★Crammed Discs
Charles F. Bleistift EP
This limited-edition 7” EP follows the release of Aksak Maboul's acclaimed new double LP 'Figures' (out May 22, 2020), which is the legendary experimental pop band’s first real new album in decades. These four tracks are reworks, which don’t appear as such on the album. They expand on the imaginative world of the 'Figures' album, with its unique instrumentation, its sound collages and diverse, enigmatic moods. Tout a une fin (short version) A tight 3-minute track including a song part (in which …
Une Aventure De VV (Songspiel)
In the wake of their acclaimed comeback album 'Figures' (2020), Aksak Maboul took a playful sideways step to create this total work, a 63-minute, continuous suite of fifteen pieces, which could be described as an experimental audio play. The thread running through 'Une aventure de VV (Songspiel)' is Véronique Vincent’s text, an enigmatic philosophical-poetical tale unfolding through monologues and dialogues, spoken and sung by a series of characters, played by Alig Fodder, Laetitia Sadier, Audr…
16 Visions Of Ex-Futur
*2024 stock* Excited by Véronique Vincent & Aksak Maboul’s acclaimed ‘lost’ avant-pop opus, a host of artists from all over the place have launched into reinterpretations of the songs from Ex-Futur Album. The result is 16 Visions of Ex-Futur, a full album containing 16 reinterpretations (covers and reworks) created by: • Jaakko Eino Kalevi (the young Finnish artist, whose albums of strange elegant pop are out on Domino) • Forever Pavot (the illegitimate son of Ennio Morricone and The Zombies) •…
Fictions - Made To Measure Vol. 47
*In process of stocking* Eight distinguished artists wrote and recorded original pieces for this album which joins some dots between vintage, experimental & new ambient, and pays tribute to the relaunched Made To Measure composers’ series Featuring, by order of appearance: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, the American modular synth wizard (US) Christina Vantzou, the Greek-American orchestral composer (US/GR) Stubbleman aka maverick ambient composer Pascal Gabriel (UK/BE), with Norwegian trumpet player Nil…
Music For Commercials
Originally issued by Crammed in 1987, this is one of the most sought-after releases in our legendary Made To Measure series. Known for his numerous albums, soundtracks, and collaborations with an impossibly broad array of artists (from Ryuichi Sakamoto and DJ Towa Tei to Van Dyke Parks, Björk, Manu Dibango and Elvin Jones), composer, saxophonist and producer Yasuaki Shimizu also released several electronic music productions during the '80s, which are currently generating a lot of interest (a.o. …
Douzième Journée: Le Verbe, La Parure, L'Amour
Originally released in Japan on the Belgian Crammed Discs label and subsequently re-issued on Made to Measure, Douzieme Journee treads that odd ground combining ambient music with roots in Eno and various so-called world musics, here concentrating on those found in Northern Africa and the Mid-East. This confluence seems to have been in the air at the time as witness similar efforts from Hector Zazou and the Penguin Café Orchestra. Lew and ex- Tuxedomoon member Brown, ably assisted by label mains…
Mr. Manager (Expanded Edition)
Following the acclaimed 2017 vinyl reissue of the Noir et Blanc album, we’re excited to present a special edition of Zazou Bikaye’s second record, Mr. Manager, which only ever came out on vinyl, in 1985. This edition comprises nine additional tracks, including six previously-unreleased recordings, and three which were only included on limited-edition singles. Stemming from the encounter between Congolese vocalist/composer Bony Bikaye, French musician/producer Hector Zazou and modular synth wizar…
Redrawn Figures 2
Fifteen artists revisit the tracks and the cover art of Aksak Maboul's latest album 'Figures'! Ranging from simple remixes to reconstructions and cover versions, these 18 tracks are released on two separate, limited-edition vinyl LPs, as well as on two digital albums. In order to extend the fun (and the metaphor in the title), Aksak Maboul have asked the contributors to also revisit Véronique Vincent’s painting which adorned the front cover of the album *. The participants include experimental …
Redrawn Figures 1
Fifteen artists revisit the tracks and the cover art of Aksak Maboul's latest album 'Figures'! Ranging from simple remixes to reconstructions and cover versions, these 18 tracks are released on two separate, limited-edition vinyl LPs, as well as on two digital albums. In order to extend the fun (and the metaphor in the title), Aksak Maboul have asked the contributors to also revisit Véronique Vincent’s painting which adorned the front cover of the album *. The participants include experimental …
Ex-Futur Album
Strictly limited deluxe LP edition on 180gr vinyl, incl. gatefold & inner sleeves and lyric sheet. All songs written between 1980 and 1983. This record was never completed. What was originally intended to become the third album by Aksak Maboul (the seminal band formed by Marc Hollander with Congotronics producer Vincent Kenis) had gradually evolved into a strange artefact, closely mingling (iconic Honeymoon Killers chanteuse) Véronique Vincent’s dreamy vocals and deceptively bubbly lyrics with…
Music for Commercials
**2020 small repress** Originally issued by Crammed in 1987, this is one of the most sought-after releases in the legendary Made to Measure series. Known for his numerous albums, soundtracks, and collaborations with an impossibly broad array of artists (from Ryuichi Sakamoto and DJ Towa Tei to Van Dyke Parks, Björk, Manu Dibango and Elvin Jones), composer, saxophonist and producer Yasuaki Shimizu also released several electronic music productions during the '80s, which are currently generating a…
Figures
The legendary experimental pop outfit returns with a brand-new record entitled "Figures", written, conceived and produced over the last couple of years by Marc Hollander (founder of Aksak Maboul and of the Crammed label) and Véronique Vincent (former singer with The Honeymoon Killers).
Un peu de l'âme des bandits
**Reissue of killer album from 1980 - the album's first reissue on vinyl** Originally released in January 1980, the second album from (Crammed founder) Marc Hollander’s band was more intense and experimental than Aksak Maboul’s debut album, yet often as playful. Containing complex written sections, free improv, and a wild variety of elements, Bandits was recorded with a band comprising revered UK musicians Fred Frith & Chris Cutler, and is described by All Music Guide as “a pinnacle of the…
Noir Et Blanc
At last, the re-mastered vinyl reissue of one of the biggest cult albums in the history of Crammed Discs. This record is constantly being (re)discovered by generations of fans, musicians and DJs, who hail it as an unsurpassed Afro/electronic milestone. The album was recorded in 1983 and results from a studio encounter between experimental electronic music composers CY1, Congolese musician/vocalist Bony Bikaye, and French composer Hector Zazou, with involvement by sound engineer Gilles Mar…
Onze Danses Pour Combattre La Migraine
Milestone reissue!!! By popular demand, here's the vinyl reissue of the seminal album, recorded in 1977 by Aksak Maboul, comprised of Crammed founder Marc Hollander with Congotronics producer Vincent Kenis, and originally released on Marc Moulin's ephemeral Kamikaze label. Deluxe vinyl re-issue with 1977 original cover, full colour inside folder with extensive texts, downlaod card with bonus tracks. A hugely cherished record around these parts, not least for the strangely prescient 'Saure …
Congotronics
This group was founded over 25 yrs ago by Mingiedi, a virtuoso of the likembé ('thumb piano'). The band's line-up includes 3 electric likembés, equipped w/ hand-made microphones built from magnets salvaged from old car parts, & plugged into amplifiers. There's also a rhythm section which uses traditional as well as makeshift percussion, 3 singers, 3 dancers & a peculiar sound system including megaphones dating from the colonial period. Their repertoire draws largely on Bazombo trance music, to w…
In the 7th moon chief turned into a swimming fish and ate the he
The debut album by the Kasai Allstars collective raises the ante & lifts Crammed's Congotronics Series up to the next level. An unbelievable mixture of traditional acoustic instruments, electric guitars, distortion-laden thumb pianos & soulful vocals.