Soundworks

Never-before-released recordings of mythic Belgian kosmische band Kosmose (1973-'78). Kosmose can be approached as a collective without a specific leader. The line-up fluctuated quite a lot around a rock-solid core formed by Alain Neffe and Francis Pourcel. As this release demonstrates, their sound evolved from something deeply influenced by kosmische music to a purely improvised form of noisy free jazz. The whole adventure took place in the heart of the '70s, almost under wraps, though mo…

CD in six-panel digipak with 24-page booklet. First reissue of Karel Appel's masterpiece Musique Barbare. In 1963, Dutch abstract expressionist painter Karel Appel (1921-2006), who cofounded the avant-garde Cobra movement in 1948, booked time in the Instituut voor Sonologie in the Netherlands to compose music for a documentary that cinematographer Jan Vrijman was making on Appel's work. Musique Barbare was born. Originally released by Philips, this masterpiece of musique concrète is a real …

Expanded reissue of the Univers Zero's 1977 debut album, reissued as a double LP with a bonus track "La Faulx" spread over sides C and D. Long-running Belgian chamber rockers and avant-garde pioneers led by drummer and composer Daniel Denis, Univers Zero formed in 1974 with co-composer and guitarist Roger Trigaux (who left the band in 1980). This is their first album, recorded between August 2 and 5, 1977. "The rhythmic energy and dissonant riffs, the distinctive sound of the bassoon and str…