New Arrivals
Sounding Fragilities An Anthology (Book)
Sounding Fragilities enacts a polyphony of writing on contemporary composition, music and performing arts in relation to music theatre. Co-edited by a theatre and performance scholar and by a composer and artistic researcher, this anthology considers its field of investigation through the lens of positionalities. Irene Lehmann and Pia Palme invite readers into intimate encounters with an artist’s practice, feminist and queer perspectives, and personal explorations into aspects of musicology, the…
Cage & Consequences (Book)
Cage & Consequences brings together analytical essays by scholars of different disciplines, artists“ contributions, and conversations with composers and associates of John Cage. They represent the diversity of Cage“s spheres of influence on the following generations of artists, as well as his significance for musicology, art theory, and media studies. The contributions are presented in their original language, English or German. The editors Julia H. Schröder and Volker Straebel are on the facult…
El Incendio Que Se Llevó La Ciudad
*In process of stocking* "During his concert in Lorient in December 2012, Thomas Bonvallet (L'Ocelle Mare / Cheval de Frise / Powerdove...) praised this new Radikal Satan. And it turns out that indeed, this "El incendio que se llevo la ciudad" diffuses in the air like a perfume of return to the sources. Like a whirlwind that sucked me in all at once... a bit like that brilliant split 10" released in 2003 (already)... After the depressive but deep experience of "Au Froid Qui Fait Rougir" (Les pot…
Transporting Salt
*In process of stocking* "A magic dwells in each beginning.” The members of the freeform psych-inducing collective known as Spiritczualic Enhancement Center are of the same mind as Hermann Hesse on that one. Within the mythologically-rich universe assembled by the band - Transporting Salt - Enhanced Edition is a serious deluxe revisit of their most original encounters. In the five years since it was hermetically spawned, the group has stretched into an esoteric wave of musicians counting well ov…
Some Skin: A Modern Harmonic Bongo & Percussion Party
Bongo, the mere uttering of the word conjures up dreams and images of beatniks and poets, goatees and cha-cha heels. Bongo Rock! Bongo Fury! Bongo Madness! Beat on a pair of bongos and watch the party begin! Some Skin is designed to get that party started. We’ve put together a group of rare selections, the majority of which are previously unreleased, including cuts from Sun Ra, "Mr. Bongo" Jack Costanzo, exotica jungle master Tak Shindo, art-rock chanteuse Jill Kroesen, and more! Just throw the …
Tigers Are Better Looking
Composer Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen presents his Nonet formation on We Jazz Records. Their debut album Tigers Are Better Looking is released 3 Feb and the ensemble features internationally renowned Finnish clarinetist Antti Sarpila, plus a strong cast of Helsinki-based musicians from several of the top Finnish groups.
Based on the writings of British-Caribbean author Jean Rhys (1890–1979), the 6-track album is a melancholy, intimate chamber jazz creation. Laurell's music swings, yet he doesn't st…
Circus/Citadel
Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns in February 2023 with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen's inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music,…
Mythos Of Cthulhu
*150 copies limited edition* "Cthulhu is the priest or leader of the Old Ones, a species that came to Earth from the stars before human life arose. The Old Ones went dormant, and their city slipped under Earth’s crust beneath the Pacific Ocean. They communicated with humans by telepathy, and, in hidden corners of the world, uncivilized people remembered and worshipped Cthulhu in rites described as loathsome. These groups had statues of Cthulhu that seemed to be made of materials not found on Ear…
Starting Point
Tip! In 1975, under the oppressive air of military dictatorship in Brazil, brothers Lelo and Zé Eduardo Nazario invited bassist Zeca Assumpção to join their musical experiments in a basement under Sao Paulo’s Teodoro Sampaio Street. As teenagers, the trio had already been playing together in Hermeto Pascoal’s Grupo, alongside guitarist Toninho Horta and saxophonist Nivaldo Ornelas, and it was while working together under Hermeto’s direction that the Paulista rhythm section (as they were then kno…
Insondables Humeurs
*In process of stocking. Edition of 80 copies.* Granny Records presents Insondables Humeurs by Bruno Duplant. Third part of the trilogy together with Élégie du temps présent (Granny records, 26, 2021) and Sombres Mirroirs (Cronica, 188, 2022)
Cell-Fate
*In process of stocking. Edition of 80 copies.* "Microbiology plays such an essential role in my life. Recently, I’ve been reflecting a lot about cells’ lifespan, and how they originate, evolve, transform and eventually die. One of my best friends was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer months ago. From our perspective, cancer is such a bad thing but life, for sure, is not anthropocentric. It seems to follow its own path, mostly out of our control. Today, thanks to recent studies of epigenetic…
Plastic Carved Out In The Shape Of The Music
6-panel digipack with a 12-page booklet. Edition of 500 copies * Plastic Carved Out In The Shape Of The Music compiles all the non-album releases of the 1990s by Dunedin free improvisation quartet-cum-trio, Sandoz Lab Technicians. One of many hermetic enclaves of creative endeavour in the nineties NZ underground, Sandoz Lab Technicians are James Kirk (also of King Loser, The Stumps, Black Boned Angel, Renderizors, etc.), Nathan Thompson (Sleep, Renderizors, Eye, Expansion Bay, etc.), Tim Corneli…
La Perversita
*2023 repress!! Limited edition* Sofa Records is delighted to propose the reissue of this seminal French underground record ! Released in 1979, this concept record is an attempt to sublimate sexual perversion. It results from the association between Jacques Pasquier (founder of S.C.O.P.A./Invisible Records and central figure of the Parisian alternative scene during the 70s), the producer Hector Zazou, the outraging graphic design collective Bazooka and other talents from the outskirts of artisti…
Sara Schoenbeck
*2023 stock* "This record documents long-term musical partnerships; duets with artists who have helped me refine my creative vocabulary. Yet my deepest musical relationship is with the bassoon itself, the kernel of my inspiration. It is the nurturer, the supporter, the quiet glue in an ensemble. It is awkward, huge, and demure. Even as a child, I was drawn to its uniqueness—its textures, timbres, and a sound that inspires movement. While I certainly appreciate orchestral playing in the Western c…
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
"I imagined the four ensemble pieces that begin this album as belonging to the repertoire of a speculative musical culture — one potentially not so far removed from my own — whose sonic and lyrical affinities reflect chronic, hazardous inundation, and mystifying betrayal. Without my realizing it at first, they became, in their own way, more-or-less oblique renditions of the Jerome Kern / Otto Harbach standard “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” an object lesson in the transmutation of weather and grief i…
Octagon Sphere
*300 copies limited edition.* The new album Octagon Sphere by Duesseldorf duo Strafe F.R. comprises of four pieces recorded in 2020 and 2021 at the group's own studio. The work features heavily treated female vocals and includes rhythmic patterns and electronic sounds contributed by Detlef Klepsch (of the group keit). The overall atmosphere is tense and moody, both dark and uplifting at the same time. Octagon Sphere was mastered by Kai Blankenberg at Skyline Tonfabrik. Octagon Sphere is the sist…
Meu Balanço
This one takes us back! We originally reissued Waltel Branco's 'Meu Balanço' in 1995, it was one of the first releases to come out on Mr Bongo. It is a much-requested title with original copies becoming ever more-scarce and the price tag increasingly rising, so it feels fitting to present this stunning record once again for all to enjoy. Waltel Branco was born in Paranaguá, Brazil in 1929 and died in Rio de Janeiro in 2018. During his triumphant career he accumulated an impressive musical portfo…
Istehlal
Zehra is proud to present the debut album Istehlal by the Mohamad Zatari Trio, consisting of musicians from Syria, Iran and India. The trio merges traditional Middle Eastern sounds with contemporary vibes incl. interpretations of Hossein Alizadeh and Riad Al-Sunbati classics.
Carolina
Carolina is the Brazilian virtuoso Seu Jorge's debut full-length album from 2002. Originally released under the title ‘Samba Esporte Fino’, its release and subsequent international acclaim dovetailed with Seu Jorge’s ascent into movie stardom. He is probably best known outside of Brazil for his work on Wes Anderson’s 2004 film 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’, in which he played a starring role and his Portuguese covers of David Bowie records were a highlight of the soundtrack. Having initia…
Tryghed
Tip! Tryghed is the debut album from Franciska, the alias of the now Copenhagen-based artist Jonas Torstensson. As one of the key figures in the young, vivid scene around the Forlaget Kornmod imprint, Jonas has released a good deal of music under different names during the last few years, often in very limited cassette editions with barely no distribution. In many ways, Franciska pretty much captures the very essence of the sound world their label now is associated with: melancholic and rather l…