New Arrivals
Mulatu of Ethiopia
Cool dubbed out percussive afro tribalism with a free jazz spirit like Roland Kirk meeting Fela Kuti. Include vibraphone, saxophone, drum and you get da spiritual fonkjazz! Very cool authentic reissue to save you a few hundred bucks over the stoopid rare original.
Hamidbar Medaber
A dynamic and powerful band out of Canada, Zebrina brings Jewish music into the 21st century with their brilliant second CD. Featuring Ben Goldberg on clarinet, “Hamidbar Medaber” is one of the most exciting and successful blending of modern jazz with the Jewish tradition. Referencing Masada and late Miles, the music contains mysterious moods, fiery solos, and lyrical melodies that will keep you coming back for more. One of the most exciting young bands working in Radical Jewish Culture, Zebrina…
Valentine's Day
An exciting new world of instrumental rock featuring three generations of Downtown superstars—Marc Ribot (Ceramic Dog, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello), Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Melvins, Fantômas) and Tyshawn Sorey (Steve Coleman, Anthony Braxton, Vijay Iyer). Written in 2010, these 12 instrumental miniatures combine atonal lyricism with rock intensity—Schoenberg meets Beefheart’s Magic Band. Originally released as duos in 2011 on the now legendary Enigmata CD (one of the most vexing CDs in Zorn’s cat…
The testament of Solomon
For their fourth release, Zorn’s most intimate and spiritual 21st century ensemble returns with a melodic and open book of tunes reminiscent of the Book of Angels. Drawing inspiration from the Biblical Song of Solomon and originally intended as a companion piece to Zorn’s vocal masterpiece Shir Hashirim, the music is regal, sensual and romantic—a magical blend of classical, jazz and folk music. There has never been a group like the Gnostic Trio, and The Testament of Solomon is a unique CD in the…
Newtables
Second in a series of three extended reissues from SND - 12-tracks fully remastered from DAT tapes by Rashad Becker at D&M Mark Fell and Mat Steel’s second EP as SND was released in 1999, a year after their debut ‘Tplay’. It continued to explore their distinct, highly individual take on electronic minimalism, House and UK Garage stripped to its bare bones. This extended reissue features the original 6 tracks of ’newtables’, plus 6 previously unheard recordings from the same sessions - all fully …
Travelog
Third and final instalment in a series of three extended reissues from SND. 12-tracks fully remastered from DAT tapes by Rashad Becker at D&M ‘Travelog’ was the third EP released by Mat Steel and Mark Fell as SND, arriving in 1999 just before the release of their influential debut album ‘Makesnd Cassette’ on the Mille Plateaux label. Of the three EP reissues in the series, ‘Travelog’ contains the most developed and satisfying work from the pair, edging their reduced production palette into more …
Extreme Events
Airless, ecstatic modular music from former member of Godspeed You Black Emperor. Five years after founding Le Révélateur, Montreal-bred musician Roger Tellier-Craig returns to Root Strata with Extreme Events, a collection of dense sonic studies that betray a futuristic and timeless beauty. Alongside collaborator Sabrina Ratté, who creates the project’s videos and live visuals, Le Révélateur operates at the ideological intersection of audio and visual, analog and digital, nostalgic and anticipat…
Knuckle Under
“Violist Jessica Pavone’s Knuckle Under is the result of an exercise in mono focus, the result of a medically enforced hiatus from playing her primary instrument. She returned to the viola after a 21 month lay-off determined to play only the sounds she most wanted to hear. That turned out to be long tones, often played with such force that one imagines a puff of rosin rising from her strings as she bowed them. “But Not Here” gets through just three rustic sounding notes before a delay unit spray…
The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked Extra
"The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked Extra" was released for Boris’ 2014 North American tour. It is the fourth and final installment of the "Thing Which Solomon Overlooked" series and includes a slipcase intended to house all four LPs in the Chronicle; volume one being released by Kult of Nihilow in 2004, two and three by Conspiracy in 2006. All of the packaging was letterpress printed, diecut and hand-assembled at Studio on Fire in Minneapolis. 400 copies were pressed on transparent yellow vinyl…
Black meditations
The duo of Witchbeam & Mr. Matthews featuring Lala Ryan from Excepter, and Rachel & Grant Evans. New on Experimedia "Telecult Powers, the candle burning duo of Witchbeam & Mr. Matthews, known for their ritualistic live shows and previous releases on Baked Tapes, Draft, Pizza Night and more, bestow upon us their new album "Black Meditations", a six part sonic meditation on the connections between man, myth & magic. Black Meditations taps into the world of folk magic, reaching out to the spirit wo…
Moin EP
An EP from Moin, the duo of Tom Halstead and Joe Andrews aka Raime. This 12" follows Moin's debut offering "Elsie," which appeared as part of a 2012 split 7" release with Pete Swanson on Blackest Ever Black's Confessions sub-label. Three new tracks recorded with drums, guitar and bass, arranged with effects and sequencer. Cut by Matt Colton at Alchemy and housed in a full picture sleeve.
This is always where you've lived
Blackest Ever Black's last release of 2013 comes from Secret Boyfriend, the solo project of North Carolina's Ryan Martin, who is also one-half of Boyzone and founder of the Hot Releases label -- a catholic endeavor that has seen him release records from the cream of the contemporary N.C. underground as well as reissuing classic sides by the likes of Maurizio Bianchi, Ghedalia Tazartes, and Ashrae Fax. To date, Secret Boyfriend's presence has been felt largely in the shape of live performance…
The '81 Demos
"Now that things are different, a moment on your own brings back memories..." Blackest Ever Black is pleased to present the first vinyl edition of the legendary demos recorded in 1981 by Weekend - the trio of Alison Statton, Spike Williams and Simon Booth. Alison Statton began her recording career with Philip and Stuart Moxham in Young Marble Giants, one of the most unique and important bands to come out of the UK post-punk/independent scene. YMGs dissolved in 1981, at which point Statton began…
Killing Sound
Oblique sound-system murderers from the trio of Amos Childs, Seb Gainsborough (Vessel) and Sam Kidel -- members of Bristol's noted Young Echo collective. Killing Sound make their full recorded debut on this self-titled 2x12", with four tracks cut obnoxiously loud across four sides by Matt Colton at Alchemy.
Dead unique
Blackest Ever Black presents to you Dead Unique, an album by Officer! recorded in 1995 but - outrageously, inexplicably - never before released into the public domain. This then is not a reissue or a revival; it’s a new record that just happens to have been maturing in the cask for, oh, a little shy of 20 years. It also happens to be a lost classic of English art-rock, and the crowning achievement in the career of its mercurial creator, Mick Hobbs. Londoner Hobbs’ roots are in the fecund RIO sce…
Second launch
Mind-shattering double LP of dysphoric space-rock minimalism from two luminaries of the Swedish punk underground. Second Launch follows Bremen’s self-titled debut of 2013 and comprises 11 controlled improvisations, reinforced with overdubs, that take clear inspiration from the dark side of kraut and progressive rock, early electronic and drone music, whilst also owing something to the fathomlessly bleak interior landscapes conjured by Nico/Cale on The Marble Index and Desertshore. The complex di…
Will to be well
Will to be well is the new studio album by Dalhous, their second for Blackest Ever Black. This double-LP, due to be released on June 30th, reflects writer-producer Marc Dall’s continued interest in the life and arcana of R.D. Laing, but also alludes to more universal and enduring mysteries: the relationships between body and mind, illness and wellness, the physical and the metaphysical. The fifteen tracks assembled here also showcase the maturation of a uniquely gifted and expressive composer: D…
Dark pool
Dark Pool is the new studio album from Black Rain, the project’s first in 18 years. Produced in New York City by Stuart Argabright, Black Rain’s founder and figurehead, Dark Pool is a work of hard-edged sonic fiction rooted in cyberpunk's quintessential neo-noircityscape/dataspace but projecting into a farther future of biotechnological advancement and alienation. Partly inspired by the writings of Philip K. Dick protégé K.W. Jeter (particularly 1996’s Edge Of Human, which picked up where Ridley…
Spire - Live In Bergen I.XI.MMXIII
Recorded on 1st November 2013 as part of Bergen Kirkeautunnale, Norway. Featuring BJNilsen and John Beaumont's 'Black Death', a new project using voice (tenor) and electronics; Charles Matthews's repertoire includes performances of organ pieces by Arvo Prt, Giacinto Scelsi and Johann Sebastian Bach; Marcus Davidson's 'Ananta' is released for the first time, and Spire regulars The Eternal Chord and The Spire Ensemble also perform. Spire is an organ-based live project curated by Touch's Mike Hardi…
Babylon
Turkish free-improv group KonstruKt was formed in 2008 by guitarist Umut Çağlar, and since their inception, they’ve gained notice through their collaborations with such old-guard stalwarts as Evan Parker, Marshall Allen and Peter Brotzmann. The latter introduced them to the legendary Joe McPhee at the Krakow Jazz Autumn festival, and after striking up a friendship, they invited him to join them in Istanbul for a concert in March of 2014. Babylon was recorded the day after he arrived, w…