MUSIC

We Release Jazz announce the official reissue of Ryo Fukui's only solo piano album, recorded live, June 4-5, 1994 at The Lutheran Hall in Sapporo. Originally released on CD only by Sapporo Jazz Create in 1994, My Favorite Tune is a beautiful bop adventure which includes two superb compositions that Ryo Fukui wrote as an homage to his beloved Hokkaido region, the fan-favorite "Nord" and "Voyage", a tribute to his mentor Barry Harris ("Nobody's"), alternate versions of his mega classics "Scenery" and "Mellow Dream", and, last but not least, bewitching takes on timeless gems by Sonny Clark and Avery Parrish. My Favorite Tune plays like a cool summer night, full of contemplative notes and deep feelings, with Ryo Fukui baring his heart on the piano and displaying the soulful sophistication he is loved for. A true masterpiece completing his amazing discography. Comes with liner notes by Yusuke Ogawa. Sourced from the original masters. LP version comes on 180 gram vinyl mastered at half speed for full audiophile sound.

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.

Song Cycle Records present a reissue of Revolutions Per Minute (The Art Record), originally released in 1982. Revolutions Per Minute is a two-record album of twenty-one original sound works by artists represented at that time by the Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc. in New York. Each gallery artist was asked to record or provide a three-to-five minute segment for Jeff Gordon's Greene Street Recording Studio. No further directions were given, and the sound works are an amazing mix. List of the artists involved: Jud Fine, Eleanor Antin, Terry Fox, Margaret Harrison, Les Levine, Hannah Wilke, Douglas Davis, Vitaly Komar & Alexander Melamid, Helen Mayer Harrison / Newton Harrison, Vincenzo Agnetti, Chris Burden, Piotr Kowalski & William Burroughs, Ida Applebroog, Edwin Schlossberg, SITE, R. Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Shannon, Conrad Atkinson, David Smyth, Todd Siler, and Joseph Beuys. Comes on 180 gram vinyl; Gatefold sleeve.

After 20 years of incubation, My Bloody Valentine's third album, m b v, was suddenly released in 2013, and was at once their most experimental and most melodic and immediate work, proving their insatiable appetite for reform. Highly acclaimed as an astounding work that pushed the boundaries of musical and genre concepts even further, it also featured a type of music that had never been heard before. At once otherworldly, familiar, and intuitive, this album is a masterpiece for a new era, a stunningly beautiful transformation of the sound synonymous with MBV as it had been known up to that point. The album's final track, "Wonder 2," is a testament to this, with Shields' hypnotic guitar sound mixed with drum'n'bass that has left many awestruck.

Mastered from original 1/2" analog tape using Studer A80 VU-PRE and Neumann VMS 80.
Mastered from original 1/2" analog tape using Studer A80 VU-PRE and Neumann VMS 80
180g weight vinyl
Standard gatefold outer sleeve
Produced and mixed by Kevin Shields
Includes five 300 x 300 mm art prints
Includes DL code (24-bit | 16-bit | mp3)

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.

180-gram reissue of John Fahey's 1972 major-label debut. "In the liner notes for this wonderful disc, sideman Chris Darrow comments, 'I remember the first time I ever heard him, I thought they'd turned the record from 45 to 33 or something, 'cause I couldn't believe how slow he played.' One of the (many) great beauties in Fahey's approach is just that: he takes his time and savors every last resonance he can wring from his guitar. This 1972 release was his first for a major label (originally on Reprise) after more than a decade of issuing work privately or on small imprints, and also the first instance of Fahey having access to a large ensemble of musicians, including a brass and string section. Still, the extra players don't come close to swamping the session; Fahey is very much in the foreground and a number of the pieces read, essentially, as solo performances. It opens with 'Steamboat Gwine 'Round de Bend,' as gorgeous an example of Fahey's slide guitar work as he ever recorded, languid, soulful, and profound. Similarly, his medley of 'Deep River' and 'Ol' Man River' is steeped in Delta humidity, lazily floating downstream. The tracks with the brass band raise the ghosts of Dixieland, while some of the string accompaniment may recall Van Morrison. In any event, Fahey, major label or not, is simply himself, leisurely rolling along, sharply perceptive in his observations and sumptuously gorgeous in his evocations. A fine effort and certainly something that belongs on the shelves of any fan of the late, very great guitarist." --Brian Olewnick, AllMusic

In C is a musical piece by the composer and performing musician Terry Riley. As one of the first minimalist compositions and a masterpiece of this genre it's a response to the modern music that dominated the scene in 1968. The piece inspired a lot of famous composers, like Philip Glass and Steve Reich. In C consists of repeating cells and different rhythms, loosely based on the musical structures he had heard and loved in north African music. 53 short musical phrases are what the compositions are made of. The thing that makes In C so enduring is that, once all concept is stripped away, it's a seriously hypnotic piece of music. For listeners with a sympathy for minimalism it's a wild and impressive work, full of energy. 180 gram vinyl.

Discreet Music (1975) is the fourth studio album by the British musician Brian Eno. While his earlier work with Robert Fripp (No Pussyfooting) and several selections from Another Green World feature similar ideas, Discreet Music marked a clear step toward the ambient aesthetic Eno would later codify with 1978's Ambient 1: Music for Airports. It is also Eno's first album to be released under his full name "Brian Eno" as opposed to his previous rock albums released simply under the name "Eno".

Minimalist music evangelist Terry Riley's 1968 masterpiece "A Rainbow In The Curved Air" influenced numerous musicians.From The Who to many techno artists, this is a classic album that continues to influence us.

The fifth instalment of Ilian Tape’s Ilian Beat Series finds veteran Dutch producer Kid Sundance providing a fruitful selection of sample heavy hip hop tracks. ‘Neptunes’ opens with metal creaks and groans, eerie yet smooth, meanwhile Rones plays spacey, dreamy synths on ‘Wooden Loft’. The luscious delivery of ‘Ero’ combines the jazz expertise of Shigeto with loops programmed akin to Brainfeeder's Teebs. Tien Seconden feels like a lost beat tape from the 90s, with the warm crackle of Kid Sundance’s weapon of choice the EMU SP1200 coming through in spades, but an unmistakable modern glamour shines through.

1987, Kanagawa, not so far from Tokyo, Japan. Minoru Fushimi teaches his high-school classes during the day. Back from work, he transforms into “Hoodoo” Fushimi, turns on the drum machines, the synthesizers and the sequencers, blends them with his own shamisen playing and builds a cult album: Kenka Oyaji is born and becomes a milestone in Japan’s early hip hop and electro-funk history, now reissued for the first time since its original release, in collaboration with Hoodoo Fushimi himself. Essential!

Rare recordings of beat/cut-up writers and artists William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin. Comprises the complete recording of Burroughs reading live in Liverpool in 1982, plus performances by Gysin of a selection of his permutated poems, as well as home recordings made by the pair in Paris in 1970. All recordings are taken from original tapes in The British Library collection. 180 gram vinyl.

For the next release we head to Barbados and 1985 for the first official reissue of ‘Exit’ by Fire Flight. The best reissues succinctly capture a moment in time and this album provides a snapshot of Island life in the Caribbean region of the America’s in the middle of the 1980’s. The LP encompasses new wave, funk and early house rhythms with a backbone of calypso. The idea for Fire Flight started with Carl “Beaver” Henderson, a musician, arranger and producer who initially provided back up band services for the Royal Bank of Trinidad & Tobago’s annual staff Calypso competition. In 1981 the idea quickly evolved into the 15 piece band that was Fire Flight who took Trinidad and Tobago’s performance spaces and annual carnival by storm with their electrifying life performances. The band also travelled to Toronto, Montreal and New York for their annual carnivals. In 1984 the band entered the now defunct Coral Sound Studios in Barbados to record their debut album. The driving force behind the LP was the band’s main songwriter Francis Escayg’s desire to explore alternative avenues of recognition for the band and to perform and thrive in the carnival off season. Highlights from the LP include the slow new wave funk of ‘Best Shot’ & ‘White Horse’, the melting pot of calypso, zouk and reggae influences on ‘Hard Life’ & ‘Mornin Lovin’ and the tropical proto house of ‘Wantin U’ that was a highlight of the Fire Flight live show. The LP is pressed on heavyweight 180 Gram Vinyl with new full sleeve artwork from Bradley Pinkerton.

“This heat are one of those bands that (as a person wanting to be in a band) I aspired to be like. Not to sound like them or rip them off in anyway, but just be one of those bands that you hear and you know instantly, that your listening to This Heat and none else. They’re a band that set their own rules and did it without ever sounding pretentious or like they were trying too hard. The first record i had by them was This Heat but I thought it was amazing that i could be into them for some years and keep discovering other EPs or songs by them like Health and Efficiency that still felt completely fresh and still do. - Dave Porter (Avey Tare, Animal Collective)

Ted Curson (1935-2012), a renowned jazz trumpeter from Philadelphia, has performed with many legends including Cecil Taylor and Charles Mingus. His masterpiece leader work released in 1971 from Futura Records, a legendary French avant jazz and free music label, has been officially reissued! This album was recorded at Europasonor Studio on June 18, 1971 during a visit to Paris, and features Georges Arvanitas (piano), Jacky Samson (double bass), and Charles Saudrais (drums). A gem of an album that transcends the boundaries of classical, modal jazz, fusion and free jazz.

For a label that wasn't around long, Strata East achieved the same sort of label recognition that Impulse! or Blue Note managed to build. In other words, you knew what you were getting when you bought a record on the label, even if you didn't know the names on the outside of the cover. This is no exception. Who is Shamek Farrah? Who knows? Who cares? It's the music that's important. This is the standard spiritually intense new jazz one learns to expect from the label, soaked in some Eastern influences but always with its ear to the street. Musicians took their roles as leaders and spokesmen very seriously back then.

This very adult statement from a group of very serious men is no exception. However, what might be an average, forgettable session is rescued by the propulsive engine of Milton Suggs' bass. He adds the fire and the drive that keeps things interesting and prevents the music from wandering into a circular spiritual morass.

A double LP with 42 pages of full color 12" X 12" liner notes bound into a gatefold LP with a shiny silver foil front cover. Printed inner sleeves and 180 gram vinyl. "Strange World" is a compilation of cosmic and earthly doo wop and R&B from Jamaica and America. The songs are mostly sparse, beautiful and spacey. Features unreleased demos as well as hard to find songs found only on 45's from the 1950's. The liner notes feature unseen photos and cosmic art. Pyramid Records is a new label focusing on deluxe very small pressings. The goal is to make "dream records" that speak of an alter destiny better than what we got going these days.

“I have movies in my head” describes Tobias Freund the source that inspired his new album to fill it with a fantastic life of its very own. Consequently, each of the eight tracks represents a scene out of a fictitious short film, some of them with a claustrophobic and tense atmosphere while others appear light and hopeful on the screen of imagination. What they have in common is an adventurous spirit that is inherent in and played out by three main characters: repetitive electronic and acoustic patterns, voices from far away and field recordings of obscured origin. All the episodes combined introduce this “Hall Ov Fame” as a psyche-cinematic event which resonates with “ambience in its natural shades” to evoke the whole range of sensations that make a proper, suspenseful mind movie.

180-gram vinyl. Gatefold sleeve. Includes CD. 2015 remastered reissue. Includes lengthy interview with Laraaji. Laraaji's glistening 1980 debut Ambient 3: Day of Radiance has from the beginning been considered an outlier. Though widely celebrated at that the time of its original release (as the third installment in Brian Eno's emerging ambient music series), the album also brought with it an aura of mystification. Where did it fit in? An uncharted synthesis of resonating zither textures, interlocking hammered rhythms, and 3-D sound treatments (courtesy of Eno), Day of Radiance seemed to push open many doors at once, ambient music being only one of them. Though there are certainly aspects of the album that find sonic common ground with other Eno-related "ambient" projects (on the tracks "Meditation #1" and "Meditation #2" in particular), the album is not easily boxed into a singular genre. Day of Radiance also mines the ethereal spiritualism of late-'70s new age music (of which Laraaji is considered a pioneer), the harmonic and rhythmic repetitions of American minimalists Terry Riley and Steve Reich, and traditional global sounds from India and Java (particularly gamelan music). And while Laraaji never explicitly embraced the "Fourth World" theories of fellow visionary and Eno collaborator Jon Hassell, Day of Radiance echoes a kindred exploratory exoticism. In the late '70s Brian Eno had relocated to New York City from London and had begun a period of fertile intersections with musicians in his adopted home. Laraaji recounts how he and Eno first crossed paths: "I was playing [zither] in Washington Square Park and I usually play with my eyes closed because I get into meditative trance states that way, and opening my eyes and collecting my little financial reward from that evening, there was a note, on notebook paper -- it looked like it had been ripped from somebody's expensive notebook -- there was a note that says 'Dear sir, kindly excuse this impromptu piece of message, I was wondering if you would be interested in talking about participating in a recording project I am doing, signed: Brian Eno.'" The album was completed in two sessions; the first one produced the faster, pulsing "Dance" compositions (on the A-side) and the second session yielded something closer to Eno's own ambient constructs -- slow zither washes and waves with more pronounced sound enhancements (on the B-side). While the album is deceptively simple in its construction, closer listening reveals its extraordinary depth of field and its polymath influences.

2021 restock; LP version. 180 gram vinyl; 350gsm gatefold sleeve; includes download with "The Doctrine Of Eternal Ice". Originally released by Side Effects in 1986, Zamia Lehmanni was the third (and final) core SPK album and was Graeme Revell's first truly solo project. He was in a period of transition, somewhere between the industrial noise of the early years and his later award-winning soundtrack work. On the day before this was first released, this style of music, now ubiquitous (especially in soundtracks), did not exist. After Information Overload Unit (1981) cleared a space for subsequent explorations, and the environmental percussion and anchored mutilated sound collages of Leichenschrei (1982), the "body without organs" was fully eviscerated. Graeme felt "industrial music" was becoming ossified and needed to be taken into radically new territories: "post-industrial". The track "In Flagrante Delicto" (mastered as originally intended here) was later used by Revell for his work on the soundtrack for the 1989 film Dead Calm, which won him Best Original Score from the Australian Film Institute. Unavailable in any format since Mute's 1992 CD edition, Cold Spring Records now present this landmark album on newly remastered CD, and on vinyl for the first time since 1986. Approved by Graham Revell, this release comes with new artwork by Abby Helasdottir and is remastered by Martin Bowes (The Cage). New liner notes from Graeme Revell, 2019.

Sold out on the label! This is truly eternal. A great masterpiece of timeless charm! This is a masterpiece by Spiritualized, formed in 1990 by Jason Pierce, a former member of the famous British band Spacemen 3, which continues to fascinate audiences as the ultimate act of floating, escapist neo-psychedelia. Spiritualized was formed in 1990 by Jason Pierce, a former member of Spacemen 3, and others, and is published by Fat Possum, a prestigious indie label. This is one of the greatest alternative rock albums of the 90's, boiling down psychedelic music to the extreme. It's like watching a dream collaboration between Brian Wilson and La Monte Young.

Blind Joe Death is the first album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. There are three different versions of the album, and the original self-released edition of fewer than 100 copies is extremely rare.