noton – lp
*virgil caine – s/t – time-lag – lp
*drive like jehu – s/t – hedhunter – lp
dum dum girls – only in dreams – sub pop – lp
feelies – crazy rhythms – nonesuch – lp
*simon finn – pass the distance – mayfair – lp
godspeed you black emperor – yanqui u.x.o. – constellation – lp
godspeed you black emperor – lift your skinny fists – constellation – lp
louvin brothers – satan is real – light in the attic – lp
m83 – hurry up, we’re dreaming – mute – lp/cd
*menahan street band – make the road by walking – daptone – lp
modern lovers – s/t – 4 men with beards – lp
radiohead – amnesiac – emi – lp
*soft boys – underwater moonlight – yep rock – lp
*colin stetson – new history warfare vol 2: judges – constellation – lp
chad van gaalen – diaper island – flemish eye – lp
chad van gaalen – infiniheart – flemish eye – lp
*war on drugs – slave ambient – secretly canadian – lp/cd
washed out – within & without – sub pop – lp/cd
wilco – being there – nonesuch – lp
wilco – sky blue sky – nonesuch – lp
wilco – yankee hotel foxtrot – nonesuch – lp
various – legends of benin – analog africa – cd
*various – titan! it’s all pop – numero – 4lp

thanks for listening… (happy craig?)

listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780.732.1132

www.listenrecords.net
www.facebook.com/listenrecords

Jan 12 2012
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New, Used, vinyl, Weekly News Letters

…..news letter #519 – prog actually is a four letter word…..

howdy all,

well, it may be january, but there are still some cool new things in for your listening pleasure, and we are slowly starting to see some much needed restocks as well. also, to make up the difference, we bought a few used records this week to keep you busy. if you trust the weather man, it’s supposed to get much colder next week, so stop in before you’re afraid to leave the house…

…..pick of the week…..

*bruce haack & miss nelson – the way-out record for children – mississippi – lp
- “recorded in 1968, a true psychedelic masterpiece for the kids. ms. nelson (a child educator) and bruce haack (an early electronic music pioneer) designed this record to open the minds and hearts of children to deeper levels of insight and culture. not condescending in the least and with a childlike sense of wonder, bruce and ms. nelson lay into some heavy songs about everything from robots to indian mysticism to motorcycle riding fantasies. it’s all in here. the music is all generated by bruces’ homemade electronic instruments which churn out proto hip hop beats and straight up avante garde moments left and right. the kids in ms. nelson’s community chime in with their voices here and there and the record ends with a haunting existential twist that’ll leave you screamin’ for more. a great record for children and adults of all ages.”

*bruce haack & miss nelson – electronic record for children – mississippi – lp
- “recorded in 1969 , early electronic music pioneer bruce haack and child educator ms. nelson go bravely and deeply into psychedelic music compositions designed to open the minds and hearts of the young. truly far out electronic music that evokes a space age alternate universe. bruce and ms. nelson are joined by pianist praxietellis pandit and their relaxed sounding friend chris to bring you songs about everything from ancient folk tales to outerspace to what the world sounds like when you listen with your inner self. real great stuff, not for the faint of heart. avante garde music by and for the people.”

…..new arrivals…..

a winged victory for the sullen – s/t – kranky – lp
- “a winged victory for the sullen is the first installment of the new collaboration between stars of the lid member adam wiltzie and composer dustin o’halloran. seven landscapes of harmonic replicating ingemination. wiltzie says ‘after almost 20 years of struggling to create interesting ambient drone music, i feel like i have finally figured out what i am doing.’
big pink – future this – 4ad – lp
- bright and early in 2012, the big pink return with their sophomore offering. pressed on pink vinyl for the initial run.
byetone – symeta – raster noton – lp
- now available on vinyl! the fourth album from raster co-founder olaf bender. ”while bender’s production style encroaches on techno at times, it never gets bogged down with the structural conventions of any specific genre, instead only barely fraternizing with the idea of dancefloor-based music.” –boomkat
juan manuel cidron – patagon – geometrik – lp
- a hidden gem for fans of the space sounds of the german electronic pioneers of the ’70s — an album from prominent spanish synth-player juan manuel cidrón. for fans of tangerine dream, klaus schulze, ash ra tempel, etc. exclusive use of analog electronic instruments, including a long list of classic synthesizers and sequencers.
mikal cronin – s/t – trouble in mind – lp
- mikal cronin steps momentarily away from the rhythm section of the moonhearts with his debut solo release. ty segall plays drums on a few tracks and helped record this platter, which also features guest spots from ty as well as john dwyer (thee oh sees). mikal’s debut is full of personal & universal themes, taking such influences as late ‘60s del shannon and the everley bros, a more punk harry nilsson or curt boettcher, balancing sweet melodies and chords with chunky, psychedelic guitar freakouts, filtering them through his own mutant california fuzz.
cut hands – afro noise vol 1 – dirter – lp
cut hands – afro noise vol 2 – dirter – lp
- limited vinyl edition with bonus tracks. a bludgeoning mix of machine and vaudou/central african percussion plus other acoustic instruments combine to create one of the most physically intense musical experiences ever. since 2007′s whitehouse album racket, and after his original afro noise mix became one of the most downloaded experimental mixes ever made, william bennett’s remarkable cut hands album has seen four long years of meticulously obsessive studio work in the making, notably deploying his special collection of congolese and ghanaian percussion instruments. all songs written and produced by william bennett; mastering and remastering by denis blackham.
darkside – s/t – s/t – 10″
- dave harrington and nicolas jaar are darkside. “…from dreamy electronic music inflected with impressionist piano, gently digitized french singing, lobby-jazz, and cave sounds to the terse, rugged dub-funk of darkside, all while still sounding totally jaar: nocturnal, cerebral, sensuous, paradoxical, and intuitive.”
deerhoof – reveille – polyvinyl – lp
       - reissed on vinyl!!! the third full-length from out-of-bounds pop specialists. sixteen tracks that run their usual gamut of sounds, emotions, and dynamics. pressed on 180-gram light blue vinyl.
fruit bats – echolocation – jealous butcher – lp
- first time ever on vinyl!!! recorded in chicago in 2001, echolocation is the first fruit bats (sub pop) in a long string of amazing and varied records made by leader eric johnson. this is the starting point—with backing from many of the members of califone, johnson made a lush & understated record that has stood the test of the 10 years it’s been around..
guided by voices – let’s go eat the factory – gbv – lp/cd
- after a fifteen-year hiatus, the “classic lineup” of gbv (robert pollard, tobin sprout, mitch mitchell, greg demos and kevin fennell) finishes off its year-long reunion tour by releasing an album of 21 new songs, deliberately choosing to return to what bandleader pollard calls the “semi-collegial” approach of iconic gbv albums like bee thousand and alien lanes.
jacaszek – glimmer – ghostly – lp
- for the past decade or so, polish musician jacaszek has been exploring a new, resolutely modern chapter in eastern europeʼs long, storied love affair with classical music. his creations are painstakingly crafted collages of electronic textures and baroque instrumentation, harpsichords being swarmed by woolly static one minute and pulled apart by billowing wind the next.
junior kimbough – you better run – fat possum – lp
- a career-spanning collection of tracks from one of the most influential and original blues musicians in the past fifty years, junior kimbrough. hailed by as a primal force in american music, junior never reached the mass audience that he deserved while alive, but his music endures and continues to be discovered by music fans from all walks of life.
pierced arrows – straight to the heart – tombstone – lp
        - the first lp by pierced arrows. after the disbanding of dead moon, fred & toody cole wasted no time and formed this band with local well loved punk for life kelly halliburton. a mix of heavy rock, psychedelic classic rock & blues. described as “the thinking mans ac/dc”. maybe so. music too tough to die—for real.
sean nicholas savage – flamingo – arbutus – cs
        - the latest cassette from edmonton expat superstar sean nicholas savage, something of a throwback to his earlier folk records. “from the shangri-la of the valley of song, a classic yet current piece in the folk vein, sean nicholas savage casts down his final work in a three release year (won ton jaz, trippple midnight karma). flamingo plays at his calmest and most confident tempo; classic titles from a young singer-songwriter, driven to maturity by over experience. on the cassette, the old soul sings and dances (eyes closed) from his fatigued mind to yours.”

…..used goodies……

art ensemble of chicago – nice guys – ecm – lp
art ensemble of chicago – with fontella bass – prestige – lp
beethoven – bicentennial collection – deutsche grammophon – 17 x 5lp boxsets + book
john cale/terry riley – church of anthrax – columbia – lp
crosby, stills, nash, and young – so far – atlantic – lp
deep purple – purple passages – warner – lp
bob dylan – dylan – columbia – lp
bob dylan – greatest hits I – columbia – lp (w/poster)
bob dylan – greatest hits II – columbia – 2lp
bob dylan – nashville skyline – columbia – lp
roberta flack – first take – atlantic – lp
marvin gaye – anthology – motown – 3lp
grateful dead – skeletons from the closet – warner – lp
franciose hardy – comment te dire adieu – reprise – lp
isaac hayes – black moses – enterprise – 2lp
isaac hayes – hot buttered soul – enterprise – lp
jean-michel jarre – equinoxe – polydor – lp
jean-michel jarre – oxygene – polydor – lp
jean-michel jarre – magnetic fields – polydor – lp
jean-michel jarre – the concerts in china – polydor – 2lp
jean-michel jarre – zoolook – polydor – lp
jefferson airplane – the worst of – victor – lp
kris kristofferson – silver tongued devil & i – monument – lp
led zeppelin – III – atlantic – lp
pink floyd – ummagumma – harvest – 2lp
rolling stones – flowers – london – lp
rolling stones – hot rocks – london – 2lp
simon & garfunkel – sounds of silence – columbia – lp
sly and the family stone – greatest hits – epic – lp
tortoise – tnt – thrill jockey – 2lp
stevie wonder – innervisions – tamla – lp
stevie wonder – talking book – tamla – lp
yardbirds – live – epic – lp

…..restocks…..

ali ag amoumine – takamba – mississippi – lp
art zoyd – symph pour le – sub rosa – lp
roberto cacciapaglia – sonanze – wah wah – lp
*cosmic jokers – s/t – klimt – lp
dirty beaches – badlands – zoo – lp
dream syndicate – days of wine & roses – 4 men with beards – lp
charlie feathers – wild side – norton – lp
charlie feathers – honky tonk – norton – lp
florence and the machine – lungs – island – lp
florence and the machine – ceremonials – island – lp
fugazi – the argument – dischord – lp
fugazi – repeater – dischord – lp
genius/gza – liquid swords – get on down – lp
*george-edwards group – archive – drag city – lp
*steve hauschildt – tragedy & geometry – kranky – lp
*hot snakes – automatic midnight – swami – lp
*index – black & red – lion – 2cd
lcd soundsystem – this is happening – dfa – lp
*les rallizes denudes – great white wonder – phoenix – 5lp
*les rallizes denudes – heavier than a death in the family – phoenix – 2lp
louvin brothers – satan is real – light in the attic – lp
mammatus – s/t – holy mountain – lp
mammatus – coast explodes – holy mountain – lp
metallica – ride the lightning – elektra – lp
mf doom – mm… food – rhymesayers – lp
morphine – cure for pain – modern classics – lp
mr. bungle – california – plain – lp
nico – desertshore – 4 men with beards – lp
nico – chelsea girl – 4 men with beards – lp
*om – conference of birds – holy mountain – lp
*outsiders – cq – jackpot – lp
ty segall – lemons – goner – lp
ty segall – singles – goner – lp
sonic youth – anagrama – syr – lp
*sonic youth – goo – goofin’ – 4lp
sonic youth – murray street – goofin’ – lp
sonic youth – s/t – goofin’ – lp
sonic youth – simon werner.. – syr – lp
spacemen 3 – perfect prescription – fire – lp
*sun city girls – 300,003 crossdressers from the rig veda – get back – 3lp
*taj mahal travellers – july 15, 1972 – klimt – lp
tycho – dive – ghostly – lp
tom waits – real gone – anti – lp
muddy waters – after the rain – get on down – lp
weakerthans – fallow – anti – lp
wilco – the whole love – anti – cd
*wipers – is this real? – jackpot – lp
wire – 154 – 4 men with beards – lp
*wire – pink flag – 4 men with beards – lp
*various – bollywood bloodbath – finders keepers – cd
various – killed by death 5 – kbd – lp
various – local customs: downriver … – numero – 2lp
*various – titan! it’s all pop – numero – 4lp

thanks for reading…..

listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780.732.1132

www.listenrecords.net
www.facebook.com/listenrecords

Jan 09 2012
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Misc

clean your records

Jan 05 2012
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News, vinyl, Weekly News Letters

…..news letter #518 – in the cold january rain…..

howdy all,

hope you all survived new years… i know it’s early in the year, but fortunately, a bit of stuff has started to trickle in. it’ll still be a few weeks before a lot of out of stock stuff will all be back in, but in the meantime, here’s some cool new stuff for you to enjoy….

…..pick of the week…..

*ash ra tempel – s/t – mg.art – cd
*ash ra tempel – schwingungen – mg.art – cd
*ash ra tempel – join inn – mg.art – cd
*ash ra tempel – starring rosi – mg.art – cd
*timothy leary & ash ra tempel – seven up – mg.art – cd
*manuel gottsching – inventions for electric guitar – mg.art – cd
*manuel gottsching – e2-e4 – mg.art – cd
- what a way to start the year! it’s not very often i hype cds, but this stuff is sooooooo essential that it has to be done. some of the absolutely best kraut-rock/kosmiche music to ever be released is finally available again and has been completely remastered by manuel gottsching himself, as well as released on his own label. these albums date from 1971 – 1981, and bands today still can’t pull off what gottsching and crew (and what a crew… klaus schulze, hartmut enke, conny plank, etc) were able to pull off on these records 30-40 years after the fact. the first ash ra tempel is a blistering guitar freak out of the highest order… completely mind-melting. inventions for electric guitar is a staggering feat that sounds like it was made in a room full of synthesizers, yet there is only guitar used to create these early dance sounding tracks. then of course you have the seminal e2-e4, which is considered to be one of the most influential electronic pieces ever recorded. needless to say, these are must haves for any collection, and considering the price of original lps of this stuff, these cds reissues are your most economic way to acquire these albums. highest possible recommendation!!!!

…..new arrivals…..

art zoyd – symph pour le  – sub rosa – lp
        – “in 1976, a self-released lp by art zoyd appeared in belgian record stores. all the ingredients of art zoyd’s sound for its first decade are here: unusual acoustic instrumentation for a rock band (violin, cello, piano and trumpet, plus guitar, bass, and percussion), dark and mysterious atmospheres recalling france’s magma and foretelling univers zero, and complex pieces owing as much to contemporary classical as to progressive rock.
roberto cacciapaglia – ann steel – half machine – lp
- “an italian electronic composer made this album with an american model who moved to italy to make it big in fashion, roberto took her languid, laurie anderson-esque voice and created a detached futurist popstar. the odd sound of these european futurist pop songs make it sound like the machines are breathing, creating a weird organic/electronic rhythm section.”
deathprod – treetop drive – rune arkiv – cd
deathprod – imaginary songs from tristan da cunha – rune arkiv – cd
- reissues of two long out of print albums from helge sten aka deathprod, founding member of supersilent. killer norwegian ambient tunes.
chris forsyth & koen holtkamp – early astral – blackest rainbow – lp
- forsyth and holtkamp team up, playing guitar and synthesizer andmodular electronics respectively. the record consists to two tracks, each witha great kraut guitar groove, but frequently rocking into a blissed out epicpsychedelic smog of wailing riffs and bubbling electronics.
*isengrind – night of raining fire – blackest rainbow – lp
- solange gularte(natural snow buildings) returns for her second solo lp. adreamy psychedelic haze of shimmering drones, minimal string plucking withbarely-there vocals, gularte’s sound is somewhat more far out in comparison tosay twinsistermoon or natural snow buildings. limited to 400 copies.
morphine – cure for pain – modern classics – lp
- “‘low-rock’ and ‘fuck-rock’ are two descriptors enigmatic morphine front man mark sandman used to describe his band’s beat-inspired blues-jazz-rock holy racket. along with sandman’s baritone vocal delivery and oddball two-string bass styling, co-founder dana colley played a saxophone as his lead instrument of choice instead of the expected guitar, creating a quirky and burning sensibility.”
seiji nagai – electronic noise improvisation – klimt – lp
- “after spending the first half of the 1970s globetrotting with asia’s premiere avant-garde band–taj mahal travellers (where nagai played trumpet and keyboards)–nagai continued to study and play music, particularly indian music (drones) and electronic/computer generated music. In 1999 he finally released electronic noise improvisation, here, as in the days of tmt, nagai concentrates on creating dense drones, but this time his instruments are computers and a host of electronic gadgets, as well as electronic mandolin and piano.”
ben nash – oh lordy me! (my heart is wandering again) – blackest rainbow – lp
-  best left for ben to explain this one for you… “i recorded this new full-lengthrecord during downtime from playing with chora and after a long break fromrecording any solo music. having become somewhat disillusioned with the processof overdubbing conventional “physical” instruments repeatedly in my solo work ihave spent a lot of time experimenting with different ways of inputting,manipulating and arranging sound electronically, both in a variety of computerbased environments and also using an apple ipad. ” – ben nash
claudio rocchi – suoni di frontiera – die schachtel – cd
- 2009 reissue of this italian psychoacoustic obscurity, originally released in 1975 on ariston. “consisting of 16 ‘sketches’ made at home, described by so-called authorities to be naïve and unsophisticated, to these ears suoni is a highly personal and extremely charming collection of psychedelically damaged constructs.”
*taj mahal travellers – live at the moderna museet in stockholm, 1st & 9th july 1971 – klimt – 2lp
- “recorded on july 1 and 9, 1971 in the geodesic dome at the utopia & visions 1871-1981 exhibition at the moderna museet in stockholm, takehisa kosugi’s taj mahal travellers were the premiere japanese experimental rock band of the 1970s. the band, heavily influenced by fluxus, used electronic effects and a host of unusual instruments to create a series of improvised drones.”
various – la onda vampi – vampisoul – 2lp
- limited double lp. starting in 2002, vampisoul is now established as one of the hippest and most respected reissue labels on the planet. la onda vampi is the latest in a series of popular vampisoul samplers. the label keeps travelling to familiar and new international destinations and their usual richness of sounds is broadened here by iranian grooves, ’60s czech mod r&b, flamenco rumba, psych library music from Italy, colombian cumbia — the present and recent past of the label is represented on this fantastic selection.
various – menagerie #3 – tor press/blackest rainbow – lp+zine
- jake blanchard’s third volume of menagerie finally shows upjust over a year after #2… not only do the artists create imagery based on the musicians music, but this timethe musicians also create a track based on an image created by the artist. twoexclusive new tracks from each of these artists: ben nash, isengrind, c joynes and twinsistermoon. limited to 500 copies.
various – psych-out ost – reel time – lp
- starring jack nicholson and released in early 1968, psych-out has been described as “a groovy movie par excellence, the citizen kane of the late ’60s haight-ashbury scene.” its superb soundtrack originally appeared in april 1968, combining classics by acid-rock heroes the strawberry alarm clock and the seeds with exclusive material from the storybook and boenzee cryque. packed with flute, organ, sitar, fuzz and more. this is the first vinyl reissue.

…..restocks…..

ame son – catalyse – wah wah – lp
ursula bogner – sonne=blackbox – faitiche – lp
*roberto cacciapaglia – sonanze – wah wah – lp
*can – ege bamyasi – united artists – lp
*can – monster movie – united artists – lp
*can – soundtracks – united artists – lp
chubby wolf – turkey decoy – digitalis – lp
*deathprod – morals & dogma – rune grammofon – cd
*brian eno – here comes the warm jets – polydor – lp
*brian eno – taking tiger mountain (by strategy) – polydor – lp
*brian eno – another green world – polydor – lp
*simon finn – pass the distance – mayfair – lp
*shin jung hyun – beautiful rivers & mountains – light in the attic – lp
*ichiyanagi/ranta/kosugi – improvisation – phoenix – cd
blind willie johnson – dark… – mississippi – 2lp
*takehisa kosugi – catch wave – phoenix – cd
lard free – s/t – wah wah – lp
*les rallizes denudes – heavier than a death in the family – phoenix – lp
louvin brothers – satan is real – light in the attic – lp
modern lovers – s/t – 4 men with beards – lp
*oneohtrix point never – replica – software – lp
*oneohtrix point never – returnal – editions mego – lp
*daphne oram – oram tapes volume 1 – young americans – 4lp
*charlie parr/black twig pickers – glory in the meeting house – klang – lp
*silver apples – s/t – kapp – lp
*silver apples – contact – kapp – lp
*taj mahal travellers – august 1974 – phoenix – 2lp
*various – african scream contest – analog africa – cd
various – eccentric soul: nickel & penny labels – numero – lp/cd
*various – those shocking shaking days – now again – 3lp

thanks for reading, as always….

listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780.732.1132

www.listenrecords.net
www.facebook.com/listenrecords

Dec 29 2011
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music, News, Uncategorized, vinyl, Weekly News Letters

…..news letter #517 end of an (y)ear…..

it appears that it’s that time of the year again… days off, lots of food and drink, and year end lists. so once again i deliver to you my little list of things i loved this year. as usual, i’ve stuck to things that are a little less talked about, cuz well, i think that’s what y’all like about what we do here… so with out any further adue….

alvarius b – baroque primitiva - poon village/abduction – lp/cd
- if i were to rank this list, this one would be at the top. hands down. the first solo record from alan bishop of the sun city girls in 6 years, consisting largely of ennio morricone tracks, this is easily alan’s finest solo outting to date. sold out on vinyl in the blink of an eye, but still around on that smaller silver disc. just plain awesome.

anworth kirk – avonwaith – pre-cert – lp
applehead – applehead – pre-cert – lp
 – two new albums from the marvelous pre-cert label. while similar both are fairly different. the second anworth release is another great slab of vhs sound collage. applehead delivers a slab of dark library style grooves. both awesome, and both, pretty much sold out.

barn owl – shadowland – thrill jockey – 12″
- before their new album this year, they released this ep, which really out shines the album for me. maybe it’s because the tracks are longer, maybe it’s because the tracks are drone-ier,  maybe it’s because the vinyl is clear with smokey whisps, maybe it’s maybelline.
evan caminiti - when california sinks into the sea – handmade birds – lp
- this solo album from pne half of barn owl isn’t all that different from the newest barn owl album, but to these ears, it’s way better. masterful dark, brooding, expansive guitar explorations.

master musicians of bukkake - totem 3 – important – lp/cd
- the final instalment of the totem trilogy by this seattle based ethno/soundtrack/doom ensemble. this one finds the group really coming into their own and thus producing their most focused release to date.

jakob olausson - morning & sunrise – de stijl - lp/cd
- as always, there’s a late last-minute addition to these lists, and this one having only come out a few weeks ago has hit hard. real nice 70′s private press mellow folk vibes, with great layers of guitars, and olausson’s haunting voice, making this a late night winter favorite.

bill orcutt - how the thing sings – editions mego - lp/cd
- second full-length from this former member of harry pussy. easily the most original man working in the solo guitar field, with his modified four string guitar, aggressive style, and gutteral vocal stylings. the second side on this stunning.

oneohtrix point never – replica – software – lp/cd
- i was a big fan of his last album, returnal, and while the heavy use of a sampler makes this one a big departure from his more synth based sound, this one still has real cool nostalgic vibes going on.

part wild horses mane on both sides – low fired clay escape – carnival – lp
- this euro improv duo create a really lush and psychedelic soundscape with not a whole lot. percussion, voices, electronics and flute. parts remind me of the hinterland who’s who commercials. all parts are awesome.

matana roberts - coin coin – constellation – 2×10″/cd
- the other great constellation album from this year, this is a fantastic free-jazz, spiritual saga. this album mixes all sorts of jazz elements which each on their own could alienate some listeners, but the way they are mixed throughout this album makes them all utterly enjoyable.

……reissues…..

mark hollis - s/t – ba da bing - lp
index – black/red/yesterday – lion – 2cd
erkin koray – mechul – sublime frequencies – lp/cd
les rallizes denudes – great white wonder – phoenix – 5lp/4cd
talk talk - laughing stock - ba da bing - lp
ghedalia tazartes - box – vinyl on demand – 4lps+10″
throbbing gristle – 20 jazz funk greats – industrial – lp/cd
trad gras och stenar - gardet 12.6.1970 – subliminal sounds – 2lp
twinsistermoon - when stars glide through solid – blackest rainbow – 2lp/cd

…..compilations…..

bollywood bloodbath – finders keepers – lp/cd
shin juung hyun - beautiful rivers & mountains – light in the attic – lp/cd
ongaku 70: vintage psychedelia in japan – hiruko records – lp
princess nicotine – sublime frequencies – lp
thai? dai! – finders keepers – lp/cd

hopefully these little lists bring something to your attention that you haven’t heard of, or forgot about, or something to that effect. there was a lot of great stuff out this year, both new, and as reissues. it’s hard to keep up sometimes.

and that wraps up another year here… it’s been a wild one, lots of new friends, good times with old friends, and of course lots and lots of records. thank you all for your patronage over the last 12 months, with out you and your business, we wouldn’t exist, and wouldn’t that be a shame. so again, thanks, and have a happy and safe new year…..

best,

kris and staff

listen records 10443a – 124 street edmonton, alberta t5n 1r7

780.732.1132

www.listenrecords.net www.facebook.com/listenrecords

Dec 22 2011
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News, Weekly News Letters

…..news letter #516 – oh kristmas treeeeee…..

howdy and merry christmas to all!

hopefully you are all ready for the holiday and get to spend some quality time with family and enjoying plenty of good food this weekend. as usual, we will be having our annual boxing day sale! come in on monday and get 20% off everything in the store, including clearance items. sale runs 11 – 5 on monday. come and grab that box set you’ve being eyeing all year, or a whole stack of other killer wax. see you this monday, and enjoy the rest of your christmas holidays.

best wishes,

kris & staff

listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780.732.1132

www.listenrecords.net
www.facebook.com/listenrecords

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