600 of these damned things! You’d think I’d be getting better at it, but then I had to go and change the format and double the amount of work. And then I had to go and get a TON of new stuff this week, so it’s taking me longer than ever almost! Anyway, TONS of rad new stuff as well as some SWEEEEEET used goods which are only hinted at in the list below. Drop in to get first crack at the lot. Enjoy…
…..picks of the week…..
*Maniac OST (Death Waltz) LP
Death Waltz give the deluxe treatment for Rob’s future-classic soundtrack to a 2013 remake of ‘Maniac’ starring Elijah Wood. The mono-monikered French composer, Rob closely follows the film’s psychopathic themes by turns with a terrifying, mournful and poignant score heavily reminiscent of Cliff Martinez’s synth-heavy ‘Drive’ soundtrack and almost certainly inspired by total classics from Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter or Wendy Carlos. It’s a real peach, quite unmissable for fan of synthesised horror soundtracks and, obviously, exquisite packaging.
File Under: OST, Horror, Carpenter, Synths
*Kelompok Kampungan: Mencar Tuhan (Strawberry Rain) LP/CD
“One of the true gems of the Indonesian scene, this album stands to be one of the best, and also one of the most unique albums to come from the region. Banned by the Shuko government soon after release, it remains somewhat obscure to most collectors up until now. An album created by Bram Makahekum (who had no musical experience or training at all) Kelompok Kumpangan had multiple members trying to recreate the sounds of nature, even using original handmade instruments invented by the band themselves. The end result is nothing short of brilliant, one of our personal favorites from the region and an album that can’t be compared to much else. Wonderful progressive folk of the highest caliber, we can’t stand behind this one enough.”
File Under: Indo-Folk, Ethnic, Killer
…..new arrivals…..
*13th Floor Elevators: Easter Everywhere (Snapper) 2LP
The 13th Floor Elevators’ second album for International Artists, Easter Everywhere is essentially an extension of the sound of their groundbreaking debut. Another bona fide psychedelic classic, its standout tracks include the eight-minute epic, “Slip Inside This House” and an inspired cover of Bob Dylan’s “(It’s All Over Now) Baby Blue.” This gatefold 2LP edition of the 13th Floor Elevators’ 1967 album Easter Everywhere has been mastered from the original tape source. Album one is the mono edition while album two is a remastered version of the original stereo mix. This is the first official mono reissue of the album since 1967.
File Under: Psych, Classic
49th Parallel: s/t (Pacemaker) CD
2013 repress, originally released in 2005. “First proper version of this legendary Canadian psych album, supplemented by eleven bonus tracks, two of which have never seen reissue before now. The group’s first two singles, ‘Laborer’/’You Do Things’ (1967), as well as ‘She Says’ and ‘Citizen Freak’ (1968), are prime pieces of pouting Prairie punk. In the spring of 1969, the 49th Parallel had a hit in Canada and the USA with ‘Twilight Woman,’ a lovely song that sounded like a poppier, slightly folkier version of what bands like Tomorrow were doing in England. The success of the singles resulted in the release of the 49th Parallel’s only album, on MGM affiliate Maverick Records. All hyperbole aside, this is easily one of the top Canadian rock albums ever released. The album contains excellent material, including the pulsating psychedelia of ‘Lazerander Filchy’ and the ultra-strange ‘(The) Magician,’ as well as the quintessential punk edginess of ‘Now That I’m a Man’ and ‘(Come On Little Child &) Talk To Me.’ Dan Lowe’s blazing fuzz guitar work stands out, particularly on ‘Missouri,’ and when challenged by organist Jack Velker’s brilliant stuttering work on ‘Eye To Eye,’ ‘Talk To Me’ and ‘The People’. Strong melodies, great playing and sympathetic production make for a must- own collection of songs.”
File Under: Psych, CanCon
Afflicted Man: I’m Off Me ‘Ead (Permanent) LP
“I’m Off Me ‘Ead is DIY psych punk (or ‘Hippy Punk’ as Steve Hall calls it) at it’s finest, but don’t just take my word for it. Heavyweight record aficionados such as Henry Rollins, Byron Coley, Tom Lax, Doug Mosurock, and Geoffrey Weiss are BIG fans. The idiosyncratic music critic, Byron Coley (Forced Exposure, Bull Tongue, Spin, Wire, Arthur), really lays it out there: ‘Steve Hall’s Afflicted (Man) project was one of the greatest mystery wobbles to come out of the Brit DIY explosion. Trying to figure out what the hell these records were about took years to unravel. We even thought there might be a Nurse with Wound connection when United Dairies released the Afflicted Man’s Musica Box LP. We were stupid, but can you blame us? The slurred psych blues of I’m Off Me ‘Ead were so unlike anything else going on at the time, it almost seemed like the whole thing had to be a put-on of some kind. There had been those earlier records, sure, this one felt way different. The concept of UK stoner-punks had existed for a few years, but their output had tended towards the arty end of things before this. There’s a latent brutality to Im’ Off that truly lashed our feeble minds. But maybe that’s only because L.A. was awash in very good acid right about then. Still, it remains extremely difficult to place this music inside the contextual history of what was going on then. Jesus, I would have loved to have caught a gig or two. Unimaginable. I bought I’m Off Me ‘Ead at the old Vinyl Fetish store on Melrose in ’81, same year I finally managed to snag a copy of Randy Holden’s Population II, and they were both records I’d play to anyone who dropped by our pad in Santa Monica for a listening session. The utterly fucked-up-ness of both guitarists never failed to astonish anyone who wasn’t too wasted to acknowledge what they were hearing. And so it is.’ We here at Permanent absolutely love this record and are incomprehensibly honored to be the label reissuing it on vinyl for the first time ever. It’s been fully licensed by Steve Hall himself and painstakingly remastered by the total pros at Penguin Recording in Eagle Rock. The jacket artwork was graciously reconstituted and touched-up by Bill ‘Trouble In Mind’ Roe. The full-color I’m Off Me ‘Ead inner sleeve contains a bunch of unseen Afflicted Man photos, an unpublished interview with Steve Hall and a fully authorized reprint of Chris Stigliano’s article from Forced Exposure #9 (Winter 1986).”
File Under: Punk, DIY
*Richard Band: Re-Animator OST (Waxwork) LP
“Re-Animator is a 1985 American science fiction horror film based on the H.P. Lovecraft story ‘Herbery West — Re-Animator.’ Directed by Stuart Gordon, it was the first film in the Re-Animatorseries. The film has since become a cult classic, driven by fans of Jeffrey Combs (who stars as Herbert West) and H.P. Lovecraft, extreme gore, and the combination of horror and comedy. Roger Ebert: ‘I walked out somewhat surprised and reinvigorated (if not re-animated) by a movie that had the audience emitting taxi whistles and wild goat cries.’ Richard Howard Band is a composer of film music. He has scored more than 70 films, including From Beyond, which won the award for Best Original Soundtrack at the Catalonian International Film Festival in Sitges, Spain. His score for Re-Animator was lauded by the magazine Music from the Movies, which said, ‘Band’s music is dark and direct, creating an intense and eerie atmosphere, but always with a humorous touch… Surely, Richard Band is one of the most underrated composers in the film business.’ Recorded in Italy in 1985, the Re-Animator score is performed by the Rome Philharmonic Orchestra. Layers of synth driven beats and eerie tonal figures layered by Richard Band make this score a classic within the horror genre, immediately recognizable amongst fans, and pays tribute to composer Bernard Herman (Psycho, Taxi Driver, Citizen Kane, Cape Fear). Remastered for vinyl from the original master tapes. Comes on 180 gram vinyl. Includes liner notes by director Stuart Gordon and Richard Band, and an 18×24″ poster.”
File Under: OST, Horror
*Rashad Becker: Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol 1 (Pan) LP
In the vast world of electronic music, where sounds, signifiers and gestures are recontextualized to a numbing degree, it is increasingly rare and refreshing to encounter a release as perspective-distorting as the debut full-length release by Rashad Becker. The album is a masterpiece of focused, non-referential electronic environments. It is both warm, alien, paranoid and exhilarating. Sounds are stretched in the most unusual manner, foreign bodies are frequent and the structure is simply bewildering. Split into “Themes” and “Dances,” the eight tracks guide the listener through Becker’s brave new world. Despite being entirely synthetic, there are sounds which appear like a distortion of the world around us, on occasion “voice-like” sounds are present, elsewhere there appears the sound of cicadas, only these cicadas are made of mercury and swim through time. The end result is beautiful in a way only a unique work of art can be. PAN is proud to present the outside from within. Mastered and cut by Becker himself at Dubplates & Mastering, and pressed on 140 gram vinyl.
File Under: Electronic, Experimental
Big Blood: Radio Valkyrie +1905+1917+ (Feeding Tube) LP
This is only the second proper full-length LP by this Portland Maine-based duo, although there are vast arrays of CD-Rs and split releases littering their wake. After spending time with both the cosmically-shifting Cerberus Shoals and the folkily psychedelic Fire On Fire, Caleb Mukerin and Colleen Kinsella decided to opt for something more personal and hermetic. Thus, we have Big Blood. The band’s multi-phasic discography has thus far reminded people of everything from the Pärson Sound to Opal to Portishead at different moments, yet none of these thumbnails comes close to capturing the elegant mystery of their essence. Sometimes electric guitar lines weevil hauntingly in the aether while acoustics strum quietly up front. At other points, muted chimes of freedom push against vocals and cloppety rhythms that recall White Noise’s “Making Love Without Sound.” Still others vibe early Comus or The Third Ear Band. In all, the scent of smoke hangs as heavy over this record as any we’ve heard. And friend, we’ve heard a few. Edition of 500; includes download code.
File Under: Experimental, Folk, Psych
Black Rain: Protoplasm (Blackest Ever Black) 12”
Since the release last year of the Blackest Ever Black compilation Now I’m Just A Number: Soundtracks 1994-95, Stuart Argabright (also of Ike Yard, Dominatrix, Death Comet Crew) has reactivated the Black Rain project, touring extensively and working on new music under that name. The four tracks of desolated cyberpunk techno that constitute Protoplasm were recorded live from the desk at the 2012 Blackest Ever Black showcase at Corsica Studios, London. They offer a glimpse of what to expect from the new Black Rain studio album, due to be released by BEB in early 2014. Written and performed by S. Argabright. Mastered by Matt Colton at Alchemy, London. Edition of 500.
File Under: Electronic, Cyberpunk Techno
Lars-Gunnar Bodin/Bengt Emil Johnson: Semikolon (Paradigm Discs) LP
Originally created as a 6-part radio series in 1965, and released in 1966 by Sveriges Radio. This is the first LP recording by either of these composers. Recorded at EMS (Elektron Musik Studion), the newly established studio facility at Swedish Radio. This pioneering work did not easily fit in any category that existed at the time. Inspired by the work of Öyvind Fahlström (who was a pioneer of concrete poetry along with the Lettrists and Futurists), a few young Swedish artists began exploring new text-based experiments. The only other artist releasing records of similar soundworks at this early time in Sweden was Åke Hodell who had released two 7″ singles. These Swedish sound poets differ in style from their other European counterparts mainly due to their easy access to the high quality facilities available at EMS, with its own in-house engineers and sophisticated studio equipment. Given the close relationship at that time between EMS and the national Swedish radio station, their works often have a strong narrative (radio art) quality. Semikolon is one such work. By 1967, Bodin and Johnson had together finally agreed upon a term for this particular style of sound poetry; text-sound composition. This term was then taken up by other Swedish artists working in the same field including Hodell and Sten Hanson, and soon became internationally-recognized. The following year Bodin and Johnson in association with Fylkingen inaugurated the first annual festival of text-sound composition. This international festival, and the commissions it gave rise to, became a major part of the work at Fylkingen and EMS. The festival ran for 10 years. 7 LPs from the early years were released by Sveriges Radio and more recently Fylkingen have compiled the series as a 5CD set. Naturally, both artists were included in the festivals, but they also created a large body of work which appeared on many of the essential anthologies of European sound poetry at the time, including the Revue OU and Klankteksten (released by the Stedelijk Museum in 1970 to accompany their exhibition of concrete poetry), as well as other international compilations. Both artists have also worked in the area of pure electro-acoustic composition, and these works are also mostly available on compilations. This record though, is a collaboration rather than a compilation and retains a timeless contemporary feel that is shared with other radio art projects like the Hörspiel Heute series released by Luchterhand in the ’70s. This new vinyl edition of the original LP adds an extra 7-minute composition by Bodin, also taken from the original Semikolon radio series. Includes 4-page, hand-numbered insert; edition of 300.
File Under: Electronic, Sound Poetry, Musique Concrete
Apollo Brown: 12 Reasons to Die: The Brown Tape (Soul Temple) LP
“Ghostface Killah’s 12 Reasons to Die may be just a few months old but it’s already consider one of his best releases to date. Many say the project, featuring production from Adrian Younge, is Ghost’s best album since Fishscale. So good that it gets a second look and a whole new sound with the Apollo Brown version 12 Reasons to Die: The Brown Tape. Apollo Brown was asked by Soul Temple Records to record an alternate to the Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge album. To date it has only been released as a bonus cassette version (Hence The Brown Tape tag). Keep in mind, the up and coming Detroit producer did not create a remix album, Brown was in fact given access to Ghostface Killah’s acapellas and constructed beats around GFK’s work. This made the project one of the budding producer’s most challenging projects to date. That hard work has paid off as The Brown Tape is also one of Brown’s best works to date and certainly an indication of the quality body of work still to come from Apollo Brown.”
File Under: Hip Hop, Wu-Tang
*Carlton Melton: Four Eyes (Blackest Rainbow) LP
Carlton Melton have been releasing some incredible improvised psychedelic jams over the last few years, released through their own Mid To Late label and the UK label Agitated. So after hanging out with these guys at their show here and being absolutely blown away, we’re pleased to be releasing this prelude to their forthcoming new LP for Agitated later this year. This new four track 30+ minute 12″ EP is dripping with heavy riffs, thunderous drums, gurgling synth psychedelia, and mind altering bass. The Carlton Melton sound lies between drone and space rock entwined with loose jam band improvisation, and they blend it perfectly with a touch of baked stoner rock. The record features special guests Brian McDougall and John McBain (Monster Magnet). McBain also mastered the audio. Limited to 600 copies pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl. UK import.
File Under: Psych, Space Rock
*John Carpenter: The Fog (Death Waltz) 2LP
Blake’s Gold Edition on Gold vinyl! Double vinyl album of The Fog which includes the original movie score as released in 1984, along with a bonus vinyl including all of the original movie cues which have never been made available on vinyl before. The Fog was John Carpenter’s first film after the low-budget success of Halloween, and tells the story of a small North California fishing town terrorized by a glowing supernatural fog containing the vengeful ghosts of six murdered lepers. Like most of Carpenter’s films, the score was written by the director himself, and built on the more simplistic piano melody and synthesizer combination of the iconic Halloween score, to create something much more abstract and foreboding. Album cover art is by Dinos Chapman—yes the Dinos Chapman: as an internationally renowned solo artist, and together with his brother Jake, Dinos Chapman makes iconoclastic sculpture, prints and installations that examine, with searing wit and energy, contemporary politics, religion and morality. The Chapman’s have exhibited extensively, including numerous shows at White Cube, Tate Britain, and Tate Liverpool.
File Under: OST, Horror, Carpenter
The Civil Wars: s/t (Sensibility) LP/CD
In some ways, music doesn’t get much more modest or minimalist than it is in the hands of, three time Grammy Award winning duo, The Civil Wars, comprised of California-to-Nashville transplant Joy Williams and her Alabama co-songwriter, John Paul White. The Civil Wars won “Best Song Written For Visual Media” at the 55th annual Grammy Awards for their collaboration with Taylor Swift and T Bone Burnett on “Safe and Sound” from the Hunger Games soundtrack. This latest honor adds to an already successful few years for the duo, who also won “Best Folk Album” and “Best Country Duo/Group Performance” at the 54th annual Grammy Awards and “Duo/Group of the Year” at the 2012 Americana Music Association’s Honors & Awards. The Civil Wars’ highly anticipated sophomore self-titled album will be released on Sensibility Music/Columbia Records and will be preceded by the album’s first single, “The One That Got Away.” This is the follow up to the duo’s critically acclaimed 2011 debut album, Barton Hollow, which is now certified RIAA Gold in the U.S. The Civil Wars was recorded in Nashville between August 2012 and January 2013 with Charlie Peacock once again at the helm as producer. Additionally, Rick Rubin produced the duo’s performance for the track “I Had Me a Girl” in August of 2011. Peacock later completed the track by producing the instrumentation and mix. The Civil Wars was recorded amidst a grueling touring schedule, exhausting workload and a growing disconnect from their families, all reflected in the album’s 12-tracks. In the words of Joy Williams: “A lot of soul, sweat and tears went into its creation. I hope you feel the heart in each song, that it might connect with yours.” Gatefold 180g 2LP-set with bonus copy of the album on CD.
File Under: Roots, Country
*Mark Cunningham: Blood River Dusk (Feeding Tube) LP
The debut solo album by Mark Cunningham (Mars, Don King, Raeo, Convolution, Bestia Ferida, etc.) was originally released on CD in 1997. The label went out of business almost immediately, however, so the project has been more or less unheard since it was recorded. Feeding Tube only learned about its existence in the course of working with Mark on their recent Mars LPs, and when he gave us a copy it pretty much blew them away. Mark’s trumpet tone on much of it reminds us all what a goddamn central record Miles Davis’ On the Corner was for the whole no wave scene. The same weird muted tone is smeared all over this record, whether it’s spread across detourned tango rhythms or heisted motorik pulsing, there’s a constant presence of Miles’ compact menace lurking in most notes. The album itself is bizarrely Barcelonan in structure. That Spanish city (to which Mark expatriated himself after the end of Don King) has been a place where dance music, noise rock, and electronic improv have all thrived inside a single tent. Each of these threads presents itself on parts of Blood Red Dusk (the title of which is a tribute to the writing of Cormac McCarthy), but the blend is always held together by Mark’s trumpet and/or bass work. Blood River Dusk is a masterpiece of both the Barcelona underground and the post-no wave scene. Includes a small booklet with an interview where Mark lays out the entire saga. Choice. Edition of 300. Download included.
File Under: Mars, Experimental, No-Wave
Dub Club: Foundation Come Again (Stones Throw) LP
“Stones Throw has teamed with Los Angeles’s Dub Club for this collection. Foundation Come Again is 20 new recordings by Jamaican sound system legends Josey Wales, Lone Ranger, Dillinger, Tippa Lee, Prince Jazzbo, Big Youth, Trinity, and several others. These new tracks are recorded and produced by Tippa Lee and Tom Chasteen in Jamaica and Los Angeles.” Comes with a download card.
File Under: Dub, Jamaican
Explosions in the Sky & David Wingo: Prince Avalanche OST (Temporary Residence) LP
Explosions In The Sky’s music has become an integral part of countless film and television programs (most notably Friday Night Lights and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly); David Gordon Green is an internationally renowned, impressively eclectic filmmaker (Pineapple Express, Snow Angels); and David Wingo is a highly acclaimed film composer (Mud, Take Shelter) and leader of acclaimed indie-rock group, Ola Podrida. They’ve all become very close friends, and that tight-knit friendship spawned Green’s stirring new film, Prince Avalanche. While watching the Super Bowl together, EITS drummer Chris Hrasky casually suggested that Green use the scorched landscape of Bastrop State Park in Bastrop, TX as the backdrop for a film. Green took the suggestion and ran with it, remaking the Icelandic indie comedy Either Way into an understated dramatic comedy starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. In keeping with the low-key, under-the-Hollywood-radar nature of the film, Green tapped Explosions In The Sky and David Wingo to score the film. In the spirit of the filmmaking process, the soundtrack to Prince Avalanche is a casual affair, an earnest collaboration amongst friends recorded entirely in the living rooms of its composers. Much like the film, the soundtrack stitches dozens of tiny moments of heartfelt brilliance into an emotionally resonant whole far more expansive than its intimate roots might imply. Explosions In The Sky excel at making even the most mundane moments in everyday life seem downright revelatory. David Wingo and David Gordon Green have made careers out of pulling off similar feats in film. It was only a matter of time before these guys all collaborated, and Prince Avalanche delivers on the inspired expectations of such a union.
File Under: Post-Rock, OST
Folklords: Release the Sunshine (Lion) LP+7”
2013 repress. “Band leader Tom Waschkowski. He very graciously offered for this LP package a band history, lyrics, some terrific photos, and best of all, a rare pre-album single that the band had self-released. This allows us to offer up as perfect a reissue of this album as humanly possible. The Folklords Release The Sunshine is a captivating album, a notion shared by the many collectors worldwide who fight for original copies, which are few and far between. Glorious sound, as the reissue taken directly from the master-tapes. Bonus single is an exact replica of the rare, privately issued non-LP single, which features haunting, drum-less versions of ‘Forty Second River’ and ‘Unspoken Love,’ both of which were re-recorded for the original Allied release. Now, on to the presentation — the highest quality mastering and pressing; the resulting LP is housed in a poly-lined sleeve, inside an ultra-heavy 1960s style gatefold jacket, which is housed in a loose-fitting plastic sleeve.”
File Under: Psych, CanCon
*Happy Jawbone Family Band: Complete Hotel Double Tragedy (Feeding Tube) LP
Released in foreshortened single LP format back in 2010, the new edition of this masterpiece of Brattleboro form manipulation is allowed to breathe across two full long-players, and we’re all a lot better off for it. Allowed to sprawl across a couple of albums, a booklet of text and a download card of yet another album, Happy Jawbone Family Band achieve a rare freedom here, assembling a complete imaginary universe that combines surrealist wordplay with woozy Dunedin-style form-grabs. Composed of seven (or so) people (it changes with the weather), the band seems capable of almost anything. At one moment they can be doing what sounds to be a flamenco version of the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil” then turn on a dime and resemble the Terminals doing one of their death-chug-sea chanteys. It’s weird, this Brattleboro thing. All the bands there sound pretty different from one another, but they all sound like they smoke cheeb as though it were legal. There is a stoner logic to Complete Hotel that’s so damn wonderful it’ll just about suck yr clothes off. As was demonstrated to the world on their Mexican Summer comp (which was in print for what? three hours?) HJFB put songs together in a way that pleases them, and damn the torpedoes. You can hear traces of absolutely anything inside their sound — Four Seasons, Van Dyke Parks, Dave Davies, Plagal Grind — but their mutational heat is so heavy, after you’ve dug a few notes you realize it could never be anyone but them. Complete Hotel Double Tragedy is the first time HJFB have gotten a chance to expand in all directions at the same time. And it is so cool, you’ll grow a new tit. We promise! Edition of 600. Housed in a gatefold sleeve with a 32-page booklet.
File Under: Garage, Alternative, RnB, Blues
*Hellvete: Sint – Denijs (Blackest Rainbow) LP
Brand new record from Glen Steenkiste, founding member of Sylvester Anfang and their more recent incarnation Sylvester Anfang II. Currently Glen is also frequently collaborating with his fellow Anfang member, Ernesto Gonzalez (aka Bear Bones Lay Low) in their free-drone project Gonzalez & Steenkiste. But whilst being active in these projects he still finds time to craft his own music. Sint-Denijs is his second solo full length vinyl release following his De Gek LP for Kraak Records from 2010, and several great cassette and CDR releases for fantastic labels like Funeral Folk, Sloow Tapes, Audiobot and SicSic Tapes. Since his previous record on Kraak, Steenkiste has been getting more and more interested in sustained tones, foreign melodies and longer compositions. On this new record he draws influences from early Minimalism and old folk music and with the use of harmonium, bowed banjo, electric tampura and analog synth he creates probing intense sounds that try to undo notions of time and place. Steenkiste’s music is like taking an endless shower of sunbeams, warm, comforting and mind-altering. Music that makes time stand still and focuses on shifting details and textures, but massive in sound and presence. This record is pressed in an edition of 500 copies on 180 gram virgin vinyl including a digital download coupon. UK import.
File Under: Drone, Ambient, Psych, Sylvester Anfang
Julia Holter: Loud City Song (Domino) LP
Loud City Song is the new studio recording by Los Angeles based artist Julia Holter, set for release by Domino Recording Co. The album is Holter’s third full length release in as many years – following 2011’s groundbreaking debut Tragedy and last year’s follow-up, the critically lauded Ekstasis. Loud City Song is both a continuation and a furthering of the fiercely singular and focused vision displayed by its predecessors; taking as it does Holter’s rare gift for merging high concept, compositional prowess and experimentation with pop sensibility and applying it to a set of even more daringly beautiful arrangements and emotionally resonant songs. The songs that make up Loud City Song have origins that pre-date 2011’s debut Tragedy – coaxed out and finessed as demos in Holter’s bedroom studio and then finally coalesced into one thrillingly cohesive experience in the latter stages of 2012 by Holter and co-producer Cole Marsden Grief-Neill and an ensemble of Los Angeles musicians. The result is an album of enormous ambition – Holter taking inspiration from Collette’s 1944 novella Gigi and using it as a prism through which to explore her relationship with her hometown of Los Angeles and modern life universally, taking cues from the work of Joni Mitchell and the poetry of Frank O’Hara but forging those touch-points into something resolutely unique. Double LP comes with printed 7” x 7” accordion fold out featuring album lyrics and handdrawn illustrations and a MP3 download card.
File Under: Experimental Pop, Ethereal
*Maru Sankaku Shikaku (Circle Triangle Square): s/t (Bamboo) 3CD
The group’s name is literally the icons for a “circle”, “triangle” and “Square”, with “Maru Sankaku Shikaku” substituting as a translation for those images. Circle Triangle Square were a painted bunch of commune rockers and percussion tribe second to none, whose random bells, flute and remedial tea-tray flailings were still more like the Godzor Nihilist Spasm Band than the deep theta-space obliterations of Taj Mahal Travellers. Led by future Murahatchibu drummer Sahuro “Kant” Watanabe, CTS were part of an elite bunch Shinjuku Futen bands who actually made it onto record. Includes full-color booklet with notes by Watanabe.
File Under: JapRock, Psych, Experimental
Moonkyte: Count Me Out (Sunbeam) LP
2013 repress. Yorkshire’s Moonkyte only made one album, and — though it was supported by John Peel, who wrote the effusive sleevenotes — it sank without a trace when it appeared on the tiny Mother label in 1971. Now, with originals having changed hands for over £1000, Sunbeam is giving it its first-ever vinyl reissue, complete with lovingly-reproduced die-cut artwork, a replica inner sleeve and a separate insert detailing the band’s history, complete with rare photographs. It’s nothing short of a British acid folk classic.
File Under: Acid Folk, Psych
Myron & E: Broadway (Stones Throw) LP
“The vocal duo is something of a rarity. There have been countless solo stars, trios, quartets, and quintets, but the pairing of equally talented singers isn’t nearly as common. Sam and Dave, Ashford and Simpson, the Righteous Brothers, and the Everly Brothers comprise a short list of standouts. Enter Myron & E. The two began working together while on the road with the Bay Area’s Blackalicious, and shortly after, E released an independent record as E da Boss. While touring in Finland behind his solo project, E found himself in an impromptu jam session with members of The Soul Investigators, whose work with singer Nicole Willis helped define them as one of Europe’s foremost retro-soul bands. Investigators producer Didier Selin was impressed enough to leave E with several unfinished tracks. Back in the U.S., E recruited Myron as a singing and songwriting partner, and Myron & E was born.” Includes mp3 download card.
File Under: Soul, Funk, Soul Investigators
Nomeansno: Mama (Wrong) LP
2xLP 180 GRAM BLACK VINYL VERSION available for the 1st time in 30 years & includes download code! Now spread across double vinyl for optimum sound, and including as a bonus the four songs from the ‘Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred’ EP which was originally released in 1981. Although primitive sounding & not indicative of their later, guitar-injected fury, this album still stands out as one of their most interesting. Full of dark yet inspiring lyrics & signature dynamics, it documents the gestation of the emotional menace & musical fury that No Means No was to become known for. A band in its infancy but, oh my, what a scary little baby.
File Under: Punk, CanCon, Wrong
*Bernard Parmegiani: De Natura Sonorum (ReGRM) LP
De Natura Sonorum (1975): Premiered at the Salle Wagram in Paris on June 3rd 1975. A suite of 12 movements, divided into two series of six. “The first series comprises six related movements, usually organized in pairs, electronic sounds with instrumental and more rarely, concrete sounds: Incidences/resonances bring into play controlled resonances akin to sounds of concrete origin in a process that helps to expand the variable electronic sound sources. Here, ‘incidents’ are opposed to one-off ‘accidents’ in the second movement: ‘Accidents/Harmoniques’ (‘Accidents/Harmonics’). In the second movement, very short events of instrumental origin change the harmonic tone of the continuum they interrupt or overlap. Moreover, the high notes are underplayed, which stimulates the attention given to other phenomena generally hidden by the melodic form applied to the instrumental play. ‘Géologie sonore’ (‘Sound Geology’) is similar to a flight over an area where different ‘sound’ layers come to the surface one after the other. When seen from high above, instrumental and electronic sounds seem to fuse. ‘Dynamique de la resonance’ (‘Dynamics of Resonance’) is a microphonic exploration of a single sound resonating through different forms of percussion. ‘L’Etude élastique’ (‘Elastic Study’) places together various sounds produced by ‘touching’ elastic or instrumental skins (balloons, doumbeks) or vibrating strings and a number of instrumental gestures close to this ‘touch,’ using electronic processes to generate white noise. ‘Conjugaison du timbre’ (‘Conjugated Tone’), the last movement in the series, uses the same substance to apply rhythmic forms onto a perpetually varying tone continuum. The second series of movements draws its inspiration from concrete and electronic sources rather than instrumental ones. ‘Incidences/battements’ (‘Incidences/ Beatings’) is a reminder of the first movement in the first series, which then quickly moves into ‘Natures éphémères’ (‘Ephemeral Natures’): an ephemeral play on instrumental and electronic sounds, singled out by their internal trajectory rather than by the material itself. ‘Matières induites’ (‘Induced Matters’): just as molecular effervescence triggers changes of state, it seems that the different states of these sound materials can be generated by each other or through induction processes. In ‘Ondes croisées’ (‘Crossed Waves’), the pizz vibrations interfere with somehow ‘visible’ water drops on the surface of a similar material. ‘Pleins et déliés’ (‘Downstrokes and Upstrokes’) can be listened to as the energies absorbed in the motion of bouncing bodies, while hollow ‘bubbles’ and points bring together some people’s gravity and others’ downwards movements. The work finishes with ‘Points contre champs’ (‘Reverse Angle Points’). Here, the notion of perspective of the different sound threads weaving a kind of network, or field, traps the occasional iterative elements in the foreground and progressively absorbs them, giving more space for the angle — and the chanted sound — to grow.” –Bernard Parmigiani; De Natura Sonorumwhose title echoes Lucretius’ De rerum natura, similarly explores the multiplicity of sound possibilities. This profuse work, with countless discoveries and dazzling intuitions, has influenced several generations of composers and remains a truly seminal piece in the experimental music soundscape. De Natura Sonorum, one of Parmegiani’s masterpieces, has left an indelible mark on the classical period of electroacoustic music. At last, it is being reissued on vinyl and for the first time this includes the whole of its 12 movements.” –Christian Zanési & François Bonnet. Housed in a gatefold sleeve.
File Under: Early Electronic, Avant Garde
*Plastic Cloud: s/t (Pacemaker) CD
2013 repress, originally released in 2005. “Bay Ridge, Ontario’s contribution to the psychedelic pantheon, their self-titled LP (Allied/1968) is a swirl of gossamer vocals and Tolkien references, swathed in the some of the most relentless fuzz guitar you will ever hear. We feel it’s about time this fine record got the compact disc treatment it deserves, so we’ve gone all out for this reissue — newly remastered from the tapes and the accompanying twenty-page booklet has all the lyrics, thanks to Don Brewer, the man who wrote them, as well as rare photos and a replica of the original press release that must be seen to be believed. Essential psychedelia.”
File Under: Psych, CanCon, Classic
Ramesses: Misanthropic Alchemy (Ritual) 2LP
Ritual Productions celebrate the legacy of Ramesses in UK metal history with a mammoth retrospective collection reissue of Ramesses’ debut LP Misanthropic Alchemy (recorded and mixed by Billy Anderson– Melvins, Sleep, Neurosis) now available on double vinyl with two previously-unreleased bonus tracks. Limited to 300 units, pressed on 180 gram pure virgin black vinyl. 300 gsm, 5mm spine sleeve, silver mirror board, shrink-wrapped, 250 gsm gold inner sleeves and full-color labels. 100% sustainable paper labels and card sleeve. Printed with premium color-rich non-toxic inks. Sealed with non-toxic varnish.
File Under: Metal, Doom, Sludge
Raspberry Bulbs: Deformed Worship (Blackest Ever Black) LP
The second album by New York’s Raspberry Bulbs. Since their debut LP Nature Tries Again (Hospital Productions, 2011) RB has grown from the solo project of M. del Rio (HWCT from Bone Awl) into a five-piece of extraordinary force and focus. The first studio version of Deformed Worship was scrapped, and its songs re-recorded by the band on cassette 8-track in November 2012, before being mixed and mastered by Kris Lapke (Alberich). Stomping, vicious and unrelenting. Nine songs. Thirty minutes. Raspberry Bulbs defies the constraints of classification but is often mistakenly labeled as a black metal band. It is not a black metal band.
File Under: Punk, Rock, Not Metal
*Harry Robinson: Twins of Evil (Death Waltz) LP
Harry Robinson’s eclectic résumé included compositions and arrangements for the Children’s Film Foundation, the Eurovision Song Contest and Nick Drake. In 1958 he even topped the Hit Parade with the manic ‘Hoots Mon.’ But to horror aficionados Robinson is best known for his work with Hammer Film Productions. When Robinson first saw footage from Twins of Evil he was struck by the scenes of Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing) and his witch-finding Brotherhood thundering through the countryside on horseback. Soon after, he began composing a score inspired by Spaghetti Westerns. Twins of Evil was shot from March to April 1971. The previous year the age restriction for the ‘X’ certificate had been raised from 16 to 18. This relaxation, combined with Hammer’s recent assimilation of independent producers Harry Fine and Michael Style, led to some relatively extreme filmmaking in the early part of the decade. The potentially kinky scenario of Twins of Evil is fairly restrained, at least in comparison to previous Fine and Style productions such as The Vampire Lovers and Lust for a Vampire, but the film clearly belongs to a more violent and sexually explicit era of Hammer horror.It’s therefore entirely appropriate that Robinson’s music occasionally lacks the delicacy of Hammer scores from previous decades. LP pressed on red vinyl with a 24”x24” fold out poster with the original artwork.
File Under: OST, Horror
*Akos Rozmann: Images of the Dream and Death (Ideologic Organ) 3LP
This recording is the fourth version of Images of the Dream and Death by Ákos Rózmann; revised at EMS/Elektronmusikstudion, Stockholm in 2001 for a performance in Essen. The first version was realized with Buchla synthesizer at the State Academy of Music, EMS/Elektronmusikstudion, Stockholm 1974-1977 (released on Phono Suecia as PS 27, 1986); the third version in April 1990 (released on Phono Suecia as PSCD 27, 1991). Images of the Dream and Death/Bilder inför Drömmen och Döden. “My intention in composing this work was, with the aid of sound, EMS, and the studio of the State Academy of Music in Stockholm between August 1974 and June 1977, to portray good and evil. I failed, however, to depict good ‘idealistically.’ The figures which I use here are always characteristic of deserted, anxious, weeping humanity. When I conjure forth the good in the introduction to a piece, other ‘forces’ soon make themselves felt. The beginning of the third movement, for example, reminds one of the sound of distant bells. These approaching impulses inspire peace and serenity, but all the alien elements which then reveal themselves stand in the way of ‘development’; their impact is devastating. The sound of the bells becomes muddied, it is transferred beyond recognition and finally ceases. With my composition I seek to describe a process. The main emphasis is on the two contrary elements declaring themselves simultaneously, and on a scrutiny of the changes which occur when they interact. First movement: ‘sounds’ characterizing various ‘types’ (good and evil) — cries, weeping, shrieks, growls, etc. — occur at random and are linked together by noise, movements, beats, etc. Second movement: this portrays various forms of matter and various phenomena connected with our existence: a. earth b. water c. movement-energy. The structure of movements two and three is characterized by the different blocks accompanying one another. Each block is a fully worked-out unit, the meaning of which depends on the position it occupies in the development of the composition. Third movement: the ‘sound types’ from movement one now constitute different groups. Among them we find blocks denoting the good (e.g. the sound of bells) or evil (e.g. metallic rattling, violent blows, the knocking of wood-like objects). The antitheses discernible between the musical units are a new element.” –Ákos Rózmann (from Nutida Musik nr. 3 1977/78) Ákos Rózmann was born in Hungary in 1939. He studied composition and took his organist’s and composer’s diploma at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. Between 1971 and 1974 he studied composition with Ingvar Lidholm at the State Academy of Music in Stockholm. He became organist of the Catholic Cathedral in Stockholm in 1978. Composed & produced by Ákos Rózmann. Vinyl cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, April 2013. Cover painting byFerenc Füzeskuti. Rózmann’s portrait by Per B. Adolphson. Liner notes by Jim O’Rourke and Mats Lindstrom.
File Under: Early Electronic, Avant Garde
Shapednoise: Until Human Voices Wake Us (Opal Tapes) LP
This album by Shapednoise opens with the violent techno deconstruction of “Witness of a Heart Attack Death,” an oddly syncopated gallop through hard layers of analog scree and earth-breaking kicks. A despairing atmosphere dominates the remainder of the side with less percussive yet still deeply rhythmic tracks evocative of the power electronics of Slaughter Productions yet brought to be with the sensibility of a techno producer. Everything is darkened with sonic dirt and dismal vibes but remains nuanced, layered and highly dynamic.
File Under: Opal Tapes, Techno, Electronic
Tropic of Cancer: Sorrow of Two Blooms (Blackest Ever Black) 12”
Blackest Ever Black made an indelible mark on 2010 with a couplet of stunning releases from Raime. This year they open their leathery wings to shelter Tropic Of Cancer aka Camella Lobo and Juan Mendez (Silent Servant) for a midnight mission away from their spiritual home, Regis’ Downwards sect. No doubt, this is their strongest material to date: three passionately gothic odes to the romance of misery. There are clear, strong references to the gothic digital minimalism of Martin Hannet’s work on Joy Division, and maybe more apt allusions to the skinny Post Punk of Savage Republic, and Faith/Pornography/Seventeen Seconds era The Cure, but unlike many contemporary guardians of this sound, TOC’s misanthropy is articulated with exquisite production values closer to those of Grouper or Broadcast, making their introversion that much more tangible and heart-breakingly glorious. Of these three songs, ‘Dive (Wheel Of The Law)’ is the most affecting; Lobo’s lamenting vocals sigh for your sins while a malnourished drum machine paces echoic alley space like a Kafka character tortuously trapped in his misanthropy, plangent guitars precipitate a cold grey drizzle. This is severely dank, uncompromising material, and therein lies its beauty. If you’re on that wavelength, this will probably be one of the most precious 12″s you’ll encounter this year.
File Under: Gothic, Post Punk, Electronic
*Work/Death: Phone About to Ring (Type) LP
Work/Death might be a new name to most, but for anyone listening to noise that is lucky enough to be based in and around Rhode Island, then Scott Reber’s grizzled drones are likely a well-known staple. Reber is something of the noise musician’s noise musician, and his deeply knowledgable and surprisingly technical take on the sound has left those able to source one of his rare tapes or manage to catch a show slack-jawed. One such tape is Phone About to Ring, which emerged from the ether on Reber’s own Three Songs Of Lenin imprint in 2012 with little fanfare. Now Type is proud to announce that it is being given the deluxe treatment, and has been remastered by Reber himself before being cut to vinyl for the first time. The music itself is hard to get a grip on — two effortlessly gloomy passages of sludgy, ominous noise, which in the wrong hands could end up falling into usual traps, but with Reber at the helm sound both fresh and deeply complex. Instruments are bashed into near obscurity by Reber’s steady-handed layers of tape-hiss and crunch, and thick, doomy bass echoes like an earthquake in the background. The most startling aspect of Phone About to Ring is Reber’s ability to inject harmony into his stark, low-end rumbles and piercing cacophony. Comparable to Tim Hecker or even Thomas Köner at times, Reber makes noise that has a lot more beneath the surface that you might initially realize, and Phone About to Ring is his most concise and involving statement to date. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.
File Under: Noise, Experimental
*Various: Which Way Does the Blood Red River Flow? (Mississippi) LP
“Compilation of some of the best songs recorded for the Testament label between 1961 and 1967. Here we have the deep spirituals of Fred and Annie McDowell, the haunting music of Peg Leg Howell, the long form lonesome blues of Skip James contemporary Jack Owens, the pretty drifting tunes of Elijah Brown, and the plaintive ballads of Jimmie Tarlton. A really intense and strong record. No filler allowed – just the heaviest stuff we could find. Old school ‘tip on’ cover. A co-release with our friends at Sutro Park, the king of all contemporary blues reissue labels.”
File Under: Blues, Mississippi
…..restocks…..
*Anonymous: Inside the Shadow (Michu Picchu) LP *Boards of Canada: Tomorrow's Harvest (Warp) LP Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar) LP J Dilla: Donuts (Stones Throw) LP *Michael Farneti: Good Morning Kisses (Companion) LP *Fraction: Moon Blood (Mexican Summer) LP *Ben Frost/Daniel Bjarnason: Solaris (Bedroom Community) LP *Genius/GZA: Liquid Swords (Get On Down) LP Godspeed You Black Emperor: Yanquii UXO (Constellation) LP Godspeed You Black Emperor: F#A# (Constellation) LP *Honey LTD.: The Complete LHI Recordings (Light in the Attic) LP *Johan Johannsson: Fordlandia (NTOV) LP The Litter: Distortions (Get Hip) LP Madvillain: Madvillainy (Stones Throw) LP *Muslimgauze: Uzi Mahmood (Soleilmoon) LP *Colin Stetson: To See More Light (Constellation) LP *Taj Mahal Travellers: July 15 (Bamboo) LP Thee Mighty Caesars: Acropolis Now (Damaged Goods) LP Thee Mighty Caesars:Thee Caesars of Trash (Damaged Goods) LP Thee Mighty Caesars: Wiseblood (Damaged Goods) LP *Vangelis: Blade Runner OST (Audio Fidelity) LP Various: Chicago Soul (Soul Jazz) LP *Various: Don't Stop: Recording Tap (Numero Group) 3LP *Various: Eccentric Soul: Outskirts of Deep City (Numero Group) LP .....used goodies..... 13th Floor Elevators: Easter Everywhere (International Artists) LP Arcade Fire: Neon Bible (Merge) LP Beck: Odelay (Simply Vinyl) LP Built to Spill: Keep it Like A Secret (Up) LP+Poster Johnny Cash: American IV: The Man Comes Around (American) LP Johnny Cash: American V: A Hundred Highways (American) LP Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (Cherry Red) LP Sage Francis: Li(F)e (Anti) LP The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Warner) LP (red vinyl) Iron Maiden: Number of the Beast (Harvest) LP Jack Johnson: On & On (Moonshine) LP Man or Astro-Man: Destroy All Astromen (Estrus) LP Minutemen: Buzz or Bowl Under the Influence of Heat (SST) LP Mogwai: Happy Song For Happy People (Matador) LP Mogwai: Kicking a Dead Pig (Jet Set) 3LP (colored vinyl) Mogwai: Rock Action (Matador) LP New York Dolls: s/t (Mercury) LP Pink Floyd: Meddle (Harvest) LP Pink Floyd: Atom Heart Mother (Harvest) LP Robert Pollard: Normal Happiness (Merge) LP The Rapture: Echoes (DFA) LP Sebadoh: Weed Forestin (Homestead) LP (green vinyl) Strokes: Room on Fire (RCA) LP Smog: Dongs of Sevotion (Drag City) LP Sunny Day Real Estate: s/t (Sub Pop) LP Supersuckers: Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World (Sub Pop) LP Tom Waits: Nighthawks At The Diner (Asylum) LP and a ton more.....
