Reissues
Reality
Obscure prog rockers Second Hand began as the Next Collection, formed at a south London secondary school; engineer/manager Vic Keary scored them a contract with Polydor as the Moving Finger, but their legendary debut LP was credited to Second Hand, due to a rival Moving Finger. Channelling psych and spacey acid hues, there is blues-rock underpinning Bob Gibbons’ guitar and keyboardist Ken Elliott helps aim the sound towards deep space; this edition features rare tracks ‘James in the Basement’ an…
The Ascension
** 2022 Much-Needed repress ** Glenn Branca's first full-length album The Ascension is a colossal achievement. After touring much of 1980 with an all-star band featuring four guitarists (Banca, fellow composers Ned Sublette and David Rosenbloom, and future Sonic Youth member Lee Ranaldo) along with Jeffrey Glenn on bass and Stephan Wischerth on drums, Branca took his war-torn group into a studio in Hell's Kitchen to record five incendiary compositions.
Originally released in the summer of 1981, …
'83 & Extra Studio Works
*In process of stocking. 300 copies limited edition* After a first reissue, which seduced music lovers nearly 40 years after the group's disbanding, Le Backstore and On The Roof have repressed the works of IKO as a double vinyl set. »'83 & Extra Studio Works« includes the entirety of the »'83« album, plus four tracks recorded after its original release. The additional pieces reveal an outfit that pushes its own limits, gaining in intensity while straying away from the more abrasive sound of the …
Cherry Five
*Clear-Velvet Vinyl edition* A reissue of Cherry Five, the first and only homonymous work of the band, made by Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli, drummer Carlo Bordini and singer Tony Tartarini. The album was recorded in 1974 but published only in 1976, a year before the official birth of Goblin and the worldwide success of "Profondo Rosso". In the original vinyl Simonetti and Morante were included as authors of the songs but not as performers. The record in question is a rari…
Ezz-thetics & The Stratus Seekers Revisited
Temporary Super Offer! On Ezz-thetics: Eric Dolphy alto saxophone, bass clarinet, Don Ellis trumpet, David Baker trombone, George Russell piano, Steve Swallow double bass & Joe Hunt drums. On The Stratus Seekers: Paul Plummer tenor saxophone , John Peirce alto saxophone, Don Ellis trumpet, David Baker trombone, George Russell piano, Steve Swallow double bass & Joe Hunt drums. The six albums that George Russell recorded in just two years – starting with Sextet at the Five Spot in September 1960 …
Favorites Revisited
Temporary Super Offer! 'The studio side of Coltrane’s catalog has greater consistency in terms of caliber of aural presentation, but fewer occasions for extended improvisation and creation. This is particularly evident in an analysis of the recordings made of his Classic Quartet comprising pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. An ensemble that was a work in progress well before it was a finished cohort, Coltrane’s most fertile band was also best suited to the hot h…
Ubok Aka Inua
*In process of stocking* Originally released in 1976, Ubok Aka Inua is the fifth album by legendary Nigerian saxophonist and band leader, Etubom Rex Williams. The album features Psychedelic Shoes and One Woman Is Enough Trouble, both heard on countless funk and soul compilations. The album was restored from the original tapes by Noah Mintz and artwork restored and recreated by Steve Lewin.
"Etubom Rex Williams occupies the genuine space of legend of Nigerian Highlife. His incredible professional…
Funky Africa
*In process of stocking* We Are Busy Bodies is proud to present a reissue of composer, guitarist, and later producer, Almon Memela’s ultra rare 1975 album, Funky Africa. From the original liner notes: 'Africa has always been many things to many people. To some, Africa is the Dark Continent, a mysterious, romantic and vast expanse of unexplored territory. To others, again, Africa is the ultimate symbol of man's triumph over his environment: a wakening giant destined to play a significant role in …
Deeper Roots
*In process of stocking* Second, and long out of print album by South Africa's Roots. Remastered from original audio tapes. Artwork completely restored by Steve Lewin.
Shrimp Boats
Assembling unreleased recordings from 1979 and 1980, Shrimp Boats is a South African jazz archival compilation from 1987 built around its epic side-long title track featuring saxophonist Basil "Mannenberg" Coetzee. The recording was made during pianist Lionel Pillay's November 1979 session with Coetzee for the As-Shams/The Sun album Plum and Cherry. Side Two is composed of material recorded in September 1980 from the session for Lionel Pillay's Deeper in Black album. The 1951 pop standard "Shrim…
Tshona!
*In process of stocking* As a member of the all-star Jazz Epistles in the late 1950s, saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi (also spelled Moketsi during his tenure with the As-Shams record label in the 1970s) was one of the pioneering forces of modern South African jazz. While Jazz Epistles bandmates Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim would go on to build their careers in the United States in the 1970s, it was at home in South Africa that Moeketsi would leave his mark on the domestic jazz discography. Fro…
Scanning
Small restock, very last copies around A pioneer of electronic, computer, and instrumental avant-garde music, for the majority of his life, the German composer Roland Kayn remained one of the great unheralded figures in the landscape of 20th century sound - a founding member of Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, who delved into singular territories entirely his own. Fortunately, in the last few years, in part due to the release of his monumental work, A Little Electronic Milky Way of S…
Zodiac
We Are Busy Bodies announces the officially licensed reissue of the 1966 cosmic, free jazz album Zodiac by French saxophonist and composer Barney Wilen. The album’s astrological theme and Robert Crumb-esque comic-book style cover art, illustrated by the renowned cartoonist Siné, marks it as a European parallel to the burgeoning counter-cultural happenings of the same period in the USA.
The reissue also offers tantalising glimpses of a projected animated tie-in film that never was. Wilen's friend…
Beat Gregoriano
We Are Busy Body presents the remastered reissue of Mario Molino's 1971 album, Beat Gregoriano. Remastered by Noah Mintz from Lacquer Channel Mastering.
Playtime
*Remastered reissue from original tape transfers* Piero Umiliani's 1968 album Playtime was originally issued on the Omicron label. It has been remastered by Noah Mintz at Lacquer Channel Mastering. Licensed from Liuto Edizioni Musicali.
Drive Live
*Official remastered reissue* We Are Busy Bodies presents Drive Live. A live performance by South African group The Drive, founded in 1971 by Adolphus "Bunny" Luthuli and Henry Sithole.
Drive Unlimited
We Are Busy Bodies presents Drive Unlimited. A gem by South African group The Drive, founded in 1971 by Adolphus "Bunny" Luthuli and Henry Sithole.
Remastered reissue by We Are Busy Bodies. Art restoration by Steve Lewin.
Alleycat
Definitely one of Nucleus' lesser known albums, Alleycat nonetheless maintains the exceptionally high standards that Ian Carr & Nucleus had set for themselves over the course of numerous albums before this one. It's true that there's little here which is a departure from any of their previous releases, but with a quality of of both songwriting and playing this high, who could blame them? Once again we have fast, intricate, melodic jazz-rock fusion, with moments of high energy interspersed with s…
Under The Sun
Under The Sun is the follow-up to the astonishing Roots and contains yet more absolutely essential Nucleus material. Originally released on Vertigo in 1974, Under The Sun was never re-pressed and of course those original copies are now very tricky to score. Like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well and this re-issue, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press. The bleak, rain-dappled cover matches the melancholic vibe of the record and has been restored as the finishing…
Sikiza Matshikiza
Born in Queenstown in South Africa's Eastern Cape province in 1938, Patrick Vuyo Matshikiza was raised in a musical family. His uncle Todd Matshikiza was a jazz columnist for Drum Magazine in the 1950s and composed the music for King Kong - the all-black musical from 1958 that played in London's West End and launched the career of singer Mariam Makeba. Pat was educated at St. Mathews, an historic mission school in Keiskammahoek, where he played organ and graduated with a teacher's diploma. He mi…