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A star of minimalist electronica and sound art, Ryoji Ikeda (born 1966) focuses on the building blocks of sound and aural minutiae, often deploying frequencies at the very edges of human hearing—sound that, as he puts it, “the listener becomes aware of only upon its disappearance.” His albums +/- (1997) and Matrix (2001) spread this soundworld of sine waves and ambient glitchery to a wider audience; since then, he has exhibited and collaborated (notably with Carsten Nicolai) across the world. A …
At the junction of art and science, Life Extreme intends to present new living beings created by man, beings no longer produced solely by “nature”. This poetic proposition takes the form of a guide to new lives among the most astonishing that have appeared at the beginning of the Twenty-first century.Artist Eduardo Kac, a pioneer of bio-art, and Avital Ronell exchanges on very controversial questions inspired by scientific actuality in the biotechnological field, challenging the limits of what's…
First split LP in a brand new series of collaborations, pairing artists
working on the fringes - or not at all. This first split pairs
Brighton's Blood Stereo's tape gonk with Hair & Treasure's farm life loops. Blood Stereo are Dylan Nyoukis and Karen Constance,
a British institution, the sound complete immersion for people who
don't immerse easily. Idiot twins Burchill and Slim may behave as though
they own Sussex, but Constance and Nyoukis are immune to their
surroundings, making livid e…
Much of the discussion around unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) is directed toward its capabilities of surveillance and attack. However for those living in areas of conflict, it is the engine sound of the drones that has devastating psychological effects. Military drones fly at high altitudes and are more easily heard than seen. Even the origin of the word "drone" is rooted in sound, and comes from the sound of the male honeybee. The sound of drones in areas of conflict creates soundscapes of te…
Juri Camisasca is one of the towering artists of Italy’s remarkable musical avant-garde. Evolving across the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s, as it continues today, this movement suffered under a long-lasting, one sided isolation - unheard by the world beyond. Recently, under the care of labels like Black Sweat, it has begin to emerge from the shadows, gathering a momentum of marvel and praise. Over the years, beginning with 1974’s legendary La Finestra Dentro, Camisasca has released a slow trickle of carefu…
The Brussels-based Razen make experimental and minimal music with unconventional instruments, focusing on tuning, intonation and the use of intervals. Their The Night Receptionist album sees them working again with performance artist and poet, videographer and self-portrait painter Bryan Lewis Saunders. Recorded during a two-week residency at QO2 in Brussels in 2016, The Night Receptionist employs a just intonation system based on the tonality diamond of Harry Partch. The instruments of choice w…
**5LP Bundle with Tote Bag**Since its quiet beginnings back in 2011, the San Fransisco based imprint, Superior Viaduct, has come to hold a dominant place in the cultural landscape, stitching an intertwined narrative, crossing multiple genres, between countless forms and periods of counter-cultural music. In 2017 the label launched one of its most interesting and ambitious projects to date, their new sub-label Etats Units, a sonic intervention - an open challenge to how connections in sound are f…
Terminal Drive is studio recording of a mythical piece of electro-acoustic music composed and performed in 1975 by Allen Ravenstine (b. May 9, 1950 in Canton, OH) with assistance from Albert Dennis on string bass. Terminal Drive’s significance in terms of Cleveland underground music cannot be understated and has been cited as partially responsible for Ravenstine’s invitation to co-form the musical unit Pere Ubu in September 1975. Ravenstine gained recognition for his unusual and inventive synthe…
Blistering rockers with wispy melodies, Buddhist chants with wild-eyed psychedelic anthems: all part of the unique acid-folk vision of LA's Music Emporium, led by keyboard virtuoso/singer Bill "Casey" Cosby. For this first ever legitimate reissue of their supremely rare 1969 album--now on vinyl pressed at RTI, (with original die-cut, gatefold cover faithfully reproduced!)--we've purchased the original masters, interviewed the band, found never-before-seen snapshots, and added two cool previously…
After leaving Iran with his family at the age of 6, Emad Dabiri (Sarin) lived in Toronto before moving to Berlin in 2014. Though Toronto provided Dabiri with the foundation to pursue his music, he knew he had to move overseas to explore his art further. “The depth of the underground electronic scene [in Berlin] is vast,” says Dabiri. “There’s also a good sense of community and support among the artists and musicians here.” The current sounds coming out of Berlin, combined with Dabiri’s fixation …
In July 1984, the otherworldly entourage of over fifty musicians of Urban Sax swarmed across the coastal town of Pori, Finland, to perform a historic concert at the Pori Jazz Festival. The masked musicians, veiled in space suits and fencing masks, arrived at the scene of the concert in the Central Pori Church by fire engines, forklifts and water buses from all over the town, followed by an ecstatic and bewildered crowd of festival-goers and amazed locals alike. For those present, the explosively…
Superior Viaduct is honored to present the first-time official release of Artemiev's original soundtrack for the film (not to be confused with the previously available re-recording of the music). It's only appropriate that Solaris, Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky's psychological sci-fi classic from 1972, contains an equally original and mind-bending score. Solarisexplores the inadequacies of time and memory on an enigmatic planet below a derelict space station. To reinforce the film's chillin…
First ever release of this really important masterpiece. During the 1950s, Eliane Radigue drew her first substantial nourishment as a composer from the innovations of musique concrete. Previously, she had played the twelve tone game, but found it unfulfilling. Then, while working as Pierre Henry's assistant, she chanced upon electronic feedback effects. "I was absolutely fascinated," Radigue remarks in a telephone interview, "not only by the sounds but by their behavior. With the tape recorders …
On the one hand, they seem to be releasing too many CDs - on the other, they are so different and so good you really need to have them. This time they offer two long pieces, both exquisite, of which Mosquito is, in my opinion, destined for greatness. Since the demo arrived in the office it's been on continuously. Minimal, with every sound perfectly imagined and perfectly placed, it achieves almost total timelessness. Essential. (label info)
Fierce 78minutes concert by France, recorded in 2016 released on the French label Fougère. With cartoons by Capony and Sauvage. Think Faust, Tony Conrad, early Can.
**Edition of 250, wooden box edition** Along with Merzbow and Hijokaidan, Masonna is one of the best (known) Japanese noise projects. A psychedelic touch, cascades of electronic noise and vocal belching mixed together constitute the ingredients of Mademoiselle Anne Sanglante Ou Notre Nymphomanie Auréolé, the double-barrelled named for Masonna. Yamazaki “Maso” Takushi created Masonna in 1987. He started recordings on cassette tapes for his own label: Coquette. His plentiful productions were prese…
Two seminal early Alice Coltrane albums on one CD. "Composer, pianist, keyboard player, harpist and bandleader Alice (McLeod) Coltrane married John Coltrane in 1965. She played in her husband's band until his passing in 1967 but his influence remained strong throughout her music thereafter. Few of her albums reflect this influence more strongly than Huntington Ashram Monastery, recorded in 1969, and World Galaxy, recorded in 1971, here combined as part of the Impulse!/Universal 2-on-1 Impulse! r…
Two seminal early 70s Alice Coltrane albums on one CD. "It may seem unfair at first to mention John Coltrane -- Alice's beyond-famous husband -- when talking about her music, but listening to Alice Coltrane, you get the impression you can't mention her without talking about John. In an interview with Alice Coltrane -- originally from the September 1968 issue of Jazz and Pop magazine, but later reprinted in the liner notes for then 1998 Impulse! reissue of her first solo record, A Monastic Trio -…
Although introduced as a protégé of John Coltrane and touted by many as his heir apparent, reedman Pharoah Sanders quickly proved his own man. His shared interest in the "cosmic" music of Coltrane's final period belies the fact that Sanders frequently plays with an unhurried sense of peace and satisfaction rarely found in his mentor's music. His use of space, African and Asian motifs and instruments, and simple, repetitive melodies also pointed the way for jazz, rock, and new age musicians in th…
Classic spiritual soul jazz from Pharoah Sanders – recorded with an all star
lineup that includes Lonnie Liston Smith, Cecil McBee, Roy Haynes, and
Michael White. The album's got a strong influence from the members on
the set – particularly Lonnie Liston Smith, who seems to bring in a very
nicely soulful approach to a few of the numbers, and Michael White,
whose spiritual consciousness is still a bit rough-hewn and personal at
this point. The record oddly shifts mood from track to track …