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Bhakti Jazz - First Step (LP+DL)
Bhakti Jazz - First Step (LP+DL)Perfect.Toy Records
¥4,197
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES // HIGH-QUALITY TIP-ON COVER // INCL. DOWNLOAD CODE OFFICIAL RE-ISSUE OF GÖTZ TANGERDING'S BHAKTI JAZZ DEBUT ALBUM !!! Born in Donauwörth, a small town in Bavaria in 1951, Götz Tangerding studied piano to concert level at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg. In the 1970s he started to make a name for himself on the local Munich jazz scene and traveled through East Europe with drummer Rudi Roth. In 1976 he came to New England Conservatory of Music in Boston to study compositions with George Russell and Jaki Byard with whom he played in the New York Big Band in 1978. In 1980 he returned to Munich, Germany and founded his formation Bhakti Jazz as well his own record label Bhakti Records. "First Step", recorded at the Loft in Munich on May 1st and 2nd that same year, was the debut album and showcases the huge talent of the young and gifted band leader. The two best known tracks are probably "Glimpses of Truth" and "Eastern Moods" which have been re-released back to back on 45RPM single by another german reissue label in the late 2000s. However, these are just two out of nine outstanding compositions from the prolific pianist to be found on this album. Tangerding's tasty style of playing, combined with the psychedelic maze created by his fellow band members on flute (Alan Ett), sax (Alan Ett again!), drums (Rudi Roth), and bass (Urs Hämmerli) plus Lisa Dawson's exotic vocal harmonies are sure grab your ear for a mind-blowing experience. Götz Tangerding, who died much too young early in 1991, left us with dozens of wonderful compositons. "First Step" does not contain a single weak track. It's a true masterpiece and definitely one of the finest independent german jazz albums from the 1980s. This is the first OFFICIAL RE-ISSUE - limited to 500 (HAND-STAMPED!) COPIES. The record is housed in a HIGH QUALITY TIP-ON record jacket and comes with a FULL ALBUM DOWNLOAD CODE.
The New Rotary Connection - Hey, Love (LP)
The New Rotary Connection - Hey, Love (LP)Cadet
¥2,172
The last album released in 1971 by Rotary Connection, a psychedelic soul group known that Minnie Riperton was a member.
Misha Sultan - Roots (CS)Misha Sultan - Roots (CS)
Misha Sultan - Roots (CS)Hive Mind Records
¥2,355
Misha Sultan is a multi-instrumentalist originally from Novosibirsk in the heart of Siberia. His hometown's location, in the hinterlands between Europe and Asia provides a deep well of inspiration for his music. Hive Mind have been happy to work with Misha to bring you this stunning collection of recordings made between 2015 and 2022 which we hope will serve as a great introduction to Misha's unique sound which appropriates elements of Eurasian folk music, psychedelia, 90's chill-out, breakbeat, dub, and field recording to produce something stunning and singular. Whilst we were working on this release P*t*n invaded Ukraine and Misha was forced to leave the country quite suddenly. All money from sales of the digital album will go straight to the artist in order to help through this difficult time.
Arica - Heaven (LP)
Arica - Heaven (LP)Tidal Waves Music
¥3,492
Nowadays Arica exists only as the ¡ÆArica Institute¡Ç, a school of spiritual development formed and led by Chilean mystic Oscar Ichazo¡Ähowever, the collective also produced several musical albums in the US (presumably to increase awareness of the school), this resulted in the release of four totally eclectic masterpieces: Arica & Audition (1972), Heaven (1973) and Music In The Nine Rings (2002). ​ Both the Arica school and its musical output had a big influence on some of the most creative minds amongst us, for example: prior to making his film The Holy Mountain, Alejandro Jodorowsky met Ichazo and became intrigued enough by his techniques – essentially a potent blending of esoteric knowledge and methods from around the world – to not only go through the initial intensive course of Arica mind expansion and training but to require the same of the entire cast and crew for the film. This undoubtedly affected the whole movie, and it seems strange that Arica¡Çs music was not used for the soundtrack, an Arica soundtrack could have been pure magic all the way through. ​ The Arica album we are proudly presenting you today (Heaven from 1973) is a total must-have in any collection (originally released on the Just Sunshine Records label in 1973 that was responsible for putting out milestone albums from the likes of Betty Davis, Karen Dalton and Norman Feels). Here on these recordings, you¡Çll find ten tracks that will blow your mind and open your spiritual doors! ​ Heaven has it all¡Äomming drones interchanged with upbeat percussion, acoustic and funky basslines intertwining the melodious threads. The album is full of deep meditational grooves meeting all kinds of polyrhythmic free jazz vibes, atonal keyboards and avant-garde soul-jazz sounds. The unhurried improvisations and subtle manipulation of musical tension makes Heaven an immersive, psychedelic and spiritual masterpiece with a jazz sensibility in its overall structure. The superb use of the sitar and the hypnotic percussion gives it that great cosmic touch that reminds of Alice Coltrane¡Çs work. ​ The whole album was recorded on a midsummer night in NYC¡Äone hundred Arica members, musicians and dancers all gathered at the legendary Electric Lady Studio (home to Jimy Hendrix) and played until dawn. The names of the musicians involved were not given on the record sleeves, credited simply to ¡ÆThe Arica Musicians¡Ç. In a way, though, this mystery suits the remarkable music contained within these resultant grooves – timeless sounds that could have been conjured from and played by the very spirits of the Earth¡Äall this accompanied by notes in the gatefold jacket to guide the listener though his sonic voyage. ​ Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first ever vinyl reissue of this fantastic album (originally released in 1973 on Just Sunshine Records). This rare record (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (500 copies) and comes packaged in a gatefold jacket complete with the original 1973 artwork, photographs and liner notes ​
The Manson Family - The Manson Family Sings The Songs Of Charles Manson (LP)
The Manson Family - The Manson Family Sings The Songs Of Charles Manson (LP)SURVIVAL RESEARCH
¥2,644
Recorded at the infamous Spahn Ranch in 1970, while their leader Charles Manson was facing trial for the murder of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, The Manson Family Sings is a highly disconcerting listen. Beneath the harmonic brilliance and folksy innocence of these campfire-styled recordings are the hallmarks of Manson's twisted worldview, rendering a dystopian edge to what is otherwise compelling singalongs. Squeaky Frome, Brenda Gold, Gypsy Share and Sandra Blue all feature, with Clem Grogan fronting the beast, the end result being some of the freakiest and troubling songs you are ever likely to encounter.
Grateful Dead - Live In San Diego 1970 (2LP)
Grateful Dead - Live In San Diego 1970 (2LP)Room On Fire
¥3,279
This double album retrieves a radio broadcast of the Grateful Dead dated 1970. The title refers to a concert in San Diego, California, without giving further indications: what is certain is that the repertoire includes some songs recorded for 'Workingman's Dead' (' Dire Wolf ',' Black Peter ', outtake' Mason's Children ') released in June of that year as well as covers of Otis Redding's' Hard To Handle', Rascals' 'Good Lovin' 'and Buddy Holly 'Not Fade Away', to country and western 'Me and My Uncle', to traditional 'Cold, Rain and Snow', 'I Know You Rider' and 'Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad’ , framed by numerous jams.
Tanz Mein Herz - Dosses (LP)
Tanz Mein Herz - Dosses (LP)Mental Groove / Desastre / Standard In-Fi
¥3,161
The 2022 repress that I'm happy with the rare one. It's a great sound field. French writer Ernest Bergez, who has left his works in famous places such as and , and the French drone band "France", which is also known to recur from the current New Age / minimalist sanctuary . Tanz Mein Herz is a large experimental folk group composed of members Jeremie Sauvage and Alexis Degrenier, a hurdy-gurdy player who is also active in network groups such as Ensemble Minisym and La Tene. A 2029 work consisting of a 2015 session sound source containing exceptional content! A powerful sound source jointly released by and . A mantra-like psychedelic and spiritual drone sound by hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes forms an overwhelming sound field while a strange folk lore of unknown nationality breathes. This is swallowed if you're not careful! Limited to 100 copies only.
Amon Düül - Paradieswärts Düül (LP)
Amon Düül - Paradieswärts Düül (LP)Wah Wah Records
¥3,275

Recorded in 1971, Amon Düül’s only album for Ohr was a visonary slice of acid-folk which has gained cult status as years passed by. Ritualistic folk-rock, pastoral hippie songs, stoned jams, eastern flavours, mystical passages and heavy hypnotic riffing which are in fact very different from the early Amon Düül epic freaked-out improvisations (Psychedelic Underground) or Amon Düül II complex and psyched-up progressive works (Phallus Dei).
 
These were in fact archival recordings done by a different incarnation of Amon Duul, one that combined members of both factions into a floating line up welcoming many a guest, and which were released by R.U. Kaiser without the musicians knowledge or authorisation, most likely in order to catch up with Amon Düül II rising popularity.
 
All in all, a mythical recording featuring such underground classics as “Love Is Peace”; “Snow Your Thurst Sun Open Your Mouth” and “Paramechanische Welt”. Included also on our edition is their sought after Ohr single:  “Paramechanical World” / “Eternal Flow”.
 
Sleeve reproducing original artwork.

Featuring bonus tracks  “Paramechanical World” and “Eternal Flow” (originally released as  7” single). 

Siloah (LP+7")Siloah (LP+7")
Siloah (LP+7")Wah Wah Records
¥3,275
Siloah were a German progressive psych / folk band in the vein of Kalacakra, Langsyne and others "curiosities". Siloah are one of the best kept secrets of the krautrock production. Siloah had a hard core including Thom Argauer, Manuela von Perfall, Heinrich 'Tiny' Stricker and Wolfgang Görner, plus a host of guests coming and going, everybody was free to join and play at any time, guest members often joining from the Baumstassen commune around which the band was living before they eventually moved to an abandoned farm on the outskirts of town A collective hippie musical tribe largely inspired by mysticism, LSD and sexadelism. Their music features a heavy use of stoned vocals (in English), mantric like guitar parts, flute, "ethnic" percussions. Their first drugged item released in 1970 offers a dangerous and imaginative ocean of trippy, perpetual jammings. A bombastic psychedelic explosion in the mood of the best german prog folk releases. The atmospheres are beautifully "acoustic", sometimes dreamy and ethereal but never away from krautrock "primitive" sound.
Zweistein - Trip - Flip Out - Meditation (3LP+7")
Zweistein - Trip - Flip Out - Meditation (3LP+7")Wah Wah Records
¥6,139
Zweistein was the brainchild of Suzanne Doucet, who was joined by her sister Diane during the recording process, with added studio effects by Peter Kramper. Doucet spent the first part of 60’s as a pop star - gathering number of hits, and as a TV presenter. Filled with a radical spirit, a love of art and technology, and fueled by a heavy intake of psychedelic drugs, her successes proved unfulfilling by the end of the decade. Zweistein was born. The album, which stretches over three LPs, each with its own theme - Trip, Flip Out, and Meditation, is a writhing radical construction in sound - far closer to the revolutionary gestures of synthesis, electronic and electroacoustic practice emerging during that era, than what is commonly associated with Krautrock or Kosmische. Almost completely abstract, with passages of fleeting melody and drone - enveloping landscapes realized through sound, Trip Flip Out Meditation is pure art, creativity, and experimentation, filtered through the lens of LSD - the heights of the era and all the wonders it brought, with an unmistakable, overt attack on the pop sensibility of its day. An artist diving underground, rearing their head into the mainstream with a thrust of what was found. An astonishing edition - double gatefold, silver engraved gimmick sleeve, 3LP plus a bonus 7" single w/PS and a colour insert. Limited to 1000 copies.
Book of AM - Part V - Night (LP)Book of AM - Part V - Night (LP)
Book of AM - Part V - Night (LP)Wah Wah Records
¥3,275
The Book Of AM is a project begun in 1977 with esoteric philosophical intentions, and featuring words and sounds from around the world and across hundreds of years. Part V, representing Night, for some reason was not completed and never appeared with the rest of the collection, but this crack team, using overdubs and additional composition as well as mixing and mastering techniques, now present the completed final part!
Loren Connors - Portrait of a soul (2x10")
Loren Connors - Portrait of a soul (2x10")Alara
¥4,978
"2015 reissue. Originally released on FBWL in 2000. Remastered in 2014 by Taylor Deupree at 12k." "... For those who believe they've heard all Connors has to offer, seek this out because it will astonish and mystify you while simultaneously changing your mind. For the rest who are fans, this is one of the man's records you need, because it, more than any other, expresses who he was during its recording. Painfully honest, vulnerable, raw, and graceful, Portrait of a Soul is unlike any record ever made." --AllMusic
PARC - Wave Iridescence (CS+DL)PARC - Wave Iridescence (CS+DL)
PARC - Wave Iridescence (CS+DL)100% Silk
¥1,597
Vancouver producer Jeremy Rawkins aka PARC’s 2nd collection further finesses his signature fusion of dexterous rhythm dynamics, liquid field recordings, and digital synth ambience into an immersive, aerodynamic domain: Wave Iridescence. Embracing the limitations and tonal saturation of 80’s and 90’s digital synths and converters, the tracks gleam and slipstream with a sleek, weightless futurism, conjuring visions of fiber optic clouds and lost biodome terrariums. Rawkins cites notions of organic electronics, randomized beauty, and the peripheries of dance music as inspiration, but ultimately the sound he maps is too fluid and prismatic for effective categorization. It’s music of heights and breaks, precision and vertigo, loops and radiance – vivid cybernetic heavens forever in flux.
Scout Island - Laurentian Voyage (CS+DL)Scout Island - Laurentian Voyage (CS+DL)
Scout Island - Laurentian Voyage (CS+DL)Not Not Fun Records
¥1,597
Named for a familial forested retreat on Wisconsin’s Shell Lake, Scout Island is the vessel for Jungle Gym audio boss Jared Carrigan’s compact and compelling instrumental guitar vignettes. His latest, Laurentian Voyage, charts a rich trip down river through the North Woods of Minnesota and beyond, a formative landscape of his youth (recently revisited during Covidian isolation). The collection’s 19 tracks flow through twilight psych, sunset jangle, dockside devotionals, and whispering pines soft rock, a gallery of glimpses into scenes and seasons come and gone. Lean guitar figures ripple, riff, refract, and reverberate, framed by filtered drum loops, organ, synth, or bass. The mood softly sways between reverie and reflection but skews more autumnal as it unfolds, a sense of waning warmer days, a paler shade of light, campfires long since lit. Even so, the embers of memory cast their own warmth: faces, cabins, summers, music drifting out across the water. The clarity of fleeting moments, captured in snippets of strings and melody, slicing through choppy waves like the nose of a boat towards distant lightning.
Hidden Rung - Happier (CS+DL)Hidden Rung - Happier (CS+DL)
Hidden Rung - Happier (CS+DL)Good Morning Tapes
¥2,286
Matthew Linares aka Hidden Rung makes his solo debut on Good Morning Tapes. Having previously released on the label as a member of Pataphysical, Matthew is no stranger to the wizardry of GMT. "Happier" charts into uncanny territory, with it's deep, dubby sonics and fleeting spoken dialogue treading the line somewhere between a familiar land and a new and slightly unnerving horizon. Really lovely stuff. We can't get enough. Highly recommended every time!
Omar Souleyman - Highway To Hassake (Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria) (2LP)
Omar Souleyman - Highway To Hassake (Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria) (2LP)SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
¥4,953

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 that 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 sellout. 

Sublime Frequencies is honored to present the Western debut of Omar Souleyman with this retrospective disc 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. 

Myriam Gendron - Ma Délire - Songs Of Love, Lost & Found (2LP)
Myriam Gendron - Ma Délire - Songs Of Love, Lost & Found (2LP)Feeding Tube Records / Les Albums Claus
¥4,135
Songs 9, 11, 12, 13 by Myriam Gendron; 1 by John Jacob Niles; 8 by John Jacob Niles / Myriam Gendron. All other selections: traditional revived by Myriam Gendron. Recorded at home, early 2021. Mixed by Myriam Gendron & Tonio Morin-Vargas. Produced by Myriam Gendron, Eric Villeneuve & Tonio Morin-Vargas. Mastering by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering. Chansons 9, 11, 12, 13 par Myriam Gendron ; 1 par John Jacob Niles ; 8 par John Jacob Niles / Myriam Gendron. Toutes les autres pièces : traditionnelles ravivées par Myriam Gendron. Enregistré à la maison au début de 2021. Mixé par Myriam Gendron & Tonio Morin-Vargas. Réalisé par Myriam Gendron, Eric Villeneuve & Tonio Morin-Vargas. Matriçage par Harris Newman chez Grey Market Mastering.
Af Ursin - Itinera (LP)
Af Ursin - Itinera (LP)La Scie Dorée
¥2,647
Af Ursin, a project of Timo Van Luijk, who also works with Andrew Chalk in the units Elodie and Mirror, and organizer of La Scie Dorée, released this work in 2017. The work is a masterpiece in which his worldview is deployed without regret, with improvisations that gradually build up heat with an unobtrusive yet drone-like energy, and sound works that have the feel of In Camera/Mirror. The natural analog soundtrack further enhances the perfection of the piece.
Elodie - Echos Pastoraux (LP)
Elodie - Echos Pastoraux (LP)La Scie Dorée
¥2,647
Elodie is the first full-length album by Andrew Chalk, a solitary musician, and Timo van Luijk of Belgium, who also shows his talent in Af Ursin and In Camera. The sound is a mix of field recordings of birdsong and murmuring rivers, and performances of various instruments (bagpipes, guitar, koto, percussion, synths, etc.) and non-instrumentalists, resulting in a very varied sound, but still stateless. Like the works of both artists, it is a small and compact worldview, but all of the sounds, including quiet and beautiful drones, abstract playing with/without melody, and improvisation, are wonderful, reaching the realm of meditation. The sense of time, similar to that of Andrew Chalk's work, is clearly alive here as well, as one forgets the passage of time. This is an ideal type of music. I think you will experience a very fresh sensation. Daisuke Suzuki and Ian Middleton also participated. The artwork is as wonderful as ever and sounds just like this.
Af Ursin - Trois Mémoires Discrètes (LP)
Af Ursin - Trois Mémoires Discrètes (LP)La Scie Dorée
¥3,254
Three introspective instrumental compositions for English horn, flute, percussion, double bass, Hammond organ. Performed, recorded and mixed by Timo van Luijk at Kulta Saha, 2010-2012. Remastered May 2020.
Ignatz - I Live In A Utopia (2LP)
Ignatz - I Live In A Utopia (2LP)Aguirre Records
¥4,274
This sprawling collection by Belgian loner blues savant Bram Devens aka Ignatz encapsulates the mystery, murk, and melancholy of his uncanny craft at its most windswept and wayward. Originally issued via Goaty Tapes in September of 2015, this long-anticipated vinyl edition expands the saga with an additional 17 minutes of archival material. Deven’s palette remains constant throughout: feathery fingerpicking, modal loops, and intuitive six-string navigations interspersed with candlelit passages of mournful voice, alternately whispered, mumbled, moaned. His is an aesthetic of embers and resin, cracked masks and distant lights, of what’s left behind and what lingers on. I Live In A Utopia was recorded following a relocation from his longtime base of Brussels to Landen, with a second child due soon: “I remember the weather being nice and having just bought a hammock.” The change of scenery seeded a promise of slower days and lighter times – no utopia perhaps, but a sense of faint hope glowing on the horizon. The songs slide between loose acoustic spirituals and smoky basement ragas, late afternoon haze and midnight moons, a seesawing restlessness reflected in the titles (“I Have Found True Love,” “Time Does Not Bring Relief,” “We Used To Smoke Inside”). The fidelity is grainy but vivid, refracted by tape warp and Flemish dust. As always, Deven’s playing is deceptively elegant, raw but precise, attuned to resonance, radiance, and negative space. Echoes of Fahey and Jandek reverberate in certain moments but ultimately the world Ignatz maps is one incomparably his own. A landscape both doomed and dawning, weary but undefeated, tracing outlines of lengthening shadows. “I walk in the sunshine,” he sings, uneasily. This is music of a rare inner wilderness, poised at cryptic crossroads, devoted to its ghosts. I Live In A Utopia stands as an apex work by one of the underground’s most veiled and visionary talents.
OOIOO - Gamel (2LP)
OOIOO - Gamel (2LP)Thrill Jockey
¥3,756

OOIOO has always created a musical language all its own. Under the leadership of Yoshimi, also a founding member of Boredoms, the group has recorded six albums that have subverted expectations and warped perceptions of what constitutes pop and experimental music. Four years of work went into making Gamel, their bold new album inspired by the Javanese style of gamelan and the first new music from Yoshimi in over five years. Gamelan is an ancient form that has inspired a great many composers and musicians over the past century, from Erik Satie and Claude Debussy to Mouse on Mars and Sun City Girls. The introduction of this traditional form transformed the group into a super tribe, side-stepping the road between the past and the future. Their focus is not to replicate these ancient styles, but to incorporate them into their consistently inventive, constantly shifting musical frameworks. They take their love of indigenous music into an entirely new dimension by freely weaving organic and electric tones into a vivid tapestry, employing their keen sense of color and texture.

While previous OOIOO albums have been largely studio creations, Gamel is the most accurate portrayal of the band’s overwhelming, forceful live presence they have released yet. Yoshimi leads her minimalistic rhythm ensemble by making quick, impulsive shifts in tone and attack, the group acting as one mind under her expert instruction. While the gamelan elements will be brand new to many listeners, the band offsets the bizarre with familiar, at times even nostalgic and childlike, melodies. Gamel is euphoric, bursting at the seams with an exhilarating frenzy that is universal yet uniquely their own. OOIOO’s music is reflected in the ear of the beholder, with each listener taking away something different.

Yoshimi began her music career in 1986 playing drums in UFO or Die with vocalist Eye, and later joined him in the revolutionary noise-pop group Boredoms. Her explosive drum performances captivated audiences and even inspired Wayne Coyne to name a now-famous Flaming Lips album in her honor. While the band’s tours of the United States are infrequent, they are as The New York Times has stated, transcendent. 

OOIOO - Gold & Green  (Green Vinyl 2LP)OOIOO - Gold & Green  (Green Vinyl 2LP)
OOIOO - Gold & Green (Green Vinyl 2LP)Thrill Jockey
¥3,756

Imagine a feather floating from outer space and landing on earth. What's going on? Which bird did this feather come from? That's what OOIOO's (pronounced oh-oh-eye-oh-oh) music is like? so colorful and shiny that you can't even see what is happening.

OOIOO's Gold and Green reveals the group's hard-to-categorize and refreshing avant-garde rock music, which adeptly incorporates elements of punk and more traditional tribal music. Their rhythms are unique and the organic interplay with the vocals is compelling. The music is complex and challenging and playful and childlike. Previously released only in Japan, Gold and Green includes guest appearances including Seiichi Yamamoto (Boredoms), Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto), and Sean Lennon. The album packaging, designed by Yoshimi, is a beautiful miniature gatefold album jacked filled with drawings and photographs by Yoshimi and other artists.

OOIOO began as a fictitious band for a photo shoot for Switch magazine in 1996. An all-female four-piece ensemble started by Yoshimi, the Boredoms' drummer, the band quickly gained attention by being the opening act for Sonic Youth in 1997. On Gold and Green, Yoshimi shows off her musical imagination and virtuosity with her songwriting, as well as by playing the guitar, flute, and trumpet, singing, and adding a number of percussion elements. Yoshimi is joined in OOIOO by the striking Kayano on guitar and vocals, the petite and powerful Maki on bass, and the amazing Yoshico on drums.

OOIOO toured the United States in 2004 for the first time in over five years in support of their recent release, Kila Kila Kila. Their soldout tour performances were notable for their unique exuberance and captivating stage presence. Starting off with a vocals-only polyrhythmic song, the band struck a chord like no other. They will be recording a new album for release in the fall of 2006. 

Joshua Abrams - Natural Information (LP)Joshua Abrams - Natural Information (LP)
Joshua Abrams - Natural Information (LP)Aguirre Records
¥3,697

In his book Powershift, published in 1990, writer and businessman Alvin Toffler predicted that the century ahead would be defined by speed and that time itself is destined to become our most valuable commodity. When Joshua Abrams recorded Natural Information, originally released by Eremite in 2010, he was reacting against such commodification of time and the diminishing attention span that accompanies it by offering music with an irresistible groove, rooted in the sinuous rhythms of the human body and the full play of our senses.

At the heart of this music is the sound of the guimbri, a North African three-stringed bass lute, which Abrams started to play following a visit to Morocco during the late 90s. Traditionally the instrument has a key role in mystical healing ceremonies. Abrams, already a well-established figure in Chicago’s vibrant musical communities, had no desire to repackage tradition. He recognized however that the involving, springy and percussive sound of the guimbri was just the right voice to communicate vital data, to relay the natural information we all need in order to get back in touch with the pulsating continuities of a world we all share.

With Natural Information Abrams entered a new phase of his musical life, extending an invitation to the trance, where time intersects with timelessness. He carried with him a wealth of playing and listening experience. As a bass player he had worked with a host of notable musicians including guitarist Jeff Parker and percussionist Hamid Drake, and had been a member of back porch minimalism outfit Town And Country and the improvising trio Sticks And Stones.

The guimbri is a shaping presence on this remarkable recording, but Abrams also plays bass, bells, kora, sampler and synthesizer. Sympathetic friends including guitarist Emmett Kelly, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz and drummers Frank Rosaly and Nori Tanaka join him  for the project. They set out not to contrive some neat hybrid but to enable coordinated energies and enriching influences to pulse and flow through living, breathing music. Ten years further into a century seemingly dedicated, as Toffler foresaw, to the survival of the fastest, the deep involving groove of Natural Information seems still more relevant, more illuminating, more vital.