Well…. Summer lull is upon us. Not a whole lot in this week, but today was a super mail day! With boxes from Russia & Spain the new arrivals got a lot more exciting. And of course, there’s all them tasty used records hitting the bins.
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…..pick of the week…..
Coil: Live in Russia (Fanclub) LP
Coil’s performance at DK Gorbunova in Moscow, Russia on September 15, 2001. This was sold as a Feelee release by some outlets but has no such branding and appears to be an unofficial reissue. Limited edition of 400 in gatefold cover. Side D contains back-stage discussion and rehearsal audio, though it is unmentioned in the jacket’s track list.
File Under: Electronic, Industrial
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…..new arrivals…..
Albert Ayler & Don Cherry: Vibrations (ORG) LP
Recorded in Copenhagen in September of 1964, Vibrations is the second album released by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler’s quartet featuring Don Cherry, Gary Peacock and Sonny Murray. Originally issued by the Freedom label, it was also released under the alternate title, Ghosts. Previously out of print for decades, Vibrations has now been specially remastered for an audiophile-grade 180-gram vinyl pressing at Pallas in Germany courtesy of ORG Music.
File Under: Jazz
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Bitchin’ Bajas/DSR Lines: Atlantis (Abstrakce) LP
Second volume of “The Encyclopedia of Civilizations”, a collection of split LP’s where selected artists offer their own insight into fascinating ancient cultures. In this volume the music is inspired by Atlantis, a legendary civilization surrounded by mystery. The LP is presented in a special limited edition (500 copies) with an extensive booklet that tries to shed some light on the myth of Atlantis and will help you to immerse yourself in this fascinating civilization while you listen to the music. The sleeve is printed in the old way, letterpressed with metal movable type as Gutenberg used to do it, as all of the Abstrakce editions. DSR lines is the project of Belgian electronic artist David Edren. He’s been releasing his music for almost two decades on labels such as Ultra Eczema, JJ Funhouse or Black Sweat. His Atlantis tracks are one of his best works (if not the best) so far, developing an exquisite use of modular synths. David presents a mature work, the result of an intense experimentation with synths such as Buchla 200 or Serge Synthesizer Systems. His arpeggios and oscillations sound like music that would be played in an Atlantean temple worshiping an ancient god (probably Poseidon or Minos) if this wise civilization had reached our days. Organic minimal electronics developing a very personal sound, a spiritual approach that could be a modern continuation of the investigations started by JD Emmanuel, Ariel Kalma or Michael Hoenig. Bitchin bajas is the project by Cooper Crain (also from the band Cave), Dan Quinlivan and Rob Frye. They have released material on labels such as Permanent records, Drag City, Hands in the Dark and Important records. They present an astonishing 20-minute-track inspired by the diaspora of the Atlantean people after the great cataclysm that sank their island at the bottom of the ocean and plunged its splendor into darkness forever. Warm, instrumental, psychedelic and melodic music that drinks from the electronic minimalism of the 60s and 70s (Terry Riley, La Monte Young..) blended with the spatial feeling of the kosmische maestros (Klaus Schulze,Harald Grosskopf, etc.). Deep electronics, hypnotic pulses and enigmatic melodies introducing acoustic instruments such as flutes or xylophones that will make you float in space while thinking about our Atlantean ancestors.
File Under: Electronic, Ambient
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Ami Dang: Parted Plains (Leaving) LP
Ami Dang fuses sitar, voice, and electronics to create east-meets-west, ambient, experimental, psych music. On the experimental instrumental album Parted Plains, she draws inspiration from South Asian and Middle Eastern folktales, specifically, the four tragic romances of Punjab, Sohni Mahiwal, Sassi Punnun, Heer Ranjha, and Mirza Sahiba; Flora Annie Steel’s Tales of the Punjab: Folklore of India, and selected stories from One Thousand and One Nights. Galvanized by the Western interpretations of these stories, Parted Plains unfolds as a new sort of soundtrack for a yet-to-be written folktale that is neither Eastern nor Western, not traditional or contemporary–but somewhere in between.
File Under: Drone, Ambient, Psych
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Flaming Lips: King’s Mouth (Warner) LP
The Flaming Lips’ fifteenth album King’s Mouth follows the band’s 2017 release, Oczy Mlody and and sees the iconoclastic outfit once again tread uncharted territory. These 12 new originals are threaded together by cinematic narration courtesy of The Clash’s Mick Jones. Additionally, the music parallels front man Wayne Coyne’s immersive art installation of the same name. Introduced in 2015, the installation has showcased its psychedelic visuals and soundscapes through North America in museums such as Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, NM, the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD, the Pacific Northwest College of Art Portland, OR and Wayne’s own creative space, The Womb, in Oklahoma City, OK. A true handcrafted marvel, it consists of a giant metallic head that welcomes spectators inside. Once inside of the foam month, an LED lightshow begins in tandem with music from the album. Now, the record doubles as the sonic companion to the exhibit and allows fans to experience the aural side at any time. Further expanding this multi-faceted world and detailing a fascinating creation myth, the accompanying literary tome, King’s Mouth: Immerse Heap Trip Fantasy Experience tells the story of the King’s Mouth through words and visuals by Coyne, adds yet another dimension to the project, which ranks among the band’s most ambitious thus far. Coyne notes, “The King’s Mouth immersive/child-like qualities are born from the same spark and womb as Flaming Lips live performances. The King’s Mouth adventure was made for humans of all sizes, ages, cultures, and religions.”
File Under: Indie Rock
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Grateful Dead: Fillmore West Feb 28th, 1969 (Rhino) BOX
Pretty sure this is showing up tomorrow…. This is the second night of Grateful Dead’s Fillmore West show from February 1969. Includes “(Walk Me Out In The) Morning Dew” and their rendition of Slim Harpo’s blues classic, “I’m a King Bee”.
File Under: Rock
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Pablo Guerrero & Finis Africae: Los Dioses Hablan Por Boca De Los Vecinos (Abstrakce) LP
First vinyl edition ever of this lost experimental Spanish essential album. A delicate work that absorbs specific aspects of different music — minimalism, tribal sounds, new age, ambient, spoken word — to create its particular universe. With an absolutely contemplative recording climate, the poems and their sound environments explore the deepest self of the poet and singer from Extremadura, Pablo Guerrero. The work combines memories of childhood through the valleys of his native village, Esparragosa de Lares, with the evolution of life to reach the contemplative state in adulthood. A score written in a collaboration with two old friends, Juan A. Arteche Gual and Juan C. Fdez Puerta (Finis Africae), who weave a beautiful tapestry of electronic sounds so that the deep and serious voice of the poet shells all the images that his ode encloses. The recording, through fourteen poems, breathes an aroma of maturity, balance and total freedom. Maturity and balance with minimal arrangements, small gestures surrounded by abundant silences. Total freedom with instruments of the most varied, without restrictions or complexes: samplers, synthesizers and field recordings mixed with rattles, self-arches of the Appalachian Mountains, zithers, saxes made with reeds, conches, shortwave radios, plastic pipes, Hindu harmoniums…beauty can arise from any element and all these minimal arrangements come together to create the perfect ambience that sublimates the poem. Completed in the spring of 1996, the recording was moving in no man’s land until the end of 1999 saw the light in book format of poems, accompanied by a CD. Abstrakce Records recover this masterpiece of experimental Spanish music, contributing its bit to place the album where it deserves. Folder printed in letterpress with lead types; Includes extensive booklet in both English and Spanish containing liner notes, lyrics, an interview with Juan F. Puerta and a text by Juan A. Arteche about of the recording of the record. Remastered at Sountess Studio in 2018 by Pablo Peiró.
File Under: Ambient, Electronic, Fourth World
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Lingua Ignota: Caligula (Profound Lore) LP
Caligula, the new album from Lingua Ignota, takes the vision of Kristin Hayter’s vessel to a new level of grandeur, her purging and vengeful audial vision going beyond anything preceding it and reaching a new unparalleled sonic plane within her oeuvre. Succeeding her self-released 2017 All Bitches Die opus, this new one sees Hayter design her most ambitious work to date, displaying the full force of her talent as a vocalist, composer, and storyteller. Vast in scope and multivalent in its influences, with delivery nothing short of demonic, this is an outsider’s opera; magnificent, hideous, and raw. Eschewing and disavowing genre altogether, Hayter builds her own world. Here she fully embodies the moniker Lingua Ignota, from the German mystic Hildegard of Bingen, meaning “unknown language” —this music has no home, any precedent or comparison could only be uneasily given, and there is nothing else like it in the contemporary realm. Working closely with Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets studio, Hayter strips away much of the industrial and electronic elements of her previous work, approaching instead the corporeal intensity and intimate menace of her notorious live performances, achieved with unconventional recording techniques and sound sources, as well as a full arsenal of live instrumentation and collaborators including harsh noise master Sam McKinlay (The Rita), visceral drummer Lee Buford (The Body) and frenetic percussionist Ted Byrnes (Cackle Car, Wood & Metal), with guest vocals from Dylan Walker (Full of Hell), Mike Berdan (Uniform), and Noraa Kaplan (Visibilities). Caligula is a massive work, a multi-layered epic that gives voice and space to that which has been silenced and cut out.
File Under: Metal
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Orlando/Tomaga: Playtime – Music for Video Games (Abstrakce) LP
Vinyl edition from this imaginary soundtrack for videogames previously released on tape. “…the Association for the Re-Alignment of Magnetic Dust presents a split release between Orlando and Tomaga of music for video games. Inspired by fictional worlds, imagined quests, and surreal dreams, they soundtrack your adventures in gameland.” “Cathy Lucas’s new project Orlando, who share this cassette/download release with Tomaga. RAM Tapes (or The Association for the Re-Alignment of Magnetic Dust to give them their full title) re-use old tapes for that essential crackle and pop experience, and the theme is suitably 80s: video game soundtracks, kerbside frogs, ghost mazes, etc. It’s too sophisticated – at least to these cloth ears – to be just more chiptune landfill but it’s extremely playful all the same. The Orlando side is closer to Cornelius in terms of its invention and charm; the Tomaga side is a little more spacious, dubby, dronish. As an album it’s a pretty irresistible combination. Orlando’s opening track brings you the croaks of a telepathic amphibian, a bit of bossa nova and a steely science-fictional theme, all in 3 minutes and 25 seconds. While Tomaga’s ‘Giant Bitmap’ made me wonder whether Pacman ever got the cold sweats while cruising those haunted midnight mazes…” Both Bars On “TOMAGA channel various forms of multi-instrumentalism into music that moves by turns through industrial, jazz, psychedelia and minimalism, on it’s way to somewhere wholly other. Devoted to musical exploration, this London based duo obsessively deconstruct familiar tropes, looking for the tension that lies between improvisation and form. After their first, self-produced cassette, ‘Sleepy Jazz For Tired Cats’, which was released in 2013, TOMAGA released the acclaimed ‘Futura Grotesk’ LP on the Hands in the Dark label, followed quickly by ‘Familiar Obstacles’ – a cassette release for the boutique London label Blank Editions, that was subsequently released as a limited vinyl in October 2015. Meanwhile they have played countless concerts and festivals across the world including being invited to open for Deerhoof, Silver Apples and Wire, the latter for their UK tour in May 2015 (for full tourdates see below). In autumn 2015 Tomaga were invited by Turner Contemporary Gallery in Margate to stage a performance using the artworks of Pedro Reyes: re-conditioned weapons confiscated by Mexican police from drug cartels and turned into instruments. The resulting performance will be released on a forthcoming live album. In spring 2016 Tomaga were invited to contribute a sound object to the Yoko Ono exhibition ‘Lumiere De L’aube’ at the Musee D’art Contemporain De Lyon.” JULIE TIPPEX web info Limited edition of 300 copies. Letterpress printed on black cardboard. Limited edition with green ink.
File Under: Electronic, Exotica
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Prince: Originals (Warner) LP
Prince will forever be remembered as a commanding live performer, chart-topping recording artist, and music business revolutionary. Yet for all the time he spent in the spotlight over his four-decade-long career, Prince also worked tirelessly behind the scenes to nurture talent and pen songs for the rising artists he respected. By the mid-80s, Prince was dominating the charts even as a writer/producer with songs he’d composed and recorded for others. In addition to releasing nine of his most commercially successful full-length albums, he also wrote and recorded endless reels of material for protégés The Time, Vanity 6, Sheila E., Apollonia 6, Jill Jones, the Family, and Mazarati. Occasionally, Prince’s original demo recordings would be used as master takes on their albums, with only minor alterations to the instrumentation and a replacement of the vocal tracks. Other times, artists would rely on his demos to guide them through their own recording process, with Prince’s initial take informing their final version of his song. The aggregate effect was a complete saturation and transformation of the pop music landscape, with Prince both leading and subverting mainstream culture. Originals pulls back the curtain to reveal the origins of familiar hits, in addition to deeper album cuts such as Vanity 6’s “Make-Up,” Jill Jones’s “Baby, You’re a Trip,” and Kenny Rogers’ “You’re My Love.” The album also features Prince’s majestic original 1984 version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” released in 2018 as a standalone single.
File Under: Pop, RnB, Funk, Soul
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Sigur Ros: Agetis Byrjun 20th Anniversary (Krunk) LP
In 1999 Sigur Ros released Ágætis Byrjun (“A Good Start”) which Q Magazine went on to deem “the last great record of the 20th century.” By the end of the year it had won the inaugural US Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music. Agaetis Byrjun was an album that came literally out of nowhere and seemed to tug at the heartstrings of those who least expected it. No one thought an album by an unknown band of four shy Icelandic men in their early-20s, singing in Icelandic, would become the worldwide music phenomenon it became. The record label projected the album to sell 1,500 copies – it has to date sold several million copies. 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark Ágætis Byrjun and the band celebrates the occasion with a double heavyweight vinyl LP reissue complete with a download for demo and archive versions of all songs on the album, plus never-before-heard newly unearthed material from the era, rare B-sides and the full 95 minute concert played in Reykjavík on the day the record was released in 1999.
File Under: Indie Rock, Post Rock, Ambient
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Tycho: Weather (Ninja Tune) LP
Tycho are the Grammy nominated electronic music project led by Scott Hansen as primary composer, songwriter and producer. The highly anticipated release of their fifth studio album Weather is an exciting progression from their previous output, with most of the new tracks being vocal lead, while still retaining the signature Tycho sound. The sonic shift has been enhanced by the collaboration with exciting new vocalist Saint Sinner, who will be joining the live band following their time in the studio.
File Under: Electronic
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Thom Yorke: Anima (XL) LP
Indie only orange vinyl! Radiohead figurehead Thom Yorke follows up his 2014 album Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes and 2018 score to Suspiria with his third full-length solo effort Anima. Produced by longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich, several of the album’s songs were debuted live during Yorke, Godrich and Tarik Barri’s Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes performances. Yorke notes that Anima was inspired by “dystopia, anxiety, and reaching a crisis point in our social system. The dystopian thing is one part of it, yes, but for me, one of the big, prevailing things was a sense of anxiety. If you suffer from anxiety it manifests itself in unpredictable ways, some people have over-emotional reactions. [For] some people the roots of reality can just get pulled out, you don’t know what’s happening. Then eventually reality comes back.” This standard black double vinyl LP edition is housed in a wide-spine single sleeve and includes the exclusive bonus track, “(Ladies & Gentlemen, Thank You For Coming).” A download card for the original nine-track album is also included in the sleeve.
File Under: Indie Rock, Electronic, Radiohead
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Various: Bad Education Vol 1: Soul Hits of Timmion Records (Daptone) LP
For the better part of 15 years Helsinki’s own Timmion Records has released some of the most exciting soul sides happening today. To help spread the Timmion love Daptone staffers and brass made a list of their favorite Timmion tracks from the past couple years. Presented here is Bad Education, Vol. I, the culmination of weeks of deliberation and infighting (mainly due to their unusually high batting average) – 10 tracks that best represent the eclectic wealth of soulful riches Timmion Records has to offer. Side 1 one gets cracking with “This is What Love Looks Like”, a mid-tempo, breezy dancer by NYC’s own Carlton Jumel Smith whose recent album, 1634 Lexington Ave, is poised to be one of the top Soul releases of 2019. Johnny Benavidez, the Texas-born, California-raised balladeer showcases his heartfelt falsetto with “Tell Me That You Love Me” – a beat ballad of the highest order, and a must for fans of Texas giants The Commands. Pratt & Moody, a vocal duo who have been making waves for sometime in their native Finland, serve up another heart-wrenching, head-bobbing ballad with “Lost, Lost, Lost”. Picking up the tempo we have the undisputed queen of Finnish Soul, Miss Nicole Willis! The New York native is already a household name on the UK Northern Soul scene, but now it’s time for this expat to make some noise Stateside. Closing out the side we have the leather-clad-fringed flute phenom know as Ernie “Scorpio Man’ Hawks. The Scorpio Walk’s deep groove laced with murmuring fuzz bass and surf guitar rushes the listener like a maniacal villain in an art house spy movie. Side 2 two packs even more soulful punches, starting with the unreleased track “Until Your Mine” by Wanda Felicia. Equal parts slick, Big City street harmony and raw, southern soul, the track evokes the very best of Fame era Candi Staton. Next up we have Bobby Oroza whose featured track “This Love” took the Soul scene by storm upon its release in 2016. His understated, earnest vocal let’s the sparse arrangement and heavy beat take you to a place where the sun shines bright and the low-riders shine brighter where the Sunday afternoon sun dances off the gold flecks of custom low-rider paint jobs. “Bad Education” the funky, afro-latin soul monster with a message (whose title graces the cover of this album) tips the hat to legends like Joe Bataan and Ray Barreto. The debut single by Bardo Martinez, already known for his work with Chicano Batman, lays down a fiery indictment of the educational system defining it as a mouthpiece for the military industrial complex. A heavy tune with a heavier message! Finnish born Emilia Sisco offers up another debut with “Don’t Believe You Like That”, another gorgeous beat ballad backed by Cold Diamond and Mink that is sure to appeal to the darkest end of the dance floor. There’s a special lane in the history for Soul of Soul for music this understated. Rounding out the side we have a man who needs ZERO introduction for those in the know. Louisiana born and raised Willie West has been making side after classic side since 1959. Whether it’s his early raw R&B, deep brooding ballads, or his black belt Funk anthem “Fairchild” all of his records are essential – “I’m still a Man (Lord Have Mercy)” is no exception. From top to bottom “Bad Education” Bad Education, Vol. I is a feast for discerning funk and soul freaks alike!
File Under: Funk, Soul
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…..Restocks….
Aggrolites: Reggae Now! (Pirates Press) LP
Amyl & the Sniffers: s/t (ATO) LP
Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill (Capitol) LP
Beatles: White Album (Mono) (Apple) LP
Jorge Ben: Big Ben (Elemental) LP
Boy Harsher: Careful (Nude Club) LP
Boy Harsher: Lesser Man (Nude Club) LP
Boy Harsher: Yr Body Is.. (Nude Club) LP
Charles Bradley: Changes (Daptone) LP
Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest (Drag City) LP
Cocteau Twins: Four Calendar Café (Universal) LP
Cocteau Twins: Milk & Kisses (Universal) LP
Endless Boogie: Vol I & II (No Quarter) LP
Fugazi: Red Medicine (Dischord) LP
Harmonia: Musick Von Harmonia (Gronland) LP
Irreversible Entanglements: s/t (International Anthem) LP
Sharon Jones: I Learned the Hard Way (Daptone) LP
King Geedorah: Take Me To Your Leader (Big Dada) LP
Love: Four Sail (Warner) LP
Mdou Moctar: Ilana: The Creator (Sahel) LP
Lee Morgan: Rumproller (Blue Note) LP
Neu!: s/t (Gronland) LP
Neu!: 2 (Gronland) LP
William Onyeabor: Who is William Onyeabor? (Luaka Bop) LP
Shuggie Otis: Inspiration Information (Music on Vinyl) LP
Ben Pirani: How Do I Talk To My Brother (Colemine) LP
Placebo: Mtv Unplugged (Music on Vinyl) LP
Sleep: The Sciences (Third Man) LP
Smiths: Hatful of Hollow (Rhino) LP
Gillian Welch: Soul Journey (Acony) LP
Various: Funky 16 Corners (Stones Throw) LP
Various: Warfaring Strangers: Acid Nightmares (Numero) LP