★Important Records
Klavierhelm
Conrad Schnitzler is a genuine legend in the krautrock and electronic music worlds. Schnitzler studied under Joseph Beuys before joining an early Tangerine Dream. Their first album Electronic Meditation shows a band highly influenced by Schnitzler's unique, singular approach. Schnitzler left Tangerine Dream to form Kluster with friends Dieter Moebius and Hans Joachim Roedelius. When Schnitzler left Kluster they changed their name to Cluster, eventually merging with Michael Rother (of Neu!) to fo…
Admira
Previously unreleased recordings from 1971. Admira is sourced from original master recordings discovered by Kluster member and Tangerine Dream engineer Klaus Freudigmann. Along with Vulcano, also being released at the same time on Important, Admira is presented here for the first time in this deluxe package. These intense sessions were made with Schnitzler at the helm, as always, after the departure of Mobius and Roedelius from the group. Conrad Schnitzler founded Kluster in 1969 along with Roed…
Quartet (GTM) 2006
Quartet (GTM) 2006 is Anthony Braxton's first release for Important Records. GTM stands for Ghost Trance Music and this four CD box set contains four Ghost Trance compositions recorded in quartet with Anthony Braxton playing reeds, Carl Testa on bass, Aaron Siegal on percussion and Max Heath on piano. This 4CD box also contains a definitive essay by Braxton on his Ghost Trance compositions.
Trigger Trilogy
Trigger Trilogy consists of three discs each selected from hundreds of hours of Schnitzler's private recordings. Each represents a one of the few unique approaches that Schnitzler takes to recording, each uniquely identified and defined by Schnitzler. Within each of these recordings one can hear how Schnitzler influenced a generation of artists not only in Germany but the world around and how he's brought those sounds into the modern day. It's also apparent in these recordings that Schnitzler is…
Body Melt
Body melt is limited to 500 copies only on LP. This is the companion release to the Glass Forest CD being released on Important simultaneously. Both releases are housed in staggeringly unique artwork by Emily Recorded in the Summer of 2007. Body melt is a molting and simmering display of furious Hammond Organs & Native American Drums. Daniel Menche manages to merge together the powerfully fuzzed out organ drones along with hypnotically crushing and frenzied drums in a manor that is distinctly th…
Glass Forest
Glass Forest is a highly listenable starting point for any newcomers curious about Daniel Menche's vast discography. It is also, according to Menche, the last CD he will release. From now on he'll be releasing his music on LP only or on DVD to accompany films he's been working on. Glass Forest is also the companion release to Body Melt which is being released simultaneously on Important on LP only. Recorded in the winter of 2005, Daniel Menche's Glass Forest displays a glistening sound world tha…
The Garden of Forking Paths
"I leave to several futures (not to all) my garden of forking paths" - Ts'ui Pen
The Garden of Forking Paths was compiled for Important Records by guitarist James Blackshaw. Compositions were recorded especially for this collection by Helena Espeval (Espers), James Blackshaw, Jozef van Wissem and Chieko Mori. Beautifully assembled, The Garden Of Forking Paths serves as a singular and particularly unique musical statement.
"The story of how this compilation came into being is, unlike many other s…
Vulcano
Vulcano is limited to 1000 copies and is packaged in a deluxe embossed gatefold jacket made to emulate the embossed packaging for Kluster's album Klopfzeichen. Very deluxe. Vulcano is sourced from original master recordings recently discovered by Kluster member, and Tangerine Dream engineer, Klaus Freudigmann. Along with Admira, also being released at the same time on Important, Vulcano is presented here for the first time in this deluxe package. These intense sessions were made with Schnitzler …
Seventh Ruined Hex
A further step out in Birchville Cat Motel's ruminations on time space distortion featuring the additional mystikal talents of fellow gravity destroyer, Matthew Bower (Hototogisu-Sunroof!), Seventh Ruined Hex presents like a lonesome planet, occassionally struck with super-sized fragments of space detritus, but for the most part just hangs around, spinning on its axis and doing fuck-all. Strangely emotive for 'a buncha noise'. Like the deepest love, its warm yet tenuous, and filled with the ever…
33 1/3
Ostensibly a tribute to the ensemble’s influences from the late 20th century avant-garde and out/free jazz movements, 33 1/3 is an imposing and monolithic effort from Smegma, the long-standing, Portland-based underground noise collective. 33 1/3 finds the ensemble focusing heavily on electronics and bizarre vocal affectations on this outing, which relies on a framework of abstract free jazz as its basic foundation. It can be safely said, however, that Smegma’s material on the album defiantly ref…
The Wanderer
2018 repress now packaged in a 6 panel digipak with heavy-duty stock and a matte finish. The Wanderer is based on a single modal scale (B C# D D# E F# G#) and rhythmic modes based on a meter consisting of 3/4 and 3/8. Part I, "Song," is intended to explore the unique resonant qualities of accordion reeds through long sounds. Subtle variations come about from differences in tuning and air pressure. Part II, "Dance," demonstrates the sharp accenting power of the accordion bellows in a mixture of c…
Synth destruction
Over 60 minutes of total analog destruction by noise king Merzbow and Brooklyn noise boss Carlos Giffoni, this live collaboration was recorded during Giffoni's Synth Destruction Japan tour in September of 2006. This is Sound Totalism and is as heavy as it comes: totally brutal, totally ugly, totally beautiful, totally intense, totally classic, totally analog, total synth and total destruction. Intense artwork by Jenny Akita. Author, activist, painter and sound artist Masami Akita had been at the…
Merzbear
Author, activist, painter, and sound artist Masami Akita has been at the foreground of experimental music for over twenty-five years. Inspired by psychedelic rock, free jazz, and early electronic composition as well the physical arts (especially Kurt Schwitters's Merzbau), Masami Akita has created a musical language all his own. Merzbear, the sixth Merzbow release in his utterly essential Merz series for Important Records, pulses and pounds with distorted droning guitar feedback, pulsing noise b…
Stalker
Renowned international composer Maja Ratkje is a founding member in two of Norway's most respected improvisational units -- Spunk & Fe-Mail. Like much of Ratkje's work Stalker flawlessly contrasts these two distinct emotional and audio extremes. While Stalker is influenced by the hardest Japanese noise it is also a quiet emotional drift based around Bertolt Brecht's story of a girl who has drowned and is floating down a river while her body slowly dissolves leaving only her hair to remain. With …
Slow blind avalanche
Snow blind avalanche is a completely different album than A Rock In The Snow also being released on Important though the two records were made during the same sessions. This vinyl only release is limited to 1000 copies with the first 200 on snow-white vinyl. Artwork by C. Spencer Yeh. Liner notes from Wolf Eyes bro John Olson aka Johnny Coors. The Flaherty-Corsano-Yeh power trio have emerged on album with a dual format dual release for Important. Snow blind avalanche finds the Flaherty-Corsano-Y…
A Rock In The Snow
Together Chris Corsano and Paul Flaherty have re-written the concept of modern free-jazz with their post-hardcore punk style approach of euphoric togetherness. Ferocious, spontaneous, explosive and aggressively lyrical, they've established their groundbreaking duo with loads of shows and a host of tremendous recordings.
When tales of C. Spencer Yeh's Burning Star Core project reached Corsano/Flaherty, the duo were eager to see him jam. Fortunately, fate brought them together at the DeStijl/Freed…
Metacompound
Metacompound is the first full length studio album from ANP in 19 years. Lavish metallic ink on vellum packaging by ANP fan and Sunn O))) member Stephen O'Malley. .ANP was formed in 1984 by KK Null & Seijiro Murayama. In 1987 ANP broke up. 17 years later they reformed for some live performances and released the singular Live In Japan on Important Records. Metacompound, their first studio recordings in over 19 years, is as undescibable as Live In Japan was. Combining free jazz, heavy rock, indust…
ANP
ANP (Absolut Null Punkt) was originally formed in 1984 by KK.Null (before he started his progressive hardcore rock trio Zeni Geva) and Seijiro Murayama (founding drummer of Keiji Haino's Fushitsusha). Live In Japan was recorded at dates between December and February 2003 in Osaka as well as Tokyo. The live setting is a perfect showcase for ANP's diverse inspirations and unique approach to creating music. An echoing chamber of stark,pummeling fusion is created by combining strong elements of free…