New Arrivals
This Is It
Psychedelic music all began with the tiniest possible bang: a minuscule pressing of a self-produced LP by Zen Buddhist scholar Alan Watts. In one cosmic flash of inspiration and group improvisation, the next two decades of musical innovation was pre-supposed: psychedelic rock, spiritual jazz, and even new age. As this micro pressing barely made it out of the ashram, it was his writings that actually spread his ideas, usually through osmosis: he was profoundly influential on the beat poets and th…
infrantumi
Much needed vinyl reissue of a legendary Italian album from the 90s, finally remastered and housed in truly deluxe edition. Starfuckers' "Infrantumi" was recorded in the summer of 1997 in Massa, in the cramped attic of the Bocci house, all the equipment we had was: a sampler, a small mixer, an analog synth, a digital multi-effect, an electric guitar, a cheap transistor amp, a low wattage monitor, a vintage drum kit and a turntable. For recording we decided to use a mini-disc four-track reco…
Moving Along
Matsuli Music continues its reissue program of rare indigenous afro-jazz sounds from South Africa with the release of Sowetan group Batsumi's self-titled debut from 1974. The reissue has been lovingly re-mastered from the original tapes and features material compiled on the recent Next Stop Soweto series from Strut. The album arrived amidst a period of intense political, intellectual and artistic ferment stimulated in large part by the teachings of Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement…
Classroom projects - Incredible music made by Children in school
LP version. Incredible music made by children in schools" says is it all really. Jonny Trunk has collected the best moments of that most niche of niche collectors' genres, the school album, spanning music by small primary school choirs singing folk songs to full-blown avant-garde experiments written and performed by children still at secondary or grammar school. As with practically all Trunk releases, it's a nostalgic gas for anyone over a certain age - we reckon anyone younger than 25 may be ba…
Happiness is Overrated
"Originally from the land of throwing sausages, eggs, beans AND tomatoes on one plate for BREAKFAST, though residing in the land of the freaks, Dan Melchior travelled many roads, between wreckless R&R bands or duo's with Wild Billy Childish, to solo collages on Chocolate Monk or Kye records, to the beautiful collaborative works he created with Letha Diane Rodman Melchior, Dan's partner who sadly passed away in November 2014, and who this record is dedicated to. Knowing this makes it uneasy to wr…
Avantgardegasse
"It has often been said, and we gladly repeat it again, here at the UE office tower, "Folks drive faster without a drivers license", and that's not a lie, it might be because the popo's are right behind you! Boy or Girl, can those assholes make a real human nervous! Once one enters Avantgardegasse, somewhere In Germany (a country known for its brutality on the road) rules and laws concerning your ride all flush down the toilet like a recycled napkin! No popo's on Avantgardegasse! Forget about th…
There
Engrossing debut album from Iranian sound artist, Pouya Ehsaei, sublimating samples of traditional Iranian music to "reveal the rage hidden beneath its melancholia." 'There' was produced in 2010, using fractured and brutally processed instrumentation indigenous to Iran to isolate a palpable feeling of tension articulated with a timbre unique to the artist's background. In the course of its six pieces we perceive a stark and grinding sadness from his aerated arrangements, gleaning elusive emotion…
Untitled
Sam Kidel a.k.a. El Kid presents an extended drone work for the excellent Entr’acte label inspired by Henri Michaux's 'Untitled (Movements)' drawing. Located much farther out than his work with Killing Sound or the Young Echo collective, or even his numerous soundtracks for film, TV and theatre, the piece is based on two layers of synthesiser - one outputting the wavering, natural heat fluctuations of analogue circuitry, and another undergoing a slow and subtle metamorphosis. Pocked with collage…
Vanity Fair
Greetings, here we have Recital’s inaugural release, “Vanity Fair,” Sean McCann & Matthew Sullivan’s debut collaboration album. A fitting introduction to the ethos of Recital; the desire to turn a new page, to more accurately project what is significant and engaging in contemporary music.Matt and I had often talked about collaborating, as our musical understandings and interests align. Both drawn to minimalism and graceful ambience, we would trade tidbits and slivers of ideas casually over coff…
Music For Private Ensemble
“Music For Private Ensemble” is Sean McCann’s first new solo album since 2011′s “The Capital”. Demonstrating a more serious study of orchestration and timbre than his previous work; it is a big step forward. The four arrangements presented here shy away from the use of synthesizers and effects processing – instead relying on voicing and movement to actuate the album’s sentiments. Inspired by the grandiosity of John Adams, the concerned somberness of Gavin Bryars, and the guttural tape work of Fl…
The Sensational Guitars Of Dan & Dale: Batman And Robin
"This novelty album, released in 1966 during the height of the Batman & Robin craze, was initially credited to the 'The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale' and featured an album full of tracks based on the popular TV show like 'The Batman Theme Song', 'The Penguin Chase', and 'The Batcave'. The album is entirely instrumental, except for someone singing 'Batmaaaan!' in the theme song. But the interesting thing about this album, and what makes it an absolute cult gem, are the musicians who…
Bad & Beautiful
2014 reissue. Of the Ra albums I've heard, this is by far the easiest to get into, and the only one I can recommend unreservedly. Attrition had brought the Arkestra down to a sextet, leaving more room for Ra's piano (the driving "Ankh") and the three remaining horns (all saxophones). When Marshall Allen isn't on sax, he's playing gorgeous piercing flute lines (in harmony with Gilmore on "The Bad And The Beautiful"). The one percussion showcase is rousing and joyful, with Ra adding Monk-like brit…
Slot Machine Music
Although I was not yet aware of the extent to which casinos tailor their environments for maximum comfort (and, correspondingly, profit), I did know as I crossed the threshold of my first casino floor earlier this year that it would not be my last visit. Hit by a cornucopia of slot machine tones, triggering aleatorically and coalescing into shimmering masses, I was struck by the need to return and record the sounds that so entranced me. It wouldn't prove to be easy--casino security is inte…
La dama rossa uccide sette volte
For the first time ever on vinyl, Dagored bring us Bruno Nicolai’s legendary score for the Italian giallo classic La Dama Rossa Uccide 7 Volte (The Red Queen Kills Seven Times). The film was first released in 1971 and tells the story of two young women who are haunted by a family portrait depicting a Red Queen who every 100 years comes to life to kill seven times. It is a classic film of its genre and now thanks to Beyond Horror Design and Dagored, its score is being put on wax for the first tim…
Antimonument
Antimonument was recorded in 1986 and shows a large use of loop based material and a great deal of harsh metal noise sounds in all its analogic greatness! Antimonument was originally issued by ZSF produkt in 1986 in an edition of 225 copies picture discs LP. Copies of the original are now very rare and very expensive. This re-issue was remastered in 2014 by Masami Akita and contains extra material for a total of 61:55 in lenght.
Object Relations #1
Object Relations is a very promising new 7" label curated by Mark Fell focusing on collaborations between diverse artistic practices. Recorded in Milan, 2014, the label's inaugural edition establishes its remit in a unique combination of Fell's crafty Linndrum programming with the adroit, keening cello improvisation of trained cellist and composer Sandro Mussida, following their meeting and performance in Tuscany at the International Encounters in Sound event. On both sides, Fell's ellipti…
Hallucinogenic Doom Steppy Verbs
Mastered by Matt "The Alchemist" Colton and sleeved in Diagonal disco 'jak-it'** Japanese techno tearaway Kouhei Matsunaga aka NHK gets lively on a killer, 5-track, 26 minute debut for Diagonal. Viewing classic dance tropes askance, 'Hallucinogenic Doom Steppy Verbs' follows his trio of 'Dance Classics' volumes for PAN thanks to a keener, almost aggressive thrust/lust for the 'floor, chucking up buckled variants of tech-step, acid, and garage-techno in the process. Making up for lost time…
Live Knots
"Live Knots", Oren Ambarchi’s first release for PAN, presents two live realizations of ‘Knots’, the epic centrepiece of his Audience of One (Touch, 2012) release. Built on the interplay between Ambarchi’s swirling, guitar harmonics and the metronomic pulse and shifting accents of Joe Talia’s DeJohnette-esque drumming, the piece merges the organic push and pull of free improvisation with an overarching compositional framework.‘Tokyo Knots’ presents the complete recording of a duo performance of t…
Fresh Insights EP 2
DJ Sprinkles serves alternate, killer mixes of his massive 'Fresh Insights' session with Mark Fell (and Tony Benn). The future-classic B-side, 'Fresh' is given a slinkier rub-down by the Tokyo-based artist, propping *that* rousing speech by Socialist firebrand Tony Benn on a subtly reshuffled groove that surely marks up as one of the biggest deep house curveballs since, oh, at least their 'Complete Spiral' EP starring Arthur Scargill in 2012. Flipside, 'Insights' is also given the alterna…
25
The French experimental quartet GOL (with Jean-Marcel Busson, Frédéric Rebotier, Ravi Shardja, Samon Takahashi) celebrates his 25 years with this double 10inch. Very nice home-made object with unedited material coming from their achives. GOL has also collaborated with artists like Iancu Dumitrescu, Charlemagne Palestine, Ghédalia Tazratès or Brunhild Ferrari. Their music could be file under rural electroacoustic and experimental ! Unique ! Normal edition with insert limited to 189 copies.