★Unrock
The Arabic Room
* 300 copies * A critical meditation on variations of Orientalism practiced by Arabs themselves, as well as those who were born and raised within the diaspora. It originally began as a documentation of extended drum techniques, but eventually morphed into a project of more ambitious scope. Having an open timeframe, Julius Masri gave himself reasons to include all the instruments he obsessively picked up and learned over the years. The work accumulated intentions and guiding principles, and it be…
Magrebh Blues
When internally the plan came up to release a bunch of vinyl singles for Unrock's 30th anniversary as an entity, Richard just like his brother Alan, the other keyholder of Sun City Girls legacy was among the first to take a deep look into his archives. Out came two shining pearls from different periods of his long career. "Taqasim For Omar (acoustic)" was recorded in Seattle in 2008. It was recorded before the Sir changed his mind and recorded the track with an all-electric band again for his Th…
Karaoke (7")
If you ever witnessed an Alvarius B. show you are probably aware that there are a few things only in underground music matching this level. If you haven't, don't miss him when he's coming close next. Karaoke shows one of the many characters you could explore during his shows. As his brother Richard, the other keyholder of Sun City Girls legacy, Alan Bishop played a lot of shows not only under the Alvarius B. moniker on various Unrock stages through the years. "Solo Nostalgia" (E. Morricone) and …
The Binding Third
The legendary Lebanese trio of trumpeter Mazen Kerbaj (Karkhana, Johnny Kafta), guitarrist Sharif Sehnaoui (Calamita, Karkhana, Johnny Kafta ) and bassist Raed Yassin (Praed, Praed Orchestra) celebrates their 20th anniversary with The Binding Third on Unrock.
They still create acoustic improvised drones that range from insistent, chiming resonances with emergency alarm bells to low, thrumming hums but with growing intensity. Avoiding conventional technique, A Trio manages to create sounds like m…
Well Known Strangers (14×7″)
** 14x7" Singles Boxset, limited to 128 numbered copies, celebrating Unrock's 25th anniversary as an entity ** The Well Known Strangers 7“ Singles Box Set documents the history of the Unrock singles (as we know it). International dervishes galore….Fourteen singles, thirteen were originally released in the Unrock Series, or have been part of our Saraswati Series and came first with the Early-Bird-Editions of the regular albums. Instead of the only missing single (Bill Orcutt/Sir Richard Bishop …
Inscrutable Intentions
After a long hiatus the noisy and most telepathic Montreal impro trio Jane & The Magik Bananas, led by Sam Shalabi (Land Of Kush, Karkhana, Dwarfs Of East Agouza) returned with a shifted focus exploring rhythm in a global sense. Live compositional practice, with rhythm and polyrhythm as the structuring principle, lead the group to different kinds of Western/non-Western tuning and micro tonality. In a certain way they play in the Western tradition of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time Band, Harry Partc…
Sir Richard Bishop and Ed Yazijian
Yet another luxurious spectacle from the Saraswati Series. Ex-Sun City Girls master guitarist Richard Bishop teams up with Cul De Sac’s long time Girls live collaborator Ed Yazijian. Two Grand Seigneurs of underground deliver an unique album deeply Western rooted, filled with the musical spirit and structures of Indian music at the same time. Elegant interplay, brilliantly arranged, using mostly guitar (lapsteel, tenor) and strings (viola), and some Indian stringed instrument which I can’t prono…
Bitter Balls
Bitter Balls – the second full length studio album from mostly Middle Eastern supergroup Karkhana, features members of Dwarfs of East Agouza, „A“Trio, Konstrukt, Chicago Tentet, Land of Kush among others – shows the ongoing incredible progression and artistic flow the group is currently working under. Four new fine tuned compositions of crystal clear and deep, dark, distorted unrock – electric and acoustic. The cross between old school and contemporary oriental free-jazz sounds and western impro…
Fayrus
More than ten years after the demise of Sun City Girls as an entity, something wild and weird has now surfaced, grown and ripened in the heat and dust of the same desert. Described as “deep spirited, Arabic-music-tinged free jazz-punk and harsh exotica”, Sunn Trio’s ever-evolving ensemble digests a number of genres, spitting them back out in “creative destruction.” Carrying on a long tradition of sun-beaten Phoenix punk, Sunn Trio evokes the sweltering and hallucinatory Arizona desert. Echoes of…
Carte Blanche
It took more than just some time and imagination to believe that 'Carte Blanche' , this piece of astonishing contemporary music by some of the most talented and able musicians of the international avant-circuit, could be realized. Karkhana, a highly explosive mostly Middle Eastern / Mediterranean ensemble - Sam Shalabi Land of Kush, Shalabi Effect, Dwarfs of East Agouza), Sharif Sehnaoui (“A” Trio), Michael Zerang (Peter Brötzmann, Hamid Drake, Jaap Blonk, Vandermark, etc.) Mazen Kerbaj (“A” Tri…
Electric Smog
The newest installment in Unrock’s ongoing Saraswati Series is the most rebellious and wildest to date. Again an intercontinental output. A dangerous, electric brew filled with exotic aroma from Cairo’s sound guerilla, Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls), Maurice Louca (Karkhana) and Sam Shalabi (Land of Kush, Karkhana). The always changing face of Dwarfs of East Agouza, shows them in a feverish mode and adrenalin rush. Massive eruptions fight genuine flow. Sultans of Unrock. Chris Corsano and Bill Or…
Aamm
Back in August of 2015, the legendary London Grand Seigneurs of improve pioneers, AMM (John Tilbury and Eddie Prévost) joined forces with Lebanese electro-acoustic-free-jazz outfit "A" Trio (Mazen Kerbaj, Sharif Sehnaoui & Raed Yassin). Two generations of improvisers with a very differing approach to work, captured dancing slowly along a very thin line of fine tuned, both, clear and crackling improvised sounds. Harsh at times with magic mellow moments of intense, fragile, broken noises. No overd…
Burj Al Imam - Extended Version
**2019 stock** 140-gram LP in gatefold sleeve with a special drawing by Mazen Kerbaj + bonus 7". Mastered for vinyl by Harris Newman. Edition of 500. Entirely recorded at Tunefork Studios on the outskirts of Beirut, Burj al Imam's five tracks include three largely improvised numbers, a loose reworking of Sun City Girls track "The Imam", and a cover of traditional Americana song "Gently Johnny" (a highlight of Alan Bishop's live Alvarius B. shows). True to their habits, the Lebanese trio of trump…
Strange Fruit
Limited edition four-track split vinyl 10" featuring legendary Sun City Girls Alan and Richard Bishop, celebrating Unrock's 25th anniversary. It features the first new recordings by Sir Richard Bishop since his 2015 Tangier Sessions and two exclusive pearls by Alan Bishop, aka Alvarius B. All tracks are exclusive to this "Unrock 25" release. Includes printed lyrics sheet. Limited one-time pressing.
Both Sides of the Curtain - Live in Beirut
Dadawahn Bishopesque taken to just another level. Beirut, Lebanon.... three major players: Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls, Invisible Hands, Alvarius B) Osama Shalabi (Karkhana, Shalabi Effect, etc.), and Maurice Louca (Karkhana, Lekhfa). Delicate improvised freeform recorded live in Beirut in spring of 2017. Improvisation on the highest level. Organic, never arty. Hot. Released in association with Mophradat. Cover art made exclusively for this release by Mariana Castillo Debal. Deluxe gatefold slee…
Al Dar Al Hamra
Very fine tuned, almost Mediterranean, Middle Eastern mainly string orchestra. A supergroup with members of Dwarfs Of East Agouza, Konstrukt, "A" Trio, Johnny Kafta Anti-Vegetarian Orchestra, etc. Umut Çağlar, Sam Shalabi, Sharif Sehnaoui, Mazen Kerbaj, Toni Elieh, Maurice Louca, and Michael Zerang unleash a blend of fiery and free psychedelic forms and un-jazz, with various shades and traces of shaabi, tarab, sufi, and post everything -- timeless, rock-free, kraut-jazz. Recorded during a wet,…
Mother Of All Saints (Puppet On A String)
The second twin in Unrock's sub-series of actively anti-western music is an ultra-heavyweight. In the worlds of contemporary global avant-art, composition and improvisation, it reaches new heights. Eyvind Kang (from "Ghost Ghat Tresspass/Sussmeier" Sun City Girls 330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond The Rig Veda among many other collaborations) employs a rarely-heard viola technique. Some may call it plucking art. The viola is played not with a bow, but plucked with the fingers of the right han…
Burj Al Imam
140-gram LP in gatefold sleeve with a special drawing by Mazen Kerbaj. Mastered for vinyl by Harris Newman. Edition of 500. Entirely recorded at Tunefork Studios on the outskirts of Beirut, Burj al Imam's five tracks include three largely improvised numbers, a loose reworking of Sun City Girls track "The Imam," and a cover of traditional Americana song "Gently Johnny" (a highlight of Alan Bishop's live Alvarius B. shows). True to their habits, the Lebanese trio of trumpeter Mazen Kerbaj, guitari…
Road Stories (Kali)
The first installment in Unrock's new string wringer Saraswati Series presents two of today's most extraordinary guitar maniacs captured on location. While Bill Orcutt, "Re-inventor of the Blues," falls from abstraction into acoustic hardcore serenade on his wooden 4-string guitar, the Kali-inspired Sir Richard Bishop improvises elegantly and calmly through a feverish 17-minute variation of "Zurvan." Limited edition of 700 numbered copies. 180 gram vinyl, ncludes a solid cardboard info s…
The Unrock Tapes
Repressed. After having released records on labels such as Locust, Drag City and John Fahey's Revenant, Richard Bishop's The Unrock Tapes contains eight complete tracks, six of which are highlights taken from earlier tour CD-Rs that were released on micro-editions years ago. They have never been available on vinyl. Two completely new and unreleased songs make this album even more special. Bishop's guitar-playing skills contain a variety of influences. They could arouse the absurd impression…