ARTIST: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
TITLE: Hot Box 1974-1994
LABEL: MUNSTER RECORDS (SPAIN)
FORMAT: 2CD / 3LP BOX
CAT#: MR 348CD / MR 348LP
OUT NOW!

Destroy All Monsters are known by some for their role as a bastion of resistance of Detroit's rock; for being, during their second period, the band in which Ron Asheton would reappear. For others, they are a pivotal reference point in the copious but relatively unknown avant-garde underground from the same city, after Thurston Moore and Byron Coley dug up their first recordings in 1996 and the original line-up reunited. Destroy All Monsters comprises two complementary and interconnected poles throughout the saga of the Motor City's music scene, from the University of Michigan's Cooperative Studio for Electronic Music to The Stooges, through to the White Panther Party. In its two incarnations, the experimental -- led by Cary Loren, Jim Shaw and Mike Kelley -- and the high energy one -- with Asheton and Michael Davis from MC5, both featuring the phantasmagorical Niagara in the role of doped-up priestess, Destroy All Monsters are the object of one of the most devotional cults of America's cultural underground, as testified by their abundant artistic and record production. Hot Box 1974-1994 is the first anthology to bring together the best outcome of those two hemispheres, including much unreleased material. Includes a generously-illustrated booklet featuring photos and artwork never seen before. All tracks have been remastered from recently discovered tapes.

CD1:
01. Ripped
02. That's My Ideal
03. Children of the Night
04. From Edger Cayce
05. Confession? I Love You but You're Dead
06. I Want to Live
07. Silver Noise - Kill, Kill
08. The Queen
09. Take Me with You
10. Unplugged in San Diego
11. Paranoid of Blondes
12. Bored
13. You're Gonna Die
14. November 22, 1963
15. Meet the Creeper
16. What Do I Get?
17. Nobody Knows
18. Goin' to Lou's

CD2:
01. These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
02. Jesus Is a Shotgun
03. Anyone Can (Fuck Her)
04. Enough Is Enough
05. I Just Wanna Be Sleepy
06. Bored
07. Party Girl
08. Fast City
09. Go Away
10. Sweet Dreams
11. Little Boyfriend
12. The Right Stuff
13. Ground Zero

Disc 1
Early Warning: Side A
01. 	Intro (fragment)
02. 	That's My Ideal
03. 	Children of the Night
04. 	From the Edgar Cayce Foundation
05. 	Confession (fragment) - I Love You but You're Dead
06. 	I Want to Live
Early Warning: Side B
07. 	Magic Bag (fragment) - You Can't Kill Kill
08. 	The Queen
09. 	Take Me with You
10. 	Unplugged in San Diego (fragment)
11. 	Iron Man (rehearsal fragment) - Paranoid of Blondes

Disc 2
Studio-Singles: Side A
01. 	Bored
02. 	You're Gonna Die
03. 	November 22, 1963
04. 	Meet the Creeper
05. 	What Do I Get?
Studio-Singles: Side B
06. 	Nobody Knows
07. 	Goin' to Lou's
08. 	These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
09. 	Jesus is a Shotgun
10. 	Anyone Can (Fuck Her)

Disc 3
Live: Side A
01. 	Enough Is Enough
02. 	I Just Wanna Be Sleepy
03. 	Bored
04. 	Party Girl
05. 	Fast City
Live: Side B
06. 	Go Away
07. 	Sweet Dreams
08. 	Little Boyfriend
09. 	The Right Stuff
10. 	Ground Zero		

- An anthology which compiles, for the first time, both the experimental period and the high-energy years (with Ron Asheton and Michael Davis) of Destroy All Monsters. 
- Includes a generously-illustrated booklet featuring photos and artwork never seen before. 
- All tracks have been remastered from recently discovered tapes, including previously-unreleased material.


DESTROY ALL MONSTERS: Bored (Taken from Hot Box 1974-1994)

ARTIST: MARK GERGIS
TITLE: Radio Vietnam
LABEL: Sublime Frequencies
CAT#: SF 095CD
RELEASE: February 3, 2013

Radio is an audio compass; the radio antennae, a divining rod. Positioned anywhere, it opens an exclusive window directly into the location in which it sits. Signals received on the medium wave (AM) and FM bands reveal programming intended for a local population by governmental, independent, pirate, or corporate media broadcasters. Anything from low-powered ethnic minority transmissions, high-powered westernized pop stations, and omnipresent state-run radio can be found on these bands. Shortwave bands expand the breadth and scope, pulling in regional and international receptions. Everything received factors into the experience. Music, news, talk shows, advertisements, station IDs, cross-phased interference, errant or intentional static-generated sounds, distant detritus, and random broadcast anomalies all become equally relevant. This disc continues the Sublime Frequencies locale-specific radio collage series with Vietnamese radio recordings culled and assembled from signals received in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City between December 2013 and November 2014. Inside the 70-minute program are moments of outstanding folkloric, traditional, and pop music, including performances on the electric guitar and the dan bau (a one-stringed guitar-like instrument), eclectic Vietnamese folk and rock stylings, dramatic effects-laden radio theater and musical segues, new wave pop forays, traditional percussion and vocal chants, news segments, dynamic radio bumpers, jingles and advertisements, comedic interludes, phoned-in karaoke sing-a-longs, English-language programming, early-morning exercise regimens, and coded messages from the outer ether. The grand total sum of these radio recordings doesn't aim to present a certified ethnographic study of contemporary Vietnam. Rather, the material here aims to distill and replicate the excitement, engagement, and discovery gained during heavy exposure to Vietnamese broadcasts over an eleven-month period during the teenage years of the twenty-first century. CD comes in a beautiful digipak with full color images, a booklet, and liner notes by <b>Mark Gergis</b>, who recorded, compiled, sequenced, and produced the project for Sublime Frequencies on location in Vietnam.

01. Induction Temperature (5:02)
02. Home Village Identity Event (5:50)
03. Morning Exercise in the Coded Ether (5:29)
04. America Lost the Vietnam War (6:55)
05. Medium Wave Youth Choral and String (5:48)
06. Hit Zones (5:18)
07. Population Control and the Origins of the Legend of Cam Huong (5:59)
08. Message to the Age of Twenty (7:19)
09. Mun Mun - Doctor of Ethnicities (5:36)
10. Phát Sóng Tổng Hợp (5:49)
11. Triumph and Folklore in the Year of the Horse (6:55)
12. Xin Chao Immortal (5:16)

- Sublime Frequencies presents Radio Vietnam, a 70-minute overview of the diversity and extreme brilliance of Vietnamese radio.
- Includes outstanding examples of Vietnamese folkloric, traditional, and pop music, radio theater, ads, jingles, bumpers, and various anomalies in another insanely entertaining and provocative Sublime Frequencies radio collage.
- Recorded, compiled, sequenced, and produced by Mark Gergis on location in Vietnam between December 2013 and November 2014.
- CD presented in a beautiful Digipak with full-color images, a booklet, and liner notes by Gergis.


PREORDER

Mark Gergis: Morning Exercise in the Coded Ether (taken from Radio Vietnam (Sublime Frequencies))

“Malimba and song.
Here, the malimba is modified by a metal chain that jingles on all the tongues, generating
additional harmonics. This music accompanies a children’s game; one person hides an
object and the others have to find it: There’s nothing here, my friend / there’s nothing
there / keep looking till you find it / ah, you found it.”

ARTIST: VA
TITLE: Music of Tanzania
LABEL: Sublime Frequencies
FORMAT: 2LP
CAT #: SF 096LP
RELEASE: February 3, 2015

Music of Tanzania is a spectacular collection of field recordings gathered by Laurent Jeanneau between December 1999 and March 2000. This debut volume of Sublime Frequencies' exploration of indigenous Tanzanian music compiles sacred and profane songs and dances of the Hadza, Datoga, and Makonde people. Highlights include stoned ecstatic dancing in a Hadza encampment; a drunken celebration of preteen sexual initiation from a Makonde fishing village; baboon imitations performed on the malimba; electrified Islamic trance percussion; and useful tips for amateur hyrax hunters. Many of these poignant, exhilarating performances come from dwindling minority groups whose way of life stretches back to the Stone Age, and who are capable of creating breathtaking music with anything from agricultural tools to tin cans and plastic tubes. Laurent Jeanneau is absolutely fearless in his pursuit of rare, exceptional and vibrant performances. He views his ongoing documentation of ethnic minority music as an act of resistance to globalization, state-sanctioned "peasant traditions," and cultural homogeneity, and accordingly spends months living under harsh and dangerous conditions in order to capture impromptu performances in their everyday cultural context. Using this method, Jeanneau has self-produced almost 100 albums preserving threatened musical traditions from some of the most remote regions on earth, in addition to compiling multiple volumes for Sublime Frequencies. This limited edition double LP tip-on gatefold package includes striking photographs by James Stephenson and detailed liner notes by Jeanneau.

Track listing:

Side A: Hadza (Northern Tanzania)
A1. Sitoti Plaus Malimba I
A2. Sitoti Plays Malimba II
A3. Malimba and Song
A4. Sitoti Plays Malimba and Sings
A5. Zeze and Song

Side B: Hadza, Datoga (Northern Tanzania)
B1. Hadza Epeme I
B2. Hadza Epeme II
B3. Hadza Berimbau
B4. Datoga Troubadour
B5. Datoga Dance

Side C: Makonde (Southern Tanzania)
C1. Makonde Ceremony

Side D: Mtwara (Southern Tanzania)
D1. Muslim Ceremony I
D2. Muslim Ceremony II

- Sublime Frequencies presents Music of Tanzania, the latest volume of field recordings from Laurent Jeanneau's extensive archive.
- Stunning recordings made on location between December 1999 and March 2000, compiling sacred and profane songs and dances of the Hadza, Datoga, and Makonde people.
- Highlights include stoned ecstatic dancing in a Hadza encampment; a drunken celebration of preteen sexual initiation from a Makonde fishing village; baboon imitations performed on the malimba; electrified Islamic trance percussion; and useful tips for amateur hyrax hunters.
- Limited edition double LP tip-on gatefold package.
- Includes striking photographs by James Stephenson and detailed liner notes by Jeanneau.


Malimba and Song (taken from the forthcoming 2LP Music of Tanzania on Sublime Frequencies)

ARTIST: BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND
TITLE: Juguya
LABEL: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
FORMAT: LP
CAT#: SF 097LP
RELEASE: February 17, 2015

Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band are a contemporary group from Burkina Faso. Coming from Bobo-Dioulasso, the group is steeped in the Mandingue musical traditions of their ancestral legacy. The enigmatic lead singer Baba Commandant (Mamadou Sanou) is an original and eccentric character who is well respected in the Burkinabé musical community. A sort of punk Faso Dan Fani activist for traditional Mandingo music, Baba continues to redefine the boundaries between traditional and modern. In 1981, he joined the Koule Dafourou troupe as a dancer. Later, he embarked on his current musical direction as a singer, first in Dounia and then in the Afromandingo Band. His current band -- when he's not playing with the now-famous Burkinabé musician Victor Démé -- is the Mandingo Band. At present, he is a practitioner of the Afrobeat style, drawing inspiration from the golden era of Nigerian music. Fela Kuti/Africa 70 and King Sunny Adé are big influences, as is the legendary Malian growler Moussa Doumbia. Baba Commandant plays the ngoni, the instrument of the Donso (the traditional hunters in this region of Burkina Faso and Mali). His audience comprises multiple generations and strata of Burkinabé society; he accordingly adapts his repertoire to his surroundings, which range from cabaret Sundays in Bobo-Dioulasso to the sound systems of Ouagadougou. Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band are a formidable force steeped in Ouagadougou's DIY underground musical culture. Juguya is their sound. Limited edition LP housed in a Stoughton tip-on sleeve.

A1. Tilé
A2. Djanfa
A3. Waso
A4. Folon
B1. Ntijiguimorola
B2. I Kanafo
B3. Siguisso
B4. Juguya

- Sublime Frequencies presents its first release from Burkina Faso: a set of bracing Mandingo rock from contemporary Burkinabé group Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band.
- Enigmatic lead singer Baba Commandant (Mamadou Sanou) draws inspiration from Fela Kuti/Africa 70, King Sunny Adé, and Moussa Doumbia to craft a modern DIY Afrobeat sound with the ngoni, the traditional instrument of Burkinabé and Malian hunters.
- Juguya's release precedes a European tour planned for the spring of 2015.
- Limited edition LP housed in a Stoughton tip-on sleeve.


BABA COMMANDANT AND THE MANDINGO BAND: Juguya (taken from the Juguya LP (Sublime Frequencies))

ARTIST: JOSE PRATES/MIECIO ASKANASY
TITLE: Tam… Tam… Tam…
LABEL: TRUNK (UK)
CAT#: JBH 055CD/LP
RELEASE: January 20, 2015
FORMAT: CD/LP

Trunk Records presents the first reissue of Tam... Tam... Tam...!, an incredibly rare Brazilian LP by José Prates and Miecio Askanasy. In August of 2014, London-based DJ and record collector Gilles Peterson, who had been offered an original copy for $4,700, sent out a request for someone to reissue this extraordinary album. Originally issued in a one-time 1958 pressing as part of Askanasy's 1950s touring Braziliana show, Tam... Tam... Tam...! is a landmark in the development of the Brazilian sound that would explode around the world in the decade to follow. It's stunning both as a historical touchstone and as a standalone musical triumph. The solid blueprint of 1960s Brazilian music runs through it; for example, "Nānā Imborô" clearly prefigures Sérgio Mendes's 1966 hit "Mas Que Nada." The infectious rhythms, melodies, and exotic sounds that fill this album are deep, raw, and totally engaging. And the more one listens to Tam... Tam... Tam...! the more one hears its importance and future influence. This reissue comes at a time when, in a world saturated with information, few important things have escaped attention and reappraisal. Finding anything new and genuinely incredible is a rare feat. This is a prime example of amazing, influential music that until now has remained hidden. In producing this reissue, spurred on by Peterson's request, Trunk Records found that no master recordings could be located. The original 1950s label showed no interest in a reissue, but Ed Motta, the renowned artist, producer, and record collector, agreed to transcribe his original copy on his EMT deck and send the files from Brazil to the UK. The sound was not in the best condition, and the original 1950s vinyl pressing has several musical inconsistencies. Trunk Records painstakingly worked toward a suitable sonic balance, making sure to maintain the bright and driving original sound without cleaning it up so much that the life of the music was diminished. Accordingly, the vinyl edition of reissue was pressed with some very slight surface noise -- any more cleaning would interfere with the true wax sound. The CD edition, however, was pressed with more digital enhancement. Vinyl edition includes original full color LP sleeve. CD edition includes four-page booklet.

Tracks:
01./A1. Imbarabaô (2:50)
02./A2. Imbaê-Sofá (2:18)
03./A3. Nānā Imborô (4:27)
04./A4. Fá-êu-á (2:35)
05./A5. Oniká (2:33)
06./A6. Ogum Olojô (2:33)
07./B1. Maracatú da D Santa (3:31)
08./B2. De Luandaô (2:57)
09./B3. Maracatú Elegante (3:14)
10./B4. Nêga Zefinha (3:54)
11./B5. Tem Brabo no Samba (5:37)

Highlights:
- Trunk Records presents the first reissue of Tam... Tam... Tam...!, an incredibly rare Brazilian LP by José Prates and Miecio Askanasy, originally released in a 1958 one-time pressing as part of Askanasy's touring Braziliana show.
- The album is stunning both as a historical touchstone and as a standalone musical triumph, containing the clear blueprint of the Brazilian sound that would explode around the world in the 1960s.
- This reissue comes after London-based DJ and record collector Gilles Peterson, who had been offered an original copy of Tam... Tam... Tam...! for $4,700, requested that someone reissue it.
- Painstakingly remastered from an original copy to maintain the original sound while cleaning up any deterioration, this reissue is presented as a vinyl edition with slight surface noise, and as a CD edition with more digital remastering.
- Vinyl edition includes original full color LP sleeve.
- CD edition includes four-page booklet.


JOSE PRATES/MIECIO ASKANASY: Nãnã Imborô, candomblé (taken from Tam... Tam... Tam...)

ARTIST: BOURBONESE QUALK
TITLE: Bourbonese Qualk 1983-1987
LABEL: Mannequin Records 
FORMAT: CD or 2LP
CAT#: MNQ 061CD / MNQ 061LP
RELEASE: 03/17/2015

Mannequin Records is proud to present a compilation of one of the most important industrial bands active during the '80s in the UK. Bourbonese Qualk were an experimental music group from England, active from 1979 through 2003. They were always obsessively and uncompromisingly focused on controlling their work: they ran their own record label, recording studio, tour organization, and music venue (the notorious Ambulance Station). They refused to integrate into the commercial music racket and turned down publishing deals from major labels, stubbornly opting for total independence. They're also known for their political activism, formed in the crucible of 1980s Britain amid such influences as the UK miners' strike, The Falklands War, Thatcherism, monetarism, local government corruption, squatting, anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, and anarchism. Their work was often ambiguous and directly critical of cynical power-politics of any color, often irritating members of the traditional organized left. In 1984 Bourbonese Qualk occupied a large empty building on the Old Kent Road in South London, which they turned into a base for their activities, a cooperative space for artists, musicians, and writers, and a center for radical political activism -- specifically as a coordinating center for the Stop the City anti-capitalist riots of 1984. Throughout its existence the band had a number of different line-ups; this collection focuses on the period of 1983 through 1987, which featured the trio of Simon Crab, Julian Gilbert, and Steven Tanza. During this time the group released five albums: Laughing Afternoon (1983), Hope (1984), The Spike (1985), Preparing for Power (1986), and Bourbonese Qualk (1987), releasing all but The Spike on their own labels Recloose Organisation and New International Recordings. Most of the tracks on this collection were recorded in their studio at the Ambulance Station. The group chose never to record in a proper studio (not that they could ever afford to), working instead with their own extremely basic equipment at a time when home studios were very unusual. If Bourbonese Qualk have a legacy, it is that culture should be reclaimed, redefined, and owned by the people, wherever they are, however small, and not by the state or the market, and that culture is a vital vehicle for debate and radical change. The fight goes on. Mastered by Rude 66. Graphic design curated by Simon Crab and Alessandro Adriani. Double LP includes four tracks not included on the CD: "Dream Decade," "In Flux," "Sweat It Out," and "There Is No Night." Digipak CD edition limited to 500 copies.

CD:
01. God With Us
02. Blood Orange Bargain Day
03. To Hell With the Consequences
04. Qualk Street
05. Erector
06. Invocation
07. Head Stop
08. Black Madonna
09. Gag
10. Shutdown
11. Suburb City
12. Pogrom
13. Deadbeat
14. Return To Order
15. Outcry
16. Confrontation
17. Soft City
18. Born Left Hearted
19. Backlash
20. Insurrection
21. This Is The Enemy
22. Workover

LP-only-tracks:
Dream Decade
In Flux
Sweat It Out
There Is No Night 

- Includes tracks from Bourbonese Qualk's albums Laughing Afternoon (1983), Hope (1984), The Spike (1985), Preparing for Power (1986), and Bourbonese Qualk (1987), most of which were recorded in the band's own studio.
- "Bourbonese Qualk operate in much the same area -- or spirit -- as such avant rockers as Can, The Residents, This Heat, and Cabaret Voltaire, favouring the unusual and not immediately attractive over the bland verities of the pop world... there's an anarchistic slant to it that's quite touching in this mass consumer era and well worth letting loose on the dance cult followers. Avant house? It's about time." --Andy Gill, The Independent

BOURBONESE QUALK: Head Stop (taken from Bourbonese Qualk 1983-1987 (Mannequin Records))

LA BATTERIA: La Batteria CD
PENNY RECORDS (Italy) / PNY 3304CD
release date: 3/3/2015

DESCRIPTION

Brought together by their common love for soundtracks and Italian library music of the late '60s and early '70s, the four members of La Batteria are veteran Italian musicians with experiences ranging through progressive post-rock (Fonderia), indie pop (Otto Ohm, Angela Baraldi), experimental jazz (I.H.C.), hip-hop (La Comitiva, Colle der Fomento), and world music (L'Orchestra Di Piazza Vittorio). The band performs original compositions influenced by songwriting from the heyday of Italian movie glamorama: music for images made between 1968 and 1980, by such masterful experimental composers as Ennio Morricone, Stelvio Cipriani, Alessandro Alessandroni, Bruno Nicolai, and bands such as Goblin and I Marc 4. The band plays all vintage instruments, but their debut self-titled album is not merely a revival; it's a projection of the past into the present. So, between the lines of their cinematic prog-funk, one can detect traces of afro-beat, hip-hop, and kosmische music, all filtered through a typical Italian feeling. La Batteria was conceived in Rome, the same area and environment where those soundtracks and library records were made. The album was mastered at the historic Telecinesound, owned by Maurizio Majorana (former bassist for I Marc 4), and was originally intended as a library album for Romano di Bari's Flipper Music (parent label of such cult labels as Deneb and Octopus Records). La Batteria's balanced sound maintains a continuity not only with the '70s Italian sound-world, but also with an entire movement that brought Italy to the attention of listeners around the world. It was a time of experimentation in the fields of music, theater, cinema, and visual art -- a whole cultural revolution now renewed. The visual elements of La Batteria -- Luca Barcellona (aka Lord Bean)'s cinematic logo and Emiliano Cataldo (aka Stand)'s cover art -- also establish a magical short circuit between past and present. Played by Emanuele Bultrini: mandolin and electric, acoustic, and classical guitars; David Nerattini: drums and percussion; Paolo Pecorelli: electric bass; and Stefano Vicarelli: Hammond C3, Clavinet, Fender Rhodes, harpsichord, celesta, piano, Mellotron, Minimoog, Prophet-5, and Dot Com System-66 modular synthesizer. "Formula" features the Patchani Brothers. 

TRACKLISTING

01.	Chimera
02.	Vigilante
03.	Scenario
04.	Formula (feat. Patchani Brothers)
05.	Vice Versa
06.	Manifesto
07.	Dilemma
08.	Espresso
09.	Incognito
10.	Scenario 2
11.	Zero		
12.	Persona Non Grata	


HIGHLIGHTS

- Penny Records presents the debut self-titled LP by Italian cinematic prog-funk band La Batteria.
- La Batteria take inspiration from the sound of 1970s Italian soundtrack and library music created by such pioneers as Ennio Morricone, Stelvio Cipriani, Alessandro Alessandroni, Bruno Nicolai, Goblin, and I Marc 4.
- With traces of afro-beat, hip-hop, and kosmische music, La Batteria project the sound of 1970s Italy into the present.
- Played by Emanuele Bultrini: mandolin and electric, acoustic, and classical guitars; David Nerattini: drums and percussion; Paolo Pecorelli: electric bass; and Stefano Vicarelli: Hammond C3, Clavinet, Fender Rhodes, harpsichord, celesta, piano, Mellotron, Minimoog, Prophet-5, and Dot Com System-66 modular synthesizer.
- "Formula" features the Patchani Brothers.
- Mastered at the historic Telecinesound, owned by Maurizio Majorana (former bassist for I Marc 4)

Official web site:
www.facebook.com/labatteriaroma 


LA BATTERIA: Formula (from the self-titled debut on Penny Records)(OUT 03/03/15)

ARTIST: Danielle de Picciotto
TITLE: Tacoma
LABEL: Moabit Music
FORMAT: CD
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2015

Danielle de Picciotto is a wanderer. She explores the regions between the inner and outer realms of our collective psyche and gathers impressions, which accumulate into the many-tentacled beast that is her artistic output. Expressing the wonder of worlds invisible to most, she is initiated and an initiator, someone who has made the first steps and opens the gates for others to follow. She was born in Tacoma, Washington, but did not mark the place in her memory, as her father moved the family on shortly after her birth, due to his position in the US army. She spent her childhood all over North America until she settled as a young woman in West Berlin, a city that no longer exists. There she was caught up in the relentless creative turmoil this unique enclave had to offer and was able to interact with and influence its community for more than two decades, co-founding the first Berlin Love Parade in 1989 with Matthias "Dr. Motte" Roeingh. Originally a fine artist, Danielle has, over the years, embraced many fields of artistic expression and, aside from large-scale paintings and her signature intricately detailed drawings, embraced literature, film, and, foremost, music to will her extraordinary vision into existence. She now presents Tacoma, her first solo album following several collaborations with Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten) and the first release on Gudrun Gut's Moabit label since 2008. On this album, Danielle creates sonic scenery unlike any other. Employing unusual instruments like the hurdy-gurdy and the autoharp, while accompanying her spoken-word poetry and delicate vocal stylings with multi-layered violin harmonies, she evokes imagery of lonesome desert landscapes, enchanted forests, and otherworldly trance-states while straddling maritime thunderstorms by combining recordings of nature's manifold phenomena with radio interferences, reverberating tribal percussions, electronic treatments, and the soothing and genuinely organic vibrations of acoustically generated drones and internal mantras. Her lyrics focus on the mystical implications of the nomadic life, clairvoyant renderings of female intuition, and tales of dreamlike revelations, while the instrumental pieces of this astonishing album transport the listener into paths never tread, or, like Danielle herself, who only recently returned for the first time to the place of her birth, into a journey to the beginning of time.

01. Tacoma (7:15)
02. I Have Love (5:50)
03. Luminous (3:00)
04. Es Gibt Kein Zurück (5:33)
05. In Transit (5:23)
06. Per Aspera Ad Astra (5:50)
07. Home Sweet Home (8:26)
08. Horchata (2:17)
09. The Veil (9:15)

- American-born, Berlin-based artist Danielle de Picciotto presents Tacoma, her first solo album following several collaborations with Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten).
- Field recordings blend with radio interferences, reverberating tribal percussions, electronic treatments, and the soothing, organic vibrations of acoustically generated drones and internal mantras to evoke imagery of lonesome desert landscapes, enchanted forests, and otherworldly trance-states
- Born in Tacoma, Washington, Danielle de Picciotto eventually settled in West Berlin and co-founded the first Berlin Love Parade in 1989 with Matthias "Dr. Motte" Roeingh.

Official web site:
http://www.danielledepicciotto.com 

Also available:
(POTOMAK 919808) Danielle de Picciotto & Alexander Hacke: The Ship of Fools DVD/CD [EAN #4047179198080]
(POTOMAK 954952) Danielle de Picciotto & Alexander Hacke: Hitman's Heel CD [EAN #4047179549523]


Danielle De Picciotto: Tacoma (Taken from Tacoma - Out via Moabit Music on April 28)

ARTIST: ALEX MENZIES
TITLE: Order & Disorder
LABEL: Kathexis
CAT#: KTX 003LP
RELEASE: April 28, 2015

Alex Menzies, more commonly known as Alex Smoke, began his techno career in the early 2000s, with years of international performances and DJ sets culminating in a string of heady 12"s for the inimitable R&S label in 2013 and '14. Menzies's techno prowess has always carried with it a keen sense of compositional rigor, with harmonic outlining pads and strings adding emotional depth and weight. A classically trained cellist, Menzies has shifted his attention back to composition, cello, and the piano, collaborating on abstract installation work with visual master Florence To. The second release on Ricardo Donoso's label Kathexis and the first in a two-part series of BBC documentary soundtrack work, Order & Disorder sees Menzies using a sound palette of mostly orchestral instrumentation, including, voice, cello, and prepared piano, as well as electronic sources like the ondes Martenot. Each different cue of electronic and acoustic hybrid miniatures develops throughout the album, each piece carrying with it a profound depth and gravity that is unique and unrivaled in its beauty. For a high-level physics documentary focusing on entropy and information, presented in a strikingly engaging manner, Menzies's score provides a serene take on the slippery concept of energy. Angelic harmony runs in parallel with more unpredictable elements like prepared piano, tape hiss, percussive clicks, and smothered field recordings, truly encapsulating the documentary's themes and our relationship to the world around us -- chaotic, beautiful, but most of all full of wonder and awe. Limited to 300 copies; initial copies on mint-colored vinyl.

01. Disorder 7 Piano 1 (1:39)
02. Disorder 14A (2:25)
03. OD V2 (1:51)
04. Disorder LiteDrones 2 (1:43)
05. Disorder 2A (2:06)
06. Order Disorder Drones 3 (1:03)
07. OD V4 (2:41)
08. Order 7 Piano 7C (1:43)
09. Disorder 1A (2:41)
10. Disorder Main Theme 2 (2:08)
11. Disorder LiteDrones 5 (1:47)
12. Order Uplift 1 (2:29)
13. Disorder 14E (2:41)
14. Disorder 7 Piano 2 (2:10)
15. Order Disorder Drones 1 (1:51)
16. Order Ligeti (2:10)
17. Order Uplift 3 (2:34)
18. OD V3 (1:55)
19. Order Theme 2 (2:48)
20. Disorder 2C (2:04)
21. OD V6 (1:40)
22. Order 5 Turing (2:18)

- Classically trained cellist Alex Menzies, more commonly known for his techno work as Alex Smoke, presents his soundtrack to a BBC documentary about entropy and information in physics, shifting his focus to composition and orchestral instrumentation.
- Instrumentation including voice, cello, prepared piano, and ondes Martenot runs in parallel with elements like tape hiss, percussive clicks, and smothered field recordings.
- The second release on Ricardo Donoso's label Kathexis.
- Limited to 300 copies; initial copies on mint-colored vinyl.

Official web site:
http://www.alexmenzies.net


Alex Menzies: Order 7 Piano 7C (from the forthcoming LP on Kathexis, Order & Disorder)

ARTIST: Anna Caragnano & Donato Dozzy
TITLE: Sintetizzatrice
LABEL: Spectrum Spools
FORMAT: CD/LP
CAT#: SP 038CD/LP
RELEASE: March 31, 2015

Sintetizzatrice is the first recorded document of the collaboration between veteran DJ and producer Donato Dozzy and female vocalist Anna Caragnano. Through his solo work, and in his collaboration with Giuseppe Tilleci (Neel) as Voices from the Lake, Dozzy has achieved some of the most remarkable vistas contemporary electronic music has seen since the turn of this century. By removing himself from his areas of mastery to shift his focus on the voice, he has achieved a new peak with Sintetizzatrice. Over nine tracks, Dozzy works exclusively with the voice of Rome-based vocalist Anna Caragnano, with no other instruments. Heavy layering and effects processes are used to display an astoundingly versatile voice-centric vocabulary. Rarely can a record morph from R&B to kosmische, through traditional Italian folk music, to Fluxus styles and traditional chamber choir with no additional instrumentation. Just a singular, beautiful voice. The results are simply phenomenal. With the opening, "Introduzione," an immeasurable cosmic weight arrives and remains through the duration of the album. "Star Cloud" ascends with melancholy extended drones that evaporate concepts like time and being, rendering basic human perceptions void all the way through "Parallelo." "Parola" dances around the stereo field with dazing rhythms and melodies, while "Festa (A Mottola)" is an homage to the traditional music found in the rural region where, coincidentally, both Dozzy's mother and Caragnano were born and raised. The album's closing pieces "Love Without Sound" and "Conclusione" hit hard in a way to which no words can do justice. By fearlessly entering uncharted territories, Dozzy and Caragnano have made a collaboration which is truly experimental. Sintetizzatrice is a grand debut for Anna Caragnano and a fantastic twist for Donato Dozzy. Produced and mixed by Dozzy at Alaska Studio, Rome, in 2014. Mastered by Giuseppe Tilleci at EnissLab Studio, Rome. Transferred to tape by Pietro Micioni, Angelo Compagnoni, and Massimo Zuccaroli at Village Studio, Rome. Cut by Christoph Grote-Beverborg at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Front cover painting by Angela Scaramuzzi. Cover design by Koto Hirai.

01. Introduzione (2:29)
02. Starcloud (2:29)
03. Luci (1:59)
04. Fraledune (2:36)
05. Parallelo (3:45)
06. Parola (3:32)
07. Festa (A Mottola) (2:11)
08. Love Without Sound (2:20)
09. Conclusione (3:02)

- Spectrum Spools presents Sintetizzatrice, the first recorded document of the collaboration between veteran DJ and producer Donato Dozzy and female vocalist Anna Caragnano.
- "Dozzy has an impeccable feel for timing: he knows exactly how long to let each track hang, when to introduce a new loop and when to move on to a fresh rhythm." --Resident Advisor
- "It's difficult to overemphasize Donato Dozzy's influence on the last five years of ambient techno and ambient music in general." --The Quietus

Official web site:
http://www.facebook.com/donatodozzy


Anna Caragnano & Donato Dozzy: Parola (taken from Sintetizzatrice)

ARTIST: The Brian Jonestown Massacre
TITLE: Musique de Film Imaginé
LABEL: A Recordings (UK)
FORMAT: CD/LP
CAT#: AUK 032CD
RELEASE: April 28, 2015

Musique de film imaginé (music for film imagined) is a soundtrack that pays homage to the great European film directors of the late '50s and '60s, such as François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard (to name but two), created by Anton Newcombe on behalf of The Brian Jonestown Massacre for an imaginary French film. Named in tribute to the legendary Rolling Stones guitarist and his influence in introducing Eastern culture and music into the world of western rock and roll, The Brian Jonestown Massacre formed in San Francisco, California in 1990. Two dozen band members and numerous ups and downs later (some of which have been famously sensationalized in the media), the one thing that has always remained consistent for this psychedelic collective is frontman Mr. Anton Alfred Newcombe. The Brian Jonestown Massacre returned to wide acclaim in May of 2014 with their 14th full-length album, Revelation (AUK 030CD/LP), the first of the band's albums to be fully recorded and produced at Newcombe's recording studio in Berlin. Also recorded in Berlin, Musique de film imaginé features vocals from French chanteuse and multi-instrumentalist SoKo and Italian actress, singer, and director Asia Argento. SoKo is signed to Because Music and her track "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" was featured in the viral video "First Kiss," which has garnered over 63 million views; the track debuted at number 9 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014. Argento, who has starred in music videos for Marilyn Manson Placebo, and Tim Burgess, wrote the storyline for A$AP Rocky's 2013 cinematic music video "Phoenix," which has had over 5.5 million hits. Both vocal performances are in French. Newcombe recorded this daring symphonic experience in August 2014 after a successful European tour with The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Newcombe describes the work as "a soundtrack, my own creation, a tribute to great directors and filmmakers [and] to an era that now seems to be behind us. Leaving the smart person to care to imagine that this art could now be in the shadow of its former glory. The interesting thing about this project is that the film does not exist either. Even so, I imagined and I realized its soundtrack... Now it's your turn, you are the listener to imagine the film." LP pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

01./A1. Après le Vin
02./A2. Philadelphie Story (with SoKo)
03./A3. La Dispute
04./A4. L'Enfer
05./A5. Elle s'échappe
06./B1. Le Cadeau
07./B2. Le Sacre du Printemps (with Asia Argento)
08./B3. Le Souvenir
09./B4. Les Trois Cloches
10./B5. Bonbon
11./B6. L'Ennui
12./B7. Bonbon Deux
13./B8. La Question
14./B9. Au Sommet

- Anton Newcombe, on behalf of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, presents a soundtrack that pays homage to the great European film directors of the late '50s and '60s, such as François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, created for an imaginary French film.
- Musique de film imaginé features vocals in French from French chanteuse and multi-instrumentalist SoKo and Italian actress, singer, and director Asia Argento.
- LP pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

Official web site:
http://www.brianjonestownmassacre.com 


The Brian Jonestown Massacre: L'Enfer (taken from Musique de Film Imaginé)

ARTIST: M.C. Schmidt
TITLE: Batu Malablab: Suite for Prepared Piano, Flute and Electronics
LABEL: Megaphone/Knock ‘em Dead
TYPE: CD or LP
CAT#: MEGA 031CD/MEGA 031LP
RELEASE DATE: 04/14/2015

Based in Baltimore, M.C. Schmidt is one half of the acclaimed electronic duo Matmos. As half of Matmos, Schmidt has worked with Terry Riley, Björk, Kronos Quartet, Peter Rehberg, INA-GRM, Rrose, Marshall Allen, Horse Lords, People Like Us, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Antony Hegarty, William Basinski, and many more. Batu Malablab, his first solo album, works a dislocating magic, indulging in a tradition of western fantasy of non-western music. Recalling gamelan-inspired experimental classics such as John Cage's prepared piano work, Can's "Ethnological Forgery Series," and Jon Hassell's "Fourth World" ambient music (GB 019CD/LP), Batu Malablab is imaginary global music made in the Baltimore basement studio pictured on the back of the album. Features appearances by Wobbly and Thomas Dimuzio.

01. Lowland Side
02. Mountain Side

- Baltimore-based musician M.C. Schmidt (of Matmos) presents his first solo album, Batu Malablab, a work in the tradition of western fantasy of non-western music.
- Imaginary global music that recalls gamelan-inspired experimental classics such as John Cage's prepared piano work, Can's "Ethnological Forgery Series," and Jon Hassell's "Fourth World" ambient music (GB 019CD/LP).
- Features appearances by Wobbly and Thomas Dimuzio.
- As half of Matmos, Schmidt has previously worked with Terry Riley, Björk, Kronos Quartet, Peter Rehberg, Rrose, Marshall Allen, Horse Lords, William Basinski, and many more.
- "Fascinating to witness Schmidt, a musician with a very acute sound sensibility, create music out of the oddest objects and situations imaginable." --All About Jazz
- "Alighting on seductive details is an inescapable side effect of listening to the work." --Frieze


M.C. Schmidt: Lowland Side (excerpt) (from Batu Malablab)

Preview:
Neil Innes & Son: Cum On Feel the Noize/Robert Wyatt: Rangers in the Nightst/Maggie Nichols: Look Beneath the Surface/Half Japanese: Paint it Black/Andy Partridge: The History of Rock n’ Roll

ARTIST: VA
TITLE: Miniatures
LABEL: Megaphone/Knock ‘em Dead
TYPE: LP
CAT#: MEGA 027LP
RELEASE: 04/14/2015

Pressed on 180-gram vinyl; includes 23" x 23" foldout poster. Originally issued in 1981, Miniatures is a concept compilation album that is certain to delight the listener on a multitude of fronts simultaneously. Conceived in 1980 by Morgan Fisher (erstwhile keyboardist for Mott the Hoople) as a means of addressing the scope of music and musicians that he loved but lacked time enough to release, Miniatures draws from an array of artists whose submissions exist within the strict framework of a 60-second maximum track length. The pieces wriggle excitedly in their rapid and unrelenting succession, sequenced with insight sufficient to create an infinitely curious netherworld. Contributors provide their chosen 60 seconds of indulgence -- be it Andy Partridge offering "The History of Rock'n'Roll," noted author/psychoanalyst R. D. Laing giving us a father/son duet of "Tipperary," or Roger McGough reciting "The Wreck of the Hesperus" in its entirety -- and, while each track offers a distinct and separate thrill, the whole of Miniatures is both a monument to the creativity of its time and a living reminder of humanity in its preposterous glory. With no room for filler of any kind, Miniatures is a consistently refreshing revelation. Filled with abrupt, often beautiful, utterances from a bewildering diversity of artists (what other album contains both Pete Seeger and The Residents?), Miniatures is imbued throughout with self-awareness that, beneath an umbrella of shared and voluntary absurdity, scuppers any veneer of remoteness. In its place lies the intersection of naked curiosity with love of music.

Side A:
01. Ollie Halsall & John Halsey/The Residents/Roger McGough/Morgan Fisher/John Otway - Bum Love/We're a Happy Family + Bali Ha'i/The Wreck of the Hesperus/Green and Pleasant/Mine Tonight
02. Pete Challis & Phil Diplock/Robert Wyatt/Stinky Winkles/Mary Longford/Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman/David Bedford - My Way/Rangers in the Nightst/Opus/Body Language/Andy the Dentist/Wagner's Ring in One Minute
03. Fred Frith/Maggie Nicols/Joseph Racaille/The Work/Neil Innes & Son - The Entire Works of Henry Cow/Look Beneath the Surface/Week-End/With Wings Pressed Back/Cum On Feel the Noize
04. Herbert Distel/Lol Coxhill/Ken Ellis/Steve Miller - Toscany in Blue (Last Minute)/An End to the Matter/One Minute in the Life of Ivan Denisovich/Alice
05. Norman Lovett/Patrick Portella/George Melly/Robert Fripp/Andy Partridge (XTC)/Phantom Captain - John Peel Sings the Blues Badly/Serrons Nous Les Coudes/Sounds That Saved My Life/Miniature/The History of Rock'n'Roll/Breather

Side B:
01. Ron Geesin/Alejandro Viñao/Quentin Crisp/Simon Desorgher/Ralph Steadman/R.D.Laing & Son - Enterbrain Exit/An Imaginary Orchestrina/Stop the Music for a Minute/Tetrad/Sweetest Love (Lament After a Broken Sashcord On a Theme of John Donne)/Tipperary
02. Trevor Wishart/John White/Ivor Cutler/Hector Zazou/Michael Bass & Ellen Tenenbaum - Beach Double/Scene De Ballet/Brooch Boat/Do Tell Us/A Miniaturization of Bartok's Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion (3rd Movement)
03. Martin Chambers (The Pretenders)/Bob Cobbing & Henri Chopin/Dave Vanian/Metabolist - A Swift One/Refreshment Break/Night Touch/Racing Poodles
04. Gavin Bryars/1/2 Japanese/Simon Jeffes/Mark Perry/Michael Nyman - After Mendelssohn (137 Years)/Paint It Black/Arthur's Treat/Talking World War III Blues/89-90-91-92
05. David Cunningham (The Flying Lizards)/Kevin Coyne/Etron Fou Leloublan/Neil Oram & Ken Campbell & The Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool/Pete Seeger - Index of Ends/James, Mark & Me (In the Manner of Tom Waits)/Hep!/The Minute Warp/Chorale from Beethoven's 9th Symphony



VA: Excerpts from Miniatures (Out now on Megaphone/Knock 'em Dead)

ARTIST: WEIRD OWL
TITLE: Interstellar Skeletal
LABEL: ‘a’ Recordings
FORMAT: CD, LP
CAT: AUK 116CD/LP
RELEASE: May 26, 2015

Following their 2013 mini-album Healing (AUK 108CD/LP), Weird Owl are back in 2015 with a full-length titled Interstellar Skeletal. For the first time since their formation in 2004, Weird Owl have kept the same lineup for consecutive releases, and Interstellar Skeletal reveals further explorations into the psychic canyons mined on Healing. Their psychedelic postcards are written in the cosmic breathiness of the synthesizer and the alien ululations of a guitar tuned to secret frequencies, rumbling through the ages on illuminated rhythmic grids. Each track on Interstellar Skeletal serves as an interdimensional portal to free zones beyond the usual terrestrial veil, whether it is via odd jungle shamanism ("Silver Ziggurats"), the WWII bomber as spiritual metaphor ("Flying Fortress"), death personified as an albino lycanthrope ("White Werewolf"), or the unsettling might of an extraterrestrial deity crashing a beach picnic ("God"). Interstellar Skeletal was recorded and mixed by Jeffrey Berner (Psychic TV, NAAM, Dead Stars) at Galuminum Foil Studio in Brooklyn in the fall of 2014, following Weird Owl's first-ever European tour. Although neither meticulously aped nor mindlessly conjured, the familiar influences of Spacemen 3, The 13th Floor Elevators, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre continue to find a home in Weird Owl's music, perhaps mostly in spirit form. Weird Owl was formed in Brooklyn, NY, in 2004 and has released two full-length LPs on Tee Pee Records, a mini-album on 'a' Recordings, Ltd. and several self-released EPs, including 2007's Nuclear Psychology. Their presence and longevity in the New York psych scene has garnered international attention and they have shared stages with bands such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre, White Hills, NAAM, Graveyard, King Tuff, Hopewell, Earthless, The Lovetones, Sleepy Sun, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Quest for Fire, Spindrift, The Black Angels, Spectrum, Wooden Shjips, and others, including at the 2011 Austin Psych Fest and the 2014 Eindhoven Psych Lab in the Netherlands. As of this release, Weird Owl is John Cassidy (bass synth/bass guitar, synth), J. David Nugent (synth, vocals), Sean Reynolds (drums), and Trevor Tyrrell (vocals, guitar, synth). Anton Newcombe states: "The message is one of cosmic harmony and simplicity. The perfection of geometry and above all, beauty. Sometimes the messenger is a man and sometimes the messenger is an owl." CD includes one exclusive track. LP pressed on 180-gram milky clear vinyl.

01. Interstellar Skeletal
02. Silver Ziggurats
03. God
04. Split from the Sun
05. Fine Vibrations (CD only)
06. White Werewolf
07. Flying Fortress
08. You Are a Spacecraft
09. Interstellar Skeletal II

- Brooklyn psych band Weird Owl present Interstellar Skeletal, revealing further explorations into the psychic canyons mined on 2013's mini-album Healing (AUK 108CD/LP).
- Their psychedelic postcards are written in the cosmic breathiness of the synthesizer and the alien ululations of a guitar tuned to secret frequencies, rumbling through the ages on illuminated rhythmic grids.
- Their presence and longevity in the New York psych scene has garnered international attention and they have shared stages with bands such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre, White Hills, NAAM, Earthless, The Black Angels, Wooden Shjips, and others, including at the 2011 Austin Psych Fest and the 2014 Eindhoven Psych Lab in the Netherlands.
- John Cassidy (bass synth/bass guitar, synth), J. David Nugent (synth, vocals), Sean Reynolds (drums), and Trevor Tyrrell (vocals, guitar, synth).
- CD includes one exclusive track.
- LP pressed on 180-gram milky clear vinyl.

Official web site:
http://soundcloud.com/weird-owl

Also available:
(AUK 108CD) Weird Owl: Healing CD [EAN #5055300376817]
(AUK 108LP) Weird Owl: Healing 2x10" [EAN #5055300376824]


Weird Owl - Flying Fortress (taken from Interstellar Skeletal, out now on 'a' Recordings)

ARTIST: Brian Chilala & Ngoma Zasu
TITLE: Vangaza!
LABEL: SWP Records
FORMAT: CD
CAT#: SWP 047CD
RELEASE: 06/23/2015

Brian Chilala is known in Zambia as "The Rebel," with his sharp lyrics satirically addressing both moral and political issues in the country. Onetime protégé of both Zamrock legend Paul Ngozi and Amayenge leader Chris Chali, Chilala has been performing his own songs since 1997, when he also formed his own backing group, Ngoma Zasu. They are a true pan-Zambian band, playing all the dance styles from the various provinces of the country with great expertise and talent; the homegrown kalindula style is alive and well thanks to them, and their live performances are explosive! Zambia lies between the Congo and Zimbabwe, not only geographically, but also musicologically. Looking at it that way, the music just has to be interesting, and this wonderful compilation of Zambia's most energetic frontman and one of the best bands in the country does not disappoint. Kalindula is back -- in fact it never really went away. So Vangaza -- let's dance!

01. Chisongo
02. Nimwe Tulolela
03. Duka
04. Chitinti
05. Mailesi
06. Cheuka
07. Tenchito
08. Chofuleme
09. Jombo

- A compilation showcasing Zambia's most energetic frontman, Brian Chilala, with his backing band, Ngoma Zasu.
- A true pan-Zambian band, playing all the dance styles from the various provinces of the country with great expertise and talent; the homegrown kalindula style is alive and well thanks to them, and their live performances are explosive.
- Onetime protégé of both Zamrock legend Paul Ngozi and Amayenge leader Chris Chali, Chilala has been performing his own songs since 1997.


Brian Chilala & Ngoma Zasu: Chisongo (Taken from the SWP Records album, Vangaza!)

ARTIST: L A N D
TITLE: Anoxia
LABEL: Important Records
FORMAT: CD/LP
CAT#: IMPREC 429CD/LP
RELEASE DATE: 10/30/2015

The second L A N D album, Anoxia, sees Daniel Lea return alone with an outing that marks a shift from the industrial-inflected jazz-noir of 2012's Night Within into distinctly new terrain. Mixed by Ben Frost at Greenhouse Studios, Reykjavík; mastered by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin. CD packaged in a combination offset/screenprinted jacket. "Anoxia" means "total absence of oxygen," and in Lea's hands the term heralds aural environments that are full of the dreams of humanity yet may well be devoid of its living presence. The Anthropocene era in which we live has seen the rise of many human-made monuments that add up to a total presence that humanity will leave behind; Lea's labyrinthine arrangements are a soundtrack to such a world, one without humanity that is nevertheless fully marked and constructed by humans. From the very first moments of the pummeling djun djun skins and the growing bowed rototoms of "Labyrinthitis," the direction is one of a more radical constructivist sound rooted in modernist architecture. Lea has elevated his practice to the point at which he cleaves space sonically, and Frost is the perfect person to mix such spaces. The results are visions of a brutalist world slowly decaying, but with the mellifluous harmonics of vegetation and fluid matter entwining through the ruination. Other tracks rise up like towers in a city, growing from the metallic chimes and structured percussion; one sees visions of the Balfron Tower or the Genex Tower, but such associations do not tether this work to geographical real-world locations. Anoxia may well be in a time outside of time. On "Anoxia," cello harmonics swing their head and screech like prancing komodo dragons, marking the entry to the final track, the "End Zone," with which Lea carries out his own initiation ritual, a dance between those edifices left beneath the growing millennial weeds and forests. Monuments that will long outlast their creators. Daniel Lea: sound design, field recordings, processing, electronics, composition, production. With Rupert Clervaux: drums, percussion, aluphone, crotales, copper pipes; Jamie McCarthy: cello on "Metamorphosis," "Equinox," "Transition," and "Anoxia" and bowed percussion and copper pipes on "Equinox" and "Anoxia"; Clive Bell: shakuhachi on "Drop City," "Equinox," and "Anoxia"; Leo Abrahams: processed guitars on "Neutra," "Transition," and "End Zone"; Mark Wastell: tamtam on "Neutra," "Equinox," "Transition," "Anoxia," and "End Zone"; and Dom Garwood: clarinets on "Labyrinithitis."

01. Labyrinithitis
02. Neutra
03. Drop City
04. Metamorphosis
05. Seconds
06. Equinox
07. Transition
08. Anoxia
09. End Zone

- Daniel Lea presents the second album from his L A N D project, marking a shift from the industrial-inflected jazz-noir of 2012's Night Within into distinctly new aural environments.
- Labyrinthine arrangements form a soundtrack to visions of a brutalist world slowly decaying, but with the mellifluous harmonics of vegetation and fluid matter entwining through the ruination.
- Composed and produced by Daniel Lea; mixed by Ben Frost at Greenhouse Studios, Reykjavík; mastered by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin.
- Packaged in a combination offset/screenprinted jacket.
- LP limited to 500 copies.
- Praise for L A N D's 2012 debut, Night Within:
- "The music is telling its own story, sneaking intersensorially into the visual to hijack fluttering eyelids and instill its own sinister narrative." --Tiny Mix Tapes
- "Easily one of the most intriguing and enigmatic debuts to surface this year." --Brainwashed


L A N D: Neutra (taken from the forthcoming Important Records release, Anoxia)

ARTIST: Ehnahre
TITLE: Douve
LABEL: Kathexis
FORMAT: CD
RELEASE: 01/22/2016

The Boston-based ensemble Ehnahre has been pioneering an effort to rethink and redefine what metal and extreme music can be since their debut release in 2008, to a reception equal parts acclaim and condemnation for their sins against the tradition. Douve pushes things even further into the muddy perimeter, incorporating elements of contemporary classical music, serialism, free improvisation, aleatory, free meter, noise, and other experimental techniques. An 18-part cycle based on poet Yves Bonnefoy's "Theatre" from his 1953 book Du mouvement et de l'immobilité de Douve (On the Motion and Immobility of Douve), the album is a window into the distressed mind of a man as he observes the death and decay of his metaphorical beloved, the "watcher of the cold secret." Employing a dizzying variety of timbres, instruments, moods, and stylistic homages, Douve ranges from the delicate shimmer of piano overtones to full-bore metal howl, its emotional intensity only overcome by the density of its harmonies. Sometimes beautiful, frequently disgusting, Douve is not only an aural narrative, but also a display of the group's radical evolution. It is sure to shock the uninitiated, challenge the extreme music veteran, and cement Ehnahre's status as the most forward-thinking metal band on the planet. "Nothing remains except a fire in death's kingdom." On this album Ryan McGuire (bass, voice) and Ricardo Donoso (drums, percussion, electronics) return, along with with new members Richard Chowenhill (guitar) and Jared Redmond (piano), and are joined by vocalist Ken Ueno, who appears on several tracks. Artwork contributed by Matt Saunders.

01. I Saw You (4:47)
02. Rather the Ivy (2:37)
03. At Last Absent From My Head (5:41)
04. Great Dogs of Leafage Tremble (2:28)
05. Black Gestures (4:43)
06. Trees of Another Shore (1:49)
07. Wounded One Blurred Among the Leaves (2:28)
08. Tearing Out of the Sight (3:41)
09. Ceiling of Insects (5:57)
10. Black Princes/Fountain of My Death (5:28)
11. The Interior Sea (4:25)
12. The Door Opens (5:24)
13. I See You Disappearing (4:24)
14. The March of Suns (5:37)
15. The Throat Paints Itself (5:53)
16. The Mute Limits (7:00)
17. Attempted Rift in the Thickness of the World (5:06)


Ehnahre: Ceiling Of Insects (Taken from the forthcoming Douve)

With a Beaker on the Burner and an Otter in the Oven

2.13. GPS

The Hands

2/9/18

Carte Blanche

03. Karkhana with Nadah El Shazly - Enlevez Les Trottoirs, Je N'ai Plus Nulle Part Où Me Rendre

01. Sir Richard Bishop and W. David Oliphant - Rakshasa

ELEH - LIVING SPACE
[TOUCH TO:114]
Release date: 11th October 2019

Following Slow Fade for Hard Sync (2009) and Location Momentum (2010), Living Space is Eleh's third physical release for Touch. Seven years in the making, this new release consolidates the artist's parallel narrative between a series of vinyl and CD releases for Important Records -- where the emphasis is on a minimalist aesthetic -- to a visual counterpoint that hints at the cinematic and painterly qualities of the music.

Sound, as a healing force, is an idea as old as the medium itself. Inspired by the legacy and above all the spirit of John Coltrane, Living Space features five new compositions that seek to express the beauty of slow change, not only through the microtonal shifts in sound that Eleh navigates but moving with the atmospheric and shape-shifting conditions that the music creates as it interacts with the listening space, whether bedroom or concert hall, each one of them unique.

If the ambition of Living Space is to reflect both personal and collective growth cycles, the experience of its audition has the effect of stopping time. Melodic and harmonic progressions are implied and not stated obviously, to enable listeners to apply their own emotions and feelings to the music.

Using modular and analog synthesizers, piano, organ, bass, and symphonic chimes, Living Space stresses the promise of the CD's final track -- "Lighter Touch" -- forsaking the forceful hand for an approach that mirrors the slower and softer exposures of plant life and leaf formations, slow moving waters, not flash floods nor forest fires.

In counterpoint to the music, the 60-minute CD is presented with a six-panel digi-file with Jon Wozencroft's water photography extending the meditational pull of these new compositions.

For those for whom Eleh needs no introduction, see if you agree. Anyone who has yet to experience the artist's sonic alchemy, Living Space is the perfect starting point.

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