New Arrivals
Nothing but the Music
The sounds of late '70s and '80s east coast avant-garde jazz, soul, and punk rock are well documented, but in Nothing but the Music Thulani Davis gives us something beyond, delivering a collection of synesthetic, transportive documentary poems that breathe anecdotal and impressionistic life into a sonic-social history about which most can only speculate. Davis' verse takes free flight with its muses, scatting and leaping off the page and the shoulders of the musicians, nightclubs, and choreograp…
Streichquartette V
Ruedi Häusermann 5th release of strinquartets from his music Theatre productions. CD with digipak and 8-page booklet. Born in 1948 and residing in the medieval Swiss town of Lenzburg, and virtually unknown outside of the German-speaking world, Häusermann is a multi-instrumentalist and enormously prolific composer who works primarily in the medium of absurdist music-theater. A virtuoso wind player and free improviser who also composes for traditional classical instrumentation, his work is charact…
Kave
New quartet by Samuel Rohrer, Max Loderbauer, Stian Westerhus, and Tobias Freund. In the present era of media saturation, the artist's dilemma has shifted away from the question whether to fuse disparate stylistic elements, towards the decision of which energies to draw upon: a situation most rewarding for those who listen to musicians navigating this limitless terrain. One such journey, the captivating full-length release from Samuel Rohrer's new Kave quartet, is bringing together players who a…
1975
**Edition of 200** Over the many years we've known each other, Joe Carducci had several times mentioned his brother Mark had a cool band back in the pre-punk '70s. Then a couple of years ago, he added that tapes of this project were around, and asked if might we be interested in hearing them. Midknight 1975 is the result. Two different line-ups of the band are documented here -- a quintet studio session recorded on location at the Hippie House, and a live one with a different drummer and one les…
Operating Manual for Floating in Space
**200 copies** Operating Manual for Floating in Space is a project by Mylan Hoezen, researching the ecstasy of our existence through manually operating a sequence of bodily movements. A gorgeous, ambient and ecstatic sort of thing to listen to. Transmitted in wobbly synth, streaks of bright lights stream past my ears like I’m moving at speed. Something is building. There is a drumbeat, or stomping. People are clapping and then they’re not. Space-shuttle cupboards are being opened and closed and …
A Place to Hide
Much needed vinylization of an amazing live set, previously issued as a CDR in an edition of 100 by the fine Borley Rectory label. Finally, for the good of all mankind, the music from this great night, opening for Robyn Hitchcock at London's Betsey Trotwood in October 2018, is turntable ready. A Place to Hide begins with the album's one new original tune 'My Reflection Once Was Me.' The song brims with harmonium-iced vocals that cannot fail to bring a certain German-born chanteuse to mind. Built…
Ouate
A little bit of Baroque, a little bit of Zwölftonmusik, a little bit of electronica, that's Robert Lepenik
Holy Origin
Vestals is the avatar of Los Angeles based artist Lisa McGee, whose debut album Forever Falling Toward the Sky was released by Root Strata in 2012. She has also discreetly operated in U.S. underground music for the last decade as a member of the dream-drone duo Higuma with Evan Caminiti, while making vocal contributions to acclaimed albums by Jefre Cantu Ledesma and Sarah Davachi. McGee is the sole producer and performer on her sophomore effort, Holy Origin. Since her last offering she has evol…
Corduroy Road
2020 Re-issue of Keith Kenniff's debut under his Goldmund moniker. Originally only released on CD in 2005 via John Twells' Type Recordings, this album of rare and unusual minimalist beauty is now presented as a vinyl edition for the first time. "Multi-instrumentalist Keith Kenniff is a busy man. He has appeared as Helios on a number of acclaimed releases, including Deaf Center’s ‘Neon City EP’, and released a debut album ‘Unomia’ on Merck records which has appeared on many best of 2004 lists. A…
Metal River
New album by another favourite artist here at FD, whose work can traverse everywhere from avant-folk or otherworldly pop to minimalist electronics or some of the most fervent 'outer sounds' one can dredge from the deepest crevices of their doubtlessly life battle-scarred imagination. On Metal River, Richard Youngs offers four songs of deep space beamed curdled electronics not far removed from being akin to the contorted death caterwauls of a cyborg species reaching out in uttermost anguish. It's…
Milzz Expz
NYZ on the recording: "The Buchla 100 experimental session begins with a documentary recording of the noise generators. Something I find endlessly fascinating is listening to different noise sources, so I always feel compelled to record them. The remaining tracks are sequenced by my MANIAC Cellular Automata sequencer. First up are three little sequenced ditties that also incorporate the ARP 2600 modular interconnected to the Buchla 100. After this is an ultra-minimal setup using MANIAC and the m…
Whale - Wail, In Peace, En Paix: For Voice and Tape Structures of Whale and Other Animal Sounds
**2020 stock** Whale - Wail, In Peace, En Paix: For Voice and Tape Structures of Whale and Other Animal Sounds is a 1986 recording by composer Ann McMillan, commissioned by Moses Asch. The piece, first presented on Baffin Island, north of the Arctic Circle, for an Inuit audience, is a plea to humans to be more like whales. Inspired by her study with Edgard Varèse and his work with pre-recorded sounds, the composition features whales and other sound sources (including bull, insect, and Chinese cy…
Mi specchio e rifletto
Tip - this is stunning! Since their launch in mid-2000s, the New York based imprint, Unseen Worlds, has continued to set an incredibly high bar through the earth-shaking quality of their releases. As dedicated to historical artists and works as they are to those emerging in the present, they’ve always taken their time, slipping things into the world with remarkable care, that leave humble tectonic shifts in their wake. After an absolutely incredible couple of years with brilliant albums from Lau…
Peur Sur La Ville
Wewantsounds announce the special reissue of one of Ennio Morricone's most striking soundtracks composed for Henri Verneuils's 1975 film, Peur Sur La Ville (Fear Over The City). This special edition includes the original score released in 1975 plus a second vinyl worth of bonuses which have never been out on vinyl. These includes two tracks making their official debut after 45 years. Ennio Morricone's association with French director Henri Verneuil comes close to the one the Maestro had with Ser…
New Grass
Albert Ayler's 1969 album New Grass has been misunderstood from the day of its release. The album finds Ayler experimenting with soul music and digging back into his R&B roots (he started his career playing saxophone with Chicago bluesman Little Walter), fusing it with the avant-garde free jazz (the one element of the record which garnered consistent praise) and adding the vocals of Rose Marie McCoy, The Soul Singers and Ayler himself. As if predicting the divisiveness of the record to follow, A…
Breaking the Elephant’s Legs
Marc Behrens presents six extended surrealist songs ranging from psycho rock to dismantled R&B, crossing into doom jazz and spoken word. Animal field recordings; electronic boom and buzz; synths; detuned sitar; violins played by Portuguese master musician Carlos Zingaro. None of this is in any way what you would expect.
Horror Vacui
**Edition of 250** Music nowadays is a crime. The whole dark art consisting in whether the composer opts for death by suffocation (maximalism) or death by strangulation (the perennially fashionable anti-fashion that is minimalism). Jon Doe One’s debut record, Small Numbers, involved layer after layer of obsessive construction. Faced with its delirious palimpsest of rhythm and sound, listeners — those curious lost souls, I count myself amongst their ranks, alas — had no choice but to gag on the e…
Introspection / Migration
From an ocean of black, sometimes there is a slim chance you might emerge clean and translucent, with another life chapter under your belt and a renewed story to tell. J.H. Guraj, our favourite wandering bird, is back with his first proper opus on Maple Death: Introspection / Migration.
Sometimes records lead off into an unknown path that never considers release schedules or the outside world, inhabiting the abysses of the artists’ mind and dropping a hefty anchor in the murky waters. Dominique …
This Valley Of Old Mountains
This Valley Of Old Mountains quietly creates the folklore of an imaginary land. From a hemisphere apart, Taylor Deupree and Federico Durand share simple sounds with complex stories. Their music balances an edge between translucency and exploration, focusing on obscurity, repetition and a shared fascination of the mountains between them. Recorded in La Cumbre (Córdoba, Argentina) and Pound Ridge (New York, US) between July 2019 and April 2020.
Miley Smile / Stage Recall
Burnin Red Ivanhoe, in their most fertile phase of existing from 1969 till 1972, were one of Denmark's finest groups from the period. Their innovative and powerful mixture of psychedelic and progressive rock along with mild experimental or jazz influences gained some international recognition in Germany, UK and the U.S.. Comparisons might be drawn to Traffic, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd and Colosseum (Dag Erik Asbjornsen). Being tired of demanding tours, Burnin Red Ivanhoe decided to disband in spri…