New Arrivals
Liege & Lief
Liege & Lief is the fourth album by the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. It is the third album the group released in the UK during 1969, all of which prominently feature Sandy Denny as lead female vocalist (Denny did not appear on the group's 1968 debut album), as well as the first to feature future long-serving personnel Dave Swarbrick and Dave Mattacks on violin/mandolin and drums, respectively, as full band members (Swarbrick had previously guested on Unhalfbricking). It is also th…
Koldd
Pretty Sneaky, the anonymous project that has been quietly hiding behind a banana peel logo and self released white label 12” EPs, present their dilated and slomo sub laden atmospheres, this time for Marionette - following elusive outings for label favorites Mana and Meakusma. After being introduced to PS through a common connection back in 2016, a year before their very first self published white label release, it was only in 2021 that we reconnected to discuss an album for the label. Maintaini…
2015.5.29 Live At Shibuya O-nest
Yoshiko Sai has performed one live concert each in 2014 and 2015 since her hiatus in 1979, and this is the only recording of Yoshiko Sai's one-man live concert in 2015. The concert was in two parts and featured the best selections from her five albums from her first to her return, as well as new unreleased songs, making it a truly culminating live performance. Backed by current alternative musicians such as Jojo Hiroshige, Hajimetarl, Okano Futoshi and Kono Ryoko. The album also includes valuabl…
2014.9.26 Live At Shibuya Mt. Rainier Hall
After a hiatus in 1979, Yoshiko Sai returned to the music world in 2008 with the album Taklamakan, but did not resume live performances. She has since performed one live show each in Tokyo in 2014 and 2015, and this 2014 live sound recording was made during her appearance at the event 'The 2nd Midnight Heavy Rock Party' held at Shibuya Mount Rainier Hall. Backed on the day by active alternative musicians such as Jojo Hiroshige, Hjimetarl and Okano Futoshi, it was truly a miraculous revival and a…
Smelt
Bent Window presents Tim Olive's new release "Smelt", a buzzing conveyance of sound manipulation made from the leftovers of our mechanical world. Hum, crash and crackle combine for a unique journey into electronic disaster. Magnetic pickups, analog electronics, radio signals and consumer detritus (springs, styrofoam, metal sheets, motors, magnetic tape, wood, dental floss) to generate sound-textures which evolve, shift and mutate. Born in Canada, currently residing in Kobe, his discography inclu…
Excogitation
*300 copies limited release* "After being featured on BBC 6 Radio and the Ambient Focus show, Artificial Owl Recordings is excited to announce the 4th release and the return of One Of Them ( Niko Dalagelis ) and his new work Excogitation. Two extended ethereal and atmospheric ambient works created in the winter of 2023 aiming to provoke thought and spark imagination by exploring various sonic textures and tonalities. The use of a randomized sequence triggering a SH-01A and a Digitone are the mai…
Live At The Petersham Bowling Club
Live at the Petersham Bowling Club was recorded in January 2023 when Warm Currency supported the great Maxine Funke. This offering includes tracks from Returns, our 2022 album on Horn of Plenty, and some unreleased material. We jettisoned our regular keyboard to grapple with the bowling club's cracked piano.
Roots of Empathy
Loose Trax presents Roots of Empathy, the debut album from London-based artist Henry Cyer. Roots of Empathy is a collection of songs written between 2019 and 2022 about fear. Conceived as an act of purging, the album explores empathy and fear through the perspective of different people. Roots of Empathy manifests itself as an album of songs, a collection of photographs and a series of videos.
Eskimo
Tip! In 1979 "punk" music was all the rage. The Residents had gone though the punk stage three years earlier with the release of "Satisfaction" and were ready for anything that was not punk. They decided it was a good time to make the jump into world music, since by their own calculations it would not become popular for several more years. They scanned the map for a proper culture to exploit and, not finding one, became discouraged until seeing a large Coke sign featuring Santa Claus. Immediatel…
Not Available
Tip! This is one of the strangest and most interesting recordings in rock history, which speaks volumes coming from one of the strangest and more interesting bands in rock history. Not Available used what was referred to as "the theory of obscurity" (which called for the album to not be released until its makers literally forgot about its existence). It is said to be, questionably, the Residents' second recorded album (in 1974, only to be released in 1978 after utilizing "the theory of obscurity…
Traslasierra (expanded Landscape)
*200 copies limited edition* Sergio Merce is a saxophonist and sound artist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is known for his use of a microtonal sax that he built by radically modifying the mechanisms of an alto saxophone and synthesizers to create rich harmonics and slowly moving tonal works, layering aberrant and alluring tones in restrained configurations that allow each stratum of sound to be distinguished and appreciated, creating mesmerizing compositions of elusive and illusionistic s…
Abstand
*200 copies limited edition* "Abstand" was conceived to enhance the particularities of the combination of accordion and melodica, both wind instruments, one played with movement and the other by blowing. This dichotomy of difference and similarity resulted in intricate textures, not only thanks to the instruments’ particular timbres, but also through the natural microtonal distances in their fixed tunings, especially when it comes to old and worn out instruments like the ones used here.
These mi…
Tayutauta
Tip! *200 copies limited edition* While continuously engaged in the field of traditional Japanese music, female-school gidayu shamisen player Yumiko Tanaka has since the 1990s been carrying out multifaceted musical activities including contemporary classical music, improvisation (in 1996-97 she was a member of Otomo Yoshihide’s band Ground-Zero), experimental music, and theater performance/composition, performing and exchanging ideas with many musicians from Japan and other countries. While Tana…
The Pit
*200 copies limited edition* Born in 1943, Lance Austin Olsen is a Canadian artist and composer. He started painting in his youth and has continued his work as an artist up to the present. In the late 1990s, Olsen became fascinated by experimental music. He has released numerous CDs and digital recordings of both solo performances and collaborations with other musicians. In his creative process, composition and painting are closely related and draw inspiration from one another.
Olsen released a …
Livre d'images sans images
Tip! *25 copies limited release* Xing presents the new LP Livre d'images sans images by Mette Edvardsen & Iben Edvardsen, tenth release of XONG collection - artist records. The release is on white vinyl, in a limited numbered edition of 300 copies. The collector's edition consists of 25 copies accompanied by a unique poster, hand drawn with black marker by the two artists, mother and daughter, folded like a map, echoing the activity of the performance.
Livre d'images sans images by Mette Edvards…
Multila
*2023 repress with new artwork!!* "Multila" was the third album by Finnish producer Sasu Ripatti under the moniker Vladislav Delay. It compiles the "Huone" and "Ranta" 12"EPs Ripatti released on Basic Channel's Chain Reaction label in 1999 and 2000. The album features six hauntingly murky dub ambient tracks and the impressive 22-minute techno odyssey "Huone." More than 20 years after its original release as a full-length CD album (Chain Reaction), these iconic recordings of modern electronic mus…
Earthwave
Earthwave is Zak Riles’ (Grails/Watter) follow-up to his eponymous debut CD released on Important Records in 2008, a cinematic ascent through dark space, volatile illumination, reflection and refraction. Recorded during the pandemic—when Riles took refuge in his rural Kentucky studio, providing remote engineering work for groups like Sleep, Om, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Mono, and Joan Shelley—it’s a monumental exploration of his enduring interest in late '70s/early '80s instrumental electronic and …
Ondskans Frö
The seed of evil has been sown and all the trees have been infected. The trees infect the water, the animals, the air and the children. The fragmentation is becoming more and more apparent. Have the one you trusted the most turned its back on you? All of a sudden you are all alone. Can you drink the water? Dead fish float to the surface. The sky is slowly fading away. What do you do when the last day is here?
Ondskans Frö ('The Seed Of Evil') is an album about the last day of the earth, when the…
Death Time
Tip! *199 copies limited edition* Step into the enigmatic world of Morthond, a captivating music project that took shape during the winter of 1990 under the creative guidance of the singular talent, BJ Nilsen. Morthond isn't confined by genre labels; instead, it's a canvas where experimental soundscapes, dark atmospheres, and ambient textures converge to create an immersive auditory experience. Unlike traditional projects, Morthond thrives on pushing sonic boundaries and challenging the norm. Ro…
Sound American #30 – The Thirtieth Issue (Book)
The final issue of Sound American journal, as a tribute to the musical community.