listen records

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….. Continue reading →

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….. Continue reading →

howdy all,

you know how i can tell it’s thursday afternoon? i’m waiting on a box via ups that is apparently gonna come a day late, again. this is becoming all too common… so i guess really, all of this stuff below is in tomorrow then. super. anyway, it’s officially december, which hurts my head to even fathom, but what will hurt my head even more will be all the xmas music that one will have to endure over the upcoming month. super duper. down to business… not a lot in this week, after all, it is december and the new releases really slow down, however the black keys did decide to put out a new record next week so that will be here on tuesday apparently, thankfully it’s not being shipped via ups.

…..pick of the week…..

*taj mahal travellers – july 15, 1972 – klimt – lp
- “now available on klimt on 140 gram black vinyl with original japanese printed sleeve. after returning from a year-long tour of europe and asia, the group returned home to tokyo for this concert. originally released on cbs japan in 1972, the concert remained out of print for decades and has never before been reissued on vinyl! the line up features takehisa kosugi on electronic violin, vocals and radio oscillators, ryo koike on electronic contrabass, suntool, sheet iron, and harmonica, yukio tsuchiya on vibraphone, michihiro kimura on electronic guitar & percussion, seiji nagai on electronic trumpet, harmonica, castanets, and tokio hasegawa on vocals.” i know this was a pick a few months ago, however this version is released with the original cover art, and after all this album is truly a masterpiece. highest possible recommendation!!!

…..new arrivals…..

*brian eno – small craft on a milk sea – warp – 2lp
- now available as a regular 2lp, rather than the super fancy, but expensive box. eno’s first album for warp from last year.
*fennesz/sakamoto – flumina – touch – 2cd
- the third collaboration between legendary composers ryuichi sakamoto and christian fennesz. 24 pieces based on piano compositions/improvisations which sakamoto had recorded whilst touring in japan. sakamoto sent the tracks over to fennesz, who worked on them using electronics, guitars and synths, then they mixed the album together. quiet, restful ambient piano and effected guitar drone. minimal and masterful.
*rick jones – fingerbobs: original television music – trunk – lp/cd
- at last, the classic music from the popular british television series is now available on the trunk label. much of the show’s popularity was due in part to its unforgettable sing-a-long tunes, which have never been released until now. complete with all the catchy themes, the instrumentals and a scattering of stories too. a touch folky, a little whimsical, classically nostalgic, humble, hip, witty and occasionally camp.
lfo – frequencies – warp – lp/cd
- “one of the most influential dance acts to come out of the uk. originally released in 1991, an album that not only plays a crucial part in warp’s history – but also represents a pivotal moment for the british rave movement.”
louvin brothers – handpicked songs – light in the attic – lp
- “a star studded curatorial compilation, handpicked songs 1955-1962 is a shot of louvin brothers magic. featuring tracks performed by the louvin brothers during their golden era, each personally selected by the likes of beck, emmylou harris, will oldham, kris kristofferson, jim james, and dolly parton. morning, noon or night, let the louvin brothers take you to a simpler time, when good old country music ruled the airwaves.”
*mars – live at artists space – feeding tube – lp
- both sets by mars — the most mysterious, and bizarrely-styled ny band of their day — from a five-night festival in may of 1978. one set takes up each side, and while they are similar in song selection, it’s wild to hear how different they are in terms of attack, sonics and approach. the quartet was never captured at its mutational best in the studio, but this live slab is revelatory. tunings, structures and rhythms from a place capt. beefheart once called “the other side of the fence,” this is mars at their most glorious.
dave monolith – welcome – rephlex – cd
- a stellar, forward-thinking debut album. notable influences for this album include: aphex twin, aleksi perälä, bruce haack, david vorhaus, delia derbyshire, dopplereffekt, drexciya, enya, jean michel jarre, luke vibert, the other people place, the tuss and warp 9.
sepalcure – s/t – hot flush – lp
- the debut full-length by sepalcure, utilizing the broader canvas of the album format to develop their collaborative process and incorporate the diverse influences present in each artist’s solo work into their sonic mixture.
pete swanson – man with potential – type – lp+cd
- comes with a bonus 50-minute album on cd called man with garbage. best known for being a member of now-defunct noise duo yellow swans, but he’s made plenty of solo music since then. this is birmingham techno filtered through the mists of the pacific northwest, coming across like post-apocalyptic house music as heard from a club bathroom.
vladislav delay – vantaa – raster noton – cd
- the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration which will extend and deepen the spectrum of the label, whereas it falls in line with releases of, for example, william basinski, robert lippok, or mitchell akiyama. even though complex electronic manipulations are used, vantaa wants to sound like a piece of nature, resulting in a mixture of techno/dub and organic textures. the tracks oscillate between a decadent, grey-ish, post-industrial sound cloud and the intimate atmosphere of a vast and desolate finnish landscape.
muddy waters – after the rain – get on down – lp
- “the second of two electric-blues albums released on chess records and cadet concept imprint in the late ’60s, after the rain has achieved cult-like status amongst blues fans in the years since his death in 1983. after taking a backlash from critics with first attempt at adopting psychedelic influences on electric mud, muddy made adjustments for the follow-up. he toned down the psychedelic elements and put them in balance with his classic chicago blues sound, and the results yield some vintage tracks that glow with fuzzy guitars and bass.”
various – rangarang – vampi – 3lp/2cd
- it may seem hard to believe now, with the islamic republic of iran swathed in controversial breaches of human rights and nonsensical nuclear issues, but a little over 30 years ago it was all glitz and glamour, rock and roll. the range of the tracks included on rangarang is astonishing, from funky workouts and soulful pop to jazzy grooves and yearning ballads, all wonderfully and imaginatively produced and arranged, giving shape to truly popular music.
*various – travelling through the jungle – sutro park – lp
- subtitled: negro fife and drum band music from the deep south.”this ultra-rare testament release is one of the first and finest presentations of the hill country fife and drum sound — one of the oldest musical practices of the union. on this record, legendary musicologist david evans presents the greatest musicians of north mississippi, recorded in the 40s, 50s and 60s, by the likes of alan lomax. artists include: otha turner, napoleon strickland, r l boyce, and sid hemphill among others.”

…..restocks…..

apple – an apple a day… – guerrsen – lp
big star – third – 4 men with beards – lp
*evan caminiti – when california sinks into the sea – handmade birds – lp
*cluster & eno – s/t – 4 men with beards – lp
*cosmic jokers – s/t – klimt – lp
*drones – a thousand mistakes – bang! – 2lp
*shin jung hyun – beautiful rivers & mountains – light in the attic – 2lp
kaleidoscope – tangerine dream – sunbeam – lp
kaleidoscope – faintly blowing – sunbeam – lp
*thomas koner – nunatak/teimo/permafrost – type – 3cd
*les rallizes denudes – heavier than a death in the family – phoenix – 2lp
octopus – restless night – guerssen – lp
ol’ dirty bastard – return to 36 chambers – get on down – 2cd
*oneohtrix point never – returnal – emego – lp
*oneohtrix point never – replica – software – lp
*sunn o))) meets nurse with wound – iron soul of nothing – idealogical organ – 2lp
*this heat – deceit – this is – cd
various – bombshell baby – bombay connection – cd

thanks for reading….

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

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