New Arrivals
Black Fire! New Spirits!: Images of a Revolution: Radical Jazz in the USA 1960-75
At the start of the 1960s, jazz entered a unique period of revolution as African-American musicians redefined the art form in the context of the Civil Rights Movement, Afro-centric rhythm and thought and an ideology of black economic empowerment.
John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler and others developed a new cosmology of sound that was as revolutionary as the social and political changes that took place in America throughout the decade. From the musical explorat…
Yo! The Early Days of Hip Hop 1982–84: Photography by Sophie Bramly
The birth of hip hop in New York: rare images of the bands, the MCs and DJs, the artists and the fans, from Afrika Bambaataa and Run-DMC to Keith Haring and the Rock Steady Crew.
This book features more than 150 rarely seen images documenting the rise of hip hop in the early 1980s, taken by French photographer Sophie Bramly. Bramly lived in New York during this period and became firmly embedded in the emergent scene. The book features many stunning, intimate images of a star-studded roll call of…
Electronic: From Kraftwerk to the Chemical Brothers
At more than 120 bpm, electronic music sets the tempo on dancefloors around the globe. Accompanying the exhibition Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers, this book offers an insight into the visual culture of electronic music, and how technology, design, art and fashion have contributed to its power. With its roots in Detroit and Chicago in the early 1980s, electronic dance music was popularised across Europe through underground rave parties. Its impact on contemporary culture is s…
Soundings: A Contemporary Score
Soundings: A Contemporary Score investigates the ways in which some of the most innovative contemporary artists are working with sound today. These artists approach sound from a variety of disciplines--visual arts, architecture, performance, computer programming and music--yet they share an interest in working with, rather than against or independent of, a given situation or environment. Their responses include architectural interventions, visualizations of inaudible sound, explorations of sound…
The Farm at Black Mountain College
A record of the rise and fall of the BMC farm that foregrounds the voices of a new cast of characters Black Mountain College (BMC) was a wellspring of 20th-century creative unorthodoxy. From its founding in 1933 and over its celebrated 23-year history, the small liberal arts school in rural North Carolina attracted a remarkable number of famous and soon-to-be famous artists, writers and visionaries including Anni and Josef Albers, Ruth Asawa, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Willem de Kooning, Buckm…
We Owe You Nothing, Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews Expanded Edition
Revised and expanded edition of the punk classic (more than 15,000 copies sold), with six new interviews.
“Not just for fans of punk rock―Punk Planet is a fine source of articles about politics, current events, and do-it-yourself culture.” ―Utne Reader“All of the interviews are probing and well thought out, the questions going deeper than most magazines would ever dare; and each has a succinct, informative introduction for readers who are unfamiliar with the subject. Required reading for all mus…
Black Music
The long-awaited reissue of the sequel to Amiri Baraka’s seminal work, Blues People, and latest selection in the AkashiClassics Renegade Reprint Series. This collection of essays by Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones includes a new introduction by the author and Q&A by Calvin Reid.
“Baraka writes with the passion and lyricism that can only come from a jazz critic who is uncompromisingly invested in the social and aesthetic dimensions of the music.” ―WBGO (Newark Public Radio)
In 2007, Akashic Books ushere…
Relic Radiation
Edition of 300. Of my first visit to Earth in 2024 I have only the fuzziest recollection, for here I must fall back on my own mnemonic resources. My chief impression seems to have been of sunlight, the authentic, inimitable sunlight of Earth. Organs that have evolved under particular conditions will naturally be most comfortable where those conditions obtain, and thus no substitute, however artful, can provide just those balances of colour and intensity, those alterations of night and day, summe…
Air de repos (Breathworks)
A double vinyl and a catalogue that constitute a proper extension of the exhibition with which the Capc in Bordeaux continues to question the forms that the museum can take (here transformed into a temporary breathing assistance machine) by developing the idea of the exhibition as an atmosphere, with the aim of creating a renewed awareness of what it means to breathe, not only on an individual level, but also on a collective one, at a time when the world is living in a climate of generalized asp…
#freakinmeout
2025 stock "Strange music by Clubsoundwitches, but there is something in there that I found very captivating. Maybe this is the new dance music?" – Vital Weekly #1237
The Interstices Of These Epidemics
2025 stock In April 2017, Barnaby Oliver and I started recording with the aim of improvising long-form pieces made up of a restricted palette of gestures and sound sources. Throughout the next two years we came together sporadically as we continued this quest, working through various ideas and changing instrumentation. Our work was gradually refined done to what you hear on this album: a combination of harmonics arising from bowed metal bowls and violin (or piano), coalescing into other-worldly …
Creep (Sound Object)
Creep is a noise box with metal on one side and coarse sandpaper on the other. The box is equipped with a contact microphone and produces frightening horror sounds.Creep is a limited edition d.i.y. sound object. The box is handmade and not subject to industrial manufacturing standards.
Indistinction #2
“indistinction #2” comes from the same session as ‘indistinction #1’ and creates the same immersive pull. here, too, rsn works exclusively with his bass and a series of effect devices - no overbuds. everything is created live in the flow and reflects the intensity of the moment. often everything sounds deeply distorted, then it clears up again and metaphorically lets light into the scenery. the mixture of drone and ambient gives “indistinction #2” a broad and balanced sound palette that is best …
Indistinction #1
The game with quiet and loud is not new, but it has not lost its effect. “indistinction #1” proves this impressively, as the three songs on rsn's debut album create a highly immersive moment. they move and yet remain rigid in their depths. they build up and break down. like a current through which you are sucked - wild, yet somehow safe, always moving forward. if you allow yourself to do so, “indistinction #1” is an excursion into your inner self.
Clarity #1
The collaboration between pianist Merle Louise and rsn follows an improvisational approach, as all the songs were created spontaneously and in a flow. while the use of piano is or has become a main element in ambient music, the sound of “clarity #1” is different. instead of reproducing the typical patterns and harmonies of the genre, two styles meet here and interweave at the moment of creation. the drone and ambient soundscapes of rsn are enriched by piano melodies and patterns that are atypica…
Porosity #1
The permanence and recurrence of “porosity #1” by Rsn creates a kind of meditative permeability. the musical maelstrom creates a seemingly endless surface that develops from the two-dimensional to the three-dimensional. but this surface is porous and has loopholes. it is not a fast ride through this soundscape, but rather a walk - and the landscape hardly changes noticeably, but there is a resolution, a small aftermath. “porosity #1” is slow and deliberate, waiting and gentle.
Shift #1
"shift #1" is a collaboration album by the two drone/ambient artists rsn and N. the album comprises three songs that deal with semitone shifts, creating an aesthetic depth of sound on the one hand and building up a long arc of tension on the other. "shift #1" is a musical colossus - sound, structure and length create an immersive sound experience. quiet, rather contemplative sounds gradually develop into an alert sound construct. sometimes, however, it remains calm and inward-looking, meditative…
Interweaving #1
“interweaving #1” is the sound-aesthetic result of an improvised session by rsn and NAGEN. With a setup of stereo guitar, bass, electric kalimba, selfbuilt instruments like the "portanuum", sampled field recordings and some little synths, seven songs or sound collages were created, which combine the drone and ambient of rsn with the improvisational art of NAGEN. “interweaving #1” is a dynamic sound experience with a focus on noise and drone, but much more.
My Heart Wavers
*300 copies limited edition. 2025 stock. Heavy tip on gate-folded sleeve with fold type Obi. First time on vinyl reissue 4 page insert included.* A Masterpiece that embodies the musical ideals of Hahm Joong-ah as a band leader in the 1970s’. This record is the masterpiece recorded by Hahm Joong-ah, a talented guitarist and composer influenced by Shin Joong-hyun, under the newly-formed project ‘Revival Cross’ following the breakup of his first band, the Golden Grapes (LITA065). It features vocals…
Tsuchi No Ne (Sound of The Earth)
Japanese big-band jazz masterpiece. Amazing reissue from 2021. Pressed at RT.