Bureau B reissues the first Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft album, originally released in 1979. True D.A.F. connoisseurs will, of course, be aware of the early phase of the Düsseldorf-Wuppertal combo. But most fans of the subsequently world-famous duo may well be taken aback when confronted with their debut album: forceful synth bass sounds, snappy rhythms, Gabi Delgado and leather all conspicuously absent. In their place, pure instrumental, unstructured noise-rock, played by long-haired and moustachioed types. A band can barely have undergone a more extreme metamorphosis. Gabi Delgado joined the band (hitherto comprising Robert Görl, Kurt Dahlke/Pyrolator, Wolfgang Spelmans and Michael Kemner), before the band discarded the name of YOU and christened themselves Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft. And he was also on board for the first recording sessions at Studio 56 in Mühlheim. Disappointed with the results ("too close to Schlager," the band thought) and "less than happy" with Delgado's vocals and lyrics (as Pyrolator, responsible for electronics, noted), the group dispensed with Delgado's services. Yet the creative will was undiminished: "We really wanted to make a record. All the Düsseldorf bands -- Male, Mittagspause -- already had an album out, everyone except us," and with the singer now gone, an instrumental album was the only option. In the wake of the studio debacle, the decision was made to take the recording into their own hands. A tape machine and two microphones were set up in Wolfgang Spelmans' living room and ten days of unbounded improvisation ensued. And thus it was completed, Produkt der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft: 22 tracks, ranging from 19 seconds to three minutes in length. The influence of Can is clearly audible. Considering the fact that other prominent noise-rock bands such as Chrome, Flipper or even Sonic Youth recorded similar music at a much later date, this "product of Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft" should certainly be recognized as a pioneering work. Possibly even the first noise-rock album the world had seen or heard. Was the world ready for such brutal, nihilistic sounds in the late 1970s? The world of record companies was not. Unable to find a label, D.A.F. proved to be not only pioneers of noise, but also pioneers of DIY. They found help from the local bank, with Pyrolator putting up his car for credit amounting to 3000 Marks. A logical step, as he was already running a cassette label called Warning Records (later becoming Ata Tak). Produkt Der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft was the first LP on the label and was given the catalog number WR 01/LP/1979. Sales were so good that Pyrolator was able to pay back his loan quickly. Housed in a digipak with liner notes, rare photos and memorabilia.

"Originally released on Philips Ethiopia in 1973, this seemingly impossible to find LP is available once again to the lucky humans of the world. With a mix of modern and traditional instruments these fourteen songs go through the progression of an Ethiopian Amhara wedding sung in Amharic. With the trio of singers, Lemma G. Hiwot, Zenebech Tesfaye, and Selamawit G. Selassie, alternating turns at the microphone, and sharing call and response duties, a relentless frenzy of hand clapping incites dancing and smiles. The consumption of tedj (honeywine) and the swirling love of a wedding was captured in the studio with euphoric energy to take away to play over and over again when the festivities are over. With hand screened covers and an insert of wedding photos accompanying the liner notes, this is the next best thing to an invitation to the real thing. A co-release with Mitmitta Musika of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia."

The music on this release consists of the earliest recordings by flautist T.R. Mahalingam, a legendary figure in the Carnatic music of South India, one of the world's great musical traditions. Mahalingam, known as "Mali" to his legions of fans and admirers, was a musician who revered these traditions yet opened new realms, raising the flute to levels of voice-like expressivity. Portrait Of A Prodigy: His Early Years, 1940-50s reissues, for the first time, recordings from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s and show Mali at the peak of his powers, his acclaimed technical skills and rich tone at the service of his immense melodic and rhythmic gifts. The majority of these recordings were originally released in the 78 rpm SP format and feature him with two of his greatest musical partners, violinist T. Chowdiah and mridangam master Palghat Mani Iyer. Available for the first time as a commercial release outside of India, Portrait Of A Prodigy is a rare opportunity to hear a genius in his prime. A must-have for all fans of Indian music and for all who appreciate the joys of rhythmic playfulness and melodic mastery. Housed in a gatefold cardboard sleeve jacket with liner notes in English and Japanese.

Endless Flight presents the fifth volume of the I'm Starting To Feel Okay series -- a string of house trips handpicked by Toshiya Kawasaki, the soul behind such labels like Mule Musiq, Mule Electronic, and the Endless Flight imprint. As a classic label head-honcho, the man from Tokyo has selected 12 tracks that grab you by the neck and take you away to multiple destinations. The compilation starts with Vakula, who walks the path of jazz with the spherical and dreamy "Interpretation." His track is followed by a disco-influenced trip by Eddie C called "Tunnel Mountain," which grooves Balearic while dancing with a keen Krautrock twist. Roman Rauch fêtes his debut on Endless Flight with a touching melody, a dry, drilling drum loop, a longing voice, and some kicking tempo alternations. Kuniyuki's track introduces an acoustic guitar that enlarges his composition with a twisted soul-jazz atmosphere and Franklin De Costa plays with an arrangement on his track that drills itself into your unconscious mind. Next, Juju & Jordash spread dusty atmospheres, echoed trumpets, and a discreet acid flavor. Barnt's Kraut-influenced track longs for sunsets and leaves enough space for dancing in the early morning sun. After more then ten years, Red Sparrow reappears with "Weep With Me," a timeless, slow-grooving house journey. Christopher Rau presents a smart, deep-rooted house drifter and Lawrence's track highlights a playful groove next to a sparkling piano melody line. Creative Swing Alliance's track electrifies with a big portion of soul that usually only legends like Moodymann are able to shape. The final arrangement of this diversified house voyage is by Oskar Offermann, a serious examination of nonchalant house.

From 1975, this is Baris Manço's masterpiece -- a stunning, cosmic, psychedelic, groovy conceptual album with fantastic electronics and a strong Turkish folk flavor, as usual. This is the first official, proper CD reissue, and it comes with a booklet with liner notes and photos.

Silver Silver is LA-based singer-songwriter Simone White's most affecting and ambitious album yet. In contrast to her folk/country-tinged 2007 debut, I Am The Man (HJR 028CD/044LP), and 2009's quiet offering, Yakiimo (HJR 044CD), Silver Silver has White's soft voice framed by complex arrangements: there are pulsing, speaker-rattling bass tones, delicately-layered vocal harmonies, and exquisitely lush washes of sound. It is also the singer's most personal record to date. Fans of White's work may already be aware of her unusual life story. Born in Hawaii to a light-sculptor dad and folk-singer mum, burlesque grandmother and pop-song-writing aunt, White grew up moving across the U.S., her parents following the demands of a cult leader. Leaving home in her teens, White travelled, acted, took photos and made films, living in Seattle, Paris and London -- finally finding her voice as a musician in New York City. She worked with Nashville producer Mark Nevers (Lambchop, Bonnie "Prince" Billy) on her first two albums. Heralded by Rolling Stone Germany as "one of the really great American songwriters," White toured Europe regularly for three years before taking a break to make Silver Silver. She lives now in Echo Park, L.A. Grand themes mix with tiny details on this album. Feelings of personal loss led White to write "Flowers In May," a sensual, bittersweet celebration of life that matches her delicate vocal to a knocking beat, washes of guitar and nocturnal-sounding glitches. Silver Silver was a year in the making, and White worked with Samuel Bing and Julian Wass of Fol Chen at their L.A. studio. The record features guest spots from Andrew Bird, Thao, and Victoria Williams (all musician-friends White met through touring), and for the first time mixes songs with instrumental segues and textures, including a manipulated field recording of neighborhood street sounds.

Conrad Schnitzler is an early member of Tangerine Dream and a founding member of Kluster, along with Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and his works will always be important. Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer were so fascinated by his album Zug (MINIMAL 001LP), that they immediately delivered two reshapes of this milestone of electronic music. Max Loderbauer is a veteran of the Berlin techno scene, who became known with his project Sun Electric. For his current project NSI and as a member of the Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Max Loderbauer enjoys a worldwide reputation. His great cooperation with Ricardo Villalobos for the legendary ECM label appeared in many "Best of 2011" lists. Ricardo Villalobos is one of the leading techno DJ/producer/musicians. He has influenced the scene for more than 15 years. The "Aktion" mix targets with 100% certainty on the dancefloor, but is also suited to wake you up in the morning. DJs need this 20-minute mix as a tool. The "Sorgenkind" mix is not for the mainfloor but for fans of the broken beats. Everybody who enjoyed the RE-ECM work of the two will love this 15-minute mix. Schnitzler/Loderbauer/Villalobos = dreamteam. The CD version also contains two amazing remixes by Stefan Betke aka Pole and Borngräber & Strüver.

For their first release of 2012, Modern Love delivers the second album from Suum Cuique, the analog noise/experimental project from Miles Whittaker, one-half of Demdike Stare. The first Suum Cuique album Midden (YOUNGAM 002LP) was released on Modern Love sub-label Young Americans back in 2010, with these new recordings made in the intervening years and in between sessions for the Demdike Stare album, Elemental. What differentiates this project from all the others Whittaker is involved with is that the material recorded under Suum Cuique was made using analog hardware only, often recorded straight from the mixing desk with no overdubs or edits. The sound veers from the intense shards of noise that make up album opener "Strohtopf" to the padded techno malfunctions of "Kuiper Anomaly," the found sound/shortwave radio signals of "Atlas Levels" to the mystical rotations of "Intonation" and the electrified drones of album closer "Dionysus Decay." Although there are obvious sonic threads running between Suum Cuique and Demdike Stare, the material on Ascetic Ideals is much more stark, at turns recalling the work of Mika Vainio, Eleh, Maurizio Bianchi and even John Carpenter, whose nightmare visions lurk somewhere deep in the mix. Mastered and cut by Lupo at Dubplates & Mastering, limited to 700 copies.

The latest in the Rinse Presents series comes from London-based DJ and producer Brackles. Brackles has steadily built a name for himself as a DJ and producer to watch, after he started spinning at 15 years old and went on to become a regular at London's world famous FWD>> club night and host of his own weekly show on Rinse FM. As a producer, he's released several highly sought-after releases, including 2011's Number One 12" on Rinse. Brackles' DJ sets are renowned for being full of party-starters, energetic and elastic, effortlessly taking in funky, grime, vintage 2-step and bassline. Over the past few years, his productions have increasingly grown to reflect the careful selection and eclectic approach that makes his sets so compulsive: all deftly-swung percussion that nods to UK garage, the rude, grimey swagger of funky and technicolor washes of synth. There's something unmistakeably London about Brackles' music too -- it's present both in the sheer rawness and vibrancy of his tracks, and in the way he effortlessly draws upon the city's entire dance music history for ideas and energy. Brackles' Rinse Presents full-length hones his sound still further, retaining his distinctive, bright, crisp production approach while expanding his scope considerably. Across its length, razor-sharp club tunes and deep, percussive house tracks sit comfortably alongside some of his most upfront and pop-friendly music to date. And they're often all at play within the space of a single track: the four vocal tunes all wield the same balance of grit and soul that powered some of funky's most definitive anthems. Opener "Never Coming Down," for example, sets a honeyed vocal from Lily McKenzie to tightly-syncopated percussion and booming sub-bass. And where McKenzie's vocal performance is smooth and languid, Terri Walker's appearance on the shuffly "DPMO" is jittery and defiant, turning Brackles' angular garage backdrop into an unlikely pop song. The instrumentals on Rinse Presents: Brackles are equally powerful. "I Can't Wait" and "Squarehead" both all add extra muscle to the sort of spiky garage he's released though Blunted Robots in the past, all explosive sub-bass and hard snare hits, while "Too Much" stains a grime instrumental day-glo. The gorgeous "Lighthouse" and closer "Earphone Memories" take on the bass-heavy house sound that's currently owning UK dancefloors, but bury it deep in layers of fluorescent melody. And "Walkin' Out" is something different again, a volatile and unpredictable flurry of drum-hits and wispy synth, it's likely to throw a curveball at any dancefloor. A very London sound, then, from a producer never content to remain fixed in any one place, Rinse Presents: Brackles is a formidable statement of intent.

Alexander Moskos is a seasoned Canadian avant-garde musician active in projects such as Alterity Problem with Joel Taylor and the legendary Thames, who had an incredible 7" release on American Tapes in late 2011. Drainolith, his solo guise, has been active since the mid-'90s but has remained relatively under-the-radar with mysterious private press cassette and CD-R releases. In 2009, Moskos picked up a heavy U.S. tour regiment and caught the attention of U.S. underground heads with impressive live sets. It was around this time that Moskos began to dial in songs for his debut Fighting! LP, which Spectrum Spools is eager to present. It's important to keep listeners on their toes and Spectrum Spools is fully psyched to hit you with an album of delusional blues -- littered with fractured synth, feedback and seriously cryptic personal content. One of Spectrum Spools' first releases with strong lyrical focus, Alex knocks it out of the park with his synthetic voice resonating like a wasted Robert Ashley on Ambien. The tracks rage with a one-man Twin Infinitives style, with guitar riffs so fucked that they make Neil Haggerty sound like Les Paul. Damaged, random syn-drum triggers and MS-10 crackling go fully ballistic over dark and personal narratives. Despite the chaotic nature of the music, there is a defined and cohesive song structure to each track which makes everything more confusing but also highly enjoyable to listen to. If you miss bands like Shadow Ring and Royal Trux, but wonder where the logical next step would be in their absence: step in this direction -- we promise you'll be pleased. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates + Mastering, Berlin.

This is the highly-anticipated debut album from Atlanta producer Michael Rathbun aka Distal. Releases and remixes for labels such as Soul Jazz Records, Grizzly, Fortified Audio, Trouble & Bass, Seclusiasis and Tectonic (not to mention his own imprint, Embassy Recordings, which he runs in tandem with old school friend Ethan Anderson aka Mite), and tours with Pearson Sound and Africa Hi Tech has seen his name on the lips of discerning electronic tastemakers worldwide. Before entering the world of production, Distal spent a few years researching a sensational auditory phenomenon called Synesthesia at Georgia State University. One day while digging through breakcore records, he stumbled upon a sound that would inspire him to launch his production career. This record, in a turn of complete serendipity, was Punisher, by Tectonic label-head Pinch. Using his newfound passion, traditional teachings and his scientific studies in unison, he ran head-first into the studio. Taking influences from his love of techno, jungle and hardcore, Distal's sound fluctuates between a wide array of moods, rhythms and tempos that veer between dubstep, juke, footwork, house, and, naturally being from Atlanta, Southern hip-hop. From popping 808 cowbells on opener "The Sun" to dancehall minimalism on "Rattlesnake" to the Balearic tribalism of "She Wears Pearls," these elements join the dots on Distal's map of Civilization.

"A multi-instrumentalist song duo based in Amsterdam. The Anecdotes are a series of biographical song portraits of artists written by Seamus Cater. A diverse collection of 19th and 20th century figures are portrayed, including Bas Jan Ader, Eadweard Muybridge, Alexis Lapointe, Ewan MacColl, L.S. Lowry and Sergei Prokofiev. The music of Seamus Cater and Viljam Nybacka mixes the awkwardness of revivalist British folk with contemporary songwriting and extended instrumental techniques. With a core of subtle complexity, their sound builds more towards silence than noise and is as engaging as it is immersive. Recorded by Shahzad Ismaily (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy/Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band), who plays bass on three songs, the album was mastered by Jeff Carey and features Eiríkur Orri Olafsson (mum) on trumpet and horn." Hand-numbered edition of 500.

This is the debut release on Born Bad Records from Belgian synth wave act Violence Conjugale. Hans and André met early in highschool. Their mutual love for Bowie and Kenneth Anger pushed them to flunk school and smoke in their tiny school movie room. There they dream of an ideal future, made of space travel and industrial music. Feeling the pressure from this private institution, they eventually decide to go to Berlin and see what taste has decadence there. They meet Marianne Katza, an eccentric woman who tells them to come to an artist squat in the Mitte district. Just like Warhol's Factory, the place is an indistinct magma of ideas, music and drugs. Here, as André begins to fiddle with a Korg MS20 synth and dreams of exquisite performances, in another room, Hans tries to write his wildest nightmares to exorcise them. Marianne decides to introduce the future band to one of her lovers: Marc Berron, a young, arrogant and rich kid blessed with a perfect ear. He helps them to slow down their drug issues and take a new direction: to play a cold and personal music in pop format but with a feeling of urgency which characterized young Berliners. So, he kidnaps them in his own studio for several weeks to experiment, eventually finding Violence Conjugale's definitive sound: '80s minimal synth-wave -- the frostiest ever.

Lichtung is a collaborative project centered around an audio-visual installation. Sound artists Steve Roden and Rutger Zuydervelt (aka Machinefabriek) composed the audio, while the video element was provided by the German visual artist Sabine Bürger. The Mindelsee Lake, situated just a few hundred yards away from the gallery, became the natural focus of the installation. During their stay, Sabine and Rutger recorded the video and audio footage that became the foundation which Steve Roden responded to with material inspired by his surroundings in the U.S. It resulted in an immersive four-channel audio-visual presentation, in a gallery space also showing additional visual works by each of the artists, and the floor covered with dried leaves. The CD edition of Lichtung is comprised of edits from the original Lichtung installation music, translating the audio-visual material of the original into a pure sonic experience. It's complemented by an edit of a live performance that Rutger gave at the opening of the exhibition, using pre-recorded sounds provided by Steve Roden as well as leaves, twigs and water gathered in the area.

"An historic release in digipak format. Homer was one of the best psychedelic/hard rock bands to come out of Texas. They had their early beginnings as the Outcasts and some members played on the Stoics/Mind's Eye 45s reissued on The Children Anthology. While their 1970 LP is very highly rated and rated R4 in rarity, their three 45s are even rarer. Newly discovered tapes have uncovered unreleased songs and demos. All are included in this comprehensive collection. A very young Christopher Cross participated on some of the tracks of the LP."

Gatefold 2LP version.

Deluxe gatefold LP version. "An album full of vintage 1966-1968 music by the band that brought you the incredible 'Hashish' on the legendary San Francisco Sampler Fifth Pipe Dream. First ever release of this killer Westcoast psychedelic monster that took many years to complete!!! West Coast Natural Gas started in 1965 in Seattle. In early 1967 they went to San Francisco to work for a local music manager named Matthew Katz. Katz was the original manager for Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape and later also It's a Beautiful Day. He talked West Coast Natural Gas into signing a contract with him but being young and stupid, they didn't realize at the time that they had basically signed everything over to him. They went into the studio and recorded some original tunes: 'A Favor,' 'Go Run and Play,' 'The Jumping Frog,' 'Hashish,' 'Water or Wine,' 'Beyond This Place,' and 'Two's A Pair.' In early 1968 the band broke up and went back to Seattle. Katz released a single -- Go Run and Play / A Favor on his S.F. Sound label under the name West Coast Natural Gas. Later he released a compilation album -- the first San Francisco Sound sampler -- called Fifth Pipe Dream. The four songs mentioned before, 'Water or Wine,' 'Hashish,' 'Beyond This Place' and 'Twos A Pair' were the ones recorded by WCNG and relabeled by Katz as Indian Puddin and Pipe. This superb release includes all the above mentioned songs, plus others from acetates. As a big surprise we found another four never before heard songs. All recorded 1966 in a local Seattle Recording Studio before they even went to San Francisco, all of which are included in this great release. A pinnacle of the West Coast psychedelic acid scene."

LP version. Trapist is the Vienna-based trio comprised of Joe Williamson on bass, Martin Siewart on guitars and electronics and Martin Brandlmayr on drums. "Restraint" is a key word in the Trapist musical vocabulary, which is no wonder, as the group's name relates to the Trappist fraternity whose devotion is demonstrated by their silence. Whereas on previous albums the group often relied on drastic editing and melodic ornamentation in order to escape restraint, The Golden Years displays a newly-gained maturity which is breathtaking: Trapist bring the attack and release game to a climax never heard before. Sharp shocks of black and white with some golden silence in between. Drawing from both a wide variety of influences ranging from space-rock to improvised minimal music, and from folk-influenced psychedelia to noise as well as the members' numerous collaborations, the band has managed to establish a unique ensemble-sound defying categorization, blending both acoustic and electronic instruments as well as blurring the gaps between improvisational music and pre-structured forms. Their blend of sparse improvisation and delicate electronics is a welcome and refreshing change for fans of electronic and free music of all types.

"With Love as our major cover story, this issue is sure to fly off the shelves. In an extensive, soul-baring interview, guitarist Johnny Echols (Arthur Lee's right-hand man throughout Love's classic period) tears down the mystery and the myth to reveal the true story of this seminal band. We also have a pile of other amazing stories: Dutch psychedelic freaks Group 1850, destructive Ohio proto-punks The Electric Eels, English freakbeat giants Wimple Winch and The Craig, plus The Leopards, The Syndicate, The Reekers, The Hangmen, Barrence Whitfield, Wildwood, Illes and more. Also, The San Francisco Beat, a brand new column by Cyril Jordan of the Flamin' Groovies, and of course our extensive review sections covering all the latest reissues, rock'n'roll books and DVDs." 176 pages, perfect bound/full-color glossy cover. Cover price: $9.95.

...1985-1989. Indian film music invariably manages to take you by surprise, time and time again. Hard electro-funk and sweet synth-pop are not genres you would expect from India. Yet, in the late '80s, electronic beats and synths were eagerly embraced by the film industry of South India along with kung fu fights, aerobics, sunglasses and jogging outfits. The rich and funky Tamil grooves of the early '80s transformed into stripped electronic synthesizer music. Composer Ilaiyaraaja aka "The Maestro" used minimal beats and synthetic arrangements to create an addictive and captivating electro synth-pop sound. His experimental mind, unfailing pop instinct and advanced harmonics make the songs a feast for the ears that will grow with every listen. CD includes a 30-page booklet with info on the featured films. Total Play Time: 65 mins.

"Through the unending fog and beyond the impassable door, a voice emerges. Charlemagne Palestine, writhing in uncontrollable terror, moves to ward off the demons for the sake of the listener by howling through the void. Janek Schaefer bellies a haven, a cocoon for the listener to hide in, to grasp some semblance of life that remains and hold on to it dearly. Bells chime ominously to help dispel the haunting and are yet another stark reminder of the impending doom. What hath wrought them? What can be done against them? On this day, Charlemagne Palestine and Janek Schaefer have faced the darkness surrounding us, traversed through the fog, waded into the murky waters, and encountered demons that have surfaced from the dark recesses of the earth. Herein lies the hope that was gained through facing the horror that was left unchained. Each LP comes with a demon mask that is full color and custom die cut on 12 point card stock with elastic straps."

David Orphan's Devon Folklore Tapes is a research and cultural heritage-based community label in the vein of Smithsonian Records, founded by Finders Keepers' David Orphan. Although the label has been releasing music on special edition/customized books and cassettes for some time, this contribution to the Pre Cert Home Entertainment label sees Orphan deliver his long-awaited vinyl debut. The soundtrack to Hannah Henley sees a mechanical hybrid of old Soviet electronic organs, looped field recordings and found vocals lost in an immediate and tensely hypnotic narrative to an account of opposing forces that is as unsettling as it is captivating. Field recordings were utilized and integrated within these pieces, adding more flesh and providing a sense of place. The LP becomes a sound portrait blurring the lines between documentary, music, and artefact. The cover art features an inverted letter-press coded graphic using the text from the story of Hannah Henley as its visual source along with a bone found and utilized within the recording itself. The words to the tale are included in the accompanying sleeve notes, for those interested in those dark details. Cut at Berlin's Dubplates & Mastering, limited to 500 copies only.

2012 repress on vinyl, originally released late 2008. LP version; beautifully packaged with reversed Jon Wozencroft photography (compared to the CD edition) on the cover, and nicely printed innersleeves, etc. Feels luxurious. Tracklisting: A1. Black Sea; A2. Perfume For Winter; A3. Grey Scale; B1. Glide; B2. Glass Ceiling; B3. Saffron Revolution.

The first collaboration of Steven Stapleton's Nurse With Wound and composer/sculptor Graham Bowers is now available as a very limited double vinyl LP in a special edition for Record Store day 2012 (well, it was pressed a couple weeks late, sorry). Rupture is an attempt to create a musical illustration of the "goings-on" in the brain during the last hour and three minutes of life after suffering a major stroke. It is multi-layered and is primarily concerned with the internal chaos caused by the loss of control of thought processes, responses and consequential actions, with all types of incoherent disjointed memories and present real-time events -- as well as moments of lucidity, panic and fear -- clashing, merging and evolving. Expertly mastered for vinyl and cut by Noel Summerville at 3345 Mastering. Packaged in a beautiful gloss laminated gatefold sleeve, featuring artwork from both Babs Santini and Graham Bowers, plus a full-color insert. Limited to 500 copies.

Deluxe gatefold double LP version. Lost sounds are the archives of a forgotten history. The raucously raw, Vodoun-inspired rhythms of Cotonou have confirmed Benin as a mecca of '70s Afro sounds and revived the story of its people, but the unopened vaults housing the country's catacombs of musical riches are endless. With this as a compass, Analog Africa charters its fifth expedition to Benin, traveling far north to delve deeper into the obscured repertoires and tales of the Bariba and Dendi people. Originating from the Kwara state of northwest Nigeria, the Bariba -- a predominantly Islamic people -- now dominate the Borgou department of Benin with the market city of Parakou at its heart. The rhythms of their culture constitute just one domain of the Islamic Funk Belt -- a distinct musical swath of land encompassing northern Ghana, Togo and Benin. Once frequented by Muslim merchants and traders, the belt has yielded a rich harvest of talent. The most powerful band from Parakou is Orchestre Super Borgou, who were first introduced to the West via Analog Africa's defining release, African Scream Contest (AACD 063CD/AALP 063LP). The birth of modern African music in Parakou is inextricably linked to Super Borgou. The progressive-minded father of the band's founder, Moussa Mama, imported modern music -- which he learned while working as a goldsmith in Accra, Ghana -- to the region in the '50s. His return to Borgou and subsequent teachings spawned countless bands from villages across the department. Super Borgou developed their own musical identity by reinventing traditional songs and rhythms. With Benin's foremost drummer, Bori Borro, in their ranks, Bariba and Dendi linguistic folklore -- alongside melodies of an Islamic ilk -- fused with soul, pachanga, breakbeats, rumba and Afro-Beat, Orchestre Super Borgou de Parakou manufactured a sound of penetrating and unpolished directness, blurring the line between the erstwhile rhythms of the devout village and the modern grooves infecting the forward-thinking city. Their reinvention redefines what contemporary audiences classify as the "Afro" genre. Performing live at the bar Congolaise, the high-octane live performances of Parakou's finest troupe also captured the imagination of Celestin Houenou Sezan, co-founder of Albarika Store (Benin's most important music label), and Super Borgou were, in fact, the legendary label's very first EP release. Apart from Albarika, Discadam -- and its sub-labels Impressions Sonores du Nord and Echos Sonores du Borgou -- were the band's major backers who helped galvanize the sound of northern Benin. Armed with a keen sense of philosophical observation, multi-instrumentalist Moussa Mama and rhythm guitarist Menou Roch, through their lyrics, reported on the socio-economic ills of their time -- the rampant inequalities they saw around them -- which established the band as noteworthy commentators on top of their gift of unique rhythm. Analog Africa's Orchestre Super Borgou anthology opens an entirely new chapter of lost and resurrected Afro sounds. Remastered to recreate the energy of their legendary live performances and accompanied by a stunning a full-color gatefold sleeve, the story of this remarkable ensemble and the traditions of the people of Northern Benin are set to be revealed and documented like never before.