sommario

THE PIG MAILORDER

A RECORDS
	*BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE, THE: Bravery Repetition and Noise* LP (AUK 003LP) 23.00** "Bravery, Repetition and Noise is a dark dreamy album, rich in atmosphere, layered in waves of sound. The album's antecedents are clear, inspired by psychedelia as they were by punk's nihilism, pulling both strands into a doom-laden, experimental sound quite distinct from anything that had come before or since. BJM uses this as their touchstone, lovingly re-creating the moods and atmospheres of the past. The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a psychedelic rock band originally from San Francisco, California, led by guitarist/singer Anton Newcombe. Since 1995, The Brian Jonestown Massacre has released numerous albums, first for Bomp! Records, the label which gave them their start, and later for TVT and Tee Pee. BJM has been essential in the development of the modern U.S. garage scene, and many LA and SF musicians got their start playing with Newcombe, including Peter Hayes of The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Originally Newcombe was heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones' psychedelic phase -- the name comes from Stones guitarist Brian Jones combined with a reference to cult leader Jim Jones, but his work in the 2000s has expanded into aesthetic dimensions approximating the UK shoegazing genre of the 1990s and incorporating influences from world music, especially Middle Eastern and Brazilian music." 180 gram vinyl, deluxe gatefold sleeve (and yes, featuring the illustrious image of Jim Jarmusch).
ACME GRAMOPHONE/LION PRODUCTIONS (UK)
	*T2: It'll All Work Out In Boomland* CD (ACLN 1010CD) 21.00** "The rise of power trio T2 in 1970 was rapid: important open-air festivals; headlining residencies at the Marquee Club; appearances at virtually every major venue in London. Then their debut album was released; they seemed poised for a breakthrough. As the band recalled, they were playing the Marquee club with John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix hanging out backstage, which was all to the good. But people were coming forward saying, 'we can't find your album anywhere.' In short order, the band fell apart. Still, their sole Decca album has become well established as an all-time classic amongst progressive and psychedelic music collectors -- even the techno and DJ crowds. The fact that it has done so without hype is a testament to the innate quality of the music. The album is packed with melodic acoustic passages and frenzied fuzz guitar workouts, not to mention acid-trip induced lyrical and musical content. It is, in every way, an extraordinary album, one of rock music's best-kept secrets, on a par with all the other major works that form the rock music canon of the time. A hefty booklet contains extensive musicological analysis by composer and musician Andrew Keeling, which includes illuminating interviews with band members Peter Dunton and Keith Cross, as well as detailed illustrations. Included as a bonus are three tracks from BBC Sessions recorded in October 1970. Licensed from Decca/Universal, UK."
	T2: T2 CD (ACLN 1011CD) 21.00 "Even though fame and fortune never came to pass for T2, their Decca album It'll All Work Out In Boomland has become an all-time classic amongst collectors of progressive and psychedelic music, and even in the techno and DJ scenes. Apart from a 1970 'Sound of the '70s' BBC radio session, (included on our Acme/Lion reissue of It'll All Work Out in Boomland, ACLN 1010CD), fans assumed that Boomland was both the beginning and the end of the group's recorded legacy. But Acme Records unearthed an eponymous second album of material, recorded in 1970 with the original line-up as demo tracks for a planned second album. This was first released way back in the late 1990s, and is now available again, thanks to the new Acme/Lion version. This second T2 album, had it been released in 1970, could have put the band on the same level of fame with the likes of Deep Purple, Free, and King Crimson (bands with whom T2 shared a stage). Its hard-driving opener 'Highway,' ablaze with wailing guitars, gives way to moody introspection, culminating with the LSD-induced finale, 'T2.' Those of you who were lucky enough to snap up a copy of the limited Acme Deluxe pressings of this album many years ago now can testify to the importance of these recordings. For those of you who missed out the first time around -- or who have only recently discovered the greatness of the mighty T2 -- all we can say is, enjoy the power and glory of the second T2 album!"
AGARIC
	*BORBETOMAGUS: Live In Allentown* CD (AGARIC 1996) 20.00** Recorded live on Octobert 29, 1986. Reissue of the cassette-only release Live In Allentown (Lowlife). Jim Sauter (saxophones), Don Dietrich (saxophones), Donald Miller (guitar), Adam Nodelman (bass), Scott Legath (electronics). "Killer sound, includes the entire second set, never before released. Byron reviewed the cassette in Spin years ago."
ALPHABET CITY (UK)
	*BUCCI, PIER: Hay Consuelo* 12" (ALPHA 072EP) 12.00** "His name is Pier Paolo Bucci and with releases on Crosstown Rebels and Cadenza, Pier has shown us what ambitious and intelligent tech house really is. His greatest success so far is without any doubt Hay Consuelo, that Pier released one year ago on his mother label, Crosstown Rebels. Now it is time for a re-release of the legendary Samim remix, plus a stunning new interpretation from 3 Channels from Poland."
ANAGRAM RECORDS (UK)
	*EATER: The Album* 2CD (CDPUNK 143CD) 27.00** "Deluxe 2CD 30th anniversary reissue of the one and only studio album by '77 punk stalwarts, Eater, voted into Q magazine's '100 Best Punk Albums Of All Time.' Includes all of their debut LP The Album plus a second disc The Singles Plus that features all of the band's ultra-rare and collectable singles plus tracks from the compilations Live At The Roxy and The Label Sofa, essentially all of the band's original recordings! 'Thinking Of The USA' was voted into Mojo magazine's Top 100 punk singles, while 'Outside View' featured in Record Collector's punk top 30. Completely remastered by Tim Turan, this revamp comes with sleevenotes by No More Heroes author Alex Ogg, which have been overseen by vocalist Andy Blade. Booklet contains original LP artwork, lyrics to all the songs plus pictures of all the relevant singles sleeves."
APNEA (SPAIN)
	*TADEO: Cosmos Remixes* 12" (APNEA 020EP) 12.00** "Substance and Cassy are the chosen ones to remix one of our best records so far, Cosmos by Tadeo. The man behind Scion Versions, that wonderful new label run by René Löwe aka Vainqueur and Substance himself, has gone as far as possible with the rework of 'Reflection Nebula 056n,' creating a complete Pandora's box where different moods arise, from deep techno to even trance, all linked with absolute mastery. Panorama resident DJ Cassy has a special fixation with groove -- an obsessive interest that we share with her. Cassy's 'IO' remix builds on a constant rhythm that merges a vocal sampler with hypnotic beats & blips -- a very special journey of over 10 minutes."
ARBITER
	*STRAVINSKY, IGOR: Music for Four Hands* 2CD (ARB 155CD) 44.00** "Petrouchka" (four-hand version); "Three Pieces for String Quartet"; "Concerto for Two Pianos"; "Three and Five Easy Pieces"; "Zvietochnoy Waltz." Paul Jacobs & Ursula Oppens, pianists; Paul Jacobs In Recital: Igor Stravinsky: "Four Etudes"; "Piano Rag Music"; "Tango"; "Ragtime"; Claude Debussy (1862-1918): "Two Preludes"; Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951): "Piano Pieces"; "Op. 33"; Aaron Copland (1900-1990): "Four Piano Blues"; Malcolm Bolcom (1946): "Three Ghost Rags"; Frederic Rzewski (1938): "Down by the Riverside," Paul Jacobs & Aaron Copland, pianos; Aaron Copland: "Danzon Cubano"; Conversation with Jacobs. "Paul Jacobs and Ursula Oppens recorded Stravinsky's piano music for four hands in 1977 and 1981. It receives its first CD release, restored from Nonesuch's masters. In addition, are excerpts from a recital of jazz-influenced works, along with what may be Copland's last public performance as a pianist. Extensive liner notes by Jacobs analyze the music with rare photos of the creators of "Petrushka" (Nijinsky, Karsavina, etc., with Stravinsky and Tcherepnine at the piano)."
ART YARD (UK)
	*SUN RA: Media Dreams* 2CD (ARTYARD 002CD) 38.00** "This is the companion to Disco 3000, made on the same classic Italian quartet tour with John Gilmore, Michael Ray (trumpet) and the minimal but perfect Luqman Ali (drums). Ra himself plays piano and electronic keyboards, including the mysterious Crumar Mainman, which Ra describes as 'like a piano, organ, clavichord, cello, violin and brass instruments' and which also, importantly, has a facility for pre-programmed bass lines and electronic percussion, which Ra uses constantly and to great effect in this small ensemble setting and seldom, if ever, elsewhere. The best of this collection (most of CD1) is luminous: very electronic, often rhythmical and melodic, always economical and making every sound count. These tracks are like no other jazz ensemble and, although recognizable as Ra -- who else could think of, and then get away with this -- unlike any other Ra ensemble, either. Ra makes the machines do amazing, visionary things while the band exercises restraint, remaining always in focus. In between, there are piano, saxophone, trumpet and drum vignettes, fresh and perfectly judged; this real was a fine band. This places the original vinyl release (and related releases, Sound Mirror and Disco 3000) back into the context of the concerts from which they were drawn. An important addition to the Sun Ra canon, since it is a rare document of an unusual Ra project that produced three classic late '70s LPs. Beautifully packaged and well annotated."
ATAVISTIC
	*FIRE ROOM: Broken Music* CD (ALP 183CD) 21.00** "A tempest of e-jazz-noise erupts on the Atavistic debut from Fire Room, a new project between longtime collaborators Ken Vandermark, Lasse Marhaug & Paal Nilssen-Love. As core members of the initial lineup of (((Powerhouse Sound))) -- as well as an array of other adventurous small & large groups -- these cats know each other well. The telepathic vibe necessary to make free music really work is tested & expanded upon throughout Broken Music -- amplified literally AND figuratively by Marhaug's penchant for darker -- yet still explosive -- forays on a gamut of electronic gear. Users are currently invited to investigate the outer reaches of both jazz & electronic frontiers simultaneously with Fire Room."
BALANCE POINT
	*DAY AND HENRY KAISER, KIKU: Zen Kaiju* CD (BP 20047CD) 21.00** "Kiku Day is a ji-nashi shakuhachi player from Denmark. She currently explores the possibilities of playing contemporary music on the ji-nashi shakuhachi. This is Henry Kaiser's personal favorite of his improvisational albums recorded in the last decade. He considers it to be some of his best guitar playing ever. The unlikely combination of the traditional shakuhachi of Kiku Day and the experimental guitar of Henry Kaiser is reflected in the title of this stunningly exotic new album of improvisations. Kaiju is Japanese for strange sea monster. Godzilla, Gamera, Rodan, Mothra, etc. would all be typical examples of Kaiju. If you imagine the sounds of these monsters' screams, and the space ships and flying saucers that often appear in their films, combined with the sound of a peaceful Japanese bamboo flute in the garden of a Zen temple, you can get an idea of part of what is going on here. But monsters do have their peaceful, quiet, introspective sounds and the shakuhachi can also evoke ghostly, otherworldly sonic expressions. Both traditions reflect the wabi sabi aesthetic that evolved with the Japanese tea ceremony."
	*KAISER, HENRY: Domo Arigato Derek-Sensei!* CD (BP 21625CD) 21.00** "Assembled by Henry Kaiser as his tribute to Derek Bailey, who was one of Henry's major influences as a player. There are solo tracks by Henry and also duo and trio tracks which include Charles K. Noyes, Toshinori Kondo, Andrea Centazzo, Damon Smith, Davey Williams, Larry Ochs, Greg Goodman, John Oswald, and Derek himself."
BASIC REPLAY (GERMANY)
	*VA: Basic Replay* CD (BR 001CD) 22.00** Basic Replay is a reggae reissue label run by Honest Jon's in London and Basic Channel/Rhythm & Sound in Berlin, and this album is a sampler of its releases since starting in 2004. All except two of the tracks are now available on CD for the very first time. This assemblage includes the best of the label's dancehall hits, classic deep dub stunners and reggae essentials that you must own. The Ackie and Tenastilin tracks are from the London dancehall, killer shots from 1986 and 1992. Basic Replay's hit 12" reissue of "Rambo" was the subject of feature articles in Wax Poetics magazine and Natty Dread (France). Also available is a hit from Professor Grizzly and Ijahman Levi's rare, resplendent first version of "I'm A Levi" (recorded in London in 1974) and the apocalyptic "Ayatollah," recorded by Jackie Mittoo post-Studio One, in New York. From Canada, King Culture's stunning dub of Barry Brown is surely the deadliest cut of the mighty "Cuss Cuss" rhythm. The Courtney Melody, Chuck Turner and White Mice tracks are classic no-mercy Stateside digi-sufferers from just a few years ago, the track from Andrew Bees (the Black Uhuru singer) is in the same lofty tradition. Keith Hudson's LP masterwork Flesh Of My Skin is represented by its opener, featuring Count Ossie; alongside cruelly brilliant, deeply grooving productions by Niney The Observer (via Gregory Isaacs) and Prince Jazzbo which epitomize the label's appeal to the reggae cognoscenti over the last three years, but also beyond, to fans of dubstep, techno, anything tough and worth a listen.
BELOW (GERMANY)
	*FIX, MARKUS: Yes You Know Me EP* 12" (BELOW 017EP) 11.00** "Markus Fix, already known from his release on Cecile Recordings, is back with his second strike and we are proud to present this release on Below. This young, talented artist for sure knows how to combine the deepness of house with today's minimal techno styles. Two tracks, two different journeys for the late night madness in your favorite club. But as always: listen by yourself."
BINEMUSIC (GERMANY)
	*ANDO: Habitat* CD (BINE 017CD) 21.00** "Using the artist pseudonym of Ando for his outstanding project to separate it from his previous works, Taylor Deupree started working on this release in 2004 but had to interrupt every now and then since time wasn't right. In 2007, he once again got working on it, resulting in four impressive tracks. Touching back upon techniques he explored in the mid-1990s, Deupree utilizes multiple time signatures, odd delays, feedbacks, and repetition to play with time and rhythm. The minimal aesthetic is very much in line with what he is doing today, but the stylings are decidedly techno. Taylor Deupree is a sound artist, photographer, and graphic designer residing in upstate New York. In 1997, he formed the 12k label, which has become one of the most respected outlets for new digital music in the world. Over the past 14 years, Deupree has released many CDs on labels throughout the world and has traveled the globe performing and photographing."
BLACK FIRE MUSIC
	*ONENESS OF JUJU: African Rhythms* LP (BF 19751LP) 20.00** 1993 reissue of this 1976 album. "One of the most groundbreaking bands of their time. From early avant-garde jazz work on the Strata East label to their later fusions of Afrobeat, funk and spiritual jazz, Oneness stand as a huge influence for today's jazz scene. Released in 1976, the African Rhythms album is Oneness Of Juju's masterpiece. Bandleader J. Plunky Branch had moved back to his hometown of Richmond, Virginia from New York and introduced R&B, funk and African percussion into his music to appeal to the local market. Topped by the soaring vocals of Jackie Holoman-Lewis, the Oneness sound became a tight, supremely soulful outfit. Although it sold to the local market, African Rhythms was revived in the late '80s when rare groove fever hit the UK. Ever since, the album has been an essential part of any soul and funk DJ's collection."
	*ONENESS OF JUJU: Chapter Two: Nia* LP (SES 7420LP) 20.00** Reissue of the 2nd Oneness of Juju album, originally released in 1974 on the Strata-East label -- their second release for the label. Juju is: "part of the musical understanding that pays respect to the traditional greatness of the masters of the past & of recent years. These must include the traditional musicians of Africa, Potato, Totico, Chocolate & Co. of the Caribbean diaspora, the masters of New Orleans to the recent & present Coltrane, Ayler, Taylor, Coleman, Shepp, Art Ens. of Chicago, Pharoah, Sun Ra & other." --from the liner notes by Thulani Nkabinde. Includes a version of Pharoah Sanders' "Black Unity."
BOOGIZM (GERMANY)
	*S-MAX & FYM: Astro Hard-Bop* 12" (BOOG 015EP) 11.00** "Long time waiting has been worth it, new tracks have been refined to enhance dancefloors' quality sound by label bros Fym and S-Max once again! This time the boys get it laid out a little straighter (and louder, due to the A1 mastering by Pole), this Boogizm EP is definitely made for the dancefloor. Familiar ingredients are stirred and shaken in order to jack! This is music beyond minimal's narrow rules, built on solid grooves. The A-side features S-Max, whose Lovebombing EP has been released on Karloff recently, here delivering straight kicking tracks, rocking and rolling, funk through wobbly bass lines and vocals to get a grip on the floor. After fine Afro interlude, another banger with Rhodes-like jazz funk keys joining dirty bass guarantees happy floors all over! And to make things complete, another locked groove keeps things rollin'. The B-side features Fym's unique ability to keep it minimal and dance-y, while still remaining a strong statement. Bass lines interact with melodies and little bleeps and chords to make you move your hips! One track rocks heavy -- another is moody and Detroity -- everyone's a winner, babe!"
BPITCH CONTROL (GERMANY)
	*ALLIEN, ELLEN: Boogy Bytes Vol. 04* CD (BPC 171CD) 21.00** This is the eagerly-awaited fourth installment in BPitch Control's Boogy Bytes series, mixed by the label queen herself, Ellen Allien. Allien describes this mix as "emotional, noisy, trippy, weird and sexual," an apt characterization of her typology of sound that is perhaps more crooked, more abstract or technoid than others, but with a seamless queue of artists that you can't help but be excited about. As a DJ, she maintains that emotional and direct contact to the audience always comes first -- likewise, she tries to anticipate all the facets and interactions of daily life where music is a companion, whether it be dancefloor, airport, studio, office or living room. For example, the bass drum is not set into the foreground, obviously, neither should it dominate the feelings of the listener. Ellen Allien sketches a voyage that consists of a generous arrangement of tracks that allows space and room for the listener's own perception of the music and what he or she might add based on their own mood and experiences. 2007 was a special year for Allien, and also for electronic music "made in Europe" and so, that element resonates within the mix. Between poem producer AGF and Little Dragon is music that is fluid and malleable with club nights and daily wanderings in mind. The riveting cover-theme continues with photographer Axl Jansen's instant-action shot, which perfectly reflects Boogy Bytes Vol. 04: full of motion and emotional. Other artists include: Vera, Ricardo Villalobos & Patrick Ense, Melon, Andres Zacco & Lucas Mari, Seph, Konpiùta, Moessap, Sozadams, Richard Seeley, Lucio Aquilina, Melchior Productions, Friendly People, Damian Schwartz, Sascha Funke, Gaiser and Kassem Mosse.
BROQUE (GERMANY)
	*JUNO6: Salamis* 12" (BROQUE 011EP) 11.50** "Juno6 is the pseudonym and the birthday of Stefan Schulz from Lipsia at the same time. He also complies with the analog connotations of his name. Stefan likes to experiment with quiet IDM and straight techno. 'Salamis' is the great story about massive things that happened a long time ago in the surrounding field of this island. The original version of the track tells us this monumental story. Cio D'Or (Karmarouge, Treibstoff Cologne) presents us her skillfully deep and melodic version on the other side. And Steffen Bennemann (Distillery, 1bit-wonder Lipsia) makes another minimal trip after the battles."
BUREAU B (GERMANY)
	*VA: Easy Beatles: Irresistible In-Sound Interpretations* CD (BB 009CD) 22.00** ...from the 60s and 70s. The Bureau B label presents what may very well be the best Beatles covers record, ever. Now-sound meets jet-set music meets space-age pop meets easy listening meets soul jazz meets vocal jazz. Not to mention stand-out contributors such as Gary McFarland, Gershon Kingsley, The Sandpipers, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Scott and many more. Countless musicians and bands have transposed The Beatles into styles as diverse as country & western, reggae or even waltzes. When it comes to Beatles interpretations, almost anything goes. The most prolific period of Beatles remakes coincided with the band's own active phase. The late '60s and early '70s were positively awash with Fab Four facsimiles on the songsheets of popular entertainers and jazz musicians. Some went as far as to record entire albums of Beatles songs. While some turned out to be rather fabulous in their own right, others were unintentionally amusing, but no less fascinating for that. More than a few pearls have been gathering dust in the archives over the years and many such treasures thoroughly deserve to see the light of day once again. This collection is but a small, initial foray into such territory. Eighteen jewels handpicked from the copious vaults of (primarily) American recordings embrace multi-genre interpretations. Little known starlets like The Assembled Multitude, studio musicians who came together for a single production, rub shoulders with the somewhat more familiar vocalist Nancy Ames (her highest chart position a less than stellar #89) and the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, a true giant of the vocal jazz scene. Includes detailed and entertaining track-by-track liner notes, beautifully packaged. Get ready to enter the Fab Fourth Dimension.
BURIED TREASURE RECORDS
	*MEKONS: The Mekons Story 1977-1982* CD (BURT 005CD) 21.00** "Originally released in 1982, The Mekons Story (also known as It Falleth like the Gentle Rain from Heaven) is a collection of rare and unobtainable tracks from the UK punk legends Jon Langford describes as 'our revenge on the world.' This 20 track CD includes brilliant outtakes, unreleased tracks, alternate versions, B-sides, as well as a handful of live radio sessions recorded between 1977 and 1982 during the first Mekons incarnation. With a drunken sounding David Spencer providing a between cuts 'history' of the band, this, more than any other Mekons recording, shows their crucial and comic post-punk development. From cacophonic punk, primitive disco, agitated funk and new wave, and synth pop, the consistent thread in this material is the sheer brilliance of the Mekons' literacy in songwriting."
COCOON (GERMANY)
	*VATH, SVEN: The Beauty & The Beast* 12" (COR 046EP) 11.00** Do you remember this track? In 1994, The Love Parade was not a mass event yet and rave had its peak-time in the clubs. In the same year, Sven Väth released his concept album The Harlequin, The Robot And The Ballet Dancer with "The Beauty & The Beast" being the most groovy track. Fourteen years later, Eric Prydz puts it into a modern outfit, while still retaining the groove, playfulness and mysteriousness that takes the listener to another world. One-sided because you don't need another side.
COLUMBIA
	*CALE/TERRY RILEY, JOHN: Church of Anthrax* LP (COL 30131) 22.00** Exact reissue. Terry Riley (piano, organ, soprano saxophone) & John Cale (bass, harpsichord, piano, guitar, viola, organ) collaborated on this one-off album, released in 1970. At this time, rock music was a serious movement, removed from the joke it once was, quite unaware of the joke it would eventually become, and things like this sometimes happened. Cale, classically trained on the viola, must have been pretty pleased to get a shot to record with the '60s king of minimalist pulse, Terry Riley. The album features 4 collaborative tracks between the two; while maybe not earth-shattering, they are quite fine for horizontal home listening pleasure at just about any hour of the day. Instrumental jams, mixing the styles of the two players pretty evenly (if you're vaguely awake, you can imagine this easily). The fifth track is a psychedelic pop masterpiece by Cale, "The Soul of Patrick Lee." Exactly why this track is included here has never been adequately explained (and I've asked, like, "experts"), but it is about as beautiful as music in song form can get. Music as pure sound is even better of course, and I can't say that this record ever really approaches that kind of apex, but if you've got a shelf even remotely interested in the context implied, you could use a copy.
DANCE ELECTRIC (GERMANY)
	*DA FRESH FEAT. XENIA BELIAYEVA: Oh Boy!* 12" (DAN 020EP) 12.00** "This is not the first time Arnaud Caschera has teamed up with Xenia Beliayeva. Their output so far has always been an exceptional combination of tight and atmospheric techno-electro and intense, cold vocals. Oh Boy! is definitely their best production to date. Made to turn clubs into hell. The B-side belongs to Copenhagen's no. 1 poster boy, Out Of Orbit and Re:connected label boss and world-travelling DJ, Martinez. His twist on techno house and minimal has already created some buzz around the scene including Richie Hawtin and his Minus clique or Steve Bug and many others. Dance Electric's #20 is a deadly application for all friends of tripped-out emotional electronic music."
DRONE SYNDICATE (SWEDEN)
	*TAJ MAHAL TRAVELLERS: Live Stockholm July, 1971* 2CD (DS 001/2CD) 34.00** New 2008 repress. "Led by infamous Fluxus member Takehisa Kosugi, Tokyo's Taj Mahal Travellers were one of the prime examples of a band more heard-of than actually heard. Their vinyl legacy (the 1972 LP July 15, 1972 released on CBS/Sony Japan; the 1974 2LP August 1974 released on Columbia Japan and recently reissued by P-Vine as a 2CD; one side of the mythical Oz Days Live 2LP compilation released on Oz in 1973 and recently bootlegged as a single LP) could dig a hole in your wallet deeper than the Grand Canyon. However, the recent reissues have spread the gospel and so here is the chance to hear the young Taj Mahal Travellers live in Stockholm during their 'tour' through Europe in 1971. It's one 2-hour long improvised track. Enough free-floating higher key bliss to keep every grown-up space cadet happy for a lot longer.." From Julian Cope's Japrocksampler: "This album is a discorporated, cerebral dance whose rhythm sounds like six weather Gods emulating the cover of Deep Purple's Fireball by zooming around Silverstone circuit just inches above the track, each urging himself on by making engine noises: 'Eee-oww-urghh-ow!!!!!!!' Opening with Ryo Koike's horizontally played bowed double bass, it's my fave of Taj Mahal Travellers' three releases, better even than the obstinate medication of the first official LP JULY 15, 1972, because there's twice as much of it. Meditatively, it's extremely useful too: at the entrance portals of this live record, Ryo Koike uses his bass to invoke phlegm phantoms and cranny demons from the butt walls of Cronosian caverns; conjuring a sound as Biblical as Conrad Schnitzler's bizarre bowed cello on T. Dream's Electronic Meditation. Gradually, hesitatingly, almost imperceptibly, a violin theme installs itself, establishing over the next quarter of an hour clop-clopping hooves of hollow rhythm that conjure up the image of frustrated pastoralists driving their reluctant donkeys around the highest and most precipitous cliff edges, as their valuable cargoes sway and shudder and threaten to come untied at any moment. Recorded a full year before their first official LP, I think this in concert album is a far better and more confident shamanic statement, for this Stockholm recording melded together all six group members in such a way that no single musician rises from the primal soup long enough to establish his singular muse. The vocal effects are truly stunning, evoking everything from comb-and-paper voices playing Zeus in the sixty-metre deep Dhikhtean Antron to braying cartoon coyotes laughing to their deaths."
DRUMPOET COMMUNITY (SWITZERLAND)
	*VA: Drumpoems Verse 1* 12" (DRUMPOET 012EP) 12.00** "Welcome along to the first Drumpoet compilation entitled Drumpoems Verse 1. This teasing 4 track EP combines the previously unreleased tracks of Foster, Kawabata, The Lost Men and Soultourist on vinyl. Deep house heaven! The drumpoet.comMUNITY was founded in 2005 in Zurich to remusicalize the cold and sometimes boring schemes of clubland. It was time to bring back the warmth and soul to the dancefloor. The general vibe is rather relaxed than hectic -- a groove which seems to reflect the rhythm of Zurich perfectly and represents the constant aim for change and progression which is another characteristic of Zoorichans."
	*KAWABATA: Persuasion* 12" (DRUMPOET 013EP) 12.00** "Lexx aka Kawabata comes up with 'Persuasion,' a dubby and reduced house tune with an irresistible groove. Belonging to Zurich's finest DJs, Lexx knows exactly what moves people on the dancefloor. He's also known for his cosmic boogie tunes on labels like Bear Funk and Permanent Vacation. As Kawabata, he stands for deep and emotional dance music and also for a change in clubland. He's one of those people who lives music 24/7 and so is passionate about his work. On the flip-side, there's a stunning remix by Serafin of Mountain People fame. Serafin delivers a percussive monster which is hard to resist. 100% booty shaking with the essence of house music. It's already a big hit at the Zukunft and it's aiming for this new and yet really old-school vibe of house. Through his past, Serafin knows also how to make the techno community jump and it's definitely time for change in this genre. We think that people like The Mountain People or Sascha Dive, just to name a few, are opening new doors and have something important to say."
DUSTY GROOVE
	*COSTA, GAL: Gal (1969)* CD (DGA 3009CD) 2000** "This Brazilian classic finally gets a proper U.S. release -- one of the greatest psychedelic albums of the late '60s, and a key part of the Tropicalia movement as well! The record is easily the most tripped-out album ever from Gal Costa -- far more sinister than Gal's debut of a few months before. The session was still recorded with full arrangements by the legendary Rogerio Duprat (who'd worked previously with Costa, Os Mutantes, and others), but it also features a lot heavier guitar and a blazing psychedelic feel overall. Gal's usually sweet vocals take on a much sharper edge -- and the album's awash in the political power and cultural experimentation that characterized the best years of Tropicalia. Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil make a guest appearance, and also contribute some songs to the set -- as do Jorge Ben, Jards Macale, and Roberto & Erasmo Carlos. First time on CD in the U.S. -- and newly remastered with liner notes from Chris Dunn, author of Brutality Garden: Tropicalia & The Emergence Of A Brazilian Counterculture. Features the famous tracks 'Tuareg,' 'Cinema Olympia,' and 'Meu Nome é Gal.'"
ECHOCORD (GERMANY)
	*MOELLER, BRENDON: Elixir EP* 12" (ECHO 029EP) 10.00** This is the third release by Brendon Moeller on Echocord, and still his releases just get stronger and stronger. Brendon is also known from his Beat Pharmacy and Echologist projects, and he also has released on labels like Third Ear, Earsugar Jukebox and Deep Space Media. The Elixir EP contains three tracks which are all perfect for the dancefloor, but are still very deep with a dubby touch.
ECSTATIC PEACE
	*TALL FIRS: Too Old To Die Young* CD (E#41D) 21.00** On Too Old To Die Young, Tall Firs move away from the underground electric folk of their self-titled debut and toward experimental rock, trading trippy introspection for a more fleshed-out, structured sound that still has an organic warmth in its intricate guitars and artfully shambling drums. By sharpening their focus and turning up the volume, Tall Firs also strengthen the similarities between their sound and Sonic Youth -- 'So Messed Up' and 'Hippies' recall the avant-jam band epics that Thurston Moore has been perfecting since "The Diamond Sea" and Too Old To Die Young's overall vibe recalls the laid-back friendliness of Moore's Trees Outside The Academy. However, this is also some of Tall Firs' most wide-ranging work: 'Good Intentions' dives into textural rock with searing guitars, 'Warriors' builds from a whispery start to a noise maelstrom, and 'Lookout' has a stillness that recalls Tall Firs despite its charging dynamics. The band even tries out some poppier fare on the surprisingly sweet and hopeful love song 'Hairdo,' while the wry melody of 'Loveless' feels like commiserating at a bar after that relationship goes bust. And on 'Secrets and Lies,' a duet with the Jealous Girlfriends' Holly Miranda, Tall Firs map out confessional territory that many of their peers couldn't approach. A rare mix of intimacy and experimentalism, Too Old To Die Young will resonate with indie rock fans who know what that album title really means." --Heather Phares, All Music Guide
EL RECORDS (UK)
	*PATCHEN/LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI, KENNETH: Rebel Poets of America* CD (ACMEM 133CD)22.00** wo of the most brilliant poets of the Beat generation, Kenneth Patchen and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, performing their compelling works in a jazz context. This edition captures the movement in poetry toward all-inclusiveness, and a belief that the language and music of the street had their own beauty, integrity and significance, rooted as they were in the experience of ordinary people. Patchen is one the most important American writers of the 20th century and Ferlinghetti wrote Coney Island Of The Mind which sold a million copies. In terms of both attitude and style, Patchen and Ferlinghetti paved the way for Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison and Captain Beefheart."
ESP-DISK
	*COLEMAN, ORNETTE: Town Hall 1962* CD (ESPDISK 1006CD) 22.50** Ornette produced this concert at Town Hall. Digitally remastered. Manufactured in the USA by the original label. New digipak format. "For this Town Hall concert, Coleman debuts with his new trio (a unit that would return in 1965) featuring the remarkable bassist David Izenson and drummer Charles Moffett. Together they perform 'Doughnut,' 'Sadness,' and an extensive 23-and-a-half minute version of 'The Ark.'" --Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
	*VA: New York Eye and Ear Control* CD (ESPDISK 1016CD) 22.50** "Featured artists: Albert Ayler (tenor sax), Ed Blackwell (trumpet), Don Cherry (trumpet, cornet), Sunny Murray (drums), Gary Peacock (bass), Roswell Rudd (trombone), John Tchicai (saxophone, alto sax). Michael Snow is a Canadian national treasure, a true Renaissance man. He assembled a stellar group to improvise a sound track for his art film, titled Walking Woman, featuring a silhouette that is rumored to have been inspired by Carla Bley. Digitally remastered. Manufactured in the USA by the original label. New digipak format. 'This is a very interesting set, music that was freely improvised and used as the soundtrack for the 34-minute short film New York Eye and Ear Control. Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler leads the all-star sextet (which also includes trumpeter Don Cherry, altoist John Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray) on two lengthy jams. The music is fiery but with enough colorful moments to hold one's interest throughout.'" --Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
	*ZITRO, JAMES: Zitro* CD (ESPDISK 1052CD) 22.50** "Featured artists: James Zitro (drums), Michael Cohen (piano), Bruce Gale (bass), Warren Gale (trumpet), Allan Praskin (alto sax), Bert Wilson (tenor sax). James Zitro was the percussionist on Sonny Simmons' 2nd album on ESP. When he was invited to produce his own album for ESP, he chose Seattle native Bert Wilson and Michael Cohen, who doubled as a lawyer in San Francisco. Digitally remastered. Manufactured in the USA by the original label. New digipak format. 'For his debut as a leader, drummer James Zitro leads a couple of lengthy blowouts ("Freeken" and "Happy Pretty"), plus the dense "Fourth." With altoist Allan Praskin, tenor saxophonist Bert Wilson, trumpeter Warren Gale, pianist Michael Cohen and bassist Bruce Gale keeping the ensembles quite crowded, these mostly free-form performances will be seen as either fascinating or monotonous, depending on one's viewpoint.'" --Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
	*LOWE, FRANK: Black Beings* CD (ESPDISK 3013CD) 22.50** "This historical session, recorded in 1973 for ESP-Disk, was tenor saxophonist Frank Lowe's debut as leader and is one of his most electrifying earlier efforts. Black Beings features all original Lowe material, with Joseph Jarman on alto and soprano sax and Leroy Jenkins on violin. Lowe participated in the New York free jazz revolution, first gaining notoriety in the mid-'60s playing with Sun Ra, and later, Alice Coltrane, Rashied Ali, Don Cherry and violinist Billy Bang."
	*CHERRY, DON: Live at Cafe Monmartre 1966 Volume Two* CD (ESPDISK 4043CD) 22.50** "Featured artists: Don Cherry (trumpet), Gato Barbieri (tenor saxophone), Bo Stief (bass), Karl Berger (vibraphone), Aldo Romano (drums). The opening set at the Café Montmartre is provided here. It will be followed later in the year 2008 by release of the last set of the evening. Digitally remastered. Manufactured in the USA by the original label. New digipak format."
	*YUGANAUT: This Musicship* CD (ESPDISK 4044CD) 22.50** "Featured artists: Stephen Rush (Fender Rhodes, Micromoog, toys, euphonium), Tom Abbs (bass, violin, tuba, didjeridoo), Geoff Mann (drums, cornet, mandolin, vibes). This Musicship, piloted by Yuganaut, a crew of three intrepid explorers skilled in traveling the byways of space and time in the spirit of such previous pathfinders as Sun Ra, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Miles Davis in his '60s and '70s electric period. 'Stephen Rush, Tom Abbs, and Geoff Mann create genuinely unpredictable soundscapes throughout this highly diverse disc, but always with attention to organic development and flow... Yuganaut proves that their chosen style of musical expression can be the sound of something genuinely startling.'" --Dave Lynch,All Music Guide
ETUI (GERMANY)
	*MENTALIC: Prague Remixed* 12" (ETUI 011EP) 11.00** "This is Mentalic's Prague, with remixes by End Of Tape and Insect O. It's hard to put a finger on Mentalic. His tracks are fuzzy and hard to grab. Their sound is croaky, abstract and dark, yet at the same time saturated with melodic moments corresponding to Mentalic's idea of advanced techno. The original version takes us on a 10-minute stroll through Prague at night with its maze of tiny streets, across ancient bridges and castle walls only to beam you directly into the stroboscope. Gunjah & Stachy aka End Of Tape have an absolute sense of the dancefloor -- they twist this track with its functional focus on minimal fiddly sounds. Insect O.'s 'Late Nite Dub' twirls itself with an honest take-off through the night. These three carefully-arranged soundscapes don't hide the time and the nocturnal endorphin release! Let's dance!"
FALLOUT (UK)
	*STAINED GLASS: Crazy Horse Roads* LP (FO 2034LP) 26.00** Previously reissued on CD by Fallout, now issued on deluxe LP format as well; 180 gram pressing. Californian psych-pop act Stained Glass issued a string of excellent singles and two superb albums between 1966 and 1969, but finally splintered when none of them sold. This classic fusion of acid rock, folk, pop and country originally appeared in 1968 and shows Stained Glass to have been one of the most unfairly overlooked U.S. bands of their era.
	*VELVET NIGHT: Velvet Night* CD (FO 2083CD) 21.00** Recorded in New York's Record Plant under the guidance of cult producers Jimmy Curtiss and Steve Kanyon (best-known for their involvement with pop-psych favorites the Hobbits and the New Hobbits), this Italian-American psych rarity originally appeared in 1970 and has barely been heard since. A mixture of covers of songs by Cream, Donovan, The Band and Tim Hardin and eerie originals such as the hard acid-rock title track, it's presented here complete with an ultra-rare bonus track taken from their sole 45.
FREAK N' CHIC (FRANCE)
	*SHONKY: Time Zero Remixes EP* 12" (FNC 027EP) 11.00** The title track from Shonky's debut artist album Time Zero gets a remix package from two of the underground's most in-demand production talents: Paul Ritch and Mathias Kaden. Ritch's mix holds down a steady and undulating, percussive groove that lets the spiraling effects of the original loose midway, leading back into a rolling finish. Mathias Kaden strips it back and creates a beat-laden take on the original, with some added irate synth detail.
FREUDE AM TANZEN (GERMANY)
	*WIGHNOMY BROTHERS: Metawuffmischfelge* CD (FREUDE 003CD) 20.50** The Wighnomy Brothers are Gabor Schablitzki (Robag Wruhme) and Sören Bodner (Monkey Maffia), and this is the first mix CD from the house of F.A.T. The label could not have chosen more capable hands then the greedy fingers of this duo: Wighnomy Brothers have basically remixed everyone... Röyksopp, Ellen Allien & Apparat, Paul Kalkbrenner, Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb, Triola, you name it, they've fucked with it. In the grand spirit of driving the Autobahn with your most beloved, everything is possible with this mix. In this lively and lovely record swings the ecstasy of the dance hall, the melancholy of being alone as well as every happy moment alongside one another. With the euphoria of even bass drums, measured tempo, sweat and affection, there is microscopic finery and surprising tonal nuances. The mix is the result of all the technical animalism and the mechanical handwork skills of innumerable club nights, listening to what works and what doesn't work on the dancefloor. Also, Robag added individual samples from his treasure chest, incorporating surprising bits from Lisa Gerrard, Sidsel Endresen and Bugge Wesseltoft. The narrative of this mix is housed in a functional techno sweetness. Wighnomy Brothers spin unusual moments, with a full awareness of history and an experimental spirit. Animated sonic architecture for driving, listening and dancing. Other artists include: Agoria, False, Andre Crom, DJ Koze, Ralph Sliwinski, Stewart Walker, Mathias Kaden, Dirk Diggler, Kreon & Lemos and Matchiste.
FUNKADELPHIA
	*MFSB: Muthafunkinsonofabitch: The Truth Behind the Philly Legend* LP (FUNK 003LP) 21.00** LP version. "Wonderful collection of funky Philadelphia based groups who blessed the scene between 1968-1973. Many of these recordings have been re-mastered from the original reels for the first time! Before many of these musicians were making music you hear on television and movies, they played under different names and labels during the late '60s early '70s, mostly as funky jams recorded for tax write-off purposes!" Artists include: Interpretations, Brothers of Hope, Hidden Cost, Daley Diggers, Sam Reed Band, Alliance, Cupit, Race Street Chinatown Band, Electric Indian, French Connection, Pat & The Blenders and Ando Orchestra.
GET PHYSICAL MUSIC (GERMANY)
	*JUNIOR BOYS: No Kinda Man* 12" (GPM 087EP) 11.00** "No Kinda Man" from Junior Boys was first heard on their contribution to Get Physical's Body Language mix series. "No Kinda Man" begins with a stormy low-end rumble broken by a repeated, chiming guitar chord, a spacious, dubby 4x4 rhythm and Jeremy's plaintive, quietly imploring vocal. An added 12-bar blues structure is further proof that Junior Boys' music pays no heed to traditional genre boundaries. Classic, yet utterly contemporary. Jona and Chloé provide remixes.
HELICOPTER
	*WIESE & C. SPENCER YEH, JOHN: New York/Atlanta* CD (H 049CD) 19.00** "JW - CSY - NYC - ATL. Two best sets from 2007 tour by a developing audio partnership, direct soundboard recording. Steel string binds knobs, vocal cries machine code, fuzz and foil avalanche, fireworks and drought. Epic movements in entirety, minimal editing meddling. Words no good, just jam. Bye!"
	*SPACEK, SISSY: California Ax* 4CD (H 050CD) 54.00** "Up to this point, Sissy Spacek have only released 4 proper albums, all of which could probably be squeezed together onto one CD. What we have in this release is 4 new full length albums recorded throughout 2007. Tinsel Dripping Ink (disk 1) is 26 tracks in 45 minutes covering all territory from grindcore, noise, electro-acoustic improv, musique concrete, noisecore, and electronics. It's primarily made up of new work, but also roots through the cutting floor for the best bits that didn't make it onto previous efforts for one reason or another, with a few tracks dating as far back as 1998. Police (disk 2) is 11 tracks in 40 minutes of electro-acoustic improv with girls on drums. Abreq Ad Habra (disk 3) gets its title from an Arabic phrase pre-dating 'Abracadabra' that translates 'hurl a lightning bolt even unto death' which we'll choose to misread as 'hurl an even lightning bolt until death.' This disc contains the most raw recordings Sissy Spacek have ever released, the first being a 40-minute inferno recorded on KXLU and the second from a 20-minute live set in 2002 in St. Louis. 13-Tet Los Angeles (disk 4) is a live document of a 13-piece lineup that performed two sets at The Smell in Los Angeles in December 2007 and is also the first live performance of a score by John Wiese. There are also many contributors to this set aside from original members of John Wiese and Corydon Ronnau: Mitchell Brown, Sarah Cake, Kevin Drumm, Gerritt, Kate Hall (Mika Miko), Joseph Hammer (Solid Eye), Aaron Hemphill (Liars, Skull Sküll), Jesse Jackson (Flaspar), Greg Kelley (Nmperign), Tim Koh (White Magic, Ariel Pink), Danny McClain (Grand Ulena), Giles Miller, Oblivia (Smegma), Andy Ortmann (Panicsville), Sam Ott (The Fucking Angels), Tom Recchion (Airway, LAFMS), Damion Romero (Speculum Fight), Jarrett Silberman (Skull Sküll, Young People), Dean Spunt (No Age), David Scott Stone (Melvins, Get Hustle), and Shannon Walter (16 Bitch Pileup)."
HONEST JON'S RECORDS (UK)
	*VA: Migrating Bird: The Songs of Lal Waterson* CD (HJR 031CD) 22.00** Honest Jon's Records presents a tribute album to UK folksinger Lal Waterson, with tracks specially commissioned for this release. Lal Waterson was a member of The Watersons, a key 1960s precursor of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. Migrating Bird features 19 different voices from different decades and countries, all with a different take on the singularly haunting quality of these works. From the gyrating keyboards of King Creosote to the ramshackle accordion of Michael Hurley to the gentle ambience of Vashti Bunyan, the simplicity of Waterson's lyrics and her mellifluous folk spirit shine through. Other artists include: Nancy Elizabeth, James Yorkston, Victoria Williams, Lavinia Blackwall and Alex Neilson, Alasdair Roberts, Danny & The Champions Of The World, Charlotte Greig, Jeb Loy Nichols, Adrian Crowley, Richard James, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Sabbath Folk, Lindsey Woolsey, Richard Youngs, The Memory Band and Mark Olson.
	*HALO, ABDEL HADI & THE EL GUSTO ORCHESTRA OF ALGIERS: Abdel Hadi Halo & The El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers* CD (HJR 032CD) 22.00** Chaabi ("of the people") has its roots in the Andalusian music of Moorish Spain, spreading to North Africa with exiled Jewish and Moorish communities; but it really took off in the music schools, parties and bars of occupied, post-WWII Algiers, where its Andalusian, Middle Eastern and North African lineage fused with the Mediterranean soundtrack of that era -- chanson, jazz, snatches of tango, a little boogie-woogie. A chaabi band combines traditional instruments such as the quanoun (or zither), mandole, oud, gambar (a stringed turtle shell), bendir and derbouka (types of drum); together with the piano, flute, banjo (brought to Algiers by American GIs), violin (played upright on the lap to save space in crowded venues), accordion and bongos. With subject matter ranging from God to pretty girls, the songs often touch on taboo issues. For this recording, the Abdel Hadi Halo & The El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers includes four singers -- joined in chorus by the voices of the entire orchestra and five-man banjo, percussion and violin sections. The scale and organization are thrilling; the music is swirling and improvisatory, surging from the haunted to the bluesy, the devotional to the knees-up. This album was recorded on the tilting fifth floor of the Conservatoire d'Algiers, in a room overlooking the sea on one side, and the Casbah on the other: the orchestra was recorded live in full flight -- all together, in continuous takes.
HOSPITAL PRODUCTIONS
	*HAIR POLICE: Hair Police* CD (HOS 085ACD) 21.00** "This CD collects the early Hospital cassette, the Mortuary Servants 7" and unreleased material from the Drawn Dead era. Total basement dirge hell."
	*HOTOTOGISU/PRURIENT: Snail on a Razor* CD (HOS 159CD) 21.00** 2007 release. "Live in-person collaboration of mid-ranged feedback hell laden with raw human drones of cosmic existential turbulence from from Matthew Bower (legend of Total, Skullflower, Ramleh, etc.) Marcia Bassett (Double Leopards, Zaimph, GHQ, etc.) and Dominick Fernow (Vegas Martyrs, Nihilist Assault Group, Ash Pool, etc.)."
	*ZAIMPH: Sexual Infinity* CD (HOS 162CD) 21.00** "Marcia Bassett of Double Leopards, Hototogisu, GHQ fame on her first proper solo full length has given us one of our favorites in the history of Hospital Productions. Sexual Infinty stands refreshingly organized into six escalating pieces of her signature guitar, voice, and electronic moodscapes entrancing the listener with sinister seduction. Comparisons to early '80s power electronics and industrial acts as Uncommunity, Mauthausen Orchestra and Ramleh reside in the underbelly of Zaïmph's ability to generate ominous, gritty and doom-laden atmosphere cloaked in a thick lush drone. What begins with raw, ethereal guitar shadows of longing delight closes with vital, gripping electronic tension."
	*SUTCLIFFE JUGEND: This is the Truth* CD (HOS 166CD) 21.00** 2007 release. "The first Sutcliffe Jugend studio album in eight years. This is the Truth quite possibly stands as one of the most original and perfectly-balanced noise compositions of the last 10 years. It references and uses classic Sutcliffe Jugend of old while adding a brilliant blend of foreboding tension and anxiety while using the most lively, disturbing and textural elements of noise. All of which are brought together with the phenomenal detail and balance of an accomplished electronic composer. Songs that you think will explode leave you hanging with tension, while others erupt with violence out of nowhere. It's an absolutely brilliant album that was worth the wait."
INTERNATIONAL RECORDS RECORDINGS (GERMANY)
	*DALY, JOHN: Solitaire/Back It Up* 12" (IRR 001EP) 11.00** "What makes this producer so unique is the deep, deep disco house, kissed by spheric, warm and psychedelic influences which he seems to find much more in '70s space rock than in Chicago house or Detroit techno, like so many others. And this is what he does on this record in just such a banning way. John Daly lives in Galway, Ireland and founded his own label Feel Music in 2005."
KICKBOXER (GERMANY)
	*MARTINIQ, FRANK: The Astropopshop* 12" (KICK 020EP) 11.00** "He is back! Our most favorite Frank Martiniq! The man who made his long, rocky way from the old Warp school to the cultivated 4/4 bass drum. From Cologne via Detroit, to Beijing and back again to good old Cologne, carrying a heavy vinyl bag on his shoulders. But after this round-the-world trip, it was high time for him to start turning the little buttons at his studio in Cologne-Ehrenfeld again in order to present us and the rest of the world with two new, subtle and kicking tracks. Because his music is his fate, his life and his destiny, this man is music! In every single note, in every single beat, in every single heartbeat."
KLAP KLAP (GERMANY)
	*SAMUEL L SESSION & MARTIN H: The Leap* 12" (KKLAP 006EP) 12.00** "To make it true and organic was the main purpose when Samuel L Session & Martin H teamed up for The Leap. And we must admit that they certainly succeeded in doing so. Both sides represent the path of techno with dub influences, but with the differences that have more twists and turns than most productions from the same scene. It's rich of details and short fills which makes this a truly great record, something that stands out in your box!"
KOMPAKT (GERMANY)
	*VOIGT, REINHARD: All In* 12" (KOM 168EP) 10.00** With his new 12" All In, Reinhard Voigt audibly glances back to his early musical influences. There's a good measure of old school Chicago house thump combined with the smart weirdness of Warp's bleep techno age. "Missing Billie" insistently pushes the low range frequencies and gently keeps the crowd going without any razzle-dazzle, sirens or horns. The splendid cover artwork was provided by Dennis Busch, who runs the incredible Esel imprint.
	*PERC/TOM POOKS & ST. THOMAS: Speicher 57* 12" (KOM EX057EP) 10.00** After Perc & Fractal's "Up," that crazy tune with the endlessly rising peep tone, their new track "Headphone Heart" is another monster. It's not as hysterical as "Up," but features an incredible flute section, instead. Pure hobbit techno! The other track belongs to Tom Pooks & St. Thomas, and "Remember" is Pooks' most subtle and sexy work to date.
	*STEADYCAM/NIGHTGUY: Speicher 58* 12" (KOM EX058EP) 10.00** Next to Gui Boratto and Hug, Steadycam counts among the most prolific breedings in Kompakt's bootcamp, K2. This resourceful Swedish youngster keeps dropping one polka techno bomb after the other. "Get Up On There" is a mean little stinker that only reveals its devastating powers when played out in full. Nightguy is a new guy and presents "Pretty Face," a subtle blend of Carl Craig-y deepness, an overall xtc vibe and the perfect timing.
	*MAXIME DANGLES: Speicher 59* 12" (KOM EX059EP) 10.00** Maxime Dangles handles Speicher 59 with aplomb. "Tulipa" is nothing short of an anthem. Slightly reminiscent of Joey Beltram's golden times, this is simply one of the best techno tracks you've heard in years. The same counts for "Firewire," a dead-serious, darkish beast of a track that takes things down to a more mental atmosphere. Maxime Dangles single-handedly restores your faith in proper TECHNO. Enjoy the collective freak-out.
KRANKY
	*STARS OF THE LID: Avec Laudenum* LP (KRANK 059LP) 21.00** "This will be the first vinyl release in the U.S. for this, the fifth SotL album, originally released by Sub Rosa in 1999 and then reissued by Kranky in the fall of 2002. A pivotal album in their career, this marked the first time the duo completely stepped away from the more abstract sound pieces of earlier albums and engaged with the more symphonic and compositional approach that has become the forte of their more recent recordings. There was a limited vinyl pressing done by Sub Rosa at the time of original release, but few copies ever saw the light of day in North America. This will be a one-time pressing only of approximately 1000 copies."
	*BISSONNETTE, CHRISTOPHER: In Between Words* CD (KRANK 118CD) 21.00** "In Between Words is a collection of works that continue Christopher Bissonnette's explorations into orchestral and spatial acoustics. Cultivating an increasing interest in field recording and found sounds, Bissonnette has woven spatial ambience into these new compositions, while still concentrating on moments of near empty space between 'instruments.' Inspired by the continuous din, the constant low-level hum of urban background noise, interspersed with all manner of mechanically-created sounds, Bissonnette finds in this a near-melodic soundtrack to his daily life. On the final track 'Jour Et Nuit,' this seems most apparent, as one can almost hear sparse traffic on a highway in the sweeping long tones. Using orchestral sound sources as well as recording his own sounds to manipulate and process, Bissonnette has crafted a symphony of six movements, with melodies as ghostly apparitions that fade in and out of view. Recorded as spontaneous mixes, these compositions maintain a sense of organic fluidity while creating passages of escalating tension."
MISSISSIPPI RECORDS
	*SPOOKY DANCE BAND: Scary Reality/Nightmare Fantasy* 2LP (MR 003LP) 30.00** An earlier release on Mississippi, last copies. "The complete works of the Spooky Dance Band. Psych rock played to the fullest by Jason Sands and Orion Satushak from The Reeks and the Wrecks. Orion, a former partner in Mississippi Records, died in a car vs. bicycle wreck a few years back, and this record is a tribute to Orion and The Spooky Dance Band -- they were both cut short before their time."
MODE
	*HARRISON, LOU: Por Gitaro: Suites For Tuned Guitars* CD (MODE 195CD) 21.00** John Schneider (guitars); with Just Strings: T.J. Troy, Gene Sterling and Erin Barnes (percussion). "Even though Lou Harrison rhapsodized about the 'dulcet tones' of the guitar, for much of his career, he refused to write for it. The problem was that the guitar's straight, fixed frets resulted in the tuning system known as equal temperament, while Harrison preferred the crystalline purity of harmony found in the types of tuning known as just intonation. In the 1970s, Harrison learned of a guitar with removable fingerboards, allowing the player to simply swap out fingerboards refretted with different tunings. Energized by this innovation, Harrison completed the first works for just-intoned guitar: the 'Serenade for Guitar and Optional Percussion' in 1978. He began the next work in the series, the 'Ditone Suite,' but grew impatient trying to acquire the necessary fingerboards. Two and a half movements into the suite, he reluctantly turned away from his ambitious guitar project, adapting the 'Ditone Suite' movements for his 'String Quartet Set.' In 1981, the guitarist John Schneider met with Harrison and played his first arrangements of his harp works for just intonation guitar. With Harrison's authorization and encouragement, Schneider began adapting some of Harrison's other works into suites. This is the first complete recording of the reconstructed 'Suites' and of the 'Ditone Set' and the first recording of 'In Honor of the Divine Mr. Handel' in the version for guitar and gamelan. The recordings were made in Harrison's straw bale house in Joshua Tree, California, where the house's main hall was intended for musical performances."
MOLL-SELEKTA (GERMANY)
	*VA: The Mighty Striker Shoots At Hits* CD (MOLL 015CD) 21.00** The Moll-Selekta label presents a compilation of vintage tracks from legendary Jamaican producer Bunny "Striker" Lee (b. Edward O'Sullivan Lee). Along with Clement "Coxsone" Dodd (Studio One), he is probably the Jamaican producer with the largest reservoir of songs. In the rocksteady and roots reggae years, from 1967 up until the late 1970s, he produced one hit after another. With his productions shooting into the charts with clockwork regularity, his colleagues and competitors nicknamed him "Striker." The Mighty Striker Shoots At Hits celebrates the boomtime of roots reggae from 1973-1979 in its many guises. Roots ballads by Jackie Edwards and Honey Boy meet up with the considerably tougher roots rockers Barry Brown and Johnny Clarke. Some are originals, others are cover versions but each and every one is a hit. Jackie Edwards, the man with the silken soul voice, wrote hits for the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s. Johnny Clarke enriches this collection with a track heavily influenced by Hopeton Lewis' rocksteady classic "Rocka Shocka." Horace Andy was a product of the Studio One talent school, and the original 12" version of "I Don't Want To Be Left Outside," also known as "Zion Gate," has spawned numerous dancehall covers. Barry Brown also has a fair few Studio One hits to his name. His combative protest songs earned him the title of "the Bob Dylan of reggae." These two tracks are testimony to his Rastafarian beliefs and spiritual influence, inseparable from the social critique in his lyrics. Hortense Ellis is one of reggae's great female vocalists. The cover version of her brother's (Alton Ellis) classic hit "I'm Still In Love" is rhythmically similar and lyrically close to the original. Delroy Wilson was a star in the Studio One firmament, and one of the finest reggae singers ever to set foot in a Jamaican studio. Leroy Smart's first recording sessions were in the early 1970s with Jimmy Radway and Bunny Lee, and later with Joseph Hookim at Channel One. His hits raised him to the level of cult status and his live appearances were the source of animated controversy. The hard working Don of reggae still divides opinion today, but "Love In My Heart" should calm the most agitated of souls. Other artists include: Cornell Campbell, Roy Shirley, Ras Murray and Ronnie Davis.
MURMUR (UK)
	*REKLEINER: Some People* 12" (MUR 001EP) 12.00** "The debut release from Murmur records, a new project from Stuart Geddes, is an experience-driven experiment into the future of our musical landscape. Rekleiner deliver Some People -- full-bodied and haunting -- a record to awaken all senses. Gripping and atmospheric, complete with vocalized anti-drug rants, delivering an electronic masterpiece beyond where Rekleiner have gone before. Emphasizing the subtleties of the original yet deepening its intensity, the second part of the EP is an atmospheric beauty, hypnotic and astute. Daniel Stefanik has been brought to everyone's attention of late with his solo productions and string of acclaimed remixes for labels such as Vakant, Get Physical, Liebe Detail, Mobilee and Moon Harbour's sub-label, Cargo Edition, which is devoted entirely to his own releases. Murmur Records sets out to explore and capture new possibilities, bringing together and sharing new music that inspires us and those around us. Geddes is the musical force behind the Mulletover parties, now chief contributors to the creativity in London's underground scene. He is also the backbone of the Rekleiner project, alongside Anthony Middleton and Luca Saporito. Past releases on Connaisseur and Moodmusic have forged their own identifiable sound, an amalgamation of deep, dubby techno beats complemented with subtle, ethereal melodies."
NEOS (GERMANY)
	*DEDIU, DAN: Piano Pieces* CD (NEOS 10713CD) 22.00** Dan Dediu (piano); Valentina Sandu-Dediu (piano). "Dan Dediu, born in Braila/Romania in 1967, attended the music school in Bucharest from 1981 to 1985 and then studied until 1989 at the conservatory there with Stefan Niculescu and Dan Constantinescu. He supplemented his studies with Francis Burt, at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, and with a scholarship from the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung in Hamburg and the Alban Berg Stiftung in Vienna. In 1991, he received first prize at the George Enescu International Composition Competition; that same year he became assistant professor for composition and form at the National University of Music in Bucharest. In 1994, he was visiting professor at Queen's University of Belfast and attended a course in computers for music at IRCAM in Paris. In 1999 and 2001, he was artistic director of the International Week of New Music Festival in Bucharest. Since 1990, Dan Dediu has been a member of the Romanian Association of Composers, since 1992 of the national group of the ISCM. In 1998, he became professor and in 2000, chair of the composition department at the National University of Music in Bucharest."
	*WOLPE, STEFAN: Lieder - Battle Piece* CD (NEOS 10719CD) 22.00** Gunnar Brandt-Sigurdsson (tenor/vocalist); Johan Bossers (piano). "The turn of the year from 1929 to 1930 marked a break in the life of Stefan Wolpe: after long years and many attempts to find his place within the cultural life of the avant-garde in the Weimar Republic, he then made his definitive turn to working as a political composer and worked intensely in the areas of workers' music and agitprop. Without ever abandoning his concepts of the aesthetics of music, which tended toward free atonality, the threat of National Socialist despotism made it necessary for the Jewish avant-garde musician to respond to this threat to human freedom with his music as well. So by the end of the Second World War, he had produced various lieder and instrumental works that reflect the specific circumstances of the composer's life and hence document his development as an artist. This crucial phase of Stefan Wolpe's musical creativity, his transformation from avant-garde musician in Berlin to a pioneering mentor for New Music in America, is revealed in the works selected for the present CD."
	*CAGE, JOHN: Seven/Quartets I-VIII* CD (NEOS 10720CD) 22.00** "Seven" (for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola and violoncello; 1988); "Quartets I-VIII" (for 24 instruments, 1976). Performed by: Orchester Jakobsplatz München, conducted by Daniel Grossmann. "John Cage's Quartets I-VIII is one of the most unusual and sophisticated orchestral works I know. It was written for the bicentennial of the United States of America. Cage used eight old American chorales, which he then reformed into an entirely new work with the help of the Chinese oracular work, the I Ching. The basic idea is to have just four instruments of the orchestra playing together at any time. As a result, new groups are constantly forming into variously composed quartets. Cage used the I Ching to determine which notes are played by a given instrument. The piece seems very simple from looking at the score. But in fact the fragmentary character of the instrumentation makes it a great challenge to perform. Every musician has to count precisely so as not to miss his or her entry. But the most difficult requirement is fitting the few notes to be played into the overall structure such that meaningful phrases ultimately result. Only by carefully listening to and following the music can players cause the piece to resound." --Daniel Grossmann
	*SHARP, ELLIOTT: Rheo~Umbra* CD (NEOS 40706CD) 22.00** "'Flow of shadows' is how I would translate the composite neolog title of this 1997 work for Orchestra Carbon and how I might describe the musical gestures therein. In seven sections, 'Rheo~Umbra' layers through composed materials, algorithmic strategies for the ensemble, and improvisations by various soloists. The algorithmic approaches include the 'transient additive pulse' where a percussive hit and its reverberations morph into a pulsing groove. There are also hockets and phased looping/transformation of the composed material designed to gradually translate the horizontal -- notes and lines -- into vertical simultaneities. The overall sound design of the composition is an important structural element with the two keyboardists playing samples constructed by me and derived from my own extended techniques on soprano saxophone and bass clarinet as well as an array of sounds produced on the slabs, sounds then layered with their 'live' manifestations." --Elliott Sharp
	*SHARP, ELLIOTT: Spring & Neap* CD (NEOS 40708CD) 22.00** "'Spring & Neap' -- a central event during Carbon's 1996 Japanese tour was the Music Merge Festival taking place over 3 days at Tokyo's Shinjuku Pit Inn and bringing together a diverse and international collection of wonderful musicians including Michiyo Yagi, Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M, Jim O'Rourke, Yumiko Tanaka, David Grubbs and more. In addition to sets from Carbon and my solo Tectonics project, I was asked to create an algorithmic structure that I would conduct, composed for a small orchestra made up of players from the festival. Re:Iterations -- it was a happy coincidence that Paul Dunkel (Associate Conductor of the American Composers Orchestra) contacted me in January 1986 about a commissioned piece for the orchestra at the same time that I had been thinking about applying my Fibonacci-series work to an ensemble of strings, essentially re-orchestrating ideas evolved on the guitar. As I was completing Re:Iterations, another useful coincidence: David Soldier had formed the Soldier String Quartet and asked me for a composition for their debut concert at the Miller Theater in NYC. I decided to re-orchestrate Re:Iterations for quartet -- 'Tessalation Row' was the result. Both pieces use the Fibonacci series to generate tunings, rhythms, and forms. All pitches are played on open strings (tuned to 1/1, 3/2, 5/3, 8/5) or overtones of those open strings. The score uses graphic modules which contain information on the various operations to be performed and give exact rhythmic, timing and pitch information. There are times when the players can vary the overtone melodies and timbres in a section but strictly within the parameters indicated in the score, not improvising. I was very concerned with identity -- the ability of sonic flux and internal detail to vary greatly in each performance without destroying the essence and exact proportions of the piece."
NIHILIST RECORDS
	*ORTMANN, ANDY: Octagonist* DVD-AUDIO (NIHIL 088DVD) 26.00** "Octagonist is the follow up album to Ortmann's critically-acclaimed Nightmania album. Taking it to the next level, Ortmann continues to pioneer the avant garde genre with this surround sound album (partially funded by an arts grant from the city of Chicago), with it being the first of its kind. The actual sounds range from old school analog electronic music, electro-acoustic, musique concrète and noise, obsessively assembled with surgical precision. Octagonist is not compatible with compact disc technology, and must be played through a DVD player or DTS decoder for proper surround sound playback. A stereo mix is also on the disc for the listener that has a normal stereo setup. Special guests Raglani (Kranky) & John Wiese (Troubleman, Helicopter) appear on one track. Octagonist is truly an unparalleled aural experience! For fans of Nurse With Wound, Throbbing Gristle, etc."
NUMERO GROUP
	*DOMINO, RENALDO: I'll Get You Back/Two Years, Four Days* 7" (ES 004EP) 5.50** "Two unreleased sides intended for the Sincere label from the man whose voice is as sweet as sugar. A must for Twinight fans."
	*TRIADS, THE: Now I Can Hold My Head Up High/If You're Looking For Love* 7" (ES 005EP) 5.50** "Featured on Home Schooled: The ABCs Of Kid Soul, Tampa's answer to the Jacksons gets a fresh new coat of paint on this replica reissue."
	*MISSY DEE & THE MELODY CREW: Missy Missy Dee* 12" (NUMERO 007EP) 8.00** "The seventh in Numero's ongoing 12" series delves even further into archives of New York's Tap label. Missy Dee & the Melody Crew cut this tremendous slice of disco rap in 1981, only hours after fellow Tap-mates the Fabulous 3 MCs went upside down and back again on 'Rub A Dub Dub.' Check the whistle on the instrumental flip for further proof. The original 12" is rare not only for its quantity pressed, but for the quality of the four teenage girl rappers -- nearly unparalleled at the time. While Missy Dee rocked many a block party, Lady T was the real standout, having come up as a member of Kurtis Blow's crew. Her later work as MC Tatiana can be heard on the classic Clockin ZZZZs 12" 'Mission To Rock.' Mastered from the original tapes, including all 8+ minutes of the vocal take, this reissue should take the Melody Crew from rap jesters to hip-hop princesses."
ORAC (GERMANY)
	*SCHNITZLER, CONRAD: 00/346 + 00/380: Mixes 1* 12" (ORAC 029EP) 10.00** Conrad Schnitzler is one of the most influential living figures in electronic music, a founding member of groups Tangerine Dream and Kluster. Since the '90s, Schnitzler has privately released over 400 CD collections of tracks, numbered rather than titled. Orac presents the first installment of new mixes of his recent collections 00/346 and 00/380, interpreted by Bruno Pronsato with a future-house vocal and Dandy Jack with an epic, block-like construction. Conrad's tracks include one lugubrious melodic solo and a slowly mutating proto-groove.
OSTWIND RECORDS (GERMANY)
	*SOLAR & POPPCKE/ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ: Lightest Shades of Grey* 12" (OW LTD005EP) 11.00** "And again we are proud to present new artists on our limited series. On the A-side, we have the upcoming artists Daniel Solar (known from his excellent remix work for Marc DePulse's 'Kein Kind von Traurigkeit') with his production partner Marc Poppcke aka Solar & Poppcke. They deliver a stunning melancholic journey between electrofied tech-house and neo-trance with some neo-pop influences. On the B-side, we welcome Roberto Rodriguez, known from his projects 'Future Beat Investigators,' 'Bermuda' or 'Track N Field' for labels like Laka, Raw Fusion, Sonar Kollektiv, Frisbee Tracks and Nine2Five, to name a few. He comes with a great soulful Detroit-influenced melodic tech-house biggie to save special moments on the dancefloor. All in all, a very nice package with two sentimental ear candies in a very high production quality!"
PICKADOLL MUSIC (SWEDEN)
	*DAHLBÄCK, JOHN: Winners & Fools* CD (PICK 003CD) 21.50** This is the third full-length release from John Dahlbäck. Starting at the tender age of 16, this prolific producer and label owner has placed himself into international electronic music's top league. With more releases out than Bud Spencer had fist fights or Hugh Hefner had bunnies, John has grown into a mature musician over the years. Winners & Fools is definitely his most sophisticated work to date and a step forward. After mainly producing dance tracks in the last years, John is now putting all his effort into detailed and deep musical work. Winners & Fools is a well-balanced journey through multiple electronic music worlds -- insane club weapons stand proudly next to beautiful vocal tunes and big room anthems in the vain of Alan Braxe or Daft Punk -- and it is certain to draw a whole new bunch of listeners to his music. Other Swedish producers like Eric Prydz, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosse may have paved the way to pop, but John Dahlbäck has entered a totally new building filled with glistening synths, sharp, snappy beats, and robots in skinny ties.
PUZZLE TRAXX (GERMANY)
	*ZIGON & FRIENDS: Collabo EP* 12" (PUZZLE 005EP) 12.00** "Patrick Zigon, who gained a lot of attention with his heavily played and remixed 'Mental Draining' as well as with remixes for Cocoon, Trapez, Kling Klong and Be As One, teams up with a bunch of his closest friends to produce the versatile Collabo EP. First off is longtime homie and Puzzle Traxx label owner, Sven Palzer, finally giving his label debut with 'Quid Pro Quo.' A driving samba-tech groove combined with Dave Clark-ish reverbs and a Basic Channel-esque chord riff make up a deep but at the same time uplifting soulful dancefloor weapon. Cologne-based Niko Krist & Zigon bring up 'Sendeffekt' -- a monotone but extremely effective tool with a rollin' bass groove and a pushing, effect loaded chord line. Last but not least, Croatia's rising star Mark Ash shows that 'Balkan knows' how to create warm, moody vibes and praise the summer season."
QBICO (ITALY)
	*GEERKEN, HARTMUT: Amanita* 2LP (QBICO 075LP) 46.00** "Practically impossible to make it brief here, H. Geerken: author, composer, musician, film-maker, performer, actor, mycologist, archivist, stager of exhibitions, publisher of numerous authors from the circle of literary expressionism and Dada, lumberjack, bumble-bee keeper. During his six-year stay in Egypt in the '60s, he co-founded (together with Salah Ragab and Edu Vizvari) the Cairo Jazz Band as well as the Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble, played in various music groups: Embryo, a trio with John Tchicai and Don Moye (extensive tour of Africa) and also with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. He worked with Sunny Murray, Don Cherry, Okay Termiz, Peter Kowald, Takehisa Kosugi, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Michael Ranta, etc. Today Geerken possesses one of the most comprehensive Sun Ra archives. His book Omniverse Sun Ra (1994) , which contains the first all-embracing discography of the musician, has meanwhile grown to be a priceless cult book. Together with James Wolf from the Library Of Congress in Washington D.C., he is editor of the recently published collected poems and philosophical works of Sun Ra (The Immeasurable Equation, 2005). This is Geerken's first-ever solo release (a major event indeed!) and it was recorded under the influence of magic mushrooms (dried amanita muscaria). One of the instruments played here is Sun Ra's Sun harp (a Bulgarian bandura), which Sun Ra gave him in 1971 in Egypt, where Hartmut invited the Arkestra to play. They didn't get any money to fly back to the States, so Hartmut kindly borrowed them some bread for the trip back... in exchange, Sun Ra gave him his Sun harp (which you'd hear on several Saturn LPs and which was one of the few instruments that Sun Ra played besides keyboards) saying I'll buy it back from you one day... which evidently never happened. The other string instrument played here is a swarmandal, which was given to him in 1976 in New Delhi by the renowned Dhrupad singers: the Dagar brothers. Probably the wildest Qbico ever... alien sounds!" Originally recorded on May 11, 1995. Parts of this are as screwed up as as something like the Seventh Sons' 4 A.M. At Frank's -- killer.
	*ERUPTION: Live Action, 1972 Wuppertal* 2LP (QBICO 076LP) 46.00** Music by: Conrad Schnitzler, Klaus Freudigmann, Wolfgang Seidel and friends. Three side-long tracks, the complete concert. "Here we go, after releasing a 1970 rec. of Eruption. I'm so honored to make available for the first time ever the complete Live Action, 1972 recorded in Wuppertal by Conrad Schnitzler's loose collective. Space is the stage."
RADIOACTIVE RECORDS (UK)
	*BEAT OF THE EARTH: The Beat of the Earth* CD (RR 060CD) 23.00** Repressed; first ever reissue! "Phil Pearlman, whose Relatively Clean Rivers album has received universal acclaim, assembled Beat Of The Earth in 1967 with this, their first, eponymous album, appearing on the Radish label in the same year. BOTE is often compared with their illustrious East Coast counterparts, The Velvet Underground, an apt comparison given the Velvet's penchant for long, unstructured jams using a myriad assortment of acoustic and electronic instruments. This is the earliest incarnation of the band, and the one that is most familiar to collectors fortunate enough to own a copy of this incredibly rare album. The album consists of a single track per side, and this, the band's recording debut, is considered an unusual and singular item of significance from the California '60s alternative rock scene. Although guitarist Pearlman managed to keep Beat Of The Earth together for much of the remainder of the '60s, it is fair to say that no more 'proper' recordings were made, although Pearlman continued to add to his personal collection of studio recordings, drafting in new musicians for impromptu after-hours recording sessions arranged at short notice. Another fascinating psych album from a true musical innovator."
RARE YOUTH
	*RUSSIAN TSARLAG/BLUE SHIFT: Thank You For The Plastic Surgery You've Given Me/The Burrow* LP (RY 011LP) 20.00** "Mysterious and creepy emanations from two of Providence, RI's finest weirdos. Russian Tsarlag, formerly of Tampa, Florida, and a member of the damaged rock outfits Dynasty and Byron House, has been making his unique brand of bent pop music/performance art for a number of years now -- releasing an impressive amount of tapes, CDRs, DVDs and VHS on labels like Cephia's Treat, Unskilled Labor, Friends and Relatives, and Bonescraper Records, as well as self-released small-run publications such as Mutilator Magazine and Slime Freak. Thank You For The Plastic Surgery You've Given Me features some of Carlos' finest recorded work to date. Nine songs coated in the familiar Tsarlag orchestral residue -- repetitive and hypnotic themes, drugged-out floor toms, guitars held together with scissors and knives, 60-cycle hum, organ, tape loops, and Carlos' signature lyricism and delivery. Blue Shift has been a staple of live music in Providence for a number of years now, usually showing up with just a violin and a shredded bow, performing five-minute sets (or less) of intense and personal solo improvisations. The Burrow gives us thirteen tracks of wildly explorative solo music that utilizes violin, voice, tapes, drums and pre-recorded sounds to wondrous effect. From fast-paced violin scraping and tape-manipulated collages to the close-up sound of wheezing lungs and overdubbed violins, this is a hard-to-pin-down but essentially rewarding listen." Limited edition of 300, with letter-pressed black-on-white covers, a 32-page zine insert with illustrations/collage by Cybele Collins and Carlos Gonzales, pressed on green vinyl.
RECOMMENDED (UK)
	*BRAINVILLE 3 (DAEVID ALLEN, HUGH HOPPER, CHRIS CUTLER): Trial By Headline* CD (RER BV3-1) 22.00** "Three old hands out of Soft Machine, Gong and Henry Cow stretch already elastic musical material into various shapes, tie it in knots and generally have a good time. These high quality recordings combined with seat-of-the-pants playing make for a lot of feature and color, underpinning a music that is constantly in shape-shifting motion. Compiled from recent concert recordings in Berlin, London and Tel Aviv, this clutch of extended songs should be to the taste of anyone familiar with the protagonists, or who longs to hear a little more straightforward instrumental playing in place of computers, heavy production and highly-sanitized post-production. Well-seasoned musicality, fast-thinking and relaxed conversation at the edge of chaos."
	*MAKSYMENKO, MICHAEL: Businesscide* CD (RER MM1) 22.00** "Michael, founder and brain behind the extraordinary Swedish post-Beefheartian group Kraljursastalten -- and world-class ice-hockey player -- here collects his extraordinary songbook including much of the two celebrated '70s releases by Kraljursastalten (the Reptile Institution: Michael plus the telepathic twins Stefan and Thomas Agaton), with later recordings from his solo record plus released and unreleased pieces with Henry Kaiser, John 'Drumbo' French, Sten Standell, Andy West and others. Wild lurching swing complexity, ridiculous tempi, great rhythms, sudden mood changes, fine compositions and music that is always to the point. No fat, just coffee and cigarettes."
	*KODJABASHIA, NIKOLA: The Most Of Now* CD (RER NK2) 22.00** "A lapidary and subtle new composition by award-winning Macedonian concert, film and theatre composer, Nikola Kodjbashaia, exquisitely realized by a broad and mixed ensemble of exemplary -- and mostly Macedonian -- instrumentalists. A suite of highly imaginative variations on a theme that meanders with purpose through a unique musical landscape in which reflections of everything from lounge music, Macedonian folk instrumentals, Byzantine church liturgy, contemporary orchestra composition and exotica, rub shoulders without parody or embarrassment. Constantly mutating, constantly fascinating, this follows the path opened up in Kodjbashia's first CD into a completely personal but accessible musical language. Subtle, complex, profane music, but at the same time easy -- even a joy -- to listen to."
	*TICKMAYER, STEVAN KOVACS: Cold Peace Counterpoints* CD (RER ST3) 22.00** "A suite of fiendishly complex compositions for mixed real and virtual resources. The real are Bob Drake, Djorge Delibasic, Pegja Milosavljevic and Chris Cutler who, between them, cover electric guitar, bass, drums and virtuoso violin, but it's mainly Stevan here, who plays all kinds of keyboards, strings, double bass and zither, on top of samples and software. In this collection of highly concentrated compositions, we are presented with three thoroughly-composed and finely articulated pieces: 'Concerto Grosso' (for keyboards, string instruments and CPU), 'The Cold Peace Counterpoints,' and 'Five Bagatelles for a Polyhistor.' Those familiar with Tickmayer's earlier recordings, or with the Science Group, will have some idea of what to expect -- a rare co-mingling of high European art music (Tickmayer studied with both György Kurtàg and Louis Andriessen), various East European folk musics, experimental rock, post-rock and computer-assisted electronic composition. These are intense, emotionally and philosophically-driven pieces that demand attention -- and reward it when given."
	*MINERS OF BANAL, THE: The Miners of Banal* CD (SLAG AX99) 22.00** "Some years back, Bill Gilonis (The Work, The Lowest Notes, Hail, etc.) teamed up with B.O.A. administrator, Trixa Arnold, to write and record songs which would mostly praise the lords of Aqua-Vita (alcohol). Filling out their band of Smirnoff-swilling miscreants, was Ilya Komarov (bassist for the Estonian band, Ne Zhedali) and none other than armchair anarchist, crown prince of avant-garde pop, Rob Murphy, aka 'Bing Selfish.' While the group hoped that their songs would become instant 'hits' with those who quaff down lots of booze (ie: the whole of rock music's target market, ages 17 thru 35), they hadn't accounted for a change in public attitude towards basic health and hygiene issues, which caused record company executive, Chris Cutler, some alarm. Always monitoring the merits of demographics and pie-chart predictions, Cutler feared the album would not meet sales requirements. Straightening his tie as he exited his Rolls, and in-between puffs on a 13-inch Romeo and Juliet, the legendary money-maker made the band aware, in no uncertain terms, that their music was 'as unkempt and as messy as yourselves.' But, although he feared the master tapes of Miners Of Banal were lacking in two areas (form and content), he nonetheless agreed to issue the disk on a limited basis to 'test the murky waters.' Hence the disk's original issue fell off of the map rather quickly. As it's nowadays hip and cool again to play messy, unkempt music in the avant-rock vein of L. Voag, The Work, Unrest Work & Play and Orchestra Murphy, we've decided that the world is probably now finally dirty enough for The Miners of Banal, and we're happy to re-distribute this (almost) legendary album."
ROARATORIO
	*METZGER, PAUL: Gedanken Splitter* LP (ROAR 014LP) 22.00** "Paul Metzger continues to pile up the plaudits from critics and peers alike for his virtuosic string-slinging, gaining notice through his CD on Chairkickers and his split LP with Ben Chasny and Chris Corsano on Roaratorio. Metzger's modified banjo is tricked out with additional sympathetic raga strings, although the compositions on Gedanken Splitter are informed by much more than Eastern drone music alone. Recorded in the same period as 2007's Deliverance on Locust Music, this is a more jagged and aggressive (although no less accessible) affair. Metzger winds these improvisations around thornier threads than on his previous releases, and while never turning completely abstract, Gedanken Splitter moves even further away from anything resembling typical banjo fare. This is mesmerizing and singular playing."
RRYGULAR (GERMANY)
	*BOIS, MAREK: Boissche Untiefen Part 1* 12" (RRY 022A-EP) 10.00** Niklas Worgt is commonly known as Dapayk, but has been releasing sublime techno under the moniker Marek Bois since 2006. This is part one of two 12" versions of Boissche Untiefen. The title is a translator's nightmare, with "Untiefen" paradoxically meaning both deep and shallow, dependent on the context. Social critique or statement of intent? Regardless, this record sails above the murky waters of mediocrity.
SELECT CUTS (GERMANY)
	*VA: Echo Beach Discollection Volume 02 (Lounge)* CD (SELEC 2026CD) 22.00** For over 15 years, the Echo Beach label group has stood for the best in reggae-flavored sounds. At Echo Beach, dub has always been a philosophy, a way of life, with the term "dub" accorded very fluid boundaries. Good examples of how brilliantly Echo Beach covers the musical bandwidth of the genre are the excellent King Size Dub series and the Sound of Dub. The latest series, Echo Beach Discollection, opens up the next chapter, venturing into the field hitherto referred to as "lounge," now possibly threatened by extinction. On EBD Vol. 2, the Select Cuts label -- specialists for the best of best -- present the ultimate soundtrack for Echo Beach's dream beach. Wherever that virtual piece of paradise happens to be, this comp ensures that it flowers with the finest tunes. Echo Beach life is floating wonderfully and lounging softly -- ranging from electro lounge to jazzy downbeat, dope muzak to worldtrade dub clash. The emphasis is on good listening, with Select Cuts effortlessly living up to its name. Hand-selected classic tunes that are sure to be the soundtrack to your imaginary summer. Artists include: Simon Slow, Super Pulse, Veli & Stromer, Lap Dub, DJ Elbe, Bajcar, Monosolar, Redlounge Orchestra, String'N'Bass, Dubblestandart, Dreadzone, Wet Cookies, M&M and Seven Dub.
SHITKATAPULT (GERMANY)
	*APPARAT: Things To Be Frickled* 2CD (STRIKE 089CD) 22.00** Presenting a double CD release compiling a fine collection of Sascha Ring aka Apparat's remix work. Things To Be Frickled is a mega-showcase of current electronic music pioneers merging and redefining ways of making music. Killer club tracks as well as silent epics each find their home in Apparat's musical cosmos. This CD is not meant as a follow-up to the successful Walls album, rather, it is a way to understand Apparat's background, friends, influences, works and ideas. Things To Be Frickled presents a new motion in electronic music that takes both steps: loops/tracks/club music vs. songwriting, soundscapes, and new ways of experimenting and understanding what is possible with bits and bytes, instrument(al)s and vocals. CD1 showcases 11 giant mixes Apparat did for artists such as Paul Kalkbrenner (with Ellen Allien), Francesco Tristano, Swayzak, Boys Noize, Lusine, Nathan Fake, Meteo/Thiel, Nitrada and Raz Ohara plus an unreleased live Apparat re-version of "Let Your Love Grow" by Moderat (a cooperation between Modeselektor and Apparat) featuring the great Tikiman (aka Paul St. Hilaire). CD2 assembles 11 remixes done for Apparat plus several Apparat remix 12"s, all of them appearing on CD for the first time: Telefon Tel Aviv, Modeselektor, Chris De Luca vs. Phon.o, Thomas Fehlmann, Monolake, Boys Noize, Lusine, Anders Ilar and Raz Ohara. Also featuring a previously-unreleased mix of Shrubbn!! remixing "Hailin From The Edge."
SIGNUM U.K. (UK)
	*GLASS, PHILIP: Complete String Quartets* 2CD (SIG 117CD) 42.00** String Quartet No. 1 (1966); String Quartet No. 2 "Company"; String Quartet No. 3 "MISHIMA"; String Quartet No. 4 "BUCZAK"; String Quartet No. 5. The Smith Quartet: Ian Humphries, Darragh Morgan, violins; Nic Pendlebury, viola; Deirdre Cooper, cello. "Following on from the critically acclaimed albums, Different Trains and Ghost Stories, Signum is pleased to announce the release of The Smith Quartet's latest album, the complete string quartets by the world-acclaimed composer, Philip Glass. Over a time span of 25 years, Glass completed 8 quartets (the 3 earliest were withdrawn) drawing on the influences of Bach to Shostakovich, as well as exterior musical sources: dance, theatre and film. Clear-cut, polished performances by The Smith Quartet give the listener an excellent taster of a quartet at the forefront of contemporary music."
SNORK (GERMANY)
	*ZIMMERMANN, JENS: Wonderpets/31-07-24* 12" (SNORK 008EP) 12.00** "Here are two selected tracks by Jens Zimmermann, who is really well-known from his releases on Room Recordings, K2, International Freakshow, Harthouse, and Treibstoff, or for example, his drum 'n bass past as DJ Gargamel. He also cooperated in producing the well-known Culture Beat Dance project from the early '90s."
	*ZIMMERMANN, JENS: On Drumzzz* 12" (SNORK 008X-EP) 12.00** "Jens Zimmermann offers the special track 'On Drumzzz,' already played and loved by Richie Hawtin, for this upcoming new Snork08x which is a 'special edition one sided yellow clear vinyl pre release' for his new Snork08 12". The Snork08 comes as two tracker with two fresh new tracks, watch out. Snorky yellow colored vinyl with an extra long dubby sub-bass monster track. Grab your fingers on it! Supported by: Richie Hawtin, Ricardo Villalobos, Karotte, Jonas Kopp."
STATTMUSIK (SWITZERLAND)
	*POPSHOP: Plaisir Noir EP* 12" (STATT 021EP) 10.00** Martin Akeret is Popshop. The diversified soundworld of Popshop consists of a build-up of tension in an elaborate composition while juggling breaks and straightness. The melodies on Plaisir Noir are abysmal, emotional and dark, never shattering nor gloomy, but mysterious and propellant. Some of them even have a touch of timeless romance and unpredictability -- you never know what will happen in the next four beats.
SUB ROSA (BELGIUM)
	*VA: Oh, Run Into Me, But Don't Hurt Me!* CD (SR 268CD) 21.50** ...Female Blues Singers - Rarities 1923-1930. The Sub Rosa label presents a collection of works from obscure and forgotten female blues singers, exploring the question: what can be said about a singer whose entire work fits on a single-sided 78rpm record? What circumstances led to this recording? Who decided to do it? For whom was it intended? Why wasn't it followed by more recordings? Hypotheses get lost in places and moments themselves forgotten. What remains are these miraculous voices that have survived, through hardship and death -- these voices that have gone through the dark years of The Great Depression, when profoundly sincere and ferociously ironic blues were at their peak. However, this selection does not constitute a theme-based anthology: it is simply a few little-known or forgotten female blues singers whose ambiguous leanings, double-entendres, and uncompromising crudeness had been censored by the propriety of their times ruled by sanctimonious prudishness and despicable segregation. This collection focuses on the darker, coarser and grittier than what was being performed for the popular crowd in vaudevilles and medicine shows. These women were expressing a radically new form, or perhaps an ancient, primitive one that plumbs the depths of a universal heartache. Featuring Lucille Bogan, Virginia Liston, Lil Johnson, Margaret Johnson, Monette Moore, Margaret Carter, Jenny Pope, Lena Henry, Anna Jones, Rosa Henderson, Coletha Simpson, Martha Copeland, Ivy Smith and Memphis Minnie.
	*PALESTINE, CHARLEMAGNE: From Etudes to Cataclysms* 2CD (SR 272CD) 35.00** This is the first solo work by Charlemagne Palestine on Sub Rosa -- the first but probably not the last -- the label would also like to re-release a series of his classic works, which have previously been unavailable. From Etudes to Cataclysms is one of Charlemagne's most important works. An impressive composition of more than 140 minutes based on a unique instrument -- a double piano on which one keyboard is played by the feet. "Several years ago, Martin Kaufmann of Kaufmann Pianos in Brussels told me he had seen and heard an amazing and unique instrument in Italy. A piano with two separate bodies! One with a normal grand piano body having 88 notes to be played with the fingers, and below this piano was a second piano also with a grand piano body that could play simultaneously the lower 37 notes of a grand piano with pedals for the feet. Having known my music for years and that I had been a carilloneur where one plays with both fists and feet simultaneously, Martin Kaufmann thought that the Borgato would be perfect for my music. The inventor of this unique instrument was Luigi Borgato from Padua, who developed this instrument with his wife, Paola. I was intrigued, and through an intermediary, the Italian pianist Roberto Posseda visited the Borgatos in Lonigo where they have their workshop and found that their instrument was perfect for my body and my music. We immediately decided to organize recording sessions in a local church for one week and From Etudes to Cataclysms is the result!" --Charlemagne Palestine, October 2007
SUNDAZED
	*GREAT SOCIETY, THE: Born To Be Burned* CD (SC 11027CD) 23.00** 1995 CD release of these 1965 recordings. "Their seminal band together for only a year, Darby, Jerry and Grace Slick formed the core of this SF ballroom legend, whose influence -- like the widening sway of The Velvet Underground -- seems larger today than ever. The garage origins of Darby's classic, 'Someone To Love,' turned into hit by Jefferson Airplane, never sounded better."
	*KLEINOW, SNEAKY PETE: The Shiloh Records Anthology* CD (SC 11179CD) 23.00** "Sneaky Pete Kleinow was best known as a mind-altering pedal steel guitarist, and an integral part of the sound of Gram Parsons'original Flying Burrito Bros. Every rock fan worth his salt knows Sneaky as the brilliant steel player zigzagging his way across The Gilded Palace Of Sin, the Burritos' stunning 1969 debut, and as the band member on the album cover decked out in an all-black nudie suit with a golden pterodactyl on the chest, where Superman's red 'S' would have been. And that was Sneaky to a T: super-hero steel guitarist to no less than: The Rolling Stones, Booker T. & the MG's, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, Doug Sahm, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Randy Newman, Little Richard, Frank Zappa, Leonard Cohen and John Lennon -- among countless others. Here's a brilliant taste of the pedal steel guitar genius of Sneaky Pete Kleinow. Long may he wave."
THRILL JOCKEY
	*THANK YOU: Terrible Two* LP (THR 198LP) 22.00** "The brand new album from Baltimore's Thank You. The album recording was engineered by Baltimore's beloved J. Robbins (Yeasayer, Mary Timony, Jets to Brazil) at his studio and was produced and mixed by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Celebration, TV on the Radio) at his studio in New York City. Thank You is an athletic rhythm/action unit, made up of Jeffrey McGrath, Michael Bouyoucas, and Elke Wardlaw. They are three free individuals, subsumed into a collective form that spits out dank, skittering tracks filled with light and dark."
TRAPEZ (GERMANY)
	*DONK BOYS: Jambalaya* 12" (TRAPEZ 086EP) 10.00** The Donk Boys are Sweden's Martin Abrahamsson and Thomas Jaldemark. They have developed their own post-Chicago twisted jack-funk style that cranks it up and keeps it down. "Soffliggare" is a dead-cool jam with sensual old school vibes. "Swipper" uses the sounds of a huge clock, countered by a warm Chicago organ. "Foolfox" works like a hunt, one sound being chased by forceful percussion elements but never really being captured. Jambalaya is for those who love techno and house in one set.
WATER
	*SILVERSTEIN AND THE RED ONIONS, SHEL: Hairy Jazz* CD (WATER 214CD) 21.00** "Shel Silverstein is now best known for his children's books, he first gained notoriety as a cartoonist for Playboy in the late '50s and soon after that was cutting records that spanned the pop spectrum from jazz to folk to county, in addition to penning hits for the likes of Johnny Cash, Bobby Bare, Loretta Lynn, and Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show. This is Silverstein's very first LP, originally released in 1959. Hairy Jazz is a bit of an anomaly in the Silverstein catalog in that it only contains two original songs, the rest of the album being his own unique take on a selection of jazz standards. The debut release from one of America's true originals, on CD for the first time."
	*SILVERSTEIN, SHEL: Inside Folk Songs* CD (WATER 215CD) 21.00** "Originally released in 1962, this is Silverstein's second album and the first to feature only original compositions, off-Beatnik songs about espresso, grass, execution and unicorns, all full of wry humor and Silverstein's charmingly gruff vocals. Always at the forefront of satirical social commentary, Silverstein's Inside Folk Songs is a hilarious look at the early '60s folk revival, poking fun at everyone from the square, sweatered collegiate set, to the over-the-top hipster, to the sit-in and sing-along crowd. Includes the original versions of '25 Minutes To Go' and 'The Unicorn.' A classic from a truly unique talent, on CD for the first time."
WOODSIST
	*MENEGUAR: The In Hour* LP (WOODSIST 013LP) 22.00** "Switching instruments and experimenting with recording techniques, Meneguar has cooked up a totally unique (and surprising) record. The In Hour channels the spontaneity and aesthetics of Swell Maps, the pop hooks of the Zombies, and lyrical collage of Guided By Voices. Everything was home recorded at their little Xanadu in Brooklyn, Rear House, home base to Jeremy Earl's Woodsist label (Blues Control, Sic Alps, Wooden Wand, Jana Hunter) and the changing roster of Meneguar's alter egos (Woods, Shepherds). Only six months since their last record, The In Hour represents a serious departure that still holds true to the band's undeniable pop sensibility."

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