Another nice stack of new wax in this week, perhaps if you are actually in town with nothing else to do, you’ll make it in for a dig. We’ve been pricing up some sweet used LPs as well.
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…..pick of the week…..
Cosmic Dead: Rainbowhead (Blackest Rainbow) LP
The Cosmic Dead return with their first full length album since 2014’s Easterfaust. For the uninitiated The Cosmic Dead are a quartet from Glasgow, Scotland, making some of the best raging freak out psych right now. ‘Rainbowhead’ is a brand new LP, featuring four tracks of spaced out, heavy psych formed from insane chugging bass, trippy synth blasts, krautrock infused metallic guitar riffin’ and furious cascading drum cycles. The band’s constant positive vibes have led to them touring all over the UK and Europe, playing the prestigious Liverpool Psych Fest and the band are due to play Psycho Festival in Las Vegas in August alongside Sleep, Candlemass, Yob, Mudhoney, Death and more. ‘Rainbowhead’ follows records on Cardinal Fuzz, Evil Hoodoo, Who Do You Trust?, Sound of Cobra and some of the best underground labels around. The band said: “A few days before appearing at Cry Parrot’s ‘Music Is The Music Language’ Festival in Glasgow, The Cosmic Dead journeyed north to a remote cottage near Kyle of Lochalsh in the Highlands of Scotland. Isolated from technology and with the help of focaccia aficionado & sound engineer Luigi Pasquini, we recorded sounds wrought from the textures and folds of the surrounding landscape clasping its craggy links to the Inner Sea. A place we call Rainbowhead.”
File Under: Psych, Space Rock
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…..new arrivals…..
Beak: Couple In A Hole OST (Invada) LP
Soundtrack written by Geoff Barrow, Billy Fuller & Matt Williams to the Tom Geens directorial debut and psychological drama: Couple In A Hole. Film has an advanced level of nationwide and EU distribution. Geoff Barrow has a long history of scoring films (Ex-Machina, Exit Through The Giftshop etc). BEAK> have been touring the UK promoting the film with DJ sets and Q&As alongside the cast at various cinemas and theatres throughout the UK.
File Under: Electronic, Krautrock, OST
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Sandra Bell: Dreams of Falling (Straight to Video) LP
Sandra Bell’s debut album Dreams of Falling is an experimental tour de force that ranges from ethereal sound collage to poetic industrial noise. Originally released as a cassette on New Zealand’s Xpressway label in 1991, the record also features Peter Jefferies (This Kind Of Punishment), Peter Gutteridge (The Clean, Snapper), Alastair Galbraith (The Rip), Kathy Bull (Look Blue Go Purple), and David Mitchell (3Ds). It is at once a deeply personal work and a nodal point, focusing the inspiration of predecessors like The Raincoats and This Heat and projecting it into the future. Essential listening for any NZ underground music fan.
File Under: Art Rock, New Zealand
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Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Denial (Matador) LP
With Teens of Denial, his first real “studio” album with an actual band, Will Toledo moves from bedroom pop to something approaching classic rock grandeur and huge (if detailed and personal) narrative ambitions, with nods to the Cars, Pavement, Jonathan Richman, Wire, and William Onyeabor. Teens of Denial refracts Toledo’s particular, personal story of one difficult year through cultural touchstones such as the biography of Frank Sinatra, the evolution of the Me Generation as seen in Mad Men and elsewhere, plus elements of Eastern and Western theology. The whole thing flaunts a kind of conceptual, lyrical, and musical ambition that has been missing from far too much 21st-century music. Horns, keyboards, and elegant instrumental interludes set off art-garage moments; vivid vocal harmonies follow punk frenzy. The selfish captain of the capsized cruise liner in the Mediterranean in 2013 becomes a metaphor for struggles of the individual in society, as experienced by one hungover young man on the verge of adulthood. Teens of Denial was produced by Steve Fisk (Nirvana, Beat Happening, Soundgarden) at his studio in Seattle from July through September 2015. This is the first full album of new music from Car Seat Headrest released on Matador Records. “One of the most exciting records we have ever heard, hands down…Staggering…The kind of record I could see a generation from now people still being obsessed with.” — NPR All Things Considered
File Under: Indie Rock
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William Fowler Collins & James Jackson Toth: Under Stars and Smoke (Blackest Rainbow) LP
Under Stars and Smoke is the soundtrack to an imaginary landscape wherein various “actual” locales are thematically superimposed atop one another to suggest new, alien terrain. Both the New Mexico-based William Fowler Collins and the Kentucky-based James Jackson Toth find a great deal of inspiration in their adopted home regions: While Collins translates via mighty drones the vast, occasionally unforgiving mesas of the American southwest, Toth bends and blends the sounds and textures of traditional bluegrass and mountain music. Complete with frame-worthy “pastoral psychedelia” cover art by visual artist Claudia X. Valdes, Under Stars & Smoke is an album as explicitly American and distinctly postmodern as the maverick artists who created it. James Jackson Toth (b.1978) is a writer, recording artist, and musician currently based in Kentucky. He appears, under the moniker Wooden Wand and in countless collaborations, on over a hundred records, and in 2015 founded, with his wife Leah, the experimental label Footfalls Records. William Fowler Collins (b.1974) is a composer/musician and recording artist whose work explores and synthesizes both musical and extra-musical elements. Collins has released music on the SIGE, Type, Handmade Birds, Daymare, Digitalis and Root Strata labels. Current projects include collaborations with Aaron Bradford Turner and Raven Chacon (in Mesa Ritual).
File Under: Folk, Drone
Cosmic Dead: Inner Sanctum (Evil Hoodoo) 2LP
There are an elite bunch of musicians in this world who aren’t happy writing the usual songs we’re all used to. You know… a verse, bridge, chorus and some nice lyrics all packaged up in 5 minutes or under. For some musicians this is way too pointless and boring and instead of mainly entertaining the listener, they insist on taking them on a cosmic trip. Hailing from Glasgow, The Cosmic Dead are a member of this elite bunch and play what I like to call mind blowing space rock. They have been smashing out brain melting jams since 2010 and as they mainly record live their releases arrive thick and fast. Inner Sanctum is their 2013 opus which is now out available as a limited coloured 2LP, it contains a mere 4 tracks but comes in over the 70 minute mark…. Woohoo! It kicks off with ‘Gustav Björnstrand’ a psychedelic jam chock full of rhythmic lashes with all kinds of wonderful guitar tones flying about. There are also trippy synth noises and incomprehensible retro voice samples which keep it all sounding fresh and vibrant. It puts a barrier between your brain and the real world and makes you feel like your floating away to somewhere awesome and possibly magical. If you like bands like Earthless, Carlton Melton, White Hills and Eternal Tapestry… you’re in for a right treat.
File Under: Psych, Space Rock
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Elizabeth Cotten: Vol 2 – Shake Sugaree (Folkways) LP
Originally released in 1965 Elizabeth Cotten’s second album Vol. 2 Shake Sugaree is another gem featuring her idiosyncratic, self-taught upside-down left-handed guitar playing, plus banjo. The song “Shake Sugaree” is a folk classic featuring her great granddaughter Brenda Evans on vocals. This is an absolutely essential collection from an American folk legend.
File Under: Folk
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Betty Davis: Columbia Years (Light in the Attic) LP
BACK IN STOCK! One can hardly imagine Prince, Erykah Badu, or Outkast without the influence of Betty Davis. Her style of raw and revelatory punk-funk defies any notions that women can’t be visionaries in the worlds of rock and pop. In recent years, rappers from Ice Cube to Talib Kweli have rhymed over her intensely strong but sensual music. Betty penned the song “Uptown” for The Chambers Brothers and wrote the tunes that got The Commodores signed to Motown. The Detroit label soon came calling, pitching a Motown songwriting deal, which Betty turned down. Motown wanted to own everything. Heading to the UK, Marc Bolan of T. Rex urged the creative dynamo to start writing for herself. A common thread throughout Betty’s career would be her unbending DIY ethic, which made her quickly turn down anyone who didn’t fit with the vision. She would eventually say no to Eric Clapton as her album producer, seeing him as too banal. In 1968, she married Miles Davis and quickly influenced him on the magic of psychedelic rock along with introducing him to Jimi Hendrix—personally inspiring the classic album, Bitches Brew. Miles and Betty fans have long debated the truth of a near mythological session recorded in Studios B and E at Columbia’s 52nd Street Studios on May 14th and 20th, 1969. The landmark session was produced by Miles and Teo Macero and featured Betty on vocals, accompanied by Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, guitarist John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock on keys, and Dylan/Miles session bassist Harvey Brooks. Other players included bassist Billy Cox (Band of Gypsys), saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and organist Larry Young. Now, Light In The Attic, with full support from Betty herself, presents these recordings to the public for the very first time. These historic sessions—never heard, never bootlegged—predate Miles’ revolutionary album, Bitches Brew, and are the true birth of Miles’ jazz-rock explorations, along with the roots for Betty’s groundbreaking funk that came years later, starting with her self-titled debut in 1973. While, ultimately, these recordings would go unreleased for nearly half a century, they would greatly shape each of their careers. The vibe is intrinsically unique, fresh, and futuristic—jazz heavyweights playing psychedelia, rock, and jazz-fusion long before the term became commonplace. The songs include Betty originals and covers of classics by Creedence and Cream. The concepts explored on these previously unheard sessions fueled concepts that wouldn’t be fully realized until years later with Miles’ seminal On The Corner. Additionally, included here is the first time rerelease of a 1968 Columbia single, recorded in October 1968 at Columbia Studios in Los Angeles. The session was produced by Jerry Fuller and featured South African maverick Hugh Masekela on trumpet and arrangements, plus members of jazz-funk pioneers The Crusaders—including trombonist Wayne Henderson and pianist Joe Sample. Two of the three tracks included here from this session are previously unreleased. This deluxe package is a treasure trove for both Betty and Miles fans, including rare documents from the pen of co-producer Teo Macero, rarely seen photos from legendary photographer Baron Wolman, and new interviews with Mrs. Davis herself, Harvey Brooks, and Hugh Masekela—the entire project overseen with Betty’s full blessing.
File Under: Funk, Soul
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Day of the Dead: Terrapin Station (Suite) (4AD) 12″
A limited edition four-song 12” from the Day Of The Dead compilation featuring members of Grizzly Bear, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Tunde Adebimpe, Lee Ranaldo and Bryce Dessner of The National. The Grateful Dead’s ‘Terrapin Station’ was the first time the Dead unveiled a more symphonic and progressive sound. To compliment the full recreation of the ‘Terrapin Flyer’ section, Bryce Dessner expanded the piece with an additional two minutes of original composition.
File Under: Indie Rock, Grateful Dead
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Dead C: Trouble (Ba Da Bing) LP
“There’s a reason why our relationship with The Dead C is Ba Da Bing’s longest running. It’s not because they are the hardest working band we’ve ever met. It’s not because they are the largest selling band we’ve ever released. It’s not because we’re inspired to support our local music scene. “Yes, there’s definitely a reason… please give me a minute… oh, ok, I got it (just put on this record). Like every time I hear their recordings, I’m reminded that they are one of the greatest rock bands to ever pick up a guitar and attempt to play it wrong. Listening to The Dead C causes me to think differently. It brings up emotions with which I’m otherwise un- familiar. It strikes to the essence of my being and reveals what otherwise remains hidden. I take solace in knowing that one out of every thirty of you reading this know exactly what I’m talking about. “On the spectrum of The Dead C’s sound output, Trouble could very well be seen as springing from the same realm as the massive “Driver UFO,” one of the band’s greatest tracks ever, off Harsh 70s Reality. There’s a youthful aggression here, a churning anger, deadened by pounding drone. Much like H70s, this record serves as a gateway drug— if you were ever looking for an album to play to a newbie curious about experimental rock, this would be it. The visceral strength of their per- formance trembles out of the speakers. The magnificence of their stamina survives each album side. “We are in a creative highpoint for the trio at the moment. Bruce Russell has just released a captivating solo album on Feeding Tube, while Michael Morley’s solo project Gate just put out a release on MIE. Robbie Yeats has been performing of late as backup for Alastair Galbraith. The fact that there are still means to commute between Lyttelton and Port Chalmers on the South Island of New Zealand means these three can still find time to get together, and allows for what we have here today. And it’s fucking glorious. ’’
File Under: Experimental, Noise, Rock
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Galactic Zoo Dossier #10 Magazine
After a four-year wait, “the world’s greatest psychedelic underground hand-drawn pro-zine” is back, and celebrating it’s 10th issue and 20th anniversary. Features sixteen interviews with legends like Arthur Brown, Comus, Edgar Broughton, Shirley Collins, Peter Daltery of Kaleidoscope, Judy Dyble of Fairport Convention, Jesse Hector, and others. Also included is a cassette compilation with unreleased music from Comus, Bang, Broughton, Richard Pinhas, Dyble, Michael Yonkers, Red Square, Daltrey, Michael Chapman and others.
File Under: Psych, Magazine
Luke Gibson: Another Perfect Day (Mapache) LP
Recorded in 1971, “Another Perfect Day” is Luke Gibson’s first solo album. A veteran of the garage blues group Luke and the Apostles and the psych pop Kensington Market, Gibson now turned his focus inwards to produce one of the best (and most underrated) singer-songwriter albums to be released in Canada in the 70’s. These sessions were produced by Gene Martynec (of Kensington Market) and capture all the raw emotions of a musician at the peak of his career. Another Perfect Day is an unsung gem; sauntering through folk, country, and rock to create a wholly unique and enjoyable salt-of-the-earth experience.
File Under: Folk, SSW
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Goggs: s/t (In The Red) LP
Chapter Two: We find our man stumbling through the darkness in the garden of illusion and fame. Chris Shaw smokes the microphone while Ty Segall and Charles Moothart trade lizardian licks and skin hits. Guest GØGGS include Cory Hanson, Mikal Cronin and Denée Petracek. Ten tracks of misanthropic noise to bring home to mom’s house on fire. Boots to your face after the high speed chase, Then! A death trip down memory lane. The lead actor dies first and the shotgun shooter flashes chipped teeth. Created in Los Angeles in the middle of the summer of 2015: three years of planning, thirty days of writing, one week of ripping. A severed finger on the button, the player ends the game. Final notice has been served.
File Under: Rock, Ty Segall
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Davy Graham & Holly: Godington Boundary (Acme) LP
Davy Graham needs no introduction here, as he is one of the UK’s most influential and legendary guitarists. Drawing on influences as diverse as folk, jazz and blues, “Godington Boundry” is one of his later classics, which has (incredibly) been out of print on vinyl for decades. Taken from the original analogue studio master tapes. “With his unorthodox playing style, Davy Graham exploded onto the 1960s folk scene to become one of the UK’s most influential guitarists. Drawing upon diverse folk, jazz and blues influences Davy flew in the face of what was then deemed commercial, recording a string of critically-acclaimed albums that reflected his exotic tastes. Revered by his peers as much for his guitar prowess and for his musical integrity, he is widely credited as the founder of ‘baroque folk’ and broke new ground when he introduced elements of what might now be termed ‘world music’ into his work. In keeping with the records Graham made for Decca, “Godington Boundry” is an unashamedly esoteric blend of the influences dear to his heart. As well as takes on the perennial ‘Worksong,’ then-contemporary covers of the Beatles’ ‘Mother Nature’s Son’ and the Incredible String Band’s ’Everything’s Fine Right Now,’ jazz standards such as ‘Round Midnight’ are also featured. Tabla player Kesh Sathe contributes his mastery to ‘Afta’ and ‘Nadu Silva,’ and Holly Gwyn lends her stunning vocals to ‘On Green Dolphin Street’ and the rousing ‘A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.’ Enjoying cult status for a new generation of fans, Davy Graham’s mystique endures and he remains one of the UK’s foremost guitar greats.” Import edition limited to 250x copies.
File Under: Folk, Jazz, Guitar
Michael Hurley: Bad Mr. Mike (Mississippi) LP
A new LP by the great Michael Hurley! Michael is one of the world finest and most prolific songwriters – and he’s still cranking out hits. The well is far from dry. This LP features home recordings with Michael on guitar, banjo and organ. Sublime and sometimes a little strange – a new classic for the ages. Songs include the Kentucky 3 – a beautiful instrumental medley of songs evocative of Kentucky, Charona – a great banjo ballad, Tender is the guitar – a mournful organ driven ballad, Boone and Jocko – a longstanding favorite epic from Michael’s live sets on record at last, Cuckoo Rock and Lo Bonney – two unique rewordings of traditional ballads, Dragging the Indian – a stark instrumental, and much more. Don’t sleep on this work of genius. Cover art by Michael himself.
File Under: Folk
Johnny Jewel: Lost River OST (Italians Do It Better) 3LP
Original score by Johnny Jewel, with additional music from Glass Candy, Chromatics, Desire, and Symmetry. Triple LP pressed on 180-gram opaque purple vinyl and packaged in thick, full-color pocket sleeves with stills from the film.
File Under: Electronic, OST
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Lindstrom: Windings (Smalltown Supersound) LP
Received a Best New Track rating from Pitchfork for “Closing Shot.” Like one of his endlessly building tracks, Hans-Peter Lindstrom is only moving further upwards. The Norwegian space-disco wizard’s new EP, Windings, is three tracks of that now-classic sound closely associated with Lindstrøm’s name: skyward synths, effervescent rhythms, and melodies that spiral beautifully into the great unknown. This is Lindstrøm in the zone—and if you’ve been paying close attention over the last decade, it’s a zone he’s never left. Recorded over the past year, Windings represents Lindstrøm’s latest crystallization of the aesthetic that the greater world was introduced to on the 2006 compilation It’s a Feedelity Affair, as well as the tangy pop of 2012’s masterful Smalhans. This isn’t to say Lindstrøm’s repeating himself—far from it, in fact. Windings finds our arpeggiator-obsessed hero refining an aesthetic that already sounded perfect—a zenith that, much like the music itself, hits new peaks even when it seems that there’s no more ceiling to breach.
File Under: Electronic, House
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Miminokoto: Otomejima No Otome (Blackest Rainbow) LP
Brand new LP from Japanese psych blues rock trio of Shimura Koji (Acid Mothers Temple), Suzuki Junzo (Overhang Party, Astral Travelling Unity), and Takuya Nishimura (Che-SHIZU and formely of Suishou No Fune). Any self respecting Japanese underground fan should be ready for some killer cuts here. For the uninitiated, this trio creates some great garage soaked psych blues, with some wild guitar action and vocals from Junzo, solid drumming from Koji, and classy bass from Nishimura. Edition of 250 copies pressed on 180 gram pink and white swirl vinyl packaged in full colour sleeve with UV gloss finish.
File Under: Japanese, Psych
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Mistress Mary: Housewife (Companion) LP
Songwriter and multi-careerist Mary Afton recorded exactly one album of music in late 1968 at Darrel Cotton’s Ion Studio in the Hacienda Heights area. The session was led by Cotton and steel guitarist Carl Walden and several players sat in over the course of the 5 days it took to record including Walden, Clarence White & early rockabilly artist Johnny Redd. The group worked out most songs on the fly with Mary strumming out the songs on guitar and the band riffing off her. Brilliantly packaged with lush glamour girl photo front and bored housewife pics back (and with hand-penned liners introducing herself as a “Wife – Mother – Civic Leader – etc. – Artiste”), 500 copies of the album were cut as a demo and maybe 50 of those were sent out as promos to industry folks (she saw to it that one of these copies made its way to Elvis Presley). Walden & Cotton thought the world of Mary and encouraged her efforts but after a year or two of little response she moved onto one of her many other careers (these include stints as an auto mechanics instructor for women, running a class on female self-defense, belly dance instruction and a lucrative multi-year gig as a disco dance instructor). With her earnings Mary bought a beautiful ranch style home in Southern California where she lives to this day alongside four generations of daughters, granddaughters and great granddaughters. When she’s not attending to the needs of her grandchildren and great grandchildren she’s throwing huge 500+ people pool parties in her backyard with a view.
File Under: Folk, Country
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Thee Oh Sees: A Weird Exits (Castle Face) LP
Emerging from the distant light is the new double-LP from John Dwyer’s Thee Oh Sees—the first studio recordings to capture the muscular rhythm section of twin drummers Ryan Moutinho and Dan Rincon with ringer bassist Tim Hellman cracking spines. The groove and bludgeon one has come to expect from the band’s live shows is captured seamlessly here—they go from zero to head-splitter, and on the rare occasions they do let up on the gas a bit, you’re treated to some locked-in hypnotizers, too. The guitar sounds more colossal and ethereal at the same time, riding roughshod over the vacuum-sealed rhythm section, spiraling skywards, and diving into the emerald depths so quick your guts tingle. Synths, strings and smoke-soaked things crawl behind the scenes to make an extra far-out party platter, served on 45 RPM plates for most excellent listening quality. With amazing visuals (including a side-D etching by airbrush-van-art maestro Robert Beatty) and packed in vape-proof goatskin, it’s a beast and, come August 12th, it can be yours should you so choose.
File Under: Garage, Punk
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OST: Altered States (Waxwork) LP
Waxwork Records is thrilled to release the deluxe LP re-issue of Altered States. Directed by Ken Russel, the film focuses on Professor Edward Jessup’s (William Hurt) research conducted in isolation tanks under the influence of psychoactive drugs like mescaline, ketamine, and LSD. The film is also the film debut of actors William Hurt and Drew Barrymore. Waxwork’s new release is a deluxe re-issue of the now classic 1980 score by Pulitzer Prize winning, Oscar winning, and five time Grammy winning composer, John Corigliano. The audio has been sourced from the original masters, and this new LP re-issue has been officially and enthusiastically approved by the composer. The album artwork is created by Australian artist duo, We Buy Your Kids, and the heavyweight old-style gatefold jacket features a deluxe Glitter Coating. Exclusive liner notes have been provided by composer John Corigliano and are featured on a 12”x12” insert with artwork by We Buy Your Kids. The re-mastered-for-vinyl Grammy nominated score has been pressed to 180 Gram Purple and Violet “Hallucination” Swirl vinyl and sounds incredible.
File Under: OST
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OST: Baskin (Invada) LP
Invada Records are proud to present Ulas Pakkan’s soundtrack to the highly anticipated and award winning cult Turkish horror film ‘Baskin’. The soundtrack has picked up nearly as many accolades as the film itself. Baskin first screened at the Toronto Film Festival on September 11th 2015, and is being compared to ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’ for its theme of childhood and dreams, plus its lavish use of blood and gore. The soundtrack can be compared to Daft Punk’s ‘Tron’, Cliff Martinez’s ‘Drive’, Clint Mansell’s ‘Requiem For A Dream’, but with a unique Turkish flavor.
File Under: OST, Electronic
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OST: Castlevania (Mondo) 10″
Available for the first time on vinyl, the original soundtrack to the NES classic Castlevania. Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the beloved franchise, Mondo are proud to present a physical release to the iconic first chapter that started it all. Featuring original artwork by Becky Cloonan.
File Under: OST, NES
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OST: Dead Ringers (Mondo) LP
Mondo is proud to present the premiere Vinyl release of a true classic of 1980’s thriller scoring, Howard Shore’s soundtrack for David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers. The Film tells the story of Elliot and Beverly Mantle, identical twins who operate a fertility clinic that provides for their twisted relationship; Elliot seduces patients then passes them onto the less confident Beverly, but their world is literally split when Beverly falls in love with one of them embarks on a self-destructive journey of obsession and drug addiction. Its classic Cronenberg, and when you get that you also get classic Shore. Shore’s score is deceptive at first, with a main title orchestrated for 50 strings and 3 french horns to create a beautiful yet mysterious atmosphere. He continues with this palette, adding a single oboe to echo the 3 horns’ opening theme, an underscores both relationships with a sense of subtlety and melodrama. However, Shore constantly uses the string orchestra to represent the sinister, pervading through the otherwise normalcy. It’s typical subversion from Shore and Cronenberg, and approaches the operatic tones a more mainstream audience are used to from the composer. But things happening under the surface is what Dead Ringers is all about – and why its such an enduring classic in score and picture.
File Under: OST
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OST: Hannibal Season 3 Volume 1 (Invada) LP
Hannibal Season 3 soundtrack is taken from the final Hannibal NBC TV series. Brian Reitzell is known for his work with Kevin Shields on the Lost In Translation Soundtrack, also being the drummer in ‘Air’, and previous soundtrack work including ‘30 Days Of Night’ (film) and ‘Watch Dogs’ (game). The soundtrack features contributions from Siouxsie Sioux and Marc Almond.
File Under: OST
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OST: Hannibal Season 3 Volume 2 (Invada) LP
Hannibal Season 3 soundtrack is taken from the final Hannibal NBC TV series. Brian Reitzell is known for his work with Kevin Shields on the Lost In Translation Soundtrack, also being the drummer in ‘Air’, and previous soundtrack work including ‘30 Days Of Night’ (film) and ‘Watch Dogs’ (game). The soundtrack features contributions from Siouxsie Sioux and Marc Almond.
File Under: OST
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Paul Parrish: The Forest of My Mind (Mapache) LP
Arranged by Mike Theodore and prolific guitarist Dennis Coffey—who later worked together on Rodriguez’s Cold Fact—1968’s The Forest of My Mind is a solid dose of soul-soothing mellow tunes, rich with captivating pastoral odes. The album is a unique synthesis of pop, folk and psychedelic sounds flecked with a touch of Donovan Leitch-like whimsy, all steered into righteous and refined waters by future Motown staff producer Clay McMurray (Gladys Knight & The Pips, David Ruffin, The Temptations, the Four Tops) and aided by the wizened influence of the Motor City’s R&B/soul session-men of the era. Despite the awe-inspiring sounds this near-masterpiece is bursting with, the album didn’t receive the accolades it rightly deserved in its day (due to some unfortunate flightiness from the original issuing label). One listen to the grandeur of The Forest of My Mind will have you singing the same tune as project producer McMurray: that the world must see how “simply wonderful this hidden jewel is.”
File Under: Soft Rock, Psych
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Max Romeo: Horror Zone (NuRoots) LP
Max Romeo has teamed up with UK based, Grammy Nominated Producer Daniel Boyle; to create a stunning return to form, Roots Reggae album with accompanying Dub versions. ‘’Max is noted for his critically acclaimed work with Lee Scratch Perry in the 1970’s, and for his timeless classic songs penned over the last 50 years – Such as ‘War ina Babylon’ ‘Melt away’ ‘one step forward’ and the worlds most sampled reggae song ever -‘’Chase the Devil’. Picked up by artists such Jay Z, Kanye West, The Prodigy and Blockbuster hit movies. Max and Daniel have teamed up with an all-star cast of musicians to create a true Part 2, to Max’s legendary; ‘’War Ina Babylon’’ album. Using strictly Studio equipment ranging from between the 1950’s – 1970’s, recorded and mixed in 100% analogue format, and presented with stunning artwork in Physical format. Among the line-up of 12 musicians we have: Glen Da Costa (Bob Marley and the Wailers / Black Ark Upsetters) on Saxophone. Vin Gordon (Studio One / Black Ark Upsetters ) on Trombone Robbie Lyn (Black Ark Upsetters) on Keys Dorit Chrystler (Marilyn Manson, The Strokes, Dinosaur jr) On Theremin Lee Scratch Perry – backing vocals, percussion and effects Hornsman Coyote – (Back on the controls) On Trombone Hughie Issachar – (Back on the Controls) Bass / Guitar Puraman – (Lost Ark Music) Drums
File Under: Reggae
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Nina Simone: Philips Years (Verve) 7LP Box
Nina Simone’s combination of classical training, smokey-alto vocal delivery and the influence of modern jazz made her a novel and inspiring jazz singer and instrumentalist. And her very name is synonymous with the passion, talent and raw emotion that she put into every note she sang and played. The Phillips Years is a fine collection of seven albums released by Simone during her tenure on the label from 1964-1967. Simone’s albums covered topics as diverse as romance, politics, Broadway, civil rights and more. The essential recordings included in this package areNina Simone in Concert (1964), Broadway-Blues-Ballads (1964), I Put a Spell on You (1965), Pastel Blues(1966), Let It All Out (1966), Wild is The Wind (1966) and High Priestess of Soul (1967). All albums comes pressed on 180 gram vinyl and are housed in a limited edition box set. Individual LPs also available.
File Under: Jazz
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Skullflower/Voltigeurs/Black Sun Roof: Split (Blackest Rainbow) LP
Brand new three way split featuring 3 projects from Matthew Bower and Samantha Davis. ‘Hexenturm’ from Voltigeurs is a vortex of basement black metal terror, caaried by furious percussion buried beneath layers of metalic riffs and distortion. This leads directly into Black Sunroof’s ‘Pal Beach Violation’, with a crushing distorted layers of guitar and effects. The flip is Skullflower’s ‘PSH’, a tribute to one of the finest actors of our generation. ‘PSH’ is a much more psych-upped affair than the previous tracks, but remains layered in metaliic effects and swirling dark cosmic tones. It’s an interesting listen to have three spearate projects performed by the two core performers, but each have different styles, sounds and approaches. Pressed on 180 gram red vinyl in an edition of 333 copies packaged in full colour UV gloss sleeve.
Play at 45 or 33. Includes download
File Under: Experimental, Noise
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Alex Somers: Captain Fantastic OST (Invada) LP
Invada Records are proud to announce Alex Somers’ (Jónsi & Alex/Sigur Rós) original score to Matt Ross’ (American Psycho) latest film “Captain Fantastic”, starring Viggo Mortensen (The Lord Of The Rings). The soundtrack also features contributions from Jónsi (Sigur Rós). The film has debuted to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival this year, with The Guardian calling it “heartfelt, comedic and gorgeous”. Appropriately, the soundtrack beautifully mirrors the story’s strange, otherworldly settings with Somers creating a score that is at once delicate yet haunting, fragile and moving to conjure up a gorgeously ethereal atmosphere. The soundtrack will appeal to fans of Sigur Rós.
File Under: OST, Sigur Ros
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Starship Commander Woooo Woooo: Mastership (Left Ear) LP
“How are you doing, Earthling?” That’s how Omer Coleman, Jr. addressed his public in the 80s, driving around Kansas City, Missouri in the electric space-car built especially for his alter ego Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo. Left Ear Records went back to Coleman’s original master tapes for their vinyl reissue of the Commander’s 1981 private press album Mastership, a lost electronic funk classic. Coleman performs in an alien voice that comes not from electronic filtering but from his own natural vocal distortions. This visitor from Mars wants people to be happy and, like his song goes, “Laugh and Dance.” It’s an endearing and very personal space-age funk that blends George Clinton and Kraftwerk in a vision of a better and happier world. Born and raised in Kansas City, Coleman was musically inclined from an early age. His parents couldn’t afford to buy him a real drum for orchestra, so he took up electrical wiring and wood shop instead, which fed his muse in a different direction. Omer built enormous speaker cabinets. In the late ‘70s he was a DJ, and ran a Mobile Disco business that took him across the country, hosting parties. After a trip to California, he came back to Kansas City inspired to dress up as Commander Wooooo Wooooo. The future commander began working at the Armco Steel Mill in Kansas City when he was 18. He was inspired by older machinists who demanded perfection in their work and in their character. It was while he was working at the steel mill that Coleman came up with Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo. One day coworker John Manley came up to Coleman with a vision of an electric car, and built it. His coworkers built all of his equipment, from lighting and fog machines to big steel eyeglasses. Coleman’s sister, a seamstress, created his outfits. Coleman started his own label in 1985 but took some time off from music to raise his children, and when they came of age his son recorded with Coleman as a gospel vocalist. When his son was killed in an auto accident in 2004, it took something out of him, and he stopped making music. But he’s starting to get the feeling again. Now 62, he’s currently enjoying his retirement from a long stint with the IRS. The former Commander is in the middle of a house project where he’s using metal ceiling tiles to line his walls. It’s starting to look like a spaceship. Coleman promises, “There is a real good possibility that we have not seen the last of Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo!”
File Under: Electronic, Funk, Private Press
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Suicide: Alan Vega & Martin Rev (Superior Viaduct) LP
After crystallizing a reputation for confrontational live performances and releasing their essential debut LP, Suicide went into the studio to record their stunning follow-up. Producer Ric Ocasek lends a pop sensibility to the band’s sound, constructing an atmosphere at once light and catchy, yet still crazed and venomous. Originally released in 1980 on ZE Records, Alan Vega Martin Rev features an array of glistening keyboards and early preset rhythm machine sounds whose harsh simplicity suggests the discreet zones and confined movements of urban life. While his vocal treatments are more refined than before, Alan Vega is still cool as ice, visceral and evocative. Superior Viaduct is honored to present Suicide’s under-appreciated second album. For the first time since its initial release 35+ years ago, this vinyl release includes the original track list and artwork. If there can be a quintessential New York band, it is without a doubt Suicide.
File Under: Electronic, Experimental, Synth Pop
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Shigeo Tanaka: Yumi Kagura (Em) LP
“Deep session! It is rare to hear folk music from Japan in such beautiful fidelity and incredible dynamics. This recording is intensely gorgeous and hauntingly disarming. This should open up a whole new world of adventurous listening for folks outside (and inside!) Japan.” – Brian Shimkovitz (Awesome Tapes From Africa) “Sounds absolutely great! Super interesting and engaging.” – Ben (UFO) “Just Give Me That Old Time Religion, It’s Good Enough For Me.” – Japan Blues A hotline to the gods! Kagura is a thousand-year-old form of Japanese Shinto sacred music and dance, accompanying the chanting of myths; the word “kagura” can be translated as “god-entertainment”. Passed down over countless generations, the music is rare and recordings even rarer. Shigeo Tanaka was a master of the yumi (bow), an uncommon single-string percussion instrument, which is a true bow: arrows are fired off at the end of each ceremony to fend off evil sprits. The instrument is difficult to play; it’s hard to draw out the proper sound and maintain the rhythm. Yumi Kagura is the oldest of all the various forms of Kagura. The Tanaka family, based in rural Jōge-cho, Hiroshima prefecture, has passed down this yumi kagura tradition for hundreds of years; this lineage continues to this day in the person of his daughter Ritsuko Tanaka. The Jōge-cho yumi kagura, which prays for family well-being, bountiful crops and good fortune, was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1971. The piece featured here, “Takusa saimon”, based on the myth “Ama no iwato” (The Rocky Celestial Cave), is mesmeric, reaching back across ages to the time before time, with Tanaka’s voice and yumi, accompanied by flute and metal percussion, drawing us closer to the primal activities of the gods. Listeners may find affinities with aspects of musics as diverse as German electronic minimalism like E2-E4, certain Ethiopian music, “spiritual jazz” and more, all tapping into the deep root of forever. Previously available only on a ridiculously obscure 1991 cassette release, Yumi-kagura is the first collaborative release by EM Records and Riyo Mountains, a Japanese folk song research team. Available on LP and CD, with the CD featuring a bonus track: “Inagahachiman jinja yumi kagura hōnō” recorded in 2016 by Tanaka’s daughter and successor Ritsuko Tanaka.
File Under: Japanese, Folk
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Tenement: s/t (Deranged) LP
On the heels of 2015’s highly praised double-LP masterpiece, Predatory Headlights, comes a new 12-inch by the Wisconsin punk outfit Tenement. This self-titled record includes the five newly remastered tracks from the band’s recent limited tour cassette, as well as two new unreleased songs. From day one, Tenement has incorporated myriad influences into their polychromatic sound, and no single release fully represents their musical identity. Like most of their works, Tenement showcases a new side of the band—one that’s a little less punk and a little more pop. It’s a sound that’s been poking its way through the group’s decade-long tarp, finally stretching a hole large enough to crawl through. Here lies yet another piece to the ongoing Tenement puzzle, one many fans hope they won’t be solving anytime soon.
File Under: Punk
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Various: Hangman’s Blues (Iron Mountain) LP
From the people who brought you ‘Hillbillies In Hell’… Grim tales of jailbirds, cutthroats, cuckolds, executioners, murderers and popcorn-dusted escapees. Prison ballads form part of the historic lifeblood of Country music and saw a distinct resurgence after the May 1960 execution of controversial convict Caryl Chessman. Here Iron Mountain Analog Research presents 16 of the very best, many seldom heard since their original release (often on obscure, microscopic or private-press labels). Running the gamut from smooth balladeers of woe to ramshackle and plaintive backyard rockabillies, The Hangman’s Blues features fevered declarations of innocence, profound diatribes on capital punishment and mournful odes to that Last Mile. Years in the making – The Hangman’s Blues will chill, thrill and bedevil the dreams of all who hear it. Originally issued on forgotten 45s, some of these sides are indescribably rare and are reissued here for the very first time. All in one handy LP package.
File Under: Folk, Country
Various: Soul Sega Sa! (Bongo Joe) LP
In the 17th century, slaves were deported from Africa, Madagascar and the pristine islands of Mauritius, Réunion and the Seychelles in the South Western corner of the Indian Ocean to work on coffee and sugar cane plantations. They gathered secretly to escape their daily woes by singing, dancing and beating rhythms. This gave birth to the Afro-Malagasy-inspired sega, or (t)chega music. During the course of the 19th century, the Creole population’s gradual adoption of Western instruments and traditional melodies of old Europe (quadrille, waltz, polka, schottische, romance, mazurka) together with the cultural impact of hired workers from India, laid the foundation for contemporary sega. This crossroads of influences kept expanding, especially in the 50s, when the first gramophones hit the market and all sorts of records were played, from pop to jazz, soul, rock and roll, and even Cuban and Brazilian music. For sega music, this hailed the beginning of an intense period of creativity which would linger on into the 60s and 70s when amplified instruments appeared and violins and accordions were replaced by electric guitars, bass guitars, drums and keyboards. Record production boomed, an abundance of micro-record labels emerged and immensely talented arrangers honed their skills. These included Marclaine Antoine, Gerard Cimiotti, Eric Nelson, Claude Vinh San and Narmine Ducap, who went on to explore the many facets of sega. Psychedelic keyboards, fuzz guitars and bouncy bass lines came to complement the manic ternary polyrhythms of drums, ravannes, bongos, claves, triangles and maracas, and created a unique style. FolkWelt and Bongo Joe Records have carefully selected and compiled some gems from this golden age of sega from Mauritius, the Seychelles and Reunion.
File Under: African, Funk, Soul, World
…..Restocks…..
Aesop Rock: Impossible Kid (Rhymesayers) LP
Marc Barreca: Twilight (Palace of Lights) LP
Black Keys: El Camino (Nonesuch) LP
David Bowie: Pinups (RCA) LP
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme: Complete Masters (Impulse) 3LP
Cramps: Psychedelic Jungle (Vinylissimo) LP
Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (Legacy) LP
Deerhunter: Cryptograms (Kranky) LP
Deerhunter: Microcastle (Kranky) LP
Deux Filles: Silence & Wisdom/Double Happiness (Dark Entries) LP
Electric Wizard: Dopethrone (Rise Above) LP
Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma (Warp) LP
Flying Lotus: Los Angeles (Warp) LP
Flying Lotus: Until The Quiet Comes (Warp) LP
Jose Gonzalez: Vestiges & Claws (Mute) LP
Fugazi: Red Medicine (Dischord) LP
Goblin: Roller (AMS) LP
Goblin: Tenebre (AMS) LP
Francoise Hardy: Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles (Future Days) LP
Francoise Hardy: La Premier Bonheur Du Jour (Future Days) LP
Francoise Hardy: Mon Amie La Rose (Future Days) LP
Francoise Hardy: L’amite (Future Days) LP
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Quarters (Castle Face) LP
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Nonagon Infinity (ATO) LP
K. Leimer: Closed System Potentials (Palace of Lights) LP
Mariah: Utakata No Hibi (Palto Flats) LP
Thee Oh Sees: Carrion Crawler (In The Red) LP
Om: God is Good (Drag City) LP
OST: La Planet Sauvage (Superior Viaduct) LP
OST: Ninth Gate (Silva Screen) LP
Parquet Courts: Human Performance (Rough Trade) LP
Radiohead: A Moon Shaped Pool (XL) LP
Radiohead: I Might Be Wrong (XL) LP
Stereolab: Cobra & Phases Group (1972) LP
Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1972) LP
Subrosa: More Constant Than… (Profound Lore) LP
Suicide: s/t (Superior Viaduct) LP
Tragically Hip: Up to Here (Music on Vinyl) LP
Tragically Hip: Man Machine Poem (Universal) LP
Kurt Vile: God is Saying This to You (Mexican Summer) LP
Woods: City Sun Eater in the River (Woodsist) LP
Various: Heartworn Highways (Light in the Attic) LP/CD
Various: Native North America (Light in the Attic) 3LP