…..news letter #525 – and so on and so forth…..

howdy all,

see, what’d i tell ya… loads of new stuff this week. a little something for everyone at that. but enough about me, how are you?

…..pick of the week…..

*derdiyoklar ikilisi – disko folk – guerssen – lp/cd

– in tomorrow. anadolu pop doesn’t get weirder than this! back in 1979, two turkish guys armed with electro-saz, guitar, drums and synthesizers were hitting the turkish market in germany where they lived, playing their sets of traditional-flavored electro-folk in weddings and circumcision feasts for turkish emigrants in germany. that’s their crazy story, and that’s their crazy sound. this is their third album, in a limited edition of 500 copies only. comes with a booklet including liner notes. you must watch this…. 

…..new arrivals…..

*robbie basho – venus in cancer – blue thumb – lp
– robbie basho’s 1969 guitar classic. basho was one of the main ’60s acoustic guitar innovators, alongside john fahey and leo kottke. gatefold 180 gram reissue.
*masaki batoh – brain pulse music – drag city – lp/cd 
– brain pulse music is the result of years of research into the bioelectric functions of the human brain combined with the traumatic aftermath of japan’s great east earthquake. when batoh initially conceived the idea for this project, it was purely out of interest to realize music from extracted brain waves.  all seven bpm tracks are a prayer/requiem  to the victims of the earthquake.
consumers – all my friends are dead – in the red – lp
– originally just three guitar players with no rhythm section-paul cutler, mikey borens and lyricist / lead singer david wiley, all bonded by love of psychedelic euro-prog jazz like henry cow, gong and robert wyatt-who’d stopped listening to rock ‘n’ roll after bowie’s spiders from mars came out around 1972. by ’77 our guys had re-discovered rock through britpunk pub raunch like the sex pistols and the damned. all my friends are dead successfully captures them as a pissed-off-yet-still-fun, no-frills, punk-rockin’ band…
*damon & naomi – with ghost – drag city – lp/cd
– “back from the abyss, damon & naomi with ghost fills an empty space in the continuously flowering discography of d&n. it was back in 1995 that damon and naomi first met ghost– but it wasn’t until 2000 that they encountered masaki batoh and michio kurihara in the studio. the sonic trip they embarked upon was a revelation for all concerned. alongside kurihara’s singular guitar style, batoh increased the peace in the mix, placing colorful and organic sounds within the dreamy conceptions of damon & naomi, mixing an ever-greater sense of deep space into the already massive songs.”
dirty three – toward the low sun – drag city – lp/cd
– “the first dirty three album since 2005’s cinder. returning to the basic formula for the band, the labor and decision-making is divined evenly and democratically as they improvise themselves into the heart of the moment. the sounds of traditional music are glimpsed in warren ellis’ violin while mick turner & jim white blow clouds that envelop the picture. don’t shade your eyes! the crusty troika are back, for the  first time ever on drag city records.”
disappears – pre language – kranky – lp/cd
– “with new drummer steve shelley now fully integrated into the group, these songs were again forged into proper shape during live shows before heading to the studio and the tape machine. never ones to dither or be indecisive, it’s a full-bore assault from the opening track to the last as disappears attack these new songs with their usual relentless determination.”
flaming lips – clouds taste metallic – warner – lp
flaming lips – hit to death in the future head – warner – lp
flaming lips – transmissions from the satellite heart – warner – lp

– finally! these three classic flaming lips albums are available on vinyl again for the first time in oh… forever!
golden calves – collection: money band & – woodsist – lp
– collection gathers pre-wooden wand and the vanishing voice material from james jackson toth’s golden calves project. originally released in 1996; reissue is limited to 1000 copies. “it was really all about the godz, jandek, the shadow ring, strapping fieldhands, swell maps and tower recordings.”—james jackson toth
howlin’ rain – russian wilds – birdman – lp
– howlin’ rain emerged in 2004 from the incendiary embers of san francisco’s underground noise-psych legends comets on fire. a rag-tag trio of soulful chooglin’ and fuzz-box triumph, the band forged their own trails into the cosmic california sound with their 2006 self-titled debut on birdman records. a dynamic din of deep grooves, soaring harmonies and blazing fuzz guitars, and the album’s breadth and scope recalls great, sprawling albums of the late ’60s and ’70s.
nicolas jaar – space is only noise – circus company – lp
– finally available again on vinyl after the removal of an unauthorized sample. you want this.
*kink gong – xinjiang – discrepant – lp
– in tomorrow.”special limited vinyl pressing of kink gong’s xinjiang soundscape. sublime frequencies contributor, laurent jeanneau, concocts a melting pot of ethnic weirdness packed with mind blowing virtuoso recordings. for fans of angus mclise, tony conrad or william burroughs’ sound collages. all tracks were recorded on location in the ili prefecture, xinjiang province, china by laurent jeanneau.”
sophia knapp – into the waves – drag city – lp/cd
– unlike any record you have heard in the past or will hear in the future. sophia’s voice appears first and foremost-sensual, emotive, relaxed, and loaded with personality. baroquely fingerpicked guitar, smooth piano, crystalline synths, and a down and dirty rhythm section complete the picture. aspects of this place bring to mind melodic psych pop of the ’60s, tropicalia ballads, chilly new york dance records of the ’80s, the seduction of stevie nicks or franoise hardy-but make no mistake, this is a pop vocal record of our time.
*sato kunitaka – wandering shadow of southern streets – em – lp
– a collection of music recorded in the 1970s by sato kunitaka, a blind japanese itinerant musician. sato often played a hand-made koto, played vertically instead of the usual horizontal position. although he was a fine instrumentalist, sato’s real power resides in his voice: a powerful, wailing, howling sound dredged up from the depths of his being. some have likened the impact of his voice to that of charley patton — a dark, intense sound-world most unlike the relatively smoother, sunny vocal styles of other ryukyu/okinawa singers.
lambchop – mr. m – merge – lp/cd
– a collection of meditations on love and loss and the detritus of everyday existence. as on past lambchop records, many of the songs on mr. m are framed with lush strings, and there’s a restrained undercurrent of distortion and discord. the core of the music remains the cyclical picking of wagner’s guitar and the soft, warm croaking of his voice. the songs are spacious, even dreamy, as on the countrypolitan instrumental “gar,” while the lyrics and titles are rich with allusions, some of them obvious, others seemingly unknowable. lp includes four bonus tracks.
lindstrom – six cups of rebel – smalltown supersound – lp/cd
– “with the latest album from dance producer hans-peter lindstrom, norway’s latest entry in the space race has been launched out of the wooded outskirts of oslo. six cups of rebel, lindstrom’s fourth solo album (his first to feature vocals), is a super-sized cosmic disco rocket that burns up a galaxy of eclectic influences in its wake, from bach to deep purple, from prog rock and arpeggiator disco to acid house, while sounding sleek and utterly contemporary.”
mark lanegan band – bubblegum – beggars – lp
– to coincide with the release of his new album, here’s a repress of his last album.
mallard – yes on blood – castleface – lp
– an inside-out-echo-laser-garage-psych-rock trio from san francisco. their home fried songs harness the naked abandon of ’60s punk (think earliest syd barrett era pink floyd), but inject the form with a deranged spirit all their own. close attention to texture and dynamics allow the band to explore unusual terrain-to grant access into unexpected realms of beauty and terror… with dessert.
*mind spiders – meltdown – dirtnap – lp
– the second album from mark ryan’s (marked men, high tension wires) mind spiders, and it’s a meltdown, alright. this is a very different beast from the s/t, meltdown is the first mind spiders recordings to feature the full live band. and what a band it is: members of the bad sports, high tension wires, marked men, uptown bums, etc etc. great sounding guitar tones. happy, warm organ. mean, buzzing synth. 60’s pop sensibilities. snotty garage rockers. dark, brooding postpunk. weirdo sci-fi soundtrack stuff. nods to krautrock.
*neurosis – enemy of the sun – relapse – lp
*neurosis – souls at zero – relapse – lp

– available on lp for the first time in nearly two decades and for the first time ever in their full form on vinyl, relapse is pleased to release neurosis’ landmark records souls at zero (originally released in 1992) and enemy of the sun (originally released in 1993). the influence that both of these albums had over the entire world of heavy music cannot be possibly understated. fully remastered and presented with expanded artwork. pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
of montreal – paralytic stalks – polyvinyl – lp/cd
– paralytic stalks’ musical and lyrical directions are infinitely more personal than anything of montreal frontman kevin barnes has written since 2007’s hissing fauna, are you the destroyer? a stimulating array of densely packed ideas presented with stunning agility. each track feeds off the last in what seens a singular album-long movement that never allows you to rip your ears away. paralytic stalks at times resembles modern classical with its intricate compositions, while at others echoes of neo-prog, pseudo-country and ‘60s pop.
*elias rahbani – music of the orient – arabesque – lp
– in tomorrow. “elias, who at this time was recording music for films, is regarded as the godfather of modern lebanese music. a mix of eastern sounds and western rhythms, with haunting melodies, nice drum breaks and using instruments like the nai (a type ofa rabic flute), bouzouki, flute, guitar, double flute, kanoun, tabla, drums, tambourine, electric organ and an oriental rhythm section.”
rockin’ horse – yes it is – sing sing – lp
– critically hailed as one of the true lost british power pop relics. when the late greg shaw (bomp records & magazine) created his voxx subsidiary, the first single he decided to reissue was rockin’ horses’ 1971 magnum opus single, “the biggest gossip in town.” the power pop sounds of yes it is have been favorably compared to the best of the beatles’ let it be era and badfinger’s early 1970 efforts. locating a copy of the original album is close to impossible and very expensive. now you can own one of the greatest power pop recordings of all time on vinyl with its original hypgnosis sleeve design..
frankie rose – interstellar – slumberland – lp/cd
–  “we were all knocked out by the s/t album in 2010; the effortlessness of its gorgeous girl-pop mantras, the intimate immensity of its spector-esque walls of reverb, the beauty of a song sung sweetly over the most graceful two-chord vamps. but are we ready for the new frankie rose? interstellar is a revelation, an album that floats free of its maker’s history-time spent with vivian girls, dum dum girls and crystal stilts-and offers the listener something strangely other, as alien as it is familiar, as compelling as it is enchanting.
andy stott – passed me by – modern love – 2×12″
andy stott – we stay together – modern love – 2×12″

– in tomorrow! finally repressed, these two eps caused a lot of fuss last year, and you missed them! so here’s your second chance, don’t blow it.
terry malts – killing time – slumberland – lp
– after careful, weeklong consideration, this san francisco trio went forth to record a debut lp as per the request of slumberland records. displaying a slick, intelligent take on modern chainsaw pop, killing time certainly lives up to its name! the terrys’ gospel is succinct, direct, sincere and timed expertly with next year’s looming apocalypse: life is hopeless, enjoy!
*tonetta – 777 vol 3 – black tent – 2lp+2cd
– prior to the first release in the 777 volumes, tonetta, the feminine alter ego of 60-something canadian tony jeffrey had been working in relative, if not total obscurity for almost 30 years. but over the past 2 years she has become a cult legend to the queer and transgendered communities, contemporary and outsider art enthusiasts, the generally online youth and to the fans of his skewed, bizarre, and bare it all approach to pop song writing and video art. the last of the 777 volumes.
windy & carl – we will always be – kranky – lp/cd
– “the first new recordings from windy & carl in more than three years.” a group so minimal, that’s all the label even has to say about the new album.
*ahmad zahir – volume 2: afghan 70s psychedelic folk-pop – guerssen – lp
– in tomorrow. following the success of guerssen’s first ahmad zahir release, here’s a stronger second chapter: a full double lp set. a new, exciting selection from this afghani legend’s proud discography, with his very own sound blending folk with pop and hits of psychedelia, the afghan way. this second volume features a surprising marriage of western music with afghan melodies, and at the center, the crooning voice of a one-of-a-kind artist that happened to shake his country’s musical and cultural foundations forever.
*various – qat, coffee & qambus: raw 45s from yeman – parlortone – lp
– in tomorrow. a compilation of rare yemeni vinyl singles, showcasing the little-documented, evolving local music styles in the 1960s and 1970s. vintage oud and vocal music inspired by the qat-chewing, coffee-sipping, qambus-playing culture of yemen. although part of the classical arabic musical tradition, the music of yemen takes its rhythmic lead as much from the east african coast (a mere 20 miles across the red sea) as the surrounding arab peninsula. little has been written about the music and culture of one of the world’s oldest civilizations, and each 45rpm disc gives a small glimpse of the poetic tradition, the unique local oud styles as well as an insight into people’s day to day lives, or the highs and lows of human relationships.

…..restocks…..

adele – 19 – xl – lp
olaf arnalds – living room – erased tapes – cd
*mulatu astatke – timeless – mochilla – lp
*mulatu astatke – afro-latin soul – worthy – lp
*mulatu astatke – mulatu of ethiopia – worthy – lp
beirut – flying club cup – ba da bing – lp
beirut – march of the zapotec – pompeii – lp
*berrocal/fenech/tazartes – superdisque – sub rosa – lp
black keys – rubber factory – fat possum – lp
clash – s/t – drastic plastic – lp
cloud nothings – attack on memory – carpark – lp/cd
demdike stare/hype williams – meets shangaan electro – honest jons – 12″
charlie feathers – long time ago – norton – lp
*ben frost/daniel bjarnason – solaris – bedroom community – cd
*serge gainsbourg – historie de melody nelson – universal – lp
serge gainsbourg – jane et serge – universal – lp
gonjasufi – mu.zz.le. – warp – 2×10″
*bruce haack – electric lucifer – omni – cd
*bruce haack – electric lucifer 2 – qdk – cd
*bruce haack – electronic record for children – mississippi – lp
*shin joong hyun – beautiful rivers & mountains – light in the attic – lp
*abner jay – true story of… – mississippi – lp
junior kimbrough – you better run – fat possum – lp
lcd soundsystem – sound of silver – dfa – lp
*mammatus – s/t – holy mountain – lp
*metallica – ride the lightning – elektra – lp
*metallica – master of puppets – elektra – lp
*michael & the mumbles – s/t – de stijl – lp
*stevie r. moore – meet the… – get back – lp
olivia tremor control – dusk at cubist castle – chunklet – lp
*om – conference of birds – holy mountain – lp
om – live at jerusalem – southern lord – lp
ty segall – goodbye bread – drag city – lp
ty segall – lemons – goner – lp
ty segall – melted – goner – lp
*kurt vile – childish prodigy – matador – lp
*kurt vile – constant hitmaker – woodsist – lp
tom waits – bad as me – anti – lp
tom waits – real gone – anti – lp
*ween – chocolate & cheese – plain – lp
*keith fullerton whitman – generators – editions mego – lp
*pari zangeneh – series of music for young adults: iranian folk music – ks – lp

thanks for listening…..

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

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