Best of 2024
III-II
Through the course of time, DSR Lines (David Edren) never loses his intimate and profound connection to the universe of modular synths. These recordings made during 2014 in a residence at the Cem/Worm studio in Rotterdam, represent a further magical compendium of his Organic Electronic Music. In particular, here he draws from his expressive arsenal the cosmic and galactic potential of the Arp 2500, which happily floating throughout. A rigorous magician of vaporous, oscillating patterns, sidereal…
Binnenin
"... anatomical and cellular symphonies, catharsis of invisible biochemical processes, painting the micro-dimensional flows of the subtle body or imaginary geographies of hidden micro-bodies. Here, Edrens organic electronic music is enriched with new lymphs that also vaguely recall the influences of non-European music, especially Chinese and Japanese music (stick and chimes percussions) in an intimate and twilight dimension, poised between exotic ambient and cinematic suggestions. A miniaturisti…
III-II + Binnenin
Special discounted Bundle. The venerable Black Sweat returns to their longstanding dedication to the work of the Antwerp based electronic composer and musician David Edren / DSR Lines, with a much needed reissue of 2015's “III-II” and a brand new full-length “Binnenin”. Occupying two extreme, interconnected poles of Edren's larger body of 'Organic Electronic Music' - rippling expanses of hypnotic minimalism and immersive ambiences that border on total experience - whether approached individually…
Divine Comédie
Super tip! Divine Comédie stands as a magnum opus crafted by two of the foremost composers of their era, boasting a musical ambition akin to Dante’s poem and its visual interpretation by Sandro Botticelli or Gustave Doré. For a long time, this triptych was presented as a two-sided work in which Bernard Parmegiani’s Hell and François Bayle’s Purgatory responded to and extended each other, guided by Michel Hermon’s voice through the listener’s imagination. Because Paradise, a mixed piece co-compos…
Labyrinthe!
Big tip! An expedition in sound in 10 sequences: Enfoncement [Deep Sink], Gouffre circulaire [Circular Abyss], Noyau secret [Secret Core], Apesanteur [Weightlessness], Entrailles [Entrails], Four solaire [Solar Furnace], Fissures [Cracks], Mer intérieure [Inner Sea], Éruption [Eruption], Remontée [Ascension].
Labyrinthe ! is not only a very unique piece in Pierre Henry’s masterful repertoire, but also a remarkable demonstration of his compositional skills and musical singularity. Indeed, for thi…
Les Années 1967-1984
Biggest Tip! ** Sold-out at source. 200 copies. Hardboard linen box with silk screened lettering + 16 page booklet with biography, interview, track info and photos.** Metaphon is thrilled to present this collection of 14 phenomenal electronic and electro-acoustic works by French composer Fernand Vandenbogaerde, realized between 1967 and 1984. After his science studies Fernand Vandenbogaerde (1946) studied at the Conservatoire de Roubaix and did various classes and courses with a.o. Jean-Etienne…
Zartir
*Deluxe packaging* The third album from Levon Eskenian’s remarkable ensemble is its most adventurous to date. As well as reclaiming the music of esoteric teacher G. I. Gurdjieff for folk instrumentation, Zartir situates Gurdjieff in a tradition of Armenian bards and troubadours including Ashugh Jivani, Baghdasar Tbir and the legendary Sayat-Nova. In parallel, an emphasis on pieces for sacred dance reaches its apex in The Great Prayer, an entrancing collaboration between the Gurdjieff Ensemble an…
Vase de Noces
The venerable Sub Rosa returns with one of their most curious and revelatory releases to date: the first ever release of Alain Pierre’s visionary soundtrack for Thierry Zeno’s 1974, controversial and widely banned avant-garde film “Vase de Noces” (Wedding Trough). A radical and entirely singular, not to mention virtually unheard, effort of electroacoustic music, rooted heavily in field recording and extreme tape manipulation (and who knows what else) - feeling sophisticated and refined while ret…
Musique Créée Pour Le Ballet Iguzki Hauskara
*250 copies limited edition* Originally released on cassette only in 1984, Iguzki Hauskara by Pascal Gaigne, combines Basque Folk oral tradition, Spanish guitar and Contemporary Classical minimal compositions in equal parts. Beautifully haunting, wondrous and expansive, this record speaks to the spirit. A timeless document that befits situations and sceneries that existed long before this record was made. A pivotal moment in Pascal’s career, highest possible recommendation for fans of 80’s count…
Fragmente - Stille, An Diotima
** Edition of 300 copies, gold foil printed sleeve, includes 12-page booklet and 2 leporello inserts printed on translucent paper ** Since their founding during the early years of the new millennium, the Italian imprint, Holidays Records, has stood at the vanguard of forward-thinking sound, building a carefully curated catalog of releases that collectively build context and conversation across numerous avenues of exploration - contemporary and historical sitting side by side - within the wider f…
Dream House 78'17"
** Comes with download card. ** Originally released in 1974 on Shandar, Dream House 78'17" is the second full-length album by La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela. This first-time US edition reproduces the original gatefold sleeve with beautiful calligraphy by Zazeela and liner notes by Young and French musicologist Daniel Caux.
Side one was recorded at a private concert (on the date and time indicated by the title) and features Young and Zazeela's voices against a sine wave drone with Jon Hassel…
ADN 40th Anniversary - 40 Years 40 Tracks
*2024 stock. 250 copies limited edition* In 2023 we wished to properly celebrate the 40th anniversary of ADN’s birth. So, we have contacted groups and musicians that stimulated our curiosity through these 40 years. Some of them are good friends of us, some were already part of our music trajectories; others, never contacted in the past, are near to be seen as our myths. Anyhow to cover our multiple interests we should have brought to your attentionmany more tracks, but we think this is a good sy…
Reels 1977-1986
The endlessly engaging Italian imprints, Soave and Orbeatize, deliver what is unquestionably one of the most important and ambitious archival releases of 2024: “Reels 1977-1986”, an astounding 14 CD box set dedicated to the neglected, visionary Swiss electroacousitic composer Ernst Thoma. Presenting a radically singular approach to experimental electronic music - highly rhythmical, ranging from poetically elegant and minimal to frenetic and mind-bending - across its astoundingly expansive durati…
Machiavelli 30
* Limited Edition 300 Copies + 16 Pages Booklet * Axis Axis is pleased to release the audio format of one of the most important oeuvres in the field of Italian art and experimental poetry: Machiavelli 30 by Vincenzo Agnetti. Putting the last piece starting from the original work, conceived as a book and published by Guanda in 1978, Agnetti decided to recite the whole text in front of a portable tape recorder, and the 17’ audio in this vinyl is the output hitherto unpublished. The edition is cura…
Tuonando
* Limited Edition 300 Copies + 12 Pages Booklet * The album contains several and unpublished performances by Vicinelli and tries to return all the vocal grades and timbric spectrum of her practice. The performative overstatement of the meaning alternates with purely phonetic aspects of poetry. The side B of the LP ends with an unpublished moving audio recording of Vicinelli who, almost sleeping, tells about a dream she dreamt to director Alberto Grifi, her partner at the time.
Patrizia Vicinelli…
Goodbye Monsters
*300 copies limited edition* Roberto Musci, born in Milan in 1956, studied guitar, music and electronic instruments. From 1974 to 1985 he traveled the world studying African, Indian, Arab and Oriental music recording ethnic music “in the field,” studying and collecting ethnic musical instruments from all parts of the world. His self-produced debut album, “The Loa of Music,” is a seminal work of staggering originality and extraordinary beauty in which field recordings, musique concrète, electroni…
Looking for Daniel
We commemorate the late Phill Niblock with this release made in close collaboration with the composer just before his passing in January 2024. His life and work have had a profound influence on many contemporary composers, performers and artists, so it is a great honour to be able to present here, together with Echonance Festival, recordings of some of his very last compositions. The two works on this album, “Biliana” (2023) and “Exploratory, Rhine Version, Looking for Daniel” (2019) represent t…
(c)ovid's metamorphoses
Big Tip! With a wide range of work by sound artists and musicians, writers, filmmakers, photographers, and visual artists, (c)ovid's Metamorphoses uses the Covid-19 pandemic and its far-reaching consequences as an instrument for change, artistic and otherwise. A play on experiment across various fields of artistic practice, all featured work revolves around ideas of transmission and inspiration, conjuring up a massive body of vital and daring artistic expressions unashamedly avant-garde. (c)ovid…
Further Selections from the Electric Harpsichord
Rediscovered and compiled for release shortly before her death in November 2023, Further Selections from the Electric Harpsichord presents a never-before-heard recording of composer and artist Catherine Christer Hennix's early magnum opus. Originally debuted in 1976 at the festival Brouwer's Lattice at Stockholm's Moderna Museet, The Electric Harpsichord has steadily mystified fans and students of Western minimalist music for its implacable, transformative qualities, and the long-held, relative …
Oh! Uomo
* Limited edition of 100 copies, gold etched title on front cover. * Last year, Holidays delivered “Ad Invisibilia”, their first LP working with the composer Andrea Penso. It totally blew our minds, making his return to the label with “Oh! Uomo” that much more exciting. Penso has been active on the Italian experimental scene for the better part of two decades, working within collaborative projects like Surava and We Wait for the Snow, as well as issuing more than a dozen releases under the monik…