Folk & Traditional / All styles

Roger's reigning post-Burma moment; basement 4-track recordings of unknown-tongue space psych, ecstatically rendered.

"JAMES JACKSON TOTH, aka WOODEN WAND, is your fearless friend, the stumbling guy who gets himself into incredibly fucked up situations but comes out shining and lives to tell about it, entertaining you safely and immensely. You should be grateful. In my view, he's a great American songwriter in full bloom. Most likely you'll think that's a preposterous claim, and I won't blame you, but you'll be totally, completely, and unforgivably wrong not to agree. To me, it's obvious Toth is animated with t…

Secret Seven Records is proud to release the first ever reissue of the lost psych-folk LP 'Goodby Sunball' by cult favorite, Michael Yonkers.  Privately released in 1974, 'Goodby Sunball' was recorded at Yonkers' home studio a few years after 'Microminature Love' and just before 'Lovely Gold'.  Remastered from the original LP by Ben Tuttle.  Limited to 500 copies."The music for 'Goodby Sunball' was written during the recovery period following serious spine surgery. The surgery had not gone well,…

Early 20th century recordings from the great Greek singer Marika Papagika – recordings made for Columbia Records in NYC between 1919 and 1929! Beautiful material that quite easily could have gone lost to the world over the long, long years – very few photos of Marika are even known to exist! The sound is still wonderful, and it's put together in a great vinyl release by Mississippi! It comes with a lovely folder of notes, a bit of a nod to classic Folkways releases. Titles include "H…

restocked: Israel isn't exactly konwn as a hotbed for acoustic steel-string guitar music, but Yair Yona's reissue of "Remember" is simply some of the most genre-bending music for solo steel-string guitar since Sandy Bull first opened the doors in the 60s. It's a celebration of the Takoma school, filtered by alternate tunings & yncopations, a John Fahey -esque compositional instint across landscapes of banjo, electronics, resonators, bass guitar & strings.

comes in an old-style tip-on gatefold jacket with 8” x 10” insert and MP3 download coupon. In recent years, Higgs has released a number of solo outings that can only be described as the ultimate in isolation, worlds away from the hypnotic, communal rock of his band, Lungfish. Higgs follows up the 2007 album/book release Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot with his new double album Say God. Say God is an album of gospel songs and poems as presently received by this Daniel Higgs. Recorded with the help and…

Very special vinyl edition cut at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin, includes a bonus track and a hidden locked groove, together with new artwork. limited copies!* The sister of office favourite Peter Broderick, Heather Woods Broderick steps into the limelight with this hugely impressive solo debut. On 'From The Ground', Heather is ably assisted by her multi-talented sibling, who records, produces and contributes various instrumental elements to the songs. These two are regular collaborato…

Restocked, few available..."If the pentagrams and moccasins and ponchos of the now nearly bygone “freak folk” era made listening to Fairport Convention cool again, Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh’s self-titled collaboration serves as a reminder that British longhairs of the ’60s were nerds, nerds, nerds. Cellist Espvall, best known for her work with Espers, and Batoh, the guitarist of Japanese psych band Ghost, deploy an arsenal of exotic stringed instruments. They play earnest cover…

"Limited to 300 copies LP that bundles a bunch of great performances from the first Charalambides trio line-up featuring Tom and Christina Carter alongside Jason Bill (later of Migrantes). Two full sets that catch the group breaking out from their early Texas-psych sound into a whole new free/folk mutant, with Christina’s jubilant, spooked vocals over rattlesnake guitar and a wash of F/X. Still one of the most important – if relatively unsung – underground rock groups of the past decade p…

Originally released in 1971, this is one of the artistic high points of his career. And yet, for nearly 30 years it was not heard in its entirety, as what was originally intended as a double album was pared down to a single LP. Now, thanks to 4 Men With Beards, the complete double album is available on vinyl for the first time

The latest addition to the fast-growing Digitalis catalogue comes from Zelienople, a band from Chicago who have a certain knack of making that other-worldly folk ambience we've all grown so addicted to sound totally singular and incredibly beautiful. Maybe it's because they aren't afraid of occasionally breaching into the odd pop structure or two that 'Stone Academy' is so inviting, in fact if you hear it at a distance you might even mistake it for a decomposed cassette recording of an old Pavem…

in just a few short years multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, composer and all round renaissance man Peter Broderick has shot from being a darling of the underground to something far more substantial. Constantly touring, Peter has accrued fans far and wide with his alluring folk songs and gorgeous post-classical compositions, but all this had to start somewhere.A few years ago Peter was kind enough to send Type a package of all his material prior to writing ‘Float’. This came in …

..And Photography 1890-1950 The latest release from Grammy Award-winning reissue label Dust-to-Digital gives music fans another reason to rejoice. A stunning 96-page hardcover book of historic baptism photographs, taken between 1890 and 1950 and compiled from the collection of noted folk art collector Jim Linderman, is accompanied by a CD of rare gospel and folk recordings from original 78 RPM records (1924-1940), featuring artists Washington Phillips, Carter Family, Tennessee Mountaineers, …

Avant-hillbilly master fiddler Henry Flynt scuffles through a most peculiar set of electrified and acoustic bumpkin fiddle howls and screeches circa early to mid 1960s. From the enviable opening 'echo rock', in which Flynt does his best to compete with the electro-echo buzz of a Jorgen Ingmann or Link Wray to the beauteous instrumental glow of the extended modal country jam of 'Jamboree', Flynt proves once again that his is not a music simply rooted in the taut belt of New York isms, schisms and…

A remarkable collection of hillbilly minimalism, by one of the forgotten heroes. These are blocks of generic material subtly changed by reiteration and lack of development. Like Beefheart, Henry Flynt is one of the rare examples of musicians who fearlessly experimented with the blues and folk forms in the face of all contemporary and experimental music orthodoxies. An important recording and a great listen.

On his third outing, Jozef Van Wissem, with his ten-course Renaissance lute (aka retrograde lute), employs not only his notion of using palindromes and backwards reading of music for the instrument, but also brings electronics and field recordings into the discussion. Van Wissem applies mirror images in compositions for solo lute. He inserts a microphone into the body of his lute, records the sounds inside (known as "wolftones"), and then electronically alters them by sampling, cutting, and past…

Healing music to change your head space by way of trance induced astral traveling and devic beings. Ethereal psychedelic folk music channeling spirits from the dark land and influenced by Native American rituals, shamanism and Americana. 80 copies.

Janina Angel Bath’s voice feels like celestial nectar dripping from astral spheres ready to awaken the inner kundalini serpent from its slumber. With Hands of Hydra on sitar this is a deep eastern psychedelic meditation with slow motion tambura strings unfolding universal consciousness. 100 copies.

Dabke is the celebratory music and dance found throughout the Levantine Middle East. By the mid-1990s, a new wave of high-energy electronic dabke music had emerged -- to be heard at weddings, parties and cassette-stalls region-wide. New wave dabke was first introduced to Western ears by way of Omar Souleyman and his northeastern Syrian sounds. This collection presents a hypnotic and diverse selection of electrified dabke dance cuts from a region in the south of Syria known as the Houran. …

restocked: "One of the greatest Indian classical vocalists of all time. Kesarbia Kerkar rose up from the bottom of the cast system in India to become one of the countries most respected vocalists. These recordings from 1947 - 1953 are beautiful ragas not to be missed. First LP issue of her material to be available in the US. A real treasure for fans of our Abdul Karim Khan and Pandit Pran Nath releases. Beautiful detailed liner notes by Ian Nagoski complete with photographs and sacred…

Important is proud to welcome back James Blackshaw for his first full length on Important since his breakthrough album O True Believers was released on the label in 2006. James has since forged a remarkable career achieving critical praise for his dexterity, his deep, connected songwriting and his beautiful arrangement. Love Is The Plan, The Plan Is Death is available on CD & LP. LP pressed in an edition of 1000.  Limited stock of color vinyl for mailorder customers.

Beautiful new collaborative work from Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch between Dutch lutenist Jozef Van Wissem and American filmmaker & guitarist Jim Jarmusch. Jarmusch's previous collaborations with Wissem have not prepared the eager listener for the expressivity and emotional depth of his playing on these duets. Respectful of one another's space the pair weave layers of melody and waves of feedback while acoustic guitar and lute wrap together with a subtle depth expemplifying an austere u…

The Golden Undertow opens with the gaunt “Dead Star”, a short and intense song with just few guitar notes and his voice. Both when singing accompaining himself with sparse guitar notes (“A Forest Journey”, “My Ship”, “Five”) or creating gentle psichedelic epicness with the effort of friends on violin, drums and other instruments (”Bonobo”, “Drugtime Family”) Rella prove to have learned the lesson well with an inspired album that s…

Rare 1998 LP reissued on CD with two rarer bonus tracks, all on CD for the first time. In 1998 Ben Chasny self-released an LP of his 'acoustic based project[ions]' under the name Six Organs of Admittance. The resulting five-song LP is a masterpiece of diverse elements using acoustic and electric guitars, a detuned violin, organ, electronics and koto. The material covers a lot of ground: there's an acid folk duet, an epic, three-part space suite, and two short concrète-like pieces that entice hid…

The first stereo recordings of the Fiery choral sounds of Sacred Harp singing! Recorded by Alan Lomax at Corinth Baptist Church in 1959. Over 300 singers performing shape note music, shaking the walls & doors. Very intense & beautiful performances. Liner notes by Nathan Salsburg with excerpts from essays by Alan Lomax. Limited one time pressing

Dabke is the celebratory music and dance found throughout the Levantine Middle East. By the mid-1990s, a new wave of high-energy electronic dabke music had emerged -- to be heard at weddings, parties and cassette-stalls region-wide. New wave dabke was first introduced to Western ears by way of Omar Souleyman and his northeastern Syrian sounds. This collection presents a hypnotic and diverse selection of electrified dabke dance cuts from a region in the south of Syria known as the Houran. …

REISSUE on 180gm vinyl! Originally released in 1969, COSTA's 2nd album is one of the finest releases to come out of Brazil's Tropicalia movement. Feat. songwriting & vocal help from 2 of the original Tropicalismos, CAETANO VELOSO & GILBERTO GIL, she flows effortlessly between shredding psychedelia & smooth bossa nova. An essential record for anyone that appreciates the far reaches of Brazilian popular music. Incl. the classic trks "Baby" * "Não Identificado." Such a pleasant surpise to se…

Massive 6xLP box set drawing from John Fahey's best, and most influential, period. Included in the set are Blind Joe Death, Death Chants, Breakdowns, And Military Waltzes, The Dance of Death and Other Plantation Favorites, The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party, The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death, and Days Have Gone By, all reissued on 180 gram vinyl with deluxe tip-on jackets. Limited edition of 2,000. John Fahey (February 28, 1939–February 22, 2001) combined American folk, blues, Indian r…

A television special on the I.S.B., made circa 1968/69, but never seen until now. This 80 minute DVD vividly encapsulates the intensity of The Incredible String Band in the late 1960's. Live sequences show the band at the height of their powers, casting a spell on the audiences with their unique blend of theatrical and musical metaphysics. Originally designed for the BBC's Omnibus Arts Programme, 'Be Glad for the Song Has No Ending' was never broadcast, but it enjoyed an independent cinema relea…

Most Likely To: be one of the only albums you hear that will protect you from the smallpox virus. In the late 1960s, as traditional African culture rubbed up against an influx of Western influences, some of the most amazing modern musical forms birthed in the dance halls of West Africa. Rhythm and blues, soul, and funk elements electrified and popularized in the United States folded back upon themselves into their African origins. Afrobeat reigned supreme in Nigeria, a defiant and jubilant funk …

Acephale keep it spooky with Ecstasy's tremulous debut album of ether folk-pop. The best bits are the least twee, including the HTDW-onhelium styles of 'Wild Want' and the shrill ultra lo-fi home recording 'Haunted Love'.(BOOMKAT)

Revered, veteran guitar maverick, Michael Chapman of Cumbria, England, presents the hushed, radiant 24-minute improvisation 'Pachyderm', alongside an electronically tempered remix by Robert Antony. It's the 2nd in his more recent series of improvisations, making a move away from the structured songwriting much loved by the likes of John Peel, Thurston Moore and Jack Rose, to an absorbingly patient, simple and meditative style exploring the potential of a single ambient chord. Robert Anton…

Guitarist /composer Glenn Jones claims a lengthy and rich relationship to what his longtime friend John Fahey so famously dubbed "American Primitive Guitar". Aside from being seduced by punk in its latter-70's heyday and brandishing the electric for a large portion of his career (including 20 years as a founding member of post-rock instrumentalists Cul de Sac), it was the acoustic steel-string and the seemingly multi-directional genres born from Fahey's homespun Takoma imprint that informed much…

Repressed. After having released records on labels such as Locust, Drag City and John Fahey's Revenant, Richard Bishop's The Unrock Tapes contains eight complete tracks, six of which are highlights taken from earlier tour CD-Rs that were released on micro-editions years ago. They have never been available on vinyl. Two completely new and unreleased songs make this album even more special. Bishop's guitar-playing skills contain a variety of influences. They could arouse the absurd impression…

Consisting of one side of solo lute material by Van Wissem and one side of new pieces by the duo. Film maker Jim Jarmusch plays electric and acoustic guitar and does tape on one piece. Van Wissem plays lute and 12 string electric guitar. Limited silver on black silk screened vinyl edition.

Dispossession is the second full length from Brooklyn’s Mike Wexler, and his debut for Mexican Summer. An artist who defies easy categorization—a songwriter/guitarist without a traditionalist bone in his body, with an ear for far flung sound-worlds and sonic atmospheres both high & low, Wexler brings all of his manifold interests to bear in carving out a space for a singular vision uniquely attuned to the present moment. Dispossession is the product of over two years of intermittent recor…

British avant pop artist Alexander Tucker releases his much anticipated new album, Third Mouth, on Thrill Jockey in 2012. This album builds on the strengths revealed by his landmark debut for the label, Dorwytch released in April 2011, culminating in his finest work to date. Using songs written over a 12 month period he achieves his own inimitable blend of psych rock and ambient pop using a variety of studio crafted effects, rudimentary beats, guitar and bass, as well as synth and cello drone…

D. Charles Speer & the Helix came together through a shared love of musical interplay that moves the mind and body. Born from the obsessions and predilections of David Charles Shuford, strains of glassine cruelty, broken glasses and ruptured knees mixed with memories of Chet Atkins lullabies and ZZ Top vids to generate a songcraft steeped in tradition but themed for the burned. A practicing multi-instrumentalist in various New York City improvisational ensembles for the last 15 plus yea…

Blood n guts folk from the Anglo-American duo. The Wire says “The twining harmonies…recall the heyday of English pastoral folk song”. Plan B says "Dumb Supper is one of those rare modern folk albums that will find a home both in the longstanding 'traditional' music community and among those attracted to the form's more experimental and lo-fi possibilities". Most of the tracks are re-discovered and adapted by the Tylers, their searing harmonies and sparse, vital instrumentation breathing n…

By necessity, any conversation about the music of Matt Valentine (MV) and Erika Elder (EE) is eventually going to touch on their prolific output. The Vermont duo's constant production has simply become one of its defining facts. In addition to a steady stream of studio albums for Ecstatic Peace!, MV & EE have continued to release small-batch recordings on their own Child of Microtones label, including a Dick's Picks-style series of live recordings on the offshoot Heroine Celestial Agriculture su…