New Arrivals
Truth Is Not The Enemy
A set of high intensity free jazz interactions captured live at The Vortex, London in early 2024. Brackenbury and Bianco have worked together as a duo for a number of years and this is their third Discus Music release, following their opening fire music statement Rising Up (112CD) and the mystical Hildegard von Bingen + Coltrane inspired Wayward Mystic (140CD). The addition of Pope and O’Gallagher expands the duo into a formidable improvising quartet. Tony Bianco writes: “In this world overwhel…
1966
Ripped from who knows where… 1966 Velvet Underground. Lou Reed isn’t even playing on Heroin or Venus In Furs, and reportedly it’s Angus Maclise on drums, Moe Tucker on bass. John Cale is singing & playing the organ. Do you need to know much else? Couldn’t wait to get our hands on these. Bless NAGCZ.
Heavier Than a Death in the Family
Limited double red 180-gram vinyl reissue. Comes in a hand-numbered sleeve. Phoenix Records releases the oft-bootlegged Heavier Than A Death In The Family by legendary Japanese rock/psychedelic noise band Les Rallizes Dénudés. This "album" is in fact, a blistering assemblage of live performances (all recorded in 1977, except for "People Can Choose," which was recorded in 1973) which sits at an esteemed #3 position on Julian Cope's Japrocksampler top 50 list. Reverb so heavy, it will split your …
Plage Arrière
Tip! *300 copies limited edition* A much needed repress of French ambient composer and lifeguard Roméo Poirier's cult debut record, Plage Arrière. Released with updated artwork, by London imprint Kit Records. Plage Arrière is a deep sea meditation on a constellation of Greek beaches across three islands. Trumpets, echo-clicks and Harold Budd-esque shimmer piano whirl together on these sand-caked missives, tumbled and re-engineered by their surroundings like seaglass. Poirier evokes the sub-aqeao…
Heimito Künst
Synthesizers, field recordings, magnetic tapes together with percussion, various microphones and stringed instruments fill the listening of this musical elegy. In his debut album Heimito Künst takes us inside kaleidoscopic sound visions in which, between references to the darkest and most disturbing kraut sound and experimental sequence plans based on noise polyrhythms, he makes us glimpse wave structures that lead us directly to breathe the author's panic dust . The album was recorded live with…
Distant Fragments
With "Distant Fragments", Camilo Mendez presents an album of solos and duos that showcase his most intimate and reflective works, creating a rich sound tapestry. While Mechanical Resonance I: Iridescent Resonance explores cloud luminescence through prepared violin and viola, Five Fragments deals with the themes of variation and polyphony. Cancion de la Distancia, on the other hand, reflects the fleeting nature of memory and time, inspired by Arturo’s poetry. Recorded by Roberto Alonso, Linus Fun…
Sounded Voice, Voiced Sound
In the heart of 21st-century Japan, Yu Kuwabara emerges as a composer of remarkable versatility and resilience. Inspired by Japanese mythology, Buddhist chants, and Edo songs, Kuwabara explores the energy of the Japanese language through her compositions. Her works, such as Bai and Dharani and Toward the Brink of Water Or the Verge of Dusk, blend Western classical influences with traditional Japanese elements. Kuwabara’s research in traditional arts fuels her innovative approach, capturing the f…
Near Distant
Near Distant by Michelle Lou explores the intricate interplay of stasis, time and perception. Lou’s compositions challenge conventional interpretations, presenting music as a constantly evolving landscape. Through “static” or “stasis-variation” she reveals the complexity within seemingly unchanging sounds, inviting listeners to explore subtle transformations in pitch, timbre and dynamics. This album embodies Lou’s unique approach, emphasizing our active role in perceiving and transforming the in…
Zensolence
"Zensolence" embodies the auditory canvas of Osmo Tapio Räihälä, a synaesthetic composer who transforms the visual into the musical. For Räihälä, art forms transcend their mediums and speak a universal language through diverse expressions. His experience of colours, shapes and textures in music is reflected in this eclectic album, where the traditional meets the innovative. Räihälä draws inspiration from the abstract and translates it into a musical lexicon that is as diverse as it is distinctiv…
To Byzantium and Beyond
The album is inspired by the poetry of William Butler Yeats, in particular his work Sailing to Byzantium. The main composition, which features five recorder sizes from tenor to garklein, explores themes of time and transcendence, depicting a journey to an imaginary Byzantium where the poet is transformed into a golden bird. The four movements correspond to stanzas in Yeats’ poem, with recurring elements such as a lyrical refrain and a gyre reflecting the poet’s themes. The trajectory of the piec…
Noise Graphics (Book)
An archive of Noise vinyl and cassette covers by Masala Noir.
Book Covers 1930-2000 (Book)
A collection of 400+ minimal book covers compiled by Charles Deroyan (1930-2000).
Japanese Punk Graphics (1980-2010)
Japanese Punk graphics from 1980 to 2010 compiled by Masala Noir.
Relatum
Relatum features two compositions revolving around the relationship and interplay between the human and the algorithmic, bringing together musicians and artificial performers.
Textuur 1
*200 copies limited edition* "This album is part 1 in a series where I investigate processes with which to strip sounds from their original context and slice them into tiny bits. By doing this, sounds are separated from their source and as such severed from what they originally represented. What’s interesting and challenging for me in this project is to find the crossover area where representation disappears, and the sound becomes an abstraction. The moment when this happens varies depending on …
New Wave / Post-Punk Graphics 1980-2000 (Book)
New Wave & Post-Punk tape and vinyl graphics from 1980 to 2000 compiled by Masala Noir.
Bossa Nova!
Back in stock ! "Originally released in 1961 as Joao Gilberto, this historic album is one of the great cornerstones of bossa nova. Accompanied by Tom Jobim (who wrote such standards as 'Garota de Ipanema' and 'Desafinado') and organist Walter Wanderley (best known for his smooth Hammond playing and the 1966 hit 'Summer Samba'), Gilberto plays songs like 'Samba da minha terra' and 'O amor em paz,' both of which (along with most of the songs on this album) would soon become standards of the genre.…
Blues In The Night
Back in stock ! The piano trio material included in this reissue, constitutes a body of work which was never released in LP format during Sonny Clark's tragically short life. Clark was an underrated master of the hard bop genre who had a very subtle, artful touch. On this date, he exhibits the influence of Ahmad Jamal and Red Garland (a lighter sound) and less of the Bud Powell-inspired, hard-driving bebop lines. The arrangements are simple and concise; the tunes are all well-known standards. So…
An Imitation of Life
Disquiet. Loss. Choice. The courage to venture onto a road. Choosing another one. And disquiet again, having ascertained that neither leads to new lands: the images which make up 'An Imitation of Life' convey all this to the observer, that is, the very act of seeing. The gaze of a 9 year old, roughly eight hours of footage, the grain of a VHS-C: archeological finding of the first childhood brainwaves, the 78 video stills contained in these pages and organized according to a random logic by the v…
Issue 115: Air Issue + remixes (Magazine + 7" Clear)
This month’s Electronic Sound cover stars are the effortlessly sublime Air and we have an exclusive clear vinyl seven-inch featuring two brilliant remixes of the French duo’s ‘Sexy Boy’ to accompany the issue.