Ugh… so late with this today. Lots of sweet reissues this week. And loads of good used stuff hitting the bins and getting bought this week. Now that the summer festival season is dying down, maybe come down for a dig.
…..picks of the week…..
Claudio Rocchi: Suoni di Frontiera (Die Schachtel) LP
Die Schachtel present the first vinyl reissue of Claudio Rocchi’s Suoni di Frontiera, originally released in 1976. A foundational album of electronic music, available again on vinyl for the first time since its original release. An unavoidable and formative element of Italy’s long history of avant-garde music is its resistance to category and definition. Even in the face of this, Claudio Rocchi’s stunning Suoni di Frontiera is an anomaly — a body of introspective synthesizer works, stretching out to the world beyond. Italian experimental and avant-garde music from this period is distinctly different from other contexts in Europe and America, in part because many artists would begin within the realms of popular music, and slowly pushed towards more ambitious creative territories as time wore on. Rocchi is no exception. He entered the public eye during the late 1960s and early ’70s, working within the idioms of psychedelic rock, folk, and prog. While some of Suoni di Frontiera’s elements are present in earlier and later works, nothing reaches the crystalline totality of its being. It is the lone, pure avant-garde gesture in Rocchi’s long and noted career. Infused with oscillating loops, astral synth excursions, and sharp collages of vocal snippets and electronics, the music of Suoni di Frontiera might remind some of early Cluster and Harmonia. But Suoni di Frontiera’s ambition and breadth is overwhelming. It achieves what few have: realizing the dream set forth by the pioneers of early electronic music and creating a new democratic architecture of sound, as creatively ambitious as it is accessible. It is a gesture of the avant-garde, which could have only emerged from the realms of pop — sixteen discrete works of acoustics instrumentation, electronics, processing, and synthesis, freestanding and intertwined as a towering whole. It’s a restless constellation, delving from one possibly to the next — pulsing, rhythmic tones, sheets of pure abstraction, fragments of voice and environmental sound, captured and spun wild by tape loops, beautiful ambiences, and space age sounds. Its reemergence holds the potential to reform many perceptions surrounding electronic music as a whole. Oren Ambarchi, from the liner notes: “Another crucial piece of the ’70s Italian puzzle has been unearthed for our pleasure. Dig in.” Newly remastered and pressed on heavyweight vinyl; Silver and gloss varnish print with printed inner sleeves housing a transparent anti-static record sleeve; Includes insert with notes in Italian and English; Edition of 500.
File Under: Electronic, Experimental
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Rob Noyes: The Feudal Spirit (Poon Village) LP
2017 repress. “Rob Noyes has been on the Eastern Massachusetts scene for a while, but what we’ve heard him play is music from within the context of electric bands, most of whom are loud as hell and exist somewhere along the rim of the post-core continuum. More recently, Rob has taken to displaying his solo acoustic guitar chops and they are massive. The Feudal Spirit is the first vinyl evidence of their ‘shoulders.’ Like Western Mass’s Tony Pasquarosa, who mines the same widely-variant style-pits, Rob’s approach to acoustic playing resembles his electric work only through shared-belief-in-a-strong-downstroke. On the way to developing his own compositional/performance approach, Noyes sometimes seems to have absorbed an almost infinite reservoir of influences. Apart from some superb Basho-like 12-string tunneling, most momentary fragments tend to recall legendary Limeys like John Renbourn (and through him, Davey Graham), because Rob’s overt melodic structures tend towards the non-bluesoid. But then you’ll maybe hear a note-sequence spiced like something dropped from the hot strings of Michael Chapman or even a powerful throng that makes you think of Wizz Jones. When that happens, you realize there’s more of a blues base to some of the songs than you’d been able to untangle. Mr. Noyes hits a vast array of sub-genres on this album, and he hits them all pretty damn hard. Rob’s playing carries the weight of many possibly-imaginary forebears, but the way he smears them all together shows a holistic mastery of touch and imagination that defies a lot of today’s players, who tend to shine in short bursts, then allow their dreams to outrun their technique. Rob Noyes has no such apparent limitations. Like Raymond Pettibon, whose artwork graces The Feudal Spirit’s cover, Rob’s able to create a true form-gobble, making some real beautiful noise in the process. Around the world, licensed Hodologists whisper, ‘Make mine Noyes.’ Why don’t you join them?” –Byron Coley, October 23rd, 2016, South Deerfield, MA. Screenprinted jackets — new EZ-open jacket for the OCD/record collector set! Cover art by Raymond Pettibon. 180 gram vinyl pressed at RTI; Lacquers cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.
File Under: Guitar Soli, Blues, Folk
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…..new arrivals…..
Maurizio Abate: Live at Elastico (Holidays) LP
Another wonderful live session by the multi-instrumentalist Maurizio Abate, captured by Ulrich Rois (Bird People) in 2014 during his exhibition at the old location of the art association eLaSTiCo — in the center of Bologna — then mixed and edited by Maurizio himself. To be considered a twin release of the Live From The Border EP published in 2012, this single-sided release features a twenty-minute track that builds a ritual and meditative soundscape with the processed sound of a hurdy-gurdy and a harmonica. Edition of 150.
File Under: Psych, Electronic, Rock
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Amos & Sara: Invite to Endless Latino (War Extension) LP
Alga Marghen present a reissue of Amos & Sara’s Amos & Sara… Invite To ‘Endless Latino’, originally released by It’s War Boys on cassette in 1983. From anonymous: “Overhead comes this thrum-thrum-thrum. They look up to see a plane circling just off the island. The door facing them opens and out pop two figures, tumbling down into the water. Lazily, without a care in the world, the plane turns north and flies away. Of course, the guys start up the boat and head off to investigate. What just happened? Who jumps out of an aircraft at that height? In the water, they find two women. Both dead. Here’s the strange thing. Both the bodies, they beat up pretty bad but not only that. They both badly burnt. . . . I really got started on this thanks to my cousins, Luis and Ramon. My cousins are collectively known as Los Rubios. It ain’t a family name. . . . You heard of Bahia Blanca? My cousins, they run a small boat out of the harbour there. Shark fishing. That’s their thing. Back then, we’re talking ’76, it was just starting to take off. . . . One day they’re out on the boat. That particular day, they didn’t have no takers so they figure they’ll take the boat out anyway. Hake, gatuzo, squid — fishing to fill their own bellies. That’s when they hear the plane. Luis and Ramon race back to port. Pretty soon, a big crowd gathers. The harbour master comes running. ‘Ai, ai, muchachas,’ he groans. ‘This is a bad business. Seguro, a very bad business. You boys poking about in the hornets’ nest. Why you not leave these women to the sharks?’ While the Rubios are protesting, the local inspector arrives. He is angry beyond belief. He dismisses the harbour master and the crowd of onlookers with violent curses. . . . Overhead, in the place inhabited by saints and angels, a gentle half-hearted bossa starts up and then grinds to a halt. The silence is broken only by the sound of a shaker — it could be a rain stick — being crushed underfoot. And you will find me there at length, all the life in me rising like a wraith into the noonday sky, a dragonish mist that forms a garment for each of us to wear as we dance to Endless Latino!”
File Under: Post Punk, Rock, Experimental
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Andrea Belfi: Ore (Float) LP
Andrea Belfi (born 1979) is an international respected electroacoustic musician and composer. He began playing drums at the age of 14. He studied art in Milan, before becoming involved in experimental music and since 2002 he’s been in collaboration with a wide range of artists, currently residing in Berlin, Germany. His new album Ore is released on the new UK record label Float which was founded by Sofia Ilyas, who was previously the label manager at Erased Tapes Records. The new label exists parallel to Float PR, the London based agency dedicated to the promotion of unique artists and projects, and Andrea Belfi is the first signing. Titled Ore, the album places the drums as its centerpiece, while textures are embellished and mutated through electronic manipulations and dark, eerie sonic details. Over the years, Belfi has built a sound-world that artfully combines a modest drum set-up with an equally concise electronics component. He has searched long to produce and refine the acoustic timbres of his music, but has now reached a certain point of fulfilment, courtesy of his Saari drum-kit from Finland. Melded seamlessly with the acoustic elements are a Nord modular and sampler. On Ore, Belfi attains a masterful synthesis of these two sonic realms. Belfi has gained a reputation for his energetic and charismatic performances, both as a solo musician and within numerous collaborations. 2016 saw him tour with Nonkeen, the German three-piece band headed by Nils Frahm. Belfi became an instant highlight following a sold-out gig at London’s Barbican Centre, lighting the stage with an impressive and explosive drum solo that became one of the most memorable moments from the evening. “When I started the record I really wanted to find something very direct. I was looking for something very raw, something sonically and acoustically complex. The title Ore actually was suggested by my wife. I had to look up the meaning and loved the concept — something raw that you can extract, and the refinement into a precious material. It’s a very simple metaphor but there’s a lot there, you can just put that word out and you don’t have to explain too much. You give an input to the listener, and just leave it to the imagination.” Mixed by Francesco Donadello; Mastered by Nils Frahm.
File Under: Electronic, Minimal
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King Bucknor Jr. & Afrodisk: African Woman (Hot Casa) LP
Hot Casa present a reissue of King Bucknor Jr. & Afrodisk Beat 79’s African Woman, originally released in 1979. African Woman is a fantastic Afro-beat album from the Fela Anikulapo Kuti disciple and Kalakuta Republic member. A sublime spiritual and political session recorded in 1979 at the EMI studio in Lagos, Nigeria. Arranged and self-produced, Kingsley Bucknor’s second album, hopelessly obscure and impossible to find, ranks alongside the best Afro-beat albums in history. At the age of 19, King Bucknor Jr., also known as the Black Isaiah of Africa, released his second album backed by a 16-piece band called The Afrodisk, and ten background singers. Two long and hypnotic grooves with all the Afro-beat ingredients: fluid and complex drums patterns, strong horns, female voices on chorus, strong lyrics, beautiful keys, and horns solos. Essential for all Afro collectors and music lovers. Vinyl replica; Remastered by Carvery (UK); Includes inner sleeve with an interview.
File Under: Afro Beat
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Gal Costa: India (Mr. Bongo) LP
A post-Tropicalia masterpiece from one of the movements key figures and true legends of Brazilian music, Gal Costa. Features a stellar line up of musicians including Gilberto Gil, Arthur Verocai, Dominguinhos, Rogério Duprat and Tenorio Jr. amongst others. Replica original gatefold including the cover that was banned by the Brazilian military government in 1973 during the brutal dictatorship. ‘India’ includes the incredible ’Pontos De Luz’ as sampled by Kaytranada on ’Lite Spots’ – one of our favourite Brazilian songs of all time. A wonderful album from start to finish, touching on MPB, folk, jazz, funk and rock with strong Tropicalia and Nordestino influences throughout. A record that we have long been wanting to reissue! Licensed courtesy of Universal Music Group Limited.
File Under: Brazilian, Tropicalia
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Daphni: FabricLive 93 (Fabric) CD
Daphni (aka Caribou, aka Dan Snaith) presents the 93rd installment of FabricLive. FabricLive 93 marks Daphni’s first mix CD and his first full body of work under the moniker since 2012’s critically acclaimed Jiaolong album, and most recently Caribou’s seminal standout 2014 album Our Love. This special FabricLive mix is composed of 23 original, unreleased Daphni tracks and four new Daphni edits, featuring tracks from Jamire Williams, Luther Davis Group, Pheeroan Ak Laff, and Container. “A lot of these tracks were recorded in situ in the mix itself,” Snaith says. “I’d put one track in place and instead of searching through existing music to find the track to follow it, I’d just make an entirely new one. The tracks on here pull from very diverse ends of the spectrum of music that I like and make.” Packaged in bespoke slipcase containing die-embossed tin.
File Under: Electronic, Experimental
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Earthling Society: Ascent to Godhead (Riot Season) LP
UK space/psych rock favorites Earthling Society return with their new album Ascent To Godhead, their second album of 2017. Ascent To Godhead is the fleetwood psychonauts’ second release on Riot Season, the first being their 2014 album England Have My Bones which got great reviews across the board. Whereas Zen Bastard was a re-imagining of ancient songs from the back catalog, Ascent To Godhead consists of brand new compositions improvised in the studio. No Hawkwind-esque generators are to be found, which is often found to be synonymous with the space rock genre. Instead, there is a calamitous howl more reminiscent of Birthday Party than Gong. Earthling Society’s unique song writing abilities remain however; where no song starts and ends the same, constantly morphing into something new. Jazz and Eastern rhythms are at the forefront of Ascent To Godhead, taking inspiration from Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra, Far East Family Band, Midori Takada, amongst others. This is no hippy claptrap from the sunshine playroom, it’s an album that ties your brain in knots, and oozes spiritual meaning. Also included is the long lost garage rocker “Can You Levitate?”. Recorded in 2009 and only unearthed earlier in 2017, Ascent To Godhead proves that Earthling Society were belting this stuff out long before the current psych scene. Alice Coltrane inspired, hand-painted artwork; Blue vinyl; Edition of 400.
File Under: Psych, Space Rock
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Garrett: Private Life (Music from Memory) LP
Garrett came from the inside of his own mind, from within a home recording studio somewhere on planet Earth. The Private Life of creative awareness and the music captured here is the visceral offering to all outside. Every one of us has a Private Life. This is Garrett’s.
File Under: Electronic, Funk, Soul
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Greenspan & Taraval: s/t (Geej) LP
A strange confluence of sound that sounds part krautrock synth label Brain records, part Hyperdub techno haze and synth wormholes, with spectacular sound design that has banged at Berghain and sound-tracked winter night drives. Jeremy Greenspan is known mainly for his work with Junior Boys and Jessy Lanza. Taraval is a longtime touring member of Caribou, but both have released several 12″ and EPs of electronic exploration over the past few years. Inspired by synthesizer minimalists like JD Emmanuel, Cluster, and John Carpenter, the two attempted to create a type of dance music with hardware that was indebted to their influences, but did not feel intrinsically retrogressive. The idea was to make a type of raw synthesizer and drum machine music that could be listened to beside the hypermodern techno of Pearson Sound or Actress. The cover art is a tribute to a mysterious mural that looms over the Hamilton, Ontario area where the album was recorded. Each of the five tracks were edited down from much longer recording jams which were done with hardware sequencers in real time. The recording was done completely off-the-floor with no overdubs or added material after the fact. As this release might appeal to synthesizer hobbyists and enthusiasts, it seemed appropriate to compile a list of the instruments used in the original recordings: ARP Odyssey, Pioneer Toraiz SP-16, Eurorack Modular System, Roland JX8P, DSI Tempest, Simmons SDS-8, Roland SH101, Roland Jupiter 6 Yamaha CS50, Oberheim OB-XA.
File Under: Electronic, Krautrock, Kosmiche
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Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza: Azioni/Reazioni (Die Schachtel) 5LP Box
Includes five LPs, DVD, and book; Edition of 500. The year 2007 saw one of the most remarkable findings in the long treasure-hunting history of Die Schachtel: the complete set of recordings of the early manifestation (1967-1969) of one of the most legendary improv group of all time, the Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza. Rescued by the private archives of Walter Branchi, one of the original founding members — alongside Franco Evangelisti, Ennio Morricone, Ivan Vandor, Roland Kayn, Egisto Macchi, Mario Bertoncini, and John Heineman — the tapes were then restored in their entirety. Only a part of them were published in a CD-only boxset in an edition of 500, titled Azioni 1967-1969, which also featured a DVD with the original film Nuova Consonanza shot by Theo Gallher during the rehearsal and concert that the group held on March 19th and 20th, 1967, at the Galleria d’arte Moderna in Rome. Spanning from free-jazz to total abstract noise to wild electronic sounds, their music was — and remains — one of the most dynamic, original, and uncompromising expression of a period defined by intense experimentation and musical bravery, anticipating experiments to come in years following. Or, to put it simple, “They were utterly unique,” as per the words that John Zorn, who expressively wrote for this edition. To mark the ten-year anniversary of its original release, Die Schachtel present Azioni/Reazioni 1967-1969, the complete cycle of improvisations — which includes thirteen additional, never before published pieces — taken from the original tapes. Remastered by Giuseppe Ielasi.
File Under: Experimental, Improv, Italian, Morricone
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Island People: s/t (Raster) LP
Gatefold double LP version. Island People is a new band project consisting of mastering engineer Conor Dalton, Grammy award winning producer David Donaldson, musician and DJ Graeme Reedie, and guitarist Ian “Chippy” Maciennan. On their first self-titled record, they present their collaborative work that evolved over the past three years. Being based in different cities, namely Berlin and Glasgow, files had to be exchanged back and forth between the band members in order to create tracks. Their delicate sound structures, field recordings, and other sound sources were heavily processed and rendered unrecognizable. Layer after layer, the tracks came into being quite naturally, not only reflecting their continuous way of working, but also incorporating their different and individual backgrounds: “During the whole creation of the album, we never realized our actions were quickly leading us into forming Island People, we were too busy having fun, making music and sharing ideas.” The result of their collaboration is a timeless music that is as open as a natural phenomenon, developing a certain feeling of euphoria over time. All in all, Island People is a pure listening record in the best tradition of ambient.
File Under: Electronic, New Age
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Karkhana: For Seun Matta (Holidays) LP
Featuring some of the most innovative players from Beirut, Cairo, and Istanbul, Karkhana met for the first time in Beirut in 2014, bringing together influences from the three major experimental music scenes of the region and beyond. Through their live shows, the band’s seven multi-instrumentalists build a transcendental atmosphere developing what could possibly be called free Middle Eastern music. Shades and traces of shaabi, tarab, sufi, and much more are heard in the distinct blend of free jazz and psychedelic krautrock they’ve created. Recorded and mixed by Matt Bordin at Outside Inside Studio — in only two days — and mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering Studio in Chicago, For Seun Matta is the first studio album by the band following the 7″ Nafas released on Omlott (2016) and Live At Metro Al-Madina released on Sagittarius A-Star (2015). Featuring Sharif Sehnaoui on electric guitar, Sam Shalabi (The Dwarfs Of East Agouza) on oud and electric guitar, Maurice Louca (The Dwarfs Of East Agouza) on organ and synth, Umut Çağlar (Konstrukt) on zurna, gralla, bamboo flutes, and percussion, Mazen Kerbaj on trumpet, Tony Elieh on electric bass, and with the recent addition of Michael Zerang on drums. “I wish I could track down more of this tantalising outfit’s music to share. . . . This Middle Eastern super group first got together to celebrate the music of Egyptian surf guitarist Omar Khorshid — who was also a key figure in Oum Kalthoum’s orchestra — but their remit has expanded somewhat and now they’re fully committed to outer-perimeter explorations in krautrock-leaning, cosmic free jazz” –John Doran, The Guardian. Edition of 500.
File Under: Free Jazz, Psych, Kraut Rock, Middle Eastern
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Kink Gong: Tibetan Buddhism Trip (Akuphone) LP
Psalmody, small bells, big cymbals, gongs and drums — this puzzling collage of Tibetan Buddhist rites recordings is hypnotizing. It opens the way to the state of trance. The slight electronic arrangement reminds the listener that reality is not so far. The two twenty-minute tracks instantly convey an unknown and fascinating universe. Mantra chanting accelerates, horns become more insistent and a mystical atmosphere arises. With Tibetan Buddhism Trip, Akuphone starts to explore ritual and ceremonial music, here with a subtle mix of field recordings and electronic handlings. Over the years King Gong, aka Laurent Jeanneau, has specialized in the recording of ethnic minorities, particularly from South East Asia. He has recorded over 160 albums and his work is now largely well-known around the globe. An impressive collection allows him to manipulate, assemble, and reconstruct his field recordings in order to create new sound landscapes. Recorded in Tibet and Yunnan (China) between 2006 and 2013. Recomposed in Berlin in 2016. Includes insert with unseen pictures and download card including a live performance in Bristol.
File Under: Field Recording
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Lean Left: I Forgot to Breathe (Trost) LP
LP version with screenprinted cover. Lean Left, the quartet of jazz drummer Paal Nilssen-Love and saxophonist Ken Vandermark with The Ex members Terrie Hessels and Andy Moor, present I Forgot To Breathe. Personnel: Paal Nilssen-Love – drums; Terrie Hessels – guitar; Andy Moor – guitar; Ken Vandermark – reeds.
File Under: Free Jazz
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Marijata: This is Marijata (Mr. Bongo) LP
Marijata was a group made up of three members – Kofi ‘Electric’ Addison on drums, Bob Fischlan on organ and Nat Osmanu on guitar, hailing from Ghana. ‘This Is Marijata’ is the groups’ first LP; released originally on the Gapophone label – it is pure, rootsy, raw, driving African funk music of the highest order, now highly sought-after in both its original and previously reissued forms. Addison, Osmanu and Fischlan formed a band called the Sweet Beans with a young singer and guitarist, namely the legendary Pat Thomas. They released ‘False Lover’ in 1974 on Gapophone Records before recording ‘This Is Marijata’ and then ‘Pat Thomas Introduces Marijata’ shortly afterwards. ‘This Is Marijata’ is summed up perfectly by the text on the back cover: “Three young musicians of the Sweet Beans believe that in music and entertainment business, there is no room for mediocrity if one’s music is to win over a bigger audience and fame. How could they give the public a taste of the talent they had so meticulously nurtured since they began their musical careers without upsetting the current musical inclination in the country? Simple, Gapahone Records, quick to spot talent listened to the music of Kofi “Electric” Addison (Drummer) Bob Fischlan (Organist) and Nat Osmanu (Guitarist), liked it and the result, after month of hard work is what you have on this album – THIS IS MARIJATA. Backed by a group of hand-picked musicians, the whole album is exclusively the work of three young men who are trying to bring back some freshness and raw funk into the current flash-in-the-pan songs being recorded in this country. “I Walk Alone” a cool, scintillatingly slow number, displays some interesting instrumental works. “No Condition Is Permanent” and “Break Through” exhibit originality using the funk medium. Even though the vocal rendition sounds somewhat on the hoarse and gritty side, a strong impression is left on the mind of the listener that the boys have something going for them right in there. With the emergence of this album, I believe subsequent albums will breathe more freshness into the whole entertainment scene. Right on, brothers Marijata.”
File Under: Afro Beat, Soul/Funk, Highlife
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Nurse With Wound: Dark Fat (Dirter) 3LP Box
Triple LP box set of Nurse With Wound’s 2016 release Dark Fat. Dark Fat is a celebration and documentation of ten years of NWW shows, but to call Dark Fat a live album is far too simplistic. It is an entirely new recording constructed by combining the most interesting moments of the past decade into unique tracks. M.S. Waldron is to thank as he is archival commandant of the NWW oeuvre, and since 2006 he has recorded every single thing. He has recorded all the live shows, sound-checks, rehearsals, off-stage events, and even covertly recorded the private conversations of the band. These recordings have been studiously and lovingly crafted into a unique sonic tapestry by Waldron and Steven Stapleton with delicate embroidery and filigree added by Andrew Liles and Colin Potter. This is now spread over six sides of luxurious vinyl and encased in a box with a gatefold insert, all featuring the art of Steven Stapleton aka Babs Santini. Listen in the Dark and soak up the Fat.
File Under: Experimental, Industrial
Jocy De Oliveira: Estorias Para Voz, Instrumentos Acusticos e Eletronicos (Blume) LP
Blume present the first vinyl reissue of Jocy De Oliveira’s legendary debut Estorias Para Voz, Instrumentos Acusticos e Eletronicos, reissued for the first times since its original release in 1981. Defined by a body of singular music spanning seven decades, within the histories and continuing legacies of avant-garde practice, she is without equivalent. Her debut album Estórias Para Voz, Instrumentos Acústicos e Eletrônicos resonates through a shimmering body of organized sound, unveiling truths lingering in the shadows, the sins suffered by the Latin American avant-garde, with the actualities of its astounding heights. Oliveira began her career as a concert pianist. She left Brazil at young age to study in America and Europe, before being recruited by major orchestras across both continents, working under Stravinsky, and having pieces written for her and premiering of works by Berio, Xenakis, Santoro, Cage, and Manuel Enriquez. During the early 1960s, Oliveira shifted her efforts toward composition. She embarked on a process of folding organized sounds across nearly every context it could inhabit, blurring the lines between performance and composition, and incorporating diverse media well beyond the world of sound. In 1961, within a collaborative theater work written with Luciano Berio, Berio Apague Meu Spot Light, she instigated the first performance of electronic music staged in Brazil. Released in 1981, during the last years of her country’s military dictatorship, Estórias Para Voz, Instrumentos Acústicos e Eletrônicos was met by controversy before quickly sinking from view, heard by almost no one beyond Brazil’s borders. Among the most astounding realizations of electroacoustic process ever recorded, it is a series of sonic stories for voice, and acoustic and electronic instruments: prepared piano, violin, percussion, synthesizers, electric celesta, etc. The album’s singularity, culture, humanity, and introspection cannot be displaced; like its composer, Estórias Para Voz, Instrumentos Acústicos e Eletrônicos is Brazilian. Its draws on a diverse range of the country’s music and percussion traditions, as well as Indian raga structures, and Japanese Shōmyō singing, inspired in part by the sounds of immigrant communities within São Paulo, the city where Oliveira grew up. A landmark classic from the ’70s Brazilian electronic music scene. To quote Keith Fullerton Whitman, this is the “lost Tropicalia/psych/free-vocal/ring-modulator freakout/jam hybrid that you’ve only dreamt about!” Comes in a full-color cover with a printed inner sleeve housing a Nagaoka anti-static record sleeve; Includes original insert that functions as Obi; Red-colored vinyl.
File Under: Electronic, Classical, Brazil
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OST: Ghost in the Shell (WRWTFWW) LP
Standard Edition now available… We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records present the first ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii’s critically acclaimed and all around legendary science fiction anime film Ghost In The Shell (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow’s groundbreaking manga series of the same name. The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan’s most celebrated soundtrack composers alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata’s Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong films Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai’s compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme “Making Of Cyborg”, Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a timeless and unparalleled soundtrack that admirably echoes the film’s musings on the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world. Ghost In The Shell is widely considered one of the best anime films of all time and its influence has been felt in the work of numerous movie directors, including James Cameron’s Avatar (2009), the Wachowskis’s The Matrix (1999), and Steven Spielberg’s AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001). For fans of anime, manga, movie soundtracks, science fiction, ambient, folklore, Japan, Akira (1988), artificial intelligence, Midori Takada. Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon).
File Under: OST, Electronic, Classical, Japan
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Charlemagne Palestine: Arpeggiated Bosenforfer + Falsetto Voice (Alga Marghen) LP
In 1974, Ileana Sonnabend commissioned Charlemagne Palestine to create a limited edition, double LP in conjunction with a performance to celebrate the opening of her new Soho gallery at 420 West Broadway. Charlemagne made several recording attempts, first at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania where they had a Bösendorfer Imperial Piano in their theater. He recorded “Bösendorfer + Voice”, “Voice Piece” as well as some Bösendorfer tests, with Mayo Thompson as producer and Kurt Munkacsi as sound engineer. These ecstatic Swarthmore recordings, recorded late at night in the big empty theater space, represented the original elements on which Charlemagne Palestine later created the piano pieces for Four Manifestations on Six Elements. For more than 40 years since these recordings were made, Palestine never went back to listen to them, but recently on re-listening to these Swarthmore recordings with Alga Marghen, he found several blissful, arpeggiated piano and falsetto voice studies which he feels now deserve to be heard. Included in the Alga Marghen VocSon series, this LP of two previously unreleased 1974 recordings finally see the light of day. Edition of 405.
File Under: Avant Garde, Drone, Minimalism
Porter Ricks: Anguilla Electrica (Tresor) LP
First full-length in seventeen years from the Chain Reaction/Force Inc. legends. Ever since their initial singles were released in the mid-1990s and became international calling cards for the Chain Reaction label, the Porter Ricks duo of Thomas Köner and Andy Mellwig have represented that crucible point in which techno music leaked into new social environments and became the background music for cutting-edge cultural critique. Their submerged “scuba” sound, presented in dark tone colors and reverberating to infinity, is now instantly identifiable as one of the “soundmarks” of Berlin club culture. Just as importantly, it is still a palpable aftershock of a pre-millenial genre explosion that saw deep dub, shimmering post-rock, abstract hip-hop, and art-damaged noise all drinking from the same well of inspiration. For proof of Porter Ricks’s enduring legacy, look no further than the fact that “dub techno” is now a stylistic movement that has expanded far beyond the confines of Berlin and the Basic Channel/Chain Reaction label alliance (where Mellwig’s mastering skills also played a starring role). Lurid traces of Porter Ricks’s aesthetic can now be found in the work of producers like Andy Stott and Miles Whittaker, showing the potential for the duo’s unique “aquatic” techniques to be applied to a variety of different musical contexts. Their new LP on Tresor, Anguilla Electrica, may be their first full-length release in seventeen full years, but it radiates with confidence and with a clarity and intensity rarely seen in a world so over-saturated with communications noise. It’s made clear at once that it’s a continuation of a sonic ideal rather than a tribute to what has already been achieved: the duo is not idly sitting back while their newer acolytes do their talking for them. This new LP is well worth the wait and is a life-affirming one in an uncertain and perilous time, drowning out daily anxieties like a rush of incoming surf — yet it is far more invigorating than relaxing. True to the Porter Ricks’s tradition, it will be just as exciting hearing this music as it will be to experience what new cultural mutations it leaves in its wake.
File Under: Electronic, Dub Techno
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Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement: Fallen Leaves Camouflaged Behind Tropical Flowers (Hospital) LP
Marking six years of Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement’s cultish, elemental output, Dominick Fernow (Prurient) gives the project’s first ever release a vinyl pressing for the first time, coiling up two extended tracts of impure, unnatural gloom ranking amongst his most cherished works. Fallen Leaves Camouflaged Behind Tropical Flowers was originally released on tape in 2011 in an edition of 59. When RSE was first conceived with Fallen Leaves Camouflaged Behind Tropical Flowers in 2011, the project was shrouded in a veil of mystery which left many fiends guessing to its provenance — it seemed too far reduced to be identified as Fernow’s work, but also didn’t easily resonate with anyone of Hospital Productions’ usual suspects, instead holding a unique line of stygian slow techno that sounded like some our bleakest, febrile fantasies come to life. Soon enough RSE’s creator and navigator was indeed revealed to be Fernow, and the project became regarded among his most prized golems by those in the know, not least because it was starkly defined in contrast to his myriad other pseudonyms — Vatican Shadow, Prurient, Christian Cosmos, Force Publique Congo, and so on — by dint of its perceived restraint and glowering minimalism. Perhaps because of that stringent, meditative asceticism, the hypnotic grip of RSE has remained undiminished and perhaps as strong as ever on this new vinyl edition, where the predator heartbeat and keening tonal groans of “Life Would Transform” sound more pensive and narcotically effective than ever, and the borderland industrial chug and clag of “Skull Covered In Moss” seems to be seated deeper into its dank gloom, emulating a location recording of a burial-by-mud in some godforsaken no-man’s-land, with lurking parakeets and mechanical birds awaiting their turn on your soon-to-be carrion. RIYL: Coil, Demdike Stare, Prurient, Brian Eno / Jon Hassell’s Fourth World (1980). Remastered by Paul Corley; Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Edition of 500.
File Under: Electronic, Ambient, Industrial
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Regis: Gymnastics (Downwards) LP
For the 21st anniversary of Regis’s pivotal debut album, the Brum techno overlord has remade the scene of the crime from original stems and salvaged 8-track tapes. The unyielding results effectively present a doctored version of his seminal — some may say game-changing — record, featuring new studio versions and unreleased sequences. It’s basically a stronger, fitter version of his most prized LP, loaded with sounds as brutally functional as the city which birthed them. Originally recorded in September 1996 in Room 406, Digbeth, Birmingham aka Scorn’s studio — sandwiched between Tony De Vit and Broadcast’s recording spaces — Regis used one drum machine, one synth, and one FX unit to nail home a back-to-basics approach to techno; one inspired as much by the direct immediacy of Chicago house as the febrile DJ sets of Jeff Mills, but also drawing a crucial “X factor” from his background as a bit of a hooligan, with form in a number of post-industrial, EBM, and punk units. When Gymnastics first hit the ‘floor, it was considered shocking anathema to the swell of manicured, proggy arrangements which were by then dominating the spotlight of British dance in clubs and the media. It was loopy, stripped-to-the-bone, and shark-eyed, always moving forward and without the faintest recourse to melody or harmony — simply reveling in the gnashing tension and swerve of raw, clattering drum machines, and monophonic synth jabs. Big Beat or trance it fucking well wasn’t. 21 years later its lip-biting force is now felt stronger than ever. From the grumbling refusal of “We Said No” and the austere wall-banger “Allies” that boot off the album, through the 16th note nag of “Translation” to the rictus jag of “Sand” and the metallic bite of “The Black Freighter”, this is timeless, primal dance music that still causes friction wherever it’s deployed. James Brown is dead. Long live Regis. New reworked artwork (original featured the Twin Towers photographed in 1996). Remastered and cut by Matt Colton.
File Under: Electronic, Techno
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Steve Reich & Ensemble Modern & Synergy Vocals: Music For 18 Musicians (Victory) LP
A stunning version of Steve Reich’s masterpiece of musical minimalism Music For 18 Musicians (1974-1976), performed live at Tokyo Opera House in 2008 by Ensemble Modern and Synergy Vocals, featuring the composer as guest performer. LP housed in a deluxe die cut jacket with printed insert. In the 1960s, with Terry Riley and Philip Glass, Reich gave pulse back to experimental music. He discovered the tape-based techniques of looping and phasing, using recordings of fragments of speech, and then molecules of musical material. ” (…) When Steve Reich released Music For 18 Musicians (ECM, 1978), it was a consolidation and major leap forward in the pulse-based music that the minimalist progenitor had been exploring on earlier compositions including ‘Four Organs’ (1969), a piece that relied on nothing more than a six-note chord, yet was a near flat-out sonic assault. 18 Musicians was an altogether more complex and sophisticated work, with a broader textural palette based largely on tuned percussion — piano, vibraphone, marimba and xylophone — but also working with maracas, voice, strings, and clarinets to create a sweeping, hour-plus long suite that was hypnotic, melodic, and eminently accessible. With the mathematical precision by which its eleven sections and wrapping ‘Pulses’ develop, it’s a demanding suite to play (…)” –John Kelman, All About Jazz, 2008
File Under: Avant Garde, Minimalism
Akira Sakata/Manuel Mota/Giovanni Di Domenico/Mathieu Calleja: Jomon (Holidays) LP
Japanese saxophone transgressor Akira Sakata meets with his long-time collaborator and Fender Rhodes virtuoso Giovanni Di Domenico, Portuguese guitarist Manuel Mota, and drummer Mathieu Calleja for a session recorded at Les Ateliers Claus in Brussels. Named after the Jomon period of the Japanese prehistory — when Japan was inhabited by a hunter-gatherer culture rich in tools, clay pottery, and jewelry made from bone and stone — the record features three tracks: “Jomon” (縄文), “Kaen” (火焔), and “Dogu” (土偶). The Dogu (literally: “clay figures”) were small humanoid and animal figurines made during the Jomon period for religious purpose: it may have been believed that illnesses could be transferred into the Dogu, which was then destroyed, clearing the illness, or any other misfortune. The record itself is a musical healing ritual invoking a powerful demon with Sakata’s throat singing, unleashing then slowly hypnotizing it in the second half of the album, putting it back into its vault before it’s too late. Beautiful artwork made with Sakata’s hand-painted Kanji characters. Edition of 250.
File Under: Free Jazz
Pharoah Sanders: Izippho Zam (My Gifts) (Everland) LP
Everland Jazz present a reissue of Pharoah Sanders’s Izipho Zam (My Gifts), originally released in 1973. “Popular and increasingly in demand, Izipho Zam (My Gifts) falls into the ‘rare’ category among record collectors and is a gift to fans of master Pharoah Sanders. This demand is partially galvanized by the fact that ‘Prince Of Peace’ has become an inspirational mine to hip hop artists and is much loved by samplers. Izipho Zam is Pharoah Sander’s third album, initially recorded in January 1969, it was originally released on the Strata-East label in 1973. On Izipho Zam, Sanders and his band take you on a journey into another world providing an amazing experience! Passionate, intense and free, Sanders saxophone especially, is exquisite, pouring out its soul telling a story of its own. Hailed by peers as the best tenor saxophonist in the world, Pharoah Sanders is a legend in jazz music. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of free jazz and is the mentor of jazz giant, saxophonist Robert Stewart. Born in 1940 into a musical family as Farell Sanders in Arkansas, he first played the clarinet before switching to tenor saxophone in high school. After high school, he moved to California to study music and art. In 1961, Sanders moved to New York where he often played gigs with a number of free jazz dignitaries including Billy Higgins, Sun Ra and Don Cherry. His name ‘Pharoah’ was given to him by Sun Ra, who was his bandleader then. It was during one of these gigs that he met John Coltrane who became his mentor. While playing with Coltrane, Sanders inevitably rose to prominence due to his very distinctive tenor saxophone sound.” –Rachel Kinoti Licensed by Strata-East Recordings.
File Under: Spiritual Jazz
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Squadra Omega: Nervoso (Holidays) LP
Squadra Omega teams up again revealing itself in the shape of a trio composed of — exactly as for the session which gave birth to Il Serpente Nel Cielo (2015) — OmegaFrank (drums), OmegaG8 (bass, electronics), and OmegaMatt (guitar, organ, sax, electronics). An improvised session recorded live by Matt Bordin at Outside Inside Studio, where the Squadra goes nervously free — constantly suspended and harmonically non resolved — following a trail of skilled atonal jazz rock guitar tunes leading to moments of dazed electronics. Definitely not an easy-listening album, wonderfully rendered. For fans of early ECM records. Masterful cut made by Daniel Krieger at SST in Frankfurt. Edition of 250.
File Under: Electronic, Jazz, Psych
H.Tical: Impact: Synthesized Sound & Music (Intervallo) LP
Intervallo present a reissue of H. Tical’s, aka Armando Sciascia, Impact: Synthesized Sound And Music, originally released in 1971. From the very first second, Impact: Synthesized Sound And Music is a difficult, icy release, embracing many cornerstones of what would become known as industrial music. These 16 sonic experiments are totally devoted to VCS3 synthesizers, which are the main architects of whirling escapes, white noise, and sonic landscapes in the mood of early Warp releases. Impact: Synthesized Sound And Music was originally released via Armando Sciascia’s Vedette label in 1971, under the alias H. Tical. It’s a really peculiar library music album, filled with incredibly contemporary sounds and atmospheres. Unlike Distortions by Blue Phantom (1971), whose super groovy and almost hard-prog tracks are all credited to H. Tical, this is a totally different sonic planet – and it’s difficult to figure out what kind of images could be paired with such an extreme experiment, which is a one-of-a-kind effort in Sciascia’s more traditional career as a composer. Moreover, the musical delirium is enhanced by the usual beauty of the titles, such as “Colluvium”, “Metastasis”, “Trigonos”, “Intercosmic”, “Rubidio”, or “Laser”, mixing Latin and English. This is a wonderful, alienating album made of “static” music, totally estranged from the idea of movement. A true desert island album, or better said, an abandoned planet album. Edition of 400.
File Under: Library, Italian
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Trad, Gras Och Stenar: Tack For Kaffet (So Long) (Subliminal Sounds) LP
Limited clear vinyl edition. Gatefold double LP version. The long-awaited new album from the legendary pioneers of transcendental psychedelic rock music and DIY culture in general. Tack För Kaffet (So Long) is a tribute to the deceased band members and dearest friends Torbjörn Abelli and Thomas Mera Gartz. It becomes something of a farewell show for the old Träd, Gräs Och Stenar because all the old and new members, including founder Bo Anders, Torbjörn and Mera, and Reine Fiske (Dungen, The Amazing), are all contributing to this album. The sounds were captured on tape in their music workshop in the countryside and consists mainly of improvised moments where the sounds travels beyond time and space, something that has been TGS hallmark over the years. Perhaps there’s a form of melancholy over some of the album, much depending on how cruelly and suddenly Mera and Torbjörn passed away, but also on a little lighter and crazier whim. Everything is recorded live so there are no euphemistic circumstances, rather everything is pared down, bared bone drones, sounds traveling in the magical improvised unknown with no makeup, just as life can be when the feeling has control. A manifestation of improvised timelessly organic music and free creation. Real life!
File Under: Psych
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Univers Zero: Heresie (Sub Rosa) LP
Sub Rosa present a reissue of Univers Zero’s second album Heresie, originally released in 1979. 2010 remixed version (Cuneiform Records). A classic of chamber rock music, featuring heavy use of dissonance and dark, brooding, and extremely complex melodies. Comes on limited edition orange and gold vinyl; Includes insert; 380 gram sleeve. “This music on this LP might have little to do with rock, and might also be a massive downer, but the quality of the writing and playing is extremely high. Michel Berckmans’ solo work on oboe and bassoon work is magnificent, and Patrick Hanappier’s string playing (violin and viola) also demonstrates the precision of a trained classical musician, along with demonic avant-garde scraping and howling on ‘Jack The Ripper.’ Best of all, Univers Zero never cheapens the effect of the music with any of the stock cartoon licks which are associated with the gothic genre today. Group members sound deadly serious about what they’re doing, which might call their sanity into question, but which makes for an incredibly powerful listening experience. In fact, Heresie is a stunning one-of-a-kind item that has never been duplicated by anyone — including Univers Zero.” –William Tilland, AllMusic
File Under: Experimental, Prog
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Lino Capra Vaccina: Echi Armonici da Antico Adagio (Die Schachtel) LP
Die Schachtel present unreleased material from Lino Capra Vaccina on Echi Armonici da Antico Adagio. For fans of the Italian avant-garde, few names inspire the loyalty and devotion offered to the percussionist and composer Lino Capra Vaccina, a perfect emblem of the country’s extraordinary movement of musical minimalism. He first gained note as a member of Aktuala, creating a hybrid of rock, avant-garde, and ancient musics while incorporating a diverse number of sonic traditions from across the globe: African, Middle Eastern, Indian, etc. Vaccina’s career as a composer has been marked by two distinct features: an incredibly high bar of quality and ambition, and a tragically slim recorded output. Following his departure from Aktuala, he worked extensively with others — Juri Camisasca, Franco Battiato, etc. — and within the short-lived super group Telaio Magnetico, but his astounding solo efforts have been slow to emerge. In 1978, he released the legendary LP Antico Adagio (DS 027CD/027-1LP), and wouldn’t be heard from again until 1992’s equally extraordinary L’Attesa. Fortunately, the Milan based imprint Die Schachtel has embarked on a multifaceted project of reissuing Vaccina’s hard-to-find LPs for a new generation, as well as offering a range of stunning, unreleased archival recording. Echi Armonici da Antico Adagio falls into the latter category, but it is nothing short of a momentous event. Echi Armonici da Antico Adagio draws on the same body of recordings from which Vaccina’s masterpiece Antico Adagio also grew, entering an already shimmering stage. The album is a revelation, a lost, towering artifact of the Italian avant-garde. It features two sidelong works of pulsing, hypnotic, ritualistic drone with Vaccina’s percussion — gongs, bells, and cymbals — threaded by sustained tones, generated by the voices of Juri Camisasca and Dana Matus. Flirting with the outer-reaches charted by Buddhist and African music, it is a trance-inducing, meditative, cosmic world of sonic interplay. Sheets of resonance, stunning harmonic interplay, and intricate rhythms rise as one. Both performances — immersive, beautiful, deeply moving, rewarding, and intellectually rigorous — reveal themselves slowly at every return. Nearly forty years after its rhythms, tones, and ambiences imprinted themselves onto tape, Echi Armonici da Antico Adagio is unquestionably one of the most important albums to appear in 2017. Silver and gloss varnish print with printed inner sleeves housing a transparent anti-static record sleeve; Edition of 300.
File Under: Experimental, Avant Garde, Electronic
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Various: Girls in the Garage 1 (Past & Present) LP
Prior to Joan Jett, Patti Smith, Courtney Love, and other era-defining women in rock, there were the girls in the garage. Like their male counterparts discovered, being in a band was not only cool and alluring, it was sexual and ultimately political, without making a “political” statement. The garage band was a medium that enabled a voice to be heard, an adolescent fury of angst and frustration or plain old hormones. Girls In the Garage captures the raw essence of those juvenile dreams played out through guitars, drums, mics and amplifiers. Prevailing gender roles would be tested, as rock ‘n’ roll became someone else’s domain. The arrival of rock ‘n’ roll and the teenager not only belonged to the boy next door, it aroused the aspirations and emotions of girls. Although it’s been said that it was rare for a girl group to play on their own records in the mid-1960s, they were not alone. On both sides of the Atlantic, cynical and shrewd producers largely employed session musicians, afraid of any conceivable faults at the hands of such young and innocent hands, male and female. The ones who didn’t were bold visionaries that believed not only in a new generation’s ambitions, but capabilities too. As the rise of a female presence in rock ‘n’ roll rose through the appearance of figures such as The Vejtables’ Jan Errico, the Honeycombs’ Honey Lantree, and the fabulous Maureen Tucker (whose deliberately primal technique is such an undervalued part of the Velvet Underground’s sound), so too did the rise of all-female bands. Liverpool’s Liverbirds and Hull’s Mandy And The Girlfriends gave weight to the idea that it was “normal” and paved the way for likeminded girls to drop the dream boy and pick up the guitar. Although, the prevailing attitude amongst both major and independent record labels was never going to be inspiring or welcoming, like the wailing blues mamas such as Memphis Minnie or Jessie Mae Hemphill, times were-a-changin’ and girls didn’t just want to have “fun”. Emerging groups such as the Pleasure Seekers, White Boots, Ace Of Cups, The Bittersweets, and The Luv’d Ones were playing rock ‘n’ roll on their own terms whilst breaking new ground — whether they were trying to or not. Features: Denise & Co., The Puppets, The Models, The Chymes , The Bittersweets, The Interpreters, The ID, The Glass Opening, The Belles, The Luv’d Ones, Kim And Grim, Lydia Marcelle, The Continental Co-Ets, The Beatle-Ettes, Cathy Rich, and Althea And The Memories. Comes on 180 gram yellow colored vinyl; Includes full-color four-page booklet.
File Under: Garage
Various: La Natura e L’Uomo (Intervallo) LP
Intervallo present a reissue of La Natura E L’Uomo, originally released in 1973. Intervallo’s third reissue in the incredible series of nature-themed libraries originally released in the first half of the ’70s by Cardium, Chic, Nereide, Musical, Rhombus, Spring, and Weekend labels. Real hardcore collector items which gave birth to a small cult during the last four decades. La Natura E L’Uomo, (Italian for “nature and mankind”), first came out in 1973; despite being part of the same series as Biologia Marina (1973) and Ittiologia (1973) (part of Intervallo’s reissue series), it is actually a different affair, in which the avant-garde urge partly leaves room for sweeter, acoustic atmospheres. But there are also amazing examples of ambient experimentations such as “Protozoi” or “Venus”, both featured in two versions. The main characters of this release are pretty much the same ones we met in the other volumes: Alessandro Alessandroni, Franco Tamponi, and Amedeo Tommasi. La Natura E L’Uomo also introduces two new names: Marco Di Marco, author of the tracks with a more definite easy listening mood, is a pianist and a jazz composer from Bologna, while the alias Kema hides Alessandroni’s wife, the amazingly talented Giulia De Muittis, who was an equally formidable force. She and her husband are responsible for the most enticing tracks of the album: “Bassa Marea”, “Pescatori”, and “Venus”. Edition of 400.
File Under: Italian, Library
…..Restocks…..
Tim Buckley: Goodbye And Hello (Rhino) LP
Coil: New Backwards (Important) LP
Judy Collins: WIldflower (Rhino) LP
Darkthrone: A Blaze in the Northern Sky (Peaceville) LP
Aretha Franklin: Aretha Arrives (Rhino) LP
Golem: Orion Awakes (Mental Groove) LP
Grateful Dead: Smiling on a Cloudy Day (Rhino) LP
Joy Division: Closer (Rhino) LP
Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures (Rhino) LP
La’s: s/t (Rhino) LP
Metallica: … And Justice for All (Elektra) LP
Metallica: Kill ‘Em All (Elektra) LP
Roberto Musci: Tower of Silence (Music From Memory) LP
Outkast: Atliens (Legacy) LP
Psychic TV: Force The Hand of Chance (Angry Love) LP
Tragically Hip: Trouble at the Henhouse (Universal) LP
Tragically Hip: Up to Here (Universal) LP
Whitehorse: Panther In The Dollhouse (Six Shooter) LP
Amy Winehouse: Back to Black (Universal) LP
Amy Winehouse: Frank (Universal) LP
Amy Winehouse: Lioness (Universal) LP
X-TG: Desert Shore/Final Report (Industrial) LP
Yamasuki: Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki (The Great Thunder) LP