New Arrivals
Astroturf Noise
Astroturf Noise exists at the intersection of free improvisation, effects-heavy noise music, and American roots music.
A Lifeboat Part I
2024 stock. In the first lockdown, Matthew Putman (on keyboard) and Michael Sarian (on trumpet and flugelhorn) began to meet up (with precautions) for semi-regular sessions in Sarian’s makeshift home studio. The conditions were less-than-ideal—a borrowed 20-year-old keyboard, an inadequate microphone, and cramped NYC apartment acoustics—but they continued their “weekly pilgrimages, searching for [their] cadences, rhythms and melodies through the Fall.” The sessions gave them much-needed sanity, …
7 Stücke / 1998
*300 copies limited edition* The open spaces in East Berlin that emerged for a handful of years in the 1990s, after the fall of the Berlin wall, have shown to be a fertile ground for musical and artistic experimentators to develop their play and showcase their findings, and to work together in ways that would have been impossible anywhere else. In retrospect, the reductionist brand of improvisation that has become known as Echtzeitmusik (real-time music) seems to overshadow other achievements, t…
Contact High With The Curators
*200 copies limited edition* Unbeknownst to the general public at the time and underappreciated until today, arguably the world's first punk record was recorded on September 28, 1966, in New York. On that day, The Godz got together to record their first album "Contact High with The Godz" in about 30 minutes, to be released on the avant-garde label ESP. It comprises eight rudimentary songs (plus one bizarre Hank Williams cover), played without prior rehearsals or repeats, sounding deliberately in…
Registro De Piedra
*165 (hand-numbered) copies limited edition* "Registro de Piedra plays with the idea of place memory. I have heard a few stories of people spending the night in or near ancient ruins and witnessing strange sights and sounds. What some might call ghosts. Modern science has no way of explaining these apparitions, casting doubt on the authenticity of the experience. Other researchers have propounded the idea that these places may hold memories of past occurrences, and that under certain circumstanc…
Asphalt/Concrete
*200 copies limited edition* "This work was recorded in several locations. All recording locations are in Osaka, Japan. I enjoy a lot making field recordings of ordinary everyday life. If you listen carefully, you can come across sounds that you wouldn't normally notice. Wherever I go, these are present in filigree. All sounds were captured within my immediate vicinity. Locations : Osaka Station, Ogimachi, Tama river, Matsuyamachi and my room. Recorded using various equipment (cassette tape reco…
50 Years
In 2012, the Wergo label celebrates its 50th anniversary. For half a century, Wergo has been synonymous with contemporary music. The label's catalog reads like a virtual who's-who of modern music, both in terms of composers and performers. From the beginning, the intent of founder Werner Goldschmidt (from whom the label derives its name) was to provide listeners with a snapshot of current musical activity and innovation. Goldschmidt's label and mission, now managed by the publisher Schott, is ma…
Hit Parade of Tears
"Hit Parade of Tears" is an album inspired by the short stories of Japanese author Izumi Suzuki, married to musician Kaoru Abe, who tragically ended her life at the age of 36. Suzuki's wholly original short stories paved the way for the science fiction genre and in many ways predicted the cyberpunk movement. Ikue Mori and Zeena Parkins have created a beautiful and mysterious collection of musical miniatures that reference Suzuki's sensibility with remarkable feeling and compassion. A touching tr…
Asterisms
Tzadik is proud to present Asterisms, a beautiful and exploratory instrumental project by Sean Ono Lennon, one of the most creative and versatile musician/composer/producer/songwriters working today. Sean has written countless songs, composed film scores, produced, and performed on dozens of albums-and here he steps out as the leader of an all-star band of Downtown luminaries. Years in the making, the music is powerful, trippy, and intensely imaginative, blending rock, electronics, jazz, and mor…
A Worm's Eye View From a Bird's Beak (Book)
A career-spanning catalogue featuring excerpts from Raven Chacon's scores, musical prompts, and drawings interspersed with full-color documentation and descriptive texts of installations, sculptures, and performances. The publication features newly commissioned texts including three long-form essays by Aruna D'Souza, Anthony Huberman, and Dylan Robinson/Patrick Nickleson; experimental short-form writing by Raven Chacon, Lou Cornum, Ingir Bål Nango, Marja Bål Nango, Eric-Paul Riege, Ánde Somby, a…
Unleashed Volume Ten
Big Tip! Though Toronto's Lorde Awesome formed in 2008, and have many full length recordings, 'Unleashed Volume 10' is their first ever LP release. It's an unplugged / battery powered ambient document of the highest order ~ recorded outdoors in an off-leash dog park, in the city's east side. The environmental sounds heard, each play a significant role as unique frequencies ~ randomly deployed instruments in themselves, that are essential components to the band's free electroacoustic improvisatio…
Garden Of Gifts
*2024 stock*
Kirk Knuffke: trumpetFederico Ughi: drums, percussion, fluteChris Welcome: guitar
Recorded in Brooklyn, New York
Coordinate Orientali
*2024 stock* Piano-drums duo, recorded in Shanghai.
Songs For Four Cities
"Drummer/composer Federico Ughi presents a collection of songs dedicated to four cities in which he has lived and that have made an impact on his music. His gentle and beautiful approach bridges European and American jazz, but mostly it filters the current New York scene through a silky translucent gauze. This album of music (explain to your kids that, at one time, artists recorded collections of music and not just singles) maintains a consistent dialogue between the players, the melodies, and t…
Concrete Science
*2024 stock*
Daniel Carter: alto and tenor sax, flute and clarinetSteve Swell: tromboneFederico Ughi: drums
Recorded in Brooklyn, New York
South Of Brooklyn
*2024 stock*
Matt Glassmeyer: tenor saxophone, misc. soundsNathan Hanson: tenor saxophone, electronicsSean Moran: guitarDan Fabricatore: acoustic bassFederico Ughi: drumsDaniel Carter: alto saxophone on tracks 6-7-8-9
All music by Federico Ughi
Recorded at Lunchbox Studios, Brooklyn, New York, on January 4th, 2003 Mastered at Bang Zoom Mastering, NY
Recordings 1987-1991 Vol. 2
Following the unpublished works of the Ukrainian/Estonian musician Valentina Goncharova, Volume 2 of Shukai’s archival project completes Shukai’s dive into the sound world of an important yet overlooked artist working within Soviet era electroacoustics.
Recordings 1987-1991, Vol. 1
Limited edition of 150. "Historically informed violin player, prize-winning street musician, new age experimentalist, chamber ensemble performer and conservatoire deviant. The career of Valentina Goncharova (b. Kyiv 1953) shares parallels with those associated with the broader new music movement of the 20th century and the dissemination of home recording technologies. Valentina’s was a youth spent immersed in the world of classical music study under soviet rule, first in Kyiv and later in Lening…
Daydream Nation
2024 repress. "Daydream Nation was Sonic Youth's sixth full-length, their first double-LP, and their last for an indie label before signing with Geffen. Widely considered to be their watershed moment, the album catapulted them into the mainstream and proved that indie bands could enjoy wide commercial success without compromising their artistic vision. More recently, Daydream Nation has been recognized as a classic of its time: Pitchfork ranked it #1 on their '100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s'; …
Live In Brooklyn 2011
The final U.S. show, a triumphant and blistering bookend to the storied career of one of the most influential bands in rock music, featuring a unique and expansive eighty-five minute set list that spans Sonic Youth’s nearly three decade catalog. Received an 8.3 Best New Reissue rating from Pitchfork.