Reissues
Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981) - A Life Unfinished
Hardback cover edition, 1070 pages (!) Cornelius Cardew was a musician of genius for whom Life and Art were as one. He was a radical, both artistically and politically, becoming a tireless activist and uncompromising Marxist-Leninist. Passion and imagination governed all he did: his boldness and humanity continue to intrigue and inspire.
John Tilbury, whose close friendship with Cardew dates from their first concert together, in January 1960, has worked for many years on this biography, and brin…
Broken Blues
**Edition of 192 hand-stamped numbered copies ** Reissue of an ultra-limited cdr that popped out quietly on absurd in 2007, this record finds Tetuzi Akiyama and Michel Henritzi joining strengths for a singular set of guitar music recorded at the Alchemy Music Store in Osaka.Captured during the heyday of stylised and pensive improvisation, the music here breaks protocol by avoiding some of the more polite mannerisms of the genre. What starts as a coarse yet beautiful duet of sparse melodic fragme…
Music and Poetry of the Kesh
CD edition. Buchla synth supremo Todd Barton’s hyperstitious soundtrack to Always Coming Home, an ‘80s American sci-fi novel by author Ursula K. Le Guin, is yet another ingenious recording dug out for reappraisal by Pete Swanson and Jed Middleman’s Freedom to Spend label - a division of RVNG Intl. Expect alien folk songs in made-up language, set to richly evocative backdrops of location recordings subtly gilded with self built instruments and synth contours. Properly immersive, otherworldly - th…
Unburdened Light
**Unreleased recordings: 2001 – 2004. Includes 8-page 9″x9″ booklet. Edition of 300** The Ivytree, as some may know, is the project of San Franciscan musician Glenn Donaldson. In the early 2000s Glenn was a founder of the Jewelled Antler Collective, forming such projects as The Blithe Sons, Thuja, and The Skygreen Leopards, among many others. The range of projects he is associated with all beautifully web together. Between 2001 and 2005 Donaldson published a handful of discs under the names The …
Livebatts!
Livebatts! is the result of the eclectic approach to music and sound of John White, the experimental composer better known for his early work with Cornelius Cardew and the Scratch Orchestra and for his formidable output of piano sonatas (now counting almost to 200).Everything started out from his passion for those cheap battery driven keyboards which appeared on the market of musical instruments in the 80s. Much more similar to toys than to proper instruments, these did interested so much Mr. Wh…
Continuous Hole
Gilgongo Records is pleased to announce “Continuous Hole”, a collaborative album by Drew Daniel (Matmos) and John Wiese. The fruit of over ten years of home recordings in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Baltimore, “Continuous Hole” melds improvisation and musique concrète composition into a uniquely sweaty document of labor-intensive rhythm. A finger puzzle of reconciled opposites: lockstep structure and constant flux. Many of the tracks reflect the unique blending of the disparate backgrounds of…
Cult Movies Soundtracks Vol.1: John Waters / Kenneth Anger
Compilation of never-before released theme songs from John Waters' early films Female Trouble (1974) and Polyester (1981), with ultra-rare punk 45s from stars Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, and the Evidence on one side, and psychedelic soundtracks and unpublished outtakes from Kenneth Anger's short movies -- Puce Moment (1949), Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969), Lucifer Rising (1972) featuring Jonathan Halper, Mick Jagger, and Jimmy Page -- on the other.
Overdrive - Rock/Jazz - Party
Sommor Records present the first ever vinyl reissue of The Bridge's Overdrive - Rock/Jazz - Party,
originally released on the budget Tempo label from Germany in 1972. A
fabulous kraut, jazz-funk, fusion, rare grove, library album with lots
of fuzzy distorted organ and Fender Rhodes courtesy of Kristian Schultze (pre-Passport) plus the mighty Pawel Jazerbski on bass and Joe Nay (Tete Montoliu, Roland Kirk, Blue Note Club) on drums. Master tape sound. Original artwork; Includes insert with line…
Farsa Del Buen Vivir
Sommor Records present a reissue of Fusioon's Farsa Del Buen Vivir,
originally released in 1974. This second album by Fusioon is one of the
masterpieces from the '70s Catalan/Spanish psychedelic and progressive
scene. Produced by the great Josep Llobell, you'll find here
plenty of Hammond, Moog, effects, a solid rhythm section, distorted lead
guitar, and highly inventive arrangements. RIYL: Soft Machine, Egg, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, The Nice, Focus, Goblin.
Master tape sound. Original …
Creation
2018 Repress. Originally released in 1971 on John Peel's Dandelion Records, Creation is the second album by underground folk troubadour Trevor "Beau" Midgley. Influenced by Tom Paxton, Lead Belly, and Dylan, Beau started to write his own songs in the late '60s. After trying to secure a contract with Elektra Records with no success, he was approached by Clive Selwood (Elektra) and Peel as they were launcing Dandelion Records. Beau signed with them and released his eponymous debut album in 1969. F…
The End of the Line/Perspectives
Double LP version. The genesis of Havenstreet goes back to 1969, when Phil Ridgway and Jeff Vinter played in The Gas, an experimental psychedelic band heavily influenced by Barrett-era Pink Floyd.
The two friends started to write songs their own songs, ending up as a
folk duo. With the offer to record some of their material at a friend's
studio, they recruited more musical friends, so Havenstreet was born.
The influences had expanded now to bands and artists such as Peter Hammill, Strawbs, T…
A Midsummer's Night Dream
LP version. Sommor presents the first ever legitimate reissue of Oberon's A Midsummer's Night Dream,
one of the rarest psych-folk albums from the UK, originally released in
1971 in a private edition of 99 copies. Oberon consisted of seven young
musicians who met while studying at Radley College in Oxford. Drawing
upon such influences as Fairport Convention, The Pentangle, King Crimson, The Incredible String Band, and Sandy Denny,
the group created a stunning piece of progressive folk. Fanta…
Ship to Shore
2018 repress. Stunning debut album from 1976 by legendary/cult UK folk musician Nigel Mazlyn Jones. Originally issued as a private pressing, Ship to Shore
combines 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars with electric textures,
effects and unusual soundscapes, culminating in the haunting
progressive-folk 11-minute title-track. A folk-rock/acid-folk
masterpiece highly recommended to anyone into John Martyn, Nick Drake, Michael Chapman, Bob Theil, or Pink Floyd. Mastertape sound, including an insert …
Some Other Morning
Related to Paradise Square (Never Thought I'd See the Day, SOMM 020LP), Cair Paravel was the second project of singer/songwriter Pete Ryder, a key player on two of the most rare and sought-after private folk albums from the UK. This time, the band recorded at a real studio and the result was Some Other Morning, released in 1976 on the Koala label as a tiny edition of 250 copies. Hans Pokora rated this album at four stars, and it's easy to hear why: gorgeous, atmospheric folk with ethereal male-f…
Never Thought I'd See the Day
Singer/songwriter Pete Ryder was a key player on two of the most rare and sought-after private folk albums from the UK: Paradise Square's Never Thought I'd See the Day and Cair Paravel's Some Other Morning (SOMM 019LP). Paradise Square was his first project, a group formed at Sheffield University's Christian Union in the early '70s. In 1974, the band released their only album as a private pressing of 100 copies, later rated at five stars by Hans Pokora. Fragile, homemade, lo-fi psychedelic folk …
Room For Thought
Largely known for their fantastic album And I Turned As I Had Turned As A Boy from 1971, a true folk-rock delight, British group Dulcimer had also recorded a second album to be released that same year, but for some reason it went unreleased. So here, finally, is the first-ever vinyl release of this lost UK folk-rock album, and it's taken from the original mastertapes. Limited to 500 copies in nice artwork and backflapped old-style covers. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
Lantaloon
Third and last album by UK folk-rock outfit Dando Shaft, from 1972. Another brilliant set of acoustic folk-rock and traditional folk. 500 copies only, pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Includes a reproduction of the original big poster and an insert with liners by Andy Morten.
Afro-Progresivo
LP version. Includes download card. Pharaway Sounds present the first ever reissue of Cuasares' Afro-Progresivo, originally released in 1973. A wild, esoteric mix of psychedelic funk, Afro-Latin grooves, jazz, and Italian/French-styled library sounds courtesy of Cuasares, an enigmatic studio project created by pianist/arranger/visionary Waldo Belloso. Acid fuzz guitar, cosmic synth splashes, distorted organ, flute, vibraphone, and trippy studio effects. Originally released in Argentine in 1973 …
73 Poems
Joan La Barbara's composition, 73 Poems, was commissioned, produced and recorded by Permanent Press (Brooklyn, NY) to accompany the publication of Kenneth Goldsmith's 73 Poems as a book and as a suite of lithographs. La Barbara's works often involve multiple layers of her own voice, creating a kind of sonic canvas on which she throws splashes of vocal colors. On this CD, her potent combination of vocal and studio expertise makes it possible for her to represent in music some of the most distinct…
Ambient 2 The Plateaux Of Mirror
The second in Brian Eno's ambient series, The Plateaux of Mirrors fuses the fragile piano melodies of Harold Budd and the atmospheric electronics of Eno to create a lovely, evocative work. In sharp contrast to the exaggerated pieces found on his debut, The Pavilion of Dreams, this record finds Budd delivering sharp shards of piano notes pregnant with meaning and minimal in the best sense of the word. Eno's unobtrusive electronics add a resonance and atmosphere that draw from the ambient textures…