Reissues

A Saturn release from the 1960's featuring a wide-range of pieces from studio recordings, rehearsals, and live concerts that are all heart-felt and made in the traditional Sun Ra style, starting with eight delirious minutes of kora and piano frame -- almost certainly the Strange Strings instruments, whatever they were. And then Ra's signature clavinet of the period and an unidentifiable double-reed instrument, probably played by Marshall Allen. Enter the xylophone. I sense you're getting the …

Much needed reissue of the first solo Haino from 1980. The extreme personal depth that every Haino release exudes. This CD adds previously unreleased track of 28 minutes!

The story behind Dopesmoker, the final LP in the life of pioneering stoner sludge trio Sleep, is one of perseverance not usually associated with such dedicated grass aficionados. Intended to be the Cali band’s third record and first for major label London, the album took shape as a single 63-minute track entitled “Dopesmoker,” an ode to the joys of getting baked. After nearly two months of work, the band (guitarist Matt Pike, bassist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Hakius) pronounced the opus…

Originally released in 1966 on the Takoma label, Contemporary Guitar is a beautiful compilation of solo acoustic guitar instrumentals from folk and blues legends such as Bukka White, John Fahey, and Robbie Basho as well as lesser knowns like Max Ochs and Harry Taussig. An essential compilation of American guitar soli.

Guitarist and founding member of Maajun in 1969 (That released one album under the Vogue label), Cyril Lefebvre recorded three beautiful albums during the Seventies. Cocaïne Blues, the second one, is one of the finest achievements of the Golden Age of the musical underground in France. Here is an unclassifiable and pataphysician music based on a traditional repertoire, drawing briskly in blues, ragtime, waltz, foxtrot... It has all the major qualities: subtlety, innovation, luxury, humor. Publis…

Long Story Short, the festival organized as the 25th edition of the Unlimited Festival in Wels, Austria (November 2011) designed a festival around Peter Brotzmann's musical practice -- not a retrospective, but a representation of the contemporary musical spheres that Brötzmann and his comrades are investigating today. Eighteen performances in this box document Brötzmann's close ties to the Chicago scene, his inclination to work with Japanese artists, his cultivation of old and new friendsh…

Rarely you remember the moment you listen to a record for the first time as something clear and tangible - what is retained in the memory is the atmosphere and the emotions that the music evokes, but not much else. Atol Drone (Polycephal 2002) was an altogether different case. It broke through into my mind surreptitiously like a high Pacific wave and for years it held sway over the area of my musical memory responsible for the rough sea, atomic fears, sea fever, incomplete Morse signals no…

Supreme Dicks put out one single in their career. It was a double B-side. Maybe they had a sense of humor, but in hindsight it's hard to tell.Falling somewhere between Captain Beefheart, Throbbing Gristle and SALEM in the lineage of musicians who've found a muse in the nasty, brutish brevity of life, Supreme Dicks chose to cloak disarmingly real paranoia and grief in the contemporary trappings of late '80s and early '90s lo-fi college rock. They may have inhabited the same sonic and physical spa…

Includes digital download voucher redeemable from the label** "Jagjaguwar is proud to reintroduce the first ever vinyl pressing of 'The Emotional Plague' from 1996. Supreme Dicks put out one single in their career, Ia double B-side. Maybe they had a sense of humor, but in hindsight it's hard to tell. Falling somewhere between Captain Beefheart, Throbbing Gristle and SALEM in the lineage of musicians who've found a muse in the nasty, brutish brevity of life, Supreme Dicks chose to cloak d…

Supreme Dicks entire catalog is now available from Jagjaguwar! There’s the 4 CD boxset, Breathing and Not Breathing, which includes both of the band’s studio albums, The Unexamined Life and The Emotional Plague; Workingman’s Dick, a collection of early archival recordings; and the EP This Is Not A Dick, which has additional rare and unreleased tracks; as well as 2xLP editions of The Unexamined Life and The Emotional Plague. All for order right here.The Stranger calls Breathing and Not Breathing …

The much-in-demand vinyl version of the second (or third, depending on how you calculate) Stars of the Lid album, their first for Kranky, now finally reissued on vinyl. The original 4 track cassette recordings were remastered and new lacquers were cut, and the original artwork has been updated* When it comes to genre-defining releases, even releases that define a band's career, few sum up ambient music, and the work of Stars of the Lid in general like 'The Ballasted Orchestra'. Released in 1…

The classic Residents fourth album (originally two EPs) from 1978. Musically, it's difficult to describe this diverse album. There is a silky, seductive, and murky aspect which creates a supporting liquid background upon which the lyrics float. There is a balance between the music and the lyrics. They never step on each other as they take turns moving in and out of the foreground. The lyrics play a very dominant role on this album. They are like rhyming instruments that project pictures before o…

Originally released in 1981, JANDEK'S second album stands as an incredible document of the formative stages of his cracked genius. The musical elements are almost catatonic: 9 songs drift by as a series of slight variations on several desolate, untuned acoustic guitar phrases. First time on vinyl in over 25 years. Old-style tip on jacket. LIMITED!

Recorded live at St Mary’s Old Church & Burial Ground in Stoke Newington, London on the 16th October 2011, the band have laid down what is quite possibly the fullest realisation of their monolithically heavy live shows. Its a juddering juggernaught of crushing intensity, pounding drums thudding their way through beds of gargantuan psych guitar drones, while electrifying sitar collides against booming vocal incantations and lysergic doom heaviness.  For those you you that are in…

The German Shepherds, formed by Sandy Stark and Stephen Scheatzle in Nov. 1981, released a three song ep in early "82 with "Booty Jones" -- to child molester and kidnapper Kenneth Parnell; "I Adore You" -- an offering of prayer and submission and "Message from JJ" -- a rousing sermon by Peoples Temple chief Rev. Jim Jones. Later that year a dub version of "I Adore You" and "The Earthquake Has Come" appeared on the "You'll Hate This Record, Record" compilation lp. In 1983 the Shepherds began work…

Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow was written and recorded as a follow-up to the Bill Fay Group's Time Of The Last Persecution. Although recorded between 1978 and 1981 this album never saw a release at the time, and it fell to the Durtro/Jnana label to unearth these lost 20 songs. Fay comes across as one of those artists who fell victim to the machinations of the music industry, with his first two albums going largely overlooked until an eventual resurgence in interest as the years passed. …

Enigmatic UK-based singer and pianist Bill Fay's dark and haunting work gained him a strong cult following in the late 60s and early 70s. He released two albums on the Deram label in the early 70s and promptly disappeared into relative obscurity for 30+ years. In the last 10 years or so those albums have finally begun to get the recognition they deserve, and 4 Men With Beards is proud to be able to bring them back into circulation on 180g vinyl. First up is his self-titled 13-track debut from 19…

John Fahey’s first album, released in 1959 for the record label he co-founded, is a beautiful introduction to this incredible artist. Blind Joe Death remains a wonderful album and displays Fahey’s ability to re-interpret the blues and folk idioms prevalent at the time in his own inimitable style. The album's mystique probably owes more to the 1959 record's rarity (and utter oddity in the context of its era) than the music, in which Fahey's experimental blues-folk acoustic fusion is just be…

Hard-grooving Ethiopiques killers from the "Ethiopian Elvis". This eponymous collection gathers some of his finest moments from 45's recorded between 1967 and 1974, nine total, mixing R&B, soul, rock'n'roll with that magically mystical blend of modern flair and traditional groove that makes the Ethiopiques series such a treasure trove. You could imagine each of these being classics in their own right way back when, from the soulful organ burn and infectious breaks of 'Kenoru Lebetchahe' w…

Massive 6xLP box set drawing from John Fahey's best, and most influential, period. Included in the set are Blind Joe Death, Death Chants, Breakdowns, And Military Waltzes, The Dance of Death and Other Plantation Favorites, The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party, The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death, and Days Have Gone By, all reissued on 180 gram vinyl with deluxe tip-on jackets. Limited edition of 2,000. John Fahey (February 28, 1939–February 22, 2001) combined American folk, blues, Indian r…

An internationally known artist, Franco Battiato has been everything in his long career, from beat singer to avantgarde performer, producer, contemporary music composer.His beginnings lay in the mid 60's, with many singles released with no particular success, the first two under his real name of Francesco. He had left the native Sicily (he was born in Jonia, near Catania in 1945) moving to Milan around 1965.Fetus, housed in a outrageous cover (reproducing a foetus) was definitely a prog al…

We’re proud to present an album by a good friend and very talented Canadian musician named Tona Ohama. Ohama was first featured on The Found Tapes compilation (2007) with “T.V.” and then on The Minimal Wave Tapes: Volume 1 (2010) with “My Time (Demo)” and most recently on The Minimal Wave Tapes: Volume 2 (2012) with “The Drum”, which was also selected and edited by J. Rocc.  The Potato Farm Tapes is an album of his early output, featuring some songs from his first cassette entitled Midnite News …

Minimal Wave is proud to present a second volume of selections from our French favorites, In Aeternam Vale. Culled from a vast archive of recordings, these tracks were originally self-released on various cassettes by the band’s frontman Laurent Prot between 1985-1988. The sound ranges from early EBM / industrial to gristly coldwave to dark reverby guitar psychedelia. This record illustrates the stylistic range that, through experimentation and fearlessness, Laurent Prot and Pascal Aubert were ca…

Minimal Wave presents a full length album by cult French band In Aeternam Vale. Having made over 200 recordings, I.A.V. were one of the most prolific bands of the French underground scene. Headed by Laurent Prot, the band released many cassettes all featuring his wonderful collage work. Their sound is extremely original, overflowing with character, and crossing between genres: electro, minimal, noise, and even garage. “With the passing of time, In Aeternam Vale’s work remains astonishingly power…

We’re proud to announce a 12” EP by the lovely French synthwave duo known as Deux. Gérard Pelletier and Cati Tete formed Deux shortly after meeting in Lyon in 1981. Their music can be described as minimal synth with stripped down rhythm compositions and suitably cold duets. A perfect blend of archetypal Kraftwerkian pop and French synth, these set of songs comprise their later years (1985) and stylistically sound like classic house combined with the romance of New Wave. This EP features previous…

Originally published in 1983 by Andrea Cernotto's Aquilifer Sodality legendary label, The New Sadism was actually Pietro Mazzocchin a musician who was very active in the industrial/noise scene. He put out several cassettes under different moniker: Swastika Kommando, The New Sadism, Observation Clinique and also as Lyoto Music togheter with Pierpaolo Zoppo of the legendary Mauthausen Orchestra. Some of his tapes were published by Broken Flag (UK), Recloose Organisation (UK) and Aquilifer Sodality…

Founded 40 years ago in 1972, The Pyramids released three albums before splitting up in 1977: Lalibela (1973), King of Kings (1974), and the seminal Birth/Speed/Merging LP (1976). Three albums that made them one of the most mysterious and legendary of all the spiritual cosmic jazz collectives of the early '70s, like the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra. "We were way ahead of our time, so we decided to let time catch up." -- Idris Ackamoor. After a highly energetic reunion of the group in 200…

For the unaware, Seth Price is an conceptual visual artist who lives and works in New York, considered by most to be one of the most interesting and thought-provoking artists to currently be at work. His sculpture, video and painting has been exhibited internationally at venues including the Tate London and the Museum of Modern Art, while gracing the cover of Art Forum last year, as well as countless other publications. Price has been working in sound and music for number of years; though most r…

Sympathy Nervous is the project of Japanese artist Yosihumi Niinuma. Influenced by both classical and Krautrock, he began recording in 1979, and released several records on the highly coveted Vanity label. He continued to record and self-release much of his work throughout the 80s and 90s. His sound is intelligent and probably the most unique minimal synth to come out of Japan. Exploring dystopian themes, his music is well balanced and beautifully recorded.The Plastic Love album features songs Y…

Minimal Wave proudly presents a full length LP by Ruins, an Italian electro-wave duo. Ruins formed in Mestre in 1978 with the intention of experimenting with electronic devices and mixed media. They mainly created music out of self-expression without any intention of joining the mainstream. Interested in multimedia, they had a strong visual aesthetic apparent via their album art, videos and projections. The classic hit ‘Fire’ is one of our favorites to date, so powerful with its great energy and…

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…

This is probably Wakhevitch's most esoteric and occult-influenced work. Some sort of dark ritual for synthesizer and orchestra inspired by Kabbalistic writings  where Igor's trademark bottom heavy electronics pulse, wizz and sweep to a backdrop of heavy tribal drumming. Elsewhere, menacing and majestic spoken word passages open us the doors to the netherworld, leading you into an esoteric sound ritual that sounds spooky, virulent, powerful, droning, entrancing and mystical at the same time. Agai…

Housed in a fantastic and menacing sci-fi cover courtesy of Druillet and bearing the famous dedication: "A mes grands amis Robert Wyatt et Mick Rattledge", Igor Wakhevitch's second album was a step beyond it's predecessor into a music alchemy that defies categorisation and the one that started to define his trademark sonic collage of styles and moods. Like the previous record, this was the music for a Norbert Schmucki ballet "Ergonia", premiered at Festival D'Avignon 1971, and featured top frenc…

* Five hours of electroacoustical compositions, recorded during the first thirty years of the Berlin festival “Inventionen”. Box set with two audio CDs and a multichannel (surroundsound) DVD * Mindblowing two re-releases of Edition RZ LPs that are now available in this double CD box with additional tracks, as well as a mainly acousmatic DVD that features electronic tracks by a variety of electroacoustic composers. The present DVD contains mainly acousmatic music. This is when a pure "tape piece"…

Widely credited as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century, this rarely performed work launched its director Robert Wilson and composer Philip Glass to international success when it was first produced in Avignon, France in 1976, with subsequent performances in Europe and in New York at the Metropolitan Opera. It is still recognized as one of their greatest masterpieces. Now, nearly four decades after it was first performed and twenty years since its last production, Einstei…

Collected here for the first time are the complete studio recordings of one of the major ensembles in the renaissance of Jewish Jazz. Featuring five Downtown New York improvisers, these four CDs originally released by Knitting Factory records from 1996 to 2001 embrace the Hasidic musical legacy with a fresh new voice. Blending together an intense mixture of ethnic and cosmopolitan sounds, Hasidic New Wave fuses spiritual songs from Hasidic dynasties to funk and jazz, Arabic dances with avant-gar…

Andrew Pekler selected 300 different covers from second-hand records and, using colorful geometric elements to cover over all titles, performer’s names, and label logos, removed traces of the covers’ original contexts. The sunsets, couples in silhouette, alpine panoramas, roses on pianos, female faces in close-up, and seascapes no longer serve as the packaging for easy listening and exotica. Instead, the romantic, bizarre and intriguingly bland images of the original covers are free to lend thei…

Maurizio Bianchi is an Italian composer of electronic/experimental/industrial music. Taking a cue from its unconventional matrices (we are in the year 1976), has officially started its activities in August 1979: originally influenced by the tendency of 'musique concrète', under the name of Sacher-Pelz, he composed four works on tape over eight months. The first of the four tapes, recorded between August and September of 1979, is entitled Cainus. Tracks remastered from original analog tape…

The tape more provocative and irritating of Pierpaolo Zoppo, the Italian sub-genius behind Mauthausen Orchestra, is certainly Dedicated to J. Goebbels . The tracks were recorded during '82-‘83 and offer an overwhelming noise ferric devolves into agonizing nightmare and atrocities sound that recall the dark side of humanity. This is the fourth official reprint on Urashima in Lp and the artwork was approved by the artist.Tracks remastered from the original tape and the record has been pressed on 1…

Double LP edition, seminal album recorded in 1989 and originally released by Aaya in 1990, Check Point Charlie is the first work by Ghedalia Tazartés conceived for the compact disc format and its different time boundaries.  Check Point Charlie is a collage journey where Tazartès pulls out all the stops to captivate and confuse the listener: street recordings, pseudo-enticing dialogues, sampled instruments, real instruments, rapid-fire splices, and that uncanny voice of his reciting, yodeling, sc…