New Arrivals
Walden Pond's Monk
The first ‘proper’ widely-available album from Portugese composer and pianist Tiago Sousa, ‘Walden Pond’s Monk’ balances itself on the idealism and revolutionary spirit of Henry David Thoreau. While this might be initially hard to hear in an album of mostly solo piano, as the songs seep into the soul it becomes easier and easier to decode Sousa’s messages. There is a mourning, but hopefulness to these compositions, and in contrast to solo piano records from Gonzales or Goldmund it feels like an …
Time & Motion
Radio Massacre International is a British trio of Steve Dinsdale (keyboards, electronics, drums), Duncan Goddard (keyboards, electronics, bass) and Gary Houghton (guitar, synthesizers). These three musicians have worked together in various configurations since they were 16 year old students in the 70s and formed R.M.I. in 1993. After nearly 20 years together as R.M.I. and over 30 albums and hundreds of concerts, you might think that there might be no surprises left, but like their undulating, fl…
Somnambulance to Dream General
"Somnambulance" is a reworking of an album of odd and obscure tracks that was released in a microscopic edition on CD-R before. For this CD, Mr. Liles has provided his funniest and possibly most controversial artwork as of yet. You get an hour of music of many different styles: Andrew Liles' trademark of eerie and spooky sounds is there; also electronics and a whole range of instruments are placed in between sketches and longer tracks. And if all this weren't enough, you get three bonus tracks t…
House
CD edition, 'House' is the 2nd official full-length offering by Cleveland, Ohio duo MIST featuring Sam Goldberg (of Radio People) and John Elliott (Emeralds, Outer Space, Imaginary Softwoods etc) after 2009's self-titled debut effort on Amethyst Sunset. A suite consisting of 7 complex, layered compositions shows new progression in composition and melody from the duo. From the lightning fast, bittersweet crescendo of 'Twin Lanes' to the dramatic chord progressions of 'I Can Still Hear Your Voice'…
Ghost Surveillance
"Ghost Surveillance is Algernon's third album and is their first on a label able to reach a wider audience. Their music brings a lot of influences together in surprising and entertaining ways. A quick listen to the download sample will show you why we have such great enthusiasm for this band, as they manage to be quite accessible while pushing stylistic boundaries and exploring new paths. Algernon are one of Chicago's fastest rising young bands. All instrumental, they feature a unique line-up of…
A color photo of the horse
Alessandro Bosetti provides voice and electronics on words & text from a variety of writers, as performed in a trio with drummer Ches Smith and fretless guitarist Kenta Nagai; fascinating and perplexing expression. Alessandro Bosetti: voice, electronics. Kenta Nagai: fretless guitar. Ches Smith: drums. Music and texts by Alessandro Bosetti. Dead Bird text by Alessandro Bosetti on words by Alasdair Campbell. Istruzioni text by Alessandro Bosetti on words by Jerry Mandel, George Dippel, Howard…
Prayer Wheel
The Prayer Wheel, like this CDR, spins prayers into the ether. Book of Shadows combines psychedelia, experimental music, and the pursuit of spiritual understanding, all performed together in the eternal present. For the Prayer Wheel release Sharon and Carlton Crutcher are joined by longtime guitarists Aaron Bennack, Jonathan Horne (Plutonium Farmers), and Douglas Ferguson. Also appearing on this release are percussionist Johnny McCollom of the Primordial Undermind, theremin player and fil…
Book Of Nods
A new landscape is painted out of darkness by progressive strokes of the dawn. The finished piece is neither night nor day, but the transformation itself. Aidan Baker's (Nadja) "Book Of Nods" crests experimental peaks in similarly paced sonic transmigrations. His lustrous chimera blooms open in shifting onion layers built out of slow-moaning guitar, flute, organ and drums. The resonant frequencies of quietly crashing nodes vibrate the ozone with a sub-textural beating of multi-pianic fea…
Sólaris
Ben Frost and Daníel Bjarnason are two composers used to shrugging off the distinction between experimental sound-art and deeply felt melodies. frost's vast, blackened post-industrial works often crystallize in moments of quiet beauty before disintegrating in pure visceral noise; bjarnason's orchestral music marries brutal modernism to classical aesthetics one moment and soaring ethereal harmonies the next. and yet here, on the tail of two widely acclaimed releases; bjarnason's procession…
Apparitions
Bleak analog electronics and voice from Justin K Broadrick. Apparitions is a dark, insalutary recording of sub bass throb, scathing frequencies and sheets of feedback unleashed with the ferocity of early power electronics sides. A material electric attack from places unknown. Photographs by Paul Lee. Edition of 500."
Resume the Cosmos
"Resume the Cosmos" finds the unclassifiable Virginian band Rake performing some of their most diverting and accessible work to date. The five nameless tracks that make up the disc were culled from many hours of studio improvisation, not only on a range of atmospheric instrumentation, but also with studio space and "silence" itself. The elusive membership of Rake play out like reconstructed indie rock fans with fistfuls of Sun Ra/Coltrane/70s Miles/Art Ensemble of Chicago/Henry Cow scattered thr…
Retro vulva 2003
A Chilean band living in Paris, who do a really fuckeded up punk rock influenced equally by Captain Beefheart, Os Mutantes, and Caroliner. Limited to 300 copies.
Surface of the Earth
Gunn Amps and Smashed Guitars. Surface of the Earth was recorded live to cassette, using two microphones in a wooden community hall in Wellington, New Zealand. The lp was gathered from two or three recording sessions in 1994/95. Back then we used to book out the hall for a couple of days, set up our gear and then record everything. It was a very atmospheric room for recording. Tony and Donald would put their guitars through their two old Gunn valve amplifiers and get to work. Tony often used thi…
Under Stellar Stream
For his latest album, UK avant-folk maverick Richard Youngs seems to be converging on some of the most assured and firm-footed vocal work of his career to date, fashioning rock-solid songs from typically leftfield instrumental tactics. On 'Broke Up By Night', Youngs sounds like a gnarled old folkie of almost Ewan MacColl proportions, albeit accompanied by organ drone and wispy electronics. It's a rather magical, mantra-like cadence he elicits, and the album springboards nicely from this point. S…
Instance
Thembi Soddell's second solo release continues her exploration of dynamics, abstracting various sound sources, from field recordings to instrument textures, into sonic interpretations of her dreams.
Vellus
Incorporating wildly coloured orchestrations and unusual performance actions, set against intense monochromes of noises and whispers, Vellus is a collection of chamber works that obsessively deals with the privacy of ritual, memory and the self. Diverse takes on instrumental concrète by this young Australian composer. 'Lucas Stumbles' (2007) for percussion (Eugene Ughettti, Greg Sully, Mathias Schack-Arnott, Anna Webb) and electronics (James Rushford). 'Respite in the Woodland' (2007) with Aviva…
Zero Set
Featuring Moebius (ex-Kluster, Cluster, Harmonia), Conny Plank and Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru). The original LP was released on Sky Records in 1983. Historical masterpiece!! Reissue with elaborate miniature paper sleeve of the original LP. Digitally remastered version, limited to 1,000 copies
Lost wisdom
The music of Mount Eerie has taken many forms (see: The Microphones) but it is always made by Phil Elverum. Lost Wisdom is an album that finds Elverum in a more collaborative mode than usual, working with two legends of music and kindred spirits, Julie Doiron and Fred Squire. Elverum and Doiron share vocal duties almost equally on the record, making it an album comprised of dark pop duets.This time the songs were recorded quickly and quietly during a surprise visit by Julie Doiron, keeper of t…
The state we are in
The first thing this CD reminded me of was Tape...then I checked out the press release and it turns out that Tape's Johan Berthling (also very recently sighted on that Fire! with Jim O'Rourke record) is in fact one-third of this band, the other two being Andreas Soderstrom (Ass) and Per Eklund on drums. It is, as you would expect, gently paced instrumental stuff, slightly pastoral-sounding, with intertwining guitars and a some subtle Hammond organ and trumpet bits. This is a mightily rel…
It\'s Time For Tristram Cary
'Classical. Electro acoustic and widdly weird noises from the big brain. Over the last few years intrepid music lovers have been investigating and enjoying the work of pioneering electronic musicians, electro-acoustic artists and all the groovy folks who spent hours manipulating and cutting tape to make new and exciting sounds. It's meant that lots of interesting figures have been brought back into our musical view. But one of the most important, innovative, influential and almost forgotten arti…