New Arrivals
Homunculus
Debut disc from the new collaborative project between Nathan Bowles (Black Twig Pickers/Spiral Joy Band) and Lisa Cameron (Venison Whirled). A real odd one this, lots of rattling and scraping of percussive objects creating 3 tracks of abstract improvised surreal sonic explorations. The sound is matched by what I can only describe as the weirdest sleeves I have every had the joy of releasing (and we've had some weird ones), but this one is far out, the guy at my local print shop looked baffled wh…
Strings.Lines
Created between September 2008 and February 2010 in the artist's studio. Viola da gamba: Pierre-Yves Martel. Violin: Chris Bartos. 'strings.lines' came to life from an obsession for old and forgotten object-matter and the desire to produce music that exists in between the new and the old. The starting point to the composition of this work were acoustic tuning forks. In 2007 Nicolas Bernier became fascinated with this object/instrument of particularly beautiful design, and started a collec…
s3d (Ear & Eye)
s3d presents a world of fresh sounds from invented and unconventional instruments with names as curious and evocative as the sounds they produce: mothics, shimsaw, kyurukyuttsu, gloopdrum, corrugahorn, sprong, sundrum and many more. An international collaboration. Twelve experimental instrument builders/improvisors in an inspirational world-first.
Chimeric
"Which brings me to Radian with long player 'Chimeric'. The post rock button has genuinely been pushed. This record offers a lot to bearded, stand with your arms folded at gigs nodding types. They have quite a claustrophobic quality.With vibraphone and introverted samples dominating proceedings, but does not seem to move above brooding pace, which gives it a soundtrack effect. The cover is really poncey as well its a broken vase with dying flower petals strewn about the place.Its probably meant …
Charlemagne & Pippin
Single 35+ minute excursion in typical BtC drones w/ added violin. Really organic sounding, loads of textures.
3 : 1
The cracked, pinched, squeaked, and scraped sounds of the twin trumpets of Mazen Kerbaj and Birgit Ulher and the damped, scrubbed, and rasping sounds of Sharif Sehnaoui seem surprisingly familiar these days. Now that so many players have incorporated these techniques into their vocabularies, it allows one to focus on how they‘re used interactively rather than simply as sounds in and of themselves. Kerbaj and Sehnaoui have gained some visibility as core members of a group of free improvisers base…
Play robot dream
Trumpet virtuoso Marco Blaauw, known for his pioneering performances of contemporary classical music has been working with composer and sound improviser Yannis Kyriakides in numerous projects including a multi-media perfomance 'co-inc', and several projects for the ensemble musikFabrik in Cologne. 'Play Robot Dream' is a set of improvisations for trumpet(s) and computer. At times playful, at times meditative, they fuse a haunting melodic tendency with a provocative mix of drum machines an…
The state we are in
The first thing this CD reminded me of was Tape...then I checked out the press release and it turns out that Tape's Johan Berthling (also very recently sighted on that Fire! with Jim O'Rourke record) is in fact one-third of this band, the other two being Andreas Soderstrom (Ass) and Per Eklund on drums. It is, as you would expect, gently paced instrumental stuff, slightly pastoral-sounding, with intertwining guitars and a some subtle Hammond organ and trumpet bits. This is a mightily rel…
History Of The Units - The Early Years: 1977-1983
first ever legit reissue of THE UNITS. This genre-defying band, from San Francisco's barely-documented synth/punk/art underground of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, combined sarcastic humor with deadly serious cultural critique, and synthetic experimentation with the bombast of punk. Includes the most sought-after early singles and selections from their first LP, Digital Stimulation, along with unreleased demos, and more. Remastered audio. Packaged in gatefold LP style sleeves with 32-page booklet…
Anyway Your Children Will Deny It
After excellent reviews and endless touring all over the world, supporting bands like Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu and Sic Alps, the Italian weirdos Father Murphy are back with a brand new album titled “Anyway your children will deny it”. It is the latest, boldest installation of an ongoing series of albums investigating the band’s favorite themes: life, death, love, religion and even more death. For this album, the Italian trio comprised of Reverend Freddie (vocals, guitar), Chiara Lee (vocals, keyboards,…
The Gowanus Session
“The Gowanus Session”, a new trio recording by Thollem McDonas (piano), William Parker (acoustic bass), Nels Cline (electric guitar), that explores the density and subtlety of tones with reverberating layers of sounds. Thollem McDonas approaches the piano brilliantly, leading the listener to image abstract and beautiful worlds within themselves. William Parker, with his mastery of the acoustic bass, brings warmth to the recording that is complex, soaring and joyful. Nels Cline’s innovative and s…
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.
Sleppet
Composed and produced by Marc Behrens in 2007-2008 in Bergen, Oslo and Frankfurt am Main. Basic material recorded in Gloppen, Bergen, on Utvær island, at Brenndalsbreen glacier and close to Rosskleivvatnet lake, Norway. Sleppet originated from a sound art project in 2007, when six renowned artists (Natasha Barrett, Bjarne Kvinnsland, Steve Roden, Chris Watson, Jana Winderen and Marc Behrens) recorded sounds on a 10-day trip through the Norwegian Westlandet region and used the nature exper…
Lifetime Of Romance
Heartland synthesist Dylan Ettinger follows up 2010's widely lauded New Age Outlaws imaginary cyber-soundtrack with a stark, dark, and intensely different collection of misshapen new wave weirdnesses, Lifetime Of Romance. Recorded at a proper studio, and written over the course of a year, the seven songs of Romance reflect a heavy influence from the fringier strains of bummed out quasi-industrial synth-pop in the vein of Fad Gadget, certain Cabaret Voltaire, early Human League, etc, but dra…
The headlans
CD version housed in a Digipak following the immediate sell out of the LP version. Released to coincide with Ellen Fullman's new full length for Important titled "Through Glass anes." Full length collaboration between Ellen Fullman, Theresa Wong, and Barn Owl produced by The Norman Conquest. Barn Owl's extended drones and Theresa and The Norman Conquest's strings are the perfect accompaniment to Fullman's Long Stringed Instrument; a product of her own invention. This is an album of deep mater…
Gilberto Gil
2009 repress. First ever U.S. reissue of this album, with new liner notes by Peter Margasak. Released in 1971 while Gil was living in London, this is the third self-titled release from the bossa nova and tropicalia legend. Gil recorded this album while in political exile from his native Brazil and its somber, straightforward tone is a welcome change from the experimental, psychedelic assault of his 1969 long player. Featuring 8 originals and a brilliant cover Steve Winwood's 'Can't Find My Way H…
Musics In The Margin Vol.4
Fourth opus of musical art brut, faithful to our precepts, we search out self-taught musicians. That means people who make contemporary music outside the customary production and distribution channels and with the determination and creative gifts that stem from unmistakable artistic talent. Some of these musicians operate in mental or social isolation and make their music in special workshops while others can be classified with the spiritualist or visionary artists. This particular relationship …
Rip
Recorded up and down the West Coast by JESSE JACKSON, CORYDON RONNAU, and JOHN WIESE and featuring appearances by YELLOW SWANS, PETER KOLOVOS (OPEN CITY) and PAUL COSTUROS (DEATH SENTENCE: PANDA!). Studio and live recordings with concrète witcery.
Alto saxophone
Masahide Tokunaga: alto saxophone. Recorded by Taku Sugimoto at Studio Slubmusic, Tokyo, October 4, 2009. Mastered by Taku Unami. Drawing by Reiko Shioda
Noise Art
An album of unreleased music made by Jeff Keen, one of the UK's great avant garde artists. This is music found on cassettes in his studio after his death. It was made by Jeff (throughout the 1980s) using field recordings from his local amusement arcade: radio, TV, films, an Atari, a ZX Spectrum, a delay unit and a WASP synth. This is the first Jeff Keen album ever issued. Jeff Keen is one of the great undiscovered artists of our times. A missing link between the Dadaists, Cocteau, Warhol, …