Psych /
In Praise of Learning
A landmark in the history of European experimental rock, the third 'Cow' work, originally released on Virgin in 1975, represents the second act of joined forces between Henry Cow and Slapp Happy, and the first fully integrated appearance of Dagmar Krause. In Praise Of Learning is a unique piece of art, showing perfect unity of political content, with rock complexity, extended song form and free noise explorations. An impressive array of new compositions, including Tim Hodgkinson's masterwork 'Li…
Leg End
2022 (much needed!) Repress. "Their first, 1973, release by Britain's most enigmatic and unclassifiable band. Formed in 1968 by two Cambridge students, Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson, Henry Cow's original influences included the likes of Soft Machine and Frank Zappa. However, in their undying quest to push the boundaries of conventional music, members soon took out their machetes and began hacking a new trail into an unmapped wilderness of sound. The band was thereby also staunchly anti-commercia…
Psychonaut
*2022 stock* Psychonaut is more relaxed and has far less electronic elements than either Brainticket's first record, Cottonwoodhill, or the album that followed, Celestial Ocean. Though the record is more straightforward and song-oriented, it still has progressive and experimental elements that keep it from sounding too much like anything else. If anything, the group is not quite focused on any one style on this record, throwing in everything from the ethnic-influenced folk of "Radagacuca" and "O…
Goldball
Exmagma's sophomore album, 1974's 'Goldball' grooves like Hendrix jamming with Miles Davis. 'Goldball' definitely is more accessible than the band's debut. Indeed, the spirit is rock'n'roll and the approach is improvisational. This vinyl reissue comes with a biography insert and a sticker."In their sophomore release, the Exmagma guys tend to slow down their penchant for fiery experimental jazz-rock as exposed on their debut album and move to a somewhat different strategy focused on varying demon…
Rialzu (LP)
*Limited edition of 300* U Rigiru, as suggested by the very title (in Corsican), is a circular endeavor, a self-referential leap from and into an existential angst-ridden enclave, enshrouded in a celestial abyss. Rialzu’s first and only album is rightfully considered by savvy collectors as a hidden gem in the prolifically versatile French prog scene. Firmly rooted in Magma-esque (Köhntarkösz period) dark matter, it deviates idiosyncratically from the Zeuhl meisters towards a stultifying eeriness…
Futuro Antico / Dai Primitivi all'Elettronica / Isole del Suono (3LP in bundle)
This bundle includes the complete available Futuro Antico discography, namely it includes the three following LPs:Futuro Antico (1980)Dai Primitivi all'Elettronica (1980)Isole del Suono (1980)Futuro Antico (1980)For the first time on vinyl this obscure gem of the italian project Futuro Antico, released just on tape in 1980, this record contains the hypnotic session of Walter Maioli (Aktuala) and Riccardo Sinigaglia. Analog and warm sounds, a perfect mix of drone synth and ancient flutes (found i…
La Convenzione / Paranoia (7")
* 2021 Stock. * Pollution from 1972 is the captivating follow-up to Fetus. Like its predecessor, the album features Baroque textures, motorik rhythms, weird tape effects and Franco Battiato’s perfectly oblique vocals, with a minimalist sound mainly based on the use of a VCS3 synth, unusual lyrics, complex arrangements: upon hearing Pollution, Frank Zappa joyfully proclaimed it “genius.” While Battiato’s core group of collaborators remains largely the same as on his debut, this phenomenal band (j…
Starless and Bible Black
Starless and Bible Black is even more powerful and daring than its predecessor, Larks' Tongues in Aspic, with jarring tempo shifts, explosive guitar riffs, and soaring, elegant, and delicate violin and Mellotron parts scattered throughout its 41 minutes, often all in the same songs. The album was on the outer fringes of accessible progressive rock, with enough musical ideas explored to make Starless and Bible Black more than background for tripping the way Emerson, Lake & Palmer's albums were. T…
USA
USA was recorded towards the end of King Crimson's final US tour of the 70's in June 1974. It was issued as an epitaph for the band in Spring 1975 as a single album – at a time when doubles or even triple live albums were more considered the norm for live releases. The reputation of the 1972/1974 King Crimson line-up is now revered by critics and fans alike with the material very sought after.
In common with much of Crimson's output, it was not well received at the time by critics, thoug…
Western Culture
On vinyl, this is a reissue of the final Henry Cow record, originally released in 1979 after the group had officially disbanded. The LP features guest appearances by Irene Schweitzer and Anne-Marie Roeloffs. Following their split with Virgin, the group's history became complicated; bass player John Greaves left, and after a dispute in the recording studio, what was intended as the next Henry Cow album mutated into the Art Bears' much respected Hopes and Fears. In 1978 the members of the Cow agre…
In the Court of the Crimson King
**Recent repress, classic prog-rock masterpiece gets the reissue on 200 gram vinyl** The group's definitive album, and one of the most daring debut albums ever recorded by anybody. At the time, it blew all of the progressive/psychedelic competition (the Moody Blues, the Nice, etc.) out of the running, although it was almost too good for the band's own good -- it took King Crimson nearly four years to come up with a record as strong or concise. Ian McDonald's Mellotron is the dominant instrument,…
Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh
* 180 Gram Audiophile vinyl. Limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on Copper coloured vinyl * Magma is one of the most influential bands from France. Their music defies any of the standard and convenient classifications of rock, instead they operate in a realm of their own creation. Their third studio album Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh was originally released in 1973 and showcased in particular the range of singer Klaus Blasquiz and introduced the ground-moving work of bassist Jan…
Caution Radiation Area
* 500 copies, numbered edition. Remastered edition, White vinyl * Area's second album takes its cues from the most serious side of early-'70s British progressive rock, particularly Soft Machine and King Crimson. There's a high-voltage, at times furious energy to the quasi-jazz-rock fusion, with keyboards showing some influence from Miles Davis fusion records, and the guitars wheeling off lines with a busy anxiety. Despite some sinister progressions and overlays of electronic squiggles (the closi…
Arbeit Macht Frei
* 500 copies, numbered edition. Remastered edition, Blue vinyl *Appearing as it did in 1973, Area's debut album must have sounded to the average Italian pop critics like the end of the world. Issued on the Cramps label, the album highlighted Area's early sound, which featured overt folk melodies, Canterbury Scene prog rock, acid psychedelia, and vanguard jazz all filtered through a particularly Italian sensibility. Those who came to love PFM later will not be able to handle the beautiful -- yet …
Futuro Antico
2021 small repress. For the first time on vinyl this obscure gem of the italian project Futuro Antico, released just on tape in 1980, this record contains the hypnotic session of Walter Maioli (Aktuala) and Riccardo Sinigaglia. Analog and warm sounds, a perfect mix of drone synth and ancient flutes (found in oriental countries) gives you the idea to fly on a spaceship towards some exotic sites. This records terribly remember the astonishing live Köln jam of Terry Riley and Don Cherry, the compar…
Pollution
* 500 copies, numbered edition. Remastered, colored vinyl * Pollution from 1972 is the captivating follow-up to Fetus. Like its predecessor, the album features Baroque textures, motorik rhythms, weird tape effects and Franco Battiato’s perfectly oblique vocals, with a minimalist sound mainly based on the use of a VCS3 synth, unusual lyrics, complex arrangements: upon hearing Pollution, Frank Zappa joyfully proclaimed it “genius.” While Battiato’s core group of collaborators remains largely the s…
1979 Il Concerto - Omaggio A Demetrio Stratos
* High quality vinyl reissue with remastered sound. 40th Anniversary Edition. Red Vinyl *On June 13th, 1979 in Demetrio Stratos, one of the most creative artists in the whole Italian progressive and experimental music scene of the 70's, died of medullary aplasia at the age of 34. Born in Alexandria in 1945 from Greek parents (his real name was Demetrious Efstratios), he moved to Milan at the age of seventeen to study architecture. After the experience with the beat group I Ribelli, in 1972, he …
Non E' Poi Cosi' Lontano
* 45th Anniversary. 180g pressing, Coloured vinyl, numbered edition of 600 copies * A heavy-hitting, full-on jazz-rock progressive record from this Italian group – and probably their most underrated effort of the early years! Perigeo is in great form throughout, with a talent for time and chord changes that displays many years spent woodshedding solos from their biggest influences. Claudio Fasoli's reeds are nice and choppy, and work very well with Tony Sidney's strident guitar parts. Frando D'…
Saint Just
** Deluxe Edition. Released in a gatefold cover. Black Vinyl Numbered Limited Edition of 899 copies 1 page insert 2 OBI strips ** Here's one of those surreal, strange trips that just throws you off-kilter at first but soon enough becomes irresistible. Saint Just was an avant-folk group from Naples who fashioned this haunting interpretation of prog-folk with elements of centuries past classical, romantic and traditional folk influence. They don't sound like anyone precisely, but to give a general…