New Arrivals
Rocket Ship Rock
Norton recently took a rocket ride into the vaults of El Saturn Research and arrived back on Earth with a motherlode of unissued early R&B, doo wop, soul and general weirdness featuring Sun Ra and his Arkestra backing a variety of artists. This series consists of two albums of Doo Wop from Saturn and Beyond entitled Interplanetary Melodies and The Second Stop Is Jupiter plus a set of totally twisted sides called Rocket Ship Rock featuring Yochanan 'The Outer Space Vocalist' (with his demented Sa…
Loving Machinery EP
Formed in 1981, Central Unit were among the first in Italy to manipulate synths, drum machines and other electronic devices (as far as we know they were one of the few bands in the world able to program a Korg-KR55 drum machine) to create atmospheric soundscapes combined with mechanical basslines and relentless bass guitar meanderings, with slothy saxophone murmurs peeping out here and there
Always Wrong
f you're wondering whether record labels still matter, consider the case of Wolf Eyes. Their last two widely distributed albums, 2004's Burned Mind and 2006's Human Animal, came out on Sub Pop and got lots of media attention, even landing the band on the cover of The Wire. Three years later, Wolf Eyes return with Always Wrong, a follow-up of sorts after reams of smaller-run releases. It came out on Hospital in May, and I can't find a single review beyond a few blog entries and tweets. Even The W…
Inventions
Sandy Bull's 1965 LP Inventions remains one of those legendary albums that almost no one has heard. Its impact, however, can be scene in the title of this new compilation spotlighting a great unsung hero of "psychedelic folk." "Blend," the 22-minute opus from 1963 that opens this disc, surely fits that designation, perfectly blending folk, jazz, and Indian influences into what Bull called "new guitar raga." An eclectic virtuoso who switched from acoustic guitar to banjo to Stratocaster to oud (m…
LA Vampires & Zola Jesus
Easily one of the releases of the year so far, finally available on limited edition vinyl* Ghostly goings on from gothic psych queen Zola Jesus and kindred spirit LA Vampires (the current guise of Amanda Brown from Pocahaunted), who collaborate across this killer new mini album. 'Bone Is Bloodstone' rumbles into motion with those familiarly smudged out, indecipherable vocals and evaporating drum machines but there's a heavy bass groove and some ghoulish melodic developments set to balance …
La Bamba
Over 15 years ago Daniël de Wereldvermaarde Botanicus (hat and cacti collector Cassis Cornuta) deejayed a ton of horrible la bamba versions for 2 hours in the now defunct situationist radioshow RTVS (Radio Centraal-Antwerp). The 'galdezen' of RTVS yelled-sung along, creating their own versions of la bamba while getting more and more hammered or naturally gone from a bamba trance! After telling me this short story Daniël mumbled 'I always wanted to dj all night long la bamba, I think it will driv…
Whisper Not / The Wrong Holiday
This latest release on the excellent Forced Nostalgia imprint is by some distance its most illuminating release to date - a split LP that features an astonishing rediscovery from the early 1980's synth-pop era. That album is 'Whisper Not' by Vazz - a duo consisting of Anna Howson & Hugh Small, and is redolent of so much classic, deeply cherished music from around the same period (think Crépuscules, Antena, early Cocteau Twins on the one hand, and The Cure's 'Seventeen Seconds' on the othe…
The Ghosts Of Bush
Special Edition - White Vinyl. 3rd and final pressing limited to 400 copies for the world** Having already created a huge amount of interest, 'The Ghosts Of Bush' is finally here on a limited vinyl pressing and is easily one of the most pertinent and interesting Radiophonic and hauntological artefacts we've had the pleasure of stocking in recent years. Created by World Service studio manager Robin The Fog, 'The Ghosts of Bush' Consists entirely of nocturnal location recordings made by him at Bus…
Concatenating Fields
After last years twice sold out and now long out of print record with Mark McGuire, the guitarist from Emeralds, Trouble Books are about to release 'Concatenating Fields'. Their most accomplished and fully realised work yet, it has everything from the perfect minimal pop song, to Eno like guitar symphonies, to a noise freakout with legendary cult Ohioan noiseniks, Tusco Terror. It's an unbelievable treat for MIE to be working once again with the band and their label, Bark and Hiss, in get…
Discovery
Clear and Discovery were originally released as two companion CDRs by James Ferraro (of the whole Skaters / Lamborghini Crystal / 90120 / Splash / Nirvana axis) and comprise the August 1974 (Taj-Mahal Travellers) of his discography. Both albums contain absolutely beautiful whirling hall-of-knives-style synth drone that makes one want to reference Klaus Schulze or Bobby Beausoleil. Clear bursts with flam beats and a cluster of melodies muffled like a calliope wrapped in a soggy tarp, while Discov…
Lux Aeterna
greay-area LP reissue, Lux Aeterna, was originally composed to celebrate a friend of William Sheller's wedding, thematically driven by concepts of union and togetherness, and ostensibly based on the Catholic mass, this is far from any sort of religious music you've ever heard. Following in the footsteps of other iconoclastic composers, like Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier, Lee Hazlewood, David Axelrod, Scott Walker and of course Magma (more on that in a second), Sheller conjured up w…
Origin
The entirety of Origin's musical material is comprised of the vibrating strings of Pitre's ensemble of bowed "harmonic-guitars," which are unconventionally strung electric guitars (utilizing multi-unisons) tuned to intervals corresponding with the Harmonic Series, a.k.a. Just Intonation. No effects processing (pre or post) was used in this recording. All effect-like qualities result from the multi-unison strings (phasing), sympathetic vibrations, combination/difference tones (of the chosen just …
Birdland
This is the deluxe remastered LP edition of the previously cassette only release on Beniffer Editions. It is their third official full length, described as 'a totally peaced out collection of destructo boombox symphonies'. Sounds about right to us. This French Canadian duo, who’s output has been prolific already - two full lengths, two cassettes, a single and an appearance on the “World’s Lousy Vol. 2” comp - is mining territory similar to Chrome and Suicide channelled through warm layers…
At WKCR Studios NY 12-8-74
Massively unlikely unearthing of a previously unreleased live radio broadcast from legendary free jazz saxophonist Charles Tyler in a hand-numbered edition of only 99 copies: Tyler is a comparatively unsung player compared to the better known free music titans but his was a fascinating career, playing alongside Albert Ayler on Bells and Spirits Rejoice, cutting a hands-down classic run of private LPs – Eastern Man Alone on ESP Disk, Voyage From Jericho and Live In Europe, 1978’s Saga Of Th…
When California Falls Into the Sea
The product of more than a year's work, finds Caminiti shifting away from the evocation of the land elements and towards the urban- the coarseness of blood on the streets and people living in squalor juxtaposed with beautiful, fleeting moments like sun reflecting off of glass buildings into dingy puddles- to produce a dialogue where guitars float through the air weightlessly, weaving around each other like butterflies and other moments that are more solitary, monolithic excursions into the night…
Cosmos
One of the best-remembered Sun Ra albums from the 70s – a really cool little session that features Ra playing the unusual "rocksichord" all the way through! The instrument's a very weird one – kind of like a messed-up electric piano, with lots of cool broken notes and a weird fuzzed-out tone – one that almost feels like a guitar's being fitted into a keyboard, with almost psychedelic results! Ra's use of the rocksichord gives the album a really eerie, outer spacey sound – one that mixes strongly…
Rising above
one breathless long track, where you'd hear a mesmerizing Virginia's solo in a Rolando Kirk style, playing soprano and tenor in unison. back to the roots Recorded in October 2009, ultra limited 99 copies only
Other Planes of There
Other Planes of There (1964) presents Sun Ra (piano) and his Solar Arkestra once again pushing the boundaries on five Ra originals. The exceedingly experimental works are marked by the performers as much as they are by the compositions. The opening title track is an expansive suite of sounds adhering only to the boundless limits of the combo's sonic canvas. Each soloist is given ample room to propel the piece between the inspired Arkestra interjections, which in turn clears the way for the next …
The Crystal World
LP version. A marked change had come over the forest, as if dusk had begun to fall. Everywhere the glacé sheaths which enveloped the trees and vegetation had become duller and more opaque. The crystal floor underfoot was occluded and gray, turning the needles into spurs of basalt. The brilliant panoply of colored light had gone, and a dim amber glow moved across the trees, shadowing the sequined floor. At the same time it had become considerably colder.The Crystal World, the third studio album f…
Live in Paris 4.IX.86
Reissue of a classic tape from 1986. Bruno Cossano released 4 tapes thoughtout the 80s and appeared on various compilations such as the 'Hate's our belief' tape ion Aquilifer Sodality. Now for the firs time this Italian power electronics master can be heard on vinyl with some of his most powerfull and intense stuff.