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Complete Studio Albums Box Set
The complete studio works of one of the most uncompromising groups in the history of European avant-rock. Born from the ashes of Henry Cow in 1978, Art Bears distilled the political fury and musical adventurism of their parent band into three albums of dark, brilliant songs that remain as bracing and relevant today as when they were recorded.
The story begins with a schism. During sessions for what was intended as a Henry Cow album, disagreements arose over content - Fred Frith and Chris Cutler …
Complete Studio Albums Box Set
One of the most singular and influential groups to emerge from the European avant-garde, finally given the definitive treatment. This box gathers the complete studio works of Slapp Happy - the German/British/American trio whose blend of naïve pop, chanson, bossa nova and experimental textures created a template for intelligent art-pop that resonates to this day.
Formed almost as a joke in Hamburg 1972, when British experimental composer Anthony Moore - frustrated by Polydor's rejection of his av…
Complete Studio Albums Box Set
The complete and essential discography of one of the most uncompromising and intellectually rigorous bands to emerge from the Canterbury scene - finally available again in pristine Japanese mini-LP sleeve editions with remasters on high-quality SHM-CD!
Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson formed Henry Cow while students at Cambridge University in 1968, and what followed was a decade of radical, politically charged, absolutely brilliant music that drew equally from free improvisation, contemporary class…
The Rotters' Club
* 50th Anniversary Expanded Edition 2LP, 180g audiophile vinyl * The Canterbury scene produced some of British progressive rock's most distinctive and enduring music - a sound that owed as much to jazz and the European avant-garde as to rock, delivered with a peculiarly English wit and warmth. At the heart of this movement stood Hatfield and the North, a band whose brief existence between 1972 and 1975 yielded two albums that remain touchstones for adventurous listeners five decades later.
The R…
Then Again
November 1978. Henry Cow disbands after a decade of music that redefined the boundaries of experimental rock. November 2022. Four founding members return to the stage. Not to look back - but to improvise the present.
Fred Frith (guitar, violin, electronics), Tim Hodgkinson (keyboards, saxophone, lap steel, electronics), Chris Cutler (drums, percussion), John Greaves (bass, vocals): reunited under the name Henry Now.
No scores. No prepared material. Only the instinct honed over fifty years of son…
First Meeting
British septet Trifle’s lone album, First Meeting, fuses jazz-rock complexity, strutting brass, and progressive soul. Recorded in 1971, this overlooked debut teems with inventive horn arrangements, funk-tinged grooves, and a touch of psychedelia, marking the group’s only but potent contribution to the early ‘70s brass-rock canon.
Cunning Stunts
For those who still believe prog is a four-letter word, Caravan remain a mystery - More fool them, for they are missing out on some of thesweetest and most tuneful melodies in 70s rock, whether it be the jazz- inflected vaudeville of the title track of If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'dDo It All Over You, the gentle celebration of Virgin On The Ridiculous from Caravan & The New Symphonia or the funky ambition of The Dabsong Conshirtoe on Cunning Stunts. Formed, like Soft Machine, from the grou…
Caravan - The Shows Of Ours... Live
Legendary progressive rock pioneers Caravan are proud to announce the release of The Shows of Ours… Live, an extraordinary archival collection that captures the band in their most natural and exhilarating form: live on stage. Housed in a beautifully designed, collector-worthy box, the set includes a richly illustrated 60-page softback book. Brimming with rare photographs, memorabilia, and first-hand reflections, the book offers fans a vivid journey through the band’s history — a glimpse into the…
Gilgamesh
* Red Vinyl edition *Led by visionary keyboardist Alan Gowen, Gilgamesh emerged from the fertile British jazz fusion underground of the 1970s as one of the Canterbury scene's most innovative and uncompromising groups. This special red vinyl edition celebrates a band that, despite their brief existence, left an indelible mark on the progressive music landscape. Formed around the core partnership of Alan Gowen and drummer Mike Travis, Gilgamesh's journey began as an ambitious band project that wou…
In The Land Of Grey And Pink
*2025 repress* The third album by Canterbury's own Caravan, originally released in 1971, reissued with two full sides of bonus outtakes taken from the album's original recording sessions at A.I.R. and Decca studios in London in 1970-71. This was the last album to feature the original Caravan line-up, before David Sinclair left to form Matching Mole with Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine) later that year.
"In the Land of Grey and Pink is considered by many to be a pinnacle release from Caravan. The albu…
Principe di un Giorno
Tranquillity and lyricism. Italian Celeste expresses a fantastic sound world with well-chosen arrangements. The carefully woven compositions, reminiscent of an exquisite textile, symbolise the “quiet” sound of Italy. This timeless masterpiece has been remastered in 2024 for the first time in 14 years and is now available in an encore pressing! Paper jacket, SHM-CD, 1 bonus track.
Death May Be Your Santa Claus
If there were a hall of fame for underground weirdo freak bands, Second Hand would be among the first nominees. Their second album, released on April 1st 1971 through Vic Keary's Mushroom Records, is no joke - it's one of the most unhinged, inventive and genuinely strange records to emerge from the British progressive underground.
Second Hand began life as The Next Collection in South London in 1965, with teenage school-friends Ken Elliott (keyboards, mellotron, harmonica) and Kieran O'Connor (d…
Arzachel
One of the great lost albums of British psychedelia, original copies of Arzachel's 1969 self-titled debut fetch huge sums on the collectors' market and it is not difficult to understand why. Originally released in 1969 on the small Evolution label, this album quite simply contains some of the best psych to ever come out of the UK. However, like so many other great albums of the era, it soon dropped entirely from the radar due to bad promotion. In fact, it may not have ever been rediscovered at a…
Shooting At The Moon
New remastered vinyl release of the classic 1970 album by Kevin Ayers & The Whole World. Features Mike Oldfield, Lol Coxhill, David Bedford, Robert Wyatt & Bridget St. John. Remastered from the original master tapes. Cut at Abbey Road Studios. The Canterbury scene's most whimsical and sophisticated statement finally receives the vinyl treatment it has long deserved. Esoteric Recordings's new remastered edition of Kevin Ayers & The Whole World's Shooting At The Moon represents more than a simple …
Whatevershebringswesing
2025 stock Melancholic with a tendency towards ballads, this 1973 third album from Kevin Ayers is nonetheless the most accessible of his early work. Featuring the core musicians of guitarist Mike Oldfield, keyboardist David Bedford and drummer Robert Wyatt, the LP is a solid, consistent, and focused outing, which continues to be at the top of Ayer's solo work. Original artwork. New detailed liner notes.
The World At Minds End
Formed in Bristol in 1974, Skywhale blended prog-rock and jazz rock with melodic, energetic instrumentals. Their 1977 album, The World At Mind’s End, showcases virtuoso musicianship and Canterbury influences.
Unrest
*2025 warehouse found* Dating from 1974, and following on from the re-release of Legend, this is the second in our series of vinyl reissues of the original Virgin albums. Geoff Leigh had left the group and Lindsay Cooper joined on bassoon, oboe, flute, soprano sax. The mix was more 'live' than Legend, with the drums much more up front. The first half is highly composed material, with some of the Henry Cow's best loved tunes, like 'Half Asleep Half Awake' and 'Bittern Storm Over Ulm'. For the sec…
Western Culture
*2025 warehouse found* 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 …
Deep Feeling
From the verdant landscapes of Gravesend, Kent, emerged one of British progressive rock's most enigmatic treasures. Deep Feeling's solitary 1971 statement on DJM Records represents a fascinating metamorphosis: the transformation of The Guy Darrell Syndicate, a soul-infused pop outfit, into something far more adventurous and sublime.
When John Swail (the artist formerly known as Guy Darrell) shed his stage persona and joined forces with Martin Jenner (guitar, vocals), David Green (bass, flute, vo…
Fulguromatic
"Veteran Spanish label, Margen/áMARXE, returns after its outstanding releases of recent years with the first album by an incredible French duo called Fulguromatic. Deeply fascinating, creating unique spaces between the sounds of Canterbury, jazz-rock and incorporating a light, playful and somewhat mischievous touch from the planet Zeuhl that is tremendously addictive. Absolutely captivating, both musically and timbrally, thanks to the use of invented instruments that give it a French flavor "naï…