Pop & Rock News

Super beautiful piano songs performed by Dial Record's Christian Naujoks - both as artist and as composer.

I would hope that Jon Lucien is a household name to you, if not welcome, come in sit down and relax. To generify (is that a word) his music is impossible. Spitual folk funk with splashes of Brazilian, Caribbean, soul and Jazz. This 45 was simple, I took the two records I have consistently played for the last 20 years on LP and put them on a 45, both for the first time and both from brand new masters which sound spanking. If you don't have Jon's albums seek them out now, some of the most classic Jazz funk ever...,.

Pretty much one year ago we elated critics, reviewers, and music lovers with an album by the name of Praise Poems. 12 months later we are proud to introduce you to the third volume in this already highly acclaimed series. What Warmth was to the first and Abraham Battat was to the second volume, Feather is their counterpart on Praise Poems 3 (PP3).

When we stumbled across Be Real we immediately knew that this tune was going to be the opener for PP3. Thanks to this wonderful composition we were motivated like in the early days of the label. However we were aware of the fact that we would have to do justice to the above demands, moreover, efforts had to be made to leave our fans (once again) through and through speechless.

And this is what we did. In the same category of Feather's pure beauty are selections by Scott Cunningham, Wanda Stafford, and Toby Cooper. But there is much more to discover. Actually, there is something for everyone. Fans of mid '70s jazz-funk ala Herbie Hancock will be thrilled to hear The Rosewood Trio's West 15th Street Strut or Geoff Tyus' Mt. Vernon Avenue. Vocal jazz aficionados will pick either Shebbi Smart's amazing Love Is Like The First Day Of Spring or Jennie Misty's exotic venture Nature Boy as their albums favourite. And who else could complete the selection better than Abraham Battat. We've rarely heard a vocal jazz tune as melancholy, heavy & downright sinister as this.

Rarity and quality go hand in hand on each of our releases, and PP3 does not make an exception. Even more important is whether a song has been compiled yet. In this case, all but one of them have yet to be compiled elsewhere. The Praise Poems series remains an attempt at a faithful snapshot of this revolutionary music before it began it's inevitable backslide into the bourgeois excesses of the jazz-fusion genre.

Pretty much one year ago we elated critics, reviewers, and music lovers with an album by the name of Praise Poems. 12 months later we are proud to introduce you to the third volume in this already highly acclaimed series. What Warmth was to the first and Abraham Battat was to the second volume, Feather is their counterpart on Praise Poems 3 (PP3).

When we stumbled across Be Real we immediately knew that this tune was going to be the opener for PP3. Thanks to this wonderful composition we were motivated like in the early days of the label. However we were aware of the fact that we would have to do justice to the above demands, moreover, efforts had to be made to leave our fans (once again) through and through speechless.

And this is what we did. In the same category of Feather's pure beauty are selections by Scott Cunningham, Wanda Stafford, and Toby Cooper. But there is much more to discover. Actually, there is something for everyone. Fans of mid '70s jazz-funk ala Herbie Hancock will be thrilled to hear The Rosewood Trio's West 15th Street Strut or Geoff Tyus' Mt. Vernon Avenue. Vocal jazz aficionados will pick either Shebbi Smart's amazing Love Is Like The First Day Of Spring or Jennie Misty's exotic venture Nature Boy as their albums favourite. And who else could complete the selection better than Abraham Battat. We've rarely heard a vocal jazz tune as melancholy, heavy & downright sinister as this.

Rarity and quality go hand in hand on each of our releases, and PP3 does not make an exception. Even more important is whether a song has been compiled yet. In this case, all but one of them have yet to be compiled elsewhere. The Praise Poems series remains an attempt at a faithful snapshot of this revolutionary music before it began it's inevitable backslide into the bourgeois excesses of the jazz-fusion genre.

After many hours I spent among high society buggers at clean mansion parties lately it is time to go back to the streets and crawl through some nasty gin palaces for the real stuff, the dirty, the hot blooded and unrestrained grooves and striking melodies. And so we end up in some hell hole of a backstreet barroom where half dressed beauties dance around the rods and a mean looking bunch of black guys in shiny outfits lounge around the stage and play some steamy and ever pulsating soul and funk with enough dirt beneath the fingernails to prove their ghetto origins. And when I open my eyes again I am here in my comfort zone, the living room of my apartment and I listen to some vinyl turning on my turntable but still shiver from the experience I made in my dream. What is this all about Oliver Sain (1932 - 2003) was a bandleader extraordinaire and brought his crew to play at highest levels while still retaining an honest feeling. Most songs on this first album of his group come as instrumentals with the occasional commanding shout by the master himself and you will for sure recognize a few fairly popular melodies and indeed, there are adaptions of classics like 'Georgia' and the 'Harlem nocturne' played with an enormous dedication which of course goes for all the performances here. Oliver Sain and his band do not just play down their tunes, they live out each note with the fire burning within their hearts. Especially the expressive saxophone playing will leave you as a listener floored. Eruptive lines that could come straight from the vaults of the great late John Coltrane meet a rather relaxed and laid back funk sound, can you dig it There is steam heat and sheer love pouring from these well executed compositions and adaptions. Prices for originals of this rare vinyl go up to 180 Euros, so we can shiver with anticipation to get our hand on the beautiful Funky Planet reissue quite soon. Black music aficionados with a special fondness for 60s and 70s stuff will feel like a child in a sweets shop. It's all good and groovy here.

Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, orchestra leader, digital mixologist, and filmmaker: Kutiman's job description changes by the day. He's been dubbed the prestigious title of being a 'psychedelic funk architect' -- A title Kutiman truly lives up to. But while he may be too modest to agree, everything the talented musician does comes under one general description: pioneer.
Many know Kutiman for his tremendous and innovative YouTube mash-up project, ThruYOU, while others may recognize him for his 2007 acclaimed jazz/funk self-titled debut album, or from his honorable mention in TIME Magazine's 50 best inventions of 2009. This recognition has led to Kutiman performing at YouTube's launch exhibition at The Guggenheim museum in New York City, and to a second ThruYOU series in 2014. Over the past few years, Kutiman has travelled to Krakow, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Riga, and New York, to create original audio/visual montages of each city's atmosphere. More recently, Kutiman been working with The British Council on a musically, culturally, and technologically progressive online music series called Mix The City which showcases Tel Aviv's musical soundscape.
Above all, Kutiman is a unique, soulful and organic musician who enjoys creating music under a wide range of styles.
The celebration of Kutiman's new label Siyal will be kicked off with the release of the limited edition vinyl Space Cassava, a two track mini-album showcasing Kutiman's take on free jazz, complemented with a modern twist. The theme of space, colour, and time honour the fathers of spiritual jazz, bringing out Kutiman's abilities as a musician and composer. Space Cassava creates a new domain in which music has no borders, and is free to react in new and surprising ways.
Kutiman's highly anticipated sophomore album, '6AM' will serve as the official launch for Siyal, and is due to be released in October.
One thing that unites all of Kutiman's projects is that uncommon, low-key inventiveness that is responsible for making him a significant name on the world stage. Kutiman is involved with every step of the creative process, from playing and recording multiple instruments, designing original cover art, to last legs of production.
Google described Kutiman's work with the paraphrase 'the future is a glorious mess.' And boy, were they right.

We invite you to listen to Space Cassava and to experience Kutiman's interstellar vision.

The fourth release from Roland P. Young on EM Records sees him moving ever deeper, earthbound and rooted, yet simultaneously flying further out, expanding his exploration of untethered celestial realms !

This deluxe overview Of Boston's creative jazz scene is packaged in a 8 ½ x 5 ½, 80 page book documenting the rich history of the music with in-depth analyses and photos. Check!
In the 1970s Boston was a fertile ground for a very creative jazz scene. Small, independent venues ranging from lofts to churches to clubs opened up to support this thriving backdrop while jazz musicians set up their own labels. One man was there through it all, playing music and documenting the musical landscape. His name was Mark Harvey and here is his story....

Mark Harvey and Deano Sounds pulled together the most comprehensive package of Boston
Jazz released to date. The album has been assembled as a deluxe package that includes, in
addition to the music, an 80-page book documenting the rich history of this music scene with in-depth analyses and photos of the jazz musicians involved.
The music on this album is culled from rare private press Jazz LPs that were pressed in small
quantities of a few hundred for members of the band and the local jazz community at the time.
The music here runs the gamut of funky jazz from Arnie Cheatham's "Thing" to the deep free jazz
of the Phill Musra Group or the spoken word brilliance of Worlds, to the complex metric structures of Stanton Davis' "Play Sleep." This is a collection of very rare eccentric jazz pieces for your
enjoyment!

A second edition on 2CD for a long-running, popular series that was for many years available only digitally. A stunning line-up of instrumentalists and vocalists with a
seamless soundtrack of 30 tracks guaranteed to enhance - or bring to mind - the relaxing pleasure of a scenic drive.   
Among the highlights are Jonathan Butler's '10 Degrees South', 'A Universal Vibe' by Down To The Bone, 'Winelight' by Jason Miles featuring Gerald Albright, and 'Retro Boy' by Richard Elliot. The vocalists featured include Brenda Russell, India Arie, Hil St Soul and Natalie Williams.

01. Citrus Sun - Tonight We Dance
02. Jonathan Butler - 10 Degrees South
03. Marc Antoine - Bella Via
04. Down To The Bone - Together We Stand
05. Rick Braun - Tijuana Dance
06. Jason Miles feat Gerald Albright - Winelight
07. Bluey - If You Really Wanna
08. Khari Cabral Simmons feat India Arie - Never In Your Sun
09. Jazz Steppers - Full Circle
10. Brian Bromberg - The Girl From Ipanema
11. Mikelyn Roderick - Easy
12. Brenda Russell - The Message
13. Mike Stevens - Jean Pierre
14. Steve Cole - The Look of Love
15. George Duke - So Many Stars
CD TWO
01. Down To The Bone - A Universal Vibe
02. Citrus Sun - What's Going On
03. Marc Antoine - Senor Groove
04. Pat Leacock - Biyah
05. Richard Elliot - Retro Boy
06. Mike Stevens - The Long Road
07. Mikelyn Roderick - Slippin'
08. Wayman Tisdale - One On One
09. Jackiem Joyner - Round The World
10. Richard Elliot - The Lower Road
11. Braxton Brothers - Together
12. Ray Gaskins feat Roy Ayers - Lullabye
13. Hil St Soul feat Marc Antoine - Paradise
14. Brenda Russell - Too Cool For The Room
15. Incognito feat Natalie Williams - The Stars From Here

What do you do afer a journey of musical discovery in Mali and Burkina Faso You go cycling in south-
ern Germany!
That's what Anders Lauge Meldgaard, the man behind the pseudonym Frisk Frugt (translated as 'Fresh
Fruit') did afer fnishing work on his previous album Burkina Faso i det himmelblå rum hvor solen bor,
suite (2010), a record that made his name as one of the champions of experimental music.
Where 'Burkina Faso...' took listeners on a magical musical journey from the African country of its ttle
and back to Denmark, Anders's latest sonic adventure fnds him travelling closer to home. Called Den
Europæiske Spejlbue (English translaton: The European Mirror-Arch), the new album consists of 12
orchestral collages, all revolving around the study of songs in Danish matched up with what you could
call European world music.

Few artists in the music profession are as unclassifiable as Nina Simone. During her long career she tackled material from a variety of styles, garnering an audience that included soul devotees, folk followers, R&B lovers and even jazz buffs. This release helped consolidate Nina's reputation as a singer/musician to be contended with and represents the first of two albums she recorded devoted to the work of one supremely talented individual.

Medline is a musician, producer and DJ from Rennes, France with roots in
Chile. Born Orlando Diaz Corvalan, Medline calls his music brown music - a
mix of afro, latin, funk and jazz with a hip-hop state of mind.

* Remastered from the original tapes
* Essay by 'Punk Professor' Vivien Goldman, interviewing key players
* LP Includes download card for full album + 2 bonus tracks

By the time poet, singer-songwriter, and artist Lizzy Mercier Descloux recorded 1984's Zulu Rock, she'd marked herself out as both a globe trotter with more passport stamps than Tintin and a musical innovator whose loose, arty spirit could be applied to styles as varied as no wave, Bavarian oompa and Soweto jive. She'd also established a tight-knit threesome with muse/former lover Michel Esteban and producer/on-off lover Adam Kidron, who all reunited to follow Zulu Rock - a surprise hit in her native France - with something that, once again, represented a complete about-turn.

The location, this time, was Rio De Janeiro, a suitably exotic location to follow their sojourn in Soweto given that Brazil had recently emerged from twenty years of dictatorship. But unlike Zulu Rock's broad appropriation of the local sound, One For The Soul borrows very liberally from Brazilian culture. The aim, says Kidron, was to "reimagine the blues", but Lizzy's musical essence was in flux. 'A Word Is A Wah" meshes reggae with her beloved accordion, 'Women Don't Like Me' is wild, new wave pop, and she even wanders into soul territory, with whispery lounge versions of Al Green's 'Simply Beautiful'. Most notable is the album's foray into jazz, and the fact that Chet Baker, the master jazz trumpeter, blew his last on 'Fog Horn Blues' and the sensuous 'Off Off Pleasure'.

Rio was to be the last great hurrah of Lizzy and Michel's global recording adventures, and although work proceeded apace, the experience was often quite tense. "The sessions were tough work,' says Kidron, in the new liner notes by Vivien Goldman accompanying this deluxe reissue. 'Lizzy never quite got singing, no matter how much she drank, and no matter how hard she tried. Chet was very much at the drug-ravaged end of his life and had very little stamina or dexterity left... but there is a deep, sad, lyrical tone to his performances on the album.'

So fraught were the sessions, it's a miracle that such a cohesive, sparky record emerged. The record-buying public did not agree, and as the album crashed and burned, so did the relationship between its three heroes. Lizzy was, for the first time, about to take on the world alone - and there was but one album left in her.

One of the most powerful modern jazz sextets ever! The legendary Bill Evans leads a stellar combo! Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard is at his peak of performance, while alto saxophonists Oliver Nelson and Eric Dolphy (Nelson doubling on tenor) team to form an unlikely union that was simmered to perfection. Paul Chambers (bass), and Roy Haynes (drums) can do no wrong as a rhythm section.

First edition of 500 numbered copies.

Welcome to the king of Underwater Italian Libraries. This is Fabio "Fabor" Borgazzi AQUARIUM, totally amazing Underwater Modal Jazz & Lounge album with loads of vintage Electronic keyboards, marine echoes, whirling organs, weird Undewater synthesizers, Jazzy drumming and so on... This record is clearly one Holy Grail, a bunch of Lascivious tracks wich semplicity let the listeners enjoyment idea grow out so smoothly that after many delightful replay we take it like a Perfect Masterpiece.

For seven summers, Philip and Stephanie Barber, the proprietors of the Music Inn, a rambling, relaxed summer resort outside of Lenox, have been offering their guests panel discussions of jazz and folk music. (...) Complementing these discussions, the Barbers have staged jazz and folk music concerts in their Music Barn (...)

During the summer of 1956, the Jazz program at Music Inn was broadened. The Modern Jazz Quartet was invited to be the Inn's 'jazz group in residence' for the last three weeks in August, not to perform (although they did give two concerts) but to have an opportunity to prepare new material, rehearse, explore new ideas and to take a physical and spiritual breather(...)

The musicians who took part were from all schools and periods of jazz: Wilbur de Paris, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Giuffre and Teday Charles; Pee Wee Russell, Max Roach, Bill Russo and Charlie Mingus; Sammy Price, Rex Stewart, Oscar Pettiford and Teo Macero and many others (...) (from the original liner notes)


First edition of 500 numbered copies.

Antoine or Tonio Rubio has been an ever busy musician, composer and performer since the early 1960s in the French scene as far as one gets information on this man. He performed with LES GOLDEN STARS in the 60s and had gone solo by 1973 when he recorded the album reviewed here. And it is a fantastic album if you love black funk music from the dirty back roads of big American cities mixed with electric jazz and fusion rock that once was hot by the time it was initially developed out of the slowly fading free jazz of the later 1960s. Both directions join together on this record in an utterly captivating way making this album become a journey through landscapes of sound rather than a collection of musical pieces. The tunes are mostly instrumental with a few wordless choirs and voice performances thrown in here and there in support of the delicate instrumental arrangements that are able to conjure an atmosphere so haunting and obscure it may swallow your soul. But there is much more to experience here. Funny pop tunes as well as devastating dance tunes that make you spin around like mad and when Tonio Rubio and his band let their creativity discharge into these hypnotic funk tunes each listener will be grooving and moving. This is a rather colorful record made to get you into the groove. Other than that it would be appropriate background music for 1970s action and crime movies if not even erotic flicks. Everything here is well performed and the sound for this reissue has been carefully restored. So be welcome to explore the smoldering dark psyche jazz corners and the dead end streets where dirty ghetto funk eruptions pour out from the smokey clubs with Tonio Rubio and his nameless companions.

Repress.

Take one of the oldest library labels of the world, entrust its incomparable catalogue to the expert hands of two records scouts and sampling enthusiasts, and you get Cavendish Rarities, an exceptional 12-inch vinyl gathering brilliant producers who made the reputation of this prestigious Music Library founded in London in 1937.
For the first time for Beatsqueeze Records, Mister Modo and Ugly Mac Beer have selected 13 original tracks impregnated with vintage spirit and cinematographic atmospheres, signed with Cavendish in the 70's by Trevor Duncan, Ray Davies or Dennis Farnon.
A unique compilation on vinyl only edited by two passionate crate diggers, for all music lovers in perpetual quest of rare pearls and fans of great old school sound!

Original 70's Tracks From Cavendish Music Library
Selected By Mister Modo & Ugly Mac Beer

p&c Cavendish under licence to Beatsqueeze Records 2015

All tracks Published by Cavendish Music Library

Okay, as the title already suggests, this compilation is made entirely of early 70s library music which was recorded for so called music libraries from whose stores, movie makers and TV producers could license certain titles for their productions. In most cases the compositions were a conglomerate of popular music genres such as funk, psychedelic, rock and soul. I have experienced a few French productions of that kind before, but now it is time for some Italian stuff. I am quite pleased with the turnout of this compilation. The material grooves and steams throughout the whole record. There are mind ripping fuzzed out guitar leads that push you into a state of trance from which you may hardly escape. It begins quite relaxed with a composition of Giuliano Sorgini aka RASKOVIC, a prolific face in the Italian scene who has also worked with Alessandro Alessandrini aka BRAEN (psychedelic and prog freaks may know the project BRAEN'S MACHINE). The song itself is a good start to warm up your lazy bones with a straight beat, nice acoustic guitars, organ and piano lines. The organ replaces the vocals in this case as the lead melody maker. Easy to groove along and easy to enjoy. Stefano Torossi brings in a forceful beat and striking bass line ornamented with a laid back psychedelic lead guitar and a few spacey sound effects. The fuzzed out lead guitar will melt your soul while your body shakes from the rhythmical impulses of bass and drums. Feels like typical exploito psyche from that era, a straight composition forcing up constantly until it breaks down. If Amedeo Tommasi had added vocals to his composition, it would have been a typical steaming white boy northern soul hit as you may expect it from the British or American late 60s scene, think of STEAM with their Nana hey hey kiss him goodbye' anthem. The organ swirls and flashes around on a hard pumping, highly energetic rhythmical base made up of a hypnotic bass line, an explosive drumming and an aggressive electric piano. Gianni Mazza next takes it a bit more easily with a smoothly floating tune that shows this wonderful bloopy fuzz lead guitar late 1960s acid pop brought to fame. The power of the rhythms increases, some playful intersections appear and the lead guitarist goes wild. The drummer must be a true beast. Phreakin' awesome. It is a steady up and down of dynamics here that leaves no air to breathe for you. NARASSA whose real name is Alessandro Brugnolini takes the thread where Gianni Mazza left it with an ever grooving rhythm section, a heavy organ to back up the buzzing fuzzed out rhythm guitars and a totally loose acid rock lead guitar. Where is my mind gone by now Oh, do not ask, it is just gone with the flow of colors. If I wanted I could go on raving about this beautiful piece of music now, a compilation of the hottest library groove rock tunes from the early 70s but I rather tell you that all following tracks are in a similar vein as the first five compositions and definitely such a joy to dive into as a friend of funk influenced exploito acid rock and beat. Each not gets played with an enormous passion and the simmering lead guitars are for sure not of this earth. We would surely know the one or another participating instrumentalist from some of the bigger Italian rock heroes of the era but I have no real clue who plays on this compilation except for the composers' and project leaders' names. Anyway, this will capture your soul and let you freak out throughout the whole playing time. Dance your mind away.

The great bassist Oscar Pettiford live in Hamburg 1958, second chapter. Fine melange of modern mainstream, cool jazz and hard bop, with Jimmy Pratt (dr), Hans Koller (ts), Dusko Goykovich (tp), Michel Hausser (vib), Attila Zoller (g), Roger Guerin (tp) and Armin Rusch (p), heard here in a second previously unknown Pettiford session from Germany. Comes as carefully mastered longplay CD and 2-LP vinyl set (gatefold), including photos of the event by Susanne Schapowalow and new liner notes by Arne Reimer, with Goykovich and Hausser sharing their memories of the time. Certainly Pettiford's best recorded live performance on the European jazz scene in excellent sound quality!

The great bassist Oscar Pettiford live in Hamburg 1958, second chapter. Fine melange of modern mainstream, cool jazz and hard bop, with Jimmy Pratt (dr), Hans Koller (ts), Dusko Goykovich (tp), Michel Hausser (vib), Attila Zoller (g), Roger Guerin (tp) and Armin Rusch (p), heard here in a second previously unknown Pettiford session from Germany. Comes as carefully mastered longplay CD and 2-LP vinyl set (gatefold), including photos of the event by Susanne Schapowalow and new liner notes by Arne Reimer, with Goykovich and Hausser sharing their memories of the time. Certainly Pettiford's best recorded live performance on the European jazz scene in excellent sound quality!

50 years ago, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass released the iconic album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights. In celebration of its momentous 50th anniversary, this classic of American pop music is once again available on CD and vinyl, remastered and better than ever!
Sales/ Marketing / Promo Points:
50 years ago, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass released the iconic album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights. In celebration of its momentous 50th anniversary, this classic of American pop music is once again available on CD and vinyl, remastered and better than ever!

... And they are four! Parma Brass released his fourth CD, and betting everything on "live": Swingin 'Christmas is not just a collection, but a real live concert in which one you'll find gospel and spiritual songs, arranged by the group to create a unique sound with the beautiful voices of ELENA GIARDINA and FABRIZIO BERTA. The recurring themes are that of Christmas, from White Christmas until to Oh Happy Day, but there are incursions in the musical, with pages from Sister Act, and in the large repertoire of songs badged Burt Bacarach.

Ein weiterer Schub Frank Sinatra Vinyle. Diesmal "Come Dance With Me" und "Come Swing With Me".
Remastered und auf 180g Vinyl inkl. Download-Voucher.

Ken Vandermark - reeds
Christof Kurzmann - electronics [loopp]
Jasper Stadhouders - bass
Tim Daisy - drums

One of the 'main' groups of saxophonist extraordinaire. Ken Vandermark,
New album, new bassist; and even more energetic. Made to Break's live performances amazed audiences all over Europe and North America, which will continue this fall, accompanied by their new record 'Before The Code'.
Quartet instrumentation constituting the basis for improvisation of unprecedented flexibility and immediacy, making Made to Break a unique act in the world of free jazz.

Recorded by Christoph Amann, on November 11th, 2014, at Amann Studios, Vienna.

Harry Pussy emerged out of the Florida swamps in 1993. Formed by Adris Hoyos and Bill Orcutt, the duo became legendary for their volatile live shows, which often devolved into violent clashes with audience members. Obliterating the lines between hardcore, noise and free jazz, the unclassifiable Harry Pussy were at once all of these things and none of them.

Originally released on Siltbreeze, their self-titled debut album reveals an antagonistic and visceral approach to music: Hoyos' self-taught, wild-style drums and shrouded screams tangling with Orcutt's high tension blues guitar. As David Keenan writes in the liner notes, "Harry Pussy played at such a heightened speed-of-thought climactic future-primitive peak that they outstripped technique so completely that people thought they couldn't actually play at all."

From the opening blasts of "Youth Problem" to the spasmodic, electro-convulsive take on Kraftwerk's "Showroom Dummies," Harry Pussy is an absurd and devastating statement. Twenty-plus years later, rock'n'roll's collective ears are still ringing. This long out-of-print vinyl release is recommended for fans of The Dead C, Royal Trux and Mars.

A gritty bodacious masterpiece!
Johnny Cash With His Hot and Blue Guitar was not only Cash's debut album, it was also the first full-length LP released by Sun. The LP's twelve tracks include one side of his debut single, 'Cry, Cry, Cry,' along with two of his best-known recordings, 'Folsom Prison Blues' and 'I Walk the Line.' Backed by 'The Tennessee Two,' Luther Perkins on guitar and Marshall Grant on bass, the tracks are spare, direct and intense. Cash's distinctive 'boom-chicka' rhythm propels every song as his commanding voice captures and holds the listener.

Though Cash had been at Columbia for several years by the time this LP was originally released, he recorded and released such a tremendous amount of music between 1955 and 1958 at Sun Studios in Memphis, that Sun Records was releasing his work long after he had defected to a new label. Featuring 12 fantastic recordings with his Tennessee Two and others, including The Ballad Of A Teenage Queen', his wonderful take on Goodnight Irene', and the immortal Big River'. Repressed in a beautiful limited edition picture disc LP on DOXY.

ambiq, the Berliner instrumental trio of Max Loderbauer, Claudio Puntin and Samuel Rohrer, emerged onto the scene not long ago with a self-titled arjunamusic LP (AM703) of impressive sonic distinctiveness and technical ability. Drinking from a deep pool of influences that includes free improv, early electronic music and spaced-out dub, the trio does what any great ensemble should set out to do: it becomes more than the sum of its parts, a single organism with its own unique expressive vocabulary and perspective. Proving that their debut was no fluke, the ambiq trio has already re-convened for a second full length bubbling over with new timbral combinations, and with a sophisticated interpretation of the ancient art of tension and release.
From the opener "The Spur," no time is wasted ushering us to our seats and bringing us to a world where strange new tonalities seem to breathe freely: the nimble percussive shuffle, set in relief against a cascade of detuning electronic tones, is a fascinatingly introspective intro (incidentally, it is actually followed by a piece entitled "Introspective Kitchen," which expands the mood of the preceding track with cleverly delay-effected woodwind, remote organ swells and yet more shivering percussion.) Once the lessons from these preliminary exercises have sunk in, the band then embarks on a more motoring, danceable journey entitled "The Mother": Rohrer's drumming, as always, is taut and confident, while Puntin's clarinet evocatively hovers with a kosmische feel that is all too absent from the realms of "post-rock" and electronics-aided improv.
The interplay between Puntin and Rohrer eventually develops into the main dialogue of the album, though the sound events surrounding it change continuously enough to keep this a fully memorable and downright cinematic experience. On "Parton's Double Vision", the lush "space violin" quavers familiar to vintage sci-fi fans play the support role, and the closing "Consolation" features a lulling bed of electronics that elusively shift in character the more attention one pays to them. With all this in mind, the new ambiq LP is as wonderfully cohesive as its predecessor, but never monotonous in the mood it conveys: the miniature piece "Naked George," for example, is as full of humorous melody as the other pieces are full of investigative curiosity. Another short piece, "Mytoprill," is guided by queasy modular synth strains that impart a delirious kind of funhouse ambience.
Plenty of music exists for the open-minded, but not all of it has the ability to initiate the process of opening minds in the first place. ambiq does have that ability, and have come up with a musical formula that will melt away the defenses of the most hardened techno fanatic or avant-gardist, seeding new ideas not beholden to any one genre or lifestyle.
REMIXES of this album by Margaret Dygas & Thomas Fehlmann will be released in 2016. (AMEL-EP710)

Darkjazz/ Experimental/ Electro. This split consitutes an exciting collaboration of these two French experimental/avant-garde/dark jazz acts. In mutual respect and appreciation, both DALE COOPER QUARTET and WITXES selected a track of their split companion and created a fundamental and independent rework of around 20 minutes length. Based upon parts of Witxes' ""The Apparel"" -- from the last album ""A Fabric of Beliefs"" -- and afternoon summer recording sessions, the DALE COOPER QUARTET's ""Le Strategie Saint-Frusquin"" contains the classic sounds of the Quartet: ambient soundscapes, lazy jazzy rhythms, drone and distorsion guitar and a deep saxophone breath. Being mostly instrumental, the deep tone of Ronan Mac Erlaine's voice comes to ease the stormy start of the music piece. A grainy and blissful track that resembles music coming through of a 50s radio speaker, letting dark jazz flooding the room. ""Pisces Analogue"" is a new WITXES piece based on ""Nourrain Quinquet"", a track from ""Quatorze pieces de menaces"" by Dale Cooper Quartet & the Dictaphones. In five movements, the track explores the interstices and cracks of the dark, minimalist, lurking, cycle-evolving original piece. It offers to take a look at some of its nooks, focus on a few of its endless micro-universes and jump from one to another in a flash. Just like swimming in a puzzling dream. If there is anything in common with previous Witxes output, it is a strong sense of motion as well as narration to be seized by the listener. Though this piece uses heavily processed instruments takes from ""Nourrain Quinquet"" as well as a few typical Witxes field recordings, it is Witxes most synthetic work to date. It was written, recorded and mixed in 3 weeks during summer of 2014 in Lyon and co-produced by Michael Mysak. CD: digipak, Vinyl: thick gatefold sleeves, 180g vinyl, different colors, free download code.

The jazz genre spawned a couple of quite colorful subspecies that were part of important pop cultural movements to let the ordinary man escape from the daily grind. Two of the most prolific pop jazz spheres were Exotica Music which accompanies with the Tiki Culture omnipresent throughout the 50s and early 60s and Space Age Music, a rather pop oriented accessible style with hints of swing and vocal jazz spiced up with quite mind altering sound effects. 'Moon gas', a cooperation between pianist / organist Dick Hyman and singer Mary Mayo, hits the center of the space age genre directly and shows a diversity of aspects from rather dreamy tunes with melancholic and really haunting vocal melodies courtesy of Mrs. Mayo to groovy, swinging compositions that invite you for an easy dance. Still you have to turn your mind from all these strange little sounds that whistle and sparkle around the rather uncomplicated easy listening jazz pop compositions. The songs alone would certainly be on par with the best contemporary hit tunes of their age but what really makes them outstanding is this combination with the sound world of a space laboratory or commando bridge of a starship. 1963 definitely was a year where the USA found themselves in a challenge with the Soviet Union about the predominance in space so this type of music fit well with the dreams of the average man to explore distant galaxies even it was only in his mind. About six or seven years later when psychedelic rock had reached a peak and the music was ready to leave the earth behind these early sounds were developed into space rock by groups such as Hawkwind. In 1963 we are still far away from this and what Dick Hyman, Mary Mayo and their fellow, yet unnamed band members create is a rather smooth and calm affair that still pushes your mind towards certain borders of reality. All these funny noises transport you into a world of huge computers with flashing lights onboard of interstellar space ships traveling from one galaxy to the next. You will get a feeling that this album contains nothing but vocal jazz music with a cooled down temper beyond all the arrangements of bleeping, rattling and swooshing. But I am certain you will be enchanted by all the sweet melodies right away and soon drift into a futuristic dream when you spin this little record. The musicians interact tight and professional while Mary Mayo sings with a very distinctive and harmonic style which pets your senses. If you want to take a relaxed trip to the stars I invite you to grab a copy of this classic album.

ambiq, the Berliner instrumental trio of Max Loderbauer, Claudio Puntin and Samuel Rohrer, emerged onto the scene not long ago with a self-titled arjunamusic LP (AM703) of impressive sonic distinctiveness and technical ability. Drinking from a deep pool of influences that includes free improv, early electronic music and spaced-out dub, the trio does what any great ensemble should set out to do: it becomes more than the sum of its parts, a single organism with its own unique expressive vocabulary and perspective. Proving that their debut was no fluke, the ambiq trio has already re-convened for a second full length bubbling over with new timbral combinations, and with a sophisticated interpretation of the ancient art of tension and release.
From the opener "The Spur," no time is wasted ushering us to our seats and bringing us to a world where strange new tonalities seem to breathe freely: the nimble percussive shuffle, set in relief against a cascade of detuning electronic tones, is a fascinatingly introspective intro (incidentally, it is actually followed by a piece entitled "Introspective Kitchen," which expands the mood of the preceding track with cleverly delay-effected woodwind, remote organ swells and yet more shivering percussion.) Once the lessons from these preliminary exercises have sunk in, the band then embarks on a more motoring, danceable journey entitled "The Mother": Rohrer's drumming, as always, is taut and confident, while Puntin's clarinet evocatively hovers with a kosmische feel that is all too absent from the realms of "post-rock" and electronics-aided improv.
The interplay between Puntin and Rohrer eventually develops into the main dialogue of the album, though the sound events surrounding it change continuously enough to keep this a fully memorable and downright cinematic experience. On "Parton's Double Vision", the lush "space violin" quavers familiar to vintage sci-fi fans play the support role, and the closing "Consolation" features a lulling bed of electronics that elusively shift in character the more attention one pays to them. With all this in mind, the new ambiq LP is as wonderfully cohesive as its predecessor, but never monotonous in the mood it conveys: the miniature piece "Naked George," for example, is as full of humorous melody as the other pieces are full of investigative curiosity. Another short piece, "Mytoprill," is guided by queasy modular synth strains that impart a delirious kind of funhouse ambience.
Plenty of music exists for the open-minded, but not all of it has the ability to initiate the process of opening minds in the first place. ambiq does have that ability, and have come up with a musical formula that will melt away the defenses of the most hardened techno fanatic or avant-gardist, seeding new ideas not beholden to any one genre or lifestyle.
REMIXES of this album by Margaret Dygas & Thomas Fehlmann will be released in 2016. (AMEL-EP710)