A note from Lawrence English: "In late 1975, Annea Lockwood realized her composition World Rhythms. It represents one of the first creative works exploring the potentials of field recordings in a multichannel setting. It is a landmark work and a composition that, on its 50th anniversary, has gently carried forward over the decades, but arguably now is only starting to come into true focus, and be understood for exactly how revolutionary it was. World Rhythms was a work concerned with a practice of sustained listening into the world, and beyond. It expanded outward from many of the compositions and themes Annea Lockwood had been exploring since the 1960s. It sought to take those learnings and apply them to a new set of terrains and circumstances. Moreover, it suggested a sensing of sound that was drawn from profound curiosity, matched only by patience. In 2019, I reached out to Annea and started a conversation about a revisitation of World Rhythms. My initial proposition was a simple one: a re-issue that was remastered and touched up, reflecting Annea's thoughts on the piece in this moment. The conversation quickly spun outward though, and before long Annea had asked if I might be interested to revisit the master tapes with the thought that the work could be revived and prepared for performance presentations going forward into this century. On listening to the materials, during the period of restoring the audio from the original master tapes, I was struck by the profound dynamism of the recordings. Each of the sound-fields held an attentive flux, a rhythmic pulse that was breathing. Each one a story of the pulses of the world, and our universe, that spoke to a possible reading of reality that sits in excess of our everyday capacities. A poetics of pulse if you like. Here then is the result of those conversations and also the presentations of the piece that followed -- several of which Annea has overseen herself. On this newly rendered imagining of World Rhythms, new relations, listening paths and ways of exploring her sound-fields are brought into focus. The core of the piece remains, a prioritized zone of listening, but emerging from deep within it new sonic formations emerge, a reminder of the dynamism of our energetic world and its surroundings." Composition by Annea Lockwood; gong performed by Vanessa Tomlinson and Annea Lockwood; mix realized by Lawrence English. Design by Traianos Pakioufakis; essay by Lawrence English.
Alan Bishop's solo persona appears again from his now 15-year-old home of Cairo where it was recorded in and around many other projects over the past few years. And unlike his more recent singer/songwriter material, Malarial Dream drifts closer to latter day Sun City Girls (Mister Lonely/Funeral Mariachi) amidst a melodic Middle Eastern and beyond psych-warped folk setting. Mostly instrumental and, except for two obscure covers, original compositions that feature a cast of extraordinary players: Adham Zidan, Aya Hemeda, Cherif El Masri, and Morgan Mikkelsen (The Invisible Hands), Maurice Louca and Sam Shalabi (The Dwarfs of East Agouza), Amelie Legrand, Asher Gamedze, Eyvind Kang, Hana Al Bayaty, Huda Asfour, and Sammy Sayed. LP Limited to 500 copies. Produced by Alvarius B. and Adham Zidan.
Born from Israel's groundbreaking psychedelic pioneers The Churchills, Jericho Jones emerged in 1971 with Junkies, Monkeys & Donkeys -- an internationally-minded leap into hard rock, proto-prog, and melodic songwriting. Recorded in a single, electrifying 24-hour session at London's Tangerine Studios, the album captures a band in full creative flight. Blending heavy riffs, lush melodies, and subtle Middle Eastern influences, Junkies, Monkeys & Donkeys stands today as a lost classic of early '70s rock -- a vital bridge between psychedelia and the heavier sounds that followed. Features original artwork in gatefold sleeve. Newly remastered sound. Includes insert with detailed liner notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things) with input from original member Robb Huxley as well as extra insert with lyrics.
Part-time farmer/musician Oliver Chaplin is the person behind one of the rarest private pressings from the UK. His cult masterpiece Standing Stone was recorded in early 1974 at a remote farm in Wales, using a portable 4-track Teac reel-to-reel machine. Helped by his brother Chris at the controls (an experienced BBC engineer who had worked on Syd Barrett sessions), surrounded by animals and "smaller winged creatures," Oliver sang and played acoustic and electric guitars filtered through tape echo, distortion and multi-tracking, creating a very unique sound, a kind of DIY mutant-psychedelic-blues (think Captain Beefheart) which sounded years ahead of its time. Despite the lo-fi nature of the recording, the sound quality is amazing and timeless. Only 250 copies of the album were pressed and it even caught the attention of the Virgin label, who were interested in distribution but Oliver finally refused their offer. Musicians like JJ Cale expressed interest in Oliver's music, inviting him to a jam session but in the end, Oliver decided he was not interested in the music business and left Wales to travel around Europe. He remains a kind of a mysterious figure and Guerssen now offers a new, long-awaited reissue of Standing Stone, sanctioned by the artist.
Two '70s Zamrock hard-fuzz monsters! "Hey Babe" by Ngozi Family was originally included on their sought-after Day of Judgement album and it features one of the loudest, nastiest Ron Asheton-esque fuzz-wah guitar solos ever committed to wax. "Really" by Crossbones is crazy fuzzed-out Sabbatt-esque hard-rock, taken from their impossible to find Wise Man album.
LP version. With Heat, Société Étrange extends its work around repetition, groove and cyclic structures, shaping an instrumental music that is both hypnotic and enveloping. Without any radical shift, the Lyon-based trio subtly moves towards more melodic and more cinematic forms, revealing warmer, more textured and sometimes more luminous atmospheres. Formed by Antoine Bellini (electronics), Romain Hervault (bass) and Jonathan Grandcollot (drums), Société Étrange builds here a more diffuse trance, driven by generally slower tempos than on Chance (BJR 075CD, 2022). Organic drums interact with drum machines and layers of synthesizers, while the bass carries both pulse and melodic lines. The music breathes more, leaving space for silences and micro-variations, and unfolds as an immersive listening experience. With Heat, the band explores a strange form of instrumental pop, without formats or choruses, nourished by an imaginary close to soundtracks and narrative electronic music. A warm and hypnotic album, where repetition becomes texture, tension turns into atmosphere, and each track draws its own sonic landscape.
Already pioneers at home under their earlier name The Churchills, the band relocated to the UK in 1971 under the guidance of a big management, changing their name to Jericho Jones and finally Jericho. Released by A&M in February 1972, the self-titled Jericho album was heavier, longer, and more progressive than anything they had done before. Built around extended compositions, fearless arrangements, and telepathic ensemble playing, it captured a band operating at full creative stretch. The album opens with "Ethiopia," a ferocious multi-section rocker whose volcanic riffing and sudden twists set the tone for everything that follows. "Don't You Let Me Down," later issued as a single, delivers urgent hooks wrapped in the group's distinctive modal flavor. The towering "Featherbed" moves from melodic introspection to a widescreen instrumental workout that became the band's breakthrough moment on British stages. At the heart of the record lies "Justin and Nova," Robb Huxley's sweeping, cinematic psychedelic/ progressive epic. With its emotional narrative, dramatic dynamics, and lush piano and strings, the track has grown into a cult classic, often cited by fans as one of the era's lost masterpieces. The album closes with "Kill Me With Your Love" a hard-edged, proto-metal piece, ending the journey in grand, theatrical fashion. Internal strains and homesickness soon led to lineup changes, and despite tours, new singles, and even interest from heavyweight industry figures, momentum proved difficult to sustain. Within a short time, Jericho was over. Newly remastered sound. Includes original artwork in hard cardboard sleeve and insert with detailed liner notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things) with input from original member Robb Huxley. Also includes extra insert with lyrics.
2026 restock. "With his honeyed falsetto, Horace Andy has long been considered one of roots reggae's most inimitable voices. His signature tune, 'Skylarking,' is one of a handful of songs that can be instantly recognized by even the most casual of reggae fans. Making his debut with producer and mentor Phil Pratt at the age of sixteen, Andy's expressive vocal style is immediately distinctive, bearing the soulful influence of American artists Otis Redding and Smokey Robinson as well as fellow countryman Alton Ellis. 1975's Get Wise collects a series of singles produced by Pratt including versions of hits 'Money, Money' ('Root Of All Evil') and 'Zion Gate' ('I Don't Want To Be Outside'). Recorded between 1972 and 1974, these sides were captured at legendary studios Channel One, Black Ark, Dynamic Sound and Randy's Studio 17 with house engineers Ernest Hoo Kim, Lee Perry, Carlton Lee and Errol Thompson at the helm. Originally released on Pratt's Sunshot label, the album doubles as a showcase for The Soul Syndicate Band, a typically ad-hoc session group which featured Sly & Robbie, Aston 'Family Man' Barrett and Earl 'Chinna' Smith, among others. Get Wise delivers ten tracks of Andy's finest material and should be in the collection of any aficionado of the classic '70s Kingston sound. Liner notes by JR Gonne."
2026 restock. Originally released in 1985, this is a compilation of classic Horace Andy, including covers of Tappa Zukie's "Better Collie" and Leroy Sibble's "My Guiding Star."
Hardcover, 656 pages, 500 color images. 28 × 21 cm. "A massive photographic archive of Lee 'Scratch' Perry's legendary recording studio. A 600-page tribute to one of the most famous locales in music history, Black Ark is a detailed inventory of photographs and writings from the Black Ark Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, where producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry created music from 1973 onward. The eclectic and constantly evolving decoration of the studio provides an enduring visual counterpart to Perry's expansive musical catalog. From mural paintings to shape-shifting assemblages of records, instruments, found objects, posters and newspaper clippings, the artworks layer upon one another as they intertwine with the studio building itself. Perry created his own dense and diverse world in which to work: memorialized in this volume before the Black Ark disappears for good. The photographic documentation of the studio in the spring of 2021 was supplemented by efforts to secure and preserve Perry's works, objects and recordings as part of a joint project with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Black Ark reflects the rhythm and layering effects of collage both in its content and the materials used to craft the book. Perry was involved in the development of this publication until his death in August 2021. The book closes with memorial essays from Ishion Hutchinson, David Katz, Kodwo Eshun, and John Corbett. Lee 'Scratch' Perry (1936-2021) was a musician and producer best known for pioneering the dub genre in the 1970s. He worked with well-known Jamaican artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Heptones, the Congos, and Max Romeo. In 2003 he won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album."
"Generic Flipper, the debut album by Flipper, remains the most absorbing full-length LP to emerge from the early San Francisco punk scene. A constant source of imitation for so-called 'noise rock' bands, it has yet to be surpassed in its nihilistic glee. Recorded between October 1980 and August 1981 and released in 1982 on the indispensable Subterranean Records, this album functions as a chaotic, sticky mass of individual personalities: the magma-like bass eruptions and dual vocals of Will Shatter and Bruce Loose, Ted Falconi's icy guitar scraping and the relentless beat of drummer Steve DePace. At times playful and taciturn, paranoid and absurd, Generic charts a deliberate path that willfully chances destruction. In early '80s punk, when the hardening default was 'faster-shorter-louder,' Generic subverts the nascent hardcore scene with a strictly applied regimen of turgid-slower-heavier. The lyrics are bleak, yet unnervingly beautiful. 'Ever' sets the tone with trademark restraint, while closer 'Sex Bomb' is a churning, 8-minute epic with looping bass, saxophone accompaniment and electronic effects of dropping bombs. Tons of indie bands have attempted to recreate Flipper's mix of acidic guitar, metallic bass sludge and sardonically brilliant lyricism, using the seemingly effortless template they pioneered; however, the effect usually drives listeners right back to Generic. While most of their contemporaries wilt under direct comparison, No Trend, the Butthole Surfers, feedtime and Church Police are a few who can stand the frigid heat."
VA
Ayam El Disco: Egyptian Disco, Boogie & Jeel Cassettes 1978-1992 Selected By Disco Arabesquo LP
Wewantsounds presents Ayam El Disco, a new selection of Egyptian 1980s disco and boogie cassette tracks curated by Egyptian DJ Disco Arabesquo, following his highly acclaimed Sharayet El Disco. Most tracks make their vinyl debut in this set. A journey through the funky sounds of 1980s Egypt, Ayam El Disco ("Disco Days") features Ammar El Sherei, Al Massrieen, and other underground artists from Cairo's vibrant cassette culture. The audio has been remastered for vinyl by David Hachour at Colorsound Studio in Paris, and the LP features artwork by Egyptian graphic designer Heba Tarek, along with a two-page insert showcasing the original cassette artwork and insightful liner notes by Moataz Rageb. Based in Amsterdam, the Egyptian DJ has spent years collecting rare tapes from the 1980s and early 1990s -- a period that transformed Egypt's musical landscape and shaped his own listening experience. By the 1980s, the cassette format had become a revolutionary medium in Egypt. Affordable and easily duplicated, tapes allowed artists to work independently while absorbing global influences such as disco, funk, and synth-pop through imported and bootleg recordings. Rather than mirroring Western club culture, these sounds were adapted to local contexts. Disco entered everyday life -- played at home, in cars, at weddings, beaches, and family gatherings - resulting in a distinctly Egyptian interpretation rooted in Arabic musical traditions. Ayam El Disco reflects this era through a carefully curated selection ranging from smooth disco and boogie to funkier instrumentals and early proto-Jeel sounds. Also featuring Firkit Americana Show, Firkit Hany Shenoda, Mostafa El Sakka, Hamid El Shaeri, Firkit El Pharana, Omar Fathy, Ammar El Sherei, Medhat Saleh, Aida El Ayoubi, and Ahmed Adaweya.
First time reissue of Japan/US free jazz rarity. Old-style gatefold LP with rare photographs and liner notes by Ed Hazell. Edition of 1000. The 1970s were Marion Brown's most searching decade, a period during which he sought to move beyond the free jazz of the previous era and find more personal approaches to structuring improvisation and composition. After leaving New York for Europe in 1967, Brown began reshaping his music into what he described as "a more deliberate kind of music that had more structure to it," pacing it so that moods and modes could develop over time. Albums such as In Sommerhausen, Afternoon of a Georgia Faun, Geechee Recollections, and Sweet Earth Flying trace this evolution: rhythmic structures moved to the foreground, harmony receded, and composition became a matter of orchestrating interlocking rhythmic parts as one would polyphonic lines. Released in 1976, Awofofora is an overlooked but crucial entry in that sequence. At the time, its use of funk and reggae beats, electric guitars, and grooves drawn from contemporary Black popular music led some to misread it as a jazz-rock detour. In retrospect, it is entirely consistent with Brown's methodology. As he admired in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the stimulus comes from within the community. Here Brown filters Afro-Caribbean rhythms and funk through his own sensibility, abstracting their structural qualities rather than adopting surface style. "La Placita," making its first recorded appearance, layers distinct rhythmic phrases in a manner reminiscent of African drum ensembles, over which Brown and trumpeter Ambrose Jackson spin extended improvisations. The standard "Flamingo" is reshaped through diasporic rhythm and lyrical soloing, while "Pepi's Tempo" and "Mangoes" harness crisp funk and reggae grooves to generate what Brown called a "manifestation of community" through collective improvisation. Even the overdubbed solo feature "And Then They Danced" reflects his structural thinking, ingeniously re-voicing a duet composition for two alto saxophones performed by one player. This was the only recording by a short-lived band that briefly polarized audiences during festival appearances in 1976. Yet Brown consistently sought unity across change: different sounds, same principles -- rhythm as structure, melody as architecture, collective improvisation, and above all, the primacy of tone. Awofofora stands not as a departure, but as a vivid synthesis of the elements he had been refining since the late 1960s, its grooves and golden alto lines conveying a sound drawn, in his words, "from life and from the world of experience."
First time reissue of free jazz rarity, pre-Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai group. Old-style gatefold LP with rare photographs and liner notes by Alan Cummings. Limited edition of 500. The single album self-released by the quartet Shūdan Sokai in 1977 is one of the most vital documents of mid-seventies Japanese free jazz, documenting Tokyo's free scene at the precise moment when it began to shift to a handful of tiny venues on the western fringes of the city. In free jazz in Japan, Teruto Soejima identifies the extant venue Aketa no Mise in Nishi-Ogikubo as the pioneer of this decamping from the center: a cramped basement beneath a rice shop, seating just 20 people. Among the most active of the new venues was Alone in Hachiōji, nearly an hour from Shinjuku, in a district shaped by universities, lower rents, and a thriving counterculture. Originally opened in 1973 as a jazu kissa, Alone was unusually spacious and equipped with a stage, grand piano, and drum kit. Around 1974, Junji Mori and Yasuhiro Sakakibara began working there, booking free jazz players on weekends and establishing the venue as a crucial hub. Mori recalls early appearances by figures including Kazutoki Umezu, Toshinori Kondo, and others who would define the scene. In early 1976, Umezu and pianist Yoriyuki Harada -- recently returned from New York's loft jazz environment, where they had played with musicians such as David Murray and William Parker -- formed Shūdan Sokai with Mori and drummer Takashi Kikuchi. The name, meaning "mass evacuation," pointed to their self-chosen exile in Hachiōji. With Alone as their home base, the quartet developed a music characterized by an infectious sense of enjoyment and a willingness to integrate free jazz with elements of song structure. Harada switched between piano and bass; the group experimented with rap-like vocal pieces, jabbering nursery rhymes over bass rhythms. They returned to Alone on December 24 to record Sono zen'ya (Eve), releasing it on their own Des Chonboo Records, partially funded by advertisements from local businesses printed on the rear cover. Alone closed in September 1977, and Shūdan Sokai soon dissolved, later morphing into the expanded Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai Orchestra. What remains is a recording rooted in a specific place and moment: a fiercely independent scene sustained by small rooms, close listening, and collective commitment.
Gatefold! Comes with booklet. Black Truffle presents Dalbergia Retusa, an extensive double LP selection of the solo guitar music of Hans Reichel, compiled by Oren Ambarchi. Last heard on Black Truffle as one quarter of the joyously anarchic Bergisch-Brandenburgisches Quartett, Hans Reichel (1949-2011) is one of the great figures of experimental guitar music. Though perhaps lesser known than peers like Derek Bailey, Fred Frith, and Keith Rowe, Reichel's rethinking of the instrument was in some ways the most radical of all. Early on, he dispensed with existing guitars to build a series of his own that explored the use of additional strings and fretboards, moveable pickups, extra bridges, special capos, and other innovations documented in the extensive booklet accompanying this release. Reichel was a long-term resident of Wuppertal, the small Western Germany city that became an unlikely center of European free jazz in the late 1960s, also home to Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald. His solo debut Wichlinghauser Blues was an early entry into the FMP discography and began a relationship with the label that stretched into the 1990s; all the solo performances heard here were first released on FMP. Reichel was an important source for the development of Oren Ambarchi's own extended approach to the electric guitar. Appropriately enough, his selection opens with the very first piece by Reichel he ever heard, on a flexidisc included with a 1989 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Though Reichel collaborated with others extensively in many settings and also performed on violin and his other major contribution to instrument invention, the daxophone, his music for solo guitar remains at the core of his oeuvre. Focusing exclusively on solo pieces recorded between 1973 and 1988, the 23 pieces on Dalbergia Retusa showcase the range and consistency of Reichel's work, allowing the listener to see how his performances developed hand-in-hand with his instrumental inventions. Many of the pieces from the 1980s make use of varieties of the "pick behind the bridge guitar," instruments of uncanny harmonic richness primarily designed to be played on the 'wrong' side of the bridge. At times the unexpected behavior of attacks, resonance, and decay can almost seem electronic, conjuring up the technology-assisted work of Henry Kaiser or even Fennesz, but realized solely through Reichel's unorthodox techniques on his invented instruments. Extensively illustrated with photos and Reichel's own plans and drawings of his instruments, Dalbergia Retusa is an essential introduction to the unique world of Hans Reichel.
The latest in Field Records' run of essential vinyl pressings revisits Stephen Hitchell's 2009 masterpiece under his Variant alias, The Setting Sun. As part of Echospace and also celebrated for his productions as Intrusion and Soultek, Hitchell is considered a leading light in dub techno, with the versatility in his sound to range from rhythmic, physical pulses to purely tonal, abyssal drone. His work as Variant, which debuted with The Setting Sun, capitalizes on this scope to deliver a compelling ambient-with-teeth set richly deserving of a proper vinyl pressing. The Setting Sun first emerged on Echospace as a download-only release. Hitchell was at pains to map out the tools that went into the sound on the album -- field recordings of storms in Berlin, Germany and train rides in Narita, Japan, outboard synths and samplers. Crucially, he declared no computers were used, and it shows. When The Setting Sun was recorded, in-the-box production was largely dominating electronic music and the technology had yet to replicate the warmth and character of analogue equipment. Hitchell's looming chords come baked with harmonic overtones, surface noise becomes another essential layer and fragments of distortion add to the narrative of these glacial, monumental pieces. The presence of piano keys feels stark in the Variant sound world, but Hitchell ably folds these coded elements into his process bathed in the same curious luminosity that lingers around all his work. Evolving at a painstaking pace, the plaintive humanity in the cascading keys and plucked guitar strings renders one of the most personal expressions in Hitchell's considerable canon -- a unique release that holds its own space comfortably, The Setting Sun is a profound benchmark in a stellar discography.
Before the Wizards From Kansas, it was In Black And White. Two previously unreleased tracks recorded in 1967 by a young Stephen Barncard (producer/engineer of Grateful Dead, David Crosby). A terrific fuzzed-out psych track on Side A and a cool Byrdsy folk-rocker on the flip.
Late '60s danceable British psychedelia at its best: "Pandemonium Shadow Show" (also known as "Cooger & Dark") by psych/proto-prog legends Mandrake Paddle Steamer was recorded in 1968 but never released at the time. "No Good Child" by cult psych band Fairfield Ski is a previously unreleased track from the early '70s and what a killer discovery: Hammond, catchy vocals, heavy drums.
Split 45 with two freakbeat/psych classics. "Magic In The Air" by The Attack was recorded in 1967 but not released at the time due to John Cann's guitar sound deemed "too heavy" by their record label. The doomy "Train To Disaster" by Scottish band The Voice (related to Robert de Grimston's Process Church Of The Final Judgment) is "freakbeat" personified.
The debut solo album by Henrik Raabe, guitarist of the German trio Wareika, who rose to prominence in the 2000s with their minimal deep house sound. Departing from the cool, jazzy deep house he was known for, Raabe delivers a uniquely crafted downtempo album that feels like a seamless blend of jazz, Afro, dub, new age, and postmodern influences. It evokes the spirit of an imagined encounter between the Durutti Column and Dennis Bovell, with Virginia Astley joining in -- reminiscent of the UK sound of the 1980s -- yet rendered more minimal and refined, in a distinctly German way. With each listen, the album draws you deeper in. It is poised to become a defining release for Mule Musiq.
The first-ever reissue on Studio Mule of the debut album by Japanese jazz legend and bassist Yoshio Ikeda. Having performed with such illustrious figures as Sadao Watanabe, Masabumi Kikuchi, and Terumasa Hino, Ikeda's first album as a leader features pianist and vocalist Ichiko Hashimoto -- also known for her involvement with Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Berlin-based jazz pianist Aki Takase, and leading Japanese drummer Motohiko Hino. Avant-garde yet imbued with a distinctly Japanese sense of melancholy, this is a work that resonates profoundly with the present moment. The gem "whispering weeds," highlighted by thrilling piano and Hashimoto's evocative scat vocals, was also included on a compilation by BBE. Remastered from the original master tapes by Kuniyuki, the album has been revived with a richer, more lustrous sound in this definitive reissue.
"The title track for Lupo Città 's second LP, Inverno ('winter' in Italian), was born in January 2023. Written in waking sleep at 4 am. Looking out the window at the winter world below when it's too quiet, no one is around, but anything and everything feels possible. Lupo Città wrote the songs for Inverno by instinct: each song, in viscera, a life and personality of its own. Chris, Jenn, and Sarah each brought in songs at different stages, in different forms and moods. Some came together fast, others took long. Some songs had to be stripped, slowed down or sped up, while others were completely gutted and rebuilt. A hard coming out of post-COVID lockdown, trying to relearn to live outside of isolation. Moving from the dark of winter into light, a jarring shift, the world was changing so fast in such stark contrast between the quiet isolation the world settled into with close friends and family. While Lupo Città 's debut was melodic, energetic, world-weary, sometimes chaotic, Inverno is out on a limb, taking a risk, and not caring at all how it turns out. Inverno is a snapshot of the bad and good, trying to stay awake and be present, fighting off the sleep of winter and the lure of time standing still. Writing, playing, listening to music is essential, now, more than ever, for survival amidst uncertainty, doubt, dystopia, grief, loss, blindness, vision, and love. This is Inverno."
Tulipa Ruiz is a Latin Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and illustrator from São Paulo. Born in a family of musicians (her father, Luiz Chagas, played with Itamar Assumpção, and her brother, Gustavo Ruiz, is her longtime producer), she follows the footsteps of the Vanguarda Paulista and offers a bold, genre-bending sound. Fusing MPB, soul, pop, and rock, her music is joyful, rich, and one of a kind. Since her debut album, Efêmera (2010), Tulipa has become one of Brazil's most distinctive voices, with five critically acclaimed albums, collaborations with Elza Soares and Milton Nascimento, and performances at international festivals such as the Montreux Jazz Festival and Lollapalooza. From the hypnotic "Samaúma" to the infectious "Estardalhaço," Habilidades Extraordinarias seamlessly blends improvisation and groove. The duet "Disco Voador" with João Donato, one of her last recordings, bridges generations, combining bossa-jazz swing and the warmth of Donato's Fender Rhodes with Tulipa's luminous vocals. "Pluma Black" (featuring Negro Leo) explores pre-jazz abstraction, while "Novelos" and the album's title track evoke the soul-jazz of the Hermeto Pascoal and Stevie Wonder era. Acclaimed throughout Brazil, Habilidades Extraordinarias established Tulipa Ruiz as a leading figure in modern MPB, combining melodic sophistication, humor, and emotional depth. Ten years after her spectacular climb to success and her Latin Grammy Award victory, she continues to enrich the Brazilian pop and jazz scene.
Ste Cy, the latest studio offering from the trio of Jac Berrocal, Vincent Epplay, and Timo van Luijk, ripens like a forbidden fruit -- born of an improvised instrumental session captured in the secluded hush of Kulta Saha by Timo van Luijk. These raw recordings were later reshaped into 12 songs by Vincent Epplay at Studio Villejuif in Paris. And over it all drifts the poetry of Jac Berrocal -- sensual and incendiary, seeping into the music like spice into flesh. Jac Berrocal: voice, words, trumpet, double bass; Timo van Luijk: guitar, piano, vibraphone, percussion; Vincent Epplay: field recording, drums, percussion, EMS Synth A, Noizoid OCS 2, double bass.
Slipcase edition with 8-page booklet. 250 copies. Metaphon presents this première edition, which brings together a near-complete collection of the acousmatic works of Liliane Donskoy. Liliane Donskoy (1933) is a French, classically trained pianist, music teacher, and composer of both instrumental and acousmatic music. She began her musical training at an early age, undertaking private piano studies with Yves Nat at the age of thirteen, shortly after the Second World War. During the 1960s and 1970s, she pursued advanced studies with prominent figures of twentieth-century music, including Darius Milhaud, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Schaeffer, and Guy Reibel, and participated in courses led by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, and Iannis Xenakis. Despite this extensive and diverse training, Donskoy encountered limited institutional and professional opportunities to fully realize her artistic vision. A decisive turning point occurred in 1977, when she gained access to the facilities of the Institute of Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM) in Ghent. There, she realized and completed the majority of her acousmatic compositions. Donskoy's oeuvre is characterized by a high degree of structural complexity, precision, and expressive intensity. Her work reflects a pronounced and distinctive artistic temperament, manifested through a rigorous exploration of sound material and form. Notwithstanding its artistic significance, her music has remained largely unknown, as her compositions were neither widely circulated nor formally released, leading to their relative obscurity until the present publication. Anthology produced by Timo van Luijk. Mastering by EARLabs. Booklet edited by Vincent de Roguin. Design by Meeuw. Also available as hardboard linen box set edition with 8-page booklet and download code (METAPHON 026BOX).
Wired was an ephemeral improvisational music project formed by Michael Ranta, Karl-Heinz Böttner, and Mike Lewis. On April 28, 1970, the trio recorded an extended studio session of approximately 140 minutes, in collaboration with Conny Plank, who engineered and mixed the recording in real time, incorporating elements of live electronics. This session was subsequently edited to album length and released in 1974 as part of the Free Improvisation 3LP box set issued by Deutsche Grammophon, alongside recordings by Iskra and New Phonic Art. Owing to its exploratory electric sound world and Plank's distinctive spatial production techniques, the Wired recording acquired a degree of underground cult status, particularly among listeners associated with krautrock and psychedelic improvisation. Shortly after the studio session, Ranta and Böttner travelled to Japan, where they spent approximately six months performing with Karlheinz Stockhausen at Expo '70 in Osaka. In addition to these activities, they engaged in various independent musical projects and performances. The present release, sourced from the personal archive of Michael Ranta, documents a live duo performance by Ranta and Böttner, recorded on 27 July 1970 in an outdoor setting in Kyoto (the exact location remains unknown), before an audience of approximately 200 music teachers. The recording exhibits sonic and aesthetic characteristics closely aligned with the previously released studio material, retaining the distinctive "Wired" sound while situating it within a live, site-specific context. Production: Timo van Luijk. Painting: Wayne Jacob. Mastering: EARLabs. Design: Meeuw.
Originally released in 2025. N1_SOUND and Ras Yunchie join forces on an 8-track LP that transcends both definition and generation. Inna DJ Style marks the Toronto veteran singer's first-ever vinyl release. Pairing four vocal cuts with four dub versions on the B-side, Inna DJ Style bridges experimental dub, digi, and roots, embodying what Ras describes as an "open" sound -- one that draws from reggae traditions while boldly breaking new sonic ground. N1_SOUND first encountered Ras' distinctive voice and soaring falsetto at Toronto sound system parties. A cornerstone of the city's reggae scene, Ras Yunchie has been performing since 1983 and remains a vital presence more than 40 years on. His contributions have been recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National DJ Association, alongside titles such as DJ of the Year, DJ Sound Champion, and winner of the 1985 DJ Sound Clash. While the rhythms pulse with heavy bass and the three-dimensional lead melodies synonymous with N1_SOUND, it's Ras' vocals that make Inna DJ Style truly shine. Each track was recorded in a single take and left largely untouched -- a testament to the raw talent and enduring artistry of the 61-year-old singer. Across the four vocal cuts, the alchemy of contrasting styles, influences, and lived experience highlights how collaboration can push sound and genre into bold, unexpected territory.
"Akusmi is the new project moniker of French-born, London based composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Pascal Bideau, who signs to the new Tonal Union imprint for the release of his album Fleeting Future. With its hallucinatory, genre-defying blend of minimalism, cosmic jazz and Fourth World influences, and in its quest for optimism in the face of unknown and limitless possibility. Fleeting Future stands apart as an inventive and inspirational debut. The creation of the album's richly colorful and multi-layered sound world was originally inspired by Bideau's journey to Indonesia, where he immersed himself in traditional Gamelan and gong music. Many of the themes, motifs and melodies on Fleeting Future seed from the Slendro scale, one of the essential tuning systems used in Gamelan. However it is not musical scales, but scales as in the size or extent of things that most fascinates Bideau, specifically he explains; 'the compelling way things dramatically change when you shift from any given scale to another.' The album connects directly to nature and the wider world in its evocation of perceptive shifts and transitions from microscopic to macro scale, as evidenced by the opening title track 'Fleeting Future', on which a simple dotted saxophone line morphs and billows into synths, brass and strings, indicating the musical voyage that lies ahead. Like the start of a journey or adventure it is full of anticipation, its arborescent growth conveying the optimism of the unknown and of limitless possibility. The album centrepiece 'Neo Tokyo' is a vibrating, ebullient mass of colliding elements which feels like zooming in to the electron level, as it teeters on the edge of chaos. The title is a reference to Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, a dizzying work of art set in a sprawling futuristic metropolis. Fleeting Future was composed and recorded by Bideau between 2017 and 2019 in his North London studio and features additional contributions recorded in Berlin by Florian Juncker (trombone), Ruth Velten (saxophone) and regular collaborator Daniel Brandt of Brandt Brauer Frick (drums / electronic percussion). Having been living through uncertain times, one thing that keeps spiraling into the unknown is the future."
WRWTFWW Records releases The Gentle People The Peel Sessions, available on vinyl for the first time ever, in conjunction with the worldwide expanded reissue of the group's Soundtracks for Living. This is an exclusive four-song EP recorded in 1997 on BBC's Peel Sessions, as The Gentle People were doing the rounds for the release of their legendary debut album. These live versions have never seen the light of day before -- a must have for all the gentle fans!
2026 restock; double LP version. "In 1984, four years after the release of my first solo album Synthesist on Sky Records, I wanted to produce a new solo album. At the time I was operating on the fifth floor of a former backyard factory on Graefe-Str. in Berlin Kreuzberg with my Neue Deutsche Welle Band Lilli Berlin. We'd turned the space into a small music and rehearsal studio where we set up a Tascam 8-track tape recorder, a 12- channel MM mixer that roared like hell, a Mini-Moog and a Roland Jupiter-6 synthesizer. This is where the basic recordings for Oceanheart were made. Essentially sequences and chords, which I then added piano, drums, Indian tablas and solo voices to in Christoph Franke's (Tangerine Dream) studio in Berlin Spandau. It was then mastered on a Betamax video recorder -- at that time the non-plus-ultra of modern stereo recording technique. Oceanheart was released on Sky Records in 1985. At the beginning of 2022 Gunther Buskies, owner of Bureau B label, had the inspired idea to expand the planned re-release of Oceanheart with a remix album and to call it Oceanheart Revisited. Around the same time, I met Tobias Stock through my friend Chris Mick. Tobias, a qualified electronics engineer and musician, had put together a complex, top-class analog studio over 20 years of meticulous and passionate collecting -- bringing each of the numerous component parts back into the best technical state with his own hands. There are only few studios of this kind and quality in the world and it was here, in his 'On TAPE' Studio, we created the analogue mixes of Oceanheart Revisited on a NAGRA 2-channel tape machine. I really enjoyed working on Oceanheart Revisited and I'd like to share this experiment with you." --Harald Grosskopf, January 2023
2026 restock. Originally released in 2009. "Back to music after three years of silence... On the suggestion of Robert Ashley, Douglas Dunn commissioned this piece from Éliane Radigue for choreography. Only the first part of Triptych was staged at the premiere at the Dancehall/Theatre of Nancy on February 27 1978. Recorded in the composer's studio in Paris. After the premiere of Adnos I (IMPREC 028CD) in San Francisco in 1974, a group of French students introduced Éliane Radigue to Tibetan Buddhism. When she returned to Paris, she began to explore this spirituality in depth, which slowed her musical production up until 1978. Triptych marks her return to composition, and draws its inspiration from 'the spirit of the fundamental elements,' water, air, fire, earth... Éliane Radigue likes to add that this has often been useful to her in her moments of research and transitions. This three-part composition, with its great humility and contemplative simplicity, heralded a new period of work and was the first in a series of masterpieces inspired by Tibetan Buddhism: Adnos II (1980); Adnos III (1981) [both included on IMPREC 028CD]; Songs of Milarepa (1983), with the voices of Lama Kunga Rinpoche and Robert Ashley; Jetsun Mila (1986); as well as the Triologie de la Mort (XI 119CD): Kyema (1988), Kailasha (1991), and Koumé (1993). Archival images included in the accompanying booklet." --Manu Holterbach
QUELZA
Above The Clouds I Finally Found Peace 12"
Above The Clouds I Finally Found Peace, the latest work from French artist Quelza (Leo Naït Aïssa) on Ostgut Ton, feels like a homecoming. A testament to introspection and self-awareness. Rather than adhering strictly to a club-focused approach, the EP marks a step forward in freedom of expression, breaking away from a purely club-based format and instead leading into a broader listening territory. It unfolds as a personal musical journal shaped by perception, memory, and emotion.
Proto-doom metal/stoner/hard-rock by this Mexican band formed in 1972, including their mega-rare early '70s singles plus later material in the same raw vein. Born on DÃa de los Muertos in 1972, Medusa emerged from Mexico City with a mission: to forge heavy, hard, Spanish-language rock rooted in social awareness and poetic force. Guitarist Luis Antonio "Toño" Urquiza, drummer VÃctor Moreno, and bassist/vocalist Javier Plascencia shaped their sound influenced by bands like Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath, as well as the turbulence of the 1968 Student Movement, the 1971 Halconazo, and the creative explosion surrounding the legendary Avándaro Festival. Friends and contemporaries of bands like Peace & Love, the Dug Dug's, and El Ritual, Medusa quickly stood out for their powerful live presence and politically charged energy. They released their mega rare first single in 1973 and then an EP followed in 1974, but their refusal to compromise their artistic direction led to being dropped before completing a full LP -- pushing them into self-produced, underground recordings throughout the following decades. Despite media marginalization, Medusa remained active into the mid-1980s, playing everywhere from stadiums and TV to prisons and "hoyos fonkis." After a decade-long hiatus, they resurfaced in 1994 to a new generation that embraced them as pioneers of heavy metal and early stoner rock in Mexico. Later joined by Jaime GarcÃa Mares, they reaffirmed their status with a landmark 2006 national TV appearance. In 2015, after more sporadic performances and demos, Medusa were honored by Tianguis del Chopo and recognized by the National Sound Archive as the founders of stoner rock in Mexico, becoming subjects of books and a Rolling Stone special on Mexican rock. Shortly after, the band closed a 43-year chapter and its members moved on to personal projects. Now, thanks to recordings rescued from VÃctor Moreno's personal archives, Medusa's early work -- including their four tracks from the '70s and additional raw and unadulterated sessions from the '80s-'90s -- finally appears on CD.
Raster Media 30 years anniversary edition repress. 180gram vinyl. "ich bin meine maschine" is a spiritual track. "ich bin meine maschine" is a musical track. "ich bin meine maschine" is a scientific track. To underline this tryptic statement and to demonstrate the diversity of one of Atom TM's compositions that appeared on his 2013 HD album, Raster now re-releases the long sold-out vinyl EP featuring remixes by Boys Noize, Function and Atom TM himself. "ich bin meine maschine," in an elaborate manner, illustrates Uwe Schmidt's main musical concern -- the exploration of electronics in pop music. Inspired by a statement of the cybernetician Heinz Von Foerster, Atom TM generated a message that is playing around with a widely-cited Kraftwerk quotation, turning "ich bin eine maschine" into "ich bin meine maschine" ("I am my machine"). Besides the album version of "ich bin meine maschine," the EP features some dominantly techno influenced versions that perfectly connect the pop attitude of HD with dancefloor functionality. The Boys Noize remix shows off Alexander Ridha's deft skills for translating Atom TM's futuristic pop into his own rough and driving electronic language. On the other hand, Atom TM's "Linear Remix" breaks down the original structure of the song and turns it into a reduced and much straighter, forward looking composition. Function -- one of techno's true underground heroes -- provides a remix that is breathing the air of solid and hypnotic club music, in which just the essential elements are streamlined and condensed into perfection. All three remixers adapt the track to their particular universe. By doing so, they prepare the 12" vinyl for its final destination -- the club.
2026 restock. Legendary and pioneering Träd, Gräs och Stenar is considered Sweden's oldest rock band to play psychedelic underground music. The group originally formed in 1967 as International Harvester, later became Harvester, and eventually evolved into Träd, Gräs och Stenar. Their unique blend of psychedelic rock and traditional Swedish folk music was groundbreaking at the time -- and still resonates with new generations of listeners today. This long-awaited "Green Album" from 1970 marks their very first release under the name Träd, Gräs och Stenar. Now, for the first time since its original release, it's being reissued on vinyl-complete with rare photos, an in-depth story, and a 30x60 cm poster. Decades later, the band continues to perform under the name TRÄDEN, now with only one original member. He is joined by a new generation of acclaimed musicians, who are keeping the spirit alive and carrying the sounds and legacy of Träd, Gräs och Stenar into the future.
|
Junkies, Donkeys and Monkeys LP
Moscas y Aranas/Viaje al Norte 7"
Graduado en Underground/El Club del Cerdo Violeta 7"
Nowhere This Time/How Can I Make It 7"
Pandemonium Shadow Show/No Good Child 7"
Magic In The Air/Train to Disaster 7"
Intershop (Remastered 2024) LP
Its Shape Is Your Touch LP
Tokyo Pulse: Japanese Funk, Modern And City Pop From The Tokyo Scene 1974-88 CD
Thousand Knives Of Ryuichi Sakamoto LP
Chop Off Heads With Me LP
Habilidades Extraordinarias LP
Ayam El Disco: Egyptian Disco, Boogie & Jeel Cassettes 1978-1992 Selected By Disco Arabesquo LP
Apres Coup (Clear Vinyl) LP
Kind Of Blue (2026 Black Vinyl) LP
Above The Clouds I Finally Found Peace 12"
Ich Bin Meine Maschine 12"
|