Finders Kreepers continue their 7″ series of vintage macabre film music with a volume dedicated to European vampire cinema with the two most notorious exponents of the horrotica genre at the helm. Although often put on the same platform the films of these two self-sufficient European filmmakers are in fact very different from each others celebrated efforts, having collaborated on just one occasion with Rollin directing a short dream sequence for Franco’s film Virgin Amongst The Living Dead (comp…
Neu!'s notorious fourth and final album is finally given a full and official issue, to be known henceforth as 'Neu! '86'. Following the untimely death of estranged bandmate Dinger in 2008, Michael Rother relinquished his uncompromising stance on the album, and with the consent of the legendary drummer's heir, he returned to the original master tapes in 2009 in order to rework the elements of what was formerly known as 'Neu! 4', delivering a remastered, remixed and in part, brand new studio album…
2024 Repress. A striking gatefold reissue of Neu!'s hugely influential second album, originally released in 1973, supplied by the Gronland label. The A-side's main feature, 'Fur Immer' feels like a counterpart - or even an update - of the opener on their debut, 'Hallogallo', projecting a single, disciplined musical idea across eleven minutes of soaring propulsive precision. One of the most important features of Neu! 2 is the album's second side: having run out of money to record a second side of…
2024 Repress. Another finely turned out gatefold Neu! edition from the Gronland camp, Neu! '75 is widely regarded as the band's last truly seminal recording together, and was committed to tape after the group reconvened following Michael Rother's time playing as part of Harmonia (the krautrock super-group that also included Cluster). In addition to the more ambient inclinations of the two previous albums (which can still be heard on the concrete sound interactions of 'Leb Wohl'), a newfound rock…
2024 Repress. Neu! were formed by Kraftwerk members Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger who took the sparse early Kraftwerk electronic sound and utilized many effects like lock-groove rhythms and minimalist melodies currently used by today's electronic artists. Neu! created a new kind of rhythm that bridged the gap between rock n roll's syncopation and dance music's four-to-the-floor beats. Stereolab's Tim Gane says "Neu!'s longer tracks are far closer to the future of house and techno than guitar r…
Mindblowing first ever vinyl reissue of Ruth White’s dark experimental electronic masterpiece ‘7 Trumps From The Tarot And Pinion’. Originally issued in 1969 on Limelight and now available in an edition of 500 copies through French label Black Mass Rising, who many of you will know were responsible for reissuing Ruth White’s ‘Flowers of Evil’. If you were fortunate enough to score a copy of that record, then make some space on the shelf for its evil twin. This is proper holy grail stuff for his…
The problem with Harmonia is that words simply don't do the band justice. A super-group made up of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius (of Cluster) and Michael Rother (of Neu!) they re-defined not only the Krautrock genre but also electronic music in general with a mere two full-length albums ('Musik von Harmonia' and 'Deluxe') so saying that they are an important act, especially on the pages of this particular website just doesn't do them justice. With a flawless blend of electronic and e…
Der Plan were invited to Tokyo in 1984 to play six concerts for Seibu, a Japanese department store chain. Seibu were staging a “German Week”. But how did they come to choose Der Plan, of all bands? Why not an Oktoberfest combo or the Scorpions? Moritz Reichelt explains: “German New Wave was really popular in Japan. They knew more about it than people here at home. Catalogues and magazines detailed every obscure record and depicted the covers. This particular department store chain was linked …
Der Plan (Moritz R, Frank Fenstermacher, Pyrolator) were instrumental in ushering in the German New Wave (NDW) and are considered free spirits of synthesizer pop: electronic music created with minimal means, sometimes experimental, playful or even bordering on dilettantism, but always with a sense of humour.
Retrospectively, it makes perfect sense that Der Plan created a soundtrack. For one thing, visuals were almost as important to Der Plan as their music. And if every self-respecting pop b…
A previously unreleased haul of compositions by French avant-garde musician François Tusques (who released a legendary Futura label LP in 1971, as as the cult "Intercommunal Music" on Shandar). "I remember that around the time I first encountered the world of Jean Rollin I had been hired by Barney Wilen who wanted toperform my compositions, with Beb Guérin on double bass and Eddie Gaumont on drums. My friend Jean-Denis Bonan was in charge of editing Rollin's debut feature film La Reine Des Vamp…
LP version. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Nachtstücke owed its publication to former Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann, who was asked by the French label Barclay/EGG to produce three albums focusing specifically on German electronic music. He was working with Hans-Joachim Roedelius at the time, who had been given a few Tietchens tracks on cassette. When Baumann heard Roedelius play them in the studio during a break in proceedings, they sparked his interest and he met up with Tietchens some time …
LP version. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Between 1981 and 1983 Asmus Tietchens released four albums on the Sky Records label, fusing rhythmic set pieces and off-kilter sounds into gaudy escapades of saccharine artificiality. The "pseudo-pop" epithet reflected their frequently ironic air. All four records have been reissued by Bureau B in their original form. What remained may be found on this collection. Der fünfte Himmel ("The Fifth Sky") retrieves those pieces which were denied a place on the or…
**Historically important pieces documenting John Cage's early electronic and tape practice** "Although John Cage occasionally worked in large, sophisticated studios - for example, when he composed Fontana Mix in 1958 - his approach to electronic and tape music was often uncomplicated, makeshift, and pragmatic, employing simple tabletop devices: tape machines, phonograph cartridges, contact microphones, record players, portable radios, etc. He developed a soundworld that was utterly new, r…
After the 1960 independence, the Orchestre Regional de Kayes was founded in order to reinvigorate the local cultures from the Mand and the Kasso regions and turn some traditional themes into modern songs. Under the guidance of bandleader Harouna Barry, they evolve as one of Mali's finest orchestras. In the early 1970s, like most modern bands of Mali, the orchestra evolved into the Sidi Yassa de Kayes, named after Sidi Yassa, a late great singer. In 1977, they release one eponymous LP in 1977 on …
LP version. Incredible music made by children in schools" says is it all really. Jonny Trunk has collected the best moments of that most niche of niche collectors' genres, the school album, spanning music by small primary school choirs singing folk songs to full-blown avant-garde experiments written and performed by children still at secondary or grammar school. As with practically all Trunk releases, it's a nostalgic gas for anyone over a certain age - we reckon anyone younger than 25 may be ba…
Robin Rimbaud was both a friend and collaborator over the years and this CD is his tribute to an important figure in both his life and others'. Using recordings of Derek Jarman's voice as well as location recordings around his home, he creates a graceful and delicate sculpture in sound. This is a close friend's tribute, backed by a profound understanding of the filmmaker's sense of intimacy, atmosphere and drama.2014 - on the 20th anniversary of the passing of Derek Jarman and this reissue Robi…
Bureau B reissues Asmus Tietchens' third solo album on Sky Records, originally released in 1982. It stands to reason that any musical journey undertaken by a skeptic like Asmus Tietchens is destined to head into the night (In die Nacht) rather than into the day. In die Nacht, the third album in the so-called time signal ("Zeitzeichen") phase, continuing in the same vein as Biotop (BB 141CD/LP) and Spät-Europa (BB 142CD/LP), while laying down its own stylistic markers, no doubt attributable to th…
LP version, on 180 gram vinyl. Released in 1983, the Litia album concluded Asmus Tietchens' études phase and bid a farewell to rhythmic synths -- well, almost. All the signs of "pseudo pop" as heard on Biotop, Spät-Europa, and In die Nacht resurfaced: squeaky sounds and protracted, rattling rhythms grouped into abstract forms through their accentuated artificiality. Sporadic noisiness is as much a part of it as is a winking gesture, which should not detract from the basic sobriety of the work, h…
Bureau B presents a song collection from Conrad Schnitzler's archive, recorded between 1976 and 1978, originally released by the small German label Marginal Talent in 2003. In the comprehensive canon of Schnitzler releases, the music on the Gold album stands out a mile in every respect. Judged on the sound alone, there is little to suggest that the material was recorded as long ago as the 1976 to 1978 period. There is more at play here than two tape recorders, analog synthesizers and sequencers.…
The fact that this album appeared at all in 1983 owes less to Günter Schickert and more to Steven and Alan Freeman, who sought him out for their Krautrock encyclopedia The Crack in the Cosmic Egg. On learning that Schickert had heaps of recordings in his archive, the Freeman brothers proposed compiling an album. Schickert agreed and handed over material which the English YHR label had released in cassette form. Kinder in der Wildnis is a more heterogeneous album than either of its predecessors, …
More from the inexhaustible archive of Berlin's electronic anarchist. Schnitzler stacks pulsing sequences and caustic tone-colours into restless, self-contained machines of sound: uncompromising, hypnotic and utterly his own.
LP version, on 180 gram vinyl. Bureau B reissues Pyrolator's Wunderland, originally released on Ata Tak in 1984. Quote 1: "I have always strived for the opposite of whatever is hip at the time." (Pyrolator in June 2013) Quote 2: "Wunderland is so beautiful -- the first time I heard this record, I cried." (Andreas Dorau). New York City, 1983. Andreas Dorau has a gig at Danceteria and Pyrolator accompanies him as sound engineer. Back then, it really looked as if Ata Tak could make a go of it in th…
LP version, on 180 gram vinyl. Bureau B reissues Pyrolator's Wunderland, originally released on Ata Tak in 1984. Quote 1: "I have always strived for the opposite of whatever is hip at the time." (Pyrolator in June 2013) Quote 2: "Wunderland is so beautiful -- the first time I heard this record, I cried." (Andreas Dorau). New York City, 1983. Andreas Dorau has a gig at Danceteria and Pyrolator accompanies him as sound engineer. Back then, it really looked as if Ata Tak could make a go of it in th…
Seriously wicked and really hard to find in its original edition, this superb sound-library bears the mark of the great, eclectic maestro Alessandro Alessandroni. The songs on this LP were originally composed for the broadcast of eight episodes made by RAI Italian TV called "Open Window." Many mid-'70s jazz-funk/scat themes full of samples, breaks and funky tunes. Merged in this record you'll find heavy funk-drama tracks devoted to 1970s poliziottesco's grooves interfering with slow loung…
Recordings of a stand-out gig at Doornroosje in Nijmegen (NL). By 1982 De Brassers had been playing in almost every small public space or squad in the area and logically they had gathered a cult following. Sporadicly they also performed in The Netherlands. Doornroosje was / is the club where underground music groups performed before they became well-known, especially the 80s were an interesting period with Joy Division, Nick Cave and many local punk / new wave bands hitting the stage. Here we fi…
An early and one of the most special Gnod recordings is out now on Aguirre. The Somnambulist's Tale consists of two sidelong adventurous pieces which are carried by an incredible loop. The haunting ambience in combination with electronics, distant guitar layers, conversations between the band members, a typewriter, and other sounds from found objects makes this quite an atypical Gnod release, but definitely a great one. Influenced by early Krautrock bands like Can, Hawkwind and Ash Ra Temple, G…
A schizoid sonic sketchbook from the Maledictus Sound-maker Dr. J. P. Massiera. A disturbing mix of dismembered tape samples, paranoid-poety and cosmic chaos resurrected from the crypt of Studio Antibes 1976. Dawn Of The Dead, or The French Connection 2, or For A Few Dollars More, or Evil Dead 2. For an article relating to the bizarre Gallic concept album you are about to subject your ears to, any of the aforementioned 70s cinematic references could conveniently provide a snappy and relevant…
Originally released in 1955. One of the very earliest and most important examples of electronic tape music to be pressed on vinyl (alongside the Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française musique concrète compilations in France and Jim Fassett's comedic 1953 Strange to Your Ears novelty record), this privately pressed 1955 10" was released on a one-off label owned by businessman Gene Bruck to document a custom-made performance at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1952. This facsimile edition of t…
**500 copies, coloured vinyl** Enter thee psychedelic world ov Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle / Psychic TV / Thee Majesty ...) and Bryin Dall (4th Sign of the Apocalypse / Hospitality on Parade / Hirsute Pursuit / Thee Majesty ...) Thee landscape that they live in transcends both time and space. A land that will be both fascinate and confuse. Where thee war ov thee sexes is simply a mirage that transforms into unconditional love.Fall into thee majesty ov it all. Joined by family mem…
Originally released in 1960 and 1962 on two unique formats with over-lapping tracklists, the seminal Music From Mathematics Showcase Project marked the phonographic introduction of computer generated music for the first time in the public arena. Almost exclusively created at Bell Laboratories using an electronic to sound transducer and a state of the art IBM 7090 (complete with a gargantuan 32KB of disposable memory!) Music From Mathematics featured multiple random-not-random sound assaults prec…
If the city of Beirut doesn’t leap to mind as a hotbed of avant-garde musical activity, listen up: since 2005, the Al Maslakh label (translation: The Slaughterhouse) has been documenting far-thinking sounds from the small but vital Lebanese scene. The “A” Trio’s first release, Music To Our Ears, was one of the most startling debuts of 2011; now, Roaratorio is proud to present their second album (and first vinyl release): Live In Nickelsdorf, recorded at the Konfrontationen Festival in 2012. Whil…
When, back in 2013, we were asked by the Ensemble Dissonanzen to publish a massive retrospective edition of some of their most representative works, to celebrate their 20th anniversary, we knew it would have been a challenge. We were – and are – quite conscious of the fact that the work of an all-acoustic New Music ensemble with a heavy dose of improvisation may appear out of place within the Die Schachtel's catalogue that. although eclectic, is more biased towards electronic/experimental …
Amazing sounds from the subcontinent – a selection of mid-century recordings that focuses on the incredible vocal range in Indian music, served up by a set of singers we might never have known otherwise! The voice is almost the lead instrument here – usually just supported by a bit of percussion or sitar, and set free in open space with these insane inflections and cascading tones that really leave us breathless! Mediative and exciting vocals from the masters. Great liner notes and master…
A selected compilation from Javier Hernando’s cassette archives which were recorded in the band’s practice space during their two years of existence between ’79 and ’81. We consider this material of vital interest as a document of Barcelona’s underground scene in the late 70′s, which coexisted with the newly born punk and industrial cultures which youth groups were avidly importing from the UK. The sounds featured on this album deconstruct genres, blending elements such as tape collage, raw guit…
"Connie Burg and I met Sumner Crane and Nancy Arlen in late 1975 and quickly decided to start a band. Sumner had been playing piano since he was a kid and I trumpet, guitar and more recently bass, but we were for the most part self taught. Connie decided to pick up a guitar and we started jamming in Nancy’s loft on Broadway and Duane St. where Sumner lived downstairs. For the first few months it was just piano, bass and acoustic guitar, with some paper bag percussion from Nancy. Our biggest rock…
Recorded in 1971 and issued originally only in France by CBS, the first LP by post Spoils Of War band Mormos is a masterpiece of fabulous experimental psychedelic acid folk sounds and bizarre melodies. Influences from contemporaries such as The Incredible String Band are present, as are some resemblances to the recordings of other acts like Comus or Dr. Strangely Strange, but the Mormos sound creates unique athmospheres unheard in any other works of the era that can be fragile and weird in equal…
Psych LP from 1968 by the Love Machine, “Electronic Music to Blow Your Mind By!!!” – and trust me, it can be done – on the Design label. One of the harder-to-find exploito-psych albums with an absolutely psychedelic cover. Like all these studio cash-in albums, you need to approach this one in the right state of mind, and by that I mean altered. But the great thing about these budget albums is that someone behind the controls seems to be trying out all the latest psychedelic effects – stereo pann…
Founded in Belgium in 1970 with a remarkable line-up for a rock band: sax, organ, bass, drums and vocals - no guitar!, Mad Curry caught the attention of manager & enterpreneur Louis de Vries (the man who had arranged the very first Pink Floyd gig in Belgium) and soon debuted with the "Song for Cathreen" / "Antwerp" 45. "Antwerp" has become a club favourite ever since due to its danceable freakbeat psych rhythm. Shortly after, the Mad Curry album was released on the Pirate label, characterized by…
One of the best things about Seattle label Light in the Attic’s new new age compilation I Am the Center is that it doesn’t try and pretend that new age music was something that it’s not. Look at the album’s cover illustration and you’ll see an angel-like creature carrying an orb of yellow light through the clouds; open the gatefold and you’ll see what appears to be a bird made of stars launching itself out of the ocean. Press play and be delivered into over two hours of mind-numbingly mellow mus…
Reissue of an extremely rare and essential Sunroof! CD-R released during a European tour in 2003 on Matthew Bower's own imprint, Rural Electrification Program (REP). On this LP, Bower is joined on guitar by Mick Flower (Vibracathedral Orchestra and Flower-Corsano Duo) and the result was once qualified as Sunroof's rock record and its tribute to Neil Young and AC/DC (hence the title). RockPower is a very singular record because it documents a very short time period in the M. Bower/Sunroof! evolut…