Well, we’re still waiting on a shipment from 2 weeks back, so… that’s a drag. But other things are still coming in, so at least there’s that. And really, the only thing anyone is going to want for the next couple of weeks is the new Arcade Fire anyway, right? Take a break from the heat and come have a dig, we keep it real chilly in here.
…..pick of the week…..
The Belbury Poly: The Owl’s Map (Ghost Box) LP
Belbury Poly is Jim Jupp, co-founder of the Ghost Box label with Julian House and a notorious lover of analog electronics circa 60s/70s such as the Radiophonic Workshop or Raymond Scott. ‘The Owl’s Map’ originally broke through the space-time continuum in 2006, setting another flag point in the development of Hauntological thinking. In comparison to the fractal sonic tapestries of Julian House, Jupp’s sonics tend towards synth-driven sequences with slightly longer track lengths, we’re not talking Tangerine Dream style side-long trips, but more commonly hovering around the pop-perfected 3 min mark. In both its aesthetic and sound, ‘The Owl’s Map’ unnervingly harks back to the same kind of educational TV-for-schools programmes which were viewed by at least two generations of UK schoolchildren, programmes whose mystical/mythical undercurrents and fantastical subject matter were hugely reinforced by their accompanying electronic soundtracks. For many UK children, these programmes were the first time we would experience electronic music placed in a context like this, and at such a formative age would irrevocably alter our relationship with music. This is the subliminal stuff that probably soundtracked many a nightmare/dream, which may go some way to explaining the huge impact it had on certain corners of underground music today.
File Under: Pseudo Library, Electronic, Radiophonic
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…..new arrivals…..
Arcade Fire: Everything Now (Sonovox) LP
Available with either the limited edition Night Version cover with coloured vinyl, or the black vinyl Day Version. Free posters while supplies last! Everything Now is the fifth full-length offering from Quebec art-rock outfit Arcade Fire and follow-up to 2013’s Grammy-nominated Reflektor. The thirteen track release features the dance-friendly, David Bowie-esque title track lead single “Everything Now” and was produced by Arcade Fire, Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk) and Steve Mackey (Pulp), with co-production by Markus Dravs (The Suburbs, Coldplay, Mumford & Sons). The album was recorded at Boombox Studios in New Orleans, Sonovox Studios in Montreal, and Gang Recording Studio in Paris. “There’s sort of an everything-nowness to life, I feel like almost every event and everything that happens surrounds you on all sides,” frontman Win Butler explained to BBC Radio 1. “It’s trying to capture some of the experiences of being alive now in all its flaws and all its glory.” 12″ black heavyweight vinyl in a gatefold sleeve, with a folded lyric sheet insert.
File Under: Indie Rock, Pop
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Avey Tare: Eucalyptus (Domino) LP
Eucalyptus is the new studio album written and produced by Animal Collective’s Avey Tare. Conceived on Hawaiian mornings, written on a sunlit bedroom afternoon in Los Angeles, practiced in the dark early hours of the California twilight, recommended listening for dawn or dusk. Recorded by Animal Collective’s Deakin (Josh Dibb), featuring chamber orchestration arranged by Eyvind Kang, musicians Angel Deradoorian and Jessika Kenney, Eucalyptus is an immersive album length electroacoustic movement through leaves, rocks and dust. Double LP packaged in gatefold Stoughton tip-on jacket with download card.
File Under: Indie Rock, Animal Collective
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Azymuth: s/t (Farout) LP
Far Out Recordings present a reissue of the seminal debut album from Azymuth, Azimüth, originally released in 1975. Having never seen a vinyl release outside of Brazil, Azimüth is considered a milestone in Brazilian music. Azymuth — Jose Roberto Bertrami, Ivan Conti, and Alex Malheiros, as well as Ariovaldo Contesini — formed in the late ’60s just as Os Mutantes released their debut record (1968). Whilst Mutantes were honing a psychedelic “Amazonian” version of western pop music, Azymuth were creating a futuristic, electric interpretation of US jazz — also driven by the same rootsy Brazilian “swing” that Mutantes had harnessed. Bertrami was the drive behind Azymuth’s sound — a control freak and musical genius obsessed with the latest technology who wanted to use it to push the boundaries of music in a way that no one else in Brazil had done. His use of keyboards has drawn comparisons between Azymuth’s work and Herbie Hancock’s early ’70s output, yet with its Brazilian swing Azymuth’s electric jazz sound is unmistakably their own. Conti is an impulsive and an incredibly energetic drummer. Alex Malheiros, who learned his trade playing from the master of Brazilian swing Ed Lincoln, is one of Brazil’s original groove masters. Bertrami rose to fame as an arranger in the mid-60s, and by the late ’60s he was arranging for the queen of Brazilian music, Elis Regina. Released in summer 1975, the album was a minor commercial success selling 200,000 copies. Opening track “Linha do Horizonte” — a sublime piece of melancholic electronic saudade where deep cinematic synths melt into gently strummed acoustic jazz guitar — was chosen for a TV novella and went on to sell half a million, propelling Azymuth onto the Brazilian music scene. The rest of the album doesn’t disappoint — “Melô Dos Dois Bicudos” sees Azymuth plugging them into the Brazilian national grid for a slice of electrified psyched out samba funk with crashing military drums, shrieking sirens and psych synths. “Brazil” is a lolloping bass led groover with Bertrami’s melody giving the track a charming, innocent naivety, and “Caça A Raposa” is a boogie jazz funk groover. Azimüth is the album that kick-started it all for them, the record that was the blueprint and definition of their “samba doido/crazy samba” sound. Comes in a gatefold sleeve; 180 gram vinyl; Edition of 500.
File Under: Jazz, Latin Funk
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Boris: Dear (Sargent House) LP
“We don’t feel comfortable calling Dear a return to our slow and heavy style,” says Tokyo’s amplifier worshipping experimental metal institution Boris. “We’ve been heavy since day one.” And it’s true. From the droning thunder of their Absolutego debut and through the cinematic crescendo of albums like Flood, the bombastic licks of the Heavy Rocks records, the punk rage of Vein, the bottom-dwelling psychedelia of Akuma no Uta and Pink, and the grimy thump of Attention Please and New Album, Boris has always attempted to search out new ways to level listeners with their sound. In the 25th year of their existence, the trio delivers Dear, an album they describe as “heavenly-far beyond heavy.” Though Boris has traversed a broad swath of sonic territories, they have always been consistent in their embracing of excess, pushing their myriad of approaches and stylistic forays to points of intoxicating absurdity. But a time came in the early years of their third decade where the band wondered if there were any new horizons to explore. Consequently, it was decided that the band would begin jamming on material for what was planned to be a record that served as a formal goodbye to fans. In a strange twist of fate, being unencumbered by expectations and having an open-ended approach to the writing process reinvigorated Boris. The renewed vitality yielded an album that fortifies their monolithic wall of sound while also allowing the individual band members to explore the nuances and intricacies of minimalist riffs played at maximum volume. Songwriting for Dear initially yielded three albums’ worth of material by the end of 2015, but as the band was slated to spend a large chunk of 2016 on their “Performing Pink” worldwide tour, they decided to hold off on releasing any new material. The tour further rekindled their passion, and when the band returned home they wrote several more songs and scaled the three records down to one. “At the very first moment, this album began as some kind of potential farewell note of Boris. However, it became a sincere letter to fans and listeners…you know, like ‘Dear so-and-so, this is the new album from Boris’ or something like that. We feel so grateful we can release this album in our 25th anniversary year.”
File Under: Metal
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Lynn Castle: Rose Colored Corner (Light in the Attic) LP
Though most of the world may not know the songs of Lynn Castle, she is an artist whose work stretches across seven decades. She has created a diverse and vast (albeit mostly unreleased) discography of pop, folk, country, gothic, rock, punk, blues, and children’s songs. Light In The Attic Records is very excited to continue its Lee Hazlewood Archive Series with Rose Colored Corner, a collection of intimate recordings Lynn Castle made with Jack Nitzsche in 1966 and her complete recorded output with Lee Hazlewood on LHI Records. For the first time ever Lynn is sharing recordings from her personal archive and telling her story. In the 1960s Lynn became the first lady barber in LA just as long hair on men became hip. By day she was styling The Monkees, Boyce and Hart, Del Shannon, Sonny & Cher, the Byrds and countless others…by night she was writing songs. Despite lacking the desire to self promote and a crippling insecurity that made it hard to sing in front of anyone, her songs managed to bend the ears of such industry heavyweights as Phil Spector, Jack Nitzsche and Lee Hazlewood. “It was so hard to get me to sing,” explained Castle. “I had buried it so low, I didn’t think I was good at all. Lee heard my songs and thought I was fabulous. He said, ‘Oh my god, you’re really good! Let’s cut a record.’ Her sole 1967 45 “The Lady Barber” b/w “Rose Colored Corner,” released on Lee Hazlewood Industries is a slice of psychedelic pop heaven. A full length album was never completed, but her sparse demos with Jack Nitzsche give the listener a peek of what one might have sounded like. If you are familiar with Nitzsche’s mid-60s work with Tim Buckley, Bob Lind, and Buffalo Springfield…you can squint your ears and imagine her songs bejeweled with lush strings, finger cymbals, and delicate harpsichord. Instead, the songs remained unheard until now. Just because her songs weren’t recognized at the time doesn’t diminish their magic. This music is meant to be found and heard. Though commercial success may remain elusive, sometimes strange premonitions are realized… “When I was young, making music in the ‘60s, I had this strange thought that one day I would be this old woman, and young people would come find me and tell me that my music meant something to them.” – Lynn Castle
File Under: Folk, Country, Psych, Lee Hazlewood
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Timothy Fife: Black Carbon (Death Waltz Originals) LP
Full length 3 Track solo album from Timothy Fife recommended for fans of Tangerine Dream, Vangelis and early Brian Eno. Sydney At Night is a brooding dark synth monster as eerie as it is unsettling, Low Plain Landscape is a hauntingly beautiful 13 minute ambient workout and rounding out the LP is Black Carbon itself, an intense hard edged synth track that bubbles with intensity and heavily processed voices that sounds like an alien radio broadcast.
File Under: Electronic, Ambient
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Floating Points: Reflections: Mojave Desert (Luakabop) LP
Floating Points’ short film and soundtrack – Reflections: Mojave Desert – finds Sam Shepherd and his band in a thrilling sonic exploration of environment under an endless desert sky. It is the first in a planned series of environmental recordings by Floating Points to be filmed and recorded at different locations around the world. Reflections: Mojave Desert was made in 2016, as Floating Points traveled to the Mojave to rehearse in between US touring. Immediately struck by the distinct sonic tapestry created by the rock formations and valleys, they set up a recording operation and filmed this new work at the base of the natural sculptures they encountered. The music of Reflections mirrors the landscape: soaring and vast, dynamic and intimate, centered around two longer works and shorter pieces that create an immersive and seamless 27-minute experience. Reflections begins with chords played on a Rhodes Chroma and recorded with a surround sound microphone. Throughout the filming, microphones were placed throughout the landscape to capture the natural sonic textures of the desert: the undulating sound of wind, a bird call, the rustling of bushes and more created a backdrop on which much of the record rests. The music softly shifts from the Fender Rhodes introduction to “Silurian Blue,” an expansive improvised full band piece that balances refined restraint with explosiveness. In one scene, “Kites,” Floating Points aka Sam Shepherd walks through a valley with a super directional microphone, swinging it back and forth as a synthesizer loop gets faster to showcase the natural reverb and shifting phase of sound waves. “Kelso Dunes” signals the film’s final act: the sky grows dark, lasers flash, the band and rocks gleaming in the pitch black around them. 180g vinyl pressing with accompanying DVD and download code.
File Under: Electronic, Jazz, Rock
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Fucked Up: Zanzibar (Fucked Up) LP
“Zanzibar” is Fucked Up’s instrumental score to the 1928 silent film “West Of Zanzibar.” First performed in 2010 for Toronto’s Images Festival, this record was recorded in studio over 2011-2013. 2xLP includes digital download.
File Under: Punk, Instrumental
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Gaussian Curve: The Distance (Music From Memory) LP
In the spring of 2016, Gigi Masin, Jonny Nash and Marco Sterk got together in the studio for the first time since they recorded Clouds, the critically acclaimed debut album from their Gaussian Curve project. By the time they reconvened in Sterk’s new studio in Amsterdam, a stone’s throw away from the temporary, second-‐floor space where they recorded Clouds, much had changed. When they first got together in March 2014, it was for a spontaneous, weekend-‐long exploration of shared musical passions. They were merely three new friends expressing themselves, and having huge amounts of fun in the process. By the time they got together again last year, the album they recorded on that famous weekend had taken on a life of its’ own. To their surprise and delight, Clouds had become one of the most admired ambient albums of the 21st century. They’d initially reconvened in the studio to rehearse for their first live performances. It soon become clear that all three members were brimming with ideas for new Gaussian Curve material. Over the four days that followed, and fuelled by the same spontaneous working method that drove Clouds, a new album began to take shape. Although their methodology remained the same, the inspirations were different. Whereas Clouds was intimate by design, The Distance reflects more on spaciousness, distance and time. It is instantly recognizable as a Gaussian Curve record, but feels different in scope and tone. The Distance is a different musical beast to its’ predecessor, but shares the same timeless, emotion-‐rich feel that made Clouds such a hit. While the fundamental ingredients remain the same – Masin’s masterly piano and synthesizer work, Nash’s blissful, meandering guitar.
File Under: Ambient, Electronic, New Age
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Wojciech Golczewski: The Signal (Death Waltz Originals) LP
Wojciech Golczewski’s second LP on Death Waltz Originals is actually a prequel to his 2015 debut Reality Check and the second part of a proposed trilogy to be finished in 2018. This time out the emphasis is on super minimal widescreen sci-fi ambience. The record is absolutely epic in scope and features lush synth arrangements with melody lines that bubble just under the surface creating a multi layered listen that is perfect for late nights and dark rooms.
File Under: Electronic, Synth
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MC5: The Motor City Five (Run Out Groove) LP
The MC5, born out of the ashes of industrial Detroit, recorded only 3 full length albums and lasted less than a decade but left an indelible stain on the world of Rock & Roll both musically and culturally. Like their Detroit brothers The Stooges, they helped lay the initial ground work for the punk movement with a simple, hard driving, high energy, loud and gritty style of Rock that includes elements of garage rock, hard rock, blues and psychedelic rock. Whether proven or otherwise, they influenced a laundry list of hard rockers such as Bad Brains, Black Flag, the Damned, Circle Jerks, Husker Du, The Melvins, The Dead Kennedys, The New York Dolls, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam, the White Stripes and many more. They are widely considered one of the most important and influential hard rock bands of the era. This limited, numbered, color vinyl, Run Out Groove release is the first legitimate vinyl compilation of the band’s Elektra and Atlantic recordings and belongs on every Rock collector’s shelf, if not for the sonic music assault then the audacious packaging alone. This record provides a killer ensemble of tracks from their halcyon days, including the original uncensored version of “Kick Out the Jams.” Stick alive with the MC5 and f%@! Run Out Groove!
File Under: Rawk, Punk
Modern Art: Oriental Towers (Lion) LP
Another entry from the darkly enchanting minimal synth-pop and psych-tinged world of The Modern Art. As an introduction to the world of Coil and Current 93 collaborator (and Sun Dial main man) Gary Ramon and his orbiting bandmates, you can’t do better. Formed by Ramon in the early 1980’s, Modern Art released two albums on vinyl, and a significant amount of impossible-to-find cassettes. Some of this material was compiled in a highly regarded 3-LP (sold out) box set, made in 2013 by Vinyl on Demand. This remastered reissue of “Oriental Towers,” their second cassette album, originally released in 1983, also includes three previously unissued tracks from that session. On this album you will find examples of what was going on in England during the pinnacle of the post-punk scene—an inspired time that encouraged young musicians to develop music influenced by the likes of Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and Clock DVA.
File Under: Electronic, Minimal Wave, Industrial
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Ennio Morricone: Giornata Nera Per L’ariete (Spettro) LP
Fourth and last reissue of this Spettro invasion and, obviously, a tribute to the greatest Italian maestro of original soundtracks, none other than Ennio Morricone himself. Giornata Nera per l’Ariete (The Fifth Cord in english) is a 1971 Italian giallo film directed by Luigi Bazzoni. The Italian title, which in its literal meaning reads “Black Day for the Ram”, in its typical figurative meaning could translate as “A Bad Day for Aries”, reprising Dario Argento’s practice of using animals in the titles of his thriller films. The film is based on a novel with the same name by D.M. Devine, stars Franco Nero as the main charachter and strangely has remained a cult for a few fans despite being a good and weird giallo flick and an amazing photography by Vittorio Storaro. The soundtrack, like many Morricone’s scores of the same period is disturbing and tense, dark and unnerving like his best moments, and it features the legendary Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza as backing band in several tracks.
File Under: OST, Maestro
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OST: Evil Dead 2 (Waxwork) LP
Waxwork Records is thrilled to announce the 30th Anniversary soundtrack release of the 1987 horror cult-classic, Evil Dead 2. Directed by Sam Raimi and featuring Bruce Campbell reprising his role as Ash Williams, Evil Dead 2 is known not only as the quintessential entry of the Evil Dead Trilogy, but also of 1980’s cult-classic horror cinema as a whole. Evil Dead 2 remains the outstanding follow up to 1981’s The Evil Dead, picking up where the first film leaves off, with even more blood, possession, dismemberments, deadites, and with generous elements of slapstick comedy. The music by composer Joseph Loduca (The Evil Dead, Army Of Darkness, Ash Vs. Evil Dead) is the sophisticated follow up to the first film’s outstanding soundtrack, engrossing the listener in classic orchestral horror, electronic cues, and haunting lullaby compositions.
File Under: OST, Horror
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OST: Fifth Element (Mondo) LP
The Fifth Element is essential Science Fiction cinema. And Eric Serra’s music for for the film goes above and beyond the duties of your average film score. Not only is the soundtrack responsible for a wildly vast tonal spectrum – name another film that bounces from comedic montage, to straight-faced Opera, to action adventure in the span of 15 minutes – but he makes it feel, and sound effortless. It is a truly unique listening experience.
File Under: OST, Sci Fi
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OST: Wizards (Wyrd War) LP
Wyrd War very proudly presents the original motion picture soundtrack to Ralph Bakshi’s animated masterwork Wizards, on vinyl for the very first time! Ostensibly Bakshi’s “family film,” this almost impossibly PG rated post-apocalyptic “fantasy epic of peace and magic” emerged like a strange fungus through fissures in the Hollywood machine in 1977 to psychedelicize unsuspecting audiences with slouching android assassins, nearly nude fairy wenches, supernatural siblings skirmishing for world domination between slugs of cheap wine, demonic dog soldiers belly-crawling through skeletal landscapes of airbrushed fog, and, perhaps most memorably, terrifying genocidal elfin warfare punctuated with Leni Riefenstahl stock footage, all perfectly choreographed to a beautifully ethereal sci-fi jazz soundtrack seemingly scorched with atomic energy. Such music! Composer Andrew Belling delivered one of the first truly musical scores for a major Hollywood film composed almost entirely for ARP 2500 and ARP 2600 synthesizers. 40 years after its theatrical release, the music of Wizards continues to fascinate, perplex and inspire viewers, like a beautifully handcrafted Rorschach test of the late 20th century’s excesses, hopes and increasingly foreboding anxieties of things to come.
File Under: OST, Animation
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OST: Zuntata Arcade Classics 2: Darius (Ship to Shore) LP
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the original arcade release, Ship to Shore PhonoCo. is proud to present the vinyl edition of Hisayoshi Ogura’s score to Taito’s Darius. One of the most heralded soundtracks in the expansive Zuntata canon, Darius sounds as fresh and innovative as it did when its sounds filled arcades back in 1987. Ogura’s score combines pulsing rhythms with an experimental, avant-garde bent, giving Darius’ high octane action a unique counterpoint.
File Under: OST, Video Games
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The Pattern Forms: Peel Away the Ivy (Ghost Box) LP
The debut album from The Pattern Forms, a collaborative project between Ed Macfarlane and Edd Gibson of Friendly Fires and Jon Brooks of The Advisory Circle. Following on from the Other Voices 03 single in 2015, this is an album that perfectly melds blissful pop with more exploratory electronics, its roots lying in the artists’ shared love of soundtracks and electronic library music of the 70s and 80s. It should appeal to fans of both bands.
File Under: Electronic, Pseudo Library
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Jean-Jacques Perrey: Et son Ondioline (Forgotten Futures) LP
Jean-Jacques Perrey (1929-2016) was a pioneer of electronic pop music celebrated for his uniquely whimsical sampled soundworld, his groundbreaking style of rhythmic tape editing, and his early use of the Moog modular synthesizer. Perrey was also the world’s only virtuoso of the Ondioline, a remarkable French proto-synthesizer from the 1940s. Jean-Jacques Perrey et son Ondioline focusses on this early period of Perrey’s musical life, exploring his intimate relationship with this unusual and expressive instrument. The compilation features never-before-released collaborations with Angelo Badalamenti and Dick Hyman, early arrangements from test pressings of beloved Perrey tunes, and cuts from highly collectible albums of early library music he recorded. Also featured is a rare extended demonstration of the Ondioline, which receives its first commercial release. A must for dedicated fans, and a vibrant introduction for new listeners, this release canvasses Perrey’s unparalleled mastery of the Ondioline, points towards his later sample and Moog work, and illuminates a heretofore little-explored melancholy side to his recorded work. Curated by long-time Perrey fan and recent collaborator Wally De Backer (Gotye), this is the first release on Forgotten Futures, a new record label set up by De Backer to excavate lost works by pioneering producers and musical instrument inventors.
File Under: Early Electronic
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Popol Vuh: Agape-Agape Love-Love (One Way Static) LP
Born as Florian Fricke’s brainchild, Popol Vuh needs little introduction, the band stayed active between the late 1960s & late 1990s (until Florian’s passing in 2001). Regarded as pioneers in avant-garde German electronic music, their early works practically laid down the foundations for ‘Kosmische Muzik’ (Space Music) with the then new sounds of the Moog synthesizer joined with ethnic percussions. Later the group evolved to include all kinds of instruments (both electric and acoustic alike) shrouding their music in a spiritual & introspective mystical aura. Popol Vuh influenced many other European bands with their uniquely soft but elaborate instrumentation, which took inspiration from the music of Tibet, Africa and pre-Columbian America. With music sometimes described as “ethereal”, they created soundscapes through psychedelic walls of sound, and are regarded as precursors of contemporary ‘world music’, as well as of ‘new age’ and ‘ambient’. Popol Vuh regularly contributed soundtracks to the films of Werner Herzog that include classics like ‘Aguirre’, ‘Nosferatu’, ‘Heart Of Glass’ & ‘Cobra Verde’. ‘Agape-Love’ was one of Florian Fricke’s favorites, at a point in his life where he was inspired by 13th century Persian poet Rumi. Still utilizing a choir for Gregorian chant-like ethereal intensity — though they sing in Byzantine scales – the band delves deeply into the drone world of Fricke’s sacred music muse. This is an album of many moods/feelings & is a worthy, devastatingly beautiful outing (both introspective & intense at the same time). Out of print since 1983 and never released outside of Europe, now back available as a gorgeously packaged deluxe vinyl edition. Strictly limited to 700 copies (black vinyl), this release also comes with an exclusive bonus track & an insert with extensive liner notes. Next to the black vinyl pressing, a color vinyl variant (#300 copies) will also be made available exclusively through Light In The Attic & Mondo in North America and through Transmission Records in Europe.
File Under: Electronic, Ambient
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Pye Corner Audio: The Spiral (Death Waltz Originals) 10″
Pye Corner Audio return to Death Waltz Originals with a stunning 7 inch double pack featuring 6 brand new and exclusive tracks featuring his trademark sci-fi electronica. ‘Do You Hear Them’ pulses with a dance floor verve you’ve not yet heard from PCA bouncing along a killer 4/4 beat with a super melodic bass riff on top, ‘The Spiral’ begins with a riff on the classic Axel F bass synth and it’s super hyped drums and refrain could be placed in any classic 80s action movie you already love. The other tracks are more contemplative and will sound familiar to anyone that owns any of the PCA Black Mill Tapes series.
File Under: Electronic
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Teenanger: Teenager (Telephone Explosion) LP
“Teenager” is many things: The fifth Teenanger album, a collection of thirteen songs, a thinly-veiled investigation into Canada’s Telecom stranglehold and its effect on consumer spending, an ode to simpler and more violent times, proof that climate change exists, a fraudulent scheme to ensure maximum ROI, and more than anything, a gigantic cry for help. Teenanger are musical baristas.They have made you a customized non-dairy Unicorn Frapuccino of a record that combines all of punk’s best sub-genres: art-punk, post-punk, ambient-punk, synth-punk, peace-punk, garage-punk, bunk-punk, punk-core, plaid-punk, nu-punk and of course, punk-punk.
File Under: Punk
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ToiToiToi: Im Hag (Ghost Box) LP
Im Hag is the debut Ghost Box album for Berlin based Sebastian Counts’ ToiToiToi, following on from his single for the label’s Other Voices series in 2015. It’s very detailed and lovingly produced music, crafted from electronic, synth, sampled and acoustic sources. Its a wunderkammer of an album crammed with original ideas. All at once managing to be witty, spooky, melodic and abstract.
File Under: Electronic, Pseudo Library
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Tragically Hip: In Violet Light (Universal) LP
Tragically Hip: Music at Work (Universal) LP
Tragically Hip: Phantom Power (Universal) LP
In tomorrow…. Phantom Power, Music @ Work, and In Violet Light; available on vinyl for the first time. Re-mastered for vinyl by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Studios.
File Under: Rock
Link Wray: Mordicai Jones (Tidal Wave) LP
Fred Lincoln ‘Link’ Wray, Jr. (1929-2005) born of Shawnee Native American parents was an American rock and roll guitarist, songwriter and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. Though he began in country music, his musical style went on to consist primarily of rock and roll, rockabilly and instrumental rock. Building on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, his 1958 instrumental hit “Rumble” (banned in New York and Boston for fear it would incite teenage gang violence) popularized “the power chord” which laid the foundation to modern rock music. Tiring of the corporate music machine, in the 1970s he began recording albums using a three-track studio he converted from an outbuilding on his brother’s property that his father used to raise chickens. This is where the ‘Mordicai Jones’ sessions were recorded in 1971, making it part of what we now know as the ‘Shack Trilogy’ together with the albums ‘Link Wray’ & ‘Beans And Fatback. ‘Mordicai Jones’ is made out of fantastic energetic Americana blended blues, country, gospel, soul and folk-rock. The songs on this album have a tough and heartfelt vibe that sets it apart from the more pastoral country-rock albums of the time. Link Wray leaves a legacy as big as his career: Rolling Stone placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time and in 2013 he was a nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Pete Townshend of The Who once said, “If it hadn’t been for Link Wray and ‘Rumble,’ I never would have picked up a guitar.” Other musicians citing him as a major influence are Iggy Pop, Neil Young & Jimmy Page (amongst others).
File Under: Blue, Country, Rock
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Various: Afrosonique Vol. 1 (Africa Seven) LP
Launched in early 2015 by a collective of crate diggers, Afro music-heads and vinyl- buying obsessives, Africa Seven’s aim is to spread the love and knowledge for African music in all its forms. In the wake of this effort, Afrosonique Vol.1 is the ideal first installment of a series of compilations bridging African tracks from the 70s and 80s with the most talented artists of today into a remix and re-edit series. Compiled by veteran UK producer Tony Thorpe (Moody Boyz, KLF), one of the most important figures of the UK dance underground movement, the album brings together a rich ensemble of producers and artists from different genres and music scenes. From Warp’s long-time signee Plaid, DJ Food, top DJs John Talabot & Pional to broken beat legend IG Culture, the compilation promises to bring a modern twist to Africa’s most iconic tunes. This selection of artists also includes great names of the likes of Deep Medi’s Silkie and Appleblim from the historical dubstep night FWD>> at Plastic People. A younger generation of talents like Marcel Lune, Jabru, Redpine & Solo and EVM128 has also taken part in this cutting-edge project, bringing its own personal touch to this unique compilation. Using his most famous alias ‘Moody Boyz’, Thorpe himself has added his own artistic signature, remixing the iconic Bunzu Soundz’s Zinabu – a rolling cut of the finest UK Afro-dub house. Africa remains the key theme and unifying principle of this work. With no multi-tracks available, the artists have gone through an incredible work of editing and overdubbing – almost remixing the original works. The result is a frenetic and fresh blend of styles ranging from modern Afro-jazz cuts to heavyweight dancefloor gear, almost spiritual hypnotic club anthems and low-tempo dreamscapes. Originals have been picked up from Africa Seven’s ever-expanding catalogue of reissues from the ‘70s and ’80s hailing from Cameroon, Nigeria and Sierra Leone among other African countries. The selection includes rare tracks such as Bunzu Soundz ’Zinabu’, Manu Dibango ‘Les Cavaliers’ and Afro National’s ‘Jokenge’. In a time in which African music is coming back prominently as one of the primary influences of electronic music, Afrosonique Vol.1 effortlessly goes full circle bringing together the original energy of African classics with the disruptive talent of today’s innovators.
File Under: Electronic, Afrobeat, Funk, Psych
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Various: Boombox 2 (Soul Jazz) LP
Soul Jazz Records’ Boombox 2 is a new selection of early rap music from the period 1979-83, with barely a household name in sight. Featured here are some the earliest hip-hop records that came out of New York City following the enormous commercial success of the first ever rap record, “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, in September 1979. Artists and producers alike tried to jump aboard the new commercial possibilities of hip-hop. By the end of the year there were 30 hip-hop singles, all released by independent New York labels. The following year there were over 100 more, and so on. Boombox 2 tells the story of how hip-hop went from its evolutionary roots in the Bronx through DJs Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa through to this second phase where veteran music producers – Paul Winley, Peter Brown, Joe Robinson and others – all based in Harlem, began to put rap on vinyl for the first time. Harlem is also where the separate worlds of disco and hip-hop met through the styles and influence of earlier ‘uptown’ DJs – DJ Hollywood and Eddie Cheba. In similar fashion these veteran Harlem-based producers instinctively tapped into a long lineage of African-American rhythm and blues, soul and disco. The album features many early and rare cuts from the first generation of early rap artists including Lovebug Starski (as Little Starsky), Busy Bee, Eddie Cheba, Kool DJ AJ as well as many other little known artists. Boombox 2 is a triple-vinyl set plus download code.
File Under: Hip Hop
Various: Marylebone Beat Girls (Ace) LP
This follow-up to our recent “Love Hit Me! Decca Beat Girls” and “Scratch My Back! Pye Beat Girls” releases comprises superior 60s she-pop from the EMI group of record labels – Parlophone, Columbia and HMV – headquartered in Marylebone in the heart of London’s West End. The collection is available in 12-track LP and 24-track CD formats. The LP edition is pressed on 180g orange vinyl in a heavy duty sleeve with comprehensive notes and rare photos on the inner bag. The CD version comes with a bumper booklet featuring expanded notes and extra photos. Most of the female acts signed by EMI were teenagers completely tuned in to the current pop trends. Scottish duo the McKinleys, R&B club habituée Julie Driscoll (cover star of the vinyl version), talent show winner Billie Davis (the CD cover girl) and Midlands pub singer Beverley Jones took original material from London’s Tin Pan Alley and American covers and gave them an abrasive, vigorous kick that made for fabulous 45s. They may not have had quite the polish of their US counterparts, but the rough’n’ready sound of the Marylebone Beat Girl was precisely her appeal. Among the many highlights are ‘Dancing Yet’, a Dobie Gray-style discotheque number by Liza & the Jet Set; ‘Like The Big Man Said’ by Toni Daly, a cover of Italian star Caterina Caselli’s ‘L’uomo D’oro’ with edgy English lyrics by Peter Callander; and Billie Davis’ groovy gender-switched update of Chuck Willis’ R&B nugget ‘Whatcha’ Gonna Do’. Compilation and notes by Ace Records’ in-house girl-pop buffs Mick Patrick and Sheila Burgel.
File Under: Mod, Beat
Various: Sing it High, Sing it Low: Tumbleweed Records (Light in the Attic) LP
In February of 1971, Larry Ray and Bill Szymczyk fled an earthquake and a debauched L.A. music scene to claim their own slice of utopia in Denver, Colorado. After meeting and bonding at ABC-Dunhill, where Ray landed as general manager, and where Szymczyk had breezed in from New York — fresh off his first real hit as a burgeoning engineer/producer with BB King’s “The Thrill is Gone” — they’d often daydreamed about starting their own label. In Denver, Ray and Szymczyk settled on the name Tumbleweed Records, and through industry connections they secured multi-million-dollar financing from Gulf + Western, whose head honchos believed they were bankrolling the hippie movement’s next big thing. But instead of producing the next Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix, Ray and Szymczyk turned their sights on idiosyncratic wunderkinds like Pete McCabe, moody songwriters Robb Kunkel and Danny Holien, psych-folk rocker Arthur Gee, all the while providing a platform for more established musicians like Albert Collins and Dewey Terry (of Don & Dewey fame), while launching the career of Michael Stanley. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and, per Szymczyk, it was a “bitchin’ disco time.” Drugs, parties, poetry, celebrities, money—Tumbleweed had it all, except airplay and distribution. Two years after its storied start, the label was finished. Ray would go on to various opportunities, including producing five country albums alongside Bill Halverson, while Szymczyk would soon skyrocket to fame after producing The Eagles’ Hotel California. Yet most of Tumbleweed’s artists have been relegated to thrift store bin obscurity—until now. This landmark release not only showcases Ray’s vision and Szymczyk’s early work, but begins a major reappraisal of Tumbleweed’s catalog by bringing these songs out of the shadow of the Rocky Mountains and back into the spotlight.
File Under: Country, Folk
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…..Restocks…..
Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color (ATO) LP
Arawak: Accade a… (Golden Pavilion) LP
Badbadnotgood: IV (Arts & Crafts) LP
Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar) LP
Bon Iver: s/t (Jagjaguwar) LP
Budos Band: III (Daptone) LP
Sam Cooke: Night Beat (Music on Vinyl) LP
CCR: Chronicle (CCR) LP
Constantine: Day of Light (Constantine) LP
D’Angelo: Voodoo (Modern Classics) LP
Digable Planets: Blowout Comb (Modern Classics) LP
Dur Dur Band: s/t (Awesome Tapes From Africa) LP
Roky Erickson: The Evil One (Light in the Attic) LP
Ex Eye: s/t (Relapse) LP
Focus Group: Stop Motion Happening (Ghost Box) LP
Godspeed You Black Emperor: Lift Your Skinny Fists (Constellation) LP
Nick Hakim: Green Twins (ATO) LP
Lee Hazlewood: Cowboy in Sweden (Light in the Attic) LP
Lee Hazlewood: LHI Years (Light in the Attic) LP
Kendrick Lamar: Good Kid.. (Aftermath) LP
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly (Aftermath) LP
LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver (DFA) LP
Les Amazones d’Afrique: Republique Amazone (Real World) LP
Magnolia Electric Co: Josephine (Secretly Canadian) LP
Magnolia Electric Co: Fading Trails (Secretly Canadian) LP
Magnolia Electric Co: Trials & Errors (Secretly Canadian) LP
Magnolia Electric Co: What Comes After The Blues (Secretly Canadian) LP
Jason Molina: Let Me Go, Let Me go (Secretly Canadian) LP
Jason Molina: Pyramid Electric Co (Secretly Canadian) LP
Morphine: Cure for Pain (Modern Classics) LP
NWA: Straight Outta Compton (Universal) LP
Oasis: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory (Big Brother) LP
Ol’ Dirty Bastard: Return to the 36 Chambers (Get on Down) LP
William Onyeabor: Who Is… (Luakabop) LP
Pye Corner Audio: Stasis (Ghost Box) LP
Rodriguez: Coming From Reality (Light in the Attic) LP
Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (BGP) LP
Wayne Shorter: Juju (Blue Note) LP
Songs: Ohia: Didn’t It Rain (Secretly Canadian) LP
Songs: Ohia: Ghost Tropic (Secretly Canadian) LP
Songs: Ohia: s/t (Secretly Canadian) LP
Thin Lizzy: Bad Reputation (Universal) LP
Tops: Sugar at the Gate (Arbutus) LP
Neil Young: Harvest (Reprise) LP
Various: The Drum Library: The Lost Volumes (Super Break) LP