MUSIC

Born out of a series of studio sessions, LP.8 was created with no preconceptions or expectations: an unbridled exploration into the creative subconscious. After releasing her sophomore album Inner Song in the midst of the pandemic, Kelly Lee Owens was faced with the sudden realisation that her world tour could no longer go ahead. Keen to make use of this untapped creative energy, she made the spontaneous decision to go to Oslo instead. There was no overarching plan, it was simply a change of scenery and a chance for some undisturbed studio time. It just so happened that her flight from London was the last before borders were closed once again. The blank page project was underway. Arriving to snowglobe conditions and sub-zero temperatures, she began spending time in the studio with esteemed avant-noise artist Lasse Marhaug. Together, they envisioned making music somewhere in between Throbbing Gristle and Enya, artists who have had an enduring impact on Kelly’s creative being. In doing so, they paired tough, industrial sounds with ethereal Celtic mysticism, creating music that ebbs and flows between tension and release. One month later, Kelly called her label to tell them she had created something of an outlier, her ‘eighth album’. Lasse Marhaug is known for hundreds of avant-noise releases, previously working with the likes of Merzbow, Sunn O))) and Jenny Hval, for whom he produced her acclaimed albums Apocalypse, Girl, Blood Bitch and The Practice Of Love. A label mate of Kelly’s, Marhaug has recorded for Smalltown Supersound since 1997. Welsh electronic artist Kelly Lee Owens released her eponymous debut album in 2017 and followed this up with 2020’s Inner Song. She has collaborated with Björk, St. Vincent and John Cale. In April, she returns with LP.8.

"Applying elements of minimalism or electronic music to their compositions, Carcascara's second studio album is deeply rooted in folk, blues or jazz. Borrowing from American primitivism, this acoustic guitar trio based half way between London and Zumaia, stretch the boundaries of tradition with a fluid and developed command of the string instrument. Coming out 14 years after their self-titled debut, highly recommended for fans of Robbie Basho, Steve Reich or John Fahey."

In the early 1980s, one London recording studio became the favoured hang out for visiting Jamaican producers and British reggae musicians alike. Easy Street Studios in Bethnal Green had humble beginnings, but was soon pouring out an impressive run of hit tunes by artists like Sugar Minott, Winston Reedy, Alton Ellis and Barrington Levy. Phil Pratt: “Well, Easy Street was a bit like a party place them times. There was a backroom where everybody can go round there and do what them want do, you understand me, it was nice man. Cos in those days everybody get tipsy and drink, cos it was like fun those times, and we get together and come up with some good things. Everybody who come from Jamaica would work at the studio cos it had the best sound, the bottom was superb, so 95% of the reggae tune made up here was made at Easy Street. It was a good sound and me met some good fellow out of it too.” Founded by Eddy ‘Eddyman’ Williams, the studio soon recruited a team of local East Enders, like Dean ‘Joe 90’ Richards, Mike Stephenson, Jeff Chandler and Stuart Breed, who became known as the Easy Street Crew. Stuart Breed: “I first met Eddyman when I was 16 in 1977, when he was in a band (The Foster Brothers) that was signed to Elton John’s Rocket Records, and they had one hit in the UK. Eddy took the money he got from the record deal and started a rehearsal room. The guy who’d signed them, Roger Bain, became head of A&R at Phonogram Records, and he used to send different bands down to Easy Street to do demos. Roger gave Eddy an advance to buy some recording equipment, so you had an environment that was like a rehearsal room plus a recording studio as well. And one of the bands sent down to record a demo at Easy Street was Black Slate, and Eddy was nuts about reggae at the time, so the band said we’ll bring some friends down. And then within a matter of months we were doing almost exclusively reggae acts.” Phil Pratt: “Everybody get along, black and white, and I remember Joe 90 used to joke say him have a black head too, but really him have a blackhead pimple on his arse! So we all live good together and every man get along, English and Jamaican.” Stuart Breed: “I was just a kid then, a hippy, 147 pounds with long blond hair. In the beginning it was strange having all these guys coming in from Jamaica, and it could be a bit overbearing for a kid of my age, but those guys were great and a lot of fun. The spliff smoking sometimes brought me to a complete standstill, cos really I preferred a beer, but I would have to say I spent most of my life at Easy Street on a contact high! I used to work with Errol Dunkley, Alton Ellis and Lloyd Coxsone a lot. Sugar Minott worked mostly with Eddy.” Phil Pratt had an illustrious career in Jamaica stretching back to the rocksteady years of the 60s, scoring huge hits such as ‘My Heart Is Gone’ and ‘Artibella’, but by the 80s was increasingly finishing his productions in London. Easy Street was a low budget studio with professional but fairly limited equipment – a Soundcraft TS24 mixing desk, a Roland RE301 Chorus Echo, an AKG BX5 reverb, and an MXR flanger/doubler – and a speedy way of working which suited the incoming rush of reggae producers. Stuart Breed: “We used to work really quickly in those days, because of budgets. People would walk in, say hello, spark up a spliff and hit the record button. We had everything always set up, like mics on the drum kit and guitar amps, so people could just start recording immediately. Sometimes people would come in and record an album in one session, lay some tracks, do some vocal overdubs, very minimal stuff, bang out the mix and done, all in six hours.” Phil Pratt: “I worked with Stuart a lot, and most of the things me do at Easy Street was with him. He was a great guy, and very helpful and creative. And Joe 90 also help a lot, ca him play guitar and piano good, so it was really like a team. I almost felt like one of Stuart’s students engineering-wise, cos while I showed him what I want the sound to be like, he was teaching me some things around the board. So me just watch and make him work, cos him very technical with sound and him know exactly where to put that and put this. He just a great, great engineer – trust me, I miss him now.” Hearing such praise, it’s no surprise that he asked Stuart Breed to mix ‘The War Is On Dub Style’, an album that typifies Phil’s working methods in those days, with the backing tracks recorded at Joe Gibbs’ Studio in Jamaica, and overdubs and mixing done in London. Phil Pratt: “‘The War Is On’ was the dubs to songs by Ronnie Davis, like ‘Black Cinderella’ and ‘Strange Things’, which were voiced in Jamaica. And the parts by Bobby Kalphat were all recorded in Jamaica. Bobby Kalphat just a great musician, my favourite keyboardist, so when we finish record the rhythm we go back and record solos and phrases, and make an instrumental on melodica. To be honest with you he was better than Augustus Pablo by far, but we have to give Pablo some credit cos he did start the melodica thing. Next I come to England with the multitrack tapes, the big 16 into 24 track tapes, and trust me, them tapes was real heavy to carry back! Then at Easy Street we voiced some Blackstones tracks and ‘Hear We Them A Say’ by Owen Grey. At Easy Street we paid by the hour, but when we mix this dub LP we go over it about three times. Cos me never like the first sound that we have, it was all right but it wasn’t sellable. So we did go over it again and again til we get what me want.” Stuart Breed: “We used to get a lot of multitrack tapes coming in from Jamaica, from Channel One and Tuff Gong studios especially. The Jamaican engineering was very different from what was popular with chart records in the UK at that time, but it had its own unique sound which I appreciated. I wasn’t really listening to King Tubby, I was mostly listening to Roxy Music and Japan and bands like that, so I tried to emulate that in my mixes, but a lot of the reggae artists would say no, and stop you from going too far in that direction. So I had to adjust to give them what they wanted.” Phil Pratt: “Yes, he’s telling the truth, Stuart was a rock man not a reggae man. So yes, I had to teach him the tone of the sound we want, and him make it marvellous. Some people would leave off from the record sleeve if it mixed in England, but that never occurred to me because I could get the sound from Jamaica which nobody else could a get. And the secret was all in the voltage: Jamaica was 110 volts and England was 220 volts, so Jamaica lower in the voltage, and people don’t know it but the voltage was part of the sound. So when I was in England me have a step down transformer that me work with, me have everything and me bring it to Easy Street and we switch the tape machine to 110 volts and then we get the sound. People didn’t believe it could a work cos it sound stupid, but it work and we get the Jamaican sound. We used to sell ten or twelve thousand of these dub albums easy.” By the mid 80s Easy Street was scoring further successes with homegrown lovers’ rock and deejay tunes, and to support their breakthrough acts the Easy Street Crew started to go out on the road and into concert venues and dancehalls. Stuart Breed: “Once we started doing the reggae stuff, Eddy invested in a decent sized PA system. And we went out doing gigs with the reggae bands, and also sound system clashes, so we’d be in these dancehalls and we’d be the Easy Street Sound playing against these other sound systems. So I learnt about live sound doing those reggae gigs, and then a few years later I found myself doing sound at the Albert Hall with Art Garfunkel – which was quite different from playing a dance in Brixton!” By the late 80s Phil Pratt was starting to ease up a bit on record production, concentrating more on running his restaurant business in London. And Stuart Breed had moved from Easy Street to George Martin’s Air Studios in Oxford Street, where he worked on various dance remixes before launching successfully into the mainstream, engineering for the likes of Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Demis Roussos. Stuart now lives in Savannah, Georgia, and has been Art Garfunkel’s main vocal engineer for the last 29 years. Stuart Breed: “Mixing dub definitely set me up for doing remixes later on. We did a lot of experimental stuff, and the dub mixes I’d done at Easy Street set me in very good stead later when I was doing 12” dance remixes at Air, cos I wasn’t scared to try things. And with all that toasting stuff, we were really doing rap records before rap was even around. Easy Street was really a ground- breaking studio, a very prolific place, and a lot of people cut their teeth down there and went on to do some great things. For a little studio that started out with nothing, it managed to get some amazing results.” Diggory Kenrick

Finally, the classic "Dub Prophecy" album that has been talked about for over 40 years!
A masterpiece of delicate and clever dub by Pat Kelly!

The masterpiece of dub "King Tubby's Prophecies Of Dub" (1976) has finally been reissued from the prestigious Pressure Sounds, which is known for archival reissues of precious and high-quality reggae/dub recordings! This album is produced by Yabby You and Bunny Lee, and recorded by Pat Kelly, a student of King Tubby, at King Tubby's studio. This is a valuable piece of dub recording.

Pat Kelly was a singer in the 1960's, and later a dub mixer and recording engineer who King Tubby trusted very much. This album includes a dub of Linval Thompson's "Long Long Dreadlocks," a dub of Jonny Clark's cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Ten To One," and dubs of Horace Andy and Delroy Wilson.

Originally it came out on UpTop Entertainment in 1998 on CD

Detroit based hip hop group Da'Enna C aka Da Enna Cirkle formed in 1991 consisted of P. Gruv, Sleeepy D aka 3E, Boog Woog and DJ Dez (Andres) the group has released 6 12" EP's, 1 Maxi Cassette (1994) and 1 full length CD. 

Da' Enna C is known for being the first group to release a Dilla production the song was "Now" included on the You Can't Use My Pen EP (1994) released on the UpTop Entertainment Record Label. In 1999 the group went into hiatus, focusing more on production for other artist an entities, producing a string of beat records for Hipnotech which included releasing three Enna C songs on the Beats & Rhyme 12 inch Series and another previously unreleased song recorded in 1994 - True to Rap produced by J Dilla and DJ Dez HR-018 (2010). 

On her debut album Belgian based multi-instrumentalist Ann Eysermans explores the possibilities of the train as a music instrument: a deep quest into a fascinating and mesmerizing world, which started as a five year old kid, when she climbed on board of the train helm station during a trip from Antwerp to Ostend. For the compositions ‘Prelude and Fuga For Four Diesel Locomotives And Harp’ Eysermans had the chance to capture the sounds of diesel locomotives (HD 51, 54, 55 and 60) of the Belgian Train World Heritage collection. Microscopic hissing vibrations of steaming engines slowly entwine and resonate with fragile harp playing, getting on track for an unconventional sonic rail journey. A melancholic odyssey of sound in motion: Ann Eysermans let the sparkling harp notes dissolve into the tones of pulsating train wheels. On the B-side she bends her soft singing voice around deranged horn melodies in ‘Le Départ’, connects delayed organ harmonies in ‘De Vertraging’ with the dying frequencies of a trembling and humming locomotive from the 60’s. On the key track ‘For Trainspotters Only’ Ann Eysermans assembles a hauntingly piece of musique concrete with clanging chimes, broken music boxes, ghostly whispers and throbbing machine room sounds. A lonely barking dog and the last train announcement on a desolate platform in ‘Chorale’ also mark the last part of this spellbinding record. On ‘For Trainspotters Only’ Ann Eysermans takes you on an immersive and meandering ride, connecting the dots between the free spirit of Alice Coltrane, the orchestrated field recording compositions of Chris Watson, Basil Kirchin soundtrack vibes and the magic realism of Claire Rousay.

Tim Zha aka Organ Tapes makes a hyperjump to DJ Python's Worldwide Unlimited label with an emotionally slushed set of singer-songwriter pearls spiked with his own idiosyncratic production moves. An investigation into avant pop, it sounds like a DIY inversion filtered thru the autotuned hypersonix of Ecco2K, Yves Tumor or Palmistry. For over a decade now, Organ Tapes has been masterminding his own obsessively-curated and unique style, attempting to reconcile not just his interests in pop and experimental modes, but also his identity as a British-Chinese artist who's spent his life between Shanghai and London. Through production work for Triad God and releases for Tobago Tracks, Genome6.66Mbp and Berlin’s much loved Creamcake, he’s developed a style that’s pretty much inimitable, with autotuned vocals informed by a long-term love of dancehall, afrobeats and Soundcloud rap, and songs that slip into folk and country, with a compositional mindset that’s unmistakably non-Western. "Chang Zhe Na Wu Ren Wen Jin De Ge Yao" (sing the song that no one cares about) expands on the misty landscapes of 2019's TT-released "Hunger In Me Living”, but while that album retained a wisp of R&B and a vague whiff of ambient, this new one feels firmly grounded in a bedroom pop aesthetic, allowing beams of sunlight to crack through his usually dense, textured clouds. Weft around guitar and vox, Organ Tapes bends the form by employing muffled field recordings, squashed drums and dreamy synths, assembling his tracks with the sort of diaristic warmth you’d expect to find on a claire rousay record. Zha positions himself a few feet away from indie and emo, instead channeling more sparkling influences like TV themes and advertising jingles. His earworm compositions drip with familiar-but-alien riffs, with hooky choruses rendered personal and heartfelt through low-key, lo-fi production smarts. In different hands, it might have all sounded overly exuberant, but anchored by Zha’s muted voice and shaved arpeggios, it's touching and indelible. There’s no cynicism here - the songs work because they come from a genuine place. Just listen to 'Heaven can wait' and tell us you ain't feeling it.

Analogue bubblebath suds and chimes from multi monikered electronic maestro Ed Ruscha (Secret Circuit), wrangling his imaginary ensemble The Only Thingz for a full-length follow-up to his sought-after 2018 tape for the label.

‘Ed Ruscha V & the Only Thingz’ is exemplary of the sanguine, etheric spirit and bucolic nature that’s blessed all Eddie Ruscha’s body of work since the early ‘90s; from his earliest shoegaze work with Medicine, thru his lolling disco tracks as Secret Circuit with Beats In Space, to electronic pop with Scott Gilmore as Doctor Fluorescent. But it’s under his own name (which he shares with his pop-art pioneer father) that Ed really comes into his own, sketching out scenes flush with a colourful warmth and gentle headiness that effortlessly lends itself to Good Morning Tapes’ agenda.

Each of the eight pieces seamlessly caress stressed heads with a blend of electronic synthesis and field recordings, veering from groggy pastoralism to swaying ambient house, luring listeners into a sullied conception of ambient world building. The wilting chord petals of ‘Slumber Punk’ surely recall the most blissed of AFX’s SAW works, and the lilting triplets of ‘Frog Man’ feels like we’re in the Balearics, while ‘Tree Ring Circus’ and ‘Sight Gag Final’ offer a lush smush of raga-esque acid dub, into the gorgeous new age intentions and effect of ‘Waves Over Stones’.

An American soul vocal group that would go on to shape the sound of pop music much farther beyond their imaginations, The Ponderosa Twins Plus One featured two sets of identical teenage twins, Alfred and Alvin Pelham, and Keith and Kirk Gardner, along with Ricky Spicer. The group released a couple of singles and a lone album for Cleveland's Saru label in 1971, breaking up and disbanding as adolescence waned. A recent sample darling of both Kanye West and Tyler The Creator, "Bound" has revealed the Ponderosa Twins Plus One as the real Midwest kid soul deal. Numero is proud to present the first official American repressing of the original 1971 release, with fresh remasters from the original analog tapes, two previously unissued bonus tracks, and a replica tip on sleeve, making this an album you're bound to fall in love with.

A new album of piano driven ambient music from British composer Robert Haigh. Following in the path of his albums for the Japanese Siren label, Creatures of the Deep is an underground vantage of a meeting between the musical worlds of Harold Budd and Erik Satie. With a storied musical career that has ranged widely in style ― from his industrial-avant-garde works on Nurse With Wound’s United Diaries label as SEMA to his legendary ambient drum and bass records as Omni Trio on Moving Shadow ― Robert Haigh's work occupies a space between music and mystery. With Creatures of the Deep, Haigh is at the peak of his powers. Among noir, minimal, neo-classical landscapes are robust scatterings of bright reflection and a musical expression that is subtle and elusive yet uniquely Haigh’s in its voice and masterful execution. The closer we examine, the more is revealed, and the less is defined.

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.

In 1989, pianist and composer Yumiko Morioka put together a group of diverse street musicians and semi-professional players for a project that would come to be called the Synergetic Voice Orchestra. Inspired by Yumiko’s love of different musical cultures from around the globe, the band drew on influences from India, Ethiopia, Mali, Korea and China to create an album that merged these sonic identities with more traditional sounds from the southern Japanese city of Okinawa. Having released her solo piano record Resonance a couple of years earlier, Yumiko was thrilled when offered the chance to make an album of ‘any kind of music she wanted’. She pulled together artists she knew or had seen playing from in and around Tokyo, many of whom were self-taught and could not read music. It wasn’t always easy for Yumiko, a classically taught musician, to work with others who lacked her formal training. But by employing the synergetic principles of American architect and theorist Buckminster Fuller, she fostered an environment where the results of the group had a larger impact than that of the individual. This approach brought a real energy to her compositions and the resulting recording sessions produced MIOS, an exploratory, creative work that felt alive with free-wheeling creativity. Nothing was off limits. The drummer, who ran a vegetable stall by day and practiced in a cemetery at night as to not disturb his neighbours, utilised old washing machine parts for some of the percussive elements. Although Synergetic Voice Orchestra would eventually morph into a new band, leaving MIOS to exist as a singular moment in time, the album remains as one of Japan’s true hidden treasures. Originally a CD only release, MIOS now comes to vinyl for the very first time, complete with brand new artwork by Elvis Barlow-Smith.

Limited white vinyl reissue with Japanese obi!

The limited white edition of Radiohead's ninth studio album "A Moon Shaped Pool", released in 2016, has been miraculously re-pressed!
The album, including the popular songs "Burn The Witch" and "Daydreaming," deconstructs Radiohead's sound structure, which continues to mature and deepen, and turns a new page with minimalism, contemporary music, and African rhythms.
The release of "True Love Waits," a song that has been long awaited by fans, has finally been completed and made available as a soundtrack, and has been a big hit.
This is your last chance to own a rare limited edition copy of this 2010s art-rock milestone that has been named one of the best of the year and nominated for a Grammy at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards!

Burnt Friedman has been collaborating with German rock giant Jaki Liebezeit of CAN, who has been a close friend of his for years, and experimental drummer João Pais Filipe, who has worked with Rafael Toral and Lafawndah. João Pais Filipe, a drummer in the experimental field who has worked with Rafael Toral and Lafawndah, has released a split EP on his own Nonplace label. It's another astonishing work...! This is the first time I've ever heard a track from the band, and I can't wait to see what they come up with next... "Out Of Ape" is a trancy, avant-garde electro track that completely removes the distinction between the otherworldly and the real, while filling the track with ultra-colored psychedelia. Eurydike", and the cosmic ambient/tribal dance "Star Wars", which was inspired by Jaki Liebezeit and recorded together in 2004.

Matsuli Music has been digging up lost South African Afro-jazz masterpieces by Hugh Masekela, Johnny Dyani and others. In recent years, contemporary jazz from South Africa has been gaining popularity, following in the footsteps of London and France. This is the latest release from Kyle Shepherd, an award-winning jazz pianist/composer from South Africa who has also worked on film and television projects. Recorded at a time when the world is facing death and disease from a pandemic. This album is dedicated to those who are facing darkness and despair. The album consists of re-edited versions of his previous fave songs and improvisations, and includes two full-length songs of over 20 minutes. This solo piano work is filled with lively pianism, sweet and light lyricism that can be found in lament songs and ukiyoe.

For the 1983 edition of Company Week held at London's I.C.A. in May of that year, guitarist Derek Bailey once more invited a typically eclectic collection of guests. Cellist Ernst Reijseger is a mainstay of Dutch new jazz (ICP Orchestra, Clusone Trio...), American wind virtuoso J.D.Parran a veteran of the Black Artists' Group and Anthony Davis and Anthony Braxton ensembles, while saxophonists Evan Parker and Peter Brötzmann, as titans of European free improvisation, need no introduction. French bassist/vocalist Joëlle Léandre is equally at home playing free or performing works by Cage and Scelsi, while Vinko Globokar is an acclaimed composer as well as a trombonist of monstrous virtuosity. He and British electronics pioneer Hugh Davies served time with Karlheinz Stockhausen, and before a brief stint with Robert Fripp's King Crimson, percussionist Jamie Muir was, with Davies, on the very first (Music Improvisation) Company outing in 1970. Bailey once described playing solo as a "second-rate activity"; while at the other end of the spectrum, large improvising ensembles can, if they're not careful, descend into the musical equivalent of a rugby scrum: dangerous, but thrilling -- listen to what happens when Brötzmann comes barreling into the final track here. Sometimes one instrument takes center stage, as Parker's circular-breathing soprano does at the beginning of "Trio Five", but knowing when to lie low, as he does in the brief austere "Trio Three", is just as crucial to the success of the whole. Muir makes sure he doesn't get in the way of Globokar and Parran's leisurely exchanges on "Trio Four", but the trombonist is all over the place on "Trio One" -- transcribe what Globokar does here and it might be the most difficult trombone music ever written -- with Léandre racing up and down her bass and Davies all spikes, squeaks and squiggles, after which "Trio Two" is a lighter affair, Parran's flute and Léandre's vocals twittering together while Derek's acoustic twangs merrily along. With a touch of dry Bailey humor, two of the seven tracks aren't trios at all: "Trio Minus One" is his duo with Reijseger, running the gamut from crazed polyrhythmic strumming (imagine Reinhardt and Grappelli playing Schoenberg and Nancarrow simultaneously) to what must be the fastest cello pizzicati ever recorded. And on the closing ecstatic nonet, Brötzmann and trumpeter John Corbett prove that too many cooks don't necessarily spoil the broth but sure as hell spice it up.

Derek Bailey x Han Bennink !!!! The live recording from Incus in 1972, in which Han Bennink, who was personally enthusiastic about coming to Japan this year, also participated, is the first vinyl reissue over 45 years. A collaboration album between Derek Bailey and Han Bennink. Beninck, who makes strange voices and hits things other than drums against Bailey's electric guitar, and messy performances such as turning on the radio, but ... Bailey's calmness and listening. Isn't it a contrast? Sometimes the moment Bailey demands silence is also wonderful. And Rashad Becker's great remastering and perfection at that prestigious Abbey Road Studios.

A timeless masterpiece live album recorded by Derek Bailey, one of Britain's leading free improvisation giants, in Paris and London and released on his own label, Incus in 1980, by Honest Jon's with the addition of two unsound sources. The first vinyl reissue!

Just twisting space-time, devilish performances, thrilling moments. Audience alarm? Even if it is interrupted at, it does not bother me at all, and even that is taken in as an element, and there is also a performance that can afford to tighten it perfectly. You can feel some kind of elegance in Bailey's performances that are completely mature. An overwhelming spiritual pressure improvisation sound derived from endless self-questioning and self-answering. 2 additional unreleased tracks are included. If you like music, you shouldn't end up with an unexperienced masterpiece of the century.

Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Hugh Davies & Jamie Muir's pointillistic classic as The Music Improvisation Company is the latest in Honest Jon's righteous Incus reissue programme, out now in a handsome gatefold 2LP edition. "Though music journalists made a big deal recently about the release of a 1965 rehearsal tape by Derek Bailey’s Joseph Holbrooke trio with Gavin Bryars and Tony Oxley, those early efforts were mere tentative steps along a cliff edge wearing a line safely attached to Coltrane. There’s still a whiff of jazz to Bailey and Parker’s work with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble up to and including 1968’s Karyobin. But with the addition of Jamie Muir — the first great free improvising percussionist who didn’t start out as a jazz drummer — and the way-leftfield electronics of Hugh Davies, the MIC leapt right off that cliff. These six tracks — tight, electric, pointillistic, brilliant, uncompromising and exhilarating — sound like nothing else that came before. In a word, seminal. "The original concepts of vocal and instrumental music are utterly different. The instrumental impulse is not melody in a 'melodious' sense but an agile movement of the hands which seem to be under the control of a brain centre totally different from that which inspires vocal melody. Altogether, instrumental music, with the exception of rudimentary rhythmic percussion, is as a rule a florid, fast and brilliant display of virtuosity... Quick motion is not merely a means to a musical end but almost an end in itself which always connects with the fingers, the wrists and the whole of the body. "The inclusion of the above passage from Curt Sachs' The Wellsprings of Music with this album, the recording of which predates the Music Improvisation Company's only other release, the eponymous ECM outing, indicates a clear intention to stake out territory for European Free Improvisation markedly different from that of the (American) Free Jazz it sprang from. The African-American heritage that led to jazz was melodious, vocal, field holler / church-inflected, and the Germans and the Dutch never made any secret of their affection for it, but British free improvisers in the late 1960s were looking elsewhere. Even so, and though the music press made a big deal a while back about the release of a 1965 rehearsal tape by Derek Bailey's earlier Joseph Holbrooke trio (with Gavin Bryars and Tony Oxley), their early efforts were mere tentative steps along a cliff edge wearing a line safely attached to Coltrane, and there's still a faint but distinct aftertaste of jazz in Bailey and Parker's work with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble up to and including 1968's Karyobin. But with the addition of Jamie Muir - the first great free improvising percussionist who didn't start out as a jazz drummer - and Hugh Davies and his electronics from way out leftfield in the avant garde / experimental world, the MIC leapt right off that cliff. As Nina Hagen screamed later, "1968 is over! Future is Now!" These six tracks – tight, electric, pointillistic, brilliant, uncompromising and exhilarating – sound like nothing else that came before. In a word, seminal."

Bheki Mseleku, who played on Hugh Masekela's masterpiece "Waiting For The Rain," is also featured on this album. South Africa's answer to Chick Corea's Return to Forever and Miles Davis' On the Corner. This is the first analogue reissue of the first album released in 1977 by the legendary Spirits Rejoice collective. A legendary ensemble of South Africa's most talented players, this is a timeless masterpiece that has had a profound impact on the evolution of jazz in South Africa! Gorgeous photos and liner notes by Francis Gooding are posted on the inner sleeve.

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 ​

To enter the world of Sally Townes and Roberta Vandervort is to be swept away into a dimension of unique sound. Embellishments of smoldering jazz funk, seductive soft rock, breezy AOR, and misty folk, all paint a picture of the worlds which they inhabited; from the endless flat expanse of Dallas, the hot and humid bustle of a Bourbon Street night club, to the late night buzz of a Los Angeles studio session. While Sally Townes and Roberta Vandervort never crossed paths in our reality, their supernatural union on this compilation feels like the meeting of old, yet familiar friends, set in a parallel dimension with lives intertwined. The songs feel like old friends, too — a comforting time capsule of the popular sounds of the era, yet offering something completely new. Bridged by the striking similarities in their musical confidence, vocal conviction, and boundless creativity, both women encapsulate an uncompromising passion for living, loving, and creating on their own terms.

Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others. In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now legendary) Afro-centric TRIBE record label and artist collective. TRIBE used the Metro Arts complex as a vehicle to convey a growing black political consciousness. Wendell Harrison also published the very popular TRIBE magazine, a publication dedicated to local and national social and political issues, as well as featuring artistic contributions such as poetry and visual pieces. In 1978 Harrison and McKinney co-founded REBIRTH, a non-profit jazz performance and education organization, in which many notable jazz artists have participated. Around the same time Wendell Harrison also created the WENHA record label and publishing company, which released many of his (now classic) recordings as well as those of other artists, such as Phil Ranelin, Doug Hammond and Reggie Fields (The Real ShooBeeDoo). In the early 1990s, Wendell Harrison was awarded the title of “Jazz Master” by Arts Midwest. This distinction led Harrison to collaborate with fellow honorees and gave him the chance to tour throughout the United States, Middle East and Africa. Even to this day Wendell Harrison’s recordings for the TRIBE, WENHA and REBIRTH labels have a large worldwide fanbase. It is on WENHA that Harrison released the opus: DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME (1980), which we are presenting you today. DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME is a monster album that features an all-star line-up that includes Phil Ranelin (Freddie Hubbard, Solomon Burke, Mulatu Astakte) on trombone, Harold McKinney (Tribe) on Keyboards and Roy Brooks (Yusef Lateef, Chet Baker, Mingus) on percussion. Although you can hear the 80ies creeping in with a smoother sound, more synths, and disco/R&B vocals… this remains a very spiritual (and soulful) jazz record. The record’s an irresistible blend of soul jazz combined with funky electric instrumentation…a groovy sound which is very much of its time, yet overtly timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially released. Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first ever vinyl reissue of ‘Dreams of A Love Supreme’ since its release in 1980. This official reissue is now available as a deluxe 180g BLACK vinyl edition (limited to 500 copies) and comes with an unreleased bonus track.

Highly coveted Hawaiian jazz/soul album. The debut album from Mackey Feary’s solo band after departing seminal contemporary Hawaiian group, Kalapana. This LP reads like a who’s who in the local 70s music scene: Nohelani Cypriano (of “Lihue” cult fame), Azure McCall (of Lemuria), Jimmy Funai (who produced Hal Bradbury’s debut), and Gaylord Holomalia (who now runs the island studio where stars record, incl. Kanye West, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey). Unlike other reissues, this Aloha Got Soul pressing includes the full version of “Powerslide” in all its 7-minute glory. An all-time classic must-have record from the Hawaiian Islands.