New Arrivals
Dispersal Patterns
Collaborating since 2004, Dispersal Patterns is Bach and Kannenberg's second joint project. Departing from their earlier emphasis on systems and graphic notation, they here rely on intuitive communication as they weave two improvised soundscapes from quiet field recordings, analogue instrumentation, digital synthesis, found sounds and minimal signal manipulations. Bach and Kannenberg have previously explored concepts of place, soundscape and transmission in their first collaboration, Two …
Spiritual/Mental/Physical
‘Spiritual-Mental-Physical’ is a collection of wild early Death demos, presenting the three young Hackney brothers consolidating their powers as they embark on a trip into pure rock and roll music. The album comes with liner notes from Bobby Hackney Sr. explaining the genesis and meaning of the songs included.
Alchemic Heart
"Alchemic Heart is a special project presented by Vampillia who have colored these two colossal compositions with beautiful contributions by members of the Boredoms, Jarboe (ex-Swans), Inswarm and Japanese Noise-God Merzbow. Layered strings, piano, bass, noise and voices are weaved mysteriously and expand as two magnificently parallel aesthetic worlds. Comprised of two pieces, 'Sea'/'Land,' a primitive landscape is created via listening and destroyed when the pieces are complete. Vampilli…
Mubomuso
Mubomuso is a neologism, made up from two extant words. Mubo suggests the unadorned and unaffected, while muso means to be in a state without thought or preplanning. All parts of the release lead the listener towards the consideration of a very specific topic Ð namely, war and violence, and the deeper connections to human nature. Stripped of the clothing of civilization, etiquette and socialization, we slowly become aware of reactions and purposes that exist deep within us embedded comma…
Caves
Riccardo Dillon Wanke’s Caves was composed and recorded in 2006 in Alfama (historical district of Lisbon, Portugal) using acoustic and electric guitars, saxophones and natural sound elements starting from pure radical improvisation evolving into the investigation of drones and static and looped music related to minimalism. At the center of these works are the binaural beats in musical composition, the results lying between classical composition, minimalistic improvisation and a "folk" sensitivit…
Tenkujin
Fifth and final release by Far East Family Band (if you include the 1973s Nihonjin released under the Far Out banner), Tenkujin was the first of the bands albums to be released in the US on the small and short-lived Calfornian-based All Ears label. Without Kitaro, who by this time had departed to persue a solo career, the band reverted to its earlier balled-based sound, this time supported on drums by former Samurai alumnist Yujin Harada. The expected Pink Floyd influences appear in abundance, a…
Destroying The Night Sky
A very special release with an unusual mix of sound: Using Cadaverous Condition's "To The Night Sky" album as source material for their tracks, all the aforementioned bands have created a unique new style of music. Call it metal ambient, drone metal or electronics metal, the result is something previously unknown and exciting. Hear Nurse With Wound doing one of their darkest tracks ever - listen to Controlled Bleeding's totally insane restructuring of a rock track, or be surprised by Nocturnal E…
Serpentement
The very old catfish, covered in moss, that live in the depths of the lake, never go up towards daylight and disdain any bait that nature offers them.They are only attracted by the oddest shapes that fishermen can invent, shiny and silvery blades in the shape of a human hand that, attached to their line, dance a jig; or also a bat made of red glass with hooks treacherously sewn inside their wings'. G.Meyrink. Instruments: mechanical metronome with bell, harmonica reeds, six string banjo, amps, m…
Mort aux vaches
Packaged in a three-panel lenticular sleeve. Artwork & concept by Staalplaat. Limited edition of 500 copies.
s/t
Collaboration between Canada's prolific neo-doom duo (NADJA) & New Zealand's pitch black droners (BLACK BONED ANGEL - featuring Campbell Kneale of BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL). These two 20-plus-minute instrumental tracks have a less accessible vibe then the Jesu-like track on last year's Christ Send Light EP. They are comprised in equal parts of Nadja's fuzzed-out, lurching, hazy dream-doom, & Black Boned Angel's razor-sharp, metallic riff-shards. Eventually, the whole thing collapses under the weight…
All Is Falling
The ultra savant of 12-string mantra cycles expands further into cinematic, orchestral glory - an orgy of organic, deeply felt & exquisitely played pathways to the sublime. His 1st foray into the realm of the electric 12-string guitar. Comprised of one slowly evolving, shifting piece of music in eight parts, replete w/ swirling string cycles & wind instruments augmenting his extended pointillist flurries w/ clouds of sound, sometimes adding delicate counter-melodies but just as often feed…
Dispositions Furtives
Through the open sound portals created by his compatriot Castiglioni, the Italian pianist Alfonso Alberti first entered col legno's World of New Music; on his second album, he dedicates his sensitive and brilliant musicality to Gérard Pesson's fragile and puzzling fabrics of sound. A selection of piano pieces has been compiled in a joint effort by the pianist and the French composer; in his interpretations Alberti lets us catch glimpses of musical structures as though they were glittering just u…
Nature Unveiled
Nature Unveiled is Current 93's seminal first album. It's been returned to its original format of two tracks, and has been beautifully re-mastered by Denis Blackham. This reissue comes with a booklet with early photographs of the group members-- who included David Tibet, Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound), John Balance (Coil), and Little Annie-- and original insert materials.
Dream Loops
This CD was created to raise funds for my mother, Jeanine, to assist in her fight against stomach cancer diagnosed in June 2009. Edward Ka-Spel has generously donated "Dream Loops" to this cause and all proceeds will be donated to her to assist in covering medical and travel expenses.
Cellos
The association between Ulrich Mitzlaff and Miguel Mira promises an unforeseeable sound meeting. The specific, personal and different ways of their distinguished expression is the base for their very dynamic and interactive music. They create sounds where the improvisation moves with great fluency between the establishing of textures and abstract musical ideas and the switching in the musical discourse to singular, rhythmic and melodic affirmations. They construct the sonar explorations using th…
Book from Hell
Zai Kuning (g., vo., perc., misc.), Otomo Yoshihide (g., turntables, perc., misc.). 'The Asian improvisation of the present, a connection between Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong. A vivid 71-minute performance moving back and forth between turbulence and stillness. 'Book from hell' is the denomination of the concert, Zai Kuning organized on September 2008 in Singapore. CD title is used as it is and also CD cover is the poster of 'Book from hell' concert, Zai designed. This is Asian improvi…
_, and Vice Versa
Vice-Versa is an album with 2 process. Originally was gathering some works which produced between 2005 - 2009, with a lose concept of exploring the digital composition by using analog source, as a general guideline. Once the concept become much clearer, more works which share the similar concept were dig out from the hard drive for a better overview and consideration to create an album; on the second process, some of the works has been carry forward with more focus on the development of t…
Solo Andata
12k presents Australian duo Solo Andata along with their second album, self-titled. Translated literally from the Italian as 'one way,' Solo Andata portrays the theme of a one-way journey that moves from (and represents a thread between) water and land, fluid/stasis, cold/hot. Following Solo Andata's debut album Fyris Swan (Hefty, 2006) and their 12k inception on Live in Melbourne, Solo Andata presents us with an ambient affair, with dark drones coupled with ethereal sonic environments. It could…
Stockholm, Berlin 1966
Hard to believe that this far down the line there would still be unreleased recordings of Albert Ayler, never mind a full live set from the apex of his reign, the glorious 1966 tour of Europe, so I nearly did a double take when I first saw this title listed. The Berlin set which the CD is bundled with turned up in lesser fidelity and in the incorrect order on Revenant’s disputed Ayler box, but the Stockholm set has never even been booted and both receive their first release fully authorised by t…
Sol Sketches
Film director Chris Teerink asked me to make the soundtrack for a documentary he would be making about American artist Sol LeWitt. This was in 2009. Chris and I agreed that the music and the images should both be equally important in his film. We didn't want the score to overpower the images, but neither did we want it to become solely background 'muzak'. I searched for a certain openness in the sound, while at the same time keeping a directness to it. Musical references for me were the piano pi…