Reissues
Boomerang
A masterwork! Cadmo where a jazz-prog trio that had their debut on the legendary Vedette label (Metamorfosi) in 1977. While their members [Antonello Salis (keyboards) Riccardo Lay (bass) Mario Paliano (drums)] are nowadays considered among the best jazz musicians in Italy, in the seventies they still enjoyed mixing up several musical influences, so please expect a musical range that starts with Soft Machine-alike freeform crescendos, wild jazz rock in the best Italian tradition and tribal/ethnic…
Mauro Pagani
First Mauro Pagani solo album featuring many of the best Italian musicians of that time, including AREA members Demetrio Stratos, the whole work is an amazing eastern tinged folk experimental album, now reissued by BTF in the usual wonderful papersleeve gatefold CD edition, with detailed booklet.
Tibetan Bells
Tibetan Bells was a legendary 1971 album by Henry Wolff and Nancy Hennings and Drew Gladstone, originally released by Island label (while in Italy it went out on Bla Bla records, of Franco Battiato fame). It was the first recording to use traditional Tibetan bells and singing bowls, and it's a true estatic listening experience. In 1972 the world was listening to heavy, intense, high-energy music. In the midst of this rock explosion Chris Blackwell of Island Records released Tibetan Bells in the …
La norma del cielo
Always influenced by eastern doctrines (he later became a Hare Krishna), Rocchi was also active in anti-war movements and always present at various italian pop festivals during the early 70's. His second album, released in 1971 and titled "Volo magico n.1", is usually considered as his best effort, in much the same style as Alan Sorrenti's "Aria" with a side-long title track and softer tracks on the other side. "Volo Magico n.1" features a 18 minute long title-track starting with a soft introduc…
Cogli il giorno
First CD reissue for the ultra-rare second work of acclaimed keyboarder Luciano Basso. As usual a great instrumental work, mostly unknown, underrated and of course very rare in its original form. Musically it is the usual and great blend of classical-influenced progressive music and avant-garde, just as its stunning debut “Voci”. Among the guest musicians on this album, Leonardo Dosso from “Gruppo D’Alternativa”. Cogli il giorno (seize the day) is highly suggested for the lovers of adventurous I…
Sulle corde di Aries
With Sulle Corde Di Aries (1973) Battiato evolved towards the chamber electroacoustic music of Sequenze e Frequenze and Da Oriente A Occidente, a natural progression from his electronic-rock fusion.
On The Radio
On The Radio is a compilation of rare BBC recordings, including 3 John Peel studio sessions and a live concert. The band includes Dave Sinclair (ex-Caravan), Phil Miller (Hatfield & The North and National Health), Bill MacCormick and Dave MacRae. This special digipack format features an original cover photograph by Robert Wyatt, who also compiled the running order. The accompanying 12-page CD booklet features extensive liner notes by Matching Mole bassist, Bill MacCormick, plus rare period photo…
Clic
"Clic" is released in 1974 and it is truly of those art-popping creations Battiato ever managed to do - there are full analogies naming it a best ever album, there are voices that appreciate its corrosive attitude under quite exhaustive portraits, everything being or not of a heads-up, since "Clic" needs to affirm a great response from the person who listens to it. All the fractured comparisons can become unremarkable, even if most of the previous solid works has lead to this entire full interes…
Za
This is another one of Franco Battiato's amazing recordings from the 70's, and it features two extended pieces -- "ZA" and "Café Table Musik". "Za" is a long piece for solo piano, with lots of spare minimal moments, and haunting trancelike lines of chords that build very very slowly. It's a beautiful exercise in restraint, and the kind of haunting soundscape that Battiato is legendary for. "Café Table Musik" is a bit more complex, although it's still got minimal piano progressions as its core. T…
L\'Egitto prima della sabbie
Battiato's work on minimalism culminates with "L' Egitto prime delle Sabbie", with two long pieces based on hardly one note and its harmonics.
II.
Group 180 II is from 1985 and exhibits the same good taste in modern compositional works. There are two pieces by Steven Reich, “Piano Phase” and “Octet”. Compositions by András Soós and Bela Farago make up the rest of the album. It should be note that, with the exception of Rzewski and Reich, the composers are all members of Group 180. It is again a well played set and one that fans of modern music will treasure. Only one copy available.
180-AS-CSOPORT
'Group 180' ('180-as Csoport' in Hungarian) was a Hungarian ensemble dedicated to the performance of new music, active from 1978 until 1990. The group achieved recognition for their performances and recordings of contemporary music in the minimal style. Group 180's membership included several young Hungarian composers (among them László Melis and Tibor Szemz?), whose works formed an important part of the ensemble's repertoire. This brought the group prominence as one of the preeminent European n…
Musical Electro-Alchemy
Synthesist and electroacoustic composer born in 1933. Ivan Patachich was the musical director of Budapest film studios. He died in 1993. These recordings made in the Electronic Music Studio of the Hungarian Radio and in the Institute of Sonology, State University Utrecht. Very rare. Only one copy available.
Etudes Boreales • Ryoanji
Very scarce John cage album released on Mode Records in the early eighties. "This two-record set collects some terrific performances in solo and duo contexts and is also quite a fine welcome mat into the Cage . By comparing different versions of "Etudes Boreales" -- first piano solo, then cello solo, then combined -- much can be gleaned about the way this composer thinks, a endlessly interesting subject in itself. The individual players are virtuosos not only in playing but thinking as well, com…
Computer Music
Works by three composers ("Quartets in Pairs / Quartersines / Mudget: Monologues By A Mass Murderer" by J.K. Randall, "Synthesism" by Barry Vercoe, "Changes" by Charles Dodge) realized in the computer centers of Columbia and Princeton Universities. Only one copy available.
Electronic Music V
Music from the Dartmouth International Electronic Music Competitions 1969 and 1970, by Peter Glushanok, Jose Vicente Asuar, Richard Allan Robinson, Jean-Claude Risset, Raymond Moore and Peter Klausmeyer. Only one copy available.
Prochronisms
Morphogenesis, made up of: Clive Graham, Roger Sutherland, Ron Briefel, Micha, Fred Sansom, and Andy Courdry, was formed in 1985. They were interested in exploring the possibilities of live electronics and collective improvisation. The members have diverse musical backgrounds, including teaching electonic music at Morley College and playing in other groups ranging from Cornelius Cardew's Scratch Orchestra, Nurse with Wound and Organum. Only one copy available.
New Music For Piano(s)
Compositions by Xenakis/Takahashi/Earle Brown performed by Yuji Takahashi, on Mainstream. Hérma for piano solo (1960-61) by Xenakis dedicated to Yuji Takahashi; Fantasy for Pianist (1963-64) by Reynolds; Metatheses (1968) by Yuji Takahashi dedicated to Gunther Schuller; Corroboree (for three pianos) (1963-64) by Earle Brown commissioned by and dedicated to Aloys, Alfons and Bernhardt Kontarsky Only one copy available.
Electronic Music III
Third volume of the great contemporary electroacoustic compilations published by Turnabout: Electronic Music III. It contains electronic music by Berio/Druckman/Mimaroglu. Only one copy available.
Was?? / Proteinimperialism
What?? was composed in 1967 in the electronic music studio of Swedish Radio, and was originally released on the German new music label Wergo with Bo Anders Persson 's Proteinimperialism , another static drone piece. What?? is based on Folke Rabe 's intense interest in monotony and harmonic overtones. The work is based on deep drones and their partials, where each partial is separately manipulated. Sometimes this coalesces into a beautiful chord, sometimes into more dissonant structures, but is c…