All products

Taking up the gauntlet thrown down by New York's no wave scene, many Italian bands of the early '80s, playing far from the footlights of the world's stage, began creating compelling, and often cutting edge, hybrid sounds. This kind of experimenting soon went viral along the entire peninsula: from Southern Italy to the Alps, creating a brave new Italian take on post-punk. From the nervous white funk of Neopolitans Bisca, to the instrumental explorations of Confusional Quartet, to the "fake jazz" of the Hi-Fi Bros (who even had a track produced by Arto Lindsay), to Band Aid, this collection testifies to one of the most creative periods of the Italian underground. Also features: Eazycon, Modern Model, Die Form, Funkwagen, Nofun, Hakkah, Illogico, Rinf, and State Of Art. Includes CD; CD features the previously unreleased bonus track by La Maison, "Noise Express".

talia Synthetica 1981-1985 represents the musical mutation that occurred after the post-punk hangover gave way to more frigid emotional shores, in-line with the synth-wave moment that was sweeping Europe and the white cliffs of Albion. This scene flourished in Italy between 1981-1985, and the musicians that came out of it are still revered today (particularly in the US). Robotic rhythms and intuitions that, besides sharing common ground with the electronic movements that had come before, also knew how to fill up the dancefloor. Featuring four previously unreleased tracks by Der Blaue Reiter, along with tracks by Modo, Actor's Studio, and La Maison, as well as the still fresh sounding contributions by true pioneers of the genre Neon and Naif Orchestra. Also features Ein-st-ein, Scortilla, Eurotunes, Oh Oh Art, and 2+2=5 featuring Paolo Mauri. LP includes CD which includes five bonus tracks from the Italia New Wave LP (SPITTLE 031LP). Included CD features Jeunesse D'Ivoire, Fockewulf 190, State Of Art, N.O.I.A., and 2+2=5.

Established in 1968 by Romano Di Bari, Canopo was the first brick in the building of Flippermusic, the leading production music library in Italy. Revived after decades of hiatus, the label is now devoted to the reissue of Flippermusic’s historic catalogue of the 1960s, 1970s and 80s for the first time since its original release onto vinyl, digitized and re-mastered from the original master tapes so that these legendary recordings can be heard once again. This classic Italian production music was all recorded in Rome recording studios by a heritage of composers including Alessandro Alessandroni, Amedeo Tommasi, Gerardo Iacoucci, Remigio Ducros, Romolo Grano, Daniela Casa, Piero Montanari and many more.

“Italiany Library Vaults” is a 12 track compilation bringing together the best tracks produced by Flippermusic in the first years of his activity. Ranging between different musical genres, it offers a wide range vision of this great musical legacy. This volume features a unique cover design, replica of the original albums published on Canopo label from late 60’s.

Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, Italie: Polyphonies des Quatre Provinces is a valuable field recording that documents the polyphonic singing traditions of a mountainous region in northern Italy, known as a cultural area where music, language, and customs transcend administrative boundaries. In this region, festive music combining orally transmitted polyphonic vocals and traditional instrumental accompaniment continues to be passed down, making this album a vivid sonic experience of the vocal culture and communal memory rooted in the Italian highlands.

New compilation and long overdue next entry in the long running 'Jah Children Invasion' compilation series! This volume focuses on Wackies' foray into digital reggae, with a killer selection of tracks from the late '80s and early '90s. There are three previously unreleased tunes alongside seven others culled from prior rare and long out of print releases. In DKR style this comes in a 2 sided hand silkscreened jacket.

Back in circulation after over a decade, Jahtari’s seminal “Jahtarian Dubbers Vol. 1 EP” receives the long-awaited reissue treatment, reviving the raw, 8-bit-infused dub vibes that defined a new era of digital roots music. Originally released in 2008 and quickly disappearing into dub obscurity, this heavyweight 12” returns with four essential cuts that perfectly encapsulate the Jahtari sound—where chiptune meets the echo chamber. The EP kicks off with Blaze Dem’s “Roots Defender,” a hypnotic concotion of deep basslines and eerie samples from a Swedish cult ritual, setting a heavy tone right from the start. disrupt’s cinematic “Kozure Okami” follows, channeling Black Ark vibes through 8-bit synth explorations. On the flip, John Frum delivers the hauntingly beautiful “January Dub,” while Rootah’s slomo slammer “Holy Mount Part 2” closes the EP with Lynchian, echo-soaked vibrations that linger long after the needle lifts. Timeless tracks, mastered by CGB-1 at D&M in Berlin for maximum impact. Pivotal piece of Dub music!

A special cassette-only Halloween drop in the form of part one of a two-part Japanese post-punk, goth & new wave mixtape, the first in a tranche of globally-focused mixes reissued in partnership with Philadelphia’s punk archivists World Gone Mad.

Another cassette-only mixtape taking in Soviet punk selections, 1985 to 1992, issued in partnership with Philadelphia's World Gone Mad.

First in a series of 78 restorations, this one focuses on gagaku & Buddhist chant. Beautiful, lost-in-time recordings -- produced to perfection from one of the world's greats. An extensive anthology of traditional Japanese music was recorded around 1941-1942 by Kokusai Bunka Shinkô-kai: International Organization for the Promotion of Culture. KBS was established under the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs in 1934 for cultural exchange between Japan and foreign countries. In 1972 it became the Japan Foundation, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. KBS activities ranged from lectures, concerts, artistic and academic exchange, publishing books, photos, to producing films and records, establishing libraries and related cultural facilities abroad, among them this record set of traditional Japanese music. Gagaku ("elegant music") is the oldest surviving musical tradition, with a history of more than 1,300 years. It has been developed and passed down, strongly associated with imperial court cultures. Gagaku in current practice may be divided into three categories, by origin and style; 1) indigenous vocal and dance repertoires, primarily performed in the Shinto ceremonies accompanied by several Japanese indigenous and foreign instruments; 2) foreign instrumental music and dances, tôgaku (music of Chinese origin) and komagaku (music of Korean origin) used in various court, Buddhist, and Shinto ceremonies, which consist of various instruments brought from the Asian continent; and 3) vocalized Japanese or Chinese poetry, saibara and rôei established in 9th century Japan, mainly enjoyed by high-ranking noblemen in rather informal court ceremonies. In the words of World Arbiter's Allan Evans: "Current gagaku sounds brittle, easily cracked, very delicate. And in 1941 they used fewer performers but have a solidity, a weight. They were carrying on a tradition that was part of an immortal empire, a vision of permanence. Four years later it was over." In 1942, a set of sixty 78 rpm discs documenting the most authentic traditions in Japanese music was privately issued. Due to the war and neglect, few copies survive. This disc marks the beginning of its restoration.

The World Arbiter label presents 1941 recordings of the Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai -- masters of the koto and shamisen, heard with excerpts from theater and songs performed by many artists born in the Meiji period. They represent the earliest examples of ancient classical traditions. In the late 1930s, Japanese musicologists and experts completed years of work on a project to record their country's musical cultures, starting with ritualized shamanic traditions of the palace's gagaku, Buddhist chant, Noh theater, blind lute (biwa) players chanting medieval epics, a body of koto music, shamisens of kabuki dances, folk songs of workers, artisans, farmers, and children's songs. Five volumes, each with 12 78 rpm discs, comprised the leading performers of the time, many born into a Japan that newly opened to the West in 1868, taught by masters of an earlier isolated Japan. These recordings were meant to be given only to educational institutions and not sold. Right before starting their distribution, war broke out in 1941. Beate Sirota Gordon, age 22, accompanied the U.S. Army to Japan in 1946. She had grown up in Tokyo with her parents, Russian pianists whose pupils included Yoko Ono and her father. Beate secretly wrote a pioneering section on women's rights in Japan's post-war Constitution. During her mission, Donald Ritchie, a noted film historian, discovered a set of these recordings and gave them to her. Gordon presented them to Arbiter in the late 1990s. Aside from her copy, only one other complete set is known to have survived the war in Japan, as they were possibly destroyed in a warehouse bombing. The people of post-war Japan and the rest of the world now have the chance to hear these lost recordings of Japan's broad cultural legacy. On these recordings, one is struck by a sense of eternity belonging to a culture living in a mind-set of immortality and permanence, an ease buoying virtuosity and intricate musical forms, revealing a gripping authenticity that later performers hint at. This third of five discs contains significant examples of the koto and shamisen literature, dances from Kabuki and puppet theater traditions, many originating in the 1700s. Full descriptions are included in a lengthy booklet, while complete translations are on Arbiter's web site. Arbiter loves Japan and its arts, and is honored to revive lost master performers.

Subtitled: Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai, 1941. This second volume of the 1941 Kokusai Bunka Shinkô-kai (KBS) recordings features Noh theater masters, many of whom had been trained by artists active before the Meiji (1868) period. An essay and texts in both English and Japanese with translation are included in the CD. Noh, a masked play, was established by the actor Kan'ami Kiyotsugu (1333-1384) and his son Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443) in medieval times. Based on various earlier forms such as sangaku (acrobat and juggling), dengaku (dance and play derived from rice festivals), and kusemai (dance), the noh created a far more highly artistic form of theater than ever before. Japanese biwa music is characterized by a narrative with biwa accompaniment. The instrument, born in ancient Persia and introduced into Japan around the 8th century as a component of the royal court's gagaku ensemble, is a four stringed lute plucked with a large plectrum. In the late 12th century, blind Buddhist priests developed a unique narrative style, using this instrument as an accompaniment. The shakuhachi is a vertical bamboo flute sharply edged in its flue. Its standard length is about 54 cm., but there are shorter or longer types than this standard. Shakuhachi was traditionally played by komusô, Fuke-shû priests (a Zen Buddhist sect). The blowing of a shakuhachi (sui-Zen, literally "blowing Zen") was a komusô's religious act equivalent to chanting a sutra.

This is the fourth volume in World Arbiter's Japanese Traditional Music series. The World Arbiter label presents 1941 recordings of the Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai -- masters of the shamisen. An extensive anthology of traditional Japanese music was created sometime around 1941-1942 by the Kokusai Bunka Shinkôkai (KBS), International Organization for the Promotion of Culture. KBS was established under the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1934 for cultural exchange between Japan and foreign countries, representing genres such as gagaku (court music), shômyô (Buddhist chants), nô (Noh medieval theater play), heikyoku (biwa-lute narratives of battles), shakuhachi (bamboo flute music), koto (long zither music), shamisen (three-stringed lute music), sairei bayashi (instrumental music for folk festivals), komori-uta (cradle songs, lullabies), warabe-uta (children songs), and riyou (min'you) (folk songs). Considering that 1941-1942 was a most daunting time for Japan's economy and international relationships with Asian and Western countries, it is remarkable that this excellent anthology of Japanese music was ever completed and published, as it contains judiciously selected pieces from various genres performed by top-level artists at that time. The KBS' recording project is of unique historical importance and culturally valuable as a document of musical practices in traditional Japanese genres during the wartime. Few copies of this collection exist in Japan. This CD restoration is taken from a set originally belonging to Donald Richie, a writer and scholar on Japanese culture (particularly on Japanese cinema), who had given it to Ms. Beate Sirota Gordon, known for her great contribution to the establishment of Japan's Constitution during the period of U.S. occupation after WWII. Gordon's father, Leo Sirota, a piano pupil of Busoni's, fostered many excellent Japanese pianists at the Tokyo Ongaku Gakko (Academy of Music, forerunner of present-day Music Department of Tokyo National University of The Arts) during 1928-1945. Shamisen, a three stringed lute, is said to have been imported from China through Okinawa into mainland Japan (Sakai, Osaka) in the latter half of the 16th century. It began to accompany popular songs and contributed in bringing about a variety of genres of shamisen music in the early 17th century. In the late Edo period (early 19th century), small-scale shamisen vocal genres such as ogie-bushi, hauta, utazawa, and kouta were performed by geisha in ozashiki chambers. This disc includes the shamisen music enjoyed in ozashiki. Jiuta music is mainly performed in houses or ozashiki chamber in the Kansai area and said to be the oldest shamisen music genre, born soon after the instrument's arrival in Japan. Kumiuta (combined pre-existent songs) music is also heard on this disc. Full descriptions are included in a 36-page booklet in English and Japanese.

We are proud to collaborate with Oslo's Munch Museum for this compilation of music inspired by and featured in the Munch exhibition Trembling Earth! 18 of the label’s artists have created new tracks directly inspired by Edvard Munch’s atmospheric landscapes, organic processes and cosmic visions displayed in Trembling Earth. Ranging from experimental electronica to techno, ambient, jazz and improvisation, these are being released on a double LP which will be launched at the same time as the exhibition. ‘Setting Edvard Munch’s cosmic artworks to music has been a dream project for us as a label,’ says Joakim Haugland, head of Smalltown Supersound. ‘The cosmic element has always been a central part of our history, so fusing our music with the cosmic side of Munch is a huge honour.’ ‘It has been important for us to include a contemporary perspective in the exhibition with these two commissioned works,’, says exhibition curator Trine Otte Bak Nielsen. ‘Lost Girls’ Join the Sound helps to set the tone as visitors are entering the exhibition, and Deathprod brings everything to a close with his monumental Let Me Be Forever Animal in the final room. They both bind the whole exhibition together, and take it into atmospheres that provide a new way into Munch’s work.’ ‘We are incredibly proud of our collaboration with Smalltown Supersound, and the release of the Jordsvingninger LP,’ Nielsen adds. ‘This kind of collaboration shows how MUNCH can engage in projects that people might not expect to see in a museum, as well as several live events at MUNCH.’

A decade of Non-Aligned beats, soul, disco and jazz 1969-1979. - First ever beats, breaks and rare grooves compilation from ex Yugoslavia - Eastern European diggers delight - Remastered straight from the vaults of Jugoton - Raw funk, psych, prog rock, orchestral disco, big band jazz funk and more... Yugoslavia - six republics, four decades, one dictator and a single record label that ruled them all: Jugoton (Zagreb, Croatia). Jugoton was by far the country's largest label with the strongest and most diverse output that stretched from Balkan roots to contemporary trends and the sound of tomorrow . The early days of Yugoslavia featured strong censorship but by the end of the 60's the Communist party views softened up by a large degree. Westernized music already had a solid presence and first James Brown influenced compositions were released. Yugo funk, a term coined by DJ’s and crate diggers from the Balkans, encompasses a wide variety of performers and genres: from the 60's merseybeat rock bands, prog rock groovers and big band jazz orchestras to the late 70's sophisticated 4x4 funk and essentially everything in between. Jugoton Funk Vol.1, a first of its kind, celebrates the pioneer years of funk infused music released by Jugoton. While in pursuit of these treasures all over the Balkan region and beyond, the compilation’s selectors, Dr. Smeđi Šećer & Višeslav Laboš, both active as DJ's and crate diggers from the sole beginnings of the ex-Yu craze, wanted to capture the authentic and idiosyncratic funk sound of Jugoton and Yugoslavia. So here it is, comb your moustache, light up a fat one, turn up the amplifier and headbang away to these amazing tunes remastered from original master tapes dug out of the Jugoton vaults (now Croatia Records). - Compiled by Dr. Smeđi Šećer & Višeslav Laboš.

Ten years after our initial survey of Afro-Latin accented rhythm & blues from the mid-century, Jazzman proudly presents a fourth installment, packed with as many musical surprises as the first. With music plucked from an era spanning the late 1940s into the early 60s, Jukebox Mambo IV highlights yet again the unparalleled musical creativity of the post war era, and shows how the infusion of afro-latin rhythms was key to these revolutions. Lovingly and painstakingly researched and curated, the album boasts 23 tracks, many previously uncompiled, touching on jazz, blues, doo wop, calypso, rock & roll, gospel and more. Featuring individual track notes for every song along with some never seen before photographs of the artists, Jukebox Mambo Vol IV maintains the same high production values of each previous volume, and indeed the wider Jazzman catalogue.

〈Honest Jon's〉が60年代に南米エクアドル・キトで活動していた知られざるスイートスポット的レーベル〈Caife〉に残された魅力的なカタログを紐解いたシリーズから新たな発掘音源が登場！アフリカ先住民の伝統と豊かな音楽の伝統が融合した、エクアドル北端エスメラルダス州のユニークなアフリカ系エクアドル文化の素晴らしい記録を収めたアルバム『Juyungo』がアナログ・リリース。マリンバを中心に、コール&レスポンスのチャント、アンデスのギターのフィンガースタイル、パンパイプなどによる深い没入感に溢れる音楽作品を余すところなく収録。ゲートフォールド・スリーヴ仕様。洞察に満ちたメモと貴重写真が満載のブックレット(16ページ)が付属。

Light In The Attic’s Japan Archival Series continues with Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990, an unprecedented overview of the country’s vital minimal, ambient, avant-garde, and New Age music – what can collectively be described as kankyō ongaku, or environmental music. The collection features internationally acclaimed artists such as Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Joe Hisaishi, as well as other pioneers like Hiroshi Yoshimura, Yoshio Ojima and Satoshi Ashikawa, who deserve a place alongside the indisputable giants of these genres.

In the 1970s, the concepts of Brian Eno’s “ambient” and Erik Satie’s “furniture music” began to take hold in the minds of artists and musicians around Tokyo. Emerging fields like soundscape design and architectural acoustics opened up new ways in which sound and music could be consumed. For artists like Yoshimura, Ojima and Ashikawa, these ideas became the foundation for their musical works, which were heard not only on records and in live performances, but also within public and private spaces where they intermingled with the sounds and environments of everyday life. The bubble economy of 1980s Japan also had a hand in the advancement of kankyō ongaku. In an attempt to cultivate an image of sophisticated lifestyle, corporations with expendable income bankrolled various art and music initiatives, which opened up new and unorthodox ways in which artists could integrate their avant-garde musical forms into everyday life: in-store music for Muji, promo LP for a Sanyo AC unit, a Seiko watch advert, among others that can be heard in this collection.

Kankyō Ongaku is expertly compiled by Spencer Doran (Visible Cloaks) who, with a series of revelatory mixtapes as well as his label Empire of Signs (Music For Nine Postcards), has been instrumental in shepherding interest in this music outside of Japan. Together with Light In The Attic’s celebrated anthologies I Am The Center and The Microcosm, Kankyō Ongaku helps to broaden our understanding of this quietly profound music, regardless of the environment in which it’s heard.

音楽ディグをテーマに据えた漫画『ディグインザディガー』の作画を手掛けることでも知られるイラストレーター、漫画家、音楽家の駒澤零氏が主宰する東京の音楽レーベル〈KAOMOZI〉が、今年9月にリリースしていたコンピレーション・アルバム『kaomozi compilations vol​.​2』の限定カセット盤を特別にストックさせて戴きました！レーベル・ショーケース的なラインナップとなった本作は、1周年記念となる作品であり、佐々木虚像、鮭とばSKTB、零進法、ナナビット、H B、帰国子女といった近年のhyperpop以降の若手音楽シーンで活躍する作家たちによる豪華トラック群を全14曲収録。マスタリングはNaofumi Uedaが担当。版元完売。

All rhythm tracks by Bunny Lee at Studio One. "This form of music started in the dance halls in the early '60s by some of the pioneer record producers. Mainly Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Bunny 'Striker' Lee, by both of whom I've been tremendously influenced... As a youth, from Jones and Trench Town, I've learned you must have an adequate power amplifier, right preamp and speakers... For the right sound and effect, King Tubby's 'the dubmaster' is a must, knowing when to bring in the rhythm and leggo the bass and drum. This album, it's clean, heavy and right effects; we digged into the rhythm vault and came up with ten of the hardest rhythm tracks. You'll be convinced that this is the King Of Dub." --

The KlapYaHandz label, a long-running labour of love helmed by Sok Visal, has been at the forefront of a revitalization of contemporary Cambodian culture since the beginning of the 21st century; it was the very first independent hip hop label in Cambodia, nurturing an ecosystem of rappers, producers and engineers, male and female, fusing hard-hitting Khmer-language hip hop rhymes with samples of Khmer traditional music and Golden Age hits, propelled by relentless grooves. Returning to his Cambodian homeland after a youth spent absorbing hip hop in France and the U.S., Visal’s energy and focus inspired a new musical generation; his love of Cambodian music as well as hip hop melded with his ear for jazz, funk and soul, and led to the creation of some very cool music from the artists he brought to his label. The 12 tracks on this CD are the very finest from the first decade of the KlapYaHandz galaxy. Hip hop, yes, but very definitely Cambodian hip hop, with traditional and Golden Age musical elements very prominent. Very cool, very Cambodian, very cosmopolitan, and very contemporary, but the past is always present, a love of musical history lighting the way forward.

+ 36-page booklet
+ English liner notes and lyrics
+ Liner notes written by Sok Visal and Sorany Var

Tracks:
1. Rin / Hip Hop [2001]
2. Phnom Penh Playaz / Ride With Us [2002]
3. Aping / Ereva Chanoy [2005]
4. Aping / Sangsa Lek 1 (feat. Dina) [2005]
5. Khmer Rap Boyz / Berk Chak [2007]
6. Kelly / K. E. L. L. Y. [2007]
7. Pou Khlaing / Yeak (feat. Adda) [2008]
8. Yungsterz / Luk Ko Luk Krobey [2008]
9. Khmer Kid / Laut Doch Besdoung (feat. Lisha) [2010]
10. Lisha / Srok Sre [2008]
11. Nen Tum / Dey Srok Khmer [2011]
12. Yungsterz / A yap [2011]

CASSETTE ONLY. Another tape reissued in our ongoing programme with Philly's World Gone Mad. 39 late 70s/early 80s Finnish punk tracks in 80 minutes. Mostly rare material from limited singles.

The tenth volume of Numero's elaborately packaged Cabinet of Curiosities series, L80s finds the group exploring the far-flung corners of the global downtempo underground. This 12-song mix tape weaves icy hot coldwave, Sausalito seafood jazz, Glaswegian goth, makeshift Madonna, Sade spoofs, and Brat Pack balearic into a high-waisted, party-ready pair of danceable denim.

Mark Barrott and Pete Gooding present the fourth volume in their series of stellar collections, showcasing the sunset sounds spun at Ibiza`s Hostal La Torre. Sets, sequences, of music designed to celebrate the passing of another day and welcome the pleasures of night, as the Sun makes way for Sister Moon. On this occasion, the ceremony starts with a gift from the Golden Girls - a side project of Phil Hartnoll, of Orbital fame. In its original form Kinetic was a prime piece of pumping early `90s trance, here, however, it`s been remixed by David Morley into something far more in line with Belgian rave label R&S` ambient off-shoot, Apollo. Practically beatless, but boasting a big, undulating, bottom-end, it now resembles something from Tangerine Dream`s back catalogue. A slightly kosmische, serene wall of sonically shining sound. The room-shaking riffs are reduced to echoes, while pitter-pattering percussion races. When the familiar hook finally surfaces, it`s accompanied by spirit-stirring, symphonic strings - inducing fierce flashbacks to quality highs, and newly expanded minds and horizons. Man, I can remember the wonder, before it all went pear-shaped. Next up are NO ZU, a sadly seemingly defunct 8-membered musical monster from Melbourne, Australia, who were absolutely amazing live. Banging out a percussive concoction that they called Heat Beat, their funk was / is most definitely post-punk - channelling `80s no wave New York, the Mudd Club, and in particular the band, Liquid Liquid. Slapping basses, car horns, electronic keys, buttons, cowbells, and anything else that came to hand and seemed to fit, while lifting beats and piano parts from Chicago house. The party-starting call and response repartee of Ui Yia UIa finds them shouting out their star signs of criss-crossing compatibility over a muscular slo-mo stomp. Daphne Camf Rest In Peace. Bassekou Kouyate is a Malian maestro on the 6-stringed ngoni. A goat-skin covered “hunters harp”, that via slave traders evolved into the North American banjo. With his group, named after this traditional griot instrument, and Zoumana Tereta on lead vocals, he delivers a dizzying display of dexterity on Bala. Generating a super mellow, spiritual groove, his playing countered by equal virtuosity on balafon and bolon. The voices switching between the sweet and the raw, and the song showering you in savannah sunshine, no matter where you happen to be hanging. American trio, Rare Silk, share their jazz vocal take on Stanley Turrentine`s Storm, where wildlife whistles and chirrups surround soft Synclavier sighs. Slick, smooth, imagine Manhattan Transfer meets Wally Badarou. A marimba doing the mambo, the reeds winding like wafts of smoke carried on warm Caribbean winds. The rhythm that of a gently lapping tide. The Synergetic Voice Orchestra was a one-off, one-time only outfit led by keyboardist / composer, Yumiko Morioka. A follow-up to her highly respected solo piano work, Resonance, the album, MIOS, was a far more ambitious affair, that brought together a collective of 6 musicians and 3 vocalists. The results moving away from new age and modern classical toward pop. The track, Zebra, is a Jon Hassell-esque fusion heat haze / fog. Riding a slowly rumbling thunder-thumbed bass-line. A snake-charming woodwind cutting through the synthetic shimmer, weaving its seductive spell. Family Doggo first appeared as the b-side of Paul Woolford aka Special Request`s balls-out 2020 drum and bass single, Spectral Frequency. “Doggo” in comparison is an oasis of calm, albeit packing some serious sub-woofer worrying boom. Stripped back, speaker-rattling, electro-edged introspection, emotive and euphoric without recourse to arms-in-the-air tropes, it`s bleep`s more sensitive, more thoughtful sibling. The awakening of the morning after the night before`s rush. Margaret Wakeley`s magical Hard To Leave The Island was initially rediscovered and dusted down by the people that power the respected DJ / artist agency, Warm - who took it from Margaret`s 1976 LP, Better Days, and pressed it on a limited 45. A slice of superior soft / yacht rock, it`s a cool cocktail-hour summer holiday serenade. A sophisticated arrangement of brass, jazzy keys, and acoustic strum, topped off by a smart sax solo. Equatorial Sunrise was / is one of the standouts contained on Pauline Anna Strom`s sadly posthumous album, Angel Tears In Sunlight. Describing herself as a Trans Millennium Consort, the San Francisco-based synth pioneer attempted to blur, blend, past, present, and future, with her novel new age music. The song in question sees wind-chimes, marimba, and talking drum conversing in counterpoint - conjuring the Cafe del Mar classic, Richard Wahnfried`s Grandmas Clockwork. Its calming, time-melting timbres creating a comforting analog bubblebath. Aching with synthesized ethereal emissions, while pinpoints of sound echo into infinity, like signals from distant stars. The Vendetta Suite is the pseudonym of Gary Irwin, the former in-house engineer at David Holmes` Belfast-based Exploding Inevitable Studio - a hive of musical activity where Timmy Stewart was also a frequent visitor. The 3 amigos mentioned were all stalwarts of the city`s early `90s house and techno scene. Some 30 years later Timmy remixed Gary`s track, Warehouse Rock, into a highly strung - think Malcolm McLaren`s Deep In Vogue - soundclash of reggae and rave. A four-to-the-floor mediation subjected to devastating washes of delay, where bionic bass, Mikey Dread samples and dub sound-effects are softened by bucolic birdsong. Mark Barrott’s Travelling Music (La Torre Reprise) - an exclusive version of the titular track from his recent E.P. - is all tumbling tones - playful sequences and programmed patterns “blowing” busily, like colourful streamers caught on a tropical breeze. Like the compilation`s opening number, its another ambient, beatless, trance-dancer - suffused with sustained swells and chords that feel like sunrise itself. Composer / pianist Lola Perrin`s Cloud Sky Fade is an unadorned, unadulterated - save a little reverb - rippling river of cascading classical keys. Her piano rolling, reaching crescendos like crashing surf. Licensed from Lola’s 2006 CD, Fragile Light, its worthy of comparison with Keith Jarrett`s ECM output, and Wim Mertens` beloved The Belly Of An Architect score. If you look on Wikipedia, you’ll see that Suzanne Ciani has the affectionate moniker of “Diva of the Diode” - reflecting her huge importance in the history of electronic music. While studying at Berkley University in the `70s Suzanne became firm friends with Don Buchla, and subsequently spearheaded the use of his then ground-breaking modular synthesizer. Moving to New York, where she camped out on Philip Glass` studio floor, Suzanne set up her own company employing Don`s marvelous machine to produce advertising jingles. The success of this business eventually led to Suzanne becoming Hollywood’s first female soundtrack composer. In the `80s, Suzanne then started releasing new age records, one of which, 1986`s The Velocity Of Love, was a favourite of DJ Phil Mison, who made it a Cafe del Mar sunset staple. The beautiful Eighth Wave surely should have been the blissed-out musical backdrop to some `80s art house love scene - summoning as it does silhouettes of cinematic protagonists passionately disrobing though a Vaseline-smeared lens. Their hot clinches politely cutting to close-ups of isolated, moonlit beaches, and untamable, tempestuous tides. JIM is Jim Baron, Crazy P`s Ron Basejam, but in folky, singer / songwriter mode. Coming on like Crosby, Stills & Nash, he covers the Ian Astbury / Billy Duffy penned Phoenix in an ultra-laidback fashion. Turning the gothic rock into a Laurel Canyon-esque lullaby. Singing of love in terms of fire, and flames of desire, backed by acrobatic acoustic picking and sweeping orchestral strings. You could be forgiven for thinking that Antipodean audio auteur, Geoffrey O`Connor, is some forgotten `80s idol - so authentic is his soothing, swooning, romantic synth pop. Her Name On Every Tongue, however, dates from 2014, and can be located on Geoff`s sophomore solo long-player, Fan Fiction. The track`s vocoder harmonies proving perfect for a sing along on a top-down, Californian coastal drive. These righteous solar-worshiping rituals draw to a close with John Foxx & Robin Guthrie`s exceptional Estrellita - a highlight from the pairs 2009 album, Mirrorball - where the former Ultravox! and Cocteau Twins founders collaborate on a sublime shot of shoegaze. Generating a glacial glide of layer upon layer of treated guitar. Grounded by womb-like bass vibrations, while Foxx`s choirboy croon soars. Lending the song a prayer / hymn-like air. It`s as close as rock comes to something sacred. Dr. Rob (Ban Ban Ton Ton)

Les Éditions Vermillon stem from virtual friendships built around forgotten music. Navigating an aesthetical repertoire ranging from funk to soul, gliding by jazz and reaching toward the birth of electronic music, the friends’ musical exchanges transcend egotistical visions in the hope of shared emotions. Théo (G2S), Hugo (Tiny Albert), Baptiste (Acquired Taste) and Elise Kravets decided to embody this feeling in a record label. Choosing Lyon as their starting point, the desire to appreciate a forgotten musical legacy quickly extended to a regional scale with the aim of shedding light on the diversity and effervescence of local scenes. With the goal of reproducing the fullness of these sounds and textures, the search and selection of titles quickly gave way to the hunt for original tapes and sources. Several stages of audio restoration and digitization were undertaken to deliver a compilation of the highest possible quality. For its first release, the label offers a stroll along the Rhône river to discover, through forgotten songs, the funkiest sides of the Provençale and Rhône-Alpes 80’s scene. Although the music portrays a diverse palette, from Digen, with its meticulous Jazz-Funk straight from Lyon’s heart, the clubbesque rhythmic section and cheeky bass of Dans Tes Bras (VCA Mix), and the summer balearic anthem Tropique Du Cancer, to the soft “French Boogie” theme of Fun Safari, the soul-filled choirs of Patchwork, the pastoral getaway that is L’Anthropofemme, the scathing ode of prehistoric reptiles in Fill Le Crocodile and the Jazz-Funk incantation Fai Tira Marius; they all sweat funk. Having not known the top 50 in their first lives, this compilation aspires to bring these pieces of music to the top 8.