New Arrivals
East Of Underground
How much soul on this LP? A lot. How much funk on this LP? A lot. How much does an OG cost? A lot…Save yourself a thousand bucks by copping this essential reissue of a classic from the fringes of the soul and funk canon, an album originally given away by the U.S. Army during the height of the Vietnam War. High Grade covers of James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Funkadelic, Undiputed Truth, and the Fuzz. “I Love You For All Seasons” went on to become the backbone of 21 Savage’s “A Lot”. This is the sin…
Dissolvè / Scillions
Big Tip! Arbitrary presents Dissolvè / Scillions by Antoine Hubineau. Derived from the same series of compositions, Dissolvè and Scillions are drawn from modular synthesizer recordings which have been reworked, treated and composed in the computer. Dissolvè is a mosaic which is in constant motion. The inner details are guided by an outer structure which act as a kind of rhythmic subtraction. It is destabilised to the point where it fractures, from the macro to the micro level; abstracting a fili…
The Devil, Probably
*300 copies limited edition* The Devil, Probably is Patrick Shiroishi (saxophones), from Los Angeles, Àlex Reviriego (double bass) and Vasco Trilla (percussion), both from Barcelona, altogether in a long-distance correspondence. The three of them are key figures of the youngest generation of their respective free improvisation and avant-garde scenes, where they develop an unstoppable and vibrant activity, deeply involved in reconfiguring its boundaries with unforeseen references and sounds. An e…
Substrata
*2023 stock . 300 copies limited edition* "Substrata" collects three extremely crystalline and immersive drone pieces based on prepared tapes, metals, strings, wires and electronics... imagine a forest glade in moon-light with cold white sonic radiations, half-frozen calyx are clanging at each other, liquid metallic forms appear and disappear, hypnotic slow motion pulses suck you into.. "something"... these are incredible strong, deep and complex drone compositions, drones with the spirit of the…
Tashi Dorji
Tip! Early acoustic guitar improv performances from the Bhutanese expat, who’d come to Asheville, NC to study in 2000 and discovered worlds of anarcho-punk and avant garde such as he’d only dreamed. Having made recordings of his newly-located improvisational conception, he intuited a desire to go deeper in his explorations of the recorded sound of the guitar, melding and colliding traditional music with his feeling for the range of textures within.
Lepidoptera Remixes
We’ve recruited 4 contemporary Greek producers to remix their favorite tracks from ‘Lepidoptera’. First up is “Cyaniris” remixed by Anatolian Weapons who delivers an enchanted late-night journey through the New Wave forest. Next is “Araschnia Levana” remixed by Pasiphae who speeds up the pace with machine driven melodic electro pulses. On the B-side we have June remixing “Cyaniris” twirling the track into a complex deep sea dive with lush drum kicks and pads. Closing out the EP is a remix of “Τα…
Sun Masks Remixes
*2023 stock* The San Francisco label Dark Entries has released over 100 records in the past few years, most of them reissues of synth music from the '80s. Given the sheer volume of their output, it would be easy to miss the special attention they gave to one artist: Lena Platonos, a Greek avant-garde musician influential in her time but under-appreciated today (in other words, exactly the kind of figure that makes reissues worthwhile). Since 2015, Dark Entries reissued two of Platonos's albums, …
Freestyle Band
*2023 stock* The Freestyle Band never courted fame, but they never welcomed obscurity either. The choices they made to follow their individual muses and to independently document their efforts were conscious ones. The musicians made this music in the faith - perhaps certainty is a better word - that its power and integrity would ultimately triumph over shortsighted commercial pressures and America’s racist attitudes toward black artists. Perhaps this reissue does a little bit to validate that fa…
Totemo Aimasho (15th Anniversary Edition)
"Some time in the early 00s John Chantler, who was living in Japan at the time, sent me a couple of curious sound pieces he’d just recorded with musicians he’d met from Tokyo - Tenniscoats. This was my first introduction to Saya and Ueno, who have subsequently gone on to become longtime friends and a wellspring of sonic inspiration. In 2005, through their connections to Guy Blackman in Melbourne, Tenniscoats under took a tour of Australia and as part of that visit I arranged a concert for them i…
Melee
Tip! *2023 stock* Shanked is Wyatt Howland (Skin Graft) and Roman Levya (Plague Mother, Slit Throats). "Melee" is an unrelenting outburst of Midwest harsh noise, the distillation of the frustrations, ugliness, and anger forged in the post-industrial wreckage of Cleveland, Ohio. Six tracks of nonstop high-energy combustion. Monolithic heaviness abounds, but "Melee" has plenty of dynamism to keep the energy rush in a constant state of escalation. The union of two heavyweights of contemporary harsh…
Late Night Show
All my music is night music, says the composer Petr Bakla. Three pieces featured on the new album Late Night Show span almost a decade and provide varied examples of his style, 'so specific and personal, so allergic to fashion or aesthetic trend', as Eric Wubbels puts it in the insightful liner note. The central instrument is the piano, operated by Bakla´s longtime collaborator Miroslav Beinhauer, accompanied by the musicians of Brno Contemporary Orchestra.
Echoic Memory
200 copies. September 2022 I had a short tour in the UK with a couple of performances. One of them was at the beautiful venue Cube Cinema in Bristol during the Echoic Memory evening with Scanner. For this performance, I composed a new work, in which I further explore the perception of time. It follows much in the line of my previous works Embraced Imperfections and Less Is More. Not only because of the live performance, but also in atmosphere and mood. Yet, at the same time is even more dreamy, …
Boundary
After several years of intense performance activity, the Italian sound artist and vocalist Sara Persico releases her debut EP “Boundary”, to be followed by a full album. Born and raised in Naples, Berlin-based sound artist / vocalist Sara Persico cut her teeth experimenting on the fringes of Naples’ fiery underground experimental/noise scene, developing a technique that would integrate her voice with analogue electronics, field recordings, and samples.Persico holds a BA from the Conservatory of …
Isolario
Limited edition of 59 copies (!) An additional 100 copies are signed and numbered by Dario Calderone and only available through him at art events and concerts. Isolario is a cycle of 9 duets, which can be performed, or just imagined, by any instrument or voice. The inspiration of these compositions comes from a compilation of texts by medieval writers from the “Arabic” world, describing a special and wonder-full island. Beyond the fact that these islands really exist, what interests me is the de…
Trip Wire
This is as kitch as it gets. Firstime on 7” vinyl for these two beauties. A side “Throng” with its perfect funky opening, lifts it up into a lovely little groove, Clavs, flutes, horns… Thank you ! on the flip “Trip Wire”, a slow intro building up to a wicked head knodder.
Funky Spider
This the first time, these two super fine grooves, taken from the original Atomic Butterfly album, are on 7" vinyl.
Outside/Inside
Charlie Nothing was the fractured-psyche pseudonym of author, father, horsekeeper, organic farmer, beekeeper, philosopher and clown Charles Martin Simon, inventor of the dingulator (guitar sculptures made out of the metal from American cars). Charlie's only visible offering to the record buying public was really anything but. Due to its rarity, The Psychedelic Saxophone of Charlie Nothing, issued by Takoma Records in 1967, has been a source of consternation for in-the-know types for years. Outsi…
Muscut x Mida: Volia x Rahu
*300 copies limited edition* Ukrainian Muscut & Estonian Mida team up for “Воля x Rahu” compilation (Ukr: Volition x Est: Peace) with 100% of label profits donated to “Livyj Bereh” – a volunteer group based in Kyiv & working in regions affected by the war. The A–side is curated by Muscut & holds only Ukrainian artists: Kavkazka Sound, Radiant Futur, Mlin Patz, Iury Lech & Ihor Okuniev. The B–side by Mida has Portuguese trio Niagara stuck in between Estonians Maarja Nuut, Rotrum, Luurel Varas & T…
Detached Engagement
The collection of songs that make up ‘Detached Engagement’ are our most personal and emotionally revealing tracks. Recorded over a period of emotional turbulence where we lost loved ones and uncertainty seemed the only constant. Our studio became a hide away, a place of refuge where we could direct our energies into a creative act of understanding and hope. We reconfigured our subversive pop to fit our present situation, the distortion was dialled back, the gauzy tape worn ambiguity was replaced…