Wonderful Brutalism
*100 copies limited edition* “'Wonderful Brutalism' is an epic, and at times intense slice of improvisation - drums and taishogoto build into an unrelenting stampede with moments of gentle cinematic soundscape. Improvisation at its most dynamic and inspiring.” - Michael Sill Belgium musicians Jef Mertens and Dirk Wachtelaer have both been active in the field of experimental music since the 1990s—Dirk as a drummer and Jef as a documentary filmmaker. It wasn’t until 2023 that they met for the firs…
The Shamanic Principles
Teiji Ito's The Shamanic Principles explores spiritual dimensions of sound - fourth Tzadik release documenting composer's journey into sacred music and ritual performance
GOD O: Music For A Gallery Opening
The Residents are an American art collective best known for their over 60 studio albums that were recorded over a period of over forty years. They also created some outstanding multimedia works, mainly three CD ROM projects and more than ten DVDs. Charles Bock was a pseudonym that Hardy Fox, co-founder and primary composer for the group, used from 2012 to 2017. About a dozen albums were released using that name until Fox started using his real name for his solo recordings. "GOD O" was the openin…
Disquiet
On Disquiet, The Necks stretch their immersive, shape-shifting sound across three discs and more than three hours of labyrinthine, patient intensity. This twentieth studio recording marks the 39th year of the band's existence, representing both a culmination of their extraordinary journey and a bold leap into uncharted sonic territory. Meticulously recorded and sculpted, the four extended pieces on Disquiet see Tony Buck, Chris Abrahams, and Lloyd Swanton pushing at the outer edges of their coll…
Soil Leaf Root
"As a concoction of whirring, electronics-strewn field recordings, this over fifty minute piece is intoxicating in its intimacy, like drifting half asleep through various conversations, rituals, prayers. As a piece which considers the “complex entanglements of migrant stories, memory, identity, otherness”, it feels urgently, cacophonously important, a sonic insight into our shared humanity" — Spenser Tomson In this project, Paul and Masimba capture almost five years of conversation as they stood…
Playing The Beetles
Gryphon Rue returns to Soap Library with Playing the Beetles, a sonic adaptation of a performance of the same name with Ka Baird and Qasim Naqvi at Roulette Intermedium in November 2023.
Through a color-mapping system that matches non-toxic paint on the beetle shells to clothing worn by the performers, the highly experimental piece musically interprets the behavior of live beetles (the bugs, not the band.) Under the watchful eye of a live camera feed connected to software, beetles explore their…
On "Dissolving Strawberry" (2020)
“On ‘Dissolving Strawberry’ (2020)” is a collection of interpretive sound compositions thematically centered around the titular painting by Swedish artist Christine Ödlund.
“Dissolving Strawberry” (2020) portrays an ongoing decomposition process through several parallel perspectives, or planes – molecular and cosmic, as well as symbolic – by means of color pigments produced from the strawberry plant itself. Transfer of knowledge and exchange of meaning between plant and animal world is a consta…
Living in the present
Living in the present is an album built around the work of American minimalist poet, Robert Lax (1915-2000) who is widely praised for his artistic concept of reduction, in which a pause becomes as important as the things said. The album brings together the sound of Robert Lax reading his poetry, narrative field recordings by Nicolas Humbert and subtle yet imaginative timbres by Carina Khorkhordina (trumpet) and Miki Yui (electronics) who is also behind the final mixing of the album.
Living in th…
L'Empire Des Sons
An elusive cult gem resurfaces through Glossy Mistakes. Originally released in 1986, L'Empire Des Sons is an otherworldly blend of synth pop, folk experimentation, and cinematic percussive layers-dreamlike, poetic, and wildly ahead of its time. L'Empire Des Sons was a fleeting yet powerful transmission from the fringes of the French underground-an album that blurred genre lines and evaded easy classification. Fusing experimental folk, lo-fi synth pop, and avant-garde textures, the record exists …
Music for "Cyber Café"
Reproduction of the print pattern of the flyer for the "Ikebukuro Cyber Café" event held in 1991 on the cover, a center hole on the back side, a reproduction of the original cassette index of "Computer Café Music" and an IC board for electronic devices (the real one) are pasted on the front cover. The disc was mastered by D&M and cut at 45 rpm. An insert is included. Standard black vinyl pressing.
In 1991, Yuji Takahashi and Mamoru Fujieda collaborated in staging a sound installation at the Sezo…
Desert: Guitar Solo For Reel-to-reel Tape Recording
Mamer first became known as a dombra virtuoso and a modern master of Kazakh folk music. Over the years, he has evolved into a prolific and versatile artist, working across the boundaries of both tranditional and contemporary music. Mamer leads seven band projects: IZ, Bande, Mekrop, TAT, Mask, 51-Rayon, and Kunakar. He has released over 30 records, presenting a diversity of distinct styles including folk, ambient, industrial, noise, improvisation, and drone music.
“Every Mamer is brand new”. On…
Tipuuraa
Tipuuraa is a 7-inch, single-sided flexi-disc released by Lorsson in 2015. Pressed on a flexible vinyl sheet, this unique format is known for its lightweight, collectible nature and is often used for limited or special releases. The record was issued by the Gafoni label, catalog number Galaxi-4, and is categorized as an EP.
Live At The Library Theatre '83
2025 stock "Live at The Library Theatre '83" captures the legendary Nico, former member of The Velvet Underground, in a raw and intimate live performance at Manchester’s Library Theatre in 1983. This release, issued by Culture Factory and Cherry Red Records, marks the first time this concert has been available on vinyl, presented as a limited edition for Record Store Day.
Hold Onto I.D.
Recorded from late 1996 through early 1997, Hold Onto I.D., The Shadow Ring’s fourth album, marks the apogee of the trio’s experimental rock epoch—their last record clinging to their factitious bandness before they let all song and structure go awash in sonic malaise for their final run of releases on Swill Radio. The surrealist dreams of City Lights and Put the Music in Its Coffin give way to pseudo-expressionistic lyrics mired in the banality and bleakness of the everyday, set against the back…
Wax-Work Echoes
Wax-Work Echoes, The Shadow Ring’s 1996 album, marks a shift to original material and features Tim Goss in the main lineup. Fusing atmospheric soundscapes and wry lyricism, it captures the band’s restless energy. Out of print for decades, it now returns on vinyl.
Brace for Impact
First pressing of 500 units. Hampus Lindwall unveils Brace for Impact, a groundbreaking album that positions the pipe organ as the ultimate instrument for our hyperconnected era. This isn't your grandmother's church music – it's a visceral forty-five minute journey that transforms one of humanity's oldest instruments into a vehicle for exploring contemporary anxieties, digital culture, and the collision between ancient tradition and algorithmic thinking. The Swedish composer and organist, who ha…
The Serpentine Similar
The Serpentine Similar, the seminal debut studio album from American experimental rock innovators Gastr del Sol, is now available on Drag City. Originally released in 1993 by TeenBeat Records and reissued by Drag City in 1997, this album marks a pivotal moment in experimental and post-rock music. Formed from the ashes of the post-hardcore band Bastro, Gastr del Sol features guitarist David Grubbs, bassist Bundy K. Brown, and additional percussion by John McEntire. Recorded in Chicago’s Experimen…
Crookt, Crackt Or Fly
Drag City is proud to announce the reissue of “Crookt, Crackt, or Fly,” the groundbreaking album by avant-garde duo Gastr del Sol. Originally released in 1994, this record stands as a landmark in experimental and post-rock music, now remastered and available once again for a new generation of listeners.
Formed by David Grubbs and Jim O’Rourke, Gastr del Sol emerged from the fertile Chicago music scene of the early 1990s, pushing the boundaries of rock, folk, and modern composition. “Crookt, Crac…
Mirror Repair
2025 Repress. Three decades after its initial release, Gastr del Sol's Mirror Repair remains one of the most perfectly realized statements in the post-rock canon - a five-track EP that captured the crystalline moment when experimental precision met emotional immediacy. Now, Drag City presents a 2025 repress of this essential 1994 release, offering contemporary listeners the opportunity to experience the album that defined the creative partnership between David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke at its most…
Bitterviper
Tip! In the realm of experimental music, certain collaborations feel inevitable - the convergence of like-minded artists whose individual voices seem destined to merge into something greater than the sum of their considerable parts. Bitterviper represents precisely such a meeting of minds, bringing together four musicians who have each participated in some of the most striking avant-garde music-making of the past two decades for an album that redefines what collaborative minimalism can achieve. …