On Audience Of One, Oren Ambarchi presents a four-part suite which moves from throbbing minimalism to expansive song-craft to ecstatic free-rock. His previous solo albums for Touch exhibited a clear progression towards augmenting and embellishing his signature bass-heavy guitar tones with fragile acoustic instrumentation. Audience Of One, while also existing in clear continuity with these recordings, opens the next chapter. Remarkable in its confidence and breadth, but also in the sensuous immediacy of its details, this is the first time a single record has come close to encapsulating Ambarchi's musical personality in its full range and singularity. The techniques and strategies developed in his refined improvisational work with Keith Rowe and his explorations of the outer limits of rock with Sunn O))) and Keiji Haino are both in evidence, alongside the meticulous attention to detail and composition of his solo works. And on the cover of Ace Frehley's "Fractured Mirror" which closes the record, Ambarchi even points to his roots as a classic rock fanatic, in an epic yet faithful version which extends the shimmering guitar patters of the original into a rich field of phase patters reminiscent of the classic American minimalism of Reich and Riley. The album features a multitude of collaborators, who, far from appearing in incidental roles, are integral to the pieces on which they perform: on "Salt," Ambarchi paints a hypnotic, chiming backdrop for Paul Duncan's (Warm Ghost) vocals, and Joe Talia's virtuoso drumming and driving cymbals are at the core of the epic "Knots," in which Ambarchi, alongside a chamber arrangement by Eyvind Kang, weaves a net of frequencies and textures with the organic push and pull of a '70s psych jam, the bass response of a doom metal ritual and the psycho-acoustic precision of an Alvin Lucier composition. On his previous records, Ambarchi's signature guitar tone was the ever-present bedrock over which other elements sounded. At moments on Audience Of One, this disappears entirely, as on the beautiful "Passage," which, recalling the '70s Italian non-academic minimalism of Roberto Cacciapaglia and Giusto Pio, is composed of overlapping tones from Hammond organ and wine glasses, Jessika Kenney's voice, various acoustic instruments, and the delicate amplified textures of Canadian sound-artist Crys Cole. Rather than being provided by any particular sound, the unified feel of Audience Of One stems simply from the unique, patient sensibility Ambarchi has developed over the last 20 years; abstracting musical forms into their barest forms, while somehow always managing to leave their emotive power intact.

Pop Ambient 2012 begins in an unusually new but nevertheless somehow familiar fashion. Mohn with "Manifesto" is the opening act. A manifest of slowness. A slowness that Jörg Burger and Wolfgang Voigt have taken up as a new mission. Mohn is their new ambient-grunge-downbeat project, scheduled to depart on its official musical journey to Middle Earth early 2012. What follows is equally surprising: the old Kompakt swashbuckler Superpitcher is taking part for the very first time. His piece "Jackson" is borne by a slightly uncanny, spherical voice floating above a jazzy pop accord coolness and faintly '70s sequencer aesthetics. It is followed by a familiar face from past times who is making an anonymous return on Kompakt under his new pseudonym Morek. "Pan" is a textbook example of a classical piece of pop ambient music. Timeless elegance. Magazine, the "Krauty" electronic guerrilla from Cologne-Deutz, has tailored the piece "The Visitors Bureau" we all know from Magazine 4 into a measure-made ambient frock. Then comes Jörg "Triola" Burger with a solo appearance. His multi-faceted, intricately-woven Arabian Nights-style sounds, with effectively placed harmonic shifts reminiscent of Pink Floyd in the best of their phases, indicate why the piece "Richmodis" was named after an old Cologne saga. Enter the Pope of Ambient: Wolfgang Voigt masterfully continues his impressive creative ambient frenzy in "Rückverzauberung 5," not by stagnating on the usual planes but by further developing his new concept into a novel direction of abstract jazz. Bvdub is taking part for the third time, leaving nothing to be desired with his sensitive musical signature. Likewise, Marsen Jules constantly refines his bizarre, flickering sound constructions and even adds percussion drums that are atypical for ambient. Simon Scott is a newcomer to Pop Ambient but certainly no unknown face. The Englishman already impressed the scene a while ago on the Miasmah label. His contribution "For Martha" is a particularly good piece of classical pop ambient music. A relaxing final appearance is provided by a good friend of the house: Axel "The Field" Willner alias Loops Of Your Heart charms us with a light-footed, pleasantly-filled guitar loop tempting us to press the Start button at the end of the CD/record.

Part three in this 4-part set. This 12" slots into the Elemental quad-gatefold which came with parts 1 & 2 (LOVE 073_074LP). The 2CD album Elemental features a different tracklisting with alternate versions of some of these vinyl tracks plus extra content. Mastered and cut by Lupo at Dubplates & Mastering, pressed on colored vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies for the world. Featuring specially-commissioned artwork by Andy Votel.

This CD is the first collaboration of Steven Stapleton's Nurse With Wound and composer/sculptor Graham Bowers. It is, without doubt, one of the best things United Dirter has ever released. It's an extremely unnerving, but also hauntingly moving listening experience. The work 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. It's essentially one long piece, but is presented in three parts: 01. "...A Life As It Now Is 02. "...Is Not What It Was" 03. "...And Will Never Be Again." It arrives packaged in a beautiful 6-panel gloss-laminated digipack, featuring artwork from both Babs Santini and Graham Bowers. The edition is limited to just 1,000 copies in this format.

Currently playing in select U.S. theatres. The soundtrack to the film Pina for Pina Bausch by Wim Wenders, containing 15 tracks from the successful 3D movie. Most of the music is from the productions of Pina Bausch's dance company, featured in the movie. Songs composed especially for this movie by Berlin musician Thom Hanreich add to this versatile concoction. Wim Wenders' love for music can be perceived in all of his movies -- this time around it is no different. Especially with the sounds from Pina Bausch's dance company which predefined the choice of music: "Music plays a highly important part in all of Pina's pieces. And music was certainly one of the reasons why I felt so well sheltered inside them, so much at home," says Wim Wenders. The soundtrack Pina portrays a cross-section of this musical variety. The compilation presents a range of artists such as Jun Miyake (Japan), Lisa Papineau (France), Hazmat Modine (USA), Owain Phyfe & The New World Renaissance Band (USA), Germano Rocha (Canada), René Aubry (France), Amon Tobin aka Cujo (Brazil), The English Chamber Orchestra (UK), and Thom Hanreich (Germany). It comprises a mix of different music styles, featuring artists maybe not known to all of the listeners. The soundtrack will be sure to awaken memories of many compelling movie scenes. Wim Wenders emphasizes that the music Pina Bausch chose is one of yearning. The director states: "We shared a similar taste in music. Whether in blues, in fado, or in Latin-American music, but also in popular German music, this yearning, this deep longing is predominant." Many fans have been yearning for the music from Pina.

"Ponies from the SILK stable turn 936 dub-a-dub lullaby groovers into full-on synth-sex, acid-bubble, twinkle-starshine dance ditties on this remix redux. Beat it with the chic vocal pitch n' bounce and metallic/mechanic swing of Ital's take on 'Marshmellow Yellow.' Bring it on baroque with Xander Harris' Sly and Dario giallo-reggae revision of 'Birds of Paradise.' Innergaze hi-five the minimal wave of 'All The Sun That Shines,' transforming the original into a syncopated psych-out dark-disco-dose FX fest. And Cuticle's got the bleary bleep-bloop best of sweet serenade 'Tiger Eyes' with Casio keyed-up flourishes, hi-hat space jams, and damp ramp-up breakdowns. Even beater than the real thing; let the Domino fall for 936-gone-nightlife. "

Liimited 2nd pressing now available.. "This release features three tracks recorded in various locations in the Phoenix area in the mid 1980s. Two of these tracks have never been released."

...Sounds From Benin & Togo '70s. 2012 repress on vinyl. Double vinyl version, in deluxe gatefold sleeve and printed inner sleeves which replicate all of the liner notes from the CD version booklet. Same 14 tracks as the CD.

LP version. Ben Frost and Daníel Bjarnason are two composers used to shrugging off the distinction between experimental sound art and deeply-felt melodies. Frost's vast, blackened post-industrial works often crystallize in moments of quiet beauty before disintegrating in pure visceral noise; Bjarnason's orchestral music marries brutal modernism to classical aesthetics one moment and soaring ethereal harmonies the next. And yet here, on the tail of two widely-acclaimed releases; Bjarnason's Processions (HVALUR 007CD) and Frost's By The Throat (HVALUR 006/LP), we are given something altogether new. A unique collaboration, Sólaris is a quiet, stilled and all-consuming symphonic suite at once as affecting and uncanny as the science-fiction classic that inspired it. The power of Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris is not in its futuristic sets, or in the hypnotic shots of the alien planet's weird, fluid surface, it's in the way the auteur juxtaposes his alien, futuristic elements against the intimately familiar. This is a future not just of flashing lights and video screens, but of wood and wool and leather, of dogs and horses, books and photographs. In Frost & Bjarnason's Sólaris, we do find the futuristic, gaseous atmospheres and pulses one might expect from a sci-fi soundtrack. Here they are carved instead from the warm, fragile sonorities of Sinfonietta Cracovia; one of Europe's leading orchestras, a gently prepared piano whose harmonies warp and melt before transforming again -- and waves upon waves of guitar. Created through a unique series of processes, Frost & Bjarnason's initial sketches -- improvised to the film -- were fed through software designed to correct music which tried to turn their dense and distorted sonic input into a digital sequence of raw musical data. Working from data riddled with error and misunderstanding, a human score was orchestrated; the whole process deftly mirroring the very core of the film's own narrative of memory and loss, alien doppelgängers and emotional feedback loops. Brian Eno -- who consulted closely in the creation of Sólaris -- also used the same film to create a video accompaniment to this music in another strange loop of computer-generated distortion. But here the score stands on its own. Sólaris is a journey into an internal world; into the self; a flux of wonder, horror, sorrow and tenderness; and a ravishing sensory experience.

"What is the true mark of the wayward genius of Wiley? Is it that, less than six months after the release of his last full album, 100% Publishing, he has another record all set for release? Is it that he has insisted that it is released on his birthday, Thursday January 19th 2012? Or that he initially refused to release a single from it? That he has made so much music that his fans will receive two CDs, the second with at least eight further tracks on it? Or even that one track on the album has no music ('Customs')? No, it's not any of these. It's that we can say, without fear of contradiction (or without much fear), that Evolve Or Be Extinct is the best album (so far!) of this unique artist's career. Dark, funny, wild and exhilarating, this is a record which shows just what Wiley is capable of when he forgets the minutiae of recording contracts and concentrates on the many weird and wonderful facets of his life."

LP version. Continuing further into the territories of domesticated English voudou sketched out by 2009's Revenants, Prodigies & The Restless Dead (WEAVIL 039CD), UK guitarist C Joynes' Congo is dominated by notions of landscape, imagination and personal ritual. However, while elements of introspection and intensity do appear, the mood is one of simple, uplifting joy. Warm, woody sounds and themes for a variety of donated, rescued and homemade instruments contrast with occasional stark arrangements, bursts of blossoming electricity, and passages of dense improvisation. Contributions from friends and colleagues generate momentum and interplay at key points, enabling these recordings to site the loner aesthetic within the traditions of social music for dancing and communion.

"Doug Jerebine Is Jesse Harper is an archival release sure to resonate with fans of Jimi Hendrix, 10 Years After, Randy Holden, Merrell Fankhauser and the HMS Bounty, Spirit and other heavy sounds not truly heard and felt since the days of Gary Yoder and Kak! The mystery of the Jesse Harper album, long rumored and gossiped about, is finally brought to light for all to hear and enjoy, with thrilling liner notes openly revealing the man behind the myth! Doug Jerebine is alive and well, recently resurfaced, gigging and recording again! Is Jesse Harper is the original artifact, set to excite underground psych rockers, uptight collector nerds, and geezer-dad gig-goers all around the world! Is Jesse Harper is a perfectly realized testament from that era, a record that bubbles psychedelically with shuffling beats and active bass, ultimately defined by a fuzzy haze of dripping guitar leads backdropped against strident and arpeggiated riffs, chords, and slabs of rhythm. Cohesively intertwined with spiritual perspectives and memorable choruses, Is Jesse Harper's songs reach that universal plane so often sought after but rarely discovered on record."

"A little bit of history is a dangerous thing. How then would a present-day acolyte of punk rock's strict regimen explain how Pete Shelly launched an avant-garde DIY label while riding high on the British charts and touring internationally back in 1979 and '80? Loving the art of records and their wayward appeal, it was only natural for Shelley and Francis Cookson to conceive Groovy Records as a way to make some truly freaky (and decidedly un-punk rock) records, and do as much of the work of making the records themselves as they could. These releases represent some of the farthest-out sessions on the wild-to-begin-with late-70s Manchester scene. That three of these four albums were released in the space of one big year, 1980 the one real year of Groovy Records' existence, is further testament to the swirl of passions in swiftly morphing times. Now for the first time ever, these four aural tomes are collected together for CD release with all original packaging included in miniature (plus an exclusive Shelley interview!) -- so what are you waiting for? It's been over thirty years' now -- you can finally get Groovy on digital." 4CD BOX includes: Free Agents' £3.33, Pete Shelley's Sky Yen, Sally Smmit and Her Musicians' Hanaghar and Strange Men in Sheds with Spanners.

Modal melodies from East to West, performed by Dominique Vellard, Ken Zuckerman, Anindo Chatterjee and Keyvan Chemirani. "This recording offers a rare opportunity to experience two different musical traditions in dialogue: the reconstructed musical culture of the European Middle Ages, and the ancient but still continuous tradition of North Indian classical music -- two worlds that are indeed separated with respect to time and geography, and yet still linked by common characteristic features. The classical tradition of North Indian music is marked both by a strong adherence to its own origins and an openness to influences from other cultures. On the other hand, European art music of the Middle Ages, seemingly far removed and accessible only by means of written documents, has clearly recognizable roots in Eastern traditions. In their respective musical development, Dominique Vellard and Ken Zuckerman have each been strongly influenced by a variety of experiences with Eastern music traditions. The music on this CD was recorded as a live studio performance. For the Indian music performances, this spontaneity and improvised atmosphere is an extremely important ingredient to any rendering of the ragas and talas, but the improvised accompaniments of the monophonic songs definitely also benefitted from this unique 'live' quality."

"Hotflush presents the debut 12" from Belgian newcomer Locked Groove aka Tim Van de Meutter. The young producer delivers three hypnotizing and genre bending tracks that expertly weave the sounds of Berghain, soulful house and UK garage into a single crushing package. The Rooted EP draws you in with the title track, bouncing along to an acid baseline, then moves onto 'Drowning,' a moody techno track that was included on Scuba's DJ-Kicks mix compilation, filled with drum and ambient samples taken from field recordings. Lastly, 'Change,' a production that smartly melds classic house grooves with industrial techno, demonstrates Locked Groove's rhythmic finesse and long-term promise as an artist."

"Recently discovered 1972 Latin teen soul-funk-rock private press mega-rarity from rural New Mexico. Pressed in very small numbers, this previously unknown gem is a very accomplished mix of smooth gliding soul and up-tempo funk, complete with swirling Hammond organ and mellow harmonies to go with the fuzz and funk guitars. At the album's core, however, beats the heart of an adolescent small town garage rock combo. This six piece teen group, led by Rick Chavez and the smooth vocals of Ray Williams, features nine very catchy original tunes to go along with their very own funky version of the classic, 'Bo Diddley.' The great music on this authorized reissue has all been restored and re-mastered and is now offered as a very limited vinyl pressing for the first time. We have also restored the original hand-drawn outsider psychedelic cover art. With less than a handful of original copies known to exist at this time, this is a great new find and an absolute 'must have' for the collector of rare soul-funk-garage vinyl."

"These recordings chronicle a time when Paris was the centre of the world--and the legendary night clubs of Montmarte, Pigalle and along the Champs- Elysees were filled with jazz bands--but with the onset of WWII, all this changed and gypsies like Django Reinhardt were systematically being rounded up and sent to the death camps. During this time Reinhardt found himself literally having to play and record in order to stay alive. As long as he was a star, he was safe. Amazingly, Reinhardt still managed to compose and record some of his best material during this dark era. Recorded in Paris between 1937 and 1940."

Fire! are developing at a rapid speed and their exhilarating gig at Oslo Jazz Festival in August 2011 simply left the audience gobsmacked. This 10" EP however, contains more music from their fruitful collaboration with Jim O'Rourke in Tokyo in September 2010, some of which was released earlier in 2011 as Unreleased?. Here are two workouts showing the wide musical spectrum they cover. Vinyl-only release in a numbered, limited edition of only 500 copies.

Classic double live album from this free-spirited international trio, this time expanded with American sax player Mars Williams. Recorded live at Oslo's Café Mono and at the Nattjazz festival in Bergen, both in May 2011, this fully shows why new drummer Frank Rosaly can be considered the perfect partner to founders Raoul Björkenheim (guitar) and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (bass), not to mention Williams, who fit in perfectly with only a minimum of rehearsals before these concerts. The interplay is simply stunning and the sound is of studio quality. Vinyl-only release, housed in a gatefold sleeve and limited to 500 numbered copies.

"Software Recording Co. is proud to introduce Napolian, 19-year-old producer and chief visionary behind LA-based production crew Renaissance Music Group. His debut release, Rejoice, is stately, direct, and stylistically interwoven. Rejoice runs the gamut of computer funk, ambient, and trance, but always retains a hard, synthetic R&B core. The same way Napoleon III urged porcelain designers to reflect the historic images of the day as opposed to generic landscapes and classical nudes, our Napolian's commanding dionysia of electronic music histories are dream-coated in digital resins and fabricated in the manner of a visionary metal worker. What's immediately evident in Napolian's craft are the anthemic leads that tear across the conductor rod of 21st century hardware-based production. Napolian's cyclonic smack of disparate yet logical influences sets him apart from the contemporary sidechain scene. The Harold Faltermeyer/Dr. Dre continuum on Rejoice's 'False Memories' or the wormhole connecting Marcus Miller to Alice DeeJay on 'Rejoice' represent a couple of the Napolian's unprecedented stargates. The songs of Rejoice aren't fleeting screen grabs, rather riffs hard-ripped by hand on time-tested, Ikutaro Kakehashi-approved gear. It made us cry and it shook our skulls." Numbered limited edition of 500; includes download code.

"First ever reissue, deluxe and legit, of this quite rare 1976 southern California private press gem. It's a strange, fantastical, and totally distinct album that will have you sucked in almost instantly. This one is extremely hard to pin down - think something like a loner powerpop rock opus, heavy on the psychedelic production values, studio dreamer vibes, and timeless hooks. The songs are unusual but infectious, the production is breezy and expansive but not polished, and the vocals are constantly morphing yet always effective. In fact, the hazy chameleon-like personality here might be one of the best things going for the album, as not only does Eddie seem to be channelling a handful of different vocalists, but the whole mood and sound shifts around unexpectedly as well. Even the potential low points somehow work, and there are surprises around every turn. The often questioning, self-reflective lyrics add yet another layer of mystique to the trip. Musically the mellowest points hover around gorgeous, airy, rural-tinged, floating psychedelia with beautifully layered acoustic & electric guitars, tinkling keys, and lush mellotron. When things pick up they're truly rocking, with tight punchy rhythms and Eddie firing off big chunky guitar riffs like he's playing to the packed stadium behind his third eye. All the studio tricks at hand are put to full use with sweet Leslie guitar effects, special tones, backwards solos, elaborate multi-tracked sound fields, and some of the most wonderfully bent synthesizer soloing ever laid to tape. The perfectly strange and beautiful cover art seals the deal. False Egos is mastered from the artist's well preserved and great sounding master tapes. Pressed on highest quality 180gm virgin vinyl, and packaging in an exact reproduction heavy old-style cover, with exact repro labels. One time pressing of 700 copies. Includes a double-sided insert with a bunch of great vintage photos of Eddie rockin' the Marshall stacks at the False Ego sessions, and new notes from Eddie, his wife Donna-Davi, and album producer Robert Berry. "

The Trost label presents a live recording from the trio Sonore, featuring Peter Brötzmann (tenor and alto sax, clarinet and taragato), Ken Vandermark (tenor sax and clarinet) and Mats Gustafsson (baritone sax). All compositions by Brötzmann, Vandermark and Gustafsson. Recorded at Café OTO, London, for Jazz On 3, BBC Radio 3, April 20th 2011.

A Pennsylvanian by birth, Keith Kenniff is an honors graduate of Boston's esteemed Berklee College Of Music, best known as the brains behind dulcet ambient/electronic practitioners Helios and the fingers on the ivories of post-classical piano minimalists Goldmund (the latter's music once described by no less an authority than Ryuichi Sakamoto as "so, so, so beautiful..."). A succession of albums under those aliases has made Kenniff the darling of discerning critics and his music has also been widely used in film, television and advertising, not least on the soundtrack to Harmony Korine's 2007 comedy-drama Mister Lonely and the trailer for the 2009 Academy Award-nominated Revolutionary Road, directed by Sam Mendes. In 2007, Keith formed the band Mint Julep with his wife Hollie. Mint Julep was designed as a conscious departure from Keith's previous projects. Keith's project Branches sees him return to his twinkling piano keys and the intensely atmospheric strings of his earlier solo work. Branches sounds like a journey that ebbs and flows through a wondrous forest, accelerating and slowing up to reveal beauty in all its little nooks and crannies. The album is a haunting and beautiful work that will appeal to fans of Max Richter, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nils Frahm and Hauschka.

Young Turks brings together two of the best producers in the UK to give their perspective on the work of SBTRKT. This musicological take on SBTRKT's "Pharaohs" recontextualizes Roses Gabor's Afro-futuristic vocals in a more genuinely space-age industrial club sphere. Lil'Silva's treatment of "Living Like I Do" takes Sampha's vocal and adds a jerk discord to a dramatic vocal performance. His trademark two-note bassline presents itself with its usual menace. Also includes a remix by Braiden.

One of the all-time classic ambient albums finally available on strictly limited edition 180 gram vinyl. The vinyl edition of Substrata is released by Geir Jenssen's own label, Biophon. It comes as a double gatefold album featuring the bonus track "Laika" (14:35). Biosphere is widely-regarded as one of the legendary names in ambient/electronic music. Residing in Norway, near the Arctic Circle, he has found the focus to slowly and steadily create a self-contained aural universe, made up of reflective and immersive sound sculptures. For almost 15 years, he has released a string of critically-acclaimed albums. 1997's Substrata, which marked Jenssen's embarkation towards an intensely minimal style, is not only often considered to be Jenssen's best work to date, but is also seen as one of the all-time classic ambient albums. Re-mastered by Stefan Betke @ Scape Mastering, Berlin. New artwork by David Coppenhall.