Psych /
Lsd
Originally issued by Capitol Records in July 1966 and subtitled a documentary report on the current psychedelic drug controversy!, this notorious album offers both a background report into the new phenomenon of lysergic acid diethylamide and a recording of an actual trip. Fuelling anti-psychedelic prejudice beneath a veneer of objectivity, it stands as an important early artifact in the history of the psychedelic movement, and features contributions from Timothy Leary, Allan Ginsberg, Aldou…
It's About Time
Pioneering synthesizer soundscapes originally issued in 1974, available again. The electronic duo of Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil aka Tonto released their influential debut, Zero Time, in 1971, showcasing what they described as "the world's first and largest multi-timbral polyphonic analog synthesizer." Three years later, they released this classic follow-up, recorded in Malibu. Building on their earlier achievements, it incorporates guitar, bass and drums into the unique sound of Tonto: …
Integrati... Disintegrati
It was 1977, the year when punk rock exploded in the face of disco-music, but some thinking heads in Italy managed to escape the set trends of the year and walk a totally different path. Pioneers like Franco Battiato had already been experimenting with a crash of rock and electroacoustic music since the beginning of the decade, and others like Roberto Cacciapaglia or Riccardo Zappa would explore farther in those lands, mixing acoustic instruments with the bourgeoning synth technology. Among all …
North Atlantic Raven
Limited numbered edition of 500. Previously unreleased album by German trio Sand, composed and recorded in 1973, '75, and '76. The once-croaking raven now flies silently over the ocean, higher and higher. Where are you rolling, sun-ball, and why don't you fall? The sandy Golem crumbled into dust. His brave struggle against the mighty forces of darkness soon dissolved in voiceless space. There is something magical and inexplicable in creation, and Sand absolutely manifest these mysterious phenome…
A Bird In The Engine
In the late '60s, Pip Proud recorded two of the oddest records ever to come out of Australia – Adreneline & Richard and A Bird In The Engine – before vanishing into obscurity for the better part of three decades. Often called the "Australian Syd Barrett," yet Proud actually released his second album in 1969, a year prior to The Madcap Laughs, and developed his indigenous psychedelia in virtual isolation.A Bird In The Engine is even more rare than his debut. From the extraordinary "Eagle-Wise" to…
Ritt Durch Den Hades
Ultra-rare lost psychedelic Kraut-Folk from 1979. First time on CD and LP! Taken from the original mastertapes! Gulaab means “rose” in Nepalese language. Gulaab is a German virtuoso on the acoustic guitar who has served three years as an after dinner musician in a luxury restaurant in Nepal to play for an amazing number of well known personalities of the 20th century during the early 70s. A strongly influential experience that shaped his musical expression big time but also let him become an ope…
The Yellow Princess
Re-mastered from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on 180 gram . Remastered edition, ultralimited and, unfortunately, pricey/ originally released in either 1968 or 1969 depending on your sources, The Yellow Princess saw a post-philosophy degree, subculture-aware John Fahey branching out from his earlier, more traditional work. He earned his name back in 1959 at the age of 20, with his Blind Joe Death debut album. Following that album Fahey engaged in a wide stylistic range, from Appala…
Z=7L
Zao was founded at the beginning of the seventies by Yochk'o "Jeff" Seffer (saxophone, clarinet) and François "Faton" Cahen (pianos), both ex-members of Magma's first era, which includes the albums "Kobaïa" (1970), "1001 ° centigrades" (1971) and "Uniweria Zekt-the Unnamables" (1972). In this first album from Zao, "Z = 7L" (1973), the very complex melodic instrumental layers are enriched with the wonderful voice of Mauricia Platon (with its kobaïan accents). Zao’s progressive/zeuhl sound has lon…
En Public Aux Etats-Unis D'Amerique
Etron Fou Leloublan were a French avant-rock band founded in 1973 by actor and saxophonist Chris Chanet. They were one of only four bands invited by Henry Cow to perform at 1978’s Rock In Opposition festival. This, their third album, was recorded live while on tour in the United States. Recorded in public at the Squat Club, New York City, Trinity College, Hartford, Conn. in November 1979, “En public aux états-unis d'amérique” is the perfect introduction to the group’s avant-rock mayhem. Reissued…
Out Of Reach
All but unknown to most but the most hardcore Can fanatics, 1978's Out of Reach is one of the group's rarest albums. This is due in large part to the fact that bassist Holger Czukay left the band before the recording sessions, and drummer Jaki Liebezeit has a greatly reduced role, leaving most of the rhythm duties to percussionist-come-lately Reebop Kwaku Baah. As on the group's proper swan song, 1977's Saw Delight, new bassist Rosko Gee largely leads the group, and his jazz-inflected playing is…
Saw Delight
1977's Saw Delight is the German progressive group's farewell. Percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah and bassist Rosko Gee from a late-era lineup of Traffic to add a sort of Afro-Cuban jazz feel to their sound. Similarly, Rosko Gee's handling of the bass duties (which he performs superbly throughout, adding an almost Mingus-like rhythmic intensity to even the loosest songs) frees Holger Czukay to add electronics and sound effects to the proceedings. The opening "Don't Say No" recalls the controlled fu…
Flow Motion
The second of Can's three Virgin albums, 1976's Flow Motion, is a divisive record in the group's canon. It was their most commercially successful album (the opening track, "I Want More," was released as a single in the U.K. and actually charted, thanks to its smoothly percolating near-disco groove, which makes it resemble a late-period Roxy Music hit), but many fans dismiss it as the group's feint toward commercial success. That fluke hit aside, the charge doesn't really hold water. There's a ne…
Planes
Wah Wah Records proudly presents a luxury vinyl reissue of this rare 1974 private pressing. Cool long electronic experiments splitted in two tracks, one on each side. Recorded in one take and offering an astounding combination of synth drones, wordless vocals, ambiental electric organ and ethereal guitar arpeggios.An outstanding work that moves away of the more classical kraut cosmische sounds to walk darker paths, yet retaining some early Kluster reminiscences.The Wah Wah reissue comes to life …
Landed
If you got a quid for each time Can were referenced as influencing a given band or artist, we'd have taken the Bank Of England down years ago. Remastered to a clarity that will come as a shock to those who've been suffering the original cd releases, 1975's 'Landed' is notable for marking the return to Can's debut line-up (barring Malcolm Mooney of course), following the love-sick Damo Suzuki's departure. Their 7th full-length release, 'Landed' also saw the band getting their mitts on a 16 track …
Soon over Babaluma
With Suzuki departed, vocal responsibilities were now split between Michael Karoli and Irmin Schmidt. Wisely, neither try to clone Mooney or Suzuki, instead aiming for their own low-key way around things. The guitarist half speaks/half whispers his lines on the opening groover, "Dizzy Dizzy," while on "Come Sta, La Luna" Schmidt uses a higher pitch that is mostly buried in the background. Holger Czukay sounds like he's throwing in some odd movie samples on that particular track, though perhaps i…
Unlimited Edition
Most bands stick out a 'unreleased and bonus bollocks' album when they're bereft of new ideas and need some filthy lucre to keep the country estate fully stocked with coy carp. You get the feeling this was the last thing on Can's mind. Having amassed a serious quantity of recordings between 1969 and '74, 'Unlimited Edition' (now giving a thorough spring-clean for this remastered release) was put out on a 15,000 only run to proceed 'Soon Over Babaluma', portraying a much rougher Can that tended n…
Dedicato A ...
Psychedelia, avant-garde, improvisation, underground. 'Dedicato A...' (Dedicated to) is without a single doubt a unique record, and it's really surprising to know that its authors were Italian, from Rome, and that it was released in 1967, the same year of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Sgt. Pepper's! Mario Schifano was not a musician but a visionary exponent of Pop Art, a sort of Italian Andy Warhol, who wanted to integrate his work with a group, providing the psychedelics visuals in support…
Planet of Man
Brothers Manfred and Wolfgang Schunke were pioneers of the Kunstkopf Stereophonie (artificial head, dummy head) binaural recording system. This recording technique was created in the Technical University of Berlin in 1974 with the aim to reproduce real stereo sound as the human ears perceive it. Human ears listen to the sounds in a concrete way that is affected not only by the sound frequencies themselves but also by the position of the listener in respect to the different sound sources. The Sch…
Ege Bamyasi
**Green Vinyl** The group's fourth album, from 1972, originally issued by United Artists. "The follow-up to Tago Mago is only lesser in terms of being shorter; otherwise the Can collective delivers its expected musical recombination act with the usual power and ability. Liebezeit, at once minimalist and utterly funky, provides another base of key beat action for everyone to go off on -- from the buried, lengthy solos by Karoli on 'Pinch' to the rhythm box/keyboard action on 'Spoon'. Liebezeit an…
Monster Movie
Are we there yet? After 25 years of critical reappraisal and at least 15 years of indie and post-rock bands flaunting their influence, has Can finally gotten their just desserts? I don't think so. Not just yet. Can still seem just a little bit ahead of the curve. They really were "post-rock," as opposed to just futuristic. Can's music anticipated both the musical trend toward decontextualization via electronics, post-production, and editing, and the cultural trend toward collective experience an…