FORCED EXPOSURE MAILORDER UPDATE NEW RELEASES FOR THE WEEK OF 10/04/2010 |
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order from our NEW! beta site and receive 10% off your first order: http://beta.forcedexposure.com you can also click on cover art or album info to order online a secure order form is available for credit card purchases. and via mail: for more information about shipping or ordering direct any questions to mailorder@forcedexposure.com |
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ACADEMY LPS | |
OFEGE: Try And Love CD (ACD 001CD) 15.00 2009 release. “Legendary heavy psych afro-rock debut LP by Nigerian wonder kids Ofege. Recorded while the band members were still in high school, Try And Love is overflowing ,with great songs, sweet harmonies, and relentless psychedelic guitars.” Featured on Soundway’s The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelia In 1970s Nigeria (SNDW 023CD/023B-LP) compilation. |
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SJOB MOVEMENT: A Move In The Right Direction CD (ACD 002CD)15.00 “Deep and spacey Afro-funk rhythms from four heavy weight Nigerian musicians: Spark, Jonnie, Ottay and Bolla. Veterans of Sonny Okosun’s Ozzidi band, these four branched out on their own to move in a heavier, more personal direction. First ever re-issue of their 1974 classic album.” |
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ANALOG AFRICA (GERMANY) | |
VA: African Scream Contest: Raw & Psychedelic Afro 2LP (AALP 063LP) 25.00 …Sounds From Benin & Togo ’70s. 2010 repress on vinyl. Double vinyl version, in deluxe gatefold sleeve and printed inner sleeves which replicate all of the liner notes from the CD version booklet. Same 14 tracks as the CD. |
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AREA REMOTE (NETHERLANDS) | |
ACUMEN & V-SEXION: Somewhere Else 12″ (AREA 023EP) 12.00 Area Remote welcomes Acumen & V-Sexion to the label. Here they’ve joined creative forces with these two club slammers. “Somewhere Else” is a dance-slam classic with a deep, funky, squelchy bass line, smartly blended under vocal echoes. It’s a groove to move you (and everyone else at the club). “Hou Hou” is edgy, punchy and relentless, and just when you’re getting a little too comfortable, you get walloped with some prickly electric chord jabs — perfect for the all-night clubbers. |
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AUDIO FIDELITY | |
KINGSLEY, GERSHON: First Moog Quartet LP (AFSD 6234LP) 11.50 Exact repro reissue of this milestone in live recordings of electronic music, originally released in 1970. Kingsley had Robert Moog build three more synthesizers just so he could pull this thing off. The Moog Quartet played the first live performance of synthesized music at Carnegie Hall to a confused audience. This record includes a cover of “Eleanor Rigby” and Kingley’s own “Miracles,” featuring a line-up of children on vocals. Still genuinely removed from normative notions of time & space. |
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BLUE NOTE | |
MOBLEY/LEE MORGAN, HANK: Peckin’ Time LP (BLP 1574LP) 11.50 Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1958. “Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley was overshadowed by more influential tenors such as Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane during his career, but although he wasn’t deliberately flashy or particularly innovative, his concisely measured, round sax tone made him the perfect ensemble player and he was a fine writer, as well, a talent who has often been undervalued and overlooked. The Peckin’ Time session was recorded February 9, 1958 (the LP was issued a year later) and came in the midst of what was a period of whirlwind creativity for Mobley… For this session, Mobley found himself working with a young Lee Morgan on trumpet and in front of a fluid rhythm section that included pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Charlie Persip, and it’s solid stuff, bright and always energetic. All but one of the tracks, a rendering of Kurt Weill’s ‘Speak Low,’ were written by Mobley, and again, his hidden strength was always his writing, and it should probably come as no surprise that the best two tracks here, the title tune ‘Peckin’ Time’ and the wonderful ‘Stretchin’ Out,’ were both penned by Mobley.” — All Music Guide |
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HENDERSON, JOE: Page One LP (BLP 4140LP) 11.50 Lima, Ohio’s finest Blue Note musician, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson released his debut as a leader in 1963. Featuring trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Butch Warren and drummer Pete La Roca. Exact repro. |
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COLES, JOHNNY: Little Johnny C LP (BLP 4144LP) 11.50 Trumpeter Johnny Coles recorded with the likes of Gil Evans, Charles Mingus and Herbie Hancock. One of his few albums as a leader, Little Johnny C was released in 1963 and features Leo Wright (alto sax & flute), Joe Henderson (tenor sax), Duke Pearson (piano), Bob Crenshaw (bass), Walter Perkins (drums) and Pete La Roca (drums). Exact repro reissue. |
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WASHINGTON, TYRONE: Natural Essence LP (BLP 4274LP) 11.50 Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1969. “This release is a bit of a mystery, because this sole date as a leader by Tyrone Washington seems to mark his final appearance on record (following two sessions as a sideman, including Horace Silver’s The Jody Grind); his name doesn’t show up in jazz encyclopedias, so one wonders if he died prematurely or quit music for some other reason. Only 23 at the time of the recording, the tenor saxophonist composed six originals and is joined by other promising young lions who went onto great careers (pianist Kenny Barron and trumpeter Woody Shaw), along with alto saxophonist James Spaulding, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Joe Chambers. Washington shows the influence of John Coltrane during his rapid-fire runs, while his playing during his more straight-ahead works proves to be more memorable. The opener, ‘Natural Essence,’ is an interesting alchemy of blues, funk, and hard bop. ‘Yearning for Love’ is an emotional piece with spirited interaction between the three horns in places.” — All Music Guide |
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MITCHELL, BLUE: Collision In Black LP (BLP 4300LP) 11.50 Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1969. Features the up-tempo African-influenced “Swahili Suite.” Trumpeter Blue Mitchell is joined by Jim Horn & Ernest Watts (flutes), Anthony Ortego & Monk Higgins (tenors), Jack Remond & Dick Hyde (bass), Bob West (guitar), Al Vescovo (piano), Miles Grayson (drums) and Paul Humphrey (organ). |
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COCOON (GERMANY) | |
WISH VS. CRUZ & LATI/MAETRIK (FEAT. KULE RUNNER), SIMON:Dawn’s Highway/Snorkel 10″ (CORTEN 007EP) 12.50 No. 7 of the 10″ collector’s series made it across the Pond. Simone Montomoli aka Simon Wish’s vinyl debut “Dawn’s Highway” features percussive tech-funk in the style of Marco Carola meets nasty vocals sounding like the old Chicago Trax records while the sexy-elastic bass line makes the influences of the Florida metropolis abundantly clear. Eric Estornel aka Maetrik presents “Snorkel,” with smoothly aspirated vocals providing just the right dash of soul for a hypnotic workhorse of a track. |
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CURLE RECORDINGS (BELGIUM) | |
WALT J: Reborn 12″ (CURLE 004P-EP) 12.00 The Curle-P subdivision features rarities from the past, with a new remix on the flip. This 12″ boasts Walt J’s “Reborn,” originally on Detroit label Dow in 1997 and featured by Juan Atkins on his legendary MasterMix. On remix duties is DJ Qu, Strength Music label owner and part of the new New York house movement. As a bonus, the original B-side has also been included because it was too good to be left aside. |
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COLLINS, ANTHONY: Nina Kraviz & Los Updates Remixes 10″ (METISSE 003.5EP) 12.00 Remixes of tracks from Anthony Collins’ Dreaming Of Running EP. Nina Kraviz from Moscow gives her own personal touch to “Another Lonely Night.” Get prepared to hear a lot more of her in the future. Los Updates, originally from Chile and now residing in Spain, are close collaborators with Ricardo Villalobos and have released an album on Cadenza. They loved “Bruised Inside” so much they offered to do a remix. Limited to 300 yellow 10″s. |
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DATAPUNK (GERMANY) | |
ROTHER, ANTHONY: Mother/Cinema 12″ (DTPLTD 013EP) 12.00 Two tracks from Anthony Rother’s Popkiller 2 album. “Mother” has an audibly compressed sound, using the unmistakable sounds of his singing voice once again, giving the Rother-style a brand new facet. “Cinema” is an abstract, minimalist party track: as funky and rocking as it is elegant, held up by a video-game tune and reaching its climax with a filter reverb. |
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DIAL (GERMANY) | |
ROBERTS, JOHN: Glass Eights 2LP (DIAL 022LP) 18.00 Gatefold 2LP version. This is the highly-anticipated debut album from American electronic artist John Roberts. With its contemplative instrumental weave, Glass Eights asks broader cultural questions about the psychological function of music. Echoes of influence can be found in The Smiths’ self-deprecating charm of the tragic, the muted, off-key eroticism of Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and the introverted house music of early ’80s Chicago. Glass Eights builds an ornate frame through which to view the intricate psychological undertones in music of the past, and more importantly, constructs an anomaly that sounds a lot like the future. |
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DIE SCHACHTEL (ITALY) | |
CURRAN, ALVIN: Live In Roma Book (DS 904873) 29.00 Although Alvin Curran is almost universally recognized as one of the leading figures of the late 20th century musical avant-garde, he has never received the recognition he deserves in the form of a proper publication. This is, in fact, the first book ever to present a complete and coherent picture of this gigantic figure of experimental music. A radical experimentalism and a kind of innate volatility have, in fact, long kept the person and the work of Alvin Curran, one of the historic founders of the group Musica Elettronica Viva (MEV), at the margins of contemporary musical historiography. His vast and all-inclusive experience refuses to fit into the common schemas and cubbyholes, excluding him from the conceptual straitjackets of current Western musicology. Lavishly produced and conceived, this book is centered around extensive descriptions of the most important works and compositional techniques, providing a historical account of Curran’s musical concerns and changing style: in permanent flux between two distinct cultural geographies (Italy and USA), sensitive to an infinity of pressures, encounters, transformations, and provocations, Curran’s artistic voyage is presented here through a comprehensive historical and critical study that avoids buzz-word definitions and gives great respect to his otherness — an otherness clearly and happily a part of the variegated musical universe of our time. Gathered for the first time in a single monograph, the contributions of several of the foremost Italian and international scholars — enriched by an astounding “travel log” by Alvin Curran himself and by unpublished images from his private archive — confirm the role of this composer-performer-teacher-writer as a major contributor to the evolution of artistic languages in the late 20th century and beyond. Edited by Daniela Margoni Tortora. 300 pages, softcover, in Italian and English. |
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BELFI, ANDREA: Knots CD (ZEIT 006CD) 17.00 2008 release. Drummer Andrea Belfi’s solo release takes the listener into a poly-rhythmic drum circle that sounds like it is coming from another dimension. His strong spatial sense, characterized by a crystal clear cymbal tone, a warm bass drum, drone-like electronica and a never ending groove, makes everything sound just beautiful. |
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7K OAKS: 7000 Oaks CD (ZEIT 008CD) 17.00 2008 release. A fierce and hypnotic music that wildly combines free jazz with elements of contemporary music, electroacoustic and microtonal interplays. 7k OAKS — Massimo Pupillo (Zu, Original Silence) Luca Venitucci (Zeitkratzer, Ossatura) Alfred 23 Hart (Cassiber, Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Quintet) Fabrizio Spera (Ossatura, Blast) — manage to build up and maintain a feverish tension of uncompromising intensity. |
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ZURRIA, MANUEL: Repeat! 3CD (ZEITC 001CD) 31.00 2008 release. The restless experimentation and creativity of Manuel Zurria (of Alter Ego fame) has resulted in a brilliant series of collaborative works with legendary composers such as Luc Ferrari, Alvin Lucier, Arvo Part, John Cage, Morton Feldman, László Sáry, Louis Andriessen, Aldo Clementi, Zoltan Jeney, Stefano Scodanibbio, Salvatore Sciarrino, Jonathan Harvey and Kevin Volans. A truly stunning mixture of electronic and longform electro-acoustic pieces, repetitive ethnic rhythms, drones and delay, field recordings, flute and the human voice. |
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DIGIKILLER | |
PALMER, MICHAEL: Different Strokes 7″ (DKR 024EP) 5.50 “Deeper Knowledge presents the start of an ongoing and extensive reissue series of tunes from producer George ‘Tasha’ Nicholson! The mid ’80s sound of Channel 1 studio has long been our favorite sound in reggae music, being some of the heaviest reggae ever made. Chief among those forwarding this sound, right alongside the Hookims, was George Nicholson. George worked exclusively at Channel 1 in this era, releasing tunes himself in Jamaica on his Tasha & Under Pressure imprints. Through licensing, much of George’s music was also released on various other labels in the US, Jamaica, Canada and the UK. These days all of Tasha’s productions have become hard to find, but we truly feel his productions are some of the absolute best music and original riddims of the 1980’s, so it’s time these tunes came back on the street. Deeper Knowledge has partnered with George to bring these tunes back to the spotlight on his original Tasha imprint. In addition to many of the tunes you may already know, we also have a killer selection of never before released material from some of our all-time favorite artists, straight from master tapes. This project has been long in the making, and it is our pleasure and honor to help have these tunes be heard again, and for the first time. We begin with three cuts on one of Tasha’s best original riddims, played by the Gifted Roots Band, all cuts from 1984. All three tunes b/w Gifted Roots Band ‘Strokes Dub.’ Michael Palmer’s ‘Different Strokes’ originally appeared on a Tasha 7″ in JA, as well on an obscure compilation LP in NYC.” |
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MIDNIGHT RIDERS: Wanted 7″ (DKR 025EP) 5.50 “Midnight Riders’ massive tune ‘Wanted’ is previously unreleased, out now for the first time. ‘Wanted, for singing dangerous reggae music!'” |
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KNIGHT, STEVE: Love Me Entertainment 7″ (DKR 026EP) 5.50 “Steve Knight’s ‘Love Me Entertainment’ originally appeared only on his very rare Orphan Child LP, again issued only in NYC.” |
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DRAG CITY | |
ENDTABLES, THE: The Endtables 12″ (DC 426LP) 11.00 Repressed on LP. “The vinyl version is a six song blast, short and sweet, the complete studio recordings.” |
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DUG OUT (UK) | |
LITTLE JOHN AND BILLY BOYO: What You Want To Be 12″ (DO RI003EP) 12.00 Rougher than rough Roots Radics cut from 1982, fired up with wild effects, murderous dubbing, and live, jostling microphone interplay; and with an excoriating version. Who come fe mash it, man, them can’t stand a chance, cah tell you Billy Boyo and Little John in a the dance, and any way we come we make you jump and prance… So tell me what you want to be. |
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ECSTATIC PEACE | |
ROBERTS, LUKE: Big Bells And Dime Songs LP (E#109DLP) 16.00 “Over the past few years, inspired by folk and world music, I focused on the guitar and writing songs of my own. My greatest influences being southern folk, Delta and Appalachian Blues, I bought a pair of white shoes and moved back to the South. This past year, I have written and recorded my first collection of songs entitled, Big Bells and Dime Songs, recruiting Kyle Spence of Harvey Milk to back me in his studio in Athens, Ga. I am currently living in New York, writing my second album, and planning for a tour of US.” — Luke Roberts, April 2010 |
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FAT WORM OF ERROR: Broods LP (E#212E) 16.00 “Maybe it’s something in the raw cow’s milk one can so fortuitously procure here in Western Massachusetts, or maybe it’s that lysergic haze of Berkshire foothill emanation, but whatever it may be, it is most definitely in manifestation as the five-headed rock n’ noise n’ bleet n’ zzrrp n’ roll n’ weirdcore phenomenon known only as Fat Worm Of Error. After more than six years of live gig decimation and confusion and a smattering of cassettes, CD-Rs, ‘legit’ LP releases (on labels as swank as LOAD and Ultra Eczema), FWOE has become, along with Noise Nomads and Dinosaur Jr, one of the most astounding musical whatsis factors in the Pioneer Valley. It was after being stunned into melted delight one evening at our local hang (the Flywheel ‘natch) by the dead battery guitar, silent psycho-killer bass, drums punked beyond the free thump joy of John Stevens n’ Drumbo, and the supremely swinging costume-cuhraziness of the FREEKwency singer…well, we wanted to do a, ahem, ‘proper’ LP. Put this genius fringe into the studio with Justin Pizzoferrato (that’s right, the guy who helps engineer J Mascis and T Moore sides) and capture the delirious magic of FWOE in their inimitable prime. And we did! And Mark Beyer did the cover art! And the drummer’s name is Neel Young! And this LP rules HARD, and if you happened to be in the same room as the live FWOE this last summer than you know: Fat Worm of Error has got the coolest moustache in town. Case closed.” Includes lyrics insert. |
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ESKIMO (BELGIUM) | |
AEROPLANE: We Can’t Fly 12″ (ESK 503671) 12.00 Aeroplane, the remixers du jour and one of the most blogged and talked-about acts in recent times, have been putting the finishing touches on their eagerly-anticipated debut LP. Having built a cult-following off the back off their now-legendary Soundcloud mixes and stunningly original remixes for the likes of Grace Jones, Friendly Fires, Lindstrøm and MGMT, their debut album is set to cement their status as one of the most innovative and exciting new acts of 2010. One-sided release on white vinyl. |
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AEROPLANE: Superstar 12″ (ESK 503797) 12.00 Aeroplane presents a single from the full-length We Can’t Fly, featuring a slick remix package including Chromeo and The Krays. Chromeo’s isn’t really a remix in the straight meaning of the word though, more a cover version. Definitely catchy as hell, as always. The Krays might or might not ring a bell, but that is a new guise of Yuksek & Brodinski. French electro-dons doing the disco-tech… or something. This is the one for the clubs. |
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SANTANA, ILYA: Erin 12″ (ESK 503811) 12.00 Ilya Santana originates from the Canary Islands (Spain). He has released stuff on Balihu, Tirk, Permanent Vacation and Gomma, and remixed artists like Human League, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, and Lindstrøm. After Burning Jupiter — his debut release for Eskimo — that was supported by everyone from Agoria to Kenny Hawkes to the usual suspects such as Justus Köhncke, Rub N Tug and Pete Herbert, Eskimo is proud to announce the follow-up. |
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FLASHBACK (UK) | |
GERMAN OAK: German Oak CD (FB 1001CD) 17.00 During the summer of 1972, best remembered for the bloodshed of the Munich Olympics, the 5-man Düsseldorf instrumental group German Oak entered the Luftschutzbunker (Air Raid Shelter) studio to record their first, eponymous album. The purpose of recording in a bunker was to recreate the feelings experienced by German soldiers during the Allied invasion of 1944. The strange acoustic conditions in the bunker made the music, which was a series of long, spacious guitar jams, sound distant and filled with echo. Originally released on the Bunker label, this strange and unusual album, presented here with 3 non-LP bonus tracks, has become somewhat of a legend. This is a numbered limited edition, housed in a unique, highly-collectible LP replica card wallet. |
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GENERATION | |
MOORE, RUDY RAY: The Turning Point LP (LP 2500LP) 11.50 The Rudy Ray Moore “Singing Album,” probably released in the ’70s, but is there anyone around involved with this record who would actually remember? Best known for his roles in cult action movies Dolemite and The Human Tornado, Moore recorded this album to reveal his “hidden talents…as a singer, writer and composer.” Songs arranged and conducted by Arthur Wright. Opening with a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “Need To Belong.” We needed more titles under the “Comedy” genre. |
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INTACTO (NETHERLANDS) | |
SHINEDOE: Ritmo Sumbreeze 12″ (INTAC 028EP) 12.00 Shinedoe’s unique vision of electronic dance music has propelled her to the forefront of the global house and techno club scenes. She’s back again, so prepare yourself for a dance frenzy — Shinedoe style. “Ritmo Sumbreeze” paints a rhythm soundscape packed with hot synth breezes, warm bass-y bellows and filtered sirens. Deliciously demanding and guaranteed to cook the dancefloor. “Sumbreeze” features blunted electric with grittier metal techno tweaks to create an edgy dance bomb that’s got bounce. |
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INTERNATIONAL FEEL (URUGUAY) | |
ROCHA: Feel The Love/Night Music 12″ (IFEEL 007A-EP) 12.00 The band that launched the label are back. After the triumphant success of Hands Of Love, the two quiet architecture students from Punta Del Este bring you “Feel The Love” and the ultra-deep “Night Music.” Split over two vinyls to ensure maximum sonic quality and complete with beautiful, hand-drawn illustrations from Yuko Kondo, this is proper Balearic music brimming full of melody, their trademark pianos, vocals and a Larry Heard-inspired bass line. |
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ROCHA: Feel The Love (Remixes) 12″ (IFEEL 007B-EP) 12.00 This is the second slice of vinyl in Rocha’s Feel The Love/Night Music 12″ releases, featuring hand-drawn illustrations from Yuko Kondo. Stepping up to the remix plate is Greg Wilson, who took the original and turned up the seduction factor by one million. Thomas Bullock as Welcome Stranger turned in an abstract gem that works equally on the dancefloor or on your iPod headphones — it’ll amaze everyone who hears it with its hypnotic power and beauty. |
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KARAOKE KALK (GERMANY) | |
ROMAN: Roman LP (KK 059LP) 15.50 LP version. Roman’s third album can only be described as pop: rhythmic, melodic, intelligent and straight from the heart. That’s not to say that the Cologne-based singer-songwriter, producer and filmmaker has lost any of his desire to experiment. Indeed, there has always been an avant-garde element in pop music, in transforming and condensing something intimate into a 3-minute nugget, both accessible and popular. It’s this contrast that makes Roman’s music seductive: his songs tell intimate stories and the multi-faceted compositions make this personal element audible. As always, he wrote and composed the whole thing himself, but was joined at the production stage this time round by Henning Schmitz and Bertil Mark. The former has already written musical history as a member of the band Kraftwerk. The latter is a drummer and producer for artists such as Von Spar, The Notwist and Die Fantastischen Vier. The recording process has also become more extravagant, Roman turning his back on bedroom production in favor of a full band set-up. It’s precisely the dynamic spirit and playfulness of the band that injects his new album with an organic energy. The screaming, howling and whispering, the poetic anecdotes about everyday city life and night time walks along the harbor, fleeting neon moments in the darkness and euphoric club scenarios don’t just fuel the lyrics but drive on the songs themselves. This is reflected, for example, in the song “R.I.P. Music,” a real rave anthem. Roman doesn’t disguise his voice throughout. He turns away from technique in favor of pure verbal expression and makes innocent dilettantism into a discipline. Musically, he wanders freely through various genres with eyes wide open: smooth ballads, banging beats, relaxing folk, D.I.Y. techno and clap-along hip-hop. It’s a stylistic carousel that never stands still, constantly translating the keys of Roman’s heart into rhythms, harmonies and melodies. The sound is more lavish than before, with synthesizers, laptop, a string quartet and guitar, only occasionally reverting to a reduced lo-fi structure. All the recordings have been put back through a sequencer, edited and added to on a laptop, giving the whole thing extra rawness. It’s a working method that unites Roman’s nerdy bedroom-production past with band collaboration and catapults this homemade aesthetic into a new, punchier context. |
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KILL ROCK STARS | |
STERN, MARNIE: Marnie Stern CD (KRS 516CD) 15.50 “Marnie Stern the album mirrors Marnie Stern, the woman. Birthed during a challenging period in her life, the self-titled Marnie Stern is a compendium of life stories both bitter and sweet. From ballads to her signature pop guitar-tapping style, Stern and long-time co-conspirator Zach Hill (Hella) have churned out (for lack of a better word) an enormous album that will further cement Stern as a rising star in today’s progressive music landscape. Stern also enlists the bass talents of psych-rock Canadian musician Matthew Flegel (of the band Women) and up-and-coming mixer Lars Stalfors (Mars Volta, Funeral Party) resulting in Stern stepping up her sonic game and revealing a mature and more focused side of herself.” |
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STERN, MARNIE: Marnie Stern LP (KRS 516LP) 15.50 LP version. |
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TUCKER BAND, THE CORIN: 1,000 Years CD (KRS 520CD) 16.50 “The new record began with the same surprise turn that started Corin Tucker’s career back in 1991, ended Sleater-Kinney’s 11-year year run in 2006 and inspired the punk-feminist rocker to redefine herself as a stay-at-home mom. It was early 2009, and Tucker was performing at a benefit show in her hometown of Portland, OR airing out a couple of new songs. Another benefit — and another pair of unheard tunes — followed a few weeks later. The reaction from friends, fans and perfect strangers was unanimous. ‘Everyone was saying, ‘Oh, it’d be cool if you made a record,’ Tucker recalls. ‘So I thought, Yeah! I should!’ Cue the wrenching rhythms and hard-angle melodies, the slashing guitars and wildly passionate vocals. Only now the hard edges come nestled in lush weaves of acoustic guitars, keyboards, interlocking percussion, even cellos and violins, which places 1,000 Years deep into Tucker’s creative headwaters — another addition to her 20-year catalogue of restless songs for restless spirits.” |
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TUCKER BAND, THE CORIN: 1,000 Years LP (KRS 520LP) 16.50 LP version. |
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KOMPAKT (GERMANY) | |
FEHLMANN, THOMAS: Gute Luft 2LP+CD (KOM 211LP) 18.00 Repressed on vinyl; 2LP version, includes CD. |
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KOLSCH: Speicher 68 12″ (KOM EX068EP) 12.00 Kompakt welcomes a force to be reckoned with on the fitting home of Speicher — Denmark’s Rune Riley Kölsch. Tried and tested by Michael Mayer through his relentless touring, “Loreley” has proven to have been a highlight. Though 4-to-the-floor, the spirit of schaffel permeates Kölsch’s utterly epic tune. “Silberpfeil” retains the simple playfulness that crests and builds with the single’s partner track, but straddles a deeper concoction of melody and harmony. |
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LEKTROLUV (BELGIUM) | |
HEY TODAY!: Strange 12″ (LL 034EP) 12.00 Hey Today! are the duo of Raik Krause and Robert Nickel. “Strange” continues the story of the LFO-meets-Herbie Hancock-sounding single “Talk To Me,” which was released on Turbo and became one of the biggest tunes of 2010. “Strange” has now been signed to Dr. Lektroluv’s label and will definitely become a very big tune, too. Includes remixes by Boris Dlugosch, Polymorphic and Gomma Records label-head MUNK. |
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LIEBE DETAIL (GERMANY) | |
DEMAC/MOTORUNIT & CASSIQUE (FEAT. NICO), TOM: Rivalry With Irony/Black Beauty 12″ (LIEBE 034EP) 12.00 Manchester-based Tom Demac hands in another winning track for the label. This is an addictive slice of heavyweight, modern house, fantastically produced beats and bass push throughout, while dubbed-out synths and a spine-tingling vocal make this party track really shine. German trio Motorunit & Cassique’s ominous “Black Beauty” features tongue-in-cheek vocals from British boy Nico. It’s a deep, tribal workout — seamlessly melting tough house club beats with a Balearic melodic vibe. |
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LIGHT IN THE ATTIC | |
BIRKIN, JANE: Di Doo Dah CD (LITA 055CD) 15.00 “Di Doo Dah is the first true solo album from British-born actress, model, singer, mother, and French national treasure, Jane Birkin. Emerging as a creative and beatific force in London’s swinging ’60s, she met Parisian provocateur Serge Gainsbourg in 1968 on the film set of Slogan and birthed one of the most fantastic creative collaborations the world has ever known. After the 1969 duet album Je T’Aime…Moi Non Plus (LITA 048) and the landmark L’Histoire De Melody Nelson (LITA 040) Jane was ready for her own namesake debut. Di Doo Dah sees Birkin, Gainsbourg, and co-conspirator Jean-Claude Vannier (L’Enfant Assassin Des Mouches) meld Jane’s fragile vocals with jazz, rock, and lush orchestral textures: a perfect album for living and loving. Light In The Attic’s definitive version of Di Doo Dah is available for the first time in North America on CD (featuring two bonus tracks), with original artwork, unseen photographs, and extensive liner notes by renowned music journalist Andy Beta (Spin, The FADER). With full cooperation and insight from Birkin herself — not to mention French lyrics and English translations — this reissue truly allows listeners to delve into the album’s witty and frank world of sex, sin, voyeurism, motorcycles, Brighton, and banana boats. So what exactly does Di Doo Dah mean? ‘Nothing at all!’ replied Birkin in a BBC interview from 1973. But this album is far from a throwaway, showing a maturity and musical understanding from all parties involved. By the early ’70s, this lady was already a mother and very much aware of traditional gender roles as well as the sexual revolution — clearly able to plumb the necessary emotional depths required to translate Serge’s madcap lyrics and songs. It is true that in Birkin, Serge had finally found his match and most transcendent muse. And although the couple eventually went their separate ways, they left us all whistling much more than ‘Zipp-a-Dee-Doo-Dah’ in the process.” |
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MACRO RECORDINGS (GERMANY) | |
GOLDMANN, STEFAN: The Maze 12″ (MACROM 020EP) 12.00 The Maze tears boredom apart. The Maze burns the Declaration Of Dependence. The Maze takes the original rough, sweaty house sound of liberation to distorted excess and slams it right in your face. The Maze is house not just with a capital H, but with a capital O, U, S and E, too. Recorded in one take in an all-analog set up, Stefan Goldmann hooked up drum machines, distortion pedals and a Theremin-controlled fuzz box for the ultimate screaming machine jam. |
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MAGNETRON (NETHERLANDS) | |
STAYGOLD: Video Kick Snare 12″ (MAG 012EP) 12.00 Swedish producer duo Staygold is about to set the world on fire. Carli Löf and Måns Glaeser have been working on their debut album, and have also been working with Switch, Diplo, and others. Their alias Savage Skulls is most known. This first worldwide release of track “Video Kick Snare” is remixed by none other than Slagsmålsklubben, Hugg & Pepp and Dada Life. No need for more promo-talk. This is big! |
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MANHAND | |
VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA: The Momentary Aviary LP (MH 096LP) 17.00 “Numbered edition of 600 copies. Recorded live in London and Cambridge on the 26th and 27th of August 2007 by Michael Flower, Adam Davenport, John Godbert (Total, Herb Diamante), Bridget Hayden and Keith Wood (Hush Arbors, Current 93). Massive drum & bird trip with melting brain guitar and drone psychosis.” |
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MV & EE: The Hick Smoke LP (MH 112LP) 19.00 “This was originally released by COM in an edition of 99 copies on CDR. Here it is for Manhand’s new vinyl campaign remastered and re-edited by MV in SPECTRASOUND. Comes in a one-side screenprinted / one side paste on with an insert, bagged. Featuring contributions from The Golden Road (Doc Dunn/Mike Smith), Jeremy Earl (Woods), Asa Irons (Feathers, Witch).” |
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MBELEKTRONICS (BELGIUM) | |
DAVY DEE: The Yellow Screen 12″ (MBELEK 061EP) 12.00 Davy Dee presents the perfect combination of house and techno. “The Yellow Screen” twists and turns. Make sure to listen to all 6 minutes of it, because the end is not as you would expect. A splendid remix from Kaiserdisco brings a more minimal feel to the track while still keeping enough of the splendid original version to remain groovy. “Sweet Violence” has many great sounds and striking bass-lines, giving you that vintage warehouse-techno feeling. |
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BAILEY, MARCO: Pet Shop Bitch 12″ (MBELEK 062EP) 12.00 Marco Bailey presents a fresh-sounding track that is truly genre-surpassing and can be played in many different DJ sets. The track features many ’80s influences such as the typical snare-sound, funky bass line and disco strings, without losing its techno feel. This record will get any crowd going! The original track, together with two more techno-oriented remixes by top-notch artists Christian Smith and Angstrom & Aalberg make this release a must-have. |
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METALHEADZ (UK) | |
COMMIX: Be True (Burial Remix) 12″ (METH 013S-EP) 10.00 “Limited edition sampler from forthcoming Commix Re:Call To Mind album. One side has album artwork icon etched on it. Burial’s Untrue LP is, as far as we’re concerned, the best electronic album of any genre in the last 10 or even 15 years. It’s dripping with understated euphoria and completely individual. We knew we wanted to have him involved and were over the moon when he accepted. The results speak for themselves really: a truly timeless piece of music.” |
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MEXICAN SUMMER | |
BLACK RYDER, THE: Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride 2LP (MEX 044LP) 24.00 Deluxe full-color gatefold double LP, hand-numbered edition of 2000. “With auspicious sensual textured layers of melody and guitars, both Scott Von Ryper and chanteuse Miss Aimee Nash weave a densely rich tapestry of love, sex and death, mountains, oceans and astral travel. They indicate the way to the heart of life the centre of our humanity in ritual space, in crafted chords, in veiled waves of sonic tone and drone. Rich dangerous opiated swirling attacks on the third eye lysergic and lupine in equal measure. Once drawn in by this perfume its essence stays.” — Ian Astbury (The Cult) |
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TAMARYN: The Waves LP (MEX 057LP) 22.00 “Following a spate of EPs and singles comes the debut album by Tamaryn, entitled The Waves. After collaborating with producer Rex John Shelverton (ex-Vue/The Audience/Portraits of Past), Tamaryn left New York and settled in Rex’s hometown of San Francisco to record their first full-length. Whereas Tamaryn’s earlier material was rooted in traditional goth-psych overtones, The Waves represents an incredible step forward in terms of her approach. These nine songs combine driving pop and lush balladry with layered, guitar-driven ethereal atmospheres, against which Tamaryn’s voice, languid and restrained, melts against its surface. The Waves is a masterful collision of hypnotic psychedelia and bittersweet dream pop.” Hand-numbered, limited edition of 2000. |
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DUNGEN: Skit I Altt LP (MEX 061LP) 22.00 Domestic vinyl version on pink vinyl with full-color printed inner sleeve. Hand-numbered edition of 3000. “In what feels like a very short decade, Sweden’s Dungen has mutated at a furious pace. Longtime critical darlings, Dungen have outdone themselves again on their fifth LP. While the album is stuffed with concise songs (nothing running beyond five minutes) there are already candidates aplenty here for Dungen’s live blotter-fueled sonic maelstroms. ”Hogdalstoppen’ (named for a massive junkyard near Ejstes’ flat) is already a massive instrumental track that we’ve started expanding between 5 and 15 minutes,’ Ejstes says. Perhaps the instrumental ‘Blandband’ (trans. ‘Mixtape’) exemplifies the Dungen philosophy best. A mélange of bright piano chords, snaking lead guitar, and weightless woodwinds, it twists and turns like a forest path. The song was inspired, says Ejstes, ‘by a friend made me a cassette recently and I missed that antiquated way of listening. I like finding out about music fast but at the same time, I like listening to whole albums. I conceive Dungen music in that same way: side one, side two, a journey.’ Enjoy the trip.” |
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MIRAU (GERMANY) | |
ERDBEERSCHNITZEL: To An End 12″ (MIRAU 011EP) 12.00 The amiably-deranged Erdbeerschnitzel is the alias of Tim Keiling, half of whose life has been spent making music. “To An End” is full of glittering soul essence that guarantees a perspiring spell of hopping and swaying, and “I Wonder” bursts forth with funk euphoria. This release comes with a hypnotic Tuff City Kids (Phillip Lauer and Gerd Janson) remix. Every time they meet at the P&G Music Factory, these kids show a love of cheesy snares and cheeky vocals. |
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MISSISSIPPI RECORDS | |
PAPAGIKA, MARIKA: The Further The Flame, The Worse It Burns MeLP (MR 051LP) 14.00 “Marika Papagika was one of Greek music’s greatest vocalists. She recorded 225 performances between 1918 & 1929. This LP features some of her most mystical & moving. Instrumental accompaniment is provided by various combinations of cymbalon, cello, violin & clarinet. Includes a booklet featuring all known photographs of Marika & extensive liner notes by Ian Nagoski, which shed much deserved light on one of the deepest artists of the Rembetika & Greek folk music scene. Record is housed in an old school tip on sleeve.” Includes 12-page booklet. |
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L’ORCHESTRE NATIONAL A DE LA REPUBLIQUE DU MALI:L’Orchestre National A de la Republique du Mali LP (MR 076LP) 14.00 “The National A Orchestra was founded by the new government at Mali’s independence. They later divided into A and B formations. The A Orchestra was led by Keletigui Diabate, a multi-instrumental virtuoso. An album of incredible Malian music reissued for the first time since the 1970s. Eight tracks with beautiful vocals and guitar work. This is the second in a series of six Mali music LPs we will be reissuing from Sterns.” |
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MOCHILLA | |
ASTATKE, MULATU: Timeless 2LP (MO 007LP) 21.00 2LP version. “Packaged in a beautiful, five-color gatefold jacket printed on brown chip board. Ethiopian Mulatu Astatke is a giant in African music. He is the inventor of Ethio-jazz. His work has inspired many imitations, many admirers and a whole new generation of fans. His music veers from the sublime tezetas to the most foot-stomping funk. The award-winning and invaluable Ethiopiques series has shed a light into a vital and amazing music scene that existed in the Addis Ababa in the ’60s. The composer/arranger of that era was Mulatu Astatke. On February 1st he blessed the sold-ut Luckmann Theatre with an amazing show. He shared the stage with veterans of the Los Angeles jazz scene Bennie Maupin, Azar Lawrence and Phil Ranelin. The performance is beautiful, showcasing many classics as well as some new material. Nas, Damien Marley, Cut Chemist, Quantic, Madlib and K’naan all have felt the influence of Ethio-jazz. This special edition 2LP honors Mulatu and his music. Part one of a three-part series.” |
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MT. ST. MTN. | |
STANDARD TRIBESMEN, THE: Waiting/Young Lovers/Luv In A Car 7″ (MTN 006EP) 7.50 “What started as the one-man Sores side-project of Julian Elorduy IV (MAYYORS), Standard Tribesmen solidified as a skronky, rock n’ roll 5-piece (featuring MAYYORS’ Chris Woodhouse on bass) that crashed about Northern California for a couple of years before imploding. Luckily Woodhouse put a smoldering handful of tracks to tape, three of which are available on this very limited slab of wax. Packaging consists of a hand-punched outer cover with a 2 color offset insert featuring artwork by Jay Howell. ” “If you plotted The Sonics, the Contortions, and Feedtime on a graph, the Standard Tribesmen are somewhere in between that triangle, shading a bit toward the Sonics’ corner.” — DJ Rick |
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NERO’S NEPTUNE | |
KOERNER, SPIDER JOHN: March 1963 CD (NN 006CD) 15.00 A major archival discovery, taped March 24, 1963 for a Milwaukee, Wisconsin radio program, on the eve of the very same day that the seminal Blues, Rags & Hollers LP by Koerner, Ray & Glover was created. Spider John Koerner is the man who first introduced a young Bob Dylan to the 12-string guitar, a bona fide legend who is acknowledged as an influence by artists as diverse as John Lennon, Beck, The Doors & Dylan himself. Nearly 50 years ago, Paul Nelson, writing in the Little Sandy Review and Sing Out respectively, said that “Koerner’s art is like Chaplin’s, as great and lasting as it is entertaining,” while calling him “the most innovatively brilliant acoustic blues musician of his generation.” In the year 2010 — seldom performing and now in his 70s — the reclusive Koerner is “one of the world’s greatest living practitioners of traditional American folk music.” It is with enormous pride that Nero’s Neptune presents this long-lost piece of American musical history. |
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KOERNER, SPIDER JOHN: Music Is Just A Bunch Of Notes/The Secret Of Sleep CD/DVD (NN 013CD) 22.00 Music Is Just A Bunch Of Notes was cut in 1972 in an upstairs storefront building above a coffee house on Minneapolis’ West Bank. One of the counterculture’s first entirely DIY efforts, it was engineered by 12-string guitar legend Dave “Snaker” Ray and released on his fledgling Sweet Jane label. All of the songs are Koerner originals; the tunes are sequenced with a cinematic eye and interspersed with weird spoken-word bits. The album includes several mainstays of John’s repertoire, including the timeless “Everybody’s Goin’ For The Money,” a song that sums up the uniquely Koernerian brand of existentialism as tidily as any. This CD is mastered from the original tapes and is reissued for the first time since the rare 1972 release. The DVD disc features a previously unreleased 16mm movie made by Bruce Rubenstein, David Rubenstein & The Secret Of Sleep. In it, Percival (John Koerner) gets a call in which he’s told to go on a mysterious quest. Percy and his buddy (Willie Murphy) wander around in various utopian settings, but in the end, they return to the city to contend with reality. Digitally restored in 2009, released on DVD for the first time, this is a tremendous bit of lost holy grail for Koerner enthusiasts. NTSC region 1 DVD (run time: 60 minutes; audio: mono; black & white; aspect ratio: 4×3 letterbox). |
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PARR, CHARLIE: When The Devil Goes Blind CD (NN 016CD) 15.00 The legendary Charlie Parr’s spellbinding finger picking and slide techniques on guitar and banjo place him front & center among the world’s foremost string-benders. His blood & guts songs are infused with an originality, integrity and heart rarely (if ever) displayed by contemporaries operating in or around pre-war blues traditions. Further, Parr’s performing career (which began in 1988) has taken him from Twin Cities bars and coffeehouses — studying resident greats like Dave Ray and Spider John Koerner — to the year 2010, where he’s enjoying an ever-growing fan base comprised of folk-blues purists, American Primitive beard-scratchers, jam band-lovin’ neo-hippies, and, well, just about every type of person imaginable. Charlie’s songs betray (in the words of one writer) a “sense that the gamblers, union workers, criminals and sinners that wander around his songs are peering right over your shoulder.” His late father grew up during the Depression, riding freight trains through places like the Piedmont region of North Carolina, rendering the music of that area all the more visceral to Charlie. Charlie’s parents were union workers and picket line fixtures during bitter labor strikes in the mid-1980s at Austin, Minnesota’s Hormel plant, and Charlie got himself a first-hand view of what those old songs were talking about. When The Devil Goes Blind is his first release on Nero’s Neptune Records. Produced by Bo Ramsey (former guitarist with Greg Brown and Lucinda Williams), Charlie’s first nationally-distributed record is easily his most fully-realized effort to date. Buy it, and then go see Charlie when he comes to your town. Find out why Greg Brown has compared him with Dave Van Ronk, and even the inscrutable Spider John Koerner has given him the proverbial thumbs up. As everyone seems to say about Charlie, he’s “the real deal.” |
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NINJA TUNE (UK) | |
VA: Ninja Tune XX Vol. 1 2CD (ZEN 160CD) 17.50 “The Ninja Tune label is twenty years old and what we’ve put together to celebrate this momentous anniversary is not a retrospective but what we’re calling a futurespective. This 2CD release is part 1 of a compilation of new exclusive tracks and remixes, not just from Ninja artists, but from some of the biggest names in contemporary electronic music. Part 1 includes tracks from Two Fingers with the absolutely pummeling opener ‘Fools’, and many more new and exclusive tracks from the likes of Zomby, Dorian Concept, Roots Manuva, The Bug, to name but a few. It also sees the return of Big Dada Sound with the cream of the label’s UK MCs riding a Bless Beats rhythm. With remixes from Flying Lotus, Coldcut, Diplo, Benga, and more! This is a release not to be missed.” |
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VA: Ninja Tune XX Vol. 2 2CD (ZEN 160R-CD) 17.50 “Part 2 of the Ninja XX compilations includes another feast of music with highlights coming in the form of Autechre’s minimalist remix of The Bug’s ‘Skeng’; the Floating Points Ensemble’s epic soul-jazz number ‘Post Suite’; the exquisite link-up between Lou Rhodes and The Cinematic Orchestra on ‘One Good Thing’; Gaslamp Killer’s vicious re-work of DJ Vadim’s classic ‘Terrorist’; the truly far-out ‘Foley Room’ reinterpretation from the Kronos Quartet; Mala’s dubphonic interpretation of Andreya Triana’s ‘A Town Called Obsolete’; and music from the likes of Daedelus, Bonobo, Roots Manuva, Anti-Pop Consortium. Jaga Jazzist, and more!” |
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NOT NOT FUN | |
ROBEDOOR: Pacific Drift 7″ (NNF 207EP) 6.00 “Way too much is made these days of looking back, memory, social network fantasias. What a bummer, cause reality’s a bad experience and 2012 is on deck; we deserve whatever we get. Evolve or erode, dudes. LA visigoths Robedoor slip into another sinkhole of voidist shadow-rock with Pacific Drift, three new tracks recorded across the last greylight winter. The A side stirs into a jazzy apocalypto depression with flute-keys and an overdriven OM groove that spirals in a web of distortion before drifting out to sea/silence. The flip finds a pair of deeply mutated RBDR genetic codes, one a mantric death-punk protest song cloaked in smoke and speed, the other a 3 AM slow-motion soul implosion set to upright piano, descending bass, tear garden guitar, and acid rain. The coast is a ghost, the city seethes. Mixed and mastered by M. Geddes Gengras at Green Machine in east LA. Black vinyl 7 inches in sleeves with corpse-diver artwork and a band photo by Caitlin C. Mitchell. Edition of 500.” |
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POCAHAUNTED: Threshold/Echolocation 7″ (NNF 209EP) 7.00 “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, bands to solo projects — it’s all the same arc. And here it is, the final RIP action by star-crossed NNF institution Pocahaunted and the only recorded document of the final triforce-vocal line-up featuring Leyna Noel on keys/crooning/dance magic. On the final day of their 3-week spring ’10 US tour, the band booked a session at Louder Studios in San Francisco with Tim Green (Nation Of Ulyssess/Fucking Champs, etc) and it marks Poca’s first & last time working in a proper studio setting. The results blaze/amaze. ‘Threshold’ was written on the road and melts through a river mistress intro before revving into a tense kraut-funk burner with catchy (and surprisingly non-FX-soaked) femme-soul vocables cascading down from every side. The B, ‘Echolocation,’ is a tranced ghost-reggae comedown ballad and classic slow-dance live staple. Nimble bass maneuvering by whimsy princess Diva Dompe leads the melody up through the choruses into the torch-song bridge climax that leaves everybody on the floor. Roll the credits, this is the end. Black vinyl 7 inches in sleeves with collage/paint artwork by Manda B Brown and Diva Dompe, plus a photocopied insert. Edition of 500.” |
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PERLON (GERMANY) | |
PORTABLE: This Life Of Illusion 12″ (PERL 083EP) 14.00 Alan Abrahams is Portable and this is his second 12″ for Perlon. After spending some time in London and Berlin, Alan recently moved to Lisbon, where he continuously works on his very own definition of house. While A-side “Life Magically” is a stripped-down mental monster, the B-side offers the perfect love song entitled “Find Me.” It’s all about the soul. |
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POKER FLAT (GERMANY) | |
VA: Shaping Elements: Poker Flat Recordings Volume 8 2×12″ (PFR 026LP) 20.00 2×12″ vinyl version, featuring six tracks from the compilation, all exclusively produced for this album. Artists: Steve Bug, Jay Tripwire and Katherine Larr, Donnacha Costello, Patrick Chardronnet, D’Julz and Benny Rodrigues. |
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REMOTE AREA (NETHERLANDS) | |
MAKCIM & MANAGEMEND: Fur Cage 12″ (REMOTE 028EP) 12.00 Makcim is known for producing and playing deep, rhythmic, sexy music. His music partner in crime — Managemend (aka Roel van Otterdijk) is always on the hunt for brilliant loops of chunky, deep, soulful, minimalistic sounds. “Fur Cage” presents the deeper, funkier side of tech-house with its rich, dark chocolate vocal snippets melted over a belching bass. “Fraggle Stick Car” is where hi-hats peak on top of warm percussion to create a rolling dance rhythm packed with warped sounds. |
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RESONANT/STATIC CARAVAN (UK) | |
ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O.:Absolutely Freak Out (Zap Your Mind!) 2CD (STATIC 004CD) 17.00 2010 repress, originally released in 2002. Double CD reissue of the deleted LP (originally released 2/01), with 3 bonus tracks (approx 44 extra minutes). “Who are Acid Mothers Temple? A freak-out group for the 21st century, founded in 1996 by members of the Acid Mothers Temple soul-collective. Led by Kawabata Makoto (Musica Transonic. Toho Sara, etc.) a 100% genuine cult band that are on a mission to give you massive frontal lobe damage. Imagine spending an acid tinged weekend up a Japanese mountain with only a battered tape player for company. The sounds emanate as and when they wish, it might be a snatch of ear shredding guitar noise, an ambient electronic pulse, traditional folk or the sweet sound of a handmaiden warbling ..whatever you hear it’s never boring and you never guess what’s coming next. Take two labels: Resonant (Do Make Say Think, Tarentel, Jessica Bailiff, Kepler) and Static Caravan (E-Vax, Isan, Magnetophone, Sonna, Tarentel, Sybarite), a love of Japanese underground music, and what do you get? A brand new 124 minute trip through the coolest weird and wonderful sounds from the AMT mothership.” |
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ROOT STRATA | |
PITRE, DUANE: Origin CD (RS 068CD) 15.00 “Now available on CD in an edition of 500. The entirety of Origin’s musical material is comprised of the vibrating strings of Pitre’s ensemble of bowed ‘harmonic-guitars,’ which are unconventionally strung electric guitars (utilizing multi-unisons) tuned to intervals corresponding with the Harmonic Series, a.k.a. Just Intonation. No effects processing (pre or post) was used in this recording. All effect-like qualities result from the multi-unison strings (phasing), sympathetic vibrations, combination/difference tones (of the chosen just tuning), and natural acoustic phenomena as such.” |
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DATE PALMS: Of Psalms LP (RS 079LP) 16.00 “Music for the rain forests of the moon, straight out of Oakland CA. Of Psalms is the debut album by Date Palms, the duo of Marielle Jackobsons and Gregg Kowalsky. The two have birthed a suite of slowed-down music of the spheres, with a canopy of glowing fog and a heavy narcotic bass pulse that keeps the whole thing rooted straight into the earth. It’s a heady mix of alap paced violin phrases, jewel-toned keys, harp swells, distorted tapes and ever present bass waves all crafted with precision detail in a humid space that leaves a dreamy imprint in the mind long after waking. Although separately Jackobsons and Kowalsky have made inroads into these types of landscapes before (Gregg with his Tape Chants series and Marielle with MYRMYR & Darwinsbitch), nothing really compares the world of Of Psalms that the two created together with its perfect balance of micro and macro, inner and outer, cosmic and earth bound, casting some sort of old world magic on everyone within range.” |
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RUNNING BACK (GERMANY) | |
TENSNAKE: In The End (I Want You To Cry) 12″ (RB 015EP) 12.00 Last limited repress of 300 units in the original cover. Rooted in New York’s sweaty boogie dreams and with a soft spot for dazzling house music, In The End stays true to Tensnake’s juicy techniques. The title track concisely defines the dilemma of lovers: in the end, someone always has to cry. “Holding Back My Love” is a slow-motion disco robot bomb with Tensnake on the mic. “TheThenUnknown” melts the moodiness of early Factory records with the atmosphere of Kenneth Dixon Jr.’s “Misled.” |
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RVNG INTERNATIONAL | |
PSYCHIC ILLS: FRKWYS Vol. 4 12″ (FRKWYS 004EP) 17.00 “The fourth volume of FRKWYS sees the work of Psychic Ills reinterpreted by an ancestry of artists that reflect the New York City group’s artistic trajectory over the last seven years of avant exploration. True to the FRKWYS series, each artist selected to collaborate with Psychic Ills helped pioneer a new realm in electronic music. This volume is as much a testament to Psychic Ills’ effort to push their sound forward through new eyes and ears as it is their interest linking the lineage of the artists involved. The record reads like a family tree, its roots firmly planted in psychedelic German soils, the trunk a techno pillar, and branches tangled in the experimental ether. Almost a year in the making, FRKWYS Vol. 4 is a detailed document of like-minded communication from afar and close. Psychic Ills first initiated contact with Hans-Joachim Irmler, founding member of German kraut-fathers Faust, who delivers a primal/industrial strength double take on ‘Witchcraft Breaker’ from Dins, the band’s first full length. Detroit techno progenitor Juan Atkins was contacted on an unlikely whim and immediately responded to ‘Mantis,’ from Ills’ second album Mirror Eye, with a boiler room deep mix that whumps to a soulful bass line and scans 180 phase fields. Psychic Ills tour companion Gibby Haynes of Butthole Surfers grips ‘I Take You As My Wife Again,’ another track from Mirror Eye, and hypnotically oscillates it into dark dimensions of synthesized rhythm. This volume of FRKWYS is limited to 550 vinyl copies, packaged in thick black jackets with a two color adhesive wrap.” |
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HISTORICS: Infinidelity Part 2 12″ (RVNGNL 003.5EP) 11.00 “Metropolitan Indian and RVNG Intl. present the Historics Infinidelity 12″ series. Inspired by a short story of the same name by author Chris Leo, Infinidelity offers ten songs from Historics’ late 2009 album debut, Strategies For Apprehension, transformed by an assembly of artists from the outer ether of the electronic music world. Infinidelity Part 2 locks into the groove in hit form with a ‘Taverns’ remix by Sweden’s Jackpot, a track that neatly pits the vocal track against a jack-happy beat and arpeggios that joyfully amp up the outro. Kool Keith pops his head in the UFO! remix of ‘Take it to the Top,’ making it cool to rap about Eric Clapton over the hyper-dub marching band madness. The 12″ continues on its eclectic way with a metallic revision of ‘Things Alright’ by RVNG sound racketeers Allez-Allez and ends with a Kool Keith redux and some Miami Bass/saxophone skeeze with Montreal’s CFCF at the helm of another ‘Take it to the Top’ remix.” |
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SHITKATAPULT (GERMANY) | |
SOUL CENTER: GE 02 12″ (STRIKE 119EP) 12.00 Alongside the release of Thomas Brinkmann’s Soul Center album General Eclectic (STRIKE 118CD) on Shitkatapult, the Berlin label releases the second 12″ vinyl for the vinyl nerd, club fan, DJ and collector. GE 02 features 4 techno-funk greats by one of the biggest German techno producers from the early beginnings of the genre. These tracks are fundamentally moving and do not need more advise from here. Don’t fake the cake. |
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SOFRITO SUPER SINGLES (UK) | |
VA: Sofrito Super Singles 12″ (SOFRSS 001EP) 15.00 “New limited edition series from Sofrito: Sofrito Super Singles, which will bring to light the finest reissues of rare and forgotten tropical dancefloor sounds. The debut release celebrates the Afro-disco and boogie scene of South Africa — where Salsoul meets Soweto. Comes housed in a new look Sofrito house sleeve. The three track EP features Teaspoon & The Waves — led by veteran alto player Teaspoon Ndelu. They released one album in 1980, covering a mix of disco and funk sounds for the SA dancefloors. ‘Oh yeh Soweto’ is a cheeky version of Lamont Dozier’s ‘Going Back To My Roots’ — changing the lyrics and toughening up the beats, but with the same killer riffs. ‘Saturday Night Special’ is from the same LP, a spaced out Afro disco groove with excellent percussion and psychedelic synths, re-edited by the Sofrito team. The B side features a track by the Nzimande Allstars — another mysterious group of session musicians. The drawn out groove of ‘Highway Sporo Disco’ fuses a heavy disco backing with jive guitar and stellar horns and organ for a unique taste of the underground sound of the Cape. Coming up soon on Sofrito Super Singles will be a slice of Trinidad Soca Disco and some raw Haitian sounds.” |
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SOUL JAZZ RECORDS (UK) | |
VA: Future Bass CD (SJR 234CD) 18.00 “Soul Jazz Records has brought together some of the UK’s most pioneering producers of the day to create an album that can only be defined as future music. Features all new exclusive tracks from a set of artists at the height of their respective careers, alongside heavyweight new-wave producers. Swings from the off-kilter, hypnotic post-house bass music of Four Tet (one of the most hyped tracks of late) to the boundary pushing, genre busting, post-dubstep of Mala and Coki (the two halves of Digital Mystikz). Also includes truly unique tracks from Untold as well as Kevin Martin/The Bug’s latest incarnation, Black Chow. Future music! Future Bass! Future Bass is packaged in a limited-edition, deluxe plastic casing with a set of free postcards.” |
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VA: Future Bass 3LP (SJR 234LP) 26.00 3LP version. “Comes on super-loud, super-heavyweight triple vinyl, mastered at Transition.” |
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SOUVENIR MUSIC (GERMANY) | |
TIEFSCHWARZ: Melted Chocolate 1 12″ (SOUVENIR 029EP) 12.00 Tiefschwarz’s rework of “Stones” has the rhythmic intricacies of a fully-automated machine. Layering on top of this bed of percussion are stabs of vocals and melodic synthesizers that build to a fantastic climax at the song’s mid-point. “Hypnotic” is a term that is thrown about somewhat in these genres; this time, it has a rightful home. Also included is Guido Schneider’s remix of the Tiefschwarz track “Find Me,” which features Cassy. |
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STIL VOR TALENT (GERMANY) | |
CHANNEL X: X-Files Remixed 12″ (SVT 049EP) 12.00 After the release of their debut album X-Files (SVT 045CD), Channel X get their first full-on remix package on Stil vor Talent. First up is “Freak Show” — Format B create an equally thumping and mad array of drunk trumpets and dizzy beats with a clumsy bass line. Oliver Koletzki puts his magic house fingers onto “Snug Descent,” featuring Jake The Rapper. Oliver turns the track into a Caribbean house anthem that is not only super-groovy, but also deeply delicate. |
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TAIGA | |
BEVERLIN II, BRYCE: Seizing Fate By The Throat LP (TAIGA 013LP)22.00 Bryce Beverlin II is a prolific multidisciplinary artist based in Minneapolis. His primary discipline is music — specifically, freely-improvised vocals and percussion. Seizing Fate By The Throat is a distillation, the spirit of 15 years of spittle and brass vapors collected in this studio recording from March 14, 2010. Quietly tinkering with an array of metal, plastic and wooden objects, Beverlin draws the listener in only to reveal that he is unlocking the cage of a life-threatening animal. Suddenly: gnash, gurgle, grunt, the sounds of saliva smacking on hand-peeled lips. His performances overwhelm, frighten and suck the air out of the room, exorcising burden and frustration. This recording captures every detail in extreme close-up from inside the artist’s mouth to the tips of his fingers. Mastered by James Plotkin, cut direct to metal and pressed on 200 gram virgin vinyl, Seizing Fate By The Throat comes packaged in a full-color gloss varnished jacket with spot metallic printing and liner notes printed in the pocket. Limited to 300 copies only and co-released with Beverlin’s label Insides Music. |
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THRILL JOCKEY | |
WHITE HILLS: Stolen Stars Left For No One 12″ (THR 012.45EP) 14.00 “Comprised of three new tracks, Stolen Stars Left for No One was recorded live with no overdubs. The 12″ is an edition of 1,000 copies with art inspired by bootleg LPs of the ’70s. White labels and white jackets with a printed vintage paper wrap (we had to call many printers to find the old stock). All the tracks were recorded in the fall and winter of 2010 with drumming supplied by long-time collaborators Kid Millions, Antronhy, and Lee Hinshaw.” |
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WONG, DUSTIN: Infinite Love 2CD/DVD (THR 251CD) 17.00 “Dustin Wong was a founding member of the Baltimore bands Ponytail and Ecstatic Sunshine. Infinite Love is one single 40 minute track, presented in two different versions (‘Brother’ and ‘Sister’) each starting the same, but taking a different path to the end. The CD version contains 2CDs + a DVD in a 6 panel fold out package. The DVD features a film to accompany the music, with either ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister’ audio.” |
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WONG, DUSTIN: Infinite Love 2LP/DVD (THR 251LP) 19.00 “The LP version contains 2LPs + a DVD presented in a gatefold jacket with a download coupon. Side A starts Infinite Love off. Side B & Side C are the alternate endings (‘Brother’ or ‘Sister’). Side D is an exclusive bonus EP, Indigo and Crystal. The DVD features a film to accompany the music, with either ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister’ audio.” |
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TOMPKINS SQUARE | |
SMITH, SEAN: Christmas CD (TSQ 2486CD) 13.00 “Accomplished Bay Area guitarist Sean Smith has released several albums under his own name, and has produced and contributed to the compilations Berkeley Guitar and Beyond Berkeley Guitar. His latest album Christmas is a gorgeous contemporary acoustic guitar recording featuring fourteen well-known Christmas classics and two Sean Smith originals. Considering the vast amount of syrupy instrumental music in this genre, Christmas is a most welcome holiday album, and one which could well become a classic for many years to come.” |
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TRAPEZ (GERMANY) | |
SAFRAS, MIHALIS: Berliner EP 12″ (TRAPEZ LTD094) 12.00 The Greek icon Mihalis Safras returns with a powerful 4-track EP. The title track is a masterpiece of post-Chicago sexiness — sensual and very rhythmic. The DJ Madskillz remix is reduced and funky dub techno. “Sirano” puts more emphasis on the Latin groove factor and is a track for people who know how to dance — seductive and hypnotic, a perfect flipside track. |
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TREIBSTOFF (GERMANY) | |
BROCKSIEPER, FALKO: Frantic Formula 12″ (TREIB 093EP) 12.00 Falko Brocksieper is a master of small gestures with big impact. “Frantic Formula” harks back to the classic expertise of Brocksieper’s oeuvre, being light-footed and pushing forward at the same time. The playful and yet stern sequences of the EP’s title track are the best examples of this, trotting along in a relaxed manner without ever deciding if they just wind down or start to run. Healthy bass and friendly harmonies that avoid hokum. |
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TRIP RECORDS | |
MINGUS, CHARLES: Mingus Moods LP (TLP 5017LP) 11.50 Exact repro reissue of this late ’70s grey area release of Mingus, Dannie Richmond and pianist Hampton Hawes on a 1957 studio date. Two originals by Mingus, “Dizzy Moods” (an homage to Dizzy Gillespie’s “Woody ‘n’ You”on and “Back Home Blues,” and the heavy cover art makes this a nice conversation piece. |
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TYPE (UK) | |
MUELLER, JON: The Whole LP+CD (TYPE 074LP) 20.00 LP version. Includes an exclusive bonus CD of 30-minute album, The Whole — mixed by Olivia Block. The Whole might be avant-percussionist Jon Mueller’s first album for the Type imprint, but it’s far from his scene debut. Working in a plethora of bands for many years (including Collections Of Colonies Of Bees and Volcano Choir with Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver), Mueller has honed his sound to a distinct peak, and over the course of umpteen solo albums and collaborations has cemented his status as one of experimental music’s most revered drummers. Following his epic works Metals (a collection of classic heavy metal rhythms) and the expansive and surprisingly beautiful Physical Changes, both for the esteemed Table Of The Elements label, Mueller embarked on the heady process of creating a “defining” work. Intrigued by ideas of simplicity and acoustic sound, Mueller’s research drew him to Shaker crafts and quilt-making, both deceptively simple practices rooted in the transmission of ideas. Over time, these experiences were interpreted in many different ways, almost certainly inaccurately, and this miscommunicated simplicity is at the very center of The Whole. Through a rolling, unamplified snare drum (a piece of kit perfected over a year of intense practice), booming low toms, hammered dulcimer and his own voice, Mueller creates a sound that is wholly original and totally beguiling. There are traces of folk traditions and lines drawn to the avant garde idiom, but Mueller’s sound is so singularly perfected, it is hard to connect him to specific peers. The Whole is an album that sounds like both a relic of the past and an echo of the future. The ideas are anchored in memory and tradition, yet the sound is alien and sometimes impenetrable. Over time, as the messages are stripped back, an unabashedly gorgeous piece of work is revealed. Like a good book, it requires patience and contemplation to show its beating heart. |
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UNIVERSAL SOUND (UK) | |
E.M.A.K.: A Synthetic History Of E.M.A.K. 1982-88 2LP (US 038LP)21.00 Gatefold double vinyl version. “Soul Jazz/Universal Sound are releasing this stunning new compilation of underground German electronice experimentalists, E.M.A.K., Cologne’s synth-core/minimal-wave/Deutsche electronische group who made a stunning set of radical records in the 1980s (as featured on Soul Jazz’s Deutsche Electronische Musik). Joining the dots between German electronic experimentalists such as Cluster, Conrad Schnitzler, Tangerine Dream, the synth-core/minimal-wave of Germany’s electronic New Wave such as D.A.F. (itself influenced by UK groups Cabaret Voltaire, Human League and The Normal) and with hints of the cosmic disco of Giorgio Moroder and Daniel Baldelli, Cologne’s E.M.A.K. remain one of electronic music’s best-kept secrets. After featuring on Soul Jazz Records’ Deutsche Electronische Musik compilation, Universal Sound follow through with this collection complete with exclusive text and photos. This is a compilation from a series of super-rare private press titles released in Germany in the 1980s.” |
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VEE JAY | |
MORGAN, LEE: Expoobident LP (VEEJAY 3015LP) 11.50 Hard bop quintet release with Art Blakey (drums), Eddie Higgins (piano), Art Davis (bass) and Clifford Jordan (tenor saxophone). Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1960. |
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WARP RECORDS (UK) | |
GONJASUFI: The Caliph’s Tea Party CD (WARP 206CD) 15.50 “It’s a tricky thing, re-working a completely unique and peerless piece of music. It is made even trickier when the personality behind the original music is so vivid and otherworldly that it is almost sure to continue to cast its long shadow over whatever new form is chosen for it. It didn’t hurt that Gonja had made fans out of quite a few incredibly talented artists. So, The Caliph’s Tea Party was slowly summoned to life. Like the Caliphs of the Ummahs of the 7th century, orchestrating affairs from their palaces, Gonjasufi has assembled a collection of artists in his musical world and invited them to exchange ideas. In this spirit, the symbolic and musical centerpiece of the album, as well as its namesake, is the result of the mutual admiration formed between Gonjasufi and Broadcast and The Focus Group. A bewitching, drastic re-working of ‘DedNd,’ it takes the form of a suite of layered compositions and radiophonic transmissions. Elsewhere, reinterpretations from new talents shine while established artists continue to surprise. Mark Pritchard (Harmonic313, Africa Hitech) channels Ennio Morricone with epic orchestral dystopia on his remix of ‘Ancestors’ while retaining the inherent gravity of Flying Lotus’ original production. Young guns Shlomo and Jeremiah Jae eschew their labeling as ‘beatmakers’ and tap into a fractured emotional core within ‘Change’ and ‘Holidays’, respectively, giving them new leases on life as subtly mechanized melancholia. Bibio smooths out the rough edges of ‘Candylane’ for a remix indebted to the 1980s R&B leftfield, while Brooklyn’s Bear In Heaven and Oneohtrix Point Never deal in heavy motorik meditations and ethereal musique concrete.” |
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GONJASUFI: The Caliph’s Tea Party LP (WARP 206LP) 20.50 LP version. |
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WOLF AND LAMB | |
NO REGULAR PLAY: Doesn’t Matter EP 12″ (WLM 012EP) 12.00 No Regular Play have an intrinsic understanding of body-moving music. Doesn’t Matter is their best collection of tracks yet, eclipsing the listener in a heart-warming bed of sound and slowly guiding them into a new musical understanding. The title track twists and writhes with acidic synths and fantastical sounds. Gadi Mizrahi and Deniz Kurtel pair up to deliver its electrifying remix, armed with an arsenal of raw and distorted elements that set the dancefloor alight. Also including a remix by Zev. |
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WOLFSKUIL LIMITED (GERMANY) | |
DUAL SHAMAN: Ocean Breeze 12″ (WLTD 011EP) 12.00 The Dual Shaman track “Ocean Breeze” was originally released on the digital-only label Wide Angle. Now, it is released on vinyl with some nice remixes. TJ Kong & Nunos Dos Santos take their time to build tension with a long intro, waving new sounds around the original theme. Roland M. Dill presents a slow builder with atmospheric melodies, layers of background noises and unusual percussion. |
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WOLFSKUIL RECORDS (GERMANY) | |
ESSER, DARKO: Balans Remixes Part 4 12″ (WOLF 017.4EP) 12.00 This is the fourth volume in a series of 12″s containing tracks from Darko Esser’s album Balans (WOLF 001CD/LP). For the fourth and last part, Darko has asked his good friends Gene Le Fosse, Giorgos Gatzigristos, Warren Fellow and Piet van Dongen for a proper rework. Gene delivers a solid roller, with a drive like an unstoppable techno train, while Giorgos’ version is experimental in nature, without losing sight of a proper hook. Quirky sounds, heavy effects. |
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FORCED EXPOSURE MAILORDER EMAIL UPDATES | |
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