Folk /
Open Strings: Early Virtuoso Recordings From The Middle East
'Superbly stylish in conception and packaging, it shows that small independent labels can still be an inspirational force' (Daily Telegraph); 'definitive and essential' (Brainwashed); 'stunning in its historical interest and musicianship' (Boston Phoenix); 'phenomenal and mesmerizing' (Dusted); 'one of the major phonographic salvage operations of our time' (The Wire). 'The archival finds are, without exception, phenomenal – and mesmerizing. The oud, the santour and spike fiddle dominate. There a…
Open Strings: Early Virtuoso Recordings From The Middle East, An
Spectacoular 4LP box on Honest Jon's called Open Strings which features 2 LP's of 78's from the MIddle East circa the 20's (we're talking Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkey) and 2 LP's of more contemporary folks who are clearly inspired by such greatness. Thems being the likes of Richard Bishop (no longer calling him a sir as I don't believe the queen has chinned him with her sword), MV/EE, Ricky Tomlinson, Steffen Basho Junghans, Six Organs of Admitance, Micah Blue Smaldone, Michael Flower, Charlie Parr…
Siete Cantos De Espana
The three cultures at the center of the songs on this recording make a joint appearance in the finale of the Siete cantos de España. They are formed into a unified whole in Ensalada, as the soprano and the baritone begin singing together texts of Castilian, Sephardic and Arabic origin. The poems’ subjects are love, agony and death; and in order to bring them to life Halffter requires a large orchestra of about 100 musicians and two soloists with the baritone singing Spanish texts and the soprano…
Luminarium
Taking cues from pop, experimentalism, & minimalism TAPE has become recognized internationally for it's "luminarium of sound where past & present merge at the speed of light." Released on CD by Hapna in 2008, Immune is proud to release "Luminarium" on vinyl for the first time.
And I Await The Resurrection Of The Pedal Steel Guitar
This is the fifth solo offering by the Houston, Texas-based pedal steel sorceress, Susan Alcorn. 'The Heart Sutra' opens and is inspired by the 'Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Wisdom' which was delivered by Buddha 2,500 years ago. It is a beautiful, yet solemn work that reverberates from within, as Susan strums those magical strings. The title track, 'And I Await the Resurrection of the Pedal Steel Guitar' was inspired by Messiaen's 'Et Expecto Ressurectionum Mortuorum'. It is a near 16-minu…
V.I.P. / Authority Stealing
Fela Anikulapo Kuti's 1978 Berlin Jazz Festival appearance, here as V.I.P. (Vagabonds in Power), is one of Africa 70's finest performances. V.I.P. castigates Nigerian authority more sizably than any other Fela album for one reason: he verbally beat down the country's power structure in front of a European crowd. It was a big move for the singer (who'd lost his mother, his home, and any sense of physical security in his homeland thanks to Nigeria's thoroughly corrupt military elite). Fela certain…
Sophisticated Beggar
This is where it all began, with a slim volume of poems and psychedelic ditties set to music, backed by a simple Revox machine, and transformed by instrumental turns that display British cult hero Roy Harper's deft guitar work. "Girlie," "Big Fat Aeroplane," and "Legend," while steeped in traditional folk idioms, show hints of Harper's unique songwriting style. His caustic wit and passion are already evident in the wordplay of this 1966 debut. "Forever" is as pretty a love song as you are likely…
Myrrh
this mindblowing album was originally released in 1972, when Robin Williamson was at the time still a member of the Incredible String Band, the ensemble he started with Mike Heron in 1966. These ten songs are all Williamson originals, with the exception of"Strings In The Earth And Air" by Ivan Pawle.Where his band's recordings were then getting increasingly electric, this is a return to a more acoustic bearing. This set includes some gorgeous, if overlooked, songs from the vast catalogue William…
The Black Dirt Sessions
Displays fully honed examples of all of Rose's various styles & themes - traditional, raga & ragtime. "Cross The North Fork" - a 13-minute revisiting of a track 1st laid down on the great "Kensington Blues" is a winding, thoroughly engrossing journey. It is a welcome neighbor to the album's other spendid joys ranging from the jaunty & infectious "Fishtown Flower" to the pensive & appropriate melancholy punch of "Box Of Pine." Limited to 2000 copies on 180g RTI vinyl.
Split
CURRENT AMNESIA's side features David Sutton (CAR COMMERCIALS) in a journey of hypnodrones galore. He bends & twists aural shards into glasslike works of art. The NORTH SEA side is shimmering like a sunken stone, drowning in a torrent of silver piss. Voices & chimes are blown apart in an epic battle to be king of nothing at all. Underwritten w/ a wall of synth dreams & other churns. LIMITED TO 80, pro-dubbed w/ the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
Metempsychotic Melodies
Raw picked acoustic guitar drones dominate here as the instrumental fades into the waking dream soliloquy of observation. A long waltzy drone w/ enough spooky atmosphere for one to think that it could have been recorded at Sunshine studios as there is a heavy Vogel vibe to the whole thing.
Sarod recital / live in Peshawar
Three beautiful extended ragas recorded last year in Peshawar: "Asad Qizilbash is the only Sarod player in Pakistan since 1992, keeping this traditional instrument and its music alive. Asad was born in 1963 to the famous violinist K.H. Qizilbash, who was responsible for closing the gap between western and eastern classical music. After attending a concert performed by his future Master, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Asad decided to devote himself to the instrument. Today, Asad Qizilbash has the honour t…
I Don't Wanna
LP version. After nearly a year on the assembly line, we're tickled to unveil the 5th in Locust Music's ongoing archival releases of Henry's work. He's made his mark with his brand of ecstatic North Indian Raga inspired minimalism on C Tune (Locust3), the full bodied experimentalism anthologized on Raga Electric (Locust6) and the avante-hillbilly bumpkin fiddle joyride on last year's Back Porch Hillbilly Blues Volume 1 & 2 (Locust 16 & 14). Now it's time to make a place in your heart for I Don't…
Back porch hillbilly blues vol. 2
LP version. 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,…
Back porch hillbilly blues vol. 1
LP version. 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.
Stalemate / Fear Not For Man
Originally released in 1977, this is a studio recording so it has a more polished sound than on the recent Best Best. BTW, none of these tracks are on Best Best... Stalemate and Fear not for Man are the stand outs, but the rest of album is good too. It's another intoxicating organic mixture of African harmonies, bebop, and James Brown. Listen to the samples!
Shakara / London Scene
These percolating, horn-heavy grooves simmer while Fela lays down his trademark rants, often in deliberately skewered pidgin English....totally unstoppable in its mix of music and message. His voice, interlocking guitars and percussionist Tony Allen turn grooves that often have 1 or 2 chords into complex statements - minimalism made for dancers.
Roforofo Fight/Fela Singles
This is essentially a CD reissue of Fela Kuti's 1972 album Roforofo Fight, with the addition of two previously unreleased tracks from the same era. It's true that Kuti's early-'70s records tend to blur together with their similar groupings of four lengthy Afro-funk jazz cuts. In their defense, it must be said that while few artists can pull off similar approaches time after time and continue to make it sound fresh, Kuti is one of them. Each of the four songs on Roforofo Fight clocks in at 12 to …
Original Suffer Head/I.T.T.
Nearly every one of MCA's twofer reissues of the best albums in Fela Kuti's discography is worthwhile, and this pairing of 1980's I.T.T. and 1982's ORIGINAL SUFFER HEAD is no exception. By the early '80s Fela had already honed his intensely polyrhythmic Afrobeat sound to perfection, and these two recordings feature all of the extended vamps, roiling rhythms, searing horns, call-and-response vocals, and political invective he was known for. ORIGINAL SUFFERHEAD marks the debut of Fela's Egypt 80 b…
Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending
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…