New Arrivals
In The Mouth - A Hand
2LP version, featuring one track not on the CD. Rune Grammofon presents the third album from Swedish trio Fire! -- something of a supergroup with members from already well-known projects. And again, it's a collaboration, this time with the extraordinary and prolific guitarist Oren Ambarchi. With their heavy, hypnotic, psychedelic rock'n'jazz explorations, they have carved out a different sound than any of the groups they are normally associated with. Sax player, improviser, composer and fer…
August Undone
Sweeping and rustically romantic neo-classical and drone flights seemingly dropped from the sky on the wonderful Students Of Decay label "From the very first seconds of “Within/Without,” listeners familiar with the output of Aquarelle, the nom-de-plume of Madison, WI-based sound artist Ryan Potts, will find themselves in territory that is at once familiar and new. This opening salvo explodes into being with the surging, analog fuzz blooms and preternatural sense of rhythm that endeared many to …
My Brother The Wind
A pretty darn incredible record from Sun Ra -- with a soulful, spiritual approach that's missing from most of his other albums of the time! The album features Ra playing a good deal of organ (dubbed "intergalactic organ" in this case!) -- grooving soulfully on some short tracks that almost hit a soul jazz mode, and which recall the late 60s experiments of organist Freddie Roach.
Eternal Landscapes
perfect encapsulation of the “music as sculpture” aesthetic ; the two excerpts here arrive fully formed & don’t develop themselves inasmuch as develop you ; the purely natural-sounding environments slowly reveal themselves as partial synthesized affairs, with lieven’s sly midi log-drum improvs & echo-jams resisting center-stage to remain as mere elements of a live-in-able ”real space” ... lovely record ; comes in a deluxe full-color gatefold with a detailed insert .. (Mimaroglu)
Drawn and Quartered
"A selection of rarities from 2008-2009. Track one originally released on an OPN/Outer Space split CS (Arbor, 2009). Track two originally released on Ruined Lives CS (Young Tapes, 2008). Track three and four originally released on Transmat Memories CS (Taped Sounds 2008). Track five and six originally released on A Pact Between Strangers CDR (Gneiss Things, 2008). Track seven originally released on Young Beidnahga CDR (Ruralfuane, 2009)." Includes a digital download code.
Corporate Laughter
Debut CD from one of Chicago's finest modular synth manipulators, Neil Jendon. One of the first things that struck me about Neil's work, when I saw him live, was his pacing. Neil would subtly build levels and layers of various oscillations, frequencies, and tones so deftly that by the time he was sending a hailstorm of electronic chaos out of the PA like buckshot, you almost had no recollection of how he got there without you being aware of it. 'Corporate laughter' reflects many of Jendon's fant…
Combines
The GGRIL is an ensemble of musicians who have decided to give a space to experiment with various forms of interactions possible in an orchestra without a conductor. The group brings together a dozen musicians from different backgrounds, but all eager to explore new territories offered by bands where the music is alive, freed from the linearity of writing. Powered by Tour de Bras, Rimouski, this set is a way to involve a large number of musicians and composers in the region around a unifying pro…
Superdisque
Superdisque is the first album from the French trio formed by David Fenech (electric guitar) with Jac Berrocal (trumpet) and Ghédalia Tazartès (vocals). Somewhere beyond the borders of rock, jazz, punk and sound poetry -- the vocals seem to come from another planet, with lyrics in an improvised language. The winds are blown from Tibetan human bones and conch seashells. Guitars sound like rubber and steel. Expect the unexpected. Special guest Zap Pascal (accordion) appears on one track. Dav…
S/H
Autre membre du groupe Emeralds, Steve Hauschildt nous offre une sélection de son travail solo entre 2005 et 2012 regroupée sur un double vinyl. Comme on pouvait s'y attendre, c'est une musique électronique planante, autant marquée par la niaiserie new-age que la méditation du drone. Les amateurs du genre seront plus que ravis.
Bulletproof Brass
The HBE family are in full effect on this 6-track mini-album. Forming like a brass-plated Voltron, they spin from swaggering Hip-Hop funk on 'Starfighter' to sparky, feel-good breakbeat funk on 'Touch The Sky' and more sultry, jazzed up styles for the Sun-Ra sampling 'Pluto' on the A-side. Flip it for the more brooding, cinematic themes of 'Kyptonite' feat Crow, and the record's highlight 'Black Boy' easing off the punchy percussion for a more spiritual vibe with spoken words by their pat…
Shopping
'Shopping features the title track in two versions (Vocal and Lo Cal'), The Crunch, plus a formidable remix by Shelley Parker (second part of the audio sample), whose Structure imprint will shortly be releasing more excellent work by Filter Feeder, amongst others. Played, recorded and processed by Julian Doyle (acoustic and synthetic percussion, analogue drum modules, turntables, digital samples and delays). Mastered by Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering Service. See also Filter Feeder (E8), Filter…
A history of every one
'A History of Every One' by Bill Orcutt is an album of songs: minstrel songs, holiday songs, hymns, marches, cowboy songs, Disney songs, work songs, delta blues. The original tunes themselves are nothing special, well known, but not particularly well-regarded. Most would be filler on a mid-60's Doris Day or Burl Ives LP. What Orcutt does with them however is remarkable: expanding upon techniques developed on 2011's 'How the Thing Sings' and incorporating ideasforged since his recording of 'The S…
Mitosis
"12k kicks off its 11th year with a new release that takes the label down new sonic pathways. Caught between the organic and electronic minimalism that 12k is known for and the unconventional Japanese pop musings and songwriting style of Happy, Moskitoo's Drape is an infectiously strange, bleepy, and dreamy debut release. Sanae Yamasaki (Moskitoo) hails from Sapporo, Japan in Hokkaido, the country's northern-most prefecture. Perhaps a reaction to the cool climate of her home, her multi-instrumen…
Rising from the red sand Volumes I - V
‘Rising From The Red Sand’ was one the most comprehensive compilations of early 80’s industrial, wave and underground music, spanning a total of five cassettes, compiled by Gary Levermore for his own Third Mind Records label (which has also recently been revived). The original five tapes are now released as a 5xLP set, following several months of tracking down as many artists as possible to obtain their permission to reissue their material. Almost all were found, although nine tracks are missing…
Kogetsudai
Kogetsudai is Sylvain Chauveau's 10th album, the second in a trilogy initiated by Singular Forms (Sometimes Repeated) (2010), where the song structure is dismantled and reconstructed on the fringe of silence. Whereas Singular Forms found inspiration from Abstract Painting, Kogetsudai is influenced by Zen rock gardens found in Japan Ñ also the location where the album was conceived (for the most part) Ñ and from which the album borrows its title. Layers of minimal electronic sounds and filtered f…
Song Islands Vol. 2
Song Islands Vol. 2, released under the Mount Eerie moniker as opposed to Microphones like the original Song Islands compilation, is a sizable compendium of songs covering from the 2002 release of Song Islands to the present day. Coming in at a total of 31 tracks, Song Islands Vol. 2 continues Phil Elverum’s powerful and decidedly exploratory musical style. The compilation maintains an incredible sense of intimacy, even when the vocals get choral, which is on the precipice of being the rule as o…
Yesterday & Today
Double vinyl LP pressing includes bonus CD pressing of this 2009 release. The Field is Axel Willner, and 2007's Here We Go Sublime was one of the year's most acclaimed releases, receiving a 9.0 from Pitchfork as well as universal praise. It was a soundtrack to the spit-shined airport of your dreams - faceless, futuristic, and fuzzy. Now, Willner expands his palette, continuing the oblique sampling strategy while building up the rhythmic architecture.
Der Regt Mich Auf / A Controversy
Based around the married couple Paul and Limpe Fuchs, the group Anima, also known as Anima-Sound, was one of the most radically avant-garde and creative groups to emerge from the thriving Krautrock scene of Munich at the end of the 1960s. In fact, their improvised atonal sounds and unconventional instrumentation is much closer to the spirit of experimental free jazz than anything remotely close to rock music. The Fuchs began in the late '60s as part of the counterculture at the time. Adding to t…
Otherworldy
Founded 40 years ago in 1972 “Otherworldlyâ€Â is the first Pyramids’ album in over 35 years. They released three albums before splitting up in 1977 – albums that made them one of the most mysterious and legendary of all the spiritual cosmic jazz collectives of the early 70s. Reunion? Re-Incarnation!!!
 The new album contains 14 never before released tracks. The Pyramids’ signature sound is still percussion driven, no surprise with Nash and Speller being two of the mo…
Soul Translation - A Spiritual Suite
A beautiful little record – and one that definitely earns the "suite" distinction in the title – given the thoughtful longform approach of the set! The album's got a more composed feel than other spiritual jazz sessions of the time – not in a stiff way, but in a style that shows that leader Donald Alexander Strachan really has a strong vision in his music – not just in the compositions he spins forth on the record, but also in the way he directs the rich energy of the ensemble! The lineup featur…