New Arrivals
Third Mouth
British avant pop artist Alexander Tucker releases his much anticipated new album, Third Mouth, on Thrill Jockey in 2012. This album builds on the strengths revealed by his landmark debut for the label, Dorwytch released in April 2011, culminating in his finest work to date. Using songs written over a 12 month period he achieves his own inimitable blend of psych rock and ambient pop using a variety of studio crafted effects, rudimentary beats, guitar and bass, as well as synth and cello drone…
Dums Will Survive
RFTO Bandwagon have just released their first full-length LP entitled Dums Will Survive on Dull Knife Records this month. Coming latently on the heels of their excellent New Jack 7" on the same imprint from last spring, RFTO Bandwagon continue with their mark of gritty folk-pop, and often sway into the weirdo territory of the genre with songs the grip the edges of so many sounds, and yet stay held together with beautifully frayed strands of brilliant songwriting. The title track on the a-side (t…
Brand
“Brand” is the new trio of Gary Smith (guitar), Silvia Kastel (voice and synth), Ninni Morgia (guitar). On this recording Gary Smith produces the playing for which he’s considered a master of avant guitar: multiple layering, complex grainy textures, dense counterpoint, influences of birdsong. Fused with the guitar of Ninni Morgia, which floats between minimal movements of primordial electronics, pre-war slide blues and Hendrix-esque feedback. Over, and blending with them, Silvia Kastel’s mo…
Summer Wanderer
“Summer Wanderer” is a sideslip in the discography of the Scottish avant folk musician Richard Youngs because it’s the only acappella release in his eminent and extensive list of recordings.“Summer Wanderer” was released for the first time in 2004 in an edition of twenty copies. For close friends only. A year later, Youngs re-released these recordings on his own No Fans imprint. So this vinyl release on the Ghent based Gipsy Sphinx label can actually be called a re-re-release. But that doesn’t m…
Discovery
Clear and Discovery were originally released as two companion CDRs by James Ferraro (of the whole Skaters / Lamborghini Crystal / 90120 / Splash / Nirvana axis) and comprise the August 1974 (Taj-Mahal Travellers) of his discography. Both albums contain absolutely beautiful whirling hall-of-knives-style synth drone that makes one want to reference Klaus Schulze or Bobby Beausoleil. Clear bursts with flam beats and a cluster of melodies muffled like a calliope wrapped in a soggy tarp, while Discov…
Oppenheimer Analysis
The first release from Minimal Wave, Oppenheimer Analysis, is back by popular demand. The EP is a second pressing limited edition (500 copies) on 180 gram vinyl of selected tracks from the Oppenheimer Analysis cassette entitled “New Mexico” released in 1982, as well as two others that were previously unreleased. Andy Oppenheimer (nuclear weapons consultant) and Martin Lloyd (previously involved in the Survival Label, also known for his project “Analysis”) formed Oppenheimer Analysis in the early…
The World Is A House On Fire
Veterans of the sprawling Chicago music scene, Zelienople have carved out a unique sound over their album releases. The World is a House on Fire is the latest chapter in the band's story, and frames their music more succinctly than ever before. Mike Weis (percussion), Matt Christensen (vocals, guitar) and Brian Harding (bass, saxophone) managed to perfect brooding, melancholy doom-pop on their last full-length Give it Up (TYPE 054CD), and this latest LP finds the band in a more evocative mood.…
Anthem
Presented here for the first time on vinyl, Joe Colley's 'Anthem' LP gathers material from limited edition releases issued between 2001-2006. Side A presents Anthem a long form tonal study with contrasting climax. Side B edits together 4 shorter explorations culled from the Triptych triple business card cdr release and inserts a track from the 2001 compilation CD Coalescence. Mastered for vinyl by Giuseppe Ielasi. Pressed in a limited edition of 200 copies housed in a deluxe tip-on jacket…
Akashic Record (Events: 1986-1990)
Outer Space is a rapidly evolving sound entity headed by John Elliott and joined by a constantly rotating cast of midwestern U.S. electronic figures. Akashic Record sees the project grow in many different directions from the self-titled Arbor album created throughout 2008 and 2009 while retaining similar aesthetics of synthesizer experimentation and it's esoteric relations. Recorded over the course of a year with close engineering assistance and compositional contributions from Andrew Ver…
(Fake) The Facts
After the runaway success of the Akita/Gustafsson/O'Rourke LP One Bird Two Bird (DEMEGO 016LP), Swedish sax legend Mats Gustafsson returns to Editions Mego with another storming collaboration. Now a resident of Vienna, he teamed up with experimental artists dieb13 and Martin Siewert for a live and studio session. (Fake) The Facts is the result. A dense fog of sound comes from all directions, but whereas the general impetus is a full-on attack, the trio finds enough restraint to create a deepe…
Electronics Without Tears
LP eition: the excellent Public Information label really comes into its own with this revelatory collection of early concréte tape music by F.C. Judd - a much overlooked British electronic music pioneer and contemporary of Daphne Oram. Born in Woodford, East London in 1914, Frederick Charles Judd served in the RAF coastal command during WWII working with highly secret radar equipment. After being demobbed he applied this knowledge and skilled engineering background to his musical interests…
Ufo
The first 2 Guru Guru releases, both from 1971. Musically, these 2 represent (along with their 3rd, Kanguru) the reigning moments of this acid-destroyed-jamming Krautrock outfit, and are essential artifacts of pure thunder.
Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh
This is an identical 180-gram vinyl reissue of the 1973 Vertigo release, wich is possibly Magma's great opus. Whether one prefers one of their other studio or live releases to it, there is no doubt that Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh is the most original, definitive Magma album around (although this reviewer personally prefers the Mekanik Kommandoh version!).Featuring a cast of thousands including a choir, brass section, flute and tuned percussion, Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh marries the stripped…
Heaven's Youth (Reptilians Demos)
Starfucker’s highly regarded full-length LP Reptilians was originally titled “Heaven’s Youth”. Like most artists, song ideas, the album concept and even the artwork continued to evolve. The band changed the title, continued to edit and develop the songs until the final version (Reptilians) was released in 2011. The original versions of the songs, that were until now only heard by the band, are being released for the first time in a very limited edition of white vinyl. Heaven’s Youth (Re…
Basement Recordings 1978-1982
A while ago one of the members of the youngest antwerp based free jazz band SHELDON SIEGEL (all 16 year olds..) visited me, I had just met them and he wanted to come by to get some records. We spoke about free jazz for a while, then he said the magical words "My dad use to play free jazz in the 70's as well".. I was like "ow, and if that was in antwerp, was it with WIM?", he said "Yes yes, he's on one of their tapes with Fred Van Hove, Ivo Van Der Borght etc". My heartbeat went a little faster, …
Sensacao Do Principio
Sensacao Do Principio is the third release proper from Tropa Macaca and their first with an American label. Their previous efforts on Ruby Red and Qbico were magnificent (though hard to find) efforts of blotted, aural sci-fi codifications somewhere between Anar Band and Blues Control. The two-track full-length continues their foray into post-psychedelic instrumental morphine, where Moolah's LP and Pink Floyd's "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with …
The african twintowers suite
LP version, The African Twintowers Suite" represents a lost soundtrack; compiling the most interesting recordings, newly edited, layered, collaged, shortened and mixed between 2009 and 2010. Seminal German director Christoph Schlingensief (R.I.P. 2010) shoots his latest feature film "The African Twintowers" in Lüderitz-Namibia with Irm Hermann, Klaus Beyer, Robert Stadlober, Patti Smith... Autumn 2006: Schlingensief approaches Berlin musician-composer Hanno Leichtmann (Groupshow, Static, …
Spirits of the Sun
The Slaves may well have gone and made one of the standout debuts of the year - a layered mass of ethereal vocals most reminiscent of Grouper with a brutal, doom-stricken underbelly that at turns sounds like My Bloody Valentine, Sunn O))) and Slowdive, massively recommended if you're into any of the above and available in a limited edition run of 500, with initial copies on pure white vinyl* The Portland, Oregon duo of Barbara Kinzle and Birch Cooper, aka The Slaves, operate in the void …
Revelationes
"Revelationes is the 5th studio album from Tape, their first since 2008's Luminarium and the follow-up to their collaboration LP with Bill Wells (Fugue, Immune 008, 2010). The LP is co-released with Häpna in an edition of 1,000 copies worldwide and pressed on high-quality virgin vinyl at RTI with free MP3 download coupon. Tape have been playing their unique blend of pop, experimentalism, and minimalism since 2000; having released four full-length albums and collaborative recordings with Te…