Go to Eclipse Records for ordering information.

"Hello! Lots of killer stuff this time around highlighted by the excellent new self-titled Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers lp on Klang. Speaking of killer new vinyl I'm still waiting for the Group Doueh lp on Sublime Frequencies (as well as the new Omar Souleyman cd & Palace of the WInds DVD) as only 1 of 2 boxes arrived on Friday - 2nd box will be here Tuesday. Also, the highly anticipated Flower-Corsano Duo 2lp's will be here Tuesday also as my shipment arrived as cd's instead of vinyl on Thursday. Other vinyl highlights include Omar Souleyman double lp on Sublime Frequencies, Ducktails lp and Teeth Mountain lp both on Not Not Fun, Psychedelic Horseshit lp and The Oh Sees 7" on Woodsist, Sir Richard Bishop lp/cd on Drag City, Beets lp & Blank Dogs 12" on Captured Tracks, restocks of the Avarus lp on Secret Eye, James Ferraro lp's on Holy Mountain, Eat Skull lp on Siltbreeze, and These Wonderful Evils lp on Sparrows & Wires. Got a TON of awesome PSF cd's here - lots of titles I've not stocked before plus many restocks, too. I will be making monthly PSF orders regularly stocking items for the first time as well as restocking many of the classic titles that have been sold out here. Also got a great new Reiko & Tori Kudo cd ('Light') on SIWA, killer new Skullflower cd on Second Layer, new Current 93 cd, new James Blackshaw cd (as well as restocks of 3 other cd's by Mr Blackshaw), Suishou No Fune cd and Marcia Bassett/Carlos Giffoni cd on Blossoming Noise, new Simon Wickham-Smith cdr on Tape Drift, restock of United Bible Studies' The Jonah cd on Camera Obscura, new Wet Hair cd and Heavy Winged cd on Release The Bats, restocks of Ilyas Ahmed cd and Zach Wallace cd on Root Strata, cdr reissues of Second Family Band titles previously released on cassette on Earjerk. Earjerk also offers several new Second Family Band tapes this time around and I just got a big batch of nice tapes from Digitalis Limited, too, and a killer new Our Love Will Destroy The World cassette on Tape Drift.

Be sure to check out all the upcoming releases listed at the end of the update. Pre-orders are accepted and encouraged." Eclipse Records

*Flower-Corsano Duo - Four Aims double LP $17.99 (Vhf)
"The Four Aims is the much-anticipated second full-length by the long-running duo of Mick Flower (Vibracathedral Orchestra, Sunroof, Michael Flower Band) and Chris Corsano (Flaherty/Corsano, Jandek, Bjork, Sunburned). In the couple years since their debut, The Radiant Mirror (Textile), the two have toured and recorded frequently, expanding their range to include a mind-boggling array of free sound. "I, Brute Force" kicks off the record with their signature-- one of the most original in rock/free/whatever music-- the electrifying sound of Flower's virtuosic, heavily amplified Japan Banjo (also known as a Shaahi Baaja) over Corsano's free-wheeling percussion. Other tracks show off subtle improv moves, with both players using extended techniques to generate a wide range of unusual sounds. Corsano's technical mastery is almost without peer in his generation (Alex Neilson, maybe)-- his ability to take the lessons of nearly five decades of free playing and extend them into new ranges is startling and exciting. Rather than play backup, Corsano meets Flower's strings and organ head-on with his own drum-bowing, cello, and circular-breathing-fired melodica." Was mis-shipped. Vinyl copies here Tuesday so all pre-orders will be filled as soon as box arrives.

*Group Doueh - Treeg Salaam LP $24.99 (Sublime Frequencies)
"Group Doueh's follow-up to their now-legendary debut LP is here. While most would think it damn near impossible to top the former release, in terms of sheer "shock and awe," Treeg Salaam (trans. "Streets Of Peace"), blows hot and dusty from the infernal sand-swept dunes of the Western Sahara. Compiled from Group Doueh's personal archives, these five tracks (note: sidelong piece on the flip), are as brain-shifting in their ecstatic brilliance as any music ever heard. From the wah-stroked lead-off track to the blazing dexterity of "Ragsa Jaguar," the whole of the first side is an entrance to the lip-puckering tea den of Saharan trance heaven. Salmou Baamar's (Doueh) guitar/tinidit runs explode in cosmic shrapnel, raining down on the temporal nodes of the listener's brain. On side 2, we have a 20-minute, smoky, slow-burning, psychedelic excursion into the great unknown. A meditation on the arid and inhospitable landscape that inspires this music and its people. This is a one-time pressing of 1,500 copies. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl and comes in a gatefold full-color jacket with great photos of the musicians." UPS delivered one of 2 boxes to me. Only included the Omar Souleyman double lp's plus 2 copies of this one. CD and DVD ( both listed below) will be here Tuesday along w/ this Treeg Salaam lp. All pre-orders will be filled as soon as box arrives.

*Hisham Mayet (Director) - Palace Of The Winds DVD $20.99 (Sublime Frequencies)
"Shot over the course of two years (2006-2008) by Hisham Mayet, Palace Of The Winds is an intimate and dream-like journey exploring the music of Saharawi culture from Guelmim in Southern Morocco to the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott. With spectacular images from inhospitable landscapes, chimerical phenomena that transpire by the sheer remoteness of the land, and haunting indigenous music from a people that have long been shrouded in mystery, this is a genre-defying film of profound beauty. Explore the intoxicating tapestry of sight and sound that this obscure region has to offer through its most awe-inspiring musicians. Featuring live performances by Group Doueh, Group Marwani, Sadoum Oueld Aida and Group Bab Sahara. Color; 52 minutes; digipack; all-region DVD; NTSC format. Limited edition pressing of 1,000 copies."

*Omar Souleyman - Dabke 2020: Folk & Pop Sounds of Syria CD $14.99 (Sublime Frequencies)
"Sublime Frequencies is pleased to present the second volume of Northeast Syrian dabke music from legendary vocalist Omar Souleyman and his group. This CD was compiled by Mark Gergis to coincide with the Sublime Frequencies UK/European tour in May and June of 2009, featuring live performances by Omar Souleyman himself. Culled from dozens of cassettes recorded in Syria from 1999-2008, the music here is an extension of Omar's Highway to Hassake: Folk & Pop Sounds of Syria (SF 031CD) release, touching on some previously-unheard angles. Their trademark serpentine synthesizers, electrified bouzok (traditional stringed instrument) and driving rhythms forge a severe form of "new wave dabke" with a live energy and integrity that captures the essence of the Syrian Northeast; one-of-a-kind Syrian dabke party tunes, regional atabat-styled crooners, and unbelievable Iraqi party jams. The CD is packaged in a cardboard sleeve with a paper insert."


New (*) and restocked items as of 5.23.09

*Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers - Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers LP $19.99 (Klang)
"Raw and rocking collaboration between Jack Rose and the Black Twigs with some of the most swinging, hard-hitting string music waxed in many a decade. Rose's solo playing has always had a tough edge, with his prodigious technique often employed in the service of dropping right-hand bombs - his use of a thumbpick originates from his years of duets with Twig Mike Gangloff, struggling to make his guitar heard over Gangloff's crashing banjo. The front line of Rose and Gangloff's strings are joined by Isak Howell's no-nonsense guitar and harmonica and Nate Bowles' variety of expert percussion. The four players lock together with a sure-footedness honed by frequent touring and a singularity of intent to rock. Gangloff takes the vocals, howling out standards like "Little Sadie" firmly in the old-time tradition - without reserve. A few of the tracks here are updates of Rose & family classics, with the group turning the stately "Kensington Blues" upbeat and an issuing an assured take on "Bright Sunny South," first recorded by Pelt (w/Rose and Gangloff) back in 2001 on their gonzo classic double "Ayahuasca." Edition of 992 copies.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. CD $15.99 (PSF)
"First release for the 'freak-out trip' group led by Makoto Kawabata, long-haired guitar monster of Musica Transonic, Mainliner, Toho Sara etc. notoriety. Some of the other members may be familiar too - Koizumi is ex-Mainliner, Yasuda is ex-Toho Sara, Casino is from Mardi Gras Blue Heaven. Musically this record is going to moisten a few gussets around the globe. Deep-space synth-float signaling, cosmic voices, drugged trickery, and whirlpools of churning percussion topped with Kawabata`s trademark speed psycho guitar, all recorded with at speaker-destroying fuzz level. Track titles like 'Zen Feedbacker', 'Amphetamine A GoGo', 'Satori LSD', and the 20 minute 'Speed Guru' should tell the cognoscenti all they need to know. Recorded under the influence of the teachings of the Acid Mothers Temple, and of internalized psychedelic states."

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Pataphisical Freak Out MU!! CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Announcing the long-awaited 2nd album from Makoto Kawabata's millennial hippy-group Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO! The band slip even further into cosmic overdrive with the addition of Atsushi Tsuyama (Omoide Hatoba) on bass and Haco (ex-After Dinner) on vocals!! Core-meltdown is guaranteed with their raging psychedelic acid-trip,
spacey hard rock!"

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Troubadours From Another Heavenly World CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Third PSF album from the Nagoya-based (but always heavenly-bound) Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., led by Japan's current king of the long-hairs and mystic rock-guitar guru Makoto Kawabata (also of Musica Transonic, Mainliner, Toho Sara). Their previous releases were delirious communal Gong/Hawkwind patchouli collisions, colorful as a Life
with the Hippie Jetsons cartoon, but with an acid punch that proved their music was beyond any idea of pastiche or irony. A couple of extensive American and European tours have gained the Acid Mothers an unbeatable cachet on the contempo-trip scene. Kawabata's international reputation has been cemented with solo and group releases on his own ATM label, SIWA, Eclipse, Swordfish, Detector, Elsie & Jack, Last Visible Dog, etc. For their latest flight though, the Acid Mothers have stepped back off the delirium pedal, and bumped up the luminous folk-mysticism faders. To be sure, the space synths, guitar supernovas, and stoned cosmic mumble are still present. It's just that now they're deployed to entirely different effect -- this is no longer the soundtrack to your first highschool acid 'n' beer party, it's more like a solitary roadtrip seeking enlightenment, a hermit's cell halfway up Magic Mountain, the cosmic butterfly gently enfolding its pan-dimensional wings over your bruised psyche. It's a slowly hypnotic, deeply meditational platter of god-honest real-time wonder." - Alan Cummings

Ilyas Ahmed - Goner CD $12.99 (Root Strata)
"Portland, OR. bedroom wanderer Ilyas Ahmed emerges from the shadows and offers up his first new batch of songs in some time. Over a year in the making, 'Goner' sees Ahmed telescoping his previous acoustic wanderings into fuzzed out rockers and a hypnotic set of beautifully tight knit nocturnes. The whole things kicks off with a massive rush to the head called 'Earn Your Blood' which has Ilyas effortlessly channeling any number of stoned out trajectories found in a Topanga Canyon ditch circa mid 70's. Massive waves of hiss still penetrate the mix, and so do the smeared vocal trails, it's just that it's all a little more in focus this time around. The comedown into 'Exit Twilight' with Grouper at the helm is a haunting broadcast that will for sure knock around in your skull for days. Edition of 1000 CD's in an offset buff case with maroon ink."

*ALTAR EAGLE - Judo Songs c38 cassette $7.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"Corsican Paintbrush had a good run, but times move on, things change, etc etc. the spark was lost. so rather than close up shop completely, there were renovation plans, there were game plans, there were just a lot of fucking ideas that finally came together. the result: ALTAR EAGLE (all caps for maximum effect). this won't be what you expect. nope. hints of flaming tunes, specks of loveless, maybe an homage to new-school classics like bugskull. thick on the beats sliced and diced with drones galore, ALTAR EAGLE is not yr mom's folk music anymore. edition of 125, pro-dubbed on pink and yellow high-bias tapes."

*Anakrid - Ceaselessly out of a Cloudless Sky c31 cassette $6.99 (Black Horizons)
"The third and final tape for Anakrid on Black Horizons. As per Mr. Bickel's usual unexpected style, expect to be surprised. The a-side is what I would come to expect from this project, an impressively composed piece of deep analogue dark ambiance, while the flip is a bit of a change up, where this project's often latent violent underpinning is fully exposed in a 15 minute piece entitled acidpianoharp, consisting of a harsh acoustic assault on the ears, thousands of tiny sounds strung together to form a swarm. Packaged in the Anakrid for BH tape style, consisting of a color transparency layered on top of various marbled pieces of paper. This time with the addition of a vertical transparent floating OBI, all held in place with rivets. Edition of 100 copies on BLACK hi bias chrome tapes. Silver labels with the Black Horizons color touch."

*Aso Ai - Aida CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Document of a recent live show by the most gorgeously acid folk-esque of Japan's female singer-songwriters. A piece of dazed, limpid dream-beauty, with a tremulous, wavering intensity all its own. Since recording her first demo cassette in 1997, Ai Aso has released two full studio albums. She has connections with the cream of the Tokyo psychedelic underground -- You Ishihara (of White Heaven and The Stars) produced her albums, Michio Kurihara, Wata (of Boris), and Chiyo Kamekawa (of The Stars and Yura Yura Teikoku) have played on them. Includes a guest appearance by Go Hirano on piano. Six tracks, thirty-six minutes. Booklet includes lyrics and liner-notes in English and Japanese." - Alan Cummings

*Aural Fit - Aural Fit II CD $15.99 (PSF)
"The reincarnation of the in-the-red psych aesthetics of early High Rise. One of the biggest underground psych/noise rock discoveries was Tokyo-based Aural Fit. A heavy, bludgeoning cudgel of a band, all distorted grime and redlined aggression, their 2004 self-released first album burst over the scene like a big bag of heavy spanners. They followed up with a track on Tokyo Flashback 5, but then line-up changes seemed to sideline their juddering, thundering rock juggernaut. Leader Mondo Bohachi has gone about reassembling the group from the ground up, and these are the first recorded results. If anything, it's even scarier, noisier and more rock than last time. 'Loud' and 'psychedelic' are still the watchwords, needles in the red all the way, and all the Stooges, Blue Cheer, TG, etc., references you might require are present and correct." - Alan Cummings.
Avarus - IV LP $21.99 (Secret Eye)
"All-new exclusive Avarus! Fourth Secret Eye full-length and tenth release overall from this incredible Finnish band that pretty much defines modern psychedelic kraut improv. Primitive, primal and tribal, desolate and mournful, dreamy and pastoral, motorik and hypnotic. Buzzing, clattery, droning, stumbling Krautrock flecked with shimmering free-noise, avant ambience, delicate folk fuckery, and chaotic caveman psychedelic space rock. Avarus IV starts where the Rasvaaja LP ended. The IV, too, consists of Tomas Regan's careful high-quality recordings. On the IV Avarus makes and even longer dive in the warm and clear pond, into which the water is poured from both kraut and space rock, and from micro music and slapstick. The recording was made after the US tour, which guarantees the firm harmony satisfying the most demanding listeners. The delicate talent and the hilarious team spirit guarantee a recordful of heart-warming harmonies and surprising turns delighting an unprejudiced mind. The wondrous adult rock of Avarus is born from an uncompromising love for music. The finished recording deserved a fantastic cover, too. This in mind, the graphic visionaries Amanda Vähämäki and Pauliina Mäkelä spent their summer holidays swimming, drinking beer, and drawing their kaleidoscopic Davy Crockett epos inspired by music. LP only - 160 gram virgin vinyl, pressed in Czech Republic, direct metal mastering, full-color labels and jackets, all-exclusive new jams." Limited edition of 200 copies. Highly recommended!

Albert Ayler - Spiritual Unity LP $16.99 (ESP-DISK')
"ESP's first recording session was on July 10, 1964, in the tiny Variety Arts Recording Studio, just off Times Square. Just before 1 PM, SUNNY MURRAY arrived, a large, genial walrus, moving and speaking with an easy agility that belied his appearance. GARY PEACOCK was next, tall, thin, ascetic looking, and soft spoken, with an introspective and kindly demeanor. ALBERT AYLER was last, small, wary and laconic. The walls of the reception area were covered with Latin album jackets. The engineer quickly set up the mikes and began the session. B sat outside in the reception area with Annette Peacock, Gary's wife. As the music was heard through the open outer door of the control room, felt a sense of jubilation. At one point, the engineer fled the control room for a few minutes, but returned in time to change the tape for the next selection. When the session was over, B learned that it had been recorded in monaural, although he remembered requesting a stereo recording. Happily, the engineer Joe had properly miked and mixed the session, and the recording stands today as a classic of the genre. After the session, the participants sat in a coffee shop next door, while they were paid and signed recording agreements. A few days later, B saw them off on their flight to Europe from Idlewild International Airport for a European tour. DON CHERRY was with them." Pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl in the United States with original artwork restored. Hand numbered 1-1000, limited edition - Digital download included.

Marcia Bassett / Carlos Giffoni - Organized Anatomy CD $10.99 (Blossoming Noise)
"Collaborative release from No Fun creator Carlos Giffoni and Marcia Bassett of Hototogisu & Double Leopards. Edition of 300."

*Bayal with Arnaud Riviere - First Contact CDR $10.99 (Bug Incision)
"John Boyle and Aya Onishi (of Nihilist Spasm Band) play an arsenal of drums, modified thumb pianos & kazoos, with guest Arnaud Riviere (of Textile Orchestra, among other things) on destroyed turntables. The music was recorded live in France, documenting their set at Sonic Protest from a few years back. It consists of a half hour of unrelenting primal improvisation, underpinned by some early-man-style drumming and skittering cascades of feedback and heavily amplified, tactile interplay. Limited edition of 100, with b&w photo-print."

*Beets - Spit on the Face of the People LP $15.99 (Captured Tracks)
"Queens via-Uruguay lo-fi pop Ramones meets Vaselines meets Daniel Johnston. BEETS are local Brooklyn faves among the Crystal Stilts/Cause Co-Motion/Vivian Girls crowd. Another fine release on Blank Dogs' Captured Tracks label." - Revolver

*Bob Bellerue & Jarrett Silberman - Amplified Piano Duets one-sided 12" + CDR $10.99 (Anarchymoon Recordings)
"A lost journey to unknown planets, defective machinery, dead pilots at the controls. recorded in late 2006, in the waning light of the Il Corral, when free pianos roamed the wild west. Jarrett Silberman is the lone gunsliger of downtown LA, a founding constituent of the Smell, formerly in Young People, tours with Liars and others. Bob Bellerue is the harbinger of Halfnormal / Redglaer / Anarchymoon, plays with KILT / Purple Pansy. both have solo amplified piano pieces, and getting together seemed like the perfect idear. Each album comes with a 1-sided 12" of the essential set of the session, as well as a CDR of all the recordings. Edition of 200, paste-on xerox covers (ultra orange!!)."

*Bent Spoon Trio - More Experienced Filthier CDR $10.99 (Bug Incision)
"The definitive document of 2008's midnight tunnel shows. Features the trio in a mode with is more easily aligned with the recent Dadge/Munro BSD music. Laing's sax playing is extremely spacious and restrained. Dadge and Munro play violin, viola, trumpet, cuatro, trombone, and sparse percussion. Limited edition of 50, with insert."

*Bent Spoon Trio + 3 - Dead Salems Danced In Their Ashtrays CDR $10.99 (Bug Incision)
"Two prime BST tracks, complete with string+sax sexctions, vocals, and some fine straight-up trio moments. Third track adds Thom Golub on the double bass. The final cut is a quintet, adding Jay Crocker on guitar and pink dolphin, and Dan Meichel on tenor sax. Recorded by Brad Hawkins, culled from the monthly series at Theatre Junction. Limited edition of 50, with insert."

Harry Bertoia - Unfolding CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Ambient and strange atmosphere" from the late sound sculptor. This reissues two of this American genius's many self-released LPs as a great public service. His "sounding sculptures" consist of "ranks of tall slender rods, placed either upright or at special slants in rectangular formations. These metallic faces are not rigid, but 'give' when stroked -- at the same time releasing lingering musical chords of a weirdly haunting nature." - FE

*Sir Richard Bishop - The Freak Of Araby LP $15.99 (Drag City)
"Another album of acoustic guitar music from Sir Richard Bishop?are you 'freakin' nuts? The Freak Of Araby is a new direction for our distinguished gentleman, and just in the nick of time as well. Sir Rick's had it up to here with solo acoustic guitar records! The Freak Of Araby isn't even a solo record! And there's no acoustic guitar on it! So let's have no more of this kind of talk. Over his years with Sun City Girls, Richard Bishop threw a wide variety of music and sound against the wall -- and all of it stuck. Among those who know, he's reasonably fluent in any number of international music traditions, playing them for (mostly) fun and (sometimes) profit all over the place. The Freak Of Araby is the debut of Sir Richard Bishop and his Freak of Araby Ensemble, a talented quartet of players getting deep into the Middle Eastern mystic with hand drums, percussion, bass, drums, electric guitars and a heavy dose of Moroccan chanters, all of it captured with depth, detail and sympathy for the eternal enigma by engineer Scott Colburn. But a Sir Richard Bishop album with a backing band -- how did this happen? After recording a cover of 'Ka'an Azzaman,' written by Elias Rahbani, one of Lebanon's finest songwriters, something dawned on Sir Richard. Half-Lebanese by birth (it didn't just occur to him later), he found himself suddenly possessed to really dig into Middle Eastern sounds. A pair of original melodies not fully developed at a prior recording session had the Arabic inspiration, so these were reattacked and finished in short order. Soon, Sir Richard's head was flooded with some of the classic sounds spun for him by his grandfather back in his (way) younger days, like Farid Al-Atrache, Oum Kalthoum and Fairuz, along with other personal favorites, such as the guitarists Omar Khorshid and Mike Hegazi. In addition to the studio improvisation, 'Taqasim For Omar,' the whole of The Freak Of Araby is dedicated to these inspiring players. Check 'em out. In addition to his soul-stirring electric guitar playing, Sir Richard grabbed a couple of Moroccan chanters and blew the house down on 'Blood-Stained Sands,' providing an epic (not to mention epochal, heh heh) finish to this journey to the center of one-half of the family tree. This is music meant to be played live, and Sir Richard's Freak Of Araby Ensemble intends to play it everywhere there's interest in hearing it. So get your Freak on."

*Sir Richard Bishop - The Freak Of Araby CD $14.99 (Drag City)
"Another album of acoustic guitar music from Sir Richard Bishop?are you 'freakin' nuts? The Freak Of Araby is a new direction for our distinguished gentleman, and just in the nick of time as well. Sir Rick's had it up to here with solo acoustic guitar records! The Freak Of Araby isn't even a solo record! And there's no acoustic guitar on it! So let's have no more of this kind of talk. Over his years with Sun City Girls, Richard Bishop threw a wide variety of music and sound against the wall -- and all of it stuck. Among those who know, he's reasonably fluent in any number of international music traditions, playing them for (mostly) fun and (sometimes) profit all over the place. The Freak Of Araby is the debut of Sir Richard Bishop and his Freak of Araby Ensemble, a talented quartet of players getting deep into the Middle Eastern mystic with hand drums, percussion, bass, drums, electric guitars and a heavy dose of Moroccan chanters, all of it captured with depth, detail and sympathy for the eternal enigma by engineer Scott Colburn. But a Sir Richard Bishop album with a backing band -- how did this happen? After recording a cover of 'Ka'an Azzaman,' written by Elias Rahbani, one of Lebanon's finest songwriters, something dawned on Sir Richard. Half-Lebanese by birth (it didn't just occur to him later), he found himself suddenly possessed to really dig into Middle Eastern sounds. A pair of original melodies not fully developed at a prior recording session had the Arabic inspiration, so these were reattacked and finished in short order. Soon, Sir Richard's head was flooded with some of the classic sounds spun for him by his grandfather back in his (way) younger days, like Farid Al-Atrache, Oum Kalthoum and Fairuz, along with other personal favorites, such as the guitarists Omar Khorshid and Mike Hegazi. In addition to the studio improvisation, 'Taqasim For Omar,' the whole of The Freak Of Araby is dedicated to these inspiring players. Check 'em out. In addition to his soul-stirring electric guitar playing, Sir Richard grabbed a couple of Moroccan chanters and blew the house down on 'Blood-Stained Sands,' providing an epic (not to mention epochal, heh heh) finish to this journey to the center of one-half of the family tree. This is music meant to be played live, and Sir Richard's Freak Of Araby Ensemble intends to play it everywhere there's interest in hearing it. So get your Freak on."

The Bitters - Wooden Glove LP $14.99 (Captured Tracks)
"Love this: Captured Tracks seem to be heading a wave that would re-establish actual songs - albeit informed by all sorta out musical praxis, crude home-burned aesthetics and an interesting sense of non-linear history - as the lingua franca of the contemporary underground. Fucking great. Call it avant rock, out rock, free folk, noise, it's all rock to me. If rock hadda continued on the kinda revolutionary trajectory it had in the late-1960s it woulda sounded just like the underground does now, instead of the nth rate airbrushed parody that passes for 'rock' in the mainstream. And songs have always been a part of that. I mean, I understand why you would wanna take shelter in noise or avant just to get away from fuggin harmonies, singer-songwriters, strings and beats but in the right hands great songs are still a passport to tomorrow. So lighten the fuck up. This great 12" EP from The Bitters is a case in point. It reminds me of alla the great early Flying Nun and NZ sounds that were a beacon of hope for so many people who were otherwise disillusioned by what happened to rock music across the 70s/80s. There are dual female/male vocals that cross pneumatic pop stylings with spacey garage atmospherics and the bulk of this great record would have sat perfectly on Getting Older or one of the classic Flying Nun comps. It has aspects of The Verlaines and The Clean while still coming out of the whole USA garage thing. The opening track, "Warrior", is instantly memorable and is one of those repeat-spin tracks that get completely under your skin. I dunno, this is great, and it feels good to have so many great new odd pop/rock records suddenly appear. It feels like we're in the middle of some kind of basement/pop renaissance. But fuck, let's just call it rock. Highly recommended." - Volcanic Tongue. Each lp jacket has a bumped, dented corner courtesy of UPS.

*James Blackshaw - Glass Bead Game, The Young God CD $13.99 (Young God)
"I'm extremely pleased to announce that James Blackshaw will now be releasing his absolutely spellbinding music via Young God Records. He has received attention as a 12-string guitar prodigy / virtuoso. He used to be in punk bands in England, but then he started listening to people like John Fahey, Robbie Basho, etc., and I assume locked himself in a room for 12 hours a day for several years and just played constantly. It takes intense discipline and a religious commitment to get to the place where he's at with his instrument. But his music isn't about his "skill." It's not showy. It's deeply meditative--the secret language of a pre-thought, pre-dream place. "Blackshaw plays soulful and kaleidoscopic, ever-shifting mantra cycles of incredible beauty. Just his guitar by itself, with its swirling overtones, cascading notes, and a thousand points of light, resembles an orchestra, but with further orchestration--piano, strings, wind, and vocals--the music is positively cinematic and mesmerizing. "The 18-minute-plus gem on this record is 'Arc,' performed on piano with the sustain pedal on full throttle. The rush of sound created by the overtones from Heaven, augmented by strings and wind, when played at proper (full) volume, is one of the most thrilling pieces of music I've heard in years. It takes a rare and single-minded courage and commitment to make music with such a powerfully positive force at its heart, especially in these troubled times. This is healing music that reaches for what's possible, just beyond our grasp. It is stellar..."Blackshaw is joined on this record by Joolie Wood (Current 93, Simon Finn) on violin, clarinet, and flute, and John Contreras (Baby Dee and Current 93) on cello. Lavinia Blackwall (Directing Hand) is a classically trained singer and contributed vocals." --Michael Gira/Young God Records

James Blackshaw - Celeste CD $12.99 (Tompkins Square)
"Reissue of this 2004 album, originally issued as a CD-R on Celebrate Psi Phenomenon; half of this was also on the Bo Weavil Sunshine/Celeste LP in 2005. "Guitarist/composer James Blackshaw's 2007 Tompkins Square album, The Cloud of Unknowing, received 'Top 50 Albums of the Year' honors from Pitchfork and Wire magazine. Fresh off a U.S. and UK tour with Jose Gonzalez, and a bevy of year-end praise from the blogosphere to The New York Times, Tompkins Square reissues four catalog titles previously only available as tiny, limited edition CD-R pressings."

James Blackshaw - The Cloud of Unknowing CD $12.99 (Tompkins Square)
"When UK-native James Blackshaw plays his 12-string guitar, something spiritual takes place. Performing and recording since 2003, his name is frequently mentioned as one of the foremost modern solo acoustic guitarists. Now at the age of 25, Blackshaw, an untrained musician born and still residing in the suburban environs of Greater London, draws as much inspiration from early religious music, South-Asian folk music and composers such as Arvo Part, Simeon Ten Holt, Steve Reich and Charlemagne Palestine as he does from John Fahey, Robbie Basho and the early Takoma Records roster, constantly breaking boundaries in what could be conceived as a somewhat limited medium. In his part improvised and part written songs, Blackshaw makes expert use of Eastern and Western scales, chord changes reminiscent of European classical music and incredibly intricate fingerpicking patterns to make a sound that is both challengingly minimalist, yet warm and approachable to anybody who might hear it, with a rare sensitivity that conveys immense beauty, hope and sadness."

James Blackshaw - Lost Prayers and Motionless Dances CD $12.99 (Tompkins Square)
"James Blackshaw's second release, originally recorded in October 2004 by John Hannon, NRS. Released as a CD-R on Digitalis December 2004. "An absolutely monumental recording, Lost Prayers and Motionless Dances re-examines many of the themes that were explored on Celeste and distills them into one brilliant 35-minute composition that is full of excitement and surprise. The piece begins with a harmonium drone and acoustic 12-string, tuned to the guitar-unfriendly C-F-C-F-C-F (I can't find any examples of this tuning being used elsewhere) and unfolds beautifully. Blackshaw moves effortlessly from Takoma-inspired picking into electroacoustic improvisation and concludes with 12-string, harmonium and ride cymbal falling into a blissed-out circular folk groove that is absolutely infectious." -Grown So Ugly.

James Blackshaw - Sunshrine CD $12.99 (Tompkins Square)
"Reissue of this November 2005 release (originally issued on Digitalis and Bo Weavil). "...Blackshaw has already mustered up enough talent on the guitar to put many more renowned acts to shame. His gorgeous finger picked melodies on 12-string guitar are incredibly affecting and a stark contrast to the ragas and ragtimes of peer Jack Rose. Instead of concentrating on replicating a specific era of music or showing his technical prowess, Blackshaw aims straight for the heart and listening to these two extended pieces is enough for you to be transported into another realm entirely. One of the standout releases in the now slightly bloated folk revival movement, Sunshrine is a real pleasure to listen to and should be wedged firmly into any self-respecting folk follower's CD shelf." - Boomkat

*Blank Dogs - Seconds 12" $14.99 (Captured Tracks)
Four new tracks self-released on a 12-inch by Blank Dogs' own Captured Tracks label. Limited edition silkscreened sleeves, not to be reissued.

Blessure Grave - Learn To Love The Rope LP $14.99 (Captured Tracks)
"Already love this group based on their Night People cassette and this five track EP raises the game still further. They still have that classic UK DIY/post Factory goth/new wave atmosphere but here it is cut up with some far-out underground moves. The emotive vocal style sounds a little bit like Wickham-Smith/Youngs circa Ceacescu and the whole post-noise underground connection is further bolstered by a mesmeric cover version of The Shadow Ring's "City Lights". Guitar and bass intertwine in simple, melodic lines but always just out of synch with each other, making for some nice tonal confusion. But it's the overall atmosphere that makes it, an apocalyptic teenage mood that is so studiously 'alien' it makes you wanna grow up all over again. Fantastic. Highly recommended." - Volcanic Tongue. Each lp jacket has a bumped, dented corner courtesy of UPS.

*Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Crows Eat The Eyes From The Leviathans Carcass CD $12.99 (Release The Bats)
"Blackened mayhem from Seattles Blue Sabbath Black Cheer. 'Crows Eat The Eyes From The Leviathans Carcass' is a collection of several older, long out of print cuts and included is also two unreleased tracks. Mastered by Hans Grüsel. Limited to 500 copies in a Stumptown Printers cardboard sleeve with artwork/design by FEEDING. Black on black print both on the cover and the disc. Blue Sabbath Black Cheer formed in late 2005, in Seattle, WA, USA, and is centered around the duo of wm.Rage: guitar, vocals, electronics and tapes - and Stan Reed: vocals, electronics, tapes and bass. The sound of BSBC is dark and heavy, violently bleak horror-noise: "a demon network of scraping nails." Tracklist: 1. Untitled. 2. Untitled. 3. Genocide. 4. Maggot. 5. Untitled. 6. Borre Fen/Untitled. 7. Untitled. CD edition of 500 copies.

*Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - DDTTNB one-sided 12" $21.99 (Anarchymoon Recordings)
"Blue Sabbath Black Cheer tear us a new one on their latest slab of sublime filth "DDTTNB" (Destructively Dedicated to the New Blockaders). This surly one-sided 12" delivers 15 minutes of unyielding harsh beauty, using amplified cement mixers as well as source material from the New Blockaders' Rupenus brothers, roiling and thrashing about within BSBC's trademark "dark and heavy, violently bleak horror-noise" sound machine. Released in an edition of 200, this deluxe package includes 2-tone screen-print covers by the inimitable Seizure Palace, with the record screen-printed on the blank side. Get them before they get you."

*Bones of Seabirds - Sacrament CDR $6.99 (Small Doses)
"Considering that this is the first release from Ryan McGill's Bones of Seabirds, the level of craft and maturity is astounding. Rich and densly textured, improvised drones unfold over 8 tracks in 49 minutes. For fans of older Sunn0))) material and Birchville Cat Motel. Edition of 138 numbered copies in a folded cardstock cover with hand cut vellum overlay and insert."

*Bones of Seabirds - Subterranean Lightsource CDR $6.99 (Small Doses)
"It seems that ryan mcgill is complete unable to cover the same ground twice. this is the fourth bones seabirds release, and it sounds nothing like any of the others. this one foregoes the guitars (for the most part) and relies on ryan's handmade voice of saturn synth.the first nearly 35 minute track is intense and brutal - like being strapped into some sort of machine that's boring deeper and deeper into the earth only to slowly burn you alive. the second gives a bit of respite, but leaves you lost in a dark cave drone. it's not to be missed. packaged in a folded artwork by matt yacoub, with an obi and an insert. edition of 129 copies."

Borbetomagus - Live At Inroads CD $15.99 (PSF)
Reissue of cassette recorded live 11.27.82 featuring Jim Sauter (sax), Don Dietrich (sax), Brian Doherty (live electronics) and Donald Miller (guitar).

Breeders - Fate To Fatal 12" $19.99
"Limited edition of 1,000, with Kim and Kelley personally hand-screening the artwork. The artwork for the vinyl was designed by Chris Glass who also created the logo for President Obama's "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act." The four songs on the Fate to Fatal EP were recorded in a variety of places. The band booked time at the Fortress in London to record the title track. Track two, "The Last Time," was written by Kim and recorded in her Ohio basement with guest vocalist Mark Lanegan [Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age, The Gutter Twins]. For "Chances Are," a cover of the Bob Marley and the Wailers song, Kim and Kelley went to Steve Albini's Chicago studio where they recorded it live. The EP's closing song, "Pinnacle Hollow," was also recorded in Kim's Ohio basement on a four-track, tape hiss and all."

*E.C. Brown and I'Diamond - Gothick Reforme cassette $6.99 (Earjerk)
"Everything just keeps getting darker and darker... It just must be time for this lost treasure to be unearthed. In 2001 someone gave me a cd-r. They said they knew I liked "strange music" and they thought I should have this. The cover art was a robed figure with a golden mask and the back of the cd-r had a similar female figure, posing with similar robes and a different mask. Both figures were set against a background of neon pink and yellow forest leaves. Somehow, despite the colors, there was something distinctly ominous about the artwork for this cd-r. And the same can be said of the sounds within. Truly ahead of it's time, I had no frame of reference for this at this point in my life. I kept the cd-r mostly to myself; a secret revealed only to some. Very few were ready to except it's slimy, sometimes oppressive atmospheres. It's jarring, film score "scene changes". And it's mixture of Free(k) Folk, Noise and even Black Metal tendencies. Earjerk tracked down Mr. Brown and was stupified to learn that a mere 35 copies of this cd-r exsist! Well, no longer will this linger in dark corners of cardboard boxes and basement floors, subject to CD rot and digital decay. Earjerk has re-issued this wonder for all the world to hear. The original artwork has been lovingly re-formatted for cassette. Puke pink or yellow cassettes with two different covers. Buy this. Be the first to say you weren't there."

Cinorama - Three Lies And Ding at 5 O'Clock CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Project featuring Toshi (ex-Brain Police - legendary 70s Japanese cult group). Great complex avant garde sound with female vocal."

*Cliffsides - Cliffsides CDR $6.99 (Small Doses)
"Bones of Seabirds' ryan mcgill is back again, but this time with his new cliffsides project. this one is entirely synth based, very ethereal and airy. it called to mind the Vangelis score to Blade Runner at times, both in a shared aesthetic with that music, but definite similarities in its melancholic mood and tone. this is really lush, beautiful stuff. edition of 72 copies in a white-on-white silk screened cover wtith vellum insert."

*Andrew Coltrane - DMT Shadow c60 cassette $7.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"Coltrane weaves another mess on top of the rotting remains of last night's leftovers. "DMT shadow" is a drill straight to your frontal lobe. entirely blown out with axxe, ring mod, & delay, AC is on digging tunnels to china and spewing up molten lava and space dust like it's going out of style fast. a total headfuck. edition of 75 copies, pro-dubbed with dirt & spice."

*Crystal Dragon - The Crystal Demos CDR $8.99 (Earjerk)
"Ever since his initial appearance on the earjerk labels 'Bright and Dark Light' compilation Crystal Dragon Fever has been spreading. Who is this mysterious analog synth warrior/fighter pilot from the Land of Light? For this release he is your guide. Ride along on amazing journeys through quartz caverns with Erik Satie and Klaus Schulze at the helm. So fucking essential! The Crystal demos have been making the rounds and it is clear! There will be some fully realized albums solidifying soon. But these gems can't stay buried forever. Dig these demos! Medieval Musique Kosmiche."

*Current 93 - Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain CD $13.99 (Coptic Cat)
"The long-awaited Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain is Current 93's first album in three years, following their double-platinum-selling Black Ships Ate the Sky.
Spinning around epic series of verses written by Current 93 founder David Tibet, the new album sees Tibet back with a new 1972-style supergroup comprised of himself on vocals and July and Gorgon guitars; guitar hero James Blackshaw on 12-string guitar and piano; counter-culture guru William Breeze on electric viola and viola-controlled sampler; Cyclobe and Coil's Ossian Brown on synthesizers, treated organ, and electronics; heavenly musician John Contreras on cello and synthesizers; haunting chanteuse and composer Baby Dee on piano, Hammond organ, and throat song; Pantalemon's enchanted Andria Degens on vocals; world famous porn star Sasha Grey on vocals; Andrew Liles (Nurse With Wound) on electronics and guitars; extraordinary percussionist supreme Alex Neilson (Red Krayola, Trembling Bells, Bonnie "Prince" Billy) on drums and percussion; Grammy award-winning genius Rickie Lee Jones on vocals; Alice and Henry Rousham on vocals; Steven Stapleton on electronics and glands; NYC legend Matt Sweeney (Zwan, Neil Diamond, Superwolf, ZZ Top) on electric guitar and vocals; rock god phenomenon Andrew WK on bass, piano, finger-bells, and vocals; and the beautiful Hush Arbor's Keith Wood on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, and bass. Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain is the most unique, unpredictable, and powerful release yet from Current 93. Tibet has brought together an amazing and bizarre array of talents and created an album unlike any other."

Dare Devil Band - Inomusha CD $15.99 (PSF)
"The Dare Devil Band moniker first showed up in the early nineties on a duo album by German sax titan Peter Brotzmann and master drummer Shoji Hano. Hano obviously has a soft spot for the name, as he has resurrected it for this new project ? a hardcore improvised rock trio, consisting of Hano with Makoto Kawabata and Atsushi Tsuyama from acid-freak commune Acid Mothers Temple. Hano made his name as an intensely physical free drummer who draws upon a multitude of esoteric physical practices to energize his playing. He's recorded with Peter Brotzmann, Derek Bailey, Werner Ludi, William Parker, Keiji Haino and a host of other leading free improvisers ? as well as proving his rock credentials on two albums with the legendary High Rise. Inomusha was recorded live earlier this year in Osaka and Kyoto, with the trio locking down into some seriously wired and sprawling rock craziness. Comes in a gorgeous mini-LP style gatefold jacket with English liner notes by Hano. The group will be commemorating this release with three dates in Osaka (Hard Rain), Nagoya (Tokuzo), and Tokyo (Super Deluxe) on September 9th, 10th and 11th."

*Diamondhead - Corrective Action cassette $7.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"Junkyard strolls through the outskirts of rock n roll find a home with austin's most underrated jewels, diamondhead. after releases on russ waterhouse's white tapes and bryan day's eh?, this collection of songs from l.e. methe, r.j. reynolds & company are dinner scraps that have been rehashed and reformed into a total gourmet experience. guitars and piano knock each other over, trying to get to the foreront while methe belts it out. scarred, angular riffs fall deep into the dirt at times, leafing around for one last morsel of sanity. some songs include flute and vocals, sounding like a lounge band on a drunken voyage to west africa. this is the full package. everything on "corrective action" feels like it could implode at any moment. it's that last-thread mentality that pushes diamondhead's boundaries. there's good times and bad all laced-up and ready go into a pit of magnetic glory. edition of 70 pro-dubbed & snubbed."

Aaron Dilloway - Chain Shot CD $9.99 (Hanson)
LP review: 'With only tape loops, metal, and horns (and sometimes, it seems, metal on horns) the two side long pieces, 'Chain Shot' and 'Execution Dock' respectively, explore the ugly underbelly of noise before just scraping right through and aiming for the insides. In a genre that has quickly turned into a broad and often inaccurate description of a certain breed of every-man experimental music, Dilloway sticks to the old-fashioned definition of noise, doing battle with the materials in front of him as he continues the construction of his impressive body of work. Dilloway, a former member of noise-titans Wolf Eyes, has recently been releasing solo work that explores much more abstract and thoughtful terrain than his previous group's onslaughts. 'Chain Shot' is more a sound collage than anything, and while it is a heaping glob of muddled debris, it is also a highly controlled one. Looping samples on top of samples, Dilloway builds a slowly encroaching beast before slowly disintegrating it, bone by bone. This is some highly textural and immediately emotive soundscape work. 'Execution Dock' begins with a repeating loop of what sounds like the beginning and the end syllables of some nut's conversation with a lamppost. In the distance sounds a pained song of sorts, like a rodent's death cry, or maybe its birth one. I'm guessing maybe this is the horn, though it would be tough to be certain about much of anything here. Delayed creaks and groans float in and around as the vocal sample dissipates, leaving you sloshing through the mud puddle only to realize that its a tar pit the size of La Brea." - Henry Smith,
http://earconditionednightmare.blogspot.com. Digipak CD reissue of CHAIN SHOT LP which was originally released on LP by THRONE HEAP. Contains a 28 minute bonus track not on vinyl version.

Dolphins Into the Future - ...On Sea-Faring Isolation LP $15.99 (Not Not Fun)
"Lieven Martens first vinyl full-length in his dolphin-worship guise DITF. a really great, goofy, minimal, masterful album, full of new age synth burble, floating brains, and astral projections. hard to talk about. "Vinyl debut by this stunning Belgian new age trance wizard. Has done tons of tapes on his own Bread & Animals imprint, as well as releases on Pacific City (Skaters' label) and many others. Beautiful and endless." Recommended!

Kim Doo Soo - 10 Days Butterfly double LP $69.99 (PSF)
"Kim Doo Soo is the deepest and most introspective of Korea's acid-folk singers. Many are the legends that cling to his songs -- political oppression, alcoholism, suicide, a ten-year period of mountain seclusion. Despite having been active since the mid-'80s and having released four acclaimed albums in Korea, most Western listeners only became aware of him through his tracks on the Damon & Naomi compilation, International Sad Hits. On 10 Days Butterfly, his fifth album, he mines productive veins of profound melancholy, animistic nature, and unfathomable, hermetic affection. The whole is couched in a veil of the most gorgeous, still melodicism, Kim's vocals and guitar shaded with subtle accordion, violin, piano, organ and harmonica. A reflective and unearthly beautiful masterpiece." --Alan Cummings. "Small repressing of this instantly sold-out double LP version from 2007, still a very limited edition. Deluxe full-color gatefold with embossed printing, lyric booklet inserted, etc. First PSF vinyl release in 5+ years and an impressive artifact." - FE

*Ducktails - Ducktails LP $13.99 (Not Not Fun)
"This one's been on the way for a while but there were a few delays but now it's out, just in time for his first overseas tour w/TOMUTTONTU. this is Mr Matt Mondanile's debut CD/LP full-length under his DUCKTAILS flag and it's weird and warped and poppy and trippy and worth many a spin. many of the songs may be recognized from previous limited-style releases but this is the major statement, a collection of gems from one of our fave psych-pop jewelers." "Matt Mondanile's self-titled debut full length has been hotly anticipated in the wake of his killer cassettes and single 7" appearance. Here he finally has the room to spread his imaginary surf-psych-pop across a full 2 sides of wax, and the wait was worth it. Mastered by Graham Lambkin (of The Shadow Ring), with cover art by Jan Anderzen (of Finnish folk-psych visionaries Kemialliset Ystavat)."

*Ducktails - Ducktails CD $11.99 (Not Not Fun)
"This one's been on the way for a while but there were a few delays but now it's out, just in time for his first overseas tour w/TOMUTTONTU. this is Mr Matt Mondanile's debut CD/LP full-length under his DUCKTAILS flag and it's weird and warped and poppy and trippy and worth many a spin. many of the songs may be recognized from previous limited-style releases but this is the major statement, a collection of gems from one of our fave psych-pop jewelers." "Matt Mondanile's self-titled debut full length has been hotly anticipated in the wake of his killer cassettes and single 7" appearance. Here he finally has the room to spread his imaginary surf-psych-pop across a full 2 sides of wax, and the wait was worth it. Mastered by Graham Lambkin (of The Shadow Ring), with cover art by Jan Anderzen (of Finnish folk-psych visionaries Kemialliset Ystavat)."

Eat Skull - Wild And Inside LP $15.99 (Siltbreeze)
"Eat Skull's Sick to Death received worldwide accolades for its frantic pacing, unimpeachable lyric quality, and nugget after nugget of pop hooks buried under a gob of lo-fi muzz. On this follow-up, fans and critics will find a cleaner, more inimitable Eat Skull at work. Frontman Rob Enbom has outdone himself with both lyrics and structure on Wild and Inside, and the band as a whole rises to the challenge of nixing the lo-fi tag for a sound that's less... antecedent. Gone is the wall of crud that prevents discerning listeners from identifying the instrumental play-by-play; in its stead, a set of crafted songs recall the paisley punk of The Last and the rural-delica of Great Plains, as well as nodding to the sanguine pop of early Flying Nun bands such as The Double Happys. Wild and Inside is a grower for the ages. It breathes deep and exhales perfectly." "On their first album Sick to Death, the Portland band Eat Skull mashes together almost everything that's great about trashy art-punk, weirdo fuzz-garage, skuzzy punk-pop, Kiwi garage-rock and off-kilter bedroom-strum. ...once your ears adjust, you realize that it's all killer, no filler." --Pitchfork (8.3 rating)

*Elm - Bxogonoas CDR $8.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"Another look through the prism to see how the other half lives. elm is the solo guise of jon porras, best known for his adventures as half of the magnificent barn owl. "bxogonoas" is the word used by the muisca people of colombia to describe the mystery of time. elm slows things down to a caustic crawl. these nine tracks are like golden sonic arrows dipped in black blood and shot straight into the heart of the earth. porras is the master arsonist, sacrificing his guitars in effigy, pouring plumes of smoke into the heavens. "bxogonoas" is dark and cathartic. each sound hangs in the air constantly trying to balance the doom and gloom cascading underneath. porras guides each song through emphatic exercises in ecstatic offerings, like a meticulously choreographed homage to the sun gods. elm is organic reverie, sacred to the last drop. limited to 90 copies. NOW AVAILABLE 2ND EDITION!! 100 COPIES IN YELLOW SLEEVES." Out of print. Both editions. These here are 2nd edition copies in yellow sleeves.

Emeralds - Solar Bridge LP $15.99 (Hanson)
"Starting out in 2005 performing live sets using only television sets as sound sources, Emeralds has grown in recent years into a monster of heavy improvised drone using analog synths and masterfully effected guitar. Born out of the Midwest scum-noise scene, these guys have taken the intense heaviness of their Midwest brethren to a place that is entirely their own. They have replaced the creepy atmosphere and abrasive harsh noise of their peers with a very different though equally intense assault of cosmic drone power! Hanson Records is proud to announce Emeralds - Solar Bridge, the trio's first full-length album after numerous cassette and CD-R releases on such labels as American Tapes, Chondritic Sound, and the bands own imprints Wagon and Gneiss Things. The album opens with the side long 'Magic' where the band builds a quiet drone into an extreme thick sawblade of swirling noise as beautiful as it is menacing. The flip is yet another sidelong journey titled 'The Quaking Mess,' a track that stabs your brain with fluttering sparks of synthesized needles before relaxing you into a Göttschingesque dream state while slowly bringing you back to earth with an electronic wave of molten rumble. Fans of the smooth tones of New Age Of Earth era Ash Ra Tempel and the buzzing thick drones of Throbbing Gristle's Heathen Earth should take note, as Emeralds may be their new source for electronic drugs. Edition of 668 copies on blue vinyl and housed in a 2 color silkscreened sleeve with the usual 'Hanson Droll' flaps."
James Ferraro - Clear LP $13.99 (Holy Mountain)
"Clear and Discovery were originally released as two companion CDRs by James Ferraro (of the whole Skaters / Lamborghini Crystal / 90120 / Splash / Nirvana axis) and comprise the August 1974 (Taj-Mahal Travellers) of his discography. Both albums contain absolutely beautiful whirling hall-of-knives-style synth drone that makes one want to reference Klaus Schulze or Bobby Beausoleil. Clear bursts with flam beats and a cluster of melodies muffled like a calliope wrapped in a soggy tarp, while Discovery is comparable to Daft Punk's album of the same name but played in reverse at 16 rpm through a boombox in a boiler room. These two records contain the sounds of pulling out with tapping beats of fluid dropped on a soft convertible top (open), much like those fictitious Giorgio Moroder songs for the upcoming Olympics in Atlantis or a reworking of that award-winning song from Revenge of the Nerds--or is it "Wonderwall"--into a theme for a future ski jump at the Great Pyramids. Are you ready for the lizard people to compete? Now available as mastered vinyl LPs with a digital download. "Ferraro creates a new age for the new agers. You know that crazy Pillsbury commercial where the dough boy lies back and drifts across this white background with ecstatic floating music sweeping him along? Well it's not far off, at least in effect. It all meets somewhere between Arvo Part, Terry Riley, and the Healing Sounds of Crystal Bowls, only as interpreted through immense draperies of washed-out production." - Ear-Conditioned Nightmare

James Ferraro - Discovery LP $13.99 (Holy Mountain)
"Clear and Discovery were originally released as two companion CDRs by James Ferraro (of the whole Skaters / Lamborghini Crystal / 90120 / Splash / Nirvana axis) and comprise the August 1974 (Taj-Mahal Travellers) of his discography. Both albums contain absolutely beautiful whirling hall-of-knives-style synth drone that makes one want to reference Klaus Schulze or Bobby Beausoleil. Clear bursts with flam beats and a cluster of melodies muffled like a calliope wrapped in a soggy tarp, while Discovery is comparable to Daft Punk's album of the same name but played in reverse at 16 rpm through a boombox in a boiler room. These two records contain the sounds of pulling out with tapping beats of fluid dropped on a soft convertible top (open), much like those fictitious Giorgio Moroder songs for the upcoming Olympics in Atlantis or a reworking of that award-winning song from Revenge of the Nerds--or is it "Wonderwall"--into a theme for a future ski jump at the Great Pyramids. Are you ready for the lizard people to compete? Now available as mastered vinyl LPs with a digital download. "Ferraro creates a new age for the new agers. You know that crazy Pillsbury commercial where the dough boy lies back and drifts across this white background with ecstatic floating music sweeping him along? Well it's not far off, at least in effect. It all meets somewhere between Arvo Part, Terry Riley, and the Healing Sounds of Crystal Bowls, only as interpreted through immense draperies of washed-out production." - Ear-Conditioned Nightmare

*Pete Fosco - Autumn Fire Blues cassette $7.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"Our man in ohio knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em cuz on "autumn fire blues," he's burning the whole thing into a pile of silken ash. fosco just plain rules. his skill in crafting soaring guitar drones is up there with the best of 'em. "autumn fire blues" takes what he started on last year's "dust, american dust" and pushes it over the edge and into the abyss. anchors of bleed drip from the ceiling coating everything in a thick layer or crimson bliss. this is music for the last season. music for the last days, to see us off into the heavens as they crumble. pure magic. pete fosco. for life. look for a digi lp later this year. edition of 85 copies, pro-dubbed like solid fucken gold."

Fushitsusha - Origin's Hesitation CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Expectations exploded, intentions fleetingly revealed, faith justified. A new album from Keiji Haino's Fushitsusha is always going to be a major event. And to make the release of Origin's Hesitation even more significant, it is the first new album from the group in almost two years, the first studio recordings by the new duo line-up, and the first Fushitsusha album on PSF since 1994's stunning Pathetique. The popular perception of Fushitsusha has usually been as a rock band, albeit one that pushed the definition of that term further than anyone had ever done before. While the group's approach has always been (and remains) rock to the core, the outside manifestation of those intentions have gradually moved further and further away from the rock framework. Shockingly, on this release, Haino takes the process to its natural conclusion and has decided to eschew the guitar entirely. In its place, nothing but the eerily empty hiss of overdriven amplification. Here Haino sings, plays drums, and conjures with spectres. Consequently, the sound palette is starker, and Haino's intentions plainer than they have ever been before. The no overdubs policy remains, though both Haino and bassist Ozawa work with realtime loops. The unique dynamic hallmarks of the group are preserved, the focus on individual sounds and their interaction underlined. Attack, duration, beginnings and endings all merge into one heartrending, emotionally eternal present. This is a hugely important, hauntingly insistent, spectral blast of arecord. Quite simply and beyond any doubts, one of the releases of the year." - Alan Cummings

*The George-Edwards Group - 38:38 LP $15.99 (Drag City)
"38:38 is the lone release of The George-Edwards Group, an autumnal alien soundtrack that, over thirty years after being recorded (but not really released) defies time and categorization. If you've never heard of it before, that just means it's rare, right? This makes The George-Edwards Group's 38:38 one of the rarest private press albums of all time. 38:38 departs from the norm of the genre: instead of a low-fi demo-quality outing elevated mainly by dealer hype, it's a haunting piece of music that offers an unusually highbrow take on the archetypal Midwestern rock n roll existentialism usually addressed with a solid beat and sneering vocal. Crafting their sound out of the many influences of the day, Edward Balian and Ray George (aka, The George-Edwards Group) created pop music with acoustic guitars and harmonies, heavily-reverberant piano riffs, cold sheets of synthesizer, bells and chimes. Operating amidst the factory-charred grime of late 1960s Detroit, Balian and George's first group was the garage-rock obscurity Andromeda, regularly sharing bills with local heroes like The Frost, Rationals, and Amboy Dukes. Unlike these groups, Balian and George spiked their guitar blowouts with incongruous sound-on-sound experiments whose strangeness recalled lounge/exotica records of the 1950s. Too heady for the Motor City hard rock scene, they gradually lost interest in the restriction of playing all-covers gigs and turned to the basement, powered with multi-track tape recorders, processors and Moog synthesizers, flanging and phasing heavily with space effects and backwards loops, leaving a fair share of destroyed microphones and tape machines in their experimental wake. They first called themselves The Sorrento Steel Band to emphasize their metalloid leanings, but in 1974, Balian and George renamed their duo The George-Edwards Group (a la Pink Floyd, but using their own names) and began working on 38:38. Like other fascinating basement loners (Bobb Trimble or brain-fried Youngstown, OH scuzzers Stone Harbour), like The Beach Boys, Mamas and the Papas and Lovin' Spoonful. Their use of synthesizers to fill out the sounds created a melodic yet freakish hybrid. Listening to 38:38 one would assume that the George-Edwards Group were copping moves from Krautrock records (with a disheveled Arthur Lee-inflected singer/songwriter tinge), but those records were not sold at local mall outlets -- the guys had never heard them. All original artwork is included plus one more equally rare 45 track!" Repressed.

*Keiji Haino - Koitsukara Usetaitameno Hakarigoto CD $15.99 (PSF)
"With its crank handle mechanism and drone strings out-numbering melody strings, the hurdy-gurdy is the Ur-industrial instrument par excellence, a connection Keiji Haino makes abundantly clear on the opening track of Koitsukara Usetaitameno Hakarigoto, the third album he has made under the tortuously punning banner of the 21st Century Hard-y Guide-y Man. The terrifying density and textures of his bone-shearing noise immediately bring to mind the arresting closing sequence of Halber Mensch, Japanese director Sogo Ishii's document of Berlin group Einstuerzende Neubauten's mid-1980s visit to Japan, when he filmed them in all their destructive glory at a busy intersection bringing the city to a standstill with their armoury of scraped metal and heavy machinery. The major difference is Haino achieves his pandemonium totally alone on an electrically amplified medieval instrument, and the chaos he invokes is of a wholly other kind to that of the displaced Berliners. Rather than creating chaos, he accepts it, even as he taps it for the tremendous energies needed to generate the overarching schemes that shape and contain his monumental works. Haino is not the only person using the hurdy-gurdy as something more than folksy color. There's Stevie Wishart working at the interface of contemporary composition and improvisation; and hurdy-gurdy player Cliff Stapleton featured strongly in the late output of Coil (the UK outfit of John Balance and Peter Christopherson, not to be confused with the Japanese unit of the same name with whom Haino has performed blues sets live). And though the hurdy-gurdy is but one of the hundreds of instruments he has gathered during his frequent working trips around the world, next to guitar, voice, percussion and electronics, it's the one on which Haino continues to evolve a distinctive body of work that is at once of a piece with and different from the main thrust of his music. Not that any one style holds true, mind, in a discography that is approaching 200 entries. As with his other instruments, Haino has developed methods of playing the hurdy-gurdy that both exploit and defy its particular character. Asked what compelled him to acquire one on a trip to France in the mid-1990s, he replied by mimicking the turning of a handle, saying it was the only instrument he knew of that you played that way, as opposed to striking, blowing, bowing or plucking it. His long-held interest in medieval European troubadour music might well have been another contributing factor. However, the hurdy-gurdy is more than the purely mechanical cranked instrument such as the barrel organ which it is sometimes confused with. The handle turns a rosined wooden wheel that bows a melody string, whose pitches are determined by pressing the tangents, or keys, with the other hand. The instrument usually contains two more sympathetic drone strings. How the player jerks or cranks the handle creates the fluttering beats and rhythms characteristic to its traditional use as a folk instrument at carnival or festival dances. Knowing as much is only so helpful to understanding the way Haino plays it. He hadn't had the instrument long when he released his first hurdy-gurdy album, Twenty-first Century Hard-y- Guide-y Man, on PSF in 1995. It was followed in 1998 by Even Now, Still I Think, released by the Japanese major label Tokuma as part of an extraordinary deal that saw the release of eight Haino/Fushitsusha projects in two stages (and if you think signing to a major in any way compromised the artist, you only have to check the number of CD length tracks of unrelieved intensity produced during the deal). First impressions from both is that Haino's instrument of choice is immaterial, that Haino plays Haino regardless, and on these two occasions the hurdy-gurdy just happened to be the tool selected to do so. To be sure, they both set out an extreme position from which they rarely retreat, with Haino sounding like he's pushing the instrument to the very limits of endurance. This is especially the case on the barely wavering 72-minute assault of the Tokuma disc. But as with much of Haino's music, it rewards the listener's perseverance through its most extenuated passages, which often come right at the front of his work, with moments of otherworldly, overwhelming beauty amid the swarming overtone activity generated at this volume. Before returning to his 21st Century Hard-y Guide-y Man persona on Koitsukara Usetaitameno Hakarigoto here, Haino dedicated a hurdy-gurdy disc apiece to the two double sets, Abandon all words at a stroke, so that prayer can come spilling out (released in 2001 by the Canadian label Alien8) and Reveal'd to none as yet -- an expedience to utterly vanish consciousness while still alive (recorded live at Tokyo Super Deluxe in 2005 and jointly released in December that year by the U.S. labels Archive/Important). Through them, all it's possible to discern id an increasing awareness and appreciation of the hurdy-gurdy's character. It's very much evident in this disc's opening track, alluded to earlier, in the way the turning crank handle sinks its drone deeper to the core, even as it sends up the baleful clouds of overtone dust that hover above the churning chaos. Tracks two and three make play with the bowing mechanism of the hurdy-gurdy wheel, its sorely tested violin tone transformed into an electric buzzsaw over rasping tones that simultaneously betray and exploit the hurdy-gurdy's fundamentally primitive construct. The third track, incidentally, is the album's magnificent centerpiece, evolving from a manic hoedown into a frenzied dance warding off the onset of melancholia represented by a buzzing secondary drone. Elsewhere the sounds Haino draws from the instrument range from delicate music box prettiness to something altogether darker, conjuring an image of a creaking ghost ship whose fate it was to be sealed at the point of breaking up in a storm for all eternity." - Biba Kopf

Keiji Haino - Hikari yami uchitokeaishi kono hibiki CD $15.99 (PSF)
"First album of solo guitar by Keiji Haino in quite some time, but very much a departure from the mountain-levelling, continent-sundering, weather-system huge electric guitar releases of years past. Hikari yami... is played just on acoustic, gut-strung guitar, entirely forsaking the effects and extreme amplification characteristic of his electric work. Over three lengthy improvised pieces, recorded in clothes-rustling close-up, Haino explores the full dynamic range of the instrument, working abyss deep into his eternal preoccupations of duration, decay, sustain and resonance. Vast spectrums of reference, from Bailey and Fahey to flamenco, oud music and bluegrass are invoked in single notes and brief phrases, only to be dismissed with confident authority. Another masterful piece of work from Haino, as replete with mystery and the sadness of existence as ever. The title roughly translates as 'Light darkness melting into one this vibration'. Haino advises the listener to play as loud as possible - surely a first on an album of acoustic guitar." - Alan Cummings.

Keiji Haino - The 21st Century Hard-y-Guide-y Man CD $15.99 (PSF)
"The dark magus of flaming noise guitar trio Fushitsusha and Vajra not to mention any number of free-improvisation sessions in the Tokyo experimental music underground sets the world aflame again with this release. An incredibly diverse artist who approaches his recordings with frightening dedication, it was only a matter of time before the concept of a solo hurdy-gurdy recording would be committed to disk. His music has always sat somewhere in the inter-zone between ancient and modern, sounding as if it grew out of the earth and the Tokyo subway system in equal measures. The album is an intense and electrified drone that sounds like a swarm of electric guitars and/or the orchestral intensity of heavy microtonal minimalist music - Tony Conrad and Phill Niblock come to mind. This album is an awesome standout in the Keiji Haino cannon that exhibits literally hundreds of recordings and nearly as many diversions in terms of his approach. Solo hurdy-gurdy is a forte for such a cerebral and abrasive aesthetic as Keiji Haino's." - Skip Jansen, All Music Guide

*High Rise - Psychedelic Speed Freaks Live 1986 DVD $19.99 (PSF)
"First DVD by the kings of speed garage psychedelia, High Rise! Recorded live in Osaka in 1986, around the time of their second album by the all-time classic line-up of Nanjo (bass, vocals), Narita (guitar) and Ujiie (drums). Suitably grainy and colour-saturated visuals capture the group laying down their staggering brand of intense garage-psych with Narita's guitar ripping weird, devastating solo holes in the songs, and Ujiie and Nanjo laying down that exhilarating sense of reckless acceleration. Still some of the most effective rock qua rock ever recorded. Just unbelievable. Six tracks, 25 minutes." - Alan Cummings. One copy available - more here in a few weeks.

High Wolf - Animal Totem c40 cassette $7.99 (Not Not Fun)
"High Wolf is a dude from France who's also in a more doom-oriented solo drone project called The Anapurna Illusion or something like that, but High Wolf is his new solo project, way more of a post-Skaters style world/psych hybrid thing, semi-tropical in places. i think he's doing a split with Astral Social Clubnext. this is a C40 something, 4 tracks, long-ish sprawling wordless electronics, percussion, haze, etc."

*Iro - Tamafuri CD $15.99 (PSF)
"An ultra mysterious blast from the deepest underground! Iro were (and still are) a little-known shamanic improvisation unit, consisting of Kawasaki-based husband and wife Shizuko and Toshio Orimo. Formed in 1981, they released a number of cassette-only albums during the '80s. Deeply suspicious of the merest whiff of commercialism, they never took the opportunities for greater fame - in spite of some substantial media coverage in Japan at the time. The duo still perform today, in a more ethnic, esoteric ritual mode. Tamafuri was originally released on cassette on their own Shaman Label in 1985. It's a fantastically charged blend of ultra-propulsive ethnic drone, free jazz drumming with harsh noise textures and intense, almost possessed vocal incantations from Shizuko." - Alan Cummings

Toshiaki Ishizuka - In The Night CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Second solo album (the first was self-released a few years back) from the dynamic Vajra drummer. The more diligent PSF linernote cataloguers amongst will doubtless also have noticed Ishizuka's long involvement with folk-poet Kazuki Tomokawa's group, an involvement that dates back to the seventies. Back then Ishizuka was best known in Japan as part of the legendary ur-punk group Zuno Keisatsu. He is also the leader of the elegant cinematic (funnily enough) Cinorama, a frequent collaborator with Kan Mikami, and all-round irrepressible drum-slinger for hire. In the West, Ishizuka is probably best known for the martial powerhouse thunderstorms he calls down with PSF supergroup Vajra, but, as this album shows, there's a lot more to him than plain old sweat and muscles. Complexly layered gong tones, bottomless toms, and a multi-varied rhythmic sense that is all his own. The whole thing is shot through with a most appealing sense of fiercely still concentration. This is one of the deepest and, dare we say it, most spiritually resonant percussion records you're going to hear this year." - Alan Cummings.

Hiroshi Kawani - Flashback CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Hiroshi Kawani is a little known figure in the West, but he has been crucially central to the Tokyo avant-garde scene since the fifties as performer, commentator, theorist, organiser, and agitator. He was part of the sixties experimental art nexus that included Takehisa Kosugi and Yasunao Tone as well as radical artists like Natsuyuki Nakanishi and Genpei Akasegawa (in the greatest cause célèbre of the 60s Japanese art world, the latter was prosecuted by the Japanese state for creating one-sided simulacra of bank notes). Later, as an editor at publishers Gendai Shichosha Kawani was responsible for bringing out Japanese translations of work by Artaud, Bataille, Derrida and others ? works that galvanised a new generation of
radicals. Kawani has been active as a solo voice performer since the early 80s, and though now in a wheelchair he still performs regularly. The private home recordings presented here have been unearthed by alto terrorist Masayoshi Urabe from a mountain of cassettes of unknown provenance, and would seem to date from around 1983. There?s the unmistakable feel of low-level mania throughout, as Kawani moans, jabbers and obsesses wordlessly into a microphone over an patterned tapestry of feedback and amped everyday objects (rubber bands, cans, bottles, knives, steel pipes, shoes, chopsticks etc). This touches on all kinds of synapse-warping art bases from Robert Ashley to the Nurse With Wound in a gloriously messy, unacademic (and yes, psychedelic) way. Includes English linernotes." - Alan Cummings

Knead - 1st CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Keiji Haino (guitar, vocals), Tatsuya Yoshida (drums, vocals), Hisashi Sakaki (bass). Knead is a new unit which brings together two of the most unmistakable voices in the Japanese underground, juddering prog- thrash duo Ruins, and master of all darkness he surveys Keiji Haino. Haino and Ruins drum-master Yoshida have bumped heads on several occasions before - several years ago in Haino's collaboration with Musica Transonic, more recently on a duo record released on Hong Kong label Sonic Factory, and a couple of months back the two toured China together. Recorded live at Manda-La2 last December, this is a full-on, hang-on-for-dear-life rock rumble, with added moments of very special spectral tremble. Haino's guitar full-spectrum roar pushes the Yoshida and Sakaki rhythm-section away from their usual stop-start vocal led patterns into more instinctive territory. Less an uneven tussle between two weedy prog guys and a guitar monster than six-legged quest for instant-by-instant rock nirvana." - Alan Cummings

Kousokuya - 1st CD $15.99 (PSF)
Reissue of one of the absolute, no-doubt-about-it, stone classics of the Tokyo underground, with one bonus unreleased track. The first album by Kosokuya was originally released on the group's own Ray Night imprint in 1991. The original edition was of just 200, with very few copies making it out of Japan and as a result has long fetched huge sums amongst collectors. Kosokuya's unique brand of space-rock has been a fixture on the Tokyo underground rock scene since 1978, and both Narita and Nanjo (who would go on to form High Rise) were one-time members. By the time this album was recorded, though, the group had stabilized into the classic trio line-up of Kaneko, Mikk, and Takahashi - the same line-up that appeared on the tracks on Tokyo Flashback, and on the Forced Exposure album. The infinite, echoing spaces contained in this music still sound unbelievably great. Kosokuya specialized in loud, very extended pieces with the capacity to utterly destroy your sense of time. Takahashi's heavy drumming and Mikk's bass lay down a defiantly non-linear foundation, layering just-out-of-time accents that perfectly fracture the cold darkness that envelops the group. Kaneko, armed with nothing more than a single Marshall amp and a beat-up old fuzz pedal, twists and weaves
immense feedback fields and eloquent clusters of single notes in and around Mikk's anguished voice. This is a heavy, heavy record, fully on a par with the early Fushitsusha classics or the second High Rise album. If you still believe in rock as anything more than a marketing tool for baggy shorts and T-shirts, you gotta hear it." - Alan Cummings

Kousokuya - Live Gyakuryu Kokuu CD $15.99 (PSF)
"The fatigue or Mick's voice became the lullaby to me. And when I woke up I was released from the permanent waves of the depression. I can testify from this experience that Mick's vocal has the effect against depression. And if you can add Ritalin and Betanamin, you feel no scare! from Tetsu Fujii's liner notes Absolutely stunning dark matter psychedelics from one of the Tokyo scene's most elusive groups. Kousokuya have existed as a group since 1979, although leader Jutok Kaneko's activities in bizarre performance unit Kokugaiso go back even further into the mid-seventies. But in spite of the group's twenty-five year history, they have somehow managed to release just three full albums - a self-released debut since reissued as PSFD-132, a live album on Forced Exposure, and The Dark Spot [PSFD-90] with Masayoshi Urabe. These newly uncovered live recordings date back to 1991, the year that the group's debut album was released. Two long tracks of grinding, soaring blackhole sonics that chart the empty gulfs of tension-space like no one save Fushitsusha. Don?t pass up this chance to catch a barely acknowledged group-mind at an almost-never glimpsed peak of staggering beauty and dynamic force." Jutok Kaneko (guitar, vocals), Mick (bass, vocals), Ikuro Takahashi (drums). Highly recommended!

Kousokuya & Masayoshi Urabe - The Dark Spot CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Masters of inner space rock meet long breathed king of eruptive silence. Kosokuya are one of Japan's most mysterious psychedelic rock groups with an obscure history dating back to the late 70s. A previous self-released LP in an edition of 400 copies set rumours flying, but very few actually ever got to hear it. That situation was remedied by a live CD on FE which showcased their mesmerizing brand of heavy, weirdly-timed psych rock. Since that release the band have had all kinds of personnel problems including the departure of long-suffering vocalist/bassist Mik and percussionist Takahashi... Masayohsi Urabe is the staggering young altoist who had his debut LP released on PSF last year (PSF 81). His music deconstructs all boundaries between sound silence with a magnificent hoarse tone - uncategorizable individual music. This CD was recorded at one of the first gigs played late last year by Kosokuya's new line-up. Outstanding work, not necessarily reminiscent of anything other than itself. Great sensitive & heavy playing, lovely vocal action from Kaneko and Urabe's unique atmospherics."

*Reiko & Tori Kudo - Kore Kara (From Now On) CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Document of a recent (November 2008), intimate live show by Reiko Kudo and her husband Tori (of Maher Shalal Hash Baz fame). Long two of the most original figures in the Japanese underground, Reiko sings of the subtlest of everyday epiphanies, of those instants of momentary joy, pain and delight that flash by like ghosts glimpsed from the corner of the eye. Their simplicity and mystery is entirely disarming and deeply personal. She sings from a position of unforced naturalness, where both melody and vocalization are reduced to the thinnest of transparent, gossamer layers of art draped over reality. Simply astonishing. Tori and Reiko have been pivotal figures in the Tokyo underground since the late 1970s, when they were in a organ-drone and trumpet-blat group called Noise. Over the last dozen years Reiko has released a series of five solo albums under her own name. Seven tracks, forty-seven minutes. Booklet includes lyrics in English and Japanese." - Alan Cummings

*Reiko & Tori Kudo - Light CD $12.99 (SIWA)
The CD is an edition of 500 housed in a hand assembled screen printed slipcase with 8 card inserts. Includes lyrics in Japanese and English. Artwork by Namio Kudo. "'Light' was recorded live in 2005 and 2006 and features duo versions of tracks from the last three self released Reiko Kudo albums along with two previously unrecorded songs. Forgoing the big band explorations of Maher Shalal Hash Baz here Tori and Reiko offer an intimate live set of Reiko's heartbreakingly beautiful songs of loss and longing."

Kyoaku no Intention - Astral Projection CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Back at the dawn of the eighties, several years before the inception of High Rise, foot-down speed-freakin? guitarist Munehiro Narita had another unit which he called Kyoaku no Intention (Worst Intentions). Usually comprising just himself on electric guitar and a drummer, they cranked out some of the hardest hitting no-wave rock-improv of the time, analogous to very little apart from perhaps a more Neu-shackled version of the Doug Snyder/Bob Thompson 'Daily Dance' duo. Documentation was, unfortunately, minimal. That was until a couple of years ago when, with High Rise in one of their periods of dormancy, Narita decided to revive the name for some solo and collaborative shows around Tokyo. One of those gigs was with drummer Shoji Hano, and the combination of his resonant power and free-jazz inflected propulsion with the stinging, icicle-edge attack of Narita?s guitar proved to be so explosive that the duo has now become a regular unit. On their second album for PSF, Narita and Hano are caught live in Tokyo a mere three months ago. Hano is always inventive around the kit, but he knows that crazed flail is just as valid in certain contexts as textural subtlety. Narita too was never one for treating the guitar as an ambient paintbrush, and his soloing here is as splattered and nerve-shreddingly exciting as ever. This is a brutal, consistently thrilling, cold fusion sound that makes little allowance for weak constitutions. Oh yeah." - Alan Cummings

Lost Aaraaff - Lost Aaraaff CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Haino's first band, recorded 1971; piano, percussion and vocals, from his "influenced by Albert Ayler" period. Amazingly out performance." - FE

*Metal Rouge - Ephemeroptera IV CDR $7.99 (Seymour Records)
This is the fourth in a series of five, released on Seymour Records, limited to 50 copies. Drawing of a whirligig beetle on a copper-colored background.

Annelies Monseré - Somewhere Someone 7" $6.99 (Morc)
"Her first 'official' solo-output since 2005 -after collabs with jessica bailiff and birch book. pretty much focussing on organ sounds and harmonics, in her unique style: scarce, minimal and haunting tracks. Somewehere Someone is probably more dark and droning than previous works. ltd to 185 copies, comes in handwritten and handstamped sleeves."

Chie Mukai - Kokyu Improvisations CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Chie Mukai has long been a legendary figure in Japan (going back to the Taj Mahal Travellers), and more recently has been working with her band Che-Shizu (2 CDs on PSF). This CD features her playing an ancient Chinese violin (Kokyu), with bits of voice, pieces of metal, bronze rings, cymbals, tape-soundscapes added in. Much appeal for anyone interested in a Fluxal/Theater of Eternal Music-influenced hour of subtle screech; the sound of "floating atmosphere." - FE

NASA - Diamonds & Wood c51 cassette $7.99 (Not Not Fun)
"NASA is a lo-fi teenage noise-rock trio from Florida, this is the 2nd tape of theirs we've done (we did an earlier one called Bummer Daze that was like a really damaged basement Blues Control). this album was actually recorded before the last one we did, it's way more raging and raucous, like a more wired, garage-y HEAVY WINGED or something. all instrumental, deep in the red, shred-psych. it's a long one too, a C51 i think."

*The North Sea / Current Amnesia split c60 cassette $7.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"Car Commercials' David Sutton takes it to the streets on his side of this megawatt splithour. "delusions of the triangle" is a journey through the underbelly, seedy & poignant, like a lost prayer to magic mountain. hypnodrones galore. sutton bends and twists aural shards into glasslike works of art. i want to keep on livin' in his world. The North Sea is shimmering like a sunken stone, drowning in a torrent of silver piss. voices and chimes blown apart in an epic battle to be king of nothing at all. underwritten with a wall of synth dreams and other churns. edition of 80, pro-dubbed with the four horsemen of the apocalypse." Out of print.

*Christopher Riggs - I Feel So Strong. I Feel I Could Punch A Hole In A Fucking Wall. CDR $10.99 (Bug Incision)
"This new slab from Chris Riggs (Traum/Trauma, Holy Cheever Church, etc) features assemblages of highly abstracted guitar improvisations and silence. The most challenging Bug Incision release yet. limited edition of 50."

Noveller - Paint on the Shadows LP $14.99 (No Fun)
"Mystery hides in the shadows, dreaming of colors that don't yet exist. Noveller is Sarah Lipstate. She is a young musician and filmmaker currently living in Bushwick, Brooklyn. When she is not busy working on Noveller music or making films she also plays guitar in the band Parts & Labor. Paint on the Shadows is her overdue debut LP full of beautiful floating guitar lines, breathtaking soundscapes and precise sculptures of spiraling sound created by Sarah using double-neck guitar, a tape player, and various electronic manipulations. Sitting comfortably between some of the most well done 'avant-garde' music and the new generation of new sound masters we have been bringing you lately. These are studio tracks recorded by Colin Martson and produced by Sarah Lipstate and Carlos Giffoni. Limited to 350 copies. Artwork by Caroline Contillo."

*Thee Oh Sees - Tidal Wave 7" $5.99 (Woodsist)
"Thee Oh Sees continue their recent run of hot new releases with a two-track burner on the equally hot Woodsist label. You get the tunes "Tidal Wave" and "Heart Sweats." Already in repress, so don't sleep on it." - Revolver.

*The Old Rig - Trembling Static Sky c26 cassette $7.99 (Digitalis Limited)
lost under a blanket of overgrown weeds and fallen branches is the remains of the old rig. this duo of patrack singleton and frank baugh (sparkling wide pressure) create organic webs of sonic detritus and sew its roots into the fertile, tennessee soil. black as night and sullen under a metric ton of fuzz, "trembling static sky" has washed out all the glitz and glam and taken these stellar drones into their mossy core. utilizing a variety of field recordings, these pieces are like a warm, flowing river of molasses.
epic in scope and persistence, add the old rig to the list of growing concerns in tennessee. baugh & singleton are in it to win it. incredible artwork by bob vore. edition of 65, pro-dubbed and ready to go." Out of print.

*Our Love Will Destroy the World - Broken Spine Fantasia c30 cassette $7.99 (Tape Drift)
"Following an initial LP and a few singles on other labels, we present two thrilling live sides documenting recent shows in Australia and New Zealand from Campbell Kneale's new project post-Bircvhille Cat Motel. Kneale's been a massive personal favorite here at Tape Drift since he first hit the scene in 1997. Reborn in this new guise, he's taking no prisoners and leaving audiences stunned by the majestic power of his noisy epics. It's hard to imagine Campbell topping the peaks of his vast BCM catalog, but these two tracks are a dream come true and suggest he may just have done it. Massively brutal sound here - perhaps one of his noisiest yet, but of course it's got all the hidden melodic elements and attention to detail that you've come to know and love. A psychedelic noise master work that works amazingly well with the oxide of tape."

Pearls Before Swine - One Nation Underground LP $16.99 (ESP-DISK')
"Psychedelic-folk debut from one of the most erudite, literate minds in rock, Thomas D. Rapp (and the first of his ever-changing Swine). Although the songs here lack some cohesion, this is still a stunning piece of work, from the nightmarish sleeve art -- the "Hell Panel" from Hieronymus Bosch's 15th century painting "Garden of Delights" -- to the strange yet powerful songs." - Peter Kurtz. Pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl in the United States with original artwork restored. Hand numbered 1-1000, limited edition - Digital download included.

Erica Pomerance - You Used To Think CD $10.99 (ESP-DISK')
"Erica Pomerance is a Canadian documentary film maker, poet and singer songwriter. In December, 1968, she assembled a diverse group of musicians to record her debut album, with engineering by Onno Scholtze. The late Trevor Koehler played alto sax. Gail Pollard, now also deceased, played flute. Dion Grody, Lanny Brooks and Craig Justen, of Octopus fame, assisted. Billy Mitchel, the legendary guitar virtuoso, Don Coopersmith, Ron Price on lead guitar, Richie Heissler on rhythm guitar, and Tom Moore on flute, an eclectic mix of classical, improvisational, folk and rock musicians." "You Used To Think is one of those rarities of pure inspiration that rates up there with first platters by the MC5, Stooges, Fugs, Velvet Underground, Silver Apples, Godz, Pearls Before Swine, etc... a classic '68 underground album: a collage of fucked-up eastern ragas, jazz, and atonal folk rock, delivered in a beautiful, raspy, feverish, drug-induced howl, featuring the poetry and singular voice of Erica Pomerance. ESP produced more than its share of outsider visions and here was an album more like a situation, that peeked inside and outside the bullcrap of the music world and the various genres it endlessly pumps out." - DIMMU BORGHILD.

*Psychedelic Horseshit - Shitgaze Anthems LP $14.99 (Woodsist)
"After about a 2 year absence, Psychedelic Horseshit is back with an EP of alleged B-sides from an upcoming full length. And what has happened since we last peeked in on these 'shitgaze' innovators? Well, in parts all over the world that famous 'distorto-lo-fi-sound' has been popping up in quite open spaces. No Age has become the new Brittany Spears, Wavves crashed in outta nowhere like a mid-nineties major label grunge signing, and cute and sweet Vivian Girls are playing on the speakers in Target stores nationwide. What does this have to do with the new Psychedelic Horseshit EP? Well, nothing really, except that if you expect to hear that tried and true lo-fi sound, that is now so en vouge, you might be a little disappointed cause these boys have cleaned up a little bit, and from the sound of things this might only be the beginning. 'I only listen to OK Computer and Cranes. The Fall sucks, DIY sucks, we suck, you suck.' said Matt Horseshit in a recent interview. 'Why should anyone listen to you then?' replied the reporter. 'Because we're FUN, duh.' And even though you wanna hate 'em, you gotta admit, they kinda are fun. Matt is a dick, of course, and Rich is hilariously clueless mostly, and by all means most of the stuff on this Shitgaze Anthems EP shouldn't work, whether it be the white-boy dub section, the cliche acoustic ballad with backwards guitar, the blatant Dylan rips or the overall amateur playing, but for some reason these elements that usually reek of pretention and failure actually endear you to the band and their songs. Yes, they're called Psychedelic Horseshit. Yes, they do suck, but I'll be damned if they aren't one of my favorite bands in the world, and they're only getting better, but if I tried to tell you why it'd only make 'em sound worse. So it goes."

*The Puddle Parade - Origami CD $12.99 (Morc)
"One-girl band, bringing frail lullabies with vague melodies and distorted, fading voices a minimalistic crackling toy orchestra in slow motion. member: ellen evers. tools: guitar, voice, melodica alto, melodica soprano, music boxes, children's accordion, tooth brush, analog 4-track recorder, distortion pedals, loop station, xylophon, zither, dictaphone, and many more stuff. worked with: annelies monseré, tara jane o'neil and machinefabriek... in one way or another. born and raised in: eastern germany, and with good childhood memories in mind. moved to: utrecht, the netherlands about 6 years ago. This is the debut album of The Puddle Parade. 35 minutes of very minimal, hissy and adventurous popsongs. Influences ranging from experimental analog electronics to mid-nineties lofi. Melodic sound-sketches put together as an audio-notebook. the sounds of birds whistling translated via instruments and vocals. pressed on cd, housed in a brown cardboard packaging, with lovely two- colour silkscreened print. recommended if you like: Colleen, Lau Nau, Mt Eerie, Vollmar, Iditarod, Machinefabriek, Tara Jane O'Neil, new school lofi, analog sounds, toys, anything on morc records really."

*Pummeler - Pummeler c22 cassette $7.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"I don't know if there's a more aptly named project around than denmark's pummeler. mikkel dunkerley is bounding around down in the murkiest depths. this stuff feels like it's been stripped bare by vultures, the bones left to freeze in the scandinavian air. distant metallic pings call you to your grave. these are heavy, black masses you can't avoid without being swalloed whole. dunkerley's use of varying textures is exceptional. his work is minimal yet enthralling. each piece, no matter how long or short, feels like an expansive wasteland of sound. listen once, you hear one thing, listen again and it's something else entirely. it's time you rolled it all downhill. 60 copies, pro-dubbed & erupted." Out of print.

*Schitosoma Japonica - Kankei UFO From Zanryu-Shinen CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Volume 3 in the ongoing Japanese Avant-Garde Cassette Reissue Series. The '80s and early '90s saw a great deal of fascinating and exciting material released on cassette in the Tokyo underground. While some of the more noise-oriented stuff enjoyed a modicum of international distribution, the avant-garde material generally did not. This series, whose first release was Iro / Tamafuri (PSFD-180), aims to rescue the best of this material from historical oblivion. Schitosoma Japonica (AKA Nihon Juketsu Kyuchu) were a cracked avant-garde, recording-only offshoot of the freeform rock band Amanita. Formed around 1990, the group lived a communal existence in Saitama, on the northern borders of Tokyo, experimenting with music, magic and psychological experiments. 'Our basic performance style was completely freeform, utilizing prepared instruments and rejecting regular rhythms and melodic development. Our abiding themes were communication with the afterlife/cosmos and the manifestation of paranormal accidents. We would jam endlessly until our performance space was filled with the 'signs of blood and feverish becomings'. For us, performance was a kind of ritual.' The group released a clutch of barely distributed cassettes in tiny editions. This CD compiles the best of them, sifting through the detritus of a technological society to float between noise, drone and ritualized avant-garde gestures. Eight tracks, fifty-four minutes. Liner notes in English and Japanese." - Alan Cummings

*Second Family Band - East to West c80 cassette $8.99 (Earjerk)
"... Pack some granola. Two long hikes through the haze grace this 80 minute cassette. 'Morning in the East' blazes trails." I'm taking my banjo along through the Himalayas and if you wanna drag that ARP along that'd be cool with me." The flip has a real dirty metropolis groove. Traveling. Lets crescendo awhile. Way out west now...How long we been drivin? ...Any Natives still live around here?"

*Second Family Band - The Eternal Lag / Our Way is the Right Way CDR $6.99 (Earjerk)
"This is part of the new SFB cdr reissue series featuring 2 tape releases reissued on a single CDR. Eternal Lag: "Space. Travel. Time travel. Wanderings through distorted landscapes. Supernova! This cassette can barely contain the music spun on its reels. A cleaner fuzz there never was! The Second Family lays it on THICK with slanted hand drum rhythms and break neck tempo shifts, piano pulse, banjo abuses and epic sci-fi synth." Reissue of Earjerk tape. Our Way is the Right Way: "It's a dirty new age and we are set in our ways. Ingest these two crunchy jams." Reissue of Housecraft tape.
*Second Family Band - The Eternal Lag Pt.2 c30 cassette $8.99 (Dark Age)
Murky. The newest Dark Age Kassette! The latest addition in the subscription series.

*Second Family Band - Phasis CDR $6.99 (Earjerk)
"Hot on the heals of the Slooow Tapes release... another killer collision with Peaking Lights and this time with Relentless Corpse! Record live to stereo cassette at the P.L. compound and a flip side with a traditional solstice jam and a small piece performed for Indra and Aarons (P.L.) wedding..." 2008 cassette release (a few available here), this is part of the new SFB cdr reissue series.

*Second Family Band - Weird Sword / Seers Word c32 cassette $8.99 (Earjerk)
"Truly the darkest SFB excursion to date. Channeling some kinda queer science-fantasy/4AD vibe, The Second Family make up a strange bed o 'spheres... Gradually the vampire vox get laid down, courtesy Max Elliott. Karen Eliot lends a healing chant and some wicked guttar...also crawling around in the dark: Iam Lee Ian, Dave 3000, Ivan Mairesse, Endless and Woodman." Edition of 45 copies.

*Second Family Band - When We Are Gone CDR $6.99 (Earjerk)
"Set sail! This is some solid action from the Family, in full force, honoring their ancestors. A Samhain gathering. Sunset and the music begins....it is morning before long. Freeeeeeeee Jams with db Pedersens vocal contortions and a Spontaneous Sabbath Sermon by Father Karen Eliot. What a trip." Part of the new SFB cdr reissue series.

*Second Family Band - Whose Wave We Ride c60 cassette $8.99 (Earjerk)
"Had to happen... Let's take things to the Eye-Lands! Tropical breeze bass lines and a sunset vibe definitely rule this release. We know! We know! It's all the rage right. Well... we did what we did and now we gotta let you have it. Would it help if we let you know it just kinda happened? I mean, you can't plan these kinda jams right? Hey! I said Pina Colada not Ayuasca! Come aboard... we're expecting you..."

*Skullflower - Malediction CD $13.99 (Second Layer Records)
"Brand new Skullflower studio recording featuring the line-up of Matthew Bower, Samantha Davies (Voltigeurs), Lee Stokoe (Culver) and Stuart Dennison (Ramleh, original Skullflower) back on drums. Three long tracks of blackened guitar wall. Comes in 6-panel digipack with artwork by Matthew Bower. Limited to 1000 copies." Recommended!

*Omar Souleyman - Highway To Hassake: Folk & Pop Sounds of Syria double LP $29.99 (Sublime Frequencies)
"Omar Souleyman is a Syrian musical legend. Since 1994, he and his musicians have emerged as a staple of folk-pop throughout Syria, but until now they have remained little known outside of the country. To date, they have issued more than 500 studio and live-recorded cassette albums which are easily spotted in the shops of any Syrian city. Born in rural Northeastern Syria, he began his musical career in 1994 with a small group of local collaborators who remain with him today. The myriad musical traditions of the region are evident in their music. Here, classical Arabic mawal-style vocalization gives way to high-octane Syrian Dabke (the regional folkloric dance and party music), Iraqi Choubi and a host of Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish styles, among others. This amalgamation is truly the sound of Syria. The music often has an overdriven sound consisting of phase-shifted Arabic keyboard solos and frantic rhythms. At breakneck speeds, these shrill Syrian electronics play out like forbidden morse-code, but the moods swing from coarse and urgent to dirgy and contemplative in the rugged anthems that comprise Souleyman's repertoire. Oud, reeds, baglama saz, accompanying vocals and percussion fill out the sound from track to track. Mahmoud Harbi is a long-time collaborator and the man responsible for much of the poetry sung by Souleyman. Together, they commonly perform the Ataba, a traditional form of folk poetry used in Dabke. On stage, Harbi chain-smokes cigarettes while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Souleyman, periodically leaning over to whisper the material into his ear. Acting as a conduit, Souleyman struts into the audience with urgency, vocalizing the prose in song before returning for the next verse. Souleyman's first hit in Syria was "Jani" (1996) which gained cassette-kiosk infamy and brought him recognition throughout the country. Over the years, his popularity has risen steadily and the group tirelessly performs concerts throughout Syria and has accepted invitations to perform abroad in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Lebanon. Omar Souleyman is a man of hospitality and striking integrity who describes his style as his own and prides himself on not being an imitator or a sell-out. Sublime Frequencies is honored to present the Western debut of Omar Souleyman with this retrospective 2LP of studio and live recordings spanning 12 years of his career, culled from cassettes recorded between 1994 and 2006. This collection offers a rare glimpse into Syrian street-level folk-pop and Dabke -- a phenomena seldom heard in the West, not previously deemed serious enough for export by the Syrians and rarely, if ever, included on the import agenda of worldwide academic musical committees. This is a 2LP version of the 2007 CD release housed in a full-color gatefold sleeve and coinciding with Omar Souleyman's tour of the UK and Europe in May/June of 2009."

*Suishou No Fune - The Gold Labyrinth CD $10.99 (Blossoming Noise)
"Tokyo's Suishou no Fune deliver their latest masterpiece, The Gold Labyrinth. Featuring the four piece of Pirako Kurenai, Kageo, Takuya Nishimura & Kiyasu. Edition of 300 in gold digipaks."

Sun Ra - Featuring Pharoah Sanders & Black Harold CD $10.99 (ESP-DISK')
"In 1964, Sun Ra asked the young tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders to join him, while Arkestra mainstay John Gilmore was busy working with Paul Bley, Andrew Hill, and Art Blakey. Before the recording's original release in 1976, Sun Ra stated: "It should be very interesting to the world to show what the pre-Coltrane Pharoah Sanders was like." Also appearing on "Featuring Pharoah Sanders & Black Harold" is the little-heard flautist, Black Harold (Harold Murray), who takes the lead on the track "The Voice of Pan," continuing into "Dawn over Israel." Bassist Alan Silva (ESP 1091) also does some fine bass work on the release. "Featuring Pharoah Sanders & Black Harold" is notable not only for its unique lineup, but also for the first known recording of the composition "The Shadow World," here titled "The World Shadow," which was featured on later Arkestra albums. This release contains an additional 45 minutes and 36 seconds of unreleased material." "This album is a curiosity not just because of the presence of Pharoah Sanders, but because of the absence of John Gilmore...After a noisy intro, Alan Silva does some nice arco playing before Sun Ra sets a piano vamp for the horns. There's tons of percussion and some great space voice courtesy of Art Jenkins, and they slip briefly into "Rocket Number Nine." "The Voice of Pan" is a feature for Black Harold where he is either doing a Rahsaan Roland Kirk thing on flute or in a serious mind meld with Art Jenkins' space voice. Either way, it's pretty wild...." - Sean Westergaard

Super Minerals - Multitudes CD + cassette $19.99 (Digitalis Arts & Crafts)
"There are a lot of good times happening in SoCal these days and the Stunned Records/Magic Lantern crew is responsible for a whole hell of a lot of it. Well, Super Minerals are an important cog in that machine and this duo's intentions are blaring loud and clear on their first proper CD, "Multitudes." This duo of Phil French and William Giachhi may rip it up when they're moonlighting in Magic Lantern, but here they are burning it all down slow. This is an album full of zoned-out drones that smolder and sink deep down into the mud. Synths wallow in the sun-dried ruins while guitar & bass write new epochs with shards of sonic debris. Fried whispers drift in the analog breeze slipping in and fading out before you even realize they're there. Late night whirrs and gentle skeletal purrs make a home in these aural prisms, never quite letting the blood boil. But Super Minerals will guide you as you meander through the rain-soaked city streets, never quite leading you back home. Limited to 500 copies in gatefold jackets." Special edition includes limited live cassette with full-color j-card - limited to 100 & sold-out at source but available here in short supply.

*Teeth Mountain - Live On LP $14.99 (Not Not Fun)
"One our current favorite bands, on tour right now w/Dan Deacon all over the planet. 7-piece drum/drone army with an amazing whirlwind approach to rhythmic teleportation. saw them live recently and was floored. this is the follow-up to their sick LP that came out on SHDWPLY last year." "Follow-up to last year's well-received full-length of collaged live performances released on SHDWPLY. This is another half hour-plus of the Baltimore drum/drone collective at their most zoned and loose-limbed."

*Teeth Collection - Purtridity and Liquescence c60 cassette $6.99 (Black Horizons)
"Three extended tracks of cosmic feedback, haunting percussion and dense oscillation, bathed in glorious analogue reverb, Teeth Collection's trademark sound. Presented in a raw manner to compliment the sound, hi-quality digital printing on metallic paper in random silver or black, contains an envelope with insert and paste-on, silver foil labels with the Black Horizons touch. Edition of 90, hi-bias chrome forever."

These Wonderful Evils - Parade Room LP $14.99 (Sparrows & Wires)
"Home cooked post-PSF TKOP FSA X/Way solo joint. Mixed geography in orange. Close mic-ed and creaking chair. Magazine Love. Song for Bobby Neuwirth. Exquisite Fucking Happy Televised Thompson Trails. Sola Sound Mk 5. Sunn and Silvertone. Still the Spirit of '66. For Ron Asheton. For John Martyn." Numbered edition of 500 copies. 2nd release by band - The Wire magazine had this to say about their debut lp/cd Regine Flory (still available here at Eclipse): Taking their name from a compilation of Swedish garage and psych groups, These Wonderful Evils are actually based in Minneapolis and provide cover for the solo experiments of one Zak Boerger. Boerger's combination of fuzz, acoustic guitar and extended downer ballads most immediately aligns him with the New Zealand scene centered around Peter Jefferies and Alastair Galbraith as well as associated international satellites like Flying Saucer Attack and the Twisted Village roster, but there's a lonesome edge to the music that would situate it outside of any particular historical tradition and closer to the mystery school of regional private press obscurities. The acoustic tracks skirt the fringes of American primitive without particularly sounding like anyone else, but it's the elegiac fuzz settings that really make the album stand out." - The Wire, Oct. 2008.

*Toukaseibunshi - Meta-Inorganic Matter Meta-Newlon CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Volume 2 in the ongoing Japanese Avant-Garde Cassette Reissue Series. The 80s and early 90s saw a great deal of fascinating material released on cassette in the Tokyo underground. While some of the more noise-orientated stuff enjoyed a modicum of international distribution, the avant-garde material generally did not. This series, whose first release was Iro / Tamafuri (PSFD-180), aims to rescue the best of this music from historical oblivion. Toukaseibunshi (Permeable Molecule) was an ultra-mysterious solo unit created by Hironari Iwata. Iwata was a footnote figure in the world of Japanese avant-garde/noise from the mid to late eighties. As well as Toukaseibunshi, he also recorded under the name Haiginsha, ran the Angakok cassette label and wrote for various magazines. There's an unshowy stoicism to Iwata's investigation of drone, clank and crackling sustain, a deep seriousness of purpose that beguiles as much as it confounds. Six tracks, fifty-eight minutes. Gatefold papersleeve." - Alan Cummings

United Bible Studies - The Jonah CD $12.99 (Camera Obscura)
"Camera Obscura is proud to be able to present to the world the follow-up to the band's masterful "The Shore That Fears the Sea", and it's a cornucopia of sonic delights, covering the spectrum from delicate folk to sprawling progressive rock. Originally formed as a duo with an unhealthy desire to emulate the incredible string band, UBS quickly evolved into a collective and laid the groundwork for the Deserted Village label and events. Since their formation in winter 2001 they have played and recorded sporadically-never settling on one recording method, never settling on one line-up. "The Shore that Fears the Sea" shows a love of the unadorned beauty of Shirley Collins, Anne Briggs and Vashti Bunyan, Current 93, Coil and Sol Invictus, as well as the work of poets Edwin Morgan and WS Graham. Sparse folk sidles up to a more melodic take on improvisation and tales of loss and pagan longing abound. If they could exist anywhere, they would be playing in the Green Man when Sergeant Howie arrives. Since their Sun worship ritual at The Mór Festival in 2003, the students have increased their activities. The set, which included radical re-workings of some of their quiet new folk songs has been edging towards a more Pharoah Sanders/ Emperor/ Can hybrid thanks to the new drums and horns helping them to blaze brighter in the northern skye. Live shows throughout Ireland and Britain and most recently the USA (Including Terrastock '08) have seen them wildly improvise with up to twelve members or play straight trad as a trio. Standard rock instrumentation is bolstered with theremins, fretless banjos, accordions, bugles... whatever comes to hand... Their philosophy is that all paths are equal, all approaches relevant. Members have sometimes met on stage for the first time. Though inspired by Irish Folk music, United Bible Studies have always seen themselves in a global context. They've had a slew of releases on microlabels across the planet and have invited many like-minded artists to tour Ireland with them including Avarus, Fursaxa, Corsano/Flaherty, Black Forest/Black Sea, Circle, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Pinkie and John, ZU, Daniel Padden, Nalle and Pumice, Josephine Foster, Mi & L'au. UBS played as Damo Suzuki's backing band twice: First at the demented beer garden after-party of the Mór Festival 2004 which saw people dancing in tongues and using every solid object as a drum and a sold-out two-hour set in Galway in March 2005. "

*Uton - We're Only in it For the Spirit CD $12.99 (Digitalis)
"For the past five plus years, Uton has been one of the most consistent projects to come out of the snowy confines of his native Finland. His output has been constant, but the quality is always great. His drones have always been underscored with a sense of melody and a keen utilization of the space where the music was created. These songs are not icy or glacial, though, like one might think. Uton's uncanny ability to inject an inviting sense of warmth and spirit. "We're Only in it for the Spirit" is ghost music; barely there and out-of-sight in the blink of an eye. The man responsible for these masked-spirit journeys is Tampere native, Jani Hirvonen. He's collaborated with the likes of Jan Anderzén (Kemialliset Ystävät, etc), Bridget Hayden (Vibracathedral Orchestra), & Anla Courtis (Reynols) among others. When it comes to enchanted, sprawling drones, Hirvonent is a true Rennaissance man. He is joined by Vapaa's J.P. Koho on all tracks, who complements Hirvonen's delicacy with subtle hints of chaos. "We're Only in it for the Spirit" continues to trek through new worlds of sound, polishing off the once-rough edges of Uton's sound into something that acts as a beacon in the void. Dark, brooding drones for guitar and electronics flicker and fade like a distant, stellar horizon. Hirvonen is a master craftsman, and Koho is his perfect foil. The two play off each other's every move and produce an end result that rivals anything Uton has released previously. "We're Only in it for the Spirit" is a magickal piece of work. Limited to 500 copies with artwork designed by James Livingston of Black Horizons."

*V/A - Asian Flashback: Underground Music From Asia CD $15.99 (PSF)
Asian underground compilation with 13 groups. Featuring Li Jianhong, Narita Munehiro, Hano Shoji, Mustangs, Kiyasu Orchestra, Mafeisan, 10, Xiao He, D!O!D!O!D!, Sato Yukie, Yoshiteru Koga Jizo, Kim Young Jin, Li Daiguo, Amature Amplifier, Soonie. "First PSF compilation to focus on the linkages between the established underground scene in Japan and nascent ones in China and Korea. Politics and history had long prevented exchanges between the three countries, but in recent years increasing trade and cultural linkages have revealed exciting new synergies. Covers the breadth of new East Asian underground forms ? white-out noise, face-peeling free improvisation, lysergic rock, limpid acid folk, electronic tone float, coruscating punk, free jazz and avant-art moves. Features relatively established names like China's king of noise guitar Li-Jianhong and motor-psych free-rock emperor Munehiro Narita, alongside a ton of utter unknown names." - Alan Cummings.

*V/A - Hunters & Gatherers zine + 3" CDR $12.99 (Seymour Records) A full colour zine in an edition of 75 and has in it: Recipes by The Parasitic Fantasy Band, Words & Images by Helga Fassonaki (of Metal Rouge), Interview with Ged Gengras (of Antique Brothers, Pocahaunted, Vibes, Robedoor, Fantastic Sleep etc.), Reviews by Sam Hamilton (Parasitic Fantasy Band) & Andrew Scott (Metal Rouge), Art by Lucky Dragons, Poetry by Andrew Scott. Every copy comes with a live 3" CDR by Vibes (members of Sun Araw/Magic Lantern/Robedoor/Pocahaunted/Antique Brothers etc.)

V/A - Tokyo Flashback 5 CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Fresh from the darkest depths of the Tokyo psychedelic underground, another crop of ten of the city fs wildest sounds. The fifth volume in the modern psychedelic world fs most reliable compilation of out-of-nowhere urban mind liberation. As ever, Tokyo Flashback brings you some old faces alongside the hottest young gunslingers from the wrong side of the Tokyo tracks. Old favourites this time include White Heaven with a vintage track of live acid cool isolationism, Kyoaku no Intention burning down the barn with themselves inside, and Overhang Party ruminating on contemporary world affairs. Most surprising showing is the first track to be released of Keiji Haino fs experimental DJ-ing sessions - full-on and unmistakeable Haino, with little fader action and no scratches. New names to juggle with are the dense and crushing tortured muzz of Aural Fit, hallucinatory analogue noise from the mysterious Kabemimi, dark and melancholic gloom from Suisho no Fune, and the beautiful and fractured late-night textures of Hisato Higuchi. 200% head-spinning action."

*V/A - Tokyo Flashback 6 CD $15.99 (PSF)
"The long awaited return of PSF's legendary, scene-defining compilation. For two years since the release of Tokyo Flashback 5 in 1995, we have been scouring the deepest dives in the darkest alleyways of the Tokyo underground in search of the newest mutated manifestations of the lysergic paradigm. The quest has not been an easy one, but now after dozens of gigs and hundreds of hours listening to demo CDRs, we have finally reached its conclusion. Tokyo Flashback 6 presents the fruits of that search, a treasure trove of the unheard. Twelve new groups poised on the cusp of greatness, driven by a fervent belief in the transformational potential of sound and the dimension-altering power of cranked amps, delay pedals and a third-eye opened to the cosmos. The groups included span a wide definition of the psychedelic, from the no-wave intensity of Onna (led by underground manga artist, Keizo Miyanishi), to the acid-punk splatter of Ainotamenishis, the art-school insanity of Kinky Pigeon, and the loner canyon-magic of Genshi. - Alan Cummings. Featured groups: Ahobune, Hananoyoni, Onna, Yamashirube, Sarod, Retort Mandala, Ainotamenishis, Kinky Pigeon, Yakochu, Ogikubo Connection, Masami Kawaguchi, Genshi.

V/A - Undecided CD $15.99 (PSF)
Artists included: Keiji Haino (hurdy-gurdy, etc.), Kazuo Imai (guitar), Junichiro Okuchi (piano), Michihiro Sato (tsugaru-jamisen), Yoshihide Otomo (turntable), Masayoshi Urabe (alto sax). "Free music or improvised music is the most direct expression of music's primal aspects (questions like why do we sing?), and its experimental aspects (what do we mean by musical expression?). This is why the best free music leaves such an intense impression in peoples' hearts." - Yuji Itsumi. "Compilation containing six lengthy solo tracks by some of the most fascinating improvising musicians currently active in Japan. The CD documents a series of lecture-concerts, exploring the meanings, methods and implications of free music, which took place between September 2003 and February 2004 at Mesar Haus in Tokyo. Approaches vary between the endlessly fascinating, grey kaleidoscopic fields of Haino's hurdy-gurdy, the art-brut physical terrorism of Masayoshi Urabe, the traditional improvisatory, plucking style of Sato's tsugaru-jamisen, and the anti-fundamentalist feedback dialectics of Otomo's turntable work. All bore channels through time-space continua and consensus reality like no one's business." - Alan Cummings

*Vega Stereo - Festival 3000 c47 cassette $7.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"Vega Stereo is another side to the story that is alexey AKA analog concept. once again, this comes straight from russia with a bullet. vega stereo is a duo with his wife, nastya. this one is just as synthed-out as the analog concept double, but you're in for a whole different ride. laced with minimalist beats and vague, nu-age stylings like a bed of golden feathers, vega stereo is going to whisk you away. it's obvious these cats grew up on detroit techno and hypnotic ambient waves. beautiful stuff from the rough & tumble. edition of 70 pro-dubbed pirate style." Out of print.

Zach Wallace - Glass Armonica CD $12.99 (Root Strata)
"Glass Armonica is the first solo CD by musician Zach Wallace. When not counting fauna in the Montana wilderness, Zach can be seen performing across the incense sticks from Greg Davis in their stoic long form drone duo Sun Circle. Zach's Armonica, Based loosely on Benjamin Franklin's 1761 design, is built entirely from thrift store bought wine glasses and has been modified to handle multiple players. The performances captured here were recorded in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the Spring of 2007. The results are not too far off from what you might imagine if you've ever coxed sound waves from the rim of a wine glass with your finger. Now just imagine multiplying that sound a few times over until you arrive at a dense fog of resonant tones that hover in mid air while concurrently penetrating your pituitary glad. That's getting close. Edition of 500 in an offset white case with silver ink."

*Wet Hair - Dream CD $12.99 (Release The Bats)
"Wet Hair is Shawn Reed and Ryan Garbes from the now defunct Raccoo-oo-oon. It started out as a soloproject of Shawn but after a while Ryan joined in as well. After several tapes and a 12", the duo is now unleashing Dream, their first fullength album. Four long tracks of analog synth atmosphere and industrial trance punk. Sure some Raccoo-oo-oon echoes can be heard if putting an ear close to the speaker, but Wet Hair is in many ways different. Melodic, upbeat, focused, dark, warm, cold, catchy, and confusing at the same time. Hints of everything from Suicide and Public Image Ltd to Spacemen 3 shines through. Dream has a strong nostalgic feel, fragments from the past is passing by and at the same time we get a strange glimpse of the future... Glowing stuff." "When Iowa City freak-out free-rockers Raccoo-oo-oon called it quits last year it left a bummer scar in the Midwest underground scene. But time is a great healer, and so are new bands. So out of the ashes of the RAC pack comes Wet Hair, a synth-punk-trance duo composed of keyboardist/vocalizer Shawn Reed and keyboardist/drummer Ryan Garbes, and Dream is the band's debut vinyl full-length after a series of increasingly shredding limited-edition cassettes on their own Night People label. Piling together an unlikely trash heap of Suicide-style drum machine beat-bops, zone-droned krautrock keys, and fucked up outsider crooning, the LP's four tracks careen across a spectrum of moods and mangled melodies. Recorded at Flat Black Studios by Luke Tweedy and mastered by Pete Swanson, Wet Hair's cult electric annihilation has never gleamed with such razor-edged weirdness; this is their dream made real." - Not Not Fun describing vinyl issue (sold out). CD edition of 500 copies.

*Simon Wickham-Smith - A Seventh Persimmon CDR $7.99 (Tape Drift)
"Words are tough when it comes to describing music this astoundingly beautiful. A leading figure in the worldwide experimental music community since the early 90s, Simon Wickham-Smith adds to his sizable body of work with this masterpiece. Three tracks clocking in at almost 60 minutes, Simon's new work is the result of years spent honing his craft. His influences are drawn from sources far and wide, but the music that results is uniquely his own. Transcending genre altogether but most clearly informed by minimalism, this release is hypnotic, mysterious, and gorgeous. If you've followed the arc of his career, you'll be pleased to see how mature and powerfully focused his musical vision has become. If you're new to his world, it's an excellent introduction. To say that it's an honor for us to be releasing his music would be a massive understatement. A true classic."




***Forthcoming Releases***


ADVERSE EFFECT - expected within a week

Circle - Triumph double LP $22.99 (Adverse Effect)
"Recorded in 2007 at a WFMU Radio session in New Jersey, the material on this latest LP from Finnish kraut-experimenters Circle includes some of their strongest to date. In addition to a plethora of strange, progged-out passages, Triumph features some incredibly sensitive, far less theatrical work. Tracks like fifteen-minuter 'Skiing' and the similarly slippery 'Dungeon' are full of tumbling piano keys and delay effects, creating an atmosphere that's somewhere between Sunburned Hand Of The Man at their most blissed-out and The Necks when they let Chris Abrahams loose. Always purveyors of superior kosmische fare, this release ranks amongst the Finnish bands finest..." Restocked.


AURORA BOREALIS - June releases


*Atavist - II: Ruined double LP $17.99 (Aurora Borealis)
"Having toured extensively in the UK with both SUNN O))) and Khanate around 2004 - 2006, the band were stalwarts of the growing extreme doom scene, and were widely hailed as the next great UK hope. The self-titled debut album was one of its kind: picture every negative emotion ever conceived, set to some of the most crawling, painful, polarizing, and mesmerizing atmospheric blackened sludge doom ever, and you'll get a glimpse of the blackened heart of Atavist. The band's second album, II:Ruined, is a massive, monolithic, introverted chapter of audial suffering and torment. It sees Atavist plunge further into the audial abyss by incorporating more layers and substance to their art (not unlike the way Japan's Corrupted portray their immaculate aesthetic). Heavier, more diverse, intricate, and melodic, II:Ruined is just that; an unforgiving observation of self-reflection, repentance, and desperation. With guest performances from Justin Greaves, (ex-Iron Monkey, Crippled Black Phoenix), and dark folk/rock/doomster Rose Kemp, (who's 'Unholy Majesty' LP saw release in 2008 on Aurora Borealis ), II:Ruined is a decidedly darker beast, lurking in the shadows, evading the casual listener and rewarding the devotee. It is interesting to note that this was the final album for this line up of the band, one can only wonder at the self-fulfilling prophecy of such and immense and bleak work. Perhaps its a wonder they are all still alive. This double vinyl edition of II:Ruined on Aurora Borealis marks a long overdue vinyl release for this important milestone of extreme doom in the UK, and stands in monolithic testament to their achievement." Limited edition of 500 copies housed in a gatefold sleeve.

*Burial Hex / Zola Jesus - split LP $16.99 (Aurora Borealis)
"Aurora Borealis is very proud to release this split LP by two of Wisconsin's finest exports, BURIAL HEX and ZOLA JESUS. Burial Hex presents two works here, following up on the critically acclaimed Initiations CD and 2LP of 2008. The first track 'Go Crystal Tears' is the first outing for the new Burial Hex sound and highlights influences such as 80s horror synth master John Carpenter and Goblin coming to the fore and blending with the almost black metal vocal style and "horror electronics" so successfully developed on Initiations. The second track 'Temple of the Flood', clocking in at a more usual 14 and a half minutes, is one of the final old-style Burial Hex tracks and proceeds in a style reminiscent of previous works with heavily processed analogue electronics and synths up until around seven minutes in where things take an unexpected turn with eroding layers of primitive percussion, water drops, and almost Martin Denny- style exotica piano runs before ending in a deluge of sub bass and redemptive church organ. Zola Jesus expands on the works presented on the 7inch releases with a 19 minute track that blends all the trademark sounds of this young Madison genius. Nika (aka Zola Jesus) plays and writes all her own material, though is joined here by Dead Luke, who also plays as part of the Zola Jesus' live sound. Nika's voice, reminiscent of a teenage Diamanda Galas or a more deranged Beth Ditto, soars and wails within an ever changing cloud of pulsing synths and analogue electronics up until the eight minute mark where a naive electronic drum pattern kicks in and is joined by a warm synth line. For some minutes the track takes a tuneful No Wave turn before gradually shifting again into a darker and more menacing beast. This is stunning stuff - expect more from Zola Jesus on Aurora Borealis in the future." Limited to 500 copies on heavyweight vinyl.

*Heavy WInged - Shaking, Waking LP $16.99 (Aurora Borealis)
"Aurora Borealis is proud to present long-time faves HEAVY WINGED on limited vinyl with the 'Shaking, waking' LP. The band have been consistently impressing us since we first heard them back in 2006 and we are very happy to have snagged them for this release before tagging them and releasing them back into the wild. The 'Shaking, waking' LP consists of two lengthy tracks: 'Tidal Blackness' is a 23 minute cloud of improvised guitar and bass drone, underpinned with sparse percussive elements and dappled with the rays of ethereal melodies. This track, recorded live in Oakland in 2008, represents the more gentle side of HEAVY WINGED in some ways and is largely soothing. The second side harbours 'Morning Flesh', 18 minutes that veer towards the caveman Krautrock of the recent 'Alive in my mouth' LP, drums pounding, Neanderthal guitar chugging, though with a melodic haze drifting across the musical landscape like a lysergic mistral, leading the listener ever further into the shifting sands of the forbidden zone. HEAVY WINGED have set the controls for the heart of the unknown. Two track LP - a VINYL ONLY release, on 180g transparent pale grey vinyl, limited to 500 pieces in a heavyweight matte sleeve."

*Sylvester Anfang - Sylvester Anfang II LP $? (Aurora Borealis) - LATE JULY RELEASE
"All things must evolve, and given time even the unicellular organisms dwelling in ocean's deepest fathoms may shift form and take to the skies. In celebration of the mysteries of evolution, Aurora Borealis proudly presents SYLVESTER ANFANG II. In the time since the release of Kosmies Slachtafval, Silvester Anfang have grown into SYLVESTER ANFANG II, a more psychedelic beast, a more tangible creature in some ways, but one that defies and confounds standard classification. Taking their cue from Krautrock communes of yore, the Flemish troubadours have expanded both ranks and minds and now present this giant new opus for general consumption. With cultish numbers swollen with new blood in the guise of Stef Anus (Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat), Father Sloow (Sloow Tapes pontiff), Bram (Ignatz) and Clay Ruby (Davenport, Burial Hex), the sound is much fuller and more reminiscent of Krautish dope jams then ever before. Ruby's vocal additions create a whole new universe for the band, rather like if Dr. John had been born in a plague pit in Flanders, and the resulting tracks "The Devil Always Shits in the Same Graves" parts 1 & 2 are masterful examples of Flemish voodoo boogie. The new material is more hypnotic than before, and the band are sure to add new members to their fan cult as they slink across Europe like a fog in the coming months. Sure to upset parents and upstanding citizens with their occult themes and liberal European-style artwork, SYLVESTER ANFANG II reach new levels of consciousness with their mantras of goat worship and the orthodoxy of denial that states "Only analogue is real". Dust off your robes, sharpen the sacrificial blade, order in some Trappist beers... Tune in, turn on, evolve."

*Sylvester Anfang - Sylvester Anfang II CD $? (Aurora Borealis) - LATE JULY RELEASE
"All things must evolve, and given time even the unicellular organisms dwelling in ocean's deepest fathoms may shift form and take to the skies. In celebration of the mysteries of evolution, Aurora Borealis proudly presents SYLVESTER ANFANG II. In the time since the release of Kosmies Slachtafval, Silvester Anfang have grown into SYLVESTER ANFANG II, a more psychedelic beast, a more tangible creature in some ways, but one that defies and confounds standard classification. Taking their cue from Krautrock communes of yore, the Flemish troubadours have expanded both ranks and minds and now present this giant new opus for general consumption. With cultish numbers swollen with new blood in the guise of Stef Anus (Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat), Father Sloow (Sloow Tapes pontiff), Bram (Ignatz) and Clay Ruby (Davenport, Burial Hex), the sound is much fuller and more reminiscent of Krautish dope jams then ever before. Ruby's vocal additions create a whole new universe for the band, rather like if Dr. John had been born in a plague pit in Flanders, and the resulting tracks "The Devil Always Shits in the Same Graves" parts 1 & 2 are masterful examples of Flemish voodoo boogie. The new material is more hypnotic than before, and the band are sure to add new members to their fan cult as they slink across Europe like a fog in the coming months. Sure to upset parents and upstanding citizens with their occult themes and liberal European-style artwork, SYLVESTER ANFANG II reach new levels of consciousness with their mantras of goat worship and the orthodoxy of denial that states "Only analogue is real". Dust off your robes, sharpen the sacrificial blade, order in some Trappist beers... Tune in, turn on, evolve."


BLACKEST RAINBOW

should be here in 2 weeks or less:

*Bong / Quittinirpaaq - split LP $17.99 (Blackest Rainbow)
"Bong are Newcastle's finest doom stoner band, as you'd expect you got distant vocals, totally wild psych guitar, heavy solid drums, but the thing with Bong that gives them a totally different vibe from all the weak band is they got a damn sitar in there, and it sounds so damn killer. On the flip we got a slice of Quttinirpaaq, we released a CDR by this dude last year to some damn good reviews, its hard to understand how so few people know this dude. It's basically the one man band of Texan Matt Turner who definitely doesn't bust out the Texas blues or country styles... this isn't no straight up doom though, opening with totally weirdo keys and feedback, with what sounds like some droning vocals and bizarre clicks, this is pretty out there. That is until three minutes in when Matt plugs in and then trashes a drum kit, whilst all this other crazy shit is going on. This is a fucking killer act, as far as I am concerned this is genius, not like any other drone doom vibes going on out there right now. Limited to 300 copies."

*Electric Omen - Abandon All Hope cassette $10.99 (Blackest Rainbow)
"Electric Omen is possibly some of my favorite work of Sindre Bjerga, rumbling darkness, like an earthquake at night, this is unexpected and terrifying. Bleak black and white covers. Limited to 60."

*Mechanical Children - I Rise To Cover All LP $17.99 (Blackest Rainbow)
"Debut vinyl release from this new duo that makes up two thirds of Jazzfinger (Ben Jones and Sarah Sullivan). Based around the idea of used broken keyboards, Ben and Sarah make some totally fucked and pretty heavy noise jams, there's some searing moments in this beast, particularly across the two part 'Burning of the Light Fields' which spans all side A, and most of side B... the closer is 'Planatary Wasp', which pretty much would be what Jeff Goldblum would have sounded like if he'd turned into some kind of rancid badass wasp instead of that pussy fly! Turn it up and get ready for your neighbors to come knocking with an ASBO for ya. Limited to 300."

*Pewtr - Whichever Was cassette $10.99 (Blackest Rainbow)
"Pretty psyched to be releasing this beauty from long time friend of mine Ron Schneiderman, I think Ron was the first person I ever bought stuff from for the Blackest Rainbow distro years back in Nottingham... Ron is the man behind Spirit of Orr, as well as being a member of Sunburned Hand of the Man... busy guy to say the least! Here you have some awesome solo outing of post Loren Connors / Sandy Bull styling, with a blend of pure outsider blues, americana and psychedelia. Limited to 100 copies."

*Spoils and Relics - Alabaster Silk cassette $10.99 (Blackest Rainbow)
"Spoils and Relics 'Alabastor Silk' is a threes up (Kieron Piercy, Gary Myles and Johnny Scarr [occasional Fossil member]) improvisation on found objects, tapes and electronics - recorded in in a red lit Leeds basement, and then pieced together in Mantile studio, Nottingham. This release focuses on a reinvention of found artifacts, applied as tools to further explorations of prehistoric futures present. Limited to 60 copies." 'Alabaster silt - The reinvention of found artifacts are pieced together to form tools which enable a dig to the earth's inner crust to further explorations into prehistoric future. below the cavernous murk dwell bubbling furuncle streams in which manged carniverous matter bathe. Above the swelling, many mechanical wings gather creaking as they swoop in on the feeding, picking off the sores and gliding into the fog leaving only lose screws behind.. evidence is gathered and filtered through the silt parts of the beak are recovered strange resin is collected from the wreckage..'"

*Taiga Remains / RV Paintings - split LP $17.99 (Blackest Rainbow)
"Two of America's finest drone acts come together for this split LP. Taiga Remains is Student of Decay's master mind Alex Cobb project, if you ain't picked up his new disc on Digitalis 'Wax Canopy' yet, go get it, it is one of the best drone releases I have heard in a long time! The 15 minute track on this is new split LP is entitled 'Mengku From Mengsa'. Opening with far off chimes upon chimes, this leads to pure bliss dream zones, rather than the more intense material on the aforementioned Wax Canopy. This is a fantastic piece of drone work, layered to create some beautiful zoning out in the mind. RV Paintings is the project of Brian Pyle of the almighty psychedelia legends Starving Weirdos, along with his brother Jon Pyle, and Spencer Doran, who also plays under the name of Cloaks. This is an amazing track, kinda darker and bleaker than the Weirdos vibe, with some totally awesome free percussion playing central to the piece, this is hard to top in the drone game. A totally solid slab of sound from both acts. Limited to 400 copies."

coming in July:

Robert Horton & Sindre Bjerga - Can't Go Fast Enough To Get There Early CD $14.99 (Blackest Rainbow)
"Wild and eclectic mail collaborations from one of America's most recently on fire jammers Robert Horton, and Norway's drone master Sindre Bjerga. Both have incredibly solid resumes of collaborations and releases, what with Sindre's ongoing collaboration with Jan Iversen, and Robert's collaborations with Tom Carter and the Mudsuckers crew of Pete and Gabe (of Yellow Swans), which also includes Carter. Can't Go Faster Enough to Get There Early features a massive range of instruments and sounds, from multiple instrument based layered drone to down right weirdness, and total outsider vibes. Also features Hal Hughes, Lisa Graves and Jan Iversen. Glass mastered CDs, limited to 500 in white digipaks with stickered covers and a small 4 page insert of liner notes."

*Starving Weirdos - B/P/M Series 1 LP $19.99 (Blackest Rainbow)
"Absolutely mind melting release from this consistently amazing American duo. This release has a very different sound to the superb drone recordings of their recent releases, yet it is still totally immense but really quite unexpected. This was previously issued as a tour only CDR in a press of somewhere between 20 and 30 copies. Brian Pyle and Merrick McKinlay spent sometime recording legendary Humboldt based pianist Darius Brottman, who also happens to have a radio show before Brian's own show on KHSU college radio. The recordings of Brottman were then reworked by McKinlay and Pyle separately. Pyle and McKinlay have a side each on this LP, both sides featuring very different ways of reworking the original beautiful recordings. Side A opens with some straight piano clinks layered with incidental sounds that occurred during recording sessions, creating an amazing feeling of beautiful surrealness , leadings into multi-layered piano movements over and over. Side B begins with powerful, erratic, forceful playing, coated in psychedelic loops and reversed sounds, then returning to a more straight piano playing. The second track on this side almost bleeds into familiar Weirdo territory. This is one bizarre, but equally genius and beautiful release. Both myself and the Weirdos are honored to have the artwork for this LP designed by artist Mick Wiggins. Pro printed sleeves, pressed on 180 gram vinyl and limited to 500 copies."

coming later still (not much info yet on these like pricing but if you want these let me know as these will be very limited):

MV+EE 12 x cassette box set - price may be close to $75 but not definite.
all unreleased live material. Rough wholesale cost for this is going to be about £26-28... but shipping will be probably quite expensive.

Natural Snow Buildings - 3xlp
"The NSB 3LP is currently being mastered by Ben Nash. It sounds really great, great blend of the drones and quieter folkier sounds. Its gonna be 180gram vinyl, pro printed sleeve that will house all three LPs." - Joe / Blackest Rainbow. No pricing info yet but I'll be allocated up to 15 copies.


BO' WEAVIL RECORDINGS - will be here in about 10 days

*Starving Weirdos - Into An Energy CD $16.99 (Bo' Weavil)
"This is a new release by California's extremely prolific avant-drone duo, Starving Weirdos. These eight new pieces bear all the hallmarks of Starving Weirdos' greatest work: the dizzying mixture of instrumental sounds, electronics, and field recordings, the pointillistic attention to sonic detail, the duo's post-production technique, which achieves something like the aural equivalent of deep-focus photography. On Into An Energy, the duo of Brian Pyle and Merrick McKinlay is joined by occasional collaborators Steve Lazar and Greg Devaney for the length of the record, and perhaps their chemistry together accounts for the elusive shift in focus heard on these cuts. You see, even though Starving Weirdos routinely break out the rain sticks, the horns, the hand drums, the guitars, or the cup-and-ball, at its core their art is a kind of deep-forest-ghetto-musique concrète. You can never tell if what you're hearing is a real-time performance or a product of copious editing and overdubbing, whether those sounds emanated from tapes or from live instruments, whether it occurred in a tangible three-dimensional space or in a virtual soundcard reality. Most of the time, it's a combination of all these, and the results are profoundly transportive and disorienting. Yet while the Weirdos' song and album titles suggest an esoteric or spiritualist bent, their music is always reassuringly lucid, even earthy. Theirs is a mysticism grounded in the ordinary sounds of everyday life in their native Humboldt County, California. At their best, Starving Weirdos achieve that high romantic ideal: to make the familiar strange, and make the strange familiar."


BUM TAPES - expected in next 2 weeks

*Compassing - Old Woes New Hopes c50 cassette $6.99 (Bum Tapes)
"There's a hell of a lot going on in this new 10 track cassette by the two guys who make up the band Compassing. A microcosm of sounds, tiny little experimentations click into view then whirl away, an orchestra of warped instruments throb and groove against each other only to be joined together by the occasional chugging krautrock pulse and scattered free form drumming, kind of like Faust jamming with Taj Mahal Travellers and being produced by Louis & Bebe Barron." Edition of 20 copies.

*Secret Colors - Infinite Wandering c34 cassette $6.99 (Bum Tapes)
"Secret Colors is the solo project for Seattle's Matt Lawson, who has conjured up an incredible album of carefully crafted blissful songs, Keys and Guitars are washed clean with effects, bubbling then overflowing with layers of slow burning grooves melting into deep reflective rhythms, all executed in full on dub mode. Cassettes are housed in hand-cut high quality paper collage covers. If you're currently digging the sounds of Ducktails, Sun Araw et al, this one is not to be missed!" Edition of 30 copies.

*Treehouse People - Crystal Limbs c30 cassette $6.99 (Bum Tapes)
"The second release for this new-age, keyboard driven sci-fi duo, two sides of psychedelic dream excursions, Bladerunner burnouts and synth drenched krautrock rhythms make up one of their most beautiful releases to date. "Cooperation of Stefan Kushima & Iko Nori spending some nights with the Casio VL Tone, Feedback loops in minimal construction, a child's dream in bubblevariations". Edition of 25 copies.

*Tulasi - Huomen Tuone c34 cassette $6.99 (Bum Tapes)
"Bumtapes is proud to give you another chance to hear this incredible album, plus another previously unreleased track from the same sessions, and with all new artwork. Originally released on vinyl in an edition of 118 copies by Troglosound in 2008 (now totally sold out) Finland's Tulasi crafted an album drenched in Eastern drones and Finnish backroad folk meditations, The two musicians who make up the band have also featured in bands such as Vapaa, Keijo & Free Players, Aan, Uton, Kulkija and Kutomo. And have also previously released a cassette on Sloow tapes. To quote the original write up for the LP...."One of the most harmonic expressions of spiritual freak-folk coming out from Finland, Tulasi spreads around warm and positive feelings, created through spontaneous junctions of flute, guitar, violin, percussions, tambura and voices. So, the perfect sound to bring our Souls peacefully inside the wintertime is coming directly from the North". Edition of 35 copies.


DIGITALIS LIMITED - expected in about 1 week

*Caboladies - Atomic Weekender LP $19.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"It's been a good couple of years for these three burners from Kentucky. After killer releases on the likes of Arbor, Students of Decay, & others they're ready to drop their first pile of wax on an unsuspected public. "Atomic Weekender" is just that - massive, epic, and full of more good times than any one person should have on a two-day bender. But that's alright because these spiralling drones are here to bring you back down from that golden cloud and into a blanket of silvery cotton fields. It starts off well and good, pushing through the stratosphere and on a straight path to the sun. You're not floating, you're fucking flying at mach five. Hypnotic synth blasts propel you and tear you apart. Caboladies rattle your skull and paint your skin blue. By the time you've reached the ground again, you're lost in a neon haze that stretches out for miles. As the metal leaves crunch in time beneath your feet, the music in your head sounds like it's been submerged beneath 20,000 leagues of sea. All the drugs in the world won't make you feel this fucking good. Caboladies. Megatons. LP comes in silkscreened sleeve and is strictly limited to 100 copies."

*Metal Rouge - Republican Trees LP $19.99 (Digitalis Limited)
"The duo of Helga Fassonaki and Andrew Scott has quietly become a force in the world of darkside improvisation. Over the years, their sound has evolved like amoebas from the ooze, growing and expanding into something otherworldly. Walls of guitar sherds blast through blackened holes in the cosmic continuum searching out another eye to gouge or another heart to pierce. This is metallic bliss pushed to eleven. Where "Republican Trees" hits it stride is when the lines between beautiful and abrasive get smudged. Scott's guitar playing becomes a torrent of aural hell blowing fuses from here to his native Auckland. Fassonaki takes this in stride and the two push each other back and forth finding a natural rhythm that simultaneously enchants and disturbs. By the time Helga starts wailing on the final track of the album you've been rocked from your foundation, left to flounder alone in the muck. You can't really ask for more than that, can you? LP comes in fold-out silkscreened poster-style sleeve and is strictly limited to 100 copies."

DRAG CITY - late June release

*Ya Ho Wha 13 - Magnificence In The Memory LP $15.99 (Drag City)
"The legendary Father Yod was a wealthy man, with a rich inner life, a family of disciples that loved him, many, many women and seemingly unlimited power. So why at the height of his success, did he choose to spend his time playing rock and roll? Having a band in residency at Father House provided him and all his children with another path to travel in their never-ending search for experience and wisdom. Taking time out from their busy schedule as Father's students and spiritual seekers in the Source Family, Sunflower, Octavius, Pythias and Djin took instruments in hand and, at a mere gesture from Father, turned up the amps and began tapping into the cosmos. First, they recorded themselves. The energy was good. Equipped by Father with instruments and effects pedals to ensure that they could create music that came 'from the spheres,' their sounds provided spiritual growth to everyone in the Source Family. After a time, Father became the lead singer, as 'a way to record wisdom in a modern, youth-oriented way,' Djin tells us. And YaHoWha 13 was born with Sunflower, Octavius and Djin. The music was recorded at a studio in the Father House on a TEAC 4-track reel-to-reel machine and was released on the Source Family's Higher Key Records label. In a couple short years, nine LPs were created, to be sold at the Source Restaurant and at YaHoWha 13 shows. Much sought-after items today, they've all been reissued. Even more exciting is the material that wasn't released - enough music to fill over sixty albums, all of them mind-blowers. Skimmed from the riches in Isis Aquarian's vaults (by Dave Nuss of the No-Neck Blues Band), the nine tracks on Magnificence in the Memory run the gamut of YaHoWha 13's rainbow of styles, from the whispered funk of 'Camp of the Gypsies' to the screaming and stomping of, well, 'Camp of the Gypsies.' Storming through moments with abandon, Father and his Sons never repeated themselves, committing everything they did to tape in a single take. The capacity of their riffs and grooves to sound like German rock bands of several years previous or the as-yet-uncreated avant sounds from the indie rock movement a decade away is testament to their ability to tap the source of human inspiration. Adds Octavius, 'These cuts will always be a source of inspiration.' The songs on Magnificence in the Memory were chosen to provide a non-stop exciting listening experience for Source fans and neophytes alike - and as Sunflower has stated, 'Father's music is our legacy and represents the voice of the times.'"

*Ya Ho Wha 13 - Magnificence In The Memory CD $13.99 (Drag City)
"The legendary Father Yod was a wealthy man, with a rich inner life, a family of disciples that loved him, many, many women and seemingly unlimited power. So why at the height of his success, did he choose to spend his time playing rock and roll? Having a band in residency at Father House provided him and all his children with another path to travel in their never-ending search for experience and wisdom. Taking time out from their busy schedule as Father's students and spiritual seekers in the Source Family, Sunflower, Octavius, Pythias and Djin took instruments in hand and, at a mere gesture from Father, turned up the amps and began tapping into the cosmos. First, they recorded themselves. The energy was good. Equipped by Father with instruments and effects pedals to ensure that they could create music that came 'from the spheres,' their sounds provided spiritual growth to everyone in the Source Family. After a time, Father became the lead singer, as 'a way to record wisdom in a modern, youth-oriented way,' Djin tells us. And YaHoWha 13 was born with Sunflower, Octavius and Djin. The music was recorded at a studio in the Father House on a TEAC 4-track reel-to-reel machine and was released on the Source Family's Higher Key Records label. In a couple short years, nine LPs were created, to be sold at the Source Restaurant and at YaHoWha 13 shows. Much sought-after items today, they've all been reissued. Even more exciting is the material that wasn't released - enough music to fill over sixty albums, all of them mind-blowers. Skimmed from the riches in Isis Aquarian's vaults (by Dave Nuss of the No-Neck Blues Band), the nine tracks on Magnificence in the Memory run the gamut of YaHoWha 13's rainbow of styles, from the whispered funk of 'Camp of the Gypsies' to the screaming and stomping of, well, 'Camp of the Gypsies.' Storming through moments with abandon, Father and his Sons never repeated themselves, committing everything they did to tape in a single take. The capacity of their riffs and grooves to sound like German rock bands of several years previous or the as-yet-uncreated avant sounds from the indie rock movement a decade away is testament to their ability to tap the source of human inspiration. Adds Octavius, 'These cuts will always be a source of inspiration.' The songs on Magnificence in the Memory were chosen to provide a non-stop exciting listening experience for Source fans and neophytes alike - and as Sunflower has stated, 'Father's music is our legacy and represents the voice of the times.'"


EKTRO RECORDS - should be here within 10 days

*Andromelos - Andromelos CD $14.99 (Ektro Records)
Andromelos is a psychedelic supergroup formed by Kawabata Makoto (Acid Mothers Temple, Nishinihon, Musica Transonic, Mainliner, Gong...), Yamazaki Maso (Masonna, Space Machine) and Okano Futoshi (Nishinihon, ex Subert Blaze, ex Ghost).

*Circle - Meronia CD $14.99 (Ektro Records)
"1991. We had been running a small indie label called Bad Vugum for a mere four years, but we genuinely felt we had found bands that made a difference, definitely in the budding Finnish scene at least. So in 1991 friends and even total strangers at gigs and festivals suddenly started telling us that the best two undiscovered bands come from a drab small town called Pori - and that they both sounded exactly like they should be on Bad Vugum. Naturally our interest was piqued and we got to hear the self-released 7"s by these bands called Circle and Deep TurtleŠ Alas, we were not overly impressed. "They're still undeveloped, they still sound too much like their apparent musical heroes, and most importantly the songs aren't strong enough", we convinced ourselves. To this day I still thank our lucky stars that Mr. Dassum of Deep Turtle, who recorded in the same small basement as Circle, called me and asked if we were at all interested in hearing some new Deep Turtle demos. Sure we were, and we sure got more than we bargained for: as a bonus he also included some new stuff from their friends Circle - and we were blown away by both bands' progression. We duly agreed to start releasing 7" EP's at first, just to make sure the bands only put out all killer / no filler kinds of records, and to slowly build a following before any financially riskier album productions. During the next 18 months Circle for their part got two awesome EP's out of their system, and absolutely floored live audiences all over the country with their high-intensity gigs. Which were more akin to hypnotic mass rituals, what with their glowing body paints, jarring lighting tricks and various blooddripping props. Sometime in 93 - 94 the guys and we both felt sure Circle were mature enough for a full-length. After unleashing them in the studio we got to hear quite a few mind-boggling new, slower songs they had concocted, then a few more. Then even more. We almost couldn't believe our ears, it was becoming clear that a single LP could not contain these inspired goofballs' creative output. Recently I discovered I still get goosebumps from listening closely to Meronia. Not just because I love just about every track on the album, but also because it brings me back to the days of trying to work out the best possible order for the songs. I'm always on a personal mission to "help" bands with that ( IMHO) essential dimension to any record, but Meronia's sprawling bulk of 15 -16 tracks (we often added bonus tracks on the vinyl versions, even with single LP's, just to mess with CD buyers) proved a daunting task. I spent literally days and weeks immersing myself in the music, switching and changing the song sequence every which way - and those were the gruelling days of a double-deck cassette players, mind you. Then I spent hours on the phone with Circle's Jussi, discussing and speculating what each track might "mean" in any particular order. I felt I truly lived on planet Meronia. In Finland, the album got rave reviews both in the underground zines and, somewhat surprisingly, mainstream press as well. Abroad, it opened some new doors in the underground, but surprisingly was not licensed for a foreign release. In those times small foreign labels still seemed to settle for 7" records for Circle. But it was still early days in what was later to become a global Circle industry as we know itŠ What is it now? Some 20 + albums, half of which on foreign labels? And whenever I talk to Jussi, Circle seem to have at least three albums already recorded and waiting for a release. They've sure succeeded in carving a respectable niche for themselves, while still taking chances and trying new things. Maximum respec'. To wrap this up, a funny Meronia anecdote. In the mid-90's someone claiming to be an A& R executive for the David Geffen Company sent us a fax, complete with letterheads and everything, requesting a promo copy of Meronia. He wrote he was a big fan of the 7" stuff he had heard and was interested in checking out the band's "album potential". We sent the CD, and waited for a reply. I mean c'mon, the label that made Sonic Youth huge, right? Well, since we didn't hear anything, I first faxed the guy back, and then even called the number on the letterhead - but it didn't even connectŠOh the lengths resourceful Circle fans can go to when hunting for an import missing from their collection!" - Heikonen, Bad Vugum / BV 2 Produktions. The 2007 Ektro Records release is a re-mastered version and features updated artwork.

*Circle - Panic CD $14.99 (Ektro Records)
"A new release from Circle, once again. This time these experimental veterans study the both ends of the previously unheard static / hyper-active scale. Soundwise they have clearly proceeded to the 21st century, jumping from limpid synthesizer soundscapes to wall-smashing "speed-kraut" bursts. The triptych construction of the album along with the cover art that portrays war and street riots raise various associations on the history and the current state of Western civilization." 2007 release.

*Circle - Rakennus (Live) CD $14.99 (Ektro Records)
"Rakennus - approximately the seventh full length Circle release this year - is an hour-long snapshot of the band's recent tour of the USA. The concert (recorded in September in Charlottesville, Virginia) thunders and wobbles onwards with unprocessed autenticity. The recording effectively captures the full spectrum of Circle's contemporary live expression, revealing to us a glimpse of the spiritual landscapes of the most astonishing speedkraut pioneers of our times. There's an abundance of ritualistic rumbling to be discovered between the twitchy hard rock show opener "Uusi uhraus" and "Kaappikellon kummitus", the ravishing Rättö ja Lehtisalo cover song that closes the album. Rakennus displays the joy of playing music in its most pure form." (Eetormentor). 2007 release.


ESP-DISK' - should be here within 10 days

*Gato Barbieri - In Search of the Mystery CD $10.99 (ESP-DISK')
In Search of the Mystery, Gato Barbieri's debut album as leader, was recorded March 15, 1967, on the heels of his work on Don Cherry's famed Blue Note recordings: Complete Communion and Symphony for Improvisers. This avant-jazz masterpiece from the Argentine tenor saxophonist shows off his volatile, shrieking sound to full and unrelenting affect, fueled by the twin interweaving strings of cellist Calo Scott and bassist Norris Jones (Sirone) and Bobby Kapp's impressionistic drum splatter. Recorded in one day, the session exemplifies the spirited energy of the times and remains distinctive and inspiring today." "In Search of the Mystery is one of Gato Barbieri's early fiery sets. It was released on the ESP label and follows that tradition of stunningly chaotic jazz. This hit-and-run date consists of four tracks, all recorded on March 15, 1967. It is relentless, with Barbieri screaming on tenor throughout, backed by an interesting instrumental array of Sirone on bass, Calo Scott on cello, and Bobby Kapp on drums. Like most ESP dates, this is intense early cutting-edge free jazz, so much so that it continues to be in the early 21st century." - Al Campbell. Housed in digipak with liner notes.

*Cromagnon - Cave Rock CD $10.99 (ESP-DISK')
"Already commercially successful as tune-smiths for teenyboppers, Austin Grasmere and Brian Elliot approached Bernard Stollman looking to focus their talents on something more original and unrestrained. Stollman asked, "What would be your theme?" and Elliot replied: "Everything is one." Bernard said, "Go do it." What followed was Cromagnon's (Grasmere, Elliot and the Connecticut Tribe) non-linear journey through the subconscious, weaving together bizarre instrumentation and meter with a psychotic blending of musical styles. Bagpipes, pounding percussion, blood-curdling yelps, chanting, laughing, and billowing subterranean rumblings create the otherworldly soundscape that is Cave Rock. Heralded as one of the best freak-out records of all time, Cave Rock was ridiculously ahead of its time and brings to mind the savage sound-fuckery of Nurse with Wound and Throbbing Gristle as well as the hallucinations of early Red Krayola." "An anomaly, even on the always far out ESP label, Cromagnon was the brainchild of Brian Eliot and Austin Grasmere,...They made a truly inspired music, a sort of Dadaist psychedelic folk, tribal and raw, ridiculous but enchanting. It's hard to believe that a record as completely far-out as Orgasm was recorded in 1969. Bands these days can't be this whacked even if they try, especially if they try." - Andee Connors. Housed in digipak with liner notes.

*Timothy Leary - Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out CD $10.99 (ESP-DISK')
"This CD release of Dr. Leary's "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" is the first ever reissue of the ESP-Disk' vinyl edition originally released in1966. This unadorned spoken word recording of the 60's icon, Timothy Leary ("the most dangerous man alive"), was recorded at the famous Millbrook, New York estate just before his famous residency was ended by repeated raids and arrests by G. Gordon Liddy. Though the album title, Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out, became a clichéd rallying cry for a whole generation, it was presented to the public here for the first time. In this document he presents his ideas on drugs, current events and cultural phenomena, with recollections of earlier experiences and experiments; all delivered in a straight ahead, quiet manner even though the content is downright subversive and confrontational. An absolute must for anyone interested in the 1960's or countercultural thinking of any era." Housed in digipak with liner notes.


FAG TAPES - 2 weeks maybe?

*Cygnus / Night Movie - Steel On Steel split cassette $7.99 (Fag Tapes)
"side A. H. Moerland and G. Morren ( Odd Clouds ) guitar and what-the? duo project. side B. Morren, the better half of Cygnus, throwing down solo recordings. recollections memoir sounding like making something caked in dust only to see it grow young if music had age. and in classic Night Movie style cover art by Mary Morren. edition 35."

*Face Plant - Face Plant cassette $7.99 (Fag Tapes)
"Whoa! Aaron Coyes (Rah Dunes, Peaking Lights ) solo. home-made synth stuff rad heavy heavy work junk garbage rot gunk nose-pick stall drift acid-drop wheel-bite. AMAZING SOUNDS ! edition 50."

*Nobody's Children - No One's Child double cassette $14.99 (Fag Tapes)
"From the basement minds of Andrew Coltrane and Sick Llama. asking questions like "what does love feel like". nothing to rely on. housed in a 5 x 5 TDK plastic for who knows what lid-clip-shut box, with inserts, hand-painted DELUXE ! edition 27."


FAMILY VINEYARD - any day now

Loren Connors - The Curse of Midnight Mary LP $13.99 (Family Vineyard)
"In 1981 guitarist Loren Connors took his tape recorder to the graveyard where the legendary Midnight Mary's grave lies in New Haven, Connecticut. The curse is: Anyone who gets caught in her graveyard past midnight will die the next day. But Connors, like a young fool, taped in that place, making this album. Lost and forgotten, a cassette of this music -- made at Evergreen Cemetery -- was found by chance in 2008. Recorded between Connors' eight volume Unaccompanied Acoustic Guitar Improvisations LP series and the folk albums he would make with Kath Bloom, these nine pieces meld those distinct, haunting styles. Connors, singing in a trance like moan, reforms the Mississippi Delta blues on acoustic guitar with flashes of melodic hooks and a percussive guitar style that erupts into boogie-woogie riffs and other world spirituals. It's an album for followers of Connors' spine tingling solo albums and his collaborations with Suzanne Langille or Jandek. Devotees of early 20th Century blues artists such as Blind Willie Johnson or Charley Patton will be equally enthralled. A rare and essential peak into the still mysterious early years of this American guitar master. The LP version is a recreation of Connors' Daggett-style releases, featuring pasted on cover art and back liner notes with handstamped labels. Unlike the CD version, the LP is in a stark black sleeve with a reworked black and white cover drawing and limited and hand numbered to 515 numbered copies." Restock - should be here any day now...


FLIPPED OUT RECORDS - this coming week

Burnt Hills - Microburst LP $17.99 (Flipped Out Records)
"Shred your head as five blistering guitars rage with wah wah fury, a blown out bass drops the heavy anchor, an eight-armed drummer pummels through the basement night and an amplified xylophone sprays broken glass into the clouds. Reissue of the Yod Tapes CD-R. Edition of 99 copies."


FRACTAL RECORDS - this coming week

*Diza Star - Blues Reason To Live 7" EP $8.99 (Fractal)
"Our Legs Are Our Car, Our Legs Are Our Freedom / We Are Living In The Ice Age / The Disa-Ster World Is By Definition Vertical, Dizzy Sound / An Exciting Up And Down Where Nothing Is Sure, Anytime / Two Left Hand Guitarists, The Good And The Bad Player / Dig Up Three Unreleased Tracks From Our Archive / Our Electric Free Blues Music / We Knew Well That It Should Be Released Properly / The Blues Reason To Live / Love Your Devil Side And Your Enemy" - Diza Star.


GODS OF TUNDRA - this coming week

*Hair Police - Our Lunar Guardian c60 cassette $5.99 (Gods of Tundra)
"An hour of brand new cycles and songs. Numerous short tunes, some extended deep basement moments..all recorded under the watch of our lunar guardian. This was available in limited quantity on HP tour in a different package..this is standard jewel case version."

*Hive Mind - A Feast Within c20 cassette $5.99 (Gods of Tundra)
"The conflict between Hive Mind and body spills into the real world in a decades-long feud, distorting reality and affecting the entire human race."

*The Solar Furnace - Imaginary Invalid c30 cassette $5.99 (Gods of Tundra)
"Bizarre alien tranmissions from a dethroned and forgotten world. Direct from the ether into the cove. Get damaged."

*Uncreated - Live At The Human Trials Meeting, South Branch c30 cassette $5.99 (Gods of Tundra)
"You are standing outside the meeting...the sounds begin to ooze out of the cracks....they are sounds you can see. The visions aren't necessarily frightening, but they leave you incredibly uneasy. The visions cease, and you decide to abandon the meeting, never having stepped inside. This is the debut tape from UNCREATED (members of Boiling Seas, the Man Who Ate Himself, Words of the Incryption Convict)."

*Wolf Eyes - Moods In Free Time CDR $5.99 (Gods of Tundra)
"New tests from the Comfort Zone. Minimal distortions and disturbances..gearing up to remain always wrong."


GOLDEN LAB RECORDS - in about 10-14 days

*Beach Fuzz with Dave Jackson - Nosferatu Hex CDR $11.99 (Golden Lab Records)
"It's the final Beach Fuzz recording made with Barry Dean on drums and also features the eyeball-melting saxophonic skree of Solar Fire Trio's Dave Jackson. It was recorded in Warrington on 29th Oct '08 and is a more melodic yet typically cacophonous jam than previous releases. We hope you dig. Ltd to 80 copies, sleeves printed on recycled card w/soya based ink." Here's what Norman Records has to say about it..."NOSFERATU HEX. A title so good I can't help but write it in capitals. The sleeve's cool too but I can't write that in capitals...This CD by Beach Fuzz follows up on the limited cassette they did on Blackest Rainbow and definitely doesn't kick out the jams.. In fact it embraces them quite heartily. Saxophonist Dave Jackson (of Solar Fire Trio) joins the band to blow the skin off your very face while everyone else clatters around in a whirlwind of tribal dustbin lid drums, squealing feedback and deep-voiced zombie incantations. It's a bit like a jazzy Heavy Winged+Satan..."

*Peeesseye - I Woke Up and Drank a Bottle of Cheap Kojak CDR $11.99 (Golden Lab Records)
Peeesseye made the scene at Dylan Nyoukis's Colour Out of Space festival last summer and hopped over to Manchester to play a show at the Town Hall Tavern, the recording of which forms the content of this incredible slab of dense droning harmonium, scraping, buzzing, subtly soloing guitar and pulse-free, scatter-drumming. We can't recommend this enough. Ltd to 80 copies, sleeves printed on recycled card w/soya based ink, no less

*Sequin Trails - Maiden Midst CDR $11.99 (Golden Lab Records)
"Janina Angel Bath's unabashed approach to cranking out sun-drenched, ecstatic drones overlaid by seedy saxophone and deep, almost Nico-esque vocals has us melting into our sofas. We came upon Sequin Trails through this here myspace, which is normally a bit too postmodern for us. But the fact that there was dayglo, facepaint and tonal honking involved really won us over. The recording is blown-out and buzzy and all the better for it. And it traverses muddily pulsating rhythms through to pure note elongation that zaps the senses and focuses the mind's eye, like listening to one's own tinnitus. This is so deep, it may be bottomless." Edition of 80 copies.

*xNoBBQx - Skewer 10" $16.99 (?) (Golden Lab Records)
"We first came across Australian two-piece xNoBBQx in Piccadilly Records last year when the Siltbreeze vinyl reissue of their first CD-r appeared on its shelves. The Siltbreeze label being a bastion of all that is great in terms of dirgy, lo-fi, transcendental unmusicality, we were thus intrigued to hear this slab. And, we have to say, it was one of the greatest shop-listening experiences of all time. Here was a duo, probably of fully grown men, bashing away at their instruments in a manner that suggested they had never really learned any 'proper' technique and it was all the more mind-bendingly good for it. We later read a review, in fact, that put it thus: "So what exactly is the difference between an xNoBBQx recording and a couple of 14 year olds bashing instruments in the garage with record pressed down on one of their mum's old tape recorders? Probably not a whole lot, actually, but I get the feeling that's precisely the point." (Cyclic Defrost). Well, it's a helluva point. The duo, in spite of or, perhaps, due to their unabashed simplicity, manage to create sounds that are warm as an old-fashioned blanket, each piece having the ability to induce a state of complete, dribbling mental stasis. It's disjointed, scratchy and 'difficult', yes. But it also manages to be completely absorbing. If you like your rock deconstructed to the nth degree, we highly recommend you dig this stellar new 23 minute masterpiece right here." Edition of 300 copies.


GREAT POP SUPPLEMENT - in about 1 week

*Spacemen 3 - DJ Tones LP $18.99 (Great Pop Supplement)
"A limited edition five-track mini-album which features two previously unreleased Spacemen 3 tracks, a radically different mix of the classic Spacemen 3 cover of the Red Krayola's "Transparent Radiation," appearing for the first time on CD, and the ultra rare remix of "I Love You" (originally only 50 promo white label vinyl copies were ever pressed). Rounding off this mini-album is a studio version of "Ecstasy Symphony." UK import. Limited to 1,000 copies." - Revolver.


HOUSECRAFT - in about 1 week

*Kane Pour - Wand in the Beak of the Yellow Bird c20 cassette $5.99 (Housecraft)
"Some impromptu kane-to-tape dirges recorded at the LiteHouse, Gainesville in late March '09. These are the first solo recordings released in almost 20 months (see Pospulenn). Following a steady stream of Tricorn and Queue cassettes, this is falling right in stride, expanding evermore on his signature ultra-saturated poly-rhythmic stream melodics. Warm as wool. Variant covers--painted shells, cases, and inserts. numbered edition of 50."

*Tuluum Shimmering - Longhouse Spirits Gather for Fragrant Island River Dreams c60 cassette $5.99 (Housecraft)
"'Transporting' comes to mind but that doesn't seem right... this is more like a living presence. It reminds me a bit of what Siddhartha might have felt sitting on that bank, hearing/seeing an endless, seamless flow of voices/faces in the river. But rather than voices come down cautiously fused reeds, percussive bells/clatter, and rising/falling synth scales which are, at times, reminiscent of Terry Riley's work on 'Shri Camel'. Regardless of how I see it, only metaphors seem right when conveying these four compositions. This project in neck-deep in the ethereal and a must-experience for the immersive listener. Variant covers--painted shells, cases, labels, and inserts. numbered edition of 50."


IKUISUUS - this coming week

*Aosuke / Uton - split cassette $6.99 (Ikuisuus)
"Psychedelic ambient trip in sound to the abyssian wonders. Teleportal holes and dive to the other dimensions of time and focus in the free space with surreal and dreamy odd creatures. Like a soundtrack of some mysterious low-budget sci-fi movie from 23rd century "new cinema". c-60, edition of 100 copies."

*Two Who - Kesämaalla / Talvikaupungissa cassette $6.99 (Ikuisuus)
Two Who are Juuso Paaso and Hermanni Yli-Tepsa of the sprawling Helsinki-based free rock band Boris Morgana, here making music with a guitar, a violin, some electronic treatments and field recordings. This 'homebaked dervish blues' is about conjuring and exorcising demons that haunt our lives anyway in various shapes and sizes. c-60, edition of 80 copies."


IMPORTANT RECORDS - probably arriving a week from Monday

*Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Dark Side of the Black Moon: What Planet Are We On? CD $13.99 (Important Records)
"Brand new full-length recording from Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. Proggy psych sounds mix Pink Floyd with fuzzy wah guitars and cosmic sounds. Focused riffing, super fidelity recording, and packaging designed by Seldon Hunt." Double vinyl issue coming later.

*Alasehir - Torment Of The Metals LP $15.99 (Important Records)
"Limited edition of 500 copies pressed on virgin vinyl. Guitar out-crunch hailing from the Bardo Axis. Alasehir is grounded stoner heavy-zen and the second in our four part Bardo Pond related vinyl set. Alasehir's 4th release, following a CD apiece for the Important, aRCHIVE and Siltbreeze labels, Torment of The Metals 'continues their sonic exploration of dense, languorous, free expansion. Billowing and exploding like a cluster of hashish stars, they produce a cosmic energy akin to a quasar in the heavens far left of Coltrane's OM and just right of the galaxy known as Dead C's Harsh '70s Reality.' -- Siltblog"

*Alumbrados - Monochord LP $15.99 (Important Records)
"Limited edition of 500 copies pressed on virgin vinyl. The third in our four part Bardo Pond related vinyl set. 'Deep in the forest ethno-drones, drenched in buzz and shimmer. Sitar, guitar, cumbas and all sorts of percussion create exquisite layers psych drone Nirvana that will transport you to another dimension. Strangely peaceful, the music we hear in our heads when we lay in grass at night staring at the stars.' -- Aquarius Records"

*Bardo Pond - Gazing At Shilla LP $15.99 (Important Records)
"Limited edition pressing of 1000 copies on vinyl heavy enough to hold some of Bardo Pond's headiest jams. This is the first of four vinyl only Bardo-related releases coming out simultaneously on Important Records. Gazing At Shilla is Bardo Pond's first release on Important. The two pieces, both very different in sound and feel, have sat patiently in the Bardo archive waiting for the most opportune moment for release. 'Eight-Thousanders' and 'Kali' are both entirely improvised pieces with no overdubs. Slide blissfully into a smokey heaven and then forget your mind in a lower world of strange tones on side A. If you're still able to flip the record when the needle hits the runoff groove, you'll find yourself exposed to the Goddess Kali's naked blackness. Bardo is out. Are you in?"

*Moon Phantoms - Moon Phantoms LP $15.99 (Important Records)
"Limited edition of 500 copies pressed on virgin vinyl. Moon Phantoms is a collaboration of Bardo Pond, Alasehir and Suishou No Fune. The fourth release in our simultaneously released four part Bardo Pond related vinyl set. 'We Suishou No Fune and Alasehir played in East Coast tour of one week together again in the autumn, 2007. During the autumn concert tour, we had felt like that Moon always chased us. I started to look for where the moon was unawares when we visited each town. I have strongly remembered that the moon was full and very clear cut one night in Boston. The night was very pleasant and let us relax. Michael, John and Jason had a good conversation comfortably, looking at the moon. Kageo and myself also enjoyed the night to be just eased under the moonlight. I believed that we, Suishou No Fune and Alasehir could be one band under this special moonlight. The next day, I spoke my wish to perform music in one band to the members and we, all fall in each other in Providence. Therefore, the Japanese and American band named Moon Phantoms based on the concert tour with the full moon. And Moon Phantoms made the concert tour in the East Coast of the U.S.A. and had recording in Spring, 2008. Then we made this album.' -- Pirako Kurenai of Suishou No Fune."

*Om -Live Conference LP $15.99 (Important Records)
"Live Conference was recorded on 24-track remote audio and pressed at RTI in order to achieve the highest possible quality. Die-cut super heavy duty tip-on style jackets by Stoughton. On this night Om performed their seminal album Conference Of The Birds live in its entirety. Newly invoked energy resonates in the sound of the band. The dynamics between Emil Amos and Al Cisneros have rendered these songs and Om's sound into a higher evolution. Here we are given a proper documentation of Conference-era Om."


INFRACTION - less than 2 weeks

*Drafted by Minotaurs - Aversion Therapy LP $27.99 (Infraction)
"Drafted by Minotaurs mainstays are guitarist Ryan Wilson and Ian Fulcher, who contributes trumpet and glockenspiel. Meanwhile members of a floating cast chip in with added textures from cello and violin. Opener "Blueprints for Sunbuilding" spools out a hail of plucked and bowed strings, webs of sound solidifying then melting into steely flow, stall set out somewhere around cultivated Constellation post-rockeries, a mood and sound that may feel familiar to those acquainted with the new backwoods chamberisms and neo-folk drone of UK cottage industrialites such as Richard Skelton (aka A Broken Consort/Clouwbeck) and Seasons (Pre-din). "Sault Locks" proposes cyclical patterns of stringed things that seem to hover shyly apart, before swarming to swell and billow over the listener - not so much a Storm of Drones as a squall of tones. "Skin the Night and Fog," a more veiled sister of the previous pluckings and bowings, plays out a psych-infused dream sequence. These three tracks forming Side A work with their own distinct harmonic and textural patterns, while seeming like movements of something overarching. Miasmic minor chord tidal flow abounds, the music's motion determined by languorous bow-strokes, its textures by warm-prickly needles of guitar pizzicatos. Side B's single extended track, "Sunday's Morning Ghost," is wrought from similar materials, but aspires to more transcendant levels, led by the celestial harmonics of Fulcher's treated trumpet. It takes on atavistic echoes redolent of some distant Miles Davis or Jon Hassell blowback, as if viewing In a Silent Way through a post-Kosmische kaleidoscope, or channeled through Eno/Budd cathedrals to meet today's psych-drone and ambient trajectories. Overall, Aversion Therapy thrives on such productive tensions between genres and eras, as it does between live and recorded, spontaneous and pre-structured, making for engaging, at times thrillingly psychotropic, listening." - alan lockett. "The outer sleeve is a Stoughton printing tip-on style gatefold. 'Tip-on' is a separate matte sheet that is applied to thick board stock. Like LPs from the '70's, only thicker. Or 'old school' if you prefer. There is also a sort of OBI strip, or j-card that lies on the spine of the gatefold sleeves. Similar to the Japanese import vinyls - which is a nice touch (I'm biased) that gives some additional info. Then there is the vinyl itself - a slab of 180 gram virgin vinyl pressed at the vinyl pressing mecca that is RTI. The inner sleeves are audiophile grade anti-static triple layer sleeves. Lastly, the outer sleeves are resealable 4 mil plastic sleeves with flap...and they actually reseal. Mastered by Carl Saff. This LP pressing is limited to 489 copies.


KILL SHAMAN - in about 1 week

Thee Oh Sees - Zork's Tape Bruise LP + CD $19.99 (Kill Shaman)
"The LP contains home recordings, demos and crazy noise sounds. This is unlike any other OH SEES you've ever heard. It's biting, noisy and badass. Songs are catchy and dragged through a pile of distortion, tape manipulation and random instrument collisions. The CD piece contains everything they ever released on vinyl only (Intellignce split, Peanut Butter Over, etc.). They come together in one weird package that doesn't make sense. Initial pressing of 500 copies." Restocked.


LOTUS BIRTH - about 10 days

*Divine Coils and Lanterns - Easy Hours collaborative c40 cassette $8.99 (Lotus Birth)
"A sonic mind uniting collabortion between Leeds and Glasgow astral drone duo Lanterns and Oxford laminal improvising duo Divine Coils. Side A: A side long jam uniting threads of mirco tonal speaker feedback, ebowed snare, glimmers of submerged guitar vibrations, & metalaphone reverberations. Side B: One track of gentle bells, found percussion, & shimmering single note guitar, and a second of fog shrouded ambient tones and metallic whir. Limited to 80 boxed sprayed blue tapes w/ found photo negitive colour printed on card."

*Nautilus - White Diamond Flies c30 cassette $8.99 (Lotus Birth)
"Four pastorales for synth and strings from New York via Heidi Diehl of the Vanishing Voice, Time Life, et al. Side A: A throbbing autobahn highway of pulsating synthesiser, shimmering new age chords, tense melodica klaxons, and immersed vocals. Side B: Reverbed acoustic motifs woven with submerged electric wah wah guitar; and a final coda of balkan folk melodies, melodica, and reprised synth. Limited to 60 boxed sprayed black tapes, with cover still from Nautilus directed Time Life Demetrius video." Out of print - last copies.


MAD MONK - in 2 weeks

Wand - Born Bad LP $13.99 (Mad Monk / People In A Position To Know)
"Brand new VINYL ONLY LP by WAND aka James Jackson Toth, documenting an unraveling of psyche and soul. A psychedelic and almost comically intimate ode to abandonment and bad choices. Hand screened covers containing an insert with full lyric sheet, and pressed on swirly psychedelic vinyl (no two alike!). These are already almost sold out, and though a small repress may be likely down the road, future editions will be different (not hand screened, etc). Limited to 500 copies and going very fast." Repressed - 2nd edition.


MEXICAN SUMMER - in 2 weeks

*Wooden Shjips - Contact LP $19.99 (Mexican Summer) "This release is brand a new slab from SF's incomparable Wooden Shjips. They are a modern day answer to space rockers like Hawkwind, F/i, or just the good parts of Van der Graaff Generator. This band helped to kick off the modern small-press vinyl revival with their debut 10" EP (now a sought-after collectors' piece) and eking out limited releases one at a time since 2005. For this release the band has cooked up a two-song EP of colossal proportions. "Contact" is a cover of a Serge Gainsbourg classic, made famous by Brigitte Bardot. The Shjips update with their patented thousand yard psych-cosmos stare, transposing the original's freakbeat tendencies with a Krautrock bassline and a transcendental wander that'll put you in the zone, every time. Once there, chill out even harder to the "EZ Version" of original "I Hear the Vibrations," is slower, grander, heavier, and dreamier, and takes full advantage of the 12" format for better fidelity and a truly blissful listening experience." Edition of 350 copies. There will be a 2nd pressing in another month or so of 500 more copies. For now, I am limited to only 5 copies of this so the first 5 requests will get copies.


NO-FI RECORDS - less than 2 weeks

*Sir Richard Bishop - Plays Sun City Girls 7" $7.99 (No-Fi Records)
"First release in NO-FI's Archive Series recorded live at Morden Tower, July 2005, and featuring SCG classics from Torch Of The Mystics: 'Space Prophet Dogon', 'Esoterica Of Abyssynnia" and a touch of 'The Vinegar Strokes'. Live recording by Andrew Hodson." "more radical rethinks than acoustic tributes. As one third of Sun City Girls, its Bishop's obvious right to explore his own material, but these beautifully energetic takes seem utterly revitalised by anyone's standards." - Scott McKeating, brainwashed.com. Released June 2006.

*Burning Star Core - Amelia 10" $11.99 (No-Fi Records)
"First in the series of six 10"s by C. Spencer Yeh entitled 'Mes Soldats Stupides 96-05'. Hard to find reissues on vinyl for the first time. Includes insert with design by guest artist Robert Beatty (Hair Police)." "Three very different but equally captivating electronic pieces, this may be some of the most focused work Spencer has produced to date." (Rock-A-Rolla magazine)

*Burning Star Core - WSBC/SSS 10" $11.99 (No-Fi Records)
"Second in the series of six 10"s from C. Spencer Yeh, launching immediately into a giant feedback epic that slowly reveals delicate harmonies beneath a sea of howling distortion. This edition comes with insert insert design by John Olson (Wolf Eyes)."

*Flower-Corsano Duo - The Undisputed Dimension 7" $7.99 (No-Fi Records)
"The unholy alliance of Mick Flower and percussive everyman Chris Corsano: Corsano has been widely hailed as the next chapter in the story of out-there drumming - he's played with everyone worth mentioning at the massive freenoisefolkpsych crossroads. Similarly, Mick's renowned for his work with Vibracathedral Orchestra and Sunburned Hand Of The Man, amongst many others. Together they construct a devilishly beautiful psychedelic maelstrom, Chris like a polyrhythmic octopus on the kit, Mick conjuring sublime lysergic ragas from the shaahi baaja."

*Volcano The Bear - Birth of Streissand 7" $7.99 (No-Fi Records)
"First non-archive release for NO-FI. VTB at their most abstract. Released November 2006."


NOT NOT FUN - expected this week

*Dreamcolour - Spiritual Celebration cassette $6.99 (Not Not Fun)
"There's currently a glut of bands dog-paddling around the trans-continental psych-pond with names involving words like 'color,' 'dream,' and 'infinity,' and Ventura County brass-groove arkestra Dreamcolour are smack thick in the middle of this '08-'09 nomenclatorial zeitgeist (though to their credit they use the British spelling). Yet, semi-ironically, the mood of the zones they explore on Spiritual Celebration are wonderfully vintage, with a strange, reverential "out of time" quality that seems decidedly non-NOW. Hand-drums beat along with a steady, easy lope, saxes are crooned (not skronked) smoothly up towards the sun, Farfisa trills further brighten the corners. There's no damaged FX-abuse or lo-fi freakouts; all minds are fused into one gently simmering open-air spiritual jazz homage. Echoes of Don Cherry abound. The tape is split into three chapters: a stunning 20-minute A-side hayride ("Spiritual Celebration"), a briefer horn flurry piece ("Sun Ritual"), and a gorgeous lunar meditation chamber ("Moon Ritual"). A great West Coast force with an exotic back catalogue and a killer live vibe, worth keeping tabs on. Pro-dubbed cassettes in cases with full-color marker/collage J-cards designed by Amanda. Edition of 100 copies."

*Heavy Winged & Inca Ore - Ring Mining LP $13.99 (Not Not Fun)
"Wild collaborative LP by these 2 deep psych visionaries. One side is a studio collab merging HW's pummeling psych-frenzy with cascading waves of IO-keyboard bliss. The other side is a rare, unhinged live recording of the single time these outfits ever performing together...imagine HW with a freaked out lead singer. Strange and great." "A stunning, crazy, radical joining-of-forces between our favorite instrumental psych-light power trio and our favorite west coast private voice dreamer, a full 3 years in the making. one side is a wild live collab from a 2006 brooklyn performance, the other is a 2008 studio creation. the best of both worlds. mastered by james plotkin."

*Matrix Metals - Flamingo Breeze cassette $6.99 (Not Not Fun)
"The Southern California mythology glints in the irises of certain dreamers more radiantly than it does in others, and few crews have begun capturing the imaginary high life of neon Corvette rides, Ray-Bans at night, and sea-breeze mind-surfing better than the Outer Limits Recordings collective. They operate under most radars but their output is a radical Rubik's Cube of riddles, tape hiss, and tranced pop utopias. Matrix Metals is casually referred to as an "alien lounge music" project, but that's not even the half of it. A hotwired collection of fringe-vision vignettes that roves from ghost club beats to astral 80s TV theme songs to loopy interdimensional dub-funk and beyond, Flamingo Breeze is a capitalized question mark in the NNF canon, and a recent obsession of ours. Anonymous pro-dubbed white tapes in cases with full-color "VHS box collage" J-cards designed by the artist, plus an insert and 2 tickets to a Matrix Metals performance at a fictional club in the future. Edition of 125."

*Vibes - Psychic 7" $5.99 (Not Not Fun)
"Every family has a freak (or 2). Every deck's got a wild card. We've got Vibes. Ante up. NNF's loosest cannons return to the recording fray with, Psychic, a blown-out briar patch of basement garage fantasy masquerading as obscurist protest funk - and the band's first vinyl statement. Recorded in Eagle Rock on a "last legs"-style 4-track, the EP's four songs are jacked deep in the red, with fuzz bass, wah shrapnel, vocal sloganeering, and drum racket all fighting for tape room. Competition is fierce. Recent live faves like "Dead Horses" and "Night Court" appear in particularly revved-up form, as do the first two Vibes songs ever written, "Psychic" and "Prisms Of Fame." All bases are covered. All soul trains are derailed. Here comes the judge. Black vinyl 33 RPM singles in full-color fold-over sleeves with collage artwork and lettering by Cameron Stallones, photographs by Caitlin C. Mitchell, plus a rant-y revolution scrapbook insert. Edition of 400."


PEASANT MAGIK - expected this week

*Expo '70 - Psychosis LP $16.99 (Peasant Magik)
"Random alien noises drift in and out, distracting you from the hellish static brewing. Melodies begin to creep out of the murk, still covered in filth, trying desperately to escape, forever being pulled back down. Guitars lament for their fallen brothers, and the battle begins. Standard edition consists of 180 gram black vinyl, silk screened 12" x 24" insert, and pro-printed covers and OBI."

*Tunnels - In Between Dreams cassette $5.99 (Peasant Magik)
"It's hard to believe that there is only one man behind Tunnels. When I first heard these recordings I thought that Nicholas, as a joke, had sent me some super rare desert psych-folk record he found. Maybe he did? I imagine him walking around one lazy afternoon, getting some coffee, and tripping over a box of moldy records someone tossed in the gutter. He looks through and finds this one stuck to the back of some mid-80s Fleetwood Mac record. The cover is a pasted on, hand drawn picture of a naked lady throwing up rainbows and laying in a field of exploding mushrooms. The band name is lost forever, half stuck to the back of the FM record. He goes home and spends the rest of the afternoon carefully scrapping off the black mold. Finally he gets enough of it off to actually play the record, and transfers it to tape, so as not to further damage his record player. The tape makes its way to his car and gets lost under his seat. Months later, he rediscovers the tape, only now it's covered in Dr. Pepper and melted Jolly Ranchers. Nick tranfers it to cdr and sends it over to me with the name In Between Dreams on it, which seems very fitting in this context. Pro-dubbed and imprinted cassettes. Full color three panel, double sided j-card with artwork by Morgan Alexandra Ritter."


PIZZA NIGHT / PIZZA WAGON - expected this week

*Bee Mask - No Mutant Enemy c20 cassette $8.99 (Pizza Night)
"Hot of heels of Weird Forest LP... this jams, bell manipulation and synths .. he's the best!"

*Fragments - Retching Sunshine c60 cassette $8.99 (Pizza Night)
"If people freaked out on the Hanson tape, they will be shocked by this full hour of insane synth zones... actually sounds like early Tangerine Dream."

*Mark McGuire - Pocket Full of Rain double cassette $14.99 (Pizza Night)
"Best Mark McGuire tape to date in my opinion, absolutely so fresh, literally recorded a week ago (mid-April 2009)... full color inside and out..." - Sam Goldberg

*Mist - Stole Colors double cassette $14.99 (Pizza Wagon)
"Slightly more refined cosmic music than the last Mist release from Sam Goldberg and Emeralds' John Elliot. Heavy prog synth zone..LP coming soon." Out of print.


PLANAM - in 2 weeks

*Cornelius Cardew - 'Treatise' performed by Keith Rowe & Oren Ambarchi LP $21.99 (Planam)
Cornelius Cardew's opus magnus "Treatise" is a 193 page graphic score written between 1963 and 1967 while he was performing with the improvisation group AMM. The score's graphic notation, with its intricately devised graphic lines, shapes and symbols was intended to question the limits of compositional practice. Decisions concerning pitch, timbre and duration, along with the choice of instruments and the number of performers, are left entirely to the discretion of those willing to devise the rules and means for its performance. This realisation of 4 pages from "Treatise" by Keith Rowe (Tabletop Guitar) and Oren Ambarchi (Guitar), possibly the most powerful ever acheived, was recorded live at Bimhuis in Amsterdam on Feb 8th 2009. Rowe and Ambarchi use the guitar as a point of departure for completely new techniques and sound environments. Already in the 1960s Rowe made a radical departure from traditional jazz, redefining the guitar in the British collective AMM. He prefers to lay the instrument on the table to manipulate its sound with springs, fans, office appliances and electronics. Ambarchi, also in Sun O))), Menstruation Sisters and Burial Chamber Trio, predominantly uses laptop to mould guitar sounds into dark sonic patterns. Cornelius Cardew might be considered the most relevant contemporary composer from Great Britain. In the end of the 1950s Karlheinz Stockhausen was very impressed by Cardew's abilities as a musician and his knowledge of new music and invited him to partecipate to the historical "Kontrefestival" concerts in Cologne (an important pre-fluxus event). In 1960 Cardew was at Darmstadt were he met John Cage, David Tudor and among others Walter Marchetti. Cage's experimental techniques were very inspiring for Cardew who, in 1969 founded the Scratch Orchestra, a large, rotating group of professional and amateur performers committed to collective experimentation which might be considered as one of the most convincing collective experiments in the history of 20th century avant-garde culture. Edition limited to 300 copies, reproducing on the sleeve and the innersleeve the 4 pages from "Treatise" performed by Rowe-Ambarchi."

*Klaus Roeder - Kristallisationen LP $21.99 (Planam)
"Klaus Roeder is guitar virtuoso an electronic music artist who studied with Kelemen and joined Kraftwerk for their famous "Autobahn" LP. He often works with very small sound particles, whose sound comes from different sources like tearing paper, the voice, a musical instrument, synthesizer or computer sounds. Sound structures are built by joining together those sound particles and by mixing those structures Roeder forms chords. Then the process of crystallization begins. Usually crystallization means that small parts are deposited around a germ and form a growing crystall. The shape of the complete crystall is a consequence of outer influences. A series of sound crystals forms then the complete musical composition. Side 1 presents two electronic music works: "10: 11: 12" (1980) for self-built Impulse Generator is an obscure, very minimal and abstract pulsating piece, while "Kristallisation 4 (1991) for Computer Sounds and Yamaha DX 802 might be considered one of the peaks of Klaus Roeder "Kristallisation" series. Side 2 introduces us to a different formal result of Roeder crystallisation process: the short "Haenschen Blues" (1993) for children singing and crying, Yamaha TX 802 controlled by selfmade programs for Atari TT is a both playful and sinister electronic assemblage anticipating the peak of this record, "Potpourri" (1985) a Collage of short sound particles from German Pop Hits of the 1970s and 1980s. In the perspective on sound collages (from Battiato "Ethika Fon Ethica" to Bladder Flask first LP, from NWW most surrealistic works to John Oswald classic plunderphonics) "Potpourri" might be more close to the brut masterpiece "InOut" by Anton Bruhin, only constructed in a more advanced and scientific way. Edition limited to 300 copies, also including a series of inserts with the diagrams and schedules of the 4 compositions presented on this LP."

*Michel Vogel - Une Petite Musique de Nuit LP $21.99 (Planam)
"Planam proudly presents the first LP by the artist and sound sculptor Michel Vogel. Born in 1941 in Strasbourg, France, Michel Vogel artistic activities start in 1960 when, as a painter under the materic influences of Antoni Tapies and Jean Dubuffet, his mineral and sound experimentations built a universe influenced by free jazz, extra-European music and Olivier Messiaen. His researches develop with new sculptures and the creation of his own resonating metal instruments. His friends of the minimalist group, and specially the Fluxus artists, support and push him to carry on his acoustics explorations while his sonic creations get closer to the music of John Cage, Philip Corner, Morton Feldman and Giacinto Scelsi. For this first project Planam selected, in direct collaboration with the artist, an improvisation for large size gongs "prepared" with metal rods, little gong, Chinese cymbal, caoutchouc ball, titled "Une petite musique de nuit". Recorded live with no over-dubbing the night of January 18th, 2002. A very deep and alfa-wave oriented listening that will make you discover very intimate as well as stellar new sonic dimentions. Edition limited to 300 copies, with full colour space cover and innersleeve."


PSF RECORDS - in 2 weeks

*Ryojiro Furusawa & Kan Mikami - Buriki / Tin CD $15.99 (PSF)
"A sparse and stripped-back yet fully impassioned meditation on time, history and freedom. Surreal folk meets free jazz. Two tracks, including a 24 minute, one-take masterpiece. Ryojiro Furusawa is one of Japan's most respected jazz drummers, having played from the late '60s with everyone from Yosuke Yamashita and Sadao Watanabe to Yuji Imamura, Maki Asakawa and Shang Shang Typhoon. He's also been a long time collaborator with Kan Mikami, appearing on Kan's Bang! album in 1974. Kan Mikami is Japan's wisest and wildest folk-poet, a surreal master of the non-sequitur blues, a worldclass howler of truth and passion. This is the duo's third album, following Shokugyo (1987) and Dereki (2007). Gatefold high-gloss papersleeve, including lyrics in Japanese and English."

*Keiji Haino / Makoto Kawabata / Tatsuya Yoshida - Ichi to Ichi to Ichi ga Kasanatte Shimaumade DVD $19.99 (PSF)
Features Keiji Haino (guitar), Makoto Kawabata (guitar), and Tatsuya Yoshida (drums). "Second release by a new super-group featuring Keiji Haino, Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple), and Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins). Recorded live in Tokyo in December 2008. An hour's worth of sharply photographed alternately dense, brutal, coruscating and beautiful interplay from three of the hardest hitters in the Japanese underground, with the interplay between Haino's scalding, molten darkness and Kawabata's crunch and ripple particularly invigorating.
NB For those confused by the title, the trio's previous release on Magaibutsu was entitled Ichi to ichi ga kasanatte shimaumade (Until one and one come to overlap). This one is Ichi to ichi to ichi ga kasanatte shimaumade (Until one and one and one come to overlap). Just so you knowŠFifty-nine minutes. Region-free NTSC DVD." - Alan Cummings

*Kousokuya - Live At Shinjuku Jam, 2006 DVD $19.99 (PSF)
"The sudden death of Jutok Kaneko in January 2007 robbed the Tokyo underground scene of one of its most startlingly original and emotionally devastating psychedelic free-thinkers. Kousokuya was the cold-space rock group that he led, on and off, since the late 1970s. This DVD documents two of the group's final concerts, in May and October 2006 at Shinjuku JAM in Tokyo. The group's unique sound was founded on the dark, staggered spaces set up by the jarring rhythms set up by bassist Mick and drummer Ikuro Takahashi (ex-Fushitsusha) over which Kaneko drapes some jaw-dropping guitar -- bleak, brutal power-riffing one minute, shading into deep-space feedback filigrees and baroque fuzz forms the next. Unbearably psychedelic, deeply affecting and a fitting memorial to one of the great rock groups of the last 30 years." 120 mins.; Color; NTSC region-free; Stereo Dolby Digital; 08:11:21.

*Li Jianhong - Classic of the Mountains and Seas CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Psychedelic hermeticism an avant-guitar mandala by Chinese prodigy."

*Maher Shalal Hash Baz with Masami Shinoda - Koshi Kudake No Inu DVD $19.99 (PSF)
"Enticing archival document of an early (1987) show by wide-eyed mystics Maher Shalal Hash Baz at Kid Ailack Art Hall, Tokyo. The visuals provide a rare and valuable opportunity to pick apart the working methods of one of the Japanese underground's most truly original and agile thinkers, Tori Kudo. In Maher Shalal Hash Baz, he took the heterophonic voicings, the deliberately fluctuating rhythmic mis-steps and the non-unison unison so characteristic of Japanese traditional music and re-applied them to idiot savant mini-hymns arranged for electric guitar, euphonium, ocarina and organ. It's a music that exists in a unique world of its own, alternately donning and shedding the armor of rock and jazz. Another major draw is the presence of the late Masami Shinoda on alto sax. Shinoda was an important, though largely unsung, figure in the history of the Tokyo underground during the '80s and '90s, showing up in all manner of groups from punk iconoclasts Jagatara and Pungo, to his own experiments with chindon marching advertising bands. He spent a few years in Maher in the '80s and this DVD captures the innocent joy and rapturous invention he brought to their music. 24 tracks, 75 minutes. Color, NTSC Region Free (says Region 2 on the package, but that is a typo, it plays Region Free), Stereo, 08.09.21." - FE

*New Miminokoto - All About Mimi CD $15.99 (PSF)
No info yet. Features Suzuki Junzo (guitar ,vocals), Nishimura Takuya (bass), Shimura Koji (drums). Group is now called New Miminokoto.

*Tamio Shiraishi & MICO - Live Duo CD $15.99 (PSF)
Alto saxophone - Tamio Shiraishi; Alto saxophone, piano molanica, etc. - MICO. "A rare live album from one of the major names in the Japanese free noise underground, Tamio Shiraishi. Shiraishi was one of the major movers in the free noise/underground rock/DIY improv Minor scene of the late '70s and early '80s that gave birth to so many of the major names in the Japanese underground. This compilation of live recordings captures Shiraishi live in Europe, the U.S. and Japan between 2001 and 2007, together with NNCK member, MICO. Forceful, intense, chaotic improvisations for saxophone, vocals, percussion, piano etc. Shiraishi's trademark ultra high-pitched dog-whistle sax and guttural vocals are showcased to full and outstanding effect." - Alan Cummings

*Shizuka - Live / Traditional Aesthetics CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Shizuka were THE great lost-in-action group of the Tokyo underground psych scene during the early to mid-'90s. Led by doll-maker Shizuka, and with ex-Fushitsusha alumni Maki Miura and Jun Kosugi on hand, they created some of the most fragile and intense acid-rock of their time, but remained largely undocumented and under appreciated. The gig documented on this CD, recorded at Bears in Osaka in 1995, was long whispered of amongst the cognoscenti. Shizuka's uncanny vocals and tremulous sense of timing washing like brown sugar over fluid nebulae of guitar and drum nirvana, peaking and churning in perfect, weightless filigrees of light, cosmic cold and invisible motion. " - Alan Cummings

*Satoshi Sonoda - Early Works Of Satoshi Sonoda 1977-1978 (Memories of Yasushi Ozawa) CD $15.99 (PSF)
"Conceived of as a tribute to the late Fushitsusha bassist Yasushi Ozawa, who passed away in February 2008, this CD presents a fascinating and rare glimpse of the nascent Tokyo underground scene, circa 1977/1978. Another piece of the puzzle! Compiled by Satoshi Sonoda, who led a student club at Meiji University dedicated to the performance and appreciation of free and out musics of many stripes, the CD documents the fascination with musical collisions of free jazz, rigorous twentieth century composition, art-inspired free improv moves, as well as the fried gargle of acid punk. Capturing small scale shows in after-hours university classrooms and tiny clubs, this is a music that is just intensely evocative of its specific time and place. Includes appearances by Yasushi Ozawa, Satoshi Sonoda, Chie Mukai, Masami Tada, and members of Gaseneta. Seven tracks, 75 minutes. Includes extensive, detailed liner-notes about the people, places and happenings of late seventies Tokyo by Satoshi Sonoda in both Japanese and English." -- Alan Cummings

+ a ton of restocks (High Rise, Shizuka, Mainliner...)


QBICO - expected this week

*Kluster and Friends - 1969-1973 6xLP Box $199.99 (QBICO)
black vinyls/black labels/black inner sleeves. box, spray painted (stencil/lettering by Troglosound) in gold or silver or bronze (3 versions) and with clear plastic insert (rare photos). UNRELEASED MUSIC ! here's a little story for you:
when i mailed the news about the closure of qbico in 2010, some friends and musicians wrote me back... one was Conrad Schnitzler wondering if i wanna close with THE BOMB ! i said "yes, why not !?". so Con sent me 6 CD-R of UNRELEASED Kluster music, rec. in 1969-73 (along with Klaus Freudigmann and Wolfgang Seidel) ! he said to choose yr favourite 40 (+/-) from the 1 hour lenght of each CD-R, so to adjust to vinyl format... well, that's was one of the most joyful experience of my life ! this 6LP box collect that music which it's simply some of the most outstanding and revolutionary music that i ever heard !!! One of the most legendary release on Qbico ?! YES (screaming)!" - QBICO. Waiting for last shipment to arrive - still have a about 4 copies available once these arrive.


REACTOR - expected in less than 2 weeks (these got delayed)

*Loop - World In Your Eyes triple CD $19.99 (Reactor)
"The World in Your Eyes and A Gilded Eternity are the final two releases in a series of long-overdue and definitive reissues by British primal psych band Loop. Originally a 1987 singles collection, The World in Your Eyes has now been re-released as a remastered triple-CD set. All the band's 12-inches and compilation appearances are in chronological order, with some tracks from the very first Loop demo, the "16 Dreams" single, Nick Drake and Neil Young songs, the Prisma Uber Europa live promo 12-inch, and even the Godflesh cover from their split on Clawfist. In all, 27 tracks from six 12-inch releases and four compilations, packaged as three CDs in wallets in a slipcase."

*Loop - A Gilded Eternity double CD $17.99 (Reactor)
"The World in Your Eyes and A Gilded Eternity are the final two releases in a series of long-overdue and definitive reissues by British primal psych band Loop. A Gilded Eternity is the last in the Loop reissues series--their final album, first released in 1990. This two-disc set has been remastered from the original analog sources and includes extra material from the relevant timeframe. The original album in its entirety is on one disc, with bonus tracks, including Peel Session material and unreleased demos, on the second disc."


ROLL OVER ROVER - expected this week

*Sean McCann / Black Eagle Child -New Molluska c-66 $5.99 (Roll Over Rover) "Another 'twofer here, this one being the second in a (hopefully) long chain of splits between Sean McCann and Mike Jantz (BEC). SM's side features squished synth and dripping strings, while BEC's side journeys to new lands, sailing from peninsula to peninsula until sundown. Produbbed, purple shells - limited to 100 copies.

SLOOW TAPES - expected in 2 weeks

*Cybele Collins - Book $? (Sloow Tapes)
"Very pleased to present this collection of beautiful drawings by the amazing Cybele Collins. She also records as Blue Shift and her visions have graced covers for labels such as Last Visible Dog and Rare Youth. Drawings have appeared in dozens of magazines including Morbid Curiosity, Paper Rodeo, Sound Projector, Free Radicals, The Ganzfeld, Cemetery Dance, Shimmer, Dark Animus and Vial. Full color cover, 36 b&w pages."

*Von Himmel - Space Communion cassette $? (Sloow Tapes)
"Mysterious recordings by anonymous band that crashed my doorstep and skull. Never knew where it came from nor where it's heading to. Headmusic for the Kraut gathered on Strawberry Hill. Combine the most spaced-out Ash Ra Tempel passages with late-period Cosmic Jokers sexy collage. Wow. 70 copies."


SUPER METSÄ - should be here within 10 days

Doktor Kettu - Soft Delirium CD $14.99 (Super Metsä)
"Doktor Kettu sounds like a rock'n'roll band being thrown down a well in low gravity. Years ago they hid themselves in a small cottage by the sea, only to emerge later as a stream of CD-R releases documenting their slow rituals. Today all of these recordings are desperately sought-after collector's items, but the band itself has carefully stayed away from sight. Now Ektro's Super Metsä imprint is releasing the first "proper" Doktor Kettu offering ever - Soft Delirium is music that is so disconnected from time that its notes are only now just about to reach us, two years after the recording session. Doktor Kettu is Petri Hagner, Jussi Lehtisalo, Tuomas Niskanen, Alpo Nummelin and Jouko Salenius." 3 tracks 41 minutes.


TROGLOSOUND - expected this week

*Golden Jooklo Age - Ritual one-sided LP $24.99 (Troglosound)
"Second press (the first was an ultra-ltd edition of 12 copies) of this obscure live recording, an ethereal vortex of electric moon-sounding mandolin and slow bass (Luca Massolin), spacey keyboards (David Vanzan), primitive astral soprano sax and voice (Virginia Genta). Atmospheres for the end of the earthly." Edition of 280 copies with handmade collage artwork by Troglosound.

restocks:

Jooklo Finnish Quartet - Birthday Session one-sided LP $24.99 (Troglosound)
"The Birthday Session features the wild burning sound of the two crossed tenor and soprano saxophones of Sami Pekkola and Virginia Genta, alongside with Tero Kemppainen on a deeply blues double-bass and David Vanzan on exploding free drums. Recorded in Helsinki after ten days of tour around Finland (right on the night of Genta's birthday) and first fruit of the Jooklo finnish brotherhood, this session turned to be a deep exploration of the purifying fire that brings to complete and sublime liberation. The Quartet Session was taped at the end of a long and exhausting day of recordings in many different combinations, so the last energy came out in these three wildest improvisations. The first take "Tenors Force" sees the weave of the two tenors creating mirrors' like dynamics and getting one together on the deep impressing bass lines and the flowing drums. Then the sound turns on "Breath Time", a moment of suspension and dilatation, to prepare the right energy for the last "Soprano Connections", elevating the free Spirit of fire music to its highest sensitive point, like under the Grace of a divine breast." One sided 12" on black vinyl - numbered edition of 224 copies with hand-made collage artwork by Troglosound. Super nice!

Tulasi - Huomen Tuone one-sided LP $24.99 (Troglosound)
"One of the most harmonic expressions of spiritual freak-folk coming out from Finland, this first vinyl from the band Tulasi spreads around warm and positive feelings in six songs created through spontaneous junctions of flute, guitar, violin, percussions, tambura and voices. So, the perfect sound to bring our Souls peacefully inside the wintertime is coming directly from the North, inside a bright colours handmade sleeve made by Troglosound using drawings and collage. One more very limited edition of 130 copies." Recommended! Last copies - out of print.


UNKNOWN LABEL / NO LABEL - not sure when I'll have these. No guarantee I'll actually get them either but I've pre-ordered copies.

*The Manson Family - Family Jams picture disc LP $34.99
"The lost acid-folk "desert music" songs of Charles Manson, recorded during his trial in 1970 by Family members Clem on guitar and vocals, Gypsy on violin, and featuring the ultra-
ethereal vocals of Gold and Country Sue. Very limited pressing of 500 copies, Euro import."


UZU AUDIO - these had to be repressed (side 4 failed the test pressing) so I'm not sure when to expect these

*Spiral Joy Band - Pleasure Is The Headlight double LP $24.99 (Uzu Audio)
"Featuring two members of the most excellent Pelt, the Spiral Joy Band swells forth from Blacksburg, Virginia, with a follow up to their album "Wake of the Dying Sun King" and now hitting the streets along side their new album "Little Sparrow", both on VHF Records. This double LP set features recordings from two eras of the Spiral Joy Band. The first is from 2005, the second 2007. A cacophony of gongs, bowls, bells, chimes, electronics, fiddle, bowed cymbals, esraj, harmonium, sruti and electronics played by Mikel Dimmik, Michael Gangloff, Amy Shea and Nathan Bowles, along with a guest or two, here and there. "Pleasure Is The Headlight" features 5 tracks in total spread over 4 sides. The first three being long trance inducing meditations recorded in Blacksburg and Ironto. The fourth side features unique recordings, the first is a solo wind chime performance recorded in a gift shop, featuring the murmur of confused patrons and what is likely some truly wonderful AM radio piped in over the store's stereo system. The second track is a slow hazy day at the beach, with gongs, seagulls, and the gentle roar of the ocean. Pressed on 180 gram black vinyl and limited to about 400 copies, this album comes in a custom gatefold jacket with letter pressed cover art and silk screened inside art."