| FORCED EXPOSURE MAILORDER UPDATE NEW RELEASES FOR THE WEEK OF 06/27/2011 |
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order from our NEW! beta site: 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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| 100% PURE (NETHERLANDS) | |
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TAPIA, RAMON: Talk To Me 12″ (PURE 069EP) 12.00 100% Pure welcomes Ramon Tapia to the label for their 69th release. Ramon has been creating a stir with his productions, with releases already on 95 imprints including Defected, Great Stuff Recordings, Hed Kandi, Noir Music and more. “Talk To Me” boasts a deliciously demanding bassline pumped with mechanical snippets, providing the perfect bed for the sexy, satin sighs and wicked whispers of this vocal nymph. Time to get talking and get hot on the club floor. |
| 8BIT (GERMANY) | |
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VA: Five Years 8Bit 2CD (8BIT 004CD) 17.00 Started in 2005 by Gorge and Nick Curly in Mannheim, 8Bit is celebrating its 5th birthday with a special compilation including more than 20 artists and exclusive tracks to be released only within this big package. Beside the hyped and sometimes boring minimal trend, 8Bit was one of the first imprints combining minimal, deep elements with danceable house grooves. In a short time, lots of turntablists and producers all over the world started paying attention to their releases and the “sound of Mannheim” was born. A lot of young and fresh artists like Johnny D, Ray Okpara and Veitengruber earned international attention and respect, like respected artists such as Oxia, Audiofly, Marcin Czubala or The Timewriter, who have since found a new home for their music on this label. With over 40 releases, compilations and Gorge’s debut album Mood, 8Bit puts out this huge 2CD compilation, including two non-stop DJ mixes from Oxia and Steffen Deux and only exclusive tracks from the 8Bit catalog. Other artists include: UGLH & Federico Locchi, Daniel Dubb, Alex Niggemann, Sash BBC & Caspar, Gorge, Liapin & Tjoma, Darius Syrossian, Stefano Libelle, Hector, Nick Curly, Dave Rosario, Chily, Quell, Manuel Moreno, Nico Lahs, Dubshape, Domy & Apoena, Dualton & Wollion, Rills, Joe Montana, Marcin Czubala & Metrobox and Steffen Deux. |
| ALLEGRE RECORDS | |
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RAY, RICARDO: Jala Jala Y Boogaloo LP (LPA 857LP) 11.50 Exact repro, originally released in 1967. Produced by Pancho Cristal (later of Tico Records). This is a Latin music album with Ricardo Ray joined by Bobby Cruz. Includes the hit single “Richie’s Jala-Jala.” |
| AMETHYST SUNSET | |
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HNY: Here You Can Touch The Sky LP (AS 010LP) 18.00 “Very excited to be able to present the vinyl issue of HNY’s Here You Can Touch The Sky. Over the past few years, HNY has released some stellar cassettes through Ranky Tanky, Not Not Fun, and Goaty Tapes when finding some free time from shredding with Social Junk. Here You Can Touch The Sky is a half hour full of haunting guitar + vocal work that was released in 2008 through Ranky Tanky and is now ready to shine on vinyl. This record collects all the songs from the original cassette release and includes one previously released instrumental. Limited to 500 copies on clear with orange splatter with a printed 11×11 insert with lyrics.” |
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IMAGINARY SOFTWOODS: The Path Of Spectrolite LP (AS 013LP) 18.00 “The Path of Spectrolite is the latest full length recording from Imaginary Softwoods. Early comments have praised this album and state that while this recording retains some of the icy drone sound from some previous Softwoods releases, this is a great progression and a bit more active. An extremely beautiful album entirely of sounds created by synthesizer and voice, this is an essential piece of the Imaginary Softwoods discography that you are sure to love. Pressed in an edition of 535.” |
| AREA REMOTE (NETHERLANDS) | |
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OKPARA, RAY: Abellio 12″ (AREA 030EP) 12.00 Ray Okpara presents his third release on Area Remote. While his roots are in Nigeria, it’s Mannheim, Germany that Ray has helped put on the electronic music map, with a string of stellar productions on hot labels like Oslo, Get Physical and Area Remote and an indomitable DJ style. “Abellio” features a gritty, edgy bass warmed with chord riff melodies and a tantalizing percussive twitch. “Ajali” runs thick with a swollen bass groove that melts like deep, dark chocolate. |
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PORTELA & ARIEL RODZ, RONAN: La Floresta 12″ (AREA 031EP) 12.00 Area Remote presents two no-nonsense tech-house treats from DJ/producers Ronan Portela and Ariel Rodz from Argentina. Portela launched his first album back in 1999, influenced by diverse music including New Order, Orbital, Plastikman, Larry Heard, Frankie Knuckles and Underworld. Playing deep and tech-house sounds, Ronan has produced material for Foundsound, Defected, Swank and OneThirty. Ariel Rodz can be seen playing at Argentina party hot-spots such as Pacha, Mint and Big One. His signature groove is influenced by instrumental dub, house and techno. |
| BANG! RECORDS (SPAIN) | |
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NEW CHRISTS, THE: Lower Yourself 2LP (BANG 051LP) 30.50 Bang! Records is proud to announce the release, for the very first time on vinyl, of this masterpiece by Rob Younger’s The New Christs. Originally recorded and released in 1997, this energetic rock album was only released in Australia by classic Aussie label Citadel Records. Now the record has been remastered with artwork re-done all under Rob Younger’s (Radio Birdman) supervision in order to implement an even stronger sound and presence. This is a deluxe gatefold double album vinyl edition — limited to 1,000 copies. Released under license by Citadel Records. |
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LEADFINGER: We Make The Music LP (BANG 052LP) 21.00 Stewart Cunningham needs no introduction for fans of Australian rock ‘n’ roll. He led or took part in formative bands such as The Yes-Men, Proton Energy Pills, Asteroid B612, Brother Brick, etc., and We Make The Music is his third album offering in his latest project, Leadfinger. This album is a gathering of styles, starting from the high energy guitar sounds that he has mastered since the early ’90s, going through the classic sounds of the Flamin’ Groovies, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and ending up with swamp blues and soul in the most traditional Aussie way. This record exposes the versatility of this artist and this band. Limited vinyl edition. If you are looking for the CD version, you must look for it on Sydney’s classic Impedance label. |
| BE AS ONE (ISRAEL) | |
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ABRIL, GEL: Angola/Changes 12″ (BAO 030EP) 12.00 Israel’s most respected DJ grooves like mad. |
| BECAUSE MUSIC (FRANCE) | |
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CONNAN MOCKASIN: Forever Dolphin Love LP (BEC 5772852) 23.00 LP version of Forever Dolphin Love with bonus download code for the live version. Connan Mockasin has the kind of deliciously off-kilter and gloriously idiosyncratic worldview that rapidly proves addictive. Welcome, folks, to the delightful, slanted and enchanted world of Connan Mockasin. Like David Lynch’s willfully surrealist take on American suburbia, or Richard Prince’s paintings investigating modern cultural tropes, the New Zealand-born, current London resident Mockasin makes beautiful music which subverts as it compels, challenges as it mesmerizes, startles as it seduces, even drawing fans as diverse as Johnny Marr and Radiohead to Ed Banger chief and ex-Daft Punk manager Pedro Winter into its wide-eyed, childlike exploration into the final frontiers of pop music. It is all too rare, in this current climate of manufactured pop acts, grey, over-produced “alternative” guitar music and press-fuelled mania for the next-big-thing, to hear something truly striking and original, but a strong case can most certainly be made for Connan to be a true pop auteur, taking his rightful place in a proud lineage which includes past mavericks such as Joe Meek and Brian Wilson, right through to current cult heroes like Ariel Pink, Sufjan Stevens and John Maus. Written from start to finish one hot summer, while camped outside his parent’s church-like house in a tent, Forever Dolphin Love is an LP which brims with the beauty and solitude of summer evenings, a miasma of psychedelic tangents, jazz interludes and echoing guitars which hum with a distant, haunting resonance. For apart from being one of the most singular musicians we currently have, he is also a brilliant and unusual painter, a gift which will be glimpsed for the first time with this album, which features a collection of wonderfully surreal paintings of dolphins, all bold and beautiful interpretations of the mammal, but evolved into human forms, smiling in gaggles, sometimes wearing clothes, sometimes swathed in pools of lush colors. Connan’s talents also include recording, producing and mixing the entire record. It was this brilliantly ingenious approach to invention, and his masterfully unique charm that caught the attention of Erol Alkan, who signed Connan to his label Phantasy and released his first output Please Turn Me Into The Snat. |
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POMPOUGNAC, STEPHANE: Take Her By The Hand (Featuring Lady Linn) 12″ (BEC 5772895) 12.50 Stéphane Pompougnac encapsulates a certain idea of French luxury that is represented by such brands as Chanel and Dom Pérignon. With 5 platinum and 14 gold discs, along with 5 million album sales worldwide, he made his mark on people’s minds and ears with a collection recorded exclusively for the Hôtel Costes almost 14 years ago. “Take Her By The Hand,” featuring Lady Linn, is at once catchy and clubby. Remixes by Jojo Flores & Rom Jamesteady, Jeremy Hills and Pi Zito. |
| BLKRTZ (CANADA) | |
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DEADBEAT: Drawn And Quartered 2LP (BLKRTZ 001LP) 21.00 2LP version. Scott Monteith aka Deadbeat releases an album for his own label BLKRTZ. It has been 12 years since Monteith quietly launched his Deadbeat music project with an unassuming performance on the street outside a Montreal café as part of the first edition of the city’s now internationally-lauded MUTEK festival. And while the venues and audiences have grown steadily and seriously in the years since, the crackling dub sonics, deep grooves, and rumbling bass which characterized that performance have remained a constant in his live and recorded work, and earned him a substantial number of devoted followers the world over in the process. Having worked with a virtual who’s-who of the most respected labels in the industry over the last decade, Monteith now takes the plunge into the murky depths of labelhood, launching his BLKRTZ imprint with no less than a full album of new material. “When I received the news a few months ago that ~scape was officially closing its doors, I was incredibly sad to hear it.” says Monteith from his new home in Berlin. “Though I hadn’t worked with them in a few years, I always saw ~scape as the natural home for a very important part of my work. Not necessarily the more listening side of things per se, but certainly the most unconcerned with genre or function, from a creative standpoint the most free, I guess. Barbara and Stefan worked very hard to promote a great deal of quite marginalized material over the years and did a lot to help me and many other artists out personally who otherwise would have had a much harder time of it. Though I’ll be concentrating on my own work for the first few releases, it’s my hope that BLKRTZ can serve a similarly honorable purpose in the years to come.” In celebration of the label’s inaugural release, Monteith has teamed up with long-time friend and world renowned video artist, Lillevan, to create an immersive audio/visual performance quite unlike any other. Spot-varnished lettering on cover. |
| BOO-HOORAY GALLERY | |
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COHEN, IRA: The Invasion Of Thunderbolt Pagoda DVD-R (BOO IC) 20.00 Special limited edition DVD-R of Ira Cohen’s 1968 film The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda, featuring the legendary score from NYC avant gardist Angus Maclise. Fully restored director’s cut; NTSC, all region format. Features: “High-quality transfer from the original 16mm film, with color correction supervised by the director (22 min) with soundtrack remastered by Tim Barnes, featuring The Universal Mutant Repertory Company (Loren Standlee, Ziska Baum, Angus MacLise, Hetty MacLise, Raja Samayana, Tony Conrad, Henry Flynt and Jackson MacLow). ‘From The Mylar Chamber,’ an original slideshow of 60 mylar photographs with soundtrack by Angus MacLise and original poetry by Ira Cohen. Directors commentary audio track.” |
| BRAINFEEDER | |
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TOKIMONSTA: Creature Dreams 12″ (BF 020EP) 12.50 “Jennifer Lee aka TOKiMONSTA prefers to work late — or early, depending on how you look at it. Most of her music is made between two and seven in the morning, because at that time of night ‘my mind works in strange and mysterious ways.’ Hence the title of this EP, a series of warm but decidedly woozy pieces of music, the soundtrack to the oddest, most beautiful dreams you’ve ever had. From the bouncing bass-beds of ‘Bright Shadows,’ the Cocteau’s-meet-LA-Beat of ‘Darkest (Dim)’ (like ‘Little Pleasures,’ featuring the exquisite vocals of Gavin Turek), on into ‘Moving Forward’ (which sounds like the music R2D2 makes love to), the driving, relentless beat of ‘Day Job,’ this is an EP suffused with both warmth and creativity.” Includes free download code. |
| BREAK NEW SOIL (GERMANY) | |
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TRESHER, GREGOR: Lights From The Inside Part One 12″ (BNS 021EP) 12.00 Three tracks on vinyl 12″ from Gregor Tresher’s third studio album Lights From The Inside (BNS 002CD), an organic universe of shifting sound. Eschewing obvious, eight-bar earworms that would quickly exhaust their welcome, Tresher favored instead musical lines that could repeat, develop and intertwine in different patterns. In this regard, Lights From The Inside harks back to Tresher’s earlier releases, while still evolving in new directions. Tracks include: “Lights From The Inside,” “Kingdom Of Light” and “Through The Shadow Glass.” |
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TRESHER, GREGOR: Lights From The Inside Part Two 12″ (BNS 022EP) 12.00 Part 2 in a series of vinyl 12″s of tracks from Gregor Tresher’s third studio album Lights From The Inside (BNS 002CD). Tracks include: “Leaving,” “Echelon,” and “Frontline.” |
| BUREAU B (GERMANY) | |
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QLUSTER: Fragen LP (BB 076LP) 17.00 LP version. Kluster — Cluster — and now Qluster. Fragen documents the extraordinary shedding of skin of one of the most important German electronic groups. Hans-Joachim Roedelius was there from the beginning (1969), with Onnen Bock taking the place of Dieter Moebius. Little need be said about Roedelius, whose collaborations with Konrad Schnitzler, Cluster and Harmonia earned him a worldwide reputation as a pioneer of electronic music. Onnen Bock (born in 1974), a qualified musician and sound installationist, played a part in the Zeitkratzer ensemble, worked together with the likes of Christina Kubisch and was a sound engineer for the Berlin Philharmonic. Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Onnen Bock are Qluster. The two artists have been meeting up to explore new musical directions together since 2007. Fragen is the first part of an exceptional trilogy, a grandiose new beginning, backed up by 40 years of tradition. Two fundamental decisions, borne of an acutely refined sense of musical self-conception, have shaped Qluster: the use of analog keyboards only and a focus on improvisation through vibrant playing technique. Qluster have jettisoned all forms of ballast pertaining to music and sound. Roedelius and Bock develop their musical aesthetic through seven impressionistic pictures, an aesthetic which borders on ascetic rigor. And yet each piece is motivated by something deeply human, a playful element setting the tone. Qluster’s modus operandi guides the listener towards peaceful, pale blue rooms where airy veils of suspended matter sparkle, as if floating gently to and fro on the breeze. Beyond the veils one senses further rooms, in colors which have lost their names and become sound. To be perfectly clear: Qluster’s music is not psychedelic, neither in the traditional, nor in a wider sense. This is no meditative soundtrack for a “journey to the inner self.” In its own way, however, it does represent a trip to the realms of utopia, where particularly careful listening is required in order to appreciate the music in all its richness and splendor. On 180 gram high quality vinyl, including a free download coupon. |
| COCOON (GERMANY) | |
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VA: Cocoon Compilation A CD (COR 001CD) 15.50 2001 release. Artists: Little Computer People (Anthony Rother), Marco Carola & The Gadgets, Johannes Heil, Oliver Bondzio, Chris Liebing, Sven Väth, Pascal F.E.O.S., Toni Rios, Der Dritte Raum, Project 69 and Ricardo Villalobos. |
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VA: Cocoon Compilation B – Gefährliche Liebschaften CD (COR 002CD) 15.50 2001 release. Artists: Kit Clayton, Sutekh, Daze Maxim, Pantytec, Steve Bug, Glove, Justin Berkovi, DJ Rush, Sikora, Gaetano Parisio, Stewart Walker and Richard Bartz. |
| CONTINENTAL RECORDS | |
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FRIMPONG & HIS CUBANO FIESTAS, K.: The Blue Album LP (CRU 701LP) 17.00 “Hot on the heels of the reissue of K. Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas’ coveted 1977 album, Continental Records is proud to announce the release of the group’s seminal self-titled LP originally released in Ghana in 1976 but never reissued in its original form until now. The leadoff track is the electrifying ‘Kyenkyen Bi Adi M’Awu,’ the song that made K. Frimpong a star in Ghana. Frimpong’s backing band, as on the 1977 LP, is the Ghanaian group Vis a Vis, who also cut great records under their own name. Used copies of this LP can fetch over $400 on Ebay. It is without doubt one of the most sought after records in the global craze over West African music today. This reissue has been handled with the utmost respect — every detail has been given strict attention and care. The remastered LP has never sounded more direct, vibrant and timeless. Each LP comes with a free HQ MP3 download of the entire album and is packaged in a resealable dust bag.” |
| CURLE RECORDINGS (BELGIUM) | |
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COLLINS, ANTHONY: Don’t Look Down Now 12″ (CURLE 036EP) 12.00 This is Anthony Collins’ fourth release on Curle already, if you don’t count the Nina Kraviz & Los Updates remix EP. Fans of “Another Lonely Night” will most definitely also dig “Don’t Look Down Now,” although it’s a little deeper and more minimal, maybe. But the surprise on this release is without a doubt the 9’+ remix from Roman Flügel. This release, my friends, is going to be a summer anthem. |
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MARTINIQ, FRANK: Golden Dusk (Scott Grooves Remixes) 10″ (METISSE 004.5EP) 12.00 In 2010, Curle Recordings released the original “Golden Dusk” track on 300 limited golden vinyls. In their humble opinion, it’s still one of the best tracks ever released on the label — a very rare combination of deep techno and dancefloor hysteria. Scott Grooves liked it a lot too, and now there are no less than two different “Panther Versions” by Scott Grooves & Kataconda. First pressing on marbled colored vinyl 10″ in a hard plastic bag. |
| DAMAGED GOODS (UK) | |
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GOLIGHTLY & DAN MELCHIOR, HOLLY: Desperate Little Town CD (DAMGOOD 338CD) 16.50 “Reissue of a great lost album, a collaboration between Holly Golightly & Dan Melchior that was originally released on Sympathy For The Record Industry Records from California. It’s been out of print for around eight years and Holly & Dan thought it was about time we put that right. Recorded in London and California in 1999 with long time friend Bruce Brand on percussion this album features 10 tracks, some of which you’ll know if you’ve seen Holly play in the last decade, like ‘Directly From My Heart’ & ‘Further On Up The Road’ but here they’re given very warm re-workings.” |
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GOLIGHTLY & DAN MELCHIOR, HOLLY: Desperate Little Town LP (DAMGOOD 338LP) 18.50 LP version. |
| DIGITALIS | |
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MULLER, JURGEN: Science Of The Sea LP (DIGI 034LP) 18.00 Jürgen Müller was a self-taught amateur musician who, while studying oceanic science at the University of Kiel, purchased some electronic instruments and set up a mobile studio on his house boat, docked along the town of Heikendorf, on the North Sea. He held a life-long fascination with the ocean, the expansive and endless inner-space of the deep, where he felt many ecological miracles had yet to be discovered, and which kindled a love for the unknown. This love of all things nautical started early in his youth and eventually led him to study the oceanic sciences. For one week in 1979, Jürgen took up with a film crew on a mission to document some sea-water toxicity testing that was being performed by a couple of notable biologists, only a few kilometers offshore. At the end of the expedition, he decided that he would make music to capture the strange feeling conjured by these experiences. Utilizing only a handful of barely-remembered childhood piano lessons, Jürgen set about creating his marine-influenced vignettes with some electronic instruments he had gathered through friends, as well as borrowing some new equipment from a local school’s music department. As a general music lover, earlier in the ’70s he had taken note of several avant-garde electronic composers who he felt simultaneously captured a purity of sound and sense of wonder that was lacking in other music. He dreamt of fusing this ideal with the synthetic recreations of nature. In a sense, one could say he stumbled onto an early “new age” aesthetic through pure ignorance and coincidence. Mixing relaxing ambient tones and spooky, otherworldly sounds, he came up with a unique approach. After filling several reels of home recordings, he held ambitions of becoming a film composer. He decided to start his own publishing company, Neue Wissenschaft, and hoped to compose albums to sell as production music to various film companies for use in documentaries and television programs. As he was simultaneously hard at work on his studies to finish school, he had to work on his music in short intervals, and often had to put it aside altogether. As a result, it took several years for him to actually realize his sole full-length recording, Science Of The Sea, the sessions for which began in late 1981, before finishing a year later. Less than 100 copies were pressed, and few of them were even sent out to potential clients. Most copies were eventually given to friends and family. Jürgen’s musical gamble never quite paid off as he had hoped, and without any outside interest or connections in the music world, he soon abandoned any dreams of a musical existence and instead chose to further his oceanographic career. Remastered from the original tapes by Brad Rose. Cut to vinyl at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin and pressed in Germany. |
| DOXY (ITALY) | |
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SMITH, HARRY: Harry Smith’s Anthology Of American Folk Music Vol. 1 2LP (DOY 625LP) 32.00 2011 repress. On clear vinyl with insert. Volume 1: Ballads. “The importance of Harry Smith’s work can not be overstated. Not only did he single-handedly save much of American folk music from extinction, but when he handed his record collection over to Smithsonian Folkways in 1952, he opened the floodgates for the American folk revival of the following decade. Not since John and Alan Lomax had anyone paid so much attention to saving the American folk song from extinction, but unlike the Lomaxes, Smith was not a government worker armed with a tape recorder, he was just a guy from Portland, Oregon armed with a love for music and an insatiably curious mind. So, when the U.S. Government began melting down old records to be used as shellac during WWII, Smith kicked into high gear, buying up as many old 78s from the ’20s and ’30s as he could find. Much of the music found here then, comes from a time before television, arm-in-arm with rock & roll, began beaming its über-culture into every household in America erasing much of what had grown up locally in each area. As can be heard so beautifully on these ballads, prior to WWII America was in many ways no more than a patchwork of territories, with local cultures and musical traditions reaching both far into the immigrant past of each area’s inhabitants, but also into the future to create something wonderful and firmly rooted in the newness and adventure of life on this new continent.” |
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SMITH, HARRY: Harry Smith’s Anthology Of American Folk Music Vol. 2 2LP (DOY 626LP) 32.00 2011 repress. On red vinyl with insert. Volume 2: Social Music. “The ‘social music’ that grew up in this time period was both ‘social’ in the sense of ‘social gathering’ (barn dances, religious gatherings, etc.), but also in the sense of ‘social issues’ (labor rights, migration, money troubles, etc.). Their music was, therefore, a reflection of their lives, serving both as respite from their troubles (these were desperate times: the dust bowl, the depression, tenement housing, sweat shops, etc., were all part of the these people’s everyday lives), but also as a vehicle for their discontent.” Tracks – Side A: 1. Sail Away Lady – Uncle Bunt Stephens 2. The Wild Wagoner – Jilson Setters 3. Wake Up Jacob – Prince Albert Hunt’s Texas Ramblers 4. La Danseuse – Delma Lachney And Blind Uncle Gaspard 5. Georgia Stomp – Andrew & Jim Baxter 6. Brilliancy Medley – Eck Robertson 7. Indian War Whoop – Hoyt Ming And His Pep-Steppers (3:13) Side B: 1. Old Country Stomp – Henry Thomas 2. Old Dog Blue – Jim Jackson 3. Saut Crapaud – Columbus Fruge 4. Acadian One-Step – Joseph Falcon 5. Home Sweet Home – The Breaux Freres 6. Newport Blues – The Cincinnati Jug Band 7. Moonshiner’s Dance Pt.1 – Frank Cloutier And The Victoria Cafe Orchestra Side C: 1. Must Be Born Again – Rev. J.M. Gates 2. Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting – Rev. J.M. Gates 3. Rocky Road – Alabama Sacred Harp Singers 4. Present Joys – Alabama Sacred Harp Singers 5. This Song Of Love – The Middle Georgia Singing Convention No. 1 6. Judgement – Sister Mary Nelson 7. He Got Better Things For You – Memphis Sanctified Singers 8. Since I Laid My Burden Down – The Elders Mcintorsh & Edwards’ Sanctified Singers Side D: 1. John The Baptist – Rev. Moses Mason 2. Dry Bones – Bascom Lamar Lunsford 3. John The Revelator – Blind Willie Johnson 4. Little Moses – The Carter Family 5. Shine On Me – Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers 6. Fifty Miles Of Elbow Room – Rev. F.W. Mcgee 7. I’m In The Battlefield For My Lord – Rev. D.C. Rice & His Sanctified Congregation |
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SMITH, HARRY: Harry Smith’s Anthology Of American Folk Music Vol. 3 2LP (DOY 627LP) 32.00 2011 repress. On blue vinyl with insert. Volume 3: Songs. “In this volume we see songs by legends like: The Carter Family, Dock Boggs, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mississippi John Hurt, and we gasp in horror when we remember that had it not been for Harry Smith, this great music may have very well ended up as shellac!” Tracks – Side A: 1. The Coo Coo Bird – Clarence Ashley 2. East Virginia – Buell Kazee 3. Minglewood Blues – Cannon’s Jug Stompers 4. I Woke Up One Morning In May – Didier Hébert 5. James Alley Blues – Richard “Rabbit” Brown 6. Sugar Baby – Dock Boggs 7. I Wish I Was A Mole In The Ground – Bascom Lamar Lunsford Side B: 1. Mountaineer’s Courtship – Ernest And Hattie Stoneman 2. The Spanish Merchant’s Daughter – The Stoneman Family 3. Bob Lee Junior Blues – The Memphis Jug Band 4. Single Girl, Married Girl – The Carter Family 5. Le Vieux Soulard Et Sa Femme – Cleoma Breaux And Joseph Falcon 6. Rabbit Foot Blues – Blind Lemon Jefferson 7. Expressman Blues – Sleepy John Estes And Yank Rachell Side C: 1. Poor Boy Blues – Ramblin’ Thomas 2. Feather Bed – Cannon’s Jug Stompers 3. Country Blues – Dock Boggs 4. 99 Year Blues – Julius Daniels 5. Prison Cell Blues – Blind Lemon Jefferson 6. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean – Blind Lemon Jefferson 7. C’est Si Triste Sans Lui – Cleoma And Ophy Breaux And Joseph Falcon Side D: 1. Way Down The Old Plank Road – Uncle Dave Macon 2. Buddy Won’t You Roll Down The Line – Uncle Dave Macon 3. Spike Driver Blues – Mississippi John Hurt 4. K.C. Moan – The Memphis Jug Band 5. Train On The Island – J.P. Nestor 6. The Lone Star Trail – Ken Maynard 7. Fishing Blues – Henry Thomas. Last copies; first 2 volumes are now sold out. |
| DRAG CITY | |
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HOWLING HEX, THE: Victory Chimp, A Book 4CD (DC 077CD) 27.00 “In 1997, Drag City published Victory Chimp, a paperback book. This had been committed to text by Neil Hagerty from memories, wire photos, sheet music, cobol computer printouts and his own typewritten notes circa 1980-88. The story had to be told, but in ’97 the long-form radio show was not quite the fashion and we certainly weren’t thinking about the coming onslaught of media mash-ups that would develop in our new millennium collage culture. But now, in 2011, Victory Chimp returns as an audio book. Not just any audio book, but a nextlevel audio book, which is only fitting given Victory Chimp’s once-and-future status as an out-level sci-fi paperback. The concept of reading with your ears is surely a nonsequitur that fits the logic of Victory Chimp, where sound is used not simply to create atmosphere, but to pace and forward the narrative. It’s not quite the ‘total work of art’ imagined by Wagner before he soundtracked the Holocaust, but VC pictures fascism as well, albeit from a radically different angle. And so we make the comparison. Not many things compare to Victory Chimp when it comes to form, largely due to its elusive play with it. Even Dos Passos caught shit for skewing structure once upon a time.” |
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WURLITZER, RUDOLPH: Slow Fade Book (DC 449BK) 15.00 “Rudolph Wurlitzer’s Slow Fade is now available for the first time in almost two decades. As the torch passes from the last generation of the 20th century to the young dudes of the current day, the relevance of Slow Fade is renewed. Through Rudy Wurlitzer’s novelistic and screenwriting works, he explored themes of changing identities and the passing of generations. These themes, realized with poignancy in the pages of Slow Fade, which bids farewell to the traditions of the American mid-century in a sweeping, occasionally stumbling backwards glance, all while remaining bound firmly in ‘the now’ of the present-day of its writing, the early 1980s. Slow Fade is the portrait of a director of motion pictures; a man whose life has been devoted to manipulations of images on the screen, negotiations at the conference table, actors and technicians and even (and especially) with those closest to him. Nearing the end of his career, he tries to divest himself of illusions, to make peace with his demons and his past. The process is complex and at times seems to occur by committee. After his son Walker returns from a long spell in India, searching for his sister at his father’s behest, father hires son to write a script about his experiences there, the only way the two men seem to be able to discuss their lives. As Wesley grapples with control over one final film project, Walker roams the American landscape with a disaffected roadie trying to make a new career for himself outside of his rock and roll experiences. The parallel wanderings of father and son are filled with debauched misadventures and spiritual blind alleys as they roam through a diverse geography ranging from the streets of Beverly Hills to the backcountry wastelands of northeastern Canada via a Mexican beach resort, New York’s Russian Tea Room and the charnal grounds of India. Slow Fade is by turns spare and eloquent; dryly humorous and darkly savage, a deeply informed novel about the worlds of the movies and rock and roll, as well as a rowdy account of the cultural and generational pas de deux that occurred throughout the 1970s – as previously noted, a dance that must be attended by every generation.” Soft cover version; 200 pages; |
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WURLITZER, RUDOLPH: Slow Fade Book (DC 449HCBK) 25.00 Signed hardcover version. |
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CLIFFIE SWAN: Memories Come True CD (DC 451CD) 13.50 “Dislocated hearts, the open road, and the sharp edge of fast emotions, soaring like melodies, flashing by your windows. You’ve been there, right? We’ve all been there. Tumult and transformation, dangerous and sensual. Those melodies sifting through your hair with the wind of the open country. On the horizon lie sinewy, fuzzy guitars, tightly harmonized vocals recalling the sheen of 70s AM radio, funky bass lines, and monumental drums. This is a hyper real version of pop, the colors super saturated, the contrast upped. The songwriting is concise and aims straight for the heart. Linnea and Sophia sing with the voices of angels dragged through Nashville and Laurel Canyon in the 70s, crystalline and crying inside. Not a debut, nor really a third album (though this is their first release as Cliffie Swan, they’ve released two LPs under the name Lights), Memories Come True is equal parts bravado and vulnerability. A story of leaving, perhaps, unrolls over the course of these eleven songs, resulting in an album of absolutely soulful and sultry rock gems. And, oh, did we mention this is the perfect record to put on at a party?” |
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CLIFFIE SWAN: Memories Come True LP (DC 451LP) 17.00 LP version. |
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THESE TRAILS: These Trails CD (DC 463CD) 13.50 “These Trails echoes back to us from Hawaii, and specifically the world of the nature cult there. Hawaii’s (comparatively) unspoiled wilderness bore great fascination to the gentle young people of the west coast back in those days. Musicians as diverse as The Beach Boys, Merrell Fankhauser, Sky Saxon, Dan Hicks and Ry Cooder all drew vibes and inspiration from the Hawaiian mystique and music — but These Trails gains distinction having been made by everyday-people-type inhabitants of the islands. Hiking, swimming and surfing were the auspices under which Margaret Morgan and Patrick Cockett first met. They were local kids, who’d grown up on the island of Kaua’i. They’d both been studying native Hawaiian music and their shared interests and island upbringing inspired them to write and play new music together. By the time this music got to tape, a greater environment had been created with the addition of Dave Choy’s ARP synthesizer, Uruguayan Carlos Pardeiro’s guitar and sitar, and the soft rhythm of ipu, Hawaii’s traditional percussion. The music of These Trails is a psychedelic bridging of folk music that has a natural and melodic flow and a somber, spiritual air. These Trails was never really a band; it was an album of music. It wasn’t pressed in any great numbers and created only a few ripples locally when it was released in 1973. Nonetheless, it was a powerful expression that stands with up other recently-discovered heroes of the private-press world, such as Linda Perhacs and Gary Higgins, whose singular musical endeavors stand with the best of what the hippified 1970s had to offer.” |
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THESE TRAILS: These Trails LP (DC 463LP) 17.00 LP version. |
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SEGALL, TY: Goodbye Bread CD (DC 479CD) 12.00 “Ty Segall has his finger on it. A finger on it, digging into your vinyl, since 2008. But to get to the start, go back a little further, back to 2005 Laguna Beach — a cell phone call from a friend who has something Ty would love to hear: live, distorted rock and roll from inside a Coachwhips practice space. Transduced through a satellite, no less. Hold up the phone. Yeah, it’s 2005 and Ty’s gonna move to SF. Get outta high school and move up there. Good thing too cause the Epsilons were rad but the Traditional Fools were a beer soaked painters cap drying in the sun, son. Until one day when Ty is the only Fool to show up to the show and it’s one of those moments — local history takes a turn and the world ain’t gotta wait much more, now. Ty plays the show one-man-band style and goes home and plans the rest: the records you got, tunes in your head, the unpretentious display of rock wealth. The tours, the bands, the endless shows, the honorable way. Mikel Cronin, unicorn towel, Eric Bauer’s recording world, more tours. Memphis magnet and home of beautiful SF — a cheery City State of yoga and the push of Thee Oh Sees, fog and rain, two minutes in the Sic Alps, a snatch of 7″s, split 12″s, marathon recording, six shows in four days (two are free), student union and radio wavves are a scam but beaten, a sun shower of Sour Patch Kids, it’s all about the Kids — and Emily Rose, the drummer. So what do you get now? It’s 2011. Ty is 23. So, do we get the comedown record? Yes and massive.” — Andrew Loog Oldham. |
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SEGALL, TY: Goodbye Bread LP (DC 479LP) 17.00 LP version. |
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BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY: There Is No God 10″ (DC 483EP) 12.00 “Summertime is single-time in America. Adult and child alike are searching for a song to define their struggle and their delight. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy has one or two suggestions for your ear. Try ‘There Is No God’ on for size, and then see if ‘God Is Love’ fits you more neat-like. Summoning up two sides of the argument (to which there are more sides and more arguments too) in a neat flip of the platter, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is back on the 10″ parade route.” |
| EASTBLOK MUSIC (GERMANY) | |
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VA: Swing Diskoteka LP (EBM 021LP) 23.50 LP version. A spectre is haunting Europe — swing is not dead. In London, Paris and Berlin, people are swinging again. But as the youth of today has exchanged the gramophone for the turntable, the DJs are the new masters of this material and now they proffer electro swing. With tribute paid to the classics and masters of their art like Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald or Bing Crosby, who are getting sampled and dusted, you can also hear the odd klezmer clarinet or guitar licks à la Django Reinhardt — Jewish and Gypsy swing. The players are not necessarily from Eastern Europe, though. Many Western European DJs and producers, especially in the fields of electro and house, now spice up their beat patterns with homemade samples and burlesque beats. Thanks to virtual networks, there is a busy exchange of new productions going on almost every day and electro swing parties are being thrown every weekend. Similar to Balkan music conquering the clubs a few years back, swing is now hitting the dancefloor. The masterminds behind that come from all over the place: Kormac from Ireland, Nôze from France, Imam Baildi from Greece, and as with the Balkan boom, a lot is going on in Germany and in Eastern Europe, of course! Shazalakazoo in Serbia, Matt Kowalsky in Poland or Mo Fun in Russia — the DJs are discovering swing and glamour is returning to the techno catacombs. Swing Diskoteka presents a wide spectrum of this new phenomenon, ranging from club sounds by Eldoko and cinescope scores from Smokey Bandits up to rather handmade songs by the likes of Jewdyssee. Many of the tracks here are exclusive to this compilation. From a music history point of view, it’s exciting to see how the different scenes are mixing now. This is even educational, as marginalized or half-forgotten music styles like klezmer, gypsy and now swing are playfully being woven into 2011’s sound carpet. Old school stylers meet rave kids in the Swing Diskoteka. The joie de vivre of swing meets the energy of electro. Finally. |
| ED BANGER RECORDS (FRANCE) | |
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SEBASTIAN: Total 2LP+CD (BEC 5772823) 26.50 Deluxe gatefold double LP version with a free CD of the entire album. SebastiAn has followed such an impressive path, that it’s hard to believe that he’s only now releasing his long-awaited debut album. But the facts are clear: here it is, after several EPs (H.A.L, Smoking Kills, Ross Ross Ross, Motor), a record compiling his many remixes for Daft Punk, Kelis and The Kills among others and a co-production of the soundtrack for the film Steak with Sebastien Tellier and Mr. Oizo, in which he also played one of the leading roles. Ever-elusive, he unveiled yet another side of his creativity in composing a philharmonic score for Notre Jour Viendra, Romain Gavras’ first film. One of the creators, along with Justice, of the Ed Banger sound, he is without a doubt the label’s most unusual figure. An iconoclast maverick, he readily defies the rules to deliver a dirty and violent kind of techno that coughs and spits; music to his image: human and visceral. Super prolific and constantly effervescent, this musician has managed, in the space of a few years, to redefine electronic music and is ready to astound everyone once again with Total, a definitive and meteoric first album. Featuring contributions from M.I.A and Mayer Hawthorne. |
| EDITIONS MEGO (AUSTRIA) | |
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AMBARCHI & JIM O’ROURKE, OREN: Indeed LP (DEMEGO 021LP) 19.50 While Oren Ambarchi and Jim O’Rourke have collaborated in a number of forms, from remixes to their acclaimed trio with Keiji Haino, Indeed is their first duo album. Presented as two side-long, electroacoustic explorations, what Ambarchi and O’Rourke proffer up here is also melodic and approachable, bringing to mind the warm post-minimalism of composers like Alvin Curran, David Behrman and Luciano Cilio. Indeed, it sounds a bit like the collective textural and melodic personality of their respective solo albums filtered through the highpoints of the Lovely Music catalog. Beginning with a sequence of analog electro-acoustic crunch before settling into a warm synth glow highlighted by the occasional melodic or percussive detail, it sounds like the music that two guys who have honed their skills through years of composition, pop songwriting and rigorous improvisation make when they’re having fun in the studio. Oren Ambarchi: guitar, synth, percussion; Jim O’Rourke: strings, synth, percussion. Recorded and mixed at Steamroom, Tokyo, Jan. 2011. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, May 2011. Photographs by Shunichiro Okada. Design by Takashi Site. |
| ELECTRONICAL REEDS (FRANCE) | |
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OPTIONAL FEAST: Porro 12″ (ERV 001EP) 13.00 “One time available on 138 copies! Played by Luciano!” Remixes by Pablo Cahn and TMP. |
| EMBRYO | |
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BRUTE FORCE: Brute Force LP (SD 522HLP) 13.00 180 gram vinyl version. Originally issued on the Embryo label, from 1970. “Brute Force was a soul-jazz band (slanted toward the soul end) that released a single self-titled album in 1970, produced by Herbie Mann. The band had a solid soul sound, which could head into slightly more out territory, as well. The band and Mann had a stroke of genius when they decided to recruit the band’s childhood friend and Mann bandmate Sonny Sharrock (who had also played with Pharoah Sanders at that point) to add some extra spice to the sessions. The results are so righteous and groovy, you’ll wonder where this album has been for the last 30 years. Imagine the Black Panthers recording Memphis Underground and you’re somewhere in the ballpark. Strong vocals on about half the tunes, great horn playing, dirty electric piano, killer two-bass grooves, and Sharrock’s ultra-aggressive soul playing make this album a solid winner. Sharrock fans will flip at this forgotten session, and DJs and crate-diggers everywhere would be well-served by picking this up.” — Sean Westergaard |
| ESKIMO (BELGIUM) | |
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AEROPLANE: My Enemy 12″ (ESK 504070) 12.00 This is the long-awaited single taken from Aeroplane’s debut album We Can’t Fly (ESK 503796 ). “My Enemy” is definitely the most dancefloor-oriented track on there, but nevertheless, Eskimo included a blinder of a remix package for you. Rex The Dog makes “My Enemy” even more epic, or should we say “arpeggiotic?!” The legendary Green Velvet, on the other hand, turns it into an unmatched, rolling monster for the dancefloor. If that’s the enemy, we wanna make up. |
| ETHBO MUSIC (UK) | |
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CARTER, DEAN: Rebel Woman/I Got A Girl 7″ (ETHBO 009EP) 12.50 “A head-on collision of rockabilly, tectonic garage punk and the production inventiveness usually attributed to the likes of Joe Meek or Phil Spector. Dean Carter started recording rockabilly in the late fifties in Champaign, IL and beat that path well into the late sixties. By then with an arsenal of the latest studio tricks, a bus-load of local talents and a single minded, twisted vision. Carter’s unique take on Jailhouse Rock, released in 1967 on Milky Way, was coupled with Rebel Woman: A wall of fuzzed out guitar and Carter’s swooping vocal range, punctuated with karate chops. It’s a cigarette’s time-scale roller coaster which dumps you at the end, exhausted by the relentless reverb energy, with Carter’s closing monologue babbling in your ears as you fade away. Backed here with ‘I Got A Girl’ revealing another strand of Carter’s mutant hybrid of rockabilly and garage. Needle in the groove, or direct to the jugular, the din underpinned by the throbbing rhythm of his local backing singers, Carter screams manic lyrics over a hastily scratched tremolo guitar. Mastered by Dubplates and Mastering, Berlin.” |
| FIAKUN (SPAIN) | |
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T.W.I.C.E: Dubbing Of My Soul 12″ (FIAKUN 003EP) 12.00 Fiakun presents a release from super-underground T.W.I.C.E, who reveal strong tracks with loads of character and fervor. Electronic music diva Claudia P.Toile takes you to cold Germany with a powerful and aggressive mix. For the other remix, Fiakun presents their new signing, Volta Cab, with a warm and acoustic remix. |
| FIRE (UK) | |
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CONN, BOBBY: Rise Up! CD (FIRE 148CD) 18.50 “Bobby Conn’s critically acclaimed, seminal album Rise Up! is re-mastered and re-issued by Fire. The follow-up to Bobby Conn’s self titled debut album, Rise Up! is regarded as his grand entrance at a time when the world was in desperate need of a truthful showman with a natural taste for communication.” |
| FRYERS (UK) | |
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LITTLE ESTHER: Hollerin’ And Screamin’/Turn The Lamps Down 7″ (FRY 012EP) 8.00 Two jump and jive numbers from Little Esther, recorded with Johnny Otis’ orchestra for the Federal label back in the early ’50s, with two sides penned by the legendary Lieber & Stoller. “Hollerin’ And Screamin'” features a rock steady jiving pattern while “Turn The Lamps Down” finds Esther performing a call and response duet with Little Willie Littlefield. Even though she was only 17 years old at the time, she delivers the vocals with a characteristically confident and assured delivery. |
| FUMAKILLA (GERMANY) | |
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VA: New Follow 12″ (FUMA 037EP) 12.00 Fumakilla presents a strong collabo 12″ by the label-boss himself, Woody featuring Felipe Valenzuela and Dani Casarano. “New Follow” is a trippy, Chicagoesque, morphing house track, steadily growing behind the hypnotic voice and the pushing bass figure in darkened acid landscapes. On the flip, Woody proves that he’s still on fire with the soulful-dubby-technoid-deep n’ funky “Let It Work,” guaranteeing waves of excitement on the floors. “Berzuh” is a reduced, dubby tech house gem that claps and grooves all over. |
| GET HIP | |
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NERVEBREAKERS: Girls Girls Girls Girls/I’d Much Rather Be With The Boys 7″ (GH 250EP) 5.00 “On November 19, 1980, the Nervebreakers won the ‘Agora’s Battle Of The Bands’ in Dallas. Their prize was free recording time at Pantego Sound Studios in Arlington, TX, where these two songs were recorded. The single was originally released in 1981 on Wild Child Records.” |
| HANDMADE BIRDS | |
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SERVILE SECT: Trvth LP (HB 012LP) 16.00 “Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) released the last Servile Sect album on his own Ecstatic Peace label to critical acclaim. Though each of this duo remain elusive, one is from Northern California, while the other resides in Brooklyn, ultimately injecting from both coasts a unique, sci-fi influenced black metal vision that truly is the beacon of light in a populated genre.” Housed in a full-color gatefold sleeve. |
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DER BLUTHARSCH: Werkschau 1997-2010 2LP (HBDIS 015LP) 26.00 “One time pressing of 500, Handmade Birds Dark Icons Series. 2xLP remastered for vinyl by James Plotkin, archived on 180 gram classic black virgin vinyl. Original artwork designed by Albin Julius. Black and red foil stamping. Albin Julius was the founding member and half of iconic Austrian neofolk pioneers The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud, TMLHBAC are one of the most influential, respected, and sought after acts ever to emerge in the neofolk movement. Twenty four tracks spanning thirteen years of this crucial band, with selections from nine full length albums, curated by R. Loren (Pyramids, Sailors With Wax Wings, White Moth).” Includes a sign and numbered insert. |
| HONEST JON’S RECORDS (UK) | |
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VA: London Is The Place For Me 2LP (HJR 002LP) 20.00 Subtitled: Trinidadian Calypso In London, 1950-1956. 2011 vinyl repress of what was the 2nd album on the Honest Jon’s label, originally released 2002. When the Empire Windrush, an old troop-carrier, arrived at Tilbury on June 21, 1948, and inaugurated modern Caribbean immigration to Britain, it also supplied calypso with its best-known image — on Pathé newsreel, Lord Kitchener singing his new composition “London Is The Place For Me.” Kitch had boarded with Lord Beginner at Kingston docks, Jamaica, on Empire Day, May 24. In London they joined a milieu of fine band musicians familiar with Caribbean musical forms and already represented on numerous recordings crucial to the development of British swing and jazz music. Travelling with their own core audience, the Trinidadian calypsonians brought with them the vocal music of Carnival. Traditionally this ranges from social satire to sexual double-entendre, from voodoo to the most pressing issues of the day, from sporting events to competitive insult. The experiences of Britain’s growing Caribbean population were to be fabulously rich in raw material. Housed in a gatefold sleeve. |
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VA: London Is the Place For Me 4 2LP (HJR 025LP) 20.00 …African Dreams and the Piccadilly High Life. 2011 repress. Double LP version. “This is the fourth volume in our series celebrating the music of black London, staying for now with the first waves of modern immigration from Africa and the West Indies. After devoting a third installment to the accomplishments of the late Nigerian genius Ambrose Campbell, Honest Jon’s resumes an open-house policy, suited to musicians whose lives and artistic ambitions carried them all over the world: calypso and kwela are back, and highlife and bebop, with a little rock n’ roll, a ‘mambo indio,’ a shango hymn, and a cha-cha-cha for bellydancing jazzbos. A lake in a Johannesburg zoo pops up next to a Chinese on the Harrow Road. Astronauts and prostitutes mingle with landlords and Test cricketers, sex with streetfighting and doing a runner. The music is presented alongside very rare artist photographs by Val Wilmer, and detailed notes.” |
| HYDRA HEAD | |
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HELMS ALEE: Weatherhead CD (HDH 216CD) 16.50 “In the alternate reality, a band like Helms Alee reigns above all. Here, no one seeks to tame guitar squall to fit in a radio format or, inversely, needlessly dirty up a good hook to provide an air of authenticity. Here, Helms Alee’s balance is the archetype-masterful and enthralling. Given the history of the last two decades and the deepening sense that melody and muscle compromise one another, Weatherhead becomes heroic. It’s not just gallant in intent, but in sound. Granted, heroism is subjective; listeners are bound to have their own preferred reverberations to conjure an inspired rallying cry. But Helms Alee’s gamut of timbres–from the most guttural blown-out roar to the most graceful lilting melody- -summon a sense of triumph, empowerment, and conquest. The relentless chugging fuzz and vocal harmonies of ‘Elbow Grease’, the concrete thrust of the central riff of ‘8/16’, the thunderstruck arpeggio of ‘Pretty As Pie’, the siren song of ‘Pig Pile’, the unbridled scuzz of ‘Ripper No Lube’, and the alternating agit-punk and anthemic approach of the title track all reinforces Helms Alee’s position as masters of diametrically opposed tactics.” |
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HELMS ALEE: Weatherhead 2LP (HDH 216LP) 26.50 2LP version. Includes download code and insert. |
| HYPERCOLOUR (UK) | |
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JONES, ALEX: Disappointing Dancefloors Since 2005 12″ (HYPE 020EP) 12.00 This release comes from one of the founders and driving forces behind Hypercolour, Alex Jones. Whether it’s the oddball treatment of vocals and synths, over-loud snares or brutal use of EQ, Disappointing Dancefloors rides roughshod over tried and tested formulas without ever losing sight of, ironically, the dancefloor. The haunting funk of the title track, the mid-tempo drawl of “Morning Game” or the Roland TR-fuelled punch of “Romania Pika” are, in Jones’ own words, like “weirdos on a train.” |
| IDEOLOGIC ORGAN (FRANCE) | |
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PHURPA: Trowo Phurnag Ceremony 2LP (SOMA 001LP) 25.00 This voyage began in the middle of the 1990s in Moscow, when a group of artists and musicians led by Alexei Tegin and based at the legendary Fabrique of Cardinal Art commenced their studies of traditional ritual music, drifting away from the field of contemporary electroacoustic and industrial music with the intent to delve deeper into the ancient musical cultures of ancient Egypt, Iran and Tibet. The original 2003 line-up of the project that emerged as a result was dubbed Phurpa (one of the five tutelary deities of the Father Tantra in Bon tradition), and all the members have carried on with their research in the field of Bon and Buddhist liturgies up to the present day. Before Buddhism reached Tibet, local people had practiced involved shamanic rites derived from various ancestral cults. Later on, circa the VI-IX century A.D., a conflict between the local tradition, namely, the pre-Buddhist religion of Bon (which originates from Central Asia) and Tantric Buddhism (hailing from the North of India) gave birth to a unique cultural phenomenon known as Tibetan Buddhism, which combines an extensive metaphysical corpus and an advanced philosophical system with pristine ceremonial practices that reach down through many centuries. In the X-XI century A.D., the monastic ensemble came into being. It has got a lot in common with the Chinese court ensembles of the Tang dynasty; nevertheless, the Tibetan ceremonial ensemble has preserved its authenticity and kept a large number of primordial elements stemming from the ancient Tibeto-Burmanese music intact to this day. A typical ensemble usually includes a pair of nga drums, several rolmo cymbals and a pair of gyaling oboes, as well as telescopic dunchen horns, dunkar shells and short wandun horns. One of the unique features of the Tibetan monastic choir is a specific kind of overtone chanting, called “rgyud-skad,” or the Tantric voice, which is based on the principle of the singer’s transmogrification during the so-called “chanting meditation.” The ritual Tibetan instruments as used by the ensemble include the following: dunchen, gyaling, silnyen, bub, damaru, kanling, nga, shang. The ensemble adheres to the rgyud-skad tradition of Tantric overtone chanting. Stephen O’Malley comments: “Russian group led by the contemporary artist Alexei Tegin take on a traditional and ancient form of Tibetan ritual music by the name of Bon. While many familiar aspects will be revealed to the informed listener, the group PHURPA takes the polyphonic singing style to a lower key and a slower pace. Over the course of 4 LP sides, this meditative listen unveils many spectral illusions and invigorating evolutions in sonic possibilities.” Originally released on CD by Sketis Music, Russia, 2008. Ideologic Organ curation and art direction by Stephen O’Malley, manufactured and distributed by Editions Mego. Phurpa are: Alexei Tegin, Andrei Grekov, Cheslav Merk, Eduard Utukin and Dmitry Globa-Mikhailenko. |
| IMMUNE | |
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SMALDONE, MICAH BLUE: The Red River LP (IMMUNE 002LP) 14.00 2011 repress. LP version. |
| INFINE (FRANCE) | |
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TRISTANO, FRANCESCO: Idiosynkrasia 2LP (IF 1012LP) 29.00 2LP version. This is a full-length album by Luxembourgian pianist and composer Francesco Tristano, recorded in Detroit with Carl Craig. A close musical encounter of the third kind: that might be the most appropriate way to describe what the people at The Space on July 18, 2010 were lucky enough to experience. That night, a grand piano had landed in the illustrious Ibiza club. At its helm, Francesco Tristano — a long-distance adventurer in sonic space. Also on board, in the DJ booth, was Carl Craig, controlling Ableton with the help of his iPad. Carried away by the fervor of an audience in perfect osmosis, the duo flew higher and higher, eluding the borders between musical genres and giving a performance that has already gone down in The Space’s history. A few months earlier, in Detroit, a similar sighting had been reported: a grand(iose, of course) piano had settled for a week amidst an impressive number of machines and a no less impressive number of records, virtually filling the studios of Planet E, Carl Craig’s label. For it was precisely there, in that stronghold of Detroit techno, that Francesco Tristano had chosen to record Idiosynkrasia, his third solo album for InFiné. As the artist himself explains, “This record is the fruit of a quest for an idiosyncratic language that is somewhere between acoustic and electronic, a quest that spans time and space, and I want to bring the piano into the 21st century. My ambition is to provide the piano with a new identity, because it is often associated with classical music and viewed as an instrument of the past, while I genuinely see it as an instrument of the future.” Fundamentally polychromatic, evolving ceaselessly from one mode to the next, Idiosynkrasia proves to be perfectly coherent and reveals an extra-large conception of music. Includes vinyl exclusive track (“Grin”), plus an mp3 download card. |
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AGORIA: Impermanence CD (IF 1013CD) 17.00 Sébastien Devaud aka Agoria, entered the world of electronic dance music at a peculiar moment in time. Living in rural France, Agoria first got hooked to electronic music through listening to Kevin Saunderson’s classic “Good Life” on the local radio as a twelve-year-old kid in 1988. His next revelation came a few years later when one of the first DJ sets he experienced happened to be from Jeff Mills in nearby Lyon. Agoria started out as a DJ himself, quickly followed by organizing his own parties together with a group of friends. He started producing and releasing his own tracks in 1999, and first gained international recognition in 2001 with La Onzième Marche. In 2002, he released a series of 12″s on Pias Recordings, followed by the much-lauded Blossom LP one year later. This debut album already crystallized a musical sensibility reaching far beyond traditional techno channels. His sometimes-muscular productions also leaned towards electro-house on Stereolove and Spinach Girl, several years before 2.0 French Touch burst onto the scene. Three years later and The Green Armchair came into being, also showcasing a rich musical panorama. Another important contribution has been the launch of InFiné in 2006, a label that Devaud founded together with his friends Alexandre Cazac and Yannick Matray. Agoria’s own debut on the label only came in 2009 with his 12″ Magnolia/Libellules. However, with his third album Impermanence, one can clearly hear that InFiné has also had an influence on Agoria’s own music. As its title implies, the music exists in a constant state of flux and flows easily from contemplative sound pieces to intimate acoustic songs and forward-moving club tracks. The album opens with the repetition of three notes played on a piano, with only the addition of violin, bell and the voice of 20 year-old female singer, Kid A, from Virginia. The beatless “Kiss My Soul” establishes the intimate tone of the album, which continues with the dubby house of “Souless Dreamer,” on which Seth Troxler guests with his trademark whisper. Strings and piano resurface on a number of the album tracks, sometimes used in surprising guises, such as the Stradivarius that serves as a rave signal on the infectious “Panta Rei.” “Under The River,” on the other hand, is a lush ambient piece dominated by the late-night sounds of a horn. Carl Craig makes an appearance as a vocalist on the sleazy “Speechless.” Another standout track is “Heart Beating,” again featuring Kid A’s strong and engaging voice. The song is Agoria’s most direct pop-piece yet and an unexpected proof of his strength as both a songwriter and arranger. Agoria has created an album that is at the same time constantly changing while also having a unique flow and mood of its own. While the range and sensibility of his productions still cover a wide and varied musical spectrum, his command of contrasts proves to be even more refined than ever; it comes within reach of a near-perfect balance between cold and warm atmospheres, light and dark, mind and guts. |
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AGORIA: Impermanence 2LP (IF 1013LP) 29.00 2LP version. |
| INITIAL CUTS (FRANCE) | |
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PIERRE LX: Out 1 2LP (INITIAL 004LP) 25.00 2LP version. Out 1, the debut album by Pierre LX, slinks elegantly around the peripheries of electronic music in a way that only a record made in London can. Not really techno, kind of like house, but certainly influenced by the UK’s bass music scene, this is one of those albums that slips between genres into its own groove. His contemporaries, producers like John Roberts, Instra:mental and Pearson Sound, are on a similar wavelength. Pierre’s analog jams are moody and sensuous, raw and sometimes jacking, and they unravel in a cool, understated manner that makes them ideal for the warm-up and perfect for the after-party. You could say this is serious stuff, hopelessly self-indulgent and one for the purists, and you’d be right. But let Out 1 seduce you and it’s easy to see why Pierre LX is the producer many other producers and DJs are talking about. Panorama Bar’s Cassy led the way when she included one of his first releases, “Gabita,” on her 2009 Cocoon mix. Out 1 is made up of eight pieces that were improvised on the machines in Pierre’s home studio over a short period. The album takes its name from French new-wave director Jacques Rivette’s 1971 avant-garde epic, a work Pierre encountered studying film and video art in London. “I wanted it to have a kind of geometrical feel. The idea is that the listener can approach the album from different angles, but they’ll still be able get into the narrative,” he says. “Each track was recorded as a continuous live take on hardware to heighten the sense of intimacy and realism.” |
| INNERVISIONS (GERMANY) | |
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WORGULL, MARCUS: Long Way/Coppa 12″ (IV 034EP) 14.00 It has taken quite some time for Marcus Worgull to deliver his third EP for Innervisions. We won’t blah blah about the music. You better just listen to it. But there is one piece of decisive information that shouldn’t be withheld from those who never read the credits: “Long Way” has additional instruments, beats and even vocals (!) by Mr. Prins Thomas. |
| INTACTO (NETHERLANDS) | |
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SHINEDOE/DJ MADSKILLZ: Intacto Records And Womb Fundraiser: Our Heart Is With Japan 12″ (INTAC 032EP) 12.00 On March 11, 2011, Shinedoe had planned to DJ at Club Womb in Tokyo. She’ll never forget the events and devastation that followed, nor will she forget the kindness of the local people who kept her safe and in good company during her days there. Shinedoe has arranged this Intacto release with all proceeds given to the Red Cross. Shinedoe would like to thank Womb’s partnership for this fundraiser and to the Kokorowatomoni team for their solidarity campaign. |
| INTERNATIONAL DEEJAY GIGOLO (GERMANY) | |
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RAMPA & RE.YOU: Feet 12″ (GIGOLO 279EP) 12.00 Gigolo welcomes Rampa & Re.You aboard with a double-whammy — two beastly tracks designed to suck you onto the dancefloor. Rampa is best known for his past solo releases on Rebirth and Keinemusik, Re.You is known for his affiliation with the Souvenir label, and these two Berliner producers teamed up for their first collaboration in 2010, a single-sided 12″. Raw, shuffling house beats that nod to warehouse classics with a contemporary edge. |
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GILLA: Der Strom Der Zeit (DJ Hell Extended Club Mix 2011) 12″ (GIGOLO 281EP) 12.00 “‘Der Strom Der Zeit’ is quite a brilliant B-side by Austria’s Donna Summer, produced by the ingenious Frank Farian. This is an emotional German disco hit that hits you in the guts. I had total respect for Gilla when I was a kid.” –DJ HELL |
| INTERNATIONAL FEEL (URUGUAY) | |
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LOCUSSOLUS: Locussolus CD (IFEEL 015CD) 17.00 The Uruguay-based label International Feel, prominently featured in many best of 2010 shortlists presents their second, massively-anticipated album from the Disco Administrator himself, DJ Harvey and his Locussolus project. This album shows Harvey’s full vision, all together in one place, for the first time. To complete the journey, there are also amazing remixes from Andrew Weatherall, Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas, The Emperor Machine, Time & Space Machine and Harvey’s own dubbed-out reworkings. This is Harvey’s “Tales from The Nocturn” if you like — a journey through night-town. |
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LOCUSSOLUS: Locussolus 2×12″ (IFEEL 015LP) 25.00 Limited edition vinyl double pack containing exclusive tracks. |
| JAZZMAN RECORDS (UK) | |
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HOWARD, CAMILLE: Shrinking Up Fast/Please Don’t Stay Away Too Long 7″ (JBJ 1017EP) 11.00 Jazzman Records presents another R&B gem in its Jukebox Jam series, featuring ’40s songstress Camille Howard. Making its first appearance on 45rpm vinyl, “Shrinking Up Fast” is bound to set pulses rising with its hot and seductive jazzy feel, mambo rhythm and wailing horns. “Please Don’t Stay Away Too Long” is a breezy jump blues side which also rotates around a loosely Latin-influenced rhythm. |
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FISHER, MARY ANN: Put On My Shoes/Wild As You Can Be 7″ (JBJ 1018EP) 11.00 Up next in the Jukebox Jam series is a super-moody popcorn-style R&B number with an aptly down-trodden vocal turn from Mary Ann Fisher! Originally released on the small but respected blues indie label Fire, this is one which has proven particularly elusive to collectors and DJs. “Put On My Shoes” is slow and mean, whereas “Wild As You Can Be” is a more raucous affair — a foot-stomping R&B rocker which sees Mary Ann gruffly berating her feral lover for his wily ways. |
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GILSON, JEF: EP 7″ (JM 083EP) 12.50 Jazzman Records presents one of the most brilliant and productive jazzmen ever to have lived: French pianist, composer and arranger Jef Gilson. With his career spanning the best part of a century, Gilson has made music with a who’s who of jazz greats, has written, performed on and recorded innumerable film scores, albums and 45s, ran the Palm jazz record label, yet despite all this, the 84 year-old remains criminally under-appreciated. Here is a limited, numered edition 4-track 7″ EP featuring some of his finest creations. |
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FOAT GROUP, THE GREG: Dark Is The Sun CD (JMAN 041CD) 17.00 Jazzman’s next attempt at world domination produces the debut album by The Greg Foat Group. Recorded in Sweden, Dark Is The Sun is a concept album based on themes and variations by British pianist/composer/arranger Greg Foat, who has created an intriguing blend of non-contemporary jazz sounds with classic scoring techniques. An exotic array of unorthodox instrumentation was utilized, including harpsichord, tubular bells and a 15-piece choir. With musical reference and influence from such luminaries as Bruno Nicolai, Michel Legrand and Serge Gainsbourg as well as a firm nod towards UK jazzmen Michael Garrick, Keith Mansfield and Alan Hawkshaw, the result is highly-listenable, enduring and fulfilling for those who like real music played with real instruments. Original artwork by House Of Traps. |
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FOAT GROUP, THE GREG: Dark Is The Sun LP (JMAN 041LP) 25.50 LP version. Numbered, limited edition of 1000, housed in a screenprinted jacket. |
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SIR GUY: I Need You Baby/Let Home Cross Your Mind 7″ (SOUL7 023EP) 11.00 Virginia-based Sir Guy wasn’t too happy with the recording quality of “Let Home Cross Your Mind” when it was first released back in ’72 on the DPG label. But it was a damn fine song, so he insisted that he cut it again. So just a couple of months later, this time with local talents Raw Soul as backing band instead of the Speller Brothers, “I Need You Baby” was recorded. Fully licensed and restored from the original master tapes. Limited to 500 copies worldwide. |
| KITSUNE (FRANCE) | |
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VA: Kitsuné Maison Compilation 11- The Indie Dance Issue 2LP (KITSUNE 036LP) 26.50 Gatefold 2LP version, featuring an exclusive remix by Jensen Sportag. Here is Kitsuné’s 11th Maison compilation, taking one more step towards maturity. While Kitsuné is perceived as somewhat of a club label, really they have always resided somewhere between “club” and “indie.” This new compilation sits right at the crossroads of the two. As label-head Gildas Loaec explains: “I find the combination of guitars and electronics is one of the most exciting areas in music today.” Kitsuné has always supported this fusion and believed a good part of the future will come from that. So here’s Kitsuné’s selection of what’s best in the genre at the moment. Artists include: Alexander Dexter Jones, Housse De Racket, Polarsets, Gallops, Cosmonaut, Creep, Azari & III, Is Tropical, Peter & The Magician, The Touch, Logo X Icona Pop, Beat Connection, Nightbox, Guards, Fiction and Exotica. |
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PUNKS JUMP UP: Blockhead 12″ (KITSUNE 126EP) 12.00 The London duo Punks Jump Up present “Blockhead.” This percussive, rhythmically hypnotic dance song, accompanied with a quirky & driven bass line is a tribute to the terrifying-looking but yet emotionally soft & musically talented monster on the sleeve of the record. Every time Punks Jump Up plays this song in clubs the crowd totally starts making jerky, spastic dance moves. Includes remixes by Zombie Nation, Hey Today! and SymbolOne. |
| KLIMT (FRANCE) | |
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AYLER, ALBERT: Spirits LP (MJJ 317LP) 21.00 “After a few years spent living in Sweden and touring with Cecil Taylor’s Jazz Unit, Ayler moved to NYC to begin imposing his revolutionary style of jazz on the world through a number of groundbreaking records. Spirits, recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York City on 24 February 1964, was his first effort. Recorded a few months prior to his landmark album for ESP-Disk, Spiritual Unity (but only released in Europe on Denmark’s Debut Records), for the occasion Ayler recruited Norman Howard (a Cleveland-based trumpeter), well-known bassist Henry Grimes, drummer and right-hand man Sunny Murray and the then-unknown bassist Earle Henderson. This historic early disc is essential Ayler.” |
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CHERRY/KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI, DON: The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra LP (MJJ 318LP) 21.00 “Recorded live at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in Germany on October 17, 1971, this rare concert has not been available on vinyl since the seventies! This recording, while still firmly rooted in the American free jazz tradition of Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler (with whom Don Cherry frequently recorded), brings in elements of traditional Indian, African, Chinese, Mayan and Balinese music. Of the three pieces found here, the first two are composed by Cherry and feature an international group of musicians reminiscent of Sun Ra’s Arkestra (Cherry also recorded with Ra). His son, the three-year-old Eagle-Eye Cherry, and his wife Moki, can also be heard in some sections! The final piece was written and conducted by Grammy Award-winning Polish avant-garde composer Krysztof Penderecki, best known for his groundbreaking ‘Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima.'” |
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AYLER, ALBERT: Swing Low Sweet Spiritual LP (MJJ 319LP) 21.00 “Following a few years spent living and playing in Scandinavia, an unknown saxophone player by the name of Albert Ayler returned home to the USA to begin imposing his revolutionary style of jazz on the world. Having recorded his debut album, My Name Is Albert Ayler for the Danish label, Debut Records, this session (which took place in New York City on 24 February 1964) was his first American effort, resulting in the eventual release of two albums: Spirits (released in 1964 on Debut) and Swing Low, Sweet Spiritual, which remained unissued for 30 years. Here, a quartet featuring Ayler on tenor and soprano sax, Call Cobbs on piano, Henry Grimes on bass and Sunny Murray on drums, provide a fresh reading of five well-known African American spirituals and gospel hymns, plus ‘Old Man River,’ taken from the 1927 musical Show Boat. This is an extremely rare album from Ayler’s early period.” |
| LATITUDE | |
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VA: Wallahi Le Zein! 2CD (LATIT 007CD) 21.00 Subtitled: Wezin, Jakwar And Guitar Boogie from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. “Recordings of the Beydane complete with 28 tracks, a dozen different performers, & extensive liner notes in a 32-page booklet. In Mauritania’s capital city, Nouakchot, you’ll see thousands of one story buildings with the peaks of Bedouin tents rising from their walled courtyards or roofs, next to shacks pieced together from scraps of tin, wood & concrete blocks. Every few blocks, breaking up this architectural rhythm, you will see a few two story Moorish style palaces, their eggshell paint gleaming in the sun. You will also, inevitably, hear the music of the Beydane, which lives behind the walls, in the courtyards, & in the sandy open patches of these neighborhoods.” |
| LEKTROLUV (BELGIUM) | |
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SUBS, THE: Don’t Stop 12″ (LL 050EP) 12.00 The too-cool-for-old-school house cut “Don’t Stop” is the love child of the first The Subs vs. Highbloo musical encounter, when Highbloo was not part of the band yet. A very spontaneous I-feel-good-and-I-wanna-go-to-the-pool-maybe-have-a-barbecue-but-surely-invite-some-friends-and-shake-it-to-the-floor kinda track. Lush and summer-ish. To finish the package, there are crazy remixes by Beataucue, Autoérotique and Le Petit Belge & Le Cheval. |
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MUMBAI SCIENCE: Lotus 12″ (LL 051EP) 12.00 After spending the first part of 2011 touring the USA and Australia, Mumbai Science bundled their newfound inspiration to bring you this EP on Lektroluv, consisting of two original tracks, serving as a perfect summer fix. While “Lotus” strikes with a sleazy yet uplifting bass line, “Panas” shines with its enchanting melodic hook. Still, both tracks share the typical Mumbai Science electro synths and techno feel. Think rolling drums, trippy melodies and a whole lotta sunshine. |
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HIGHBLOO: Bro Code 12″ (LL 052EP) 12.00 This is Highbloo’s fourth EP on Lektroluv. Previous release Time To Change was supported by Steve Aoki, Boys Noize, Brodinski, Boris Dlugosch, Mixhell, Mason, Style Of Eye, Zoo Brazil, Don Rimini, Drop The Lime, The Aston Shuffle, Mustard Pimp, BeatauCue, His Majesty André and many more. “Bro Code” and “Playbook” are two amazing bangers. |
| LICKING RIVER RECORDS | |
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AXIS:SOVA: (I Feel Like) Laying Low 7″ (LR 005EP) 6.50 “A debut affair; Chicago-boy makes noise under the muggy haze of the south loop, pollinated with nomadic, modal guitar tones. These tracks were captured using both 8- and 4-track analog equipment with an old Tele Custom; a Roland TR-66 Rhythm Arranger as accompaniment on the A-side, a djembe on the B-side. At the final point of any winter, harshness always gives way to a blooming rain season. Like some kind of mildness to appease your internal disorders, it removes your dusty clothes and bathes you in warm water. The Axis:sovA is weathered; that Chrome detail’s got a bit o’ Shankar here, a tad of Schenker there. These markings add some character and serve to remind you, it’s the fools what do hesitate to meditate.” |
| LOCUST | |
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BLACK VATICAN: Oceanic Feelin’ LP (LOCUST 125LP) 18.00 “Black Vatican (Chicago filmmaker Andy Roche & man-about-Baltimore Owen Gardner) return on Locust. It’s the morning of the earth & here they are again with the ebullient summer mystifier of an album. Somnolent vocals a la Arthur Russell, striated droning guitar, primitive rhythm box bombast & churning, minimal synths make for a beautifully unrefined album of liminal pop song that rises, breaks & bubbles before washing out ashore like so much audible sea foam.” |
| LOVE TRIANGLE MUSIC (UK) | |
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PHANTOM & HOLD: Glass Heart 12″ (LOVE 002EP) 13.00 “Music by Simon Hold and Phantom, known for his cover art for Uruguay-based International Feel label amongst others. One-sided 12″s limited to 500 copies worldwide! Strictly vinyl only release.” |
| MAN RECORDINGS (GERMANY) | |
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HAAKSMAN, DANIEL: Rambazamba 2LP (MAN 060LP) 20.00 2LP version. This is the debut album by Man’s own label-head, Daniel Haaksman. The label is based in Berlin, though starting as an imprint for baile funk, nowadays, it is one of the most important contributors to a contemporary club sound reflecting a hyper-accelerated, globalized world where musical genres melt together until they become indefinable. Daniel Haaksman is an undeniable “funkeiro numero um da Alemanha” (trans. “Germany’s #1 funkster”) and impressively proves this with his debut album, going even one step further. Rambazamba might be deeply rooted in the aesthetic of baile funk, but takes the Brazilian sound as a starting point for a journey into the soundscapes of local music going global all around the world. The title of the album reflects this melting pot of ideas: Rambazamba is German vernacular for “stir up” or “mayhem,” used a lot in German spoken language, yet it sounds “exotic.” Its origins are etymologically unclear (though a common belief is that it’s a vernacular appropriation of the Spanish “carramba” or a mix-up of “rumba” and “samba”) and there are suggestions that it comes from Yiddish or Romanic languages. Whatever the origin, the word perfectly represents the atmosphere of the album as it represents the chaos, energy, and uprising elements of the recordings, and at the same time, with its unclear etymological origin, it mirrors the aesthetic of the album with references to the sound of cities like Rio De Janeiro, Salvador De Bahia, Belem, Cairo, Luanda, Napoli, or regions such as the Caribbean and the Balkans. Featuring contributions from Tati Quebra Barraco, Seguindo Sonhos, Roxxy Bione, Shantel & Bobanh Markovic Orkestar and Salah Ragab & The Cairo Jazz Orchestra. |
| MATCHLESS RECORDINGS (UK) | |
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HUBBUB: Whobub 2CD (MRCD80) 33.00 Performed by Frédéric Blondy – piano; Bertrand Denzler – tenor saxophone; Jean-Luc Guionnet – alto saxophone; Jean-Sébastien Mariage – electric guitar; Edward Perraud – drums & percussion. “Since 1999, Hubbub has played in France, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, USA, Portugal, Serbia and Austria, at Festivals like FIMAV (Victoriaville), VTO (Toronto), Freedom of the City (London), NPAI (Parthenay), Fruits de Mhère (Brassy), Densités (Fresnes-en-Woëvre), Jazz à Mulhouse (Mulhouse), Jazz em Agosto (Lisbon), Ulrichsberger Kaleidophon (Ulrichsberg) or Ring Ring (Belgrade) and has released the CDs UB/ABU on For 4 Ears (Günter Müller’s label), Hoop Whoop and Hoib on Matchless Recordings (Eddie Prévost’s label) as well as a DVD-R on ? dans l’O (Patrick B?uf’s label). The new Hubbub album is a double CD called Whobub with a live recording and a studio recording.” |
| METROLINE LIMITED (UK) | |
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VITIELLO, MAURIZIO: MusicOn 12″ (MLTD 047EP) 12.00 Maurizio Vitiello returns to Metroline with some seriously deep bass-driven techno. The lead track is a driving, stripped-down techno groove. “Looking Good” keeps that groove going with a bass line so heavy you’ll have to pick yourself up off the floor. On “Movers,” Maurizio lets the drums do the talking. “Pleased” is going to set the summer floors on fire. Vocal samples weave in and out of the mix, and sharp-as-a-needle ’80s-tinged synths stab through the deep, heavy rhythm track. |
| MEXICAN SUMMER | |
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LIGHT ASYLUM: In Tension 12″ (MEX 088EP) 18.00 “At once brutal and romantic, Light Asylum exists in that space where industrial gives way to goth, where the city meets the outer regions under the cover of night. Four songs here that showcase Shannon Funchess and Bruno Coviello’s fluid synth pop attack that shifts elegantly from midtempo industrial dance to subliminal futureballads that are deceptively uplifting when considering LI’s relentless dark sheen. Calling Funchess a commanding lead singer is an understatement; there is a heaviness and attack in her vocal delivery that is downright sinister. This is contemporary synth pop to a tee that comes to life during their revered live performances.” Limited, numbered edition of 1000; includes download code. |
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PURLING HISS: Lounge Lizards LP (MEX 094LP) 18.00 “After a series of three LPs which alternated between mind’s eye-gouging psychedelic excess and pine-scented woodshedding of pop tunes, here comes the logical endpoint between both: Lounge Lizards, six songs that stick around like sedan carpet matted with spilled Pepsi and Pat’s wrappers, a hard drill that penetrates historical musical hits, like the Cars through Dinosaur Jr through Monoshock and into the cold, acrid air of present times.” Limited, numbered edition of 1000; includes download code. |
| MINUS (CANADA) | |
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BAREM: After The Storm 2LP (MINUS 110LP) 20.00 This is the vinyl version of Barem’s debut album, with five specially-edited tracks for all vinyl-lovers. There. Is. Nothing. Better. Than. A. Clear. Blue. Sky. After The Storm. Taken literally, the track listing for Barem’s debut LP represents that fleeting moment when nature puts its house in order, when calm and clarity triumph over chaos. Of course it also works perfectly as a metaphor for those fuzzy moments of self-reflection while sprawled on a hotel bed after another mind-blowing night at the controls, or while taking stock of a musical journey that’s about to culminate in a debut album for the internationally-renowned label that motivated you to start making music in the first place. Barem has always offered a more laidback counterpoint to the edgy sounds of some of his label mates. His decision to progress in a deeper, percussive direction began with the Kolimar EP and apart from the dark, ambient intro, this vibe dominates the album. On “After The Storm” we’re greeted with tribal rhythms, muffled brass sections and a superb fretless bass riff, all benefitting from a shift in 6/8 blues time signature. “Is” really showcases his skill at concocting instinctive, percussion-driven grooves, expressing a natural inner rhythm that exploits the full stereo field. By the time we reach “Better,” the low pressure is beginning to break. Additional elements gradually make their presence felt as the beats continue to flay and splinter, phasing strings heighten the suspense and a delicate one note riff skips and bounces through spot effects and sprinkled vocal snippets as Barem coolly maintains the growing intrigue. As if to highlight the evolving nature of the LP, the transition to the more dubbed-out “Than” goes almost unnoticed as the gentle undertow begins pulling us into more familiar M_nus territory. Disorienting percussive delays start jarring into the void, indiscernible vocal slurs reverberate out into the corners of the room and warm, acidic bleeps start tapping at the doors of perception. “A” features a mystical atmosphere driven by shakers and hats and offset with cavernous delays and detuned pads that warp and envelope the collective consciousness in the orange-red glow of some ancient tribal ritual. “Sky” then announces the final ascent with a long, seductive intro that crystallizes into an elegant melody, while the throbbing bass line generates another ecstatic rush of dark energy. |
| MONITOR POP ENTERTAINMENT (GERMANY) | |
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STEWART, MARK: ON/OFF: Mark Stewart (Pop Group to Maffia) DVD (MPE 028DVD) 27.50 Mark Stewart first made his presence felt as the front man for The Pop Group in the late 1970s. They were pioneers of the post-punk dance sound and had success with singles such as “She Is Beyond Good And Evil” and “We Are All Prostitutes.” When the band split in 1980, Mark joined the emerging On U Sound crew as a part-time member of The New Age Steppers. He then went on to form his own band with Keith LeBlanc and Doug Wimbish, the rhythm section of the Sugar Hill Gang and guitarist Skip McDonald. With Adrian Sherwood and his production magic at the controls, The Maffia unleashed an awesome mix of styles that sounded like Bootsy Collins jamming over a bootleg Jah Shaka tape in an urban warzone. This incredible mix of funk, dub and electronic overload pre-empted techno and drum n’ bass by years. Mark Stewart, often copied, never bettered. This film retraces the singer’s steps and paths from the early days of The Pop Group right up to the present. Director Tøni Schifer, who followed Mark around for a full 3 years, has crafted a detailed, often intimate portrait of the artist, supplemented by interviews with, amongst others, Mark Stewart himself, Adrian Sherwood, Daniel Miller (Mute Records), Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Doug Wimbish, Skip McDonald, Keith LeBlanc, Douglas Hart (The Jesus And Mary Chain), Fritz Catlin (23 Skidoo), Mike Watt (Minutemen, The Stooges), Gareth Sager (The Pop Group, Rip Rig And Panic), Dan Catsis (The Pop Group), John Waddington (The Pop Group) Janine Rainforth (Maximum Joy), Massive Attack, Keith Levine (Public Image Limited) and many others, plus never-seen live recordings and music clips. Film: 82 mins; bonus material: 70 mins. Director: Tøni Schifer; Format: DVD10; Audio language: English; Subtitles: German, English; Format: PAL + NTSC, 16:9, Color, Region 0; Sound: Stereo. |
| MULE ELECTRONIC (GERMANY) | |
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MULLAERT AKA MINILOGUE, SEBASTIAN: Älva EP 12″ (MULE 080EP) 15.50 Mule Electronic welcomes back more of Sebastian Mullaert’s solo work. “Älva” is dubby, psychedelic house, sounding like a more techno version of Omar-S. This track will be a great DJ tool for everyone. On the B-side, “Lyssna Då Björkarna Viskar” is peaceful ambient house with the sound of birds singing, discordant piano, trippy synths, etc. — perfect music for the morning in the club. |
| MUSIC MAN (BELGIUM) | |
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DUNDOV, PETAR: Tenth Plateau 12″ (MM 154EP) 12.00 With all the tracks on this EP averaging an impressive 12 minutes in length, you know Petar Dundov is set to take you on a serious journey. The title track kicks off with tantalizing strings that build up towards a euphoric climax. “Quinta” is assembled around a looped synth line, which, coupled with a deft, rolling bass line — makes for something uniquely brilliant. The reworked version of the title track indulges a tort, rippling low-end and a loose, broken-up groove. |
| PAUL WINLEY RECORDS | |
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MIGHTY TOM CATS, THE: Soul Makossa LP (PW 121LP) 11.50 Exact repro of this break-heavy Afro-funk album. Another version of Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” that you need. |
| PERLON (GERMANY) | |
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DYGAS, MARGARET: Margaret Dygas CD (PERL 086CD) 17.00 With a sound born in New York, ripened in London and refined in Berlin, Margaret Dygas is an artist whose sound possesses a true international resonance. Born and raised in Poland, at age 11 Margaret and her family moved to Germany, before finally relocating to San Jose, California. Surrounded by old school hip-hop as a teenager, her discovery of house music came in the early ’90s, following a move to New York in order to study fashion at the renowned Fashion Institute of Technology. Captivated by the British dance scene, Margaret moved to London in the summer of 1999. Becoming a regular fixture on London’s electronic music scene, Margaret went on to play clubs that included Fabric, The End and Herbal, holding a residency at AKA for Underline’s label night. It was following her move to Berlin that Margaret started producing and writing her own music. After her debut release, Day After (for Jay Haze’s label Contexterrior), Margaret followed with the See You Around EP, released in 2008 on Non Standard Productions and the Invisible Circles 12″ for Perlon (2009). 2010 marked the release of Margaret’s first full-length album How Do You Do (PSCD 001CD). Released on Japan’s Power Shovel Audio, the album was inspired by the book Peoplewatching, a guide to body language by British zoologist Desmond Morris. Miss Dygas goes next level for Perlon with six songs in 46 minutes. |
| POGUS | |
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CORNER, PHILIP: Pieces From The Past CD (POGUS 21058) 13.00 Subtitled: By Philip Corner for The Violin Of Malcolm Goldstein. It has been a while in the works, but finally Pogus can proudly announce the release of this wonderful disc. Five works spanning 30 plus years by experimental composer Philip Corner, interpreted by his friend and fellow composer and utterly amazing violinist Malcolm Goldstein. These works consist of early pieces with notes though not notated in the traditional, linear way, as well as later pieces with graphic and/or verbal notation as with the gamelan series. And the graphically notated scores themselves are quite lovely. As noted above, four of the works are from live performances and they are must hears (as of course is the fifth recording ‘The Gold Stone’ taken from the out of print Sounding the New Violin by Goldstein. The interpretation/performances are intense and magical and should be savored. The long friendship and working relationship of these two are probably best summed up by Goldstein: ‘I have had the pleasure & honor of playing Philip’s music since the early 1960s. Always his music opened up new dimensions for me; compositional structures that incorporated a variety of improvisation frameworks, with sonic materials that focused the performer within the full spectrum of sound-texture qualities, that invited the musician to participate in the realization of the music and revealed unique realms of music making/thinking.’ Amen to that.” |
| POPCORN (UK) | |
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VALENTINO/RAY MCKINLEY, ANNA: On A Tropical Island/Similau 7″ (POPC 103EP) 8.00 Two pieces of ’50s exotica feature on this third Popcorn release. “On A Tropical Island” is an irresistibly seductive number, featuring singer Anna Valentino. Wonderfully jazzy with a Latin rhythm underpinning, this is such an evocative sound. On the flip is a very early piece: bandleader and croon-cat Ray McKinley’s 1949 rendition of the song “Similau.” There are a couple of other versions of the song, but this is really the best version, on vinyl for the first time. |
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LONG/JOHNNY WELLS, SHORTY: Burnt Toast & Black Coffee/Lonely Moon 7″ (POPC 105EP) 8.00 Two stone-cold classics back-to-back which really encapsulate the heart of the popcorn sound. Here is the original version of “Burnt Toast & Black Coffee,” recorded by Shorty Long. Johnny Wells’ “Lonely Moon” is an even more perfect example of what the popcorn sound is all about. A dynamic hybrid of styles including a slow but beating, swinging rhythm, a laid back, lounge-baked vocal all pull together to give this moody little number a hefty helping of character. |
| REMOTE AREA (NETHERLANDS) | |
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KID CULTURE & THOMAS ROBSON: So Addictive 12″ (REMOTE 033EP) 12.00 DJ and producer Kid Culture is one of the most exciting prospects to emerge from Amsterdam’s fertile dance scene. He’s released on labels such as Suara, Gruuv, Yoshitoshi, Sincopat, Catwash and Bitten. Thomas Robson is an Amsterdam-based DJ, known for his uptempo, energetic sets that contain a wide variety of musical styles. They join the Remote Area crew with these two grooves that walk on the housier side of tech house life. Club lasers meet glitter balls. |
| ROCKADROME | |
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MARY BUTTERWORTH: Mary Butterworth LP (ROCK 036LP) 21.00 “Travel back in time to 1969 with our official reissue of one of the most highly sought after west coast psychedelic rock records ever recorded. A heady trip, filled with grooving reverb-soaked jams! Prized original pressings command more than $1000!! In the tumultuous Spring of 1968, the Mary Butterworth band was formed. Contrary to rumors, the group originated from Southern California and enjoyed being thrust onto the incredible scene that was developing during this remarkable time for music. After a year or so of performing throughout the region in places like the Marina Palace in Seal Beach and others, they decided to record and release a debut album on their own label. In 1969, on a shoestring budget, their album was recorded, manufactured and released. However, the limited pressing was pre-sold to fans and friends only, and never even made it into stores. It disappeared as quickly as it arrived, as did Mary Butterworth, who disbanded not long after the album’s release, never to perform together again. After a decade or two, word of the album had spread to rabid collectors of vinyl records and late 60s music. Somewhere in Europe during this time, a bootleg vinyl was released and the legend of Mary Butterworth continued to grow, driving the price of the original pressing up into the hundreds of dollars. It would go on to be bootlegged a handful more times in various countries, further driving the price of the original pressing through the roof and continuing to enhance the reputation of this long lost piece of 60s psych rock history. Here it is 2011 and Mary Butterworth returns from the past once again, this time in the form of an official licensed, from the master tapes, limited edition vinyl reissue of the impossibly rare and sought after 1969 debut album.” |
| ROCKET RECORDINGS (UK) | |
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GNOD: INGNODWETRUST LP (LAUNCH 042LP) 23.00 Brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries of Gnod, let us call to mind our sins. We believe in one Gnod, Gnod Almighty, makers of heavy black slab on Earth. We believe in one Chord, seamless, sublime, the one and only sound of Gnod, eternally begotten of the marcher. Gnod from Gnod, light from light, true Gnod from true Gnod, begotten, not made, of one Being with the maker; through Them all riffs were played. For us and for our salvation They came down from Manchester; by the power of Tony’s (un)limit, They came to reincarnate and made the last disco’d beat. Tony’s First Communion, if you choose to be blessed by this record, is the first reception of the Sacrament on vinyl; this long-standing favorite has been celebrated over centuries of incarnations and Rocket are proud to release its rite of passage. The ceremony of this Communion lasts 20 minutes and 2 seconds. On the second side, Gnod rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; They ascended into noise upon this Earth and were seated at the right hand of the Vatican. This 13-minute holy doctrine sees Gnod take away the sins of the world; it cleanses the incense (the in-sense-out-sense) from the all-seeing (third) eye, like a Faustian Butthole Surfers sharing bread with Shit & Shine and John Carpenter turning water into wine. Some ceremonies owe their institution to purely physical reason; for Gnod, it’s the mystical reason that They represent. INGNODWETRUST is founded on honor and soul, They for one are finally washing their hands with downcast eyes. |
| SENZEN (GERMANY) | |
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BOND & BLOME: Lose Their Heads EP 12″ (SENZEN 002EP) 12.00 When Benno Blome and Jens Bond were hanging out in Benno’s studio the other day, they suddenly found themselves on the floor looking for their heads. They must have fallen off while producing some new Bond & Blome-beats. Having found their heads again, they continued, and finally came up with the Lose Their Heads EP. Also thanks to the fantastic remixes from Onno and Acumen, this whole package is ready to rumble all over the dancefloors of the universe. |
| SMALLTOWN SUPERJAZZ (NORWAY) | |
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THING WITH OTOMO YOSHIHIDE, THE: Shinjuku Crawl CD (STSJ 169CD) 17.00 “This time, The Thing return with guitars (gasp!) from none other than Otomo Yoshihide. Recorded by Jim O’Rourke live at Pit Inn in Tokyo, Shinjuku Crawl documents the different aspects of The Thing & how they are shaping & melting together with the wonderful guitar magic of Yoshihide. Otomo Yoshihide first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the noise rock group Ground Zero, & has since worked in a variety of contexts, ranging from free improvisation to noise, jazz, avant-garde & contemporary classical.” |
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LEAN LEFT: Volume 2 CD (STSJ 186CD) 17.00 Subtitled: The Ex Guitars meet Nilssen-Love/Vandermark Duo. “Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love have played together since 2000 in various settings & as duo since 2002. The duo work within free expression while including a strong element of heavy rhythmic groove, melody, sound & noise. Together, they join Andy Moor & Terrie Ex of Dutch legends THE EX, who are known for mixing elements of rock, free improvisation, traditional folk & abstract noise to create their own very unique soundworld. Both duos converge, crashing along sometimes, creating a cacophonous racket but always musical & always ready to change direction or turn a new corner. The music is extroverted, energetic, powerful & inclusive but also confrontational & provocative, where rhythm, noise, melody & harmony melt together in perfect union. Recorded live in Amsterdam in 2008.” |
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THING WITH JIM O’ROURKE, THE: Shinjuku Growl CD (STSJ 201CD) 17.00 “Recorded live by Tokyo’s own Jim O’Rourke at Pit Inn in Tokyo, Japan, Shinjuku Growl features the return of The Thing, only this time, they return with the guitar heroics of Jim O’Rourke (Wilco, Sonic Youth, Gastr Del Sol)! The Thing is a rare flower in the world of jazz. They have managed to reach out far beyond jazz & avant garde audiences to those of rock, punk, hip-hop & electronica as well.” |
| SMALLTOWN SUPERSOUND (NORWAY) | |
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K-X-P: K-X-P LP (STS 182LP) 17.00 LP version. “K-X-P is a drums, bass and synth trio from Helsinki, Finland, born out of the fire and ashes of the seminal Op:l Bastards and The Lefthanded, both of which were led by Timo Kaukolampi. The band is comprised of Timo Kaukolampi (electronics, vocals), Tuomo Puranen (bass and keyboards) and rotating drummers Anssi Nykänen and Tomi Leppanen. The band mixes electronics, Krautrock, noise, and even rockabilly into a hypnotic and minimal motorik groove inspired by Raymond Scott, Moondog and Martin Rev and mindful of Spacemen 3, This Heat, 23 Skidoo, Suicide and NEU!.” “Spaced-out Krautrock meets drummy disco dance party.” –XLR8R Magazine |
| SOUTERRAIN TRANSMISSIONS (GERMANY) | |
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EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints CD (SOU 021CD) 11.00 “Past Life Martyred Saints is a fiercely individual record, made by a musician with a fearless and courageous approach to her art. It hits as hard as a cold slap in the face– and will leave its mark on you.” — Pitchfork |
| SOUVENIR MUSIC (GERMANY) | |
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VA: Here And There/Tranquilizer 12″ (SOUVENIR 036EP) 12.00 Lewis Boardman and Maher Daniel convene on this EP for some magnificent effects. Daniel’s “Here and Now” features dark, driving techno that sounds like it has been made inside of a blazing house-fire. “Icaros” spins a dark and deep night-time soundscape, sounding like the depths of a jungle. Boardman’s “Tranquilizer” is quite a minimal retreat with some intergalactic space-fight sounds thrown into the mix, while “The Broken Is Beautiful” presents a chugging bass-line meeting an ethereal, chopped-up vocal. |
| SPECTRAL SOUND | |
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MARK E: The Day 12″ (SPC 105EP) 12.00 Pitching things down to a basement lounge floor crawl, the Midlands DJ/producer Mark E wraps his always-chugging kicks and snares in serpentine synth-bass, jazzy, tripleted hi-hats, and moaning, wordless soul vocals. “Special FX” will have sample hounds — particularly those with a thing for classic electro-pop — salivating. Prins Thomas shows up on the flip for an 11-minute revamp of “The Day,” ending up with something that could have emanated from a Camaro at some point in the early ’70s. |
| SPECTRUM SPOOLS | |
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TEMPORAL MARAUDER: Temporal Marauder Makes You Feel LP (SP 006LP) 19.50 “If Jean Logarin did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. Never mind your outsider composers; never mind your library music. Never mind your merely unreleased records. Jean Logarin’s music, like some recent unearthings by Belgium’s Ultra Eczema label, exists at a remove from publicity so complete that it was nearly not among us, and has never been before. Like any obscurity, its immediate appeal might be that this music could count as a more genuine artifact of its time than any more commercial product, by virtue in part of its being outside of history. Jean Logarin’s music is definitely outside of history, but it is no artifact. It is so deeply consonant with the best contemporary electronic music that it is hard to believe it isn’t brand new. But the biographical details, however elusive of our usual channels of verification, speak for themselves: Logarin studied under Andrew Rudin during the early ’70s; his interest in electronic music further developed while working as a studio assistant for engineer Max Tanguy, an associate of famed Krautrock producer, Conny Plank. Through Tanguy, Logarin met percussionist Hans Schule, an eccentric whose shady wealth bankrolled a series of recording sessions at Tanguy’s studio. Together with Logarin’s then-girlfriend, Llissa Zuckovich, Tanguy, Schule and Logarin proceeded to compose in the studio several hours’ worth of finished pieces whose original purpose and intention have only become cloudier with time. There was no serious attempt made to release it, and only vague talk of attempting to sell it for commercial usage. The music on Makes You Feel is, then, from a historical perspective, purely a vanity project. A vanity project within a vanity project, even: None of the pieces were given titles by Logarin, and the name “Temporal Marauder” does not pre-date this release. The album was compiled, its presentation determined, by its own first fan. And here is where the story strains credulity, because it requires believing that Jean Logarin one day met, by chance, accordionist and composer Guerino Raglani, who even then was uncle to a young Joseph Raglani, today trafficking in romantic, Kraut-tinged electronics under his own name. Two years ago, the elder Raglani passed onto his nephew a set of DAT transfers of his old tape reels, among which were (what have proven to be the only known) copies of Logarin’s studio recordings. The younger Raglani, so the story goes, flipped out — became ‘nearly scared,’ in his own words — and demanded to know more. His uncle shed what light he could on how he came into possession of the tapes (a funny story in itself), but it took an extensive search to find any accessible trail to Logarin. While Jean and the rest of the erstwhile group were pleasant enough when located, and happy to lend their support to the belated discovery of their work, each was mostly surprised anyone would want to go to the trouble; particularly Logarin, who declined the invitation to be involved in the project beyond its approval, and encouraged Joseph to come up with the album’s names and titles himself. So, the project became Raglani’s, and it bears the impression of his own aesthetic stamp, drawing from a range of references he and Logarin discovered they had in common. One may search for further information about Jean Logarin beyond these and a few other bare facts, but only in vain; he does not wish to be known. But to anyone who supposes that music this enjoyable and exciting, however buried, would’ve already been found by now if it actually existed, I would suggest that it has arrived at just the right time to be heard. And to those who will inevitably question if Logarin himself is real, the only straight answer is that we have his music. How could he not be real?” –Michael Ferrer. Images from Jean Logarin’s diary. Layout by Jeremy Kannapell. |
| STIL VOR TALENT (GERMANY) | |
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SCHWIND, NIKO: Good Morning Midnight Part 2 12″ (SVT 062EP) 12.00 Here is the second vinyl EP from Niko Schwind’s Good Morning Midnight (SVT 060CD). Two tracks feature clicky tech-house boys Channel X: “Back From The Bar” sounds a little wobbly, a little drunk and a little crazy, but also pretty magical. “Don’t Turn the Lights On” is a more straightforward dancefloor track, with a trumpet as the main protagonist. The magical connection between Niko and Oliver Koletzki can be heard on “Master Of Ceremony” and “Good Morning” features singing by Fran. |
| SUPPLEMENT FACTS (ISRAEL) | |
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SEUIL: Ultravision 12″ (SFR 028EP) 12.00 Seuil makes a storming entrance into the offbeat world of Supplement Facts with his Ultravision EP featuring another dream collaboration with dOP vocalist Jaw. “Ultravision” is a feast of mesmeric progression of liquefied bleeps, deep chords, and truncated rhythms heightened by Jaw’s poignant, husky drawl. The “Dub Mix” allows the bubbling percussive energy to shine through in a dubbed-out, darkly populated soundscape. “In The Moon” is a moody tech masterpiece of floating grooves and creepy FX. |
| TOKEN (BELGIUM) | |
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PHASE: Transantarctic 12″ (TOKEN 018EP) 13.00 “Phase gives you three new minimalist tracks with a serious presence and relentless pulse that refuses to stay static. He is one of the few producers who really understands the subtlety, dynamics, complexity and energy of purist techno and implicitly manages to execute it with finesse every time. Amongst his fans are Robert Hood, Derrick May, Luke Slater & Marcel Dettmann. No surprise there.” |
| TOMPKINS SQUARE | |
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VA: To What Strange Place 3CD (TSQ 2608CD) 36.00 Subtitled: The Music of the Ottoman-American Diaspora (1918-1929). “Before the Golden Age of Americana on Record, immigrants from the dissolving Ottoman Empire were singing their joys and sorrows to disc in New York City. The virtuosic musicians from Anatolia, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Levant living in the U.S. who recorded between WWI and the Depression are presented here across two discs along with a third disc of masterpieces they imported as memories on shellac-and-stone. The intermingled lives and music of Christians, Jews, and Muslims represent Middle Eastern culture as it existed within the U.S. a century ago. A fascinating, new view of American Folk Music. Compiled by Ian Nagoski.” Aritsts include Marika Papagika (also released on Mississippi Record’s The Further The Flame, The Worse It Burns Me, MR 051LP), Markos Sifnios, Kosroff Malool, Harry Edwards, Kemany Minas, Karekin Proodian, D. Perperian, Naim Karakand, Andrew Mekanna, Kanuni Garbis and more. |
| TRAPEZ (GERMANY) | |
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REMERC: Just A Bards Tale EP 12″ (TRAPEZ LTD102) 12.00 Remerc opens this Trapez release with “Ruhewolf,” a restless funkadelic rocker with a beat that juggles elements in a loose and totally cool way. On the flipside, we find a Hanne & Lore remix that tightens and fattens up the beat and pimps up the bass lines. “Just A Bards Tale” is a unique Remerc track and stands out from all the productions he has done so far. Here, New Wave-colored edgy vocals meet a post-Detroit string-chord arrangement. |
| TRI ANGLE | |
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CLAMS CASINO: Rainforest 12″ (TRIANGLE 006EP) 11.00 12″ version. As the producer responsible for some of Lil B and Soulja Boy’s weirdest, most inventive beats, and following on from a critically-acclaimed, self-released mixtape of instrumentals collected from his work over the years with various forward-thinking hip-hop artists, Tri Angle is very excited to announce the release of Rainforest, the debut EP by Clams Casino. The five songs that make up Rainforest find Clams Casino (aka 23 year-old New Jersey native, Michael Volpe) refining his ethereal, otherworldly sound, while taking it to a heavier and more intense extreme. What has set Clams Casino apart from most other hip-hop producers is his skill in making records that sound just as good, if not better, instrumentally as they do with vocals, and if anyone needed it, Rainforest represents the confirmation of this. It’s a record drenched in mysterious atmospherics, like a foggy memory of a far-off exotic place, the details buried beneath the mist of distortion, but present nonetheless. None of the songs on Rainforest have ever been released before, and in contrast to most of his other productions, these songs have always existed purely as instrumentals, free of any vocal presence. Rainforest is an incredibly powerful release which signals the beginning of Clams Casino coming into his own and operating as an important artist in his own right. |
| TURBO RECORDINGS (CANADA) | |
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ZZT (ZOMBIE NATION & TIGA): Zzafrika Remixes 3×12″ BOX (TURBO 100LP) 55.00 “The list of artists who have appeared on Turbo Recordings is staggering by any measure. For an indie dance label to survive 13 years and over 100 releases is a remarkable feat, but for a singles-driven label, the magic has often revolved around the institution of the remix. Turbo A&R have done an extraordinary job of bringing in talent, poaching the most exciting artists of the moment. It makes sense then, for its 100th release, that they would craft a package that highlights this prowess. For anyone who heard it out, ZZafrika was unquestionably one of the biggest records of the year. The renegade dove-child of Tiga and Zombie Nation, ZZT has built up a cult following by virtue of its off-the-rails, wildly eccentric party tracks. They don’t do interviews. They don’t do remixes. They don’t do filler. As the duo puts the finishing touches on their outrageously great debut album, Turbo has decided to settle some unfinished business and follow up the one-sided pro-etched vinyl 12″ with a full-blown release, one that would do the track justice and bring it to the wider audience it deserves. For the mega triple-pack vinyl we have six cuts: Gesaffelstein, Julio Bashmore, Light Year & The Finger Prince, Plein Soleil, Crowdpleaser, Tomas Andersson. Download card includes: Turbo Century (70 of Turbo’s best tracks) + the digital version of the Turbo100 remix package.” |
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AZARI & III: Hungry for the Power Remixes 12″ (TURBO 103EP) 13.00 “Hungry For the Power gets a fresh batch of big-name remixes in advance of Azari & III’s debut LP release. Headlining the package is a showdown of Crosstown Rebels stars, with the red-hot Jamie Jones and Art Department each turning in massive renditions. Jamie’s mix is a full-blown, driving party anthem, while Azari’s fellow Torontonians elevate the pop flavors with a more laid-back approach. Guy Gerber delivers a feverish, saturated late-night mix.” |
| UNIVERSITY OF VICE (SPAIN) | |
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VA: The International Vicious Society Vol. V LP (UOVR 006LP) 19.50 “The craziest compilation of music from all over the world!!! This comp. collates a worldwide mixture of painfully obscure crud-a-phonic dance craze platters from the ’50s and ’60s.””A brilliant & bonkers concoction of exotica, teen beat and international nonsense novelties.””If you need something new to listen to after you’ve worn out yer Las Vegas Grind and Jungle Exotica records, then this is for YOU! This platter will liven up any ole party!””Lurch-eriffic teen crazes and totally daffy mix-n-match foreign language tracks that’ll make your eyes & ears alike pop just like corn. Long live the University of Vice.” |
| VAMPISOUL (SPAIN) | |
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FRANKLIN, ERMA: Super Soul Sister CD (VAMPI 029CD) 12.00 2003 release. To some, Erma Franklin (1939-2002) is simply known as Aretha Franklin’s older sister or as the woman who originally sang “Piece Of My Heart.” But those in the know realize her brief recording career highlights some of the most impressive soul performances ever to be pressed on hot wax! Super Soul Sister contains Soul Sister, the last album Erma recorded from Brunswick, which had many of the successful singles she had recorded the previous years, plus 3 bonus tracks. This set had never been available before on CD — and it was about time. Here you’ll find an amazing collection of soul classics, such as her first Brunswick single “Gotta Find Me A Lover,” her equally popular cover of the Jackie Wilson hit, “I Get The Sweetest Feeling,” and Erma’s amazing renditions of classics such as “Son Of A Preacher Man.” Simply, some of the best soul performances ever. A real must. |
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VA: Movers!: 23 Hip-Shackin’ Tunes From The Vaults of Vampisoul CD (VAMPI 077CD) 12.00 2006 release. Another of the now world famous Vampisoul sampler compilations! YEAH! The perfect companion for a party at your apartment (let the neighbors join!) and mucho more. File them side by side with In Search of the Cool, Gettin’ Soulful, I Gotta New Dance. Tracks from other Vampisoul titles, plus exclusive tracks as well. Artists: Nathaniel Mayer, Rabbit’s & Carrot’s, Dennis Coffey, Andre Williams, Soul Searchers, Eddy Senay, Soul Survivors, Johnny Barfield & The Men Of S.O.U.L., The Lolas, Frank Miller & Hispania Soul, Jean Paul, Banda Uniao Black, Willie Bobo & The Bo Gents, Los Destellos, Lucho Macedo, Orquesta Aragon, La Logia Sarabanda, Dogliotti Negro, New Swing Sextet, Jaime Delgado Aparicio, Aldemaro Romero, Monna Bell, Luiz Eca & Familia Sagrada and Che. |
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LONG, EDDIE: It Don’t Make Sense But It Sure Sounds Good 7″ (VAMPI 45006EP) 8.50 Featured on Vampisoul’s Gettin Soulful (VAMPI 042CD) compilation. |
| VICTORIAVILLE (GERMANY) | |
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GOLDMANN, STEFAN: Emptying The Vaults Vol.1 12″ (4 46083EP) 12.00 Number 1 in a series of 3 EPs unraveling unreleased classic house tracks by Stefan Goldmann. Victoriaville continues its research into Stefan Goldmann’s sweet back catalogue with the world premiere of a triple vinyl series of never before released house material. Revisiting the years 2000 – 2005, Emptying The Vaults highlights the era of Stefan Goldmann’s “UK years.” Restored from the original master tapes and cut by D&M’s Rashad, here’s some startling evidence of how deep the roots of house actually were in Berlin years before the hype set in. “Cirque Mecanique” is a throbbing groove workout with a dark edge, while “Warm Rush” brings sweet AND pure deepness. “True Dub” is an unreleased alternative version to 2002’s “True” single — no vocals, just bass. |
| VINILISSSIMO (SPAIN) | |
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PATA NEGRA: Guitarras Callejeras LP (MRSSS 023LP) 25.00 Raimundo and Rafael Amador are Pata Negra (an expression meaning “top class”), belonging to a family of great gypsy flamenco guitarists. Their father, Luis, and uncles Diego and Ramón accompanied several generations of artists of the highest category: Antonio Mairena, Fernanda de Utrera, Farruco, Matilde Coral, La Paquera, Chocolate, etc. Their reference point was the essential flamenco styles: seguriya, soleá, cantiñas, bulerías and tangos. Raimundo and Rafael had absorbed that culture since they were children and nobody would suspect what they would learn in the streets of 1960s Seville, full of hippies, rockers and an acid explosion that came from the military bases of Rota and Morón. When they were not even teenagers, Raimundo and Rafael would sing and play in the city center bars, accompanied by their cousins and other friends from their Tres Mil Viviendas (“3000 Dwellings”) neighborhood. In the streets they got to know other kinds of music: blues, rock, swing and even the jazz manouche of their “uncle” Django Reinhart. They were like an insatiable sponge that would absorb records by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and the vital Californian revolution that entered Spain via the south of the south: Seville and Cadiz. They were the first to introduce the plectrum technique to flamenco guitar, the first ones to stretch the strings in order to obtain quarter and octave tones. The first gypsy rockers. The first bluesmen of the Tres Mil Viviendas, of Seville, of Spain. That’s why Guitarras Callejeras, recorded in 1979, has the value of a foundation stone, the invention of a musical language unknown until then. This edition includes the original mini-LP and another two tracks from the same 1979 sessions, only available on CD until now. Liner notes by Ricardo Pachón. |
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BURNING: El Fin De La Década LP (MRSSS 024LP) 25.00 Legendary Spanish rock band Burning arrived at the recording sessions for their second LP full of self-confidence. After the relative critical, but not sales-wise, success of their first album, Madrid, they’d been chosen to write the main theme song for a movie in which they ended up appearing. “¿Qué Hace Una Chica Como Tú En Un Sitio Como Este?” (trans. “What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”), they asked, without realizing they had written one of the fundamental songs in the history of Spanish rock. The single sold well and the band got some coverage in the rock press of the time. Atypical, hard to classify and right at the point of balance between dangerous and likeable, the members of Burning showed that they had what it took to be rock stars, and they only needed a further step in the studio to prove it. Leaving behind their city and the social circle they had created, they travelled to Barcelona for the recording with a handful of great songs in their hands. Enrique Tudela, an impeccable guitarist and main producer at the Belter label, had the difficult task of taming these beasts, who were now trying to learn how to cope with their new toxic addictions. The sessions were chaotic and took place mainly at night to avoid escapades to the local bars, but they were very productive. The result was an album that features dirty, provocative classic rock, as visually embodied by the risqué cover art featuring their main tools: pocketknives and needles, records and pills, porn magazines and a typewriter, all laid out on a table. This LP was possibly their most successful, but eventually their founding member left the band as heroin use and arguments increased. Nothing would be the same after El Fin De La Década, but these nine tracks permanently ensured the band a hallowed spot within Spanish music history. On 180 gram vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve with liner notes. |
| WAREHOUSE BOX TRACKS | |
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JACKMASTER HATER: 4 12″ (WHBTR 004EP) 8.50 “The Hater comes strong with three more original tracks from the original Chicago house era. Long buried on reels, these have the grit and machine soul you’d expect from that time, but are obscure enough that you won’t have heard them before unless you were in Chicago, in the club, at the time.” |
| YEAR ZERO (UK) | |
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VA: Watch The Closing Doors 2CD (YZLDD 007CD) 21.00 Subtitled: A History Of New York’s Musical Melting Pot Vol. 1 (1945-59). Legendary journalist Kris Needs’ frighteningly-ambitious project aims to capture the fast-vanishing magic of New York City, documenting major musical landmarks and developments, decade by decade over a series of double-CD sets. The first volume focuses on the 1940s and 1950s, setting the scene for a further five sets, straddling the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, each accompanied by a 72-page book containing the relevant musical and social history, artist biographies, illustrations and Needs’ own stories and recollections of the city that once never slept. For some local perspective and occasional advice on inclusions, Needs pesters names he has encountered during his 35 years as a writer, starting with Suicide’s Martin Rev. For the covers, he applies the graffiti techniques he picked up in New York in the early ’80s. The first volume includes jazz giants such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Cozy Cole, Horace Silver, Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk, mambo king Machito, the burgeoning activism-fired folk and blues movements represented by Pete Seeger and the Almanac Singers, Harry Belafonte, Josh White, Dave Van Ronk, New Lost City Ramblers, Allen Ginsberg heading up the Beats, John Cage and Raymond Scott the avant garde and Cab Calloway the Harlem street-slicker, before Big Joe Turner ushers in the rock ‘n’ roll revolution along with Clyde McPhatter, Drifters and the Honeycones. Singing the blues are Danny “Run Joe” Taylor, Sonny Terry and Big Maybelle. The female singers which the city became renowned for are beautifully represented by Nina Simone, Faye Adams and Billie Holiday, while the mighty cavalcade of vocal groups who, for many, define New York City, include the Paragons, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, Five Satins and The Embers. Explains Needs, who compiled and annotated two volumes of the highly-successful Dirty Water: The Birth Of Punk Attitude: “There hasn’t really been a project which brings together all the different ingredients in New York City’s musical melting pot as they happened in parallel scenes and neighborhoods since the war. The sets will aim to reflect the different forms of music which gestated in local scenes, often before exploding onto the world stage; jazz, folk, mambo, rock ‘n’ roll, soul, avant garde, psychedelia, electronic, punk, hip-hop, disco, electro, house and post-punk.” |
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VA: Watch The Closing Doors 2LP (YZLDV 007LP) 21.00 2LP version, featuring 25 out of 32 tracks from the 2CD. |
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