New Arrivals
Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism
How architects and designers helped define America’s ecological movement in the 1960s―featuring Ant Farm, Buckminster Fuller, John C. Lilly and many more
During the 1960s, as Western notions of endless progress and growth gave way to concerns over industrial pollution, resource depletion and ecological limits, attitudes toward the environment became social, political and ideological. Published to accompany the first expansive survey of the history of environmental thinking in architecture, Emerg…
Yo! The Early Days of Hip Hop 1982–84: Photography by Sophie Bramly
The birth of hip hop in New York: rare images of the bands, the MCs and DJs, the artists and the fans, from Afrika Bambaataa and Run-DMC to Keith Haring and the Rock Steady Crew.
This book features more than 150 rarely seen images documenting the rise of hip hop in the early 1980s, taken by French photographer Sophie Bramly. Bramly lived in New York during this period and became firmly embedded in the emergent scene. The book features many stunning, intimate images of a star-studded roll call of…
Black Music
The long-awaited reissue of the sequel to Amiri Baraka’s seminal work, Blues People, and latest selection in the AkashiClassics Renegade Reprint Series. This collection of essays by Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones includes a new introduction by the author and Q&A by Calvin Reid.
“Baraka writes with the passion and lyricism that can only come from a jazz critic who is uncompromisingly invested in the social and aesthetic dimensions of the music.” ―WBGO (Newark Public Radio)
In 2007, Akashic Books ushere…
Air de repos (Breathworks)
A double vinyl and a catalogue that constitute a proper extension of the exhibition with which the Capc in Bordeaux continues to question the forms that the museum can take (here transformed into a temporary breathing assistance machine) by developing the idea of the exhibition as an atmosphere, with the aim of creating a renewed awareness of what it means to breathe, not only on an individual level, but also on a collective one, at a time when the world is living in a climate of generalized asp…
#freakinmeout
2025 stock "Strange music by Clubsoundwitches, but there is something in there that I found very captivating. Maybe this is the new dance music?" – Vital Weekly #1237
The Interstices Of These Epidemics
2025 stock In April 2017, Barnaby Oliver and I started recording with the aim of improvising long-form pieces made up of a restricted palette of gestures and sound sources. Throughout the next two years we came together sporadically as we continued this quest, working through various ideas and changing instrumentation. Our work was gradually refined done to what you hear on this album: a combination of harmonics arising from bowed metal bowls and violin (or piano), coalescing into other-worldly …
Indistinction #2
“indistinction #2” comes from the same session as ‘indistinction #1’ and creates the same immersive pull. here, too, rsn works exclusively with his bass and a series of effect devices - no overbuds. everything is created live in the flow and reflects the intensity of the moment. often everything sounds deeply distorted, then it clears up again and metaphorically lets light into the scenery. the mixture of drone and ambient gives “indistinction #2” a broad and balanced sound palette that is best …
Indistinction #1
The game with quiet and loud is not new, but it has not lost its effect. “indistinction #1” proves this impressively, as the three songs on rsn's debut album create a highly immersive moment. they move and yet remain rigid in their depths. they build up and break down. like a current through which you are sucked - wild, yet somehow safe, always moving forward. if you allow yourself to do so, “indistinction #1” is an excursion into your inner self.
Clarity #1
The collaboration between pianist Merle Louise and rsn follows an improvisational approach, as all the songs were created spontaneously and in a flow. while the use of piano is or has become a main element in ambient music, the sound of “clarity #1” is different. instead of reproducing the typical patterns and harmonies of the genre, two styles meet here and interweave at the moment of creation. the drone and ambient soundscapes of rsn are enriched by piano melodies and patterns that are atypica…
Porosity #1
The permanence and recurrence of “porosity #1” by Rsn creates a kind of meditative permeability. the musical maelstrom creates a seemingly endless surface that develops from the two-dimensional to the three-dimensional. but this surface is porous and has loopholes. it is not a fast ride through this soundscape, but rather a walk - and the landscape hardly changes noticeably, but there is a resolution, a small aftermath. “porosity #1” is slow and deliberate, waiting and gentle.
Shift #1
"shift #1" is a collaboration album by the two drone/ambient artists rsn and N. the album comprises three songs that deal with semitone shifts, creating an aesthetic depth of sound on the one hand and building up a long arc of tension on the other. "shift #1" is a musical colossus - sound, structure and length create an immersive sound experience. quiet, rather contemplative sounds gradually develop into an alert sound construct. sometimes, however, it remains calm and inward-looking, meditative…
Interweaving #1
“interweaving #1” is the sound-aesthetic result of an improvised session by rsn and NAGEN. With a setup of stereo guitar, bass, electric kalimba, selfbuilt instruments like the "portanuum", sampled field recordings and some little synths, seven songs or sound collages were created, which combine the drone and ambient of rsn with the improvisational art of NAGEN. “interweaving #1” is a dynamic sound experience with a focus on noise and drone, but much more.
Love Hurts/Beautiful Doll
* 2025 stock. With Obi. * Love Hurts / Beautiful Doll is the fifth and most important record by He6, the leading band of the 1970s golden age of ‘group sound’ bands in Korea. It features the band's notable funk/psychedelia track ‘Beautiful Doll (Get Ready)’ which was sampled by DJ Shadow in ‘the Number Song’. It also includes ‘You Don't Know’, the hit number led by Choi Heon's heartfelt vocals, as well as another He6 original track to listen to, the lively brass rock number ‘I Can't Tell’. The d…
Key Boys Hit Parade
* 2025 stock. LP miniature with Obi. * Limited edition of 450 , SHM Paper Sleeve CD edition. 60s Korean rare garage/beat!
Enjoy Country Music
Tommaso Rolando and Domiziano Maselli met at the release party for Emilio Pozzolini's latest album, thanks to Emilio's invitation. This proved to be a pivotal moment; Tommaso's planned tour of southern France had been cancelled due to COVID-related disruptions within Orchestra Bailam. Since that concert, the duo has shared common ground—stages, rehearsal spaces, video calls—and a shared goal: developing a genuine and personal musical vocabulary.Despite their different backgrounds and generationa…
Then I Heard The Clear Voice Of The Flute
"Then I heard the clear voice of the flute" is the 10th solo album by Ido Bukelman. In the last ten years, all of Bukelman's albums have been recorded live, during his solo tours in Europe, and this album is his first studio album since 2014. The new album consists of improvised pieces for bowed banjo and acoustic guitar, but includes one vocal piece with lyrics, as well as one old folk song "The Flute" - a debut expression of Bukelman's many years of exploring into folk music from the Middle Ea…
Waltz For Tiger Joe
*2025 stock. 180g heavy vinyl 2LP set with Obi Strip* First time vinyl reissue of the privately pressed Aussie Jazz Rock LP.
The genealogy of two musicians, keyboardist Oleg Ditrich and bassist Michael Vidale, started in 1973 with the band Aragorn and continued to Bedtime Story - Snakes Alive - Original Steps - Stepps- Stepps2, for about 5 years. In that short period of time, the group's name was changed six times, and musically it changed from progressive rock to jazz rock. Surprisingly, all of…
Novoa / Kamaguchi / Cleaver Trio - Vol. 2
Novoa/Kamaguchi/Cleaver Trio Delivers Electrifying Second Volume, A Bold, Experimental Fusion of Density and Dialogue
Olympia
Emerging Drummer Samir Boehringer Sazzerac Unites Musicians from NY and Switzerland in First Album with 577 Records
In Space
Edith Frost breaks a very long silence with her first album since 2005! In Space revitalizes the timeless luminescence of her voice and songcraft with twelve new songs that take measure of isolation beyond the horizon of memory. Freezing time, then cracking it into crystalline shards, Edith discovers space everywhere she travels, within her and without her. A way-out country soul expression charting a heartening renewal of commitment and form.