Psych /
Seven (remastered) LP
180 gram audiophile vinyl pressing, clear vinyl. Seven is the seventh studio album by Soft Machine, released in 1973. Roy Babbington, who had previously contributed to Fourth [MOVLP1601] and Fifth [MOVLP1599] on double bass as a session musician, replaced Hugh Hopper on bass guitar, who left to begin a solo career. Their unique take on jazz rock was groundbreaking. Seven is a highly diverse album combining minimal, spacey elements and some great instrumental jamming. It was also the last of thei…
Six (remastered)
180 gram audiophile vinyl pressing. While the instrumental Fourth had forayed deep into jazz-rock territory, Fifth found Soft Machine working almost completely in the jazz idiom. As Soft Machine moved further away from rock on Third [MOVLP183] and Fourth [MOVLP1602], drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt's dissatisfaction with the band's direction grew and, by the time sessions started for Fifth in late 1971, he had left permanently to form Matching Mole. Wyatt's replacement Phil Howard's propulsive rhy…
Fourth (remastered) LP
180 gram audiophile vinyl pressing. Fourth (from 1971) or 4 is the Soft Machine's first all-instrumental album and features a mix of Free Jazz, straight-ahead Jazz, and gong-like psychedelia. It was also the last of their albums to include drummer and founding member Robert Wyatt."Soft Machine's collective skill is hyper-complex and refined, as they are extremely literate in all fields of musical study. Fourth is the band's free purging of all of that knowledge, woven into noisy, smoky structure…
First Utterance
Official 180g reissue, from the original master tapes no less, of one of the most insane (and influential) experimental folk records of all time. This was Comus. Super dark themes and nightmarish visions abound in this total one-off of a record. First Utterance was, and still is, “difficult”. Fortunately today an appreciative audience exists for “difficult” stuff like this.Kent-based art students Roger Wootton and Glenn Goring had played acoustic covers of Velvet Underground numbers in London fo…
Heresie
Sub Rosa present a reissue of Univers Zero's second album Heresie, originally released in 1979. A classic of chamber rock music, featuring heavy use of dissonance and dark, brooding, and extremely complex melodies. "This music on this LP might have little to do with rock, and might also be a massive downer, but the quality of the writing and playing is extremely high. Michel Berckmans' solo work on oboe and bassoon work is magnificent, and Patrick Hanappier's string playing (violin and viola) al…
Le Jour Où Les Vaches...
Reissue of the first album by this French iconoclast poet, recorded in 1974 with William Sheller's string arrangements. This highly symphonic and dystopian rock album should overjoy fans of Gerard Manset or Genesis.
Un Giorno in una Piazza + Il Cerchio degli Antichi
Special bundle. In the late 70’s the Italian music scene recorded a renewed interest in a sound research involved to a stimulating fusion of popular elements, jazz improvisation and suggestions of the middle-oriental classical heritage. Starting from the experience of Aktuala the idea of a common "Mediterranean air", that could compare and harmonize rhythms and timbres of various regions, enlivened a large number of musicians. In this context, it also placed the short history of Zeit and of his …
Galactic Zoo Dossier
Swordfish proudly continues its reissue programme of vintage Arthur Brown recordings with Kingdom Come's classic 1971 debut. A stunning fusion featuring elements of psychedelia, prog and electronics. Whilst not a major commercial success at the time in terms of pioneering spirit it has become something of a landmark. Now some 45 years later the driving forces behind it are far clearer-a remarkable visionary work full of genuine progressive portent.Officially licenced, fully remastered and presen…
Strangelands
Swordfish is very proud to announce the start of its vinyl reissue of classic vintage recordings by the self-styled God of Hellfire-Arthur Brown. Opening the series is the legendary second album from the Crazy World of Arthur Brown "Strangelands" Recorded in 1969 but unreleased at the time, it was just too "out there" for Track Records. Now it reverberates with the spirit of the age as well as encompassing an almost contemporary feel. It is presented as a limited edition of 500 copies on psyched…
Winter Songs
A reissue of the brilliant second album by Art Bears, a band/project featuring Fred Frith, Chris Cutler and Dagmar Krause, formed in 1978 after disputes over the musical direction within Henry Cow. 'Winter Songs', originally released in 1979, placed Art Bears in the forefront of the Rock In Opposition Movement. Art Bears' intense and brutal avant-garde approach on the album comes across as primordial expression, which is nailed down by Krause's violently charismatic voice. As a piece of music re…
DeLuxe
Beautiful legit 2015 reissue on Groenland, truly a brilliant little album from Harmonia – quite possibly their greatest record ever, and a set that's wonderfully balanced between progressive and electronic modes! There's a live drummer on the set – Mani Neumeier of Guru Guru – and although he still plays with a spare, circular mode that recalls the Harmonia rhythms of before, there's also a slight bit of propulsion here too – one that pushes the keyboards and guitars alongside nicely. There's al…
Stuck in Paradise
Sweet Marie was formed in late 1969 amidst the turmoil of the Vietnam War and the wild music scene of Hollywood. Twentyeight year old Prince Teddy, a producer at Capitol Records and a songwnter.'musician. had a vision tor a rock-n-roll trio with rich harmonies and psychedelic undertones He approached Sonny Lathrop, a 25 year ok) guitarist and recording musician who was known around the hip Hollywood night dubs, about his idea and together they recruited Willy Bims on drums Bims. 32, had been the…
Weidorje
A vinyl reissue of a hard to find album from 1978 by a French
progressive rock band. Weidorje was formed in 1977 by two ex-Magma
members. Musically and spiritually the atmosphere isn't too different
from Magma. This is real savage stuff with an anguished vibe, a strong
rhythm section, ultra vitriolic guitar leads, dissonent sax breaks, and
dark incantations.
Come un Vecchio Incensiere all'Alba di un Villaggio Deserto
The Sorrenti brothers' musical careers, Jenny and Alan Sorrenti, have three elements in common at least: the unconventional use of the voice as an instrument, a wonderful debut album (respectively, the eponymous Saint Just's LP and "Aria") and the subsequent 'second album syndrome' that depicted their sophomore efforts as inferior to their predecessors, by an unfair and demeaning comparison. Sorrenti's voice and relatively sparse instrumental accompaniment are remarkable in how much they accompl…
Exuma
An unusual record dug up from 1970 here, following Tony McKay’s explorations into a ‘voodoo folk’ personality. Exuma sounds, at one level, like a classic early 70’s singer-songwriter record: on another level, it sounds like a street carnival, full of varied percussion and possessed vocals. Reissue on Keku Wahye Keyah.
1001 Centigrades
Back to Black series. Recorded at Michel Magne studios in Herouville, 5-10 of April, 1971. After losing guitarist Claude Engel and reinforcing the brass section with Jeff Seffer on saxophones and Louis Toesca on trumpet, Magma went back into the studio in 1971 to record a second album. All the originality and greatness of Kobaia are there, in even greater measure because everything is magnified. The two tracks composed respectively by Teddy Lasry and François Cahen occasionally introduce a jazzi…
Telefon
First ever reissue of rare, sought-after, and stoned-to-the-max Swedish underground psych/progressive/experimental treasure from 1971, originally released on the legendary Gump label and featuring the mythic underground personalities and musicians Einar Heckscher and Johnny Mowinckel. Side A is sung in English and side B in Swedish. The band name has been mixed up many times by collectors, mistaken as either Telefon Paisa (an earlier incarnation of the band) or Telefon (the album title), but thi…
Eclosion
Never released side-project by Ame Son leader Marc Blanc. An intriguing, marvellous mixture of acid folk, electronic experiments, provocative lyrics & slam poetries and almost post rock stridence. As usual, Monster Melodies was not cheap on the bonuses: a beautiful fanzine is included, as well as a postcard insert (see the additional pictures). Strictly limited to 1000 numbered copies with transparent blue wax.Edited for the first time, the record (1000 copies only) is a blue vinyl presented in …
Gestation Sonore
Few copies back in stock, sold-out at source. Souffle Continu presents the eighth release in its series of reissues from the catalog of the cult French underground Futura label. "We just wanted the sound, the raw sound-texture, before being treated and shaped by any cultural code," recalls Georges Alloro, member of Horde Catalytique pour la Fin. Formed in 1967, the French avant-garde quartet played instruments from Western, African, Middle-Eastern, and Far-Eastern cultures. Their sole album, the…
Voici la Nuit Tombee
Few copies back in stock, sold-out at source. Clear yellow LP version. Limited edition of 200. Souffle Continu presents the seventh release in its series of reissues from the catalog of the cult French underground Futura label. Travelling was a keyboard-based trio that probably represents best what the Futura's RED series was about -- jazz, rock, and experimental inquisitiveness. Often described as the French answer to the Canterbury scene, Voici la Nuit Tombée contains echoes of Soft Machine, C…