Various

Featuring: Pauline Oliveros, Terry Fox, Takehisa Kosugi, Eliane Radigue, Alvin Lucier

A lucky restock of one of the most important archival releases in experimental music: "Apollo and Marsyas: Het Apollohuis 1980-1997, an Anthology of New Music Concepts" - a stunning double CD documenting nearly two decades of radical sound art and experimental performance. Het Apollohuis in Eindhoven was one of Europe's most vital centers for avant-garde music, and this anthology captures the extraordinary scope of programming curated by Paul Panhuysen from 1980 through 1997. From over 500 performances, Panhuysen selected 38 excerpts that reveal the remarkable diversity and innovation that defined this legendary venue. The roster reads like a who's who of experimental music's most essential figures: Derek Bailey, Tom Johnson, Rolf Julius, Pauline Oliveros, Arnold Dreyblatt, Carl Stone, Takehisa Kosugi, Terry Fox, Alvin Lucier, Alvin Curran, Eliane Radigue, Jim O'Rourke, Borbetomagus, John Butcher, Iva Bittova, and David First - each captured in intimate live recordings that reveal their work in its most immediate and powerful form.

These aren't studio recreations but direct documentation of groundbreaking performances - Bailey and Ernst Reijseger on Christmas Day 1983, Oliveros on accordion in 1986, Radigue's electronic meditations from 1989, O'Rourke on electric guitar in 1993. Each recording captures not just the music but the unique atmosphere of Het Apollohuis, where boundaries between composition, improvisation, installation, and performance art dissolved into something entirely new. The anthology traces the evolution of experimental music through a crucial period - from the post-minimalist explorations of the early 80s through the emergence of laptop performance and digital processing in the 90s. René van Peer's extensive liner notes provide essential context, illustrated with rare black-and-white photographs of the performers.

This is living history - a document of how experimental music evolved in real time through the dedication of visionary curators like Panhuysen who understood that the most radical sounds needed spaces to breathe and develop. Presented in a double digipak edition of 1,250 copies, with cover art "The Gates of Pythagoras" by Paul Panhuysen himself. Essential for anyone interested in the history of experimental music, sound art, and the crucial role that alternative spaces played in fostering the avant-garde. This completely sold-out-at-source edition represents a rare opportunity to own one of the most comprehensive documents of European experimental music culture.

Don't sleep on this one - it's not coming back.