Reissues
More Arctic Hysteria / Son of Arctic Hysteria
...The later years of early Finnish avant-garde. Another incredible volume, following the inspiration and eye-opening 2001 CD Arktinen hysteria -- Suomi-avantgarden Wsipuutarhureita. Perfectly packaged document of more utterly obscure electronic mayhem and theatrical intoxication, presented as near-high-art. Now covered are the 1970s and 1980s. 34 artists. Featuring a lavishly illustrated leaflet of 20 pages. Compiled by Jukka Lindfors. Featuring Jimi Tenor, Läjä Äijälä and early Mika Vainio (Pa…
Mexico
Along with the two records by Nurse With Wound favorites Moving Gelatine Plates, Ergo Sum's weird and wonderful album Mexico is an unusual portal into the intense creativity of early 1970s French music. True, the bands are not musically similar; yet these three albums are distinguished not only by their instrumental richness, but by their unceasing sense of adventure. We'd go so far to say that Ergo Sum presents one of the most distinctive experiences in a rock idiom (apart from Zeuhl music jugg…
I Belong To This Band: 85 Years of Sacred Harp Recordings
This current collection of Sacred Harp singing is the first to offer a full range of recordings by traditional Sacred Harp singers from 1922 to the present, and is a companion to the Sacred Harp documentary by Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp, the first feature documentary about Sacred Harp singing. This CD is unique in a number of respects. It contains several prewar and mid-century recordings never before released on CD, some of which have never been released at all. Sacred H…
Abfleischung
2th part in the ongoing re-release series of all early Tietchens albums between 1980—1991. Abfleischung is based on material recorded by Tietchens as early as 1967—1970. These recyclings made in 1989 became the 20 short tracks on this album which was originally released in edition of 500 copies on Hamster Records in 1989. The CD includes two previously unreleased tracks and comes in a jewel case with full color artwork and poster booklet also feat. the original front and back cover. First editio…
Archives Genetiquement Modifiees/Societe II
Archives Génétiquement Modifiées (2000). Société II (1967). Robot Records is honored and pleased to present two historic compositions for the first time on CD by the late, great Luc Ferrari. The programme opens with Archives Génétiquement Modifiées (Genetically Modified Archives), a work for memorized sounds from 2000. This composition (subtitled: Exploitation of the Concepts 3) was the third in a series of later pieces in which Mr.Ferrari revisited aspects of his early concepts and compositiona…
Mev 40
Utterly fantastic and indispensable overview on 4 CDs. "Musica Elettronica Viva (MEV) was begun one evening in the spring of 1966 by Allan Bryant, Alvin Curran, Jon Phetteplace, Carol Plantamura, Frederic Rzweski, Richard Teitelbaum and Ivan Vandor in a room in Rome overlooking the Pantheon. MEV’s music right from the start was also totally open, allowing all and everything to come in and seeking in every way to get out beyond the heartless conventions of contemporary music. Taking its cue from …
Pollution
Franco Battiato's wonderfully lively 1973 concept album Pollution is an audaciously psychedelic album drawn from the space rock dimension with good portions of electronics and keyboard layers. Drawing heavily on the VCS3 synthesizer, Battiato and company (besides himself, three backing band members play synth as well) give Pollution an extreme electronic edge. With comparisons to Ash Ra Tempel, Faust, and Pink Floyd, Pollution was declared 'genius' by Frank Zappa.
Folk Songs, Sequenza VI, Les Mots sont allés - Dérive
Folk Songs, written in 1964, has long been one of Berio's most popular works. A series of eleven songs for mezzo and chamber ensemble, it is couched in an accessible language with more than a hint of Stravinsky in the instrumentation. The songs here are not all folk songs: some are arrangements of popular songs in folk style and a couple are original Berio compositions, while the last song was transcribed from an old scratched 78 by the composer's then-wife Cathy Berberian. This performance, if …
Szenario - Duodramen - Liturgien
Mauricio Kagel is a conductor, writer, teacher and self-taught composer, initially influenced by avant-garde figures such as Boulez and Stockhausen. 'Szenario,' scored for string orchestra and tape, was conceived as an independent work, but quickly found a new role as musical backing to the Luis Bunuel/Salvador Dali silent classic 'Le chien andalou'. Duodramen can be heard either as an orchestral song-cycle in the tradition of Mahler or as an operatic 'final scene' in the tradition of Wagner or …
Shleep
The history of Robert Wyatt’s music gained a new and wonderful chapter in 1997 with the release of SHLEEP, his first album since 1991. With contributions from guest musicians Brian Eno, Paul Weller, Phil Manzanera, Evan Parker, Annie Whitehead and others, Robert has created another classic album : inimitably Wyatt, but adding new colours and textures. A truly memorable work.
Floating Music
First ever UK CD release for this classic album from the master percussionist & ambient musician -- remastered from the original tapes. Extensive booklet with liner notes & fully restored artwork. Stomu Yamash'ta is a master percussionist who studied jazz drumming at Berklee School of Jazz. In the 1970s, he recorded a string of innovative albums for Island Records which utilized the talents of such leading musicians as Hugh Hopper, Maurice Pert, Steve Winwood, Michael Shrieve and Klaus Schulze, …
Free Improvisation
Gray-area reissue of this rare album previously only available in the legendary 3LP set only Free Improvisation (together with New Phonic Art and Iskra 1903, on the Deutsche Grammophon label, issued in 1973); analog re-recording. LTD. edition 180 grams. Karl Heinz Böttner: electric guitar, 'Vox Organ Guitar', vocals, ocarinas, flexatone, zither, electric bass, guitar, framus; Mike Lewis: Hammond (and Leslie) organ, vocals, percussion; Michael Ranta: percussion, home-made plucked instrument, voca…
Und
Time to unearth another Kraut obscurity, sought-after by collectors worldwide since his inclusion on the legendary NWW list. Franz De Byl's second album, released by Thorofon in 1971, was actually his debut as a solo performer, an eccentric collection of freaky acoustic folk songs with bluesy elements and an extra satirical, political twist (not unlike Floh De Cologne). Weird sounds and compulsive chanting from this master of the acoustic guitar, one of the most curious characters to ever emerge…
Earth Groove: The Voice Of Cosmic India
Gray-area reissue of the first Western LP release from Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath. Originally issued on the Douglas label in the U.S., in 1968. Classic, late '60s performance by the master of Indian vocal music. Two sidelong pieces grace this record. A morning raga and an evening raga. Vocals with sitar and tabla accompaniment. Not easy listening by any means, but rewarding in the end.
Intencion
Intención, the sensational second LP recorded by Atila, has never fetched the high amounts their debut album The Beginning of the End does exchange hands for in the collectors' market, but it is still a mega-rare LP hardly seen below the 400 euros tag, and is considered by many to be better than their previous output. At the time of recording this album, the band was already considered one of the top stage acts from Spain, which led to their signing for the BASF label, where they had access to a…
Anne Briggs
Reissue of the first Anne Briggs album, originally issued on Topic. The first full-length album from the legendary folk singer, originally released in 1971. Anne Briggs was a huge influence on the entire British folk-rock movement, especially other female singers such as Sandy Denny, Jacqui McShee, and Maddy Prior. Anne Briggs is a strong collection of traditional folk songs and original material and one of the most important releases of the British folk revival. Despite the fact that Briggs had…
The Time Has Come
New version of this acclaimed album, previously reissued in sporadically available fashion by the laughable CBS/Columbia remnant empire. New liner notes by Andy Beta; most homes would appreciate an upgrade pf this all-time lip-melter and here it is. One of the most important figures of the British folk revival of the 1960s, Anne Briggs was a huge influence on such luminaries as Sandy Denny, Maddy Prior and Linda Thompson. This is her second full-length, originally released in 1971. Unlike previo…
Cluster 71
First reissue of this one in many years; this is first Cluster (w/ a "C") album (following the 2 Kluster albums: Klopfzeichen & Zwei-Osterei), originally issued by Philips in, yes, 1971. The 2 equally classic albums that would follow this (II & Zuckerzeit) have pretty much always been available, but 71 has mostly languished (although it was reissued at times by Sky). Reissued here w/ original cover art (not the inferior Sky art), nice booklet of photos and new liner notes, no unnecessary bonus j…
Crossing Borders
This is a previously unreleased recording from the late '70s by Bob Downes Open Music. Bob Downes is a multi-instrumentalist composer possessing a distinctive musical personality and prowess. Through bodily breath emanates sublime sounds from an array of flutes, poignant patterns from his alto and tenor saxophone performances, and engaging expressions of complimentary vocalizations. Open Music is the moniker under which Bob has produced an eclectic range of records since 1968. However, none of t…
Curiosities 1972
This is the first chance to hear a recently discovered recording from Command All Stars, a project involving widely recognized musicians from Keith Tippet Group, Soft Machine and King Crimson, among others. In February 1972, a group of young jazz musicians gathered in London's Command Studios, with producer Robert Fripp, to record a double album intended for Ronnie Scott's productions. The cast, consisting of pianist Keith Tippet, saxophonist Elton Dean, trombonist Nick Evans, trumpeter Mark Cha…