★VHF Records
Faint At The Loudest Hour
2001 release ** "Faint at the Loudest Hour is the astonishing solo debut by guitarist Alexander Turnquist, part of a young generation of guitar players who have taken their incredible virtuosity and turned it into something actually worth listening to. Like James Blackshaw, Jack Rose, Glenn Jones, etc, this could roughly be described as "raga" guitar, with its long, modal compositions and hypnotic overtone play. Unlike most of his peers, Alex employs a variety of extended techniques ala Hans Rei…
Prodigal Son
VHF debut and second widely-available LP by Liam, part of a new generation of underground “American primitive” guitar players serving the traditions and smashing them up simultaneously. Prodigal Son is a portrait of an artist on the road, changing fast, recording things as they spring from the fountain. The sound here is raw – grass and dirt instead of pre-fab; homemade/handmade instead of high-tech, etc.
There’s a visceral quality and immediacy of culture that’s being lost every day in modern…
The Red Valley
Debut standalone VHF LP by the Elkhorn duo of Drew Gardner and Jesse Sheppard, a tight set of six studio recordings in a variety of moods and featuring a lot of new sound textures. Elkhorn’s prolific stream of releases since 2016 has highlighted their mastery of sprawling long-form, acoustic-driven hypno-jams, with an emphasis on live performance (including on their collaboration with Pelt’s Mike Gangloff on the Shackamaxon Concert LP). The Red Valley is a more layered and composed-sounding set,…
Konsertti 1
Third LP from Finnish group Mahti, a collaboration between three members of stalwart avant-rock legends Circle and Hannu Saha. Saha plays the Kantele, a traditional Finnish acoustic instrument which can have 5, 10, 15, or 36 strings, and which is plucked like a zither or harp, producing a delicate string sound. Following their two very limited studio LPs on UK label Riot Season, Konsertti I is an excellent recording of the group in live performance, capturing their understated and beautiful mix …
The Pastoral Machine
Fourth volume of Library Music miniatures by Daniel O’Sullivan (Ulver, Æthenor, This is Not This Heat, etc) for VHF, this time commissioned by the legendary German Music Library, Sonoton. Another sampling of Dan’s versatility and brilliance as a composer, performer, and sound designer, the focus on The Pastoral Machine is more “electronic” compared to the three previous albums Dan recorded for KPM (also issued on LP by VHF), with simpler arrangements and a focus on gentle and emotive synthesised…
Shackamaxon Concert
Delicate and beautiful music from the combined forces of the recently ubiquitous East-Coast psychedelic combo Elkhorn and Pelt’s Mike Gangloff, laying down two epic raga-like performances captured on a 2022 collaborative tour. Gangloff - fresh from the triumph of his VHF solo fiddle LP “Evening Measures” - has found a distinct instrumental voice, blending drone music and trad influences in a way that really advances the tradition into new areas.
“East Dauphin Suite” builds patiently on the inter…
Tomutonttu Ja Lehtisalo
Finland has long had a uniquely progressive underground, with thriving punk, avant, jazz, and rock scenes with oversized output and impact. Jussi Lehtisalo’s (Circle, Pharaoh Overlord, Mahti, etc) label Ektro has been at the center of this activity for the last 3 decades, with a stream of excellent and conceptually bonkers releases covering music of all types. Here Jussi joins up with Jan Anderzén (of Kemialliset Ystävät among others) for an LP of absolutely fun and unusual miniature duets that …
Vol. 3
Volume 3 of a set of collaborations between the prolific Argentine polymaths Reynols and the inescapable Acid Mothers Temple. Recorded in Buenos Aries on AMT’s 2017 South American Tour, the music has identifiable sonic elements from both groups but ends up sounding like neither, with a surprising weightlessness that keeps things jammy and psychedelic until the final track’s blustering rock. Taking up most of side 1, “Kicking Air Bricks” has a loose Gong/70’s Euro-classic vibe, with Satoshima Nan…
The Physic Garden
Third in a trilogy of albums of library music miniatures from composer and multi-instrumentalist Daniel O'Sullivan (Æthenor, Ulver, This Is Not This Heat, etc.) following 2020's Electric Māyā and 2021's Fourth Density. For heads, the term 'library music' in 2021 might evoke dodgy Italian gray market LPs and crate-diggers hunting for 'funky breaks' -- but London's venerable KPM Music is working with groundbreakers like O'Sullivan to open up new avenues for composers to experiment. The fifteen tra…
Evening Measures
First solo LP in a decade from long-time Pelt/Black Twigs/Eight Point Star leader, presenting a remarkable program of solo Hardanger and octave fiddle music. Evening Measures is a bold and unique statement, a direct and disarming individual expression of a musician’s inner thoughts and inspirations. Like some of Mike Gangloff’s work in other projects, this ricochets back and forth across the line between the most traditional and the most “out” music, blending drone, melody, and the pure tactile …
The Halcyon
Who else exactly is looking to build a power duo from improv drums and electrified shahi baaja sounds?
Electric Maya: Dream Flotsam And Astral Hinterlands (LP)
* Yellow Vinyl * First in a series of three records of library music miniatures from composer and multi-instrumentalist Daniel O'Sullivan (Æthenor, Ulver, This is Not This Heat, etc). For heads, the term 'library music' in 2020 might evoke dodgy Italian gray market LPs and crate diggers hunting for 'funky breaks' -- but London's venerable KPM Music is working with groundbreakers like O'Sullivan to open up new avenues for composers to experiment. Electric Māyā includes eighteen gems, beautifully …
Talking with a Dinosaur
Ångström Records presents Talking with a Dinosaur by Aymeric de Tapol. Materials composed by Aymeric de Tapol at GRM, Paris, november 2009. Composed in Bruxelles between november 2009 and april 2011. Digital mailing with Valérie Vivancos, february 2011. English text translation: Chris Farmer.
Ein Klein Nein
** 2021 Stock ** Mysterious and minimal instrumental album by Richard Youngs, dreamt at home and recorded quickly in Glasgow's Green Door Studio. Centered on a single piano chord and bare snare strikes, Richard builds a haunting atmosphere in 4 episodes, featuring his guitar, organ, harmonica, and voice. Another essential work from the prolific and truly unique musician.
Distance
Originally released on VHF as a CD at the end of 1994, this was the second Flying Saucer Attack album, compiling 5 tracks from impossible to get 7" with 20 mins of previously unreleased (and good) material.Similar in blend to the band’s first LP (also newly issued in the USA on deluxe vinyl), the songs hang together as a collection that improves on the individual singles. The two proper singles that make up half of Distance - Soaring High b/w Standing Stone and Crystal Shade b/w Distance were in…
Pearls From the River
VHF presents the first time on vinyl for Pearls From the River, the all acoustic epics album from the “classic” Pelt trio lineup of Jack Rose, Mike Gangloff and Patrick Best. Recorded in a single March 2003 session in Virginia by Mikel Dimmick, this was a superb distillation of their interests at the time (both alone and together —Rose’s first solo records, the emergence of the Black Twigs as a busy working band, etc). Up the North Fork is a trio for banjo, baritone banjo, and cello —after the s…
Visceral Realists
Debut LP by the New Zealand duo of Bruce Russell (Dead C, Handful of Dust, etc) and Luke Wood. Visceral Realists is a high-concept commentary on the state of vinyl, analogue recording, music culture, art, etc. A 45-rpm bullet of short bursts of free electric sound, the music here is tactile and rough but not “noise music.” Russell and Wood play over loops of scratchy records, with their guitars and electronics surging to get over the wall. Russell’s guitar sound from his vintage transistor amp a…
Plasma Splice Trifle
Debut collaboration between these like-minded English underground titans, perfectly mixing the long-form pop eccentricities of Grumbling Fur with the free electric sound of Astral Social Club to produce four epic and memorable tracks. The music is dense and layered, with hidden hooks, haunting vocals, unidentifiable electronic shuddering, delicate ambience, etc. Challenging but completely accessible and beautiful stuff. After a brief vocal declaration of purpose, Back To the Egg rides a motorik …
Like Sunburned Snowflakes
Limited edition 45 RPM 12” of Alex Turnquist’s not-like-anyone-else guitar stylings, with 5 tracks using only plucked harmonics on his 12 string guitar. Using this limited palate of sounds, Turnquist crafts sparkling waves of notes, employing the minimalist sensibilities that have informed his more recent work (e.g. his 2011 VHF LP/CD release Hallway of Mirrors) on a smaller scale. The harmonics here are frequently struck hard and in complex patterns - this is arguably “new age” but not drifty-a…