Psych /
Ceremony Buddha Meet Rock
Ceremony ~ Buddha Meet Rock was originally released in 1971 by Japanese label Teichiku. This trippy album is a true meeting of East and West, combining Buddist chanting with psychedelic/progressive rock. Apparently even this re-issue is fast becoming scarce, get a copy while you can, you will certainly never hear anything like it.
Open The Door Homer
Proto-prog act Titus Groan came together in London from disparate influences: drummer Jim Toomey, who later played in the Tourists, had a trad jazz background, and then played in a soul act with saxophonist/flutist/oboist Tony Priestland; bassist John Lee had played with jazz saxophonist Dick Morrissey, and guitarist/keyboardist Stuart Cowell was a blues fan, hence the diverse directions of their sole LP. Rare 12-inch ‘Open The Door Homer’ features their cover of the unreleased Bob Dylan song th…
Diana
Progressive folk act Comus was a true one-off, their unique take on folk rock a spine-tinglingly shocking one, even as the music draws the listener into singalongs. Formed by singer-guitarist Roger Wootton with some art school mates, including guitarist Glen Goring, violinist Colin Pearson and oboist Rob Young, Comus began recording their debut LP for RCA, who dropped them halfway through, leading to further recordings for Dawn with Barry Murray. Every song on this single bears the hallmark of t…
Apo Calypso
At that time the tenth Embryo LP, recorded in India in 1976 and in Switzerland in 1977, released in 1978 on the April label. Again in the well-known Embryo style: progressive jazz-rock with strong world music influences and only occasional vocals. The vinyl has never been reissued, there was a CD edition in 1999 on Disconforme, but it has long since been cancelled. A very relaxed album, and while there are occasional highlights in individual contributions, the overall impression is that it just …
Both Sides
*2023 stock* Before the Munich krautrockers turned more strongly in the direction of world music in the following years, at this gig they once again delivered their mix, moving between funk and jazz, as it defined the mid-70s. Fixed song structures never played a role with Embryo. Apart from the - despite difficult meter - extremely loose-floppy 'Getalongwithasong' (from the 1977 studio album Apo-Calypso), they mainly played new improvisations in Vlotho."
Aún Es Tiempo De Soñar
*200 copies limited release* Aún es tiempo de sonar marks the beginning of the end for the Argentinean Banana: the end of their mass popularity, having been recognized until 1978 (and still going) as one of the most trending outfits in Argentina thanks to their ballad-driven compositions, and the beginning of a wholly new orientation in a symphonic prog vein. César Pueyrredón’s, the mastermind and Banana’s main composer, passion for melody and his unique romantic style were the main drivers behi…
Alpha Centaury
*300 copies limited release* We brought you Rialzu, Skryvania, Cheval Fou, and now it’s time for the first vinyl reissue of Alpha Centauri’s diamond: Alpha Centaury. Originally privately released in a limited pressing of 300 copies in 1976, and equally hard-to-find as the aforementioned titles this gem is shrouded in mystery, for the simple reason that Alpha Centauri didn’t even pursue publicity during their short-lived existence. Yet, being equipped with extremely scarce resources, including ha…
Dr. Siegel's Fried Egg Shooting Machine
1972 Debut album by cultish Japanese combo!
False Memory Syndrome
"In 1980 the Italian musicians Piero Chianura (bass guitar, samples, synthesizers) and Luciano Margorani (electric guitar, devices) founded LA 1919 in Milan, Italy. False Memory Syndrome is their sixth album on which guest drummer Federico Zenoni can be heard on all tracks. Una Giornata Particolare - Ore 18 contains the screams of Enrico Salvi. It's not easy to describe the musical style of LA 1919; it's undoubtedly progressive, but without the rock references, nor is it freestyle jazz, backgrou…
The Thorn
The Thorn is the second album by Large Plants. This time round there's a folkier, proggier more fantastical feel than the heavier biker-rock of the 2022 debut, The Carrier. It was partly recorded at the same time as the The Carrier, with more songs added subsequently. However, all tracks for both albums were recorded and performed entirely by Jack Sharp in a barn, since demolished. “It was a dirty, rusty, metal shack with no insulation or sound treatment, and it was full of junk, but it sounded …
Banda Da Capital
Som Imaginário are the stuff of MPB mythos. Integral to Brazil’s Clube Da Esquina movement in the early 1970s, a heady blend of progressive rock, folk, psychedelia, jazz and traditional Brazilian rhythm flows through the three studio albums the band recorded between ‘70 and ‘73. Flying the countercultural freak-flag amid the context of military dictatorship, the Brazilian prog lords shared much of the sense of experimentation and bountiful fuzz bequeathed by their tropicalismo forbearers. But ar…
Cosmic Sounds
*2024 reissue* Cosmic Sounds is a collaborative concept album, based on the signs of the Zodiac and originally released in 1967 by Elektra Records. Mort Garson, who is known for his collaborations with Doris Day and Glen Campbell, was asked to compose the psychedelic rock music and record it together with producer and The Limeliters co-founder Alex Hassilev. Different session musicians were brought in to contribute to the recordings, including most notably Moog synth guru Paul Beaver and narrato…
The Complete Liberty Recordings
Formed in London in 1969, High Tide featured the intense guitar playing of Tony Hill (formerly with The Misunderstood), the violin and keyboard skills of Simon House, bassist Peter Pavli and drummer Roger Hadden. The band was managed by Clearwater, also home to Hawkwind, Skin Alley and Cochise and were signed to Liberty Records soon after their formation. Their debut album, the stunning ‘Sea Shanties’ was recorded at Olympic studios and some of the heaviest gothic psychedelic rock record ever re…
Lueur
Univers Zero's new album (since 10 years) follows the lineage of 'Phosphorescent Dreams', originally released only on CD in Japan in 2014, and reissued as an LP on the Sub Rosa label in 2019. Lueur is the fruit of two years' work and reflection, the foundations of which were laid by Daniel Denis (keyboards, drums, percussion...), then enriched by the contributions of Nicolas Dechêne (guitars), Kurt Budé (clarinet / bass clarinet) and Nicolas Denis (bass, percussion, vocals), all three present on…
Five Dolls For An August Moon
* 2023 stock, copies show long-storage wear. * Norwegian supergroup DEL's Five Dolls For An August Moon. Dedicated to crazy moonbeams everywhere.
Without Introduction
*2023 stock* "Halfway between Tarkus and the much darker, weirder, and more complex longform prog bands of the 70s like Gnidrolog, Il Balletto di Bronzo, or Island. There are also mild psych vibes throughout, most prominently from the vocalist who's singing through some seriously tasty echo and reverb most of the time... and yet one of the album's more unusual qualities is that the lead singer doesn't do a ton of singing. I'd be willing to bet that if you took all the parts on the album with voc…
Hannibal
*2023 stock* Hannibal was a band from England. Their debut album, released back in 1970, offers a tasty, psychy, bluesy and jazzy progressive rock, with use of saxophone and organ. Wasted vocals and an original, cryptic underground approach. Solid guitar by Adrian Ingram. Elements of Raw Material, Aquila and Colosseum, but with their own identity.
Fusioon
*2023 stock* First album released in 1972 by these Catalan psych-progsters. Traditional Spanish songs receive a psychedelic / progressive / jazz-rock treatment with tremendous rhythm section (drum breaks galore!), fuzztone guitar, Hammond & analogue keyboards plus occasional string arrangements.
On a Day of Crystaline Thought
Beyond rare private press album from 1974, a fantastic mix of progressive rock with acid-folk, spaced-out psychedelia and cool conceptual / soundtrack vibe. Pete Fine is a virtuoso acoustic and electric guitarist and also a self-taught composer and orchestrator. After playing with psychedelic hard-rock trio Flow in the early 70s in New York, Pete, influenced by classical composers like Anton Bruckner, started to focus on his 12-string guitar, composing music in a symphonic style.
“On A Day Of Cr…
Music Or Not Music
*2023 stock* "Produced by Erick Van Huls, Recreation's sophomore release "Music or not Music" featured 15 tracks, many of them quite short and linked together in a continuing suite arrangement. With all three members sharing creative duties the all-instrumental set simply wasn't the lost classic slice of progressive magic some dealers would have you believe (the fact it was included in one of the Hans Pokora books merely added to the hype). The three members were all quite talented, but the majo…