New Arrivals
Recyclopaedia Britannica (Selected Works 1992-2002)
“The work of People Like Us rests gingerly between two dangerous positions: on the one hand, the risk of fashioning merely stylish pastiche out of borrowed finery for the sake of self-conscious kitschiness; on the other hand, the risk of making simplistic, heavy handedly "topical" audio-jokes at the expense of one's raw material to a smug effect. If the lounge creeps uncritically snack on their sonic ingredients and coast on being "groovy", the cads of pseudo-critique take cheap shots at straw m…
Lost Prayers
Originally released in a tiny pressing of just 200 CD-Rs by Digitalis Industries, this early James Blackshaw release is brought back in print by the Tompkins Square label, who on the back of last year's 'Cloud Of Unknowing' are intent upon reintroducing the guitarist' back-catalogue to his growing legion of fans (of whom there is almost certainly more than 200). 'Lost Prayers And Motionless Dances' is a single thirty-five minute composition, opening with droning harmonium passages and only…
Vellus
Incorporating wildly coloured orchestrations and unusual performance actions, set against intense monochromes of noises and whispers, Vellus is a collection of chamber works that obsessively deals with the privacy of ritual, memory and the self. Diverse takes on instrumental concrète by this young Australian composer. 'Lucas Stumbles' (2007) for percussion (Eugene Ughettti, Greg Sully, Mathias Schack-Arnott, Anna Webb) and electronics (James Rushford). 'Respite in the Woodland' (2007) with Aviva…
Beyond The Purple Star Zone / Oblique Parallax
Two related classic Saturn LP reissues on a single CD, both recorded at the Detroit Jazz Centre - in 1980 and 1981 respectively. They share an excellent sound quality and great playing - there's a classic version of Rocket No.9 and plenty of otherworldly Moog and electronic keyboards - up there with Ra's best on record. Rocket excepted, all the pieces are original to these LPs and don't appear elsewhere (though the first track of Purple is heard again at the end, with another name (exactl…
Open Percussion
this CD is an amazing achievement. Kjos Sørensen is a brilliantly gifted performer, but clearly an imaginative and creative one too. A very special issue, continuing BIS’s tradition of opening our minds and our ears.
Under Milk Wood
The new LSD March album Under Milk Wood is their first full length since 2007's Constellation Of Tragedy for Important Records. With grace (in the rock sense), style, humor & the perfect touch of heavy riffage this tremendously unique and original recording is a classic of the new Japanese underground. Recorded at Black Snowflake Studios in Japan, Under Milk Wood is a fascinating ghostly rock album full of clean untreated restraint and a grounded calm compliments of Takahashi Ikuro's drumming. I…
Hum Crackle & Pop
"The 2nd Digital Primitives release (Cooper-Moore, Assif Tsahar, Chad Taylor) digs in deep to fuse a new sound from blues, folk, jazz & funk, with accents from the music's African antecedents."
Camber Sands Sunday
Recorded live at Camber Sands Holiday Park, England on May 14, 2006. Featuring RICHARD YOUNGS (bass guitar) & ALEX NEILSON (drums)"At this 2006 concert, we have Jandek with a sympathetic rhythm section, and like a rhythm section that would back, say, a Lightnin’ Hopkins or a John Lee Hooker, they adapt themselves to the artist’s flow and provide a kind of pillowy environment or canvas on which he can do his thing. To give you an analogy from the free jazz world, some of the recent Jandek p…
Smudge Another Yesterday
Pimmon is the alias for electronic composer Paul Gough. In the last decade, Pimmon has forged an international reputation for creating dense, challenging and engaging electronic music. Smudge Another Yesterday is Pimmon’s first full length release in five years. This release picks up and goes further from the point where the acclaimed Secret Sleeping Birds left off. Smudge Another Yesterday is an exploration of the song behind the noise; the secret whispers hidden in the static. Within these vas…
Sublunar
Sublunar is the first full-length release from Kane Ikin who is also known as one half of the duo Solo Andata. Sublunar follows Kane’s solo debut Contrail (7”, 12k2022) picking up where that EP left off and pushing the boundaries outward in every direction into denser, deeper, wetter and more decayed terrain. The word “sublunar” can be read to contain many conceptual layers important to the album. It is music about moonlight, darkness, the faintest hint of light and shadow.... Moons locke…
Temporary Perspectives
Limited to 300 copies. Field recordings, sine waves, computer data, lloopp, electric guitar, tremolo pedal, condenser microphone, contact microphone, mixing board. Recorded and mixed: 2006-2009. Mastered by Valerio Tricoli. Photography by Fotini Lazaridou-Hatzigoga. Package design by Pafsanias Ioannidis.' label info
Near And Faraway
Joint release by Italian ambient musician FABIO ORSI & SEAWORTHY, a 3 piece collective from Sydney. Each artist contributes a solo track which in turn bookend a collaborative composition that forms the album's centerpiece.
Five American Portraits
“Ridges and creases / high on the middle forehead / The right temple near the eyebrow / A small ridge under the right eye / The right side of the tip of the nose / The opening of the right nostril / The middle lower lip / The inner ear of the right ear.” Can you tell who it is yet? It’s George W. Bush, of course, or at least part of his head, as seen (or rather heard) in the second of five “American portraits” in words and music by legendary experimental rock outfit the Red Krayola, in collabora…
Thought for Food
Every once in a while a record like this one appears out of the ether without clear reference points. Web details on The Books are sketchy, but I have ascertained that they're a duo consisting of guitarist Nick Zammuto, who lives in North Carolina and has released some solo material under his surname, and cellist Paul de Jong, who lives in New York and has composed for dance, theater and film. After that, the pool of Books information dries up fast. The music is similarl…
12k Promo Sampler 002
The second 12k sampler CD features 12 songs chronologically looking forward to early 2012 and back to the recent releases and clocks in at over 60 minutes. It offers a sneak-peak at upcoming music plus a re-cap of the past year. The CD is being sold for only $4/$6 (USA/INT'L respectively) and that includes shipping. It's an inexpensive way to familiarize yourself with the latest on 12k. 12k welcomes two new artists to the roster: The Boats (UK) bring their electro-acoustics into song-stru…
Just To Feel Anything
Just to Feel Anything, the new album by Emeralds, surpasses all expectations, just as its predecessor, Does It Look Like I'm Here, did in 2010. This expertly recorded new album sees the band deliver plenty of their distinctive aesthetic for old fans to enjoy while offering a new range of fresh, exciting ideas for newcomers.
'Before Your Eyes' begins the record with a steady build-up, which bleeds into humid layers of synthesizer pads and warm guitar. The track sets the tone perfectly for 'Adreno…
Plekzationz
CD version. This recording contains seven remixes by UK-based artist and electronic musician Mark Fell of the first three 12" singles released on the record label Sensate Focus in 2012. These were called 10, 5 and 3.3.... The first of these, 10, was itself a reworking of materials from an earlier project by Fell and Terre Thaemlitz, released on Comatonse Recordings in 2012. The seven remixes were written and recorded in June 2012 at the Upper Lounge, Chatham Street (UK) using a MacBook Pro ru…
Litany Of Echoes
It was once easy to think of James Blackshaw as an inheritor of the Takoma tradition, a school of searching acoustic guitar playing pioneered by John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Leo Kottke, and others in the 1960s. But listening to the English guitarist's new album, it's clear it's not that simple. While echoes of those three and some of their contemporaries are still present in Blackshaw's music, these days you can hear just as much Terry Riley and Philip Glass in his work. His synthesis of acoustic e…
s\\t
"This project started with a commission from [performance group] eighth blackbird and Ben Broening to create a multi-channel composition for the University of Richmond's Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival. I wrote out a set of instructions for each musician and recorded them separately from the rest of the group. The first sessions were with Molly Michael, Nick and Lisa. I started to work with their sounds, layering processing, adding and eliminating elements until I found something t…