Pop & Rock News

Jess Williamson's Heart Song is a brave record. It explores the strength in vulnerability, the power in
silence and empty space. The recordings bristle with energy and confidence while maintaining the
intense intimacy Williamson is known for. Like the visceral desert landscape that inspires her, she
knows when to let her vocals drift across the song, light like a tumbleweed, and when to, like the
fiercest of Texas storms, unleash thunder and lightning with her band.
Williamson's sophomore album, Heart Song, questions the structures of support inherent in the
comforts of home and showcases the rare kind of artistry that is the hardest to achieve after early
success: change.
On the opener Say It', Heart Song eases the listener into a groove before the song cracks open and
floods the landscape with squall and noise and thunder, announcing that Heart Song is not the same
album as it's predecessor, that this work is not only the next logical step in Williamson's evolution, it is
also a leap forward for her as an artist.
On the album's centerpiece and title track Williamson wonders aloud, Will I grow into my body' but no
one listening to her music, her poetry, will doubt her growth.
Heart Song was recorded direct to tape in Austin, TX by Eric Wofford (The Black Angels, Bill Callahan)
at Cacophany Studios and by the band in Jess's house. It was mixed by Larry Crane (Elliott Smith,
Sleater-Kinney, Cat Power) at Jackpot Recording in Portland, OR.
For fans of: Laura Gibson, Alela Diane, Angel Olsen, Wovenhand, Jessica Pratt, Cat Power, Palace
Brothers

Set up by producer Ben Okonkwo in 1973, the BEN label, and its offshoot Clover Sounds, broke some of the biggest bands outside of Lagos. The Apostles, Akwassa, The Doves, Mary Afi Usuah and Aktion all got their start in the cramped studio in the commercial heart of Aba. The least known - and arguably one of the best bands on the label - was The Visitors. For a short, sweet time between 1975 and 1978, The Visitors were creating the most righteous sounds in the East. We're talking deep afro-funk with generous dollops of rock psych fuzz synth madness. My Good Friends, their second album, find them at the height of their powers. The musicianship throughout the album is extraordinary. Check out the synth and guitar wig out on 'Here We Come Brothers' and the searing guitar break that scorches the slinky groove of the title track. This album is impossibly hard to find and selling for high prices, one seller justified the high asking price by arguing that once you let this record in your bones, it's not coming back out.' Thanks to the good guys at PMG, your bones can now get the good stuff for considerably less.

Set up by producer Ben Okonkwo in 1973, the BEN label, and its offshoot Clover Sounds, broke some of the biggest bands outside of Lagos. The Apostles, Akwassa, The Doves, Mary Afi Usuah and Aktion all got their start in the cramped studio in the commercial heart of Aba. The least known - and arguably one of the best bands on the label - was The Visitors. For a short, sweet time between 1975 and 1978, The Visitors were creating the most righteous sounds in the East. We're talking deep afro-funk with generous dollops of rock psych fuzz synth madness. My Good Friends, their second album, find them at the height of their powers. The musicianship throughout the album is extraordinary. Check out the synth and guitar wig out on 'Here We Come Brothers' and the searing guitar break that scorches the slinky groove of the title track. This album is impossibly hard to find and selling for high prices, one seller justified the high asking price by arguing that once you let this record in your bones, it's not coming back out.' Thanks to the good guys at PMG, your bones can now get the good stuff for considerably less.

Blind Owl Wilson was a truly great guitarist and vocalist whose deep well of psychedelic blues songs were buried amongst the catalogue of major label rockin' blues band Canned Heat. He served as the band's guitarist and would chip in a song here and there as a front man. A couple of those songs were huge hits in the 60s - "Going Up The Country" and "On The Road Again". Blind Owl's songs for Canned Heat stood in stark contrast to the bands blustery blues rock - his was a gentle and nuanced voice and the themes of his song were all about personal heartbreak, grasping for cosmic understanding, and ecological justice. Here we have an LP of Blind Owl's songs from Canned Heat's records - left to sit alone and take you somewhere unexpected. Blind Owl's personal quest can be heard throughout these songs. "Poor Moon' tells the tale of Alan's heartbreak as he watches the moon being misguidedly bombed by man, 'My time ain't long' confronts death, "Parthenogen in 3 Blind Owls' and 'Parthenogen Childs End' take you to the psychedelic limits, and, we have the hit tunes on here too. Co-release with Sutro Park records. A true psychedelic masterpiece!

A most unusual & stunning album. Tsege Mariam Gebru is an Ethiopian nun who has dedicated her life to helping others. She has been composing & playing music on the piano since the 1960's. Her music is a unique mix of Western classcial music in the vein of Erik Satie, Ethiopian music & Religious Christian meditation music. On this reissue of her first LP, we find Tsege Mariam Gebru playing her own compositions solo on piano. She plays with restrained grace & purity & is filled with spiritual warmth.

Early gospel recordings from 1927 - 1955, of sanctified blues by the Two Gospel Keys, Mother McCollum, Blind Rosevelt Graves, Lottie Bracey, Sister O.M Terrell & Rev. IB Ware, Slow country gospel by the Anglin & Delmore Brothers, intense vocal performances by the New Gospel Keys, Elder Richard Briant & the Silent Grove Baptist Church Congregation, & more. This LP rocks hard & gets deep & sad too.

Arguably West Africa's best-kept secret, the band's output both in quantity and quality was astonishing. During several trips to Benin Analog Africa label boss Samy Ben Redjeb managed to collect roughly 500 songs which Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou had recorded between 1970 and 1983. With so much material to choose from Ben Redjeb decided to split it into Volumes 1 and 2.
While Volume 2 will be material the band recorded under an exclusive contract with the label Albarika Store, the band also secretly' recorded with an array of smaller labels based around Cotonou, Benin's largest city, and the capital city of Porto Novo. It is those tracks (all officially licensed) that are presented here on Volume 1.

Take funk, soul, psychedelia and rumba, mix it up with a thick dose of heavy local rhythms and throw everything in a Benin grinder. The brew is then mixed up with hypnotic Farfisa solos, gritty guitar riffs, distorted bass lines, warm horns and the result, of exorcizing proportion, will lead to frenetic body movements. Some people bang their heads,others jerk their feet or feel an urgent need to get up and start shaking their hips. One thing is common, though, to everyone who submits their ears to a spinning record by the mighty Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou: you simply can't stand still. And this new compilation is proof of that - here are 14 funky tracks by the legendary ensemble fromBenin that has been deemed as West-Africa's best kept secret,' or as the The D.N.A. of voodoo groove'.

On 2012's The Marble Downs, Bonnie Prince Billy provided vocals for an album of songs by Trembling Bells. It was a fruitful meeting of mind and voice, but one that promised the real bounty when those songs were taken on the road.

That was delivered in summer of that year when the Bells & Bonnie revue brought their own brand of rolling thunder to parts of the UK. This live album, The Bonnie Bells Of Oxford, captures the highlights of one of those special shows on vinyl and CD.

The transatlantic recording of The Marble Downs is now distilled to a room on one night in Oxford town, and the force of the songs and performance concentrated similarly. It stands as a more genuinely collaborative record than its predecessor, with songs drawn from the oeuvres of both artists and reworked with a joyous spontaneity. Tensions are dissolved in this heady brew, between warring lovers, goat and ram, dark and light, heaven & hell, country and folk, this world and the next, a rhapsodic dialectic embodied by the ouborous vocals of Bonnie Billy & Lavinia Blackwall. It's a giddy whirling carnival ride over all too soon, which is the supreme advantage of having this on vinyl, when dizzy and reeling and eager for more, just wheel it up and go again.



No live album can substitute for the precious fleetingness of music heard live but the best of them can offer something else, a document, recorded proof almost that something special was created on that stage on that night by those musicians in front of that audience. More importantly, a chance to create and hear something special yourself every time you spin this record.

The Analog Africa label delves into the amazing history of music from 1970s Benin and Togo.
This compilation highlights forgotten raw and psychedelic Afro sounds, and the well-researched liner notes tell fascinating stories to accompany the mind-blowing music. The essence of Analog Africa is clear, searching in dusty warehouses for forgotten music to keep the sound alive!

Immortal Light is the debut solo album by guitarist-singer-songwriter Buck Curran. Since 2005, Buck has recorded and performed as one half of the alt-folk duo Arborea. To date, Arborea has released five albums, including 2013's ESP-Disk' release Fortress of the Sun, and produced two various- artist compilations (Leaves of Life: a benefit for the World Food Program and We Are All One, In the Sun: a tribute to Robbie Basho). Buck has also produced a second tribute to Robbie Basho, Basket Full of Dragons, for release on July 5, 2016 on Obsolete Recordings.

Buck's music has developed through a decade of playing with Arborea and the experience of playing Blues and Folk throughout the 1990s. He also draws inspiration from the deep well of Folk and Rock of the 1960s (Robbie Basho, Jimi Hendrix, Tim Buckley), American Blues and Folk music of the 1930s, British Folk and Psychedelic Folk/Rock of the '60s and early '70s (Peter Green, Sandy Denny, Pentangle, Davey Graham, Nick Drake, Led Zeppelin, Martin Simpson), Indian Classical music (Pandit Nikhil Banerjee), and Jazz of the '50s and '60s (Ornette
Coleman and John Coltrane).

Buck Curran says:

The genesis of Immortal Light came about in 2014 during some downtime I had in Maine between tours with Arborea that year. After being half of the psych-folk duo Arborea for nearly a decade, and also being a key songwriter as well as instrumentalist, there was a natural evolution towards creating my first solo album. So during 2014 I was spending a lot of time down by the Androscoggin River near my home, and those sojourns became the catalyst for the album. It was the perfect place for clearing my mind and inspiring creativity...and every time I went down to the river, music seemed to instantly flow in my mind in such a natural, spontaneous way. Sometimes just music would come, other times it might just be poetic lyrics, or a combination of both. It was all very inspiring in such an enigmatic way. I'd always end up rushing home right away after, to grab the guitar and find the music I'd been imagining down the by the water. Oceans, streams and rivers are forever inspiring me artistically, as does the ocean of the universe and the stars, in turn always leading me to create music that reflects the eternal flowing of their waters and space, and the ethereal mystery they symbolize—all these things making up the spiritual essence of my poetry, lyrics, and music. The idea of using the image of Pluto for the cover of Immortal Light is related to the astrology of Pluto and how it represents transformation, renewal and rebirth. Outside a deep focus on prose poetry and songwriting, both the acoustic guitar and electric guitar are fundamental to my music, they both present different possibilities and landscapes of sound. I mostly compose and play the acoustic guitar in a melodic and improvisational way using alternate or modal tunings which provide tonal colors (through the use of sustain, sympathetic overtones and dissonances of musical notes) and creates musical elements which are more aligned with the ragas of Classical Indian music, music that was created to invoke and awaken deep moods and feelings. These are also the same musical elements which, in the 1960s and '70s, inspired American musician Robbie Basho and British acoustic guitarist Davey Graham. Sitarist Pandit Nikhil Banerjee has definitely been a vital inspiration to me, along with Basho, Graham, and Martin Simpson. I play electric guitar in alternate tunings as well (often with a slide or Ebow), but mostly focus on using it as a melodic voice in the way violin players create music or how singers use their voices.

Peter Green, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors have all been artistic guiding lights for me over the years, both in respect to the poetry of their words and the musical voices conjured with their electric guitars. My music and poetry are primarily influenced by landscapes of nature and have developed through a decade of playing with Arborea and the years prior playing blues and folk, as well as many years reading the inspired and mystical writings of Dylan Thomas, John Keats, Arthur Rimbaud, and Jack Kerouac.

Immortal Light is the debut solo album by guitarist-singer-songwriter Buck Curran. Since 2005, Buck has recorded and performed as one half of the alt-folk duo Arborea. To date, Arborea has released five albums, including 2013's ESP-Disk' release Fortress of the Sun, and produced two various- artist compilations (Leaves of Life: a benefit for the World Food Program and We Are All One, In the Sun: a tribute to Robbie Basho). Buck has also produced a second tribute to Robbie Basho, Basket Full of Dragons, for release on July 5, 2016 on Obsolete Recordings.

Buck's music has developed through a decade of playing with Arborea and the experience of playing Blues and Folk throughout the 1990s. He also draws inspiration from the deep well of Folk and Rock of the 1960s (Robbie Basho, Jimi Hendrix, Tim Buckley), American Blues and Folk music of the 1930s, British Folk and Psychedelic Folk/Rock of the '60s and early '70s (Peter Green, Sandy Denny, Pentangle, Davey Graham, Nick Drake, Led Zeppelin, Martin Simpson), Indian Classical music (Pandit Nikhil Banerjee), and Jazz of the '50s and '60s (Ornette
Coleman and John Coltrane).

Buck Curran says:

The genesis of Immortal Light came about in 2014 during some downtime I had in Maine between tours with Arborea that year. After being half of the psych-folk duo Arborea for nearly a decade, and also being a key songwriter as well as instrumentalist, there was a natural evolution towards creating my first solo album. So during 2014 I was spending a lot of time down by the Androscoggin River near my home, and those sojourns became the catalyst for the album. It was the perfect place for clearing my mind and inspiring creativity...and every time I went down to the river, music seemed to instantly flow in my mind in such a natural, spontaneous way. Sometimes just music would come, other times it might just be poetic lyrics, or a combination of both. It was all very inspiring in such an enigmatic way. I'd always end up rushing home right away after, to grab the guitar and find the music I'd been imagining down the by the water. Oceans, streams and rivers are forever inspiring me artistically, as does the ocean of the universe and the stars, in turn always leading me to create music that reflects the eternal flowing of their waters and space, and the ethereal mystery they symbolize—all these things making up the spiritual essence of my poetry, lyrics, and music. The idea of using the image of Pluto for the cover of Immortal Light is related to the astrology of Pluto and how it represents transformation, renewal and rebirth. Outside a deep focus on prose poetry and songwriting, both the acoustic guitar and electric guitar are fundamental to my music, they both present different possibilities and landscapes of sound. I mostly compose and play the acoustic guitar in a melodic and improvisational way using alternate or modal tunings which provide tonal colors (through the use of sustain, sympathetic overtones and dissonances of musical notes) and creates musical elements which are more aligned with the ragas of Classical Indian music, music that was created to invoke and awaken deep moods and feelings. These are also the same musical elements which, in the 1960s and '70s, inspired American musician Robbie Basho and British acoustic guitarist Davey Graham. Sitarist Pandit Nikhil Banerjee has definitely been a vital inspiration to me, along with Basho, Graham, and Martin Simpson. I play electric guitar in alternate tunings as well (often with a slide or Ebow), but mostly focus on using it as a melodic voice in the way violin players create music or how singers use their voices.

Peter Green, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors have all been artistic guiding lights for me over the years, both in respect to the poetry of their words and the musical voices conjured with their electric guitars. My music and poetry are primarily influenced by landscapes of nature and have developed through a decade of playing with Arborea and the years prior playing blues and folk, as well as many years reading the inspired and mystical writings of Dylan Thomas, John Keats, Arthur Rimbaud, and Jack Kerouac.

On their second eponymous album released by Saravah in 1974, percussionist Nana Vasconcellos joined Mahjun's line up on the 13 :40 minutes long track « la ville pue » & « fin janvier ». Their politico folk prog sound then moved to an ethnic flavoured psychedelic fusion. First time reissue of this classic and inflential album licenced by Saravah.

Blue Vinyl Limited Edition.
On their second eponymous album released by Saravah in 1974, percussionist Nana Vasconcellos joined Mahjun's line up on the 13 :40 minutes long track « la ville pue » & « fin janvier ». Their politico folk prog sound then moved to an ethnic flavoured psychedelic fusion. First time reissue of this classic and inflential album licenced by Saravah.

Bobo Yéyé: Belle Époque in Upper Volta From his studio in central Bobo-Dioulasso, photographer Sory Sanlé documented a nation's transformation from colonial foothold to cosmopolitan oasis. Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta provides an intimate look into the landlocked nation's pop culture explosion of the 1970s. A melange of community elders and emboldened youth spill from the brightly lit confines of Sanlé's Volta Photo into the dimly lit nightclubs of Upper Volta's cultural capital. Accompanying this hardbound monograph are dozens of rare and evocative recordings spread over three discs by Bobo-Dioulasso's musical titans: Volta Jazz, Dafra Star, Echo Del Africa, and Les Imbattables Léopards.

Bobo Yéyé: Belle Époque in Upper Volta From his studio in central Bobo-Dioulasso, photographer Sory Sanlé documented a nation's transformation from colonial foothold to cosmopolitan oasis. Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta provides an intimate look into the landlocked nation's pop culture explosion of the 1970s. A melange of community elders and emboldened youth spill from the brightly lit confines of Sanlé's Volta Photo into the dimly lit nightclubs of Upper Volta's cultural capital. Accompanying this hardbound monograph are dozens of rare and evocative recordings spread over three discs by Bobo-Dioulasso's musical titans: Volta Jazz, Dafra Star, Echo Del Africa, and Les Imbattables Léopards.

2016 Reissue. Scottish singer-songwriter Bert Jansch recorded his first album in producer Bill Leader's London flat with a borrowed guitar, sitting on the edge of the bed and singing into a portable tape recorder. As author Richie Unterberger writes in the liner notes, "When Bert Jansch's self-titled debut LP was issued in April 1965, he was already a major figure on the British folk scene.

Chicago born Jeff Liberman is a guitar player in the best tradition of 70s guitar Gods like Hendrix, Trower, Clapton or Zappa. The perfect mix between virtuosity and feeling with a gift for brilliant songwriting. Between 1975 and 1978, Liberman self-released three albums on his own Librah label which were some of the first private pressings to gain recognition amongst psych collectors in the 80s.

Solitude Within' is his second album, released in 1975. A heavy guitar psych / West Coast /acid rock classic with plenty of acid soloing drenched in fuzz-wah plus treated vocals, effects, hard-blues and even some cool mellow folk grooves and experimental excursions.

RIYL: BOB SMITH, TERRY BROOKS, ROBIN TROWER, HENDRIX, DR HOOKER, BEVIS FROND...


*Remastered sound
*Insert with liner notes by Klemen Breznikar (It's Psychedelic Baby)
*First ever legit vinyl reissue
*Includes digital download coupon

Far better than most LPs of its type, this is highly recommended to guitar fans' - Aaron Milenski (Acid Archives)

The Pentangle was the 1968 debut album of the band Pentangle: Terry Cox, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, John Renbourn and Danny Thompson. It brought together their separate influences of folk, jazz, blues, early music and contemporary song-writing. One of the band's most commercially successful albums, it reached number 21 in the British charts.

By the time that the album was produced, the members of Pentangle were already accomplished musicians, in their own fields, and had played together in various combinations. Jansch and Renbourn were recognised as solo artists and played together regularly, including their recording of the Bert And John album. McShee had sung folk and blues in pubs and clubs, and had recorded with Renbourn on Another Monday. Cox and Thompson were experienced session musicians and had played together in Alexis Korner's band.

Bristol-based illustrator and musician Adam Higton welcomes you back into the mossy realm of the Cosmic Neighbourhood. With each song acting as a response to a series of paper-and-scissors compositions, 'Collages II' documents the daily goings-on of an imagined world.

Sonically, this record straddles new and old, taking modular electronics, flutes, bells and softly pattering drum machines, before colouring them all with the amber glow of some forgotten, psychedelic kids' TV programme. Higton's benign toots and echoing jingles bring to mind Daphne Oram's early delay experiments or the meandering playfulness of Tom Cameron. Radiophonic and time-worn, it still somehow sounds like the future.

Beth Orton's debut album, Trailer Park, is one of the most innovative and impressive records of the 90s. It is a beautifully inspired mix of folk and electronica, which may sound like a cliché today but this is the album responsible for that cliché. Absolutely cutting edge and with killer song writing to boot, a pop album like no other before or since. Reissued on 180 gram opaque red vinyl with deluxe tip-on jacket and printed innersleeve. The 180 gram black vinyl version has been out of print for 3 years, this limited edition red vinyl will be the last we will be pressing of this title.

Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings is set for release on November 11.With the exception of the Manchester concert (May 17, 1966) released as Bob Dylan Live 1966 - The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (Columbia/Legacy) in 1998, a pair of songs appearing on the 1985 Biograph compilation and a smattering of others, the overwhelming majority of tracks and performances on Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings are previously unreleased in any format - official or bootlegged - and are being made available now for the very first time. Liner notes have been provided by Clinton Heylin. Each individual CD is housed in a custom sleeve featuring stills from colour film shot by D.A. Pennebaker, who's footage from Dylan's 1965 and 1966 tours became the cinema verite classics Don't Look Back and Eat The Document.

Disc 1 - Sydney, April 13, 1966 (Soundboard recorded by TCN 9 TV Australia)
Disc 2 - Sydney, April 13, 1966 (Soundboard recorded by TCN 9 TV Australia)
Disc 3 - Melbourne, April 20, 1966 (Soundboard / unknown broadcast)
Disc 4 - Copenhagen, May 1, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 5 - Dublin, May 5, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 6 - Dublin, May 5, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 7 - Belfast, May 6, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 8 - Belfast, May 6, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 9 - Bristol, May 10, 1966 (Soundboard / audience)
Disc 10 - Bristol, May 10, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 11 - Cardiff, May 11, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 12 - Birmingham, May 12, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 13 - Birmingham, May 12, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 14 - Liverpool, May 14, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 15 - Leicester, May 15, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 16 - Leicester, May 15, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 17 - Sheffield, May 16, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
Disc 18 - Sheffield, May 16, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 19 - Manchester, May 17, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
Disc 20 - Manchester, May 17, 1966 (CBS Records recording except Soundcheck / Soundboard)
Disc 21 - Glasgow, May 19, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 22 - Edinburgh, May 20, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 23 - Edinburgh, May 20, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 24 - Newcastle, May 21, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 25 - Newcastle, May 21, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 26 - Paris, May 24, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 27 - Paris, May 24, 1966 (Soundboard)
Disc 28 - London, May 26, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
Disc 29 - London, May 26, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
Disc 30 - London, May 27, 1966 (CBS Records recording)
Disc 31 - London, May 27, 1966 (CBS Records recordings)
Disc 32 - White Plains, NY, February 5, 1966 (Audience tape)
Disc 33 - Pittsburgh, PA, February 6, 1966 (Audience tape)
Disc 34 - Hempstead, NY, February 26, 1966 (Audience tape)
Disc 35 - Melbourne, April 19, 1966 (Audience tape)
Disc 36 - Stockholm, April 29, 1966 (Audience tape)

For decades, Dylan's performance in Manchester was incorrectly labeled 'The Royal Albert Hall Concert'. Now, for the first time, the REAL Royal Albert Hall concert, originally recorded for a live album by CBS Records, is finally being released. The 2CD will be released on 11th November with the 2LP following on 26th November.

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is the third album by Canadian singer-songwriter and Grammy Award Winner Sarah McLachlan and proved to be her worldwide breakthrough album. The album reached the Top 5 In Canada in no time and went certified platinum within a few weeks, eventually selling over 4 million copies worldwide.

Besides the hit singles Possession', Hold On' and Good Enough', the album contains the track Fear and Ice Cream', which became a favorite during Sarah McLachlan concerts over the years. As a bonus track, the album also includes a wonderful cover of the classic Joni Mitchell song Blue'.

Inversions is a new imprint, spawned by parent label Power Vacuum.
The overall brief is broadly the same: driving, kinetic music of an exploratory and divergent bent, but employing more of a live/traditional instrumental approach. The first release encompasses electro-kraut, psych-punk, lo-fi pop-folk, prog-fusion and drone doom-metal, still with one eye on some sort of dancefloor, but equally at home on the turntables of bedrooms and after-parties.
With an insert and download code.

CD version of the new In Gowan Ring Album.

The two instrumental albums issued by Syrinx in the early 1970s sound little like the psychedelic music prevailing Toronto's rock venues at the time, and are even further removed from the electronic tape experimentations spooled by a younger John Mills-Cockell. Instead, the path of Syrinx whimsically veers away from the dominant mode of '70s subculture, charting surprising commercial success. Tumblers From The Vault presents their entire recorded legacy, reviving the story of Syrinx and sharing their memorable, mind-bending melodies. The musicians behind Syrinx were composer and keyboardist John Mills-Cockell, saxophonist Doug Pringle, and percussionist Alan Wells. All three were young veterans of the Toronto creative scene by the beginning of 1970.

LSD played a supporting role in their artistic pursuits, but equal guidance also came from Mills-Cockell's studies at the University of Toronto and Royal Conservatory of Music, where he established an ad-hoc, DIY electronic music course in the school's basement. After the dissolution of Intersystems, a rogue, multimedia ensemble established by Mills-Cockell , John journeyed to Canada's west coast to work on an album of original synth-based compositions. Pringle was enlisted to color outside the music's already adventurous lines, his sinuous, signal-processed saxophone adding another electrifying voice to Syrinx's signature sound.

A sound that hybridized chamber music dynamics with wild, yet tuneful electronic melodicism. With Alan Wells' understated percussion rolled into the fold, what started as a solo venture for Mills-Cockell became a new kind of collective. From these coastal sessions were conjured exemplary pieces like Journey Tree' and Hollywood Dream Trip,' both plaintive and serene expressions of Mills-Cockell's economical arrangements, and also Syrinx's restrained and expert use of their electronic resources. Syrinx's self-titled debut arrived in 1970, followed in 1971 by Long Lost Relatives, which is highlighted as the first album on Tumblers From The Vault.

Between the two albums, Syrinx became a vital part of the Toronto music scene, with Doug Pringle's loft serving as the central node for impromptu performances and the group's collaborative activities. Syrinx also started receiving high profile work, first for television, film, and dance, and then for orchestra. One commission culminated commercially in Tillicum', the unforgettable theme music for pioneering reality television show Here Come the Seventies.

Adventures in all a capella songs of Soul, Blues, Pop and Experimental. Edwin Mathis White (from the band Tonstartssbandht) creates the a capella gospel that is Eola.

I think the album's a goddam classic,' Ry Cooder said afer producing Buenos Hermanos, the second solo album by the Buena Vista Social Club singing star Ibrahim Ferrer.
Released in 2003 when Ferrer was 76 years old, Buenos Hermanos now gets a welcome reissue on 180 gsm vinyl and today sounds more like a 'classic' than ever - the ultmate Latn record', as Cooder described it at the tme. I don't think anybody other than Ibrahim would or could make a record like this.
It has every kind of nuance and subtlety that it could possibly have, as well as muscle,' he added. Like the original Buena Vista Social Club release and his 1999 solo debut, Buena Vista Social Club presents Ibrahim Ferrer, the album boasted the same producton team of Cooder, Nick Gold and engineer Jerry Boys and confrmed Ferrer's place among the all-tme great voices of Cuban music. Ferrer was to die two years later, leaving Buenos Hermanos as the boldest achievement of his long
career. Firmly rooted in traditon, at the same tme the album expanded the horizons of Cuban music in new and excitng directons. Combining both Cuban and American musicians, the hand-picked core band, comprised Orlando 'Cachaíto' López on bass, Manuel Galbán on electric guitar, piano and organ, Chucho Valdés on piano, and Miguel 'Angá' Díaz on congas augmented by Ry Cooder on guitars and veteran rock drummer Jim Keltner and Joachim Cooder on percussion.

Re-release for this JAMES VINCENT McMORROW 2014 Album !!!!!!

2016 saw Kula Shaker back in the charts with A thrilling sold out tour including a sold out ROUNDHOUSE simultaneous with the release of K2.0. The album was subsequently enhanced with an additional track entitled '2Styx'. The song and video shot in Paris were born from the initial album sessions that the band decided to change into an exciting new sound and at the same time they revised a single version of Let Love Be (With U) which initially had play from 6 Music and Radio 2 and is now the track that is blowing up in the USA and second most added at AAA radio in the USA week of release late August.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the reissue of this uber rare underground cult classic Running The Mardi Gras' by Boco. From the title to the sound to the cryptic lyrics Running The Mardi Gras' seems to confirm all the mystique that surrounds the southern Louisiana Bayous and Cajun culture. This record is a family affair. It started one morning when one Mr. Latour, the father of the group, was shaving in the mirror and a song struck him. It was to be about Mardi Gras, not the beaded revelry of New Orleans familiar to most, but the traditions of rural Louisiana, where one would run the Mardi Gras,' going house to house getting home cooking from the neighbors. He would sing the song every day in the car and the children of the family soaked up the spirit of the song.

The incipient incarnation of Atomic Rooster with Vincent Crane (organ/vocals), Nick Graham (vocals/bass), and Carl Palmer (drums) was together just long enough to document its 1970 debut. Prior to the last-minute addition of Graham-- the only bassist Atomic Rooster ever had -- the band emerged from the remnants of the then recently defunct Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
The material was primarily courtesy of Crane and consisted of heavy and versatile sides. The versatility is evident throughout the impressive array of styles ranging from the folk-inspired pastoral songs via bluesy horn arrangement and contrasting driving rockers and jazzy spells. Lyrically, Crane reveals his penchant for dark imagery. Support at the time was bolstered by strong live appearances, positive word-of-mouth, and significant BBC Radio sessions.

London's noisiest folk-rock six-piece The No Sorrows release their long-awaited, self-titled LP this autumn via King Bill Records. Taking the earthy melodies and celestial harmonies of the British psychedelic folk boom and placing them against a driving drone-rock backing, The No Sorrows were described by the NME as sounding like 'a mix of early Fairport Convention and Dinosaur Jr in full flight'.

Formed eight years ago in leafy Stoke Newington, The No Sorrows have been mutating and developing ever since, adding soaring violin and rich multi-tracked harmonies to the basic guitar, bass and drums setup. They've supported the likes of The Clientele, Alessi's Ark, The Magnetic Mind and their good friends The See See, and recently hit a major career high playing on a bill with Mike Heron of The Incredible String Band.

The No Sorrows' first LP was recorded in unusual circumstances: in a tumbledown farmhouse in France's 'diagonal of emptiness', the remote and rolling Limousin valley. The band carted all their gear down from London and set up in the living room, letting the rustic surroundings soak into every musical note. As frontman Tom Huddleston says: 'It was like Exile on Main Street' without the drugs. Or the hookers. Or the piles of money. But otherwise it was exactly the same.'

The result is a record that takes the listener on a journey, to a hazy, sun-kissed country where it's always 1972. Which isn't to say there's not a hint of darkness lurking in The No Sorrows sonic palette as well: jagged guitars and thundering drums are a key part of their unique sound. 'We've never placed any limits on what we can or can't do,' Huddleston explains. 'Imagine being only a folk band, or only a psych band, or only an indie band It'd get really boring! We're fans of everything from Anne Briggs to The Beach Boys to Neil Young to My Bloody Valentine, so why shouldn't our music reflect that'

Unsurprisingly, the band have chosen to release their record exclusively on vinyl and download - a CD could never do justice to the fireside warmth of The No Sorrows. And this is an LP that'll only improve with age: ten years from now, when the vinyl has picked up a few pops and crackles, it'll sound even better.