…..news letter #510 – freedom…..

howdy all….

well, it would seem that this week has been really great for shipping errors. a bunch of stuff late (atlas sound, vile, etc), other stuff not making it into shipments and remaining on hold in the warehouse (oneohtrix) but absence makes the heart grow fonder, and allows you to pick up all the other great stuff you wanted this week instead, because patience is a virtue, or something like that.

oh ya, and due to remembrance day tomorrow, we will only be open 12 – 5, please plan accordingly.

 …..pick of the week…..

*jean-claude vannier – electro rapide – finders keepers – lp/cd
*jean-claude vannier – l’enfant assassin des monches – finders keepers – lp/cd
*jean-claude vannier – roses rouge sang – twisted nerve – lp/cd
– hot damn! two new releases and a reissue of one of the very best reissues finders keepers has ever released…. “electro rapide is a collection of rare and unreleased archive material from the studio archives of legendary french orchestral pop composer jean-claude vannier. taken from the period before and during his revered creative relationship with serge gainsbourg (reaching their halcyon with 1971’s histoire de melody nelson) these tracks reveal a rare glimpse of vannier’s self-initiated instrumental projects that were crowbarred between an airtight studio diary as one of france’s most in demand arrangers and composers of the post Mai-68 generation…alongside a handful of his contemporaries and collaborators such as michel colombier, serge gainsbourg, françois de roubaix, brigitte fontaine, claude nougaro and gerard manset, composer and orchestral arranger jean-claude vannier is globally recognised as one of the key exponents of the gallic pop cognoscenti to make the significant change from 60s yé-yé to the brooding conceptual pop which defined the following decade. his own masterworks, histoire de melody nelson and l’enfant assassin des mouches (both of which benefited from the poetic prose of gainsbourg), are two such productions that continue to inspire and challenge popular music as long as five decades since they were first released to moderate audiences in the early 1970s. electro rapide is a collection of similarly underexposed instrumental works that combine a mixture of vannier’s familiar trademark motifs and stylings from his coveted work for idiosyncratic french pop vocalists (such as fontaine, nougaro, leonie and anna st. clair) with the seldom heard experimental music for ballets, fashion shows as well as his infamous film music (such as the soundtracks for cannabis and la horse). And then, precisely four decades since the original release of histoire… vannier now returns to the same artistic territory that has since come to represent his most iconic period and continually inspire almost five generations of experimental rock luminaries. the all new lp, roses rouge sang, comprises a personnel of the legendary european session players that appeared on classic vannier and gainsbourg scores such as cannabis, la horse, slogan and les chemins de katmandou as well as histoire de melody nelson itself, and his own mythical follow up lp, the truly bizarre 1973 avant-garde ballet l’enfant assassin des mouches (which was finally rescued from obscurity in 2005 by finders keepers as the label’s debut release, and finally repressed to coincide with these two new releases). the rhythm section line-up for the album alone reads like a european record collector’s wet dream…

…..new arrivals…..

aelter – III – handmade birds – lp
– “one of several side-projects to emerge from the wolvserpent camp. aelter explores a similar realm of dark majestic sound to wolvserpent, with his massive downtuned guitar roar and bleak minor key melodies being the common thread between the two projects. but dispenses with the drums almost completely and goes for a more cinematic approach using layered keyboards and gorgeous harmonized voices fused to a malevolent black heaviness.”
atlas sound – parallax – 4ad – lp/cd

– new album from bradford cox of deerhunter fame. rave reviews, and one of those green tinted ryko jewel cases! yow!
beach boys – smile – emi – lp

– for those who don’t want to cough up for the crazy deluxe boxset… there is this much more affordable plain old double lp.
*jac berrocal/david fenech/ghedalia tazartes – superdisque – sub rosa – lp

– somewhere beyond the borders of rock, jazz, punk and sound poetry — the vocals seem to come from another planet, with lyrics in an improvised language. the winds are blown from tibetan human bones and conch seashells. guitars sound like rubber and steel. expect the unexpected. expect awesome!
bjork – biophilia – nonesuch – lp

– now in on vinyl, the latest from this crazy lady.
william fowler collins – res unseen – type – lp

– there are dark forces at work deep in the deserts of new mexico. howling field recordings are trapped between walls of tape hiss while white noise and twisted guitar suffers through overdub after overdub, leaving only the picked carcass of what was once a discernable sound. bleak, windswept textures, spine-chilling rituals and the kind of doom-laden ambience that’ll have you double-bolting your doors and checking your phone lines.
miles davis – live-evil – 4 men with beards – 2lp

– “originally released in 1971, live-evil is one of davis’ most extraordinary records. here, on a double album comprised of both live and studio recordings, the electric sound that davis first unveiled the year previous emerges as a fully formed and powerful beast. live-evil is a stunning exploration of the outer limits of jazz, and one of the most influential records of the ’70s. absolutely essential.”
deer tick – divine providence – dine alone – cd

– a true-to-form rock-n-roll record. scratch that, true-to-form is not deer tick’s style. a record that was truer to their live set (which has gained some notoriety): raw, loud, heartfelt, and completely uninterested in whatever the hell the rest of the music industry is up to.
*eleh – floating frequencies/intuitive synthesis – important – 3cd

– “this deluxe 3 cd set presents floating frequencies/intuitive synthesis in its completed three part entirety. is/ff takes full advantage of the low noise floor and clarity provided by the digital medium. this box is not intended to be a replacement of the analog records but an entirely different experience.”
goldmund – all will prosper – western vinyl – cd

– “a collection of 14 traditional civil war-era folk songs and one contemporary track. kenniff’s arrangements feel fresh and intimate, while retaining the wistful charms and timeless appeal of the originals. in part the album’s intimacy is created by his recording technique. with the top of the piano left completely open, microphones were placed close enough to capture the mechanical movement of the keys being pressed and the pedals squeaking. similarly the acoustic guitar is close-mic’d, tracing the sounds of his fingers scraping and plucking the metal strings. the result creates a rich, almost hyper-real environment, where the tiniest details are magnified and brought to the surface.”
*steve hauschildt – tragedy & geometry – kranky – lp/cd

– “perhaps the least prolific and quietest of the three members of cleveland trio emeralds. a treatise on the idea that technology is becoming more disposable as it’s becoming more accessible, and how this circumstance has a more evident/direct effect on the interpersonal. what results is a gorgeous, flowing, floating world of post-kosmische musik.”
ken kesey & the merry pranksters – acid test – sound city – lp

‘as essential a piece of ’60s counterculture as you’re ever going to find on vinyl,’ as stated in the acid archives book by author patrick lundborg. this is as close to 1966 san francisco you will ever get, if you’ve ever regretted not having been there — or if you were and don’t remember. reissue of the mega-rare original private press artifact, which recently pulled over $2000 in an online auction. limited to 500 copies.”
*les maledictus sound – attention – mucho gusto – lp

– “the maledictus sound are to instrumental rock what frankenstein was to science, a laboratory monster, a strange creature assembled from a mishmash of diverse musical sounds. psychedelic pop, romantic ballads, musical tongue-and-cheek, horror movie screamadelia and mega twisted ’60s vibe, eclectic, epileptic. the doctor, here, is jean-pierre massiera, the musical mastermind who gave birth to that monster.”
little red – midnight remember – true panther – lp/cd
this collection of tunes drips with energy and/or hearton-plate honesty but there is also an undeniable technical leap into a hyperspace that takes the band well into the modern age. you are as likely to hear echoes of phoenix, television to bruce springsteen, early u2 to mgmt, with lashings of bob dylan and his erudite prose seeping through.
jack london & the sparrows – s/t – sweet dandelion – lp

– “this embryonic formation of steppenwolf is often credited as being the first british invasion band not only in canada, but in the whole of north-america. formed in ontario in early 1964 by london-born dave marden (jack london). the first beat album in canada to feature only original songs, and no covers. the album has several stand-out tracks, with a (as expected) marked beatles/zombies sound. now rescued from obscurity after decades being unavailable on vinyl, this historic album finally receives its deserved reissue.”
m83 – hurry up, we’re dreaming – mute – 2lp

– now in on vinyl… the new much raved about album from this french shoegaze-y outfit.
mf doom – operation doomsday – metal face – 2cd

– a special remastered and expanded two-disc set, featuring a 32-page lyric book and a complete collection of alternate versions, b-sides and instrumentals. the entire set was produced under the watchful eyes of doom himself. expanded and deluxe, this is the complete operation doomsday experience.
nathan salsburg – affirmed – no quarter – lp

– seven original instrumentals and one trad arrangement, is a startlingly diverse synthesis of guitar traditions — from gary davis to sam mcfee; peter lang to nic jones — refracted through a compositional sensibility long on melodic adventurousness and short on repetition and drone, those shibboleths of the american primitives. affirmed is a remarkably confident, emotional debut by one of the most original and gifted young guitarists playing today.
serpent power – s/t – sweet dandelion – lp

– “led by poet, novelist and songwriter david meltzer, the serpent power released this classic psychedelic folk-rock album in 1967. the album features great male/female vocal harmonies, interesting but unusual lyrics and excellent guitar work. it’s also one of the first psych rock albums to have successfully introduced the influence of middle eastern music, as shown in the 13-minute classic ‘endless tunnel.'”
*supreme dicks – unexamined life – jagjaguwar – lp

– from 1993 and previously released on vinyl. originally released on homestead recordings, home to dicks contemporaries big black, sonic youth, sebadoh and dinosaur jr.. vital contributors to the lo-fi and avant garde genres. the band’s constantly revolving lineup (lou barlow was a dick now and again) whose psychedelic-yet-twangy brand of rock’n’roll came out of the band’s roots at hampshire college in the reagan era.
*taj mahal travellers – live – b13 – lp

– “1972, takehisa kosugi decided to make good on the band’s name and embark on a monumental voyage across europe and asia, driving a vw bus from rotterdam all the way to the taj mahal in india. the three tracks on side a were recorded live during this historic tour, while side b was recorded a year later at the famous oz club in tokyo.”
*throbbing gristle – doa: the third and final report of tg – industrial – lp/2cd

– tg’s second full-length, originally released in 1978, captures alienation in its purest form. a vehicle for everything bizarre, extreme and controversial, tg lobotomized convention, whether musical or ideological. full of tape-manipulation, computer noise and feedback, d.o.a epitomizes throbbing gristle’s unparalleled anti-music, cementing their status as “wreckers of civilization.”
kurt vile – so outta reach – matador – 12″/cd

– new six track ep from the awesome kurt vile. cd version is packaged as a deluxe two cd version of ‘smoke ring for my halo’.
*various – bambara mystic soul – analog africa – 2lp

– a compilation of music from burkina faso, circa 1974-1979. afro-funk, traditional Islamic rhythms and afro-latin sounds merge with cuban and mandingue melodies for a heady mix of styles and instrumentation.
various – bollywood bloodbath – finders keepers – lp/cd
pre-vamped vintage hindi horror from the desi-dracula music cabinet. one of finders keepers’ most exquisite, exhumed, ectoplasmic, and existentially essential collections yet. featuring bappi lahiri, r.d burman, sonik omi, sapan jogmohan and laxmikant pyarelal.|
*various – freakout total volume 33 – mucho gusto – lp
an eclectic mix of 60s & 70s jello-psych-bubble-trashy-pop-hard-soft-rock, giving new life to sometimes neglected, forgotten, rejected, of acclaimed french and quebecois artists.
*various – life is dance – finders keepers – lp/cd
the long-awaited follow up to ‘the sound of wonder’ featuring further plugged-in adventures from the pakistani picture house. featuring tracks from nazir ali, m.ashraf, nahid akhtar, tafo and noor jehan…

…..restocks…..

a tribe called quest – low end theory – jive time – lp
a tribe called quest – midnight marauders – jive time – lp
*syd barrett – madcap laughs – vinylissimo – lp
*fennesz – endless summer – editions mego – lp
the field – looping state of mind – kompakt – lp
florence & the machine – ceremonials – island – cd
fucked up – chemistry of common life – matador – lp
fucked up – david comes to life – matador – lp
herman’s rocket – space woman – mucho gusto – lp
human egg – s/t – mucho gusto – lp
dan mangan – oh fortune.. – arts & crafts – lp/cd
fred mcdowell – lord have mercy – doxy – lp
blind willie mctell – east st. louis – doxy – lp
*menahan street band – make the road by walking – daptone – lp
radiohead – king of limbs – tbd – lp
*taj mahal travellers – august 1974 – phoenix – 2lp
*takeshi terauchi – nippon guitars – big beat – lp
venus gang – galactic soul – mucho gusto – lp
wilco – summer teeth – nonesuch – lp
wilco – yankee hotel foxtrot – nonesuch – lp
*wooden shjips – west – thrill jockey – lp

thanks for reading…

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

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