whilst chilling on a train i got an email from this guy vincent who is “v” about maybe doing a release for him and i checked it out and damn it sounded good… folk-spectral-ether drone… a real nice blur of field recordings, various instruments and far out vocal… after many disasters with masters and file downloads, and months on this is finally coming out… its one helluva hazy starry summer night trip.” limited to 50 copies in envelopes with pasted on paisley embossed paper, and insert.
deep space cosmic whisperings, prog spirals and sonic exorcisms minced into a dense narcotic fog of melodic guitars, bowed strings, keyboard mutilations and spectral murmurs, slowly creepy from the speakers to flood the room with trance vibrations, occasionally lifting itself up into clatterings of drum and bone, or prayer like voicings. there is a visual quality to this music, a narrative flow, like bearing witness to strange events, creepy and portentous – more sweet mystery sounds. nice full color covers.
the richest hues, soaked in heavy decay. the brightest tones, steeped in analog fuzz and digital fog. the sound of one hand waving away the smoke from a burning bush. this new cd-r from (vxpxc) stacks layers of analog and digital keyboards with looping guitars and voices, and peppers the whole mix with a slew of acoustic instruments (from banjos to accordions to violins). this cd-r is protected from the forces of nature by a black plastic clamshell perfectly matched with industrial photos by andrew smrz… quite limited.
brand new cdr from trio of grant capes, justin mcinteer and tim goodwillie recorded in la. wavering multi instrumental folk-psyche-drone jams across 4 tracks, total bliss! again comes in the same lightweight paper as the wwvv with fold out all over artwork by darryl norsen. limited to 110 handnumbered copies. this was previously intended to be a cassette, but the band decided they wanted a cdr instead… very limited.
after their monster 3xcdr set from earlier this year, we just knew that one day the los angeles-based (vxpxc) would steal our little hearts. on this, their final session of 2005, these boy wonders extricate spacious, intricate compositions from the spiral galaxy drones of yesteryear. a vast array of instrumentation provide the perfect canvas for these majestic spells. this is music that grows from the roots, falling head-first into the icy tendrils of the new dawn. their voices pierce the organ murk and guitar expanses like lonesome souls begging to be freed. this is magical toward oblivion.
beautiful original copy of their awesome final lp that is just starting to get the rep it deserves, after being way underrated for years. for sure, not as monstrous as the 1st two lps, but a unique and amazing lp with great songs and a cool, spacey, rural vibe that is totally killer. original blue/silver label, heavy vinyl, and heavy cover. cover is almost perfect in shrink, vinyl looks barely played with just a few very lite marks. this ones going to be hard to upgrade… NM/NM-.
very solid original copy of their undisputed masterpiece. pretty much as good as it gets, this is a groundbreaking group at the very peak of their acid dripping powers. totally essential one. getting impossible to find in nice shape. this is the very first pressing heavy vinyl, aqua label, with the ‘posturos’ typo on the back cover which was quickly corrected on all but the very first copies produced. includes the printed lyric inner sleeve that is usually missing. inner sleeve is VG+. fully metallic printed cover is much better that usual, and these were quite easily wrecked. there are various fingerprints/smudges on the front, but much less damaging than usual. slight ring wear. tight seams & spine, clean back cover. clean labels. a few odd marks & a few scuffs on vinyl, but nothing major at all and the vinyl is mostly super clean & shinny, and plays as good as any IA stereo pressing. certainly a keep copy. EX-/EX.
very solid original copy of their undisputed masterpiece. pretty much as good as it gets, this is a groundbreaking group at the very peak of their acid dripping powers. totally essential one. getting impossible to find in even decent shape. this is the very first pressing heavy vinyl, aqua label, and the ‘posturos’ typo on the back cover which was quickly corrected on all but the very first copies produced. includes the printed lyric inner sleeve that is usually missing. inner sleeve is VG+. fully metallic printed cover has average ring wear but text & graphics are still good. tight seams & spine. one corner crease. clean labels. a few odd marks & scuffs on vinyl, but nothing major at all and the vinyl is mostly clean & shinny, and plays as good as any IA stereo pressing. VG+/EX-.
real sweet original turquoise label STEREO pressing. no need to hype this one, its totally essential texas acid psych punk near & dear to many hearts. cover is nearly perfect in the original shrink. vinyl has a handful of lite marks, and one feelible scratch… but the scratch plays through with only a little noise, and this copy sounds awesome overall. NM/VG+.
the 1972 debut album by turkish ethno psych-rockers 3 hur-el. the three hür-el brothers, onur (bass), haldun (drums, percussion) and feridun (saz-guitar + vocals), were one of the very few turkish groups at the time not playing covers, but only self-penned compositions. having played together for their whole life (other projects included trio istanbul, biraderler, alizeler, and oguzlar, and all three brothers were members of the selçuk alagoz orchestra), they formed 3 hur-el in the late 1960’s, releasing two wonderful albums as their all-too-brief recording legacy. feridun created the double-neck saz-guitar (a combination of electric saz and electric guitar in the same body), and haldun’s drum set was an assemblage of darbukas (a turkish percussive instrument also used in north africa and the arabian peninsula) in different sizes, made by the copper masters of the beyazit bazaar in istanbul! the hür-el debut is a brilliant set of turkish ethno-influenced folk-rock with a psychedelic progressive feel, some great electric guitar and fantastic eastern percussion. this very rare album is now available again on vinyl (the cd version on world psychedelia also in stock), with remastered sound from the original mastertapes. includes an insert with detailed liner notes and photos.
this is the second album by turkish ethno psych-rockers 3 hür-el, originally released in 1976 on the diskötur label. comprised of three brothers, onur (bass), haldun (drums, percussion) and feridun hürel (saz-guitar, vocals), they were one of the very few, if not the only, turkish groups at the time not doing any covers, but only self-penned compositions. hürel arsivi is an absolute killer of an album and easily one of the top turkish psych records ever released. it has a more western feel, with brother feridun here infected by a fuzz-virus and his own two-arm guitar (one for guitar, one for saz). also there’s much more heavy drums than percussion, in an astounding blend of psychedelic rock and traditional turkish instrumentation, and of course, plenty of distorted fuzz guitar and electric saz. includes an insert with detailed liner notes and photos.
the first public appearance pairing christian henjes and juergen gleue (inspired by and with names derived from lsd-25, they would become ch-39 and jg-39) was in 1976, at the dada nova (a space occupied by otto mühl’s aao commune) in midtown hannover, germany. dada nova would be a space of enduring clash. from the subtlety of a shat upon organ to the ejection from communal meetings by bodily force, the aao would display that the presence of the 39 clocks was one of their constant grief. known for pranksterism and the destruction of the clubs in which they would perform, friction in every form would continually follow the band. in 1979 they were thrown out of a show in kassel at dokumenta (their sounds had disturbed joseph beuys). they created an outrage (they wrote a tune with the title “art minus idiots”) at the filmtage hannover with their avant-garde super 8 movies made under the disguise of director zachius lipschitz. rumour claims that at a hannover show at the cafe glocksee, they played the vacuum cleaner and a circular saw instead of guitars, and there was even a knife throwing incident in bremen. inspired, then, clearly, by protest in the broadest and most romantic sense (they wrote a tune with the title “radical student mob in satin boots”) their’s was a sound attuned to classic american punk / nuggets. although, this is not bomp rock; theirs was a thrust that purposed deconstruction and reassembly in the most modern sense. this collection was put together with the non completeist in mind (originals of some of these records are as rare as italian underwear), intending to display the general 39 clocks vibe, but also some of their more curious wrinkles. and as the clocks were always interested in where they were going and not where they’d been, the chronology here is strictly reversed. diedrich diedrichsen wrote the first review of the band (in spex), and we at destijl are very pleased to have had him scribe liner notes.
50 foot women is a san francisco-based duo with jessi leigh swenson and elaine barry kahn. swenson is known for her trance-forming work with the believers and duck, kahn is a wild card. combined, they create and destroy small forms with the ease of kettle fish.
a two part experimental acoustic guitar offering funneled through a train load of pedals and effect and then ejected from a marshall 1/2 stack performed by michael gibbons of bardo pond (and all things philadelphia and psychedelic). recorded by myself in 2007 at the worlds nosiest book store bigjar in philly. the cd edition comes housed in a slightly taller sleeve with two color silk screen work by alan sherry of siwa on a heavyweight 140lb paper. the front cover is die cut with an inserted picture from the performance printed on vellum, all hand glued and assembled by myself. edition of 500… nice one & beautifully packaged.
interviews with book of am, ed yazijian, geoff mullen, ghosting. art and words by ilyas ahmed, juan arkotxa, tara burke, darrell buxton, tom carter, cybele collins, sara czerny, bart de paepe, paul grimes, jani hirvonen, phil legard, samara lubelski, leslie mackenzie, marja mikkonen, thurston moore, roberto opalio, zachery reno, matt valentine. silkscreened coverfrogs by colleen kinsella… very sweet little read! recommended.
a middle sex? who the fuck are a middle sex i hear you cry… one of the best out there bands in the uk that nearly no one knows, totally ruling manchester duo of phil and karl. fluxing between minimal scrape and pound rhythms to noisy tumbling weird jamzzz using there trashed guitar, drums and electronics, with the odd weird vocal splatter thrown in. this is fresh from the jungles of manchester… it really gives me a jungle vibe – you’ll see what i mean. colour sleeve, edition of 55.
another hot jammer from the session in the fall 2007 from the trio of steffan deturck, jan-m. iversen and sindre bjerga. blissful drones, crackling electro-accoustics… this should have been out last year, but we didn’t want to flood the market haha.. small edition on 1-sided “ecological” tapes…
the band abstract truth existed only for a very short time, but it was a time of super-creativity. they exploded on to the durban music scene early in 1969, released 2 studio albums during 1970 on emi, which we have here. the 3rd album cool sounds for heads is only a compilation of these 2 lps. ken e. henson on guitar & vocals / peter measroch on piano, organ, flute, harpsichord & vocals / george wolfaardt on bass, flute, drums & vocals / sean bergin on sax & flute. silver trees is a milestone in south african music among bands like freedoms children, astra and third eye. musically it follows the same routes as uk bands like bloodwin pig, traffic, spooky tooth and many others. progressive underground of the best kind, with organ, guitars, flutes, sax and great vocals, sometimes with zappa-style guitar solos… from south africa, 1970. edition of 500 numbered lps, matte heavy gatefold sleeve, 180gm pressing.
ken e henson on guitar, vocals and sitar / robbie pavid on percussion / brian gibson on bass & vocals / sean bergin on sax & flute. excellent early ’70s melodic wistful freak-rock, blended with african sounds featuring assorted instruments: keyboards, flutes, electric guitars, saxophone, percussion, etc. a refreshing approach with an eastern touch. if you like uk bands such as quintessence, if and blodwin pig, this album goes in the same direction. it is more trippy/stoned and acoustic than the silver trees album… from south africa, 1970. edition of 500 numbered lps, glossy heavy sleeve, 180gm pressing.
acid mother’s temple’s glorify astrological martyrdom is sure to appeal to the myriad amt fans who have made crystal rainbow pyramid a new fan favorite. professionally recorded mega riffage for a super defined clean sound. kawabata and company deliver this focused rock explosion full of hyper repetitive heavy hooks and freaked out pitched up vocals. cover art by seldon hunt… tour only lp, very limited stock.
mysterious woods bootleg. four beautiful acoustic versions of “rain on”, “twisted tongue”, “to clean” and “the number”. one sided, white label twelve inch with a pasted-on cover image. very limited, origins unclear… awesome little document and sure to not hang around long. recommended.
rich in energy culled from the land surrounding, an eternal glow emanates from its center. from the place that gave birth to the mighty keijo comes aekie. the sound of groaning trees sparks new life on this album as aekie, who is an integral member of vapaa, takes flight in the summer rain. when the room gets uncomfortably quiet, he fills the air with humming drones fit for a king. in the darkness, he moves majestically. in the light, he is born. numbered edition of 115 copies.
over the last few years brandon nickel has been honing his sound and making a name for himself with the, as of recent, very impressive isounderscore label. not afraid to embrace technology, aemae sounds is at times restrained, and at times a whirling maelstrom of ones and zeros, yet always carefully constructed, each release taking months of editing and re-editing. here the sound falls into the later, more intense mode of aemae, and a fitting way to retire the name, as mr. nickel is using his own name to perform under. comprised of edited live material, yet the heightened composure is still evident. the a-side is a lot of gear, screaming at each other more or less really, digital mulch. the flip offers a slightly more restrained sound, and could be visually compared to a sheer obsidian cliff on a foreign planet where the air is ten times the density of our own planet, the geological formation slowly rising along the horizon until it falls off the edge. silver offset ink on metallic black stock, 2-panel j-card. edition of 111 copies on hi-bias chrome tapes.
a new collection of material culled from recordings made in 2004 through 2007, mostly at the blueberry studio space in brattleboro vt. aethr myth’d members and some local guests in a sprawling unformed free process. this disc was made to be available on the band’s recent east coast usa tour, limited to 200 hand assembled copies. next planned shows will be at various random stops in europe.
afcgt = 3 parts a-frames + 2 parts climax golden twins. this is a vinyl release of their self release cdr that was limited to about 75 copies. those lucky enough to have heard that cdr, along with those who have caught one of this beast live in the past year know just what to expect. not quite as robotic and structured as the a-frames, not quite as loose nor remotely as mellow as the twins ever are. raw, noisy, dirty, psyched out punk rock. this record is in the red all the way through, and by the end your speakers should be nearly as blown out as the amps used to record these tracks. this is a supergroup set to lay waste to all other supergroups. pressed in an edition of 550 on 180 gram white vinyl. packaged in a tip-on style gatefold jacket with silk-screened art.
debut release from this mystery industrial-psych unit with triangle points resting in greenpoint, bushwick & ridgewood, nj. imagined soundtracks for malaria-induced fever dreams. full color paste-on covers, limited to 215 numbered copies.
age of disinformation is a lucid nightmare supergroup featuring members of dallas/denton/ft. worth area ensembles great tyrant, zanzibar snails, yells at eels, tidbits, subkommander & aphonic curtains. at midnight on may 23, 2008, surrealist impresario aaron gonzalez assembled a 6-piece ambient group called age of disinformation, billing the event in advance as “an improvisation on the current state of psychological and spiritual breakdown as it relates to viral ecosystems of economies of information.” those were the only instructions the incoming players received. the end result: a 47-minute cloud of transmogrifying cadmium clouds with mercury lining, mutated voices meshing with dark electronic scree tempered by beautifying moments of translucent cognition, paving the way for the formation of the eternal unimind. the way to evolution is …. disinformation? limited edition 200 cdr, featuring design by nevada hill based on a collage by aaron gonzalez.
i’m going to keep this short and sweet. ilyas ahmed is incredible. born in pakistan and raised in new jersey, he now plies his trade in portland, oregon. “between two skies” and “towards the night” is where it all began. released in criminally limited editions of 50 copies each, both albums are now fully remastered by pete swanson and repackaged in beautiful gatefold jackets from stumptown printers. also included are extended liner notes from david keenan. i think he sums up both these albums best: “call it abandon, a facility for letting go, for moving on; either way ahmed’s music is *gone*. and all we have are the recordings, scattered notes to prove that he once existed and felt it all as deeply and miraculously as any of us. and right now, from wher ei’m calling from, i wouldn’t ask for anything more.” ahmed’s original voice is a welcome addition to an oversaturated aural world. he has gone on to put out numerous self-released cdrs as well as a new cd/lp on time-lag. but in the beginning there were these. what “between two skies” and “towards the night” make crystal clear is that his vision and his voice were there from the very beginning… much needed reissue of these two great cds. sweet packaging too. highly recommended!
portland, or. bedroom wanderer ilyas ahmed emerges from the shadows and offers up his first new batch of songs in some time. over a year in the making, ‘goner’ sees ahmed telescoping his previous acoustic wanderings into fuzzed out rockers and a hypnotic set of beautifully tight knit nocturnes. the whole things kicks off with a massive rush to the head called ‘earn your blood’ which has ilyas effortlessly channeling any number of stoned out trajectories found in a topanga canyon ditch circa mid 70’s. massive waves of hiss still penetrate the mix, and so do the smeared vocal trails, it’s just that it’s all a little more in focus this time around. the comedown into ‘exit twilight’ with grouper at the helm is a haunting broadcast that will for sure knock around in your skull for days. edition of 1000 cd’s in an offset buff case with maroon ink… awesome.
digital version of the above album. packaged in a matching fabric textured, golden hued, mini lp style gatefold cover with black & blood red printing, plus insert & woven japanese inner sleeve.
much anticipated first proper release after a string of ear tugging & increasingly impressive private press cdrs. a real shinning spirit in these somewhat goofy times of “folkpsych” abuse, this guy nails it like its in his DNA. way beyond a simple formula, this is a complete tonal voyage. opening the album with a dark ritual of dueling reeds and buzzing drones, things than erupt into some seriously burning psych raga excursion built from totally heavy, jamming, acoustic guitar licks, eastern grooving hand percussions, stoned backwards or fuzzed-out electric guitar splatters, and subtle creaky drones. the vocals are nearly unintelligible but swirl beautifully through most songs like floating smokey ripples. woozy, headbobbing, and completely THERE. yow… pressed on 180gm audiophile vinyl & packaged in a custom fabric textured, golden hued, heavy gatefold cover with black & blood red printing, plus insert. un-numbered limited edition of 750 copies… last few copies!
jason ajemian is perhaps best known as 1/2 of the magical born heller (w/ josephine foster). ajemian also plays in a number of excellent jazz ensembles throughout chicago (like dragons 1976). but on”love songs invade your mind too,” ajemian steps to the forefront and does nothing but impress. over the course of nine tracks, ajemian shows that true power of a love son. now, these aren’t your typical sappy affairs, these are songs extracted from deep within ajemian’s smitten soul. using little more than upright bass and voice, ajemian’s stark incantations are deeply affecting. ajemian’s approach here couldn’t be simpler. but his talent and ability morph these pieces into something grandiose and magnificent. you don’t find honesty like this anymore. 100 copies.
ajilvsga is brad rose and nathan young, and blood nocturnes is their second full-length disc of prehistoric freakouts documented for a postmodern age. from twin-guitar-noise bonfire immolation roaring at midnight on the open plains, to tranced-out percussive acoustics recorded in secret deep in the bowels of the earth. don your ceremonial animal skins and join the ruckus. five tracks, 38 minutes.
near passerine devotionals is a new, vinyl-only label residing near toronto, ontario, canada. for our debut release, npd is proud to deliver this mammoth caustic-drone masterpiece from oklahoma’s native sons, ajilvsga (brad rose – he who runs the digitalis imprint, and nathan young – not the wolf eyes guy). trading in their guitars for synthesizers, this prolific duo has unloaded a pair of rocket blasts that are sure to flip your skull. the a-side is ear-meltingly delicious, slowly ramping from deepest drone to sheets of piercing skree. the flip takes the pummelling even further, incorporating a sinister rhythm and ghost-vox from brad’s wife, eden. it’s the soundtrack to your beheading… we feel that this is some of the best ajilvsga action yet! and it’s on vinyl!! comes sheathed in a 12″x18″ poster on heavy stock silkscreened by the mighty vgkids; artwork courtesy of evan caminiti (barn owl)… limited to only 300 copies.
with their third release for peasant magik, ajilvsga push their sound even further. huge slabs of densely layered scum continuously churn while rose and young summon shards of electricity from the high heavens. edition of 100.
the consistently mind numbing crushing noise project from nathan young and brad rose (the north sea, digitalis), like a black swarm of god knows what tearing your mind apart. if you dug the north sea cassette we released last year, you should def check this shit out. limited to 100.
finland’s akisa is back with another dose of dark and heavy jazz-inspired soundtracks to the end of the world. this is music with no hope. no light. no anything. when all is lost, this is what we’ll be hearing as we march in chains toward the fire. the combination of saxophone and guitar melts in your ears like a slow-acting poison. fists full of feedback reach up and rip out your hair while a distant voice beckons like a death siren of the cosmos. this shit just freaks me out in such a good way. so fucking bizarre.
this lp was recorded in new zealand in 2004, and is the duo recording of new zealand guitarist donald mcpherson and japanese guitarist tetuzi akiyama. a beautiful meeting of 2 virtuoso acoustic guitarists, both thoroughly schooled in the vast world of improvising. donald mcpherson, a native new zealander has been playing the guitar since the tender age of 12, studied at the otago art school in the ’80s. and in the ’90s he released a number of extremely limited lathe-cut folk records. this record finds tetuzi and donald playing melodic folk improvisations that grow and morph into compositions that on each listening uncover some new layer of beauty. both playing on acoustic guitar, they have a level of communication and understanding of each other’s playing that allows a musical connection to grow and blossom into a full-length recording of delicate melodic mayhem – 180gm vinyl, heavy fold-around covers with insert, hand numbered edition of 550.
the second release highlights the improvisatory aspect of van wissem’s activity, but as is always the case with him, the approach is not so easy to categorize. hymn for a fallen angel pairs van wissem with another rigorously iconoclastic artist, japanese guitarist and off-site alum, tetuzi akiyama. van wissem improvised to a recording of akiyama that he had entered into garageband, a program which allowed him to “see akiyama’s notes coming.” the result is something like a duo improvisation in which the participants are separated in time, with one player given the benefit (or burden) of precognition. this is austere, yet open music that unfolds slowly and laterally, with van wissem’s lute and akiyama’s bottleneck guitar tightly echoing one another or sounding together in strange clusters of tones that are allowed to decay slowly into deep chasms of silence. full of spectral chords, microtonal glissandi, and iron concentration, hymn draws firmly from the work of both artists in forging a sound world that is as barren as it is deep. tetuzi akiyama – martin hd-28 guitar, bottle neck. jozef van wissem – baroque lute, bottle neck, edits… beautiful stuff. edition of 500. nice silver on black cover art.
the japanese guitarist tetuzi akiyama performs an improvised set as a duo with canadian percussionist jeffrey allport on july 1, 2006. this recording is of the first and only time these two well-regarded improvisers have ever played together. living on opposite sides of the pacific, this show became an opportunity for allport and akiyama to each perform some of their most advanced techniques in improvised music with a player whose style was truly compatible. allport approaches every side of his drum, the rim, the snares, the steel clamps, and of course, the skin to produce a challenging repertoire of sounds that defy the drum’s gambit, segues from tibetan drones to electronic clicks and cuts, distant steamships to nearby popcorn. akiyama’s preternatural improvisations along the neck and body of his guitar meditate patiently on each bluesy sound, almost as if his fingers were playing along the surface of a slow-moving river. every note that akiyama plays becomes a sensational interruption causing ripples, splashes, and oxbows in the flow of the music. performed live at a sold-out western front, vancouver’s oldest and most significant artist-run venue, akiyama and allport propose a rich new vocabulary for music. two tracks on vinyl mastered by toshimaru nakamura. this lp documents an unprecedented collaboration between two modern masters of far left improvisation.
tetuzi akiyama has been a major player on the free music/improv scene in tokyo for going on 20 years. pre-existence first came out on cd as a part of the great ’wooden guitar’ series from locust. akiyama’s playing here is one of a minimalist approach, discovering and investigating the empty spaces between each note. he does not follow the takoma guitar school style of finger-picking, but a far more warped primitive country blues feel, with a meditative quality. you never know where you are going to be led with his guitar, down roads rarely traveled. with his dense tapestry of sounds, akiyama evokes emotions that at times are uncomfortable, but of real beauty. open your ears and let the music take you far far out there? 180gm vinyl, heavy textured covers, and hand numbered to 550. awesome.
this 7″ from scotch tapes features san francisco noise/ psych band, al qaeda. its a collaborative affair with side a getting help from mike watt (the minutemen), gabe serbian (the locust, holy molar) and chris carrico (aarktica) while side b features weirdo hip-hop act, occassional detroit. it comes packaged in incredible art by kevin yuen who has recently done tour poster art for the likes of sunn o))). its limited to 324 copies and is pressed on silky smooth green/aqua marbled vinyl. al qaeda recently toured in support of this 7″ with watt, serbian and rob crow (pinback) making appearances on stage with them.
2nd release following debut on foxglove. more bone less meat less muscle more sinew fewer thoughts less synaps some time less space – color paste-on art with insert. nice.
one half of a two cd-r set. cut from a number of recording sessions from a year or so leading up to ‘alps III’ as well as outtakes from those recordings. california kosmische. edition of 100.
one half of a two cd-r set. cut from a number of recording sessions from a year or so leading up to ‘alps III’ as well as outtakes from those recordings. california kosmische. edition of 100.
electronic reverberations. pounding metallic crashes. sonic wails calling for the end of something we’re not sure of just yet. keep listening as all hope for a better tomorrow quickly crumbles into a venomous pile of tape hiss and radio transmissions from the planet we used to call earth. we’re truly fucked. colour photocopied artwork by sarah taylor. photocopied insert. spray painted cassettes. hand stamped and numbered edition of 100.
altar of flies hails from the snowy world of mjölby, sweden. this moniker of mattias gustafsson (not to be confused with the broken face’s mats gustafsson, or the saxophonist of the same name), and throughout “trapped under watter”, this swede swims in metallic waves of ecstatic drones. gustaffson concocts washes of noise and feedback and bends them into shape, stretching the limits of each stolen note. this music is as thick like syrup, and just as fucken sweet. packaged in covers designed by the always impressive mattias frisk.
amanaz was formed in 1973. 3 songs are in the native language bemba, and 9 songs in english, recorded in kitwe, the 3rd biggest city in zambia up north. musically is goes in the same direction as blo, the witch and question mark, but this album is way cooler and stoned with amazing fuzz guitar all over which sounds like an african version of early cream. the cover make it look very traditional but after a few spins you are aware that this one is very special. it’s soo cool, so tight produced and easily to compare with uk underground albums with a touch of african beats. still completely unknown, so this album has not been scored yet by the collectors scene. a real surprise… new edition of 300 on 180gm yellow vinyl. great album!
the mystic worlds of valerio cosi and the solo joint collide as amber lions……one long track navigates through a dreamworld of saxophone, synth, strings and more strings all glazed in a mercurial fog. magnificent. 3″ cd-r edition of 90.
explosive subtle motion and jarring delicateness collide and co-mingle through these two long sides of classic colored seven inch vinyl. here we find much more than just a single demonstration of west coast melding of east coast minds, there is something else in the water? full color covers in shiny plastic sleeves, limited and color vinyl.
restock… a lot of crazy shit can happen to a man when he goes solitary in a ramshackle catskill mountain home for an extended stretch of time-especially for a city kind of guy. but if amen dunes’s 12 tracker dia is one possible outcome of the guy alone-in-a-cabin- story, then a little tape saturated brain frying is something we should all live comfortably with because this is a batch of seriously raw & inspired loner psych grit that owes a debt to the diy soundz of the george brigman s of the world. that was 2006. these days the lone wolf behind amen dunes -damon mcmahon calls a small two room apartment overlooking the temple of earth in north-central beijing home, where he watches old men fly kites and sing opera every morning. who knows what’ll come out of that. 180gm vinyl.
pretty far out xian private press that still hasn’t been hyped much. side one is a pissed-off priest doing protest poetry/rant, side two is a great fairly wild & crude electric rock mass psych-out something like a basement ‘mass in f minor’ with fuzz, harmonies, spoken bits, hand drums, etc. and goner poetry interludes. the best tracks on the b-side are really pretty killer, as good as a bunch much higher rated, big dollar xian garage folkrock slabs i can think of. splitting top & bottom seams. small sticker tear. VG+/VG++.
2nd lp from this psychedelic soul shack up out of chicago, some pretty cool moments in the groove bag from the period. sleeve VG++ with light edge, corner, shelf wear, some writing on back cover (and label), lp EX.
amolvacy is aaron moore from volcano the bear, dave nuss from no-neck blues band, and sheila 16 of the laboratory theater group, nyc. the band creates compositions from its improvisations centered around strong elemental percussion, radical theatrical vocals, and classical acoustic instruments. recurring themes in amolvacy’s texts are the pain of relationships, the affirmation of the feminine in myth, the hero’s journey, and continuous need to flame the passions of the heart. “a la lu la” specifically addresses the gap of language in facilitating accurate communication, a gap that only music at its most primal can fill. the back of the album features text by jose da fonseca & pedro carolino, two portugese who in 1855 created an english phrasebook titled “english as she is spoke,” but who faced just one problem: they didn’t know any english. the linguistic train wreck that ensues mirrors the play of language, sound, and unintentional humor on “a la lu la.” clear vinyl in custom die-cut sleeve.
so concludes “lover go from hence”, a tale of tumultuous romantic upheaval on the new amolvacy record ho ho kus. here we have hearts wrenched from guts and firmly planted in the dirt; but also sprouting new romance, seduction, and… the church? and the french??? francois rabelais wrote garantua and pantagruel – a major influence on this album – in the early 16th c. to caricature the faux morality of his time. amolvacy offer ho ho kus in the same cantankerous spirit, but this time perhaps to parody their own morality. love, marriage, sex, affairs, betrayal, and loneliness are all exposed in naked vulnerability and placed on the chopping block for emotional dissection. lead vocalist sheila donovan (ex-tall boys) is a longstanding member of the laboratory theater company in nyc, and her partners are aaron moore of volcano the bear and dave nuss of the no-neck blues band. together they are the amolvacy family. all things were shared in the making of this record, nothing hidden, no secrets left untold… clear vinyl, elaborate die cut sleeve, quite limited.
tenebrae is theo’s fourth long-player and second with amish (also see dearly beloved, [ami-025]), marking the return of his patently unique songwriting, which includes a variety of regionalist folk-stylings — the mountain music one discovers along the appalachian trail; a southern gothic lyricism; northwestern eco-spiritualism; and above all, the music discovered in the woods just beyond a tent revival. angell’s densely hermetic iconography reflects an artist well-versed in myth, the avant-garde filmwork of kenneth anger and stan brakhage, and the ethno-poetics of brion gysin. oh, and theo’s singing voice is unquestionably one of the most expressive and expansive in outsider folk today. theo grew up in rural oregon, was home-schooled along with his siblings by his minister father, which provided him little exposure to mainstream pop culture; the tunes on tenebrae reflect these conditions, documenting both a reverence for and rebellion against isolation and spiritual absolutes. to that end, the title song, which is the latin word for darkness, references a religious ceremony that involves the extinguishing of candles in advance of holy week. the album’s song-cycle reworks various primitive musical forms to new and celebratory ends, twisting these styles into a unique brand of folk-psychedelia. for this outing, the tabernacle hillside singers include, among others, matt valentine, p.g. six, tom greenwood and samara lubelski. tenebrae highlights again theo’s unique poly-vocal pyrotechnics and will no doubt prove to be one of the most beautiful records of the year… comes in a heavy mini-lp style gatefold sleeve, with foldout insert.
what can i say about theo angell? he’s an artist, a musician, a filmmaker, a shaman. he lives and works in new york city, but plies his trade all over the country. angell is perhaps best known for his work in hall of fame and jackie-o motherfucker, and also as part of samara lubelski’s live band. but with the release of “auraplinth,” all that will change. this is theo angell’s opus. this is his masterwork. it finds him at his absolute peak and delivers an album unlike anything else. he uses his voice to etch out a detailed map of the stars, made up of dirt and bone, proving the organic nature of the cosmos. “auraplinth” is an amalgamation and invention, joining foundation with the ether. both of these forces are constantly at work throughout these 15 tracks. his voice is molded into every possible form. at times it reverberates above a river of folk-inspired melodies, while at other moments, he creates a bed of sound with wordless vocal moans. that voice is the glue that holds this great document together. on “auraplinth,” theo is once again joined by the evolving cast of characters known as the tabernacle hillside singers. this time it includes cynthia nelson (ruby falls), dan brown (hall of fame), & josh stevenson (magneticring). packaged in full-color, heavy duty gatefold jackets with original artwork by christian holstad (the front cover image is actually from a victorian death mask of theo himself), complete with full lyric sheet. the album is mastered by yellow swans’ pete swanson… nice one!
theo angell: introduction to thlowlth fissure – thlowlth is an entity who was birthed in 1996 during a seance in answer to the question “what is dark and green and fills our mouths when we’re not thinking?”. fissure was latter attached as a sire name denoting a lineage of tone splitting and throat separation. this collection reveals thlowlth’s close relationship with the moog synthesizer. el nino came through in ‘97 in response to the catastrophic growing pains of our tilting weather system. the desire was to conjure the sound of a detached electrical power plant hurling over the humid southern states. within this hurtling mass is a moment of sadness and loss at the sight of one’s home floating down the street. the storm moves on. in moog killer, also recorded in ‘97, we have painful vocal drones alongside sine waves. this uneasy alliance turns into an epic battle with the wild bull! it’s a story with tension, violence and tender resolution. “all change, feels strange, even better, better than before.”voxcual is a moog imitator is simply one long vocal improvisation recorded in the late fall of 2001, with reverb. goodwillies: revenant sun – these are the ur-songs, remnant fruit bodies of 1999-2005. my thick skull’d realize, that sound through: answering machine, telephone (land and cell and land), cardboard tube, a wahl two-speed vibrator, tears & semen divided by bee’s wax, and electronic voice phenomena laid up into a deep deep hallowed angelino unemployment in the paradise of a green, too too green, late middling late to early, too early ending-beginning of an echo park scene-thing and the sweet sweet a.c. of fax monica’s salvian closed curtains & windows, & sweeter east los fatherhood compound-coupled-tripled with the growth of a soft cult, sleep cult, a turn in silence and its ancillary friendships, alas black is black even, pink, come back shadows in heat, rub on me; a pirated copy of sound edit 16 version 2 does make, music? long, long before i knew, before i blew, the jasmine of a banana-dill-mint vapour, with more than, much much more than, more, than a little help from my friends, & a greater family and greater still where they meet, again, in pink. heaven is for quitters, reincarnate. for elves protect & fairy kiss, you.
kokura was recorded under dark skies and howling winds, deep in the bowels of a japanese club as the country shook outside. kokura is the fruits of a collaboration between acid mothers temple/mainliner main man kawabata makoto, argentinean guitarist anla courtis (reynols) and japanese underground musician rokugenkin. based around hushed, mellow guitar drones and hypnotic, yet restrained guitar wails, kokura is the first fruits of their labors and captures the sound of life beneath a hurricane. like sunn o))) on half volume! – limited edition of 400.
a talisman, a living mandala. recorded in buenos aires, 1992-93 (!) and now brought to life by the chants of birds, this is anla courtis ‘ornitology’, a poem about the secret forces of nature and the most sublime forms of communication hidden in the forest. earth, water, wind and fire the elements that are all living inside these three gems, starting with a spectral ballad, “quetro”, and exploding into the second track, ‘escua’, 16 minutes of epic guitars flying over an endless sea of visions. the last track, ‘tersina’, is the final redemption, and it comes through as a primitive-electronic assault! pure magic. 140 grams vinyl, limited to 105 copies only, screenprinted artwork (by canedicoda), half of the covers come in yellow with green print, half in green with dark print.
limited edition reissue of rare and sought-after uk psych-folk album from 1971 by a band formed by tiger taylor (ex-eire apparent); their album makes one think of how the byrds would have sounded had they been british. it’s a folksy/psychy album that is really hard to find as an original deram lp; the record combines melodic folk tunes with guitar-drenched rockers; great singing and delicious original songs make this a must for fans of melodic acoustic rock; features a great version of ’so you want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star’ with some cool fuzz guitar work.
following their acclaimed debut here on -house of alchemy- and two stellar discs on phantom limb (vol.5) and foxglove (vol. 3) comes volume 2 in their mangled and distorted un-series. this air is thick this time around, musty even. prisoner children run the castle halls making these strange sounds, deranged echoes, lost in a maze. electricity flows through this one, via frayed cords. percussion jars you from stasis, leaving you only to gasp for cool crisp air. and then things really get unwound. cd-r edition of 123…. sweet oversized foldout covers with photo.
volume five of this duo’s phenomenal acoustic guitar manipulations, this is actually only their second release. following the critically acclaimed debut release on the house of alchemy, this album finds the brothers in a much more communicative and realized state. for fans of six organs of admittance and clipse alike… sweet sounds and more nice packaging too.
about to drop some other serious albums on nnf and stunned, this tape features side-long blissworks that will gravitationally-bind you to anything with a clear boarder. features the new drummer for pocahaunted and robedoor playing with his brother and others. thick and enjoyable.
you don’t need a cassette description to school you on the knowledge that blood is thicker than water, but if that’s what it takes to make the lesson stick, so be it. or, if you want a shortcut, just peruse the discography of connecticut-bred brothers cy and ged gengras. they’ve been harvesting jams together under the antique bros banner for, shit, almost four years now, and in that span have trawled through a thousand different hybrid strains (creep-folk, math-psych, chaos improv, etc). but the inter-family familiarity hasn’t bred contempt (take that, old proverb); on the contrary it’s spawned a secret psychic/musical language the rest of us ain’t privy to. and, despite a hefty local bias (ged’s an la/nnf hero, drums for pocahaunted, robedoor, and vibes), we can still say with honesty and confidence that season’s feast is easily our fave antique b full-length to date. the ragers are dense and bearded, the acoustic passages evocative and hazy, the ambient lulls sticky as fresh resin. there’s a flow and a focus here that’s rare within the ab discog, and it makes for more meat on the bones, more flames in the fire. if yr already a fan, you’re in luck; and if you’re new to the antique canon, this is the place to start. pro-dubbed tapes with hand-typed/stamped labels in bags with full-color art by amanda. edition of 100.
the antique brothers have made a lot of racket in the past year, earning praise and accolades from the likes of the wire and the terrascope. but such love is deserved. cyrus and ged gengras are at the head of the latest generation of psychedelic troubadours, leading their clan out of the desert and into the sonic abyss. what sets these brothers apart is that despite the amazing quantity of music they’ve produced, there’s no repition or lax quality to be found. from acoustic, folk-tinged scrunches and vocal exorcisms to flickering drones and blues-inspired fuzz, “hospital daze” finds the brothers gengras poached on vicodin and whirring away through the end of time.
oklahoma free form folk by way of the far east turns to spiritual out-jazz and back again. gorgeous. ghosts linger in the dusty halls where this music echoes. edition of 123.
anyone who read our deep water interview with norman, ok’s anvil salute knows what big fans we are of the group. and lucky for us, they’ve returned to the acres to grace us with their ironically titled fourth full-length disc, a full hour of gloriously unwinding instrumental great plains folk rock. both their most focused and most varied work to date, it takes in everything from angular modal epics to sweetly melodic miniatures to ethnic-infused psychedelic drones, all seemingly rendered live via lovely you-are-there room-fi acoustics. heed that rooster’s crow…
those of you lucky enough to have heard not not fun’s “free beasts” cassette compilation may remember apple snails from it. that’s all i had to hear from them to know that i wanted more! apple snails cover the first side and are about as close as you can get to folk drone (is that possible?). lots of slide guitars and dark drones that will leave you with an amnesia induced trip. side b belongs to the mighty acts of god, which is a lovely lady, niwi. electric guitar is the main instrument used, with others guitars and keyboards(?) soaking through that create this very vibrant transcendent feeling, that honestly, the first time i heard, left me speechless. red cassettes with ‘grid’ labels, and fabulous artwork by the even more fabulous jeremy earl of fuck it tapes. edition of 100.
following up releases on crocomodile and an exquisite split cassette w/ the mighty acts of god on dnt, jeffrey mitchell’s apple snails take a whole new approach on “only a macadam road,” and the results are stunning. it’s full of ambient drones that sound like they were born in the northern lights. the road is bathed in darkness, but tiny fragments of light seep through the murk every so often in the form of acoustic melodies and glockenspiel bursts. it’s music that transports you far, far away. we’ve been working on this one for what seems like forever… so long in the making that the inserts actually say foxglove132, but good things certainly come to those who have waited for this apple-eyed gem.
early 70s 2nd press of this japanese monster rarity. wild underground psych sounds hitting some seriously tripped-out zones on a couple tracks with heavily process vocals, effects all over, dark fuzz, heavy organ, etc., while wailing away with heavy CREAM inspired fuzz psych blues elsewhere. pretty hot. original insert but no OBI. super clean & damn rare even as a 2nd press. NM-/EX++.
a glorious split from foreign land brothers and sisters. the a side’s got vincent caylet, a french-man who has been dropping little fog clouds for the past few years as one half of monks of the balhill and sittin’ solo as “v” and the pistil cosmos. now as archers by the sea he works out a set folk songs, overflowing with precious melodies and covered in layers and layers of heavenly memory-clouded reverb, warm tape hiss, and in-the-red muffles. over the course of these five tracks he pulls it all together into ear-filling dense beauty. on the flip side are kawrelia soul collective, a family of russian/finnish folks with a room full of pots and pans and an affinity for making kitten noises. delay-stuttering acoustic lullabies, coos and squawks, junk percussion, and the great feeling of the open air. water-colored and handwritten tape labels in a embossed sewn-felt pouch with an insert and a painted-tied-pouch of shells found on the banks of the gatton rocks swimming hole. edition of 50.
if you’re already ready for more manic teenage improvised art punk from finland here it comes! unlike those pre-teenagers in the demars, armas huutamo is the real thing! they are right in the middle of their teens! that means you can hear all the beautiful anxiety, creative energy and forever growing new pubic hair the age involves. the awesome songs presented on this 7″ have been picked from 50 other songs the duo made during the hyperproductive summer of 1998.
latest basement clacker from the nav. blown tape levels, idiot rock n roll (with moron mantra drumming) and the shimmering of a sexy mile-long windchime in space. it s a bit like smearing sugar all round the inside of your mouth and going into the park to hand out fireworks. and its not even xmas yet! holy fuck.
the latest in ashtray navigations’ ongoing vinylization of our out-of-print cdr catalogue has this amped-up mindbender from 2007… yes, the one with the cute little doggies on the cover. except now they’re on the label and the vinyl is pink. and there is no cover, just a pvc bag so it matches the red culture reissue. one side featuring a thick dinner of swirling tambouras, electric sitars and synths blasting out of tiny battery amp speakers wrapped in buzzing tinfoil (a description of the methodology here and not just the sound!). one side of clubfooted samba rhythms and twin guitar sustain overload which offers a key as to why ashtray navigations’ set at thurston’s atp a few years ago was roundly condemned as “santana” in certain circles. ashtray at its heaviest and most monolithic, though those words are often apply, i guess. pink vinyl lp. limited to 250 copies… very limited stock.
the jodido triangular live sound of ashtray navigations ( – lamf) caught upstairs in one of leeds’ very most exotic wallpaper dens. the walls dripped honey and yet we did not make too much of a mess. features melanie delaney (sculptress) and phil legard (xenis emputae travelling band) as well as the usual. very ‘eavy, very ‘umblin’ – clear packaging, as always.
now into his 10th year operating under the ashtray navigations moniker & with releases on such esteemed labels as menlo park, jewelled antler, siltbreeze, american tapes, celebrate psi phenomenon etc, phil todd continues to conjure up his own unique brand of rural psychedelic folk musik. with his prolific output unde various guises (anna planeta, a warm palindrome, inca eyeball, target shoppers, dogliveroil, green monkey, tea culture etc etc – ) not to mention his previously longrunning label & distro – “betley welcomes careful drivers”, phil todd has been a tireless champion & exponent of fucked-up rock, avant-folk, mangled pop, allout noise, indeed “outsider” art in all its forms. for “electric cointelpro” we are treated to 4 superb tracks of organic drone & inspired electric gtr aktion. an excellent addition to an ever-expanding resume – xeroxed/stapled transparent covers.
it’s a big pleasure for me to release the new full-length album from leeds-based underground legend ashtray navigations, featuring 9 new tracks recorded in studio during 2008 and dedicated to the memory of the great american composer martin denny, father of exotica! “exploding blue floor” is one step ahead into phil todd’s hallucinatory travel into the galaxies of the unknown. a cornucopia of what he has been doing for more than 15 years with unique dedication and passion. passion is in fact, the first word that came to my mind listening to this music where acid guitar riffs, concrete sounds, delicate acoustic passages and vintage warm electronics, live in absolute symbiosis. power to the imagination, breaking down the walls between song and improvisation, structure and freedom, melody and noise. just like looking inside a kaleidoscope, this will be the perfect soundtrack for your daydreams! blue-night coloured vinyl, artwork by phil todd and silkscreened by canedicoda, with insert. edition of 242 copies.
….and a new one from easter 2009. believe it or not, these are the first 2009 ashtray navigations recordings to be released, so there. and this is quite definitely the last in the “painted clamshells” series of cdrs (this time they are mostly yellow, fact fans). sort of a response to a review which described ash nav as “obviously heldon-influenced”…news to me, but i decided to go for it and prove the reviewer right. but imagine a bunch of early 70s frenchmen playing all of their psychedelic records, all of their ocora records and all their prog/fusion at once whilst angry drum machines beamed in against their will from an alternate future blast out very mutated hip-hop beats. apparently mr. r.pinhas was an attendee at a paris ash nav gig and is said to have remarked “i thought they only had pop music in england these days”. this release may prove him right also. this is also the first ashtray release to be almost all digitally recorded….and you’ll be surprised how fucked up it sounds – gawd bless technology for giving us so many options. our most fun-packed cdr for a while. limited to 100 copies.
green-colored vinyl. recorded in leeds, june 2007. originally released as cd-r limited to 100 copies. “classic ashtray navigations, two hallucino-kinetic tracks each side.”
this newest candle burning outing from the long going uk psych project headed by mr. phil todd continues the quest for the farthest possible cosmic frequencies through fx, guitar, synth, and saz on a bed of field recordings. some tracks in here almost enter the pantheon of new age music! edition of 200 copies.
double cdr! two tracks each exceeding 40 minutes. snakestrings (i.e. disc 1) is a trip through strings and soundboxes, phil todd plays esraj, kemence, electric sitar and guitars until the electronic instruments rebel and propel the whole thing into psychedelic overdrive. hollywood taught you to kiss (i.e. disc 2) is based around another todd/crowley/legard trio excursion. dedicated to sun ra and andy warhol respectively. limited to 99 numbered copies.
five blasts of guitar/drums action with electronic gush cerebration. business as usual then. great back cover snap of mr.legard and mr. todd in the shadow of the trunk. ms. delaney took the picture. only one of these people appears on the record. can you guess which? like i say, life is predictable stuff. limited to 100 – color covers.
a quickly happening dvd release from tokyo artist ai aso whose probably most well know outside of japan for appearing on michio kurihara’s solo cd’s and handling the b side of a lavishly packaged 2007 split 7″ with wata from boris fame. the chamomile pool dvd documents concert footage from ai aso from 2007 in tokyo. hypnotically delicate, angelic and minimal in structure ai, accompanied by her band, and with guest appearances by wata and kurihara, for a portion, craft her unique blend of songwriting and psychedelic musicianship. produced by atsuo, of boris, and edited and directed by ryuta murayama of foodunited (responsible for boris dvd’s, greenmachine, stupid babies gone mad). to date represent ai’s first non-japanese release. offset printed dvd disc face comes housed in a heavy stock diecut letterpress printed fold cover. pressing of 600 copies.
original press of rare & odd exploitation orchestrated popsike, like a mix of MILLENNIUM and THE ANIMATED EGG! punch hole. vinyl has various marks & needs a good cleaning, but nothing too major. nice psychy cover art. VG+/VG+. $30.00
wheezing skyward born machine groans and gasped tremolo root to a kinetic pulse, while distant melody zones ascend to circulate around the bass flex on this face chewer by neil campbell. on the flip is the first vinyl cut by glockenspiel, flocculent tones weave with tom rub and bowed metal harmonics, drifting on the back of a drum dub to the heart of a snow-blind haze of feedback, amplified string scrape and analogue electronics. spin at 45. art by noah campbell.
content this time around is highly nitrous, with much overloaded top-end twinkle. check for some particularly screwy (and often barely-recognisable) versions of tracks set for release on qbico and important records later this year, taking the demented recent asc live persona and twisting it further with heavy collage/layering techniques. offset this with remedial drumbox stumble and mysterious processed tracks and you know there’s only one hotel you can be checking into. edition of 150 in colour asc corporate house-style. 7 tracks, 42 minutes.
more jams culled from sessions both live in the field and at home, again sometimes touching on alternate-universe takes on tracks destined for lp and cd issue. huge chord swathes, babbling ectoplasm rituals, crunching delay unit swing, weird time tricks, scattershot beats, all propped up with shards of the patented asc heavy tonal foundation. edition of 150 in colour asc corporate house-style. 8 tracks 44 minutes.
recorded live at stuart arnots place by neil campbell and arttu partinen (avarus) on june 16, 2006. amazing textured paper custom covers with hand stamped paste-on art & insert. numbered edition of 150 copies.
new single by neil campbells ever-evolving solo project, astral social club. neil (a band, vibracathedral orchestra) with assistance from karl bauer (axolotl) unleashes two electronic psychedelic noise jams with distorted loops, cascading feedback, and the sound of hypnotic drones recorded in space. 500 pressed.
featuring two tracks of fearless sonic bliss and two long journeys to a state of sustained ecstasy astral social club’s “plug music ramoon” was recorded in one day on analogue 2″ tape. the lp combines percussive sticks and bells, resonant electronics, keyboard odysseys and some experimental vocal work from helmsman campbell. whilst club member john clyde-evans’s laptop contributions provide much of the backbone groove of the album, stewart keith adds light and shade on a variety of keyboards and toys. together they weave a rich tapestry of sound and noise. but it’s campbell’s dense guitars that thicken the very stem of these four tracks and leads his astral social club to conjure up his visions. this limited edition 12″ comes housed in a gorgeous hand-printed silkscreen sleeve. limited edition of 500.
neil campbell & mel delaney. rec. west yorkshire, winter 2008/09. new asc effort on qbico, a duo this time. this is the social club for astral spirits… red & pink vinyl.
philadelphia drone crew featuring rafi & paul from death chants. lush psychedelic moves morphing into some nice synth/mumble creep out. 3 tracks in 30 minutes recorded at black dirt studio. cover art by jeremy earl. limited to 100.
space hymns echoing in swirling psychedelic synth patterns, zoned guitartones and out-there primitive percussion. featuring members of death chants and muntjac. devotional raga wrapped in appropriate silkscreened offering. 80 copies.
the 2nd of two untitled private press cdrs from this sweet post-death chants electro-drone space raga duo. nice. sliver embossed hand made cover with hand written text. numbered edition of 160.
a vision artifact of ancient future harmonies and inner cosmosis. supreme inner cranial reverbational reflections of where you are. unspoken language and incorporeal communion. recorded by jason meagher at black dirt studio, vinyl pressed at rti, housed in custom stoughton gatefold jackets lovingly adorned with screen printing, color photo and hand drawing. hand numbered ed. of 320… total zoner of a full length from paul & rafi’s post death chants duo. way deep vintage/future sound voyaging. other-worldly tones & moans. a recommended trip for fans of sus & jakob, angus maclise, and all stoned-avant sound art.
cassette version of the above lp. two long midnight fireside all acoustic jams from sparrow (prisma, the bummer road, etc.) nemo (drona parva, time-lag records, etc.) and the three members of visitations. tranced percussive strings, ghost vocals, and creaky rhythms and wrapped up in each other. limited to 60 copies with color transparency sleeves and no info.
4th vinyl release on the label, and the first wax for this maine crew after a cassette release on sloow tapes. two long midnight fireside all acoustic jams from sparrow (prisma, the bummer road, etc.) nemo (drona parva, time-lag records, etc.) and the three members of visitations. tranced percussive strings, ghost vocals, and creaky rhythms all wrapped up in each other and slowly unfolded… numbered edition of 299 with stamped labels and full color paste-on art front & back. zero info.
limited edition of 200 on heavy transparent vinyl, housed between two thick perspex plates with four interchangeable translucent paper inserts, hand numbered with photographs of real found numbers, bound with white 10/0.1 electrical cable and sleeved in a thick pvc pocket. all pieces apart from the title track have been reworked and re-edited from the companion compact disc, released on riot season records – damaged in-the-red stereo electric guitar/drums/electronics assult. totally wild and blasted sounds, and one of the most amazing packaging jobs we’ve ever seen. can’t beleive we scored more of these, so grab one now before its too late.
here is another unknown us beauty. recorded in 1968 august played a lot in small clubs. the clubowner gave them the chance to record an own album. they played it straight onto tape with no overdubs in a couple of hours. only 100 copies or less where pressed. the music reminds me a lot of lazy smoke. it has that pepper style but the sound is more rough. beautifull compositions played in a garage style – recorded usa, 1968. 180gm vinyl, heavy covers, numbered to 450.
so delicate, the sounds that unfold here. brad rose and ville mosquiitto return as autumn galaxy with another discharge of aural marvel. they tip-toe around one another, laying out a finely-crafted set of music that manages to be both dense with texture and startlingly fragile. fractured sound-scapes, shattered banjo and endless buzz are just some of the elements at play here. cd-r edition of 123.
shimmering blankets of glass sound lay fallen upon concentric ears this spaced gorgeous collaboration between brad rose and ville moskiitto unfolding slow in delicate patterns very pretty – great stuff packaged in a lovely metallic gold cover with color paste-on art and a full color insert.
here is your introduction to phase two. while there is a certain degree of continuity in the approach, ii is a noticeable extrapolation of the avarus sound. the albums six tracks span collage-esque pieces of audio junk to deconstructed song forms to subtly dense instrumentals. waves of stretched electronics, distorted clank and warbling bass throb create layers of chaotic wreckage until a sudden collapse reveals an underlying stasis. unnoticed patterns now conscious pull the listener into another time/mind continuum. step into the g-a-p. the lp is presented in a full cover printed sleeve with suitable “found” photo art – for you to figure out what its all about – limited to 400 or so copies… slightly bumped corners, reduced price.
all-new exclusive avarus! fourth secret eye full-length and tenth release overall from this incredible finnish band that pretty much defines modern psychedelic kraut improv. primitive, primal and tribal, desolate and mournful, dreamy and pastoral, motorik and hypnotic. buzzing, clattery, droning, stumbling krautrock flecked with shimmering free-noise, avant ambience, delicate folk fuckery, and chaotic caveman psychedelic space rock. avarus iv starts where the rasvaaja lp ended. the iv, too, consists of tomas regan’s careful high-quality recordings. on the iv avarus makes and even longer dive in the warm and clear pond, into which the water is poured from both kraut and space rock, and from micro music and slapstick. the recording was made after the us tour, which guarantees the firm harmony satisfying the most demanding listeners. the delicate talent and the hilarious team spirit guarantee a recordful of heart-warming harmonies and surprising turns delighting an unprejudiced mind. the wondrous adult rock of avarus is born from an uncompromising love for music. the finished recording deserved a fantastic cover, too. this in mind, the graphic visionaries amanda and pauliina spent their summer holidays swimming, drinking beer, and drawing their kaleidoscopic davy crockett epos inspired by music. lp only – 160 gram virgin vinyl, pressed in czech republic, direct metal mastering, full-color labels and jackets, all-exclusive new jams. limited to 200 copies… sure to go quick, so don’t miss out if you’re a fan.
long touted as the forefathers of finnish freeform psychedlic music, avarus, a collective bearing members from the anaksimadros, kemialliset ystävät, maniacs dream, and more, document their first tour of the united states on “kirppujen saari”. the sounds contained show a departure and growth from typical avarus recordings. the a side long track begins with a psychrock romper complete with full “band” instrumentation, slowly it deconstructs itself into the abstract electric/acoustic stylings and sonic spattering familiar to their previous work. slowness builds into full on clatter filled walls of vocals, toy keyboards, horns, strums, and other acoustic junk, creating a unique and massive drone. the opposing side is pure acoustic drones composed of vocals, horns, and tribal beats. room filling ambiance, corner clatter, and morphing silence also find a way to unobtrusively build themselves into the piece. in an edition of 350 lps on coke bottle clear vinyl with printed labels by bart of sloow tapes and proprinted full color foldover art by the band… nice one!
tough to find single from damaged finnish cult unit here featuring JAN ANDERZEN (kemiallistet ystavet, etc.) and JONNA KARANKA (kuupuu, etc.) quite limited. perfect M/M.
when you go to finland, a country where 95% of the population is inbreed, chances are that you will meet at least 7 members of the avarus family! you can smell them from a mile away, they’re the adults raising their kids on homebrew white spirit, continuously producing the kind of farts you can’t hear though the stench is worse than the ones that sound like a brassband. behind every finnish tree there is a member of avarus humping another avarus member, and rarely a kemialliset ystavat member (the other 5% of finns). the governement of finland is not proud of this sick family, they try to keep it silent, rarely give interviews to press from other countries and make sure planes hardly fly out. though for some reason arttu partinen, roope eronen and tero niskanen made it as a trio in a small boat to the usa. the only instruments that made it were a few balloons and a crappy casio. on arrival they found a microphone, a drum and more toys, climbed the wfmu building and played the craziest session ever! like a bunch of children discovering the 50’s euro avant garde scene, the 60’s psychedelic free jazz and pre-punk scene, the 70’s sound poetry and punk scene and the 80’s disco scene in one afternoon!! this lp sounds like a mix of all of that i guess. limited to 300 copies, comes in a psychedelic duo coloured cover by dt.
original brazilian first pressing of fantastic south american psych. tropicalia vibes, wild fuzz, effects, regional flashes. from the city recife which had a small but great & unique scene (LULA CORTES, ZE RAMALHO, FLAVIOLA, etc.). later pressing altered track list, this is the unaltered original. very fragile & super weird textured cover. layout by LAILSON of SATWA. tiny price sticker tear on back, corner bends, but very clean art. long lite paper scuffs on wax, but plays real nice. VG++/VG+. rare!
restock of 2005 release, last copies… xmas 2004, brooklyn. brian sullivan and nate nelson of mouthus meet up with karl bauer of axolotl for some sonic celebration and let the tape machine roll. two side-long psilocybe-inspired scoops of shimmering and stumbling drone / zone / sludge ragas. better dust off your bib. full color printed photo-collage covers, insert.
originally released in 2005 as a limited edition cd-r on yellow swans’ jyrk label, this three-way collab now gets a proper run on wax. recorded in oakland at the huffin house before the swans made the retreat back to portland. despite the weight of these players when they rock alone, this jam really never gets into full on white out territory. instead, it’s loaded to the brim with wavy neon distortion and soothing low end that occasional drops out into huge washes of emptiness. the opening passage of gms guitar flecks sympathizing with karl’s string wash is alone worth the price of admission. red vinyl with lime green splatter. edition of 500.
karl bauer and eva saelens (axolotl and inca ore respectively) are two like minded bay area psychers operating on two opposing levels. axolotl marks the a side with skyward streaking drones and ethereal loops tinged and focused, ringing with the joyous bliss of upward passage. an endless array of vocals, electronics, and violin looping and looping, building and growing: stasis. inca ore makes her craft from an earth bound level. oneness with her surroundings, roots firmly planted. eerie incantations and meandering harp play foreground to layer upon layer of looped vocals and murky ambience, charting your way towards forever. in an edition of 450 white purity colored 7″s in black and white pro-printed collage fold-over sleeves by eva with a numbered insert.
B
brand new hand-numbered edition of 552 12 inch ep from this great new european label gipsy sphinx that also just released the vanishing voice ‘nordic visions’ set. here karl bauer uses violin, vocals, electronics and percussion to assemble swathes of hypnotic, tripped-out noise that falls somewhere between terry riley’s circular, pulsing explorations, sonic boom’s radiophonic workshop gargles and swirls, and burning star core / vibracathedral orchestra’s wall of sound. the a-side is an ecstatic fog with the b-side the gentle star-gazing come-down – limited/numbered to 552. from the fine folks who brought you the vanishing voice nordic visions lp. nice paste-on art packaging too.
new psych damaged batch of nocturnal hookum from karl bauer. zoned out crackling, tones and sweet sk-1 blowout all brewed up into a sweet load of tingling psychic non-songs and grot beats.
northern europe 1867: a winter so harsh, a spring so cold and a summer so late. a dead harvest. the failure of the crop meant starvation and thousands and thousands of people died. bark bread, lichen gruel and families slowly fading away. this bleak period, ended in 1869, resulted in that more swedes than ever emigrated to northern america and other places for a better life. based around those years, gothenburg’s ättestupa here creates an absolutely terrific soundtrack to this misery with their new 3-song ep. exploring the dark past of their native country sweden, this is a well-executed journey into the neverending well of hopelessness. into the struggle of nature and mankind. you’ll recognize the sound from the rtb lp from last year and the abisko tape, but here they are taking everything up a notch. the unique production is getting close to perfection, a raw and disgusting thick sonic bliss with a continuous crunch. a sharpened blend of noise, kraut and black metal with a crude melancholic atmosphere. vocals buried deep under the soil and guitars being more prominent. organs, screeching metal junk, tape loops. pounding drums. the recording reeks of bad times and tremendous coldness and it’s hard to grasp for air. no hope and definitely no joy. recorded during the first three months of 2009. limited to 330 copies on black vinyl.
this is the follow-up to the self-titled debut lp that came out last year on release the bats. this time the music is even more grey and pale, three tracks wrapped in near-suffocating bleak atmosphere. dealing with the dark rural sweden of the past, this is music with folk tones in its veins, and played with callous hands. this is the spirit of the 19th century farmhands who never took the easy way out and abandoned their soil to go west. it’s grim up north. 165 copies, on type ii chrome tape.
debut by trio of stephen o’malley (sunn0))))), daniel o’sullivan (guapo), and vincent de roguin (shora). taking its title from the iliad, the music here is deep and cosmic, completely unlike anything you’d expect from such heavyweights. more in the tradition of “spiral insana” and “cyborg” than anything, the tracks float along in a masterful collage of activity, where careful scene changes highlight o’sullivan’s classic but artfully placed rhodes bombs, de roguin’s organ, and o’malley’s guitar. extraordinary effort has gone into editing, mastering, and shaping these pieces; these are not tossed off improvisations or “side-project” orphans. housed in cd and lp jackets hand-printed by alan sherry/siwa. lp was cut by john golden, expertly pressed at rti. first vhf vinyl in 7 years! – very limited press & very limited stock.
third earth shattering outing for vincent de roguin (shora), stephen o’malley (sunn0))), ktl) and daniel o’sullivan (guapo). for faking gold and murder, the core trio is joined by percussionists nicolas field and alex babel, as well as renown guitarist alexander tucker and the inimitable david tibet. faking gold is heaviest outing, driven by a weighty low end and the full fury of babel and field’s free-wheeling drums. the trio’s electronics, guitar, rhodes, and organ ride the waves of sound in a tightly-controlled blare, leaving plenty of space for tibet’s declarations of the mystical and supernatural. tibet is on top form here, rising out of the tempest at just the right moment, almost plain-spoken in places and grounding the squall at times, voicing the apocalypse at others… brooding, primeval, dark alchemical epics are full of a ferocious intensity, sounding more like a starlit night being ripped open by lightning than a musical group. intelligent and primal, like a demonic workshop, battering up pandemoniums and dreaming of gold and murder, @thenor are spectacular.- david tibet, cover design by nicola todeschini and vincent de roguin. deluxe lp is 180 gram, pressed at rti, in letterpress cover on heavy black art stock by stumptown, with custom gold on black inner. cut by john golden. a fantastic sounding and looking item… beautifully done release.
700 press of all-time killer garage lp from 1968, illinois. ‘minister to a mind diseased’ and ‘tables of grass fields’ are the two cuts that grab me, but the whole lp is killer from start to finish. exact cover reproduced here and glossy. just a 700 pressing — will sell out quickly. in conjunction with gearfab, void records brings you this mammoth release! … much needed new reissue of the gem.
marking the vinyl debut of a couple of so maine’s favorite improvisational psych outfits, this split 33rpm 7″ runs amok with some murky kraut-leaning grooves. bad bus’ side builds from loose tom drumming and echoey vocal moans into a locked-in bassline stomper. tempera’s track buzzes its way through lo-fi live loops, beats backing aetherial vocals, a complete electro mindgroove. hand-stamped black 7″ vinyl record held in a hand-ripped, machine-stitched patchwork record sleeve. hand-numbered to 300…loose 7inch from the tryst haunt subscription series.
the second bad drumlin grass record is the first vinyl release on milvia son records. way back in july of 2006, sensei rebel chose the bands schizophrenic inaugural cdr (birth/afterbirth) as his ambient pick of the week. forsaking the drone (at least temporarily), bad drumlin grass presents two solid sides of junk n roll instrumental freakouts that careen into the void like cigarette cherries dropping into the fake beard of a paranoid neo-folkie where, like sonny bono, they just sit there and *burn*. these are not the lost hams rehearsals tapes. imagine richard thompson and garth hudson rehearsing for 10,000 hours and touring with this heat. this record is the exact opposite of that, except for being recorded live without overdubs. 300 copies for the world.
the first recordings by meg baird under her own name. meg has been singing and performing since she was a kid with her sister laura as a charter member of the traditional folk duo the baird sisters, though she is currently best known as one of the ‘female larynxes’ of the communal philadelphia band espers. or we should say, best known as the siren-voiced singer for same. or, perhaps, we could let nick carraway describe the quality of her voice for us: ‘the exhilarating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain. i had to follow the sound of it for a moment, up and down, with my ear alone before any words came through. we asked meg to record something with a country-waltz flavor, and she courteously obliged us with a graceful and bittersweet cover of ‘waltz of the tennis players’ by the under-appreciated ’60s folksters fraser and debolt. the mushrooms are growing in every new boot print, my, my, my.’ for the b-side, she recorded an alternate version of ‘dear companion,’ a track from her forthcoming lp. it’s an ancient melody, an aching lament sung ‘in the style of the chapel,’ with meg whisper-singing right into your ear, or maybe just to herself as she folds the laundry and does the dishes. you can see things more clearly when you shut your eyes – lovely color covers, heavy vinyl, very limited, and oh so beautiful.
one of the more unexpected – if worthwhile – byproducts of the 21st-century underground american folk revival is a renewed interest in solo acoustic guitar music. spare, haunting, pastoral sounds have a struck a new chord, and the words john fahey and takoma are hip again. just check the mighty tompkins square and strange attractors labels for the proof in the pudding. matt baldwin, raised in california’s rustic pacific grove, educated in the alternative mecca of berkeley, sits in the center of this quiet, swirling scene. he is the visionary wildcard of today’s solo guitar music, the ambitious fever dreamer, the serpent in the grass. towering tall with long blonde locks, he conjures from his axe dark and mystical realms. he calls his music ‘new age,’ and he may not be joking. featured on tompkins square’s 2006 berkeley guitar lp, baldwin now steps into his own with his debut solo release. unlike many of his peers, he looks beyond the traditions of fahey (whom he calls ‘a teacher,’ not a god). he brings portentous and progressive elements into his music, alongside a dreamy country lilt. he covers krautrock legends neu! (’weissensee’) and metal vikings judas priest (’winter’), and culls inspiration from prog heroes yes on closing epic ‘rainbow.’ his music comes on like a creeping moss, verdant but threatening, comforting yet unsettling. it will work its way inside you… limited vinyl version. heavy covers.
you all may not be familiar with the project, but it’s william sabiston of (part-time) axolotl fame. dude is a wild percussionist who’s collaborated with tons of folks, but most recently in a group bulbs. i’m not even sure how to describe this release – i suppose”freedom techno,” a ficticious genre imagined by roope eronen, would be some sort of applicable term. william weavs all sorts of percussive sounds; bells, electronic drum pads, synth and acoustic drums into a complex whirl of pulses and clicks that will occasionally congeal into abstract loops, minimalist techno riffs, dub-zones or some sort of cohearance, before whatever beat he’s imagined crashes in on itself – those familiar with william’s solo track on the axolotl cdr,”oranur,” will have some idea what to expect. but then, i’ve been listening to this thing for months and i still don’t know what’s happening when i listen to this thing. limited to 150 copies – screenprinted covers.
tough to find and in demand doomy heavy psych original with a very strong BLACK SABBATH sound that they pull off quite well. promo sticker on cover. lite ring wear, but otherwise very solid cover. EX-/EX-.
back in print on vinyl… the magically twisted, imaginative and personal debut album from engaging songwriter devendra banhart. twenty-one songs performed with banhart’s unique vocals-his occasionally warbling falsetto is alternately bizarre, comical and often a little frightening-advanced acoustic guitar work-which veers schizophrenically from gentle grooves into jolting, non-rhythmic stabs and weird harmonic flights of chaos-and the wildly surreal nature of his truly exceptional lyrics. comparisons have been made to the first three tyrannosaurus rex albums, nick drake, comus, daniel johnston, and karen dalton. wonderful to say the least. – michael gira.
over their recording career, bardo pond has released countless tracks that have appeared only on singles, compilations or other formats. this material has frequently stood equal in stature to the band’s densely sprawling full-length albums. in an effort to start compiling this hard-to-find material, both the band and three lobed recordings are proud to announce the debut of the cypher documents series. the first installment in this ongoing series compiles seven studio tracks that have never before been released on conventional media. the tracks themselves take the listener to many different places — be it the aggressive and sludge-guitar attack of ’slag,’ the sparse tones of ‘quiet tristin,’ or the extended psych exploration of the thirteen minute epic ‘black turban.’ closing out the disc is ‘from the sky,’ an exclusive and extended thirty-one minute psych-rock epic. this track is appearing on this disc for the first time anywhere in any form — it is the expanded session that the original five minute mp3 ‘in the sky’ came from. while not originally designed to be released together as a single album, the time span over which they were recorded makes the seven tracks on cypher documents i possess a definite cohesive flow. as presented, this disc acts as a sort of ‘lost’ album that displays exactly how the band sounded in the meantime between the release of set and setting and 2001’s dilate.
limited edition pressing of 1000 copies on vinyl heavy enough to hold some of bardo pond’s headiest jams. this is the first of four vinyl only bardo-related releases coming out simultaneously on important records. gazing at shilla is bardo pond’s first release on important. the two pieces, both very different in sound and feel, have sat patiently in the bardo archive waiting for the most opportune moment for release. ‘eight-thousanders’ and ‘kali’ are both entirely improvised pieces with no overdubs. slide blissfully into a smokey heaven and then forget your mind in a lower world of strange tones on side a. if you’re still able to flip the record when the needle hits the runoff groove, you’ll find yourself exposed to the goddess kali’s naked blackness. bardo is out. are you in?
limited edition of 1640 copies. in early 2008, bardo pond and three lobed recordings teamed up to assemble batholith, a collection of tracks that were close to the band’s heart but for various reasons had never been released. the result was an extremely cohesive and vital statement that was positively received by both old and new bardo pond fans. during the compilation of batholith the band had to agonize over the wealth of material that they were sitting on in constructing the ultimate tracklisting – there were too many good songs! the band approached this “problem” by structuring two sister albums, batholith and peri, each possessing their own musical themes and each fully capable of standing independent from the other. for this reason, peri is every bit as potent as its predecessor. the meticulous sequencing of peri’s five tracks provides a classic bardo pond experience. while the initial description of the material might lead one to think that these tracks are “outtakes” or cutting-room floor type material, neither conclusion could be further from the truth. the band is quite excited to finally see all of the material on peri venture into the public. for example, “chicken gun” will be recognizable to the band’s longtime fans. a former live staple from 1996 through 1998 (even making an appearance in the band’s set at the first terrastock festival), it is a propulsive and fiery rocker every bit as monumental as some of the band’s classics such as “lb.” and “tommy gun angel.” “the path” is a subtle number featuring floating flute work from isobel sollenberger. the album-closing “silver pavilion” is the sort of meditative psychedelia that has been bardo pond’s calling card over their lengthy career. the track dates to the band’s extremely fertile, yet barely documented, period between the release of “dilate” and “on the ellipse.” “silver pavilion’s” slow, enveloping build properly see the listener to the door and is reminiscent of such flawless bardo closing tracks as “rm,” “aldrin” and “night of frogs.” peri is pressed on 180g rti vinyl and is housed within heavy “old-style” one-pocket stoughton gatefold jackets bearing new collage work from michael gibbons. the record is from a one-time pressing of 1640 copies and, as an added convenience for our vinyl-loving friends, will come packaged with a glass-mastered cd (not cd-r) of the material present on the wax… all copies here are accompanied by a bonus cd (tlr-068) of previously unreleased bardo pond material, only available as a special pre-order bonus.
recorded by george mitchell in 1978, this lp was originally released by the southland label under the name ‘william robertson.’ due to cecil’s superstitions and legitimate fears of the taxman, he insisted that it come out under a false name. cecil was an unusual blues musician, giving each song its own feel and rhythm. another underrated american original. this is a co-release with big legal mess records.
campbell kneale moves ever closer to the glistening, levitation altar, with backwards bliss-shimmer, spooked chant and analogue squawk and squeal, kaleidoscoping around triumphant snare punctuation. bark haze (thurston moore & gown duo) hit back with focused power-drone guitar duelling from the heart of the bong, smoking out into tunnel-visoned, crumbled-amp chunder. artwork by campbell kneale/kim gordon.
newest blackest rainbow hot on the heels of some truly killer releases from the artists involved, both who seem to have really pushed there sounds and vibes to new levels this year… barn owl’s side has been mastered by local jammer ben nash, and its three tracks of sparse drone layered with bleak guitar epic-ness, tingling chimes and dark mountainous whispers. the guitars here sound delicate and beautiful, but it remains bleak and empty, if you enjoyed their lp on not not fun then this is a real treat. tom carter’s 16 minute ‘train kept’ follows pretty damn nicely from his recent ’shots at infinity’ releases on important, a far cry from his more psychedelic folk experimentations, here he slashes and riffs like many a legend, and maybe, just maybe, it’s a slight tribute to a certain band too? this is a fully wild piece of work. black sleeves, pasted stark landscape cover, with a insert of liner notes. limited to 380 copies… instantly out of print, last two copies.
the conjurer is the latest offering by bay area duo barn owl. this new long player finds evan caminiti & jon porras finally (by way of an actual recording studio) documenting something that is a bit closer to their very heavy live sets, with expanded peaks of white light distortion and enormous valleys of bottom end. each side opens with a brief funeral dirge to set the mood, a precession of bare bones drum beats and bell like guitar statements that bridge the gap to the wider open spaces of the almost side long ‘across the desert of ash’ and ‘ancient of days’. it may seem obvious, or even a little overwrought, but it has to be said that these guys really do evoke all kinds of cinematic drama with their music. apocalyptic westerns, bleak melodramas, mother nature fever dreams, it all seems to come to mind amid the evening guitar passages, incantations, flute tones, and finally, the solo piano that emerges lost among the electric mayhem to close the album. considering the amount of terrain, the conjurer is far from being scattered or rushed sounding. the record as a whole moves at a crafted even rhythm, slowly merging from one scene of violence to the next of almost silent recovery, then back up the mountain again. an edition of 500 lps, half colored deep red, half black. cover etching by evan caminiti… nice one & sure not to hang around long.
seriously rare japanese first pressing! super think gatefold cover. big four page foldout insert with lyrics. super clean black/silver labels. lovely wax. minor cover wear mostly to the edges, and a starting but very neat spine split. awesome vintage audiophile pressing! sorry, no obi. EX-/NM-.
awesome collection on this label that has ben doing a really great job of unearthing high quality pink floyd & barrett rarities. side a is a good selection of previously unreleased studio outtakes, syd’s collaboration with kevin ayers, and ‘dylan blues’ on vinyl. side b is syd’s full final studio session from 1974, most of which has never be circulated before! full color cover, thourgh notes, marbled purple vinyl. recommended!
tender drawings and tender sounds. personal and sincere visions by bart de paepe, the cloudy head of sloow tapes. 16 pages, part full color and part b/w. and a short cassette of recent family thinkers sounds. one part is jams, other part is strange tape collage.
this one is two side-long triple guitar jams by ben chasny (six organs of admittance, comets on fire), elisa ambrogio (magik markers) and brian sullivan (mouthus, eskimo king, white rock). extremely dense and crunchy – hold this one back to set the mood at your next summer of love party. like our other vinyl releases, this one will be pressed on 180g rti black vinyl and will come from an edition of 845 copies. look out for the beautiful and heavy wrap-around silkscreened covers (by alan sherry of siwa) on this one. as a bit of a first for three lobed (and a trend that we hope will continue with most of our vinyl releases from this record onward), packed in with the lp is a pressed cd (not cd-r) of the same material present on the album. the cd is not available separately and is included as an element of convenience and portability for all you vinyl folks (and also as an effort to help convert a few of you cd folks into vinyl folks!).
a real cool piece for sound sculpture collectors! way obscure private press 10inch released by the museum of modern art, new york, to coincide with an exhibit by the artists in 1965. the vinyl itself was pressed in france, and an alternate version was sold there, but this version was packaged and (barely) sold through the museum itself in the US. packed in a fragile b&w six panel foldout folio cover with photos of all the amazing instruments & extensive notes. blank back. amazingly, this copy comes direct for the MOMA’s archive and still has the museum’s index tag affixed to the spine. other than said index tag, the very fragile cover is EX. vinyl is stunning unplayed NM+. a very rare & very cool item indeed.
another in the wooden weavil series, this time an unreleased live robbie basho recording from germany in 1980. this program appears to have been recorded in one go. robbie scatters his americana numbers throughout, beginning with ‘redwood ramble,’ ending with ‘california raga.’ this date finds robbie in fine fettle, his playing sharpened by the intensity of touring, his mood seems ebullient, at times (as on ‘fandango’) he comes off like john lee hooker’s sun-kissed cousin, stomping furiously along to his playing. there is sweetness to his material, yes, but this is not, as jack rose put it, ‘music for wineries.’ there is the galloping muscularity of basho’s playing, coupled with the sheer hugeness of his sound; the fearless employment of dissonance as part of his musical make-up; a love for the unexpected chord change. robbie was a voracious and uncompromising player. basho’s singing was as integral to who he was as his guitar playing, and when he opened his mouth, he filled the room with sound. say what you like about his lyrics, no one can accuse basho of dilettantism, of dabbling, or of trying something on merely for effect. whatever bag he was in, he was in all the way. liner notes from glenn jones & stephen basho-junghans, and beautifully remastered by glenn jones… wonderful archival release!
second cdr on br from mike vest of bong’s solo project of hazy lo-fi ritualistic temple drone for smoked out fried brains. one long beast of a track at over 35 minutes. limited to 100.
helena espvall and masaki batoh are known to open-eared music listeners for their collaborations with other artists — artists with names such as ghost, espers, damon & naomi, fursaxa, tom rapp, lukas ligeti, bert jansch, among many others. by collaborating with each other, they’ve made one of the most beautiful recordings either one of them has yet participated in. they first met at a festival in the united states in 2006. batoh presented helena with a handmade bamboo instrument; short on spare celli, she gave him a copy of her solo cd. afterwards, they stayed in touch. at some point helena suggested an improvised musical collaboration. batoh wrote back and said: ‘actually i’m too busy now to think about music… if my idols moondog, henry cowell or toru takemitsu wanted me, i’ll refuse their orders.’ several weeks later, he had a change of heart. he contacted helena and said that he felt they should record not improvisations only, but songs as well. helena made a demo of some scandinavian folk songs that she remembered in her spirit from growing up in northern sweden, thinking that maybe they’d record one. the recording session was held in tokyo over four days in december 2007. for instruments fans, this session might be a treasure. so many strings were used: 6- and 12-string guitar, banjo, cello, hurdy-gurdy, harp, contra bass, chappa tibetan bells, kin (buddist metallic bowl), timpani, bass marimba, vibraphone, thunder sheet & on & on. six of the swedish traditional tunes were reconstructed, along with batoh’s arrangement of ‘death letter,’ a classic son house delta blues song. additionally, a european medieval tune was addressed in its own arrangement and expression. ‘zeranium,’ a dreamy folk tune that batoh wrote for damon & naomi (they didn’t use it), was re-arranged for this session as well. the improvisations were done on the last recording day, with no overdubs. ‘completely free’ was the essential concept. for one of them, they were joined by batoh’s fellow ghosts takuyuki moriya (contra bass), kazuo ogino (piano,celtic harp) and the santur player mayumi nagayoshi. the same morning, helena had received notice that her grandmother suddenly had died, and that a dear friend had chosen to end his life. two death letters in one day? there is great emotion reflected in the improvisations. and great depth and beauty throughout the whole helena espvall & masaki batoh album… limited vinyl version in a heavy gatefold cover.
handmade covers. a confusing, odd record. 2 lock grooves begin the edith side. bedroom meanderings that steve stapleton might be proud of. released around 9/11/01. really! tons of confusing inserts. 200 pressed.
orig press with the rare bonus single in its original picture sleeve. 7inch sleeve has two tears, nice wax. VG/EX++. lp cover mild general wear, two tears on back. VG+/EX+.
it’s the final beach fuzz recording made with barry dean on drums and also features the eyeball-melting saxophonic skree of solar fire trio’s dave jackson. it was recorded in warrington on 29th oct ‘08 and is a more melodic yet typically cacophonous jam than previous releases. we hope you dig. out now on cd-r, limited to 80 copies.
5 minutes pulled from 2 epic, cacophonous jams make up both sides of this first beach fuzz 45. following on a slew of home spun cassette and cdr releases on their own golden lab label as well as blackest rainbow, lotus birth and others. insistent, narcotic drone pieces featuring bowed, scraped lap steel, wailing echo drenched synth wash with occasional mo-esque, circling percussion. 300 only in cool, fliptop, yearling lined card fliptop sleeves.
real nice copy. killer boston garage/psych burner. very cool album gushing with good ideas. lots of experimentation, lots of cool fuzz, snotty acid lyrics, weird effects, etc. gatefold cover. original inner sleeve. small punch hole. NM-/NM-.
last ever copies!!! recorded in 1970 but not released until 1996. follow up to their highly heralded album ‘welcome’ which is a classic psych album. this one is psych flavored pop/rock. comes with paste-on sleeve… long out of print high quality archival release.
devastating psych noise power drones by ernesto gonzález, an 18 year old kid from venezuela who moved to belgium with his family 3 years ago. thick layers of hototogisu-like guitar drones interfere with endless tape loops and warm washes of analogue jungle color tone to work up to an overwhelming fuzz guitar climax, leaving listeners helpless, ecstatic, puzzled and bemused. ernesto has been making music for over three years now, has various solo as well as collaboration projects going on, has released a slew of amazing selfmade cdr’s and has recently also become a full time member of belgium’s finest: freefolk/krautrock outfit silvester anfang, who’ve got an lp coming out on eclipse later this month. a promising new star in the psych drone skies’85 djid hums is the vinyl debut of bear bones, lay low: over 45 minutes of pure psych drone bliss pressed on heavy high quality 180g vinyl, complete with paste-on art and flashy insert, housed in a thick cardboard jacket with resealable plastic sleeve. limited to 525 hand-numbered copies.
ernesto gonzález traded the chavez regime for comfortable living in a dreary place called waterloo, near brussels. he picked up the guitar, practiced his hendrix skills, got introduced to the world of scorching fuzz, demented kraut rock jams, drone lords and kosmik trance and decided he could as well do all that shit by himself. after his debut on gipsy sphinx, vallée de dith is his second official solo outing, leaving the drone in second position and focussing heavily on kraut rock work-outs. this is the ultimate south-american take on moolah, ash ra temple and neu!: excellent riffing, brain-melting space synth and far-out hippy meditation. probably the best venezuelan album since angel rada’s upadesa. phill niblock hated it!
a prison is a noisy place. the clanging of bells announcing the prison routine, the whir and ratcheting, banging and slamming of electric gates and mechanical metal doors, the ebb and flow of human vocalizations as hundreds of people caged against their will respond to their conditions in myriad ways – to express their loneliness, or discontent, or rage, or insanity, or merely to cheer or boo a play in a football game on television – punctuated by the shouts of guards who must enforce their authority to maintain what passes for order in such places… all of this and more is amplified within the confines of reverberant concrete walls, conspiring to make it difficult to find, much less preserve, one’s peace of mind. i composed mantra: soundscapes for meditation in response to several requests from some of my fellow prisoners. i was asked to create some gentle music that they could listen to on their personal cassette players as an aid in practicing meditation and relaxation techniques widely accepted as valuable tools in the process of healing mind, body and spirit. the challenge was to produce a musical composition that would help to mask the noise of the environment without being intrusive or demanding too much of the listeners attention, while incorporating combinations of tones and textures that may aid an individual in achieving a relaxed, meditative state of consciousness. by all reports, including my own experience, mantra succeeds in its intended mission. as environmental music, it also seems to work well as a focusing agent when doing some types of creative work, or when reading, and to enhance the restfulness of sleep when set to play continuously through the night at low volume. you may find other uses for it as well. for all i know, it may help plants to grow more healthy, or soothe a teething baby. we are all doing time in one way or another, and the stresses of day to day life make it imperative that we find ways to generate harmony within ourselves from time to time. i hope that mantra will serve you in this regard as well as it has served some of my friends in prison. peace. – bobby beausoleil. artworks by bobby beausoleil.
recorded live to tape in two days, after a sleep deprived month of beefheart style creative lockdown, begushkin – dan smith’s 8 headed hydra – lay to rest the twilight folk of 2007s nightly things and reemerge with the wicked & strange hard rock gypsy shake of king’s curse. smith yells and carries on like a man posessed with tales of the damnation of a robber king and the band plays it ultra tight & ultra heavy. king’s curse is higher tier creep rock…. ‘at times like an impossible mixing of leonard cohen, will oldham, and michael gira stirring up a series of haunted gypsy hymns. mournful and melodic with half-seen shadows walking through the trees at night, and fever dreams swooning in the moonlight. mysterious like lyrically compressed american gothic short stories.’ george parsons, dream… 180gm limited vinyl version.
a long three track cdr collecting a particularly insulated and homespunera of the believers development. especially the longer-than-album-side rendition of their standard, ‘down to the lake’. step inside, take a breath, get to know this album. perhaps you will glimpse the reasons why so many in the valley are holding their breath for the believers debut lp – features members of son of earth, shackamaxon, duck, idea fire company, sapat, so many other spins, the whole meatball is here. packaged in simple xerox folded jackets, origami style – yeah! go believers!
quite tough to find original WHITE LABEL PROMO pressing of this funky orchestrated electric sitar exploitation album. predictable but solid cover songs, at times getting pretty nicely freaked-out. nice one for you next flashback dance party. great funky cover art. super clean wax. original inner sleeve. EX+/NM-.
fabulous split 45 on clear wax in 2 part, op-art psych sleeves featuring the mighty “everybody’s dig accounted for” by jats, total killer, raw groove blues that descend into a velvets meets the sonics freakout. backed by part time james and jessica toth (wooden wand) side project “bengal traitors” with the magical “sumtimes”. 350 copies on clear vinyl.
2 very very very hip bands. first part in the series of split-tapes with breaking world recs. ben and george sing about daddy’s digweed and bad boys. buffle has the blues.
released in autumn a 7-inch of benjamin franklin (buffle, ex-rot). a-side is a dark ambient piece of music while b-side is a shiny minimalist casio pop-song. the sleeve (which is more a package) is silkscreened and available in fluo green, flashy red or gold (ok it’s just painting and glitters and it can hardly look like gold but it’s beautiful anyway).
a dark trip in the neither world of benjamin franklin (buffle, r.o.t.) sleepwalking along deep low humming casio rumblings and floating urban soundscapes. 70 copies.
the first ever official vinyl reissue of this folk-psych gem from new york city, usa. originally released in 1977 by winter solstice -group’s own- label this is a very rare (r3-r4) album nowadays. and hopefully it deserves every cent that you will spend for purchasing an original copy. its strange mixture of haunting melodic folk and dreamy psychedelia. both male and female vocals participated by roger and wendy penney (who had also presented the extremely rare “roger & wendy” lp back in 1972) while autoharp, violin, percussion and sound effects (wah wah, fuzz, phaser, delay) offer a “unique” atmosphere. this is an official, fully licenced and autographed, vinyl edition. exact reproduction of the cover and label with extra 4-pages insert with bio, photos and lyrics. all in high quality special papers. pvc protective outersleeve. includes one extra unreleased track from 1974. limited to 400 black vinyl copies, 180gr, copies. pvc protective outersleeve… top quality reissue of this pretty great private press oddity.
totally unreleased (on vinyl format) album by legendary nyc psychfolk duo. all the recordings range from the late 60’s to the late 70’s. our opinion is that “the missing tapes” is their best till today offering. just take a listen to “did you love me” and “lost worlds” songs. original, unique and bizzare sound not unlike their first album (see anazitisi records arlp 70-21f). half of the 10 songs are penned by roger penney while the other 5 are covers on: dennis deyoung’s “come sail away”, joni mitchell’s “circle game”, richard farina’s “swallow song” (what an adaptation!!!!), fred neil’s “dolphin” and an exceptional “high flying bird”. from the original 2-track master tapes with excellent sound quality and licenced by roger & wendy. it includes a 12-pages large booklet with story, lyrics & photos, decorated by wendy’s paintings. fully laminated. pvc protective outersleeve. 180gr. vinyl as usual. limited, to 200 black and 100 coloured copies, edition… black vinyl copies here. highly recommended if you dug their s/t lp!
the brand new self released disc from this amazing project featuring colleen & caleb from cerberus shoal, threads, fire on fire, etc. off the cuff abstact improv spaces with goobs of reverb, strange instruments, and spooked vocals mix with straighter, and generally pretty dark, acid folk songs. male/female vocals, accordion, many different guitars, multiple personalities, toy drums, and plenty of mystery sounds. their 6th private press release, as usual packaged in a totally beautiful one-of-a-kind multi color/layer screen printed art paper cover, with vellum insert, extra art, printed disc, and more. extremely limited. could be their best yet! very recommended maine goodness!
very tough to locate fan club release with cool alternate takes & such. says limited to 2500 copies, but i bet way less were actually made. hand stamped sleeve. NM-/NM.
very rare french original of their third & final album. totally essential damaged powerpop wonder from an amazing band on the verge of total collapse. totally unique to this pressing fully laminated alternate cover art. beautiful EX++/EX $60.00
finally a release on night-people from raccoo-oo-oon tour mates and chicago’s best basement improv unit binges. killer drums, percussion, electronics, saxophone, guitar, and bass from these two dudes chris and anthony. binges are ultra focused and tight, chris glides around on his kit with supreme precision with anythony juggles a bunch of loops, noises, and instruments all at once. one of the most solid and exciting underground bands around right now. artwork by the band printing by sdrreed.
two sides of total existential rebirth! placental for you and bird by snow, a 7 inch baby of the cosmos, belching new sounds, and visions. replete with new-metal guitar tones, falsetto cave paintings, and gasoline-riot guitar solos (think blue cheer in thunderdome). begging the question what is paradise? a waterfall? or a burning sky-scraper? each cover is hand printed from a linoleum block by bird by snow, at no extra cost to you. limited to 300. recorded at home on 8-track cassette tape.
to you, children of the zeitgeist, we give ’sky,’ offered in the same generous spirit as this bountiful world itself. ten songs of reggae-infused, psychedelic, folk music. existentialism you can dance to! open-hearted sound-fields, vast and colored with tiny blue-grass orchestras, authentic dub banjo, black cloud back-beats, and (if you can believe it) california soukous guitar! open eyes wide, and take in ’sky,’ bird by snow’s outrageously lush follow-up lp. cloudy or clear, day or night, let us be absorbed in the one-always-giving moment, and know the sky not as vacuous hole, but as container (whole). limited to 300, on beautiful tranparent-blue vinyl. hand silk-screened gold covers, with a lovely hand-made booklet too. recorded at home on 8-track cassette tape, mastered by george horn… who mastered “zuma” by neil young and crazy horse… last copy.
a new calf sparkles in the field at dawn with after-birth upon her. standing strong and brave with wobbly legs in a precarious world. with totally fearless surrender she steps forward, still wet from the inner universe of the before birth being. with the same naked abandon we offer this 3rd long-player by bird by snow. ten free-pop-mantras, ancient-babies of modern song. the most fertile bird by snow record (so far) each side of this album has its own name, in order to give the tunes more mind-space to flourish and expand side a is ’songbread’ and side b is ‘another ocean.’ in this record-world we find bbs harvesting perspectives in an old-growth forest of ontology & swimming joyfully in wide-wonder-waters of multi-instrumentalism. cellos, drones, pianos, field-recordings, tape-collage & all manner of drumming, strumming & singing confer and conspire here. many of these songs have been two years in the making, grown and regrown on musical tours through the generous world. songs with fresh-washed faces, and crow’s feet in the corners of their eyes. ’songbread / another ocean’ is also some of gnome life’s most beautiful and ambitious packaging! the cover is a color lithograph poster, and the lp also includes a deluxe handmade booklet of literature, lyrics, ideas, and points of entry. and a second semi-transparant poster of poetry called: “slow poems” by fletcher tucker (a.k.a. bird by snow). this edition is limited to 550 copies, and is on completely clear vinyl, and comes with a cd! recorded at home on 8-track cassette tape, mastered by john golden.
bird microphone follows up last year’s paper mines split with cursillistas with this collection of original songs and appalachian child ballads. fitting six songs onto this 45rpm 7″ record, bird mic. mixes her trademark dulcimer plucks and cut-up bell percussion clacks with a new focus on voice. love songs that aren’t afraid to expose the dissonance; traditionals on the a-side, originals on the b. preview here. black 7″ vinyl record with center labels hand-stamped on the a and hand-drawn/colored on the b-side, held in a heavy off-white cotton paper sleeve, with double-vision two-color screenprinted covers and an offset-printed back. hand-numbered to 300, and embossed… loose 7inch from the tryst haunt subscription series.
death-defiling split disc of zodzoric psychedelia from these hot leeds zombies! neon death slittes is the axle-greased alterego of phil ‘xenis emputae travelling band’ legard who contributes four tracks of greasy blues amphetamuck that will have fans of pink fairies/deviants/gong/third world war choking on their wet dentures. recent american tapes/no fun stars birds of delay occupy the other half with a knob-scorching oscillation/voice seizure recorded live in sunny edinburgh. ltd.100 in tracing paper sleeves with on-disc gocco print – very hip one with sweet covers.
birds of delay is a leeds duo whose first half lives in london (and loves whitehouse and rush) and the other in berlin (and loves farley jackmaster funk). with several releases on labels such as chocolate monk, american tapes, troniks, hospital productions, or their own: alcoholic narcolepsy, luke and steven have been crafting and sculpting their psychedelic-electronic-noise-drone sound for over half a decade. but who cares and what does that sound description mean anyway? if you ask them, they’ll simply tell you a living room at the bottom of a lake is a projection into a total rainbow bliss zone! edition of 240 copies.
during the last euro tour of wolf eyes, john olson (of american tapes, spykes, guam river etc – ) and mike connelly (of gods of tundra, hair police, failing lights etc – ) decided it was enough! they screamed “i’m not going to bed!!! i never wanne sleep again!!!”, they missed their flights and stayed in antwerp with the ultra audiobored horror crew for 7 more weeks without food and drinks, just dry weed and cancerbags to suck on! after that intense test to see if they could adapt to the antwerp life style, they finally met up with legendary belgian eccentric cacti and hat collector cassis cornuta, this psychadelic character brought his whole space synth and tape lab over to radio central to record an intense last gasp jam with the hardly breathing olson and connelly, the end result is an amazing trip to space and back to the mental hospital! like pouring lighter fluid and tabasco up your genitals or like olson states it so beautifully; like pissing on your own hand, freezing it and then using it as a lollypop for 5 days! comes in a gross 6 panel cover design and with an etch on the b side! – very limited. amazing packaging!
scarce original australian pressing of early fucked arty drug punk from NICK CAVE and co. nothing else like it really. original b&w version of the cover. perfect NM/NM.
by trade sir richard bishop is a dealer of rare occult books and fine paper ephemera. for many in the musical cosmos, he has occasion to travel the smoke filled carnie circuit as 1/3 of the sun city girls medicine show. but in the twilight hours of a shadow world once sensed only by few, bishop is a dazzling unaccompanied guitarist. on improvika, bishop rides a very tall horse through a surrealist’s cowboy set that’s 1 part bruit peckinpah muscularity & 2 parts illuminated jodorowskian symbolism.. a very strange place, indeed. armed only with a single steel string wooden guitar, bare-knuckled bishop fends off the horrors & dangers of the night with ease as he spits out glorious white robed arabesques, django-inspired gypsy arcs, & latin terracotta flourishes like so many spinning tumbleweeds in a one horse town that is his alone. improvika is sir richard’s solo installment for locust’s long running wooden guitar series. 180 gram vinyl, packaged in deluxe silkscreened art paper… sweet new pressing of this great album.
another album of acoustic guitar music from sir richard bishop — are you ‘freakin’ nuts? the freak of araby is a new direction for our distinguished gentleman, and just in the nick of time as well. sir rick’s had it up to here with solo acoustic guitar records! the freak of araby isn’t even a solo record! and there’s no acoustic guitar on it! so let’s have no more of this kind of talk. over his years with sun city girls, richard bishop threw a wide variety of music and sound against the wall — and all of it stuck. among those who know, he’s reasonably fluent in any number of international music traditions, playing them for (mostly) fun and (sometimes) profit all over the place. the freak of araby is the debut of sir richard bishop and his freak of araby ensemble, a talented quartet of players getting deep into the middle eastern mystic with hand drums, percussion, bass, drums, electric guitars and a heavy dose of moroccan chanters, all of it captured with depth, detail and sympathy for the eternal enigma by engineer scott colburn. but a sir richard bishop album with a backing band — how did this happen? after recording a cover of ‘ka’an azzaman,’ written by elias rahbani, one of lebanon’s finest songwriters, something dawned on sir richard. half-lebanese by birth (it didn’t just occur to him later), he found himself suddenly possessed to really dig into middle eastern sounds. a pair of original melodies not fully developed at a prior recording session had the arabic inspiration, so these were reattacked and finished in short order. soon, sir richard’s head was flooded with some of the classic sounds spun for him by his grandfather back in his (way) younger days, like farid al-atrache, oum kalthoum and fairuz, along with other personal favorites, such as the guitarists omar khorshid and mike hegazi. in addition to the studio improvisation, ‘taqasim for omar,’ the whole of the freak of araby is dedicated to these inspiring players. check ‘em out. in addition to his soul-stirring electric guitar playing, sir richard grabbed a couple of moroccan chanters and blew the house down on ‘blood-stained sands,’ providing an epic (not to mention epochal, heh heh) finish to this journey to the center of one-half of the family tree. this is music meant to be played live, and sir richard’s freak of araby ensemble intends to play it everywhere there’s interest in hearing it. so get your freak on.
repressed… this is an essential document by one of america’s most original and inventive unaccompanied guitarists working today. while my guitar violently bleeds is a splendid three piece gem in which the good sir branches out & nods to points west, east & otherworldly. classic spaghetti western tinged spidery fretwork(“zurvan”), fushitsusha style feedback drenched psych decay (“smashana”) and a brilliant lengthy raga epic (“mahavidya”) round out the proceedings by the sun city girls master musician.
since its discovery in the late ’90s, dave bixby’s legendary $2000 private press album from 1969 is considered by all serious record collectors as the king in the loner/downer-folk genre. after being involved in ’60s michigan folk and garage-rock bands such as the shillelaghs and peter & the prophets, bixby started playing acoustic guitar and experimenting with lsd. after a year of drug abuse he felt broken. starting a soul-searching, spiritual journey, he wrote ode to quetzalcoatl and most of the material for his second album, harbinger’s second coming in just a month and a half. assisted by fellow musician brian macinness, who played some guitar parts on the album, bixby recorded this record in a living room using an echo-laden 4-track machine. the sound is lo-fi and sparse: just acoustic guitars and some occasional harmonica & flute, added to bixby’s haunting, emotional vocals, spiritual lyrics and solid songwriting. the opening cut, the eerie and painful “drug song” sets the mood perfectly for the rest of the album. never again has an acoustic folk album sounded as intense as this. reissued for the first time under license from dave bixby himself, and carefully remastered from vinyl (no master tapes exist) at shadoks music studios. includes an insert with extensive and detailed liner notes by matvei procak — the guy who found bixby in 2006 — plus some rare pictures. this vinyl release also includes a free mp3 download code… recommended!
features: climax golden twin rob millis’ column talking machine with a report back on 78 hunting in india… an incredibly fun discussion with peter stampfel, founding member of the holy modal rounders, about harry smith, the fugs, santeria, amphetamines, god, coincidence, music and much more. conducted by allan macinnis, this 19 page feature includes an illustration by peter’s daughter zoe, plus a supplemental 3 page interview with antonia stampfel… an interview with gerd kraus on the legendary… krautrock bands limbus 3 and limbus 4 and the heady times that they grew out of… patrick marley’s nickels and dimes with discussion of church police, dennis duck, neil campbell and blues control… reviews of vinyl, books, compacts discs, dvds, and a cassettes both new and old: robert ashley, henri chopin, coach fingers, bob cobbing, loren connors, eric cordier, robert de grimston, father of the flood, henry flynt, tom heasley & toss panos, hisato higuchi, insect factory, jackwacker, dan koeppel, annette krebs, christina kubisch, kuupuu, the league of automatic music composers, mecha/orga, tatsuya mori, tham kar mun / yandsen / yeoh yin pin, organum, itaru oki, pigeons, colin potter, michael prime, sara sackner, conrad schnitzler, tom james scott, seven that spells, d. charles speer & the helix, stimulus, sun city girls, carter thornton, titmachine, giancarlo toniutti, uton & valerio cosi, vapour theories, michael yonkers, “artefacts of australian experimental music 1930-1973″, “ethnic minority music of southern laos”, “shadow music of thailand”, “thai pop spectacular 1960s-1980s”… classified ads… on the cover: an indian record stall… 56 pages, 5.5″ by 8.5″, 20 lb. paper, b&w; approximately 760 copies printed…
56 pages – a massive overview of the life and work of avant garde percussionist stomu yamash’ta, including his first english-language interview in over 30 years. a child prodigy, his meteoric rise in the classical world spawned a new world of improvisation and avant classical in the late ’60s and early ’70s before melding eastern concepts with jazz fusion via his more well known outfits come to the edge, east wind, and go. includes never-before-revealed insight into collaborations with toru takemitsu, takehisa kosugi, masahiko sato, the baschet brothers, and others. years in the making, this exhaustive survey corrects misinformation and apocrypha carried down for decades, and opens a new window to yamash’ta’s current projects featuring instruments made from resonant stones. – akio suzuki’s uk travelogue translated by the expert on japanese underground alan cummings – michael griffen, one half of noggin, remembered by aaron gorseth – andrzej zulawski’s films – a history of the beautiful limited edition releases by raymond dijkstra – onde, the new belgian group made up of members of the late noise-maker’s fifes, include timo van luijk of af ursin and in camera – rob millis’ talking machine – patrick marley (former publisher of muckraker magazine) with his column nickels and dimes – reviews of vinyl, cassettes, compacts disc, dvds and books, both new and old… sold out at source.
the no-neck blues band’s dave nuss recalls his time with the source family which led to the first yahowa 13 performance in new york city and their new lp. as much about dave’s experiences throughout this and how it brought him into the family, as about discovering the wealth of their archives and continuing energy… an extensive interview with reformed vancouver noise band tunnel canary by allan macinnis. allan speaks not only to the leader of the group, nathan holiday, but also tunnel canary members past and present mya mayhem, ebra ziron, and dave sheftel about their intense performances, early influences, their specially altered instruments, life and musical philosophy, and the different reactions in the early 1980s and now, matched with photos from their recent live shows and one from the archives…. a remembrance of noggin violin player michael griffen by his friend aaron gorseth…. a feature on the belgian group onde featuring former members of noise-maker’s fifes; supplemented by photographs taken on tour by dan burke of illusion of safety… a feature on the new label assophon, home to the sea donkeys, spider trio and factums with photographs by mark sullo…. rob millis, waxing on about the preciousness of shellac while discussing the drive to recycle that raw material in the war years and the price that artifacts from that time can command…. eric lanzillotta’s reviews of vinyl, compacts discs, and books, both new and old by bill bissett, bob cobbing, helena espvall & masaki batoh, malcolm goldstein, the howling hex, dieter schnebel, and “radio mynamar (burma)”…. patrick marley’s column nickels and dimes focusing on american tapes and drunjus…. cover star: djin of yahowa 13…. 56 pages, 5.5″ by 8.5″, 20 lb. paper, b&w, approximately 800 copies printed.
sewer mist catharsis is beautiful but frightening droning electronic ambient noise from norway in the vein of zaimph, kevin drumm, or mb. limited to 30 copies.
solo live blurt from 25 june 2008 from sindre bjerga, one half of bjerga / iversen. background drones hit in immediatley accompanied with some minimal scrapes and sputtering kinda growth aura from aforementioned drone, there’s a real static vibe cruising through this. occasional clunk and taps blur away as the heavy dense drone consumes the lot like an electric mist, with feedback clots clogging up your lungs, and creepy terror sounds. limited to 50 hand numbered copies, each with indvidual handmade weird paper and an insert, everyone looking entirely different.
striate cortex presents two live sets from sindre bjerga’s recent uk tour, recorded in sheffield and hull, respectively… mildly toxic clouds of gas are slowly and inevitably turning into densely marbled columns of psychedelic, splintered drones… like a sprinkling ray of light from a distant sun turning into a massive black hole sonic migraine… edition of 50 copies with individually handmade covers. standard editon of 40 copies and 10 “art-edition” copies on gold discs and extra photos… standard edition copies here.
black boned angel return with their second riot season release, following the eternal love/eternal hunger vinyl lp (repose 013lp). sharing a similarly bleak ground to corrupted, sunn 0))) and earth, new zealand’s black boned angel return with their fourth full length album verdun, and perhaps their most sombre and fully-realized work to date. the battle of verdun was fought between the german and french armies, and was one of the critical battles during world war 1 on the western front. it resulted in more than a quarter of a million battlefield deaths and at least half a million wounded. verdun was the longest battle and one of the most devastating in world war 1 and indeed in history. over the course of 50 minutes, bba soundtrack that brutal conflict with their trademark dark ambient drones and doom-laden riffs.
diggin’ deep into the montreal free music vault of yesteryear. 15 minutes of totally free improvisation recorded live in 2003 at pasalymany bar (rip). originally recorded for the birthdays of colin, serene, and sime. members of rivers and mountains along with other pasalymanians. found cover image photocopied on heavy card stock. hand stamped j-cards and cassette labels. hand number edition of 66.
i fell asleep late last night right after i jammed this latest burner from sean mccann and black eagle child. that was lucky, let me tell ya… this split is a total tropical dreamscreamer. each one of them gets a side, but it doesn’t matter – the message is the same: it’s time to zone the fuck out. crisp capricorn tones drizzle down like pink sunkissed mists from the heavens, totally enveloping your aural sensibilities. guitar zoners and gooey, synthed up flow-ers take you through the perfect lazy river, floating on scarlet sonic waves to the stars. this is the new space race. if all drones were drenched in this much bliss, we’d all be rotten to the core…limited to 77. packaged in a fabric pouch with insert.
18 minutes of blind mindless heaviness celebrating their deepest feelings for montreal. still can’t figure out if they dig this city or not. sludged and dragged, this is a one-sided battle. side a has gold spray paint with black splatter. b side is straight black, empty. cassette boxes contain gold foil, red arcylic paint, and black spray paint. xeroxed insert. edition of 77.
guitar, cello, electronics, and various small rackety sounds collect themselves into a haze of infinite possibilities. – byron coley. for this new 10″, the duo is joined by guests margot goldberg and joe grimm (a.k.a. the wind up bird). this quartet version of bf/bs is the very same lineup that performed at terrastock 6. 10″ vinyl-only release limited to 500 copies worldwide. silkscreened metallic silver covers by mike taylor (lungfish, avarus, dan higgs). 21 minutes of music, all exclusive material… nice little slab.
following recent releases under the directing hand moniker on memoirs of an aesthete and chocolate monk, alex neilson (jandek, ashtray navigations, richard youngs etc etc) conjures another slab of percussive clatter to excite yr inner ear. joined on this journey by frank janiurek, the duo lay down a thick bed of organic drone before reaching for the stars with some inspired levitation tactics.
fully re-mastered vinyl edition of what was originally a europe-only cassette released in an edition of 80 copies from the solo project of spencer clark of the skaters/vodka soap/monopoly child et al. spencer describes black joker as being more drone-focused and with faster percussion than the recent monopoly child sets. indeed, the percussion is thrifty and up-front, with arcs of criss-crossing time signatures generating maximum space/time confusion. the combination of trance-informed momentum and bubbling electronic sci-fi tones sounds closest to one of the sun ra arkestra’s most future-visioned takes on “ancient aethiopia” while expanding on the classic post-angus maclise feel of all of the best skaters material. comes with pro-printed 80s style 12” maxi-sleeves with liner notes by fortean authority, itinerant visionary and skaters road mangler in-absentia charles berlitz.
black magic disco is the new all-star band featuring tom greenwood (jackie-o motherfucker), maurizio & roberto opalio (my cat is an alien) and ramona ponzini (painting petals on planet ghost, praxinoscope). the project was born out of an idea from tom greenwood, founder leader of the avant-folk-blues ensemble jackie-o motherfucker, who invited maurizio and roberto opalio, aka the italian improv duo my cat is an alien (mciaa), and their close collaborator ramona ponzini (also involved with the two brothers in the projects named painting petals on planet ghost and praxinoscope, as well as in the new collaboration with z’ev) to perform with him for two months of touring throughout all europe in may/ june 2005. as one can imagine, the result was killer. the music which came out of the live performances was totally explosive, combining ramona’s japanese vocals & hypnotic chimes with greenwood’s psych-blues guitar attitude & wild turntablism, over mciaa’s alien cosmic flux of electric guitars, space toys & percussions, creating a still unheard mixture of sounds unifying archaic & post-modern, western & eastern, sky & earth. couloured vinyls (1 solid red / 1 solid white). comes in a luxury gatefold cover, including a huge 70×100 cm. poster (by roberto opalio drawing).
the josh/roy anti-society drone/drums duo drops its first (and last?) lp. a dripping cavern of red-eyed vibes and numb inner examination. uncomfortable, epic. edition of 270. comes with a poster. co-released with illinois sweatshop arbor.
including the tracks from their split cassette released last year on dba, this 12″ adds 1 foot village bonus track and 2 black pus bonus tracks. this music is raw, distorted, and totally fucked up drum rock. each 12″ includes a 16″ x 22″ poster that is a full color animal photo with art by brian chippendale screened on top. brian is the dude behind black pus and he is the drummer of lightning bolt. this release is all about drums being punk as fuck. edition of 300. co-released with deathbomb arc.
amazing & insane french acid folk psych one-man-band. this dudes plays everything : acoustic & electric guitars, bass, drums, kazoo, sitar, etc. some totally monster psych tracks! amazing multi-layer vocal harmonies… insanely rare brazilian original pressing on the highly collectible stream machine label, with a unique track sequence & different cover design from the belgian & french pressings, and 10 times as rare as either of those. fragile waxy cover is amazingly clean, as is the vinyl. good luck finding another of these pressings, much less one thats not trashed. absolute best condition you could hope to find for this one. NM-/NM-.
this vinyl-only split-lp release is a meeting of two of the most interesting bands coming out of hamburg, germany at this moment, both continuing the long tradition of both challenging and explorative music coming from this city in the last decades. from krautrock to the origins of the so-called neue deutsche welle from experimental sound artists to some of the finest pop ambient, hamburg is regularly spitting out some of the most singular artists on this planet. both aosuke and black to comm have absorbed influences from all these sources (and a million others) while working towards their very own individual vision. the two brand new tracks by black to comm are continuing the massive organ/voice drone alchemy of the last double-lp while refining and personalizing his sound, reaching new heights of blazing sonic mysticism. aosuke have decided to home-record their new material, continuing their loop-oriented, monotone yet highly melodic ambient journeys. working with repetition and small abstractions, all instrumental “loops” are played by hand and recorded live without overdubs (one of the main principles of the guitar/electronics duo), creating surprisingly concrete dormant and somnambulistic soundscapes while fortunately completely lacking the washy and drowsy effects of most ambient music. black to comm is the one-man project of marc richter who is the brain behind the dekorder label as well. so far he has released two albums on his own label (”rückwärts backwards” and “wir können leider nicht etwas mehr zu tun…”). aosuke is the duo of tobert knopp and ulf schütte, the latter being a label head as well (tape tektoniks). last year they have released their debut “monotone spirits” album co-released by hamburg’s audiolith label and south germany’s meudiademorte label.
this vinyl-only split-lp release is a meeting of two of the most interesting bands coming out of hamburg, germany at this moment, both continuing the long tradition of both challenging and explorative music coming from this city in the last decades. from krautrock to the origins of the so-called neue deutsche welle from experimental sound artists to some of the finest pop ambient, hamburg is regularly spitting out some of the most singular artists on this planet. both aosuke and black to comm have absorbed influences from all these sources (and a million others) while working towards their very own individual vision. the two brand new tracks by black to comm are continuing the massive organ/voice drone alchemy of the last double-lp while refining and personalizing his sound, reaching new heights of blazing sonic mysticism. aosuke have decided to home-record their new material, continuing their loop-oriented, monotone yet highly melodic ambient journeys. working with repetition and small abstractions, all instrumental “loops” are played by hand and recorded live without overdubs (one of the main principles of the guitar/electronics duo), creating surprisingly concrete dormant and somnambulistic soundscapes while fortunately completely lacking the washy and drowsy effects of most ambient music. black to comm is the one-man project of marc richter who is the brain behind the dekorder label as well. so far he has released two albums on his own label (”rückwärts backwards” and “wir können leider nicht etwas mehr zu tun…”). aosuke is the duo of tobert knopp and ulf schütte, the latter being a label head as well (tape tektoniks). last year they have released their debut “monotone spirits” album co-released by hamburg’s audiolith label and south germany’s meudiademorte label.
incredible, spooky-spiritual-drone masterpiece by the most hip german experimentalists black to comm (mark richter) and the free-noise group datashock companied by new member marcel tirkowsky. here all together creating a flavor of blissen alien soundscapes, whirling on, changing and evolving all the time, generating hyperzonic tensions inside the crown-chakra so long that the eyes start to see pulsating flames inside and outside your imagination. rich in colour of sound and for sure not a restless headfuck, but a stony stoned psychedelic vibration of something spiritually exciting, something which reminds the outer inner worlds, and how close they are. the fog of the lake & the ghosts of the forgotten old new days. recorded nearby berlin’s goldmund festival in august 2007, in a place which used to be a summercamp for kids in the times of gdr the point which alone may cause the climbing in such a mystical level. peaceful & strange at the same time. includes 9 minute quicktime video by renate nikolaus! music and video recorded at goldmund festival, wukensee / biesenthal 08/2007. 150 copies.
black to comm is the solo venture of dekorder label boss marc richter. having released two and a half albums on his own label he is slowly establishing himself as one of the more prolific drone artists out there with a forthcoming album on the american digitalis label, a collaborative cd with datashock on ikuisuus, a 7″ on the irish trensmat label and a collaboration with xela in the works. “fractal hair geometry” is richter’s most refined and original work to date, picking up where the electrifying drone works of his monumental double-lp left off. like the last records this album is centered around recordings of a variety of vintage organs. while “wir kennen leider…” often featured pure harmonium sounds and spacious recordings of chuch organ and mellotron, the new album opts for a more electronic, effects-laden sound, sending an old farfisa compact deluxe and casio sk-5 through an armada of analogue & digital effects pedals. the results are massive one-chord drones layered into dense & ecstatic, flickering & pulsating clusters of psychedelic electronic sound. additional wordless vocal effects, hyperventilating & sizzling drum machines and hypnotic violin and guitar noises make for a hyperactive sound that never stands still even though most of the music is pure drones (sometimes consisting of more than 50 recording layers). decidedly simple but gorgeous melodies shine through the mist from time to time, making a black to comm record always much more accessible than your average drone album. there’s even a heavy 4/4 bass drum smuggled into a track dedicated to the late leigh bowery, one of the most enigmatic creative figures of the mid-80’s uk club scene (and singer of minty). guests include jonna karanka (aka kuupuu) on piano, guido mebius on trumpet and current black to comm (live) band members renate nikolaus on violin and ulf schitte (of datashock, aosuke, etc.) adding electronic sounds. along the lines of the music, seminal german artist oliver ross has created a massive multi-layered neon-coloured collage artwork which is printed on special ultra-heavy cardboard stock.
the whole album is very dream-like, mystical and fascinating, like being in the middle of a fog bank and loosing your sense of direction but always knowing that you’ll find your way out one way or the other. – mats gustaffson/the broken face. finally, here’s the vinyl version of the debut album by hamburg’s black to comm. strictly limited edition of 222 copies, hand screened grey cardboard sleeves, full colour insert, postcard and gold stamped labels – sweet stuff.
wir können leider nicht etwas mehr zu tun is the rather weird title for black to comms 2nd album release within 12 months, this time coming out on a gorgeous vinyl-only double-lp with a beautifully strange gatefold sleeve in a limited edition of 500 copies. black to comm is the nom de plume for hamburgs dekorder label head honcho marc richter’s sonic voyages. in 2006 he released a 7″ lathe cut picture disc (”levitation”), his debut album & “rückwärts backwards” on cd and very limited vinyl and compilation tracks for the finnish 267 lattajjaa and ukrainian quasipop labels. while the first album was mainly constructed from dusty vinyl and shellac loops, the new album is based on “real” instruments including several antique organs, electric harmonium, acoustic & electric guitars, bells, clattery percussion, vintage effect pedals and tape loops thereof. richter builds up massive psychedelic one-chord drones, minimal yet dense and heavily layered, full of spacious details and swirling melodies buried within. each track is slowly building, drifting and floating hypnotically into a warm and shimmering black ocean of sonic liquid, creating a mesmerizing and mysterious mass of sound. while most of the works are thick monotone layers of organic sound theres some sort of simple songwriting gleaming constantly through the mist, making this a highly accessible drone album. guest musicians are hamburg visual artist renate nikolaus on electric & acoustic guitars and voice and electro-acoustic musician gregory büttner on trumpet – another great album from this project. sweet packaging too.
quite scarce original copy of this fantastic late date private press acidfolk jewel that has quickly become hugely in demand. easily in the same realm as BOBB TRIMBLE, JEFF EUBANK, T KAIL, etc., but equally in its own bag musically, i personally enjoy this album above any of those.. gentle hallucinogenic psychedelia with gorgeous dreamy male/female duo vocals, lush guitars, flute, synth, bongos, 12-string, electric bass, plenty of reverb, etc. total acid love-nest euphoric vibe. if not for the somewhat dated arp synth it would be very tricky to place this one in time what-so-ever. it has a early 70s feel, but without sounding at all retro. includes the very rare & beautiful thick booklet insert which has lyrics, notes, poetry, and many illustrations printed on thick textured art paper. top copy. booklet is NM. cover has some tiny tiny signs of wear but nearly perfect. same for the vinyl. NM-/NM-.
i’m extremely pleased to announce that james blackshaw will now be releasing his absolutely spellbinding music via young god records. he has received attention as a 12-string guitar prodigy / virtuoso. he used to be in punk bands in england, but then he started listening to people like john fahey, robbie basho, etc., and i assume locked himself in a room for 12 hours a day for several years and just played constantly. it takes intense discipline and a religious commitment to get to the place where he’s at with his instrument. but his music isn’t about his ’skill.’ it’s not showy. it’s deeply meditative — the secret language of a pre-thought, pre-dream place. blackshaw plays soulful and kaleidoscopic, ever-shifting mantra cycles of incredible beauty. just his guitar by itself, with its swirling overtones, cascading notes, and a thousand points of light, resembles an orchestra, but with further orchestration-piano, strings, wind, and vocals-the music is positively cinematic and mesmerizing. the 18-minute-plus gem on this record is ‘arc,’ performed on piano with the sustain pedal on full throttle. blackshaw is joined on this record by joolie wood (current 93, simon finn), and john contreras (baby dee and current 93) on cello. lavinia blackwall (directing hand) is a classically trained singer and contributed vocals. – michael gira… includes cd version of the lp with one extra track.
when uk-native james blackshaw plays his 12-string guitar, something spiritual takes place. performing and recording since 2003, his name is frequently mentioned as one of the foremost modern solo acoustic guitarists. now at the age of 25, blackshaw, an untrained musician born and still residing in the suburban environs of greater london, draws as much inspiration from early religious music, south-asian folk music and composers such as arvo pärt, simeon ten holt, steve reich and charlemagne palestine as he does from john fahey, robbie basho and the early takoma records roster, constantly breaking boundaries in what could be conceived as a somewhat limited medium. in his part improvised and part written songs, blackshaw makes expert use of eastern and western scales, chord changes reminiscent of european classical music and incredibly intricate fingerpicking patterns to make a sound that is both challengingly minimalist, yet warm and approachable to anybody who might hear it, with a rare sensitivity that conveys immense beauty, hope and sadness.
blank dogs are actually singular: it’s the insanely prolific one-man brooklyn-based band of mr. blank dog. we don’t know too much about the biography of the guy behind the bedroom new-wave pop/punk and he’s usually covering his face with masks or bedspreads, but that’s fine. the aura of anonymity allows you to focus on the sounds — and, really, he might be releasing a ton of things, but there’s definitely a higher jam-to-crap ratio. it’s like joy division vocal lines with the cure’s synth and guitar melodies filtered through ancient submerged keyboards and eroded recording equipment. and that voice? all the feedback in the world can’t hide his knack for melody. blank dogs have been making plenty of rumbles in the noisier and more secretive outposts of the underground (half his discography’s sold out), but troubleman unlimited’s just repressed his very recommended full-length on two sides (on yellow vinyl in an edition of 500) and in the red’s releasing a 20-song double lp (or single cd) called under and under . it’s all new material. he’s also playing his first shows in nyc, so if you want to take a peek, you can. all this to say: seems like blank dogs is on his way out of the basement. –stereogum
long form folk-doom-drone excursion comes on in layers, like sediment underneath a raging woodland apocalypse. the yin-and-yang solo projects of wolfgang nessel colliding head-on into one cosmos-worshipping 41-minute shape-shifter of cortex-splitting rifts. edition of: 100.
underwater peoples records is proud to offer alex bleeker’s passion fueled project as our first ever lp release. built solely on love, our label strives to deliver uniquely genuine pieces of artwork. it is a special privilege to find ourselves linked to this heart felt treasure. alex bleeker & the freaks self titled album was recorded live on june 11th, 2009. the bulk of the session took place in the basement of julian’s childhood home, in ridgewood, nj. the group consists of alex bleeker (real estate), matt mondanile (real estate, ducktails), martin courtney iv (real estate) and julian lynch. some of the songs mirror the boys collective disposition, that of a gentle and warm young man. others however, invite the listener in for a glimpse at that same boy’s restless, virile soul. a sensitive type may describe it all as raw, live, honest rock and roll with heart. alex bleeker & the freaks have been friends since high school and as healthy, red blooded american men so often choose to do, they’ve channeled their romantic energies into an electrified musical powerhouse. it’s as classic and genuine as an adolescents playboy collection or a fat, bald man in a red corvette. – up.
original uk copy of this classic supergroup. everybody loves it. original beautiful banned teen nudie gatefold cover. early stampers. cover has drip hole, ‘direct import’ sticker, and is a bit wavy. very little wear otherwise. nice wax. VG++/EX+.
two florida 19 year olds make mature pysch pop, receive blog love from stereogum, i guess i’m floating, indie rock café, and kanye west, sign to kanine records and release debut album “season dreaming”. limited run of cd and vinyl lp with printed inner sleeve and digital download card. track listing: 1.the warm current’s pull 2. heavy cloud hustle 3. the dinosaur ride 4. anxious place 5. the planets explode 6. sleeping habits 7. jimmy dove 8. kissing minutes 9. ghosts 10. shells. vinyl is limited 500 one time pressing only.
warehouse find of the last copies of this 2003 reissue…. very rare arizona psychedelic trio from ‘69. fuzz guitar, psych-y leads and great cuts like ‘ride the ship of fools’, ‘cry for love’, and ‘visions’. plus two incredible bonus tracks never before heard.
the great orthochromatic wheel is the blithe sons first full-length release since 2004. in the years since the california duo of loren chasse and glenn donaldson may have traversed poppy fields and swam to aqua cities though mostly they’ve remained active with their jewelled antler offshoots: ov, of, and child readers (chasse) or skygreen leopards and flying canyon (donaldson) and both in thuja. these five songs combine nature’s melodic pull and minimalist songs forms summoned by a miniature orchestra of eclectic instruments. each lp side flaunts a different depth of the sons, one recorded outdoors and the other inside. the indoor set consists of slow-motion ballads built on hymn-like organ, nylon string guitar, analog drum machine & stark percussion. the outdoor side offers a web of exotic wind-instruments & battery-powered electronics reverberating in cavernous hall cut in the side of a sea-cliff. limited edition of 500 copies. contain a download coupon for mp3 version of the album.
lieven martens (dolphins into the future, taped sounds) and eva van deuren (orphan fairytale, pluim) are sea sponges on this tape. edition of 100… awesome packaging from the this great cassette label as always.
a one night only 5-piece when we were joined by julian bradley, neil campbell and sticky foster in leeds. just what you would hope for, tape loops, drone, vocal damage, confused percussion, reeds etc. a ten legge brew-up.
recorded live at resonance fm. full on duo in kick back mode, trying to burrow out of the airwaves into the listeners spine via tapes, voice, violin, oscillators, percussion and various other junk. a very pleasant magnetic headache.
perhaps the rarest greek rock album, released back in 1972 in very small quantities (300-500copies) and never again re-released in vinyl. here, we talk about a combination of psych-folk and flower power hippy rock with male and female vocals, great melodies and an acid overall atmosphere. acoustic guitars, sometimes heavy and sometimes fuzzy electric guitars, organ, bass and drums create one of the best greek psych albums, although overshadowed and low promoted back then. blue birds was one of the very first greek modern bands as well as one of the most long-lived. although they had started in 1963 as a garage-beat band they delevoped in a hippy band producing some fine singles & #136;êas well as this album- in the early 70’s. as the original release, this reissue is housed in an envelope-like gimmix heavy cover, contains the poster and the greek lyrics sheet. extras are a 4-pages insert with english lyrics and band’s bio and a full-coloured, high quality, psych post-card – killer album and another very high quality exact repro greek reissue. recommended.
once you get past the insanity of the debut lp, this is actually their best to these ears. basically two killer lps in one, as the a side is a bunch of short, tight rural garage pop rockers, while for the b side RANDY HOLDEN takes over the guitar and vocals and lays down a side worth of epic heavy acid guitar psychedelia. different versions of 3 tracks from his monster private press POPULATION II album. all around, a very cool lp. cover with a few small library sticker, VG/EX.
providence’s own cybele collins brings a maelstrom of solo improvisations shredding the strings of her violin furiously, building dense walls that crest only to reveal quiet beautiful melodies underneath. filled out with loose poignant drumming, and housed in dense drawings by the artist, the tape is made up of many short songs, always changing, never dwelling too long on any given theme. the result: a catchy and complex release, that over time one comes to realize has been created with the utmost love and care… out of print. last copy!
new tape from my buddy cybele who’s based in providence… total free violin slashes and carves busted out, then dropping right off to some super quiet and minimal experimentations… one to shred your speakers! awesome stuff, previously had tape on raccoo-oo-oon’s night people label. limited to 60 hand numbered copies with stamped labels and colour covers!
there where only 4 good and rare albums on the danish spectator label: terje, jesper & joachim (which we have just done on lp and now on cd), moses (we are still working on a deal), days (we are about to negotiate a deal) and the rarest of them all blues addicts. what a guitar work this is. ivan horn really kicks ass with his extra heavy guitar. as good as the heavy cream songs, in parts as creative as jimi hendrix. the musical range and the guitar style is as good as the best early eric clapton work with the far out techniques of jimi hendrix. all own composition, long tracks, extra heavy guitar, english vocals & heavy drum sounds. ivan horn: guitars, vocals & kazzo, mich brink: bass, gibber thomsen: vocals & congas, henning aasbjerg: drums. if spectator would have kept rock music their musical style instead of switching to jazz, those 4 bands would have been successful on the international rock circus… recorded denmark, 1970. great crude b&w art, heavy covers, 180gm white vinyl, insert, 450 numbered copies.
local flavor is the fantastic newest shimmer from blues control. while past releases have been beauteous extrapolations into the miasmic core of psychedelia and billowing fog of ambient space, local flavor is the one where all the chickens have come home to roost. the opening track “good morning” is practically a sideways step into boogie rock (horn accompaniment provided by none other than jesse trbovich and kurt vile); with the proper seismic shift, it could almost be heard as an alternate reality take on “re-make/re-model.” it’s easily the band’s longest stomp in the forest of rock since their debut cassette, and, man, them boots leave a bruise! the remaining three tracks morph and ebb harmoniously-in true blues control fashion-the timbre occasionally elegiac, yet more often riffing on a plane that has yet to be transcribed.
as you may or may not know, it can sometimes get pretty hairy working at a record store when some smelly, denim-clad dude walks in asking for the blues. if you’re lucky, he’s at least wearing a belt when you point him over to the records that are now relegated to an open spot on the floor. that’s just one scenario; who doesn’t love those other blues fondly recalled with names like blues addicts and blues creation? and let’s not forget that other queen of the blues— barbara from just farr a laugh. blues control might just be the missing link between van halen and legendary experimentalist henry flynt. they are a duo. lea cho plays swank but grounded atmospheric keyboard parts (think harold budd), through which guitar player and manipulator of assorted junk-on-table russ waterhouse cuts, whittles and lays to waste. it’s a hazy, spaced world that exists between fuzzed distortion, jabbering electronics, and a lazy, stay-in-bed psychedelic glaze, with rhythmic keyboards pulsating below it all a la a guy named florian– and you can choose which one you want. oh yeah, i gotta mention the humid bikini-vibe that permeates the entire album. so, is there a blues angle to it? yeah, but you’ve got to bury yourself in it or dig your way in. come out stinking if you want.
two mysterious no-age beings from the other side of denmark evocates a cassette of no-fi hallucinative waves of broken skies and scorched earth. pure analog hell. edition of 50 – another sweet hand packaged release on this mighty fine label.
in the deep dark recess of our psyche, lies the perverse & primordial urges and desires that many of us know not to act upon. boduf songs (mat sweet) has obviously never been told this, as he perpetually oozes doom in the form of heavy laden and silently destructive music that could best be described as dark, gothic folk. “on the brink…” carries such beauty and brilliance, through sweet’s usual juxtaposition of a gloom ridden acoustic strings & downbeat voice, with the more redemptive radiance of the underlying melody and drone that is a by-product of the main instrumentation. like simultaneously being hugged and punched in the stomach in the same action. side two is occupied by a cover version of morrissey’s “everyday is like sunday”. stripped down and laid bare, a simple structure, accompanied by acoustic guitar, vocals, and xylophone, adding not only a sinister/beguiling childlike element, but also a wonderful uplifting rhythm that contrasts beautifully with the disparaging nature of the lyrics. the word “glorious” doesn’t do it justice. this is music that may make your heart turn black, and shrivel to the size of a newborn baby’s thumb; but it’s music that will leave a smile on your face… even if it is wry. 5ma packaging : outer case card flip-lid box, with button catch, printed letter pressed artist name. housed inside is a fold over letter pressed folder, carrying a standard full colour 7″ sleeve, and a clear 7″ lathe. along side this is two screen printed 7″ inserts, a digitally printed card, and vellum insert, housed inside a vellum envelope. also, each copy has an individual polaroid photo taken by mat sweet himself (in france), and a boduf songs 1″ pin badge. note, this record has no centre label. side a is only distinguishable by feeling for the small notch placed close to the centre hole… beautifully done release on this long-time-coming new label.
65 minutes spread out over 4 sides. presented as a retrospective, including some previously released select tracks, and some not heard before. the style can vary from track to track, some dominated by small sounds and buzzing loops, to epic and beautiful drone pieces, and electro-acoustic improv fused with noise. instruments that are audible include saxophone, guitar, and drum machine. bodyvehicle manages to keep the avant garde classics in mind while still looking forward in a way that few acts can. presented in a black vinyl album, with color art on blue/gold shimmer vellum cover and color on transparent labels. tracks listing is printed on blue shimmer paper, which is glued to the inside. edition of 50 hand stamp numbered copies on hi-bias chrome tapes – instantly out of print. very limited stock.
interest in this has surged recently and quite rightly too, as this is one of the best acid-punk lps ever. clearly inspired by “electric comicbook”-era blues magoos, these long island kids had a problem with both drugs and their attitude! their originals are excellent vox organ/fuzz teen garage psych and the reworked cover versions pretty demented as well. the cough syrup high school-play vibe of “deaf, dumb ¨ blind” must be heard to be believed. not a perfect album, with a few sections that drag on, but the highs are higher than on almost any other lp of this kind. possibly the best on the label, at least if you prefer the 60s teen-garage approach over hippie longhairs. – acid archives… heavy covers, 180gm vinyl, limited to 1000 copies.
described by kris kristofferson as “one of the three best songwriters in the country,” kentucky native jay bolotin’s songs have been championed by the likes of merle haggard and porter wagoner, among many others. yet jay’s eponymous debut – released on the major subsidiary commonwealth united label – had the halflife of a mayfly when it went into circulation in 1970 and today it remains as phantasmic as the prairie ghosts that have long populated his native kentucky. however hasty or uncertain the release of the album may have been some 40 years ago, one thing is certain: in a darkened room in new york city at the end of a kentucky childhood, a 20 year old jay bolotin cut a singularly enchanted album of unhurried, low key loner ballads with the confidence and honesty of a seasoned journeyman. jay bolotin is an unqualified singer songwriter gem that will appeal to fans of leonard cohen, townes van zandt & alex chilton. features kenny lyon on bass & mark taber on piano & harpsichord- both veterans of the providence, rhode island scene, the fugs’ bobby mason on percussion and david mowry on guitar. deluxe 180 gram vinyl featuring new liner notes and lyrics inserts. remastered & reissued for the first time since it’s elusive ‘release’. “dear father” featured on numero group compilation lonesome heroes.
tie yourself on a feedbag of slightly decayed dog bones and crushed plastic kids toys you found in a cheeze whiz dumpster, throw you inhabitations out the window and dance your ass off to these highly damaged, anthemic, home made synth and drum songs. this is analog plunger punk at its best!!!! featuring: members of child bride, dreamhouse, blue shift and riddlin’. 600 pressed. full color cover.
over 70 minutes of beautiful white light healing vibes spread out over 5 songs. all music recorded in the summer of two thousand and six in the “frozen earth cabin” in dublin, except “sea cave” which was recorded live to cassette at lazybird… oversized color covers.
bong are newcastle’s finest doom stoner band, as you’d expect you got distant vocals, totally wild psych guitar, heavy solid drums, but the thing with bong that gives them a totally different vibe from all the weak band is they got a damn sitar in there, and it sounds so damn killer. on the flip we got a slice of quttinirpaaq, we released a cdr by this dude last year to some damn good reviews, its hard to understand how so few people know this dude. it’s basically the one man band of texan matt turner who definitely doesn’t bust out the texas blues or country styles… this isn’t no straight up doom though, opening with totally weirdo keys and feedback, with what sounds like some droning vocals and bizarre clicks, this is pretty out there. that is until three minutes in when matt plugs in and then trashes a drum kit, whilst all this other crazy shit is going on. this is a fucking killer act, as far as i am concerned this is genius, not like any other drone doom vibes going on out there right now. limited to 300 copies.
original gold label pressing of the much rarer 2nd MUSIC MACHINE lp. here the tough fuzzy TALK TALK vibes gets a psychedelic dose that really lights things up while keeping the raw garage edge fully intact. all originals this time, including pair of truly killer snarling garage fuzz acid punkers in ‘double yellow line’ & ‘the eagle never hunts the fly’ and even some moody folk. pretty classic stuff. cover is well worn, but not trashed : neatly tapes seams, bottom seam splitting, fairly mind ring wear front, and rather dirty back. vinyl is better and sounds nice & hot. a fine copy till a clean one comes your way. VG+/VG++.
on earth is the first studio document created by the group, recorded with marcelo spinna at the space in may 2006 with production assistance from pete swanson (d. yellow swans). while previous cd-r releases were entirely improvised, on earth is comprised of three untitled pieces composed by the group with elements of restrained improvisation. musically, each piece has a specific concern, ranging from extremely subtle microtonal shifts to distorted crashes of intervals against one another. on earth captures the reductive bonus sound with all the sustained tones and sparkling textures, but with a more focused and succinct delivery.
outrageous reissue of this masterpiece of european acid folk, originally released in 1977, now issued as 2 super high material audio cds (playable on any cd player — enhanced audio quality that will rearrange your nervous system) housed in a mini-lp style gatefold sleeve accompanying a 144-page book reproducing the original engravings by bandleader juan arkotxa…. a unique combination of recordings and artwork which stands up as an enduring testament of the fertile hippie scene which flourished in the baleric islands during the seventies. known to record collectors and psych/folk/prog music aficionados alike, this multicultural band formed in the island of mallorca in the mid-’70s and recorded a beautiful (and outrageously scarce) album which has gained cult status as years passed by. the book of am was originally devised as a beautifully illustrated book focused on various world folklore and traditions, coupled with 4 lps which would represent a musical. this (never completed) 4lp set would correspond to the four phases of day (dawn, morning, afternoon, night). only the first of these records (morning) would eventually see the light of day in a tiny private pressing which changes hands nowadays for obscene amounts of money. a round-the-world trip through the folklore, legends, lore and cosmogonies of some of the world’s cultures, from ancient egypt to celtic traditions… top quality new import only reissue of this incredible album. if you missed the mega-limited & long gone wah-wah reissue, grab this one quick. highly recommended.
the cathedral of junk was started in 1988 in austin texas as a backyard art project and has continually grown ever since. brett humphrey of the band x=x set up this show and when one of the bands backed out at the last moment i asked the band lead sister ii (joshua hume) to play even though i had never met him. i saw that lead sister ii was on the ikuisuus label, liked his music, and figured since we both lived in austin we should play a show together!! it turned out that it was his last day in austin before moving to japan. he was a very thoughtful polite young guy who played very intriguing music so now we have this cassette release on ikuisuus of two great austin texas bands meeting each other and playing together for the first time!!! enjoy. – carlton crutcher, book of shadows
2nd private press solo release from rafi of death chants, aswara, etc. more excellent smoked out late night sounds. pure space folk. 2 side long tracks. lovely hand water colored heavy art paper covers, with hand written text. numbered edition of only 76 copies. recommended!
these three lps were originally privately pressed by the artist(s) in minuscule editions sometime in this new century. it appears that very few copies were circulated outside a close circle of acquaintances and it was only by chance/luck that they found their way to us. each lp contained no information whatsoever, the only hint was the name stamped on the plain white jacket. clouding matters even further was the fact that each of the three albums bore a different moniker. musically the lps share a consistent solitary vision, one that treads an inward-looking path that leads to far-reaching psychedelic excursions.”boots” is a prime example of the range of these albums. side one features five tracks of acoustic guitar and raw vocal accompaniment heavy on the loner vibes. the flip changes directions entirely, offering a wild ride of percussion and electronics. likewise,”c.c – live at rainbows end” follows a similar course, although the mood is somewhat less solemn (though no less introspective) on the tracks featuring voice and guitar. the counterpoint here is the near side-long track of barely audible field recordings from an unrecognizable location.”snake & remus – no tape outside” is a continuation of sound and thought. interchangeably piano, electronics and percussion supplement the songwriter, adding a haunting layer to the already subdued mood. the final side contains instrumental passages of processed guitar strum that weave delicate waves. the lps are presented in a box, its own cryptic coffin perhaps, with individual stamped jackets consistent with the original lps. as it says, “it’s just a box man”… very gone stuff here that fits right in with the best of the ultra underground 90s private press vortex. recommended… possible connection to those long gone terry & jim collins lps, maybe arian sample & tommy roundtree too? you take a listen and decide….
long regarded as musical pioneers, boredoms have continually pushed sonic boundaries and inspired musicians for over 20 years. their albums and their performances defy categorization, each one a completely unique event. after only being released on cd in japan, thrill jockey is proud to bring super roots 10 to the us. the album is only available as a limited 2 x 12” release. the album is produced by eye and all the artwork was created and designed by eye as well. super roots 10 features a remix from norwegian artist lindstrøm who has released music on the label smalltown supersound and has also done remixes for franz ferdinand, lcd soundsystem, and the juan mcclean. also featured is a remix from japanese artist altz who has recorded albums for bear funk and jet set records japan and previously done remixes for the boredoms in addition to tal m. klein, cro-magnon, and harp on mouth sextet. boredom’s music is very rarely available domestically on vinyl. this 2×12” is pressed on two high quality virgin vinyl lps at rti and is cut at 45 rpm for maximum fidelity. includes a 24”x 24” full-color poster of artwork from eye. super roots 10 is limited to 2,000 copies. this is sure to sell out upon release.
we are now ready to present to you the vinyl edition of the “altar” album. this very special triple-vinyl version features completely over the top packaging that alot of time, care, effort, love and $ went into! the heavy cardboard gatefold jacket has a 14 page color booklet within as well as a special third pocket (on the right hand pocket of the jacket) that contains the bonus 3rd lp. the booklet features exclusive imagery photos, and liner notes from kim thayil (soundgarden)! each of the three records come in specifically designed black (even on the inside) innersleeves. the 3rd lp “bonus track”: her lips were wet with venom / (satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas) is a 28+ min. epic journey that is a result of both sunn 0))) and boris with dylan carslon (earth) engaged in a completely improvised, no holds-barred, mind – “altering” drone nirvana. dark, powerful and ultimately up-lifting! … total monster here with some truly sick packaging. limited to only 1000 copies and instantly vanished. just a few here, so don’t sleep.
totally insane & wonderful art object here. price is a doozy, but this thing is superb. this special japanese only box set version is limited to only 500 copies. includes a full 2nd lp of bonus material, both lps pressed on audiophile clear, instead of black, vinyl, a dvd with full packaging, as well as a 50 page, full color, hard cover, embossed, deluxe cloth bound book… all packaged together in a heavy clear plastic box with irridescent metallic printed cover and official seal. yowzer. just one copy left here!
long gone limited to 500 copy reissue on this collectible label. smokin’ west coast heavy blues psych with consistently burning electric guitars moves through the whole album. heavy 60s style gatefold cover with extensive notes. very clean copy. NM-/NM- $50.00
second breath of the occultists. alchemical dispersal and hex dilution. features one member each from brothers of the occult sisterhood, terracid and 6majik9. formation like a triangle but with fewer angles, a single point. drifting outsider strum and trance while watching the suns light fade and the colors shift, then inside amongst the cables and fields, under a flowers thought. free jizz? … nice hand made packaging as you’d expect.
new cdr from this american experimentalist who’s had previous releases on reverb worship and basses frequences. six tracks across only 19 minutes, totally far out dream tone keys blending into one another pushing you into an almost nightmarish state of mind. eternal could almost work as a 70s italian horror soundtrack with its minimal blurred humming almost reminiscent of some kind of devil organ. limited to 100 copies. pro-manufactured cdrs with on disc print.
previously reissued on cd by sunbeam, now issued on deluxe lp format as well; 180 gram pressing. the third and final album by the edinburgh-based duo of david mcniven (ex-human beast) and angie rew was barely released in 1971, but has gone on to become one of the most treasured “acid folk” albums of all time. comprising the epic, 21-minute title track and four unforgettable stand-alone songs, amaryllis features a heady, trippy blend of true acoustic melodies as well as outstanding support from musicians including danny thompson and terry cox of pentangle, and is an essential purchase for all fans of psychedelic singer-songwriting… highly recommended lp sounding better then ever on nice audiophile vinyl. nice!
mckinley jones (ex-expo ‘70) dollops out a spoonful of star-gazing cosmic folk/astral flower picking, full of fly-by guitar buzz and synth warbles, melted field recordings intertwined, dipping from dark vibes to light all the way to the melodious happy ending. a short but sweet collection full of interesting twists and turns in a cohesive vision of nights laid out in the grass dreaming of blooming lands. tied up in wrap-around sewn wallpaper border pouches with an insert and a flower bud. edition of 50.
james blackshaw & jozef van wissem form a holy alliance on this palindromatic masterwork… totally fantastic album of lifted lute & 12 string bliss. limited to 1000. very recommended.
here’s an assemblage of seemingly disparate recordings, including one tale of selling clam chowder to the russians. it’s not instrumental per se, but, as the title suggests, contains ‘no sung words.’ think of it as the appetizer for what david brant (you’ve seen him playing bass in vollmar) has up his sleeve with this exciting new project.
wild slab from this minneapolis brother/sister duo, ripping through some very damaged high energy garage rawk mischief. white stripes for acid heads? who knows – sweet eye-popping screenprinted covers. some are glow-in-the-dark style, some are silver. both are lovely. edition of 500.
newest release on big blood’s tiny private cdr label from s. br. oak of upside-down cross, deceh, etc. seriously zoned-out ultra lo-fi hiss saturated acoustic ragas, machinery hums, cut-up meditations, and an awesome totally blown-out version of ‘dark is the color of my true loves hair’… lovely screen printed doubled-sided art paper covers with inserts. nice.
…we like to play with fire and also botos like this… flaming tunes catching with angels chants… we accept the bet for the winner!!another 9 crazy trip from the massive band from blissland handmade hard cardboard limited to 116 copies.
as far as the southern hemisphere goes, australia’s budding underground has often played second fiddle to that of it’s island neighbor, new zealand. but a new crop of aussies is levelling the playing field. leading the way is the brother/sister duo of michael and kristina donnelly aka brothers of the occult sisterhood. these cosmic travelers are soaked to the bone in dust, like relics from the past. they speak only in tongues and send out shortwave psychedelic radio transmissions into the bleeding edges of drugged-out folk sludge. botos’ organic compositions are familiar to many by now. after a string of cd-r releases on time-lag, celebrate psi-phenomenon, and others, this is their first pro-pressed offering. building on transcendent themes and saturating everything in an all-encompassing puff of bong smoke. endless walls of instrumentation create artificial bounderies that the donnellys destroy with far-reaching, hypnotic drones. by the time “goodbye” comes to a grinding halt, it feels like the stuff of legend. brothers of the occult sisterhood are only interested in blowing your skull to smithereens while cradling you in their arms. they are simply magnificent, and there aren’t many doing it better these days. the first 500 copies come in silkscreened sleeves done by the new zealand crazies at united fairy moons.
as far as the southern hemisphere goes, australia’s budding underground has often played second fiddle to that of it’s island neighbor, new zealand. but a new crop of aussies is levelling the playing field. leading the way is the brother/sister duo of michael and kristina donnelly aka brothers of the occult sisterhood. these cosmic travelers are soaked to the bone in dust, like relics from the past. they speak only in tongues and send out shortwave psychedelic radio transmissions into the bleeding edges of drugged-out folk sludge. botos’ organic compositions are familiar to many by now. after a string of cd-r releases on time-lag, celebrate psi-phenomenon, and others, this is their first pro-pressed offering. building on transcendent themes and saturating everything in an all-encompassing puff of bong smoke. endless walls of instrumentation create artificial bounderies that the donnellys destroy with far-reaching, hypnotic drones. by the time “goodbye” comes to a grinding halt, it feels like the stuff of legend. brothers of the occult sisterhood are only interested in blowing your skull to smithereens while cradling you in their arms. they are simply magnificent, and there aren’t many doing it better these days. the first 500 copies come in silkscreened sleeves done by the new zealand crazies at united fairy moons.
they’re back…your favorite australian improv band was everywhere from 2004 to 2007. so many great releases out on digitalis, student of ducay, mymwly, root strata…and then a little break happened. since a couple of months the collective has returned, mostly with 6majik9 records. now we’re proud to release the first botos cd-r for a long time. recorded in 2008, team lead by drummer michael donnelly features joel stern on guitar for a free improv jam full of percussion and electricity, far beyond the psyche folk genre. artwork by michael donnelly. 100 copies.
one track, 45 minutes of sonic tripping. many many parts seamlessly (seemingly) flowing in and out of one another. tribal, witchy, cataclysmic. dig it. music from down under. way down under. features incredible new art from cory card designed specifically for this release. edition of 123.
original, sealed tapes from the 80s, although she updated the dates
every time she did a new pressing (sounds of the sea is from 1981 but
says 1990)… joanna brouk was an extremely early new age type musician who had a radio show on kpfa even before hearts of space. she put out five tapes of music recorded between 1976 and 1982. you can hear an early interview (1972) and some of her most minimal and severe drone music via this link: http://disquiet.com/2008/02/28/joanna-brouk/ … two side-length pieces — maggis flute and healing music. maggi is maggi payne of lovely records fame, today an instructor at mills college. this long improvisation based on brouks directions later provided the basis for a short symphonic piece by brouk in the mid 80s. healing music (1976) is one of brouks first piano works, a self-taught rondo of deep, hypnotic power. – yoga.
original, sealed tapes from the 80s, although she updated the dates every time she did a new pressing (sounds of the sea is from 1981 but says 1990)… joanna brouk was an extremely early new age type musician who had a radio show on kpfa even before hearts of space. she put out five tapes of music recorded between 1976 and 1982. you can hear an early interview (1972) and some of her most minimal and severe drone music via this link: http://disquiet.com/2008/02/28/joanna-brouk/ … brouks most unusual, ambitious, and remarkable recording consists of two side-long suites, atavesta, and the sailor and the nymph. lonesome whistles, flutes, drones whale songs, and wordless vocal wails suggest the experimental album kate bush never made, or a de-progged “sunborne” by constance demby. a startling, haunting work, highly recommended. – yoga.
original, sealed tapes from the 80s, although she updated the dates
every time she did a new pressing (sounds of the sea is from 1981 but says 1990)… joanna brouk was an extremely early new age type musician who had a radio show on kpfa even before hearts of space. she put out five tapes of music recorded between 1976 and 1982. you can hear an early interview (1972) and some of her most minimal and severe drone music via this link: http://disquiet.com/2008/02/28/joanna-brouk/ … brouks last tape (for now) finds her revisiting old themes explored on earlier recordings with the addition of digital synths. the sounds are still cosmic and weird and way ahead of the curve. great j card cover photo features ms. brouk blissing out in the woods.” – yoga.
original, sealed tapes from the 80s, although she updated the dates
every time she did a new pressing (sounds of the sea is from 1981 but says 1990)… joanna brouk was an extremely early new age type musician who had a radio show on kpfa even before hearts of space. she put out five tapes of music recorded between 1976 and 1982. you can hear an early interview (1972) and some of her most minimal and severe drone music via this link: http://disquiet.com/2008/02/28/joanna-brouk/ … early san francisco experimental music figure bill maraldo achieves remarkable, just slightly off piano tones on the side-length title piece. side two, chimes and bells / winter chimes / golden cloud layers finds brouk combining piano tapes with saron, electric piano, and moog. – yoga.
bruce blucher and paul cahill (both of trash) hook up with drummer bo martak (king loser) and singer viv crowe for a one-off single from 1994 – great long gone dose of new zealand underground lo-fi folkrock, with great female vocals and good vibes all over. on bill meyer’s excellent and all too brief roof bolt label.
as atlantic records partner and president jerry wexler said to phil spector (who released the lp via a distribution deal with warner bros.): ‘thank you for the test pressing on lenny, i think it’s fantastic. many of the bits in this lp surpass in brilliance, insight and compassion anything i’ve heard of lenny’s. i had come to the point where his juridical musings were beginning to put me off, and i was beginning to his obsession with his trial (and trials) as a bore. i have a new insight. lenny really achieves new dimensions as a prophet when he addresses himself to the nature of the law, the judge and the policemen in the same sense as the old testament prophets did when the attacked kings and commoners alike, exposing the unending cop-outs and rationalizations which with people protect their paltry possessions and nurse their hard-won neuroses and precious foibles. those in power are better able to perpetuate their grip on their baggage, both material and psychic, than those they oppress; but both haves and have-nots are uptight in this regard. when lenny is really popping and cooking, as he is in this lp, i get so turned on that i get a euphoric kick. it is a case of terrific rapport and shared viewpoint, and the electric like viewpoint, and an electric-like phenomenon and awareness takes place, perhaps what james joyce refers to as an “epiphany” in portrait of the artist. lenny induced this in me many times in clubs, but i don’t remember it happening listening to his records until this time.’… perfect SEALED NM+ original copy with very small cutout.
his rarest & best. original 1970 WHITE LABEL PROMO pressing. absolutely perfect brooding, drifting, freeform avant psych folk masterwork. just stunning. great fidelity. timing strip on cover. faintest wear, sharp corners, tight seams. original label inner sleeve. very clean labels & vinyl, a lite paper scuff or two away from perfect.
what needs to be said about a band that invents a new dance for every song they make and play flute by hanging it from a car window during their tours? the wind plays the flute like buffle their casios, percussions and guitars. so we hear a pure feast of love and joy. flux of funny sounds meet clumsy and naive repetition in a way that would make holger czukay hot of jealousy in his pool. and there’s nothing better in life than to be hanging out in the breezing streets of belgian winter and be saved by buffle feeding you different kinds of vegetarian pizza slices – newest lal lal lal cassette. recommended & limited.
bull at his most righteously drugged, this third release is a mere two songs spread over a looped path of colored time. bull as guru. bull as shaman. e pluribus unum takes his past triumphs and brings them higher, to an acid-singed multi-colored height. at the end of the day, bull’s prowess on the guitar wins over everything and the result is an answer to the psychedelic wonder-bands that sprang into the scene since his last record. the instrumental answer to ‘in-a-gadda-da-vida.’ original artwork… 180gm vinyl, heavy 60s style covers. originally issued by vanguard in 1963. fantastic album! his masterpiece.
the debut release from the man who defined the folk guitar ’60s explosion. blending eastern and western styles, living on the jazz/blues line, bull’s guitar playing has influenced anyone and everyone even loosely associated with the new weird america. featuring the legendary jazz drummer billy higgins on the side-long song ‘blend’ — a song that started a genre. original artwork… 180gm vinyl, heavy 60s style covers. originally issued by vanguard in 1963. fantastic album!
considered to be one of his finest moments, bull’s second record goes beyond his first, wearing an electric halo while he continues to explore the boundaries of the guitar. ‘blend 2,’ his answer to his first record’s opus ‘blend,’ is a must have for all of those who love john fahey and six organs of admittance. a ghostly, warm record as a whole: bull is on top of his game and once again reinventing the way the ear hears the hand as it plays the guitar. original artwork… 180gm vinyl, heavy 60s style covers. originally issued by vanguard in 1963. fantastic album!
it’s not often you come across an artist you can genuinely refer to as a ‘cult legend,’ but vashti bunyan is truly that. a full thirty-five years after her only previous album, the singer returns with a new solo work, her first in all these years, and it is a breathtakingly beautiful album. far from some kind of appendage tacked onto the end of an amazing story and a past classic, lookaftering is a fully beautiful album in its own right. produced by fellow edinburgh resident max richter (who has a wonderful solo album of his own, blue notebooks), and co-arranged with bunyan, it’s a rich, beautifully arranged and stirring album. developing gradually and organically — with work initially taking place between richter and bunyan’s homes, and then at various studios in edinburgh, london and glasgow — lookaftering is anchored around bunyan’s voice and picked acoustic guitar, and richter’s piano playing and arranging. its instrumentation includes a string quartet, oboe, harp, french horn, recorder, flute, hammer dulcimer, glasses, harmonium, and rhodes piano, and it features contributions from joanna newsom, devendra banhart, adem, adam pierce (mice parade), robert kirby (nick drake), otto hauser and kevin barker (espers, currituck county).
Originally released way back in 1965 on the Decca label (as just ’Vashti’, no Bunyan), “Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind” was actually the young London-based singer’s debut record. Written by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, the song was handed to Vashti by Rolling Stones manager/guru Andrew Loog Oldham, who had recently discovered her via an industry friend. Vashti was put in the studio to record the song with the backing of a full orchestra. The track was backed by her own beautiful song, “I Want To Be Alone” on the B-side and released as a 7″-inch single in May 1965. Despite a whirlwind of promotion around the release and some very positive reviews, the single flopped and Vashti subsequently left the Decca label to pursue more pared-down ambitions. Remastered from a rare existing copy of the original 7-inch, “Some Things…” is revealed as a classic Stones-style pop stomper with a rich, full orchestral effect and a centre-point of Vashti’s inimitable vocal. Both eternal yet very much of its time, the record may have gained a slight patina of crackle and pop, yet has lost none of its charm through the decades, and somehow still manages to sound thoroughly fresh and full of wonder… limited to 1000 & recommended.
members: clay ruby – feedback, voice, paia 4700, samples, microphones, homemade oscillators, metal, organs, earth, distortion, delay, insect, reverb, electric piano and analog tape. burial hex first made itself known to aurora borealis a few years ago when browsing obscure blackened electronic treats online. the subsequent purchase delivered a rather bizarre cassette tape, totally without markings, and a cryptic, darkly printed simple cover bearing ancient symbols and occult schematics: the curses of earth, indeed. it conjured all sorts of imaginings — nocturnal rites, lonely vigils with archaic analog equipment, moonlight, madness. in 2007, aurora borealis found itself face-to-face with burial hex across the strings of the ether, in communication via email, almost wholly by accident and coincidence. taking this to be a sign, perhaps the hand of destiny, a deal was secured to release something. more instinct than reaction, no one knew what to expect. the ‘oppressive necro electronics’ of the recordings heard so far gave little idea of what lay in store, of the new depths to be explored, the madness to be embraced. initiations, the debut recording for aurora borealis, is a lengthy proposition. clocking in at one hour thirteen minutes, it represents a journey, a metaphysical odyssey of uncertain outcome. from the psycho-religious clamor of ‘will to the chapel’ with its jihadic cries, through to the somnambulant, subterranean oscillations of ‘8 pentacles,’ the way ahead is far from clear, the atmosphere claustrophobic and threatening. for fans of prurient, wolf eyes, whitehouse, dead raven choir, throbbing gristle, nurse with wound, masonna.
digital version of red records #1. a lucky few got to hear this little gem as the tiny self released cdr edition, but here’s the real deal. an absolutely lovely album and surely joshua’s finest dose yet. oozing with a perfectly warm lo-fi bedroom glow, and full of joshua’s most direct & achingly melancholy song forms. totally hitting a whole new level of intimate vibrations, full of fragile hushed vocals, gentle acoustic guitar plucking, somber dirges, and electronic bagpipe mantras. beautifully formed lyrics step up the forefront as a rare treat, and the effect is just as stunning as it is simple. we just can’t get enough of this one. the kind of record you’ll want to spin again & again to soothe a busy mind… truly psychedelic folk music for late night soul searching. same music & art as the vinyl version, but packed in a mini lp style heavy gatefold cover with full color art, japanese woven inner sleeve, etc. edition of 1000 copies.
red records #1… a lucky few got to hear this little gem as the tiny self released cdr edition, but here’s the real deal. an absolutely lovely album and surely joshua’s finest dose yet. oozing with a perfectly warm lo-fi bedroom glow, and full of joshua’s most direct & achingly melancholy song forms. totally hitting a whole new level of intimate vibrations, full of fragile hushed vocals, gentle acoustic guitar plucking, somber dirges, and electronic bagpipe mantras. beautifully formed lyrics step up the forefront as a rare treat, and the effect is just as stunning as it is simple. we just can’t get enough of this one. the kind of record you’ll want to spin again & again to soothe a busy mind… truly psychedelic folk music for late night soul searching… lusciously hand packaged in a custom creamy art paper heavy 60s style gatefold cover with full size, full color paste-on front artwork, screen printed back cover & interior, printed labels, hand stamped spine, and pressed on 180gm bright red vinyl. hand numbered limited edition of 300 copies.
originally released in a micro-run of 200 in 1996 as the first release on joshua’s own feather one’s nest label, it is with deep honor and respect spirit of orr has prepared this reissue version with hopes that it will be as much a treasure to hold as the original. we have carefully used the same stampers as the original, however this edition will be pressed in colored vinyl. also included will be a booklet containing art from joshua, and an extensive set of liner notes with impressions of this record from several of your favorite record heads, angela sawyer, clint simonson, john olson, thurston moore, willie lane and more. this reissue is housed in recycled lp jackets much like the original, though this time the jackets will be reversed with taped spines and a reversal of the original art… great album finally available again! recommended!
hototogisu-the duo of uk experimentalist matthew bower (skullflower, sunroof et al.) and new york-based-guitarist marcia bassett (double leopards, zaimph, ghq)-are all about impact, about taking the physical aspect of sound and hallucinating it to the point of abstraction, so much so that for all of the complexity of their music it often sounds like it’s standing still, simply hanging in the air and vibrating without anything approaching a ‘plot’ to bring it to a point. by contrast, burning star core, the trio of drummer trevor tremaine, robert beattu on electronics (both of whom also play in hair police) and c. spencer yeh on violin and electronics, are more overtly propulsive, usurping ‘classic’ rock form via electronics and drums but still focused on momentum, on the jam as a form of structural gravity, on the unfolding of action via development over time.this all-improvised studio meeting is the perfect reconciliation of both tendencies, of hototogisu’s obsessive layering of strata after strata of violently conceived noise and of burning star core’s epic, post-kraut thunder-punk style. -david keenan, glasgow, november 2008.
limited to only 500 copies worldwide on deluxe 10″ vinyl. includes exclusive artwork insert designed by hair police’s robert beatty! the first in a 6 part series from the avant garde’s young upstart c. spencer yeh. burning star core may not be a name familiar to everyone, but in the murky world of the avant garde he is already something of a legend. notching up performances with chris corsano, thurston moore, john olson (of wolf eyes), jessica rylan, hototogisu and many more, his name has become synonymous with the new wave of avant-noise. ‘amelia’ is the first disc in a five part series which collects rarities from almost ten years of recording activity, and here we see him exploring the bubbling psychedelic world of synthesizer heavy krautrock. from the initial synth-heavy rumbling and growling of ‘i wanna make a supersonic woman of you’ it is clear that yeh is on a mission to throw your brain into a psychedelic overload of colour and creativity, but it is on the flipside – the eleven minute ‘the point of departure is no return’ that he really gets into the progressive spirit and conjures up images of tangerine dream at their best. micro-arpeggios are layered underneath gasping winds of analogue synthesizer to create something which should really be a soundtrack to some kind of late-70s fantasy sci-fi film. this is the lighter side of burning star core, but shows the kind of creativity and bubbling genius you can only expect from the mind of one so renowned – recommended.
what can i say? burnt hills. stripped down to a quartet here, burnt hills actually play louder than ever before. you want heavy? you want merciless, unflinching, guitar-wielding thug-beauty? look no further. cd-r edition of 123 with spray-stenciled vellum envelopes and mad-dog insert.
minotaur surf party firing nitrous arrows into a flaming headswim universe, a wealth of decomposing monster saturated jams, dripping n melting in a heavy golden like syrup… edition of 50.
latest missive from this free rock/noise/psych collective based in the wilds of albany, ny. easily their loudest and most pure assault on the senses yet. wild, wooly, and singular-minded in its pursuit of psychedelic krautrock-inspired oblivion. we can’t say it any better than the good folks at aquarius: “fans of freaked out psychedelic punch ups, dizzying clattery outsider free rock and getting super high and diving head first into a huge pile of drums and guitars will feel right at home.” keep an eye out for upcoming burnt hills releases on the lotus sound, qbico, ruby red, and ruralfaune too.
take a headfirst dive into a boiling pool of wild vibes. side a was vibrated into being on 3/2/09 at the helderberg house with five heads shredding to live. side b was vibrated into being on 3/19/09 at bard college with nine heads living to shred… full color paste-on art, limited & numbered edition of 99 copies only.
shred your head as five blistering guitars rage with wah wah fury, a blown out bass drops the heavy anchor, an eight armed drummer pummels through the basement night and an amplified xylophone sprays broken glass into the clouds… edition of 100. color paste-on art.
shred your head as five blistering guitars rage with wah wah fury, a blown out bass drops the heavy anchor, an eight-armed drummer pummels through the basement night and an amplified xylophone sprays broken glass into the clouds. reissue of the yod tapes cd-r. edition of 99 copies.
psych trip genius, burnt hills drop a 57min wild wild ride to the best possible place. truly albany’s best. play it loud and you will find all sorts of lost zones there! play it very loud and you will be re-born.
soar through the cosmos as five guitars radiate microwaves towards the sun’s core, a bass levitates over the rings of saturn and shimmering percussive clatter seals up a black hole at the edge of the universe…. co-released with noiseville…. edition of 300 copies, with paste-on art front & back.
soar through the cosmos as five guitars radiate microwaves towards the sun’s core, a bass levitates over the rings of saturn and shimmering percussive clatter seals up a black hole at the edge of the universe….co-released with noiseville…. edition of 300 copies, with paste-on art front & back.
dig the raging thunderstorm of sound as four squealing, reeling and paint peeling guitars thrash riffs, tones and cosmic bursts, a massive bass throbs and centers, propulsive dive bomb drums explode constantly and the sweet glaze of an insistent chiming xylophone rings out from the eye of the storm….one track, one hour and twenty seven seconds long….cover art by bill nace…
burnt hills meets soil sing through me for a ravaging psych blowout. features members of sunburned hand of the man, aethr myth’d, century plants, feathers, wovoka, and more! hot thick summer air pervades this one, it’s an absolutely raw and ripping 62 minute joyride. a battalion of blazing psych guitars chasing each others’ tails, pounding tribal drums, hypnotic bass grooves, a twinkling xylophone, beautifully twisted vocals, and even some magic oboe work from our danish pal troels make this a very unique document. meetings this intense don’t happen often, and there’s a reason! edition of 100.
in january 1971 legendary minneapolis psychedelic band the c a quintet, creators of one of the most sought-after and celebrated underground albums of the ’60s, trip thru hell, decided to call it a day and play one final swan-song at lake pepin high school. three tracks from this gig were hastily issued by the band in the early ’80s in response to a bootleg of the trip thru hell lp that had then recently surfaced. whilst many thought then that this was the last that would ever be heard of the band again, earlier this year two surprising events happened – 1, the original master-tape of the gig was discovered. 2, it was found to contain material far stronger than that on the old live album and also to include previously unheard original material. the band perform storming versions of ’60s classics like ‘born to be wild’ and ‘badge’ alongside originals ‘4am in new york city’ and the closing number ‘china clipper’ – the final song ever performed by the c a quintet. this will be a limited edition one-off custom pressing featuring new liner notes specially written for this edition by band founder and leader ken erwin who also supervised the remastering of these recordings – preveusly unreleased recordings. one limited limited to 500 press. 180gm vinyl. big double sided insert.
previously reissued on cd by sunbeam, now issued on deluxe 2lp format as well. vinyl mastering from original tapes at abbey road studios, pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl. featuring incredible string band founder clive palmer, c.o.b. made some of the most imaginative and moving music of their time, and this 1972 masterpiece is considered by many to be the finest folk record ever to emerge from the british isles. an overwhelmingly beautiful and compelling collection of songs set to eastern-tinged arrangements, it’s presented here as a double lp, with a whole extra disc’s worth of bonus material (including both sides of their rare 45), as well as a deluxe gatefold sleeve, making it the most comprehensive edition of the album ever assembled… best reissue yet of this uk acidfolk classic. recommended.
in the depths of a montana winter, jasmine dreame wagner set out to record the ten tracks of searchlight needles with contributions from electronics duo cole moeller and michael wanzenried. wagner herself lends her vocals to her acoustic, electric and baritone guitars, recorders, xylophone and keyboards as scraps of distorted violin and cello itch between sounds. the result is a journey from the ice-packed slopes and fire-smoked summers of western montana to the deserts of nevada, the rolling badlands of the dakotas and the black swamps of
north carolina. each cd is hand-stamped and assembled in a limited edition of 300.
recorded in a new england pine copse and a concrete brooklyn basement, cabinet of natural curiosities’ first full length cd-r explores the rusted edges of the backwoods. each cd-r is enclosed in a hand-assembled metallic silver envelope with a silk flower embellishment. 250 copies assembled, released in five editions of 50.
clare hubbard (caethua) and andy neubauer (uke of spaces, flak mask, impractical cockpit) play the koner synth holy carols. edition of 100 with white imprinting and letterpress inserts… real sweet sounds from these local zoners. awesome package too.
finland’s marko neumann aka cahier returns with his second blast of warm air straight from the arctic. lilting drones that are conjured from a variety of sources, some electronic, some acoustic, dance like magical lights just out of reach, but close enough to feel. this sequel to cahier’s first foxglove offering puts the puzzle pieces in place so that the listener can hear the full scope of his range. the short bursts are like chance meetings in the street; like a place of refuge from the cold. cahier’s latest continues neumann’s quest to touch the sun.
dennis callaci and simon joyner are two of the foremost channelers of “the song.” simon is known for his solo recordings, with releases on jagjaguwar, truckstop, shrimper, and sing eunuchs!, among others. dennis plays in refrigerator and was the sole voice behind the criminally underheard paste. they are singer-songwriters in that they write songs and sing them, but that appellation dumbs down and sanitizes what they do. i think it is more accurate to say that both have a way of tapping into the stream of collective creativity that flows from god-knows-when through to the present and beyond. their songs have a gravity to them, an”old soul,” as it were, that cannot be mistaken. there are a few stylistic precursors to their work precursors that have been well-documented previously but the songs they write and sing tap into something more ineffable, timeless, and grave. stranger blues set comprises three of simon’s songs and two by dennis, all recorded live in the callaci living room to what seems to be a single microphone. the nontraditional (or better: non-studio) setting adds a palpable sensation of space to the recordings by space i do not simply mean the warmth of the room tone, but actual space: backing vocals and spare piano or guitar lines arise in such a way that you are aware of the physical geography of the room. you can hear simon singing along with dennis from an actual distance away; his voice is (literally) distant and all the more forlorn. the guitar lines that dennis adds to flesh-out simon’s songs have the same eerie effect. this sense of space underscores two seemingly contradictory strengths about stranger blues. on one hand, these songs are beautifully lonely and spare, highlighted by the echoes and distance in the room. at the same time, it is clear that two songwriters who know and love the other’s work, who are very much working in tandem to build upon each others strengths. single edition of 500 one-sided lps. silkscreened and hand assembled chipboard jackets in a”traditional” catsup plate brown butchers tape design scheme.
traditions don’t often go softly into the night. they may fest under the surface of things for a while, but they don’t truly disappear. the lost domain’s john henry calvinist prepares a set of limestone-dusted originals which snake their way through the muddy rivers of days gone by. dirt-soaked radio transmissions from distant dimensions scorch the reels and get things moving. there’s enough space in these towering guitar explorations to suck marrow from the sky. these back porch acoustic blues sing to the heavens,”come down and get me, i’m just waiting – ‘ edition of 100.
US press spiral vertigo label SEALED original from this way overlooked liverpool talent. this lp gushes with ideas and hits on everything from acidfolk to full on psych to classic uk prog featuring members of BADFINGER. gatefold cover. SEALED NM.
the sole album of the canterbury music festival. only 150 copies were pressed in 1968. the album has an almost willfully secret pop-sike masterpiece of sorts – on the obscure and collectable bt puppy label owned by the legendary doo wopper tokens. this album contains the complete bt puppy recordings, and is one of the rarest albums in the entire collectable soft rock genre! – pretty awesome dreamy sun soaked lite psych obsurity. amazing heavy cover exact repro with insert, poster, obi, and heavy audiophile vinyl. limited to 500 copies.
many people watching the ebay auctions were surprised seeing this album selling for nearly 3500 euro each. before that, this album was completely unknown. captain marry are from glasgow, scotland and recorded this demo album in 1974, released in a tiny pressing on the thor label, hopefully to get a emi or chrysalis deal. they wanted to record only a single but came up with a complete album of self-composed tracks. since it was not that easy for a scottish band to get attention down in london, this album was the only pressing ever done and sold at band gigs only. 5 musicians, great organ, vocals, extra heavy fuzz-guitar, drums and bass; amazing underground songs, influenced by deep purple, uriah heep and beggars opera, a true lost classic. we were lucky to find the band to made a deal so this beauty can conquer the world of rock music… numbered edition of 500 copies on 180gm vinyl, heavy cover, and insert.
car commericals are generally uncomfortable; probably shifty-eyed loners that barely leave the basement. their brand of strictly personal suburban ooze was borne deep within the recesses of new jersey, just east of i-95. more specifically, this music springs from inside that unspeakable zone deep within the mind where feelings get very messy. david sutton and daniel dimaggio, the duo known as car commercials, make mysterious fake rock clatter for heavy petting (yeah right). following a brief stint as gt performers, daniel and david began to make duo recordings as car commercials a few years ago, releasing their creepy missives in small runs, mostly for sutton’s leaf leaf label. the two have tapped into an aspect of nonsensical nihilism that makes jad fair’s early recordings so alluring, but have forgone his obsession with cartoon horror and monster movies in favor of faces of death i thru vi. eric’s diary is the second lp release from car commericals, following the out-of-print judy’s dust lp (cenotaph) from early 2008. those confounded by judy’s dust will be pleased to know that eric’s diary is where things get…intense. breathe deep, and prepare to scratch yr head faster than you can say ‘home blitz.’ lp edition of 200 with full color paste-on sleeves… great!
judy’s dust is the debut full-length lp by car commercials of new brunswick, new jersey. here, the duo of david sutton (friends and family, current amnesia, ladderwoe) and daniel dimaggio (home blitz) expand on the rock/mumble strategies from the self-released jar 7″ (leaf leaf, 2006) and a couple cassettes kicked around the new jersey underpasses. contains twelve songs of missing spaces, too much center ice, drums and wires, varispeed recording techniques, and facing backwards – all from the other side of the e street. limited to 300 copies… paste-on full size/full color art front & back, plus a couple inserts.
this may be the end is a tapestry of intricately repeating guitar phrases woven into layers of interlocking, syncopated, phase in/phase out patterns…a melodic rhythm that will keep your head bobbing as much as spinning. melodic lines (often expressed through layered ebows) enter as quickly as they depart, leaving no central theme except the interlocking reichian pattern. this may be the end feels almost like two pieces of music with a bridge of synthesized waves between the two patterns, the latter being a more subtle come down to the vortex of chaotic bliss in the first section. long hallway, three slightly open doors is a step in a different direction, without a central rhythmic or melodic theme, the piece is a beautifully meandering stumble of notes falling from the guitar. a perfect counterpart to the first piece’s tenseness, long hallway is loose, patient and indirect about it’s objectives, causing the listener to react more than anticipate. recorded in his home studio, nada sound studio, from 2003 to 2006, both pieces are a far cry from carbonara’s solo guitar work, showing his depth as an arranger/composer in the studio beyond that of a solo improviser.
i’m wrapping my head in plaster of paris. i will then dunk it in a barrel of brine before diving into the la brea tar pits. sure its suffocating, but my dying, muffled gasps will be overpowered by the sounds pumping through my headphones, headphones running to my cheap, portable cd player which is, miraculously, not struggling with this black-bottomed cd-r. it never likes cd-r’s but this time its different. the scuzzed-out fuck-folk of card & snyder jams my eardrums till my nose runs. these lo-fi cantatas are last rites for all the wicked and i’m listening hard and close. rock n roll rumbles in and out of the proceedings, but mostly what we have here are the sounds of card and snyder’s dark and sweaty wet-dreams; fried-out electronics and peasant drones. the end of it ripples on and on, beautifully, jarringly, like your buddha machine being cooked inside a thanksgiving turkey. or even better: an easter ham. get it and rejoice! – indieworkshop.
germany, 1978. how these lads could record an album like this in 1978? absolutely early ’70s sounding progressive & psychedelic folk-rock masterpiece of the first order! entirely sung in english by an incredibly young female vocalist, beate krause, only 16 when recording! long tracks with excellent, killer acid guitar solos, and moog! if you like groups like mellow candle or pentangle, no doubt you need to purchase this one fast. often praised as ’the best prog-folk record ever,’ we don’t know if such a thing is true, but we can definitely say this is an absolute classic of the genre. besides that, the original label pressed only 200 copies of the lp, imagine how hard to find this is — so here you have a new vinyl reissue of this wonderful record, with killer remastered sound, an insert with photos and liner notes, licensed by the band and in a limited edition of 700 copies… very cool cosmic psych sounds.
virtually unknown private press on the much in demand century label. really awesome west coast femme folkpsych, with a totally lost, sunburnt, melancholy, wide-eyed vibe dripping all over. very cool zoned-out real people mood, but simple, folky, and catchy at the same time. some tracks are stripped down with just guitar or autoharp, but most of the album features full band electric backing to great effect. a hard one to describe, but i keep coming back to this one again & again. generic guitar/sunset cover with an intensely weird back cover portrait photo. only 225 copies pressed!! perfect SEALED NM+.
this split cassette captures just a little slice of the manchester / nottingham / sheffield area young improv scene. got the pleasure of meeting and performing on the same bill with some of these folks back in march and recognized right away that something interesting was brewing there. total duo action going on with this release, sophie and kelly kick out some epic intricate folky guitar action as cooper jones, and on the flip side patrick and pascal break on some sprawling percussion and drum storms as cars. lots of movement here, this is a long document, capturing the flow of what these two groups do. silkscreened artwork by ryan garbage… out of print for awhile now, and a great one!
christina carter (charalambides, et al.) has a gift. in a world where most people shy away from the truth, from honesty in emotion, christina has the strength to address those feelings head on through her music. within the songs of original darkness, she confronts loneliness, self doubt, inadequacy and desire. she bares these emotions in a sometimes tender, sometimes forceful, sometimes pleading voice, a voice in which you can hear her vulnerability, her trepidation. christina’s words, and the mournful sound of them, stirs a melancholy that is supported and framed by her gently plucked guitar notes, notes that echo the sadness in the world she sings of, as well as the words she sings. these ten new songs are effective at painting pictures, exposing the underbelly of what we all really think but most will not say, of what we all really feel but push away. with the addition of gentle bells and occasional keyboards, christina reminds us of what it means to be honestly human.
just over 40 minutes across two tracks of odd outsider folk psychedila weirdness from tom carter (charalambides) and shawn mcmillen. they previously had a cdr on carbon in its 10 year series… extremely limited & instantly out of print. a rather great & unique one too…
there’s not much to say. one sunny afternoon in california two people came together in a small room in rocklin, a suburb of sacramento, and started playing music. a few hours later they stopped, one of them to welcome his wife home from her day of work, the other to retrieve his girlfriend from her mother’s house and make the drive back to the bay area. but what is revealed on tape from those few hours is simply remarkable: a musical landscape that is intense, searching, and emotionally resonant in ways that are unexpected and unwarranted. one of the two, tom carter, has spent his entire career in the world of improvisational music, with his regular group charalambides, as a solo performer, and as a member of various other groups devoted to free improvisation and psych-folk. the other, christian kiefer, is primarily known for three releases on australia’s legendary experimental music label, extreme, albums that waffle between folk-ambience soundscapes and singersongwriter material… hand numbered pressing of 500 only and it comes in gorgeous 3 panel silk screened sleeve designed and printed by rob fisk of deerhoof, badgerlore, etc.
relentlessly looped fuzz wah spun into muzzy knots around dazed spectators’ heads, crumbling into fragmenting crumbs of varying bit depth. presented in two longish improv settings (recorded during a residency in louvain-la-neuve belgium by daniel duchamp, in paul labrecque’s basement), and one short blast recorded before a very zoned audience in berlin by steve gunn, laid down during the massively psyched out ghq / tom carter tour in europe, spring 2008. edition of 100, gatefold silkscreen covers.
solo guitar psych drone explorations from tom carter, of charalambides, of course. floating sound pools of vibrating electric tones. sweet full color double sided oversized fold out packaging. limited to 150 copies & out of print.
three variations on a song by christina enclosing more abstract explorations of the properties of vibrating strings. same ballpark as root king, more documentarian approach. hand folded & painted covers, edition of 200.
since the early ’90s, tom carter has played as one-half of the essential charalambides. during that time, carter also released a handful of solo albums on his own wholly other imprint as well as a recent reissue on the seminal kranky records. with these he also proved to be an extremely capable solo artist. since relocating to oakland, carter has also joined forces with ben chasny and rob fisk as a regular member of badgerlore, while also playing in various outfits with robert horton.”glyph” was originally issued as a limited-edition cd-r on the aforementioned wholly other. it is long-since out-of-print. this reissue of these remastered tracks breathes new life into the pieces. what is most striking is the warmth that pervades this entire album. with one piece for steel string acoustic guitar, another for lap steel, and the final (and shortest) on nylon string acoustic, there is diversity amongst the cogent thread that holds it all together. carter’s improvisations speak volumes without saying a word, and”glyph” is one of his finest achievements to date. it is an ode to the last year of his life in austin, texas and all that it contained. as stated in tom’s liner notes for the reissue,”i regret nothing yet i miss texas and its unpressured passage of time, the ability to create an oppositional universe under the nose of redneck reality, the cicadas, the hot green light through afternoon trees, rolling joints in a lawn chair. “glyph” is all of these things and more, depicted in an aural form that only tom carter could create. first 500 come in gatefold sleeves, silk-screened on one side by rob fisk (free porcupine society) and spraypainted on the other by tom.
here it is! the first 7″ in the anthem records singles series. a series of super limited, one sided 7″ singles. carter crams two tracks onto this one. the first a sparse lap steel wanderer, the second a full on wall of riff with backward guitars, it’s chaos and beauty! limited to 211 copies. packaged in a sweet embossed, hand stamped, stitched art paper cover. numbered edition.
second solo release (first if cdrs don’t count) by charalambides member tom carter. white les paul copy, lap steel, and a purloined bell collection layered into three long tracks of string moan and slithering hum. a manifesto of grounding during an uprooted time, an attempt to bend in the wind. a slice of a long winter and a momentary flash of cranially pooled guitar sound suddenly scattered by unexpected freedom. a guitar album (mostly). pressed in an edition of 533 copies with printed sleeves and very nice artwork by tom carter.
this is the companion release to the tom carter cd titled shots at infinity 1 being release on important simultaneously. shots at infinity 2 is two long live tracks in the same mode as shots at infinity 1, but more cut loose and blown out, recorded in nemo bidstrup’s record store and burnt hills’ basement jam zone. tom carter is a guitar player best known for his work with acclaimed psych-drone iconoclasts charalambides. since 2000, however, he has become increasingly active as not only a solo artist but as a collaborator. he has performed with improvising musicians as diverse as thurston moore, jandek, tetuzi akiyama, matt valentine, and many others, as well as being a key member in groups like badgerlore (with ben chasny of six organs of admittance), friday group, mudsuckers (with robert horton and the yellow swans), and zaika (with marcia bassett of the double leopards and hototogisu). carter’s solo work covers a lot of territory, but latter-day sightings show him to be concentrating on looped guitar drones of immensely stacked beauty, with heaps of psychedelic melodic content missing from the repertoires of many noise and drone bands. his influences include everyone from lamonte young to david crosby… limited vinyl.
warm and warbling full-bodied drone from paul (aswara / muntjac / death chants) with alison & michael (death chants, moon pie). cool elaborate hand made packaging. must be pretty limited.
during the last euro tour of wolf eyes, john olson (of american tapes, spykes, guam river etc – ) and mike connelly (of gods of tundra, hair police, failing lights etc – ) decided it was enough! they screamed “i’m not going to bed!!! i never wanne sleep again!!!”, they missed their flights and stayed in antwerp with the ultra audiobored horror crew for 7 more weeks without food and drinks, just dry weed and cancerbags to suck on! after that intense test to see if they could adapt to the antwerp life style, they finally met up with legendary belgian eccentric cacti and hat collector cassis cornuta, this psychadelic caracter brought his whole space synth and tape lab over to radio centraal to record an intense last gasp jam with the hardly breathing olson and connelly, the end result is an amazing trip to space and back to the mental hospital! like pouring lighter fluid and tabasco up your genitals or like olson states it so beautifully; like pissing on your own hand, freezing it and then using it as a lollypop for 5 days! comes in a gross 6 panel cover design and with an etch on the b side! – very limited. amazing packaging!
first release from this danish project. tapes have been dug up from many older sessions, and this is the result. ’the dry, heavy shape reaches out’ is one long hypnotic drone-noise-rock track, designed to make you bleed (please play it loud)… cool deep underground sound packaged in a painted cloth shroud. very limited.
underwater peoples records is proud to peddle one of this world’s constantly enjoyable phenomena.. rock n’ roll!!! and today, in the fine tradition of rock spirit, we are proud to announce the release of a split 7” record from andrew cedermark (born in beautiful glen rock, nj/formerly of titus andronicus) and family portrait (front man evan brody hails from ridgewood, nj).despite being two very different artists, both bands emit towers of sound and giant walls of melodic noise, making this pairing a diverse yet cohesive record. the recordings also feature friends and fellow musicians martin courtney (real estate, bass guitar on hard livin’) and julian lynch (clarinet on super cool).
the tenth release on tape drift brings us back to the first, with a brand new offering from century plants. the first in a multiple volume series, “circular spaces, vol. 1″ finds hardiman and hare in particularly fine form, showing how far they’ve come since their debut. this one splits the difference between their melodic and noisy extremes, with two beautifully intense guitar workouts and a long excursion into the depths of sonic abstraction unlike anything else they’ve committed to tape yet. debut lp out soon on music fellowship!
last november we put together an amazing show here in buffalo featuring a spectrum of -house and alchemy- friends/partners, past, present and future. century plants were the future. and, that future is now. featuring their set from that wonderful night in buffalo and another live set, electrics is century plants in top form. cd-r edition of 123 in sleeves with full color artwork by katheryn richards.
ceylon mange is the trio of dylan nyoukis (chocolate monk proprietor and sound molder in blood stereo, decaer pinga), karen constance (blood stereo, smack music 7) and bill nace (x.o.4, vampire belt). the maiming path extends from the group’s previous mind melts with two side long (de)constructions that are assembled from a variety of mangled loops and electronics, guitar feedback/slaughter and cromagnon vocals. the results are a murky stew, as each emerging sound creeps upon the listener like a blackened sloth nightmare. it’s the type of organic brain tangle that is rarely unleashed by the spirits these days. the lp is pressed in an edition of 410 and housed in a full-colour printed sleeve featuring karen’s outsider artwork – killer dirty droning noise. out of print first pressing.
a great puerto rican garage psych group who sang in english, with pleasant multi-part vocal leads sitting atop more engrossing latin rhythms and instrumental flourishes, fine fuzz guitar work and screaming farfisa organ. this is the first time reissue for lp of this rare central-south american psychedelic vinyl – elaborate lp-only reissue, super heavy full color gatefold sleeve, poster and obi – awesome album!
a great puerto rican garage psych group who sang in english, with pleasant multi-part vocal leads sitting atop more engrossing latin rhythms and instrumental flourishes, fine fuzz guitar work and screaming farfisa organ. this is the first time reissue for lp of this rare central-south american psychedelic vinyl – elaborate lp-only reissue, super heavy full color gatefold sleeve, poster and obi – awesome album!
nice first uk pressing with no EMI on the label. awesome uk folk psych gem from amazing and mostly overlooked player. not a perfect copy, but still very enjoyable till a better one comes along. striking metallic gold fragile gatefold cover. two sticker tears, some ring wear as always, edge wear, name in pen inside one of the tear marks. vinyl has many paper scuff but nothing deep and plays well. VG(+)/VG+.
a rare document of a brief arc in charalambides’ 17 year (and counting) trajectory, somewhere between the extreme spatial attenuation of the long gone crucial blast cdr being as is and the gentle intergalactic trio sway of the kranky disk unknown spin – and quite distance from both the exclamatory exhalations of joy shapes and the layered songcraft of likeness. these are spartan duets of formalistic near-symmetry, a reminder that there was a time when charalambides swung as close to the axis of incus and fmp as to that of takoma and esp. christina (voice) and tom carter (guitar) improvise non-textual melodic lines around an locus of mirror clarity, occasionally overlapping various strands using two dat machines and a mixing board, in a nod to the pre protools digital scrap heap. originally issued as a peter king lathe cut lp on eclipse records in an edition of 100 in 2000, the reissue of this extreme rarity is remastered from a superior source for maximum clarity. inkblot artwork courtesy of heather leigh murray. the whole package is dedicated to bruce connor (r.i.p.). the reissue at hand is an edition of 500, with fold-over printed sleeves in the style of electricity ghosts.
long-, long-, long-, loooooong-awaited and singular entry in the charalambides and klang industries discographies; one of those “does it really exist?” items that’s finally seeing daylight, or moonlight. a stark, unsettling and beautiful slice of duo charlambides invocation/incantation, taken from the period between jason bill and heather leigh murray’s tenures with the band and featuring extraordinary chord organ and vocal work from christina and some signature lap steel mastery from tom. fans of the band’s most recent, more song-based work will find this relevatory, long-time listeners will say “ahhhh” and settle in for the flight. heavy vinyl, limited pressing, cover handiwork by tom, the first release in years from klang and a sign perhaps of a truly epic revival… nice!
nice original copy of this monster rare deranged heavy french acid psych scorcher! really insane album thats a total top shelf item for heavy psych collectors. chico’s vocal are downright out of this world, babbling & screaming stream of consciousness madness and senseless, wordless free expression. think DAMO SAZUKI and MALCOLM MOONEY rolled into one face-tripping frenchman and you’ll be pretty close. the band is equally unhinged with relentless hendrix worshiping guitar pyrotechnics, driving bass, and heavy-ass drums… mix that all with production & wild studio/tape effects/loops from avant genius JEAN-PIERRE RAWSON and you’re in for one hell of a powerful trip. stunning full color (not like the recent reissue) fragile laminated flip-back cover. cover has a tight small bottom seam split, beginning very minor spine crack, and a small half inch tear at opening. all barely noticeable, and looks just about perfect from the front. label are near perfect with a couple faint spindle marks on either side. heavy wax has a handful of lite hairlines & paper scuffs, but full of shine and full fidelity preserved. nice keeper copy for sure. very rare, unique and recommended album. EX+/EX.
long gone massive deluxe reissue of mega rare destroyed japanese heavy psych beast. #88 of 450 copies. ultra-heavy gatefold with insert. 180gm vinyl. one neat fold to insert. NM/NM.
brand new collaboration from the uk blurters… 3 jams of fuzzy drug psychedelia and shake ’n’ noise featuring the sheffield legend that is rob from chora who has now fled for the big city itself. laser printed yellow sleeves, limited to 60 hand numbered copies.
first release by young upstarts from sheffield and what a fine racket it is too. this live recording gives a fair estimation of the damage they’ve been doing along the highways of the uk for the past 18 months. great mixture of high end ear cleaning, nonsensical vocal-isms and eventual lapses into metronomic rythym. a mixture of noise and repitition that is not a million miles away from the area that this heat so successfully cultivated. the future is very bright indeed – transparent xeroxed/stapled covers.
psychedelic drones recorded in sheffield summer 2006, performed and recorded by ben morris and robert wye. future releases coming up on gold soundz, utech, singing knives, curor et al.
summer 06 family underground (dk) recorded with dave nuss of nnck at black dirt studios in the woods of upstate ny. the yield was as characteristically unhinged as one might expect: sweeping electronic sounds backed with wood and bone percussion spirit-conjure. however also harvested was some new and especially tasty crop: sung and spoken song, electric guitar/conga “rock,” and an odd ghostly sheen coating the entire proceeding.…
susan christie was a philly-based sophomore folk singer who had one novelty hit for a major label and never quite recovered…and afterwards, her psychedelic take on country standards and hand crafted tales of inner-city solitude that was backed by a break heavy folk-funk rhythm section was never accepted as a commercial viability by record company big-wigs: they obviously couldn’t quite muster their ‘nostradamus’ sensibilities to foresee what future hip-hop producers and djs would be feeding into digital music-machines 30 years down the line! luckily three-fifths of a handful (literally three!) privately pressed vanity copies were manufactured in early 1970, one of which became the source material for this b-music release, nesting in the finders keepers’ ever-expanding library of obscure, obtuse, obsolete and obsessive vintage music from the ’60s and ’70s. the uber-legend john hill (who penned the mind-blowing acid rock floor-filler ‘love love love love love’ for wool) produced this release: which features 8 tracks including a twelve minute drugsploitation epic called ‘yesterday – where’s my mind’ featuring the enigmatic susan flipping vocal styles between janis joplin and margo guryan (who was in fact a close friend of susan’s at the time of recording.… pretty wild & great one. nice gatefold covers. limited.
nice import only WHITE VINYL pressing. great 1976 archival recordings from ex-QUICKSILVER guitar hero. cover is still in shrink. some loose dirt under the shrink, but cover very clean. nice wax. EX++/EX+.
our second split cd features 45 minutes of complementary drone bliss by two prime proponents of contemporary underground drift. glasgow’s pefkin (gayle brogan of the boa melody bar mailorder) offers up one extended track in which discrete, often acoustic sounds glisten and overlap like light on a rolling ocean; while the circle and the point (a duo of buffalo-based adam richards [house of alchemy records] and la denizen grant capes [of (vxpxc) and the phantom limb label]) bring us four tracks that drag simple eno-esque melodies through an unpredictable filter of urban noise. sea air to city clatter, electronically bridged; plug in anywhere… limited to 100 or so.
post-terrastock 6, two weary travelers holed up in a spare bedroom with a random cache of instruments and various noisemakers in an attempt to unleash some of the beer-fueled steam that had built up over the previous weekend. the music here comes from two delirious afternoons, still weary from a lack of sleep, minds still overloaded from a weekend of mania- both music related and beyond. floating acoustic guitars buried in the murk of distorted electric guitars. featuring grant capes from (vxpxc), these are ideas six years in the making, now just starting to unwind. adorned with major cover art by darryl norsen – very sweet art paper paste-on packaging. limited/numbered edition of 123 copies. very nice!
arkades catches a session finnish group, circle, recorded exclusively for wfmu during their us tour, september 19, 2005. comprising two lengthy pieces taking up a side each,”the greatest kingdom” and “the ghost of the highway,” the record focuses on the bands often spacy improv underpinning and applies new meaning to a vision which strides powerfully over the line dividing apocalyptic dread from a semblance of hope. agonized wailing, screams and torrents of molten sound dance ghostly shapes over psychedelic keyboard patterns, distant clattering, moonlit guitars and a rhythm section so carefully tempered that its impossible not to feel the chemistry at work. coupled to a fantastic sleeve which illustrates a homage to spaghetti western films and includes fitting notes by wfmu’s program director, brian turner, arkades proves what these new wave of finnish heavy metallers are capable of when they leave most of the rock at the door. file somewhere near acid mothers temple after having been given the kinda makeover only the scandinavians have the formula for. indeed, this is sweet shit – limited!
headspin records presents the limited edition vinyl version of the tulikoira album by finnish front runners of the psychedelic, kraut, space & trance-rock scene of today with a blasting heavy guitar-drenched album. three tracks on side a and a 24-minute trippy journey on side b. a true psychedelic testimonial! housed with printed inner sleeve in deluxe gatefold sleeve! the inside of the fold-out showing the initials of what the album is all about: n.w.o.f.h.m (new wave of finnish heavy metal). the album comes with a 7″ single (with picture sleeve) featuring two unreleased and exclusive tracks with bruce duff (45 grave/jesters of destiny/ adz) on vocals… very limited!
short tape by katie and haley. a-side is their collaborative project, cro magnon, conjuring apocalyptic no-core anxiety. b-side features each of their solo projects: circuit des yeux (haley) slows it down with “fire signs” and then bird (katie) deconstructs/microtunes the acoustic rock song with free, downloadable software on “swamp cry”. edition of 100.
from a small town in the middle of the land of milk and honey, where the air is filled with the blossoming of the fruit trees for a big part of the year, comes these perfect little lilies of bands that make perfect little records that reflect this fertile and flowery region. it’s a timeless land, and making records there is possible during this surely short period of history wherein the youth of this era feel as if they’ve solved the mystery of life and love and it’s really loving that is the answer to everything. all of which has nothing at all to do with circuit des yeux and sirenium, which was made in indiana, and there aren’t exactly pipers at the gates of lafayette. sound? it’s the sound of ‘issues,’ and the sound of ‘troubles.’ you don’t get but one phone call and honey, the girl’s voice makes this message a bit rubbly anyway. take the manic snorts of captain liberty, dissonant as chalk and the next moment as melodic as sharp yet slick, metal teeth. take the mermaid, 1988, turn the tides, gently, gently away. selected breath / silences / selected feedback. take an argument you have here with an empty street while the memory of high traffic is leaking back. sirenum has a real ’spiritual food’ vibe and it’s fucking pain and pleasure relief in this real met en zonder sort of way. this world is her world, and pipe if you like it… nice one!
this is the ultimate burnout biker-psych masterpiece. finally repressed directly from tapes to flawlessly restore the cigarette burns, harley fumes, and cocaine hangovers of the original ride. this is a 40 minute recipe for complete mental breakdown. included on the acid archives’ list of top ten lps most likely to be owned by a serial killer. circuit rider is lost on the same journey as kenneth higney, nicodemus & matchez, yahowa, boa, heitkotter, dave lamb & gye whiz, raven, fraction, and the doors’ l.a. woman… legit exact reissue in super thick cover. 800 copies and gonna go fast. wicked stuff!
this is a new zealand duo (mark sadgrove, sam hamiltony)… a really beautiful 3″cdr, a nice gentle drone with some really beautiful vocals! both these guys have appeared on pseudoarcana in the past… sweet home made packaging. very limited.
brand new dead end carpetbagger blues by these born losers. this third claudio two album (following the unreleased and indefinitely shelved jazz improve cdr) finds the crew flexing their muscles a bit – from wasted bedroom metal riffs carelessly layered over each other to create a zit cream vortex, to synth / occult pieces inspired by john carpenter soundtracks and ritalin snorting, to atmospheric black metal frightmares, and decrepid blooz rock, it’s all here on this brief cd, which may or may not include the band’s first actual cover song, by french geniuses vietnam veterans. full color collage covers by local college radio personality (actually he just steals cds from the station) blake conley. only 150 copies of this one, hurry!
some folks may claim that improvisation is all about listening, but claudio two endash a new project starring partners chazz improv and norma bates (aka james and jessica toth, formerly of wwvv), and featuring the first appearance in over ten years by former golden calves vocalist max “mev” wicker endash is all about the opposite. recorded in various spurts over the fall of 2007, sniper at the gates of dawn is the debut cdr by claudio two, on which the band layers individual single tracks recorded solo and combines them unheard (a la durian durian), and, elsewhere, uses this source material to try to recreate this accidental music while in a group setting. mixed in glorious mono. 150 copies, no reissues.
when i first heard the name, ‘clay man in the well,’ i got images in my head of archaelogical digs and ancient civilizations. pseudoarcana chief antony milton brings us a brand new album of dirt-infused jams, uncovered after years of digging. with scores of music boxes and simple drones, milton’s affected whispers treat these hymns with formaldahyde, preserving them for a million years. this is timeless. this is music for the archives. 100 copies.
long awaited collection from heavy sessions in the tomb, same sessions that bore “silver skull”. all out medicine worship, oily secretions of black sunshine to dampen your hollow bones. 80 minutes thick with whirlwind of mangled audio snapshots, healing rituals, analog psychosis treatment, massaging the dump – crazy oversized packaging.
short heavy jam by davenporting clay. colliding vocals, wrong brakes and dusty feedback. earfilth for the believers. a grey walk to the leftovers from last weeks house. psych! comes in an offset/handmade cramamyser cover. clay ruby is the guy behind the 23 productions label and the wellknown pasture festival in the usa. he also plays in bands like davenport, metrocide etc.
the clean were an influential first-wave punk band that formed in dunedin, new zealand in 1978. led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers hamish and david kilgour. the clean soon forged a distinctive and quirky sound that relied heavily on organ melodies and simple, ramones-style chord progressions.in 1981, a fan of the clean founded the flying nun label to release their first single, “tally ho.” the flying nun label went on to be new zealand’s biggest independent record company, championing the dunedin sound, a loosely-connected style of music largely produced by bands from this southern city. compilation offers a nearly complete overview of the clean’s legendary early recordings, including the classic “tally ho” single and highlights from their two eps (boodle boodle from 1981 and 1982’s great sounds)… new reissue of this essential album.
beautifully presented album from this great band. white wax, clear gloss on white cover, metallic printed label, limited to 500 and looong gone. with label insert. NM-/NM.
a lovely vinyl reissue on etude records of a long obscure climax golden twins gem. originally issued in 1995, on cassette, eerie fragrance or eyeless fabrication or exclude frank or eat fuck or etc (forever) was climax golden twins second official issue after a self-released double seven inch gatefold record. cassettes–the cockroach of the industry–were a necessity at the poorer end of the music spectrum prior to cdrs and file sharing…the good old days…ef was a collage of noise, found sounds, punk rock disasters, chinese climaxes, broken records, and tape failures mastered directly to cassette on a reverberant wooden floor in an old building in seattle, washington. it seemed an inauspicious start and little presaged the ambient/dreamy/art installation/field recording/anomalous records darlings cgt were to become with releases such as lovely, dream cut short in the mysterious clouds, locations, etc. however, secret free hillbilly noise epilepsy has always lurked under the button up shirts, white wine sipping and gallery-opening snack-munching. the noise informs the dreams which informs the ambiance which informs the chaos and so back to the beginning and vice-versa. etude records discovered cgt through their work on the horror film session nine and have been wanting to release something ever since. part band, part art project, climax golden twins were discovered lurking under a desk in a laboratory in the early 1920s. reconstituted around 1993 or 4 (just add gin), they perpetrated various audio artifacts on an unsuspecting (and cold) world (see extensive and largely mythical list below). these days they are the cgt in afcgt. and they released victrola favorites recently on dust to digital. their laboratory origins lead to a an unhealthy interest in early recording and the era of music on 78rpm records and cylinders, a time of acoustic sound reproduction when oral traditions ended and the home entertainment industry and the information age devoured our puny lives. that’s a mouthful. this era was a pivotal one in understanding how humanity arrived where it is today, though climax golden twins denies all knowledge of where that might be.
this collaboration between the mellow, memphis-meets-germany duo of kip ulhorn and simon wojan (aka cloudland canyon) and chicago’s great rock ‘n’ roll concierge and knower-of-mystics mr. robert lowe (aka lichens) was born on a trip to the west coast of the united states a few years ago. exterminating angel’s single 30-minute track uses voice, guitar, samplers, and arp synthesizer. you’ve heard of the unmade science fiction epic whose would-be director proposed using different big-name progressive bands to perform a soundtrack for specific planets used in the script; here then are the sounds accompanying a spacecraft that’s a combination death star and taco bell from the 1970s filled with cement mayan temples and pyramids populated by large, snappily dressed reptilian beings. every so often a bell goes off to break the spell and presents convincing evidence of this record’s special journey.
fresh off a new killer kranky full-length, bi-continental teutonic duo cloudland canyon grease the gears on a piston-pumping motorik ramp into futurist motion, gliding drones & mechanic rhythm. seamless & dreamless. on the b nnf extended family m beast drop 2 perfect soul caravan wanderlust blues drifters. real gorgeous, and a great teaser for their in-the-works full-length for drag city subsidiary language of stone. with art by crops + rawber best friend diva dompe.
walter swanljung – keyboards; ville sahlakari – drums. rec. winter 2004/2005 in helsinki, finland. imagine if sun ra’d have rec. in duo with milford graves… and i ain’t kidding or exaggerating, totally devastating!
originally released in 1972, this is the second album by legendary german ambient pioneers dieter moebius and hans-joachim roedelius. moebius and roedelius essentially create ambient electronic soundscapes that ebb and flow, droning on in a suspended world of anti-gravity where machine has conquered man.
delight in the stream is the first solo vinyl outing for john clyde-evans (aka tirath singh nirmala) in close to a decade. recorded during a year-long stay in india, the album seamlessly weaves together an array of piercing bowed objects, flutes and voice with electronic and audio embellishments over the course of three extended tracks. the scattering of sounds swirl around to disorienting effect yet still manage to mesmerize as the music draws itself out. pressed in a limited edition of 300 copies.
tirath singh nirmala returns as his former moniker john clyde-evans, bowing transcendental asian instruments and indian thought back to the mysterious groove of manipulated drone. 100 copies.
two new songs from the “no flies on frank” sessions. side a > i stole a skipping rope from molly. she made me pay. side b > thanks to mssrs. davies. psych-pop for the end of the season. edition of 300.
coach fingers is serious about having fun and with the debut long player no flies on frank, no one is spared from the plentiful good vibes frank has to offer. packed with more hooks than a ship crowded with one-armed pirates, no flies on frank is a meaty affair of giddy but bearded late ’60s/early ’70s outlaw boogie rock & roll prominently featuring three members of the new york free noise whatsit collective the no neck blues band — coach jason meagher, dave nuss & dave shuford — along with meagher’s brother sean on keys and — future guitar god worshippers take note — the coach’s secret weapon, master shredder george devoe. so come on, friends, it’s time to join the fingers friends & family in the beaujolais revolution; take a sip from a glass full of ronnie lane’s boozy rock, the charming laissez-faire balladry of kevin ayers (circa joy of a toy & whatevershebringswesing) & a whole lot of crazy fun. limited dmm 180 gram vinyl.
turner has been kicking around the nyc folk scene for quite a few years now, but this is, perhaps inexplicably, his first foray onto wax. while most singer / songwriters’ these days seem to draw most of their water from iron and wine via pavement and back again, turner sounds like he began his musical education listening to gershwin player piano rolls and quit buying records somewhere around the time dylan brought it all back home. lyrically, turner can turn a phrase with the best of ‘em, and the gloriously ramshackle accompaniment is mungo jerry meets herman dune sharing a squat in tin pan alley. this lp combines two of turner’s self-released cds, and is as good an introduction to his wonderful music as any. here’s what jeweled antler head honcho glenn donaldson sez about turner:”cody is pre-war, old testament & a confederate general from big sur.” err’nuff said, no?
walking up walls is the second solo album from long-time musician and visual artist alice cohen. in contrast to her previous studio efforts, these are raw home recordings with an intensely personal vibe. the sixteen short song-sketches alternate between densely layered shoegaze burners and shimmering, ethereal drifters. exploring shadowy corners and using the musical equivalent of automatic writing — this was considered to be a sonic diary and not originally intended for release. for reference points think pink opaque-era cocteau twins filtered through the early ’90s lens of new zealanders like alastair galbraith & sandra bell.
cold sun from austin, texas was recorded in 1970 in the legendary sonobeat studios, where the mariani and johnny winter first lps were produced. the cold sun band are considered contemporaries of velvet underground and the fugs, often listed as being in a similar vein but inspirations for this unique piece actually go back to the desperate, haunted joe meek. all songs lyrically express dark, mystic poetry with the true ’60s psychedelic floating/distorted fuzz spirit presented in short compact mini-epics along with several mind blowing long tunes, such as ‘ra-ma’ (11 min.), ‘here in the year’ (9 min.) and ‘fall’ (7 min.). discovered by rockadelic records of dallas, texas in 1991, the dark shadows album saw the light of day the next year as a limited lp version, to become today one of the most important and revered us psychedelic underground albums from the early ’70s. rockadelic heard it in the form of an old scratchy acetate that one of the cold sun band members had made in order to be able to play the recording at friends` parties on their turntables. the acetate only contained 2/3 of the songs but so greatly impressed them that rockadelic managed together with bandleader bill miller to release the complete sessions from master tapes. autoharp wizard miller eventually spearheaded roky erickson’s international debut as the cold sun band joined forces with roky in 1974 and became bliebalien, later evolved into the aliens and backed roky on his famous albums and historical concerts. carefully remastered from the master tapes, this album will bring new rewarding listening experiences in expanded fidelity. plus a bonus 10inch with 2 unreleased non-album songs, authentic live/concert recordings of ‘live again’ (10 min.) and ‘mind aura’ (7 min.). the fidelity of these reel to reel live recordings is also remarkable. includes an extended booklet insert with liner notes by jello biafra plus rare photos and other surprises. according to patrick (lama) lundborg from lysergia.com: ‘best rockadelic lp ever, and in my opinion the best texas lp of the time.’ enjoy this one-hour psychedelic happening, a ‘must-have’ ’60s/’70s heavy uber-psych masterpiece! … long awaited top of the line reissue of the all time ultimate lost psychedelic album. heavily peyote dosed and as good as the 13th floor elevators or golden dawn! totally deluxe edition in an ultra heavy metallic printed textured gatefold cover, pressed on 180gm audiophile vinyl, with bonus 10inch and full color booklet insert with notes, photos, and interviews. extremely limited edition thats going to fly, so act quick if you don’t want to miss it. pricey but well worth it. highest recommendation!
there can only be one bongo joe, and that is the incredible george coleman. bongo joe is perhaps the world’s only virtuoso player of the empty oil drum, a man so ingenious that he could even turn petroleum refuse into something musical and sublime. recorded on the streets of san antonio in 1969 by chris strachawitz (arhoolie records). bongo joe drums on his oil cans with a thunderous, tympani-like effect, while discoursing rambling, insightful and hilariously funny lyrics that are often times more stories than songs. as joe himself put it, ‘i rap but not that bullshit they’re putting down now. i play fundamental beat music.’ whether draping his drums with an american flag or washing them in swirls of psychedelic green and red paint, there’s something beyond the typical street-corner busker in bongo joe’s persona, unbridled quality that isn’t just musical, but draws on a tradition of pure entertainment. one of the true treasures of the arhoolie catalog for many years. try ‘innocent little doggie’ (if you think joe was just a novelty act, listen closely to the poignant insightfulness of the lyrics), ‘transistor radio’ (more wry commentary) and ‘dog eat dog.’ one of our favorites, available on vinyl for the first time in 39 years.
very pleased to present this collection of beautiful drawings by the amazing cybele collins. she also records as blue shift and her visions have graced covers for labels such as last visible dog and rare youth. drawings have appeared in dozens of magazines including morbid curiosity, paper rodeo, sound projector, free radicals, the ganzfeld, cemetery dance, shimmer, dark animus and vial. full color cover, 36 b&w pages.
beautiful & rare original UK first pressing (no EMI on label) of the lovely femme folk psych jewel. sweet laminated gatefold cover has a little corner wear and minor ring wear mostly on back. only tiny lite sleeve scuffs on the thick wax. EX++/EX++.
new project from arbor ruler (aka treetops) mike pollard with former jk taper, now mr young tapes, peter friel… four space related close encounters of the drone kind… sweet and simple, guaranteed to leave you floating somewhere totally cosmic in the outer reaches of mind and space!!! black and white sleeve and insert designed by the color dream boys. pro dubbed cassettes, limited to 100 copies.
“i have always been fascinated by the way music and sound alter the way we perceive time and space. we organize all experiences in these terms. the motivation behind my musical compositions and installations over the past several years has been the exploration of the conventions that determine the way we experience time and space, and thereby our world. these pieces seek to expose such conventions by giving the listener the chance to become familiar with unfamiliar tonalities and rhythms, as well as to register the divorce of space and sound made possible by contemporary audio technology. and they sound good” – white vinyl with screenprinted insert.
after comets on fire played auckland, utrillo kushner met one of his idols, the legendary diy producer and songwriter chris knox. the following day knox invited kushner and his bandmates over to his house for conversation and beers. the afternoon was spent in the kitchen (knox was baking a cake for the clean’s bangers and mash anniversary tour) drinking while knox spun stories of the new zealand music underground of yore. from this experience, kushner conceived of the initial idea for the second colossal yes album. inspired by the kiwi indie-pop formulas of tall dwarfs, the clean, and the verlaines, kushner set out to write his own songs using piano as the main instrument. it was a reawakening of the pop aesthetic done piano man style. recording of the basic tracks started in the summer of 2007 with kelley stoltz producing and kevin ink engineering. songs were then fine-tuned over a series of nighttime and weekend sessions with matt waters in early 2008. finally, they were mixed with ben chasny (six organs of admittance) and waters almost a year from the starting point. the end result is unique yet similar to the epic pop bands of the past. charlemagne’s big thaw combines simple melodies and basic structures with lyrical territories such as expired youth, grand betrayals, overdrawn faculties, and dissolving empires. features contributions from kelley stoltz, ben chasny (six organs of admittance, comets on fire), noel harmonson (comets on fire) ben flashman (comets on fire), eli eckert (drunk horse), garett goddar (the cuts, howlin rain).
after 2004’s critically acclaimed blue cathedral, one might have expected comets on fire to blast off into the cosmos in an infinite flurry of lysergic spasmodicism. surprising, then, that they should turn in an earthy, more accessible and downright beautiful album as their follow-up. then again, it is a completely logical progression, but in reverse, sort of. on avatar their astonishing new album, comets display development in every direction: as musicians, as songwriters, as arrangers and as singers (?!), without sacrificing one ounce of the intensity that is expected from our heroes. as on blue cathedral, the diversity of the material is staggering. avatar veers from swinging, bluesy explorations to piano-laced, progressive power balladry, to pure tribalism, evoking everyone from the allmans, to quicksilver, to procol harum, to some insane fela/sun ra/crazy horse hybrid, yet remains wholly comets on fire. though they play cleaner and clearer, their firepower is evident and abundant. they have shifted gears and opened themselves up completely. you should do the same.
blue cathedral is the third album from comets on fire and their first for sub pop. it is also the bay area band’s most varied and richly textured album yet. with their first two albums, (2001’s self-titled debut/self-released and 2002’s field recordings from the sun on ba da bing!) they established themselves as flag-bearers of modern psychedelia. however, where their previous efforts are full-tilt psychedelic affairs, blue cathedral is harder to pin down (which elusiveness we heartily support). their trademark sound is here enriched by more structured, keyboard-driven jams, churning blue oyster cult-ish chooglers and slow burners reminiscent of harvest-era pink floyd. they recently opened a string of dates for sonic youth and have also played shows with rocket from the tombs, dead meadow and dead moon, sunburned hand of the man and more. they also made a big fan outta lord head on high, julian cope, who said of them: comets on fire deserve our gratitude for their distillation of all the best rock riffs since high rise’s take on blue cheer. naturally, we agree.
with raw viola, haunting vocals, and noise guitar, rob fisk (badgerlore, 7 year rabbit cycle, ex-deerhoof) has created an exquisite album that sounds perfectly at home in the natural world between dusk and dawn. packaged in a hand-sewn book of drawings by fisk entitled “how to build a cabin.”… lovely packaging, as you’d expect.
this self-titled release is the debut by concern, a solo endeavor by gordon ashworth, who is perhaps best known for issuing complex harsh noise missives as oscillating innards. that said, concern is an entirely different affair. here, ashworth’s principal focus is on the drone – shimmering, multi-layered and dynamic, he stretches loooong tones into gorgeous sonic tendrils which dissolve or implode into impossibly nostalgic field recordings and static. recorded throughout the years 2004 – 2007 and, surely, not to be missed. limited to 100.
just past 10 years ago this debut collaboration between primitive american blues guitarist loren connors and the confounding electric bassist darin gray was issued on cd. the lost mariner was the first in a pair of releases by the upstart family vineyard label. now with a decade of hindsight and a nod to looking ahead, here is a a 700 edition lp reissue of the studio session considered by connors to be one of his finest. since this album’s 1999 release connors has released a series of sorrowful solo albums and multi-disc collections on family vineyard while gray formed the cinematic on fillmore (with wilcoõs glen kotche) and continued collaborations with jim o’rourke, akira sakata, chris corsano and others. the lost mariner is an improvised dialogue between these two musicians. structure is there, but it roams as it sways, constantly adjusting and reinventing itself as the two react to its mysterious design. for this reissue the lp is sleeved inside stunning cover art (an albert pinkham ryder painting) and contains the bonus at the old factory 7-inch. this raw, live snapshot of a 1999 performance comes on colored vinyl in a full-color sleeve designed by katie leming (cro magnon, bird).
the contents are was one of many sixties bands from the quad city’s fertile garage music scene. with labels/studios like fredlo and igl, it was a very healthy regional area for bands with an unusually high per capita for record releases. up until the recent discovery of an original copy a couple years ago, it was only rumored to exist and remained an enigma with hardcore record collectors. in most cases, the contents are were only known by astute collectors for their two excellent 45 releases (non-lp). well the mystery is over, and here’s your chance to hear one of the rarest ¨ greatest garage records ever recorded. here’s the story about the record: four high school seniors from iowa decide to release an album of all original tunes, and was exclusively sold at their live shows. originally released on the rok label (a subsidiary of the already obscure fredlo label) in 1967 with only 100 copies pressed. these guys were not your typical garage band? talented players, professional grade vocalists and no cover songs!!! their music is a nice blend of garage rock with hints of hipster folk and early psychedelic influences. as good if not better as other similar top shelf rarities like mystery meat and the bachs, but no m
Shop — Catalog, Red Records, Distro, Used & Rare
whilst chilling on a train i got an email from this guy vincent who is “v” about maybe doing a release for him and i checked it out and damn it sounded good… folk-spectral-ether drone… a real nice blur of field recordings, various instruments and far out vocal… after many disasters with masters and file downloads, and months on this is finally coming out… its one helluva hazy starry summer night trip.” limited to 50 copies in envelopes with pasted on paisley embossed paper, and insert.
deep space cosmic whisperings, prog spirals and sonic exorcisms minced into a dense narcotic fog of melodic guitars, bowed strings, keyboard mutilations and spectral murmurs, slowly creepy from the speakers to flood the room with trance vibrations, occasionally lifting itself up into clatterings of drum and bone, or prayer like voicings. there is a visual quality to this music, a narrative flow, like bearing witness to strange events, creepy and portentous – more sweet mystery sounds. nice full color covers.
the richest hues, soaked in heavy decay. the brightest tones, steeped in analog fuzz and digital fog. the sound of one hand waving away the smoke from a burning bush. this new cd-r from (vxpxc) stacks layers of analog and digital keyboards with looping guitars and voices, and peppers the whole mix with a slew of acoustic instruments (from banjos to accordions to violins). this cd-r is protected from the forces of nature by a black plastic clamshell perfectly matched with industrial photos by andrew smrz… quite limited.
brand new cdr from trio of grant capes, justin mcinteer and tim goodwillie recorded in la. wavering multi instrumental folk-psyche-drone jams across 4 tracks, total bliss! again comes in the same lightweight paper as the wwvv with fold out all over artwork by darryl norsen. limited to 110 handnumbered copies. this was previously intended to be a cassette, but the band decided they wanted a cdr instead… very limited.
after their monster 3xcdr set from earlier this year, we just knew that one day the los angeles-based (vxpxc) would steal our little hearts. on this, their final session of 2005, these boy wonders extricate spacious, intricate compositions from the spiral galaxy drones of yesteryear. a vast array of instrumentation provide the perfect canvas for these majestic spells. this is music that grows from the roots, falling head-first into the icy tendrils of the new dawn. their voices pierce the organ murk and guitar expanses like lonesome souls begging to be freed. this is magical toward oblivion.
beautiful original copy of their awesome final lp that is just starting to get the rep it deserves, after being way underrated for years. for sure, not as monstrous as the 1st two lps, but a unique and amazing lp with great songs and a cool, spacey, rural vibe that is totally killer. original blue/silver label, heavy vinyl, and heavy cover. cover is almost perfect in shrink, vinyl looks barely played with just a few very lite marks. this ones going to be hard to upgrade… NM/NM-.
very solid original copy of their undisputed masterpiece. pretty much as good as it gets, this is a groundbreaking group at the very peak of their acid dripping powers. totally essential one. getting impossible to find in nice shape. this is the very first pressing heavy vinyl, aqua label, with the ‘posturos’ typo on the back cover which was quickly corrected on all but the very first copies produced. includes the printed lyric inner sleeve that is usually missing. inner sleeve is VG+. fully metallic printed cover is much better that usual, and these were quite easily wrecked. there are various fingerprints/smudges on the front, but much less damaging than usual. slight ring wear. tight seams & spine, clean back cover. clean labels. a few odd marks & a few scuffs on vinyl, but nothing major at all and the vinyl is mostly super clean & shinny, and plays as good as any IA stereo pressing. certainly a keep copy. EX-/EX.
very solid original copy of their undisputed masterpiece. pretty much as good as it gets, this is a groundbreaking group at the very peak of their acid dripping powers. totally essential one. getting impossible to find in even decent shape. this is the very first pressing heavy vinyl, aqua label, and the ‘posturos’ typo on the back cover which was quickly corrected on all but the very first copies produced. includes the printed lyric inner sleeve that is usually missing. inner sleeve is VG+. fully metallic printed cover has average ring wear but text & graphics are still good. tight seams & spine. one corner crease. clean labels. a few odd marks & scuffs on vinyl, but nothing major at all and the vinyl is mostly clean & shinny, and plays as good as any IA stereo pressing. VG+/EX-.
real sweet original turquoise label STEREO pressing. no need to hype this one, its totally essential texas acid psych punk near & dear to many hearts. cover is nearly perfect in the original shrink. vinyl has a handful of lite marks, and one feelible scratch… but the scratch plays through with only a little noise, and this copy sounds awesome overall. NM/VG+.
the 1972 debut album by turkish ethno psych-rockers 3 hur-el. the three hür-el brothers, onur (bass), haldun (drums, percussion) and feridun (saz-guitar + vocals), were one of the very few turkish groups at the time not playing covers, but only self-penned compositions. having played together for their whole life (other projects included trio istanbul, biraderler, alizeler, and oguzlar, and all three brothers were members of the selçuk alagoz orchestra), they formed 3 hur-el in the late 1960’s, releasing two wonderful albums as their all-too-brief recording legacy. feridun created the double-neck saz-guitar (a combination of electric saz and electric guitar in the same body), and haldun’s drum set was an assemblage of darbukas (a turkish percussive instrument also used in north africa and the arabian peninsula) in different sizes, made by the copper masters of the beyazit bazaar in istanbul! the hür-el debut is a brilliant set of turkish ethno-influenced folk-rock with a psychedelic progressive feel, some great electric guitar and fantastic eastern percussion. this very rare album is now available again on vinyl (the cd version on world psychedelia also in stock), with remastered sound from the original mastertapes. includes an insert with detailed liner notes and photos.
this is the second album by turkish ethno psych-rockers 3 hür-el, originally released in 1976 on the diskötur label. comprised of three brothers, onur (bass), haldun (drums, percussion) and feridun hürel (saz-guitar, vocals), they were one of the very few, if not the only, turkish groups at the time not doing any covers, but only self-penned compositions. hürel arsivi is an absolute killer of an album and easily one of the top turkish psych records ever released. it has a more western feel, with brother feridun here infected by a fuzz-virus and his own two-arm guitar (one for guitar, one for saz). also there’s much more heavy drums than percussion, in an astounding blend of psychedelic rock and traditional turkish instrumentation, and of course, plenty of distorted fuzz guitar and electric saz. includes an insert with detailed liner notes and photos.
the first public appearance pairing christian henjes and juergen gleue (inspired by and with names derived from lsd-25, they would become ch-39 and jg-39) was in 1976, at the dada nova (a space occupied by otto mühl’s aao commune) in midtown hannover, germany. dada nova would be a space of enduring clash. from the subtlety of a shat upon organ to the ejection from communal meetings by bodily force, the aao would display that the presence of the 39 clocks was one of their constant grief. known for pranksterism and the destruction of the clubs in which they would perform, friction in every form would continually follow the band. in 1979 they were thrown out of a show in kassel at dokumenta (their sounds had disturbed joseph beuys). they created an outrage (they wrote a tune with the title “art minus idiots”) at the filmtage hannover with their avant-garde super 8 movies made under the disguise of director zachius lipschitz. rumour claims that at a hannover show at the cafe glocksee, they played the vacuum cleaner and a circular saw instead of guitars, and there was even a knife throwing incident in bremen. inspired, then, clearly, by protest in the broadest and most romantic sense (they wrote a tune with the title “radical student mob in satin boots”) their’s was a sound attuned to classic american punk / nuggets. although, this is not bomp rock; theirs was a thrust that purposed deconstruction and reassembly in the most modern sense. this collection was put together with the non completeist in mind (originals of some of these records are as rare as italian underwear), intending to display the general 39 clocks vibe, but also some of their more curious wrinkles. and as the clocks were always interested in where they were going and not where they’d been, the chronology here is strictly reversed. diedrich diedrichsen wrote the first review of the band (in spex), and we at destijl are very pleased to have had him scribe liner notes.
50 foot women is a san francisco-based duo with jessi leigh swenson and elaine barry kahn. swenson is known for her trance-forming work with the believers and duck, kahn is a wild card. combined, they create and destroy small forms with the ease of kettle fish.
a two part experimental acoustic guitar offering funneled through a train load of pedals and effect and then ejected from a marshall 1/2 stack performed by michael gibbons of bardo pond (and all things philadelphia and psychedelic). recorded by myself in 2007 at the worlds nosiest book store bigjar in philly. the cd edition comes housed in a slightly taller sleeve with two color silk screen work by alan sherry of siwa on a heavyweight 140lb paper. the front cover is die cut with an inserted picture from the performance printed on vellum, all hand glued and assembled by myself. edition of 500… nice one & beautifully packaged.
interviews with book of am, ed yazijian, geoff mullen, ghosting. art and words by ilyas ahmed, juan arkotxa, tara burke, darrell buxton, tom carter, cybele collins, sara czerny, bart de paepe, paul grimes, jani hirvonen, phil legard, samara lubelski, leslie mackenzie, marja mikkonen, thurston moore, roberto opalio, zachery reno, matt valentine. silkscreened coverfrogs by colleen kinsella… very sweet little read! recommended.
a middle sex? who the fuck are a middle sex i hear you cry… one of the best out there bands in the uk that nearly no one knows, totally ruling manchester duo of phil and karl. fluxing between minimal scrape and pound rhythms to noisy tumbling weird jamzzz using there trashed guitar, drums and electronics, with the odd weird vocal splatter thrown in. this is fresh from the jungles of manchester… it really gives me a jungle vibe – you’ll see what i mean. colour sleeve, edition of 55.
another hot jammer from the session in the fall 2007 from the trio of steffan deturck, jan-m. iversen and sindre bjerga. blissful drones, crackling electro-accoustics… this should have been out last year, but we didn’t want to flood the market haha.. small edition on 1-sided “ecological” tapes…
mysterious finnish psych folk is a cool deluxe cardboard package. limited to 120 copies.
out of print. one copy only.
the band abstract truth existed only for a very short time, but it was a time of super-creativity. they exploded on to the durban music scene early in 1969, released 2 studio albums during 1970 on emi, which we have here. the 3rd album cool sounds for heads is only a compilation of these 2 lps. ken e. henson on guitar & vocals / peter measroch on piano, organ, flute, harpsichord & vocals / george wolfaardt on bass, flute, drums & vocals / sean bergin on sax & flute. silver trees is a milestone in south african music among bands like freedoms children, astra and third eye. musically it follows the same routes as uk bands like bloodwin pig, traffic, spooky tooth and many others. progressive underground of the best kind, with organ, guitars, flutes, sax and great vocals, sometimes with zappa-style guitar solos… from south africa, 1970. edition of 500 numbered lps, matte heavy gatefold sleeve, 180gm pressing.
ken e henson on guitar, vocals and sitar / robbie pavid on percussion / brian gibson on bass & vocals / sean bergin on sax & flute. excellent early ’70s melodic wistful freak-rock, blended with african sounds featuring assorted instruments: keyboards, flutes, electric guitars, saxophone, percussion, etc. a refreshing approach with an eastern touch. if you like uk bands such as quintessence, if and blodwin pig, this album goes in the same direction. it is more trippy/stoned and acoustic than the silver trees album… from south africa, 1970. edition of 500 numbered lps, glossy heavy sleeve, 180gm pressing.
a mountain of melodie and shimmering strings makes a ghostly trail under sweet vocal clouds with percussion eruption and hot vapor guitar.
acid mother’s temple’s glorify astrological martyrdom is sure to appeal to the myriad amt fans who have made crystal rainbow pyramid a new fan favorite. professionally recorded mega riffage for a super defined clean sound. kawabata and company deliver this focused rock explosion full of hyper repetitive heavy hooks and freaked out pitched up vocals. cover art by seldon hunt… tour only lp, very limited stock.
mysterious woods bootleg. four beautiful acoustic versions of “rain on”, “twisted tongue”, “to clean” and “the number”. one sided, white label twelve inch with a pasted-on cover image. very limited, origins unclear… awesome little document and sure to not hang around long. recommended.
rich in energy culled from the land surrounding, an eternal glow emanates from its center. from the place that gave birth to the mighty keijo comes aekie. the sound of groaning trees sparks new life on this album as aekie, who is an integral member of vapaa, takes flight in the summer rain. when the room gets uncomfortably quiet, he fills the air with humming drones fit for a king. in the darkness, he moves majestically. in the light, he is born. numbered edition of 115 copies.
over the last few years brandon nickel has been honing his sound and making a name for himself with the, as of recent, very impressive isounderscore label. not afraid to embrace technology, aemae sounds is at times restrained, and at times a whirling maelstrom of ones and zeros, yet always carefully constructed, each release taking months of editing and re-editing. here the sound falls into the later, more intense mode of aemae, and a fitting way to retire the name, as mr. nickel is using his own name to perform under. comprised of edited live material, yet the heightened composure is still evident. the a-side is a lot of gear, screaming at each other more or less really, digital mulch. the flip offers a slightly more restrained sound, and could be visually compared to a sheer obsidian cliff on a foreign planet where the air is ten times the density of our own planet, the geological formation slowly rising along the horizon until it falls off the edge. silver offset ink on metallic black stock, 2-panel j-card. edition of 111 copies on hi-bias chrome tapes.
a new collection of material culled from recordings made in 2004 through 2007, mostly at the blueberry studio space in brattleboro vt. aethr myth’d members and some local guests in a sprawling unformed free process. this disc was made to be available on the band’s recent east coast usa tour, limited to 200 hand assembled copies. next planned shows will be at various random stops in europe.
afcgt = 3 parts a-frames + 2 parts climax golden twins. this is a vinyl release of their self release cdr that was limited to about 75 copies. those lucky enough to have heard that cdr, along with those who have caught one of this beast live in the past year know just what to expect. not quite as robotic and structured as the a-frames, not quite as loose nor remotely as mellow as the twins ever are. raw, noisy, dirty, psyched out punk rock. this record is in the red all the way through, and by the end your speakers should be nearly as blown out as the amps used to record these tracks. this is a supergroup set to lay waste to all other supergroups. pressed in an edition of 550 on 180 gram white vinyl. packaged in a tip-on style gatefold jacket with silk-screened art.
debut release from this mystery industrial-psych unit with triangle points resting in greenpoint, bushwick & ridgewood, nj. imagined soundtracks for malaria-induced fever dreams. full color paste-on covers, limited to 215 numbered copies.
age of disinformation is a lucid nightmare supergroup featuring members of dallas/denton/ft. worth area ensembles great tyrant, zanzibar snails, yells at eels, tidbits, subkommander & aphonic curtains. at midnight on may 23, 2008, surrealist impresario aaron gonzalez assembled a 6-piece ambient group called age of disinformation, billing the event in advance as “an improvisation on the current state of psychological and spiritual breakdown as it relates to viral ecosystems of economies of information.” those were the only instructions the incoming players received. the end result: a 47-minute cloud of transmogrifying cadmium clouds with mercury lining, mutated voices meshing with dark electronic scree tempered by beautifying moments of translucent cognition, paving the way for the formation of the eternal unimind. the way to evolution is …. disinformation? limited edition 200 cdr, featuring design by nevada hill based on a collage by aaron gonzalez.
i’m going to keep this short and sweet. ilyas ahmed is incredible. born in pakistan and raised in new jersey, he now plies his trade in portland, oregon. “between two skies” and “towards the night” is where it all began. released in criminally limited editions of 50 copies each, both albums are now fully remastered by pete swanson and repackaged in beautiful gatefold jackets from stumptown printers. also included are extended liner notes from david keenan. i think he sums up both these albums best: “call it abandon, a facility for letting go, for moving on; either way ahmed’s music is *gone*. and all we have are the recordings, scattered notes to prove that he once existed and felt it all as deeply and miraculously as any of us. and right now, from wher ei’m calling from, i wouldn’t ask for anything more.” ahmed’s original voice is a welcome addition to an oversaturated aural world. he has gone on to put out numerous self-released cdrs as well as a new cd/lp on time-lag. but in the beginning there were these. what “between two skies” and “towards the night” make crystal clear is that his vision and his voice were there from the very beginning… much needed reissue of these two great cds. sweet packaging too. highly recommended!
portland, or. bedroom wanderer ilyas ahmed emerges from the shadows and offers up his first new batch of songs in some time. over a year in the making, ‘goner’ sees ahmed telescoping his previous acoustic wanderings into fuzzed out rockers and a hypnotic set of beautifully tight knit nocturnes. the whole things kicks off with a massive rush to the head called ‘earn your blood’ which has ilyas effortlessly channeling any number of stoned out trajectories found in a topanga canyon ditch circa mid 70’s. massive waves of hiss still penetrate the mix, and so do the smeared vocal trails, it’s just that it’s all a little more in focus this time around. the comedown into ‘exit twilight’ with grouper at the helm is a haunting broadcast that will for sure knock around in your skull for days. edition of 1000 cd’s in an offset buff case with maroon ink… awesome.
digital version of the above album. packaged in a matching fabric textured, golden hued, mini lp style gatefold cover with black & blood red printing, plus insert & woven japanese inner sleeve.
much anticipated first proper release after a string of ear tugging & increasingly impressive private press cdrs. a real shinning spirit in these somewhat goofy times of “folkpsych” abuse, this guy nails it like its in his DNA. way beyond a simple formula, this is a complete tonal voyage. opening the album with a dark ritual of dueling reeds and buzzing drones, things than erupt into some seriously burning psych raga excursion built from totally heavy, jamming, acoustic guitar licks, eastern grooving hand percussions, stoned backwards or fuzzed-out electric guitar splatters, and subtle creaky drones. the vocals are nearly unintelligible but swirl beautifully through most songs like floating smokey ripples. woozy, headbobbing, and completely THERE. yow… pressed on 180gm audiophile vinyl & packaged in a custom fabric textured, golden hued, heavy gatefold cover with black & blood red printing, plus insert. un-numbered limited edition of 750 copies… last few copies!
jason ajemian is perhaps best known as 1/2 of the magical born heller (w/ josephine foster). ajemian also plays in a number of excellent jazz ensembles throughout chicago (like dragons 1976). but on”love songs invade your mind too,” ajemian steps to the forefront and does nothing but impress. over the course of nine tracks, ajemian shows that true power of a love son. now, these aren’t your typical sappy affairs, these are songs extracted from deep within ajemian’s smitten soul. using little more than upright bass and voice, ajemian’s stark incantations are deeply affecting. ajemian’s approach here couldn’t be simpler. but his talent and ability morph these pieces into something grandiose and magnificent. you don’t find honesty like this anymore. 100 copies.
ajilvsga is brad rose and nathan young, and blood nocturnes is their second full-length disc of prehistoric freakouts documented for a postmodern age. from twin-guitar-noise bonfire immolation roaring at midnight on the open plains, to tranced-out percussive acoustics recorded in secret deep in the bowels of the earth. don your ceremonial animal skins and join the ruckus. five tracks, 38 minutes.
near passerine devotionals is a new, vinyl-only label residing near toronto, ontario, canada. for our debut release, npd is proud to deliver this mammoth caustic-drone masterpiece from oklahoma’s native sons, ajilvsga (brad rose – he who runs the digitalis imprint, and nathan young – not the wolf eyes guy). trading in their guitars for synthesizers, this prolific duo has unloaded a pair of rocket blasts that are sure to flip your skull. the a-side is ear-meltingly delicious, slowly ramping from deepest drone to sheets of piercing skree. the flip takes the pummelling even further, incorporating a sinister rhythm and ghost-vox from brad’s wife, eden. it’s the soundtrack to your beheading… we feel that this is some of the best ajilvsga action yet! and it’s on vinyl!! comes sheathed in a 12″x18″ poster on heavy stock silkscreened by the mighty vgkids; artwork courtesy of evan caminiti (barn owl)… limited to only 300 copies.
with their third release for peasant magik, ajilvsga push their sound even further. huge slabs of densely layered scum continuously churn while rose and young summon shards of electricity from the high heavens. edition of 100.
the consistently mind numbing crushing noise project from nathan young and brad rose (the north sea, digitalis), like a black swarm of god knows what tearing your mind apart. if you dug the north sea cassette we released last year, you should def check this shit out. limited to 100.
finland’s akisa is back with another dose of dark and heavy jazz-inspired soundtracks to the end of the world. this is music with no hope. no light. no anything. when all is lost, this is what we’ll be hearing as we march in chains toward the fire. the combination of saxophone and guitar melts in your ears like a slow-acting poison. fists full of feedback reach up and rip out your hair while a distant voice beckons like a death siren of the cosmos. this shit just freaks me out in such a good way. so fucking bizarre.
this lp was recorded in new zealand in 2004, and is the duo recording of new zealand guitarist donald mcpherson and japanese guitarist tetuzi akiyama. a beautiful meeting of 2 virtuoso acoustic guitarists, both thoroughly schooled in the vast world of improvising. donald mcpherson, a native new zealander has been playing the guitar since the tender age of 12, studied at the otago art school in the ’80s. and in the ’90s he released a number of extremely limited lathe-cut folk records. this record finds tetuzi and donald playing melodic folk improvisations that grow and morph into compositions that on each listening uncover some new layer of beauty. both playing on acoustic guitar, they have a level of communication and understanding of each other’s playing that allows a musical connection to grow and blossom into a full-length recording of delicate melodic mayhem – 180gm vinyl, heavy fold-around covers with insert, hand numbered edition of 550.
the second release highlights the improvisatory aspect of van wissem’s activity, but as is always the case with him, the approach is not so easy to categorize. hymn for a fallen angel pairs van wissem with another rigorously iconoclastic artist, japanese guitarist and off-site alum, tetuzi akiyama. van wissem improvised to a recording of akiyama that he had entered into garageband, a program which allowed him to “see akiyama’s notes coming.” the result is something like a duo improvisation in which the participants are separated in time, with one player given the benefit (or burden) of precognition. this is austere, yet open music that unfolds slowly and laterally, with van wissem’s lute and akiyama’s bottleneck guitar tightly echoing one another or sounding together in strange clusters of tones that are allowed to decay slowly into deep chasms of silence. full of spectral chords, microtonal glissandi, and iron concentration, hymn draws firmly from the work of both artists in forging a sound world that is as barren as it is deep. tetuzi akiyama – martin hd-28 guitar, bottle neck. jozef van wissem – baroque lute, bottle neck, edits… beautiful stuff. edition of 500. nice silver on black cover art.
the japanese guitarist tetuzi akiyama performs an improvised set as a duo with canadian percussionist jeffrey allport on july 1, 2006. this recording is of the first and only time these two well-regarded improvisers have ever played together. living on opposite sides of the pacific, this show became an opportunity for allport and akiyama to each perform some of their most advanced techniques in improvised music with a player whose style was truly compatible. allport approaches every side of his drum, the rim, the snares, the steel clamps, and of course, the skin to produce a challenging repertoire of sounds that defy the drum’s gambit, segues from tibetan drones to electronic clicks and cuts, distant steamships to nearby popcorn. akiyama’s preternatural improvisations along the neck and body of his guitar meditate patiently on each bluesy sound, almost as if his fingers were playing along the surface of a slow-moving river. every note that akiyama plays becomes a sensational interruption causing ripples, splashes, and oxbows in the flow of the music. performed live at a sold-out western front, vancouver’s oldest and most significant artist-run venue, akiyama and allport propose a rich new vocabulary for music. two tracks on vinyl mastered by toshimaru nakamura. this lp documents an unprecedented collaboration between two modern masters of far left improvisation.
tetuzi akiyama has been a major player on the free music/improv scene in tokyo for going on 20 years. pre-existence first came out on cd as a part of the great ’wooden guitar’ series from locust. akiyama’s playing here is one of a minimalist approach, discovering and investigating the empty spaces between each note. he does not follow the takoma guitar school style of finger-picking, but a far more warped primitive country blues feel, with a meditative quality. you never know where you are going to be led with his guitar, down roads rarely traveled. with his dense tapestry of sounds, akiyama evokes emotions that at times are uncomfortable, but of real beauty. open your ears and let the music take you far far out there? 180gm vinyl, heavy textured covers, and hand numbered to 550. awesome.
this 7″ from scotch tapes features san francisco noise/ psych band, al qaeda. its a collaborative affair with side a getting help from mike watt (the minutemen), gabe serbian (the locust, holy molar) and chris carrico (aarktica) while side b features weirdo hip-hop act, occassional detroit. it comes packaged in incredible art by kevin yuen who has recently done tour poster art for the likes of sunn o))). its limited to 324 copies and is pressed on silky smooth green/aqua marbled vinyl. al qaeda recently toured in support of this 7″ with watt, serbian and rob crow (pinback) making appearances on stage with them.
2nd release following debut on foxglove. more bone less meat less muscle more sinew fewer thoughts less synaps some time less space – color paste-on art with insert. nice.
one half of a two cd-r set. cut from a number of recording sessions from a year or so leading up to ‘alps III’ as well as outtakes from those recordings. california kosmische. edition of 100.
one half of a two cd-r set. cut from a number of recording sessions from a year or so leading up to ‘alps III’ as well as outtakes from those recordings. california kosmische. edition of 100.
electronic reverberations. pounding metallic crashes. sonic wails calling for the end of something we’re not sure of just yet. keep listening as all hope for a better tomorrow quickly crumbles into a venomous pile of tape hiss and radio transmissions from the planet we used to call earth. we’re truly fucked. colour photocopied artwork by sarah taylor. photocopied insert. spray painted cassettes. hand stamped and numbered edition of 100.
altar of flies hails from the snowy world of mjölby, sweden. this moniker of mattias gustafsson (not to be confused with the broken face’s mats gustafsson, or the saxophonist of the same name), and throughout “trapped under watter”, this swede swims in metallic waves of ecstatic drones. gustaffson concocts washes of noise and feedback and bends them into shape, stretching the limits of each stolen note. this music is as thick like syrup, and just as fucken sweet. packaged in covers designed by the always impressive mattias frisk.
amanaz was formed in 1973. 3 songs are in the native language bemba, and 9 songs in english, recorded in kitwe, the 3rd biggest city in zambia up north. musically is goes in the same direction as blo, the witch and question mark, but this album is way cooler and stoned with amazing fuzz guitar all over which sounds like an african version of early cream. the cover make it look very traditional but after a few spins you are aware that this one is very special. it’s soo cool, so tight produced and easily to compare with uk underground albums with a touch of african beats. still completely unknown, so this album has not been scored yet by the collectors scene. a real surprise… new edition of 300 on 180gm yellow vinyl. great album!
the mystic worlds of valerio cosi and the solo joint collide as amber lions……one long track navigates through a dreamworld of saxophone, synth, strings and more strings all glazed in a mercurial fog. magnificent. 3″ cd-r edition of 90.
explosive subtle motion and jarring delicateness collide and co-mingle through these two long sides of classic colored seven inch vinyl. here we find much more than just a single demonstration of west coast melding of east coast minds, there is something else in the water? full color covers in shiny plastic sleeves, limited and color vinyl.
restock… a lot of crazy shit can happen to a man when he goes solitary in a ramshackle catskill mountain home for an extended stretch of time-especially for a city kind of guy. but if amen dunes’s 12 tracker dia is one possible outcome of the guy alone-in-a-cabin- story, then a little tape saturated brain frying is something we should all live comfortably with because this is a batch of seriously raw & inspired loner psych grit that owes a debt to the diy soundz of the george brigman s of the world. that was 2006. these days the lone wolf behind amen dunes -damon mcmahon calls a small two room apartment overlooking the temple of earth in north-central beijing home, where he watches old men fly kites and sing opera every morning. who knows what’ll come out of that. 180gm vinyl.
pretty far out xian private press that still hasn’t been hyped much. side one is a pissed-off priest doing protest poetry/rant, side two is a great fairly wild & crude electric rock mass psych-out something like a basement ‘mass in f minor’ with fuzz, harmonies, spoken bits, hand drums, etc. and goner poetry interludes. the best tracks on the b-side are really pretty killer, as good as a bunch much higher rated, big dollar xian garage folkrock slabs i can think of. splitting top & bottom seams. small sticker tear. VG+/VG++.
2nd lp from this psychedelic soul shack up out of chicago, some pretty cool moments in the groove bag from the period. sleeve VG++ with light edge, corner, shelf wear, some writing on back cover (and label), lp EX.
amolvacy is aaron moore from volcano the bear, dave nuss from no-neck blues band, and sheila 16 of the laboratory theater group, nyc. the band creates compositions from its improvisations centered around strong elemental percussion, radical theatrical vocals, and classical acoustic instruments. recurring themes in amolvacy’s texts are the pain of relationships, the affirmation of the feminine in myth, the hero’s journey, and continuous need to flame the passions of the heart. “a la lu la” specifically addresses the gap of language in facilitating accurate communication, a gap that only music at its most primal can fill. the back of the album features text by jose da fonseca & pedro carolino, two portugese who in 1855 created an english phrasebook titled “english as she is spoke,” but who faced just one problem: they didn’t know any english. the linguistic train wreck that ensues mirrors the play of language, sound, and unintentional humor on “a la lu la.” clear vinyl in custom die-cut sleeve.
so concludes “lover go from hence”, a tale of tumultuous romantic upheaval on the new amolvacy record ho ho kus. here we have hearts wrenched from guts and firmly planted in the dirt; but also sprouting new romance, seduction, and… the church? and the french??? francois rabelais wrote garantua and pantagruel – a major influence on this album – in the early 16th c. to caricature the faux morality of his time. amolvacy offer ho ho kus in the same cantankerous spirit, but this time perhaps to parody their own morality. love, marriage, sex, affairs, betrayal, and loneliness are all exposed in naked vulnerability and placed on the chopping block for emotional dissection. lead vocalist sheila donovan (ex-tall boys) is a longstanding member of the laboratory theater company in nyc, and her partners are aaron moore of volcano the bear and dave nuss of the no-neck blues band. together they are the amolvacy family. all things were shared in the making of this record, nothing hidden, no secrets left untold… clear vinyl, elaborate die cut sleeve, quite limited.
tenebrae is theo’s fourth long-player and second with amish (also see dearly beloved, [ami-025]), marking the return of his patently unique songwriting, which includes a variety of regionalist folk-stylings — the mountain music one discovers along the appalachian trail; a southern gothic lyricism; northwestern eco-spiritualism; and above all, the music discovered in the woods just beyond a tent revival. angell’s densely hermetic iconography reflects an artist well-versed in myth, the avant-garde filmwork of kenneth anger and stan brakhage, and the ethno-poetics of brion gysin. oh, and theo’s singing voice is unquestionably one of the most expressive and expansive in outsider folk today. theo grew up in rural oregon, was home-schooled along with his siblings by his minister father, which provided him little exposure to mainstream pop culture; the tunes on tenebrae reflect these conditions, documenting both a reverence for and rebellion against isolation and spiritual absolutes. to that end, the title song, which is the latin word for darkness, references a religious ceremony that involves the extinguishing of candles in advance of holy week. the album’s song-cycle reworks various primitive musical forms to new and celebratory ends, twisting these styles into a unique brand of folk-psychedelia. for this outing, the tabernacle hillside singers include, among others, matt valentine, p.g. six, tom greenwood and samara lubelski. tenebrae highlights again theo’s unique poly-vocal pyrotechnics and will no doubt prove to be one of the most beautiful records of the year… comes in a heavy mini-lp style gatefold sleeve, with foldout insert.
what can i say about theo angell? he’s an artist, a musician, a filmmaker, a shaman. he lives and works in new york city, but plies his trade all over the country. angell is perhaps best known for his work in hall of fame and jackie-o motherfucker, and also as part of samara lubelski’s live band. but with the release of “auraplinth,” all that will change. this is theo angell’s opus. this is his masterwork. it finds him at his absolute peak and delivers an album unlike anything else. he uses his voice to etch out a detailed map of the stars, made up of dirt and bone, proving the organic nature of the cosmos. “auraplinth” is an amalgamation and invention, joining foundation with the ether. both of these forces are constantly at work throughout these 15 tracks. his voice is molded into every possible form. at times it reverberates above a river of folk-inspired melodies, while at other moments, he creates a bed of sound with wordless vocal moans. that voice is the glue that holds this great document together. on “auraplinth,” theo is once again joined by the evolving cast of characters known as the tabernacle hillside singers. this time it includes cynthia nelson (ruby falls), dan brown (hall of fame), & josh stevenson (magneticring). packaged in full-color, heavy duty gatefold jackets with original artwork by christian holstad (the front cover image is actually from a victorian death mask of theo himself), complete with full lyric sheet. the album is mastered by yellow swans’ pete swanson… nice one!
theo angell: introduction to thlowlth fissure – thlowlth is an entity who was birthed in 1996 during a seance in answer to the question “what is dark and green and fills our mouths when we’re not thinking?”. fissure was latter attached as a sire name denoting a lineage of tone splitting and throat separation. this collection reveals thlowlth’s close relationship with the moog synthesizer. el nino came through in ‘97 in response to the catastrophic growing pains of our tilting weather system. the desire was to conjure the sound of a detached electrical power plant hurling over the humid southern states. within this hurtling mass is a moment of sadness and loss at the sight of one’s home floating down the street. the storm moves on. in moog killer, also recorded in ‘97, we have painful vocal drones alongside sine waves. this uneasy alliance turns into an epic battle with the wild bull! it’s a story with tension, violence and tender resolution. “all change, feels strange, even better, better than before.”voxcual is a moog imitator is simply one long vocal improvisation recorded in the late fall of 2001, with reverb. goodwillies: revenant sun – these are the ur-songs, remnant fruit bodies of 1999-2005. my thick skull’d realize, that sound through: answering machine, telephone (land and cell and land), cardboard tube, a wahl two-speed vibrator, tears & semen divided by bee’s wax, and electronic voice phenomena laid up into a deep deep hallowed angelino unemployment in the paradise of a green, too too green, late middling late to early, too early ending-beginning of an echo park scene-thing and the sweet sweet a.c. of fax monica’s salvian closed curtains & windows, & sweeter east los fatherhood compound-coupled-tripled with the growth of a soft cult, sleep cult, a turn in silence and its ancillary friendships, alas black is black even, pink, come back shadows in heat, rub on me; a pirated copy of sound edit 16 version 2 does make, music? long, long before i knew, before i blew, the jasmine of a banana-dill-mint vapour, with more than, much much more than, more, than a little help from my friends, & a greater family and greater still where they meet, again, in pink. heaven is for quitters, reincarnate. for elves protect & fairy kiss, you.
kokura was recorded under dark skies and howling winds, deep in the bowels of a japanese club as the country shook outside. kokura is the fruits of a collaboration between acid mothers temple/mainliner main man kawabata makoto, argentinean guitarist anla courtis (reynols) and japanese underground musician rokugenkin. based around hushed, mellow guitar drones and hypnotic, yet restrained guitar wails, kokura is the first fruits of their labors and captures the sound of life beneath a hurricane. like sunn o))) on half volume! – limited edition of 400.
one copy only. out of print.
a talisman, a living mandala. recorded in buenos aires, 1992-93 (!) and now brought to life by the chants of birds, this is anla courtis ‘ornitology’, a poem about the secret forces of nature and the most sublime forms of communication hidden in the forest. earth, water, wind and fire the elements that are all living inside these three gems, starting with a spectral ballad, “quetro”, and exploding into the second track, ‘escua’, 16 minutes of epic guitars flying over an endless sea of visions. the last track, ‘tersina’, is the final redemption, and it comes through as a primitive-electronic assault! pure magic. 140 grams vinyl, limited to 105 copies only, screenprinted artwork (by canedicoda), half of the covers come in yellow with green print, half in green with dark print.
limited edition reissue of rare and sought-after uk psych-folk album from 1971 by a band formed by tiger taylor (ex-eire apparent); their album makes one think of how the byrds would have sounded had they been british. it’s a folksy/psychy album that is really hard to find as an original deram lp; the record combines melodic folk tunes with guitar-drenched rockers; great singing and delicious original songs make this a must for fans of melodic acoustic rock; features a great version of ’so you want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star’ with some cool fuzz guitar work.
following their acclaimed debut here on -house of alchemy- and two stellar discs on phantom limb (vol.5) and foxglove (vol. 3) comes volume 2 in their mangled and distorted un-series. this air is thick this time around, musty even. prisoner children run the castle halls making these strange sounds, deranged echoes, lost in a maze. electricity flows through this one, via frayed cords. percussion jars you from stasis, leaving you only to gasp for cool crisp air. and then things really get unwound. cd-r edition of 123…. sweet oversized foldout covers with photo.
volume five of this duo’s phenomenal acoustic guitar manipulations, this is actually only their second release. following the critically acclaimed debut release on the house of alchemy, this album finds the brothers in a much more communicative and realized state. for fans of six organs of admittance and clipse alike… sweet sounds and more nice packaging too.
about to drop some other serious albums on nnf and stunned, this tape features side-long blissworks that will gravitationally-bind you to anything with a clear boarder. features the new drummer for pocahaunted and robedoor playing with his brother and others. thick and enjoyable.
you don’t need a cassette description to school you on the knowledge that blood is thicker than water, but if that’s what it takes to make the lesson stick, so be it. or, if you want a shortcut, just peruse the discography of connecticut-bred brothers cy and ged gengras. they’ve been harvesting jams together under the antique bros banner for, shit, almost four years now, and in that span have trawled through a thousand different hybrid strains (creep-folk, math-psych, chaos improv, etc). but the inter-family familiarity hasn’t bred contempt (take that, old proverb); on the contrary it’s spawned a secret psychic/musical language the rest of us ain’t privy to. and, despite a hefty local bias (ged’s an la/nnf hero, drums for pocahaunted, robedoor, and vibes), we can still say with honesty and confidence that season’s feast is easily our fave antique b full-length to date. the ragers are dense and bearded, the acoustic passages evocative and hazy, the ambient lulls sticky as fresh resin. there’s a flow and a focus here that’s rare within the ab discog, and it makes for more meat on the bones, more flames in the fire. if yr already a fan, you’re in luck; and if you’re new to the antique canon, this is the place to start. pro-dubbed tapes with hand-typed/stamped labels in bags with full-color art by amanda. edition of 100.
the antique brothers have made a lot of racket in the past year, earning praise and accolades from the likes of the wire and the terrascope. but such love is deserved. cyrus and ged gengras are at the head of the latest generation of psychedelic troubadours, leading their clan out of the desert and into the sonic abyss. what sets these brothers apart is that despite the amazing quantity of music they’ve produced, there’s no repition or lax quality to be found. from acoustic, folk-tinged scrunches and vocal exorcisms to flickering drones and blues-inspired fuzz, “hospital daze” finds the brothers gengras poached on vicodin and whirring away through the end of time.
oklahoma free form folk by way of the far east turns to spiritual out-jazz and back again. gorgeous. ghosts linger in the dusty halls where this music echoes. edition of 123.
anyone who read our deep water interview with norman, ok’s anvil salute knows what big fans we are of the group. and lucky for us, they’ve returned to the acres to grace us with their ironically titled fourth full-length disc, a full hour of gloriously unwinding instrumental great plains folk rock. both their most focused and most varied work to date, it takes in everything from angular modal epics to sweetly melodic miniatures to ethnic-infused psychedelic drones, all seemingly rendered live via lovely you-are-there room-fi acoustics. heed that rooster’s crow…
those of you lucky enough to have heard not not fun’s “free beasts” cassette compilation may remember apple snails from it. that’s all i had to hear from them to know that i wanted more! apple snails cover the first side and are about as close as you can get to folk drone (is that possible?). lots of slide guitars and dark drones that will leave you with an amnesia induced trip. side b belongs to the mighty acts of god, which is a lovely lady, niwi. electric guitar is the main instrument used, with others guitars and keyboards(?) soaking through that create this very vibrant transcendent feeling, that honestly, the first time i heard, left me speechless. red cassettes with ‘grid’ labels, and fabulous artwork by the even more fabulous jeremy earl of fuck it tapes. edition of 100.
following up releases on crocomodile and an exquisite split cassette w/ the mighty acts of god on dnt, jeffrey mitchell’s apple snails take a whole new approach on “only a macadam road,” and the results are stunning. it’s full of ambient drones that sound like they were born in the northern lights. the road is bathed in darkness, but tiny fragments of light seep through the murk every so often in the form of acoustic melodies and glockenspiel bursts. it’s music that transports you far, far away. we’ve been working on this one for what seems like forever… so long in the making that the inserts actually say foxglove132, but good things certainly come to those who have waited for this apple-eyed gem.
early 70s 2nd press of this japanese monster rarity. wild underground psych sounds hitting some seriously tripped-out zones on a couple tracks with heavily process vocals, effects all over, dark fuzz, heavy organ, etc., while wailing away with heavy CREAM inspired fuzz psych blues elsewhere. pretty hot. original insert but no OBI. super clean & damn rare even as a 2nd press. NM-/EX++.
a glorious split from foreign land brothers and sisters. the a side’s got vincent caylet, a french-man who has been dropping little fog clouds for the past few years as one half of monks of the balhill and sittin’ solo as “v” and the pistil cosmos. now as archers by the sea he works out a set folk songs, overflowing with precious melodies and covered in layers and layers of heavenly memory-clouded reverb, warm tape hiss, and in-the-red muffles. over the course of these five tracks he pulls it all together into ear-filling dense beauty. on the flip side are kawrelia soul collective, a family of russian/finnish folks with a room full of pots and pans and an affinity for making kitten noises. delay-stuttering acoustic lullabies, coos and squawks, junk percussion, and the great feeling of the open air. water-colored and handwritten tape labels in a embossed sewn-felt pouch with an insert and a painted-tied-pouch of shells found on the banks of the gatton rocks swimming hole. edition of 50.
post YARDBIRDS heavy psych. VG+/VG+.
if you’re already ready for more manic teenage improvised art punk from finland here it comes! unlike those pre-teenagers in the demars, armas huutamo is the real thing! they are right in the middle of their teens! that means you can hear all the beautiful anxiety, creative energy and forever growing new pubic hair the age involves. the awesome songs presented on this 7″ have been picked from 50 other songs the duo made during the hyperproductive summer of 1998.
latest basement clacker from the nav. blown tape levels, idiot rock n roll (with moron mantra drumming) and the shimmering of a sexy mile-long windchime in space. it s a bit like smearing sugar all round the inside of your mouth and going into the park to hand out fireworks. and its not even xmas yet! holy fuck.
the latest in ashtray navigations’ ongoing vinylization of our out-of-print cdr catalogue has this amped-up mindbender from 2007… yes, the one with the cute little doggies on the cover. except now they’re on the label and the vinyl is pink. and there is no cover, just a pvc bag so it matches the red culture reissue. one side featuring a thick dinner of swirling tambouras, electric sitars and synths blasting out of tiny battery amp speakers wrapped in buzzing tinfoil (a description of the methodology here and not just the sound!). one side of clubfooted samba rhythms and twin guitar sustain overload which offers a key as to why ashtray navigations’ set at thurston’s atp a few years ago was roundly condemned as “santana” in certain circles. ashtray at its heaviest and most monolithic, though those words are often apply, i guess. pink vinyl lp. limited to 250 copies… very limited stock.
the jodido triangular live sound of ashtray navigations ( – lamf) caught upstairs in one of leeds’ very most exotic wallpaper dens. the walls dripped honey and yet we did not make too much of a mess. features melanie delaney (sculptress) and phil legard (xenis emputae travelling band) as well as the usual. very ‘eavy, very ‘umblin’ – clear packaging, as always.
now into his 10th year operating under the ashtray navigations moniker & with releases on such esteemed labels as menlo park, jewelled antler, siltbreeze, american tapes, celebrate psi phenomenon etc, phil todd continues to conjure up his own unique brand of rural psychedelic folk musik. with his prolific output unde various guises (anna planeta, a warm palindrome, inca eyeball, target shoppers, dogliveroil, green monkey, tea culture etc etc – ) not to mention his previously longrunning label & distro – “betley welcomes careful drivers”, phil todd has been a tireless champion & exponent of fucked-up rock, avant-folk, mangled pop, allout noise, indeed “outsider” art in all its forms. for “electric cointelpro” we are treated to 4 superb tracks of organic drone & inspired electric gtr aktion. an excellent addition to an ever-expanding resume – xeroxed/stapled transparent covers.
it’s a big pleasure for me to release the new full-length album from leeds-based underground legend ashtray navigations, featuring 9 new tracks recorded in studio during 2008 and dedicated to the memory of the great american composer martin denny, father of exotica! “exploding blue floor” is one step ahead into phil todd’s hallucinatory travel into the galaxies of the unknown. a cornucopia of what he has been doing for more than 15 years with unique dedication and passion. passion is in fact, the first word that came to my mind listening to this music where acid guitar riffs, concrete sounds, delicate acoustic passages and vintage warm electronics, live in absolute symbiosis. power to the imagination, breaking down the walls between song and improvisation, structure and freedom, melody and noise. just like looking inside a kaleidoscope, this will be the perfect soundtrack for your daydreams! blue-night coloured vinyl, artwork by phil todd and silkscreened by canedicoda, with insert. edition of 242 copies.
….and a new one from easter 2009. believe it or not, these are the first 2009 ashtray navigations recordings to be released, so there. and this is quite definitely the last in the “painted clamshells” series of cdrs (this time they are mostly yellow, fact fans). sort of a response to a review which described ash nav as “obviously heldon-influenced”…news to me, but i decided to go for it and prove the reviewer right. but imagine a bunch of early 70s frenchmen playing all of their psychedelic records, all of their ocora records and all their prog/fusion at once whilst angry drum machines beamed in against their will from an alternate future blast out very mutated hip-hop beats. apparently mr. r.pinhas was an attendee at a paris ash nav gig and is said to have remarked “i thought they only had pop music in england these days”. this release may prove him right also. this is also the first ashtray release to be almost all digitally recorded….and you’ll be surprised how fucked up it sounds – gawd bless technology for giving us so many options. our most fun-packed cdr for a while. limited to 100 copies.
green-colored vinyl. recorded in leeds, june 2007. originally released as cd-r limited to 100 copies. “classic ashtray navigations, two hallucino-kinetic tracks each side.”
this newest candle burning outing from the long going uk psych project headed by mr. phil todd continues the quest for the farthest possible cosmic frequencies through fx, guitar, synth, and saz on a bed of field recordings. some tracks in here almost enter the pantheon of new age music! edition of 200 copies.
double cdr! two tracks each exceeding 40 minutes. snakestrings (i.e. disc 1) is a trip through strings and soundboxes, phil todd plays esraj, kemence, electric sitar and guitars until the electronic instruments rebel and propel the whole thing into psychedelic overdrive. hollywood taught you to kiss (i.e. disc 2) is based around another todd/crowley/legard trio excursion. dedicated to sun ra and andy warhol respectively. limited to 99 numbered copies.
five blasts of guitar/drums action with electronic gush cerebration. business as usual then. great back cover snap of mr.legard and mr. todd in the shadow of the trunk. ms. delaney took the picture. only one of these people appears on the record. can you guess which? like i say, life is predictable stuff. limited to 100 – color covers.
a quickly happening dvd release from tokyo artist ai aso whose probably most well know outside of japan for appearing on michio kurihara’s solo cd’s and handling the b side of a lavishly packaged 2007 split 7″ with wata from boris fame. the chamomile pool dvd documents concert footage from ai aso from 2007 in tokyo. hypnotically delicate, angelic and minimal in structure ai, accompanied by her band, and with guest appearances by wata and kurihara, for a portion, craft her unique blend of songwriting and psychedelic musicianship. produced by atsuo, of boris, and edited and directed by ryuta murayama of foodunited (responsible for boris dvd’s, greenmachine, stupid babies gone mad). to date represent ai’s first non-japanese release. offset printed dvd disc face comes housed in a heavy stock diecut letterpress printed fold cover. pressing of 600 copies.
original press of rare & odd exploitation orchestrated popsike, like a mix of MILLENNIUM and THE ANIMATED EGG! punch hole. vinyl has various marks & needs a good cleaning, but nothing too major. nice psychy cover art. VG+/VG+. $30.00
wheezing skyward born machine groans and gasped tremolo root to a kinetic pulse, while distant melody zones ascend to circulate around the bass flex on this face chewer by neil campbell. on the flip is the first vinyl cut by glockenspiel, flocculent tones weave with tom rub and bowed metal harmonics, drifting on the back of a drum dub to the heart of a snow-blind haze of feedback, amplified string scrape and analogue electronics. spin at 45. art by noah campbell.
content this time around is highly nitrous, with much overloaded top-end twinkle. check for some particularly screwy (and often barely-recognisable) versions of tracks set for release on qbico and important records later this year, taking the demented recent asc live persona and twisting it further with heavy collage/layering techniques. offset this with remedial drumbox stumble and mysterious processed tracks and you know there’s only one hotel you can be checking into. edition of 150 in colour asc corporate house-style. 7 tracks, 42 minutes.
more jams culled from sessions both live in the field and at home, again sometimes touching on alternate-universe takes on tracks destined for lp and cd issue. huge chord swathes, babbling ectoplasm rituals, crunching delay unit swing, weird time tricks, scattershot beats, all propped up with shards of the patented asc heavy tonal foundation. edition of 150 in colour asc corporate house-style. 8 tracks 44 minutes.
recorded live at stuart arnots place by neil campbell and arttu partinen (avarus) on june 16, 2006. amazing textured paper custom covers with hand stamped paste-on art & insert. numbered edition of 150 copies.
new single by neil campbells ever-evolving solo project, astral social club. neil (a band, vibracathedral orchestra) with assistance from karl bauer (axolotl) unleashes two electronic psychedelic noise jams with distorted loops, cascading feedback, and the sound of hypnotic drones recorded in space. 500 pressed.
featuring two tracks of fearless sonic bliss and two long journeys to a state of sustained ecstasy astral social club’s “plug music ramoon” was recorded in one day on analogue 2″ tape. the lp combines percussive sticks and bells, resonant electronics, keyboard odysseys and some experimental vocal work from helmsman campbell. whilst club member john clyde-evans’s laptop contributions provide much of the backbone groove of the album, stewart keith adds light and shade on a variety of keyboards and toys. together they weave a rich tapestry of sound and noise. but it’s campbell’s dense guitars that thicken the very stem of these four tracks and leads his astral social club to conjure up his visions. this limited edition 12″ comes housed in a gorgeous hand-printed silkscreen sleeve. limited edition of 500.
neil campbell & mel delaney. rec. west yorkshire, winter 2008/09. new asc effort on qbico, a duo this time. this is the social club for astral spirits… red & pink vinyl.
philadelphia drone crew featuring rafi & paul from death chants. lush psychedelic moves morphing into some nice synth/mumble creep out. 3 tracks in 30 minutes recorded at black dirt studio. cover art by jeremy earl. limited to 100.
space hymns echoing in swirling psychedelic synth patterns, zoned guitartones and out-there primitive percussion. featuring members of death chants and muntjac. devotional raga wrapped in appropriate silkscreened offering. 80 copies.
the 2nd of two untitled private press cdrs from this sweet post-death chants electro-drone space raga duo. nice. sliver embossed hand made cover with hand written text. numbered edition of 160.
a vision artifact of ancient future harmonies and inner cosmosis. supreme inner cranial reverbational reflections of where you are. unspoken language and incorporeal communion. recorded by jason meagher at black dirt studio, vinyl pressed at rti, housed in custom stoughton gatefold jackets lovingly adorned with screen printing, color photo and hand drawing. hand numbered ed. of 320… total zoner of a full length from paul & rafi’s post death chants duo. way deep vintage/future sound voyaging. other-worldly tones & moans. a recommended trip for fans of sus & jakob, angus maclise, and all stoned-avant sound art.
cassette version of the above lp. two long midnight fireside all acoustic jams from sparrow (prisma, the bummer road, etc.) nemo (drona parva, time-lag records, etc.) and the three members of visitations. tranced percussive strings, ghost vocals, and creaky rhythms and wrapped up in each other. limited to 60 copies with color transparency sleeves and no info.
4th vinyl release on the label, and the first wax for this maine crew after a cassette release on sloow tapes. two long midnight fireside all acoustic jams from sparrow (prisma, the bummer road, etc.) nemo (drona parva, time-lag records, etc.) and the three members of visitations. tranced percussive strings, ghost vocals, and creaky rhythms all wrapped up in each other and slowly unfolded… numbered edition of 299 with stamped labels and full color paste-on art front & back. zero info.
limited edition of 200 on heavy transparent vinyl, housed between two thick perspex plates with four interchangeable translucent paper inserts, hand numbered with photographs of real found numbers, bound with white 10/0.1 electrical cable and sleeved in a thick pvc pocket. all pieces apart from the title track have been reworked and re-edited from the companion compact disc, released on riot season records – damaged in-the-red stereo electric guitar/drums/electronics assult. totally wild and blasted sounds, and one of the most amazing packaging jobs we’ve ever seen. can’t beleive we scored more of these, so grab one now before its too late.
ben chasny & hiroyoki usui, aka “L”. one copy only.
here is another unknown us beauty. recorded in 1968 august played a lot in small clubs. the clubowner gave them the chance to record an own album. they played it straight onto tape with no overdubs in a couple of hours. only 100 copies or less where pressed. the music reminds me a lot of lazy smoke. it has that pepper style but the sound is more rough. beautifull compositions played in a garage style – recorded usa, 1968. 180gm vinyl, heavy covers, numbered to 450.
so delicate, the sounds that unfold here. brad rose and ville mosquiitto return as autumn galaxy with another discharge of aural marvel. they tip-toe around one another, laying out a finely-crafted set of music that manages to be both dense with texture and startlingly fragile. fractured sound-scapes, shattered banjo and endless buzz are just some of the elements at play here. cd-r edition of 123.
shimmering blankets of glass sound lay fallen upon concentric ears this spaced gorgeous collaboration between brad rose and ville moskiitto unfolding slow in delicate patterns very pretty – great stuff packaged in a lovely metallic gold cover with color paste-on art and a full color insert.
here is your introduction to phase two. while there is a certain degree of continuity in the approach, ii is a noticeable extrapolation of the avarus sound. the albums six tracks span collage-esque pieces of audio junk to deconstructed song forms to subtly dense instrumentals. waves of stretched electronics, distorted clank and warbling bass throb create layers of chaotic wreckage until a sudden collapse reveals an underlying stasis. unnoticed patterns now conscious pull the listener into another time/mind continuum. step into the g-a-p. the lp is presented in a full cover printed sleeve with suitable “found” photo art – for you to figure out what its all about – limited to 400 or so copies… slightly bumped corners, reduced price.
all-new exclusive avarus! fourth secret eye full-length and tenth release overall from this incredible finnish band that pretty much defines modern psychedelic kraut improv. primitive, primal and tribal, desolate and mournful, dreamy and pastoral, motorik and hypnotic. buzzing, clattery, droning, stumbling krautrock flecked with shimmering free-noise, avant ambience, delicate folk fuckery, and chaotic caveman psychedelic space rock. avarus iv starts where the rasvaaja lp ended. the iv, too, consists of tomas regan’s careful high-quality recordings. on the iv avarus makes and even longer dive in the warm and clear pond, into which the water is poured from both kraut and space rock, and from micro music and slapstick. the recording was made after the us tour, which guarantees the firm harmony satisfying the most demanding listeners. the delicate talent and the hilarious team spirit guarantee a recordful of heart-warming harmonies and surprising turns delighting an unprejudiced mind. the wondrous adult rock of avarus is born from an uncompromising love for music. the finished recording deserved a fantastic cover, too. this in mind, the graphic visionaries amanda and pauliina spent their summer holidays swimming, drinking beer, and drawing their kaleidoscopic davy crockett epos inspired by music. lp only – 160 gram virgin vinyl, pressed in czech republic, direct metal mastering, full-color labels and jackets, all-exclusive new jams. limited to 200 copies… sure to go quick, so don’t miss out if you’re a fan.
long touted as the forefathers of finnish freeform psychedlic music, avarus, a collective bearing members from the anaksimadros, kemialliset ystävät, maniacs dream, and more, document their first tour of the united states on “kirppujen saari”. the sounds contained show a departure and growth from typical avarus recordings. the a side long track begins with a psychrock romper complete with full “band” instrumentation, slowly it deconstructs itself into the abstract electric/acoustic stylings and sonic spattering familiar to their previous work. slowness builds into full on clatter filled walls of vocals, toy keyboards, horns, strums, and other acoustic junk, creating a unique and massive drone. the opposing side is pure acoustic drones composed of vocals, horns, and tribal beats. room filling ambiance, corner clatter, and morphing silence also find a way to unobtrusively build themselves into the piece. in an edition of 350 lps on coke bottle clear vinyl with printed labels by bart of sloow tapes and proprinted full color foldover art by the band… nice one!
tough to find single from damaged finnish cult unit here featuring JAN ANDERZEN (kemiallistet ystavet, etc.) and JONNA KARANKA (kuupuu, etc.) quite limited. perfect M/M.
when you go to finland, a country where 95% of the population is inbreed, chances are that you will meet at least 7 members of the avarus family! you can smell them from a mile away, they’re the adults raising their kids on homebrew white spirit, continuously producing the kind of farts you can’t hear though the stench is worse than the ones that sound like a brassband. behind every finnish tree there is a member of avarus humping another avarus member, and rarely a kemialliset ystavat member (the other 5% of finns). the governement of finland is not proud of this sick family, they try to keep it silent, rarely give interviews to press from other countries and make sure planes hardly fly out. though for some reason arttu partinen, roope eronen and tero niskanen made it as a trio in a small boat to the usa. the only instruments that made it were a few balloons and a crappy casio. on arrival they found a microphone, a drum and more toys, climbed the wfmu building and played the craziest session ever! like a bunch of children discovering the 50’s euro avant garde scene, the 60’s psychedelic free jazz and pre-punk scene, the 70’s sound poetry and punk scene and the 80’s disco scene in one afternoon!! this lp sounds like a mix of all of that i guess. limited to 300 copies, comes in a psychedelic duo coloured cover by dt.
original brazilian first pressing of fantastic south american psych. tropicalia vibes, wild fuzz, effects, regional flashes. from the city recife which had a small but great & unique scene (LULA CORTES, ZE RAMALHO, FLAVIOLA, etc.). later pressing altered track list, this is the unaltered original. very fragile & super weird textured cover. layout by LAILSON of SATWA. tiny price sticker tear on back, corner bends, but very clean art. long lite paper scuffs on wax, but plays real nice. VG++/VG+. rare!
restock of 2005 release, last copies… xmas 2004, brooklyn. brian sullivan and nate nelson of mouthus meet up with karl bauer of axolotl for some sonic celebration and let the tape machine roll. two side-long psilocybe-inspired scoops of shimmering and stumbling drone / zone / sludge ragas. better dust off your bib. full color printed photo-collage covers, insert.
originally released in 2005 as a limited edition cd-r on yellow swans’ jyrk label, this three-way collab now gets a proper run on wax. recorded in oakland at the huffin house before the swans made the retreat back to portland. despite the weight of these players when they rock alone, this jam really never gets into full on white out territory. instead, it’s loaded to the brim with wavy neon distortion and soothing low end that occasional drops out into huge washes of emptiness. the opening passage of gms guitar flecks sympathizing with karl’s string wash is alone worth the price of admission. red vinyl with lime green splatter. edition of 500.
karl bauer and eva saelens (axolotl and inca ore respectively) are two like minded bay area psychers operating on two opposing levels. axolotl marks the a side with skyward streaking drones and ethereal loops tinged and focused, ringing with the joyous bliss of upward passage. an endless array of vocals, electronics, and violin looping and looping, building and growing: stasis. inca ore makes her craft from an earth bound level. oneness with her surroundings, roots firmly planted. eerie incantations and meandering harp play foreground to layer upon layer of looped vocals and murky ambience, charting your way towards forever. in an edition of 450 white purity colored 7″s in black and white pro-printed collage fold-over sleeves by eva with a numbered insert.
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brand new hand-numbered edition of 552 12 inch ep from this great new european label gipsy sphinx that also just released the vanishing voice ‘nordic visions’ set. here karl bauer uses violin, vocals, electronics and percussion to assemble swathes of hypnotic, tripped-out noise that falls somewhere between terry riley’s circular, pulsing explorations, sonic boom’s radiophonic workshop gargles and swirls, and burning star core / vibracathedral orchestra’s wall of sound. the a-side is an ecstatic fog with the b-side the gentle star-gazing come-down – limited/numbered to 552. from the fine folks who brought you the vanishing voice nordic visions lp. nice paste-on art packaging too.
new psych damaged batch of nocturnal hookum from karl bauer. zoned out crackling, tones and sweet sk-1 blowout all brewed up into a sweet load of tingling psychic non-songs and grot beats.
northern europe 1867: a winter so harsh, a spring so cold and a summer so late. a dead harvest. the failure of the crop meant starvation and thousands and thousands of people died. bark bread, lichen gruel and families slowly fading away. this bleak period, ended in 1869, resulted in that more swedes than ever emigrated to northern america and other places for a better life. based around those years, gothenburg’s ättestupa here creates an absolutely terrific soundtrack to this misery with their new 3-song ep. exploring the dark past of their native country sweden, this is a well-executed journey into the neverending well of hopelessness. into the struggle of nature and mankind. you’ll recognize the sound from the rtb lp from last year and the abisko tape, but here they are taking everything up a notch. the unique production is getting close to perfection, a raw and disgusting thick sonic bliss with a continuous crunch. a sharpened blend of noise, kraut and black metal with a crude melancholic atmosphere. vocals buried deep under the soil and guitars being more prominent. organs, screeching metal junk, tape loops. pounding drums. the recording reeks of bad times and tremendous coldness and it’s hard to grasp for air. no hope and definitely no joy. recorded during the first three months of 2009. limited to 330 copies on black vinyl.
this is the follow-up to the self-titled debut lp that came out last year on release the bats. this time the music is even more grey and pale, three tracks wrapped in near-suffocating bleak atmosphere. dealing with the dark rural sweden of the past, this is music with folk tones in its veins, and played with callous hands. this is the spirit of the 19th century farmhands who never took the easy way out and abandoned their soil to go west. it’s grim up north. 165 copies, on type ii chrome tape.
debut by trio of stephen o’malley (sunn0))))), daniel o’sullivan (guapo), and vincent de roguin (shora). taking its title from the iliad, the music here is deep and cosmic, completely unlike anything you’d expect from such heavyweights. more in the tradition of “spiral insana” and “cyborg” than anything, the tracks float along in a masterful collage of activity, where careful scene changes highlight o’sullivan’s classic but artfully placed rhodes bombs, de roguin’s organ, and o’malley’s guitar. extraordinary effort has gone into editing, mastering, and shaping these pieces; these are not tossed off improvisations or “side-project” orphans. housed in cd and lp jackets hand-printed by alan sherry/siwa. lp was cut by john golden, expertly pressed at rti. first vhf vinyl in 7 years! – very limited press & very limited stock.
third earth shattering outing for vincent de roguin (shora), stephen o’malley (sunn0))), ktl) and daniel o’sullivan (guapo). for faking gold and murder, the core trio is joined by percussionists nicolas field and alex babel, as well as renown guitarist alexander tucker and the inimitable david tibet. faking gold is heaviest outing, driven by a weighty low end and the full fury of babel and field’s free-wheeling drums. the trio’s electronics, guitar, rhodes, and organ ride the waves of sound in a tightly-controlled blare, leaving plenty of space for tibet’s declarations of the mystical and supernatural. tibet is on top form here, rising out of the tempest at just the right moment, almost plain-spoken in places and grounding the squall at times, voicing the apocalypse at others… brooding, primeval, dark alchemical epics are full of a ferocious intensity, sounding more like a starlit night being ripped open by lightning than a musical group. intelligent and primal, like a demonic workshop, battering up pandemoniums and dreaming of gold and murder, @thenor are spectacular.- david tibet, cover design by nicola todeschini and vincent de roguin. deluxe lp is 180 gram, pressed at rti, in letterpress cover on heavy black art stock by stumptown, with custom gold on black inner. cut by john golden. a fantastic sounding and looking item… beautifully done release.
live improvisations + electronics for the 1st release of this french duo – 4 tracks – 72mn – limited to 50. packaged with the usual foliage.
700 press of all-time killer garage lp from 1968, illinois. ‘minister to a mind diseased’ and ‘tables of grass fields’ are the two cuts that grab me, but the whole lp is killer from start to finish. exact cover reproduced here and glossy. just a 700 pressing — will sell out quickly. in conjunction with gearfab, void records brings you this mammoth release! … much needed new reissue of the gem.
marking the vinyl debut of a couple of so maine’s favorite improvisational psych outfits, this split 33rpm 7″ runs amok with some murky kraut-leaning grooves. bad bus’ side builds from loose tom drumming and echoey vocal moans into a locked-in bassline stomper. tempera’s track buzzes its way through lo-fi live loops, beats backing aetherial vocals, a complete electro mindgroove. hand-stamped black 7″ vinyl record held in a hand-ripped, machine-stitched patchwork record sleeve. hand-numbered to 300…loose 7inch from the tryst haunt subscription series.
private press on 200 copies. only one copy only.
the second bad drumlin grass record is the first vinyl release on milvia son records. way back in july of 2006, sensei rebel chose the bands schizophrenic inaugural cdr (birth/afterbirth) as his ambient pick of the week. forsaking the drone (at least temporarily), bad drumlin grass presents two solid sides of junk n roll instrumental freakouts that careen into the void like cigarette cherries dropping into the fake beard of a paranoid neo-folkie where, like sonny bono, they just sit there and *burn*. these are not the lost hams rehearsals tapes. imagine richard thompson and garth hudson rehearsing for 10,000 hours and touring with this heat. this record is the exact opposite of that, except for being recorded live without overdubs. 300 copies for the world.
the first recordings by meg baird under her own name. meg has been singing and performing since she was a kid with her sister laura as a charter member of the traditional folk duo the baird sisters, though she is currently best known as one of the ‘female larynxes’ of the communal philadelphia band espers. or we should say, best known as the siren-voiced singer for same. or, perhaps, we could let nick carraway describe the quality of her voice for us: ‘the exhilarating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain. i had to follow the sound of it for a moment, up and down, with my ear alone before any words came through. we asked meg to record something with a country-waltz flavor, and she courteously obliged us with a graceful and bittersweet cover of ‘waltz of the tennis players’ by the under-appreciated ’60s folksters fraser and debolt. the mushrooms are growing in every new boot print, my, my, my.’ for the b-side, she recorded an alternate version of ‘dear companion,’ a track from her forthcoming lp. it’s an ancient melody, an aching lament sung ‘in the style of the chapel,’ with meg whisper-singing right into your ear, or maybe just to herself as she folds the laundry and does the dishes. you can see things more clearly when you shut your eyes – lovely color covers, heavy vinyl, very limited, and oh so beautiful.
orig pressing of this cool afro/rock/psych crossover piece heavily featuring FELA RANSOME-KUTI. VG+/EX+.
one of the more unexpected – if worthwhile – byproducts of the 21st-century underground american folk revival is a renewed interest in solo acoustic guitar music. spare, haunting, pastoral sounds have a struck a new chord, and the words john fahey and takoma are hip again. just check the mighty tompkins square and strange attractors labels for the proof in the pudding. matt baldwin, raised in california’s rustic pacific grove, educated in the alternative mecca of berkeley, sits in the center of this quiet, swirling scene. he is the visionary wildcard of today’s solo guitar music, the ambitious fever dreamer, the serpent in the grass. towering tall with long blonde locks, he conjures from his axe dark and mystical realms. he calls his music ‘new age,’ and he may not be joking. featured on tompkins square’s 2006 berkeley guitar lp, baldwin now steps into his own with his debut solo release. unlike many of his peers, he looks beyond the traditions of fahey (whom he calls ‘a teacher,’ not a god). he brings portentous and progressive elements into his music, alongside a dreamy country lilt. he covers krautrock legends neu! (’weissensee’) and metal vikings judas priest (’winter’), and culls inspiration from prog heroes yes on closing epic ‘rainbow.’ his music comes on like a creeping moss, verdant but threatening, comforting yet unsettling. it will work its way inside you… limited vinyl version. heavy covers.
you all may not be familiar with the project, but it’s william sabiston of (part-time) axolotl fame. dude is a wild percussionist who’s collaborated with tons of folks, but most recently in a group bulbs. i’m not even sure how to describe this release – i suppose”freedom techno,” a ficticious genre imagined by roope eronen, would be some sort of applicable term. william weavs all sorts of percussive sounds; bells, electronic drum pads, synth and acoustic drums into a complex whirl of pulses and clicks that will occasionally congeal into abstract loops, minimalist techno riffs, dub-zones or some sort of cohearance, before whatever beat he’s imagined crashes in on itself – those familiar with william’s solo track on the axolotl cdr,”oranur,” will have some idea what to expect. but then, i’ve been listening to this thing for months and i still don’t know what’s happening when i listen to this thing. limited to 150 copies – screenprinted covers.
tough to find and in demand doomy heavy psych original with a very strong BLACK SABBATH sound that they pull off quite well. promo sticker on cover. lite ring wear, but otherwise very solid cover. EX-/EX-.
back in print on vinyl… the magically twisted, imaginative and personal debut album from engaging songwriter devendra banhart. twenty-one songs performed with banhart’s unique vocals-his occasionally warbling falsetto is alternately bizarre, comical and often a little frightening-advanced acoustic guitar work-which veers schizophrenically from gentle grooves into jolting, non-rhythmic stabs and weird harmonic flights of chaos-and the wildly surreal nature of his truly exceptional lyrics. comparisons have been made to the first three tyrannosaurus rex albums, nick drake, comus, daniel johnston, and karen dalton. wonderful to say the least. – michael gira.
over their recording career, bardo pond has released countless tracks that have appeared only on singles, compilations or other formats. this material has frequently stood equal in stature to the band’s densely sprawling full-length albums. in an effort to start compiling this hard-to-find material, both the band and three lobed recordings are proud to announce the debut of the cypher documents series. the first installment in this ongoing series compiles seven studio tracks that have never before been released on conventional media. the tracks themselves take the listener to many different places — be it the aggressive and sludge-guitar attack of ’slag,’ the sparse tones of ‘quiet tristin,’ or the extended psych exploration of the thirteen minute epic ‘black turban.’ closing out the disc is ‘from the sky,’ an exclusive and extended thirty-one minute psych-rock epic. this track is appearing on this disc for the first time anywhere in any form — it is the expanded session that the original five minute mp3 ‘in the sky’ came from. while not originally designed to be released together as a single album, the time span over which they were recorded makes the seven tracks on cypher documents i possess a definite cohesive flow. as presented, this disc acts as a sort of ‘lost’ album that displays exactly how the band sounded in the meantime between the release of set and setting and 2001’s dilate.
limited edition pressing of 1000 copies on vinyl heavy enough to hold some of bardo pond’s headiest jams. this is the first of four vinyl only bardo-related releases coming out simultaneously on important records. gazing at shilla is bardo pond’s first release on important. the two pieces, both very different in sound and feel, have sat patiently in the bardo archive waiting for the most opportune moment for release. ‘eight-thousanders’ and ‘kali’ are both entirely improvised pieces with no overdubs. slide blissfully into a smokey heaven and then forget your mind in a lower world of strange tones on side a. if you’re still able to flip the record when the needle hits the runoff groove, you’ll find yourself exposed to the goddess kali’s naked blackness. bardo is out. are you in?
limited edition of 1640 copies. in early 2008, bardo pond and three lobed recordings teamed up to assemble batholith, a collection of tracks that were close to the band’s heart but for various reasons had never been released. the result was an extremely cohesive and vital statement that was positively received by both old and new bardo pond fans. during the compilation of batholith the band had to agonize over the wealth of material that they were sitting on in constructing the ultimate tracklisting – there were too many good songs! the band approached this “problem” by structuring two sister albums, batholith and peri, each possessing their own musical themes and each fully capable of standing independent from the other. for this reason, peri is every bit as potent as its predecessor. the meticulous sequencing of peri’s five tracks provides a classic bardo pond experience. while the initial description of the material might lead one to think that these tracks are “outtakes” or cutting-room floor type material, neither conclusion could be further from the truth. the band is quite excited to finally see all of the material on peri venture into the public. for example, “chicken gun” will be recognizable to the band’s longtime fans. a former live staple from 1996 through 1998 (even making an appearance in the band’s set at the first terrastock festival), it is a propulsive and fiery rocker every bit as monumental as some of the band’s classics such as “lb.” and “tommy gun angel.” “the path” is a subtle number featuring floating flute work from isobel sollenberger. the album-closing “silver pavilion” is the sort of meditative psychedelia that has been bardo pond’s calling card over their lengthy career. the track dates to the band’s extremely fertile, yet barely documented, period between the release of “dilate” and “on the ellipse.” “silver pavilion’s” slow, enveloping build properly see the listener to the door and is reminiscent of such flawless bardo closing tracks as “rm,” “aldrin” and “night of frogs.” peri is pressed on 180g rti vinyl and is housed within heavy “old-style” one-pocket stoughton gatefold jackets bearing new collage work from michael gibbons. the record is from a one-time pressing of 1640 copies and, as an added convenience for our vinyl-loving friends, will come packaged with a glass-mastered cd (not cd-r) of the material present on the wax… all copies here are accompanied by a bonus cd (tlr-068) of previously unreleased bardo pond material, only available as a special pre-order bonus.
recorded by george mitchell in 1978, this lp was originally released by the southland label under the name ‘william robertson.’ due to cecil’s superstitions and legitimate fears of the taxman, he insisted that it come out under a false name. cecil was an unusual blues musician, giving each song its own feel and rhythm. another underrated american original. this is a co-release with big legal mess records.
campbell kneale moves ever closer to the glistening, levitation altar, with backwards bliss-shimmer, spooked chant and analogue squawk and squeal, kaleidoscoping around triumphant snare punctuation. bark haze (thurston moore & gown duo) hit back with focused power-drone guitar duelling from the heart of the bong, smoking out into tunnel-visoned, crumbled-amp chunder. artwork by campbell kneale/kim gordon.
newest blackest rainbow hot on the heels of some truly killer releases from the artists involved, both who seem to have really pushed there sounds and vibes to new levels this year… barn owl’s side has been mastered by local jammer ben nash, and its three tracks of sparse drone layered with bleak guitar epic-ness, tingling chimes and dark mountainous whispers. the guitars here sound delicate and beautiful, but it remains bleak and empty, if you enjoyed their lp on not not fun then this is a real treat. tom carter’s 16 minute ‘train kept’ follows pretty damn nicely from his recent ’shots at infinity’ releases on important, a far cry from his more psychedelic folk experimentations, here he slashes and riffs like many a legend, and maybe, just maybe, it’s a slight tribute to a certain band too? this is a fully wild piece of work. black sleeves, pasted stark landscape cover, with a insert of liner notes. limited to 380 copies… instantly out of print, last two copies.
the conjurer is the latest offering by bay area duo barn owl. this new long player finds evan caminiti & jon porras finally (by way of an actual recording studio) documenting something that is a bit closer to their very heavy live sets, with expanded peaks of white light distortion and enormous valleys of bottom end. each side opens with a brief funeral dirge to set the mood, a precession of bare bones drum beats and bell like guitar statements that bridge the gap to the wider open spaces of the almost side long ‘across the desert of ash’ and ‘ancient of days’. it may seem obvious, or even a little overwrought, but it has to be said that these guys really do evoke all kinds of cinematic drama with their music. apocalyptic westerns, bleak melodramas, mother nature fever dreams, it all seems to come to mind amid the evening guitar passages, incantations, flute tones, and finally, the solo piano that emerges lost among the electric mayhem to close the album. considering the amount of terrain, the conjurer is far from being scattered or rushed sounding. the record as a whole moves at a crafted even rhythm, slowly merging from one scene of violence to the next of almost silent recovery, then back up the mountain again. an edition of 500 lps, half colored deep red, half black. cover etching by evan caminiti… nice one & sure not to hang around long.
seriously rare japanese first pressing! super think gatefold cover. big four page foldout insert with lyrics. super clean black/silver labels. lovely wax. minor cover wear mostly to the edges, and a starting but very neat spine split. awesome vintage audiophile pressing! sorry, no obi. EX-/NM-.
great collection of studio outtakes from ‘69 and ‘70.
awesome collection on this label that has ben doing a really great job of unearthing high quality pink floyd & barrett rarities. side a is a good selection of previously unreleased studio outtakes, syd’s collaboration with kevin ayers, and ‘dylan blues’ on vinyl. side b is syd’s full final studio session from 1974, most of which has never be circulated before! full color cover, thourgh notes, marbled purple vinyl. recommended!
tender drawings and tender sounds. personal and sincere visions by bart de paepe, the cloudy head of sloow tapes. 16 pages, part full color and part b/w. and a short cassette of recent family thinkers sounds. one part is jams, other part is strange tape collage.
this one is two side-long triple guitar jams by ben chasny (six organs of admittance, comets on fire), elisa ambrogio (magik markers) and brian sullivan (mouthus, eskimo king, white rock). extremely dense and crunchy – hold this one back to set the mood at your next summer of love party. like our other vinyl releases, this one will be pressed on 180g rti black vinyl and will come from an edition of 845 copies. look out for the beautiful and heavy wrap-around silkscreened covers (by alan sherry of siwa) on this one. as a bit of a first for three lobed (and a trend that we hope will continue with most of our vinyl releases from this record onward), packed in with the lp is a pressed cd (not cd-r) of the same material present on the album. the cd is not available separately and is included as an element of convenience and portability for all you vinyl folks (and also as an effort to help convert a few of you cd folks into vinyl folks!).
a real cool piece for sound sculpture collectors! way obscure private press 10inch released by the museum of modern art, new york, to coincide with an exhibit by the artists in 1965. the vinyl itself was pressed in france, and an alternate version was sold there, but this version was packaged and (barely) sold through the museum itself in the US. packed in a fragile b&w six panel foldout folio cover with photos of all the amazing instruments & extensive notes. blank back. amazingly, this copy comes direct for the MOMA’s archive and still has the museum’s index tag affixed to the spine. other than said index tag, the very fragile cover is EX. vinyl is stunning unplayed NM+. a very rare & very cool item indeed.
another in the wooden weavil series, this time an unreleased live robbie basho recording from germany in 1980. this program appears to have been recorded in one go. robbie scatters his americana numbers throughout, beginning with ‘redwood ramble,’ ending with ‘california raga.’ this date finds robbie in fine fettle, his playing sharpened by the intensity of touring, his mood seems ebullient, at times (as on ‘fandango’) he comes off like john lee hooker’s sun-kissed cousin, stomping furiously along to his playing. there is sweetness to his material, yes, but this is not, as jack rose put it, ‘music for wineries.’ there is the galloping muscularity of basho’s playing, coupled with the sheer hugeness of his sound; the fearless employment of dissonance as part of his musical make-up; a love for the unexpected chord change. robbie was a voracious and uncompromising player. basho’s singing was as integral to who he was as his guitar playing, and when he opened his mouth, he filled the room with sound. say what you like about his lyrics, no one can accuse basho of dilettantism, of dabbling, or of trying something on merely for effect. whatever bag he was in, he was in all the way. liner notes from glenn jones & stephen basho-junghans, and beautifully remastered by glenn jones… wonderful archival release!
second cdr on br from mike vest of bong’s solo project of hazy lo-fi ritualistic temple drone for smoked out fried brains. one long beast of a track at over 35 minutes. limited to 100.
helena espvall and masaki batoh are known to open-eared music listeners for their collaborations with other artists — artists with names such as ghost, espers, damon & naomi, fursaxa, tom rapp, lukas ligeti, bert jansch, among many others. by collaborating with each other, they’ve made one of the most beautiful recordings either one of them has yet participated in. they first met at a festival in the united states in 2006. batoh presented helena with a handmade bamboo instrument; short on spare celli, she gave him a copy of her solo cd. afterwards, they stayed in touch. at some point helena suggested an improvised musical collaboration. batoh wrote back and said: ‘actually i’m too busy now to think about music… if my idols moondog, henry cowell or toru takemitsu wanted me, i’ll refuse their orders.’ several weeks later, he had a change of heart. he contacted helena and said that he felt they should record not improvisations only, but songs as well. helena made a demo of some scandinavian folk songs that she remembered in her spirit from growing up in northern sweden, thinking that maybe they’d record one. the recording session was held in tokyo over four days in december 2007. for instruments fans, this session might be a treasure. so many strings were used: 6- and 12-string guitar, banjo, cello, hurdy-gurdy, harp, contra bass, chappa tibetan bells, kin (buddist metallic bowl), timpani, bass marimba, vibraphone, thunder sheet & on & on. six of the swedish traditional tunes were reconstructed, along with batoh’s arrangement of ‘death letter,’ a classic son house delta blues song. additionally, a european medieval tune was addressed in its own arrangement and expression. ‘zeranium,’ a dreamy folk tune that batoh wrote for damon & naomi (they didn’t use it), was re-arranged for this session as well. the improvisations were done on the last recording day, with no overdubs. ‘completely free’ was the essential concept. for one of them, they were joined by batoh’s fellow ghosts takuyuki moriya (contra bass), kazuo ogino (piano,celtic harp) and the santur player mayumi nagayoshi. the same morning, helena had received notice that her grandmother suddenly had died, and that a dear friend had chosen to end his life. two death letters in one day? there is great emotion reflected in the improvisations. and great depth and beauty throughout the whole helena espvall & masaki batoh album… limited vinyl version in a heavy gatefold cover.
handmade covers. a confusing, odd record. 2 lock grooves begin the edith side. bedroom meanderings that steve stapleton might be proud of. released around 9/11/01. really! tons of confusing inserts. 200 pressed.
orig press with the rare bonus single in its original picture sleeve. 7inch sleeve has two tears, nice wax. VG/EX++. lp cover mild general wear, two tears on back. VG+/EX+.
black/rainbow label orig of one of their greats. nice clean cover. EX/VG+.
it’s the final beach fuzz recording made with barry dean on drums and also features the eyeball-melting saxophonic skree of solar fire trio’s dave jackson. it was recorded in warrington on 29th oct ‘08 and is a more melodic yet typically cacophonous jam than previous releases. we hope you dig. out now on cd-r, limited to 80 copies.
5 minutes pulled from 2 epic, cacophonous jams make up both sides of this first beach fuzz 45. following on a slew of home spun cassette and cdr releases on their own golden lab label as well as blackest rainbow, lotus birth and others. insistent, narcotic drone pieces featuring bowed, scraped lap steel, wailing echo drenched synth wash with occasional mo-esque, circling percussion. 300 only in cool, fliptop, yearling lined card fliptop sleeves.
real nice copy. killer boston garage/psych burner. very cool album gushing with good ideas. lots of experimentation, lots of cool fuzz, snotty acid lyrics, weird effects, etc. gatefold cover. original inner sleeve. small punch hole. NM-/NM-.
last ever copies!!! recorded in 1970 but not released until 1996. follow up to their highly heralded album ‘welcome’ which is a classic psych album. this one is psych flavored pop/rock. comes with paste-on sleeve… long out of print high quality archival release.
devastating psych noise power drones by ernesto gonzález, an 18 year old kid from venezuela who moved to belgium with his family 3 years ago. thick layers of hototogisu-like guitar drones interfere with endless tape loops and warm washes of analogue jungle color tone to work up to an overwhelming fuzz guitar climax, leaving listeners helpless, ecstatic, puzzled and bemused. ernesto has been making music for over three years now, has various solo as well as collaboration projects going on, has released a slew of amazing selfmade cdr’s and has recently also become a full time member of belgium’s finest: freefolk/krautrock outfit silvester anfang, who’ve got an lp coming out on eclipse later this month. a promising new star in the psych drone skies’85 djid hums is the vinyl debut of bear bones, lay low: over 45 minutes of pure psych drone bliss pressed on heavy high quality 180g vinyl, complete with paste-on art and flashy insert, housed in a thick cardboard jacket with resealable plastic sleeve. limited to 525 hand-numbered copies.
ernesto gonzález traded the chavez regime for comfortable living in a dreary place called waterloo, near brussels. he picked up the guitar, practiced his hendrix skills, got introduced to the world of scorching fuzz, demented kraut rock jams, drone lords and kosmik trance and decided he could as well do all that shit by himself. after his debut on gipsy sphinx, vallée de dith is his second official solo outing, leaving the drone in second position and focussing heavily on kraut rock work-outs. this is the ultimate south-american take on moolah, ash ra temple and neu!: excellent riffing, brain-melting space synth and far-out hippy meditation. probably the best venezuelan album since angel rada’s upadesa. phill niblock hated it!
total 70s new age mustache music. really amazing tripped-out cover art! very slight warp. EX++/EX-.
more total 70s new age mustache music, now with longer mustaches. really amazing tripped-out cover art! very slight warp. NM/EX++.
a prison is a noisy place. the clanging of bells announcing the prison routine, the whir and ratcheting, banging and slamming of electric gates and mechanical metal doors, the ebb and flow of human vocalizations as hundreds of people caged against their will respond to their conditions in myriad ways – to express their loneliness, or discontent, or rage, or insanity, or merely to cheer or boo a play in a football game on television – punctuated by the shouts of guards who must enforce their authority to maintain what passes for order in such places… all of this and more is amplified within the confines of reverberant concrete walls, conspiring to make it difficult to find, much less preserve, one’s peace of mind. i composed mantra: soundscapes for meditation in response to several requests from some of my fellow prisoners. i was asked to create some gentle music that they could listen to on their personal cassette players as an aid in practicing meditation and relaxation techniques widely accepted as valuable tools in the process of healing mind, body and spirit. the challenge was to produce a musical composition that would help to mask the noise of the environment without being intrusive or demanding too much of the listeners attention, while incorporating combinations of tones and textures that may aid an individual in achieving a relaxed, meditative state of consciousness. by all reports, including my own experience, mantra succeeds in its intended mission. as environmental music, it also seems to work well as a focusing agent when doing some types of creative work, or when reading, and to enhance the restfulness of sleep when set to play continuously through the night at low volume. you may find other uses for it as well. for all i know, it may help plants to grow more healthy, or soothe a teething baby. we are all doing time in one way or another, and the stresses of day to day life make it imperative that we find ways to generate harmony within ourselves from time to time. i hope that mantra will serve you in this regard as well as it has served some of my friends in prison. peace. – bobby beausoleil. artworks by bobby beausoleil.
recorded live to tape in two days, after a sleep deprived month of beefheart style creative lockdown, begushkin – dan smith’s 8 headed hydra – lay to rest the twilight folk of 2007s nightly things and reemerge with the wicked & strange hard rock gypsy shake of king’s curse. smith yells and carries on like a man posessed with tales of the damnation of a robber king and the band plays it ultra tight & ultra heavy. king’s curse is higher tier creep rock…. ‘at times like an impossible mixing of leonard cohen, will oldham, and michael gira stirring up a series of haunted gypsy hymns. mournful and melodic with half-seen shadows walking through the trees at night, and fever dreams swooning in the moonlight. mysterious like lyrically compressed american gothic short stories.’ george parsons, dream… 180gm limited vinyl version.
a long three track cdr collecting a particularly insulated and homespunera of the believers development. especially the longer-than-album-side rendition of their standard, ‘down to the lake’. step inside, take a breath, get to know this album. perhaps you will glimpse the reasons why so many in the valley are holding their breath for the believers debut lp – features members of son of earth, shackamaxon, duck, idea fire company, sapat, so many other spins, the whole meatball is here. packaged in simple xerox folded jackets, origami style – yeah! go believers!
quite tough to find original WHITE LABEL PROMO pressing of this funky orchestrated electric sitar exploitation album. predictable but solid cover songs, at times getting pretty nicely freaked-out. nice one for you next flashback dance party. great funky cover art. super clean wax. original inner sleeve. EX+/NM-.
fabulous split 45 on clear wax in 2 part, op-art psych sleeves featuring the mighty “everybody’s dig accounted for” by jats, total killer, raw groove blues that descend into a velvets meets the sonics freakout. backed by part time james and jessica toth (wooden wand) side project “bengal traitors” with the magical “sumtimes”. 350 copies on clear vinyl.
2 very very very hip bands. first part in the series of split-tapes with breaking world recs. ben and george sing about daddy’s digweed and bad boys. buffle has the blues.
released in autumn a 7-inch of benjamin franklin (buffle, ex-rot). a-side is a dark ambient piece of music while b-side is a shiny minimalist casio pop-song. the sleeve (which is more a package) is silkscreened and available in fluo green, flashy red or gold (ok it’s just painting and glitters and it can hardly look like gold but it’s beautiful anyway).
a dark trip in the neither world of benjamin franklin (buffle, r.o.t.) sleepwalking along deep low humming casio rumblings and floating urban soundscapes. 70 copies.
the first ever official vinyl reissue of this folk-psych gem from new york city, usa. originally released in 1977 by winter solstice -group’s own- label this is a very rare (r3-r4) album nowadays. and hopefully it deserves every cent that you will spend for purchasing an original copy. its strange mixture of haunting melodic folk and dreamy psychedelia. both male and female vocals participated by roger and wendy penney (who had also presented the extremely rare “roger & wendy” lp back in 1972) while autoharp, violin, percussion and sound effects (wah wah, fuzz, phaser, delay) offer a “unique” atmosphere. this is an official, fully licenced and autographed, vinyl edition. exact reproduction of the cover and label with extra 4-pages insert with bio, photos and lyrics. all in high quality special papers. pvc protective outersleeve. includes one extra unreleased track from 1974. limited to 400 black vinyl copies, 180gr, copies. pvc protective outersleeve… top quality reissue of this pretty great private press oddity.
totally unreleased (on vinyl format) album by legendary nyc psychfolk duo. all the recordings range from the late 60’s to the late 70’s. our opinion is that “the missing tapes” is their best till today offering. just take a listen to “did you love me” and “lost worlds” songs. original, unique and bizzare sound not unlike their first album (see anazitisi records arlp 70-21f). half of the 10 songs are penned by roger penney while the other 5 are covers on: dennis deyoung’s “come sail away”, joni mitchell’s “circle game”, richard farina’s “swallow song” (what an adaptation!!!!), fred neil’s “dolphin” and an exceptional “high flying bird”. from the original 2-track master tapes with excellent sound quality and licenced by roger & wendy. it includes a 12-pages large booklet with story, lyrics & photos, decorated by wendy’s paintings. fully laminated. pvc protective outersleeve. 180gr. vinyl as usual. limited, to 200 black and 100 coloured copies, edition… black vinyl copies here. highly recommended if you dug their s/t lp!
the brand new self released disc from this amazing project featuring colleen & caleb from cerberus shoal, threads, fire on fire, etc. off the cuff abstact improv spaces with goobs of reverb, strange instruments, and spooked vocals mix with straighter, and generally pretty dark, acid folk songs. male/female vocals, accordion, many different guitars, multiple personalities, toy drums, and plenty of mystery sounds. their 6th private press release, as usual packaged in a totally beautiful one-of-a-kind multi color/layer screen printed art paper cover, with vellum insert, extra art, printed disc, and more. extremely limited. could be their best yet! very recommended maine goodness!
very tough to locate fan club release with cool alternate takes & such. says limited to 2500 copies, but i bet way less were actually made. hand stamped sleeve. NM-/NM.
very rare french original of their third & final album. totally essential damaged powerpop wonder from an amazing band on the verge of total collapse. totally unique to this pressing fully laminated alternate cover art. beautiful EX++/EX $60.00
finally a release on night-people from raccoo-oo-oon tour mates and chicago’s best basement improv unit binges. killer drums, percussion, electronics, saxophone, guitar, and bass from these two dudes chris and anthony. binges are ultra focused and tight, chris glides around on his kit with supreme precision with anythony juggles a bunch of loops, noises, and instruments all at once. one of the most solid and exciting underground bands around right now. artwork by the band printing by sdrreed.
two sides of total existential rebirth! placental for you and bird by snow, a 7 inch baby of the cosmos, belching new sounds, and visions. replete with new-metal guitar tones, falsetto cave paintings, and gasoline-riot guitar solos (think blue cheer in thunderdome). begging the question what is paradise? a waterfall? or a burning sky-scraper? each cover is hand printed from a linoleum block by bird by snow, at no extra cost to you. limited to 300. recorded at home on 8-track cassette tape.
to you, children of the zeitgeist, we give ’sky,’ offered in the same generous spirit as this bountiful world itself. ten songs of reggae-infused, psychedelic, folk music. existentialism you can dance to! open-hearted sound-fields, vast and colored with tiny blue-grass orchestras, authentic dub banjo, black cloud back-beats, and (if you can believe it) california soukous guitar! open eyes wide, and take in ’sky,’ bird by snow’s outrageously lush follow-up lp. cloudy or clear, day or night, let us be absorbed in the one-always-giving moment, and know the sky not as vacuous hole, but as container (whole). limited to 300, on beautiful tranparent-blue vinyl. hand silk-screened gold covers, with a lovely hand-made booklet too. recorded at home on 8-track cassette tape, mastered by george horn… who mastered “zuma” by neil young and crazy horse… last copy.
a new calf sparkles in the field at dawn with after-birth upon her. standing strong and brave with wobbly legs in a precarious world. with totally fearless surrender she steps forward, still wet from the inner universe of the before birth being. with the same naked abandon we offer this 3rd long-player by bird by snow. ten free-pop-mantras, ancient-babies of modern song. the most fertile bird by snow record (so far) each side of this album has its own name, in order to give the tunes more mind-space to flourish and expand side a is ’songbread’ and side b is ‘another ocean.’ in this record-world we find bbs harvesting perspectives in an old-growth forest of ontology & swimming joyfully in wide-wonder-waters of multi-instrumentalism. cellos, drones, pianos, field-recordings, tape-collage & all manner of drumming, strumming & singing confer and conspire here. many of these songs have been two years in the making, grown and regrown on musical tours through the generous world. songs with fresh-washed faces, and crow’s feet in the corners of their eyes. ’songbread / another ocean’ is also some of gnome life’s most beautiful and ambitious packaging! the cover is a color lithograph poster, and the lp also includes a deluxe handmade booklet of literature, lyrics, ideas, and points of entry. and a second semi-transparant poster of poetry called: “slow poems” by fletcher tucker (a.k.a. bird by snow). this edition is limited to 550 copies, and is on completely clear vinyl, and comes with a cd! recorded at home on 8-track cassette tape, mastered by john golden.
bird microphone follows up last year’s paper mines split with cursillistas with this collection of original songs and appalachian child ballads. fitting six songs onto this 45rpm 7″ record, bird mic. mixes her trademark dulcimer plucks and cut-up bell percussion clacks with a new focus on voice. love songs that aren’t afraid to expose the dissonance; traditionals on the a-side, originals on the b. preview here. black 7″ vinyl record with center labels hand-stamped on the a and hand-drawn/colored on the b-side, held in a heavy off-white cotton paper sleeve, with double-vision two-color screenprinted covers and an offset-printed back. hand-numbered to 300, and embossed… loose 7inch from the tryst haunt subscription series.
death-defiling split disc of zodzoric psychedelia from these hot leeds zombies! neon death slittes is the axle-greased alterego of phil ‘xenis emputae travelling band’ legard who contributes four tracks of greasy blues amphetamuck that will have fans of pink fairies/deviants/gong/third world war choking on their wet dentures. recent american tapes/no fun stars birds of delay occupy the other half with a knob-scorching oscillation/voice seizure recorded live in sunny edinburgh. ltd.100 in tracing paper sleeves with on-disc gocco print – very hip one with sweet covers.
birds of delay is a leeds duo whose first half lives in london (and loves whitehouse and rush) and the other in berlin (and loves farley jackmaster funk). with several releases on labels such as chocolate monk, american tapes, troniks, hospital productions, or their own: alcoholic narcolepsy, luke and steven have been crafting and sculpting their psychedelic-electronic-noise-drone sound for over half a decade. but who cares and what does that sound description mean anyway? if you ask them, they’ll simply tell you a living room at the bottom of a lake is a projection into a total rainbow bliss zone! edition of 240 copies.
during the last euro tour of wolf eyes, john olson (of american tapes, spykes, guam river etc – ) and mike connelly (of gods of tundra, hair police, failing lights etc – ) decided it was enough! they screamed “i’m not going to bed!!! i never wanne sleep again!!!”, they missed their flights and stayed in antwerp with the ultra audiobored horror crew for 7 more weeks without food and drinks, just dry weed and cancerbags to suck on! after that intense test to see if they could adapt to the antwerp life style, they finally met up with legendary belgian eccentric cacti and hat collector cassis cornuta, this psychadelic character brought his whole space synth and tape lab over to radio central to record an intense last gasp jam with the hardly breathing olson and connelly, the end result is an amazing trip to space and back to the mental hospital! like pouring lighter fluid and tabasco up your genitals or like olson states it so beautifully; like pissing on your own hand, freezing it and then using it as a lollypop for 5 days! comes in a gross 6 panel cover design and with an etch on the b side! – very limited. amazing packaging!
very clean copy of rare ep of fucked arty drug punk from NICK CAVE and co. rare insert. EX++/EX+.
scarce original australian pressing of early fucked arty drug punk from NICK CAVE and co. nothing else like it really. original b&w version of the cover. perfect NM/NM.
by trade sir richard bishop is a dealer of rare occult books and fine paper ephemera. for many in the musical cosmos, he has occasion to travel the smoke filled carnie circuit as 1/3 of the sun city girls medicine show. but in the twilight hours of a shadow world once sensed only by few, bishop is a dazzling unaccompanied guitarist. on improvika, bishop rides a very tall horse through a surrealist’s cowboy set that’s 1 part bruit peckinpah muscularity & 2 parts illuminated jodorowskian symbolism.. a very strange place, indeed. armed only with a single steel string wooden guitar, bare-knuckled bishop fends off the horrors & dangers of the night with ease as he spits out glorious white robed arabesques, django-inspired gypsy arcs, & latin terracotta flourishes like so many spinning tumbleweeds in a one horse town that is his alone. improvika is sir richard’s solo installment for locust’s long running wooden guitar series. 180 gram vinyl, packaged in deluxe silkscreened art paper… sweet new pressing of this great album.
another album of acoustic guitar music from sir richard bishop — are you ‘freakin’ nuts? the freak of araby is a new direction for our distinguished gentleman, and just in the nick of time as well. sir rick’s had it up to here with solo acoustic guitar records! the freak of araby isn’t even a solo record! and there’s no acoustic guitar on it! so let’s have no more of this kind of talk. over his years with sun city girls, richard bishop threw a wide variety of music and sound against the wall — and all of it stuck. among those who know, he’s reasonably fluent in any number of international music traditions, playing them for (mostly) fun and (sometimes) profit all over the place. the freak of araby is the debut of sir richard bishop and his freak of araby ensemble, a talented quartet of players getting deep into the middle eastern mystic with hand drums, percussion, bass, drums, electric guitars and a heavy dose of moroccan chanters, all of it captured with depth, detail and sympathy for the eternal enigma by engineer scott colburn. but a sir richard bishop album with a backing band — how did this happen? after recording a cover of ‘ka’an azzaman,’ written by elias rahbani, one of lebanon’s finest songwriters, something dawned on sir richard. half-lebanese by birth (it didn’t just occur to him later), he found himself suddenly possessed to really dig into middle eastern sounds. a pair of original melodies not fully developed at a prior recording session had the arabic inspiration, so these were reattacked and finished in short order. soon, sir richard’s head was flooded with some of the classic sounds spun for him by his grandfather back in his (way) younger days, like farid al-atrache, oum kalthoum and fairuz, along with other personal favorites, such as the guitarists omar khorshid and mike hegazi. in addition to the studio improvisation, ‘taqasim for omar,’ the whole of the freak of araby is dedicated to these inspiring players. check ‘em out. in addition to his soul-stirring electric guitar playing, sir richard grabbed a couple of moroccan chanters and blew the house down on ‘blood-stained sands,’ providing an epic (not to mention epochal, heh heh) finish to this journey to the center of one-half of the family tree. this is music meant to be played live, and sir richard’s freak of araby ensemble intends to play it everywhere there’s interest in hearing it. so get your freak on.
repressed… this is an essential document by one of america’s most original and inventive unaccompanied guitarists working today. while my guitar violently bleeds is a splendid three piece gem in which the good sir branches out & nods to points west, east & otherworldly. classic spaghetti western tinged spidery fretwork(“zurvan”), fushitsusha style feedback drenched psych decay (“smashana”) and a brilliant lengthy raga epic (“mahavidya”) round out the proceedings by the sun city girls master musician.
since its discovery in the late ’90s, dave bixby’s legendary $2000 private press album from 1969 is considered by all serious record collectors as the king in the loner/downer-folk genre. after being involved in ’60s michigan folk and garage-rock bands such as the shillelaghs and peter & the prophets, bixby started playing acoustic guitar and experimenting with lsd. after a year of drug abuse he felt broken. starting a soul-searching, spiritual journey, he wrote ode to quetzalcoatl and most of the material for his second album, harbinger’s second coming in just a month and a half. assisted by fellow musician brian macinness, who played some guitar parts on the album, bixby recorded this record in a living room using an echo-laden 4-track machine. the sound is lo-fi and sparse: just acoustic guitars and some occasional harmonica & flute, added to bixby’s haunting, emotional vocals, spiritual lyrics and solid songwriting. the opening cut, the eerie and painful “drug song” sets the mood perfectly for the rest of the album. never again has an acoustic folk album sounded as intense as this. reissued for the first time under license from dave bixby himself, and carefully remastered from vinyl (no master tapes exist) at shadoks music studios. includes an insert with extensive and detailed liner notes by matvei procak — the guy who found bixby in 2006 — plus some rare pictures. this vinyl release also includes a free mp3 download code… recommended!
features: climax golden twin rob millis’ column talking machine with a report back on 78 hunting in india… an incredibly fun discussion with peter stampfel, founding member of the holy modal rounders, about harry smith, the fugs, santeria, amphetamines, god, coincidence, music and much more. conducted by allan macinnis, this 19 page feature includes an illustration by peter’s daughter zoe, plus a supplemental 3 page interview with antonia stampfel… an interview with gerd kraus on the legendary… krautrock bands limbus 3 and limbus 4 and the heady times that they grew out of… patrick marley’s nickels and dimes with discussion of church police, dennis duck, neil campbell and blues control… reviews of vinyl, books, compacts discs, dvds, and a cassettes both new and old: robert ashley, henri chopin, coach fingers, bob cobbing, loren connors, eric cordier, robert de grimston, father of the flood, henry flynt, tom heasley & toss panos, hisato higuchi, insect factory, jackwacker, dan koeppel, annette krebs, christina kubisch, kuupuu, the league of automatic music composers, mecha/orga, tatsuya mori, tham kar mun / yandsen / yeoh yin pin, organum, itaru oki, pigeons, colin potter, michael prime, sara sackner, conrad schnitzler, tom james scott, seven that spells, d. charles speer & the helix, stimulus, sun city girls, carter thornton, titmachine, giancarlo toniutti, uton & valerio cosi, vapour theories, michael yonkers, “artefacts of australian experimental music 1930-1973″, “ethnic minority music of southern laos”, “shadow music of thailand”, “thai pop spectacular 1960s-1980s”… classified ads… on the cover: an indian record stall… 56 pages, 5.5″ by 8.5″, 20 lb. paper, b&w; approximately 760 copies printed…
56 pages – a massive overview of the life and work of avant garde percussionist stomu yamash’ta, including his first english-language interview in over 30 years. a child prodigy, his meteoric rise in the classical world spawned a new world of improvisation and avant classical in the late ’60s and early ’70s before melding eastern concepts with jazz fusion via his more well known outfits come to the edge, east wind, and go. includes never-before-revealed insight into collaborations with toru takemitsu, takehisa kosugi, masahiko sato, the baschet brothers, and others. years in the making, this exhaustive survey corrects misinformation and apocrypha carried down for decades, and opens a new window to yamash’ta’s current projects featuring instruments made from resonant stones. – akio suzuki’s uk travelogue translated by the expert on japanese underground alan cummings – michael griffen, one half of noggin, remembered by aaron gorseth – andrzej zulawski’s films – a history of the beautiful limited edition releases by raymond dijkstra – onde, the new belgian group made up of members of the late noise-maker’s fifes, include timo van luijk of af ursin and in camera – rob millis’ talking machine – patrick marley (former publisher of muckraker magazine) with his column nickels and dimes – reviews of vinyl, cassettes, compacts disc, dvds and books, both new and old… sold out at source.
the no-neck blues band’s dave nuss recalls his time with the source family which led to the first yahowa 13 performance in new york city and their new lp. as much about dave’s experiences throughout this and how it brought him into the family, as about discovering the wealth of their archives and continuing energy… an extensive interview with reformed vancouver noise band tunnel canary by allan macinnis. allan speaks not only to the leader of the group, nathan holiday, but also tunnel canary members past and present mya mayhem, ebra ziron, and dave sheftel about their intense performances, early influences, their specially altered instruments, life and musical philosophy, and the different reactions in the early 1980s and now, matched with photos from their recent live shows and one from the archives…. a remembrance of noggin violin player michael griffen by his friend aaron gorseth…. a feature on the belgian group onde featuring former members of noise-maker’s fifes; supplemented by photographs taken on tour by dan burke of illusion of safety… a feature on the new label assophon, home to the sea donkeys, spider trio and factums with photographs by mark sullo…. rob millis, waxing on about the preciousness of shellac while discussing the drive to recycle that raw material in the war years and the price that artifacts from that time can command…. eric lanzillotta’s reviews of vinyl, compacts discs, and books, both new and old by bill bissett, bob cobbing, helena espvall & masaki batoh, malcolm goldstein, the howling hex, dieter schnebel, and “radio mynamar (burma)”…. patrick marley’s column nickels and dimes focusing on american tapes and drunjus…. cover star: djin of yahowa 13…. 56 pages, 5.5″ by 8.5″, 20 lb. paper, b&w, approximately 800 copies printed.
sewer mist catharsis is beautiful but frightening droning electronic ambient noise from norway in the vein of zaimph, kevin drumm, or mb. limited to 30 copies.
solo live blurt from 25 june 2008 from sindre bjerga, one half of bjerga / iversen. background drones hit in immediatley accompanied with some minimal scrapes and sputtering kinda growth aura from aforementioned drone, there’s a real static vibe cruising through this. occasional clunk and taps blur away as the heavy dense drone consumes the lot like an electric mist, with feedback clots clogging up your lungs, and creepy terror sounds. limited to 50 hand numbered copies, each with indvidual handmade weird paper and an insert, everyone looking entirely different.
striate cortex presents two live sets from sindre bjerga’s recent uk tour, recorded in sheffield and hull, respectively… mildly toxic clouds of gas are slowly and inevitably turning into densely marbled columns of psychedelic, splintered drones… like a sprinkling ray of light from a distant sun turning into a massive black hole sonic migraine… edition of 50 copies with individually handmade covers. standard editon of 40 copies and 10 “art-edition” copies on gold discs and extra photos… standard edition copies here.
out of print. one copy only.
black boned angel return with their second riot season release, following the eternal love/eternal hunger vinyl lp (repose 013lp). sharing a similarly bleak ground to corrupted, sunn 0))) and earth, new zealand’s black boned angel return with their fourth full length album verdun, and perhaps their most sombre and fully-realized work to date. the battle of verdun was fought between the german and french armies, and was one of the critical battles during world war 1 on the western front. it resulted in more than a quarter of a million battlefield deaths and at least half a million wounded. verdun was the longest battle and one of the most devastating in world war 1 and indeed in history. over the course of 50 minutes, bba soundtrack that brutal conflict with their trademark dark ambient drones and doom-laden riffs.
diggin’ deep into the montreal free music vault of yesteryear. 15 minutes of totally free improvisation recorded live in 2003 at pasalymany bar (rip). originally recorded for the birthdays of colin, serene, and sime. members of rivers and mountains along with other pasalymanians. found cover image photocopied on heavy card stock. hand stamped j-cards and cassette labels. hand number edition of 66.
i fell asleep late last night right after i jammed this latest burner from sean mccann and black eagle child. that was lucky, let me tell ya… this split is a total tropical dreamscreamer. each one of them gets a side, but it doesn’t matter – the message is the same: it’s time to zone the fuck out. crisp capricorn tones drizzle down like pink sunkissed mists from the heavens, totally enveloping your aural sensibilities. guitar zoners and gooey, synthed up flow-ers take you through the perfect lazy river, floating on scarlet sonic waves to the stars. this is the new space race. if all drones were drenched in this much bliss, we’d all be rotten to the core…limited to 77. packaged in a fabric pouch with insert.
18 minutes of blind mindless heaviness celebrating their deepest feelings for montreal. still can’t figure out if they dig this city or not. sludged and dragged, this is a one-sided battle. side a has gold spray paint with black splatter. b side is straight black, empty. cassette boxes contain gold foil, red arcylic paint, and black spray paint. xeroxed insert. edition of 77.
guitar, cello, electronics, and various small rackety sounds collect themselves into a haze of infinite possibilities. – byron coley. for this new 10″, the duo is joined by guests margot goldberg and joe grimm (a.k.a. the wind up bird). this quartet version of bf/bs is the very same lineup that performed at terrastock 6. 10″ vinyl-only release limited to 500 copies worldwide. silkscreened metallic silver covers by mike taylor (lungfish, avarus, dan higgs). 21 minutes of music, all exclusive material… nice little slab.
following recent releases under the directing hand moniker on memoirs of an aesthete and chocolate monk, alex neilson (jandek, ashtray navigations, richard youngs etc etc) conjures another slab of percussive clatter to excite yr inner ear. joined on this journey by frank janiurek, the duo lay down a thick bed of organic drone before reaching for the stars with some inspired levitation tactics.
another new guise for spencer clark (the skaters) zoned solo trance sounds. primitive percussion paterns, zonked sci-fi synth, etc. limited.
fully re-mastered vinyl edition of what was originally a europe-only cassette released in an edition of 80 copies from the solo project of spencer clark of the skaters/vodka soap/monopoly child et al. spencer describes black joker as being more drone-focused and with faster percussion than the recent monopoly child sets. indeed, the percussion is thrifty and up-front, with arcs of criss-crossing time signatures generating maximum space/time confusion. the combination of trance-informed momentum and bubbling electronic sci-fi tones sounds closest to one of the sun ra arkestra’s most future-visioned takes on “ancient aethiopia” while expanding on the classic post-angus maclise feel of all of the best skaters material. comes with pro-printed 80s style 12” maxi-sleeves with liner notes by fortean authority, itinerant visionary and skaters road mangler in-absentia charles berlitz.
black magic disco is the new all-star band featuring tom greenwood (jackie-o motherfucker), maurizio & roberto opalio (my cat is an alien) and ramona ponzini (painting petals on planet ghost, praxinoscope). the project was born out of an idea from tom greenwood, founder leader of the avant-folk-blues ensemble jackie-o motherfucker, who invited maurizio and roberto opalio, aka the italian improv duo my cat is an alien (mciaa), and their close collaborator ramona ponzini (also involved with the two brothers in the projects named painting petals on planet ghost and praxinoscope, as well as in the new collaboration with z’ev) to perform with him for two months of touring throughout all europe in may/ june 2005. as one can imagine, the result was killer. the music which came out of the live performances was totally explosive, combining ramona’s japanese vocals & hypnotic chimes with greenwood’s psych-blues guitar attitude & wild turntablism, over mciaa’s alien cosmic flux of electric guitars, space toys & percussions, creating a still unheard mixture of sounds unifying archaic & post-modern, western & eastern, sky & earth. couloured vinyls (1 solid red / 1 solid white). comes in a luxury gatefold cover, including a huge 70×100 cm. poster (by roberto opalio drawing).
the josh/roy anti-society drone/drums duo drops its first (and last?) lp. a dripping cavern of red-eyed vibes and numb inner examination. uncomfortable, epic. edition of 270. comes with a poster. co-released with illinois sweatshop arbor.
including the tracks from their split cassette released last year on dba, this 12″ adds 1 foot village bonus track and 2 black pus bonus tracks. this music is raw, distorted, and totally fucked up drum rock. each 12″ includes a 16″ x 22″ poster that is a full color animal photo with art by brian chippendale screened on top. brian is the dude behind black pus and he is the drummer of lightning bolt. this release is all about drums being punk as fuck. edition of 300. co-released with deathbomb arc.
amazing & insane french acid folk psych one-man-band. this dudes plays everything : acoustic & electric guitars, bass, drums, kazoo, sitar, etc. some totally monster psych tracks! amazing multi-layer vocal harmonies… insanely rare brazilian original pressing on the highly collectible stream machine label, with a unique track sequence & different cover design from the belgian & french pressings, and 10 times as rare as either of those. fragile waxy cover is amazingly clean, as is the vinyl. good luck finding another of these pressings, much less one thats not trashed. absolute best condition you could hope to find for this one. NM-/NM-.
this vinyl-only split-lp release is a meeting of two of the most interesting bands coming out of hamburg, germany at this moment, both continuing the long tradition of both challenging and explorative music coming from this city in the last decades. from krautrock to the origins of the so-called neue deutsche welle from experimental sound artists to some of the finest pop ambient, hamburg is regularly spitting out some of the most singular artists on this planet. both aosuke and black to comm have absorbed influences from all these sources (and a million others) while working towards their very own individual vision. the two brand new tracks by black to comm are continuing the massive organ/voice drone alchemy of the last double-lp while refining and personalizing his sound, reaching new heights of blazing sonic mysticism. aosuke have decided to home-record their new material, continuing their loop-oriented, monotone yet highly melodic ambient journeys. working with repetition and small abstractions, all instrumental “loops” are played by hand and recorded live without overdubs (one of the main principles of the guitar/electronics duo), creating surprisingly concrete dormant and somnambulistic soundscapes while fortunately completely lacking the washy and drowsy effects of most ambient music. black to comm is the one-man project of marc richter who is the brain behind the dekorder label as well. so far he has released two albums on his own label (”rückwärts backwards” and “wir können leider nicht etwas mehr zu tun…”). aosuke is the duo of tobert knopp and ulf schütte, the latter being a label head as well (tape tektoniks). last year they have released their debut “monotone spirits” album co-released by hamburg’s audiolith label and south germany’s meudiademorte label.
this vinyl-only split-lp release is a meeting of two of the most interesting bands coming out of hamburg, germany at this moment, both continuing the long tradition of both challenging and explorative music coming from this city in the last decades. from krautrock to the origins of the so-called neue deutsche welle from experimental sound artists to some of the finest pop ambient, hamburg is regularly spitting out some of the most singular artists on this planet. both aosuke and black to comm have absorbed influences from all these sources (and a million others) while working towards their very own individual vision. the two brand new tracks by black to comm are continuing the massive organ/voice drone alchemy of the last double-lp while refining and personalizing his sound, reaching new heights of blazing sonic mysticism. aosuke have decided to home-record their new material, continuing their loop-oriented, monotone yet highly melodic ambient journeys. working with repetition and small abstractions, all instrumental “loops” are played by hand and recorded live without overdubs (one of the main principles of the guitar/electronics duo), creating surprisingly concrete dormant and somnambulistic soundscapes while fortunately completely lacking the washy and drowsy effects of most ambient music. black to comm is the one-man project of marc richter who is the brain behind the dekorder label as well. so far he has released two albums on his own label (”rückwärts backwards” and “wir können leider nicht etwas mehr zu tun…”). aosuke is the duo of tobert knopp and ulf schütte, the latter being a label head as well (tape tektoniks). last year they have released their debut “monotone spirits” album co-released by hamburg’s audiolith label and south germany’s meudiademorte label.
incredible, spooky-spiritual-drone masterpiece by the most hip german experimentalists black to comm (mark richter) and the free-noise group datashock companied by new member marcel tirkowsky. here all together creating a flavor of blissen alien soundscapes, whirling on, changing and evolving all the time, generating hyperzonic tensions inside the crown-chakra so long that the eyes start to see pulsating flames inside and outside your imagination. rich in colour of sound and for sure not a restless headfuck, but a stony stoned psychedelic vibration of something spiritually exciting, something which reminds the outer inner worlds, and how close they are. the fog of the lake & the ghosts of the forgotten old new days. recorded nearby berlin’s goldmund festival in august 2007, in a place which used to be a summercamp for kids in the times of gdr the point which alone may cause the climbing in such a mystical level. peaceful & strange at the same time. includes 9 minute quicktime video by renate nikolaus! music and video recorded at goldmund festival, wukensee / biesenthal 08/2007. 150 copies.
black to comm is the solo venture of dekorder label boss marc richter. having released two and a half albums on his own label he is slowly establishing himself as one of the more prolific drone artists out there with a forthcoming album on the american digitalis label, a collaborative cd with datashock on ikuisuus, a 7″ on the irish trensmat label and a collaboration with xela in the works. “fractal hair geometry” is richter’s most refined and original work to date, picking up where the electrifying drone works of his monumental double-lp left off. like the last records this album is centered around recordings of a variety of vintage organs. while “wir kennen leider…” often featured pure harmonium sounds and spacious recordings of chuch organ and mellotron, the new album opts for a more electronic, effects-laden sound, sending an old farfisa compact deluxe and casio sk-5 through an armada of analogue & digital effects pedals. the results are massive one-chord drones layered into dense & ecstatic, flickering & pulsating clusters of psychedelic electronic sound. additional wordless vocal effects, hyperventilating & sizzling drum machines and hypnotic violin and guitar noises make for a hyperactive sound that never stands still even though most of the music is pure drones (sometimes consisting of more than 50 recording layers). decidedly simple but gorgeous melodies shine through the mist from time to time, making a black to comm record always much more accessible than your average drone album. there’s even a heavy 4/4 bass drum smuggled into a track dedicated to the late leigh bowery, one of the most enigmatic creative figures of the mid-80’s uk club scene (and singer of minty). guests include jonna karanka (aka kuupuu) on piano, guido mebius on trumpet and current black to comm (live) band members renate nikolaus on violin and ulf schitte (of datashock, aosuke, etc.) adding electronic sounds. along the lines of the music, seminal german artist oliver ross has created a massive multi-layered neon-coloured collage artwork which is printed on special ultra-heavy cardboard stock.
the whole album is very dream-like, mystical and fascinating, like being in the middle of a fog bank and loosing your sense of direction but always knowing that you’ll find your way out one way or the other. – mats gustaffson/the broken face. finally, here’s the vinyl version of the debut album by hamburg’s black to comm. strictly limited edition of 222 copies, hand screened grey cardboard sleeves, full colour insert, postcard and gold stamped labels – sweet stuff.
wir können leider nicht etwas mehr zu tun is the rather weird title for black to comms 2nd album release within 12 months, this time coming out on a gorgeous vinyl-only double-lp with a beautifully strange gatefold sleeve in a limited edition of 500 copies. black to comm is the nom de plume for hamburgs dekorder label head honcho marc richter’s sonic voyages. in 2006 he released a 7″ lathe cut picture disc (”levitation”), his debut album & “rückwärts backwards” on cd and very limited vinyl and compilation tracks for the finnish 267 lattajjaa and ukrainian quasipop labels. while the first album was mainly constructed from dusty vinyl and shellac loops, the new album is based on “real” instruments including several antique organs, electric harmonium, acoustic & electric guitars, bells, clattery percussion, vintage effect pedals and tape loops thereof. richter builds up massive psychedelic one-chord drones, minimal yet dense and heavily layered, full of spacious details and swirling melodies buried within. each track is slowly building, drifting and floating hypnotically into a warm and shimmering black ocean of sonic liquid, creating a mesmerizing and mysterious mass of sound. while most of the works are thick monotone layers of organic sound theres some sort of simple songwriting gleaming constantly through the mist, making this a highly accessible drone album. guest musicians are hamburg visual artist renate nikolaus on electric & acoustic guitars and voice and electro-acoustic musician gregory büttner on trumpet – another great album from this project. sweet packaging too.
quite scarce original copy of this fantastic late date private press acidfolk jewel that has quickly become hugely in demand. easily in the same realm as BOBB TRIMBLE, JEFF EUBANK, T KAIL, etc., but equally in its own bag musically, i personally enjoy this album above any of those.. gentle hallucinogenic psychedelia with gorgeous dreamy male/female duo vocals, lush guitars, flute, synth, bongos, 12-string, electric bass, plenty of reverb, etc. total acid love-nest euphoric vibe. if not for the somewhat dated arp synth it would be very tricky to place this one in time what-so-ever. it has a early 70s feel, but without sounding at all retro. includes the very rare & beautiful thick booklet insert which has lyrics, notes, poetry, and many illustrations printed on thick textured art paper. top copy. booklet is NM. cover has some tiny tiny signs of wear but nearly perfect. same for the vinyl. NM-/NM-.
i’m extremely pleased to announce that james blackshaw will now be releasing his absolutely spellbinding music via young god records. he has received attention as a 12-string guitar prodigy / virtuoso. he used to be in punk bands in england, but then he started listening to people like john fahey, robbie basho, etc., and i assume locked himself in a room for 12 hours a day for several years and just played constantly. it takes intense discipline and a religious commitment to get to the place where he’s at with his instrument. but his music isn’t about his ’skill.’ it’s not showy. it’s deeply meditative — the secret language of a pre-thought, pre-dream place. blackshaw plays soulful and kaleidoscopic, ever-shifting mantra cycles of incredible beauty. just his guitar by itself, with its swirling overtones, cascading notes, and a thousand points of light, resembles an orchestra, but with further orchestration-piano, strings, wind, and vocals-the music is positively cinematic and mesmerizing. the 18-minute-plus gem on this record is ‘arc,’ performed on piano with the sustain pedal on full throttle. blackshaw is joined on this record by joolie wood (current 93, simon finn), and john contreras (baby dee and current 93) on cello. lavinia blackwall (directing hand) is a classically trained singer and contributed vocals. – michael gira… includes cd version of the lp with one extra track.
when uk-native james blackshaw plays his 12-string guitar, something spiritual takes place. performing and recording since 2003, his name is frequently mentioned as one of the foremost modern solo acoustic guitarists. now at the age of 25, blackshaw, an untrained musician born and still residing in the suburban environs of greater london, draws as much inspiration from early religious music, south-asian folk music and composers such as arvo pärt, simeon ten holt, steve reich and charlemagne palestine as he does from john fahey, robbie basho and the early takoma records roster, constantly breaking boundaries in what could be conceived as a somewhat limited medium. in his part improvised and part written songs, blackshaw makes expert use of eastern and western scales, chord changes reminiscent of european classical music and incredibly intricate fingerpicking patterns to make a sound that is both challengingly minimalist, yet warm and approachable to anybody who might hear it, with a rare sensitivity that conveys immense beauty, hope and sadness.
blank dogs are actually singular: it’s the insanely prolific one-man brooklyn-based band of mr. blank dog. we don’t know too much about the biography of the guy behind the bedroom new-wave pop/punk and he’s usually covering his face with masks or bedspreads, but that’s fine. the aura of anonymity allows you to focus on the sounds — and, really, he might be releasing a ton of things, but there’s definitely a higher jam-to-crap ratio. it’s like joy division vocal lines with the cure’s synth and guitar melodies filtered through ancient submerged keyboards and eroded recording equipment. and that voice? all the feedback in the world can’t hide his knack for melody. blank dogs have been making plenty of rumbles in the noisier and more secretive outposts of the underground (half his discography’s sold out), but troubleman unlimited’s just repressed his very recommended full-length on two sides (on yellow vinyl in an edition of 500) and in the red’s releasing a 20-song double lp (or single cd) called under and under . it’s all new material. he’s also playing his first shows in nyc, so if you want to take a peek, you can. all this to say: seems like blank dogs is on his way out of the basement. –stereogum
long form folk-doom-drone excursion comes on in layers, like sediment underneath a raging woodland apocalypse. the yin-and-yang solo projects of wolfgang nessel colliding head-on into one cosmos-worshipping 41-minute shape-shifter of cortex-splitting rifts. edition of: 100.
original press german avant freejazz blaster. perfect cover, only very lite scuffs on vinyl. NM+/EX-.
underwater peoples records is proud to offer alex bleeker’s passion fueled project as our first ever lp release. built solely on love, our label strives to deliver uniquely genuine pieces of artwork. it is a special privilege to find ourselves linked to this heart felt treasure. alex bleeker & the freaks self titled album was recorded live on june 11th, 2009. the bulk of the session took place in the basement of julian’s childhood home, in ridgewood, nj. the group consists of alex bleeker (real estate), matt mondanile (real estate, ducktails), martin courtney iv (real estate) and julian lynch. some of the songs mirror the boys collective disposition, that of a gentle and warm young man. others however, invite the listener in for a glimpse at that same boy’s restless, virile soul. a sensitive type may describe it all as raw, live, honest rock and roll with heart. alex bleeker & the freaks have been friends since high school and as healthy, red blooded american men so often choose to do, they’ve channeled their romantic energies into an electrified musical powerhouse. it’s as classic and genuine as an adolescents playboy collection or a fat, bald man in a red corvette. – up.
original uk copy of this classic supergroup. everybody loves it. original beautiful banned teen nudie gatefold cover. early stampers. cover has drip hole, ‘direct import’ sticker, and is a bit wavy. very little wear otherwise. nice wax. VG++/EX+.
two florida 19 year olds make mature pysch pop, receive blog love from stereogum, i guess i’m floating, indie rock café, and kanye west, sign to kanine records and release debut album “season dreaming”. limited run of cd and vinyl lp with printed inner sleeve and digital download card. track listing: 1.the warm current’s pull 2. heavy cloud hustle 3. the dinosaur ride 4. anxious place 5. the planets explode 6. sleeping habits 7. jimmy dove 8. kissing minutes 9. ghosts 10. shells. vinyl is limited 500 one time pressing only.
warehouse find of the last copies of this 2003 reissue…. very rare arizona psychedelic trio from ‘69. fuzz guitar, psych-y leads and great cuts like ‘ride the ship of fools’, ‘cry for love’, and ‘visions’. plus two incredible bonus tracks never before heard.
the great orthochromatic wheel is the blithe sons first full-length release since 2004. in the years since the california duo of loren chasse and glenn donaldson may have traversed poppy fields and swam to aqua cities though mostly they’ve remained active with their jewelled antler offshoots: ov, of, and child readers (chasse) or skygreen leopards and flying canyon (donaldson) and both in thuja. these five songs combine nature’s melodic pull and minimalist songs forms summoned by a miniature orchestra of eclectic instruments. each lp side flaunts a different depth of the sons, one recorded outdoors and the other inside. the indoor set consists of slow-motion ballads built on hymn-like organ, nylon string guitar, analog drum machine & stark percussion. the outdoor side offers a web of exotic wind-instruments & battery-powered electronics reverberating in cavernous hall cut in the side of a sea-cliff. limited edition of 500 copies. contain a download coupon for mp3 version of the album.
lieven martens (dolphins into the future, taped sounds) and eva van deuren (orphan fairytale, pluim) are sea sponges on this tape. edition of 100… awesome packaging from the this great cassette label as always.
art guitar rock noise from sunny queensland… out of print.
a one night only 5-piece when we were joined by julian bradley, neil campbell and sticky foster in leeds. just what you would hope for, tape loops, drone, vocal damage, confused percussion, reeds etc. a ten legge brew-up.
recorded live at resonance fm. full on duo in kick back mode, trying to burrow out of the airwaves into the listeners spine via tapes, voice, violin, oscillators, percussion and various other junk. a very pleasant magnetic headache.
perhaps the rarest greek rock album, released back in 1972 in very small quantities (300-500copies) and never again re-released in vinyl. here, we talk about a combination of psych-folk and flower power hippy rock with male and female vocals, great melodies and an acid overall atmosphere. acoustic guitars, sometimes heavy and sometimes fuzzy electric guitars, organ, bass and drums create one of the best greek psych albums, although overshadowed and low promoted back then. blue birds was one of the very first greek modern bands as well as one of the most long-lived. although they had started in 1963 as a garage-beat band they delevoped in a hippy band producing some fine singles & #136;êas well as this album- in the early 70’s. as the original release, this reissue is housed in an envelope-like gimmix heavy cover, contains the poster and the greek lyrics sheet. extras are a 4-pages insert with english lyrics and band’s bio and a full-coloured, high quality, psych post-card – killer album and another very high quality exact repro greek reissue. recommended.
once you get past the insanity of the debut lp, this is actually their best to these ears. basically two killer lps in one, as the a side is a bunch of short, tight rural garage pop rockers, while for the b side RANDY HOLDEN takes over the guitar and vocals and lays down a side worth of epic heavy acid guitar psychedelia. different versions of 3 tracks from his monster private press POPULATION II album. all around, a very cool lp. cover with a few small library sticker, VG/EX.
textured cover orig of acid garage blaster. VG/VG.
providence’s own cybele collins brings a maelstrom of solo improvisations shredding the strings of her violin furiously, building dense walls that crest only to reveal quiet beautiful melodies underneath. filled out with loose poignant drumming, and housed in dense drawings by the artist, the tape is made up of many short songs, always changing, never dwelling too long on any given theme. the result: a catchy and complex release, that over time one comes to realize has been created with the utmost love and care… out of print. last copy!
new tape from my buddy cybele who’s based in providence… total free violin slashes and carves busted out, then dropping right off to some super quiet and minimal experimentations… one to shred your speakers! awesome stuff, previously had tape on raccoo-oo-oon’s night people label. limited to 60 hand numbered copies with stamped labels and colour covers!
there where only 4 good and rare albums on the danish spectator label: terje, jesper & joachim (which we have just done on lp and now on cd), moses (we are still working on a deal), days (we are about to negotiate a deal) and the rarest of them all blues addicts. what a guitar work this is. ivan horn really kicks ass with his extra heavy guitar. as good as the heavy cream songs, in parts as creative as jimi hendrix. the musical range and the guitar style is as good as the best early eric clapton work with the far out techniques of jimi hendrix. all own composition, long tracks, extra heavy guitar, english vocals & heavy drum sounds. ivan horn: guitars, vocals & kazzo, mich brink: bass, gibber thomsen: vocals & congas, henning aasbjerg: drums. if spectator would have kept rock music their musical style instead of switching to jazz, those 4 bands would have been successful on the international rock circus… recorded denmark, 1970. great crude b&w art, heavy covers, 180gm white vinyl, insert, 450 numbered copies.
local flavor is the fantastic newest shimmer from blues control. while past releases have been beauteous extrapolations into the miasmic core of psychedelia and billowing fog of ambient space, local flavor is the one where all the chickens have come home to roost. the opening track “good morning” is practically a sideways step into boogie rock (horn accompaniment provided by none other than jesse trbovich and kurt vile); with the proper seismic shift, it could almost be heard as an alternate reality take on “re-make/re-model.” it’s easily the band’s longest stomp in the forest of rock since their debut cassette, and, man, them boots leave a bruise! the remaining three tracks morph and ebb harmoniously-in true blues control fashion-the timbre occasionally elegiac, yet more often riffing on a plane that has yet to be transcribed.
as you may or may not know, it can sometimes get pretty hairy working at a record store when some smelly, denim-clad dude walks in asking for the blues. if you’re lucky, he’s at least wearing a belt when you point him over to the records that are now relegated to an open spot on the floor. that’s just one scenario; who doesn’t love those other blues fondly recalled with names like blues addicts and blues creation? and let’s not forget that other queen of the blues— barbara from just farr a laugh. blues control might just be the missing link between van halen and legendary experimentalist henry flynt. they are a duo. lea cho plays swank but grounded atmospheric keyboard parts (think harold budd), through which guitar player and manipulator of assorted junk-on-table russ waterhouse cuts, whittles and lays to waste. it’s a hazy, spaced world that exists between fuzzed distortion, jabbering electronics, and a lazy, stay-in-bed psychedelic glaze, with rhythmic keyboards pulsating below it all a la a guy named florian– and you can choose which one you want. oh yeah, i gotta mention the humid bikini-vibe that permeates the entire album. so, is there a blues angle to it? yeah, but you’ve got to bury yourself in it or dig your way in. come out stinking if you want.
cheapo orig MONO. classic garage psych raver with plenty of cheesy organs, tape delay, fuzz, caveman beat, and snotty harmony vocals. general cover wear, some stains & pen scribbles. VG-/VG-.
two mysterious no-age beings from the other side of denmark evocates a cassette of no-fi hallucinative waves of broken skies and scorched earth. pure analog hell. edition of 50 – another sweet hand packaged release on this mighty fine label.
in the deep dark recess of our psyche, lies the perverse & primordial urges and desires that many of us know not to act upon. boduf songs (mat sweet) has obviously never been told this, as he perpetually oozes doom in the form of heavy laden and silently destructive music that could best be described as dark, gothic folk. “on the brink…” carries such beauty and brilliance, through sweet’s usual juxtaposition of a gloom ridden acoustic strings & downbeat voice, with the more redemptive radiance of the underlying melody and drone that is a by-product of the main instrumentation. like simultaneously being hugged and punched in the stomach in the same action. side two is occupied by a cover version of morrissey’s “everyday is like sunday”. stripped down and laid bare, a simple structure, accompanied by acoustic guitar, vocals, and xylophone, adding not only a sinister/beguiling childlike element, but also a wonderful uplifting rhythm that contrasts beautifully with the disparaging nature of the lyrics. the word “glorious” doesn’t do it justice. this is music that may make your heart turn black, and shrivel to the size of a newborn baby’s thumb; but it’s music that will leave a smile on your face… even if it is wry. 5ma packaging : outer case card flip-lid box, with button catch, printed letter pressed artist name. housed inside is a fold over letter pressed folder, carrying a standard full colour 7″ sleeve, and a clear 7″ lathe. along side this is two screen printed 7″ inserts, a digitally printed card, and vellum insert, housed inside a vellum envelope. also, each copy has an individual polaroid photo taken by mat sweet himself (in france), and a boduf songs 1″ pin badge. note, this record has no centre label. side a is only distinguishable by feeling for the small notch placed close to the centre hole… beautifully done release on this long-time-coming new label.
65 minutes spread out over 4 sides. presented as a retrospective, including some previously released select tracks, and some not heard before. the style can vary from track to track, some dominated by small sounds and buzzing loops, to epic and beautiful drone pieces, and electro-acoustic improv fused with noise. instruments that are audible include saxophone, guitar, and drum machine. bodyvehicle manages to keep the avant garde classics in mind while still looking forward in a way that few acts can. presented in a black vinyl album, with color art on blue/gold shimmer vellum cover and color on transparent labels. tracks listing is printed on blue shimmer paper, which is glued to the inside. edition of 50 hand stamp numbered copies on hi-bias chrome tapes – instantly out of print. very limited stock.
interest in this has surged recently and quite rightly too, as this is one of the best acid-punk lps ever. clearly inspired by “electric comicbook”-era blues magoos, these long island kids had a problem with both drugs and their attitude! their originals are excellent vox organ/fuzz teen garage psych and the reworked cover versions pretty demented as well. the cough syrup high school-play vibe of “deaf, dumb ¨ blind” must be heard to be believed. not a perfect album, with a few sections that drag on, but the highs are higher than on almost any other lp of this kind. possibly the best on the label, at least if you prefer the 60s teen-garage approach over hippie longhairs. – acid archives… heavy covers, 180gm vinyl, limited to 1000 copies.
described by kris kristofferson as “one of the three best songwriters in the country,” kentucky native jay bolotin’s songs have been championed by the likes of merle haggard and porter wagoner, among many others. yet jay’s eponymous debut – released on the major subsidiary commonwealth united label – had the halflife of a mayfly when it went into circulation in 1970 and today it remains as phantasmic as the prairie ghosts that have long populated his native kentucky. however hasty or uncertain the release of the album may have been some 40 years ago, one thing is certain: in a darkened room in new york city at the end of a kentucky childhood, a 20 year old jay bolotin cut a singularly enchanted album of unhurried, low key loner ballads with the confidence and honesty of a seasoned journeyman. jay bolotin is an unqualified singer songwriter gem that will appeal to fans of leonard cohen, townes van zandt & alex chilton. features kenny lyon on bass & mark taber on piano & harpsichord- both veterans of the providence, rhode island scene, the fugs’ bobby mason on percussion and david mowry on guitar. deluxe 180 gram vinyl featuring new liner notes and lyrics inserts. remastered & reissued for the first time since it’s elusive ‘release’. “dear father” featured on numero group compilation lonesome heroes.
tie yourself on a feedbag of slightly decayed dog bones and crushed plastic kids toys you found in a cheeze whiz dumpster, throw you inhabitations out the window and dance your ass off to these highly damaged, anthemic, home made synth and drum songs. this is analog plunger punk at its best!!!! featuring: members of child bride, dreamhouse, blue shift and riddlin’. 600 pressed. full color cover.
over 70 minutes of beautiful white light healing vibes spread out over 5 songs. all music recorded in the summer of two thousand and six in the “frozen earth cabin” in dublin, except “sea cave” which was recorded live to cassette at lazybird… oversized color covers.
bong are newcastle’s finest doom stoner band, as you’d expect you got distant vocals, totally wild psych guitar, heavy solid drums, but the thing with bong that gives them a totally different vibe from all the weak band is they got a damn sitar in there, and it sounds so damn killer. on the flip we got a slice of quttinirpaaq, we released a cdr by this dude last year to some damn good reviews, its hard to understand how so few people know this dude. it’s basically the one man band of texan matt turner who definitely doesn’t bust out the texas blues or country styles… this isn’t no straight up doom though, opening with totally weirdo keys and feedback, with what sounds like some droning vocals and bizarre clicks, this is pretty out there. that is until three minutes in when matt plugs in and then trashes a drum kit, whilst all this other crazy shit is going on. this is a fucking killer act, as far as i am concerned this is genius, not like any other drone doom vibes going on out there right now. limited to 300 copies.
quirky to the max indie/weirdo/psych/artrock from KRAMER and co. metallic single cover, with insert. EX+/NM-.
orig UK MONO first pressing blue/black/silver label. mod teen beat pop. laminated flipback cover. thick wax. EX+/EX.
original gold label pressing of the much rarer 2nd MUSIC MACHINE lp. here the tough fuzzy TALK TALK vibes gets a psychedelic dose that really lights things up while keeping the raw garage edge fully intact. all originals this time, including pair of truly killer snarling garage fuzz acid punkers in ‘double yellow line’ & ‘the eagle never hunts the fly’ and even some moody folk. pretty classic stuff. cover is well worn, but not trashed : neatly tapes seams, bottom seam splitting, fairly mind ring wear front, and rather dirty back. vinyl is better and sounds nice & hot. a fine copy till a clean one comes your way. VG+/VG++.
on earth is the first studio document created by the group, recorded with marcelo spinna at the space in may 2006 with production assistance from pete swanson (d. yellow swans). while previous cd-r releases were entirely improvised, on earth is comprised of three untitled pieces composed by the group with elements of restrained improvisation. musically, each piece has a specific concern, ranging from extremely subtle microtonal shifts to distorted crashes of intervals against one another. on earth captures the reductive bonus sound with all the sustained tones and sparkling textures, but with a more focused and succinct delivery.
outrageous reissue of this masterpiece of european acid folk, originally released in 1977, now issued as 2 super high material audio cds (playable on any cd player — enhanced audio quality that will rearrange your nervous system) housed in a mini-lp style gatefold sleeve accompanying a 144-page book reproducing the original engravings by bandleader juan arkotxa…. a unique combination of recordings and artwork which stands up as an enduring testament of the fertile hippie scene which flourished in the baleric islands during the seventies. known to record collectors and psych/folk/prog music aficionados alike, this multicultural band formed in the island of mallorca in the mid-’70s and recorded a beautiful (and outrageously scarce) album which has gained cult status as years passed by. the book of am was originally devised as a beautifully illustrated book focused on various world folklore and traditions, coupled with 4 lps which would represent a musical. this (never completed) 4lp set would correspond to the four phases of day (dawn, morning, afternoon, night). only the first of these records (morning) would eventually see the light of day in a tiny private pressing which changes hands nowadays for obscene amounts of money. a round-the-world trip through the folklore, legends, lore and cosmogonies of some of the world’s cultures, from ancient egypt to celtic traditions… top quality new import only reissue of this incredible album. if you missed the mega-limited & long gone wah-wah reissue, grab this one quick. highly recommended.
the cathedral of junk was started in 1988 in austin texas as a backyard art project and has continually grown ever since. brett humphrey of the band x=x set up this show and when one of the bands backed out at the last moment i asked the band lead sister ii (joshua hume) to play even though i had never met him. i saw that lead sister ii was on the ikuisuus label, liked his music, and figured since we both lived in austin we should play a show together!! it turned out that it was his last day in austin before moving to japan. he was a very thoughtful polite young guy who played very intriguing music so now we have this cassette release on ikuisuus of two great austin texas bands meeting each other and playing together for the first time!!! enjoy. – carlton crutcher, book of shadows
2nd private press solo release from rafi of death chants, aswara, etc. more excellent smoked out late night sounds. pure space folk. 2 side long tracks. lovely hand water colored heavy art paper covers, with hand written text. numbered edition of only 76 copies. recommended!
these three lps were originally privately pressed by the artist(s) in minuscule editions sometime in this new century. it appears that very few copies were circulated outside a close circle of acquaintances and it was only by chance/luck that they found their way to us. each lp contained no information whatsoever, the only hint was the name stamped on the plain white jacket. clouding matters even further was the fact that each of the three albums bore a different moniker. musically the lps share a consistent solitary vision, one that treads an inward-looking path that leads to far-reaching psychedelic excursions.”boots” is a prime example of the range of these albums. side one features five tracks of acoustic guitar and raw vocal accompaniment heavy on the loner vibes. the flip changes directions entirely, offering a wild ride of percussion and electronics. likewise,”c.c – live at rainbows end” follows a similar course, although the mood is somewhat less solemn (though no less introspective) on the tracks featuring voice and guitar. the counterpoint here is the near side-long track of barely audible field recordings from an unrecognizable location.”snake & remus – no tape outside” is a continuation of sound and thought. interchangeably piano, electronics and percussion supplement the songwriter, adding a haunting layer to the already subdued mood. the final side contains instrumental passages of processed guitar strum that weave delicate waves. the lps are presented in a box, its own cryptic coffin perhaps, with individual stamped jackets consistent with the original lps. as it says, “it’s just a box man”… very gone stuff here that fits right in with the best of the ultra underground 90s private press vortex. recommended… possible connection to those long gone terry & jim collins lps, maybe arian sample & tommy roundtree too? you take a listen and decide….
long regarded as musical pioneers, boredoms have continually pushed sonic boundaries and inspired musicians for over 20 years. their albums and their performances defy categorization, each one a completely unique event. after only being released on cd in japan, thrill jockey is proud to bring super roots 10 to the us. the album is only available as a limited 2 x 12” release. the album is produced by eye and all the artwork was created and designed by eye as well. super roots 10 features a remix from norwegian artist lindstrøm who has released music on the label smalltown supersound and has also done remixes for franz ferdinand, lcd soundsystem, and the juan mcclean. also featured is a remix from japanese artist altz who has recorded albums for bear funk and jet set records japan and previously done remixes for the boredoms in addition to tal m. klein, cro-magnon, and harp on mouth sextet. boredom’s music is very rarely available domestically on vinyl. this 2×12” is pressed on two high quality virgin vinyl lps at rti and is cut at 45 rpm for maximum fidelity. includes a 24”x 24” full-color poster of artwork from eye. super roots 10 is limited to 2,000 copies. this is sure to sell out upon release.
we are now ready to present to you the vinyl edition of the “altar” album. this very special triple-vinyl version features completely over the top packaging that alot of time, care, effort, love and $ went into! the heavy cardboard gatefold jacket has a 14 page color booklet within as well as a special third pocket (on the right hand pocket of the jacket) that contains the bonus 3rd lp. the booklet features exclusive imagery photos, and liner notes from kim thayil (soundgarden)! each of the three records come in specifically designed black (even on the inside) innersleeves. the 3rd lp “bonus track”: her lips were wet with venom / (satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas) is a 28+ min. epic journey that is a result of both sunn 0))) and boris with dylan carslon (earth) engaged in a completely improvised, no holds-barred, mind – “altering” drone nirvana. dark, powerful and ultimately up-lifting! … total monster here with some truly sick packaging. limited to only 1000 copies and instantly vanished. just a few here, so don’t sleep.
totally insane & wonderful art object here. price is a doozy, but this thing is superb. this special japanese only box set version is limited to only 500 copies. includes a full 2nd lp of bonus material, both lps pressed on audiophile clear, instead of black, vinyl, a dvd with full packaging, as well as a 50 page, full color, hard cover, embossed, deluxe cloth bound book… all packaged together in a heavy clear plastic box with irridescent metallic printed cover and official seal. yowzer. just one copy left here!
long gone limited to 500 copy reissue on this collectible label. smokin’ west coast heavy blues psych with consistently burning electric guitars moves through the whole album. heavy 60s style gatefold cover with extensive notes. very clean copy. NM-/NM- $50.00
second breath of the occultists. alchemical dispersal and hex dilution. features one member each from brothers of the occult sisterhood, terracid and 6majik9. formation like a triangle but with fewer angles, a single point. drifting outsider strum and trance while watching the suns light fade and the colors shift, then inside amongst the cables and fields, under a flowers thought. free jizz? … nice hand made packaging as you’d expect.
rare orig UK pressing in a nice front laminated flipback cover. pre BIG STAR! EX++/EX-.
new cdr from this american experimentalist who’s had previous releases on reverb worship and basses frequences. six tracks across only 19 minutes, totally far out dream tone keys blending into one another pushing you into an almost nightmarish state of mind. eternal could almost work as a 70s italian horror soundtrack with its minimal blurred humming almost reminiscent of some kind of devil organ. limited to 100 copies. pro-manufactured cdrs with on disc print.
previously reissued on cd by sunbeam, now issued on deluxe lp format as well; 180 gram pressing. the third and final album by the edinburgh-based duo of david mcniven (ex-human beast) and angie rew was barely released in 1971, but has gone on to become one of the most treasured “acid folk” albums of all time. comprising the epic, 21-minute title track and four unforgettable stand-alone songs, amaryllis features a heady, trippy blend of true acoustic melodies as well as outstanding support from musicians including danny thompson and terry cox of pentangle, and is an essential purchase for all fans of psychedelic singer-songwriting… highly recommended lp sounding better then ever on nice audiophile vinyl. nice!
mckinley jones (ex-expo ‘70) dollops out a spoonful of star-gazing cosmic folk/astral flower picking, full of fly-by guitar buzz and synth warbles, melted field recordings intertwined, dipping from dark vibes to light all the way to the melodious happy ending. a short but sweet collection full of interesting twists and turns in a cohesive vision of nights laid out in the grass dreaming of blooming lands. tied up in wrap-around sewn wallpaper border pouches with an insert and a flower bud. edition of 50.
james blackshaw & jozef van wissem form a holy alliance on this palindromatic masterwork… totally fantastic album of lifted lute & 12 string bliss. limited to 1000. very recommended.
here’s an assemblage of seemingly disparate recordings, including one tale of selling clam chowder to the russians. it’s not instrumental per se, but, as the title suggests, contains ‘no sung words.’ think of it as the appetizer for what david brant (you’ve seen him playing bass in vollmar) has up his sleeve with this exciting new project.
wild slab from this minneapolis brother/sister duo, ripping through some very damaged high energy garage rawk mischief. white stripes for acid heads? who knows – sweet eye-popping screenprinted covers. some are glow-in-the-dark style, some are silver. both are lovely. edition of 500.
long vanished way limited private press of sooo acid damaged steam of consciousness (or unconsciousness?) bedroom 4-track psych babble, backwards guitars, zoned vocals, and general acid sputter. awesome xian screen printed cover art. insane babble insert. whoa. NM+/NM+.
newest release on big blood’s tiny private cdr label from s. br. oak of upside-down cross, deceh, etc. seriously zoned-out ultra lo-fi hiss saturated acoustic ragas, machinery hums, cut-up meditations, and an awesome totally blown-out version of ‘dark is the color of my true loves hair’… lovely screen printed doubled-sided art paper covers with inserts. nice.
…we like to play with fire and also botos like this… flaming tunes catching with angels chants… we accept the bet for the winner!!another 9 crazy trip from the massive band from blissland handmade hard cardboard limited to 116 copies.
intended as an aid in the transformative pursuit of prehuman awareness or empty clatter as model of spacetime.
as far as the southern hemisphere goes, australia’s budding underground has often played second fiddle to that of it’s island neighbor, new zealand. but a new crop of aussies is levelling the playing field. leading the way is the brother/sister duo of michael and kristina donnelly aka brothers of the occult sisterhood. these cosmic travelers are soaked to the bone in dust, like relics from the past. they speak only in tongues and send out shortwave psychedelic radio transmissions into the bleeding edges of drugged-out folk sludge. botos’ organic compositions are familiar to many by now. after a string of cd-r releases on time-lag, celebrate psi-phenomenon, and others, this is their first pro-pressed offering. building on transcendent themes and saturating everything in an all-encompassing puff of bong smoke. endless walls of instrumentation create artificial bounderies that the donnellys destroy with far-reaching, hypnotic drones. by the time “goodbye” comes to a grinding halt, it feels like the stuff of legend. brothers of the occult sisterhood are only interested in blowing your skull to smithereens while cradling you in their arms. they are simply magnificent, and there aren’t many doing it better these days. the first 500 copies come in silkscreened sleeves done by the new zealand crazies at united fairy moons.
as far as the southern hemisphere goes, australia’s budding underground has often played second fiddle to that of it’s island neighbor, new zealand. but a new crop of aussies is levelling the playing field. leading the way is the brother/sister duo of michael and kristina donnelly aka brothers of the occult sisterhood. these cosmic travelers are soaked to the bone in dust, like relics from the past. they speak only in tongues and send out shortwave psychedelic radio transmissions into the bleeding edges of drugged-out folk sludge. botos’ organic compositions are familiar to many by now. after a string of cd-r releases on time-lag, celebrate psi-phenomenon, and others, this is their first pro-pressed offering. building on transcendent themes and saturating everything in an all-encompassing puff of bong smoke. endless walls of instrumentation create artificial bounderies that the donnellys destroy with far-reaching, hypnotic drones. by the time “goodbye” comes to a grinding halt, it feels like the stuff of legend. brothers of the occult sisterhood are only interested in blowing your skull to smithereens while cradling you in their arms. they are simply magnificent, and there aren’t many doing it better these days. the first 500 copies come in silkscreened sleeves done by the new zealand crazies at united fairy moons.
they’re back…your favorite australian improv band was everywhere from 2004 to 2007. so many great releases out on digitalis, student of ducay, mymwly, root strata…and then a little break happened. since a couple of months the collective has returned, mostly with 6majik9 records. now we’re proud to release the first botos cd-r for a long time. recorded in 2008, team lead by drummer michael donnelly features joel stern on guitar for a free improv jam full of percussion and electricity, far beyond the psyche folk genre. artwork by michael donnelly. 100 copies.
reissue of the second botos disc , previously available on foxglove… probably their best! last copy…
one track, 45 minutes of sonic tripping. many many parts seamlessly (seemingly) flowing in and out of one another. tribal, witchy, cataclysmic. dig it. music from down under. way down under. features incredible new art from cory card designed specifically for this release. edition of 123.
original, sealed tapes from the 80s, although she updated the dates
every time she did a new pressing (sounds of the sea is from 1981 but
says 1990)… joanna brouk was an extremely early new age type musician who had a radio show on kpfa even before hearts of space. she put out five tapes of music recorded between 1976 and 1982. you can hear an early interview (1972) and some of her most minimal and severe drone music via this link: http://disquiet.com/2008/02/28/joanna-brouk/ … two side-length pieces — maggis flute and healing music. maggi is maggi payne of lovely records fame, today an instructor at mills college. this long improvisation based on brouks directions later provided the basis for a short symphonic piece by brouk in the mid 80s. healing music (1976) is one of brouks first piano works, a self-taught rondo of deep, hypnotic power. – yoga.
original, sealed tapes from the 80s, although she updated the dates every time she did a new pressing (sounds of the sea is from 1981 but says 1990)… joanna brouk was an extremely early new age type musician who had a radio show on kpfa even before hearts of space. she put out five tapes of music recorded between 1976 and 1982. you can hear an early interview (1972) and some of her most minimal and severe drone music via this link: http://disquiet.com/2008/02/28/joanna-brouk/ … brouks most unusual, ambitious, and remarkable recording consists of two side-long suites, atavesta, and the sailor and the nymph. lonesome whistles, flutes, drones whale songs, and wordless vocal wails suggest the experimental album kate bush never made, or a de-progged “sunborne” by constance demby. a startling, haunting work, highly recommended. – yoga.
original, sealed tapes from the 80s, although she updated the dates
every time she did a new pressing (sounds of the sea is from 1981 but says 1990)… joanna brouk was an extremely early new age type musician who had a radio show on kpfa even before hearts of space. she put out five tapes of music recorded between 1976 and 1982. you can hear an early interview (1972) and some of her most minimal and severe drone music via this link: http://disquiet.com/2008/02/28/joanna-brouk/ … brouks last tape (for now) finds her revisiting old themes explored on earlier recordings with the addition of digital synths. the sounds are still cosmic and weird and way ahead of the curve. great j card cover photo features ms. brouk blissing out in the woods.” – yoga.
original, sealed tapes from the 80s, although she updated the dates
every time she did a new pressing (sounds of the sea is from 1981 but says 1990)… joanna brouk was an extremely early new age type musician who had a radio show on kpfa even before hearts of space. she put out five tapes of music recorded between 1976 and 1982. you can hear an early interview (1972) and some of her most minimal and severe drone music via this link: http://disquiet.com/2008/02/28/joanna-brouk/ … early san francisco experimental music figure bill maraldo achieves remarkable, just slightly off piano tones on the side-length title piece. side two, chimes and bells / winter chimes / golden cloud layers finds brouk combining piano tapes with saron, electric piano, and moog. – yoga.
bruce blucher and paul cahill (both of trash) hook up with drummer bo martak (king loser) and singer viv crowe for a one-off single from 1994 – great long gone dose of new zealand underground lo-fi folkrock, with great female vocals and good vibes all over. on bill meyer’s excellent and all too brief roof bolt label.
as atlantic records partner and president jerry wexler said to phil spector (who released the lp via a distribution deal with warner bros.): ‘thank you for the test pressing on lenny, i think it’s fantastic. many of the bits in this lp surpass in brilliance, insight and compassion anything i’ve heard of lenny’s. i had come to the point where his juridical musings were beginning to put me off, and i was beginning to his obsession with his trial (and trials) as a bore. i have a new insight. lenny really achieves new dimensions as a prophet when he addresses himself to the nature of the law, the judge and the policemen in the same sense as the old testament prophets did when the attacked kings and commoners alike, exposing the unending cop-outs and rationalizations which with people protect their paltry possessions and nurse their hard-won neuroses and precious foibles. those in power are better able to perpetuate their grip on their baggage, both material and psychic, than those they oppress; but both haves and have-nots are uptight in this regard. when lenny is really popping and cooking, as he is in this lp, i get so turned on that i get a euphoric kick. it is a case of terrific rapport and shared viewpoint, and the electric like viewpoint, and an electric-like phenomenon and awareness takes place, perhaps what james joyce refers to as an “epiphany” in portrait of the artist. lenny induced this in me many times in clubs, but i don’t remember it happening listening to his records until this time.’… perfect SEALED NM+ original copy with very small cutout.
ring wear, cut corner. VG/VG+
butterfly label press of his most avant/out-there slab. one nasty mark on wax, otherwise pretty nice. VG+/VG.
butterfly label press of his awesome first. VG/VG+.
his rarest & best. original 1970 WHITE LABEL PROMO pressing. absolutely perfect brooding, drifting, freeform avant psych folk masterwork. just stunning. great fidelity. timing strip on cover. faintest wear, sharp corners, tight seams. original label inner sleeve. very clean labels & vinyl, a lite paper scuff or two away from perfect.
finnish underground fun. blue tape, pro-dubbed, 100 copies.
what needs to be said about a band that invents a new dance for every song they make and play flute by hanging it from a car window during their tours? the wind plays the flute like buffle their casios, percussions and guitars. so we hear a pure feast of love and joy. flux of funny sounds meet clumsy and naive repetition in a way that would make holger czukay hot of jealousy in his pool. and there’s nothing better in life than to be hanging out in the breezing streets of belgian winter and be saved by buffle feeding you different kinds of vegetarian pizza slices – newest lal lal lal cassette. recommended & limited.
bull at his most righteously drugged, this third release is a mere two songs spread over a looped path of colored time. bull as guru. bull as shaman. e pluribus unum takes his past triumphs and brings them higher, to an acid-singed multi-colored height. at the end of the day, bull’s prowess on the guitar wins over everything and the result is an answer to the psychedelic wonder-bands that sprang into the scene since his last record. the instrumental answer to ‘in-a-gadda-da-vida.’ original artwork… 180gm vinyl, heavy 60s style covers. originally issued by vanguard in 1963. fantastic album! his masterpiece.
the debut release from the man who defined the folk guitar ’60s explosion. blending eastern and western styles, living on the jazz/blues line, bull’s guitar playing has influenced anyone and everyone even loosely associated with the new weird america. featuring the legendary jazz drummer billy higgins on the side-long song ‘blend’ — a song that started a genre. original artwork… 180gm vinyl, heavy 60s style covers. originally issued by vanguard in 1963. fantastic album!
considered to be one of his finest moments, bull’s second record goes beyond his first, wearing an electric halo while he continues to explore the boundaries of the guitar. ‘blend 2,’ his answer to his first record’s opus ‘blend,’ is a must have for all of those who love john fahey and six organs of admittance. a ghostly, warm record as a whole: bull is on top of his game and once again reinventing the way the ear hears the hand as it plays the guitar. original artwork… 180gm vinyl, heavy 60s style covers. originally issued by vanguard in 1963. fantastic album!
it’s not often you come across an artist you can genuinely refer to as a ‘cult legend,’ but vashti bunyan is truly that. a full thirty-five years after her only previous album, the singer returns with a new solo work, her first in all these years, and it is a breathtakingly beautiful album. far from some kind of appendage tacked onto the end of an amazing story and a past classic, lookaftering is a fully beautiful album in its own right. produced by fellow edinburgh resident max richter (who has a wonderful solo album of his own, blue notebooks), and co-arranged with bunyan, it’s a rich, beautifully arranged and stirring album. developing gradually and organically — with work initially taking place between richter and bunyan’s homes, and then at various studios in edinburgh, london and glasgow — lookaftering is anchored around bunyan’s voice and picked acoustic guitar, and richter’s piano playing and arranging. its instrumentation includes a string quartet, oboe, harp, french horn, recorder, flute, hammer dulcimer, glasses, harmonium, and rhodes piano, and it features contributions from joanna newsom, devendra banhart, adem, adam pierce (mice parade), robert kirby (nick drake), otto hauser and kevin barker (espers, currituck county).
Originally released way back in 1965 on the Decca label (as just ’Vashti’, no Bunyan), “Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind” was actually the young London-based singer’s debut record. Written by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, the song was handed to Vashti by Rolling Stones manager/guru Andrew Loog Oldham, who had recently discovered her via an industry friend. Vashti was put in the studio to record the song with the backing of a full orchestra. The track was backed by her own beautiful song, “I Want To Be Alone” on the B-side and released as a 7″-inch single in May 1965. Despite a whirlwind of promotion around the release and some very positive reviews, the single flopped and Vashti subsequently left the Decca label to pursue more pared-down ambitions. Remastered from a rare existing copy of the original 7-inch, “Some Things…” is revealed as a classic Stones-style pop stomper with a rich, full orchestral effect and a centre-point of Vashti’s inimitable vocal. Both eternal yet very much of its time, the record may have gained a slight patina of crackle and pop, yet has lost none of its charm through the decades, and somehow still manages to sound thoroughly fresh and full of wonder… limited to 1000 & recommended.
members: clay ruby – feedback, voice, paia 4700, samples, microphones, homemade oscillators, metal, organs, earth, distortion, delay, insect, reverb, electric piano and analog tape. burial hex first made itself known to aurora borealis a few years ago when browsing obscure blackened electronic treats online. the subsequent purchase delivered a rather bizarre cassette tape, totally without markings, and a cryptic, darkly printed simple cover bearing ancient symbols and occult schematics: the curses of earth, indeed. it conjured all sorts of imaginings — nocturnal rites, lonely vigils with archaic analog equipment, moonlight, madness. in 2007, aurora borealis found itself face-to-face with burial hex across the strings of the ether, in communication via email, almost wholly by accident and coincidence. taking this to be a sign, perhaps the hand of destiny, a deal was secured to release something. more instinct than reaction, no one knew what to expect. the ‘oppressive necro electronics’ of the recordings heard so far gave little idea of what lay in store, of the new depths to be explored, the madness to be embraced. initiations, the debut recording for aurora borealis, is a lengthy proposition. clocking in at one hour thirteen minutes, it represents a journey, a metaphysical odyssey of uncertain outcome. from the psycho-religious clamor of ‘will to the chapel’ with its jihadic cries, through to the somnambulant, subterranean oscillations of ‘8 pentacles,’ the way ahead is far from clear, the atmosphere claustrophobic and threatening. for fans of prurient, wolf eyes, whitehouse, dead raven choir, throbbing gristle, nurse with wound, masonna.
digital version of red records #1. a lucky few got to hear this little gem as the tiny self released cdr edition, but here’s the real deal. an absolutely lovely album and surely joshua’s finest dose yet. oozing with a perfectly warm lo-fi bedroom glow, and full of joshua’s most direct & achingly melancholy song forms. totally hitting a whole new level of intimate vibrations, full of fragile hushed vocals, gentle acoustic guitar plucking, somber dirges, and electronic bagpipe mantras. beautifully formed lyrics step up the forefront as a rare treat, and the effect is just as stunning as it is simple. we just can’t get enough of this one. the kind of record you’ll want to spin again & again to soothe a busy mind… truly psychedelic folk music for late night soul searching. same music & art as the vinyl version, but packed in a mini lp style heavy gatefold cover with full color art, japanese woven inner sleeve, etc. edition of 1000 copies.
red records #1… a lucky few got to hear this little gem as the tiny self released cdr edition, but here’s the real deal. an absolutely lovely album and surely joshua’s finest dose yet. oozing with a perfectly warm lo-fi bedroom glow, and full of joshua’s most direct & achingly melancholy song forms. totally hitting a whole new level of intimate vibrations, full of fragile hushed vocals, gentle acoustic guitar plucking, somber dirges, and electronic bagpipe mantras. beautifully formed lyrics step up the forefront as a rare treat, and the effect is just as stunning as it is simple. we just can’t get enough of this one. the kind of record you’ll want to spin again & again to soothe a busy mind… truly psychedelic folk music for late night soul searching… lusciously hand packaged in a custom creamy art paper heavy 60s style gatefold cover with full size, full color paste-on front artwork, screen printed back cover & interior, printed labels, hand stamped spine, and pressed on 180gm bright red vinyl. hand numbered limited edition of 300 copies.
originally released in a micro-run of 200 in 1996 as the first release on joshua’s own feather one’s nest label, it is with deep honor and respect spirit of orr has prepared this reissue version with hopes that it will be as much a treasure to hold as the original. we have carefully used the same stampers as the original, however this edition will be pressed in colored vinyl. also included will be a booklet containing art from joshua, and an extensive set of liner notes with impressions of this record from several of your favorite record heads, angela sawyer, clint simonson, john olson, thurston moore, willie lane and more. this reissue is housed in recycled lp jackets much like the original, though this time the jackets will be reversed with taped spines and a reversal of the original art… great album finally available again! recommended!
hototogisu-the duo of uk experimentalist matthew bower (skullflower, sunroof et al.) and new york-based-guitarist marcia bassett (double leopards, zaimph, ghq)-are all about impact, about taking the physical aspect of sound and hallucinating it to the point of abstraction, so much so that for all of the complexity of their music it often sounds like it’s standing still, simply hanging in the air and vibrating without anything approaching a ‘plot’ to bring it to a point. by contrast, burning star core, the trio of drummer trevor tremaine, robert beattu on electronics (both of whom also play in hair police) and c. spencer yeh on violin and electronics, are more overtly propulsive, usurping ‘classic’ rock form via electronics and drums but still focused on momentum, on the jam as a form of structural gravity, on the unfolding of action via development over time.this all-improvised studio meeting is the perfect reconciliation of both tendencies, of hototogisu’s obsessive layering of strata after strata of violently conceived noise and of burning star core’s epic, post-kraut thunder-punk style. -david keenan, glasgow, november 2008.
limited to only 500 copies worldwide on deluxe 10″ vinyl. includes exclusive artwork insert designed by hair police’s robert beatty! the first in a 6 part series from the avant garde’s young upstart c. spencer yeh. burning star core may not be a name familiar to everyone, but in the murky world of the avant garde he is already something of a legend. notching up performances with chris corsano, thurston moore, john olson (of wolf eyes), jessica rylan, hototogisu and many more, his name has become synonymous with the new wave of avant-noise. ‘amelia’ is the first disc in a five part series which collects rarities from almost ten years of recording activity, and here we see him exploring the bubbling psychedelic world of synthesizer heavy krautrock. from the initial synth-heavy rumbling and growling of ‘i wanna make a supersonic woman of you’ it is clear that yeh is on a mission to throw your brain into a psychedelic overload of colour and creativity, but it is on the flipside – the eleven minute ‘the point of departure is no return’ that he really gets into the progressive spirit and conjures up images of tangerine dream at their best. micro-arpeggios are layered underneath gasping winds of analogue synthesizer to create something which should really be a soundtrack to some kind of late-70s fantasy sci-fi film. this is the lighter side of burning star core, but shows the kind of creativity and bubbling genius you can only expect from the mind of one so renowned – recommended.
what can i say? burnt hills. stripped down to a quartet here, burnt hills actually play louder than ever before. you want heavy? you want merciless, unflinching, guitar-wielding thug-beauty? look no further. cd-r edition of 123 with spray-stenciled vellum envelopes and mad-dog insert.
minotaur surf party firing nitrous arrows into a flaming headswim universe, a wealth of decomposing monster saturated jams, dripping n melting in a heavy golden like syrup… edition of 50.
latest missive from this free rock/noise/psych collective based in the wilds of albany, ny. easily their loudest and most pure assault on the senses yet. wild, wooly, and singular-minded in its pursuit of psychedelic krautrock-inspired oblivion. we can’t say it any better than the good folks at aquarius: “fans of freaked out psychedelic punch ups, dizzying clattery outsider free rock and getting super high and diving head first into a huge pile of drums and guitars will feel right at home.” keep an eye out for upcoming burnt hills releases on the lotus sound, qbico, ruby red, and ruralfaune too.
more burning basement guitar psych onstaught. edition of 100 with chipboard covers & paste-on art.
take a headfirst dive into a boiling pool of wild vibes. side a was vibrated into being on 3/2/09 at the helderberg house with five heads shredding to live. side b was vibrated into being on 3/19/09 at bard college with nine heads living to shred… full color paste-on art, limited & numbered edition of 99 copies only.
shred your head as five blistering guitars rage with wah wah fury, a blown out bass drops the heavy anchor, an eight armed drummer pummels through the basement night and an amplified xylophone sprays broken glass into the clouds… edition of 100. color paste-on art.
shred your head as five blistering guitars rage with wah wah fury, a blown out bass drops the heavy anchor, an eight-armed drummer pummels through the basement night and an amplified xylophone sprays broken glass into the clouds. reissue of the yod tapes cd-r. edition of 99 copies.
psych trip genius, burnt hills drop a 57min wild wild ride to the best possible place. truly albany’s best. play it loud and you will find all sorts of lost zones there! play it very loud and you will be re-born.
soar through the cosmos as five guitars radiate microwaves towards the sun’s core, a bass levitates over the rings of saturn and shimmering percussive clatter seals up a black hole at the edge of the universe…. co-released with noiseville…. edition of 300 copies, with paste-on art front & back.
soar through the cosmos as five guitars radiate microwaves towards the sun’s core, a bass levitates over the rings of saturn and shimmering percussive clatter seals up a black hole at the edge of the universe….co-released with noiseville…. edition of 300 copies, with paste-on art front & back.
dig the raging thunderstorm of sound as four squealing, reeling and paint peeling guitars thrash riffs, tones and cosmic bursts, a massive bass throbs and centers, propulsive dive bomb drums explode constantly and the sweet glaze of an insistent chiming xylophone rings out from the eye of the storm….one track, one hour and twenty seven seconds long….cover art by bill nace…
burnt hills meets soil sing through me for a ravaging psych blowout. features members of sunburned hand of the man, aethr myth’d, century plants, feathers, wovoka, and more! hot thick summer air pervades this one, it’s an absolutely raw and ripping 62 minute joyride. a battalion of blazing psych guitars chasing each others’ tails, pounding tribal drums, hypnotic bass grooves, a twinkling xylophone, beautifully twisted vocals, and even some magic oboe work from our danish pal troels make this a very unique document. meetings this intense don’t happen often, and there’s a reason! edition of 100.
in january 1971 legendary minneapolis psychedelic band the c a quintet, creators of one of the most sought-after and celebrated underground albums of the ’60s, trip thru hell, decided to call it a day and play one final swan-song at lake pepin high school. three tracks from this gig were hastily issued by the band in the early ’80s in response to a bootleg of the trip thru hell lp that had then recently surfaced. whilst many thought then that this was the last that would ever be heard of the band again, earlier this year two surprising events happened – 1, the original master-tape of the gig was discovered. 2, it was found to contain material far stronger than that on the old live album and also to include previously unheard original material. the band perform storming versions of ’60s classics like ‘born to be wild’ and ‘badge’ alongside originals ‘4am in new york city’ and the closing number ‘china clipper’ – the final song ever performed by the c a quintet. this will be a limited edition one-off custom pressing featuring new liner notes specially written for this edition by band founder and leader ken erwin who also supervised the remastering of these recordings – preveusly unreleased recordings. one limited limited to 500 press. 180gm vinyl. big double sided insert.
previously reissued on cd by sunbeam, now issued on deluxe 2lp format as well. vinyl mastering from original tapes at abbey road studios, pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl. featuring incredible string band founder clive palmer, c.o.b. made some of the most imaginative and moving music of their time, and this 1972 masterpiece is considered by many to be the finest folk record ever to emerge from the british isles. an overwhelmingly beautiful and compelling collection of songs set to eastern-tinged arrangements, it’s presented here as a double lp, with a whole extra disc’s worth of bonus material (including both sides of their rare 45), as well as a deluxe gatefold sleeve, making it the most comprehensive edition of the album ever assembled… best reissue yet of this uk acidfolk classic. recommended.
long out of print deluxe reissue of monster rare west coast heavy garage psych. embossed fake leather cover. numbered edition of 450. NM+/NM+.
in the depths of a montana winter, jasmine dreame wagner set out to record the ten tracks of searchlight needles with contributions from electronics duo cole moeller and michael wanzenried. wagner herself lends her vocals to her acoustic, electric and baritone guitars, recorders, xylophone and keyboards as scraps of distorted violin and cello itch between sounds. the result is a journey from the ice-packed slopes and fire-smoked summers of western montana to the deserts of nevada, the rolling badlands of the dakotas and the black swamps of
north carolina. each cd is hand-stamped and assembled in a limited edition of 300.
recorded in a new england pine copse and a concrete brooklyn basement, cabinet of natural curiosities’ first full length cd-r explores the rusted edges of the backwoods. each cd-r is enclosed in a hand-assembled metallic silver envelope with a silk flower embellishment. 250 copies assembled, released in five editions of 50.
clare hubbard (caethua) and andy neubauer (uke of spaces, flak mask, impractical cockpit) play the koner synth holy carols. edition of 100 with white imprinting and letterpress inserts… real sweet sounds from these local zoners. awesome package too.
1965 live recordings. cheap original copy. cover has a couple small tears & a couple stickers, but not trashed. vinyl plays fine. VG/VG+.
finland’s marko neumann aka cahier returns with his second blast of warm air straight from the arctic. lilting drones that are conjured from a variety of sources, some electronic, some acoustic, dance like magical lights just out of reach, but close enough to feel. this sequel to cahier’s first foxglove offering puts the puzzle pieces in place so that the listener can hear the full scope of his range. the short bursts are like chance meetings in the street; like a place of refuge from the cold. cahier’s latest continues neumann’s quest to touch the sun.
dennis callaci and simon joyner are two of the foremost channelers of “the song.” simon is known for his solo recordings, with releases on jagjaguwar, truckstop, shrimper, and sing eunuchs!, among others. dennis plays in refrigerator and was the sole voice behind the criminally underheard paste. they are singer-songwriters in that they write songs and sing them, but that appellation dumbs down and sanitizes what they do. i think it is more accurate to say that both have a way of tapping into the stream of collective creativity that flows from god-knows-when through to the present and beyond. their songs have a gravity to them, an”old soul,” as it were, that cannot be mistaken. there are a few stylistic precursors to their work precursors that have been well-documented previously but the songs they write and sing tap into something more ineffable, timeless, and grave. stranger blues set comprises three of simon’s songs and two by dennis, all recorded live in the callaci living room to what seems to be a single microphone. the nontraditional (or better: non-studio) setting adds a palpable sensation of space to the recordings by space i do not simply mean the warmth of the room tone, but actual space: backing vocals and spare piano or guitar lines arise in such a way that you are aware of the physical geography of the room. you can hear simon singing along with dennis from an actual distance away; his voice is (literally) distant and all the more forlorn. the guitar lines that dennis adds to flesh-out simon’s songs have the same eerie effect. this sense of space underscores two seemingly contradictory strengths about stranger blues. on one hand, these songs are beautifully lonely and spare, highlighted by the echoes and distance in the room. at the same time, it is clear that two songwriters who know and love the other’s work, who are very much working in tandem to build upon each others strengths. single edition of 500 one-sided lps. silkscreened and hand assembled chipboard jackets in a”traditional” catsup plate brown butchers tape design scheme.
traditions don’t often go softly into the night. they may fest under the surface of things for a while, but they don’t truly disappear. the lost domain’s john henry calvinist prepares a set of limestone-dusted originals which snake their way through the muddy rivers of days gone by. dirt-soaked radio transmissions from distant dimensions scorch the reels and get things moving. there’s enough space in these towering guitar explorations to suck marrow from the sky. these back porch acoustic blues sing to the heavens,”come down and get me, i’m just waiting – ‘ edition of 100.
way obscure hollywood private press. super weird beatnik folk psych calypso comedy album. pretty funny really, and an amazingly strange cover. EX/EX.
US press spiral vertigo label SEALED original from this way overlooked liverpool talent. this lp gushes with ideas and hits on everything from acidfolk to full on psych to classic uk prog featuring members of BADFINGER. gatefold cover. SEALED NM.
awesome textured paper fold out cover with paste-on art & insert. features mc john olson. numbered edition of 150.
out of print. one copy only.
the sole album of the canterbury music festival. only 150 copies were pressed in 1968. the album has an almost willfully secret pop-sike masterpiece of sorts – on the obscure and collectable bt puppy label owned by the legendary doo wopper tokens. this album contains the complete bt puppy recordings, and is one of the rarest albums in the entire collectable soft rock genre! – pretty awesome dreamy sun soaked lite psych obsurity. amazing heavy cover exact repro with insert, poster, obi, and heavy audiophile vinyl. limited to 500 copies.
recent reissue of cool spanish psych rarity. weird marks on two tracks that look bad but do not effect play. otherwise new/mint.
many people watching the ebay auctions were surprised seeing this album selling for nearly 3500 euro each. before that, this album was completely unknown. captain marry are from glasgow, scotland and recorded this demo album in 1974, released in a tiny pressing on the thor label, hopefully to get a emi or chrysalis deal. they wanted to record only a single but came up with a complete album of self-composed tracks. since it was not that easy for a scottish band to get attention down in london, this album was the only pressing ever done and sold at band gigs only. 5 musicians, great organ, vocals, extra heavy fuzz-guitar, drums and bass; amazing underground songs, influenced by deep purple, uriah heep and beggars opera, a true lost classic. we were lucky to find the band to made a deal so this beauty can conquer the world of rock music… numbered edition of 500 copies on 180gm vinyl, heavy cover, and insert.
car commericals are generally uncomfortable; probably shifty-eyed loners that barely leave the basement. their brand of strictly personal suburban ooze was borne deep within the recesses of new jersey, just east of i-95. more specifically, this music springs from inside that unspeakable zone deep within the mind where feelings get very messy. david sutton and daniel dimaggio, the duo known as car commercials, make mysterious fake rock clatter for heavy petting (yeah right). following a brief stint as gt performers, daniel and david began to make duo recordings as car commercials a few years ago, releasing their creepy missives in small runs, mostly for sutton’s leaf leaf label. the two have tapped into an aspect of nonsensical nihilism that makes jad fair’s early recordings so alluring, but have forgone his obsession with cartoon horror and monster movies in favor of faces of death i thru vi. eric’s diary is the second lp release from car commericals, following the out-of-print judy’s dust lp (cenotaph) from early 2008. those confounded by judy’s dust will be pleased to know that eric’s diary is where things get…intense. breathe deep, and prepare to scratch yr head faster than you can say ‘home blitz.’ lp edition of 200 with full color paste-on sleeves… great!
judy’s dust is the debut full-length lp by car commercials of new brunswick, new jersey. here, the duo of david sutton (friends and family, current amnesia, ladderwoe) and daniel dimaggio (home blitz) expand on the rock/mumble strategies from the self-released jar 7″ (leaf leaf, 2006) and a couple cassettes kicked around the new jersey underpasses. contains twelve songs of missing spaces, too much center ice, drums and wires, varispeed recording techniques, and facing backwards – all from the other side of the e street. limited to 300 copies… paste-on full size/full color art front & back, plus a couple inserts.
this may be the end is a tapestry of intricately repeating guitar phrases woven into layers of interlocking, syncopated, phase in/phase out patterns…a melodic rhythm that will keep your head bobbing as much as spinning. melodic lines (often expressed through layered ebows) enter as quickly as they depart, leaving no central theme except the interlocking reichian pattern. this may be the end feels almost like two pieces of music with a bridge of synthesized waves between the two patterns, the latter being a more subtle come down to the vortex of chaotic bliss in the first section. long hallway, three slightly open doors is a step in a different direction, without a central rhythmic or melodic theme, the piece is a beautifully meandering stumble of notes falling from the guitar. a perfect counterpart to the first piece’s tenseness, long hallway is loose, patient and indirect about it’s objectives, causing the listener to react more than anticipate. recorded in his home studio, nada sound studio, from 2003 to 2006, both pieces are a far cry from carbonara’s solo guitar work, showing his depth as an arranger/composer in the studio beyond that of a solo improviser.
i’m wrapping my head in plaster of paris. i will then dunk it in a barrel of brine before diving into the la brea tar pits. sure its suffocating, but my dying, muffled gasps will be overpowered by the sounds pumping through my headphones, headphones running to my cheap, portable cd player which is, miraculously, not struggling with this black-bottomed cd-r. it never likes cd-r’s but this time its different. the scuzzed-out fuck-folk of card & snyder jams my eardrums till my nose runs. these lo-fi cantatas are last rites for all the wicked and i’m listening hard and close. rock n roll rumbles in and out of the proceedings, but mostly what we have here are the sounds of card and snyder’s dark and sweaty wet-dreams; fried-out electronics and peasant drones. the end of it ripples on and on, beautifully, jarringly, like your buddha machine being cooked inside a thanksgiving turkey. or even better: an easter ham. get it and rejoice! – indieworkshop.
germany, 1978. how these lads could record an album like this in 1978? absolutely early ’70s sounding progressive & psychedelic folk-rock masterpiece of the first order! entirely sung in english by an incredibly young female vocalist, beate krause, only 16 when recording! long tracks with excellent, killer acid guitar solos, and moog! if you like groups like mellow candle or pentangle, no doubt you need to purchase this one fast. often praised as ’the best prog-folk record ever,’ we don’t know if such a thing is true, but we can definitely say this is an absolute classic of the genre. besides that, the original label pressed only 200 copies of the lp, imagine how hard to find this is — so here you have a new vinyl reissue of this wonderful record, with killer remastered sound, an insert with photos and liner notes, licensed by the band and in a limited edition of 700 copies… very cool cosmic psych sounds.
virtually unknown private press on the much in demand century label. really awesome west coast femme folkpsych, with a totally lost, sunburnt, melancholy, wide-eyed vibe dripping all over. very cool zoned-out real people mood, but simple, folky, and catchy at the same time. some tracks are stripped down with just guitar or autoharp, but most of the album features full band electric backing to great effect. a hard one to describe, but i keep coming back to this one again & again. generic guitar/sunset cover with an intensely weird back cover portrait photo. only 225 copies pressed!! perfect SEALED NM+.
this split cassette captures just a little slice of the manchester / nottingham / sheffield area young improv scene. got the pleasure of meeting and performing on the same bill with some of these folks back in march and recognized right away that something interesting was brewing there. total duo action going on with this release, sophie and kelly kick out some epic intricate folky guitar action as cooper jones, and on the flip side patrick and pascal break on some sprawling percussion and drum storms as cars. lots of movement here, this is a long document, capturing the flow of what these two groups do. silkscreened artwork by ryan garbage… out of print for awhile now, and a great one!
christina carter (charalambides, et al.) has a gift. in a world where most people shy away from the truth, from honesty in emotion, christina has the strength to address those feelings head on through her music. within the songs of original darkness, she confronts loneliness, self doubt, inadequacy and desire. she bares these emotions in a sometimes tender, sometimes forceful, sometimes pleading voice, a voice in which you can hear her vulnerability, her trepidation. christina’s words, and the mournful sound of them, stirs a melancholy that is supported and framed by her gently plucked guitar notes, notes that echo the sadness in the world she sings of, as well as the words she sings. these ten new songs are effective at painting pictures, exposing the underbelly of what we all really think but most will not say, of what we all really feel but push away. with the addition of gentle bells and occasional keyboards, christina reminds us of what it means to be honestly human.
brand new 2009 recordings of galactic guitar ooze, laid down in nyc usa. hand silkscreened gold on matte black covers. edition of 258.
just over 40 minutes across two tracks of odd outsider folk psychedila weirdness from tom carter (charalambides) and shawn mcmillen. they previously had a cdr on carbon in its 10 year series… extremely limited & instantly out of print. a rather great & unique one too…
there’s not much to say. one sunny afternoon in california two people came together in a small room in rocklin, a suburb of sacramento, and started playing music. a few hours later they stopped, one of them to welcome his wife home from her day of work, the other to retrieve his girlfriend from her mother’s house and make the drive back to the bay area. but what is revealed on tape from those few hours is simply remarkable: a musical landscape that is intense, searching, and emotionally resonant in ways that are unexpected and unwarranted. one of the two, tom carter, has spent his entire career in the world of improvisational music, with his regular group charalambides, as a solo performer, and as a member of various other groups devoted to free improvisation and psych-folk. the other, christian kiefer, is primarily known for three releases on australia’s legendary experimental music label, extreme, albums that waffle between folk-ambience soundscapes and singersongwriter material… hand numbered pressing of 500 only and it comes in gorgeous 3 panel silk screened sleeve designed and printed by rob fisk of deerhoof, badgerlore, etc.
relentlessly looped fuzz wah spun into muzzy knots around dazed spectators’ heads, crumbling into fragmenting crumbs of varying bit depth. presented in two longish improv settings (recorded during a residency in louvain-la-neuve belgium by daniel duchamp, in paul labrecque’s basement), and one short blast recorded before a very zoned audience in berlin by steve gunn, laid down during the massively psyched out ghq / tom carter tour in europe, spring 2008. edition of 100, gatefold silkscreen covers.
solo guitar psych drone explorations from tom carter, of charalambides, of course. floating sound pools of vibrating electric tones. sweet full color double sided oversized fold out packaging. limited to 150 copies & out of print.
three variations on a song by christina enclosing more abstract explorations of the properties of vibrating strings. same ballpark as root king, more documentarian approach. hand folded & painted covers, edition of 200.
since the early ’90s, tom carter has played as one-half of the essential charalambides. during that time, carter also released a handful of solo albums on his own wholly other imprint as well as a recent reissue on the seminal kranky records. with these he also proved to be an extremely capable solo artist. since relocating to oakland, carter has also joined forces with ben chasny and rob fisk as a regular member of badgerlore, while also playing in various outfits with robert horton.”glyph” was originally issued as a limited-edition cd-r on the aforementioned wholly other. it is long-since out-of-print. this reissue of these remastered tracks breathes new life into the pieces. what is most striking is the warmth that pervades this entire album. with one piece for steel string acoustic guitar, another for lap steel, and the final (and shortest) on nylon string acoustic, there is diversity amongst the cogent thread that holds it all together. carter’s improvisations speak volumes without saying a word, and”glyph” is one of his finest achievements to date. it is an ode to the last year of his life in austin, texas and all that it contained. as stated in tom’s liner notes for the reissue,”i regret nothing yet i miss texas and its unpressured passage of time, the ability to create an oppositional universe under the nose of redneck reality, the cicadas, the hot green light through afternoon trees, rolling joints in a lawn chair. “glyph” is all of these things and more, depicted in an aural form that only tom carter could create. first 500 come in gatefold sleeves, silk-screened on one side by rob fisk (free porcupine society) and spraypainted on the other by tom.
here it is! the first 7″ in the anthem records singles series. a series of super limited, one sided 7″ singles. carter crams two tracks onto this one. the first a sparse lap steel wanderer, the second a full on wall of riff with backward guitars, it’s chaos and beauty! limited to 211 copies. packaged in a sweet embossed, hand stamped, stitched art paper cover. numbered edition.
second solo release (first if cdrs don’t count) by charalambides member tom carter. white les paul copy, lap steel, and a purloined bell collection layered into three long tracks of string moan and slithering hum. a manifesto of grounding during an uprooted time, an attempt to bend in the wind. a slice of a long winter and a momentary flash of cranially pooled guitar sound suddenly scattered by unexpected freedom. a guitar album (mostly). pressed in an edition of 533 copies with printed sleeves and very nice artwork by tom carter.
companion disc to “shots at infinity 2″. one copy only.
this is the companion release to the tom carter cd titled shots at infinity 1 being release on important simultaneously. shots at infinity 2 is two long live tracks in the same mode as shots at infinity 1, but more cut loose and blown out, recorded in nemo bidstrup’s record store and burnt hills’ basement jam zone. tom carter is a guitar player best known for his work with acclaimed psych-drone iconoclasts charalambides. since 2000, however, he has become increasingly active as not only a solo artist but as a collaborator. he has performed with improvising musicians as diverse as thurston moore, jandek, tetuzi akiyama, matt valentine, and many others, as well as being a key member in groups like badgerlore (with ben chasny of six organs of admittance), friday group, mudsuckers (with robert horton and the yellow swans), and zaika (with marcia bassett of the double leopards and hototogisu). carter’s solo work covers a lot of territory, but latter-day sightings show him to be concentrating on looped guitar drones of immensely stacked beauty, with heaps of psychedelic melodic content missing from the repertoires of many noise and drone bands. his influences include everyone from lamonte young to david crosby… limited vinyl.
warm and warbling full-bodied drone from paul (aswara / muntjac / death chants) with alison & michael (death chants, moon pie). cool elaborate hand made packaging. must be pretty limited.
during the last euro tour of wolf eyes, john olson (of american tapes, spykes, guam river etc – ) and mike connelly (of gods of tundra, hair police, failing lights etc – ) decided it was enough! they screamed “i’m not going to bed!!! i never wanne sleep again!!!”, they missed their flights and stayed in antwerp with the ultra audiobored horror crew for 7 more weeks without food and drinks, just dry weed and cancerbags to suck on! after that intense test to see if they could adapt to the antwerp life style, they finally met up with legendary belgian eccentric cacti and hat collector cassis cornuta, this psychadelic caracter brought his whole space synth and tape lab over to radio centraal to record an intense last gasp jam with the hardly breathing olson and connelly, the end result is an amazing trip to space and back to the mental hospital! like pouring lighter fluid and tabasco up your genitals or like olson states it so beautifully; like pissing on your own hand, freezing it and then using it as a lollypop for 5 days! comes in a gross 6 panel cover design and with an etch on the b side! – very limited. amazing packaging!
first release from this danish project. tapes have been dug up from many older sessions, and this is the result. ’the dry, heavy shape reaches out’ is one long hypnotic drone-noise-rock track, designed to make you bleed (please play it loud)… cool deep underground sound packaged in a painted cloth shroud. very limited.
underwater peoples records is proud to peddle one of this world’s constantly enjoyable phenomena.. rock n’ roll!!! and today, in the fine tradition of rock spirit, we are proud to announce the release of a split 7” record from andrew cedermark (born in beautiful glen rock, nj/formerly of titus andronicus) and family portrait (front man evan brody hails from ridgewood, nj).despite being two very different artists, both bands emit towers of sound and giant walls of melodic noise, making this pairing a diverse yet cohesive record. the recordings also feature friends and fellow musicians martin courtney (real estate, bass guitar on hard livin’) and julian lynch (clarinet on super cool).
the tenth release on tape drift brings us back to the first, with a brand new offering from century plants. the first in a multiple volume series, “circular spaces, vol. 1″ finds hardiman and hare in particularly fine form, showing how far they’ve come since their debut. this one splits the difference between their melodic and noisy extremes, with two beautifully intense guitar workouts and a long excursion into the depths of sonic abstraction unlike anything else they’ve committed to tape yet. debut lp out soon on music fellowship!
last november we put together an amazing show here in buffalo featuring a spectrum of -house and alchemy- friends/partners, past, present and future. century plants were the future. and, that future is now. featuring their set from that wonderful night in buffalo and another live set, electrics is century plants in top form. cd-r edition of 123 in sleeves with full color artwork by katheryn richards.
ceylon mange is the trio of dylan nyoukis (chocolate monk proprietor and sound molder in blood stereo, decaer pinga), karen constance (blood stereo, smack music 7) and bill nace (x.o.4, vampire belt). the maiming path extends from the group’s previous mind melts with two side long (de)constructions that are assembled from a variety of mangled loops and electronics, guitar feedback/slaughter and cromagnon vocals. the results are a murky stew, as each emerging sound creeps upon the listener like a blackened sloth nightmare. it’s the type of organic brain tangle that is rarely unleashed by the spirits these days. the lp is pressed in an edition of 410 and housed in a full-colour printed sleeve featuring karen’s outsider artwork – killer dirty droning noise. out of print first pressing.
orig 360 stereo label press of their rarest & best. a minor masterpiece of whimsical brit folk psych ala HMS DONOVAN. minor cover wear. VG++/VG+.
a great puerto rican garage psych group who sang in english, with pleasant multi-part vocal leads sitting atop more engrossing latin rhythms and instrumental flourishes, fine fuzz guitar work and screaming farfisa organ. this is the first time reissue for lp of this rare central-south american psychedelic vinyl – elaborate lp-only reissue, super heavy full color gatefold sleeve, poster and obi – awesome album!
a great puerto rican garage psych group who sang in english, with pleasant multi-part vocal leads sitting atop more engrossing latin rhythms and instrumental flourishes, fine fuzz guitar work and screaming farfisa organ. this is the first time reissue for lp of this rare central-south american psychedelic vinyl – elaborate lp-only reissue, super heavy full color gatefold sleeve, poster and obi – awesome album!
nice first uk pressing with no EMI on the label. awesome uk folk psych gem from amazing and mostly overlooked player. not a perfect copy, but still very enjoyable till a better one comes along. striking metallic gold fragile gatefold cover. two sticker tears, some ring wear as always, edge wear, name in pen inside one of the tear marks. vinyl has many paper scuff but nothing deep and plays well. VG(+)/VG+.
a rare document of a brief arc in charalambides’ 17 year (and counting) trajectory, somewhere between the extreme spatial attenuation of the long gone crucial blast cdr being as is and the gentle intergalactic trio sway of the kranky disk unknown spin – and quite distance from both the exclamatory exhalations of joy shapes and the layered songcraft of likeness. these are spartan duets of formalistic near-symmetry, a reminder that there was a time when charalambides swung as close to the axis of incus and fmp as to that of takoma and esp. christina (voice) and tom carter (guitar) improvise non-textual melodic lines around an locus of mirror clarity, occasionally overlapping various strands using two dat machines and a mixing board, in a nod to the pre protools digital scrap heap. originally issued as a peter king lathe cut lp on eclipse records in an edition of 100 in 2000, the reissue of this extreme rarity is remastered from a superior source for maximum clarity. inkblot artwork courtesy of heather leigh murray. the whole package is dedicated to bruce connor (r.i.p.). the reissue at hand is an edition of 500, with fold-over printed sleeves in the style of electricity ghosts.
long-, long-, long-, loooooong-awaited and singular entry in the charalambides and klang industries discographies; one of those “does it really exist?” items that’s finally seeing daylight, or moonlight. a stark, unsettling and beautiful slice of duo charlambides invocation/incantation, taken from the period between jason bill and heather leigh murray’s tenures with the band and featuring extraordinary chord organ and vocal work from christina and some signature lap steel mastery from tom. fans of the band’s most recent, more song-based work will find this relevatory, long-time listeners will say “ahhhh” and settle in for the flight. heavy vinyl, limited pressing, cover handiwork by tom, the first release in years from klang and a sign perhaps of a truly epic revival… nice!
nice original copy of this monster rare deranged heavy french acid psych scorcher! really insane album thats a total top shelf item for heavy psych collectors. chico’s vocal are downright out of this world, babbling & screaming stream of consciousness madness and senseless, wordless free expression. think DAMO SAZUKI and MALCOLM MOONEY rolled into one face-tripping frenchman and you’ll be pretty close. the band is equally unhinged with relentless hendrix worshiping guitar pyrotechnics, driving bass, and heavy-ass drums… mix that all with production & wild studio/tape effects/loops from avant genius JEAN-PIERRE RAWSON and you’re in for one hell of a powerful trip. stunning full color (not like the recent reissue) fragile laminated flip-back cover. cover has a tight small bottom seam split, beginning very minor spine crack, and a small half inch tear at opening. all barely noticeable, and looks just about perfect from the front. label are near perfect with a couple faint spindle marks on either side. heavy wax has a handful of lite hairlines & paper scuffs, but full of shine and full fidelity preserved. nice keeper copy for sure. very rare, unique and recommended album. EX+/EX.
long gone massive deluxe reissue of mega rare destroyed japanese heavy psych beast. #88 of 450 copies. ultra-heavy gatefold with insert. 180gm vinyl. one neat fold to insert. NM/NM.
brand new collaboration from the uk blurters… 3 jams of fuzzy drug psychedelia and shake ’n’ noise featuring the sheffield legend that is rob from chora who has now fled for the big city itself. laser printed yellow sleeves, limited to 60 hand numbered copies.
first release by young upstarts from sheffield and what a fine racket it is too. this live recording gives a fair estimation of the damage they’ve been doing along the highways of the uk for the past 18 months. great mixture of high end ear cleaning, nonsensical vocal-isms and eventual lapses into metronomic rythym. a mixture of noise and repitition that is not a million miles away from the area that this heat so successfully cultivated. the future is very bright indeed – transparent xeroxed/stapled covers.
psychedelic drones recorded in sheffield summer 2006, performed and recorded by ben morris and robert wye. future releases coming up on gold soundz, utech, singing knives, curor et al.
summer 06 family underground (dk) recorded with dave nuss of nnck at black dirt studios in the woods of upstate ny. the yield was as characteristically unhinged as one might expect: sweeping electronic sounds backed with wood and bone percussion spirit-conjure. however also harvested was some new and especially tasty crop: sung and spoken song, electric guitar/conga “rock,” and an odd ghostly sheen coating the entire proceeding.…
yellow label original rural rock/pop-sike. small cut corner, small sticker & sticker stain on back. original inner sleeve. EX/NM-.
susan christie was a philly-based sophomore folk singer who had one novelty hit for a major label and never quite recovered…and afterwards, her psychedelic take on country standards and hand crafted tales of inner-city solitude that was backed by a break heavy folk-funk rhythm section was never accepted as a commercial viability by record company big-wigs: they obviously couldn’t quite muster their ‘nostradamus’ sensibilities to foresee what future hip-hop producers and djs would be feeding into digital music-machines 30 years down the line! luckily three-fifths of a handful (literally three!) privately pressed vanity copies were manufactured in early 1970, one of which became the source material for this b-music release, nesting in the finders keepers’ ever-expanding library of obscure, obtuse, obsolete and obsessive vintage music from the ’60s and ’70s. the uber-legend john hill (who penned the mind-blowing acid rock floor-filler ‘love love love love love’ for wool) produced this release: which features 8 tracks including a twelve minute drugsploitation epic called ‘yesterday – where’s my mind’ featuring the enigmatic susan flipping vocal styles between janis joplin and margo guryan (who was in fact a close friend of susan’s at the time of recording.… pretty wild & great one. nice gatefold covers. limited.
nice import only WHITE VINYL pressing. great 1976 archival recordings from ex-QUICKSILVER guitar hero. cover is still in shrink. some loose dirt under the shrink, but cover very clean. nice wax. EX++/EX+.
our second split cd features 45 minutes of complementary drone bliss by two prime proponents of contemporary underground drift. glasgow’s pefkin (gayle brogan of the boa melody bar mailorder) offers up one extended track in which discrete, often acoustic sounds glisten and overlap like light on a rolling ocean; while the circle and the point (a duo of buffalo-based adam richards [house of alchemy records] and la denizen grant capes [of (vxpxc) and the phantom limb label]) bring us four tracks that drag simple eno-esque melodies through an unpredictable filter of urban noise. sea air to city clatter, electronically bridged; plug in anywhere… limited to 100 or so.
post-terrastock 6, two weary travelers holed up in a spare bedroom with a random cache of instruments and various noisemakers in an attempt to unleash some of the beer-fueled steam that had built up over the previous weekend. the music here comes from two delirious afternoons, still weary from a lack of sleep, minds still overloaded from a weekend of mania- both music related and beyond. floating acoustic guitars buried in the murk of distorted electric guitars. featuring grant capes from (vxpxc), these are ideas six years in the making, now just starting to unwind. adorned with major cover art by darryl norsen – very sweet art paper paste-on packaging. limited/numbered edition of 123 copies. very nice!
these two morc bands wrote their best songs yet to put on this split lp. this album is the perfection of both bands’ sounds – good stuff!
arkades catches a session finnish group, circle, recorded exclusively for wfmu during their us tour, september 19, 2005. comprising two lengthy pieces taking up a side each,”the greatest kingdom” and “the ghost of the highway,” the record focuses on the bands often spacy improv underpinning and applies new meaning to a vision which strides powerfully over the line dividing apocalyptic dread from a semblance of hope. agonized wailing, screams and torrents of molten sound dance ghostly shapes over psychedelic keyboard patterns, distant clattering, moonlit guitars and a rhythm section so carefully tempered that its impossible not to feel the chemistry at work. coupled to a fantastic sleeve which illustrates a homage to spaghetti western films and includes fitting notes by wfmu’s program director, brian turner, arkades proves what these new wave of finnish heavy metallers are capable of when they leave most of the rock at the door. file somewhere near acid mothers temple after having been given the kinda makeover only the scandinavians have the formula for. indeed, this is sweet shit – limited!
headspin records presents the limited edition vinyl version of the tulikoira album by finnish front runners of the psychedelic, kraut, space & trance-rock scene of today with a blasting heavy guitar-drenched album. three tracks on side a and a 24-minute trippy journey on side b. a true psychedelic testimonial! housed with printed inner sleeve in deluxe gatefold sleeve! the inside of the fold-out showing the initials of what the album is all about: n.w.o.f.h.m (new wave of finnish heavy metal). the album comes with a 7″ single (with picture sleeve) featuring two unreleased and exclusive tracks with bruce duff (45 grave/jesters of destiny/ adz) on vocals… very limited!
short tape by katie and haley. a-side is their collaborative project, cro magnon, conjuring apocalyptic no-core anxiety. b-side features each of their solo projects: circuit des yeux (haley) slows it down with “fire signs” and then bird (katie) deconstructs/microtunes the acoustic rock song with free, downloadable software on “swamp cry”. edition of 100.
really nice new single. green vinyl, color cover, vellum obi, limited to 300 copies. already out of print.
from a small town in the middle of the land of milk and honey, where the air is filled with the blossoming of the fruit trees for a big part of the year, comes these perfect little lilies of bands that make perfect little records that reflect this fertile and flowery region. it’s a timeless land, and making records there is possible during this surely short period of history wherein the youth of this era feel as if they’ve solved the mystery of life and love and it’s really loving that is the answer to everything. all of which has nothing at all to do with circuit des yeux and sirenium, which was made in indiana, and there aren’t exactly pipers at the gates of lafayette. sound? it’s the sound of ‘issues,’ and the sound of ‘troubles.’ you don’t get but one phone call and honey, the girl’s voice makes this message a bit rubbly anyway. take the manic snorts of captain liberty, dissonant as chalk and the next moment as melodic as sharp yet slick, metal teeth. take the mermaid, 1988, turn the tides, gently, gently away. selected breath / silences / selected feedback. take an argument you have here with an empty street while the memory of high traffic is leaking back. sirenum has a real ’spiritual food’ vibe and it’s fucking pain and pleasure relief in this real met en zonder sort of way. this world is her world, and pipe if you like it… nice one!
this is the ultimate burnout biker-psych masterpiece. finally repressed directly from tapes to flawlessly restore the cigarette burns, harley fumes, and cocaine hangovers of the original ride. this is a 40 minute recipe for complete mental breakdown. included on the acid archives’ list of top ten lps most likely to be owned by a serial killer. circuit rider is lost on the same journey as kenneth higney, nicodemus & matchez, yahowa, boa, heitkotter, dave lamb & gye whiz, raven, fraction, and the doors’ l.a. woman… legit exact reissue in super thick cover. 800 copies and gonna go fast. wicked stuff!
this is a new zealand duo (mark sadgrove, sam hamiltony)… a really beautiful 3″cdr, a nice gentle drone with some really beautiful vocals! both these guys have appeared on pseudoarcana in the past… sweet home made packaging. very limited.
collaborational cassette from two of the finest new-zealand men. songs, scetches and stories. nice full color cover designed by veet, m.
brand new dead end carpetbagger blues by these born losers. this third claudio two album (following the unreleased and indefinitely shelved jazz improve cdr) finds the crew flexing their muscles a bit – from wasted bedroom metal riffs carelessly layered over each other to create a zit cream vortex, to synth / occult pieces inspired by john carpenter soundtracks and ritalin snorting, to atmospheric black metal frightmares, and decrepid blooz rock, it’s all here on this brief cd, which may or may not include the band’s first actual cover song, by french geniuses vietnam veterans. full color collage covers by local college radio personality (actually he just steals cds from the station) blake conley. only 150 copies of this one, hurry!
some folks may claim that improvisation is all about listening, but claudio two endash a new project starring partners chazz improv and norma bates (aka james and jessica toth, formerly of wwvv), and featuring the first appearance in over ten years by former golden calves vocalist max “mev” wicker endash is all about the opposite. recorded in various spurts over the fall of 2007, sniper at the gates of dawn is the debut cdr by claudio two, on which the band layers individual single tracks recorded solo and combines them unheard (a la durian durian), and, elsewhere, uses this source material to try to recreate this accidental music while in a group setting. mixed in glorious mono. 150 copies, no reissues.
long out of print. “industrial folk” cover versions.
when i first heard the name, ‘clay man in the well,’ i got images in my head of archaelogical digs and ancient civilizations. pseudoarcana chief antony milton brings us a brand new album of dirt-infused jams, uncovered after years of digging. with scores of music boxes and simple drones, milton’s affected whispers treat these hymns with formaldahyde, preserving them for a million years. this is timeless. this is music for the archives. 100 copies.
long awaited collection from heavy sessions in the tomb, same sessions that bore “silver skull”. all out medicine worship, oily secretions of black sunshine to dampen your hollow bones. 80 minutes thick with whirlwind of mangled audio snapshots, healing rituals, analog psychosis treatment, massaging the dump – crazy oversized packaging.
short heavy jam by davenporting clay. colliding vocals, wrong brakes and dusty feedback. earfilth for the believers. a grey walk to the leftovers from last weeks house. psych! comes in an offset/handmade cramamyser cover. clay ruby is the guy behind the 23 productions label and the wellknown pasture festival in the usa. he also plays in bands like davenport, metrocide etc.
the clean were an influential first-wave punk band that formed in dunedin, new zealand in 1978. led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers hamish and david kilgour. the clean soon forged a distinctive and quirky sound that relied heavily on organ melodies and simple, ramones-style chord progressions.in 1981, a fan of the clean founded the flying nun label to release their first single, “tally ho.” the flying nun label went on to be new zealand’s biggest independent record company, championing the dunedin sound, a loosely-connected style of music largely produced by bands from this southern city. compilation offers a nearly complete overview of the clean’s legendary early recordings, including the classic “tally ho” single and highlights from their two eps (boodle boodle from 1981 and 1982’s great sounds)… new reissue of this essential album.
beautifully presented album from this great band. white wax, clear gloss on white cover, metallic printed label, limited to 500 and looong gone. with label insert. NM-/NM.
a lovely vinyl reissue on etude records of a long obscure climax golden twins gem. originally issued in 1995, on cassette, eerie fragrance or eyeless fabrication or exclude frank or eat fuck or etc (forever) was climax golden twins second official issue after a self-released double seven inch gatefold record. cassettes–the cockroach of the industry–were a necessity at the poorer end of the music spectrum prior to cdrs and file sharing…the good old days…ef was a collage of noise, found sounds, punk rock disasters, chinese climaxes, broken records, and tape failures mastered directly to cassette on a reverberant wooden floor in an old building in seattle, washington. it seemed an inauspicious start and little presaged the ambient/dreamy/art installation/field recording/anomalous records darlings cgt were to become with releases such as lovely, dream cut short in the mysterious clouds, locations, etc. however, secret free hillbilly noise epilepsy has always lurked under the button up shirts, white wine sipping and gallery-opening snack-munching. the noise informs the dreams which informs the ambiance which informs the chaos and so back to the beginning and vice-versa. etude records discovered cgt through their work on the horror film session nine and have been wanting to release something ever since. part band, part art project, climax golden twins were discovered lurking under a desk in a laboratory in the early 1920s. reconstituted around 1993 or 4 (just add gin), they perpetrated various audio artifacts on an unsuspecting (and cold) world (see extensive and largely mythical list below). these days they are the cgt in afcgt. and they released victrola favorites recently on dust to digital. their laboratory origins lead to a an unhealthy interest in early recording and the era of music on 78rpm records and cylinders, a time of acoustic sound reproduction when oral traditions ended and the home entertainment industry and the information age devoured our puny lives. that’s a mouthful. this era was a pivotal one in understanding how humanity arrived where it is today, though climax golden twins denies all knowledge of where that might be.
this collaboration between the mellow, memphis-meets-germany duo of kip ulhorn and simon wojan (aka cloudland canyon) and chicago’s great rock ‘n’ roll concierge and knower-of-mystics mr. robert lowe (aka lichens) was born on a trip to the west coast of the united states a few years ago. exterminating angel’s single 30-minute track uses voice, guitar, samplers, and arp synthesizer. you’ve heard of the unmade science fiction epic whose would-be director proposed using different big-name progressive bands to perform a soundtrack for specific planets used in the script; here then are the sounds accompanying a spacecraft that’s a combination death star and taco bell from the 1970s filled with cement mayan temples and pyramids populated by large, snappily dressed reptilian beings. every so often a bell goes off to break the spell and presents convincing evidence of this record’s special journey.
fresh off a new killer kranky full-length, bi-continental teutonic duo cloudland canyon grease the gears on a piston-pumping motorik ramp into futurist motion, gliding drones & mechanic rhythm. seamless & dreamless. on the b nnf extended family m beast drop 2 perfect soul caravan wanderlust blues drifters. real gorgeous, and a great teaser for their in-the-works full-length for drag city subsidiary language of stone. with art by crops + rawber best friend diva dompe.
walter swanljung – keyboards; ville sahlakari – drums. rec. winter 2004/2005 in helsinki, finland. imagine if sun ra’d have rec. in duo with milford graves… and i ain’t kidding or exaggerating, totally devastating!
originally released in 1972, this is the second album by legendary german ambient pioneers dieter moebius and hans-joachim roedelius. moebius and roedelius essentially create ambient electronic soundscapes that ebb and flow, droning on in a suspended world of anti-gravity where machine has conquered man.
delight in the stream is the first solo vinyl outing for john clyde-evans (aka tirath singh nirmala) in close to a decade. recorded during a year-long stay in india, the album seamlessly weaves together an array of piercing bowed objects, flutes and voice with electronic and audio embellishments over the course of three extended tracks. the scattering of sounds swirl around to disorienting effect yet still manage to mesmerize as the music draws itself out. pressed in a limited edition of 300 copies.
tirath singh nirmala returns as his former moniker john clyde-evans, bowing transcendental asian instruments and indian thought back to the mysterious groove of manipulated drone. 100 copies.
two new songs from the “no flies on frank” sessions. side a > i stole a skipping rope from molly. she made me pay. side b > thanks to mssrs. davies. psych-pop for the end of the season. edition of 300.
coach fingers is serious about having fun and with the debut long player no flies on frank, no one is spared from the plentiful good vibes frank has to offer. packed with more hooks than a ship crowded with one-armed pirates, no flies on frank is a meaty affair of giddy but bearded late ’60s/early ’70s outlaw boogie rock & roll prominently featuring three members of the new york free noise whatsit collective the no neck blues band — coach jason meagher, dave nuss & dave shuford — along with meagher’s brother sean on keys and — future guitar god worshippers take note — the coach’s secret weapon, master shredder george devoe. so come on, friends, it’s time to join the fingers friends & family in the beaujolais revolution; take a sip from a glass full of ronnie lane’s boozy rock, the charming laissez-faire balladry of kevin ayers (circa joy of a toy & whatevershebringswesing) & a whole lot of crazy fun. limited dmm 180 gram vinyl.
6 song ep. hand stamped kraft board covers. numbered edition of 200.
turner has been kicking around the nyc folk scene for quite a few years now, but this is, perhaps inexplicably, his first foray onto wax. while most singer / songwriters’ these days seem to draw most of their water from iron and wine via pavement and back again, turner sounds like he began his musical education listening to gershwin player piano rolls and quit buying records somewhere around the time dylan brought it all back home. lyrically, turner can turn a phrase with the best of ‘em, and the gloriously ramshackle accompaniment is mungo jerry meets herman dune sharing a squat in tin pan alley. this lp combines two of turner’s self-released cds, and is as good an introduction to his wonderful music as any. here’s what jeweled antler head honcho glenn donaldson sez about turner:”cody is pre-war, old testament & a confederate general from big sur.” err’nuff said, no?
walking up walls is the second solo album from long-time musician and visual artist alice cohen. in contrast to her previous studio efforts, these are raw home recordings with an intensely personal vibe. the sixteen short song-sketches alternate between densely layered shoegaze burners and shimmering, ethereal drifters. exploring shadowy corners and using the musical equivalent of automatic writing — this was considered to be a sonic diary and not originally intended for release. for reference points think pink opaque-era cocteau twins filtered through the early ’90s lens of new zealanders like alastair galbraith & sandra bell.
nice mellow drone folk mood music with classical guitar, sitar, moog, and plenty of odd electronics. VG+/EX-.
nice mellow drone folk mood music with classical guitar and plenty of odd electronics. EX/EX+.
cold sun from austin, texas was recorded in 1970 in the legendary sonobeat studios, where the mariani and johnny winter first lps were produced. the cold sun band are considered contemporaries of velvet underground and the fugs, often listed as being in a similar vein but inspirations for this unique piece actually go back to the desperate, haunted joe meek. all songs lyrically express dark, mystic poetry with the true ’60s psychedelic floating/distorted fuzz spirit presented in short compact mini-epics along with several mind blowing long tunes, such as ‘ra-ma’ (11 min.), ‘here in the year’ (9 min.) and ‘fall’ (7 min.). discovered by rockadelic records of dallas, texas in 1991, the dark shadows album saw the light of day the next year as a limited lp version, to become today one of the most important and revered us psychedelic underground albums from the early ’70s. rockadelic heard it in the form of an old scratchy acetate that one of the cold sun band members had made in order to be able to play the recording at friends` parties on their turntables. the acetate only contained 2/3 of the songs but so greatly impressed them that rockadelic managed together with bandleader bill miller to release the complete sessions from master tapes. autoharp wizard miller eventually spearheaded roky erickson’s international debut as the cold sun band joined forces with roky in 1974 and became bliebalien, later evolved into the aliens and backed roky on his famous albums and historical concerts. carefully remastered from the master tapes, this album will bring new rewarding listening experiences in expanded fidelity. plus a bonus 10inch with 2 unreleased non-album songs, authentic live/concert recordings of ‘live again’ (10 min.) and ‘mind aura’ (7 min.). the fidelity of these reel to reel live recordings is also remarkable. includes an extended booklet insert with liner notes by jello biafra plus rare photos and other surprises. according to patrick (lama) lundborg from lysergia.com: ‘best rockadelic lp ever, and in my opinion the best texas lp of the time.’ enjoy this one-hour psychedelic happening, a ‘must-have’ ’60s/’70s heavy uber-psych masterpiece! … long awaited top of the line reissue of the all time ultimate lost psychedelic album. heavily peyote dosed and as good as the 13th floor elevators or golden dawn! totally deluxe edition in an ultra heavy metallic printed textured gatefold cover, pressed on 180gm audiophile vinyl, with bonus 10inch and full color booklet insert with notes, photos, and interviews. extremely limited edition thats going to fly, so act quick if you don’t want to miss it. pricey but well worth it. highest recommendation!
there can only be one bongo joe, and that is the incredible george coleman. bongo joe is perhaps the world’s only virtuoso player of the empty oil drum, a man so ingenious that he could even turn petroleum refuse into something musical and sublime. recorded on the streets of san antonio in 1969 by chris strachawitz (arhoolie records). bongo joe drums on his oil cans with a thunderous, tympani-like effect, while discoursing rambling, insightful and hilariously funny lyrics that are often times more stories than songs. as joe himself put it, ‘i rap but not that bullshit they’re putting down now. i play fundamental beat music.’ whether draping his drums with an american flag or washing them in swirls of psychedelic green and red paint, there’s something beyond the typical street-corner busker in bongo joe’s persona, unbridled quality that isn’t just musical, but draws on a tradition of pure entertainment. one of the true treasures of the arhoolie catalog for many years. try ‘innocent little doggie’ (if you think joe was just a novelty act, listen closely to the poignant insightfulness of the lyrics), ‘transistor radio’ (more wry commentary) and ‘dog eat dog.’ one of our favorites, available on vinyl for the first time in 39 years.
very pleased to present this collection of beautiful drawings by the amazing cybele collins. she also records as blue shift and her visions have graced covers for labels such as last visible dog and rare youth. drawings have appeared in dozens of magazines including morbid curiosity, paper rodeo, sound projector, free radicals, the ganzfeld, cemetery dance, shimmer, dark animus and vial. full color cover, 36 b&w pages.
beautiful & rare original UK first pressing (no EMI on label) of the lovely femme folk psych jewel. sweet laminated gatefold cover has a little corner wear and minor ring wear mostly on back. only tiny lite sleeve scuffs on the thick wax. EX++/EX++.
deluxe heavy vinyl gatefold reissue of this gem, with extensive liner notes. M/M.
new project from arbor ruler (aka treetops) mike pollard with former jk taper, now mr young tapes, peter friel… four space related close encounters of the drone kind… sweet and simple, guaranteed to leave you floating somewhere totally cosmic in the outer reaches of mind and space!!! black and white sleeve and insert designed by the color dream boys. pro dubbed cassettes, limited to 100 copies.
“i have always been fascinated by the way music and sound alter the way we perceive time and space. we organize all experiences in these terms. the motivation behind my musical compositions and installations over the past several years has been the exploration of the conventions that determine the way we experience time and space, and thereby our world. these pieces seek to expose such conventions by giving the listener the chance to become familiar with unfamiliar tonalities and rhythms, as well as to register the divorce of space and sound made possible by contemporary audio technology. and they sound good” – white vinyl with screenprinted insert.
after comets on fire played auckland, utrillo kushner met one of his idols, the legendary diy producer and songwriter chris knox. the following day knox invited kushner and his bandmates over to his house for conversation and beers. the afternoon was spent in the kitchen (knox was baking a cake for the clean’s bangers and mash anniversary tour) drinking while knox spun stories of the new zealand music underground of yore. from this experience, kushner conceived of the initial idea for the second colossal yes album. inspired by the kiwi indie-pop formulas of tall dwarfs, the clean, and the verlaines, kushner set out to write his own songs using piano as the main instrument. it was a reawakening of the pop aesthetic done piano man style. recording of the basic tracks started in the summer of 2007 with kelley stoltz producing and kevin ink engineering. songs were then fine-tuned over a series of nighttime and weekend sessions with matt waters in early 2008. finally, they were mixed with ben chasny (six organs of admittance) and waters almost a year from the starting point. the end result is unique yet similar to the epic pop bands of the past. charlemagne’s big thaw combines simple melodies and basic structures with lyrical territories such as expired youth, grand betrayals, overdrawn faculties, and dissolving empires. features contributions from kelley stoltz, ben chasny (six organs of admittance, comets on fire), noel harmonson (comets on fire) ben flashman (comets on fire), eli eckert (drunk horse), garett goddar (the cuts, howlin rain).
after 2004’s critically acclaimed blue cathedral, one might have expected comets on fire to blast off into the cosmos in an infinite flurry of lysergic spasmodicism. surprising, then, that they should turn in an earthy, more accessible and downright beautiful album as their follow-up. then again, it is a completely logical progression, but in reverse, sort of. on avatar their astonishing new album, comets display development in every direction: as musicians, as songwriters, as arrangers and as singers (?!), without sacrificing one ounce of the intensity that is expected from our heroes. as on blue cathedral, the diversity of the material is staggering. avatar veers from swinging, bluesy explorations to piano-laced, progressive power balladry, to pure tribalism, evoking everyone from the allmans, to quicksilver, to procol harum, to some insane fela/sun ra/crazy horse hybrid, yet remains wholly comets on fire. though they play cleaner and clearer, their firepower is evident and abundant. they have shifted gears and opened themselves up completely. you should do the same.
blue cathedral is the third album from comets on fire and their first for sub pop. it is also the bay area band’s most varied and richly textured album yet. with their first two albums, (2001’s self-titled debut/self-released and 2002’s field recordings from the sun on ba da bing!) they established themselves as flag-bearers of modern psychedelia. however, where their previous efforts are full-tilt psychedelic affairs, blue cathedral is harder to pin down (which elusiveness we heartily support). their trademark sound is here enriched by more structured, keyboard-driven jams, churning blue oyster cult-ish chooglers and slow burners reminiscent of harvest-era pink floyd. they recently opened a string of dates for sonic youth and have also played shows with rocket from the tombs, dead meadow and dead moon, sunburned hand of the man and more. they also made a big fan outta lord head on high, julian cope, who said of them: comets on fire deserve our gratitude for their distillation of all the best rock riffs since high rise’s take on blue cheer. naturally, we agree.
with raw viola, haunting vocals, and noise guitar, rob fisk (badgerlore, 7 year rabbit cycle, ex-deerhoof) has created an exquisite album that sounds perfectly at home in the natural world between dusk and dawn. packaged in a hand-sewn book of drawings by fisk entitled “how to build a cabin.”… lovely packaging, as you’d expect.
this self-titled release is the debut by concern, a solo endeavor by gordon ashworth, who is perhaps best known for issuing complex harsh noise missives as oscillating innards. that said, concern is an entirely different affair. here, ashworth’s principal focus is on the drone – shimmering, multi-layered and dynamic, he stretches loooong tones into gorgeous sonic tendrils which dissolve or implode into impossibly nostalgic field recordings and static. recorded throughout the years 2004 – 2007 and, surely, not to be missed. limited to 100.
just past 10 years ago this debut collaboration between primitive american blues guitarist loren connors and the confounding electric bassist darin gray was issued on cd. the lost mariner was the first in a pair of releases by the upstart family vineyard label. now with a decade of hindsight and a nod to looking ahead, here is a a 700 edition lp reissue of the studio session considered by connors to be one of his finest. since this album’s 1999 release connors has released a series of sorrowful solo albums and multi-disc collections on family vineyard while gray formed the cinematic on fillmore (with wilcoõs glen kotche) and continued collaborations with jim o’rourke, akira sakata, chris corsano and others. the lost mariner is an improvised dialogue between these two musicians. structure is there, but it roams as it sways, constantly adjusting and reinventing itself as the two react to its mysterious design. for this reissue the lp is sleeved inside stunning cover art (an albert pinkham ryder painting) and contains the bonus at the old factory 7-inch. this raw, live snapshot of a 1999 performance comes on colored vinyl in a full-color sleeve designed by katie leming (cro magnon, bird).
the contents are was one of many sixties bands from the quad city’s fertile garage music scene. with labels/studios like fredlo and igl, it was a very healthy regional area for bands with an unusually high per capita for record releases. up until the recent discovery of an original copy a couple years ago, it was only rumored to exist and remained an enigma with hardcore record collectors. in most cases, the contents are were only known by astute collectors for their two excellent 45 releases (non-lp). well the mystery is over, and here’s your chance to hear one of the rarest ¨ greatest garage records ever recorded. here’s the story about the record: four high school seniors from iowa decide to release an album of all original tunes, and was exclusively sold at their live shows. originally released on the rok label (a subsidiary of the already obscure fredlo label) in 1967 with only 100 copies pressed. these guys were not your typical garage band? talented players, professional grade vocalists and no cover songs!!! their music is a nice blend of garage rock with hints of hipster folk and early psychedelic influences. as good if not better as other similar top shelf rarities like mystery meat and the bachs, but no m