Reissues
1979-1982
De Brassers are one of the most notorious bands in the Belgian new wave/punk history. With their no nonsense attitude they scared the shit out of the local catholic community of Hamont. De Brassers were a local mixture of the Sex Pistols (in the lowest gear) and Joy Division (they always performed a cover version of Joy Division’s Shadowplay), combining a criticism of bureaucracy and politics with experiences of psychological and existential tensions. The doomed sound they produced tells a lo…
Casse-tete
Composed in 1979 and edited on LP in 1984 by Amaryllis. Reissue on cd by Oral, 2008. Contrary to an electronic music delighting itself in soaring above reality in self abstraction, the concrete music of Bernard Bonnier has a down on earth hearing, and a dancing too, altough now and then out of beat. Bernard Bonnier has defined chameleon-music as: '...a mime* trying to beat its parth through the puzzle (casse-tête: literally 'head-breaker') of soliciting madness, sundowns, violence, science, love…
Eight Lost Tracks
Oral label can be quite proud: they dug up all the works by Austria's Monoton, the baby of Konrad Becker and released them before on CD. Monoton's music was its time ahead: minimalist pulses based on analogue synthesizers, thus predating techno, glitch, clicks & cuts, and what's better: it still sounds good. The two previous releases were officially released back then, but the eight pieces were never released, save for two on an EP and a compilation. The pieces were recorded between 1981 a…
Blau - Monotonprodukt 02 26y++
CD release of the blau vinyl written and produced by Monoton in 1980. Re-mastered in 2006. It also contains 3 unreleased tracks from that period. Since the late 70's, early 1980's, Monotonprodukt and the "Institut für wissenschaftliche Sensation" (Institute for Scientific Sensations) have been working on the transposition of metamathematical structures, natural constants and resonance patterns in models of "bionic" psycho-active automat music. Publications, installations and long-ter…
Monotonprodukt 07 27y ++
Considered to be Becker's masterpiece, the second album (1982) is the more subterranean, moodier one, and it's also the one that I personally prefer. Not to stress the Suicide connection, but at times the tracks really have a gentle Suicide feel softened with a Kraut expansiveness (slowly ever-shifting) that doesn't completely erase the angst underneath. "Water" has an undulating bass synth melody that is later connected to a higher pitched, repeating chirp and some distant, dubbed-out, spoken, …
Mutations et Protheses
LP version (initalia copies are coloured). Rare recordings by pioneers of industrial noise music, 1979-1983, never released before on CD or LP. Etat Brut was an industrial/noise band from Brussels that operated from 1979 until 1983. The duo (Phillippe x and Philippe X, today academic scientists) released dozens of cassettes, various flyers and Xeroxed booklets. Some collective concerts were organized at that time with Club Moral and Pseudocode. Cassettes like Emissions 1 (1981) or Géomé…
King of Hearts
Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Christopher Chaplin first met in 2010 at the "Gugginger Irritationen 2" festival near Vienna, dedicated to Art Brut. In 2011, Roedelius was invited to play a live piano set for the BBC, which would be recorded and remixed by a musician of his choice, but with whom he had never worked before. Roedelius chose Christopher Chaplin for the task. The result was broadcast on BBC Radio 3's "Late Junction Sessions" program in June 2011. Roedelius then asked Christopher t…
Verlautbarungen
37 solo text-pieces, phonetic poems and poetry duets (with Monika Lichtenfeld) written and composed between 1952 and 2010. Recorded 2011 at Piethopraxis Tonstudio, Cologne by Marcus Schmickler. Comes with 24 page booklet with liner notes by Gerhard Rühm in english & german.You can listen here to "Gebet" (Prayer), 1954, is an example of vocal constellation. The succession of vowels "a, e, i, o, u" repeated in this order is wrapped up in consonants to the point of producing syllabic coordinations.…
A Strange Functional System
More than 30 years ago ‘Bizarre Unit’ released their timeless and highly collected classic single ‘Dancing/Away from the Screaming Car’. Now for the first time ever, Bizarre Unit and VOD-Records have uncovered the lost treasure trove of their surviving recordings. These unique recordings have been digitally transferred, edited and carefully restored from the ¼-Reel-Recordings and Cassettes. Embedded crackling and background noise from the original surviving Acetates have been careful…
Lowest Music & Arts 1980-83
This 10Lp-Set in a black varnished and silkscreened wooden Box is a comprehensive Anthology of the „Godfather of Noise“ early works, carefully selected and mastered by Merzbow himself. Is there anything left to say about Mastermind Masami Akita alias Merzbow that hasn’t been told or known. Does he still need any introduction or explanations? Merzbow has been actively recording 'Noise-Music' since late 1979. You can not talk about the Genre „Noise“ without eventually leading to him as one of th…
Piano Recital (Teatro La Fenice In Venice)
Sun Ra was an extremely prolific artist and while hundreds of recordings exist of Sun Ra, there are only a handful where he can be heard playing solo. This amazing and rare solo performance recorded live in 1977 at the world-famous La Fenice opera house in Venice, and featuring Sun Ra playing a mix of standards as well as his own material on piano, is a rewarding journey into the repertoire of one of the most controversial and unorthodox musicians in the history of jazz.
The Sensational Guitars Of Dan & Dale: Batman And Robin
"This novelty album, released in 1966 during the height of the Batman & Robin craze, was initially credited to the 'The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale' and featured an album full of tracks based on the popular TV show like 'The Batman Theme Song', 'The Penguin Chase', and 'The Batcave'. The album is entirely instrumental, except for someone singing 'Batmaaaan!' in the theme song. But the interesting thing about this album, and what makes it an absolute cult gem, are the musicians who…
Future Days Live
This album is made up of one long jam session recorded live-in-studio at Inner Space in Cologne during the 1973 Future Days sessions. More ambient than their previous efforts, Future Days was also singer Damo Suzuki's final album with Can. Members of Can had first encountered the self-defined '20th century nomad,' Kenji 'Damo' Suzuki, a few years earlier on the streets of Cologne. It was shortly after original Can vocalist Malcolm Mooney had left the band and they were left without a singer…
Live
Founded in 1970 in Dusseldorf, Kraftwerk was the only German band to rise from the so-called 'krautrock' scene to true international stardom. Of course, it was partially their distinct look that set them apart. At a time when long hair and scruffy clothing was the norm for musicians, Kraftwerk cut their hair short and wore handmade suits. And at a time when guitar rock reigned supreme, Kraftwerk did not even have a guitar player. In fact they soon did away with instruments altogether, beco…
Rontheo
Rontheo is one of the rarest folk rock LPs to come out of the kraut scene of the seventies. Formed by Canadian RON di Tomaso and German THEO Busch it has become one of the most coveted pieces among collectors and afficionados. Wah Wah records is proud to announce at least an official vinyl reissue, made from the original master tapes and with the help & cooperation from both Ron & Theo themselves!When Theo Busch and Ronnie di Tomaso first met in 1975 it was immediately clear that Theo's violin p…
Edge of Time
First ever vinyl reissue of the debut solo album by one of the greatest UK jazz vocalists, featuring the cream of the crop of Britain's brilliant jazz wunderkind here: Kenny Wheeler, Paul Rutherford, Art Themen, Chris Pyne, Chris Laurence, John Taylor... Norma Winstone had began as a jazz vocalist in 1965 and soon entered the New Jazz Orchestra. Se also joined the Michael Garrick Quintet -where she added the wordless vocal improvisations that would become one of theelements she has developed to …
Music Is Painting In The Air (1974 - 1977)
Includes 16 page booklet and a download code redeemable from the label with bonus tracks. It's a bountiful collection of unheard prog and space rock rich with minimoog, created by Franco Falsini - whose 'Cold Nose' recently turned up on Spectrum Spools. His later synth bits like 'Darkside' are exceptional and practically worth the admission alone. Not so sure about the earnest prog noodling, though... Packaged in reverse card slipcase with colour inners and a 20-page booklet of in-depth h…
He Is My Story: The Sanctified Soul of Arizona Dranes
A singer sits at the piano and loses all inhibitions while in complete control of the instrument: Little Richard, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis. Although church singer Arizona Dranes doesn't come close to the stature of those icons, she set the mold for rockin' singer/ pianists in 1926 with six 'test records' that have stood the test of time. Until now, very little has been correctly reported about Dranes other than the facts that she was blind, from Texas, had a piercing Pentecostal voice …
Scheintot
LP version. "Arguably the most prescient band of the entire late '70s San Francisco underground, Factrix released just one 7-inch and two pioneering LP's in the early '80s. Formed in 1978 by Cole Palme (one-time member of the LAFMS group Airway) and Bond Bergland (later of Saqqara Dogs), the two initially called themselves Minimal Man and performed a handful of shows along with Patrick Miller (who would go on to have a great solo career under the MM moniker). Soon they enlisted bassist Joseph T.…