3 HUR-EL Hurel Arsivi (World Psychedelia Ltd.) cd 17.98
The early nineties saw the big Krautrock revival, while more recently we've seen waves of interest in Swedish psychedelic folk reissues and Latin American garage rock of the sixties. But maybe now the next big old thing is '60s-'70s Middle Eastern psychedelic pop music. Really, soon we're gonna have to dedicate a bin here in the store for all the great (and popular) reissues that have been coming out lately, from the "Turkish Delights" and "Hava Narghile" compilations to albums by The Devil's Anvil and John Berberian's Rock East Ensemble, and most recently Erkin Koray's "Elektronik Turkuler".
Now, here's another one for that bin! It's apparently the second album from the three Hur-el brothers (Feridun, Onur, and Haldun), recorded between 1970 and 1975. A rare LP indeed, the original Diskotur pressing worth $1000+ today we're told. Dunno about that, but it's definitely worth eighteen bucks if you're into the undeniably kick-ass combination of traditional Turkish folk styles with the rock n' roll licks of the West. Middle Easternized rollicking pop rock with acid fuzz guitar and electric piano, plus Eastern ethnic percussion and stringed instruments, and emotive vocals in Turkish. Yup, 3 Hur-el play music that's been called "ethno-psychedelic" and "the heavy hashish sound"...real nice. One of the tracks here also appeared on the "Love Peace & Poetry: Asian Psychedelia" compilation. They also have a track on that "Hava Narghile" comp, but that was from an early single, not this album.
MPEG Stream: "Canim Kurban"
MPEG Stream: "Omur Biter Yol Bitmez"

4 LEVELS OF EXISTENCE, THE s/t (Lion Productions) cd 15.98
Gosh. We're just constantly amazed at the wealth of obscure psych/prog "buried treasure" from all over the world that's continually being unearthed by all the industrious reissue labels out there. Lion Productions in particular has a darn good track record, we'd say (they blew us away earlier this year with the Classical M disc, amongst other cool reissues). Here's a great example, as out of the blue they present us the lone album by a Greek band called The 4 Levels Of Existence, originally released as a (now very rare and expensive) private press LP in 1976. And while a few of our far-gone record collector geek friends knew about this already, we sure hadn't ever heard of it before, but we're glad to get introduced to it now! It's a real folk-flavored fuzz monster, full of wailing guitar leads, melancholic lyrics (sung in their native Greek), majestic melodies, acoustic interludes, and did we say FUZZ? With all the fuzz this is fairly hard and heavy, but in a '60s garage band sorta way (despite being from the mid-'70s, this sounds earlier). Pretty much exactly what you'd hope a bunch of young, basement dwelling longhairs from an Athens suburb would create if they spent all their time jamming, studying philosophy, and drinking ouzo, as we can pretty much assume was the case here. Prog-laced and imbued with traditional folk melody, in a lot of ways this has got a similar vibe to the many awesome '60s and '70s Turkish psych bands we dig, even though Turkey and Greece have been far from friendly neighbors historically.
This legendary record (as we now know it to be) certainly is one of the coolest things we've heard from Greece from back when, alongside Socrates Drank The Conium and Aphrodite's Child. And as we've come to expect from Lion, this reish is no shoddy package. It comes with a thick booklet of liner notes (scribed by 4 Levels' rhythm/acoustic guitarist Athanasios Alatas), lyrics (in both Greek and translated into English too), and photos. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Wilderness"
MPEG Stream: "Someday In Athens"

A, DOMINIQUE Auguri (Lithium) cd 18.98
Monsieur Dominique A est un chanteur francais fantastique et nous aimons beaucoup la musique qu'il fait. How's that? Seriously Dominique A has a beautiful, distinct voice and on Auguri it is positively enveloping. His Remue album left many breathless and his others have pretty much the same effect.

A, DOMINIQUE Remue (Lithium) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Still more awesome French pop from the Lithium label. Dark, shambling minor key laments with spoken/sung French vocals. Shimmering guitars, muted trumpets and skittering drums. (We also have three of his other records, all of them great.)

AAVIKKO Back From The Futer (Muysic For Peoples) cd 14.98
Wow! A new Aavikko full length! This just might be the year of the Aavikko. When we first slapped this aluminum disc on our system we must admit we were a little taken aback: Hi-Fi Aavikko? Could it be? For so long these Casio-crazy Finns have championed the most primitive of production aesthetics with a sound only once removed from a ring tone. But here they were in crystal clarity and using the entire spectrum of the audible sound range. Did they get a sponsorship with some big keyboard company? Sources close to Aavikko are keeping tight-lipped about the group's new cache of keyboard equipment. Okay, let's put this in perspective before we go any further: a "hi-fi" Aavikko is still "lo-fi" by most standards, so don't expect any enormous shifts in the Aavikko sound. Bigger than their production changes is perhaps their new-found love of exotica and classic space-age bachelor pad music as a launching pad for their new compositions. Andee pointed out that a lot of the tunes on Back From The Futur sound like a lo-fi Tipsy. Their retro-futurist vision also smacks mightily of Kraftwerk (vocoder makes its way into a couple songs as well), Gershon Kingsley with bubbling and arpeggiating synth lines, catchy melodies and upbeat tempos, and maybe even the soundtracks for Roger Corman sci-fi flicks. We love it!
MPEG Stream: "Una Lira Soluziona"
MPEG Stream: "Erotica"

AAVIKKO History Of Muysic (Muysic For Peoples) cd 14.98
At long last, back in stock!! Here's our review from list 207...
Fuck. That's always a great way to start any decent review here at Aquarius. Fuck Yeah! That's even better, and certainly more appropriate for a disc we've been lusting after for so long. Aavikko is one of those elusive bands that we never seem to be able to keep in stock long enough to escape becoming a mere legend and a fading memory. The problem seems to reside in a lifetime of poor distribution and lackluster label attention. But now Aquarius has secured a direct pipeline to the band in the hopes of rectifying this shortage. Aavikko, for those who've yet to experience their magic, are easily the reigning kings of "electronic instrumental rock" (their own genre?). Hailing from Finland -- that in and of itself should be a clue -- Aavikko have honed a lo-fi electro-punk sound that's oft imitated, but never equaled. Using only cheap electric organs (most notably the Yamaha PSS Home Organ), drums and archaic analog recording technology, Aavikko compose Slavic disco, garage surf punk with rumba beats and insanely catchy pop tunes that bring to mind soundtracks to 8-bit videogames of yesteryear. History Of Muysic is an impressive collection of both no longer available Aavikko classics and unreleased tracks dating back to the group's inception in 1995. The latter includes their first rehearsal demo, outtakes from the Derek! ep sessions and their theme for the Kumman Kaa TV series (which has become one of the most popular ring tones in Finland!), among others. In the long lost and now out of print category, we're most excited by the inclusion of the eight tracks from the first, self-titled Aavikko 7". These are a veritable holy grail of primitive electronic rock and expose imitators for the slick hi-fi hucksters they really are. Probably recorded direct to cassette, you can even hear the tape drag and occasional drop outs. Fellow lovers of Bjorn Olsson will be excited by this and all analog anomalies indelibly pitted into the digital realm. All under three minutes in length, the tracks on the eponymous debut are tight and gritty pop ditties, completely trimmed of fat: the words 'overproduced' and 'Avvikko' will never be found in the same sentence but for this one. Also included on this anthology is the entire Oriental Baby CD, their collaboration with Mono Pause "Of Stomping Men", an unreleased live recording off of the beloved WFMU in NJ, their contribution to the Team Yamaha compilation and last, but in no way least, their most recent single, for the first time on CD, the amazing Eye of the Leopard with Kabar. Really folks, do yourself a favor...
MPEG Stream: "Alas Volgaa"
MPEG Stream: "Seikkailu Villi"
MPEG Stream: "Eye of the Leopard"

ACAMA Tibetan Temple Bells (Interra) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Great recording of giant Tibetan Buddhist bell-ringing. Yes, an hour or so of deep resonating "chimes", making for an incredible deep drone document! Fans of cosmic/ambient sounds need only turn this up and vibrate.

ACQUAYE, SAKA & HIS AFRICAN ENSEMBLE Ghana: High-Life and Other Popular Music (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
Those expecting a Fela Kuti / Tony Allen spin off will be disappointed by this recording as, unlike Nigerian high life, there's not a trace of James Brown or "funk" to be found here. It also is completely different than the Latin infused sounds of the Kinshasa style high life the Congo. Utilizing both traditional Ghanaian instruments and European flutes, saxophones, trumpets, vibes, kit drums, double bass and guitar, the music of Saka Acquaye and his African Ensemble takes as its kernel big band jazz. The result is something that sounds alternately like a really progressive, hot marching band and Martin Denny with teeth. Apparently quite the renaissance man, Acquaye was an educator, sculptor, and a champion hurdler as well as an accomplished musician. He spent at least ten years in the United States, receiving not only an advanced degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, but a Fullbright Scholarship for the study of opera from UCLA. Originally released in 1969 as "Voices of Africa: High Life and Other Popular Music", this album was recorded after Acquaye's return to Ghana. And though this album might not appeal to those who take Afro-Strut as the final word on the gems offered by African popular music, I highly recommend that they give this one a shot until someone re-issues fabulous recordings on John Storm Robert's Original Music label.
RealAudio clip: "Concomba"
RealAudio clip: "Congo Beat"

AFRO CUBAN ALL STARS A Toda Cuba le Gusta (Nonesuch) cd 17.98
A Buena Vista Social Club spinoff project. A group of Cuba's finest musicians, young and old (including a 6 piece horn section) got together to play and record for fun. Features some BVSC favorites, including Ibrahim Ferrer.

AFRO CUBAN ALL-STARS Distinto Diferente (World Circuit) cd 17.98
"The second All-Stars album features Havana's multi-generational big band embracing a more modern dance-oriented sound. Deploying a variety of styles, the extraordinary cast of over fifty musicians delivers a unique take on Cuban classics and Juan de Marcos' original compositions." Featuring Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzalez, Omar Portuondo, Barbarito Torres, 'Cachaito' Lopez and 'Guajiro' Mirabal. Includes a 44 page booklet in Spanish and English with gobs of full color photos. Excellent.

AGA, ALEMU Ethiopiques Vol. 11 : The Harp of King David (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
We were pretty surprised to see an eleventh volume in the Ethiopiques series here, since we were all under the impression that the collection was slated to end at volume ten. Well, turns out we were wrong and we are happy to be wrong because 11 is an excellent disc in its own right. Of all the discs in the series, Ethiopiques 11 shares the closest resemblance to volumes 2 or 5, but only in that it's a complete departure musically from the rest -- 2 and 5 included. Ethiopiques 11 features Alemu Aga playing the beguena, a large lyre with ten paired tuned strings. The beguena is often called the "Harp of King David" because it is believed that David (as in David and Goliath) played a similar such instrument to accompany his psalms way back when. As would be expected, the beguena has always been closely tied with the church -- Coptic Orthodox -- and had a rich repertoire that was very nearly destroyed along with all the other great music and arts during the Stalinist period of Ethiopia's history which began in 1974. Twenty years later Alemu Aga (this album was recorded in 1994) and others were finally able to continue with the instrument's traditions and now, slowly, the beguena is being returned to its place in society.
As stated earlier, you won't find much similarity in the music here to the rest of the series. Consisting solely of Alemu's soft voice accompanied by the beguena songs have a mesmerising quality. The beguena's strings buzz and rattle as Alemu Aga sings both religious and secular songs in a low, smoky voice. If you skip through the tracks on the disc you might be fooled into thinking you're hearing the same track over and over again. Yet although the instrument's melodies are seemingly repetitive -- given its limited range and single tuning -- they form an interesting counterpoint to Aga's vocal lines.
RealAudio clip: "Tew Semagn Hagere"

AHMED, MAHMOUD Ethiopiques Vol. 19: Alemye (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Recorded in 1974, smack dab between the lps reissued as Ethiopiques 6 (1973) and Ethiopiques 7 (1975) Alemye is the third entry in this series given over to documenting Ahmed's complete recorded output, a totally unique, gorgeously smooth funk / soul / jazz groove accompanied by Ahmed's unmistakable crooning. There are plenty of resources to read more about Ahmed and the history of Ethiopian music, on the net, even elsewhere on our website, but this review is all about the music. This is sexy sultry stuff, lively horns and fluttering flutes sway hypnotically above a muted rhythm section of bass drum and organ, in fact the rhythm section is so subdued that it almost sounds like it's bleeding through the wall from a room next door. But that gives it a super warm, warbly droning feel, all dreamy and mesmerizing and totally otherworldly. But it's all about that croon. Ahmed is known as the James Brown of Ethiopia, which makes sense in that he is definitely a funk / soul superstar there, but sonically, he is way less hyper and energetic, less wild and teetering on the edge of collapse, and way more broodingly sexual and sensual, lights low, the room cloaked in smoke, tense and mysteriously intense, his voice slipping smoothly up and down impossible scales, a rich warm velvet purr, capable of soaring into passionate wails and back down again, slithering and shimmering with that perfcet vibrato. Extensive liner notes and photos as with all of the amazing Ethiopiques releases, of which this is apparently the penultimate installment, and an especially great one at that.
MPEG Stream: "Alemye"
MPEG Stream: "Wegenie"

AHMED, MAHMOUD Ethiopiques Vol. 6 : Almaz (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Now that many of you have discovered the rich and funky sounds of Ethiopia circa mid-1970s, here's a deeper look into the career of Mahmoud Ahmed, master crooner and national Ethiopian treasure. Almaz is his very first album (from 1973), which to our knowledge has never been released in Europe or America before today. It's unbelievably good -- full of impassioned soul-stirring vocals, funky horns, and gorgeous melodies. Trust us: you will be so happy with this cd! An excerpt from the liner notes says it better than we can: "For many years everything we knew about Mahmoud Ahmed (and Ethiopian music in general) was limited to the cult album Ere Mela Mela, recorded in 1975 but released for the first time in Europe in 1986. The first eruption of this brassy, electric urban pop, swinging and hypnotic, heart-rending and funky, so unusual, so different from anything else coming out of the African continent, this musical UFO long remained our only glimpse into Ethiopian groove. Mahmoud's first LP Almaz, recorded two years before 'Ere Mela Mela' now bears new witness to the talent of one of the greatest Ethiopian artists of the past 35 years."
MPEG Stream: "Asha Gedawo"
MPEG Stream: "Zemedie"

AHMED, MAHMOUD Ethiopiques Vol. 7 : Ere Mela Mela (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
One of the best in an amazing series!!! This reissue of Ere Mela Mela (previously on Crammed I think) is an essential purchase if you dig the grooves of the James Brown of Ethiopia, the amazing Mahmoud Ahmed.
MPEG Stream: "Ere Mela Mela"
MPEG Stream: "Metche New"

AKBAYRAM, EDIP s/t (Shadoks Music) 2cd 19.98
Glad tidings for Turkish psych freaks, or those soon to become Turkish psych freaks (just give this a listen!): here's a new must-have collection crammed full of swirling, fuzzed-out electric saz, impassioned vocals, and traditional Turkish folk gone funk! If you are indeed into the groovy East-meets-West psychedelia that flourished in Istanbul back in the '60s and '70s, artists like Mogollar, 3 Hur-el, Baris Manco, and Erkin Koray, chances are you may already be familiar with Edip Akbayram and his band Dostlar (formed in '73), as a while back we reviewed a compact disc reissue of Edip's circa '76 album Nedir Ne Decildir and gave it a hearty recommendation. This new Edip Akbayram double disc on the Shadoks label contains 24 tracks, including ten of the 14 cuts found on that previous reissue (meaning, if you already have that cd, you still will want this for the whole disc and then some of songs you don't have... and you can't get rid of the Nedir reissue either if you want those four songs that don't overlap). So this is definitely the Edip set to get at any rate.
The colorful music of Edip Akbayram and Dostlar is pretty much the hardest-rockin' all the Turkish psych acts of the era we've heard... darn heavy in spots. The Anatolian folk-rock of the sixties is blended with a polyester '70s wah-wah funked-up progginess here. It's vibrant and colorful music to make you feel like you're in some smoky, swinging nightclub on one of the warren of narrow, twisting side-streets off of the hip main drag Istiklal in the Beyoglu neighborhood of Istanbul, back in the day, sweating on the dance floor or sitting back, sucking on a hookah.
The cd booklet is full of cool photos, and a page of liner notes, giving Edip's bio but no info on the tracks themselves, we're just told that they're from his first two albums and singles. However, they do include English translations of the song titles, which should give some idea of Edip's seemingly dire outlook on life (or the outlook shared by his Turkish folk sources), with such songs as "Sorrow And More Sorrow", "Miserable", "In Vain", "Our Village Is Full Of Smoke", "Don't Touch My Sad Soul", "Tyrant", "Gallows Pole" and even "My Car Broke Down"! Sounds like a bummer, yet many of these tracks are amazingly upbeat musically!
Edip definitely belongs high up in the reissued ranks of all the incredible, obscure, groovy sixties/seventies psych sounds from all around the world that we can't get enough of here at AQ: Os Mutantes, San Ul Lim, Mogollar, Blo, Bango, Brincos, Krysztof Klenzon, Juan de la Cruz, Los Dug Dugs, He 6, the stuff on comps like Cherrystones Rocks, Welsh Rare Beat, Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word, Studio One Funk, etc. etc. etc.
MPEG Stream: "Deniz Ustu Kopurur"
MPEG Stream: "Yakar Inceden Inceden"
MPEG Stream: "Arabam Kaldi Yolda"

ALEMAN, OSCAR Swing Guitar Masterpieces (Acoustic Disc) 2cd 19.98
Double cd set collecting recordings from 1938-1957 from this South American jazz guitarist, a contemporary of the legendary Django Reinhardt (both, at one point, playing in the clubs of Paris). Certainly the claim that Aleman could possibly outswing the famous Gypsy is supported by the two and a half hours of classic recordings on offer here. Jazz standards and Latin fare both. Delightful.

ALGUERO, AUGUSTO Todas Sus Grabaciones En Polydor 1968-1971 (Rama Lama Music) 2cd 28.00

ALHAJ, RAHIM When The Soul Is Settled: Music Of Iraq (Smithsonian Folkways) cd 16.98
We can always count on Smithsonian Folkways to bring us amazing reissues from decades past (Elizabeth Cotten, Roscoe Holcomb, Leadbelly, and of course countless compilations from all over the world). But it's always such a nice surprise when they release something that is actually contemporary. Such is the case with this outing by Rahim Alhaj. Born in Baghdad, Alhaj started playing and studying the oud when he was just 9 years old and began giving concerts as an early teen. A student of Muni Bashir (we hope you checked out his amazing album that we listed last year!), Alhaj is a master of the oud whose skills are undeniable. The record has a a kind of solemn strength that makes it the perfect thing to listen to when you want everything else in the world to fade away so just these sounds can surround and envelop you. Alhaj is able to conjure sounds from the oud that manage to be both lovely and arresting. With percussion accompaniment courtesy of Souhail Kaspar this record reminds us of the rich musical heritage of a land that is too often only thought of in terms of war and despair. So nice.
MPEG Stream: "Taqsim Maqam Sika"
MPEG Stream: "Taqsim Maqam Hijaz"

ALLEN, TONY Afro Disco Beat (Vampi Soul) 2cd 30.00
Wow! This is on fire! While Tony Allen will always be best known for being the amazing drummer in Fela Kuti's band, he is responsible for some totally great and inspired body moving music of his own. This collection collects four of his best albums onto two discs for a nonstop offering of Afro-Beat perfection! These records, which all originally came out in the 1970's, share a very similar sound and spirit to the work that Fela Kuti was doing when Allen was in his band. So it makes a lot of sense that three of them were produced by Fela. Long, stretched out passages filled with the kind of grooves that work their way right into your body and soul. While there is certainly nothing wrong with being known as the drummer in Fela's legendary group as well as more recently a member of the Damon Albern led supergroup The Good, The Bad & The Queen, we think this release could help make it plain to those who don't know already, that Tony Allen is a legend in his own right! Every time we play this in the store immediately people start asking what we're listening to moving their bodies up and down and all around. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Hustler"
MPEG Stream: "Ariya"

ALLEN, TONY Afro Disco Beat (Vampi Soul) 3lp 42.00
Wow! This is on fire! While Tony Allen will always be best known for being the amazing drummer in Fela Kuti's band, he is responsible for some totally great and inspired body moving music of his own. This collection collects four of his best albums onto two discs for a nonstop offering of afro-beat perfection! These records which all originally came out in the 1970's share a very similar sound and spirit to the work that Fela Kuti was doing when Allen was in his band. So it makes a lot of sense that three of them were produced by Fela. Long, stretched out passages filled with the kind of grooves that work their way right into your body and soul. While there is certainly nothing wrong with being known as the drummer in Fela's legendary group as well as more recently a member of the Damon Albern led supergroup The Good, The Bad & The Queen, we think this release could help make it known to those who don't already, that Tony Allen is a legend in his own right! Every time we play this in the store immediately people start asking what we're listening to moving their bodies up and down and all around. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Hustler"
MPEG Stream: "Ariya"

ALLEN, TONY Black Voices (Comet) cd 16.98

ALLEN, TONY Jealousy / Progress (Evolver) cd 16.98
Finally a domestic, single disc reissue of the first two albums Tony Allen released under his own name in 1975 and '77. Legendary drummer for Nigerian visionary Fela Kuti's band Afrika '70, Allen has often been called a co-founder of Afrobeat (along with Fela). In fact Allen's drum parts were often the only element that Fela did not pre-score. These records swing and stutter and groove and majorly kick ass, stretching themselves out often to 15 minutes or more (and you never want it to end anyway). In addition to the saxophones, trumpets, congas, bass, maracas, the extraordinary standout guitar work is very hooky to these western ears, which is mostly why I like it so much, especially on the song "Jealousy", and there are lots of drum solos, more than on the Fela records. Really great -- listen to the soundclip and know there's more where that came from. Essential to any Afrobeat collection, and also a great place to start!
RealAudio clip: "Jealousy"

ALLEN, TONY Lagos No Shaking (Honest Jon's) cd 16.98
So nice to hear a master of their craft! Even nicer when it's new material from someone who has been releasing records since the '70s and it still ranks close to the top of anything he's put out. While he will always get mentioned in the same breath as Fela Kuti (he was part of Fela's band back in the day) Tony Allen should certainly be looked upon as one of the leaders of the Afro-beat movement, not just a kick ass sideman (although he was that too!) What's so impressive is that even after all these years he still sounds passionate and filled with fire and the music totally reflects that. When we put this on for the first time we thought for sure it had to be a reissue as the sounds were as captivating and groovy as all the great '70s Afro-beat records he and Fela recorded together. But closer examination revealed it to be a brand new release and he again demonstrates that just because so many others burn out, fade, that doesn't mean he's gonna... 'cause this album is still a totally funky kick ass outing... and be sure to hang in for the closer 'cause it's the album's sole instrumental and it's totally on fire!
MPEG Stream: "Awa Na Re"
MPEG Stream: "Gbedu"

ALLEN, TONY No Accommodation / No Discrimination (Evolver) cd 16.98

ALMENDRA Intrincado Alquimia (Agradecido Discos) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

AMADOU ET MARIAM Je Pense A Toi (Universal) cd 16.98

ANAND, VIJAYA Dance Raja Dance (Luaka Bop) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Stellar compilation of South Indian film music. A great, complex hybrid of western pop and Asian classical & pop. A barrage of genres meet in beautiful and confounding ways. Sweet, perfect voices singing love songs -- translations provided. This is an absolutely essential, ALL TIME FAVORITE here at Aquarius.

APARICIO, JAMIE DELGADO El Embrajador Y Yo (Vampisoul) cd 17.98
"Peruvian Groove"

AQUARIUS BUTTONS 2 x 1" buttons 1.00
Hey, we just got another batch of AQ buttons made up...
Spread the word! Show the world your true aQ colors! COOL COOL COOL aQ buttons, now in 5 different vibrant color combinations. 4 new color combos (blue on pink, red on black, dark blue on blue, and yellowish green on dark green) and a popular one we had previously (brown on yellow).
TWO FOR $1!!! Colors are random, but buy enough and you'll be guaranteed to get 'em all! And of course all feature our spiffy James Gang style logo!! So stylish!

ARBETE OCH FRITID s/t (Music Network) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN STOCK! As if to keep Charlie & Esdor company (see elsewhere on the list)...here's our review of this from when we first listed it:
International Harvester, Algarnas Tradgard, Trad Gras Och Stenar, Kebnekajse. If those names mean anything to you then you're probably like us -- a big fan of Sweden's answer to krautrock, the Svenska psych-prog-folk bands of the seventies. There's been a veritable smorgasbord of cd reissues of awesome if obscure classic LPs by these and other '70s Swedish outfits over the past couple of years, and now comes this, a cd version of the third (we think, but maybe it's the fourth?) album by this legendary group, Arbete & Fritid, from 1973. Like Harvester and Kebnekajse especially, you'll hear plenty of traditional Scandinavian traditional folk music mixed up with a kinda Velvet Underground rock style in A&F. They've been described as sounding like the "Third Ear Band meets Terry Riley" and that's pretty accurate, especially on the last track here, a 20 minute drone-jam called "Ostpusten-Vastpusten" that's probably worth the eighteen bucks this costs alone. That's actually a bonus cut, taken from the Arbete & Fritid side of a 1972 split LP with some other band we've yet to hear. While that's the highlight, the rest of this disc is mighty fine too, the only problem perhaps being how their diverse interest in folk, politics, repetitive minimalism, and experimental jazz doesn't always lead to them maintaining a consistent vibe. During one song you'll be transported to the a cold farmhouse in the Swedish wilderness filled with rustic hippies sawing on violins, but then on the next you're in a basement radical jazz club pondering urban issues after a streetfight with the Man. In a way though that's kinda cool. Tea party waltzes and heavy fuzz jams, they're all here. Had we heard A&F before those other bands mentioned above, it's quite likely that they'd be the measure by which we'd judge the rest, as apparently they were a seminal influence on the scene -- in fact, members of the Parson Sound/Trad Gras Och Stenar axis later joined A&F after this particular album. Hopefully then this is only the first of a slew of A&F reissues! [Hasn't happened yet...we've only seen one other reissue and it wasn't as good.]
MPEG Stream: "Ganglat Efter Lejsme Per Larsson, Malung"
MPEG Stream: "Petrokemi Det Kan Man Inte Bada I"

ARCANO, ANTONIO Y SUS MARAVILLAS Danzon Mambo (Tumbao) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
In an era where cocktail culture has diluted and made a mockery of music from the Caribbean it is refreshing to finally have the original roots and branches - of what became the Latin craze in the US - to finally speak for themselves and Tumbao is the single most important label dedicated to reissuing the golden
era of Cuban music. Started in 1990, Tumbao has been steadily reissuing radio transcriptions - from New York, Havana & Mexico - of the most influential and exciting orchestras and conjuntos of all time. Because most of the tapes here were never played until they were transferred digitally to CD masters, the sound quality on some of the recordings is astoundingly good. At this point there are almost a hundred CD's issued by Tumbao, and we hope to gradually increase our stock here at the store.

While it remains undisputed that Perez Prado introduced what is now known as the "mambo" to the world with his fast, punchy arrangements, it is with flautist Antonio Arcano and his orchestra that the syncopated rhythm originates. To give credit where credit is due however, it was Arcano's pianist and arranger Orestes Lopez (brother of the famous bassist Cachao, who also played with Arcano) who was its creator. Lopez developed the rhythm as a backdrop for Arcano's soloing (there is only one vocal track included in this collection.) The sound of Arcano's mambo is unmistakeable to that of Prado and other later orchestras; there is a much milder temperment here, due to Arcano's predeliction towards strings (5 violins, 1 viola and 1 cello as well as bass), absolutely no brass to compete with his flute and the use of snatches of classical melodies. The tracks on this collection were recorded in Cuba up til 1951.
RealAudio clip: "Rapsodia En Azul"

ARIESTA BIRAWA Vol.1 (Shadoks) cd 15.98
The world-wide search for RARE PSYCHEDELIC GEMS bears fruit yet again, with this cd reissue of an impossible-to-find LP from Indonesia, originally released in 1973. Beautiful, groovy stuff, that blends Western psych and prog stylings with a definite homegrown Indonesian touch (there's only one song sung in English, the rest in their native tongue). Much more light than heavy this is, but there's no lack of wailing guitar. Imagine, maybe, if you will (if you can!), Santana meets The Steps... The music of Ariesta Birawa provides plenty of yearning vocals, gentle flute, ethnic percussion, melancholic fragility, and sunshiney melodies that we figure any fan of the further-flung installments in Shadoks' Love, Peace & Poetry psychedelia compilation series should enjoy. Likewise for those who dig the Cambodian Rocks and Thai Beat comps...
MPEG Stream: "Si Ompong"
MPEG Stream: "Will Never Die"

ART FLEURY I Luoghi Del Potere (Die-Schachtel) cd 27.00
There's thankfully more than a few labels whose reliable track record and special aesthetic makes us ALWAYS interested in what they're putting out. Several examples: EM Records, Hapna, Ektro, Holy Mountain, Paradigms, Lampse, and Andee's own tUMULt (of course). Also among those "likely essential" labels is Italy's Die Schachtel, an outfit that either digs up the most wonderful Italian experimental obscurities from the '70s or presents the most intriguing new underground bands from their country, always in super-snazzy packaging. Unfortunately, 'cause so much of their output is so great, it's tough for us to keep up with 'em all, but here at least is a review of our of their more recent gems, a cd reissue of an unusual 1980 record by what was a young Italian group called Art Fleury, who played shows with the likes of Area and Henry Cow and was right there on the cutting edge of politically and musically radical avant-prog, Rock In Opposition sound-making... This album of theirs, the title of which means "The Places Of Power", was apparently conceived as an imaginary soundtrack of sorts, and it's indeed quite soundtracky, you could imagine this being the score to a very arty, serious and suspenseful Italian film. It's a sonic collage that effectively deploys skittering percussion and tape-splicing studio fuckery, instrumental prog bombast and jazz improv freedom, the proceedings often infused with moody textures of glitch and crackle, visited by musical cues or voices set amidst radio static, as if sampled from a random spin of the dial. This is very much in keeping with the sounds of modern-day Die Schachtel acts like A and Christa Pfangen, and their colleagues 3/4hadbeeneliminated. We're also reminded of AQ faves Village Of Savoonga, and to several of Art Fleury's contemporaries or near-contemporaries like Faust, This Heat, and Nurse With Wound. You probably get the idea: recommended!
This cd comes packaged in a oversized cardboard box, inclosing a booklet with liner notes along with a poster of the album's black & white cover graphic of a clenched fist. By the way, while six tracks are listed, there's only five actually indexed on the cd, implying that two are run together... thus we might not have gotten the titles of our sound clips right (i.e "e=mc2" might be "La Morte Al Lavoro" actually).
MPEG Stream: "e=mc2"
MPEG Stream: "L'Overdose"
MPEG Stream: "Uno Spettro Si Aggira Per"

AS MERCENARIAS O Comeco Do Fim Do Mundo (The Beginning Of The End Of The World): Brasilian Post-Punk 1982-88 (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
As Mercenarias were one of the highlights of the Soul Jazz compilation The Sexual Life Of The Savages, which alongside the superior Nao Wave compilation introduced us to the Brazilian post-punk scene of the '80s. Like plenty of their contemporaries around the globe, this all-women quartet wore their influences on their sleeves, especially early Gang of Four, Nina Hagen, The Dead Kennedies, and Liliput. Not surprisingly, As Mercenarias dabble throughout the broad spectrum of what punk could mean, one track exploding as a taut pogo punk anthem then the next might be a sinewy art-rock tune sounding like a less dubby Slits track with a hell of a lot more fury behind the spidery guitar work and serpentine basslines. Where Soul Jazz sort of dropped the ball on The Sexual Life Of The Savages comp was choosing to include some of late '80s tracks drenched in studio production slickness, but they the mark in uncovering the spittle and contempt of As Mercenarias. Far from being novelty album, O Comeco Do Fim Do Mundo is actually a pretty amazing document from one of the nearly forgotten chapters of punk.
MPEG Stream: "Me Perco"
MPEG Stream: "Inimigo"
MPEG Stream: "Loucos Sentimentos"

AS MERCENARIAS O Comeco Do Fim Do Mundo (The Beginning Of The End Of The World): Brasilian Post-Punk 1982-88 (Soul Jazz) lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As Mercenarias were one of the highlights of the Soul Jazz compilation The Sexual Life Of The Savages, which alongside the superior Nao Wave compilation introduced us to the Brazilian post-punk scene of the '80s. Like plenty of their contemporaries around the globe, this all-women quartet wore their influences on their sleeves, especially early Gang of Four, Nina Hagen, The Dead Kennedies, and Liliput. Not surprisingly, As Mercenarias dabble throughout the broad spectrum of what punk could mean, one track exploding as a taut pogo punk anthem then the next might be a sinewy art-rock tune sounding like a less dubby Slits track with a hell of a lot more fury behind the spidery guitar work and serpentine basslines. Where Soul Jazz sort of dropped the ball on The Sexual Life Of The Savages comp was choosing to include some of late '80s tracks drenched in studio production slickness, but they the mark in uncovering the spittle and contempt of As Mercenarias. Far from being novelty album, O Comeco Do Fim Do Mundo is actually a pretty amazing document from one of the nearly forgotten chapters of punk.
MPEG Stream: "Me Perco"
MPEG Stream: "Inimigo"
MPEG Stream: "Loucos Sentimentos"

ASTATKE, MULATU Ethiopian Modern Instrumental Hits (L'Arome) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Vinyl Headz pay attention! About two years ago we were fortunate enough to catch a few copies of Mulatu Astatke's Ethio Jazz on vinyl. Volume 4 of Ethiopiques (easily the single most popular release in the series) was essentially the album Ethio Jazz, but expanded to include another five Astatke tracks. This release includes those five tracks previously only available on Ethiopiques Vol. 4, plus three tracks of Astatke's which were on Ethiopiques Vol. 1, and one track of his from Ethiopiques Vol. 8. Here's a little background on Astatke from our Ethio Jazz review: "Astatke had the unique privilege to be sent off to school in 1960 (at the age of 17) to study music in London. From there he continued on to the United States, attending The Berklee School of Music in Boston and later moving to New York. One can imagine he picked up a wide range of influence, and that he did. He became absorbed in Latin and Caribbean musics, eventually forming his own group the Ethiopian Quartet in New York. Upon his return to Ethiopia in the late sixties he was treated like a king, being hailed as 'the first-Ethiopian-musician-educated-abroad' and as a arranger/bandleader he was unequalled."
This record is an absolutely stunning collection of instrumentals. Most are composed by Astatke, while others are arrangements of traditional songs or other composers. His music is a wonderful amalgam of swinging jazz tunes, sweet soul and punchy funk and laden with fuzzy electric guitars and tremolo drenched electic pianos. What's more is that unlike the afro-funk of Nigeria, the rest of Africa or the world even, the unique scales of Ethiopian music produce the most haunting melodies that we've ever heard. Now for the bad news: we only have a small handful of these puppies in stock and when they're gone, they're gone... No more, vamoosh! Another small pointer for those that do pick this up: the copy we cracked open had the A side and B side labels mis-printed on the vinyl. We suspect the whole pressing may have this erroneous labelling. No biggy, just something to pay attention to when identifying what you're listening to.

ASTATKE, MULATU Ethiopiques Vol. 4 (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Ethiopia was the site of some of the most beautiful yet sadly forgotten music in the 60's and 70's. This compilation takes some of the best tracks from the enterprising Amha Records. This label specialized in recording unusually catchy and groovy pop songs that are not dissimilar to late 60's Jamaican rocksteady fused with jazz signatures and Ethiopian folk, plus plenty of James Brown funk.
This disc features the all instrumental "Ethio Jazz" by Mulatu Atatke. We don't know of anyone who's heard this and not fallen absolutely in love with it. Recommended without reservation!
RealAudio clip: "Netsanet"
RealAudio clip: "Sabye"
RealAudio clip: "Gubelye"

ASTATKE, MULATU Mulatu Of Ethiopia (Worthy) cd 24.00
Finally! This amazing disc of fantastic Ethiopian grooves available on CD!
By now we're all pretty familiar with Mulatu Astatke, what with Ethiopiques #4 and the LP reissue of his Ethio Jazz album he's practically a household name by now (at least around here). I'm kidding of course, but rabid fans of the inimitable funk/soul/groove sounds from Ethiopia no doubt place him pretty high on the short list of the greatest from the period. And what's better is that "Mulatu of Ethiopia" contains entirely exclusive tracks. Yep, that's right, none of these tracks are on any of the discs in the Ethiopiques series (though there are two reworkings of tracks - "Dewel" and "Munaye" - from Ethiopiques #4). The album itself, a reissue of a 1972 release of the same title, was recorded by Astatke in the U.S. during his tenure here and until now it fetched high prices on the collector's market. Given Astatke's experiences working in the U.S. with American jazz and Latin jazz musicians it should come as no surprise that it sounds nothing like anything else among the myriad Ethiopian groove reissues. For one, it's super smooov' (in a good way) with Mulatu picking up his mallets and playing vibes through it all and the recording - which must have been done at some swank U.S. studio - is ultra lush (what's that? You say you can hear the bass?) The music on this album totally sounds like a soundtrack to some long lost Michael Caine political intrigue film. You can almost see the cigarette dangling out of Caine's mouth as he drives around in an Austin Healey tailing a bad guy. On Mulatu Of Ethiopia, Astatke is accompanied by a pretty tight ensemble, much smaller than the orchestras of the Amha recording era. The backbone of his accompaniment is an uber funky organ/electric piano that sounds at times like they've got a wah wah pedal hooked up to it. Also included in the ensemble is electric bass, drums, percussion and plenty of soloing assistance from saxophone, flute and trumpet. HIGHLY recommended, but act fast 'cause, as with so many things, we don't know how long this will be available.
MPEG Stream: "Mascaram Setaba"
MPEG Stream: "Kasalefkut-Hulu"

ASTATKE, MULATU Mulatu Of Ethiopia (Worthy) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now is one of those rare times when the dedicated lovers of vinyl are rewarded with something exclusive to LP. By now we're all pretty familiar with Mulatu Astatke, what with Ethiopiques #4 and the LP reissue of his "Ethio Jazz" album he's practically a household name by now (at least around here). I'm kidding of course, but rabid fans of the inimitable funk/soul/groove sounds from Ethiopia no doubt place him pretty high on the short list of the greatest from the period. And what's better is that "Mulatu of Ethiopia" contains entirely exclusive tracks. Yep, that's right, none of these tracks are on any of the discs in the Ethiopiques series (though there are two reworkings of tracks -- "Dewel" and "Munaye" -- from Ethiopiques 4). The album itself, a reissue of a 1972 release of the same title, was recorded by Astatke in the U.S. during his tenure here and until now it fetched high prices on the collector's market. Given Astatke's experiences working in the U.S. with American jazz and Latin jazz musicians it should come as no surprise that it sounds nothing like anything else in the myriad Ethiopian groove reissues. For one, it's super smooov' (in a good way) with Mulatu picking up his mallets and playing vibes through it all and the recording -- which must have been done at some swank U.S. studio -- is ultra lush (what's that? You say you can hear the bass?) The music on this album totally sounds like a soundtrack to some long lost Michael Caine political intrigue film. You can almost see the cigarette dangling out of Caine's mouth as he drives around in an Austin Healey tailing a bad guy. On "Mulatu of Ethiopia" Astatke is accompanied by a pretty tight ensemble, much smaller than the orchestras of the Amha recording era. The backbone of his accompaniment is an uber funky organ/electric piano that sounds at times like they've got a wah wah pedal hooked up to it. Also included in the ensemble is electric bass, drums, percussion and plenty of soloing assistance from saxophone, flute and trumpet. Highly recommended, but act fast 'cause, as with so many things, we only have a few...
MPEG Stream: "Mascaram Setaba"
MPEG Stream: "Kasalefkut-Hulu"

ASTATKE, MULATU, FEATURING FEKADE AMDE MASKAL Ethio Jazz (L'Arome Productions) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If I had a dime for everytime someone has picked up a copy of Ethiopiques #4 and asked if we had it available on vinyl I'd probably be able to afford to buy the original pressing of "Ethio Jazz" for the price it fetches on e-bay. But now for a mere 170 dimes vinyl lovers everywhere can at last have a copy of their own. Mulatu Astatke's "Ethio Jazz" was released as Volume 4 of Ethiopiques (expanded from 9 to 14 tracks for the CD issue) and is easily the single most popular release in the series (at least here at AQ anyway.) Astatke had the unique privilege to be sent off to school in 1960 (at the age of 17) to study music in London. From there he continued on to the United States, attending The Berklee School of Music in Boston and later moving to New York. One can imagine he picked up a wide range of influence, and that he did. He became absorbed in Latin and Caribbean musics, eventually forming his own group the Ethiopian Quartet in New York. Upon his return to Ethiopia in the late sixties he was treated like a king, being hailed as "the first-Ethiopian-musician-educated-abroad" and as a arranger/bandleader he was unequalled. This record is an absolutely stunning collection of instrumentals. Most are composed by Astatke, while others are arrangements of traditional songs or other composers. A "jazz" record, yes this is, but hardly just. "Ethio Jazz" is a wonderful amalgam of swinging jazz tunes, sweet soul and punchy funk and laden with fuzzy electric guitars and tremolo drenched electic pianos. What's more is that, unlike the afro-funk of Nigeria, the rest of Africa or the world even, the unique scales of Ethiopian music produce the most haunting melodies that we've ever heard. For better or worse, this record has probably the broadest appeal of any release we've had. Very highly recommended (and for CD buyers, if you haven't picked up Ethiopiques #4 yet we always keep them in stock.)
RealAudio clip: "Netsanet"
RealAudio clip: "Sabye"
RealAudio clip: "Gubelye"

ATAVIST s/t (Invada) lp 22.00
NOW ON VINYL! It's an import, probably not gonna be around too long...
Sludge is like a drug. Those of us who are hooked, can never get enough. And the heavier or weirder it gets, the more we need every fix to be just a little bit slower, a little bit heavier, a little bit more fucked up and freaked out. This stuff is already pushing the limits of how slow and heavy it can go, you can only get so slow and heavy before notes and melody and any sort of tonal color disappear completely resulting in what is essentially a super dense drone (and lord knows we love those too!!) so most of the bands that have been supplying us with our sludge fix of late have pushed the limits of slow and heavy obviously, but have mostly managed to twist their particular take on the sludge and the doom and the drone into seriously creepy and contorted shapes.
Thus we have Atavist. On first listen, they seem to be trudging down the same black and glacial path as Khanate, plodding Neanderthal drums, crumbling downtuned grit caked guitar rumble, and of course super processed demonically gurgled growls and shrieks. A horrifying and harrowing slow motion journey through the blackest pits of hell for sure. That along would be enough to have us jonesing. But then Atavist mix in some super unlikely elements. First, they actually rock. Not the whole time, but sometimes, they slip into an actual stonery doomic riff, and the tempo picks up, not too much, more like moving from steamroller tempo to runaway dumptruck tempo, but it definitely rocks, heavily and furiously, but never strays from the sludge too long, always slowing back down like said dumptruck plunging into a stretch of road where the tar has melted into black quicksand. The other unlikely element is a certain strange melodic flair, which seems unlikely, but somehow fits perfectly nestled amongst the surrounding doom. From the dreamy, propulsive post rock buried within the first track, gorgeous minor key guitar arpeggios, and shuffling loping almost krautlike rhythms (sounding at moments like a more dirge-y Katatonia) to the delicate intro to the second track, a glistening framework of soft melancholy melody and subtle simple bass lines, all drifting in a swirl of ambient haze (complete with a super creepy sample from the movie Session 9). There are even some blasts of full on freenoise freakout.
But Atavist at their core, are sludge pure and not so simple. Mighty hellbeasts wielding impossibly heavy slabs of ultrasludge, hurling dense chunks of black sound, moving in slow motion, but laying waste to all who cower before them. Neverending Eyehategod-ish high end feedback, dirge-y superdistorted bass grooves slowed waaaaaay down, until they're almost just big muddy smears of low end, guitars so low they sound like they're being dragged behind a truck through a tarpit. Those of you who have been fiending for more Khanate, Eyehategod, Moss, Bunkur, Monarch or who just need your head dunked in hot tar and beaten with feeding back guitars once in a while, may have just found the perfect prescription for your deathdoomdronedirgesludge fix.
MPEG Stream: "31:38"
MPEG Stream: "20:11"

ATRIUM MUSICAE DE MADRID Musique Arabo-Andalouse (Harmonia Mundi) cd 16.98
Ancient Hispanic-Moslem music from the Andalusian region of the Iberian peninsula, recreated with appropriately medieval atmosphere by Gregorio Paniagua's Atrium Musicae de Madrid -- the same outfit of ethno-historic musical explorers who recorded the marvellous "Musique de la Grece Antique" disc that we've sold so many of (the one where they speculatively imagined what the music of Ancient Greece was like). Detailed liner notes explain the history and structure of the music performed here, all of which is exquisite. This album was originally released on LP in 1977.

ATRIUM MUSICAE DE MADRID Musique de la Grece Antique (Harmonia Mundi) cd 11.98
FINALLY BACK IN PRINT -- and still cheap! Now in a digipak. Here's Allan's old review of this AQ-favorite, originally released on LP in 1979, now in its 2nd or 3rd Harmonia Mundi cd incarnation:
Some records come out (say, a reissue of some strange '70s psych) and there's all this anticipation because of reading about it for years, or at least seeing it in a catalog or something (kinda like AQ-list subscribers hear about a lot of new things), but many of our favorite albums were first heard (and appreciated) with no prior information or expectations. You know, the kind of thing that really grabs you partially because you DON'T know anything about it, like a thrift store LP you picked up just 'cause of the weird cover art or something (like, how some of us first encountered Bruce Haack's "Electric Lucifer" for instance).
Now, this album we didn't originally find in a thrift store record bin, there wasn't even a cover associated with it: the story is, a friend had a tape of this in his car, it was obviously some sort of old recording (taped off a scratchy LP) of what our friend was told (by the person who'd given the tape to him) was traditional Greek music. But it was quite unlike any Greek music we'd heard before, sounding more like a soundtrack to a film featuring pagan rites, very ceremonial and mysterious in nature. Unlike any "real" recording of Greek music I could imagine. Eventually (last week) we decipered the handwritten info on the cassette and after only a few minutes of research on the sometimes miraculous internet, found out not only what it was but that it had been reissued on cd! And so now we have it here at Aquarius. Nice how that worked out!
What we now know is that the concept of this recording is that it's a partially-imaginary reconstruction by an unusual Spanish world-music ensemble of what the music of ancient Greece MIGHT have sounded like, based on what little historical documentation is available regarding musical practices of the period. Each track references some papyrii or other (so the spoken and sung texts are supposedly historically accurate) and the music is played on what are assumed to be authentic types of instrumentation (including a reproduction of an hydraulic organ!). As we said, much of the music is ritual-sounding, with chanting and bells. It has quite an occult vibe. There's also tracks of beautiful, folky female vocals backed by plucks of the lyre. Add to that stirring horns, droning flutes, percussive crashes, eccentric vocal flourishes, and much more. Liner notes explain the Atrium Musicae's intentions and procedure in trying to recreate this lost music. There's a definite sense of drama, and of the weight of the ages upon those trying to bring the fragments of Greek music back to life. This disc is sometimes creepy, often lovely, always fascinating.
Although I kind of wish that this cd had the scratchy surface noise found on our friend's tape of the LP, which gave it even more of a "lost treasure" vibe (as if some ancient Greek philosopher had invented some sort of anachronistic "marble cylinder" recording technology, recently unearthed by archeologists!) it's still totally amazing!
RealAudio clip: "Anakrousis.Orestes Stasimo"
RealAudio clip: "Hymne a la Muse"
RealAudio clip: "Hymne a Nemesis"
RealAudio clip: "Pean.Papyrus Berlin 6870"

ATRIUM MUSICAE DE MADRID Tarentule-Tarentelle (Harmonia Mundi) cd 16.98

AUFGEHOBEN Anno Fauve (Riot Season) cd 21.00
There's not a band around these days that more embodies the concepts of LOUD, and NOISY than the UK's mighty Aufgehoben. But being loud and noisy is not enough on their own. If it were, we'd sure have a lot fewer shitty bands floating around. No, Aufgehoben (formerly Aufgehoben No Process) are masters of their craft. That craft being ear splitting, strangely rhythmic, massively overblown super distorted totally fucked up noise rock. This stuff is so amazing, and amazingly alien, it's hard to know how to describe it. It's sort of like free jazz, meets free noise, meets Krautrock. Maybe Laddio Bolocko covering Masonna. Or a handful of This Heat Records and a handful of Merzbow records run through a meat grinder and then performed by Sun Ra. Or Mainliner and God (the '90s British noise band, not the deity) going toe-to-toe. A mind bendingly perplexing polyphonous cacophony of zig zagging melodies, almost like someone dropped a handful of notes in a particle accelerator and let 'er rip. If you thought their previous two albums were head-smashers and ear-melters, you'll be blown away by this one. Featuring, as on their prior Magnetic Mountain opus, the guest "stereo guitar" of British improv maverick Gary Smith. Yes, as we've said of them before, "the Anaal Nathrakh of improv noise rock" are back and all pretenders should be running scared.
MPEG Stream: "Solar Ipse"
MPEG Stream: "Avant Primitiv"

AUFGEHOBEN Anno Fauve (Fourier Transform) lp 44.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
There's not a band around these days that more embodies the concepts of LOUD, and NOISY than the UK's mighty Aufgehoben. But being loud and noisy is not enough on their own. If it were, we'd sure have a lot fewer shitty bands floating around. No, Aufgehoben (formerly Aufgehoben No Process) are masters of their craft. That craft being ear splitting, strangely rhythmic, massively overblown super distorted totally fucked up noise rock. This stuff is so amazing, and amazingly alien, it's hard to know how to describe it. It's sort of like free jazz, meets free noise, meets Krautrock. Maybe Laddio Bolocko covering Masonna. Or a handful of This Heat Records and a handful of Merzbow records run through a meat grinder and then performed by Sun Ra. Or Mainliner and God (the '90s British noise band, not the deity) going toe-to-toe. A mind bendingly perplexing polyphonous cacophony of zig zagging melodies, almost like someone dropped a handful of notes in a particle accelerator and let 'er rip. If you thought their previous two albums were head-smashers and ear-melters, you'll be blown away by this one. Featuring, as on their prior Magnetic Mountain opus, the guest "stereo guitar" of British improv maverick Gary Smith. Yes, as we've said of them before, "the Anaal Nathrakh of improv noise rock" are back and all pretenders should be running scared. THIS IS TH SUPER SUPER LIMITED ALREADY OUT OF PRINT VINYL VERSION, only 200 copies made, pressed on heavy transparent vinyl, housed between two thick perspex sheets with four interchangeable translucent paper inserts, wrapped in white electrical cable and individually numbered with a photograph of a 'found' number!!!
MPEG Stream: "Solar Ipse"
MPEG Stream: "Avant Primitiv"

AVARUS Live (267 Lattajjaa) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More limited cd-r madness, again from our Finnish faves Avarus. A super limited one track 22+ minute live set, and it'a a little surprising considering what we're used to from these guys. The last few Avarus releases have been dreamy, stumbly psychedelic tinged folk, with loose tribal drumming, and an odd assortment of bowed, plucked and strummed instruments, reminding us very much of AQ faves Kemialliset Ystavat (with whom Avarus share members) and tribal, free-rock collective the No Neck Blues Band. But this live record is a different beast altogether. Channelling the spirit of the Dead C, Avarus kick up quite a racket, a thick slab of sound, with LOTS of guitars, feedback and some seriously chaotic drumming, recorded hot and overblown, adding just the right amount of distortion and haze to the recording. It almost sounds like some New Zealand noise rock band like Gate or maybe UK psych/drone ensemble Sunroof! -covering- Avarus. A nice new direction for one of our favorite bands! In handpainted sleeves, every one unique!
RealAudio clip: "One"

AVARUS Posum Ekor Kait Dataran (Lal Lal Lal) 3" cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A 3" cd-r from this obscure & primitive Finnish psych-folk entity. Stumbling psych jamming spread over two tracks, nearly twenty minutes. Imagine the Dead C playing Finnish forest music. Or Tower Recordings covering International Harvester next door to Reynols' practice space? Droning, damaged clatter, like the cavorting of drugged out hippy carpenters. This band may or may not have members in common with labelmates Kemialliset Ystavat, that OTHER amazing damaged Finnish folk combo (of which we have a new release, see nearby for review) -- but any rate, fans of Kemialliset will like this too. Numbered and limited to 100 copies.
RealAudio clip: "Horuksen"

AVARUS Rasvaaja (Secret Eye) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another blissful excursion into the wild Finnish Forests with one of our favorite troupes of intrepid sonic explorers Avarus. This limited lp only release finds these Finns exploring similar sonic terrain as past releases, but even though it may be a well trod part of the forest, Avarus know how to ferret out all the secret little hiding spots and all the beautiful sounds as yet undiscovered.
Drifting abstract melodies unfurl from detuned guitars, woodwinds flit and flutter like birds darting through the treetops, plenty of percussive clang and clatter underpin the action, while far off in the distance, the forest frolicking is threatened by thick black swells of grinding low end, and stormlike rumbles. The A side offers up a full on hippy kraut jam near the end, noisy and propulsive and about as rocking as these guys ever get, with pounding drums, looped riffs all amidst clouds of whirling swirling sound.
The B side is much more restrained, more mysterious and abstract, with long stretches of near silence, plenty of microscopic sonic happenings, an extended sprawl, as if the musicians, exhausted from side one's closing jam, are all stretched out in the shade of the forest, lazily plucking strings, and rubbing metals, kicking drums with their feet as they stretch out on the sun dappled forest floor, making music that is as relaxed as they are, strange, slow burning, haunting and dreamlike...
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!! Each one hand numbered, packaged in super eye popping dayglo full color sleeves!