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Winter Songs
A reissue of the brilliant second album by Art Bears, a band/project featuring Fred Frith, Chris Cutler and Dagmar Krause, formed in 1978 after disputes over the musical direction within Henry Cow. 'Winter Songs', originally released in 1979, placed Art Bears in the forefront of the Rock In Opposition Movement. Art Bears' intense and brutal avant-garde approach on the album comes across as primordial expression, which is nailed down by Krause's violently charismatic voice. As a piece of music re…
DeLuxe
Beautiful legit 2015 reissue on Groenland, truly a brilliant little album from Harmonia – quite possibly their greatest record ever, and a set that's wonderfully balanced between progressive and electronic modes! There's a live drummer on the set – Mani Neumeier of Guru Guru – and although he still plays with a spare, circular mode that recalls the Harmonia rhythms of before, there's also a slight bit of propulsion here too – one that pushes the keyboards and guitars alongside nicely. There's al…
Stuck in Paradise
Sweet Marie was formed in late 1969 amidst the turmoil of the Vietnam War and the wild music scene of Hollywood. Twentyeight year old Prince Teddy, a producer at Capitol Records and a songwnter.'musician. had a vision tor a rock-n-roll trio with rich harmonies and psychedelic undertones He approached Sonny Lathrop, a 25 year ok) guitarist and recording musician who was known around the hip Hollywood night dubs, about his idea and together they recruited Willy Bims on drums Bims. 32, had been the…
Eclosion
Never released side-project by Ame Son leader Marc Blanc. An intriguing, marvellous mixture of acid folk, electronic experiments, provocative lyrics & slam poetries and almost post rock stridence. As usual, Monster Melodies was not cheap on the bonuses: a beautiful fanzine is included, as well as a postcard insert (see the additional pictures). Strictly limited to 1000 numbered copies with transparent blue wax.Edited for the first time, the record (1000 copies only) is a blue vinyl presented in …
Per una scultura di Ceschia
This rare 1978 album is a rather original example of experimental electro-acoustic progressive style, mainly based on synth effects and acoustic guitars and often reminding some of Battiato's early works. Despite the presence of five singers in the line-up, the vocal parts are short, spoken rather than sung. All in all an interesting album for the adventurous listeners in search of something different. Ref: Battiato, Cacciapaglia, Stelle di Mario Schifano. Audiophile quality repress
The Armada
Rainbow Theatre's groundbreaking debut album, The Armada, was originally released in 1975. Influences as diverse as classical composers Stravinsky and Wagner to King Crimson and the Mahavishnu Orchestra came into play. With composer, arranger, guitarist and mellotron player Julian Browning at the helm, the band was never going to be easily pigeon-holed. Browning set about creating the unique music he had formulated in his mind. His classical influences began to emerge and in the meantime, he'd a…
Floret Silva
2006 reissue. 1977 progressive avant-folk masterpiece from minimalist composer Kay Hoffman. Includes collaborative performances from Jacqueline Darby and Gaio Chiocchio, members of the legendary Italian progressive group Pierrot Lunaire.
Originally slated for release on RCA/IT (Italy) in '78, the album was
later rejected due to recording deadlines, release schedules, and
requests by RCA for other artistic/musical considerations. However, many
years later, Floret Silva did end up surfacing on…