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Recent Best Sellers
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LP
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CT 085LP
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2025 repress; reissue of the 1976 historic collaboration between producer instrumentalist Augustus Pablo and dub engineer King Tubby.
"If you had to pick one album that best represents the pinnacle of the art of dub, you'd cull the candidates down pretty quickly to ten or 12, and it would get very difficult after that. Few would fault you for ending up with this one, though, which stands as perhaps the finest collaboration between two of instrumental reggae's leading lights: producer and melodica player Augustus Pablo and legendary dub pioneer King Tubby. Among other gems, this album offers its title track -- a dub version of Jacob Miller's 'Baby I Love You So'-- which is widely regarded as the finest example of dub ever recorded. But the rest of the album is hardly less impressive. 'Each One Dub', another cut on a Jacob Miller rhythm, possesses the same dark and mystical ambience, if not quite the same emotional energy, as 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown,' and the version of the epochal 'Satta Massaganna' that closes the album is another solid winner. Pablo's trademark 'Far East' sound (characterized by minor keys and prominent melodica lines) is predominant throughout, and is treated with care and grace by King Tubby, who has rarely sounded more inspired in his studio manipulations than he does here. Absolutely essential." --Rick Anderson, All Music
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LP
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SF 126LP
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Tsapiky music from Southwest Madagascar features wild ecstatic vocals, distorted electric guitars, rocket bass, and the amphetamine beat! Unlike anything else, this is THE high life music you've always wanted -- ceremonial music played with abandon and extreme intent, honoring the living and dead alike. In Toliara and its surrounding region, funerals, weddings, circumcisions and other rites of passage have been celebrated for decades in ceremonies called mandriampototse. During these celebrations -- which last between three and seven days -- cigarettes, beer and toaky gasy (artisanal rum) are passed around while electric orchestras play on the same dirt floor as the dancing crowds and zebus. The music, tsapiky, defies any classification. This compilation showcases the diversity of contemporary tsapiky music. Locally and even nationally renowned bands played their own songs on makeshift instruments, blaring through patched-up amps and horn speakers hung in tamarind trees, projecting the music kilometers away. Lead guitarists and female lead singers are the central figures of tsapiky. Driven as much by their creative impulses as by the need to stand out in a competitive market, the artists distinguish themselves stylistically through their lyrics, rhythms or guitar riffs. They must also master a wide repertoire of current tsapiky hits, which the families that attend inevitably request before parading in front of the orchestra with their offerings. This work, a constant push and pull between distinction and imitation, is nourished by fertile exchanges between various groups: acoustic and electric, rural and urban, coastal or inland. What results during these ceremonies is a music of astonishing intensity and creativity, played by artists carving out their own path, indifferent to the standards of any other music industry: Malagasy, African or global. Recorded live on location by Maxime Bobo, this vinyl LP includes a four-page full-color insert with detailed liner notes plus photos of the musicians and surroundings.
Featuring Mamehy, Drick, Befila, Behaja, Mahafaly Mihisa, Meny & Ando, Rebona, and Mirasoa & Mahapoteke.
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SF 127LP
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Egypt's "official" popular music throughout much of the 20th Century was a complex form of art song steeped in tradition, well-loved by the middle and upper classes, and even accommodating to certain non-Arabic influences. It was highly structured by professional musicians working an established industry centered in the capitol, Cairo. However, far from the bustling cosmopolitan center of Cairo, north and northwest, in towns like Tanta and Alexandria and extending across the Saharan Desert to the Libyan border, dozens of fully marginalized artists were developing a raw, hybrid shaabi/al-musiqa al-shabiya style of music, supported by smaller upstart, independent labels, including the short-lived but deeply resonant Bourini Records. Launched in the late 1960s in Benghazi, Libya, Astuanat al-Bourini اسطوانات البوريني (Bourini Records) published some 40 to 50 titles from 1968 to 1975. Bourini released 7-inch 45 RPM singles by 15 artists, all but one of them Egyptian, igniting brief careers for Alexandrian singer Sheikh Amin Abdel Qader and the blind Bedouin legend Abu Bakr Abdel Aziz (aka Abu Abab). The tracks compiled here comprise a full range of styles covered by the label, while highlighting some of its most gobsmacking moments, from Basis Rahouma's beastly transformation into a growling and barking man-lion by the end of "Yana Alla Nafsa Masouda," to Reem Kamal's hopeful-if-bitter handclapping party pivot "Baed Al Yas Yjini," which descends into an almost Velvet Underground outro-groove of nihilistic dissonance. All the tracks on this compilation were laid down in stark divergence from the mainstream Egyptian popular music topography of heightened emotions buoyed by lush arrangements. The contrast is most evident in Mahmoud al-Sandidi's "Ana Mish Hafwatak," wherein his voice weaves heavily but deftly through a constant accordion drone, and Abu Abab's "Al Bint al Libya," a sparse, slow-burning lament with minimal percussion, violin, and Abab's nephew Hamed Abdel Muna'im Mursi on lyre. Whereas the Egyptian mainstream was aspirational, attempting to reflect Egyptian culture at its most refined, the performances captured by Bourini were manifestations of everyday life lived by the mostly otherwise ignored masses. More than half century old, this music has lost none of its urgency, presence, or relevance. We hear these artists as if they'd just joined us in our living room, and not on a stage decades ago surrounded by tens of thousands of long-forgotten acolytes.
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2LP
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BEC 5772110
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2023 repress. Justice's highly-acclaimed debut album from 2007. French-only vinyl version, in deluxe gatefold sleeve. Retreating to their underground post-nuclear shelter/studio, French duo Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay worked on their first album as if their lives depended on it. The result is a mind-fuck of an album that proves that Justice's unique talent is to be found where least expected. Take for example "Let There Be Light" and its strident, angry electro, driven by a jabbing bassline; "D.A.N.C.E," a pure piece of vicious house sung innocently by a choir of children; "Newjack," a funky parody of the opulent times of the French Touch; "Phantom," taking over where "Waters Of Nazareth" left off to drift towards "Phantom Pt. II" and its head-swirling disco violins; "Valentine," an erotic, melancholic nursery rhyme, like a tribute to Vladimir Cosma and "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy," a pure electro-funk track where the sexy Uffie plays more than ever the cheeky Lolita. Justice have thrown established rules out the window (the notion of good and bad taste, the thin line between underground and pop music, the pigeon hole labeling between rock and electro, etc.) with a fantastic talent for synthesizing and mixing their influences with total candor, be it the cosmic disco of Larry Levan or Vladimir Cosma's panty-wetting romantics, Camel's prog rock or the anxious theme of Goblin for Dario Argento, to the flashy funk of the Brothers Johnson or "ABC" by the Jackson 5. Cross isn't a collection of random dancefloor singles. Cross is for listening at home or in clubs. Cross is a link between pop at its purest and experimental music. Cross brings together hardcore elements and cheese. Cross makes the Goths link arms with the rave kids. A generational manifest, ideally positioned on the side of the dancefloor, Cross, insolent with youth, is a testimony that the French electro scene is healthier than ever.
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LP
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CT 115LP
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2025 repress. Originally issued in 1973, Blackboard Jungle Dub is considered a milestone in the history of dub. Tracks include "African Skank" -- based on Junior Byles' "A Place Called Africa" -- and "Dreamland Skank", "Moving Skank" and "Kaya Skank" which are dub versions of Wailers" "Dreamland", "Keep On Moving" and "Kaya".
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10"
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AUK 142EP
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This is a new limited edition 10" single from Brian Jonestown Massacre, the band's first new recordings for two years .Side A includes "Makes Me Great Again," a whimsical song rooted heavily in psychedelic folk rock -- the way Anton Newcombe does it best. Side B offers the up-tempo "Out Of Body," a joyous plunge into an experimental shoegaze ode to the '60s, with multiple experiments conducted on an array of instruments. The art work is a photo taken by the talented Francis Delacroix, part of a series of photos of Anton Newcombe taken by the artist.
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CT 084LP
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2025 restock. One of King Tubby's finest works, originally released in 1974. Recorded at Tubby's famous 18 Drummly Ave. studio in Kingston during dub's early development period.
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2CD
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ZORN 112CD
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The debut recording by The Ancients, the intergenerational coalition of Isaiah Collier, William Hooker, and William Parker formed by Parker to play concerts in conjunction with the Milford Graves Mind Body Deal exhibition at the Institute Of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and now a working group. Across two discs of long-form improvised sets recorded at 2220 Arts and Archives in LA and The Chapel in San Francisco, The Ancients bring the free jazz trio languages first explored by the Cecil Taylor Unit and Ornette Coleman's Golden Circle Band (expanded upon in later eras by Sam Rivers' trio and Parker's collective trios with Charles Gayle/Graves and Peter Brötzmann/Hamid Drake) into their own unique and scintillating realms of expression. As we tumble further into the throes of history's tides, people of hope and creativity rely on the works of our great artists to lift our spirits and focus our resolve. Ascension was recorded less than a year after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and four months after the assassination of Malcolm X. Journey in Satchidananda was recorded the month Reagan was re-elected governor of California. M'Boom made its debut recording weeks after the Watergate scandal broke and a couple months after the Wounded Knee occupation ended. The music of The Ancients builds on these great musical legacies. It resounds with the pride of survival and the joys of making and sharing music. It delivers to us hope and balm. Something real in you, real in history, and real in the music is shared, right on time. When Eremite records commenced operations during the 1990s free jazz resurgence, heavyweight freedom-seeking tenor saxophonists such as Fred Anderson, Peter Brötzmann, Charles Gayle, Kidd Jordan, and David S. Ware were at the height of their powers. Isaiah Collier's tenor playing in The Ancients is bracing testimony that the wellspring lives on. To hear the young Chicago firebrand blowing freely with veteran improvisers in an entirely open-form group music is a revelatory study of his vast talent, personal voice, and the intensity of his expression -- as well as a bold complement to his composition-based albums as a bandleader (including The Almighty, a New York Times' best albums of 2024 selection). I've admired drummer William Hooker since first encountering his music in a Hartford, CT, city park, early '90s (on a double bill with Jerry González and Fort Apache Band). From the man himself right off the bandstand I bought his even-then rare first recording, the 1976 self-released 2LP opus Is Eternal Life (reissued 2019 by Superior Viaduct). An imposing force on his instrument and an intrepid DIY cat, Hooker's been exuberantly swinging in-and-out of free time for 50+ years. Informed by the innovations of Sunny Murray and Tony Williams yet entirely himself, there is no other term for it than "pure Hooker." At age 78, with the Ancients and everywhere else, THE HOOK is in peak form. With a discography approaching 600 entries and 50+ years working across the musical maps, including in the history-defining bands of Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, Peter Brötzmann, in his own wondrous ensembles from small group to orchestra to opera, a bastion of compassionate leadership and a poetic champion of his musical community, in tireless service to what he rather egolessly refers to as "the tone world," multi-instrumentalist, improviser and composer William Parker is a living hero of the grassroots and the Black Mystery Musics, not to mention one of the great bassists in the history of jazz. To quote George Clinton, conquering the stumbling blocks comes easier when the conqueror is in tune with the infinite. Free jazz is an enduring high art. Its greatest expressions belong to their particular moment in history, and live on to transcend and refract in amaranthine ways. Inside our present historical moment, we are fortunate to have the master musicians in the ancients bringing us their high-level creation. Live to 2-track concert recordings by Bryce Gonzales, Highland Dynamics. Mastered by Joe Lizzi, Queens, NY. Album and concerts co-produced with The Black Editions Group.
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2x10"
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EPR 080LP
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2x10" version. Causa Sui return with the perfect companion to From The Source (EPR 076CD, 2024). Whereas that record was a tightly structured piece of work, that condensed many aspects of the band's sound into a concise 45-minute LP, In Flux presents the more loose and impulsive side of Causa Sui. After an introductory suite in classic Causa Sui territory, with deep fuzz riffs and syncopated grooves, things gradually become more outlandish. The band channels Hot Rats-style jazz fusion, the oceanic post-rock of late-period Talk Talk, and the impulsive, anarchic experimentalism of Can's Tago Mago into their own beatific brew. On "Spree," the band abandons guitar entirely, relying on a dual synthesizer on top of drums and bass instead, yet maintains that uniquely Sui-an vibe. The centerpiece in this set, "Astral Shores," unfolds over 16 minutes -- from gently hypnotic, ritualistic folk, through motoric psychedelia and back again. It's been many years since Causa Sui have sounded this unmoored on a studio record. In Flux is an essential chapter in the band's ever-changing oeuvre. Each track has a character all off its own, taking the listener somewhere different.
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LP
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WRWTFWW 017LP
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2025 repress. We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records present the first ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's critically acclaimed and all around legendary science fiction anime film Ghost In The Shell (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow's groundbreaking manga series of the same name. The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan's most celebrated soundtrack composers alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong films Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai's compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme "Making Of Cyborg", Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a timeless and unparalleled soundtrack that admirably echoes the film's musings on the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world. Ghost In The Shell is widely considered one of the best anime films of all time and its influence has been felt in the work of numerous movie directors, including James Cameron's Avatar (2009), the Wachowskis's The Matrix (1999), and Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001). For fans of anime, manga, movie soundtracks, science fiction, ambient, folklore, Japan, Akira (1988), artificial intelligence, Midori Takada. Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon).
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2LP
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FAITBACK 001LP
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2025 restock. Faitiche presents a long-lost vinyl album. Since 2003, Jan Jelinek's Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records, originally released in 2001 on ~scape, existed only as a download. Now the album is available again on vinyl, as a double LP with two bonus tracks, "Moiré (Guitar & Horns)" and "Poren", B-sides from Tendency EP (2000).
"Don't be misled by the title, though for there isn't a finger-snapping rhythm bebop lead anywhere on the album. Instead, Jelinek chooses to explore the visual effect moiré - two shifting patterns creating an implied third dimension - in the audio realm." --Alternative Press
"The title acts as explanation for the studio technique that provided the basis for this album, snippets of other people's arrangements deconstructed through a sampler into loops and then splashed onto an audio canvas." --ATM
"Jelinek's sound evolved out of his dislike for (and inability to play) keyboards." --RPM
"Jelinek has abstracted his sources beyond recognition, looping his millisecond samples into flickering patterns of sonic moiré laid atop a dub techno framework. . . . Jelinek might as well have sampled a horn player's hissing intake of breath - it would have been 'jazz' enough for his purposes." --The Wire
"It's a perfect inversion of conventional music, a sonic negative. Everything that would typically be foreground is moved back or pushed off the screen altogether, and the flecks of sonic debris that would normally be covered by other sounds are left to carry the melody and rhythm." --Pitchfork
"All you need to know is that these onomatopoeic non-specific songs . . . are warm, paradisiacal creations." --NME
"Listen carefully and you'll hear textures slowly unfolding and mutating. Presuming you've not fallen asleep of course." --iDJ
"At times, it's all a bit dripping tap Japanese water torture; so sedentary it drowns in its own motionlessness" --DJ
"Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records is a genuine modern classic whose re-release is anything but a cynical mortgage repayment exercise. Consider this a second chance, then pretend you had it all along." --Boomkat
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2LP
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12XU 165LP
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"Water Damage is ten people from one town and one sound from twelve people. For Instruments, the plus two are guitarist David Grubbs and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi, neither of whom blunt the angle or confound the aim. The tempo? Slow and low. Four tracks, averaging twenty minutes each, the pace never above a comfortable walk. The damage creeps, a forest becomes a mountain, and the faithful move forward. The album is named after Fugazi, in a manner, and 'Reel 25' takes after the Shocklee Brothers, in a cry. Stop asking the lord how many drummers this band has and ask him how much of your mind, babe. Some people say drone and same people say trance and some people say invocation through patterned unity. Some people just say rock and we let them set their clocks back. Lie down and let these holy treads flatten you. Just because Water Damage know what they are doing doesn't mean you have to. Fix your hearts or die!" -- Sasha Frere-Jones
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LP
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V 25AH506LP
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2023 repress. Victory present a reissue of Haruomi Hosono, Takahiko Ishikawa, and Masataka Matsutoya's The Aegean Sea originally released in 1979. The album is somewhat of a companion piece to the previous year's Pacific (V 25AH426). A beautiful piece of Japanese smooth fusion-jazz with elements of traditional Greek music and Balearic grooves, it's one of Hosono's cleanest and most focused works to date. Long sought-after by collectors, this record is nearly impossible to find in original pressings outside of Japan and this is a welcome reissue of one of the greatest titles in Hosono's seemingly infinite catalog. Essential Japanese jazz fusion.
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2LP
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FIELD 037LP
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Twenty-four years on from its original release, Monolake's seminal Gravity receives its first vinyl pressing courtesy of Field Records. Occupying its own space at the intersection of dub techno, minimal and electronica, it's an ageless album of staggering vision and technological prowess which has matured into an all-time pillar of electronic music. This edition, remastered by the album's key architect Robert Henke, follows on from the reissue of Monolake's first album, Hongkong. Arriving just after the turn of the millennium, Gravity marked a turning point for Monolake. With co-founder Gerhard Behles moving on to other ventures, Henke produced most of the album solo and journeyed deeper into spatial exploration and the dub-informed principles that underpinned their project from the start. Minimalism and negative space run through the whole record, from the keen slithers of percussion pinging through lattices of delay to the hypnotizing pulse of subliminal basslines anchoring the tracks. Gravity is a record which hangs on techno's linearity as a form of meditation, but the crystalline clarity of the mix allows every micro-fluctuation in rhythm and sound to cut through. Compared to a lot of overly sterile digital music released in the early 2000s, Gravity endures thanks to the warmth and texture Henke elicited from his processes -- even when leaning into none-more-digital effects like bit reduction. He described the ninth-floor view over Berlin from his studio at night as a key influence on the sound of the record, but the space Gravity shapes out feels thrillingly implacable. Unbound by the standard conventions of time and space, Gravity stands proud as a true original and finally gets the ceremonious vinyl pressing it so richly deserves.
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LP
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CT 119LP
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2025 restock; 1995 release. "A virtual wizard of the mixing desk, Overton H Brown has been one of the key figures in dub since the late 1970s. Getting his start as a teenager at King Tubby's legendary studio in Waterhouse, Brown was known as 'The Scientist' because his imaginative approach to the mixing desk and electronic gadgetry seemed to derive from magical powers that linked him to some intangible, futuristic realm."
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2LP
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DKR 286LP
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2025 repress. "This compilation is dedicated to the memory of the late great 'Prince' Philip Smart -- the first apprentice of King Tubby and the first engineer at Tubby's studio besides Tubby himself. Alongside Tubby, Philip was integral to the innovation that took place at Tubby's studio in the mid-1970s, where the mixing of new roots reggae revolutionized the sound of Jamaican music and created styles and techniques that are still being echoed today, nearly 50 years later. Though rarely credited on records in comparison to Tubby, Philip also mixed a lot of the paramount music produced by those close associates of Tubby's studio such as Bunny Lee, Yabby You, and Augustus Pablo. Philip was closely tied to Pablo due to their childhood friendship and was a partner in his stylistically significant early production works. In the early years of Tubby's studio, both men were making and cutting custom dubs there for their sound systems before starting to produce their own tunes from scratch, and Philip becoming the second chair engineer. Several of the songs on this compilation are a selection of the aforementioned work. All of the songs here are sourced from Philip's personal tape archive, and basically all of these mixes and versions have been scarcely if ever heard, and never released before. This double album comprises a rare and genuine glimpse into the dubplate workings of the inner circle of Tubby's studio in the mid-1970s, where the prime players and emerging giants of reggae music production and sound system versioned, remixed and voiced rhythms for custom and exclusive cuts. Some of the cuts heard here were formerly exclusive power plays on King Tubby's own legendary sound system, and unlike some previous issues of such material, these are genuine mixes done at the time. Some other tracks clearly exude the youthful enthusiasm of the participants. Rest in power Prince Philip Smart." --RB/DKR, Summer 2023
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CD
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EPR 080CD
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Causa Sui return with the perfect companion to From The Source (EPR 076CD, 2024). Whereas that record was a tightly structured piece of work, that condensed many aspects of the band's sound into a concise 45-minute LP, In Flux presents the more loose and impulsive side of Causa Sui. After an introductory suite in classic Causa Sui territory, with deep fuzz riffs and syncopated grooves, things gradually become more outlandish. The band channels Hot Rats-style jazz fusion, the oceanic post-rock of late-period Talk Talk, and the impulsive, anarchic experimentalism of Can's Tago Mago into their own beatific brew. On "Spree," the band abandons guitar entirely, relying on a dual synthesizer on top of drums and bass instead, yet maintains that uniquely Sui-an vibe. The centerpiece in this set, "Astral Shores," unfolds over 16 minutes -- from gently hypnotic, ritualistic folk, through motoric psychedelia and back again. It's been many years since Causa Sui have sounded this unmoored on a studio record. In Flux is an essential chapter in the band's ever-changing oeuvre. Each track has a character all off its own, taking the listener somewhere different.
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LP
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BEWITH 158LP
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2025 repress. Known principally as a smooth titan of blue-eyed soul, Bobby Caldwell transcended genre tags with consummate ease; he was a musical icon of real class and versatility, cherished the world over. His double platinum self-titled album from 1978 is a timeless masterpiece of sophisticated jazzy soul brilliance and is strictly canonical. Whilst Ned Doheny is known in Japan as "Mr California", native New Yorker Bobby Caldwell has always been "Mr AOR" to his Far-Eastern friends. His distinct charm is an irresistible blend of soul, jazz, and pop influences. He possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances, was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful, sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted. Bobby sadly passed away on 23rd March 2023, after a long struggle with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, due to an adverse effect from a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The reissue of his eponymous album will be available on vinyl across the globe, ensuring that fans -- and soul music enthusiasts worldwide -- can radiate in the deep beauty of this seminal album. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest quality at Record Industry in Holland.
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2CD
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LMS 1725323
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Originally released in 1993, The Brown Album marked a significant evolution in Orbital's sound -- and was met with widespread critical acclaim. NME awarded it 9/10 in their review, and it was chosen as one of Mixmag's best albums of all time. Standout track, "Halcyon + On + On", became an instant classic, known for its ethereal atmosphere and haunting vocal sample from Opus III's "It's a Fine Day." The track's dreamy progression and uplifting yet melancholic tone made it a staple in film soundtracks and DJ sets, embodying the emotional depth electronic music could achieve. "Impact (The Earth Is Burning)" is another defining moment, an evolving journey of layered breakbeats and dynamic synth arrangements, reflecting the duo's ability to create both club-ready and introspective music. Meanwhile, "Lush 3-1" and "Lush 3-2" demonstrate Orbital's knack for crafting intricate, evolving grooves, balancing pulsating rhythms with melodic flourishes that keep the listener engaged. The Brown Album 2CD includes a second disc of rarities, including the full 11:09 version of Halycon and the 13-minute Underworld mix of Lush. The Brown Album 2LP reissue has been cut at half speed, to ensure maximum audio fidelity for this landmark release, and is the first time the album has been pressed on vinyl for over ten years. 2LP version (LMS 1725320) comes in double black 140gr vinyl, in gatefold sleeve, with printed inners and sticker. Also available in limited edition, double gold and khaki vinyl (LMS 1725321).
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2LP
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SR 561LP
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Double LP version. Founding work of minimalism, Music with Changing Parts is a piece with free instrumentation. The musicians choose which part to play among the eight staves of the score. At each indicated cue, the musicians can change part, which produces an abrupt change of instrumentation. While the music is based on a melodic material limited to a few notes that are repeated in patterns that expand or contract, the changes in orchestration refresh the listening experience by producing sonic contrasts. These techniques at work in Music with Changing Parts, written in 1970, will lead Philip Glass to renew his language and move from the monochromatic works that precede it to more dramatic works such as music in 12 parts and especially the opera Einstein on the Beach. When Philip Glass began rehearsing the piece, he was surprised to hear long notes when everything was written in eighth notes. After making sure that none of the musicians were playing held notes, he realized that the fact that the same notes were played by all the instruments in the ensemble produced, through a psycho-acoustic effect, a harmonic substrate of resonant frequencies. He then decided to add to the score the possibility of playing long notes to reinforce this effect. "For this recording, we chose to record first the eighth notes, then the long notes in re-recording. This utopian version, with each musician playing short and long notes at the same time (!), illustrates the minimalist aesthetic that plays with our perception and allows us to reconcile opposites and cultivate the apparent paradox of a music that moves forward without Moving and changes constantly while remaining the same." --Dedalus Ensemble
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LP
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CT 3022LP
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2025 restock. "There are very few people who define a genre the way King Tubby defines dub. From the early days of dub in the 1960s, King Tubby (born Osbourne Rodduck) influenced a generation of producers across a variety of genres and continued to do so until his death in the late 1980s. While King Tubby was known for experimenting with different sounds, he was also truly never one to settle for mediocrity. Flexing his signature dub muscle on 1975's Explosive Dub, a compilation of various Tubby gems 19 tracks long, the true beauty of his ability is brought to light. It's obvious to the listener that King Tubby spent hours perfecting each track and remix before releasing it to the public. Explosive Dub, a previously hard to find collector's item is a shining example of King Tubby's work. Though many of these tracks have been previously released by different labels on a variety of dusty pressings and formats, Clocktower's reissue of Explosive Dub features audio mastered from the original analog tapes."
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LP
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BT 129LP
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Carrying on from recent archival releases from masters of Indian classical tradition such as Kamalesh Maitra and the Dagar Brothers, Black Truffle presents a previously unheard recording of a concert by Pakistani vocalist Salamat Ali Khan. Born to a musician family in Hoshiarpur in the northwestern state of Punjab, Khan moved with his family to Lahore in Pakistan after the 1947 partition of India, becoming a child musical prodigy. Khan was a master of the kyhal form of Hindustani classical vocal music, a style integrating influences from Middle Eastern musical traditions that gives the singer a great deal of improvisational freedom. Travelling widely across the globe from the 1960s until his death in 2001, Khan approached ragas performed in the kyhal style as expressive forums for risk-taking improvisation, enlivened by ceaseless ornamental invention. This remarkable recording was captured by Michael Hönig (of krautrock legends Agitation Free) in concert at Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie as part of the MetaMusik festival in 1974. Khan, who is also heard accompanying himself on a specially tuned alpine zither (in place of the traditional swarmandal, an Indian style of zither), is joined by Shaukat Hussein Khan on tabla and Hussein Bux Khan on harmonium. The lack of a familiar underlying tanpura drone gives this performance a weightless, floating quality, with all three of the musicians playing masterfully with the interaction between silence and the pulse propelling each section of the raag. Virtuoso tabla interjections at first barely state the tempo, and the interplay between musicians is so spacious that we hear scraps of audience noise and the squeak of the harmonium's mechanism in between the notes. Gradually picking up rhythmic definition and melodic complexity, after around fifteen minutes the music builds dramatically, with Khan letting out emotive yelps and swooping scalar shapes ranging across his full vocal range. Accompanied by stunning black and white concert photographs, the LP also contains a moving and entertaining recollection from acclaimed German musicologist Peter Pannke, looking back on his experience assisting Khan and his musicians in Berlin at the Metamusik festival (including a mouth-watering description of a feast cooked by the maestro himself). As Pannke describes in his account of attending the concert, the beauty and spiritual intensity of this music leaves the listener speechless.
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LP
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MGART 904LP
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2025 repress. 180-gram LP version with embossed chessboard artwork print and printed inner sleeve. In celebration of the 2016 35th anniversary of the December 12, 1981, recording of Manuel Göttsching's legendary E2-E4, one of electronic music's most influential recordings, Göttsching's MG.ART label presents an official reissue, carefully overseen by the master himself. Includes liner notes by Manuel Göttsching, archival photos, and an excerpt of David Elliott's review in Sounds from June 16, 1984.
"As the story is sometimes told, Göttsching stopped in the studio for a couple of hours in 1981 and invented techno. E2-E4 is the most compelling argument that techno came from Germany-- more so than any single Kraftwerk album, anyway. The sleeve credits the former Ash Ra Tempel leader with 'guitar and electronics', but few could stretch that meager toolkit like Göttsching. Over a heavenly two-chord synth vamp and simple sequenced drum and bass, Göttsching's played his guitar like a percussion instrument, creating music that defines the word 'hypnotic' over the sixty minutes . . . A key piece in the electronic music puzzle that's been name-checked, reworked and expanded upon countless times." --Mark Richardson, Pitchfork
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LP
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CT 114LP
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2025 repress. Originally released in 1981. Landmark dub record from legendary reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, using a combination of established collaborators and new musicians: The Upsetters, Johnny Lover & The Towerchanters, Lee & The Blue Bell, Val Bennett, Brad Osbourne & The Towerchanters, Devion Iron, The Black Arks, and Ricky And Bunny.
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LP
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COSMR 032LP
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Repress. Sought-after compilation exploring the Group Sound movement that swept Japan in the mid-1960s. Under the influence of the Beatles, dozens of Japanese bands devoted themselves to exporting a wide genre that ranged from surf-rock, garage fuzz, psych and wild R&B. Featuring the influential The Mops, the Filipino band (relocated to Hong Kong) D'Swooners, The Golden Cups, The Beavers, The Carnabeats, The Spiders, The Voltage, The Bunnys, and The Spiders.
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LP
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FL 1016LP
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2025 restock. "The string of albums Culture recorded during the late '70s contained some of the most reliably solid sets from the tail end of reggae's roots era. These early releases for the production team of Joe Gibbs and Errol 'E.T.' Thompson yielded the group's finest work . . . The typically excellent assembly of session men respond to such material with an appropriately light touch: the exemplary rhythm work of keyboardists Ansel Collins and Earl Lindo and guitarist Willie Lindo is kept under close watch by the great Sly Dunbar. The drummer's playing is effortless as he alternates the makeup of a particular pattern or subtly changes up the rhythm, heading into a chorus. Closer attention to the backing for tracks like 'Behold,' 'Tell Me Where You Get It,' and 'Vacancy' reveals the sort of strength, though subtle, that drives the best roots music." --Nathan Bush, All Music Guide
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CD
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SF 126CD
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Tsapiky music from Southwest Madagascar features wild ecstatic vocals, distorted electric guitars, rocket bass, and the amphetamine beat! Unlike anything else, this is THE high life music you've always wanted -- ceremonial music played with abandon and extreme intent, honoring the living and dead alike. In Toliara and its surrounding region, funerals, weddings, circumcisions and other rites of passage have been celebrated for decades in ceremonies called mandriampototse. During these celebrations -- which last between three and seven days -- cigarettes, beer and toaky gasy (artisanal rum) are passed around while electric orchestras play on the same dirt floor as the dancing crowds and zebus. The music, tsapiky, defies any classification. This compilation showcases the diversity of contemporary tsapiky music. Locally and even nationally renowned bands played their own songs on makeshift instruments, blaring through patched-up amps and horn speakers hung in tamarind trees, projecting the music kilometers away. Lead guitarists and female lead singers are the central figures of tsapiky. Driven as much by their creative impulses as by the need to stand out in a competitive market, the artists distinguish themselves stylistically through their lyrics, rhythms or guitar riffs. They must also master a wide repertoire of current tsapiky hits, which the families that attend inevitably request before parading in front of the orchestra with their offerings. This work, a constant push and pull between distinction and imitation, is nourished by fertile exchanges between various groups: acoustic and electric, rural and urban, coastal or inland. What results during these ceremonies is a music of astonishing intensity and creativity, played by artists carving out their own path, indifferent to the standards of any other music industry: Malagasy, African or global. Recorded live on location by Maxime Bobo, this CD edition includes three bonus tracks not on the LP plus an eight-page full-color insert with detailed liner notes and photos of the musicians and surroundings.
Featuring Mamehy, Drick, Songada, Befila, Behaja, Mahafaly Mihisa, Meny & Ando, Rebona, Renitsa, Gorop Milalaza, and Mirasoa & Mahapoteke.
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LP
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KR 109LP
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Purple Trap, the powerful trio of Keiji Haino (voice, guitar), Bill Laswell on bass, and Rashied Ali (drums), recorded live on stage at The Stone. Recorded in December 2005, this furious live album by what can easily be called a super group remained unreleased till in 2023 Bill Laswell made it accessible in a rough-mixed digital version for his bandcamp subscribers program exclusively. For this vinyl version, the music has been newly mixed by Dirk Dresselhaus (SchneiderTM) and mastered/cut by Ruy Mariné at Dubplates & Mastering Berlin. Purple Trap reunited for this one-off gig as part of a five-day Haino-festival at John Zorn's venue, The Stone, seven years after its only album had been recorded (released on Tzadik in 1999). The six untitled tracks deliver what can be expected from such musical masters: Rashied Ali, iconic free jazz drummer who played with John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Rollins, James Blood Ulmer, and countless more, is all drums, from quiet tiny sounds to high-energy rhythm patterns. Keiji Haino, one of the most prolific artists of the Japanese experimental/noise scene for almost 50 years now, switches between truculent guitar splatters and full-on psychedelic outbursts. Bill Laswell, who as producer and musician created a massive body of work in fields as diverse as ambient, world music, funk, jazz (and often hybrids of these), has proven his mastery in improvisation in projects like Massacre, Painkiller or (early) Material and provides the low-end grounding with his signature bass sound, or adds effect-laden ornaments to the whole. An overdue addition to a very small body of work by a clearly under-documented supergroup!
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LP
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LIFE 060LP
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Though short-lived, the New York Contemporary Five brought together NY free players Don Moore on bass, J.C. Moses on drums, Archie Shepp on tenor saxophone, and Don Cherry on trumpet with Danish alto saxophonist John Tchicai. Their 1966 album Consequences is a true masterpiece of fire music.
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VL 900051LP
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2025 repress. Although Warhol, who was listed as producer on the album, allegedly gave the Velvets free reign over their sound, it was on his insistence that Nico performed on this album. However, this does not detract from the fact that when this album was made the Red Sea parted, and the Velvet Underground crossed into the Promised Land. Deluxe gatefold jacket with peeling banana and "Chelsea Girls" bonus track on B5
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WWSLP 101LP
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Wewantsounds presents the release of Sweet Rebels: The Golden Era of Algerian Pop-Raï, selected in Paris by Cheb Gero. The set features the raw energy of the Algerian Raï scene from the '80s and early '90s and its young stars Cheb Zahouani, Chaba Zohra, and Abderrahmane Djalti. Newly remastered and including liner notes from Raï authority Rabah Mezouane, the compilation brings together eight cassette tracks from the electrifying period when Raï music was evolving from a more traditional sound to the mesmerizing electro funk sound of the '80s. Raï music was born in the seedy parts of Oran, the port city north-west of Algeria, during the 20th century. Mixing elements of Arabic music and western influences, the music was raw and urban emanating from the cabarets and nightclubs of the city. Mainly performed by female singers such as Cheikha Rimitti and Cheikha Djenia, Raï songs would talk about love and social hardship in direct and often crude ways. The style evolved after the war and it was revolutionized in the 1980s by a new wave of singers who infused their sound with synthesizers and drum machines to instill tough messages of youth rebellion, political criticism, and heartbreak. Mainly released on cassette by street vendors in Algeria during the '80s, Rai rapidly spread among the youth. It became a phenomenon which soon spread beyond North Africa, led by the crossover success of Cheb Khaled. Sweet Rebels gives an insight into the genre's ecstatic electro sound, showcasing a unique cultural moment, where creativity and resistance connected to form a vibrant trend. Compiled by DJ Cheb Gero, Sweet Rebels includes cult, sought-after tracks released on cassette by the label Oriental Music Production and features the best exponents of the genre, such as Cheikha Djenia El K'bira, Cheb Zahouani, Cheb Abdelhak, Chaba Amina, and Chaba Zohra. Most of the tracks here make their vinyl debut and Wewantsounds -- following its releases from Lebanon and Egypt, is delighted to continues its exploration of Arabic music by digging into the fascinating Algerian Raï heritage.
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LP
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NP 049LP
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Another selection of eight songs following the first compilation released in late 2020 covering the same period but also venturing in the 1990s. Drissi is one of Rai's softest voices. This is more Wah-Wah driven, mid-tempo guitar-based Rai from the city where Rai's "harder' form was conceived. Sad romantic songs about lost loves and other sorrowful tales.
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LP
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CTLP 1045LP
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2025 restock; LP version. "Once again Clocktower bring you the massive and powerful tracks, such as 'Cloak & Dagger' DJ style led by King Tubby and Lee Perry. And they've also included the slow style of 'Cloak & Dagger' which you will never stop listening for generations to come, young and old. Then the following tracks of 'Blackboard Jungle' with two incomparable versions that will open up your ears to the greatest musicians on bass and drums, etc. We from Clocktower say listen, enjoy, party, and dance to all the fine production. We have compiled this for all who loves reggae music production beyond compare. Music of life." --Alfred Newman Not a reissue, a new compilation of early Lee Scratch Perry material, not previously issued in this form. With tracks recorded from the early '70s with material from Clocktower 7" only releases, etc.
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LP
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ACOLOUR 052LP
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Annie A, the one-off collaborative project between Félicia Atkinson, Time is Away, Christina Petrie, and Maxine Funke, arrives on A Colourful Storm with an inquisitive, exploratory composition evoking questions of inconstancy and reconciliation, vastness and finitude and the sometimes-cruel deception of human perception. It is a geographically diverse yet like-minded ensemble whose seeds were sown during an A Colourful Storm show in London, where time on stage was shared by Atkinson, Time is Away and Petrie. Atkinson had previously found solace in Time is Away's Ballads, Funke's Seance, and particularly the voice of poet Petrie, whose delivery drifts from a wide-eyed stream of consciousness to crystalline sensory expression. It is the perfect accompaniment to Atkinson's hushed tones, spoken sensitively like a mother to a resting child. Atkinson's evocative sonic landscapes are formed from keyboard, voice and organic materials collected from life on the dramatic coast of Normandy, as well as field recordings from places far and wide. She breathes life into liminal spaces, the sound of wind, whispers and the distant clatter of rocks conjuring visions of places both beautiful and eerily familiar. Time is Away delicately arranges the field of sounds, their weaving and layering likened to the assembly of an Anni Albers textile. The spirit of Albers guides the piece, Petrie's recounting of her loom and thread a symbol of her endurance, vitality and seeking wonder in intricacies. The piece also features an exclusive concluding track by Maxine Funke, whose meditation on vulnerability confronts and surrenders herself to the enchanting natural world.
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LP
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MR 472LP
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Mercenárias is an iconic band in the history of Brazilian punk and post-punk. They gained global recognition after being included in several compilations outside Brazil. Recommended for fans of The Slits, DNA, Malaria!, Kleenex, and Minutemen, the group stood out for their rebellious attitude, incisive lyrics, and raw sound that blended punk, post-punk, no wave and experimental elements. This is a compilation of rare tracks from 1983 to 1987, including ten amazing songs that didn't make it onto their two albums; there's also a great early live recording, as well as a "lost" studio session. It has been remastered from the original tapes and includes an insert with previously unseen photos and a short text by Edgard Scandurra. This is a collaboration release with the Brazilian label Nada Nada Discos. Born in the vibrant alternative scene of 1980s São Paulo, Mercenárias is an iconic band in the history of Brazilian punk and post-punk. Formed in 1982 by Sandra Coutinho (bass and vocals), Rosália Munhoz (vocals), Ana Machado (guitar), and Edgard Scandurra (drums), the group stood out for their rebellious attitude, incisive lyrics, and raw sound that blended punk, post-punk, no wave and experimental elements. Their debut album, Cadê as Armas? (1986), is considered one of the most important records in Brazilian music history.
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LP
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MTE 065LP
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2025 restock. The long awaited repress of Slight Freedom, acclaimed guitarist & composer Jeff Parker's first solo album & a New York Times' best albums of 2016 selection, is here. Pressed on premium 120-gram audiophile-quality vinyl by RTI from lacquers cut at sterling sound by Steve Fallone, presented in a retro flipback jacket. Second edition of 1,399 copies. What we said in 2016: "Slight Freedom, Jeff Parker's first ever solo record, presents the first opportunity to hear the guitarist in fully self-revealed circumstances. recorded 2013 & '14 in the Hollywood Hills as he relocated from Chicago to Los Angeles, Parker combines the dark tonal palette & percussive attack he's long been known for with real-time processing elements & field recordings, deftly crafting a unique world of solo guitar music -- multilingual, mysterious, alive with extraordinary sonic events, with a sturdy intelligence in charge & a raw homestyle vibe. parker's title composition sets the album's cavernous mood. terse lines & ricocheting loops morph into a gnarly ambient section that resembles Neil Young droning out over a vg+ copy of discreet music. Parker creates a different sort of ambient space in his take on Frank Ocean's 'Super Rich Kids', bending the melody around a bossa nova rhythm into a moodsville tone poem. parker makes an extraordinary long-form statement out of Chad Taylor's 'Mainz', a piece he first recorded with Taylor & Chris Lopes on the album Bright Light In Winter. Twice the length of the trio recording, the multi-layered soliloquy finds parker leaping from the high rung to damn near orchestral heights, pushing his techniques & concepts to the breaking points. It's one of the great solo performances you'll hear from a musician this year. To say 'Lush Life' comes with formidable baggage is an understatement. Parker achieves instant classic status with a rendition that sounds beamed-in from a decommissioned satellite -- burned out, covered in space grit, yet still formally nuanced & beautifully reflective of Strayhorn's world-weary lyrics. twenty years into the game it's a joy for eremite to present work by an artist who's clearly taking his music to the next level." "It's not jazz, it's not ambient, it's not noise; it's something more idiosyncratic and more personal, something only Parker could have come up with. Perhaps this is what Slight Freedom is supposed to mean: Not an anarchic exploding of rules, not the total liberation proposed by free jazz, but a steadier, stealthier path -- dissolving boundaries, softening constraints, and wearing away at the edges of things until the ideas run as freely as water." --Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork
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JL 065LP
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"Ten-song showcase LP. Five vocals, five dubs. Five tracks previously unreleased. New showcase LP collecting a couple long requested classics coupled with a trio of rare and previously unreleased heaters from the early '80s Roots Radics era. This new LP now makes a trio of classic albums along with his What's Wrong With the Youths and Chip In albums for Jah Life and Junjo Lawes. In a beautiful sleeve with the vibes of the time, designed by the great Seen Studio."
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3LP
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W25 018LP
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Triple LP version. "Superior Viaduct and new artist label, W.25TH, continue to be the home for Cindy Lee with the physical release of the celebrated album Diamond Jubilee. Universally praised, shortlisted for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize, and already hailed by Pitchfork as the third best album of the 2020s, anticipation and conversation around the record has been high. Cindy Lee is the performance and songwriting vehicle of Patrick Flegel (who previously fronted influential indie group Women). Over several albums, Flegel has combined delicate melodies and sheer beauty with moments of experimentation. With Diamond Jubilee, Flegel's undeniable songcraft comes to the foreground, embracing a more instant connection and accessibility. Timeless tales of love and longing, surrounded by sticky hooks, take the listener on an unforgettable journey. Diamond Jubilee was written and recorded over several years by Patrick Flegel in Toronto, Durham, Calgary and Montreal at Realistik Studios. The album was mixed by Steven Lind, who also contributes to several tracks and co-wrote 'Baby Blue,' and was mastered by Joshua Stevenson. Triple LP on black vinyl comes with 24"x36" poster."
"Each song like a foggy transmission from a rock 'n' roll netherworld with its ghostly canon of beloved hits." --Pitchfork
"Their masterwork, beamed down from another world, will always feel out of time and, therefore, feel at home in any given moment." --Paste
"Top album and song of the year so far, a legit timeless psych-pop masterpiece." --Gorilla Vs Bear
"The word of mouth album of the year." --The Guardian
"Intimate, serendipitous magic, Diamond Jubilee is not merely a piece of art, it's the entire exhibition." --Stereogum
"The greatest thing to happen to lo-fi pop in like a decade." --The Needle Drop
"An artist operating at the peak of their powers who is able to harness and crystallize all that potency and charge into a record." --Uncut
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4LP
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LAPSUS 041LP
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Electronic music visionary Pye Corner Audio, a master of blending nostalgia with forward-thinking production, has carved out a unique niche in the electronic music landscape. Drawing inspiration from 1970s and '80s synthesizer music, Detroit techno, and cinematic soundtracks, his work often evokes a sense of eerie futurism. Lapsus Records presents Where Things Are Hollow: No Tomorrow, a comprehensive box set revisiting and expanding his acclaimed Where Things Are Hollow series. This release includes the first two volumes -- with Volume 2 featuring an unreleased track -- and two additional chapters that further enrich the series' narrative. Once again, Pye Corner Audio delivers innovative soundscapes, drawing inspiration from ambient techno, cinematic electronica, and experimental slow disco. The third installment unveils a constellation of entirely new tracks, weaving the ambient, synthwave, and retro-futuristic textures that define Jenkins' work. Meanwhile, Where Things Are Hollow 4 amplifies this narrative, incorporating reinterpretations by some of today's most visionary artists: Alessandro Cortini, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Lord Of The Isles, and Surgeons Girl, alongside the popular 2020 John Talabot remix of "Resist." As with previous entries, the visual identity of Where Things Are Hollow: No Tomorrow is a striking collaboration between Basora Studio and renowned illustrator Alex Trochut, offering a visual counterpart to the series' otherworldly audio. With all tracks remastered for this release, Where Things Are Hollow: No Tomorrow is a testament to Jenkins' enduring influence and creative evolution, cementing Pye Corner Audio as a key figure in modern electronic music.
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BT 128LP
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Legendary New Zealand-born experimental composer and sound art pioneer Annea Lockwood returns to Black Truffle with On Fractured Ground/Skin Resonance, her third release for the label. Having recently celebrated her 85th birthday, Lockwood shows no sign of slowing down in her exploration of new sound sources and collaborations with an ever-growing intergenerational pool of performers -- here with Vanessa Tomlinson. Her creative vibrancy is alive as ever on the two recent works presented here, which demonstrate both her engagement with the social dimensions of sound and the deeply reflective, meditative aspect of her art. "On Fractured Ground" derives from material recorded with Pedro Rebelo and Georgios Varoutsos for the soundtrack of Maria Fusco and Margaret Salmon's opera-film, History of the Present (2023). Working together in Belfast, Lockwood, Rebelo and Varoutsos made extensive recordings of the city's "peace lines," the dozens of walls erected since the beginning of the Troubles in the late 1960s to separate Catholic and Protestant areas of the city. Continuing to work in her studio with the material collected for the soundtrack after its completion, Lockwood composed the work presented here, occupying a space somewhere between her own extended-technique percussion music and the Cagean tradition of hyper-amplified small sounds. "Skin Resonance" is a collaboration with Australian composer and percussionist Vanessa Tomlinson. Developed through conversations in which the two discussed the idea of "sonic attraction," the piece focuses on Tomlinson's relationship to the bass drum, reflecting on the complex web of connections embodied in this seemingly simply instrument, which is at once "animal, wood, and metal." Approaching the instrument in a suitably elemental fashion, Tomlinson's performance strips away conventional technique to explore the resonance and timbral properties of skin, drum, and metal hardware, producing overlapping waves of texture that at times seem closer to wind swishing through leaves or the ocean than anything usually associated with a drum. Emphasising the symbiotic relationship between performer and instrument, Tomlinson's voice is heard at times, exploring the field of associations and connections the bass drum suggests to her. Accompanied by insightful liner notes on both pieces and photographs documenting the recording of "On Fractured Ground" and a performance of "Skin Resonance," this LP is a moving testament to the engagement, generosity, and openness that sustain Annea Lockwood's work, still finding new directions after more than fifty years of activity.
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WWSLP 096LP
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LP version. Wewantsounds presents the release of one of Japan's most coveted albums of the '70s, Mangekyou by singer-songwriter Yoshiko Sai. Produced in 1975 by Master musician Yuji Ohno, the album features Yoshiko Sai's superbly crafted songs and crystal-clear voice over Ohno's lush, funky sound and breezy arrangements. A strong buzz has been growing around the album over the years and original copies now change hands for large sums of money. This is the first time Mangekyou is available outside of Japan, featuring remastered audio, original artwork and a four-page insert including new liner notes by Paul Bowler. Yoshiko Sai holds a unique status in the Japanese music landscape. The Japanese singer songwriter made a strong impression with her blend of ethereal melodies, poetic lyrics and crystalline singing. A private, almost enigmatic artist, Sai only made four highly praised albums during the '70s and all but retired from the music industry in 1979, which adds to the mystic surrounding her persona. Only thanks to the persistence of Japanese guitarist Jojo Hiroshige from the noise group Hijokaidan did she come out of retirement to record new material in the 2000s. She was originally noticed by key record labels and swiftly signed to Black Records/Teichiku. This led to the recording of Mangekyou ("Kaleidoscope"), in the Spring of 1975. While she penned all the material for Mangekyou, the arrangements were assigned to Ace producer Yuji Ohno, one of the top arrangers in Tokyo at the time. Ohno helped craft the album's superb funk sound and also played keyboards. The album displays Sai's unique craftmanship when it comes to songwriting and alternates between mid and up-tempo songs such as "Yoru No Sei" (Night Spirit) and "Fuyu No Chikadou" (Winter Underpass) and more atmospheric ballads such as "Tsubaki Wa Ochita Kaya" (Did The Camellia Fall?) or "Yukionna" (Snow Woman). It's worth noting Ohno blended his rich arrangements with elements of Japanese traditional music, with the use of such instruments as the Shakuhachi (bamboo flute), Tsuzumi (hand drum), and Biwa (wooden lute), giving the music its unique twist. All in all, listening to Mangekyou is a unique experience and it's easy to see why the album and Yoshiko Sai garnered such a cult following over the years.
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VAMPI 297LP
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2025 repress. Brooklyn Sounds legendary 1971 debut album, full of heavy Nuyorican underground salsa dura propelled by raw trombones and in-your-face percussion, born of the barrio streets and the band's Caribbean heritage. Fully authorized by producer Bobby Marin, with liner notes detailing the Brooklyn Sounds story, featuring never-before seen photos and pressed on 180g vinyl. In the bustling rhythm-filled streets of 1970s New York, where the Latin music scene pulsated with energy, one clandestine project emerged from the shadows to become a hidden gem of raw, unfiltered musical brilliance -- the legendary Brooklyn Sounds! album. Crafted by the audacious Bobby Marin, a maestro with an appetite for risk, this masterpiece is not just an album; it's a sonic rebellion that echoes the untamed spirit of the city. The iconic album cover, a creation of the visionary Charlie Rosario, is a testament to the band's urban roots. A stark, black-and-white photograph of a snow-clad fire escape, rendered with high contrast, encapsulates the hard realities of the city that birthed Brooklyn Sounds' unmistakable sound. It's not just an album cover; it's a visual manifesto, a slice of New York's gritty soul frozen in time. As the reels rolled in the studio, capturing the essence of guaguancó, son montuno, bomba, and Latin soul, the band's music spoke to the streets, telling tales of broken romance, Santería, Puerto Rican roots, and the unbridled revelry of the city that never sleeps. The recording exuded a savage, smoggy vibe, full of heavy Nuyorican underground salsa dura propelled by raw trombones and in-your-face percussion. Released under the audacious Salsa Records -- a name that turned heads and raised eyebrows -- Brooklyn Sounds! broke free from the mold, refusing to be confined by mainstream expectations. The LP became a sought-after treasure, transcending its low-budget origins. This hidden jewel, with its relentless rhythms and untamed spirit, never succumbed to the airwaves controlled by the big labels. It's a rebellion against the establishment, a testament to the band's refusal to conform. While Brooklyn Sounds may not have soared to mainstream heights, its impact echoes through collector circles worldwide, from Toronto to Tokyo, where enthusiasts crave the rare, the raw, and the rebellious. So, dive into the infectious beats, feel the authenticity pulsating through every track, and let Brooklyn Sounds! take you on a journey back to the untamed streets of 1970s New York.
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CD
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ESPDISK 5084CD
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Joe Morris's recording career began in 1983 and has made him one of the most revered avant-garde jazz guitarists. Down Beat magazine dubbed him "the preeminent free music guitarist of his generation," while The Wire magazine called him "one of the most profound improvisers at work in the U.S." His revelatory 2012 book Perpetual Frontier/The Properties of Free Music (Riti Publishing) is a detailed and rewarding accounting of his approach to improvisation. He has been on the faculty in the Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation Department at New England Conservatory of Music since 2000. This is his fifth album as guitarist on ESP-Disk': two as leader, two in Fay Victor's SoundNoiseFUNK, and now this unique duo. Elliott Sharp began recording in 1979 and has continued prolifically adding to his discography ever since, working fluently in genres ranging from blues and jazz to free improvisation and modern classical composition. A cornerstone of the downtown NYC music scene and collaborator with musicians from around the world, he has extended the vocabulary of the guitar in ways that led Guitar Player magazine to include him in its 30th anniversary issue's list of "The Dirty Thirty: Pioneers and Trailblazers." (He also plays saxophone.) His 2019 book IrRational Music (TerraNova Press) is a crucial document of his work that goes beyond biography into musical philosophy. Realism is his first album released on ESP. Recorded and mastered by Jim Clouse, Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY on July 17, 2023. Mixed by Elliott Sharp and Jim Clouse at Park West Studios on August 1, 2023. Produced by Steve Holtje for ESP-Disk'.
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TR 584CD
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Picture one of the greatest living singer-songwriters in a kitchen. He is on holidays, he's just had a swim. His wife is out on the beach, and he finds himself faced with a bowl of irresistible strawberries. They're meant to be shared, of course, but their taste is "out of the ordinary," so he just can't help himself. Minutes later all of the delicious fruit are gone, but there's the germ of a song as the phrase "Someone ate all the strawberries" has just popped into Robert Forster's mind, sounding "so weird, but normal". Thankfully, he has taken his guitar with him. As the story goes, his wife Karin Bäumler not only forgave her husband, she actually joined him on a duet of what was to become the title song to his ninth solo album. Robert Forster has perfected the art of being outré in a least ostentatious way, from his time in the Go-Betweens to his solo career, now spanning almost three decades, interrupted only by the old band's reformation in 2000 which ended with his songwriting partner Grant McLennan's untimely death in 2006. Strawberries follows a recent spate of deluxe reissues of four of his older solo albums as well as the third and final volume of the career-spanning series of G Stands For Go-Betweens boxsets with a much awaited helping of new material. Next to admittedly bigger names such as Bob Dylan or Nick Cave, Robert Forster is the rare case of an artist with a celebrated past whose current work evokes genuine interest among a faithful fan base. As a straight-up personal song, "Strawberries" is a bit of a red herring in the context of this new album that, unusually for Forster, deals almost exclusively in observational character studies or, as the author would have it, "story songs". Louis Forster, by the way, also makes an impressive appearance on lyrical lead guitar in "Such a Shame." As his slapback echo vocals tuck into a rockabilly vibe, you can hear Forster enjoying the company of his Swedish backing band: producer Peter Morén (of Peter, Björn and John fame) on guitar, Jonas Thorell on bass, and Magnus Olsson on drums, crucially augmented by Lina Langendorf on various woodwind instruments and Anna Åhman on keys. The album's monumental closing track "Diamonds" starts off as a cross between Lou Reed and Buffalo Springfield, then takes off via Astral Weeks into an (almost) Albert Ayler direction, with Lina Langendorf given free rein on the tenor sax and Forster himself relinquishing his trademark understatement for some unexpected outbursts of falsetto.
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LP
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CT 124LP
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2025 repress. Recorded at Channel One Studio in 1982. Tracks include "Having Fun With The Klingons," "Rocking Time Warp Dub," "Jah Love All Aliens," "Conversation With Kahn" and "Smerf Wak Head Beat."
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2LP
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PRB 018LP
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2025 repress. Monolithic and stark but extremely warm, intensely personal, and for every one in every which way. Proibito are very happy to present to you For Those Of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have), an album by Huerco S.
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2LP
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KALITA 009LP
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2025 repress. Kalita Records unveil the first ever compilation focusing on the phenomenon of "Burger Highlife", a crossover of West African melodies with synthesizers, disco, and boogie that took over Ghanaian airwaves during the 1980s and beyond. Highlighting key recordings from genre-defining artists including Thomas Frempong and George Darko, as well as more obscure sought-after tracks by elusive bands such as Aban and Uncle Joe's Afri-Beat, Kalita come to the rescue of audiophiles, DJs, and music-lovers alike with Borga Revolution! The 1970s had witnessed an increased Western airtime and physical presence in Ghana introducing funk, soul, and disco sounds to the region. By the turn of the decade the country was also enduring economic turmoil, with rising poverty, military dictatorships, and long periods of enforced curfews (amongst other factors) making it impossible for artists to survive. As a result, many Ghanaian musicians with a broader outlook began to pursue their careers in the west, moving to both Europe and America in search of stardom. It was here that Ghanaian musicians developed a digitized version of highlife music which fully embraced Western contemporary music styles and newly introduced technology such as the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer and various drum machines. It is in this context in which the evolution of Ghanaian dance music and the emergence of "Burger Highlife" was born. With Borga Revolution!, Kalita endeavor to tell this story, with prominent and lesser-known musicians' accounts and documentary evidence providing a comprehensive understanding of this shift to the digital age. Also features Native Spirit, Wilson Boateng, Paa Jude, and Dr. K. Gyasi's Noble Kings. Includes 16-page booklet featuring extensive interview-based liner notes on each artist and never-before-seen archival photos. Gatefold sleeve.
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2LP
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MORR 201LP
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Double LP version. Gatefold sleeve; includes printed inner sleeve, 28-page booklet; edition of 700. Carpet Of Fallen Leaves is an introduction to the folk-pop world of Eddie Marcon. It follows in the footsteps of other collections of Japanese artists on Morr Music, such as Yumbo, Andersens, and the Minna Miteru compilations. Carpet Of Fallen Leaves draws together songs from Eddie Marcon's twenty-two-year history, including fragile, yet rich in melody material, collected from a prodigious run of limited edition, self-released CD-Rs. Eddie Marcon is the project of Eddie Corman and Jules Marcon, who met through their involvement in Japan's underground music scene. Eddie was a member of noise-rock duo Coa, while both Eddie and Marcon were part of psych-rock collective LSD-March. Forming in 2001, Eddie Marcon's sound is markedly different from these groups, though they do, at times, share a sense of psychedelic dislocation, through the gentle, limpid pace of their songs. But with Eddie Marcon, melody and gentleness is at the music's core. They've long marked out their own, unique territory within a worldwide community of psych-folk and folk-pop artists; sharing their music through a subterranean network of colleagues and friends, they count groups like The Pastels and The Notwist as their fans, and Eddie has collaborated with the likes of Shintaro Sakamoto, and Aki Tsuyuko (in Tondekebana, and with Marcon and Ippei Matsui in the quartet Wasurerogusa). Eddie Marcon have also recently worked with drummer Ikuro Takahashi, who's played with groups such as Fushitsusha, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, and Nagisa Ni Te. Across the songs on Carpet Of Fallen Leaves, Eddie Marcon's songs are performed by Eddie on guitar, organ and vocals, and Marcon on bass; they're variously joined by Takahashi, Yojiro Tatekawa (drums), Tomoko Kageyama (vibraphone), Yasuhisa Mizutani (flute), Madoka Asakura (vocals), and Ztom Motoyama (pedal steel). The arrangements are pared back to best serve the core of each song, and the playing is gorgeous -- fluent but not showy; capable of great intricacy, but aware that simplicity is key to direct communication. Includes download code.
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CD
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BB 480CD
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Hamburg's kosmische custodians at Bureau B welcome legendary synth maestro Peter Baumann back into the studio for his first solo album since Machines Of Desire (BB 234CD, 2016). A defining force in the Berlin School of electronic music, both as a member of Tangerine Dream in their most essential era, and as a solo artist, Baumann has always bridged the cerebral and the cinematic. With Nightfall, he embarks on another sonic odyssey, crafting an atmospheric album steeped in mystery and evocative storytelling. "Baumann's artistic vision has long been shaped by his exploration of the human condition. From his pioneering work with Tangerine Dream to his influential New Age imprint, Private Music, and his philosophical pursuits through the Baumann Foundation, his creativity and curiosity remain undiminished. Nightfall is the latest chapter in his five-decade journey -- an deeply emotional album that embraces impermanence to transport the listener into a series of shapeshifting soundscapes? The misty melancholia of opener 'No One Knows' pairs hypnotic woodblock rhythms with desert guitars, while 'Lost In A Pale Blue Sky' floats through celestial choirs and rolling timpani, evoking dreamlike introspection. Elsewhere, 'On The Long Road' pulses with insect-like percussion and serrated synth tones, exuding a ritualistic energy. Tracks like 'A World Apart' and 'From A Far Land' build tension through cascading melodies and rhythmic precision, evoking distant horizons and uncharted territories. 'Sailing Past Midnight' melds bass mallets with feedback-laden synths, conjuring a sense of movement and urgency, while 'I'm Sitting Here, Just For A While' layers snaking saxophones and hand percussion into a mystical, arcane soundscape. The album closes with the title track, 'Nightfall,' a deeply atmospheric piece wrapped in choral textures and shadowy undertones? From the very beginnings of his career, Peter Baumann has infused his work with a sense of the beyond and Nightfall is no exception. Each track invites the listener to interpret, to feel, and to immerse themselves in its crepuscular beauty? With Nightfall, the composer has created a shimmering doorway, just waiting for you to step through." --Patrick Ryder
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LP
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EFFICIENT 043LP
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Wilson Tanner return to dry land with Legends, a wine-soaked agricultural fantasy, made among the grapevines at Manon Farm in South Australia. Where their earlier works settled into the sun-struck torpor of a suburban Perth backyard (69) or drifted off-course on a riverboat on Port Phillip Bay (ii), Legends trades salt air for vineyard sweat, the scrape of boots on dry earth and workers' radios humming with the summer test cricket season. Through this agricultural haze an image of a working vineyard emerges -- ducks, dogs and plovers intrude; tractors and quads fly-by; stainless steel gleams at the edges. Recorded without mains power, the Manon demos overflow with farmyard ingenuity. Wind, brass, balalaika, balloon, pipe and synth are trained onto the staff with wire, tape and string. A caricature of Australian viticulture, Legends is packed to the horns with the mythology and manure of natural wine. Swigging and belching in camaraderie, Wilson Tanner press their surroundings into something raw and unfiltered, letting bum notes, leftovers and sediment linger in the bottle. A cornucopia of biodynamic sounds.
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