New Arrivals
Four Spells
The debut LP from eccentric ambient-psych pair Sherri West and Taylor Clark was recorded at a self-described "mountain fortress" in California, despite the couple generally residing in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And like their disparate locations, the duo dabbles in varying forms of weirdness, from the amateurish, Deerhoof-esque racket of opener "I Am A Pony" to the dreamier blips and bleeps of songs like "Particles," which evoke a Hawaiian vacation as narrated by Rod Serling. LAVA CHILDREN strikes a uniq…
Six imaginary scenes from the life of Muhammad Ali
This newest candle burning outing from the long going UK Psych project headed by Mr. Phil Todd continues the quest for the farthest possible cosmic frequencies through FX, guitar, synth, and saz on a bed of field recordings. Some tracks in here almost enter the pantheon of new age music ! Edition of 240 copies.
Always Wrong
f you're wondering whether record labels still matter, consider the case of Wolf Eyes. Their last two widely distributed albums, 2004's Burned Mind and 2006's Human Animal, came out on Sub Pop and got lots of media attention, even landing the band on the cover of The Wire. Three years later, Wolf Eyes return with Always Wrong, a follow-up of sorts after reams of smaller-run releases. It came out on Hospital in May, and I can't find a single review beyond a few blog entries and tweets. Even The W…
Forever Falling Toward The Sky
Forever Falling Toward the Sky is the first ever release by Bay Area based Vestals, AKA Lisa McGee. A taught set of haunting electric ballads, these five tracks weave together a number of layered guitars and vocals into a smokey tapestry of blown electricity. Rather than the ephemeral drones McGee has been involved with recently, most notably the group-mind ensemble Portraits & the duo Higuma, Vestals retains the clarity of song, with these hypnotic gyms having been slowly carved out over…
Knives
Incredible mix of electronic experiments, musique concrète, synth pieces, installation works and some of the finest sound-collage we've heard in a long time - pressed up on gorgeous transparent vinyl limited to an individually numbered pressing of just 180 copies for the world* The very first release on Senufo Editions arrives in an absolutely beautiful hand-assembled package, complete with home-made sleeve art and an embossed insert. This LP features a selection of new works by Portland…
Espoo
Vladislav Delay's EP Espoo features two conceptual, rhythm-intense tracks. Whereas the groove of the opener "Olari" derives from a sound loop which is manipulated by filters and echoes, the reverse is done with "Kolari." Starting from an impulsive, staccato beat, a sound carpet is woven by means of modifiers which gradually shape a permanent melody, close to Terry Riley's minimalistic concepts. Both tracks share a linear increase in density, and because of their break with the common four…
Holiday For Soul Dance
One of the key but underappreciated episodes in avant-garde jazz, Sun Ra's Atlantis sounds far out even today. Rather than a full-on assault on the senses, Atlantis is an exercise in build-up, with long, almost forlorn passages of Ra on electric keyboards setting a vast echo chamber for his Arkestra to spring forth within. Captured during one of the most adventurous periods for Sun Ra, *Atlantis* features the orchestral perfection of the best big bands of the century-and then proceeds towards mu…
Flammende Herzen
Michael Rother (half of the influential Krautrock group Neu! and a founding member of Kraftwerk and Harmonia) recorded this first solo album with producer Conny Plank in 1976. Rother's signature guitar sound, the mechanical percussion (Jaki Liebezeit of Can) and the simple yet outerworldly anthemic melodies make Flammende Herzen an outstanding and visionary record."Finally reissued on vinyl, this is the 1976 solo debut from from Neu!/Harmonia guitarist Michael Rother. This would be the fir…
Trop de pas assez
Salmigondis is a collective (born in 2006) of musicians and graphist designers. Free rock, psychedelic, noise Ludovic Renaud (keyboard, turntables, electronics), Jean-Pierre Barja (bass, keyboard, electronics), Jérome Declercq (saxophones, keyboard, basse), Mathieu Renaud (guitar, electronics), Jean-Noël Cognard (drums,objects, voice). Recorded in 2007. Limited to 150 copies.
Off Duty
As if the music of lysergic, lo-fi drugdub one man band Sun Araw wasn't flipped out and damaged enough, on this latest joint, those already tweaked and twisted sounds get even more far out, the vibe WAY druggier and spacier, a 26 minute blast of crumbling wah-guitar laced psychdub comedown in the form of three skull caving soul freeing innerspace excursions."Last Chants" begins with a dense swirling cloud of white noise and damaged effects, shot through with barely there melodies, and loose detu…
Marking Time
Originally released on CD in 2008 on the Preservation label, & now available on vinyl for the 1st time. Using a selection of bowed string instruments & lavishing these sustained howls w/ the most delicate of fingerpicked guitar & gentle piano, he takes us through a most harrowing journey. These short songs are deft & deeply touching musings on loss & on the importance of time. Comparisons could be made to plenty of Richard's modern-classical or avant-folk contemporaries, but few imbue their musi…
Blue eyes are my reward
Jawdropping new collection of crop circles etched in sonic candy-floss by New Zealand’s beardsmith / noise-farmer Campbell Kneale. Rated by the horses mouth as the best thing he ever made, EVER, ‘Blue Eyes Are My Reward’ shimmers like an icicle-clad forest resplendent in its own crystalline magnificence. Snakecharming groove, dublike boomph, and bleary eyed strum blast the path out of a decidedly greying world of so-so metalized myspace drone, into a miniaturized drone-prairie of superpow…
Valley Tangents
Don't lose control — dig Blues Control! Following a circular path in order to access the unknown, Russ and Lea nab chaos in a plastic cup and crush rock into diamonds, or something that looks like them anyway. Valley ho! This new record is like drugs for your ears.
Spirits
After a few years spent living in Sweden and touring with Cecil Taylor's Jazz Unit, Ayler moved to NYC to begin imposing his revolutionary style of jazz on the world through a number of groundbreaking records. Spirits, recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York City on 24 February 1964, was his first effort. Recorded a few months prior to his landmark album for ESP-Disk, Spiritual Unity (but only released in Europe on Denmark's Debut Records), for the occasion Ayler recruited Norman Howard …
Puech Gourdon Bremaud
Mindblowing totally acoustic drone record, musicians are Jacques Puech (cabrette), Yann Gourdon (hurdy-gurdy) and Basile Bremaud (violin). This totally acoustic set is a variation around two bourrées in triple time, both themes are taken out of the tradionnal Mont d'Auvergne repertoire. Hand made, spray painted cover
Une Petite Musique de Nuit
** Edition limited to 300 copies, with full colour space cover and innersleeve.** PLANAM proudly presents the first LP by the artist and sound sculptor Michel Vogel. Born in 1941 in Strasbourg, France, Michel Vogel artistic activities start in 1960 when, as a painter under the materic influences of Antoni Tapies and Jean Dubuffet, his mineral and sound experimentations built a universe influenced by free jazz, extra-European music and Olivier Messiaen. His researches develop with new sculptures …
A Fire
23 minute piece of solo guitar wrangling by the avant blues elder statesman. Limited, hand-numbered edition of 350 housed in screen-printed wrap-around with insert in poly jacket** "Connors is an avant-garde legend, with more than 100 releases of his singular alien take on the blues. RIYL: Jack Rose, Michael Chapman, Jim O’Rourke, John Fahey. A Fire is a single-sided LP by master guitarist Loren Connors. Recorded live in Philadelphia in 2010, this 23 minute piece follows in the style and visual …
In Psychic Defense
“In psychic defense” is the last work of Clay Ruby as Burial Hex. With this record Burial Hex faces a new chapter in his music where noise, post-punk, a wise use of the rythm, experimental wave and dark melodies match together in a perfect balance. The record is elaborated as a protection spell in psychic self-defense, and the lyrics are from an old hymn to the Archangel Michael, always been seen as a leader and protector of the faithful. This one sided also confirms the collaboration betw…
The Uses of Infinity
The lonesome banjo picker returns! Recorded in one take in a de-sanctified century old cathedral in Northern Minnesota, The Uses of Infinity is a 6 part cosmic hobo’s dream suite for 23 string banjo. Cast in the drifting nebula of the whole tone scale, Paul Metzger plucks, picks, bows and spins his way through a 40 minute odyssey making for his most ambitious and adventurous musical trip to date
Swing Low Sweet Spiritual
Following a few years spent living and playing in Scandinavia, an unknown saxophone player by the name of Albert Ayler returned home to the USA to begin imposing his revolutionary style of jazz on the world. Having recorded his debut album, My Name Is Albert Ayler for the Danish label, Debut Records, this session (which took place in New York City on 24 February 1964) was his first American effort, resulting in the eventual release of two albums: Spirits (released in 1964 on Debut) and Swi…