…..news letter #539 – sand, stain, lacquer…..

howdy all,

why does it feel like friday when not much has come in this week, although there are some new things in, most of this stuff is showing up tomorrow. oh, i should mention that they seem to be doing some work in the parking lot today and i assume tomorrow, so you may need to park out front, or on the end of the block, depending on the time of day….

…..pick of the week…..


*jeff grace – meek’s cutoff ost – blackest rainbow – 10″
– this killer soundtrack is now available on my buddy joe’s label…. “kelly riechardt has directed several films, an old joy, wendy and lucy, and last year saw the release of meek’s cutoff. a slow burning, bleak film following a small group of settlers traveling across the oregon high desert with their guide stephen meek. what follows is increased paranoia and tension as they start to believe meek does not the territory he has lead the group in to. the film was released to some fantastic reviews and michelle williams recently won the hollywood film festival award for best actress for meek’s cutoff, my week with marilyn and take this waltz. this fantastic film’s score was written by jeff grace. grace has scored several films including ti west’s excellent retro horror ‘house of the devil’ and jim mickles great vampire movie ‘stake land’, as well as working as an assistant to howard shore’s score for peter jackson’s ‘the lord of the rings’ trilogy. grace’s soundtrack work is always interesting and defies genre. for meek’s cutoff, grace enhanced the films portrayal of the fear of the unknown stark land the group faces. the sounds composed by jeff grace are hypnotic, ambient and minimal, much like the deserted dust lands the characters in the film travel through. the soundtrack blends classical composition with drone and experimental avant garde music. meek’s cutoff was one of my favourite soundtracks and films of 2011, and i’m honoured to present it here on 10″ virgin vinyl, in a gorgeous sleeve, including a small insert of liner notes and photographs of the film.” stark and haunting.

…..new arrivals…..

olafur arnalds/frahm – stare – erased tapes – 10″
– in tomorrow… erased tapes label mates olafur arnalds and nils frahm record and mix their new collaborative record between reyjkjavík and berlin as a surprise release for label founder robert raths. “stare” is a true family effort, with anne müller joining in on cello. this limited edition vinyl-only includes a download code for an 11-track erased tapes 5th anniversary collection.
avengers – s/t – 4 men with beards – lp
– in tomorrow… “though not released until 1983 the avengers’ self-titled record (aka the pink album) features the band’s recorded output from 1977-78, from the glorious first wave of punk rock. the Avengers were san fran’s preeminent punk band, led by penelope houston’s snarling vocals and greg igranham’s distorted guitar riffs, and one of the first anywhere to feature a female lead singer. one of punk rock’s most important original documents. classic.”
captain beefheart – ashtray heart – let them eat vinyl – 2lp
– originally solicited as a 2012 record store day release but withdrawn due to delays.  before retiring, captain beefheart toured north america one last time in late 1980 and early 1981, and it was during this final tour that the radio broadcast presented here was made. included on the final week of the tour, beefheart and band played two dates in canada, on 16th and 17th january 1981, at the commodore ballroom in vancouver. bonus tracks are from a 1971 detroit tv broadcast and a 1980 saturday night live performance.
central living – dune church – blackest rainbow – lp

– debut collaborative release from manuel padding and steve gunn (ghq). steve plays guitar with effects and manuel is on electronics, vocals and percussion. dune church comprises of two tracks, the first with some beautiful playing from steve, but layered with manuel’s electronics, which fluctuate between psychedelic hazes to almost concrete walls of heavy drones at noises at times, it creates something otherworldly. the b side, has rapid cascading plucking merged with whirring electronics, steve’s playing moves in and out of the blissed out mystic drones already laid down by the duo, haunting vocals creeping in and out.
*bob chance – it’s broken – trunk – lp/cd
– in tomorrow… “there’s no one quite like bob chance. he’s a california man who makes his own music. and here he is, on fire. it’s a privately-pressed album that has become a cult item in recent years. dj shadow calls it ‘hairy forearm disco,’ i think it walks a fine line between the dancefloor and the asylum. originally recorded and issued by himself in 1980, it’s broken represents chance’s creative juices flowing and then possibly overflowing all over the place. and if i have to describe the album musically to people i explain it has a touch of giorgio moroder, a bit of the beach boys and a sprinkle of glen campbell as a serial killer.” –jonny trunk
clearlight – clearlight symphony – wah wah – lp
– in tomorrow… “through tim blake, gong’s synth player at the time (one of branson’s first artists), cyrille verdeaux signs for virgin in 1974. that same year clearlight symphony is recorded (clearlight stands for a type of lsd). for its recording sessions cyrille uses two different line-ups, each in charge of each of the two parts of the work. on one side there’s ex babylone members christian boule, lard free’s gilbert artman and bassman martin isaacs. the other side cyrille is joined by gong members tim blake, steve hillage and didier malherbe. echoes of debussy, terry riley, soft machine, magma, and why not, tubular bells.”
leonard cohen – back in the motherland – let them eat vinyl – 2lp
originally solicited as a 2012 record sore day release but withdrawn due to delays. 1988 was notable in the career of leonard cohen for a number of reasons. not only was he was still reeling from the rejuvenation of his career, largely as a result of jennifer warnes’ cohen covers album from the previous year, but his own, second album of the decade was finally released. but generally considered to be the finest recording of the tour transmitted across the airwaves was from toronto’s massey hall on 9th november.
philip cohran/hypnotic brass band – s/t – honest jons – lp/cd

– in tomorrow… heavy on the funk, with the urgency of hip-hop never far away — from this prime era member of sun ra’s arkestra and the super funky brass ensemble formed by 8 of his children. this is music that plumbs the depths and rings with joy.
fire! with oren ambarchi – in the mouth – a hand – run grammofon – lp
– in tomorrow…. the third album from swedish trio fire! — something of a supergroup with members from already well-known projects. with their heavy, hypnotic, psychedelic rock’n’jazz explorations, they have carved out a different sound than any of the groups they are normally associated with.
nils frahm – the bells – erased tapes – lp
– in tomorrow… finally, nils frahm’s classic album the bells sees a first vinyl edition. perhaps the most stunning aspect of what on the surface appears to be an entirely pre-planned and composed body of work comes with the discovery that these pieces were in fact improvised. \
*gary higgins – red hash – drag city – lp+7″
– in tomorrow… 2012 repress “1973: connecticut native gary higgins and his friends record red hash and release it on gary’s own nufusmoon records. following the release, legal issues halt all promotion and sales, rendering the small pressing of red hash a hotly-rumored and much sought-after ‘lost’ album of rock and roll lore. 2005: drag city is honored to present the first-ever authorized reissue of higgins’ acid-folk gem red hash — mastered from the original master tapes with two previously unheard bonus tracks. the haunting sound of gary’s meticulously arranged folk-pop is a sound that everyone can relate to. this is your chance to grab at a letter-perfect reproduction of a folk-rock classic from the early 1970s.”
hydrus – midnight in space – wah wah – lp
– in tomorrow… “the third of the experimental electronic releases on the pdu label (along with wah wah’s offerings elektriktus’ electronic mind waves and roberto cacciapaglia’s sonanze) was released in 1978 and offered amazing cosmic passages in the purest gillet lethman & cosmic jokers style, built with piano, synth and even a spice of disco rhythms, plus sensual voices in a cantori moderni d’alessandroni or edda dell’orso feel adding for an exotic touch. reissued for the first time in a limited edition vinyl lp run of only 500 copies.”
k-salvatore – tsar ova elk – kelippah – lp
– in tomorrow…. “jason meagher (nnck, black dirt studio) and pat murano (nnck, decimus) have sporadically been releasing material as k-salvatore since 1995. the sparse and disturbing electronics captured on this lp, their first since 2006, reflect the dark and cold of the winter’s night on which they were created. edition of 300 in jackets silk screened.”
joachim & rolf kuhn – bloody rockers – wah wah – lp
– in tomorrow… “recorded during the same sessions as the mad rockers lp, with the same musicians, bloody rockers features more free jazz meets rock explorations by the kühns and co., plus a couple of incredibly groovy floorkillers. the album was only released in France back in 1969 and has never been reissued before. superb mixture of krautrock, psych, funk and free jazz, with all kinds of sound effects coming from distorted clarinets, hammond organ, groovy bass/drums section, breaks and hot guitar licks.”
alan lamb/garry bradbury/david burraston/oren ambarchi/robin fox – wired open day 2009 – taiga – 2lp
– in tomorrow… a vinyl-only release documenting live performances by alan lamb, garry bradbury, david burraston, oren ambarchi and robin fox. held outdoors during the evening of october 31st at the wired lab, in rural south west, new south wales, australia, this 2lp is a document of the event; the result of an artist-in-residence program to explore the sonic possibilities of the wires, landscape scale installations in rural nsw, a distinctly australian invention that was pioneered by australian artist alan lamb since the 1970s.
*robert millis – this world is unreal like a snake in a rope – sublime frequencies – dvd
– in tomorrow… a film by robert millis. folk cinema from the eternal never-ending collage that is india. a journey through the ancient southern indian state of tamil nadu featuring hindu trance ceremonies, street music, festivals, nagaswaram improvisations, impossibly loud cities, ancient temples, processions, devotions, decay, fireworks, abstractions and more. india is impossible to know: it is impossibly old and impossibly new, impossibly rich and impossibly poor, quiet and chaotic. offered here is one perspective, raw, captured live and in the moment, with an emphasis on india’s complex and mesmerizing sounds.
my bloody valentine – ep’s 1988-1991 – sony – cd
my bloody valentine – isn’t anything – sony – cd
my bloody valentine – loveless – sony – 2cd

– the long awaited remastered mbv by kevin shields…. now if only they’d press vinyl.
*natural snow buildings – beyond the veil – blackest rainbow – cdr
*natural snow buildings – live sheffield & london 2012 – blackest rainbow – cass
*natural snow buildings – monsters – blackest rainbow – 7″

– three new releases, all on oddball formats, from one of our favorite groups. all ultra limited and way out of print already.
one little plane – into the trees – text – cd
– in tomorrow… kathryn bint’s tender vocals still send husky shivers down the spine, but into the trees is so much more than beautiful folk songs. produced by kieran hebden (four tet), into the trees weaves a fabric of different sounds, united by bint’s elegiac voice and strong storytelling. radiohead’s colin greenwood lends the album his bass powers.
andre popp – le coeur en fete – wah wah – lp
– in tomorrow… “as you may know, andré popp is one of the most prominent musicians/conductors/arrangers from france. originally released in 1972 on the az label, le coeur en fête, an amazing masterpiece of groovy jazz funk / easy listening / progressive pop sounds featuring funky rhythms, cool guitar licks, sitar, moog, killer hammond organ and flutes, is one of the rarest lps in Popp’s catalogue. an lp that will appeal to those into the sounds of other classic french works like pop instrumental de france, jason havelock’s pop symphony, jean-claude vannier’s l‘enfant assassin des mouches, william sheller’s lux aeterna, michel berger’s puzzle, popera cosmic or even janko nilovic’s pop impressions or psyc impressions.”
*pierre schaeffer – le triedre – recollection grm – lp
– in tomorrow… recollection grm is one more label within the editions mego family of labels. its aim is to make available on vinyl the vast archives of groupe de recherches musicales (grm). being released in batches of two every three months, it will present both known and lesser-known works. some of these pioneering works have been out-of-print in this format for over 30 years, and would be a valuable addition to any serious collection of electronic music. it is worth pointing out that this series is neither a re-run of the original collection ina-grm series or the phillips prospective 21e siècle series, but something new altogether. this is pierre schaeffer’s le trièdre fertile, full version 1975-1976, with the participation of bernard dürr. this trihedron, schaeffer’s last piece, echoes the physicists “reference trihedron,” linked to the three fundamental measurements of sound: frequency, duration and intensity. the basic signs of traditional sol-fa that enable the transcribing of pitches, rhythms and nuances also correspond to these three measurements. however, it is precisely outside or beyond these parameters that, all through his life, schaeffer researched music. hence, qualifying this trihedron as “fertile” is the confession “of a late repentance.” on the other hand, and against all odds, this piece was only composed from synthetic sounds, developed by bernard dürr. it is pierre schaeffer’s only purely electronic music work. here, the synthesizer is rather monitored by sensitivity than by computation principles, thus letting uncanny structures emerge.
sigur ros – valtari – xl – 2lp/cd
– the new album from this icelandic ambient pop outfit. i don’t really need to explain this one do i?
smiths – louder than bombs – rhino – 2lp
smiths – rank – rhino – 2lp
smiths – the world won’t listen – rhino – 2lp

– nor do i need to explain the last of these smiths reissues, do i?
susanna – wild dog – susanna sonata – lp
– in tomorrow… wild dog is susanna’s eighth album, that is effectively one album a year of quality releases since her debut in 2004, indeed, a very rare treat these days. possibly best-known for her unique and striking interpretations of iconic songs like “jolene,” “hallelujah” and “love will tear us apart,” she has also proven herself as an original songwriter with a strong signature. the ten originals on wild dog are darker, wilder and more intensely seductive than ever. susanna has assembled some prominent guests on the album with emmett kelly from bonnie “prince” billy’s band and jeremy gara from arcade fire appearing on all ten tracks.
*mayo thompson – corky’s debt to his father – drag city – lp+7″
– in tomorrow… 2012 repress. one of the great Drag City releases (and one of the great american music solo albums) finally on vinyl again. “in 1970, mayo thompson (once-and-future leader of the red krayola) recorded corky’s… walt andrus’ texas revolution label released the record — but just barely, selling a few hundred lps with no promotion to speak of. the copies that made it into shops became the treasured objects of taste-makers around the globe — which made corky’s debt an influential record down the years.”
unfolding – how to blow your mind and have a freak-out party – wah wah – lp
– in tomorrow…. “a rare underrated freaky psychedelic lp that will appeal to those into the summer of love meets the mothers of invention sounds that will delight those ears into psychedelic exploitation albums like love machine, mesmerising eye, fire & ice ltd or friendsound. featuring a mindblowing production with harpsichord, sitar, chimes and anyting that makes freaky psych sounds. a trip back to the days of lsd and free love. comes with a facsimile reproduction of the original insert. 500 copies limited edition.”
*witch – havoc – now again – 6lp/4cd
– vinyl in tomorrow! “the complete works of zambia’s legendary garage, psych, prog, funk, afro-rock ensemble. 1972-1977. witch’s five albums and rare 7″ tracks presented as a 4cd box set, restored and remastered from the original tapes. contains a twenty-four page booklet with never before seen photos and ephemera; extensive liner notes and annotation; an interview with bandleader ‘jagari’ chanda.”
*various – eat the dream – sublime frequencies – lp
– in tomorrow… originally released on cd in 1996. recorded and compiled by tucker martine in 1994, the bulk of this album features the magnificent results of a chance meeting between martine and the late, great master of gnawa music, maâllem boubker ghania (1927-2000), who kindly offered to organize a several-day informal recording session in his home. these spectacular recordings from essaouira morocco are interwoven here with other encounters, including a wedding procession in the streets of marrakech, snake charmers of the jemma el fna with their rhaitas, calls to prayer with children playing while james brown echoed off of the labyrinthian walls, moroccan radio dial surfing and more.

……restocks…..

*a – a – die schachtel – cd
arcade fire – the suburbs – merge – lp
beach boys – smile sessions – emi – lp
j dilla – donuts – stones throw – lp
genius/gza – liquid swords – get on down – lp
*hafler trio – an utterance – solielmoon – cd
stephen malkmus & the jicks – real emotional trash – matador – lp
neutral milk hotel – in an aeroplane over the sea – merge – lp
pavement – crooked rain, crooked rain – matador – lp
sun ra – magic city – saturn – lp
sun ra – art forms of.. – saturn – lp
tegan & sara – get along – warner – lp
timber timbre – s/t – arts & crafts – lp
vampire weekend – s/t – xl – lp
*kurt vile – smoke ring for my halo – matador – lp
tom waits – blue valentine – island – lp
*scott walker – climate of the hunter – virgin – cd
patrick watson – close to paradise – secret city – lp
jack white – sixteen salteens – thirdman – 12″

thanks for listening…..

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

www.listenrecords.net
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