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Banyen Rakkaen - Lam Phloen World-class: The Essential Banyen Rakkaen (CD)
Banyen Rakkaen - Lam Phloen World-class: The Essential Banyen Rakkaen (CD)Em Records
¥2,750
Baan Yen Laken is a leading figure who has built up the existence of a female mass idol Mor lam in the heyday, and is a superstar who has been the goal of many singers including Ankanan and Hong Thong since the latter half of the 1960s. Discovered by Isan's big-name producer, Tape Pubut, she has an urban mor lam that was one of the first to incorporate Western music, and destroyed traditional mor lam entertainment with flashy costumes and bewitching stage productions. The state of (* meaning of development and development in Thai) that foresaw this era was criticized at that time, but the influence that it became more enthusiastic and became the mainstream of the present age is immeasurable.

She was supported not only by her cuteness and flashiness, but also by her debut in an era when good and bad songs were the first priority, and she was sung by legendary Morlam singers. Because he was a talented singer who fascinated him. That should be it, Baan Yen's singing ability learned under Morlam's classic apprenticeship is with origami. He is now one of the leading singers in the country (he has also performed at Thai festivals in Japan).

This time, she compiled the most violent 70's innovative Morlam & Luk Thung works, and distributed them in a well-balanced manner from flashy and up-to-date songs to moist and astringent songs. It is a "listening" best compilation album that focuses on the innate talent of Baan Yen, the skill of singing. Soi48, of course, for song selection, commentary, and binding!
T.K. Ramamoorthy - Fabulous Notes And Beats Of The Indian Carnatic - Jazz (CD)
T.K. Ramamoorthy - Fabulous Notes And Beats Of The Indian Carnatic - Jazz (CD)Em Records
¥2,530
Come join EM Records on another of their spatio-temporal musical journeys. This time, we're off to Madras, 1969 to hear legendary south Indian film music composer/director, T. K. Ramamoorthy's prescient Fabulous Notes And Beats Of The Indian Carnatic - Jazz, a daring fusion of Carnatic music and jazz. Although jazz musicians had been using Indian elements before this time, Fabulous Notes was the first recording in which accomplished Indian musicians adopted jazz elements. And these are accomplished musicians indeed -- veterans of the demanding Indian film music studios, trained in the strict discipline of the traditional Carnatic system, led by the visionary Ramamoorthy, a legendary composer who collaborated with M. S. Viswanathan in providing soundtracks for more than 700 films. The music here is a true Indian music, adhering to traditional Carnatic ragas with their varying ascending and descending modes, using a wide range of Indian instruments in an appealing fusion with jazz instruments, ideas and rhythms. The result is not a slavish imitation of modish Western styles, but a stimulating and surprising new entity; fans of later Ethio-jazz may well experience a frisson of familiarity at certain moments when listening to these recordings. Famed composer Ramamoorthy is also a masterful arranger and orchestrator, giving us surprising vistas of timbre, allowing instruments to come to the fore, supported in appealing combinations. But the true heart of both Carnatic music and jazz is improvisation, and T.K.R. allows these fine players space within relatively brief moments to make their own statements within the ragas, as detailed in the liner notes accompanying this reissue. What we hear is a new meeting of worlds, both sharing a respect for the primacy of improvisation, a love for the intricacies of ensemble-playing, and a fine understanding of the power of propulsive yet sophisticated rhythms. Fabulous Notes reveals a true Indian music, not merely Occidental music with hints of Indo-spice. We can picture the recording sessions, with the musicians seated on the floor of the studio, Indian musicians playing Indian music, playing jazz, playing Fabulous Notes And Beats Of The Indian Carnatic - Jazz. Indian instruments include: veena, gotuvadyam, flute, tabla tharang, tape, conch, ghatam, mridangam, chandai & sudha madhalam, tabla, jalra and bul bul thara, and Western instruments include: bass clarinet, saxophone, piano, guitar, double bass, trumpet, drums and bongos.
William Eaton - Music By William Eaton (CD)
William Eaton - Music By William Eaton (CD)Em Records
¥2,750

Originally released in 1978, Music By William Eaton is a private-press album from the accomplished experimental stringed instrument builder. The atmospheric recording techniques, mixed with a hint of Fahey/Takoma-lineage make for a listening experience akin to the mountainscape drawing represented on the album cover. The experience may seem simple at first, but like any great trip in nature, new details consistently reveal themselves upon each listen.

“When I started building instruments, playing guitar took on a whole new dimension. From the conception to the birth of each instrument, new layers of meaning unfolded. Cycles, connections and interdependencies became apparent as I contemplated the growth of trees from seed to old age, and the transformation from raw wood to the building of a musical instrument. I sought out quiet natural environments to play and listen to the “voice” of my 6 string, 12 string, 26 string (Elesion Harmonium) and double neck quadraphonic electric guitar. Deep canyons contained a beautiful resonant quality and echo. A starlit night with a full moon provided all the reflection and endless space by which to project music into the cosmos. The sound of a bubbling stream and singing birds added a natural symphonic tapestry to a melody or chord pattern. As I perceived it, everything was participating in a serendipitous dance. Everything was part of the music.

During this time, I decided to record an instrumental album of music. The idea was simple; it would be a series of tone poems with no titles or any information attached, only the words ‘Music by William Eaton.’ While some of the songs evolved out of composed chord progressions, most of the songs were played spontaneously, only on the occasion of the recording. These improvised songs haven’t been played since.” -- William Eaton

Annea Lockwood - Becoming Air / Into the Vanishing Point (LP)
Annea Lockwood - Becoming Air / Into the Vanishing Point (LP)Black Truffle
¥3,385
From Oren Ambarchi's renowned Black Truffle label comes a new album from New Zealand-based experimental musician Annea Lockwood, who studied electronic music at London's Royal College of Music. This album contains two important instrumental pieces. The album features two important instrumental pieces, one by Nate Wooley (who has performed with Mary Halvorson and Elliott Sharp) and the other by the avant-garde quartet Yarn/Wire.
Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard - Saturations (LP)
Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard - Saturations (LP)Important Records
¥2,843
Saturations is a composition by Danish multidisciplinary artist Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard, and features a clarinet choir consisting of 19 clarinet players. Cut at Golden and pressed at RTI for maximum fidelity. Edition of 300. Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard (b. 1979) considers his work to be a basic research in realities working within the domains of imaginary & physical sound as well as other non-sonic media. Since 2012 Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard has experimented with creating music that lets the instruments transcend their inherent sonic norms and reappear in another form by way of multiplication of sound. His work with multiplication of sound has led to numerous compositions in which one instrument is multiplied a number of times. His work includes a composition for 9 pianos, another for 10 hi-hats and yet another for countless triangles and so on.... The multiplication brings out bodily timbral phenomena, interference of sound waves and vibrations, evoking what Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard calls the sound’s "potential of transformation." He describes this as the quality in a musical piece when you no longer hear recognizable instruments and the individual sound, as well as the individual musician, is dissolved into the whole. A sonic as well as human synthesis. He explains the concept of this sound as follows: “Imagine you enter a room with vibrant acoustics, such as a cafe full of people having conversations, and when you’re close to those conversations you hear the language and understand the words. If you step away from the tables, however, and stand in the doorway, you begin to lose the ability to distinguish the words from one another. Now instead of hearing the individual conversations, multiplication melts all the conversations and transforms them into one new sound. A sound of people without words and language. Just as when you hear a group of geese squawk, or the wind in treetops, a kind of nature-given sound of people. Once the language is dissolved and the words stop making sense, what is left, is the sound." The work of NLL has been presented at a variety of different venues and museums such as MoMA (NY - as a part of the René Magritte exhibition The Mystery of the Ordinary, 2013), Imaginary West Indies (Overgaden Copenhagen, 2017), ISCM (Vancouver, 2017), Radiophrenia (Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts, 2017), CPH:DOX (Copenhagen, 2017), Roskilde Festival (2017), Harpa (Reykjavik, 2017), G((o))ng Tomorrow Festival (Copenhagen 2016, 2018), Nordic Music Days (Norway, 2019), Akusmata (SF, 2020) and his works has been released on labels such as Topos (DK), Archive Officielle (CA) and Important Records (US). NLL is associate professor at RMC in Copenhagen, and has given lectures at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Goldsmiths University of London a.o.p. NLL has been awarded with several prizes a.o. from the Danish Art Foundation and the Sonning Foundation.
Karlheinz Stockhausen - Kontakte (CD)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - Kontakte (CD)Wergo
¥1,965

The contact between electronic sound and live instrumental sound, and the contact of the moment 'now'.

Contacte means contact. It is the contact between the electronic sound and the live player (instrumental sound), and also the contact of each moment of what Stockhausen calls the 'instant form'.
Regarding the 'momentary form,' Stockhausen said in a late-night music program on West German Radio in Cologne on January 12, 1961: "In recent years, a lot of music has been composed that is far from a form with a dramatic finale. There are no climaxes, no signs of climaxes, and no stages of development in these works. Rather, they suddenly and violently build up and try to maintain the 'peak' until the end of the work. It is always at a maximum or minimum, and the listener cannot predict how the piece will progress. It is not a moment that is part of a passage, nor is it a part of a constant duration. The concentration on the 'now' creates a vertical line that breaks the horizontal concept of time and leads us to the timeless..."
As the listener listens to the booming sounds coming from various directions, dark noises, percussion instruments, piano sounds, etc., the listener is freed from this world dominated by time flowing inexorably, and has a very dense and mysterious musical experience.
There are two versions of "Contacte": one for electronic sounds only, and the other for electronic instruments, piano, and percussion.

NTsKi - Orca (CD)
NTsKi - Orca (CD)Em Records
¥2,530

NTsKi is a Kyoto-based artist and musician. She began making music while living in the UK and began working in earnest in 2017 after returning to Japan. She works seamlessly to create tracks with gentle but somewhat eerie vocals and a mixture of diverse musicality. In 2021, she was selected by Bijutsu Techo as one of the newcomer artists who will open up the 2020s. Her collaboration with 7FO, released through EM Records, was selected as one of the best of the year by Shintaro Sakamoto. In addition to her self-produced works, she has participated in the works of Giant Claw, CVN, Shokuhin Matsuri a.k.a foodman, Dengaryu, KM, etc., and has released through overseas labels including TAR and Orange Milk. Also, she has contributed music to the Japan Pavilion hosted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry at SXSW 2019, where Yoichi Ochiai was the general director, virtual singer te'resa, and an Australian bag brand. On August 6th, 2021, her debut album "Orca" will be released via Orange Milk / EM Records.

The Frank Derrick Total Experience - You Betcha! (LP)
The Frank Derrick Total Experience - You Betcha! (LP)Tidal Waves Music
¥3,498
Drummer Frank Derrick III (born 1950) grew up in Harvey, Illinois in a musical family_his father Frank Derrick Jr. was a professional musician and arranger who played with notables such as Duke Ellington and Earl Hinges. Frank Derrick III began playing the drums when he was ten years old and at the age of nineteen, he was already playing professionally in the renowned Chicago jazz scene. Frank has led a multifaceted national and international music career. He is a virtuoso performer, composer, and educator. Next to his own recordings he has performed and recorded with numerous legends and artists including Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Eartha Kitt, Roberta Flack, Donna Summer_and countless others. Frank Derrick III toured worldwide with Cab Calloway for ten years and was the drummer for 'The David Letterman Show' on NBC. He is also no stranger to symphonic fans around the world (he was a member of many renowned symphonic 'giants' such as The Royal Philharmonic). As an educator, he served as Chairman of Percussion at 'Henry Street Settlement' in New York, presents master classes, is the respected author of 'Focus On Technique For Drummers', is a contributing author to various educational publications, and is the Drum set editor for 'The Percussive Arts Society'. Last but not least_he was honored with an A.S.C.A.P. Special Award. Frank has a WIDE range of musical experience_his precision, driving rhythmic style and "Straight Ahead" jazz compositions make him unique and a master of his craft. He is a powerfully swinging (yet tasteful) drummer who always makes sure his skills 'serve' the music he's performing. On the album we are proudly presenting you today (You Betcha!) you'll find recordings written by both Frank Jr. and Frank III. All songs are performed by one of his many incarnations: "THE FRANK DERRICK TOTAL EXPERIENCE". Some serious all-star players from the likes of Bill Payne (John Cale-Lionel Richie) and Edwin Williams (Syl Johnson) can also clearly be heard backing up Frank here on this exceptional album. You Betcha! was recorded in 1974 at the legendary Chicago nightclub Fiddler's. The sound quality is top-notch and intimate with a noticeable vibe that conveys the enthusiasm of the audience. Only 1000 copies of this album were privately pressed back in 1974, so it comes as no surprise that this record continues to be one of the rarest sought-after vinyl albums by jazz collectors worldwide. If you enjoy uplifting and hard-swinging jazz, slightly mysterious at times (bordering on the spiritual), lots of funky/soul influences and bouncing energetic grooves_then this is a highly recommended gem for your record collection (and a must-have for seekers of rare grooves).
Eduard Artemiev - The Mirror / Stalker (LP)
Eduard Artemiev - The Mirror / Stalker (LP)Superior Viaduct
¥2,598

It comes as no surprise that Andrei Tarkovsky, master of Soviet cinema, turned to composer Eduard Artemiev to score his two lyrical and haunting films, The Mirror (1975) and Stalker (1979), as he had done for Solaris (also available on Superior Viaduct).
 
Artemiev’s magnificent soundtrack to The Mirror is the natural follow-up to Solaris. Dense, slow-moving, and often disorienting mood pieces with Baroque sensibilities resonate beyond the film’s dream-like images. For Stalker―Tarkovsky’s other science fiction masterpiece―Artemiev was inspired by Indian classical music and employed layers of synth tones, flute and tar (a traditional Iranian stringed instrument) to create a central theme as spellbinding as The Zone, a setting in the film where laws of physics no longer apply.
 
Superior Viaduct presents the first-time official release of these two astonishingly unique soundtracks. Recommended for fans of Lech Jankowski’s music for Brothers Quay films, BC Gilbert & G Lewis and Oneohtrix Point Never.

• First-time official release of original soundtracks for two classic films by Andrei Tarkovsky
• Follows the recent release of Artemiev’s acclaimed soundtrack for Solaris
• Recommended for fans of Philip Glass, Aphex Twin, Tim Hecker

John Fahey - Blind Joe Death (LP)
John Fahey - Blind Joe Death (LP)Takoma
¥1,978
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.
Dorothy Ashby - The Rubaiyat Of Dorothy Ashby (LP)
Dorothy Ashby - The Rubaiyat Of Dorothy Ashby (LP)Cadet
¥2,052
Original compositions inspired by the words of Omar Khayyam, arranged and conducted by Richard Evans. It is an oriental and exotic masterpiece that reflects Eastern thought while incorporating elements of African music, such as kalimba, with Japanese koto and harp. Recorded at Ter-Mar Studios, Chicago, November, 1969 - January, 1970. Published by Wiljean Music
Arthur Russell - The Sleeping Bag Sessions (2LP)
Arthur Russell - The Sleeping Bag Sessions (2LP)Traffic Entertainment Group
¥3,089
Whether it’s Hip Hop, it’s face pointed reverentially to the Old School, or House stealing Disco riffs by the truck load, people are increasingly intrigued by back-in-the-day. And common to both the aforementioned scenes and much more is one person, Arthur Russell, a man some regard as the best songwriter of the 20th century. In 1981 Arthur set up Sleeping Bag Records with Will Socolov. The first release was the album “24-24 Music” as Dinosaur L. If you’re wondering about the name it would appear Arthur would often use the names of extinct or near-extinct animals. On one production credit he’s “Killer Whale, whilst the logo for Sleeping Bag is a Koala bear! Will remembers how they came up with the name for their label. “We were joking about names, and James Brown was on with “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” and I was sleeping in a sleeping bag in my apartment and I kind of made a joke about that, and Arthur said that was a great idea for the name of the company!” The line up was pretty much the same as the Loose Joints sessions, (which boasted the Ingram Brothers rhythm section) and a similar stream-of-conscience approach was taken with the recording itself. Russell arranged the beats so there’d be a change every 24 bars (hence the title) and the band would have to improvise the songs over the top. He also made sure he went into the studio when there was a full moon! The album is again very experimental, and makes occasional uneasy listening but the same magic is very much in evidence. Arthur would continue to be involved in production and mixing duties for the label, but parted company with Socolov in 1985. Arthur sadly died of AIDS in 1992 leaving behind many songs; as one obituary put it, it was though he simply vanished into his music.
Russell Potter - Volume II: Neither Here Nor There (LP)
Russell Potter - Volume II: Neither Here Nor There (LP)Tompkins Square
¥2,725

Guitarist RUSSELL POTTER's A Stone's Throw (1979) and Neither Here Nor There (1981) reissued via Tompkins Square - LP & Digital June 25th

The latest in a series of reissues spawned from Imaginational Anthem Volume 8 : The Private Press, following Tom Armstrong - The Sky Is An Empty Eye and Rick Deitrick - Gentle Wilderness/River Sun River Moon

Reflections on Russell Potter by IA8 co-producer and poet, Michael Klausman :

The two latest reissues to spin off from our acclaimed Imaginational Anthem Volume 8: The Private Press feature the solo guitar compositions of Russell Potter, recorded in the last waning days of the initial American Primitive explosion.

A then obsessed teenaged devotee of John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Leo Kottke at a time when Punk and New Wave were ascendant, Potter harnessed a similar DIY ethos to his own ends by starting his own label & self-publishing his first record, 'A Stone’s Throw’, while a freshman enrolled at Goddard College in Vermont in 1979. Assembled at the legendary Boddie Records in Potter’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and sprinkled liberally with references to his heroes, from the initial record label name of Fonytone (which more than a little recalls Fahey’s earliest record label, Fonotone), to the arcane song titles and references to obscure rags.

Even as he looks to his elders, Potter’s debut release nimbly evinces a complete mastery of his form and is all the more remarkable for one of such tender years, as only the chutzpah of youth can account for such moves as successfully grafting one of your own composition to one of John Fahey’s, as he does here. There’s a very immediate, lovely, and real homespun quality to Potter’s chiming twelve-string compositions that puts it in the realm of those classic records that seem to simply exist outside of time.

Shortly after ‘A Stones Throw’, Potter produced & released a 45rpm single by an Ohio bluegrass band featuring the cult singer songwriter Bob Frank performing a cover of Devo’s ‘Mongoloid’, before moving on to his second (and sadly final) album the following year, ‘Neither Here Nor There’. Following an independent study with a Goddard College ethnomusicologist, Potter’s compositions and performance only deepened on his second release — the recording quality steps up a little but loses none of the immediacy, the playing gets more exuberantly virtuosic —but then more reflective too, particularly on the tunes that are influenced by the gorgeous traditional Irish slow airs. He’s still tipping his hat to Fahey occasionally as well, this time with an audacious electric guitar setting of the classic “Dance of the Inhabitant of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain.”

Though these albums landed at a time when American Primitive guitar music’s 1960s & 1970s heyday was in the rear view mirror, they absolutely look ahead to the genre’s eventual 21st Century resurrection, anticipating both in form & content many of the same concerns you find in the great contemporary work of the last two decades by Jack Rose, Glenn Jones, Daniel Bachman, et al., and as such provide about as fine a stepping stone between these two eras as you’re likely to find.

Piry Reis (2x7")
Piry Reis (2x7")New Dawn
¥2,729
Brazilian music at it's finest! 2x7" set of four beautiful Piry Reis recordings from the 70s and 80s. Disc one is a reissue of his 1975 single on Som Livre, 'Heroi Moderno', which features the highly sought after 7inch version of 'Cisplatina' on the flip. The second disc holds the rare cuts 'Reza Brava' (1970) & 'Céu De Manágua' (1984). The project came together with the blessing of Piry Reis himself, and is released on the sub-label of Rush Hour recordings, New Dawn. Artwork by Amsterdam's Sekan with a touch by Megin Hayden. New Dawn, set up for less electronic but equally adventurous releases by artists we love.
Shintaro Sakamoto x VIDEOTAPEMUSIC - A Night in Bangkok (12")
Shintaro Sakamoto x VIDEOTAPEMUSIC - A Night in Bangkok (12")Em Records
¥1,980
This collaboration by Tokyo producers/musicians Shintaro Sakamoto and VIDEOTAPEMUSIC is the first of two EM Records 12-inch vinyl-only “tribute releases” in support of the film “Bangkok Nites”, produced by Kuzoku. Based on samples from Dao Bandon, Hongthong Dao-udon, Phairin Phonphibun, Thailand and Tokyo dreamworlds meet in these songs.
Giusto Pio - Motore Immobile (LP)
Giusto Pio - Motore Immobile (LP)Soave
¥3,144

One of the most striking documents of Italy’s Minimalist movement, Giusto Pio’s "Motore Immobile" is a masterwork with few equivalents. Produced by Franco Battiato in 1979, at the outset of a long and fruitful period of collaboration between the two composers, and issued by the legendary Cramps Records, its triumphs were met by silence, before falling from view.

Emerging on vinyl for the first time since it’s original pressing, "Motore Immobile" now sits within a reappraisal of a large neglected body of efforts made by the Italian avant-garde during the second half of the 1970’s and early 80’s. It is singular, but not alone. It resonates within a collective world of shimmering sound, one familiar to fans of Battiato, Lino Capra Vaccina, Luciano Cilio, Roberto Cacciapaglia, Francesco Messina and Raul Lovisoni.

An exercise in elegant restraint - note and resonance held to the most implicit need. Where everything between root and embellishment has been stripped away. A sublime organ drone, against interventions of deceptively simple structural complexity - executed by Piano, Violin, and Voice. A sonic sculpture reaching heights which few have touched. A thing of beauty and an album as perfect as they come. The reemergence of Motore Immobile heralds what is unquestionably one of the most important reissues of the year.

Side A: Motore immobile 16:59
Organ: Danilo Lorenzini, Michele Fedrigotti
Violin: Giusto Pio
Voice: Martin Kleist

Side B: Ananta 13:58
Organ: Danilo Lorenzini
Piano: Michele Fedrigotti

Brij Bhushan Kabra With Zakir Hussain - The Magic Of Music - Guitar & Tabla (LP)
Brij Bhushan Kabra With Zakir Hussain - The Magic Of Music - Guitar & Tabla (LP)Gramophone Company Of India
¥2,398
A masterpiece by Brij Bhushan Kabra, the master of Hindustani classical music on guitar! In India, the guitar was introduced by Hawaiian musicians in the 1920s, and later became widely popular in popular music and film music. He studied under Ali Akbar Khan, who deepened his knowledge of the instrument, and his music has a classical depth as well as a calm, relaxed mood and lightness. This may be due to the fact that the guitar is free from the weight of continuous performance tradition. The method of playing the guitar is also unconventional, as it is played horizontally on the lap, and I think there is a fascination when one follows one's own inner desires and creates something that has never been done before. I recommend this album to anyone who loves Indian music and guitar, or anyone who just wants to relax and unwind. It has been newly remastered and is only available in one pressing, so don't miss it. This is the original 1982 release with the world famous tabla player Zakir Hussain.
Augustus Pablo - This Is Augustus Pablo (LP)
Augustus Pablo - This Is Augustus Pablo (LP)VP
¥2,371
Augustus Pablo's first album, released in 1974, is a masterpiece of his stoic and exotic Far East sound.
Sons of Simeon - Goliath Brothers (10")
Sons of Simeon - Goliath Brothers (10")Riddim Chango Records
¥1,998
From London, UK, comes a new star in the Dub world! Electro-funk producer Lord Tusk's reggae dub name, Sons of Simeon, has finally released his killer debut! The tenth release from Riddim Chango is the debut 10" single from London, UK-based producer Lord Tusk's reggae dub label Sons of Simeon. Funkin Even's Apron label and John Rust's Levels label, as well as working with legendary US MC Mos Def on an album and releasing a Vaporwave album under the name Sun Runners, Lord Tusk is known as a big sound system fan. He is also known to be a big sound system fan. Lord Tusk's killer Dub/Stepper was mastered at Transition Studios, known for their work with DMZ. The sound of the sound system is guaranteed stable!
Ambiance - Into a New Journey (2LP)
Ambiance - Into a New Journey (2LP)BBE Music
¥3,878

Unearthed by The Mighty Zaf for BBE Music, Into A New Journey by Ambiance is an impossibly rare and sought-after private label spiritual jazz masterpiece from 1982 with Latin, Brazilian and Afro overtones. Ambiance was the ‘nom de guerre’ of an ever-shifting jazz collective headed up by Nigeria-born, LA-tutored multi- instrumentalist, arranger, producer and photographer Daoud Abubakar Balewa.

Balewa studied composition and jazz improvisation at the feet of innovators such as Frank Mitchell (Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers), Jackie McLean (Blue Note) and other masters from the golden Blue Note era. Although he favoured alto, soprano and tenor, he was equally happy on flute, keyboards, and Latin and Brazilian percussion. What’s more, he had the knack of using musicians who were bold enough to welcome being part of such multi- faceted sessions: guitarist Jim Lum’s flexibility suits the theme of this album perfectly, as does prolific Japanese soul-jazz drummer Danny Yamamoto; the stunning Hawaiian pianist Kino Cornwell (Yamamoto’s colleague from funk-fusion supergroup Hiroshima); and the wonderful Jean Carn-like tones of Daoud’s wife, jazz vocalist Monife Balewa.

From the band’s reading of Joe Henderson’s modal masterpiece Black Narcissus, through the deep multicultural percussive jazz-dance workout that is the title track, and on to the three-octave vocal embellishments of Monife, on her own composition Something Better as well as on the Chick Correa fusion classic 500 Miles High, nothing here is generic, nothing taken for granted, nothing comfortable or predictable.

All of the half-dozen or so albums recorded and released by Daoud and Ambiance during just six years of frantic creativity between 1979 and 1986 are well worth seeking out, but in BBE Music’s opinion Into A New Journey is the pinnacle: spiritual jazz worthy of the very best practitioners of the genre, by an obscure group of ludicrously talented artists on a tiny, self- financed indie label with an equally tiny promo budget: that’s what great jazz is all about.

Ambiance - Drift Up To Space (LP)
Ambiance - Drift Up To Space (LP)HIGH JAZZ* Records
¥3,854
The American jazz-funk/boogie group Ambiance, led by Nigerian player Daoud Abubakar Balewa, who played saxophone, flute and clarinet, was active in LA from the late 70s to early 80s. spiritual jazz funk/fusion masterpiece released by Ambiance in 1980! This is the first analogue reissue of this spiritual jazz funk/fusion masterpiece from the connoisseurs HIGH JAZZ! "Drift Up To Space" is an anthem with sweaty interplay that explodes from the very beginning, and "Devika" is a spiritual jazz fusion that blows a cool breeze with divine grace. Just By Chance" with the amazing female scat is also amazing!
Joe Meek - The Emotional, Cosmic & Occult World Of Joe Meek (LP)
Joe Meek - The Emotional, Cosmic & Occult World Of Joe Meek (LP)Mississippi Records
¥1,986
Weirdo-rockabilly, early pop-electro, great drums, haunting. from collection of 45s
Ragnar Grippe - Symphonic Songs (2LP + DL)
Ragnar Grippe - Symphonic Songs (2LP + DL)Dais Records
¥3,595
Swedish composer Ragnar Grippe gets an old collection released on Dais Records (Genesis Breyer P-Orridge And Thee Early Worm, SRSQ). Written in 1981 for an avant-garde theatre piece but only now seeing the light of day, Symphonic Songs finds Grippe marrying atonal Buchla experiments with a string section equal-parts Schnittke and Schoenberg. Artwork by Ascetic House founder J.S. Aurelius.
広瀬豊 - Soundscape 2: Nova + 4 (2LP)
広瀬豊 - Soundscape 2: Nova + 4 (2LP)We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want
¥3,894
約50分に及ぶ4つの未発音源も追加収録!吉村弘、高田みどり、イノヤマランドにも並ぶ国産ニューエイジ/アンビエント最大級の再発案件が到来です!日本が誇る孤高のアンビエント作家、広瀬豊がそのカタログ2としてMisawa Homeレーベルに残した1986年の唯一作が、高田みどり、Colored Music、Normal Brainと日本の音楽秘境も発掘してきたスイス発の最重要再発レーベル、We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want から拡張版となって初となる公式CD/ヴァイナル・リイシュー!元々は、1986年から1988年にかけて、ミサワホームのプレハブ住宅のための『Soundscape』シリーズの一環としてリリースされるも、昨今のニューエイジ再評価の流れで一気に高騰・入手困難と化していた一大傑作!静謐なミニマリズムが呼吸をし、水や虫、鳥などの声のフィールド・レコーディングやまばらなベルの音、ピアノ、シンセサイザーなどが用いられ、大自然の原風景をも思い起こすような神秘的なアンビエント・サウンドを描き出した伝説の一枚。母体回帰のような類い稀なる美しさを秘めた作品です。本人によると「いわば、音楽というよりは、音の彫刻」であるという、インスタレーション用に製作された50分に及ぶ当時の未発表音源も追加収録。デラックス・ゲートフォールド・スリーヴ仕様。本人によるライナーノーツが日本語&英語で記載されています。これが数年前まではレコ屋やリサイクルショップで投げ売りされていたと言うんだからとんでもないことです。

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