Pop & Rock News

Originally released in 1983 on independent label For Sale (sub-label of the highly influential Baby Records, home of some of the most striking italo-disco ever), this album is quite a different monster. Produced, composed and arranged by Maestro Gian Piero Reverberi (once part of the progressive cult heroes Le Orme and then the man behind the ‘classical gone disco’ project Rondò Veneziano) Presage lives in a ‘twilight-zone’ where new-wave, post-prog and disco weirdness collides. Some of these numbers could have been easily played at the Hacienda in Manchester or even used as a soundtrack for some mid-eighties Argento movie. Part of the musicians used to be involved in the prog band from Genova Struttura & Forma, while others spent time behind the desk with some minor disco stars. All in all quite an unusual heavy rare-groove collection.

South London members Alan Lancaster (bass) and Francis Rossi (guitar) were the original members and founders of Status Quo. Formerly known as The Spectres and later renamed to Traffic/ Traffic Jam they settled for Status Quo as their band name in 1967. The following years they were joined by John Coghlan (drums), Roy Lynes (keyboard) and Rick Parfitt (guitar, died in 2016), and after several band members changes are still performing today in a revamped line-up.

In 1968 their first hit record “Pictures of Matchstick Men” was released and the debut album soon followed. The subsequent years Status Quo, or simply Quo, enjoyed a multitude of hits; “Mean Girl”, “Down Down”, “Rockin’ All Over The World”, “The Wanderer”, “In The Army Now”, “Roll Over Lay Down (Live)”, all climbed the charts in different countries.


During the years Status Quo developed their own signature style of heavy rhythms, a few guitar chords, straightforward, accessible lyrics and collected a huge and loyal fan base. In 2006 NME magazine named Status Quo “The Most Successful UK band” as they achieved more chart hits than any other British band.

The 2LP Collected compilation is an era spanning selection of Status Quo includes the hits, 4 original mono recordings “Pictures Of Matchstick Men”, “Ice In The Sun”, “I (Who Have Nothing)” by The Spectres, “Almost But Not Quite There” by Traffic Jam. Status Quo – Collected is available as a limited pressing of 2000 individually numbered copies on white vinyl.

Repress in now. “Kids, everyone, this is required listening. This is their peak....” Punk Planet. Finally back in print! This is where it all began for the Butthole Surfers. Brown Reason to Live is their very first release; it came out in 1983. Here it is on vintage thick wax; their first classic slab, still as crazed and lysergic as ever! As a follow-up, the band went to a bar in their hometown of San Antonio and recorded their set for the Live PCPPEP. These acid-casualty reality trippers paid tribute to and killed American hardcore once and for all while single-handedly ushering in a new Post-Everything era. Many feel these EPs were the best records the band ever recorded.

Repress in now. Re-pressed on vinyl!!!! Finally back in print! This is where it all began for the Butthole Surfers. The Live PCPPEP is their second release; it came out in 1984. Here it is on vintage thick wax; still as crazed and lysergic as ever! The EP was recorded live in a bar in their hometown of San Antonio and released as a follow-up to their Brown Reason to Live 12". These acid-casualty reality trippers paid tribute to and killed American hardcore once and for all while single-handedly ushering in a new Post-Everything era. Many feel their two early EPs were the best records the band ever recorded.

Grattis! Thomas Flachsbinder 40år EP, otto002.

The title of the EP is "Happy birthday! Thomas Flachsbinder 40 years" and it pretty much sum´s up the whole reason for this EP. Our dear friend Thomas have been making lovely music for some 20 years now. And this EP is an selection of different aliases his created or been involved with. The genres goes from 50-60´s surf, rockabilly, rock, german house, ska, jazz, amen breakbeat organ pop to bossa nova. So hopefully you´ll find something that you´ll like.

The Numero Group's dive into the deep end of America's private press continues. Having battled the witches and wizards of Darkscorch, the outlaws of Cosmic Americana, and traveled alongside Ladies From the Canyon and their Lonesome Heroes, it's time to take it easy.With pop music's volume knob adjusted for deflation in the early '70s, softness begat smoothness. Crewmen arrived from the worlds of jazz, folk, rock, and soul, all peddling a product that was sincere, leisurely, and lofty. A sound that was buoyant, crisp, defined. Sometimes classified as West Coast—and, later, Yacht Rock—the compass points of our Private Yacht expedition are the blue-eyed harmonies of Hall and Oates, the cocaine-dusted Fender Rhodes of Michael McDonald, and the combover strums of James Taylor. Here, at the glassy apex of rock's softer side, 20 strong swimmers are gathered together. An album for both relaxation and reflection, where listeners can enjoy the present, a cool breeze, and a taste of the good life.

Riding the wave of the German beat craze of the early sixties, British singer Tony Sheridan became a regular on the Hamburg club circuit, recruiting an ever-changing roster of back-up musicians that included, in 1961, The Beatles featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best. Although still very much on the scene, bassist Stu Sutcliffe did not appear on these sessions. While most of the songs here are covers sung by Sheridan, Lennon and Harrison did write the instrumental "Cry For A Shadow". Hamburg is also where the Beatles first picked up the mop-top. Picture disc LP.

• Durham born Ruth Copeland was an unusual signing to the Invictus label but her folk-funk albums have become cult items in recent years

• Collaborations with her husband Jeffrey Bowen, George Clinton and members of Funkadelic, this is her highly acclaimed second album and is hard to find on original pressing

• Funk/Rock classic, ‘I am What I Am’ has never been available on vinyl since its 1972 initial release and features the club classis ‘Gimme Shelter’

• Demon Records are proud to reissue on 180g heavyweight vinyl with printed inner sleeve and original artwork

The Jamaican lovers masterpiece by Sharon Forrester and UK lovers classic

Bunny Lee's tiptop productions reissued in finest quality by Dub Store Records.

Early 1980, UB40 scored their first success with “Food For Thought”, reaching high positions in the charts. By the time they released their first album they were already so successful that they had signed off on unemployment benefit, leading to the stamped Signing Off featured on form 40, for the sleeve of their debut album. UB40 Collected has captured all the different phases of the band in one complete album, from classic hits combined with the new!

The members of UB40 chose their name after a piece of paper most of them were all too familiar with: Unemployment Benef it form 40, in short: UB40. The name was put on posters and the band was promoted even before each member fully understood his instrument. The first dub album ever to reach the album charts in the U.K. included “One In Ten” and “Don’t Slow Down”. In 1983 the band put on a new project, boasting ten cover versions of Jamaican hits and, contrary to low expectations, it became a huge hit and the band’s first number one album. Tracks included are “Cherry Oh Baby” and “Please Don’t Make Me Cry”and “Red Red Wine”. The latter was a rather poppy song and became the band’s biggest selling single ever, entailing their definitive worldwide break through.

There have been lots of collaborations through the years and most of these became huge hit songs. Together with Chrissie Hynde UB40 recorded two singles: “I Got You Babe” (1985) and “Breakfast In Bed” (1988). They teamed up with Afrika Bambaataa for “Reckless” (1988) and with Robert Palmer the band released “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” (1990), just to name a few.

UB40 Collected is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on gold vinyl.

Historically renown Dave Brubeck's Take 5 covered in rocksteady style. It later became one of reggae's standard repertoire.

Recording as Likwid Continual Space Motion, IG Culture’s latest afrofuturist, and broken beat venture is the score to a new sci-fi theatre production, made with the support of SummerDance Forever Amsterdam. Releasing on KC the Funkaholic’s latest jazz imprint, Earthbound’s music delicately travels the spaceways with alternating percussions sessions, Sun-Ra like piano lines, and otherworldly synth sessions.”

Iconic within the Broken Beat jazz movement, IG Culture delves into afro-futurist, nu-jazz territory that helps bridge the gap between inner-city London, the streets of Amsterdam, and distant outer space. Recording under the pseudonym Likwid Continual Space Motion, the UK producer’s debut on Amsterdam’s Paradiso jazz imprint Super Sonic Jazz is the soundtrack to Earthbound, a new science-fiction theatre production, that comes alive with the interstellar sounds of instrumental funk, soul, and space-age jazz.

Produced in cooperation with SummerDance Forever Amsterdam, Earthbound is a journey into intergalactic live jazz fusion, that sees IG Culture team up members from the London artist collective Steam Down, Alex Phountzi of Selectors Assemble (see Bugz In The Attic), and Rhythm Section’s Neue Grafik. The resulting collage is a melange of live sax, alternating percussions sessions, Sun-Ra like piano lines, and otherworldly synth sessions. The EP’s music delicately travels the spaceways, ultimately conveying the messaging behind Earthbound, a story based on the work of author Zecharia Sitchin, in which the ancient people of Nibiru return to Earth to discover the people they had once passed down knowledge to, are now living in a world of chaos.

IG Culture is one of the most important protagonists in catalyst of the UK’s broken beat jazz scene, which he refers to as 'London Bruk Boogie'. Having set up the legendary CoOp night at Plastic People and now the man behind CoOp Presents and Selectors Assemble, IG Culture is no stranger to Super Sonic Jazz, having released an homage to Sun Ra on Kees Heus' first imprint, Kindred Spirits back in 2003. With three decades worth of production nuance, Earthbound is the next challenge in the producer’s legacy, an idea that was spurned on once again by the Paradiso DJ KC the Funkaholic. With the theatre production having already debuted in February, the full soundtrack and LP is set for release in November this year. Keep your earth frequencies open for more information.

ASA 808 delivers his debut mini album, merging his boundary-pushing club tracks with forward-thinking ambient & post-rock influences, dominating the space between the two.

Over the course of several EPs with the Berlin based TOYS label and an acclaimed three-tracker on George Fitzgerald's ManMakeMusic imprint, Asa has established himself as something far beyond a standard dance music producer. With every release, he hones his off-kilter approach to electronic music, continually adding new strokes of colour to his catalogue.

His debut mini-album is no exception: every track bleeds with melodic intricacy and brooding arrangements, showcasing Asa's unique capacity to flip the script.

DJ Support: Addison Groove, Alex Do, Avalon Emerson, Barker & Baumecker, Ben UFO, B. Traits, Breach, Charlotte de Witte, Damian Lazarus, Dark Sky, Erol Alkan, Etapp Kyle, Frits Wentink, George FitzGerald, James Zabiela, Leftfield, Maceo Plex, Marcel Dettmann, Marcel Fengler, Sasse, Skream, Tensnake, Tom Trago, Whitesquare

Metal Church is the self-titled debut album of the heavy metal band of the same name. The album was originally released independently in 1984. Based on the success of the album, the band was signed to a recording contract by Elektra, who reissued the album in 1985. The cover art depicts a cruciform Gibson Explorer hidden in shadows and smoke.

Some of their most notable songs are the opener 'Beyond The Black', their title track, the instrumental 'Merciless Onslaught', 'Gods Of Wrath' (which is different from all the other songs, as it had clean vocals, clean rhythms, and fluent solos) and the Deep Purple cover 'Highway Star'.

We are very proud to release the new album of the exceptional Indonesian guitarist Dewa Budjana in a limited vinyl edition. As usual with the bustling guitar wizard, he has written all the compositions himself and in turn has collected a number of high-profile studio tracks for the recordings. Jordan Rudess is known by the prog band DREAM THEATER, Marco Minneman plays the drums with JOE SATRIANI and ADRIAN BELEW, and bassist Mohini Dey plays with STEVE VAI. Budjana also managed to win John Frusciante (ex- RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS) for this album, not to mention guitar ace Mike Stern (MILES DAVIS, BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS, BILLY COBHAM). What a dream cast - and the colleagues make it playful to create such wonderful music that one thinks they have always played together. In fact, they only came together for these studio recordings. One bike makes the next - and the result is yet another peak in modern Progressive Jazz. No wonder if so much concentrated ability meets each other. With "Mahandini Acoustic" Dewa Budjana even donates a bonus track that only exists on this vinyl record!

Loud pressed vinyl single featuring the best track from the group's 1979 album plus an unreleased take of the track ''My Fate'' on the flip.. Very smooth German AOR..
Limited to 350 copies and released in a beautiful picture sleeve which shows the original LP artwork.

Ara Pacis, a group from the island Föhr in the North Sea, was originally founded in 1971. Initially influenced by blues and classic rock by The Rolling Stones, The Who, and the like, they were also inspired by bands such as Steely Dan as well as the German/British group Lake. However, Ara Pacis created a style of their own
when their privately pressed an self-distributed “To the Westcoast” LP was released in 1979. The songs were mainly characterized by two-part guitar riffs by Töns Brautlecht-Deppe and Wolfgang Schiffner, who also were the core songwriters of the band.

The freshly remastered single starts with the title track “To the Westcoast”. Due to its sunny and yacht-y vibe it is easily amongst the best and most authentic tunes out of the “Westcoast rock” genre recorded in Germany. With family connections in California, lead singer Töns Brautlecht-Deppe was able to create and capture the feeling of the Pacific sea shore just perfectly.

The single is backed with a revised studio version of “My Fate”. The track is also featured on the album but the version presented here on the 7" vinyl is an unreleased, even quite funky and more powerful take. It was recorded in 1981 at the Rüssl studio in Hamburg where Brautlecht had just started to work as an engineer.

As the "To the Westcoast" LP was released during a time when styles like New Wave, Synth Pop and Punk became popular in Germany and the interest in organic and soulful rock declined, Ara Pacis’ debut remained relatively unnoticed until today and even the Krautrock collector’s scene does not seem to be fully aware of this hard to find gem yet of which only 1000 copies were originally pressed. The band is still kept in good memory by their fans as a quite legendary live act and although they
officially split in 1982, the group still served their fan base with revival concerts in 1990 and 2002 plus a website with full band story and lots of images from the early days.

"I love it. SO beautiful"
Josh Rosenthal [Tompkins Square]

Songs For A One-String Guitar is the debut instrumental acoustic guitar LP from Jonny Dillon. Better known for his analogue electronic music productions and all-hardware live sets under the ‘Automatic Tasty’ moniker [Lunar Disko, CPU, Wrong Island], Jonny’s records (bearing heavy acid and electro influences), along with live appearances at venues like Berlin’s Panorama Bar and Kiev’s Closer belie the fact that he has been quietly exploring the musical landscape of the guitar for nearly twenty years.

Recorded as a series of sketches over the last 10 years, Songs For A One-String Guitar represents a snapshot taken over a long exposure; one individual’s private response to a variety of currents and inspirations both musical and emotional. While informed in large measure by the world of Irish traditional music and song (of Sweeney’s Men, Planxty and Seán Garvey) along with that of primitivism and the American Spiritual (of John Fahey, Hank Williams and Mississippi John Hurt) these songs are equally a personal attempt to give expression to an inner landscape, from the experience of sorrow and loss to the promise of redemption and renewal.

The LP opens with ‘Turning Invisible In An Imaginary Rose Garden One-Evening’ a contemplative piece played in free-time; “I’ve been playing this piece for years, and it’s gone by so many different names in that time. It’s a sort of shoe-staring daydream, to my mind at least. I want people to disappear when they hear it, and think it suits the LP to open up slowly and reflectively”. While a contemplative strain underpins some of these songs, others are informed more directly by the experience of grief; “I wrote ‘A Requiem For Joe Dillon’ at the death of my uncle. He used play lots of wonderful songs of his own at family gatherings when I was a child, and while a very gifted and sensitive soul, was also troubled by his own demons. The last time I saw him alive was at my family home with my father; I was going out to see some friends and Joe called me back, gave me a hug and made the sign of the cross with his thumb on my forehead, to bless me. It still chokes me up when I think about it. A song of his ‘Light A Penny Candle’ I included to finish the piece in his honour.” A sense of longing and hope is present in other pieces; “Songs like ‘Again But With Feeling This Time’ and ‘Start Again (Carry On)’ come from a sort of hopeful yearning feeling which is always within me; a melancholic sort of joy in search of redemption. For me, music has the strange capacity to express contrary positions simultaneously; to console, redeem and offer transcendence while also expressing suffering and pain. I don’t know what any of this means, but feel as though I’m trying to find my way home by writing the same song over and over again.”

Songs For A One-String Guitar may seem to represent a departure for those who know Dillon for his electronic productions alone, though the reality is that these songs merely represent a new opening onto an old landscape; they are an invitation to more fully share in one individual’s yearning to find meaning through creative expression. “These songs are very personal to me, so there’s a certain nervousness in my seeing them released. I hope that they prove of some use, and that they do some small good to those who hear them.”

For the last 25 years, Discobar Galaxie has been steering people away from drugs and enthusing youngsters, oldsters and, erm, middle-agesters to misbehave on dancefloors across the country by spinning genre-busting tracks with little or no regard for the flavour of the day.
To celebrate a quarter of a century playing whatever the hell they like, they have carefully handpicked 20 tracks, and cut these onto that most wondrous of wax formats: the 45 rpm single.
Some of these tunes, especially the more recent ones, have never before existed on vinyl, let alone on 45.
So not only will this box give you a listener's digest of Discobar Galaxie's wide and deliciously mad taste, it will also become your personal toolbox to detonate any open-minded dancefloor.

Margino (real name Kim Kallie) is a South African artist. She recorded her first song
at the age of eight, when she performed ''Montreal'' with her mother Judy Page. She
sang with the reggae group Kariba and jazz rock outfit Turbo in the early 80's, and
later did backing vocals for Future and others. She first shot to fame as a solo star
with a version of ''Holiday'' (written by Lisa Stevens and Curtis Hudson, credited as
Cathy Hudson), which was released at the same time as Madonna's version.
Margino also had a hit in 1983 with a cover of In-Deep's ''Last Night a DJ Saved My
Life'', that went to #16 on the South-African Top 30 and charted for 10 weeks. She
now runs a Performance Academy from her studio, and continues to perform on
stage at events around Cape Town.
Recorded at RPM Recording Studios (Johannesburg, South Africa) in 1985, Happy
People is a flawless album with dancefloor hits such as ''Happy People'', ''I'm
Getting Out'' and ''One Hot Night'' and downtempo tunes such as ''You Turn Me On'',
''You Need A Woman'' and ''You''. All rhythm tracks were played by Attie Van Wyk
(Keyboards, Synthesizer, Drum Machine) and Danny Bridgens (Guitar). The full
album is a cream of boogie funk, disco and pop.
For this reissue, Jamwax took the pleasure to remaster the sound from the original
tape. The artwork was also remake with Andy Warhol ''Marilyn Monroe'' pop art
style, for your eyes pleasure.

What to say about THE PRESENT MOMENT? they are just one of the best synthwave bands of XXI century, and everyone knows that, maybe that's why some of their previous releases are being sold at obscene prices. After 5 years of painful silence, they are coming back with their 4th studio album, probably their most professional studio project to date, a very mature production where they play with their usual raw synthpop and ebm style but as well with more italo synthesque and even progressive rock ambiences. A truly masterpiece from any point of view. All tracks have been specially mastered for LONG CUT vinyl by Eric Van Wonterghem at Prodam Berlin.

London Records presents the first in a series of Bananarama Remix Eps. Exclusive to RSD this limited edition red vinyl features fresh interpretations of Bananrama classics from Ewan Pearson, Tom Moulton and Leo Zero. A limited edition release for collectors, fans and dance music fans alike this limited edition RSD release exclusively features Ewan Pearson's huge remix of 'Aie A Mwana', Tom Moulton's classic disco mix of 'Cruel Summer' plus on the flip Leo Zero gives us two interpretations of their smash hit 'Venus'

Repress from the debut album from Slovenian act Videosex.

While little known outside of the former Yugoslavia, Videosex’s self-titled debut album from 1984 sold in significant numbers, making superstars of the young Slovenian musicians responsible for making it. The set not only helped turn Yugoslavian teenagers on to the possibilities of Western-style electronic pop, but also inspired them via satirical, often explicit lyrics.

Their debut performance at the Novi Rock festival in Ljubljana lead to an immediate contract offer from Slovenia’s biggest record label. It wasn’t long before the band were holed up in studio TOP TEN in Ljiublana recording what would become their debut album. They effectively moved in to the studio for days and weeks on end, clocking up well over 200 hours of recording time in which they mixed experimentation with a desire to polish each song to perfection. The result is their first album which includes nine songs touching a variety of sexually charged subjects including erotica, lesbianism, voyeurism and sadism.

" Travelling the world with courage " - this is how French excentric pop-group PHAT DAT start their joyful and bum-shaking debut EP. Six perfectly catchy tunes that take the listener on an entertaining groove-safari.

Initiated by Catapulte Records founder members Antonin Voyant and Luke Warmcop (Orchestre du Montplaisant, Derya Yildirim & Grup Simsek, Guess What) and accomplished multi-instrumentists Rémi Richarme (Satellite Jockey) and Bernard Céleste (Reg & the Rectifiers), PHAT DAT already have a rich and eclectic background that perspires through both their songwriting and musical sensitivity.

The title-track, Culture Shock, is a curious, funny, yet powerful feel-good tune with a peaceful and steady beat, beautifully completed by warm Congolese Rhumba-inspired double guitar riffs... Let's embark on the journey ! While songs such as Wish To Cry or Trust In Me are made of the catchiest melodic quality, as well as being funky in the least cliché manner, moodier songs like The Kite or Telephone have a slightly more serious tone – although humour is always there, hiding in the corner of a verse.

But it's certainly The Wolf that brings all these elements together, with a riskier and more modern production. Switching from arty hip-hop phrases to bright melodic refrains, the song also features incredibly effective synth, rototoms and steel-drum sounds, to result in a totally unheard-of pop hit !

Phat Dat manage to freshen up their classic drums-bass-guitar-keys lineup through colourful sounds, clever percussion arrangements, witty vocal harmonies. This EP gives a great picture of who and what they are ; they will be touring France throughout this coming spring.

A HEAVY DOSE OF unreleased GARAGE ROCK & PSYCH-FUNK TRACKS

The Perfect Toy label continues its righteous quest to unearth the finest rare sounds from way out with Volumes 3 and 4 of its Down In The Valley series and in doing so delivers what is most certainly "A heavy dose of garage rock & psych-funk."

Vol. 3 opens with a characteristically inspiring cut - Sand's cover of Down By The River - one of the best (and certainly one of the most obscure) versions of the Neil Young classic. This is followed by two fine examples of garage rock with a funky twist - Pegasus' Honeysuckle Willow Pride and Enalpria's Sliding, in the slipstream of which follows Heart and Soul's raw psych cut Afterthought. Also featured on this volume are two tributes to Jimi Hendrix that the big man himself would be proud to hear - The Fabulous Troubadores' version of Hey Joe (here literally entitled Tribute To Jimi Hendrix) as well as a psych-soul cover of Stone Free by the The Good Earth. Side B kicks off with Lifeless, the farewell 45 from La Crosse, Wisconsin outfit Today's Tomorrow and also includes two cuts occupying the nexus of garage and psych-funk from Milk & Cookies and Sound Inc., along with the Del Counts's fierce organ-led funk instrumental Who Cares and a very special contribution from GIN whose Louisville Luck is one of two previously unreleased tracks.

Deepest respect goes out once again to crate-digging supremo, Chan The Man, the curator of these two brand-new volumes in the Down In The Valley series. His ambition to search for the impossible and get his hands on private pressings that no one except the freakiest vinyl nerds knew existed has set the path to the release of these two discs. Accompanied by detailed liner notes and never-before-seen photos of the artists, Down In The Valley 3&4 continue the same attention to quality and detail set by their predecessors.

A HEAVY DOSE OF unreleased GARAGE ROCK & PSYCH-FUNK TRACKS

The Perfect Toy label continues its righteous quest to unearth the finest rare sounds from way out with Volumes 3 and 4 of its Down In The Valley series and in doing so delivers what is most certainly "A heavy dose of garage rock & psych-funk."

Vol. 4 commences with Frozen Sun's acid rock beast Electric Soul, then rocks even harder with Pax 72's Ezra before Stars and Stripes's Listen edges in a funkier direction, adding syncopated rhythms and wah-wah into the mix. Then it's the turn of another unreleased track from GIN to make an appearance – Pseudo Funk - a blistering psych-rock band-rehearsal recording that the label is excited to include in the DITV series. Super-heavy funk-rock is the name of the game on Pushin, a wah-wah-drenched monster from The Outer Edge - recorded when they were 16 years old and their one and only 45 before they disbanded in 1971. The funkiness continues with Watch My Baby Do It – a shingaling and boogaloo dance-celebrating funky soul nugget from Chicago music-scene mainstays The Bossmen, dope garage-funk crossover Away With Me from Soul Intentions and groovy country-funk bump Keep On Walking from Rocky Barra, the man behind the famous Strictly Elvis fanzine. All of which just leaves space for the heavy soul-laden garage rock of Forum's Who Needs You, a mellow psych groove from Morning Reign (a name that should ring a bell since Perfect Toy dropped an album full of their unreleased material in late 2018) and Grainger Hunt 's Noah (a new discovery in rhythm & blues circles when it was first re-issued on 45 in 2011) whichmakes its first appearance on any full-length album here.

Deepest respect goes out once again to crate-digging supremo, Chan The Man, the curator of these two brand-new volumes in the Down In The Valley series. His ambition to search for the impossible and get his hands on private pressings that no one except the freakiest vinyl nerds knew existed has set the path to the release of these two discs. Accompanied by detailed liner notes and never-before-seen photos of the artists, Down In The Valley 3&4 continue the same attention to quality and detail set by their predecessors.

KEY SELLING POINTS:
- all tracks appear on a full length album for the very first time
- incl. detailed liner notes and unseen photographs

Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt Electric Smog, the next installment in Unrock's ongoing Saraswati series, will be the most rebellious and wildest to date. Again an intercontinental output, this is a dangerous, electric brew filled with exotic aroma from Cairo's sound guerilla, Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls), Maurice Louca (Karkhana), and Sam Shalabi (Land of Kush, Karkhana). The always-changing face of Dwarfs Of East Agouza shows them in a feverish mode with an adrenalin rush; massive eruptions fight a genuine flow. Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt manage to sound like a tonal cyclone consisting of 156 musicians, blowing heads and minds away. Out of the blue they suddenly manage to change mode and develop mild, calm, and elegant/fragile melodies. Interplay between early Baker and Clapton in Cream's looser frequencies seems sometimes just a stone's throw away. Electric Smog is meant to be a twin release to Sir Richard Bishop and David Oliphant / Karkhana with Nadah El Shazly's Carte Blanche. One-time pressing.

Active in Los Angeles’ 1980-1986 underground music scene, John Lafia is best known for the hypnotic album Prayers, released through Barry Craig’s influential, cassette-only label Trance Port Tapes. "Life Is Short", "A Promise", “Dream", “Hidden Things", "Spaghetti Western", and "Escape" come from that release.

This compilation also features tracks from subsequent Trance Port releases: LA Mantra 2 ’s "Queen Of The Nile" and Phantom Takes’ "The Moth". John’s “Odyssey Girls” appeared on the seminal 1983 spoken word LP, English As A Second Language. “The Confession,” a collaboration with legendary producer Ethan James, was released on 1986’s LP, Voices From North America. While recording this music, Hollywood-based John also dreamt of making his own films.

To support himself, he intermittently crewed on low-budget movies, including fellow UCLA Film School alumni, Alex Cox’s infamous Repo Man. Cinematic influence comes to the fore in titles such as, “Spaghetti Western”, “Queen Of The Nile”, “Escape”, and “Hidden Things”. Working alone endlessly in his home studio, John used the recording environment as a launching pad for exploring his uncensored psyche’s furthest dimensions. Hours of repetitive rhythms often transported him into trance-like states.

Tracks “Propaganda” and “Art Of The Jungle” exemplify this technique. Others, “4AM”, “Doubt”, and “Montgomery Park”, are miniature psychodramas (replete with three-act structures). Songs "Life Is Short", and "Dream" grapple with life’s fragile and unknowable essence. "The Moth", "Fourth Of July", and "SOS", are sonic journeys into trance-like repetition.

This intensely personal music never intended to "find" an audience; it was a means in and of itself. Its decades-later rebirth in this compilation is a joyous surprise.

*NOTE: On big hole white vinyl*

The Pendletons take a bold step with their first full forthcoming length album, 2 Steps Away, releasing this spring on the Bastard Jazz imprint. Recorded in San Francisco with a rock-solid band consisting of some of the best musicians in the Bay Area, including guitarist Carl Locket (Shalamar, Rick James) and Star Creature recording artist Elive, the duo taps into a classic soul/boogie sound that rides a wave of '70s and early '80s funk with ease but somehow remains true to the excitement of those classic recordings without being overly nostalgic

On this preview 7" the band showcases the uptempo disco/boogie slapper "You Do You" featuring legendary Soul singer Howard Johnson (Nightflyte / Kashif) while on the flip is the sweet soul of "Life To Me" over an irresistible groove.

Compilation from British post-punk/Futurist group Ghosts of Dance formed in North Devon in 1981.

The members were Yvette Norris (vocals), Kevin Maynard (drums), Daryl Hunt (bass), Mark Butcher (keyboards), and Pete Heaton (guitar). Ghosts of Dance took their name from the song 'Ghosts' by David Sylvian which appeared on the first Japan album. After playing an early gig in Barnstaple, a gentleman in the audience named Richard Newman expressed his interest to start a record label and release their music. Richard scheduled a recording session for the band at Otter Studios in Georgeham with producer Harry Williamson, son of Henry Williamson, member of progressive rock band Gong. The debut single ‘Ghosts of Dance’ was released in 1982 on Plastic Canvas Records to mixed reviews as it was very different from anything being released at the time.

This compilation includes their debut single along with 9 bonus tracks recorded between 1981 and 1983 on vinyl for the first time. The band call themselves “Vocal Trance Music” on the 7” sleeve credits and it’s accurate. Melancholic pop with gloomy atmosphere and dream-like melodies. The final track shows the band moving in a New Romantic direction with Mark taking over the main vocals. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each copy is housed in a jacket featuring original artwork by John Hurford and includes an insert with photos, lyrics and liner notes by Pete Heaton.

Two mind-bending slabs of acoustic and electric guitars, wandering into corners of acid-logic only accessible to bravest explorers. Elkhorn is a duo — Jesse Sheppard and Drew Gardner — from NYC. Their earlier records (Elkhorn on Beyond Is Beyond, The Black River on Debacle) would have blown us away, even if we didn’t know Jesse from his work as a film-maker (he directed the Glenn Jones/Jack Rose doc, The Things That We Used to Do) and organizer (he put together the 1,000 Incarnations of the Rose festival). Elkhorn’s music, which we had suspected might be in a fairly traditional American Primitive vein, was anything but. And these two LPs (released individually, but recorded more or less simultaneously) explore a whole warren of new style caverns.

Sun Cycle was recorded at Jason Meagher’s Black Dirt Studio and is closer to their pure duo sound (although guitarist Willie Lane and percussionist Ryan Jewell are along for the ride). There are elements of the American Primitive thread present, but these touch mostly on the outer reaches of the form, like Gene Estibou & Jean-Claude Pickens’ Intensifications, or the crazy distentions of MV and PG Six. Layers of pluck and soar and light percussion mix at the upper edge of the cosmic barrier, and Sun Cycle is, to our ears, Elkhorn’s most adventurous and fully realized album yet.

On Elk Jam, Willie Lane and Ryan Jewell function more as members of a psychedelic folk-rock quartet, and the troupe takes things even deeper in a Bay Area-styled trip zone. Recalling the classic ruminations of Mountain Bus, the full four man Elkhorn is exactly what the doctor prescribed for a generation of sack-butts who imagine John Mayer’s pudgy phallus-riffs have shit to do with transcendental psych exploration. Elkhorn are the true sonic dealio.

Instrumental music doesn’t get much better than this. As Capt. Beefheart once said, “If you got ears/You gotta listen!” We couldn’t agree more.

-Byron Coley, 2019

Two mind-bending slabs of acoustic and electric guitars, wandering into corners of acid-logic only accessible to bravest explorers. Elkhorn is a duo — Jesse Sheppard and Drew Gardner — from NYC. Their earlier records (Elkhorn on Beyond Is Beyond, The Black River on Debacle) would have blown us away, even if we didn’t know Jesse from his work as a film-maker (he directed the Glenn Jones/Jack Rose doc, The Things That We Used to Do) and organizer (he put together the 1,000 Incarnations of the Rose festival). Elkhorn’s music, which we had suspected might be in a fairly traditional American Primitive vein, was anything but. And these two LPs (released individually, but recorded more or less simultaneously) explore a whole warren of new style caverns.

Sun Cycle was recorded at Jason Meagher’s Black Dirt Studio and is closer to their pure duo sound (although guitarist Willie Lane and percussionist Ryan Jewell are along for the ride). There are elements of the American Primitive thread present, but these touch mostly on the outer reaches of the form, like Gene Estibou & Jean-Claude Pickens’ Intensifications, or the crazy distentions of MV and PG Six. Layers of pluck and soar and light percussion mix at the upper edge of the cosmic barrier, and Sun Cycle is, to our ears, Elkhorn’s most adventurous and fully realized album yet.

On Elk Jam, Willie Lane and Ryan Jewell function more as members of a psychedelic folk-rock quartet, and the troupe takes things even deeper in a Bay Area-styled trip zone. Recalling the classic ruminations of Mountain Bus, the full four man Elkhorn is exactly what the doctor prescribed for a generation of sack-butts who imagine John Mayer’s pudgy phallus-riffs have shit to do with transcendental psych exploration. Elkhorn are the true sonic dealio.

Instrumental music doesn’t get much better than this. As Capt. Beefheart once said, “If you got ears/You gotta listen!” We couldn’t agree more.

-Byron Coley, 2019

This is the definitive reissue of the long out of print first album from Italian experimental-rock band La 1919. Originally released in 1987 by ADN, the Italian Recommended Records branch, Ars srA was an early example of a long distance collaboration album as result of a virtuosic exchange of tapes between the Milan based duo and the legendary American guitarist Henry Kaiser and Canadian maverick sound artist John Oswald. The resulting music sounds like a perfect blend of '70s Art-Rock elements and '80s electronics. An eclectic mix of "Frith" oriented guitars, cold synthetic sounds and programmed drum machine beats. Some sort of sonic no-man's land where elements from the Post-Rock in Opposition aesthetic meet the experimental side of New Wave. The album includes a declared tribute to the Frith-Laswell-Maher seminal coalition, via a metronomic version of "Killing Time", the title track from Massacre's first album. The LP comes with updated graphics and contents including unpublished pictures and various memorabilia + CD with extra tracks.

Dan Melchior is great randomizer of a musician. Born in the UK, based in the U.S. for the last 20 years, his discography ranges from raw garage rock to avant garde tape collages, visiting a whole lots of other points in between. Exhibit A is his first collaboration with P.G. Six (aka Pat Gubler) the wonderful New England based multi-instrumentalist, who has previously appeared with Wet Tuna (FTR 364), Weeping Bong Band (FTR 313), MV & EE (FTR 167) and Joshua Burkett (FTR 196). This time out P.G. plays keyboards, recorder and electric 12 string guitar, leaving the vocals and acoustic guitar to Brother Melchior.

The material on Exhibit A hearkens back to some of Melchior’s early records, which had a bluesy British simplicity somewhere between Duster Bennett and Sexton Ming. The melodies are fully formed and horribly hook-laden, but theres’s roughness to the textural edges (and riff-qua-riffs) that gives the music an extra layer of surly magnificence. Some of the lyrics are funny as hell. I dare you to resist from smiling while listening to “Never Trust a Man Without Sideburns” or ‘”It Was Good Fun.” And the cover of Creation’s classic “Painterman” is as beautiful example of form-evolution as you’ll find this year. Or any other.

Exhibit A is a great spin from first note to last. There are lots of strange instrumental textures and tropes, all more or less inside the confines of modernist folk invention, and the whole shimmers with a very special kind of light, while still sounding deceptively plain. It’s hard to keep up with Melchior’s many releases and style shifts, but it’s always worth doing. And this one is a pip.

-Byron Coley, 2019