V/A 600% Dynamite (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Volume 6 in Soul Jazz's never-ending x(100)% Dynamite series. 17 tracks picked by Soul Jazz's own soundsystem DJ's including a version of the dancehall classic "Under Mi Sensi" reworked by Alozade And Hollow Point, Yabby You's "Conquering Lion", Johnny Osbourne's "Budy Bye", Tenor Saw's "Golden Hen", Sister Nancy's "Transport Connection" and more. We can't say this one's better than the last percenter, but if you've got all the previous volumes and love them, this one's not going to disappoint.
MPEG Stream: ALOZADE AND HOLLOWPOINT "Unda Mi Sensi"
MPEG Stream: SISTER NANCY "Transport Connection"

V/A 600% Dynamite (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Volume 6 in Soul Jazz's never-ending x(100)% Dynamite series. 17 tracks picked by Soul Jazz's own soundsystem DJ's including a version of the dancehall classic "Under Mi Sensi" reworked by Alozade And Hollow Point, Yabby You's "Conquering Lion", Johnny Osbourne's "Budy Bye", Tenor Saw's "Golden Hen", Sister Nancy's "Transport Connection" and more. We can't say this one's better than the last percenter, but if you've got all the previous volumes and love them, this one's not going to disappoint.
MPEG Stream: ALOZADE AND HOLLOWPOINT "Unda Mi Sensi"
MPEG Stream: SISTER NANCY "Transport Connection"

V/A 7" Up (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) cd 16.98
Where would we be with out labels like Crippled Dick Hot Wax? We all think we're super obsessive music nerds, Don't we? Sure, we hunt down weird records, buy totally obscure 7"s, have a roomful of records in our house. But c'mon, compared to the guys who run Crippled Dick or Trunk, we're not even in the same record nerd league. These guys also have lots of records, scour cool record stores, and all that. But they also hunt in garage sales, estate sales, flea markets. Not looking for weird record reissues cuz they are the guys who MAKE those reissues happen. And they don't just track down records, they have to hunt down the folks who made those records. Take a look at your cd shelf at home, at take a gander at all the crazy obscure compilations. Someone had to dig up all those tracks, locate every band, sometimes track down out of business record labels. Phew. It's a hell of a lot of work. But it's so worth it!! And just in case we haven't said it enough, we are oh so grateful. These are the guys who fill our lives with insane South American psych rock, early eighties NY No Wave, seventies proto metal and of course rad super rare and long out of print UK post punk power pop singles from the late seventies and early eighties, like the tracks on 7" Up!
The cool thing about 7"s is that it was a super affordable way for bands to get a song recorded and distributed. The first real form of DIY promotion. Any band with a few hundred bucks and a couple of songs could have their very own 7" record just like their idols. The result was of course a lot of crappy singles, but amidst the hundreds and thousands of mediocre to downright terrible tracks, were handful of absolute killers. This comp collects a whole bunch of those. Of the thirteen bands on here we'd only ever heard of two (Monochrome Set and Glaxo Babies) but every track on here is amazing. Whether it's a blast of synth heavy robotic new wave ("Gerry & The Holograms" by Gerry & The Holograms), fuzzy garage rock stomp with weird chipmunk vocals ("Zip Nolah" by Cult Figures) or moody croony electronic post punk ("Private Plane" by Thomas Leer), every song is an absolute gem, some funny and funky, some totally bouncy and catchy, some completely bizarre.
Probably the most played track around here is "Don't Try To Cure Yourself" by They Must Be Russians, a bizarre song featuring a graphic description of different sexually transmitted diseases during each verse (complete with totally melodic backup vocals crooning "Pubic Hair..." or "Infected Person...") only to burst into a super aggro angular chorus. Funny, but completely catchy and kick ass. Other standouts are "Imposter" by the Moondogs, a completely catchy hard rocking perfect pop song, and the stripped down Elvis Costello worship of Mark Beer's "The Man Man Man" and then there's... heck, we could just go through the whole disc, cuz they're all totally great. Definitely one of the best comps we've heard in a while. Cool packaging with extensive liner notes and a bunch of info on each and every one of these obscure gems! So recommended.
MPEG Stream: GLAXO BABIES "This Is Your Life"
MPEG Stream: GERRY & THE HOLOGRAMS "Gerry & The Holograms"
MPEG Stream: THEY MUST BE RUSSIANS "Don't Try To Cure Yourself"

V/A 7" Up (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Where would we be with out labels like Crippled Dick Hot Wax? We all think we're super obsessive music nerds, Don't we? Sure, we hunt down weird records, buy totally obscure 7"s, have a roomful of records in our house. But c'mon, compared to the guys who run Crippled Dick or Trunk, we're not even in the same record nerd league. These guys also have lots of records, scour cool record stores, and all that. But they also hunt in garage sales, estate sales, flea markets. Not looking for weird record reissues cuz they are the guys who MAKE those reissues happen. And they don't just track down records, they have to hunt down the folks who made those records. Take a look at your cd shelf at home, at take a gander at all the crazy obscure compilations. Someone had to dig up all those tracks, locate every band, sometimes track down out of business record labels. Phew. It's a hell of a lot of work. But it's so worth it!! And just in case we haven't said it enough, we are oh so grateful. These are the guys who fill our lives with insane South American psych rock, early eighties NY No Wave, seventies proto metal and of course rad super rare and long out of print UK post punk power pop singles from the late seventies and early eighties, like the tracks on 7" Up!
The cool thing about 7"s is that it was a super affordable way for bands to get a song recorded and distributed. The first real form of DIY promotion. Any band with a few hundred bucks and a couple of songs could have their very own 7" record just like their idols. The result was of course a lot of crappy singles, but amidst the hundreds and thousands of mediocre to downright terrible tracks, were handful of absolute killers. This comp collects a whole bunch of those. Of the thirteen bands on here we'd only ever heard of two (Monochrome Set and Glaxo Babies) but every track on here is amazing. Whether it's a blast of synth heavy robotic new wave ("Gerry & The Holograms" by Gerry & The Holograms), fuzzy garage rock stomp with weird chipmunk vocals ("Zip Nolah" by Cult Figures) or moody croony electronic post punk ("Private Plane" by Thomas Leer), every song is an absolute gem, some funny and funky, some totally bouncy and catchy, some completely bizarre.
Probably the most played track around here is "Don't Try To Cure Yourself" by They Must Be Russians, a bizarre song featuring a graphic description of different sexually transmitted diseases during each verse (complete with totally melodic backup vocals crooning "Pubic Hair..." or "Infected Person...") only to burst into a super aggro angular chorus. Funny, but completely catchy and kick ass. Other standouts are "Imposter" by the Moondogs, a completely catchy hard rocking perfect pop song, and the stripped down Elvis Costello worship of Mark Beer's "The Man Man Man" and then there's... heck, we could just go through the whole disc, cuz they're all totally great. Definitely one of the best comps we've heard in a while. Cool packaging with extensive liner notes and a bunch of info on each and every one of these obscure gems! So recommended.
MPEG Stream: GLAXO BABIES "This Is Your Life"
MPEG Stream: GERRY & THE HOLOGRAMS "Gerry & The Holograms"
MPEG Stream: THEY MUST BE RUSSIANS "Don't Try To Cure Yourself"

V/A A Benefit For Our Friends (DMBQ Benefit CD) cd-r 15.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
By now, we're sure most of you heard about the horrible accident that claimed the life of DMBQ drummer China, and left the rest of the band as well as their booker / tour manager (and AQ pal) Michelle injured and hospitalized. And as is always the case with situations like these, most musicians are uninsured, and need all the help they can get to help pay their medical bills and try to recover, regroup and make it home.
So this here comp is one way you can help. 100 percent of the proceeds goes direct to the band to help them get back on their feet. And as if helping out a bunch of cool folks and a kick ass band to boot wasn't enough, you also get this killer comp out of the deal. New and exclusive tracks from Comets On Fire. Paik, Trans Am, Lightning Bolt, Burmese, Fucking Champs, Ezeetiger, Ludicra, No Doctors, Nate Denver's Neck, and more!!! And if you want to do more, you can donate via Paypal to this address: dmbqpanache@lovepumpunited.com or by mail to this address: Lovepump United, PO BOX 3241, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603.
And again our condolences to the band and friends and family for the loss of China, and our best wishes for speedy recoveries all around.
MPEG Stream: COMETS ON FIRE "Wolf Eyes (Middle Version)"
MPEG Stream: LIGHTNING BOLT "Exitebike"

V/A A Cleansing Ascension (Elevator Bath) cd 14.98
They don't make compilations like they used to; but this one from Elevator Bath is certainly an exception to that rule. A good percentage of the currently released compilations tend towards collections of impossible to find rarities (at best) or (at worst) a random assortment of tracks which never quite made it onto proper albums, so why not lump them all together on some disposable compilation with the good tracks just ending up on the iPod anyway. But there was a day when labels took the job of curating compilations very seriously with the artists rising to the task as well. One can think back to the Perspectives And Distortion comp from Cherry Red back in 1981, or the eccentric electronics on The Elephant Table Music Album, or those weird comps on United Dairies, or even 4AD's Lonely Is An Eyesore. Dare it be said that A Cleansing Ascension might be one of the few modern comps that even comes close to those seminal compilations of post-punk atmospherics and obscure experimentation.
Elevator Bath was birthed in Texas, although relocated to Seattle in 2004; and this compilation marks the 10th anniversary of the label, which has quietly and consistently released an excellent body of deep drone construction, damaged plunderphonic collage, sound ecological research, and even a few things which are down right sublime. The heavy hitters on A Cleansing Ascension are LAFMS ring-leader Tom Recchion and the globe trotting field recordist Francisco Lopez (operating here in a more musique concrete guise), with plenty of Aquarius favorites as well: Keith Berry, Adam Pacione, Matt Shoemaker, and aQ's own Jim Haynes. Shoemaker opens the album with a synthetic soaking of midrange din and drone immaculated sculpted in a blur of mottled hiss. Pacione, Keith Berry, and label boss Colin Andrew Sheffield conjure the more lush moments of Eno's Music For Airports with remarkable flare for restraint through their smoke & mirrors. Haynes does his best Organum impersonation with a cranky motor rumbling beneath a hallowed gasp of refined long-form tones. Rick Reed moves from a Delia Derbyshire squiggle into a deep reverberant bellow. The vastly under-published Dale Lloyd generates a thick rumble dappled with bristled electronics and distant Andrew Chalk-ish half melodies. James Eck Rippie turns toward a clank and clamor of found objects scraping across the patina of vinyl surface noise and Phillip Jeck stabs at turntable manipulation. Tom Recchion's maudlin lullaby reconstitutes haunted melodies of ye olde carnival into a beguiling conclusion to the compilation.
While each track is quite solid, the album also flows very well, with somber drones dominating the palette of sound although similar themes and complimentary sounds seem to return after small detours towards the heavy, the oblique, and the desolate. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: MATT SHOEMAKER "Waning Ataraxia"
MPEG Stream: JIM HAYNES "Like A Thief In The Night"
MPEG Stream: DALE LLOYD "Our Morphosis"
MPEG Stream: TOM RECCHION "Drift Tube"

V/A A Date With John Waters (New Line) cd 14.98
How could anyone refuse a date with John Waters? The legendary directory and cultural icon has hand picked 14 songs to set the mood for love and romance in all its twisted glory. Who better then Waters to pick those perfect old pop hits each with just the slightest hint of subversion and a coy wink. Ike & Tina, Patience & Prudence, Josie Cotton, Dean Martin, Edith Massey and more all singing songs that you just can't not like. The camp value is of course high but these are good songs, great songs maybe, and that can't be denied. Some of us have already bought copies to send to our moms and loved ones. Such saucy fun!
MPEG Stream: MILDRED BAILEY & HER SWING BAND "I'd Love To Take Orders From You"
MPEG Stream: MINK STOLE "Sometimes I Wish I Had A Gun"
MPEG Stream: PATIENCE AND PRUDENCE "Tonight You Belong To Me"

V/A A John Waters' Christmas (New Line Records) cd 16.98
This cd stinks like an ornament filled with dog-poo. Which is a good thing, if you love John Waters as much as we do! "Have a merry, rotten, scary, sexy, bi-racial, ludicrous, happy little Christmas," declares legendary B-movie director John Waters with this Christmas compilation. A truly amazing gathering of songs to help you survive the holiday season with a sinful smile. Starting out this compact disc is "Fat Daddy", sung by Baltimore's one-time coolest rhythm and blues DJ and source of inspiration for Motor Mouth Maybelle in Waters' film "Hairspray". We hear some very off-kilter and, you guessed it, crude numbers leading up to "Sleigh Ride" by Alvin And The Chipmunks, followed by "First Snowfall" by The Coctails (featuring that most wonderous instrument, the theremin), and we wish the disc wouldn't end, but sadly, it does -- and with none other than "Santa Is A Black Man". Waters suggests, "wrap this cd as a gift to yourself, pretend you forgot what it is and act surprised when you open it." We suggest you do that too. How else could you possibly survive the friggin holidaze?!
MPEG Stream: FAT DADDY "Fat Daddy"
MPEG Stream: THE COCKTAILS "First Snowfall"

V/A A Lowtides Rising (Explorations Around The Theme Of NZ Acoustic Music) (Pseudo Arcana) cd-r 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A sampling of New Zealand acoustic music, covering EVERY possible permutation of 'acoustic' you can imagine, from rumbles to shrieks to soundscapes to actual songs. Features a veritable who's who of AQ faves: Birchville Cat Motel, Antony Milton, Seht, 1/3 Octave Band, Sleep, Peter Wright, Pumice and a bunch more. A VERY liberal interpretation of acoustic, but all the more appealing for it!
MPEG Stream: BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL "Lithe Mansions"
MPEG Stream: 1/3 OCTAVE BAND "Walk Towards The Moon"
MPEG Stream: SEHT "We Can Talk Quite Freely"

V/A A Mind Expansion Compilation (Mind Expansion) 2cd 16.98
This is definitely a strange compilation. Although all comps are sort of strange by their very nature. Gathering a bunch of different musicians to contribute one song each, usually relating to a theme. Well, the them here seems to be some sort of broadly defined psychedelic music. But the bands and the sounds are so all over the place, it seems to be a much less obviously definable thread that runs through the different artists (minus the fact that maybe they've all released something one Mind Expansion record label?).
Regardless, this is a pretty killer comp. A good intro to lots of psychedelic space rock bands, droney hypno-rock bands, haunting slowcore pop bands, and anything in between.
Sonically, all of these bands love FX, reverb, and delay and chorus and whatever other pedals they can get their hands on. Hence the psychrock angle. A lot of the bands on disc 2 lean toward some sort of Krautrock, minimal electronic vibe, but still with plenty of psychedelic overtones. A handful of these tracks are exclusive, the majority are not. But it functions quite well as a great psychrock / weird rock mix tape. Lots of AQ faves represented: Spacemen 3, Teenage Filmstars, Amp, Bardo Pond, Paik, Fuxa, Magnetaphone, Piano Magic, Landing, The Telescopes and more. But probably the most exciting part of this comp is how many bands there are we'd literally never heard of. We didn't necessarily love them all, but we did like most of 'em. And our ever growing list of bands to investigate further now includes Mazarin, Venture Lift, Elevator, LSD And The Search For God, Unknown Celebrities, Large Number, Kid Yahtzee and loads more!
MPEG Stream: SPACEMEN 3 "Transparent Radiation (Long)"
MPEG Stream: AMP "Fine Day"
MPEG Stream: THE TELESCOPES "Where The Sky Is Low"
MPEG Stream: TEENAGE FILMSTARS "Kiss Me"

V/A A Mutated Christmas (Illegal Art) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Thirteen tracks of tweaked out plunderphonic xmas madness from the twisted folks at Illegal Art and RTMark. Conceived and organized by NY sample artist Corporal Blossom (whose work has graced past Illegal Art collections, "Deconstructing Beck" and "Extracted Celluloid"), he is joined by DJ Olive, Lustmord ("Silent Night" coated with recordings of bombings and gunfire!), Grassy Knoll, Fognode, No-L, Mom & Daddy, Lovecraft Technologies, Steven (?) and DJ Kudzu. The opening "White Christmas" by Corporal Blossom features an all-star cast of unmentionable yuletide crooners set to a sampledelic hip hop backing track. Mutated indeed!
RealAudio clip: CORPORAL BLOSSOM "White Christmas"
RealAudio clip: LUSTMORD "Silent Night"

V/A A Number Of Small Things (Morr Music) 2cd 21.00
Despite its title, there's nothing really small about this double cd Morr Music compilation! Sure it collects together a bunch of the label's 2001-2007 singles which I s'pose could be thought of as small, but only if you think seven inches is small. Whoops, was that Freud knockin' on the door? Totally unintentional, honest! Anyways, some of these songs are short and most are super sweet, but they're all big hearted and fully bearhug-able, dreamy indie pop. There's thirty six of 'em from Butcher The Bar (very reminiscent of the late Elliott Smith), Benni Hemm Hemm, Seavault, Seabear, Masha Qrella, Electric President (like a twee Weakerthans), John Yoko with Lali Puna (including a lovely cover of "Papa Was A Rodeo"... that song always makes Cup weep!) as well as the latter on their awesome own, Populous, B. Fleishmann (an old aQ fave), ISAN, Styrofoam, Teamforest, and Other People's Children. Most offer up two tunes, some four. Be forewarned though, some folks might find the instrumental numbers veering too much into the bank commercial-ish tepid docility. Downy and dewy eyed and definitely recommended if you need to mellow out with an aural snuggle!
MPEG Stream: BUTCHER THE BAR "Get Away"
MPEG Stream: ELECTRIC PRESIDENT "Good Ol' Boys"
MPEG Stream: JOHN YOKO / LALI PUNA "Papa Was A Rodeo"

V/A A Orillas Del Magdalena (Domino Sound) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT!! MISSIS... oh wait. Scratch that. A Orillas Del Magdalena might LOOK like a Mississippi record, and may SOUND like a Mississippi record, but is in fact a new archival release on Domino Sound, the beginning of a new series? We don't know, but we sure hope so. Needless to say, all you Mississippi Records fanatics, might want to grab one of these, sure maybe it doesn't yet have the fetishistic cache that Mississippi has attained, but it is a fantastic collection of lost sounds.
Unlike the gospel / blues focus of Mississippi, A Orillas Del Magdalena is a collection of Cumbia music, a mix of African and Spanish sounds from Columbia, that is festive and celebratory, raucous and emotional. The songs here are culled from the archives of recordist Antonio Fuentes, who began recording the music of Columbia in the early 30s and went on to start Columbia's first record label. The tracks here span the several decades between the fifties and the seventies, and are so fantastic, the sound incorporates lots of horns and accordions, call and response vocalizing, wild percussion, fluttery flutes, playful melodies, it's a little bit calypso, a little bit mariachi, all infused with a distinctly African vibe, fans of the Ethiopiques series and all the Sublime Frequencies releases will definitely dig this and yeah, this easily could have found it's way to Mississippi, which means, as if you couldn't have sussed it out already, WAY recommended!

V/A A Place Called Africa (Trojan) 2cd 19.98

V/A A Psychedelic Guide To Monsterism Island (Lo Recordings ) cd 14.98
For those of you not familiar with Monster Island, it's an imaginary land, created by artist Pete Fowler, filled with Technicolor cartoon monsters, bats, Yeti's, sea serpents, as well as a strange group of long haired residents, from grungy space rock musicians, to antlered rednecks, Fowler's art so dreamy and trippy and far out (and even sports some Fowler tattoos!!). A few years ago, there was another Monster Island compilation, that one was more focused on free folk and acid psych, perfectly complimenting Fowlers druggy land of wonder. Somehow, this second comp, is equally apt, exploring a whole different sound, and we can only assume, a whole different side of the island, and thus of course a bunch of new and fascinating beasts and mysterious folks...
Monsterism Island, at least sonically, is some imaginary haven of carefree, melty bliss and this is the freaky soundtrack to that wonderful world. The vibe this time around is some sort of really cool late '80s/early '90s video game soundtrack, lots of bloops and bleeps and skittery beats, imagine maybe a more tripped out, woozy and breezy soundtrack to Sonic The Hedgehog. The sound is all over the map, from colorful dreamy electronica, to groove heavy jazz to soft-psychedelic shimmer. Occasionally we're also reminded of Boards Of Canada as well as some obscure library music (makes sense that Johnny Trunk has a track on here!). We could have done without some of the 'goofy' spoken interludes and it does get a bit smooth sailin' in a party love boat kind of way, but still a nice fun ride for sure, then again, what would you expect a world of kaleidoscopic weirdness and wildly prismatic landscapes, groovy mystery bands and a wild array of wee beasties to sound like anyway?! Cool packaging too, featuring some of Fowlers gorgeous artwork.
So strap on the headphones, throw this in the stereo and head here:
http://www.monsterism.net/
And let yourself get WAY lost...
MPEG Stream: MONSTERS AT WORK "Magic Morning"
MPEG Stream: JONNY TRUNK "Nest We Forget"
MPEG Stream: LUKE VIBERT "Silver Snorse Hotel"

V/A A Raga For Peter Walker (Tompkins Square) cd 14.98
Yay! Peter Walker, one of the sixties best acoustic guitar players, comes out of hiding to bring us four new songs plus six new takes on his original compositions from current stars of the acoustic guitar scene including James Blackshaw, Steffan Basho-Junghans, and even Thurston Moore. While we would have much preferred a whole new album by Walker or better yet a reissue of his two seminal albums, including the all time classic "Rainy Day Ragas" released in 1966 on Vanguard, the performances by everyone involved, especially Walker's, are inspired and beautiful. For those who haven't heard of Peter Walker, he was the musical director for Timothy Leary's "Celebrations" gatherings at Harvard, and he brings that lysergic quality to his guitar playing fusing folk, flamenco, jazz, eastern and classical music into spiraling raga meditations. Walker hasn't enjoyed the same sort of revival as his contemporaries, Robbie Basho, Sandy Bull and John Fahey, but has clearly displayed his influence amongst the current "glitterati" of the acoustic guitar scene, as evidenced here. Hopefully we'll be hearing more of him real soon.
MPEG Stream: PETER WALKER "Day at the Fair"
MPEG Stream: THURSTON MOORE "Dirt Raga"
MPEG Stream: STEFFAN BASHO-JUNGHANS "Blue Mountain Raga"
MPEG Stream: PETER WALKER "Celebration"

V/A A Ride Across The Skies On A Knife Dipped In Blood (Curor Curor) 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.
With a title like A Ride Across The Skies On A Knife Dipped In Blood, we had seriously high hopes for this compilation from UK microlabel Curor and we were not disappointed. A handful of familiar faces: Jazzfinger, Ben Reynolds, Number None, Peter Wright... but loads of groups new to us, most of which had is scrambling for our computers and hopping on the internet to track down more recordings by these weirdo noisemakers. Like all great comps. Ride Across functions simultaneously as a sort of mixtape sampler, as well as a surprisingly cohesive listen, considering how varied the sounds of these bands are.
Some of the highlights include Atoms and their little tinkling flurries of guitar glimmer that morph into a slow melodic crawl, all tentative guitar and strange scrapes and creaks. Heidika, who unfurl warm soft tangles of finger picked acoustic guitar and minimal mournful strings, a laid back and wintry Appalachian folk with a subtle buzzing raga element. The super bizarre Injury Chic, one of the noisiest bands on the comp, kicking up dense swirls of harsh noise, laid atop simple percussive thump and clatter, with ultra distorted sung/spoken vocals, sounding like a modern co-ed Whitehouse. AQ faves Jazzfinger with a gorgeous slab of sound, all clattery clouds of looped piano, a strange mechanical rhythm laid over a murky, fuzzy seasick waltz, a bit like the the soundtrack to some strange Quay Brothers style animated film. Then there's the strangely named Family Battle Snake who spew forth a cavernous skreescrape of industrial whir and haunting alien FX. Maybe our favorite track on the record comes from Raised By Wolves beginning with militaristic martial snare, bits of guitar clang, all intertwined with ominous high end synth drones, with the drums getting more and more spastic and complex, like some dreamy droney cd-r outfit backed up by a skittery free jazz drummer, eventually erupting into a chaotic distorted blown out near-noise jam. Wow! Number None offer up their own bit of creeping grinding slow motion ambience, rumbling and moaning atmospheres, muted melodies, and occasional bursts of blown out guitar fuzz and glistening streaks of feedback. and the disc finishes off with another AQ fave, Peter Wright, who offers up another blissy expanse of serene drift, this time, heavy on the guitar, well, not 'heavy', but more guitar than usual for Wright, woven into dreamy cyclical melodies, all floating over long stretches of distant drones and rumbling swells, and that's not all.
A killer comp and a whole bunch of new bands to get all obsessed with.
MPEG Stream: BEN REYNOLDS "Noomed"
MPEG Stream: JAZZFINGER "Crooked Horses Hinge"
MPEG Stream: PETER WRIGHT "Meandering"

V/A A Tribute To Uglakh - Waerloga Compilation Vol. 1 (Waerloga) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the Swedish Waerloga label, who you should remember as the folks responsible for the Orc-ish and vampiric dark ambient rituals of the mysterious Za Frumi, comes a massive comp of like minded bands and individuals, all exploring the dark damp recesses of their souls, trolling through moonlit forests, dripping caves, lunar landscapes and other mysterious and dimly lit lost worlds. Pretty exciting comp considering we haven't heard of about 90 percent of these bands and most of this stuff is pretty great. Two tracks from Za Frumi exploring similar territory as on their records proper, a a little dark ambient moodiness from The Soil Bleeds Black, and one track from AQ faves Sagor & Swing, and that's about it for bands we know. But fear not, the rest of the comp travels a similar musical path, dark rumbles, dreamy atmospherics, festive renn-faire frippery, downright scary doomscapes and all creepy and creaking stops in between. By the way we think Uglakh is the name of an orc, not a band...
MPEG Stream: ZA FRUMI "Baurukat"
MPEG Stream: THE SOIL BLEEDS BLACK "Kyrie Eleison"
MPEG Stream: ALVSKUGGA "Feelings Of Cold"

V/A A Tribute To Will Oldham : I Am A Cold Rock, I Am Dull Grass (Tract) cd 13.98
Wow! Here's a terrific tribute to Will Oldham (aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy aka Palace aka Palace Brothers aka Palace Music, etc). This homage comes in the form of a collection of cover versions performed by many familiar AQ faves and fine contemporaries of Mr. Oldham. Each of them brings his/her own distinct flair to the chosen tune, but we noticed that some come remarkably close to absolute replication of the original. Hmmm, what's that old saying about mimicry being the sincerest form of flattery? But is it mimicry when someone really does sound like someone else without even trying? No, of course not. Anyways, the highlights and notables include Calexico, Iron And Wine, Mark Kozelek, Scout Niblett, Rivulets, Court And Spark, Pinetop Seven, and Jolie Holland. Great for fans of one and all.
MPEG Stream: CALEXICO "I Send My Love To You"
MPEG Stream: HOLLAND, JOLIE "I Was Drunk At The Pulpit"
MPEG Stream: IRON AND WINE "We All, Us Three, Will Ride"

V/A A Visit To The Spaceship Factory (Psychic Circle) cd 16.98
Remember that rad White Lace And Strange compilation we highlighted not long ago? Some killer late sixties, early seventies psych rock from the USA, garage bands gettin' "heavy". Well this disc, on the same Nick Saloman-affiliated label Psychic Circle, is in some ways a sequel, featuring similar bands of the era from the UK (and one Israeli band that recorded in London, to be perfectly accurate). With the subtitle "20 Gems From The Early Years Of Prog", it's billed as a collection of obscure "progressive rock" tracks... but the stress is on the rock. After all, Black Sabbath was once considered a "prog" band too. Sure, there might be some keyboards, but there's lots of raw, raucous energy here, both singers and guitarists wailing away in full fuzzed-out psychedelic proto-metal glory, when they didn't know from headbanging but knew how to boogie! Being a comp, of course some of this is better 'n the rest, but quality control is pretty high. Some faves include the punkish Helter Skelter (ex-Crushed Butler), the powerful axe-action of Israel's Jericho, and the heavy blues thud of early UFO, among other treats here to be heard from these bands (some we already knew, some new to us): Treetops, Mousetrap, Deadwood, Fuzzy Duck, Incredible Hog, Mouse, Beggars Opera, Kingdom Come, Little Big Horn, Strange Fox, Onyx, Spontaneous Combustion, Sheephouse, Pussy, Axe, Sunchariot, and Kansas Hook. The liner notes provide interesting tidbits on each artist (ferinstance, if you're as much of a proto metal geek as Allan, you'll be excited to get the track by Pussy, a later incarnation of one-album wonders Jerusalem).
MPEG Stream: JERICHO "So Come On"
MPEG Stream: HELTER SKELTER "I Need You"
MPEG Stream: KANSAS HOOK "Nervous Shakin'"

V/A A Visit To The Spaceship Factory: 20 Gems From The Early Years Of Prog (Psychic Circle) 2lp 34.00
NOW ON VINYL!
Remember that rad White Lace And Strange compilation we highlighted not long ago? Some killer late sixties, early seventies psych rock from the USA, garage bands gettin' "heavy". Well this disc, on the same Nick Saloman-affiliated label Psychic Circle, is in some ways a sequel, featuring similar bands of the era from the UK (and one Israeli band that recorded in London, to be perfectly accurate). With the subtitle "20 Gems From The Early Years Of Prog", it's billed as a collection of obscure "progressive rock" tracks... but the stress is on the rock. After all, Black Sabbath was once considered a "prog" band too. Sure, there might be some keyboards, but there's lots of raw, raucous energy here, both singers and guitarists wailing away in full fuzzed-out psychedelic proto-metal glory, when they didn't know from headbanging but knew how to boogie! Being a comp, of course some of this is better 'n the rest, but quality control is pretty high. Some faves include the punkish Helter Skelter (ex-Crushed Butler), the powerful axe-action of Israel's Jericho, and the heavy blues thud of early UFO, among other treats here to be heard from these bands (some we already knew, some new to us): Treetops, Mousetrap, Deadwood, Fuzzy Duck, Incredible Hog, Mouse, Beggars Opera, Kingdom Come, Little Big Horn, Strange Fox, Onyx, Spontaneous Combustion, Sheephouse, Pussy, Axe, Sunchariot, and Kansas Hook.
MPEG Stream: JERICHO "So Come On"
MPEG Stream: HELTER SKELTER "I Need You"
MPEG Stream: KANSAS HOOK "Nervous Shakin'"

V/A A Whole Lot of Rainbows (Warner) cd 21.00

V/A Absolute Belter (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 17.98
B-Music / Finders Keepers are the masters of the mix, headed up by DJ / record collector extraordinaire Andy Votel, pretty much every compilation these guys put out is like getting a super far out mix tape from your weird music obsessed best friend who knows everything about ____ (Turkish psych, lost disco, weirdo proto metal, lost soundtracks, Pakistani film music, Hungarian psych prog, etc.). To that list, of music your imaginary best friend (aka Andy Votel and his B-Music gang) is well versed in, you can now add "Mid-Med-Mod-Rock & Spanish Psychsploitation From The 'Cradle Of Spanish Pop'". Phew. Absolute Belter collects a handful of classic jams from the Spanish label Belter, marking the label's 50th anniversary!! Lots of incredible stuff here, plenty of fuzzed out psych, groovy funk, and especially intriguing, weirdo covers of songs by The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Quincy Jones, and most excitingly, Curved Air's "Back Street Luv" done by a group called Control (which is also on that Radio Galaxia comp!). It's a fuzzy, but more poppy than proggy version, makes us wish someone would do a cool anthology of all Curved Air's stuff, so good! But we digress...
The highlights are too many to mention one by one, it's basically a whole record of highlights, but besides that killer Curved Air cover, there's Fusioon's, warm washed out wearily psychedelic "Tocata Y Fug", with its woozy organs, majestic melodies, and weirdo prog-isms, or Furia's theme song "Furia", a heavy psych groove burner, with some awesome harmony vocals, thick basslines, and a killer main hook. Or howabout Soledad Miranda, most famous for being nude in Vampyros Lesbos with some groovy, loungy exotica, all soaring strings and jazzy drums, very Bond theme sounding, and she actually has a great voice. There's Los Mismos' "Jefe Ironside", a sort of disco cop show theme meets hippy jam from the musical Hair, or Control's country flecked bass heavy psychedelia, Los Gritos' "Veo Visions" a sci-fi fuzz groove, with tons of out-there Joe Meek production weirdness, we could go on and on and on and on. Needless to say, but we shall anyway, if you're a fan of the label, and any of their collections, the BYG Deal, Well Hung, Pomegranates, The Sound Of Wonder, well then you're probably gonna want this, or if you're just into cool fuzzy freaky far out psychedelic sounds, this could very well be the mix tape of obscure stuff you've been hoping someone would make you!
MPEG Stream: FUSIOON "Tocata Y Fug"
MPEG Stream: FURIA "Furia"
MPEG Stream: CONTROL "Por Las Viejas Calles"
MPEG Stream: LOS MISMOS "Jefe Ironside"
MPEG Stream: SOLEDAD MIRANDA "La Verdad"

V/A Absolute Zero (Charrm) cd 18.98
In the liner notes for this compilation, Saburo Teshigawara states that "the nothingness of immobility is an extraordinary energy with minus quality that functions dynamically." Teshigawara is the director of the Japanese dance ensemble Karas, which has been seeking out the beauty of the human essence within a manufactured environment. As the score to the ensembles' worldwide tour of their recent production "Absolute Zero," Karas commissioned a handful of the more subtle proponents of experimental electronica to contribute exclusive tracks for their dance piece. With both a solid collection of artists and an interesting application of the Cage-ian concept of nothingness being an active participant in the world at large, "Absolute Zero" stands clearly above all of the compilations to come out this year. The participants included in "Absolute Zero" are Biosphere, Disinformation, Hallucinator, Gescom (better known as Autechre), Hazard, Jiri Ceiver, Monolake, and Zoviet France (who released this through their Charrm imprint).
As a whole, this compilation develops a simple yet effective narrative-like construction with a gentle revelation of sound that reaches a specific denoument and fades ultimately into silence. Biosphere and Zoviet France open up the album with some beautifully radiant drone work. Monolake and Hallucinator then kick things into gear with the archetypal Chain Reaction heroin house sound. Hazard and Gescom (who are surprisingly quiet!) round out the compilation with minimalist pieces more suited to the Trente Oiseaux label. Very nice work.
RealAudio clip: BIOSPHERE "Superfluid"
RealAudio clip: MONOLAKE "frost"
RealAudio clip: ZOVIET FRANCE "sifr"

V/A AC/DC (Skin Graft) 2x7"+comic book 8.98
Shellac, Big'n, U.S. Maple, and Brise-Glace - all covering their favorite AC/DC compositions. What more needs be said.

V/A Ace Of Spades - Best of 2004/2005 (El4 Records) cd 13.98
For those of you who've been keepin' track of the Ace Of Spades limited edition cd-r series of monthly live acoustic performances at Oakland's Mama Buzz Cafe by various Bay Area rootsy folksy musicians, here's the final release! It's a limited edition 'best of' compilation cd (not a cd-r), and it features a single track each from seventeen different artists including Rogue Wave, The Moore Brothers, Sean Hayes, Black Bear, Dave Gleason's Wasted Days, Alela Menig, The Lonely Hearts, Jason Webley, Paul Panamarenko, Mandrake, Black Bird Stitches, Laura Weinbach, Audio Out Send, Etienne De Rocher, Brian Glaze, Bart Davenport, and Paula Frazer.
And for extra warm fuzzies, it's a benefit cd with for the Little Kids Rock Foundation supporting children's music education.
MPEG Stream: ROGUE WAVE "Be Kind & Remind"
MPEG Stream: FRAZER, PAULA "Waiting For You"

V/A Achtung! German Grooves (Bureau B) cd 17.98
Thank goodness for compilations like The In-Kraut and Disco Deutchland which were not only super fun collections, gathering up some of the most amazing late '60s and '70s German grooviness, but they also helped dispel the common stereotype that German music and culture is deadly serious, cold and austere. Those records helped highlight a carefree side to to the German music scene that we hadn't often been exposed to. Achtung! furthers our exposure to this fun filled world with 20 instrumentals that perfectly tie together the go-go kitchy fun of the In-Kraut records, the dancefloor ready jams of Disco Deutchland as well as some serious grooving funk and poppy psychedelia informed by Philadelphia soul, The JB's, afro-pop, cocktail parties, ye-ye French-pop and B-movie scores. Totally fun and totally perfect as the soundtrack to your next party. Artists include: James Last, Max Greger, Peter Thomas, Ambros Seelos, Ady Zehnpfennig, Gerhard Narholz, Hans Haider, Don Kelly Band, Kai Warner And His Orchestra, Theo Schumann Combo, Henry Arland, Heinz Kiessling, Orchester GŸnter Gollasch, Pete Jacques, Hans Ehrlinger And His Orchestra, Catch Up, Helmut Zacharias, Roberto Delgado, Berry Lipman and Orchester Walter Kubiczek. All your favorites!
MPEG Stream: JAMES LAST "U-Humbah"
MPEG Stream: AMBROS SEELOS "Mabusso"
MPEG Stream: ORCHESTER GUNTER GOLLASCH "Es Steht Ein Haus In New Orleans"

V/A Acid Dreams (Past & Present) cd 17.98
Here's a cool comp of rare vintage '60s garage psych gems, that itself is a reissue of a long lost album, Acid Dreams having first been released back in 1979 on vinyl in an edition of just 77 copies, we're told. Apparently that record was compiled by the owner of a record store in Berlin, who thought that the then-current crop of new wave punk rock fans needed a lesson about the original wave of snotty, freaky, DIY "punk" from the previous decade... And indeed the nameless compiler picked some killer cuts from his collection of U.S. '60s psych singles for inclusion here, full of distortion and attitude ready to go toe-to-toe with the class of '77. Loads of fuzzed out guitars, urgent drumming and trippy lyrics burst forth across the 18 tracks here, most of 'em energetic yet moody 2-3 minute blasts, including songs from Zakary Thaks, Faine Jade, Music Machine, Mystic Tide, Painted Faces, Balloon Farm, Outcasts, Beautiful Daze, Caretakers Of Deception, Teddy & His Patches, Minds Eye, White Light, Remaining Few, Stereo Shoestrings, Unrelated Segments, Velvet Illusions (who get not one but two tracks on here, both awesome), and Vejtables (who were from San Francisco - hmm, could the spelling of their name maybe have been an inspiration to Wooden Shjips?). As you can see, all acts for the most part pretty obscure outside the collectors' realm, really. Poppy stuff, but probably too freaky for the masses, though it's not all hard acid wah wah guitar frenzies here - when not stormin' and stompin', Acid Dreams provides plenty of pleasant psychedelic swirling jangle as well.
Reissued now on cd by the same label that brought us the Electric Asylum comp listed last time, the no frills design of the original private press LP has been augmented with photos and brief liner notes on each and every track in the cd booklet.
MPEG Stream: VELVET ILLUSIONS "Velvet Illusions"
MPEG Stream: WHITE LIGHT "William"
MPEG Stream: BEAUTIFUL DAZE "City Jungle"

V/A Acid Dreams (Past & Present) lp 24.00
Now on vinyl!!!
Here's a cool comp of rare vintage '60s garage psych gems, that itself is a reissue of a long lost album, Acid Dreams having first been released back in 1979 on vinyl in an edition of just 77 copies, we're told. Apparently that record was compiled by the owner of a record store in Berlin, who thought that the then-current crop of new wave punk rock fans needed a lesson about the original wave of snotty, freaky, DIY "punk" from the previous decade... And indeed the nameless compiler picked some killer cuts from his collection of U.S. '60s psych singles for inclusion here, full of distortion and attitude ready to go toe-to-toe with the class of '77. Loads of fuzzed out guitars, urgent drumming and trippy lyrics burst forth across the 18 tracks here, most of 'em energetic yet moody 2-3 minute blasts, including songs from Zakary Thaks, Faine Jade, Music Machine, Mystic Tide, Painted Faces, Balloon Farm, Outcasts, Beautiful Daze, Caretakers Of Deception, Teddy & His Patches, Minds Eye, White Light, Remaining Few, Stereo Shoestrings, Unrelated Segments, Velvet Illusions (who get not one but two tracks on here, both awesome), and Vejtables (who were from San Francisco - hmm, could the spelling of their name maybe have been an inspiration to Wooden Shjips?). As you can see, all acts for the most part pretty obscure outside the collectors' realm, really. Poppy stuff, but probably too freaky for the masses, though it's not all hard acid wah wah guitar frenzies here - when not stormin' and stompin', Acid Dreams provides plenty of pleasant psychedelic swirling jangle as well.
MPEG Stream: VELVET ILLUSIONS "Velvet Illusions"
MPEG Stream: WHITE LIGHT "William"
MPEG Stream: BEAUTIFUL DAZE "City Jungle"

V/A Acquired Taste (Sub Pop) dvd 9.98
Remember a long time ago, when only ROCKSTARS made videos? Aerosmith, U2, Yes, remember how you'd wait anxiously for so and so's new video to debut on MTV? A lot has changed since then. First and foremost, MTV doesn't actually show videos anymore. Second, almost all bands make a video at some point. And with the advent of digital video and cheaper production techniques, bands are finally able to make the kind of videos they could only dream about before. And now some of the most truly bizarre and amazing videos are being made by the same folks who are making truly bizarre and amazing music. If you have cable, you might have seen some of these videos on MTV2 or Fuse or Much Music, but for those of you without cable (like us) of those of you who just want to see these videos whenever you want, well, the fine folks at Sub Pop have offered up this super cheap, super deluxe video collection gathering up some of their best and brightest, and some of the coolest videos we've seen in ages. Just listing the bands should have indie rockers all in a tizzy: Shins, Ugly Cassanova, Iron And Wine, The Postal Service, Hot Hot Heat, Constantines, The Thermals, The Album Leaf, Low, Jennifer Gentle, The Helio Sequence, Kinski, Sleater Kinney, Rosie Thomas, Chad Vangaalen, Love As Laughter, Fruit Bats, Wolf Parade, The Elected, Rogue Wave and Mudhoney. Phew! Some of the highlights include the Ugly Cassanova video which has to be the most insane, most ridiculous, and somehow both the grossest and the cutest videos ever. Seriously. Every time we watch it, we're dying, it's so weird and funny and sick! Imagine a video very bright and primary colored, filled with infants, toddlers, insects and all sorts of anuses and intestines and shitting and farting. Woah! But even the gross stuff is kinda cute.
The there's a Shins video where the band members reproduce various indie record covers: Slint, Squirel Bait, Minutemen, Cat Power, see if you can name them all. The other Shins video is great too, an awesome construction paper animated sequence with white paper cows so cute. And then the two Postal Service videos are awesome too: one is a gorgeous sleek futuristic machinescape, all sterile and very white and shiny, the other is a cheesy eighties karaoke scene intercut with a far out futuristic space subplot, featuring Jenny Lewis! The Iron And Wine videos are beautiful and heartbreaking, just like the songs, sun dappled summerscapes, glistening water, green lush grass, sumptuous foods, each video dense and colorful, somehow perfectly conveying the love and hope and sorrow in the songs. WOW.
Pretty much all the videos here are well worth watching, some over and over and over, lots of cool animation, lots of high concept, plenty of cool production and bizarre imagery, very few by the numbers performance videos, plenty of innovation and creativity, which is just what we expect from these bands anyway!

V/A Across The Cell Wall (Kodama) cd 14.98
Electronica comp with Jake Mandell, Kid 606, Kevin Blechdom, Arovane, Stewart Walker, and others.

V/A Across Uneven Terrain (FatCat) cd 17.98
Not all, but some of the AMAZING 'post-rock'/electronica singles that tasteful U.K. label Fat Cat has previously issued and have subsequently let fall out of print. From Fonn & Live Human's murky yet live intrumental breakbeats to Transient Waves & Immerse's haunting scores and back to the techno throb of Chain Reaction artist Various Artists. Also featured is one of the stellar Bjork remixes by Funkstorung. If you missed out the first time, here's your chance to hear a wonderful intro to the melodic mellow side of the new 'electronica' styles.

V/A Across Uneven Terrain (FatCat) 2lp 16.98
Not all, but some of the AMAZING 'post-rock'/electronica singles that tasteful U.K. label Fat Cat has previously issued and have subsequently let fall out of print. From Fonn & Live Human's murky yet live intrumental breakbeats to Transient Waves & Immerse's haunting scores and back to the techno throb of Chain Reaction artist Various Artists. Also featured is one of the stellar Bjork remixes by Funkstorung. If you missed out the first time, here's your chance to hear a wonderful intro to the melodic mellow side of the new 'electronica' styles.

V/A Action Speaks Louder Than Words (Vampisoul) cd 16.98

V/A Activating The Medium X: Part One, 01/26/07 (23five) 2cd-r 10.98
Earlier in 2007, the San Francisco based sound-art organization 23five held their annual Activating The Medium festival at The Exploratorium, a science / art museum housed within a converted aircraft hanger. In the past 23five had always hosted some pretty impressive events, collaborating with such esteemed institutions as SFMOMA, the San Francisco Art Institute, SF Cinematheque, and Recombinant Media Labs; but the two nights held at The Exploratorium probably showcased their best programming to date. Field recordings were the general theme, and the international cast of characters brought an exemplary variety of strategies in how to utilize the field recording in modern composition.
The first night featured Aaron Ximm, Camilla Hannan, Tarab, and BJ Nilsen. San Francisco's Aaron Ximm (aka Quiet American) has long been a proponent of the field recording, having hosted the seminal Field Effects series at his 964 Natoma loft several years back. Ximm grounded his field recordings of street vendors and competing popsicle carts with an evolving chorus of low frequency sine waves for a captivatingly quiet piece. Australia's Camilla Hannan offered an explosive set of de-contextualized factory sounds and construction site noise, which perfectly counterpointed Ximm's comtemplative piece. Fellow Australian Tarab presented an earthen kaleidoscope of crunching soil, wind-swept aridity, and sympathetic dronescaping. BJ Nilsen concluded the night with a slow building crescendo of his post-Niblock church organ drones that erupted with oceanic field recordings from the same sessions for his collaboration with Chris Watson.
Immaculately recorded, smartly packaged, and extremely limited.
MPEG Stream: CAMILLA HANNAN "Live At The Exploratorium"
MPEG Stream: TARAB "Live At The Exploratorium"
MPEG Stream: BJ NILSEN "Live At The Exploratorium"

V/A Activating The Medium X: Part Two, 01/27/07 (23five) 2cd-r 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Earlier in 2007, the San Francisco based sound-art organization 23five held their annual Activating The Medium festival at The Exploratorium, a science / art museum housed within a converted aircraft hanger. In the past 23five had always hosted some pretty impressive events, collaborating with such esteemed institutions as SFMOMA, the San Francisco Art Institute, SF Cinematheque, and Recombinant Media Labs; but the two nights held at The Exploratorium probably showcased their best programming to date. Field recordings were the general theme, and the international cast of characters brought an exemplary variety of strategies in how to utilize the field recording in modern composition.
The second night featured Keith Evans, Matt Shoemaker, Olivia Block, and Steve Roden. Oakland's Keith Evans presented an exquisite expressive combination of 8mm film and abstracted field recordings as a portrait of Mount Tamalpais. Matt Shoemaker's deliriously cinemascopic sound design situated itself as a blurred mass of grey, John Duncan-esque drones pocked with whip-snap cuts of highly detailed eruptions. Olivia Block broke her set into two electro-acoustic vignettes, offering her own take on the seminal work of Luc Ferrari and Pierre Henry. Steve Roden quietly turned in an emotionally resonant performance for a table top guitar and voice, spinning a delicate web of loops and echoes through his twin delay pedal set up.
Immaculately recorded, smartly packaged, and extremely limited.
MPEG Stream: KEITH EVANS "Live At The Exploratorium"
MPEG Stream: OLIVIA BLOCK "Live At The Exploratorium"
MPEG Stream: STEVE RODEN "Live At The Exploratorium"

V/A Adults Only (Trojan) cd 12.98
A prime example of Trojan's strange marketing tactics. With the exception of a couple songs on volume two, all of the tracks on the two "Adults Only" cds are available for a much better price point, with a lot more tracks included, on the Trojan X-Rated Box Set. Kind of odd that they would reissue these discs just after assembling that collection, but I guess they gotta keep busy somehow.

V/A Adults Only 2 (Trojan) cd 12.98
A prime example of Trojan's strange marketing tactics. With the exception of a couple songs on volume two, all of the tracks on the two "Adults Only" cds are available for a much better price point, with a lot more tracks included, on the Trojan X-Rated Box Set. Kind of odd that they would reissue these discs just after assembling that collection, but I guess they gotta keep busy somehow.

V/A Adventures In Sound (El / Cherry Red) cd 16.98

V/A Affairs Online (Voltaire) 12" 11.98
Local label Voltaire does it again. First it was the Publicist Keep It Off The Record 12", a killer slab of propulsive robotic cyber funk grooviness from the alter ego of one of the guys in Trans Am, now it's Affairs Online, a new compilation, and a fantastic collection of retro psychedelic disco-prog Euro-synth electro, and introduces us to five new artists (one of which is in fact Steve Moore of Zombi in disguise), hailing from all over the globe, Sweden, Japan and the US, but what they all have in common is their slavish worship of vintage Eurodisco and old school electro and synthwave, and whereas lots of other artists dabbling in the same sort of sounds twist them all up, add some modern twist, the sounds here are perfect replications of songs that could have been, soundtracks to some obscure eighties softporn VHS, or the score to some rare Argento giallo, the sounds here are all swirling synths, groovy beats, vintage analog buzz, and that hazy eighties production.
Lovelock, aka Steve Moore, offers up a track that sounds like the soundtrack to the Loveboat or Hart To Hart or some other classic TV show, a little disco-y, a lot funky, with warm synths, and soaring faux strings, tense and dramatic and melodic, evoking the lazy after school TV watching afternoons of our childhood as much as some futuristic Eurodisco. Loose Shus gets all Logan's Run with his track, creepy pulsing synths, and percolating sci-fi melodies, before the song kicks in with some discofunk bass and lots of handclaps. Narctrax is a little ethereal, but that swirling groovy haze is wrapped around some pulsing rhythms, more handclaps and a big fuzzy bassline that would have Daft Punk in a tizzy. Le Pimp is total eighties Eddie Murphy movie soundtrack, slap bass, synth stabs, a woozy electrofunk that would work in a dance-off as well as a chase scene, and finally, Erik Artur offers up a brief bit of washed out squiggly swirly electro synth melancholia rife with swoops and bloops and swirls and bleeps.
So awesome. And obviously anyone into the current crop of retro futurist synth wave Goblin/Carpenter revivalists will dig this BIG time.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, each one hand numbered! And check out these amazing videos that were created to accompany some of the songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evEG1j1kvV4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqc2hZFsoTc
With more to come!!
MPEG Stream: NARCTRAX "Unweave The Rainbow"
MPEG Stream: LOVELOCK "Champagne"
MPEG Stream: LE PIMP "BTTB"

V/A Africa Boogaloo: The Latinization Of West Africa (Honest Jon's) cd 17.98
The last Honest Jon's compilation we carried focussed on the roots of Congolese Rumba through a wave of Latin influence on the region from the thirties to the fifties. The latest Honest Jon's compilation, Africa Boogaloo, expands upon that concept by tracing Latin music's influential trajectory from the fifties to the seventies all along Africa's Western Coast from the Congo to Senegal.
Culled from rare recordings by both celebrated artists as well as the little known, this compilation focuses not so much on the single artist but the bigger dance bands like Orchestra Baobab, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou, Orchestre OK Jazz, and one of the major stars of Afro-beat, Manu Dibango (here performing the title track with Le Grand Kalle and Don Gonzalo). Boogaloo being a hybrid style of soul, R&B, mambo and various other forms of Afro-Cuban music, it makes sense that not only would it be popular in Africa whose various indigenous musical styles inspired Latin music in the first place, but that it would proliferate further into modern fusions of various African musical forms. The constant cross-cultural influence is amazingly uncanny as well as delightfully infectious!
MPEG Stream: LE GRAND KALLE, DON GONZALO, MANU DIBANGO "Africa Boogaloo"
MPEG Stream: CHARLES LEMBE "Quiero Wapacha"
MPEG Stream: ORCHESTRA BAOBAB "On Verra Ca"

V/A Africa Boogaloo: The Latinization Of West Africa (Honest Jon's) 2lp 22.00
The last Honest Jon's compilation we carried focussed on the roots of Congolese Rumba through a wave of Latin influence on the region from the thirties to the fifties. The latest Honest Jon's compilation, Africa Boogaloo, expands upon that concept by tracing Latin music's influential trajectory from the fifties to the seventies all along Africa's Western Coast from the Congo to Senegal.
Culled from rare recordings by both celebrated artists as well as the little known, this compilation focuses not so much on the single artist but the bigger dance bands like Orchestra Baobab, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou, Orchestre OK Jazz, and one of the major stars of Afro-beat, Manu Dibango (here performing the title track with Le Grand Kalle and Don Gonzalo). Boogaloo being a hybrid style of soul, R&B, mambo and various other forms of Afro-Cuban music, it makes sense that not only would it be popular in Africa whose various indigenous musical styles inspired Latin music in the first place, but that it would proliferate further into modern fusions of various African musical forms. The constant cross-cultural influence is amazingly uncanny as well as delightfully infectious!
MPEG Stream: LE GRAND KALLE, DON GONZALO, MANU DIBANGO "Africa Boogaloo"
MPEG Stream: CHARLES LEMBE "Quiero Wapacha"
MPEG Stream: ORCHESTRA BAOBAB "On Verra Ca"

V/A Africa Raps (Trikont) cd 16.98
When we first ordered this, we imagined it would be a compilation of rapping in African music, or more like the roots of modern rap in Africa, but instead this is a collection of some of the most popular contemporary rap groups in Africa, and it's pretty great. It's interesting to hear how the music, while obviously reminscent of American hip hop, incorporates all sorts of traditional African musics as well as modern music (especially Mbalax or African commercial pop), as well as rapping in French and Wolof and a heavy political/religious bent as 90 percent of African rappers are Muslim. As a simple hip hop compilation, this stands up pretty well. Fans of MC Solaar and the Le Flow hip hop collection from a few years back will love this. But as a musical and sociological document, complete with Trikont's excellent liner notes, this is essential.
RealAudio clip: BMG 44 "Xam"
RealAudio clip: POSITIVE BLACK SOUL "Boul Ma Mine"
RealAudio clip: TATA POUND "Badalia"
RealAudio clip: PEE FROISS "Jalgaty"

V/A Africafunk: Return to the Original Sounds of 1970s Funky Africa (Harmless) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

V/A Africafunk: The Original Sounds of 1970s Funky Africa (Harmless) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

V/A African Rap: Rappers, Rebels and Ragamuffins (Rough Guides) cd 14.98

V/A African Scream Contest (Analog Africa) cd 24.00
Samy Ben Redjeb, the man behind the Analog Africa label, allegedly went through some 3000 records before picking the 14 tracks that make up this amazing compilation of mid-'70s sounds from Benin and Togo - the two smaller countries that happen to be sandwiched between Nigeria and Ghana, two of the dominant cultural forces in African music at that time. As much as the music included on African Scream Contest shows the influence of those neighboring heavyweights, there are plenty of other elements coming into the mix. You can hear Afro-Cuban horn blasts and clave rhythms alongside samba grooves and James Brown funk. That you can hear blues and soul being filtered through highlife, Afrobeat, and even traditional choral music is one of the things that makes this period of African music so exciting: no one influence holds any more sway than any other, and the result is something totally unique that manages to be strangely familiar while sounding like nothing you've ever heard in your life.
Like the title says, this stuff is definitely raw - you can hear musicians who not only taught themselves how to play, but in doing so created their own culture, national identity and music. For every influence pulled from elsewhere in the world (be it US funk or Brazilian rhythms), there's something distinctly regional through which it gets filtered; for example, Benin is the birthplace of voodoo, and that must surely have been an influence on the sense of wild abandon and frenzy that this music manages to capture so perfectly. Simply put, this is heavy stuff!
The standard for these kinds of compilations has been set incredibly high by labels like Strut, Sound Way, Soul Jazz and the like, but if anything Analog Africa have raised the bar even higher. It took three years of research, crate digging, interviews and detective work to put this compilation together and it shows: this presentation of the music, liner notes and archival materials is meticulous, loving and borders on obsessive. This is an amazing collection of songs that once again shows the incredible depth of cultural output happening in Africa in the '60s and '70s. It's a great time to be a fan of these musics, and this stunning compilation shows us exactly why. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: GABO BROWN & ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO "It's A Vanity"
MPEG Stream: LOKONON ANDRE & LES VOLCANS "Mi Kple Dogbekpo"
MPEG Stream: LE SUPER BORGOU DE PARAKOU "Congolaise Benin Ye"

V/A African Scream Contest (Analog Africa) 2lp 27.00
FINALLY, this amazing comp is now available on vinyl!
Samy Ben Redjeb, the man behind the Analog Africa label, allegedly went through some 3000 records before picking the 14 tracks that make up this amazing compilation of mid-'70s sounds from Benin and Togo - the two smaller countries that happen to be sandwiched between Nigeria and Ghana, two of the dominant cultural forces in African music at that time. As much as the music included on African Scream Contest shows the influence of those neighboring heavyweights, there are plenty of other elements coming into the mix. You can hear Afro-Cuban horn blasts and clave rhythms alongside samba grooves and James Brown funk. That you can hear blues and soul being filtered through highlife, Afrobeat, and even traditional choral music is one of the things that makes this period of African music so exciting: no one influence holds any more sway than any other, and the result is something totally unique that manages to be strangely familiar while sounding like nothing you've ever heard in your life.
Like the title says, this stuff is definitely raw - you can hear musicians who not only taught themselves how to play, but in doing so created their own culture, national identity and music. For every influence pulled from elsewhere in the world (be it US funk or Brazilian rhythms), there's something distinctly regional through which it gets filtered; for example, Benin is the birthplace of voodoo, and that must surely have been an influence on the sense of wild abandon and frenzy that this music manages to capture so perfectly. Simply put, this is heavy stuff!
The standard for these kinds of compilations has been set incredibly high by labels like Strut, Sound Way, Soul Jazz and the like, but if anything Analog Africa have raised the bar even higher. It took three years of research, crate digging, interviews and detective work to put this compilation together and it shows: this presentation of the music, liner notes and archival materials is meticulous, loving and borders on obsessive. This is an amazing collection of songs that once again shows the incredible depth of cultural output happening in Africa in the '60s and '70s. It's a great time to be a fan of these musics, and this stunning compilation shows us exactly why. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: GABO BROWN & ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO "It's A Vanity"
MPEG Stream: LOKONON ANDRE & LES VOLCANS "Mi Kple Dogbekpo"
MPEG Stream: LE SUPER BORGOU DE PARAKOU "Congolaise Benin Ye"

V/A Afrika Underground (Counterpoint) cd 19.98
A collection that only begins to scratch the surface of the rarely heard of underground jazz scene in South Africa. Compiled by Jake Behnan, "Afrika Underground" covers "jazz funk & fusion" stuff from the mid-seventies to the early eighties, from the musicians who were instrumental in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Artists compiled: Movement in the City, Dick Khoza, Zacks Nkosi, Jabula, George Lee, Mike Makhalemele, Pacific Express, Harari and Lionel Pillay. You'll have to look elsewhere if you want to know if the anti-apartheid movement had its own version of Black Power free-jazz improv like in the USA, 'cause this is definitely on the electric, easy listening, funky side of things. "Rare groove" fans are probably fiending for the original vinyl of this stuff. Lively, danceable and fun despite the social and political circumstances under which this music was made.
RealAudio clip: MOVEMENT IN THE CITY "Lament"
RealAudio clip: DICK KHOZA "Chapita"
RealAudio clip: PACIFIC EXPRESS "The Way It Used To Be"

V/A Afro Baby - The Evolution Of The Afro-Sound In Nigeria 1970-79 (Soundway) cd 19.98
In addition to reissuing their Ghana Soundz collection, Sound Way has put together an additional 12 rare tracks of afro-beat from Nigeria. Included along with mainstays Fela Kuti and Orlando Julius are several lesser known (this side of the pond anyhoo) groups like The Mebusas, The Don Issac Ezekiel Combination, The Martins Brothers Dance Band and more. Like Ghana Soundz, this CD comes with a thick booklet of info, including artist bios, and album art repros.
MPEG Stream: THE MEBUSAS "Son of Mr. Bull Dog"
MPEG Stream: DR. VICTOR OLAIYA'S INTERNATIONAL ALL STARS "Omelebele"