New Arrivals
Desertshore
CD digipack, 12-page booklet, Includes two bonus tracks. Desertshore was co-produced by John Cale and Joe Boyd. Unlike its predecessor The Marble Index it incorporates elements from Western traditional pop."Janitor of Lunacy" was composed as a tribute to her friend Brian Jones who died the previous year. The back and front covers feature stills from the film The Inner Scar by Philippe Garrel which starred Nico, Garrel and her son Ari Boulogne. A few of the songs from the album were included on t…
The Marble Index
CD digipack, 12-page booklet, Includes two bonus tracks. Nico's second solo album, 1968's 'The Marble Index', has long been out of print. This reissue includes audio mastered from the original tapes and previously unreleased photos of Nico by Guy Webster. Nico's haunting vocals predicted the Gothic movement and co-producer and Velvet Underground's band mate John Cale's startingly modern classical production ensured 'The Marble Index's timeless appeal. The iconic music journalist Lester Bangs wro…
Poleas
*2024 stock. 170 (hand-numbered) copies limited edition* "This work deals with an area that I have travelled daily for the last years. A continuum between a train and subway terminals linked and a third train station, located fifteen blocks away with which they connect through a semi-empty landscape of workshops, barracks and the remains of an old station, in the middle of the city. The main train station functions primarily as a commuter rail station with several hallways leading to other train…
Étang Donné
*2024 stock. 170 (hand-numbered) copies limited edition* Capture the unshaken density of water. The day. Birdsongs. The night. The clamour of the clouds. Summer. The breath of the trees. In spring. That of the fish, in the fall. Budding trees. Zenith sun. The blooming of flowers on a full moon night. The ripples blown by the wind across the scarlet surface of the pond. The furtive swing of the willow branches under a diurnal rain. Leaping insects in warm light. The hoarse cry of the rooster. In …
Dry
*2024 stock. 160 (hand-numbered) copies limited edition* "Two bodies of water, contained in man-made channels and held back by barriers. Such is our desire and need to control nature, that we have used this resource to aid our industrious endeavours, often at the expense of the local area and environment. Steel, wood and concrete stand tall, holding back huge volumes of water to be channelled to produce electricity, cooling processes or simply be stored for future use. Often these processes cont…
Teatro Amadeo Roldan Recital
For the third release in our Mr Bongo Cuban Classics series, we reissue the iconic 1974 debut album by the mighty Grupo Irakere. Led by Chucho Valdés, son of Cuban pianist and bandleader Bebo Valdés, the band would go on to become of the most influential and successful groups emanating from Cuba in this period. Their debut ‘Teatro Amadeo Roldan Recital’ is an in-demand and incredible Afro-Cuban, jazz-funk masterpiece originally landing on Cuba’s state-owned imprint, Areito. One of the jewels of …
Grupo Irakere
For the second instalment in our Cuban Classics series, we proudly present this sought-after slice of sublime Afro-Cuban jazz from 1976. It comes courtesy of one of Cuba’s most influential acts, Grupo Irakere. Founded in 1973 by Chucho Valdés (son of the Cuban pianist and bandleader Bebo Valdés) the group was home to many of Cuba’s finest musicians over the years. With an electrifying style and sound, they mixed traditional Cuban music with jazz, funk, and rock. This self-titled album includes t…
O Esquadrão Da Morte
Mr Bongo is proud to present an official reissue of Zé Rodrix E A Agência De Mágicos ‘O Esquadrão Da Morte’. Written, arranged and composed by the genius of Zé Rodrix and performed by his band 'Agência de Mágicos’, this Brazilian library funk beauty is the soundtrack to Carlos Imperial's 1975 film of the same title. Echoing European soundtrack maestros such as Roy Budd and Ennio Morricone, but with a Brazilian swagger, Zé Rodrix's score is a sublime gem that needs rediscovery. Rich in 70's sound…
Anima POP – Music From Estonian Animations 1965-1986
Prima traduzione integrale dell’originale tedesco, questo libro dal valore documentario e storico altissimo è uno dei testi più decisivi per comprendere le avanguardie artistiche del Secondo Novecento e in particolare la cosiddetta “Nuova musica”.Raccoglie i fondamentali testi scritti da Stockhausen sui suoi brani per strumenti tradizionali e per suoni elettronici tra il 1952 e il 1962. Sono gli articoli relativi al periodo di sua massima esplorazione musicale, legata in particolare a uno dei mo…
Nio & Pigeon
"New Hard, led by Toshiyuki Miyama, is one of Japan's leading big bands. Since the release of their seminal work Perspective in 1969, they've opened up new horizons in big band jazz with their cutting-edge sound. This work, Niou to Hato, is one such representative work of the new hard movement, which reached its zenith in 1972. Bandleader Kozaburo Yamaki was then in charge of the entire composition and arrangement, and deeply pursued one of his long-standing themes: Japan, the nation in and of i…
That's Understanding
Having listened to this disk 20 or so times over the past week, I have been struck time and again by the gently naif quality of Dan Beckman-Moon's songwriting. I keep thinking of Neil Young's earliest solo tunes, particularly 'Sugar Mountain,' as a sort of spiritual touchstone, although truthfully the music doesn't really sound anything like that. Still, the emotional core of the material has a similar sweetness and simplicity, while managing to steer clear of mawkishness with a nimble delicacy …
Gestures of Perception
Big Tip! Khôra is the medium Matthew Ramolo uses to delve deeply into initiatory world-building by way of sound, image, and lyrical prose. Figuring wholly realized art-myths which distill and rouse the numinous while provoking the visceral and cathartic, Khôra intricately collages studio documents of ritualized instrumental performances, introducing overdubs by transient, heteronymic personae which dismantle stable points of reference in the music and open uncommon planes of consciousness. "Gest…
Ashwin & Above
Ashwin & Above is a collection of pieces composed and recorded between 2018 – 2022. For the most part it is a celebration of making music alone. Some of the pieces ended up celebrating friendship and took on new life in the context of group performances. I wouldn’t point to any unifying quality except to say I very much hope you enjoy the space, it is a lung full of turbulence and joy.’ - Adam Coney
‘I’ve been excited to get my hands on this LP and it hasn’t disappointed. I’ve played several tra…
Soft Octaves
** 180g opaque blue/pink vinyl record. Edition of 200. ** That liminal moment, when the phosphorescence behind the window shade first disrupts your eyelids, is a difficult one to pinpoint. Sometimes the earliest thought in your mind is a long-tail partial memory of those last few moments of a thousand-yard dream, sometimes it’s an irrepressible descending sigh as you anticipate what’s to follow, whether with apprehension or ardor. Centuries have passed in your unconscious absence; every frequenc…
Heavy Rocks
Formed in 1992, Boris boldly explores their own vision of heavy music, where words like 'explosive' and 'thunderous' barely do justice. Using overpowering soundscapes embellished with copious amounts of lighting and billowing smoke, Boris has shared with audiences across the planet an experience for all five senses in their concerts, earning legions of zealous fans along the way. This is the highly-requested, unbelievably-anticipated official vinyl and streaming release of Boris's 2002 album and…
Ceremony Buddha Meet Rock
Ceremony ~ Buddha Meet Rock was originally released in 1971 by Japanese label Teichiku. This trippy album is a true meeting of East and West, combining Buddist chanting with psychedelic/progressive rock. Apparently even this re-issue is fast becoming scarce, get a copy while you can, you will certainly never hear anything like it.
In Fiesta
"Hideo Shiraki, a key figure in Japanese jazz, left his mark with unique music and a strong presence. One of his standout works is Matsuri no Gensou, recorded in 1961. This incredible piece takes a Japanese melody and transforms it into a cool jazz style, making use of a special arrangement on the koto. The collection also features exciting tracks like 'Just One Or Eight' and the dynamic 'Cherokee, which proffers an amazing solo. Contributions from experts like Hidehiko Matsumoto and Yuzuru Sera…
Dah Nah
"Okinawa-born tenor sax star Ryusei Tomoyose famously studied under Sadao Watanabe in Tokyo words the final part of the 190s. Once his studies were complete, he went home and decided to focus on teaching and nurturing young musicians, which he did for the rest of his life while also becoming a pioneer in the Okinawa jazz scene. This album which was originally released in 1979 is packed with his playing passion and is a legendary record into which he pours his whole heart and soul. It was recorde…
Parazoan Mapping #2 (Magazine + Digital Download)
Kindling #1: Parazoan Mapping #2 by Taku Unami and Eric La Casa is the first edition of an ongoing series of artist-run digital+paper sound-art releases, only available as a newspaper plus digital file. Through their individual practices, Taku Unami and Eric La Casa have contributed greatly to what we think about how we listen and practice sound and music, and often indirectly challenging where these two tightly linked categories might collide or overlap. Parazoan Mapping #2 continues their publ…
Spirit Of Ecstasy / The Way To Nepal
2024 Stock. 180 gram vinyl + extensive booklet. Reissue of this rare 1980 LP which features two avant-garde masterworks from Swedish composer/artist, Ake Hodell. "Spirit of Ecstasy (Racing Car Opera)," composed in 1977, is a bizarre experiment in "non-music," and an amazingly weird opera that tells the story of the first half of the 20th Century through that powerful symbol, the automobile. It features a compelling story despite consisting mostly of the repetitive chanting of car names, and it d…