Things Under: Organic Compositions for Guitars and Electronics
"Because we are heathens, we first heard about J-B Favory when we reissued Los Lichis' incredible 2LP set, Dog (FTR 229LP, 2016). Favory was the one non-Mexican member of the ensemble, traveling once a year (or so) to collude with the insane artists of Los Lichis. Had we been less dim, we would have known Favory was an avant composer of note, having served as an assistant to Luc Ferrari and Gavin Bryars, before setting off on his own musique concrete path. He is also the co-host of the long…
Same Animal, Different Cages Vol. 3: Civil War Songs
"In the third volume of the Same Animal, Different Cages series, American composer David First does a 180 from the purely sound-for-sound's sake explorations of the first two volumes and gives eleven emotional outpourings performed exclusively on solo harmonica. Despite this minimalist single-instrument approach, First makes each of these songs sound fully realized; anything more would simply be crowding the sonic space. First has produced perhaps one of the first folk-music responses to …
Cohgs
The ongoing relationship between Editions Mego and CoH continues with this special collection of works made by CoH over a number of years, released on a variety of labels. What brings these works together is the incorporation of vocalists and lyrics. Neatly compiled here, a diverse pool of vocalists elevate the otherwise instrumental works of CoH (Ivan Pavlov) into worlds of narrative, the human and the haunted. Little Annie brings her sly subversive cabaret style to one of the works whilst…
The Object Isn't There
With The Object Isn't There, UK guitar player and producer Jack Allett has made a deeply personal masterpiece based around cyclical guitar parts and electronic percussion. Playing like a half-remembered fever dream with an aesthetic that is ragged, hypnotic, and spacey, its two side-long pieces touch on minimalism, kraut-infused dub, and euphoric dancefloor optimism. As comfortable being played after Manuel Göttsching's album E2-E4 (MGART 424CD) as right before a Terekke lo-fi house anthem, …
Gates And Variations
Gates And Variations rounds out a loose trilogy of records by Jake Meginsky for Open Mouth. Not an intended trilogy on Jakes part but it has become one to my mind. It has come to be how I listen to them and experience them, all informing each other, echoing and challenging each other and growing into each other's space and light like a garden of plants that would never actually coexist anywhere in reality. Jake is always tirelessly reaching for something new yet I'd avoid using the word progres…
Ragapadani
Edition of 100 copies on Marbled vinyl. For fans of neglected Italian music, the last year has been among the best on record. We’ve seen reissues of seminal albums by Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio, Roberto Musci,Telaio Magnetico, Zeit, Lino Capra Vaccina, Claudio Rocchi, N.A.D.M.A., Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, and a stream of others, each charting the singular path which makes this sonic geography so remarkable and unique. Italian music from the second half of the 20th centur…
Switches
The master of twisted noise is adding a new album to his incredible discography. Following his monumental album ‘The Gag File’ on Dais, ‘Switches’ is the next chapter in the evolution of Aaron Dilloway's sound. Created on piano and tape ‘Switches’ is a spiralling journey into the rugged mind and soul of one of the most influential figures in radical modern music.Pressed on 180 g colored vinyl and housed in a reversed board sleeve illustrated with artwork by dutch artist Henri Jacobs on fr…
Trans-Millenia Music
Since launching six years ago, the ReRVNG series - a curatorial effort by the New York based imprint RVNG, has carved a singular place in the cultural landscape. Dedicated to highlighting remarkable, but overlooked gestures in sonic expression, its effect has been so wide sweeping that the names found within its catalog - Harald Grosskopf, Craig Leon, K. Leimer, Ariel Kalma, Anna Homler, etc, have emerged from the shadows, becoming familiar to most. After a year hiatus, much of which has been sp…
Scoprire le Orme
Limited clear vinyl, edition of 100. Mysterious, charming, and wavering, Scoprire Le Orme (Discover The Footsteps) represents a unique musical experience; a kind of Minimal Folk with far Eastern baroque influences. The work is a living entity, yet with a calm atmosphere interweaved with tension - the tradition here being redefined and transfigured in a very personal way with a touch of esotericism. Roberto Mazza (formerly a member of Telaio Magnetico, along with Franco Battiato, Lino “Capra” Vac…
Il Cavaliere Azzurro
Limited clear vinyl, edition of 100. One of the many characteristics of Italian avant-garde theatre, from the seventies through the eighties, was the overlap of acting with the physicality of movement - reality with fiction and the stage with real life; it was a new poetic language for a multimedia representation. In this new language, the music composed for the stage was an active part of the performances, and the soundtrack from 1985’s “Il Cavaliere Azzurro” is one of its most significant exam…
Rörelsen Mellan Rummen
A decade has now gone by since Mattias Gustafsson released his first recording under the name of Altar of Flies. Since then, he has carved out his very own unique approach to experimental music, with an unmistakable artisic expression. The new Lp, "Rörelsen mellan rummen", is no exception to this claim. With an astonishing precision and sensibility for details, "Rörelsen mellan rummen" is definately one of his finest moments so far. We are invited to the inner corners of a musical univers…
Gegen Die Zeit
On September 11th, 2015 the audience of the stunning "Rotor" concert series witnessed the first live appearance of John Gürtler and Phillip Sollmann underneath a highway bridge in Offenbach, Germany. Hosted by International Music Institute Darmstadt alongside Institut für Klangforschung Offenbach and HfMDK Frankfurt, the newly formed duo performed an aural conversation on stage within the incredible architectural environment. A year later, an extract of these live recordings became part of …
Decadent Yet Depraved
Double LP version. Decadent Yet Depraved, the debut album by Belief Defect, finds shelter and complicity in Raster as a home and label. Familiar with the underground music scene and how its skeptical nature can also be an obstacle to overcome, Belief Defect abandon any claim or credit in an attempt to transcend the limits authorship imposes, avoid the boundaries, or expectations, earned or self-imposed, and find the clearest, most direct path to their music for themselves and the listener…
The Collection
From Nicola Ratti... "These recordings were made during a relatively long period of time, not continuously, over several months in my studio. Nothing was been planned in advance, not any idea of album or approach. Nevertheless I easily recognize myself in this material, moreover I recognize my working space itself. It's like taking a picture, or make a painting, of your personal room where all your stuff is well placed and, among them, their identities as sound sources and acoustic possib…
The Rules Of The Game: Original Studio Recordings (1978-1996)
Into the Light Records continue to shine light on the undiscovered heritage of Greek electronic music, highlighting the work of prolific Greek composer George Theodorakis on the label's third archival release. "The Rules of the Game" features mostly unreleased studio recordings Theodorakis made between 1978 and 1996, with the addition of selected material taken from his sought-after 'Margo' and 'Sima' LPs.. George Theodorakis is the son of legendary Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. Unlike…
CZ-5000 Sounds & Sequences
"Tireless working to bring audio enjoyment to all corners of the world, globe trotting DJ hero, production genius and digger extraordinaire Young Marco is a bit of a gee. Especially when you consider he still finds time to curate the sublime stream of otherworldly, synthetic brilliance found on his Safe Trip imprint. Substituting cigarettes for sleep, the Dutchman travelled day and night to arrive at a secluded building in Kawasaki, Japan, where he found identical twins Satoshi and Makoto…
Break At Home
Mad grab of styles from “Athens’ Best Kept Secret”, 2 Katara - including a handful of wicked, mutant disco bits, and an epic, 17 minute piece of prog funk ‘Greek Lady’ that’s practically worth the admission alone for any cosmic nuts.. “‘Break at Home’ is the collected recordings of the mysterious group ‘2 Katara’ which was formed in Athens, Greece in 1978 by George Theodorakis (keyboards, percussion, vocals) with his close friend Dimitris Papangelidis (bass, guitars, percussion, vocals). T…
1 By 1
Music From Memory blindside again with an unprecedented survey of Geoffrey Landers’ home-baked avant-pop-funk and more experimental dabs of ambient jazz, abstract electronics. “Music From Memory's final compilation of 2017 sees the release of the double album “1 by 1”, which brings together the works of American experimental musician Geoffrey Landers. During a period spanning from 1979 to 1987, this Denver, Colorado based multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer and engineer, conce…
Reality From Childhood Remembered as a Dream
Superb unreleased 80s ambient cassettes remastered. Robert Scott Pearson's music can be seen as surrealist, impressionist, post-industrial, mystical or avant-garde, but it goes beyond categories. His work embraces software, philosophy, poetry, visual arts, and generative algorithmic creation in general. At an early age, he began to experiment in this field, and released his first music privately on cassette, being part of the 80s undergound industrial scene in Seattle. Post-industrial, fut…
Fluides
“Mécanique des fluides” (2014-15). “PianoHertz” (2012). “Consort for Convolved Violins” (2011). “Préludes suspendus III” (2009, 10). “Fractal C” (1983-84). Horacio Vaggione has been integrating computers to his approach to composition since the 1970s. His body of work includes electroacoustic pieces, mixed pieces, and instrumental music. Born in 1943 in Argentina, Vaggione has been residing in France since 1978. He studied piano with Ornella Ballestreri and composition at Universidad Nacio…