howdy,
wow, what a weekend! our best day ever followed by a real fun day full of records at the record fair. thanks to everyone who came out on saturday, and those that stopped by our table on sunday… i’m still burned out and probably will be for another week… and to top it all off, tons in this week! so much so, that i’ve got 4 picks this week. so read on….
…..pick of the week…..
*suzanne ciani – lixiviation – finders keepers – lp/cd
– finally in on vinyl! “amazing comp of classically trained/avant-minded commercial composer suzanne ciani, the “american delia derbyshire of the atari generation.” ciani stands alongside the likes of pauline oliveros, daphne oram, and ursula bogner in the continuum of female early electronic knob-twiddlers that would’ve never gone out on a date with you. “with a sonic portfolio that boasts commissions for the xenon classic pinball machine, the sounds for the meco star wars theme, the atari tv commercials and the electronic sound effects in the original stepford wives film (amongst many others) the mutant electronic music cv of suzanne ciani is proof that in a 1970s commercial world of boys toys, monopolised by a male dominated media industry, a woman’s touch was the essential secret ingredient to successful sonic seduction. a classically trained musician with an ma in music composition this american italian pianist was first introduced to the synthesizer via her connections in the art world when abstract sculptor and collaborator harold paris introduced suzanne to synthesizer designer don buchla who created the instrument that would come to define ciani’s synthetic sound (the buchla synthesiser). cutting her teeth providing self-initiated electronic music projects for art galleries, experimental film directors, pop record producers and proto-video nasties suzanne soon located to new york where she quickly became the first point of call for electronic music services in both the underground experimental fields and the commercial advertising worlds alike. counting names like vangelis and harald bode amongst her close friends suzanne and her ciani musica companybecame the testing ground for virtually any type of new developments in electronic and computerized music amassing an expansive vault of commercially unexposed electronic experiments which have remained untouched for over 30 years… until now.” totally rad! highest recommendation….
*bbc radiophonic workshop – doctor who sound effects – bbc audiobooks – lp
– “get back behind the sofa! confront your early years head-on with this back-to-the-future collection of creative soundscapes, the audio backwash of some of the iconic doctor who series of the sixties and seventies. chilling stuff! a record store day exclusive on electric blue vinyl.” record store day? just got em… now you can avoid the crowds!
*bbc radiophonic workshop – out of this world: sci-fi sound effects – bbc audiobooks – lp
– “the background sounds that powered the sci-fi output of bbc programming in the 1970s, collected here and available for the first time in nearly 30 years. the bbc radiophonic workshop was a team of pioneers in the musique concrete genre, creating noises and ambient music for a burgeoning demand of sci-fi programming. besides, they don’t make cover artwork like this these days. a record store day exclusive on orange vinyl. one thousand units available, worldwide.” record store day? just got em… now you can avoid the crowds!
*ike reiko – kokotsu no sekai – bamboo – lp
– finally a reissue on vinyl!!! one of the sexiest records ever! “although ike reiko was a mere 17 years of age when she recorded 1971’s kokotsu no sekai, she was already a star in the world of japanese erotic movies. despite the tough-gal image, the music is pretty darn life-affirming, so don’t think for a second you’re getting an easy listening album here — this is about as sexual as music can get. throw “french kiss” out of the window and give a kiss goodbye to your serge gainsbourg records, ike reiko is more sizzling than a branding iron as it makes its mark on the farmer’s herd. the sex is literally dripping from every note on this record — the style is “iroke kayôkyoku” or erotic kayôkyoku (kayôkyoku being a style of japanese pop) but the sort of naïve jazz and pseudo spy theme movie music is all draped in a shroud of sexual shouts, screams and coos from the clearly excited reiko. one must assume that she was in some kind of state of euphoria in the recording studio from the evidence on offer here, either that or she’s a pretty realistic faker — it’s a smouldering collision, and that’s about all that needs to be said. kokotsu no sekai has to be one of the finest gifts for the music fan in search of that killer oddity. first 180 gram vinyl reissue.
…..new arrivals…..
actress – r.i.p. – honest jon’s – cd
– between sleep and the void lies the electronic interzone of actress. following splazsh, actress returns with a suite of electronic laments, tone structures and dream-time rhythms which all carry his unmistakable fingerprint. a conceptual arc taking in death, life, sleep and religion. there are no soft synths or plug-ins, and instead he uses meticulous manual sound-tinkering to create tones, tunings and textures.
james blackshaw – love is the plan, the plan is death – important – lp
– “written at a time of great emotional disquiet, the hauntingly beautiful and bittersweet ninth full-length studio album, love is the plan, the plan is death’, from british guitarist-composer james blackshaw. the six original pieces contained on the album are based alternately around nylon-string classical guitar and grand piano, with spare and subtle vibraphone and B3 organ parts overdubbed by blackshaw himself.”
blockhead – interludes after midnight – ninja tune – lp
– “with interludes after midnight, blockhead proudly presents his fifth release. in the two years since the critically lauded the music scene, blockhead nee tony simon, has traveled the globe and emerged with another collection of eclectic songs that twist, turn, and grind their way into the listener’s psyche.”
boogie down productions – south bronx teachings: a collection – b-boy – 2lp
– “as the now classic full length criminal minded took off, scott la rock was killed in a street-side shooting while coming to the aid of bdp rapper/producer/protege d-nice. from the now out-of-print compilation, the man and his music, this set adds a dj red alert megamix, circa late ’80s, and the early tracks, ‘advance’ and ‘d-nice rocks the house.’ also included is the rare early single ‘say no brother.’ this limited package also features uber rare unpublished photographs of krs with scott taken by janette bekman but never used in the original the man and his music packaging.”
johnny cash – fabulous johnny cash – doxy – lp+cd
– “originally released in 1959, the fabulous johnny cash was the man in black’s third album and his first for the columbia label. by this time, the twenty-seven year old cash was already a major country music star, with four number one hits under his belt. this lp gave cash two more hits with ‘don’t take your guns to town’ (which also climbed to number 1) and ‘frankie’s man, johnny’ (which came in at number 9). his last top ten hit would not be until two decades later in 1979.” on 180 gram vinyl, with cd version.
johnny cash – songs of our soil – doxy – lp+cd
– “recorded in 1959, songs of our soil is a concept album that reflects johnny cash’s penchant for the american folk ballad, proving himself to be a direct descendant of this great idiom. here cash offers almost an entire album’s worth of his own compositions (with a few traditionals thrown in for good measure), tackling such classic themes as floods, Indians, miners and drinking. featuring bonus tracks ‘my grandfather’s clock’ and “it could be you’, taken from the original 1959 album session.” 180 gram vinyl with cd version.
johnny cash – the rough cut king of country music – doxy – lp+cd
– “although johnny cash recorded for many labels over the course of a career lasting nearly half a century, sun records–johnny’s first label–was the one that made him a star. his first no. 1 hit came in 1956 with “i walk the line’, followed by ‘there you go’ later that same year. this lp is a selection of material cash recorded for sun during those early hit making years. including ‘the ways of a woman in love’, a hit cash took to no. 2 in 1958, and his version of ‘i forgot to remember to forget’, the song that made label mate elvis presley famous in 1955.” 180 gram vinyl with cd version.
k.s. chithra – s/t – finders keepers – lp/cd
– the uplifting and surprising sound of k.s. chithra is, for many, best exemplified by the early plugged-in-pop she made in the 1980s with the man/machine who first introduced her to the tamil film industry, maestro ilaiyaraaja. there are few records you will hear this year that combine the sounds of a child’s choir, a dx7 bass line, three types of drum machine, a mariachi trumpet cry, a resampled forty-piece orchestra and an electronic bass line that takes the moog taurus by the horns and rides into the indian summer.
anla courtis/okkyung lee/c spencer yeh/jon wesseltoft – cold burn – feeding tube – lp
– superstar live drone fiesta time here. recorded in oslo, during an aurora borealic night of january, 2010, this beauty thrums with a majesty-vibe arising deep from within the earth. each of the participants has been horn-blown around the globe for mastery of individual string/machine attack. the two sides of this lp form a brilliant whole. the first is a sequence of small discrete events that cohere because of “fifth mind” dynamic overlays. the second is the seamless contrail of an arrow shot directly into the heart of the sun. together, they comprise one of the tastiest sessions of motion-as-stasis you will hear in many a dark night. breathe the deep of the still and buzzing air. be free and be one.
*philippe d’aram – fascination ost – finders keepers – 10″
*pierre raph – requiem for a vampire ost – finders keepers – 10″
– vintage french synth experiments and free-rock from art house femme vamp films. two key scores by two of his regular collaborators, and bookending his most creative and lauded decade, the release of two original soundtracks to french director jean rollin’s fascination (1979) and requiem pour un vampire (1972) mark finders keepers’ latest release in a series of tributes to ‘frances first-ever vampire film director’ and a long running patron of the paris underground theatre, comic art and alternative literature movements.
dedalus – s/t – ams – lp
– one of the most experimental bands of the italian prog scene, dedalus were founded at the beginning of the ’70s by michele bonansone (keyboards, cello, vocals) and marco di castri (guitar, saxophone) in pinerolo, near turin. their first eponymous lp consists of instrumental jazz-rock compositions, influenced by artists like nucleus, miles davis, soft machine, stockhausen and many other musical innovators of the time. dedalus was originally released in 1973.
hearts & flowers – of horses, kids, and forgotten women – 4 men with beards – lp
– “originally released in 1968, hearts and flowers’ second and final album, of horses, kids and forgotten women, is mentioned mostly in passing as the major recording debut of future eagle, bernie leadon. this is totally unfair as the album is a classic slice of late ’60s west coast psychedelic country-rock that is as good as or better than their amazing debut.” On 180 gram vinyl.
jade – fly on strangewings – guerssen – lp
– one of the best uk folk-rock albums from the early ’70s, up there with fairport convention, trees or mellow candle, the sole jade album is back in print on vinyl with stunning sound quality, original gatefold cover art and pressed on 180 gram vinyl. includes an insert with unseen photos and liner notes by richard allen.
etta james – at last! – doxy – lp+cd
– “etta james’ debut album, originally released in 1961 on chess subsidiary label, argo. the album’s title track ‘at last’ and ‘all i could do was cry’ (co-written by future motown mogul berry gordy) both went to no. 2 on the r&b charts, while the album itself has gone down in history as one of the great classic albums of early r&b. the four bonus tracks are taken from two 1960 singles featuring doo-wop idol harvey fuqua of the moonglows (best known for their 1955 hit ‘sincerely’).” on 180 gram vinyl, with cd version.
light asylum – s/t – mexican summer – lp
– “the debut full-length album by light asylum has been a long time coming, but not without rabid anticipation. as their self-released in tension ep circulated and resonated with new leagues of listeners worldwide, the reputation of duo shannon funchess and bruno coviello sweltered via their intense live show, collaborations, and remixes. a collection of ten songs that are contemplative and starkly necessary.” on orange-colored vinyl, housed in a full-color gatefold sleeve with poster; numbered edition of 1000 copies.
misty hush revival – your heart is broken – guerssen – lp
– one of the most obscure u.s. private pressings from the late ’60s/early ’70s. for many years, the misty hush revival name was only a rumor whispered in collector’s circles, with only a handful of copies known of the original album around today. like the bachs or the index, this is one of those hard-to-describe albums which seems to live in a world of its own. despite the late 1972 release date, the music here sounds more late ’60s than early ’70s and the whole album has a cool, lost-in-time atmosphere. the group were in fact a club band from new jersey, but surprisingly all the tracks are originals — no cover versions — and they range from fragile, dreamy pop-psych numbers to raw garage, fuzzed-out jams and teen-beat sounds.
*stephen o’malley & steve noble – st. francis duo – bo weavil – 2lp
– having played together in Æthenor for the last couple of years, steve noble and stephen o’malley came together to play as a duo at café oto in 2011. these recordings are the result of these two hot and sticky nights in east london. noble sets the recording off with a full tribal charge, while o’malley, instead of firing off a shard of ecstatic notes and chords, coaxes his guitar into singing a slow, ever-growing roar. but soon the two are off into some wild, creative rampages — exciting drum and guitar territory sounding at times not too dissimilar to haino’s fushitsusha, brutally beautiful, shredded riffs from o’malley meet with noble’s exuberant rhythmic force .
orcas – s/t – morr music – lp/cd
– the courtship of ambient music and traditional songform has been a long and tenuous one, almost to the point that their differences seem irreconcilable. thus it is little wonder that there are so few practitioners of its delicate equilibrium. orcas — comprised of haze-pop auteur benoît pioulard and post-minimalist composer rafael anton irisarri — is an imaginative return to that narrative. theirs is a style deeply rooted in personal variations on songform and ambient craft, and as a duo they bridge the furthest outlying aspects of their previous solo work published on kranky, touch, miasmah, room40, and ghostly international.
lone – galaxy garden – r&s – lp/cd
– over the past couple of years, manchester-based producer lone (a.k.a. matt cutler) has become a fully fledged reinvention of his former self. leaving behind the hip-hop seasoned abstraction and hazy beatscapes of his notable ecstasy & friends and lemurian albums for a quicker-paced sound that draws on a much heavier chicago house / detroit techno and early 90’s london rave/hardcore sound. with his last album proper emerald fantasy tracks & last year’s r&s debut coreshine voodoo, we saw a honing of these styles.
osage tribe – arrow head – vinyl magic – lp
– “osage tribe were an italian prog band who released just one album in 1972, arrow head, before splitting up and disappear — even if all band members went on playing in other groups as duello madre, capsicum red, the trip and il volo. the band was founded by franco battiato, who left right after the release of the single un falco nel cielo to pursue a solo career that’s still active nowadays. the other musicians then significantly changed their musical style, moving towards a hard rock-based progressive, including some jazz elements too. still considered a must-have for any italian prog listener, arrow head is now reissued as an audiophile 180gr. black vinyl, enclosed in a gatefold envelope faithful to the beautiful original ’72 edition.”
the other half – s/t – pilot – lp
– this legendary early psychedelic band are best-known for featuring the guitar wizardry of randy holden (who went on to join blue cheer and record a shattering solo lp). based in los angeles, they gigged regularly in san francisco, sharing stages with many of the city’s best-known acid-rock bands throughout 1967. their sole lp — a mixture of singles and newer material — appeared in march 1968, by which time holden had departed. brilliantly showcasing his innovative playing, it’s a psychedelic classic, and is issued here complete with five bonus tracks culled from rare 45s and a french ep.
paco sala – ro-me-ro – digitalis – lp
– following up a debut cassette, radial sundown, that introduced paco sala as a new solo vehicle for harrison’s love of hip-hop, italo-disco, & synth-infused pop music, harrison joined forces with vocalist leyli — and everything changed. ro-me-ro is as striking a debut as any on the esteemed digitalis label over the last few years, tapping into that emotional, sparkling intersection where followers of nite jewel, chromatics, not not fun and julee cruise will find much comfort. original art by marie-pascale hardy. limited to 500 copies only.
paper dollhouse – a box painted black – bird – lp
– paper dollhouse is the work of astrud steehouder; dark minimal gothic folk which comprises haunting vocals, acoustic guitar, effects pedals, found sounds, slide projector and minimal electronic atmospherics. released on bird records, the femme-folk off shoot of the finders keepers family. inspired by early 60s electronic pioneers delia derbyshire and eliane radique, bleak british television soundtracks, minimal dark electronica, scott walker, arthur russell, christine harwood and france galle, the music combines simple folk songs with environmental and electronic textural sounds and visuals to create a pared down, beautiful experience.
*jon porras – black mesa – thrill jockey – lp/cd
– one half of the san francisco duo barn owl. ‘black mesa’ is his debut solo recording for thrill jockey recorded by porras at home and in his practice space, ‘black mesa’ is intended as a reflection on desolation and the search for light in a barren land. featuring seven composed tracks of meditative electric guitar embellished with improvised atmospherics and white light feedback, the album follows an outlaw wanderer who ventures deep into the desert only to discover the black mesa, a bridge between worlds (as related to string theory or multiverse theory). it’s the desert counterpart to david lynch’s “black lodge”, an entrance into cavernous mystery. musically inspired by sandy bull, popol vuh, and neil young, ‘black mesa’ explores the depths and expands the boundaries of ambient and drone music.
*ty segall & white fence – hair – drag city – lp/cd
– “known for rock and roll both savage and incisive and pastorally acidwinged, ty segall & white fence have collaborated on a set of songs that accelerate wildly from where we last found them. hair squares their guitar-fringed traffic with purple flashes, escalating every song before multiple explosions rock the frame during their penultimate joust. goodbye bread and is growing faith are both amazing records in their own right, but neither has the dual-turbine speaker-breakers to be found on hair. hair it is–stuffin’ the cracks in your mental chrome dome. hair for you to stare through for awhile. hair grows like the grass beneath your feet, opens up your mind and reflects you in the fun house mirror–spreading past your borderlines, bouncing like the rubber man as you find yourself growing and grooving towards the sky (with diamonds). was it yesterday or yesteryear? or is it happening now, on five-second synaptic delay? you were tall, you were high, you went farther, father, than you’ve ever been.”
shindig! – number 26 – magazine
– “on the cover: small faces: the immediate pleasure: acid, freedom and ogdens, twelve months of magic. bee gees: horizontal, idea and odessa: part two of our exclusive timeline. jade: strange wings, strange things: folk-rock from a higher place. pugwash: this year’s real olympics: pop music for now people. plus the mind garage, the plimsouls, dave swarbrick, sri lankan rock, george jackson, kaleidoscope, brewer & shipley and more!”
nina simone – nina at the village gate – doxy – lp+cd
– “recorded live in 1962, nina at the village gate represents the very pinnacle of nina simone’s early career. the village gate was something of a home base for nina and nowhere else did she perform with such enthusiasm and ease. that night, backed by a trio of guitar, bass and drums, nina had the crowd eating out of her hand as she passed absolutely effortlessly from broadway, to folk, to the african work song, obviously at home in every idiom. featuring one bonus track on the lp plus three further bonus tracks on the cd, not found on the original album.” on 180 gram vinyl.
allen toussaint – southern nights – 4 men with beards – lp
– “containing some of the best songs he’s ever written, southern nights is allen toussaint’s 1975 ‘swing for the fences’ attempt at an all out masterpiece. somewhat of a concept album, with reoccurring instrumental themes usually based on the title track popping up between songs, this album spawned at least two hits for other artists. the title track (minus the lennonesque rotary speaker vocal effect) was a giant hit for glen campbell, and ‘what do you want the girl to do?’ was one of several singles on boz skaggs’ 1976 gazillion seller silk degrees and also recorded with some success by bonnie raitt. the set also includes ‘back in baby’s arms’ and ‘basic lady.'” on 180 gram vinyl.
*various – personal space: electronic soul 1974 – 1984 – chocolate industries – lp/cd
– “if the independently-pressed record made the galaxy of recorded music that much larger, the burgeoning home studio became the black hole from which little escaped. flowering in the mid-to-late ’70s, affordable high-quality tape recorders, synthesizers, and simple drum machines permitted the aspiring artist to never leave his home, never request the assistance of another human being. in the world of american black music, name artists such as sly stone, timmy thomas, and shuggie otis had experimented with rudimentary electronic soul with a modicum of success, but on record what remains is scant. this collection presents the unheard underground of the self-produced, often solo, electronic soul world of the ’70s and early ’80s, offering a view into an ocean of sound that is in turn peaceful, bizarre, funky, and often humbly ahead of its time. available as a deluxe bound book cd, featuring arial photography by nasa astronaut donald pettit.”
various – sensacional soul vol. 3 – vampisoul – 2lp/2cd
– volume 3 in vampisoul’s lauded sensacional soul series includes 28 spanish soul stompers from 1966-1976. most tracks reissued for the first time. another impressive overview of spanish soul, essential for anyone wishing to hear an irresistible take on the genre.
*various – underground praha: banned in czechoslovakia – oloj – lp
– dubtitled: musical sctivism under communism, 1975-1990. “until the fall of the soviet union, popular music, and particularly rock music, was banned in czechoslovakia. hence, most of the bands were playing instrumental music to avoid any trouble with the government; however some of them were radically engaged against the censorship and communist regime and had to record live materials during forbidden concerts. the music was incredibly raw; a kind of free jazz rock with both psychedelic hints and punk flavors, added to screaming vocals. this set is the best way to enter the fascinating and innovative sound of the czech counter-culture. this compilation includes dg 307, the plasticp eople of the universe, the mch band, iva bittova & pavel fajt, pulnoc, mikolas chadima & the extempore band and uz jsme doma.”
various – world of acid – particles – lp
– out-of-print for two decades, this legendary compilation is finally available again. gathering several of the rarest and finest unsung garage and psychedelic rock songs of the 1960s, it takes in bands from all over the u.s. as well as canada, belgium, spain and elsewhere. complete with eight rare bonus tracks, background notes and scarce pictures, it’s an essential addition to any psychedelic music collection. digitally remastered. artists include: pretty, raw meat, cerebrum, gold, shy guys, the living end, unknown, purple canteen, groundspeed, graffiti, the village s.t.o.p. and johnny thompson quintet.
…..used goodies…..
well, i was going to list a whack of used stuff, but this is taking long enough already… but so you know, at the record fair on the weekend, we took 6 boxes of vinyl that had yet to see the shelf in the store, and we have a bunch of that stuff left over still.. eno, beatles, stones, new order, joy division, blues, soul, punk, and so on and so forth….
…..restocks…..
mahmoud ahmed – ere mela.. – l’arome – lp
*blues creation – demon & eleven children – bamboo – lp
*carter tutti void – transverse – mute – lp/cd
deltron 3030 – s/t – deltron – lp
dirty three – toward… – drag city – lp/cd
*eleh – radiant intervals – important – cd
far out – nihonjin – phoenix – lp
*flower travellin’ band – satori – phoenix – lp
*fraction – moon blood – mexican summer – lp+10″
aretha franklin – young gifted and black – atlantic – lp
aretha franklin – i never.. – 4 men with beards – lp
aretha franklin – spirit in.. – 4 men with beards – lp
aretha franklin – live at the fillmore – 4 men with beards – lp
aretha franklin – now! – 4 men with beards – lp
*ben frost/daniel bjarnason – solaris – bedroom community – lp
genius/gza – liquid swords – get on down – lp
tim hecker – harmony in ultraviolet – kranky – lp
tim hecker – an imaginary country – kranky – lp
*tim hecker – ravedeath 1972 – kranky – lp
howlin’ wolf – album- get on down – lp
howlin’ wolf – message to the young – get on down – lp
kleenex/liliput – box – mississippi – 4lp
*les rallizes denudes – heavier than a death in the family – phoenix – lp/cd
*fred mcdowell – alan lomax recordings – mississippi – lp
*jakob olausson – morning & sunrise – de stijl – lp
*picchio dal pozzo – s/t – goodfellow – lp
lee ranaldo – behind the times… – matador – lp/cd
archie shepp – magic of ju-ju – impulse – lp
shins – port of morrow – columbia – lp/cd
*taj mahal travellers – august 1974 – phoenix – lp/cd
*talk talk – spirit of eden – emi – lp
*jean claude vannier – l’enfant assassin des mouches – finders keepers – lp
*volcano the bear – golden rhythm/ink music – rune grammofon – lp
various – life is dance – finders keepers – lp
thanks for listening…..
listen records
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edmonton, ab
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