New Arrivals
No Sound In Space
Blake Lee has always been fascinated by the unknown, and space, in its isolating, mysterious vastness, embodies this theme immaculately. The open void, captured so memorably by Stanley Kubrick in '2001: A Space Odyssey', is Blake's far-reaching canvas on 'No Sound In Space', a cinematic meditation on the cosmos that's painted in nuanced, emotionally sincere colors. The Los Angeles-based composer has been contemplating his full-length debut since 2021, using his guitar as a sonic paintbrush rathe…
September 23rd
September 23rd is the first release in William Basinski's new Arcadia Archive series. Recorded in September 1982 in his first loft in the pre-gentrified DUMBO neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, September 23rd is a recently unearthed early entry in what has become a hugely inspirational and influential catalog. Built from a piano piece that Basinski composed in high school in the mid-1970s, September 23rd quickly evolved into a vastly different work. As Basinski explains: "The original piano rec…
Southside Girl
Jonnine Standish of HTRK returns with a gorgeous fourth solo album, a psychedelic conjuring of a childhood summer spent by the sea. Threading field recordings through impromptu songs captured on a portable 6 track, the album plays like a series of scent memories that flip the mood in a heartbeat - quite impossible not to fall under their spell.
Jonnine has soundtracked our lives for 15 years at this point, her songs - solo and for HTRK - some of the most evocative in recent memory. HTRK’s last a…
Everything Is Simple
Everything Is Simple arrives four years after its predecessor, Hold You Up, which in turn came five years after Show Us The Fire. Zelienople does not do things in a hurry. Why should it? Operationally and musically, haste has nothing to offer the Chicago-identified trio. They do not rush their time signatures, and they do not rush their albums, because however long it takes is the amount of time necessary. So, what’s necessary? Singer-guitarist Matt Christensen, multi-instrumentalist Brian Hard…
Il Serpente
Super Tip! “Il Serpente” (Night Flight from Moscow) is a 1973 spy and thriller film directed by Henri Verneuil, starring among others Yul Brinner, Henry Fonda and Philippe Noiret. It’s one of the French director’s six movies that feature a soundtrack composed by Ennio Morricone, who here managed to describe the thrilling atmosphere of this high-voltage espionage, alternating dramatic and mysterious passages ("Assassinio sul Lago", "Il Serpente") and experimental ones ("Astrazione con Ritmo", "Es…
Gli Occhi Freddi Della Paura
New remastered reissue, the only credited soundtrack appearance of Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, makes you wish Ennio Morricone had used his free improv unit for that purpose more often. Gli Occhi Fredda Della Paura, or Cold Eyes of Fear, is an Italian slasher (giallo) from 1971. The score has Il Gruppo augmented by a rhythm section and a fuzz-wah guitarist (most likely Alessandro Alessandroni). The results sound like a creepy take on 70s Miles Davis, with driving jazz beats a la C…
Le Foto Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene
One of the greatest soundtracks ever from the legendary Ennio Morricone – a real standard-setting record that's one of the top choices we go to again and again to illustrate the genius of his music! The score is a fantastic mix of the two best sides of Morricone's work – the kind of light, lilting melodies that are schooled in bossa, but turned loose on their own devices – and the darker, more atonal passages that would come to play more strongly during the 70s. The light wins over the darkness …
Rawskulled
"A surreal mosaic of eerie chant processionals, tape-rot trickery, and panicked oud madness. These are sonic forgeries of atavistic heritages, recorded by analog means using esoteric techniques." They have been known by many names: The Givers of Illness; The Bandylegged Riders of the Ill-Promised Sun, etc… Honed and expanded through their travels, Ak’chamel’s singular sound comprising desert-scorched psychedelia, post-apocalyptic shamanism, and bizarre ritual folk is as unique as the physical th…
8
"Before starting this collaboration, Maurizio Bianchi and Daniele Veronese had been in contact for a long time, united by a bond of mutual appreciation. Daniele Veronese - a well-known musician in the electro-acoustic and electronic area - has been on the scene for a long time with various monikers (Tastiera, Outdoor Sex, Susje Ristch), and grew up listening to Maurizio Bianchi, Tasaday and the Italian industrial music of the 80s. Like many, he was fascinated by the aura of M.B., a reserved, elu…
Dafne Phono
** Edition of 200 copies, incl. 18” x 24” fold-out poster, insert, incl. download ** Nour Mobarak’s Dafne Phono is an adaptation of the first opera, Dafne, composed and written by Jacopo Peri and Ottavio Rinuccini in 1598. Drawing on the myth of Daphne and Apollo from Ovid’s Metamorphoses—a story of unrequited love, patriarchal possession, conquest, and transformation—Mobarak’s multimedia and multispecies reimagining splinters the opera’s Italian libretto. Alongside English and Greek versions, i…
Live In Kontich
*Standard edition, 217 copies* The Legendary Pink Dots has released many live in its history but most often with albums that brought together recording from various locations. Today and now available, is the first double live record of a full concert from the 80s era. All great bands all have their legendary “double live” performances in their history. This has now been achieved for the Dots with this recording in Kontich, and Fractal is very happy to be able to offer it to you. Live in Kontich …
Set Scene Sound
Amazing, captivating and disconcerting live performance, recorded at the cave12-même in May 2022 by the fantastic and brilliantly switched-on English UFO-performer Merlin Nova.
Musician and sound artist based in London, Merlin Nova is mainly interested in the intersection between real facts and fiction, creating during her interventions, absurd-dadaist-zany oblique story-characters with total freedom, ease and mastery, transporting the listener into a maze of sonicotheatrical atmospheres-situati…
Into the Darkness of the Night
Hiroshi Ebina presents a lullaby for the sleepless with his latest album, Into the Darkness of the Night. A follow-up to his debut on Kitchen. Label, In Science and the Human Heart, this album delves deeper into the serene and weightless analog soundscapes that have become Hiroshi's signature, crafted specifically for the quiet hours of the city night. Into the Darkness of the Night transcends the concept of sleep, transforming it into a profound thematic exploration. Inspired by his partner's s…
Twilight (Deluxe Edition)
Twilight was Haruka Nakamura’s second album, released in the summer of 2010. The album spawned the Haruka Nakamura classics such as twilight, ongaku no aru guukei, curtain call, faraway and hikari. Upon release it was seen (and still is) as a haruka nakamura masterpiece. twilight marks a milestone not only for the artist but also remains the best-selling album on Kitchen. Label in over a decade. Recorded in a studio overlooking the ocean as a tribute to the sight of the expiring sun falling slow…
Anchors
With Anchors, Chicago-based bass clarinetist Jason Stein returns after six years with his most personal album to date. It was created together with bassist Joshua Abrams (Natural Information Society, of which Stein has been a member since 2017), drummer Gerald Cleaver, and guest artist/co-producer Boon. Anchors are, so often, symbolic of strength and stability. They reflect our capacity to steady ourselves in turbulent waters, allowing us to traverse the deepest seas. With anchors aboard, we can…
Uncle Joe's Spirit House
LP - Strictly limited first-time/one-time-only Centering Records edition, 500 on black vinyl // Beautiful pressing & printing. Includes full-res download card with 3 additional tracks. A gorgeous soul-jazz organ quartet album that hearkens to early-mid 60s sessions of similar form; fully revitalized by William Parker's indelible compositions and the generous musical gifts of Darryl Foster, Cooper-Moore and Gerald Cleaver. A straight-up joy. This very special project was produced by William Parke…
Echolalia
This album was commissioned by KAAP / Concertgebouw Brugge for Jazz Brugge Festival.
Music, production, pianos, Fender Rhodes, synthesizers and pipe organ by Giovanni Di Domenico. Featuring Alexandra Grimal on soprano saxophone (Part I) and Eric Thielemans on drums (Part II and Part III). Recorded in January 2023 at Concertgebouw Brugge by Christophe Albertijn and in April 2023 in Zaal Miry (Ghent) by Peter Desmedt. Mastered by Joe Talia at Good Mixture. Vinyl cut by Andreas at Schnitstelle. Art…
Continuation
Recorded at the Choreographers’ Workshop in New York, 1963, Waaghals Records presents two songs from Sun Ra’s Continuation sessions on vinyl for the first time. Known for its lo-fi recording quality coupled with heavy use of echo and reverberation, the material recorded at the Choreographers’ Workshop holds a special place within the Sun Ra catalogue. This unique blend of avant-garde jazz and bold production methods is described as “low-budget musique concrete” by Sun Ra biographer John F. Szwed…
Breezy
The second album of Ingebrigt Håker Flaten’s Knarr band is now ready for release on his own label Sonic Transmissions Records. The band that was first put together as a commissioned one-off project for the Vossa Jazz festival in 2021 has now become Håker Flaten’s main outlet as a bandleader and composer. Clearly something sparked putting the Vossa Jazz project together, and those of us who knew and had followed Håker Flaten for over three decades as a one of the finest musicians working within (…
Heart & Soul
Released in 1982, “Heart and Soul” is a collaboration between bassist Ron Carter and pianist Cedar Walton, two jazz giants renowned for their impeccable musicianship. The album showcases their exceptional interplay and deep understanding of jazz standards. Title track “Heart & Soul”, “Frankie and Johnny”, “Little Waltz” highlight their ability to communicate and improvise with sophistication and emotion. The album is a testament to the enduring appeal of jazz standards and the artistry of two ma…