New Arrivals
Super-Sonic Jazz
The first album on Saturn! Despite the futurism that the title of the set might imply, the material on this LP is actually some of Sun Ra's earliest, and dates back to the years when the Arkestra was first beginning to make itself heard in Chicago. That doesn't stop the material from being amazing, though, as these prime early tracks really show how strong Ra's vision was, even when it was being applied to material that might look more simple on the surface.
Fantomas: Le Faux Magistrat
"In celebration of the centenary of Louis Feuillade's Fantomassilent film series, James Blackshaw was invited by Yann Tiersen to perform a live score to the fifth and final film, Le Faux Magistrat, at the beautiful and prestigious surroundings of the Theatre de Chatelet, Paris on October 31, 2013. Fantomas -- a master of disguise and symbol of terror -- is one of the most popular characters in French crime fiction, as well as a favorite with the avant-garde, particularly the surrealists. Tim Hec…
Synthesist / Re-Synthesist
Probably our favourite release on RVNG Intl comes from metal duo Lee Buford and Chip King aka The Body produced by Bobby Krlic aka The Haxan Cloak for their crushing 4th album, 'I Shall Die Here'. Abetted by Krlic's visceral production, The Body sound more fearsome and physical than ever before, shaping a series of tracks which only seem to get more intense and nightmarish as the trip takes hold. From the funereal trudge of opener 'To Carry the Seeds of Death Within Me' we pass through successiv…
The Nubians of Plutonia
In the late '50s, Sun Ra emerged from big band to modern/progressive big band status, began to employ electronics, and used a more Afro-Centric percussive focus. This recording perfecly demonstrates those qualities, and more. There are several definitive themes from The Arkestra included, such as "Plutonian Nights," "Nubia," "Africa," "Watusa" and "Aethiopia." Dig for this one on vinyl if you can (the cover art is stunning,) but it is nigh impossible to find on Saturn Research. (AMG)
Sonic rivers
Tzadik introduces its new Spectrum series with a very special and exciting new group featuring three of the most creative wind players in new music. Friends and colleagues since the ’70s, these three musicians share a vision of improvisation and composition that is unique, virtuosic and cooperative. Performing compositions and collective improvisations, they sculpt sound and silence with masterly assurance. Surprising yet completely inevitable, this is an essential document of improvisational mu…
How Now/Strung Out
"Every new musical language requires new performance skills. Works such as HO NOW and STRUNG OUT were, in effect, pieces written to develop these skills which include stamina, sustained concentration, and an ability to play continuously in an easy and relaxed manner." - Philip Glass
Free and Tremendous
I got to know Joe Sachse's playing through the band Doppelmoppel. The jazz scene in the former GDR created a special music that expressed an independence and pleasure in playing. Our idea of playing together as a duo has now become reality and from the very first moment playing together was easy and inspiring. There happened to be a recording of this first concert and listening to it we wanted to have it published. Thanks to Jazzwerkstatt this wish has now also become reality. - Nils Wogr…
Mouthpieces
In a laid-back manner and with apparently effortless ease the American composer involves her entire vocal apparatus in the making of music. And the way in which she integrates other musicians into her elaborately detailed cosmos of sound makes listening a rare treat and attests to a special talent. The musical elements revolve around each other, imitate each other, take turns. The intimate and familiar sound potential of the oral cavity is operated with brilliant skill to reveal a multitude of d…
Body Sound
'Body Sound' is a dynamic collaboration from sound artist Holly Herndon and dancer/choreographer Cauahtemoc Peranda, composed and performed at Stanford University's famous CCRMA. Using Peranda's body as a voice, Herndon maps and spatialises a kinaesthetic grammar of stomping feet and flying limbs punctuated by shuddering shockwaves and wrenched gasps. Like her previous work with vocals and laptops, 'Body Sound' is a unique duet between the corporeal and the computerised, a unique, abstracted exp…
High End
“High End” is the latest musical installment from the People’s Higher Order of Royal Kinship, as facilitated by Los Angeles producer Neal Reinalda. With recent releases on Opal Tapes and Orange Milk, as well as two previous NNA full-length cassettes under his belt, we are pleased to offer PHORK’s debut vinyl record to the masses. On “High End”, Reinalda digs deeper still into the established PHORK sound world, procuring a modern conceptual take on the idea of “ambient music” as constructed with …
We travel the space
We Travel the Spaceways was recorded at a handful of sessions in Chicago from 1956-1959, possibly 1960. Although several of the tunes also appear on other '50s era recordings, as usual, personnel and arrangements differ from album to album. Many of the tunes are quite bluesy, with tympani, bells, and percussion adding an exotic flair, but the big event here is the appearance of the "space chant," which would become an Arkestra calling card for decades to come. The band was starting to she…
Non-fiction
Death Blues is a multi-disiplinary project by Jon Mueller that addresses the inevitability of death as impetus to become fully present in each moment. “Non-fiction” is the third musical installment in the larger Death Blues project, and the first for SIGE Records. “Non-ficiton” opens with a a single and insistent pulse, the foundation upon which two side-long pieces that comprise the album are built. Serving as a thematic anchor, the rhyth- mic cycles propelling the compositions are the albums l…
Let The Sun Shine In
Long out of print, few copies available. Beautiful material from this legendary Bay Area soul jazz combo! The Sons & Daughters of Lite have an incredibly spiritual sound – one that sounds sort of like the best groups on the Strata East label, with touches of Roy Ayers or James Mason-esque soulfulness, but with a little less polish. Many of the cuts have sweet female vocals in the lead – with backing that includes vibe, electric piano, tenor, alto, and percussion by Babatunde. The record's a grea…
Abandoned Geography
A long, single track developing the relation between geography and drugs, the various interaction and how they changed the environment. Following up the immense Dyslexic Action 4xCS set, the duo consisting of Matteo Castro and Francesco Tignola is back with the 18-minute long one-sider Abandoned Geography. Elevating and absolutely lovely broken noise from the combined efforts of Napoli and Conegliano. Matteo Castro's Lettera 22 coming to mind when it comes to the fidelity and execution of…
Orb
Originally released as private press limited cdr in 2001, 'Orb' is now available for the first time on vinyl. Second full length after the classic Kenneth Anger's 'Lucifer Rising' cult soundtrack, 'Orb' is a mystic and psychedelic rock opera influenced by Indian imagery. The perfect soundtrack to listen to while reading traditional epic Indian literature. 'Orb' is a perfect fusion between ethereal synth, ethnic ritual percussions that remind Dead Can Dance's atmospheres and the evolution …
Lights on Water
Lights on Water is the second Sum of R album on Utech Records after their self titled debut, and the first full-length as the duo of Reto Mäder (bass guitar, electronics, drums, piano, samples) and Julia Valentina Wolf (guitar) after the Ride Out The Waves EP. The album finds the Swiss duo discovering their roots within a prehistoric ceremonial context. Those roots go back to times where the sounds of nature were reigned in, ritualized and utilized as food for the soul. They are the cries…
Portrait of Madeleine Elster
Portrait of Madeleine Elster is the third solo album for Utech Records by Japanese psychedelic troubadour Suzuki Junzo. A 21st century drone/space electric-blues album in the style of Ode to a Blue Ghost and Eight-Sided Infinity. Crystalline guitar passages soaked in reverb and distorted sadness. Junzo is joined by Ikuro Takahashi of LSD March, Kousokuya and ex-drummer of Fushitsusha and High Rise.
12th House
Group Rhoda follows up her delectable debut on Night School with a much sharper and equally seductive album for Not Not Fun - easily one of their best releases in 2013. Her songs are now rendered with a higher fidelity and clarity adopting the purposeful innovations of post punk and the hypnotism of modern electronic music to give her deft arrangements a sturdy poise and transcendent appeal. It's still DIY at heart and we doubt you're gonna hear them on Radio 1 any time soon, but the sense of th…
Marigold And Cable
« Marigold and Cable » marks an indelible new phase in the trajectory of Alex Cobb’s solo recordings and prior missives as Taiga Remains. The album’s four compositions are streamlined and focused, finding a balance between studied contours and compositional intuition. Tints of early Stars of the Lid and Kevin Drumm’s lambent drones are apt starting points, but Cobb routes them through a live set up without the aid of loops or synthesizers. « Marigold and Cable » is heavy with meaning and intent,…
Allegoria
A darker neon-lit return from NNF's far-eastern dream-pop idol "On her first proper full-length album, Tokyo netscape nightingale Sapphire Slows impressively expands on the spider web tone-bank nocturnes of 2011’s True Breath EP, with headier, haunted highs and eerier, elegant depths. Patiently pieced together across all of 2012 (plus change), and inspired by everything from St. Etienne’s plasticine Euro-house, obscured J-pop memories, Blue Bell Knoll and the saddest Section 25 remixes, Allegori…