New Arrivals
Sound On Sound: Solo 1968-1973
2010 release. Sound On Sound is a two CD set of previously unreleased solo recordings by Poughkeepsie, New York multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, dating from 1968 to 1973. The extraordinary tracks document the very early years of McPhee's tenor playing (he was initially a trumpet player, though he was an absolute natural saxophonist) and his omnivorous interest in sound-making devices of all types (from drone organ to Nagoya harp, by way of soprano sax and hand percussion). They present a little…
Mayday
2010 release. Recorded May 1, 1966 at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival. Personnel: Peter Brötzmann - alto/baritone saxophone; Peter Kowald - contrabass; Pierre Courbois - drums.
Music For 18 Musicians: Tokyo Opera City, Tokyo, Japan, May 21st
A stunning version of Steve Reich's masterpiece of musical minimalism Music For 18 Musicians (1974-1976), performed live at Tokyo Opera House in 2008 by Ensemble Modern and Synergy Vocals, featuring the composer as guest performer. LP housed in a deluxe die cut jacket with printed insert. In the 1960s, with Terry Riley and Philip Glass, Reich gave pulse back to experimental music. He discovered the tape-based techniques of looping and phasing, using recordings of fragments of speech, and then mo…
Jomon
Japanese saxophone transgressor Akira Sakata meets with his long-time collaborator and Fender Rhodes virtuoso Giovanni Di Domenico, Portuguese guitarist Manuel Mota, and drummer Mathieu Calleja for a session recorded at Les Ateliers Claus in Brussels.
Named after the Jomon period of the Japanese prehistory - when Japan was inhabited by a hunter-gatherer culture rich in tools, clay pottery, and jewelry made from bone and stone - the record features three tracks: Jomon (縄文), Kaen (火焔), and D…
The Second Wave of English Free Improvisation, 1973-79
The much anticipated follow-up to his Beyond Jazz, Trevor Barre’s Convergences, Divergences & Affinities continues the story of early English free improvisation, tracing the path of the music from 1973 to 1979. It follows the progress of the early pioneers and the formation of the ‘second generation’ of improvisers, examining how they continued to develop the sound through such outlets as the London Musicians Collective, Company and Musics magazine. Particular attention is given to the regional …
Allegory & Self
Beginning in 1982, the conceptual audiovisual troupe labeled Psychic TV set out on a multimedia journey filled with subversion, liberation and rebellion. While the members? previous works took root in the counterculture zeitgeist of late '70s UK punk and conceptual art, it was no longer a question of how to rebel against authority, but rather how to carefully subvert it through collective infiltration. Parallel to Psychic TV, its members formed the anti-cult faction Thee Temple of Psychic…
Pagan Day
Shortly before Christmas 1984, the core songwriters, Genesis P-Orridge and Alex Fergusson, of underground arts collective Psychic TV quietly released a limited edition record containing sketches and ideas for songs. Some songs would become later fully-realized arrangements, some abandoned and others were just covered in praise of their creator. The record, in recognition of its seasonal release, was simply titled A Pagan Day and would capture the intimate songwriting sessions that were pre…
Approximately Infinite Universe
There's a fury at the core of Yoko Ono's 1973 rock opus Approximately Infinite Universe that was not apparent on previously recorded efforts. Ono has always been a master of turning pain and sadness into art, but here, there's a clenched-fist intensity that sets it apart in her deep, unparalleled catalogue. Ono is angry. She proved that one can carry a boundless love for humanity and still be furious – furious at male/female relationships, at war, at your partner. Meanwhile, on a sonic leve…
Traced
Hugely impressive second album from Jasmine Guffond landing again via the collectable Sonic Pieces imprint and sounding something like a much more disturbed Holly Herndon or this years mind-altering new album from Felicia Atkinson. It’s a compellingly immersive study of digital surveillance technologies and the way they, along with myriad other machines, impinge upon and frame our waking life.
In Traced, Guffond takes the textural and spatially sensitive ambient aesthetics of her previous L…
Reconstructing Debussy
Double LP version. Includes download code. Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was one of the most popular and forward-thinking composers associated with impressionist music. His innovative and at this time new way to compose music with non-traditional scales and chromaticism inspired countless artists from the likes of Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Miles Davis, and Herbie Hancock. Remarkable attributes of his music include the usage of parallel chords, bitonality, and the many compositions using whole…
The Great Ecstasy of the Basic Corrupt
Available for the first time since being issued privately as a limited vinyl, United Dirter present the CD issue of this ultra-rare 2014 two track LP, The Great Ecstasy Of The Basic Corrupt. The additional track "Circles Of Confusion" comes from the equally rare Silver Bromide LP (2013). Indulge yourself in these three immersive, ocean deep and intensely powerful tracks of sinister whimsy for the wretched. Yet another classic from the timeless and ever evolving Nurse With Wound.
UNO
Recording between 2015 and 2016 in Venice during the 56th Biennale of International Art and in Pietrasanta at Molize Studio.Mastered by Riccardo Mazza.
Daimon
Obscure deep drone audio-visual project run by Paolo Monti (The Star Pillow), Nicola Quiriconi (Vipcancro, Lisca Records), Simon Balestrazzi (T.A.C., Dream Weapon Ritual, Candor Chasma, AZOTH, etc).First album will be released soon on Metzger Therapie.
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Seattle Symphony
Kye is proud to present Seattle Symphony, the new LP by Poughkeepsie's Joe McPhee. 'Seattle has become my home away from home, my second city, since first being invited to join trombonist Stuart Dempster for duets in 1984. When the opportunity for a solo concert arose, I learned of the passing of Bill Dixon and Fred Anderson and decided to make the focus of the performance a celebration of the lives, and music, of these two legendary heroes, who both passed away in June of 2010, within 8 …
I Forgot to Breathe
Lean Left, the quartet of jazz drummer Paal Nilssen-Love and saxophonist Ken Vandermark with The Ex members Terrie Hessels and Andy Moor, present I Forgot To Breathe. Personnel: Paal Nilssen-Love - drums; Terrie Hessels - guitar; Andy Moor - guitar; Ken Vandermark - reeds. A quartet bringing together two guitarists from the punk group The Ex with two major figures of the current free jazz scene. An overflowing energy in constant evolution
Early Traditional Instruments In Asia
From the metal chimes of the gamelan, to the Burmese harp, passing through the Chinese Hu Ch'in, a traditional and ancient chordophone-bowed lute, Early Traditional Instruments In Asia is a sheer historical document that represents some of the most ancient instruments known to mankind. 45rpm audiophile vinyl; Limited edition of 300.
Two Orb Reel
Brand new full-length by modular synth experimenter Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (Kranky/DDS/Type/Holy Mountain), with this one revolving around the concept of a soundtrack for African science-fiction. It's an alien trek of a record, soundtracking emotions of wonder, fear and transcendence. "Lowe has made some of the most transcendent music of recent times ('cerebral music in the best sense of the word')" (Music & Literature).
Gentle Heart
Mark Templeton returns with the third instalment in his Heart trilogy. Following on the heels of Scotch Heart (2011) and Jealous Heart (2013), Gentle Heart is a fitting closure to this story, an album filled with bending, yearning phrases - sounds that feel like they are actually speaking to you from another time, as if they’re being piped into the room where you’re listening today. There is a continued use of elements that hearken to tape machines and older technology combined with acoustic ins…
Mayan Canals
Rich La Bonte is a musician, writer and editor from upstate New York born in 1946. At age 11 he figured out how to record a piano backwards with his first tape deck and discovered Monk, Mingus and Art Blakey. In 1965 Rich moved to Ithaca, bought an electric guitar and started singing in garage rock band the huns. After the band dissolved, he moved to NYC and played bass and sang in the original cast production of the musical Godspell. In the late 70s La Bonte moved to Hollywood with Shari Famous…
Peace And Love - Wadadasow
Deep, brooding, spiritual, hypnotically psychedelic, 1974 classic Peace & Love. Mixed that night straight after recording the session, by Lloyd Chalmers and George Raymond to deliver a unique & spontaneous continuation of mood, that blurs the lines beautifully between Reggae & Psychedelia.
Delivering four extended expeditions for Ras Michael's second album, under the moniker Dadawah, with Willie Lindo on rather brilliantly spacey blues guitar.