Experimental / Progressive

The show on this album was performed in Olomouc, Czech Republic, at the Moravian Theatre, in the year 2010. The Ceasar gallery organized a retrospective exhibition called “The Residents Residence“ in Olomouc. The exhibition contained art, constumes, masks and other artefacts of The Residents and Už Jsme Doma were asked if they could create their own versions of The Residents’ songs, and play them to support the exhibition. As Randy, the Residents’ singer, was invited for the opening and staying …

Featuring artists as diverse as The Residents, Robert Fripp, XTC’s Andy Partridge, Pete Seeger, Robert Wyatt and The Pretenders’ Martin Chambers, as well as cover artwork contributed by Ralph Steadman, Morgan Fisher’s 1980 release “Miniatures” truly was a first. Overwhelmed with concepts for potential releases, Fisher decided to see how many of these ideas he might be able to squeeze onto just one album. Rather than performing everything himself, he invited 50 musicians he admired to send in tra…

**High class ethno jazzrock with Central Asian and Turkmen elements**Unique 1980 album, progressive, yet traditional style, lyrics in Turkmen language.The Gunesh Ensemble was founded in 1970 in Ashkhabad, Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union. They started out as a vocal group with supporting musicians from Turkmenistan State Radio and TV. Later several young musicians came to play with them and the band’s music became much more modern. The group began to play jazz-roc…

**2020 stock** "What about this Cosmofonia Rudimentale? Well, here we have a group of friends who liked to improvise together around 2010 in studio and on stage. The “excuse” was to create a music that could accompany futurist poetry. Roberto Zanisi is a polymorphous musician playing a lot of ethnic string instruments who collaborated between others with Amy Denio, Giovanni Venosta, David Moss, Sainkho Namtchylak and Fabien Guyot. Valerio Scrignoli is an important  guitarist of Italian jazz scen…

**CD version** "This is Annie Barbazza’s first solo album. She was a young drummer in love with progressive rock when Greg Lake discovered her talent as a singer and wanted her on stage with him for the concert which would later become the posthumous “Live in Piacenza”. Again Lake produced Moonchild, the duo with pianist Max Repetti for Manticore Records where she sang many songs formerly sang by Lake with ELP and King Crimson. If these were the beginnings of Annie’s career, now she is a rising …

Agitation Free was one of the leading representatives of German experimental rock music in the early 1970s and was one of Berlin's most interesting bands under Ash Ra Temple and Tangerine Dream. The recordings on this vinyl were taken from a live radio concert of WDR / Germany, Cologne on February 2, 1974. The bonus track Big Fuzz was recorded in Moers on February 16, 1972.

CD version. Available for the first time outside Japan, and on LP and CD, Phosphorescent Dreams is another epic album of symphonic schizophrenic avant-rock from Univers Zero, originally released in 2014 -- only on CD -- on the Japanese label Arcàngelo. Phosphorescent Dreams presents at the same time, in the same track, even on a single moment, the complex musical schemes and ways of Univers Zero, ranging from maximalism to minimalism, classical avant-garde with a 2020 vibe in a constant flux. In…

Cambridge-based experimental group Contemporary Music Unit was formed in the late 1960s by the guitarist, author and visual artist, Ed Lee, with former student Terry Mortimer on guitar and keyboards. Lee recruited bassist Adrian Kendon, who brought drummer Roger Odell, the latter a powerful foil to Lee’s experimental visions. When Kendon left, Lee assumed bass duties and Odell’s wife Lorraine became a primary vocalist (after the departure of early member Sally Knox), along with teaching comerade…

The strangest so far. Mostly songs; a lot of acoustic instruments, a lot of unidentifiable sounds, a lot of fragments borne on a wind from somewhere else; bizarre picking interludes, humour (maybe) and snatches of incandescent playing. You can't pin this one down; it's full of twists and turns and a geometry that doesn't quite add up. Seemingly casual, there's not an ounce of fat on it, and the production - or anti-production - is, on repeated listening, quite extraordinary. Impressive.

Thinking Plague, Hail, EC Nudes, 5UU's bassist and mixmaster with his second solo CD. Fast and furious country picking meets weird fragmentation and fast cut compositions. Guitars, Bass, Drums, Violin and odd unidentifiable noises all flawlessly performed, recorded and mixed into a single organism of musical strangeness. One of a kind.

The 4th album from the band that I consider to be possibly the finest Italian progressive rock band of the 1970's, & certainly a band in the top tier of all early 1970's progressive bands worldwide! Area combined jazz/rock/stolen ethnic music (mostly from Eastern Europe and the Middle East)/the avant garde and more. Superb playing from all (vocals/organ, guitar, electric piano/synths, bass & drums). This includes a thick booklet with rare photos, notes, etc. While everyone shines, the vocalist, …

Continuing the twisted pop explorations of Here Come the Warm Jets, Brian Eno's follow up album, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), is more subdued and cerebral, and a bit darker when he does cut loose, but it's no less thrilling once the music reveals itself. It's a loose concept album about espionage, the Chinese Communist revolution, and dream associations, with the more stream-of-consciousness lyrics beginning to resemble the sorts of random connections made in dream states. Eno's richly l…

 "A dark, brooding masterpiece of Zeuhl influenced music, Les Morts Vont Vite is actually much closer to the chamber rock of Univers Zero, Art Zoyd or Present than it is to Magma. Ann Stewarts quasi-operatic vocals have something in common with Stella Vander's contributions to Magma, but there are no choral arrangements or massed chanting here. Instead, the vocals are frequently played off the innovative trombone (an unusual instrument in a rock context) or the squalling, distorted guitar lines.…

Atoll is one of the most renowned progressive rock bands to came from France and is also the only French band that had an English vocalist in its lineup. Atoll released five studio albums in all, and "Musiciens Magiciens" is their first, originally released in 1974. Featuring a unique, almost symphonic sound, with dynamic and melodic arrangements, Atoll are sure to appeal to fans of Genesis, and Yes, as well as fellow countrymen such as Mona Lisa, and Pulsar. Reissued in a deluxe gatefol…

Amazing previously unreleased 1976 recordings by psychedelic progsters Blat Brut. Highly touched by the works of Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, John Mayall, Pink Floyd or Jethro Tull, the band melted all their influences into a unique sound and delivered extended heady instrumental jams with a tight, ferocious drum & bass backline under guitar pyrotechnics and psyched-out flute arrangements. This band was not only formed by its four musicians, their line-up also included two sound engineers who built th…

Agitation Free's 2nd stands as one of Germany's finest instrumental rock albums of the 1970s and a classic for fans of progressive rock and Krautrock. Despite the fact that the group had problems keeping its cohesion at the time, these troubles never affect the music. 2nd presented a daring blend of Krautrock-type extended jams, laid-back attitude, and experimentation. The music remains very psychedelic in nature, more early Can than Faust. The presence of acoustic guitars and bouzouki emphasize…

An internationally known artist, Franco Battiato has been everything in his long career, from beat singer to avantgarde performer, producer, contemporary music composer.His beginnings lay in the mid 60's, with many singles released with no particular success, the first two under his real name of Francesco. He had left the native Sicily (he was born in Jonia, near Catania in 1945) moving to Milan around 1965.Fetus, housed in a outrageous cover (reproducing a foetus) was definitely a prog al…

Deep Politics was conceived during the lengthiest gestation period between Grails albums, and reflects a deeper, more educated level of concentration. In their ongoing exploration of occult/fringe culture and the rich history of film music, they have cultivated a unique environment that inspires both an eternal sense of longing and an indelible sense of dread. Produced by the band, as always, the most immediately noticeable advances are the lush string arrangements (courtesy of acclaimed compose…

Invisible Things is the duo of guitarist Mark Shippy (U.S. Maple) and drummer Jim Sykes (Parts & Labor).  Well beyond the stereotypical thoughts of a guitar, drum improv/jam session, the drumming is based the study of Sri Lankan percussion and applied to the modern drum kit. This foundation of the drums allows for explorations by the guitar that is tight and sparse one moment and then seamlessly shifted into majestic swirls of reverberation.  The album, comprised of 17 tracks, is presented as on…

Starring’s ABCDEFG-HIJKLMNOP-QRSTUV-WXYZ combines minimalist musical patterns with dreamy poetry to create a new style front-woman Clara Hunter likes to call “sparkle prog.” It captures the frenetic energy of the band’s live show, but here it is overlain with a new palate of synthesizers, delay effects, drum processing, aux percussion, and vocals that create delicate, but sometimes radical juxtapositions between the lyrical and the experimental. Though songs like “the best” and “aphonia” …

LP version. Sub Rosa presents this cult album that has not been available in years. Re-released with new artwork, this is the 1980 version of Symphonie Pour Le Jour Où Brûleront Les Cités (the original version was released in 1976 and was later re-recorded). Pioneering Rock In Opposition filled with clashing percussion, frenetic orchestral motifs and apocalyptic brass. Not for the squeamish. It features the line-up of Thierry Zaboïtzeff (cello), Alain Eckert (guitar), Gilles Renard (saxoph…

Primitive Expression is an amazing collection of unissued at the time studio material that proves Ame Son were a really amazing band, since this material sounds equally good as that of their official LP, if not better! It will appeal to fans of Gong, the early Soft Machine, Pink Floyd and in general anyone with interests in the field of experimental free form underground psychedelic rock. It also includes the two songs from their only 45. Additionally, this LP features a PS 7" with the …

"Thunderbolt Pagoda is a heavy space rock group illuminating the darker reaches of the cosmos at high volume. Their approach to long-form rock and heavy ambience (realized through large amplifiers, Mellotron and vintage analogue electronics) has gained them a modest but fervent audience in the Twin Cities and among space rock connoisseurs in other parts of the world since the release of their debut LP in 2008. Their new LP, Second Ascension, builds on the template of the first LP; one sid…

Two tracks, 31 minutes. Southern are very excited to present the latest release in our Latitudes series from Master Musicians of Bukkake. Recorded at Southern Studios by Harvey Birrell on 17 April 2010. Additional tracking and mixing at Aleph Studios in Seattle. Produced by Randall Dunn. Mastered by Mell Dettmer. Artwork by Randall Dunn and A.Turner. Elogia de la sombra is the 24th recording in the Latitudes series.Master Musicians Of Bukkake are an enchanting collective, comprising a fine pedig…

Entity formed by musicians strongly professing their psychedelic faith , sons of post-modern breaking-up, incapable of choosing between jazz noise and Italian tunes of Japanese manga, ill at ease in paying our respects both to Pink Floyd and to the most tremendous metal .After ten years, conflagration leaves room to the need of building up a more constant and meditative way, creating EX-P.Improvisation and an estranged kind of sound are still the main features, searched inside the huge territori…

This is an identical 180-gram vinyl reissue of the 1973 Vertigo release, wich is possibly Magma's great opus. Whether one prefers one of their other studio or live releases to it, there is no doubt that Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh is the most original, definitive Magma album around (although this reviewer personally prefers the Mekanik Kommandoh version!).Featuring a cast of thousands including a choir, brass section, flute and tuned percussion, Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh marries the stripped…

The outrageous British packaging of Jade Warrior's Released was restricted while retaining almost all of its luxurious quality.  The cover itself is a single cover, depicting virtually the same front and back as the British release. The Vertigo logo was transferred to the left upper corner, while the freecoming space now had a caption ''including poster''. Indeed, a poster was added. This was an exact copy of the 6-part fold-out board used in Britain, but of course on ''normal'' thin paper.

The collected Black Tar Prophecies ends up being a more idiosyncratic mission statement for future Grails recordings, revealing their fondness for the groundfloor '60s and '70s experimental artists that saw music as a process of discovery as opposed to the pre-conceived, pre-parametered, commodified sport that underground music has become. A parallel is now forming between Grails and old-school experimental bands like Faust who, rejecting their past, started over from the beginning to build new …

The first 2 Guru Guru releases, both from 1971. Musically, these 2 represent (along with their 3rd, Kanguru) the reigning moments of this acid-destroyed-jamming Krautrock outfit, and are essential artifacts of pure thunder.

1976 was a year of flux and change. For the recording of the fifth Area album, the core membership of Stratos, Fariselli, Tofani and Tavolazzi were present, but drummer Capiozzo only appears on about half of the album, replaced on various tracks by either Walter Calloni or Paul Litton. Steve Lacy augments the band, as do several other studio musicians (including a string quartet). Perhaps it was the contributions of this eclectic group of guests that gives Maledetti its bi-directional feel. On o…

Radiomobel are a prog rock outfit from the 1970s, playing the ambitious symphonic rock popular at the time. This issue marks the album's first appearance on CD. First time on CD for classic prog from 1978. Psychedelic symph rock with lots of keyboards and moogs.

Pholas Dactylus have left, with Concerto delle Menti, a unique example of avantgarde prog containing only spoken lyrics that can be appealing to the most adventurous listeners even because the musical background is intense and mesmerising; the album contains a long suite divided onto the two sides of the record with no breaks, and even a rare single was released from it. The first representation of Concerto delle Menti came in the winter of 1972, in Cornate d'Adda. The group had a very good live…

Archimedes Badkar (Archimedes Bathtub) was a Swedish group formed by percussionist/pianist/composer Per Tjernberg that existed between 1972 -1980, recording four LPs (including a 2 LP set) that has since achieved cult status in several camps. World Music was not yet a household term, but for once that description seems perfect for what Archimedes Badkar must definitely be regarded as one of the pioneering bands. Several of the members had travelled and studied music in North and South India, Mor…

second and last effort from this criminally underrated band in the same style as their first

an underrated band, rich experimental progressive music with some jazz influences, close sometimes to canterbury sound. complex themes, elaborate arrangements give solemn aspect to the long instrumental constructions

80's original second issue by the Suono label, the second album, "Lord Cromwell Plays The Suite for Seven Vices" is their masterpiece: it uses more contemporary compositions with a radical avantgarde approach: all in all, it is done in an interesting, skilled and extraordinary way.